Shellfish and Kelp

"What are you doing?"

The term 'shadowing' means to closely follow someone. It's not something complicated or needing excessive explanations to ensure its meaning became understood. A person could 'shadow' another in order to follow closely the way someone works, becoming a way of learning or they could 'shadow' another in order to carefully spy upon them, at a distance, unseen or at least not drawing the attention of their target.

However, Russell felt like the Lego Man, or aptly known by the crew as the Bloody Square Jaw or First Mate, didn't quite get the idea of shadowing. As the target being shadowed due to the as yet unsubstantiated accusations of a woman that claimed to have been kidnapped to be sold as a slave by the monstrous pirate crew, Russell decided to point out the flaw in Square Jaw's method.

"If you are going to make sure I'm not peeking on that girl," Russell told him nonchalantly, "it's not necessary to literally stand on my shadow." As he said this, he was gathering shellfish from the beach, placing them into the cloth of the tunic he'd removed from his body. He had ignored the snickers as his lily-white and ironing board flat chest appeared in others' view.

Square Jaw peered over his shoulder, so close he could feel the breath of the man on his skin. Russell really wanted to invent toothpaste. He himself chewed herb leaves every morning as he cooked breakfast for that minty fresh feeling.

"You are the only one with yellow hair on the island," the man pointed out, matter of factly. There were fifteen pirates in total, one woman 'captive' and one human 'dog' slave (aka Russell). Seventeen people. Russell knew that there was something off about this figure, but he hadn't figured out yet what it was.

"Captain has blond hair as well," Russell pointed out, before picking up another clam. Honestly, he didn't know how to cook shell fish, but he really didn't want to eat anymore fish. They hadn't found another swine on the island since the little piggy that went 'laozi will kill you all!' and there wasn't much meat to find on the native birds. He figured he would bully the System into helping him find a recipe over the internet or something.

The First Mate frowned, his forehead wrinkled with black lines. "The Captain is a woman."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"She wouldn't peek at another woman," the man said this with certainty in his tone. He caught the strangely sympathetic gaze of the small man before him and his frown deepened.

"Listen, regardless of who the culprit actually was that time," Russell said, feeling like this Lego-man's innocence was just too cute (in a strictly non-gay, straight man sort of way), "didn't you also take a peek at Petunia through the bushes?"

The man's face reddened. Russell was interested to note that even the blush upon his cheeks took a squarish form. "I wasn't peeking," the man denied. "I was... standing guard."

"Oh, standing guard, so that's what it's called these days," Russell nodded as if totally in agreement with the other's words. "I am enlightened!" The sun even beamed more brightly down upon him, but no one noticed as it was around ten in the morning on a cloudless day.

The First Mate stretched his back until he reached his full height, his intimidating presence causing Russell to step back and cower a bit, but before the man threatened him with cutting off his head or making him walk the plank, a scream echoed through the air. It was a familiar sound to both of them. Petunia had thought to bathe, it seemed, while all of the men were apparently hard at work on making the ship. Well almost all of them.

"Not me," Russell lifted his hands upward, along with the folded tunic filled with shellfish, looking innocent. The First Mate deflated somewhat, his mouth opening and closing but no words actually forming, before he gave a last glare and ran back towards the village. He looked back several times just to ensure that Russell didn't have some sort of trick hand, allowing him to both be there and be peeking at a naked Petunia. Well magic did exist in their original world, Russell reasoned.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about peeking at Petunia bathing, she was well endowed and he was a curious, virile man who no longer had access to page three girls and playboy magazines, so he would never claim that it hadn't crossed his mind. Just that a bunch of bigger, hairier men had got there first and there was limited space behind that particular bush. The trees were too narrow and skinny, even for him and the long grasses were razor sharp to lie in, not comfortable at all. Plus, he worked until exhausted, it seemed like too much effort to bother with in the end and now Square Jaw watched him like a hawk eyeing a white mouse.

Russell shrugged after the man had disappeared into the tree line and continued his quest to find shell fish. There was also some kelp washed up on shore. He'd read somewhere, likely in a manga or comic, that it could be eaten. Sure enough, around the edge of the waters, where the golden sands met rock and pools of saltwater, there was reams of green kelp brightening the slate grey, all gathered in a sizeable heap. He rushed over to claim some of it, gingerly picking it up when as its slimy texture made his skin prickle.

Maybe... maybe he read wrongly...

As he was contemplating whether to risk this ocean vegetable, the man heard a soft groan nearby. He glanced up and realised that the mound of kelp was not a mound at all. A pale arm could be seen in amongst it, hinting of the likelihood of a person caught in the mess. Probably. He understood also that just because he saw an arm, didn't mean it was an attached limb. Just that the odds were on his side as the limb came with a voice. Unless that System 666 had dumped something really weird in his world this time...

The mound of kelp moved, two large, black eyes peered out from beneath the kelp and the limb (which was definitely attached to a larger body) rose to reveal five pale fingers which removed the mass of kelp off of itself. Wasn't as human as he'd first assumed though. Humans tend not to have web membranes between each digit stretching up until the second joints...