Coco: Good morning, everyone! I had some time before work, so I went ahead and edited this chapter for you guys. I was going to wait until after work, but I got up earlier than I anticipated, so here we are XD
So, shall we get started?
Wren sat up in the crow's nest as they were arriving at the island of Jaya. She saw the place wasn't shy of pirate ships as usual.
"Heha!" Luffy cheered from below. "Check it out! This town looks great!"
Chopper and Usopp shared this opinion as they two became excited. Wren shook her head because they wouldn't be thinking that much longer. Well, two of them wouldn't be at least.
"It does look promising," Nami agreed. "Maybe we can even stay here a while."
"I wouldn't suggest that," Wren spoke up.
Her crewmates looked up at her as she jumped from the crow's nest to land below, so to join them.
"Huh, why is that, Wren?" Nami asked curiously.
"Do you see all of those pirate ships over there?" Wren asked as she pointed.
Everyone turned in the direction she pointed. Usopp's eyes widening slightly when he did catch sight of the pirate ships. There had to be over a dozen of them.
"This town is lawless." Wren said. "A paradise for the scum of the seas. It might look nice on the surface, but don't let that fool you. If you relax too much, you might find yourself dead in seconds."
"Someone, help! He's going to kill me!" A voice called out in anguish as if to emphasize Wren's point.
The cowardly trio all started crying as they all started regretting their choice of coming here.
"What's going on with this crazy town?" They all cried.
Havel, who was sitting on the railing, snurled his nose as the smell coming from the island was extremely unappealing. He could smell the human greed and desperation from here. That added with the smell of rotting flesh, stale beer, and human excrement made it all the worse. Luffy and Zoro didn't look put off one bit as they eagerly left the ship once they docked.
"Now this looks like my kind of town," Luffy said.
"We'll have no problem fitting in here." Zoro added.
Wren shook her head at the pair as she stood behind the cowardly trio who were crouched down and watching their crewmates leave between the railings.
"There's no way," Nami said. "Do you think those two could last an hour without getting into any trouble?"
"Well, by the looks of this place, I'd say fifteen minutes is a generous assumption." Usopp replied honestly.
Wren couldn't disagree. She thought fifteen minutes was still a generous estimate considering the trouble those two cause separately let alone together.
"You really think so?" Nami asked before sighing and going to follow the two. "I better save them."
She hurried after the pair as Wren wondered if she should go with them. She'd rather not. However, taking care of those two would certainly be a daunting task. One she would rather not have to do.
'I'll just leave those three to it for now,' Wren decided as she turned away from Usopp and Chopper who were worried for Nami.
She didn't want to be in Mock Town any more than needed. Just being at the dock made her skin crawl. She then blinked when turning to look at Sanji as he joined them.
"I'm leaving too, so to protect Nami-swan!" Sanji said as he prepared to disembark.
However, he was jumped by Usopp and Chopper who backed him away from the edge.
"No, Sanji!" Usopp said as he latched onto the cook. "Nami will be safe and sound with Luffy and Zoro! But if you leave, what are we supposed to do if the ship is attacked?!"
"Please, don't leave!" Chopper said. "Who's going to protect us?!"
Sanji sighed not looking as if he was going to agree, but then his gaze fell on Wren who was watching the entire scene in amusement. He shook his two crewmates off before dancing over to Wren. He took her hands into his own as he stared deeply into her eyes.
"I'll stay, but only to protect my lovely magical goddess." Sanji said.
Wren sweat-dropped not sure how to respond to that though she was becoming more accustomed to his comments. Usopp just shook his head though he was glad Sanji decided to stay at least.
'This human is the oddest I've ever met,' Havel thought as he watched Sanji lead Wren down the steps while saying he'd make her something light to eat before making dinner for later.
Havel came out of his thoughts when Chopper climbed on top of the railing with him.
"Hey, do you know where Robin went?" The reindeer asked.
Havel blinked as he looked around and noticed for the first time that the archeologist was missing.
"Hmm, I haven't the foggiest." Havel replied.
Wren let out a breath as she held the small amethyst crystal in between her fingers. She sat crisscross out on the deck as Havel watched her closely. She had a few crystals, plants, and other bits and ends with her as she practiced her magic.
'Air is hot water,' Wren thought. 'I am the pressure. Picture the crystal forming into a new shape. Now, what shape do I choose?'
She closed her eyes as she focused her mind. This was a simple task. Reshaping the crystal into a new shape is the first lesson given to young mages. However, if one loses focus it could go very wrong, and Wren was still rusty at best.
'What shape?' Wren thought again. 'Keep it to something I can picture easily…a flower…a person…something I know.'
She took in another slow breath as a shape came to mind. Thinking about it, she had the crystal start to shift. As she began fusing the crystal with her magic, Sanji came from the galley. His eyes fell on Wren as the crystal in her hand glowed. He watched curiously as the crystal seemed to become water as it twirled and shifted in her palm. It then pulled back together as it formed a new shape.
Once it was hardened again, it took on the appearance of a woman. A woman with long hair that wore a long flowing dress. Sanji walked closer while seeing the tiny crystal figurine of the woman was quite beautiful and something about her appearance seemed familiar to him.
"Ah, so you chose to picture your mother," Havel said as Wren looked over her work. "I never had the chance to meet Aibell in person. However, your father always spoke so fondly of her."
"She was his world that is for certain," Wren said with a sad sigh.
She then looked up when Sanji walked over to crouch down next to where she sat.
"So, this is your mother, Wren-chan?" He asked smiling. "I see where you get all your beautiful looks from."
He held out his hand as he silently asked for permission to hold the crystal that was re-shaped to looked like her mother. Wren passed it over to him as he inspected it carefully. Now that he got a closer look, he could see an obvious resemblance between mother and daughter. Though Wren's mother had pointed, elfish ears and her hair was a bit untamed as it was swept back in thick wavy locks. However, there was still enough resemblance for Sanji to understand why she looked familiar to him.
"You said your mother died some time ago, right?" Sanji asked gently.
Wren nodded her head then turned to face Sanji as she moved to sit on her legs. She reached out cupping the bottom of his hand with one of her own before placing her other hand over the crystal that he still held. Sanji felt his cheeks heat at their close proximity as warmth seeped from Wren's hands warming his own. He felt the crystal shift in his palm as light trickled out between the gapes in their joined hands. When Wren moved her hand back, the crystal was now in the form of an orchid.
"When fae pass on, their bodies return to nature." Wren said. "Perhaps they grow a new tree, or they merge into the water, or rejoin with the air. Or they could even become a bed of flowers like with what happened to my mother."
Sanji's eyes widened as he looked at the crystal orchid in his hand. He looked up at Wren seeing a melancholy smile on her face.
"By returning to nature, it means our dead aren't really gone," Wren continued. "They live on even if we cannot hear their voices any longer or feel their touch. To fae, death is only the beginning of new life. My mother lives on back in the North Blue where I planted the orchids. I am still sad she is gone, but it makes it easier knowing a part of her is still in this world. I wish I could say the same about the others I have lost."
She molded the crystal again to take on the form of a lanky man wearing a shirt covered in hearts and a large, feathered coat.
"This is the man who died saving me and one other." Wren said. "In some ways, you remind me of him, Sanji. You both are so kind…even to someone like me."
Sanji stared at Wren's face as she gave him a small, gentle smile. Before he could reply, Wren returned to her studies when Havel told her to focus. Sanji watched as she went back to practicing magic before he looked to the crystal figurine in his hand.
"What was his name?" Sanji asked.
Wren paused as she was about to pick up a different crystal. At first Sanji didn't think she was going to reply based on the stiffness in her shoulders. But then her posture relaxed.
"His name was Rosinante," Wren replied. "However, I knew him as and called him by Cora-san."
Sanji was about to ask more, but Havel batted at him with his claws out as his tail flicked in annoyance.
"Don't be distracting her." Havel said. "She's too far behind in her magical studies. If she wants to catch up to other mages her age, she needs to buckle down. Now shoo."
Sanji gave the cat an irritable look, but so not to bother Wren, he got up to go check on Usopp and Chopper who were supposed to be doing repairs to the Merry. Though before he walked away, he carefully sat down the crystal figurine next to Wren. As he walked away, Wren glanced at the figurine.
'Cora-san, you were right,' Wren thought. 'I've met some truly kind humans.'
She then let out a small laugh when she heard Usopp and Chopper getting rowdy from below.
"Hey, I said no distractions!" Havel hissed.
"Okay, okay," Wren said as she went back to focusing on the task at hand.
"Ah, Luffy, Zoro, what happened?!" Usopp's panicked shouts brought Wren from her current task. "Why are you bleeding?!"
As Sanji called out to Nami in worry, Wren stood up while sitting down the mortar and pestle she had been using. She and Havel went to look over the railing to see the others returning. Wren's brow rose when seeing Luffy and Zoro were indeed injured. She didn't think anyone here would be that strong. Usually only low-class pirates and thugs came to this island, so she thought whatever they came across, they could have handled it.
'Perhaps I should have gone with them,' Wren thought as Chopper cried for someone to get a doctor.
Wren looked down at the distraught reindeer as Havel and Usopp were both giving him blank looks.
"You're the doctor!" Usopp snapped. "Go and check them out already!"
He whapped him over the head once for good measure, which had Wren shaking her head. She crouched down next to Chopper.
"If you'd like, I can assist, Chopper," Wren told him. "I'm no doctor, but I can bandage and clean wounds."
Chopper thanked her before hurrying to get his medical bag. As he was doing that, Wren guided the two injured boys to sit on the upper deck.
"Alright, please, have a seat, gentlemen," Wren said.
Luffy did as he was told without a fuss, but a certain stubborn swordsman remained standing.
"I'm fine," Zoro said. "They're just scratches."
Wren turned to look at him with a smile on her face, but nothing about that smile was friendly. In fact, it sent a chill down Zoro's spine.
"For your own good health, I suggest not making me repeat myself, Zoro." She said.
Zoro frowned and grumbled but did take a seat like Wren had told him to do. Wren nodded in satisfaction of his obedience as she sat down next to Luffy. She tilted his hat back slightly to get a better look at his face as Chopper returned with the medical supplies.
"Nami, you're not hurt, are you?" Chopper asked as he was pulling out the supplies he would need.
Nami didn't reply, so Wren turned to the young girl. She had a peeved expression on her face as she sat down on the steps. She turned her back to the group while grumbling darkly.
"I believe she's fine, Chopper." Wren said. "Just pouty."
Nami turned to give Wren a look, but the older woman just brushed it off with a chuckle. Wren took some wipes to clean Luffy's face as Chopper began working on Zoro.
"This doesn't hurt, does it, Luffy?" Wren asked as she had to press a little hard to wipe the blood away.
"Nah," Luffy said with a grin.
Wren nodded in return as she finally got all the blood from his face. The wounds were actually pretty shallow, but any wound to the head bleeds profusely no matter the size. Meaning things only looked serious due to all the blood, but Wren was glad to see the wounds weren't actually that bad. Though she did have to put a bandaid under his right eye.
"So, what happened to you guys?" Usopp asked. "It looks like you were mauled by a pack of rabid wolves."
"It was pirates," Luffy said as Wren moved to disinfect the cuts on his arms. "We're okay. Just some scratches."
He said this with a smile, which relieved Usopp's worries by quite a bit. Chopper's too.
"Yeah," Zoro agreed as he let Chopper put a bandaid above his left eye.
He then turned to Nami who let out a huff of aggravation. The orangette was still obviously upset.
"You guys seem to be okay with everything, but I certainly am not," Nami said then through her fists up in the air. "What is wrong with you two?! You are men, right?! When someone provokes you, the only logical response would be to pummel their faces and then wipe up the blood with their friends' faces! Or better yet you should have just blown up the entire annoying town!"
She let out a scream of frustration as Havel backed away from the young navigator to hide safely on the other side of Zoro.
"What happened to all that pacifist talk?" Zoro questioned.
Nami turned to glare at the swordsman, which had him and Havel flinching at the sight.
"Shut up, Zoro!" Nami snapped. "What's past is past! We're not talking about ancient history here! You got anything to add, cat?!"
She turned her attention to Havel who slowly shook his head before ducking down to lay as flat as possible against the deck. Making it impossible to see him past Zoro. Said swordsman sighed as he patted the feline on the head. Feeling sorry for the little guy for getting yelled at when he did no wrong.
"Why is she in such a bad mood?" Usopp asked. "She didn't even get a single scratch on her."
Luffy just gave a shrug as Wren finished his treatment. Chopper was finishing up Zoro's as well as he turned to Nami.
"Oh yeah, did you get any information about Sky Island?!" He asked excitedly.
Nami, who stood up, slowly turned to glare at Chopper causing the reindeer to turn pale underneath his fur.
"Sky Island?" Nami practically growled. "Does it even matter anymore?! All I did was say the word Sky Island and they all laughed at me. What the heck was so funny about me saying that?!"
As Usopp decided to play dead and Chopper ate a rubble ball to enter his guard point, Wren stood to her feet.
"There, there," Wren said as she rubbed Nami's arms. "I did warn you that those who dream of Sky Island are often ridiculed. However, who cares what others think, hmm? They're just too small minded to comprehend the possibility. You shouldn't let the words from people like that bother you."
Nami continued to grumble a bit, but she did calm down as Wren tried to sooth her.
"I guess you have a point," Nami thought. "That stupid Bellamy just pissed me off."
Wren stiffened for a moment at the mention of Bellamy as she stood a bit straighter.
'So, he is here after all,' Wren thought. 'Maybe I will have to find him. After all it's been a while since I've seen that hyena's face.'
—FLASHBACK—
Wren looked down in distain at the blonde, who was at her feet, through her mask. Bellamy coughed hacking up more blood before he looked up to glare at the younger pirate.
"Damn you, Corazon!" He snapped. "What's the big idea, huh?! Doflamin—!"
He shut up quickly as Wren placed the tip of her sword against his neck; putting just enough pressure to draw a bit of blood.
"Don't address the Young Master so casually, you mangy hyena," Wren said coldly to the blonde. "I don't even know why he wastes his time on someone like you."
Bellamy's glared filled with even more hate though he dared not to move. A voice was then cleared, which had the pair turning their heads. Doflamingo stood there looking amused by the squabble he caught the two in.
"Now, now, Corazon, Bellamy might not be part of the family, but he's an extension to the crew," Doflamingo reminded her. "Try not to kill him."
'More like a pawn,' Wren thought in distain as she backed away from the young pirate.
She sheathed her sword as Bellamy got back to his feet. His eyes still on her and his gaze wasn't friendly.
"Mark my words, Corazon!" Bellamy said as he pointed at her. "You won't be able to push me around forever! I will become stronger than you!"
Wren scoffed at the blonde as she turned away dismissively, which instantly irked him.
"Trash like you needs to know your place," Wren told Bellamy. "You become stronger than me? Don't make me laugh."
She went to leave the room with Doflamingo following behind her, which left Bellamy to stew in his anger.
—END OF FLASHBACK—
Wren never liked the blonde. She remembers the day the entire crew was introduced to him. She ended up throwing him from their ship. He was a spoiled brat. He came from a nice, prosperous town where he was fed three meals a day, never had to live in fear of being chained and beaten and had anything he ever wanted. However, the peaceful life had been 'boring' for him, so he left with a bunch of other spoiled kids looking for adventure.
Him becoming a pirate isn't what irks her about him. It's his blind admiration to Doflamingo. How he hangs off of every word the man says like it's gospel. Though what angers her the most out of all of that is that she had once been like that, and in Bellamy's admiration, she's reminded of how stupid she had once been. How blind she had once been. Though those weren't really reasons to hate the hyena she supposes.
'But that personality of his irks me as well,' She thought in her defense. 'Not to mention, he's just a scavenger. Preying on the weak and stealing from them when they can't do anything to try and defend themselves.'
Just thinking about him was getting her worked up. Maybe she should just try to avoid him. She'd rather not cause a scene.
'However, I believe it's time to send a message,' Wren also thought. 'And he would be the perfect person to send it through.'
Wren came out of her thoughts, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned her head seeing Robin had grown an arm out of her shoulder to give it a tap.
"Are you alright there, Mage-san?" Robin asked. "You seemed to be in deep thought."
Wren blinked as she noticed that while she was in thought that the crew had undocked and were heading out to open water once again.
"I suppose I was." Wren said. "Where are we going now, exactly?"
"To see a man named Mont Blanc Cricket," Robin said. "From what I was told while I was out, he's quite the dreamer like our captain."
'Mont Blanc…' Wren thought. 'Could he be…?'
Wren frowned as she looked up from her task of crushing and mixing herbs when she sensed many voices ahead, which most likely meant a large sailing vessel was in their way. One of the voices was particularly loud and annoying. Wren sighed.
"Is something wrong, Wren?" Chopper asked as he was helping her with her task.
His ears then twitched when he picked up the same loud voice that had tripped Wren's haki.
"What's that?" Chopper asked as he rubbed at his ears. "It's so loud."
Havel hmphed in agreement as he hurried inside to put some distance between him and the noise. Though soon it subsided as Wren and Chopper moved to join Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy near the Merry's figurehead to see what was going on. Wren's frown deepened when she saw a ship with a monkey-themed design. It would appear they might have another Masira on their hands.
"Well, it didn't take us long to run into something weird." Luffy said. "Do you think it's that same salvage boat from before, or…?"
"Nah," Sanji replied. "It might look like a similar ship, but it's not Mashira's group."
Usopp, who was hiding behind Sanji and wearing his goggles, turned to Luffy.
"Yeah, because Chopper and I saw those guys," Usopp said then looked to Chopper who was hiding behind him. "Right?"
"Right," Chopper confirmed. "We saw them docking. Turns out they port at Mock Town the same as most ships in these waters. They're greedy slim. Just like all the others."
Wren does vaguely remember hearing the distant shouts of 'salvage' earlier. However, she had brushed it off since Havel had told her to focus on her herb studies.
"You know, those guys better hope we don't run into them again," Luffy said.
"Hey, hey, hey, you guys!" A voice shouted from the other ship. "Shut your traps and pay attention!"
Wren looked unimpressed at the man who did the shouting as he looked even more like a monkey than Masira. His flunkies, who hooted loudly, did as well.
"Hmph," The man huffed as he sat down. "Can you believe I actually got worked up wondering who you people were?"
For a moment the Straw Hats didn't reply as they looked closely at the man's face.
"Your face looks weird." Luffy said bluntly thus breaking the silence. "What species are you?"
"I'm human, moron!" The man shouted back.
"Really?" Wren questioned. "Because from here you look like an orangutang."
Luffy and Sanji both snickered at her words as the monkey man's subordinates shouted at her in anger.
"Are you telling us you don't know who Shoujou is?!" One of the men questioned heatedly. "He's only the captain of the Shoujou Pirates, and the world's leader in undersea search!"
More of them shouted and bragged about their captain. However, the Straw Hats didn't appear to be impressed.
"Hey, now, now, hold on," Shoujou silenced his underlings. "Hmm, it looks like we're in the same profession. Were you aware that Crocodile one of the Shichibukai was defeated recently? When you consider my dominating abilities that open spot is as good as mine. I've been doing my best to stay patient, but lately anticipation has gotten the best of me."
Wren frowned wondering if this orangutang of a man was being serious. She's never heard of him before, so she highly doubts the government even knows he exists.
"Out of all the potential pirates the government can pick from, I highly doubt you make the list to replace Crocodile," Wren told Shoujou bluntly. "One of the upstarts currently gaining a lot of attention have a better chance than you."
She's been keeping up with the news and besides her brother, who was making quite the splash, a few other names frequently popped up. Like Eustass Kid or Basil Hawkins. There's even Capone Bege among a few others. Then there's of course some veteran pirates to choose from.
"What did you just say to our captain, woman?!" One of the divers demanded.
Soon the others joined in as Wren sighed wondering how much longer they'd have to deal with these fools.
Coco: Next chapter we'll be meeting Cricket and learn more about Sky Island. Wren might even have her reunion with Bellamy as well if we have the time. Now, won't that be exciting?
Until next time, guys! Stay safe and keep being your beautiful selves!
