"Oh...my...crap"
He had always been a "go along with it" kind of guy, "feel the wave" type of dude, "go with the flow" sort of man... but right now?
"I'm so screwed" he whispered as he peeked through the gaps of the door, eyeing what was very much, positively possible, a crew of pirates.
This...wasn't part of the plan.
Not that he ever had any...like ever.
But if Gary had a plan...this wouldn't be it.
"Okay" he sighed quietly, walking down the stairs that lead to a sitting area where assumed the pirates dined "alright" he walked back towards his barrel and crawled in, bringing the lid and closing it "very well"
When he had sneaked past the navy and stolen the crystal he had been thrilled that they had been distracted by pirates, taking the opportunity to run and hide until things calmed down.
He thought the place looked interesting, it looked rather cool, so he just walked right in, observing how two cat like creatures and a guy with a cool bandanna and gun hand were helping a.....he didn't know what it was but it looked like a shrivelled up left ballsack-
They didn't seem to notice him so he just hid there for a moment- at least that's what he had hoped for but now...
"I'm stuck in the middle of the sea with a bunch of pirates and they have no idea I'm here all because of you" he squinted at the small rock in his hands, it was as clear as water in the sunlight, glistening beautiful
"I still lob you though~" he cooed, kissing the crystal in his hands.
His moment of peace was quickly put to rest when he heard the door to the dining room open, heavy boots followed by other footsteps
"Little Cato" a strong voice called and Gary heard the clattering of chairs, peeking through the small hole he examined the man who remained stood up with his hands neatly behind his back.
He wore a pair of heavy looking boots made from very dark brown leather that was the same color as his big hat and his belt that carried a sword on one side of his hip and two small guns on the other. His hat represented a classic pirate's hat though a symbol on it looked like a cat- with his powerful voice, it wasn't hard to understand he was the captain.
Or should he say Cattain?
The man standing in middle of the room was just like the other two cat creatures Gary had seen the previous day (had he spent the night cooped up in a small barrel? Yes....yes he had).
His tail was hidden by the tail of his old looking, dark blue coat. A lighter brown leather vest buttoned all the way up and a formal white shirt underneath which Gary had noticed had some frills at the end of his sleeves.
He wore an eyepatch over his right eye, as classic pirate's would, and a very professional expression on his handsome face.
There was no mistaking it, Gary had seen his bounty on many walls before, this here was....Captain Bartolomew- one of the most feared pirates.
Gary bit the 8nsode of his cheeks, holding back a laugh at the realisation that Bartolomew was actually a cute name now that he knew he was a cat.
Bartolomew ....mew....mew...
No he wouldn't laugh.
"Yeah dad?" A voice called from the kitchen just behind Gary and the human felt his heart drop as he heard footsteps he hadn't yet heard.
He figured that, no...he must have simply missed them. Looking through the small peep hole, Gary noticed it was a much smaller ventraxian with a bandanna on his neck and fur as ginger as a Spanish orange.
"How's the food, son?" The Captain seemed to soften up at the sight of...his son? Bartolomew had a son?
Now this was news to Gary....not that he ever payed attention to pirates though.
"Yep! It's all good!" Little Cato, Gary noted, replied cheerfully "Ash come help me set the things up!" He called, earning a groan from a teen with magenta hair.
Little Cato, the Captain's kid, had been in the kitchen cooking... how did Gary not notice him? How did HE not notice Gary?
The blond anxiously played with his braid as he watched the two teens bring food to the table, his mouth watering when
"Crap-" he thought as he stomach rumbled
Everyone seemed to go quiet, looking around as the sound hadn't come from anywhere near the table, before Little Cato laughed
"Hungry as always, huh? Fox?" He said a bit nervously
"What? It wasn't me!" The big guy with a similar bandanna to the kit said in embarrassment "in fact, I think it was you- you're doing that nervous laugh of yours" he said as-a-matter-of-fact
"Wasn't me! If it wasn't you it was definitely... Evra" he nodded, pushing the blame to the other teen
Gary watched things unfold, the pirates growing lower until the main problem was forgotten and they just were both arguing and laughing.
The Captain, Bartolomew, just sighed annoyingly and started serving his own food, eating in silence as he made no effort to stop them...it seemed to be an usual thing for them.
Pirates...people who steal and sail on adventures- just like Gary but...not alone.
Must be nice...
The blond decided to return to staring at the dark wood in the barrel, listening to their conversations and smelling the delicious food. He wrapped the crystal in some silk he had and placed it in his pocket with a pout out of boredom.
It took a while but everyone had left once again, bringing the quiet and the fake peace to Gary's mind.
"Hey" a whisper seemed to make him jump out of his skin as the lid slowly came off. Gary looked up with wide eyes to see Little Cato looking down at him.
The kid just gave him a smirk before handing him a plate of food and some cutlery
"Heard you were hungry" he said, shushing the human when the other began to stammer for excuses "go on eat"
Little Cato jumped on the balcony of the kitchen and watched the human who stared at him before shrugging and eating with caution
"I poisoned it" he widened his eyes slowly in a haunting manner
Despite having said that, the human still swallowed down the food but now with a more terrified expression
"Like...Deadly poison or diarrhea kind of poison?" The blond whispered, unsure if he'd rather die than get the other, causing the kid to laugh out loud.
Little Cato was quick to shut himself up, looking at the stairs with caution before back at the human
"So like...are you here for our bounties?" He asked
"What? No" the blond shook his head "I don't even have enough weapons to go against you pirates...just a knife- like...a very tiny knife...for cutting apples and stuff..." he continued, taking a big scoop of his food
"Oh? Can I see it?" Little Cato leaned fowatd in curiosity
"Why?" The other replied a bit taken aback, afraid the kid would take his only form of self defense
"Oh...maybe I should call dad--"
"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Gary said quickly, digging in his boot and pulling out what looked like a knife wrapped in cloth. He nervously opened it up to reveal a quite expensive looking knife, made of pure gold
"Woah!" The kid gasped "is that gold? What the heck- are you rich or something"
"Depends on what type of rich you mean" Gary replied "if you mean rich in money then no- rich in knowledge? Probably not... rich in love? Definitely no-- yeah I'm not rich" Gary sighed
Little Cato only chuckled, finding the strange human interesting. He eyed the knife and slowly reached for it
"Can I?" He decided to ask before, watching the human weigh the odds against him before handing him the knife "woah...." Little Cato felt the weight in his hands, certainly pure gold....why was this man carrying such a thing? Was it a family object passed down to him?
"Just don't kill me with it" the man chuckled, finishing the last bit of his food
"Who are you?" Little Cato asked, handing the knife back, to Gary's surprise "and why are you in our ship if not a bounty hunter?".
Gary paused to think, trying to come up with the best way to introduce hi.self without giving his real identity- not that it should matter as he had lost his when he had been sold to slave traders.
"I'm just a wanderer" he replied with some truth "I stay not in one place but travel the lands- where I want to go, I will" he folded his arms behind his head, making himself conformable in the small space
"A wanderer huh..." Little Cato hummed "what's it like? I only travel by sea so I'm curious"
"Oh it's fun" Gary smiled "you learn a lot and you see a lot" he nodded
"What's something you've seen that you can never forget?" The boy asked curiously, being surrounded by nothing but seas could get a bit boring
Gary paused yet again, though it was clear he had an answer on the tip of his tongue already
"The sea in the North reflecting the northern lights" he smiled, understanding that "my father" wouldn't be a good answer so he went with his best second.
"Woah...so the sea? Cool!" The boy said before gasping as he heard his father call for him. He looked down at the worried wanderer before giving him an encouraging smile
"Stay there for a few more days- I'll try think of something" he whispered with a nod, taking the plate from him and placing the lid on the barrel.