I fixed it. Hopefully it's better this time.
Passage Ten: Wrath of the Sea
"Where the hell are we?"
"I don't wanna die! This forest is scary! What happened to everyone and the Merry?!"
"We'll find them and the Merry soon."
It has been a week. Zoro was getting angry because they kept getting lost. Not his fault he tells them. Chopper kept freaking out every once in a while when something happened out of the blue. Kirsi was doing her best to keep the two of them from losing their minds any further. There was something about the mysterious forest that was unsettling, the way it engulfed them in a dark embrace. Though she didn't want to admit it, Kirsi was enjoying this more than she should. The new smells, the scenery, the animals and plants she's seen. It was a shame she didn't have any way to record it.
"If Zoro stopped getting lost, we'd be with everyone by now," Chopper muttered in a mopey tone.
"I heard that!"
"Kirsi tell him we're going in circles."
"He's not going to listen to me. He's too busy getting lost."
"Shut up!"
The blonde giggled. It's amusing for Kirsi, teasing the swordsman. She noticed Zoro was quite the prideful one and wasn't going to admit he keeps going off in the wrong direction with the belief it's the right way. But she can tell he was kind of worried about the others. He doesn't show it the way Chopper does, yet it's there.
"Are you sure we're going the right way, dog kid?"
"Dog kid?" Kirsi parroted. "You mean me?"
Zoro turned his dark gaze towards Kirsi, making her flinch a little as he repeated the question. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"
"The scent of the ocean is growing faint. If there are people here, they probably built as far inland as they could to avoid the storms," she told him.
His eyes narrowed, but nodded and turned away. "I'm trusting you on this. Let's hurry and find the other."
With that, he marched away. It didn't take long before Chopper chased after him when he veered from the path they agreed on. Kirsi took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Tahgu taught her not to lose her head when in a difficult situation. Panic was what caused people to foolishly lose their lives in the wild. It's her job to keep these two going and to lead them to the rest of the crew wherever they are.
A week since the Straw Hats were separated. A week since the storm at sea struck. A week since her, Zoro and Chopper had been traveling through these wonder filled trees.
But how much longer before they find the others?
One week earlier...
"This is so relaxing..."
Kirsi was laying on the back deck of the Merry by herself on a large towel she borrowed from Nami with shorts and one of her tight fitting sleeveless shirts. The afternoon sun was high in the sky with wisps of clouds lazily floating by with the gentle breeze. It was a comfortable temperature as well. Not too hot for her. It felt a bit awkward for her to be relaxing. Tahgu didn't let her have that luxury often. The rest of the crew were enjoying the calmness as well. As long as they got Nami's permission.
"Mind if I join you?"
The blonde looked up to a sunglasses wearing bikini Nami with a beach chair. Kirsi nodded with a smile and Nami set up shop next to her. She noticed how much larger Nami's chest was. Bouncy, voluptuous and head turning. Kirsi looked down at her grapefruit sized breasts, feeling kind of inferior.
"Enjoying yourself?" Nami asked once she got comfortable.
"Very much so. It feels odd to be relaxing. Does this happen often?"
"Sometimes. As long as there aren't any dangers, we take advantage of the carefreeness."
"It's nice."
It's been a few days since the Going Merry left the harbor of Dustan Town. A few days since Kirsi set her sights on the numerous adventures waiting to be discovered. She spent those days getting to know her new crewmates better and learning their habits. Usopp was the inventor; making random knickknacks that came to mind. Most of them were more for pranks. When Chopper wasn't studying new medical books or making new medicine, he was helping Usopp. Luffy complained almost constantly about being hungry. Sanji enjoyed playing servant to the girls. Making them iced drinks on a warm day or little cakes for the evening. Then he went all ogre with the boys. Especially Zoro since all he did was sleep. And drink when he could or train. Robin was more to herself, either reading in the girl's room or outside if the weather was agreeable. Despite Luffy being the captain, Nami was the one in charge and everyone listened to her when she was mad.
This was going to be the norm. Kirsi had to get use to the nonchalant atmosphere. She liked it though. As long as she kept up with the chores and helped around when needed, she could do what ever she wanted to. If she wanted to sit on the railing and stare into the endless horizon, she could. If she wanted to spend all day and night reading the books Robin had, she could. If she wanted to space out up in the crow's nest, she could. This was the type of life she could live.
"Just make sure you're ready if something happens," Nami said, shaking Kirsi from her thoughts. "The seas can be unforgiving. Not to mention any run ins with Marines or other pirate ships."
"That's just how the world is. But we should enjoy the little things when we can. Like relaxing under the afternoon sun on the calm waters."
"Yeah you're right."
Nami went quiet and her expression changed to concern. Kirsi noticed. It was just a slight change. She shrugged it off and stretched her limbs out, suddenly remembering she was going to help Chopper. She quickly stood and gathered up the towel, saying her byes to Nami before she hurried to the girl's room. She grabbed her jacket, a pair of capris and her boots laying next to the bar, pulling them on as she hummed.
"Going somewhere?"
Kirsi looked over to the stairs where Robin was coming down with a book at hand. "Chopper wanted some help with making medicine. What brings you down here?"
"Another book. There were quiet a few I haven't read I bought from your island. Some of them looked to be very old."
"Many merchants had books they didn't have much use for and usually left them behind. It's nice to see someone have care for forgotten literature."
"I am an archeologist. Anything old has value."
The blonde went silent as she watched Robin look over the books on the shelves. Her quiet and mysterious demeanor was more intimidating than Zoro. If she really did know about where Kirsi was originally from, it was a bit worrisome. She stayed quiet on it though which made Kirsi even more unsettled. Once Robin found the book she was looking for, she smiled softly at Kirsi and left. She is scary...
Kirsi was next to follow. When she reached the outdoors, she noticed the breeze turned to a wind and clouds were rolling in. It smelled like rain. Was that what Nami was worried about? A little bit of rain? She shook her head and made her way to the meeting room where Chopper was at the table. Sanji was inside as well, cleaning up the small kitchen area. He greeted Kirsi with a bright smiled and offered to make her some tea. Kirsi thanked him as she sat next to Chopper, taking note of the fragrant dried herbs he had waiting to be mixed.
"What are you making?"
"Herbal salve to help healing."
"Salve?" She noticed there was beeswax warming over a small burner as well as small bowls of aloe, garlic, yarrow and dandelion. She recognized each by smell. "Interesting selection. A salve for different types of wounds?"
"It's easier to mix everything together and make a lot of it."
"I take it you guys get hurt often."
"That is the life of a pirate, mademoiselle," Sanji said as he placed a cup of steaming tea before her. "It only seems natural for us to get hurt."
"Luffy gets hurt the most. He always seems to go up against the stronger bad guys. Then it's Zoro and Sanji."
Kirsi chuckled. "So the three muscle heads get hurt first. That sounds about right."
"I would be willing to take all the damage if it means protecting such a beautiful lady my dear Kirsi."
"When the time comes I'll fight for myself. The only way to get stronger is through experience."
Sanji danced around, swooning like he was stuck by Cupid's arrow. "What a head strong woman!"
She felt her cheeks heat from embarrassment. "That's what Tahgu taught me anyway."
"If you ever need any help please don't hesitate to call upon your knight in shining armor."
"I'll...keep that in mind."
"Sanji! I'm hungry!"
Like a switch, Sanji went from lovey-dovey to an angry ball of fury as Luffy barged inside. He planted his foot into the Straw Hat captain, sending him rolling across the deck. Kirsi won't get bored on this ship. That she knows for sure. Nami's voice soon followed, berating to two for disturbing her peace and quiet. Chopper sighed next to her.
"Always getting hurt."
"Nami definitely has an iron fist."
Chopper nodded. "Could you...could you crush the garlic and mix it with the aloe?"
"Oh of course."
The little reindeer handed her a mortar and pestle along with the bowls that had the aloe and garlic. The fragrance made her nose twitch. It only got stronger once she started mushing them together into a paste. Chopper nodded his approval and had her add the dried yarrow and dandelion. She mixed those in to make a goopy mess. By itself, it would be powerful enough to help heal cuts and burns. Yet it doesn't seem like a lot. She dumped the paste into a clean bowl as Chopper slowly added the melted beeswax into another.
"Now we slowly add the paste bit by bit until it's all mixed together."
"You really are talented Chopper."
"S-Shut up! Dummy!"
The blonde chuckled to herself as she watched Chopper add a spoonful to the beeswax and mixed, repeating the process until it was all mashed together then added it into a flat thick glass container. He placed a towel over it to let the salve cool.
"T-Thank you...for helping."
"Anytime. Glad to be of assistance. Let me know when you need help again."
"Like I'll ever do that. Moron!"
The suddenly hard rocking of the ship sent the two flat on their butts. That was weird. Kirsi and Chopper look at each other before the blonde jumped to her feet and hurried outside. It had gotten dark with heavy clouds above. Wind whipped around violently as the ship shook with the rising waves. Rain belted the deck. Nami was holding onto the railing for dear life as she shouted orders to the four boys down below. Kirsi stumbled towards the railing next to Nami who looked very panicked and had every right to be.
The waves towered over the small sheep headed ship. One wrong movement and the vessel would capsize. The slippery wood was making it difficult to stand as Kirsi slowly made her way down to help the boys raise the sails. The wind howled and the cold rain stung. A wave crashed into the side of the ship, making Kirsi slip and fall face first into the deck. Storms out at sea were no joke. Unpredictable and dangerous. Shen then remembered Nami's concerned expression. Could she have...?
A terrified shout reached Kirsi's ears as she saw Chopper tumble along the deck. She shifted to dog form and jumped after him, carefully clamping her jaws around his antler as she rolled with him and slammed hard into the wall. She quickly changed back as another wave slammed into the side. She held onto the little reindeer tightly as they slid again along the deck. Kirsi was ready for the impact this time, turning herself around to catch the two of them on her feet. Chopper looked dazed from the sudden movements as she stood up fast and held onto the stair railing.
The next wave was the one that sent them over.
It was in slow motion. Kirsi felt her stomach drop as a wave rose above them. All she could do was watch with wide eyes of disbelief as it fell just feet away. The force of it was enough to cause the Merry to lurch violent on it's side. Her grip failed her as she was flung to the other side of the ship. As the vessel dipped, her body missed the rail and down she fell into the angry sea with Chopper.
Fear flowed through her veins as she plunged into the depths. Her body instantly began to sink as she was enveloped in darkness. Her erratic heartbeat echoed in her ears. Her lungs wanted to burst. Her consciousness was close to being defeated. She tried to claw her way out of the water, failing to do so. The ocean around her swirled.
What a lame way to die.
Is it better?
