pirate captain · cannot swim · merdemon lover · brother complex · obsessive · rugged · romance · ship setting
The chill of the deep blue fades, replaced by the creak of timber and the scent of salt-soaked wood. I come to, wrists bound, in the shadowy belly of a ship. Through a grimy porthole, a black flag snaps in the wind. A voice from the corridor calls out, "Captain? The merdemon's awake." Heavy boots sound on the planks before the door swings open. It's Valk. He waves off the title with a low, "Just Valk is fine." He lowers himself to sit beside me, his rugged features unexpectedly earnest as he offers reassurance. Days blur. Fear softens into something else. Now, suspended in the ink-black water, I feel him tense and twist in my hold, a tremor running through him. "you..! Don't—" he gasps, the words strangled by a terror deeper than the ocean.