A/N: Geeze, it's about time I got this chapter all typed out and stuff. Though I'm using my dad's mSi laptop and it's so weird. I've been so used to the keyboard on my Mac, and it's just sofjdshf when I type on the laptop. Yeah. It'll definitely take some time to get used to.

I would like to thank everyone who's reviewed my story, added my story and me to their author lists, and followed my story and me. It really means so much to me.

DISCLAIMER:

One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda

Lavender and Hickorytown and it's residents belong to me.

NOTE:

This story has not been beta'd. I just ran it through a spellchecker, so I apologize for any grammar or spelling errors!


insatiable [in-sey-shuh-buhl]

1. not satiable; incapable of being satisfied or appeased


Lavender blinked once, and then twice, just to make that she had not been dreaming. Was that what she thought it was? Realizing that she had been gawking a bit too rudely, she focused on climbing out of her window and onto the branch where Law was hanging on. The pirate passed her luggage to the creature standing by the base of the tree, who took the object without question. Taking a hold of the branch with both hands, Law unhooked his legs and just kinda hanged there. Letting go, he nimbly dropped down, landing on the cobble stone pathway with grace. At the drop, Lavender swallowed. There was no way she could land on her feet from a drop like that!

So, she resolved to hugging the tree and carefully sliding down the bark. Once her feet touched the ground, her eyes turned to Law and the...bear. It's presence unnerved her though the fact that the white white bear was standing on it's back legs and wearing an orange jumpsuit- Lavender wasn't sure how to feel about it- him? The notorious pirate noticed the young woman's uneasiness and smirked.

"Miss Lavender," he said, keeping his voice down, "this is Bepo, he's my first mate."

O-oh! Lavender's eyes widened, as she realized who she had been staring at so insolently.

"B-but..." she stammered, "The bear- he's a-a... a bear!"

Bepo, the bear, stared back and then turned his gaze down when she'd mentioned the fact that he was a bear. Noticing this, the female flinched and then reached out.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," she stuttered hastily, but then mumbled, "I didn't mean it in a bad way, Mister Bepo. I was just... a little surprised."

"You two can get better acquainted once we get to the ship," Law cut in quickly, "but now, we have to go before we're seen."

Law reached out to the bear and plucked the large nodachi from the bear's paw and then beckoned Lavender to follow. Pushing the small wooden gate open, Law led her out to the street, before continuing his trek down the pathway. Giving her aunt's cozy cottage one last look and her last goodbye, she followed after the pirate captain. They traveled quick, yet made sure not to disturb anyone, or worse, draw attention to them.

The ever present mist lingered over their island, and for the first time, the strawberry blonde realized how... eerie the place that she once called a sanctuary, was. Though the mist did offer them some cover. As they approached town, they slowed down from their brisk walk, so a more... cautious one. Lavender remained close to Law as she looked around nervously. An unsettling feeling made itself comfortable in her stomach. The town... It looked dead. The houses were dark and the streets were empty. Not even a rat scuttled on the lonely streets.

"Law," Lavender whispered hesitantly, "this... this doesn't feel right."

Looking over his shoulder, the said man opened his mouth to respond, though paused as he stared at something over Lavender's head. His mouth closed and he motioned Bepo to move. Without a question, the animal shifted to the side while staring at his captain through his beady eyes while clutching Lavender's suitcase. Law's face screwed up and he swore.

"Go," he hissed, placing a hand on Lavender's back.

The woman looked up at him in confusion and then turned her head to face town. There- in the mist, little balls of light. They were multiplying and getting larger and larger. What're those? she puzzled until feint shouting reached her ears. She stood there, perplexed by what was going on. As dark shapes in the mist began to appear, it dawned to her. Eyes widening, she allowed Law to guide her.

"Go, go, go!" he ushered as they ran down the street. The silence and emptiness seemed to make their footsteps much louder. Lavender was sure that they were echoing as they turned to a narrow pathway between two buildings.

The Occult, Lavender thought bitterly, someone found out. But how? Lavender had only discussed her escape with Law in the cafe. After that, they didn't even see or speak to each other to avoid suspicious. When they did discuss about their plans, she was sure that they had been alone! Her mind reeled as they turned around another corner. Shouts behind them became increasingly louder as she could see the pointy shapes of large hoods. The torches that they carried illuminated the figures.

They carried sickles, ropes, few even had a pitchforks. At that moment, Lavender had understood what Missus Tubbs had meant about Anthony and the 'backwoods' people. No one saw a pitchfork in town , save for one store. No one had use for them, save for the farmer. The farmers, they lived way in the heart of Hickorytown, where as the town and Lavender's house was located by the coast. But now I'm judging and jumping to conclusions, Lavender mused, then focused her attention back to the path ahead of her.

"Over there!" Law pointed out, his eyes fixated on one of the docks.

What Lavender saw- must've been the strangest ship she had even seen. It was painted bright yellow and white. It had two lamps on the outside and small, circular windows. Two large masts, but no sails. Her brows furrowed. How were they supposed to sail with no sails? Her dark brown eyes then fell to the large emblem painted on the side of the ship. It was the exactly the same that was on Law's shirt. Then, the unsettling word 'DEATH' was printed in black capital letters next to the smiling face.

"Captain!" someone called out to them from the ship.

"Shachi!" Law called out, "ready the ship for submersion!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Sub...submersion?" Lavender echoed and looked at Law.

Though he said nothing to quench her curiosity, nor did he even look at her. But when a loud shriek and 'thud' reached his ears, Law looked to where Lavender had disappeared to, only to have Bepo grab him and throw him over his shoulder. The Captain's tired eyes widened when he saw how close the men dressed in white had gotten (and due to Bepo's bold actions). Looking to his right, he saw Lavender thrown over Bepo's other shoulder, holding onto the handle of her suitcase with both hands. Her eyes were wide and her bottom lip trembling.

Their angry shouts reached their ears without any difficulty, but what surprised Law was that how none of the lights in the houses flickered on at the racket outside. He doubted that they were heavy sleepers, and could only conclude that The Occult held quite a lot of power in this odd little island.

A loud 'boom' above them startled Lavender. Her heart leaped and her eyes widened even more. Tilting her head back, she looked up at the sky. Dark, gloomy clouds loomed above them. There was a loud rumbled and a quick flash of light before they were pelted by rain. It started with a few small drops here and there, until they were practically bombarded with drops of liquid. Closing her head and bowing her head, Lavender held onto her suitcase harder as if it were going to slip from her fingers any moment.

The distance between the two parties began to grow shorter and shorter, but to Lavender's relief and fear, Bepo suddenly leaped into the air. She looked to her side at Law, who only held on to his hat and looked at her nonchalantly. Her hair clung to her face and seemed like she'd been hit with a brick. There was a loud 'thud' as bear landed on the ship's deck and ran through the large door. Darkness engulfed them as the metal door was shut behind them- drowning the shouts of the men outside. The ship rumbled and the lights flickered on. Lavender's eyes closed simultaneously at the brightness, but when she opened them, she came face to face with a pair of black oval shades, a blue hat with a red bill, and a brown hair. She squeaked loudly and flailed, startling the man who took a step back with a gasp.

"Captain! Who the bloody hell is she!" the main called out and faced the dark skinned man, who was currently being set down.

"Our new chef," the Captain explained simply while removing his hat from his head and shaking the drops of water out of the white, spotted fur.

"Wait... That means I don't have to cook anymore?"

When Lavender's feet touched the wooden surface, she fell forward. Though before she met the floorboards, someone caught her by the back of her overalls.

"Miss Lavender?" it wasn't hard to guess who it was, "are you alright?"

"B-bolas," she managed to reply as she let go of her suitcase, which landed on the floor with a soft 'thunk'.

"Pardon?" Law inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"M-my legs," Lavender stuttered while placing her hands on the metal walls on the ship and straightened herself. M-metal walls? she puzzled, aren't ships usually made out of wood? "My legs- someone threw a bolas. Now I can't move them."

When the three men looked down at her ankles, they saw that they'd been tied together by what seemed like a long strand of rope with two weights at each end. Someone had thrown them at her, and the weights caused the rope to wrap around her ankles, binding her legs. Letting go of her gray overalls, Law turned to Shachi and the two began to discuss their ships condition. Meanwhile, Lavender had managed to awkwardly hop closed to the wall, which she leaned against and began to untie the hunting tool from her legs. It wasn't the first time she'd seem one. It was a common hunting tool in Hickorytown. She could remember riding out with Benny back when he'd still been in the process of courting her. He'd explained to her how it worked and how you were supposed to use it before demonstrating on a hare that his beagle had sniffed out. He'd even offered her to try it, but Lavender said 'no' explaining to him that they might lose the game.

The next day to her surprise, she woke to Benny serenading outside her window before taking her out into his backyard and taught her how to use a bolas.

A sharp, wolf-whistle from behind Lavender caused her to stand up, for she'd been bending over while untangling the tool. Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. The sound had alerted Law, who turned around, and Shachi, who peered around his captain. Another man approached them, wearing a jumpsuit just like the one Shachi was wearing with a black hat with flops in the sides, a white area above the yellow bill that said 'PENGUIN' in black letters, and a red pompom on the top.

"Hey Captain!" the man called out, "who's the chick?"

The man stood next to the strawberry blonde, who leaned away from him and closer to the wall. Her face still red, though it was marred with the fact that she was uncomfortable with him being so close to her.

"Penguin," Law began with a chuckle, yet there was a certain edge to his words, "this is Miss Lavender, our new chef."

The man, Penguin, seemed taken back by the response. He took a step back and bowed slightly while holding onto his hat.

"O-oh," he cheeped, then cleared his throat, "sorry 'bout that. The name's Penguin. It's nice to meet you, Lavender."

He then held out his hand, his cheeks were slightly pink, though Lanveder silently hoped because he was embarrassed. Remembering her manners, Lavender smiled shyly and shook his hand.

"Likewise."

Law approached the two, their attention focused on him.

"Miss Lavender, since this is a crew of men, you being the only woman, I've made arrangements for you to be sharing a room with Bepo. I've talked with him, and he doesn't mind."

It was hard not to look at the bear, who seemed indifferent towards the matter. Lavender nodded.

"If you would please follow him, he'll show you two your new sleeping quarter as well as the kitchen and the rest of the ship."

With a nod and a meek 'yes' Lavender fetched her suitcase and followed Bepo. As the two walked down the empty hall, Bepo turned to Lavender.

"Since I'm your superior, you'll have to do as I say," he stated.

Lavender's brows furrowed at this, and before she could realize what she was about to say, she blurted out:

"But... You're a bear..."

When she did realize that the fact that being a bear was a sensitive topic to Bepo, the bear had hung his head dejectedly, murmuring an apology. The young woman flinched and then held up a hand. Her eyes widened and she mentally kicked herself. Oh, if only Aunt Anabell would see her now! She would be so upset with the rudeness her niece was displaying!

"N-no!" Lavender stammered and then proceeded to babble on nervously, "I-I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry, but... I take Law's orders... I think... I'm not sure"

She wasn't really sure if she took Law's orders only. It was her first time being a part of a crew, so she didn't know exactly how things worked. Since she was new, did she do what everyone told her, or just what Law told her to do? Oh dear, she fretted, was it truly wise to leave Hickorytown?


Good question. Was it? Reviews are much appreciated! They give me motivation to write, and makes me aware that people also read my story. :-) I try to respond to your messages too and answer any questions you have. But this is all for this chapter! Stay tuned for more and thanks for reading~