Out of Character:
The salty waves buoyed Breaker’s body and the long oaken plank he clung to. He floated in the ocean perhaps two miles off the eastern coast of Corone. When the swells rose he could see the individual trees of the great forest Concordia. When the swells fell he could see nothing but water. Droplets sparkled over the Y-shaped scars on his cheeks as he looked up at the cloudless blue sky. A newborn sun stood on shaky legs, having only just crested the horizon. The warmth on his face contrasted the ocean’s cool caress.
Joshua “Breaker” Cronen waited patiently. He had yet to hear his goddess’ voice.
How is your saucy little redhead? Am’aleh asked at last. Not even Thaynes could escape jealousy’s clever claws.
“She is well,” Josh said. A sudden swell rose up and swallowed him. He surfaced, coughing and sputtering. “Very funny, oh Patron of the Sea.”
You should go to her, Am’aleh urged, her voice soft and nurturing. In the distance a large wave rose above the rest, white-capped and insistent. But return to me, the goddess reminded, always return to me…
Josh heaved his body atop the carved wooden plank and balanced carefully, his magical black boots adhering to the surface. The wave washed in, and he rode it like light rides a shooting star, always and never there. His black, sodden pants and shirt clung to a chiseled chest and tapered hips. The wind howled in his ears with the speed of the surf, which forced him to dive and tumble in the shallows when he neared the shore.
The demigod rose in a shower of droplets and raced up the beach. As he ran the water saturating his clothing and hair simply stayed behind. He entered the forest along a path of pine needles, which swept into cyclones with the speed of his passage. He breathed easily and steadily, enjoying the fresh forest air. He had a reason to run, besides the enjoyment of exercise. He was on his way to meet his other lady… the mortal, human one, and she drew him like iron to a lodestone.
The forest gave way to a town, and Breaker jogged along the outskirts at the pace a fast man sprints. Through thickets and meadows he came to a secluded little clearing that contained a single cottage with smoke billowing from the chimney.
Josh smiled as he slowed to a walk, and dimples formed beneath the Y-shaped scars on his cheeks. The last time he’d seen McKinley Parish, she had kissed him, and then played some of the most beautiful music he’d ever heard on violin. He hoped she would play for him again, looking forward to the song of the strings, as well as seeing what she might do next. And… he had a surprise for the fine-boned female.
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