Tarnishing the waters ch. 1

There they were, at the only animal Pirate haven in all of the French ports. The sweet port of Vert Pays. The last of the loot they had obtained had been spent and traded. The last of the treasure was saved to spend on new supplies. The crew was resupplying with all they could get their paws on. A few foods, and drink here and there, along with a few barrels of gunpowder. Their lanterns were well filled with oil, and ready. Rope, and all was together. They had just obtained a new sail, and was packing all the supplies they could. The maps were the most up to date ones they could find. A few animals grabbed some bandanas, and hats. Captain Blowhole was just writing the voyages new set of rules for the voyage. His crew recruiting was all done. Their route would be fast. He stared out the pub's dirty window, and saw his crew packing aboard the supplies. Satisfied, he grabbed his new set of rules, and rolled out on his sageway. (Yes I said sageway. It's olden time, and still I want a sageway!)

When he wheeled out of the pub, he stared up at his splendid ship. Such a beauty it was. It was his pride and joy to have captured such a marvelous ship. It was the largest one in the entire Spanish fleet. Clearly it dwarved any ship around. Ever since he captured the ship "The silver wake" He's been proud. He strapped his eyepatch down, and wheeled up to the ship. He had gotten one that was a beautiful flourescent crimson color. He wheeled all the way up to the deck. His first mate Eli flew up to him, from the masses.

"Well, captain they are all set, and ready to be seen. Every able bodied animal here to be seen, and assigned." The animals all stared at him, and stood in their straight line along the side of the ship. Each one was different. He looked at them with some surprise. He didn't expect them to be so diverse. Variety was a usefull tool, though. What one species of animal couldn't do, another one could. He had learned that through years of experience. His youthfull days had been spent with his previous crew. His first mate Eli, was a bat. His fur color was tan and dark brown. He was considerably tall. He had brown eyes. He had a scar that went across his left eye, making his seem quite viscious in swordbattle. He had gotten it earlier in Pirating. At first he was the cabin boy of Captain Blowhole's crew. He wasn't as sinister as his appearance let on, though.

Captain Blowhole nodded, and rolled down the line. "Hmm . . . When I roll up to you, you will look me in the only eye I have, and tell me your name, and rank. Are we clear?" He hollared. Everyone said aye in unison.

He rolled up to the first animal in line. It was a wolf. Very useful. He had grey fur like gunpowder. His eyes were yellow that was good for striking fear into the hearts of enemies. He was quite large. A gold earring was through his ear. "Kyle, Captain. Ranking: master at arms."

After that was a cat. He had two different color eyes. One was the color blue, which was the left. And, the right was the color green. His fur was a mixture of yellow and brown, but he did have brown stripes. He was incredibly skinny. It seemed a bit like he was too skinny to fight, but if he were on the ship, Blowhole would make do. Many silver earrings covered his ears. He had three in his left, and two in his right. "Max, Captain. Ranking: Boatswain."

The four next crewmen were quite interesting. They wore feathers of black and white. Their eyes as blue as the ocean. If Blowhole remembered correctly, they were antarctic birds called penguins. "You must be those things called . . . er pen-gu-ins." The littlest one raised his wing to speak, but the Captain ignored. "Nevermind, just state your name, and ranking." The penguin next in line was rather stragly looking. Around his stomach, he wore a buckle belt. He had a long protruding crack scar up the left side of his face. Perfect to secure his apparent knowledge of fighting skills hopefully. His feathers stuck on end, atop his head. Blowhole looked at him suspiciously. "Your name, Sailor!" He was a bit shocked when the penguin started to babble, and garble in unaudible things that made no sense.

The one that was next to him, was one to speak for him. "Uhh, I beg your pardon Captain fella, but our friend Rico here isn't the best with words. You see, his name is Rico, and his ranking is a gunner." He said proudly. Apparently he was the preffered leader of these birds.

Blowhole stared at him, and wheeled closely to him. He was looking this tiny bird up and down. "And who might you be?" He said raising the eyebrow over the only eye he still had.

The penguin stood proud. "Skipper, Captain. Ranking: Quartermaster." Blowhole was quite impressed by his pride. He had a flat head, and a puffyer chest. A blue bandana covered his head. His head distinguished him from the rest. He knew he would hate being controlled by a captain, but that was the way things were on the ship.

By his side stood a rather tall penguin. He was the tallest of the four, and had a rather slender build, with a bit of a distinguishing look to his eyebrows. He straightened once the dolphin rolled up to him. He had a large hat with a small feather in it. "Kowalski, Captain. Ranking: Doctor."

Blowhole nodded twice. "Hmm yes, quite." He mumbled. He rolled up to a penguin that seemed the youngest of the four. He was a bit on the round side. He had that feel of sensetivity that would prove not too usefull with scoundrels. Blowhole assured himself, though, that he would learn on the job. he had ring up his wing, near his shoulder. He stared nervousley up at the dolphin. He quickley bowed his head, and looked down. "Private, Captain. Ranking: Seasperson." Blowhole looked at him and nodded with a smile. If his crew feared him, then they would no doubt be an obedient lot.

Next he wheeled up to an otter. He was a rather young Asian otter. He had a yellow scarf tied around his head. It seemed like someone such as him had never sailed a day in his life. Still through the amature exterior, he had a bit of a build. He was still sort of short, pointing out that youthfull spirit. And he was skinny, but average amount. When Blowhole wheeled over to him, he held his chest out trying to seem tough. "Tristan, Captain. Ranking: Carpenter." He nodded to the giant marine mammal that was much taller than him. Blowhole admired his spunk.

Close to the high spirited otter, stood a smaller bat. He was the same looking bat as Eli though a bit shorter. He had no scar either. He had the appearence of Private's stature, with a big chest. He was a few inches shorter than the average bat, his accent was from southern france. His fur was fully brown. His eyes were a bright blue. He held many precious stones, that were tied to strings that connected to earings in his ears. "Erik, Captain. Ranking: Second mate." He nodded once.

"Well, since all the higher ranks are filled out, I expect the rest of you all to be ranked as seamen." Next he wheeled up to a large alligator. He was the only animal aboard that rivalled his hieght. Hopefully he would match it in attitude. It appeared not. When he rolled up, he smiled at the dolphin, and shook his fin excitedly. The claws didn't feel too welcoming to his smooth skin. "Roger, Captain!" He saluted. Blowhole was quite surprised by his welcoming attitude.

Next was a bird that he knew very well could fly. That was a great addition to the bats. Flight helped them considerably. The eagle was Strong looking definitely. He had thick grey feathers, and a masculinity stature. He also included a scar going across his right eye. The strong eagle had a tough strong manly voice, when he spoke, and seemed exceptionally large. Apparently he was an alpha male in his time. "Vincent, Captain." He said nodding in obedience.

The one standing next to Vincent was a smug looking racoon. He wore a tricorner hat. This young one seemed like a slick one. He had grey fur, with a white chest up front. The color of his mask was a faded black. His tail held the same faded black color. His tail held that pattern, with dark and white rings. His eyes were a dazzling blue. He was definitely a ladies man, back at port. "Dante's the name. Women is my game. It seemed like he would cause troubles on land, but if he was willing to be part of the crew, Blowhole didn't ask questions. The animals he would see next were something he was not prepared for.

The last few animals were fluffy long eared animals. Their tails were long, and they were of different colors. He had seen them only one other time, and that was around the coast of Africa. He remembered they were called lemurs. He rolled up to the first one. He was a ringtailed lemur. A tall stature with a flashy red and white sunhat. A few cloths of different colors were tied along his ringed tail. Probably pieces of cloth from old rankings. "The name is King Julien. And I expect to be the Captain should you fall." Okay maybe he didn't have experience.

The next was an aye aye. How ironic. He was stout, with large bat like ears. He was less annoying than the first one. "Maurice, Captain." He smiled modestly.

The next one seemed like the most obediant. He was a dark red furred lemur. His eyes were deep green eyes, and he had a muscular stature. His hat was a black tricorner hat. He removed it, and bowed. "Raymond , Captain."

The last one was the youngest of the whole crew. He was a vibrant little mouse eared lemur, with orange brown fur. His eyes large and baby like. He was smiling up at the large dolphin. A black scarf covered his head. Eli told him earlier that there would be a child. He was told that his name was Mort. He smiled down, knoing that he would be the next cabin boy. "Eli write him down as the cabin boy." He stood at the top of the deck, and stuck his cutlass into the wood." Alright you swabs. I have done more pirating in one year, than all of you will do in a lifetime combined. I have seen things come and go, including" He lifted his eyepatch disturbing the younger members of his crew. "My personal qualities of youth. I have a set of rules to follow. Rule number one. No stealing from the ships coffers. Punishment is marooning on a remote uncharted island." Maurice bit his lip, feeling uneasy at the thought. "Rule number two. You cannot abandon or desert your post or crewmates during battle. It is capitol punishment and is resulting in marooning." Kyle shifted at his feet. "And the most important rule. No female crew members on my ship." Dante rolled his eyes, as if it were a foolish rule. "We will follow these rules, and if they are of not your liking then you might as well walk off this ship now. Are we clear?" All the members shouted aye. "Alright. We set sail for the Spanish main. There is a supply of seven hundred thousand pounds headed to that way from jekyll island to Cuba. I say we plunder at least one ship from that fleet." He smiled. "Never mind stealing the ship. We have the largest fastest ship of all the waters. We will never be revealed as pirates considering our size."

Then in one final smile, he raised a flipper, and announced sail. "Let us make our way!" The group cheered, and sprang to life. The sails rose high, and the anchor hoisted. Their black pirate flag wafted in the breeze. It showed a dolphin skull, with crossed bones. A jolly roger made to strike fear into their hearts. Who in the right mind would be able to rival such a perfect ship with such a crew?