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A Fight Comes to Mariposa

A month in and Mariposa was still both livid and weirded out that she had any classes at all in a classroom. She was in the College of Piracy, Annwfn blast it. They should be on the sea. What could they learn in a classroom?   Apparently a lot. There were history lessons, tactics lessons, ship design lessons, navigation theory lessons, and lessons about pirate codes. There were lessons about management, lessons about art history (to identify the booty to take), lessons about laws in sea-bordering nations, and nutrition lessons. Language, costume and dress, cooking, parrot-training, monkey-training, cabin boy-training, and math.   When would they be on the sea?!   Mariposa was already sick to death of it, and she was often the first out of the room when any lecture was over. Thus it was that she beat her classmates to the food, got her meal, and sat down without having to look very hard for a seat. She curled her lips as she surveyed the meal. Hard tack, salted beef hard as leather, and poorly brewed grog. One of the philosophies of the College of Piracy was to prepare students for the high seas by feeding them like they would eat on the high seas, only without anyone actually going out on the high seas.   She took a bite of the hard tack, chewed for a long time, and swallowed. The sneered again as she prepared to take another bite when shadows fell across her table.   "Yer at our table."   The bully who spoke, for certainly they were bullies. Was a large, round woman maybe two years Mariposa's senior. She had three companions of varying builds, all of which were chuckling like imbeciles.   "Heiron's pelvis. You want to do this?" Mariposa was gobsmacked. She didn't think people actually did this sort of thing.   "You getting up? Or do we need to hurt you?"   Mariposa rolled her eyes. "Away thou rag, thou quantity, thou remnant. Leave me to my food, poor as it is."   The bully hesitated. Mariposa watched the confusion cross her eyes. This often happened when Mariposa deigned to insult people. Finally the rotund woman grunted. "Why do you talk like that?" she growled.   To be frank, Mariposa didn't know what people meant when they asked that question. She just insulted people sometimes. It wasn't that strange. "Your brain is as dry as the remainder biscuit after voyage."   More confused blinking. One of the bully's cohorts spoke up. "I think she said you're a piece of bread."   "They have a plentiful lack of wit," Mariposa muttered. "Are you done here?"   "What did you say about me?"   Mariposa rolled her eyes again.   "You want a hurtin?"   "Go, prick thy face, and over-red thy fear," Mariposa spat. "If you're not to scared to fight, then fight."   The large girl started to throw a punch then, but Mariposa was ready. She raised her tray quickly, half blocking, have deflecting the fist. The bully howled as Mariposa leaped to her feet, fists at the ready.   Mariposa yelled, "You scullion! You rampallian! You fustilarian! I’ll tickle your catastrophe!" And then she attacked.

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