The first wave met them sooner than expected.
It didn't crash against them, luckily, since he wasn't sure yet if the boat could even handle it; instead, it lifted them.
The dinghy rose slowly, the bow climbing the dark slope of water as if scaling a moving hill.
Being inside the boat, this was still a very horrifying sight, one no captain would want to see, but when it happens, you have to take responsibility and survive.
The wood groaned beneath the strain, ropes pulling tight as the sail snapped violently in the rising wind.
Aether's feet stood firm, trying not get swept off in the water. And yet he didn't hesitate.
He pulled the tiller slightly toward him, angling the boat so it wouldn't take the swell from the side. The hull cut diagonally into the wave instead of meeting it flat. The climb steepened. For a moment, the sky was all they could see.
'Well, this is not what I was expecting to do today.' His grip tightened on the tiller.
Then the bow tipped forward.
