Out of Place in the Rolling Dunes

[Surua]

~~~

The morning light trickled through the canopy above, of the greenery of the tropical plants and trees interspersed throughout the oasis, and of the various tarps and sheets of cloth hung between the buildings to provide shade to the streets below. Of many vibrant colors and patterns to the woven overhang, the sunlight cast a brilliant array of colors in soft light upon those who made their way beneath it all. Already for a couple hours at least had the city been awake, and the oasis was alive with activity. Those late to the day were still opening stalls or setting up shop, but enough was the hustle and bustle that the various markets and seller streets were quickly becoming crowded. For those who had no permanent residence, seeking out breakfast was the focus of many and the city displayed that; even outside the actual restaurant and food-serving establishments, the crackle of fires and the aroma of cooking filled the air. Intermixed with the shouting of buyers and sellers and the smells of the goods on display (particularly the spices, of which there were many), it was a pretty picture for those with an appetite to buy, and more than just food at that. Despite it all however, as productivity for the day ramped up, there were still more than a few quiet streets, alleys and courtyards still not awoken like the rest of the city and populated by stacked crates and baskets and the occasional stray animal.

This was Waq Waq oasis of Zarzara Island, and though the issue at the back of everyone's mind was the recent occupation of a hostile crew of fishmen, life continued as it ever had and without looking you might never know of the piratical residency. A small offshoot of Ciudadela, the island was frequent stopping point for traders and raiders alike, but tensions were usually muted by the harsh environment of the island. Indeed, outside the inland oasis, one would be hard pressed to survive and harder pressed to make a living. Only by the grace of planners, builders and traders of the past was the oasis a habitable place, and by the efforts of the current generations it thrived. Thankfully an expansive canal stretching to the coast, allowed for easy access to the oasis by outsiders, else who would make the effort to cross the expanse of desert to the waters of the South Blue beyond?

~~~

"Hey! I know you pirates are the big shots around here for now, but that doesn't mean you can just steal from the likes of me. Two hands at the most, just like everybody else!"

A flourish of arms among the goods of the exterior of a produce store was interrupted by the big burly owner, a middle-aged man and probably long-time vendor. Based on the way he carried himself and others reacted, it seemed likely that he was a fairly well-known and popular figure or at least his store was. The person he called out to was dressed quite heavily in the local manner of clothing, robes and and abundance of draped cloth to protect against the sun, and while it was difficult to make out her identity it was clear to tell she wasn't human from the six arms that reached out from underneath all that clothing. The store owner assumed her to be a fishperson because of the recent occupation of the fishmen pirates, and he wouldn't be completely wrong to think so. While not a pirate and not associated with the lot of them staying over at the palace of the Princess, the rest checked out. As far as he was concerned though, it was too easy for her to be able to steal things when she had so many extra arms to grab and take as she wished. His experience as a vendor was vast indeed, but even he wouldn't be able to keep an eye out for thievery if she attempted it.

"These... have much water?"

For her though it was about as natural as breathing so she was rather caught off-guard at first and didn't immediately understand why she was being yelled at. Not to cause any provocation, she did as she was told and withdrew four of her arms. To try to smooth over the situation though, she responded with a question she'd been wondering, as she held out a pomegranate.

"...they do, yes. They also have many seeds."

"How many for?"

"How many... ah, a paying customer? Forgive me, I had thought you a thief! They are three hundred beri per, or twelve-hundred for a lot of five."

"This many." she said, as she again extended her arms to pick up five of the fruits, and with her sixth hand holding out money. With a laugh the vendor took the bills and made the quick trip inside to return with the proper change, and thanked her for her business.

Thus she departed the store with five bought and paid for fruit, and a few more she managed to steal while the vendor went inside to get her change.

[Deleted]

The man walked through the marketplace as if he owned it, each step possessing confidence bordering on arrogance. Pushing through the crowded streets without a second glance at those who might be offended. Rather, his blue eyes darted from side to side, examining the various stalls and vendors that had established their presence on the streets that morning. The sounds of trade and commerce, buying and selling, mixed with the aromas of spice and the hot air to create an environment that Leonardo had never even dreamed of experiencing. To be honest, he was quite taken aback, the desert oasis was a far cry from the estate on Lyvel, he’d realised that as the ship he’d travelled in on had approached the desert island. Not that he’d ever show it, let alone admit it. His face betrayed none of his feelings of bewilderment, rather it stood as a picture of serene smugness.

Regardless, Leonardo’s eyes continued to scan the area for somewhere to get something to eat, preferably something cold and mild flavoured. As much as he loved a good warm feast, the sheer heat of the island was causing him to sweat enough as it was, if he were to mix in hot food and spice, he was worried that his appearance would damn near collapse. And if there was one thing he wasn’t going to abide, it was sweating and looking like an embarrassment in public, hell even looking like an embarrassment anywhere, he had standards to maintain.

The noble-born young man gathered his wits and continued on his way, ignoring the idea of embarrassing himself. A few minutes later, he settled on a market stall, the smell of smoke and spice wafting from it. Of course the scent was irrelevant, rather it was chosen not in small part due to the vendor being a rather attractive young woman, dressed in the flowing robes that the locals loved to wear. In fact, Leonardo wasn’t entirely sure what exactly they were selling, probably food. Sauntering over with a blatant swagger, he gave her a winning grin.

She was dark skinned, like most of the locals, and noticeably attractive. She was quite shapely, just to Leonardo’s tastes, and the way she stood made him more than pleased. Before her stood four pots, steam escaping from under their lids. Evidently where the scents of the stall were coming from. To the right of the pots were a series of plates and spoons.

”Good morning, bella,” He spoke, ”What do you have to offer this lovely morning, other than your own beautiful self?”

The girl responded to his advances with a glare, eyebrow furrowed, obviously unpleased with his attempts at flirting. Leonardo simply grinned inwardly, So we’re playing this game are we, my dear? Let the chase begin.

”We’ve got all sorts of spiced stews, each is a thousand beri. What would you care for?” The woman’s tone was far from pleased.

Leonardo paused for a second, spiced food was what he didn’t want to eat that morning, his hesitation showed outwardly for a second ”I trust you, bella, get me your own favourite. I’m sure a woman as beautiful as you has tastes well attuned to finding the grandest of foods.”

The woman smirked for a second before opening the pot furthest to Leonardo’s right, grabbing the serving spoon within with one hand, and pouring the stew into a bowl held in the other. With an innocent smile she put a spoon into the bowl and gave it to the man.

Leonardo smiled at her, it looked like she was warming up to him, grabbing the amount of cash needed from his coat pocket with his right hand, he handed her the money to her now empty hand. The stew exchanging between them.

”Thank you kindly, bella,” He thanked her.

Looking up at the smiling serving girl, he took a large bite of the stew. Only for his taste buds to be assaulted by the harsh spice of the meal. Swallowing quickly and struggling to hold the bowl of food, he let out a harsh cough, vaguely aware of the girl laughing at his misfortune with an uproar. Shooting her a glare, his face blushing in a mix of embarrassment and the spice. He turned and stormed off back into the crowd, glaring at each and every one he passed.

His tongue was on fire, and he was only vaguely aware of the people in front of him. The locals and normal people gave him no pause. However he just about stopped dead when he saw the fishman, he wasn’t stupid enough to not know about the occupation of the island, he’d heard many a sailor talking about them. Whoever it was, didn’t look intimidating, mainly because you couldn’t who they were, other than the multiple arms under the grey cloak.

A pirate? A fishman pirate? He wasn’t sure whether to be terrified or to be intrigued. He wanted to become a pirate didn’t he? Maybe the best way to do that would be to ask an actual pirate, of course that was also a good way to get killed. Clutching the hot stew, he sweated, he needed a goddamn drink.

Maybe he’d just follow the fishman for a little bit, at least while he tried to muster his courage. Steeling his face, his movements were a swagger again, that of a man confident in himself, not one just scorned by a lowly serving girl.

[Distress]

The oasis was charming, she had to concede that much, and the temperature, provided that she stuck to the shaded areas and never strayed too far from them, was just to her liking. The issue for her was the noise. There was too much of it, Merche decided, and, having only recently arrived from a lengthy period of traveling, it was making it rather difficult for her to get her bearings. And the people were another thing entirely. Skilled though she may have been at navigating the seas, navigating crowds was a challenge wholly separate. Though she tried to keep to herself and avoid the center of activity, the truly crowded areas, she was still bumped and jostled by passersby. Of course, this was not entirely their fault, since her size led to her not being noticed at all by those around her, until it was too late. Not that she would accept that as an excuse, however. She wasn't the type for that. What better an example could there be of the world's corruption than this? A perfectly nice oasis, ruined by the people in it. As she was pondering the ramifications of this, yet another stranger thoughtlessly pushed her aside, without even stopping, sending her stumbling into a corner.

"You could say sorry, at least..." she muttered under her breath, it being far too late to confront the person in question directly. "...jerkface."

After turning a corner and wandering a while longer, finally she saw, from the corner of her vision, the place she was looking for. Finally. The door to the little shop swung open, a clattering bell announcing the entrance of a customer, and Merche strode inside. It was a small place, with only enough room for a few racks and a counter, but the light streaming in from the large windows made it seem much bigger. Just as well, it was as good a place as any, even if Merche did find some issue with the color of the carpet.

"Why hello there," said a kindly voice, coming from what looked to be a mustache with a shopkeeper attached to it. "Welcome to Martbell's Hats! Can I help you with anything?" He beamed at Merche with a look that, by its friendliness alone, made her feel just a bit out of place.

"Yes. A hat. I am here to buy a hat."

"Absolutely, absolutely. Child size, yes?"

With those two words alone, something deep and dark swirled within Merche's mind, restrained, but still present, and a shiver went up her spine and sent a tingling sensation through her fins. "No."

The shopkeeper stood up, rubbing his hands together in a way that could make even the most honest merchant seem like a swindler. "Oh. Alright, then. I have just the thing for you." He rummaged through one of the racks filled with hats, humming a little tune to himself as he did so. "Ah ha! Here we go. Perfect for a little lady like yourself."

"Actually, I just wanted to..." before she could finish, everything in front of her went pitch black as an oversized hat was forcefully dropped on her head, covering up the better part of her face. After making sure she was fully composed, Merche slowly raised up the large brim of the hat, so she could properly glare at his still cheerful face. For the first time, his expression dropped, only a little. Perhaps it was because of Merche's quiet, subtle rage, or maybe, for the first time, he noticed the pale scales, black streaks, and gold eyes that marked her as a fishwoman. With perfect calm, but never letting her eyes leave his, she took off the hat, and handed it back to the shopkeeper. "Y'know what? I changed my mind."

"O-okay. Have a great day!"

The door swung open once again, and Merche walked back out into the dusty streets, in something of a huff. She needed a distraction, she wanted to be distracted, but it would take something noteworthy to take away her sharp scowl. At that moment, the drifting smells of the market were what caught her attention, and she sniffed at the air. Finding what she thought would be the best (in other words the meatiest) smell, she wandered towards the source. Merche was perfectly alone again, filled with the hope for a snack and with no hat to hide her gleaming red hair from the sunlight.

[Ms. April Fool's Day]

"Excuse me, pretty red haired lady!"

An odd, feminine chirp broke out in the noise about Merche. If she were to look toward the direction of the voice, she would witness what appeared to be an exotic pet stand in the chaos of the market. There were many different hybrids of creatures, from swallow-pigs to cricket-dogs, but there was one particular one who looked... well, normal.

It was a simple toucan.

Then again, was it really simple? Dressed in a pink sequin coat, too tiny for even Merche to consider wearing and other fabulous tiny clothes, the toucan appeared to have come straight from the runway of a fantastic toucan fashion show. It was certainly a fabulous creature. What wasn't so fabulous was the very small bird cage it was confined in, seated on top of what appeared to be very large suitcases at the edge of the stand near the street. It was rusted old and forcefully shut with a heavy duty lock, leaving the toucan with barely enough room to move. There was a thick price tag on it that read 80,000 Beri (or $800 USD).

Nearby, an old, rugged man slept at a counter. He snored loudly and the toucan looked at him with bitter disgust. At first glance, it appeared to be the owner of the exotic pet stand. If Merche was feeling any bit merciful, it wouldn't be too difficult to assist the toucan in his time of need, especially if she wasn't willing to pay such a hefty price.

"P-please help!" it said again. "I woke up in this ugly cage and I don't know what to do! Excuse me, cute little girl!"

[Surua]

Having gotten a breakfast equivalent and more importantly, a means to stay hydrated, the native-dressed fishwoman made her way out of the bustling market streets as best she could with a seeming purpose to her direction. It was probably plain to see she had somewhere to be, but as to how she knew where that was and how to get there wasn't immediately evident. After a few streets and alleys though she came to rest at a fairly expansive but decidedly less-populated plaza before a grand old building, the old palace of the Princesses' to those in the know. Sitting on the ground cross-legged, she drew a possibly stolen pomegranate from her robes and started squeezing it all around with several hands. Apart from asking a random passerby the time however, she didn't do much beyond sit and wait, eventually biting into the fruit after awhile and squeezing the juice out.

It didn't take long to see what she was waiting for though, as over the next fifteen minutes or so, a number of various tough-looking individuals began to gather at the center of the plaza. One even approached her asking something but she wordlessly drove the fellow off. Another five minutes for the small crowd to organize, and with a more distinguished figure calling for an "ATTACK!", the crowd did just that. A loud, mad rush at the palace and in as little time as it took them to reach it, a number of fishmen pirates probably acting as guards assembled to meet the crowd. A rather large but not particularly intense fight ensued, as more fishmen from inside joined the fight and turned the tides in their favor. Although the combat was still in the heated climax, it was likely to end up with a victory to the fishmen pirates, a clear display of their strong choke hold on the oasis as of late.

The fishwoman just waited though, still seated and having moved onto a second fruit after having spat a few seeds out from the first. The fight wasn't too far away and so her big eyes darted back and forth among the combatants, though always seemed to return to the fellow what called for the attack in the first place, currently going toe to toe with some sort of zebra fishman. Her focus on the conflict was strong enough it seemed, that some of her unoccupied hands started to 'wander' and started to grab for things on the ground near her or fiddle with her clothes. One even started messing with the discarded first fruit, and all the while she seemed unaware of all of this.

[Deleted]

Leonardo kept his eyes on the fishman, not once allowing her to escape from his vision, regardless of the amount of hustle and bustle that preceded him. The other people on the street moved like the tide, competing currents pushing and pulling against one another to create a riptide. Leonardo managed to stay above water though, his own demeanour and arrogance allowed him to push and jostle his way through with little regard for the other members of the crowd. It was this ability that allowed him to keep watching the pirate, and see her rather briskly exit the busy streets. Purpose was evident in her strides, clearly she had somewhere that she needed to be.

Leonardo grinned, his right hand nonchalantly running through his long hair as he continued his pursuit, aware of the reduction in the amount of bodies. His stew had long since been abandoned, that blasted waitress be damned. So it appears that my enigmatic friend has a place they wish to be. You know what they say, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Content with the idea that the woman was most definitely a pirate, he continued to follow. Trying his best to keep up with the woman as she moved through alleyways, whilst also trying to not make his intent obvious.

Eventually, the woman reached her destination, a palace of some description. Whilst he wasn’t familiar with the local history, or culture, or nobility for that matter. What Leonardo was familiar with was nobility in general, and the place reeked of it. He obviously approved, it was important that one’s accommodation was fitting. However, the woman seemed to have no care in the world, sitting on the ground and eating a pomegranate. A more observant man might have guessed that she was waiting for something, all Leonardo saw was a dead end.

Muttering a curse under his breath, the young man turned his gaze from the woman and towards the rest of the plaza. Scanning the rabble for anything remotely interesting, it was then that he saw the men start to funnel through. He examined them for a good number of minutes, working his mind through the possibilities. Tough looking folk, pirates maybe? Or quite possibly just men who’d come here to stir trouble with the local nobles. There’d been a couple of those sort back home, not that his father had concerned himself with it. Nor his mother for that matter. Well, he’d have to go see why they were so displeased with their governors, such was a noble’s duty, he pondered as he stepped into the assembling group. If he could even be considered a noble anymore, the thought hadn’t really occurred to him, blood was blood wasn’t it?

”Gentleman, is there any-“ his tone was cut off by a man’s yell ”ATTACK!”

Instantly, he found himself being pushed past by the men as they surged forward. Disorientated, he took a few minutes to steel his mind before looking at the direction the men were running to, only to see a group of fishmen fast approaching.

How could I have been so daft? The pirates, they’ve taken the palace. Leonardo thought as he watched the battle engage from behind. Of course, the pirates had taken the palace, they just about owned the island, why not own the seat of governance as well?

Hand gripped on his sheathed rapier, even from behind the group, he could see that the battle was easily in the pirate’s favour. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, the man casually walked away, his confident swagger and easy sway only betrayed by the fear evident in his eyes. As he walked off however, the man couldn’t help but notice the original pirate he’d followed, still sitting and watching. How absurd, hadn’t she come here to battle with her crewmates? Even if she was a woman, such cowardice was far from acceptable.

The young man glanced from the woman back to the battle, and the way in which the pirates seemed to be handily turning the tide to their favour, maybe the best course of action would be to get in their good books. Men who were polite to rulers tended to be ruled generously. With that thought, he once more steeled his nerves and purposely walked over to the sitting fishwoman, a forced grace in his step. Positioning himself behind her, as to ensure that she was between him and the fight, his nose scrunching up in disgust at the site of her playing with the discarded first fruit.

”Aren’t you going to help your crew?” He asked, his tone flat, letting none of his fear of the woman show, ”Even if they seem to be winning, I’d wager that an extra pair- He paused at the site of multiple arms, ”of arms is always welcome on the battle field.”

Leonardo turned his attention back toward the fight, and the various types of fishmen within. He was more than ready to run at a moment’s notice, lest this woman try to kill him for his fine coat.

[Distress]

When she heard a bird in a cage squawking, Merche didn't realize right away that she was the one it was addressing. She wasn't a little girl, she knew that much, so even when she quickly realized her mistake, her first impulse was to keep moving. Then again, it was a talking bird, and she couldn't just ignore that. Who would, upon meeting such a creature?

Figuring that hunger could wait for at least a moment, Merche stopped, walked over to the cage, and crouched in front of the toucan, peering at it with curious eyes. She had to admit, if it was the shopkeeper who taught the bird how to say such things, as she suspected was the case, it was quite a clever ploy. If she had a kinder heart, she might have believed him. Surely, someone out there would feel pity for the toucan's claim that he was unjustly captured, and give him a nice new home. She imagined the poor, wealthy soul sitting in their house, listening to the sharp-dressed bird repeat that same short sequence of lines, over and over again.

Then again, the toucan did seem to call out to her specifically, even if he did call her a little girl. Maybe the shopkeeper taught him to recognize certain features? Or perhaps, just as likely, it happened to be a coincidence, and the bird called that out to everyone, in the hopes that somebody at some point would match the description. But still, it was enough to make Merche rethink her initial impression. Maybe, she thought, she would give him a small test, to see if he really could talk. She also momentarily wondered what "$800 USD" meant, but decided to ignore it.

"Hello. That's a pretty nice trick you got, there. You have any others?"

Of course, she also heard the sounds of battle coming from elsewhere, but paid it little mind. Fights and violence happened every day in port towns, whereas this was the first toucan, not to mention the first bird that could say full sentences, that she had ever met. As long it wasn't her that the shouty men were out to fight, she could always investigate the situation later.

[Ms. April Fool's Day]

There wasn't much hope. The toucan sighed and lowered its head as its large beak clanked against the rusted metal bars of the cage. it sat there, totally defeated.

Then suddenly, the girl responded. It was the first person all day to hear its cries over the busy noises of the market! Its tiny heart began to beat rapidly as it clutched the bars of the cage tightly. If toucans could smile, a beaming grin would pour across the toucan's face. Its adorable eyes sparkled immensely.

"You heard me! Tricks? Oh. Well, you see, I'm actually performing a trick right now. I mean, I'm not actually-"

The toucan was interrupted by what it could only assume was the sound of fighting across the street. It sounded terrifyingly close and it wouldn't be hard for Merche to assume the toucan wasn't fond of being in a cage in such a predicament. It began to rock the cage back and forth in a desperate attempt to get its point across further.

"Please, miss!" it said frantically with tears flowing down its face. "Please get me out of here! I promise I'll do whatever tricks you want to the best of my ability!"

[Surua]

Although generally focused on the fight, the fishwoman did happen to follow the jaunty fellow with her big eyes as he made his way over. His positioning behind her was perhaps a little suspicious, and he may have noticed at least one arm found its way back under her clothes. Holding onto a knife just in case, it provided some small comfort in opposition to the discomfort he was giving her. Otherwise though she tried to pay attention to the fight now that the climax was boiling over.

”Aren’t you going to help your crew? Even if they seem to be winning, I’d wager that an extra pair- of arms is always welcome on the battle field.”

"They are not my crew, not a one." she said, not feeling a need to turn around to face him when speaking to him, "The humans, they are asking for help before but I will not."

She wasn't aware of what Leonardo was insinuating and figured like the shopkeep, he believed her to be one of the fishmen pirates, which as far as she was concerned was alright by her. If people assumed she was a member of the dominant crew in the area then they were more likely to leave her alone, or at least most of them. Leonardo was an exception it seemed, but perhaps that set him apart from most people, and made him useful.

"You are seeing that one there, yes?" she said, as she pointed out with a hand at the fellow that called for the attack and was finally being subdued. "In charge of the humans, he is having price of ten millions. He is big time pirate on these waters."

The shouts and struggle of the pirates and other assembled fighters began to die down as the arrival of more fishmen finally restored balance, and set about dispersing onlookers and various other civilian spectators to the fight. It looked like one was even headed over their way probably to shoo them off, to which the fishwoman moved to her feet and made it look like she was busy with Leonardo by handing him an uneaten fruit with a hand from her robes.

"You are... smart man, yes? Looking for opportunity, perhaps?" she said, her eyes drawn to the side in case the fishman pirate still approached them.

[Deleted]

Outwardly, Leonardo appeared relaxed, his stance almost lounging in. The air around him seemed to be one of apathy and a casual indifference. Not even the heat seemed to be bothering him, his expression decidedly neutral. In a normal scenario, his posture may have been true to his feelings. However beneath his façade, the young man was more than fearful. His white knuckles obscured from view, hidden underneath leather gloves as he clenched the pommel of his rapier. The fishman woman didn’t turn to him as she spoke, but he wasn’t too concerned with that. After all, he was watching the combat as well, rather his concern was with the fact that she was a fishman in general. Even in the North Blue, he’d heard the rumours of their famed strength.

"They are not my crew, not a one. The humans, they are asking for help before but I will not,” She spoke, her language decidedly odd. However, the woman’s word choices weren’t what surprised the young noble, rather it was the fact that she had no connection with the fishmen pirates. The question that raised in his mind as a result was in regard to why a fishwoman would be all the way out in the South Blue. It wasn’t unheard of, but it was peculiar to be sure.

“You are seeing that one there, yes?", the woman pointed towards one of the men, "In charge of the humans, he is having price of ten millions. He is big time pirate on these waters."

Leonardo raised an eyebrow as he examined the man she was gesturing to, apparently the man was a pirate, a pirate with a rather large bounty. So that fellow is a pirate? A pirate with a bounty of ten million beri? This poses an opportunity and a half. Leonardo gave a small grin, the smile not touching his eyes, but it appeared more than genuine.

Unfortunately, said man’s own assault against the ruling fishmen pirates resulted in a well predictable loss, however Leonardo had seen that coming from the moment he started watching the battle. Most of the observers probably did. He continued to watch the square, though, as more fishmen came out, apparently clearing the area of ruffians. One of them even began to approach him and the woman, his intent didn’t look malignant, yet he was a fishperson pirate. Naturally, this intimidated the young man, he’d just witnessed a pirate worth over ten million beri lose to this man’s crew after all. However, Leonardo forced himself to keep looking nonchalant, sighing to himself as he brushed his non-sword hand through his hair. Head swivelling from the approaching pirate, as the woman stood up. Eyes examining her hand as it reached towards him with a pomegranate.

Leonardo looked quizzically at the fruit for a moment before the woman spoke, ”You are... smart man, yes? Looking for opportunity, perhaps?”

Leonardo paused, what was this woman offering to him? An opportunity, his brain worked quickly, an opportunity involving the human pirates? Or perhaps in regards to the fishmen? Or both? The noble paused and, once more, looked toward the approaching fishman out of the corner of his eye. He had set off looking for adventure, hadn’t he? Grinning, Leonardo smiled nonchalantly and let out a heartfelt laugh. Decidedly, forcing himself to ignore the growing pain in his right hand as his hand gave his sword pommel a death grip.

”An opportunity? Why how could I deny such a tantalising prospect?” Leonardo asked the rhetorical question with that tiny smile of his, his voice quiet so that only the fishwoman could hear, ”What do you have in mind, dear friend?”

Extending his free hand, he took the offered pomegranate, idly tossing it in his hand. His eyes moving away from the approaching pirate and his new acquaintance to look at the fruit, it did look juicy, and a pleasant colour of red. With a false confidence, he removed his right hand from his sword and extended it to shake one of the fishwoman’ hands.

”My name is Leonardo Biondo, an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance.” His hands were cold and clammy, once more Leonardo found himself glad he was hiding them underneath his brown leather gloves. The young noble gave a boyish, nonchalant smile.

[Distress]

Merche put a webbed hand up to cover her mouth, half out of thought, half out of surprise. So it seemed, the toucan wasn't just another bird taught a clever trick, it was a sentient being. Somehow. The way she saw it though, there was no point in wondering how such an impossibility could happen, when clearly her knowing such things would not change her situation in the slightest. Now, she was faced with quite another question.

If Merche were to help the bird, then she would be doing a good act. The toucan was obviously panicked and unhappy, and she had no reason to walk away and leave it there in its cage, trapped like that. On the other hand, she had no reason to help, either. It was an awful lot of trouble, and it would be quite bad for her if the shopkeeper were to wake up and see Merche trying to steal his property. She didn't have enough money to pay for the toucan's release anyway, and even if she did, why would she want to buy a talking toucan? More importantly, just doing tricks would not be enough gain for the effort to be worthwhile. Really, she just wished that the bird would have called out to someone else. This was far from a position that she wanted to be in.

Then again, something about the way it cried and thrashed about served as another reminder of the cruelty of the world in general. She threw a momentary glance at the shopkeeper, recognizing how, heartless though his actions may have been, he was nothing different from the rest of society. It was all just so disgusting. As the sounds of fighting continued to rage on, however, she had an idea. The toucan did have a use after all and, if granted its freedom, would surely want to return the favor. Merche had nothing against acts of kindness, when they were to her advantage.

"Sure, I'll help. But I'm gonna want you to do something for me, after we're done. I'm sure you won't mind that, would you?"

She gripped one of the bars of the cage, slowly and cautiously at first should the toucan suddenly decide to bite her fingers, and pulled. However, the bar did not budge. Though she was stronger than the average human, given her species, that didn't stop her from still only being ten times stronger than a human of her own age and size, so it wasn't as if she were able to bend steel with her bare hands or anything like that. Propping a foot up against the cage, she tried pulling again, straining herself this time.

"Say, mind giving me a hand, huh?"

[Ms. April Fool's Day]

"A hand...?"

The toucan's eyes seemed to go blank for a moment, as though Merche had said some kind of revelation. It held its wing toward itself and noticed what appeared to be fingers and eventually a palm emerging through the feathers. In a split second later, the cage exploded with a burst of pink mass.

Poor Merche would have been crushed by none other than what appeared to be a fantastically dressed man. His expressive eyes were caked with mascara and eye shadow, but not much make up was on his face otherwise. His previously tiny, fabulous clothes were now human sized and fit his incredibly slim figure well. He was barefoot though, and his pink painted toenails and the little she could see of his shaved legs sticking out from his pants might have fooled Merche into thinking the former toucan was a woman had she not seen his upper half. He squawked in shock when he realized what had happened and immediately rolled back to sit against one of the crates that had previously held up the cage.

He began to pick off little bits of rusted steel of what remained of his prison and peered in shock at the lock that still remained clamped onto the now broken door.

"I'm s-sorry!" he said in his deep, feminine voice. "I didn't realize turning back into a human would break the cage. I only change into a toucan when I can't afford to sleep inside, you see. I was asleep when that scoundrel put me in that terrible place."

Surprisingly, the pet store owner was still asleep during this entire incident. He snorted a bit and chuckled in some kind of dream.

"Little girl, you gave the inspiration to get out of there. Whatever you need to do, I'm up for it. I'm Gale Panchito. What should I call you?"

[Surua]

When the noble extended his hand, the fishwoman reciprocated with three of her own to shake, while another two patted his arm and squeezed his shoulder respectively. As well, her skin turned a light shade of yellow for a few moments before returning to her usual skin color. If he cared to look, he would notice that despite being a fisperson, she had no webbing between her fingers; only scars running the inner length of each finger.

"Leonardo, yes. I am Kalendra. This is good meeting."

She met his smile with a nod, and tried to pull him along with a number of hands, so that the pirate fishman would eventually give up and return to the palace. The distance for this to happen wasn't that far, but the noble actually seemed interested in participating in the grand scheme so she intended to lead the way to the set meeting point. Of course if he refused to be pulled along that was fine, and eventually she'd have just stopped on her own.

---

"...so friend and I are here at first only for few days, but then he comes. The ten millions pirate. When we see this, we decide to stay for longer."

She talked as she walked, though at an easy pace. Leonardo might have been a little alarmed at first as she seemed to stick to less-frequented alleys and side streets, and it would have been a perfect setup for a mugging, but she seemed too preoccupied with trying to remember the way to somewhere. It was probably a good thing she had on the robes or else her hands would have started to wander again, as focused as she was. Every so often she stopped suddenly and looked around to get her bearings, to which the noble might have collided with her if he was following too closely, but it wouldn't have bothered her either way.

"Many others try to remove fishkin from the oasis, so did the pirate. We are knowing is better not to attack any but now the pirate is caught, many of his comrades also. Fishkin will try selling to bounty hunters... our thinking is different."

Eventually she came to a stop at an end of an alley, right before a main waterway and amid a lush overgrowth of plants as a result of the proximity to the water, and what appeared to be an overhang they were standing on was actually a drainage culvert extending who knew how far beneath them. Holding onto a tree branch with two arms, she leaned out a bit over the canal and reached into the water to feel around for a bit till she pulled up a rope. Drawing it out of the water with another three arms, she would have accepted help if offered but didn't need or expect it.

"Now caught, the pirate ship is being nearly without guards. We are thinking to find his ship and take what is there for ourself. This is something maybe you want helping us with, Leonardo?"

Eventually enough pulling of the rope drew forth a small rowboat out from underneath the culvert they were standing on. Planting a foot on the rowboat, Kalendra looked to her potential new friend for his answer, as various other boats laden with goods and others with passengers sailed along the waterway behind her.

[Deleted]

Leonardo was taken aback when the fishwoman attempted to make his acquaintance with a few too many limbs, well a few too many being about four too many. He barely even registered her change in colouration or the lack of webs, an ignorance in all aspects of the fishy denizens of the Grand Line combined with his focus on her strange greeting blinding him to her oddities of appearance. The young nobleborn gave a small grimace as she gripped him, the awkwardness of the scenario more than evident, before quickly hiding it behind a flase smirk.

"Leonardo, yes. I am Kalendra. This is good meeting,” The woman spoke, barely giving the man time enough to think before he was being dragged down a number of side alleys and streets.

Whilst he was not one to turn down the attentions of a woman, far from it to be frank. Rahter, many a woman was often forced to turn down his own advances. The young man found the experience of being dragged by the fishwoman to be rather emasculating. Not to mention, his own ires about her appearance, for he was a shallow man, a shallow man who had trouble looking past grey skin and multiple pairs of arms.

”Sorry, dear, do you mind not dragging me by the coat. It is rather fine, and I’d hate for the fabric to be damaged,” He stated, stopping himself in his tracks.

When it appeared that the woman was no longer going to pull him, he let out a small harrumph of victory, before flowing the woman at his own pace. His own pace being of course keeping up with her quick gait, but it was a damn sight more seemly than getting dragged. Walking of his own accord, regardless of who set the speed, was far more becoming of a man of his stature.

Yet, he was becoming all too aware of the sun as he walked. The oasis was lovely to be sure, but it did little to hide the desert heat when one wasn’t in the presence of water. Dry air mixing with the heat of the sun to create a temperature that the Lyvelborn man was less than accustomed to. As such, the noble was barely focusing on where we was going. Naturally, he did allow for his distaste for the décor and smell of the alleyways to be present in his mind. Yet, his attention was rather focused on the amount of sweat protruding from his pores. Disgusted by the very thought of it, let alone the concept that it may be noticeable, Leonardo was more than reasonably worried. The very real fear of being unattractive manifesting itself on his face, his complexion changing to a stark white.

As he allowed himself to be embroiled in his pitiful fears, he allowed for his ears to disengage themselves from the rest of his fretful consciousness, and pay attention to what the woman had to say, she spoke as she walked"...so friend and I are here at first only for few days, but then he comes. The ten millions pirate. When we see this, we decide to stay for longer. Many others try to remove fishkin from the oasis, so did the pirate. We are knowing is better not to attack any but now the pirate is caught, many of his comrades also. Fishkin will try selling to bounty hunters... our thinking is different."

His focus on making sure his shirt was kept properly aired to prevent sweat stains was halted when the woman stopped to look around for directions, causing the distracted Leonardo to walk into her. The woman didn’t seem bothered, yet he was different in this regard. He was rather embarrassed by the whole ideal, jolting himself backwards and quickly fixing his coat. Letting out a small cough under his breath as he tried to hide his shame. Following that, he extended his distance. Said distance was kept, until the pair of them reached the waterway.

Instantly, the noble felt relieved at the sea breeze in his face. He looked out over the water, and was joyful to see such a wide array of crafts, as well as the vegetation that lined the shore. A genuine smile lined his face, it was mirthful, though not large. Such was his way, it was unbecoming to wear one’s emotions on their chin. As he breathed in the sea air, he finally noticed that the woman was pulling a rope. She must’ve drawn it from the water when he was paying attention to… well nothing. He watched for a moment as she pulled before resigning himself to help her, taking a hold of the rope without a word, although he did give her a silent nod.

"Now caught, the pirate ship is being nearly without guards. We are thinking to find his ship and take what is there for ourself. This is something maybe you want helping us with, Leonardo?" Kalendra spoke again.

And thus, the fruits of their labours were revealed. The rope revealed a rowboat, the fishwoman steadying it with her foot before looking at him. It seemed his following of this woman, twice now, was certainly fruitful indeed. He’d wanted adventure, and he’d found it.

Leonardo answered slowly, his voice layered with as much noble honey as he could muster, ”But of course I’ll help you, my dear. I gave you my promise of friendship, and I swear by that, I do,” he smiled warmly, ”A boat from a pirate worth ten million is a worthy prize indeed.”

With that Leonardo turned away from her to examine the harbour, eyes straining to try and see which boat might belong to the man he’d seen in the square. Yet, with no point of reference or advice, he was lost. Of course, Kalendra knew and that was more than enough, if he deigned to trust this woman with a bargain. He’d been swindled before, it had left a bad taste in his mouth. One akin to a poor vintage, a mix of disappointment as well as the bitterness of the brew.

”However, the merchants back home have a saying: favours don’t fill bellies, or mayhaps it’s words are good, but gold is better. I honestly didn’t commune with them all too much. Irregardless, my point is that this could be potentially dangerous, I’m going to need some form of recompense, the noble’s words left his mouth as his gaze changed from the seacraft to the woman. A small smile stood on his face, yet his eyes remained glazed. To be quite honest, Leonardo didn’t know what kind of air he was trying to give off. Frankly, he was willing to do it just for the experience, but a reward wasn’t going to be overlooked. It would serve as a fine icing to the cake. ”But don’t worry about that now. All you need to know is that I will accompany you, and if there’s something I find worthwhile then I’ll ask if I can have it. Fair, no?”

The noble would then wait for the woman’s answer, and regardless of it promptly forget what she said, at least outwardly. Before turning towards the rowboat and stepping in with all the grace he could muster. With a faint grin, he’d sit down and look at Kalendra. Lounging in the boat, his posture relaxed in such a way that it would match his smile almost too natural.

The man spoke again, ”It is quite a nice boat, and I’m going to have to insist that I at least help you with rowing. I couldn’t dare let a lady do all the work.”

That was, of course, as he was under the impression they were leaving at that moment. He’d more than made the assumption at that point in time, and if called out on it and corrected, the young noble’s façade would falter into embarrassment. And petty attempts to regain his honour, accompanied of course with coughs and blushes. Such was the way, of a fine gentleman.

[Distress]

"Yeah, that's what I said, are you... GYAAAAH."

Focusing on trying to pry open the cage in any way she could, Merche wasn't much attentive anything else, so when Gale abruptly changed form, she wasn't able to get out of the way in time before she was crushed. She didn't even know that there was any danger to avoid in the first place, in fact, until there was a colorfully dressed person right on top of her, making it needlessly difficult to breathe.

When Gale finally, thankfully, got off of her, Merche didn't sit back up right away, but rather stayed lying where she was in something of a daze. Then, with a groan, she lifted up her head, to face the one who (in her mind) had attacked her while she was doing nothing but trying to help.

"Oh wait," she said in mild surprise, when she saw she was looking at not a toucan, but a human, "You're one of those Devil Fruit eaters, aren't you? I've heard of those before. That's way less cool than a talking bird, I have to say. And why could you not just do that before?"

Merche hoisted herself upwards, into a sitting position, and stared at Gale with a slightly annoyed glare. While she was beginning to understand the situation a bit better now, she still couldn't find herself to forgive the one who had knocked her down so easily. It was an offense that Merche would overlook, but not soon forget. Just then, however, she just wondered why a person would be sold like that at all. If Gale was just a smart bird, that could be understood, but Merche always thought that humans were more considerate to other humans in that one aspect.

"My name's Merche. Merche Lilac. And, you should know, I'm sixteen years old." She stood up, and carefully brushed the dirt from her clothes. "Let's get on with this conversation elsewhere. Wouldn't want the shopguy to wake up and catch his merchandise escaping, right?"

With that she began walking down the street, in the direction that she had been going down before Gale interrupted her. She didn't wait for him to respond, or even to see if he was following her. Merche just seemed to expect Gale to keep up.

"So here's what I need. I'm sure you heard all the fighting and yelling and stuff, right? In exchange for me saving your life from perpetual imprisonment, I want you to fly over there and find out what's happening for me." For the first time since she started walking, she looked back at Gale with her wide eyes. "Toucans fly, don't they?"

In spite of what had transpired moments before, Gale still seemed willing to help, and Merche knew better than to let any potential resource go unused. Right now, she needed information, but she just as much needed to not put herself in danger? What, then, would be wrong with simply putting someone else in danger instead? Internally, the fishgirl congratulated herself on her practical cleverness.