Growing Goals and Floundering Flowers!

[Cirrus]

Ayla brushed herself off and rose to her feet, a confused expression etch-a-sketched on her face and thoughts spinning like a top in her mind.

Perhaps it was rude of her to offer people such wonderful flowers without informing them first.

That was, after all, what the Underboard's residents had yelled at her in their strange accents. Despite all her time spent on Manor Twist Ayla had never before appreciated the difference in tone and dialect the people who lived below her claimed; the ignorant bliss of her nubile years was beginning to fade, someone far more perceptive than her would have mused: for now the Sunflower Girl readied and arranged herself, easing back into the paradigm of comfort, before checking the state of her body. A quick glance over would reveal she was fine - nothing out of the ordinary, even including those bumps and bruises; Ayla was always a rough and tumble kind of girl anyway, and a few more grazes and a few more stories wouldn't go amiss.

She'd been running.
She'd fallen.

... But she was fine now.

Ayla took a pace not dissimilar to a fast walk, hovering around the speed necessary to find it easy to burst into a sprint at the drop of a dress-up hat rather than give any potential pursuers the chance to gain ground. She could see the Mangrove from her elevated position, a view that reminded her that even the lowest levels of her home town and island, Manor Twist, still loomed over the sea in its resplendent glory. A tower on the ocean... a magnificent tower on the ocean, that held a town, that held triumph... She was glad to have lived there. And perhaps one day she'd return: right about the same time she had found the furthest, most brilliant island capable of holding her Grandmother's memory! Wherever it was... she'd find it, no doubt. Ayla had a knack for that. And it was at this thought the girl found a smile to display; of course they were her deceased guardian's words: 'that girl will find trouble like a bee finds flowers: it doesn't matter how far away it is, one day, one day soon, she will stick her nose right in it!'

Times were happier when 'Ma Royce was alive, admittedly.

But she was dead. And no amount of reminiscing was going to bring her back. All that was apt was flower planting, and lots of it.

The sea breeze picked up as it is wont to do, the furtive fingers of the wind stirring a grand ambition within the girl poised on the edge of consequence; Ayla felt it deep within her soul, the grandeur of the occasion, the respite from the burdensome chains of childhood and the welcomed liberty of pure and utter freedom and- and- just a tiny hint of fear. But what would this adventure's flavour be if it weren't for fear? No one wants a bland experience; anti-climax is, and always will be the unwanted arrival at the party of life itself. The brackish winds hit the back of the Sunflower Girl's throat, the salty air maturing her... somewhat. There was still naïveté fueling the fire in her soul.

... The sea breeze swirled, tousling her ribboned hair with all the dexterity of a brick, slapping the brown locks into her face and into her mouth, which was open for it is simply human nature to open up the orifices when presented with something that could change your life; the mouth and ears come open like gates to let the river of change flood in. And it was a river of a different kind that invaded her jaw, the taste being none too pleasant. At least it snapped her out of her star-struck phase and into action. For she had stopped. But now she had started. Again. And as she traversed the cobbles - because there are obviously cobbles on any road to Elysium - the hair on her head now trailing behind her, she realised something.

There was a certain beauty about the horizon, about Manor Twist's environs. It was the sight of the hopeful ocean, glinting under the biggest symbol of optimism, the sun... perhaps the very fact people could see at all was the presence of the faithful rays. Castles in the air, they said; fanciful forts floating blithely, buoyed by nothing at all. It was wanderlust. A silly daydream. She tended to do that a lot. It was sanguineous, in her blood.

And then it struck her.
And then she looked at the wound, the bloody memory of exactly why there was a pulchritude about things that were there and not here.

Her parents were out there somewhere, spreading joy, making whatever and whomever they met beautiful as a result. The horizon shone as an international symbol of good faith and hope and better times to come because somewhere out there on that forced-perspective line were her parents. Her mother and father; charity and hope personified in the most romantic form envisionable in this world and the next: pirates.

'I'm the designated captain of this adventure! It's time to get this show on the road... I guess!' She thought to herself, picking up speed. There was nothing on her back, no plan, no feasible way of carrying out anything at all - just the clothes on her waiting ship and a lot of ocean to cover. Ayla's hat flopped like a plush bunny's ears as she began to run again, this time out of excitement rather than the atavistic instinct for self-preservation. The aroma of cut flowers surged like a thunderstorm as she made her way to the promenade, as she made her way to the very shore, as she stepped aboard The Mangrove for what must have been the last time at Manor Twist for a long while yet, as she-

She stopped.

There was something amiss. Something uncalculated, not accounted for.

'... is someone... someone here? No no no no no...' The boat felt different... She glanced down. Nothing unusual- She looked again. She saw. She glared. She stared. She cycled through all the looking verbs and then she screamed bloody murder.

"WAAAAAH!
STRANGERWHYAREYOUONMYBOAT
OHMYGOSHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

... She had been standing on a person.

The adventures started small, then.

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'Watch where you're going!'
'Sorry about that!'

'Don't let him get away!'
'Haha, I won fair and square guys!'

'Says the guy running like a chicken!'
'Chicken..? Alright, you asked for it!'

[/left]

Sssccccch!~
'What the?!'
CRUNCH!

The impact was nearly as dominant as his shoes scraping across the cobble port-side walkways, the poor soul who didn't choose to stop in their pursuit bending in two as his upper and lower body continued forward without his stomach. It took a moment for the direction of the dynamic punch to come into effect, the victim rewinding in motions before soaring into his halted company with a crash and bump, creating quite an impressive heap of gentlemen. one after another they looked up to their sudden opponent rather than prey, the cocky grin and raised brow which covered a special kind of intimidation glancing down with some audible knuckles popping into place one by one as he clasped one hand over the other. They all flinched, even fumbled and squealed slightly as the vibrant clothed man leant down to their level with a grin and an offered hand. 'I've got places to be guys, I can't be picking more fights than I need to.' That relief of honesty which coated his words were sliced by the glint in his eyes that suddenly came into play. 'Though if you really want to fight..' That was it, they didn't even want to have anything else to do with this guy apparently, tripping over one another and themselves no less while trying to make the fastest escape possible from his line of sight.. The golden warrior giving them a gentle wave as he got back to his feet.

'Damn, that would've been nice practice..'

[/center]

'I'm sorry for the trouble, Ma'am.'
'Eh, same old same old.. You however..'

The fairly old woman scanned the man up and down, his appearance obviously of a more enthusiastic flair to the Manor Twists norm. It seemed like she had many questions to ask, curious of why a person of such obviously different culture was so far from some, though all she could do is wave as her pondering tone fell flat to the defender.. Simply bowing to her after apologising and quickly setting off back down the path with a quick dip in his step to pick up his bag he had dropped behind during the fight. The delicacy of his trip was obviously compromised here too, the promise of keeping some sort of incognito amongst an unknown land outside of his own was hard to maintain when you had to get directions from ruffians and combat enthusiasts. He knew how to fare though, it was the reason for the first part of his journey after all. Well, it was really more of an excuse, a purpose which would hopefully breed more ideas on the way there, a dream or direction to spout from the journey rather than the destination. His perusers in this case were the many scroungers attempting to use their fists for coin in what seemed to be the underbelly of an otherwise expansive city, it wasn't a match for the bright lights of his home that's for sure, not even the height stood a chance.. But the layout, oh the layout.

Asking the fighting ring probably wasn't the wisest decision, getting into a few on-the-spot planned fights got him a little extra coin for his next boat ride, but they seemed to feel the need to challenge him further. That turned into what looked like him running away, and now he had completely lost his sense of direction just trying to lose them, which had him rubbing his temple while he quickly scanned one alley after another in hopes of some sort of evidence. You'd think in a city like this boats would be thriving, every connection to the sea filled to the brim with vessels moving in and out just to sustain it, apparently that wasn't the case. The ocean before him on what seemed to be the outer ring pathways of the city were silent, riddled with rocks that explained why there wasn't any boats.. But that didn't exactly help Arru at all, it just meant more walking. It was his fault for not planning this whole thing, you fall asleep on a boat and before you know it you're completely off the grid in regards to mental registry of location and routes. He liked to think that his city, ever bustling and diverse in its passages and locations would train him for something like this. He was so wrong.

He was close to calling it quits, the cobbles he patted across along the sea-line bashing the island would be his bed for the moment while he collected himself. Though in that same stroke of thought came a bend in the road, the sun attacking him as he glared into it unknowingly provided a curtain of sorts as his vision adjusting slowly revealed what he had been looking for since he got here. 'Boats.. Awesome.' He gave his slowly falling bag a quick tug back over his one shoulder, avoiding the many stairs and patterned railings of stone which protected the idle walkers from a quick demise agaisnt the blue void with a quick jump and slide around any and all obstacles. He had already seen the boat he was interested in, it stood out from the rest in way he could not describe, the essence which projected from it of something seemingly unknown to this place until now. The whole port, despite its many ships and vessels, was silent. Nothing but the wind and waves, the sporadic bumps and scrapes of the sea moving that which occupied it about in a gentle fashion. This was defiantly an improvement from the noise within the metropolis. He settled on a boat, he had enough money to pay anyone who saw him from the previous brawl he had participated in.. Everyone else kept noticing him from a glance, he figured a sailor going to a usually quiet dock would be no exception. The ship wasn't so much his concern right now, more the flooring of any boat to settle upon while he fixed his fatigue, and in common habit dozed off the moment his head was on the ground.

'Hm, sounds like someone's coming.'
He hadn't registered how long he had slept, a moment, hours.

'Maybe it wouldn't be best to shout them.'
Everyone was on edge around these parts, but what to do.

'I wonder who-Oof!~' The noise seemed to be silent enough to not get the person attention, but they had no doubt gotten his as their feet planted onto his chest and stomach. He wanted to say something, anything.. Though for some odd reason he was baffled with the person's blurred figure as his vision was once again blinded by the newly angled sun. 'Uhm, excuse m- Ah!' The response was faster and louder than he expected, instead of logically moving to the side in order to allow the person some footing, he simply sat up, crossing his legs with a scrunched face of confusion, regardless of the their stability afterwards. 'You're lucky you weight as light as a feather..' He went to address them formally, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep from his eyes, a grin covering his face from success in identifying the company. 'Ma'am, but thank you for that, it was nice not to be crushed.' He gave a quick bow from his position, pressing his hands together in a strange shape before only raising his head. 'I would like passage to the Red line, do you know anyone who could take me?'

Right to the point, oblivious of the situation.
As always.
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[Cirrus]

'What monster is this?!' She inquired mentally as her light frame was boosted into the air. The ground on which she had previously stood was not as stable as she had thought - nor was it as earthen; an actual person had just been waiting there for her. What a creep! Who enjoyed people standing on them? No one she'd ever met, certainly not on Manor Twist anyway. She landed on her feet, on the edgings of The Mangrove, arm outstretched and indignant words all lined up to blast this trespasser to oblivion. Self-righteous rage tinted Ayla's face a tomato red colour, filled her eyes with anger- but she was interrupted. Someone was oblivious to the drama of the situation, apparently, as just before she could unleash her red hatred upon the stranger she heard,

'I would like passage to the Red line, do you know anyone who could take me?' She paused. She thought. She was being rather prudent today, it seemed. Alas, this came at a price: Ayla was reduced to a staring stranger, at least from the boy's point of view. Though you could argue she was right to be transfixed - how odd was this guy?! 'Why is he bowed... I'm no princess! I do things for myself!!' She thought quietly, albeit intensely. This uncalled for respect was somehow disrespectful; she hadn't asked for it; she didn't find it polite - it was just cumbersome! This strange man was doing nothing but taking up space! But his words were far too interesting to just turn him down like that. The Red Line... Ayla thought she'd heard of a place like that, a giant monolithic barrier across the whole world - those were her Grandma's words. Though exactly how much of that she actually understood was up for debate. It must have been far away, she supposed - it was after all one of the places her parent's had famously been; their bounties had increased by thirty million each!

Maybe she'd find a clue to their trail there...

At any rate, there had to be something interesting at the Red Line - otherwise her parents wouldn't have gone in the first place.

So whatever it was... she could go there? Maybe?

... This guy knew what it was, right? 'Cause he wanted to go?...!

"Hey person! What's the Red Line? Is it cool? It's far... isn't it?" Her sudden speech must have shocked - it always did, breaking silences like that. Ayla had no clue what to call this golden-dressed man, so apparently person sufficed. It was true, after all, wasn't it? And you could never be rude with the truth. Unpleasant and ugly, sure - but that was just the very nature of the same, was it not; no one is ever bedazzled by actuality: it is always fiction that makes the headlines... 'Unless you're a pirate,' Perhaps that was what it meant to be a traveller on the high seas; someone so astoundingly brilliant that even fantastical lies paled in comparison to their very existence!~

Ayla was excited. To... to even become that amazing... well, obviously she'd have to find her parents at some point; surely they had something to give her. Whatever that inheritance proved to be... even if it was just wisdom, it would be appreciated; she'd become better for it, at any rate. And then the lies of others would become more and more insignificant.

She was so engrossed in her daydream that she managed to bliss out of the stranger's reply. Though the Sunflower Girl couldn't care less, for her next words were,

"I'm Ayla Royce, designated adventure captain! If you, person, want to go to the Red Line? I'll take you there!" Exclaimed the girl with ribbons in her hair, her frame rocking vehemently as anticipation overwhelmed her. She hopped off the ship's wooden side and onto the deck, landing with a light thud. Her hands were already busy, fishing around the ribbon that encased her sunhat, feeling the shape of the seeds within, finding that particular one...

"Gotcha!"

She pulled out the lozenge-shaped seed, letting its true form bask in the sunlight for a while. Ayla held out her hand, offering it to the man. The seed was back as pitch, with brilliant yellow streaks running across it like fireworks frozen on the casing of something even pulchritudinous. Though she lacked pockets, Ayla produced a stick of chalk. She wrote upon the seed, a scrawled cursive:

AYLA & PERSON
RED LINE BOUND

"This is our contract, Person!" Apparently she'd taken quite a liking to the boy's nickname. Obviously having explained enough, she activated her Devil Fruit's ability, effecting the contract seed to grow instantaneously into a small golden flower with sagitta folia - arrow leaves. Either through chance or through intention, the white chalked words were scribed upon the leaves of the flower, which must have been quite a surprise to those not educated as to Ayla's ability. Though a little tame, to have a flower grow so quickly like that could provide amusement to those easily amused...

"Okay! Let's gooo!~" She smiled, placing the flower on the side of The Mangrove she was closest to...

And promptly walking off the ship. To the cobbles. In the direction of Underboard.

"I totally didn't forget anything back at my house nope! Let's go you silly!" Perhaps she had an ulterior motive... after all, it was true she had left things at her home that, if she was going to play host, she'd need - The Mangrove's tea set was far inferior to her preferred faux-china premier collection!~ And among other things... she hadn't really said goodbye to anyone she knew. Maybe if she learned to plan things-

"Oh! Person? Don't stay still for too long in Underboard. They're a shabby bunch~" A little miscommunication: Ayla actually meant shifty, but you couldn't be too harsh on her - making things up on the fly wasn't exactly her strong point, and adequate warnings weren't really high on the list of priorities. And as she carried on walking, merely expecting Person to follow, she started to elucidate that list: she'd get back to Rain, maybe water the garden a little, pack things up... probably have tea... visit Laure...

They weren't going to be leaving any time soon, it seemed.

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'The wall between me and my location, I'd walk but theres a lot of this in the way..'

He raised his arms to generalise the ocean which surrounded the boat they stood and sat upon, his home-island was huge! The concept of travelling by vessel was never really a problem until he left it.. An annoying problem at that. 'I didn't mean to seem direct, I thought I'd just wait here and ask passers-by.' His plan had admittedly produced much faster results that he previously imagined, the way in which his answer came to him quite literally was what he would consider a nice stroke of luck. Despite his answer, the girl seemed to be withdrawn, paused in motion to the degree of fright, sending Arru into a defensive plea. 'I'm sorry if I got in the way of your day, I'll rest somewhere else unti-' He moved to rise, half-way from getting back onto his feet when the chirp of the girls voice came back into the conversation in full storm. That once sentence brought about all the answers he needed, still pushing himself a little high then the decks wooden floor-boards, and instead onto its rim in a more seated position. He sent a clenched fist right into his prepared open palm, a victorious clap between the impact as a controlled laugh of sorts escaped him. 'Right! You asked how far it was before.. I'm not really sure, but I was told its.. Uh..' He was pointing and head-scratching, trying to boggle the many different monologues of directions he had asked of people over and over, but it seems his new 'designated adventure captain' had something a bit more binding in mind before they continued.

'Are you okay?'
He examined, her rummaging face pretty funny to watch.

'Oh, and what are you.. Ooh.'
Her actions spoke louder than his curiosity, it seemed.

'Contract.. you mean like a fighters contract?' It was the only thing he could reference too, back in Iailoon fighters had to sign contracts towards their competitions and managers so that promises could be formed by ink and blood, it seemed his company wasn't exactly on the same page as him.. Though non the less he felt it rude to leave her without proper practice. With bearing teeth and a thumb up close, he tore part of the skin from it, swiping a cross of quickly producing blood across his opposite hand and clenching it slightly.. Motioning it towards her as if it needed to be fist-bumped, but to get no response. She seemed content with what he had done, or at least what she had done? Either way his end of the deal was marked, if getting a ride meant indenting his life to her for a while, it was the least of his worries. It was the only kind of pact he knew, his country knew, there was no value in words over the other live in favours. And though what Ayla had created was obviously nothing along the lines of what Arru had thought he'd provided, it was said and done, she was off.

'Where are we going? Did you forget something?' She was quick to respond, claiming she had in fact not forgotten anything, yet they were walking away from the ship. another thing that came to mind in slight hindsight of what he had witnessed, was the appearance of the flower in such speed and mystery. Though it apparently had gone right over his head, whether it felt like the norm from a man who lived in a city of freaks and the abnormal.. Or even his mind-set, it wasn't so much who he was with right now that was at the front of his mind, nor what magical powers their possessed. He needed passage, and this woman.. Girl? Seemed happy enough to do so, which was a better situation that he was in ten minutes ago randomly wandering around this maze of an island. But as his misread pact proclaimed, he had to follow her until she had finished her end of the deal, and if that meant walking back into the city to do something? He was in no place to decline.

'Uhm, Its Arru. My name is Arru.' He left his cooking gear on the ship, they'd no doubt be coming back, and she may need help moving things. The dock's seemed desolate despite its many idle vehicles of the sea, his new companies strange word to the wise didn't seem to apply to this very quiet part of the port. 'I don't suppose we'll be very long, right? Its not like I'm in a rush but, the sooner the better y'know..' From the casual stroll his hands took their place at the back of his head, an idle tune drifting out of his lips as they retraced their steps back up and towards the town. It took a moment to click, well much more than a moment when you think about the time between.. Though curiosity had gotten the better of him, or at least his subconscious, eye balling his new friends hat going up and down.

'So, that uh, plant.. Seed even.'
He leaned in, trying to spot any kind of upper-sleeve antics.
'Are you like, magic or something?'

[Cirrus]

"Are you like, magic or something?" Ayla smiled, but seeing as she hadn't actually turned around, it was really more of a moot gesture; something private for herself, a little secrecy here and there to help set up the allure of the oncoming adventure. Not that she had thought that through, at all. Really, she was smiling because this was the first time an outsider had even seen her ability. Everyone she knew on Manor Twist had been pretty accepting of the power; they just absorbed the fact that Ayla could grow flowers pretty speedily - it didn't really affect their lives; after all, most of the people she liked to hang around with didn't even live in Rain Estate. This fresh perspective really shed some light on her growing prowess. Magic, hmm? ... Yeah, she liked the sound of that. And perhaps that was why, instead of turning around and calmly explaining that she had eaten a fruit that completely destroyed her ability to swim in return for granting her the capability of growing gardens everywhere, Ayla said something a little more sensational. First impressions were everything, didn't they always say? And so she was first to impress upon this stranger, who was now her patron, that her capacity to grow vegetation was no mere gift of a weird fruit - no. No, Arru - Arru the Person - had been right the first time. Thusly, Ayla swivelled, a smirk on her face but her eyes likely belying the truth anyway, and she spoke.

"Yeah, I'm magic - like a witch!~" And Ayla walked, squaring up to the golden guy, noticing the blood on his thumb, trying not to squeal, trying to keep the ruse up just- a- little- longer!


In her hands were sunflower seeds. She promptly planted them on Arru's body, the little kernels rustling in the folds of his clothing, the nests of his hair. Ayla winked. The flowers grew. Arru became silly.

Well.
Sillier.

He looked like a clown! In his hair were huge yellow flowerheads, like hats, and the same from head to toe; if some abstract observer were to guess which of the two was meant to be The Sunflower Child, you'd be hard pressed not to forgive them for choosing Arru. Ayla cottoned on to the silliness of her patron's appearance too, and she suddenly lost the ability to form coherent speech; this incapability was replaced by a fit of infectious giggles, played out in the chipper voice of a little girl and bubbling around the place in one big mellifluous mess.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!~ YOUWASALL- IWASALL- MAGIC ANDTHEN- HAHAHAHAHA!~ JUSTLOOKATYOUYOUSILLY!" Once she had managed to calm herself down to a state with some semblance to appropriateness, Ayla brushed any remaining plants off of Arru. She'd probably save the whole Devil Fruit thing for later when-

She stopped, frozen rigid like a bare tree in winter. Her face went icy pale. A glimpse of silver, that's all it was. A glimpse of silver and a long hard glare at feverishly fervent eyes; eyes full of want, full of lust. They'd been too static. The Underboardians had woken up, the Underboardians had gotten dressed, had their breakfast (in the middle of the day!), gathered their weapons, sniffed out the value in the air and crept up ever- so- slowly on the girl and her patron.

Simply put, they were due to be mugged.

"Uhm, Arru dude. You're already bloody... does th- does that mean you're an awesome fighter person with nothing to lose and something to prove and you can never back down because right now we're surrounded by very very shab- shifty people and we'd really better run back to Rain if we wanna get their with all our belongings in tact I hope you're not carrying anything valuable on you but you're FREAKING GOLDEN EVERYBODY ahem golden yeah..." She breathed again, her hyperventilated litany over for now. She hadn't actually communicated anything meaningful to her cohort, which would likely prove regrettable in the event she wanted to enact the plan which she totally hadn't just thought of. But then again, there was no shame in the truth - maybe she had just thought of the plan - maybe the plan was so simple that it required just one word for all its details to be announced to the world, loud and clear, strident, urgent and a variety of other adjectives they could discuss once they'd finished the plan. Of course, that plan was to-

"Run!!"

And so, Ayla found herself running again.
And then she stopped.

She didn't remember a wall being here before?!

'Since when did walls have rough hands?!~' She abstracted, looking up because of course that's the first thing you do when a supposedly sans-hands, sans-life object grabs you by the shoulders and raises you off the ground, and at arms length. Of course, it wasn't a wall. It was a person. An angry, poor, distinctly smelly and meanface, person. She couldn't reach her seeds, she couldn't reach the man, but she couldn't be helpless. She was little! And little people were all gifted with the ability to squirm like a worm~ She rocked and writhed from side to side, jockeyed and jived and screamed and cried until the man couldn't take it anymore. She was dropped to the floor, unharmed right down to her core.

"Phew! That was a chore!" She grinned, relieved that she was no longer pinned. Ayla began to run, and it was only when she was sure she was safe when she realised what she had done. She'd forgotten Mr. Arru - had he made it through?

She'd had enough. Of the guilt. So she called back behind herself, hoping for a response. The Sunflower Girl wasn't quite sure just what she'd do if she'd somehow managed to get her patron into mishaps.

...Apart from maybe try and save him of course.

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'A witch huh..'

The term wasn't exactly exactly one he was common with, it actually got him to lean back from his previous inspecting glance and ponder over what that actually meant. He fought a woman called the witch once, she did a lot of acrobatics and evasive tactics that she called magic.. Maybe that was it, Was she some awesome fighter in disguise? If anything the thought along of the little girl hopping around opponents like a circus act gave him a respect for her skills that have not even been clarified. Arru was like that, it wasn't the talk, it was the walk. That buck potential, even if currently imaginary hate him curious of her potential outside of her unique quirk. Despite the sparkles in his eyes being of good intentions and expectations towards Ayla, what it blinded him from was what she was doing to him right under his nose. The sensation was quite strange, things growing with such pace and and freedom around you, like little wires crawling about your person looking for a place to shine. The visual representation however was much less cryptic or poetic in detail, as an array of yellow petals emerged and danced about his hair and clothing, oddly fitting to his already golden detail. The sensation had caused him to pause in his casual stroll completely, his arms slightly arced outwards and his eyes trying to catch a glimpse of the flowers which dangled from his hair.

'Woooah.. I'm like a human flower pot..'
He found some amusement in bobbing his head, and body along with the flowers.

'Some of these plants go really well with things to.'
His cooking soul kicking in with the recipes listed subconsciously.

'Haha, yea.. I look pretty ridiculous.' He hardly shared the ability to franticly laugh as much as she did at the sight, maybe he couldn't find it as funny as his perspective of it wasn't in its entirety, none the less the thought of her potential being presented made his face light up, a chuckle escaping him as numerous ends and stalks tickled his body. 'So uh, I don't think I'll be able to be taken seriously like this.' And with that she had already taken action, the plants retreating in the same fashion they arrived, fluttering and riding the wind rather than turning frail and deteriorating. It was an interesting way to see this kind of life depart, it only made his suspicions of her origins raise in importance. What did she do to get this.. Parents? An evil trial into some mythical forest maybe? The Grand line was much more of a mysterious place than he imagined from the tall urban towers of Iailoon, he wouldn't put it past these waters to hold something even beyond understanding more-so than his new companions special skill.

'I'm thankful for the visual presentation, though you didn't really make clear of what.. you..' He moved to catch up, previously engaged in head scratching and adjusting his clothes to keep the brisk footing Ayla naturally practiced, but quick to catch up as she had seemingly ground to a halt. 'You're not very consistent in anything at all, are you.' What he had failed to notice right away was the rigid posture of hers, the glare across the cobbled path they walked upon which occupied more than just themselves apparently. The cluster of randomised men of different features and weapons, though equally sporting a more lower-class if not plain dirty appearance about them which just screamed desperation and violence. The blockade they had formed wasn't exactly intimidating for the confidant fighter, he didn't even think they'd try anything if they were affiliated with the previous group who threw down with him. No doubt they would be an obstacle though, or intent to be if they kept blocking the path like that. And via his accomplices experience of the area, she clarified their intent in quite a frantic fashion. 'So what do we do about them? I'm not really in the mood for fighting people right now..' He expected some tactical route or means of diverting danger.

'Wait, why should w- And you're gone.'
She was light on her feet, that's for sure.

'Looks like we're left with the dumber of the two.' A gruff voice said amongst the mob, smacking weapons and fists agaisnt one another as an attempt to intimidate. 'She'll be right back probably, she's taking me to the Red-line, see.' He wasn't sure whether the collective laughter was towards his goal or ally, it certainly couldn't have been her intent. The groups motive however wasn't something they had to exactly disguise, once realising how oblivious their victim was, it was only a matter of using sheer number to collect whatever valuables his shiny clothes possessed. Though much like the previous who sought conflict over consumables, a switch flicked opposite in Arru's mind, an instinctive mechanism of combat which had mug after mug meeting his fist and being in turn sent crashing into the ground. They used their numbers the best they could, many of them landing some impressive hits on the naturally prepared fighter, though being bashed into a bloody pulp was actually something that the Golden boy of Iailoon was used to being subject to.. A lot.

Much like the previous ruffians, these people were tailored to their environment, at the top of their own food chain, not Arru's. With a click of his nose and a wipe of his cheek, the group lay in a neat circle of attempts around him. He wasn't used to dragging out conflict like this without resting, eating even, admittedly it took its toll.. But maybe not as much toll as his opposition had taken on his behalf. As if the norm he tip-toed over the incapacitated, the unique chirp of his comrade chimed from the backdrop, no doubt she had done her own part.. But how was left to question. 'Were those guys after you? Or just anyone..' He hadn't comprehended that they were simply out to steal peoples things, where he came from people randomly fought all the time, but never to steal or excessively harm. Their justice system was special in the sense that whatever crime they had committed would simply be done to them ten fold, which made it hardly worth the effort when everyone knew everyone. 'You Uuh.. you got a little something.' ignorant to his own beaten body, leaning in with a light gesture rather than attempt to fix it himself, he motioned to the large smudge of dirt across her face no doubt obtained in her tussle. 'So are we doing back? You started running this way, but I had to deal with these guys first.' Her attempts to escape were seen as tactical.

That smidgeon of respect he had for her went a long way.

[Cirrus]

(OOC: Okay so basically, very few people live here as the place was ransacked and hasn't actually fully recovered from the damage. Despite the grandeur of its surface, Manor Walk is actually derelict. )

'So are we doing back? You started running this way, but I had to deal with these guys first.'
"Maybe I had to go get stuff really really urgently and that sounded totally plausible and we just moved on."

...

"And thanks," Ayla said, wiping the dirt from her face. In all her fervour she hadn't noticed the marring mud fall upon herself - but what was a good flower without a little soil anyway? To be honest she hadn't minded all that much. Ayla paused, trying to avoid just blankly staring into Arru's eyes like some helpless damsel who's just been saved from a little bit of trouble. Regardless of her distinctly damsel-esque actions, she wanted to be thought of as strong and independent and stuff; she couldn't have the first person to offer patronage to her thinking she wasn't fit for the job of getting him wherever it was he had said he wanted to go, now could she? And it was this line of thinking that led to the Sunflower Girl pivoting swiftly about, causing her sundress to flutter a little, before walking off with that bobbing, springy step she had.

"I already told ya where we're going, silly! I just have to pick up a few things from my house and we'll be gone~" She called behind herself, expecting the golden-clad teenager to be in her wake. Or maybe at her side - they could even become friends! Ah- but she shouldn't have been too excited about that prospect... after all, the point was simply to get this guy some place and then ditch him. Arru wasn't looking to hang around.

She'd conveniently ignored his question on the nature of the Underboardians; though it seemed pretty obvious to her that these people were poor and they lacked things. If you loitered in their territory, they were more than happy to assume all your things were weighing you down, and felt obliged to relieve you of your burdening bounty. It was pretty solid logic, at least to Ayla's mind.

The wooden cave-like environs started to lighten up and broaden out, with little intrepid rays of light poking through the gaps, like the first bars of sun peering through the breaking soil. They were emerging like brave stems of plants, growing greener, growing bolder. It wasn't really what was on the girl in the flowering hat's mind, her thoughts were still focused on actually leaving Manor Twist properly. The more she ruminated, the more she realised that she'd been just a little too eager to pack up shop and leave at the drop of a hat - Ayla didn't remember locking the door; Ayla didn't remember watering the plants; Ayla didn't remember freezing all her food, or giving it all away so it didn't spoil and turn her previous abode into some half-baked haunted house! She really needed to be much more careful, much more meticulous about her things. If you leave the hole to wonderland unmarked and unguarded, just how many people will fall in? Just how many people are ready for it? And it was something like that... she guessed. Her house wasn't exactly the most orthodox place on the block.

She'd probably warn Arru about that at some point.
Probably.

The light of Manor Walk must have been dazzling compared to the relative gloom of Underboard. Large expanses of homes and vivid happy cobbles stretched out for an eternity - the sky almost shone, were it not for the fact that this was a place on the penultimate floor of a huge tower. The wind blew from Ayla's left; they must have been near an awning: a spiracle that let in the fresh salty air rejuvenate those who lived here. It was probably the Sunflower Girl's favourite aspect of this level of the tower. Manor Walk just seemed so alive.

As luck would have it, they had come out near the Central Core - an array of crazy staircases that led to other levels of Manor Twist. If they'd had the wits about them to look back at the conduit through which they'd ascended so many metres into the air and into another realm, they'd see it was a pale white set of stairs too, hidden like teeth in the murk of Underboard. It mattered little. The exit, the direction, was always waiting for them - they could always take the time to explore instead.

Linearity was a concept lost on her, truly.

"So Arru, this is Manor Walk~ We just go up another level and we'll be at my house."

...

"Or, we can go see where that wind is coming from!~ There's a great view of the sea from up here~" She trilled, grabbing his hand suddenly and rushing to her abject right, against the wind, the joy of it all lifting the corners of her lips into an unbridled smile.

She was too busy giggling and being joyous to notice their mirth echoing off the walls.

Manor Walk was empty.
Manor Walk was dead.

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'Oh, so your house is this way?'
He glanced back at the mess of gents on the walk-way along the waters.
'Aah, you knew those guys would be there.'
He didn't explain his logic, noises and nods of approval was all that he needed.

'Hey, you never answered m- Hm, guess we're going.' He turns away for five seconds and the little minx had shimmied off with the wind. She was light enough to flow along with where ever the current may desire to take her that's for sure, and as one who payed very close attention the to the whispering curls in the breeze, it twirled around this one like no ones business. But why? Whats so special about the witch and her vibrant persona that had him following her every step. In any other situation he would've just hung around the ship, its not like his presence was needed on this little luggage collecting.. Well maybe it was more desired if people like before could punch him over this featherweight girl who chirped ahead of him, but it no doubt made him curious as to how someone like her could survive in a place like this in her state, this place seemed seriously cut-throat, so what else was she hiding beneath that colourful character? Guess he had plenty of time to find out.

The golden warrior hadn't really experienced the inner systems and unique work of the inner Manor, being admittedly scared of stepping into the belly of the beast had him twisting and turning on its outskirts for answers, with the need for a vessel being his excuse to not dig deeper into this obvious maze. With a guide, a little more confidence bloomed, hardly a pun intended.. But none the less allowed him to ease up a little, fighting before was more of a common practice, nothing like that would stir his nature if they were going to be of that skill. The girl seemed to know exactly where she was coming and going, to the degree that once she had hastily darted her eyes around every possibility in regards to route, she eventually decided one with an aura of knowledge. This was under the assumption that she did in fact know what could only be described as the most complicated living space this side of the Red line that he'd seen so far like the back of her hand. He had himself ducking and swerving around strange protrusions and off angled archways, to the degree that he had to pull his abdomen back and swerve around the girl who had suddenly stopped right in her tracks.

'Is this your hoooou...' Whether he was trying to say house or a very pronounced how was in a question of its own, but what lay ahead of the rest was the architecture of where he had been led. 'Woooah..' He moved to what he presumed was the centre, the opening in at the top and the stairs that snaked their way up and down about the thousand of doors sent a single beam of light down to the bottom, to connect and spread through the lower levels in accompaniment with the numerous pathways directly out of the area which also threw light into this silent district. As weird as it was to say, Arru was never common to natural light, the towers of Iailoon spanned heights and angles that the sun would very rarely breach its shanty sectors. Light is as much purchased their with your abode, you want to bask in it, you'll need to climb both theoretically and practically. What was off key around the whole situation was what Ayla had stopped for, surely she had been here before enough times to not be fully taken away by its wonders.. Yet there she stood with those gleaming big eyes. It was only then the introduction of the location and choices had dawned on him, he didn't try to imagine how long he had stood there, more on simply answering as quickly as possible instead.

'Uuuh..'
This wasn't going so well.
'The wind, huh..'

He moved back beside Ayla, crouching down so that his height mimicked hers, maybe too close for comfort while he closed his eyes and took a very sharp and audible intake of air, before pushing it out like some sort of pressure had built up deep inside him in that small moment. 'A southern wind, its a bit violent though.' He mumbled to himself, wasn't like Ayla was interested in his strange habits and traditions. He shoved his hands in his pockets, the wind which encased them like objects in its path perked his ears, pointing to its direction as a choice and answer to the girls previous question. 'But uh, should we get your stuff first?' his head slid back again, trying to grasp the thought that one of these houses was her's.. One of these nine-ka-jillion houses. Okay, maybe there were a little less houses. 'Unless you kinda live up there.. a lot.' He tightened his arms around one another, emitting a constant drone of thought before looking to the route she had previously suggested as an alternate choice. 'We sho- Eugh?' As the routine practice of being unable to finish his sentences continued, before his slow paced thought process could come to a conclusion, he had already been pulled in the direction of the wind and waters. Though he moved at a faster pace than usual sure, he wasn't exactly speeding as Ayla may have intended. Needless to say his idle jog might have slowed her down a little.

'Wooooah..' The view was.. Well it was.. Eeeh..
'Where is everyone then..' He expected them to just be out here instead?!

'There was no one around bar those guys who tried to fight me since I left that kinda zig-zaggy place further north.' He tried to imitate a zig-zag motion with his available hand, wasn't doing so well. Still moving as far as Ayla intended at probably half the speed she desired, he suddenly stopped as they reached the vast open view, a real spectacle once again discarded by other interests as Arru's stomach made a very unique kind of growl. 'Haha, I forgot to eat today..' Even without the use of his hand he would've continued, working away into his pockets to find three small, wrapped up packages which he balanced on himself rather than the floor or a rock formed shelf. Once untied revealed a smell which had been impressively encased within its container, nothing complicated either, simply an immaculate and organised bowl of noodles.. no doubt the other two were the same seeing their shape and size were identical.

'You can have one if you want.' He had balanced one on his head, sitting down with another placed by his side, his opened one in one hand as he simply sniffed away at it for a while with coupled sighs of satisfaction. The sunset was gleaming, glorious to the eye with such a lack of obstruction, the reflection on the oceans surface had its distant flames dancing towards them, slowly retreating from view.

'... These noodles are delicious..'

[Cirrus]

The auspicious rays intertwined with the squall like tangled vines, delivering only pleasure to Ayla, as evidenced by the smile that lit up her face. There was an eerie joy that came with being the only one around to delight in such simple phenomena. Of course, such a joy made one forget that at the end of their left arm was a hand, gripping another hand with such fervour that it might just hurt, and attached to that other hand was a person with emotions and feelings and desires - simple desires - nothing so drastic, but rather more basic and understandible, like the desire to be free from the damned impressive grip of a little girl who runs away from a fight no matter what and should not be capable of such strength. Or maybe those desires were slightly less self-centred and more focused on generosity; maybe those desires were not dissimilar to the volition to share. Of course, this must have been it - she heard the words,

'You can have one if you want.' And so Ayla looked over, obviously interested in whatever anyone was proffering - apparently for free. The sound of a case opening reached her ears and told her that she really was as hungry as the enrapturing aroma of the liberated food within made her feel. How long had they been here... she'd definitely set off at the middle of the day, but as she looked back out to see, the cradle of wonder, mother of hope, she saw the glistening ball of fire dying dramatically, extinguishing itself over the darkening blues with blood-shots of crimson splayed across the sky. The sunset was a murder. But perhaps not of the taste for adventure? Perhaps with Arru around her ambition wouldn't die - they needed to get to the Red Line, they needed to get away from the repetitive death of sparkling blue sky, clear of ambiguous white; they needed to become innocent witnesses to the natural order, to surmount the chains of normality with their obliviousness. Was that not adventure? Was that not what her parents were out doing right at this very moment?

What was in these noodles, nostalgia?

Something delicious, apparently.

"They're alright." Ayla grunted, trying to hold back the inevitable choking in her throat. She'd never really been around a stranger this late... at least, not one that made her miss her parents so dearly. You never see flowers in the dark. The colours fade to grey. Only compound eyes can discern the change from day to night. It is to those that cannot communicate, to those who do not speak circular language, that this lie-in-transit perpetuates.

"We should go, silly." She half-chirped, the zest of life returning to her voice unwillingly, her happy mask rebuilding itself. She turned, obviously hoping to act on her words, but found herself stopping once more. She was being halted by a pair of staring eyes, stark white fur, and a posture that simply stated this is a hostage situation, hands in the air and nobody move. But Ayla didn't speak cat - and she was never going to take the time to translate when such an adorable bundle of cuteness was sitting right there! She rushed the cat, scooping it up with ease and, despite the best efforts of the feline, didn't receive a single scratch from its subsequent fury.

"Look Arru! A cat!" She exclaimed, joy fully returning to her voice.

"We should go find its owner - or take it with us! We have to get home now! I still have milk and cookies and fish and whatever cats like." She breathed, enthusiasm coursing through her veins like a drug. But at least she remembered her manners.

"And thanks for the noods Arru - I didn't realise how hungry I was!" She smiled, gesturing for them to continue onwards. The cat's expression was nonplussed, a tangled mixture between displeasure, confusion, and a little more displeasure - the special kind only those of a feline disposition can achieve: the pussed off look of 'I am not amused' that struck fear into the hearts of cat owners everywhere!

Ayla did not own a cat.
She did not know the look.

She was oblivious to the natural order.
Normalcy couldn't touch her.

_________________
Time passed and Ayla and Arru eventually made it to the next floor, where the Sunflower Girl lived. It was a slightly wet environment, with what appeared to be facets lining the walls and ceilings. If they were any sort of perceptive, they'd have noticed the distinct lack of accompanying drains. But the power of ignorance had its downsides. At any rate, Ayla led the pair to her humble abode, which actually spanned an impressive area, not dissimilar to that of a typical mansion one might expect. What one wouldn't expect, however, was the presence of a bunch of strangers in your house, holding your things with a practised interest.

It was an auction.

"What the... Arru! W-what is this? Who are these people? HEY PEOPLE. WHO ARE YOU. WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE?" Ayla was thoroughly perplexed. The cat was happy. If she were looking at it now, she wouldn't have been too pleased - but there were far more pressing things at hand, like the abundance of affluent anonymous people strolling casually through her house, taking her things.

She looked at Arru helplessly. What could she do? There were far too many people to even begin to discern who was the cause of all this!

"That guy! That guy with the hammer! HEY! HEEEEEY. MISTER. STOP SELLING MY THINGS." Well, that had done it. She'd disturbed the peaceful riot; at once all eyes were on her. So... she'd better say some brave words about justice and totally articulate her fury with a stern look on her face!

"I'm Ayla Royce, and this is my house. These are my things. So get your hands off you butts! I'll set Arru on you - and this little rascal!~"

Of course all credibility goes out the window when you reveal your back up to be a cat.

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'.. Alright?'
It took a moment to sink in, this was his best..
'Hm.. Alright.'

For some strange reason that single comment made a spark, not so much life-changing though equally explosive for the bond him and this girl would no doubt slightly bond over the coming events and travels as was requested. This delicacy he had placed in her hands free of charge, for there was no other means of giving another food, was something he could list off in procedure and ingredients in his sleep.. No doubt create it blinded and with one arm behind his back just for show of value. And to this girl, of whom he hadn't stop staring at during this entire dramatic moment set in his mind. 'Alright..' He became a broken record outside of his own head, maybe even creepy to the degree of just watching her eat while he subconsciously ate himself, and just as fast a moment he looked off to the view which his company seemed to find so mesmerizing. That was it, there and then, the trip had become something more than travelling and punching people in the face. He had something to prove, something to strive for outside of his primary professions of fist flailing in an artistic manner. He clutched his eating utensil, looking up the sky in maybe an expression a little overdoing the moment, none the less.. 'It shall be my climb..' A climb, which corresponds with a pact previously made with the girl was basically objectives that either side of the agreement can make to elongate it.. The pact cannot be completed until both are completely satisfied with the completion of one-another's climbs.

'Oh, sorry.' She had wandered off, no doubt mentioned her departure though he was busy being a doofus.. It make this moment a bit problematic, he didn't want to randomly talk about personal goals while she clearly wasn't interested. 'Right, on my way.' He'll save it for later. Cleaning up the remains and packaging his tools and foods back into his bag, he hopped to his feet and caught up with the girl, who much as it should not be to his suprise had found another thing to be amazed with. He didn't see it at first, simply pondering over the girl being crazy enough to see whatever that mind of hers thought of, she could magically create flowers after all, imaginary creatures and friends wasn't that much of a reach.

'Are you sure you're not just seeing th-'
Meow~
'Oh.'

He too had been caught by its piercing glare, the eyes which darted back and forth between the two obstacles of its own daily activities. He wasn't sure what to do with it either.. Ayla had enough of an idea as to what to do with it maybe after it hadn't either ran or attacked us in self-defence or panic, but Arru was finding himself playing mirrors with it, its head tilting left and right with his own. Though what was not expected, as he moved to interact with it as some sort of guardian to the otherwise curious and still little girl, was a surge of happiness which he only absorbed from one this in this world: Compliments of the consumer. This, this was more like it, though his attempts to stack this over her previous judgement of the dish wasn't working as well as he'd hope, maybe abolish the climb before it was voice in reality was coming up short. None the less the tingle of knowing it was appreciated seem to kick him into some sort of overdrive, leaning down to the suddenly flinching cat with a smile, taking a sharp intake of breath before resting his hand on its head. Ayla seemed confused, though it was probably more down to her lack of knowledge on the feline ahead of them.

'This one is quite headstrong, I don't think it's in a contract with anyone..' He gave it a little ruffle, before long the cat was circling his feet and head-butting the limp hand in order to stroke itself. He picked it up, looking it over before placing it back down, it seemed to be attracted to the combined aromas of the two, thus refused to leave. 'I guess we have a new friend.' As they continued, the cat did indeed follow after a few gestures to do so by the Golden dressed man. It didn't take them long to get to the house once all other distractions for the girl had been pushed aside, entering the open area with quite an astounded look on his face as the ambience went from desolate to jam-packed. The place was full of people handling things in the rather large area. Ayla seemed tempered by it all, as if it wasn't supposed to be like this.. Arru just saw it as an explanation for the silence. His name however, after she had caused enough of a scene to get everyone's attention, was immediately dropped as means of intimidation. 'Uuh..' They seemed to not so much react as simply stare in disbelief in the moments events, but Ayla seemed very stirred by this result, so one would presume they that were not allowed in her home after all.

'Mm, its a bit strange to be handling someone else's things in their own house anyway.' They looked to one another, then back to Arru who had placed his tools beside the entrance. This place had become predictable, if you don't size yourself up to people they'd either badmouth you or try to beat you up.. Even if you did they'd probably still try to beat you up, but they might run instead. 'This cat doesn't seem to be much of a fighter though, you'll have to just fight me.' As he cracked his knuckles, mumbles seemed to spread amongst the masses, a select few gesturing to Arru's more unique apparel before faces in turn went from cocky to cautious. Arru wasn't used to the delay before these guys started throwing themselves about, turning to Ayla with a shrug, gesturing to the group who didn't even fight back. 'I can't punch them unless they punch me first y'know?' His name had already been spread around by the looks, at least enough to have them hesitant and contemplate ceasing their practice. 'I don't like these guys looks though..' He rose his hands, ready for whatever they had up their sleeves.

Hopefully a lot less than Ayla.