Pirates For The Mainland

A couple days at sea with no exciting events was welcome, but there was plenty of worry for the pirates. Captain Nog had spent most of the time staring out into the open water with a drink in her hand. Not entirely uncommon, but particularly concerning after her vague statement about an apparition. As the captain sat on the roof of the bridge, her mates managed to sneak up on her as their curiosity and frustration boiled over.

"Tell us what that ghost shit meant," Neko said, grabbing hold of the captain from behind.

Neko held onto the captain with both arms. Against her mate's body, Nog was stuck like a tiny mouse in the teeth of an unbreakable bear trap.

"Let go of me!" Nog commanded with a growl. "I'll f.u.c.k.i.n.g cut you!"

"What did you see when we left harbor?" Dart questioned, walking into Nog's view with her arms folded. "Be specific. You're driving us nuts."

"I can hold onto you indefinitely if I have to," Neko threatened.

"You'll have to go to the bathroom at some point," Nog argued.

"Yeah, that'll be awkward, won't it?"

Nog growled and tossed her half-empty bottle out into the ocean in her irritation, immediately regretting the action.

"Let me go, I'll tell you," she said.

Neko let the captain free and she promptly readjusted her attire with a little wobble from her excessive drinking.

"I'm not sure if either of you two knew her, but I could have sworn I saw one of the emperor's dogs," Nog explained. "A very dangerous one."

"That can't be possible, can it?" Dart questioned. "We killed them all. Only a few nobody stragglers like that old scout in the marketplace still hang around because they're too annoying to get a hold of."

"Well, it must be possible," Nog said, sitting back down with a limp thud. "The way she showed herself is just like her. She wanted to scare me. F.u.c.k.i.n.g bitch."

"Who was it then?" Neko asked. "I was pretty sure we checked off the whole list with our traitoring."

"It was Kitsune," Nog answered. "The Sly Maiden. The Blood Hoarder. Crazy f.u.c.k.i.n.g bitch."

"Wow, she sounds pleasant," Dart said. "Why have we not heard of her before?"

"Because she wasn't anywhere near us at the time of our rebellion," Nog explained. "She and her personal death squad were in the south while we were murdering in the north. Kitsune was the only soldier I was ever worried about, but we never came across her. I was quietly hoping she was dead or just wanted to stay hidden forever. I only know about her because I happened to bump into the bitch once in the emperor's palace. A servant there was a big fan of her and wouldn't shut the f.u.c.k up."

"But you saw her on the dock," Neko said. "That's just great."

Dart and Neko sat with their captain and the three of them let out a deep sigh together as they let their legs dangle over the side.

"So, what does this mean then?" Dart asked. "What does she want? How can we prepare for meeting her?"

"We can't prepare for anything," Nog replied, rubbing her temples. "She moves like the f.u.c.k.i.n.g wind and disappears without a trace. If she wants something from us, we won't know until it happens."

Dart and Neko gave each other worried looks.

"That's not a very positive outlook," Dart said.

"What makes her so dangerous?" Neko asked. "At least give us that much."

"Okay, fine," Nog said, groaning dramatically. "The emperor needs sacrificial blood to do anything, right? Well, Kitsune is very similar. Where we feed off the dead of the battlefield, she needs blood. Doesn't matter if it comes from an innocent or a comrade."

"So, she's a vampire?" Neko questioned.

"No, she's not a vampire," Nog replied. "At least I don't think so. She supposedly sucks up blood with her arms or something. I was told she once came upon a pond of blood in the field and she stuck her hand in it, s.u.c.k.i.n.g it up as if her jacket sleeve was a straw. They say that's why her arms are always bloody.

"What she can actually do, I'm not sure. There were too many rumors. She's apparently all kinds of things. She's super strong, fast, invisible, and gods know what else. She likes to stand back and let her minions do most of the work, saving big and flashy stuff for herself. I don't know anything about her squad. They might be dead."

Neko once again let out a deep sigh and got to his feet.

"I feel like a drink now too," he said.