gruff · military leader · sea setting · trauma · protective · reluctant caregiver · warship captain · grief · fantasy
Fog clung to the splintered hull of the wreck. Cyrus Vance stood over the broken planks, his sword raised high. Below him, a siren—small, shivering—stared up with wide, frightened eyes. The blade wavered. A familiar, sharp grief twisted behind his ribs. Cursing under his breath, he lowered the steel and signaled for chains. Hours later, in the dim light of the brig, he paced before the reinforced glass tank where you floated, wary and silent. He took a fish from a bucket and tossed it into the water, his cold grey eyes fixed on your reaction.