The way to the port was initially silent before Marco spoke again. It was a bit strange talking to a dog, but he didn't really care how it came across to other people. "It will certainly take time and be difficult to get the money for a ship together. Your situation isn't the best anymore," he pondered aloud, whereupon Kyra merely twisted her mouth into a grin.

"It's okay. I've been in much worse situations and I won't die... hopefully," she joked carefree, even though she was absolutely serious about the background. There was indeed a period in her life that seemed like a brutal never-ending jaunt into and through hell. But she hadn't let that get her down and no matter how sad and difficult it was back then...She was here now. Healthy and happy. The young woman had resolved to enjoy life to the fullest.

For him.

She wanted to live, be free and happy because he wasn't allowed to chase his dreams. Kyra noticed that her mind was wandering and shook her head, the bags making a rustling noise in her mouth. That was a long time ago. Don't forget, but she wasn't planning on struggling with bad and gloomy thoughts that day.

She glanced at the blond-haired man who, as she was able to determine, looked at her briefly and then looked ahead again so as not to run into passers-by unnecessarily. In a certain way she thought it was cute that he was thinking about her future stay, even though he didn't really know her. The island problem, however, was hers, not Marco's. She had catapulted herself into this situation and would get out of it again. She had already run into one or two pirates and had heard a lot about the Whitebeard pirate gang. Of course, rumors circulated.

Nonetheless...

They, well more like Marco, didn't really seem like the stories said. After all, she didn't know the rest of the crew and could only speak of her impression of him. Of course she had respect for him, which should basically be due to everyone, but she didn't find him scary now. He seemed really decent and nice, although first impressions could be deceiving. However, her roommate had been quiet the whole time and even now her instincts were geared towards complete calm. So everything was fine at the moment.

"You're really strange," Marco's next comment came from the lips, after a short silence, he had used it to maybe recognize what was going on in the young woman. It wasn't easy, because reading dog eyes didn't count now his strengths. He was a good judge of human nature, he had been traveling the world for so long, but even he lacked perspective when it came to her. All he realized was that she didn't seem a bad person. A thief perhaps, but she had clearly shown good features. The deputy wouldn't trust her with his money now, but she was anything but a threat. He was a head person, but his gut told him she was fine. She was in trouble and during the intermittent pauses in speaking, he had tried to think of how he could help her. The need from before had not diminished as the ship drew nearer. He let his hand wander to the back of his neck and briefly stroked it before he turned to the Moby Dick, which they had just reached.

Kyra was just about to ask what was strange about her when she followed his gaze and widened her eyes when she saw the huge ship that was supposed to be Marco's home.

"The madness," she escaped, she knew that the Whitebeard Pirates were a large crew, but she hadn't expected such a colossus. She almost dropped the bags, but quickly grabbed them and caught them before they hit the floor.

Pulling up the corners of his mouth and pulling himself out of his reflections, he looked down at the dog form, which was wagging its tail wildly. He found it amusing how easy it was to get her excited. "It is. Come on", he confirmed nodding and she thought she could hear a little pride in his voice for a moment. He instructed her to follow him with an additional hand signal before he walked ahead to the ramp that led to the ship.

Surprised, she had believed that this was actually the end, she followed him confused and finally landed with all four paws on the planks of the deck. "Here, take care of it and wait a moment, yes?" Marco asked as soon as she was on the ship, put the bags next to her and left Kyra alone without waiting for an answer. He had made his decision, but he could not fell alone. "But.. .", but he was already out of her field of vision. "And then he says I'm weird," she murmured, shaking her head and snorting briefly.

What was he up to?

"What the heck, I'll wait, then," she continued talking to herself, sitting on her bum and hoping it wouldn't take too long. It was hot and in this shape she wasn't planning on sitting in the sun forever. She had actually something of torture. Her tongue sticking out from under the straps of the bags that were still in her mouth, she began to pant like any dog does when he's sweating, wondering what to do next. It was already afternoon and if she wanted to increase her treasury even further, which she definitely intended to do after a short break, she had to hurry a little. As a dog, it wasn't really that hard to get money. However, she didn't have much time left. Once evening had fallen, the streets emptied and it was far more difficult to steal in the buildings and bars, even as a non-human. After her foray, she could always think about how to proceed. If posters and wanted posters really did appear, she couldn't stay here much longer. She definitely had to get off the island and that basically meant buying the next best ship and then moving on. She wouldn't get far in a small boat, but it would be fine to the next island.

Since Kyra was fundamentally curious, she took advantage of her being here and looked around the deck, after all, it wasn't every day that you were lucky enough to board such a large ship with interesting figures. Some men scurried about the wooden surface and stowed boxes and sacks, went below deck and after a short time came up again to continue. Nobody seemed to pay much attention to her, to notice her or it was just normal for animals to go on board. She shook her head. "Probably less." A few glances caught her and she cocked her head, looking at a small group of men standing at a railing and watching her. But before she could think about it any further, she heard a voice behind her.

"Well?"

Kyra turned her head and looked up into the face of a young man who looked at her in confusion. The rustling bags still in her mouth, she looked questioningly back at the hat wearer, whose face was adorned with freckles. If she remembered the wanted posters correctly, it had to be Ace with the fire fist. She'd heard a few rumors from him, too, but probably just as little truth as the others. "Are you lost?" the young man asked, crouched down, stroked Kyra's head briefly and looked around the ship to see if one of the boys had gotten another animal without further ado, but apparently that was it not the case.

"I'm sure I've never met you and I know all my brothers. None of them ever had a pet," he continued, looking into her eyes and then at the luggage she was carrying in her mouth, which raised even more questions. "Ah no, I'm not part of the crew and I'm not a pet either," Kyra clarified before the man could continue, he seemed to have just returned and accordingly hadn't noticed her arrival with Marco.

"You can talk," the hat wearer said in surprise and then grinned broadly. Either she was a mink, which she didn't look... well mink enough for, or she had been munching on a devil fruit. He had heard of animals eating fruit and maybe that's where it came from. The beastmen he saw and who got their power from a devil fruit had far less of this detailed form of the animal, which is why it never even occurred to him that Kyra could be a human. "You're cute. If you don't belong to anyone, you could stay with me. Having a dog won't be a disadvantage, in fact having a talking one is pretty cool. What do you think?" he thought and patted the young woman in dog form on the forehead a few times. The thief laughed softly and shook her head. "Thanks, but I think you'll change your mind in a moment. Besides, I doubt that Marco brought me here for that reason," the dog grinned almost a little wolfishly and Ace tilted his head. "What do you mean Marco brought you here?" the young man asked while Kyra put the bags down. The bitch had already crouched a little, effortlessly concentrating her energies, before crouching on the ground in front of him in human form and attack stance. Ace took a step back and was surprised while the young woman straightened up and retrieved the luggage. "I was expecting devil powers, but not that you're human," he explained with raised eyebrows and adjusted his hat on his head. "You can be wrong, but I'm one," she smiled. It had taken her a long time to assume full animal form, but all the training had paid off in her opinion. She had lived with her mate for a long time and had awakened her powers to the point where they were very useful in single combat. "It seems so. So you really should never go by looks. It's a pity. But can't you do anything," he seemed a little disappointed and then shrugged when he remembered that she hadn't answered his question yet. "You said Marco brought you here?" The question followed again and Kyra nodded. "We happened to run into each other on the island and before you ask. Yes, I was me in my human form," she answered, laughing a little at the look on his face. Ace stopped and thought about it. If they'd met as people and spent a little time together, it wasn't necessarily out of the question, though the Vice rarely, if ever, brought anyone on board.

"Are you his lover?", he asked immediately afterwards and completely bluntly, otherwise he really didn't know why she should be here. With a thoughtful expression, he looked her up and down again. He couldn't deny that she was pretty, even if she was a bit too old for himself. Kyra, on the other hand, blinked in confusion when he labeled her as a lover, but found her grin again the next moment. The template was just too good and she just couldn't resist the next comment, she found it a little cheeky. "Actually, I'm basically too good for one night. So no. I'm not his lover," she explained in a calm voice, while Ace cocked his head questioningly again, curious about what or who she was. Kyra's facial expression changed and she smiled friendly at him before holding out her hand "Hi, I'm Kyra. Marco's girlfriend. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance"

The young man's jaw dropped and the young woman thought she saw her hitting the ground while his eyes widened. The ship had plunged into complete silence and not only was Ace looking as if she had just fallen out of the sky, the young man wasn't the only one who had heard her words and observed the transformation into a girl. A barrel hitting the ground was the only sound that could be heard before Ace spoke again.

"Y-you...b-are his...," he stuttered and Kyra couldn't stand it any longer, started laughing at the top of her lungs and had trouble staying on her feet. The crew didn't understand the world anymore and it took the fel power user a little to regain her composure to put things right. But it was also too weird and she wondered if Marco was actually the type of man who was looking for a girlfriend so quickly or if the whole thing was so rare and surprising that they really believed this little logical story.

"No kidding. I'm sorry I couldn't help it," she was still giggling and saw how Ace exhaled in relief and slowly caught himself again. The crew regained consciousness and a few shook their heads before getting back to work. The small part of the commanders, however, still stayed at the railing and watched the young woman, believing that her stay here, whatever reason she was here, could still be amusing. Marco certainly had his reasons for bringing her on board, which is why they didn't ask too much, but would just see what was to come.

"Marco punished me without further ado because I stole from him and more or less asked me to get a few things with him. However, he just ran away," she explained now. "Where do you think he's gone?" she asked herself again, looking across the deck as if nothing had happened, the man still wasn't back.

Ace made a surprised face again, hardly had his features relaxed but was now the one who burst out laughing. Kyra turned her attention back to Ace, tilting her head and looking really like a dog with a questioning look. She didn't understand what was so funny now. "Is that really true, you have..." but then he stopped himself when he saw the Vice approaching again. This eyed the fire devil and then looked at Kyra, who still seemed confused. "What exactly is there to laugh about here?" he asked and stood next to the young woman to take her luggage and pass it on immediately. Of course he had noticed that people were staring at him since he came back on deck, but apparently it was the two people who were in the center who were staring at them. "I just explained that I wasn't lost, so ask him and not me," Kyra answered with a shrug and looked up at Marco, who just turned away and gave someone a hand signal. Ace, who had been silent for a moment, laughed again.

Just the idea that the otherwise so attentive and strict deputy had his money stolen was enough to amuse him so much. "Get yourself back together, it's not that funny. Better make yourself useful," the black-haired raised an eyebrow, feeling the opposite and then nodded after his laughter died down. Before he disappeared to help with the sails, he couldn't stop himself and looked at her again big grin at the young woman. In his eyes, that could still be quite funny and interesting, it was the first time, as far as he could remember, that Marco the Phoenix was robbed by a thief. She also had a good sense of humor and was really quick-witted. "Well, if that's all then... I have to go, evening is approaching soon and business on the street is pretty bad then. Thanks for the nice change in my rather dreary everyday life here. Maybe we'll see each other again," she explained, turning to the deputy and raising her hand in farewell only to turn around and walk towards the plank, which wasn't where it was a short time ago lay. "Faster than you think," the second murmured in amusement as he watched her look up and discover that the sails were being set. Surprised, she turned and looked at the blond-haired man, who had his hands on his hips and his irises lying on them, the corners of his mouth still turned up. In his eyes she was not a threat, also extremely useful and seemed firmly convinced that she would really stay on this island until she had enough money together. He had briefly spoken to Whitebeard explaining her situation, her abilities and the situation of her meeting and also assured that he wanted to take responsibility for her. The captain agreed, after laughing too, to take her with him for the time being, trusted Marco and when the second had left his cabin, he had looked after him with a knowing grin. Marco wasn't someone who distributed sweets, was very interested in outsiders and when he was surprised at first, he thought he could understand his interest, which he otherwise showed less obviously. Besides, her circumstances were anything but easy. Someone was in need and they wanted to help, how could they say no?

"Welcome to the Moby Dick," the deputy now explained and a few of his brothers also took notice. Looking like she had misheard, Kyra kept bobbing her head back and forth between the now receding island and Marco while the commanders behind Marco smirked. They had already thought something similar when he just left them on deck and disappeared below. They didn't know the reason, but apparently they had a guest with them from time to time who brought a little more life into the place than was already the case. The deputy was amused, she didn't seem to have understood what was going on and it took a little longer until the words really got through to her and she began to smile. For a moment she forgot herself and sprinted the short distance to Marco, threw herself at his neck and pressed her lips to his cheek. "Thanks, Marco!" she grinned from ear to ear and let go as abruptly as she had been clinging to him. She was finally able to leave the island and was really happy about it, as it didn't have to end up as a puddle in the sand. Marco, on the other hand, seemed surprised, looked questioningly at Kyra, who turned exuberantly around herself and felt a little heat rising in his head. Behind him, his brothers burst out laughing as they watched the scene, the otherwise composed deputy seemed completely taken aback.