The First Mate

It was a windy morning while the captain’s ship was docked at one of the few island towns they visited to pilfer stolen goods and maybe some a bit more honest trading. The clouds hung low and grey in the morning sky, and the waves were rocky, even in the harbour. Though despite the dreariness ahead, town was lively. Amidst the hustle and bustle was a classic scene. A rat scurried under and around market stall carts, over peoples feet that earned it shrieks and panic as it whipped by. A second wave of yells told it how close its predator was. A black cat, thin and agile was chasing after it. Normal except for one thing. “Sorry! Pardon me! Coming through!” She talked! She apologized her way through the crowd as she kept her pursuit of what was supposed to be lunch. Though this whole hassle of crowd dodging was making her second guess how worth it the rat would be. Up ahead was a clearing as the street emptied out to the harbour docks, the rat booking it for the first boat it saw. Hopping onto the mooring ropes and climbing up onto the ship in a hurry. The cat gasped and put her pedal to the metal, sprinting as fast as she could, practically bounding in her run. She made it to the clearer streets and with grace she too jumped onto the ropes. Not as light as the rat she struggled a bit to climb up, but made it soon enough. She clattered out of breath to the deck of the ship. Panting as she looked around. Where the hell did that rat go?

The ship's captain watched in a sort of lazy interest as they gained two unplanned passengers, leaning against the doorway to their cabin as they waited to see what would happen. Naturally, the rat had to be taken care of but the pirate was willing to let the feline have a go at catching it before stepping in. No sense in disturbing the predator's hunt. After a moment or two, the triton decided to shift their weight slightly and nodded towards a stack of crates still waiting to be unloaded. They gave a sharp grin and conspiratorial wink to the cat as they made their way over to start hauling some of them down the gang plank, slowly diminishing the only real decent hiding spot around. The captain only moved the crates and barrels as far as the dock, allowing the few associates they'd made over the years to take it from there. Murphy never left the ship if they didn't have to, even if the cargo did.

The cat lay flopped on the deck, still panting and catching her breath.
She stopped with her tongue still hanging out slightly as she noticed the triton watching her. Her whole posture visibly stiffened up as the pirate moved about the boat.
“S-sorry for the uh. Yeah.” She huffed out.
The crates were moved and the rat revealed.
The cat gasped “gotcha!” She said quietly as her back arched up and she readied her muscles for another sprint. Taking off and pouncing the rat in it’s confusion as to why the crates were suddenly moving away.

The immediate area on and around the ship was flooded with squeaks and cat yowls as the two animals tussled for the rat’s life.
Eventually the cat won in the end, with a hard strike to the neck. Holding the rodent in a choke hold until it stopped wriggling.

Satisfied with her catch, the cat plopped the rat on the deck of the ship and was about to dig in. “Finally! Food!” She cheered to herself.
As the footsteps along the planks signified the triton coming back however, she paused and stared at them as they returned.
They sat in a crouched position, bright eyes wide at captain.
“Uh-unless you want the rat?” She asked shyly, batting the small carcass over gently with her paw that bore a contrasting white sock colouration against her otherwise dark midnight black pelt.
The rodent was caught on what she presumed to be their ship after all, so she reluctantly offered the triton first dibs.

Murphy looked the rat over before offering another grin and shaking their head. "Nah. It's all yours. Thanks for catchin' it, though. Can't have rats runnin' 'round the deck, after all. Bad for business." They leaned back, giving the talking cat a serious look. "Say, you lookin' for a job at all?"

Much as the triton hated to admit it, things did get a little boring with an empty ship. Having a talking cat around might be a nice change of pace. "You can get more food than just rats outta the deal, too. You like tuna and fishies and the like? Get lotsa that on the ship." They gave a noncommittal shrug as they began making their way back towards the last few remaining crates.

"Up to you, though. You wanna be a pirate, kitty cat?"

The cat yoinked the rat back closer to herself quickly. Her tail curling up slightly and blinking slow at the captain as they gave her praise.
Her ears perked up and her eyes went wide as the offer for more food came.

Truly that’s all the triton needed to say.

 “I love food yes.”
Replied the cat with a nod. “I can be your mouser! But I can also do other things, probably. As long as there’s more food involved.”

The captain grinned down at their new crewmate--their first mate-- and nodded. "I'm sure we can find work for ya, all paid in all the fishies and whatever you could hope for." A look of consideration crossed their face as they returned from unloading the last of the cargo.

"Cats have good instincts. You know anything about navigation? I can probably get something rigged up so you can learn to steer the ship. I know a pretty decent repair crew with some good hands that could work something out. You interested?"

Navigation? Sure she had a good eye but…well size was an issue.
She looked over towards the front of the ship, then back up to the triton.
“Mayyybe after you rig something so I can see over the bow?”
She suggested. Then squinted as a thought came to her little kitty brain.
“So are you my captain now? What’s your name?”

Offering another grin--they seemed to be doing that a lot today--the triton nodded their consent. "Yeah, definitely need ya to see where yer steerin' us. Captain Murphy, at your service. And what shall I call you, my dear first mate?" Saying the words out loud made a strangely warm feeling rise in their chest but the pirate stubbornly ignored it in favour of focusing on the conversation at hand. They would need something to call their first mate that wasn't 'kitty cat' after all.

The cat looked even more surprise as the words “first mate” came out of their mouth in repetition. That was a lot of responsibility for a cat!
They nervously accepted the title.
“Ok ok, uh, aye-aye cap’n Murphy. I’m Stormcloud. Nice to meet ya.”
She then leaned down to pick up her rat. “If-if it’s alright with the captain. I’m gonna go eat now.”

They let out a short bark of laughter and nodded again. "You go ahead and eat up. I'll prepare the ship to set sail and we'll be on our way to the next port to meet up with that repair crew." With that, they set off to finalize the sale of their cargo before preparing to move on.

The Barrelman

After the sales were finished up, and the cargo carted away, it seemed the skies were beginning to clear up, and the water ever so slowly beginning to calm. Maybe this'll be a decent enough day for setting off!

As the triton turned to head back on to the boat, they heard a loud, continuous yell as yet another unexpected guest boarded their vessel.
A tiefling, tall and lithe with long dark hair, gold eyes, sky-blue skin and rams horns bolted up the gangplank and onto the boat. Stopping only once they were able to lean on the main mast and catch their breath for a moment.
After a few heavy huffs they straightened up and smiled widely at who they guessed was the captain. Because surely it wasn't the cat eating in the corner.

"Aye Cap'n! Name's Brekath, you can call be Bree, I'm yer new barrelman, a devel in de skies if you will!" They chuckled breathily as they continued to huff. "Pleasure to meet ya. Tell me, how quick can we set sail?" They asked, already getting to work at climbing the mast to get to the crow's nest. They used the higher vantage point to scan out across the town, seeing a angry mob of about five heavy-built guardsmen thundering down the street. "Cause I reckon you got about 3 minutes before those goons catch up and raid yer ship."

Murphy wasted a couple precious seconds blinking up at the strange tiefling in confusion before turning back to glance at the approaching commotion. Making a snap decision, the triton quickly finished up the preparations, pulled back the gang plank and rushed to steer the ship out of the port before two minutes had passed.

"For the record, devil in de skies," they shouted up to their second new crewmate, "I am owed an explanation for savin' yer arse here!"

Murphy threw a glare up at the other but continued to run about the deck and get the ship speeding off with plenty of time to spare. Those guards likely didn't even know for sure what ship the little shit had gotten on so they should be fine. Still... "Keep an eye behind us, tieflin'! Make sure we're not followed!"

"Ah! Bless yer heart!" called out the tiefling as Murphy got the ship going, helping where they could to move sails and tie ropes on their way up. "I'll get you yer explanation soon enough!" They replied, chuckling the rest of the way up the mast.

"SO LONG, YA BARNACLES!" They yelled out to the docks as the guards closed in just in time to miss the boat completely, one of them even trying to jump for it but falling flat into the water with an unfortunate bellyflop.
They hollered out a few "WOOHOOs!" and other gawking noises at the guardsmen as the ship left the harbour quickly. Watching diligently to make sure they weren't getting followed - and they certainly weren't. It was a clean getaway.
The tiefling leaned back with a relieved sigh "by the divines that was close."
Once they were in the clear, they called down "All's right on the water, Cap!"
With a quick descent down the mast, they landed proudly on the deck of the ship, hands at their hips and chest puffed in an effort to look more valiant and heroic than they actually were.

"I believe I owe ya an explanation then, ye? It's simple really. I'm real keen on details ye see, a real golden eye." They chuckled more, as their eyes were indeed golden.
"I was countin' cards there down at the casino and well~" They ended on a high pitch and a shrug. "The fishies weren't happy with a card shark in their waters. I swiped about fourty-thousand gold from the house. And uh rather than payin' it back - well now I'm out here with you!"

The captain raised a rather unimpressed brow at the explanation before shaking their head with a small sigh. "Aye... Well, nothin' for it now. As punishment for puttin' me through this shit right off the bat, you can clean up the mess my first mate made durin' her lil chase for lunch." They gestured around at drops of blood and clumps of fur that had been torn from the rat during the battle for its life. "If ya manage to sand out the clawmarks, I may even let ya off the ship when we reach the next port. Now, get ta work."

The tiefling gave a shy shrug as the captain laid into them, and their smile turned from cheeky to a little awkward. They let out an "ahh-" about to protest, cleaning up dead rat pieces was not something they wanted to do in the slightest. But, a quick gaze out to the briny blue and back to the captain again, they resigned their dignity and slumped their posture. "Aye cap'n." They replied with a reluctance in their voice. Rocking on their feet before turning to get to work, but then stopping and turning back around on their heels. "Where do ye keep yer cleanin' supply then?"

Murphy gave the tiefling a sharp grin before leading them into a small supply closet off the modest kitchen. "Ya should have everythin' you'll need in here. Once the work's done, you can help yerself to whatever's in here to eat and rest a bit before ya get ta go back up in the nest."

Satisfied that they'd gotten their point across, the captain strolled back out onto the deck and set a course that would get them to a particular port town just a day or so away. With luck, they may even make it by morning and get a chance to resupply before setting out once more.

Things would certainly be more interesting with these new crewmates, at least.

The Deckhands

It was nearly three hours into their voyage that the captain remembered there was a reason for the distinct lack of crew on their ship. It started as a faint throbbing in their temple that soon began to spread and grow worse with each passing minute until, an hour after it first started, the triton was plagued with a splitting headache that had them stifling winces every time they moved.

If either of the two noticed the captain's odd behaviour, Murphy wasn't sure. It was getting somewhat difficult to notice much of anything through the pain. They weren't used to putting it off, since there never used to be anyone around for them to worry about accidentally 'charming.'

Finally, after snapping at them a couple times, the crew was dismissed to 'get inside the cabin before I throw yas in' and Murphy wasted no time in dropping anchor and jumping overboard.

They swam deep, fifty-five feet below the surface, just to be safe. Then, they let loose the song that had been building up within them. It took nearly two hours before the captain was willing to return to their ship and set sail once more.

They would have to come up with a better solution if this whole 'having an actual crew' thing stuck but... That was a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, they set sail.

By staying at the helm the whole night, making sure the ship stayed on course and traveling at a good speed, they managed to make it to their destination by midmorning the next day. It was a tired but accomplished captain that sent a messenger to fetch their usual repair crew to discuss possible modifications to the ship. With that out of the way, Murphy went to have a quick word with the crew.

"Alright, you two can either hang out on the ship with me or go off inta town for a bit and meet back here in a few hours. I should know by then how long we gotta stay in this port and I'll let yas know if there's time for you ta do... whatever it is ya do in towns."

As the ship made it to dock, Brekath helped out with getting its moorings tied, before setting off to town with a grin on their face.
“I was sweet on a couple folks here…maybe I’ll goes and checks up on them.”
They saluted the captain and went on their merry way, tail swishing behind them with every sway of the hip as they put on a saunter.

Stormcloud hopped up on the railing of the ship to look out amongst the island, but quickly jumped off back to the deck as she saw a perfect opportunity. “Think I’ll just make use of this sun spot.” The cat decided as she went and splayed out in a brightly lit area on the deck.

It was roughly 20 minutes or so before the handymen that Murphy sent for finally arrived.
A large, heavy set orc dark skin and pale scars came stomping up the gangplank. Despite his husky build, he greeted the captain with a soft warm smile and a voice that dripped with the implications of a friendly, gentle giant.
“Aye, Murphy! Back in town so soon? Gawsh ye must of missed us that much.”
He lifted up his tool box in one hand, and with the other he patted awake the goblin that was hanging off his shoulder like a small, snoring, flour sack. “C’mon Babs.” He coaxed for a moment before looking back to the Captain.
“So! How can we help ye today?”

The pirate rolled their eyes but offered a small grin to the friendly orc. "Hey boys. Up for a bit of a challenge? Think yas can put somethin' together at the helm to help my new first mate steer the ship? And actually see where she's goin'!" They let out a short chuckle as they gestured to the cat lounging in the sun.

The goblin on the orc’s shoulder was slowly stirring at first, half listening until mention of a first mate came up. With sleepy eyes he squinted over as the captain gestured to a cat.
“WHAT!?” The goblin suddenly shot up. And in a fit of uncontrollable laughter, he promptly rolled off the orc’s shoulder and flopping onto the deck with a hard thud.
It stopped his laughter only momentarily with a pained “oof” coming from him, before the guffaws continued.
“A cat!? A cat! Driving a ship!” The goblin got up off the floor and stepped over to the captain, leaning against them to keep himself held up. His height reaching just above their waist. “That’s a good one! Gosh how much of the sea water you have to drink to come up with that one?”
Still leaning against Murphy, the goblin slicked his hair back and looked up to them with a smirk. “I mean sure I guess we could build something? Sure that’s what ya wanna spend your gold on though?”

Murphy gave him a sharp grin in return. "Oh, I'm sure, alright. It may be crazy but where's the fun in doin' shit the normal way? Wouldn't you agree to the challenge at least?"

Besides, who were these two to judge on weird ass shit? They were a goblin and an orc teamed up to fix shit. Who's to say a feline at the helm was any stranger than these two weirdos?

The captain stood back to raise a brow at the goblin in question. "So. I've made my order, issued my challenge. Do yas accept?"

Babs, the goblin finally moved away to stand on his own, wiping a tear that was forming at the corner of his eye and giving a sniffle - he hadn't laughed that hard in a hot minute.
"Yer sure a unique one I'll give ya that." Babs continued to chortle.

As Murphy reconfirmed that's what they wanted, both the goblin and the orc looked at each other longer than they should have then turned to the triton and responded in unison "Challenge accepted." Before making their way over to the ship's wheel to assess the work they now had on their hands.

The triton nodded and offered them a more genuine smile as they moved to lean on the doorway to their quarters. They watched in interest as the two went about their business and took on the--admittedly unusual--task they'd been set. Strange as it was, Murphy had the utmost confidence that, if anyone could pull off a job like this, it would be Babs and Yak. Not that they'd ever tell them that. The goblin's head was inflated more than enough as it was.

The two handymen got to work, the hardest and most lengthiest part of the process was planning and mapping out the schematics for such a mechanism to let a cat of all things drive a ship. Made even more difficult by said cat doing what cats do best. Which was walking all over the work area as she 'dutifully' inspected every single part of the job.

It took roughly 3 hours, maybe even 4 before they finally settled on a proper working design. By this point there was rolls of parchment everywhere about the deck of the ship with all manner of scribbles on it. And several tiny mockups made out of cheap material scraps that the two handymen had with them.
"There ya have it!" Babs grinned proudly as he stood over the absolute final version of the blueprints. "One cat-operated steering device, now we just gotta build it."

"Shouldn't take us too long there Murph." Yak, the orc spoke up, lifting up one of his large hulk-like hands and gently rubbing at the top of his head in thought. "I think we gots most'a the material in the scrap heap from a job we did last week. It won't be the nicest lookin' wood but it'll cut yer costs and work just as well." He offered. "Is that ok? Or would ya prefer new material?"

The triton walked over to take a look at the blueprint and nodded. "Yeah, no, as long as it works, it don't need ta be new. Thanks for doin' this, boys. Here, I'll treat yas to some lunch on the way ta get yer mats, okay?" They pulled out a small jingling pouch from one of their many pockets before tossing it over. "Whatever's left in there can be a down payment for the mats. When yas get back, let me know how much I still owe yas, alright?"

With that, they made their way towards the gang plank where they waved down another messenger, someone they regularly had doing odd jobs for them. "Hey, Kyle! I need ya ta do me a bit of shoppin'! You free right now?"

The dark haired human nodded as he jogged over. "Sure thing, Murph! Your usual groceries, then?"

"More-or-less, yeah. Get a bit extra meat, though, and a decent variety of fruits, if ya could." As the other nodded in understanding, Murphy tossed over a second money pouch to pay for the items in question and sent the young man on his way to the market.

Yak grinned and wiggled his fingers excitedly, letting out an "oooh" as the triton presented the coin bag. "Mighty kind of ya to do that, thanks!" He took the bag of money carefully and pocketed it, then shuffled around some of the sprawled out work to try and get into a somewhat neater pile. Making sure to keep the proper blueprints separated from the rough drafts.

Babs helped a little while also pulling out a marked rope and taking a few various measurements around the ship's wheel and the bit of deck around it. "Yeh, we'll get everything lickity-split. You wants us to bring you any-" he stopped as Murphy called someone from the streets. "Ah, ya got that covered, nevermind."
He turned on his heels and started heading towards the gangplank. "C'mon, Yak, lets go! I'm hungry and the pub's soup o' the day was smelling mighty great when we walked by earlier. Then we'll get the junk we need to make this thing." He waved back to the orc. Waiting for the big guy to excuse himself from Murphy's presence so they could leave together.
The two headed off the ship and made their way further into town do get the supplies and food that they needed.

While they waited for everyone to return, Murphy turned to look at Stormcloud. "What about you? Ya feelin' hungry yet? Think we still got some tuna left in the kitchen if ya want it." They paused near the door as they waited for an answer, wanting to make sure their new first mate was taken care of. Couldn't have a kitty revolt happening on the second day on the job, after all.

Stormcloud, who was happily laying on a small collection of parchment, looked up at the captain. Giving a nod and a squint of her eyes. It was like a smile, by cat standards. "Always, Cap'n, tuna sounds great!" She replied, getting up and stretching out with her chest and front paws on the ground and her rump and tail stretched as high in the air as they could go.
She then stood up fully and shook out her fur and trotted off to the kitchen for the promised tuna.

The captain nodded and got the tuna out for her, setting it down to let Stormcloud have it wherever she liked. "There ya go. One order o' tuna. Enjoy." They gave a brief smile before returning to the deck to continue waiting, not bothering to get anything to eat themselves, despite not having actually consumed anything since the previous day. They would eat when they were sure there was enough to go around, when Kyle returned with the groceries they'd asked for.

... Maybe. If they remembered.

Stormcloud wasted no time in digging in to the tuna, monching on the flakey fish happily with a few contented mewls filling the air with noise.

It was a while longer before the goblin and orc duo returned. Yak carried everything, including Babs! Who somehow had managed to leave the pub with his soup bowl and was slurping down the last of it, before hucking the empty vessel away, watching it roll down the road. The pub was downhill from where they were, if momentum kept it going - it'd find its way back to where it came from eventually.
With heavy steps, Yak returned up the gangplank, shaking his head at his goblin friend's antics. He made his way back over to the wheel and set down the materials he'd been carrying. "Right, shouldn't take us too long." He reconfirmed to Murphy, and then the two of them got down to business.

The triton nodded their understanding and watched the two as they got to work. The fact that they were actually building a mechanism to allow a cat to steer a ship so soon after hearing the order was pretty damn impressive. Murphy was admittedly curious to see the final product and could hardly wait to get Stormcloud testing the waters of her new seafaring career.

Not too long after Babs and Yak got to work, Kyle returned with the promised groceries, even climbing on board to help put them away, making the job go by quickly. Soon enough, the human was sent on his way with a smile and a decent tip for the trouble. Murphy may be a pirate but they knew whose good side they needed to stay on to keep afloat. Like the guy that bought food for them. That was an important one.

It took a bit longer than the duo intended. This time it wasn't the cat's fault, but the soup o' the day not agreeing too kindly with Bab's stomach. The goblin had to take his leave for a bit and take care of himself partway through, which delayed construction a bit.
But after his little episode he managed to get right back in there to help the big guy out. Once the two got into a rhythmic workflow it was like magic to see the 'experts' at work. Yak's strength allowed him to pound nails with one fell swing. Making quick work of the sturdy frame this strange device would sit on. Bab's much smaller hands worked on the fine details, setting the gears of the mechanisms in careful place and making sure every cog moved the way they were supposed to.

Around the same time the duo was finally done, was when the tiefling, Brekath also arrived back on the ship. With smeared lipstick stains on their cheeks and neck, and quite the shiner of a black eye. Rather than dealing with the consequence of having to explain what happened, Bree hurried up to their post atop the crow's nest with only but a wave to Murphy and the others.

The captain shook their head at the tiefling's antics but waved them off as they instead turned their attention to the newly-constructed steering mechanism. Murphy gave it a quick inspection, just to see all the parts and such, before nodding at the two builders with a smile.

"Nicely done, boys. How much do I owe yas? An' I guess I'll have to cover dinner as well, after... Well, anyways, what's the cost o' yer work today?" The pirate was confident they could cover whatever price was set. They'd saved up quite a bit of gold by virtue of simply not spending much, as they had been the only one they needed to feed and clothe for a number of years before now.

With two others now sharing their space and resources, Murphy expected to have lighter pockets soon enough. Until then, they could afford to splurge a little on an important transaction between important associates.

The Cook

After cleaning up a tad bit, Babs stepped back to admire the handiwork himself, a bewildered smile on his face. Did he really just build something for a cat? He almost couldn't believe it, even with the proof standing right there in front of him.

"Well, since ya got a big ol' discount on account of us havin' the scrap we needed. I guess it'd come toooo." he drawled on as he rolled the numbers in his head. "Letsay about 40 gold, yeah? And dinner too of course, since yer offering."

Yak took over the rest of the cleaning work, he wasn't much of a numbers man. So he let Babs cover that part of the job while he collected up papers, scrap, and organized all the tools for easy take-away. "Mmm, dinner sound's lovely. I knows a tavern further into town that has the best roast beef. You'll be comin' with us too, right Murph? You'll love it."

The triton counted out forty gold, handing it over to Babs, and was in the process of estimating the cost of their dinner when they paused, smile becoming somewhat tight. "Me? Nah, I don't do land. Thanks for the thought, though. Maybe Bree or Stormcloud will wanna go with yas if ya want the company."

Shrugging, Murphy tossed in a few more coins to hopefully distract from the tension building in their posture. Their head was starting to throb again and the last thing the pirate needed right now was to stumble around on land, into a busy tavern.

Maybe if they could convince the crew to go off to dinner, the captain could take some time out in the water to deal with that damn pressure.

Babs took the gold, counting it for himself just to be sure it was correct. He pocketed the gold and shrugged his shoulders. “Ya sure? Been a bit since we last seen ya, it’d be nice to catch up over dinner.” He suggested, looking up once more to the captain.

“C’mon Murph! It’ll be fun!” Encouraged Yak. “If it’s the sea legs yer worried about I can carry ya down to the place.” He offered sincerely. “I does it with Babs all the time.”
And without so much as a pause, he took steps towards Murphy with arms outstretched to pick them up.

Tensing slightly, the captain slowly shook their head, trying to ignore the slight warmth that had instantly risen in their face. "No, I really--"

They most certainly did not yelp upon being scooped into the orc's arms. Still, the triton was undoubtedly startled before they turned their head to glare up at Yak. "Is this really necessary? If yas wanted my company that badly, I could've made somethin' on board."

“Jus an hour or two, and we’ll have ya right back on yer ship.”
Yak replied with a chuckle. “Gotta come ashore sometimes, Murph, it won’t kill ya.” He added, patting their back as he trodded off the gangplank with Babs.

“Have fun, Cap’n!” Called out Stormcloud in a sing-song tone, then proceeded over to her special ship-steering mechanism to look at it herself. “I’ll stay here. I doubt they’ll in cats.”

“Eyy! Bring me back an ale if ye please!” Called down Brekath from the crow’s nest. Hucking down a silver coin to cover the cost.
It bounced off the deck and then Babs hurried to catch it.
“One ale for the tieflin, got it.” He called back up, then made his way back off the ship and through town to the tavern they planned to eat at.

As they neared, it was easy to tell it was still the quiet hours. The usual evening crowd had yet to escape their work and families for the day. The only real source of noise was one of the local musicians, tickling the keys of an old piano in the middle of the dining room. It was a light tune. Nothing too upbeat, nor too slow of tempo, but a happy medium that wasn’t too intrusive or attention grabbing, and filled the air with just a bit of background noise to the conversations happening about the various tables.

Yak was the first to enter the tavern through a set of wooden saloon doors that he’d lifted his knee to shove open. Smiling widely to the wait staff while still holding Murphy in his big arms. “Table fer three, please!”

A rather nervous looking human, with scraggly dark hair and bright green eyes gave the trio an awkward bow. “Uhh! Yes! Yes right this way if - if you please, please.” He spoke up, and lead them towards a table with enough space to accommodate the large orc. Nearly tripping on his own two feet a couple times.
“Can-can I get you guys anything to start off with?”

Murphy gave another glare but resigned themselves to having dinner in town. It would be somewhat embarrassing to be carried around like this but the pirate preferred that to the alternative. At least it would only be for a little while, and then they could get back to the ship and slip into the ocean before actually getting a chance to sleep tonight.

"Fair warnin', boys, I may not be the best company yas could be spendin' yer evenin' with, but if yas insist..." Murphy thought it was only right that they knew beforehand. Just in case the captain started getting snappy again.

Once they were shown to their table and seated, the triton spent little time thinking about it before deciding they would stick to water to drink. As for what they'd get to eat... It was then that Murphy remembered that they'd never actually gotten around to eating earlier like they'd planned. And now everyone at the table knew it as their stomach decided to protest the lack of sustenance rather loudly.

Blushing brilliantly, (though they'd never admit it) the pirate glared at anyone that looked in their direction. "Shut it. I may have forgotten to bother with eatin' today. So what."

"Ohh nonsense Murph! I bet yer loads of fun." Yak rebutted with a smile.

Both orc and goblin waited for the captain to order first, and when the growl from their stomach came, the two both blinked slowly and looked at each other for a moment, before turning to look back at Murphy.
Babs then turned to the waiter, and pointed to the triton. "Chips n' a roast for them, please. Maybe make it a double order. And a bird for me, please."

"I'll take that same double order too." Yak added on to the list, also pointing to Murphy in reference.

The waiter pulled out a notepad and pencil, jotting down the orders. "S-so that's, water, and two orders-sorry two double orders of roast beefs with chips on the side. Aaaand a whole roast chicken. Right, ok, got it. I'll get that started for you."
He started walking away to get the order to the kitchen, but stopped, turning awkwardly and coming back to the two greenskins. "Sorry! Drinks, I meant to ask you what drinks you'd like."

Both Babs and Yak nod and speak in unison "Ale."

The waiter nods once more, and turns back to the kitchen.

Murphy sat with their arms crossed around their torso and glared daggers at the table as if the piece of furniture had done them a personal offense. While the pirate made a valiant effort to hide it, trying to will it away, they were sure that their stupid face was practically glowing in their humiliation. Damn bodily functions, kicking in at the absolute most inconvenient times.

The triton conveniently ignored the fact that it was really their own fault for forgetting to eat the entire day.

While the trio waited for their meals, it left room for talking. Probably somewhat to the Captain’s dismay.
Yak looked over to Murphy as they resigned into their seat and stared at the table.
“Say uh- personal question Murph. If ye don’t mind answering. How often is it that ye forget to eat?”

“Yeh, maybe we should stick around ya some more. Make sure you’ve got food in ya system.” Added Babs. “Wouldn’t want our best client going belly up cause they forgot to feed themself.”

The captain twitched slightly before giving a slightly petulant shrug. "I dunno... I eat when I remember, not always everyday but I'm not dead yet, so..." They shrugged again before finally looking up to consider the two handymen.

"Yas don't gotta abandon yer lives or whatever. I've survived a lot worse than a few days without food. 'Sides," they grinned, "I got a crew ta look after now. Can't let myself starve too much with 'em countin' on me." And what a thought that was. There were others counting on Murphy to take care of their needs.

... Hopefully the captain would be better at that than they were with their own.

The captain twitched slightly before giving a slightly petulant shrug. "I dunno... I eat when I remember, not always everyday but I'm not dead yet, so..." They shrugged again before finally looking up to consider the two handymen.

"Yas don't gotta abandon yer lives or whatever. I've survived a lot worse than a few days without food. 'Sides," they grinned, "I got a crew ta look after now. Can't let myself starve too much with 'em countin' on me." And what a thought that was. There were others counting on Murphy to take care of their needs.

... Hopefully the captain would be better at that than they were with their own.

The captain twitched slightly before giving a slightly petulant shrug. "I dunno... I eat when I remember, not always everyday but I'm not dead yet, so..." They shrugged again before finally looking up to consider the two handymen.

"Yas don't gotta abandon yer lives or whatever. I've survived a lot worse than a few days without food. 'Sides," they grinned, "I got a crew ta look after now. Can't let myself starve too much with 'em countin' on me." And what a thought that was. There were others counting on Murphy to take care of their needs.

... Hopefully the captain would be better at that than they were with their own.

Catching the attempt to hide a smile. Babs made a loose fist and leaned over towards Murphy, gently bumping their upper arm. “And maybe we’ll get some more smiles outta ya.” He chuckled lightly.

Yak grinned and clapped his big hands together once. “I’ve always wanted to go sailing!” He cheered. “I guess this be our celebration dinner then!”

Soon enough, the waiter came back. Moving at a snail’s pace towards the table as he carefully held the tray of drinks. His nerves visible as he made his way over, trying not to topple or trip.
It took a bit but he got there in the end. Carefully setting the tray down. “Ah! Here you l-lot go, uh, let’s see, uhhh” he stuttered as his hands switched and hovered about the glasses as he tried to remember who got what. “R-right uhm, water for you. And ale for you two.” He talked himself through and placed the ales in front of Murphy and Yak, and the water in front of Babs.

“I’ll have your uh, your meals up sh-shortly.” The man said as he excused himself from the table.

Yak chuckled as the man walked away. “Must be a new kid.”
Babs let out a huff as he looked at the drinks. “Hang on I’ll fix it.” He said and swapped drinks with Murphy.

As the man tried to hurry back to the kitchen, he tripped over the leg of a chair that hadn’t been pushed back in by its table.
Letting out a yelp as he toppled forward and fell front first onto the floor.
With a groan he pushed himself back up and continued the rest of the way to the kitchen.

Babs let out a snicker at the whole thing. “Definitely a new kid.”

Murphy's only response to the drink mix-up was to roll their eyes before taking a few sips of their water. They were probably the only pirate around that didn't indulge in alcohol but they figured a minor detriment to their reputation was worth it to keep from probable disaster.

"Leave 'im alone, Babs. The last thing a ball of anxiety needs is a room laughin' at 'im and makin' it worse. Don't ya want the food ta actually reach the table?"

The triton rubbed absently at their temple as they waited for the waiter to return. The pounding in their head was starting to worsen but Murphy was getting better at ignoring it. They just needed to make it through the meal and then they could go for an evening swim before crashing for the rest of the night.

They had this totally under control.

Babs rolled his own eyes at Murphy telling him to leave the kid alone. They had a point yes, but he wasn’t readily going to agree out loud. So he shrugged his shoulders and got to drinking his ale. The tankard it was brought in was half his size, but somehow he managed not to tip it enough to spill all over himself. Likely from plenty of practice.

The waiter eventually came back with their food, even more careful and slow this time as he walked the collection of trays over.
Seeing the kid struggle, Yak got up from the table. “Hang on kiddo, I’ll help ya out.” He offered and picked up the trays of food. Setting them down on the table for his pals.

The man breathed an awkward sigh of relief. “S-sorry and uh, thank, thank you very much.” He spoke up, relaxing his posture just a bit. “Uhm, if - if you need anything else. Just, call for Bruno. Enjoy your meals!” And with that he scuttled away awkwardly to go help the next table.

Murphy gave a slight nod to the waiter as he hurried off before turning their attention to the food placed in front of them. They ignored the hunger twisting their insides so they could address the problem rather than be embarrassed over the (now thankfully quiet) noises it was making. The captain started with some chips for the simple fact that it was faster and they wanted to fill the void as quickly as possible.

Yak wasted no time getting his grub on. He picked up the utensils sitting on the table, to the average person they were normal sized, but in his big mitts they were comically small. He did his best to use them, wanting to be mannerful with his present company - and near future captain. Delicately picking up pieces of roast and chips with the tiny-to-him fork eating them tenderly.
This lasted about five tries before the big orc got frustrated at how slow it was using the utensils. Setting them down and opting to just use his hands instead. Picking up several chips at once and popping them in his mouth, taking a moment to chew, then washing it down with glugs of ale from his tankard.
"Mm! Delicious!" Yak mumbled, as he wiped grease liquor from his mouth with his arm. Leaving a stain on his shirt sleeve.
So much for manners!

Babs picked away at his chicken. Using a fork and his fingers to tear off strips of hot meat and crispy skin to pop into his mouth, he took his time with it, unlike his far larger counterpart.
Not even food would silence the goblin for long though, as a thought entered his mind. "So, what kinda rules you got on your ship, Murphy? Y'know, so we know what we're getting into."

The triton paused to consider the question, tilting their head to one side. "Y'know... I'm not sure... I've never had a crew 'til yesterday so I never had to think of any." They frowned slightly, cutting a chunk off their roast to take a bite as they tried to think of what rules they should set.

"Well..." An idea occurred to Murphy that they considered an important point to make early on. "If I tell yas to get in the cabin and plug yer ears, that's what yas gotta do. Right away."

With that point made, the captain returned their attention to eating once more.

Babs was in the process of tearing a strip of meat off one of the chicken legs. But stopped halfway, his large goblin ears perking up at the odd rule. He tilted his head as he contemplated what might be the cause, and pulled his hands away from the meat as the maintained heat got too much for his fingers.
“And why’s that rule in place?” He asked curiously.

Murphy's eyes narrowed before they shook their head in the negative. "You don't need to know the reason, just follow the rule."

Babs squinted at the answer he got “mhmmm… and is not asking about the rule also a rule?”

Yak chuckled lightly, stifling it behind his hand as he was attempting not to encourage his small companion. “Come now Babs, maybe it’s just the Capn’ wanting alone time.”
The orc looked over to the triton once more. “It’s just’a guess though.”

The triton huffed softly, taking another bite of their roast. "Something like that..." They muttered under their breath, frowning slightly at the steadily building pressure in their skull.

The sooner this dinner was over with, the better.

"And, no," Murphy sent a stern look to Babs. "You're not allowed to ask about it. It's none of your business." It may have been a petty, childish thing to say but the pirate was currently beyond caring. They had more important things to worry about. Like finishing their food as quickly as possible so they could get back to the sea.

Babs squinted his eyes more to the point they small slits, letting out a raspy hum as he mulled over asking more. Looking between Yak and Murphy a few times.

“Babs?” Yak asked, questioning the face he pulled.

The goblin sighed in resignation. “Alright, ye win this time Cap’n.” He declared, it didn’t take even his big ears to hear the force behind Murphy’s voice.
As he wiped some of the grease off his fingers and crossed them behind the napkin.
The vagueness had him curious, and the more resistance the Captain put up, the more that need to satisfy his curiosity grew. He’d let it rest for now, but he had no intention of letting it go.

It was at this point, a loud crash erupted from the kitchens.
Dishes and food flung into the air as nervous Bruno tried to walk out the next meal for another table.
Stomping out from the far back of the kitchens was a brutish looking troll, wider and taller in figure than even Yak, which was a feat all on its own.
“That’s the LAST STRAW Bruno! If ya walked half as well as ya cooked ya could be somethin’!” He shouted at the much smaller, scragglier human lying prone on the floor.
“All ya are now is FIRED!” Boomed the troll, picking the man up off the floor by the back of his shirt like he was nothing but a ragdoll. Tearing off the apron and slinging it over his shoulder, and walking to the front door. Unceremoniously dropping the man flat on his belly on the cold hard ground. “Get lost, kid.”

Murphy nodded as they finished up the last of their meal, taking a few drinks of water to wash it down just as the nervous kid was thrown out on his face. The captain gave a sympathetic wince at the overly harsh dressing down. Honestly, if the human was such a good cook, why were they having him wait tables at all?

Suddenly, an idea popped into their head. Now that there were others on the ship, they'd need regular meals, and Murphy somewhat doubted most of their culinary abilities. They could use an actual chef...

"Hey, boys... Could one of you go and get that Bruno kid for me...?"

Babs and Yak both looked at the Captain at their request, then at each other, deciding who should do it.
Yak was the more gentle one, but he might scare the kid with his size.
Babs sighed, stuffing some more chicken into his mouth. “Ok” he muffled through the food as he chewed. Taking a moment to finish before getting up off the chair and heading outside the tavern.

To his surprise, the kid was still there, huddled in the fetal position and crying to himself quietly.

“Wasn’t fair, kid.” Babs spoke up, the small goblin walking over to the ex-employee.
“Picked the worst spot to work for someone so anxious - been here plenty of times to see the boss kick out kids - that’s why all his chefs gotta pull double duty as waiters. Short staffed.”

The crying man stopped for a moment, pulling up the collar of his shirt to wipe away tears and snot from his face. He looked over to the goblin with reddened, sorrowful eyes. “I just w-wanted to, to cook. It’s, I love cooking but-I dunno maybe it’s not worth it.”

Babs squinted his large brown eyes at the man. Pursing his lips tightly as he listened.
“That’s quitter’s talk.” He said bluntly. Short on tact as much as he was in stature. “Gonna let a bad job experience ruin yer life like that?”

Bruno sniffled more, a few hyperventilated sobs escaped him. Caught off by the brash words of the stranger.
“I uh-“

He was promptly cut off as Babs spoke up again. “Anyways, compose yourself, and come back in when you’re ready. My friend wants to have a word with ya - probably something good.” The goblin took his leave immediately after, heading back inside to finish his meal.
Strolling in and hopping back up onto the seat.
“Give it a hot minute.” He announced to Murphy.

And sure enough, after a little bit, Bruno awkwardly made his way back inside, shuffling up to the table with the colourful trio while trying to avoid eye contact with anyone else in the dining room.

The triton nodded a greeting to the nervous human, giving him a quick once-over before offering a small smile. "Guessing you're in need of a job now? I might be able to hire ya to just cook food; no tables to wait or anything. Got a question first, though. How do ya feel about the sea?"

No point in hiring someone to work on a ship if they don't like being on the water, after all. They'd get to the part where he'd technically be agreeing to piracy after the most basic question was answered. If either of those things bothered Bruno, he was just gonna have to find himself employment somewhere else.

“W-water? Uhm” Bruno considered, a job would be great, but he had trouble walking on solid ground to begin with, let alone the rocking waves. But then again, maybe on a boat he could start fresh - no one at other ports would know what a clutz he was. “Uh - sure! Sure yeah I can do water.” He spoke quickly. Lying more to himself than he was the Captain. “Cooking, on, on a ship? Ah, yeah as long as- we’ll yes as long as it’s alright, I’d like to not wait tables. I’m better just being in the kitchen.”

Murphy nodded again and took a sip of what remained of their drink as they considered the best way to go about the next part. Shrugging, the triton figured they might as well just go for it.

"Don't need ya to wait tables but there is one other thing you should know before you actually agree to this job. It's a pirate ship. I won't be askin' ya to fight or pillage or anything like that but you'll still technically be cooking for a pirate crew. Will that be a problem?"

Bruno paused for a few moments, “pirates?”
He mulled over the choice carefully. Anxiety wandering away with his mind, a mental image plaguing his head of being told to walk the plank for not cooking a meal the right way, or dropping a barrel. Sharks circling in the water below, waiting to be the ultimate consequence to his clumsiness.
The scrawny man shook his head as if trying to shake the thoughts away. That was worst case, these guys seemed a lot friendlier, the big orc even helping him out earlier.
After a few moments more, he nodded his head, realizing the previous shake could’ve indicated a no. “Uh, yeah, pirates are fine.” He answered. They were still his ticket to somewhere else that no one knew him on top of that, and being paid in pirate gold did sound kind of exciting.

Murphy offered a small grin and nodded. "Good. You need anything from here? We need to pick up an ale for Bree but we can take the rest of the food to go and at least show ya where we're docked. Dunno if ya got anything ya wanna grab from wherever your stayin' but we can worry about that after you know where yer movin' to, yeah?"

Bruno's eyes shifted about the dining room, towards the kitchens, and his painfully recent ex-peers. There really wasn't anything he needed from here. "Uhh, no. No, nothing from here-but." He muttered to Murphy.
"Oh, uh, yeah I'd like to, get stuff from, from my family's house. If, if you could show me where you're docked, I-I can go grab things. It shouldn't take me too mom-I mean long, I'll uh, give my mom a quick goodbye too." He stumbled further. "But yeah, uh, t'go boxes, uhm."
He raised his arm, his wanting to help and be of use overpowering his want to not be seen by the other staff.
"the-three t'go boxes, please." He squeaked up as he got another person's attention. To which the other nodded and disappeared into the back to get a few boxes for the table.

The Captain

Once they were packed up, the crew left the tavern, not forgetting Bree's requested ale, and made their way back towards the docks. Murphy was relieved to finally return to the ship, though they had to wait until Bruno got back from grabbing his things and saying his goodbyes before they could go for their long-awaited swim.

After the new cook had made it back safely, the captain sent the entire crew into the cabins, telling them they'd set sail first thing in the morning. When everyone had (eventually) complied, Murphy was quick to jump in the water and take care of the headache they'd spent the last few hours trying to ignore.

The crew settled in for the night. Bruno even offering to cook a little evening snack for everyone as the sun set outside on calm waters.
A way to show his appreciation - and hopefully to get on the good side of the pirates he now called company. A lettuce leaf topped with flakey fresh tuna for the cat, and for the rest a simple salad, making sure to leave some extra out for the captain, wherever they had gone.

Meanwhile as the captain dove beneath the waves to release the build up of their siren magic, they were not as alone as they’d hoped.
As Murphy sung a haunting, wordless aria, they inadvertently swooned some of the neary sea life. Giant isopods crawled out of the sands and a school of fish swarmed about them with shiny scales that flashed as streaks of silver in the dim light. The school forming the shape of a heart as they swam laps around Murphy, keeping tempo with the notes they sung.

Annoyed but unable to stop, the triton endured the effect of their song as they gained an unwanted audience. This happened sometimes, though it was always a bit of an ordeal getting away after they'd finished their business. Murphy supposed that was just part of their existence at this point.

Once their headache had finally faded, about two hours later, it was time for evasive maneuvers. Now that the captain had an actual crew, they needed to ensure they didn't witness the effects of Murphy's unwanted magic. A display of underwater choreography like this following the triton back to the ship would definitely give them away.

And so, they spent several long minutes making sharp turns around reefs and hiding between rocks, leading the marine life away from their ship before eventually doubling back and climbing aboard once more.

Murphy was fast enough to lose the giant isopods as they dodged and weaved amongst the reefs and kelp fields. The school of fish however were harder to shake off.
To their best efforts, it seemed like they'd lost the silvery swarm as they doubled back to the ship.
But soon as they breached the water, an explosion of splashes and jumping fish broke the relative silence of the calm night at the surface.

Any hope the Captain may of had of a silent return was promptly drowned in the loud commotion.
Hopefully no one was up on deck... right?

Waiting up in the crows nest, near out of sight save for their horns catching the early moonlight, and their tail wiggling playfully above the nest's edge, was Brekath. Golden eyes watching the Captain below curiously to try and determine what they were up to.