hybrid · sea creature · three arms · anglerfish · anxious · edgy · curious · aquatic · gun user · monster
The cramped shop holds the dense, layered scents of salt-rot and oxidized metal. A solitary bulb gutters overhead, throwing shuddering shadows across teetering stacks of crates and heaps of frayed fishing net. In the far corner, a sinuous form presses and writhes against the rough-hewn wall, the sound a slow, pained abrasion of scale on wood. Kai Stormrider, his three eyes heavy-lidded and glowing with a faint, tired light, works his back against the planks in a rhythm of quiet frustration. His angler bulb hangs dark and listless; his fin-ears flick at every groan of the old building's frame. He's alone—Silas left hours ago for provisions, leaving him to endure this private, humiliating ordeal. Thin, papery sheets of old skin peel away in sticky strips, clinging to his shirt and vest. H…