Pirates were businessmen; in their own sort of way, and Tugger had found the captain of the ship he called home to be as such. The man was flirtatious, frivolous, much like himself, but found pride in his occupation and crew. The captain had found him in an old pirate's cove, where the booze was cheap and the women were easy, the cat lived off the scraps people threw him and slept usually under a bed that creaked too much above him.

His captain, traded for the cat. Tugger felt pride in knowing that a pirate had wanted him enough to make a honest deal, rather then just steal. He took comfort in the company of the man, and found friendship with the crew. The ship was his home, and that was how he liked it.

It was a stormy mid-summer day. Tugger was gnawing on a mouse he'd caught in the provisions, taking extra care to make sure the captain noticed his hunt. He was upset when the man paid no attention, his eyes trained on the distance as he shouted orders to the men. They were all scrambling about the deck like ants; each having a defined purpose, but all of them together looking like a mess.

Out of curiosity, Tugger stuffed his head through one of the narrow rails along the sides of the ship, getting a view of whatever it was everyone was scrambling over. In the water, was a small dingy. A woman sprawled out inside of it. She was pale and thin, and from what he could make out before the ropes caught onto it, she was not alone. The men heaved and hoed until the boat hovered along side the ship, the crew busily reaching over the rails to pull the girl out.

She was laid down over the deck as someone tried to revive her. Tugger however, kept his interest inside the small boat. He leapt his way up the rails and scaled them until he could peer down into it. There was a tangled mess of rope and nets, some cloth and a few rotted apple cores. Lying beneath some of the nets was something small, black, and jolting about desperately. Tugger let out a loud meow, trying to get the attention of his captain, happy when he was noticed.

The man's reaction to the moving bundle of rope however, was less than what Tugger wanted. The captain reached down gingerly, pulling out a small kitten with one hand, seating it down in the palm of his other hand as he cradled it. "Good find." He smiled, stroking Tugger's head with praise.

The kitten pawed at him hesitantly, and Tugger found that he had no real liking for it. The captain returned to where the woman had suddenly regained consciousness, frightened out of her wits until the kitten was handed to her. She shielded it in her arms as she examined all the men. Tugger watched her draw up into her knees, folding the fabric of her dress so that nothing was exposed.

Curiosity killed the cat.

Tugger moved forward slowly as the men backed up, following the captains orders to give her space. He padded up to the woman's feet, rubbing himself against her leg as a courteous gesture. His captain had better manners then to hurt her, and Tugger counted the woman as lucky for being pulled in by him as opposed to any other pirate. She could have found herself in a lot of trouble.

He purred when she returned his gesture, petting his head with shaking fingers behind the ears, right where he liked it. She was obviously a cat lover, which most likely accounted for her kitten, who was staring at Tugger enquiringly- as if demanding to know why he was rubbing himself against his owner. He shot the kitten a trademark wink before finding his way back to captain's side, hoping this stranger would notice and acknowledge the man.

She did, with shy eyes.

"Are you alright miss?"

When no reply came, Tugger decided to repeat the question to the kitten, "Hey, is she alright?"

The kitten stared at Tugger before nodding, "She's... fine. My mistress just needs rest."

The sophistication surprised Tugger, who's assumed the kit would be less forthcoming, "You speak like a Tom."

"That's because I am.." he replied.

"You're a hell of a tiny Tom then. I had mistaken you for a kitten!" he grinned, ignoring the conversations that had begun amongst the humans.

The strange cat frowned, "My name is Mr. Mistofflees." he informed, lifting his head a little.

Tugger smiled devilishly, "Rum Tum Tugger, but you can call me Tugger."

"Mr. Tugger-"

"Tugger." he interrupted, "Just Tugger. Formalities don't sit well with me."

"Tug-"

Something shifted as the captain helped the woman to her feet, leaning her against his shoulder as she stumbled awkwardly to his cabin. Tugger followed eagerly, watching the Tom eye him from over his mistress's shoulder, meowing adorably. If he really was a Tom, there should be a rule about how queen-like a male could be. The deck creaked beneath their feet noisily. The woman sat herself down on the captain's bed to rest as Mistofflees jumped off her lap, looking over his shoulder as if he regretted leaving her. "So.." Tugger began, finally caught up. "What happened to you two?"

Mistofflees huffed, "My mistress is the daughter of the current Governor, we were sailing to meet her fiancé when we were attacked."

"Attacked?" Tugger pressed, circling the mysterious Tom as he spoke; eyeing him up.

Mistofflees seemed to notice this and stared at him accusingly, "Pirates."

Tugger chuckled, "Pirates?"

"Yes, we were attacked by pirates." Tugger had thought the Tom was referring to him, and was suddenly wondering if the cat knew that he even was one, "My mistress barely escaped with her life. With little supplies she starved, and out of fear she went without sleep." he heaved out a breathy sigh, "I'm just thankful you found us before she wasted away.."

"My captain is a good man. He'll see to it she's nursed."

Mistofflees nodded before letting himself plop down onto the wood boards of the cabin, "I don't suppose you have anything to eat?"

With a grin, Tugger pulled the cat back onto his feet, "Follow me."

Wearily, the tom obeyed, tailing him all the way to the storage hold. Mistofflees watched with fascination as the cat jumped from box to box, working his way up until he landed on top of a barrel. "Alright, the chef is in. What'ya like?"

With a tired smile, Mistofflees replied, "Fish!"

"Comin' up!" Tugger disappeared behind one of the barrels momentarily before Mistofflees let out a surprised yelp, fish pouring over the floor as the barrel was kicked over noisily. "Dinner is served."

With a grin, Mistofflees picked one out, guiltily wondering if Tugger would get in trouble for knowing the supply of fish over. Tugger just grinned and helped himself to one as well, casually making his way back up to the captain's quarters, where he figured Mistofflees would want to stay. It was nice having a cat on board, someone to actually talk to. He loved the captain, but this Tom.. he was fun.