Post by Vio on Oct 18, 2015 9:36:39 GMT -5
Three days had passed since the Phlegyas had ventured over the tumultuous cascades of the Reverse Mountain, three days’ worth of steady sailing across eerily calm waters, broken each night by awkward tidal patterns unlike anything seen in the North Blue. Waves that seemed to gallop over each other in a bid to reach the vast and inky skies had plagued the relatively small vessel on its maiden voyage in the Grand Line, and the bumpy ride had not exactly been too easy on its passengers, either. Rumour stated that bizarre storms that emerged from nowhere were rather commonplace on this fearsome stretch of sea and, much to the dismay of Scarlette Grimm-Rosa, that had ended up being the case. While the warm and sunny days seemed calm and placid, the ocean doing little in the way of movement save for following a swift and easy current that carried them forwards, the harsher nights had churned the woman’s innards about like butter. In fact, no less than five times had she woken up and darted from her quarters, emptying the contents of her uneasy stomach over the railings and into the briny abyss.
Fortunately, this day would likely be her last day having to put up with such things – for a short while at least. The rather small and unusual crew consisting of the gothic girl and the violet-eyed siblings of Pluto and Rebecca had just made landfall, having followed the gently quivering needle of their Log Pose to an unusual landmass. The first island they had encountered since the mighty mountain had been left in their wake, their approach had been slow and steady, but the mountainous land itself was quite large. From their first sighting of it shortly after sunrise, the place had looked like a large and almost dome-shaped structure, but now as they moored their ship to the docks of a small city they saw the truth. An island shaped like the lunar crescent, forged of blunted rocky spires, surrounded a semi-contained ‘sea’ in which a cluster of smaller landmasses were contained. Much of the land sheathed in varying shades of green, the Crescent Moon Islands screamed of prosperous life, but where the ship had made port was most clearly manmade.
“So… This is where that needle was pointing?” Scarlette asked quietly, looking to the smaller figure of Rebecca, the young girl having been given the important duty of looking after the Log Pose. Sure enough, the little bracelet upon which the needle sat was secure upon the youngster’s wrist, the red point twitching almost feverishly now that they had reached their first destination. Whatever that meant, it made Miss Grimm-Rosa rather uneasy, but that might have been more because she was trying to adjust once more to the lack of tidal motion underfoot.
This is a strange place… Chocolate hues glanced for a moment towards Pluto, half-expecting him to make some sort of knowledgeable comment, but her gaze quickly shifted towards the city itself. The docks themselves were clearly quite expansive, the Phlegyas itself having found room at the farthest end of the port and – quite fortunately – a decent distance away from a stone pier dedicated to numerous fishing vessels. Large trawlers and such seemed to circumnavigate the islands, dredging up fish and crustaceans to supply food to the people, and thus the salty air was permeated by the familiar stench of such businesses. Though the stink of death was not something that typically bothered her all that much, the odour itself was somewhat noxious to her at this point and made her feel unsteady.
“Ugh. Come on. I can’t stand that smell,” she uttered, beginning a brisk trek away from the bustling shores and silently hoping that she would be able to find solace and solitude at some point during their stay. How long would it take before they could leave this land? Did the Log Pose reset within a few hours? A few days? Maybe weeks…? However long it would be, the fact of the matter was that there were things they needed to tend to before leaving, anyway. With no accurate idea of what lay ahead of them, the trepidatious trilogy needed to stock up on supplies and get some decent rest before they even dared to strike out to sea again. For the devilish damsel, of course, there were other things she wished to take care of, but that could wait a while. For now, her intent was anything but bloody and murderous, and mere seconds after starting to walk away her body decided to inform her company of what her intent actually was.
“And… I… need food…” Stomach growling in protest, likely wishing to have the chance to properly digest much needed sustenance after being denied such opportunities on numerous occasions, it was all Scarlette could do to steady herself from the weakness that swept over her. Maybe one or two proper meals a day at best was all she had achieved on their voyage over the land four or five days, both before and after crossing into the Grand Line, but her constant attempts at training her body required more energy than she was efficiently taking in. In fact, much of her diet so far had consisted of little more than slices of bread – maybe with some jam – to keep up her iron and sugar levels. So much else had been forgone, and not because of her own willingness, either.
Much of the town before them was unlike anything the ravenous reaper had seen before, though, that was not saying all that much considering how little of the world she had explored. It was somewhat like Jreum, their last stop before setting sail for this foreign sea, but not quite as expansive, nor possessing the distinct corals. Numerous waterways criss-crossed the town, spilling waters into the sea via the port, but much of the architecture was of light grey stone and dark timber. In fact, it was hard to tell where the landmass ended and where the shoreline actually began, much of this small but densely populated city seemingly build upon constructs of carved timber and stone. Bridges offered pedestrian access over the maze of canals, wide and narrow alike, and the flow of such passages seemed to suggest that they were being fed by springs concealed amongst the mountainous hills beyond. Not that the lethargic lady understood much about geology or geography, of course, for she barely understood the water cycle.
There are so many people here, and they all look so happy… But I really don’t have the energy to help… A rather one-sided battle between belief and necessity taking place in the confines of her mind, Scarlette looked wearily at her ‘teacher’ of the last few days. Most of the time, Pluto was in charge, regardless of whether he wanted to be or not. It was a matter of respect, really; even if she had never said it to him, the murderous maiden with whom he travelled knew that he was physically stronger than she was – mentally, too. Perhaps they could find somewhere to have a late breakfast, or brunch as some called it, and chalk up a plan of action for their stay…Considering what's going down in this thread alone, I think it'll become a definitive two-parter!
Scarlette Grimm-Rosa (990000)