Taking a hesitant step into the snow at the edge of the island, Coran heard a crunch beneath her boots and hummed. She had never seen the white crystals before; her island was warm and often dreary with more rainy days than not, and though she wasn't fond of the cold she found the snow mesmeric.
The whip of the wind however was not. It blew her hair into her face as a light flurry fell around her.
Coran reached down and scooped some into her bare hand, shivering as the cold bit her skin. She rolled it into a small unsmooth ball and tossed it at Atticus, striking him in the head. The said man turned and stuck out his tongue. Neither she nor he was dressed for the cold, wearing coats larger than their bodies, but both were ready to throw down.
"We're not here to play," Kid snarled, interrupting their fun. He turned his attention back to Killer and resumed their conversation – plans on what to d0 next overheard the Wight.
Coran narrowed her eyes at him, knocking the slush from her hands. She then secured her weapons, pleased that the vicious captain allowed her to take them, and walked over to Atticus. He and Doc Mercy were each given lanterns to light the way.
"To be continued," Atticus declared.
Coran grinned and turned up her eyes.
With the supplies in tow, Kid led the crew from the shore where the Victoria Punk was anchored and up the southeast end of the island. As they came to a knoll overlooking an empty valley of snow, he squinted his eyes to see through the light flurry, noticing lights in the distance.
"What do you see, woman? Is there a town over there?" He asked Coran.
She raised a brow.
"It's my ears that are enhanced, not my eyes. But if I had to guess, it looks like it."
Kid frowned and began to walk towards the lights.
The snow was much thicker in the valley and the wind was much worse. Coran shivered and shot a glare at Kid. He was lucky to have on such a thick coat; hers was thin. And her ears hurt like hell. She reached up to cover them, but a noise caught her attention. What was it?
Her ears twitched in reaction causing her to groan. It was faint, but there was indeed someone or something out there with them. Coran thought it was an animal at first, but when the footsteps grew, she knew that the noise belonged to a group of people. But where were they?
Coran halted and brought her hands up to her ears. They sounded close, but why couldn't she see them yet. The flurry wasn't that thick.
"Captain," she called.
Kid looked over his shoulder at her. The look on her face made him pause.
"I hear movement," Coran mentioned. "Maybe three people or four."
Kid raised a brow and looked around. He didn't see or hear a damn thing besides the wind. But he believed her.
"Where are––"
The hammer of a gun interrupted Kid and a moment later a shot rang out. The bullet zipped through the air and punctured his coat, striking his metal arm with a ping.
Coran grinned. The shooter made a grave mistake: they underestimated their target. Now she had their position.
Drawing her weapon, the metal bit her skin. Killer yanked the lantern from Doc Mercy's hand and together, he and Coran raced through the snow at them. He was pleasantly surprised that she could keep up with her speed, but he reached his target first, leaping into the air to cut him down.
Coran struck next, swinging her blade into the attacker's side. They were dressed in white; it was no wonder they blended into the snow. She heard the retreating footsteps of the final member and swung the chain around her arm, tossing the blade in their direction, but Killer blocked her attack, knocking her sickle away and taking them down himself.
"Hey, they were mine!" She shouted.
"Be faster next time," Killer uttered.
Coran glared at him as he walked back towards Kid and the others. She turned up her eyes and glanced at the bodies. None of them were carrying guns. She raised a brow. Who shot at Kid?
Her ears suddenly twitched as a noise caught her attention. Coran widened her eyes. Somehow one of them slipped past her.
She saw him about the same time as Killer did, standing a short distance behind Kid with a gun raised.
"Kid!" Killer shouted.
The said man turned and raised his arm, activating his ability, but the gun didn't come to him. His eyes widened in confusion.
Coran tossed her blade at the man, but before her weapon pierced his side, he fired a shot. The bullet, unfortunately, hit Kid's left shoulder; blood stained his coat.
"Damn that hurt," he hissed.
Coran walked back in shock and leaned down to examine the gun.
"Your Devil Fruit didn't work on this," she mentioned.
Kid motioned for the gun in annoyance and waited for her to hand it to him. He growled once he recognized the metal.
"It's made of brass, a low alloy metal that doesn't magnetize."
Did that mean––
"If there more people like the ones we just encountered then your Devil Fruit is going to be useless here," Killer mentioned.
Kid glared at him. Tossing the gun into the snow, he continued in the direction of the town. He was pissed.
Coran was shocked. If it had been her or anyone else who made that comment, the redhead would have killed them.
"You just had to go and say that," Doc Mercy groaned,
"It's the truth," Killer stated.
He turned and followed Kid.
"Is that a bad thing?" Atticus asked, turning his lantern to Doc Mercy.
Coran hummed, seeing a stack of papers hanging from the coat of the man she cut down. Her ears twitched as she listened to the doctor speak, leafing through them; bounty posters they appeared to be.
"It means he's going to tear this island to pieces before we leave here," Doc Mercy explained.
A familiar bounty poster caught Coran's attention.
"They know who Kid is."
"They who?" Atticus asked, peeking over her shoulder.
Doc Mercy turned up his eyes. Did no one care that Kid was on the warpath but him?
Atticus hummed, staring at the face of his captain. He averted them to the dead man in white and frowned.
"I have a bad feeling about this place. I'm not for certain, but I think the guys that attacked us are bounty hunters."
Bounty hunters? Coran raised a brow. Could they have seen the ship before it anchored near the island? His theory made sense. It was strange that the guns were made of brass.
"You may be right," she uttered.
Atticus felt his face turn red.
"D-do we tell the Boss?"
"Yeah, but after I have a look at his shoulder. Given that he hasn't turned the entire town to ash yet," Doc Mercy answered with a groan. He motioned them on, not eager to walk alone in the dark.
Coran stood up and walked close to Atticus as each of them followed their captain towards the town. He was a good distance in front of them – Coran could see his lantern – but she didn't care. Her attention was on the posters. There were so many of them. Even Killer's face was among them.
"Are you cold?" Atticus asked.
Coran hummed.
"A bit. I should have worn something over my ears, but I'm fine."
She turned the page to a young and aspiring pirate amused by his smile.
"Straw Hat Luffy. He has a large bounty for such a small person."
300 million! That was impressive.
"He's one of the eleven rookie pirates with bounties over 100 million," Atticus mentioned. "His crew recently emerged after being gone for two years."
"Our Boss and first mate are Supernovas as well," Doc Mercy added.
Coran was impressed. She folded the bounties and put them in the lining of her coat.
The town came into view. Coran stood next to Killer as he and Kid looked over the area. It was a small town with maybe ten wooden buildings in total; one of which was a restaurant; another was an inn.
"I need to have a look at your arm, Boss," Doc Mercy suggested.
Killer hummed.
"I'm going to find out more about this place in the meantime."
"Whatever," Kid groaned.
He walked towards the inn as Killer branched off towards the restaurant. Coran and her group followed Kid.
A nice warm fire was crackling in the fireplace across the room as they entered. But no one was inside. Doc Mercy thought it was strange, but he had more pressing matters to attend to.
"Take the medical supplies over near the fireplace, lab rat," he ordered.
Coran turned up her eyes and motioned for the pack he was wearing. She tossed the bag into a plush red chair and sat on the floor near the fire, bringing up her hands to warm her ears.
Atticus sat beside her with a frown. Her ears were red.
"Do they hurt?" He asked.
Coran shook her head.
He glared at Kid.
"Do I have permission to go out and get warmer clothes for Coran? She's not properly dressed for this weather and her ears are in pain."
Coran raised a brow. What was he doing?
"You moron," she hissed. "Mind your own business."
Atticus ignored her. He was not going to let another captain bully them as Sirena had.
Kid turned his eyes to her and examined her ears. They did look tender. He yanked off his coat and tossed it onto her head.
"Make it quick. Once Killer is back we're leaving," he ordered.
Coran peeked out from beneath the coat and stared at him with wide eyes. She watched Atticus stand up and rush out into the snow.
"You can't let––"
"Warm yourself up," Kid ordered, interrupting her. He sat down in the plush chair with a grunt.
Her face turned red. Coran brought her knees up to her chest and snuggled into the coat. She was annoyed with them for concerning themselves with her. It was her fault for not wearing something over her head. And now she owed them.
But at least she was warming up. It had been such a long time since someone took care of her.
Coran bit her lip in mourning.