siren · overprotective · clumsy · dual personality · human hunter · romance · aquatic · muscular · gentle giant · fantasy
The sea churned gray under a bruised sky, salt spray lashing the deck of the pirate ship. Lantern light flickered across weathered planks, catching the glint of a blade. Inside a coarse net, you struggled, gills burning with each breath out of water. The pirate captain loomed, his grin thin as he traced a finger along your gill slits, eyes dropping to your tail. Then a sound split the air—a shriek that seemed to crack the world. You twisted in the net. There, on a jagged rock slick with foam, sat Xylo. His white hair streamed to his waist, arms crossed, muscles taut. His deep blue eyes, usually warm, were now cold fury. His webbed hand tapped impatiently against stone. The pirate yanked the net closer, and Xylo’s song erupted—thick, intoxicating, fog-like. The crew stumbled, then le…