Vale

☼ A Pirate and his .Abyss. ☼

Vale once commanded a rather fearsome crew. They held quite a reputation for themselves, known for a vast string of looting and pillaging from clans far and wide.
With this reputation came the idea he was untouchable. Who would put in the time or effort to track him down, or serve some kind of self proclaimed justice?

It was his ego that did Vale in, thinking he was invincible and his crew so loyal.
In retrospect he believed it was one of his own men that caused him to be captured, but to this day he does not know whom it was for sure.
Vale was subsequently captured and marked for death- by hanging- and if not for the few of his crew that stayed, he would not have made it out alive.

He carries numerous scars from the close call, most apparent are the ones on his neck.
It was not just the physical marks on his body that remained, but those in his mind as well. It was an eye-opening reminder of just how mortal he was. Something within him changed that day, only time would tell if it was for the better.

After a period of recovery, Vale set out again, this time with much different intentions. He sought not to steal, but instead to find something that would give him purpose again. What that was, he could not determine either.

It was some time after that when Vale encountered a maren. The creature was as beautiful as he was dangerous, and it was only by circumstance neither of them ended up killing each other.
Both beings were injured, a strong storm leaving them both battered. Vale's ship had run ashore, and Vale had mistaken the maren for one of his crew as he made out a humanoid shape seeking refuge in a sea cave just down the beach.

Vale soon found out the figure was a maren and not one of his men, but another swell of water left him temporarily trapped in the cave. Needless to say it was a tense few minutes- or hours- Vale had lost track of time at that point.

When they both realized they had no intention, or energy, to kill each other, the two opened up to each other. The talk was small and cautious at first, both explaining how they had ended up in their condition- without sounding too weak, of course.

It seemed the Maren had taken interest in Vale's numerous tattoos, and it was then that Vale learned just how sharp Abyss' eyesight was in the dark.

The storm eventually came to an end and the two were freed from the cave.
Both had expected the other to part ways and never encounter each other again, but it seemed fate had other plans in store.

Vale had been inexplicably drawn to the nearby set of islands and surrounding ocean, as it was new territory for him. Somewhere he would not need to watch his back or worry being recognized by an unfriendly face.
For this reason, it had him catching glimpses of what he assumed would otherwise be an elusive being.

The weeks rolled on like waves onto the shore, Vale taking up what he thought would have been a more temporary residence. The island held many resources, and made island life surprisingly easy.
There were others, however, that were apparently not having it as such.

Abyss seemed to be having trouble securing his own territory from a fierce opponent, a female mer that clearly had some sort of advantage over the other.
She left him wounded and bleeding- quite vulnerable in an ocean teeming with possible predators.

Again, fate intervened, and Vale found the wounded maren before any worse could happen. With Vale practically forcing the mer to trust him, a shallow tub was built to keep Abyss in water but out of harm's way.
A cot was set up beside the tub, and a small catch of fresh fish either netted or harpooned by Vale's own hands was brought in every day or so to keep Abyss fed.

The two slowly nurtured a closer bond than either had expected, given their differences. Still, they left it at an unspoken yet mutual understanding that they both owed the other much.
It was Vale's tattooed arms that delivered Abyss back into the ocean where he belonged, but when the time came for Abyss to swim off and not look back, bittersweet ending never came.