Fire & Water
"Why don't you just sit and relax?" Penguin said while he and Archer stood about the fire making breakfast.
In the early morning sun, Bepo and a few others were out on the beach sparring with each other while the rest of the crew was scattered around the fire or had wandered to the sub for one reason or another. Their captain was leaning against a log with his hat down low while keeping a watchful eye on Neo since she hadn't gotten much sleep last night.
"I don't mind helping," Neo replied as she picked up a bowl.
"It's okay, sweetie." Penguin took the bowl from her hands. "You're going to have a busy day today. You just relax for now. We'll handle breakfast this morning."
"If that's what you want," Neo said softly, dropping her arms to her sides.
"We got this," Archer said. "You just sit down."
Not knowing what else to say, and still to timid to protest, Neo walked back over to the log she slept against last night. She sat down beside Law and hugged her knees.
The captain didn't say anything. He just continued to secretly watch her quietly stare blankly into space. He knew she was nervous. That was evident last night when he got her to confess she was worried about hurting them. It didn't help anything that she only got a couple hours of sleep too.
Before she woke up this morning, Law had ordered the crew to remain as calm as possible when she got up. They quickly agreed without explanation from their captain. They didn't want to do or say anything that would make her even more nervous than she already was. So they kept the talking to a minimum when she got up and scattered out to give her space. Penguin and Law were the only ones who never left her since she had been spent the most time with them on the sub.
Penguin scooped her some oatmeal into a bowl and walked over to her with it and a cup of water. A smile appeared on his face when she didn't even notice he was there. Bending down, he softly called to her. "Neo?"
"Yes?" Neo jumped then looked up at the man. Her eyes dropped to the bowl when he held it out to her.
Penguin gave her a sympathetic smile. "Do you think you can eat something this morning?"
"I think so." Neo took the bowl while he placed the cup on the ground beside her. It was warm on her hands from the steaming oatmeal inside. There was a light hit of cinnamon floating up with the steam that drifted into her nose. It was a welcoming smell, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to eat any of it. "Thank you."
Penguin only nodded in return. He watched as Neo picked up the spoon and stirred the contents of the bowl to help cool it down some. She scooped some oatmeal into the spoon then drew it up to her lips. She inserted half the spoon passed her lips before pulling it out. She mindlessly chewed on the small bite of oatmeal in her mouth. It became apparent to him at the moment that she wasn't going to eat much this morning. He then looked over at his captain. The captain only shrugged and shook his head slightly. Penguin understood his meaning. Law wasn't going to force her to eat anything this morning. So he pushed back to his feet to get his own breakfast just as the rest of the crew started making their way over to the fire.
As they gathered their breakfast, they sat around and started talking about their own training regiment they were going to do while they were on this island.
…
"Neo?" Law called a little while later. He walked back over to her from where he was speaking to some of his crew. He had his sword resting on this right shoulder and his left hand shoved in his pocket.
"Yes, Captain?" Neo looked up at him, wondering when exactly he had moved away from her. She looked around to find the majority of the crew had left the fire and was sparring with each other along the beach.
Law, squatting down, nodded to the bowl full of now cold oatmeal in her hands. He said, "You don't have to eat that. But I do want you to eat at lunch. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir." Neo nodded.
"Then lets get going. It's time to start," Law said calmly while standing back up.
"Yes, sir." Neo stood up as Penguin walked back over to her.
"Good luck. Just keep calm and breath. You're going to do just fine," Penguin said while taking the bowl and cup from her.
"Thank you, Penguin," Neo replied softly.
"Let's go," Law ordered then started to walk away from the camp.
Neo gave Penguin one last look before following after the captain. She followed him quietly as he looked around for the perfect spot.
Law wanted an area where, if she did lose control, she wouldn't end up hitting any of his crew. But he also wanted to be close enough so she could see the crew was still there. He found the perfect spot about a hundred and fifty yards away from their campsite. It was on a part of the beach that jutted out into the sea. And it had no plant life near so there was no way for anything to catch fire if a spark jumped out. "This spot will do."
Law turned back to Neo. She was looking back over to the campsite again, to the crew. Some of the crew had moved back over to the fire. The crew was close enough that she could tell they were there and facing towards them, but couldn't see what exactly they were doing. "Neo?"
Neo jumped. She collapsed her hands together and turned back towards him with misty eyes. She dropped her eyes to the ground. "Y-yes, sir."
"I didn't mean to startle you," Law said. He tilted his head slightly and watched her.
"It's… okay. I wasn't paying attention," Neo replied. She fiddled with her shirttail before looking over her shoulder at the crew.
"They're not going anywhere, you know?" Law pointed out. Neo looked up at him. "And you're not going to hurt them or me. Are you ready to start now?"
"Yes." Neo nodded slowly.
Law sat down then signaled for her to do the same.
Neo sat down and tucked her bare feet under her legs and waited for her instructions from the man. "I'm… I'm ready."
…
"Will you calm down? You're acting like a nervous parent or an old brother. She's going to be fine," Shachi huffed.
"I know, I know," Penguin said, but his knee continued to bob up and down erratically. After quickly cleaning up breakfast, he sat down on one of the logs, eyes locked onto Neo in the distance. He pulled his attention from her and looked around. He finally noticed the rest of the crew had returned to the fire and they too were watching their captain and Neo. "When did you all get here?"
"We've been here for a few minutes," Archer said.
"Oh, I get it," Penguin said with a smirk. "You all are just as nervous as I am."
The crew exchange guilty looks. Shachi, trying to act innocent, cleared his throat and crossed his arms when Penguin looked at him. "I only ate too much breakfast. While that settles, why not keep an eye on Neo?"
Bepo chuckled and said, "I guess we can't help it. Even though she's only been with us a few months, we've all grown fond of her and want her to be safe."
"She's in safe hands with the captain," Shachi said and everyone nodded. "But we're still going to worry, at least until this first lesson is over. It's fire, the hardest, most dangerous element on the planet. And this is the first time in so long that she's going to use her crystals of her own will again. You know it's going to be hard for her."
Penguin glared at Shachi. "Thanks a lot! Make me worry even more!"
"Sorry." Shachi chuckled with an apologetic smile.
"Just watch," Bepo then said. "She'll be just fine. She's in the captain's hands. He knows how to handle her."
"Let's hope so," Conner said.
"Do you always have to be so pessimistic?" Archer asked.
"Shut up!" Conner snapped.
…
"Summon one fire crystal," Law ordered.
"Y-yes, sir." Neo lowered her eyes from his. She focused on a small area in front of her. Within a few seconds, a single red crystal hovered in front of her chest. When she had it in place, she raised her eyes back to his while her body started to tremble.
Law studied her eyes. He could see her entire body tremble but she was trying hard to hold her fear at bay. "Just take slow deep breaths, Neo. You're doing great. When your ready make a small flame just like a candle's."
Neo nodded and lowered her eyes back to the crystal. She took a few slow, deep breaths like he had said. She calmed and her trembling subsided a bit. As she stared at the crystal, a small flame appeared at the top point. It started off small then slowly grew to the correct size. She swallowed hard. Her heart thumped into her chest. Her hands shook at her sides.
Law watched her carefully. He was looking for any signs that could mean she was going to lose control while her body started to tremble again. He watched as her curled and uncurled her fingers. "All right start manipulating the flame now. Make it bigger, change its shape. And try having some fun with it. That will help keep you calm if you think of this as a game rather than something serious."
"But I've never played a game before," Neo said, unable to take her eyes off the flame.
"Well, think of when you were tossing the ball back and forth with Penguin and Shachi," Law said.
"Why?" Neo looked up at him.
"Because that was a game," Law said. "You enjoyed it, didn't you?"
"I did." Neo nodded.
"Then you have played a game," Law said. "Now continue."
"Okay." Neo followed his orders. She became surrounded by Law's silent as she manipulated the flame. Slowly, she brought part of the flame out of its body and looped it around to form a circle. She then broke off part of the flame and created a few smaller circles around the bigger one making it resemble a paw print.
Law narrowed his eyebrows when her breathing started to come in sharp, raspy breaths. Her eyes were locked onto the flame, but her mind was somewhere else. Her mind was going back to that island, to those people she had killed. Her breathing increased and the flame started to flicker erratically. Her eyes started to water as she mumbled. "Stop… I can't… I don't want to do this… I don't want to hurt anyone again."
"Neo, calm down," Law said while carefully eyeing the flickering flame. His brow creased when she didn't response to him. "Neo?"
"Stop!" Neo screamed. She grabbed her head as the flame flared up.
"Neo! I order you to stop!" Law snapped just loud enough for her to hear him. He saw her snap back to reality. He watched as the fire and the crystal immediately disappeared as she fell to the ground with her hands over her face. She stayed in the position for a few seconds before curling into herself then leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the warm, rough sand. He knelt down to her. Placing his hand on her back he felt her twitch. "Sit up."
Neo only curled into herself more.
Law lowered his voice. "Neo, I order you to sit up."
Slowly, she sat up and sniffled.
Law watched her for a few seconds before laying his sword down on the ground. Shifting his position to sit on the sand, he picked her up and pulled her onto his lap, holding her firmly to his chest. Her body tensed in his touch as she clenched a hold of his shirt and cried into his chest. "It's okay, Neo. You're safe. You're fine. I'm right here. You weren't going to lose control. You did just fine for your first try. I've very pleased with how you did. We'll just sit here for a moment then we'll resume your training. Okay?"
Neo nodded.
Law quietly held her firmly against him for about fifteen minutes. As they sat there he let his head tilt towards her hair. Breathing in her sweet scent his head started to become cloudy. It caused him to lean in closer to her until his nose touched her soft hair. He stayed like that until her body relaxed with a slow exhale and her hand loosened on his shirt. Heat flared up on his cheeks as he jerked away from her, wondering what possessed him to get so close to her like that in the first place. A couple seconds later, after his face cooled off, he pulled back from her a bit and noticed she still had sand on her forehead. "Close your eyes for me."
She didn't reply as she let her eyelids drop close. She flinched when he brushed the sand off her face.
"Are you ready to start again?" Law asked.
She replied thirty seconds later. "Y-yes, sir."
"Let's try something a little different this time. I want you to sit in front of me," Law said. She obeyed and shifted herself back to the ground. When she was facing him again he held out his hands to her. "Take my hands."
Neo slowly reached for his hands. She slid her smaller hands into his larger, warmer ones, noticing for the first time how small her hands were compared to his. He appeared to dwarf her in more that just his height.
Law took her hands in his instantly feeling their softness as well as her tenderness and her trembles. He gave her hands light squeeze. It seeming to calm her down. "Go ahead and start manipulating one crystal again. When you get nervous or scared just squeeze my hands."
Neo nodded lightly. She summoned her crystal again and started off small with her manipulations.
Law just sat patiently as she worked the flame into different shapes. When she made the flame larger, she started to tremble again. But this time she squeezed Law's hands. He returned the gesture with light squeezes, rubbed circles on the back of her hands, and spoke calmly to her. He said, "I'm right here. You're doing great. Just keep focus and breath slowly."
She did as he instructed and was able to calm down again. And that's how things when for the next couple hours. She worked on making her manipulations bigger and bolder. And when she got scared she'd squeeze Law's hands and he would return the squeeze and rub circles on her skin.
They settled into a routine and became quiet for a while. After about two hours of training, he almost broke that silence when Neo's expression changed and she stopped manipulating the flame. He paused when she went back to work. This time she manipulated the flame into a more complicated design. Although it wasn't an exact replica, Neo formed a fire image of him.
Law watched it flicker in amazement. He had no idea that she would have this much control over the fire as she did. His hand holding trick worked. It helped her relax more and over the hours they've been working, she got more comfortable with the fire. He brought his attention back to her when she added more fire images of the crew. I didn't expect her to have this much control considering what happened to her. I thought it was going to take her longer to get use to using her crystals. I guess my hunch about her and her abilities was correct. She needed to use them. They're a natural part of her. But who exactly is she? Where did she come from? And what, exactly, is she capable of doing with these crystals?
"C-Captain?"
Law snapped out of his thoughts when Neo's unsure voice penetrated his ears. His heart about jumped into his throat when he saw what caused her alarm. Her left forearm was on fire. Without a word, he dropped her hands, grabbed her arm, and smothered out the flame with his own hand, cursing under his breath. "Neo! Are you all right?! I'm sorry! I wasn't a paying attention! I shouldn't ha-"
"It didn't hurt." Neo's voice had gone back to calm when she broke through his panicked rant.
"What?" Law paused and looked at her. She was looking down at her arm where the fire had been.
"I got a bit scared with all the fire I was creating and caused a spark to fly off and landed on my arm," Neo explained, even though he didn't ask what had happened. She looked up and locked eyes with him "But it didn't hurt. Why? Fire hurts, right?"
"Yes." Law nodded slowly. He dropped his eyes down to her arm that he was still holding. He noticed that there wasn't any burn marks on her arm either. No redness either. There was just nothing. He ran his fingers over her skin to make sure he was really seeing what he was seeing. She stiffened at his touch. "There's no burn marks."
"Why?" Neo asked.
"I'm not sure. Maybe you're more in tuned with the elements than I first thought you were," Law replied. He rubbed his chin in thought before looking at her again. "Are you calm enough to continue?"
"Yes, sir." Neo nodded.
"Then proceed. This time, when you're ready, expand the flames bigger than you have been," Law ordered.
"Yes, sir." Neo did as she was told.
For the next couple hours, Law continued to give her instructions on what to do. He had her expand the size and shapes of her flames. Holding only her left hand in his, he instructed her on what to make. She made a large rock form, some trees, a dolphin when a pod swam by, and the Polar Tang.
By the time lunch came around, Neo had three fire crystals out. And hovering above each of them was a fire tornado. Each one smaller than an F1 tornado, but her control over them was solid. She had them floating over the sea so their heat wouldn't bother them too much though they were still close enough for the two to feel the heat radiating off of them.
Law cast her a glance. She was slightly panting and sweat was starting to bead on her forehead. His attention on her was broken when he caught Bepo walking up to them out of the corner of his eyes. He turned to the bear. Bepo had stopped several yards away from them. His dark eyes locked onto his captain's hand still holding onto Neo's hand. He raised his eyes to his captain and jumped when he noticed his captain caught his stare. "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Law said, shrugging it off. "What did you need?"
"Lunch is ready," Bepo said.
Law nodded again then turned back to Neo. "All right, Neo. That'll be enough for now."
Neo didn't reply. She kept her concentration on her fire tornadoes. They began to shrink down and eventually the fire was gone and so were her crystals. When she slumped forward, Law pulled his hand from hers, stepped in front of her, and placed them on her shoulders while expertly keeping his sword balanced on his own shoulder. "It seems your crystals are also tied to your stamina."
"What do you mean?" Neo looked at him. "Stamina?"
"You're tired from using your crystals for hours," Law explained. "I suspect you'll get stronger the more you use them, but I also suspect that you don't have an endless supply of usage. Do you understand now?"
"Yes, Captain." Neo nodded. "I do."
"Lunch is ready. Let's go back now," Law said and stood up with her. The small group of three headed towards their campsite. "We'll start up again after you've had some rest. I don't want to wear you out too much." He kept a close eye on her to make sure she wasn't going to pass out from exhaustion. "You did very well today, Neo. I'm pleased with how you've handled yourself today."
"Thank you, Captain." Neo dropped her eyes to the ground and twitched.
Law kept a close eye on her while they continued their short journey back to their campsite. When they finally reached their destination he immediately noticed the crew was worried, but were starting to relax now that they had rejoined them. He also noticed that they wanted to speak to Neo about her training they saw her do. But they didn't say anything. They knew she needed space to relax right now and process the day's events. Penguin was the only one who spoke to her.
"Here. You're probably thirsty," Penguin said while handing her a cup of lightly sweetened tea. He was also holding a plate of food for her. "I bet you're hungry too."
"Thank you, Penguin." Neo took the tea first and took a couple small gulps of it.
"How are you feeling?" Penguin asked carefully.
"I'm okay," Neo replied. "A bit tired and hungry."
"I have your lunch right here. You go ahead and eat." Penguin handed her the plate.
"Thank you." Neo took the plate from him before sitting down. She sat her tea on the ground beside her while placing the plate on her lap. She then picked up the spoon and took a bite of the beef and rice stew. The flavors busted into her mouth when she placed the stew on her tongue. Her stomach growled and her mouth watered at the food now in her mouth. The beef and potatoes were very tender. They broke apart with the slightest pressure of her teeth. And the salt and pepper was perfectly blended into it. Skipping breakfast contributed a lot to being so hungry. But she felt something else inside of her too.
Law walked over with his own bowl and cup in hands and sat down beside her. When he noticed a strange look on her face, he questioned her. "Are you all right? Do you feel sick?"
"No, sir, I don't feel sick. I..." Neo stared down at her stew before looking up at him. "I actually feel better than I ever have."
"That's good," Law replied with a light smile. "And things will only get even better the more you use your crystals. We're going to sit here for a few hours so you can relax, but after that I want to increase the number of your crystals. Are you going to be okay with that?"
"Yes, sir. I believe so." Neo nodded her head.
After they had finished lunch Law noticed Neo was staring intently at the fire in front of them. He was about to ask her what she was thinking, but was stopped when she spoke before he did. She pointed at the fire then looked at him with slightly curious eyes. "Captain, do you think that fire will hurt me since I didn't create it?"
"It's possible," Law replied. "Are you thinking about trying an experiment?"
"Ex-peri-ment?" Neo blinked.
"It means preforming a test. You asked if the fire here would hurt you," Law explained while the crew watched silently. "The only way for us to know is if you tried. Reach for the fire."
Neo nodded and shifted closer to the flames. Holding her hand out she felt the heat warming her skin. She looked back at Law.
"Do you feel the heat?" he asked.
"Yes, sir." She nodded again.
"Hold your hand closer to it and see if it's hotter," Law ordered. She did and nodded when she felt the fire. "Now, summon a fire crystal and take control of the fire."
Neo summoned a crystal. They all watched her silently as the crystal started to glow. The glow radiated over the fire then faded away. She instantly felt the heat disappear from her skin. "It's not hot anymore, Captain."
Without farther instruction, she slowly reached out for the fire and slipped her hand in it. She looked back at Law again. His eyes were slightly widened, as were the rest of the crews. Neo swallowed. "It's just like when the flame landed on my arm. It doesn't hurt at all."
"What does this mean, Captain?" Conner asked. "How can she possible do that? No way this is possible."
"It appears that as long as Neo is in control of the fire the fire won't ever hurt her," Law said.
"She's really not human, is she?" Conner asked.
"I'm sorry," Neo said. She pulled back from the fire and ducked her head as if ashamed of being different.
"You idiot!" Penguin shouted as he punched Conner on the arm.
"Hey! What was that for?!" Conner turned towards his crewmate.
"You're being rude!" Penguin snapped.
"I was just asking a question and stating a fact!" Conner said.
"You were being a jerk!" Penguin said.
"Take that back!" Conner grabbed the front of Penguin's boiler suit.
Law frowned when Neo tucked herself into his side as his two subordinates argued. She closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to get away from the fight. He turned his attention back to his crew. "Enough, you two."
Penguin and Conner turned towards Law.
"Neo's not comfortable enough around us to see you two fighting each other," Law said. "Give her a little more time. And I'll hear no more arguing today."
"Yes, Captain," Penguin and Conner said. Without looking at each other, they walked away so they didn't go any farther than they already had.
Penguin walked over to Neo and knelt down beside her. "I'm sorry, Neo. It's just normal for us to fight like that."
"It is?" Neo turned her eyes towards Penguin to see the man nod. "I don't like it."
"The crew will keep their arguments tame from this point on until you get more use to living among such a large group," Law said. "But do understand that arguments will happen. It's normal for people to disagree with each other."
"Oh," Neo said. "I'll try to understand that."
"Good girl." Law nodded.
…
"Good luck today, Neo!" the crew cried out when she started to walk off with their captain.
"Thank you, everyone." Neo waved to them before turning to catch up with Law. She slowed down when she was back by his side. "Are we going to be working on my fire crystals today?"
"Hm." Law hummed and thought about her question. He stole a glance at her while they walked along the beach together. For the past five days he's been working with her on her fire crystals. She was now using multiple crystals and easily manipulating the flame without much fear of them at all. And had even gotten to the point of jumping through a hoop of fire. She was progressing faster than he thought she would. He was glad she was. And he was glad his hunch about her using her crystals was right. "I think we can move on to a different crystal today."
"Which one, sir?" Neo asked.
"Well," Law looked around the island, "I think water would be best."
"Water," Neo said softly. She stopped walking and looked out at the sea.
When Law noticed she had stopped he turned back to her. "What's wrong?"
"You have a weakness against the sea," Neo replied automatically. "And I can manipulate it."
"And you won't hurt me." He smirked at her when she looked back at him. She was once again holding a concerned look her eyes. He pulled his sword off his shoulder and tapped her lightly on the head with it. "You've handled the hardest element with such ease these past few days. There's nothing for you to worry about."
"Yes, sir." Neo glanced back at the sea. "But I'm still worried. I'm sorry."
"It's nothing to apologize for. It appears that it's just natural for you to worry. You're just not use to it since you've never allowed yourself to get this close to anyone before," Law explained.
"Does it ever stop?" Neo's voice was low as she spoke.
"No," Law replied honestly. She looked at him again. "The more you come to trust us, the more you will worry about us and our safety. But you're gaining confidence so you won't worry about hurting us with your crystals, you'll just worry about us in a different way."
"It'll change? What do you mean?" Neo asked.
"Well, look at the crew. When you first came to live with us they were concerned about you because they didn't know you. And when you revealed your crystals they could tell you were a danger." When Neo flinched Law placed his hand on her shoulder making her flinch again then tense. He gave her shoulder a light squeeze. "But the more we got to know you, the more we saw you for who you are. A sweet little girl that doesn't want to hurt anyone. Our feelings for you changed. We worry about you differently now. We want to know you're safe, that you're eating, that you're completing your lessons, that you're getting enough sleep. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Neo thought for a few seconds before nodding. "I do. Your feelings for me have changed."
Even thought he knew she was talking about them all, Law's chest still tightened at her words. His eyes drifted from hers to his hand, which was still on her shoulder. He quickly pulled his hand away from her and shoved it into his pocket where he thought it belonged. "Let's get started."
"Yes, sir." Neo nodded. "What would you like me to do first?"
Law hummed again in thought. "Summon a couple water crystals and let's see if you can create fresh and salt water."
"Yes, sir." Neo nodded again then summon two water crystals. "Would you like me to use one for salt and the other for fresh at the same time?"
"Think you can handle the split?" Law asked.
"I think so. I'll try making the right one fresh and the left one salt." Neo hesitated a bit. She then focused on the crystal on her right and formed a small round ball of water. Once she had it stable, she focused on the other crystal and formed another small ball of water. "I think they're divided."
"Let's see." Law stepped forward and tested the water. Not wanting to touch it, he just leaned in and sniffed the liquid, easily telling the salt water from the fresh. "You did it, Neo. The right one is fresh water and the left is salt. How are you feeling?"
"It's hard," she replied honestly. The water balls began to quiver. "I-I feel like I'm going to lose control."
"Then you can stop the division. I think once you get more control you'll be able to split it easier, but I don't believe you'll ever need to do that for any reason," Law said. "You'll most likely just use one or the other depending on the situation. For now, you should just work on water manipulation."
"Yes, sir." Neo banished the water. Before doing as she was ordered, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. She then started to manipulate the water just like the first day she manipulated the fire. She started off small then expanded the size and her control over it. Occasionally, Law would add in something to increase her training and offer his hands for comfort if she needed him to.
A couple hours later, Neo had a rather large stream of water floating in the air. She put dips and curves in it so it looked like a roller coaster.
"She's doing great," Penguin said when he walked over to Law. Law only nodded in response as he kept his eyes on his young female charge. Penguin bit his lip, to stop himself from smiling, when he noticed his captain refusing to take his eyes off Neo.
Neo didn't notice Penguin as she continued to keep her focus on her water manipulation. Her focus was shattered when a sea snake went unnoticed and slipped into her water stream. It then suddenly shot out at her from her water coaster, its mouth open revealing its sharp fangs to her. She screamed and stumbled backwards then fell on the ground. She raised her arm to block the snake and closed her eyes tightly. "Ah!"
"Room!" Law's voice cried out. "Shambles!"
Neo didn't look up as Law divided the snake in two. The two halves flew past Neo's cowering form and landed on the ground with a sloshy thump. Law then killed the creature by slicing its head off. While he sheathed his sword, Penguin rushed over to Neo.
"Neo?" Penguin said.
"I'm sorry," Neo squeaked. She cracked opened her eyes, tears streamed down her cheeks. Law walked over to her and knelt down beside her. He placed his hand on her shoulder. She clenched a hold of the front of his shirt again. "I'm… I'm sorry, Captain."
"It's all right, Neo," Law said soothingly. He removed his hand from her shoulder and placed it on her head. "You didn't do anything wrong. It just startled you, right?"
Neo nodded.
"I think you've done enough for today anyway," Law said. "Let's head back to camp now."
"O-okay." Neo let go of his shirt to rub the tears out of her eyes. When she lowered her hands, Law had his hand held out to her. She blinked a few times before sliding her hand into his. He then helped her to her feet and led her, by the hand, back over to the fire.
Penguin, biting back a grin, followed a few steps behind.
"What's Archer doing?" Neo asked when she spotted the man out on the beach away from the fire. He was smoothing out a mount of sand before standing up and walking to the water. She watched curiously while he dipped a bucket into the water then went back over to the mount of sand.
"He's building a sandcastle," Penguin said. "It's kind of a hobby of his."
"Hobby?" Neo asked. "That's when a person does something in their share time for fun, right?"
"That's right." Penguin nodded.
Captain, would it be all right if I go watch him?" Neo asked.
"It'll be just fine," Law said.
"Thank you, Captain," Neo said before heading towards Archer. She stood back a couple feet while watching the man pile wet sand into the bucket.
"Hello, Neo," Archer said with a smile.
"The captain said I could watch you," Neo said. Squatting down, she wrapped her arms around her knees. Her eyes were locked onto the mount of sand. Being this close to it she noticed it held the shape of the bucket Archer was using.
"I see," Archer said. "You've never seen a sandcastle before, have you?"
"No." Neo ducked her head, her eyes dropping to the sand at her feet.
"It's okay that you haven't. You're learning about them now," Archer said. "That is, if you don't mine me teaching you about them instead of Penguin."
"Would that be okay with the captain?" Neo asked, bringing her eyes back up to him.
"Yes, it'll be fine," Archer said.
"How did you do this?" Neo pointed to the bucket shaped mound before picking up a handful of sand, letting it slip through her fingers. "It won't take shape."
"That's because you have to wet it," Archer said. Scooping more damp sand into his bucket, he packed it down then turned it over and pulled the bucket back to reveal its shape. "See? The wet sand sticks together. Now, you just take a tool and carve out little squares in the top like this."
Neo dropped her eyes down to the sand beside Archer's legs. There she saw a variety of knifes and a couple spoons. Her eyes went back to the mount just as a part of it crumbled.
"Oops," Archer said. "Looks like I pushed a little too hard."
"It crumbled," Neo said.
"Indeed it did," Archer said. "Even though the sand sticks together when wet it can still crumble."
"Will you do it again?" Neo asked.
"Sure. Would you like to give it a try?" Archer said.
"Can I?" Neo asked.
"Of course," Archer said, holding out the bucket to her. "Would you like to get some water?"
Neo nodded. Taking the bucket from him she stood up to get it from the sea. But she didn't even take one step towards the water. Instead she sat the bucket down and summoned a water crystal. She took a glance over at her captain to find he was watching her. Her eyebrows rose a bit when he nodded at her. She didn't even have to ask him for him to understand what her question was. Turning back to the bucket, she swallowed and summoned a water crystal to fill the bucket. Once it was full, she asked, "Now what?"
"You dump it on the sand," Archer said.
Neo nodded. Sitting back down, she tilted the bucket over and watched as the light colored sand start to darken.
"Now scoop that sand into the bucket and pat it down until it's completely full," Archer instructed. He waited patiently for her to get that task done before continuing. "Now turn the bucket over and tap the top of it then pull the bucket off."
Neo did as she was told. Her eyes widened a bit when she lifted the bucket up and the sand kept the shape of the bucket. "I did it."
"Good job," Archer said. He picked up a spoon and handed it to her. "Now use the handle to scrap out squares on the top like I did a minute ago."
Neo took the spoon from him and slowly started to carve out the top like Archer had done. It took her twenty five minutes to get that part of it done. Next he taught her how to carve out windows then they moved on to adding more castles, both getting lost in their project.
"All right, you two," Law said, pulling their eyes to him. "That'll be enough for now. Dinner's ready."
"All ready?" Archer stood up and dusted the sand off his boiler suit. Looking out at the sea he noticed the sun had turned bright colors of red, yellows, and oranges. "I didn't realizing it had gotten so late."
"I'm sorry, Captain," Neo said, standing up. "Archer was teaching me how to build a sandcastle."
"It's all right, Neo," Law said, looking down at their sandcastles. "You can do this again tomorrow after training if you want to."
"Yes, sir." Neo nodded.
"Come along then." Law turned and guided them back to the fire.
Neo sat down beside the captain. The warm, crackling fire made her realize that she had gotten cold while being so close to the sea.
"You looked like you were having fun," Shachi said.
"Fun?" Neo blinked. "I was?"
"Well, you enjoyed playing with Archer, didn't you?" Shachi asked.
"Yes, I did. Very much." Neo nodded.
"Then you had fun while you were playing," Shachi said.
"Oh," Neo said. "I guess so." She turned her eyes to Law. "Can I play some more?"
"Of course," Law said. "I'll have the crew teach you some more games. It'll be good for you to experience normal kid stuff since you didn't get to do that as a child."
"Great," Penguin said with a smile. "This is going to be so much fun. We still have the beach volleyball set in the sub."
"We can teach her how to play volleyball!" Archer said.
"Sure," Conner said, leaning back against a log with his hands behind his head. "We have plenty of children on this crew for her to play with."
"Shut up!" Archer said. "You love to have fun as well!"
"Not really," Conner said with a shrug.
"Yeah right," Archer mumbled. "We can also use some rope and teach her how to jump rope."
"I don't understand," Neo said. "Volleyball? Jump rope? Why would you want to jump a rope?"
"For the fun of it," Penguin said. "We can show you what we mean after we eat."
"Okay," Neo said. "Is that all right, Captain?"
"That'll be fine," Law said. "You're not training anymore today so you can play with the crew some."
"Thank you, Captain," Neo said.
After dinner, Penguin and Archer ran off to the sub to gather the supplies they would need. When they got back they started to explain how to use them to Neo. Since it was dark now they could only show the net and volleyball to Neo and tell her about the game. With the light of the fire they were able to demonstrate how to jump rope.
"See?" Archer said. "It's easy."
Still sitting beside Law, Neo leaned closer to Archer. Carefully she watched as he spun the rope over his head and under his feet.
"You can also jump with more than one person," Archer said. He stopped jumping the rope and held it out to Bepo and Shachi. "Come on, Conner. Let's give her a demonstration."
"No way," Conner said. "I'm not making a fool of myself."
"Oh, come on," Archer said. "You know you want to."
"I do not." Conner closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Fine. Penguin, you want to jump with me?" Archer asked.
"Sure." Penguin walked over to the man. They stood face to face while Bepo and Shachi started swinging the rope around them.
Neo gasped as she watched them jump the rope at the same time. After a couple of minutes, they stopped. "I didn't know people could do that."
"Would you like to give it a try?" Archer asked.
Neo jumped and scooted closer to Law until her arm was touching his. "N-no. I-I don't want to."
"You don't have to," Law said. "You can try it later when you're more comfortable with it."
"Thank you, Captain," Neo said, her body relaxed.
