A Motley Sisterhood of Pirates!  (Part Seven: Blog Forty-Four)

By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris, co-authors of the Rita Walker series

Without thinking she pulls on her capris, wraps her hair in her bandana and slides her tiny throwing knives inside the cloth near her ears.  She’s barefooted and only wearing a night gown.  Oh well, if death greets her above she won’t have to worry whether she combed her hair or not.

She hurries up to the deck with her Ninjato in her right hand and a Spanish Stiletto dagger she borrowed from “Dizzying Blade’s” horde of weapons, in her left.  She never, thought much, of fighting with two swords; too much movement from the waist.  On the deck she gapes up at something towering over two girls and falls to her rump.  Once she recovers from the shock she rolls back onto her feet, and brandishing both weapons moves towards the giant—she tries to remember the name—octopus!    But—an octopus has eight legs and—she counts ten on this tentacle limbed creature with the really big oblong head and gruesomely large eyes.  Though, she admits to herself, the vibrant red of its skin with the fascinating orange dots is appealing.  However, this—this dixopus—will regret boarding the Nague.

The dixopus rears its head back and its red and orange flesh turns darker, almost black like oil.

“Maybe don’t attack it,” she hears “One Eye” shout in a non aggressive voice from the fo’c’sle.  “Might be reading to cover you in oil, which would also get on the Nague, and that would be bad.”

“Nice dixopus,” Amelie says, lowering her weapons.  She stands proudly with her chest out, her chin up, and her eyelids half closed.  There is still tenseness throughout her body.  Prepared to dodge or attack any sudden movement made by the dixopus’s.

She’s sees one of the forward most tentacles gingerly raise up and ever so slowly touch the tip of the pommel of her lowered ninjato.  Amelie does not move.  The end of the tentacle smoothly caresses her hand around the hilt and slides down to the blade.  The tentacle releases the ninjato and pulls back.

There is utter silence as she contemplates what this is about.  But then she believes she understands.  “Thupeltha,” she calls to one of the girls who was screaming.  “Ask our First Mate to give you two practice swords from our First Mate and slide them towards the dixopus.”

Thupeltha is one of the younger girls, perhaps ten or eleven.  She is tiny with dark hair and eyes, and her skin is olive coloured.  Amelie tries to remember where Thupeltha came from.  Life had taught numerous times that, unlike appearance, an individual’s attitude is from their upbringing, and a reflection of where they grew up.

“A what?” Thupeltha asks as she hurries towards “One Eye”.  The First Mate is already heading towards “Wheel Turner’s” room to retrieve the wooden swords.

“Dixopus,” Amelie says with irritation.  “That,” she adds, pointing at the dixopus.

As she waits for the wooden swords Amelie notices fleshy siphons at the sides of the dixopus’s head sucking in and out.  The dixopus is starting to look asphyxiated.  Its vibrant red skin with its orange circles is paling quickly.  Thupeltha slides the two wooden swords, one to Amelie and the other to the dixopus.  Hurriedly the dixopus grabs the wooden sword and walks rapidly with nine legs to the gunwale.  Amelie blinks and the dixopus is gone over the side.

“I am too superior of a fighter for her, him—it,” she says with a grin.

Dan Watt is the author of the epic dark fantasy fiction book BARD

Taylor Norris, RMT, as First Mate ‘One Eye’ Olanis:  taynorris@gmail.com (Kitchener-Waterloo)

With thanks to Joanne Gosling (Navigator ‘Storm Caller’ Master Jo Anne): Joanne is an Interior Decorator who specializes in closets: Jgosling@calclosets.com Calclosetsjoanne or Joannegosling22@gmail.com

Leah Weir (Helmswoman ‘Wheel Turner’ Synthia): model and cover editor;

Andraya Watt as Assistant-Master-at-Arms, Amelie

With Thanks To:

Fire & Steel for the Medieval Rapier:  http://fireandsteel.ca/

Alex Watt for background pictures

Daiana Duca for background pictures

Krissy Karmaschek for background pictures of Saugeen Shores

Tags: Action Story, Pirates!, Science Fiction, story blog