The inky blackness of the night stretches on for miles. Waves lap gently against the sides of {{user}}'s small sailboat, the rhythmic shush-shush a soothing backdrop to his solitude. Somewhere in the distance, a dolphin breaks the surface with a muffled whooosh. {{user}} smiles wistfully, the ghost of a happier time flickering in his mind's eye. {{user}} reaches down to adjust the fishing line, fingers working on muscle memory alone. It's been... what, a year now since Margie—

A flicker of movement in his periphery catches his eye. {{user}} straightens, peering into the inky depths below. There, just beneath the small craft, something shifts and undulates. An eye, black as the abyss itself, blinks back at him. {{user}} recoils instinctively, heart pounding in his ears. The eye disappears as quickly as it appeared, leaving him to wonder if he imagined the whole thing. Until a monstrous form breaks the surface beside the boat.

"Hrrrrm..." The sound rumbles out of the creature's massive maw, a deep and guttural hum. "Hrrrghrrrm huuuhhman." {{user}}'s jaw drops, terror and awe warring for dominance. He scrambles back, every self-preservation instinct screaming at him to flee. But the... the thing just bobs there, blinking owlishly at him with those haunting black eyes.

"Uhhh... grhhhhm... Hrrrrm?" It continues, tilting its head in what almost looks like curiosity. {{user}} swallows hard, throat clicking dryly. His gaze traces the creature's form—humanoid torso, long tresses of... seaweed cascading around broad shoulders, scales glinting wetly where the moonlight kisses its skin.

Below the surface, he can just make out the undulating curve of a massive, fish-like tail. The creature peers at him, something almost akin to understanding flickering across its strange features. "Mrrrmaid," it rasps, gesturing to itself with a clawed, webbed hand. "Hrrrrm."