Author's Note: I've been slowly trying to fit writing back into my routine after adjusting to my new job. Hopefully I'll be able to stay more consistent with updates. You guys know as good as anyone how life gets sometimes. Anywho! I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, feedback of any kind is always welcome. Leave questions, concerns, or comments in a review, or even suggestions, if you have them!

Chapter rating: T- for...just because.

Disclaimer: I have no claim to this beautiful world of pirates... just guilty of starting the day a little early.

Tribal Colours

Vivian awoke in the sickbay, nestled up in the cot's blankets without remembering how she had gotten there. The swaying of the ship made her horizontal-self woozy, so the femme sat up, casting a quick glance around the cabin. The doctor was missing, and no one had posted a guard in his absence. She glanced around cautiously, not yet willing to give up the sanctuary her blankets provided. Had they really left her alone? No, it couldn't be. There must have been someone outside the door. The locked door, to be sure. She tugged the blanket she'd been given around her shoulders, peeking at the window in the door as she sat up. It was still grey outside, the sun not quite as awake as she was.

The femme opened her mouth to… what, exactly? Wish her guard good-morning? Ascertain someone was even standing on the other side? She didn't quite know, but an errant thought crossed her mind and her vocal chords immediately collapsed in on themselves. What if he opened the door? Even hearing his voice… Vivian shivered. She slid off the cot as quietly as possible, moving toward the door. Even the sound of her bare feet sticking to the wood as she lifted them sounded loud in the silence, the girl wincing at the noise. Could they hear? Were they coming? She stood on tip-toe, taking a deep breath before scanning the area outside the door.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Vivian looked left, right, up, and as far as she could downwards before releasing her breath, settling flatly before the door. As far as she could tell there was no one there. But… why? Surely they wouldn't leave a complete stranger alone on their ship and trust them to behave themselves? Amber eyes dropped to the door handle, the female dragging her lower lip past her teeth indecisively. Careful to keep the fabric of her blanket wrapped protectively along her shoulders, she reached one-handed-ly for the door handle… and then very nearly jumped when it opened without a hitch. Her brow furrowed uncertainly, slowly shimmying forward until she could poke her head through a gap just wide enough for her face. She hadn't been mistaken. There really was nobody there. Her ears told her there was no one in the kitchen either, surmising the door wasn't thick enough to block any noise that might have been going on in there. From what she'd gathered from this crew in the limited time she'd interacted with them, they seemed rather… loud.

Pirates. She was on a pirate ship. A thrill laced down her spine, and the woman was unsure if this was a feeling of dread or something pleasantly positive. As much as she longed for surprising positively, she knew herself too well to completely dismiss her feelings of paranoia and anxiousness. Especially when she was among pirates such as these. Because these were no ordinary pirates, no. They were the StrawHat Pirates and they had made a name for themselves by declaring war against the World Government. The Celestial Dragons cursed the name of their captain and spurned the rest of his crew. They would all burn in a fiery hell as far as the Nobles were concerned. It was all she had known, and yet, she still couldn't help the small part of her that relished the idea of being in the same place as the man who struck a Celestial Dragon.

The cool, damp wind that brushed her face smelt of brine, refreshing her dulled senses. She crept forward a little more, nearly out the door now, and watched the orange and pink sky grow ever lighter. There was something she had seen last night… something she was curious about. Vivian gave another fleeting glance around before slowly closing the door to the med bay behind her, silently making her way around the railing. Thoughts of last night washed through her mind as steadily as the waves on her left. She'd fallen asleep at a table of pirates with a belly full of warm food. Seemed more like a dream to her than the nightmares that were want to invade her subconscious.

How had she gotten back into the cot? Thoughts of hands against her body made her shudder. She hoped Nami would find her before any of the others. And that she wouldn't be angry with her for leaving her cell. She shook her head. Room. It was a room. Such thoughts fled her mind when she once again laid eyes upon the deck. She couldn't help the childish delight that fluttered through her at the sight of something she hadn't seen for such a long, long time.

Grass.

lllllllllllllll-lllllllllllllll

The gentle sound of the waves eventually woke Zoro up, the swordsman yawning fiercely as he stretched. He took stock of the weight room around him as he got to his feet, making his way over to the windows. Nothing in sight. He'd kept watch on the seas through the night (well… mostly, anyway) in case any Marine ships had tried following them. He smirked. As if they ever had a hope of catching up to them. Something did catch his eye, however, when he bent to idly grab a weight from the ground. Someone was kneeling on the lawn deck. He frowned trying to identify who it was. Robin? "Who the hell…?" Oh. It was her. He'd almost forgotten. Zoro watched as she brushed her hands over the grass before making her way over to the tire swing, giving it a soft push. He watched her gravitate to the railing, the girl staring as if mesmerized by the sea. The green-haired man sighed. He supposed the rest of the crew was bound to get up sooner rather than later.

Effortlessly making his way down from the crow's nest, he noticed the girl –what was her name again? Vanessa? Violet?- still standing at the railing. What could she possibly be staring at? Was there something in the water? Or was she like Luffy in the sense she had fallen asleep standing up? He scoffed. As if they needed another one of those people around. He made his way over to her, calling out to her when he was close enough. "What are you doing?"

Though he wasn't exactly expecting it, Zoro couldn't say he was surprised by her reaction this time at least. The girl –Vivian! That was her name- whirled around and dropped, legs bending at the knee until she lowered into a… defensive crouch? Her left hand was extended, as if she was about to drop onto all fours at any moment. What took the swordsman aback was the speed at which she did this with. It was an instantaneous reaction, the movement swift and seamless. Almost… practiced. He was struck by the darkness of her hair… the yellowness of her eyes. When Vivian saw him, she winced, hand reaching under her blanket to clasp at her wounded hip even as she slowly backed away.

"Hey. Take it easy, alright? It's not like I'm going to hurt you or anything." Honestly… he hadn't really believed Nami when she told the crew last night Vivian might have had a fear of men. 'Androphobia', Chopper called it. Severe is what Robin said. Sanji thought it was tragic. Zoro thought it would get very annoying, very fast on this boat made up of mostly male crew members. It was a very real fear she had, he recognized, but if she couldn't tell the difference between 'friendly' and 'threatening' it was going to be a long boat ride of having to tend to the little woman-child. While Zoro didn't mind helping people out every once in a while, this was the Grand Line, and he hadn't become a pirate and travelled this far just so he could baby-sit some girl who didn't even appreciate it in the first place. When he'd said as much, Nami had punched him from his insensitivity. Her fist and glare in mind, Zoro heaved a sighed as the girl straightened, her trembling seen from even this distance.

"I… I…" Vivian appeared to be trying to say something, but Zoro waved his hand, settling against the railing as she had moments before. He finally saw what she had been looking at. A large school of dark red fish were shadowing the boat, their movements indeed entrancing. Luffy and Usopp would have a field day trying to catch them. He didn't spare the girl another glance.

"Whatever. Do what you want. Just try not to hurt yourself or anything."

The shoe came out of nowhere, clocking him in the side of the head with astonishing force. Zoro yelled, Vivian squeaked, and Nami scoffed from the railing. "I didn't even hit you that hard, you pansy." Zoro fumed, sending Vivian back-peddling.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

"Why are you so rude! Don't be so dismissive! And stop yelling you'll scare her!"

Zoro growled, but a look in Vivian's direction verified he was indeed cause the anxious woman to fret. Gone was the defensive stand, the readied posture and back was the wide-eyed woman-child with the shaky fingers. He snorted as he crossed his arms, forcing himself to look back at the sea. "Yeah whatever. I should throw your stupid shoe overboard."

A light glinted in the navigator's devilish eyes. "Not unless you want to go into even more debt than you already are. Would you like to know how much that shoe cost?"

Zoro, more than anything else, very much did not want to know how much it cost. "Tch."

"I thought so." Nami sighed, shaking her head, but her smile was refocused a moment later. "Good morning Vivian! Why don't you come up here with me? It's better company than with Mr. Tall, Green and Obtuse over there." The dark-haired woman looked uncertainly between the two pirates, as if trying to comprehend just exactly what had happened. But she saw her chance for escape and didn't dally too long before taking it, quickly flitting up the stairs and settling close to Nami's side. The navigator settled a hand over Vivian's shoulder, ignoring the other woman's slight jump. "How did you sleep last night? Alright, I'm hoping? Robin had to carry you back to Chopper's room you were so tired."

Vivian seemed to sag a bit in relief, for reasons Nami could only guess at. The femme did nod her head yes though, snuggling her blanket ever closer around her shoulders. Neither of them noticed the dark figure that settled next to Zoro on the deck. "Good morning, Zoro." The swordsman huffed. Maybe he was simply too used to woman like Robin and Nami, confident and comfortable in their own skin. Women who had no qualms when it came to getting men to do what they wanted. It never occurred to him before women like Vivian could even exist in such a manner. The thought had never crossed his mind. His eyes skipped over Robin's quietly smiling face, before grumbling to himself. "Hey. What are those big cats called? The black ones?"

Robin quirked a brow at the odd question, but provided an answer for the out-of-the-blue inquiry none-the-less. "A black panther, you mean? Though, technically, the correct term is melanistic jaguar-"

Zoro ignored the rest of her statement. "Black panther. Right." The archaeologist simply smiled, head tilted curiously to the side.

"Why do you ask?"

Amber eyes stared back at him from within his mind. "No reason."

If Robin had meant to inquire any further, she would've been cut off by Nami's calling.

"Robin! Good morning! Come help with this, it's time!"

The raven-haired woman turned, walking leisurely across the deck, cool eyes sparking as they noticed the way Vivian hovered at Nami's side. "And what exactly is it time for, Nami?" The navigator grinned.

"It's bath time!"

Word Count: 1985
Muse Source: Red Like Roses- Jeff Williams ft. Casey Lee Williams

"Black the beast descends from shadows,
Yellow beauty burns gold."