Farran dropped no more than ten feet and hit the wooden decks which creaked and protested under the sudden weight. His injury stabbed at him upon landing, almost berating him for the stunt. Something that he should have taken into account before doing it. Still, it seemed a smarter decision compared to having two enormous dragons land in front of the opposition so he ignored the painful distraction and straightened up looking upon a crew of at least fifteen hunters, slightly less than half the expected capacity on board a ship as large as this. It was likely the others were down below deck working away, but right now it was these hunters in front of him that were Farrans biggest concern.

He knew he had no weapon on him, the riders had seen to that. The group before him however did not share the same misfortune as they were armed to the teeth and likely ready for whatever riders tried to strike. It was probably due to his unexpected entrance that they weren't already at their battle stations. They were waiting to see if he was a threat or not, and it wouldn't be long before they decided to find out for themselves.

The hunter kept his tired expression in check as best he could, unsure if any of the hunters would be clever enough to try and take advantage of his condition. But for now he still carried the element of surprise and he didn't wish to waste it. At any moment the shock would wear off and who knew what chaos would happen then. Farran breathed in, standing tall and as proud as he could and was about to speak when a single sailor beat him to it. He only muttered a single word.

"Captain?"

Captain. He had never expected to hear that word addressed to him ever again and was just as surprised to hear it as the man was to say it. It was enough to give him a sense of hope that the situation wasn't as grim as he first expected. After all if this one hunter had recognized him then any others that served him before would soon quickly follow suit. And it did. Not all but certainly the majority seemed to take a closer look before they too seemed to adopt the same open mouth, eyes wide reaction. At least most of the original crew was still standing it seemed. Farran decided to act.

"Unshakable Oath. It is good to see you again." He called out confident, but ready to grab the nearest weapon he could find, just to be on the safe side. Or as safe as he could be at this point. Did they prefer their new commander who no doubt sat in the captains quarters allowing those beneath him to work and toil at his every whim, or was his own no nonsense, tough but fair routine enough to win these men back over?

His question was soon answered as all but two of the group came forth, muttering between each other before after what felt like an eternity, one came to a conclusion. "It is good to see you too sir."

"We heard you were dead!" Uttered a second.

"Cut up by Viggo back on the island."

Farran scowled. Of course they would have been lied to. Anything to cover up his mysterious disappearance. "Did Ryker feed you these lies?" He failed to keep the venom dripping from his voice.

"No. Destro told us before he claimed this ship as his own. Placed one of his own men as captain and kept us on a tight leash since."

Destro? It had been a while since Farran had given that bastard any thought. If the man currently in charge of the Unshakable Oath was anything like his predecessor then it was no surprise that his own appearance had been a sight for sore eyes. Or at least most of them. Unknown to him the two that had stayed their positions went unnoticed as they whispered amongst each other until one headed towards the captains quarters. The other glared at the unwanted stowaway with a lack of empathy for whatever tales he would soon spew.

"Then allow me to crush those lies and tell you the truth." Farran wasted no time informing his former crew of what had happened. There was nothing that was spared from his explanation, from the moment he had been stabbed up to the point that he had just left to encounter the ship. Everyone seemed to listen while remaining wary of the circling dragons above. Obviously there were questions that followed. Mostly along the lines of why he was working with the riders now. Farran had expected them to confront him on this.

"The riders and I have... formed a temporary alliance. Ryker is too dangerous for either one side to handle and it is thanks to him that Viggo, his own brother is gone."

"Viggo is dead?" One hunter called out.

"I... do not know." Farran admitted somewhat melancholy. "The last I saw of him was when he was kicked into a hole by the madman himself, just before he tried to kill me."

"And we're meant to follow orders from them now?" Another called out pointing up to the winged lizards, still holding their position.

Farran glared at the one who boldly spoke those words.

"No." He uttered loud and clear in a voice that no one dared speak back at. "I am under no ones command, and nor will you ever be under theirs. This was my ship before Destro claimed what was never his to take. You were my crew before he sent his underling to do his dirty work of controlling you. I would have it back and free you from this servitude if you would let me." Farran breathed in, ready to ask the final question. What might be his final nail in the coffin. "So what say you?"

Silence. Uncomfortable silence is what follow for long drawn out seconds. Hunters looked to each other as though expecting each other to answer for them. Soon though, one found himself stepping forward. He carried a hopeful smile.

"I think we'd like th-"

"WHAT IN ODINS NAME IS GOING ON OUT HERE?!"

A loud foul voice tore through the air and befouled everyones ears. It was as harsh and as cruel as the crack of a whip and carried more rage than a monstrous nightmare. The hunters stepped away and parted enough for Farran to view the newcomer storm out of the main quarters accompanied by the two men that hadn't been curious about his arrival. He wasn't as large as his master but Destros pawn looked as despicable as they came. A rotten sneer, long black hair, pale skin and a noticeable gut were his most pleasant features. Everything else was dirty and uncared for, hidden behind an attitude that matched a spoiled child. And it wasn't long before his eyes met Farrans. Somehow his smirk was worse than his rage.

"Well well, if it isn't dear little Farran himself." He mocked through yellowed teeth. "Come to see how a real captain does things?"

"You know who I am?" Farran asked, feet planted firmly, ready for whatever tricks he might try.

"Destro told us plenty about you." He strode closer. "A boy pretending to be a man just as much as those damn dragon riders like to pretend they're heroes, heh. Speaking of which..." He looked up to see the riders and their dragons looking down at him with malice. He did not seem all too concerned as he huffed in amusement and soon paid attention back to the former captain. "How low you must have sunk to side with scum, hm? A sorry state for your crew to see."

"I am not the one who stabbed Viggo in the back and wiped out half of the dragon hunters!" Farran answered back with authority, not allowing himself to be pushed back. "Ryker and your foolish master have cut our numbers in half and for what? The chance to step out of someone elses shadow for the sake of some self-proclaimed glory?"

"You watch that tone!" The greasy captain screeched. His temper flared up right away from the small insult. "I will not be talked back to by some wannabe hunter!"

"And what do you plan to do about it?"

Farrans answer was the sound of drawn steel. The pawn had pulled out a sword and was pointing it at Farran. "Come over and I'll show you."

The former captain narrowed his eyes and in turn took another sword from a nearby weapons rack. Now there was only one way this was going to go. A predictable route but one he planned to meet head on.

At least until the razorwhip was through sitting on the sidelines and in a flash inserted itself between the two before the could get close enough to trade blows. Hunters gasped in surprise yet miraculously none struck. Its snarls were enough to hold them and the pawn at bay while Farran instead found himself quite furious at the interruption. Especially when Heather jumped off before him. How many times did this lone rider wish to interrupt him?

"What are you doing?" Farran growled in a hushed tone as the surrounding hunters seemed just as confused. There was no doubt that she was making him look weak before the hunters with whatever she was now trying to accomplish.

"What am I doing, what are you doing?" She responded. "Do you really think you're capable of fighting? Do I really have to remind you of the state you were in before we set off?"

Farran brushed off the rhetorical question. "This is my ship. If I have the chance to take it back I will."

"This isn't what we're here for." She pointed out. "This wasn't the plan."

"It is now."

"If you really think I'm going to let you-" Heather began only to be cut off by the hunter right away.

"Do you believe you could beat him?"

Heather looked back at Destro's lackey, slightly disgusted by his state but managed to face Farran again and responded. "Of course I could!"

"Then I will be fine. I bested you well enough in combat the only time we properly fought. This scum will be easy."

He didn't wait around as he moved forwards past Heather, hoping that the conversation hadn't changed any of the crews minds. They didn't seem to pay attention to the dragon still onboard which was something of a good sign. Heather herself was almost ready to drag the idiot back and get him out of here, only she couldn't do that now that she had thrown herself right into the thick of the hunters. While her dragon would likely be able to deflect most arrows and melee blows, she most certainly would not. At least not before making it to her dragon and departing. There were too many to deal with, even with Fishlegs still hovering above.

She hadn't been wrong about his injury though. Ever since jumping onto the deck the wound stung painfully as though a terrible terror was constantly plucking at the skin. Still, it wasn't bad enough that Farran couldn't ignore it and prevent showing it as an obvious weak point that the pawn could exploit. He passed the Windshear which stopped snarling as he entered her sights. The crowd moved further back until there was enough space for the two contestants to trade blows without concern of striking someone other than themselves. They looked to be interested, eager and even worried with how the upcoming battle would play out.

"What, did you need permission from your masters to fight?" The black haired man grinned.

Farran muttered something under his breath before raising his sword. Petty insults would not keep him from taking back what was his. The pawn lost his smile as soon as he realized that he wasn't going to get a response and looked ready to swing down on Farrans head. The young hunter breathed in and out, remaining calm and ready. He couldn't help but think back to the fight against Heather that he had mentioned earlier. How they had traded blow after blow in the depths of a dusty dungeon months back. His only fight against another human. Would this one fare the same? Would it be easier perhaps? He didn't know. What he did know was that he was going to put his all into beating this lackey of Destro and anyone else that stood in his way. With a shuffle of the foot and a charge forwards, he struck first and slammed his blade down aiming for the mans head and in return steel met steel. And all anyone else could do was watch.