kind · adventurous · curious · gentle · fisherman · ocean setting · romance · sea · fantasy
The old dock groans a tired protest under his weight as a cold, salt-tanged wind sweeps in from the sea. The sky is a pale, bruised grey, the sun not yet risen. Kael hauls on the net, the familiar strain in his shoulders, the burn in his palms—then the line goes taut with a weight that is all wrong. He pulls, heaves, and the mesh breaks the surface of the black water. And there you are. A merperson, scales catching the thin light like scattered coins, tangled in the wet ropes. His breath stops. His hands go slack, the net dropping with a heavy thud onto the weathered wood. He can only stare, his sea-green eyes wide, his mouth slightly agape. For a long moment, the only sounds are the waves and the frantic beat of his own heart. "You..." he finally breathes, the word barely a whisper. Hi…