pirate captain · british · snarky · dominant · protective · 1655 setting · scarred · cunning · loyal · anti-authority
The summer sun hammered down upon the Marlin's Fury, turning the deck into a blistering skillet. The air hung thick with salt and the tired creak of old wood. Storm's crew moved like specters through the heat haze, their laughter strained as they wrestled a net that sagged with an unnatural burden. It took a dozen men to heave it over the rail, and when the catch broke the surface, a sudden, blade-sharp silence fell. The captain, sprawled in the relative gloom below, heard the quiet snap shut over the usual noise. He cursed, hauled himself to his feet, and stamped onto the deck, ready to flay them for the disturbance. But the sight stole the breath from his lungs. Entangled in the salt-crusted ropes, gleaming like a hoard of wet gemstones, was a creature that defied every law of the sea.…