Valentine's Personal Log, Day 211:
It's been three days since Pierce began having nightmares. Due to our extra training, his protein stores have been very depleted and the pantry's running low. He slept fitfully the first two nights, but last night he slept soundly. I think he's finally coming through this.
I've slept more than him, but my dreams haven't been peaceful either. After telling the patients about Skypia I began dreaming about Enel. I was only near him for thirty seconds, but something the crew said about his abilities has stuck in my head. I wish I had Merry's log to see it verbatim.
I'm exhausted from all of it myself, but I'm doing my best not to show it. I've been staving off physical activity by taking care of the more menial tasks around the island: Making defense plans, overseeing training and gardens, giving literacy and plant identification lessons, checking on everyone's well-being and recovery progress, therapies, mapping out patient release trips, and even giving a few tattoos to patients who've wanted their slave marks covered.
I noticed Iona, Camilla, and Anayah watching me ink over brand after brand. I wonder if they're curious. Maybe they'll ask for their own soon. Or maybe they see it as one step closer to being off this island.
Does that excite them or frighten them? The island, unlike the outside world, is safe. Protected. Providing. I wonder, will they want to go back to their lives out there?
I gave Pierce a few more tattoos, too. He now has five sets of waves creating a circle surrounding his paw mark and a few breaching rays dancing in a pattern out of them. Slowly, for each success, his scars are being covered by ink.
Sometimes I wonder if the only reason he wants them is to hide behind them, or if these hours spent together are a way to secure some time alone. Time away from leadership, noise, and chaos. It's during these hours that I never quite know what he's thinking.
Karmen closes her log, feeling that's enough sentimentality for today.
She'd slept enough that she feels up to evaluating Camilla's progress toward haki and self-defense. Most of the patients have the basic martial routines memorized and can adapt them for sparring 1:1. As of now, Camilla only spars with Winston, using her spear to lever herself at him for extra force and swinging around it, using her hands to change direction or target as a distraction. She's scrappy but creative.
Before sparring, the two of them meditate and Karmen runs her through the drills. How much haki can she use before Camilla can't see her at all? Can she fade and disappear or still only make herself less noticeable? How does she hold up against Karmen in the ring?
This last one is an attraction that gets the attention of most of the island. The crowd of people is mostly disappointed when they find Karmen had requested the fight to take place with both of them heavily cloaked. Even those with strong observation haki have trouble seeing them as they circle each other in the training chamber and the room quickly clears out.
Bhoden, Iona, Myron, Ulah, and Julimes are among those that do stick around. Pierce sleeps soundly in a corner. They don't seem to mind the silence of the chamber. They look pleased to have a quiet moment to themselves away from the normal hustle and bustle.
After a few minutes, Ulah and Bhoden begin playing a card game, more or less oblivious to anything else going on in the room.
"I don't expect you to hit me, but I want you to try," Karmen tells Camilla as they finish stretching. "Your main focus is to dodge me while honing your haki." Her eyes shift sideways to the cards. "You'll get bonus points if you're able to prevent Ulah from winning."
Camilla squares off with a simple nod. THeir eyes remain unblinking as they try to predict what the other will do. Camilla makes the first move, lunging with her spear. Her form shows much improvement and the lines of her body are clean, reflecting built muscle memory. Still, Karmen raises her arms above her head and easily spins out of the way of harm as gracefully as a ballerina would.
She grabs the shaft of the spear and pulls it outward. Knocked off balance, Camilla is fully unprepared to take Karmen's foot to her gut. Despite the impact, or perhaps because of the girls' three layers of clothes, she brushes off the impact with just a small cough. Camilla continues forward with the spear, dipping it out of Karmen's grip and wheeling the haft toward her. It brushes harmlessly by Karmen's ear, not even grazing her hair as she ducks under it.
The woman swivels to the other side, jolts the spear upward with the back of her wrist. Before Karmen can act further, Camilla tilts back until the butt of the spear is planted in the dirt, hoists herself off the ground, and kicks with both feet at her exposed torso. Karmen catches the feet and uses their momentum to tuck Camilla's legs under an arm. With a low-set spin, she swings Camilla, spear and all, and flings her across the room.
Camilla tucks the spear to her side and rolls across the dirt and back into an upright position. She dashes back toward Karmen, but instead of taking a direct path, she dashes toward Ulah and Bhoden, snatching an ace from the Fishman and switching it for a 2 in the old mans' hand. Karmen gives a little smirk as the girl gives her full attention to her attack, jabbing in a controlled but wild barrage that's meant to confuse her opponent. The girl is hoping that her mentor's concentration will slip.
She thinks she has a good chance of hitting Karmen this way, but Karmen weaves like a serpent through the dancing blade. With a surge of haki, Karmen's leg appears out of nowhere, pinning the spear to the ground, levered at an angle against a rock. Karmen raises her eyes to meet Camilla's, the challenge clear. What will you do now?
Her answer comes quickly. Leaping forward, Camilla performs a front-handspring off the taut spear, flying high over Karmen's head and landing behind her. She poises her fingers and gives a spinning strike, connecting with- air. Nothing but air. The spear slides from the rock and clatters noisily to the ground.
Camilla kicks her weapon back into her hand and turns a slow circle, focusing her haki to find a fresh trail. She inches backward toward Bhoden and pulls five cards from the deck. She quickly shuffles through them and trades the highest two cards for the old man's lowest. She tucks another ace into her pocket so Ulah won't get his hands on it.
A dart whizzes past her ear, clanging off the back wall and startling everyone who's sitting to the side except Ulah and Bhoden. Camilla flips backward quickly and sweeps her spear, just in case Karmen's close. She doesn't see her, but she notices shifting dirt on the floor. She watches the graceful steps appear, letting them get closer and closer. When she feels Karmen is in range, she twirls her spear in wide spirals about her, changing sides and levels until it's snatched from her hand.
She spies her weapon propped against the wall behind where Bhoden is sitting. Karmen is standing over Ulah, swapping a card in his hand as he selects another to play.
"You've worked hard, Camilla. I can tell," she says. "But practice doesn't help you much if you're slow. Getting rid of a layer or two might help speed up your movements." She raises her eyes. "It's not like anyone would know as long as you don't lose your concentration."
Camilla's whole body tightens on the spot, but she doesn't argue. She knows it's true. She glances around at the people nearby and drops the clasp on her cloak before peeling off her top two layers. There is a brief moment where she contemplates putting her cloak back on, but she rolls her shoulders and grabs her spear instead. Before stepping back into the center of the room, she trades out a few cards that Karmen had put into Bhoden's hand at some point. She's not sure when.
Karmen follows at a leisurely pace. "Good. Let's see how far you've really come." Camilla circles around her, letting her spear drag beside her. The blade rises and is pushed forward, as fast as a viper strike, but again it misses its mark. She jabs again and again, motions blurring, muscles aching, sweat dripping, but still Karmen dances around every blow.
The girl changes tactics, charging her instead. She lifts her spear high above her head and stabs straight down. Karmen extends her body backward out of the way as the blade buries itself in the dirt before dancing a good distance away.
Karmen throws a set of darts. Camilla springs around her spear. Her feet connect with the flying objects, redirecting them to bounce harmlessly off the floor. Immediately, she flattens herself to the ground as a quill slices through the air above her.
As she rises, she kicks the remaining undrawn cards into her hand and throws them into Karmen's face. Her eyes dart quickly and she captures every high-faced card she sees before they hit the ground. With rapid, springing motions, she trades Bhoden's hand with a winning set and tucks the others away into her pocket. She jolts back toward Karmen after that, striking with her hands and feet until her clothing sticks to her. She's unable to land a single blow.
Deciding she needs more reach, she races for her spear. Karmen pins the tip of the spear to the ground with one of her quills and swipes the other at Camilla's neck. The girl levers the shaft of the spear over just in time to prevent the sharp edge from slicing into her flesh.
She changes tactics again. She mounts her spear, feet perched on the very end of the shaft, and jumps. When she lands, the spear flexes springily down and rockets her forward. As expected, Karmen dances out of the way, but Camilla manages to catch her sleeve.
Triumphantly, she follows through with a frontal flip and moves to pull Karmen over her shoulder and into the ground. Unfortunately, all she takes with her is a scrap of cloth, clearly cut. When she straightens, Karmen is once again gone.
"That's game."
Ulah's voice echoes around the chamber, causing Camilla to stop and flash a victorious smile.
"No point arguing. You won, fair and square," Bhoden says with a curious smile on his face. "What a strange game that turned out to be."
"What?!" Camilla rushes over and looks at the two hands, now laying face up in the dirt. There's no doubt about it, Ulah's is the victor. She digs in her pocket and pulls out the cards she has there, counting faces and suits. There's no way Ulah could have gotten those cards unless… She rounds on Karmen, finding herself unable to form the words on her lips. -You cheated!-
Her mentor lowers her haki until she can be seen by everyone in the room. Walking over, she picks up Camilla's cloak and wraps it around the girl's shoulders. Only then does Camilla realize she'd dropped her haki. That everyone could see her single layer of clothing pasted and formed to her body with sweat. She wraps the cloak tightly around herself, pulling her hood up low over her face. Though she doesn't say it, Karmen knows there's a silent thanks in the motion.
"I did," Karmen says in reply. She pulls a second deck with matching backs from her own pocket. "I'm a dirty, stinky pirate and our enemies are worse. They'll do anything they can to get the upper hand. Lie, cheat, steal, overwhelm. If you're to accompany me on missions, these are things I need you to expect."
She can see the emotion building on Camilla's face, but the girl signs calmly. -I learned that lesson before I set foot on this island.- With that, she walks out of the chamber.
Karmen makes no move to stop her, but steps over to Saaresto and puts her hand on his shoulder. "We're speaking privately," she tells him. "How have your sessions with her been? I'm not asking for details, I know that's confidential, but I'd like to know your general feel of things."
A weight comes over the man and he lets out a sigh to match.
"So you think so too."