Chapter 8

Stupid bloody Pintel

Pintel was quite infuriated at the other pirates when word reached him. Once again Raggeti managed to get himself under their boots and as a result the pair would be looked down upon. Pintel could straighten them out. It'd take a pistol though, and he was sure Twigg wouldn't go for the murder of his crew. He easily figured who the men were, the five of them who usually were the ones picking on Raggeti. Mallet, Simbaka, Maximo, and Scratch, usually led by Grapple, but in this case that would be impossible.

Pintel trotted up onto the quarter deck, where Twigg was currently manning the wheel. He leaned against the rail out to the lower deck right next to Twigg, an angry face pasted on.

"Was it me, Raggeti, the maid, or someone else?" Twigg asked, eying Pintel. Pintel grunted and shifted his weight, turning to look at his captain.

"A few someone else's. Nothing for you to worry about though." Pintel growled. Twigg shrugged.

"Then I won't..." He continued staring out over the sea.

"Although I beg your consent to kill them." Pintel muttered. Twigg grinned a bit and looked back at Pintel.

"That would depend. Overall if it's nothing that concerns me, they don't deserve to be killed." Pintel looked at Twigg, trying to figure him out.

"It's Mallet, Simbaka, Grapple, an' that bunch. They drive me to the ropes end." Pintel rolled over still leaning on the rail and looked out over the whole deck, eying the group out.

"Those men are children, they think of nothing other then to pick on everyone else. Just let them have their fun and games, it'll come back around." Twigg scoffed.

"Will it come back around with a pistol?" Pintel asked hopefully. Twigg gave him a 'Don't push it' look and continued his work.

"I'll take that as a no." Pintel mumbled.

"Lay tell them your mind though, Mr. Pintel. Amuse me." They both chuckled this time.

"A bloody tyrant you are, capt'n." Pintel scoffed. He sighed and then marched to the lower deck. "Ey, mate." Raggeti stopped and pouted, looking at his friend. Pintel furrowed his brow.

"Y'look nice." He said.

"I's terrible." Raggeti nodded knowingly, rolling down his sleeves with his fingers. "Let me fix ya, mate." Pintel rolled down Raggeti's sleeves for him, because he was too dimwitted to use the opposite hand to roll them down. "Now, jus' go find some bilge water to muss yerself in an' ye'll be fine." Raggeti nodded and turned to leave.

"I was joking, ye halfwit!" Pintel cried, grabbing him by the arm. Raggeti shrugged.

"I like bilge water." Raggeti mumbled. Pintel rolled his eyes and looked skyward.

"Help me." He whispered upwards. Raggeti looked at him curiously.

"I'd best git on watch now. See ya 'roun', mate." Raggeti walked off, once again ruffling his hair. Soon after Estrella started past Pintel. He put out an arm to stop her.

"He's up in the riggin', an' I don't think you wanna go there." Pintel said. Estrella pushed away from him.

"I'll go where I please!" She tried to march past him, but he stopped her again. She stamped her foot furiously. "Don't be rude, Mr. Pintel." She growled. Pintel smiled.

"A pirate shall be rude, lovely poppit." Estrella glared at him.

"Fine then, I'll just ignore my brother. Leave him in your terrible influence so he becomes just as horrible as you are." Estrella turned away from him a folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh he's already as horrible as I am. Though his, er, behavior gives him a innocent edge, he's fair pirate. Actually quite be damned fighter once he get's to it." Estrella turned her head and squinted at him.

"Shut up." She finally said, pushing around him. He followed her a few paces, then stopped.

"Poor, confused little poppit."

.....

Raggeti spent the beginning of his watch making himself look terrible, and it was starting to work. His normal greasy blonde hair looked nearly brown with dirt from the ropes. His sleeves were pulled down even further over his finger tips then normal, and of course he kept an angry scowl at all times.

"Edwa- Raggeti?" He heard Estrella call up to him. He pouted and leaned against the mast, kicking his feet. "You can ignore me all you want, I'm coming up." Raggeti wrinkled his forehead with worry for her as she climbed slowly up the ropes. He forced himself to act as he didn't care and be a tough pirate. Estrella finally reached him and carefully sat herself beside him.

"It's cold, isn't it?" Estrella tried to strike up a conversation. Raggeti just scowled even grimmer and nodded. "Sorry." Estrella whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. Raggeti sighed.

"That's alright." He mumbled. He spotted a few sea birds flying by and watched them, almost forgetting where he was. He nearly fell off the cross mast, thankfully Estrella held him by the shoulder.

"You should be more careful." Estrella ordered. Only then Raggeti realized what happened.

"Huh? Oh, aye." He snapped back into reality.

"Whatever happened to your father? Mother never told me." Estrella asked. Raggeti didn't want to talk about it, because that would call for a long speech. As I mentioned before, Raggeti wasn't to much of a talker. He bit his lip lightly.

"He was working for the England East India Trading Company, but his ship was attacked by pirates. That's all." He said simply, avoiding a long and emotional story he didn't quite care for. Estrella pulled away from him.

"Your father was attacked by pirates, and then you went and became one?" She cried. "Don't you feel hypocritical about that?"

"That would depend on what hypocriactil meant." Raggeti said, racking his brain for the meaning of a word he learned so long ago.

"Hypocritical, Edward. It means you say or know something's wrong, and then you go and do it anyway." She called him by his real name because no one could hear them from below, but Raggeti still gave uneasy glances at the crew.

"Pintel made me do it." Raggeti sighed. "He's a very persuasive person." Raggeti was astounded he remember what that word meant, and so was Estrella.

"Even the most persuasive person shouldn't be able to talk you in to becoming what should be your mortal enemy." Estrella said. "Perhaps it'd be a little easier for you then anyone else, but... I think you listen to that man too much."

"Would ya stop callin' im that? 'Is names Pintel." Raggeti said. Estrella rolled her eyes.

"It doesn't matter, he's the cause for my whole miserable life." She moaned, a bit dramatically. Raggeti patted her on the back.

"Naw, he din't." He reassured. "Sure, he had a lot to do with it, but it wasn't all his fault." Estrella nodded, and answered him, "Yes, it was your fault completely. I despise you." Raggeti looked heartbroken, then realized she was joking.

"You'll get to know 'im." Raggeti said, feeling quite sure of himself. Estrella, on the other hand, wasn't at all. She glared down at Pintel who was on deck. "It's not like he tries." Raggeti mumbled vacantly. Estrella nodded and slipped from the cross mast on to a rope. Raggeti held her arm as she gained her balance, then she ungainly crawled down on to the deck.

"Stupid bloody Pintel." She muttered when she was absolutely positively sure Raggeti couldn't hear her. Unfortunately, Twigg heard her from the quarter deck.

"Got somthin' 'gainst me appointed first mate?" Twigg asked, not taking his eyes from the sea before him. He loved the sea, so he wouldn't ordinarily even glance from it when steering.

"Have something against dying?" Estrella mumbled, climbing the stairs to the quarter deck. Twigg chuckled silently.

"I'm guessin' he isn't yer favorite person." Estrella nodded and said, "You guessed right, Captain."

"Other'n taking yer older brother who practically raised ya, what did he do to you?" Twigg asked. Obviously Pintel had filled him in on everything. Estrella grunted and leaned against the rail.

"Simply that, which caused other things. If that stupid bloody Pintel hadn't persuaded Edward to go sail with him number one, Edward would probably be working for The East India Trading Company like his father used to, number two, I wouldn't be here, and number three, my mother wouldn't have died from utter grief." Estrella got a little carried away.

"Edward." Twigg scoffed under his breath. Estrella heard him and glared.

"Oh and I suppose you were born with the name Twigg?" She growled. Twigg shrugged and tried to avoid the subject. "What is it?" She prodded.

"Why should I tell you?" Twigg asked harshly. Estrella grinned though.

"It's Roland." She chuckled. Twigg grew wide-eyed.

"Who told ye that?" He cried, not making the mistake of letting go of the wheel again. Estrella gave him a you-know-who look.

"Stupid bloody Pintel" Twigg grumbled.

.....

Norrington had sailed all the way to the outskirts of Tortuga, still not being able to find it. That was where he presumed The Aaralyn was headed, but they went straight outward after finding The Raking. News of Norrington and Lessont had spread over Tortuga, keeping all sorts of ships confined to it's harbor.

Norrington stood waiting at the bow, starting to realize they weren't going to come. He'd have to try somewhere else.

"Pirates." Lessont growled, coming up behind Norrington. He folded his hands behind his back, looking sharply out over the sea.

"What's that?" Norrington asked, looking over at Lessont.

"They aren't coming." Lessont growled. "I don't know where they might've gone."

.....