“Naw, that’s not a brain, that’s a plant.”
“It’s not a plant, it’s an animal.”
“If it’s an animal, why isn’t it moving?”
“Because it’s dead, idiot. It lives in the water and you took it out of there, what did you think would happen?”
A whole bunch of crewmembers had gathered around Shalina, who was holding a curious looking object she had found on the beach.
“But look here, it looks like it was broken off of something…”
“I see these sometimes, they get washed up on shore.”
“Put it back in the sea! It will bring bad fortune on us!”
The last line was spoken, or rather shouted, by the ship’s surgeon, a wild eyed old cat who had only one foot after an accident with a dropped scalpel. He pushed the crew members aside and slapped the brain shaped thing out of her hand, causing it to fall overboard into the water. He then turned his back on the railing and spat over his left shoulder three times to ward off evil.
“That’s it! No more bringing cursed things on board, girl!” he said, jabbing a finger in Shalina’s forehead. “What comes of the sea belongs in the sea, you don’t go messing with the order of things!”
Shalina nodded glumly, angry at having lost the interesting thing, and the surgeon continued.
“Now walk three times widdershins around the main mast and say your hail marys so you don’t bring bad luck on us all!”