The upgrading of the Chest 'n Booty club had worked out fairly well, and to some degree, Wendy could see some of the ideas behind the theme. Though, when Miss Fabina told Wendy about it, she figured that the club was at Dinotopia Aquatica at Skull Island, particularly when it was described that Ratlyne and her brothers had modeled "Pie-Rat" act, and then the club, on the typical Caribbean pirates that were active in the 1500s and were often what most people thought of when the word "pirate" was mentioned thanks to Hollywood and many of the other stories that often used a Caribbean style pirate as the villain or even the hero. Thus, the fact that Ratlyne and her brothers had set things up on a tropical Pacific atoll was a surprise.
For, while piracy, like all criminal "occupations" was a "global" phenomenon, it wasn't the same everywhere. And from Wendy's own experiences that lead to her losing her hands and becoming a Saltwater Crocodile Animalian to get them back, she could also easily know that these groups could differ when looking at different places and the same thing applied to piracy. Which from reports that Wendy had seen, had often depended on operating in areas where there wasn't much governmental power in a region to patrol the coasts and harbors while there was a high degree of merchant traffic at the same time. The rise of the Caribbean pirates came because of how much trade the Spaniards did in the region, but also with how little real infrastructure was present to protect that trade. This in turn let the English or Spain's other rivals either commission pirates to serve their country's naval ambitions, or let individuals just go rogue and steal Spanish wealth because there were too many harbors that couldn't be patrolled regularly.
Today, the areas that saw the most piracy were actually closer to East Africa and the waters between Malaysia and Indonesia... and the pirates there looked and operated very differently from how the traditional Caribbean pirates did. Which made Ratlyne and her brother's endeavor seem a bit odd, as there wasn't that much merchant traffic around Mieni and it was far from the Caribbean. A part of Wendy's mind figured that some of their financial and business struggles came more from the fact that tourists in the Pacific would be expecting something more in line with the Polynesian cultures than Caribbean piracy. Though, because of how big the Caribbean pirates were in stories and movies, Wendy also figured that with the right advertising they could make it work. The big question was that the cruise ship was brought to Mieni to be a new residence area for Animalians living there, but the fact that the area for the Chest 'n Booty club was one of the spots for a restaurant to be on the ship, it was something that could also work... and with some of her own experience, Wendy found ways to make it work.
Wendy took some pleasure in that success, as it was something that she was willing to take on... despite the club not being in a spot where its theme would be the most "obvious." As to a degree, she had managed to play to that theme fairly well... even as she went through her own conversion process. For a moment, it let her mind drift back to that...
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"You're sure you want to go with a Saltwater Crocodile?" Miss Fabina asked as the two of them sat calmly in the main office for the Meat Market, "I mean... the club would have a pirate and a Caribbean .pirate theme to it. Wouldn't you want to go with the American or Cuban Crocodile? Species actually from that region?"
"And be out of place in the actual geography?" Wendy questioned back and bounced one arm on the desk that was to her right as she sat and looked to the Animalian seated in the main chair before her.
The two of them were working on filling out the forms and Wendy would voice out her answers and choices and letting Miss Fabina fill out the forms, since Wendy's present lack of hands would make writing things out difficult. But the opportunity and the idea were intriguing, and to a degree, she'd been pondering over becoming an Animalian to get her hands back anyway. Which was something that made becoming a Crocodile Animalian sound attractive, as their tough armored skin would be hard to break, and if those Japanese mobsters ever came after her again, she could put the fear of jaws into them.
"The Saltwater Crocodile may not venture out as far west as places like Mieni, but it IS present in the Pacific," Wendy spoke, "mostly near the Australia to Malaysia area and up into the Philippines... but that's also mostly because despite its name, that doesn't mean that the crocodile is going to prefer to be out at sea. They can tolerate salt water more than other crocodilians, but it's more a means to go from island to island. If they spent all their time at sea... they'd be more vulnerable to large sharks, like the Great White, or pods of Orcas that are all better evolved for being in the open ocean full time."
"I've seen some stories with Saltwater Crocodiles killing sharks," Miss Fabina commented.
"Those were often smaller sharks and in murky and shallow water, where the shark would lose some measure of agility and room to maneuver and maximizing the crocodile's armor and familiarity with the area. That's not going to be the same as a lone Crocodile swimming in the open ocean and finding a pod of Orca's deciding it a toy."
Miss Fabina nodded and continued filling out the form as instructed by Wendy. Wendy kept along with her instructions and then added in her additional point of perspective on her choice in crocodilian.
"And besides, if I'm to take over a club that's carrying a pirate theme to it, why not be the biggest and most powerful crocodile there is?" Wendy spoke, "make Wendy Daring the most powerful crocodile pirate there ever was."
"Even with all the jokes on your name?" Miss Fabina asked.
"That character's surname was Darling," Wendy answered, "if people want to make that joke... they can, but they'll have it all wrong."
Miss Fabina nodded, "Okay then... well... I'd let you know that there is a male Saltwater Crocodile Animalian out there..."
"I saw the Animalia Ambassadoria special on him..." Wendy answered, "I'm not into computer gamers or those relying on gambling for a living."
Miss Fabina nodded. She knew that while Wendy wasn't the most excited about things that related to adult entertainment and largely got into it, and a surprisingly similar niche to what Ratlyne was trying for at Mieni, thanks to a run with the Yakuza that put an end to her career as a concert pianist.
"Just so long as you don't suddenly develop a taste for pirates," Miss Fabina commented with a roll of her eyes.
"Only the ones that want to take people's hands," Wendy responded with a joking smile.
That produced a bit of a laugh between the two of them. From there, they finished the paperwork and took that over to Horizon to officially hand things over for their Project Phoenix, which Wendy did obviously qualify for. The loss of her hands had hurt, and changed a lot on how she did things. The prosthetics helped do basic tasks, but they weren't much more than step up from an old hook or something else, and when she could, Wendy went without... just to not have to feel the irritation that some of the straps on the prosthetics did to her. It meant she needed help with certain things when doing this, but Miss Fabina was an old friend and had helped her as she was getting her life back together after she first lost her hands, and now had a way she could get her hands back. Wendy was more than happy to accept the help.
And to a great degree, Wendy loved the sensations that happened after she got her shots and began becoming a Saltwater Crocodile Animalian. The growth of her tail and the pushing of her face forward, with her lips pulling in tight with her gums as her teeth became pointed and with both teeth from the upper and lower jaws visible with the mouth closed. The olive-brown colored scales that grew in were also different and were certainly strong enough to endure a lot of punishment, particularly on her skull and back. The thing that Wendy paid the most attention to was the regrowth of her hands. It wasn't something that crocodilians could do, but it fit in with the regenerative aspects that the Animalia Virus had when people became Animalians or when animals were uplifted, and Wendy focused on those sensations.
There was no pain, but there were some tingling sensations as the soft tissue grew in first and then had the new bones grow in behind them. Wendy watched with fascination as they lengthened and soon grew into webbed hands, which fit with being a Crocodile Animalian. As new fingernails grew out into stubby claws, Wendy couldn't help but smile and was soon wiggling her new fingers as they grew in. They felt different from her hold Human hands, but simply having hands again felt wonderful. She blinked her now slit pupiled eyes and reveled in having hands again, and it was such that she barely even noticed the enlargement of her bust and hips. Regrowing her hands was all that was important.
"Wendy?" came Miss Fabina's voice from outside the door to Horizon's changing room, "we have some clothes that should fit the new you... or at least enough that we can go shopping for a new "croc appropriate" wardrobe for you."
"Good," Wendy answered, "you can open the door..." She then paused and struck a pose as Miss Fabina came in. As the other Animalian noted Wendy's grin, Wendy then continued, "and then we'll head out... second star to the right and straight on till morning."
"I doubt that anyone is going to call Mieni "Neverland," Wendy," Miss Fabina gave a sigh and a smile and shut the door behind her.
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And that last line in her memory brought Wendy back to the present as she looked out over the rest of the restorations of the Chest 'n Booty club. Everyone that was there was active, and for the moment, Ratlyne's theme was also working for the club. That was something else that seemed to work, and to a degree, Wendy also had to give Ratlyne and her brothers credit for certain elements of their act. They'd figured out various pirate songs and chanties, some likely were made up to carry the same tone and some may have been looked up on the internet. They were all things that would work on "Talk like a Pirate Day" around the world or in places that would be specifically catering to the theme.
"But things look good now," Wendy mused to herself, "and while Ratlyne and her brothers may not have had the best business model... a few of their ideas weren't too bad. And that'll make her a good "first mate," if I do say so myself."