Heyyy guys!
Before I begin, there is something epic that I need to speak to you about.
Okay, so one of my best friends recently released his first album and I am absolutely in awe of it. It is honestly amazing for being done by entirely one person and I think he is so talented for being able to do something like it while in high school.
Anyways, please check it out, it's on Spotify, and iTunes; the name of the album is Till The Lights Go Out by Nick Jaye. He also has one song on YouTube by the name of Don't Pretend (by Nick Jaye you need his name to actually get the result).
You guys should totally check it out and I'm seriously not just saying that because he's my friend. I honestly believe he is so talented and I genuinely think people will really like his work.
Anyway! Here's the new chapter!
Hope you enjoy,
L & D
"I don't see anything too special." Maigo commented whist tilting his head. "It just looks like an island."
"Are you blind?" Poppy asked forcefully as she slapped her map and then gestured frustratedly, "It looks exactly like a bird. It looks just like a bird."
"It looks like an island to me." Maigo repeated, not impressed.
"And you look like a moron to me." Poppy retorted mockingly, aggressively sighing. She scowled at the island (which did look just like a bird) and crossed her arms. "This isn't cloud watching, Maigo, the shape of this damn island is not open for interpretation. It looks like a bird. It's called Swallow Island. It's a bird."
"Sounds like your trying to convince yourself that."
"I swear to God, Maigo-"
"I swear to God, Maigo-" he mimicked in a surprisingly accurate falsetto.
Poppy had reached her limit. That was as much as she could take of Maigo's nonsense without throwing a punch, so she cocked her fist and send it right into his cheek without a second thought.
"Man!" Poppy exclaimed with her hands on her hips, looking as though she had discovered the Eighth Wonder of the World. "Look at that Island! It looks just like a bird! Don't it Maigo?"
Maigo was out cold.
"Was that meant to be rhetorical?" Jeanne questioned as she approached the railing, sparing a glance as the land before them. "It does look like a bird, I gotta say."
"Of course." The tall brunette woman flicked her hair and smiled.
The blonde gave her a sideways look and frowned. "Of course to my question or that it looks like a bird?"
"Of course!" Poppy said again, only this time, with more gusto. "Forget Maigo, what a drag."
"Guys, what's Maigo doin' on the floor? He takin' a nap again? It's not even noon..." Anne entered the fray, stretching out into a yawn. She smacked her lips and scratched her rib cage lazily, padding up to her other two crew mates with all the urgency of a bumblebee. "Oh wow."
Poppy nodded in the affirmative. "I know."
"It looks like a bird." Anne tilted her head, squinting at it. "I didn't expect it to look that much like a bird?"
The three women all exchanged glances, a clear sensation of preposterousness lingering on their skin as the captain gripped the rail of her ship tightly. "Why the hell does it still feel I'm in an awful romance novel?"
"Anne, what is it with you and the haunting feeling that you're in a romance novel?" Jeanne sighed, rubbing her temples. Poppy laughed offhandedly, but was really thinking the exact same thing. Anne had some strange, rational fear that somewhere, somehow, some day, she would end up in the plot line of a lovey-dovey story with no escape.
"Because it does! I mean, in what sane universe is there an island that looks like a bird?! Okay, I'll admit that I perhaps am not the protagonist of said romance, but look at Jeanne! She actually has a figure that doesn't look like a stick! Poppy and I are clearly the two witty sidekicks, and everything will go to hell in a hand basket as soon as we dock on that island."
"Anne, you've clearly misread the genre label on the top of the screen." Maigo muttered from his comatose state. "It says family and adventure."
Anne curled her lip and pulled her head back in confusion, "What?"
"What?" Maigo replied and then returned to being unconscious.
The women all look at Maigo, sprawled out on the deck, and frown a disapproving little frown at him, in perfect unison.
"I think you knocked a few screws loose." Jeanne commented nonchalantly.
"Not me." Poppy said in complete seriousness. "Any damage done to that brain occurred long before I met him."
"Ladies, ladies, the poor guy can even defend himself."
"So?"
Anne laughed whimsically and picked her unconscious first mate up swiftly, resting him delicately in her arms. "I'm going to lie him down. I'll be back." With that she padded off, leaving Jeanne and Poppy to their own devices.
Swallow Island in the mean time only grew closer. The sheer absurdity of the landmass in itself was baffling. Poppy for one couldn't even fathom how such a thing came into existence, or what miracle of nature allowed its formation. What Poppy did know was that it was hella cool (that's a technical term for stunning feats of nature).
Jeanne, however, seemed as though she was tired of the sight just as soon as she had fully taken it in. She yawned. Poppy was slightly offended for the island.
"Okay, so," Jeanne yawned again, this time louder. "I get the whole bird thing, but is this it? Can we go now? Are we even going to get on it?"
"I dunno. Does it matter? I could just spend days marveling at it. Couldn't you?" The tall woman's eyes sparkled, absolutely enthralled with the majestic sight before her.
"No." Jeanne answered. "I really couldn't."
Poppy gasped and the blonde waved her off flippantly.
"Not that I don't think it's pretty, it's simply so boring only looking. I do like to explore."
(Wasn't she a wreck in the last chapter? What the hell's up with her? How can she be so relaxed; does she think it's all rainbows and sunshine now that Anne's needless torture was done?)
"Jeanne, go away."
"What?"
"Go. Away. Shoo. Vamos. Sayonara. If you can't appreciate the island then get outta my face. It's that or shut up."
Jeanne truly looked as though she were pondering it intensely, with a stern eyebrow furrow and all. She cupped her chin with her hand thoughtfully and nodded. "Bye. You have fun out here." She scurried off, leaving Poppy on her lonesome.
"Thank the Heavens that Jeanne has the biggest mouth from here to the Grandline." Poppy sighed, and settled her forearms on the ships railing, gazing at the landmass with full entrapment.
"Far away lands, you'll soon meet my eye,
Perhaps just as soon as I bid goodbye;
There are mountains to climb, and rivers to swim..." The words fell away and the tune was all that was left. A smile lingered on Poppy's lips as she hummed, and in the distance, she could hear trees fiercely muttered unknowable secrets into the wind.
She shivered in anticipation.
How long she had been standing there, Poppy didn't know. She was taken with the view, and absolutely did not want to leave in the slightest. However, her captain had other plans.
She heard Anne beckon her with that ridiculously loud voice: "Poppy, come inside for a second we need to have a crew meeting!"
Poppy couldn't just ignore her captain. Well, she could, but Anne could be unusually strict about obeying pertinent requests. Poppy really didn't want to be on latrine duty again. Her usual chore shift was enough as it was. So she tore her eyes away from the island and sauntered into the dining hall and paused at the door.
Maigo was awake, much to Poppy's disappointment, and sitting at a chair, glaring daggers at her. She sighed and took a seat next to him, Jeanne on his other side, and the captain across from all three of them.
"Alright, guys!" Anne began cheerfully, "At Maigo's request, we're gonna make an emergency plan! Because we're obviously a bunch of sissies that need an emergency plan." This time it was Anne's turn to glare. But at Maigo. Who shrunk substantially as Anne glowered at him.
"Look, Captain, I know you hate preparation of any sort, but seriously, it's better to be safe than sorry."
Poppy groaned loudly, throwing her head back in exasperation. "Are you kidding me? We're actually going to waste time doing this? Captain, com'on, we don't need this crap."
Maigo sneered, giving her a sidelong snarl at the same time, "That's fine until someone kills himself and then the rest of you are running around like headless chickens."
"Well, then, everyone, make sure to not kill yourself. Are we good? We good? Good." Poppy stood, about to make a fashionable exit until Anne gestured for her to take her seat again.
The captain sighed, rubbing her temples. "Okay guys. Maigo has a point. As gung-ho as we might be about this I have to be a..." She paused and shuddered, "responsible captain and make sure we all know what's up. So, we'll go explore tomorrow morning. We will all stay together until we can get a good look around. You got that, Poppy?" Anne looked at her navigator expectantly.
Poppy cringed. "Yes." She muttered miserably.
"Good. When we figure this place out, you guys can go wherever ya like. If you find trouble, yell."
"Yell?" Maigo parroted, the look of disapproval obvious on his face.
"Yes, Maigo, yell." Anne said patronizingly. "The island's not that big. Calm down."
"Question."
"Shoot, Jeanne."
The blonde woman tapped her fingernails against the table rhythmically, "Do we know anything about this island at all? What kind of people live here? Are they friendly? Should we be cautious? Or are we going in totally blind, which is completely idiotic, mind you-"
"Okay, okay." Anne interjected. She crossed her arms and groaned. "I don't know anything about this island. More reason for caution. Clearly. God... you people have no sense of adventure."
Maigo cracked his knuckles, "I have a sense of adventure, but I do enjoy living, first and foremost." He stood, a pleased little look on his face. Poppy could guess that it was simply from getting Anne to agree to arrange some sort of plan. Even if the plan wasn't very good to begin with.
The captain shook her head forlornly, "All I wanted was an adventure," she bemoaned miserably, "maybe meet some weirdo island people, have fun, that's it, bend the rules a little maybe, but nooo."
"Anne." Maigo warned, raising a threatening eyebrow. No body wanted to be around Maigo when he raised that barely noticeable blond eyebrow. That meant be was about to nag someone unceasingly for an hour minimum. But Anne took no heed.
(That was why she was Poppy's most beloved captain. She was an hotheaded idiot, but a clever hotheaded idiot thankfully.)
Anne pursed her lips and rose to her feet; both of her eyes narrowed, and Maigo was undergoing a full frontal assault of Anne's death stare. "Don't you Anne me, sir. I've already done this meeting thing to give you peace of mind, so don't test me, Maigo. I will not be tested."
In a strange moment, reminiscent of a theatrical aside, Jeanne whispered (it was actually more of a faux, loud parody of a whisper, completely not a whisper at all), "Poppy, is it just me or does Anne remind you of an overbearing mother?"
Poppy, of course, couldn't find it in herself to disagree with such an obvious truth. She nodded her head, but failed to verbalize her agreement.
"Jeanne, I have ears."
Poppy was so thankful she decided to keep her mouth shut.
Jeanne, on the other hand, went a frightening shade of white and chuckled nervously. "I didn't say anything."
"Uh huh," Anne deadpanned, "I guess you also didn't say that you wanted me to cook dinner tonight. And I guess I didn't say I would. So, I suppose that means you're cooking dinner. Thank you so much for being to generous, Jeanne."
This time, Jeanne wisely shut up.
"Okay. Now that I am throughly irritated, I think I'm going to sit in the crow's nest. Goodbye." Anne turned on her heels and marched straight out of the room.
Maigo hummed. "Well, that could have gone better."
"Yeah, no shit."
"Oh, shut up Poppy." He retorted scathingly.
Jeanne nodded, slapping her hand on the table, "Yeah, shut up Poppy! You're the only one that didn't get scolded. What the hell were we even scolded for?!"
"Let me make the reason expressly clear," Poppy leaned in close, and her two crew mates did the same, somewhat eager and somewhat curious: "YOU WERE BEING SMART ASSES AND OBVIOUSLY ANNE HAD ENOUGH."
"Oh my god."
"Did you have to yell?!"
"Yes. I've heard smart asses are also dumb asses so I had to make it easy for you two." She gave them both a saccharine smile and batted her eyelashes. "Aren't I nice?"
"Was that a pun?" Maigo muttered.
"I think that was a pun." Jeanne answered.
"Not a pun. Witty banter. Anyways, I'm out of here," Poppy stood, "good luck escaping Anne's wrath."
"Oh my god." Jeanne lamented, "We're dead, Maigo. We're never gonna hear the end of it."
Meanwhile, Maigo was mentally covering all the best hiding places on the ship.
Poppy left the room, and returned to her spot at the railing, staring longingly to where the promise of adventure was bound to be fulfilled.
The next day started brighter and earlier than anyone on the Vyssini Zephyr had experienced for weeks.
It was seven in the morning and Poppy wanted to perish and sleep for eternity.
That unfortunately could not be arranged on such short notice. Poppy was on deck at seven-thirty sharp. Anne had already been waiting and they were joined by Jeanne and then Maigo shortly after.
Everyone but the captain stared at the frankly suspect piece of driftwood that was supposed to take them ashore.
"We're taking a dingy." Maigo said.
Anne nodded, and turned to face said boat. "Yes, we're taking a dingy. How else to suggest we get on an island without a port?"
"I wasn't suggesting anything." The first mate cringed and sighed. "I just want to say that this thing has seen better days."
"Probably." Poppy walked over to it. "Stop chatting and help me lower it down into the water. Anne, get in. You're the smallest."
"Don't drop me. I'll kill you both."
"I have no doubt. Just get in the damn boat."
"If anyone else gives me attitude, I swear I will turn this ship around and we'll go explore some library or something extremely boring." Anne rolled up her sleeves and climbed in.
To make a very long, very painful story short, they all got in the boat without any of them being throw into the water. Which was a definite plus. However, the ten minute endeavor left everyone exceedingly grumpy, and that was how they remained until sand was under their feet. Some people remained grumpy even after they got off the crowded dingy.
"I hate sand," Anne grunted lowly, "let's go before I get any in my shoes and kill someone."
"I'm pretty sure you've already bit everyone's head off at least once this morning."
"Oh, okay, Maigo, do you want there to be a second time?" Maigo paled. "Yeah, I thought so."
The crew began the trek into the jungle.
At first, it wasn't terrible; in fact, the walk was generally pleasant, and the sound of song birds filled their ears with mellifluous noise. But, gradually, as they went deeper and deeper into the wilderness, the bird quieted. Soon, no one was able to hear a single sound besides footsteps and breathing.
Poppy was immediately unsettled. The humid air clung to her skin and the sensation of terrible wrongness prickled at the hairs on the back of her neck. She knew her captain felt similarly. Anne's foul mood had only increased, and there was no talk at all within the group. Maigo, Poppy, and Jeanne could tell that Anne was on red alert.
Something wasn't right.
Anne stopped, suddenly and without warning. Maigo bumped into Poppy, both of them halting, and Jeanne quickly followed suit. The four held their breaths, and while Anne swung her head black and forth, her eyes darting around frantically, Poppy tried to hear whatever had cause them to stop. She couldn't pinpoint it, but there was in fact a vague rustling coming from the trees, that could have been the wind, but her captain seemed to think otherwise. The tall woman shifted on her heels, leaves crunching underfoot.
Anne set her a warning glance and Poppy then understood that something was watching them. The captain reached slowly into her boot. Poppy readied her brass knuckles. Maigo frantically pulled out his fishing rod. Jeanne stiffed, the air about her bending ever so slightly.
Poppy took another step forward, and even as Anne leaped to pull her back, Poppy saw a pair of eyes in the underbrush. Then another and another.
It had just taken a second, only a single moment for dozens of people armed with pointed spears, bows and arrows, and pistols to appear out of no where.
Anne cursed softly under her breath.
The wind howled overhead and Poppy froze.
Well.
That cliffhanger was entirely on purpose and I hope you liked it!
So I'm thinking about making the "Swallow Island Arc" (as I am calling it) five or six chapters long so yay! And on another note, this story might be longer than I originally anticipated. Like way longer. Hope you guys are ready for it!
See you soon,
L & D