Name: Tapiwa (meaning: Plunderer, ravager; Shona/African)
Rank: Crewman
If Crew, What's the Pirate name?: Shanty (as in “sea shanty”)
Theme Song: To the Sea – Razorlight Prompt Reply! Living on the edge of an established pride’s territory could be dangerous going for a less savvy individual, but Tapiwa knew exactly what he was doing. Keep to the edges of the beach. The surf rolled in and obscured his trail of paw prints, and the constant salt-sour smell of the ocean smothered any scent trail he left behind. Oh, sure, he’d been spotted once or twice, slinking around where he shouldn’t be, but the lure of the Maestros’ infamous treasure cove brought him back time and time again. Besides, what poor fellow feline could out run
Tapiwa? Ha, he was fast as the wind! He could race the waves if his paws would only let him walk on water.
Tapiwa couldn’t just up and ask to join the pirates, after all. Oh no, not all by his little lonesome with no shiny trinkets in his paws. So he wandered and watched for as long as he could. Listening carefully to the goings on of the pride.
When he heard tell of little princes to be born, he knew
exactly what he was going to do. A festival of drinking and lounging about? The perfect time to make his mark on pride history! Oh yes! He was going to
shine. Prove his worth to these here pirates, yes he would. Show them just what a valuable swashbuckler this ‘ere kittycat could be.
With his plan in mind, Tapiwa took to the jungle. He had some time before the lady lovey popped her kittens, and he’d be prepared when she did.
Task One: The Collecting Tapiwa was careful and cautious in the jungle. Cheetahs weren’t meant to amble about such thick foliage. They were built for running over flat surfaces, turning on a dime. Tapiwa couldn’t navigate at full speed out here. His paws were small and careful, though, and he tiptoed silently through the underbrush. His eyes were on the trees, watching for monkeys. The obnoxious little creatures were all around in the forest. Black ones, white ones, red ones, ones so small Tapiwa could fit his whole mouth around their bodies. Most didn’t take interest in him in return.
Cheetahs couldn’t really
climb after all.
Finally he spotted a youngling hanging around the base of a tree. He hunkered low, trusting his dark pelt to hide him in the shadows. Claws kneading the ground. Low growl in his throat. He leapt forward, paws skidding across mulch, and snapped his jaws inches away from the monkey’s hide. The baby screeched an tore up the trunk of the tree. Its whole gang took notice, then, yammering and hollering obscenities at Tapiwa.
Tapiwa paced in a circle and smirked up at them,” I think I got some fur in my teeth. Whups!”
A larger male yowled angrily and ripped a melon from the tree branches, tossing it down at Tapiwa feet. The cheetah leapt back in surprise. The rest of the monkeys caught on, and soon a barrage of fruit was pelting down at him. One struck him on the side of his head and he winced in pain, ducking low to avoid another hit.
It was nearing on a hour before the monkey’s finally let up, and Tapiwa had himself a few new bruises for his efforts. But he’d got his prize.
Tapiwa tiptoed into the underbrush and pulled an old antelope hide into view. One by one he plucked up the fallen fruit, loading it onto his make-shift net. When the last mango was ready he nipped the edge of the hide and began to drag it toward the edge of the jungle.
Step one, complete!
Task Two: Sweeteners “I’m going to die,” Tapiwa grumbled around a branch. He was balanced on a wobbling log, propped against a boulder, which led up to another tree. His forelegs were planted on the trunk of the scrawny bushwillow, his body stretched out to its full length. Right above him was a bee’s nest, thick with angry buzzing. He prodded at it with his scrawny branch, twisting his head to and fro.
“Almost there…”
One more jerk and the nest was free. Tapiwa leaped away with a yelp, hair bristled. The nest burst open on the ground behind him and in
seconds the bees were on his butt. He raced faster, legs overlapping each other, heart hammering with the effort. He squeezed his eyes shut, coiled muscles, and
jumped.
SPLASH!
Water enveloped his scrawny form. He burst out of the surf with a gasp, inhaling wildly. But the bees were still coming. Tapiwa held his breath and sank under the water once more, gazing up out of the glassy surface. Waiting. Watching.
Step two, complete! Well… as soon as the bees buzzed off, anyway. Yeesh.
Task Three: Brew and WaitFinding a shallow pool amongst the rocky shoreline wasn’t
that difficult. It had only taken him an afternoon of searching to find the perfect spot, hidden in the shade so that gulls and the like wouldn’t come sniffing by. Tapiwa built a dam against the ocean-side shelf to keep the tide from washing in and ruining his work. Then came the arduous task of picking out all the living, crawling things that lived in his little pool. Oh, he’d never manage to grab them all, but he did well enough getting the crabs and larger larvae out. The made a good, if crunchy, lunch for the young cheetah.
Finally Tapiwa rolled his hide-net open and let the mangoes tumble into the pool. Next was the honey he’d collected from the bee’s nests. Already his little concoction smell sweet and rich.
Tapiwa wet his lips and stretched out next to the pool. Waiting was going to be the hardest part. He’d give himself a week, and hopefully the little Princes wouldn’t be ready until then.
After all, it wouldn’t be a proper celebration without Shanty’s infamous fermented brew!
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