You know someone's quite the character when they swing vines as a hobby.

"You sure ya don't wanna join me?" Kwazii called, summersaulting in the air as he grabbed another of those green plants. Captain Barnacles and Kwazii were in the Garden Pod. The Captain was there to check up on the food supply. The pirate cat... Well, it was obvious what his intentions were.

"Um, I'd really like to, Kwazii, but I have some work to do," Captain Barnacles replied, shuffling his feet slightly as he looked down at Tunip. If he was honest, the idea didn't sound really appealing. But he wanted to decline easily. He may be strong, but he's not one for fights.

"'Tis your loss, mate," Kwazii replied flippantly, not missing a beat. He continued the acrobatics as the Octochute opened and an out-of-breath sea otter came tumbling out.

"Sorry I'm late, Captain," Shellington panted as he jogged towards them. Tunip chirped a greeting.

"It's no trouble at all," the Captain replied. "Thanks for being our translator."

"I'll try my best," Shellington replied determinedly. Over the time they have been out at sea, Shellington had been getting lessons in Vegimalnese daily. He already gained progress over that short time, and he could already speak a little bit of it.

Kwazii continued to swing, cheering as he went along.

Captain Barnacles cleared his throat. "My first question, Tunip," he said. "Is if-

"Yaow!" Kwazii yelled. He did a triple summersault-his ultimate record!

The Captain was not amused. "-if the irrigation system is working smoothly."

"Yii, Capii. Nii es wiilow happo, ne te mawl nalla. Da-ta te hosu nu niyet tiipo iino drii." Tunip made sure to talk slowly, using gestures when needed.

"Yes, Captain," Shellington translated slowly, piecing together the words. "It is working fine, for the most part. Sometimes the hose does not give... Wait what was that?"

"Iino drii," Tunip repeated.

"Enough..." Shellington said, then stopped, cocking his head to the side. He then glanced sheepishly at the Captain.

"Sorry, give me a moment."

"Take your time," the polar bear said. He wasn't going to get annoyed. He wasn't.

"Is it water?" Shellington asked Tunip. He shook his head. "Aqua? Length? Width?"

Now Shellington was just spouting words.

Kwazii kept on shouting.

"Kwazii, can you please keep it down?" Captain Barnacles called out. His paws were balled into fists, but he made sure he breathed though his nose.

In, out, in out.

"Oh, I got it! I got it!" Shellington exclaimed excitedly.

"What is it?" Captain Barnacles leaned forward.

"It's pressure!" Shellington yelled just as Kwazii landed on top of Captain Barnacles.

"I-I have to work on me landing," Kwazii laughed sheepishly above him, rubbing the back of his neck.

The Captain just sighed.


"Mateys, what're you up to?" Kwazii asked curiously, walking up to the Captain and Peso in the game room.

"We're about to play a round of ping pong," Peso motioned to the table. The penguin and polar bear were holding small, round rackets.

"Ping pong, eh?" Kwazii said, a smirk coming on.

"Would you like to play?" Peso asked. "We can take turns."

"Sure, Peso," Kwazii's smirk grew bigger. "But I'm warning ya now, I play to win."

Captain Barnacles knew that sort of smile. It was the same one his sister Bianca would have when they were wrestling as kids. It was the one that always made games interesting. It was a power play; seeing the one who's better. Who's the dominant one in that area.

As much as he didn't like fights, Captain Barnacles loved competition.

The polar bear smirked as well. "Don't get too confident now, Kwazii. So do I."

Kwazii seemed shocked at the reply, but then the smile returned. "You're on!"

Captain Barnacles was about to start, but then he remembered. Peso was quiet, looking a bit uncomfortable. As much as he and the cat were into competitions, Peso just wasn't the type. He had to incorporate that into the games. As Captain, he needed to make sure to keep good relations within the crew, and that everyone's needs were met, and that no one felt left out. That was a hard task, but he was more than ready to take on that challenge.

"Let me and Peso play the first round, then the winner will play the next creature."

"Alright," they both replied.

Captain Barnacles and Peso got into positions and began. Peso started the first serve. It went over the net, and the bear was able to hit it.

Peso was pretty good, saying, "My cousins and I play this a lot, especially inside when there are blizzards." Captain Barnacles didn't lower his skill level, not at all, but he made sure not to hit too hard. His polar bear strength would be overwhelming.

Peso won a point. "Nice," the Captain said.

Peso lost one. "Let's see what happens next," Captain Barnacles said. It was cheerful, with a competitive streak, but in no way would Peso be able to interpret it as mean spirited. He made sure of that.

It was fun. Although it was fairlyclose, Captain Barnacles won out on top. "Good game, Peso," he said, clapping him on the shoulder before Peso and Kwazii switched places.

The Captain could feel adrenaline just by looking at Kwazii's stance. He was ready for battle, poised to attack. He was confident, and his eye held competition and excitement.

Captain Barnacles was to serve. He threw up the ping pong and hit it at the same strength level as he did with Peso.

The wall whizzed past the polar bear's head. Captain Barnacles looked over his shoulder and saw the pong pong roll slowly then stop, having hit the glass wall behind him.

He looked back and saw Kwazii chuckle. The cat flipped the paddle in the air and caught it easily.

"So that's how you want to play?" Captain Barnacles said. He gripped his own paddle tighter in anticipation.

It was on.

The Captain let loose in a way that he hadn't done in a long time (and only in hindsight, a couple years later, could he see that with a twinge of wistfulness). He gave it all he got; even with his polar bear strength, Kwazii could still return it (most of the time, he inwardly chuckled). He found himself laughing deeply, laughing heartily, as Kwazii ran this way and that, going through outrageous poses to catch the ball. But he kept on catching it. Peso was cheering them both on, becoming as deep into the game as the rest of them. Soon one passerby become two, two became three, and eventually all the Octonauts were there. Tweak was even able to drag Dashi to the game room as well.

"It's a tie," Shellington held his breath.

"Hear that, Kwazii? One more point and I'll win," Captain Barnacles smirked.

"Nah, yer head's all jumbled up. It's me who'll take this."

It was the Captain's turn to serve. Perfect.

He mentally prepared himself, threw up the ball. It floated up in slow motion, then he hit it hard, the hardest he though he ever had. It ricocheted off the other side of the table and went right into Kwazii's paddle.

What? Captain Barnacles blinked. It wasn't there before.

He didn't have time to think before his paw jerked to the left, catching the whizzing ball before it could pass him. He left it to instinct, that trait that always got him through tough situations, to take him to the finish line. His paw moved right, left, up, down. His mind became uncannily clear. It was just him and the game.

But that wasn't enough, it seemed.

It seemed impossible, but he saw it pass his left eye, pass his peripheral vision until it disappeared out of sight. Kwazii yelled, pulled his arm back, and did a back flip. The other Octonauts cheered madly. Captain Barnacles looked back, and there she was, rolling back and stopping.

Kwazii won. He actually won.

The polar bear turned back to find that very cat standing in front of him, his paw stretched out towards him.

"Good game." He didn't say it boastfully, not with pride. There was actually a fondness there, in his eyes and his almost lazy smile, one that Captain Barnacles wasn't really prepared for.

But he was absolutely welcome to it.

"Good game," he replied, bringing up his own paw and shaking it once. The other Octonauts then swarmed Kwazii, congratulating him. Kwazii paused for a second, taking it all in. But then he beamed widely. Captain Barnacles looked at the scene with his own fondness. Now that he'd seen it, he knew that he had never witnessed Kwazii so happy.

And he hoped that Kwazii would stay this happy in the future.


"So Dashi, we're going to need to add a few adjustments to the Octopod's course," the Captain said as he walked down the hallway. He had a clipboard and a pen in his paws, which contained the schedule of their voyage. He found that they would frequently stay at a location longer than planned. The need for medical assistance was usually the cause behind it. Now Captain Barnacles didn't necessarily mind - he wanted to make sure that everyone was taken care of in an area- but that meant that some changes would have to be made.

Dashi followed him down the hall, completely giving her attention. She walked while holding her paws in front of her body. Her back was straight, poised at attention. He could feel her attentive gaze on him. She was very good at paying attention, unlike some of the other crew members (they all had their pros and cons). Dashi was definitely professional.

"Yaow!" Rang an excited cry. From all the weeks of being on the Octopod, he had grown used to this cry. It seemed to be coming from up ahead.

Captain Barnacles looked up and tried to search for the one in question. He grew amused.

Now what was Kwazii up to this time?

They were coming towards an intersection between two hallways. He saw something brown flash by the wall of the other hallway. It moved too quickly for the polar bear to see what it was.

Now Dashi looked up as well, eyebrows creased forward with befuddled curiosity. The brown flashed again, followed by one or two patches of orange. The orange soon became arms and a tail. Eventually, they could see Kwazii completely.

"En guard!" He yelled, seemingly to no one. He used his weapon - a long loaf of bread - to swipe at the air. It wasn't aimless; it was calculated, planned out. It was impressive.

It was also very strange.

"Ya wanna dance eh? Well, ya picked the wrong cat."

Dashi raised up a paw, as if to interrupt him, but it went back down sheepishly.

"I'm the strongest pirate you have ever seen! I can fight off 500 guys with one arm tied behind me ba-"

He turned towards the unintentional onlookers and spotted them. His words slowed then died, as did his movement.

There was an awkward silence.

The Captain cleared his throat. "Carry on," he waved his paw dismissively, as if he was an army general and the soldiers were doing the run-of-the-mill exercises.

Captain Barnacles walked by the stupefied pirate, an amused Dashi chuckling quietly behind him.


It was a week later, and Captain Barnacles and Kwazii were in the library.

They already scouted the area. There weren't that many creatures in this rocky canyon area. Dashi took that as a good opportunity to interview everyone for National Sea-graphic. There were to be individual interviews, so everyone was to wait in the library until Dashi called them. Everyone else had gone (it was the professor's turn now), and so the cat and polar bear were the only ones left.

Kwazii was slumped backwards over the couch, seeing everything upside down.

"Can't believe Dashi won't let us leave the library," Kwazii muttered.

"Now, Kwazii" the Captain gently admonished, not looking up from his book. "It's so she won't lose track of us. She knows just how easy it is for you to sneak away-"

"Hey!"

"-so it's for the best. Just be patient; you'll be free soon enough."

Kwazii pouted, then pulled himself up and sat the appropriate way on the couch. "Fine."

They waited. It was silent for a few moments. Captain Barnacles turned a page, getting deeper into the schematics and cycles of global water currents. Next thing he knew, there's impatient tapping on the small coffee table.

"You could read, you know."

"But all these books are boring!" Kwazii exclaimed. It wasn't loud, but it was still full of passion. Always the way that the Captain heard it. "They all have sciencey doohickeys and theories and whatnot. I know it's Inkling's collection of books, but come on."

"Well, then maybe you could do something else." He sometimes felt like he was talking to a child.

"Like what?"

Like what indeed. Captain Barnacles looked around, trying to wrack his brain. He spotted on a cardboard box on one of the lower shelves.

"How about a game of checkers?" he asked. He thought that Kwazii would say no. After all, it wasn't the most heart-thumping activity in the world.

But the pirate said, "Sure, I'll play a round."

Captain Barnacles grabbed the box and took it to the table. Kwazii waited for him there, and immediately started helping him set up.

Much to Barnacle's surprise, Kwazii had a pretty strategic mind, being able to counterattack his strategy fairly well. Of course, that didn't mean that he was winning; Captain Barnacles had this in the bag, he just knew it.

But as the game progressed, he realized something strange. The polar bear made his move and leaned back against the chair, studying the cat. Kwazii was completely focused on the game. The only part of his body that moved was his arm when it moved a piece. Not even his tail flicked.

He never thought that the cat could sit so still. But then again, he caught Kwazii sitting down sometimes, reading his own genre of books. But wouldn't he hate those sort of things? he wondered.

"Checkmate!" Kwazii yelled. Captain Barnacles snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the board. All of his black pieces were off the board except for one, which was about to be destroyed by a red piece.

Kwazii pumped a fist in the air. "I win! Yaow!" That was when Captain Barnacles finally got it. As long as there was something to do, anything at all (except cleaning) that could keep him engaged, Kwazii was fine. He could make it as interesting and energetic as he wanted. It was just absolute boredom that he despised.

Wait, did I just lose? he thought, finally thinking about reality. He saw Kwazii's smirk of dominance. Captain Barnacles smirked too. "Well done, Kwazii, but I wasn't paying much attention. Let's play again, and see if you'll be able to win this time."

"You're on!" Kwazii replied, starting to prepare the pieces.

This was going to be fun.