Floating Key
Drawn like a moth to the flame.
It was no shock to Calhoun Ryder that the first place he found acceptable after leaving the portal was what lay before home. A smirk tugged at his lips as he stood tall above the cliffs, watching the water just beneath the sharp drop off. Crystalline blue crashed against the cliffs where it met the rockface that sharply clawed towards a sky of pale azure. It was not Nassau. That much was clear. It was not his home. But it would do. It could someplace he and Arronax could put down roots for the time being.
Slowly he pushed a calm breath from his lungs as he let himself follow it by drawing in the scents on the humid, thick air. Salt and brine was heavy amid the scents of sand and foliage. Sweet in his nostrils as he let the warm winds rake long, invisible fingers through the dark locks that hung on either side of his neck. They found their way through the heavy, beachy waves and tugged at them as the Captain took in what lay ahead of him. Open ocean that expanded as far as the eye could see. Whatever this place was.
Wherever they were it didn’t matter. What did was he had found a place untouched by the magic here. And while he himself was not it was something he could protect. Something he could offer as home to not only himself but the stallion he loved. Though admittedly it was strange to accept what they bother were now. Knowing Arronax he was likely trying to see to building them some sort of shelter. He truly never laid off the work but Ryder knew better than to interfere with him when he was locked on a task as such. But for the moment Ryder had his mind on one thing.
Slowly he made a sharp turn to port, coming about an entire 180 degrees before taking quite a few long, lengthy strides to the end of the cliff. Taking a slow breath he focused his attention on exactly what he had planned. Pushing out that breath as he closed the fierce, gale filled blue pool he suddenly snapped them open and swung on his haunches.
His weight was thrown backward and he lunged forward. A massive stride followed by another. Hooves slamming to the stoney surface bellow, offering thunder in his wake as he shot for the edge of the cliff. There was a determination in his gaze. No fear shown as he charged onward. Muscles coiled and released with every movement, shifting in time with his gait. The last possible second he collected his weight and pushed off.
Airborne.
A leap outward away from the cliff before tucking the powerful limbs a smirk dancing across his features as he knew from what lay before him he’d cleared the danger of the rocks. And just like that the ocean rushed to meet the Captain. The long drop being met by the splash of his body meeting the denser liquid. Ryder gave it no mind, drawing a breath just before the contact and quickly shifting into a dive the second his body was submerged.
There was something oddly peaceful about the sea surrounding you. Pulling you down as it wrapped her fingers around out. It was something of soothing sensation. Your body became slow and you had to rely on your strength to make everything work. Power and how long you could hold your breath became the only things that matters. Two simple things. Everything else melted away and you allowed yourself to forget every thought outside of the underwater world around you.
It was something Ryder lived for. Something he enjoyed just as much as violence, as battles at sea and nearly as the man he loved without question. His soul found peace here. And it was nice to see that that had not changed. He still belonged here. It still welcomed him like it always had. At the very least he had Arronax and his freedom. He could not ask for more than that.
How long he dove for or to what distance he’d gone did not matter. Not until his lungs desperately begged for him to surface and when he did he found himself taking in a deep, heavy inhale of the salt ladened humid air as he treaded water. When he could handle another dive he took the chance. This time purposefully pushing himself deeper than before.
Further.
And perhaps this process went on for hours before Ryder only knew he needed to swim back before he exhausted himself entirely. It did not take long to find shore. But he very quickly accessed he’d gotten much farther away from where he had taken his first dive from than intended.
But that quickly became of no concern.
Not with what he set his gaze on.
For there on the beach, the red flag still raised was a sight he could not begin to fathom would bring so much relief as it did now.
The Ranger.
She was clearly damaged. Battered and slightly waterlogged. But she was in tact. Ryder made no attempts to hold back, pushing himself far more quickly to shore and quickly charging across the open sand to the wrecked behemoth with a clear look of excitement on his features, undertones of releif dancing there as well. As he neared the massive ship his gaze scanned over her with a slow sigh. A smirk danced for a moment and slowly followed into a chorus of relieved and rather pleased laughter, deep and echoing as he stared up at the rather massive piece of the life he once had.
“Perhaps this is not goin’ to be so fuckin’ bad after all…”
He smirked. Ryder knew he should go see Arronax and tell him the news but one thought crossed his mind first.
“...Let’s see how bad those Navy bastards damage yeh, first, huh?”
