Chapter 7: Polly Wants a Cracker
On a day that happened to be, Polly and her crew were at sea.
As they sailed the ocean blue, they had no clue of what to do.
The four were hungry because none of them had thought ahead and brought food so that they wouldn't end up dead.
Polly asked the birds if they had a plan, but unfortunately they had about as many ideas as a pan.
Then Polly remembered back in the day she'd been quite the fan of saltine crackers, so she proposed those carbs be what they go after.
Ed, S.A.T., and Wiki agreed with no problem and so the group set sail at once to find the item.
x x x
Was it a NHRA dragster firing up? Was it a rocket launching into space? Was it the Krakatoa volcanic eruption in 1883? Nay, it was Polly's stomach. The disturbingly loud rumble came from the pirate who at the moment laid splayed on the deck of The Birbalinda, not unlike a napkin ready to be carried off by the wind.
"Please Polly, you can't go out now, not like this," said Wiki as anxious as could be. "It shouldn't be too long until we get there, just a year or two more."
"Pardon?" Polly adjusted her head so she could squint at Wiki.
"It is the prediction of Ed and SAT that we will arrive at Island #5 within a year or two's time," repeated Wiki as dutifully as could be.
"Surely you jest," groaned Polly as disheartened as could be.
"Mayhaps you ought to have another stab at fishing," suggested Fethar as helpfully as could be.
Polly sighed, and mustering the last of her remaining energy, flipped over so that she was now staring at the sky rather than the floorboards. She did not quite feel like facing the direction of the sea now that Fethar had brought up fishing. To say the pirate and her crew's attempt at fishing had been tragically bad would be too merciful of an understatement.
While they were drifting away from the home of the kiwis', the group had suddenly found themselves in want of food as all living creatures are want to do. For some time they had sustained themselves off of the rations that they were able to find in The Birbalinda, but like all good things, their supplies could only last for so long. And so, Fethar had made the bold proposal that they should attempt fishing.
It made complete sense for Fethar to suggest such a course of action, except that the crew in question was composed of three birds and an inconveniently squeamish, easily distracted seafarer whose expertise lied more along the lines of eating fish than catching them. Nevertheless, the crew decided that there was nothing to lose from trying their best, and thus they gave it a whirl.
In one of the many crates of The Birbalinda, there just so happened to be all the necessary supplies for fishing. Of course no one questioned the unnatural convenience because who would be so foolish as to question good fortune? Not them. The daring SAT had been the first to step forward and cast their reel with the confidence of a master chef scrambling eggs.
The line soared through the air with glorious majesty before beginning its elegant descent into the sea. It was a sight to behold. The crew watched with awe, and continued to watch where the line had disappeared for a good hour or so. They might as well have been watching a live streamed meditation given all the action that was going on.
Wiki had valiantly offered herself up next. With an expert's technique she cast her reel, and everyone felt she'd be the one to get them some grub. Unfortunately, she was not.
Next up was Ed, who actually ended up forgoing their turn and passed the goods to Polly. As the self-proclaimed captain, Polly felt in her heart of hearts that she couldn't let her crew down. Polly cast her reel with power to rival all the legions of Rome and prayed that there were a fish out there kind enough to sacrifice themselves for the sake of four hapless hungries. Unfortunately, there were none.
"Woe be us," Ed had sighed with a shake of her head as miserable as could be.
Back to the present, Polly had somehow dredged up more energy and was using it to flop around the deck as if imitating a fish would summon one to them.
"Say Fethar, do you have any advice on fishing because this here ain't the vibe."
"If I did don't you think I would have shared it by now? Us hats do require experience in order to offer advice. Of course there are some things which we just know because we do, but there are a great many like fishing, which we don't."
"Hmm. Then what do you know?" asked Polly, curious as could be.
"Hmm, actually, I am unsure. I just know things when I need to, and if I don't know them when I need to then it means I don't know it and will probably have to learn it."
"I-," Polly began as confused as could be.
Polly had learned through the time they had been at sea that Fethar could project their voice so others could hear it too. However, more often than not Fethar would only share snippets of conversation that it found convenient, which was most inconvenient for Polly.
In this instance, Fethar decided it was for some reason absolutely necessary to omit their entire conversation to the feathered folks onboard, and leave them only with:
"Forgive me, but I am trying my best."
"I'm sure you are, Fethar," said Wiki as sympathetic as could be.
Polly just knew if Fethar had a face they would be smirking right now. In a fit of pettiness, Polly plucked Fethar from her hair and set it on the deck. She could practically hear Fethar's indignant gasp.
"I guess we have nothing to do but give fishing another whirl," declared Polly as determined as could be.
With vigor she picked up the fishing reel and cast it like there was no tomorrow. Of course if the crew kept on going on as hungry as they were, the prospect of there being a tomorrow wasn't all too great.
As it has been said, fortune favors the strong, and it seemed today Polly had proven herself strong. There was a tug, followed by a gasp from Polly who began reeling in the line with everything she had.
"Go forth and conquer," cried Ed as excited as could be, flapping her wings with fervor.
Though she had been wasting away on the deck with nothing to do and little to eat, Polly was able to pull in the catch with ease, only to discover the catch was little more than a roll of paper. There is disappointment in failing a test after pulling an all-nighter to study, and there is the disappointment that the crew felt. They are not the same.
However, the paper was a most curious object. How it had not become sludge after having been lurking around in the sea was a mystery to be solved. Polly stuck Fethar back into her hair, hoping the accessory would have an answer.
"So now you turn to me for advice," sniffed Fethar as cold as could be. "I suppose you're hoping that this falls into the category of knowledge I just so happen to know, aren't you."
"Quite right," replied Polly as candid as could be.
However, the pirate recognized her earlier actions weren't the move and she'd need to apologize so that she and her hat would be on the right page. "Sorry 'bout earlier Fethar. I was acting a fool, hopefully you'll let it slide."
"Well as long as it does not happen again, all is good,” returned Fethar as good naturedly as could be.
"So what can you tell us about this paper?"
"Cutting straight to the chase I see?"
"It's not like there's anything else to do."
Polly unrolled the scroll to reveal yet another language she was incapable of understanding. Fethar did not seem to share in the struggle.
"It seems this is a message from the island down under," mused Fether as interested as could be. "They do not appear to be thrilled that The Birbalinda has been hovering over their island for the while that it has been. Something about it blocking sunlight, they say."
"If there's an island down under, kt jolly well seems they'd have food to spare," replied Polly as excited as could be.
If faceless objects could squint, Fether would be looking at Polly with two paper thin slits. Before Fethar could ask if Polly had heard anything at all of what it had just said, the three birds had rolled over.
"Cap'n we have news to report," said ED as soldier-like as could be.
"It might be because we're so hungry we're hallucinating, but it seems that a bunch of fish are beneath us," reported Wiki as calmly as could be. "Should we make another stab at fishing?"
"Nay, now is not the time," replied Fethar as hastily as could be, before Polly could get a word in. "It is of my belief that those fish are representatives from Twelfth Island and it is quite likely they have a message for us. You can tell by their absolutely exquisite gold and purple color scheme."
Polly peered over the deck, and indeed, just as had been reported there was quite the swarm of colorful fish below.
"G'mornin sirs," began Polly as awkward as could be.
She was not 100% sure of the proper etiquette needed to converse with foreign dignitaries that dwelled in a completely different state of matter and more than likely spoke a completely different language. Did her words even reach them? She knew not. Though Polly assumed they didn’t, because there was little reaction from the mass of marine life.
"Mayhaps a different approach is needed," suggested Fethar, also as unsure as could be.
"Oy fledge, what if you returned the paper to them, but like wrote down your thoughts or something," SAT suggested, as cool as a cucumber could be.
With the power of plot convenience, a ballpoint pen with waterproof ink rolled right before Polly, who of course seized the opportunity like the gift it was. In her horrible, horrible, penmanship she scribbled:
G'afternoon good sirs, I hope you're having a great evening thus far. Me and my crew up here didn't mean to drift on your territory for so long, and we'd be much obliged if you could lend us a hand in
sailing away. We're also a little short on food so if you kind folk just so happen to have anything to spare that y'all'd like to share we'd be forever thankful.
Forever yours,
Polly, Fethar, Wiki, SAT, and Ed
With great care, Polly folded the scrap of paper into a simply model paper airplane, that no doubt would've made it quite far if it were thrown as a paper airplane should be thrown, and aimed it for the sea.
Then, the lightning struck.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone