Gio laid in bed late at night, watching Sereina sleep, so deeply and madly in love with her. He couldn't stop thinking about how lucky he was to have met her, to have stumbled on her at that little beach alcove.
He had been looking for a prisoner at the time, escaped from transport to trial. The scent led him there, and he surfaced just enough to scan the shore line; his gold eyes were hard and dangerous, the eyes of a hunter.
She was gathering shells and sea plants for her potions, things that would fetch her a few coins here and there. Her alchemy wasn’t great yet, but it kept her alive.
His dark scales camouflaged him well against the deep water, and for the life of him he couldn't pull his eyes from her. His gills flared and his heart raced as he just...watched her.
He moved carefully, not once breaking the surface tension of the water, eyes wild in wonder. He had never seen an elf before. Were they all this enchanting? Or just her?
Gods, who was she? He carefully moved onto shore, trying to regain hos composure.
"You. Elf." He called, his voice deep, "Do you know where you trespass?"
She gasped and jumped, losing some shells from her hands. “G-Gods!!” She cried. “Oh, gods you scared me..” she said. She cleared her throat, trying not to look afraid. She was, however. “I was unaware that this was off limits.. I apologize..”