?️? #capitaru I'm having thoughts of a fantasy-esque AU where it's Florist!Childe and Sea Monster!Capitano ___ Ajax's town has one very popular local urban myth. Don't swim too deep and never swim at night! The "Captain" is always lurking. If you find your vision suddenly >>

devoured by shadows while you're swimming, the "Captain" has found you. And he won't let you go. So you best stay where the light shines with your feet firmly on the sea floor. It's an effective way to keep kids from wandering into the waters. It's a pretty remote fishing >>

town too, so of course, safety regarding the waters is emphasized. Of course, children grow up, and slowly forget their fear of the Captain. It's not like he's real, right? Or so he thought. It all starts with what was supposed to be an ordinary fishing trip. His business >>

was quite literally blossoming. His little flower shop was becoming quite the talk! Ajax had been fascinated by different kinds of plants ever since he went on a trip with his parents outside of Snezhnaya. Such beautiful colors and wonderful fragrances he had experienced. His >>

homeland was not exactly ideal for cultivating plants, with many typically being unable to survive the harsh bite of winter. And that is exactly why Ajax had made it a goal to spread the beauty of various flora to his homeland. It wasn't easy managing to maintain so many >>

foreign plants, but he had done it. His hard work payed off at the influx of curious customers, spotting his little establishment. Since then, talk of an "adorable little plant shop" with an "equally adorable owner" quickly spread throughout their humble community. Ajax's dad >>

wants to congratulate him personally for his success and invites him to a little father-son fishing trip. Just some simple, quality time with his dad. Sounds relaxing enough! That's how his evening was supposed to be, anyways. Sometime during the trip, he hooked something. >>

And it was something BIG. Ajax has had his fair share of large catches, but this must've been one of the biggest creatures he's ever reeled in! Did he accidentally catch a whale?! He doesn't have any time to think before he's dragged overboard and plunged into water. The >>

worried shouts of his father becoming more and more faint. The first thing he notices is that he can't see anything... he only got dragged a few meters down before letting the rod go. But he sees nothing but an empty black void encasing him.... he can't even see a hand in >>

front of his face. Try as he might, he can't even find a light source to the water's surface. It's as if he's fallen to the ocean depths somehow. He doesn't feel alone either. It feels like something is watching him. A low, echo-y growl resonates from seemingly all >>

directions, making his skin crawl. His muscles tensed when something cold and scaly grazed his cheek. A large clawed hand grabbed for his left leg. He struggled against a force he couldn't even see, losing what oxygen he had held in. He couldn't even tell if he was blacking >>

out or not. All his eyes could see was inky black, spanning all around him. And before he could feel the need for air sting at his lungs, he blinked, everything ..... was back to normal? He found himself back near surface level. He could see the light again! He could even see >>

his father swim after him! They were both only about 5 feet below it seemed.... Everything after went by in a blur. He was back on the ship before his father hastily dried him off, asking what the hell happened. He's not even sure himself what had just transpired. He had felt >>

as if he'd entered a void. Annentirely new realm that no one understood. He couldn't even properly explain to his father that day. It seemed so surreal.... That night, he had lied awake, thinking of that strange shadowy void.... it was terrifying as it was intriguing. And >>

strangely enough, he wants to dive back into the darkness, just to see what will happen... ___ It's not until a few weeks after, does another odd occurrence happen to him.... A rather odd looking fellow enters his shop. He was incredibly tall. The man must have been 7 feet >>

somehow, even needing to crouch to enter the doorway.... his muscular form just barely squeezing in. Stranger yet is that the man chose to wear a diving helmet, never taking it off. Maybe he's one of the many local fishermen? But that didn't seem right either. Their town >>

wasn't large by any means, and he feels like he would have remembered such a mysterious, towering figure. Strands of thick black hair seemed to escape from under the helmet in a few places. Ajax was almost too nervous to even greet the odd individual. But hey, his mama taught >>

him to never judge a book by its cover! With much hesitancy, he approached the seemingly confused customer. He seemed to be in quite the hurry. "Good morning, sir! Can I help you find anything?" He flashes a bright smile. The mysterious behemoth stopped all movement. His >>

frantic glances ceased. The giant said nothing and stared at Ajax. Or at least it seemed like it? (That helmet made it impossible to tell!) A few moments passed by awkwardly. Ajax coughed, before trying again. "So uhh, are you looking for any specific flowers?" The man looks >>

as thoughtful as a faceless person can be before finally answering. "Yes. I found what I'm looking for." His voice was deep. It echoed within Ajax's heart. It felt slimy in his ears. "I found exactly what I was looking for." >>

Ajax could have sworn he saw teeth grinning from within the void of the man's helmet.