Saga On High

[Phantasma]

6:00 PM, Angel Beach

---

    This is it, done in by my own techniques. Suppose there's a bit of irony there, call that job satisfaction because I sure don't. This and many other thoughts precipitated out of the vaguely conscious Ex-Bounty hunter who as much from the lack of oxygen as having the wind knocked out of him by sonic attacks, was starting to lose consciousness. Somewhere along the flight up he had gone limp and stopped trying to adjust his trajectory or even think about cushioning his landing, it's why he kept his eyes shut up until he started digging through the various layers of the Island cloud above. A fall from this height and the marines would need a bucket to collect what was left of him. 
    
    So engrossed in his own demise that it was easy to forget he had stopped moving, had pierced through the worst of the fluffy white and managed to wash up on the shores of Skypiea. Like some kind of idiot all Kite could do was lay there on the beach shoreline and hope his end could arrive swiftly. 

    A distinct lack of oxygen forced the hunters hand, there were limits to how long he could hold his breath. 

    "Huuuuuuuuuhhhhh!" Mouth springing open he sucked in a stream of oxygen, simultaneously opening his eyes in disbelief. 

    "I'm not dead?" Hands reached up to touch upon his slightly bruised face, tracing around his cheek bones and running through his slightly grayed hair. 

    "ow..." Some parts of his face-- no his entire body was sensitive and awkward with sensation. 

    Burning fuel had engulfed his body well before he got shot up in the air, singed off a good portion of his clothes. Chest completely naked, bare, muscled up, looking down he very nearly reminisced on all the hoops that led him to developing his physique but he stopped just below the belt line. His pants had survived but just, just barely. Around the ankles the black fabric had become frayed and his boots singed and dirtied. Frankly it was a mystery how his top half had been sacrificed but his bottom remained-- and still this full body tan was present!

    Ordinarily snow white skin had taken on a very new shade. Fair, more than fair, it was like a farmers tan only noticeably lighter. Warm Ivory? If there could ever be such a term. 

    "I'm... I'm not dead," Rising to his feet unsteadily a smile cracked across his face, hands bracing themselves on the weapons hanging from either side of his hip. 

    Nervously flicking across their hilts Kite examined his environment, keen to see where he had ended up and how he had managed to fling himself up here. Memories still fresh in his mind told him a sonic attack, his and that... villains... they clashed and managed to create some kind of really strong shock wave. After that the resulting force threw the swordsman high into the sky, broke clear past the basement of this beach and resulted in what he saw now. Disbelief had him dashing towards the shoreline until water licked at his boots, eyes widening when the gravity of the situation hit him. 

    "A land... a land in the sky. Like the stories-- I'm here! After everything I managed to come all the way up here haha! This... this is exactly what I needed!" Survivors high didn't wane, his eyes closed from how wide his smile got at the unexpected development. 

    Spinning around for a bit with his arms waving around in the air the would-be-criminal celebrated his new found freedom. Halting mid spin when the rising dizzying sensation got annoying, eyes admiring the blurring imagery of the palm trees, the greenery, the furniture. 

    "Furniture?" Brows quirked Kite shifted focus from dancing his happy dance to investigating the curious platform jutting out from the jungle. 

    More like a deck it had a set of five stairs, wooden like the platform, which hooked onto its left side. The raised wooden structure lacked a fence but had poles set up in all the corners, four well crafted structures which held up a brilliant blue tarp fabric that kept out the worse of the suns rays. Two very plush white chairs were the major focus for a solid minute, tentatively being poked by the huntsman until he selected the furthest one from the chair to lay down on and stretch. In undulating waves the plush material managed to relieve tension from his knotted back and he couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh as he fought to keep his eyes open and aware of his surroundings. Keenly aware, now, that this wasn't exactly an exotic location. 

    In fact, if this really is like Mothers stories... then there should be a civilization of some kind. Huh. Not often you see books translate so well to what the real world is like-- well... myth's or family history anyway, nodding his head as he thought loudly to himself Kalisto sat up in the poofy 'L' shaped chair. 

    "Haaa... just when I thought I caught a break after all this madness."

    Pinching the bridge of his nose tightly and then moving both hands to massage his temples the tension of the previous few days returned to the front of the not-so-albino's mind. He needed to lay low while the Marines searched for him, depending on what happens here this could be a very quiet or a very loud few days. Forming mental pictures to every word, to every rule it was like setting in concrete. Whatever joy survival brought the grim reality of the snow-haired warriors current predicament sobered him enough to return a few knots into his back and play havoc with his guts. Instead of dancing and shouting with joy like he had been, now came the silent numbing of worry, regret. 

    I need to make sure Mom... the others... They need to be safe rather than pay for my mistakes, nearly chewing a hole out of the inside of his cheek a noise got the contemplative male to freeze. 

    Red, suddenly energetic eyes darted and a few twists of the neck had him honing in on the source of the noise. Steadily sitting up the tanned, lithe figure considered the thick greenery to his back and squinted. Voice hard, cold and above all else loud enough to carry multiple feet. 

    "I've had a very long day, please stop hiding in the bushes."

[Sam]

It had been about a week's time perhaps? Gen had been stuck up in the sky... he had figured how to navigate the hot air balloon but was not sure how to land... not yet at least. But according to his logpose, he should be somewhere near Jaya since that was the next island after Karakuri. Right? Ahh! This was was madness if anything! He hadn't thought this situation through! Seven days! A whole week! Lost! Floating higher and higher! Living off of provisions of dehydrated foods... a product of the highly advanced Karakuri island. Either way, it had been enough for the Tengu to stay alive as he floated above the clouds.

Gen slouched against the basket of his air balloon and lit up his pipe with his remaining dried tobacco. In hard times like these, he needed the dosage of nicotine to calm his nerves. As the Tengu relaxed under the light breeze he began to slowly fall asleep and enter a deep slumber. Dreams began to occur... the Tengu dreamed of being in a tranquil field with light green grass and lightly padded in small white daisies. Relaxing! Gen thought to himself! Relaxing indeed! He sat still in the open fielding admiring the blue open skies with clouds and the yellow sun above which unlike most times was light and didn't bother his skin as much. It was lovely! Lovely indeed. But then things began to change... the ground began to shake... the sky turned dark with black storm clouds. Gen stood up and began to step back as cracks began to form in the ground of the field. Then out! Out popped a very familiar cat!

"Let's play Gen!"

"YOOOO!"

The Tengu screamed in horror! Why? Why was his peace ruined! Why was he being haunted by this Bakeneko once more! The Tengu's eyes opened up... no cat... no field... no flowers. But something had happened in the time he was asleep. He had landed on a tree or rather his hot air balloon had gotten tangled in some palm trees. Gen stood up and looked overboard... he was in the sky and yet he was on an island. One with a beach and palms... ahead there was cloud waves beating against thicker cloud sand? Dirt? Thicker clouds that were. Was he in heaven? Had he ascended? Was this the land of Kami? Would he meet the beautiful sun goddess!

"Huzzah! The gods have blessed me! My enlightenment has brought me to Takamagahara! Land of the gods! Heaven of heavens!"

Gen hopped off the basket and landed on the ground with a loud thud. The cloud beneath was somewhat bouncy but overall it was walkable! Nothing too annoying! Gen decided to remove his sandals and walk barefoot on the soft clouds. The feeling was great... soft... it was like... it was like! It was like walking on clouds! Well, he was quite literally. Hell! No. Heavens! This was the greatest feeling ever! Gen rushed toward the small beating waves and walked toward the water dipping his feet into the liquid like a cloud! It felt nice like water yet smoother and more diluted if that was even possible. Gen looked onward onto the seas... he dared not set farther for the fear he wouldn't be as buoyant as he was in the normal sea.

The Tengu placed his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. His black luscious hair fluttering about as he stared at the whiteness at home. The feeling was weird up here... he felt at home. Yet it wasn't Wano. It was on odd feeling... something within him something in his blood deep with his bones deep within the very marrow called out to him! It told him this was home! He didn't know why! But it just felt right! 'No matter!' Gen thought to look around the barren beach. It was time to explore! To search for others! He hoped to find the Kami! The gods! He hoped to call this land home! To be enlightened by then to prosper and to gain wisdom. Gen walked through the beach headed toward the East blind as to what he would find ahead. Little did he know he was headed into the direction of a certain albino man who was not too far into the distance.

[Die]

"Zzzzzz...zzzzzz...zzzzz...mrrrrp!"

Something had just smacked him in the face. Something soft...and feathery. A bird? A second one smacked him in the face. Definitely a bird. Tyr spat out the feathers that had made their way into his mouth before giving a very loud yawn...which was promptly drowned out by the infernal cacophony of the wind noise around him.

Tyr brought his arms out in front of him, very briefly adopting a Superman pose before quickly rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. How long had he been flying for? Last thing he knew, he was helping some people test out a super long range cannon, and through a series of odd circumstances, ended up being the test projectile. Good thing he had been paid up front. Absentmindedly picking his nose, Tyr contemplated what to do now that he had been fired gods knew where.

His gaze snapped forward, as a very large and thick cloud was fast approaching. The large mercenary squinted at it, always wondering what it felt like going through one. He always thought they felt fluffy, like cotton but with an element of dampness to it. Tyr squinted even harder at the massive cloud.

"Wait a minute...That's no cloud, that's a-"

Tyr didn't even get to finish those words as he crashed straight through the basement layer. Well...it sort of felt fluffy, but it also hurt a little.

CRASH! crack! BANG!

That felt like the foundation of a house. That felt like someone's table. And that definitely felt like a few pots and pans. With that, Tyr burst straight through some poor sod's home, still on an upward path, though significantly slowed down. He was no longer flying headfirst, instead now flipping wildly through the air. He snapped back to reality as he felt the familiar tug.

"Oh...there goes gravity," he half-mumbled, still wildly flipping head over heels. The large man slammed into the cloud beach some ways away, careening and kicking up clouds and various other forms of debris he had ended up taking with him from his sudden entry and exit through someone's home before sliding to a stop while seated up with his legs straight forward, somewhere halfway between a strange albino man, and strange long-nosed man. He looked around for a moment, taking in what surroundings he could see, and then promptly thrust both arms up.

"Woo! Ah swivvin' made it!" he bellowed and cheered to no one in particular. His had snapped both ways again. "Eh...where tha fock am I?"

[Suriko]

It was shaping to be yet another normal morning as the evil rays of the sun slowly began spilling over the horizon and the windowsill of the young girl's room, the blinding light shining right on her face as she could feel its warmth gradually filled more of the room. She made a slight grimace as these sensations seemed to be already rousing her from a deep and peaceful sleep, her lips parting as she made a silent groan as she pulled her pillow over her face. She was about to slip back into sleep when her mother, Lulubell, called out to her. "Corinna, it's time for you to get up. I need to go help your father, but I made some breakfast for you." The skypiean flailed as her mom's rather loud voice had made certain she would not drift back off into dreamland. Sitting up on her bed, Corinna looked around, her shoulders slumping as she sighed before she perked back up with a smile gracing the round features of her face, hopping off of her sanctuary to prepare for the day. Given the generally good weather that Angel Island had, her outfit consisted of the most basic of her usual attire, opting for her shorts and a tank top with Soul King emblazoned on the back. Reaching over to a stand with a rather odd accessory, her headphones. Draping the headgear around her neck before she pulled her long hair out from under the band. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror. Time to see what fun today has for me Thinking this to herself, he young musician grabbed her guitar, saddling the strap on her shoulder. Her fingers would absentmindedly strum as she made her out of her house.

As she began to walk Lovely Street, the teenager's strum became much more involved, shifting into a proper song as she would receive waves and cheerful greetings from the merchants and shop owners there. Ever since 2 years ago, her home had seemed to dispel quite a bit of the gloom that had been present under God Enel's rule. And the knob girl welcomed it. She would continue, planning on visiting her parents and seeing if she could help. In doing so, most of her day as taken up providing a bit of calming entertainment as people shopped. This would continue well into

It was then that old man Kero had approached the market, seeming somewhat concerned and distraught as Gaapa spoke to him. "Kero, what's wrong? you look like you've seen a ghost or something." The elderly skypiean seemed to break out of his panicked state as Corinna's father spoke to him. I just saw the oddest thing. there seemed to be a man that washed up on Angel Beach. But I don't know how he'd have managed to get up here. And he had some odd markings on his back, they seem so familiar, but I can't... And there was this odd contraption..." He trailed off in memory, prompting the sky guitarist to not stick around as curiosity got the better of her. She rushed off towards the beach, ducking into the more foliage cover spots as she had spotted a figure lying in the distance. She was slowly approaching, noticing kite was beginning to stir as she ducked behind a bush nearby. the devil fruit user would watch in silence as he seemed to shift between relief in his survival to awe with his surroundings, and finally to some sort of deep thought. Spotting his weapons, the young woman was about to back away when her guitar caught on a nearby branch, snapping it somewhat loudly.

She was hoping he hadn't noticed, very clearly gesturing how stupid she was before she froze at the stern, authoritative voice that came forth from the man. Now knowing she was caught, Corinna bit her lip before she stepped out past the brush and foliage, her hands raised in surrender as she looked at Kite. This also allowed him to see the petite young woman that had caused him to go on guard. She waved slightly with a nervous smile before her emerald eyes scanned the man. She very slowly and calmly motioned to her lips, parting them as she would mime her lack of voice by first shaking her head as she moved her fingers from her mouth. Hopefully, he would get what she was conveying as she tried not to do anything particularly aggressive.

Off in the distance, there had been a pretty loud crashing sound, seemingly followed by some very faint sounds of surprise and screams. Boy was today ending very weirdly.

[Phantasma]

    "Young lady where--," Gaapa began, turning his attention away from Kero for only a moment.
    
    "It was the Fairy Grim!" Kero gasped, both hands latching to either side of his head as he leaned forward and started frantically mumbling. 

    By now a circle of shoppers, shopkeepers and regular joes had caged both Gaapa and Kero in only dispersing when an equally geriatric old woman emerged. Up until that point some people were whispering and others just held baited breath as Kero prostrated himself on the road, gripped by some mania. No one drew near out of risk of further worsening the episode and some were beginning to become scared by the display. It wasn't everyday you had an old man hunched over on the road spouting off some mysterious phrase-- not even Enel got that kind of reverence. This was something else entirely. 

    "I know that isn't you soaking up rays on the roadside Kero," The elderly woman sighed as she crept forward. 

    Much like her husband she too shared a shortened stature and her beauty had long been eclipsed by her twilight years. With a head that sat close to her body and incredibly light purple hair sat in twin pigtails, wrinkled as much with age and worry, she too looked very frog-like. Big lips, tiny little dots for eyes. Though currently kneeling down as she was you could almost see what they looked like a few centuries ago, pale blue sunday dress ruffled and sandals barely hanging onto her feet she took her hands and gently patted the fearful old mans back. It was a long process, long enough that Gaapa was caught in the cross fire and stayed behind to assess the situation. You really couldn't run out on these sorts of things... and when Kero had an episode you'd have to be inhuman to leave the poor guy behind floundering with his droopy lime-green shirt flapping around. 

    ...

    The Fairy Grin, or Fairy Grim was just one of those Skypiea things. Kind of like crop circles are to you or I, a cryptic symbol associated with ominous foretelling. In particular it was a universal sign for bad mojo, really scary stuff would often have or be depicted with a similar occult symbol. Scar-like fissures that spread out from a point away from one another and upturned like a 'V', but it wasn't the unnerving appearance of the symbol that garnered such infamy and apparently such a visceral reaction from Kero. It was the history surrounding it, the significance of a very awful war. The calling card of vengeful spirits.

    Not unlike that legend Kite sported his own scars on his nude backside. Nearly blended to his own warm ivory skin it was impossible to see from some angles, others applied a kind of ghostly sheen to it highlighting long since healed wounds. The pattern to it was a rough texture, not raised, almost like skin had pulled together leaving behind contracted paths in jagged lines. Had another symmetrical set of fissures pulled from under the lines feeding from the center of the back up to the deltoids it would almost look like butterfly wings. Crude, but an effective comparison of what Corinna and the others would see. 

---

    
    "Okay?" Kite quirked his head to the side.

    Noticeably his eyes darted to the left in response to the very loud yelling and crashing. He made no indication of it but currently the somewhat experienced fighter was all too aware of three people near him: the unimposing girl with decidedly modern clothes and loose flowing autumn colored locks, what was either a human battleship or a blond man with a man-bun and finally some kind of red speck? That last one was a little more difficult because in order to see that far the swordsman would need to crane his head around. Instead he was content to simply know about people in his immediate surroundings and keep an eye on the closest one. Having a repertoire of observational details only comes in handy when picking your targets, Kite wasn't even sure what was going on. 

    "I'm terrible at charades but I know placation when I see it. Is a half naked man really all that scary?" Holding his hand out in front of him, palms up, as if to invite further discussion he closed his mouth in a brief pause and straightened up. 

    "I... now realize what I just said," He closed his eyes and vented out one of the grumpiest dad sighs to have ever been exhaled. 

    "I'm not going to hurt you; I wanted to make sure you weren't going to hurt me."

    In a flash the curtains to vibrantly red eyes flew back. In tandem with the sudden sight Kite adopted to slip his hands into his pockets while remain facing towards Corinna. A long gap of silence followed while he just stared ahead like some sculpted tan statue. Yet just as quickly as the silence had formed it inevitably shattered. 

    "And now I'm sure, you probably were just curious why people were showing up on your beach yes? Some kind of native? Wings gave it away."

    Resisting the urge to flash a knowing, sly grin Kite allowed the mute a chance to signal her reply. Although it was hearsay and embellishment a decent percent of what momma Kalisto had to say was right on the mark. Faith in the myth is what made the hunter oh so accepting to the possibility of a native coming by, the structure on the beach suggested regular visits if not from how it looked now. You didn't just let things waste away on a beach-- a sky beach no less-- if you didn't intend to come back to it. 

    Kite interjected at some point during the pleasant interpretive dance Corinna was sure to try and play out in place of words. Manners prevented him from doing it immediately but when the opportunity came up he interjected by turning around on a foot to face Gen and Tyr regardless of their distances. The fact they were near one another made it easier for him to focus his voice so they could hear it. The beach wasn't particularly loud this day, but the diminishing amount of daylight might make it difficult to discern direction of the speaker. 

    "Since I'm not bleeding in about eight or seven different places I'm going to make another amazing guess. You two somehow washed up here? Crashed here? Flew here? Huh... Balloon," Briefly sidetracked Kites voice carried off, eyes resting on the ruins of the hot air balloon strewn up in the canopy of a few trees. 

    "There's a native here, means there's a settlement nearby or some place to fall asleep. I'd keep up with us before nightfall. Wouldn't want to wander off the cloud and plummet a few several thousand leagues."

    Not so much a lesson from experience, Kite inferred from his last adventure that keeping exotic elements near meant you could avoid excess damage. There was also a case that some of these survivors were knowledgeable or fellow natives in the event Kites generous assumption was wrong. A trail of destruction could have just been an accident, a hot air balloon could have been a vehicle normal to this place. The advantages of having these people near Kite far outweighed the disadvantages. If it were a different time the term 'meat shields' might crop up in the hunters imagination, those horrible impulses were replaced with an inquisitive tendency. In his current state he would do well to flush out marine elements and perhaps that was an even larger element in why Kite flagged the duo over. To determine who they were, why they were here and finally could they be left to their own devices?

    Turning back to Corinna Kite inclined his head some, his voice a touch softer than it had been before. The gruff, semi-agitated growl in his throat had simmered to a cool and collected tone with clearly pronounced words. 

    "I'd be grateful if you showed me the way young miss," Head rising Kite adopted his tiny smirk of a grin. 

    "The trail might work but I have my doubts. Walking with you lets me prove I mean well."

---

Gaapa - da2c00
Kero - f1d543
Kaeru - 0c7429

[Sam]

As Gen moved on through the beach he began to see a pale man in the distance. A kami? Likely given his height and general appearance that's what Gen was lead to believe. At first sight at least... as he approached he noticed the grotesque carnage on the man's back. Damage... no Kami possesses such an imperfection so he was likely someone who had been enlightened as well. Likely ripped an aspect out of his very soul and essence to overcome his human needs. Gen could commend such actions! A true proud man! However, whatever pondering and looking around that was happening on the Tengu's part was stopped by the sudden sound of a scream and in less than a second, a tall muscled man had crashed in front of him. Gen jumped back with a loud scream!

"Yoooooooo! Watch it, Buffoon! You could have crushed me with your nonsense!"

A vein formed over the Tengu's head but before he could banter at the Viking he took a deep breath for composure. He was in heaven and wrath was a sin... a weak aspect of the human mind that must be overcome. There was no room for such senseless emotions in the mind. Only clean and precise thoughts! Gen walked around Tyr and toward Kite noticing yet another head on the horizon. A small young girl... one with wings. Was she? Was she a fellow Momochi? Gen had never seen winged people outside of his own family and even within his family having wings was fairly rare... something only a handful of folks within a generation would be born with. But upon further inspection, Gen noted the girl's wings were nothing like his... albeit they were small and white sure! But the shape was much different as the feathers stuck out straight. Meanwhile, Gen's very own wings stuck upward toward the sky above. It was a minor difference but a difference nonetheless considering everyone within the Momochi clan had wings in the same shape as his and nothing like girl's.

Unbeknownst to the Tengu they where vestigial markings from their ancestors who had traveled far from Shandora. Back when such a nation was in its glory days! Out to Sea and onto a land that would later become Wano. Even less he knew that by being in Skypiea he was the closest he would ever be to one his distant ancestors. A culture he had not known about ! Nor likely would ever recognize as his own due to ignorance of past events. But perhaps that was something subject to change... the future is unknown and life takes many twists and turns. That's when the first turn and twist came. The odd Albino man with a scarred back began to speak to Gen. No... to Gen and Tyr specifically. He wasn't a native and his suggestions gave it away as a fact. Even so his suggestions of what to do seemed clean and concise. The Tengu respected a prepared man! He spoke the truth and no-nonsense! He would follow through with his little charade. Even if it meant hanging with a fool who had very nearly crushed him. No matter! In the event of any shenanigans unfolding they'd at least,  have an advantage in numbers. There was  also the fact that the other two men where taller than Gen who was just about average in size. In the event of any quarrel, he could always dip out as all eyes would be on the two larger men and not the Tengu. At he thought so... forgetting he was crimson red and hard to miss. 

"Very well. Let's do as you say fellow enlightened one!"

Gen walked closer to the duo and bowed in a respectful manner.

"I am Gen Momochi of Clan Momochi of Wano Kuni Island! Pleased to be your acquaintances."

The Tengu turned around and bowed toward Tyr as well. Despite him nearly crushing him. Something that admittedly was a bit of an exaggeration on the Tengu's part. Didn't detain him from being kindly.

"May I know the names of my acquaintances?"

[Die]

Tyr stood up and dusted...clouded himself off? Was the weird long-nose calling him a buffon? He adjusted the fit of his armor and checked his pouches and pack to make sure everything had survived the launch...and the landing.

"S'ard ta change me flight path. Yeh shoulda moved out o' tha way sooner. Surprised yeh dinnae see me comin'. Ah'm usually 'ard ta miss. Mus' be summint wrong with yer eyes," Tyr chuckled. The viking turned his head, getting a feel for his surroundings and trying to regain his bearings. "Righ', ah definitely dunno where ah fookin' 'am. Ah well. Bes' roll with it then," he said to himself. With all his goodies in place in their respective pouches and packs, Tyr picked up his greataxe and stowed it on his back, just in time to hear Kite shouting at both him and Gen. Tyr squinted and turned an ear towards him, cupping a hand behind it to hear him better. After receiving the message he lowered his arm and shrugged, "Welp! Sounds good enough fer me!" He followed after Gen at his own pace, relaxed, but with some hint of his former life in the military as his bootsteps muffle-thundered through the cloud beach.

The other individual with Kite came into view as he got closer. "Huh...wings...odd, but cool!" Tyr thought to himself. Now that the four of them were within much closer proximity, he got a good look at all of them. Red long-nose aside, he briefly observed the young lass, and the pasty prince himself, Kite. The viking wondered what those wings felt like. Maybe the feathers were soft and fluffy? Or stiff and straight? Easily towering over the other three, he got a good look at Kite's back and squinted at all the scarring. "The fohk 'appened ta yeh?" he thought to himself. He snapped out of his musings as Gen introduced himself to the others. The large man returned in kind, "Name's Tyr. Uh...clan Frostwyght? Ah guess. Where ah came from dun matter," Tyr said, introducing himself.

[Suriko]

The young skypiean relaxed a little as the male began to speak, taking the fact he had not immediately attacked her as a sign that he was at least somewhat reasonable. She lowered her arms, not even considering the fact he had not understood her miming action at all until he started speaking. After his first comment on how dangerous he was, her expression turned to an incredulous or sceptical expression. Did he really just say that to a young girl? Which was then immediately followed by his next comment, leading the small girl to question if he could somehow read her thoughts. She began to stare at him suspiciously for a few brief seconds before it immediately crumbled as he continued to speak. She opened her mouth as if trying to speak up each time he had a pause in his speech, though that really meant nothing at all to the mute. As it became more clear he had no idea of her condition, her shoulders slumped a bit, which caused her wing to droop a bit as well. This was followed by a rather defeated expression on her face now. He's not going to stop to let me clear this up at any point, is he? She was going to once more mime her inability to talk when the pirate decided to turn his attention away from her to the other two people on the island.

Her attention had shifted to the man who had crashed into the beach, seeing that he was a towering unit of a man once he began to stand up and check himself to make sure nothing was damaged or missing. His general appearance and imposing figure as he approached them, served to actually make the young guitarist hide behind Kite. She placed her small hands against his back as she continued to peek around him at the other new person. The man was just as easily noticeable as his skin was a rather dark shade of red, but even more so than that were his wings. They undeniable belonged to the shandorans, the other race of people that resided o this island. Why Gen looked so different was beyond the young girl, but that wasn't really a concern she had. As Kite spoke to the two of them, she shoved him as best she could, though it served more to push her own small frame back words as she flailed a bit. Her cheeks puffed out a bit in anger and annoyance I HAVE A NAME... You... You...She just threw her hands up in frustration as he didn't even stop to ask her that or anything, only to more ask if she could guide this motley crew to whatever passes for civilization here. But before that, she reached into a small bag draped against her waist and produced a pencil and a rather tattered looking notebook. Most of the first few tens of pages seemed to scrawled with some type of barely readable music sheets. The young girl quickly flipped past these pages to a blank one, almost angrily jotting down letters before nearly shoving it into kite's face.

I HAVE A NAME.. It's Corrina Rose. NOT NATIVE or girl.. Corrina.. Got it?
Good.
Now I am not able to speak, so I would avoid getting into any complex conversation with me unless you absolutely need an answer for something. As for where you are. This is Skypiea, a sky island. I can talk you up to Angel Island, though I'm not sure if you can stay at my house. The big guy might have problems fitting.

After giving kite ample time to read, she showed the notebook to the other two if they didn't try to read over his shoulder.

[Phantasma]

    "I don't remember signing up to be a human shield," Kite rolled his eyes a bit and made an active effort to stop his grin from widening. 

    There was something endearing about how flighty this Islander happened to be. Despite relative fondness for how refreshing social anxiety was the tone used earlier was a little too flat. Had Corinna not been given time to read body language or pause to look at his expression it would almost sound tired, maybe even agitated. As nonchalant as possible the winter haired young man scanned the horizon and from his position it was hardly a full turn onto his heel or flick of an over shoulder glance. Wind lightly blowing through locks that would make a pop idol jealous contemplation shrouded his face. Brow quirked up on the right side, light frown replacing the amused grin. 

    'Hard to tell which one I'm smelling here but someone smells like... tea. Bitter. Makes my nose twitch. Is one of them really into spices? Just who are those two?' Kite pondered as he prepared to speak to the shuffling duo. 

    "I make it a habit of going off a first name only basis. Kite will work if you need to call me something," From this distance his voice was more even and less authoritative with its volume. 

    The dialect was nonexistent but each word was so purposefully pronounced from dialogue alone you'd guess a scholarly background. Or at the least some drop of hoity-toity-ness. In addition to that the Ex-Hunters eyes narrowed by a fraction studying the facial reactions of the group as if to discern something like surprise, shock or any other obvious indicators a Marine presence was... well... present. 

    'The heck is a Wano SnuSnu island? Doesn't sound like any place from the Blues. Even this side of Paradise that sounds... Foreign? Are Cipher Pol that creative with their covers?

    No,' A spark of humor touched him as he recalled his run in with that branch of the World Government. Scary, yes, but not readily competent-- at least with field agents. The odd skin complexion really drove home the idea that this Gen fellow was just far from home. 

    'That other one... definitely sounds like a North Blue dialect. Harsh, missing a few inflections here and there. Could he be some kind of half giant? Do Marines... even employ Giantkin?'

    One step away from stoking an imaginary beard in thought he was pulled back to reality by the prodding at his flanks. Training had the added benefit of not only reinforcing his body but the information it gave him. In the event it had only been making him tougher those light jabs and little hints of a hands presence wouldn't have gotten Kite to jump. Probably not even under the context of an active combat zone. He didn't even budge, rather Corinna experienced the futile cycle of trying to get a metaphorical stone wall to move. 

    In response he looked down, frown growing even more bemused with a deepened arc. He walked forward a bit before turning once again to face the little would-be sherpa. It was slightly difficult to comprehend what all the exasperated flailing was for and the puffed out cheeks, that confusion showed on the partially open-mouthed swordsman. Looking like a certain electric wielding rodent in shock he let the episode continue to the ultimate climax with a note shoved in his general direction. 

    Many years had passed since young Kalisto had been enrolled in any formal education. In that brief tenure he saw a great many things academic. Horrifyingly drawn artwork, lopsided sculptures and ear grating book recitals. The body of writing that hovered inches away from his chest took the cake and the entire trophy cabinet. Forced to lean down his eyes went marginally wider while his brain raced to figure out where one chicken scrawl tsunami ended and another began. All too suddenly the paper was ripped away and he was left there stunned, slowly extending back up and running his right hand through his hair. Fingers working free the few knots that existed, a kind of tick the former albino did when he needed to really stew on something. 

    "Cor... Cortenangu? No... no that sounds like some kind of magic spell," Kite dismissively shook his head and dropped his hand all in one motion.  
    
    "Corinna sounds a lot closer. It's a very pretty name," Kite declared, lightly nodding. 

    "So this Skypiea has... what, multiple islands then? Suppose it would make sense as all of this," He raised his hands and turned around one rotation. 

    "This doesn't look like a city. Glad we're on the same page though... and I don't think it would be wise for us to stay with you. We're adults and we can pay for room and board."

    Kite visibly cringed as he noted the trail of destruction once more out of the corner of his eye. Mouth curling up on the right side with just a hint of antipathy.

    "Well... room, board and property damage."

    Wasting no time the shirtless man marched on up the path following Corinna towards the curiously named Angel Island. Knifes swaying on his belt and rhythmically tapping fell on deaf ears for Kites part as he had been accustomed to both the sensation and noise long enough that it had desensitized him. Only chance he would notice would be if they vanished, but secured as they were and hands close by fitted into pockets, it was unlikely.

    The distance cleared by the party didn't suffer many holdups unless they chose to stop and the forestry from here to Angel Island wasn't entirely that thick. You had your tropical trees and tall grass but a man made path stretched out, as well as the trough or dirt river that Tyr had so generously provided. Not even a few minutes into the journey and the sights of the common street became visible and bloomed into the horizon complete with frantic little waving arm figures. 

    It was hard to tell if those flapping arms were due to anger or fear but a tall enough smoke stack curling off into the air gave hints. Not tall enough that it would have been visible from the beach a very minor fire had been put out. The closer the group got the more evident it became that this all occurred because a total of two houses had been bulldozed through. The force of which knocked loose especially volatile dials.

    Warm bodies that weren't clearing off the rubble took to forming a circle around the troupe. Fingers were pointed, hands raised to mouths in shock and bewildered gasps all around. Up until the march of combat boots drowned out the chorus of the peanut gallery. 

    "Heso! Just what in tarnation happened here?! I could feel the ground move all the way from over-- Corinna? Corinna Rose! Is that you?!" 

    All things considered despite the two pulverized shops and odd divot in the cloud like land mass Skypiea looked like a dream. The architecture was a mixture of pre-industrial and post-industrial. High rising towers with slides peeling off into the roads, colorful bricks in the shades of orange and lavender. Buildings lined in wood, hard mineral like concrete framed with cute little bay side or longer windows. Even if colors and architecture looked like a hybrid an easily observed fact would be the emphasis on slopes and rounded corners. Despite the rolling hills it took to get here the land was remarkably flat.

---

Totally not God's Guards - a2f1f8

[Sam]

Letting out a sigh of annoyance from Tyr's words the Tengu rolled his eyes. But nothing came out. Eyes? His eyes are where fine! Nothing wrong with them! He wasn't even that old. Why did people keep thinking he was an old man? Bah! No use pondering useless matters. Instead, Gen turned to view Tyr who was introducing himself. That was an odd name to Gen's ears. It sounded sort of like a giant's name to him. Then again what did he know? The number of giants he had met was few and far between.

"Well met Tyr."

Gen bowed, respectfully. Wether Tyr was a mess of a human or not in Gen's eyes Tyr was still a human and therefore entitled to a degree of respect. He then turned around to view the pale man. Finally, the pale man introduced himself Kite... that name. It rang a bell but Gen could not put a finger on it. He swore he had seen that name somewhere or perhaps heard of it. But he didn't know where. It was as if something was missing. The last name perhaps? The man had been unwilling to give one however. This was odd to the Tengu, he narrowed his eyes for a moment as if to ponder on the situation deeply. But in the end, he gave up on it. If the name wouldn't come to him now it would likely come later when he least expected it.

He lifted one of his brows, raising in concern as he viewed the small distressed girl wave about her arms in various motions as well as bang against the back of the pale handsome man. What was the matter with her? Why did she speak? Unless she had some sort of speech impediment or was cursed by some hag. The Tengu shook his head. Hag! Ha! How silly of himself. This far in the heavens! No way such beguiled creatures would make their way here. In the meantime, however, the girl seemed to pull out something to write on and of course something to write with.

Gen walked over his curiosity taking the best of him. He began to read what the girl was writing. 'Corinna Rose'. The Tengu nodded in approval. Well, at least they knew her name. It was a nice one too. Much better than her penmanship that was for sure! Before he could comment on her name however it seemed the pale-skinned fellow had other plans as he began to go on about her name and the location they were in. Skypiea? So they hadn't reached enlightenment now, had they? Then how was this possible? An island in the sky? Gen looked around he looked at the white clouds and the big blue sky overhead. This was something new to him. Sure Gen had been to Island Turtles, fought dragon turtle beasts, defeated a vampire and played with a demon cat. But this was nothing like the rest.

"Ok, well let's go to Angel Island then."

Whether out of Gen's command or not that seemed to have been a plan. The group began to march ahead up a path into the so-called Angel Island! Corinna walked ahead as Kite followed. Gen began to follow those ahead of him as well. As they marched through the tropical forest he noticed the blades that Kite had. They caught Gen's attention. He was no blacksmith but he was a swordsman and as such he could appreciate well-made steel. His attention to the masterful swords was, however, was quickly swiped by the scene that was up ahead. More winged people again more so like Corinna and not like him were around. Their hair was odd having small antenna-like hairpieces on top their heads making them seem like insects. Butterflies? Perhaps. Gen frowned as he began to notice the tumult was because of them. More so because of Tyr and his destructiveness. The Tengu placed a hand on his face and grit his teeth in annoyance. He, however, didn't utter a single word. Worse yet a crowd began to form around them. Lovely. Just great! All this distracted Gen from the beauty of the location which he would have enjoyed if this chaos wasn't at hand.

"Well, this can't get worse? Now can it right Lass?"

Gen asked Corinna, a fake smile plastered onto his face. His eyes, however, radiated irritation at the situation. But whether Corinna could answer him in a timely manner or not by writing her response Gen's question was answered. The arrival of the Island's authority was all he needed. The Tengu covered his face in embarrassment as his visage became varying shades of violet. He removed the hands and looked at the guardsmen in white as cartoonish steam began to bellow from Gen's ears as his face returned to its normal vermillion color. He smiled at them and waved that's all he could muster at the moment.

[Die]

"Wano eh?" Tyr said to Gen. "Sounds like a fun place ta visit. Shame it's all closed off."

Tyr's attention shifted to the seemingly mute girl, cowering behind Kite. He looked left and right a few times, almost taking several takes. "Summint ah said? Summint on me face? Some birds 'it me in tha face on tha way 'ere...maybe ah got some blood on me?" he pulled a rag from a pouch and wiped his face off. No blood. Though, it didn't seem to take much to wind her up enough to stop cowering as her feathers became ruffled thanks to Kite. He nodded as she scribbled madly on the piece of paper, first shoving it into Kite's face, and then showed it to him and Gen. "Ah, Corrina, eh? Name's got a nice ring ta it. Well met, little lass!" he chuckled. Tyr took another glance over of the surroundings, making more mental notes of the odd mishmash of tropical foliage and what seemed to be clouds instead of earth. "Shite, ah really am on a bunch o' clouds," he said to himself. "'ope tha lads back down below consider that a success, cos now ah'm stranded 'ere."

He followed after the others, bringing up the rear. His size gave him a good view of them, with which he used to his advantage to make more mental notes of each one. Within the motley crew, he surmised both Kite and Gen were better suited for precision strikes, leaving him to be the one meant for sheer brute force. His greataxe-hammer contrasted greatly with Kite's knives, and Gen's sword. Of course, this was all speculation at this point and he would be ultimately thankful if they could manage to avoid fighting.

Kite mentioning something about property damage once again snapped him out of his musings. "Oi. Not me fault those houses 'appened ta be in me way. But at least they managed ta slow me down enough!" he chuckled and smirked. "So...this place is called Skypeia, eh? S'a good name. He caught a whiff of something burning and placed a flat hand over his brow as he squinted into the distance. "Huh...summint's on fire," he mumbled. Tyr took notice of some rapidly approaching people. Whoever they were, they seemed to be potentially important...law...enforcement. "Ah shite, 'ere we go again," Tyr grumbled. Definitely not his first run-in with local law enforcement, but the first time so quickly in an unfamiliar land...sky? He took immediate notice of their odd...hairstyle...and attempted to stifle a snicker, but only managed a small snrk, and then quickly straightened his face and became somewhat serious. Hopefully Corrina could help them out...somehow.

[Suriko]

The young skypiean girl nodded as They all spoke once more, though this Kite character seemed to be the one doing the most talking... SOMETHING SHE WAS INCAPABLE OF. Those rosy cheeks puffed out once more with a huff of air as the teenage musician seemed deadset on being annoyed with just about any minor thing. She watched as the three of them tried their hand at deciphering the hieroglyphs that were Ms. Rose's writing, some narrowing or even squinting before they looked to her once more. Her lips did curl upwards a bit into a smile when they complimented her name before she realized this and resumed her pout. It was then that she turned back towards the path to the city, a slight skip in her step as despite her facial expression, she was quite excited to have something interesting going on. Every day lately had seemed to just flow into the next and ebb in the next morning after that. The winged woman had been feeling a sense of restlessness lately that wouldn't subside regardless of the music she tried to play or listen to. She'd find herself occasionally glance back at the ragtag group of followers.

As they got to the main thoroughfare, Lovely Street, it was quite clear that a good number of the people in the market were currently trying to deal with the aftermath of the entry of one of her new acquaintances. Given the considerable size of space left behind in some stores, the guitarist found her gaze moving back to the lumbering warrior as if to ask him why. She really just wanted to find her parents, and try to explain this. But She had no idea where to begin.

How am I going to explain this to my parents? "Hey Dad, Mom, I found a half-naked man, a shandoran, and whatever the hell Tyr is. And the just seemed like such swell guys that I was wondering if they could stay with us. They promised to cover room, board, and all the damage the big guy probably caused. Let's invite them to dinner." I don't know why I went along with this but this won't end well at all."

The whole time she was having this mental conversation with herself, she was growing more and more animated in her gestures and stances. Her arms shooting outwards towards the sky, only to fall back down to vearth as she tugged at her hair. She was only broken out of this when the sound of boots began to grow louder, followed by the voice She was all too familiar with. Commander Loch.

"Heso! Just what in tarnation happened here?! I could feel the ground move all the way from over-- Corinna? Corinna Rose! Is that you?!"

The young musician winced and covered a little as the God's Guard Commander was already chewing her out, Instinctively facing him and shaking her head. To say they had a strained relationship was putting it a bit mildly. Corrinna had never been much of a trouble maker at first, but when she got her fruit. Well there was a reason some of the more uptight skypieans referred to her as noise complaint. Once she got over her initial reluctance, she immediately put herself between her new companions and the white berets. This devolved into a long string of visual storytelling, with different hand gestures and facial expressions. Something about some fire breathing dragon, and how these three brave warriors had tamed the rare sky manta to be able to face it in combat, but not before its death roar sent them flying up towards the island, and that's how one of them had become a human cannonball straight through Lovely Street. And her gesture once again got more and more animated as time went on, which caused the Commander to look at the three newcomers to Angel Island.

"Are the three of you able to make sense of what she is doing?"

[Phantasma]

    "I believe she's trying to explain a storm knocked us up here. Something about... fighting a giant flying clam... huh. Was that really it? The storm part is pretty close, we were all thrown up here in some way I think and I promise it wasn't intentional-- I even lost some good clothes out of it," Pockets his hands turning his attention away from Corinna and to the older gentleman. 

    Rather than just one God Guard there was approximately five just from this one patrol. Scattered throughout the crowd in a loose crescent formation the commanding officer was what stood before the group. There was no indication of rank for this as the outfits were mostly similar, bright blue trench-coat like coverings kept pulled shut with a series of bright white spheres on the left side running all the way to the bottom. Some of the more rowdy looking men, shandorans, wore the outfit open revealing their tribal outfit underneath. Three Shandorans and Two Skypeans made out the outfit, the commanding officer being one of the more properly dressed Skypeans. Where the Shandorans and other Skypean were young with shaved heads or vibrant colors of hair his was grey and thinned. A comically, pentagon like head pronounced sharp cheekbones and a deadset jaw. His eyes had dark rings under them and his nose was far too short. 

    Clearing is throat the God Guard captain inched closer, leaning forward and squinting his eyes. Nearly glaring he looked at every member of the odd party stopping only to crane up a look at Tyr. Aside from a series of enigmatic grumbles and mumbles it was near impossible to say what he was thinking. Near the end he was humming to such an intensity it sounded like a motor boat and his subordinates seemed to tense up, frowning or exchanging looks. Young faces became troubled and reached for their weapons. 

    "Hold it!" 

    "There's some credit there. Forced entry is near impossible to stage outside Heavens Gate and the attendants would've rang the alarm," The older guard learned back and rolled his shoulders, taking his right hand to tap it against his sharp chin. 

    "Still... accidental or not how do you intend to pay for damages?" He pursed his lips, eyes somehow squinting even further than before. 

    The tension in the crowd came to a head, mention of compensation got the background noise to quite and it felt like the entire world was staring. 

    A certain tanned swordsman took a show of considering the crowd and for a brief moment had a frown cross his face. He looked over his shoulder at Tyr and then to Gen before finally resting on Corinna before he flashed that knowing smile of his. It was a tiny little grin, vulpine. 

    "Free labor? Cleaning up the mess and any other odd job is as good as directly paying right? It would also be a great lesson in being careful."

    For only a second the guards eyes each went wide before finally the older guard closed the distance and pinned a finger directly on the young mans bare chest. It was like an ice pick and it took considerable effort for the hunter to not leap as a reaction. His fist clenched, if only for a moment before he let his shoulders go slack. The guard didn't seem to notice and growled out his next few words. 

    "This better not be some cheap ploy to avoid whatever damages you friend did... and I'm going to require a LOT more convincing from your friends. We have certain ways around here ever since Enel left and we plan to keep this community safe," He snatched his finger back and moved away a foot letting his hand drop to his side. 

    A faint outline of a blood vessel was forming on either side of the old mans head but for a split second with his eyes passing over Corinna he softened and shook his head. A sigh bubbled out and he took to looking at the shirtless man. The subordinate God Guards at which point relaxed their hands off whatever weapons were in their hands or across their backs. 

    "Just... let me hear each of you promise you'll help clean up the mess. It wasn't long ago that... a couple of strangers landed here and did some genuine good. The least we can do is operate off a pinch of good faith..."

    "I'm warning you though! Unlike those heroes you people are very suspicious so your words better be sincere!"

    "Better not test him Corinna, you know Old man Yata's lie detection is no joke," One of the Shandorans added, the entourage of guards circulating around to clear the rubble rather than stick around holding still. 

    Slowly but surely the town was starting to come back out of stasis and move again. 

"Ah right... your Pop said you're to come straight home after we found you," The younger, baby-faced Skypean added as he helped to pick through the toppled buildings rubble tossing brick to the side or two handed. 

---

a2f1f8 - Yata
b7d4f5 - God Guards
c24f4f - Kite

[Sam]

The sight of the guard was unprecedented for Gen in that he never got in trouble. Well, that wasn't immediately true... if one took into account the one instance he was surrounded by Karate Komodo Dragons back in the North Blue. In any case, he should rather say he rarely got in trouble as he usually was of more help than destruction. Even so here was surrounded by these men dressed in light blue garb with white foreign hats. Or at least they seemed foreign to Gen who wasn't all that too familiar with the use of berets.

Gen looked over at the destruction Tyr had caused intently. How the large man had been capable of such collateral damage was beyond him... he must be made of some sturdy stuff to even be standing up. Then again much of the island was made of cloud so maybe it wasn't as bad as he imagined it to be. The Tengu scratched his chin as he heard the men speak with Kite... again the pale man was taking charge. Gen knew he could pay, he didn't exactly have the money to pay for any of this damage. Besides what did the people of heaven even used as currency? This was beginning to feel fishy... maybe he wasn't in heaven after all. People in heaven didn't or rather shouldn't have an attachment to material goods! There simply was no need. Or so Gen deduced, the Tengu frowned as he saw that the more he thought about this situation the less he was able to grasp it.

"Fine! We'll do as this Kite fellow says and clean up... I can assure you I am not a trouble maker. I can't, however, speak for the other as I just met them."

With an annoyed expression on his face. While he wasn't exactly responsible for this mess it seemed to him at least that this was the best way to make amends with the people of the sky. He was a guest here, after all, a not so welcome one. As he stood waiting to be indicated where to start his work he took note of the people around him. Besides the ones that had antenna like hair, there was a second group. One that dressed more ruggedly than the others and had more wild and free hairstyles. Coincidentally, their wings resembled Gen the most... the Tengu wondered the significance of this small detail. Perhaps he would get a chance to ask and know more about this... place. The more he lingered the more doubtful he became that this was truly not Takamagahara.

[Die]

Yup. Definitely law enforcement. At least the wee lass was going...to...vouch for them? The smile he had faded to a more...neutral expression as even the local law enforcement seemed to have difficulty making heads or tails of Corinna's graphic novella "describing" the events that had led them all to this point. That resting face perked up into a grin again, as Kite stepped in to offer an interpretation of Corinna's heiroglyphics. himing in, "Aye aye, he's got tha right o' it. Ah may tower over most o' you n' look like a brute, but ah'm also a skilled craftsman! Ah jus' need..." He trailed off as he examined the damage, and the surrounding materials and debris. "Tools n' materials in order ta get started fixin' tha damage. Otherfolk can 'andle clearin' debris n' removin' junk." Note, Tyr took no true responsibility for causing any of this. After all, who could've predicted the island clouds drifting directly into his flight path? Surely nobody.

Tyr stood proud and grinned again, before gesturing to the sturdy-looking armor he wore and then turned to gesture at the wicked-looking geataxe-hammer at his back, "Migh' not look like much, but ah crafted these meself! Tha should inspire some confidence in yeh!" To his benefit, seemed like the old guard was keen on taking them up on their offer of cleaning up this mess. clapped his hands and rubbed them together as he moved away from the group and towards the wreckage, pulling a pad and pencil from his supply pack and jotting down what was going to be needed to be brought to him.