The Eyrie stared at him, eyebrows slightly raised, giving him a ridiculing expression. "'Aeronautical technicalities'? R'you stupid or somethin'?"
Anchuan chose his words carefully. "You think me simple minded, but perchance I glimpse the Sword of Damocles, or if a prize as sweet as May awaits, my intellect may fathom such a time to be brandished."
He looked rather pleased with himself, and the Eyrie's gaze never faltered. "I was wrong. You're not stupid. You're just an idiot. Does this idiot come with a name?"
"Anchuan. You?"
"Cap'n W."
"You're not a captain."
"Oh, really? And might I ask why not?"
"You don't look like one."
"Ah," she said, a dangerous smile covering her face. "You're under the impression that the only good pirate cap'ns are men." She frowned at him, turning instead to the Jetsam standing next to her. "Shoot him."
"Aye, Cap'n."
"Oh, and uh, loot the junk." She turned, about to leave the deck.
"OI!" She turned back to the Wocky who had shouted at her. "How do you plan to get up here?"
The Eyrie whispered something to the Jetsam and he pulled out a pistol and fired. The shot missed the Wocky, hitting instead a shocked-looking powder Mynci standing a bit behind him. He turned back to look down at the ship, only to find himself face to face with the Eyrie. "'Ello, laddie." He cursed himself. She had wings.
Anchuan reached for his sword, but the Eyrie was faster. In half a second, she had a blunderbuss between his eyes.
"You seem familiar, 'ave I threatened you before?" She was standing in front of him, tail swishing back and forth angrily. It was her gun that was poking him in the nose. It seemed to take a moment for the crew to realize she was there, but when they did, they looked unsure about what it was they were supposed to do. "So then. I'm sure these men wouldn't be fool enough to dub you their leader, so where's yer cap'n?"
The Wocky didn't answer her; though his eyes flickered to where she assumed the captain's quarters were. She cocked the gun. "I'll ask ya again, mate. Where is yer cap'n?"
The Wocky sighed inwardly. This was a tight fix. How was he ever going to become a captain like this?
"All right, all right. You needn't bother with things like that." He tapped the barrel of the gun. "I'll get the captain."
"He's already here." A haughty voice said, and they turned. A frowning Lenny stood outside his cabin, one wing tucked in his coat, one of his half-hooded eyes gazing imperiously at the two neopets. Anchuan watched Captain W.'s eyes wander up, and, yes there was a most ridiculous hat, like stacked bamboo steamers.
The captain Eyrie narrowed her eyes for half a second. "Seems like this whole ship's run by looneys." She moved her arm so that the gun now pointed at him. "I'll be taking yer valuable cargo, now. Kindly direct your crew to start unloadin'."
Behind her, Anchuan gestured to his captain, making big explosion motions to indicate cannons. The captain simply set his beak and said, "What makes you believe I shall accept?"
She rolled her eyes as if everyone responded to her this way, and called over the side of the ship. "Grapplin' hooks!" Immediately, there was a hiss of air, and five hooks shot up over the railing. She raised her eyebrows at the Lenny. "If yeh'd rather die than let go o' yer loot, I'd be happy to oblige yeh. My crew c'n take care o' the rest if yers is just as unwillin'."
There were a few moments of silence, in which she let the other Lenny think it over. In that small space of time, Anchuan tried to further signal his captain. I'll take care of her. Then we fly high, yeah? Unfortunately, the Wocky's sign language was not the most legible, and the captain squinted, trying to decipher it.
Finally Anchuan gave up. He stood to his full height and lunged, attempting to grab the blue Eyrie's sash and swing her around. He managed to seize her, but no sooner had he moved than she whipped her gun to his chest and pulled the trigger.
The loud bang shook the air, as the crew stood shocked and she stared at the Wocky, her face hard. Water spilled through his jacket, turning the fabric a darker shade of red and spilling onto the deck. "Stupid fool..." she muttered through her beak, and then froze. The water Wocky's grip didn't falter, but instead tightened as he coughed and smiled at her.
"Hello."
And with that he launched her in the air with surprising strength, pivoting as he swung her around and up. She was light, being an Eyrie, and in being one she spread her wings and straightened herself in midair.
She cursed herself. He was water. "Well, if yeh wanna fight... BOARD SHIP!" she commanded, and five of her crew started to climb the ropes.
Anchuan wasn't paying attention. He was busy shouting orders to the deckhands to get moving, and what were they doing, waiting around, there were pirates incoming! At that, they got to work in a frenzy, tugging ropes, spinning windmills, and soon enough, the ship began to rise. Those that weren't working for the ship's escape were fighting Captain W.'s oncoming crew, and the yells and cries of the pirates was matched by the clang of swords and gunshots. The water Wocky raced to the railing and flung off the hooks, then grunted as a neopet grabbed him from behind. He flung him overboard, too, and the flailing Jetsam splashed into the ocean.
Above the fray, Captain W. barked an order to the pirates still on her ship. "Fire the harpoon!" Her crew crowded around a device on her ship, and through widened eyes Anchuan could see the long, pointed spear, attached to a sturdy cable. The captain, saw too, and even in the midst of battle the Lenny flapped his wings hard, taking up a squirming Kacheek in his talons, and dropped him into the group surrounding the harpoon. He stuck to this tactic, and with him his crew succeeded in ridding their ship of enemy pirates. The Eyrie cursed at them and abandoned her fighting to save those in danger of falling to their death. It was not going to hold off the coming of the harpoon forever, though, and using the time his captain had given him, Anchuan cut the rope holding the main sail. It's turned in the wind, and the ship turned suddenly with it. He backed up to the ship's edge, watching the sail, and then peered back over his shoulder, hoping he was not too late.
He did not even have time to gasp as the harpoon entered his back, ripping through his jacket to burst out of his chest, and then he was being jerked back, over the railing and down through the clouds, reaching for the Shenkuu ship in the sky.
