Post by Happy Cappy on Mar 18, 2017 12:19:18 GMT -5
Bethany hadn't been on this island long, but she'd been running low on supplies and had decided she'd simply wait until the next ship came along than get on board with the last captain. Something had just felt off about the situation, but she hadn't been able to place it. He used normal body language, a welcoming smile, and the contents of his words hadn't been abnormal... and yet, she'd had an almost visceral aversion to him and the men with him. And she could tell that they really, really hadn't liked her declining the job, in a way that just hadn't seemed normal.
She was kicking herself now, with a change purse that had been about as empty as her stomach. She'd hunted down a rabbit, skinned and cleaned it, and now had a makeshift wooden spit holding the meat over her fire. The smell of the meat was tantalizing, and it was almost cruel in that moment that anything had a cooking time. She'd expected to be working and eating with a crew at this time of night, though, and instead she'd left town early to avoid one. She'd traveled with many crews who weren't the crew, like a romantic searching for the one: the one she'd stay with.
She sighed and scrubbed her eyes gently, reaching back to loosen and release the leather tie that held back her nearly waist-length, jet-black hair. It was during the moment of rubbing her eyes, hearing only the crackling of the fire and the light abrasive noise of her palms against her face, that she heard something heavier and more dense on the other side of her fire, just beyond the light.
”Who are you?” She called. It was assumptive, to let whomever it was know she had no doubt of what she heard and that the steps were heavy.
“The captain really wants you on board. We have some patrons who pay a pretty penny for girls from these little towns.”
She heard another rustle off to the side – one coming around her back, no doubt. She could feel her own sense of panic rising, and the feeling of wrongness she'd felt about the group was confirmed. She gave in to that feeling and felt her throat explode outward as she inhaled, filling not her lungs but the flesh in her throat that grew like a balloon to nearly her knees. She heard swearing and shouts of alarm before she released the breath, sending the spit, the rabbit, and all the burning wood and hot embers into the face of her would-be captor.
He went down screaming with embers in his eyes as she darted past him, his partner straggling behind to rescue his teammate and get the back to the ship as they lost their quarry into the woods.
My father had time with me to teach me how to defend myself and kill my enemies, but I won't get that time with you, so I leave you this devil's fruit to do that in my place.
