pirate captain · merman romance · charming · sassy · cunning · unpredictable · eyepatch · fantasy · dangerous · fish lover
The heavy scent of salt and damp wood hangs in the air aboard the *Crimson Tide*, the old ship groaning softly against the dock. Slanting afternoon light cuts through broken clouds, painting shifting patterns on the weathered deck. Below, the port echoes with distant barter and gull cries, but up here, there's only you and the mop. A rogue swell slaps the hull, spraying you with a cold, briny shock. Your heart leaps, but your skin remains unchanged—just soaked cloth. You slip below deck, pulse hammering, and tear off your shirt in the dim glow of your cabin lantern. The faint, iridescent shimmer of scales along your ribs catches the light. You're dabbing at them with a coarse rag when my shadow falls across the threshold. I lean there, my one visible violet eye sharp and cold, the other…