Hey everyone! I had a little trouble writing this chapter so I hope its alright. Let me know what you think!
Today was a very good day. It was debt collection day and Harry couldn't have been happier. All day he would be able to intimidate and threaten people, and if they refused him he could fight them. Collection days were some of Harry's favorites. He strolled down the street as he whistled a sea shanty. It was still early in the morning when he sensed that someone was following him. Glancing back, he didn't notice anyone overly suspicious. Harry ducked into the nearest empty alley and leaned against the wall, curious as to who would have the guts to follow him around. His eyes widened in surprise when a small grey striped kitten rounded the corner. It stopped when it saw him looking at it, the two staring at eachother. Then the kitten fluffed up its fur and hissed, trying to look as threatening as possible. Harry though Gil with Fish was more threatening than the creature before him. He laughed and stepped over it, continuing on his path. The cat kept following him.
Harry had to admit he was impressed with the kitten's persistence. It would not leave him alone no matter what he did. Every time he turned around and acknowledged its presence it would hiss and puff up, as if it was trying to intimidate him. Him of all people. This cat was ridiculous. He laughed it off and ignored it mostly. Twice he had tried to shoo it away, but that only seemed to make it angry and even more keen on following him. By the end of the day Harry was beginning to admire the kitten, if it didn't annoy him so much having a ball of fluff following him around everywhere. People had begun to take notice and while no one mentioned it to his face, Harry felt like people were laughing at him. The cat was ruining his intimidating image and he would not stand for it. Turning around he kicked an empty can towards the kitten. It jumped back, narrowly avoiding being hit before scurrying backwards. Harry glared at where it was hiding, daring it to come out again. Seeing neither tail, nor whisker peeking out Harry resumed his walk to his last stop of the day.
It was a street vendor near the border between Lost Revenge and Rotten Four territory, who worked on a street that often changed hands. The constant fighting between the two groups made the vendor one of the few on the street, and also very bitter towards everyone. There was a reason he was apart of Harry's patrol area and not some other crew member. Harry walked up to the stand and leaned casually against one of the wooden posts.
"Some nice lookin stuff ye have today." Harry said, using his hook to admire a piece of worn cloth. The man, Pierce Harry thought, looked up at him with a disgruntled stare. Harry merely grinned back. Both of them knew how this interaction would go, but both were far to stubborn to change.
"Just skip the niceties and take it ya thief." Pierce said tossing a pouch of coins which Harry easily caught.
"Tch, is tha any way to speak to a potential customer?" Harry asked as he glanced over the coins, which obviously amounted to less than they should have. Even he could tell. "I think ye may be missin some."
"How'd you know? Ya can't even count to make sure."
"Jus hand over what ye owe." Harry ordered as he stared at Pierce. The man glared back as he slowly moved to open the coin box, eyeing the shining hook warily. He was turning the key when he let out a startled yelp and a curse, hoping up quickly.
"Get off!" He growled trying to kick whatever was on him off. Harry took his distraction as the perfect opportunity to pick up the box, key and all, tucking it into his coat. Pierce continued to back up as he danced on his feet and soon Harry was able to see exactly what the problem was. The small grey kitten from before was attacking Pierce's ankles with its sharp claws and fangs. Harry laughed at the scene, watching a full grown man being pushed back by a kitten of all things. He whistled as he walked away, making sure he was several streets away before turning into an empty alley. He waited for a few minutes, curious if the kitten would follow him once again. It was certainly a fierce little thing.
Harry was about to leave when a high pitched meow came from behind a barrel. The kitten peaked its head out, hissing when it saw him, but coming out from hiding when he didn't kick anything at it. Harry kneeled down, unsure how to exactly approach animals. Usually they didn't like him and stayed far away from him, Fish being an exception. But this kitten had followed him for so long and had even attacked someone and Harry just couldn't help but be a bit impressed. Maybe Uma would let it stick around and help Fish with the rodents on the ship and in the chip shop. Holding out a hand like he had seen Gil do, Harry tried to get the kitten to come closer to him. Looking at it, Harry could help but find it funny that the kitten's tiger striped pattern formed black rings around it's eyes. It hissed, stretching out its head to sniff his finger cautiously.
"If I take ye back, Gil's gonna wanna know yer name. I don want him naming ye. Whas a good piratey name?" Harry asked. The kitten looked at him then went back to sniffing his hand.
"Nothin? Eh how bout Blackbeard?" The kitten hissed loudly, biting his finger. Harry yelped and jerked his hand back.
"No need ta be like that, if ye don like that what about Calico?" Another hiss. Harry went through several names, the kitten hissing and biting and scratching him. He was just about done with the troublesome cat.
"If ye don stop, I'll feed ye to the sharks and they can take ye down to Davey Jones." He threatened. The kitten perked up, tilting it's head to the side.
"What you like that? Davey Jones eh? I guess that could be a good name." Harry reached out again and this time the kitten easily bounded up his arm sitting on his shoulder. He stood, Davey Jones digging his claws in to keep his balance, and began walking back to the chip shop. No one said anything to him about the kitten, but he knew people would probably talk when he was out of earshot. He must look like he was going soft. He glanced at the grey and black kitten, trying to think of how to make it look more intimidating. If he was going to have a new partner in crime, they had better look the part.
When Harry strolled into the chip shop, Uma had just walked out of the kitchen. Gil was sitting at the back table, playing with Fish. Uma looked up at him and stopped when she saw Davey Jones. She sent him a glare but didn't say anything, far too done with the antics of Gil and him. Harry grinned back and sat down across from Gil, Davey Jones hoping down. He immediately started playing with Fish after they each sniffed each other, easily pinning the orange kitten to the table. Maybe Harry could teach the kitten how to be a proper pirate cat.