Rough Water (W/ Lordstriffe)

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Keirbear

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Gigantic waves crashed over the side of the large sail boat, no land within hundreds of miles. It was pushed and pulled, through and over, and into the water. The wind roared as the rain pelted the small crew. The sail was pushed, in any different direction the wind demanded, the men had no control over in. Lightning struck into the water all around them, one after another, in quick succession, thunder seeming to never stop. It was as though the weather was out the sink them, and they were trying their hardest to stop it.

Desmond pulled the wheel, pushing his brown hair out of his eyes, regretting making sail that day. He had been told against it. That the weather would not permit a say voyage. He hadn't listened. Sailing was a passion, really anything to do with the ocean was. Swimming, surfing, really any water sport, he'd done them all. This was just going to be one more thing on his list, and now it didn't seem as though he was going to survive it.

The wheel pushed against him hard, before turning through his hand. The sail whipped over his head, and then aloud crack could be heard. Lightning, had hit the mast, and it was now falling down towards him. He jumped out of the way, but as the mast fell into the water, it seemed to pull the back of the boat down with it. Desmond rushed to the front, to stay out of the water as long as possible. He looked at the two friends, regretting it, for seeing the fear on their faces. They weren't going to make it, and it was all Desmond's fault. If he hadn't been so arrogant in his abilities, they would have just stayed in port for another week at the most.

He grasp their hands, as the boat was almost engulfed by water. He looked at them, tears only hidden by the rain, "I'm sorry."

The boat flipped and they were all sinking down into the ocean.
 
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It was such a glorious afternoon; Arlyn couldn't complain. The ocean stretched out its arms on days like today, and the aquatic one always used it as an opportunity to ride as close to the surface as he dared. If he was lucky, a boat might be nearby, and things could magically fall overboard, due to the rocky waves and unpredictable wind. He'd gotten his best dry fin treasures there. It was always terrible when anything dry fin fell into the ocean, tainting the waters with strange substances.

This evening, Arlyn excitedly grabbed his strong kelp bag and made for the center of the storm raging in the waters to wait for. A whole moon had passed since the last storm had hit, so the Mer wanted everything to be perfect. He sliced through the water with his powerful tail fin, using his hypersensitive eyes to see through the dark waters as he searched for the light of the surface. One of his head fins twitched as it picked up something he didn't normally hear in the water. It was a sort of scream, but it was muffled by the crashing waves above. Ever the curious merman, Arlyn decided to investigate. With another kick of his fin and pull of his arms, he glided through the water, his eyes scanning the area. His head fin twitched in the water, and Arlyn struggled to the side to avoid a large fabric sail tangling around his tail fin. Why did humans need to harness the power of wind in order to travel? It was something he just didn't understand.

However, that fabric used to use the wind meant there was a boat! His insides churned with excitement, and the Mer cast his gaze upward once more. His eyes were quickly adjusting to the new light of the dark clouds, and that's when he saw it; the large dry fin boat, starting to sink towards the bottom of the sea, his home!

Oh no. Arlyn wouldn't be able to stop the taint the vessel would bring to the ocean, but maybe he and his best friend could help make a coral reef out of it later, but he had other things to focus on! His tail propelled him toward the sinking vessel, the need to search it overwhelming him. There was nothing that made him more excited than discovery, and this large vessel would have so many dry fin things he could take to his cave.

However, as soon as he reached the large boat, as he heard dry fins call it whenever he could overhear conversations, he saw rope floating around it, and tied to that, he could see three dry fins caught in the tangle. They were so close to the surface, so Arlyn kicked up and burst through the water, spitting out the water in his lungs and gulping down as much surface air as his lungs could hold.

He dived back down, and checked the first one's pulse. Nothing. The second one also had no life left; there was nothing that could be done for them. With his hope quickly diminishing, he checked the third man, and almost let out the air he was carrying. Alive, and trying to hold his breath! Good; there wouldn't be anything preventing him from delivering it! Using one hand to steady the stranger's head, Arlyn leaned in and sealed their lips together, pushing as much air as he could. The other was barely awake. Arlyn made quick work of his next steps. He drew a small rock-knife and sliced through the ropes, freeing the other from the constraints. The dry fin was weak, trying to fight against the water, but the Mer knew he wouldn't make it on his own.

It only took a moment of hesitation to wrap an arm around his waist, and kick the two of them through the water. They were too far for him to survive to the main dry fin land, but his cave was nearby, on an island not far from where they were. He didn't have a choice; he couldn't just abandon a dry fin on the shoreline. His back fin repelled them faster, and Arlyn could only hope that the occasional surfacing he made during the storm would be enough to give the dry one air. When they arrived, the Mer immediately dove under water, taking them to the entrance of the cavern, the high tide of the storm mean it was utterly submerged by the monstrous waves. The natural light immediately died, blinding the Mer as he swam through. He reached out, feeling around to feel the tunnel leading up to somewhere the dry fin could breathe. As soon as his webbed fingers touched the rough surface, Arlyn kicked his way up, and he soon burst through the water, splashing it all over the caves surface. He carefully laid the dry fin down on the nearest ledge, and swam over to where he kept the things he collected over the years. Sometimes, he was lucky and some of the things were in sealed containers; as if a precaution the dry fins went through while traveling over sea.

He shook as much water off of his hands as possible before taking one of the cases out and opening the seal. Inside was a thick blanket, folded up and very heavy. Carefully, Arlyn swam back over to the stranger, keeping the source of warmth as far away from the water as his arms allowed. The dry fin was wearing a second shirt of some sort with longer sleeves than a normal chest cover. The Mer frowned and tried with one hand to wriggle the dry fin out of it. A few moments passed, and the long arms chest cover was off; leaving the dry fin in a normal chest cover that Arlyn was more used to seeing the ship-living dry fins wear. Finally, he threw the blanket onto the dry fin, hoping he wouldn't die through the night. It was only then he realized it would be impossible to trick the stranger into believing Arlyn wasn't real, which was how he'd managed to keep himself and his kind a secret like he was supposed to from now on.

The Mer breathed a sigh of relief as he remembered there were dry fins on the island his cave was on, and the stranger could probably find his way back to them in the morning when we woke up. But of course, the Mer would stay by the fin-less one's side, to make sure he survived the night. So he swam up and sat on the ledge next to the one he'd just saved, waiting for the first signs of morning, or stirrings of the other one, whichever happened first.
 
The sun showed through the opening of the cave, lighting slowly over Desmond's face. He tried to slowly turn away from the sun, and groaned as his muscles complained. He was achy all over, though he couldn't seem to remember why. Laying flat on his back, he brushed his hair off his forehead. Slowly opening his eyes, he took in his surroundings. It wasn't at all what he expected. Dank, dark, and wet rock surrounded him, and he was cold and soaked to the bone.

Then, flashbacks of the night before. The storm, in all it's raging. The boat sinking. His friends sinking with it. He through his head up, to take in his surroundings once more. His friends! Where were they. If he somehow washed up here, why couldn't they.

"Derek!" Desmond called out desperately. "Ken! Are you guys here!"

He walk to the back wall of the cave. It was a big cave, but it wasn't very deep. He gripped the blanket tighter around him, as he sank to the ground against the wall. Tears poured from his eyes in mourning. His friends were gone, they could be anywhere. They could be dead. Desmond's chest clenched at that. He wiped his face on the blanket, and steeled himself. His friends could still be alive, there was still hope. There was no proof they were dead. If he made it, maybe they had to. He'd just have to find them.
 
The shout startled Arlyn awake. The mer almost fell from the ledge he had been perched on and hissed in pain from the sudden movement. His scales here dry; too dry for him to survive much longer without the water, so he wriggled off the side and splashed loudly in the water, sighing in relief as his body hydrated nicely. His stiff fin still managed to keep him afloat as he swam around the corner to catch a glimpse of the dry fin that seemed to be upset; surely it was because of its friends that Arlyn couldn't save.
 
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