The Adventure Begins - Forming The Team

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

The night was still young and the moon barely stood out in contrast to the burning sky with the sun almost completely swallowed by the horizon. Garuda jumped off the small dinghy with a stride. His body feeling relieved as he found land beneath his feet again. The ride from Crescent Moon had been a rough one but he had managed to get out of that hell hole in time. Crescent Moon had enough problems to deal with and it wasn't his battle. Garuda felt his goals didn't follow what the Gold Dream and their Captain Haseo were following.

It didn't matter now, he had made his decision. It was time to follow his own dream now and his own destiny. Garuda knew the time was right. He could taste it in the last breath of the sinking sun. The task at hand though was not an easy one. Hell, some would even call it impossible. Many people had failed trying to do what he had set out to accomplish. Many had even perished in the attempt but then again, none of them had been as determined and skilled as Garuda. The Uzuki Clan had all taken their shot at finding their lost fortune and now it was his turn to fulfill his destiny.

Long ago, many years before the current day and age lived a famous and notorious pirate. He rampaged through the grand-line, knocking up famous pillages after defeating other pirates as he ranked up a large fortune. Like many pirates of his age, he buried the treasure he had collected, very much like the famous One Piece left by Gol D. Roger but this wasn't one that was left for the world to find. Not many knew about the fate of this treasure but Garuda knew it was real. He put his hand into his robes to reveal an old parchment wrapped in a protective casing. It was Garuda's most prized possession after his sword. This was the map that hid the held the secret's the location of that very treasure and it belonged to him for it was left behind by Uzuki Hiroshima, his ancestor. The same blood was now running through his veins and it boiled and burned, longing for the glory and satisfaction of retrieving what belonged to him.

However, Garuda knew this was no easy task. He would have to find allies who he could trust. Those who would be willing to risk their lives for the cause. They would have to mightily talented at what they do. The Black-Haired Swordsman walked through the port, admiring the handy ships that had docked up here. Garuda knew he would require a ship should he wish to go on this epic adventure and he did have some money stocked up from the loot he had gained from the battle against the Flash Pirates but would he be able gain enough people to run the thing. All Garuda knew was how to fix the bloody things.

The Pirate walked casually through the island, admiring his surroundings. The island was beautiful, even in the dark for it felt close to nature. The path consisted of bridges connecting to tree-huts that lead to more wooden bridges, all connecting one tree to another creating a whole chain of paths. It was quite amazing how they had constructed such a wonderful town in such a manner. The lanterns that hung from the tree's made it easy to navigate around the town even during the night. Garuda spotted a few young men dancing happily outside a tree-hut reading the name, Forest Glumps. It looked like a bar of some sort for the two men were heavily intoxicated with both holding a mug in one hand whilst the other was being used to keep themselves stood up against one another. Garuda hadn't had a drink in a while and it was time to knock a few back.

[SHADE SMASH]

Something white could be seen streaking beneath the white glow of the moon as it climbed higher into the sky, it's golden counterpart almost completely beneath the horizon with only a few golden rays seeping into the night. Not many people were up to see this extravegent beauty of the sun relinquishing it's rights to the sky to the moon. And even those who were up didn't stop to think about this beautiful moment, such as the lone pure white wolf that ran through the streets haughtily.

The beautiful wolf panted heavily but seemed in no way ready to stop running for she was on the hunt! She has been stuck on this island for almost a month, her small brain unable to realize how to escape this place through the strange structures of floating wood that lay just off the dock. However, she did not care! There was a reason she stayed in a place that would usually fear people such as her, innocently ignorant! It was all for one reason. FOOD! And where she was going now, there was plenty of it!

She ran a bit faster, her tongue hanging out of her jaw before she paced herself to a halt in front of a pungent and bitter smelling place. It wasn't very large and if she was able to read the large letters that presented themselves on the store, she would have read Forest Glump, which sounded oddly like a movie *ahem*. She stood there for a bit on her four legs, panting heavily, her white fur catching much attention from the lights which shone through the night.

She glanced around, paying attention to the people which occupied the bar. She saw three people, two of which stunk and one which smelled rather untouched by the pungent smell. But she did not see what she was looking for, which was incredibly to her favor. Crouching, she crept into the bar, making sure to make no sound whatsoever. Coming before the bar, she eagerly jumped up and behind the counter. By now she felt eyes on her but she didn't care much for them as she worked quickly to invade one of the cabinets and there she saw raw meat! It was mainly for customers who came during lunch time after a long voyage.

Her head instantly dove into the stash and feasted on as much food as she could before the bartender from the back came out!!!

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

Garuda had walked into the bar and fitted right in. Although it was mostly empty, apart from a couple of guys laughing and drinking in the corner, Garuda felt it was comforting. The man behind the counter was quite stocky and was cleaning large mugs with a cloth in hand. The mustache on his face twitched upon see-ing the man with the large mane walk in. Garuda looked at him with a friendly enough gesture, although no matter how friendly he tried to come across as, Garuda knew he was intimidating non-the-less.

"Hey there," Garuda said, trying to break the ice and get some sort of conversation going but in reply, all he received was a measly grunt. "Oookay, hmmm ... Do you think you can get me a pint of your crankiest ale please. I could really use with a good drink right now," Garuda requested.

The ossan nodded and finally spoke. "I got a mean brew in the back. Want me to fetch it for you. Mind you, it might burn your throat and a hole in your wallet." He warned Garuda before turning on his feet and walking in through a door that lead to the back. Garuda was planning to wait quietly, taking a stool at the front of the bar, however, things weren't going to go as he planned.

The door suddenly swung open and much to the surprise of Garuda and everybody else present to watch this, a white colored wolf walked its way through the front doors of the Forest Glumps. The wolf walked in casually at first but upon taking a sniff of whatever was hidden in the cupboards behind the counter, it pounced across and dug right in for one of the cabinets and there it was. Juicy pieces of red meat.

Just at that moment, the man known as Mike, the bar-man walked back into the room and boy was his face red when he saw the beautiful beast before him tucking into his meat. Before he could say something, Garuda was there to defend the wolf. For some reason, Garuda had always been fond of the fury creatures and this one was very beautiful indeed. "Looks like this isn't the first you've had trouble with this one eh? Its an animal. That's what they do. Ain't that right you pretty thing?" Garuda addressed the wolf.

[SHADE SMASH]

The moment the wolf noticed the man supposedly named Mike walk in from the back, she was ready to have fun! She lowered her head to the floor and bent back her ears so that they were pressed against her head, her tail, although low to the floor in a careful manner, was wagging ever so slightly. Usually she went through a few close calls before she got out of there for good! But this time a unrealized variable came into play. Her ears head up and her ears rose on her head as she looked for what was the speaker, her tail having stopped wagging to focus.

One of the men who happened to not be intoxicated by whatever substance made this place smell as it did, decided to say something before the bar tender made any move towards her. Even though she had no idea what the man said, she liked the tone of his voice and figured that if it stopped this guy from doing anything imminent, he was good in her book!

She wagged her tail dramatically, looking at the man with almost a thankful look for keeping the man away but she wasn't entirely done of his uses yet. Jumping over the bar, before Mike had decided to reach for her again and chase her out, then padded over to where Garuda was and sat herself at his side! She was smart enough to realize that the man may make the connection that he was her master, especially considering how he stood up for her and how the wolf now sat proudly by his side.

She was far off though! Yet, her inability to understand either of the guys forced her to understand through tones of voice and she guessed what they said which went into her favor of thought!

"Why are you protecting that mongrel! That dog's nothing but trouble!!!" Mike snided at the man, almost delibrately holding his drink a bit too far from him as if to bribe him to his point of view.

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

Garuda smirked to himself, almost laughing under his breath. "That drink does look tempting my friend but if I truly desired it, I would snatch it out of your hand. That's the animal instinct and I too am an animal at heart." Garuda spoke firmly with intensity behind every word.

He lowered himself to a crouching position, placing his hand into the mane of the she-wolf, stroking its collar whilst smiling to himself. "This here is a beautiful creature. You should be pleased that such an animal has graced this shack. I just got on this island and I don't want to cause any trouble but I suggest you don't push me or I might just have to add another death to my tally." Garuda threatened the bar-man, smiling the whole while, showing the confidence he possessed. The man behind the counter swallowed hard before lowering his head. Reluctantly he moved his hand forward, as if his body was being forced to offer Garuda the drink who stood vertically once again and took the drink in a thankful manner. The bottle looked expensive which was quite pleasing to the swordsman.

"Hey pretty thing, why don't you join me for a drink." Garuda flirted with the wolf as a joke, not aware of the pretty girl that hid within the animal. Garuda lead the way to a table in the far corner, beckoning the green-land wolf to follow. "Could you bring some more meat over as well." He shouted to the bar-man. "Don't worry, I'll pay for it." He eased the poor man's fret placing a bag of beri on the table that made a clink sound as it hid the wood.

[SHADE SMASH]

The white wolf wagged her tail eagerly, still not understanding an ounce of language the man spoke. She followed him a bit, understanding the gestures and the body language which he expressed, but the moment she smelt that beef, she couldn't stay away! Quickly looking over at the bar tender, she spotted the meet in which he brought out and bounded over to it, snatching it from his hand before running out of the place, unexpectedly into a girl who was just about to enter.

"I didn't know this was a dog house!" She snapped, looking over at the bar tender with a questioning look as she fully entered the bar. Of course, he wasn't quite prepared seeing as he was on the floor after that unexpected leap for the platter of meat he had on his tray. He damn well hoped that mutt never comes back! Bad for business such as this woman, he could feel it in his blood!

"Ah, don't worry about that ma'am, is there anything I can get you?" He asked kindly, shooting an 'I told you look at Garuda, all the while having a friendly face towards the new client.

"A beer would be fine," She said, taking close observation of the others in the room. Her eyes seemed to especially stray to one of the drunken men, but in a second, the look was gone and she went to sit at one of the tables far from the bar, maybe one over from Garuda. Short green hair glowed neon in the dark gloomy bar and goggles hung around her neck. Maybe the most interesting part about her though would be the missle launcher hanging over her back. She didn't even take it off to sit, simply allowing the weapon to go over the back of the chair so that she herself could get comfy.

Her eyes once again strayed to one of the men, just before a large glass of beer was placed in front of her. She smiled at the bar tender, but her green eyes showed no clue of the kindness which so easily appeared on her face.

"Thank you." She said and he abruptly walked away to leave her to her business.

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

Garuda had watched attentively as a green haired female had entered the bar. The most intriguing thing about her wasn't the flashy her she carried or the large bazooka on her back, but the way she carried herself as a person. There was something about her, the confidence with how she walked and talked sparked an interest from Garuda although her comment about the place being a dog house didn't go too well with his liking.

Garuda looked down at his newly acquired pet and brushed his hand across its mane before whispering, "Don't worry about her. I think she's just got something stuck up her you know where. But she does seem interesting, wouldn't you agree." He talked to wolf as if it were a real person. Garuda felt close to all species of the wolf clan for his family were of the belief they were descendants of an ancient clan who were once half man, half wolf. Some even said that the legendary Uzuki Hiroshima could call forth such a power but this was nothing but a myth like the many that surrounded famous pirates.

Garuda was becoming more curious as the lady with an attitude sat herself just a table away from Garuda and the she-wolf. His eyes were glued upon her yet she didn't seem very interested in starting a conversation. It seemed Garuda would have to make an effort here. After all, she seemed like a possible candidate for his first recruit. "Do they come in a larger size?" Garuda said out loud, teasing the girl about the large missile launcher placed on her back. "I think I could do with one of those considering where I'm headed." Garuda intentionally left the sentence at a cliffhanger, hoping it would get the better of the young girls curiousity, hoping she would interrogate him about his mission.

[SHADE SMASH]

Ammy watched the girl come in, once again sitting beside Garuda, unable to understand the world as always. However, there was something in the way she said "Dog house," that made the wolf angry and almost restless. The young wolf glared at the green haired girl who didn't even seem to touch the once again foul smelling substance that was placed in front of her. What was worse was the one who was patting her head seemed to have gained an interest in this new girl.

She whined a bit, intentionally nuzzling his hand in an attempt at getting more attention and, of course, more scratching!!! As the young wolf sat there, wagging her tail lightly currently obsessed with the goal at hand, the green haired teen instead took her time observing someone at the bar. Her glass of beer left completely untouched. She didn't even care much for the item anyways, after all beer was never quite her thing. At least for the moment it wasnt.

Why was she so immersed on this drunk at the bar? Simple. She is a mercenary. Hired by many, she takes jobs her boss offers to her and she executes them. This job concerned the leader of a secret organization interfering in the works for yet another underground leader. It was some feud between their organizations, blah blah blah, the works. And no, she wasn't really going to KILL him. She wasn't into that, but she did have to teach a lesson for her to be done and on to her next job.

Just then, however, someone spoke up in the bar. She glanced over at the man that was over a table, shock and surprise evident in her face. "You can see me?!" She cried out, not truly realizing the stupidity of her words with her arms waving around dramatically and her eyes wide. She was damn sure she wasn't moving so how was he able to see her?! She pondered not at all realizing her environment wasnt at all similar to that of the forest in which she would have easily been unable to be discovered if she had been unmoving.

Ammy simply cocked her head at the girl before going back to her constant annoying prodding of the boys hand for more attention.

The girl also popped back quickly, looking at the man curiously. "Well you arent taking this baby from me." it's all I have left She continued in her mind. She also avoiding from asking where even though her curiosity was begging her to do just that. She understood that he placed it in there, left it hanging on purpose. Either that or he really wanted the mission launcher and didn't feel it necessary to put it in. ORRR Maybe he didn't want her to know.

Whatever the reason, he certainly accomplished in veering her attention away from her latest job.

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

Garuda was a little disappointed the green-haired girl had not questioned him about where he was headed. Perhaps it was because he had made it so obvious that he wanted her to ask but he knew he had definitely got her attention. His she-wolf friend also noticed this and was trying to drag Garuda attention back. He didn't mind for he was quite fond of this creature. Perhaps he could keep her as a pet and companion.

Garuda knew the girl was dying to know more about his mission of sorts. After all, not every guy would request you about a rocket launcher. It seemed the girl wasn't used to talking either. It was quite amusing when she realised she wasn't camouflaged which meant she spent a lot of the time hidden. "Perhaps she's an assassin?" Garuda thought to himself. Garuda thought it wasn't cool to keep her in the dark for so long, considering he had already got her curious.

"Ah, that's too bad. I really needed someone who could wield a powerful weapon like yours. I wasn't going to tell you but you don't seem the type to go telling everybody about things you hear about so I'll let you in on a secret." Garuda dragged his chair forward, bringing himself closer to the green-haired girl as if he was trying to keep their conversation hidden, although there was nobody close enough to hear them. "You see, I've come across a secret hidden treasure map from over a century ago. This was treasure collected by the notorious and infamous Uzuki Hiroshima. He was my ancestor and I plan on finding the treasure he left behind. This ain't some story of myth like the One Piece. This is actually real and something not many people are aware off. Don't believe me? Take a look at this." Desperado whispered to the girl with a very serious expression on his face because he believed every word he had said and wanted to convince this girl to come along with him.

Garuda put his right hand into his robe and revealed a scroll hidden within. An old parchment that looked like it could fall apart any moment, had it not been patched together. A golden ribbon was tied along the middle. Garuda opened the scroll to reveal the ancient scriptures within. The map itself was in riddles and weird markings which made it a hell-of-a-lot difficult to understand where exactly it was leading to. It was in the Grandline for sure, that was pretty obvious but other than that, everything was confusing. But one thing was for sure, it was definitely a treasure map. It had the cross on the island and everything but it would require some work to decipher it. "You see, this shit is real but I can't do this alone. I need a team to help me find this thing and considering how dangerous the Grandline is, somebody as strong as yourself would make a great team-mate." Garuda spoke softly, as if he really wanted to recruit this girl.

"There's a lot of money involved. The exact amount is unknown but this was the place where my great grandfather and his crew hid all their treasure. Find this and we'll be sorted for life. And I can guarantee you, this will be the greatest mission... no, greatest adventure of your life. Do you think you can handle something like this?" Garuda left her hanging with a question that was not just a request but it would question her ability.

[SHADE SMASH]

Shock, surprise, amazement, there were so many emotions being conveyed on her face at that moment that she wasn't even sure herself what they were. She even felt a twinge of guilt mixed into the throng, a knowing feeling as to what this young man may face by including her in such a profound secret. Didn't he know not to tell strangers about such stuff? Like shouldn't it be some sort of kids story or isn't there something out there called "Stranger Danger"?

She gulped, a multitude of strategies coursing through her mind as to how she could get her hands on the object without doing any harm to him. Maybe decline and pick pocket him later, or draw it quickly without his looking and be on her way, get a reward from her current boss and maybe even get some much needed vacation time. The worst of all those strategies included beating him up for the map, one she extremely disliked. He seemed like such a well ignorant one which she did not want to take advantage of. But all those strategies flew out the window once her eyes settled on the true map.

Even if she was able to copy it, draw it on a napkin or steal it, it seemed obvious that she would be unable to follow it. Those symbols that ran across the page were just mumbo jumbo to her and she couldn't possibly find someone to interpret them. Her "colleagues" weren't exactly linguists. But, another idea popped into her head. One that she was sure the Boss would be proud of her for even as her current job walked out the door, completely helpless and out of her reach.

She would join him.

It would be pretty simple. He obviously already has some sort of trust in her already and when she gets there she will have it all to herself. The money and gold, she would be praised and revered by her boss. Be known as the greatest of whatever she was alive! Then, another more heart warming idea popped into her head. Return to the island she had left, and help to bring it back to its former glory with the money she would recieve, regain her friends and possibly his forgiveness... Her mind trailed off for awhile more before she unconsciously shook her head, something to jolt her mind from the past. She knew it was idiotic of her to think of such wistful thinking and immediately reprimanded herself before looking at the man. A smile gracing her face.

"I think you already know the answer to that." She responded.

Ammy looked at the girl, feeling something unsettling in the pit of her stomach. It was an odd feeling and one she didn't aquire easily but something about this one made her instincts go into over drive. The only problem was relaying that information to her new pal wouldn't exactly be an easy one considering being diferent species...technically anyhow. She simply whined at Garuda, hoping it would be taken as a plea to not let this girl come with them rather than a wish to get more pets and pats.

(Don't worry, she evil now because the world is harsh but she will come around ^^)

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

A huge smile of success appeared on Garuda's face, despite the efforts of trying to hide his joy. He had acquired the first person to join him on his travels and perhaps a lifelong companion too in the form of a lovely white she-wolf. It had seemed to have taken a liking to Garuda and he too felt like it was already practically family.

"That's great. I'm pretty sure you'll have great fun and an experience you will remember for a long time." Garuda continued to draw the green-haired girl in, hoping she wouldn't change her mind. He knew he should let her know the fact that the treasure map had caused many people to lose their lives in search of the treasure as well as the fact he had no idea how to follow the damn thing but thought better of it. Now was not the time. He would let her know when it came round to finding someone who could read the map, right now, they just had to find random strong looking people to approach.

With the beautiful furred animal still sitting by his side, he couldn't help but run his hands through its hair. "I wonder what I should call you?" Garuda said in a quiet voice, as if only the two of them were in the room when a though suddenly hit him. "Wait a second. Here we are deciding on becoming team-mates, getting ready to go out on a dangerous and top-secret voyage and we haven't even introduced ourselves." Garuda cried out-loud with a passion, as if this was the most important task and should have been carried out a long time ago. "I am Uzuki Garuda of the Uzuki Clan. We are known to warriors who fight bravely, with honor and pride. I wish to become one of the most renowned swordsmen in the world, it is a dream of a life."

There was even more passion in Garuda's words now as if he were pouring his heart out to someone yet he looked like as if he were pumping himself for a fight. It was during times like these, Garuda later wished he would remain quite. For some reason, when excited about something, Garuda's language became erratic and his speech lost its sense of structure. "Enough of mine. Yours now. What is it? Your name?" Garuda requested. He was now standing on his feet in front of the rocket-launcher carrier. His eyes burning with passion.

[SHADE SMASH]

The young girl watched Garuda curiously, unable to understand him in the least even as she observed him now. He was oddly complicated for someone so childish and it only seemed to further perk her interest over him and over how the adventure was going to be from here on forth. She couldn't help the excitement that took over her. However, that was quickly gone, replaced by a sweat drop as she got a front row seat to his idiocy.

A second one appeared as he continued on, sentance after sentence slowly losing their gramatical structure and losing sense. At least the last one she understood.

"Ano, I am Za-....Zasha." She replied, a slight pause as she consider the problems in revealing her name. There was none she saw and even if she wanted to, she was sure that saying a fake name would only harm her towards the end and she would probably lose all trust in the man. Yes, she whole heartedly believed he understood every symbol that marked that map and for many days, weeks, or years she was very well going to believe that until he comes up to her, stares her in the eyes, and says it. Instead of thinking Poor Garuda, I'd actually be thinking poor Zasha for not knowing what she is getting into!!!

Ammy continued to sit there, eager to see what this man was going to call her, but he quickly altered the spotlight to fit on the green haired lady. More like green eyed envy which was exactly how the young pup was feeling. She lightly growled hoping to redeem some sort of place in the conversation despite not understanding most of the things either was saying.

Zasha then glanced over at Ammy, a sort of boredom taking over her face as she stated "Akashiro. Thats what we should call him"

In that moment, Ammy pounced on the girls leg which in turn got Zasha to stand up suddenly trying to violently shake the dog off. "O-OI!!! GET YOUR MONGREL OFF-YEOW!!!! DX" Ammy bit harder at the sound of that foul name as they 'danced' through the bar.

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

"Zasha... That's quite a cool name. Sounds fierce, like a rocket being launched. Do you like scream your name out when you shoot out you rockets. It could make a for an awesome catchphrase. YOU JUST GOT ZASHED!" Garuda could tell from the Zasha's reaction, he was getting a bit over hyped. Perhaps it was the drink or perhaps the girl before him but he was really excited.

The girl was quite amazing. She even came up with a name for our pet wolf. "Akashiro. Thats what we should call him," she had said. And that's when things went bad. Now this white she-wolf was not having any more of this. In fact, she was going to make a meal out of it. Garuda hadn't been in a situation where his attention was diverted between two females and now the animal before him had lunged forward and wrapped its teeth around Zasha's leg. Garuda jumped off his seat in panic and confusion. He had not expected this. He just stood there frozen as the wolf held on whilst Zasha waltzed around the bar with it, trying to shake it off."O-OI!!! GET YOUR MONGREL OFF-YEOW!!!!" She screamed.

"Its not even mine, I swear. It just followed me in here." Garuda pleaded his innocence. "It just grew a liking to me and I really like wolves." He wanted to crack the joke, 'She doesn't seem to like you' or 'That name was a bad choice' but decided against it, considering how crazy the current situation was.

"Stop. Let go. Stand still. Don't hurt it." Garuda said, one after the other, but they were ineffective. He would have to literally get in between them to stop this. Garuda leaped forward and put his arms around the wolf, using the strength in his huge upper body to drag the she-wolf away from the green-haired girl.

[SHADE SMASH]

Garuda's attempts fell on deaf ears, more so for Ammy than Zasha since she didn't really understand more than the tone of voice he used and still refused to withdraw from the little 'banter' they were in. Zasha felt about the same way and an almost cartoonish cloud covered them as she decided to fight back. It was almost like a cat fight!...But.. dogified? There was even words of encouragement by the one guy at the bar as the bar tender did all he could to contain his rage.

Only when Garuda had decided to include himself into the fight did it cease, Ammy feeling pretty good about herself seeing as he was once again paying her attention! And, they wouldn't call her that name whatever it was. Akabiro? Bakashiro? It sounded like bakashiro and she knew what baka meant!!! Wagging her tail a bit, she licked Garuda's face, her fur ruffled making her look more of the wild beast the bar tender had claimed her to be.

Oddly enough, Zasha too was relatively unharmed except for the bite she recieved in the leg but it wasn't big enough to really need to pay attention to it. Other than that, she was just scratched a bit here and there and her face was red with frustrated rage! Plus, there was something wierd between them now that distracted her attention. A small furry piece of cloth lay on the floor and looking at Ammy, she spotted a furry indentation around her chest. Two questions popped into her including the thought that maybe the wolf was worth her interest.

"So How long did you say you knew hi-uh-her?" Realizing the major mistake she made last time as Ammy growled before she could really get it out. Once she corrected it though, Ammy went back to licking Garuda's face if he still allowed for it like a little puppy.

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

The She-Wolf licked Garuda's face as it continued to play with it.
"So How long did you say you knew hi-uh-her?" The rocket-carrying chick asked all of a sudden.

Garuda didn't make much of it as he patted his newly acquired pet on the head, indicating that it was time to stop with the licking. He got to his feet and downed the last remaining gulp of his drink before answering. "Just a little longer than I've known you." Garuda replied with all honesty. "Basically, I met the both of you during the time I've been in the bar and you can ask those guys in the corner over there, it hasn't been long. UH-AHAHA!" Garuda bellowed into laughter as he witnessed the two frightened men racked up in the corner.

"It looks like we've stirred up enough trouble here. Lets move out and I'll tell you more about this adventure we're setting out on."

[/b]Garuda said, as he left the table and headed for the door out, he looked back at Zasha and the Wolf, telling to follow. The bar-man had a scowl on his face, unhappy with the ruckus and mess the three of them had caused. At least they were leaving now, letting the bar fall back into its boring, miserable atmosphere.

"Hey Zasha, you never told me what you do for a living. You're not a bounty hunter are you?" Garuda questioned his newest acquaintance. "Because I've got a small amount on my head and I can't be having a bounty hunter in my pack. Never know when a handcuff might be around my wrists with my ass being sent off to a prison somewhere."

Sometimes the bulky man didn't think before he spoke and it often landed him in a lot of trouble. "Mind you, I used to be a bounty hunter once upon a time until I met my match against this pirate. Heavy Death Haseo, you might have heard of him. Funny how things can change like that by meeting a single person." Garuda informed Zasha as he casually walked out of the bar.[/blockquote]