Hush, Little Baby, Don't You Cry: Mama's Lullaby

[Kami-Gaz]

The crackle of a dying fire, the calls of nocturnal animals, the chatter of friends. All of this was all one really needed to be happy, to be comfortable. These were the sounds of a good night. A night that followed one hectic day of pirates and meeting new friends. All of this had clearly tuckered the mute mermaid out and she was currently sleeping, her tail curled under her body to make the perfect matters pillow combo and provided the woman with the ultimate comfort. The end of her tail was wrapped around her rifle and her body was pressed against her deactivated leg suit and a smile on her face, Veera Falcone was happy as she slept.

Veera didn’t say all too much after the meal, she was tired and sleep was all she needed. Mac at some point noticed this and shuffled to take all the loud talking away and kept his company entertained. To both be polite and to keep them away from his ex-students dream filled ramblings. Veera had not taken her voice box off and that was evident. At the start of the mermaids sleep the occasional word would slip out, a name, a place maybe her calling out something strange. As the night went on this went deeper, and more…weird. Mac had to cover Monty’s ears at one point as the violet haired mermaid recalled a certain night with a man going by the unusual name Navi. It got to a certain point and then the large man picked up a stick and threw it, making it hit the mermaid lightly in the side. It was not much but it was more than enough to change the scene.

As the thunder rolled over the clearing the mermaid didn’t notice, she just happily curled up into her tail more and let the noise lull her into a deeper sense of sleep. And into a memory more recent, the memory of finding her apprentice trapped under a ship. In her dream, she would call out her name and in reality, she would as well. “Cyn!” Her voice box crackled a short distance from the talking group. The dream grew darker as she tried to pull the girl out but notice how bad it was. Blood was everywhere, and the girl was laying on the floor struggling for breath.

In the outside world, the conversations had stopped and everything was moving along. That was when another flash of blue light streaked through the clouds and was followed by a roll of thunder. And the rain started to pour, it was sudden and it started light but rapidly grew into the swing of a tropical storm.

The roll of thunder was all that was needed to bring her out of that coming nightmare, and the rain calmed the woman of the sea down, the feeling of the warm tropical water on her skin was just calming, invigorating even. The whole change in weather slowly woke the woman up to the sight of everyone else looking ready for a battle and Mac sat there waiting. “Mac, which pirates have you annoyed now?” She asked, her voice box crackling as she gently rubbed her eyes of the sleep that had built up in her little nap.

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}
Well a short post, but it is very Veera at this time

[Vio]

1

---

Hazel eyes gleamed in the firelight, whose warming radiance cast shadows that stretched like the great boughs of trees into the darkness of the jungle labyrinth beyond. Smaller, beady blues glittered like moonlight. Somewhat tuckered by recent events, Shakarri Montbretia napped on and off, keeping a wary ear upon the conversation. Her focus drifted now and then, though perhaps not at opportune times. Two things were certain about this rabble around whom she now lingered; they were noisy, but also friendly. Even if a hampering sorrow in her soul clung like a spider to its web in the wind, less than venomous was the bite it delivered to the girl trapped within this tangle of mysteries. Though in the presence of strange company, she did not feel unwelcome.

Mambo yawned, slithering closer to the flames for their heat, stirring his companion in the process. It seemed that Mac and Taylor were discussing somebody called ‘Rhea’ – yet more reflection upon the white-haired one’s history. So far, Monty had given little in the way of personal story. Amazon Lily, getting trapped on a ship, meeting a once small serpent that now coiled himself so as to warm his belly. Those were the ventures of the young Kuja tribeswoman thus far. There was, in all honesty, not much else to say.

Something warm and wet bopped her on the crown.

It’s starting to rain… Raising up, tilting her head back, the baby brunette sniffed the air softly. The sky was black as a Bacura’s coat, though not graced with the mighty panther’s lustre, and from it came the odd peal as potent as the big cat’s own roars. Apparently, storms like these were a regular occurrence in this tropical paradise; though lightning lacked save for a single serpent of blue coursing through the clouds, the rains came on in spades. The air smelled wonderful, fresh.

The fire hissed.

Mambo gave the bright beast a sour glare, backing away and sliding silently into the confines of the Kuja kid’s rucksack as she rummaged through it. Smoothed pebbles from her homeland’s streams graced the bottom of the bag, long since dried by sunbaking, yet retaining their polish. Sleek, rounded and with good spin – she tossed one into the air to test it, plucking it from its elegant fall with little effort. Another hefty droplet struck her outstretched arm, drawing her eye.

Instinct took over as she spotted movement in the brush. Down onto three the stray child shifted, head lowered like a feline stalking its prey. In her raised arm she held the stone. Her shoulder and elbow bent to offer strength should she have needed it, but it was soon made apparent by the click of heavier weaponry that she was not the only one to notice an approaching entity. Quiet as she might have been, she inhaled rather sharply as she caught a glimpse of a gun in the corner of her gaze. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled in anticipation…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

now uses the colour Jungle Green, while her trusty companion Mambo uses jonquil! It’s also a short post without any real speech, because I couldn’t logically make anything out of that right now.

Regardless, Monty prepares for an approaching entity; a friend or a foe? She cannot possibly know!

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Starring…

_{Shakarri Montbretia (00ff55)
Mambo (f4ca16)}

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[The Prettiest Squish]

A somber melody,
Of placid showers,
Pouring down, 
a dubious trail,
Where sinister souls,
Pay their tolls,
To seek the path less traveled...

---

"Where in the hell am I?!" she exclaimed.

The night had gone dank with dubiety in the land of Queens; danger was afoot around any corner and the girl's poor positioning made her all the more prone to threats unseen. Nevertheless, she pursued her endeavors to follow a lead, a tip one might say, on the whereabouts of her companion. All she needed was to gaze down at the mass of bodies trailing into the horizon.

"If there's anyone that'd cause this much trouble...it oughta be her." With a huff of exasperation, Jades stormed off onto the morbid route. To normal folk, the scene would leave them scarred for a lifetime but living a decade or two of nothing but death and violence left the girl numb to their shock value. She simply observed and moved on; a feat she desperately wished could be done with her own past. Red and dead, it's all been done before. Her soggy, gentle footsteps passed the corpses. 

Merely minutes starting the trek, the venturous vixen discovered the road to ruin halting at a cutoff in the face of the jungle. "Thank finally, some cover from this storm'll do me good." As if to emphasize her point, an abrupt burst of mucus came flooding from Jades' nose. Fan-tucking fastic... Without any further delay, she entered the damp domain through an opening nearest the bullet marks left in the trees. "Alright jungle...show me the dummy."

If vision had been scarce before, it was surely not a chronic issue now. With the heavy drumming of raindrops came a roaring bassline of thunder, working in conjunction to blast Jades senseless with the heavy storm. All that her eyes could capture were blinding flashes of white and sparks filling the dark, moist air. Every other step she took felt like the god of lightning slamming down his mighty hammer. And the jungle soil ran loose in the mud engulfing her leg in with every advance. "...Bloody hell, bloody hell, bloody squalls AND DUMB F**KING RAINFALLS!!" The harlequin was up to her wit's end at these preposterous circumstances. If she didn't acquire some coverage in the form of, say, a cloak to resist some of these ghastly conditions, the first thing Taylor would be greeted with was a dagger to her remaining eye. Damn it you fool! Get yourself together!...She's the only one who can help us get back to normal. Just bear it...for a little...while...longer...a little...long...

.....

.....

.....

.....


"ME'LL STILL FIGHT YOU!!"

Where did that come from?! It took but a second to trace the sound of that voice, that thick accent, that annoyingly insolent attitude. "Tayyyy..." A bright ambience of warmth radiated in the distance and from the shadows she could make out a faint figure much like her acquaintance. "Short...loud...obnoxiously cocky...That's her or she's got a twin to explain to me." Jades pushed herself off the ground and slowly marched forward to unite with her 'savior'. Though with the frigid environment wrapping its hold on her body, the words called out to Tay drowned out in the symphony of stormfall. "Yoooo, Taytay...Brrr, w-what's good Coffee Beans? I'm....hhhhhgggg, fr-fre-freezing out here...Got anything to ea-" Jades stopped dead in her tracks. There was far more than one shade seen before the blaze. And the most familiar shape of a firearm just happened upon her gaze. Oh...son of a bitch.

[Kami-Gaz]

Still half asleep and in a state of semi euphoria because of how the tropical rain was falling onto her skin, soaking her to her very core and refreshing the mermaid biology the woman harboured, Veera Falcone would not pay attention to a word of what was being said, by Stacey, by Mac or by the new arrival. Veera was lost In her own little world, waking up for a second with a flash of lightning in the distance which illuminated the darkened jungle which was barely lit by the dying glow of the mostly ember filled pit now. The rush of ionisation in the air made the Electric Eel kin tingle and feel fuzzy, the natural air was drawing our her body’s natural ability to spark and zap out.

Zzzzt

Zzzzt

The sounds of buzzing and minor zaps filled the air as the pale purple bolts of electrical energy leapt from the mermaid’s skin and to one rain drop after another, eventually petering out or making contact with a grounded object, be it mecha legs, trees, or people. This was natural to the point the voice box wearing maiden did not notice her own natural zaps in this stormy weather. “I love this kind of weather, it’s just so… beautiful.” The voice box crackled between bouts of static and hums that were translated from the natural energies flowing through the maiden of the sea… who was way out of her element.

Going with the flow of everything Veebee strapped herself into her mechanical legs and as if she was being run on auto pilot followed Taylor and the others through the jungle, the golden bronze of the leg suit practically flashing with the lightning that illuminated the sky periodically. With each flash and crack of thunder Veera’s absent minded hums would come to a crescendo before calming down and carrying on with a low electronic beat that seemed to be full of a calm energy that this mermaid was just emanating.

“There she goes again! Agagagagaga, every lightning storm we went through she would go into a trance, it’s something not even Cap’n Falcone understood. The best we got is it’s something to do with her being an ‘Electric Eel’ Mermaid. She powered some of our crazier inventions just being near them.” Mac explained as the troop walked through the underbrush following Taylor to her pre-planned destination. Not long after that the giant of a man turned back to his own home, figuring that he would be of better use doing something else. Veera did not notice this, nor did she notice the small house that they were eventually outside of. She was just following and sparking into the night, buzzing those who were close enough.

As the doors were opened a glimpse of something pushed through the mermaids trancelike state, it was something very interesting… something interesting enough to drag her out of that state and drive her into a sort of frenzy as before anyone else could get in she would charge forwards and ram the bulky walker frame into the door way and then wiggle herself free from her own imposed bindings to slither forwards, grabbing Taylor by the hand as she got a big eyeful of that beautiful cannon that was sat atop of a marble pedestal. The air was a buzz of sparks flying everywhere and the sound of a voice box rattling through questions so quick they became an incomprehensible noise that sounded more like a screech than anything. The entire time a lot of electrical juice was being pumped into the now captain Mocha princess Taylor.

Quickly enough the woman slowed down and her screeching buzz became tame. “Where did you get this? Is this design functioning? Can I play with it? I made a 16-barrelled contraption on a similar looking principle but the calibre of round had to be reduced for sizer and weight issues…. Can I borrow this?! I swear I will bring it back… working.” She rattled to the woman who was still being pumped with volts.

[Vio]

2

---

She wears face paint? No. A mask… Cautious colours watched as a sleek, pale woman emerged from the forestry. The pebble remained prepped, but Shakarri Montbretia did not even hint at wanting to throw. She had all the leverage she needed to hurl the natural projectile should she need to, but – and despite the stranger’s peculiar and somewhat unnerving dress – there was no obvious air of hostility. Then again, women were not like beasts. Not always. There were no raised hackles, no prickling fur or similar display of aggression. She held her position for a moment, but soon stowed the stone within the folds of her cloth.

The exchange was brief.

I wonder where she got ‘Jyae’ from… Curious, though apparently not willing to voice her query, the miniature maiden meandered as necessary about the party. There was some inexplicable urgency in her footing, though perhaps even trained eyes could not discern it due to her low and simian gate. This bizarre woman provoked something – disgust, anxiety, perhaps even dread. Quite simply put, the Kuja kid was unnerved by her presence, even though she knew nothing about such a soul. Was it the crossed out façade? No, that would have been ironic. Perhaps it was the way she dressed? Or, more likely, it was a combination of such features.

A cloak was offered, courtesy of Mac, in response to Taylor’s willingness to be on the move. Monty shook her head, saying naught to the barrel of a man. It was clear he understood, though she could not say to what extent. Reading animal behaviour was one thing, but the child had yet to really pick up on the subtleties of human expression and body language; it was drastically different. When a monkey bared its teeth, it was in aggression, yet a human’s smile was a sign of cheer. Nonetheless, whilst the rain steadily became heavier, the young huntress was more at home in the shelter of the jade canopy than beneath a veil of black. What was a little rain?

^-~-

“Welcome to mi casa~!” chirped Taylor, leading the posse to a rather elegant abode. On the way, Miss Shakarri had kept to herself, following alongside the white-haired woman and her more familiar company. It was easy to pursue them even through pockets of thicker greenery, but now the ‘safety’ of the jungle had been lost. The strange chamber of ivory and timber was easily as expansive as any household on Amazon Lily, perhaps larger still, and all this belonged to a single, spirited siren? It was hard to believe, but easy to accept, especially when you did not particularly care for such creature comforts.

^{“Where did you get this?” asked Veera:
“Is this design functioning…?”}

^Zzzt!

The serpentine woman’s questions came thick and fast – a stark change to the crackling, hypnotic state she had entered in the midst of an admittedly mild storm. Whatever the device of her desire was, it was certainly peculiar, though again the baby brunette decided to give such contraptions a wide berth. Shaking the rain off her body like some sort of sodden dog, Monty went to step further inside, but quickly paused. A lover of the wilds she might have been, but she was not uncultured. Squatting, she slipped her muddy moccasins from her feet and left them at the entrance, stepping barefoot and upright through the building.

Bright orbs made a cautious glance towards the harlequin companion, but soon averted and explored the scene for their own want. Nothing stood out – nothing natural at least – save for the presence of peculiar fruits, blue of skin and translucent of style. They did not look like your typical morsels, but the world was rich in rarities. Her gaze lingered for a moment upon the portions – ample sizes for the hands of the huntress – but soon shifted elsewhere. Between the gun enthusiast and her trigger-happy companion, the crackling mermaid with metal legs and the masquerading mystery, Montbretia was beginning to feel like keeping her distance was the safest option…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

’s caution indicates something strange, but is now the time to reconsider the group’s presence?

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Starring…

_{Shakarri Montbretia (00ff55)
Mambo (f4ca16)
Taylor (eeeeee)
Veera (9725d8)}

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[The Prettiest Squish]

---

"ACHOO!...sorry." Came a noise from the rear end of the squad. Trailing behind the party, Jades slithered slowly but surely with the rest of them while keeping her distance. It wasn't enough to be unseen though, she wished to remain as silent and uninvolved as physically possible - the less aware they were, the better. Under her breath the shivering sinner cursed in rapid, cold pace, "Fffff- damn it Tay, you almost blew our cover back there!...Once I'm good and ready, you'll..I'll hit you with a....SO HELP ME YOU WILL SUFFER...who am I kidding." At this stage of knowing her one eyed companion, Jades knew no threat would reap much of a reaction. She'd call my bluff...and then I'd wimp out. And the march to Mocha Casa resumed on ahead...

...

Black masks...blonde hair...white face paint...I can narrow it down but...Gah! None of this bloody mess is adding up to anything! Making her way to the shortstack's shanty, the Pilot pondered yet again on the dubious identity of their mysterious fifth 'friend'. At their previous encounter outside of the shack, the pint-size Princess swore the jester's fealty but the desperate and rash claim of camaraderie only served to stir up her predisposed suspicion. There's just something not quite right with her, and I'll find out sooner or later. The quintal company kept their pace on forward as the night continued weeping from above. In the distance rung a crackle of lightning and unbeknownst to the rest of the company, the coat clad cyborg flinched ever so slightly.

The twinkle of stormy blue eyes looked back at the rest of them, their pilot marching ahead and second only to their guide. Her confidence wavered in that instant and with the others behind, she was unsure whether to assess they had taken note of that show of weakness. They couldn't have seen it...it was nothing. Like a hiccup or a really deep sigh... Stacy reassured herself, her eyes still fixated on the bunch. It was odd to see such odd company around considering her lone wolf stance but given the bizarre circumstances that surrounded them all, it would hardly be a wise choice to abandon aid in tackling an enemy such as this newly found bounty. Yet for all that they looked to be worth, it couldn't be much assistance to begin with.

A child climbing amongst trees like a monkey, a slightly older child with one eye, and a mute mermaid of all things to fight on land. Stacy certainly did not doubt the extent of its machination but couldn't help look down at the fact it sported but a single fin - as a helpless fish out its depths would have. All these peculiar characters around her with their idiosyncrasies and quirks gave the veteran hunter little faith to work with. But worst of all, there was the matter of what to think of...her. All the way to the back, slithering in silence and avoiding confrontation, the newcomer was all too quiet and restrained for someone part of a group effort. It just doesn't add up...Friends with this loudmouth runt and yet silent as the grave, you don't even look like you belong on this island with that snowy complexion of yours... Just as Stacy focused closer on the masked mystery, it turned its shivering portrait until their gazes met. Storm clouds met an icy abyss and nothing was spok-. "...Uhm?-"

CRACK!!

Both averted each other's glance from the booming signal of divine intervention above them. One flinched at the awkwardness of the situation while the other grasped her bosom to contain the thunderous rhythm inside. I hate this island!! It felt as though the weather knew when to agitate the huntress at her most anxious. Despite the tension, however, Stacy chanced a final swift peek back but was met without reflection in those surreally marine eyes. Disappointed, she faced back forward again with the white mop leading in front. Just what made you curious enough to stare back at me, I wonder? The five continued moving through the jungle terrain until they arrived at their destination.

...

Amongst all the buzzing and crackling of electric gone amok, the clown queen of chaos saw the perfect chance to get out of dodge. "Alrighty folks, I uh gotta crash in my room way down there if ya don't mind...so uh. Welcome to Tay Casa." In what could only be described as an animalistic scurrying to the aforementioned quarters, Jades hurried off to her lair locking the door behind and burying her soggy, dripping young self into the bedsheets. The blanket was thick and warm and the mattress plush and soft. How she missed them dearly after the trouble of traversing through that trail for Taylor. The white of the satin and cotton and all the other fabrics darkened to a cool gray; Jades' plump wet locks of gold plopped soundly onto the sheets and she dozed off to a warm nap. Yet for all the comfort enveloped around her, a slight hint of certainty rose to her mind, "So we're chasing pirates, huh?...Haha...Yohoho, a hunter's life or me." The masked maniac shut her sights for a moment's rest.

But just outside the harlequin's quarters, a large silhouette leaned heavily on the threshold between them. It's yohoho...a pirate's life... The figure danced her fingers around the trigger of a revolver. For me... A click rang in the empty hall just outside the jester's door. And a pair of pale blue clouds glowed in the darkness, "But I wonder what you could mean by those lyrics...'Rhea'."

[The Prettiest Squish]

In the ocean of time,
One's reflection can wash miles away,
Flowing, swaying,
Never to be seen, never to be whole,
Suffering, drowning,
Under the weight of failure and all their lost glories...

Rhea...haha. Stacy chuckled to herself. In the darkness hidden away from the lightning outside, she appeared as an ominous harbinger - a decider of fate - who with her cocked revolver stood at Death's Door ready at any given notice. Then for a second, she saw it in Taylor's face as she stood frozen. Is that fear I sense? A pinch of worry for your dear little chum?

All Stacy reflected in the silence was a cheeky grin as her handgun shimmered in the moonlight. Was it cruel, she thought, to keep the hostess in suspense over this suspicious encounter? Perhaps it was a bit rude to rush into assumptions too quickly, given that no concrete evidence could surmise the notion Rhea was of any threat to the party.

Packing her revolver away, the flame helmed siren rested her convictions for the time being and set off towards the living quarters where the rest of their group mingled. "My bad, I just came here to get away from the storm. Let me know when we head out, mkay tots?" A shift of tone emphasized the last couple words in a playfully condescending way. And in the final steps she took towards the sofa, Stacy thought to herself, I've know her for less than two days yet feel comfortable in these exchanges. Which begs the question, why do those two distance themselves despite being friends? What are these ladies hiding from us?" She sunk into the cushions and stretched out her metal legs onto a nearby coffee table, seemingly letting loose but vigilantly keeping a close eye on the jester's entrance. Any minute now.

...

In the dark and somber she drowned into a far gone slumber, drool stretching from the edge of her lips while the satin snugly caressed her face. The thunder had subsided for the time being but faint flashes of light were still booming in the distance, yet to be heard. Meanwhile, in the corners of her psyche, Jades drifted to the other side of reality - that distant fantasy children yearn to stay in and aged men and women lost to the sands of time.

She dreamed of a time before, on an island of shores with lights so intense the heavens felt but shadows to them.
She dreamed of a madness that overtakes humans at their most vile, festering inside a temple of steel and neon designed for the imprisonment of such indulgent sinners.
She dreamed of days after the ordeal, a musty, dilapidated brig serving as her quarters with rats and roaches living amongst her like kings to their jester.  
She dreamed of the stinging efficiency of that vicious viper mauling and gnashing its teeth against her silky milk toned back, tearing the flesh asunder, painting her hellish prison in crimson lifewater.
She dreamed of her return to that metal palace of wickedness, the return of past ghosts and locked away secrets haunting and wanting the girl.
She dreamed. Rhea...And Turner...Mom. Dad. Where are you? It's me...Jades. I'm so alone, and cold, and scared. Anybody? It's so dark, I'm so lost, where is everybody?... A flash formed in the clouds outside the window. She awoke in a cold sweat.

Jades panted in the moonlight, nervous streaks trickling down her chin as her chest rose and fell in rapid pace. The flashes vanished as swiftly as they came but she ventured her gaze outwards regardless. Nothing but jungle and a gloomy sky. She paused. A second later, the girl shifted focus from the world beyond and receded inward. She watched the glass. The glass watched back. And all Jades saw in that reflection was an icy cold void - two, in fact - blankly penetrating the pits of her soul. "...So this is what a thousand yard stare looks like..."

She sat for a brief moment before getting up to head for a drawer. The night had gone quiet for now but was of no concern any longer for she did not fear the storm; she was the storm. Was. The sopping mop of clothes the vixen came in with were now lazily lodged underneath the mattress as a fresh batch of duds were donned on. When she went back to sit down, the floorboards squelched underneath forming a puddle. Jades was bent over and noticed the moonlight had captured her impression yet again. This time the look in her eyes faded to the placid, pathetic gaze they've been in for the past month. I've never seen eyes like mine before...so empty and shattered. I wonder if anyone else out there knows what I've dealt with...Heh, probably not. They all live their happy lives... 

She walked to the door and turned the knob open, looking blankly ahead. Taylor stood in front with a box, for what purpose though had the clown clueless. Looking ahead, Jades saw the rest of the misfits all having a good time and enjoying themselv-

Jades choked. It was only an instant that she saw it and just now remembered a similar instance prior to their arrival here. On the sofa to the side of the room, it had waited patiently with eyes wide open. Though it sat coat-clad and capped in fire, the eyes were unmistakably the same as hers. Jades felt the fear settling in once again as Stacy Airhart playfully inquired,

"What's the matter, Rhea? You look like you've seen some real shit..."

In silence, she pondered, You too...

[Vio]

3

---

One too many awkward situations had Shakarri Montbretia gotten herself into, but at least here there was some semblance of solace to be had. Ignorant of the fiasco, the youngster took to exploration – the search for peace of mind. She did not like being cooped up inside, such were the ways to which she had become accustomed. Her yearning for the freedom of the wilds was surpassed only by the sickening void of loss, for she knew all too well how far from home she must now have been. A sense of navigational scale she was not graced with, but for a child whose very habits involved judging distances, it was surprisingly easy to determine that Amazon Lily was far more than a good stone’s throw away.

^{“These ‘Guns’ are noisy enough,” she mumbled:
“Why would you want one that makes even more noise…?”}

^{“Shishish?”}

“Mm.” Her spoken words were not intended for anyone’s ears, but in her quiet, almost entirely voiceless murmurs her company could decipher meaning. Hearing might not have been a serpent’s strongest suit, but the mint-scaled Mambo was more than attuned to the ways of his friend. Unfortunately, his softened hiss was not something Monty could understand, yet she still managed to infer the fact that it was a query of some kind. She just did not know how best to respond.

Ugh! How am I supposed to hunt anything when they make such a racket? Thoughts temperamental, the Kuja kid could only contrive annoyance at the behavioural quirks of her company. Between Taylor’s guns and Veera’s electrical excitement, the very concept of stealth and camouflage seemed null and void. The only one who seemed to remotely understand the concept was Miss Airhart – perhaps the most alien of the ‘normal’ people – whose attitude had been almost reclusive at times, not unlike Shakarri’s own. Still, a wielder of firearms was an unnecessary source of noise, so she had derived from present experience.

Carefully pawing her way about this ‘Casa’ the miniature maiden moved with purpose, skirting around the edges and generally avoiding prime areas of traffic. The world around her was already superior to the smaller homes of the Kuja Capital, this single building dwarfing the humble abodes of the Isle of Women’s general populace. It rivalled communal buildings in its span – it rivalled the Pirate Empress’ palace in grandeur, almost. Though she might have been buxom, White-Hair did not surrender the same presence that Boa Hancock did, powerful and regal, elegant and beautiful.

Speak of the Devil.

“A’ight, gyals! Me ready,” the mettlesome madam chirped. Montbretia raised an eyebrow. Mambo raised a scale. Now perched upon the back of a sofa, utilising it more as a climbing frame than a seat, the diddy duo had detected a certain change in the woman’s intonation. Not just her speech, but her very diction had shifted back and forth. Only now that the sniper had returned to her classical, near incoherent babblings did the Huntress and her sidekick pay any mind. But alas, their attentions were soon drawn to other things. They soon abandoned their place of rest like a startled cat being evicted from a bed it should not have been laying upon when Stacy came to crash, retreating a safe distance from everything that unnerved her – safe to say that prioritised the door through which the masquerading madam would soon emerge.

“Guns, blade, more of those peculialer fruit,” Little Miss Amazon listed, counting the arms that Taylor now bore on her person. She certainly looked a lot more capable of being on a hunt now, but still was Monty’s trust in the gun lacking. In comparison, there was no denying that she had been prepared long before anyone else. Knife in belt, secured out of sight of adults who might have tried to confiscate it, pebbles in pockets and – most importantly – boomerang stowed in her belt where she could easily grab it, the aspiring Brave of the Lily was ready though not so much raring to get going.

^{“Ahem!” She cleared her throat falsely, aiming for attention:
“I… I still don’t know prezicisely what we’re doing…”}

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SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

’s starting to warm up a bit, though she’s still being overly cautious about certain members of the group! Still, she has to ask the question!

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Starring…

_{Shakarri Montbretia (00ff55)
Mambo (f4ca16)
Taylor (eeeeee)
Veera (9725d8)}

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[Kami-Gaz]

In the time that it took for the mermaid to carefully get her walker into the building and to strap the behemoth of a replica weapon on to the back everyone had moved on to do their own thing in this house of madness. The clown that only was seen in the corner of Veera’s eye vanished in a heartbeat before the questions even started. Stacey soon followed and Tay managed to sneak away after answering the questions presented to her in the best way that she could. This left only the mermaid and the smallest member of the bunch in the room, and for quite a while actually.

Veera spent the time making sure the future weapon was strapped onto the back of her walker well enough but not in a way to hamper her being strapped into it herself, after this the woman took to looking around the room, letting her eyes pass on the little Monty. Whilst the storm was still outside the effects it had on Veera had not died away completely and all that was coming from her voice box was a gentle hum. It was now that the mermaid noticed even her small company had disappeared to explore this rather odd home. The silent mermaid let her head drop as she slithered to the front door and watched the rain pour down. The worst of this mild storm had passed and all that was left of it was the fleeting drizzle that followed in its wake.

Moments flashed in front of the girl, memories that were too muddled to make clear, too scrambled to even recall again… in a flash her hand moved over and clasped the right temple as the mermaid tried to cling on to what she was seeing, trying to piece together the early days of her life. It was good that she was stood in the rain for this moment, it masked the few tears she shed when the mess of neural traffic cleared up nicely, her ever silent self-making no sound as she sobbed into the night. Seeing the little Monty be so inquisitive and adventurous had sparked a little something in the woman’s head, but it was not enough to really hold onto. Not even her voice box made a noise beside the general static caused by the fleeing storm.

How the others acted was childish, as if they had grown up so carefree, or in massively different circumstances, in Monty’s case she had run away from home for all Veera knew just to explore and see the world. Veera still couldn’t even grasp before her first walker. Mac liked to tell stories of how she was found and the first few fears of their life together, but this mermaid doesn’t remember a single flash of them either… nor her real mer-parents. This surprisingly upset her at such an awkward time… Storms really messed with her head.

It was then that the broken language of Tay rang out in the main hall, causing the soaked mermaid to twist her head around and to wipe her eyes a little, to see in the past her walker, which was ready to leave the building. After a slow slither, and leaving a trail of water behind her Eel tail as she wandered into the home once again Veera would smile like she always did and gently grabbed the Pale Blue Baby den-den from the selection.

“You need to speak properly Tay.” Veera’s voice box spoke, her unmoving lips still curled into a warm smile as she gently placed her free hand on the mocha gunner and pumped a small shock into the poor victim, keeping this shock therapy going.

It was then that Monty spoke up for the first time… and it was a valid point. Veera did not exactly stick around for most of the plan, her mind was either elsewhere or in the land of nod. “I think we are killing boars and beating up bad people who let the boars out. I think we should keep the captain she tried to put me in a fish tank or something.” Veera said letting an awkward electronic giggle follow her words as she moved back to her walker. “I need to show her what happens when people try and put me into a fish tank.” She added, the menacing tone sounding so sweet, but an off sweet, like it was being used to mask malicious intent.