A/N: Quick note, this story will go on based on the reviews I get or if people actually want me to continue it. By the way, these characters are humans with animal features and traits (for example, having antlers or eating more meat due to being carnivores). Most characters in this story don't know each other. This story is bound to get real dark in future chapters, as well, but it's Happy Tree Friends. It's already dark. Oh, and I do not own Happy Tree Friends, but I wasted a shooting star wish on getting mini Lifty and Shifty, so that's something. That is all. Enjoy.
Sniffles looked over his roster for the sixteenth time that day, pacing back and forth to make sure everything was taken into account. He had been so worried about the flow of the future trip that he had checked the names of the crew at least twelve times and called the captain of the boat a total of five times. Just to make sure there weren't any flukes. You can call him paranoid, but he didn't care. This expedition wasn't just important to him, it would be a defining moment in his career as an archeologist. He checked through his bag to make sure he had everything he needed for the journey and made a quick scanning of his house to make sure everything was locked up and that nothing would burn down the house whilst he was away.
While checking the bathroom, he was able to catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He scoffed at the ruffled appearance of his light blue hair and rushed to straighten it back into a more professional style. Sniffles was an anteater, and that fact alone didn't get him much respect. With a large, bushy, prehensile tail combed to the best of his ability and oval shaped ears that stuck out of his hair in a neat manner, he would've looked rather professional and serious, had it not been for his youthful looks and his light blue fur. He wore regular khaki pants and a baby blue dress shirt, complete with a pen holder on the left side of said shirt, filled with three different colored pens and a pencil. Fitting perfectly on his nose and defining his soft blue eyes were a pair of dark blue glasses, the bridge between the two frames being held together by a thin piece of tape due to him once tripping over his own tail. Although he wouldn't admit it, he knew he looked like the biggest nerd to ever grace the Earth. The fact that his shirt was tucked in didn't help.
After his miniature style session in the bathroom, he then went back to see of his map was marked correctly. The map was marked to show the path of the voyage. The trip would only be about two weeks time, give or take a few days. The sooner he got off the boat of some simple minded volunteers, the better. But who knows what would happen. The voyage was going to a recently discovered island way off the shore of South America. The only reason it hadn't been discovered until recently is because of how far away it was located from the main land. When it was said that there were large, Mayan-like temples seen around the center of the island. Archaeologists everywhere were scrambling to pull together an expedition to be the first to explore the island. Sniffles was one of those people, and fortunately for him, he was prepared. He quickly rounded up his colleagues and they were able to get some people to sign up as volunteers. He didn't have the funds to actually hire people, only enough to afford renting a ship, which was why few signed up in the first place. Those who did decide to tag along either did it for experience, potential fame and fortune, or just for the adventure of it all.
A quick check of the time on his watch was what finally got him to exit his home. After making sure he had locked the door twice, he hurried to the bus stop. There was no need to use his car and risk it being stolen when he was gone. The bus driver was a bit rude, but it was nothing to get him worked up over. He quickly sat in the first empty seat available, not taking notice of the people on either side of him. With his bag resting in his lap, he stressfully drummed his fingers on his seat.
As the bus continued on its usual rout, Sniffles began to check his papers again to see if he had everything correct and in order. It wasn't long before he realized that one of his neighbors was looking over at his work. He tried to ignore it, but the stranger only leaned in closer to peek at the papers. Agitated, he glared at the man to his right. The curious neighbor was a moose, guessing from the shape of his antlers, one of which was twisted upside down. His hair was similar in color to Sniffles, but was much shorter and unkempt, standing out against his peach skin. Another very noticeable feature was how tall he was, towering over the scientist by at least a foot. He wore a plain blue plaid button-up shirt and a pair of dirtied blue jeans, all being topped off by dark blue handkerchief tied around his neck to make a triangle shape on his front. Sniffles continued to glare at the man, but said person only continued to look at the papers, confusion prominent in his nursery blue eyes. "Can I help you?" the anteater asked as politely as he could. The moose looked up, seemingly startled at the sudden voice speaking to him. It took a moment to register, but a deep-voiced response soon arrived. "Help? Naw, I'm fine. You sure need help, though." Eyebrows were raised. "Me? Now why would you assume that?" the scientist asked. The moose didn't need to think this one over. "Well you've got all those papers in your hands. All that paper must mean you're doing important stuff, and important stuff is always hard, you know?"
Sniffles' look of puzzlement turned to one of annoyance. Out of all the people he had to sit by, it was some simple-minded moose that couldn't keep his antlers out of other people's business. Now, usually he would've made an intelligent and somewhat witty remark or even tried to explain his situation, but today was just not his kind of day.
When the moose realized that his new bus buddy wasn't going to respond, he took it as a sign of agreement and kept talking. "So where you going? Work? To town? To a friend's house? I'm going fishing! And with a lot of people! It's going to be great! You should come, if you want. Take your mind off all that work and-"
Sniffles let out a barely audible groan, looking around desperately for somewhere else to sit. He couldn't take this man's mindless chatter anymore. He began to rise when be felt an hand on his shoulder
"Take a chill man. If he's bothering you, just don't listen."
He stopped and looked back not at the moose, but the other neighbor he interestingly forgot to notice. Interesting because the man to his left looked like he had just traveled in time from a 1970's disco club. He had it all: the sparkly yellow long-sleeved shirt with the top few buttons undone and popped out, the matching bell bottoms, the large orange platform shoes that only seemed suitable on promiscuous women, and, of course, the largest afro he'd ever seen in the purest of orange, all complete with sideburns and a thin gold chain around his neck. He couldn't even tell what animal the man was, as any ears he had were covered up. The baritone voice and obvious potbelly were very uncomfortable, and the laid-back expression on his somewhat pale face wasn't helping at all.
Sniffles, by all accounts, wasn't about to take advice from a yellow Tony Manero. Somehow though, those lidded tangerine eyes were somehow able to convince him to sit back down. The disco fanatic smiled and gave him a pat on the back. "There you go, my man. Don't let that bozo get to ya. Good?" The scientist nodded. "Groovy." Well that's a word he hadn't heard in years. Just great.
The drive to the docks was a twenty minute one, and boy was it stressful. Between trying to ignore the moose's never ending chatter and the disco's constant humming of old club songs, Sniffles thought he would have an attack of some sort. The driver nearly missed the stop, but thanks to the anteater's frantic shouting, Sniffles was able to get off safe and sound. To his surprise, the nuisances that sat beside him got off the bus as well. He turned to look at them. "So I can assume you two are together?" The disco's brow raised and his shoulders rose and slumped. "From what I got from the man here, yeah. We both signed up for that exploring trip."
Sniffles blinked in surprise. "Wait, what are your names?" he asked as he took out his roster and looked through the names. Lumpy and Disco Bear, they claimed. It takes no effort to point out which was which. Eyes shifted over the list of names, and sure enough, there was their names near the top of the list. He held back a groan and gave an encouraging smile. "Well it's good to have you on the team," he said in a barely there, shaky voice. How had he failed to see the bags slung over their shoulders?
Ignoring his visual mistake, he turned around and surveyed the area. His gaze shifted around the docks, looking here and there for any sign of life, aside from the standard sea bird. He huffed when he realized he was the only one there. Then again, he did arrive two hours early.
Just to be safe.
The only indicator of it being the pickup spot was the large wooden sailing ship that was docked at one of the larger ports. It was quite big, looking to hold fifty people at most excluding cargo, perfect for the small-scale trip. Scrawled across the side of the ship in big cursive letters was 'Blue Pearl'. He wasn't all that thrilled to see that the ship was entirely wooden; a hazard incase there were any smokers on board. He spotted a makeshift board that made a ramp from the dock to the ship and promptly used it to climb onto the ship. Onboard, he was surprised to finally see the captain for the first time. Of course, he had talked with him before over the phone, and he had assumed that the man in question was somewhat uneducated, but he hadn't known to what extent.
The captain was a sea otter, that much was obvious. His flat, beaver-like tail lied flat on the dirty ship floor whilst his ears were hidden snugly under a large black pirate hat, which adorned a picture of a skull and crossbones. What gave his species away was how he was eating mussels as he walked to and fro around the ship. His fur was a surprisingly clean turquoise, and his matching hair was somewhat unkempt and still long enough as to where it was put in a small ponytail. His skin was a nice olive tan, showing off all the time he'd spent in the sun. His clothes were worse than the state of the ship. His red and white striped shirt was dirtied to the point of where the white seemed to be a yellowish color, and there were many rips along the sleeves and the opening. His fitting pants were also in a somewhat tattered condition, but any dirt was almost invisible due to the article being black. Draped across his shoulders was a sort of dark blue cape lined with gold designs; it was the only thing about him that seemed visually appealing.
The captain heard Sniffles call to him, he turned to greet him, giving the anteater another reason why this was a bad idea. He wore an eyepatch over his right eye, leaving his shining sea-green lefty to be his only way to see. His left hand was not even there, instead being replaced by a hook, and his lower legs were replaced by wooden pegs. These fake limbs elevated him to tower of the younger man. Besides the obvious disabilities, Sniffles noticed in his features that he seemed to be of eastern descent. It was faint, but definitely there.
Sniffles gave a reluctant sigh, being unable to force a smile on his face when greeting the friendly otter. Despite his visible displeasure, the otter seemed to just ignore it when he introduced himself.
"Ahoy! The name be Russell! Yer that Sniffles lad, aren't cha?"
Sniffles, to say the least, wasn't happy. When he thought he has booked a reliable man to work with to guide the ship, the captain turns out to be some washed up flimsy swashbuckler who didn't even have all of his limbs and had the same education and respectability as that of an oil rag.
No offense to oil rags.
If Russell noticed the anteater's lack of words and reluctance to even show a bit of gratitude, he didn't seem to care. He pat Sniffles' shoulder reassuringly, earning a displeased look, and turned him around to look at the two who just appeared.
Sniffles was startled to see what he first thought was a clown. But it wasn't a clown. It was much worse.
The first man seemed to be around Sniffles' age. His hair was a soothing lavender and was surprisingly well kept. His face was absolutely smothered in white make up, purple markings being apparent here and there to define his mauve eyes and such. There was so much make up and clothing that Sniffles couldn't even see what color his skin was, He wore a white and purple striped sweater and donned pure white gloves on his hands. His pants and shoes were a simple black and the large antlers that emerged from his head were proof enough of him being a stag. The makeup, the exaggerated movement, the refusal to even speak a word; the only thing that made mimes even remotely bearable was that they didn't tell jokes. The mime smiled and waved at the anteater. Sniffles ignored it and looked at the second man.
This orange haired male seemed normal enough. With a matching orange beaver tail, soft yellow eyes, and adorning a yellow hard hat on his head, he looked normal from the chest up. His attire was simple: a wife beater, dirty blue jeans, and some steel-toed boots. Unfortunately, his arms happened to stop at the elbows. Bandages were wrapped around the amputated stumps, but other than that, he seemed pretty normal.
Sniffles' grimace was more than apparent. He looked over the roster, then looked at Russell. He gave a gent tugging of the otter's sleeve; a sign that he wanted to speak to him without the company of others. Russell obliged and they moved a few feet behind a few crates of supplies.
"Russell, you never told me you were bringing extra people along. They never signed up for the expedition!" Sniffles hissed under his breath. Russell scoffed. "Calm yerself, laddie. They ain't messin' up yer expedition. Me boy Mime is here ta lead my girl here while I take the night off." Sniffles took a quick glance around. "Your girl?" he questioned, raising a brow. The pirate tapped the railing of the ship with his hook. "'Ol Pearl here ain't steering herself," he said with a bit of pride in his voice.
Sniffles took a glance at the deer from behind the crates. Mime was doing strand bodily motions, trying to tell the beaver something, but he just wasn't understanding.
"HE can steer a ship?" Sniffles asked incredulously. Russell gave a shrug. "He ain't any Morgan I've ever seen, but he knows how to steer 'er right. Made sure o' that! As for Handy o'er there-" Sniffles visibly cringed at the pure irony of the name. "He's here ta fix 'er up if she ends goin' belly up."
Sniffles peered from behind the crates, but this time at the beaver. "HIM?" Sniffles asked, a bit louder than necessary. Russell nodded. "Can fix 'er right up." He was given another incredulous look. "But he's a double amputee!" the anteater exclaimed through gritted teeth, exasperated. Russell merely raised a one of his wooden legs and tapped the crate with it. "And I be missin' three of me limbs. Now, go play nice. Yer gonna be stuck together fer a week 'r two, ya hear?"
And with that, Russell turned and began to walk away, but stopped after a few feet. Without even turning to meet the anteater's gaze, he lightly tapped the railing of his beloved ship lightly. "'Nd just so ye know, lad, yer on my vessel. It be 'Captain' to you."
Sniffles grumbled as he watched the sea otter go and greet Disco Bear and Lumpy. He stepped away from the cargo, fully aware that he was being watched. He walked up to the odd pair and shook the deer's hand. "Sniffles," he says. He nodded to Handy as a greeting. "A pleasure to meet you both. And it's nice to know this voyage's end won't be premature." Mime smiled and did a few bodily motions, one of which looked like he was playing golf. Handy just chuckled and shook his head. "Well it's good to be here. It's been a while since I've had any work. If you need me, I'll be checking the supplies."
Sniffles watched Handy turn and enter one of the open door that led to the interior of the ship. He noticed the mime hadn't left along with him, and was in fact still staring at him. He took a glance at Mime's smiling face and said, "Aren't you going to help him?" He was replied with crouching and what looked like imitation cleaning the floor. "Yeeeaaaah..." Sniffles muttered uneasily, "You go do that. I'm going to greet the other passangers."
Quickly hurrying away from the clown, Sniffles was able to to get off the ship just as another man looked to be getting ready to step on. He gazed at the other man curiously, having not expected to have a veteran onboard the expedition.
The man was a bear. His hair was a soft mint green that he let grow out into a sort of shaggy state and his eyes were like two circular emeralds. His skin was surprisingly pale, for he looked well built enough to assume he'd spent considerable time outside. He wore some loose fitting blue jeans and an army styled jacket over a plain white t-shirt. His black combat boots looked big enough to crush a watermelon, as he had regrettably noted. What proved that he was actually a veteran was the green beret that he wore snugly on his head, as it bore the crest of their nation's flag. Sniffles also noticed the arrow pattern sewn onto each arm, a pattern which identified his as a sergeant. This was especially shocking, as he looked to be around the anteater's age. The silver dog tags around his neck that had his name engraved into it, which gave Sniffles all the information he required.
"You must be Flippy," he said, sticking out his hand. The bear smiled shook his hand, saying, "And you must be that scientist I keep hearing about. Sniffles, right?" The anteater nodded appreciatively and looked over the roster. "Alright. Go ahead and get onboard. Others should be here soon."
As Flippy went onboard with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder, Sniffles kept an eye out until he spotted two more people approaching. One of them he recognized, but the other he didn't.
Giggles was a pink chipmunk, and a nice one at that. Everything she wore was some shade of red or pink. Her hair was a light shade of bubble gum and was styled in a bob cut. She had beige toned skin and her eyes shone hot pink. The short sleeved blouse she wore was so pale in color, it was almost white, while the long skirt she wore was of a much darker shade. To top it all off, she had a large scarlet bow atop her head. Resting comfortably in her arms was a small light gray puppy, sound asleep and fidgeting here and there. There were splotches of white here and there: on the belly, the left ear, the left eye, and the tip of the tail. Sniffles grimaced at the sight of the dog, as it was something he didn't account for.
The boy next to Giggles wasn't so charmingly dressed like her. With a large yellow hoodie and some loose fitting blue jeans, he looked more fitting at a skate park than standing on the docks. His somewhat neat/somewhat messy hair was just a few shades darker than his hoodie and his eyes shone the yellow you would see at a traffic light. The two large hare ears that stuck out of his head were a bit lopsided and lazily bent over themselves. Slung on both his shoulders were bags most likely filled with clothes and other necessities. Sniffles found him to be a bit unprofessional, but then again, it was Giggles with the dog in her arms.
"Giggles!" Sniffles greeted before turning to the young man, "And friend..." The rabbit raised an eye questioningly, but his mouth held a playful smirk, a visual sign of his good humor. "Cuddles," he said, shaking the blue one's hand. "Sniffles, right? Giggles tells me all about how much of a nerd-" a quick smack to the arm "- I mean how much of a genius you are." Sniffles, despite having a much lower sense of humor, merely passed the little slip up off as a joke. He looked over his roster and spotted the name 'Cuddles' near the top.
"Glad you could join in our expedition. Check in with the captain to see which room you'll be staying in." "How will we know which one is the captain?" Cuddles asked. Sniffles merely gave a strained chuckle, before saying, "Trust me, you'll know when you see him." The rabbit merely shrugged and boarded the ship. Giggles smiled at her friend. "I want to thank you again, Sniffles. You know I need the money."
Her acquaintance returned the kind expression. "It's my pleasure. Just do your part and there won't be any problems. Of course, there is one question I must ask..." Giggles knew exactly what he was about to say. "I know, and I'm sorry about Whistle," she confessed. "We just couldn't find someone who was willing to watch over him while we were gone. I promise, he won't cause any trouble!"
Sniffles thought her beg over. Of course he wasn't going to let her bring that mutt onto the ship. He didn't care about whose feeling it hurt, as this trip was way too important to be ruined by a mutt. He had every intention of refusing, but once she flashed those big begging eyes at him, be found himself nodding in agreement. Giggles gave him a quick hug and boarded the ship and towards her boyfriend, only to be intercepted by Disco Bear. Flirts were thrown from the bear, only to be ignored and have him left hanging. Instead of laughing at the funny encounter, Sniffles could only worry more. Tension among passengers was one of the last things he wanted.
Due to it being so early, it took half an hour for anyone else to show up. The first two to make their way onto the docks were twins. As they approached Sniffles, he got a strange feeling about them. He could tell just by they way they walked and talked with each other that they were up to no good. However, they dressed quite nicely, something that only enhanced the uneasy feeling simmering in his gut.
To start off, they looked identical to each other, even in the clothes they wore. They both had unkempt green and somewhat tan skin. Their pointed ears, dark green markings around their eyes, and long bushy tails ringed with forrest green identified them as raccoons. Both wore white dress shirts with ties that matched the color of their masks, though the shirts were untucked into their black pants and the ties were loose. Also strange were the gloves they wore; dark green and covering their entire hands. That sure raised an eyebrow or two. The only other similarity they shared were the same black dress shoes that didn't show a hint of wear. The only thing telling them apart was a beige fedora, which rested snugly on the head of the right twin, concealing his ears. Instead of carrying backpacks or duffle bags, each one carried a brown suitcase.
Sniffles gulped down his nervousness as they approached him, but to his surprise, they just passed right by him to board the ship. His shock didn't last long though, as he recovered in time to yell out, "Wait! Hold on just a minute!" The raccoons stopped in their tracks and turned to look at him. Both looked over him, as if evaluating if he was even worth talking to. The hatless raccoon's face then split into a wide grin, and his brother's expression followed suit.
Both men approached him. "Snuffles, right?" the one with the fedora asked, the grin never leaving his face. "Sniffles," the anteater corrected. "Nah," the plain one denied, "It's gotta be Snuffles." The first one gave the blue haired man a playful pinch to the cheek. "Yeah, you sure look like a Snuffles. You sure you don't wanna change your name or somethin'? Sniffles ain't exactly somethin' to be proud of." The man in question merely smacked the hand away and ignored their play whilst he looked over his clipboard.
"You two must be Lifty and Shifty," he concluded.
"He's Lifty," said the fedora, pointing to his brother.
"And he's Shifty," said the plain, gesturing to his sibling.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he said with a sigh. "Just don't cause any trouble, okay?"
The twins gave each other mischievous grins. A strange giggle/laugh came from closed teeth, a mix of "tee hee hee hee" and "heh heh heh" with a bit of the "we're so gonna mug this guy" vibe thrown in for good measure. Hopefully this laugh was only temporary, as it was going to get old real fast.
Sniffles was tempted to ask if there was anything he should know about, but then decided he would handle it if it became a problem. "Go on in. The captain will inform you as to where you will be sleeping." The two nodded and boarded the ship together.
Right away another man ran in front of Sniffles and stopped just before him. The anteater's jaw dropped in bewilderment as he looked around the docks, wondering where he had come from. Had he been hiding behind the twins? Or had he really just ran up there while he wasn't looking? The latter seemed more likely, as this man looked ready to run- no, sprint a marathon. He was nearly bouncing off the walls with his consistent twitching and jittering.
The man was a lime green squirrel. His hair, with streaks of yellow-green in the middle, was in tangles as something sticky was holding its ruined shape. His tail was in a similar state, but this time the chunks of candy were visible between the knots. His skin was a light tan splattered with a sticky sheen. He wore a lime green hoodie with various candies printed on the front. loose black jeans, and some white sneakers, all of which look like they've been rubbed down with candy. Under one arm was a duffle bag, also sticky and with a wrapper or two stuck between the zippers. At one point, Sniffles noticed the squirrel had heterochromia iridum, or two different colored irises in English. The right eye was a soft yellow-green, while the left was a neon green and rested lazily at the bottom of the socket. Despite this, the man had an expression of childishness and carefreeness.
"Nutty!" the squirrel said, rushed to the point of misinterpretation. Nutty was indeed the word for this man. In all his years, Sniffles had never seen a man so...
"Nutty!" the man repeated again, the goofy look expression on his face slowly turning into impatience.
Bizarre. That's what he was. Completely bizarre.
"It's Nutty!"
Did this man have Tourettes of some sort? Was he mentally ill? Maybe he was lost, and confused this place with a candy convention.
"Nutty! N-U-T-T-Y! Don't tell me I'm not on the list!"
"Oh!" Sniffles spurt out in realization. "That's your name! Oh, my apologies." He quickly spotted the squirrel on the roster. "Go on ahead."
The silly smile returned to Nutty's face as he giggled and quickly rushed onboard. Sniffles was seriously starting to rethink this trip. This idea would only be hammered in more with the next two passengers.
The first indication that he shouldn't even let the two on the ship was how one was guiding the other. The guide himself was someone Sniffles knew, and had worked with him on several different occasions. The acquaintance was a purple beaver. His skin was the shade of mocha, his eyes shone a hot lavender, and his curly purple hair was fell over head limply. His attire was quite simple: some khaki cargo pants, a purple t-shirt, and some black sneakers. One of the more noticeable features of the man were the large front teeth that slightly protruded from his upper lip, giving him a more silly look on his face. Many made jokes about the size if his chompers, but Sniffles found it to be a unique trait, just like the obvious dimples in beaver's cheeks. Resting on his shoulders were two large bags, one for himself and one for his friend. The friend himself was the main focus of attention.
When a man or a woman carries a cane, no matter what it's used for, it always meant they were crippled. However, identifying a blind man was almost too easy. Seeing that red tipped white stick click across the wooden floor of the dock brought a wave of hopelessness into Sniffles' system. The way the locks of his soft lavender hair formed together neatly told how he cared for his appearance, but the blackened round glasses he wore also showed how he could 't even see his own appearance. The deep purple turtle neck he wore hid his mouth from view, and the black pants and shoes weren't revealing anything either. Like the twins from earlier, the man also wore gloves, dark purple to be exact. The only his nose upwards were unhidden by clothing, besides his eyes of course. This view allowed Sniffles to see a large mole that was apparent on the right side if his nose. Despite all this, it was still hard to identify the species of animal this man was. All that hinted to it were two rounded purple ears that poked out from his hair. Maybe he was a guinea pig or some sort of rodent.
"Toothy," Sniffles greeted to the familiar man. "It's so good to have you on this expedition. And who is your friend?" The beaver quickly understood the message.
"Yeah, I suppose I should've called you about it before hand," Toothy apologized. "You suppose?" Sniffles questioned, his brow raised. His friend's chuckle was strained. "Sniffles, this is The Mole. He's a friend of mine."
Sniffles' eyes roamed over the blind man. "The Mole? As in the animal or the blemish?" he asked, half jokingly. Toothy merely laughed him off. "Anyways, I told him about the little voyage and he was interested in it. He decided to tag along. That's okay, right?"
Sniffles was about to outright refuse this man entrance, but something inside was telling him to just leave them be. The Mole might've been as useful as an armless construction worker, but a little voice called pity gripped the anteater by the heart. The man looked fairly young for a blind man, and despite having his face hidden, he seemed eager to do something worthwhile. Sniffles clenched his jaw, and before he could stop himself, he said, "Very well. Come on in." Toothy smiled in appreciation and climbed aboard. The Mole said nothing and followed suit. Not even a 'thank you.'
The next two passengers that arrived relieved his stress a bit more. Both were women, both carried duffle bags, and both were important pieces of the voyage. The skunk and porcupine approached Sniffles, one timid and the other confident.
"Sniffles! It looks like everything is going well so far," said Petunia, the skunk. Looking up at the boat, her face grimaced. "It could use a bit of a wash, though."
Petunia was a blue skunk, with a baby blue trail running through the middle of her hair and splitting her long bushy tail. Her hair reached her mid back and was put up in a high pony tail to keep it out of her navy blue eyes. Her facial structure and skin tone suggested she was of latino heritage. She wore a white blouse with a light blue drape coat, blue jeans, and white flats. Around her neck was a pine-scented air freshener that was usually meant for cars and tucked behind her ear was a pretty pink petunia. She was meant to help Sniffles with translating the language of the ruins they would be exploring. The problem was her OCD. He could already see her hands twitch as she looked over the grimy state of the ship.
"Well I wouldn't exactly say things are going 'well' to tell you the truth," Sniffles confessed. He looked back at the ship, watching as Mime attempted to communicate with the other passengers.
"Wh-what do you m-mean?" stuttered Flaky, the porcupine. He could see her large crimson eyes gawking at the size and state of the boat. Her long, messy, scarlet hair draped down her back. The mane was filled with hundreds of differently sized quills and littered with flakes of dandruff, causing it to appear quite bushy. Her pale hands fidgeted nervously with the sleeves of her red sweater, which seemed two sizes too big. Her legs, clad in baggy black jeans, bent inwards and shook in the stereotypical scared fashion. Sniffles smiled at her easy fright.
"Oh, Flaky, it's nothing you need to worry about," he said with a chuckle. While he would love to let out his frustration, he didn't want to scare Flaky off. She was his navigator, after all. They not only worked together, but were friends as well, and had been ever since high school. Despite this, nothing would stop her from scurrying of at the slightest hint of danger. It was believed she had some sort of anxiety disorder, which explained why she never wanted to be alone and was afad of meeting everyone Sniffles introduced to her.
He could tell she was cautious of believing him right away. Still, she nodded and went with Petunia aboard the ship. Only seconds later did he begin to hear the skunk begin to nag the captain about his cleanliness. That wouldn't turn out well.
As time began to wane for access onto the ship, Sniffles noticed there weren't many people left on the roster to account for. In fact, there were only three left. As he was about to climb aboard the ship, the saw two- no, three people making their way to him.
The first person was one he somewhat recognized, probably having seen her at one time or another. She was a lamb, no doubt about that. Her curly lavender hair fell across her shoulders in waves and her red-violet eyes shone with confidence. Hugging her body snuggly was a white wool sweater and her legs were hidden by a long mauve skirt. Tossed over her shoulder was a large bag, most likely filled with essentials. In her hands she held a large cucumber. Well, cradled was a better term, as she carried the vegetable like it was her own half-pound child. Seeing as she was a lamb, Sniffles presumed she was the "Lammy" on his roster.
The second person was a bear he worked with constantly, and was older and more experienced than any of the other passengers. With lazy latte-brown hair, droopy brown eyes, and somewhat tan skin, he didn't look all that professional. Not to mention his style of clothing would win an award for "laziest Sunday casual" and then some. He wore a plain white shirt, sweatpants, red slippers, and a matching red bathrobe that wrapped around his entire body. On his head, tucked between his round ears was a red cap and between his lips was a tobacco pipe, fully completing the stereotypical "50's sitcom dad" look. Speaking of being a dad, that's where the third person entered into the situation. Being carried by the hip was a toddler, most likely still in diapers. The child was like his father in many ways: the skin tone, deep brown eyes, the way his face would scrunch up at the heavy smell of seawater and fish. The boy wasn't so lazily dressed, though, as he wore a striped yellow/orange shirt, blue overalls, and a colorful beanie with a propellor. The only trait he visibly got from his mother was a tuft of auburn hair.
"Lammy, I presume," Sniffles said as the three came to greet him. "Pop, it's nice to see you here." He paused to give the bear cub a playful tickle to the stomach. "And you must be Cub! Your dad talks so much about you!" Cub burst out into a fit of laughter at the attack, forcing the anteater to retreat almost immediately. Wiping the nothing on his hands onto his shirt, he continued talking. "In fact, he talks about you so much, I was afraid he'd bring you onto the ship!" He looked up at Pop. "Which does require some explanation, if you wouldn't mind." The older man merely nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I suppose it does," he whispered, a strained sigh on his lips.
Sniffles looked at the baby. A puppy he could handle, but a baby? No. Absolutely not.
"Couldn't you have found a babysitter? A family friend? Parents? Anything?" Sniffles questioned, each inquiry interrupting the bear's chance to talk. Pop only shook his head. The lamb with them looked as though she felt out of place, so she was told to climb aboard. Now alone, Sniffles needed not worry about looking like a complete asshole.
"Seriously, Pop? You couldn't warn me about this?" he hissed in frustration. Pop gave another sigh and said, "She cancelled at the last minute! He had nowhere to go." The scientist pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, trying hard not to explode. He looked back at the ship, only to see some of the passengers curiously watching from over the railing. The last thing he wanted to do was make everyone think bad of him. Plus he needed Pop's help, as he helped Sniffles with most of the research and scheduling. He turned back to Pop, keeping his voice in a whisper. "You have supplies for him, right?" He was rewarded with a subtle nod. "Good, get onboard and speak with the captain. He'll find a suitable room for you and your son. Just please make sure he doesn't become a problem, okay?" This earned him a sort of glare, but he went onboard without a word. Not even a moment later, Sniffles could hear many of the passengers flock to see the child and give their comments of adoration.
Just. Great.
There was only one name on the list left, yet there was no sign of him anywhere. Sniffles began to worry over the missing person, but didn't panic. It was only one person and it was still pretty early. He was sure the man would appear sometime soon. However, after thirty minutes of waiting, he went aboard the ship. He didn't have time to wait. He needed to make sure everything was in perfect shape.
Most of the crew were already inside the ship, probably touring the rooms and cabins. The ones who weren't inside were mostly chatting with others. Noticing the way Giggles rolled her eyes at Disco Bear's flirts, he knew that some would get along more than others. Most of the cargo was finally moved to the hold. Russell, who was no longer munching on mussels, was giving information to Flippy about the ship and it's rooms.
As he was about to approach the pirate, he suddenly heard someone climb aboard. Sniffles looked over at man and went to greet him.
The man was a light blue flying squirrel who's hair was only a few shades darker than Sniffles' own. He was noticeably barrel chested with broad shoulders, something that didn't seem right in his white dress shirt and red tie. He wore khaki dress pants, black shoes, and a fedora similar to that of Shifty's. His hair was kept in a slicked, neat fashion and his cobalt eyes were framed by a pair of thick glasses. As the squirrel walked up to the anteater, he felt both intimidated by his large stature, heavy set appearance, and confident smile. However, he also felt the nagging tug of recognition. His face looked so familiar. Who was he? Had he seen him in TV before?
Sniffles gave a welcoming smile and was about to introduce himself, when the clipboard was suddenly snatched from his hands. His jaw dropped slightly was he watched the man read over the clipboard, before handing it back. "Uh... It's nice to have another member of our crew..." Sniffles said awkwardly. The man smiled and spoke in a voice that was deep and orotund. "Glad to be here. Now can you point me to the captain?"
Sniffles' brow was raised. "Well I'd like to know your name first, he said as he scanned for the last name in the clip board that wasn't accounted for. "You must be Truffles."
The squirrel's eyes flashed confusion and a bit of offense. "Excuse me?" he near demanded. "Truffles. It's the only name on this list that it's already marked present. You did sign up for this, right?" Sniffles questioned, becoming the confused one. 'Truffles' suddenly realized what he was saying. "Oh! Yeah, heh," he said, "Yup, that's me. Truffles... The squirrel." Without another word, he quickly walked off to meet the captain.
Well gee, that wasn't suspicious at all.
Sniffles merely shrugged it off. Probably someone just embarrassed about their name. At least everyone was here now. He passed by Russell, who was now talking to the man claiming to be 'Truffles'. He told him that everyone was here and was responded with a gleeful "Yar!"
Sniffles shook his head in annoyance, but decided to calm himself by looking out at land. It would be the last he'd see of it for about two or three weeks. He thought about the aftermath of the expedition, and how he would finally get the respect he deserved for all his hard work, research, and well planned ambitions. As he admired the sand and the was the water crashed into the land in foamy tides, he spotted something peculiar land next to him.
Next to him, landing gracefully despite the winds of the sea, was a butterfly. It was a beautiful periwinkle with streaks of blue painting the inner parts of the wings. It flapped its wings once more, but never took off. That's how he noticed that the insect only had five of what is supposed to be six legs. It was odd how a five-legged butterfly was somehow drawn to the ocean and onto a ship, but Sniffles thought nothing of it. He watched the insect flutter to another part of the ship, then turned back to the land.
"'Right, ye landlubbers. Everyone give yer best wishes to the land! We be headin' out to the water is a wee bit, ya hear?"
Sniffles groaned at the captain's dialect. That was going to get old. The pains of having to work with others. Nevertheless, he looked at the land, admiring its beauty for the last time before turning to face the ugly beast that was the ocean and walking into the ship and searching for his cabin. He looked over his clipboard once again, making sure everything was in order. He smiled as he reassured himself that everything would be fine. Nothing would go wrong, and he would make sure of that.
But he couldn't. He wasn't prepared for the horrors he would encounter, and he never would be.
The periwinkle butterfly, the delicate beauty that would soon serve as their only warning, gently flapped its wings and followed Petunia into the ship. Maybe it was attracted to the flower on her head or her smell of fresh pine. Maybe it was just natural curiosity. It doesn't matter. It was there, and so were twenty unlucky passengers, in for the adventure of a lifetime.