Meetings and Break ups. (With Noland)

[Scorpion (Midknightblu)]

There has never truth to the saying ‘so close, yet so far away’. Jaycobb studied the layout of the docks as he snuck about that night. He was sent to the North Blue, of all places, to follow some people after they made a deal with marines. As to who the marines were making a deal with? That was unknown currently.



Ahh… So close, and yet sooooo far away from his family, his wife a child, the thoughts that spurred him on during long nights alone. And now those feelings were amplified because he was so close to home. The locket that he kept on himself has been opened and closed many many times during this long day of waiting. The entire day was just recon, and first he tracked down the marines that he was supposed to be tailing, easy enough to do… Marines were drunks and party goers by nature. The specific ones he was going to follow were actually in a group together the entire day, only getting into a few fights, and staying relatively sober (suspicious behavior for a marine if you ask him.). The day wore on, and the gunslinger just stayed out of sight and out of the spotlight. Even though he once had to pretend he was drunk as they came his way, stumbling about, a drunkard in a bar was more forgettable than someone sober.



The day drew to a close and the marines had started to head towards the docks of the port. Jaycobb followed, like the entire day, and found a nice hideaway as they stopped in the midst of a bunch of boxes. The marines were approached by another group after a while, pirates if their outfits were any indication. And instead of the normal brawl ensuing, the leader of the marine group (Heathcliff from what Jaycobb overheard earlier.) shook hands with the unknown pirate group leader. The gunslinger sulked closer to try and overhear the conversation. If he was going to have to sneak on a pirate ship this was going to be more troublesome than he originally thought.

[☆彡 Youniverse]

Amino Island home to the renowned Serine City, this city is packed with casinos, bars, clubs and other similar facilities. Although the crime rate is high, the law enforcement team aren't slackers and know how to get the job done.. well, most of the law enforcement team. It's a city of action and adventure, Noland thought that he would able to capture some pretty sweet pictures in a city such as this one. He had spent most of the day exploring and taking all sorts of pictures, it had been a very enjoyable day, to say the least. Now that the sun was setting and night was just around the corner, Noland decided to head to the docks in hopes that he could catch a very beautiful sunset. Though he'd need to act fast if he was catch the picture since the sunset wasn't going to wait for anyone.

After a few minutes of running around, asking for directions and almost nearly getting mugged, Noland finally found the docks and just in the nick of time too! Raising the camera to his eye like always, he fiddled with the lens a bit until it was in focus, taking a deep breath, he pressed the button which took the picture at the perfect moment. Looking at his catch, Noland smiled, he was normally "cursed" with bad luck so it was a little surprising that he had managed to arrive just in time for the sunset. Looked like Lady Luck finally decided to cut him some slack. Just as he was about to leave, Noland noticed something funny about his picture. Not only had he captured the sunset, he had captured a picture of a marine captain and some sort of thug shaking hands! Turning back to where he took a picture of the sunset, he scanned the area of the men in the photo, once he had caught sight of them, he immediately ducked behind some crates.

"Oh no no no no nooo..." Noland would mutter to himself

What a fool he was, of course he was never going to get a taste of some good luck. Looks like his sense of fulfillment was short lived, the best he could do now was pray that those men had not noticed him or things were going to turn quite ugly.

(OOC: Sorry for such a short post, next post will be way longer.)

[Scorpion (Midknightblu)]

The sunset would have been very beautiful, and Jaycobb would have agreed. However the noises that Noland made alerted the men in the meeting. “What the hell was that?” Heathcliff asked, as if he needed an answer before the two men that were with him went to go check the area. Damn the hells. Jaycobb stated, he looked down at where the noise came from and saw a camera first, then the idiot holding it. Damnit kid! He exclaimed, probably louder than need be, the marines starting to shout and head over to the boxes, the pirates themselves ran off like cowards that they were.



Jaycobb had a split second to think, and during that time he kicked a box forward and shot his normally loaded rubber bullets into the box, crashing it into one of the men, the other man having avoided it. Come on kid! He exclaimed, not really explaining anything that was going on, but roughly grabbing the photographer and running off with him.



If Noland took a second to look at the man, he would, (or should as general stereotypes.) think gunslinger. The man wore a dusty leather coat, a large cowboy hat, and was even wielding a gun in his hand, pointing it behind him and shooting blindly at the man still chasing them.



Heathcliff, still at the docks watching the two be chased pulled out a portable den den muschi. “Hello, Commander H calling i- Yes the meeting wa- Sir.” He paused listening to the other end before finally replying, “we were seen, some gunslinger and another photographer, they didn’t see our faces, but did see the others.” Waiting again… “There was one in a coat and cowboy hat, older and the other was..” He started to describe the two to the headquarters that he came from.



Back to the man and the boy, Jaycobb had the photographer by the sleeve, and after having made a few twists and turns… He finally stopped in an alley way, they had lost the sight of the two pursuants, Jaycobb having unloaded his gun, he started to reload it deftly. What the hell were you doing there kid? He asked, still loading the gun with skilled hands, the bullets being half rubber/orange, and half metal/iron. Do you even know who those were? Or what you did? He berated, like one would to a child.

[☆彡 Youniverse]

"Oh gawd no. Not today, please." Noland would think to himself as he heard some footsteps approach the area which he was hiding in.

This was bad, really bad. Just when he thought things were swinging his direction, life had to say no and punch him square in the face. Several thoughts raced Noland's mind, should he run, should he fight..? Fighting wasn't his thing but he wasn't much of an athlete so maybe even if he ran the group would still catch up to him. His best bet was to continue to lie low and pray for some sort of miracle to happen. Suddenly, he heard some sort of voice, masculine and sounded like the voice of an older male. The voice seemed to be cursing at him, turning to see where it came from, he noticed some sort of man with a gun and a cowboy style hat. H-Hold up, a gun!? Was Noland gonna get shot!? Scratch everything I said about today being a good day and all, if today was the day he was gonna die, then that certainly wasn't a great thing at all! Though the man seemed to be hiding aswell, maybe he wasn't part of the group and was.. spying? Whatever he was, Noland hoped that he wouldn't be on the other side of that pistol!

He noticed the man kick a crate into one of the men, oh boy, looked like this man wasn't really a bad guy after all. He noticed the man charge straight for him and in that exact moment, Noland was pondering on whether to allow the man to approach him or get the hell away from him. Though he was so caught up with his thoughts, the man managed to grab him and drag him away from the scene before Noland could make up his mind. 

Things had escalated rather quickly for Noland. At first, he had just arrived here to take a picture of what was a beautiful sunset but now he's being dragged away by what looked like a gunslinger of some sort. 

"H-Hey! Where are you taking me!?" Noland would ask, part of him wondering why on earth he'd let himself be dragged away so easily by a stranger armed with a gun!

However if the man really wanted to kill and dispose of Noland, he'd have done it already, so for now Noland allowed himself to be dragged away. Plus, he couldn't really slip out of the man's tight grip and by the looks of things, there was quite the large age gap between the two. Moments later, Noland and the man were in some sort of alleyway. Noland panted and tried to catch his breath whilst wiping away the sweat on his face. 

Wow, what a day. Looks like this would be the last time Noland would ever take a picture of the sunset again. Noland watched the man reload his gun and listened to his questions.

"I was there *pant* taking some pictures and then *pant* I spotted some people and before I knew it, you dragged me into some sort of alleyway.... thanks for rescuing me, I guess."
 
Noland extended his hand for a handshake, he really did owe this man a Thank You. If he hadn't had been there, who knows where Noland would be right now. Most likely at the bottom of the sea.

"I'm Noland. Nice to meet you, Mr...I didn't quite catch your name."

[Scorpion (Midknightblu)]

Jaycobb to the boy’s hand and shook it, my name is Scorpion. He said, obviously not his real name, but it was all that he was giving the other. Looking at his weapon and spinning the revolver portion of it, he then slid it into his holster… Pulling out the other weapon he had and checking it as well. It’s nice to meet you lad… Wait, pictures? He asked, his gaze going from the weapon in his hands to the mushi that he was holding. Did you get a picture of the pirates that were there? He asked, but before he could have been answered, noises were heard and the gunslinger grabbed the boy gruffly by the scruff of his shirt and led him further down the alley way, going out the other side into a festival. Apparently there was something going on tonight, and even though Jaycobb didn’t know what, he silently thanked the gods of this. We can loose our tail in this. The gunslinger stated and let go of Noland, walking along the crowd that was noisy around them.



So… What do you do? Just take pictures? And do you have family? He asked innocently, he didn’t think the answer to that question would be a yes… And he was just trying to work things out, bad luck dictates that the marines will be hunting them both down soon… But that’s what bad luck says, carelessness says that the marines will give up by morning. But I never really cared much for Murphey. He said silently, walking around the festivities.



Around them there were colors, lights, gambling, alcohol and… Well just about anything that you can imagine. Fireworks went off every now and again, but those obviously weren’t part of the main event. The festival seemed to be a neutral zone, pirates and marines celebrating together, having fun, getting drunk, fighting, (although that last part wasn’t abnormal) just no one was dying. Do you know why everyone is so… Well… Not murderey? He asked Noland, slightly confused by the ambiance of the festival, it was really too… Tame. So it must be something important.

[☆彡 Youniverse]

Noland felt the man's tight grip and tried to adjust his grip to suit the handshake however he just couldn't do it. He listened as the man spoke his name and made sure to remember it, it was the name of the man who saved his life after all. Noland noticed the man's great dexterity, judging from how he held the gun and spun it on his fingers, it was safe to say that this man had been handling these guns for quite some time.  Noland was a bit amazed at how quickly the man spun the revolver and how quickly the man slid it back into it's holster. Not only was he amazed but he was feeling just a little.. envious. Noland was just about to open his mouth and comment on the man's dexterity however Scorpion spoke before him, he seemed to be asking about the pictures Noland had taken back at the docks. Oh yes! Noland remembered capturing some fishy stuff back at the docks, no pun intended. It seemed like a marine captain and a gang of thugs forming some sort of allegiance. Before Noland could respond to the first question, Scorpion was already asking him a second question.

"Why, yes acual-"

Noland was cut off by some weird sounds, had the people back at the docks finally caught up to them!? Once again, before Noland could deal with his thoughts and questions, he was dragged away by the gunslinger. He seemed to be taking Noland deeper into the alleyway. As Noland was being dragged away, he could hear some music faintly playing at the end of the alleyway, the deeper they got, the louder the music. Mere moments later, Noland found himself in some sort of festival! It was without a doubt, a beautiful sight. Serine City was indeed a city full of fun and adventure. Noland fixed his shirt before getting out his camera and snapping some pictures of the colorful and bizarre environment he had found himself in.

SPOILER: Click to show

As Noland trailed the gunslinger, he kept an ear out for anymore questions that Scorpion might have in mind whilst observing the fantastic street they were walking along, the street was bathed in light and all sorts of colors, there was nothing but happy faces all around. It really was a sight for sore eyes. 

"Well, I'm a photographer. I've worked for a few news companies here and there but now I'm a traveler. I go around, exploring and snapping pictures of anything interesting I might find." Noland would reply to Scorpion's first question, looking through the many pictures he had taken so far whilst he answered. 

"And to answer you second question. I only have my father  and a... pet dog if that counts. Though they both aren't here at the moment but.. eh.. it really doesn't bother me."

Noland lied. It kind of did bother him, although he was witnessing some beautiful sights it was a bit lonely witnessing them on your own. Though he had been like this for so long that he had learnt to get used to his loneliness and kind of embrace it. Anyways, pushing these depressing thoughts away, Noland was a bit startled to hear some fireworks go off. Looking up into the night sky which was now filled with color, Noland quickly snapped some more pictures. Tonight had been quite the crazy night for Noland but maybe now he could kick back and relax. Since he really did deserve a break from all the running and nearly getting killed stuff. After a few silent moments, Scorpion seemed to be a bit puzzled as to why people were in such high spirits. Noland didn't really know the answer to that question nor did he actually care. If everyone was happy, then... I guess it made him happy too?

"I'm not so sure myself. But, tonight really is a great night, eh?"
    

[Scorpion (Midknightblu)]

The night was a sight to see, the entire block was filled with carts, booths, dancing, drinking… Everywhere you could look, you saw children and adults alike just dancing, having fun, and playing games. The nearest booth to them was actually a game of hoops, and Jaycobb stepped up unashamed and waved at the boastful man. “Woooahhaoo. Looks like we have a challenger! Well, what’ll it be? Five berri for one ring or ten for three?” The man asked. He was rather large, looking somewhat like a large ball… With a very very pin shaped head for some reason, on top of that, he had an overly large mustache on his face that he twirled with his fingers, Jaycobb always found those types of mustaches very disturbing, always wondering how it stayed… Up… It was just so creepy. A man should have a mustache and facial hair fall where it wants, if you didn't shave it at least. A man’s face… Was either shaven, or wild, showed the type of man someone was, and if you groomed and faked your facial hair? It wasn’t something he could trust.

I’ll take one. Jaycobb said very gruffly, Practically growling it as he slapped a bill down on the counter. The Pinheaded man replaced the bill with a ring and stood by. Jaycobb looked at the bottles, eyeing them with his eyes… Narrowing them… The world was slowing down… He breathed, and tossed… The silver ring flew through the air swiftly, towards the multi-colored bottles, and aimed at the golden one in the middle… As the ring continued to fly through the air, Jaycobb thought about how odd all of this was, in the middle of the evening, having just been chased by marines, might have to run off the island… Yet in this exact moment, everything was… Perfectly.. Quiet…



The ring clattered, clanked on the bottles… Then… Fell onto the ground.



Gods be damned… Jaycobb, otherwise known as Scorpion, the Gunslinger, had missed a silly children’s game. The game be rigged! AGAIN! He shouts, putting ten berri onto the counter, getting three rings this time, he needed to win now, this was ridiculous, why was he missing? Again… He failed after attempting, going slowly, meticulously. And he failed once more… Again, another ten, more fervent. And another, failure.



This game is rigged! He didn’t have any facts, but left in a gruff, not really knowing if Noland was following… Then he returned to the stand and stopped… Glared, and then shook his head. Turning to Noland finally, whenever in a festival, have fun… But regardless… We should be running, and we have to find a place to lay low, huh? He asked the photographer, there was a comment that the man said earlier, but he didn’t want to delve into it. Jaycobb did believe that you should never say that it isn't so bad being away from family… But that was a discussion for another time, he didn’t know the kids situation, so he had no right to say, but the slinger would give both his legs to be with his family… Which he felt that he was changing this world in a way that his family deserved.

[☆彡 Youniverse]

Noland continued to follow Scorpion, still amazed at the festival and all it's beauty. Hopefully the marines that were chasing them earlier were long gone by now and maybe Noland could spend the rest of this beautiful night in peace. Noticing that Scorpion was approaching some sort of stand, Noland followed, curious as to how things were gonna unfold. Judging by the looks of things, this stand was one of those hoop games were the objective is to get a hoop onto one of those bottles. Seemed pretty simple and it should normally be a piece of cake for Scorpion since he looked like a pretty damn good gunslinger and his actions earlier proved it. Noticing the stand keeper and his... bizarre appearance, Noland decided not to comment on it since he had no intentions of offending the man, instead, he quickly snapped a picture of him. Whilst he done that, Scorpion was busy buying a ring so that he could participate in this little game. 

Noland watched as Scorpion received the ring, suddenly, Noland could have sworn that the environment around him went slow for just a second whilst Scorpion aimed. The focus on the gunslinger's face was clear and it was obvious that this man probably had years of experience with this sort of job.. not throwing hoops around but shooting people and aimi- Ok, you get my point, right? The moment of truth came and Scorpion chucked the hoop, such precision, such power, such determination,...

...such failure.

The ring simply bounced off the bottle and onto the ground. Noland fought back the urge to laugh since again, Noland had no intention of offending anyone and he had decent manners! All he could do was watch Scorpion order more rings and watch him fail more times, it was like a broken record, always repeating the same actions to get the same result. Finally Scorpion gave up and Noland watched as Scorpion left like a sulking child. He felt kinda sorry for him. Noland decided to try his hand at the game. He approached the stand and placed the beli onto the counter. Once he had taken hold of the ring, he aimed, took a breath, and chucked it. The ring found it's way onto one of the bottles rather quickly! Noland raised his hands in the air as the man applauded Noland.

"Nice. Very nice. Now, what would you like?" the stand keeper would ask before pointing to a shelf packed with stuff animals.

"Uhm.. The owl, please."

Owls were majestic creatures in Noland's eyes so it was only normal that'e he'd chose the stuffed owl. Once receiving the prize, which was the length of Noland's arm, he quickly chased after Scorpion. He would have to stick by him cause if he had gotten into danger, he doubted he could get out unscratched like before. Noland arrived just in time to catch Scorpion's comment, he agreed with the gunslinger's comment. They did need to lie low indeed.

"How about somewhere like... a hotel?" Noland would suggest.

[Scorpion (Midknightblu)]

"A hotel does work, sure." He said, feeling some resentment towards the kid, but only for a moment... He shrugged it off of his shoulders, it was nothing really. There was no gunpowder, and no gun of any sort. So he wasn't going to strike true in that sense... Give him a shotgun? Forty yards is the maximum distance that he's been able to blast away bottles. However... That was only once that he has ever done that... Normally, it's 20, but that's enough, give him a bow and arrow? Better hope he's aiming at you, because he WILL miss. No powder, no kick of the gun, no weight... And that's not a man's weapon, not in his opinion. But everyone has their own weapons.

Jaycobb walked along the streets with Noland some more as he watched the festival around them. "I think that my daughter would like it here... I'll send a letter..." He said to himself, off hand, thinking about his family for a moment... He really had ask one of these people what this festival was for, but he wasn't worried to much about that... He WANTED to do that, but he NEEDED to find a place to lay low, so for now... Like always, his family and his worries had to go onto the backburner.

He stopped for a moment, while watching a fire tamer dance and throw with fire, he was skinny, tatted up, with a skull tattooed around his bald head, something that... Didn't seem very relevant, but actually made the old man smile a bit, it was funny... A skull on a skull... But the man did have a grace and beauty that Jaycobb was impressed with, which was part of the reason that Scorpion stopped. "I don't think that a hotel is the best idea... Since you are from around this area, do you have a better place? Like a hole in the wall inn? Some place that takes vagabonds?" He asked, looking away from the fire lord for a moment and back at Noland.

[☆彡 Youniverse]

Noland nodded as Jaycobb responded to his suggestion. As the two began to wander the streets of the busy and rowdy festival, Noland continued to take pictures. This place was sure a hot spot for great photos, though it was a little hard holding the camera whilst holding his stuffed owl at the same time though he still managed to get some great pictures. Looks like Noland made the right choice to come to Animo Island, despite the fact that he almost nearly got killed, there were some great views and events on the island. The two walked further into the festival, both walking in silence and took their time to take in the thriving environment around them. Noland was too focused on the festival and view that he didn't notice that Scorpion had stopped and bumped into him, dropping his owl and almost dropping his camera. He didn't have enough money to go looking for another one and plus, this was like his twentieth camera, if there was a world record for the person who broke the most camera, Noland would most likely be a high ranking contestant. Anyways, Noland picked up and dusted off his stuffed owl before turning to see why Scorpion had stopped so suddenly, it seemed he was amazed at one of the festival's many acts, this one seemed to be some sort of fire dancing. Noland's jaw dropped it sure was a grand sight! Quickly snapping some more photos to add to his ever growing list, he surely did enjoy the performance. Such an elegant dancer the man was, the way he toyed with the fire as if it were nothing but a mere toy. Beautiful.

"Pretty good, huh?" Noland would comment, his eyes still stuck on the performance. 

After minutes the two finally managed to look away, Noland looked over at Scropion as he asked him a question. Another place? Well, this was Noland's first time in Amino island, he probably had been here when he was younger with his father who was a traveling merchant but that was a long time ago.

"I'm as lost as you are. This is my first time here in a long time... maybe there's some sort of map for the island?" Noland would suggest.

[Scorpion (Midknightblu)]

Another promise , another seed

Another  packaged lie to  keep  us trapped  in greed

And

all  the   green   belts

wrapped around our minds

endless red tape to keep

the  truth  confined

They will not force us They will stop degrading us They will not control us

We will be victorious

Scorpion mused this thought and shrugged a bit "I guess, but I'm a bit sorry to say that I'm not in any real rush to find anywhere safe to hide." He stated, pausing in front of another display, someone walking on nails, it wasn't that interesting to be fair. But, in addition to the man walking on the nails, he was also juggling, which the gunslinger just stopped just to see if he would fail.

"Crab?" A child asked, stepping near the two, Jaycobb nodded and paid the beri, and got the food for them both. 

"What do you think about the festival? Do you really want to hide away so soon?" He asked Noland turning his head to the side a bit, seeing some audience members throw items into the jugglers hands... Really, they were throwing them at him, a sign saying to -THROW ANYTHING-. Jaycobb called the boy back and bought another thing of crab just to throw into the mix of ever growing items. Currently there were three balls, one sword, a rock, a shishcabab, and now a crab. "Yea... I'm not so worried about being followed for a while, can you make sure to take a bunch of pictures? Because this is really cool." The older man said, sort of in a state of happiness. Really he was just imagining that he was here with his daughter...

Scorpion stood there, watching the man and thinking about how it would be if his daughter and wife were actually here... The festival was so lively, there was so much happiness and joy... -To be ruined by marines soon-... He shoved that thought away quickly and returned to the thoughts of just being with his daughter. Cotton candy... Her laugh, his wives caring touch.. She probably would have done what Noland did and beaten him at that ring game. Chuckling once more Jaycobb just watched as more things were thrown into the mix.. And if anything, this was reaffirming what he was trying to change the world for.

@noland | 341 | Family | Sorry for the delay

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[☆彡 Youniverse]

"Whatever floats your boat man, I guess I have no choice but to stick with you." Noland would reply to the gunslinger's statement.

Noland didn't mind staying out here a little longer since the sights here were incredible and the whole festival was full of energy. However the thought of dangerous people looking for him brought him a terrible and uneasy feeling, Noland tried to push this thought away but the more he ignored it, the bigger it grew. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he decided that as long as he was with Scorpion, who was a pretty good gunslinger, he was safe from harm. Accepting the crab which Scorpion had bought, Noland found that his hands were now full. Looks like taking more pictures would have to wait until after he had finished the crab, plus, this owl was too comfortable to let go off. Noticing that Scorpion was spectating yet another performance, Noland turned to face the direction which the gunslinger was facing and was amazed yet again at the sight. A man walking on nails and juggling almost anything the crowd gave him, what skill! Noland would clap for the man but y'know... his hands were a little tied up. Noland caught Scorpion's question and began to ponder about the situation he was in currently. Despite the fact they were being chased by dangerous people, this festival was really busy and I guess you could say it provided a great cover the duo. So taking their time to observe the festival didn't sound like a bad idea at all, in fact, it was a great idea. They were hiding and having fun at the same time.

"I suppose staying here a bit longer wouldn't hurt anybody." He replied before taking a big bite from the crab, it was crunchy yet soft. A combination of hard and soft, it was actually quite the the treat for Noland. He had not eaten crab for quite some time so this experience was a really refreshing one for him.

Directing his gaze back the performer, Noland was amazed to see that the he was now juggling the crab which Scorpion had just bought. His eyes were fixed on the man, there had to be some sort of trick at play here cause what the man was doing was too awesome. Noland took another bite from his crab and continued to witness the spectacular event before him whilst at the same time, listening to Scorpion's words. He nodded, he had taken some pictures already but he was planning on taking a bit more. Swallowing the food, he wiped his hands on his shirt and got ready to take his camera to snap more pictures.