Set Afloat on the Open Sea. (Penny Bone)

I totally didn't forget to post this when it was actually done! Don't be silly. Read on and enjoy!! :D

The sun shines brightly down on the good ship 'Penny Bone' and her crew, illuminating a rather odd scene unfolding. The all-powerful captain Orlop is standing against the railing of his ship, a cutlass blade pressed to his throat by a rather tough looking weasel. To the side the weasel there is a slightly stunted rat yelling out to the rest of the crew who have gathered in a tight semi-circle to listen, "Alright mates! We've served under this tyrant of a captain long enough! At noon we're going to set 'im adrift in de' lifeboat wit' notin' but a jug o' grog to wet 'is miserable lips. Any who wishes to join 'im come on forward now!" He gestures to the empty space in front of him.

The crew have a mixture of reactions. Some cheer at the comment, others cheer half heartedly, knowing that their actions could get them hung if they side with the mutanieers, or worse cast to sea if they side with the captain. One such beast stands at the edge of the crowd looking rather nervous. Kazi was sleeping soundly down below after a shift of guarding the food stock. Appearently a gluttonous beast on the crew has been sneaking into the supply room and helping himself to a second set of rations. For reasons unkown to the others, Kazi seems to be looking rather well fed after all his times guarding the supply room...Reguardless, the pudgy pine marten came up for his other duties to find himself in the middle of a mutany! At the moment Kazi is trying his best not to be noticed. Pine marten? What pine marten? It is here when the ships first mate is brought up from below deck. The weasel struggles against the beasts hauling him forward, "Oi! Look it who we caught hiding down in the cargo area. Thought you could hide forever on a ship didje?" The fox next to him manages to snaral and laugh at the same time. Quite the skill.

The rat jeers at the first mate, "Look at that! Another beasty just waitin' ta join dear old capin'. True 'en blue, ain't ya Kilby?" He laughs harshly and gestures to the clear spot in front of him, meaning for the first mate to be brought up. The rat waves brashly at the crowd, "Well?! How many more of ya wants ta go on a little trip?" After a moment it seems as though no one will step forward. Orlop seems just about to start shouting, a risk to his own health due to the cutlass, when the familiar face of Juan the rat steps forwards. He steps up timidly, looking around, his eyes begging for at least one other beast to join him. After a moment, his silent request is answered and a one eyed vole steps forward, followed by a weasel who seems to be losing most of his fur. Taking courage from the other three, two foxes, possibly brothers, step up, glaring defiantly at the rat leader. The stunted rat huffs, but nods slowly, "So be it! Anyone else?"

Kazi cringes. Of course Juan would join the captain! Little snot is more of a lap dog than a rat! The marten rubs tha back of his neck. Trying very hard not to stare into the pleading eyes of his fellow ship mate. So what if they will all probibly be hung when they get back to port? It's better than dying of thirst at see! The marten is most surprised when a brown furred vixen steps forward, followed by a blue scaled lizard. The vixen leans towards the pudgy side beneath her tan cloth tunic, the lizard is a bit scrawny, wearing only a vest that shows off most of his upper torso. THey both look accusingly at Kazi. Great...now his friends are trying to drag him into this nonsense! Casting his head back with a defeated sigh the marten steps forward. "I guess...I'll join the captain as well..." he grumbles. "But if I die at see I am going to file so many complaints about you lot, got that?"

Mortimer, for he is the rat leading this mutiny, curls his lip at the beasts as they gather in front of him, "Ha! Cowards all of ya'. Right, tha' time for talkin' is over. Into the boat with ye'!" The life boat has been lowered over the side of the ship and a single rope hangs down to allow access. Mortimer gestures over to the side, "Make room, there!" The crowd of beasts part to show the railing of the ship. The rat gives a mock bow to the condemned group of beasts, "Line up over there, if ye' please." The beasty who had been holding the cutlass to Orlop's neck walks the squirrel over to the rope, giving the former captain a rough push, "Yew first". The squirrel snarls something or other about ignorance, but ends up reluctantly climbing down the rope to sit in the life boat, glaring back up at the beasts in the ship.

He is soon joined by his weaselly first mate who is mostly dismayed that someone beat him to the mutany first. Next is Kazi and his friends, whom Kazi feels strongly about tossing over board himself. They are followed by a few beasts who decided to join at the last minute or had the decision made for them. The captain and the first mate are not the /only/ unpoppular beasts on this vessel. Might as well get rid of them as well.

Despite all that is happening Kazi stifles a laugh. He wonders how long he would really survive on his own on the ship. It would only be a matter of time before the rest of the crew discovered his habbit of sneaking snacks from the supply room. In the end he supposes its better to be thrown off with friends rather than face the consiquences of his actions later on.

Mortimer's head appears over the railing, "Seein' as how the ship ain't goin' anywhere anytime soon, yew all 'ad better be out o' sight by evenin' or at least out o' range o' the cannons. Yew can imagin' what'll happin' ifin' yew ain't!" He let's the threat hang there for a moment, then disappears. A minutes later he reappears, holding a jug in one paw, "An' ere' is your rations! Good luck, me buckos!" He chucks the jug over the side, leaving it to fate as to where it will land or if it will be caught before it shatters on the bottom of the boat.

Kazi fortunetly catches the jug. Unfortunetly he catches it with his head, knocking him out cold instantly. Both the fox and the lizard grimance, "Well...we can't say Kazi has a hard head anymore." The blue scaled reptilian says with a sigh. The heavy set vixen gives her friend a quizical, confused look until he explains, "His head didn't break the jar." Slapping her paw to her own forehead the vixen groans. Cid's sense of humor could be...exasperating at times Tera thought.

The vole, Rolli, over heard the lizards joke, and starts into a wheezing laugh, slapping Cid on the shoulder, "Ehehe, pretty good, that! Didn't break tha' jar 'cause 'is 'eads to 'ard! Eheheh!" It soon becomes clear that, in his old age, Rolli may be one brick shy of a whole load. On the other side of the boat, the two fox brothers roll their eyes at each other. Vincent, the older of the two, gives his brother sly wink, "Wadda you say that once we gets out far enough, we starts tipping them overboard. One at a time." Fronko grins wolfishly, "Heh, better then anythin' I've got. It'll be a mutiny inside of a mutiny. Pure genies." Their conspiring is cut short, however, as former captain Orlop stands up in the middle of a boat, giving a loud whistle to get everyone's attention, "Alright, all ya' lily livered kittens! We'be gotta get outa' sight by evenin' or we're all fish food. We'll take shifts at the ores until the coasts clear. We'll 'ave no slackin'! First at the ores is you, you, you and you!" He points towards Tera, Vincent, a weasel and a cat. After his little speech, Orlop reseats himself, naturally expecting his orders to be obeyed.

Kazi is blissfully unconcious through out all of this as the fox and lizard take an ore and begin to paddle forward. "Juan...remind me again why we sided with the captain?" The heavy set vixen growls to the rat. Cid tries to ignore 'Crazy' Rolli as best he can. Great, it's bad enough that they got stranded out in the middle of the ocean, but they got stranded with THAT guy. One can only hope they find another ship or land, sooner than later...

Vincent grudgingly takes up an ore and sits to wield it, miming the motion of thwacking Orlop in the back of the head, though he manages to resist the temptation. Juan glances up at Tera and shrugs, "I dunno. Couldn't bare tha' thought of stayin' on tha' big ship another day with no land in sight. Figured we'd reach ground faster in this thing, since it's actually movin'. Alla yew didn't /'ave/ to follow me ifin' you didn't want to." .

Kazi moans from where he is on the deck, "Well, I seeing you up there put me to shame," Tera says with a shrug, "I mean, that took a lot more bravery than I would have given you credit for." Cid hisses in reply as well, "Me I just wanted to stab the captin in the back myself." He looks at the fox's horrified glare, "What?"

Juan shrugs modestly, though his words sound a bit more conceited "What can I say? Me mother always said I was a loyal one." He looks aghast at the lizards words, "You'd /kill/ captain?!" The conversation is put on hold for a moment as there is a disturbance on the ship. The sound of something being pulled across the deck can be heard and then the menacing barrel of a cannon appears at the railing. Mortimer let's out with a cackle, "Better hurry! The sun's sinkin' fast!"