.: I've only been watching One Piece for a little over a month and I'm so in love with it that I already had a fanfic idea. Let's see where this takes us! :.
Chapter 1:
Night Of a Crescent Moon
The chilly air pierced the throats of people as they stood outside their small dwellings laden with animal skins. Puffs of steam emitted intermittently from their mouths in anticipation. Rumors had spread over the last few hours among them all. Earlier in the day, the groans and yelps of childbirth rang from a medicinal dwelling on the edge of the tribe's grounds. Ever since they quieted, a tension slowly seeped from the inside. They were saying this child was…not well.
The tribesmen and women stood by, wondering what exactly the rumors meant. There were times when newborns were born weak, and they passed away as a result. But this felt different for some reason. The chieftain entered with the midwife who assisted with the birth. It was customary in their culture for the tribe's leader to meet the newborns. Normally, the tribe did not stand around like this during the greeting, but curiosity was driving their actions at the moment.
Some jumped when an abrupt scream occurred inside the dwelling. Their chieftain emerged, his broad shoulders adorning the majestic fur of a silver wolf, and his arm raised to show the newborn dangling by the leg from his callused fist. Many gasps of horror resonated. The mother of the child scrambled from the dwelling after him, practically falling to the ground every time she tried to get her footing. "No! Please!" she pleaded, reaching for her child as it began to cry.
The chieftain continued walking, his muscular legs shoving her to the side. "This child is diseased," he stated, walking in the direction of the tribe's blazing bonfire. Witnesses followed their leader, shocked that a sacrifice was about to be made of a human who had only been breathing for mere minutes. What kind of disease? Incurable? Contagious? Many tried to find physical malformations on the small body but were unable to identify anything unordinary.
The large man approached the unforgiving flames. This was the cruelest thing he would ever have to do as the leader of his tribe, but what choice did he have? By sacrificing the life of one, he would be protecting the dozens of others depending on him for survival on their island. He paused merely inches away. The newborn baby girl cried out in pain from his grasp as the flames tried licking at her smooth pink flesh. Orange light danced against everything in its vicinity, showing the darker patches of flesh around her body. A distinct tuft of white hair showed in the center of her hairline. The disease was hideous.
Just as his grasp loosened on the newborn's leg to drop her, some people in the crowd became alerted as they were pushed out of the way. A four-legged creature erupted from them, teeth bared, and snarling directed toward the chieftain. Before anyone could identity what had invaded their tribe, a glossy coat of fur transformed into slender skin in midair, and the baby was snatched from the chieftain's hand. The body tumbled but landed gracefully, the baby cradled gently in a pair of muscular arms. The pelt of a silver wolf headdress settled on a human's back, concealing the identity of the invader.
Everyone stepped back, drawing spears and bows with arrows tightening against the elastic. "A demon!" they chanted, watching the creature grow dark fur again. The silvery headdress seemed to melt into the flesh. Four paws hit the forest floor as the creature bolted for the treeline with the infant securely fastened in a sling. Arrows whistled as they pursued them both. But they were nowhere to be found.
The new mother limped through the forest, panting as she combatted soreness and bruises. She only caught a glimpse of what happened. A dark coat of fur…The snarl of a wolf. But it was illogical. This island they all resided on; it was inhabited by silver wolves. A wolf of any other color was unheard of. But Tayen had a sinking feeling that the moonlight did not deceive anyone's eyes. Now the life of her daughter hung in the balance. All she could pray for was that the demon dropped her somewhere safe. It saved her life. There could only be one explanation.
The crackle of decaying leaves was softened by Tayen's slowing pace. Tired pants left her decompressing lungs as she listened for the familiar cries. But there was nothing.
Looking around the darkness, she realized how far away from the tribe she had traveled. A part of her was happy about it. Her child being rescued by a demon was a bad omen for her future with her people. She would have to accept excommunication from this day forward. It would not be long until her tribe linked her daughter's condition with the event.
Turning back to the direction she was going, Tayen continued her search for the missing newborn.
Following a stream, she recognized the whimpers of wild deer. They only came out when no predators were around. If the demon could actually transform, there was a chance it would use one form as a disguise. If that was the case, then it could hide among harmless animals.
Deer resided in brush. Tayen moved deep into the area until she recognized brush trampled enough to resemble nests. There was no doubt that this area was safe. She kept listening, walking carefully, until the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end from the sound of her daughter.
She pulled apart the branches of a thick bush to find the newborn hidden underneath. Tayen pulled her into her chest to warm her. Her skin was cold, and her heartrate was slower than it should have been. The amount of stress this child had experienced in such a short amount of time brough tears to Tayen's eyes. She was a terrible mother for allowing her chieftain to mistreat her like that. She was a terrible mother for not stopping him. She was so helpless that a demon had to intervene, and then leave her out in the cold.
The baby quieted after a few minutes. Tayen had placed her inside her garments so her body heat and layers of animal skins could regulate her body temperature. Being reunited and surrounded by the silence of nature calmed her. This could be a new beginning for the mother and daughter pair. Just them both surviving together in the forest. The idea energized her.
Pulling the now sleeping baby away slightly, she relied on the moon's illumination to view the unique patch of white hair that sprouted from the discolored area of skin under her hairline. But a particular marking caught her attention as well. The smear of a crescent moon was plastered on her forehead with dried mud. Gazing up at the starry sky through the canopy of trees, she was met with a crescent moon. Only the people of her tribe used such markings to symbolize the night of one's birth. Tayen's moon was a new moon, so she decorated her forehead with a simple circle. The only one to mark her daughter had to have been the demon. And the demon…Perhaps it was not a demon after all.