Crisp sunlight filtered between the shadows of the sails, showing every dust particle in the air. Light rays made the plank warm from the chill of the night.

Rocco watched from a pile of nets as people slowly gathered on the deck. Everyone was groggy, but would soon feel fresh from the night's rest.

The white she cat, Trinket, strolled from the cabin door like a queen. She stretched in the sunlight, then sat down to bathe in it's bright light.

The morning was calm till the captain had awakened. He walked up to the steering wheel, then gave the man who steered during the night a big pat on the back. They exchanged a few words, then the man left. The captain grabbed the edge of the railing, then called loudly to the crew who was awake. "¡Ahoy! Usted ha sobrevivido la primera noche a bordo de la Rosa Negra. Bien por ti. Pero prometo a usted, por el pelo en la barbilla de mi bisabuela, que los próximos días será mucho más difíciles. Estamos entrando en aguas más peligrosas, y escuchar de un peligroso triángulo que debemos pasar. Pero si ' yer asustado, puede saltar desde la cubierta ahora!"

Something about dangerous waters and a triangle.

Rocco stretched the stiffness of the night from his bones, then got up and decided to stay in the cabin for a few hours. The sun was only partially up it's climb, and it was already very hot.

The cabin was slightly humid and musty, but it was cooler than the deck. In a few hours, it would be the opposite. A few men were busily getting ready, and some others were leaned over a map on the table.

As Rocco positioned himself under the staircase, his stomach rumbled. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday. He opened his leather pouch, and counted seven pieces of grain. He ate two hungrily and restrained himself for eating the other five. What if he needed food later, and was unable to find anything? Like an emergency supply.

He promised the dog Gunter he wouldn't steal anything, but even if he did eat the grain he brought it wouldn't last him long.

He sneaked to the back part of the cabin, where the hammocks were, hoping to find something. Even a few crumbs would do, and he knew for a fact men were messy eaters.

The last lad had just left, leaving him alone in the room with the swinging hammocks and lanterns.

He inhaled the salty air deeply. An overpowering stench of fish, men, and dirty clothes it him. After several agonizing sniffs, he was able to pick out a trace of grain. It was coming from the back left corner. On all four paws, he ran under hammocks and between dirty clothes towards the grain. The corner wasn't touched by the dim lamplight, but Rocco could make out enough shapes. A barrel smelled full of grain, and a small cup which had been placed by the barrel had a few kernels in it. He looked around once more, then shoved his paws in the cup and came out with handfuls of grain. He ate them both in seconds, and scarfed several other handfuls down before he slowed even a little. He hadn't realized his hunger till he got a taste of food.

As Rocco got used to the scents, he was able to pick something else out; another rodent. He wasn't alone.

He stopped eating for a second. He suddenly felt a prickly feeling on his back, as if he was being watched. All he could hear was his heavy heartbeat. He looked behind him slowly for something.

There was a slight shifting sound, then a flash of white ran across the room to him. He was on the floor in an eye blink, pushed down by a mouse who was standing on him and staring into Rocco's eyes with a snarl. She snapped her fore teeth, then pulled out a needle hanging by her side from a thread with her tail. She held it dangerously still and close to his eye. "Stealing rations, are we know? Did you not hear anything Gunter said?"

Rocco gulped. The mouse was about his size, and he probably could have thrown her light frame off, but he was scared of her needle. "Y-yes, but I was hungry. And what else would I eat?"

"What the rest of us are eating," She said, "scraps from the crew."

A flash of gray, and a squirrel landed by Rocco and the mouse. "If you don't like it, you can walk the plank!" He said quickly. "In fact, now that you've broken Gunter's promise, you have to."

Rocco pushed the mouse off, who had relaxed her tension. "What? No! I can't sw-" He stopped himself. He couldn't give away any weaknesses. "I can't... abandon my dream to become a pirate! All I've ever wanted to do was explore the world, and I can't if I'm dead!"

The mouse raised the point of her sword to his throat. "Oh, I'm sure there's plenty to see in Davey Jone's Locker."

As she was about to skewer him, he raised his paw. "Wait!" He could feel the blade's tip rubbing against his windpipe as he spoke. "Give me a second chance. I didn't know there was other ways to get food!" That much was true. He hadn't thought it through before he was hungry, and the option didn't even occur in his mind in untill after he was hungry.

"Well, he's just a lad. May have been just an honest mistake." The squirrel chirped. "And besides, he didn't do too much harm to the supplies."

"But what would we tell Gunter? That he stole food but we decided it was a mistake and we let him go?"

"Um, we could, uh, not tell him."

The mouse raised her blade from Rocco to the squirrel. "You sayin' we lie to our boss? The one who keeps us alive, or decides if we die?"

"When you put it like that, it sounds bad, but the kid really didn't do much harm." The squirrel said nervously.

"That's not the point, Dondigo! The point is that we'd be defying the boss' trust!"

"Yeah, but..." Dondigo started, then trailed off.

There was silence for a few minutes, and the mouse seemed to gain her cool. She sighed. "Fine. Whatever. I won't tell him anything. But if you slip up again, I will personally give you as a chew toy to the fish." The mouse put her needle away, where it hung by her waist. "By the way, my name's Rita. This is Dondigo. And you are?"

"Rocco." He said, standing back up and dusting off his side. He held out his paw to her. "Nice to meet 'ya. And thanks for not telling Gunter; I promise, nothing like this will ever happen again."

She hesitated, then shook it nervously. "You're welcome."

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

The day went on as usual, as if nothing wrong had happened. Rocco felt a growing tension in his gut, and when he would occasionally see Dondigo or Rita, his stomach would twist. In his head, they seemed trustworthy, but his stomach did not agree.

Trinket would lay in the sun with her cat friends and watch as the crew walked by. Most would pay no attention to them; just as the cats liked, but there was a few who would chase them around or kick them. Rocco would have felt pitiful, but it was hard to knowing that they had treated him the same way.

A little past sun-high the cats crawled in the shade of a barrel Rocco was sitting near. When Trinket was about to settle down on top of him, she hissed. "I thought we taught you a lesson. Stay away, or I'll eat you."

"And I'll tell Gunter before you can even touch me." Rocco said snidely. "I have the right to sit in the shade, and I was here first."

The orange tabby growled. "Yeah, and I have the right to sit on you if you don't leave in five seconds. Scram!"

Rocco didn't want to let the cats win, but he didn't want to get sat on either. "Fine. I would probably get crushed under your fat butt."

He could hear Trinket hiss as he scampered to another shady area. The heat of the day took a toll on him, and panting made him tired. He eventually dozed of in the safety of a pile of ropes under the ripples of heat in the sky.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

It could have been the thunder that woke Rocco up, or it could have been the presence of moonlight on his pelt. It didn't feel like either, though. It felt like he was being lured, or forced awake. No rain fell from the inky black sky, but dry clouds growled and flashed their white claws.

Rocco heaved himself up from the ropes and onto a crate. From there, he could see a smoke-like fog that took an unearthly shade of green. The type of green that could never be found in nature. You would find it perhaps at the bottom of the ocean, glowing on a monstrosity, or in a nightmare.

The old black and white cat hopped on a barrel. The ghostly light reflected on his mysterious orange eyes.

Almost at once, crew members crawled from the cabin and onto the deck. They all looked as if they were dragged from bed. A frightened and confused look danced on their faces. They murmured, pointing at the smoke. Trinket and the orange tom followed.

The captain pushed through the crowd, the parrot on his shoulders. Gunter was at his heels.

"¿Qué es esto? ¿Es esto algún tipo de broma?"

The crew shook their heads, now silent.

"¿Tal vez el espíritu o espectro?"

Was the captain suggesting there was a ghost on the ship? From a first glance, the thought of the Black Rose being haunted would be funny. It was the finest ship to set sail in many years. But the green smoke would make one think different.

Where would we get a ghost from? Did it sneak onto the boat when we loaded? Or did it come from the water? Rocco thought.

As if from magic, the moonlight that lit up the fog weaved a shape. It clarified into a dog-like creature, with tall, direct ears and glowing purple eyes. It seemed weightless, but the dog stood firmly as if he was about to attack.

The sound of thunder changed into something else. The voice of the dog ringed through various crackles. "A search for greed, on a boat the color of an after-bleed. So selfish you are, only to relish in hollow happiness. Leaving your families so you can die, little did you know that your captain did lie."

The crew turned their heads to the captain, their faces full of anger and betrayal. The captain looked panicked. He opened his mouth to say something, but a whisp of smoke filled his mouth.

"Your fate was sealed a day ago; the end of your days will come slow. Slow enough to turn around, you have a chance to live again on the ground. I will send my first bane this time tomorrow; turn now or your last days will be filled with sorrow!" The dog roared the last stanza, then lightning crackled everywhere.

The crew screamed. They pulled on the cabin door desperately, but it wouldn't budge.

The smoke fell away into the ocean, and rain started to fall. One man rammed his body into the cabin door, and it fell to splinters. A few ran in, but the captain barked at the others to prepare for the rain. Rocco jumped behind the crate again, trembling from fear as he watched the men work wildly. It felt like the end of the world was here, and there was little anyone could do to fight it.