[IC] One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

[Blackstripe]

"For sure I will, boyo!" She replied, offering him a confident thumbs up as she turned to take the wheel of their trawler. Adjusting the wheel to ensure they maintain the correct heading, she briefly closed her eyes and imagined what her new comrade would be like.

She had met many, many kinds of people in her years on the high seas, both friend and foe. It never ceased to amaze her how different and varied pirate crews could be.

She wanted her crew to be full of interesting people like that!

[Zapdos]

Jones agreed with her; that's why he had said it in the first place. A thought came to mind though. If they were going to be effective as a crew, they had to know what everyone was capable of in order to work together.

"Siobhan, I've seen some of your fishman techniques, but do you have any other fighting moves that I should know about?" Jones asked. "You know, so we can plan more effectively and you don't accidentally hit me again," the doctor said in a light tone.

[Blackstripe]

"I have quite a number of techniques," Siobhan confessed, scratching the side of her head. "I've only used a few here, never really felt compelled to use anythin' more."

It would take forever for her to name off every Fishman Karate technique she knew, and besides, she couldn't really just think of them all off the top of her head like that. Many were things she did through pure muscle reflex, after all. "I'll write you up a list, like. I haven't used the really nasty ones yet."

[alexfangtalon]

Eadgar opened his eyes to look at his two 'allies' as they spoke to one another. He had been meditating for quite a while now training his sensory ability. As they started speaking on fighting ability he decided to join their conversation. He stood from his seated position on top of the trawler and hopped down to where they were. "Talking about specific attacks is too vague. Any fighter should have a diverse repertoire when it comes to battle. Either way, it would be too difficult to understand her techniques via her describing it. It'd be best to find a time and a place to train together. That way you can learn through experience what to expect. Also, you mentioned the next person you were after was Taimi Taitale. Her father was Daedalus Taitale, right? I don't know why but something about that seems off."

[Blackstripe]

Craning her head towards her swordsman when he dropped down from the roof, she quickly nodded in agreement with his statement on the impracticality of understanding the intricacies of Fishman Karate simply through a verbal or written description. Somethings you just had to see for yourself.

When he brought up Daedalus, Siobhan threw her hands up in a shrug. "I was actually goin' to recruit him, but I couldn't find out a single thing about his whereabouts recently. Apparently, he's been missin'. I then found out he had a daughter who's apparently quite the genius herself, so I'm goin' to recruit her! I don't know much else, in fairness."

[Zapdos]

After listening to Siobhan and Eadgar talk, Jones said “sure, seeing it in person is better, but the real purpose of it is to improve our teamwork and effectiveness in situations like the battle against Bluewell. In that case, some information is better than none, so that list would probably help.” Also, Jones wasn’t really sure what “training together” would even look like for him. Would Siobhan watch him study poisons or something? Learning medicine probably had some similarities to learning combat, but the doctor knew he was not a fighter. Maybe he could learn some basic techniques though. Something to consider, he supposed.

Jones didn’t know much about this Taimi Taitale either and what he did know came from his captain’s mouth, so he just added “I’m sure we’ll learn more about her in due time. She should be a good addition to the crew, in any case.”

[alexfangtalon]

Eadgar listened to what Siobhan said how Daedalus had been her first choice. "Hmm, so going with the unknown. How can you be so sure this woman will join you?" He then listened to Jones speak his mind. He didn't see how having a list would help at all. In battle, there isn't any time to look at a piece of paper. "Look, if you don't have the instincts of a fighter it may not even help. Fighting is like a dance that is completely based on instincts so a list will ultimately not help. What you need is either training or to see her practice. We could try finding a sea king. That would be a good opportunity to learn."

[Blackstripe]

"Jones asked somethin' similar about you, like," Siobhan pointed out. "I'll tell ya what I told him: it's fate. The reason I gave up looking for her da was because I knew when I heard about her that she was meant to be my shipwright."

She couldn't really explain it any better than that. She didn't even fully understand it herself, she just knew that it was an overpowering feeling in her gut that she couldn't ignore...and if there was one thing she trusted, it was her gut! "It's like with fightin', ya know? You can't afford to doubt your instincts or ya'll suffer for it."

[Zapdos]

Jones did not understand what was so impractical about teamwork and planning. He really wondered if Eadgar had taken too many hits to the head with his sword or something. “It’s not about looking at a piece of paper in the heat of battle, it’s about using teamwork to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I can’t fight very well, but Siobhan can. I know more about medicine than she does, and so on. I don’t care as much about the paper as much as knowing what she can do for the sake of working together.”

He did understand his captain’s point about fate though, even if he didn’t necessarily believe in fate himself. What Jones knew he believed in, however, was Siobhan’s gut. Even though the swordsman seemed a little dumb right now, the woman had managed to successfully defeat both Redwell and Bluewell.

The doctor nodded at Siobhan. “Right. That’s why I’m here,” Jones said with a smile.

[alexfangtalon]

And yet again Eadgar was getting pissed. This guy may be a doctor but he was awfully dumb. "You are an idiot. What I'm trying to say is if you can't fight and if you don't have the instincts that a fighter has then you will just get in the way and be a nuisance. You are no use as a teammate if you can't do anything. It doesn't matter how much knowledge you have. If you can't apply it in any way you'll just get in the way. If you don't know what you're talking about it'd be best you keep quiet." Eadgar didn't want to be blunt but this guy didn't seem to understand anything. Eadgar was getting tired of this conversation so he decided to ask about something else. "What do you know of Blackwell's location?"

[Blackstripe]

"Oi, oi," Siobhan waved her hands at the two, noticing that they were getting pretty worked up. They seemed to go at it whenever they had any kind of extended conversation with one another. "Everyone's got somethin' to contribute in their own way here, or I wouldn't have recruited them. That may or may not be fightin', but regardless, everyone's got a say here on this ship, so cop on."

Exhaling, she shook her head. "If ya want to help fight, Jonsey, I can teach ya some stuff. Or Ed can."

Though, she wondered if Eadgar might not "accidentally" cut him. Probably best if she did it. She was about to answer her swordsman's question, when she realized it was likely aimed at Jones.

[Zapdos]

Jones was now seriously angry. Did this guy really just say that people with medical knowledge have no value in combat? The doctor had gotten used to Eadgar’s general ignorance, but that was just insulting on a new level. Jones knew that even if he wasn’t a fighter, he had saved lives on the battlefield.

Galen knew that Siobhan was sincere and he still thought that she would become the Pirate King, but this was starting to remind him of the other pirate crews he had been with. Cooperation that only happened based on what the captain said and a lack of comradery in general. The doctor knew that no place was perfect and that Blackwell needed to be taken down, but he was wondering if he had made a mistake in joining this crew in the first place. Jones would just wait and see what happened up until the end of Blackwell, then make his choice.

He didn’t say any of this though. Jones just took a deep breath and politely said “thank you, captain. Maybe later.” He then went to a different part of the small ship, took out the book he had been reading earlier, and continued from where he had left off.

[Blackstripe]

Even though he hadn't said anything, Siobhan could tell that Jones was practically fuming beneath the surface. Hopefully he would feel better after he took a moment to cool down. For the moment, she turned to face Eadgar, deciding to answer his question in her doctor's absence.

"Well, Jones is the one who served under him for a while, so he would know better than me. From what I gather, he's somewhere near the Grand Line, sending his men out to do his dirty work for him."

There was no need to go actively searching for him, she knew. So long as they kept sailing towards Reverse Mountain, it was inevitable that their paths would cross with Blackwell...

---

"Ooooh!" Siobhan loudly exclaimed, hopping off the trawler before it could even properly dock at the harbor. Her feet hit the wooden surface of the docks with a dull thud, the half-breed girl having once again retracted her fin and donned her scarf. "So this is Cathymnia! It's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be."

Indeed, compared to the last couple of towns they had visited, this was practically a booming city. It was quite understandable as to why: this was one of the central trade hubs within West Blue. It's harbor was host to quite a number of larger vessels at the moment, in fact.

"Come on! I bet they have some tasty pubs!"

[Zapdos]

It had been a slower voyage than the last one. The addition of the swordsman had made the trip less pleasant than it needed to be, but Jones had kept to himself more after his first interaction with Eadgar to try and minimize any annoyances. At least it had been a productive week; the doctor had learned about and made more poisons than the one dose he had made during the conflict with Bluewell.

In any case, Jones was happy to be on land. It was one step closer to finding who he hoped was a more reasonable crewmate and it was nice to be someplace new. The doctor didn’t really know where to go to find Taimi, so he would just follow his captain’s lead for now.

“I’m sure you must be hungry, Siobhan, but you don’t need to eat the buildings. I’m sure they have plenty of food in the taverns as well,” Jones joked as he walked with his captain to whichever place they were going to.

[alexfangtalon]

Eadgar hopped off the trawler ready to stretch his legs. If he remembered correctly he had been to this island about two or three times. Each on unfavorable circumstances. He wanted to make sure no one recognized him. He walked up to Siobhan and said, "I'd like to stay out of the crowded areas as much as possible. What do you know of this Taimi Taitale? I can start looking for information on her if needed."

[Blackstripe]

"Kahuhu, then they had best have somethin' extra tasty," she replied to her doctor's joke. When Eadgar stepped closer to her and warned that he shouldn't be seen in public, she ceased her forward stride. Turning to look at him for a moment, she quickly reached into the inner pocket of her overcoat, withdrawing a large piece of cloth.

Tying it around his head, Eadgar now sported an adorable make-shift bonnet. "There we are! Nobody would ever think you were a well-known and dangerous bounty hunter now!"

"As for Taimi, we can ask at the pubs we stop by! Let's have fun for a bit."

[Zapdos]

Jones smiled at his captain’s response, then grinned when he saw Eadgar’s new headgear. He didn’t really feel like talking to the guy, but at least he looked more like how he acted now. “Sounds good to me, Siobhan,” the doctor said, “I’m sure we can find some place good.” He then looked around, trying to find a tavern. Maybe one with a lot of people in it as well; the more people that were there, the more likely it would be that someone would have a lead on Taimi.

Jones then saw a busy tavern near the center of town, the Cathymnia Central Tavern. Very appropriate name. He then pointed to it, asking “how about that one?”

[alexfangtalon]

Eadgar grabbed the cloth and threw it off. He growled and used his scarf to wrap around his head leaving his eyes as the only part of his head visible. "If you are so insistent on us sticking together than fine. But gathering information would be easiest if we were to split up." Eadgar bent down to grab the cloth and handed it back to Siobhan. He hadn't meant to be rude but his anger still got the best of him at times.

The swordsman followed the gaze of the doctor as he spoke about looking for a tavern. He looked at the one Jones was pointing out and mentally groaned. The owner of that place could be really scary at times. "Good find, doc. That's the largest tavern on this island. A few good info brokers inside. Have you got any money to pay for info?" He asked as he turned to Siobhan.

[Blackstripe]

"Nope!" She replied with great enthusiasm, bursting through the doors of the tavern. For a brief moment, every eye in the place was on her due to her loud entrance, some lingering longer than was appropriate. Despite the establishment's size, the people inside were something of a rough sort. Being a trading port, this was often the first place many sailors--and pirates--ended up.

Pushing her way to the bar, she plopped herself onto one of the few available stools there. Waving for the old woman behind the bar, Siobhan offered her a grin, to which she merely grunted in mild annoyance. Only wandering over after she had finished cleaning a glass, the bartender centered her periwinkle gaze upon the younger girl before her. "What'dya want, girl?"

"I'm here for a few scoops, and a not remotely insubstantial amount of food!" Siobhan replied, nonplussed by her gruff manner of address. Rocking in her seat with anticipation, she ignored the leering men beside her. "Some of everythin', if ya please!"

Muttering something indecipherable in clear annoyance, the old woman kept her eyes firmly locked on Siobhan. "You'd better have money to pay. Don't think I'll let you dash on me without taking my due outta your hide."

[Zapdos]

Jones watched with amusement as Eadgar threw a hissy fit about the makeshift bonnet, then was surprised when the swordsman complemented him. That was a first.

He was more concerned when Siobhan stated she didn’t have any money to pay for food...and then proceeded to make a huge scene. This wasn’t some small place in West Blue; the doctor was certain that people here have tried and failed at running out on their bill before, so this could potentially be bad. Maybe they could sell the fishing trawler or some of the leftover supplies from their trip to Coverie to pay for his captain’s food.

Sitting next to Siobhan to hopefully defuse any bad situations that came up, Jones asked the bartender “ma’am, could I get a glass of East Blue rum please?” He set out enough Beli to pay for it, plus a little tip. Hopefully this would calm the woman down a bit. While the doctor would be happy to pay his own way, he would not bankrupt himself feeding his captain.

That was not a precedent he wanted to start.