AN: I'm glad the tiger in the last chapter came over well :) Since it's one of the animals that Oda likens Zoro to, I thought it the perfect addition. Tigers are one of my absolute favorite animals, to the point where I've been a conservation nut for years to try to do something to save them. To see a tiger in the wild is a thrill that I think would be unfathomable...and the more I thought about it...the more I got all philosophical about it...hence the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, it belongs to the great Oda, please don't sue. Any grammatical mistakes are mine. So sorry :( Though English is my first language, I speak German 99% of the time and my English has gone to hell.

Theme: Grey

Rated: M

Words:

Chapter 37

The wind had picked up, practically howling over them as the trees bowed and swayed overhead. The sky had turned gunmetal grey, clouds full and heavy, waiting to burst open at any minute.

At Zoro's instance, they'd smothered the fire pit, collecting only some of the embers in the can that Nami had found to avoid having to start from scratch. They'd started down the shoreline toward the cliffs.

Shading his eyes against the wind and blowing sand, Zoro looked over the ocean, seeing the white capped waves roaring in.

"How bad's this one going to be?" He asked, shouting over the wind to be heard.

Nami stumbled over something in the sand, cursing. "Bad." She called back, "Though not as bad as the one that sunk us."

Zoro gave only a grunt of reply as they headed toward the imposing rock cliffs. He had a feeling that with a bit of luck they might find a cave. Places like this were full of them, and barring any animal inhabitants, it would be a safer choice to weather out the storm than out in the open, under the trees of a forest.

He glanced back at Nami, who seemed stony faced, quiet, almost annoyed. She hadn't been thrilled to pack up what little they had and smother the fire pit but the thought of being crushed by a falling tree was something she liked even less.

She'd complained and whined, made sure he knew what she thought of the decision, but he didn't expect anything less from the firey navigator. She'd seemed to be in good spirits, the food improving her morale, but this storm was another set back, and he could see in her eyes that another sort of storm was brewing there. One of self doubt and self pity.

He couldn't blame her. For every advance they made, there were three setbacks it seemed. He too was frustrated. He wanted nothing more than to figure out what was on the other side of the forest, find away off this rock and back to the crew.

On the other hand, Nami's arguments that they needed to rest up were right. He was no where near fit for an over land expedition and though she seemed to be keeping it together, he could see the exhaustion and hunger had worn on her and how her shoulder still pained her despite how well it was healing.

The waves were coming in further up the sand at this point, nearly to the edge, to the point were they were almost walking in the surf.

It took him a minute to realize she was calling his name and when he turned to respond he could see the annoyance which meant she'd probably been trying to get his attention for a while.

She waved a hand toward where the cliff face started and he blinked, seeing what she'd spotted.

"Well...that was easy..." He muttered, seeing an opening a few meters above the ground. The way up to it didn't seem impossible either.

"There's gotta be a trick right?" Nami asked, moving beside him. "I mean after all this shit that's happened, there's no way that we're this lucky." She said, pessimistically.

He almost agreed with her but shrugged instead. "Only one way to find out. You ok to climb and carry that stuff? How's your shoulder?"

Nami shot him a look, "Don't know, why don't you tell me how your back is and we'll compare notes."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself. I don't want to hear you wining."

"I might not be all big and strong like you," Nami said, mockingly batting her eyelashes at him, "But I can do this."

Zoro chuckled, "Let's go then. Last one up checks the cave for animals."

He found it amazing how fast she could be when properly motivated.