Zoro studied his new captain, wondering how he could be so calm about such a dire situation. To be so unprepared for a sea voyage was unheard of – there was no food aboard the ship, and Luffy had no idea where he was going. "It's funny that you have absolutely no navigation skills," Zoro grumbled, his stomach growling.
"Why? I've always been just wandering!" Luffy considered their situation for a moment. "You're like me too, wandering and capturing hunted pirates for rewards."
"I don't remember saying that I live completely off rewards!" Zoro sighed defensively. "I was searching for a man, that's why I left to the sea. But now I can't find my way home. I had no choice but to start hunting pirates for a living, just to get a little bit for the living expenses."
"Oh, so you're lost?" Luffy exclaimed.
"Shut up! You are the one who's lost!" Zoro yelled in frustration. He could see already that having an absent-minded person such as Luffy as a captain was going to be a struggle.
O0o0O
The sky was clear and the air was crisp as Carlos joined his captain on deck for the night watch. Behind his strong brown eyes were the seeds of mistrust; for the first time in his three years aboard the Carnation, he doubted his captain's judgement.
"Stevie," he said by way of greeting, and smoothed down his messy black hair in a way that made him appear nervous.
"Carlos," the captain returned, and motioned for him to take a seat. They sat in silence for a few minutes, mentally preparing themselves for the long night ahead. Despite his present ill feelings, Stevie Ray Stinger was Carlos's oldest and closest friend, and was among the most selfless people he knew. However, the present situation couldn't be excused.
"Is Lorelei back yet?" he asked as Stevie Ray pulled his shirt over his head.
"No," Stevie Ray replied placidly as he fixed his light brown hair under his fur-lined cap. "She only left this morning. Give her a few days."
"Right," Carlos raised an eyebrow that questioned whether they had a few days to spare, but in the dark of the night Stevie Ray was oblivious to his facial expressions. In the ensuing silence, neither made any effort to talk; instead, both watched with a detached fascination as Lincoln, the oldest crew member at age 64, climbed up from below deck dressed only in his swimming trunks. His thin sinewy body showed no signs of feeling the cold, and his grey wiry hair stood up in all directions as if to embrace the dark of the night. He raised a hand in greeting as he fixed his goggles over his eyes, and without any further hesitation he leapt over the railing of the ship and pulled into a neat dive.
"Good dive... good dive..." Stevie Ray muttered as he nodded to himself.
"Speaking of dives, why did you send Lorelei to visit your grandmother, of all people?" Carlos inquired.
Stevie Ray shrugged. "Preparations for a possible venture into the Grand Line. There's something my gran has that would be a valuable asset to the crew."
"All your gran has is apples and sake."
"And they would undoubtedly be useful for our voyage." Stevie Ray smiled to himself.
Carlos's feelings of mistrust strengthened. "You'd better give me a straight answer, Stinger," he growled. He could feel his anger rising, and was sorely tempted to punch Stevie Ray in the face.
Perhaps sensing his friend's unrest, or maybe just wanting to keep his face in one piece, Stevie Ray continued. "You know my cousins, right? Alex and Bailey?"
Carlos groaned. "That's your secret weapon? Two fifteen-year-olds?" He rushed his hands through his hair in frustration. "I can't believe this."
"No, hear me out, they're amazing fighters. Alex could beat my 'three swords style' with two daggers when she was twelve..."
"That's because you can't fight with three swords!" Carlos cried exasperatedly.
"And Bailey has a devil fruit ability that will come in super useful when we reach Grand Line."
"Really... Do you know the name of his ability?" Carlos asked sarcastically.
"No, but neither does he."
Carlos ran his hands through his hair, partly through frustration but also to keep his fists away from Stevie Ray's face. "Okay. So our journey through Grand Line, and our acquisition of the One Piece, depends on your fifteen-year-old cousins."
Stevie Ray shook his head. "No, we're not ready for Grand Line yet. You know as well as I do that we all need to be stronger before we head over."
Carlos rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Okay, I'll just stick some more of my hair to Lazarus's bedroom wall. And while we're at it, why don't we teach Excalibur to walk on a trapeze?"
Stevie Ray sighed to himself. "There's no need to be so sarcastic. Give us two years, and the crew will be strong enough for Grand Line. Don't worry about Alex and Bailey yet, I'll deal with them."
Carlos swore loudly and drove his hand through the closest piece of railing; in the doctor's quarters above deck, something fell onto the floor. "Seriously, Stinger, you may think that your family is invincible, but the twins are no better than any other fifteen-year-olds! Can't you get that through your thick skull?" He swore again, and stormed off to the opposite side of the deck.
A few seconds passed, and a deathly-pale boy of seventeen poked his face out of the doctor's cabin. Making sure that Carlos was out of the way, he warily walked a few steps out of his cabin and said in a voice strained through disuse, "That didn't go very well."
Stevie Ray nodded, calm as ever. "It would never have gone very well, Lazarus. I just don't think he likes my cousins."
Lazarus crinkled up his mouth and nose; whether this was from happiness or displeasure, Stevie Ray couldn't tell. "So does this mean that Alex and Bailey are coming?" Stevie Ray nodded, and Lazarus's facial features morphed into what was definitely an expression of joy. "Excellent."
O0o0O
Lorelei couldn't help but revel in this chance to peek into her captain's private life. Having been part of the Stinger crew for a mere six months, she had taken a while to warm up to him as a captain, but now thought of him as enigmatic, and wanted to get to know him. She was sorry that she had got on the wrong side of the Captain's best friend and vice-captain, Carlos, but that couldn't be helped. With a temper such as his, it was a wonder that he had reached the position of vice captain and had a girlfriend.
Stevie Ray Stinger had an interesting grandmother, and Stevie Ray Stinger's grandmother had an interesting house. There were three stories to the house, yet only one was visible from outside. It was built very much like a pirate ship, albeit without the crow's nest and a helm. As opposed to housing one family as Lorelei's did, Stevie Ray Stinger's house seemed to be home to multiple families. All his younger cousins appeared to live here, and Lorelei couldn't help but feel that she had missed out on something as Stevie Ray's grandmother led her through a communal bedroom.
As the twins Alexis and Bailey Trivic were pointed out to her, she felt excitement for the future; she liked to think that, when Alexis and Bailey were welcomed aboard the Carnation, she would have the chance to share in some of Stevie Ray's upbringing. Lorelei was so engrossed in this idea, that she almost missed the vital bit of information that Stevie Ray Stinger had asked her for.
"Lorelei, this is Bailey," Stevie Ray's grandmother said as she tapped the end of the bed that the boy, Bailey, was sleeping in; the resemblance between him and his cousin was astounding. "He has eaten a devil's fruit, 'yaburu yaburu no mi', or the 'Break Break fruit'. He can turn any object to glass at will, and shatter it. Don't worry; his ability doesn't directly affect living beings." Lorelei hadn't realised she had gasped. She didn't mind admitting that she was a bit intimidated by this power, yet Stevie Ray's grandmother treated Bailey like he was not dangerous at all. Her level of respect for Stevie Ray Stinger dramatically increased. To come from such a family, he must have a formidable character... She smiled to herself as Stevie Ray's grandmother led her to her own bed for the night. Tomorrow, she would meet the twins.
O0o0O
A/N: Okay, this is completely different to what I thought the first chapter would be. Original First Chapter will now be Second Chapter, if anybody's interested in the thought process. This chapter was amazingly fun to write, especially Lorelei and how obsessed she is with her captain. I am aware of the repetition of Stevie Ray's name in Lorelei's bit; I did this on purpose to try and communicate how obsessed she is with him. Did this work or not? :/
All the titles will be named after a Robert Frost Poem, because I set myself a personal challenge in English. We were studying Frost's 'The Egg and The Machine' and I thought it would be a cool title. So yes, that's about it.