AN: the // marks in this story denote where the characters are speaking in a different language.
----Chapter 5----
A yellow seaplane trimmed in red buzzed over the sea with a large gray bear and a small brown furred cub inside. They were on their way back from a cargo run to Wannabe Flats.
The cub, named Kit Cloudkicker, looked out the window of the cockpit and checked his map.
"You know, this looks an awful lot like the way to Louie's." he said slyly.
"Now I wonder why..." Baloo said grinning.
"What are you gonna tell Ms. Cunningham THIS time?"
"The truth! See those great big storm clouds?" Baloo pointed toward the horizon where several large surly dark clouds were gathering. "We didn't want to fly my baby through that and they say any port in a storm."
Kit shook his head, grinning. He watched the clouds as they got more menacing. The plane managed to get to Louie's just ahead of the storm.
The place was packed as, apparently, every other pilot in the area had the same idea. Kit climbed onto a stool next to Baloo and watched as more pilots came, in varying states of sogginess. Most of them were bedraggled cargo pilots, but a group of canines came in and they made Kit distinctly nervous. He knew from experience that air pirates could, and most of the time did, get into places people didn't even think they would dare show their faces. Kit turned back towards the conversation betweeen Baloo and Louie. He'd just gotten into some drawn out tale from Baloo's earlier days when the door swung open and slammed shut.
Everyone turned and looked at the soaked duo who'd just arrived. The smaller of the two, a vixen, wrung the water out of her tail.
"Well, I suppose that got everyone's attention." the bearess said with a devil may care grin.
"What are two WOMEN doin' out in a storm like that?" a badger snorted and recieved a good slap on the back of his head for it from a female cargo pilot sitting next to him. He looked quite sheepish and ducked back to his drink, mumbling something about "just asking"
Mina found them both a place to sit. Camdyn climbed up next to the bear.
"Just out of curiousity, what is it you are doing out so far from...home?" a silky voice came from behind them.
"Out for a joyride, Sable." Mina said, not looking at the patchworked wolfess standing behind her. She'd known who it was before she'd spoken. A friendly looking younger wolfess bounced up to them.
"Sable's right. You are far from home. Did my brother throw you out?" she said rapidly, tilting her head so her gray hair slid away from her eyes.
Camdyn was puzzled, but Mina laughed.
"No, not really, Rox."
"Awww...I was hoping I could practice my negotiation techniques on him..." Rox looked positively put out.
"Hrpmh. All he'd do is look at you like you were insane. Which I am thinking you are."
"Just because I learned how to speak properly." Rox, alias Roxette or Roxie, stuck her tongue out at her older sister.
//You had better shut that mouth of yours or I might decide to shut it for you!// Sable snarled in a foreign language.
//You better watch out. You know our brother likes me better than you.//
Their bickering went on for several minutes, until Camdyn could stand no more.
//Enough! Are you both finished running each other into the ground?// she said. The two female wolves stopped and stared at her. Roxie with something akin to admiration, Sable with unbridled suspicion.
"I do not like you, vixen." Sable said.
"Not everyone does." Camdyn allowed, not breaking her gaze from that of the she-wolf.
Kit fidgeted. He'd seen that cinnimon bearess before, and he didn't want her to notice him. Baloo looked over at the cub.
"What's wrong with you Little Britches? Got ants in yer pants?"
"Remember when they said on the radio that that actress got kidnapped by the pirates and they ran all those pictures and stuff in the papers?"
"Yeah...from the way ol' Bekkers acted you'da thought old Karnage was hiding in her closet."
"Well, I don't think she got kidnapped..."
"I'm not following ya Kit."
"She didn't get kidnapped because she sitting at the other end of the bar!" Kit hissed.
"Well, good for her."
"No! She's sitting there with a pirate! The bear, and the white fox!"
Baloo glanced down the bar and caught the end of the arguement and the challenge between vixen and wolf.
Abruptly the patchwork wolf turned and strode away, followed quickly by the young gray wolf. They returned to a table with several other women at it who all looked puzzled over the exchange.
"Whose cursed with that...jackal...for a sister?" Camdyn huffed. Mina smiled.
"Captain Don Karnage."
Camdyn looked at Mina. "No, I meant really."
"I'm serious. You just met his sisters."
Camdyn glanced back at the group, who were now laughing at some private joke.
"Why do I get the feeling that I just made a serious mistake?"
"Not too serious. You've already got Roxie on your side. The trick is finding something that you can do that'll make Sable like you. Once you've done that...you're set for life."
One of the group at the table waved to the twosome.
"Come on over here! No sense in being all tough for us...ve can see right through ya!" a big female husky called.
"Seems we're invited to join the Ladies for a while." Mina said walking over to the table, Camdyn in tow.
"Long time since we last saw you Mina...what have you been up to?"
"Who's your friend?"
"You been keeping our guys out of trouble?"
Mina smiled and answered all the questions in one long statement.
"Just the same old song and dance, Kay. This is Camdyn...I've got the captain's blessing to train her up. No guarentee's though. Suki, are you kidding? Your guys get into so much trouble I couldn't dig them out with a shovel and half of the crew working with me."
Camdyn looked at each of the women. There were six, not including Sable or Roxie.
"I suppose introductions are in order for our soon-to-be cousin in arms?" the girl called Suki asked.
"I'll do it. You'll just get tangled up on the words again." Sable snorted.
"Well, I never claimed to be an enlightened intellectual like yourself." Suki shot back, but allowed the she-wolf to conduct the introductions.
"Right, that's Rayne, Suki, Kay, Lulu, Tilly and Maybelle." Sable pointed to the husky, a saluki, a cream colored labrador, a black and white cat, a cheerful looking mink, and a tawny coyote.
"Hello...I'm Camdyn, but you already know that." Camdyn smiled and Lulu giggled.
"Ye who needs no introduction." Maybelle said, striking a mournful pose that sent the others into a fit of laughter which cut off abruptly as a rather grating voice came over to them.
"Yes, well, I only go after the big payoffs. You know, the leaders. The common pirates aren't worth anything. It's more trouble than it's worth to bring them in alive." a rust colored dingo slouched at the next table. "Isn't that right, Barlowe?"
A female hyena who was missing the tip of her right ear nodded. "That's right. Either kill 'em or castrate them I say."
The cat who was talking to them winced. "Why castrate?"
"Keeps them from breeding more of their filth." the dingo answered. Rayne looked as though she might enjoy popping the dingo's head off of his body.
"Let it go, Rayne...don't give in. He's just doing it to draw you in!" Suki whispered into the larger huskys ear. "It's just words!"
Camdyn looked at the dingo. She'd figured out that he was nothing more than a bounty hunter. She listened as he told the cat about all the special equipment he'd put on his plane. Mina tapped her on the shoulder making her jump.
"Wanna take it?"
"Take what?"
"Just a little joyride. Out over the horizon. We'll drop in on you girls in a little while for a midnight snack, ok?" Mina said as she stood up, dragging Camdyn with her.
Outside it was still drizzling, but the wind had slacked off and it was starting to clear up to the east. Camdyn looked at Mina.
"What are you talking about?!"
"Time for you to walk the walk." Mina pointed at a plane. It was obviously the bounty hunters.
"Wait, you want me to take his plane?!"
"Of course. Call it your first test. Let's see if you pass, shall we?"
Mina outlined a plan for Camdyn to follow. She'd have to improvise a bit, but it was the basics. Camdyn made her way over to the plane and calmly climbed into the cockpit. It was slightly damp as it was open to the air. The little monoplane bobbed in the water as if it were ready to cut and run. Camdyn tossed the line off into the water. She looked down at Mina who nodded, then fired the engine. As it roared to life, she began to taxi into the open and hoped that she could remember what Mina had told her about take offs.
The little plane was in the air before anyone realized that something was up. By the time the dingo had figured it out, Camdyn was buzzing into the sky beyond.
"Damn you! You disgusting worm! Filthy pirate! I'll hunt you down and have your tail as a antenna ornament!" he screeched after her. Camdyn looked over at Mina nervously, but Mina gave her a reassuring thumbs up and assumed the lead with Camdyn trailing behind her.
Back on the dock, Baloo and Kit watched the hunter and Barlowe stand looking out in the direction the planes had last been heading.
"So much for the common pirate not being good enough." Lulu snorted. Maybelle nodded her agreement. They walked past the Sea Duck and climbed aboard a rickety looking old bomber.
"Well, I see you've learned a hard lesson about messing around with Don Karnage already." Carl, the cat who'd been listening to the hunters tales addressed him.
"That wasn't Karnage, that was some two-bit crook."
"In case you didn't notice, that was a CT-35D. A trainer. You ought to be able to put two and two together."
"What?"
"They used them in the war to teach student pilots to fly a CT-37. It's the same plane, only a little bigger with an extra cockpit." the hyena informed Johnson.
"Yes, and only Don Karnage uses CT-37's, Johnson." Carl walked away without another word.