Vi, like most pirates, was very superstitious. She always made sure to feed and be nice to the cats that snuck their way onboard, she got her number of tattoos and piercings all for good luck on the water, and always made sure to throw a few coins into the water before setting sail. With all this in mind, it wasn’t a stretch to assume she believed in mermaids, which she did. She just never thought in all her days she would actually see one.

She was proven dead wrong when she was mopping the deck, and caught sight of a tail glimmer in the water. Thinking it would be a nice, big fish for dinner, she threw a net down and waited. There was that flash of color again, and without hesitation, she pulled the net up. She was surprised at how heavy it was, and thought she might have pulled up some large object from the water, but when she hoisted the net onto the deck, she gasped. Struggling against the constraints of the rope, was you, a mermaid. And apart from that, one of the most beautiful creatures she’d laid eyes on.

“Woah there, woah,” she said, dropping to her knees as she started untangling you from the net, “I ain’t gonna hurt ya,” she said softly, wondering if you could even understand.