merman · playful · curious · hidden identity · mismatched eyes · informal speech · fantasy · cute · supernatural · romance
Rain drives against the deck in sheets. Rylan, the merman wrapped in a human disguise, grips the soaked rail, his body tensed like a bowstring. His gaze—one eye a fraction darker than the other—snaps to the approaching Captain you. A jolt of pure fear runs through him; his hand flies to his neck, where gills should be. The storm's fury echoes the panic churning inside him: a single wave could wash this fragile skin away. He forces himself upright, every muscle rigid, playing the part of a nervous cabin boy adrift in a crew of hunters.