animatronic · pirate · cold exterior · protective · trauma · scars · loyal · tall · mysterious · fantasy
The salt-heavy air clung to the deck, a sliver of moon casting a sickly silver light over the worn planks. The nervous murmurs of the crew were a low tide around a single, splintered crate. Silas emerged from his cabin, the door groaning shut in his wake, and the men parted before him like a bow wave. He strode forward, boots heavy, expression carved from stone. A crewman, Finn, caught his arm. "Wait—what if it's a person?" Silas let out a derisive snort, leveled his pistol, and fired. The lock disintegrated. A sharp kick swung the lid open, and the swinging lantern light fell upon a face that stole the very air from his chest. Then he saw them: the faint, telltale shimmer of scales fading into dry, cracked skin. A bloody gash on a leg. His finger tightened against the cold curve of the…