Aboard the Cheerful Wave Hopper…

"Prepare to board!" Captain Rorik bellowed over the howling wind and crackling thunder. A flash of lightning revealed the organized chaos taking place on the ship; hares (and a squirrel or two) dashing madly about, trying not to be blown overboard and making sure they all had their weapons ready at the same time. Rain and wind combined into a million tiny daggers, seeming to cut through fur and into flesh, soaking all in its path. Captain Rorik would never admit it, but this is one of the worst storms he's ever seen.

Raising an elegant paw to shield his eyes from the rain, he looks towards where the Merciless, too, is slowly but surely climbing wave after towering wave towards him.

This is it, He thinks, and for a moment, a feral grin lights up his face, making him look less hare like and more…

Aboard the Merciless…

Impossible.

That is the first word that comes to mind as Duris takes a break from ordering his crew around to stare in disbelief at the other ship fast approaching.

"Faster!" He screams, and it's almost not a word. He knows what this ship it is, now, the ship he's been looking for, the ship with the hare on it who killed his sister. It hurts just to think about her, about what happened, about the hare who killed her still walking free.

"Captain Rorik," Duris hisses the hated name through clenched teeth, his claws leaving new marks on the railing of the ship.

Revenge will be coming sooner than he thought. What a stroke of luck.

Soon, Snow, He thinks, a slow smile creeping across his face, ignoring the rain and wind which still bite into him…

Aboard the Cheerful Wave Hopper…

"Leave the wildcat to me!" Captain Rorik orders, though he doubts anyone heard him over the noise of the storm.

They all knew, anyways.

Aboard the Merciless…

"Leave the Captain to me," Duris hisses, though he doubts anyone heard him over the noise of the storm.

They're all too cowardly to go for the biggest, strongest looking hare, anyways.

The two ships inch closer through the storm, climbing wave after wave, and before both of the crews know it, they're side by side, the two crews leering at each other, and for a second time seems to freeze-

"YAAH!" Someone screams, but whether it's hare or vermin, no one can tell. Chaos breaks loose again; long boards drop between the two ships, a few arrows soar through the air- a few arrows find their marks.

Swords clash, almost overpowering the thunder, and Duris madly searches through the crowd, cutting down hare after hare, pushing his own crew out of the way- where is Captain Rorik?- Duris grows even more frantic. What if he's not there?

Captain Rorik patiently, but ruthlessly, brings his rapier down on the stoat standing before him, ducking to avoid a clumsily aimed club and kicking a random rat overboard. Where is the wildcat captain? A blow to the back of the head catches him off guard, and he trips, falling to his knees, for a moment too dazed to stand up- suddenly, a rat next to him hollers, not seeming to see Captain Rorik kneeling there amongst the chaos, "Cap'n! We need to retreat! We need to- ugh!"

A wiry ferret bares his fangs at the unfortunate rat, bringing the flat of his blade down across the rats back. "No! Not until I find that hare!" The ferret's eyes are glazed with bloodlust, and something else- something that Captain Rorik can't quite place- sorrow?

But… what? That's the captain of the Merciless? Captain Rorik is thoroughly confused and so tired of this whole revenge business. He thought that the captain was a wildcat?

The ferret Captain looks up, annoyance clearly showing on his face. His dark eyes lock onto a hare a few yards away, fighting doggedly, bringing rat after rat down with multiple blows from his massive club. The hare is obviously not the captain, he's wearing an apron for cryin' out loud, but Duris is annoyed, and just so tired of this revenge business-

Idly, without a second thought, he flicks his wrist, letting go of the hilt of his scimitar at the same time and sending the great blade flying through the air towards the cook, Malby, who is oblivious to the danger, still waving his club everywhere.

Time slows as the sword flips through the air- Malby could've saved himself, ducked out of the way at the last moment, maybe only losing a few whiskers, but his attention was elsewhere, on the vermin crew which still clambered aboard Lady CWH. It seemed as if there was no end to their ranks.

Idly, without a second thought, Captain Rorik leaps into the blade's path, saving the cook, but probably killing himself.

Time speeds up again, and only Duris sees the powerful looking hare gasping for breath, hunched over the sword which is buried almost to the hilt in his stomach. Duris knows who it is; Captain Rorik, the one he's been searching for, for three years.

"Finally," Duris hisses, stalking forward, his revenge crazed eyes meeting the unnervingly steady and slightly confused eyes of the dying hare before him.

He's so close- almost able to touch the hare, to pull the sword out of him, to finally avenge Snow- when the unthinkable happens.

The flash of lightning is so bright and so strong that every creature aboard Lady CWH can feel the electricity, making their fur stand on end; and then- all can hear the terrible crack of the lightning hitting the mast and the groan as it falls.

Defiance flickers through the eyes of Captain Rorik; he will not go down without a fight. Whoever this ferret is who's taken control of the Merciless, he is still a vermin, and that's Captain Rorik's job, that's what he lives for, and so, mustering the last glimmers of his strength from deep inside of him, Captain Rorik leans forward ever so slightly, and pushes the ferret backwards and into the path of the falling mast.

Duris has never felt anything like this; a sharp pain everywhere, spiking through him, bouncing around in the inside of his skull. He can't help the scream of agony that tears from his throat, stuck beneath the massive mast, before his vision flickers and goes dark.

A few moments later, he is awakened as one of his 'loyal' crew pulling him from beneath the mast, and he screams again. Every bone in Duris' body seems to be broken, crushed.

The last thing Duris sees as one of his crew drags him over to the side of the ship to toss him overboard, not unlike how Duris got rid of the wildcat captain, is Captain Rorik slumped over on his side, a smile on his unmoving face.

"Goodbye, Cap'n," The weasel dragging him leers, shoving his limp body over the side of the ship and into the thrashing waters below…

Somewhere…

His mother always told him if he was sleeping and walking through darkness, never to head towards the light, always away from it, because if you head towards the light and reach it, that means you're dead.

Duris always thought that being dead would be a pleasant feeling, sort of like floating away, a nice, long nap- then why does he suddenly feel heavier, and why does he hurt everywhere, and why is he so thirsty?

Duris' eyes open excruciatingly slowly, and he immediately snaps them closed again, blinded by the sun high in the sky. Squinting again, he struggles to move around or sit up, but the pain is too much. He can just barely manage to turn his head to the left a bit-

A beach, of glaringly white and hot sand stretches out as far as he can see with gentle turquoise waves lapping against it. The shore curves around to form a cove with tall, precarious cliffs where seagulls flock around.

"Hello? Anyone?" Duris' hoarse voice sounds harsh and loud on the beach, even though it's really quite small, and no one can possibly hear him. He sobs quietly. Marooned on some beach somewhere, not able to stand up or even barely move, mortally injured, he'd probably die of dehydration in a few days.

For the next few hours, Duris drifts in and out of consciousness, delirious, hallucinating, even though he doesn't know it. In his dreams he speaks to his mother, and to his father who left when he was just a babe. He even speaks to the wildcat captain who he killed and the weasel who pushed him overboard.

It was inevitable that she would appear sooner or later.

Walking towards him, the red-orange sun setting at her back, smiling, her warm pink eyes looking directly into his own, white fur shimmering like an oasis in the sun; Snow, his sister.

"Snow," He croaks, "I missed you," He gasps for breath, "I did it! I killed him! Rorik!"

"Erm," Snow looks confused.

"Snow?" Duris blinks and Snow is almost immediately replaced by a hare, who stares down at him, wary, but worried.

And with that, Duris, ex-captain of the dreaded pirate ship Merciless, faints clean away.