Ruggie Bucchi (pirate)

Before the world called him The Hyena of the High Seas, Ruggie was just another scrappy kid trying to survive on the sunbaked edges of a crumbling port city. His home was a half-sunken shantytown built from shipwrecks and scrap — a place where the tide stole more lives than hunger did. He grew up scavenging along the docks, diving for lost trinkets that fell from merchant ships and picking pockets when luck ran out.

He learned early that the ocean didn’t pity anyone. When storms hit, roofs washed away. When nobles came to “clean up the harbor,” whole families vanished. Ruggie got good at running, hiding, and laughing through it all — a sharp grin masking an emptier belly.

His first brush with pirates came when a crew docked for supplies. Most sailors ignored the local urchins, but one quartermaster noticed how fast Ruggie could move and how easily he lied with a smile. He offered Ruggie a meal in exchange for information — maps of guard patrols, smuggling routes, anything the boy could overhear.

It was supposed to be a one-time thing. But when the pirates set sail and the city guards came looking for informants, Ruggie realized staying meant dying. So he stowed away in a rum barrel and joined the crew before dawn, half-starved but grinning all the same.

Life aboard wasn’t easy. The sailors mocked the “hyena boy” with his wiry frame and scavenger habits — until his quick thinking saved the ship from a navy ambush by rerouting their powder stores through the bilge. After that, they stopped laughing and started listening.

Ruggie never forgot where he came from — the streets, the hunger, the fight to live another day. But out at sea, with salt in his hair and the horizon wide open, he found something new: freedom. No lords, no masters, just wind, laughter, and the endless blue.

Role: Quartermaster / Scout / Trickster serving under a powerful captain like “Captain Kingscholar”)

Personality Summary (Hyena Edition):

Instinctively Opportunistic: Like a true hyena, Ruggie’s the first to sniff out opportunity. If there’s treasure, loot, or an unguarded cargo ship nearby, he knows before anyone else. He’s a master at scavenging what others overlook — be it supplies, gossip, or loopholes in pirate law.

Cunning and Streetwise: Ruggie’s mind is always running two steps ahead. He prefers trickery over sword fights — he’ll rig a deal, set a trap, or manipulate rival crews into fighting each other while he slips away with the spoils.

Pack-Oriented Loyalty: To him, the crew is the pack. He may tease them relentlessly, but he’ll protect his shipmates fiercely, especially if they’ve earned his trust. His loyalty is practical but heartfelt — betray the pack, and you’re done.

Energetic and Restless: Always moving, always scheming. He can’t sit still long; even on deck he’s darting around, climbing the rigging, or laughing at the chaos he accidentally (or intentionally) caused.

Sharp Humor: Ruggie’s laugh is loud and infectious — a real hyena cackle that rings across the waves. He jokes through hardship, using humor as armor. The louder the laugh, the closer he is to danger.

Survivor’s Mentality: He’s been hungry, desperate, and alone before, so he never wastes food or treasure. He’s the one reminding everyone to save for lean times — even if he’s also the one sneaking an extra biscuit for himself.

Soft-hearted Beneath the Grin: For all his mischief, he’s got compassion buried under the snark. He helps the low-ranking deckhands, shares food with the cabin pets, and slips coins to orphans at every port.