Up, Up, and.....

.....AWAY!

---

Once upon a time....a very uneventful time, there lived a young artist.
And as talented as she was, she had trouble finding her place in the world. So, she set off on a journey of sorts. This journey had no real direction, and she had no idea what she was specifically searching for.
If anything, she hoped that one day, it would hit her....

...and on an evening a few months ago, something did. Really hard, actually. Hurt a lot.

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(**shift to first person**)
--

I was meandering the streets of a nameless town (they all begin to look the same after a while), at night, by myself...Yeah, I was bit down. I had spent that evening in a run-of-the-mill coffee shop, with my sketchpad as my usual date to keep me company. After about six cups of herbal tea and a surprisingly tasty blueberry scone, I paid the check, tipped the waitress, nodded to the dude behind the counter, and left.

The wind bit my face, and as I sighed, I watched my breath take to the air. I can't recall exactly how late it was, but it had to be nearing midnight. Not smart to be a 20-something female in an unfamiliar town, wandering the streets so late...but time had kind of slipped away from me at that point. My feet began walking...I think they were headed back to the motel I was staying at....I'm assuming anyway since my mind was elsewhere.

The events that followed were all a blur.

I just remember being grabbed, knocked down, a SWOOOOSH noise, a flash of a cape, a lot of shouting.....and then nothing.
I blacked out.

....
When I came to, I realized two things:

1) My head hurt like a bitch (due to the golf-ball sized lump that had formed at back of it)

2) This sure as hell was not my motel room.


As my blurry vision cleared, I glanced around, trying to take in my surroundings.
I was lying on a couch, with a black fleece blanket draped over me. The room I was in was actually a smaller section of a larger area, like a huge lair. My section was dim, but I could see to where it opened up. The sunlight poured in from these rounded skylights to fit the domed form of the ceiling.
I remember being awed by that sight for a few minutes before snapping back to reality.....Where the hell was I?

Oh, there was another thing I noticed.
I was alone.
The only sound I heard was my own breathing, and a muffled whirring noise, like that of an engine or something. It was actually pretty soothing to the ears, but as my senses returned I felt the need to find out what was going on.

I got up too fast. The dizziness nearly made me fall over, but I regained my bearings and cautiously began to inch my way around this new environment. When I got to the center of this "lair", I once again found myself looking up at the domed ceiling. As I gazed at the sky, I saw that the clouds were passing by at an unusually fast pace.....which could mean one thing.

Wherever I was, it was moving.
Alarmed, I quickly trotted over to another section of the lair to find a window. I was correct, but didn't really expect what I saw.
It was not only moving, but FLYING.

And I uttered my first words since the day before, "I'm on a ship?"

"AYE!"

The loud, gravely voice made me jump, and I whirled around to face this large figure towering over me. As he stepped forward, I took in his appearance.
He looked like a pirate....and a bear.
Two things I would never put together in a million years.

I was looking at a god-damned pirate-bear.

He wore a tricorn with a large, red plume exploding out of its right side. He tipped it up to reveal a reddish-brown face, furry, tough-looking, but not repulsive at all (I mean he was a bear after all). A black eye-patch covered his right eye, which I'm guessing was an aquamarine color since his other eye (the one looking at me) was. It glittered like a gem, and I found myself feeling not quite as intimidated. He gave a slight chuckle,

"Startle ya, did I?"

My throat was dry, but I managed to croak out a response,

"Just a bit...."

He laughed. And I mean he laughed. Like one of those big ol' belly HAR HAR HARs. Actually, he grabbed his belly when he laughed this time, and I saw he had a metal claw where his left paw would have been. I was stunned. He noticed.

"Arrr, now missy, don't be alarmed. I know ye must have many'a question in that litt'l 'ead of yahrs, and I promise ye shall have yur answers. Mos' 'mportant ting is thaht yur safe now..."

And then he placed his right paw over his chest,

"Cahp'n's wuurd."

I actually grinned at this. Seeing a bear dressed as a pirate, with his snout in the air, his paw across his chest, making a solemn swear that I was in good hands---I couldn't help it.

"Many thanks to you mister....uh...."

"CAHP'N GRIZZLY!" he bellowed with pride, "But y'should call me Cahp'n....fer now aneeways. When we be better pals, y'can call me Grizz."
He winked.

I laughed and bowed, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, good Captain."

"HOHO, yar a reeeal sweet'art! I think I be takin' a likin' to ya me litt'l mullet! Glad we fownd ya when we did."

"We're you the one who rescued me?"

"Aye, one of 'em."

"I heard a whooshing noise, and I thought I saw a cape..."

"Har Har! Well that t'weren't me. " the Captain said, and whirled around in a circle, "As yeh can see, I don't 'ahve no cape. Just me lucky coat. No, thaht'd been ol' 'Uey."

"Huey?"

"Aye. 'Uey the Magnificent", he chucked, "Ahh but we just call 'im 'Uey. Tha rest's all title an' nonsense, but 'ee likes it. Urned it 'ee did, thaht's for shur. Ye be meetin' 'im soon. Yeh'll meet 'em all soon. They be out gettin' supplies, an' they wanted yeh to rest. I volunteered to watch ther ship 'eere, an' keep my eye on yeh.....oh 'AYY! GET IT? Keep my EYE on ya---CUZ I ONLY GOT 'UN! Har Har!"

I couldn't help but laugh.
I liked this bear.

"So, how many of you are there?.....and.....what are you exactly? Are you all pirate bears?"

The Captain pulled over a chair, and motioned me to have a seat on the couch behind me.

"Naw, not all bears. Thahts just me an' me own crew."

"You have your own crew?"

"Carse I do! I am a Cahp'n, ahfter all! This ship we be on right now, ain't MY ship. My ship be an actual pirate ship. 'Cept me ship can fly like this one 'eere too. Right now me crew is off on another mission in the South Pacific. Good lads, though. They'll take care of me dear Treadwell."

"That her name? The Treadwell?"

"Aye, tis indeed. Good girl she is. 'Ahd her for two score 'n fahrty days---to 'is day."

"My, you've been around a while, huh Captain?"

"Mmm, I 'ahve. And I ain't keelin' o'er anytime soon. Pirate-bears last a good long time, they do!"

"That is awesome....so what about the "crew" of this ship?"

"Ahh, me messmates. Aye, these lads be more of my family. Thar be nine of us in all."

"Wow...good number."

"Yar, an' we all are quite different, but we mesh togethar well. Like fish n' chips n' tartar sahrce!"

"Can you tell me about them?"

"Carse I will, but 'afore I do, I tink I should explain why 'Uey an' I were in thaht litt'l town where we sav'd ya."


"Yeah, I was actually kind of wondering about that.....I mean of all the places to be in..."



"Yeh wer lucky, miss. Lucky indeed.
Yeh just happened to be right near the place with the best blooburry scones on tha planet.
HAR HAR HAR!"

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(to be continued......)