[IC] One Piece: The Romance of Blackfin (OPEN)

[Blackstripe]

Smokey Saddle Tavern
Yarwen Island, town of Boaduor
West Blue

Curtis had inherited the Smokey Saddle from his father, just as he had from his father before him. The tavern had been in their family for generations, serving as the small town of Boaduor's most popular establishment.

The customers here varied from dockworkers to sailors of all stripes. That unfortunately even included pirates and slavers, particularly if they were a part of Blackwell's armada.

Today had, thankfully, been fairly peaceful...until she arrived, anyhow.

Tall, curvaceous and beautiful...he had initially greeted her with no small amount of enthusiasm. Offered her a seat right at the bar, even! If he could go back an hour in time, he'd have instead shut the place down the moment he saw her.

"Oi, can I get some more rib roast here?" the woman eating at the bar called out, drawing an irritated glance from Curtis. She'd already eaten her way through about twenty people's worth of food. Where was she even putting it all?!

Judging by her cherry red locks and pale complexion, she was from Belessia, an island not too far from here. For whatever reason, though, she was wearing a red scarf around her neck despite it being hot as the hells outside. Was there something wrong with her head?

"Don't you think you've had enough, miss?" Curtis pointedly asked. "You haven't paid for any of it, yet."

"I haven't," she replied, placing a hand on her belly. "Can't ya hear my stomach still grumblin'? More ribs!"

...If he wasn't raised better, he'd slug her one.

"By the way," the woman stopped shoveling food in her face for a moment, her emerald gaze settling on him. "I heard there was a lad here, a shipwright named Edgar Vennar!"

Curtis quirked a brow at this over his shoulder, the hiss of the grill drowning out the murmurs of the other patrons in the distance as he placed another rack of ribs on it. "...Yeah, he's pretty famous around these parts. Or, he was..."

"And then ya paused dramatically. What happened?"

Grunting in irritation, he turned to face the woman and folded his arms. "The fool was devoured! Gobbled up by the Devil's Tempest. Thought he could build a ship capable of braving it. We all warned him it was impossible, but he wanted to see what was inside. Haven't heard from him in a month."

Nothing ever managed to make it out of that eternal storm. For centuries people had tried to find what was in it...all of them had failed.

Her lips settling into a frown at this news, the young woman stuffed half a potato in her mouth and began to chew the smoking hot vegetable without concern. "The Devil's Tempest..."

[Blazion]

Pekelo Island
West Blue

There wasn’t much time.

Scratch that, there was no time!

There was so much to do, so many things that needed correcting, and Kailani was so close. Yet even now the beat of drums still echoed in her ears, the vibrations of too many feet as the sprawling tribe gathered, a stern voice telling her to not wander far - the Tournament would be starting as soon as the sun was high above. As the golden orb’s rays spread out over the land, peeking over the lip of Ka Li’Ai’s churning black clouds that served as the island’s ocean borders, every second ticking away brought her closer to her doom. If Kailani didn’t get this ship going, then eventually when she didn’t show up her caretakers would be sent out to drag her back - and her chances of escaping dwindled to none.

After all, if Mella’s brother won the tournament Kailani had no doubt that he’d want to impose his own punishment for her ‘crime’, and he was the frontrunner. That was no surprise, Ywa’n was every bit as determined, as brave as his sister - the whole family was. They just didn’t understand. Mella wanted off Pekelo as much as she did, had their positions been reversed … well, she’d have probably been very confused trying to build a ship, but the attempt would’ve been there!

Now this was Kailani’s last chance. If they found her, they’d put the ship she was working on to the torch, and to the Tournament she’d go. If she was honest with herself, she would’ve been nowhere near ready if not for the split hull that washed ashore that month, right in her secluded little patch of beach. High trees surrounded her, the leafy green of their tops shading the small stretch of sand no bigger than thirty feet. It was here that her ship was being built out of whatever supplies the islander could bring. Wood was in abundance on the island, rope was easy to come by, even carving out parts necessary. It was all the same song and dance, just on a much shorter timescale.

With the latest ship that came ashore it solved Kailani’s last problem - she couldn’t use the forge in her village without rousing suspicion. Stripping the metal from the strange vessel it was almost easy to adapt it to her Striker. There were even pieces she was impressed with on it - it was almost like the man aboard was challenging the great storm. It made her last three weeks of work much simpler! She made sure to burn his heart, as per tradition, for his help.

She felt a little bad she didn’t share the rest of him with the village, but that’d have tipped them off to another boat. At least she ate well that week.

Now, attaching the last ‘shield’ of wood to the side of the ship, acting as a buffer against the wicked rocks, it was time to go. Her vessel was small, only enough for a few days supplies and herself, but that’s all she needed. Kailani pulled her thick brown hair back, retying it with the ornamental thread and feathered hairpiece that had been so carefully applied this morning. Had she a choice, she’d not be wearing the ceremonial outfit that she had been forced to wear, with its heavy golds and abundance of feathers, but a girl had to make due!

Now, it was time.

Thigh-deep in the sloshing water Kailani began to untie her boat, casting one last glance to her island, before her dark chocolate eyes roamed to the heavy storm of Ka Li’Ai. A crack of thunder echoed in the distance, a familiar and comforting sound that, with any luck, would be far behind her before the day was through.

”Wish me luck, Mella.”

[Blackstripe]

As Kailani and her small vessel bravely pushed their way out to sea, daring to face the dark and angry black that forever blanked the island, the ocean beneath her began to tremble. There were many bizarre phenomena associated with the great Ka Li'Ai, but this certainly didn't appear to be one of them.

Desperately attempting to maintain its heading against the trembling waters beneath it, the little vessel would instead be hopelessly tossed about the angrily churning sea like a toy boat in a monsoon. Finally, as if to proclaim that things could indeed become worse, the ocean erupted in a geyser that consumed the short lived ship in an instant.

Rising high into the sky, it then - impossibly - loomed forward down towards the ground without losing any of its cohesion. Slamming into the modest beach with an audible crack, the mighty pillar of ocean finally shattered.

---

"Savage!" Siobhan cheered with a bright grin stretched across her face. Water fell freely from her hair and the wetsuit she wore, being absorbed into the thoroughly drenched sand at her feet. Strapped to her back was the metallic case with all her essentials and clothes, and she was now quite thankful she'd decided to carry it that way.

Since her arms were now full with some strange girl.

"Oi, oi...floatin' beneath my Water Heart's a good way ta die, ya know?" She glanced down at the bronze skinned girl.

[Blazion]

Okay, so, Kailani expected some problems when she went out into the storm. That was fair, her first attempt didn’t go so smoothly either - to put it lightly.

This was just unfair, though. She didn’t even reach the black wall of cloud!

Kailani had no doubt that her ship was solid. She built the Striker herself, after all! Yet the makeshift shields against the jagged rocks, the cut of the nose against the water, none of that mattered against a geyser. Seriously, why did Ka Li’Ai decide now to start doing weird things?!

The petulant thought wasn’t helping against the water that was filling her vision, her mouth. Kailani had no idea what direction she was even facing anymore but the telltale crash of splintering wood let her know that Striker had struck out. Completely unfair.

A second crack, and a feel of solid cord beneath her legs and back, and at least she could breath again. Coughing up a glob of water that splattered over her already soaked ceremonial dress, slowly Kailani’s gaze took in where she was. That was a fair question after all that, along with why she hadn’t at least broken something after being caught up in … whatever that was.

Okay, so back on the beach, wood splintered everywhere. That was expected. She wasn’t on her own two feet though. Slowly Kailani’s chocolate eyes trailed up, meeting the green orbs of the person holding her.

… Huh.

That was a person.

A person definitely not from Pekelo. Who had, if Kailani was taking in her words and strange accent correctly, destroyed her ship with the heart of water.

What.

Excitement and anger battled for dominance in the chieftain’s daughter, for a moment her only staring at the other woman. On one hand, her ship was broken beyond repair and there went every hope of getting off the island that way. On the other, this was the first person that ever made it onto the island alive! And she somehow did it without getting a single scratch from Ka Li’Ai! … Could she carry passengers?

Okay, with that thought excitement won out!

”That was awesome. Well, it would’ve been more awesome if you didn’t destroy my Striker - rude, by the way, I worked hard on that! How did you get passed Ka Li’Ai?! Does your skin always look this way or are you sick?” Kailani’s bronze fingers came up, touching the stranger’s face and curiously squishing her cheeks. She was so white! Like the inside of a coconut! Probably didn’t taste like coconut though. They never did.

[Blackstripe]

Siobhan's lips puckered slightly when the girl in her arms began squishing her cheeks together, the uncomfortable examination causing her eyes to narrow slightly. Shaking her face free with a swift jerk, she dropped the stranger back onto the soggy beach below. "What the hell are ya talkin' about? 'Striker'? Ka...kali..ma? Whatever ya said."

She'd ignore the question about if she was sick. She felt fine, except for the fact that this girl clearly wasn't Edgar Vennar. According to that old man in the tavern, he had last been seen heading inside that big storm - The Devil's Tempest - when he vanished...and lo and behold, what had she found on the other side? An island!

Honestly, after she'd gotten up close and personal to this thing, she hadn't been too terribly confident that she'd be able to find him. If she hadn't been able to simply swim under it, it would've legitimately been a difficult storm to navigate, maybe even by Grand Line standards. Still, now that she knew there was an island here, the chances of her would-be shipwright having survived seemed a lot higher!

Flexing the gills on her neck for a brief moment as they sealed shut at the sting of the open air, Siobhan decided not to bother hiding her Fishman features this time. After all, she was hear to recruit someone. If he had a problem with her true nature, then things weren't going to work out between them.

Speaking of which...

"OOOI! EDGAR VENNAR! COME OUT IF YA SURVIVED!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, hands cupping either side of her mouth.

[Blazion]

"Rude," Kailani huffed again as she sat up in the sand, having been very unceremoniously dumped onto it. Not very friendly, the non-islanders. Then she just walked passed her! This is what she was braving the Ka Li'Ai for?

... Still worth it.

Picking herself up from the sand, Kailani shook off some of it but with her wet clothes most of the grains still stuck. Finally she focused back on her guest as she began yelling, only for the islander to pause. Was that... was that a fin? None of the others who had washed ashore had those! Did they fall off when they died? Maybe she was just unique? That made more sense since she was the only one who survived the storm. Speaking of which...

"He didn't survive," Kailani chirped matter of factly, rather cheerfully despite talking of a man's death. "Well, I assume anyway! You're the first person that's ever survived coming here. Mostly it's just corpses and the remains of their ships. Is it impolite to touch your fin?" As usual Kailani's thoughts changed gear mid-conversation, having been approaching the back of the pale woman. She was abrasive, but that didn't put off the islander near enough to stop her curiosity. Which is why she was currently poking the tip of the shark-fin coming out of the tall woman's back.

"Oh! It's real! Is that how you survived? Are you part fish? Well, of course you are - you have a fin." Briefly Kailani regretted that the woman survived - she probably tasted like something completely new! Oh well, look at the big picture here. The chieftain's daughter turned her head away, making a thoughtful noise as she tapped her fingertip against her bottom lip, seemingly speaking more to herself than anything. "Going underneath the storm... I might be able to make a boat that could do that in brief spurts, but not with the time I have..."

[Blackstripe]

"Eh? He's dead?!" Siobhan's head finally snapped around in shock at the other girl's words, her jaw going slack. The very first name on her list, and they were already six feet under! "Goddammit..."

Well, so much for starting off with a shipwright.

Muttering under her breath as she unstrapped her metal case from its spot just below her fin, she allowed it to thump onto the soggy beach. Ignoring the girl as she poked and prodded at her fin, Siobhan pressed a small red switch on the side of the metallic box. An audible hiss filled the air as it was depressurized, the case parting as it opened. Inside were a couple sets of clothing, a single pair of shoes, and - neatly folded on top - a piece of paper.

Retrieving her list and the pen that was nestled beside it, Siobhan irately marked Edgar Vennar off it with a large "X". Replacing it in the case along with the pen, the redhead released a heavy sigh. "Well, fuck me then. I guess I'll just head for the swordsman next?"

That girl had continued to bombard her with weird questions that she really did care about answering at the moment. She supposed her amazement was an improvement over the norm, though: most would react with fear or revulsion upon seeing her Fishwoman ancestry. Whatever, it was time to leave.

Giving the red switch another press, Siobhan waited as the case was resealed. She then began strapping it to her lower back again as she offered the strange woman a quick wave. "Right, it's been grand, but it's time for me to leave. I'm sorry for your boat."

[Blazion]

Oh, the girl was doing something again, this time with the metal case. Kailani made no effort to hide her curiosity as she watched the metal box open up, though she jumped slightly at the hiss. Huh.

"Neat!" Kailani tilted her head at the stranger as she marked off the name on the paper. Bad luck, that. Then she was speaking once more, causing the islander's dark eyebrows to furrow. Something about a swordsman, an offering - weird, they had just met- and finally, she sealed up the case and made to leave.

"Oh no. No, no, no." The bronze skinned girl moved in front of her taller counterpart, placing her hands on the arms of the wet suit to stop her. She blew some brown hair and soaked feathers out of her face. "Sorry isn't going to cut it! Look, I need off this island yesterday and you destroyed my ship! Do you know how long it will take me to make another?! I don't have time!" Kailani's eyes flicked upward, taking in the position of the fiery orb in the relatively clear skies above the eye of the storm. Noon already, no doubt her mother was getting restless about her absence.

"What'd you need that Edgar guy for anyway? When did he disappear? If he's the man who washed ashore a few weeks ago I still have some of his things, might even have some of his bones around my fire if you need them. Sorry, didn't save any of him though - he'd be rotted anyway." Her bronzed fingers came up, grabbing the collar of the wet suit and standing at her full height - still nearly a foot shorter than the stranger. "And even if you don't feel any guilt for destroying my ship we can still trade! Do non-islanders need gold? I'm wearing some right here!"

[Blackstripe]

Siobhan's eyes narrowed slightly in irritation when the woman seized her by the collar. She seemed to want to go with her or something, and was clearly still pissed off about her little boat. It was so small though, could it have really even got through that big storm when even far larger ships had failed? Then again, size wasn't everything. As her old captain had often proven to her, having a great helmsman and navigator were just as important to a vessel's survival as good craftsmanship.

Shaking her head, Siobhan gently brushed the girl's hands off her. "I've got a small fishing boat I stole anchored a good ways off from this storm here. I don't think a human could make the trip."

Despite her skill in navigation - or perhaps because of it - she knew well that her little boat wouldn't survive the trip through no matter what she did, so leaving it was her best course of action. She'd figured if her would-be shipwright had survived somehow, she could either help tow his ship out of the storm - if it had simply become trapped in the eye - or help him build a new one if there was an island somewhere inside of it.

Obviously, that wouldn't work now.

"That bloke was supposed to be a renowned shipwright, capable of building a ship that could brave any sea," Siobhan explained, folding her arms as the irritation brought on by the news of his demise continued to linger somewhat. "If he was still here, then I could've help him to build somethin' to escape this place with."

She then paused, as something the weird sunkissed girl said finally registered in her brain. Her eyes then slowly grew wide. "...YA FECKIN' ATE HIM?!"

[Blazion]

Slowly, a grin blossomed along Kailani's face, her dark eyes glittering. Well, wasn't that just perfect? Though she seemed alarmed about the fate of Edgar's corpse - probably thought she killed him or something. The islander waved her hand in the air with little concern.

"Don't worry! Like I said, you're the first person to have survived getting here - he was already dead. I'm not a savage. More importantly!" Smoothing back her deep brown hair and fixing the feathered accessory hanging from a lock near her temple, Kailani placed her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out as she stood proud. "My name is Kailani, and I am the best shipwright on the island!" ... Mostly because she was the only shipwright on the island, but that was neither here no there.

"So the solution is simple! We'll remake the Striker - which, if you're worried, was specifically built to withstand Ka Li'Ai," Kailani gestured toward the storm, "Then get me to land, not geysers. Then in exchange once we're outside I'll build you a ship! The best ship you could ask for! I've been studying and taking them apart all my life! It's perfect!" The dark skinned girl couldn't help but grin widely, pumping her fist in the air. Slowly a frown tugged at her lips. She could almost hear the beating of drums on the wind.

"... Well, it would be perfect if I wasn't being forced to marry today. You know anything about faking your own death?"

[Blackstripe]

He was already dead...but she did eat him? Just where exactly had she ended up?

She had encountered stranger things than cannibals with her old crew, it was just surprising that something like that would be in West Blue. Most groups like that had been conquered a long time ago by the World Government, though a few remained in East Blue and the Grand Line. Still, she supposed it didn't really matter. Edgar was long gone, and - to her surprise - this girl was apparently a shipwright!

"You're sayin' all the right words now!" Siobhan returned her grin with one that looked like it might just cast away the storm above all by itself. Raising her thumb, she jabbed it lightly into her own chest. "I'm Siobhan! Grace D. Siobhan. If you're half the shipwright ya claim to be, then I'll let ya come along an' join my crew!"

But of course there was some catch. There was always a catch with these kinda things, if the stories her old Captain used to tell her were any indication. In this case, it was...marriage?

"Forced to marry, ya say? Well, that doesn't matter now that I'm here!" Siobhan pounded out, once again slamming her case down onto the beach. If she wasn't swimming back, then she'd might as well change into something more suited to land. "Let's just build that striker-thing and if any of em' come here, they can eat me fists in the place of weddin' cake!"

[Blazion]

A grin stretched across Kailani's face as she caught her fish, hook, line, and sinker! ... Was that rude to think about a fish-woman? Eh, she'd worry about it later. For now she absolutely beamed in return to the taller woman.

"Your name is weird. I like it! Well then, Siobhan Grace D. Siobhan, let's see here..." This was going better than Kailani hoped! That grin was permanently attached to the villager's face as she began to finally stray from the odd redhead's side, beginning to collect pieces of the broken Striker. It was pretty smashed, which was impressive. Pieces of the ship were strewn all over the beach, in the water - there was so much to do, so little time. At least Siobhan Grace D. Siobhan - seriously that was a long name - was confident in herself, which wasn't surprising considering she summoned a geyser and appeared part fish. Maybe she was a demon?

"Try not to kill anyone, please? Those are my people, even if they're being ... well, asses about the whole thing. Seriously, none of the other girls have to be subjected to tournaments for their hand. Just me. What's cake by the way?" Kailani seemed to possess the ability to chatter even as she worked, focused as she was on the task at hand. The most important part was collecting the metal bits, which would be harder to replace than any wood - she could just carve those.

The sun was now drifting past the peak in the sky, the only clear part of the Ka Li'Ai - the island being the eye of the storm, after all. No doubt her mother was furious and a search party was looking for her. Kailani could only hope enough pieces were intact that it wouldn't take much to rebuild, but even with another person's help... well, this was going to be difficult. Plus with her tribe bearing down on them once they were found - because even if they 'ate fist' Kailani doubted it would be that easy.

With an armful of pieces the bronzed girl maneuvered back to the spot she had originally built the Striker, depositing it. Retrieving a small scroll case - salvaged from Edgar's vessel, actually - out of the leather piece across her chest Kailani pulled out a piece of parchment, examining her design. She ended up smoothing it out on the sand, grabbing some small rocks to keep the edges down. Very straightforward, from the head to the fin. Not the prettiest vessel to land on the shores, but it got the job done.

"Okay, let's see how much we can get done before we start getting harassed..."

[Blackstripe]

"Your face is weird," Siobhan replied, folding her arms. "And just call me 'Siobhan'."

And now came the challenge of rebuilding. If this girl - Kailani - was gathering the pieces that had fallen on land, then it was clear where her own skills would best be employed.

While she had planned on getting dressed, there was little point now that she was going to have to jump back into the water in order to retrieve the pieces of The Striker that had landed there after her accidental destruction of the small ship. Still, no sense in complaining about it: this was Siobhan's ticket to gaining a shipwright...if the girl proved herself capable, that is!

It wasn't a particularly difficult task, either. She was completely comfortable beneath the waves, and so retrieving some glorified drift wood was a simple matter. One after another she tossed the sometimes sizable chunks back onto the beach for Kailani to retrieve. Hopefully they weren't too much for the smaller woman to carry.

It looked like it was getting darker here, though that was mainly because of the storm only allowing the sun to shine for a relatively short duration of time. As she hurled the last piece of the ship onto the coast, Siobhan stalked her way ashore again with the intent of finally getting out of this wetsuit.

Grabbing her case up off the beach again, she made her way over to a set of nearby tropical plants to hopefully get some privacy.

[Blazion]

As each piece of her Striker hit the beach one after another, Kailani’s excitement only grew. Some sections were in big enough pieces that she had to drag them over, leaving deep lines dug into the sand. With her collection of ship parts gathered in a vague semblence of order the islander began to carefully carve away the more gouged parts, intending on replacing them.

Her new ‘companion’ of sorts had disappeared into the bush with her odd metal case, but that was fine. Kailani could start on this well enough. First arranging everything, followed by a stock of what needed to be recreated and what could be saved. Pulling out a piece of soaked charcoal from her top – ew, it smeared on the inside – the young woman began to make hurried marks on the paper for what needed to be done, tongue stuck out the side of her mouth.

The rustle of plants announced Siobhan’s return, Kailani not even bothering to lift her head. She was too busy carefully carving away the splinters of a particularly large piece of hull so she could reuse it.

”Alright, so I’ve started on the hull, but I’m going to need more wood so you-”

“Kailani.”

The girl’s spine went rigid, and she was on her feet in an instant, whirling around to meet the silver eyes of someone she knew very well.

”Ywa’n! Fancy seeing you here!” Kailani flashed the tall man a wide smile, all white teeth and familiarity that betrayed no hint of nerves. ”I admit, I was expecting you to take a little-”

“Mella told me where you two liked to hide away.” The long haired man replied simply, eyes narrowing on her. A man and woman flanked his sides, Kailani recognizing them immediately as his cousins. It was hard not to feel small under their utterly hate-filled gazes, particularly from Ywa’n, but Kailani’s grin only faltered briefly. “Another failure, I see.” He nodded to the remains of The Striker.

”Just a set back, of course! You know me,” She waved a bronze hand carelessly, chocolate eyes darting in the direction Siobhan went. Some protector! ”I’ll be out of your hair before you know it!”

“I was hoping whatever you were working on out here would deliver the divine justice you deserve before the Tournament, but I see that you can’t even die properly.” Ywa’n scoffed, unfolding his arms as he stepped closer, Kailani stepping back in response. “Like an insect, you just keep coming back.”

Rude.

”What can I say? Just lucky, I guess!”

“And now your luck’s run out, but don’t worry – when I win the tournament I’ll at least be a good husband and protect you from yourself, unlike what you did for Mella.” In an instant he lunged out to grab onto her. Years of play wrestling with the older boy, back when they weren’t at each other’s throats, let her dance out of the way of his grasp. Before Kailani could grab onto her dagger however his back up goons were around her. The odds were stacked, and she was losing.

”SIO-” A blow to her sternum had Kailani choking on air as it was forced out of her chest, and Ywa’n’s angry silver eyes once more focused on her.

“Drag her if you have to, we’re already late.” As she was forced to walk, still trying to get breath into her burning lungs, Kailani could only think one thing.

For all her apparent power, Siobhan had really bad timing.

[Blackstripe]

"Righto, good ol' brown jacket it is!" Siobhan chirped, having chosen her outfit. Her wetsuit had already been replaced in the metal case, allowing her to absorb the remaining water dampening her form. Saved a lot of space when you didn't have to worry about packing towels. Hopefully by the time she finished getting dressed, Kailani will have made some actual progress on that ship of hers...though she would be lying if she claimed she didn't want to explore this place.

It had, after all, been trapped within this storm for who knows how long. Isolated from the world like this, there was no telling all the amazing things she could see here! That was a pretty unique thought to have about an island in the Blues. Most were pretty mundane and dull, being in the "civilized" part of the world.

Ah well, there would be plenty of exploring to do once she got back to the Grand Line with a proper ship and crew behind her. Assembling that was the most important thing right now!

"Good," Siobhan fastened her belt with a smirk. "Guess I'd better go help with the construct-"

A scream.

It actually sounded more like a swear that was abruptly cut off.

More importantly, it sounded like Kailani.

"Feckin' eejit!" Siobhan cussed herself out, remembering that she was supposed to be keeping an eye on the other girl while she rebuilt her ship. Grinding her heel into the foliage beneath her, the redhead darted out of the brush where she had been changing. "Shiiiiite!"

It didn't take but a moment for her to get back to where the rebuilding effort had commenced, but...

"Kailani?" Siobhan called out, glancing about the abandoned pile of wood. There was no sign of her would-be shipwright anywhere.

No, wait.

"Tracks," she noted, kneeling down to inspect the footprints left in the sand. There were multiple sets, most too large to belong to the petite girl. Following their progress, it became clear that there was some sort of struggle. A pair of deep grooves in the sand indicated that Kailani was being dragged along against her will. "Heh, found ya!"

Now she just had to follow them and hopefully she'd find wherever they were taking her new crewmate.

If it was to that wedding, though, then they'd better have saved some cake for her.

[Blazion]

”Come on, at least let me walk! Where am I going to run off? The other side of the island?” An all too dramatic sigh left Kailani’s lips, playing up her carefree attitude. In truth her heart was pounding in her chest, and every couple of feet she scrambled to try and get her feet underneath her, especially as the sand and loose foliage turned to the harder packed dirt of the jungle. This ... was not good. Their island wasn’t a tiny spec of land, it was decent sized, but that didn’t mean that her new friend would be able to find her quickly.

“Your future wife is talkative,” Was the feminine reply, almost sing-song in nature. Kailani hated her a little.

”So confident! Are you not trying out, Lua?” Rather than address the female Kailani instead tilted her head to look to the male of the two siblings, the bulky man shrugging.

“Sure am. Ain’t gonna win against Ywa’n, though.”

”Aw, I believe in you, big guy! Plus you’d make a great husband!” He snorted in response to her words.

“Yeah, but I doubt you’d be a great wife!” Both Lua and his sister laughed, birds startling from the trees above them. Despite herself, Kailani couldn’t help but pout.

”...Rude.” As they passed by a particularly large tree Kailani used a root to push herself up as they moved, wrenching her arm from Lua’s grip to turn forward. He immediately went to grab her again, and she just waved her arm. ”Don’t worry so much! You got me, I just don’t like being dragged!” For a moment he seemed uncertain, eyes flicking to Ywa’n’s back ahead of them. His silver gaze turned back, giving a slight nod.

Kailani gave a silent cheer as her arms were released, stretching them high above her head.

”Great! I knew we could be friends.” Kailani shot a beaming grin to the cousins, getting an eye roll and grunt in response. Turning her gaze forward, she quickly began examining her surroundings, looking for any way to leave a path for Siobhan. Her fingers nervously ghosted across her torso, and the wicked scars laid white against her bronze skin. She’d come get her, right? ... Maybe. She did say she needed a ship. Well, the important part right now was at least giving Siobhan the chance to catch up, and probably scare the hell off these three – no one else knew there was an outsider, after all.

... Actually ...

“Hey!” Lua’s sister’s voice called out with no small amount of anger as Kailani drew something from her belt.

”Calm down, you big baby, it’s just my carving knife – you people are boring conversationalists.” As though to emphasis her words Kailani let her hand drop, letting the blade scrape across the bark of a passing tree. It left a little groove, a line in the tree. Then the next. Kailani whistled cheerfully as she continued to walk.

The two cousins gave her dubious looks, but as Ywa’n didn’t seem to care as long as she was following, they let the matter drop.

After all, why would anyone on Pekelo Island suspect she was leading someone?

---

“Kailani.”

”Hello mother! You know, you’re the second person today to say my name in that tone, I’m starting to think-”

“Sit. We’ll commence immediately, before you delay us further.”

”Yes ma’am!” Kailani’s words were accompanied by a jaunty little bow before she sat demurely on the seat beside her mother. The Chieftain eyed her daughter, almost suspiciously that she gave in so easily, before nodding to Ywa’n and his cousins. All three bowed, and backed off.

“Now that we are no longer missing any key pieces,” The Chieftain raised her head high, letting her intense gaze roam along those gathered on the expanse of grass and stone before them. At her back was the carved stone that made up their village, large and roaming – the area for the Tournament was dead center, where celebrations and gatherings were held. It seemed the whole village was in attendance.

As her mother continued to talk, Kailani couldn’t help but drone her out. The premise was very simple after all – don’t permanently harm someone, hit each other until only one person was left, marry person. She didn’t need to listen to grand speeches of honoring the tribe, something about Ka Li’Ai’s raging storm, it didn’t matter. Instead Kailani kept her gaze along the gaps in the homes, even on the horizon looking for a geyser. Siobhan needed a ship, so Siobhan needed her.

... Right?

[Blackstripe]

"Fuuuck," Siobhan grasped her head in frustration, the frequent cawing of strange birds doing little to ease her state of mind. She was now a fair ways into the jungle, and she was...well, lost. Surrounded by the roars of distant predators and the rustle of the trees and underbrush, it felt as if she could be attacked at any moment.

That wasn't the problem. That would actually be kind of fun, to fight some weird never-before-seen jungle monsters! Or it would be if she wasn't kind of in a hurry.

No, the problem was that her new friend had apparently just been kidnapped, and she didn't know where the fuck the other girl was! The trail she had been following at the beach had ended, and since she was no tracker that left her wandering blind. "Shite, let's see...they probably took her along a well-traveled path, so maybe look for trampled foliage..."

Resting a hand on a tree as she murmured to herself, she idly ran her fingertips across the segmented bark. At least the vegetarian was pretty similar. Just some good ol' bog standard jungle tree-

"Eh?" Siobhan blinked, feeling an odd groove in the tree and the sticky feeling of sap on her fingers. Glancing towards it, she instantly recognized the cut marks of a blade. Immediately taking a step back, the redhead's eyes darted between the adjacent trees, a broad grin slowly stretching across her face. "Clever girl...

---

BROOOM!

Siobhan smashed through a large hut, emerging onto another dirt road. This damn village was far too damn big for its own good!

"S-stop it! Stop the demon!!" One of the guards screamed, charging at the woman that towered over most of them.

Glancing over her shoulder at the man - looking to be middle aged at best - rushing her with with a spear, Siobhan casually sidestepped his thrust. Lashing out with her now gloved hand, she grasped him by the face and threw him into a group similarly aged men. Watching them crash to the ground together in a heap, she shook her head.

"Would ye just tell me where Kailani is, already?" Siobhan jabbed a finger towards the group in frustration. "I don't have time for this."

Grasping his face in pain, one of the guards leaned heavily on his spear as he staggered to his feet. "D-damn you, demon...! W-we'll never hand over the princess to the likes of you! We know you want to consume her soul, you damn monster!"

"Aw, whistle it up me arse," Siobhan flipped them off.

She'd made quite the scene in the village, so she'd be surprised if her friend wasn't aware of her yet. Jumping over that wooden wall that surrounded this place, she had since plowed through several buildings on her way through. Still, all she'd found thus far had been a bunch of pissed off old men brandishing spears and calling her a "demon".

Wank stains.

"KAILANI!!" Siobhan screamed as she continued her rampage through the settlement, smacking aside any guards that tried to get in her way. She made sure not to kill any of them, of course, just like she'd been told.

[Blazion]

That was a big crash.

The sort of crash that usually signalled a particularly large ship bursting upon the rocky outcroppings of the island, or splitting apart in the sands. Big enough to interrupt the Chieftain’s speech, as everyone’s gaze instinctively moved in the direction. While most were content to dismiss it for now, the screaming of warriors brought a halt to that.

Kailani grinned.

A particularly frazzled guard – oh, she knew him, he was kind of a coward – stumbled into the large clearing that the Tournament was to be held, chest heaving. His eyes darted around before landing on the assembled, gesturing back.

“You – you gotta go help the others! There’s a – a demon in a woman’s form!” The Chieftain’s eyes narrowed, her muscles coiled.

“What do you mean?”

”That’s probably my friend!” Kailani chirped happily, receiving an incredulous look from her mother. ”What? I can make friends!”

“Who is it?” Her mother demanded, causing Kailani’s grin to widen. It was practically shit-eating.

”Oh, someone not from the island.” Now there was a whole group of people looking at Kailani with that same expression. Just as her mother’s lips parted to respond however, a distinct cry sounded from further down the village.

”KAILANI!!” Silence fell over the gathered mass.

”... See?” Kailani rose up, stretching her arms above her head and stepping off the raised platform that her family’s seats were upon, stepping toward the commotion. ”I better go, you know, calm her down-” A rather pointy spear was abruptly in front of her – almost dangerously close to her neck. Her brown eyes flicked to the wielder, holding in her frustrated sigh at seeing Ywa’n glaring at her with a fierce intensity.

“First my sister, now you bring demons down on us, Kailani?!” Her teeth grit together, said girl finally returning his glare with defiance.

”For your information, I’m trying to leave with her, but you had to go and mess everything-”

“Kailani!” She flinched hearing her mother’s voice, muttering under her breath.

”Seriously why do I keep getting interrupted?”

The Chieftain descended the platform after her daughter, eyes narrowed and her ceremonial staff put to the side – drawing a sword who’s edges, instead of being pointed, were made of serrated teeth. She gestured Ywa’n away, who seemed reluctant to do so, but finally drew back.

“No outsider has survived Ka Li’Ai, who is this?” Her mother demanded, and recognizing the importance of this moment Kailani straightened out, meeting her gaze.

”An extraordinary woman. I’ve barely met her and I know that much just from her strength alone! If Ka Li’Ai lets a demon through for me, who are we to argue?” Okay, that was laying it on a bit thick, playing to the superstitions – but it worked out!

“Enough of this!” Ywa’n snarled, raising his spear and gesturing to the others. “We’ll dispatch this demon ourselves!” A cheer rang out, the thumping and moving of weapons. Crap, that wasn’t good.

“No,” The response had the movements stopping, even Kailani pausing in her rapid fire thinking of how to stop this ridiculousness. Ywa’n and Kailani’s gazes both turned back to the Chieftain, who continued to stare down at her daughter. “If it was sent to you, then so be it. It must be a sign the demon came on this day. Bring it then, let’s see how worthy it is to take my daughter from Pekelo’s grasp.”

... That was surprisingly cool of her mother, despite dripping in even more superstition about the great storm. Oh, and overconfidence.

”Uh, right!” Kailani nodded rapidly, stepping back from her mother. She brushed by Ywa’n, by Lua and his sister, then ducked under another warrior. ”I’ll just... you know...” Darting passed the spectator seating to the mouth of the great clearing, Kailani called out into the village. Ouch, was that one of the warriors being flung into the air? That was kind of cool actually.

”SIOBHAN!”

[Blackstripe]

Halting her rampage momentarily at the sound of her name, Siobhan's face lit up in excitement. Her call had been heard, and now she knew where the other girl was. Crouching down low before any of the guards still capable of pursuing her could catch up, she used her powerful legs to launch herself into the air. Almost immediately spotting the large arena at the center of the village, her eyes quickly centered on the screaming Kailani.

"There ya are!!" Siobhan beamed an almost blinding grin at her, waving enthusiastically as she landed in the center of the arena with a resounding thud that blanketed the immediate area in a sizable cloud of dirt. Ignoring the choking protests of the hundreds of spectators, she rose to her full height with a crack of her neck.

Raising a hand to thumb over her shoulder, her eyes remained focused on the girl that would be her shipwright. "Righto, I'm here! Let's lose these knob jockeys and head back to the beach. Ship won't build herself!"

Seriously, this village was weird...and not in the fun way. Their constant to chants of "demon this" and "monster that" reminded her too much of the shit she had to put up with for being a half-breed...from both sides of the proverbial coin. At least Kailani herself didn't seem to share any of their crazy superstitions.

At least, she hoped not.

[Blazion]

Siobhan’s grin was infectious, one growing on Kailani’s face in return. She quickly moved to the pale girl’s side, nodding her agreement. There were hundreds of people, from warriors to spectators, to the village healers to her own parents gathered, just gaping at the fishwoman, cowering, or looking ready to fight.”I am so down for that, let me just-”

“So you’re the demon that’s been rampaging through my village.”

”Okay seriously, the interrupting thing is getting old-”

“Kailani. Introductions.” The formidable woman stepped forward, gazing at Siobhan intensely. Her head was raised high, which made little difference considering she was barely taller than Kailani herself. Still, her entire bearing spoke of having far more experience than her younger kin.

”... Right, okay. Siobhan, my mother, Aila, Chieftain of the island. Mother, this is Siobhan. We’ll just, you know, get out of your hair really quick.”

“I don’t think so. Demon,” The woman nodded to Siobhan.

”Why even ask for introductions if you’re just going to call her that? Rude.” As usual, Kailani was ignored.

“You wish to take my daughter, don’t you? Your timing is impeccable, considering what today is – the day of my daughter’s marriage.” She gestured to those gathered, to the wide open arena. To the warriors who watched Siobhan warily. “Our finest warriors gathered to take her hand, and lead our tribe to the next generation. That’s what you wish to interrupt, demon, so I propose this. If you are as extraordinary as my daughter claims, then you will have no problem fighting them in our Tournament. And should one defeat you... well, I suppose slaying a demon would be a fitting way to marry into my line.”

”Seriously, her name is Siobhan. You know, like we have names?” Kailani shook her head, glancing up to the taller woman she stood beside. Beyond her she could see Ywa’n, spear already at the ready. ”I am really sorry about that, she’s just stressed over the whole Tournament. Which, by the way, you totally don’t have to do – want to just head back to the beach? You can jump like, really far.”