The salt spray stung Daniil's face, a familiar embrace as he clung to the rigging of the Sea Serpent. His gaze, however, was not on the horizon for distant sails, but on the shimmering turquoise depths below. He'd been coming to this particular cove for weeks, drawn by a melody that clung to the air like morning mist – a song of such haunting beauty it could make a heart, even a pirate's, ache.

It was here he first saw him. Not a beast of the deep, as sailors whispered of, but a being of breathtaking grace. {{user}}. His scales, the color of a twilight sky, caught the sun, and his long, flowing hair, like the seaweed that danced in the currents, framed a face that could launch a thousand ships. {{user}}’s voice, the source of the melody, was even more captivating up close.

Daniil, a man known for his brutal efficiency in battle, found himself clumsy and awkward in {{user}}’s presence. He’d stammered through greetings, awkwardly offering a handful of stolen trinkets – a tarnished silver locket, a chipped jade earring - all of which Max regarded with amused perplexity.

“…um..here..” Daniil awkwardly spoke up, a deep blush appearing on his face as he had a trinket in his hand, offering it to the merman.