[Aiden]

Given that two of his forms are feline, Aiden did not enjoy large bodies of water, or even pools of water. So when he'd heard news of a hijacked boat courtesy of Izekim Valedorus, Aiden had cursed his luck for being the closest guard to the scene. Even so, he had taken the assignment because it was his duty and the right thing to do. Normally they'd set up a bounty for these kinds of things, but the incident was fresh and Izekim was one of the high-alerts of the Guard, so the case took precedence over anything else. Izekim was a notorious criminal in at least three cities; the rogue nyad was guilty of multiple muggings, at least two murders that the guard knew of, and one kidnapping in Nubia. The sooner they put him out, the better.

In contrast to Aiden's vivid imagination of churning waters and a bumpy trip, the River Cora flowed languidly through the channels of Alexshire. It was wide and slow enough for Faris to maneuver the waters easily. Faris claimed to know where Izekim went, so Aiden had initially given Faris all steering rights to their rented watercraft. Their current ship had been borrowed courtesy of Faris's captain, afterall. However...

“Hind's teeth!” He cursed as they jerked away from a rock with aid from the Marid's element. The churning water made him sick, but breathing made him feel worse. He was too polite to say this out loud, but his travelling companion smelled like a year's worth of rotten eggs mixed with something musty.

To breathe cleaner air, Aiden stretched his face over the edge of the boat. “Hey. Is that your boat? And Izekim?”

[Faris]

Faris raised an eyebrow at the Alexandria Guard's swear; how unfortunate that a landlubber had been assigned to his case. Looking at the state he was in, Faris decided against asking the Elysian to start rowing the boat so he could rest. At any rate, rest was no longer an option the moment he glanced over the where the Alexandria Guard was looking at. Faris narrowed his eyes, not bothering to correct Mister Aiden Roy on the ownership of the vessel now that what he wanted to get back was in his sights

"You mean the one that seems to be in a hurry? Well, it does bear much resemblence with the missing vessel; I quite strongly recall that the series of gouges along the hull was made less than a week ago by a juvinile solomon." It had been a waste of opportunity when the beast swiftly fled once it had been counterattacked; the hide and teeth of such an exotic creature, even if not fully-grown, would be more than all the goods on the stolen vessel. Except that. For that, Faris was willing to chase this Izekim Valedorus to the ends of Elysia and then some more.

"Well, hold on tight." And do try lean over the side when you retch. Keeping the second half of his advice to himself and gripping the side of the small rented Piragua, Faris increased the speed of their pursuit. The immediate waters around them pulsed, fighting and overcoming the original current of River Cora, bringing them closer to their target. The two-person Piragua bobbed and swayed, as if it were riding down a series of rapids and not the leisurely length of Cora. As a marid and a fisherman, Faris was long used to turbulent rides. His companion on the other hand probably would not do so well, but Faris was too focused on catching up to the thief to offer a word of concern to the Therian.

[Aiden]

“Wow, you've seen a solomon?” Sightings of the manticores were as rare as eclipses, and they never occured in the same place twice. Aiden would have willingly jumped on a ship to see it in action (as long as it was a big ship). Staring at the fleeing watercraft, Aiden realized that the boat indeed had deep gashes on one of the edges, which was proof that even a juvenile solomon could deal considerable damage.

A terse warning was all that Aiden got before the small piragua sliced through the water. Water slapped the bottom of the boat as the watercraft bounced and wobbled its way quickly against the flow of the Cora. Aiden wasn't surprised by the marid's ability to do something like this, however he was taken off guard when the ship bobbed violently in the waters. He rarely travelled by ships, and he'd never been in a boat as small as this one. So when the boat jolted back and forth with the waves, the therian found himself thrown willy nilly. If he hadn't already been holding on, Aiden might have fallen off! It took a while before Aiden managed to gather his senses and crouch closer to the floor of the piragua.

Shoulders hunched, Aiden heard the buzz of his COM as his anyeli partner, Mikael, confirmed that he was heading toward the river to provide support. Squinting at the other boat, Aiden noticed Izekim bend and lift something into the air. “Watch out!” An arrow zipped past the side of their piragua, and another arrow split into the wooden bench. With the warning shots sent, the hijacker switched back to his oar. Each row pushed Izekim significantly further from the small piragua. That was no ordinary strength.

[Faris]

Faris growled in a rare display of emotion; he did not take kindly to his belongings being stolen, and then being shot at by the thief. Izekim Valedorus was going to regret it so very much once Faris caught up to him. It was a difficult task; the stolen dhowa was becoming progressively smaller, even while Faris sweated to keep it in their sights. They could not risk having the vessel disappear into any of the canals lining the length of River Cora that drained into the larger Alexandrian farms.

It would be easier for Faris to simply wreck the stolen vessel. There was more than enough of his element around, and judging by how hard Izekim was rowing, the man did not possess the ability to manipulate water. A defenseless target, but one he was reluctant to attack directly. The safety of his missing item was at stake. He would have to abandon speeding up their own boat; too little and the dhowa would get away, carrying everything it contained along with it, but too much and that was small enough to lost in the wreckage. Not to mention the angry captain that would be waiting for him back in Alexshire.

On the brighter side, if Izekim did not manage to shake them off he would be forced to avoid all the potential dead end. Which left the sole passage that led to open seas as the only option - River Theseus. Faris would have the advantage there, since excessive rowing helped little when the currents were already heading in the correct direction. Unfortunately this bright cloud had a dark lining; going that direction would bring them close to the Yondallar Rainforest. And where large forests were, so were infant hydras. Not exactly pleasant company to have.

Deciding he would have to change tactics after all, Faris spoke to the Alexandria Guard. "Mister Aiden, would you mind taking the oars for a while? I'm of a mind to push Izekim around for a bit." The waters around them slowed a little, as he prepared to change gear.

[Aiden]

“Push him all you want, but we want him alive,” said Aiden as he stared grimly at the figure they were pursuing. If Izekim was shooting arrows at them, they should be on the defensive, and they'd need to capture Izekim very quickly. This was troublesome. Things rarely ended well when two forces pushed against each other.

Though unaware of Faris's plans, Aiden took the oar from the zanaryan. Planting his feet flat on the floor of their borrowed piragua, Aiden rowed with all his might. It was a tougher feat than he had expected especially because they were moving against the flow of the river. The boat rocked with each motion of the oar.

Glancing around as he rowed, he spotted the figure of an anyeli gliding in the air. Mikael. Water was bane to most anyeli, so the anyeli would not go close to the river unless he really needed to. However, he would provide eyes from above.

((Feel free to GM Mikael. Up to you if you want to keep Mikael as backup. Otherwise I was thinking of Izekim attacking another boat to distract/block Faris, and Mikael would stay behind to help the capsized boat.))

[Faris]

He nodded his thanks to Aiden as he begun to man the oars. "Do not worry, I would like to capture him alive as well." For distinctly different reasons than the lawman, of course. By hook, crook, whips or brands he would get his tinderbox back. Having listened in to Aiden's COM he knew that there was backup present, essentially guaranteeing Izekim's capture should they be able to force him up-shore. Manipulating the currents once again, Faris begun to push dhowa towards the side of the river an attempt to force the man to dock.

Steadily Izekim started to drift leftwards, his ‘pushing’ so effective that the entire vessel was even beginning to turn. As with many things, it was much easier working with the current than against it. Then Faris saw Izekim bending once more. He got ready to duck for safety, but it was soon apparent that the wanted criminal's target was not them this time around. "Oh—Woah!" The man had shot arrows at a coracle up ahead. One that upon losing control, was heading straight for a head-on collision in their direction courtesy of the current.

Quickly switching his area of effect once again, Faris pushed the two meeting vessels slightly off-course before linking them together using the river water. Much like in a pulley system, he took advantage of the hapless coracle as a counter weight to push the piragua they were on up-and-left-wards along the river. It was a rocky ride, but they managed to gain a considerable distance on Izekim, and the stolen dhowa was once again safely in their sight. As an unfortunate side-effect though, the out-of-control civilian vessel was washed downstream to the right, capsizing easily on its way to the shore.

In a semi-apologetic manner Faris quipped, "It does seem like a civilian vessel needs help.” Right on cue Faris noticed a figure in the sky pass them by, recognising the man’s race by the feathered wings he sported. Ah, an Anyeli. Great lot of use where water’s involved. “And that Izekim's a harder man to catch than I thought. Any bright ideas, Mister Aiden? Unless directly attack him like he did to us is an option, I'm afraid I'm out of them."

[Aiden]

Keeping an eye on the escaping dhowa, Aiden dug the oars into the water before pushing them back. The repeated motion pushed their piragua into the same direction as Izekim, but the credit probably belonged more to the zanaryan than the therian. Water churned steadily and unnaturally below their rented boat, and Aiden was quickly accustomed to the sway of their transport. As Izekim crouched, Aiden became tense with reasonable suspicion. The criminal resurfaced with a bow that was pointed not in their direction, but--“Oh no.” As the arrows flew toward the coracle and one caught the driver in the shoulder, the coracle jolted and careened toward Faris and Aiden. Crap crap crap thought Aiden as the ship came closer and closer before Faris did something funny and their ship gained momentum as it danced around the other ship.

When it became apparent that their boat was still in one piece and gaining speed, Aiden resumed his rowing. His eyebrows furrowed with worry for the passengers who were hastily evacuating the capsized vessel. A white blur skimmed over the water and plucked the smallest child out of the waters. As Mikael placed the child on the shores, another Guard leapt from land and into the water and rose as a crocodile.

The distant figures in the water became smaller as their piragua sped toward Izekim. Eyeing the distant boat, Aiden thought a bit before sharing, “Suppose I shifted into something smaller and lighter. If I went into the water, could you help me catch up to Izekim?” Aiden was reluctant to swim and he did not frequent his otter form, but here his duty was much more important than his dislike for water.

[Faris]

Ah, how useful it must be to be a Therian... Though Faris held a certain degree of pride in being Zanaryan, he sometimes envied the ability to have multiple forms. He would not exchange the former for the latter, of course, but he did wish for such a convenience many a times. Even though he had just admitted to being out of ideas, he still paused before agreeing to Aiden's suggestion.

"Yes, that would be so. A word of warning however; providing protection in addition to speed, I can only assure that you will reach within a few handspans of the vessel unscathed. Further than that, you will be on your own. Chances are this piragua will once again lose distance on Izekim, and I can only control as efficiently as my point of view allows me to. Once you get on deck do your best to disrupt his rowing, but it should go without saying that your safety comes first and foremost."

Faris had little chance of getting to Izekim Valedorus on his own. If Aiden managed to stay alive though, the mere presence of the Therian would be able to distract Izekim long enough for Faris to catch up. And once he did the hunt would be pretty much over, if not even before then. Rubbing his hands, and getting ready to switch gears once again, Faris gave a nod to Aiden. "Ready whenever you are."

[Aiden]

As Faris spoke about the limits of their plan, Aiden eyeballed the distance between their ships. Once in the water (ew), he'd have the swim fast, and that combined with Faris's aid would hopefully bring him to face Izekim and that monstrous strength. Such a fun plan.

Taking a quick glance along their path, Aiden took note of potential obstacles in the river before ducking closer to the bottom of the boat. “Catch up quick,” he smiled at Faris before his face started to grow furry and his body shrank into less than a third of his size. As his arms grew stubby fingers shrank into paws, his uniform melted into brown fur.

With a chirp, a breath, and a hop, the river otter plunged into the water. It felt cold but not icy, and after a test-flip in the water, Aiden quickly turned his nose toward the larger boat and swam. He was free from the ship! No more wobbly motions! Where he would've fumbled and spluttered as a human in the water, the smaller otter cut through the river instead. After a few kicks with his legs and tail, the otter was caught by a strong current of water that led it straight toward the dhowa. Aiden wove past a boulder in the river, ducked under driftwood, and after a good few minutes of swimming and weaving, the scratched-up hull loomed quickly toward the otter. Ducking low before coming up with a burst of speed, Aiden leapt toward the boat.

More than half of his body was aboard the dhowa when Izekim advanced toward Aiden with a heavy oar in hand. Hind's teeth! chirped Aiden, and with a crunch and some pain in his knee, the otter popped back into a human. Fast shifts were messy, and one of his legs had locked while stretching out into a human's. He'd get over it, and soon. As the oar descended toward the crouched Guard, Aiden raised an arm to grab it. When Izekim kicked at him, Aiden wrenched the oar one way to topple the 'vari's balance.

[Faris]

Though he was supposed to keep his attention on the water currents, Faris could not help but watch Aiden's transformation from the corner of his eye. The process of transformation Therians underwent, from one form to another, was one of the many things of Elysia that fascinated him. He wondered if the change hurt, or if their skin itched like he had always imagined. Unconsciously, Faris wriggled his fingers as he saw how the Therian's hands morphed into webbed paws. When the change was complete, Aiden looked just like any other brown-furred otter, complete with a whiskered face bearing the species' characteristic curious but slightly puzzled look.

Faris broke into a smile, before hurriedly turning back to the task at hand. He felt the otter enter the river, and immediately adjusted the currents to ease the creature's upstream swim. It was an easy task at first, especially since Izekim Valedorus seemed not to have noticed Aiden's disappearance. As the difference between them lengthened though, Faris could feel himself straining to reach the water around the otter. The piragua he was on was slowing to almost a crawl too. Faris frowned and squinted, even though common sense told him that doing so would be of little use.

So it was with a sigh of relief that Faris reacted to the faint sense of the otter leaping out of his watery grip. With quick movement he took off his shoes, and then grabbed his trident. Folding his wings as closely as he could to his body, Faris entered the water. Skillfully he twisted the currents around himself, them to propel him forward. He was moving his body too; strong strokes breaking the surface of the water's surface from below at regular intervals. He was going at a good pace, but the distance was not a small one. In anticipation for the upcoming fight with Izekim, Faris was reserving much of his elemental strength. It was a crucial advantage against the thief's insane physical strength, and Faris had no intention of wasting it on a swim.

Then Faris recalled the Alexandria Guard's river-sickness. Pursing his lips after coming up for a breath of air, Faris decided that he would have to help out earlier than he preferred. Abandoning his own propulsion, Faris redirected his energies to stabilizing the stolen dohwa ahead, eyes narrowed still. Come on... Stay alive... I want my tinderbox back!

---

OOC: I figured Aiden would want to have some more alone time with Izekim, so have fun~ ;D *is shot*
and Aiden in otter-form...sooooo adorable *0*

[Aiden]

Back in human form, Aiden swayed unsteadily from the ship's rocking movements. His stomach lurched from the motion, but he was face-to-face with Izekim, and he was too busy trying to stay alive to worry about feeling sick. Izekim was ridiculously strong. Aiden realized that as the criminal overpowered his grip to regain control of the oar. With a grunt, Aiden lunged aside as Izekim tried to swing the oar at his head. Grasping one of the sail's ropes, he ducked behind the sail to obstruct Izekim's view of him. As expected, the aggressive 'vari soon came around to strike viciously in a series of calculated swings and jabs with the oar. However, Aiden matched Izekim's strength with speed as he quickly avoided each strike and lunge.

Eyes trained closely on the oar and Izekim's arms, Aiden let go of the sail and lunged as Izekim raised the oar behind his shoulders. Izekim's elbows were still bent as Aiden grabbed the 'vari's forearm with his left hand. His right elbow caught the thief's cheekbone, and he followed through by punching down on Izekim with the edge of his fist. Clamping his arms around the oar before Izekim recovered, Aiden wrenched the oar from Izekim's grip and tossed it into the water. He grabbed onto a rope of the sails as leverage to avoid Izekim's next tackle. But Izekim's arm caught him, and rope snapped out of its root as Aiden fell to the ground. Adrenaline surging through his veins, Aiden shoved both hands at Izekim as he grappled for the upper hand. Barely deflecting the elbow to his brow, Aiden dug his hand into Izekim's shoulder and pulled him in for a headbutt. His forehead collided with Izekim's nose, and he took that chance to flip over on top and deliver another punch.

((If Faris decides to attack too, feel free to GM Aiden. If he's hit, he's hit. ))

[Faris]

As Aiden and Izekim Valedorus fought for the upper hand, the dohwa they were on pitching from one side to the other. Faris could feel the uneven tremble caused by their struggles spreading across the water's surface. Bringing his arms over his head in another stroke, Faris continued to head upstream. He was not a particularly powerful swimmer; having relied on his elemental manipulation to aid him since he was capable of doing it. The trident he wielded was in the way as well. Luckily, he was still proficient enough to be able to progress against a slower-moving current like River Cora. It was simply a matter of effort, effort that he was none too willing to exert.

As Faris gained ground on the stolen watercraft, he caught glimpses of the situation on board the wobbling dohwa. He was unable to make much out of it however, and it was difficult to tell who had the upper hand. A heightened sense of urgency drove him to paddle his limbs harder and faster towards the on-going battle. He continued to push forward, and the dohwa grew larger and larger within his field of vision. With a final push, Faris launched himself forward, long legs gently undulating to get the most out of the thrust. His calculations were correct, and using the trident in his hands like some grappling hook Faris clambered on deck.

He arrived just in time to see Aiden's fist connect with Izekim's face. He would have laughed in vindictive glee at the sight, had the Dracovarian not used his enormous strength to pry Aiden off himself and fling the Therian to the side. Then the criminal's gaze turned in his direction, breathing hard and eyes full of bloodlust. Faris could feel a near-tangible intensity build up, but was unafraid. Mirroring Izekim's movement, he charged forward. Two steps before the two came to blows however, Faris craftily gathered the water that was all around to form a small puddle on the already-soaked deck. As Izekim slipped and lost his balance, Faris strode forward once more.

Inertia was a scary thing indeed. His own legs arcing forward to strike at Izekim's, Faris reversed the direction of the tinderbox-thief's fall. Faris knew they, or he at least, had to end the brawl quickly. Only for as long as he was able to manipulate water would he have the upper hand. It was best to make the best out of it; and it was without hesitation that Faris let the prongs of his trident slide into Izekim's body. The simple and sleek steel retreated out of bleeding flesh as Izekim continued to stumble backwards, clutching at his abdomen and his face contorted with pain and rage.

Faris' own countenance was bland, and without a hint of remorse. "Opps?"

---

OOC: lol does hitting the deck/mast/insert-innocent-object-here count? Btw feel free to GM Faris around as well. He's not exactly the best fighter in town so yea, getting hit/thrown about would make sense XD

[Aiden]

His only focus in the fight was to knock out Izekim. And stay alive—but that was a no-brainer. Heartbeat accelerating as the 'vari grasped the back of his shirt and flung him aside, Aiden grunted as he hit the deck and slid a few feet more. Wood cracked behind him as he collided into the wall of the boat. Blinking dazily, Aiden grasped at the railings for leverage.

The boat rocked heavily as Izekim's new opponent joined the fight. The Zanaryan did not waste any time utilizing their surroundings. As Izekim slipped and fell, Faris's trident arm slipped forward. The steel was tugged in opposite directions as Faris held onto the weapon and Izekim stumbled the other direction. As the trident slid back out and left two identical holes in Izekim's middle and side, Aiden's eyes widened and his brows furrowed with concern.

Belly-cuts were one of the worst injuries. If Izekim didn't die from blood-loss, he'd die of a slow and agonizing infection. However, still fueled by rage and bloodlust, the 'vari howled and wrapped his arms around a crate and threw it at Faris. The zanaryan sort-of ducked, but the crate still caught him at the side and sent him toward the mast. The large throwing motion only intensified the bloodflow from the puncture wound, and with that, Izekim fell onto his back. Seeing that Faris seemed winded but unharmed, Aiden rushed to the 'vari's side.

Blood gushed from the dual puncture wounds—and the criminal was bound to die unless there was a miracle—or an extremely talented healer—neither of which was present. Izekim was scum, but Aiden valued life, so it was with a heavy heart that he approached the fallen vari. Pushing aside Izekim's attempts to fight back and struggle, Aiden wrapped his hands around the 'vari's head and twisted it. After hearing bone crack, he let go and stood back. “Damn it all.”

[Faris]

If nothing else, Izekim Valedorus was one heck of a persistent lizard. Faris had not been expecting the man to be able to move, much less toss a crate at him. His attempt to dodge the large projectile did not go too well; the crate rammed into his left abdomen. Once again he was reminded of the power of momentum - the direct impact of the crate hurt and knocked the wind out of him, but the moment he felt his feet leave the surface of the deck he knew he was in for another round of pain.

Having worked on the vessel, Faris knew exactly where, and what, he was headed for. He frantically gathered the last of his mental reserves and directed it to the creation of a cushion between him and the mast. Knowing that something would snap if he tried to brace himself for the imminent impact, Faris counter-intuitively relaxed his body. Dislocated joints were quite a bit more desirable than broken bones, in his opinion. His left shoulder made contact with his thin wall of water, pushing through the flimsy cushion, marginally slowed, to make contact with the mast. Faris was relieved that there were no ominous popping-cracks coming from that part of his body. Still, the impact was not a light one, and he crumpled, sliding down till he was half-curled into a ball at the bottom of the mast.

Faris was no soldier, and was an inadequate fighter at best. Enduring pain did not come naturally to him, but he knew he had to get up and make sure Izekim Valedorus would not have a chance to hurl crates at him again. The Zanaryan shook his head to reassert his sense of balance, and gingerly probed his shoulders, flexing his wings. There would be some artistic bruises the next day, but his preliminary assessment stated that his bones were fine. A low hiss escaped clenched teeth as he stood, moving over to where Aiden was.

Izekim Valedorus was motionless now, finally. The dracovarian's head was titled at an odd angle, like puppet without strings. Apart this initial consideration of the dead dracovarian, Faris searched the pockets of Izekim's clothes without hesitation. He found a number of things, both odd and mundane but none were of interest. Not to him anyway. The Therian guard might find the contrabands something worth reporting to his superiors about. As he searched, worry suffused Faris' face, thinning his lips into a terse line. When all the pockets had been emptied, he got up and disappeared below deck without saying a word, leaving Aiden with the corpse of Izekim.

[Aiden]

As soon as the 'vari's head hit the floor, Aiden backed away from the body and walked toward the masts. Izekim would have died either way, and a twisted neck was less agonizing than blood loss or having the insides dissolved by stomach acid. This is what Aiden reasoned as he walked past Faris and reached for one of the rope that had gotten loose during the fight. He knew very little about ships, but seeing as the sail's ropes had been tied to something before it was wrenched out, Aiden decided to tie it back where it belonged.

While he crouched to secure the knot, Aiden glanced toward the zanaryan. The water-manipulator was rummaging through Izekim's clothes and dumping various items onto the deck in the process. Usually one did not pick through a fallen man's belongings, but this was a thief who'd just stolen the ship of Faris's employer and possibly more, so Aiden did not comment on the zanaryan's behavior. By the time Aiden finished tying the rope, Faris was already up and going below deck. From Faris's expression, the zanaryan had not found what he had been seeking on Izekim's person.

Placing one bruised knee on the floor, Aiden bent to examine a wooden medallion that had been in Izekim's pockets. The wood had been engraved with a hydra encircling a triangle, an emblem of one of a Nubian gang. Tangled with the medallion's chain was another necklace with a pricey-looking sapphire. Finding a leather pouch and opening it, Aiden poured some of the contents and whistled. Wolfsbane seeds, he recognized with a frown. Why was Izekim here instead of in Nubia, and where had he gotten these things? Now Aiden wished that he'd spoken to Izekim some more.

A scraping sound drew Aiden's attention toward the side of the ship tha faced down the river. “Um, Faris?” said Aiden as he leaned over the entrance below decks, “A little help steering?” The ship was wobbling off course, and the scrape had been over a small rock jutting out of the river. There were a couple more up ahead, so Aiden stumbled his way toward the steering thing.

[Faris]

"Coming~!"

Faris came up again, in much better spirits than he had gone down with. In fact, the normally bland-faced Zanaryan now had a undisguised smile on his face, even going as far as to whistle merrily. Given that whistling was a somewhat newly acquired skill he had picked up second-hand from the sailors in Espur, it was no surprise that the tune was a rather distorted one.

“Just turn it way you want the ship to go, and we should be fairly alright~”

Pulling himself a barrel to the side of the dhowa, Faris took a seat by the rails. Out of habit he let his fingers trail over the surface of River Cora, lazily observing the currents. The Zanaryan made no move to take command of the wheel; the dhowa was a sturdy kind of vessel. They would do just fine; it was just going to be slightly bumpy ride. If they truly wanted to command the vessel, at least another three people would be needed to help out. Dhowa in general were not designed for small crews, much less a mere two people. Faris really had to give credit to Izekim Valedorus, managing to man the vessel upstream for so long.

Less than a minute of rest later however Faris was on his feet once more, ignoring the lurching deck beneath him. The smile was gone now, his face grim and lined with worry.

“Hey, I don’t know about you but I’m not up for another fight. Something in these waters is coming after the dhowa. And fast. We need to high-tail off this vessel before whatever it is catches up with us.”

[Aiden]

The zanaryan had been so sullen throughout their chase that his change of tone was almost alarming. For a disoriented moment, Aiden nearly believed that there had been a fourth person hiding below deck. Wrapping his fingers around the steering wheel, Aiden spared a glance toward Faris as the zanaryan smiled and whistled. “Just turn it,” he muttered with skepticism before frowning with worry as the wheel jolted from a bump in the waters. Tightening his grip around the handle, he quickly turned the boat away from an oncoming rock. The sudden turn made the whole boat shake unsteadily until Aiden realized that he'd turned the wheel too much and compensated for it. All the while, Faris remained seated by the rails as if the ride was nothing uncommon. If this was what Nate did on a regular basis, then Aiden was glad that he never joined his brother in merchanting.

As if doused by cold water, the zanaryan stood abruptly. Faris's smile dissolved quickly as he spoke of a potential fight in the water.

“Dammit to Hel, abandon ship?” Aiden huffed as he jerked his hold on the steering wheel. They'd chased Izekim out of Alexshire in order to regain the ship, and Aiden was unwilling to leave it. However, if the underwater creature was as nasty as Faris described it, they'd better get out of the water. As he shakily turned the ship toward the nearest shore, he asked, “How big is this thing? What is it? Can we land this thing?” If they anchored it, perhaps they could return to it once the danger was over. The shoreline was still many ship lengths away, and as Aiden glanced into the waters for signs of a dark shadow, the muscles in his jaw tensed.

[Faris]

Faris had always wondered if migrating animals ever deviated from their usual path. Why this particular individual had decided to head over to River Cora when its peers headed to the open sea would remain a mystery to him, but Faris found himself wishing that the Ao Sea had been a little more alluring to this little baby. It was obvious that the shack-sized reptile had taken an interest in the dhowa and would be catching up in a matter of seconds.

"Yes, we're definitely abandoning ship! Land it or crash it, either is fine with me - I belong to the school of thought that advocates avoiding hydras, adults and babies alike."

Hydras were a force to be reckoned with, even in infancy. What they lacked in finesse and agility they made up for in size and speed. Easy to avoid, not so easy to out-run. Faris had sensed the beast, and from the sheer presence and movement he was certain that it was a hydra.

They needed to delay the monster, to distract it somehow. Faris moved around the deck, and located an almost-empty quiver that belonged to the recently-deceased Izekim. He gathered as many of the heavy bolt-like arrows as he could in one hand, and flung them as far away as he close. Relying on his ability and not sight alone, he aimed at a spot close to the hydra. A hail of iron rained onto the glassy undulating surface of the river, and in the next moment two long lizard-like heads broke the surface.

Sharp fangs sliced through air as the baby hydra snapped its fang-lined maws open and shut angrily. It thrashed around as well, creating large surges of water all around it. The dhowa bobbed up and down unsteadily, but the force helped to push the vessel closer to the shore. The two would be connecting soon and by the looks of it, the meeting was going to be a rough one.