Three weeks went by. Whitebeard took his time to find Shanks. He wanted Casey to be healthier and relaxed. She was still jumpy and he could see that she didn't slept well. Though Marco, Izo and Thatch tried their best to make her feel comfortable and safe, she still did not trust them completely.

"Casey, do you have a moment?" he asked, as she was training shifting.

She stopped, her paws, ears and tails were still present. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing at all. I just want to talk with you," he said.

She nodded and climbed up his leg and sat on his lab. A small yawn escaped her lips. He looked worried at her.

"Is there something you want to know?" she asked.

"Are you feeling safe?" he asked.

She grabbed one of her tails and hugged it, her eyes darting around the deck. He followed her gaze, but it didn't seem to settle on someone particular. She gazed at him, blinking tiredly.

"Kind of," she said honestly.

So the problem lied in her not feeling completely safe. "Feeling unsafe to sleep alone?"

Her ears dropped and she looked down. "I don't like sleeping alone," she mumbled, barely audible.

"Want to sleep next to someone?" he asked.

"I … I don't want to be a burden," she stuttered.

He chuckled. "I'm sure you won't be a burden to anyone. They all like you, especially Thatch, Marco, Izo and Haruta," he said.

She hugged her tails and gazed at Marco and Haruta, both on deck. "They are nice. So you know why … Namur avoids me?" she asked.

He raised a brow. So she had noticed Namur avoiding her, though it was barely noticeable. The girl sure was observant. He patted her on the head and scratched her behind the ear. She loved being petted, which he had found out one of the first days.

"Why don't you go and ask him yourself?"

She nodded and jumped down, looking for Namur. Whitebeard watched her, knowing exactly why the commander avoided her. It had nothing to do with him not liking her, but the fact he didn't want to scare her. All knew exactly what kind of reaction a Fishman brought forward into people, but maybe Casey was different, since she came from one of the Blues.

-x-

Casey found him near the training area. She sat across him, watching him clean some fish. He had noticed her and was a little stiff, but continued to work on cleaning the fishes.

"Say, you're a Fishman, right? Benn said that Fishmen has many types, so which type are you?" she asked.

"A shark," he said.

"Cool. If my brother knew I saw a real Fishman, he'll be sooo jealous," she giggled.

Namur stopped and looked at her. "You're not scared of me or hate me?"

She tilted her head. "Why should I be? You're friendly and nice," she said, not getting why he asked that.

He sighed. "You don't know much about the history of Fishmen, do you?"

"Well, Benn said that humans are scared of them and make them slaves. And that there are tensions between Fishmen and humans, but I don't really get it. Why say all are bad or scary, just because you met a few? Shanks isn't bad or that scary, but Jiji kept saying pirates are evil. You guys are not bad either, not in the way Jiji says anyway. Marines saw me fight to get free of my chains, but ignored me. Why would they accept slaves, when they are to protect us? I don't get that, but I'm not going to protect some idiot's right to have slaves, because I believe in freedom," she said.

Namur blinked. For such a young girl, she sure was smart and had heart. Was it because she had been enslaved herself? He doubted it. There was something else in her eyes that told him that she hadn't just started to think so.

"So can we be friends? I think you're so cool," she said.

He smiled, though he knew it might look scary. "I'll be honored to be your friend."

The smile Casey gave him was enough to prove to him that though children knew about the Fishmen, it didn't mean they feared him or the others. That there were some children that weren't tainted by the adults.

-x-

That night, Casey lied in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Though she liked most here, she still wasn't quite ready to the life on the sea. It was rough and she feared to cause them more trouble. She was a child and children didn't belong on the rough sea. Maybe in the blues, but not on the Grand Line, especially not on the second half.

She curled herself up and hugged her tails, tears streaming down her cheeks. In her mind she knew she couldn't go back home, but she so desperately want to. She missed her brothers, missed their peaceful and simple life. All she wanted was that innocent back. She sobbed, like she had done so many nights before, after she had been kidnapped.

Suddenly warm arms lifted her and she opened her eyes to see Marco smiling softly at her, as he brought her with him. He placed her on his bed, before he closed his door. She blinked tiredly at him, wondering what he was up to. He discarded his shirt, his sash, his sandals, his straw accessory and his belt, before he crawled into his bed, lying next to her. She smiled and cuddled into his embrace. Marco kissed her head lightly, holding her close to him, as to tell her she was safe here.

-x-

"Ship in sight. It's the Red-Hair pirates."

Casey's ears twisted and jumped onto the shoulder of Thatch, to see better. He chuckled and petted her lightly, though feeling slight down. Depending on what Shanks would do, Casey's time with them would soon come to an end. He was not stupid enough to believe that she would stay. He knew she wasn't strong enough to do so.

Marco shifted to his Phoenix form and took off. He was to make sure that Shanks didn't start attacking, though all knew the man wouldn't do so unless he had a reason. Still it was to tell Shanks they came with good intention and not to start something.

It didn't take long time before the two ships were aligned. Casey sat on the shoulder of Marco, her tails waving back and forth down his back, sending cold chills down his spine, not that he let it show. He wondered shortly why she hadn't transformed back, but then again it was for the better she hadn't.

Shanks, Benn and Yasopp came onboard, Shanks with raised Haki. Only the commanders were on deck, along with Whitebeard, Casey and Stefan, the dog not even bothering with lifting the head. Shanks stopped and gazed at Whitebeard, his ever so joyful grin present on his face.

"So are you calling out for a party?" he asked.

"Not really," Whitebeard answered, before gazing at Casey, who looked like she was ready to burst.

Shanks followed his gaze, seeing the white fox. "Aw how sweet. You're giving me a present?" he joked.

Casey jumped down from Marco and ran over to Shanks, crawling up his legs and torso, before sitting on his shoulder, snuggling into his neck.

"Aw, it's so cute," Shanks said.

"She," Thatch corrected him.

"A female," Shanks smiled.

"A girl," Izo corrected him.

"A Devil's Fruit user?" Shanks looked confused now.

Casey jumped from Shanks' shoulder to Benn and nuzzled into him. Benn lifted a brow, wondering who this fox was. Shanks turned to Whitebeard, looking for an explanation .

"You should transform back, before you causes his head to explode in confusion, yoi," Marco said calmly, though he enjoyed the look on Shanks' face.

Nodding, the fox jumped down from Benn and slowly transformed. Shanks stared at her, before he pulled her close to his body, all while he let his eyes wander over the crew, face serious. Now that wasn't very surprising, so the commanders kept relaxing.

"Don't hurt them, Shanks. They helped me," Casey said.

"How did you get here, cupcake?" Shanks asked softly.

"Long story, but …," she trailed of and freed herself, before turning her back to him.

She put her hair over her shoulders and pulled the shirt lightly down. Shanks, Benn and Yasopp all gasped at the mark on her right shoulder. As she let go of her shirt, she picked up the murderous atmosphere steaming from Shanks and she looked up at him, seeing how angered he was. She scooted over to Yasopp, who lifted her up.

"He's mad at those who did this to you, cupcake," Yasopp assured.

She nodded. "Thatch found me, as I was living in a dangerous forest on an island somewhere on this sea. He saved me," she said.

Yasopp smiled. "We need the whole story, cupcake. Are you up to tell us?"

She swallowed lightly, but nodded. Yasopp sat down, with her on his lap. Benn dragged Shanks to sit on the deck too. It was clear that Casey was really uncomfortable and scared for some unknown reason. She wasn't the girl they had left a year ago. Yet he knew that when names were spilled, Shanks would not hesitate to pay those people a visit.

"You're safe now, cupcake. I told you that the Whitebeard pirates weren't bad," Shanks said to her, smiling softly.

She left the lap of Yasopp and went to Shanks, hugging him. She couldn't stop her tears and soon she was crying her heart out. Shanks patted her back, letting her cry. Marco felt a slight sting, but he understood why she was so attached to Shanks and his crew. She knew them better than she knew them and so she felt more comfortable breaking down with them, though he smiled softly, because she did it in front of them too.