Pelagic [Voltron/Refuge AU]

Captive

Chyra had been sailing the waters of Altea her entire life, but she'd never seen anything quite like this.

As the crewmen hauled up the net full of screeching, thrashing scales, Chyra almost felt bad for the sorry creature. From what she could see, the beast was massive. A seemingly endless stretch of writhing black and grey scales, pointed fins and pale skin shined with water droplets through the fibers of the woven net. She couldn't see the creatures face; its broad back was facing her, muscular shoulders clearly visible despite the erratic movements of the creature in the net. It was screeching loudly, the noise high and grating on her sharp ears. Goosebumps erupted across Chyra's sun kissed arms.

Chyra apprehensively gripped the knife at the back of her belt, which she typically used to gut fish and enemy sailors. How appropriate.

The creature fell to the deck with a wet smack as the net dropped suddenly, splattering water onto the wooden boards and across the toes of Chyra's leather boots. She flinched at the sound as the beast hissed, flipping itself over and around within the confines of the net. It turned to face her, startlingly grey eyes wide and full of terror. Her heart gave a painful twist.

His right arm was hopelessly entangled in the net. The limb was ensnared with the wiry cords, cutting off circulation and leaving angry marks on his skin where the ropes rubbed, and despite the merman's strong outward appearance, he looked terrified.

Being trapped on a pirate ship would do that to a person, whether they had fins or not.

The commotion on the ship was disorienting, but it caused a rush of adrenaline to surge through Chyra's veins. Her sympathy forgotten, she marveled at the fact that they had actually been able to catch one of the Mer.

The underwater dwellers were renowned across the world for their speed, stealth, cleverness, and uncanny knack for staying out of sight of surface dwellers. Many also believed them to have magic powers and abilities. How else would they breathe underwater, and captivate the mind with their voices? How else could they blend into the watery environment that they dwelled in, and how else could they coerce sailors into jumping overboard, away from the safety of their ships and down into deep, watery graves?

Chyra's musings were interrupted by a large shoulder smacking her aside. The captain of the ship, a man known only as Sendak, muscled his way to the front of the crowd of onlooking pirates, brandishing his pistol threateningly at a few who did not hustle out of his way fast enough. His commanding voice barked out orders, roughened by years of breathing salty sea air. Sendak was an imposing figure; he was immensely tall with broad shoulders and thick arms. His neck was almost as big around as Chyra's torso. The hair that swooped back off the sides of his head should have looked comical, but somehow it made him look even more imposing. It didn't help that he had a metal eyepatch over one eye and a frighteningly powerful prosthetic arm.

Chyra staggered from the force of Sendak's prosthetic hitting her shoulder. She caught herself by grabbing onto the mast, her fingers tangling in thickly woven ropes to catch her fall. As she dragged herself to her unstable feet she heard a sharp shriek from the merman on the deck, a piercing sound that was quickly cut off by a strangled yelp. The noise of fear almost sounded human.

Chyra steadied herself and saw Sendak looming over the terrified merman, the wiry cords of the net gathered in his sharpened metal fingers. He was holding the sea creature up by his entangled arm, the net tightening even more around the trapped limb. The merman thrashed and hissed in fear, trying to maneuver his way out of the trap , but only succeeding in further tangling his arm. Where the ropes dug in, blood began to well from the cuts made by the cords.