{"sf1_id":928202,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aspire Arcadia: Chapter 2: If You Could Be Free...","author":"Koda_The_Wolf","words":6829,"posted_at":"2015-10-30T23:49:00.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Canine","Epic","Story Series","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/928202-aspire-arcadia-chapter-2-if-you-could-be-free","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/928202","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=928202\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"It was surreal.\nJust that morning, Patch had received his first sword as a\nbirthday gift from his parents. The idea of going off on his own had occurred\nto him from time to time, but was never so real... so serious as it was that\nnight. He would have never guessed that even his parents, Kodiak and Copper,\nsupported the idea. He tossed and turned with so many different thoughts\ncrossing his mind. He knew he was ready, but where would he start? What would\nhe do? Would he really be able to survive out there in the real world? The door\nto the room creaked open and Puzzle slowly poked her head in the door.\n\"Patch?\" She whispered quietly.\n\"Yeah?\" he replied, sitting up in his bed. \nShe glanced nervously at the ground before returning her\nuncertain stare back at him.\n\"Are you going to leave?\" She asked quietly, \"forever?\"\n\"Well... not forever...\" he replied nervously, \"I'll visit from\ntime to time...\"\nPuzzle sighed and quietly squeezed into the room, closing\nthe door behind her. Her face was reddened as she tried to hold back tears.\n\"D-do you have to\ngo?\" She asked weakly.\nPatch understood how sensitive Puzzle was. Even when their\nparents went out to hunt, Puzzle was always filled with so much worry that she\nwould be on the brink of tears. Somehow, news spread that he was planning on\nleaving the den to set off on his own. The first of all nineteen of his\nbrothers and sisters to do so. There was no way Puzzle would be okay with that.\n\"Hey...\" Patch said calmly, approaching her. She glanced away\nas he approached, cupping her paw around her muzzle to hide her sniffles. He\ngently wrapped his arms around her, placing his head against hers. \n\"I know you're scared,\" Patch whispered calmly, \"to be\nhonest, I'm kind of scared too... but I've been dreaming of this since forever.\"\nHe felt her tears soaking through his fur as she gripped him\ntighter. \n\"You always wanted to be a pilot right?\" Patch asked, gently\nrubbing her back, \"you want to fly dragons like mom don't you?\" \nShe nodded.\n\"Well... in order to do that, you're going to have to try at\nleast, right?\" He explained, \"At first it would probably be scary... because you\ndon't know what to expect or what might happen... but if it's something you\nreally want to do, you have to be brave and power through it...\"\nHe rested his head on top of hers, holding her tear-covered\nface against his chest.\n\"This is my dream,\" he said, closing his eyes, \"I want to\nsee the world for myself and help as many animals as I can on the way. I want\nto feel like I made a difference somewhere... no matter how big or small. I can't\ndo that without taking a chance.\"\nHe held her for a while longer until she stopped crying.\n\"B-but you'll be alone...\" Puzzle said, wiping tears from her\neyes, \"what if something happens to you...?\"\n\"I won't be alone,\" he replied with a smile, \"and I promise,\nnothing will happen to me.\"\nPuzzle glanced away, unconvinced at his attempts to calm her\ndown.\n\"I know!\" Patch said, sitting down, \"how about I send you\nsouvenirs from the places I've been? I'll come home to visit every so often,\nand I'll bring you stuff back! Not to mention all of the stories about\nadventures I might find myself on.\"\n\"I don't think I'd want to know...\" Puzzle replied with a\nsmall smile, \"It'd only make me worry about you even more...\" \nPatch sighed and smiled.\n\"True,\" he replied, glancing out of the window.\n\"Just... promise me you'll be careful...\" Puzzle said after a\nwhile, \"and that you won't do anything reckless and stupid like you always do.\"\n\"I promise,\" Patch replied.\n\"Say it,\" Puzzle demanded, glaring at him.\n\"Say what?\"\n\"Say that you'll be careful and won't do anything reckless\nand stupid.\"\n\"Okay... I'll be careful...\"\n\"And?\"\n\"And... I won't do anything reckless and stupid.\"\nPuzzle smiled and nodded.\n\"Okay, it's a promise then,\" she said proudly, \"I feel a lot\nbetter now.\" \nShe stood up and headed towards the door.\n\"Wait, when are you going to leave?\" Puzzle asked, stopping\nand turning towards him.\n\"I uh... I don't know yet,\" he replied, \"there's still\nsomething I have to do.\"\n\n \n\n \nJuniper sat at the circular window of her cabin, staring\noutside at the ocean. She couldn't sleep either... for the same reason Patch\ncouldn't. The massive, wooden ship they were on rocked gently, side to side\nwith the calm ocean current. It had been her birthplace, her home... her prison.\nThe other members of the crew had already gone to sleep... either that, or they\ncollected in the cargo bay to celebrate yet another safe return to the hidden\nbay with alcohol and music. She turned around and sat against the wall, glancing\naround at pictures she had posted all over her walls. She had gotten them from\nexplorers and her fellow pirates, who had the opportunity to travel around and\ncaptured their experiences to share with her. Some of them had beautiful\nmountain ranges, vast deserts, and massive bodies of water while others had\ndense, tropical forests, snow-covered plains, and fields of grass that glowed\nneon green and blue under the moonlight. They illustrated the stories she was\ntold that piqued her interest in exploring in the first place. Just the thought\nof it made her heat race.  \n\"Easy girl...\" she whispered to herself, feeling as though she\nhad gotten her hopes up once again. It happened many times before. She would\nget the feeling that her day of freedom was near, only to be disappointed in\nthe end. Somehow, Patch was different though... She had never felt so close to it\nbefore in her life. Despite this, she desperately tried to convince herself\nthat it was just another dream... in order to avoid being disappointed again.\n\"Thanks patch...\" she muttered with a small smile, laying\nsprawled out on her bed, \"now I can't sleep... What kind of bastard toys with a\ngirl's heart like that anyway...?\"\nShe sighed and smiled.\n\"What an idiot...\" \n\n \n\n \nThe next morning, Patch woke up before all of his siblings\ndid. Running on only a couple of hours of sleep, he wrapped his sword around\nhis waist and darted outside. Dew covered the grass surrounding the den, and a\nthick fog hung round the forest floor. \n\"Oh Patch, good morning,\" He heard his mother, Copper, say,\napproaching him from the forest, \"you're not headed off already, are you?\"\n\"No, I've... I've got something I still need to do,\" he\nreplied in a rush, \"I'll be back.\"\nBefore Copper could reply, he shot off into the forest.\nIndeed, there was something he still needed to do. He had\nalready gotten permission from his family to go, all he needed was his partner.\nThe girl who was to travel the world alongside him. He had to get Juniper. Of\ncourse that was easier said than done... since he had no idea where she was or\nhow to find her. It was unlikely that she'd be in Eidous at this time of\nmorning... her family was a band of pirates, so it's not like he'd be able to\neasily find them hanging out in public... it was almost futile to try and search\nfor her. Oh course, that wouldn't stop him. Along with his hearing, Patch was\nable to tune up his sense of smell as well. With that ability, he hoped to pick\nup Juniper's scent on the path they had met on, and follow it back to her. It\nwas a longshot, but one he was definitely willing to take. \nThe bottom half of his legs and tail were soaked from all of\nthe dew he barreled through. Every now and then, he'd stop to brush off the\nfreshly woven spider webs he'd run into as he shot through the forest. The\nchirping of the birds as well as the gentle rustling of the trees filled the\nair around him as he continued, sprinting full on towards the path. Eventually,\nhe reached it. The area in particular where he first saw Juniper and her\nattackers. Without wasting time, he hopped on the path and stuck his nose to\nthe ground, searching for Juniper's familiar scent. Hundreds of animals had to\nhave taken that road between the last time he saw Juniper and now. The area was\ncluttered with all of their scents though. It would be impossible to-\n\"Wait,\" Patch said, stopping at a particular scent. Though\nit had been weakened from exposure during the night, it most definitely\nbelonged to her. He immediately tuned up his senses and followed the scent down\nthe path. As he went on, the scent's presence faded in and out. In some areas,\nit was barely noticeable or even absent altogether. In others, it was plainly\nobvious. The hundreds of other scents on the road didn't make things any\neasier, but the thought of giving up never crossed his mind. He passed by\nseveral other animals, both predators and prey. He passed by wolves out on\nearly hunts and bears foraging through berry bushes. He passed by massive herds\nof alicorns, that grazed over the dew covered grass. Eventually, he reached a\nbranch from the road that led into a dead end. From that point on, it was\nnothing but dense forest with barely enough room to squeeze through. Juniper's\nscent headed right into it and so did he. \nAlthough it was obvious that this path wasn't in regular use\nby a lot of animals, Patch could still pick up the scents of a few others... probably\nmembers of Juniper's pirate crew. The path was most likely leading to their\nhideout.\n\"Huh...\" Path muttered to himself, \"They're not going to be\nhappy with me just walking in like this...\"\n\"Hey, I've come for your captain's daughter,\" he said to\nhimself, imagining the pirates' reactions, \"hand her over you dumb criminals.\"\nHe shook his head and chuckled.\n\"I'd better not get skinned alive today...\" He muttered,\ntraversing through the dense forest.\nDespite the obvious danger he was throwing himself in, he\nkept going without a second thought. Eventually, the scent of another nearby\nwolf caused him to stop in his tracks. Up in one of the trees, a female wolf\nsat back, leaned against a branch with a bow in her hand. Her face was\nconcealed behind a bandana, and another one tied her hair back. The wolf was\nprobably a lookout... though she didn't appear to be taking it too seriously. She\nappeared bored, almost half asleep, staring off into nothingness. Judging by\nthe redness of her cheeks, she was probably hungover. \n\"You still awake?\" Another wolf called to her from an\nadjacent tree. Probably another lookout.\n\"Unfortunately,\" she replied, annoyed at him asking, \"Maybe\nI'd get some sleep if you'd stop waking me up every five minutes...\"\n\"Must have had a bit too much to drink last night,\" the\nother wolf replied, \"I hear things got crazy back there.\"\n\"Aye, crazy is an understatement,\" she replied, pulling her\nbandana over her eyes.\nNeither of them seemed to notice Patch as he snuck through\nthe area they were supposed to be watching. Carefully, he stepped over leaf\npiles and branches, avoiding anything that could alert the lookouts of his\npresence. \n\"Definitely the right direction...\" he thought to himself as\nthe jagged path opened up into a narrow, dirt road. Several paw prints and\ncartwheel tracks lined the path, which led deeper into the forest. He was\ncareful not to stay out in the open, just in case there were other lookouts\nthat were more alert than two he had seen so far. Every now and then, a column\nof horse-drawn carts would pass by, carrying crates of pirated goods towards\nthe market place in Eidous. Probably to be traded for supplies or gold. He\nwould duck further off of the road as they passed, careful not to be spotted so\nsoon.\nEventually, the path led to an opening revealing a massive,\nhidden bay. A large river (that probably flowed in from the sea nearby) fed\ninto the bay, creating convenient access to the sea whenever needed. On both\nsides, the bay and the river was guarded by thick forest that wasn't very easy\nto traverse. That provided an excellent hiding spot for the huge ship that was\ndocked there and the bay in general. The river didn't look big enough for such\na massive ship to flow through. The sail rafters had to be lowered for it to\neven fit within the forest. But somehow they found a way. As a result, no one\nwould even imagine a huge pirate ship being stashed there.\n\"Pirates...\" Patch whispered to himself, looking around for a\nspot to get a closer view.\nThe ship was docked against a wooden pier, which was filled\nwith both cargo crates and pirates. They hung around, laughing and playing\naround while others loaded and unloaded the cargo through a large ramp. If he\nwere to get on that ship, it would have to be through that ramp. The only\nproblem was finding a way to sneak past the pirates that dotted the pier. \nHe crouched down behind crates that sat on the shore nearby\nand eased his way up to the pier, quietly avoiding passing guards. The closer\nhe had gotten to the ship, the more it became apparent that he wouldn't be able\nto keep hiding like this. There were just too many of them. Behind him, he\ncould hear several other guards returning from the forest...\n\"Great...\" Patch muttered, \"perfect time for a shift change...\" \nOn his other side, more guards approached from the ship in\norder to replace the ones that left the forest. Both groups headed straight for\nhim, ready to close him off, and there was no way he would be able to sneak out\nof this one.\n\"Alright, here goes...\" He motivated himself, peaking up one\nlast time towards the path he was to take. Either way, things were going to get\npretty loud. He may as well get as far as he could and as quickly as he could. \nPatch took a deep breath and hopped over the crate, running\nright into the guards that were coming off of the ship.\n\"Hey! Who the hell is that?\" He could hear someone say as he\nran.\n\"I've never seen him before...\" Someone else replied.\n\"Well? What are you waiting for?! Stop him!\"\nIt was game on. \nAn earsplitting alarm began to sound from the deck of the\nship as several of the guards turned their attention towards Patch, who was\nworking his way up the pier.\n\"After him!\" Some shouted from behind as a wave of pirates\ndrew their swords and chased after him.\n\"Don't let him get away!\" \nPatch's heart raced as he reached the ramp that led onto the\ndeck of the ship. Without looking back, he darted up onto the huge deck where\nhe was met with several more pirates that waited for him. Before he could turn\naround, the ones that had been chasing him blocked his path.\n\"Crap...\" he muttered. \n\"End of the line, invader,\" A particular female wolf said,\nemerging from the crowd of pirates in front of him. She didn't look like\nCaptain Keira, Juniper's mother and the Captain of this group, but somehow she\nappeared more important than everyone else. She was a dark-gray wolf with a few\nbattle scars of her own. A familiar, green bandana was wrapped around her\nforehead, holding her thick, black hair out of her dark brown eyes. Two leather\nstraps crossed each other on her chest, both with knives attached on the sides.\nTwo, twin swords hung on each side of her waist, both being held by a thick,\nleather strap. On the bandana (and pretty much everything else that belonged to\nthe pirates) was the emblem of a wolf's skull with three stars over it.   \n\"Who are you?\" The wolf asked as the pirates that surrounded\nhim closed off all possible exits.\nHe was surrounded. Encircled by pirates that probably looked\nto kill him. Now wasn't the time to lose his cool. \n\"Captain Keira,\" Patch replied calmly, standing up on his\nhind legs, \"I'm here to see her.\"\nThe wolf, obviously unhappy by his casual attitude, drew one\nof her swords and pointed it at him.\n\"Who the hell do you think you are?!\" She roared, fury\nburning in her eyes, \"don't you know who you're screwing with?!\"\n\"No,\" Patch replied, drawing his sword, \"but I'm here for\nJuniper... and you're getting in the way.\" \nThe rest of the pirates were shocked at his audacity. Was\nthis kid insane? Didn't he know that he was talking to Captain Keira's personal\nlieutenant? The second in command? Not even the most senior pirate would dare\ntalk to her that way.\n\"You've got a lot of nerve, pup,\" she growled, \"I don't know\nif you have a death wish or something. But you sure as hell found one.\" \nShe glanced back at all of the pirates that surrounded him.\n\"Show him what we do to trespassers!\" She ordered, causing\nthe others to cheer with sheer excitement. The sound of swords being drawn from\ntheir sheaths filled the air as one by one the crowd converged onto Patch.\n\"Alright, let's do this,\" patch muttered, zeroing his focus\non the fight. Thanks to a lot of practice and a variety of different teachers,\nPatch was rather skilled with a sword. One by one, he blocked and defended\nagainst multiple attackers coming from all directions. He avoided sword after\nsword, while dishing out his own attacks, careful not to seriously injure\nanyone... or get himself seriously injured. It was a never ending wave of guards\nand motivated pirates, all after his head.\n\"Can't we just, start over?\" Patch asked, narrowly avoiding\nhaving his throat cut by a sword, \"I tend to come off a little strong when I'm\nnervous...\"\n\"The only thing coming off is your pelt,\" the wolf replied,\nwatching her wave of soldiers converge on that one invader. Despite being\nterribly outnumbered, Patch held his own against them. He kept his focus,\ncareful not to put himself in an overwhelming situation while maintaining an\nattack pattern that wouldn't easily be broken. The other pirates were\nimpressed. \n\"You a cop kid?\" One of them asked, going at him with his\nsword, \"I didn't know they recruited this young.\"\n\"I'm not,\" Patch replied, avoiding the other wolf's attacks\n(and several others at the same time).\n\"A pirate? Are you from the southeast crew?\" Another asked,\ndrawing a second sword.\n\"Not necessarily,\" Patch replied, putting a little bit of\nspace between all of his attackers, \"I'm not really anyone special... I'm just\nhere for Juniper.\" \n\"And what business do you have with her?\" The wolf in charge\nasked, standing up, \"don't tell me you're here to take her out on a date or\nsomething. Don't you know who she is?\"\nThe crowd stopped attacking for a second while they caught\ntheir breath. In that instant, a fresh new wave of pirates replaced them in\nmercilessly attacking Patch. \n\"Well... not exactly,\" Patch replied, maintaining his attack\nand defense pattern. The sound of steel grinding against steel filled the air,\nmaking his ears ring. \nIt went on like this for what seemed like hours. Waves of\nnew pirates replaced tired ones in a relentless attack against Patch. Through\nit all, he maintained his focus and strategy, careful not to leave himself\nopen. After a while, the lieutenant wolf stood up. \n\"Enough!\" She ordered, stopping the wave of attackers. They\nbacked off at her command, still maintaining a tight circle around him.\n\"There are HUNDREDS of you, fighting ONE trespasser, and you\nmean to tell me that NONE of you could land even a single strike?!\" She roared,\nglaring across the sea of pirates, \"is this what the feared, Southern Veridian\nPirates has come to?!\"\nShe pushed them aside, entering the circle of pirates where\nPatch waited. \n\"Impressive kid,\" she said, approaching him and drawing both\nof her swords, \"you held back your attacks, when you could have easily killed\nthe lot of them. Very noble.\" \nShe took up a stance, one he had never seen before.\n\"You hold back against me, and that'll be the end of you,\"\nshe warned. \nQuickly, she rushed in and collided with him, both of her\nswords swinging for his chest and neck. In an attempt to gauge her skill, he\nblocked and avoided at first. This one was extremely fast and strong. She\nhardly left any opening for him to exploit, and had him on the defensive for\nmost of the time. She was right, holding back against her would only get him\nkilled. He had to get serious. \nIn an instant, he triggered his second ability, named the\nagility gene, where his speed was dramatically increased with the tradeoff of\nhigh energy expenditure. At this point, he was able to keep up with her\nattacks, avoiding both swords while defending with his own. Now that they were\nmoving at the same speed, he would be able to find an opening to attack. \nThe pirates around them were stunned at the fight. How could\na random trespasser... a puppy... be on the same level as their second in command?\nIt was unheard of. They watched in awe as Patch and the lieutenant traded\nattacks back and forth for a little over an hour and a half. On the second\nhour, their attacks stopped. This time, Patch sustained minor cuts and bruises\nfrom the fight. A little bit of blood poured from some small cuts on his arms\nand face. More surprisingly, however, was that the lieutenant did as well. \n\"What the hell?\" some of the pirates whispered to each\nother, \"He landed a hit? On Reka?\"\n\"S-sorry,\" Patch said, trying to catch his breath.\nReka was surprised herself. She licked the blood from her\narms and readied her swords again. \n\"Save it,\" she growled, \"Prepare to-\"\n\"What the hell is going on out here?\" A powerful voice\ncalled from the stern of the ship. They all turned to see yet another female\nwolf approaching from stairs leading below deck. She was a huge wolf, with\nlong, brown hair and sharp, purple eyes. One of her eyes (with a notable scar\nhaving been torn across it) had been covered behind a black patch. She wore a\nlong coat that had the symbol of the Veridian Navy on it. Under it, many\nleather straps encircled her body. Some around her waist and chest, others\naround her arms and legs. Each one of them probably held some sort of weapon.\nMost notably was the scar she had on her neck. That, and her striking\nresemblance to Juniper.  \n\"C-captain Keira,\" Reka said, turning to her, \"we were\ndealing with some trespasser... he said he was here to see you, but...\"\n\"I'm here for Juniper,\" Patch said confidently, turning\ntowards Keira. The rest of the pirates fell silent at his words.\n\"Watch your tongue!\" Reka growled, but Captain Keira calmed\nher. \n\"What do you want with her?\" Captain Keira asked, with a\nsmall smile, \"You think you're going to invade my ship and bone my daughter?\nAll while keeping your hide intact?\" \n\"Wh-what? No! Not that!\" Patch replied, his face reddening.\n\"Patch?\" Juniper's voice called from behind Captain Keira.\nShe appeared at the door, right beside her mother. A look of surprise and fear spread\nacross her face.\n\"Wh-what are you... h-how did...\" she began to say.\n\"I couldn't sleep last night,\" Patch said, relieved that he\nfound her again, \"I was thinking about what we were talking about the other day\nin Eidous... about travelling the world and seeing all kinds of different things...\nthen I kept asking myself... why not? What exactly was stopping us?\" \nHe nervously scratch his ear.\n\"Oh s-sorry, I guess I accidentally told on you didn't I,\"\nhe said, glancing away, \"they weren't supposed to know you were there... sorry\nabout that.\"\nHe glanced back up at her.\n\"Anyway, My brother told me that life was too short to spend\nit dreaming,\" he continued, \"that if I let this chance pass, I'd regret it for\nthe rest of my life. I don't want that to happen. And I don't want to do it\nalone.\"\nJuniper's eyes watered and her heart raced. That night, she\nhad convinced herself that it was only a dream. That nothing would change after\nthat night. Despite that, she dreamed over and over again, that Patch would\nappear and take her away from the monotonous life she had lived on that pirate\nship. That her conversation with him the day before was more than just a tease.\nIt wasn't a dream anymore. There he was. Standing alone in the midst of\nhundreds of pirates to free her. \nShe clutched her chest with her paws, unable to find the\nwords to say as tears fell onto the floor beneath her. \n\"If you could...\" Patch asked, clutching the hilt of his\nsword, \"If you could be free. Would you go off\nand see the world with me? Leave your current life behind and go off into the\nunknown with someone like me? Who would invade a pirate's cove\nunprepared? To make this world a beautiful place to live again?\" \nJuniper sank to her knees. \nShe was too weak to say anything. She was terrified for him,\nbut at the same time, she was purely overjoyed. \n\"I don't know what we're going to do and how we'll do it,\"\nPatch continued, \"but together I think we'll find a way. Maybe we could sneak\non board a ship somewhere, or walk for miles in any direction. Where ever the\nwind takes us.\"\nHe glanced back at her.\n\"If you could be free, would you go? Would you seriously do\nit?\" He asked.\n\"Yes,\" Juniper replied weakly, tears of joy welling up\ninside her, \"If I were free, I would do it...\"\n\"Okay,\" Patch replied, glancing up at Captain Keira, who\nlistened intently to their conversation, \"there's just the matter of getting\nyou free then.\"\nHe pointed his sword at Captain Keira, standing proudly\namong the wave of pirates that surrounded him.\n\"You heard it from her!\" He announced, \"I won't leave this\nplace without her!\" \nCaptain Keira smiled.\n\"Oh, this is quite interesting,\" she said, crossing her\narms. \nShe then glanced at Juniper.\n\"Is this what you want?\" She asked, \"Will it make you happy?\nTo go along with this pup?\"\n\"Y-yes mother...\" she replied quietly, \"it would...\"\nCaptain Keira nodded and smiled.\n\"Well then, what kind of mother would I be to deny my\ndaughter's wishes?\" She asked, walking down the stairs towards Patch. The\ncircle of pirates opened up to allow her in before closing behind her.\n\"At the same time, what kind of mother would I be to allow\nmy only daughter to go off with a random stranger?\" She asked, approaching\nPatch, \"I knew this day would come. Where Juniper would outgrow her cabin and\nyearned to make a path for herself in this life. As much as I hated the thought,\nI knew I couldn't avoid it forever. However.\" \nShe drew her sword. A long, slender blade etched with\ndecorative markings. \n\"I will not allow my daughter to go off with someone who\ncannot protect her,\" she continued, \"someone who's all bark and no bite.\" \nShe pointed the blade at him. The sun reflecting off of the\ntip. \n\"Go home,\" she said, glaring at him. Her eyes flaring up\nwith murderous intent, \"save your smooth words for a bitch in the city living a\ncomfortable life. Save your own hide before I skin it off and sell it on the\nmarket.\"\n\"Maybe I didn't make myself clear,\" Patch growled, becoming\nimpatient, \"you can write me off as some common kid chasing adventure or some\nmutt chasing tail. I don't give a damn. I already made my intentions clear. I\nam NOT leaving here without her.\" \nHe wiped blood from his cheek.\n\"If you still think I'm a joke, why not see just how much\n'bite' I've got?\" He growled, approaching her face to face, \"one day, we'll be\ncoming back to arrest you anyway. I don't care who you are. This world won't be\nat peace until evil is erased.\" \nEveryone was silent. The crew, the lieutenant, even Juniper\nwatched in awe as tensions flared up between Patch and Captain Keira. \n\"Very well then,\" Captain Keira replied. In an instant, she\nrushed at him, unleashing a wave of powerful attacks. He dodged as fast as he\ncould, sustaining some minor injuries in the process. Her attacks were so\nstrong, that each strike of her sword against his pushed him back a few feet.\nPatch zeroed his focus in on her attacks, calculating her technique while\navoiding her rapid and powerful attacks. There wasn't much room for error with\nher. She was a pirate captain after all, so she had to have been in worse\nfights than that before. He wouldn't easily win this one... hell... he wouldn't\neasily survive. \nCaptain Keira unleashed her own agility gene, moving so fast\nthat her movements could hardly be followed with his naked eyes. Based on her\nattack patterns before, he now had to guess the direction and strength of her\nattacks and block accordingly. One miscalculation could lead to a critical\nstrike somewhere. \nThe crew around them have gathered in the hundreds as\nmembers climbed atop each other to get a view. The teenaged invader versus\ntheir own captain. Juniper watched, terrified at what could happen. She\npersonally saw her mother kill many rival pirates and sailors. Could Patch,\nalong with her hopes and dreams, be next? \n\"No way,\" she thought to herself, \"there's no way Patch\nwould allow that.\" \nThe wave of attacks continued as Captain Keira refused to\nlet up on him. Their movements shifted from just fighting within the small\ncircle to using the entire deck. Sparks flew and steel crashed together as they\nwent at it, Patch carefully calculating Captain Keira's moves and Keira dishing\nthem out relentlessly. \n\"Very good kid,\" Captain Keira said with an intimidating\nsmile, \"let's turn it up a notch shall we?\" Her eyes began to glow red as her\nattacks became stronger and even faster. Patch could barely keep as it was\nbefore, now it was nearly impossible. Captain Keira triggered her berserk gene,\nyet another special ability that allocated a ton of adrenaline to her muscles,\nmaking her movements quicker and more powerful. Each strike became increasingly\nmore powerful until finally, one blow knocked the sword out of his hand. It\nflew off a good distance before landing against the edge of the deck near the\nwall.\n\"Good try,\" Captain Keira teased as the crew erupted in\ncheers.\n\"Shut up,\" Patch growled standing up. He faced her and\nassumed another stance, this time without his sword. \n\"Don't underestimate me,\" he muttered, balling his paws up\ninto fists. \n\"Oh?!\" The crowd shouted, \"it's not over?!\" \nKeira smiled and nodded. \n\"Very well then,\" she said, readying her sword, \"it's your\nfuneral!\" \nShe rushed in to attack again, not letting up just because\nhe was unarmed. It was her sword against him now, so he had to be careful about\nwhere it was at all times. As usual, he carefully calculated his attacks,\ndodging (instead of blocking) her sword while waiting for an opening. It was\nlikely that she'd get a bit more relaxed, since Patch didn't have a sword.\nThat's what he was hoping anyway. In that case, he'd easily be able to pick an\nopening to disarm her with.\nThe fight carried on for thirty punishing minutes.\nThroughout that, Patch received even more minor cuts from Keira's sword (though\na lot less than what was expected). In a twist of luck, he eventually found an\nopening and rushed in, seizing and twisting her arm in a way that caused her to\ndrop her sword. \n\"Finally,\" Patch muttered, kicking her sword away and\nassuming another fighting stance, \"now we're even...\"\n\"Not quite,\" Keira replied, rushing in again to attack.\nThis time, they were both disarmed, coming at each other\nwith only their fists. In the same way he handled it with his sword, Patch kept\na careful eye on her fighting style, in order to learn from it to find an\nopening.\n\"This is insane!\" One pirate cried out to another, \"I've\nnever seen anything like this!\" \n\"Just who is this kid?\" Reka muttered to herself, crossing\nher arms.\n\"Patch...\" Juniper whispered, watching the fight carry on. Her\nheart was filled with joy that he came back for her... not only that, but he was\nskilled enough to challenge her mother, the most feared pirate in the region...\nwhat an impressive pup. \n\"Good boy,\" Keira said, blocking some of his attacks before\nlanding a hit on him, right in the cheek. Patch fell back a bit, but made sure\nto keep his guard up. She rushed in and hit him again, this time right in the\ncenter of his chest and on the other side of his face. He lost his momentum and\nbroke his guard, allowing her to get several, painful hits in on him. \n\"Had enough?\" Keira asked, hitting him multiple times in the\nstomach and face before roundhouse kicking him in the chin. \nHe flew back and landed on the wooden deck of the ship. \n\"Damn,\" he muttered as he picked himself up. \n\"Go home before you get seriously hurt,\" Keira warned. \n\"Shut up already,\" he muttered, standing up on his two feet\nand causing the crowd to cheer wildly. \n\"He won't stay down!\" One of them shouted.\n\"Just go home kid,\" one of them said, \"It ain't worth your\nlife.\"\nPatch spat out some blood before reassuming his fighting\nstance.\n\"What do you idiots know...\" he muttered as Keira rushed in\nfor another attack. \nThe two went back and forth for another hour, both\nexchanging hits on each other. Naturally, Patch began to get tired from all of\nthe fighting. First from all of the crew, then from Reka, the Lieutenant, and\nnow from the Captain herself. With his stamina draining, there came a series of\nmistakes that left him open for hits. \nTime and time again, he would survive the initial wave of\nattacks before his stamina would run out and he'd get knocked down by Keira.\nEach time, he picked himself back up and prepared for another fight.\n\"I won't leave here without you,\" Patch thought to himself,\nwhenever he felt like giving up, \"I swear I won't.\"\nAt the end of their fifth round, Patch found himself on the\nground once again. He spat out more blood and wiped some from his nose before\ntrying to stand up once again.\n\"That's enough,\" Keira said, calming down, \"it's over.\"\nShe walked over to Patch who fell to his knees, struggling\nto catch his breath.\n\"You did well kid,\" she said, kneeling beside him, \"I'll\nadmit, I was wrong about you.\" \nShe motioned for one of the pirates to bring him his sword.\n\"Your technique is solid, but you lack strength,\" she\ncontinued, \"your attacks are zeroed in on the right area, but you're not strong\nenough to make them effective. Your agility, and your endurance would benefit\nfrom you getting stronger.\"\nThey handed her his sword before she handed it back to him. \n\"Before I'll allow you and Juniper to run off together, I\nwant you both to become stronger,\" she said, \"I know Juniper is capable of\nhandling herself, since I personally trained her. But you both need to get\nstronger before you're ready to set off on your own.\" \nShe stood up. \n\"We'll teach you,\" she said glancing at the sea of pirates\nthat had gathered to see them, \"each one of us has learned skills on our\ntravels. Methods of strengthening up weaklings like you in preparation for the\nreal world. If you survive that, you'll truly be ready and I will allow Juniper\nto go with you.\"\nThe crew cheered in sheer excitement. \n\"Give him to me,\" one of the crew said, \"I'll put some meat\non them.\" \nHe was a brown bear with a tired but hearty expression on\nhis face. He was also packed with muscle, probably from handling cargo over and\nover. \n\"Ever shot a bow and arrow before?\" Another one pointed out.\n\"Wait, what happened? I can't see!\" Another one whined. \n\"I'll determine who will do what training,\" Keira announced,\n\"that's assuming, you're up for it? Patch?\"\n\"I guess I don't have much of a choice,\" he said with a\nsmall smile, \"although I hate the idea of working with criminals...\"\n\"Then it's settled,\" she said, picking up her sword and\nreturning to the stairs, \"all of my department leaders, meet me in my office\nimmediately.\" \nShe glanced back at patch with a grin.\n\"Guess that makes you an aid to criminal activity.\"\nThe crew gathered in to congratulate Patch on his 'victory'.\nThough he had been defeated multiple times, his refusal to give up motivated\nthe rest of the crew.\n\"You're alive kid, be happy,\" one of the pirates joked,\n\"others weren't so lucky you know.\"\n\"Where did you learn to fight like that?!\" Another one said,\npoking at him, \"that was insane!\" \n\"Are you sure you're not a cop...\" Another one muttered, \"no\nway a kid can stand up to the Captain like that...\"  \nJuniper sorted through the crowd, rushed up to Patch and\nwrapped her arms around his neck.\n\"Oh my god, Patch are you insane?!\" She cried, rubbing her\nhead against his, \"following me to the hidden cove and calling out my mother in\nfront of everyone?! Have you completely lost it?!\" \n\"D-did I look cool though? When I did it?\" He joked, hugging\nher back.\nShe sighed and shook her head.\n\"Yes Patch,\" she replied with a smile, tears filling her\neyes, \"I guess you looked kind of cool.\"\n\n \n\n \nBelow deck, in Captain Keira's office, the top leaders\nwithin the pirate crew met to discuss Juniper and Patch's training. \n\"Captain... are you sure about this boy?\" Reka asked, \"Is it\nreally a good idea to allow Juniper to go with him...? Around the world?\"\nThe other leaders glanced at Captain Keira too.\n\"We all know that she isn't a pirate,\" Keira replied calmly,\n\"she's always had her mind on other things. Bigger things than just this. I\nknew that one day she'd get antsy and start looking for ways out... especially\nwhen she started sneaking out to go to Eidous...\"\nShe sighed.\n\"Honestly, I never wanted her to become a pirate. As you all\nknow, I tried to avoid exposing her to the pirate's life as best I could... I\ndidn't want her to live like I did. This is no life for a girl like her.\"\nShe glanced out of the window, towards the pier, where all\nof the pirates had gathered to celebrate.\n\"It doesn't take much for them to find a reason to get\ndrunk,\" Keira said with a smile, \"Anyway, When Juniper saw him, there was a\nsparkle in her eyes that I had never seen before. Something was awakened in\nthat girl the moment they met.\"\n\"I saw it too,\" Reka replied, staring at the ground.\n\"I think they'd be able to do it,\" One of the other leaders\nreplied, \"with a little fine tuning, I really think those two would be able to\nsurvive anything together.\"\n\"That's what I want to make sure of,\" Keira replied, \"and\nthat's also why I called you all here. I'm putting each of you in charge of\ntraining those two while I handle our operations here. Put special emphasis on\nstrengthening them up. I also what survival skills placed in there somewhere.\nTeach them how to escape and evade capture, hunt with just the two of them, and\nsome weapon skills. At the end of that, we'll give them the team building exam.\n\n\"Wait, just the two of them?\" Reka asked, \"Doing the entire team building exercise on their\nown?\" \n\"That's right,\" Keira replied, \"The entire thing. If they\ncan do that, they'll be able to survive anything. Don't you agree?\"   \nThe other leaders nodded.\n\"Alright then,\" Keira replied, \"give them time to rest.\nEspecially him. They're going to need it.\" \nShe glanced at all of them.\n\"And DO NOT go easy on them,\" she said seriously, \"their\nlives may count on this training. Make sure they know what they're doing.\"\n\"Aye captain,\" they replied, filing one by one out of her\noffice. ","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/928199-aspire-arcadia-chapter-1-are-you-ready.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/928256-aspire-arcadia-chapter-3-let-the-games-begin.json"}