(~0~) Yo. I'm a bit nervous. One Piece rightfully belongs to Oda-sensei. Thank you. Enjoy (~0~)
"What do you want to be when you get older?"
"Hmm a pirate! Just like you were Papa!"
"A pirate? Why would you want to be a pirate?"
"Because...because they sail on ships on the sea! Go on adventures!"
"Then it's your dream to be a pirate?"
"My dream?"
"Do you have something else in mind?"
"My dream...my dream is-"
Wolf
"Hellooooo anyone in there?"
Triangular magenta eyes lazily opened and met the gaze of a young woman smiling. Brenna groaned as she sat up from the couch, rubbing her face then ran her hands through her chocolate hair that barely brushed her shoulders. She had been thinking about her past again. The brunette looked over at the woman, Chia, who waved at her.
"You've got another request at White Tip. A couple of hunters went missing when a blizzard suddenly hit their camp two days ago."
"Don't they know the mountains are dangerous at this time?"
She shrugged with a carefree grin. "You know how impatient some of these hunters are. They got to get the best game before the season opens to the public. Anyway, you probably should hurry."
With a couple of other members, Brenna was a part of a search and rescue crew scattered throughout the island. When she first arrived on this island and wandered around looking for work, the owner of the office offered a spot. She was hesitant at first but figured with her Devil Fruit it'll be easy. So this was what she had been doing for the past four years. Roaming around the largest mountain range, looking for lost hikers, campers and hunters. Sometimes patrolling the ski lodge area for problems. She just saw it as a job to get her by.
When Brenna stepped outside with her backpack of medical supplies, she took a deep breath and enjoyed the chill in her lungs. She usually wore a vest with black fur around the collar and a tight shirt, both sleeveless and pants she cut off under her knees. Her bare skin welcomed the cold. She stretched her arms up towards the sky, the set of three silver bracelets on her left arm clanging together as they slid down. This was her type of weather. A gentle snowfall with the faintest of breezes. It was similar to her home island. Frigid with mountains, fjords and forests. Almost always with snow.
The town of Fros, where she's currently living, was the largest town on the island. It was where most of the rich tourists stayed at. People from all wakes of life come here. It was more of a neutral vacation island. As long as one had money, no one really seem to care. While some people rather enjoy the endless sun and waves of summer islands, there were quite a few people that like the constant cold. This island was known for its hot springs, skiing slopes and hunting large deer, with a few casinos dotted around.
Though Brenna had noticed something a bit off. Marines. While it wasn't an uncommon thing for Marines to come here, the fact that she saw several men wandering the streets asking the townspeople questions unnerved her. From what little she heard, apparently there were bounties here. That's not uncommon either. This was an island of winter pleasures, so crime was high in some parts. Fros in particular.
The brunette just shrugged it off. It wasn't her problem. She gets paid no matter who got themselves in trouble here. With a slap to her cheeks, Brenna headed out of town towards the east where a path lead up the mountain. While nodding to those that said hi to her, her train of thought went directly to food. She eats. A lot. Thanks to her Devil Fruit. She always wondered how she wasn't fat. She has a little pudge, a bit more of a stocky build but with her metabolism being so high, the food just vanishes. Just meant more for her to eat later on.
As she spaced out thinking about if she should have fish or venison, she ended up walking face-first into the back of someone. Someone sturdy. She stumbled a little but caught herself apologizing to the wall of the person she head-butted.
"It's fine."
A deep voice made her look up, meeting a dark piercing gaze. The green-haired man with three swords by his side had a predator-like aura that made a shiver race down her spine. A "this man was dangerous" shiver. She quickly looked away and apologized again. He said nothing else and she watched from the corner of her eyes as he walked away. He smelled like the sea. And blood. He wasn't from here.
Brenna shook her head and kept on her path. With the size of the town, it took her roughly ten minutes to reach the beginning of the mountain path. Once she reached the edge of Fros, she pulled off her ankle boots and placed them in her backpack before shifting. Brenna at the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model Type: Hati. She ate it when she was twelve back on her home island, as an initiation of sorts to hopefully be the next leader of her family. That never happened.
The Devil Fruit gave her an advantage in colder snowy climates but made her susceptible to higher temperatures. In her beast form, she stood roughly the same height as a quarter horse. Her pure white coat blended in well with her environment though in light there were flecks of shimmering blue. Just like her eyes that had a gentle glow to them and her largest canines protruded from her upper lip. Her powerful legs and large paws were perfect for bounding through the drifts. Her tracking ability was quite impressive thanks to heightened smell and hearing. There was something about her ability that made her wonder if it was a side effect. During the day, she was usually sluggish and sleepy. But at night she felt alive and energetic. Could just be her though.
The path that led up to the outpost on the tallest mountain White Tip wound through the trees and followed a partially frozen river. She crossed over a large bridge going west, stopping when she noticed a few chunky fish swimming against the currents. Her stomach growled. She'll have a big thing of grilled fish when she gets back.
She continued on, stepping off the main path once she reached the mountain resort. This trail was smaller and was the main branch that led to a variety of hiking paths. Brenna liked to come up here on her own time and just sit on a rock watching the island below. Especially at night when it was clear and the stars and moon shone brightly. While it was rare, there were nights were the aurora danced in the sky. She liked when she could have time to herself.
Once she reached the edge of the main path, Brenna was greeted by one of the men that was stationed at the outpost. The building was a single-story log cabin that was big enough for five people to stay at. All the outposts were similar. He wasted no time explaining what he knew about the situation. It was the same information Chia told her but also told her another person in the vicinity was missing.
"Someone else?" she repeated with a tilt of her head.
He nodded. "It sounded kind of urgent. Well the woman on the Transponder Snail did. All she said was to look for someone with a straw hat."
"A straw hat? On a winter island?"
"That's what she said. We'll start our search towards the base of the mountain while you check the forest."
Brenna bobbed her head in agreement and took off towards another trail, this one leading into a dense forest where many of the hunters go camping. The outpost acted like a divider between the resort and the hunting grounds. She went into a sprint, effortlessly bounding over rocks and logs once she reached the forest line. She stopped every once in a while, listening with her long ears swiveling for out-of-place sounds. It was mostly just birds and the occasional crunching of snow from deer. No people sounds. She took several deep breaths through her nose of other scents besides the strong smell of pine.
She kept her eyes peeled for any signs of human activity. Footprints, markers on trees, their campsite. If they were amateurs, they would have left trash behind. With the lack of litter, Brenna figured they were veterans and doesn't see a need to hurry. But with a new person lost, she kept her pace at a run. If she really wanted to she could run around this island without feeling tired. Her endurance and stamina were nothing to laugh at. A gift from the Devil Fruit.
The white wolf Brenna slowed to a stop once she noticed a bright green tent to her left and bounded over towards it. There wasn't much snow covering the site thanks to the thick trees above. The fire pit was cold and the tent empty. There were a few wooden boxes that were untouched as well. There were a couple of sets of footprints that lead towards the north where a smaller mountain range stood. That's where the best hunting spot was for the large breed of deer.
While she can't blame them for getting lost in something unpredictable as a blizzard, it was still the season for them. Usually, hunting was opened to the public after the snowstorm period was over. There are some that have special permission from the outpost to hunt early. She followed the footprints with a canine-like pout. It would have been better if they waited, she thought to herself. There's plenty of deer to go around.
She suddenly stopped when she saw bright red droplets against the white snow. It was hard to tell if it was recent or weeks old just by looking at it. There were also footprints. She crouched down to the blood and took a deep breath. It was relatively fresh, a few days maybe. It was human.
She quickly followed the footprints, noticing more droplets of blood. The trail thinned when she was getting closer to the edge of the forest where the blizzard was able to reach. She slowed down as she reached the base of the smaller mountain range, not seeing any more blood or footprints. She scanned the area as her ears swiveled around for noises again and her nose twitched for scents. This mountain range was more for climbers with jagged rocks sticking out with icicles. Around the base were patches of rock lichen that the deer liked to eat.
There was another scent she didn't recognize. It was relatively close too. The smell was of food, but not freshly cooked food. Like residue of food. She looked around for whatever the scent was coming from. Was it another person?
"W-why is i-i-it so c-c-cold?"
A new voice made Brenna whip her head around to a young man several feet wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts. He was shivering like crazy and his snot had turned to ice. He was also wearing a straw hat.
A straw hat...
It clicked in her mind, but she wasn't sure how to react. Mainly because of his lack of clothing in the snow. He noticed her and they just stared at each other in awkward silence.
"D-d-dog...fo-food."
"What?"
He blinked a few times before shouting. "The p-puppy ta-talked!"
"You must be new here," she huffed as she trotted towards him. "Why aren't you wearing any winter clothing? You should be frozen by now you moron."
"A giant t-talking do-dog. J-join my cr-crew!"
"Okaaaay I think the chill has gotten to your brain. And I'm a wolf not a dog." She reverted back to her human form and pulled off her backpack, rummaging through for the insulated blanket she had. She handed it over to him expecting him to take it immediately, but he just stared at it confused before it dinged into his mind what it was. "Someone is looking for you. Before I take you back into town, I need to find two other people. Have you seen any sign of them?"
"Whoo so much warmer now! Thanks! Who are you?"
"I just asked...never mind. I'm Brenna. And you are?"
"I'm Luffy! Wanna join my crew?"
"Do you ask everyone you meet to join?" she muttered more to herself as she shifted to her full wolf form. "Climb on my back. I'm going to look for others that are lost."
He seemed too excited to ride atop a large canine beast, but Brenna didn't say anything as he jumped on her back and she took off towards the base of the mountain. Luffy was acting like a little kid, whooping and hollering as she bounded through the snowdrifts. She went up a quarter of the way up when she noticed more footprints and crimson drops. She followed them along the side, telling the moron on her back to hold on as she used her powerful legs to jump to a ledge, digging her claws into the ice to stop her from slipping. There was climbing gear embedded in the rock and when Brenna round the corner, there were two people sitting next to a fire in a small cave. Relief washed over them when they saw the wolf. But they quickly jumped back when she growled at them.
"Don't you idiots know it's still blizzard season?!" she snapped at them, baring her canines. "Just because you have permission to go early doesn't mean you should! Dumbasses!"
The two men looked genuinely sorry as they bowed their heads and apologized several times. Luffy was laughing hysterically until she snarled at him, calling him an even bigger idiot for traipsing through the snow without proper clothing. He went silent. Brenna let out a snort and turned back to the two men.
"Any injuries?"
"I-I do," the grey-haired gentleman said hesitantly. "I slipped on a log during the blizzard and a branch splintered off into my leg."
"Is it bad?"
He shook his head. "We had our packs with us so we were fine up here. We had planned to go back down once the blizzard stopped and I was well enough to walk."
"Is that so?"
The other man, a younger dark brown-haired guy, nodded. "W-we're sorry. Gramps was really adamant on going early."
Brenna heaved a sigh. "I hoped you learned your lesson. You. Straw Hat. Off my back."
"Huh? Why?"
She slowly turned her head towards him with her eyes narrowed and her teeth showing. "Get. Off."
He did so. Quickly.
"I'll take your gramps down back to your camp first. If you're well enough to follow then do so. And take that idiot next to you too."
Brenna crouched down next to the older man to let him climb on and hurried out once he did. What she wasn't expecting was a pair of arms stretching past her towards the opposite ledge. It almost made her lose her footing. Luffy zoomed past her, laughing like a child with the other guy on his back like a monkey. She just stood there and watched as he jumped down the side of the mountain, landing in a puff of snow once he reached the bottom. He waved up at Brenna who grumbled under her breath.
"Moron."
