An Orangu-Tango in Orange Town!

[Vio]

^{Morgan #1 — Nephelé #1}

---

Morgan awoke with a start. Cold sweat clung to the back of her neck. Mid morning light poured in through an open window, the warmth of the sun lighting the wooden floor of a small, single room in a local inn. A small inn nestled in a small, quaint town. Nothing could possibly have been wrong, right? That was what the traveller told herself as she rose, placing chilled feet upon the warmed boards and rubbing her face with both hands.

^{“Another Nightmare,” she muttered:
“Thought I’d be used to it by now…”}

Standing, the redhead stumbled over to the dresser. In the mirror, an average woman looked back at her with emerald eyes. None too caring for her appearance, she began to clean herself up as best she could, washing away the feeling of sweat clinging to her skin and taking a moment to brush away some of the bedhead that plagued her dark crimson locks. A part of her very much hoped for a normal day, but then what was normality in the life of Llywelyn Morgan? Anything but for the people of Orange Town, though it seemed they had experienced a rather rude wake up call.

^{—— DOWNSTAIRS ——}

“I’m sure it was a gorilla,” said a man’s voice. Of middling age by the rough growl of his throat as it worked. He sat at one end of the bar, addressing a small group of patrons about what the barkeep had surmised was some sort of incident on the outskirts of Orange Town. It seemed such a settlement could seldom catch a break in recent years. To think, it was only just over four decades in age. And now, after its recovery from the attacks of one Buggy the Clown two years prior, it was a thriving village again who had welcomed her request for a part-time job.

As she stood behind the counter — drying off a recently washed tankard whose little grooves and indentations spoke volumes of the many kinds of beverages and types of drinkers it had been served to — Nephelé listened with intrigue. The world around her was mostly dark, broken only by splotches of light and shadow as patrons moved in and out, but that did not trouble her. Every little creak of a floorboard, clack of a flagon, or opening of a door offered all the information she needed.

^{“But you said it was huge?”}

^{“Yeah, it was,” replied the tale-teller:
“It was easily ten, maybe twelve feet tall!”}

^{“Have you told Mayor Boodle?”}

“What? No!” A sense of care for the mentioned leader’s well-being laced his voice. “You know what he’s like. He’d go out there on his own if he knew! The man could’ve gotten himself killed two years ago, and he’s not getting any younger!”

^{“Yeah,” another replied:
“You tried offering a reward?”}

^{“To whom…?”}

“Good morning,” Miss Chmela said, smiling and turning to the stairway that led up to the rooms. The sound of footsteps above — the creak of the occasional floorboard — had been followed from room to hallway to staircase. Despite her inability to actually see the redhead, Neph knew who it was, and was quick to deliver the news that the target likely did not want to hear: “Unfortunately, it’s rather late in the morning, and you’ve overstayed. So, I’m sorry to say,” the barkeep said cheerily, yet menacingly, “that I will have to request payment for the extra hours — manager’s orders. Is that okay, Ma’am?”

“I… Uhm,” Morgan smiled awkwardly, “I’m… short on cash?”

^{“Well,” said one of the men:
“I think that’s one ‘whom’!”}

---

Llywelyn Morgan
Chmela Nephelé
Guy #1
Guy #2
Guy #3

[pepsi]

The ship was about to sail, and they were all waiting on them to say goodbyes. "So you're really going, hm?" Time had left its mark on the woman's skin. She lightly touched his son's cheeks, running her fingers through his hair. "Yes, mother. The freedom we've got here..." The young man grabbed her hand and gently pushed it away. "... We must share with the world." As much as it didn't sit well with her, she knew he had to do it. "You're going to Loguetown, then?"

"Yes, where everything began."

---

He had some trouble keeping his eyes open. The book in front of him just wouldn't make any sense, at that point; the last time he had slept was three hours prior, but only for two. Deman had to make a stop in Organ Island to stock up on supplies: food, water, and possibly shelter, since sleeping on the ground definitely didn't have the same flavour as sleeping on a bed. None of the islands he had visited could provide him with that bitter beverage he used to drink back home, and the memory of the taste brought some nostalgia with it.

Loguetown was far away still, but he had traversed more than half the path already - no point in stepping back, he said to himself, and not simply for the distance he'd traveled. The other men in the tavern were talking loud enough for him to hear just about everything, down to the whisper; looking down his glass he only saw a few drops of water left. The tavern was the first place he had seen that could've given him a glass of water, which was all he needed; he entered, quietly, and asked for just that. One glass of water, please.

He would have asked for juice, or some other thing: his finances however didn't allow it. He had calculated, to the last Berry, how much he should've carried to get to Loguetown and stay there long enough to find a real job. Hopefully he didn't underestimate the price of living in such a place.

And so he sat, back to the wall, and whipped out his notes and his book. He wasn't nearly awake enough to read it, and it eventually just helped him get sleepier. That was until he heard the word. "Reward", they said. His brain didn't register the full conversation until that very moment, when the prospect of finding some more cash became suddenly very enticing. Given his state, almost anything remotely exciting would have sufficed anyways.

Almost simultaneously, the woman at the counter begun a conversation with someone Deman couldn't immediately identify. At the request of an extra fee, they asserted that they didn't have any money - only for the men to immediately jump on the opportunity. "What kind of luck..." Deman thought, as he rested his head on his arms.

[Flame]

Sitting outside of the patrons listening in to the speaker's story was one female customer who was obviously barely paying attention to the conversation. She was alone at her table she was lazily cleaning her pistols one ear kept flicked open as the man talked. But her thoughts weren't really on what was being said at the moment. Shoulda listened ... shoulda listened Letting out a bored sigh she reminded herself of her mistake of making the trip to the East Blue.

Sure there was some interest in visiting Loguetown, but why had she come to this blue. It was summarily boring, adventure and the like had always been more easily available in the South. And yet something had called her to the East Blue. Okay, that was not quite true. She knew exactly why she was here, it had been a dumb impulsive instinct that had convinced her to drop a good bit of her on-hand cash on the trip from South to East. Worse was that she'd heard from multiple people it wasn't a good idea given her profession.

So how was she going to find a way to find some fun while in this boring-ass blue. Her ear perked as she caught on to the conversation as it was continuing. Some ten twelve foot tall thing? That asked for a reward? Her eyes flickered over to the now interesting group at the bar. She was about to say something as the barkeep returned to the room. A reminder, as she glanced over to her empty glass.

Nah, but the conversation going on was definitely more interesting for her. The girl kicked back against the table sliding her chair backwards and turning heads for a moment as her two feet slammed to the ground and she stood up. The pistol in her hand spun in her finger for a moment before finding itself in a holster. Her long purple hair flowed out behind her slightly covering her grinning face. She stood before them in her olive green cargo jacket flapping out in an imaginary wind behind her. "Sounds like you're in need of a hunter of some sort." She said with a grin.

"Nina Volk, best beast hunter in the South Blue. At your service!" She declared proudly, the truth of that was half at best. She was a hunter from the South Blue. But best? At least she believed that of herself even if no one else did.

[Smiley]

Imagine living in an island called "Organ Island" and not even have a organ trafficking ring! Imagine living in a town called "Orange Town" and not even having all the buildings be orange-colored. 
What a stupid disappointment.

Jokes aside, in Bucket's long itinerary of going to every island he could find in the East Blue in the look for fun adventures and fights, as a means to increase his bounty because he's a greedy outlaw who is really looking for the respect of the enemies of the government and the fear of the government and marines themselves, Bucket had decided to stop by the island where the ever legendary god of everything Buggy D Clown Buggy the Clown had attacked a whole two years ago, just before getting his rear gloriously kicked aside, wondering if it'd be a place where more adventures could be found.

And as he rose from the sea, his huge, muscled frame finally revealing itself from the open seas, hands working to swat away some stray algae that caught onto his perfect self, the giant wondered just where were all the people. He might not be the most savvy of navigators, so he couldn't really tell much by looking up at the sky, but he could swear that it wasn't close to night. If anything, at least he knows that a sun high up in the sky means it's mid-day..

And that's about it. As a being that feels most comfortable in close to the halfway between the seafloor and the seatop, he didn't really have the ability or cared enough to keep track of the days, choosing to instead sleep whenever he felt sleepy.
..Maybe it was the morning and not a lot of people were up yet - which is why he went to the first Tavern he could find, since there were sure to be drunks there that could tell the wildest stories!

And what a wild story indeed! As he sat close to the entrance, figuring he could just eavesdrop, he started listening about stories of some giant monkey that was roughly his own size! 

Finally, a challenge worth fighting! Now he just had to hope that they'd say more about it before he went out on his own to inspect the entire island in hopes of finding this ape, mostly because he didn't want to look around aimlessly like a damn fool.

[Vio]

^{Morgan #2 — Nephelé #2}

---

Nephelé raised an eyebrow and scoffed. She thought to herself, what kind of person would try and use that as an excuse? Apparently, the answer was this woman before her — whose voice sounded strangely coarse in the most subtle of ways. Foreign, yes. But that alone did not explain it. Illness, perhaps. It certainly sounded like a lingering cold, or something of the sort. Hard to tell, truth be told, even for her ears.

“Listen, Ma’am,” the barkeep replied, fingers resting gently on the counter. “I appreciate that, but we do have a business to run. Every hour counts.” While her focus was upon the likes of the woman that had just descended the stairs, Miss Chmela’s ears could not help but listen in on the ongoing conversation still. She did not plan on getting involved. She was not a fighter — a hunter even less so. An honest woman with an honest trade, and this was just a stepping stone in her grand vision. A stepping stone that she could not afford to slip on.

^{“Nina Volk,” said another:
“At your service!”}

^{“And there’s another!”}

“See, Jaime? All you have to do,” said one of the group. “Is appeal to what people want — what people need.” He patted his friend firmly upon the back, knocked back the rest of his morning ale, stood and turned. “Listen up, ladies and gentlemen!”

^{“Oh. God. No.”}

“Our mate, Jaime, is offering a cash reward to whoever can bring the head of the terrible beast that’s been wreaking havoc on the other side of the island! You,” he pointed to the woman in the green jacket, “consider yourself hired for the job! A— A— And you,” his finger flew across the tavern to Morgan, who looked rather disinterested in this whole show. That being said, there wasn’t an awful lot that did catch her intrigue, and she was rather more focused on the fact she owed money she certainly did not have. Two and two put themselves together, prompting a roll of the eyes as she looked again to the barkeeper.

Neph’s lips were curled into a sly smile as she arranged glasses and tankards.

“Redhead lady with the weird sword,” Jaime’s friend — though how long he’d remain such was yet to be determined — called out. “Pardon me, but you seem to be a bit strapped for dosh, so how does this job sound? You look like you’ve seen it all. What’s a little monkey hunt to you?”

^{“No. Thank you.”}

^{“Eh? Well, whatever,” he shrugged:
“Do we have any other takers…?”}

“Well,” Nephelé said to Morgan, now holding a broom up to the hunter. The redhead’s emerald eyes stared grimly into the dark ovals of the black-haired barmaid. Dark, bottomless pits that glimmered with a sense of command, but also seemed strangely out of focus. Nobody’s pupils were that wide in this light, surely? The auburn adventurer blinked. The other woman did not, and spoke again. “I’m sure our manager will accept a few hours’ labour as payment for the extra hours stayed.”

^{“So,” Miss Llywelyn said aloud:
“About this problem of yours…”}

^{“Excellent! Jaime? Go ahead!”}

“Urgh! Fine!” The originator of the tale, a medium-sized man with grizzled brown curls upon both head and chin, turned about and looked to those interested. Most were listening, but had not made an approach or made to stand out as interested. They either weren’t prepared to take the job, did not trust in the men, or simply weren’t planning on risking their life against an as of yet unknown element. “So. I had an encounter with some sort of wild animal near the old refuge, on the other side of the island. It looked like a monkey, or a gorilla. But orange. Thick hair over most of its body. Very mean looking…”

---

Llywelyn Morgan
Chmela Nephelé
Nina Volk
Guy #1
Guy #2
Guy #3

[pepsi]

Deman raised his head after a new voice presented itself as the best in South Blue. He smirked: did she believe it herself, or was it just to increase her chances of recruitment? He discreetly rubbed his face, taking care not to push too hard on his eyes. He didn't look sleepy last time he had seen himself in a mirror, but he didn't want to ruin the professional image he was just about to have. He wasn't exactly short on cash, but a few more coins weren't a bad idea especially if he wasn't supposed to accomplish the task alone.

In one fluid motion, he closed the book and stood up, without emitting a single sound; he approached the three men as they tried to reel in their original catch. "Do we have any other takers..."

"Yes."

He spoke in his signature warm tone; his deep blue eyes darted across the group, meeting their stare and, eventually, the one of Nina Volk. "White Tiger, at your service." After that, it was just a matter of waiting and seeing if they could, effectively, pull the other girl in; he couldn't hold back a soft smile when she had to yield.

White Tiger leaned against a table and crossed his arms, listening to the third man's draft of a briefing. As he memorized the information, his eyebrows almost came together on their own - Deman never realized it when he frowned. It definitely wasn't enough detail to begin with, he concluded. "And I assume you want us to dispose of it. But why do you think it's dangerous? I'm sure it's not the color orange." He had heard them before. The man, willingly or not, didn't state the real reason of their concern - that was no ordinary monkey.

[Flame]

Nina was responded to immediately. The originator of the story seemed surprised and confused by her offer. But it seemed his friends were transitioning the offer along properly so Nina shrugged the worry aside and smiled."Hired! Perfect!" She responded with a grin. Though she was made confused by the introduction of others into the mix. The first was the redhead who was in talks with the barkeep for some reason or another. Nina glanced them over for a moment, a sword? That hardly seemed the weapon of a hunter. Nor did the third person who claimed interest in the service make for a better deal.

She sighed, she was hoping for a good hunt for herself along with the full share of the loot. But it seemed she was out of luck in this one. Unless ... she was about to speak before the teller of the tale started up once more. He gave a location and a description of some sort. An orange monkey with thick hair. She nodded to herself trying to picture it properly. Most of her quarry had been strange somewhat monstrous fauna in the South Blue, but she'd never come across an orange primate.

The begrudged third member started to ask questions and Nina shook her head. To her it seemed obvious, if it was not dangerous why would they tell the story or be in need of help in the first place. Besides, What kind of name is 'White Tiger' she blanched inwardly at the thought of the name. It was so strange, the only reason she could think of was some crazy parents with some strange values that'd name someone that of all things. The thoughts almost brought her to excited laughter though she managed to stifle it away.

"I guess I'll be going then. I don't need the answers to their questions. The information you gave'll be plenty for me." She said with a smile. It was mostly true, with location and description she could figure out the rest as she went. Besides she enjoyed the discovery inherent in hunting a new beast. Nina turned on her heel heading for the door. Pausing only for a moment to remember whether she had her tranquilizers on her. She nodded to herself as she felt at the small satchel at her back. Yeah, they were there.

For a moment she wondered whether she should tranquilize these other 'hunters'. She threw the idea aside, she was not that hurting for money that she was so concerned with sharing the pot. Hopefully it'd be something worthwhile though. The men who were offering did not seem to be the richest of folk. Especially at this dinky little town.

[Smiley]

While staying outside and eavesdropping, Bucket got a few good details that he had to keep in mind. Like where the creature supposedly was found at, the fact that there was a cash reward for the ones who killed it and at least three people apparently agreeing with it. Two girls and one total dummy that called himself "White Tiger". Bukbuk had picked up the nickname of "Bucket" for the sake of fun silliness and even then, he thought that was just a tad bit too ridiculous, to be entirely honest. 

Unless he had some sort of zoan fruit that turned him into a white tiger, in which case it'd be a completely acceptable and super cool name, if not a slight bit on the nose to the point that some might just call it unoriginal. To those people, they just needed a better taste and appreciation for the minimalist. 

..

Oh yeah, making money.
As Nina came out of the pub, the giant fishman that had been leaning against the wall while eavesdropping finally spoke, directing his word directly at her: she had seemed, to him, the most upbeat of the group, which more likely meant that she was the least uptight personality in that place, one that wouldn't just outright try to arrest him.
"Yo, I wanna join this monkey fun. Don't worry about payment, my share will go to you - I just want a legal reason to kill something." 
The fishman with, at this point, questionable morals explained, once again standing on his two feet solidly, deciding to tag along at Nina's side, whether she wanted or not. It wasn't like she could just say no to him, Bucket was a bit too hard-headed to easily go along with what another person said, specially if it was something that was directly against what he pleased.

[Vio]

^{Morgan #3 — Nephelé #3}

---

It seemed Llywelyn Morgan wasn’t the only soul to be roped into this, though she certainly seemed to be the only one who hadn’t initially intended to be. The others — a gunslinger of light purple lock who radiated an air of pride and confidence, and a snow-haired sir with a face that looked at least as serious as her own — had both expressed their own interest for one reason or another. Nina Volk and White Tiger. The latter hid something, that much she could tell from just a glance, though she cared not to pry. The former? Seemed a straightforward type.

^{“But why do you think it’s dangerous?”}

^{“Well,” Jaime began:
“It didn’t look—?”}

^{“I guess I’ll be going then.”}

She’s either very much capable of handing this on her own… Or she’s being really cocky, Morgan assessed as the woman made her exit. Not caring much for Miss Volk’s bravado and instead taking the opportunity to step closer to the group of men, now up one White Tiger who stood about two inches taller than herself, the redhead focused on getting the facts down. Briefly, she nodded to the man, meeting deep blue eyes with deep green.

“Continue,” she motioned.

“Ah, right,” the gentleman shook. “Well, I’d never seen an animal look so… angry? I guess rabid is a better word. It was huge, mostly muscle from what I could tell, and it had no problem uprooting a tree.” The man’s eyes seemed glazed, almost as if he was delving into the depths of his memories. Pupils went wide. “It didn’t pay attention to me. I’m glad it didn’t. Uh. A boar startled it. It roared, and that was pretty frightening, but its eyes seemed bloodshot? But not red?”

^{“Not red…?”}

^{“Green, I think,” Jaime confirmed:
“It was glowing slightly? I don’t know…”}

There was a moment of silence. And then…

“F*ck.” A singular curse carried perhaps more emotion than any word that had previously escaped Miss Llywelyn’s mouth today. And for good reason. Green blood? Perhaps worse still, glowing blood? Rabid temperament and an apparently high muscle density on their own were nothing special, at least not in her eyes, but that last piece of information was by far the most crucial she had been presented with. With little hesitation, she made for the doorway.

^{“Ma’am. I do hope,” Chmela Nephelé piped up:
“That you aren’t planning on skipping payment?”}

“Payment?” the suddenly rather hasty huntress replied, looking back to the barkeep and once again meeting those intensely deep pupils. “I’ve actually got bigger problems than your money right now, Miss,” Morgan said. There was nothing truly venomous about her words — nothing untoward. All the same, Neph pursed her lips into a tight frown as her brow furrowed and her head tilted, hands on hips as she huffed a slight bit in protest. Yet she did not muster up the desire to do anything about it. There was something about the way that the woman with a hoarse voice spoke that suggested an actual, more pressing concern.

^{“In that case,” the black-haired barkeep replied:
“I do believe you owe us a few hours’ board, Jaime.”}

^{“Wait. What? But—”}

“Oi, White Tiger,” Morgan called, catching a glimpse of the woman pointing a finger to the gentleman and cracking a sly grin of trusting and confidence. “If you want to help, then come. Now, where’s—?” No sooner had she opened the door to the world without than the presence of yet another oddity presented itself to her eyes. A man — if you could call it that — standing nearer to ten feet with a broad, powerful build and a… “Is… Is that a bucket?” A little flabbergasted by what she was seeing, the redhead woman took a moment to focus herself on what was truly important, and that was a rampant ape somewhere on Organ Island. Rather, she jumped straight to the point, and the point required her to look Nina Volk dead in the eyes.

^{“This is going to sound dumb,” she exhaled:
“But we’re going to need each other’s help.”}

---

Llywelyn Morgan
Chmela Nephelé
Nina Volk
White Tiger
Jaime
Guy #2
Guy #3

[pepsi]

The other girl, Nina Volk, decided she had better things to do than listen to any of them talking. It was an odd behaviour to Deman, given how highly he valued knowledge - how could she so confidently take her leave? She should have had at least a clue of what the whole operation was supposed to be about.
His head tilted on its own when he understood. It wasn't a difficult point to deduce, after all: "You want to do it all alone, right? And possibly take the reward for yourself, too. You are either very bold or very brash, Nina Volk. I imagine they are both needed, for your job." Sometimes, the line between confidence and recklessness was too fine to see. He had learned to hop on either side, but never how to stand on it.

His gaze switched to the red-haired girl as she passed near him; he reciprocated her nod, in a silent agreement to not interrupt the man any more. Their eyes met, and her emerald greens spoke to him: they spoke of experience, of stories and places, of people she had seen and oddities she had witnessed. He almost wished to avert his look, for a brief moment, to avoid being sucked into her eyes and his own thoughts.

---

Deman had been pressing his fingers against his temple the whole time. A huge, angry animal, with an unnatural color in both fur and eyes - could it have been the result of an Akuma no Mi? Was the thing brought there or was it native? Green glowing blood wasn't a power he had heard of, but surely he...

"F*ck."

Deman was dumbfounded for a split second; immediately after, his brows fell back into place.
Almost without realising, he had flicked the index finger upwards - a symbol for "understood" in sign language. He had "understood" the situation, clearly.
His eyes locked on to hers once again, and everything about his expression spoke the words: "Tell me more." He wished for the gift of telepathy that very moment.
He was instead addressed directly, to which he just replied with a light nod. She knew the answer to the question already, no point in repeating.

White Tiger followed the emerald-eyed woman as she walked towards the door. He was seemingly unfazed by the sight of a large man wearing a bucket on his head; he only wondered if he did it to cover his true face, and in that case, how gross it had to be.
When she finally pointed her finger at Nina, he couldn't help a half smile; it felt as if she had been called out.
"Doesn't sound dumb to me," he chimed in, while checking if he had left anything on his table, "coming from someone who knows." He stuffed his hands in the coat's pockets, not before unbuttoning it for fresh air.
He turned to the girl, and asked: "But I do need a handle by which to call you."

It wasn't clear why he had taken such a liking to the stage and to the characters that moved on it. It was his first adventure since he set sail from Elysium; even in his calm and collected demeanor it was obvious that the mystery excited him so.

[Flame]

Stepping out the door she was immediately spoken to by a newcomer. Nina's head turned finding herself staring into the person's abdomen. She blinked for a moment before remembering to look up. Following the torso upwards to what looked like a bucket-shaped head. It was even more confusing when the bucket began to talk. The huntress took a few more blinks staring down the mastiff of a person. Mmmmm, she took a step back looking over the person, a human? Perhaps not ... she wasn't sure, she was unfamiliar with people that were this large.

In either case though, she wasn't looking for help on the hunt, besides the reasoning on the end was a bit ... "If you're looking to join in on the monkey fun, you should talk to the folk inside." She responded with a smile. Then stepping back towards the door she moved her arm to open it when the door came swinging forward towards her revealing the redhead who'd been basically bribed into taking on the job.

"Just the-" She began before the redhead began to talk silencing Nina for the moment. Going to need each other's help? Nina raised an eyebrow, "Well first ..." Nina started in response before gesturing to the towering bucket-headed intruder to her side. "This guy would like to join you in the hunt. I can't speak for him personally but ..." She glanced towards him for a moment before looking back. "He at least seems excited." She said with a shrug.

"But you were saying, that we are going to need each other's help?" She said her voice turning as if to make a question out of it. If it was enough to have someone coming after her maybe she should give it some heed? Worth hearing out at the least. Nina looked at the redhead before shrugging her shoulder.

"Alright then. Let's hear it, what makes this thing something we're going to need each other's help with?" She asked straight.

[Smiley]

The bucket-headed fishman smiled wide once everyone was outside, nodding quietly at the confirmation of his extreme excitement and desire to beat up the mutant fauna of the island. It made him even happier when the more timid one actually suggested that they'd need each other's help. Sure, Bucket could accept the help of others, but he knew he was more than strong enough to beat up a super-sized ape! As a proud fishman, he felt confident in his own greatness. 

"Yup! It's a bucket shell. I'm a fishman, you see?" Bucket spoke confidently, only to feel a shiver creep up his spine once he remembered that he was in the East Blue, where Arlong's reign of terror had happened. Thankfully, this was a wholly different island, but he should still be careful. Not that he's afraid of the people's anger, he just doesn't want to get his hand forced into hospitalizing an entire population in such a short amount of time.

"So you suggesting that we work together? Are you that afraid of the big monkey? ..You know something I don't?" Bucket asked while opening his right cartoony eye the most, his black dot for an eye thinning to stare directly at Morgan, waiting for her answer.

[Vio]

^{Morgan #4}

---

A more than anticipated question left the lips of Nina Volk. Each passing second reminded Morgan more and more of the mysteries that surrounded her past — mysteries she would rather not have had to elaborate on. But it seemed that of the three that stood with her, all were intrigued. What did she know that they did not? Too much, was an apt answer.

^{“A Fishman, huh? Alright,” she nodded, unfazed:
“So… First off. My name’s Morgan.”}

Though it wasn’t apparent on her face, the redhead loathed what was about to spill from her mouth — answers.

“As for the ape,” Miss Llywelyn began, looking to each soul in turn. Cocky. Confident. Cool. They would each have their uses. At least she could surmise what it was that two of them specialised in. The White Tiger was more of a mystery. “I’m not afraid of it, but I know I can’t take it on alone,” she stated, addressing the pail-faced goliath of whose identity she was still unfamiliar. “If it was just a giant ape, then maybe I could,” the huntress suggested, looking more to Miss Volk now as she emphasised the unnatural alterations she presumed the beast had, all the while trying to recall her studies of the disease and how it reacted with different chemicals.

“But this one’s going to be a lot tougher to take down by what they’ve said,” the Red Raven stated, matter-of-factly. Not willing to waste any time, she began to advance down the street, gesturing for the rest to follow. “Let’s walk and talk. Best not waste time.” At best, Morgan had a rough idea of where she was going — to an abandoned refuge on the opposing side of this small isle. She was purposefully avoiding revealing anything more. Cryptic were the answers given, for sure.

^{“Anyway. What can you all do?” she asked:
“Knowledge is a useful weapon…”}

---

Llywelyn Morgan
Chmela Nephelé
Nina Volk
White Tiger
Jaime
Guy #2
Guy #3

[pepsi]

Much to Deman's content, the girl - who introduced herself as Morgan - started describing some of the traits that made the ape so dangerous. The White Tiger, however, wasn't having it. Her reaction in the tavern couldn't possibly warrant an explanation in the form of "it's very tough". After all, she herself stated that it was not just an ape. Somehow, Deman thought, she gave exactly zero amount of information - with respect to the man in the tavern - if her words were to be taken at face value. He concluded that he had to get the ball rolling himself, if he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"I've been thinking," he begun, walking and frowning up towards the sky, "Morgan, you've stayed in the inn long enough to not be able to pay. This suggests me you don't come from around here." He looked down, and kicked a pebble to the side of the street. "But you seem to know about this ape. And regarding the ape, it's odd that miss Volk wouldn't know anything about it given her status of 'best in the South Blue'. She's not in her Blue right now, which makes me think she could be the type that travels a lot. Correct me if I'm wrong." Deman paused for a second, making sure that everyone could follow his reasoning.

"And this leads me to the next clue. You know about a very rare thing, which just so happened to pop up in the same island you've stayed for a day or more, seemingly unbeknownst to you." He sighed, trying to recollect the other arguments to put forth. "So, I can conjecture that whatever this ape is, or whatever has happened to it, doesn't come from around here either. Not 'originally', at least, you understand." And, finally, he stopped to deliver the punchline.

"And finally, you know that you wouldn't be able to do it alone. And this might be a stretch, but I can conclude you had to deal with it personally in the past. So, I'm asking..." his blue eyes finally met hers; part of his softness was gone, but the gaze was not at all hostile.

"... Where does it come from?"

After he'd get his answer, he would go back to walking and continue following Morgan. He quickly apologized for stopping so suddenly, and decided it was about time to reveal his own cards. It did make sense for Morgan to ask, after all, and he made sure to be completely honest with everyone - for once. "I'm a swordsman" he asserted, with a soft smile taking form on his lips.

The sharpest observers among them would have probably noticed by now that he was, in fact, carrying no weapon at all. He didn't lie at all, however, because swordsmanship was indeed his preferred style of combat. So, to give a more complete overview of his abilities, he clarified, in his warmest tone: "And sometimes my observations are sharp too."

[Flame]

Nina blinked, based on what they said? She'd heard that it was a large monkey of some sort. Gigantic even, but that didn't particularly bother her. The huntress had dealt with large creatures in the South Blue before. She tilted her head to the side "Uhhh ... I don't know if they've said anything that was that concerning. That I heard at the very least." Nina said before giving a shrug of her shoulders.

She followed along with a skip in her feet as the group as a whole started to move. The huntress ran her fingers along the guns she had left in holster as 'White Tiger' began to speak. Nina glanced back towards him and then gave a shrug. "I'm not that traveled. This is my first time outside of the South Blue." She hummed to herself before commenting once more.

"And the world is stranger than you know. Many islands have their own unique creatures. I've seen it myself in the South Blue. What makes me the best isn't that I've hunted everything, that'd be impossible to do in one lifetime. It's that I don't fail when I meet a new challenge." Nina grinned with amusement as she finished that statement. Spinning back around on her feet to step forward once more. She skipped forward with relaxed ease.

"As for the other question, I'm a tracker and hunter." She said with a smile and patted the pistols at her sides and the satchel at her back. "That's all."