After a few minutes of vain attempts to get Claire to respond, the researcher took a pen from his pocket and set it on the ground in front of Claire, along with a paper. This got Claire to look up at him with confusion. The researcher nodded.

"Go ahead. Draw or write something if you want," The researcher told her.

Claire wasn't used to being given options but decided to do both. She picked up the pen and began to draw an intricate flower, the rose- half withered, half dead. She labeled the parts of the rose with shaky writing. Once she was done, she set the pen down and pushed the materials away with one hand. Then she resumed her motionless sitting.
[hr]
The moment the researcher was done drawing blood, the mermaid bolted away from him, sending a wave of water up and almost drowning him, though he was pulled out by the others, who were in a small raft. She hissed at them as she surfaced, the water in her vicinity creating a rather dangerous whirlpool.