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

[Fox]

“Phew!”

Wolfric leaned on her sword and dusted her hands off after tossing the last crewman off the side of the ship. That was everyone! It would probably be a good idea to go below decks and check for captive mermaids, but she wanted to check on the big guy first. He was looking kinda rough. Wolfric sheathed her sword in the scabbard at her hip and buttoned up the clasp that held it in place. When the big guy’s knee buckled, Wolfric rushed over to him and put out her hands to catch him. He didn’t need the help though, and slowly lowered himself down onto the deck. She rubbed the back of her head and smiled at him.

“Hey, no problem, hehe!” Wolfric crouched down so that she could look up into the big guy’s face. “You were awesome too! Wanna join my crew? I’m gonna be King of the Pirates, ya know!”

She grinned at him. Standing back up, she patted his shoulder and bounced away.

“Oh! Hold that thought! Imma check for prisoners!”

Disappearing below decks, Wolfric crashed through the rooms. There wasn’t anyone that she could see. Guess everyone had been above for the fight. She called out a few times, but no one answered. Weird. If mermaid hunters didn’t keep their mermaids on their ship, then where did they put em? Wolfric kicked down the door to the kitchen and raided the fridge, stuffing a huge slab of meat into her mouth and tucking the other one under her arm.

Wolfric even stuck her head down in the hold and called out - muffled because of the meat - for anyone. No answer. Real weird. Maybe there was some hideyhole they kept the mermaids at in the archipelago. If they were actively hunting, they probably wouldn’t stray too far. Hmm… Wolfric came back out, almost done with the slab of meat in her mouth, tossing the other one to the big guy.

“Nobody down there, at least,” she reported after slamming her chest a few times and scarfing the last of the meat down. “You should eat something! Get your strength back up. Do ya know of any place they coulda stashed the mermaids they kidnapped? I guess they coulda sold em to someone on the island, but mermaids kinda go for a lot… Who would have that kinda money…?”

Wolfric closed her eyes and scratched her head, plopping down on the deck beside the big guy. She knew most of that stuff from her own days as a slave. Unless they had some kinda partner that took the mermaids away… but then they’d be really hard to track down. Maybe they should ask one of the overboard crewmen? Or even the cheeky boss guy. He’d probably know. Wolfric's brow furrowed, obviously in deep thought.

"Hmmm..."

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Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 13

[SnowDog]

Raige fell back onto the deck, falling over as he surrendered himself over to the pain from his wounds. Defeated as he may have appeared, the Wotan couldn't feel any happier knowing that this was finally all over with. He took in a couple of deep, relaxing breaths to try and calm his nerves while the pirate girl had run down below deck.

"Join her crew?" Raige pondered as he looked up into the blue sky above, "Did she come here to help or did she only jump in to earn my favor? Bah! I've got to protect this cove, I couldn't if I even wanted to." Soon Wolfric came back up to the upper deck, beginning to ponder what these mermaid hunters had done with their possible bounties.

"Nah, I've been harassing these guys over the past few days," Raige said, lumbering up to sit upright on the deck, hissing a bit as he hunched over himself as he turned his gaze from the pirate girl over towards the horizon, "These poor sods never a chance to capture anyone while I was chasing them. Only nobles have the kind of money to afford mermaids, and there aren't any nearby in these waters. Once I had secured the 'Cove, I was planning on making my way towards the more 'noble isles' to free any that had been enslaved." Raige then shifted his sunken eyes back towards Wolfric, gazing down at the much smaller pirate girl.

"What about you, little bean? What brings you to the cove?"

[Fox]

Wolfric tilted her head at the big guy as he made himself comfortable. He hadn’t touched the big hunk of metal that she’d tossed to him. She glanced at it surreptitiously as he spoke, a hand snaking out to grab it. If he didn’t want it… then… Wolfric would be happy to take it. She was still listening, even as she was slowly trying to steal his food. She rubbed her chin as she thought it over. Some mermaids had been taken though… knowing slavers, they probably wouldn’t leave until they’d gathered up as many as they could.

“I mean they gotta be somewhere around here then…” she muttered, taking a bite out of the big guy’s meal. They were mermaids, so maybe on land? The big guy seemed to think that they had been taken somewhere off the island, and while that was possible, they wouldn’t know for sure until they asked the boss guy of the whole operation. Wolfric perked up when he asked about her.

“Oh! Well, I kinda catapulted myself into it. I can’t swim, so… that was kind of a close one! Hehe~! A nice mermaid lady named Flo helped me out though! Do you know her? What’s your name anyway? Oh! Wait! Flo!”

Wolfric bounced up, dropping the meat and leaned over the railing of the ship. She looked down at the water, glancing around. Flo had been right behind her a little while ago. Where’d she go? Wolfric didn’t see her. She saw a lot of guys passed out on the broken fragments of the pirate ship, but no Flo. Hey, wait a second… She didn’t see cheeks either! Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“That’s weird… She was right behind me when we came out here. Do you see her? Or maybe the boss Cheeks?”

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Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 14

[SnowDog]

"Name's Raige, and I- wait, Flo? You know Flo?" the Wotan asked the little pirate girl with ears perking up at the mention of the mermaid's name, "She brought you here? But I thought-"
And as if on queue, Florence popped her head above the water at the ship's side, looking up at the investigative Wolfric.

"Oh, Wolfric!" The mermaid happily greeted the girl, "It's so good to see you okay! I was worried when you took off like you did, and then those cannons started firing... Oh! I did bump into Beatrice! I assume that was your doing?"

"She had a little bit of help. Heh..." Raige interjected following up with a pained cough. Upon hearing his words, Flo hoisted herself up onto the side of the ship, perching herself up the railing to get a good look at the injured Raige.

"And there's my big, strong warrior. How ya feeling, hun?"

Raige's large green cheeks did very little to hide his blushing from Flo's words. He lifted a hand up to awkwardly scratch at the back of his head before letting out a loving chuckle.

"Oh, just a little rocked up, nothing you haven't seen before already." He winced a bit from his wounds and directed his attention to Wolfric. "I hear you already met the little one here."

"Yeah, sweet girl, this one." Flo said patting Wolfric's head, "We can discuss the details of it all back at the cove. C'mon, let's get you back and patch ya up!"

The water beneath the ship began to churn, slow at first, but soon grew violent. Flo's grip on the railing gave out and in a moment she appeared to be falling into the sea below. The mermaid managed to catch herself before fully slipping back into the water, the sudden shift beginning to teeter the buoyancy of the ship.

"SOMETHING'S GOT ME!" Flo cried out, struggling to hold onto the ship, "RAIGE! WOLFRI-" Her words were cut off as whatever had hold of her pulled her under the water. The ship rocked a bit back and forth as it restabilized itself. Raige toppled over from his seat as he tried to reach out and grab hold of Flo before she disappeared before him.

"NO! FLOOOO!" the Wotan roared. He struggled to slink into the water after the mermaid, his injuries forcibly holding him back from following after. A heavy fist slammed into the deck as Raige let out a primordial roar. "GET UP HERE! TAKE ME INSTEAD, MONSTER!"

A wide, dark shadow slithered from under the ship and began to speed off towards the nearby shoreline. As it approached the shore, Raige could only watch in horror as the silhouette soon took form of a very familiar shape. Standing on the beach, struggling to hold himself up with his cheeks stretched out far wider than what he's ever been able to achieve before. The tip of Flo's mermaid tail appeared to peek out from the edge of Shimarisu's mouth before he readjusted himself. The mermaid hunter glanced back to see if anyone had begun to pursue him. Upon seeing Raige lying on the deck of the ship, a devilishly wide smile etched across his face before he turned his focus back to the mainland and started to head further in.

"FEYAAAAAGAHGAHGAHGAH!!!"

[Fox]

“Flo!” Wolfric said with a big smile and wave as the mermaid popped out of the water below. She backed away when Flo hoisted herself up onto the railing, glancing between the two of them. Wait. Raige knew Flo too? Hm. And they were kind of acting all… friendly. She frowned and rubbed her chin, listening passively as she watched them chatter. She hit the palm of her hand with her fist. “Oh! You’re married, aren’t ya?”

It had been a long time, but Flo and Raige’s relationship reminded her of her dad and mom’s relationship. Just in reverse. With a pat on her head, Wolfric smiled at Flo, ruffling her own hair. Man, that was a weird feeling though. Her mom had never been that gentle with her, haha! Putting her arms behind her head, Wolfric grinned and walked over to the side when Flo suggested it was time to go.

“Maybe we can get something to eat too! I always feel better after filling up!” Wolfric commented happily, looking over to Raige.

A sudden rocking made Wolfric stumble and catch herself. She managed to do it before she went over the railing too. “Whoa, what was-”

Flo’s screams cut her questions short. Wolfric whirled around in time to see Flo dangling off the side, being pulled by… something! She lunged out for her, but Wolfric was just a hair too slow because Flo disappeared with a splash under the water just as Wolfric’s fingers grazed Flo’s own.

“FLO!”

Dammit! She couldn’t dive into the water after her, although Wolfric was half tempted to do just that. Raige couldn’t get to his feet because of his injuries, despite how badly he wanted to go after her. He slammed his fist on the deck, crying out to take him instead. That wouldn’t help anyone though, and Wolfric wasn’t about to take this lying down. She kept her eyes on the water, spotting a silhouette dart off from under the ship and toward the shoreline. There!

Wolfric ran around to the side of the ship closest to the shore seeing a very familiar face standing on the shore. He had stuffed cheeks and Flo’s tail sticking out of his mouth before he sucked it back in. He ate her?! WHAT?! With a very stupid laugh, he ran into the trees and bushes of the mainland.

“YOU GET BACK HERE, YOU BASTARD!” Wolfric roared ferociously.

She put a leg on the rail and was about to jump after him. Nevermind that she couldn’t swim and would sink like a rock. The only thing that stopped her was the injured Raige behind her. She looked back at him. She wasn’t sure if she could just leave him like that to go after that bastard. Wolfric hurried over to his side, looking him up and down.

“Can you move? We gotta go!”

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Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 15

[SnowDog]

A heavy fist slammed into the deck, wood splintering outwards as Raige imprinted a sizable crater into the ship. "Can you move?" The girl asks shortly after. The wotan let out a frustrated growl, not immediately directed at her but knowing this whole situation was his fault. If he hadn't been so reckless he wouldn't be as hurt as he is right now and would've had the strength to have caught her before that monster had swallowed his Flo and ran up the shore.

"I just need to- GAH!" He roared as he tried to crawl further along the deck, falling once again to his injuries as he attempted to stand. Now he found himself slumping over the rail. Gazing into the water below the wotan could see the reflection of his mangle-toothed visage staring back on him. Oh, how angry it made him seeing such failure on his face. He had made a promise to protect the mermaids of this cove and now he found himself having lost the one that meant the most to him. His fists beat against the deck once more, cratering the point of impact until the wood began to shatter beneath him. With each blow against the deck, Raige could feel his pain subside a bit, his fists not even feeling the connections he was making against the boards. Mustering what energy he could, fueling himself with the burning fire of anger within him now, Raige managed to finally stand himself back up.

"I won't... Let him... get away with this..." Raige growled out. He picked up his anchor and pointed the tip between the two hooks down towards Wolfric. "Hop on, I'm going to give you one hell of a head start at catching up to him."

[Fox]

Wolfric winced briefly when Raige cried out in pain. Damn. This wasn’t good. But they couldn’t just let that bastard get away with Flo! He slumped over the side of the railing, and Wolfric ran over and put a hand on his arm to help him back up. Turned out that was unnecessary as Raige started slamming his fists on the deck and splintering the boards. Wolfric watched with an inscrutable expression. She knew that feeling of helplessness all too well. But they weren’t helpless. They could do something about it.

“We won’t,” Wolfric agreed, “We’ll get her back and make him pay. We’ll get all of them back.”

Whether it was her own words or his own resolve, Raige managed to get back to his feet and extend his anchor out toward her. She just nodded. Reaching out, Wolfric placed her palm against the cold metal of the anchor and possessed it, jumping inside. Anchor Wolfric bent one of the tips in a haphazard salute and called out.

“Ready! Toss me!”

Wolfric braced herself, looking over to the shore. Her eyes settled on the place that Cheeks had disappeared. Flo. Don’t get eaten! We’re coming.

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Wolfric Hertz | Dark Turquoise (#00ced1) | Post Count: 16

[SnowDog]

Forgetting she had a devil fruit for a moment, Raige was slightly taken aback when Wolfric "possessed" the anchor rather than hop on to it as he had suggested. When the white-haired pirate girl gave the wotan a salute utilizing one of the arms of Raige's anchor, the large, green half-blood nodded down to his own weapon. He gripped his weapon tightly and took a few steps backward on the deck. After building some distance, Raige looked over the horizon towards the hill where Shimarisu disappeared over. He raised his anchor up and pointed it forward before beginning to spin around on his heel. His momentum was slow at first before he managed to utilize his anchor's weight to start and gather up more speed for each revolution. When he felt he had gained enough speed, Raige locked on to the same hill from before he let his grip loosen. His anchor flew forward like an Olympic hammer throw, sailing up and over the island with it's chain trailing right behind.

"GO WOLFRIC! FIND FLO, I'M RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" Raige roared as the anchor disappeared over the crest of the hill. The wotan winged in pain, that throw making his body sting from his previous wounds. He had to catch up with Wolfric, and he wasn't gonna let his injuries falter his progress. Peering down into the water below, Raige sighed deeply. Bracing himself momentarily, Raige dropped himself into the sea below. After about a minute, the top of Raige's head broke from the sea as he marched inland, his anchor's chain in hand. This Wolfric toss would guide him towards her, and soon they could rescue Flo.