Áine tastes an overwhelming amount of salt. As she slowly returned to consciousness she realized that she felt disgusting. The crust of dried saltwater on her clothes and body. After a second she places herself outside. She could feel grass under her fingers and a cool breeze. Quickly, she tries to place where she was, sitting up and blinking against the shining sun above her. Her eyes sting and water, but she ignores it.
Áine slowly pieced together her most recent memories. Born and raised in the North Blue, she had been a passenger on a merchant ship. Faster and faster everything came back to her. She was hoping to visit a restaurant in the East Blue, her father sold rare herbs from their island and had asked her to find buyers.
Not long after crossing reverse mountain and leaving Loguetown a storm wrecked the ship. Áine was honestly baffled she survived at all. Now that it all came back to her, she shivers. Almost drowning would be off of her bucket list for the rest of her life.
Now that she was thinking clearly, she looked around the area she awoke in. Áine was on a grassy hill, she could see the beach and ocean only a few yards to her left, and a ways off to the north was a small village with windmills dotting the landscape.
Áine had very little knowledge on the East blue, she had been relying heavily on the merchants she had been traveling with to guide her. She sighs and reluctantly forces herself to her feet. How exactly she ended up on the hill was still a complete mystery, but with no one else around she had no clue who would have pulled her away from the water.
Despite her clothes feeling crusty and gross, she pushes through it and begins the short hike to the village. Her father had insisted on Áine wearing their village's traditional dress while she was traveling. Some nonsense about loyalty or something of the sort.
Being from the North blue their clothes were thick and heavy, to protect from the bone chilling winds of their snowy island. Heavy wool made up most of the fabric, but their island was also known for their plant fiber silks. A reed native to the island was able to be painstakingly crafted into easily dyed silk that Áine would often hear compared to the silks from islands like Wano or other Grandline islands.
So, Áine like the other women of her island was dressed in at least 3 layers of skirts, a stiff stay laced tight around her bust, placed over a light dress. Over top of the stays was a traditional silk coat, open down the front with tight sleeves. The coat fell in segmented panels from the waist down that stopped a few inches from the ground. Each panel is heavily and intricately embroidered and dyed. When outdoors over this is a thin under cloak to protect a over cloak that was a thick and almost felted cloak that was often lined with fur. All of the cuts and tailoring was designed to use as little fabric as efficiently as possible, most patterns just rectangles with little cutting needed. Socks, gloves and other odds and ends are knitted from spun wool, and things like belts, shoes and such are made of leather tanned from a unique deer like spices of the island that also gave them their wool. Iron, bone and horn making up most fittings and jewelry.
While well suited for the climate of their home, dress like this tended to be miserable in even slightly warmer climates.
When Áine awoke, she was just in her layers from her silk coat down. Both her shoes and socks were missing (that was a bit baffling to her, the cloaks she could understand but her shoes and socks? What in the name of the mother was up with that? Especially because it was the silk cloak that held the most value.)
She bushes these thoughts aside and decides to just be thankful that she didn't have to lug around a soaked wool cloak. Her skirts were hard enough to manage.
She slowly picks her way onward, happy to soon find a worn dirt path not long after she began her hike. All the while she slowly picks out her hair pins and begins unbraiding her hair. As an unmarried woman but not a child, it was expected that her hair was worn up in tight braids around her head. As a child, there was no restrictions on hair but once a child entered adulthood strict social rules became enforced.
Once a woman married she wore her hair down in one long braid. Widdows are distinguished by having two braids. Women who divorced had their hair cut short, something viewed with great shame and almost complete ostracisation. Something Áines never agreed with herself. It was apparent from a young age that those who did not stick to tradition were worse than trash. Women in their culture were held to strict roles, behaviors and social codes. Men did as well, but with a very distinctly different level of freedom.
Their island named Fyrireyna, or just Fyrir in casual discussion, was an icey and windy place. They had some amount of snow all year round. Their ecosystem was fragile at best, life sustained through a delicate balance. Food scarcity is an ever present threat.
It was only in the last few decades after their island joined the world government did their people have any sense of stability. Trade had made their daily lives much easier. At 17, Áine was only now beginning to see how things truly worked and being able to go to other islands had only furthered her understanding. By now she was certain that the picturesque image her father pushed and the island thrived on was nothing more than that. An image. But still, she carried on in her given roles, quiet and obedient. But her eyes were wide open, watching and waiting.
The strict gender roles on her island were what bothered Áine the most. For the people of Fyrir, men often found themselves responsible for what their culture called 'rough work' or 'Sun work'. Women on the flipside handled 'fine work' or' Moon work'. The hard labor of agriculture, the building, warriors, seamanship, dyeing, and blacksmithing are considered men's work. Womens work was; artistry, cooking, hunting, weaving, sewing, medicine and hearth keeping. It was not even possible for anyone to occupy a role in a duty assigned for the other gender. There was one exception.
Social duties are held equally between the genders and for those of neither gender or those who had changed gender. (Both of which are not uncommon on their island, but by far not the majority. For the most part they are held in the same respect as any other, as long as they follow the traditions as everyone else.)
Social duties are things such as, child care, education, trade, religion and governance. These roles are considered a fusion of 'rough' and 'fine' work. It's the common belief that if any of these roles have an imbalance that they would fail and suffer. The people call this, 'Earth Work'.
In Áine's newfound off island experience she realized just how unnecessary the whole idea was in reality. After Áine's first trip, she would beg to go on the next ones with a fervor she had never known. To her surprise her father acquiesced. He had been getting more busy lately, so she had assumed he wanted all hands on deck in his endeavors.
Áine was so lost in her thoughts and musing; she didn't notice the small boy who ran into her at full speed until they were both tumbling back. On instinct she wraps her arms around the small bundle that had collided with her and protects his head. She holds him tight as they impact the ground, Áine crying out in pain as her back hits the ground. The force of it makes her skid and roll. She just curled tighter around the bundle and waited to come to a stop. The whole incident only lasted a few moments and soon the motion stopped. Áine had ended up on her back, with the small boy cradled to her chest.
The boy wiggles around and she lets him go easily. suddenly she was face to face with the most adorable little boy she had ever seen. Huge dark eyes blinking at her. She idly noted that it was quite easy to read each emotion that crosses the small boy's mind. He had short, straight black hair that was a wild mess and a plaster under his eye.
After a second more she realizes why he was so still now and gazing at her so intently. Like her father, Áine had white irises. There was zero color to her eyes, just black and white. Upon a brief glance it would be easy to mistake them for a light gray given her iris are physically the same as anyone else so their texture did have visible shadows. But the young boy was seeing them up close and by now for an extended period of time.
She smiles at him and slowly sits up, easily able to move the child as she does. Gently she moves him off of her and gets to her feet, brushing off what dirt she could from her skirts. A pointless endeavor with how damp they still are.
"Well hello there!" She says to the kid pleasantly. The boy blinks in surprise. His head cocks to the side, making him look like a confused puppy. Áine tries not to giggle at the sight.
"You're not mad?" He asks, still looking at her unblinking. She does giggle this time and is quick to shake her head.
"No of course not, you were obviously in a hurry, though you should probably slow down it wouldn't be very good if you fall and get hurt." She says kindly. The boy is quiet for a moment. But before either of them could speak again a deep male voice called out to them and the sound of several people running filled the air. Both of them look to the source.
"Anchor! Wait up, Anchor!"
The boy perks up at the voice and runs back the way he came, a night grin on his face.
"Shannnnnks!!!" He shrieks as he does so. Áine can see a small group of men come into view from around a bend. The kid jumps into the arms of the leader, a tall man with crimson hair and a straw hat. The man grabs the kid mid air, his face filled with baffled affection.
Áine watches from her spot, curious but trying not to intrude either. She was also hyper aware of her loose hair, the teen regretting not having time to put it back in order before dealing with men. She quickly takes one of the leather strips she used to tie the end before and rapidly pulls her long locks into a messy bun. Better than nothing.
When she finishes she notices that the group was much closer now, and she smiles at them, meeting them half way.
With years of reflex her introduction flows out easily.
"May the mother guide you. I am Áine Cair, Daughter of Bran. I apologize, but could you please tell me what island I am on?" As she speaks she bows slightly looking down eyes firmly on the ground, as she does she holds her arms at her side plams open and facing the men. The bow only lasts a few moments before she is righting herself and smiling pleasantly to the group as she finishes her question.
The red haired man begins to speak, but the boy, still in his arms, pokes at his cheek.
"Shanks, that's the lady!! The one I found!" He says excitedly. Both Áine and the man's expressions turned to surprise.
"You're the one who found me sunshine?" Áine asks, her heart feeling warm at the child's kind actions, he had even gone for more help. She was touched. The boy nods his head quickly, smiling back at her brightly. The man finally speaks, and Áine looks to him and their eyes meet. A bolt of something sharp runs down her spine. She can hear the ghost of a long dead voice in her ear, warning her.
"Trust the instincts you don't understand most child. Your mind is weak and prone to tricks. It's the soul that knows. You better listen when you can hear it."
With in a fraction of a heartbeat Áine knew three things to be true.
This man was more dangerous than anything she had ever known.
This man knew she knew this
That this man would not be harming her.
Only two other people seem to notice the odd exchange, a tall man with black hair pulled into a ponytail with a long rifle over his shoulder and oddly the small boy himself. Both of which freeze at the same time the red head and herself do.
But just as soon as it happens, it washes away. Áine kept her smile, and the man spoke as if it never happened. Both the other man and the boy also relax instantly.
"Indeed, our Anchor here came running screaming his head off about a 'pretty lady' he found on the beach. We couldn't get a thing out of him before he was off again yelling for us to hurry." He says, looking at the boy with a soft expression filling his face.
He looks back to her and holds out his free hand to her and Áine takes it, shaking just how her father taught her. The man laughs, and for a moment Áine was worried she did it wrong.
"A merchant?" He asks with a knowing expression. It was her turn to be surprised and she nodded her head.
"Yes!! Well, my father is I was just on a voyage to establish more contracts, I come from the North Blue." She explains. The man whistles impressed.
"That's a long way for a little lady like you." He says and Áine tries to find a good response but is saved from the effort when the man introduces himself.
"I'm Shanks. And the brat here is Luffy. Oh! And to answer your first question, this is Goa Island. Might I ask what happened? From the sound of it Luffy found you washed up on the beach."
She nods her head, wincing at the reminder of her situation.
"Yes, that seems to be the case. Our ship was sunk in a storm, I honestly believed that was the end. But then I woke up." She turns to look at Luffy and takes a step forward and takes one of his hands and kisses the back of it gently before pulling away.
"Thank you for saving me Luffy, I am in your debt." Yes, she was probably going overboard at acting out a tradition that no one else here understood. Sure it wouldn't look too strange to the strangers, but for her people this was a true pact. He saved her life, so hers is his. For a woman a kiss on the bare hand was quite the significant action, given that having bare hands was not common given the cold. Palm down is for non romantic significance and palm up was for romantic intentions.
She could see a small blush appearing on Luffy's cheeks and she fought back a giggle. Shanks on the other hand laughed openly at the sight.
"Smooth kiddo! Not even 8 and already a lady killer!" He cackles. Luffy just looks at Shanks confused.
"But I didn't kill the lady?" He says, sounding utterly lost. At that Áine couldn't help it and joined in with Shanks' laughter. She manages to calm down before the boy gets upset at not knowing the joke and smiles at him brightly.
"Quite true, you saved me and I couldn't be more grateful." She says, perfectly distracting Luffy who returns her grin.
"Why don't we all get back to the village then? I'm sure those layers aren't comfortable." Shanks says addressing Áine who nods her head quickly.
Luffy begins to squirm out of Shanks' hold. Once on the ground he grabs Áine's wrist and begins to drag her in the direction of the village, the teen doing her best to keep up as the group follows after at a much more relaxed pace.
