The Journey Around The World, In Order To Save Spring

Hawaiian Hoosegow

It was the next morning when their ship saw sand. "Land ho!" Amaruq announced from his position atop the crow's nest. He jumped down from there, as always, and landed on the deck with a thud. He then rushed to the taffrails and waited as Taggak steered the ship into the docks of the Big Island. Once they made port and tied La Concorde at a wharf, the two wolves walked down the wooden gangway while Amaruq went belowdecks to lead the prisoner out. He took the man by the elbows and led him topside and then down the gangway. Once they reached the pier, they joined the other two, who had mixed feelings about this.

Atsuguk thought it was nice of him to bring the stranger along, since he wouldn't have done anything being on board the ship. Taggak thought it was an unnecessary deed. The man would be fine staying on the ship, and it wasn't like he was going to enjoy the trip, what with him being empty inside and all. Still... it might be beneficial for him to come. What if he went and did suspicious behaviour had they left him? That would be detrimental for them. While walking, Amaruq decided to break the silence with facts. "Ah, the island of Hawai'i. The biggest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. Also the biggest island in the state named Hawaii. Confusing, isn't it?" He asked to which the others nodded.

"This island chain used to be called the Sandwich Islands, before the first king united them after many years of war and renamed them after his original kingdom. That king is also part of why we're here," he went on. "How so?" Atsuguk asked. He had never told them of this before. "Oh, we're here to return the first king of Hawai'i's ʻAhu ʻula back to him. The one the pirates stole. Or, return it to his descendant, seeing as he's been dead for quite some time," he explained, referring to the feathered cape they recovered from the ship. It would be wrong of them to keep it when they knew who it belonged to. "Mhmm, but first, we are going to resupply," Taggak said. It would take them at least another week before they reached Asia.

Suddenly, without warning, a circle of police officers surrounded them. Their guns shined in the sun, reminding the trio of the threat of those small firearms. All of them put their hands in the air, except for the soulless man. But Amaruq lifted his right hand for him. Soon, they were taken away into a lockup of some sort. He didn't think that these islands had a police force. But then again, even Regina had one. He huffed. Guess they had to break out of jail or something later. He hoped it didn't have to come to that. He looked to his friends. Atsuguk looked nervous, Taggak looked disgruntled and the quiet man looked blank as always. That reminded him. They should really give him a name, even a temporary one. Calling him 'man' or 'stranger' was really starting to get redundant.

Hmm... what to call him. "Aha! Kamak!" He said, which made the other two look at him. "It's the perfect name. He doesn't seem to be able to survive on his own, so it fits pretty well with him!" He explained. The two seemed unsure. "Okay, so maybe it's not perfect. But it's better than nothing, right?" He asked. I guess..." Atsuguk mumbled while Taggak grunted and shrugged. It would have to do, they supposed. They heard the sound of footsteps as a wolf approached the cell. The rattling sound of the cell door opening hurt their ears, before the guard gestured for one of them to come. Amaruq decided that he would go first, so he stood up and followed the man into the hallway.

As they walked down the halls, the alien glanced into the cells around him. There weren't very many prisoners, and considering they were on an island, that was to be expected. He couldn't imagine living in these living conditions, though. So if push came to shove, he'd be fighting to the end. But right now, he had to abide by their rules. It was the right thing to do. When they reached a cold metal door, the guard held it open and said "Come this way." So he did. On the inside, he saw that the room was a dull grey one, and empty save for some seats, a bench and a podium. There were people standing near the back walls, and one standing at the podium at the front of the room.

"Take a seat," someone said to which he did. "Thank you," he said in response. "In this court, you will behave respectfully and answer truthfully. You will be judged fairly and you will not question the verdict. Understood?" The person at the podium asked. "Understood," he affirmed. He was no criminal. There was nothing to be wary of. "Could you tell the court your name?" "My name is Amaruq." Okay, first question. Simple enough. "You were sailing in a four-man party. Are you some sort of spy?" Umm... "No. We're a team sent on a mission to China. That's why we were sailing. And only three of us-" "Why were you sailing on a pirate ship?" "Oh, uh. We captured the pirates who originally owned the ship, and gave them to the French Navy. After that, we-" "And from what I hear, they were quite the pirates. Blackfur's crew of at least 300 men, and your party of three cleaned them up without injury. You even managed to take a prisoner."

"Well, uh, yes-" "It really is curious why famous heroes would need to hijack a ship and drop of the radar to travel the world." "Famous heroes? I don't-" "We know who you are, Tiguaak Amaruq. And we know you haven't been seen in Canada for at least a month," the person stated. This was getting out of hand for Amaruq. What did they want from him? He was so confused... "Why you aren't telling the whole story, I don't know. Maybe we'll get more info from your other party members." "Hey, wait! Let me explain! Our mission isn't something we can-" His angry rant was interrupted by the jingle of a bell. "Tiguaak Amaruq, your time is up." "Thank you for your statement. Please send in the next member of your party. We'll let you know our verdict after we've interviewed all of you, prisoner included."

He walked out of the room and down the halls. Once he reached their cell, he went to Atsuguk. "Be convincing. They know who we are, somehow. Creeps," he told his friend who nodded and went outside. "Did it go poorly?" The black wolf asked. "Pretty much," he answered. "If we fail..." Taggak started, but then left the sentence hanging. The other man got the message. They needed to breakout if this didn't work. And then, they'd have to find the king of Hawai'i and return his ancestral cape to him before the police find them. This was going to be hard. Or maybe not? If only he had a way to extend time... He guessed some tinkering to his watch might work.

Atsuguk couldn't see much in the dimly lit room, but he focused his attention on the person in the shadows behind the podium. "Could you tell us your name?" The person began. "Atsuguk, ma'am," he gave. "The alpha-in-training?" "Yes......" "Right. Well, why were you on a pirate ship?" "We defeated the previous crew and surrendered them to the authorities. After that, we figured we'd use the ship, considering that the captain's nephew-" "Do you consider hijacking a ship proper behaviour for an alpha?" "Uh, well, no. Not really." "Then why did you do it?" "I... well, if I'm being honest, it was the only idea we could come up with. We had to cross the ocean one way or another, and we were kinda low on time." "So you would condone such uncivilised behaviour?"

"Well, now hold on. There wasn't much else we could do on the spot. And besides, they were pirates anyway so-" "Are you justifying your actions?" "No-! Well, yes but-" "'Pirates' is not an excuse for theft." "You're only listening for the bad! Ask me what we do for people! Or how we treat our prisoner! We're honest wolves and-!" He was cut off by the ring of a bell. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Atsuguk."
He clenched his fists in frustration. "Please send in your next party member." He walked back to the prison, an empty refuge from the stress acting on them. "How'd it go?" His bald teammate asked him. "We might need to think of a plan B," he answered. This was bad. Amaruq looked to Taggak as he stood up. What could he say to these people that would convince them to let them go? Knowing his senior's personality... Not much.

Darn it. If they were going to get out of here, it was not going to be this trial that did it. Hmm... he had to think of a way out. Breaking these walls would be a big no-no. They may be desperate, but they weren't that desperate. Plus, he really didn't want to be charged with property damage on top of everything else. Why did things like this always happened to good Samaritans? All they wanted was to resupply and return the feathered cape to the king. Was that too much to ask? "We can't go to jail. We just can't," Atsuguk said. Amaruq patted his back softly. "Hey, it's okay. Even if you get imprisoned, no one back home's going to know anyway," he said. "What?" The younger asked, confused. "Umm... you're worried that your reputation will be tarnished if you go to prison?"

"No, you dolt! He's worried for his family and our pack back home! If we get stuck in here, then who knows how long it will take us to get to the temple?" Taggak suddenly corrected. Woah, okay. That was a little harsh. But... it was also true. How could he forget? "Argh! I'm so stupid!" He smacked his forehead. Now it was Atsuguk's turn to pat his back. He sighed. They really needed to get out of there, and fast. And he knew just how to do it.