"Now, don't bring up any of this fancy-pants fencing business down here," the squirrel admonished in a growl out of the side of his mouth. "These beasts'll tear you to pieces if you do. If you're not sure what to say, then don't say anything at all." Banagher nodded, remaining silent and slumping his shoulders to appear more like the squirrel beside him. In the distance, a few firelights became visible, and as the pair advanced they saw that the fires were held within steel barrels, each with a few beasts crowded around it. Sidhe steered toward the nearest fire, and the otter followed.
In the orange glow of the barrel fire, shadows and light flickered on the faces of four beasts - an old stoat, two shifty-looking mongooses, and a very fat wharf rat. None of them smiled as the otter and squirrel approached, Banagher noticed.
"Hell of a night," Sidhe commented when they reached speaking distance. He spoke in a low, gravelly voice that gave no indication that he didn't belong. The rat squinted his small eyes.
"Is it?" he asked in a high, nasally voice. The fire glinted upon several gold teeth in his mouth. The two mongooses looked at each other while the stoat stared vaguely at the pair through rheumy eyes. Banagher kept his eyes pinned to the ground, hoping that by doing so he appeared aloof and unconcerned.
"Well," grunted Sidhe, as he began to fiddle with his sweater. "That's the most rain I've seen this side of Madagascar." All of the beasts, including Banagher, watched him intently as he worked with his sweater. Flipping it inside out, he applied a claw to a hidden seam under one arm. Popping the stitches one-by-one, the squirrel worked to reveal a flap of cloth that worked as a pocket. "But as long as there aren't any lemurs around here, I suppose I won't complain."
The rat and the mongooses snickered at this last remark, but their eyes remained pinned to the sweater.
"My friend here and I," Sidhe continued, pointing an elbow at the otter, "came off a slave ship just south of here last night. Went down in the storm." The rat raised his eyebrows and the stoat began to mumble about slave ships, but none of his companions paid any attention. "Luckily," the squirrel added as he finished his work, "since I had already taken precautions against the lemurs' sticky fingers, I was able to keep the good stuff from the sea rats.
Sidhe tilted the pocket and into his paw tumbled two silver objects: a flask and a cigarette case. Both were detailed with elaborate knot work and flourishes. "Here," the squirrel barked, tossing the flask to Banagher, who caught it deftly. "Go ahead, and pass it around."
Banagher unscrewed the cap and pressed the opening to his lips, tilting his head back. In an instant, a foul-smelling, fire-like substance was upon his lips. He gasped, pulling his head away, causing all of the beasts around him to laugh. Sidhe guffawed around the paw-rolled cigarette that was now clenched in his lips.
"Not much of a drinker, that one," the squirrel commented as Banagher passed the flask to the rat. "But that's probably a good thing, because he's a little off, if you get my drift." He tapped the side of his head with one paw and winked at the rat, who returned a knowing look.
"The best otters are," the rat commented, and the mongooses snickered audibly. Banagher realized that it was best to keep his mouth shut. The rat took a swig from Sidhe's flask and passed it to the stoat. "I'm Toca," the rat said, accepting a cigarette from Sidhe's case. "That's Garmin," he added, pointing to the stoat, "and they're Dengue and Ague," he finished, pointing to the mongooses.
"I'm Sidhe," the squirrel returned, "and this is Banagher." Accepting his flask, he took a swig, then stuffed that and his case into his pockets.
"Are you going to work here now?" the rat asked, peering at the beasts with interested eyes.
"We're catching a ship east in a few days," Sidhe answered, puffing contentedly on his cigarette.
"That'll be the Naruto. She's due out in a few days." The rat pointed with his free paw to a two-masted ship at a pier about a hundred yards away. Sidhe nodded.
"Interesting name," he replied, without smiling. "I think we'll go check her out." Hooking his sweater in his arm once again, he nodded at his new acquaintances. "Take it easy," he muttered.
"And you," the rat replied, showing his gold teeth again. As Banagher turned to follow Sidhe in the direction of the ship, a movement in the shadows caught his attention in the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head, the shadows disappeared.
"Didn't trust any of those beasts," the squirrel grumbled under his breath, mainly to himself. "Especially the mongooses." Banagher suppressed a shiver as he walked alongside Sidhe.
"What was the name of the ship again?" he asked, trying to change the subject.
"Naruto," the squirrel replied as they turned and began walking out onto the pier where the ship was moored. The gunwales loomed up dark and imposing to their left. A few torches were placed on the pilings along the pier, so the path was lit for a few feet at a time, but mostly the pair walked in darkness.
"Why is that an interesting name?" the otter pressed, his voice echoing against the wood and the water. "Does it mean something?"
"It's a name," the squirrel stated as he came to a halt in front of the ship's gangplank. The cold dampness moved in off the ocean, and Sidhe pulled his sweater over his head as if to ward off evil spirits. "It's one of the five major whirlpools in the Northern Hemisphere." He straightened the sweater cuffs on his wrists as this fact sank in to the otter. "But that shouldn't bother you. We've survived one shipwreck already."
Banagher nodded numbly. His thin white shirt was doing little to shield him from the damp night air, so he moved closer to one of the torches.
"Let's see if anybeast's home, eh?" the squirrel added, walking up the plank a few feet.
"Ahoy!" he called, cupping his paws around his mouth. "Anybeast about?" A dark head popped up along the railing above their heads.
"Yeah? Who wants to know?"