West Blue Arc: Zoomania


Sora Z Lachance, Zeon G. Zephyrfield, Marcus Gaverenton and Risa Talone 
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Collab with @JR260 @Will & @DaughterofAthena
​


 


After a bit of walking from the sweets shop, it took less than say, ten minutes before someone distracted him from his current objective.  It wasn't like he had much choice in the matter seeing as said person had stepped directly in front of him.  If he hadn't suddenly stopped the second he saw the other, he would have certainly crashed right into the salesman.  Rather than just walk by the salesman, he decided to go ahead and let the other finish the pitch before he finally spoke.  "Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.  I'm kinda short on money and I'm not much of a hat wearer so ya sorry."  He said before moving to the side to pass by Risa so he could continue on his way.


 


As the target of her sale started to move on, Risa stepped to the side in order to keep herself in front of him although she did also start walking backwards so that he could keep moving, albeit probably slower than he had originally intended. "I'm sure you have something to trade, though," she insisted, "and I think you'll find that I'm very easy to work with as far as payment is concerned." That, actually, was not the truth of the matter, but he didn't have to know that right away. "And anyone who claims they're not a hat wearer just hasn't been given the right hat. Surely it'd be worth a try...?" 


 


Sora was surprised that the salesman decided to stay in front of him, rather than let him by.  He didn't show any annoyance despite the fact the hatter was really slowing him down, and he didn't want to stay outside longer than absolutely needed, seeing as the heat was hard to deal with.  While the other spoke Sora attempted to get by the salesman by doing a sudden turn to the right and walking in that direction, yes it would be a detour.  However with the saleman slowing him down in his inital direction, this way (he hoped) would be a tad faster.  "As kind as that is, I'm really low on money and I don't have anything I'm willing to part with for a hat. So once again I'm going to decline."


 


A look of fierce determination settled in on Risa's face as she realized she was getting absolutely nowhere with this encounter. Her eyes turned to look at his two companions and this time when she spoke, it was with them in mind. "Well, surely it would be rude of you to not give your companions a chance to consider my offer. I have such a wide selection that I have hats for anyone." Although she was behind them now - having fallen behind on the turn, she still walked with them and now she addressed Marcus and Zeon directly. "Surely I could find a hat that would go with all the colors of your hair, sir, complimenting them wonderfully. And for you," she turned to Marcus, "I'd have something entirely suitable as well. Would you like to come take a look?" 


 


Marcus had been surprised by the appearance of the saleswoman, but it wasn't anything he hadn't dealt with before. Plenty of them had come by Mirstone, but Marcus rarely ever bought anything from them. The only thing he had ever bought were his glasses, and it that was enough for him. But Marcus admired the tenacity of the woman. "Sorry, ma'am. But I have a rule, where I only spend money on necessities. Food and whatnot. And unless you want to make a salad..." Marcus showed her the plants inside the bag he was carrying. "I don't have anything to trade for a hat." Marcus pulled a cigarette out of the box in his pocket, and placed it in his mouth while he grabbed his Corpius Rise lighter, turning to Zeon. "What about you, kid?"


 


Minding his business behind Sora, he thought about the hunters they'd soon encounter. Zeon never had to seriously interrogate anyone about anything before, often overhearing things while on his way or getting answers with one simple question. Though he figured if it came to forcing out answers, he'd just let the others handle it. "Huh....?" Zeon blinked and came to a stop when a uniquely dressed individual appeared before him. It seemed like their lips were moving, but he'd been subconsciously ignoring them. "......." Turning to Marcus, he scratched his head at the question. "....What about what?" 


 


Risa's face slowly started sinking more and more as she realized that they didn't seem at all interested. She was supposed to be out here in the world spreading the news of her family's business and the only way she could get the word out was by selling hats to people who would travel the world. Then her whole family's name travelled with them because they had the hat on their head. It was all completely dependent on people actually buying hats and so far, aside from the one woman she had finished dealing with minutes ago, her results had been minescule at best. That wasn't going to help her at all. 


 


The hatter had half a mind to walk away and find someone else to spread her enthusiasm to and then she realized that the one with colored hair didn't seem to have heard her. That sparked a new enthusiasm and she practically leaped forward, tapping Zeon on the shoulder to get his attention. "Hello there, sir! I'm a hatter here in town and I'm selling hats. I'm sure someone of many colors would benefit from such a wonderful accessory and I should love to make you a hat! Are you interested?" The smile on her face was practically glowing because she knew this was the last chance she had with this particular group. 


 


Zeon looked back at the one who suddenly tapped his shoulder, listening to every word they had to say. A hatter huh... Never even considered wearing a hat before. Staring silently at the hatter, he imagined himself rocking one on the chocolate ship across the fudge flavored seas. He looked epic. "Sure, why not." Sparing them a slight smile, he made his way into his bag. Only to be reminded of his current poverty from his earlier sweet shop spree. Heh heh... Great... Zeon took out the empty money pouch, shaking it before the salesperson. "Well... as you can see.." 


 


At first, Risa could have been described as jubilant, joyous even! Someone was going to buy a hat and that was a good thing. She was even glad to see that he seemed kind of excited about it. However, that happiness could not last for long because he couldn't pay her. And he showed her that, too, so she couldn't act like he was lying and try stealing her payment later. They needed to actually have the money in order for her to steal it. "Hmm," she considered briefly, wishing that she was creative enough to salvage the situation. Unfortunately she wasn't. "I guess you guys are missing out then. Best hats in the entire West Blue and you won't get any." It was a small attempt at a guilt trip and it was really all she could do before she turned and headed on her own way to find someone else to sell a hat too. 


 


Watching her leave, he felt a little disappointed. Afterall, he could have a chance at literally living his--well... a small part of his day dream. Zeon's interest towards having one of the best hats in the entire West Blue was rapidly growing. "Hey wait a second." Being broke wasn't going to stop him from making imagination a reality, even if it was just the hat. "Isn't there possibly another way you could sell me the hat?" Zeon stared intently at them. Where there's a will, there's a way. But there ain't noway i'm passing this up. "I don't have to get down and beg do I...?" 


 


Risa found herself turning as she was called back and much to her surprise, it was the confirmed broke one who actually spoke to her. He apparently really wanted a hat which was good for Risa, but she couldn't just give hats away either. "Well, making hats ain't cheap, ya know, and with your hair, you'd need one made custom which I can't do for free. I need to buy materials after all." That wasn't exactly true; there were some rare people she sold to for free, but these people definitely didn't make that list. "You could ask either of your friends for money, though. Or if you really wanted, convince one of them to buy me a ticket on to the next boat off this silly warm island." She really wasn't expecting the latter, but maybe he just happened to have a ticket. That would've been nice. 


 


Sora came to a stop in his tracks as Risa tried to barter with Marcus and then Zeon.  Unshockingly Marcus didn't want any, and for a moment he thought Zeon didn't either.  However that thought was proved wrong when Zeon called Risa back.  Raising a brow as he pushed back some hair from his face he watched the colorful haired man.  "You want a hat so much that you are willing to beg?"  


 


"I wouldn't expect you to understand pirate... " He raised his head, gesturing to the hatter. "But, this person right here is offering me a piece of my fantasy." Putting a fist to his chest, he swung his free hand to the side passionately. "And to a man like me... That means a lot." Turning his attention back to the hatter, he lowered his head sadly. "I don't think my 'friends' would waste their money on the needs of their enemy. So... i'm afraid i must ask for another option." 


 


Sora blinked numerous times at Zeon's words before closing his eyes and thinking, whether or not it was worth getting a hat. 'Maybe if its not too expen-....actually, I might be able to save a trip to the hunter depending.'  Soon a small sigh left him.  "Oi, exactly how much do one of these custom hats cost?"  Sora asked casually as he kept his eyes closed still thinking if letting his pockets get lighter for a hat was a good idea or not. 


 


Risa's gaze turned to meet with Sora's eyes for a moment as she considered. Half of her mind was tempted to raise the price on him because he'd declined a hat for himself. Then again, if she did that, Risa knew that she wouldn't get the business. A number settled in her mind and she gave voice to it. "Fifty beri should do." 


 


Sora was silent for a bit before shrugging and moving his hand to his pouch where he kept his money.  "Fifty huh? Fine I might buy the hat, but first I need something from you. Namely answers to a few questions I have." 


 


There was no word to decribe Zeon's face as his ears twitched at Sora's response. He didn't know what emotion to feel at the moment, but whatever one it was he clearly left it somewhere on his homeland. Holy shit. Equally sharing his.... look of surprise among Sora and the salesperson. "Alright."  


 


"I can try to answer questions," Risa remarked, "Although I must warn you that I'm not from here. I missed my boat when I was supposed to leave so now I'm waiting for the next one." 


 


Marcus took a drag from his cigarette, watching Sora offer to pay for Zeon's hat. He had to give credit to the captain for deciding to ask the woman questions in exchange for the purchase. With the information they gathered here and the information they could get from the hunters, they would have a good idea of what happened to the animals. 


 


Marcus tapped Sora's shoulder. "Hey, captain. If you want to ask this woman some questions, I can head to the hunter's place and get whatever info I can from there. Saves us time that way."


 


Sora was about to speak to Risa but before he could start he was tapped on the shoulder, which caught his attention. "Averagely I don't care for splitting up, since that never ends well.  But this shouldn't end up with anyone getting injured, so sure."  He then looked behind him and pointed to some buildings some ways from them.  "Over there, the building which has several blackberries in the front of the house, thats the one i was directed to.  Some hunter lives there."  Sora said before putting his hand back in his pocket.  


 


Marcus nodded, looking to the cluster of buildings Sora was talking about. "Alright. I'll head over there and see what I can find out. I'll meet up with you and Zeon when I'm through there." Marcus took another drag on his cigarette before dropping it to the ground and stomping it out. He waved to the saleswoman. "Good luck with your occupation, miss." He then nodded to Zeon and Sora and took off for the houses.


 


Risa found herself waving back to Marcus as he walked off though she wasn't quite sure why. If he really wanted her business to do well, he'd have purchased a hat, but considering she likely was going to make a sale, she wasn't going to complain. 


 


Instead, her eyes redirected to the man who seemed to be in charge. "So... these questions you had for me...?" 


 


Sora turned his attention back to Risa.  "Oh right, the group I'm with just arrived on this island today, earlier in the morning and we just wanted to know a few things.  I know for a decent fact that it wasn't always this quiet here, at least it shouldn't judging from the information I got before arriving.  Do you know how long ago it got, well silent?" 


 


"Quiet as in people or...?" Risa was a bit confused as to where he was going with his question and it showed in her tone of voice. "As far as people go, I'd say it seems pretty lively to me, but I don't know what this place was like before I got here so..."


 


"Not people, but the animals.  It might not be anything, but ever since we arrived we haven't seen a single animal around.  When was the last time you saw one here?" 


 


"Hmm," she mumbled briefly, considering the situation as she realized she'd completely misunderstood the first time around. "Well, now that you mention it, I would think that it already seemed to be quieting down when I got here. I mean, I think I remember there being a few birds at some point, but it has been fairly quiet lately. I can't say I remember a date, though." She shrugged it off, hoping some sort of reflection on the subject was enough. 


 


"How long have you been here?"


 


"Almost a month now, if I recall correctly." 


 


"A month?"  Sora mumbled as he shuffled through his money bag to get what was needed for the hat.  "I think I only have one more questions for the time being. When did the last trading ship arrive here?" 


 


"That would be the ship I came on. If any had showed up since then, I would've left with them and you wouldn't be talking to me right now," Risa replied. 


 


"That long ago? For an island like this f-." Sora stopped himself from talking as he knew he was moments from beginning to ramble.  "Thanks for the information."  he stated before pulling out some money from his pouch.  "Here is the money for that hat."  With that he approched Risa before handing her the money. 


 


With a brilliant glowing smile on her face, Risa stepped up and accepted payment from Sora before turning to Zeon. "I should have your hat ready later this afternoon. I have a stand that way," she pointed back in the direction she had come from, "and I'll be there until the sun sets." 


 


Zeon nodded in understanding to Risa, taking in the path shown to him. He was pretty happy about the hat, and considering all the factors that played into actually recieving it... It was still a surprise to him. Sparing Sora one last look, he scratched his head. "So... what do we do from here?" 


 


Sora looked at Zeon for a moment and tilted his head to the side as he thought about it.  "Good questionish.... Marcus is going to talk about to the hunters so no real reason to go rushing after him, decently sure he can do that."  After a moment a lightbulb appeared over his head and straightened his head, a grin on his face.  "I know exactly what we can do.... We can get out of this god damned heat, I'm going to melt at this rate.  By no means am I going to die from melting."  Sora stated clearly as he now glanced around for a shady spot to go to.


 


"Heh." It was only for a tiny bit of time but somewhere in there, Zeon found Sora's reaction to the sun rays funny. Looks like there's no going back now. Might as well just see where goes. Proceeding to join the pirate captain in a search for shade, he remembered somewhere along the lines that they planned on leaving their stuff back to the ship. Zeon eye'd the bags for a bit. "We could drop those off on the ship." 


 


Sora stopped looking around and faced Zeon, he was utterly silent for a moment as he considered what the other said.  True, dropping these things off would be useful to get his hands free, but...the ship was just so far...  "..........But....the shade is right over there..."  Sora said as pointed at a nice shady spot only a few feet away.  "And the ship is all the way over there."  With that he directed his finger in the direction of the ship that was some distance away from them.  After saying this he looked back at Zeon.  "I am melting right now....if I go to the ship theres a high chance I will not make it."  He kept a straight face when he said this, though he knew he was over exagerating, he just...really didn't feel like walking all the way back to the ship. 


 


"Heh heh heh, and here i thought you pirates were fearless." It was a first in years he felt like interacting as much as to tease someone. Especially a pirate. Zeon was being friendly with a pirate. "Fine then." He grabbed his bag, tossing it over his shoulder. "Let's go bathe in the shadows of comfort." 


 


Sora couldn't help but let out a light chuckle at what Zeon said before shrugging.  "I'm not saying I'm afriad of melting, I'm just saying I would really really and I mean really like to avoid going out like that."  Adjusting his grip on his bag Sora gave the other a nod.  "Sounds good to me, finally a chance to get out of this blistering heat."  With that he turned on his heel nad made his way to the shade which, much to Sora's happiness, wasn't too far from where he and Zeon had been standing. 


 
 

Norman, Albi, Syrin, and Yin
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Collab with myself @AllHailDago @Exanis
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Norman made it about five feet deeper into the jungle. Five feet of looking for something interesting. He had to admit, he hadn't expected to find something interesting so quickly. Or for something interesting to find him for that matter! But surely enough a lady he didn't recognize yelled at him after coming out of a tree. "Tree people! Now THIS is something worth running through an empty forest for! Hello tree lady!" Norman waved happily. "If no one is allowed in the forest why are you here? Are only tree people allowed?" 


 


The woman blinked a few times at the mention of tree people and spared a glance to the tree she had just came from before looking back at the person in front of her with a bit of confusion. "Tree....people?  I just..."  After saying this she paused for a moment and gave Norman a once over.  And with a shrug she procceded to give a confident nod.  "Ya just what ya sayin.  You ain't allowed to be here.  See this place is off limits to people I don't know and I don't know you so therefore it is off limits to you.  Ya get me?  Now I need you to go back to the village you came from, cause I don't need people of any kind sticking their noses where they don't belong."  


 


Norman slowly nodded and put his fist in his palm. "Ahhhh. You need to know me for it to be ok! Tree people culture is already so interesting! Well, my name is Norman. I'm a chef, and a pirate, and a ninja, but don't tell anybody about that. Oh, I like birds but was sad to find there aren't birds around here for some reason. I don't like to swim, and my village is many islands away from here! Also I'm very hungry right now. There, is that enough about me for it to be okay to be here?" He leaned forward, eyes wide with questioning curiosity. Oh, he so hoped it was enough information!


 


"I don't think you got what I was saying.  See when people ask ya if you get me you should just say no, rather than go ramble on about that stuff you were rambling on about.  You can tell me all this stuff but it means nothing to me, I don't know you. Cause to know you I would need to spend a lot of time with you.  And I haven't done that so i don't know you.  Do ya got that??"


 


Meanwhile, Syrin was having the time of his life. Well, not really, as running through a jungle in search of the source of a bunch of missing animals tends to get tedious after a point. Just as he was about to take a turn and head in a different direction, he heard two voices, one of which he knew. Stopping, he glanced down at Albi and sighed. "Should I suffer through Norman's presence to see if the person he's talking to knows anything about the animals?"


 


Albi who was basically sweltering in the heat of the jungle, was for once in her entire small animal life wishing that she didn't have such a nice coat.  The heat along with her fur was making it hard to bear, but she wasn't a wimp!  So of course she would be brave not to mention strong!  She could handle this journey even if she were to be cooked alive in Syrin's hoodie. When the movement of Syrin running came to a stop Albi squirmed a bit before peaking up to see if they got to where ever they were suppose to be.  However upon looking around there was only jungle and more jungle, so even she doubt this was right.  Her attention was snapped away from the scenery when Syrin's voice reached her. 


 


Her eyes now glued to him she waited till he was done talking before tilting her head to the side, again trying to decipher what he was.  There was quite a lot of blah in his words, however some did stand out!  Suffer, Norman, and animals.  Of course, now the hard part was trying to figure out why these three words had anything to do with one another.  After what was about 10 seconds of nothing Albi gave up in trying to figure out what Syrin meant.  Rather she just assumed it had something to do with Norman.  Something good right?  Seeing as Norman was Sora's crewmate!  With this in mind the mink gave a few vigirous nods agreeing to whatever he had said to her. 


 


Syrin deadpanned at Albi, took a deep inhale, and then sighed miserably. "Very well, as the Queen says. Let's go endure hell on earth..." Straightening, and offering Albi a spot on his shoulder, and marched forward into view of Norman and the 'tree lady'.


 


Norman was busy giving the tree lady a confused, thoughtful stare when suddenly he heard snapping sounds behind him. When he turned around...... Mr. Grump was there. What a let down, there were so many more interesting things it could've been. Like... tree dolphins. Or someone carrying a can of soup. Chicken soup. Mmmmmm. 


 


"Oi, woman. Where are the animals?"


 


It only took a fraction of a second before Yin noticed Syrin and when she did she let out an annoyed sigh.  "Do any of ya read the damn signs!?  They are all over the fence ya have to pass to get here!"  She exclaimed as she brushed back more of her hair behind her ear.  She was about to go on and address Syrin's question but she got distracted when she saw Albi climb up on Syrin's shoulder.  "Wha? Where did you get that!?"  


 


Upon spotting Albi, Norman realized Mr. Grump's arrival wasn't entirely lame. Norman waved to Albi and seemingly pulled strips of dried meat and his canteen of water out of NOWHERE. "Albiiiii, i have snacks! Come on over here!" Norman gestured to the strips of meat and water happily. He liked Albi, and animals in general, but especially Albi. They had bonded a bit on the ship when he snuck him food when Sora wasn't looking. He was pretty sure Albi liked him too!


 


Syrin raised an eyebrow at Norman, then shook his head and turned back towards the woman. "Considering the tone you just took at seeing Albi, you likely know or had something to do with the animals disappearing. I'm going to be vaguely kind and give you till the count of five to either tell me what I want to know, or start running. One."


 


Albi who at first had a bit of interest in the new woman, soon had her attention shifted to something of more importance.  Food and beverage.  Now yes, she agreed to go on this adventure with Syrin but....food...and drinks.  That was of course a very compelling arguement!  One that won Albi over rather swiftly due to how parched she was. 


 


"Two."


 


 This would simply be a time out in her exploration with Syrin, nothing more.  So with that in mind Albi moved down Syrin's sleeve to the elbow, before simply letting go and ever so gracefully plopping onto the ground.  One day she will get that landing in. Squirming onto her feet she dashed over to the food and drink without a thought. 


 


"Three."


 


Yin looked at Albi to Syrin, to Norman back at Albi and again to Syrin.  She had questions she wanted answered but didn't know where to begin.  The countdown really didn't help her thought process either, much to her annoyence.  Shooting a glare at Syrin as she tightend her grip on her rifle. "Stop ya damn counting! How is someone suppose to think with it!?"  She spat.


 


"Four."


 


Of course Yin had no clue what kind of the threat this one guy could possibly pose.  Yes the countdown was unnerving, however it wasn't something that would make her shake in her boots.  "Quit yer yapping! I don't know who the hell you two are but you aren't allowed here! Get that through your skulls and leave!" 


 


"Five. How unfortunate that you decided not to answer. The hard way it is then." With the grace of a motion practiced hundreds of times before, Syrin had his dagger out and spinning. Raising an eyebrow at Yin he spoke once more as he started a lazy amble towards her. "Last chance to tell me where the animals went before things get bloody."


 


Norman scritched Albi while feeding her. He was always happy to pet and feed animals! However he was less happy seeing Mr. Grump threaten the tree lady. "Woah Mr. Grump, let's not start a stabbing party so soon! This tree person might react better if we ask nicely first." Norman turned to the tree lady carefully. "So miss tree lady, do you know where the animals went? I'd suggest answering honestly. Mr. Grump seems to like stabbing people more than I do, and I can only kick his butt so fast, so you'd probably get stabbed before i could help."


 


Yin had moved back a bit and was ready to either fight or flight when Syrin pulled out his weapon.  However before anything went down that odd man spoke up taking her atteniton for a moment  "Ya aren't one of the village hunters so why the hades are you concerned about the animals on this island? They've been gone for a time now, kinda late to try and find them now." 


 


"Answer now or die."


 


"You guys are a special brand of thick aint ya?  I don't know where them animals are.  They've been gone for while now didn't ya just hear me?" 


 


"Death it is."


 


Yin let out a tick as she adjusted her grip on her weapon.  "Hardheaded doffs."  She muttered under her breath.  "Enough chattering then, I told yall to get your arses out of here, not my fault you are going to get a shallow grave."   Taking a step back and getting in a slightly sturdier stance she raised her rifle up, and took aim to the largest theat at the moment which so happened to be the guy with the spinning knife.


 


"I wouldn't do that if I were you. By the time you actually get a proper shot my knife will be properly lodged in your gut, and I may or may not take pleasure in doing such a thing considering how you're acting. Now I will give you one last chance before I summarily execute you. What do you know about the missing animals?"


 


"You aint me."  Yin muttered with that her finger slipped onto the trigger and with no hestiation she shot at Syrin, aiming right for the heart.


 


With a practiced ease Syrin all but glided out of the bullet's path, and began a dizzying path towards Yin, somehow keeping his chain spinnging all the while.


 


When it was clear Grumpcakes and tree lady weren't going to resolve things peacefully Norman sighed. Stepping close to a tree branch actually low enough for him to reach, he put Albi on it, along with the food and water. "Stay there Albi! I gotta deal with a silly crewmate and weird tree person."


 


Yin kept her stead aim on Syrin as she tried to line up another shot on him despite his movements making it rather hard to do so.  "Hold the fack still."   She kept her ground the the time being, the moment she saw a chance she fired off another shot 


 


Sighing under his breath, Syrin crouched down and dashed in a zigzag pattern towards Yin, and seeing an opening, threw the dagger in an arc towards her supporting arm.


 


Getting ticked that two shots had missed already, the annoyed blond still kept her wits about her.  Seeing the blade being tossed to her arm she reacted swiftly and moved to the side, just in time so only a bit of her clothing was cut, but none of her skin.  None the less this annoyed her even more, as the last thing she wanted was to do extra work on a hot day like this day.  This time she didn't bother looking through the sight, her gun was up and she fired two more shots from the rifle, aiming for Syrin's legs. Knowing if she could just injure his legs this would be over in a second. 


 


Smirking on the inside at the obvious annoyance, and by extension, sloppiness, Syrin decided to take advantage of the moment. Whirling out of the telegraphed shots, Syrin swung the chained blade in a flurry of flying steel at the woman once more, not truly aiming to kill but more so to incapacitate and injure.


 


Missing her mark again Yin had no choice but to back up as Syrin started to close the distance much to her distaste.  Now on the defensive she adjusted her hold on her gun and started to use it as a shield, parrying several strikes from Syrin as the fury of slashes went towards her.  "Be on the outer post they said, it would be simple they said."  She growled under her breath before she jumped to the side and swiftly moved back to get more distence inbetween her and Syrin.   She knew she had to reload soon, only two bullets left.  Again she didn't aim down the sights as she simply wouldn't have enough time to do that, her opponets movements were to swift.  Timing it the best she could she fired two shots at Syrin trying to get at least one shot in him to slow him down. 


 


Norman eyed the tree lady's ands as she pointed the gun. Folding his fingers up into his sleeve, he flicked them out, revealing senbon between his fingers. As her finger tightened on the trigger he threw two of the senbon. There was a flash as she fired and a ringing sound of clinging metal as the needles deflected the bullets. 


 


With a flick of his hands he sent two needles to land at the edges of her feet, so close as to literally be touching them. It was clear had he wanted they would be in her feet... or worse. "Now now tree lady, let's not shoot to kill off the bat! The Captain would be mad if I brought back a dead Grumpcake! In the other direction I haven't got to know you yet! So you can't go dyin on me!"


 


Yin was taken back by the move that was used to deflect her bullets and was even more shocked at the percison the odd man had with those needle like weapns.  It didn't take a genius to figure out she was in trouble, however sadly backing down may not be one of her choices.  "You damnable people are on property you aint suppose to be on, I have every right to shoot ya."   She said in a stern tone while she started to back up to get more space inbetween them.  


 


Norman tilted his head curiously. He shifted his finger to dip his senbon back in his sleeve for a second. When he pulled it back out it glinted almost inpereceivably pink. "Well tree lady, last I checked private property tended to have owners. Yet you refuse to tell us who wants us gone or why! So trying to shoot us is pretty rude. My friend may be a grumpy guy ready to strike, but as you might have guessed from how youre not bleeding I don't want to hurt you!" He gave a smile with a glint more malicious intelligence than he averagely presented.


 


Syrin blinked and slid to a halt, glancing back at Norman and shaking his head. With a half sigh he curled the chain around his arm, though it was clear he was ready to throw it back at Yin at a moments notice. "Sometimes I forget that you're actually a ninja... Whatever, you deal with this woman, I don't want to stain my shoes with her blood." Giving Yin one last glare, he turned and walked towards Albi.


 


"What the hades is wrong with these men?"  Yin muttered under her breath feeling very uneasy by Norman's ever so kind smile. Gritting her teeth she had two options, and though flight seemed like the better one, she knew in the long run it really wouldn't be. With that Yin tossed away her rifle as it was empty, and sadly her spare rounds are elsewhere.   Moving to the side she whipped out a revolver from the inside of her vest and with no hesitation she fired off three shots two aimed for Syrin's back while the third bullet was heading for Norman.  


 


Norman was relieved for but a moment when it seemed she was disarming. However when she spun so quickly his face shifted into one of muted surprise. He sidestepped the shot meant for him, cursing that he couldn't do more than yell out Syrin's name and throw his senbon at the woman's gun hand. Happily he noted it hit home, sinking into the spot that would force her to drop the gun. Not to mention how it would deliver the small amount of fast acting tranquilizer.


 


The combination of hearing a gunshot and Norman calling out his name meant only one thing for the grumpy male. The woman obviously had no honor, and this forced Syrin to do the only logical thing he could at the time. Drop to the ground and hope he made it.


 


When the thrown weapon instersted itself into her flesh Yin had to grit her teeth in pain as he hand dropped the gun.  "Fack!"  She shouted as her unwounded handed grabbed the piece of metal in order to yank it out.  "Fack! Fack! Just fack!"  She shouted enrage as she held her wounded hand before looking up to see if she got at least one of the treaspassers, however much to her dismay that was not the case, both of them had avoided her shots.  However one was on the ground meaning this was her chance to take him out! All she had to do was reach for her gun and shoot with the other hand.  


 


"...H..Huh?"  She asked as she found herself feeling weak, almost groggy as her body started to get heavy a bit.  Stumbling back trying to keep her balance she had a confused look on her face as he gaze went to Norman, for she didn't start to feel this way until after that damn thing.  After a bit her legs gave out and she slumped to the ground though she remained conscious, her body simply wasn't responding like she wanted it to.  


 


"You got to be facking me." She growled as she looked at the two males.  "Like hell.....Like hell I'm going out without one of ya with me!"  With that exclaimation she used her uninjured hand and the last bit of her controlled strength to reach for her revolver.  It was taxing but her hand did grab it and lift it.  She didn't bother aiming for Norman, he might be able to dodge it again.   Rather her aim was set on the other, the only one that likely couldn't evade the attack.   With that she raised her gun and using every ounce she had left she fired off two shots.  One of these shots went striaght for Syrin, while the other, a risker shot, raced for a tree.  Which it was meant to hit off of and hopefully get a direct hit on Syrins back, at the very least shoulder. 


 


Still down, Syrin did his best to get up and out the way of any potential other bullets. Moving to leap at Yin, he winced as he felt a bullet enter his shoulder. Nonethless, he kept towards her.


 


Yin raised her gun and attempted to fire her last shot, but she found she couldnt' pull the trigger, she was too drained.  "F-Fack."  She growled as the weapon fell from her hand.  She tired to get back to her feet, but even the struggle of getting to her knees proved a challenge so she ended up laying to her side.  "Whatever is higher than triple fack." She growled completely incapable of dodging or avoidnd any sort of blow.


 


There was a soft sound of air being displaced, and Norman appeared between Syrin and the tree lady. He kicked the pistol away and turned to eye Syrin. "Really Grumpcakes? You went appeared ND let yourself get shot? I thought you were a real tough guy! Stay still, I can take care of that for ya easily enough. She isn't going anywhere. She's currently full of just enough tranquilizer to keep her awake and feeling. Asking questions is..... easier that way." There was a touch of inflection in the latter half of the phrase. 


 


"It was either take the shot or get capped." Rolling his injured shoulder and wincing, Syrin all but growled at the pain blossoming through his body. "Get some answers out of her before I slit her throat. Or you could let me try and get some answers, though I gurantee you she won't be coming out of it in one piece."


 


"Should have gotten facken capped."  Yin muttered as she watched the two of them, despite the lack of movement her body was capable of. 


 


By this time Albi who had been watching this entire time (and who ate all the treats as well as consuming all the water she was given) noticed it was safe, or she at least assumed it was seeing as the blonde was now laying on the ground.   With that the ferret scurried down the tree and made her way over to the pair to see what was going on.  When she got there she noticed blood seeping from Syrins shirt. This made the small animal stop at his feet and look up at him in what one could assume was concern. 


 


Crouching down, Syrin gently stroked Albi's fur with his non-bloody hand and gave the ferret a surprisingly gentle smile. "I'm fine, but this woman isn't going to be. Maybe Ninjaboy here has some more snacks for you, hm?"


 


Norman summoned up a few bit of jerkeyand a couple crackers and handed them down to Albi. Turning to tree lady, he leaned down and gave her a direct look in the eyes. "So tree lady, wanna offer up information nicely? Or deal with Grumplestiltskin after he's patched up? Iunno about you, but getting information outta people is really boooring. I'd much rather just ask ya and then patch you and Grumphead up and be on our way." He put his pinky within reach of hers with a smile. "Truth and truce?"


 


Albi happily accpeted the treats given to her, though she wasn't one to be greedy.  So she kindly put some of the crackers by Syrins shoe, thinking that could help him in some way.  After all food always made her and Sora feel better, so this should have the same effect! After leaving two crackers at his feet she started to tear away at the jerky obviously enjoying the treat greatly.  


 


Yin looked up at Norman and scoffed.  "Like hades I'll tell ya a damn thing."  She growled her eyes going to Syrin, then Albi before going back to Norman.  To say she was in a bad situation was an understatment, and even as she racked her mind, she just couldn't find a way out of this mess.  "......Damned if I do, damned if I don't."  She muttered under her breath as she lay there.  She didn't reach for Normans pinky even though it was right there.  "Fine ya damn horse shats, I'll tell you somethings you want to know, but imma grunt so don't expect a full harvest of information." 


 


Norman looked at tree lady with a face of pained disgust as she failed to accept his pinky swear. How could she deny so sacred a rite of promise! He consider bonkin her on the head right then and there for the grand insult to his kindness, but realized tree people culture might not have pinky swears. How barbaric! He crouched down and looked at tree lady as she mentioned actually giving information. Picking his nose with a senbon, he tilted his head slightly to the side. "Go on, tree lady."


 


Yin had to roll her eyes when she was called tree lady once again. "Ya are daff."  She grumbled under her breath as she tried and failed to move any limb.  "The animals...tch I don't know exactly what happened, Imma someone that guards the outer jungle.  Ya want the aniamls go further in this godforsken jungle.  Though ya going to disappear just like those damn critters." 


 


Norman pulled the senbon out of his nose and looked at it before wiping it off in the leaves on the ground and pocketing it. He didn't like the sound of animals disappearing. If somebody was hurting the animals he was gonna kill em dead. Reaaaaal dead. Like, maybe a hundred and five.... no a hundred and twelve percent dead. Yeah that sounds dead enough. "Disappear like them? Sounds like someone who'll be way more fun to play with is further in the jungle. Count me in!" He said this with a mischievous grin. 


 


Turning to Grumpy Grumpy Grumparoo he eyed his injury. "I can patch that up for you real quick like if ya want Grumptapon. Then you can either go back to get more folks, or we can just keep goin if ya like. Whaddya think?" Norman put a hand up a sleeve and slowly started to pull out a roll bandages. Honestly Norman didn't really want Grumptato to follow him into the deeper woods, but he wasn't gonna be all mean about it. 


 


Syrin, who had taken the time to crouch down next to Albi and graciously accept the crackers, watched Norman interact with Yin while absently stroking Albi's fur. Withholding a mixture of a sigh and a growl at the complete uselessness of the situation, Syrin slowly rose to his full height while shrugging off his hoodie and chains, leaving him effectively half naked. Glancing at Norman once more he made a mockingly grandiose gesture, with an equally mocking half-smile, at his injured shoulder. "Please, be my guest."


 


With a nod Norman set to cleaning and bandaging the wound with clear, precise movements. After wrapping the wound he bit the bandage and tore it with his teeth. He slipped the bandages and couple of other things back into the many weirdly spacious spots in his seemingly well fitting clothing. "Alrighty Grumption Man, don't go doin too much craziness with that spot until a real doctor person can see to ya. Whatchu thinkin on goin back or comin with me?"


 


Rolling his shoulder in a simple test and giving a simple nod of concent at it's use. Glancing over at the woman, he raised an eyebrow, shook his head, and put on his chains and hoodie again. "Coming with you? Please, you wish that's how this is going to turn out. I'm going to go this way-" He points to a direction deeper into the jungle. "-And you, Ninjaboy, can go your own way. Feel free to lament the loss of the graciousness and glory that is Albi while travelling." With another roll of his shoulder, Syrin started a leisurely amble in his chosen direction.


 


When she heard her name, Albi perked up and stopped wrestling with the last piece of jerky she had.  Seeing Syrin leave she looked at him before looking at Norman for a moment before running to catch up with Syrin before he got to far away. 


 


Norman shrugged and scratched his butt. "Alrighty then, later Grumptastic. Make sure Albi is safe or ill glue your butt to your bed!" He waved as he left, silently thanking the ancestors that he decided to go off elsewhere. Norman turned back to the prostrate form of tree lady. "Alright then tree lady, you should be safe there until the tranquilzier wears off. Normally I wouldn't just leave ya there but seeing as there aren't any animals to eat ya you'll be fine. Later~" He strutted off into the deeper woods with wide swinging arms. That was a kinda interesting exchange! Finally he was getting to have a bit of fun!


 
 

Marcus Gaverenton & Asahi
​


Collab with @Will
​


Marcus flipped the lid of his lighter open and closed as he made his way to the hunter's house. He wasn't sure what information he, an individual from another island, could get from the people who lived on the island. If it was Marcus himself who was being questioned, then he wouldn't trust people so easily. He was usually a tad cautious when giving out information, especially when it partained to other people or their problems. He just hoped that he looked trustworthy enough, and could act the same.


 


The house soon came into vision. Marcus notcied it due to the garden in front of it, with blackberries growing on bushes. If not for that, he wouldn't notice it was his destination. The house was similar to the rest of the cottages on the island, so if Sora hadn't mentioned the blackberries, he probably would've walked right past it. The doctor admired the plainess of the lodging, though.


 


Marcus approached the door and gave it a few quick knocks before stepping back, waiting for someone to answer.


 


There wasn't an answer for a few minutes, but soon enough footsteps were heard inside and the door opened. At the enterence was a man with messy brown hair, dressed in very casual clothing.  Though the shirt he was wearing was pitch black with the sleeves rolled up over his elbow, everything else was a far lighter color and meant for this heat.  When he saw Marcus he blinked a few times and looked him over, a confused look on his features.  After all he had never seen this man before, so it was odd he was on his poarch.  "........Who are you?  I don't think...I've seen you here before....have I?" 


 


"No, you wouldn't have seen me before. I just came in on a ship with my crew. But I didn't come for the pleasantries." Marcus pointed to the forest surrounding the island. "I heard you guys aren't hunting anymore. What's the deal? Meat is an essential part of the diet of human beings, so the fact that you all refuse to go out and hunt at all is extremely suspicious. Mind sharing with me whatever you know?"


 


The man blinked a few times as he listened to Marcus line of questioning. For a time he remained silent before lifting his hand to scratch the back of his head as he seemed to consider how to answer the questions, or if he should bother answeing them at all.  ".......Did those kids put you up to this? I'll tell you what we've been telling everyone else.  The animals migrated, okay?" 


 


Marcus lifted one eyebrow. "Kids? If you mean the ones that tried to attack my ship, then no. I'm just curious, because in my mind, it isn't normal for animals to just all migrate all at once. Especially ones of different species. So, my guess is that either something happened to them, or you got scared by something. And if you got scared, that must mean it's something serious." Marcus tried to look past the man for a second, wanting to make sure he wasn't pushing his luck with these strangers.


 


"They.....attacked your ship?"  He asked before placing a hand on his face and sighing.  "Please tell me....that they attacked you when you got to port with their toys or whatever they use."  


 


Marcus shook his head. "Nope. Cannonballs. Pretty impressive, actually. Those kids have some persistence, I'll give them that." Marcus placed his free hand on his hip, his mouth turning into more of a frown. "But I'm not here to talk about those kids. I want to know what you know, and you aren't telling me the truth, are you?"


 


A groan left the other as he rubbed his forehead.  "We......told them not to touch the defenses."  He muttered under his breath before letting his hand fall to his side as he looked at the doctor.  "........I don't know you, or the people that came to this island... The animals left, thats all you really need to know."  He stated before he grabbed the door handle.  "Now I have dinner to cook before the wife tries to skewer me." 


 


Marcus grabbed the edge of the door before the man could close the door in the doctor's face, and he pulled it back open a bit so he could lean in, making it difficult for the man to shut the door. "I don't give a rat's ass if you're skewered or not right now. I'm trying to be civil and help you all out here. Hell, I could leave you guys here to whatever is making half of you so miserable. But I'm not. If you aren't going to give me any information, then that's fine. I'll go out into that forest myself and find out what's going on. But if you could at least help me a little bit, a map of the island would be a huge help. I still need to gather herbs and plants for my medicine. Could you at least do that for me?"


 


The man looked up with a slight look of annoyance, again there was silence before he simply let go of the door.  "....How persistent are you going to be...about this?" 


 


Marcus let go of the door, but he kept his foot in the way so the man couldn't close it on him again. "I'd have to say pretty damn persitant. If you have something to say, say it. If you have a spare map, I'll gladly take it. If you wanna try to beat the shit out of me, I have some medicine for your bruises and whatnot when I beat you." Marcus pulled a few vials out of his vest pocket. "But I said I'll be pretty civil, so I will hope it doesn't come down to that."


 


"......Aren't you a kind one."  The man stated in a sarcastic tone as he looked over Marcus's shoulder and to the side.  After a momnet he let out a heavy sigh before turning his back to Marcus.  "....Its hot.... Close the door when you get inside." 


 


Marcus took a step into the house, shutting the door firmly behind him. He took a sigh of relief now that he was out of the sun. The heat had been pretty brutal, so to be out of it was refreshing. He looked around the interior of the hunter's home, noticing the board games scattered around. He walked over and looked them over quickly. "You and your wife play board games often? Or you have a kid of your own?" Marcus turned to him. "No offense, but you do seem a little young to have a child."


 


The man looked over his shoulder for a moment at the games before nodding.  ".....Ya I am, but accidents happen."  He said with a shrug as he went over to a drawer and started to push things around.  ".....Just one child, don't think I could handle more than that... Did you give me your name...?  I don't remember if you did.....what is it?" 


 


Marcus scratched his head, muttering under his breath. "Damn. I'm almost thirty and I haven't even been on a date..." Marcus perked up at the man asking for his name. "Marcus. Not Marc, or Marky, or anything like that. I'd prefer Marcus." He moved away from the games and over to the man. "Since I gave you mine, does that mean I get to know yours?"


 


"....Sure. Its Asahi, I don't really care how else you say it."  He siad before pulling out a piece of paper from the drawer.  "...I don't think going in the forest...jungle really, is the best idea.....Its your life though."  Giving a shrug he handed Marcus a folded up piece of paper which was the map he had requested.


 


Marcus took the map from Asahi, opening it up and giving it a quick glance before rolling it back up and shoving it beneath his vest. "A pleasure to meet you, then, Asahi. If the jungle is as dangerous as you think it is, then I'll be cautious. But you owe me a drink if I make it out alive, got that?" Marcus chuckled. "So, you sure there isn't anything I should know before I take my leave?"


 


Asahi moved back to the kitchen as he listened to Marcus for a bit.  "....Thats a big if....Though I can't get you a drink if my wife skewers me..."  he said as he grabbed some pots so he could start cooking the dinner.  At the last question he stopped moving for a moment before he continued what he was doing.  "......Watch out for quicksand, there is one spot in the jungle where its death trap, that area is cricled on the map..... And the best herbs are in the deeprest part of the forest, assuming you can get there that is..."  


 


"I'm flattered you really are worried about lil ole me. I'll keep my eye out for the quicksand." Marcus turned to leave, walking slowly over to the door. He then paused, and turned back. "I appreciate your help. I apologize for my persistence before. The doctor part of me wanted to help out as best I could." He grabbed the doorknob, and quickly bowed to the Asahi. "I'll let you know how things go when me and my crew get back. So keep that drink cool for me."


 


Asahi looked at Marcus for a moment before sighing.  "I'll see about that."  He said before he turned his atteniton back to his cooking.  "Make sure you close the door on the way out, its too hot to have the door open." 


 


Marcus nodded. "Have a good day, Mr. Asahi." With that, he exited the house, making sure the door was firmly closed behind him. Now back outside, he squinted up at the sun, shielding his eyes with his hands. He patted his pocket where the map was, and began his way back to where Sora and Zeon were.


 


@JR260 @Peaceswore
 
Risa Talone



Even though she returned to her stand right away after speaking with the small group of men she’d encountered, she still paid attention to them for a little while longer because they had peaked her interest. ‘What purpose could a group of men like them have on an island when they clearly weren’t intending on buying anything?’ It was a major question and curiosity to her and she intended to pry more when she encountered them next time. She was quite certain that she would be seeing more than just the colorful haired one next time, too, because they didn’t seem like the type to let each other wander too far alone.


Her head picked up to find them one more time and that perception was confirmed when she saw that despite the horrid heat, the two she had spoken with were still waiting for their third comrade to finish up his conversation before… before they went back to wherever they intended to try and escape the heat.


The heat itself was a problem for her too, obviously. She could feel perspiration tickling as it trickled down her skin and the blinding light of the sun shimmered in her eyes as well, but she had no excuse to leave her shop and escape it. She now had a project to work on and she wasn’t going to stop until it was finished. That didn’t mean she had absolutely nothing to deal with the heat, though. She had a hat on her head and she tilted it a bit more to help with the sun. She also had a bottle of water that she sipped at constantly and also went to refill more than once.


Although she would’ve hoped that someone else would see her working and stop by out of curiosity, the afternoon went on and she was still working on the hat. She had gotten a fairly decent visual of the size of his head and then she found the right fit for Zeon. It was a cap, actually and it started out fairly plain but Risa was more than capable of adding flare. She made sure to use colors that would match those already in his hair and she knew that if he wore it correctly, his own colored strands would show through the edges rather nicely.



It was a hat to bring a smile to her face.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Xiao
​


Collab with myself and @Azure Sky
​


 
​


Xiao experienced something new some hours ago. It was something unusual, something which never happened to him before. Sure, kids wanted to play with him, or hug him, but never did such a thing happen with a grown woman. She was also overly attached, beyond anything he had ever seen before. In front of the long past barrage of hugs and "doki doki" stuff, Xiao had remained silent, keeping a poker face. And so the day passed by, with Rosa not knowing that he could speak, or reason.


 


It was midnight, and the panda would usually sleep. But he couldn't. He kept training, exercising his moves. What he wished to improve the most were his speed techniques. He saw a Marine perform Soru, and had a high enough visul perception to understand how he did it. But Xiao needed a stronger body to achieve such a feat.


 


As he finished, some thoughts crossed his mind. Should he do it? Should he go alone to investigate the animal disappearance? Cait wanted to go as well, in fact she was the one who suggested it, but Xiao wanted to reduce the possible number of people who'd get hurt. He was certain he could escape with Ghost Walk or Spectre Bullet, if things would have gotten dangerous, but didn't know if the half-fisherwoman could achieve such speed feats. He reached the fence which sepparated him from the forest, as he was still thinking about whether he should go alone or not.


 


Due to the lack of animals and night noises, any sound that did reach anyones ears would be louder than average.  Meaning, the crunching of leaves that came not only from Xiao's right and left but behind as well, would easily let the panda know that he was far from alone. 


 


"I thought they were pulling my leg, but these people legit have a panda that can walk like a person."  A man's voice said to Xiao's right.  "Aint that a shock."   When Xiao looked behind him he would see several men, wearing plain clothes with bits of armor on vital spots.  These men were fit, and had a larger build than the people in the village.  Each had their own weapon, ranging from guns, to ropes, and blunt weapons, but nothing fancy. 


 


"Ya ya you can be shocked later, lets bag him and go before we get noticed." 


 


"Noticed? Pfff. It's late, everyone is out like a light at this point."  


 


"So...it was you people who took the animals, eh?" asked Xiao rhetorically.


 


For a moment the men were silent as they stared at Xiao in complete disbelief.  It was a moment before one of them (whos eyes seemed to buldge out of his head) pointed at Xiao.  "Y-YOU CAN SPEAK!?"  He shouted in utter shock


 


"I-Is he a devil fruit user???" 


 


"How in the hell can a panda speak!?" 


 


"He has to be a user, that or we all drank the wrong stuff before coming here...."  


 


"Alpha Presence" Xiao's eyes pierced like daggers as he released his bloodlust. People with less willpower than himself would feel great fear. "I am indeed a panda, but I am also an individual. Not something people of your type would actually be able to comprehend, is it now? Yanyanyanyanyanyan!" Xiao laughed mockingly.


 


Some of the men gulped and took a small step back, while a few of the others remained in thier spot as they readied their weapons. 


 


"It doesn't matter if it can talk, we have a job to do so lets hurry this up before we attract attention to ourselves!"  One of the men shouted.  The others looked at each other before nodding and readying their weapons as well.   


 


Two of the men brought up thier guns, and immediatley shot at Xaio.  However, rather than bullets come out like a normal gun.  Needles full of tranquilizer were racing right to Xaio. 


 


"Ghost Walk"


 


As he used the technique Xiao gave the impression of disappearing from sight, before reappearing closer to the men. He let out a loud and powerful roar as he used Pan-da-Ho with both paws. As to strike two men at once. The air pressure released from each strike was equal in power to a cannonball. The roar was also a strategy. Someone would hear it, and his crew mates would know it was him, given the fact that no other bears (or other animals for that fact) were around.


 


The men didn't stand a chance at possibly avoiding Xiao's attack as they had been caught completely off guard.  Meaning two of the men were sent flying back.  One crashing into a tree, while another landed with a thud to the ground, they weren't unconsious but they were in a daze.  


 


"Hurry up and take him down!"   


 


The remaining four men sprung into action, trying to ignore the fear they had of Xiao, as well as the fear of possibly being discovered by a villager.  Rushing foward, one man who had a club aimed a strong stike to Xaio's jaw, while the remaining three attemped to capture Xiao by tossing rope at him. Aiming to first tie his arms up to restrict his movement. 


 


As soon as the men got close to Xiao, the panda performed a double Pan-da-Ho yet again, but this time he struck with both paws towards the ground as he performed a jump, not only causing a small shockwave and covering the area around him with dust but also making him jump way higher than usual. While he was in the air he took the bamboo staff from his back and...


 


"Bamboo Air Arrows"  he trusted with his staff downward, toward the thugs, with great power and at high speed, generating multiple condensed projectile air strikes . Not as strong as the Pan-da-Ho ones, but strong enough to mach a bullet. On the other hand, since his feet weren't on the ground, their overall power was reduced to that of your average arrow.


 


The man had to cover his eyes to avoid getting dust in them, once he opened them he looked around for Xiao.  "Where is that panda!?"  He shouted in confusion till one of the others pointed up. 


 


"Idiot! He's in the air! Watch out!"  


 


Looking up as he was warned the thug as well as the others ran, they didn't know what Xiao was doing but they knew it wouldn't be good for them.  By the time the strikes were unleashed two of them had made it behind trees for cover from the blow.  The third two weren't so lucky. One of them was hit a mutitude of times, making him yell out in pain before crashing to the ground.  While the last one got a direct hit in the shoulder, though lucky for him the last one missed.  


 


"Damn it! We were told it was just some freaken walking panda! Not some damn devil fruit user!"  The one with the injured shoulder shouted as he held onto it. 


 


"I don't think we can handle this guy, he's already taken out three of us." 


 


"Look!  There are lights coming on in the village."  Another of the thugs shouted as he looked in the village's direction, where a few lights could be seen, though they were in the distance.  "We need to go now!"  


 


"What?! Bu-" 


 


"Do you want us to get caught???  Get the others and lets go!"  


 


Xiao landed on the ground, causing a loud noise and making it crumble. "Hey!" he shouted after the thugs. As soon as they would have looked at him, they would have seen Xiao smiling in a scary way with all his sharp teeth revealed. "I will hunt you in your sleep~" he said on a cold tone.


 


The men looked at Xiao when he called them out and boy did they regret doing that.  Not only seeing the smile Xiao gave them but hearing those words sent chills down their spines.  Without a word, as they were focused on getting the hell out of there, they bolted.  They grabbed their unconscious or dazed companions before sprinting off at full speed. Wanting to get away from the panda before more injuries could possibly happen. 


 


Xiao sighed and walked back towards Teri's place. He needed to talk to Cait and the rest about what happened.


 


TIME SKIIIIIP
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Stuff happened last night
​


The current time is early morning (9ish)
​


People that were searching in the jungle haven't found anything juuuust yet
​


People in the village likely heard a roar (unless you were out like a light that couldn't be turned on even during an earthquake)
​


It is a decently cool morning, only 65 F
​


Feel free to post what you did during the night, interactions, or where you were
​


Fun is going to be happening soon ;)​



 
​


Sora Z. Lachance
​


 


The previous day had gone by rather fast after Marcus had returned with the information he had gathered.  Sora decided that rather than discuss things in the baking heat, he returned to the ship.  Sadly due to the lack of anything with cooling properties on the ship, even the Lucky Nova wasn't a safe haven for Sora.  Who was decently sure his cause of death would be via melting in the intense heat this island was so rudely presenting.  In a attempt to get by the heat, Sora did what anybody would do in this situation.  Which was of course, pass out on his bed, praying he would wake up when the temperature was far more bearable.  Yes there were things he should have done first, like check up on some of his crew, maybe search for Albi, or look over the map Marcus had.   He honestly planned to do that!  But.......lets just say the whole passing out on his bed thing wasn't completely intentional.


 


By the time the Sora eyes finally opened up the light was shining through one of the portholes in his room.  A low groan of annoyance left him as he thought he had only slept for a bit, rather than for a long period of time.  Forcing himself out of bed, he swiftly changed out of his current clothing, only to be replaced by identical ones.  It was at this point, he realized that the air around him seemed far cooler than before.  Moving to the door and going to the deck of the ship he breath out a sigh of relief as he looked up at the sky.  "I did sleep through the heat, thank the spirits for that huh Albi?"  He asked with a light laugh before going silent as if waiting for something.  After a moment of nothing he glanced behind him at the ground expecting Albi to be there, however of course she wasn't.  "????Albi????"   This was very concerning to him, as Albi always returned to him by night time. Especially since the small creature wasn't best friends with the night. 


 


Scratching the back of his head he let out a sigh as he did a quick check around the ship.  "Where is she?"  He muttered before looking out at the village.  "..........This isn't going to be just about finding meat anymore huh?" He muttered this before going to the center of the deck where a lone crate was located.  Sitting down here he pulled out the map that Marcus had given him the other day and started to inspect it silently.  "The jungle looks like a small death trap, quicksand is everywhere and then the traps this guy set up.  Going through the jungle would be a pain without a map..."  He muttered as he placed a hand on his chin and simply looked over every detail in utter silence.  'If the people taking the animals even touched, no, looked at Albi, I will ruin them beyond any possible repair!'


@Anyone on the ship
 
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Cait Merlin
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​


Cait had been heading toward the forest, but stopped once she reached the edge of the town. As much as she wanted to figure out what happened to the animals and returned them, she realized she'd only make more trouble for her captain if she didn't tell him where she was headed. Cait started to walk back toward the Lucky Nova to see if Sora was there, that is until a building caught her attention. It didn't look like much, but she could recognize a pub anywhere. With the animals missing it didn't feel right to have a night of fun, but the beer brand signs on the door caught her attention, mainly the Fischer Island Brew one.


Cait walked inside the pub and talked to the bartender about purchasing some cases of Fischer Island Brew. She discovered that her hometown beer was more expensive here, but that was to be expected with the Silent Isle's lack of trade recently. Cait was determined to buy as much of her favorite beer as she could, so she made the man an offer. "I have enough Beri for a couple of cases, but not as much as I'd like. Could I work for you tonight for a chance to get more? I don't carry around this guitar for nothing. You wouldn't even have to pay me with money, because I'd spend it all on Fischer Island Brew anyway."


"Sounds like someone likes their beer," the bartender said. "But I could use a musician to liven things up. You have yourself a deal."


"Thank you sir, you won't regret it." Cait handed the barkeeper Beri for her first couple cases of Fischer Island Brew and had them set aside for her to pick up later. She walked over to a corner of the pub and throughout the night played a majority of the pub songs she learned back home.


~ ~ ~


"I've never seen anything like you before. What's your story, girly?" a man asked drunkenly in the middle of Cait's song set. "I'm a fishman/human hybrid from Fischer Island. My da is a fisherman and met the fishwoman who would become my mother when he accidentally caught her in a fishing net. Though if you think that's a strange love story, you haven't heard about the mermaid from Ontario," Cait replied, using that as a segway to her next song.





 
​


"The Mermaid of Ontario
Had long green stringy hair-e-o
And a seaweed gown to wear-e-o
But she had no one to marry-o

The Mermaid of Ontario
Loved a big mouth bass named Larry-o
Who lived in the Lake St. Claire-o
Under the St. Claire ferry-o

The Mermaid of Ontario
Sent a seagull emissary-o
To ask that big bass Larry-o
If he'd consent to marry-o

Oh no, no, no said Larry-o
My life I will not share-e-o
I'd rather play solitarie-e-o
Sit around in my underwear-e-o
Read books from the fish library-o
 
​


He said you're so ordinary-o
And I'm extra ordinary-e-o
And I dress so debonair-e-o
I have a fine vocabulary-o
I learn from the fish dictionary-o

Before I'd marry you, I'd marry-o
A Guernsy cow from the dairy-o
Or eat a poison berry-o
Wind up with fish dysentery-o

That poor Mermaid of Ontario
It was more than she could bear-e-o
So she cried for a day then swam away
With a yuppie little guppie named Gary-o

Now they're a happy pair-e-o
Cause he's a millionaire-e-o
On his yacht in Lake St. Claire-e-o
They cuddle in a cozy chair-e-o
Listen to his underwater stereo

And that big mouth bass named Larry-o
Married a cow from the dairy-o
She fed him a poison berry-o
He wound up in the fishes' cemetery-o

And that's the whole scenario."
​


 
​


~ ~ ~


During the night her songs and the enthusiastic drunks made enough noise to drown out the roar. After her entertaining job was done, Cait picked up her haul of Fischer Island Brew and started to walk back to the ship with them precariously stacked between her arms. Back on the Lucky Nova, Cait stashed her beer in her room and comfortably slept in her cot.


Cait woke up the next morning and heard Sora mention his pet. She hoped she hadn't been animalnapped. "According to the kids, the people responsible for the animal disappearence are docked on the other side of the island. I'm going to do some investigating of my own. I'll see you later, Captain."


With her guitar on her back, Cait made her way back into town. She had decided to see if the rest of her crew would like to join her and made her way toward where the Alex, Teri, and Mac lived in case her crewmates were hanging around. As she walked she noticed some of the pub patrons smiling and waving at her. She smiled and waved back. "Top of the mornin' to ya," she greeted the islanders. Once closer to the kids' house, she noticed Xaio walking toward her. "Top of the mornin' to ya, Xaio. Ready to do some detective work?" she asked cheerily.


@Peaceswore @Azure Sky
 
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“Aaaargh!” Seth let out a frustrated scream. He was bored out of his mind. The sound of his voice carried far, but was not answered by an animal roar or a sudden silence like it would be in a normal jungle. This island was not supposed to be as silent as its name made it out to be, right? Or was it some kind of double controversy? Maybe they just told all the animals to be silent when Seth was on the island, just to mess with his head. “Aaaargh! It’s so confusing!” Again, no response. His voice was not supposed to be the only sound that could be heard. Well, his voice together with that roar he had heard. Gurglelerp! Oh, and his stomach of course.


Last night, Seth had been on his way back to the ship when he had heard it. He was deep in thought. He still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Brussel sprouts made such an excellent ice cream flavor, especially after several servings. The brain freeze did not help that much towards getting an answer. Then the roar pierced the night sky. Seth was immediately cured. Finally! A piece of the islands notorious wildlife! He turned around towards the sound and started running. He had no idea where he was going, but he was determined to find the source of the roar.


By the time the initial enthusiasm had settled Seth was already lost. It had gotten dark outside while Seth was still in the jungle. His survival skills kicked in and he found himself a tree to sleep in.


He had not slept that long as he was used to getting up really early. People say the early bird catches the worm. Seth wished he could catch a worm. The dusk was reaching its end and Seth hadn’t eaten anything since last night. Seth had tried to hunt some animals, but he hadn’t been able to find any. He had found some animal tracks, but almost all of them were more than two weeks old. His stomach growled. Even the thought of worms made his mouth water. Maybe he should just give up and head back to the village to get some food. There was just a slight problem: Seth was still lost.


With the agility of a monkey Seth had climbed a nearby tree. At the top he was welcomed by the sun that just came over the horizon to shine over the treetops. Seth would have returned the warm welcome, but his empty stomach made him grumpy. He looked around. He saw that he was not that far from the edge of the jungle. However, the edge continued for quite a distance before it arrived at a few plumes of smoke, which Seth gathered had to be the village. It would be a long time before he would arrive. A long boring time. That’s why Seth had started to shout.


The shouting did relief some of the frustration. Seth jumped down from the lowest branch. Which direction was the edge again? He looked around. “hmmm…” He tried to think really hard. “Well whatever, as long as it’s away from this boring tree in this boring jungle.” He started walking towards his destination: anywhere else.


Fortunately it was the right direction. Soon, Seth found himself next to the fence on the edge of the jungle. Even more lucky for Seth, he found something that took him out of his boring misery. He found a fresh trail. Though “trail” maybe wasn’t the right term here, as it looked more like the remains of a very intense dance party. The earth was plowed and various plants and branches were broken. There was even a tree that was severely damaged and could fall any time now. The sap was still pouring out from it, which indicated that it had happened in the last few hours. Seth’s enthusiasm was building up inside. 


Maybe two beasts had fought each other? Or maybe it was some kind of mating ritual? He looked around the sight for clues. A fallen branch caught his eye. At least that’s what he fought it was at first. Upon further inspection he discovered that the edges were far too straight and smooth. It was human made, unless some kind of ape had developed a higher level of intelligence to make weaponry. A good hunter should always keep all possibilities in mind. It was probably a club of some sort. Apparently there had been a fight between one or more humans and a beast. This was quite surprising, since the village hunters were ‘out of commission’. Maybe the children had been right all along and someone was stealing the animals. It would also explain why Seth hadn’t seen or heard any animals out here. Still, he should not neglect the possibility of evolved apes. Or that of an elaborate prank to mess with Seth. Seth wanted to pat himself on the shoulder. If everyone was as smart as you, there would be no more unsmartness in the world.


Seth was delighted to find that the trail continued. He hated it when trails would end abruptly. Like the beings had vanished in thin air or would be abducted by aliens. At least he could eliminate those possibilities now. The trail was less strong. The animal had probably been sedated or knocked out. It continued along the fence in the direction opposite to the village. Seths stomach rumbled again, but this time he did not notice. There was adventure to be found!
 


@Peaceswore
 

9aAj1crWPZ_zsC28XnBzd7tek9vCiPq-ymqXlcm1deSiQU0Mx2cSE5I-d2-B2ImB8LBCK4xS3eeANDk7JiKVmqIenIAXLXDs8O6Q8ZNoUYexcmI_yDegwSkfgnliMKQ1M_QLyfCs

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Somehow, someway, someday… those were all things Risa was hoping for. That somehow she would manage to spread her family’s business as far as the sea could go, that someway would show itself to her and grant her the opportunity of a lifetime and that someday she would be able to sell more hats than she could count and claim it was “business as usual.” Unfortunately, that wasn’t the current state of business. In fact, the current state of business had left Risa with an exceptionally beautiful had and no one to give it to and she had no idea why.


The problem was that on the day prior, a colorful haired male had purchased a custom hat and he’d said he would stop by to pick it up. Then she made it - one of her favorites in a long time, actually - and he never showed up to get it.


Many people would’ve told her that since she had the money already, she really couldn’t complain. However, that wasn’t the point. Risa wasn’t in the business of making hats for the money that she earned. In fact, any money she made just went right back into keeping the business going. She used it to buy more supplies, she used it to travel to new places to sell to new people, and she used it to keep herself functioning so that she actually was capable of making more hats. Her whole life worked and functioned and sustained itself on the business; that did not make the money the center of it all, though. Risa was in it for the notoriety of it. She wanted her name - not Rhyse, not Risa, but Talone - to be known all over the seas and the blues and the waters galore. She wanted everyone to known that Top Hat Talone was the best hat shop in the world and that she had come from it. And the best way to do that was to make sure that everyone who was anyone was wearing a Talone Hat.


When someone didn’t come get their hat, therefore, that was a problem that Risa had to fix.


Therefore, as she woke up that morning, Risa did not get herself ready and head outside to man her little hatstand. Instead, she got herself ready and headed outside, leaving without setting up her little shop for business and taking to the streets of the town with quick and heavy steps. “Excuse me,” she called out to a villager walking through. They stopped and regarded her carefully as she continued. “I noticed that we had some guests on the island yesterday. Would you happen to know if they’re still here and if so, would you know where I might see them?”


The man nodded and gestured towards the harbor. “They were on the biggest ship in the harbor. The only one that’s not always there. I’m not sure if they’re there now, though. Lots of ‘em were wanderin’ around yesterday.”


“Well, that still gives me a place to start,” Risa commented. “Thank you!”


He nodded and continued on his way while Risa headed to the harbor and sought out the ship that supposedly held the ones who had decided not to pick up the lovely hat she made for them. The ship itself wasn’t hard to find because all the other boats there truly were pathetic in comparison and when she saw it, Risa’s eyes widened just a little. She’d been waiting for a boat that size for longer than she cared to recall because boats that size could get her to new islands and new places to sell to. Keeping that in the back of her head, the hatter made her way over.


Stepping up to the gangplank, Risa did not actually get on board the ship. Instead she just stood there and she was quite a sight to see. Hands on her hips and scarlet top hat on her head, it was exceedingly obvious that she had a bone to pick with someone. Who, though, remained to be seen.


Clearing her throat, Risa yelled rather loudly, “Excuse me! You pay for a hat and then don’t have the balls to actually come pick it up!? What kind o’ customer are you!?” If anyone was on board, they would definitely hear her. She was making no effort to hide her presence.


@Peaceswore 


Also applies to anyone else on board the ship.
 

Marcus Gaverenton and Elijah Baden
​


 
​


After delivering the map to Sora, Marcus had went to finish up his shopping. As it was getting later and later, Marcus wanted to make sure he got a good enough night's sleep in case the captain wanted to go and search the forest the next day. He already had a majority of the herbs and such that he needed, now he only needed some comfort items. First on his list were books that he could write any medical information he knows and learns into. They were easy enough to find in the local bookstore in the village, and with a portion of the money he had left, he grabbed three blank books, as well as a few pens to write with. 


Next up was some clothing. He didn't want to keep wearing the same things for the next few days, or even weeks, depending on when they set sail and made it to the next island. So, he quickly made his way to a clothing store to try on some clothing. He wasn't someone who cared about his apparel all that much, but he did prefer to keep a constant look that he felt fit him well enough. So he mainly ended up picking up extra pairs of white shirts and black vests, but he found a few other articles of clothing that he rather liked. Now, his hands were getting full, so he decided stopping by the Lucky Nova and dropping it all off was a good idea.


As he was making his way to the harbor, he saw someone pulling a large metal object up onto the deck of the ship. Confused and curious, Marcus quickly made his way up to the ship of the Red Wave Pirates, and saw Elijah pulling what looked to be a furnace up onto the ship. Marcus grit his teeth at the sight of the shipwright, and felt his anger begin to swell up again. But he was getting tired, and arguing with an idiot would just be useless at that point. So the doctor made his way up the plank onto the deck of the ship.


Elijah looked up from his grueling work, and gave a smile to the man. He couldn't tell if Doctor Grump was older than him or not, but he definitely seemed it. His face seemed more sullen, and he seemed to walk like he had a weight on him. In all honesty, Eli felt bad about what he had done earlier. Somewhat. He let go of the furnace, and wiped his dirty hands on his shirt. "Hey. You just missed the captain. He said something about going to take care of some stuff, but I'm guessing he ended up passing out in his room." Elijah laughed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. He pointed to all the bags Marcus was carrying. "Whatcha got? Anything fun?"


Marcus looked down at the bags he was carrying. "Herbs, clothes, books. Some essential stuff. What about you? Guessing your gonna cook something in that thing?" Marcus motioned to the furnace as he set his bags down on the deck, rubbing his arms from the strain of the weights of all his items.


Elijah laughed, patting the furnace quickly. "Far from it. I'm gonna take this apart and use the pieces to make some new weapons and tools. Gotta reinforce this ship so it can withstand some blows from enemy cannons. And, it's gotta have the firepower to fight back." Eli pointed to the deck below him. "I already gathered tons of lumber and random doohickeys that I'll be needing to make some little projects during my spare time." He stretched his arms above his head, yawning. "And now is the fun part of the night:play around with parts and drink till I pass out. Have a good night, doc." Eli waved as he made his way below deck, dragging the furnace with him.


Marcus just waved meekly, still wary of the man. He wanted to trust the man, but time in Mirstone and on the sea had made him cautious. So for now, Marcus would keep his distance from the man whenever possible.


~~~~~
​


 
​


Marcus's eyes fluttered as he came back to the waking world. He yawned, adjusting his body so he made his way into a sitting position. As he stretched his arms above his head, he looked around at the deck of the Lucky Nova. He had just been sleeping on the deck of the ship, since he hadn't asked Sora where he could stay, and didn't want to sleep in any random room on someone else's vessel. So, weather permitting, he had just made homage on the deck of the ship. The only things he kept below deck were his herbs, most of his vials, and his new clothes, which he made the decision to go and put on.


Marcus disappeared for a few minutes before returning to the deck of the Red Wave pirate's ship, he had changed out of his more formal clothing. He was wearing a stark white long-sleeved shirt under a short-sleeved green plaid shirt, as well as a pair of new khaki pants and his usual dress shoes. He still had his glasses with the blue lenses on, as the sun still bothered his eyes.


Marcus's attention turned to the individual who had made their way onto the ship. He was rather surprised to see that it was the hat saleswoman who had approached Sora, Zeon, himself the day before. He walked up slowly to the woman, keeping his hands in his pockets, where he kept his vials. No one was ever hurt from being overly cautious. "Well, well, it's nice to see you again, ma'am. I'm not sure if your customer is here or not, since I haven't seen him since I woke up. Maybe I can hold on to whatever he purchased and give it to him when he shows up?"


@DaughterofAthena
 

Zeon G. Zephyrfield
Zeon G. Zephyrfield 7.png



Zeon had spent the rest of that evening scouting the village for spots he could call his own. So far he'd thought of a lookout, a base, resting place and spots to secure himself from attention in. Then he had to look for ways to sustain himself... which were basically pointing at the fact that he was completely broke. Zeon had just over twenty fudge bars, and knew that energy usage while in Silent Isle could be effortlessly kept to a minimum. So about five fudge bars a day? Although if he rolled with that method of rationing, it'd all go away in just about a week. Zeon sighed as his thinking was leading him nowhere he wanted to go, and at this rate, he'd have to get a job. If it was even possible... Then it hit him. Turns out that if he stayed in the village long enough, it would just be like back home... 

Kicking those thoughts to the curve he ended up in front of the stone building he almost napped on earlier, leaving anyone watching him at that time to think he was mad. Taking a look around him at the eyes he knew were watching he face palmed. Guess i should skip the food and water for now and just look for places to keep up my sleeves. Heh. Running his fingers from his fore head and down through his hair, he closed his eyes for a moment. Zeon opened a map of the village in his mind, and began mentally circling them. The stone roof of the building he was currently standing on was going to be his lookout and resting place, as it was the sturdiest one he'd seen so far and the only one he actually tested. All he needed now were spots he could free lance in that when combined with his lack of presence he'd be invisible to the world. With that in mind, Zeon opened his eyes and without hesitation beamed up to the roof of the stone building in one jump. Upon landing he quickly looked over the wooden homes of the people before taking off for a nearby rooftop, it was time to test them all.

Night time had now landed like the rainbow-haired adventurer did onto his 23rd house roof. The were no faults in the wooden homes after all, judging them by material was a pretty dull move on Zeon's part. If he hadn't check them out and instead dismiss them all as weak, then he would've missed out on the amount of good resting places the village had to offer. Approaching the edge of his 25th roof, he performed a six feet high double back flip, which caused an alarming crash noise as he landed. Awww crap!!! Chipping to the side he leaped for the ground, hoping he didn't damage the house or gave anyone purpose to look. Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap! Zeon stumbled as he booked for the stone building he called his look out point and resting place, deciding to call it a day...

A loud yawn accompanied by the stretching of arms as Zeon rose to his feet. It was morning time and he'd have slept like a bear in hibernation. Proceeding to squat down on the stone roof, he took out two fudge bars. No mercy was shown as he begun eradicating them, leaving the packages on the roof to blow away whenever wind picked up. Grabbing his bag and walking off the other side, he landed silently, taking a few quick glances around himself before going off. It was take two of the indulge in selfish desires time, which in Zeon's case was deeming if to stay on the island or to leave with the pirates. You know, i never asked Sora what kind of pirate he was. Maybe that'll end the obvious debate. Especially since there's noway in the four blues that i'm staying in this village.  Heh heh heh heh... Pirates huh... He sighed.

Heading towards the ship, Zeon looked up at the sun. Just noticed it's not blazing hot anymore... That's a good sign i guess, looks like we'll be patrolling the village much easier today. Easing through the stands undetected he spared a rather familiar one a long gaze, slowly coming to a stop. Huh... I get the feeling that somehow i forgot something. Pffttt nahhh. The trip to the harbor continued.


 
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Xiao Bamboo
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shadowdude505 said:
With her guitar on her back, Cait made her way back into town. She had decided to see if the rest of her crew would like to join her and made her way toward where the Alex, Teri, and Mac lived in case her crewmates were hanging around. As she walked she noticed some of the pub patrons smiling and waving at her. She smiled and waved back. "Top of the mornin' to ya," she greeted the islanders. Once closer to the kids' house, she noticed Xaio walking toward her. "Top of the mornin' to ya, Xaio. Ready to do some detective work?" she asked cheerily.
Click to expand...



The panda was in deep thought while he was walking, but when Cait approached him, Xiao looked her dead in the eye. "I met some of the men who stole the animals last night. They attempted to abduct me," he said, in a low voice, being very serious. "They weren't exactly much of a hassle, but they managed to run away. They went into the jungle," Xiao shifted his attention towards the kids. He didn't want to involve them in it as it seemed dangerous, thus the low voice. The panda didn't want them to hear the conversation.


"Their base must be somewhere deep into the jungle," as he said that he shifted his attention back at Cait. "Are you sure you want to do this with just the two of us, Cait? We could also go back to the ship and exchange information with the captain and the rest. I'm sure they has found out some things as well," he paused briefly as a wide smile appeared on his face "Whatever you choose, though, I am willing to follow you." he said, cheerfully.


The panda-man wasn't one to take rash decisions, but he knew he couldn't stop Cait if she wanted to go there on her own, therefore, if she chose to go anyway, he would follow. Xiao would not allow her to face the unknown alone.


@Peaceswore
 

LraRwnETTyI_6v3rAYWuzKUex_Q5xoeLsME46NzjQujtErh956RsSe9CqMHRh_mMjOk0yGQmeuNxdutjhWh95Xjon7RAsqzZKiu71XK75WsuLd9kgcQRUUiV3uM3DoBURYa3dt5k

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“Well,” Risa mumbled briefly, “I suppose in some circumstances it would be nice to see you too, but I’m not quite sure if now is one of those times.” The way she said it was sweet and simple. She really wasn’t trying to be mean and she didn’t completely rebuke his greeting. He just wasn’t offering her any solutions that she was actually willing to work with either. Risa felt personally insulted by the fact that no one seemed to realize how much effort she put into making the hat and she felt the need to convey that hatting was a serious business and that she did not want customers who weren’t actually going to put her products to good use.


“I honestly don’t have it with me right now, either… that hat, I mean,” Risa added after. “I merely wanted to come and inform him that if he doesn’t come to pick it up, I’m going to sell it to someone who actually cares about how much work I put into it and who will actually wear it. If a hat isn’t worn, then it does me no good to sell it.” That probably sounded odd, but it tied back into the fact that Risa didn’t make hats for the money. She made it to get her work out there and on display in the world.


“You can pass that message along, though, and that the hat will be going on display at my stand when I open up today. The first person who wants it will get it free of charge because I know that they’ll put it to good use. And if he wants it, then he will make it his priority to get there first.” Now, even Risa knew that this wasn’t a fair deal in any way. In fact, Zeon might not get the message before someone else expressed interest in it and she knew that. The reason why she was doing it, though, was because she wanted to express how personally hurt that she was to have had a hat ordered and to have not had it picked up. If they weren’t going to pick it up until today, then they could have said so and she wouldn’t have made it until today.


@Will
 
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Syrin, Albi, Sora
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A collab with @Exanis and myself
​


 
​


Throughout the night Syrin continued his so far futile search for anything on where the animals had disappeared off to. While it was fairly boring work considering that nothing else interesting had happened, the man truly didn't mind that outcome. In fact, he found it peaceful. Plus Albi was amazing company for one like him, even though she truly didn't understand much of what he said, it's the thought of Albi's simple agreement and companionship that really counted. But as night had fallen and nothing popped up, Syrin took refuge at the top of a fairly tall tree as a place of rest for the night.


 


Waking fairly early in the morning with nary a yawn, Syrin took the time to glance around  and make sure nothing was out of place since he slept last night. Finding everything to be in order he took great care not to wake the sleeping Albi  as he re-positioned her into one of his two large and fairly comfortable pockets and then began making his way deftly down the tree. Lazily stretching the kinks out his shoulders and arms, Syrin continued through the jungle, this time on a hunt for any fruits that could be found to feed himself and Albi. As he began to collect the fruits and store them into his other pocket, he could only wonder if he'd finally find any clues today, or if it would just be another waste of time. Though it wasn't like he had anything to do on this island till he got himself a ride off on whatever merchant vessel that stopped by.


 


The thought of getting off the island immediately snapped his mind to Sora, which then sent his mind to Albi, and a sudden realization came to him. Glancing down at where she was sleeping in his pocket, he let out a tired sigh. He had really, really, really not wanted to go back to that ship, but he was also duty-bound to ensure that Albi got back home, which is to say the ship, safely. As he sat down against a tree, he noted some movement in his pocket, and moments later Albi's head popped out of his pocket, looked around curiously, then scampered onto Syrin's shoulder and quickly accepting and eating an offered berry. As he fed Albi, and himself with the occasional fruit or two, he finally spoke up when he felt that she was content enough for now. "Albi, do you want me to take you back to Sora now? I'm sure you've had your fill of adventure for the week."


 


Albi stopped chewing her berry as Syrin and spoke, her attention once more on him.  She as perusual was silent until he stopped speaking.  It took a moment, but none the less she gave her respose, despite the lack of fully understanding what he wanted.  Obviously it had something to do with her human, so of course she would be interested.  After all, she had left her human alone all last night, she didn't want to think about what could have happened to him without her by his side!   


 


Giving Syring an eager nod with a mixture of puppy eyes she did her best to show that she was ready to go back to her human.  Maybe, if her human was still on the ship, she could drag him along on their explorations! To give Syrin more motivation to go, she held out the berry she was about to eat for him to take, as an offering in a way. 


 


Chuckling at Albi's antics, Syrin gently pushed the berry back towards her as he stood up. "No need to bribe me to take you back." He glances around for a moment to figure out which way he needed to go to get out the jungle, and a few seconds later he gave a nod to himself. "Well,  no time like the present. Let's get to Sora quick like, hm?" With nothing more to do or say, Syrin took off at a sprint towards the town, and by extension, the ship.


 


A short while later, Syrin found himself slowing down as he was nearing the ship. In the short distance away from him, he spotted someone standing at the bottom of the gangplank, and as he neared he heard snippets of something about hats? That was a thought... He paused for a split second as a decision was settled into his head. He was buying a hat. The war within was over. It was going to be done. The gods have decreed it. His life changing decision complete, Syrin continued towards the ship, only pausing for a moment next to Risa with a deadly serious expression to say, "I would like a hat. A very nice hat that would compliment me. I will pay for the hat once my business is settled on the ship, and I would like the hat as soon as humanly possible. Thank you." His request made, he continued up the gangplank, ignoring Marcus, and making a beeline towards where he spotted Sora.


 


The man that Syrin was looking for, was on the other side of the ship, leaning agisnt the railing, his hands over the side as he kept reading the map that he held in them.  He had moved from his first location that had been the create after Risa hand made such an outburst.  Meaning he of course had to check it out for a moment.  It was a rather suprising one, after all its not every day he gets snapped out of his thought process by some woman claiming she had more balls than Zeon from the sound of things.  He didnt have any reason to speak to her however, as Markus had beaten him to the interaction.   And rather than join in, Sora simply decided to move away and let them talk as he continued to the study the map.   


 


As he continued to read he perked up a bit when he heard another voice at the dock, one he easily regonized as Syrin.  He couldn't help put let out a sigh when he heard Syrin say 'once my business is settled on the ship'.   Of course he hadn't simply given up on getting that man to stay, but damn, was it always this hard to convice people who didn't have any particualr goal to remain by his side?  Or was Syrin just a special case?   


 


Moments later he heard steps approach him and this caused Sora to look over his shoulder.  He was about to say something however his atteniton was locked onto Albi.  "You're okay! Gods I was worried sick!"  He exclaimed, a great amount of weight going off his shoulders as relief filled him.  His back now on the railing he looke at Syrin offering him his usual friendly smile as he crossed his arms over his chest.  "When she didn't come back last night I thought that someone snatched her up, seems I wasn't completely wrong in that sense.  She didn't bite any fingers, toes or ears off did she?" 


 


Syrin simply shook his head with a small endeared chuckle. "It's more like she spotted me leaving and decided she wanted to go off on an adventure. Being the Queen she is, who am I to say no? And no, she didn't bite anyone. I brought her back because she was worried about you methinks."


 


By this time, Albi had already climbed down Syrins shoulder and made it to the ground.  Scampering over to Sora she sat there and looked up at him, obviously waiting to be picked up, even though she knew full well she could just climb him like a tree.  "Queen? Ha, at least I'm not the only one that sees her like that."  He stated before bending down and lifting the soft mink into his arms were he simply held her.  "Thanks for looking after her, she has the habit of running off if I take too long to get ready. Since someone is rather impaitent."  He stated as he lightly flicked her ear.  


 


Albi simply looked up at him with her ever so curious look.  "Ya ya, I'll get you food later."  Turning his attention back to Syrin he decided to move the subject else where.  "Were you in town this entire time? Or did you go into the forest slash jungle?" 


 


Rubbing the shoulder where he was shot gently without showing any sign of pain he sighed. "We headed into the jungle. Didn't find anything though."


 


"Nothing?"  Sora asked as he softly petted Albi.  "There has to be something there, how far did you go?  I know you probably didn't have a map, but do you think you can give me a guess by looking at this one?"  With that, he moved on hand away from Albi and handed Syrin the map showing the entire island.  "Did you go across any beds of quicksand? Cross any traps?" 


 


Looking at the map, Syrin raised an eyebrow as he listened to Sora while examining the parchment. "We went pretty far into the jungle. And no, we didn't cross any quicksand, and we didn't find any traps."


 


"Hm...You probably got lucky then, did you zig zag?  Go in a strai-"  Before Sora could finish what he was saying there was a rather sudden, splosh behind him.  As if someone threw a rather heavy stone into the ocean.   "What the?"   Turning around he looked over the edge of the ship and when he saw what was in the water he had to blink a few times, just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.  Maybe the heat from the other day had finally affected his brain.  


 


"Syrin....do you also see a headless bird in the ocean?  ....I think....I think thats a news coo... "


 


Blinking and looking off at what Sora was talking about, he tilted his head to the side with a raised eyebrow. "I do believe that is in fact a news coo..."


 


"Okay, not hallucinating thats good, but what the hell? Who kills a news coo??"  No sooner did he ask this did he hear fluttering of wings above him. Taking a step back just as he felt a breeze against him he looked up, just as a rather large hawk landed on the railing.  This bit surprised Sora quite a bit, and it didn't take a genius to see that it was this hawk that had slayed the poor news coo, who's body was floating in the harbor.  Fresh crimson blood was on its deadly sharp talon, not to mention there was quite a bit that coated its beak as well.  The blood wasn't the only thing that would bring ones attention to the beak. The hawk had a newspaper in its beak as well.  A paper he had stolen from the dead bird.   The hawk glared at Sora, as if it was ready go for his throat.  However, it sniffed the air around Sora for a moment, and it's glare vanished.  The hawk ruffled up its feathers and seemed to actually relax.  


 


Syrin could only keep an eyebrow raised at the scene in front of him, though he had gripped his dagger in case the hawk did decide it wanted more food. Seeing it relax caused the man to relax as well and simply cross his arms. "Well? Are you going to see what it wants?"


 


"Give me a moment to just take in the fact a hawk I never met, killed a news coo and landed right in front of me with the news paper in its mouth...."  Sora said before closing his eyes and inhaling before exhaling.  ".....Okay, I'm over it." He still had a firm grip on Albi, just incase.  Looking up at the hawk he held out his hand below the creatue's beak.  "Can I have that paper there....please?"  He asked, and no sooner did he ask did the news paper fall into his hand.  "Um....thanks.  Though why did you kill that coo to deliever me the newspaper?  I'm pretty sure I haven't seen you bef-........... Lets ignore the fact I was questioning a hawk."   


 


"If you're not going to question the hawk, I will. Are you a pirate owned hawk? Or are you related to someone Sora knows? Or are you just an unusually intelligent hawk that was hungry and delievered the mail anyway?"


 


The hawk turned its gaze to Syrin before simply tilted its head to the side.   


 


Sora shrugged and moved Albi on his shoulder so he could use both hands.  Opening up the newspaper he skimmed the first page.  "Ah what do you know....Mirestone got the front page, and ever so conviently something major is missing from it.  Feels like Deja vu."  A bit of bitterness was behind his words as he continued to skim the page before turning it and looking a bit more into it.  "Annnnd as interesting as everything is....meh."  Folding the paper he held it out to Syrin in case he wanted to give it a read. 


 


Accepting the paper and skimming through it all, Syrin simply shook his head and placed the newspaper on the railing after he was done. "Nothing I need to know." He glances back at the hawk and shakes his head one more time. "This has been an interesting morning..."


 


Sora shrugged at this as he looked at the hawk.  "Guess...make yourself comfy?"


 


Syrin glances over at Sora. "I kinda want this hawk... But I'm extremely concerned on who actually owns it..." Nevertheless, he offered his arm to it.


 


The hawk looked at Syrin and titled its head before scooting just two steps away from Syrin.  "It looks trained already, probably has an owner already.  I think most birds, at least with parrots they get attached to like one person, and everyone else they just barely tolerate." 


 


"And that's what's got me worried..." Syrin muttered as he turned and began his walk back towards town.


@DaughterofAthena @Will 
 

Cait Merlin
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Cait's eyes went wide with surprise as Xiao told her about his run in with the animal snatchers. She shouldn't have been surprised that they'd try to take her panda friend. She could see how they could mistake him as a regular panda, but she was still shocked and a little angry that the animal snatchers hadn't noticed her friend's human-like sentience. "I'm glad you're alright," the fishwoman hybrid said to Xiao.


Cait's face turned serious as she listened to Xiao's concerns. "Thank you, Xiao," she said after he finished talking. "I understand that more backup would be helpful. I believe Captain Sora was making his way into the woods to look for Albi. Some more of our crewmates may already be on their way to find the animal snatchers. Norman and I tried to find some animals to hunt the other day and last I saw him he was in the forest, maybe he's still there investigating. If we make our way there now maybe we'll run into them," Cait added.


"Though I realize that's a big if," she said with a sigh. "We can wait here a while so the others can join us. I don't want to wait too long though. There's a small chance my ma is on that ship and I don't know how long it'll be docked. If I miss my chance to investigate it, I won't be able to forgive myself if she's on board." Cait sadly looked down at the grass and dirt beneath her feet. A moment later she looked back at Xiao with a determined look on her face. "I also made a promise to those kids and intent to keep it."


@Azure Sky
 
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Norman "Really Gonna Stab Someone When This Is Over" Newman


Quicksand. Traps. All in all, Norman was starting to get a little... irrirated with whoever did all. He had spent a small bit of his night running, but got bored and played in the trees for a while instead. Then at some point he heard a roar off in the distance, rather faint. He assumed it to be from the village and since there weren't any animals it was probably Xiao. Being the big false mean guy he is.He spent another hour or so carving a lil wooden Xiao out of a tree branch and making it fight villains made of leaf piles. Then he got bored again and fell asleep.


When he woke up he resumed his run in the fresh morning air. Except it wasn't pleasant for very long. At first it was just cheap traps, like a tree branch tied back by some rope. Or some of those ones where they put a rope on the ground and it pulls you up into the trees. But as he got further in and the trees began to thicken and grow taller, evidence of their age and strength, the traps became more prevalent. Pit traps, spikes, one that looked like it would set a person on fire. That last one made him especially mad. He was stabbing some people in the butt for that later for sure.


Eventually however he came to the thickest portion of the woods yet. In it he found... a clearing. A clearing with a rather large brick wall, with a gate, and crennelations and towers and such. Eyeing it with glee he started eyeing spots in the wall where he could climb it, like the energetic pseudo-monkey he is. He used a tree to get up to the first hand hold, and from there used varying misplaced bricks, holes worn in by weather probably, aesthetic choices by the maker of the wall, and for the last bit used his kusarigama as a sort of grappling hook. 


When he cleared the wall he found himself looking down on a wooden town of some kind, built in a fortress like style. He spotted several bell towers around the outside edge of the town, in between the brick wall and the town interior. He spotted several individuals in each tower. He closed his eyes, spun in a circle, and stopped. When he opened them he was pointing at a tower to his right. He ran along the brick wall until he could properly jump and use the power of awesomeness, aka his kusarigama, to reach said tower. When he landed within, the first of three the three guards saw him, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping.


Norman punched that first guy in the throat with a sound of GACKT, and then in the side of his head. Dropping him like an annoyingly heavy sack of potatoes. The second guard never got to know he was there before Norman chopped him at the back of the neck hard enough the third guard heard it. That second guy miiiiight be dead, but Norman wasn't sure. Nor did it matter. The third guard realized the situation and tried to dive for the bell, but Norman whipped his kusarigama around and hit him full in the face with the weighted end. There was a light cry as the man's nose broke and a couple of teeth were chipped, but then he dropped unconscious to the floor too. Norman listened closely but didn't hear any other towers or people crying out to announce his arrival. 


He peaked over the tower and surveyed the town. There weren't as many people in the fort as he expected, about twenty he could spot. Probably several more around. Plus the guys in the towers. Why the fort for so few people? Unless... He looked around to make sure all the men were unconscious and no one was nearby. Once he was sure he slowly lowered the cloth masking the lower half of his face. Surely enough his nose picked up the scent of animal, a lot of it. Hopping to the roof, he used his super speedy poof ability to hop from rooftop to rooftop as quiet as he could. Until he landed on one that overlooked a couple of more obviously guarded buildings. The scent was stronger here than it had been so far, so it made sense the scent was comign from inside those buildings.


The animals. It had to be where these weirdo people were hiding the animals. He swore they better have the animals safe and sound in there or they were as good as dead. However, Norman thought, regardless of what it is this place is clearly bad news. While Norman thought he might be able to take a good amount of the people out here silently it would take time. Time enough for other people to realize what was happening. So he decided to head back out the way he came and head for his crew, quick as he could. On the way back out he made a stop by the unconscious guards. He stabbed them all in the butt with a senbon. What? They aren't gonna die or nothin!


@Peaceswore
 

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Risa’s first thought was that she was still angry that she had made one hat for this ship that hadn’t been picked up and that no one seemed actually interested in. She didn’t want to lose that anger because she felt it was important for her to make it clear to everyone else that hatting was a serious business. She wasn’t about to make something that no one was ever going to wear and she was already under the impression that one of her hats wasn’t going to be worn, at least, not by it’s intended purchaser.


However, it was hard for her to hold onto that frustration when another person was asking for a hat and when he seemed very serious about said hat. Unlike the hat she had made for Zeon, Risa could already see tha that this one was about making a statement more so than personal desire and that meant she would get to approach hatting in a very different way this time around. It was exciting. “I will make you a hat, most certainly. If you could stop by my stand at some point, I can make sure the measurements are accurate. Even an experienced hatter is not an expert and I’d rather not mess it up.” Her tone was professional and that was the way it was going to stay.


Excitement had drowned out her anger and left her with very little reason to still be standing where she was any longer.


After turning and starting to head back to her stand without as much grumpy stomping in her walk, she realized that she had had a reason for coming, though. She wasn’t quite sure if her message would adequately be conveyed to Zeon or not and she glanced back and Markus with some curiosity, trying to gauge what she thought of him and whether or not she trusted him. It was then that she saw the scene with the News Coo unfold and she couldn’t restrain a gasp at the oddity of it.


“Do you think that the News Coo was meant to deliver to the town as well?” she asked curiously. “You might want to look into that because there’s quite a few grumpy elder folks who might not be happy about not getting their papers.” She had been there for long enough to know that much about the people. Not to mention she had sold hats to many of the older folks there. They liked to sit and talk with her while she made them and Risa enjoyed it.


She noted that he was walking towards the town and quickly scurried onto the deck of the ship and grabbed the paper that had been left on the railing, not caring that she was technically not supposed to do that - probably. She ran back to Sora as he was walking away and tossed it towards him. “Bring that with you. The townspeople might be happy if you bring them their news.” Granted, Risa had no idea whether or not they’d initially been unhappy, but it seemed that they were investigating something or other and bringing nice things would always be helpful. “And do please pass along to your colorful haired friend that I’m putting his hat up for sale. He should come to get it soon or it will be gone. I guarantee it.” It wasn’t a rude statement, just matter-of-fact.


Lastly, she regarded Syrin with a smile. “Now… if you’d accompany me back to my stand, I’d be delighted to start working on your request. I already have a few ideas in mind.”


@Peaceswore @Will @Exanis
 


Keya Fenris
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Keya after eating had hung around and talked with the kids for quite some time. She was always hyper and full of energy so she actually stayed awake even after they'd fallen asleep. Though when she did actually finally sleep she was out like a light. She didn't hear Xiao's roaring whatsoever, simply asleep cuddled into one of the large fluffy pillows on the couch. The food had been good, especially since all of it was pretty much twice her own size or bigger. The kids were nice and the issue concerning the animals really worried her, especially because of Xiao. He was a panda man after all! They could mistake him for being some boring old normal panda and try to get him. Which ironically is what happened without Keya knowing...but eh.
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Come morning Keya woke up, yawning and stretching cutely as she looked around. A tiny grin on her face she leapt from the couch and started trying to sneak to the kitchen. She was sure they had to have some kind of sugary treat or candy in there so she was determined to find it. Her own small candy supply was left on the ship and she was far to lazy to find it and also had no idea where it was docked. So for now, it was thievery time.
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Sora Z. Lachance
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Sora looked up at the hawk for a bit more before shrugging and turning his back to it. "I'm just going to assume you plan to hang around for a bit, feel free, just...don't poop on the deck, and don't eat Albi. You even try and we'll finally have some meat for dinner" He stated in a casual tone before moving over and picking up the map that was on the deck. Opening this again he casually strolled over to Marcus as he read it. "Thanks for getting this, I don't think I said that yet." He stated as he leaned against the railing next to Marcus. "This map is going to save us a lot of time~" Rolling it up he looked at the jungle and grinned a bit. "I think its about time we get started on our first adventure, decently sure by now at least a few of our crewmates made there way in there without a clue on where to go." Putting the map in his jacket he brought out a note pad he had on him and started to write down a few things on it.

"I'm going to head into the jungle and see whats up, want to come with? You don't have to since...." Sora trailed off for a moment before shrugging as he kept writing. "Don't know where I was going with that, since I don't have all the facts about this place just yet." When he was done writing he folded the letter up. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small treat and handed it to Albi. "Here you go." He said as the small critter happily ate what she was given. As she ate Sora petted her head and waited for her to finish. Soon enough she was done and once she was, he picked her up by her scruff and placed her on the railing and then handed her the letter. "Take this to any crewmate you see, that's in the woods okay? Give to crewmate." Sora said as Albi bit the letter before tilting her head to the side once more trying to decipher what he was saying. "Give. To. Crewmate." Albi blinked a few times before nodding happily.

With that she moved only a few steps before stopping in front of Marcus and leaning forward a bit to hand him the letter. Sora laughed a bit before poking her head lightly. "No no, give to a different crewmate, one that's over there." Now pointing at the village Albi looked at where Sora's finger was pointing at before looking back at him. She looked between him and the possible destination a few times before nodding. With that she hopped off the railing and ran down the gangplank only to stop a bit at Syrin's feet to hand him the letter. Sora facepalmed at this and shook his head. "No Albi! Someone in the village! The village!" He said as he pointed at the town once more. Albi tilted her head to the side before nodding and with that once again scampered off to find some other crewmate that she my have happened to cross paths with.

Sora chuckled a bit as he shook his head, his hands now in his pants pockets. "She's trying I'll give her that." He said before he headed to the gangplank. Before he stepped off he looked at Marcus. "Ya as I said I'm heading to the jungle, this silence is too unnatural to just ignore. Oh and if Elijah is still on the ship give him the same invitation" He stated with a shrug as he walked off the gangplank. When he got to the dock he looked up and saw Syrin wasn't too far ahead. "Hey Syrin! I'm going into the jungle, hopefully with others if I meet them along the way. If you want another shot to possibly find out whats going on with this island feel free to tag along!" He called out now actually forcing anyone to do anything.

After that he started to walk off, not directly toward the jungle, rather he headed to the side of the village. He wasn't heading to go in the center of town but rather he remained just on the outskirts as he walked. Lightly humming one of the songs Cait had sung earlier to himself.

Meanwhile Albi continued to run until she came upon another crewmate. Excited that she may have finally found who Sora wanted her to find she stopped right in front of a colorful hair man and held the note in her mouth waiting for him to take it. Said note read
I'm going to assume Albi gave this note to one of my crewmates, if so I'm going into the jungle with some others hopefully. It maaay be best if you came along and brought anyone that is with you. If you are not a crewmate of mine, just fold the letter back up and hand it back to the excited mink and shake your head. She'll get it. Thanks ~ Sora

Along with it there was a small map on the side showing where to meet Sora before he entered the jungle/forest.

@Will @DaughterofAthena @Exanis
@JR260


Rosa
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When the dwarf entered the kitchen she would find that she wasn't the first to arrive in the room. The one that beat her was the caretaker of the orphanage Rosa who was cooking breakfast for the day. Which consisted of Brussel sprout pancakes! A delicacy no doubt! "You are up rather earl-." Before she finished her sentence she looked over her shoulder and saw that it wasn't one of the children. Rather it was one of the children's new friends. "Did you sleep well?" She asked with a smile as she stirred the green batter in the bowl while still looking over at Keya. "I was going to move you to one of the kids beds since they were asking about you, but you just seemed to peaceful sleeping on the couch I couldn't find it in me to move you." Laughing lightly at this she turned her attention back to her cooking as she turned a stove on.

"Since you are still here would you like some breakfast? I'm making my specialty pancakes."
@Mitchs98
 
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Tristan Roads
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The relative silence of the jungle was interrupted by a crashing sound as the ground in a certain section of the jungle collapsed, sending a surprised man thirty feet below. Fortunately, the leaves and vines that covered the hole cushioned his landing. Tristan was by no means a ninja. He had a feeling that if he had fallen without anything to soften the impact it probably would’ve been…uncomfortable. Sighing, Tristan ran his hand through his soft, red locks as he lay staring up at the opening. How had such a handsome man gotten into a situation where he was traipsing through a quagmire-filled, dirty jungle—braving the inland’s natural heat and possible man-eating predators that might exist beyond the forbidden fence—you ask? (Even if you didn’t ask, he’d still tell you) Well, the answer lay with a single woman—a client with lovely hair who liked animals.

Rosa could say that the animals migrated all she liked, but Tristan knew better. He also knew it would place a beautiful smile on her face if he were to catch her a cute, fluffy animal. It would be a suitable parting gift…especially since he had no intention of staying on Silent Isle for much longer than necessary. A protein-less diet wasn’t good for his hair at all. He’d warned all of his clients of that fact—informing them of the necessity of a balanced diet to maintaining healthy hair, regardless of whether they decided to go vegan or not. Whether or not they listened to his advice was up to them.

The only reason Tristan stayed on the island for as long as he had was for all the lovely ladies that would mourn his departure should he leave so soon. That and the lack of ships visiting the island. How long had it been? A month? However, when news came of a large ship landing in the docks, Tristan was quite ready to leave. Paying for a simple room aboard would be no problem. And he might find some new clients among the seamen. There was only one thing left to do. And that was to say goodbye to all of his lovely female clients. Reminded of his decision to get Rosa a wonderful parting gift that would offset the dreadful loss that would be his company, the red-haired man straightened into a sitting position, dusting any stray leaves or dirty that might have gotten into his perfect locks. Tristan scowled.


Ugh! Is finding an animal really worth all this?

Part of him wished he had bought the one of the hatter’s hats before leaving town. Hats, while being stylish, also protected hair from pesky things like the island’s intense UV rays which were capable of inflicting travesty to one’s hair. No matter. He could get one later. After catching Rosa a furry animal of course. Getting to his feet, the red haired barber checked the weapons strapped to his back—two 48- inch broad swords that clearly defined him as a swordsman. The only thing odd about them was their size and their hilts, which were circular with no obvious grip. When girls asked about the weapons, he told them daring, dashing stories about how he fended off pirates with them. When guys asked, he told them that he was a former pirate and that they should never touch his swords…or else.

I wonder which I’ll encounter today.

The hole he’d fallen in was obviously man-made--meaning whoever laid the trap might come check on it. A hunter, possibly. Hopefully a female hunter. Smiling slightly, Tristan folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. Nope. No time for that. The sooner he finished his mission in the jungle, the sooner he could approach the visiting vessel and bargain himself a ride off the island. Tristan directed his gaze towards the dirt wall.

Climbable. But…

Azure eyes landed on his nails, which had been recently cleaned. Then back to the wall. Back to his nails. And, finally, back to the dirt wall in front of him. Lifting his hands to either side of his mouth, Tristan called to any person that might be above.


“Oiiiiiiiiii! Anybody out there with a ladder or rope willing to help an irresistible barber out of a tiny predicament??”

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Syrin Insinu and Risa Talone
A Collab Between: Exanis Exanis and Lady Warlock Lady Warlock ​

Hearing himself be addressed by the hat maker caused Syrin to pause and look at her. After hearing her request, he simply returned Risa's smile with a small one of his own and nodded. "Please, lead the way."

Without further delay, Risa did. She led Syrin into town, taking the main roads which were just starting to be filled with people who seemed to be eager to get about starting their own days. The crowds weren't overly thick or too much to get through by any means, but they were definitely noticable and Risa took notice because it was something she wasn't quite used to walking through. Then again, she didn't usually wander town until later in the afternoon when all the hustle and bustle had died down.

While they were walking, she decided a bit of conversation wouldn't be terrible. "Do you have any thoughts on what you're looking to acquire, Mister...?" It was then that she realized she didn't know his name which was why she trailed off at the end.

Taking the time of the trip to properly investigate his surroundings, a slight feeling of nostalgia filling him at the steady flow of people going about to do their daily business, Syrin was once again snapped out of his daze when Risa spoke up. "Ah, my apologies. My name is Syrin. Syrin Insinu. And you are...?"

"Risa. Risa Talone, actually. I'm a part of the Talone family hat business. We aren't very popular yet, but we will be." The very tone she spoke with showed a profound dedication and determination, but she wasn't about to go into much more detail than that. She was still waiting to hear if there was anything specific he was after in a hat.

Hearing "Well Miss Risa, I'm sure you will accomplish that lofty goal of yours eventually. And on the subject of anything specific that I wanted for my hat... Well..." Syrin tilted his head to the side, seemingly in thought once again. "Nope. I leave everything to you."

Hearing his answer, Risa nodded acknowledgement and then her pace quickened towards her little stand. It didn't take much longer for them to get there either and she took up a spot behind it before turning to face Syrin. It was then that she allowed her eyes to truly take him in and try to learn all that she could about him. The more she knew, the more of his personality that she could see, the more of it she could pour into the hat. The best hats, after all, were the ones that matched the people.

"Pick a color. Any color."

"Hm... Purple. A nice magestic royal purple."

She nodded quickly. Purple was manageable and actually a color that was commonly requested so it was within her capabilities. Without further questions, Risa reached below her stand and grabbed a measuring tape, pulling it along with her as she stepped out from behind the stand. Without asking or seeking permission, Risa reached up the little bit that she had to and she wrapped it around his head, holding the measurement tape togethering and then marking the spot with a finger before uncoiling it. She wrote down the number on a little notepad and then returned to her side of the stand.

Reaching underneath it, Risa pulled out a stack of black top hats... no, not quite top hats. None of them were tall enough to fit that description. They were actually all black fedoras, but some of them shaped differently than others. She flipped through the stack, seeking one that was the right size, and then she pulled it out and slid the others back underneath.

While she was down in her supply collection again, Risa cut a long string of a lighter purple ribbon and also a string of a darker purple, the second being more regal and royal. Standing back up straight, that darker one was the one she wrapped around the base of the hat first. She didn't tie it off, though. Instead, she ovelayed the lighter one on top of it and then started working with a scissors as well. She cut two slits in the lighter purple ribbon so that she could pull the darker one through it on both ends and then she tied the ligher one off. Expert fingers then worked to tie a beautiful and relatively even bow with the regal purple ribbon.

The end result: a black fedora with a lighter purple ribbon wrapped around the base and a regal purple bow to tie it off on the left side, closer to the front than the back.

That wasn't quite the end of her work, though. Risa took the bow and put it on a slight tilt and then she reached beneath her work stand yet again, pulling out a small paint kit. She wasn't an overly detailed artist in that regard, but she could do enough for her hats and she started painting black stripes onto the lighter purple ribbon. It made the ligher purple pop a bit more on the hat and also added in an intricacy that made it clear the hat was made by someone who knew what they were doing as well. And that was important.

At some point while she had been making the hat, Risa actually forgot that Syrin was there and she also wasn't paying any attention to time at all. She was simply lost in her work, but when it was finished, she was quite happy with it.

Then she realized he was still there and he would see the brilliant smile she wore. "What do you think?" she asked.

All the while that Risa was working, Syrin was watching, entranced by the skill displayed before him. At this point he would readily advertise where he got his hat from, solely based on the proccess alone. Yet as her work came to a close and the final product was revealed, his loyalty to the Talone brand was set in stone. As she turned to him and gave him a glimmering smile that seemingly embodied her passion for her work, Syrin couldn't help himself from giving a small laugh. "I think that this is the best hat I've seen yet. And I've been to many a place with many a hats in those places."

If it was possible for her smile to grow brighter at his praise, it did. If it wasn't possible, then her smile stayed as wide as it already was.

She was in a good mood and that was what led her to do what she did next. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a business card and twiddled it between her fingers like a toy. "You're a traveller, right? You'll be going to even more places yet?" She was fairly sure the ship she had seen was evidence of that, but it seemed a reasonable question to ask.

"I am the purest form of a traveller. I am a navigator, and I've yet to finish seeing all of what is possible to see. So yes, I will be going to quite a few more places for quite some time." Seeing the business card in her hand, Syrin was fairly positive of what she was going to ask him, and he would oblige quite readily if she did.

"Well then, there is a shop in the Grand Line, kind of on the edge, actually, that sells Talone hats. My brother works it and I'm out and about trying to get business to him, you see. If you would tell the people who you encounter that they can go there, I might be inclined to give you a discount." She tried to keep her tone even, but it was clear that she was excited.

Chuckling once again at her excitement, Syrin nodded. "I'll be sure to tell everyone I meet to go and buy a hat from your brother, especially if he is even half as good as you are."

Risa chuckled a bit this time. "Reyson's actually a bit better than me, but he has the unfair advantage of more supplies than I have. There's only so much I can bring with me." And that was the honest truth of the situation. Additionally, it was easier to send people straight to Reyson than to send them to her. She wasn't usually in one place for long and Reyson was always in the same spot.

"Anyway, now we get to the price of your hat." She flipped the page in her little notebook and wrote out a quick handwritten bill. Then she took a fifty percent discount off that price and handed it to him quickly. It was actually a reasonable price, all things considered.

Taking the bill and glancing at the number, Syrin nodded. Reaching into his jacket and pulled out a pouch filled with Beli. Counting out four times the necassary amount, he placed it on Risa's stand. "Here."

She happily collected the payment and then handed him first the business card and then the hat. "I imagine a navigator such as yourself would be able to direct people to the shop easily enough. As for the hat, I'd be careful with it for a few hours yet. Paint unfortunately takes time to dry. Thank you for your business!" All of a sudden, her excitement transitioned into a professional poise because Risa knew that while she had enjoyed making that hat, she now got to go through the whole process of finding a customer once again.

Tucking away his Beli pouch and gratefully accepting both the hat and business card, he nodded at Risa. "I'll be sure to do just that. If I have anything to say about it, the Talone brand will spread quite fast. I wish you the best of luck in your business here."

"Thank you!" With that being said, Risa set about cleaning up her workspace.
 
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BAF! "Hmpf!" Seth landed face first in the mulch. Just another hit to the head. As if he hadn't had enough of those already. This time he just wanted to lay down for a while. Those traps could wait, that was kind of their whole purpose: wait until a fool sets them. Normally, Seth would have goofed about the ingenuity and creativity of the trap and its hunter. However, these were the most cliché and boring traps he had ever seen. He had seen pitfalls, nettraps, box traps and automatic tranc guns. Seriously, just tranq darts? Couldn't the imbecile who laid them come up with anything better? His hair was covered in leaves and dirt and a small twig stuck through the back of his head. "Blegh! spt!" He spit out the mulch from his mouth. He started laughing maniacally, even for his standards. If the traps were so bad why had he activated almost all of them?

Did Seth have bad luck on his side today? Was he blinded by his will to find a single animal on this island? Or did he simply have a death wish? All of the possibilities could have had a part in it. Though it might also have had something to do with the berries he had eaten about an hour ago. Just a small side-note. You would think a poison expert would know that suspiciously appetizing purple berries were not to be trusted, but Seth was really hungry. He could have waited to see if animals would eat it, but then he would probably have died of starvation. Not even exaggerating. So he ate quite a lot of them and now he was feeling a bit tipsy. He was slower than normal, which was still normal speed for most humans, but not for this particular being. Seth hated slow things. Almost as much as he hated walking on a sloped earth until he would fall. Why were those trees growing perpendicular to the slope? It made no sense! It almost felt like hallucinations. He was pretty sure he didn't see unreal things, right?

Then he heard someone calling for help. Someone asking for a ladder or a rope. Seth was quite sure he had the latter. No, not the ladder, the LATTER. Stop it brain! Seth believed he had taken some supplies from the traps before he had gotten to the berries. He wasn't sure though as his mind was quite foggy and clotted. Seth got up slowly. It wasn't slow enough as he immediately fell down again. He let out another roll of uncontrollable laughter. "I hahahahate these toddler-build traps in this toddler-build forrest!" He got up again. His years of walking on ships came in quite handy now, as the ground seemed to be moving under his feet. He started to move in the direction of the sound.

He soon saw a pitfall that was trapped. At least, that's what he assumed with his bad vision. It wasn't a hungry mouth of a giant earthworm, right? Not that it mattered. Seth had always wanted to excavate an earthworm. He went with his hand over his body until he found what he was looking for: a piece of rope. In his dilapidated state of mind he could still manage to convince himself not to get to close with his wobbly legs. With a large arc he walked around the pit, to a sturdy looking tree. He tried to fasten the rope the best he could. Luckily he was quite the knotter, so even his lousy ones were just fine. Then he turned around and took a few steps to the pit before he stumbled.

Fortunately he fell just a few inches from the pit. Another burst of laughter erupted. He crawled to the edge and looked into the pit to find a long-haired person on the bottom of it. "Excuse me, do you happen to know where I can find a barbie that needs rescuing?" He laughed again and moved a little closer. "Wait a moment let me get up so I can throw you the rope." Clumsily he got on his knees. He almost looked drunk while doing it. He started fumbling with the rope to throw parts of it into the pit. He hadn't considered the weight of the rope. It brought him out of balance and threw him in the pit. He keckled all the way down as the rope started unwinding and caused Seth to turn around very fast. The blurry vision was turning and turning and made Seth practically blind. The last thing he felt before coming to abrupt halt was some warm fleshy substance and some hair.

QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel
 
Peaceswore said:
Rosa
​
When the dwarf entered the kitchen she would find that she wasn't the first to arrive in the room. The one that beat her was the caretaker of the orphanage Rosa who was cooking breakfast for the day. Which consisted of Brussel sprout pancakes! A delicacy no doubt! "You are up rather earl-." Before she finished her sentence she looked over her shoulder and saw that it wasn't one of the children. Rather it was one of the children's new friends. "Did you sleep well?" She asked with a smile as she stirred the green batter in the bowl while still looking over at Keya. "I was going to move you to one of the kids beds since they were asking about you, but you just seemed to peaceful sleeping on the couch I couldn't find it in me to move you." Laughing lightly at this she turned her attention back to her cooking as she turned a stove on.

"Since you are still here would you like some breakfast? I'm making my specialty pancakes."
@Mitchs98[/bg]
Click to expand...
Keya Fenris
Keya froze when she was spotted. The dwarf frowned a little, only a few inches tall and the race know for stealth and she was caught that easily! She sighed heavily, listening to the woman as she spoke to her. "I slept well." She replied with a tiny smile. She wouldn't of minded being moved to a bed, she probably wouldn't of made it. But she would of likely been accidentally crushed by one of the kids if she had.

At her question she smiled and nodded, "Please!" She told her cheerfully. "I'm starving." She said, making her way onto the counter. "Do you need any help?" She asked.​
 
shadowdude505 said:
Cait Merlin
​



​


Cait's eyes went wide with surprise as Xiao told her about his run in with the animal snatchers. She shouldn't have been surprised that they'd try to take her panda friend. She could see how they could mistake him as a regular panda, but she was still shocked and a little angry that the animal snatchers hadn't noticed her friend's human-like sentience. "I'm glad you're alright," the fishwoman hybrid said to Xiao.


Cait's face turned serious as she listened to Xiao's concerns. "Thank you, Xiao," she said after he finished talking. "I understand that more backup would be helpful. I believe Captain Sora was making his way into the woods to look for Albi. Some more of our crewmates may already be on their way to find the animal snatchers. Norman and I tried to find some animals to hunt the other day and last I saw him he was in the forest, maybe he's still there investigating. If we make our way there now maybe we'll run into them," Cait added.


"Though I realize that's a big if," she said with a sigh. "We can wait here a while so the others can join us. I don't want to wait too long though. There's a small chance my ma is on that ship and I don't know how long it'll be docked. If I miss my chance to investigate it, I won't be able to forgive myself if she's on board." Cait sadly looked down at the grass and dirt beneath her feet. A moment later she looked back at Xiao with a determined look on her face. "I also made a promise to those kids and intent to keep it."


@Azure Sky
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Xiao Bamboo​

The panda listened to everything that Cait had to say. Her thoughts, her concerns, her wish. At that point, it was clear for Xiao. He didn't need to hesitate, because what his friend desired was something which had great weight. A weight that nothing in the physical plane could ever compare to.

"I see. Then there's no room for doubt, in my case. Let's be on our way. I shall enter the woods with you" he said, proudly, and smiling, but still speaking in a low voice. He looked around to see if any of the kids where watching them, or being suspicious.

"Is there a way to make sure these kids won't follow us around?" he asked. He really didn't want to put them in danger. Not only that, but they would have been like dead weight in a dangerous situation, and if he was forced to protect them, then Xiao couldn't go all out.
 
Zeon G. Zephyrfield
Zeon G. Zephyrfield 3.png
....Huh? Cutting his relatively slow pace to a stop, his eyes fell upon a small slightly familiar white creature holding a piece of paper out to him. Zeon couldn't help but open his mouth in slight amazement. Huh. Never saw anything like you before. He soon looked at the paper as interest began to rise. His normal emotionless face returned, there was no telling where the answers to the questions checking in for rooms in his hotel of a mind could lead him to at this moment, but there was the option of simply taking the note from the small critter and reading it. Being paranoid about a note, heh, what's next? Zeon sighed before stooping to the creature's level and slowly but carefully taking the paper. He couldn't help but stare at the messenger for a bit before opening up and reading the letter.

Taking a nice seat on the ground, Zeon took out Ruth's journal and a pencil from his bag, proceeding to trace the map onto a blank piece of paper before folding back up Sora's note, returning it to Albi, and shaking his head.

P Peaceswore ​
 
Tristan and Seth
Collab with Felix Felix
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Needless to say, Tristan was quite miffed when his ‘rescuer’ ended up falling on top of him in a drunken attempt to toss down some rope. If he were a female, such an action might be excused. Welcomed even. However, despite not having a clear view of the person’s face, Tristan could tell that the body weighing him down had the toned hardness of a male. A male with crimson red hair. Hair was always the first thing Tristan noticed about person—whether they had short hair, long hair, kept it clean or messy. It told him a lot about a person. He could also detect, from his position, the scent of some sort of fruit from man’s lips.

Is he drunk?

The slightly glazed look in the man’s green eyes right before his fall indicated that alcohol poisoning was definitely a possibility. Letting out a long, exasperated sigh at his cursed luck, Tristan tilted his head slightly to the side—looking away from the offender who dared call him a ‘Barbie’ and couldn’t even make up for it by properly helping him out of the pit trap.

“Mind getting off of me?” The words uttered from Tristan’s lips didn’t hide his disdain.

Seth gazed hazily up in the face of a man, or woman, he really couldn't tell with such long hair. The world turning around him didn't help either. He tried to process what happened. Was he still falling? Was any of it even real? Could anything be real if his eyes weren't real? This pit sure was deep. He pushed himself up with one elbow, but it immediately slid of the stomach of his landing platform, the human, and he fell back down.

"Burp!" Seth let out a loud belch. His mind started blabbering in his muddled state. "Let's not talk about minds right now as mine is about to be split. Can you even split anything if it is so mushy as my brain? It's ... burp ... more like serving portions then, innit? It's so fluffy." He picked up Tristans hand and started petting his dirty hair. "Can you feel it?" He giggled again as he fell off the man's body. He just laid still and giggled. It was clear for anyone that there wouldn't come anything sensible out of Seth at the moment.

Tristan grimaced as he felt his fingers brushed against course, weather-worn, dirty hair of someone who clearly didn't care for their god-given locks as much as they should've. A sea traveler? His sensitive fingers could feel the bit of dryness that resulted in overexposure to salt water. Or the sun. Returning his gaze to the dark-skinned male, Tristan rolled his eyes. "Oh, I feel it."

It'd been a while since he'd encountered such uncouth actions...not since his days as a pirate. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as he thought it would be. In fact, compared to the Smiling Aphrodite, it felt more…liberating. When the 'drunkard' finally fell off his body, Tristan got to his feet and dusted himself off. He glared down at the giggling body on the ground. "What's wrong with you?"

Seth wasn't even trying to be reasonable anymore. Or to move any limb. "Me? Hihi. A better question would hiq! A better question would be: What isn't wrong with me? You, sir Barbie, will have to be a tad more specific."

"Tristan," the barber corrected. Glancing around, he caught sight of the rope that'd the delirious red-head had brought down with him when he fell. It was something at least. "My name is Tristan. Not Barbie."

"You sure about that? You look a lot alike. Hiq! Must have been the hair and stuff. I believe my name is Seth. Hiq! but you can call me 'oh, my brave saviour'."

Walking over to the rope, Tristan picked it up and stared at it thoughtfully, ignoring Seth for a moment. He then returned his attention the odd man lying in the dirt. "Your sense of balance seems to be messed up, your vision is clearly questionable, you're a bit too chipper for someone whose mind is splitting, and you're speaking nonsense."

"You can say that again. Though I Hiq! I am always chipper as a Dolphin. Want me to do a impression? No, please don't! He's been through enough already. Fine, but anytime you might change your mind... And there you have the splitting. Appart from that, I'm pretty sure the nonsense part actually applies to me, like Hiq! always. You should probably get us back to the crew now. But I still haven't found the animals. You would miss an elephant if it were right in front of you. Would not. Would too. Shut up! ... Would not! My would too will overrule any would not you say. That's not fair! Mister Tristan Barbie tell him it's not fair!"

Frowning, Tristan approached Seth's body and knelt beside it, taking a closer look at the redhead. "Are you sure you're drunk? I know inebriated people tend to be a little off their rockers, but I've never seen one talking to himself..."

"He's a different kind of special, isn't he? Must have been those white berries. Hiq! Remind me to collect some before we go. Hiq! I wonder what captain Sora would be like when he eats them." He chuckled. "Or maybe Syrin could become less grumpy. This berry Hiq! could be the worlds best medicine against boredom."

Tristan groaned. The thought of being trapped in a hole on the ground with a drunkard was bad enough...but it turned out Seth was actually sick. What sort of idiot ate some random berry he picked off the ground of a trap-covered jungle? Then again, wandering a trapped-filled jungle drunk wasn't much better. "If he ends up like you, I don't imagine Captain Sora would be sailing around for much longer," Tristan spoke absentmindedly as he drew one of his broad swords from his back. It was shaped to look like the upper shear blade of a scissor.

Tying the rope Seth brought down to the ringed hilt of his sword, Tristan ignored the random blabbering of the delirious man and, swinging his arm back, tossed the blade upward so it sailed out of the opening--it's point digging deep into the ground just outside the trap. This way he wouldn’t get his nails dirty. Testing the security of the rope, Tristan glanced back at Seth…who had somehow fallen asleep.

Asleep….while lying in a pit trap obviously made by a hunter of some sort.

And, to top it all off, he was sick.

Tristan pinched the bridge of his nose. Taking a sick man with him to catch a fluffy animal for Rosa would be…inadvisable. Seth needed a doctor—and though Tristan considered himself a talented person, he was no doctor. He was a barber. He could leave Seth there…but the redhead would most likely die—either killed by whatever poison he’d consumed or a hunter. Then Tristan might feel guilty. After all, the delirious man had tried to help him, which was why he’d fallen in the first place…

“You’re lucky I’m such a good person,” Tristan said as he threw Seth over his shoulders like a sack of potato. With both hands on the rope, he began to scale the dirt wall. If he was lucky, he would find Seth’s friends wandering the jungle and be relieved of his burden sooner rather than later. What were their names again? Captain Sora and Syrin? Then again, given that Seth wasn't exactly in his right mind at the moment, Tristan wasn’t even sure if anything his fellow red head said was reliable.

Tristan swore viciously.

Nearby:???
Mentioned: P Peaceswore , Exanis Exanis
 
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