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 Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:20 am
When night fell one could usually find the pirates of the Jolly Rodger on the beach next to the ship, sitting around a huge bonfire. Jake and Tock were usually the first ones there, with a collection of fish on sticks roasting around the fire. How many there were depended on how many they managed to catch with the net and Tock.
The other pirates could eat, but only if they brought a decent sized offering in return. It was something Tock had told them from the beginning. They didn't HAVE to contribute, they just had to if they wanted to eat. Tock was perfectly capable of eating ALL of the fish on his own if they didn't.
Today's catch had been pretty good, and Tock was looking forward to munching down. He almost hoped that nobody came with an offering of food.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:50 am
It was funny how when you thought of pirates you thought they might pillage and plunder all day. At least, that's what children often thought. In actuallity finding food, at least here on the Jolly Roger, took up at least half of their time. Hey, a pirate's got to eat too! At least there was a sort of "option" to be cooperative. You could share or not, it was up to you. Obviously if you didn't share no one shared with you. And if you didn't know how to cook and weren't joining the group that night...well, tough toe-nails.
That was one of the main things that drew Gwyn back when she had caught something nice, like a fat bird. She didn't know how to cook it or anything, so while she could just not come and eat it herself...she didn't really know how. She might be very fox-like, but raw meat was still not prefered.
But today wasn't one of those disgruntled choices. She had gone, as usually, to find something nice to eat. While she did find a nest of eggs, the rest of her "catch" consisted of...fruit. Boring old fruit. Berries and banannas, you name it. So the question of joining the little "dinner party" was a no brainer. She dumped out some fruit and got some fish. Sounded like a good deal to her.
She loped quickly along the beach leaving small, two legged fox-print in the sand. A raggedy, makeshift cloth was swung over her shoulder, bundling up all the food she was bringing...apart from the eggs. Those she held in a nest close to her cest so that they didn't break. She could see the bonfire burning in the distance and her large ears twitched attentively. Almost there! She hopped nimbling over a rock and continued on. Soon she arrived, dosed in firelight as she dropped the sack upon the ground with a stretch of her arms and a flick of her tail, "Ahhh!"
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:10 am
"Wha'd you bring?" Tock asked as Jake turned the sticks with the fish on them. Gwyn was one of the more troublesome kids for him, but he dealt with it. At least she was semi-reliant when it comes to bringing food.
"If there's eggs you need to get the heated rock out of the fire, Cap'n," Jake said, testing one of the smaller fish to see if it was done. Tock was semi-fireproof. At least, to the point where he could pull a slab of rock out without burning the hell out of himself. They would cook the eggs on that.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:21 am
"Why, something ta balance yer meal, Cap-i-tan~" she replied with a smile, her way of saying his name far more teasing then respectful. She gestured lightly at the sack, "All sorts of lovely things from the trees to balance out yer fish from the waters." Which was her very, over elaborate way of saying fruit. She quickly moved along, since she cared very little about these "mean balancers" and held out with a smirt the nest she had found. It had 5 little eggs in it all about the size of her fist...which in comparison wasn't too huge since she was a small girl, "And I got these lovely eggs right from under the bird me'self!" If you counted trying to catch the bird and ending up with a nest instead.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:25 am
Tock reached down, pulling the stone out of the fire for them as Jake held out his hand for the eggs. "Alright," Tock said. "You get one of the larger fish."
The size of your offering and the size of you determined what size fish you got, or how many in some cases. "Pick it now," he added. He would eat the ones that weren't given away, and if he was really hungry he would go diving.
He grabbed one of the berries, tossing it into his mouth. "So... been looking for the cabbages?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:40 am
Gwyn slipped over and handed off the eggs before going to the fish, stopping to eye them all carefully for a brief second. She took a nice fat one, which had actually looked rather plain at the angle it had been cooking at, and hopped back to take a seat upon a little rock. She certainly didn't need to be told twice when it came to picking food.
"I look for everything, Cap-i-tan, there just isn't much in the jungle 'sides food and lost kids," she replied simply, sniffing at the fish before taking a bite. "I didn't see nothing too unusual 'taday."
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:45 am
He snorted. "You tend to think everything is food," he drawled, picking out a fish for himself and biting into it. But she was right, there was no sign of the cabbages as far as he could tell.
Maybe the map brat would come in handy, after all.
Jake cracked and set the eggs to cooking, using a flat piece of wood to scrape them off when they were done and serve them.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:55 am
"Gotta have a creative mind, Cap-i-tan, if you're going ta fill yer belly," Gwyn replied simply, licking a scrap of fish from her maw. Yes, definately worth sharing her eggs for. Fish was always so tender...She kicked one of her feet before bringing it to sit on as she shifted sideways. "'Sides, you know what a cabbage looks like? It's all green, Cap-i-tan, and I'd like to note that the jungle is pretty green and leafy too. Lest we did a special search for it...or we fell on our noses and happened to find one, I don't think it's that easy. Food lookin' doesn't exactly make ya look out for a special kind of green thing ya know?" She shrugged, flicking her tail.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 12:05 pm
"Yeah," Tock admitted, taking the piece of wood with the cooked egg on it and tossing the egg into his mouth. "I was thinking that something like that would happen," he admitted as Jake ate the second egg and offered the third to Gwyn before taking the fish away from the fire.
"If I were to get a way for us to search, would you help?" he asked. "You gotta remember there's twice as many of those hut brats than there are of us."
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 3:42 pm
"A way for us to search, hmm?" Gywn eyed him thoughtfully, an odd twinkle in her eye. She had to admit she was curious as to what sort of way this was...she wasn't one to like it when others knew something she didn't. She decided to draw out her response, taking the offered egg and eating it slowly to savor the flavor...or so it appeared. Finally she murmured, "I suppose I could....nothing as excit'n was treasure hunting though. Cabbage seems a bit...less rewarding."
She cocked her head to one side, her ears twitched attentively, "This little 'venture wouldn't bar us from supper, would it?" And she shook her head, folding her arms with a smile that fit her breed, "Twice as many of them? Hah! I'd say that's fair odds, if not bad in their direction."
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 3:47 pm
"Don't underestimate Ahja," he said. "If she's actually doing anything at all, that is." He grabbed another fish, munching down happily as he thought it over. "We've got a... new... friend who just happens to be good with maps. She knows the island." Not that he didn't, but she had actually written it down.
"I don't trust her, Cap'n," Jake said. "She's a hut brat."
"Yeah," Tock admitted.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:13 pm
"Maps ya say?" she mused. She hadn't much experience with the documents, that's for sure. "What kind-o maps? The complicated ones or ones we could look at and head off no sweat?" she questioned. She assumed it was the former. If it wasn't, why were they even bothering to cooperate? Pirates stole, after all. If they were simple maps it seemed prime to take them and save themselves the hassal.
"'Cause if they're easy, I say we...borrow them for a bit," she suggested with a light shrug, "If not, we keep 'er close. The ones you don't trust are the ones you want right beside ya, after all, where ya can see 'em."
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:15 pm
"They're the kind we need her to explain," he said. "Which is why I was going to turn her down. But then she showed me something interesting." He paused, thinking about it. "I want you to play friendly with her," he said, leaning forward and looking a bit evil in the firelight. "Ask her questions, stroke her ego, and find out what her little symbols mean. Once we've got that we'll steal the book."
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:24 pm
"Now you're speaking my language, Captain," Gwyn smiled showing all of her little white fennec teeth. And boy was this more fun then food gathering! She stood, holding her hands to her chest, "After all, who can resist l'lil ol' me when my cards are played right?" She pulled her large ears back, widening her eyes slightly, a face that would rival any real fennec fox out there. Hah! Not only would she be stroking this stranger's ego, she'd be inflating her own.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:33 pm
"She's a little thing with a metal hat on," he said. "Doesn't show much skin. A little twitchy, too. I'll have you meet her when she comes back tomorrow or so, so stick around the ship for a while."
Of course he never thought that practically EVERYONE was a little thing to him. "You do this job and I'll feed you for free for a week, got it? But if you blow it, you'll be feeding yourself."
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