(~0~) Yo. Yes it's a mythical zoan. But we don't know that yet. One Piece rightfully belongs to Oda-sensei. Thank you for reading. Enjoy. (~0~)


Shepherd

Brenna awkwardly stood by as an orange-haired woman, the same height as the brunette, as she reprimanded the kneeling straw hat kid. There was also a tall black-haired, bluish-green eyed lady who was chuckling to herself and a young man with a long nose that looked scared out of his wits at the yelling ginger. He was hiding behind the taller woman. The brunette rocked back and forth on her feet for several minutes until the shouting finally stopped. Brenna straightened when the scary woman turned around and faced her.

"I'm surrounded by idiots I swear. First Zoro gets lost then our rubber-brained captain."

"Another one of your crew is lost?"

"He always gets himself lost without fail. Even when you give him directions. Sorry you had to go look for this dumbass," she remarked, pointing at Luffy. "He does this every time we come to a new island."

"Just doing my job. Are you guys pirates?"

It was slight but Brenna noticed she flinched. "Would that be bad?"

The brunette shook her head, giving her a reassuring smile. "No one really cares as long as you don't cause problems. But I'd be careful if I were you. There were some Marines out and about asking questions. Oh, I'm Brenna by the way."

"Nami. And this is Usopp." She pointed to the shivering long-nosed guy. "And that's Robin." Her finger moved towards the taller woman.

Usopp stuttered out a hello and Robin just smiled. Brenna bowed her head in return. She was about to leave when Luffy jumped up and got into her face with a big stupid grin.

"Join my crew Puppy!"

"No."

"Puppy?" Nami asked with a tilt of her head.

"I ate a Devil Fruit that turns me into a wolf not a puppy or a dog. A white wolf to be exact."

"Join my crew!'

Brenna shoved his face away. "No. I have to go back now. Unless you need me to find your other friend."

"Actually if you don't mind. Our log set just after two days so we plan on leaving as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning probably." She grabbed the blanket that was tied around Luffy's neck and pulled him back towards the other two, telling them to head back to the ship.

"I don't mind. What does he look like?"

"He's got three swords and green hair."

Green hair and three swords...

She let out an, "Oh!" and brought her fist down on her open palm.

"Something wrong?"

"I accidentally ran into him earlier. I know what he looks like. Where should I drop him off?"

"At Harbor 3. Our ship is kind of small and has a ram figurehead."

"Got it. I'll bring him back as soon as I find him."

Nami said her thanks with a friendly smile and the two went their separate ways. Brenna turned into an alleyway between a two-story boutique and a cafe to where a ladder was, climbing up to the rooftops. She carefully jogged along the edges, keeping her magenta eyes on the streets below for that green-haired swordsman. She remembered his scent. A mix of the ocean with old ship wood, sweet rice wine and the metallic smell of blood. She kept her ears open for that chance to hear his gravelly voice.

Nothing in the streets. She began to jump along the rooftops, following the main road and did the same thing on the opposite side. Was he even in the town anymore? She hopped down and asked a few shop owners if they had seen a green-haired swordsman. Everyone except the pub owner gave her a no. The middle-aged woman told her he was drinking a while ago and then left. Brenna thanked the woman and left, taking another deep breath. Under all the alcohol and cigar smoke she caught his scent. It was going south towards the fishing spots.

Since she was still extremely hungry she decided not to waste too much energy and just stay as a human, following a cobblestone road that declined towards several fishing shacks. It was a good twenty minutes from town and somewhat hidden in a lagoon. Several large ocean fish swim close to the shore to eat the variety of mollusks hidden in the sand. Fishing opens around the same time to the public as hunting does, so the beach was empty for now.

The scent was getting stronger. Brenna slowed to a jog, checking around the shacks for the swordsman. While people can come and go as they please to the lagoon, it was uncommon. She began to wonder why he was here other than being far from his crew. He wasn't on the beach or in any of the shacks, but his scent was all over the place. The strongest was towards the opposite end where there was a strip of dark rocks jutting into the water. She carefully hopped onto the slippery rocks, noticing a figure in the distance wandering along the other half of the lagoon among the huts.

Brenna let out a sigh and she traversed off the icy rocks to the other side. He looked like a very lost little kid, glancing around and muttering to himself. She wasn't going to judge him though. Maybe he just wanted to go for a walk away from the town. Maybe just have some time to himself. Brenna does that quite a lot. Or he really doesn't know where he was.

When she got closer to him, she noticed he suddenly stopped and his hand loosely gripped one of his blades. She froze in her tracks and rose her hands as he looked over his shoulder. There was a brief moment of killing intent but it vanished as soon as he met her gaze and his hand dropped from the hilt of his sword.

"You again. Were you following me?" His voice was lower with a little bit of a threatening tone.

"No I wasn't," Brenna replied as she let her arms fall back to her sides. "Your crewmate Nami asked me to come find you. They're getting ready to leave for the morning."

His expression softened to a less of a glare. "You didn't need to. I was just on my way back to the ship."

"The harbor isn't this way though. It's in the complete opposite direction. Did you really get that lost?"

"I-I didn't get lost!"

Brenna did her best to hold in a laugh. "Yes of course not. Just happened to go the other way. What, were you planning on walking around the entire island before reaching your ship?"

His brow twitched. "Smug little-"

"Yeah yeah," she interrupted him with a smirk which just angered him a little more. "Anyways I'll take you back to the harbor. You're Zoro right? Nami told me your name. I'm Brenna. Now give me a moment."

She pulled her boots off again and tossed them into her bag before shifting. Zoro's expression went from ticked to slight intrigue. She was really feeling the need for food, but it was the fastest way to get back and she had a feeling he would wander off again even if she wasn't paying attention to him.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there gawking like a child?" she remarked in a sarcastic tone which immediately changed his expression back to frustration. She was used to stares, but his was...different. It wasn't the awe of seeing a giant wolf. It was more acceptance like this wasn't the weirdest thing he had seen. "Hop on my back so we can go."

He didn't move. Even as she crouched down for him. Their gazes met and for several moments they just looked at each other. Brenna's somewhat blank stare and Zoro's hesitant glare. She was tempted to just take him up in her jaws, but he finally moved from his spot and climbed onto her back. He was a bit heavier than Luffy, a bit more built. Nothing she couldn't handle though.

"I suggest you hold on."

"What do-"

She didn't let him finish as she darted full speed back towards the town. She felt his hands grip her fur and chuckled to herself at his angry yelling. She lept over the strip of rocks in a single jump and kept on running as soon as her paws touched the sand. This was just going to make her more starved than she already was. After this, she was done for the day. It was almost dusk anyway. Once she ate and night fell, she could run around all she wanted to. Or sleep. Sleep was sounding nice too.

When they reached the edge of town, Brenna slowed her pace to a trot. There were fewer people in the streets. Most of the ones still out were headed towards the pubs and restaurants. Smelling the rich aromas of different dishes being cooked made her drool a little. Just a bit longer...

She turned towards the left where a set of stairs were that led to the enormous harbor that had its own little town ten or so minutes away. There were a few markets, a tavern with an inn and an outpost for the nightwatchmen. There were six in total, each with four docks. The first two were usually for the trade ships. They were empty for now. She made her way to the third one where she saw the ship Nami was talking about in dock number four. It was pretty small compared to the other vessels nearby.

Her nails clicked along the icy boards as she walked down the pier to where the ginger was talking to a new person, a well-dressed blond man. She also noticed the long nose Usopp and a small deer-looking creature with a pink hat and a blue nose standing next to him. When the group noticed her Nami, Usopp and the deer let out screams as they hugged each other. The blond stood in front of them, more in front of Nami, to protect them.

"G-g-giant wolf!" Nami shuttered with fear in her voice. "D-don't eat m-me!"

"Don't worry Nami my dear I'll protect you," the blond man declared with a prince-like smile. His expression and voice changed when he looked at Brenna. "If you try to hurt her you damn dog, you'll be sorry."

"What about us you jerk?!" both Usopp and the deer shouted angrily.

"You two are on your own! I only care about the well-being of Nami-swan!"

Those three ended up fighting among themselves while Nami quickly climbed up the ladder hanging off the side of the ship to hide. Both Brenna and Zoro just watched the chaos before them with deadpan faces. Was this really a pirate crew?

"Do they always act like that?" Brenna asked as she looked over her shoulder at Zoro who was still on her back.

"Bunch of idiots."

It was only when the swordsman slid off the wolf his crewmates noticed he was even there. Brenna sat on her haunches as she watched the blond and Zoro get into a yelling match. Mainly about how brainless the swordsman was for getting lost. Nami was too scared to come down. Usopp and the blue nose deer had joined her and the three of them were watching over the railing. Mostly keeping their terrified gazes on the white wolf. She found this amusing.

"I brought him just like you asked Nami," the brunette stated as she stood, transforming back to her human self. "Sorry for not properly warning you about my wolf form. Well the size I get at least."

"That's what you looked like? It's terrifying!" Nami exclaimed.

"I get that a lot when people see me like that for the first time. Anyways, I probably should-"

She was interrupted by the well-dressed man swooning "A dream come true! Just like the stories I heard as a child about a beast turning into a beautiful woman, you're real!"

"Um what?"

The blond man danced over to her with smoke hearts from his cigarette fluttering around him. He dropped to a knee and bowed his head with an arm outstretched to his side. While this wasn't the first time Brenna had been hit on, usually by drunk men, this was a bit awkward for her. She let out a slightly sheepish laugh as he gazed up at her with admiration.

"I am Sanji, a lowly servant to gorgeous women much like yourself. Would you do me the honors of telling me your name?"

"I-it's Brenna. Nice to meet you?"

"Oh what a wonderful name! And the pleasure is all mine!"

He jumped up to give her a hug, but she quickly ducked under his open arms and he slipped on the iced-over pier and into the water. She could hear a chuckle from Zoro. Usopp had to come down from the ship to save him from the freezing waters. Sanji didn't seem bothered by Brenna avoiding him. It looked like he actually enjoyed it. The brunette couldn't help but let out a little laugh of her own, not feeling as embarrassed.

"Hey you."

Brenna met the gaze of the swordsman when he called to her. "I told you my name is Brenna."

He shrugged. "Yeah yeah so what. You didn't have to bring me back."

"Just doing what I was asked to."

She stayed where she was when he walked over to her. He was only a few inches taller than her, but his presence made him seem like he was towering over her. She was feeling kind of small and a bit nervous about what he was going to do. Her getting a head pat wasn't what she expected. Her face went bright red.

"Did...d-did you just..."

He had a smirk on his face as his hand squeezed her head a little. "That's for mocking me earlier you damn pup."

Her brow twitched at being called a pup. "Oh I'm so sorry you're shitty with directions," she snapped, slapping his hand away. "Maybe I shouldn't have rescued your pathetic ass and told your friends you fell off a cliff into the frozen ocean and died."

"As if something like that would have killed me dumbass."

"You're the dumbass you stupid apple-headed moron."

His jaw clenched and his dark gaze narrowed. "What did you just call me?"

"Oh are you deaf too? Didn't take you for an old man."

That shut him up. It didn't help that he was being laughed at by Usopp and the little hat-wearing creature who were helping the nearly frozen Sanji who still had hearts in his eyes. She just about turned to walk away from the seething swordsman, but she heard the overly excited shout from Luffy. He jumped off the ship and onto the pier, almost slipping just like Sanji before. Brenna quickly grabbed the winter coat he was wearing now before he fell into the death trap for Devil Fruit users below.

"You here to join my crew?!"

"I was just dropping off your friend and now I'm going home."

"Aww but-"

"But nothing. It was nice meeting you guys and safe travels."

Brenna changed into her wolf form and took off before Luffy could speak again. She was fucking starving.