The heat wasn't as bad as it had been. Ace was less burnt than usual but was still peeling something awful and scratching ruthlessly at his wrists with an uncomfortable expression. It didn't take a genius to realize that he was in pain and she pursed her lips. "Stop that." But Quinn was much more disgusted by the rubbery shine of burnt flesh and the flakes of dead skin to really focus on that.
Ace didn't stop.
"Stop it."
Quinn scowled, looking up finally.
"Stop."
Ace paused, glaring down at his skin with contempt. "Why?"
"For a number of reasons, really." She muttered curses as she fumbled with the needle in her hand and accidentally stabbed herself. Oh, ow. "Mostly because it's gross."
Ace pulled a face at the answer, clearly disgruntled. "Feels weird…" He muttered stubbornly.
"It'll leave scars." She tacked on. "Also, it'll hurt worse if you get another sunburn on top of it- damn it! Again?!"
"Ah- you don't have to do that. I can-"
"No." Quinn immediately denied stubbornly. She glared harshly at the needle and thread in her hand. "I can sew just fine- it's the damn waves that are throwing me off."
Ace turned to stare into the water and agree.
She was right, the waves were beyond turbulent. Not stormy, but naturally ferocious- Quinn would describe it as lowkey whitewater rafting. Only without any form of control for her or Ace. They had been swept up in some sort of current an hour or two ago and hadn't been able to do anything really, even attempting to row tore up the paddles they had on board the moment it went more than a few inches deep.
Which, while concerning, there didn't seem to be anything they could do about it, so Quinn continued the task that she had given herself with an out of character ironclad will. So, before Ace could even attempt to put his bullet ridden hat back together, she had taken it and had begun meticulously putting it's pieces back together because it surprisingly hadn't lost any of its fabric and only needed to be woven back into place.
She was good at sewing. It had been something she'd spent hours and hours being taught and even more hours experimenting with and was one of the few things that she was confident in her own skill to do well. But, coupled with the waves slapping their boat around like they were in a pinball game and the already tough material that the hat was made out of, that skill was pretty much made null and void as she stabbed herself for probably the twentieth time since beginning. There was even a particularly bad one that had gotten under her nail that was slowly filling up with blood and a stinging, frustrating pain. Quinn muttered under her breath quietly, ignoring Ace's bemused look.
"What?"
She was a bit snappish.
And Ace was kind of amused watching her get more and more frustrated and having to tear out a missed stitch and retry it from scratch. He rested his cheek on the palm of his hand, absentmindedly still scratching at his wrist. "You're really getting into that, aren't you?"
"Yes, I suppose I am." She twitched, glancing at him. "My abuela taught me how to sew. So I better-"
She stabbed herself. Again.
"-make this absolutely perfect!" Quinn huffed out a low breath of discontent. "And will you stop getting dead skin everywhere!" She kicked him in the thigh.
Not hard, mind you, but enough to get her point across.
Ace yelped. "I wasn't- ah." He coughed into his fist awkwardly when he realized that he had in fact been tearing the skin away again. "Your e-boo-lah?" He changed the subject quickly.
"It means grandmother. And it's abuela."
"Why don't you just say grandmother then?"
"Habit. She wasn't bilingual like me and refused to respond to anything that wasn't Spanish. And why wouldn't I call her by what she wants?"
Quinn brought the hat up to eye level, narrowing her eyes at the orange stitches that matched the hat's color perfectly. It was definitely lucky that she had managed to find thread in the correct color because she refused to mismatch the stitches in any way. Oddly enough, the hat had a pattern of stitches on its edges and circling around the brim- a cute decoration that she was determined to copy once she finished the actual repair work on the hat. Though, at this point in time, she was way more focused on mending the break so it looked more natural and even better than it had before. "How long have you had this hat?" Quinn asked.
The dye was somewhat faded. Especially at the top of it. Like it had spent way too long under the sun and had dried out like a prune as a result. From what she knew about Ace's time running around in a forest with limited protection from the elements she was willing to bet that that was exactly what happened.
That was, surprisingly enough, the worst thing about it, if you excused the bullet hole. It looked incredibly well cared for and the smiley faces and beads shined like they were brand new- a feat in itself because Quinn was willing to bet that if they went so much as a week without being taken care of they would be smudged with dirt or, at the very least, be duller than they were.
"Few years." Ace answered shortly. "My brother gave it to me on my birthday, maybe?"
"Maybe?"
"I think."
"You think?"
"I don't remember!" He laughed, completely unconcerned. "Why do you ask?"
She pursed her lips, "You should see about redying it."
"Ah, yeah- I was planning on it but I don't want to mess up and ruin it." He frowned thoughtfully. "I'll probably try it once we're in a place that's not, you know, as bumpy." He gestured and, as if to prove his point, they hit a particularly nasty bump that had Quinn grunting and throwing a hand out for balance.
"Uh- that is a terrible idea." Quinn bit out thinly, changing her grip on the hat. "You do know that you can pay people to do it for you, right? Someone who has experience. And is their literal job to know how to do."
And given that she doubted this world had the concept of an assembly line in anything that wasn't built on slavery and/or governmentally funded it probably wouldn't be too hard to find a master seamstress or someone else who could dye it for him without completely destroying the hats integrity like she would assume Ace would.
He'd definitely mess it up.
Definitely.
He'd do well at first, but then he would mess up horribly on the final step or something and ruin it. Quinn was calling it now.
"Hell, I could probably do it. And I've only tie-dyed things." She paused before adding. "That wasn't an offer by the way. I'd probably mess up too. Or not use the right dye or something. Find a seamstress, you get me?"
Ace blinked at her in surprise, "Wait- they'll do that for you? I thought that…" He trailed off, thinking it over. "Oh. I guess they would, wouldn't they?"
"If you pay them the right price."
They hit another bump.
"Godammit, this is getting ridiculous!" Quinn snapped furiously, ignoring Ace's confused head tilt at her exclamation. "What the hell is up with this current?!" The waters they were stuck in were only serving to make her mood get worse and worse.
Ace whistled at the waves hitting the side of their ship. Not so much as moving an inch from his cross legged sitting position despite the harshness. In contrast Quinn was surprised she hadn't rolled out of the boat by now, barely able to keep herself up straight long enough before she was almost being sent sprawling to the other side of the boat. Ace took one look at her face and laughed. "Chehahaha! You're not used to this are you?!"
She gave him a dark look and tore out another failed stitch a bit more aggressively than she probably should have.
He raised his hands up in surrender, "I was joking- just joking! Don't hurt my hat!"
Huh. Note to self, in order to get Ace to do whatever you want: hold his hat hostage. Good to know. Quinn rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to hurt your hat. You think so low of me." They hit a bump. Quinn bit her tongue to keep the yelp in, "...ow…"
"Okay, stop sewing." Ace finally ordered with an exasperated twitch of his eye. "This is just getting painful to watch."
Did Quinn whine with all the skill and expertise of a stubborn and graceless child? Why yes, yes she did. "Noo…" And further hid the needle that was now stabbed rather deep into her palm, not that she needed to since Ace already saw it and was giving her an unimpressed look. Quinn returned it with a blank one of her own before sighing and yanking the needle out with little more than a wince, "Fine. I'll put it away for now- but no wearing your hat until I'm completely done!" She slapped his hand away lightly when he went to reach for it back. "I don't want you to loosen or pull any of the stitches."
He grumbled but at least didn't try again, nodding in acceptance.
Quinn pulled out her bag and carefully put it inside so that it was wrapped by cloth, and so that it wouldn't end up getting bent out of shape anytime soon, slinging the strap over her head.
"Is it just me or have these currents been getting even worse?" Ace asked, peering into the water. "They're not- sppf!" He sputtered when he got a face full of water spraying him in the face.
"Kehehe-" Quinn tried to muffle the quiet shriek of laughter that threatened to spill, taking in his sopping wet face with no small amount of amusement.
He gave her a dry- er, wet look.
"Y-Yes, they've been getting quite a bit harsher. I'm surprised you didn't notice from my complaining."
"..Figured you were being dramatic..."
"Hey."
"Huh, maybe I just- woah!"
Both Quinn and Ace threw out their hands quickly to try and catch themselves as the boat suddenly dipped and jerked, nearly sending Quinn rolling out. And she grunted as her chest slammed into the side of the ship, barely able to catch herself on the woods edge. There was a great creaking noise and the boat shuddered beneath them. It took a couple of blinks to realize that they had been completely turned around.
"Ah- it stopped." Quinn noticed with a note of surprise in her voice. The waters had calmed; they fell unmoveable, still and undisturbed by anything but a few ripples. Ace ooed at it and Quinn was quick to follow. "That's… amazing!" Quinn breathed, face flushed with childlike wonder.
Ace followed up with a more crass exclamation. "That's so cool!"
And it really was.
Beneath the still surface of the water a storm brewed fierce and wild. Long, whirring currents that ripped and tore in savage loops without so much as unsettling the waters on top. Adding onto that fact the water was startling clear, to the point that they could pick out the beginnings of reefs- the torrents of water twisted through them, like pathways leading along.
Quinn gaped in disbelief. Trying to figure out how it was possible for the water to move in such an unnatural and beautiful way.
...Ace stuck his hand in the water.
"Yeeow!" He sucked in a yelp, ripping his hand back out. "What the hell?! It-"
Quinn facepalmed, roughly hitting him in the shoulder with her own. Again, not hard enough to actually do anything other than catch his attention. "Well don't touch it!"
"It tore my hand up?"
"Huh?"
Woah.
"See?!"
Quinn ran a hand through her hair in a mix of shock and awe. "-Are you okay?"
He had stuck his arm in up to the elbow and, from the tip of his fingers to the middle of his wrist, the skin was absolutely shredded, like someone had taken a potato peeler to it. It wasn't deep cuts, no, but there was a fine outer layer of skin hanging off his arm and Quinn couldn't help but hiss in sympathy.
"That… looks like it hurts."
"Hm? Not really?" Ace waved her off, still focused on the stripped off skin. "It's mostly superficial."
Quinn narrowed her eyes in disbelief, eyeing the injury. He wasn't bleeding much, in fact probably no more than the blood she'd gotten from the needle pricks on her fingers. Still, "Yeah, superficial." She was calling bullshit.
Ace was already back to looking at the water and Quinn took the sudden calmness to stand up, steadying herself on the ships small mast. "This is so cool…" Ace muttered gleefully, eyes wide and inching dangerously close to the water again. "It's like the currents are just out of range of our ship. I mean, look! I think it's strong enough to tear wood apart."
"Don't touch it again!" Quinn snapped back over her shoulder. "But uh… I think you're right." She paused, "I think there's what- several inches before those torrents start? And that space is what's keeping us safe." It wasn't a hard conclusion to come to, more of a guess than anything, but it was evidenced by the fact that they weren't currently capsized and that Ace had only been hurt up to his wrist. That's what? Six? Eight inches?
Not a lot of leeway.
"The currents look harsher the further they go down." Ace added. "Hey- wait- they're beginning to disappear." At that he nearly capsized them by just standing up and Quinn stumbled to try and catch her bearings. "Wha- no!" He jumped up, chasing the torrents all the way to the back of the boat. Quinn gripped the mast harder as he shoved past her. "Quinn, let's turn the ship around! I wanna see what's up with those currents!"
"That's not such a good idea."
At her tone he frowned and looked up at her. Quinn didn't acknowledge the pressed look on his face, simply pointing back the way they came. "Look."
Ace followed her finger.
Oh, yeah. So it wasn't such a good idea after all.
There was an obvious line of white spray where they had come from but beyond that it was as if the waves were even harsher than they could have ever imagined.
Ace blinked, "Did we come through that?"
It looked like it could easily tear their boat to shreds.
And oddly enough, it looked even harsher than the waves they'd dealt with coming in.
"Yeah…" Quinn hummed thoughtfully. "I don't know about you but I don't think we'll be able to get back through that without, you know, drowning. Me much faster than you." She chewed on her lip, glancing at him. "Unless you wanna go for it?"
Ace flushed, "Oy, don't tease me! I'm not stupid-! I'm not gonna head straight in to obvious danger like that, especially when it could kill you too."
"Huh?" Quinn blinked. "I wasn't teasing. I was being serious. If you really want to make a go at it and see if we'll make it out then it's fine. I mean, we'd most likely die but…" If he wanted to play his chances then she wasn't about to stop him, she eyed the waters indifferently. Hey, could she use her fruit to get them through? If it was based on chance then she probably could- wait, no. She'd probably have to effect the boat too and Quinn was pretty sure her fruit was limited to living things. She ran her hand along the mast. Yeah, no. That wasn't going to work anytime soon.
Ace stared up at her with an expression of vague horror.
"What? What's with that look?"
"You'd let me steer the ship into waters that'll clearly kill us." He asked in disbelief. "If I wanted to."
Oh, when he put it like that…
Quinn held her hands up in defense. "Man, I don't know your life!" A poor defense.
"It'd kill you too!" Ace snapped, slapping the air.
"Oh, right."
"You forgot?!" He exclaimed before shaking his head, amused. "You're… weird, Quinn."
"Thanks." She muttered and turned back to the front of the ship. There were tiny bits of land beginning to pop up, nothing more than rocks with moss so far but she could pick out the shadow of an island in front of them. "An island's coming up."
"It is?!" Ace whipped around to spot it, a grin forming on his face. "That's great! And it looks like it actually has people on it too!"
"Hopefully they're not trapped in treasure chests…"
"What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing," she waved him off. "Oh hey, what were you talking about? There's still currents."
She pointed down because there really was. Nowhere near the scale or beauty of the ones before, sure, but they were definitely there. Quite a bit further down too and nowhere near as harsh from the looks of it. Not only that but they… seemed to be going directly to the island? Huh. Weird.
Ace pouted, "Not as cool ones."
Quinn felt a drop of sweat slide down her face. "Okayyy…" She drawls simply.
Before-
"Oh my god, you're still scratching?!"
"Gyeh." Ace flinches. "Whoops."
Her eye twitched something fierce and she grabbed him by the strap of his own bag, yanking him back. "Stand still." She ordered thinly. Already sticking her hand into his pack without warning and ignoring Ace's indignant shouts as she rooted through his stuff. She pulled out a light grey sweater made out of a thin, airy material. "Take off your shirt and put this on. It'll help you ignore it."
He sputtered, doing as told, arguing the whole way. "A turtleneck?! It's hot out, Quinn!"
"I've been wearing a jacket this whole time. And it's not that hot out today." She gestured to the loose, tiny bit too big jacket she'd been wearing since Saigen. That said, she took it off and tied it around her waist. When worn with her black arm sleeves and her leg sleeves- they weren't leggings, she refused to call them leggings, they stopped at mid thigh and only reached her ankles- it was way too overbearing. "You can do it for a day or two." She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, but you're wearing shorts…" He muttered under his breath.
"Your wearing shorts!"
"But your wearing the super short shorts that girls' are always wearing!" He retorted, pointed at them, Quinn crossed her legs. "And a tank top!" He gestured to the white top.
"So?"
Damn, she needed new clothes. Majority of her outfits were the exact same thing or were incredibly similar.
"Just put on the damn shirt!"
Ace grumbled, sliding it on over his head, pulling his necklace out so it could rest over the top of it and rolling one sleeve up for a second to reattach his elbow guard. "You're so weird Quinn." He huffed. "It's just skin."
"Dead skin, Ace. I don't even… I shouldn't have to explain this. It's gross. That's that." Quinn deadpanned. "Hand me your old shirt." He tossed her his yellow shirt and Quinn narrowly caught it before it went flying overboard, stuffing it back in his bag-
Oh~?
What's this?
Quinn pulled out a simple pill bottle from Ace's bag, eyeing the label. Huh. It looked like he'd purchased it just before the beginning of the year, and subsequently just before he'd set out to sea if she had her dates right, there was even a mark on it with a smiley face that said "first purchase" and "Narcolepsy" written underneath. Well, that explained why she hadn't dealt with any fainting spells up until this point. She pursed her lips. Though it was a wonder why he'd gone through the trouble to get it, the anime-Ace... or the future-Ace didn't seem like he'd been using any sort of medicine. Instead letting his Narcolepsy run as rampant as he pleased-
"Hey, Quinn, did you see something?"
She flinched, turning back to Ace. He was distractedly observing the water again, more fiercely than he had been before. Quinn made a noise to deny the question. "No." She dropped the bottle back into his bag as if her hand was on fire, snapping it shut without another glance. Tucking a wild strand of hair behind her ear, "Why? Did you see something?"
He squinted.
"I think so."
There wasn't anything immediate to pick out.
Actually there didn't seem to be anything worthy of note other than the fact that one of the many colorful schools of fish had been upsetted. Quinn ran her thumb thoughtfully over her bottom lip and gave the sea a sudden critical eye, "What was it?"
"A big shadow!"
"A… big shadow?"
Quinn deadpanned.
"Ace, that could be literally anything."
"Ah, I meant that it was moving super fast!" He tacked on as an explanation, as if it helped in any way. It didn't. "See! There it is again."
She must've not turned fast enough because there was nothing to see.
Actually nothing this time, all the schools of fish had disappeared from the looks of it. Wait- not true, she could still see them running away, already having gotten quite the distance away from them. "Huh. They're fast."
"Did it scare them off?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't see anything- aa." Quinn let out a small gasp, "...Yeah, that'll probably chase fish away."
Ace made to move, an incredulous noise caught in the back of his throat.
Brown eyes blinked up at them.
"Goddamn."
Looking up at them was a tan face framed by potent green markings, bright and insidious; like eyeshadow and liner on their eyes, covering their ears and part of their cheeks, down their neck, and sprinkled throughout their features. Most notably, both Quinn and Ace had to blink in recognition, the green was oddly reminiscent of scales.
Bright, flaming red hair spiked up on their head, soft and striking, a mix of shades that came together to make it look like a flame on their head, held back by a simple white, folded bandana. They were grinning, wide and bright, showing off a mix of human and shark teeth. Possibly the most shocking of all features, despite the oddness and brightness of the others, were the three scar-like gills torn into their cheeks. They were uneven but prominent, and since their face was still underwater, they opened and closed with every breath they took. They looked like… whiskers?
A few bubbles drifted to the surface out of their mouth.
Ace tilted his head. "A… kitty?"
All at once the grin was wiped off their face.
"Gyeahhh! NO!" They shot up out of the water so fast that Quinn reflexively threw her hands up in defense. Ace simply leant back as they slammed their hands into the ships rails and used it as a platform to lift themselves up so they could, apparently, yell at them face-to-face. "I'm not a cat!"
Water sprayed them in the face.
"Pfhhh- ta- hey?!" Ace coughed, wiping a hand over his face and throwing himself at their catfish friend, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "What was that for?!"
Quinn sputtered similarly. Shaking wildly to try and get the water out of her eyes, it clung to her hair thickly, making her feel rumpled and gross. She raised a hand to slide her now wet-hair out of her face.
"I said," and Ace and the catfish boy barred their teeth at each other, "I'm not a cat! They're the pussy of the animal kingdom!"
"That's what they're known for being, yes." Quinn remarked thinly, scowling at the redhead.
He shot her an offended look. Ignoring Ace's hold completely and gesturing towards themselves, "Tch! Can't you tell-?" He hissed. "I'm a tiger shark!"
Ace insensitively decided to point out, "You have no fins."
He seemed to steam and sizzle. Quinn wondered dimly if his hair really was going to burst into flames.
"Fine. Half tiger shark." He clarified grumpily, eye twitching. "And I do have fins!" Water was thrown into their faces again.
"Spffh- stop that!"
"Please," Quinn wiped herself off, "I'm really not a big fan of water anymore." Oh, ugh, she could feel it sliding down her shirt and beginning to squelch in her shoes. Damn it, ew. She didn't want to have to clean that crap out. "Ahg… that feels gross…" Ace and the catfish sweatdropped, the former exasperated by her, admittedly misplaced, concern and the latter incredulous to her total nonchalance towards them.
Catfish shook his head, "No way! You guys are rude, and here I was thinking about helfshh- CHEOW!"
There was a shocking spray of blood.
"Chehahaha!" Ace cackled as they nursed their face. "You just bit through your own tongue!"
"Ish naw fushnny, you bashtah!" He howled noisily, clutching onto his face and spitting out a wad of blood. "Thisss hursh-" He made a face, eyes squinted as he tried to concentrate on the slur of his words, trying to get rid of it. "This hurts so bad. Ack!"
His eyes flung open suddenly, mouth falling open, as if he suddenly had a horrific realization. Quinn flinched back at the expression, that couldn't be good.
"Shit!" He threw in another few choice swears that Quinn couldn't pick out all that well because he suddenly ducked his head underneath the water and let out a muffled scream that had Ace and Quinn glancing at one another out of the corner of their eyes, bemused. "Oh, no, no, no!" He pulled back out with a howl and Quinn followed his wide gaze to the blood that was already beginning to fade into pink lines in the water.
Quinn had a bad feeling.
Ace leaned over, still snickering. "What's got you so bent out of shape?"
"Crap, crap, crap! I can't beleesh-" he threw his hands up to his head, "-belieb-beLIEVE that I just spit blood into the water! Sonsh ova bishe- damn it! I can't even speak right, right now!"
"Uh…" Quinn anxiously shuffled in place, "Hate to interrupt your freak attack, man, but- uh-" He whipped towards her and she wiped off the drops that fell on her face. "What's got you so scared?"
"Scared?!" He practically shrieked, voice sharp and oddly high-pitched and cracking, Quinn noticed, feeling a powerful urge to cover her ears. "Y-You callin' me a coward?!" From the way he jolted back and flushed when she simply gave him a dead look and pursed her lips at him, unimpressed by his exclamation, he silenced that train of thought and shuddered a bit, "It's just the blood!" He explained.
Unhelpfully. Only raising more questions than answers.
Quinn tapped her fingers together, taking a deep breath, before pointing her hands at him, as if to say, 'That tells me nothing.'
Ace interrupted as he just flushed further at the action, thankfully getting directly to the point, "Blood?"
"Y-Yes!" He jumped on the chance to avoid Quinn- she felt reasonably offended at the sigh of relief that came from him- and snapped his fingers, pointing at Ace. "Exactly that! It's the whole problem-!" He chirped loudly, nervously. "Let me explain: Whenever blood hits the water he goes into a frenzy!"
"Frenzy?" Ace and Quinn asked in unison. Quinn had to pause though, brow crinkling, as she snapped her teeth around her already gnarled bottom lip and quietly asked, "He?"
"Yeah, who's 'he'?"
"A-Aah-" the boy paled drastically at the question, "You two should hurry and get out of here, a-a-a boat like this won't survive the waters once he comes!"
"Again." Quinn bit out impatiently at the urgency in the boys tone. "Who's he?"
"It's-"
He froze suddenly, mouth falling open, a shadow falling over his face. At it both Ace and Quinn went completely rigid. Because, from behind them, there came a frightening noise. It sounded as if mountains were crumbling and as if the ocean itself were screaming. But that wasn't all that it had in store -no- the next thing they knew a violent rain was drowning their clothes and pelting their heads. And worst of all was the shadow that loomed.
Slowly, mechanically, they turned around.
"That…" the fishboy squeaked, "would be him."
"Oh."
"BRAWHHHOAHHHHH!"
…
…
The One Piece world, the Blue Seas, the Grandline, the Pirate King and all the rest brought to you by Eiichiro Oda, the author and imaginatively brilliant mind behind a series that flooded sales and fandoms. Quinn Varela, at the age of twenty, was not one for many series' but the manga had taken her prisoner for a short while in her teenage years and only recently had she had the mind to get back into it. The series was quick to take its place at the back of her head. Not really important, but an enjoyable hobby in itself. She would like to believe that she was rather well-read on the series as she always had a good memory and Oda was incredible at making his art pop and stick in people's minds. Sure, she probably couldn't recite anything line for line but she knew the general plot, points, characters and drives behind each story- as well as the logic behind the world and the fact that no matter how ridiculous and impossible abilities were they could always be explained within reason.
No matter how… stretched and skewed that reasoning was.
Still, basic world knowledge and opinions aside, Oda's art for all its detail, beauty, imagination, and skill really couldn't do the sheer unadulterated surrealness proper justice.
It just… It just really, really couldn't.
'Cause staring down the snout of a Sea King- no, a Sea Beast- was nothing but beautiful, realistic, awe-inspiring and terrifying on so, so many levels that it had her voice very much dying on the spot.
The face of the beast was a goat. Teeth that were sharpened like fangs despite their square shape. Lips that cracked and ridged with the amphibian scales and matted furs that mixed across its body, a coarse hair-like material that seemed closer to quills than anything. Its neck protruded out in odd shapes and curves; ears flicking away the water that poured from inside the gnarled mess that had taken over its ear canals; the long, thick, lithe body of a serpent.
Strength.
This beast was raw, powerful muscle.
That was the simplest explanation she could give but- oh god- the stench was… the stench was a…
A- A stench.
It was something else entirely.
There wasn't so much a smell to it as it was simply unbearable, raw, and so strong that her face stung and her eyes burned red with tears that simmered like boiling acid along her skin.
Dazedly, she swayed on her feet, "Oh… h-hullo."
Because really. What did you expect her to say? There was nothing that could be said to a face like that. And she was only hoping to make a good first impression.
"BROAA-!"
She failed. Obviously.
"-AAAAAOOOOOAAAAAAAH-"
Quinn felt like having an existential crisis. Eyes fixed shut, face scrunched, and hair being pushed back from the sheer ferocity and volume being screamed at her.
"-Ooooahhahhhhh!"
Its rippling voice settled. And whatever terror and grandeur washed away in favor of being pissed. Quinn felt her eye twitch and wrinkled her nose, mouth already forming around the impulsive words. "Take a breath mint, geez."
She was not imagining the vein that looked ready to burst out of the creatures temple.
...At least she skipped straight over panic and went all the way over to sass.
Snap!
"SHI-"
"You idiot, why would you pufurously- purposely antagonize him?!"
Quinn squeaked at the sight of teeth biting down on air, right where her head used to be.
That was a close one. If fish face hadn't reached up and grabbed the back of her jacket, subsequently slamming her into bottom of the boat, then Quinn would currently be missing her upper half.
"Oh, geez…" she mumbled, instantly regretting the moment of impulsivity. Especially in the face of danger. "This is nice. This is just perfect."
"Tch. He doesn't look that threatening." And there was the reminder that Ace was probably ten times worse than her. Quinn let out a breath through her nose. "I got this!"
"Not you too!"
"Wanna fight you ugly fish face?!"
"Are you both children?!" Fish-face seemed absolutely flabbergasted, especially seeing as he was the one pointing it out, as young as he clearly was. "Urgh. Whatever. I'm outta here." He made to leave but Quinn's hand came down, clasping him around his forearm, fist twisted it into unkind knots in the back of his tie-dye shirt. "What the-"
"This is your fault. You even said it!" She hisses. "Thanks for the save back there my fishy friend but you're not gonna just up and leave us here to deal with it." He stuttered and Quinn felt an unpleasant grin spread over her face. "Congrats! You get to see my insane Captain in action~!"
"Come at me, you Lord of the Coast wannabe!"
He squawked.
And then the monster of the sea surged down upon them.
"BAOOO-!"
-0-
He lifts himself out of the water, mouth falling open automatically and letting a waterfall of sand fall out. It ends with a pained cough and a small cloud of dust that flies back to get stuck in his eyes.
It's ignorable, but it still burns.
Adding onto the fact that it feels like something ripped through his throat, the salt water making him blink something fierce it was all and all not a great feeling. Near drowning was not fun. But, Ace guessed, that was the price you paid when you let the ocean throw you around however it wanted. "Tch-"
His sweater and shorts were frayed at the edges, to put it lightly, like he'd come way too close to being completely shredded.
"Damn."
Ace shivered- oh. And he was sopping wet.
Cool.
He shook himself off like a wet dog, wiping his mouth off on his arm, to crawl out of the shallows still lapping at his feet. There was a moment taken to dig out a wad of sand from inside his shirt but Ace didn't want to get caught up on the uncomfortable details. "That was fun…!" He grunted, patting a hand over his chest.
Ow. That was gonna bruise.
Ace let out a relieved sigh when he found the strap of his bag, "Ack- thought I lost it there."
That would've been bad, he definitely didn't want to have to get all new things this soon. So, still stuck on his hands and knees, ripping one leg out from where it was buried in the sand, he reached back to put his hat on so he could block the sun out and-
"Damn it, Quinn."
The realization came with a mix of frustration and a sudden hatred for the sun. "You still have my hat!" Ace gritted his teeth together. "Whatever. Not like I could wear it anyways with the hole it ha-"
He grasped the length of the harpoon and ripped it out of the gloved hands that held it, eyes flashing dangerously.
There came a loud yelp as the person failed to let go and ended up headfirst in sand. Ace had the decency to wince as they struggled to yank their head out of the ground, legs and arms waving around wildly, though he made no move to help. Instead focusing a glare on the small group of pre-teens that had been behind the wielder, "Can I help you?" He more or less growled. Which sent them all scrambling back with a holler and a yell.
"Run for it!"
"This guys crazy!"
"Tava was right! He is a sea monster!"
Okay, that last one had Ace tilting his head and sending them a confused look. It doesn't help any, the boys still run off, throwing down their weapons and leaving Ace and their friend behind. And Ace, so far, is not impressed.
But he still doesn't help.
"Hrrrghsh!"
Ace stands up and brushes the sand off his knees and front and wrings out his shirt, all the while he continues to stare at the struggling teen with probably more amusement than he should've. His head was… really deep in there. Way deeper than he initially thought.
Like really.
Ace crossed his arms and tapped a finger against his bicep impatiently.
Oh, shit, did he go still awhile ago or did that just happen?
He waited a few more seconds to confirm.
Yeah, no, he wasn't moving. "C'mon, man, don't die." Ace made a face, yanking him up by the ankle. "Woo- you don't look so good."
There was a dry cough.
He hung upside down limply, not even attempting to move.
"You… bast… tard…! I'll kill… ya for that…"
"Chehehe. You go ahead and just try and do that." Ace dropped him on his head. Crouching down to get a better look at him, "Hmm…"
He didn't look like anything special. Curly dark hair, tan skin, gloves, tank top and swim trunks. The only thing that really stood out was the fact that he had a scar across his mouth, like something had slashed him across the face.
"The hell are you lookin' at?" The guy snarled, scrambling to pick himself up. "You're just a sea freak, don't look at me like that."
Ace decided not to deign that with a reply.
Already turning on heel, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and walking off.
"Wha- O-Oi-!" He grabs his rusty harpoon and struggles after him, hand wiping sand off his face and out of his eyes. "Ptoo. Ack!"
There wasn't much to see of the island so far. It seemed to mostly be sand actually, with a few spots of grass and maybe even a rare tree here and there. Other than that it was all sandy hills and rolling waves of summer heat, not that he was complaining. But the long sleeves and collar were beginning to get a bit stuffy. Thankfully the sunburns weren't acting up, aside from a dull ache or itch, so he cursed Quinn's good idea and dealt with it by ducking under the shadier parts of the beach. He could spot a village up ahead.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
"To search." Is Ace's simple answer. It has the kid behind him flushing with anger and rushing to catch up with him. "What's it to you?"
"You're a stranger." He spits. "You're from the sea. And you managed to disarm me so easily- you've gotta be some sort of sea freak or something!"
"Or you're just insanely weak. Chehahaha!"
He sputters, "Jerk. What's a sea-freak like you searching for anyway? Can't be anything good. It's not seashells is it? Don't need another one of you collector-freaks." His eyes flash and Ace has to stop because he suddenly jumps in front of him, harpoon pointed at his throat. Ace gives him a bored look. "You so much as try anything and I'll- DONT WALK AWAY!"
This guy was annoying.
"You've got some nerve."
Ace felt his eye twitch, brows furrowed tightly downward.
"Shouldn't you be in the sea anyways? And where are your gills? You should go hang out with the fishes, the lands got no space for yer kind." Huh. There was quite a few birds flying up from the other side of the island, he wondered what that was about. Maybe Quinn scared them off or something? "Hey, stop! I'm talkin' to you!"
Oh, really? Ace didn't care.
"Hey. HEY! Don't enter the village!"
He walks on. The village was quaint, each house spaced quite a bit ways apart, even though there were few, and seemed to be placed on solid concrete foundations, raised by brick and sandstone. Short fences made of red brick and stone marking off the streets and areas- the village tiny enough he could see where they petered off further down the road and into nothing.
There didn't seem to be anybody up and about.
"Hey-! Sea-Freak!"
But Ace wasn't stupid. It didn't take a genius to notice the shutters sliding shut or the doors closing before he'd even taken a step close to the village. Apparently the shouts from the guys friends were more than enough to have people clearing like cockroaches.
"Oi-!"
He re-shouldered his bag, 'hmph'ing.
Damn, this island was full of scaredy cats and pansies. Everybody had either run and hid or was bothering him something fierce. Speaking of which, the guy was stomping loudly up behind him, a feat in itself since the ground was still mostly sand, and muttering curses under his breath like no tomorrow. It was getting less and less tolerable.
"Seriously, what is your deal?" Ace can't help but ask, tone dripping with hostility.
It's not really a question that he expects to get answered, and he doesn't get one. But that's somehow even more frustrating.
"Don't just keep walking, you ass-!"
Okay, that's enough of that.
Ace twists around before he can finish, "It's polite-" The kid flinches. The kid freakin' flinches and Ace barely keeps himself from either laughing or souring further. "It's polite," he repeats, more calmly this time, "To introduce yourself first before you talk to someone."
"I- what?"
When Ace bows it's to hide his scowl and the roll of his eyes, alongside an urge to just punch him- unfortunately the fight to just be polite and get this over with was much easier. If not as enticing. "Hello, my name is Portgas D. Ace, it's not nice to meet you." There's a strangled noise bubbling out of the guys throat, like he didn't expect it, and so when Ace lifts his head back up he has an intensely amused smirk on his face. Something that has the guy sputtering even worse and his smirk only growing. "And you are?" Ace drawls.
It's way too fun seeing him fail to speak.
"I- uh, I- wha-" But eventually he does end up getting there. "T-T-T-T-Tava?!"
"Alright, Tava." At least he can put a name to a face now. Even if he didn't really care to get to know him. In any way. "Please shut up and go away. I've got a hat to get, a crewmate to find, and a catfish to catch and you're not a part of that bundle."
Tava's mouth falls open, jaw opening and closing, failing to work properly. Eyes blown as wide as dinner plates and grip on his harpoon tightening- Ace tilts his head at the reaction. "Catfish?! Y-You d-don't mean-!"
Ace stopped at that. An eager grin splitting over his face.
"Yeah! You know who I'm talking about? Take me to him!"
"W-Wha-"
Tava looked distinctly taken aback. Then, he looked angry.
"Like hell I'd take you to that freak! I refuse!"
Ace gave him a flat look. This guy was… not very aware of himself, was he?
Tava flinched when Ace took a step towards him.
"It wasn't really a question."
…
…
Quinn took in a slow, dark, shuddery breath.
"What." She began, but had to stop herself short, arms held up in order to try and balance herself out. It wasn't working.
She coughed weakly, eyes wide, staring at nothing in particular- just focused ahead of her. Water spilled from her mouth and down her chin, mixing with spit and shaky gasps for air. She was bruised, battered, and dripping from head to toe. Whatever feeling that was slowly coming back to her limbs after her cold, struggling first descent of devil fruit-induced drowning was beginning to feel like electric-shock therapy. If the way she shook and shivered was anything to go by. Any motion she made hurt like a bitch and Quinn had more than half a mind to grab herself by the neck and bury her head back into the water until her body fell limp and fully numb to just end it all.
Everything was a mess. Yet that wasn't even the worst of it.
"The hell."
"Welcome to my…" If there was a drum roll it would be playing right then and there. "Dun-geon!"
The cavern filled with an uncomfortable silence.
"...My dungeon!" He repeated, sweat- or was that water?- running down the side of his face. The grin, showing off rows of teeth, wavered but stayed strong. "Dun~geon!"
She closed her eyes, mind whirring.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
"Yeah!" It came out a little too high pitched and forced. "I heard you the first time!"
And he pouted.
"Well why aren't you impressed?!" He stabbed a finger at her, brows furrowed and acting like she had done something wrong. "This place is friggin' cool!"
Okay, she had to admit through her numbing daze, that some part of that statement was true. They were in a cavern, surrounded by high walls that dripped dark water and echoed at even the slightest sound. The ground slanting down, covered in rocks and pebbles, ferocious waves slamming into the shore and throwing around… crap. Quinn's mind supplied unhelpfully.
There was wood that looked like it had come from wreckage after wreckage, ripped sails, broken pieces, and piles of snapped wood thrown about, as if it'd all been left to rot year after year.
She wheezed. And decided to ignore the seawater that spilled all over her front.
"What're you…" he stomped his foot, "I know!"
"Know what."
"I didn't properly introduce myself! That's why you can't bask in my glory- stay right there! I'll be right back!"
"No, that's not necessary-"
He ignored her, "Stay!"
Quinn sagged further. Taking the moment to try and recollect herself and put her mind back on track, more than a little rattled, but now that warmth was beginning to flood back into her limbs she was doing a little better. Her skin still felt frozen and her hands shook beneath an unbearable weight that slowly slid away as water fell off, or dried off, or simply… went away but it was easier now.
Quinn squeezed her fists shut.
She took in another deep, pained breath in order to finally calm down.
"I am-"
Goddamnit.
"THE AMAZING KA- GYEH!?"
"Stop."
Quinn snapped venomously, slapping a hand over the boys mouth. "As much as I'm thankful for the save from drowning…" Not an experience she'd like to have again anytime soon. "Please, just- be quiet." She rubbed her temples, hand falling away, head throbbing. "Damn… and Ace is gone too…"
Actually- no, that was her neck. Not her head. Damn it.
"Hey, can I at least get a thank you?"
Oh right he was still there.
Quinn tilted her head at him, "Didn't I already?"
Hmm, she chewed on her lip thoughtfully. Finally taking the sight of him in.
Now that they were out of the water and on equal footing she was able to actually get a good look at him. And it was certainly her first time seeing a fishman up close. And, wow, even half-human like he said, it was… weird to say the least.
Though, if she was being honest, it wasn't especially notable and he could probably pass as human if he really wanted to.
Overall, he was just a bit strange looking, and gave off the feeling that there was something… well, not quite strange, but simply put: different. And Quinn certainly had no qualms picking out those differences, blinking lazily.
Nails long and sharp.
A bit webbed if you looked at them in the correct light.
Gills apparent.
Skin textured differently. Almost reptilian.
But that wasn't really a good descriptor. Oh well.
His bright red hair and brown eyes were striking and sharp but not out of the ordinary for this worlds standards. It was just that- that the tye-dye muscle shirt with the word 'ALIENS' printed across the front and the dark brown pants leading down to tightly wound sandals was uh- well, it didn't make him stand out any less.
Oh and his teeth. A mix of human and shark. Those were actually rather eye catching.
"I mean, thanks." She shrugged.
It sounded poor to even her own ears.
He stared at her blankly.
"...Not accepted." He grumbled, crossing his arms. "That's such a lame way to express gratitude! I saved your life and then you ruined my introduction, damn it." He huffed, "I mean, who does that? It was gonna be really cool this time too!"
"Ugh- please shut up." Quinn whimpered, holding her neck. It throbbed painfully under her fingers. And massaging it felt much like massaging a porcupine: like it was a good idea but ultimately lead to pain if a single stroke was out of place; a double edged sword if you will. Quinn just groaned and picked herself back up.
"Don't you know any manners?"
"Shut up, Ace. You're not much better even if you try to be."
There was a long pause.
"Um- my name is Katsura, not… Ace."
Oh. Right.
"Same difference."
"We… we look nothing alike."
"Same difference."
"Oh-kay." He raised his hands up defensively. "But- uhm, its uh-"
Was he blushing?
Holy shit. He was being shy.
"Spit it out."
"Katsura! Please call me by my name!"
"Yeah, Kat, whatever."
He sputtered.
"No! I told you this already- cats are the-!"
"Yeah, I don't care Kat-shuri or whatever you said." She rubbed at her eyes. Purposely mucking up his name. "Where the hell am I?"
He deflated, nudging an empty can with his toe uselessly.
"Kat."
He just seemed to sag even more.
Quinn sighed, "Katsura."
And he perked up abruptly. "Yes, indeed, that is my name! Now if you would like to know where you are then all you had to do was ask-!"
There was a strangled choking noise. He bit his tongue.
"Damn it! OW!"
She hated him.
She freaking hated him.
"Okay, stop." Quinn raised up a hand, pinching the bridge of her nose and letting out a long suffering sigh. "Please. Just. Simple question: Where are we? Right now." It's a struggle to keep her head straight but Quinn finds that focusing on one particular string of thoughts comes easier the more she does it.
Katsura huffs noisily, "Well, we're in…" He hesitates and Quinn spots a faint blush peeking through his scaly cheeks, "It's kinda… my home, ya know?"
She has to stop and really just- just stare at Katsura. A bit in total incomprehension and a bit in vague understanding as she puts two-and-two together and really takes a look around the room. Before, in her dizzy vision, she hadn't seen, or at least hadn't made the connection, that along the innermost walls of the cavern there was a-
Well, makeshift and gaudy made it sound like it was decrepit but in all honest it was rather neat and well-made.
Quinn made a noise in the back of her throat, "Ah…" realizing exactly what she was looking at after another moment of struggle. Though, for an entirely different reason this time because it simply didn't look like how it should.
It was a bed. And a living area. A writing desk. Drawers. And, for all intents and purposes, it was a long stretch of a… home, for lack of a better term. It looked more as if it had once been a rather sloppy piece of work but had been built on constantly over the years, thrown together with colorful parts, sewn together sails, and objects that were very obviously not supposed to be apart of something of its nature but had, oddly, worked well alongside all its other counterparts. And color Quinn impressed but there was even a canal-made of strips of board and bamboo running along the length of the ground and up like pipes on the wall, leading to a proper looking bathing area.
Then, she blinks, and feels a bit stupid. Because Katsura's living area was by no means the most impressive or the most obvious thing in the room. The fact that she only notices now is what has her feeling a little bit silly but that's quickly thrown away in favor of being, quite simply, confused.
"I- What's with all the shells?" She can't help but ask before her mind is done reeling from the sight.
"Oh. Uh- Those!"
"Yeah, those. They're… kinda hard to miss."
Katsura coughs into his fist, a bit embarrassed and shuffles his feet. "Well, shoot, it's uh-"
It's kinda personal, he's about to say, and it's on the tip of his tongue but he ends up stopping himself just short. Mostly because he's not really sure how to put it without inviting more questions that he doesn't want to go into too much detail about, so, he shifts and puffs out his cheeks. Trying to figure out the right words to say before pouting, fist hitting the palm of his hand, deciding to just get it over with.
"It's my collection!" He chirps with a wave of his arm, "I've been looking for this one super rare shell. These are just all the pretty ones that I've picked up over the years!"
"Nice collection."
It was certainly awe-inspiring, especially the amount of dedication he must've put into it to get the sheer amount of shells that piled the room. They were seperated by color and by kind from the looks of it, a rainbow of beautiful shades that sparkled like gold and treasure on the floor. She gives up on counting before she even begins.
"What kind of shell have you been looking for, exactly?" Quinn asks, carefully picking her way over a few smaller piles in order to not crush anything. They look way too delicate to just be left lying in stacks about the place. "It must be something special."
"Oh most definitely!" Katsura covered his face, squealing giddily. "I just can't wait to find it! I lost it a few years ago but I know I'm hot on it's trail! I could find it any day now- you know?!"
Quinn nodded wearily, swept off her feet a bit.
"It's this really pretty conch shell-" Katsura continued, skipping along next to her. Quinn tried not to flinch at his closeness, roaming around for an exit of any kind. "-but it's got this purple spiral runnin' all over it, with some yellow specks! You haven't seen anything like it have you?"
"No, sorry…" She bit her lip, ignoring the burning sting it caused. "Uh- and this home of yours…"
"Hm?"
"Where, exactly, is it?" She groused.
"Beneath the island of course!"
Of course, of course. She should've just assumed.
Quinn hung her head, "I take it that's why you introduced it as your dungeon, huh?"
"More or less!" Katsura chirped. He then pouted, kicking his feet. "But you were supposed to freak out… that's how they always do in the books. I wanted to scare youuu..."
"I don't think that's an image you should cultivate." She can't help but deadpan, eyeing him up. Chubby face, nose looking like it'd been busted a few times, and while incredibly muscular, still a gangly and awkward teen. "...I don't think you have the face for it."
"Oh."
She squinted at him, "Mn. You- You look kinda lame honestly."
"...Oh
"Especially since your teeth are mixed."
"Oy. I get it."
"Whiskers."
"Hey!"
"...And the spiky red hair."
"I- what's wrong with my hair?" He brought a hand up to his head, petting his hair softly and looking vaguely hurt. "No- Wait, I… what?"
Quinn eyed him.
Then, she's placing her head in her hands and offers a weak sort of apology. "Sorry, sorry, my heads not on right." And muttering something awful under her breath, trying to reorganize and get a handle on the things running through her head. "Can't think straight… but… since we're beneath the island and in a cave, sorry, your home… am I correct in assuming that there's not a normal exit?"
It's not a clarification that she particularly needs but as he nods and she accepts the answer, savors it a bit, she's almost afraid to ask.
Swallowing.
"And... how do you get to the surface then?"
Katsura gives her a blinding grin, all mismatched teeth and dimples.
"Why, by using the currents, of course!"
