Become a pirate

They moved silently to a well lit brick building. Through the windows, they could see musicians playing, people dancing, and several groups drinking, eating, and telling stories.

Quill hopped up on his hind legs, spun around three times and changed into a dark skinned bald human, wearing frilly white clothes.

“Pirate?” Percy asked.

Quill nodded and thrust his hands into his wide leather belt. “Indeed. Who minds another pirate at the party?”

Percy landed gently on Quill’s shoulder. His head turned like a ball rolling across a slanted table as he scanned through the various windows. “There are no pirates inside.”

Quill raised a hand up in the air and closed it into a fist as if to crush the words that had been spoken. “That you can see, Percy. There are no pirates you can see. But there could be pirates in disguise, trying to pass for normals, you see?”

Percy swiveled his head to meet Quill’s green eyes. “That seems unlikely. You may wish for pirates in disguise but what I think is going to happen is that your absurd outfit will mark you as out of place.”

“This advice is coming from a talking owl, yes?”

“Yes.”