Big and Bigger [Open]

[sabrejustice]

With a weak whimper the wolf fell, it's large body crashing against the earth, crushing small bushes and a fallen log that lay beneath it. The creature looked to have been knocked into unconsciousness from the beating it had received, with bruises covering it's form as blood leaked out of several smaller wounds and it's mouth. However, though a shallow breathing could be heard coming from it's body, that was to be cut short. Not allowing the wolf any mercy, a tremendous hammer crashed down, crushing it's skull under it's heavy weight. Blood splattered across the ground, and all of a sudden it became apparent just how huge the scale of this battle had been - The wolf, or so it looked, was in fact a creature of Daijuu Island known as a Greatwolf, named for it's sheer size, being the equivalent of a normal rhino in largeness. It stood only a little shorter than the trees across the land, which were now sprayed with it's blood.

It's opponent, however, was far greater in size. Standing at roughly one hundred feet tall, the figure was a powerful, blonde woman carrying a great hammer, her hair pulled into braids at the ends of her bangs with an eye patch featuring a lightning bolt on it covering her left eye. She stood far taller than the trees themselves, dwarfing the other beasts of the land. When she showed herself before the Greatwolf, it had been threatened and ultimately showed up in not just size, but strength. Now, as it lay before her, she set the hammer down and gazed upon it, grabbing it's body and one of the logs nearby. "Daijuu Island, huh? This is pretty sad - Humans have no sense of scale. This was just a gnat" she remarked, uncaring. Setting the log down with a pile of others, she grabbed two large boulders and began striking them against each other, igniting a fire.

Several minutes later, she had prepared for herself a nice meal of Greatwolf meat, cooking the beast over a fire she'd constructed herself. Sitting before the fire with her arms crossed, she waited patiently for her dinner to finish cooking, staring out across the island. She could really go for some booze. "Maybe I'll go find a town and rob some. There has to be something good here if not a good fight" she remarked, sighing as she cracked her neck. "Honestly, I'm bored out of my skull. Is there anything to do here?" she wondered aloud, unaware of the presence of anyone else.

[shinku]

"Yes, you could make some tea, that would do a lot of good to that meal of yours." answered her a voice from behind.
An old woman, that might have or have not passed a hundred years, with long braided silver hair that nearly reached the ground came out of the shadows of the forest and sat down in front of the fire, without even asking Clair first. Maybe she was unnoticed by Clair before because she was so small, or maybe because her black cloths were so washed-out that she blended in the shadows like a tiger did in the jungle. But now that she was in the open she was hard to ignore, especially since she just imposed her company to the girl.

Granny Arian took out a big pot, filled it with water from the river that flew nearby and started to brew tea, just like she told Clair so a moment ago. "You've got to have tea to your meal little girl. It helps to bring out the flavor of the food." she explained to her and smiled, showing her white teeth and a lot of wrinkles appeared on her face.
Arian took her frying pan, a very heavy looking one (at least for people with a normal size) and black from the use on open fire, and started to make an omelet with the two over-sized eggs she had brought with her. Soon the air was filled with a nice smell that made the old woman hungry and for some reason more talkative.

"What does a little girl like you want on a remote island like this?" she asked her while waiting for her dinner to be ready. She glanced at Clair as if she was trying to see through her. "Are you one of this rascals that are like everywhere nowadays? Tss.. I bet you are. The youngsters today all are like that. And don't think you can fool me just because you have your hair braided like a nice and obedient girl, brat. You're a big troublemaker, I'm sure of it!" she told her, but her voice didn't sound like she was accusing Clair, it was more amused than anything else.

[sabrejustice]

"Huh?! What the-" the giant teenager was caught off guard as she heard a voice speak up and, at once, she cast her gaze to the ground, trying to spot who it was, only to catch sight of an elderly woman with gray hair walking into the space she'd claimed for herself and her meal, mumbling something about the need for tea with her meal. Claire stared confusedly at the woman, wondering how she could be so... So... Flippant! So calm and casual regarding the fact she was trying to, somewhat ironically, speak down to her, a giant! The teenager's face scrunched up and her brows furrowed as she stared down at the old woman, watching as she took out a large pot, brewing the tea she'd been mentioning earlier. Who the hell even cared about tea anyway!? She wanted booze! Alcohol! The elixir of her life! Not something like tea!

At last the grey-haired woman looked up to her, asking her what a girl such as herself would be doing on an island like this, as remote as it was. Claire briefly tried to think of a reason for why, but scowled as she realized she didn't actually have any particular reason for being here. She didn't like this. But the old woman continued to go off on a tangent as she remarked how she must have been one of those 'rascals' and that just because she had her hair braided like a 'good girl', she apparently wasn't fooling the old woman, who again showed sheer audacity in the face of this Giant by calling her a 'brat'! Yet on that woman's face, all there was was that amused look, almost as though she found it funny! Claire glowered, irritated with how this elderly woman had been acting so far and decided to finally respond.

"Hold on now a damn minute! Who the hell are you?! This is my food! I got it myself, so I don't see why you're brewing your tea over my fire oh so calmly as though you owned it!" Claire spoke up, a little bit annoyed with this woman. "Moreover, I'm not trying to look like a good girl, you hag! I just like these braids!" she snapped back, defending the appearance of her braids that the old woman had mentioned just moments before. "And I'll have you know this - I'm not just some brat! I'm the Lightning Queen, Claire Tempest! I'm actually pretty well known, you know!" she remarked, hoping now the old woman would rethink her manners - She was a giant! She was the one with the power here! If this little human didn't learn her place, she wouldn't hesitate to show her why she was considered so tough!

[shinku]

"Don't be so cheeky brat. There's enough fire for both of us and it's common sense to let an elderly person like myself use your fire. It's not like I'm trying to steal your meat after all." Granny Arian pointed at the omelet she was cooking. "I have my own food after all."
"And my tea." she added, while calmly filling a cup for herself and taking a gulp. "I'm not going to offer you any since you don't seem to know how great tea can be and I don't want to share my tea with someone so ignorant. Not to mention that you act in a very inappropriate way. Didn't your parents tell you to respect the elderly?! Youngsters this day have no manner at all." she said, not as amused as she was before.
She took a second gulp of tea and the warmth of the tea spread through her body and Granny Arian found herself calm again. She would forgive this little brat for her rude comments, after all it was probably not even the little child's fault but the fault of society that wasn't taking care of the kids like it should. No wonder they didn't knew what was right and what was wrong.
Maybe the brat wasn't even that wrong. She did not introduce herself before she sat down, but as the elder one of them it should have been common knowledge that the child had to introduced herself first. Now that she did that there was reason to not introduce herself too.

"Don't think I'll be lenient with you just because you call me a hag. Compliments don't work on me." she said, but she sounded pleased while saying so. "But since you introduced yourself child, I shall do so too."
"You have the honor to speak with Arianrhod Darshana Scarlet and Claire my dear.. I think your meat is ready, so you better take it from the fire, before it burns to ashes."

'This girl isn't too bad, considering how brats normally are.' Arian thought. The girl had a good self-confidence, considering that she was wearing braids no matter what look it would give her and what people might think, just because she liked them. Granny liked that too.
Being to pleasant to people was not a good thing. They'd lost their respect for you if you were too nice and tried to appease them with everything.

[sabrejustice]

Claire rolled her eyes, wondering where it was stated she had to let the woman use her fire, keeping her eyes keenly on the elderly woman before her. She could hardly believe how this woman was acting, as though completely unafraid of the giant. Did she think that just because she'd spent some time on an island with slightly bigger animals around, she would be okay in a giant's presence? Even now, when she'd informed the woman who she was, the elderly woman seemed to care little of it. When the woman asked of her what her parents taught her, Claire let out a snort, finding it rather amusing that she would say that. "Frankly, those two didn't teach me anything, so I left them! Like I give a damn about them" she remarked, though it had been a lie - but she'd rather keep the truth about them to herself.

She sat still as she listened to the old woman continue to talk, remarking somewhat ironically how she might have considered being called a hag a 'compliment'. Claire rolled her eyes - old people were weird. Looking towards the cooked meat in her fire, she still continued to listen as the old woman proceeded to introduce herself as Arianrhod Darshana Scarlet. Not bothering to even try to remember it all, Claire made a mental note to just call her 'Arian'. Unfortunately, 'old hag' didn't really work as she'd hoped. As the elder remarked how her meat was done, Claire simply grunted and carefully took the meat out, making sure not to burn herself as she brought it out of the fire and up to her mouth, sniffing the cooked meat. Taking a quick bite, she tore some of the flesh away with her teeth before turning back to the woman.

"I'm not your dear, so don't call me that" she bit back, not quite liking how she had said 'Claire, my dear'. Chewing her food, she proceeded to gulp it down before turning back to the old woman. "You're awfully calm for someone who's just walked in and disturbed a giant's solitude, Arian" she remarked, keeping a sharp eye on her. Maybe she was one of those Devil Fruit users who had grown arrogant, thinking that just because they had special powers, they didn't have to fear her or the big hammer she carried. well, if that was the case, she'd learn how wrong she was if she dared to mess with her.

[shinku]

The eggs were finally ready. They had took a longer time than usually because of their size, but that also meant you had more to eat and Granny Arian wasn't exactly a big eater. Why she cooked two of the over-sized eggs was a mystery even for her, but then again, acting out of a whim always worked well for her, so Arian didn't see a reason to change that. The old woman took a well-sized portion and put the frying pan down next to Claire.

"I have enough with this, you can have the rest if you wish." she told her, not adding "my dear" this time, but not out of fear like Claire might have wished, but simply out of respect for this girl who knew what she wanted and what she didn't wanted. Arian felt a little bit reminded of how she had been when she was young. Well... a little bit. There was no reason to exaggerate and this little brat wasn't nearly as clever or as stubborn as she herself had been, but as she could not be Arianrhod D. Scarlet, that was to be expected. Nevertheless she was a child you could expect something great for the future, if she learned some manners, that is.

When Claire mentioned how she was a giant and how calm Arian was about that, the old woman nearly choked on her omelet because she had to laugh so hard. When she could breath again she smiled and answered.
"Don't expect too much just because you're giant kid. I'm an old woman and I've seen a lot of random and strange things in my life. You're not the first giant I meet either nor did I ever had any problems with your people. Most of the time they make a good companion, even if they are a bit loud sometimes."
She smiled and drank her tea.
"You're just a little kid, no matter how big you are. I'm old and I lived a long life so I'm not getting scared of death that easily, especially not if it's just a noisy kid that tries to scare me. If you want respect, you have to earn that through your actions!"

[sabrejustice]

Tearing another bite out of the wolf meat she'd cooked for herself, Claire suddenly caught sight of the old woman setting down a frying pan with a large egg in it next to her, raising a brow as the woman offered her the food. Why the old woman had thought to cook two of them when she herself could only need one was more of a mystery to her than why she'd decided to offer her the food in the first place. Still, willing to take what she'd get (Which unfortunately wasn't something like rum this time either) she decided to swallow her current bite of meat and set the wolf meat down for a second to have some of the food that was offered to her. Grumbling a half-hearted thanks to the old woman, she simply sat there eating for a moment before suddenly, the old woman laughed at the question she'd posed her a second ago, causing her brows to furrow again.

So the old woman showed no fear towards her simply because of her age. Tch. Figures. She'd gone on to mention how, in her younger years, she'd encounter more than a few giants, remarking how despite being a bit loud, they'd often been good companions. Claire rolled her eyes. So she really didn't fear them like the others usually did. But before she'd spoken, the old woman went on to remark how, despite her size, Claire was still just a 'little girl' to her. Just some young teenager rather than the giant she was, before mentioning how, after a long life like hers, she didn't exactly have any fears of death. That, at the very least, explained something. But it wasn't like Claire necessarily liked that - She always preferred having people fear her. Maybe she was just pushing people away, but she didn't want anyone close to her.

"Respect? I'll get plenty of that when I reach the end of the Grand Line by myself and become Pirate Queen!" she declared. It was her ambition - She didn't want anyone close to her, so she'd become the Pirate Queen by herself, even if it meant taking on the entire world or even - nay, perhaps eventually - facing Whitebeard himself. She didn't need a crew to do that - she'd just fight on as a one-man Pirate band. That was all.

[shinku]

Granny Arian laughed, but not in a bad dismissive way. The "little" girl made her remember her old days when she herself was a pirate that sailed the sea, full of ambition, searching for fame and wealth no matter what troubles crossed her way and what hardships she had to endure.

Dreams and hopes.

Two things that would never change, no matter how much time would pass. As long as there was something to gain, people would always dream and hope to be the one to get the prize. Especially the young ones.
How long had it been since she herself had dreamed like that? Dreams that were so hard to reach, so far away that they were always just beyond the horizon. It surely was a long time ago. Since she gave up the pirate life and started being the "old lady that lives in the forest near the village, who knows a lot of stuff and who you better don't mess with if you don't want to get in trouble". But then again, didn't she leave the little house she had to go and search for her last adventure? Maybe she and that girl weren't that different.

That thought lifted her mood even more and she took out a bottle of sake out of her bag. "Now that's a word little girl!" she laughed. "We have to drink to this!" she told her, while pouring a cup for herself and after a second of thinking, handing Claire the rest of the bottle.
"Cheers! May you have big luck with your adventure! And that you will get some respect even before you reach your big goal!"

She drank some gulps but then couldn't keep back her curiosity.
"Now tell me little girl. How are you planing to reach your goal? Do you already have some companions to sail with you? Do you know anything about the grand line? Or are you just like the majority of the young people that set sail without knowing anything?" she laughed again and gave Claire big smile while waiting for her answer.

[sabrejustice]

"Heh, for once I agree with you, Arian" Claire spoke, grinning as the old woman brought out some booze. Lovely, delicious booze. Ah, how she loved the drink. Nothing better than spending a night drinking under the stars. Perhaps it led to her waking up with a headache many a time, but she cared little. Taking the bottle from the old woman, she brought it to her lips and proceeded to take a gulp of the substance before setting the bottle down, giving a sigh. She'd been hoping to get some since she came to this island. Fortunately, it seemed fate was looking down on her today. When she set down the bottle however, the elderly woman proceeded to speak more, giving her praise and encouragement to follow her own dreams and ambitions. Perhaps then this old woman wasn't as bad as she thought. Like hell she'd say it out loud though.

"Planning to reach my goal? Ha, I already know my plan!" she remarked, smirking to herself. "If I want to be the Pirate Queen, I just have to be the strongest, right? Then I'll take on entire crews, wipe the floor with big-name Captains and make a name for myself. Then, when I enter the New World, I'll take on the big guy himself!" Claire voiced her plan for taking on the world, her smirk widening as she came to the final part of her plan. "I'll take on Whitebeard and defeat him. If I can do that, I'm automatically the strongest on these seas. Becoming the Pirate Queen will be a breeze!" she laughed, even though her dreams were insurmountably huge. Whitebeard was not a name thrown around so casually, after all - the man had a big reputation that couldn't even match up to the man himself. He may as well have been larger than life.

"I grew up on the Grand Line before I left to enter these seas. I know full well how treacherous it can be. Whether it's the erratic weather patterns or the powerful pirates moving along the Grand Line, I know exactly what to expect. I'll just have to crush anyone who stands in my way and push my way through the storms. I won't even need a crew" she remarked, smirking, though in truth, something about her seemed hollow. Perhaps it seemed a bit disturbing that someone could set sail willingly without a crew, expecting to top the Grand Line on their own, but there was something more. It was almost as though, rather than believing she didn't need one, she didn't want a crew. That she wanted to push away everyone from her.