Post by Jade on Apr 12, 2020 23:32:12 GMT -5
By the time the small Marine vessel had made its way to the island of Sundance, only two of its original four passengers remained - the other two had disembarked on another island, one without a Marine presence, leaving Tomoe and the Ensign she had taken as a hostage, who she had learned was named Virne Beatrice, or just Bea for short, to continue sailing in search of an island that fit the bill. The first week or so at sea had been, understandably, tense, given that Bea had been kidnapped.
Tomoe looked up from the piece of driftwood she was working at, toward the blonde woman working at the sailboat's rigging, and smiled. Things still weren't perfect by any means - Bea had made the fact that she fully planned to hand her over to the Marines at Pecos Town crystal clear - but working together to keep the boat from capsizing had been enough to form some sort of positive bond between the two of them. The first few sleepless nights had worn them out to the point that there was nothing to do but to trust that the other wouldn't attempt to kill or throw them overboard in the night as well. And that counted for something!
Now that Sundance Island and, more specifically, its Marine base were in view, though, Bea seemed to be reverting back toward her more uptight self. She was decked out in her full Marine uniform for the first time in days, even going so far as to wear the coat draped over her shoulders. "For the last time," Bea called out, "will you please change out of the uniform?"
"Hm? You don't like it?" The dark-haired fighter looked down at herself. Much to Bea's chagrin, Tomoe had donned a Marine uniform as well - although it was made for someone a fair bit larger than herself, so Tomoe had made her own alterations to it. The shirt was tied up, exposing her abdomen, while the blue neckerchief was instead tied around her waist, acting as a belt to keep the too-large pair of white pants held up. She'd opted for her own boots, given that they were the only ones that would fit her feet, which the bottoms of the pants were tucked into; other than that, she still wore her own red bead necklace over the Marine uniform. All in all, Tomoe certainly didn't see anything wrong with it, since no one would mistake her for a Marine in the first place... And the clothes were clean, which was a plus. "Nah, I think it makes me look kinda dashing."
Bea sighed, dropping the topic for the time being, and put her attention back toward ensuring their safe arrival at the island. Tomoe watched the woman gently nudge the sail to fully catch the wind with a faint smile on her lips, and then looked back down to continue working at the piece of wood in her hands.
Pecos Town was bustling - even more so than usual, despite (or perhaps in spite of) the sun burning in the brilliant, cloudless sky above. Market stalls with colorful tapestries were set up on every street corner, selling beautiful trinkets and delicious-smelling foods; children darted across the avenues, laughing and playing games as they darted between the legs of the adults milling about and laughing along with their own friends. All of this was absolutely fantastic, as far as Tomoe was concerned, though Beatrice seemed increasingly frustrated as the dark-haired woman stopped at nearly every other stall to see what was for sale.
"Here, I got you something!" The blonde woman turned to face the returned woman, a glass bottle of some beverage thrust into her face. There it stayed until she reluctantly took it, turning it around in her hands to try to get some idea of what the liquid inside it was. Tomoe fell against the side of the building next to her, holding her bisentō close to the head as she used the blade to pop the top off of her own bottle. "They said it was called 'sarsaparilla'!"
Bea frowned... But there was no denying the heat, and the cold beverage in her hands was tempting. She put one hand on the cap, attempting to twist it off, and then stopped - for all of her efforts, all she had to show for it were some painful markings on her palm. "Hey. Open it."
Tomoe, mid-sip from her glass, stood up straighter immediately. "Oh! Yeah, sure - here, hand it over." She took the offered bottle from the Ensign and smoothly popping its cap off the same way she'd taken the cap from her's. As she handed it back, she grinned, holding the cap up for Bea to see. "But I'm keeping this. The guy who gave 'em to me said they were collectible!"
As she slipped the cap into the pockets of the baggy white pants to join the cap from her own bottle, Tomoe glanced around the street. "Sssssooooooo... What's with all of the people? Some kind of festival?"
The answer to her question took a minute as Bea took a tentative sip of the drink, holding it in her mouth for a moment to determine whether she enjoyed its flavor or not. "Mm. Couldn't tell you. This is my first time on this island," the blonde replied, and then looked down at the bottle in her hands again. "This is pretty good. How much was it?"
"Oh, no clue. Old dude said I could have 'em for free, for 'all my service to the community,'" Tomoe grinned, even as Bea shot a withering gaze in her direction. "Who knew there were perks to being a gal in a uniform?"