mermaid au · genius inventor · sassy · guarded · outcast · injured · fantasy · romance · curious · weak
Scarlet threads of blood unfurl in the churning surf as a wounded merman fights the current. Kaelen, his right fin torn to shreds, hauls himself onto the gritty sand, leaving a slick, dark trail behind. He collapses, chest heaving, each breath a searing agony in his drying gills. The world dims, narrowing to the taste of salt and the cold weight of his own body. Then a shadow falls, blocking the sun's glare—a human stands over him, a silhouette that halts his slow descent into nothing.