IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR READERS!

Well, it's important for me…Apparently, according to my account, I have had no readers since Sunday. Is this a malfunction on the website's part or are you guys just not reading? I hope it's the former…PLEASE READ. And, if this is a malfunction, stop scaring me mean website!

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own One Piece and what not….

"Nyshairyn….Can you make a fire? It's freezing out here! Really, really freezing!"

Unfortunately for Tide, Caout woke up some time around three and proceeded to complain about how cold it was. It was now five in the morning, the sun was beginning to peak above the horizon and Caout was still going on about it. Tide, who was used to camping out here, wasn't bothered by the cold. But for Caout, who was new to the experience, the cold was unbearable.

"Listerra, didn't I tell you a few hours ago that I have no control over my fire?" Tide was obviously annoyed by now.

"I remember…So, how about you go out there, grab some firewood and make a fire by hand?"

Tide turned to glare at the cowboy hat wearing girl and said in no uncertain terms that if she wanted a fire, she should make it herself. Caout growled but climbed out of the makeshift tent Tide had built. She went over to some nearby trees and started gathering some fallen branches. Truth be told, she wasn't sure how to make a fire but she wasn't going to let Tide know that.

"Wood, wood, wood!" Caout sung to herself, "Finding some firewood! Chop it up, burn it up! Then I'll be warm! Warm and toasty, warm and toasty! Toasty, toasty and warm!"

"I could do without the concert!" Tide's voice yelled.

Caout stuck her tongue out in Tide's direction, though she knew the girl wouldn't see it. As Caout bent down to pick up some more sticks, she heard a twig snap. She lifted her head slightly, looking in the direction of the dark forest. She became very quiet and waited.

"Hmmm….Maybe it was my imagination…?"

Caout bent down to gather some more sticks when she heard it again. She dropped the pile in her hands and started backing away from the forest. Her eyes never left it though. She backed into the two little tents that Tide made.

"Nyshairyn!" Caout said as she shook the Elementist's shoulder, her eyes still glued to the forest, "Nyshairyn, wake up!"

Tide, who had fallen back asleep after Caout stopped singing, was jerked awake. She crawled out of the tent, put her hands on her hips and gave Caout her signature frown. Then again, she never smiled…

"One night…" Tide said, "I deal with your endless talk all day! It annoys me to no end but I tolerate it! And you can't let me have one night of silence?"

"But I heard something in there," Caout said, pointing at the forest, "And what do you mean it annoys you? I tell you interesting stuff all the time!"

Tide waited but she didn't hear a thing…She looked over at Caout. What game was she playing at? Caout frowned and stared harder, trying to see through the darkness…

"I'm telling you, I heard something in there!" Caout insisted, "…Maybe we should head out…?"

"Fine," Tide groaned, "If it will make you feel better…Wind Burst!"

Tide flicked her hand in the direction of the two structures. A wave of wind slammed into them and knocked them down. Caout was still in awe at Tide's power. Though she wished that she could have the opportunity to show off her own abilities.

When our next opponent comes, I'll beat him up all on my own! Caout thought to herself.

Then, she heard it again. The sound of steps. She turned to say "I told you so" to Tide. But Tide was looking toward the forest. Apparently she had heard it too. The girls turned their bodies to face the forest. Tide slowly started to walk towards it. Her arm was ready to deal out a punishing gust of wind. Then, without warning…

"Yip, yip, yip!"

Bounding out of the forest came a little black and white puppy. It bounded straight towards Tide and started licking her bare feet. Tide picked up the little pup and held it in her arms. She didn't smile but her eyes did appear to soften at the little cutie's presence.

"You're the one who's been worrying us? Look, Listerra! There was nothing to worry-"

Tide turned around but was surprised not to see Caout there. Caout was all the way on the other side of the road, pushing herself against a tree. Her eyes were wide, staring at the little puppy in Tide's hands. Tide, a little baffled, started to walk towards Caout. The puppy in her hands was yipping and whining in Caout's direction.

The noise, which would make a normal little girl squeal in delight, seemed to make Caout desperate to push herself through the tree. As Tide got closer, she saw that Caout was sweating and trembling. What on earth?

"G-g-get that t-t-thing away from m-m-m-me!" Caout stuttered.

"What, this little puppy?" Tide asked, holding up said creature.

Caout yelped and jumped behind the tree, a move that confused both Tide and the puppy.

"Yes, that little thing! Begone demon creature from the pits of hell!"

"You better be talking to the puppy…" Tide said.

"I am! Now, get it away!"

Tide couldn't believe. This super-energetic, chattering little kid who was willing to walk right up to two dangerous, full-grown drunk men…was afraid of a puppy? …Okay, she had to do this…Tide, without making a single sound, walked as close to the tree as possible. The puppy, aware of what was about to happen, stopped making any noises too.

"Alright, Listerra," Tide said, "The puppy is gone. You can come out now…"

"Thank goodness!" Caout said in a relieved tone as she stepped out from behind the tree, "I can't stand-"

Caout's voice failed when Tide suddenly brought the puppy to her face. The puppy licked the tip of Caout's nose.

"WAAAAAHHHH!" Caout screamed as she ran faster than Tide had ever seen anyone run.

Tide scoffed…So the kid was afraid of dogs. She put the puppy gently on the ground and told it to go back where it came from. But the puppy merely sat down and rubbed against Tide's leg. It seemed to have taken a liking to the pink-haired girl. Tide looked down at it with her blue eyes.

"If you're gonna stay, you can't get in the way…I'll call you Hero. Cause you saved me from that kid."

Speaking of the kid, Tide realized that she had run off in the direction they had come from. Tide couldn't hear her screaming anymore. Half of her wanted to run at that moment. If the girl was gone, then she didn't have to deal with her anymore. But the other half of her said that it wouldn't be nice to leave behind the kid after saying she would be led to the docks.

"That girl is such a nuisance…" Tide said as she ran off in the direction Caout had, the puppy trailing behind her.

Tide had been running for a few minutes and she still hadn't run into Caout. How fast could that girl run? This was insane! Next thing she knew, a figure zoomed by Tide and the puppy. Tide turned to see Caout standing a few feet behind her. She was panting and pointing past Tide.

"Where have you been? I've been looking all over!" Tide said, annoyed.

"B-B-B-B-B-BEAR!" Caout yelled.

Tide snapped her head around and saw that yes, in fact there was a bear. A really, really, really big bear who was running towards them. Tide scooped up the puppy in her hands and ran. As she passed Caout, she grabbed hold of her wrist. In an impressive stunt, she was able to maneuver Caout onto her back so that Caout was now riding piggyback.

"You hold on like your life depended on it!" Tide yelled at her as she sprinted.

"Nyshairyn, are you sure you can keep this up?" Caout asked.

"You're looking at the world's youngest adrenaline junkie! I can handle this sort of thing!"

Adrenaline junkie…? Caout wasn't sure she liked the sound of that…But Tide was going really fast and outrunning that bear so she couldn't really complain.

"Hang on, Listerra!" Tide called, "We're making a detour!"

Before Caout could question what she meant, Tide took a sharp turn into the forest. Caout looked back and saw the bear was still in heavy pursuit. Caout and Tide had to turn their bodies this way and that in order to avoid slamming into low lying branches or trees.

"HA HA!" Caout taunted as the bear was having a difficult time, "We're winning, stupid bear!"

"Listerra, don't make fun of the wildlife!" Tide growled, "Especially when we're not out of the woods yet!"

"Of course we're not out of the woods yet, Nyshairyn…What do you think we're running through?"

Tide couldn't believe the matter-of-fact tone Caout had used when she said that. Suddenly, Tide saw a really low branch coming up.

"DUCK!" she shouted.

"Where?" Caout asked excitedly. She was in the mood for a nice roasted duck at the moment.

Instead, Caout's neck slammed straight into the branch. Tide didn't notice and kept on running. However, she slowly became aware of the fact that she was going slower than normal. Was she getting tired? No…It felt like something was pulling her back. Tide turned her head and saw, to her utter shock, that while Caout's body was still attached to her, Caout's head was back on that branch. Connecting the body and head was a very long, stretched out neck.

"WHAT THE-?" Tide couldn't finish the sentence because she, the puppy and Caout's body were suddenly flying towards Caout's head.

Caout's head and body stretched back to normal. However, Tide and the puppy were sent flying into the bear. They collided with the animal's stomach. The three dropped to the ground. Caout walked over and saw that the bear was out like a light. Meanwhile, Tide, who was on top of the bear's stomach, seemed a little out of it. The puppy was on top of her, barking and unhurt.

Caout sighed as she draped Tide over her shoulders. She then looked down, nervously, at the puppy who was staring at her curiously.

"Listen, you!" she said, "You stay ten feet away from me at all times got that? No touching me in any way! I don't bother you and you don't bother me!"

The puppy sat down and tilted its head, not getting what this girl with the cowboy hat was scared about. But it gave her a little yip that Caout took to mean "alright".

"OKAY! Let's go then!"

Caout wandered onto the road, the puppy named Hero a bit behind her. Caout looked left and right and suddenly realized something…

"Wait…Which way do we go?"

Nice and short little chapter. Actually, this is my shortest chapter yet. I just wanted Tide to finally learn about Caout's ability…Please read and review!