I apologize for this delay and the upcoming one; I'm busy tomorrow for a long while ^^' And I'm still not in the best of health. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Going Under Chapter 25
How to Distract Pirates
How does one overthrow a pirate ship? If you asked Maut this question she would tell you she had no idea. But, she intended to find out.
Outrunning the pirates? The only 'out' she saw there was in 'out of the question.' She'd thought over Cocoum being the scout as a way to find a new vessel to escape on; but that solution wouldn't work. They'd tried that before; the narwhals would catch them. So, she intended to communicate with Argeth herself this time.
Leaving Cross with the silent but ever-helpful rats, the bat scaled the side of the ship, clutching onto a vine hanging limp and forgotten from one of the portholes. She could hear chatter and commotion above; the pirates where busy. This was her chance to get to Argeth. She peered over the ice, blue eyes narrowed. The gang was still tied up tight and taught to the further-away mast; Clementine's head was flopped dejectedly. They had their eyes closed, but by this time in the morning Maut reasoned that they must be awake. They didn't have strength.
She peered over the deck; eyeing down various pairs of feet. Then, something tugged at her baggy ear. With a quick glance back and a blink she saw Cross had followed her and was now clinging to her back; chin rested on her head.
"Watcha dooin?"
Maut breathed in slowly, "Kid, what're you doing here?!" She hissed, waving a wing at him while trying to keep a hold on the ship; thus with difficulty. He took no notice, giggling. Maut face-palmed,
"Kid, get back to the rats! I gotta talk to Argeth!"
"Arg-eth?" He repeated softly. Maut heaved a heavy breath before pointing a small clawed finger at the armadillo in question.
"The guy with the flat-head, Small-fry. He's got the pirate-busting brains we need to get outa here." The boy nodded very slowly.
Then he peered over her head, appearing upside down to her; his little nose twitched. "Do you wanna distraction?" He chimed. It took Maut several seconds to register what he just said. A distraction? Not bad for a kit his age...but was it worth it? She eyed the claw marks on his beaming face and felt her guilt twinge once more. No, if he'd gone missing for so long then was caught again (granted it was only overnight) he could get more unwanted decorations to his fur.
Maut shook her head...and gaped when there was no longer a small grey fluff ball holding onto it. Her heart in her mouth, she saw he'd already scrambled on deck and was ambling around, laughing cheerily, as if chasing imaginary butterflies.
It was too much to hope he wouldn't be seen long enough for her to get him. The squint-eyed buck's head pivoted over at the sound of the soft little chortle and his eyes snapped to bulging balls of fury.
"There ya are, I've been lookin' all over!" He stomped over on elongated feet, looking ready to maim the tiny thing when Cross whipped away, arms flailing, but legs very much working. Gupta dived for him, but the miniature rabbit slipped right through his grabbing hands. Squint used Gupta as a volley-pad and jumped onto, then off, his back, leaping over the kit's head and landing in front of him.
Squint lunged; aiming to grab at the child's ears, but Cross only had to tilt his head back for his small ears to be missed. The giggles had ended; the child's eyes where wide- he knew the fun had ended. He leaped backwards, on all fours now, past Kai- who gave a little clap upon seeing him again. Above he heard the ape boy whoop, and he found it nice for them to do that...
"Aww, lookit the bunny!" A giant squishy-looking creature beamed down at him. He slammed right into his floppy stomach, but it didn't hurt; in fact it sent him spinning through the air overheard; out of the adult rabbit's reach. He waved his arms merrily before hitting against something.
He hung there, blinking. He lifted his head and found he'd gotten tangled in some of the vines strung between the two giant trees embedded in the ship. He wriggled, but found he couldn't get out. Below he saw the lopsided face of Squint. He smirked up at him.
"End of the line, Runt."
Then, the small body slipped from the vines and plummeted down. Cross felt the wind n his fur, and spun slowly, seeing nothing but blurs...then something grabbed him, crashing against him, and the next thing he saw was the sky.
Squint had thrown himself forward to catch him before he'd smacked head-first into what surely would have been a death-inducing collision with the ice floor. The boy in his arms lay limp, eyes wide, as if not really understanding what had just happened. Squint didn't, either. He doubted this runt was needed alive, but him dying on his watch wouldn't look good...that's what he reasoned, anyway.
He stood up and gripped the kit by the ears rather than holding him secure anymore, glaring foully at him. Cross's eyes widened and he curled up like a kitten, head bent and ears flopped. Squint's mouth twitched in a sneer; "Don't give me that look! You caused me a lotta trouble, Pipsqueak!"
His lip trembled. Squint's temper flared, and he pointed a finger directly between his eyes. "I just saved your sorry little tail! Don't you DARE-"
Cross's little blunt, not-yet-buck teeth clamped over his hand, as if by pure instinct rather than though. Squint gave a high-pitched yelp of pain; releasing him, and the grey blur dashed away once again. Squint gripped his hand and there was a surprised blink around him; from the members of the crew left gob-smacked at the somehow vicious, dreamy little ball.
Cross sprinted on, towards a porthole. The pirates gaped at him as he slid through it, giving a happy squeak. Kai squealed. Cocoum, above, felt his jaw hang open in horror. But, as he swung to the other mast, then right to the edge of a branch to peer over...he saw him being whipped out of sight by one of the rats.
And, he also saw them giving him a thumbs-up. His mind whirled. He turned his head, mouth still open dumbly, wondering if anyone else had seen...but apparently they hadn't. Kai was crying and the pirates stared, eyes wide, at where the kit had supposedly fallen to his death. They didn't look remorseful. The rabbit pirate was gripping his bitten hand, staring, and Cocoum almost saw something on his face before he looked away, scowling.
Supposed even pirates feel something when one of their kind dies...but Cross, the funny bunny, wasn't dead. The rats where...helping them? He turned his head; eyeing Silas lounging by the fruit below, unable to see any of this. Gutt had been at the helm, looking bored and unfazed by what happened. He was the only one up here.
And being the only one up here, he saw the bat woman chattering to the armadillo. She was hiding beneath one of the skulls that the badger used as a drum; how she could managed to touch it was beyond him. Then, like a turtle, she slid back under the skull scuttled back to the pile of bones nearby; unseen. He chuckled; it was rather funny.
Argeth kept his eyes shut and the group remained lethargic. Cocoum looked away and placed on the most sorrowful expression he could managed when he felt like jumping off all the branches. They had a plan; Maut and Cross and the crazy rats where running around like they owned the place. He did his best not to grin, lifting his gaze to Gutt. He was lounging against a thick slab of ice making up the bulky back of the ship; relaxed. His brows where slid up his forehead; almost vanishing into his untidy head-hair. As if knowing he was being watched, he glanced upwards. Cocoum stared back, wondering what to do.
He couldn't make a face; he'd give off the fact he wasn't horrified that the bunny child had supposedly died.
So he looked at his feet; wiggling his lower fingers, hoping Gutt couldn't read minds.
...
Raz nudged Kai once more to get her to quieten. She'd sobbed for ten minutes after the demise of the bunny child; Raz had commented it was an easier death, getting eaten by narwhals, than starving or facing Gutt...but that just made the joey cry for yet another ten minutes. She didn't pretend to mourn the child, but she didn't feel like grinning like Gupta and Silas had. Annoying, yes, but it wasn't exactly a victory.
She eyed Squint, who was quietly throwing daggers at a target made up of impaled fruit. A waste of food; but she didn't object. She wondered what was going on nowadays. Gutt hadn't offed the ape child, she was looking after this spineless joey and Squint almost looked...remorseful for letting the bunny brat die.
Raz glanced at the porthole the child had slipped through. Then again, he'd vanished before. Maybe he was huddled somewhere, hiding. Maybe it had been a trick of the eyes that they'd seen him fall overboard...
Kai was hugging a dagger, thankfully a blunt one, as if it were a comforting object. She sniffled miserably. Raz regarded her with disdain. It had been millions of times now that she'd told her to toughen up; it wasn't happening. Raz felt her arm lifted a little, but forced it back down. Then, after seeing the child continue to weep, she lifted her paw once more and ruffled the unkempt hair on her head. The child stared on ahead, sniffing, before curling up against her hip. Raz heaved a sigh, and continued sharpening her weapon, thankful that no one was watching.
"Don' get used to nice treatment. Life on sea only gets harda'." She meant that, truthfully. This joey curled beside her wouldn't be here long. Kindness wasn't Raz's strong point, nor did she intend for it to be so. Part of her almost felt bad that the child would eventually have to be lost. Almost.
...
That night, Clementine kept her eyes closed, and kept herself still. She was stiff, sore, and starving, but a raw burning she'd never quite tasted was alight in her chest and stomach. Yet, she knew she had to keep still, look defeated. Argeth's plan was insane, really. Overthrowing a pirate ship was ludicrous, so why did it sound so promising?
Probably because you have no options left.
Argeth had asked her if any herbs induced sleep. She'd mulled over that- her memory of herbs almost seemed clouded by her hunger and the pain of her stiff bones and wounds; but then she remembered a time she'd mixed two herbs by accident and it left the healed animal groggy. Not exactly sleep, but slightly groggy.
She emphasised the 'slightly' but Argeth took it as enough. Clementine didn't know if she had nearly enough to get giants like the ape and seal to feel it; and it meant less herbs for healing should it not work...but what option, again, did they have?
Cross was fine, and she was glad she hadn't seen the event. She was sure she would have had a heart attack if she thought for even a second he'd gone overboard. Thank goodness for fire-loving rats...
A slowly approaching sound of footsteps made her eyes slid open. They'd been left alone up till now; it was dark and she was sure the others were asleep. Her ears allowed her to catch the light feet of Squint. She frowned, slowly, as he came to stand before her. He didn't get too close, and he himself was scowling.
"...'Ey, Girlie."
She didn't reply. She watched him rub the back of his neck, scowling still, and wondered why he was quiet all of a sudden. Feeling frustrated and her fear of him pretty much diminished, she remarked coldly. "Come to rub in what happened?"
"No." He glared back, arms tight against his sides. Clementine wondered if he simply said this because of her tone rather than the subject of her words. She glowered back. Safe or not, his treatment of Cross had pushed her fear of this lopsided buck to hate.
Squint glanced away from her, and Clementine had to hide her surprise. "He wasn't even yours, anyway."
"He was a child." She said, her voice husky, "And he'd done nothing to you."
"He bit me!"
"You where chasing him."
"Hey, if he stayed put...!" Squint kicked the ice ground, remarkably not hurting his large toe, and folded his spindly arms. Clementine tilted her head slowly. He couldn't possibly feel guilty, could he? He seemed angry, but not...sorry. She heaved a sigh. She really needed to stop looking for redeeming features in pirates though granted the kangaroo woman hadn't harmed Kai just yet...
"I thought you'd be cryin', girlie." Squint remarked, eyeing her. She glanced up at him slowly, tired. She tried to think of an excuse.
"...I'll be joining him soon, won't I?" She murmured, trying to sound solemn. Squint cocked a brow, then that familiar snide grin appeared.
"Oh yeah...though, Girlie, you still answer ta me, you know..."
She scowled at that, "If you think that'll scare me, Squint, it won't." She didn't know who was more surprised by her tone, him or herself, "I know you won't do anything worse than tossing blades at me."
He lunged, pointing his blade directly under her chin. Clementine tipped her head back; hitting it against the bark. She narrowed her eyes, trying to control her breathing. His crooked teeth where gritted in a twisted snarl; she could see his slightly chipped teeth far too closely. "Oh yeah, girlie? Who says I won't, now that you're gettin' on my nerves even more?"
"My name's Clementine." She found herself rasping in response, feeling her stomach churn in unease, but too angry this time to let it bother her. "And yes, you won't. You don't have the guts."
Squint's bloodshot eyes blazed. For a split second he raised his knife and Clementine wondered if he'd actually do it- then a voice in the centre of the deck called him away. Giving a growl he whipped off, but not before sending Clementine a threatening sneer. She returned a frown herself. The next time the two would meet wouldn't end well.