Wren walked silently with her crewmates, Vivi, and Ace as they trekked across the desert. She was deep in thought while thinking back to that small sand tornado. That shape she saw in the sand…it was definitely a human outline, and there's only one person she knows to control sand. Wren came out of her thoughts when she heard Chopper, who was in his heavy point, and Usopp's raised voices. She looked back at them while wondering what was wrong with them. Zoro then got involved while forcing Chopper to shrink back down.
"You all need to stop the fussing and conserve your energy." Wren chided as she gave them a stern look. "We still have a lot of desert to cross, and over exerting yourselves isn't going to help any of us."
"Yes, ma'am, we're sorry." Chopper and Usopp said in unison.
Wren nodded her head once she saw that they understood. She then started walking again while pulling her hood farther down her face, so to protect it from the sun.
"The desert doesn't seem to bother you much, Vivi-san." Sanji commented.
"Well, I was born and raised in this country, so I guess you could say I'm used to it." Vivi said. "It all kind of depends on what kind of climate you grow in. Like how Tony-kun and Wren-san are better in colder, cloudier climates."
Wren looked at Vivi with a quirked brow as she wondered how Vivi came to the conclusion that Wren did better in colder weather.
"You weren't all that affected by the cold on Drum Island. Even after you lost your coat it didn't seem to bother you." Vivi explained when seeing Wren's curious look. "I'm guessing you came from a winter island or maybe an island in the North Blue."
Wren hummed in acknowledgement to Vivi's claim, but the others weren't sure if that was Wren confirming what Vivi said or not, so they looked curiously at Wren. Wren sighed lightly when feeling their curious looks.
"I was born in the North Blue." Wren said. "That's where Millennia Island was located. Then my crew—Excuse me, former crew was stationed in that sea for a while before moving on to the Grand Line. My homeland wasn't a winter island like the ones in the Grand Line, but the North Blue is one of the colder territories of the four Blues. And it did have heavy snow in the winters, and the snow actually started in the late fall then stayed sometimes stayed into the early spring."
Nami nodded knowing that was true. North Blue had islands that were usually cooler in climate while the South Blue islands were the exact opposite.
"Wren, if you came from an island with a lot of snow, why do you hate snow countries?" Usopp asked curiously.
Wren frowned looking down at the ground. Her hands clutched the straps of her bag tightly. By her silence the crew could see that she didn't wish to answer that question. Sanji moved to Wren's side to place a hand on her shoulder in comfort, and while she didn't say anything, she did reach up to pat his hand. Whether it was in silent gratitude or a way to assure Sanji that she was alright was unknown. Usopp bit his lip while trying to think of a conversation change.
"So, uh, what's with all these hills?" Usopp asked. "I was expecting a desert to be more flat!"
"This is a very old desert." Vivi said. "Some of the sand dunes here are over 900 feet high."
Which is impressive, but Wren didn't like having to climb up them. If she was on her own, she'd just fly over the desert on one of her creatures, but having to create enough creatures for everyone to hide for a long period of time would be too much for her. Using her ability to summon monsters wasn't usually hard, but when she summons multiple ones for so long it takes a toll on her.
"900 feet?" Usopp asked. "Oh my god…no…that's—huh—that's…a mountain."
Wren pondered that thinking they'd actually be kind of small mountains compared to how tall other mountains could be.
"So hot." Luffy whined from near the head of the group. "Water."
"Just one drink, Luffy." Nami said. "Just one mouthful."
Luffy put the straw to the barrel in his mouth, and as he drank some his mouthful was definitely bigger than Nami meant since his rubber cheeks puffed out quite a bit. Wren shook her head while seeing that Nami and Usopp were going to hit Luffy in the back of the head. She moved to the front quickly while holding Luffy's mouth closed like holding closed a water balloon, so when he was knocked in the back of the head, the water didn't spew out. He swallowed it down as Usopp and Nami snapped at him for drinking so much.
"Wren, why'd you let him drink that?!" Usopp asked.
"It was already in his mouth." Wren said as she let go of Luffy's mouth. "And it would have been a waste if he happened to spit it out after you both hit him in the back of the head. Now all of you calm down."
She glared at them while she said this, which had them shrinking away from her. She could be really scary at times. Wren then sighed when seeing that they calmed down a bit.
"I know this heat is getting to all of us, but we can't be acting so childishly." Wren said. "Crossing this desert is dangerous enough as it is, we don't need all of you wearing yourselves out and collapsing halfway through just because you all were fighting amongst yourselves."
Wren said no more than that as she turned around to start walking again. The group watched her for a minute then walked after her.
"Is it just me or does Wren seem to be a bit on edge?" Nami asked her friends.
"She's been acting kind of funny ever since we left Erumalu." Usopp added.
"She probably just saw something that bothered her." Zoro said. "I don't think we have to worry about her. I've learned pretty quickly that Wren can take care of herself."
The others murmured in agreement though two people continued to look at Wren in concern. Ace watched Wren with a curious eye as he wondered what was on her mind while Sanji wished there was a way to make her smile, so to get her mind off whatever was bothering her.
As the crew was getting ready for dinner after the sun went down, Wren sat a little ways away from them. She was leaning against one of the large rocks as the others were around the fire. She looked to be lightly dozing, but she was very much awake. Hard to sleep with a crew as loud as hers. However, she didn't feel like sleeping just yet. She could hear Sanji snapping at Luffy and Usopp to wait for the food to be done as Nami was complaining about the change of temperature. Wren opened her eye supposing it had gotten rather chilly, but she was fine with it. She definitely much preferred it to the scorching heat.
"Hey, Wren, aren't you cold over there?"
Wren blinked then turned her head to see it was Zoro who called out to her. He was looking at her more out of curiosity than concern though that didn't surprise her.
"Not really." Wren said. "It is a bit nippy, but I don't mind it."
Zoro nodded his head supposing that Vivi was right about Wren being able to handle colder weather. He wondered if the islands of the North Blue ever got this cold. Probably considering it does snow there.
"Well, you should stop being so antisocial." Nami called over to her. "Come join the rest of us."
Really Nami just wanted an extra source of heat to snuggle to like the boys had with Chopper.
"…but you're so far away." Wren said sighing.
Nami rolled her eyes as Vivi giggled in amusement. She wouldn't want to move if she was Wren either. They did do a lot of walking today.
"I'll carry you over here, my darling~" Sanji gushed as he rushed over to Wren.
Then before she could decline his offer, Sanji had her up in his arms, which actually drew a small whine of protest from the young woman. Ace chuckled at the pout on her face since it was nice to see her not being so serious or stoic. When she heard his chuckle, Wren threw him a frown, which just had his grin widening. Wren didn't have time to deal with him though since Sanji quickly carried her over to Nami and Vivi.
"Here you are, Wren-chan." Sanji said as he set her down beside Nami.
Wren sighed though thanked Sanji, which had him smiling widely at her thanks. Nami then leaned into Wren for warmth. It honestly made her think of the times that she and Law used to lean against each other at night as they were camping out on some island with Corazon. Though usually she was the one doing the leaning. She'd lean into Law's side while ignoring his grumbling about her being "clingy", which maybe she had been…but being near Law had made her happy. And even if his personality wasn't that "likeable", she felt safe when feeling Law's warmth and knowing he was close.
The memories of all those time brought a barely notable smile to Wren's face as she leaned her head on top of Nami's. The young navigator was at first surprised by the gesture, but Nami then smiled with her own feeling of nostalgia washing over her as she thought of Nojiko. Leaning against Wren like this was like being close to Nojiko again because like Nojiko, Wren gave off a warm sisterly vibe. Sanji, who was watching the two women, smiled when seeing Wren's beautiful face had lost the troubled expression from earlier. As Nami and Wren stayed huddled together, they ignored the boys as Usopp and Chopper got into another argument. It was resolved soon anyway when Luffy became involved.
Wren watched Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper soon drift off into the land of dreams. She wouldn't be surprised if Zoro had already joined them there. She then glanced to Nami to see the ginger haired girl had dozed off while leaning against Wren. Oh, how she wished she could find sleep so easily, but she hasn't had a decent night of sleep for such a long time that she has forgotten was a full night's rest fell like. Like Ace, Wren had her own sleeping disorder, but it wasn't narcolepsy that lead to randomly falling asleep. No, her disorder was insomnia, which was the inability to sleep regularly.
"It is such a pain." Wren murmured to herself so low that Vivi, Sanji, and Ace had not heard her.
She then gave a sigh as she looked up at the star covered sky. Not even its beauty could put her mind at ease and bring her sleep. Wren then glanced at Nami again as the younger woman continued to snooze. Wren waved her hand in an nonchalant way with one of her monkey monsters (not the giant ones) appearing at her side.
"Please move her into the shelter of the tent." Wren said. "And be gentle."
The monkey monster hooted while giving a salute before he carefully moved Nami away from Wren. Sanji normally would have snapped at the ape to let go of Nami, but he didn't wish to wake the navigator, so he settled for glaring heatedly at it instead. Vivi followed after the monkey into the tent, so she could rest as well.
"Aren't you going to turn in, Wren-chan?" Sanji asked. "A young and beautiful lady such as yourself needs your rest."
"No, I won't be resting yet." Wren said. "Someone needs to keep watch, and besides, when it comes to sleeping, I'm not very good at it."
Sanji frowned in confusion since he had no idea of what Wren meant. Did she really not sleep well? Now that he thinks about it, on the night he met Wren, she hadn't slept a wink. She stayed up the entire night to look over Nami, and after that he barely saw her rest as she sat like a sentinel at Nami's bedside as the navigator was sick. Then the night she had fallen asleep she woke from a nightmare. Did Wren have nightmares often? If she did, it would explain why it was rare for her to sleep. However, he remembers she had slept soundly when they were in the crow's nest together. Would she be able to sleep tonight if she knew someone was there beside her? With a decision made, Sanji moved over to Wren to sit down.
"Well, I'm not about to leave a lady all on her own." Sanji said as he grinned, but not in that usual love struck way of his. "So, I'll keep watch with you."
Wren went to protest, but paused while already knowing that he would insist at remaining at her side. And a part of her didn't mind him staying at her side.
"And feel free to cuddle me for warmth if you wish~" Sanji added as he puffed out smoke from his cigarette in the shape of hearts.
Wren sweat-dropped as she wondered if she'd ever truly get used to Sanji and his love struck ways. As Wren thanked Sanji for his offer, Ace watched the pair with an unreadable expression.
Wren began to stir as the early morning started to lighten the darkened desert. She opened her eye silently while wondering when she had shut them. Had she really fallen asleep? She also realized she was laying down instead of a sitting position. She blinked then turned her head to see Sanji's sleeping face above her. She realized her head was in his lap, and that at some point in the night that he or maybe even Ace draped a blanket over her to keep her warm. This is the second time she's gotten a full night's rest with the Straw Hat chef near. Was this merely coincidence?
"Ah, I found a shrimp!"
Wren turned her head again while seeing that Luffy, who was holding up a scorpion not a shrimp, was awake along with Usopp and Chopper.
"Are you sure it's a shrimp?" Chopper asked. "That's neat!"
Usopp then ran over as Wren pushed herself up into an almost complete sitting position.
"But shrimp don't live in the desert." Usopp said.
Luffy just turned around grinning as he showed Usopp his catch, and apparently the sniper didn't know what a scorpion was either because he immediately corrected his last statement while believing in Luffy's claim that what he had caught was indeed a shrimp.
"Actually, Luffy-sama, Usopp-san, Chopper-chan, what you're holding is a scorpion." Wren spoke up, which had Usopp and Chopper jumping since they were startled by her voice.
Luffy wasn't at all startled and turned his head to grin at his crewmate who wrapped the cover around herself.
"Are they edible?" Luffy asked hopefully.
"I suppose they could be if they were prepared properly." Wren said in a thoughtful manner as she cupped her chin and closed her eye.
She then opened her eye to look directly at Luffy who looked ready to just shove the scorpion into his mouth raw.
"However, the stringer on its tail carries a heavy toxin." Wren continued, and her words has Luffy pausing. "A toxin so deadly that it could kill you in seconds if you were to be strung by it."
Usopp and Chopper gasped with horror written on their faces as they leaned away from the scorpion Luffy was holding. The young captain just frowned not looking worried in the slightest. Though he did look a tad annoyed he couldn't eat the scorpion.
"Oh really? Guess I don't want it then." He deadpanned. "You?"
He held it out towards Usopp who immediately flinched back away from Luffy and the scorpion.
"Hey now, keep that away from me!" Usopp ordered.
Luffy finally just threw the scorpion over his shoulder, and the creature scurried away as Vivi came out of the girls' tent.
"What's all the noise about?" She asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Nothing too important." Wren said. "Luffy-sama was just about to eat a scorpion, but once I pointed out how deadly it could be, he understood it was best not to make a snack out of the creature, which prompted him to release it."
Vivi's mouth dropped open in shock when hearing that Luffy could have almost died by eating something so deadly. As Vivi thoroughly freaked out, Wren got up onto her feet. She was adjusting her cloak, which had become wrinkled as she slept when Chopper suddenly became alert. Wren wasn't the only one to notice since Luffy looked down at the little reindeer quizzically.
"What's wrong?" Luffy asked. "What's going on, Chopper?"
Chopper didn't reply at first as he climbed up on top one of the smaller rocks to get a better look at whatever triggered his animal warning senses.
"Something's coming and quick." Chopper said.
Wren frowned as she looked in the direction that Chopper was. She will admit that there was a bit of unease in her stomach. Almost like the feeling she received in Erumalu.
"Something…like what?" Usopp asked.
Wren stepped forward while grabbing Banshī, which she had left leaning against a rock nearby. She stared out at the horizon to see the wind was picking up and that there were several sand twisters that were much bigger than the one in Erumalu. Just then Ace woke from his sleep since it had been disturbed due to all the noise the wind was making. He got to his feet then moved to stand beside Wren.
"Heh, the wind's picking up." He said grinning.
He then looked down at Wren to see her pensive expression as if she was bothered. She was also a bit tense as if prepared for battle. Was her haki warning her about something? He wasn't picking up anything.
"Everyone!" Vivi suddenly shouted, which woke Sanji quickly. "Hide behind the rocks quick!"
"How come?" Luffy asked.
"A sandstorm is coming!" Vivi warned.
Ace didn't look all too worried about this sandstorm since he was gazing at it with an almost impressed expression on his face. Wren, who was still on edge, sighed when seeing that he wouldn't be moving, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. She grabbed the strings of Ace's hat, and he grunted in surprise when she tugged him down to her level.
"I believe Vivi-san said to find shelter behind the rocks not gape at the sandstorm like a fool." Wren said sternly.
"Worried about my safety now, are you?" Ace asked grinned.
Wren narrowed her eye at Ace then shoved him towards the rocks beside their camp after she had let go of his hat strings. She then turned to Sanji who seemed stump on what was going on as Luffy commented about how cool the sandstorm looked.
"Sanji-san, we must seek shelter." Wren said as she held out her hand to him. "Please, come along."
"Anything for you, Wren-chwan!" He said.
He took her hand then let her help him up. They walked to get behind the rocks just in time as the sandstorm hit. Wren sat against the rock while looking forward in a bored manner as the sand whirled around them harshly.
"Okay, enough with the sand already. I'm not impressed anymore." Luffy, who was laying on the ground with a deadpanned expression, said as he held his precious hat to his head.
Wren just sighed feeling as if it'd be a while before this sandstorm stopped being an annoying pest to them. With that in mind she hunkered down while patiently waiting for the storm to past. She's traveled many places and seen and gone through many things many others haven't. She was used to having to deal with the elements, so she would just wait patiently for everything to quiet down since there was nothing else she could do.
"I should have mentioned it earlier." Vivi said as the tents were being ripped apart. "Sandstorms are another one of the desert's dangers."
"You've got to start remembering this stuff!" Usopp wailed.
He almost sounded like the screams caused by Wren's sword when she uses it to cut down her enemies.
"It is not like things can be changed now." Wren said simply and though she didn't shout, her voice carried through the wind. "You shouldn't waste your voice screaming. Just stay low and wait for everything to pass."
She brought her hood up over her head while drawing her knees to her chest. Sanji studied Wren while having the feeling that she was used to having to deal with nature. She wasn't fazed about any of this. The two then heard a snore from beside them, which had the two glancing at Ace to see he had fallen asleep.
"Fool." Wren scoffed shaking her head.
Her eyes then widened when Ace leaned against her in his sleep with his head on top of hers. Sanji's eyes widened as well, and he expected Wren to shove the older man away while waking him to yell at him about needing to respect people's space. However, she was surprisingly silent as she looked at Ace with an unreadable expression. She finally just sighed as she looked away with a displeased look on her face.
"What an annoying man." Wren said. "And a foolish one."
Sanji frowned as he wondered just how close Ace and Wren were. Wren acted as if the fire man annoyed her, but yet she was allowing him to basically use her like a pillow. He should be the one cuddled with the lovely Wren-chan! Sanji looked off to the side with his eyes burning with determination. He didn't care if Ace was Luffy's brother. Sanji would keep him far away from Wren as soon as this storm was over. No one was allowed to be so close to the lovely ladies on his crew except for him. He burned with determination to keep Wren away from Ace, and the very woman he was thinking about was looking at him with a quirked brow as his body was literally covered in frame.
"Since when did you devour the Mera-Mera no Mi?" She asked sweat-dropping.
The next day after the sandstorm was over, and then everyone had every packed up to leave, the group continued their journey. During their trek across the sand Wren started noticing that Sanji kept a lot closer to her side, and made sure she had little interaction with Ace as possible. She was starting to really wonder why. However, said nothing since she actually kind of feared the answer she might get.
"Hey, Sanji, let's have one of those boxed lunches." Luffy spoke up suddenly.
"Not yet." Sanji said. "Not until Vivi-san says so."
Luffy pouted because he felt as if he hadn't ate for days even if he had dinner last night. Luffy then smiled at Vivi while hoping to get her to say okay to them having lunch.
"Come on, Vivi, how about it?" He asked as he walked over to her. "Let's eat. Doesn't that sound good?"
"But we're not even a tenth of the way to Yuba, Luffy." Vivi said. "And we have to make our supplies last the whole way."
Even without gorging themselves it was still possible to run out of supplies before reaching their destination. Wren knew that when dealing with terrain like this that anything could happen.
"Don't be silly, Vivi." Luffy said. "Haven't you heard the old proverb? 'Make sure you eat whenever you're hungry'."
Wren actually felt a small chuckle leave her lips as she smiled towards Luffy. It seemed trying to get him to think logically even in these conditions was impossible.
"Oh, quit making things up, ya big fat liar." Usopp said.
Sanji shook his head towards Usopp thinking the younger boy didn't have much room to talk.
"Okay, if you're that hungry, I'll tell you what." Vivi said. "Why don't we stop and eat at the next group of rocks we come by?"
Luffy's entire face lit up when he heard that because it sounded like a deal to him.
"Alright, rocks it is!" Luffy said then whirled around to face his crew and brother. "Onward to the next group of rocks! Okay, guys, whoever wins at rock-paper-scissors has to carry everybody's stuff!"
"Quit deciding things!" Usopp snapped.
Wren just remained silent as she wondered if Luffy purposely said the winner has to carry everything, or if he didn't understand that winning would be bad in this situation.
"Don't you mean the loser carries the stuff?" Sanji asked.
Luffy didn't reply as he got started on the game. Wren's crewmates all shouted at him to hold up as they ran forward to throw out their choices. Wren, however, remained beside Ace who was watching on in amusement when Luffy declared he won.
"He most likely won't be happy in a few seconds." Wren said.
"Probably not." Ace agreed as he chuckled.
Wren was proven right in a few seconds when Luffy was complaining about everyone giving their packs to him. They ignored him completely though, and even had Usopp build him a little wheel-less cart to pack the packs onto for him to pull.
"Wren-chan, allow me to place your pack with the others!" Sanji said as he ran over to her.
"It's alright, Sanji-san." Wren promised him. "I do not mind carrying my own pack. It's no bother at all. Besides, I did not participate in the game, so I have no right to place my pack with Luffy-sama."
Sanji was about to insist that she at least let him carry her bag since he didn't want her to wear herself out, but she just gave him a smile before walking on. He watched her go as the others started walking as well.
"I wouldn't worry about Wren." Ace said from beside Sanji. "She can handle herself. Besides, this wouldn't be the first time she crossed a desert, so carrying a pack won't be too much for her."
Sanji narrowed his eye at Ace as he remembered last night during the sandstorm that Ace was practically laying on top of Wren. Sanji didn't want to be hostile to a guest amongst them, but he didn't want the older man getting too close to Wren.
"How long have you known Wren?" Zoro asked as he glanced back at Ace and Sanji who were bringing up the rear of the group.
Well, actually Luffy was behind them since the weight of all the packs were slowing him down.
"Well, I met Wren a little after I joined the Whitebeard Pirates, so not long after I set off on my journey to be a pirate three years ago." Ace said. "After our first meeting, we had a few more run-ins. Each time she tried to take my head, or we fought."
Ace chuckled remembering all those times. There had been one time where she had to be carried away by Raelin during their fight since Doflamingo had been expecting them back in Dressrosa at a certain time.
"She fought a Whitebeard division commander and even tried to kill you?" Zoro asked grinning. "She obviously didn't seem worried about how Whitebeard might react."
Of course, he's noticed that Wren didn't seem like the easily scared time. She also didn't seem like the type to care who she pissed off.
"She's a fearless little thing for sure." Ace said laughing. "She let herself onto Oyaji's ship, and she kept herself standing tall in his presence even though some men might have cowered. She earned the respect of many of us division commanders, and Oyaji took a liking to her. Despite her reputation as a cruel and merciless woman, she has this charm about her that bring people towards her."
Sanji could believe that. Wren just seemed to attract people to her like a moth to a flame. Though at the time he had a feeling that people would run from her fire since they knew they could get burned.
"Besides, she's a real strong woman." Ace said. "She has faith in her skills, which gives her courage as well."
Not only was she a master swordswoman, but she had two of the haki mastered as well. Well, the second haki was still a work in progress at least that's what she told Ace the last time they fought. Sometimes she could use it, and other times not so much since it wore her out.
"Ya know, I've actually wanted to spare with her." Zoro said as he placed a hand on his Wado Ichimonji's hilt. "Test my skills against someone like her."
"Don't even think about it, ya shitty Marimo!" Sanji snapped. "You even think about harming a single hair on Wren-chan's beautiful head I'll chop you up and flambé you!"
Zoro turned around to glare at Sanji while ready to chop up the blonde cook himself.
"If he wants a fight, I will oblige."
Zoro whirled around to see Wren had dropped back to walk beside him. Sanji blinked wondering when she had gotten there. Ace grinned since he had noticed she moved back as they were talking.
"Once we're out of this desert perhaps we can have a spare." Wren said. "I have never fought anyone who uses three-sword-style. I am interested to see how you fight."
Zoro's grin returned as he nodded his head. Sanji's jaw just dropped while feeling worried about one of his lovely ladies fighting against Zoro. Zoro wouldn't hold back, and could seriously injure Wren. Zoro and Wren then started talking about the spar they were going to have as Sanji hung his head, but kept walking.
"Don't look so worried." Ace said as he chuckled. "She'll be fine. I'd be more worried about Zoro."
"I don't give a damn about that shitty Marimo." Sanji said as he lifted his head to glare at the swordsman.
Ace chuckled once more as the group continued to walk through the desert. When Luffy groaned from behind them, they all turned to see him really lagging behind.
"Heavy…so heavy." He said. "Why am I doing all the work?"
"You said the winner carries all, so shut up and haul." Sanji ordered.
"Make sure not to drop anything." Nami added.
Luffy hung his head while feeling a bit too tired to even take another step forward. Wren was about to offer assistance by conjuring one of her monsters to help, but Usopp's voice cut her off before she could even speak.
"Hey, guys, I spotted rocks dead ahead!" Usopp called out.
"Ya mean it?!" Luffy asked then zoomed past everybody. "It's lunchtime!"
Wren watched him go while having a feeling that it wasn't good for the Straw Hat captain to get too far ahead from the rest of them.
"We better hurry to catch up." Wren said. "Who knows what might happen with Luffy-sama all on his own?"
The others sighed hanging their heads while knowing a lot could happen if Luffy was on his own for even a few seconds. The damage might already be done. They started hurrying towards the rocks, so to catch up to Luffy. They were halfway there when Luffy suddenly came running back towards them.
"I need help!" Luffy shouted as he ran towards them.
Wren frowned at the urgency in his tone as she wondered what could have happened.
"That's weird." Usopp said. "Why's he coming back?"
"There's a whole flock of injured birds here that can't move!" Luffy said. "We need a doctor! Chopper!"
Chopper, who had been laying on the small platform Zoro was pulling him on, sprung to his feet despite how uncomfortable he was, he was a doctor after all. He had to put aside his tired feeling to help the injured. He hurried towards Luffy while holding his medical pack to his back.
"Alright, let's go, Chopper." Luffy said.
"Coming!" Chopper said.
"We've got to help these birds." Luffy said.
Chopper nodded then went to help Luffy with the birds when Vivi suddenly gasped.
"What birds?!" She asked. "Wait a minute, Luffy, those birds might not be what you think they are!"
Luffy paused in running back to the rocks to look at Vivi in confusion as did the others. Wren sighed though while having a feeling another one of the deserts many dangers had struck again, and that Vivi had completely forgotten to mention about it. The group hurried to the rocks after that, and as Wren looked around she saw no birds and no packs.
"All of our stuff is gone." Zoro said.
"We've been had." Nami added.
Yes, it appeared those birds were quite the actors, and managed to quickly steal most of their stuff during the time that Luffy was gone to get them. Wren was pleased that she still had her own pack. However, she didn't have enough supplies for all of them. She wished she did, but she was far from having enough for even half of them…for a day.
"But I saw them!" Luffy said as he pointed to where the birds had been laying. "There had been a whole flock of dying birds laying right there!"
"I believe you, Luffy-sama." Wren said. "However, I believe those birds were only pretending to be dying, so that you would rush to get help. They were…playing possum, I believe the phrase is."
Luffy and the others—besides Vivi—looked at Wren with wide eyes. They then looked at Vivi wondering if Wren's assumption was correct.
"She is right." Vivi said. "And I am so sorry. I should have mentioned this earlier. Warusagi birds are desert bandits that deceive travelers and steal their belongings."
"You've gotta be kidding!" Luffy growled.
Based by Vivi's expression and the absence of their stuff, Wren would say that Vivi is not kidding in the slightest.
"You mean these birds play dead?" Usopp asked then snapped, "What a lousy bunch of crooks!"
He'd love to just get his hands on them to teach them a lesson about stealing from pirates.
"This is all my fault." Vivi said.
Wren was almost inclined to agree since the rest of them couldn't prepare for all these dangers if they didn't know about them. Wren has said it many times that information is important, and without it it's hard to prepare for things like this situation they were in now. However, Luffy shouldn't have left the packs behind either, but his kindheartedness seemed to compel him to run and get Chopper.
"Those birds tricked me." Luffy said frowning.
Sanji ran up to him to grab him by the front of his shirt to glare right at the younger boy.
"Luffy, you dolt, is that all you have to say for yourself?" Sanji asked. "There were three days' worth of supplies in those packs, and you just had to go and let a bunch of stupid birds rob us blind in the middle of a desert! How are we supposed to get across this wasteland without food or water? I hope you're proud of yourself!"
"Come on, it's not my fault." Luffy said. "I mean they outsmarted me."
Sanji got right in Luffy's face when the Straw Hat captain said that, and Wren sighed having a feeling that things were going to get worse.
"You mean you're dumber than a bird?" Sanji asked.
"What's that?!" Luffy demanded.
They started tussling on the ground while throwing childish insults at each other. Wren shook her head though supposed the heat was getting to them. Understandable. She found her patience running thinner and thinner the longer they were in the heat.
"Knock it off, you two!" Zoro ordered.
He then glanced back at Ace when the older man placed his hand onto Zoro's shoulder.
"Just save your energy." Ace said. "At times like this, it's better to just let them have it out."
Zoro sighed though supposed that was true, so he just grinned while taking his hood down.
"Fine with me." He said as he sat down on one of the rocks. "Let's just take a break. This heat is just starting to wear on everybody's nerves. I'm sure we'll manage food and water wise. It's nothing that will kill us right away. Let's put it out of our minds for now."
He seemed to fall into his first-mate mode pretty easily when the situation called for it, Wren noted. She then calculated the time it'd take to get to Yuba, which fell around three days. Well, the human body could go three days without water and three weeks without food, so as long as the heat of the sun doesn't kill them, they should make it to Yuba alive. Of course, three days without water might turn into two or one considering how much heat they have to put up with. Wren then sensed a few animal-like presences nearby, so she turned her head at the same time as the others to see those bird thieves standing there with their stuff.
"Oh, it seems they've come to taunt us." Wren said as one took a large gulp of water from one of the barrels.
She then smirked with a deadly look in her visible eye as she held out in hand in front of her.
"It'll prove to be a fatal mistake for them." Wren said. "Horā–Hor—!"
She never got to call forth her monster since Luffy's shouting cut her off as he ran after the birds. He shouted at them to bring back their stuff as the birds ran from him.
"No, Luffy, don't chase them!" Vivi called after the boy.
Luffy didn't listen as he got farther and farther away from the rocks and his friends, so to chase the birds.
"That idiot." Sanji complained.
"Wait, will you be able to find your way back?!" Nami called out.
"Come back here, you dope!" Usopp shouted. "Luffy!"
Again Luffy ignored his friends as he continued to give chase to those birds. Wren sighed then waved her hand to her side with a few of those Wolf Bats appearing beside her.
"Find those thieving birds, and bring back our things." Wren said. "You can eat the birds for all I care. However, our belongings come back in one piece. And please, bring the boy wearing a straw hat back with you unharmed."
The Wolf Bats made a few growling-squeaking noises before taking off into the air. As they flew up into the sky, Wren sat down on one of the large rocks.
"Now we wait." Wren said as she crossed one leg over the other.
A few minutes passed since Luffy had run off, and the others hadn't seen any sign of him. The Wolf Bats had even returned a few seconds ago with all their things, but they informed Wren through their telepathic link that they didn't see the Straw Hat boy. Wren sent them back out for another look as Nami was checking over to see if they had gotten everything back.
"It's a good thing you were here, Wren." Nami said smiling at the slightly older woman. "We have everything back thanks to you."
"Well, not everything." Wren said. "We are still missing our captain."
Nami sighed knowing that was true. She was worried about Luffy since the Wolf Bats hadn't been able to spot him. What if he had sunken into quicksand or something else like that? A few more minutes passed, and Wren's Wolf Bats returned again while shaking their heads to indicate that they hadn't seen Luffy. But something had caught their attention.
"Huge clouds of sand?" Wren asked.
They nodded their heads, and since they couldn't report anything else, Wren snapped her fingers to send them away.
"Did they see anything?" Zoro asked.
"They said there were two large clouds of sand coming this way." Wren said. "To them it looked as if there were two large masses underground burrowing under the sand, which sent the sand up into the air like a cloud. They also thought they could have heard screaming, but all the sand made it impossible to tell if there really was someone down below screaming."
Zoro frowned though had a feeling that Luffy might somehow be involved. The ground then suddenly started shaking, which had the others looking around in confusion.
"What's that?" Chopper asked.
Wren looked forward seeing the sand clouds that her Wolf Bats had mentioned.
"What on earth is that rumbling?" Usopp asked.
Wren tilted her head when the sound of cheering and shouting reached her ears. Usopp put his sniper googles on to get a closer look.
"Is it another sandstorm?" Usopp asked.
"I highly doubt it." Wren said. "I believe our captain has gotten himself into more trouble."
The others really hoped she was wrong, and hoped Usopp told them it was just another sandstorm. As Wren watched on, she noticed one of the sand clouds disappeared while the one to the right shifted over to get directly behind whatever it seemed to be chasing. This had her narrowing her eyes. Was the other one giving up, or was it planning a surprise attack?
"No wait…that looks like…it's Luffy!" Usopp said.
"Oh no." Vivi said. "It can't be."
Wren glanced at Vivi wondering what this desert danger was going to be this time.
"Huh…why is he on a camel?" Nami asked when Luffy came into better view for the rest of them to see.
"Someone want to tell me what the hell is chasing him?" Sanji asked.
"I can't really tell, but it looks like there's something in the sand burrowing after him." Zoro said.
And its companion had suddenly stopped, and had Wren wondering where it'd pop up next. The thing that was chasing after Luffy came out from underneath the sand to reveal a large purple lizard creature. As the others freaked out, Wren placed her hand on the hilt of her sword ready to spring into action.
"What is that?" Zoro asked.
"It's a Sandora Dragon!" Vivi explained.
"It's a what?!" Usopp asked.
"A Sandora Dragon." Vivi repeated. "They're the biggest reptile that live in the desert. They wait under the sand for their prey then ambush them. They have razor sharp fangs and claws, but they hardly ever use them. Because they're so incredibly huge, they usually just end up swallowing their victims whole!"
Wren really needed to sit Vivi down, and have her write out a listen about all the desert dangers there are, so they can prepare better for situations like this.
"I gotta admit that boy has a talent for attracting trouble." Ace said.
"Yeah, and all of us have the scars to prove it." Sanji said.
"What kind of crap star was he born under to attract trouble like that?" Zoro asked frowning.
He and Sanji then sprang into action, which meant that Wren would hang back. She still didn't know where that other one was, so she felt better staying with the group to make sure they'd be protected. Wren watched with the others as the three men attacked the Sandora Dragon once Zoro and Sanji got close enough. With one attack each from the three of them the Sandora Dragon was taken down without a problem. Wren's brow quirked while feeling a bit impressed. For rookies they were rather strong.
"They didn't have to go that far." Usopp said.
"Whenever those guys fight it almost makes me feel sorry for the monsters." Nami added.
The Sandora Dragon defeated by Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji hit the ground just as Wren sensed its partner was behind her. A split second later the second Sandora Dragon popped out behind Wren. Wren turned to look at it calmly as the others started freaking out.
"Another one?" Nami asked.
"I'm sorry." Vivi said. "I guess I must have forgotten to mention that Sandora Dragons always hunt in pairs."
Wren sighed as if this was just all a nuisance as her three crewmates told Vivi to get with it. Wren turned to face the Sandora Dragon completely as it roared.
"Oh no, Wren, Ace!" Nami shouted.
"Look out!" Vivi added.
Ace stood up beside Wren as the younger pirate placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"I can handle this." Wren said. "You just go back to napping."
Ace chuckled while not planning to sit back down. He wanted to have some fun too.
"There's a lot of pests in these deserts." Ace said. "You wanna play?"
The Sandora Dragon gave a roar, which had Ace's grin growing. However, before he could make his move, Wren jumped onto his head as if to use him as springboard to send her high over the Sandora Dragon.
"100 Wails!" Wren called out as she unsheathed her sword and slashed it down towards the Sandora Dragon.
Vivi and Wren's crewmates watched in absolute shock as this large cutting force that sounded like multiple voices screaming slashed clean through the Sandora Dragon's neck to cut its head from its body. Wren landed on the ground sheathing her sword as the head and body fell to the ground behind her.
"I told you I would handle it." Wren said as she looked at Ace as he was fixing his hat, which had been messed up when she used him as a springboard.
"Sorry, sorry." He said grinning as he placed his hat back onto his head. "I should know better than to offer help to Saturn Wren."
Wren resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Ace's teasing tone as their companions just continued to look on in shock.
"She…she…cut its head right off." Nami stuttered as tears ran down her cheeks.
"She's more of a monster than Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji combined!" Usopp added while looking pale.
Chopper nodded in agreement as Vivi remained silent. She looked closely at Wren while wondering how strong the older girl really was.
"Whoa!"
The group turned seeing Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji had returned. Luffy was looking at the large lizard behind Wren and Ace with a grin.
"You guys killed one too, huh?" Luffy asked. "That's cool."
"We didn't do anything." Chopper said. "Wren did it on her own."
Luffy laughed saying that was even cooler as Zoro's eyes widened an inch. He had cut pretty deep into that other Sandora Dragon, but he couldn't cut all the way through its thick hide and body it one slice.
"It seems as if Sandora Dragon will be the lunch special today." Sanji said grinning.
"Yeah!" Luffy cheered as he jumped up and down.
Wren sat off to the side in the shade as Sanji was using the hot stones to cook the Sandora Dragon meat. Luffy had already stuffed his face with quite a bit of it. Wren had had some as well, and it actually tasted alright even if it was lizard meat.
"So now that we have a moment." Zoro began, "What the deal with the camel?"
"I don't know." Luffy said. "It was getting eaten by the mystery plants when I was chasing those birds."
"It's obviously not a wild camel." Nami said.
"No, not with a saddle or bridal." Vivi agreed.
Chopper looked curiously at the camel while walking over to get a better look at it. The camel looked back at Chopper as well with its eyes widening in recognition. It turned around to look back completely at Chopper who seemed to recognize the camel as well.
"Oh, yeah, it is you!" Chopper exclaimed.
The camel started to speak with Chopper as Luffy, who was still eating, walked over curiously.
"Really?" Chopper asked. "Good for you!"
"Wait, so you guys know each other?" Luffy asked.
"Uh-huh, he gave me a ride when I escaped from Katoria." Chopper explained.
That must mean he was used to giving people rides, which could come in handy.
"Hhmm, he's a passenger carrying camel." Usopp said. "That's sure going to make things a lot easier."
"Yeah, that ought to be a real help." Sanji added as he continued cooking the meat. "It looks like he can carry two to maybe three."
Wren would feel bad if they tried to have the camel carrying three at a time. There was no reason to work the poor thing to death.
"Camels do go hand-in-hand with deserts." Zoro said grinning.
"Great, I'll take the first shift." Luffy said.
He tried climbing onto the camel's back, but the camel bit him on the head to stop him.
"Ow." Luffy whined as he got back down.
The camel then started speaking, so Chopper stood beside him to translate what he was saying.
"'I'm afraid I'm a hardboiled yet compassionate son of the desert.'" Chopper translated. "'I'm very grateful to you for helping me out of that jam back there, and I'll be glad to give some of you a ride. But I'm afraid I don't accept male passengers.'"
His words got him a beating from Usopp, Luffy, and Sanji. Wren watched the scene while feeling a tad bit sorry for the creature. The boys stopped their beating, and the camel added something that Chopper translated.
"'I'm too macho.'" Chopper said as the camel gave a grin.
The beating continued after that with Wren shaking her head. Her crewmates sure had a lot of anger, didn't they? After a few more seconds of abusing the camel, Nami stepped in to pet his chin, which had his eyes turning into hearts like Sanji's seem to do when the girls of the crew give him attention.
"I'm sorry my male crewmates are a bunch of ill-bred louts." Nami apologized as the camel got down for Nami to climb up on. "Now what should we call you, you great big precious camel, you?"
"Idiot." Luffy suggested.
"Moron." Sanji added.
"Doofus!" Usopp threw in his two cents.
Nami didn't listen to any of their suggestions as the camel stood up with her on its back.
"Eyelash it is then." She said smiling.
"Uh, how'd you arrive at that?" Zoro asked as he sweat-dropped.
"Because she decided not to listen to the other suggestions." Wren said. "Though if I had to pick a name, I think Cam-chan is better."
Zoro looked at her to see if she was serious, and when he saw that she was, he sweat-dropped once more. What was with the women in his crew?
"Wren, do you want to get on with us?" Nami asked after convincing Vivi to climb on.
"No, thank-you." Wren said. "I think asking Eyelash-chan to carry three at a time would be too much. And if I really get too tired, I'll just force—I mean, ask one of our crewmates politely to carry me."
"Politely my ass." Zoro grumbled.
Wren just smirked up at him as Ace was grinning off to the side at the entire scene.
"I'll carry you anywhere you want, Wren-chwan~" Sanji promised as he did a spin.
"I'll hold you to that, Sanji-san." Wren said only half-joking. "Now shall we get going? There is still much of the desert to cross."
"Yeah!" Everyone said as they nodded.
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
Coco: Hey, everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I wanted to try my hand at an SBS corner. I'm not sure if many people would be interested, but if any of you have a question about Wren or this story or maybe even a few of my other OCs like Raelin then just leave a review or message me with a question you'd like answered. You can ask something like maybe what Wren's favorite tea is? Or something about her past that might not understand from the flashbacks already given? Or perhaps ask how I ended up creating Wren or any of my other One Piece ocs. Most of them are based off certain cultures or maybe even legends. And some of them were inspired by fictional characters I happen to like. If you want to know you can ask, or even take a guess at it if you think you know how I based my characters. Like, I said I don't know if any of your are interested, but I'd love to hear from you since I love speaking with my readers, so don't feel shy to ask a question if you want to. Once you ask a question the answer will appear at the bottom of the chapter at the end of every arc. :D Anyway, how you liked this chapter, and I hope to hear from you.