The Rookie Pirates (Parts 1-6)

21. Alex and the Pig

Elena felt concerned when the first mate of Levi's crew sat down at her bar and lifted a small pink pig onto the counter. In all honesty, the pig was adorable, but she had never seen such a bizarre situation in her life.

"What's with the pig?" she asked.

Alex looked up and shrugged. "It saved my life, I saved it, and now we're friends."

She looked over the tiny pink pig once again and frowned.

"Please don't tell me that's the sacrificial pig that escaped earlier this evening."

Alex smirked. "Would it help if I lied?"

"You pirates are as a mad as they say you are." Elena rubbed her temples. "This will only end badly."

He ordered a whiskey and started drinking when Elena returned with his drink. He looked back down at the pig. It was staring between him and the glass.

"What?" he grunted.

The pig nudged the glass with its snout and looked back up at him with its big round eyes.

"You want some?"

Alex frowned in surprise when the pig nodded its head. He blinked at the pig for a couple of seconds, comprehending the fact that the pig understood what he had said. That wasn't possible!

"Another whiskey and a bowl," he ordered.

Elena looked between them before disappearing and returning with his order. "I hope you're paying for this."

"Levi said Jess was paying today or something like that. Add it to her tab." He waved her off.

The pig grunted angrily.

"What's your problem now? I got you your drink!"

Alex poured the entirety of the drink into the bowl, and the pig lapped it up at an exceptional speed. He had to drink faster to compete with the small pink animal.

"So it's like that, is it?" He slammed his empty glass down with a smirk and ordered some more whiskey. "Let's see who wins!"

The pig looked at him with a determined look in its eyes, like it was telling him he was on.

Many drinks later, they were both still going, neither backing down. Alex had red, flustered cheeks and a big smirk on his face, impressed that the small animal was still conscious. However, he could see the drunken look in the pig's eyes. A couple more and the creature would pass out for the night. Alex felt tipsy himself, but he could handle his drink, and he could win this drinking contest.

Between drinks, Alex would talk to the pig like it was his very own therapist. He didn't usually talk to people about his feelings and thoughts, but the pig was different. It was an animal. It didn't judge. It didn't comment. It didn't care. It just listened.

"I don't know my family. I was abandoned on the doorstep of a monastery on Sunrise Island. All that was on me was a white blanket and my black katana, Kurome. The head monk of the monastery raised me, and he taught me the way of the sword. My entire life, I believed him to be my father. The day he told me he found me, I was angry, and I ran away from home in search of my true heritage. It's my dream to find my family, to find out why they abandoned me.

"I came across Levi a year ago at Halfway Point. He was in the middle of a dispute with the slave trade, who were trying to capture him because he has three cursed souls. Two cursed souls are rare as is, but three is unheard of. Levi is worth a fortune on the market.

"In all fairness, Levi could handle himself with his cursed souls, but the fight looked fun, so I joined him, gave him a helping hand. We defeated the scum together and have been friends ever since." He finished his story about his childhood.