[ WP ] You live in a time where Darwinism has not yet weeded out weak species . All sorts of weird and unnecessary creatures roam the land , skies , and sea .

Three whistles interrupted Indigo's already restless nap. The hammock swung forward, almost dumping him. He ignored the sounds of fellow sailors staggering upright, the clamorous shouts from above deck, and the way his stomach dragged at him as the ship suddenly slowed. 
 
 Three whistles. A Huggin. Indigo almost wished it was an actual kraken. 
 
 Boatswain Kipper stuck his ruby face below deck just long enough to bellow, `` Tash, Gim, Bubbles, ratlines. John, Rawls, Indy, you're diving.'' 
 
 Indigo swore a little and tumble out of his hammock, grabbing two sets of throwing knives and two halfhand swords. He strapped them on his arms and across his back before climbing to the deck. His goggles were a permanent necklace. 
 
 The ship had almost stalled in the water by this time. Dozens of slick arm-thick tentacles crisscrossed the deck, parts of the railings crushed by sheer numbers. 
 
 `` Ey, Gim,'' Mollys yelled, `` I did n't know yeh invited ya girl along.'' 
 
 `` Aye. Knew you'd needed a hand. What with always bein' in yeh hammock,'' Gim returned, miming the action. 
 
 This Huggins was shades of sunburst, pale orange on some limbs, deep crimson on others. Indigo carefully zigzagged over the mess of limbs to the edge of the ship. 
 
 `` Indy! Take Cretin,'' Kipper yelled, pushing a wide-eyed sailor a step toward Indigo. 
 
 Indigo jerked his head toward the railing and started a steady stream of swearing. Huggins were a lesser, Kraken, in that it just hung on to ships. No squeezing, wreaking, breaking, eat. But the limbs were still stronger than a single man and each Huggin had more tentacles than any creature should rightly have. 
 
 Cretin, in his haste, tripped on one, with a squelch. It reared up, whipping Cretin's head as it passed before slamming down, setting off a chain. An orange sea roiled across the deck as limbs resettled, cascading toward and then away from the mast as sailors chopped at tentacles reaching for it. 
 
 Indigo dived into the sea rather than risk getting knocked in or out. He surfaced, dumped the water of out his goggle and dived again. 
 
 The Huggins was n't particularly large, as far as Huggins went. It was roughly a quarter of the ship in length, with billows of skin rippling in the current. Tentacles not on the ship were furling and unfurling, grasping at the pull. 
 
 Indigo swam closer, hoping this was an easy one. Some had a brain. Others were more jellyfish. Brains meant a clean kill, but a fight. No brain meant hacking off limbs until it died or let go. 
 
 Indigo had stopped wishing for one or another. Both made his gut rot with guilt for days. 
 
 Rawls was barely visible on the other side of the ship, a tether waving behind him. His arms wheeled in large circles. Brain. Patted his head. Stern. Maybe they could kill it without it seeing them. 
 
 Indigo kicked back, aiming for air. A school of line trout was weaving toward them. Their pancaked bodies were blown around by the currents, breaking the school apart before it reformed only to tumble apart again. If they could get the school close enough to the Huggins, it might let go of the ship to grab on the fish. 
 
 Indigo waved his arms to Rawls, motioning to the fish. Rawls started climbing his rope up. Once the Huggins let go, the ship would leap forward. 
 
 TBC if anyone wants. I need to leave the library. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

