Days had rolled by. Nothing. No sign of the gunner Kingsley, barely a whiff of the old merc's stench on the sands. No sign of his work anywhere. Pity that. More disheartening to her was the lack of signs. Nothing to indicate where the mutineer had gone. She knew little of the boy's life, no stories muttered of home. Not even a lie. The boy had stayed with them for barely a few months after all. That had been her driving point, what made her finally pull up and bring herself to this land in the first place when Kingsley failed to report back, but it turned out to be her faltering point. 

She was a stubborn woman, though. She couldn't well return to Tortuga without her target and expect to maintain her position. More important than that, she had a code to upkeep, for herself and for her crew. She would find him. Find him and drag him back screaming to Tortuga. Let Lynford have his fun — take his tongue, then something else. To show Alizarin and everyone else what happens to those who break their word to her and her crew. 

She'd paced the Coast north and south, constantly telling herself that there was some chance that the boy was here somewhere. She had said it to herself before — he could've gone inland. Definitely would — pirates would scour the coast for days, too dimwitted to think that there was anything worthwhile away from the sea. Eartha wasn't a pirate. She was better than a pirate. She turned her eye inland, following a river towards the land beyond the ocean. The forest that she found herself in was dark and cool. She appreciated the shade upon her sun-kissed fur. Though the air tasted of brine it was silent, far from the constant din that the ocean created with its waves and its raucous gulls. She felt as if she could hear every sound as if they bounced off the tree trunks. She thought she saw something moving off in the trees. She stepped towards it, getting closer and closer until the shape solidified and brightened in her sight. Eartha gaped for a moment.

The boy.

The traitor.

Alizarin, Eartha snarled, her chest rumbling, the storm of frustration and anger bubbling to the surface as she stared down the boy. You mutinous little bastard, she began to charge towards him, cursing herself for not bringing backup, for not finding Kingsley first. Then she could corner the little shit. No, she'd had to rush him. And even if she lost him now, she had his scent.

Eartha's vision tunneled. She saw little else but the boy, his sniveling body twisting on the ground, his lips parted in a pathetic snarl. Her self-righteous fury spurred her onward onto the male. He provided no resistance, and she bowled him over. 
Did you think that you could just leave? Eartha pulled herself upward and placed a paw on the boy's face, pushing it further into the dirt. That we would just let you leave? That I would? She never considered herself a selfless woman. Her purpose for sending Kingsley out here, for tracking Alizarin all the way here, was for her personal benefit. To uphold her code. The boy was a potential break, a sign of her weakness within her own vision. She could not forgive herself if the boy went without justice, her justice. 

If it weren't for his boisterous voice, she doubted that she would have noticed that Kingsley was there at all. Questions began to flood her mind, but she pushed them away. No time for that. Hold him, she commanded. His punishment would be long and the scars would remain on his skin for the rest of his life. No doubt Lynford had something else in mind, but until then Eartha would dole out her punishment. Mutiny was treason. Betrayal to her and her code, one that all those who joined with her had to adhere to. Lest she chase them down and tear them apart, as she proved now.

She knew that she would have to leave the tongue-taking to Lynford — it was his specialty after all, and she would not rob that from him — but she wanted an end to his gibbering. She fastened her teeth into his muzzle, attempting to forcibly clamp his jaws shut and push the boy's head back down in the dirt. She was going to have to wrestle the resistance out of him, leave him so exhausted that he couldn't fight back. 

Eartha looked up from the boy's body towards the new voice that joined the fray. Another ally? How many did Alizarin have? Leave. Eartha commanded, the word muffled as she kept her jaws around Alizarin's muzzle. She had Kingsley with her now, and with Alizarin in her grasp she wouldn't be cowed into fleeing by any who were foolish enough to support the boy.

She made a point of ripping her teeth through Alizarin's muzzle as she pulled away, her eyes fixed on the impertinent girl. She stepped forward, expecting Kingsley to hold the boy down as she confronted this interruption. She had been so close to bringing him to justice. To Lynford. He is mine. The words rumbled in her chest, guttural and near-feral in her rage. And you, girl, will make no demands of me. She lunged forward, fangs flashing. No more interruptions. She'd either kill or break this girl.

Her teeth catch on the girl's bare throat. She squeezes, sinking her fangs within the girl's throat, choking the fight from her. Eartha holds her grip there until she feels the girl fighting no more, her body slumping against Eartha's. Eartha lets go. As far as she was concerned, this was over. 

She turns to Kingsley and Alizarin, her prize. Let's go, she commanded.