Bara stomped nervously back over to her sister, who was still making daisy chains. She sat down with a sigh and began to make her own. Melia looked up at her curiously. "Something wrong?" She asked with a timid smile.

Bara shook her head. "Eh, naw, not really." She smiled back and managed to regain her composure.

"Well, what were you talking to Shanks about?" Melia inquired a little anxiously. "Everything's okay, isn't it?"

"Yes, of course it is, you dork. He was just being an idiot, that's all." Bara flicked the side of Melia's head playfully. "I'm not too surprised you two are related."

Melia immediately retaliated. "Oh really? I was just going to say maybe there was a mistake and he was YOUR brother instead."

"So you agree he's an idiot then?" Bara grinned mischievously. Melia rolled her eyes.

"No, of course not. I mean, not a lot more than…anyone…else…" Melia laughed sheepishly, realizing how horrible she sounded. Bara just snorted and shook her head.

Suddenly they were both pounced upon by a giant set of paws. Melia was a little startled but knew what was going on. Bara's first reaction was to sock whatever the thing was in the face, but luckily she saw Aurélie before her instincts took control. "Where the heck did this thing come from?!" she demanded of nobody in particular.

"You mean you haven't met her yet? Her name's Aurélie. She's the ship's pup." Melia smiled and scratched the dog behind the ears. Aurélie licked her hand lovingly.

"It has no manners. Your brother must have trained it," Bara said with a playful frown. She, too, however, couldn't resist scratching the monster behind the ears.

"She followed us here. She loves ta' camp," explained one of the sailors, whose name was Pierce.

"She's up to date on all her rabies shots, right?" Bara inquired. She couldn't help thinking of all the nasty little rabid things Aurélie probably had the opportunity to catch.

Before she could get an answer, Lucky Roux shouted across the field that dinner was ready. Melia and Bara both paused so they wouldn't be flattened by the thundering stampede (led by Aurélie), then got up and timidly followed the crew over to where dinner was being served.

Shanks, seeing they were both tentatively hanging towards the back of the group, made sure the two girls got some dinner and a decent place to sit. The two ate hungrily. They'd forgotten they hadn't eaten since brunch that morning, and that had only been a few pieces of fruit.

Bara still felt she was being observed, and it was making her increasingly nervous. She didn't want to bring anything up this time though. She was afraid of the answer Shanks would give her.

As it turned out, she didn't have to bring anything up anyway. When Melia wasn't paying attention, Shanks looked at directly at Bara, grinned, and winked discreetly. She glared at him spitefully and did her best to whisper, "What the heck is wrong with you?"

The reply she got was a simple, infuriating, "Nothin'." At this point, Bara lost her appetite altogether. She knew full "what" was wrong. Putting her plate down, she wandered toward the beach.

"Oh, Bara, where are you going?" Melia asked, jumping up to follow her.

"No, no, stay there. I'll be right back. I…have to go to the bathroom," Bara lied, then raced off before she could be questioned further.

Melia was a little confused. She felt as though something strange was going on. She ate the rest of her dinner, then seeing Bara wasn't back yet, began to worry a little. She looked at her older brother to see if he was having the same thoughts.

He just looked at her placidly, smiled, and said, "Don't worry. She's in good hands."

(--------------)

"It's been so long…" Bara's face was pale with shock. "I…I barely know you anymore."

"I know that," came the snappish, yet soft reply. "It can't be helped. You and your mother weren't there when I came back for you. Where is your mother? How is she?"

The silence Bara replied with seemed to last all night for both of them. A tear slid down her cheek as she tried to speak. "She…didn't…make it…after Lieutenant Graham and the Navy…burned down the house—"

A quiet, furious growl stopped her mid-explanation. She looked up at her father with an expression that clearly told him the rest of the story, the part that she couldn't put into words, that not a night went by where she didn't remember her mother shoving her out the back door and screaming that she must run and not stop until she couldn't move her legs anymore, that the malicious laughter, the gunshots whizzing past her tiny body rang afresh in her ears every time she tried to sleep.

Revenge boiled within her father's heart, so much so that Bara could nearly see the red, furious aura surrounding him. Knowing there was nothing he could do at the moment, he vowed silently to bring destruction upon the man who had been attempting to ruin his family since the day he'd been accepted into the Navy.

He'd take care of that later, though. At the moment, he was with his daughter whom he hadn't seen in twelve years, so he changed the subject abruptly. "How did you come to be all the way on this island?"

Bara told her and Melia's story in complete detail. When she was done, he nodded thoughtfully. "So you're in the care of Red-Haired Shanks right now? I thought I saw his ship earlier."

"Yes, he and some of his crew and Mel—my sister are in a field over there," Bara replied, pointing over her shoulder to where the campsite was. "They're camping out."

"Camping out?" the man raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, knowing there probably wasn't a good explanation. "Well, take me there, please. I'd like to speak with him."

"Okay, Daddy," Bara said with an affectionate smile, and taking him by surprise by grabbing his hand, led him off toward the field.

When they got to the campsite Bara was immediately greeted by hollerings of "WHERE WERE YOU?!" and "I've missed you so, my princess!" She merely smirked at them and presented her father. The hollers immediately dissipated into puzzled murmuring and a few nervous laughs.

Shanks had seen Bara and the new visitor enter the field. He stood and hollered a bit drunkenly, "Why, it's good old Hawkeyes! I hadda funneh feelin' you might show yerself tonight, Mihawk!"