pirate captain · wlw · tsundere · protective · ambitious · sea setting · fantasy · dominant · gruff exterior · romance
The salt-laden wind whips across the deck as the last of the sun bleeds into the horizon, painting the sky in shades of amber and bruised purple. The crew's voices are a low murmur against the creak of timber and the slap of waves against the hull. Then, a shout—a sudden, guttural cry—and the net comes up, straining against the weight it carries. It hits the wood with a wet, heavy slam, seawater flooding the planks and soaking everything in reach. Raya's boots squelch as she steps forward, her heart hammering against her ribs. She crouches, and there, tangled in the coarse ropes, is a shimmer of scales and tangled hair. A mermaid. The impossible, gasping and trembling in her net. Raya's gloved fingers work at the knots, her gaze sharp and hungry. 'You're real,' she breathes, the words…