Iguanatopia - ONC 2021 (Completed)

18: Captaintopia 1

No one said anything. No one moved. No one even blinked.

The crew just stood there and stared at the man in front of them, their captain, the magnificent captain Ignacio, in disbelief, unsure of whether they could actually believe their eyes. Perhaps he was just a wishful dream, a communal figment of their imaginations. Perhaps he would vanish into thin air if they took their eyes off him for just a second.

But the moments went by, and he still stood there. As real as the salty ocean and brisk air around them.

Alba acted first. She ran. She ran up and threw herself around Captain Ignacio's neck.

"Ouch," the man said as she squeezed too hard in an attempt to ensure herself he was of flesh and blood. His ribs protruded through the frayed shirt. The captain had lost a few pounds, probably on behalf of a diet consisting of mangos and guava, but he was undeniably real.

"Captain," Alba mumbled into his knotted chestnut-colored hair. "We thought you were gone forever."

"I'm right here," the captain replied. "And I've missed all of you."

Alba noticed the captain throwing a glance toward Grace as she released her grip on him. A smile graced the captain's lips and the stern woman smiled back. But before Captain Ignacio could walk over to his beloved Joe and Pedro attacked him from both sides in an ungentle embrace. All three men tumbled into the sand.

"Captain!" Pedro yelled. "You're back!"

"I always knew you would be!" Joe added.

"I never meant to leave," the captain said from under the two men. "And I'm not quite sure how I even ended up here. I remember walking around on deck, drunk out of my mind, when I saw an baby iguana in the water. It appeared to be struggling, so I decided to try to fish it out. The next thing I remember I was in the water. Then I woke up on this island, surrounded by talking lizards. I've been here ever since."

"I think I can perhaps help fill in some of the details," Ignacio, of the lizard variety, said and skittered up next to Alba. Despite knowing of his vocal ability, she still jumped slightly at the appearance of the talking lizard.

"The captain did save one of our younger brethren," the iguana said and threw a blaming look toward a smaller lizard behind him. "Rodrigo here had got lost in the waves."

"I... I was just exploring," Rodrigo stuttered with a bashful look. Because, yes, lizards can look bashful. "But I got too far from the shore. I wouldn't have been able to make it back."

In what seemed like an attempt at consolation, Oliviero walked up next to the small lizard and gave him a lick on the back. "You wanna play?!" the feline asked because a talking cat is still a cat and still obsessed with cat stuff. Soon the cat and the lizard were engaged in playful wrestling in the sand.

"We sent out an expedition to find Rodrigo," Ignacio continued."And we found him sitting on top of the captain, who was floating in the water. We thought he had already drowned but we brought the body with us back to our island. And once here, the captain suddenly woke up. Since he had proven himself to be a good man, by saving Rodrigo, we decided to let him stay on the island. But as the weeks went he seemed to feel lonely so we decided to fetch his crew, that he spoke so highly of, here to accompany him."

"So the map and this whole treasure hunt were just to show us the way here?" Alba asked, confused about how elaborate their journey to the island had been. "Why couldn't you just tell us the captain was here and where we should go?"

"Well, this island is well hidden," Ignacio explained. "You can't just sail here. The stones are the key to gain access to it. And unfortunately, I can't talk once I'm away from the island. So we made the map to show you where to go and I, who is the best surfer on these isles, set out to find you. We figured you humans, who are supposed to be so smart would figure the map out in no time... I thought it was quite straightforward."