"Toss'em in!"

Cynric yelped as he was thrown into the cell, both wrists blinded tightly together behind his back. He winced as Violet followed after him, landing in a not-so-desirable spot.

"Have fun rotting in there!" The captain laughed, walking back up the wooden stairs and shutting the door to the cells.

It was dark except for a bit of light which peaked through from under the door. He couldn't exactly take in his surroundings well, but he could tell that there were more cells around. Cynric struggled at his hands.
Nothing.

Those filthy pirates left him with basically nothing but the clothes on his back. Actually, not even that. He sat up and leaned back against the wall, looking down at his messed up white shirt and underwear.

Just great. Violet was sadly in the same position as him too, only left in her undergarments. He frowned. "Violet."

She was blushing horribly, desperately trying to cover up. "Don't look."

Cynric averted his eyes. "Can you get out of these ropes?"

"Yeah, I think so. Give me a second."
Cynric traced the floor with his gaze before he heard the sound of ropes falling quietly to the ground. "Done."

"Alright, now do mine."

"Got it."
Her claws ran carefully around his wrists and Cynric was sure she might cut him by accident. Thankfully, she didn't. The ropes slid off of his hands and onto the floor easily. "There."
Without another word, he started to unbutton his shirt. Violet's eyes widened and color rose in her face fast. "Wait, what are you doing?!"

Cynric slid his shirt off, exposing his pearly white ribs, before he wrapped it around his companion. "Here. In case if you get cold. Or, since you want to cover up."

Violet hugged him. "Thank you."

"How cute."

Both of them jumped, startled by the new voice. Cynric's eye-light flared with green flames, illuminating the room enough to see who else was with them. In the cell across from them sat a tall cat monster. His fur was the shade of hazelnut and his eyes gleamed a similar eye-catching green. His clothes resembled those of the ones which threw them in here in the first place, but it was obvious he didn't work for them.
Another pirate, perhaps?
What caught Cynric's attention was the red cloth tied tightly around his head and the marking on his left paw.

He gave them a strange yet intrigued smirk. "Are you both a couple?"

Cynric blinked as Violet got flustered, shaking her head wildly. "We're just friendly companions!" She sputtered.

The cat's devious smirk only widened. "Right, right." His thin, furry tail swished back in forth in amusement, mimicking the movements of a serpent. "So, how did the likes of the two of you wind up in the cellar of the Black Pirates?"

"Black Pirates...?" Cynric mumbled.

The cat shrugged. "Yeah. There are different pirates and all." He rose his left hand, tapping the red marking on it. "'M from the Scarlet Pirates."

"I see." The skeleton nodded. "We were just trying to pass through but got captured by them." Violet gave him a look, noticing the lie. He shot her a look back and she kept quiet.

The other cat nodded. "A shame, really. Don't worry, my crew'll break us out no time." He offered a kind smile.

Cynric didn't return it. "I thought pirates don't save people, only take for their own personal greed."

The cat winced, a little offended. "I can see how you might think that, but the Scarlet Pirates are nothing like that. We help folks instead of hurting them."

Cynric rose an imaginary eyebrow. "How so?"

The cat smiled. "We slay sea monsters, go on voyages, meet new people and exchange valuable goods," he shrugged. "We go around and do as much as we can."

Violet blinked, still refusing to trust this man but Cynric was already convinced. He smiled. "Wow... that sounds amazing!"

"I admit, it's a lot of fun!" The pirate laughed.

"Do you think we could join you?" Cynric quickly asked and Violet gaped at him.

The pirate paused before he eyed the skeleton. "No offense, but what could you possibly do for us?"

Cynric shrugged. "I'm pretty good at fighting."

The pirate rose an eyebrow. "Really? With your scrawny sack of bones?"

Cynric shrugged. "Yep, telling the truth."

"Well, we'll see." The cat sighed, leaning back against the wall. "By the way, what's your name?"

Cynric looked at Violet before he turned back to the other. "Cynric, and this is Violet."

The cat smiled. "Bronze."

"Nice to meet you, Bronze the Scarlet Pirate." Cynric chuckled.

"And it's nice to meet you, Cynric and Violet."