Between a Loch and a Hard Place! Swimming with the Sharks!

[Fox]

“Yasei? Yaaaaasei…. YASEEEEEI!” Wolfric said the codename a couple times, rolling it off her tongue in different ways. Well, she guessed it was okay. Sounded more like a name than a code name but, eh, if that was what she wanted, then who was Wolfric to stop her. Maybe it meant something? She put her hands on her hips and looked over to Yasei.

“What’s it mean?”

Wolfric’s attention was immediately sidetracked by Florence coming back with a stack of bounty posters. Man, they even had those in a secret mermaid cove, huh? She hurried over, peering over Flo’s shoulder as she flipped through the stack. She got distracted by the other bounties in the stack, seeing some had pretty hefty ones. The competition. Well, kinda. She’d get there one day! As Florence pulled out a specific poster from the stack, Wolfric recognized herself on the cover. Oof, not a photo that brought back good memories.

The photo had her holding some kinda spiked club. She was a bit bloody, though if she remembered right, most of the blood hadn’t been hers. It was in that dang coliseum. It kind of made her look scary. She’d have to get a new photo taken whenever she spotted an official looking guy with a camera.

“Huh… I guess it’s higher than I thought for just escaping. Vindictive old hag… I don’t like the picture though… What do they call me… Wolf Fang? Huh. Well, at least that’s pretty cool, hehe!”

The smile returned to Wolfric’s face pretty easily, at least, until Yasei suggested that they turn her in for the bounty. She gasped, hiding behind Florence.

“You wouldn’t! We’re pals!”

A pouty Wolfric squinted suspiciously at Yasei from over Flo’s shoulder when she said she was kidding. Kind of. That wasn’t a funny joke. Tossing her wanted poster over her shoulder, she stepped out from behind Flo and glanced around.

“So, uh, how do we get out of here? Let’s go kick some bad guy butt!”

---

Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 6

[SnowDog]

"Escaping?" Florence pondered watching Wolfric sift through the stack of wanted posters. There was a story involved there for sure. The poor girl's skin was tattered with various scars all over. The mermaid couldn't help but wonder if she had gotten those from this place she was referencing. The pain she must've endured... Yasei then made a brief joke about turning Wolfric over to the authorities based on her high bounty, which in turn had the Nurse Shark mermaid rolling her eyes. Sure her bounty was big, but it was just about as large as Raige's was and she knew Yasei wouldn't dare try turning him in. Speaking of which, they had to get going on their task.

"Well, I can take you through the Guarding Well, it's the hidden entryway in and out of this cove. We'll have to swim only a little ways through the reef to make it back outside." Florence removed a small knapsack that hung off her shoulders. She stuffed the rest of the bounty posters into the pack and rummaged about with the innards of her bag before gesturing towards Wolfric. "I can carry you out if you'd like, hop on in!"

________________________

-Elsewhere-

Water splashed violently as another cannon shot connected with the ocean waves. Men stood atop the decks of their boat, many armed with rifles aiming down into the sea and firing off mixed volleys. The deck was panicked, cries from the boatsmen rang out in all directions.

"Did you see where he went?!"

"Slippery bastard!"

"C'mon, show yourself!"

Their comments and questions went unanswered as if they were waiting for the sea itself to answer back to them. There was a sense of unease that washed over their sweating brows as they continued to study the ever-shifting blue below their feet.

"Ya think we got'im?" one of the crewmen asked behind a red bandana. The silence above the decks grew deafening before low chuckles began to break at it.

"We must have!" One of the cannoners chimed in behind a similar red bandana, "Either that or we really scared him off!" This caused the rest of the crew of the mermaid hunting vessel to break out into cheer, many raising their arms to the air in premature celebration.

"FEYAAAAAGAHGAHGAHGAH! YOU IDIOTS HAVEN'T DONE JEEEEACK ALL!" A mighty roar came from the raised stern of the ship, silencing the cheers just as fast as they had kicked up. "A fishy that big isn't gonna keel over or go running so QUUUUUUUUICKLY!" Lumbering across the deck in a similar manner to that of an ape, the boisterous leader of the vessel approached the edge of the ship to gaze down into the water, a massive cigar hanging between the teeth in his large, sinister smile. "He's giving us the ol' runaround! Trying to keep us on our TEEEEEEEEOES! What an idiot! Doesn't even realize that he's leading us directly to just where we wanna BEEEEEEEEE! FEYAAAAAGAHGAHGAHGAH!"

[BlissfulSerenity]

Sharing the name that she let others refer her by, now calling it a code name for the sake of Wolfric and to keep her real name hidden, the almost wolf-like human began saying it multiple times, each one making her want to change it more but it meant too much for her to do it.

"It means Wild River, to me it means running free and unhindered, my freedom is really important to be and I wouldn't trade it for anything." Yasei would tell Wolfric upon her asking, her answer close to her heart and held no sense of dishonesty. With Flo coming back with the bounty posters they were able to see what Wolfric was worth in which Yasei decided to joke about selling the girl for cash trying to not pay attention as to where the girl had been escaping from that earned her that bounty. 

Wolfric hid behind Flo, stating that she wouldn't do it because they were pals. "Eh? I barely know you still, don't jump the gun." Yasei said putting her hands behind her back as she stretched.

Flo offering to take Wolfric through the Guarding Well, the same entrance in and out of the cove that she used for traveling, Yasei stood there waiting, once they were ready to go she was going to hop in after them, it had been awhile since she swam with Flo so it would be exciting. 

[Fox]

Wolfric deflated almost immediately when she heard that they’d have to take the wet route out of here. Again…? She winced, trying to think of another way out of this situation. She cast a hopeful look over at Yasei, thinking that maybe she had a better idea. Maybe? Hopefully? What she did say was something about the meaning of the name Yasei, which did resonate with Wolfric. She gave Yasei a nod of agreement.

“Me either!” Wolfric grinned in her usual happy go lucky way. “That’s why I’m gonna be king of the pirates! I’m gonna be the most free person in the world!”

When Wolfric looked back to Flo, she remembered that the mermaid wanted her to get in the bag. As Yasei hadn’t piped up with any other options, Wolfric grumbled unhappily and wiggled into the bag as best she could. She wasn’t thrilled about going back into the water willingly, but Flo had saved her once. She would take care of her again. Wolfric took a deep breath, beating down her nerves and gave Flo two big thumbs up with renewed enthusiasm.

“Alright! Let’s GOOOOOO!”

---

Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 7

[SnowDog]

“Alright, that’s the spirit!” Florence happily cheered, gently bringing her hand around to pick up Wolfric from the back of her top. With ease, she gently hoisted Wolfric up between two pinched fingers before setting her in her large nap sack. “I’ll move as quick as I can.” The mermaid said with a reassuring smile as she looked down into her bag at Wolfric, “In and out, won’t be too long to get outside. I promise I won’t let you drown.” Florence flipped the protective flap back over and clasped her backpack shut. The bag wasn’t air tight, being design by mermaids and fishfolk to be used by mermaids and fishfolk. Any amount of air Flo managed to trap inside the bag was all Wolfric would have for a short while before the waters would quickly take over.

“Alright Wolfric, deep breath now!” Florence nodded to Yasei before turning back towards the cove and diving straight into the water. The nurse shark woman bobbed and weaved through the coral and reefs surrounding the cove in rapid movements, her familiarity with the area allowing her to navigate through the rougher patches with ease while her mermaid physiology allowed her to barrel through at near blinding speeds. It didn’t take long before Florence emerged from the Guarding Well and out through one of the secret outcrops that lead to the cove. Approaching a nearby rock, the Florence unclasped her bag and removed gently removed Wolfric.

“Here we are. How ya feeling there, Wolfy?” Her inquiry to the young pirate girl went unanswered for a moment as something along the horizon had caught her attention. It was far off, almost like a spec but whatever it was Florence could hear something coming from that direction. It was loud, almost booming, a part of her felt she already knew what that could be but there wasn’t anything familiar about the noise. “Oh that can’t be good...”

__________________

Elsewhere, Beneath the Waves

Heavy panting broke the silence that filled the ocean around him. Sitting along a piece of coral reef, a blue skinned Wotan struggled to regain his strength, not having long to catch his breath. These hunters were relentless and tougher than any of the others he had faced off before. He had to do something, they were closing in on the cove, despite his efforts to drag them off course. The Wotan looked up and saw the silhouette of the hunter’s vessel above him.

”At least they haven’t reached the cove yet...” he thought as he rubbed at the wound running along his torso. Gazing down, he noticed blood on his webbed fingers, and with taking the pressure off it began to pool out into the water. He threw his hand back over and wince in pain. He slowly rose from his spot, grabbing at the anchor he used for a weapon, utilizing it to help himself rise from his spot.

”Have to... power through...” he grimaced as he stumbled a few steps forward, ”Gotta stop’em... here and now...” Glancing back up to the silhouette above him, the giant fishman let out of pained cough before clutching at the seashell shaped centerpiece of his necklace. ”I wouldn’t wanna put you in harms way, but I wish you were here with me now, Flo. Heh, maybe I wouldn’t be in such a sorry state...”

Letting go of his necklace, Raige gripped his anchor-ax tight and pushed himself off the seafloor, propelling himself upwards with his Wotan’s strength. As he swam upwards, he felt a burning in his chest, albeit not one of pain from his injuries, but of determination and the anger that drove him. He clenched his sharp teeth tightly before he bellowed out a mighty roar, not caring if the hunters above could even hear him from below.

“YOU BASTARDS ALL MADE A MISTAKE COMING HERE!!”

[Fox]

Wolfric didn’t love this. But, hey, maybe the bag would not let the water in? Hopefully? Unfortunately, Flo’s next words didn’t make her feel much better. Oh boy. The flap closed over her head and she didn’t have long before Flo called out to her to take a deep breath. Wolfric took the longest breath possible before they hit the water. It was dark so she couldn’t see, but the water started rushing in almost immediately. Flo’s movement was rough so she couldn’t get her feet under her and in seconds she was submerged, the precious air gargling out of her mouth as weakness paralyzed her body.

She didn’t remember what happened next, but Wolfric suddenly found herself waking up next to a rock. She coughed and sputtered, gagging up water as she laid next to the rock. Flo asked if she was okay, but she couldn’t actually muster up the energy to speak at the moment. Wolfric just made a low drowned groan. About a minute or two more, and Wolfric kind of felt like herself again, pulling herself off the rocky floor of the outcropping.

“Ho… Kay… let’s not do that again… Wait... what’s not good…?”

Wolfric squinted and looked out to where Flo’s gaze was fixed. Huh. There was something out there but it was a long ways away. Still, she could hear cannonfire so her money was on a ship. Hm. The longer she stared at it the bigger it got too. Was it heading this way? Uh, that wasn’t good if it was one of those mermaid hunting ships. Feeling pretty much recovered from her dunk, Wolfric looked at Flo.

“I’m gonna check it out!”

Scooping up a bunch of rocks from the ground, Wolfric possessed one of them, slipping right into it and launching herself out at speed along the shore. A few more launches like this and she was flying along the shoreline at incredible speeds, getting closer and closer to that speck. And, as she did, she saw very clearly that, yep, that was a ship.

~~~

Beatrice followed the sounds of cannons cautiously to where she could only assume Raige would be. He’d definitely had a run in with those awful hunters. That girl from the cove was probably going to betray them and give away their sanctuary, so something had to be done about it! She wanted to help. As she drew closer, she saw Raige launching himself up at the bottom of the ship with a cry. She smiled, confident that he would pull through. At least, until she saw just how badly he was hurt. He needed help. He needed a distraction!

Without a moment to lose, Beatrice shot up to the surface and breached, leaping into the air as majestically as she could manage. If that didn’t get their attention, she didn’t know what would. But… if they didn’t see it, then she’d have to keep doing it. She darted around the ship in a circle, jumping out of the water and waving her arms.

“Over here, dumb humans!”

---

Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 8

[SnowDog]

"Wait, hold up!" Florence called out as Wolfric exclaimed about going to check out the object on the horizon, "You were moving like a drowned rat for a moment there-" The nurse-shark mermaid froze in place, eyes widening as the little pirate girl seemed to disappear into a rock. A cold shiver ran down Florence's spine as she watched as Wolfric proceeded to then fire out like a cannon from said rock. The mermaid could only sit there and stare as she watch Wolfric fire herself along the shoreline, jumping between rocks not knowing what in the four blues she was even seeing just now.

"She- but I- and she- how could-" Florence tried to search for the words to describe what she was witnessing here today. It was as if by some miracle, some act of magic that she could pull off such a feat. And then... It all clicked.

"OH MY GOD, SHE ATE A DEVIL FRUIT!" The nurse-shark mermaid screeched in revelation, "THAT'S WHY SHE COULDN'T SWIM! OH GOD I ALMOST KILLED HER!!" Florence quickly dove back into the water and began to swim up alongside the beach the pirate girl was firing herself across on.

"Why didn't you tell me you had eaten one of those accursed fruits?! I could've packed you a damned bubble!"

___________________________

The water before the hunter's vessel cascaded in a mighty splash as Raige emerged from beneath the waves, holding his anchor high above his head before coming down onto the deck of the ship with a mighty thud. He plunged the pick of his anchor into the deck, sending boards splintering outwards and throwing back some of the inhabitants of the ship backwards along point of impact. The hunters all adorned in their distinctive red bandanas flinched and took a step back, weapons drawing up towards the wotan as they readied themselves for whatever was about to happen next.

"FEEEEYAGHAHAHA! What did I teeeeell you boys?! Said I knew he'd be beeeeack for more!" The captain of the mermaid hunters lumbered forward, approaching a nearby stack of cannonballs located around the deck cannons. "What happened big fella'? Didn't feel satisfied enough after that last bout? FEEEEYAGHAHAHA!" Raige only responded to the taunt with a snarl, pulling his weapon from the deck of the ship. Such a move forced a quick hiss of pain to escape his mouth. The hunter captain chuckled at the sight, relishing in the moment knowing he was responsible for Raige's current injuries. He reached down and scooped up several cannonballs before loading them into his mouth, his cheeks stretching outwards and holding the ammunition with ease. "Don't worry! I'm sure we can find someone who's willing to buy themselves a slave as big as you!"

Raige readied to throw his anchor forward at the captain, but something from the water came hollering out from below. Raige recognized the voice in an instance, and it pained him to realize she was here now, or worse whatever it was she was planning.

"CAPTAIN! We've got a swimmer off the port side!" One of the hunters called out.

"BEATRICE, GET OUT OF HERE IT'S NOT SAFE!" Raige bellowed, falling to a knee as he clutched at his wound. Calling out like that shouldn't have hurt like it did, maybe it ran deeper than he thought. He had to do something, he couldn't fall here now or risk the lives of everyone in the cove.

"FEEEEYAGHAHAHA! Would you look at theeeeeeeat! They're just throwing themselves at us neeeeeow!" The large, lumbering captain swished the cannonballs around in his mouth for a moment before spitting one of them out almost as fast as cannon's fire. The projectile flew a short distance before breaking apart into a wide cast net at Beatrice. With the net around the mermaid, the hunter captain shrilled in delight. "TEEEEEEOOOOO EEEEEEEEAAAASSSY! Reel'er in boys! FEEEEYAGHAHAHA!"

Raige gritted his pointed teeth, this savageness was stopping here and now, he wasn't going to let them get away with taking a friend of his and Florence's. He pushed through the pain emanating from his torso, removing his hand from the open wound. He raised his makeshift shield and ducked his head down bracing to charge the captain directly.

"MONSTER! LET HER GOOOOO!!" the Wotan roared, rushing down the deck.

[Fox]

As Wolfric flew along the shoreline, she paused on top of a big boulder, scanning the horizon. Yup! That was a ship. Though, she couldn’t really tell what kind of flag they had from here. What she could see was a lot of people scrambling around on the deck. There were two pretty big guys on the deck. One bigger than the other. Hm. She was just about to shoot over there, but Flo managed to catch up in the water. Wow, she was fast! Wolfric glanced down at her as she shouted something up at her. Wolfric just scratched the back of her head.

“Bubble...? What…”

Wolfric shook her head. She’d ask about it later. It looked like things were getting dicey over there, noting a large splash off the side of the ship. Grabbing another pebble out of her pocket, Wolfric possessed it again and flew out of the pebble, chaining together more possessions and launches in midair to soar over the water and toward the ship.

~~~

It wasn’t very long before they spotted her. Ha! Well, she’d been expecting as much. Raige called out to her to get away, but Bea could handle this much. She was much too far out for them to be able to harpoon her, let alone try and hit her with a cannonball. As the disgusting human captain looked her way, he spat out a cannonball at her. O-Okay. Not what she had been expecting but she could still avoid this!

Beatrice prepared to swerve out of harm’s way, but the ball suddenly exploded out into a net and wrapped itself around her. She let out a cry of surprise and horror. Wait, no! This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! She needed to get out…! She needed to… to get some help! H-Help!

“HELP!”

~~~

The wind was whistling loudly as Wolfric soared through the air. With a colossal crash, she landed on the deck squarely between the charging giant fish guy and the smarmy looking Captain. Wooden splinters from where she landed flew up into the air around her. Standing up straight and holding an absolutely massive cleaver about the size of her body in one hand, Wolfric looked at the Captain, picking him out easily from the rest of his crew.

“Yo. You’re the guy catching all the people around here, right?”

Wolfric tapped a barrel beside her, possessing it and launching herself back out of it as a collective gasp went up among the crew. They couldn’t even get the words ‘Devil Fruit user’ out before she had closed the distance between her and the Captain in an instant, planting her foot squarely in his face with a snarl.

“You think I’m just gonna let you get away with that?!”

The hunter captain went flying back into a pile of barrels lined up against the wall. Wolfric swung her sword around in a wide arc with a stunning ease, looking around at all of the crew on the deck with an enraged look. They seemed pretty stunned by her sudden appearance, but Wolfric wasn’t just gonna let them all off the hook because of that.

“COME ON! I’LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!” she roared defiantly.

---

Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 9

(And a little mood music)

[SnowDog]

The sudden appearance of the wild child caught everyone off guard, namely Captain Shimarisu who just found himself with the girl planting her foot into his face and kicking him back. He struggled to rise from the stack of barrels that had broken underneath his weight. "Captain!" the other hunters called out wondering how their leader faired after such a strike. They all turned their attention away from the angered Wotan and towards unwanted guest raising their weapons in defense. Raige found himself at a loss for words as he halted in his tracks, wondering who and what just landed up the deck, challenging the mermaid hunters to come at her in a vein that felt like something he himself would do.

"And just who the hell do you think you are? Geeeeeeirlie?" Shimarisu inquired, standing tall amongst the rubble and wiping away at the spittle from his cheek, "Keep reeling'er in boys! We'll handle this riff-raff!"

Not wasting a perfect opportunity like this, Raige continued his assault against the hunters, slamming his shield against the nearest lackey in front of him. Several rifles pivoted in his direction, others unsure on who exactly to focus on first. A quick volley fired off and pelted against the Wotan's skin. Raige winced as he knocked the red bandanaed individual off the edge of the boat. He swung his anchor in a wide arc to clear away some of the other deck hands as he locked on to the hunter captain now standing at the far end of the boat.

"That's some fancy power you got there, girlie," Shimarisu stated towards Wolfric, "I'm sure I can find someone willing to take in a brat like you! FEYAAAAAGAHGAHGAHGAH!" There was a sharp inhale before the mermaid hunter started to spit out the cannonballs stored within his cheeks in a rapid succession at the pirate girl.

"GIRL!" Raige called out, "GET OUT OF THERE!"

[Fox]

“I’m the person that’s gonna kick your ass!”

Wolfric barked out at the captain who rose back out of the pile of barrels pretty quickly. He didn’t seem terribly phased by it, but she was gonna change his tune real fast. He ordered his people to keep reeling in the mermaid - she looked familiar. Oh! Right, Wolfric vaguely remembered meeting her. The big fish guy kept on going wild on the deck, so she figured he’d probably get her. In the meantime, she was gonna do as much damage as possible!

“I don’t belong to anyone! And neither do they!”

Wolfric roared as she charged at the big cheeked bastard. As she did, he took a deep breath and shot cannonballs out at her?! Whoa! Wolfric scittered to a stop as the fish guy’s shout reached her a little too late. Ducking into her sword quickly and possessing it, she clattered against the deck as the cannonballs soared over her and into the crowd of his crew mates. She sighed in relief, one of her cross guards animating like a hand to wipe her brow.

“That was close… but now it’s my turn!”

Hopping up, Wolfric balanced awkwardly for a second on the tip of her blade and launched herself at the cheeky bastard, swinging herself around wildly at him.

“Haunt Haunt… uh! Slash ‘em up!”

---

Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 10

[SnowDog]

Raige was shocked to see his words did not halt Wolfric's assault on the Mermaid Hunters. She looked to be just a child, but one that had the powers of a devil fruit under her command. Was she truly here to help? To just appear out of the blue like that and challenge the captain like that... The Wotan could only hope she was here to help stop these men here and to not just try and rob them of their ship or cargo. He could only watch on hoping it was the prior...

Shimarisu was taken back watching Wolfric possess her own sword, avoiding his last volley. Before he could even take another breath, the girl appeared once more before him swinging about wildly.

"Well aren't you just full of seeeeeeeurprises!" He bellowed trying to dodge out of the way and regain his composure. He reached into his mouth and pulled out a massive steel gauntlet tucked into his cheek. He donned the mighty glove, its knuckles bearing massive spikes on it. Not able to completely protect himself from the maddened slashing, instead he took a step back and put the gauntlet out between he and Wolfric's sword. "You have no idea what you're getting involved with, little girl! WHAT ARE YOU JACKALOPES SITTING ABOUT FOR?!? SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOT THEM BOTH!!"

The other Mermaid hunters stopped their gawking and raised their weapons again, gunfire breaking out in all sorts of directions around the deck of the ship. Raige was caught off guard but managed to raise his shield in time to stop a collective volley upon him. 5 direct hits managed to strike him in various spots around his body before he got his shield up. He winced in pain, but now was the time to not keep getting sidetracked by the new girl on the deck. He loosened his hold on his anchor, letting his makeshift slip from his hand as he allowed the attached chain run through his palm. Once he got the acquired amount of slack he wanted, and returned his grip to the chain and began to swing his weapon about overhead wildly. Many of the red bandanas panicked as they could only imagine what was about to come next.

"LET THE MERMAID GO!" He roared as he turned his weapon upon those standing near the boat's edge, currently trying to reel in the restrained Beatrice.

[Fox]

Sword Wolfric managed to get a few good licks in before having to stop her mad twirling and catch her breath. Ugh, all that spinning made her really dizzy. She swayed unsteadily on the tip of the blade as the world kinda spun around her. When she managed to get her bearings back, she saw the enemy captain pull an iron gauntlet out of his cheeks. What?! First cannonballs, now this?!

“Wh-whoa! Where are you keepin’ all of that stuff? What else is in there?!”

She kind of wanted to just reach in his mouth and check it out for herself, but there wasn’t time for that. A few of his guys started shooting at both her and the big guy. A lot missed her, but the few that did hit, she felt! They twanged off her metal body and stung… and tickled? It was hard to describe the sensation of being twanged, but it wasn’t pleasant! Still, it wasn’t like she was actually hurt. She glanced over to the big guy who was actually looking pretty beat up. Yikes. He was yelling something about that mermaid she’d seen earlier too. Kuh! What did these guys think was gonna happen when she got up here?

Luckily, a huge sweep with the big guy’s anchor cleared a lot of them. She could help out with that too! Diving out of her sword as the men aiming at her reloaded, Wolfric exposed herself for only a second or two. Still, that was long enough for one of them to get her in the leg, causing her to wince in pain. Her sword clattered to the deck. The next second, her palm had slapped one of the nearby cannons, and she was sucked inside of it. Rearing up and spinning around like a horse, Cannon Wolfric slammed her wheels down onto the deck, which… uh… went through the deck.

“Uh. Oops. Hang on…!”

Pulling one wheel out at a time, she yanked herself free and galloped awkwardly across the deck to the side where those mooks were dragging in that mermaid.

“Look out, big guy! Haunt Haunt… REJECT!”

Wolfric reappeared, her feet firmly planted as the cannon shot away from her like… well, a cannonball. It flew across the deck at high speeds, taking several screaming deckhands with it as it blasted through the railing and into the water below. Wolfric laughed and pumped her fist into the air, looking over at the big guy.

“Go help your friend out! I got this!”

Wolfric whirled back around and charged at the enemy captain. She didn’t have her sword on her, but that wouldn’t stop her. She curled her fingers into a fist and threw a powerful one right at the guy’s face.

“The name’s Wolfric! Wolfric Hertz!”

~~~

In the water, Beatrice had been valiantly fighting against the net by swimming straight down. She was scared. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen to her if they managed to reel her all the way in. Her heart was pounding and the net pulled her closer and closer to the ship. Until… it didn’t. Almost as abruptly as the net had appeared, it went slack.

“H-Huh?”

A large something hit the water a few seconds later, making her jump. When she looked over, Bea saw that it was… one of the cannons and several of the humans. W-What? Did Raige do that? Unsure, Bea poked her head above water for the first time since getting caught and noticed a… commotion. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she recognized that human girl’s voice. Huh? What was she doing here?

---

Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 11

[SnowDog]

So she could become cannons now? Shimarisu began to rush at the white-haired girl before she rejected herself decided to reject her new form, propelling outwards and quickly returning a punch into his massive face. The mermaid hunter took a couple of staggering steps backward to regain his composure. A couple of small cannonballs managed to slip out of his cheeks after Wolfric's fist had connected with his face.

"Why you little..." Shimarisu cursed, wiping the spittle at his mouth, "I ain't here to play games. I don't care who you are, you're costing me money!" Shimarisu reeled his gauntlet hand back and threw a mighty fist first forward at the pirate girl. The mermaid hunter moved quite fast for a massive hulking individual.

-

Wolfric, so that was this girl's name. Raige huffed as she yelled to him about helping his friend, mostly a reflex from having to listen to Flo but also to catch some breath after that last volley. Who was this Wolfric girl, and why was she so defiant in trying to stop these hunters?

"Don't mind me! Watch your back, Ms. Hertz!" Raige finally responded, driving the point of his anchor into the side of the boat, splintering the deck, and sending shards of wood out in every direction. His strike sent a couple more of the hunters flying into the water below. Those that were reeling in Beatrice were swiftly knocked away. Raige reached out and grabbed ahold of the net before it could slip deep into the water. His giant's strength made quick work with ripping the net right down the middle.

"Go, run Beatrice! Warn the others!"

[Fox]

Her punch connected, knocking some cannonballs out of the guy’s cheeks. She really just wanted to pry his jaw open and see how he could carry that many. Wolfric bounced back, but before she could land on the deck, the mermaid hunter slammed her in the gut. It was way faster than she had been expecting, and so caught her off guard. She went flying backwards, slamming into one of the masts with a cough.

The big fish guy’s warning came a little too late. But, hey, it was okay! She wasn’t going down that easy. Slamming her foot down, Wolfric took a step forward, shaking off some splinters from the mast. She spat out a glob of spittle and grinned at the mermaid hunter. She cracked her knuckles and scooped up her sword off the deck. And then she disappeared, sword and all. In reality, she’d just possessed the net that she had just stepped onto.

Shooting out and grabbing the net as she flew at the hunter, Wolfric crashed feet first into the wall behind him, draping the heavy net over him. This would limit his movements! She dropped to the deck behind him, using the net to give her time to wind up a huge swing of her sword. She grinned, sliding her foot out to stabilize herself.

“Let’s see…”

With all her might, Wolfric swung her huge sword at the hunter.

“How YOU like it!”

She slammed her sword into him, sending the man soaring into the air… and then splashing into the water. The net sank slowly on the surface of the water. Smiling, Wolfric looked over to the remaining crewmen on the ship. Some of them lifted their weapons. Some opted for abandoning ship and jumped over the side. The ones that wanted to fight, Wolfric charged, eliciting cries from the terrified crewmen as they were tossed over the side.

~~~

Beatrice felt tears welling up in her eyes when she spotted Raige tearing apart the net holding her. If he wasn’t married, she would be tempted to kiss him! She still might, honestly. The other voice on the deck was definitely that weirdo girl from earlier, but Beatrice’s earlier reservations had all vanished. She nodded and dove beneath the waves, darting back toward the cove to warn everyone.

---

Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 12

[SnowDog]

Shimarisu grinned devilishly watching the little pirate girl fly back into the mast. He wasted no time charging forward at her, hoping to quickly finish this slight setback here and now. As he bolted forward, Wolfric was quicker at possessing the recently cut net and throwing it over the hunter captain and restricting his movement.

"WHAT IN THEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HELL?!" He cursed as he found himself bound in the net, unable to break free and throw his punch like he originally intended. He frantically tried to look around from where disappeared to, only managing to catch a glimpse of the white-haired girl was wounding up a swing. "NEEEEEEEEEO NO NO NO NO WAIT A MIN-" He sentence broke upon Wolfric slamming her sword into the head mermaid hunter, sending him sky-rocketing and into the drink that surrounded them.

-

Raige huffed with a heavy sigh, albeit one of relief now instead of disappointment. Finally, he thought, It's all over now.... Maybe he could finally take a moment to rest. The wotan's knee buckled from underneath him, only managing to catch himself from collapsing onto the deck by leaning against his anchor to keep him propped up. His breathing was growing heavier, nearly panting now as the fighting managed to settle around him.

"Girl... Wolfric..." Raige wheezed, easing himself into taking a seat on the deck. He took a moment a moment to try and collect his breath and gather his thoughts, "Thank you, for your help..."