Eleutheromania
Chapter 10
*waves white flag*
Please don't kill me! I'm sorry I took so long, but it was really busy at work! I've done two sixday weeks in a row and keep getting dragged off to do other things on my days off. Unfortunately, my updates are likely to remain sporadic for the next month or so. I currently work at a dinosaur museum, and we're going out on our annual dig very shortly, so I'll be doing that for my days off until about mid-June - and uni. Why did I decide that was a good idea again?
It was about eight in the morning that their ship pulled into the docks on Silk Island, out the front of the township of Girdle. Koala had gone to negotiate a deal with the harbourmaster, leaving Lami to watch over Sabo, who had taken a fever in the night, much to the girls' worry. It was easy enough to secure a mooring for their boat, however, so long as neither girl mentioned that they were pirates. In fact, when questioned as to how their captain had ended up in the state he was, Koala had said they'd run afoul of some pirates, and their captain had stood up for them.
Technically, not a lie!
Unfortunately for Lami, the current doctor in the town wasn't very … orthodox. For example, his treatment method for Sabo's wounds had been to offer to pray, naked, under an appletree on the upcoming equinox, as well as suggesting that she bath the wounds in a mixture of sheep urine, smooshed lizard guts, and pig blood. Upon her refusal of such methods (accompanied by some cutting remarks in regards to the doctor's sanity, hygiene, and ancestry), the doctor had made to throw Lami out, only for her to leave with a final comment, head held high and shoulders proud.
The two girls had returned Sabo back to his bunk aboard Koala's ship, and whilst Koala had watched over their shivering captain after stern instructions from Lami, the Blue Scribes' young doctor had snuck back into the hospital to gather the necessary herbs to help his treatment. They decided to deal with the temper tantrum from Girdle's doctor when, and if, it happened.
The night was still a long one, however. Sabo remained red-faced and sweaty all throughout, contracting a harsh, gunky-sounding cough somewhere around two in the morning. The girls spent much of the rest of the night trying to ease his coughs, Koala elevating him slightly and mopping Sabo's face, neck and chest, covering him up with swathes of blankets as Lami tried to create a medicine to help break up the phlegm coating his lungs, as well as antibacterial ointments for his wounds.
By first light, he was at least breathing easier, although it still rattled in his throat, reminding Koala uncomfortably of her time as a slave, and Lami too much of the dead.
"Oi, Navigator-ya," Lami said quietly perhaps a half hour after sunrise. "Go to market and see what you can get for food and fresh water, would you? Another blanket and fresh linens wouldn't hurt either, if we can spare the Belli."
In a bit of a daze herself after such a night, Koala nodded and made her way above deck, moneybag to hand.
Much to her surprise, Koala found two boys about to cast off from the mooring point next to their ship, laughing together over a shared joke. They were both younger than herself, no older than fifteen. One was small, pale and slightly chubby with light pink hair and big blue glasses, whilst the other was thin as a stick and dark as one too, his hair dark green with a shocking strip of hot pink in his shaggy fringe.
"Oh, good morning!" The pink-haired one exclaimed politely.
"Heya!" The green-haired one added excitedly. "Are you that cranky doctor lady they were all talking about yesterday?"
Koala burst out laughing. "No!" She finally gasped out, calming down. "I'm the navigator, Koala. Lami is the doctor, but she's down below with our captain."
"Oh," The dark-skinned boy actually looked put out by the revelation.
"Leif!" Hissed the pale boy. "Don't be rude!" He bowed to Koala politely. "I'm sorry about my cousin, Koala-san! He forgets his manners some days," here he shot a reproachful look at the darker boy. "My name is Coby!" He elbowed his cousin, who yelped and added,
"'m Leif! Nice to meet ya!"
Koala grinned. Looked like she'd made some friends! "It's nice to meet you two, too! Hey, could you help me out? Where would be the cheapest places to get groceries, blankets, and fresh bandage linens?"
The cousins exchanged odd looks.
"It's probably not a good idea for you to be seen today, Koala-san." Coby began. "You really made Frosch-sensei mad."
"We can help with the blankets and linens, though!" Leif added cheerfully. "Auntie Dawn, Coby's mum, she's the top tailor in town, and I'm her apprentice! Making linen and bandages is easy!"
Before Coby could scold his rambunctious cousin again, Koala clapped her hands excitedly, smiling brightly. "Would you really help us? That's so kind of you both!"
Both boys had colour flaring in their cheeks, as they stumbled out "it's no worries"s and "not a bother"s.
"Let's split up!" Leif exclaimed to his cousin. "You get the blankets and bandages, and I'll get some food for the miss!" He was off like a rabbit then, disappearing through the brush, fluttering pieces of his fringe the only sign of where he was.
"Hey, wait!" Coby exclaimed. "What about the fishing?!" He, too, took off, leaving Koala on deck with her thoughts.
Huh… fish…
On Fishman Island, seafood was, obviously, a staple part of the inhabitants diet. Naturally, the Sunny Pirates would see little need to change this once at sea. At first, Koala had been confused that Fishmen would eat fish, but they'd explained to her that there was a difference between their two species, just like there was a difference between humans and monkeys (though some of them found it harder to differentiate than others). As such, dinner was perhaps the easiest job aboard ship, at least for the Pirates. All they had to do was jump over board, pick what they wanted cooked, and then chase it down.
Having sailed with them for so long, Koala had also developed a taste for seafood, and since she'd gotten a firm control over her Fishman Karate, had often snuck off the coast of Baltigo to find dinner. Reaching into the deep pocket of her yellow dress, Koala pulled out her bubble-making piece of coral and dived over board, creating a pocket of air for her face under the waves.
Spotting a school of fish in the distance, Koala zoomed off, a smile on her face. Maybe this pirating thing would be kinda fun, after all?
Lami felt her head nodding, and once again shook herself back to wakefulness, moving forward to check Sabo over. It was curious that the captain had taken so ill all of a sudden, after such progress the day before. Once again, Lami cursed the fact that she wasn't as good as her big brother – he'd know how to help Sabo!
The blonde stirred in his sleep, shifting and making small noises of pain.
"Sh, shh now," Lami murmured, brushing his fringe from his face and wiping his brow with a wet cloth again.
"Maki…no-san," Sabo rasped, the name drawn out. "My brothers…?"
"They're fine," Lami answered gently, still smoothing his hair off his face. "Go back to sleep. It will help you heal."
"Will you…," he tried to clear his throat. "Will you tell me a … story? Just like when we were kids?"
Taking a cup of water and half sitting Sabo up, Lami gave him a little bit at a time. The whole time, however, she was repeating one of the bedtime stories her mother used to read to her as a small child.
"Once upon a time, long, long ago… Perhaps over four hundred years ago… In a certain country in the North Sea, there lived a man named Montblanc Norland. Norland was an explorer who always spoke of adventures so grand, they sounded like lies. But the people of the village could never tell if those stories were true or not. One day, Norland returned from an expedition and went to report to the King.
"'I saw a mountain of gold on an island in the Grand Line!'
"The brave King, wanting to see for himself… set sail for the Great Sea, taking two thousand soldiers with him. After overcoming great storms, and battling horrific monsters, the only ones to reach the island were Norland, the King, and one hundred of the soldiers.
"But all the King and his men found there was an empty jungle. Norland was sentenced to death for his lies. And these were Norland's last words:
"'That's it! The mountain of gold must have sunk into the ocean!'
"The King and his subjects were astounded. No one would believe Norland anymore. But to the day he died, Norland would not stop lying. And so, this is a warning for the little children of the North Blue – if you lie, eventually you'll get caught, and punished. So don't be like Norland, and make sure you tell your elders the truth… The End."
Lami felt her lips twitch though, as she watched Sabo slip deeper into sleep's waiting arms. "But, then again… Norland-ya was a bit more decent than a pirate. I think it's rather part and parcel for us to lie! However…" She cast her senses out, confused.
"Where the hell is Koala-ya?!"