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A fit red Lupe, wearing all ratty clothes, strode through
Krawk Island as if it were his home. He wore a dark blue dirty bandana over his
head like pirates wear and dirty cut-off shorts with a thick leather belt. He
hardly ever wore a shirt over his fairly muscled body. His name was Brazen Ice.
What Brazen Ice didn't realize was that, just
above and behind him a ways, he was being followed. A strong, and alert shadow
Lupe, bigger than him, was watching and following. Nobody even noticed the big,
shadow bounty hunter perched atop Little Nippers. This Lupe wasn't quite the
kind to fit in with the inhabitants of Krawk Island, as he actually maintained
his hygiene fairly well and didn't speak with the drawling pirate accent.
The bounty hunter slid down the side of the
roof silently, sending a few loose shingles flying, and landed in a small rowboat
with only the softest "thud". He ducked down immediately as Brazen Ice passed
him.
Brazen Ice tilted his head back as he took a
swig from some kind of common pirate drink that the shadow Lupe didn't identify.
Shaking the last few drips of it into his eagerly awaiting mouth, he threw it
behind him off the road, landing in the same rowboat the shadow Lupe was in.
WAS in. The swift, silent, and unnoticeable antics of this Lupe were amazing.
However he did it, he was now on top of the Armada building.
Brazen Ice kept going, fitting in surprisingly
well with the others. He strode casually into the Swashbuckling Academy and
approached Cap'n Threelegs. Threelegs seemed extremely annoyed to see him. The
shadow Lupe groaned with annoyance, but watched anyway.
"Arr, ye cheatin', backstabbin', no-good yeller-bellied
annoyance!" the Captain greeted. "I has says it before, and here it is for ye
again. I sees the color of yer money BEFORE the training starts! Did the lad
hear right? I DON'T WORK FOR FREE!"
The red Lupe coolly put his hands up. "Aye,
Cap'n, if it's the color of me money ye wants, then here's the color of me money."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a one coin dubloon. This time, the
Cap'n seemed surprised, yet pleased.
"Aye, lad, now that's more like it. Which kind
of course will ye be lookin' for today? I'll teach ya all me old tricks!" the
Captain said, a friendly smile now set on his face (well, for a pirate, anyway).
"Level," Brazen Ice replied simply, and the
shadow Lupe watched the whole thing before his course was finally through. As
Brazen Ice walked out the door, the shadow Lupe dived down on him, and they
tumbled for a bit. The shadow Lupe was much stronger and slightly older, though,
and quickly held him firm.
"Where did you get that dubloon?" the shadow
Lupe snarled. Brazen Ice rolled his eyes and loosened his brother's wrenching
grip.
"I found it," Brazen Ice growled in reply. "And
quit followin' me, Shadow! Did harpytimber5 send ye after me? Tell me the truth."
"That's not what's important," Shadow quickly
talked back. "You know that if you ever find anything useful or worth any Neopoints
you give it to harpytimber5 right away. HE'LL know what to do with it."
"Arr, it ain't me fault if he's poor, ye know."
"But it's not just him that's poor, WE'RE poor.
Legally, we are under his ownership. I don't like believing it myself, but we
all live in the same house that harpytimber5 bought and built. You'll get away
with this one, but don't do it again." Shadow turned around and began on the
road out of Krawk Island. He got a few nasty glares from the pirate commoners,
as he didn't really fit in with this place.
Brazen Ice watched him leave, then wiped the
mud off his body from when they tumbled. He turned his neck to the side solidly,
letting out a loud cracking noise. He began to walk forward along the main walking
path, towards the Smuggler's Cove.
A few minutes later he was there, and he entered
the cave, same pirate-like expression always. It was empty, nothing but the
cold solid floor and the unfriendly stalactites hanging down from the ceiling.
He then saw something in a corner. Looking closer to investigate, it was a bottle
that half contained the bubbly, addictive liquid that was extremely common with
pirates. Brazen Ice picked it up, waving it under his nose to smell. Approving
somehow, he took a swig from it.
He sat down slowly, back against the slightly
damp but solid wall. One leg he stretched out, the other he bent, and he put
the pirate drink on the ground with his hand still around it as if to protect
it. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, slowly drifting
away...
* * *
A pain in Brazen Ice's side suddenly woke him. He looked up to see a snarling
pirate Krawk kicking him awake, one of the smugglers. The ship was docked, and
the other smugglers were just starting to unload their stolen goods into the
cave.
"Arr, ye gonna slump in the way 'till we moves
ya by force, or is ye smart and gonna get up and help me hearties unload?" the
Krawk hissed, some loose saliva flinging from his dirty mouth.
Brazen Ice got up and gulped down the rest of
his drink, then threw it behind him to hear it clink on the hard cave ground.
The Krawk gave him a strong shove toward the bottle, a look of disgust on his
already disgusting face.
"Arrr! When cops come investigate the scene,
ye can't leave any evidence behind, ye darn fool! Pick up yer bottle," the Krawk
snarled. Brazen Ice snorted and began to walk past him, only to be given a stronger
shove. The Krawk's sharp hookhand dug into his stomach.
"Aye, I think ye best be smart enough to listen
to me words, matey. Arr, and let it be a lesson to ya, always listen to the
pirate with the bigger sword." The Krawk leaned in close to whisper it to him,
and afterwards gave him a sly grin, showing his yellow-stained, chipped teeth.
With a growl, Brazen Ice did as the Krawk commanded,
but kept his eye on him the whole time. He then started off to the ship. A few
dirty smugglers of various species were headed to the cove with their arms loaded
with valuables. As Brazen Ice entered the ship, there were still various items
scattered around. He picked a few up that he didn't even recognize and with
a grunt, hauled them back to the cove.
The unkept Lupe started back to the ship. He
walked up the ramp, only to be shoved by an oncoming Skeith with a full load.
Brazen Ice snarled and shoved the Skeith back, making him drop a few items.
The Skeith abruptly dropped his load and jumped on Brazen Ice unexpectedly They
wrestled for a few seconds before the Skeith got up and unsheathed his sword.
Holding it ready in one arm, with the other arm he lifted Brazen Ice by the
neck from the ground. Brazen Ice's large red paws instantly reacted from the
pressure on his neck, gripping the Skeith's powerful arm. The Skeith snorted
and threw Brazen Ice several feet so that he was on the deck of the ship.
Brazen Ice's eyes opened, his head still rested
on the hard, splintery wood. The ship was empty, and all the valuables had been
unloaded. But then his sharp eyes picked up something else, in a corner. Interested,
he played defeated until the Skeith walked away. As soon as the Skeith was out
of sight, he jumped to his feet and ran to the corner. He looked around first
for any more pirates. They were all up at the cove, sorting the goods and selling
them. He then looked down at what was gathering dust in the corner. It was a
full treasure map!
Staring down with delighted shock at the full
treasure map, Brazen Ice automatically glanced over his shoulder and all around
to see if any more pirates were around. Quite sure there was nobody, he picked
up the old treasure map that was taped together gingerly, trying not to ruin
anything of it. Rolling it up carefully he stuck it in his pocket and departed
quietly from the ship.
A loud stomp on the ship's ramp caused him to
quickly turn around. A very large Jetsam pirate stood grinning slyly. Or maybe
he was snarling. Either way, his teeth were bared. Brazen Ice froze in surprise.
He was sure that nobody had been on the ship at the time. But he knew that this
Jetsam smuggler knew his little secret.
The two pirates stood stock still, one in surprise
but the other grinning evilly (or maybe he was snarling?). Suddenly, Brazen
Ice spun on his heels and ran. He took to all fours for extra speed, running
for his life. Being nearly a pirate himself, he knew what pirates could, and
would, do to someone who had taken something they had rightfully stolen.
Brazen Ice just kept running, shoving through
traffic. Finally he found it safe to turn a corner and slipped in to the Swashbuckling
Academy. Panting hard, he looked around. Captain Threelegs was in the middle
of a training session with a young blue Aisha and a young fire Wocky. The Eyrie
glanced over at Brazen Ice, pausing from their training.
"Aye, me old matey, has ya got another dubloon
ye'd like to share?"
Brazen Ice shook his head.
"I'll just be stayin' here as a getaway, ye
don't mind, do ya Cap'n?" The young red Lupe asked, constantly peeking his head
out the door. The old Eyrie frowned, but turned back to his students. Brazen
Ice knew this meant he could stay for a bit. Slyly, he strolled up behind the
Aisha and Wocky and sat down, making himself comfortable. The Captain noticed
him, of course, and frowned, raising a brow at the same time.
"Arr, and just what do ya think ye'd be doin'?"
Threelegs questioned with a bit of a snarl, which wasn't uncommon.
"Aye, Cap'n, it's a bit boring just waiting
over by the door, so what difference would it make if I just sat here?" Brazen
Ice defended himself innocently, but unseen by the Captain, he was wearing a
sly grin.
"Well... ahh, go ahead matey, just don't be
a bother to me students, arr!" the Eyrie replied, almost with a bit of a shriek
in his voice.
Brazen Ice sat through the entire session, secretly
practicing every strength exercise while the Captain wasn't watching. By the
end of the course, he had gained in strength. And so, he had finally cheated
ol' Cap'n Threelegs, but it still remained unknown to the Eyrie, and it was
a good thing it had.
Finally, Brazen Ice felt it safe to leave the
premises of the building, a little more confident with himself that he had just
got a free training session. A few feet away from the building, he was suddenly
tackled roughly by a large smuggler Jetsam. He wrestled back, but the Jetsam
was way larger and stronger and held him down while he drew his sword, holding
it ready.
"ARR, WHERE BE ME MAP?!" the Jetsam snarled.
Brazen Ice felt like closing his eyes and accepting his fate as the Jetsam searched
his pockets. Surprisingly, it wasn't there! Brazen Ice jumped to his feet though
still being held by the smuggler and searched his pockets himself. Sure enough,
his pockets were empty. He looked up with terror at the Jetsam, whose already
short temper seemed to be decreasing rapidly.
"I swear, I had it just a minute ago, I must
have dropped it along me trail..." Brazen Ice quickly defended himself, only
to be interrupted by the Jetsam. The huge neopet lifted Brazen Ice from the
ground by his neck. Brazen Ice's paws instantly grabbed the Jetsam's arm/flipper,
trying to pry it loose but to no avail. He struggled to gasp for air. It was
now the second time the Lupe had been lifted by the neck today, and if his shaggy
fur on his neck wasn't already red, it would have been by now anyway.
"Arr, that be a full treasure map ye took from
me. Does ye know how much work it takes to steal all those pieces?" The Jetsam
whispered to him, but Brazen Ice knew that inside his head he was roaring it.
The Lupe's eyes darted around in thought.
"Well, yeah, I had just stole one from you,"
he choked out the words. It was hard enough to breathe when being held up by
your neck, let alone talk. The vise-grip on his neck tightened, not letting
him breathe.
"ARRR, I don't like yer attitude!" the Jetsam
bellowed. Brazen Ice felt like he was going to pass out.
Suddenly, a large shadow figure of a Lupe swung
down, knocking into the Jetsam and making him let go of Brazen Ice. The Lupe
quickly grabbed the sword, holding the Jetsam firm. He held the smuggler's own
sword at his throat.
"Aye, Cap'n, I beg yer mercy!" the Jetsam wailed,
closing his eyes. Being a pirate, he was used to the pirate ways and how they
were merciless. He hadn't even seen the shadow Lupe behind him and how he wasn't
even near a pirate. He even called his defeater the highest pirate rank to persuade
him.
The Lupe threw the sword and let go of the Jetsam,
then gave him a firm kick.
"GIT, don't look behind you, and your life will
be spared." The shadow Lupe yelled with fake authority. The Jetsam, though,
did just as he was told.
Brazen Ice got up. "What took ya so long? If
yer always followin' me, why can't ye come to me aid a little sooner?" He snarled
at his brother. The whole time, Shadow was shaking furiously.
"I had a little... delay," Shadow lied. Even
his brother didn't know his secret fear of Jetsams. He began to shake uncontrollably.
Brazen Ice raised a brow. Shadow's shaking calmed and he scratched the back
of his neck casually.
"I assume you're heading home," Shadow said,
looking at the darkening sky and trying to put his brother in an awkward situation.
That reminded Brazen Ice of the map!
"Aye, soon, I just gotta finish up with me business.
Ye go ahead without me," Brazen Ice said. Shadow watched his brother suspiciously,
his sharp eyes narrowing.
"Suit yourself," he commented. Brazen Ice glanced
back towards the Academy, which was likely to close soon. As he looked back,
his brother had already disappeared. He shivered a little at how good at that
Shadow was getting, and walked back into the Academy.
He looked around, trying not to be seen by Captain
Threelegs. Luckily the Captain was in another room, training some pets. He looked
around frantically, hoping like crazy it was here and not out to be picked up
by some other pirate scandal on a trail.
Something caught his eye in a corner. Sighing
with relief, he walked up to find a treasure map. His eyes narrowed. Something
was wrong with it. As he inspected it closer, he found out that it was a model!
He snarled and threw it to the ground, thankfully not making any noise.
He sat down with his back against the wall and
his depressed face weighting in his paws. He sighed deeply, his tail angrily
thwacking whatever was in it's way. A sound made him look as a stand holding
sword sheaths crashed to the floor. Suddenly, he brightened in a surprised way.
Underneath the stand was the treasure map! He picked it up and inspected it.
It was the right one!
"Arr, and just what does ye think yer doin'?"
a familiar shrieking voice called. It was Captain Threelegs! He was caught!
To be continued...
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