Tales of a Peculiar Pirate

11. A Hostage Situation

With no Fethar for quick translation purposes, Polly and the other fish had to wait for Evangeline to spell out her end of the conversation.

It's simple. U lack hatred.

"I mean yay, but also nay?" Polly's brow wrinkled with confusion, as if that would add a wrinkle or two to her brain to help her figure things out. It did not.

I had 2 do it 2 them.

"Ok," replied Polly. She figured that was probably the best explanation she'd be getting, and she'd only be wasting her time trying to find out more. "So why'd you bring lil 'ol me on over?"

U probs already kno, but this isn't d leader. He's a hostage. I found him swimming about, and then I came I saw I conquered. He keeps insisting he knows nothing, and I don't buy it. I need ur help 2 make him talk. D only reason he isn't swimming away rn is bc I told him I'd kill him if he did.

Polly had not realized that the fish beside Evangeline wasn't the cult leader, and she had no doubt that Evangeline was dead serious when she said she'd kill her fellow fish if he dared dash.

She considered for a moment trying to talk the fish out of killing her prisoner, but upon remembering how that bite-sized body was strong enough to swing her so far away from her rock that she couldn't see it now even if she squinted really hard, Polly figured it'd be in her best interest to walk the path of silence.

Idk what she's talking abt.

Unlike Evangeline who blew each bubble individually, this fish blew them in a stream and moved around in the shape of the letter. Polly chalked it up to be a cultural difference, and something that Evangeline was hopefully planning to pick up.

None of my ppl would ever do smthn like lead a cult. Wait! I remember u. U were d one on d boat that was on top of our side of 12th. Y'all just wouldn't stop blocking the light smh.

Polly put some thought into the fish's words, and realized he was right. She wasn't one to pay attention to trivial things like if a fish was yellow and purple or purple and yellow, so she had failed to notice that the fish that had stopped by The Birbalinda were indeed of the yellow and purple sort.

The letter from those fish had not been in the easy peasy lemon squeezy, and most importantly, understandable international language Mimglish, which the fish before her, that was supposedly from the same group, was currently writing in. Polly could only wonder why.

"Wait if you guys understand Mimglish then why didn't y'alls write the letter to us in Mimglish?" asked Polly.

The fish did not react. Polly then remembered that when she had tried to speak to the yellow and purples, it wasn't possible. Yet conversations went swimmingly with Evangeline? Polly wasn't sure if it was just her, but she could smell smoke and she was 90% sure it was from her brain overheating due to overwork. Folks like her just weren't equipped to do that much thinking in a day.

Out of the kindness of her little fish heart, Evangeline took it upon herself to explain a thing or two to the lost lass.

I'm from Clan Swole 'n he's from Clan Vroom. My ppl r not only d fish with d most gainz, but our senses r swole 2. Tho we're already v strong, my hatred has fueled my power, which is how I was able to swing u from there 2 here. Clan Vroom is all abt d need 4 speed. However their hearin' ' isn't d best. My hostage tells me his folks didn't write in Mimglish bc it'd take them 2 long 2 translate 'n they figured y'all'd be fine, 'n y'all were. Sometimes clan members switch around, which is how we ended up with a Clan Vroom member in Clan Swole. I didn't think much of it bc it was smthn that had always happened, but I never suspected that a member of Vroom would b tryna sabotage my ppl. It's possible d whole clan had a hand in this.