Kikuya Marries!? (GDP Mini-Plot)

[.::Haseo On The Clouds::.]

(I still feel so rusty =/)

The ship swayed back and forth along with the waves as the now almost recuperated Gold Dream crew were heading off onto the next island. It had been only a week or so since Haseo, Basil, and Kikuya had liberated the Crescent Moon Kingdom from the iron rule of the tyrant Selethen, however the overwhelming injuries that Haseo had recieved during his battle forced him to remain in bed for the entire trip. In all honesty it was quite boring, laying around all day for a week, nothing to really do but sleep or have Kikuya continuously care for him. Haseo's bandages were being re-applied for the 3rd time in the past few hours and in was during this time that Haseo could even hope to interact with his crewmate Kikuya. Most of the time Basil was out, tending to the navigation, guiding Lenny through the waters while giving him a few lessons on speaking from here and there, but every now in then he'd come in and drop by to check on Haseo. It was during these moments that gave Haseo any kind of smile on his face.

Kikuya had finished bandaging Haseo up and left the room to allow Haseo to rest. Once again Haseo was left alone in his quarters for what would probably be for another hour or two. Kikuya had constantly told him to rest and sleep but Haseo could never find himself to do it. He dared not to dream again which led to most of his nights as restless ones. Every time Haseo closed his eyes...it brought him back to the pain that he endured in his fight with Selethen. Although he won, Haseo had yet to shake off the fear and the weight that he felt when he battled the former Emperor. He could remember Kikuya's medicine wearing off, causing for extreme pain to re-enter into his body. For some reason now whenever he thought of the fight...that unbearable pain re-entered into his system. It was exactly a physical pain that he felt...but more so a mental breakdown that confused Haseo's body into believing it was in pain. For this very reason...Haseo hardly slept well for the past few days.

As Haseo turned and rustled in bed, he felt a quick jerk in the ship's movements before everything became very still. "We must have landed..." He thought before he got up and for the first time in 8 days, walked outside of his quarters. Kikuya and Basil had repeatedly warned Haseo never to do so, but he couldn't help it. He was the damn Captain after all! Each island was supposed to be an adventure he went through alongside his crew!

He took slow paced steps towards the door. Step....step....step. Time seemed to suddenly move unbearably slow to him. Since when had he been reduced to the fragile state that he was in now? The door wasn't even that far away! But why did it feel like it was so unreachable!? Step...step...step. He couldn't take it anymore! He wanted to go outside! Haseo hastened his pace, furiously stabbing the floor of the ship with his crutch to allow him to get closer to the door and then finally...he got there.

Haseo got hold of the door handle, and simply twisted the knob so that he could venture out into the sunlight once more. It felt nice. The breeze kissing his cheeks, the sunlight bringing warmth throughout his body. How had he been locked up for only one week? It felt like an eternity in there without the beauty of the world surrounding him! Haseo knew that at any moment, Kikuya or Basil, maybe both would come rushing to him to tell him to go back to bed. Well what if he didn't want to? He was the Captain after all! He could do whatever he wished!

"Basil! Kikuya! Where are we now!?"

[White Mimic]

Once she had finished changing Haseo’s bandages once again, Kikuya made her way for the ships empty kitchen. Haseo was at the point in his treatment where his wounds had to be continuously soaked in a diluted herbal solution that kept the area clean and catalyzed the medicine she had continuously given him for the past few days. He was making excellent progress but he remained reluctant at bed rest. Unfortunate, considering he needed to remain stationary for the medication to work at its fastest.

Grabbing a small cup from a cabinet, Kikuya removed a pot from the stove that she had been keeping warm for a while. It was green tea that she had been brewing since she went into the medical quarters to change Haseo’s wounds for the third time there was enough for all of them but she doubted Haseo would want some and wasn’t certain adding another herb like tea would do much wonders for his system, not the with the way she was treating him. There was another cup for Basil too, she had asked if he wanted any and he said he would drink it if she made it but probably not right away. He was busy with Lenny it seemed so she had almost the whole ship to herself at the moment, which would have been nice she supposed, if it didn’t so desolate but then again, that’s what having an entire ship to oneself was like. What a horrible fate it must be to be all alone adrift at sea, she thought, but at least she knew that the two of them were still there, if not free enough to keep her company.

Sipping her tea gingerly, Kikuya turned to the door that lead outside. She could hear the deep guttural noises Lenny made as he sounded out words and phrases, with Basil’s faint voice in between as he gave advice. Pushing the door open and peering out, it was apparent that the ship was now in free drift as Basil gave Lenny another lesson in speech.

“Very good, I think it’s time to review. I blank a game when it was suddenly time for dinner. Your word is play.”

Lenny tilted his head about as he thought about the answer. The last time Kikuya had checked, they were talking about grammatical tenses and Basil was trying to explain the different ways to put a verb in past tense and they were clearly still working on it. Lenny glanced back down at Basil, replying simply in his low voice “Played?”

“Now remember the tip I gave you. Is it until? Or when?”

Lenny took another few moments to think about the answer, but it didn’t take very long for him to revise, bobbing his head up and down. “Was playing?”

“There we go, much better. Now, how about- hm?” Basil had looked over at the open cabin door where Kikuya was watching. “Oh is the tea ready?”

“Yes.”

“Oh good. Lenny, how about you take a lunch break and pick up later this week, alright?” Lenny nodded and sunk into the ocean quickly, splashing a bit of spray onto the deck of the ship as Basil made his way inside. He sat down at the table opposite to Kikuya after grabbing his own cup and pouring himself some tea as well. He never had a green tea before but he heard it was quite a popular drink in the East Blue, which made sense considering Kikuya was growing her own and she had claimed to be from that blue. Taking a sip from the cup, Basil swished the tea around in his mouth for a bit before swallowing taking in what flavor he could. In the amount of time he had to himself, he had grown back what he could of his taste buds but he still lacked the skill to bring back what he had lost a while ago. It was strange that it was still similar to water in taste than what he was used to in a tea when he had a few tastebuds. Glancing up at Kikuya, Basil noticed she was taking in her tea slowly in between stares out the window at the island not too far in the distance.

“So, uh… how’s he doing?”

“Haseo? He’s doing well. He should be able to walk in about two or three days at this rate.”

“Oh that’s good then.”

“Do you think we’ll be landing ashore soon?”

“I don’t know, haven’t found a port yet. I’m not even sure this island is inhabited by anybody, all I’ve seen is sand and rock. Well, sand, rock, and that river out there.”

“A river?”

“Yeah.”

Curious to see, Kikuya got up to look out the door again. She walked out a ways up to the railing of the ship to get a better look but it wasn’t too hard to find from where the ship was. In between a small rock outcropping was a shallow delta that lead into a dusty canyon. The river twisted out of sight not too far in and there wasn’t much that could be seen inside anyways along the lines of vegetation.

“This is the first river I’ve seen the entire time we’ve been here. If there was going to be a port city, I would figure it would be here.” Basil walked up next to her and joined her at the side of the ship to look out at the small blemish on the side of an otherwise completely barren and uninteresting island.

“Where’s the water coming from?”

“Judging from the sediment, I’d say it’s run out from underground st-”

The cabin door suddenly opened behind them both, spurring shocked reactions from each, although for different reasons. Basil’s reaction was fuelled of his own reflex and alertness to the caprice of objects and setting where there shouldn’t be. Kikuya was more upset with who had caused it.

“Basil! Kikuya! Where are we now?!” Shaking her head, Kikuya slowly walked up to Haseo, bowing and leaning to examine his bandages for any damage he may have inadvertently caused. “Haseo, I really suggest getting back in bed, it would be a shame if you were to damage yourself.” Basil turned once again to the island in front of them.

“Well Haseo, I wish I knew the answer to that question myself. From what books I’ve read I would have guessed Alabasta but the island is big… too big. Also, we’ve been travelling around the coast all morning and this is the first sign of geographic diversity I’ve seen.” At that, Basil sulked down on the rail a bit. “Not to mention what stretch of coast we’ve traveled so far has been as dead as a graveyard, no people, no cities, no plants except those few cacti I saw a while back… Hey Lenny are there fish?!”

Lenny’s head rose out of the water a tad, he was obviously chewing on something and he didn’t really need to finish eating to give an answer that Basil already knew. “Alright so there’s fish, but no one here to fish them. Like I said, dead as a graveyard.” He turned back to look at Haseo, a grave look on his face. “You wanna just dock here and wait the log pose out? We could probably restock our food supply with the fish here and get some fresh water from upstream.”

Basil pointed up the delta ahead of them before bringing both arms in front of him back to the rail, crossed. Kikuya was paying attention to what he was saying as well, all the while readjusting a few of the bandages Haseo had displaced in coming all the way outside.

[.::Haseo On The Clouds::.]

Almost instantly after Haseo had walked out of the door Kikuya immediately suggested that Haseo got back into bed while simultaneously examining his bandages. To this he merely nodded his head which surprisingly brought some slight discomfort around his neck and shoulders. Kikuya had been dedicated to Haseo's treatment for the past week and Haseo quite appreciated it. He'd never met anyone so efficient in their professional so it was a slight shock to still feel so much discomfort in his body. Well who could blame her though, Haseo didn't quite go easy on himself against Selethen back when they'd fought, even when Kikuya had clearly warned him about the medication that he was given. Haseo tried to hide his discomfort while he turned his attention to Basil who was explaining the situation.

From what books I’ve read I would have guessed Alabasta but the island is big… too big. Also, we’ve been travelling around the coast all morning and this is the first sign of geographic diversity I’ve seen. Not to mention what stretch of coast we’ve traveled so far has been as dead as a graveyard, no people, no cities, no plants except those few cacti I saw a while back… Hey Lenny are there fish?!” To this Lenny hadn't need to answer at all due to the clear yes that was given from his munching.

It was quiet strange actually, even to someone like Haseo it was quite apparent that there was something odd about this island. Almost every island that Haseo had ever encountered was habilitated at least by a little bit and it was true....there were no signs of life outside the waters.

“You wanna just dock here and wait the log pose out? We could probably restock our food supply with the fish here and get some fresh water from upstream.” Basil had pointed out as he directed their attention up towards the delta whilst Kikuya tended to Haseo's bandages once more.

Haseo took a moment to let things settle as he slid down to take a seat by the wall. "Yeah looks like we have no choice. This place looks emptier than my stomach right now." At this point Haseo's stomach seemed to growl coincidentally right on cue to his comment. "Haha and that fish doesn't sound all that bad. Sorry Basil but it looks like I'm in no real shape to go out right now even if I wanted to. Mind if you go take a look around to scrap what we can?" Haseo adjusted his position as Kikuya had to wrap the bandage around his back as well which was blocked due to it resting on the wall.

"I'm fine for now Kikuya. See if you can go with Basil and help him scrap stuff out. I heard that deserts sometimes are homes to the most rarest of medical herbs. You might be able to spot som- AHHH!"" Haseo winced as Kikuya gave a little pressure as he pressed the bandage by his shoulder.

At first there was this quick rush of pain that travelled across his right shoulder but afterwards he felt a relaxing sensation come across his body. He didn't quite know what was going on but whatever it was, Kikuya knew what she was doing. More the reason for her to go and help Basil out, as it was now Haseo was fine and he'd probably cook up what little grub they had left while waiting.

"Oi Basil! Haseo laughed a bit awkwardly, "You better get some tasty fish so that I can cook em for dinner!" A wink flashed across Haseo's face as for once he felt some joy with being able to interact and joke around with his crew for more than 3 minutes at once time. "Promise kay?"

[flame08]

((OOC: Whoot post number 1000))

Somewhere up-stream . . .

---

"God damn it! There really isn't anything on this piece of land. What luck that we ended up here of all places!"

The bare lands along the river were dotted with little cacti, but that was it. All that could be heard for miles was the rush of the wind and the water. It was a quiet place with very little life, is was truly a wasteland. Well with the exception of the two figures who were slowly padding their way up along the edge of the river. The one, who had just talked was a male, black hair who was only slightly taller than his partner if you could call her that. Along his belt two swords were apparent hanging loosely from his side with one hand he fiddled with the hilt of one of them. That was Mugetsu, a self-named warrior of justice, he was well known in the South Blue as a ragged wanderer who helped fend off raiding pirates. His companion, otherwise known as his apprentice, had joined him fairly recently oddly enough on an island not too different from this one. It was also called the Waste. Except it was in the South Blue . . . odd, maybe but then who knows. It had only been recently that he left the South Blue for the Grand Line, with the help of the fates and the winds they had made it over Reverse Mountain and into the Grand Line. After a quick stop at Crescent Moon Kingdom where they had had a questionable time him and his companion had moved on.

In a bit of bad luck they had been blown straight into the Waste, their 'ship' had broken apart upon hitting the land and left them stranded on this wasteland of an island. Walking up the river they had hoped to find a city where they could restock and pick up a boat to continue on their way, but their luck so far had been minimal. No signs of life other than a random rogue animal and a few small cacti were ever apparent to them. They had so far only survived on fish from the river, cactus juice, and water but it was a very nourishing meal for them. And with most of his supplies gone Mugetsu wasn't able to make much else to do any better. Turning back for a second Mugetsu could still see the shore from far away. The small dot which was the GDP ship was just starting to come into view but in the heat Mugetsu didn't notice it, he was too exhausted, too tired to make out the ship in the distance. How unlucky of him, turning to the girl he said "Yo, I'm too tired to go on . . . lets make camp here." Throwing the pack which contained what he had left off his back and onto the ground he got ready to set up camp. Their 'tent' if one could call it that was created by throwing two swords into the ground and laying a large piece of cloth over it. It wasn't much, but as long as their were no huge winds it would keep them semi-protected. And gave . . . a little privacy in this barren world.

"You want to go wash up in the river first? Or shall I?" He offered the choice to his companion, from the sand blowing around he was feeling a little dirty, but then perhaps a girl would feel even more so than him. He was used to a little dirt so it wasn't going to bother him so much that a little waiting was an issue. Dropping down upon the ground he looked into the sky, it was nice and blue, the clouds floated lazily along and a little green jet stream seemed to bounce across it moving closer and closer to them. Wait . . . WHAT? He doubletook his glance, the green jet stream was high up in the air but it was definitely moving, and it was definitely there. What Mugetsu didn't know was that 'jet stream' was actually a person, a logia user at that.

High in the air, having escaped that crucial battle at Crescent Moon, the Jade Emperor Selethen had been using his abilities to fly across the ocean, but he was finally getting tired. Shooting a stream of jade behind him to give lift was a very tiring thing to do. And now finally he was getting tired, but he was still slightly over water when he looked down. Feeling his consciousness fading he gathered a large amount of jade at his feet and with one last push he shot all the jade outwards away from him pushing him farther forward in the air. It looked as if in the air there had been a giant explosion of green visible for miles, it would soon bring a large amount of people and animals towards it. But now more importantly the Jade Emperor encasing himself in jade hurtled down to the Wastes. Landing with an oomph into the sand a giant mushroom cloud of sand flew into the air where he landed which ended up not being far from where Mugetsu had been encamped.

Mugetsu looked around for Abigail to see if she had heard the noise. Perhaps she had noticed, nodding to her he said "I'm going to go check it out, so in fact you go wash up first . . . Don't stray to far from camp . . ." Grabbing his two small daggers he sheathed them and started walking toward the mushroom cloud. He wondered what this could be.

[White Mimic]

“Right. We’ll separate.” Basil turned to Kikuya to get her approval of the plan. “You go forage for prospective medicinal plants, I go get water, and we’ll catch the fish together. Sound good?”

Kikuya gave a small nod at the plan. “Sounds efficient. I haven’t used cactus before. I’ll bring back plenty to test out later. Be sure to keep an eye out for smaller animals if you see any. Smaller creatures in this climate typically carry the most potent of venoms.”

“Agreed.” Basil went inside quickly to fetch a few barrels, leaving Kikuya to finish adjusting Haseo’s bandages before taking a few satchels from the first room behind the cabin doors. Since there apparently weren’t any towns nearby, it wasn’t necessary to don her typical geisha makeup, dress, and hair. She figured as hot as it was, it wouldn’t be particularly healthy for her to do so anyways, the powder would run and clot her pores and it would be a futile effort to follow her traditions of public appearance. While among friends like Haseo and Basil, it was alright to allow her face to be seen and to tie her hair up like a common girl, same went for journeying alone in a desert. She waited outside on deck for a few minutes before Basil resurfaced from the cargo hold, carrying three large empty barrels with tongues protruding from his back.

“You good to go?”

Kikuya gave another short nod, allowing Basil to wrap one arm around her waist while he allowed her to wrap her arms around his shoulders and neck. A few more tongues formed out of Basil’s back and lifted the pair over the rail and onto the shore not too far away. The beach sand was moist and coarse, with several large rocks here and there, not a pleasant looking setting at all. The sun beat down and Basil rolled up his sleeves, dipping his arm in the river delta and rubbing his face with it. It felt cool and refreshing, even if the water down here was filthy with sand sediment. It was likely going to be a long walk upstream to find a point where the water wasn’t as thick and murky as it was down here. He set out towards and into the river canyon ahead waving at Kikuya who had started to walk down the beach for a hilly path that lead into the desert. “If I’m not back before you, just start fishing without me!”

She turned to look at him before shouting back her confirmation. “Yeeeees!” Basil continued to walk upriver while Kikuya shouted up to Haseo. “Be sure to get plenty of rest while we’re gone, and if a wound opens, there’s a jar of salve on the kitchen counter! Just unravel the bandages and rub it on and when you put the bandages on again, make sure they’re on tighter than they were!” With both of her bags under her arms, Kikuya continued on her stranger’s journey.

~Kikuya~

It took a while for Kikuya to make her way into the desert to the point where the ocean could barely be seen, and she only started to find any vegetation in the sun stricken land a half hour after that. Even then, the only kind of plants for miles were dried out shrubs, and nearly dried out cacti which were difficult to even harvest without damaging somewhat. Out this far, it was strange (she noted) that the cacti she found carried no water in them, a contradiction to what she had typically heard of cacti. Still, she figured if they were dried already, they might produce the same effects as an artificially dried cactus. Only so many plants had to be dried in different ways to get the desired effects after all.

She was digging out around the roots of a dried up cactus, trying to get a sample of the prickly thresh of organic wires, before she noticed a bit of green behind a dune in the distance. It was a blue tinted green with a small bulb of red, a flowering cactus, lush and alive. Clipping off what she could of the cactus root she was working on already and storing it away in one of her satchel bags, Kikuya stood up and made her way to the dunes summit where the flower could be seen in greater detail. Upon reaching such close proximity to the flowering cactus, however, Kikuya saw reason to keep going. More green splotched the sand down and behind a dune two dunes away. There was a veritable field of flowering cacti, lush shrubs, even a growing desert tree or two. And in the very middle of this miraculous field of green was a generously sized pond, an amazing occurrence to someone who’d only ever heard the worst of deserts up until this point and nothing of oases.

She made quick time in getting to the edge of the oasis, but only after checking her foot prints in the brazing hot sand to remember which way to go to get back to the ship. The water was clear and tinted green slightly, filled with the life of the vegetation around it. She set her satchels down close by and dipped her hands in the water, first applying it to areas of her body that were the hottest and then spooning the water out to take a few sips. She wasn’t thirsting to death, but considering how long she had been out in the heat without much water in sight, it was a relief to quench her thirst and take in the beauty of the oasis around her.

There were plenty of plants to take several healthy samples from here. And it was a shame Basil didn’t stick with her, there would’ve been plenty of fresh water to take back to the ship. The thought didn't last long as a loud noise could be heard in the distance and a plume of dust rose into sky. It didn't look like it was too far away for Kikuya to investigate and the curiosity did strike her somewhat.

~Basil~

Basil, however, had not seen much of any sort of interest. He had followed the river upstream as long as Kikuya had been searching for samples and still only had murky, dirty water to work with. He knew that it would be a simple matter of filtering out the sediment, the ship had coffee filters it could use, but there weren’t enough to handle three whole barrels of water. Also, in purifying standard river water and river water permeated with sediment, more could be extracted from that with less in it, and faster too.

Geared towards maximization and efficiency, Basil had not yet reached the threshold of the worth of his effort and still pressed on for the optimal concentration of aqueous sediment. He would have preferred zero but such was not the time to live in a realm of fantasy. It also soon dawned on him that he didn’t take into account how he was going to get the barrels back altogether. His tongues were strong enough to lift him and others but three large barrels filled with water weight… that may have been difficult but there was no point in not trying, he supposed. Perhaps he could think of it as training.

[.::Haseo On The Clouds::.]

Haseo nodded when Kikuya gave instructions on what to do if a wound re-opened and he merely replied, "Yeah yeah now stop worrying about me and go!" and watched them go on their way. 5 minutes passed by and at this point Haseo was already bored of himself. Maybe he should've disobeyed and just followed the two out. Man why did he have to be responsible Captain for this!? Haseo's continuous pouting followed him all the way straight to his bed where he 'belonged'.

Pouring himself some tea, Haseo proceeded to his daily schedule of nothing, pouting, snoring, and upright complaining to himself about his boring predicament. Maybe if he'd just finished Selethen off in one shot, he wouldn't have had to endure all this treatment. The captain sighed and waved away that thought. He was being childish of course. As the captain it was his job to be the responsible one.....BUT WHY!? Hadn't he deserved some free time outside? So what if he had a few injures, at this point he was probably as healthy as a mule....uhhh maybe not the best simile.

Taking another sip of his tea, Haseo proceeded to opening the window next to his bed as to let some kind of cool breeze into the room....bad idea. Immediately Haseo felt the scorching heat of the desert flood into the room like a swarm of bees in spring. "AHHHHHHH! WHY IS IT SO DAMN HOT!?" He yelled out in annoyance where a grunt responded back from outside. "Oh come on Lenny you don't have it so bad. You get to swim around in that cool refreshing water!" The sea king made some noise that sounded like laughter and spit some sea water in through the window.

Haseo found his bed now wet and uncomfortable which promted him to yell, "Not funny!"

Lenny merely tilted his head in a confused notion, seemingly trying to determine what Haseo said. After several seconds the Sea King attempted to mimic (sorry no pun intended Mim) Haseo's words with a strained and grunted, "Fu-nny?

"Yeah funny....guess Basil hasn't taught you that yet huh? A smirk began to form at the tip of Haseo's mouth as he poked his head outside the window. Without warning the mood seemed to change all around when Haseo started to laugh uncontrollably. HAHAHAHAHA!" Haseo doubled over on himself, spilling his tea in the process.

Lenny who had been watching this entire time cocked his head once more in obvious confusion at Haseo's sudden outburst. "Fu-nny? Funny?" Lenny repeated.

It took a few moments for Haseo to calm down enough to roughly respond to the rather confused sea king. Hahaha no more amusing than funny...although I must say it did give me a good laugh!" Haseo clenched his abs for a few seconds before relaxing back with an enormous smile etched onto his face. "Well I guess that Basil hasn't quite taught you that word yet either huh Lenny?" To this the sea king nodded, still obviously baffled by Haseo's outrageous behavior. "Well all this time I've been complaining about being bored and lonely...when I had you Lenny, I'm grateful to you buddy."

On that last note Haseo picked up the now broken tea cup that was on the floor, well nothing he could do about that. Seeing as how Haseo was made out of metal, he didn't exactly need to be cautious or gentle when picking up the cup so he merely tossed it into a trash container and wiped up the mess. He left the bed sheets slightly wet as to cool him down from the heat and instead just sat down on the bed with a new cup of tea in his hands. "Ya'know....this ain't so bad."

Aiel

Somewhere within the desert...

A minor group of armed men were marching through the desert sand together, obviously up to some sort of hunting from how they brandished their spears and were tracking footprints. Out here in the Waste, there wasn't much meat to come by and whenever there was fresh game to hunt....the Chief himself would gather several of his hunters to retrieve the beast and cook it for a feast. The group had been tracking perilously for the last couple of hours, hungry, tired, and certainly quenched. By now the hunteres would have known when to quit, and return to their clan, however a game like this couldn't possibly be ignored.

"Chief chief!" A rather large fellow with a miraculously deep voice approached a much more defined fellow with abs and muscles to boot. Apparently this man was the Clan Chief seeing as how he lead the group and his attire.

The man, around his 30's now surveyed the larger fellow for a moment before responding. "Yes yes? What is it now? By the tone of his voice, the Chief wasn't exactly overjoyed by their current predicament and the overwhelming heat of the sun was probably playing to his temper.

The larger fellow backed up a few paces, clearing himself from range of the Chief's spear before speaking once more. "I'm sorry Chief but it appears as if we've lost the beast...ack!!" The large man quickly backed up with his arms up, ready to defend himself against the Chief's temper...however he never received his beating.

"Yes yes...I can see that!" The Chief snapped back, stabbing his spear into the sand as he did so. Under normal circumstances, the Chief would have madly beaten the fool however at this rate...he was much too tired to do so. "All these hours...wasted on some hope of meat. I could have come home gloriously! Bringing meat to my clan and...and..."

"Finding a fiance sir?" At this the group of hunters became quiet. This larger fellow must've been a fool for mentioning such a taboo as how most men were killed instantly for speaking of the Chief's troubles to marry.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!!" In his rage the Chief rapidly took his spear from the sand and pierced the belly of the wretch who had insulted him in front of his hunters. "YOU DARE INSULT ME!? THE CLAN CHIEF IN FRONT OF MY HUNTERS!?" With this the Chief twisted his spear and pulled to let the pool of blood pour out from the dead man who at this point was already kneeling and falling to his last breath. "May this be an example to all...to never insult me. Now go wash up and get some water."

The hunters were quiet, all frightened by the sudden execution of their fellow hunter. They were so startled by what had happened that they had forgotten their fear of the sea. "But...but my Chief! The water is..." Once again the spear hit home into the belly of the one who spoke up.

"DO NOT DISOBEY! YOU LISTEN TO ME AND QUENCH YOUR THIRST OR YOU SHALL DIE!" At this nobody argued and they all rushed towards the water to fill their containers and their thirst.

On their way to the delta the men came across and somewhat blurry figure out in the desert, one that couldn't quite be made out due to the desert's heat. Was it a girl? No out here....impossible! Then what?

The Chief must have noticed the figure as well as he halted behind a sand dune above the figure. From what he saw....it was alive that was for sure. Perhaps it was their game! How lucky he was to stumble right above the very meat they were hunting! "Surround the beast!" The orders rang out to all of the hunters who immediately slid down the sand and surrounded the living creature.

"Hahaha yes! Finally....finally.....what?" Confusion. That was the first thing that took the Chief as he layed his eyes apon the beauty before him. It was no beast that stood before him...but a beautiful young lady. "Humuna humuna humuna....." The Chief babbled foolishly as his jaw dropped straight to the ground along with his eyes popping out of their eye sockets. "Humuna...uhhh....gahhh....bumba....humuna...."

The hunters themselves were quite confused as well at the sudden turn of events, but what really took them to surprise was the Chief's sudden behavior after coming across the woman. "Chief you....you okay sir?"

No reply...moments went by at what was now a stupendously awkward situation of babbling and google eyes. Finally after a good 3 minutes went by the Chief straightened himself up before yelling in a high voice, "Seize her!!!"

[flame08]

His arm was raised to cover his eyes as he stumbled forward into cloud of sand which had risen nearby his camp. In his head continuing to wonder what had fallen to earth. Must have been like a meteor, but that doesn't explain the green fireworks or jet stream. And it clearly hadn't come from that far off . . . so meteor seemed less and less likely. As he contemplated, Mugetsu continued to walk forwards to where he had seen the object come plummeting down. Thinking to himself 'There is so much d*mn sand in the air if only i had a way to clear it . . .' but with his two little daggers that was far from the realm of /possibility. The two daggers could hardly create enough wind to push away the sand , sighing he walked forward until his foot found itself pressing against something soft, a different kind of soft than the sand, human skin soft. Bending down he felt around, with his hands he could make out the feeling of legs below him. "Holy sh*t theres a guy down here!" he yelled his thoughts out-loud. Grabbing the man by the legs Mugetsu pulled hard, traction however was hard to find in the moving sands. No matter Mugetsu would not simply give up. Pressing his feet into the sand he squatted and pulled harder, while the sand gave a little, little by little he could feel the body pulling out. However he still could not make out of whom the body was. The sand was too blinding even as it started to settle again.

Determined, he pulled the fully out of the sand and threw it over his side, it was rather heavy but he just ignored it. Slowly walking outwards toward where he believed his camp was. After a while of walking with the sand slowly piling back onto the ground and him moving farther from the center of the strike he made it out and could see the outline of what he was certain was Abigail in the river washing up. Well as long as the guy was still knocked out . . . Mugetsu had a lot of questions about this guy, the foremost being how he survived such a crash, and what was with the green jet stream. But for now the guy probably need to rest, that was if he was still alive. Walking near the tent he flipped the guy onto the ground as gently as he could, taking off his coat and throwing it over the man's body. He took a good luck at the guy, with black hair and black eyes he was a fair faced man, scratches and bruises on his face made it look like he had been in battle. Specks of shiny green material covered his body Mugetsu bent down to take a look, brushing a piece or two into his hand he brought it close to his eye to examine it closely. He didn't recognize the material, it was almost gem-like though. Oh this was not the time for that, Mugetsu left the man there and went off, pouring some of his Fireman's Alcohol into a bowl he produced from his satchel he dropped a match in lighting it on fire. The fire was not large but it was enough for warmth and with the amount of alcohol he had put in there it would easily run for a little while.

'Now then for some food' he thought to himself, checking his pack he gathered what supplies he had left and put it near the fire. Now all he needed was some meat to work it with . . . fish from the stream might work well. Walking over to the river he was sure to go farther down stream so as not to encounter the bathing Abigail. With his dagger in hand he watched the river carefully spotting two fish he went for the kill drawing his second dagger as well. He threw both daggers into the water immediately pinning both fish to the bottom of the river. Smiling at his small victory he waded into to gather them, on the way out managing to pick up two more. Now slightly wet and feeling that he could use a drink he filled a canister with water and carrying the four fish walked back to the camp site. 'Lets have some fun with what food we have left ehh . . .' Upon making it back to the fire he immediately began to do his cooking with a pan he produced from his kitchen kit. Spices and herb he cooked with the fresh fish such that the aroma of his food spread for miles over the desert. That being the only real issue is the animals which would be drawn to the campsite, or so Mugetsu thought. With the food just about complete he set about protecting the camp.

Once again he circled the camp pouring some of his fireman's alcohol onto the ground and lighting it on fire, that at least should ward off some of the animals he thought.

[White Mimic]

Kikuya turned to a faintly distinct sound in the distance. Figures could be seen through the heat waves of the desert, though only the slur of colors and vague shapes of those figures could be discerned at this distance. Though the words couldn’t be discerned, the tone was reason enough to give Kikuya motivation to keep her distance. She stood up at the edge of the oasis, flicking her hands back at the water to dislodge what residual remained, before starting to walk away. The sound quickly grew louder from behind, prompting her to turn around and see that the figures were actually pursuers. She soon sped up into a run up the dune she had crossed over only moments ago but as soon as she crossed the peak, she lost her footing. The sandals she wore were not the most optimal footwear for running on loose sand and now it seemed she would have to leave them behind.

Tumbling down the dune, her sandals flew off her feet on no accord of her own, her hair coming loose of its ties as well. Sand found its way into her clothes and hair uncomfortably but other than that, no harm came to her in her rolling descent of the hill. Still, her pursuers were quite fleet, especially in this environment. Before she was able to stand up fully, Kikuya was already surrounded by men in strange clothes, perhaps inhabitants on Basil’s so called uninhabitable island. Before standing up all the way, she thrust a hand into her robes, pulling out her short sword and partially drawing it from its sheathe, holding both segments in front of her so she could see behind her with the reflection in the blade. She twisted around in the middle of the circle a few times to get a good grasp of how many there were before eventually stopping to stand perfectly still.

“…” Kikuya remained silent, looking all around with the assistance of the reflective weapon in her hand as the crowd of men chattered amongst themselves, one of the more distinctly dressed ones even falling in the back a little. This drew some attention within the circle but not enough for Kikuya to successfully utilize it to escape. The circle erupted, however, when the words sounded out for all to hear.

“Seize her!” The crowd started to collapse in around her at which she started to mobilize as well. She quickly drew the blade from its sheathe, striking out at the first man to make it to her and cutting his shoulder somewhat. She quickly had to attack the second person to reach her as the two came out at nearly the same time, spinning in place with the momentum of the first attack and cutting into the man’s side a bit. This was the extent of what she could do, however. There were too many of them and not enough time to deal with everyone, not with what tools they had.

“Akauraba: Ura- agh!” Before she could start her dance, she soon found her arms bound in some strange sort of bolas rope, a sudden tug from which threw her off balance and disarmed her, her sword stabbing into the sand a ways from where she fell. “Ughah.” She tried to untie the bolas but another bolas soon bound her free arm to the restricted one. Hastily, Kikuya attempted to get up and run, even as hopeless as it seemed it was pointless to not try at this point. The moment she turned, she was hoisted up over the shoulder of one of the men and brought to the edge of the circle, her futile kicking and screaming doing nothing to help her.

“AGhhh! No! Let me go! LET GO! Someone! ANYONE! HELP! AGGGHHH!”

((Little thin, Basil's not really doing anything yet.))

[.::Haseo On The Clouds::.]

Tick....tock...

Haseo had just finished re-applying his own bandages, making sure that he followed Kikuya's instructions well by rubbing a bit of salve on his wounds before tightening his bandages once more. It had already been the second time that Haseo had done so, however he didn't mind as it gave him something to do in the time that his crewmates were out. Lenny eyed Haseo with some worry after Haseo re-applied his bandages, after all the poor guy had been taken care of for so long. Were his injuries that bad? Haseo noticed the compassionate Sea King's gaze which brought a smile onto his face to reassure him. "No worries Lenny! I'm doing just fine!" As he said this Haseo couldn't help but suddenly think of Basil and Kikuya. Yeah sure he was fine here, in the safety of his own ship away from the devastating heat.

Picking himself up from his previous position, Haseo walked casually out the door and onto the deck of the ship. By now his wounds were practically merely a small annoyance as he could walk about freely without any sharp pain whatsoever. For a moment he stood there, smack right middle of the ship just pondering about Basil and Kikuya. "Man they've been out for a while. Hopefully they're okay." Suddenly a shattering noise was heard from within his bedroom. For a brief moment Haseo took his time to turn around to the sound of the noise, obviously jumped from the loud noise which cut through the peaceful silence. "What....was that?"

Re-entering his room Haseo found the small jar of salve broken and messy all over the floor. Funny, Haseo has made sure to put the jar safely away from the edge. Walking closer and closer, Haseo examined the natural cracks made onto the jar which Kikuya and left him.....which Kikuya had left him. The thought lingered in his metal head. "This was Kikuya's jar....something just doesn't seem right."

The door to the captain's room swung right open with a violent kick which startled Lenny outside who was taking a gentle nap. "LENNY!" Haseo called out as he jumped off the ship onto the desert sand, "I'm off to look for the other! Take care of the ship while I'm gone!" To this the Sea King nodded his head after his brain processed what was going on after his nap.

"Take....care." Lenny replied with what could've been an agreement or a farewell.

HALF HOUR OF SPRINTING LATER...

Haseo had been following the river for a half hour now, sprinting now without any disregard for his slight injuries which at this point were only annoyances. He didn't know what he was doing, and he was a fool to be going out in such haste with just instinct but....but...something just didn't sit right with him. The desert heat was really pounding on Haseo's body, his skin was conducting the heat of the desert which at times quickly almost brought Haseo to his knees, but he did not relent. His speed was cushioned by the sand beneath his feet, which constantly slowed his pace down and left footprints within the sand behind him.

It was absolutely tiring, mostly from the fact that Haseo's body couldn't take the heat which was rapidly draining the energy out of the metal man. In time Haseo felt himself fading, ready to sink into the comfort of the sand, ready to relent himself to it's bed. The sun had continued to beat him senseless, and his vision had begun to blur....blur enough to the point where he saw an imaginary figure out in the distance. The figure however wasn't alone, as beside it was a few objects, barrels were they? It didn't matter, they were just a trick of the desert, the hallucination of man....wait no this wasn't right. The figure had a vague familiarity to it....like as it Haseo had seen it before. His vision exactly wasn't the brightest at this point but he could tell....he could tell....BASIL!?

"Basil! BASIL!" Haseo relentlessly called out as he approached the figure. He was right...it WAS Basil. Momentarily stopping as he came beside him, Haseo bent over slightly as he supported himself with his hands on his knees, huffing from the tiring sprint. "Ba-Basil." He huffed. "Where's Kikuya? Is she alright?" The tone in his voice was obviously frantic which should have alarmed Basil into believing that something was wrong...either that or he would assume the situation to be amusing by Haseo's outrageous tendency to disobey his doctor. It was after this though that Haseo spotted something in the background. "Hey Basil? Is it just me or do you see fire over...there?" Haseo pointed out into the distance where a ring of fire could be seen. "Let's check it out! It could be Kikuya!"

(I'll leave the next post with the Aiel to Flame but only for the next post.)

[flame08]

"Got her? Good! Lets go!!" the chief along with his trappers and now his new bride to be ran off. And they kept running, running and running, it was a little whiles running to get back to the camp. It didn't help that the girl was resisting, and there was a chance that someone on the ship was chasing them. "Oi knock her out! We don't need her resisting us while we run!" His men acted immediately rapping her on the head with a stick to knock her unconscious. She was quite the beauty, would definitely make a good bride for him. Perhaps it would take a little while for her to accept that she was going to be his bride, but no matter, she could be beat into submission. She was just a woman in the end. They were meant to be bent into submission.

When they finally arrived at the camp, he sent a patrol out immediately to keep an eye out for anyone who might've been sent to track them. He was not giving his newly found bride back. Them being unable to be tracked would be perfect to help secure his new bride. Calling out to his servants he said "Begins preparations for the marriage ceremony immediately, I want to be married within 72 hours, to that girl!" His servants nodding the chief walked off to go rest in his tent. Today had been a busy day, he had found a worthy wife and was to be married soon. Yes soon he would sire his successor within his tribe!

---

One, two, three, four each of them was run through with a stick. Yep now that the fish were cooked, Mugetsu ran them through with a stick and left them hanging over the fire. They would keep warm and hopefully not go bad. Abigail could have one when she came around, as could the guy who had apparently crashed into the ground. But him, he was getting kind of sleepy and hungry. Mugetsu decided he would eat and then go and pass out. Grabbing one of the fish on a sticks he took one last glance at the man he had found in the impact zone and walked off to the make-shift tent. Chewing through the fish in no time he picked his teeth to pull out any of the cartilage that had got stuck in and immediately passed out. He had been dead tired from walking all day, and then the other things he had to go through that day. No he didn't even want to wash up, it was just too tiring for him, besides he'd gotten in the 'wash' per se. He had waded through the river, that was more than anyone could ask for at least around here. Abigail would have to deal with it if she wanted to sleep with him in the tent.

It took a few minutes, but then sure that his 'savior' was sleep an eye opened. It was Selethen's very own eye, with no one watching the camp, he sat up and looked around. Grabbing one of the fish on a sticks, he bit in, savoring the flavor for a second, it was good. Not the best food he had ever had, but in the condition he was in this fish on a stick was probably one of the best meals he had ever had. As thanks for that he would do one thing and one thing only. He wouldn't kill them, but rather he would leave immediately. He couldn't stay in one place, his crew needed him he had gone on to scout ahead and had found next to nothing on this island. Which meant he had to go back and move on to the next island. Now then, it was time for him to leave. A stream of jade flew out from beneath him propelling him into the air. Taking a second to note some figures running toward the camp on the ground he flew off into the sky. He left not a trace but a few jade gems on the ground where he had taken off.

What an odd situation Mugetsu would wake up to.

[SHADE SMASH]

-So thanks to Clouds Jinxing, I kind of am feeling rusty as well…THANKS A LOT D<!!! So excuse anything towards the beginning of this post that seems awkward and drown in the wrath that is my long post!-

"God damn it! There really isn't anything on this piece of land. What luck that we ended up here of all places!"

Yes, what luck? What goddam bad luck has been placed upon them to have them land in this place of ALL things, was the exact thought that echoed in Abigails own mind as they trudged through the desert. Though Abigail’s reasons for feeling damned by the three fates were different than Mugetsu’s. After all that turmoil, all that pain and abandonment that haunted her past, the kind she tried to bury with her new memories with Mugetsu, were being brought up here, in this godforsaken desert. What kind of coincidence was this anyways?! A place that not only mirrored her own island in name but in environment stood before her! Each step she took brought another tug to her heart as she named places on her island that were similar to the places they past.

If her information was correct, the inhabitants of this place were also named Aiel, a clan of people that had an unusual adeptness to the Desert. Even Abigail had to admit that despite the long years she has been away, the environment held a familiar feel and she didn’t need to use as much energy as maybe Mugetsu had to. Don’t get her wrong! She still was sweating out the wazoo enough to force her to leave behind her jacket, leaving her scarcely clad in a tank top and tight jeans that she was even considering stripping off, her hair tied up in a loose knot as a make shift hair tie.

There was still something off about this place. Something large and annoying that made it completely different from her own island. It was the feel. Although seemingly hostile was her environment, the Aiel where she lived still managed to make colonies by the water and, in a way, they played a kind of civilized society. Still far from anything such as buildings or engineering, but they weren’t as savage as the outside world condemned them as. However, one look here and she could tell that these people, they weren’t like her own. This island was cursed to a worse off climate than her own and instead of deciding to dwell beside the river which Mugetsu and herself now walk beside, they chose a place not within the realm of her sights. It was unnerving. They were acting like hunters, that much was clear.

"Yo, I'm too tired to go on . . . lets make camp here."

“Yes, please!” The sound of his pack hitting the ground was all the push she needed to throw down her own pack. With a loud exasperation, she placed her hands on her hips and began to catch her breath as much as possible before aiding her sempai in setting up camp, secretly admiring the muscles that flexed beneath his shirt causing her to blush. Lucky her, her cheeks were already red from the heat of the sun and this blush would not catch unwanted attention. But it did make her remember one important thing. Suddenly, Abigail felt incredibly self-conscience!

She could just feel how grimy and disgusting her body was with each movement. Globs of sweat had accumulated on her forehead and sand had taken advantage of its tiny body, maneuvering itself in her hair, clothes, and even some unwanted, uncomfortable places. Even her hair looked ridiculously! Branching off in all sorts of directions as if she was zapped by lightning! How she ever lived like this as a child, she will never remember!

Mugetsu seemed to share a similar thought with her, proposing the idea that they take a bath in the river. Feeling too tired to truly do any perverse thinking, her mind quickly drowned in thoughts of the cool river enveloping her. It was a truly nice feeling.

“I am most certainly going first!” Abigail announced to her companion, but her words fell on deaf ears as his thoughts became consumed with something else as he looked off into the sky. Abigail did the same with a small frown, spotting a stream of emerald making its way across the sky, distracting Mugetsu from her, HOW COULD IT! She thought with a humph as she placed her hands on her waist. But then again, she thought, maybe she should be thankful since it was distracting him from seeing her in such a disgraceful state.

"I'm going to go check it out, so in fact you go wash up first . . . Don't stray to far from camp . . ."

Within a moments notice, he ran off leaving Abigail alone to her thoughts which she most certainly had no intention of keeping couped up in her head.

“Go wash up first, he says. Don’t stray too far from camp, he says.” She mimicked in his voice with slight anger and frustration, but she complied with his wishes anyhow as she walked up to the river, stripping her clothes off one by one, flapping them to discard of any sand, before placing them on a medium sized rock and weighing it down with her weapons. Then, she dove into the water. The first thought that came rushing into her head as she broke the surface was that it was REFRESHING! Nice cold water cooled down her temperature dramatically and it was entirely welcome. She even decided to do some swimming before she actually did any washing.

When at last satisfied, she ran her hands through her hair, pulling out whatever specks of sand she could and thoroughly washed her body. In no time she felt like she was squeaky clean! Though, as she looked around, it was clear that she had wandered from where she had initially dove into the water. Her clothes were not only no where in sight, but neither was the tent and she doubted that her Sempai would have the nerve to disappear on her now of all times. But that would be somewhat poetic if he did. The thought briefly graced her mind before she heard a sound and slowly dove her head under the water, stopping only when her eyes were all that remained on the surface.

What she saw only confounded her. Two men in tribal clothing dragging along an unconscious young girl bound in rope. The just briefly ran by where she was and she thought they would run by the camp too, but then they took a sudden turn into the desert instead. She felt better, not liking the idea of the camp being vandalized while the two of them were no where near it or up to defending it, but her thoughts were then brought back to the young girl who was held in their captive. She wasn’t dressed in their clothing. Instead she was dressed as people normally were out in the world so what were they doing with her? The question plagued her mind as she swam back until she began to move as fast as she could. Something was clearly wrong and she had every intention of finding out what that was. After all, Mugetsu Sempai’s whole thing was to be heroes, this situation seemed to her that that girl needed just that, a hero.

Finally, she could see her clothes still held down by her vast array of blades, glinting in the sun. She was ready to jump out but the sight of a strange man erupting off with a trail of green behind him. This island only got stranger by the minute and as she saw the man get higher, she slowly felt better about jumping out and getting dressed.

With quick precision, she did just that, sprinting out of the water and putting her clothes on at a speed that should be recorded and slapped in the books as a personal best! But this was no time to be thinking of random things and especially being embarrassed of being a bit seen. That girl needed their help and they should give it! But there was a catch, Mugetsu was deep in sleep. As Abigail yanked on the tank top, she considered maybe it would be best to leave him to his rest. She was certainly strong enough to take these bastards on herself, she learned from the best afterall! And she would get back before he even knew it!

“Sorry Mugetsu Sempai! I know you said not to stray to far from the camp, but I’ll just be gone for a bit! They won’t be too hard!” She whispered into the tent as if trying to convince him even as he was fast asleep. With that, he moved a tiny bit in his sleep and Abigail tensed as to not wake him up and he lay still again. “I’ll take that as ‘I believe in you Abigail!’” She whispered once more into the tent, doing a bad Mugetsu impression once more and with a smile, she left the camp and ran off into the direction she remembered that the girl and men ran off into. Thanks to her desert life, she actually had a good handle on where she was going and where she last saw them! Little did she know that they were actually far out of her game and alone she would potentially stand no chance against the large clan of hunters.

[White Mimic]

Basil tugged another barrel out from underneath the large trickle of water running out from between the gargantuan rocks that formed the canyon. As far up as he could go without entering the desert above him, the river seemed to be formed from a clear pour running out between a crevice in the stone walls, what looked like two large plates pushed close together with only enough space for liquids and maybe small creatures to fit through, though any that tried would likely drown. It wasn’t the main source of the water, however, it was still quite stricken with the dusty sediment he had followed upstream, though admittedly the water clarity was vastly superior to the fresh water of delta. With luck, the purification process would only leave a small remnant of sediment and only a small amount of water would be lost, unless of course Kikuya had a miracle cure for something like this as well.

The tongues holding the barrel against the wall of the canyon slithered lightly back and forth through the air, trying to stay in motion so they didn’t dry up uncomfortably, though the torrid air certainly wasn’t helping. Basil had taken to waiting under a stony outcropping while the barrel filled, leaning on whatever barrels of air or water were filled or to be filled. He brought the recently filled collection of staves back to the shade with him, although slowly as the weight was a bit much and he had to be careful of spilling. For the most part, people were much lighter than even average sized barrels filled with water, so naturally the exercise of handling the barrels was exerting his comfort zone.

Setting the barrel down nearby, Basil placed his hands along the rim and rested for a few seconds. Only one more barrel to go before he had to move each container back down to the ship, a move he already had a plan for. Wiping a layer of sweat from his heated skin, the tongues on Basil’s back wrapped around the third barrel, devoid of liquid refreshment, and slid it up to the wall to fill. While the water level in the barrel slowly rose, Basil pounded the lid into the barrel he had just finished. This was possibly the worst part of the job he had taken upon himself to perform. While he was physically capable, his actual strength only took him so far. Perhaps he would’ve lamented his own decision in pursuing agility and technique over power if he wasn’t able to close the barrels at all. Luckily, he wasn’t that far gone and had no excuses other than those he could blame himself for. Pounding the lid into place and sweating more profusely than before in the inferno of an environment, he leaned back and gave himself a small rest while the remainder of the barrel he held against the wall slowly filled, dropping his head low. “Egh… I need to work out more.”

“Basil! BASIL!”

“Hm?” It was Haseo. What, did he hike all the way up here by himself? While he was injured.

“Ba-Basil.” It seemed to take a moment for Haseo to catch his breath. He must have ran all the way up, which, considering the distance Basil had gone to even get the moderately murky water before them, was rather impressive. Couldn’t have done wonders for his injuries though. “I thought Kikuya wanted you to wait at the ship.”

“Where’s Kikuya? Is she alright?”

“I’m not sure where she is, we split off completely after we got off the ship. She’s probably somewhere on the island up there somewhere.” Basil gestured up the wall he was shading under, indicating Kikuya could be anywhere on the island up that side of the canyon. “Why, did something happen? You see something?” Basil looked quickly up the cliff then back at Haseo, a bit of confusion on his face as he recollected his stamina from closing the barrel. He also slowly brought the third barrel back to him, placing it between himself and Haseo where he could close it and prepare the barrels for transport back to the ship. “Because if you didn’t see anything happen, I’m sure it’s fine. Kikuya’s probably back at the ship right now, anyway. It can’t take that long to gather reagents.” He slid the lid to where it needed to be before pounding it into the barrel, though he took a moment to pause before doing so. “Although I guess I’ve never done that so I wouldn’t know, would I?”

He started to beat the lid into the barrel, though much slower than with the other barrels as he was becoming exhausted with the heat and physical activity. His restrictive wardrobe was also a problem, a slight blemish in judgement regarding how long he’d be outside. It was only a few moments before Haseo piped up again. “Hey Basil? Is it just me or do you see fire over… there?” Basil looked up to identify where Haseo was pointing before checking himself. Sure enough there was a ring of fire to be seen through an opening in the canyon. Having gone uphill since he had left, it was understandable that the canyon was also partially on a cliff side, but he never took the time to check, not when he had water to fetch. “Huh. That’s weird.”

“Let’s check it out! It could be Kikuya!”

“What? But what about the water?!” Basil flailingly gestured the barrels, a small veil of frustration creeping over his face. Giving an exasperated sigh, Basil angrily pounded the barrel shut and used his tongues to slide it into the shade with the other barrels. He could always come back to them later since it wasn’t that hard to find out where they were, not if he knew where the ship was anyway. They had docked right by the path leading to them after all. “Fine. But I really doubt an apothecary would use her medicinal herbs out in the middle of nowhere unless it was an emergen… fine, I’ll come.” Basil slowly trudged up to Haseo to follow him, ashamed that he had answered his own question in a sense.

[.::Haseo On The Clouds::.]

Haseo:

Once again he found himself running, this time towards the dimming sight of fire and the distinct scent of smoke which had begun to grow more and more bothersome by the second. For obvious reasons, the relentless assault from the sun and the dryness of the air combined with the scent of smoke had some mental impacts on Haseo as he continued to trudge through the desert, Basil only closely following behind in what Haseo could have guessed wasn't so great for the navigator. "Oi Basil! Hope this isn't too much trouble for you!!" His voice almost melded perfectly into his rhythm as he ran to the fire ahead of him. Apon almost reaching his destination, Haseo abruptly stopped and took in a new scent that was music to his taste buds.

"Huh what's that?" Haseo took a moment to survey the camp that he had suddenly stumbled upon. The area was in truth not that far away from where Basil must have gone off to when he was filling up the crew's water supplies, the location was probably the best place to set up camp in the scorching environment but other than a ring of fire, a sleeping guy on the ground and some fish....it wasn't really anything special...

"Wait....sleeping guy? FISH!?" FISH!!!!!" Without a moment's warning Haseo jumped straight down onto the camp without a care in thew world and drooled over the cooked fish. Lustfully licking his lips, Haseo reached his out hand outward to grab one of the 2 remaining cooked fishes left. "Oi Basil!" It was obvious that Haseo had intended for that to be a whisper but it most certainly didn't come off like a whisper at all.[/b] "There's one for each of us!" Haseo waved his arm and pointed with the other one at the free meal that was before. Quickly checking to the see if the guy was awake or not Haseo proceeded to take a fish, reaching out his hand as drool spilled out to give some moisture to the dry sand.

"Don't mind if I do!" Haseo greedily smacked his lips together, totally forgetting why he had left the ship in the first place.

Aiel:

"Ayahahahaha!" He'd finally done it! He'd finally done it! After so many years! After so many years! He'd finally done it! "And she's all mine! Ayahahaha!" Chief Akuum nearly seemed to bounce in joy as he entered his quarters, grabbing one of his many furs to hug before he slammed into a criss corss position onto a padded bat that stayed warmly underneath the chief's hind-quarters. Several of the servants and care-takers exchanged looks among each other, wondering if the chief had gone mad...well as in more mad than he already was.

"Did you see her!? You all saw her right!? She's soooo beautiful! Especially when she's all bound up and unconscious like that! It makes my hearts pound! It makes my blood boil! I feel unstoppable ayahahaha!" Akuum hugged his fur even tighter like some crazed obsessive fan boy. As the chief it was his duty to marry and lead his clan....but everytime that he had attempted to marry the woman had run off or disappeared as if he wasn't an enjoyable person. "Bah!" He spat at the ground as the thought surfaced in his mind but was quickly dispersed once his lovely bride's face reappeared into his thoughts. Ahhh how he loved her so! It must have been love at first sight and he was sure that the feeling was mutual as well! Akuum jumped up onto his feet and danced as he gave orders to his caretakers.

"You! You! You! Prepare me for the wedding ceremony! Brush my hair! Suit me up! Paint my face!" The servants did their best to receive the orders but the tasks were nearly impossible with the Chief prancing around like an idiot. Too bad because with his temper the Chief immediately changed his joyous dance into a merciless slaughter.

"Get it right! How dare you disobey me!" Once again Akuum seized a spear from his wall of autographed spears (yeah weird right?) and pierced the bellies of his servants. Immediately afterwards he screamed so that those outside could hear him. "FETCH ME SOME MORE SERVANTS TO PREPARE FOR THE WEDDING CEREMONY! I WANT TO LOOK MY BEST FOR MY BELOVED....my beloved...." He stopped for a moment, scratching his head with his free hand. What the hell was that girl's name!? "AND SOMEBODY TELL ME THAT GIRL'S NAME!"

(Wow this is not my best work =/)

[flame08]

"Oi Basil!" was the male voice that stirred Mugetsu from his sleep. Yawning he stretched his arms out then paused. Wait . .. a male voice? There were no males in his group . . only himself and Abigail. So what was happening . . . he waited as vision cleared. Looking around he was still in his tent . . . the ground seemed the same. It didn't seem like he'd been moved or taken anywhere. More like he would have woken up if that had happened. Hundreds of scenarios began to race through his mind about what could have happened. In any case what mattered to him at the moment was . .. where was Abigail in all this? She was not sleeping in the tent so she must have been there when these intruders came by. He knew very well she wasn't exactly the welcoming type . . .yet where was she? Had they knocked her out? She wasn't as strong as he was but she definitely could put up a good fight. Perhaps the Grand Line was too early for her . . .anyways he better get rid of the men here and find out what happened to her.

Mugetsu sat up orienting himself for a second, "Don't mind if I do!" came the sound from outside his tent. It was quickly followed by the smacking of lips . . . oh so they were eating his food now were they. Or at least the guy he was hearing was. Shaking his head he could feel himself burning with rage, oh this guy had nerves, eating food without the permission of the cook. He looked around, his swords were still acting as the skeleton of the tent, and his two daggers were sitting at his side. Mhmm, everything he needed now just one last thing before he made his attack. Grabbing at a little canister he unscrewed the top and took a swig. His special Fireman's Alcohol hit the spot perfectly. Putting the canister on his belt he crouched for a second letting the alcohol sink in before he let loose. Finally when he felt he was ready he swung his hand up knocking off the cloth that made up the cover of the tent.

"How foolish are you! Taking food which is not yours!" Mugetsu yelled out grabbing the hilts of both of his katana. He drew both of them at once, as they came out of their sheaths his real style was made obvious. The two swords burst into flame, drawing up what of the Fireman's alcohol was still in his mouth. He smiled, this idiot who tried to eat his food. Mugetsu would definitely FLAMBE him! Crossing his swords in front of him he put his fire artist skills to work. Spitting out the alcohol into a ball of fire that flew forward toward his enemy. Immediately following that up he jumped forward swinging both of his swords down, the fire raged upon them, his swords apart from being used as cutting weapons based off his usual sword style, were also used to burn his opponents. It easily increased the effectiveness of his attacks. The Fireman's alcohol while lighting very easily was also easily put out given some water. But other than water it was alcohol so it burned long and hard. And if it got on something else flammable, well it turned into an inferno of fire. This was Mugetsu's Yokai Fox Fire Style!

It was only as he swung his swords however that Mugetsu took the time to look around. The area was basically empty save the man eating Mugetsu's fish, Abigail was nowhere in sight. There was probably another one of this guy's comrades somewhere because Mugetsu vaguely remembered hearing him call out to someone when Mugetsu had woken up. Was Abigail still at the river? His eyes darted around her swords were gone, but no body. Gahh, he had told her not to leave the camp. Now where was she . . . ok one less reason to be attacking this guy. But the indignity of his food being eaten without his consent still meant something.

In any case, at least Abigail was semi-safe. He still didn't know where she was. When he was done with this idiot, she needed to be found. And most likely taught a lesson for her stupidity.

[SHADE SMASH]

-This...was not my best work... *bows head in sadness*-

"In any case, at least Abigail was semi-safe. He still didn't know where she was. When he was done with this idiot, she needed to be found. And most likely taught a lesson for her stupidity..."

Chills! They ran up her spine and traveled throughout her body causing goosebumps to erupt over her skin and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, forcing her to stop to recover. Not like in the healing kind of way, but it just surprised her was all. Not to mention, it left a kind of foreboding feeling...

"Almost like Mugetsu was..." Abigail began, stopping in mid-sentance as if pondering whether such a thing would even be possible or if she was just being a bit superstitious. At last, she shook her head with a smile as if to say it was impossible. "Nah! That couldn't be it!" She finally continued, once again pacing forward. "He even said that he believed in me." She added as if to assure herself, even if in the back of her mind she remembered it was really she who had said that in his stead. There was also the notion that she was going to be a hero, like he always is or trying to be. So surely he wouldn't be mad at her for doing this, he actually just might reward her with clothes or suddenly fall in love with her 'charm'. So she continued with the belief that he can't possibly be mad at her and therefore dropped the topic in her head.

Plus, there was the fact that she saw the town up ahead. A bunch of black blurry triangular shapes obscured by the heat rising from the desert. One may think it looks akin to a mirage, but she could tell it was the real deal. Aiel weren't as prone to mirages as most others were. Strange, though. They didn't seem like normal houses or the kind found in her tiny town. Sure, they were far from bricked buildings, but they were still huts of some sort, displaying some sort of society however bad or poor it was. These looked like tents. She shaked the thought, thinking that perhaps these could not be as far gone as that, but the closer she got to the place, the more they seemed like tents.

Was this a joke? A girl was caught by hooligans living their lives in tents?! In Abigails mind, she didn't stereotype girls as the innocent kind. She saw them like herself and those in her own town, strong who had to make an effort in order to survive. Someone who was captured by savages could not be anything but dumb. Before she got any closer, she radually became aware of how tight her jeans were becoming. The true technicality behind it was not coming to mind, but she knew if she was going to try any real fighting with these dweebs, there was no way she could do it in style.

For one, they were in SAND! And two, she already looked like crap anyways. Hair frizzing out like crazy, already dry like straw from the earlier bath, her tank top seemingly more ruined than before, and her arms red enough to take on a tanner color than before. Too many years spent in a dessert to acquire a true sun burn so lucky her. Actually, a few of those accounts were exagerations. Not the sunburn part, she is too lucky for that! But her hair doesn't look all that bad and its still somewhat damp. Her tank top is also in good condition, just some white shades here and there from the excess of sand around her. Anyways, on with her plight!

Grabbing one of her daggers, Pollux to be specific, who was stowed away on the intricate belt looped around her waist, she decided to carve some shorts out of these jeans before she came any closer. First time, she knicked herself on the inner thigh a bit too deep causing blood to run down her leg but she hardly noticed. (Also, she just didn't feel like taking the jeans off right now.) The second pant leg was done with a more steady hand and there was no knicks. As she discarded of the cloth, she continued forwards darting around trying to locate a decent place to sneak in through. Although it seemed empty, she knew better than to take it at face value.

(im sorry for it being dis bad)