Fish versus Monkey Fist: Orous and Octavia Clash!

[mildofthewild]

The sound of a new bustling town welcomes the arrival of a new citizen class ship, it's wooden bow creaking as it steadies its way into the shores of Amino Island and paves the way for one first stop of many more to come for some passengers. 

As the gangplank lowers and guests of all shapes and sizes disembark, one shape and one size stands out from the rest, casting a shadow and a string of gasps as it makes its way through the crowd. Well, first stop...Amino Island, home of all manners of entertainment, whether it be clean or sinful. The air...it was the same air as his home island, but it was refreshing just to be able to taste it somewhere else. The first stop on the path to a dream...

"Well...first things first. Gotta save up for some more cash before heading out; a surprise bartending didn't offer more..." 

The tigershark Fishman, Orous, mumbles to himself as he moves on to the island, casting a gaze around and noting the numerous drink stops filled to the brim with customers. Well, if worst came to worst, he could sell drinks for a bit...

"No, no, come on now...you can do this. You gotta keep practicing for when you get to Water 7...don't let the folks back home down, not after everything you put them through..." The scars all over his body send a sharp pang through his bones, a soft reminder of his previous encounter with fellow children of the sea. With that gentle push, he continues on, desperate for a start to a new beginning...

[The Shimmering Banana]

The air was dense with the excitement of the bustling city; Amino was a new age Meca of entertainment with no shortage of fun. However, fun cost money and that was one thing that Octavia was running low on. Luckily, for her this place also had a million ways that she could replenish her thinning purse. She could work as a server at one of the local restaurants, or maybe as a bartender, they seem to make more tips in a place like this. On the other hand, maybe she can try her hand at a game of chance in one of the casinos, with the little money she did have left. Out of the million options to choose from to make a buck, Octavia choose the millionth and one.



The crowd roared as the young woman in a bathing suite took laps around the ring. A white cardboard sign with the number two printed on it held high above her head. Men hollering a whistling as the hot young woman made her way around. A loud bell signaling her to exit the ring as the second round was about to begin. Octavia steps on the bottom rope with her high heel shoe and ducks under the middle rope exiting the ring with a firm leap to the ground. As she reaches the ground the crowd’s attention fades from her and locks onto the two boxers in the ring. It was not her ideal way to make some money but the pay was decent and it was a semi-honest living. Just another month of this and she should have enough to set sail for another two or three months. It’s been a while since she turned in a bounty and when she got to Amino she figured that a place like this would be crawling with sleaze balls for her to cath. However, that was not the case; yes, there were plenty of sleaze balls here but just the kind that stare too hard at woman as they walked down the street or around a ring. So, for now she would continue to work as a ring girl until she made it off this island and back onto the sea. The curvy woman continued to walk towards the locker room, as she reached the end of the walkway the crowd lets out a loud roar.



“Oh! And Roger hits the ground with a devastating uppercut” calls out a voice over the Den Den speaker system. The referee quickly jumping into his count as the man laid limp in the ring.



Letting out a deep sigh Octavia turns around as the count reaches four. She knew that if it reached 10 she would have to re-enter the ring and prance around once more. Even worse, she would have to hold up the winners hand as he is pronounced the winner. “Seven” calls out the referee; the young woman beginning to walk back assuming that this fight was over. The final number rolling off the referee’s lips as she climbed up the ropes in order to get back into the ring. “There you have it folks, this match is over” calls out the voice over the speaker once more. The medics enter the ring and attempt to wake the fallen boxer up using smelling salts with negative results. Instead, they drag his on conscious body out of the ring and quickly transport him to the medical area. With the looser out of the ring, it was time for her to get back to work. Octavia ducks back under the middle rope and walks towards the winner who had an immense grin of his face. The announcer also enter the ring as the young woman does both grabbing a hand of the winner as the announcer begins to do his job.



“Ladies and gentleman, the winner in the second round at just over thirty seconds with a knock out is… Kenny Jones!”



The audience yells and screams as just a handful of them boo as they were rooting for the fallen fighter. Kenny applauding himself as he dances around the ring. He then makes one bold and unbeknownst to him stupid decision. As he walks behind the curvy bounty hunter, he quickly swings his de-gloved hand and palms the left butt cheek of the new ring girl. Her face turned red with anger as the fighters hand squeezed her cheek and without thinking, Octavia lets out an onslaught of punches to the gut of the champion fighter. Caught off guard the man has no time to react as he is put down with a familiar final blow. A stiff uppercut to his jaw, his head aimed straight to the sky as his body slowly falls to the ground. An eerie silence fell over the arena as the newly named champion was just laid out by a sexy woman wearing nothing but heels and a bathing suite. Realizing that this gig was over Octavia climbs back out of the ring and start to walk back to the locker room to put her real clothes back on. As she entered the small changing area, her soon to be old boss accompanied her to tell her the good news.



“I know I’m fired,” says ‘The Monkey Princess’ as she puts one leg into her pants.



“Wow wow kid you got me all wrong. Well yes, you are fired. But, I got another offer for someone like you. If you interested.” Says the overweight arena owner as he tosses the girl a roll of cash.



As she catches the wad of cash quickly counting the sum of money, which ended up being just over 10,000 beri she replies, “I’m listening”.



The man hands her a business card with just an address written on it and says, “Be there at 10 P.M. tomorrow night and no need for the heels for this job. By the way it’ll pay twice that much if your any good. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a ‘champion’ to deal with”. The round man walks out of the changing room and back towards the ring leaving the girl to gather her belongings and think about his vague offer.

[mildofthewild]

The roar from the stadium was loud enough to reverberate off the close quarters of the Island's inner shops and streets, causing Orous to turn at how much it shook the ground beneath his feet. Sheesh, they really like beating the crap out of each other, huh?

Hefting his knapsack, Orous makes his way for the stadium, curious about the show as well as hoping there might be any business that he could take part in. Maybe they could use a carpenter if some of the structure get rebuilt...

"Sigh, I'm gonna have to learn some new materials if I'm gonna make it far. Wonder if they got any schools on Water 7...also wonder if it'll cost a lot. Maybe pirating could be the way to go..." 

---

Orous had managed to find a spot in the stands to witness the match, every cheer and scream from the crowd leaving him on edge while he watches wrestlers throw and body slam each other. Part of him wondered if entering in something like this could net some cash. 

"I'm not the best fighter, but I don't see a single Fishman...maybe I could clean shop here...

"Gah, who am I kiddin'," He says, muttering as he heads for the exit...

Right as a hush falls over the crowd. Orous turns back, wondering if maybe someone had died. The woman holding the round card had knocked out that Kenny Jones guy...

"...Yeah, that might be the right call," he says, starting to realize just how strong some of the people on these waters could be. He was getting closer and closer to the Grand Line, after all; there were sure to be monsters like this woman...

---

Orous figured it'd be at least worth a try to find out if they could use some services elsewhere, looking around the staff commons for some sort of owner's office. He was thankful for the new bandana the people of Notice had given him; the confused stares from employees and VIP guests at a Fishman was one thing, he didn't want to know how they'd react to his mouth. Razor sharp teeth were one of the images that had plagued his life, even in Fishman Island. 

He managed to find something resembling an office (it was a little fancier than the other doors,) and decided to try his luck. Bracing himself, Orous raps on the door and waits for a response. 

"Uh...e-excuse me, I'm lookin' for a job? Y'all got any need for a carpenter or...I dunno, someone to lift stuff? I'm good at that."

[The Shimmering Banana]

*101 E Chance St.* the address written on the card that was given to the young woman. Octavia read it repeatedly as she walked towards the general area to see if she could get a hotel room around there. She was not sure if she was going to show up the next day but it was better to be close place if she was going to go. As she approached the address, she could see it a towering casino the lights shining brightly across the dark night sky. This was it the place that the old fatty was talking about; which meant it was most likely just another job that revolved around her looks. With a big sigh, Octavia walks through the large double doors and heads towards the main counter. An equally as curvy young woman with long blonde hair greeting her as she placed he book bag atop the counter.



“Hello and welcome to the Hanser hotel and casino!” says the blonde receptionist “where with a little bit of luck all your problems will be fade away,” she continued with a large smile across her face. “How can I help you?”



The girl’s enthusiasm making Octavia’s stomach turn as she prepared to reply. “Yeah… I’d like a room for the night what’s your going rate?”



“Of course Ma’am,” replies the blonde Barbie “we have a variety of rooms available starting at just 200 beri a nigh and if your celebrating we have suits available for 1,000 beri, and if that does not suffice we have two presidential suits available for a mere 3,500 beri a night.”



Octavia was not typically a girl to succumb to the high life but she figured that with the amount the arena owner she could splurge gave her earlier that day. It was definitely enough to get a good room and enough supplies to set sail towards the next island. Her ship did still have all the basics all she would need is food and water perhaps a few cannon balls just in case she ran into some trouble. With the math well calculated, she decided to go with her initial decision and go big.



“I think I’ll take that one of the presidential suits…” she answered taking out the wad of cash from her bag and quickly flipping through it placing down the asked for amount with an extra 500 beri. “Oh and you can keep that for yourself” continues the bounty hunter winking at the girl.



“That’s very generous of you Ma’am,” replies the receptionist as she takes the money replacing it with a set of keys. “Here are your keys and the bell boy can help you with your bags.”



Octavia removes the keys from the counter and sings her backpack over her shoulders as a bellhop walks towards her expecting to retrieve the rest of her belongings. “This is it slim,” she says “so where to?” she continues as he waves his hands towards two golden elevator doors.



The glimmering doors open and the young hunter enters the large lift along with the bellhop. The slender young man pressing the number 27 as the doors close behind them. The slow and awkward ride to the floor seeming like a million years until a subtle *ding* announced their arrival. As the doors opened, she noticed it. Presidential suit really meant presidential, the doors did not open to a hall way but to an entire estate. The whole floor was the room complete with a hot tub and a poker table.



“Wow!” she exclaimed as she walked into the room; turning around slowly gawking in aww at the massive room that was hers for the night. As she reached the poker table, she ran her long fingers down the velvet tabletop until they reached a card. As she picked it up her head slightly tilted, as she did not know what she was looking at. Just then, the bellhop, who was still awaiting his tip with his hands open, replied “Ahh. I see you noticed the complementary play card. Each presidential suit comes with a complimentary 1,000 beri play card.”



Octavia walks back into the elevator slapping the bellhop’s hands with 50 beri, “Well then lets hit the casino.”

[mildofthewild]

Meanwhile, back in Octavia's former/current/new/old place of work, one of the manager's was having perhaps the oddest and simultaneously boring job interviews of his life. 

The sight of the 7 foot Fishman caught him off guard as Orous entered the room, ducking down to find a spot to seat himself...but, that was about where it ended, as the guy started going on and on about carpentry and possible labor opportunities...

Sheesh, talk about a buzzkill. Who cares about building stuff, this guy would be perfect for one of our upcoming fights. Not many Fishmen out here; it'd be the show of a lifetime...

"Uh, pal, lemme put a pin in that for a sec, what's uh...what's all this?" The manager says, waving in front of his own face before pointing at the cloth stretched across Orous's toothy maw. The fishman, instinctively, sucks in his breath, casting his eyes toward the wall. 

"I've got...look, I'd rather not talk about it." 

"Okay, okay. Mystery, enigmatic. I like it; be a neat gimmick in a fight, you know? 'What does the beast hold behind the mask??' Type of stuff, you feel me?"

"What? Hey, hey, wait a minute! I ain't lookin' to fight anybody," Orous adds quickly, waving his webbed hands before leaning in. "I'm not that kind of guy, I mean...I'd be terrible! I don't know the first thing about fighting! Besides, like I said, I'm a carpenter man! A shipwright! You gotta give me a chance man, come on!" 

Uuuugh, of course he has to be one of the pacifist types...eh, though to be fair, they always say that before they're thrown headfirst into the ring...I think we got the makings for a good show with this one, 'specially with that Octavia girl in the runnin' now...

"Alright, alright, I hear ya, pal. Not a fighter, got it. I like ya, so I'll do ya a favor; come back here tomorrow, we'll give you a job, see how you do. But come around late afternoon, that's when we get the most damage to the stage. Got it?"

"Oh, thanks pal, that really means somethin'!" Orous says, standing up and gripping the man's hand a little too hard, a few pops bringing a grimace to the manager as the Fishman makes his way out. Talk about a grip...

"Hmm...'Man-Eater Orous...' yeah, that'll sell tickets..."

[The Shimmering Banana]

The lights were blinding as the elevator doors reopened on the main floor the sounds of slot machines and people cheering flooding her ears as she exits. The voluptuous young woman twirling her game card between her fingers as she decided what to play. Slots offered the fun of pure chance, poker gave the chance of going against others; however, this girl’s game of choice was BLACK JACK. Octavia continued to walk the floor passing a large row of slot machines. The tinging from the machines presenting themselves as annoying to the girl. Besides slots were for old people that just wanted to sit down and waist their beri. As she continued to walk a beautiful woman dressed in a short flowing skirt, 9-inch heels and a bathing suit top passed her by with a tray offering drinks. Octavia slowly turns around gazing at the drink girl slowly raising her left hand as she calls out to her. “Excuse me… I’ll have a whisky with one ice cube.”



The sexy server nodding as she replied “of course but I’ll have to get it from the bar. It’ll just take me a sec. Where would you like me to bring it?”



The young hunter replying, “I’ll be by the black jack tables.”



Octavia continued her walk towards the tables until she reached the area in which she said she would be at. She stands at the end of the table watching as a group of people played three deck black jack. The minimum bet was 10 beri which was good for people who wanted to play for a while but not good for the payout as the dealer only matched the bet. Meaning if you bet 10 you only win 10 if you won and 15 if you got black jack. The cards were dealt and the girl began to pay more attention as the real reason she played black jack was that she had an incredible memory. To her it was not gambling if you just paid attention. It was more like a mathematical equation and one that she was very good at getting the answer to.



Her father loved black jack so she spent a lot of time playing with him for fun as a child and later for spare change as she began to earn her own money. This is where she learned it, THE ART OF COUNTING CARDS. It wasn’t illegal just frowned upon by most casinos but if she did it correctly she could clean house before anyone noticed. Of course, the more decks there were in the game the harder it was to count, yet it would make it harder for her to be caught. Most people could not count with one deck much less with three.



“21! BLACK JACK!” calls out the dealer as an old woman wearing an obnoxious feather hat revels the queen of hearts and the ace of spades. As the hand is over two younger men walk away from the able leaving only three people at the table. As Octavia takes, a seat at the table the gorgeous sever returned and placed the glass in the drink holder in front of her.



“Oh thank you beautiful,” says the hunter giving the young woman a sultry wink and paying for the drink with a generous tip. “If you stick around there will be more where that came from”.



The sever nodding in thanks as she continued her rounds with her drink tray making sure she remained within view of her obvious admirer. Octavia then places her game card on the table and asks the dealer to trade out the total for chips. As the three decks, self-shuffle through the machine the dealer counts out the chips and slides them over to the new player. Retrieving one 10-beri chip Octavia places it on the table then takes another 10-beri chip and places it in the slot that did not have a player. “I’m assuming I can play two hands?” she questioned already knowing the rules of the game.



“Of course you can Ma’am,” answered the dealer as she begins to pass out the cards. The two face up cards played by Octavia only being a three and a five. The dealers face up card revealing five as well. The dealer signals to the first person asking whether they wanted to hit or stay. The old woman from earlier deciding to hit, the card revealing a ten. The old woman waving her hand suggesting that she wishes to stay. The game continued around the table in this manner with no one receiving any card higher than a seven until it reached Octavia. As the dealer asked the girl, choose to stay on both hands without receiving any additional cards. With all the players dealt, the dealer revealed her hidden card showing that she had 12. As per the rules the dealer must continue to hit if they had anything 16 or under. The dealer flip another cards this time it being a four. Once again as per the rules, the dealer flips one more card revealing a five.



“22! Dealer busts.” Calls out the dealer as she begins to pay out the players.



Octavia sliding her winnings into her pocket as to separate what she started with, with her winnings. ‘Ok not a bad start, I’ll keep going like this for a while then move to the real table’ she thinks to herself as she prepares to play another hand leaving her 10 beri in each of the two slots she plays.

[mildofthewild]

Some were able to brace for a new day with pleasurable company and fine tables flowing with the richness of opportunity. 

Orous braced himself by finding a tavern to get drunk in, the Fishman putting back barrel after barrel of grog, putting most people in the establishment to shame. 

"How much longer is he gonna go at it?"

"He's gotta be ready to keel over, he's put back about 4 barrels of the stuff!"

"Ay, what's a Fishman even doing in these parts?"

"Who cares! I'm puttin' money down he'll go past 6!"

"I'll take those odds!"

"Hey, Fishman, have another one on me!"

Well, that was the way it went, wasn't it? When dealing with unknowns, there was only one thing that could bring people together. Drinks! Orous didn't feel quite so alone in such a place anymore as he joined in the uproarious singing of both pirates and civilians, taken by the laissez faire attitude that swept through and took all responsibility off his shoulders. For the first time in weeks, he didn't think about a potential mistake he made, about what the others on Notice were doing, about Rince and his journeys or even if the trek to Water 7 was a fool's errand. There was only one thing he kept himself focused on: refilling his mug. 

The whole tavern lights up with singing and dancing, Orous even joining in as the effects of all that grog were starting to take some sort of effect on his mind. 

"What's that mask for, anyways? We all knows you a Fishman, man." 

"Oh, it's for my chompers. I ain't seen a dentist in years, hehehehehe," Orous says, not at all wary as he lifts it slightly to give the pirate a peek at his rows of lopsided, crooked and bristled teeth, sharpened and sticking out in all directions. It was a hell of a smile, and the pirate must have thought so as he simply laughed in response. 

"Eeeeeeeeh, I've seen worse from my crew mates! Hey, captain, I think I found someone who can rival your own smile! Geheheheheheheheh!"

"Keep that up, and I'll make sure you never smile again, Dodgers!" The pirate shouts back uproariously, sending the whole tavern exploding into laughter again. 

The one called Dodgers turns back to Orous, even more curious now. Not only did he meet a Fishman, but a rather nice one at that! Not at all what he's heard from those he's met on the seas. 

"So, you a wrestler or somethin', Orous? Can't imagine many reasons you'd wanna stick around this dump!"

"Huh? Oh no no no! No, I ain't a fighter! Just here to help repair the arena's...uh, arena! I made that pretty clear with the boss, hehehehe..."

Well, if Dodgers knew the boss...they were pulling Orous's leg. But, the prospect of seeing a Fishman fight was too good to pass up, so he figured he'd keep quiet for now. 

"Well, I can drink to that! And I can drink to you makin' it to Water 7! Maybe you can even hitch a ride with us! My crew's planning on trying for the Grand Line soon, we could use a shipwright!"

"Hey, you already have a shipwright, Dodgers!" 

"I mean a good one!" The pirate responds, getting a bottle thrown his way as he laughs off the joke. 

"Really? You'd take me there? I...well, that'd be great! I'll have to think about it, though. I was wanting to try myself..." Orous says, considering the final confrontation with En Kurtz once more. He never considered his race as a place of pride, but...there was a tinge of want in attempting to make it for the dangerous waters on his own. After all, he hailed from the New World. 

"Well, just think about it! We'll be here for a few more days! Even if it ain't to the Grand Line, we'd be happy to take you anywhere along the way! You're alright company, Fishman!" With that, the two clink their glasses together, downing another batch of grog...before both passing out. 

"9 barrels! I told you all!"

"Dammit, no way!"

---

Morning filters in through the cracks of the tavern walls as Orous exits, eyes swimming and yellow as he hurries along for the stadium. The manager said afternoon, but he at least wanted to see a few matches to know the extent of the supplies he needed.

[The Shimmering Banana]

The game continued like this for several shuffles, Octavia making sure not to bring to much attention to herself by only playing the minimum. Each time the deck shuffled the young woman ordering another round of drinks until she downed six whiskies. All the while, she also made sure to purposely bust every so often. Her technique was somewhat flawless. The house did not care if you were up, it was only when you never lost that they became suspicious. With a wave of her hands, the dealer signaled that it was the end of her shift. Octavia tossing a 50 beri chip towards her as a tip as was customary in most casinos. She did just bless her with over 400 beri. At this point the girl had stashed away almost 300 beri in her pocket which meant it was almost time to move up to the bigger tables. The new dealer sat down at the dealers seat and introduced himself to the now two remaining players. The old woman that was originally at the table and Octavia. As the deck, shuffles the more players come to the table and take a seat forcing Octavia to play one hand at a time. This meant that the hunter would have to change up her strategy if she was going to hit her goal. Octavia places down 20 beri for her bet as the new round starts.



As the game goes on, she waives her hand in the air, calling over the sexy server. “One more please and that’ll be it. Seven is my limit.” She says handing the girl 200 beri, more than enough to cover her tab and another generous tip. With her eyes widened from the amount she was just tipped the server quickly shuffles away to get the order. “If you keep them happy they keep you happy,” continues the gambler nudging her elbow into the side of the man in the cowboy hat sitting next to her.



Several more rounds played out with the girl playing 20 beri each time and making sure, she won each time until she reached her goal of 500 beri. With a pocket full of chips and her last drink at its end, she decides to make her move. She pushes 500-beri worth of chips over into the betting pile, the maximum allowed for the low-ball tables. The other players at the table mocking her as she has been nothing but good luck so far. The tension in the air was as thick as the French man at the end of the table accent. Each card dealt to the players securing their fate one by one until the dealer finally deals his own cards.



“Dealer Black Jack!” and as fast as she won her winnings it was gone. The dealer revealing a king of hearts covering an ace of clubs. As the entire table give Octavia a heart piercing look the girl takes the last sip of her drink and rises from the table with her original 1000-beri. “Oh well, can’t win em’ all” she says as she walks towards another table.



This time the table was a single deck game, the minimum was higher, 500 beri, but the payout was 2:1. With only one other player at this table ‘The Monkey Princess’ flops down in the seat in front of her. She then takes a stack of 50-beri chips, letting them slide out of her fingers into a neat pile, pushing 500 beri into the betting slot. This was the beginning of the real game and where she planned on making her fortune. The hand is dealt and the girl instantly begins to grin from ear to ear, as both of her cards are tens. Spreading her index and middle finger she signals to the dealer that she would like to split her cards. The dealer then deals her two more cards as she is now technically playing two hands. Her grin remaining as those two cards made it that her hands were a 19 and 17. The dealer continues to deal himself as his hand was stuck at 15, the last card revealing a seven. “Dealer Bust!” he says.



The game continued like this with the hunter slowly piling up her chips as the deck wears thin then re-shuffles again and again. Hours passed with the morning sun slowly rising over the horizon outside unbeknownst to the players in the casino. Since it was early in the morning the usual crowd that would have formed around her from her immense winning streak was nonexistent. As Octavia twirled a ten thousand chip between her fingers with one hand, she patted her pocket that was lined with approximately 50,000 beri in chips. Her original thousand chips still on the table always making sure she kept her winnings separated from her free betting money. Just as she was about to place the ten thousand chip down a voice came over an intercom.



“Good morning ladies and gentlemen. The time is now 6:00 A.M. and out breakfast buffet is now open,” the girl realizing that she had something to do later makes her final move. The cards are dealt and this time she purposely loses leaving her with only the chips in her pocket and the thousand remaining on the table. In one final hand, she takes all the chips from her pocket and places them on the table. The young woman then pushes the original thousand chips in along with it, making 51,000 beri. The final hand is dealt the face down card, not known to her, being the king of spades. As the dealer lays down the face up card Octavia sat there, now completely sober, as if she already knew the outcome. The card is firmly pressed down on the table, the ace of hearts. With one swift movement, the dealer uses the ace to flip the face down card revealing her win.



“BLACK JACK! PLAYER WINS!” says the man sliding over 102,000 beri in chips. Octavia slides all the chips into her bag and flips her bag over her shoulder as she stands up from the table. “Oh here’s something for you,” she says as she tosses the dealer three 1,000-beri chips. “I think I’ll go see if the buffet has any banana tea,” she continues as she makes her way towards the trade in counter with her winnings.



At the counter the girl dumps her bag full of chips on the counter the cashier counting them up for a grand total of 150,000-beri. This amount sure to make any suspicious person take notice another reason for the girl to make sure she played at the time she did. Most shady characters were asleep at this time of day. With a bag full of cash she makes her way to the buffet, seeing a familiar face, in much simpler clothes, taking the same path. “Oh hey, you were my sever last night weren’t you?” she questions the curvy server from the beginning of the night.



“Oh yes Ma’am,” she replies as they make it to the food both woman piling there plates. “So late night huh?” continues the sever as she meets Octavia’s hand around the handle of the banana flavored teakettle. Octavia slowly looking into her eyes her cheeks turning red. “You could say that… Uh.. He.. Hey I don’t have anything to do until tonight would you like to eat breakfast with me in my suit?” questions Octavia.



“Umm. I don’t usually do that but you seemed nice enough last night. Not like you slapped my butt or anything. Ok. Sure. I’m Ashley what’s your name?” replies the sever, the hunter simply replying Octavia as she walks side by side with her new interest towards the elevator. Octavia pressing the number 27.



“Wait you’re in the presidential suit?” questions Ashley as the lift begins to rise.



“Yup it was a steal and I had a little bit of extra beri,” replies Octavia as the ride stops and the doors open. “Come on let’s eat.”

[mildofthewild]

To think the crowd was already this pumped for a simple brawl must have spoken volumes to the people here. This was a place of entertainment, and it catered to all types of mindsets; especially those interested in a little blood letting. 

"Oooooooh, and that's a powerful hook from THE Jungle Man himself, Koriva Baltimora!"

The crowd explodes into cheers as the self-titled "Tarzan Boy" waves to the crowd, a leopard print loincloth being his only choice of uniform. The amount of flexing musculature on display was, quite frankly, a little intimidating to Orous. To think anyone could be THAT powerful...

"Alright folks, we're gonna take a short break as we prep our next few bouts, feel free to stick around for some well placed bets! We got lots of high stakes action coming soon!" The announcer says, dancing while pointing to the stands to pump them up, the crowd cheering back even as they filter out, leaving Orous alone and ready to be called out. 

"Hey, Fishman! What are you doin' here, your bou-I mean, you don't start till the afternoon!" The announcer calls back, quick to retract, grinding his teeth at the near close slip up. That was a close one...

"Huh? Well, I just wanted to see how far these matches go! That Tarzan guy kind of did a number on the stage..." Orous surveys the damage, noting where exactly the last challenger had skidded across the mat, pulling up fabric along with them. "Some of the poles are bent too, how hard do these fighters go?"

"N-nevermind that, and keep your voice down! People just want a show, we don't need 'em suddenly growing a conscience!" Sheesh, where'd the boss find this guy? He thinks to himself, rubbing his jaw before motioning the Tigershark to join him. "Fine, look, I gotta prep for the next few fights, they start in a couple of hours. Why don't you show what you got, come fix the ring up!" 

Right now?! Orous wasn't expecting such a quick turnaround on a job interview...

"R-right, I got it!" He calls back, lumbering over the stands and heading to the center of the arena, noting just how wide the place was. How big did some of these challengers get?

"Okay, let's see...ah, I bet I can take care of this, lemme see..." 

The shipwright sets to work, mending poles and restitching the arena floor, all the while thinking about vast improvements. "If they replaced this wood, they could get more bang for their buck per match...lemme write this down, they could really improve this place..." His mind already working a mile a minute, the Fishman comes up with all types of improvements and amenities to spruce up the stage....

[The Shimmering Banana]

After a filling breakfast and stimulating “conversation”, the two young women reigned with the sun high in the sky. While most people were out and about the two were having their own adventures in dream land. Who knows what they kind of fun they were having while there eyes were closed and they laid together in an oversized hotel bed. As the day went by the hustle and bustle of Amino did not wait for them, festivities continuing right under their noses. Several hours into their slumber, Octavia woke to find her new friend had already left leaving only a note.



‘I had a great time with you but Amino was only a top for me. I finally made enough money to get off this rock so I’ve taken the afternoon ferry out of here. I hope we met again someday.’ Under the short message, pressed against the sheet of paper resided a print of her lips in her dark purple lipstick. The note ending, ‘XOXO Ashley. P.S. I’m sorry’ but what was she sorry for? Holding the note closely to her heart Octavia laid back down in the luxurious bed reminiscing about her wonderful night. As the girl laid she tilted her had realizing the time ‘Wow it’s already 3’ she thought. The day had gotten away from her and she did have somewhere to be this day. The curvy hunter swings her leg off of the edge of the bed, planting them firmly on the shag carpet. She then slowly props her boy up and reaches for her bag that felt much lighter than it did when she went to sleep. Franticly, Octavia realized what Ashley was sorry for. She begins to rummage through her belongings realizing that the sexy server had taken most of her money from the night before, leaving her with only 10,000-bri a mere fraction of what she won. Unable to be mad at her new interest, Octavia laughed and began to get ready to go to her appointment.



The journey was a short one the girl made sure to choose a hotel that was in the same general area as her appointment. As she walked into the building, the sound of wood being hammered could be heard coming from the arena. ‘Oh great. Another ring girl gig’ she thought as she reached the large caged ring. ‘Better than nothing I suppose considering Ashley stole most of my money.’ She continued to think as she searched for an announcer that could point her in the direction of someone in charge. As she walked toward the empty ring, Octavia saw someone that she seemed out of place for this area of the sea. His large frame putting most people to shame in size and muscle tone. ‘Hmm, a Fishman’ she thought as she passed Orous who was hard at work fixing the ring. Just passed the fish was a small commentator’s desk where a scrawny announcer sat with his feet propped up on the table. The girl walks up to the relaxed man and says “Excuse me I’m looking for your boss, he gave me this card.”



Octavia hands the man the business card with just an address written on it and instantly the man knew why she was there. “Oh you must be that ring girl that beat down the Champ. Your kinda early but that’s ok you can hang out in the back until your bout.” He says in a quick voice making it hard to hear every word coming out of his mouth.



“Bout?” she questions, as she was never told exactly what she would be doing here. “Well I’m sure it makes more than being a ring girl,” she continues as she tilts her head back gazing at the ring being repaired. “So where is it that I can wait? And is there food there?” questions the new fighter with a huge grin on her face as she was ready to eat.



The announcer pointing towards a set of double doors showing her the way to the fighter rest area. “You can hang out over there but sorry there’s no food.” He says as he watches the smile on the girls face quickly turn into a frown. “Oh don’t look so sad honey, you can get some amazing noodles at the place across the street and there drinks are cheap to.” Octavia’s smile returning as she walked towards the entrance door “Thanks I think I’ll check it out”. As she walks out the announcer yells out “Just make sure you make it back by your bout!”

[mildofthewild]

"Okay...that should beeee....good." 

Orous wipes away at the thin line of sweat that had beaded across his brow, looking down at his handiwork and surveying the fixes. Well...not too shabby. He runs a hand across the stage once more, feeling a new sturdiness and slight spring underneath his finned palm. 

"Not bad at all..." 

As some of the wrestlers made their way in, Orous didn't give much in the way of acknowledgement; typically, when he set his mind to a project, everything else faded into the back burner. All that he cared about was the craft. Of course, that didn't mean the wrestlers didn't notice him, each one taken aback by the sight of a bristling Fishman. Sure, he wasn't nearly as big as some of the rumors stated, but the hunch in his back and the thickness of his body was enough for a few wary eyes to survey him. They wouldn't have to fight that thing...right?!

Of course, as Orous finishes, he does notice one fighter: the ring girl from yesterday, the one that punched out the winner. Just seeing her again made him nervous, reminding him once again how far he was from home. Well, hopefully she wouldn't scuff anything...

Hopping down, Orous heads for the manager's desk, eager to show off his handiwork, only to be stopped by someone with...a...


"...Why are you measuring me?" 

A seamstress flits about his body, wrapping all manners of body parts with that long yellow tape. Arms, shoulders, waist. She made a move to check under his bandanna, only to be waved away. 

"Oh, we got a fighter with a similar build, we just gotta measure them. You know how it is, gotta keep up. So, you finished with the stage? Looks nice, yeah, whatever, tell you what, why don't you take a break? You hungry? Go grab a bite, they got a noodle place across the street, best stuff in town. You come back, we'll sort out payment AND you can see the fight for free. Huh? How 'bout it?" 

Well, that wasn't a bad deal. Nodding, the fishman heads out, unknowingly following Octavia...

[The Shimmering Banana]

The walk to the noodle shop was literally a hop, skip and a jump away. With the thought of good food and a nice stiff drink in mind, the girl cheerfully made her way to the shop and pushed open the large wooden doors. The shop was a small one but it was clear that it was a good one. The room was packed from wall to wall with people from all walks of life eating and drinking. Some business people and others seeming to be part of the underworld. The girls step had a little less pep in it as she approached the host counter. “Hello!, and welcome to ‘The Limp Noodle’, unfortunately we have a bit of a wait but your more than welcome to wait at the bar until a table is ready. Or you can also eat there if you’re not looking for a table today.” Says the young girl at the counter. Octavia replying, “I’ll just sit at the bar, I’m by myself anyways”. With a menu in hand, she walks towards the bar and gazes in amazement at the wall of booze that was hers for the taking. With a shine in her eye, Octavia plops down on the bar stool and waives over a handsome man wearing a suite and bow tie.



The bartender with the chiseled jaw approaches the girl and leans in towards her saying, “Welcome sweetheart, what can I get for ya?” Octavia quickly replying "whisky on the rocks.” Uninterested in his flirtatious ways. The man turning around slowly as he picks up a short glass and reaches out for a bottle of whisky. The man then tosses the bottle into the air and lets it fall towards the inner end of his bent elbow. Looking directly into Octavia’s eyes her stiffens his arm as the bottle reaches it, sending the bottle back into the air. The bottle now free floating upside down in the air the bartender wraps his fingers around the bottles neck as the brown liquid begins to pour out into the glass. He then places the glass onto the counter and slides it over to the new guest. Sliding over to the girl himself the bartender says, “Pretty cool right? I’m practicing for the bartender competition at the end of the week.” Octavia completely uninterested in the conversation picks up her glass, slams her drink back, then points down at the menu, and orders the house specialty. Disappointed in her uninterested look the bartends nods his head and picks up the menu. “Right away Ma’am and I’ll get you another drink as well.”



As the girl sat and waited for her food the bartender continued with his act with new guest coming to sit at the bar. Other patrons a tad bit more excited about his routine than Octavia was. The girl sipping her drink as the others clapped and applauded for the man flipping bottles. After a while, the bartender finishes off his show and walks towards the back to retrieve Octavia’s food. As the kitchen door swings open and the girl sees the handsome man holding a massive bowl with steam rushing off it covering his face. “The house special”, he says as he places the bowl down in front of the girl along with a pair of chopsticks and a broth spoon. “Enjoy,” he continues as he returns to the other guest and continues his flaring act.



Octavia pushes her palms together and thanks the gods for her food before snapping the chopsticks apart and digging into her food. The savory combination of soft noodles, crisp vegies, and thick cut meat melting in her mouth as she scarfed down the food. ‘These noodles are amazing’ she thought as she continued to stuff her face. It was clear why this place was packed and why there was a wait for a seat. With an apologetic look on her face Octavia waives over the bartender “Excuse me, this food is amazing,” she says slurping another bunch of noodles. “My complements to the chef” she continues before lifting the bowl to her mouth and chugging the broth like a frat boy doing a keg stand. With her mood completely different from her earlier snobbish one, she places the bowl back onto the bar top, “Sorry about not being interested earlier, I was just really hungry. How about you make me a more difficult drink this time. Oh but it has to be with whisky.”



The bartender loved a challenge and took this one as another training opportunity. “Of course, I’ll show you something that’ll blow your socks off” he replies as he lays out seven shot glasses across the bar top and starts taking down several bottles from the shelf. The next display of flare amazing the people at the bar as well as the young hunter. With a final tip of his mixing tins, the bartender pours out seven mixed shots and slides them across the bar top to all the guest. “These are on the house,” he says winking at Octavia as they all raise their glasses. “Slued” she says as she raises her glass to the ma… fishman sitting next to her. “Hey I saw you fixing the ring, so let me ask you is the pay good there? I have to go back in a few for a gig just trying to see if it’s worth it?” she says to Orous.

[mildofthewild]

Orous was used to the rather dingier establishments, typically onset by a case of the rambunctious types that were always looking to get their feet wet in a bit of brawling. While this place could fill that rambunctious itch, Orous was quite impressed by the actual liveliness of this place. There were bars where people didn't vomit everywhere?

"Wish I knew that earlier..." he says, noting the crowd and sidling in for a spot at the bar, his general appearance giving him a wide berth, much to his chagrin as he sits himself down. 

Octavia's commotion already made it hard for him to flag down a waiter or even get a drink, so he simply decided to wait out the commotion, drumming his webbed fingers against the wood as shot after shot was quaffed by the crowd. That is until...

"Huh?" 

Wait...she was talking to him?! He didn't think he even warranted any notice, not to someone as strong as her. 

"I uh...I dunno, they haven't paid me yet. They wanted a test run, I guess...you know, to see if what I do holds up. It should...I mean, it will! It will, I'm good at that stuff, you uh...sigh..."

Orous rubs at his face, nearly pulling his bandanna away but skillfully fitting the cloth back so as not to give off his "pearly whites" as others had put it. He still needed to work on the small talk...

"I'm sorry, I don't talk much...they haven't paid me nothin, but they just have me repairin' the ring. What new gig do they have you doin? I saw you punch that guy's lights out, you could be headlining those matches...i-if you don't mind me sayin', I just saw it and...it was pretty cool, you know..." 

It was times like these he wished he could shut himself up with a beer. Talking was just too hard...

[The Shimmering Banana]

Rising to her feet as the fishman spoke Octavia replies “Oh you saw that huh? Yeah I guess I can hold my own.” She then lays some money on the bar top and says “To be honest they haven’t told me what I’m doing, but now that you mention it maybe that’s what tubby had in mind for me.” Lifting her hand into the air, she bids the ring worker goodbye and starts to walk back towards the arena. Maybe he was right, she did not think that the small display of fighting skill would have been enough to earn her a place in the ring but who knows. After all the man she knocked out was considered the champ and she beat him with ease. With a newfound excitement for her possible job, Octavia pushes the doors open and takes a huge breath taking in the musky sent of battle. As she looks around the girl sees the large man that offered her a job and walks towards him. The man noticing the girl and taking an oversized puff from his cigar. As he blows out he says, “Ah there she is my new star.” placing his arm around her shoulder. “Come, come there’s a little time before the fights begin and I wanted to talk to you about payment,” he says as he walks her towards his office.



As the pair walked to the office, there were many men and woman stretching and sparing with the air in preparation for their fights. Some big, others very big, and all of them tough looking, this may not be the piece of cake that Octavia imagined just a few moments ago. “Take a seat” says the owner after opening the door, “would you like something to drink or a small snack? I know you just came from that noodle joint how was the food?” he continued rambling on attempting to make conversation. “Just some water and I only had a few drinks” she replied as she peered around the room. The place looked like it was lost in time with the tiger print wallpaper and shag carpeting. What else would she expect form a guy that looked like a low budget movie producer. “So let’s get down to business.” He says taking another puff from his cigar, the smoke filling the room.



“So I know I didn’t exactly say this, but I’m sure you know I want you to fight in the ring.” He then opens his draw and plops two thousand-five hundred beri on top of the desk. The stack was defiantly less than what the man gave her earlier but maybe that was just incentive to come back today. Octavia reaches over and picks up the pile of money. Using her thumb, she flips through it and says, “This is less than half of what you gave me earlier, so what’s the deal?” The manager shocked that she could hear the difference just by flipping through it replies, “You’re good… It is less than half of what I gave you earlier. If you win, you’ll get the other half. That’s 5,000-beri per fight and an added bonus if you win all your bouts, but that’s all I a dish out for a new fighter.” Letting out a sigh Octavia pockets the money and says, “Well that makes sense but how many fights will I have tonight?”



The manager pulling out a tournament chart points down, “See here, there’s two different brackets with eight fighter in each. You’re on the A side so if you win that’s three bouts before you face the winner of group B. That’s already 15,000-beri and if you win the whole thing the grand prize is 50,000-beri. How’s that sound?” Placing her hand out in front of the man Octavia says “Sounds like a deal” the manager extending his arm as well shaking the new fighter’s hand.



“Good well you can hang out in the fighters area there are plenty of other fighters out there and the first fight is about to start. We typically do one fight from each group at a time since we have two rings. You’re the second fight in group A so go warm up.”

[mildofthewild]

Looking back, slightly uneasy about what he felt was a conversation he ruined, Orous calls for his own bowl of noodles, his mind faced with a new dilemma as he considers how he's going to eat this...

Looking one way then back another, the Fishman peels his mask back, lifting the bowl and pouring the entire portion of noodles down his jagged, spiky maw...

The entirely too hot portion of noodles.

"SONOF-"

Draining the mug next to him, quelling the proverbial fire, Orous gasps and fans at his face, careful to hide the splitting grin while leaving change behind for the meal. He really was making a mess of himself...

Back at the ring, Orous finds his way in the midst of the bustle that accompanies a night of wrestlemania, looking in on the other fighters as they put up their feathers, domino masks, tiger paraphernalia, anything to sell the image of their brand as the next fighter to take home the belt.

"There you are, where the hell have you been??"

One of the workers intercept Orous, redirecting (guiding might be the more operative word) to the changing rooms.

"Huh? Did some fights already happen? It was only 20 minutes-"

"Nonono, just, we need you here just for ringside service you know? Oh and we gotta get you into...this!"

The two made their way to a backroom, two blonde women pulling out their latest masterpiece with widespread grins and bloodshot eyes:

Tattered clothes with...was that supposed to be blood stains?

"...Wwwwhat the hell is this?" Orous racks his brains trying to consider all the possibilities, but the smell of red paint, having drenched into the clothes, causes him to come up empty handed.

"It's your new digs! We figure if you're gonna be seen by the crowd, you're gonna need a motif! These folks have never seen a Fishman before! I'm thinking 'Man-Eater Orous'-"

"Wait, what?! No...no, no! I'm not...I'm not some man-eater, I'm just a guy fixing the ring!"

"Uh...well, it'll be more like you're fixing it...after you cause some damage."

Orous blinks, flitting between the costume and the staff, the picture not clear in his head...

"YOU'RE MAKING ME A FIGHTER?!"

"Look, just for tonight! Just for tonight, you're a shoe in! Tall, built, mysterious look going, you're our marketing team's greatest dream! You've got to help us out here, one of our showgirl's knocked out our lead man! You don't even have to get into the final round, we just need you to fill out the numbers! C'mon, what do you say?" 

The man trembles and falls to his knees, playing up the desperation as he shakes his clenched fists back and forth. The act was pretty convincing, though Orous has seen it before, which might explain his ambivalence to it; still, this was the only way he was going to get money for awhile...

"...Sigh. Okay...okay, I'll do it...but I am NOT going out as 'Man-Eater' or whatever, it's demeaning!" 

"Alright, alright you big baby, we'll come up with something else. Hurry up, get dressed, we gotta start the lineups!" 

This was a bad idea...