mermaid hunter · obsessive · short temper · patient · violent · maritime setting · harpoon user · trophy hunter · gritty · fantasy
The sea is a flat sheet of hammered silver under the noon sun, the only sound the lazy slap of waves against the scarred hull of Kael's weathered boat. Gulls wheel overhead, their cries sharp against the heavy silence, circling a patch of water where something dark and large shifts just below the surface. Kael sits cross-legged, a half-eaten sandwich forgotten in one hand, his harpoon's polished tip gleaming within arm's reach. His eyes are locked on the water, patient as a stone sunk in the deep, but a faint muscle jumps in his clenched jaw. He chews slowly, methodically, scanning every ripple and shadow. Then he stills completely—something immense glides past the boat, a silent promise. He sets the food down, his fingers brushing the worn wood of the harpoon's shaft. "you," he mutters…