Chapter 36
Alabastan Wildlife
"Aaah... I'm burning..." Luffy whined, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "I can't even sweat..."
"Stop complaining, Luffy," Nami said harshly. "You're wasting energy."
It was the end of the morning, and the pirates had been walking for around four hours relentlessly despite their captain's wailing and the sizzling desert, the latter being surprisingly the less annoying...
Because of her almost-sleepless night, Eli couldn't carry Chopper like she had done the day before, so Zoro took over the job, dragging the little reindeer on a small wooden raft.
Apart from Luffy and Chopper, the rest of the Straw Hats bore the heat as much as they could and almost silently, Vivi and Ace being the ones who seemed the least affected for obvious reasons of being used to such high temperatures.
More than the heat, the thing that was really draining in this desert was the climbing of the dunes. Since Ido, the group had reached the ancient part of the desert and, according to Vivi, the highest dunes there reached over 300 meters tall, and it felt like they were climbing mountains... mountains whose ground had the annoying particularity of crumbling down under the hikers' feet.
"Wateeeer..." Luffy said wearily, taking the barrel of water.
"Just enough to fill your mouth, Luffy," Nami reminded with a slight frown.
The pirates still had a long journey ahead of them and they couldn't allow themselves to waste the water; it was a matter of life and death. However, what Nami had apparently forgotten was that Luffy's mouth was as extensible as the rest of him; therefore, enough to fill his mouth equaled enough to fill the rest of the crew's mouths...
As rubber boy filled up his mouth, his rubbery cheeks swelled up greatly which caused Zoro and Usopp to jump on him in anger, making him spit the precious liquid on the spot.
"That's too much !" Zoro yelled.
"Give it to me !" Usopp snatched the barrel. "That's your thirteenth swallow !"
"You just drank, it's my turn !" Sanji vociferated, pointing at the marksman vehemently.
And the wrestle began...
"STOP FIGHTING !" Vivi yelled. "You're wasting stamina !"
Ace and Eli watched the whole scene with amusement.
"How can you stay so calm ?" Nami asked the relaxed pair, frowning at the fierce sand-wrestle.
They shrugged, smiled at the annoyed redhead, and patted her shoulder compassionately. Apparently, thanks to their jolly mood, the light-hearted pirates weren't affected by the young captain's careless behavior, and after all, the rest of the group were already taking care of that.
"Ace fell asleep," Eli warned the group, crouching next to the narcoleptic's body.
"AGAIN ?" Usopp yelled, rightly irritated since it was the third time since the morning.
Grumbling, the marksman walked over to the sleeping flame user soon joined by Sanji and Luffy.
They gathered in a circle and stretched out their arms towards the center. "Rock Paper-"
"Wait !" Usopp interrupted, raising a hand. "Eli has to play, too; she seems to be the cause of Ace's high rate of narcoleptic fits today." Smiling goofily, he elbowed Sanji suggestively. "If you see what I mean~"
Sanji kicked him instantly on the nose, angrily gritting his teeth on his cigarette.
"It doesn't matter anyway," Luffy said with a shrug. "Eli can't lose at Rock-Paper-Scissors."
"What do you mean she can't lose ?" Usopp asked, rubbing his nose, his eyebrows going up in puzzlement. "She cheats ?"
"No, she doesn't lose, that's all," Luffy said casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
As unbelievable as it sounded, it was true. Eli had never lost one Rock-Paper-Scissor game in all her life. It was a gift, and the girl was extremely proud of it.
"That's impossible," Usopp said sharply, looking at Eli who had a large self-satisfied smile on her face. "No one can never lose, it's a stupid game of luck..."
"Call it whatever you want, Usopp, but it's true," Eli boasted, looking scornfully at her untrusting long-nosed friend.
"Elisabeth is wonderfewl~" Sanji clasped his hands, looking at Eli with heart-shaped eyes.
To prove her words, Eli played with them, blindfolded, and won. Much to her delight, Usopp was the one to lose and therefore was the one who had to drag Ace until he would wake up. Maybe her special skill also gave her the ability to choose the loser. Eli took a mental note to experiment on that later.
Usopp's growls of anger were music to Eli's ears, but unfortunately, narcoleptic boy woke up only a few minutes later. After thanking his long-nosed friend, Ace resumed the hike by Eli's side.
Rubbing his eyes, the young man looked slightly puzzled to see an angry Usopp glaring at a really cheerful Eli.
"Did I miss something ?" Ace trailed off with a yawn.
"Nothing..." Usopp muttered, looking away.
"Usopp is angry at my special skill," Eli whispered mischievously in Ace's ear.
"Which one ?" Ace asked while fixing the girl's hood.
"Rock-Paper-Scissors." Eli grinned proudly.
"Even if it's true..." Usopp began, sounding rather annoyed, "it's the most useless 'ability' I've ever heard of !"
"Useless ?" Eli looked at Usopp with disdain. "And what if the planet was threatened by an evil dark lord who liked playing games and the only way to stop him was to win a game against him ?" Eli pointed a finger at the unfaithful marksman. "Then I'll save your poor ass, Usopp !"
"Yeah, right, 'cause that could happen..." Usopp said wryly, rolling his eyes.
"It totally could !" Eli claimed. "And you should keep that in mind ! Your life is in my hands." The proud girl put her hands on her hips, stuck out her chest and started laughing loudly. "Mwahahahahaha~"
"Right..."
"Hey Sanji, let's eat lunch !" Luffy said excitedly. "Pirate Lunch box time !"
It was almost noon. Even without checking the hour, Luffy's hunger could be trusted on that since it was as regular as a clock. At the mention of food, Eli's stomach instantly demanded to be filled, uttering long growls.
"Not till Vivi says it's okay," Sanji said coldly, frowning at his young captain.
"Vivi, let's eat !" Luffy said cheerfully.
"But we still have a long way to go, Luffy," Vivi said politely.
"Jeez you're dumb, haven't you heard of this proverb ?" Luffy was frowning at the blue haired princess. "Eat When Thou Art Hungry."
"You just made that up..." Usopp glared at Luffy.
"Nope..." Eli said as the dumb proverb reminded her of some memories of the old times in Fuschia. "I'm pretty sure I heard him say that before."
"Yup, it's grampa's motto." Ace nodded.
Brrr... A shiver ran up Eli's spine at the mention of the two brothers' grandfather... She shook her head to prevent repressed memories to resurface in her mind.
"We'll take a break when we reach the next rock," Vivi offered nicely, making Luffy look around frantically in search for rocks.
"OVER THERE !" Luffy yelled, dashing over a dark shape blurred by the heat waves.
What is that ? Eli wondered, seeing the said 'rock' moving... fast... now chasing after Luffy who sprinted with all haste toward his crewmates.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH !" the boy screamed his lungs out.
Eli was stunned on the spot. It was a giant beast and the way it moved... the unbearable crunching sound accompanying the movement of its multiple legs... its hard shell reflecting the light of the sun...
Ohgodohgodohfrakinggod...
"It's a giant scorpion !" Vivi yelled in fear. "Luffy, be careful, its dart is poisonous !"
Usopp and Chopper started yelling bewilderedly while holding their faces distorted in horror.
Cold sweat building on her nape, Eli couldn't move as she was completely petrified at the view of the giant creepy-crawly running toward them, its giant mandibles rattling threateningly...
"B...bb..." Eli stammered, tugging Ace's sleeve, her eyes widened in fear never leaving the giant scorpion. "B... burn it..."
The flame user, followed by Sanji and Zoro, rushed over to the giant insect and, without waiting, unleashed their mighty attacks all at once, killing it on the spot.
Eli's mind came rushing back as a shiver ran through her body seeing its legs twitch in a disgusting postmortem spasm.
"What is she doing ?" Usopp asked, looking at Eli who seemed completely frenzied; after taking off her cloak, she started rubbing her skin frantically while running around the puzzled pirates.
"They're everywheeeeeerre !"
"She doesn't like insects," Luffy said.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAHH" Eli screamed hysterically, slapping, elbowing, and kicking the pirates who dared to approach her in order to calm her down.
"Oh..." Usopp's lips slowly curled up into a mischievous smirk.
After Eli's fit, the group resumed their hike, hoping to see a rock formation soon to take a break. Thankfully for them, Luffy was dragging everyone's bags after losing an epic Rock-Paper-Scissors battle initiated by Usopp who wanted to test once more Eli's 'special ability'.
"Rock sighted dead ahead !" the marksman informed ecstatically, looking through his goggles.
"BREAK TIME !" Luffy cried out, dashing at an amazing speed toward the rocky formation.
"Yay..." Eli whooped wearily.
The girl was extremely happy to be able to take a break, but apparently, her hysterical fit had drained all of her stamina, as she was now shuffling tiredly behind the group. Ace had offered to carry her, but Eli had refused arguing that she wasn't a sissy, inwardly hoping that Zoro would high-five that statement. Unfortunately, he did not...
"Why is he coming back ?" Usopp asked, watching Luffy rushing back toward his crew.
"There's a bunch of dying birds back there !" Luffy yelled, alarmed. "Come on, Chopper !"
"Okay, I'm coming," the little doctor agreed gravely, as the situation seemed extremely worrying.
"Those birds..." Vivi began gravely. "They are called Evil Herons. They pretend to be dying to steal travelers' belongings."
How lucky they were to come across Luffy; with his pure heart, the boy had been easily tricked by the evil birds' act...
"We had supplies for three days in those bags, Luffy !" Sanji yelled angrily, grabbing the boy's clothes. "How could you let a bunch of birds steal it ?"
"But I was tricked !" Luffy protested. "I can't help it !"
"You're dumber than a bird !"
"WHAT ?"
"Calm down, Sanji." Ace stepped in, resting his hand on the furious cook's shoulder. "It's not his fault," he said calmly. "We'll be in Yuba tonight, no need to waste energy."
"Ace is right," Zoro agreed, sitting down. "Let's take a break."
Eli sighed, slumping down against a rock. She had to agree; it wasn't Luffy's fault, and if it had been her, she would probably have been tricked equally, but that didn't erase the fact that they had now lost all of their food and water...
"Are you alright ?" Ace asked, looking at Eli who was yawning drowsily.
"Mhmh." She nodded. "Just tired, don't worry," she said, smiling warmly to reassure him. "And I still have my bag."
Eli was glad she had only given her supply bag to Luffy and had kept the one which contained her precious log book.
Despite the fact that the group seemed to take the incident surprisingly well, Luffy wasn't going to give up, and as soon as he spotted the evil herons sneering at him, the impulsive captain ran after them.
"GIVE BACK OUR STUFF !"
"Don't follow them !" Nami and Vivi tried to stop him yelling their lungs out, but Luffy didn't hear them, or he just didn't want to.
Once again, a few minutes later, Luffy came back dashing and yelling, chased by an enormous beast; this time, according to Vivi, it was a giant sandora lizard.
Is there anything that's not 'evil' or 'giant' in this desert ? Eli wondered, watching with weary eyes the crew's fighters going all out on the gigantic reptile.
Luckily, its meat seemed edible; Zoro chopped it up and Ace roasted the welcomed meal. Eli smiled thinking how useful their combat skills were in everyday things.
"What's up with the camel ?" Zoro asked, pointing at a camel standing dignified next to the group.
Luffy explained that they 'met' when they were chased by the giant lizard.
The camel didn't seem to be wild since it had a saddle attached on his back. It looked large enough to carry two persons. The crew was delighted to have a mount at their disposal; surely, it would help smooth the hike through the harsh desert.
"VWOO VWO !" The camel bit Luffy's head as he tried to mount it.
"What ?" Luffy frowned, rubbing his head.
"Vwoo vwoh vwo vwwo," the camel said.
"I'm just a passing camel. Thanks for rescuing me. I'll let you ride me but... not the guys," Chopper translated.
The boys' reaction was immediate; Luffy, Usopp and Sanji jumped on him stomping, kicking and punching relentlessly until Eli stepped in to protect the poor thing.
"Stop that !" The animal defender frowned angrily at the bullies.
"I'm sorry my bandits hurt you," Nami said to the camel, joining Eli.
Eli scratched behind the camel's ear while Nami gently rubbed his chin; the girls' attention made the animal swoon in delight.
"What a good boy." Nami smiled. "What should we call you ?"
"Idiot."
"Moron."
"Dumbass."
"Pervert ?"
"How about Eyelashes ?" Nami proposed, smiling.
"Vwo," the camel replied, nodding happily.
"But we've got a problem," Eli said. "We are three girls, and there seems to be enough room for only two."
"It's okay," Vivi said. "I can walk. Take my place, Eli; you look tired."
"Vwo vwooh vwo," Eyelashes said, looking at the girls with heart-shaped eyes.
"It's okay," Chopper translated. "You are so thin and light, I can carry the three of you easily."
"Awww how nice," Eli exclaimed, and she hugged the gentle-camel on the spot.
"Pervert camel..." Luffy and Sanji muttered, glaring at Eyelashes as the girls mounted it.
It was so comfortable, and Eli was so tired that she quickly fell asleep against Vivi's back, the boys growling angrily behind them all the while...
to be continued
Betaed by Iwin Ulose.
I like Eli's special ability, and don't you dare saying it's useless !
I also like the light-hearted couple ;)
Oh and Usopp mischievousness !
Like always I'll be waiting for your reviews, and you can ask me anything I'll always reply.
See you soon~
Oh and I almost forgot; 'Twig' 5 is up. It is a short and sweet chapter in which you will find a tiny bit of information about Eli's pearl.