Come and Get it! A Drink for All.

[The Love Ballad]

-Mag Post #1-

It was an overcast day in Loguetown, and the wind had the tinge of a bite to it. The scent of rain in the air was present, yet any threat of storm still seemed a long way off. Regardless of the faint smell of rain on the horizon, the market square was packed with both merchants and with purchasers. The loud yells of fishmongers and grocers flogging their wares almost overpowering the conversations being held by families and young couples as they strolled through to do their weekly shopping. The marines, of course, were ever present. To the average citizen, it must have been a comforting feeling of safety. To Mag, it was oppressing.

The pirate anxiously scratched at his teeth, his eyes darting side to side to look at the local marine guards. He didn't have a bounty, and the marines stationed at the marketplace looked not only board but fresh out of the academy. Academy? Was there a marine school? That train of thought addled his already intoxicated brain for far too long before he snapped back into the moment. After all, it was ten o'clock in the morning, he'd be doing himself a disservice by being sober so late into the dawn.

The thug let out a whisky-stained yawn and perched himself on top of one of his lager barrels. He rolled his neck, letting out a serious of painful sounding pops. Without another thought he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Liquor here! Come get ye liquor here! Barrels and bottles! Cheaper than any pub this side of the Grand Line!"

Satisfied with his yell, the pirate fished into a wooden box and grabbed one of the amber bottles of pale ale and cracked it with his teeth. As he poured the liquid down his throat, he had very little to think about except for what had gotten him to that point. He was so close to actually exploring the Grand Line, to becoming someone. Yet here he was, selling liquor to fishermen.

"Get your barrels here! Whisky and beer!" He continued to yell between chugs of grog. 

The occasional person would approach his makeshift stall of barrels and boxes perched in a corner. No one seemed interested in the bulk options, instead merely buying bottles by the dozen or half-dozen. Mag was desperate for cash, bored and somewhat drunk. Another boring day in Loguetown.

[shiniwin]

Post #1

Fifteen year old Yukiyo Takarashi was ready for duty, and according to the chief petty officer, she had a very important job that day. Given her paycheck as well as a somewhat larger amount of pay pitched in from the members of the crew, she had been tasked with going out and finding “spirit” as they said. Rum, whisky, beer, ale, just about anything to keep the crew happy in times like this, to give them that “victory” thrill that they needed so much. Seemed they weren’t all that happy with just plain water, and Yukiyo could understand. So, the little black haired maiden hopped off, both metaphorically and literally through the streets of Loguetown. Luckily…it seemed as if she didn’t need to look very long at all for the prospect of the grown up juice. How fortunate! Or unfortunate depending on who was selling.

Tilting her head around the corner, her eyes widening, she had stepped forward with light footsteps, pressing against the stone as she approached the crooked, depraved, and frankly intoxicated looking man. “Ne-ne. Excuse me sir! How much is your Spirit?” She would ask with a cute tilt of her head, a dullish shade of blue orbs staring into his own. Addressing the apparent barrels of mystery substance, she slowly reaches into her pocket to slowly procure a wallet filled with a large amount of bills from her superiors. Which was...just about everyone on the ship. Still, she didn't blame anyone for that. Yuki liked the company at the very least. 

“I’ve got money!~” She was sure that was going to be the main question and concern for a kid of her age to approach, and with it, she slowly looks at her collection of cash and wonders. “Could I have...six barrels? I think straight beer is good. Unless you’d recommend anything else.” Her head tilted slightly to the right with her eyes closed, giving that bright smile that was almost intoxicating in nature, her pitch smooth, almost sing song like as she seemed not to mind his crooked and criminal gaze upon her. Not really anyways. That too, she was accustomed to after years of travel across the sea.

She was around 5’2”, dressed in a green cloth shirt with a light black jacket about her frame, her hair mid length and spiky, segmented with metal ring like loops in certain areas. About herself, she wore what seemed to be metal rings about her wrists, of which her arms and legs were covered well by her choice of clothing. The only weapon persay about her person was a dagger she wore by her side along a belt, perhaps her only tool for defense, which wasn’t an absurd idea due to the times. Yet still. Now then, it was time to wait for the nice vendor to name her his price. 

[The Love Ballad]

-Mag Post #2-

Mag closed his eyes as he downed another bottle, this one a stout. He wasn't too happy with it, if he was being entirely honest with himself. Far, far too sweet, almost a cacao pallet. But he'd already cracked it so down the hatch it went without much of a thought. Mag belched as he finished the bottle and chucked it behind him without a care for where it landed, the class clanging across the pavement with an unsatisfying thunk as the bottle remained entirely in its shape. Mag shuffled awkwardly on his makeshift seat, trying to get more comfortable on his perch.

It was mid-shuffle that he found himself approached by a little girl. He didn't realise he was approached at first, his own thoughts on how to perfect darker beers storming throughout his mind as her soft footsteps went unnoticed. When she did speak up he almost fell backwards, his eyes quickly meeting hers. Her blue orbs meeting his own-rather unsettling combination of muddy brown and veins. The shock of her approach was overcome by another shock as he asked how much he was selling his wares for.

"Uh, sorry, lass, ye look a bit young and I dun' really fancy a run in with the corps..." He responded to her, his eyes darting to see if he was being watched. Was this some kind of set up? He shouldn't have been known as a crook, he'd only arrived in town three days ago.

But of course, the biggest shock of all was the gigantic coin purse that she pulled out. Where in all that was good and just in the world did such a little creature come across such a large source of beri? Who exactly was this girl? Some rich lady's daughter, or the daughter's maid come to play along with the commonfolk? It seemed absurd. Then the coup-de-grac, six barrels! That was more than he'd thought he'd sell for a week, and in one go. If this was a setup, it would be worth it. At least that's what the pirate quickly told himself in his head, a small run in the brig was a little risk compared the real reward if it was genuine.

The criminal lept from the barrel he was perched on and gave his own cheeky grin back to her much nicer smile. Truth be told the kid was cute, dangerously cute, and Mag had a soft spot for cute kids. Hell, maybe he just liked kids in general.

"Beer?" Mag asked, "Surely, lass, ye need a bit of variety. Why I have a moighty foine beer here, a pale ale that will knock the teeth off a giant, it will!"

"But o'course, e'ry seaman knows the true good stuff, Oi have a lovely batch of recently distilled whisky! Hasn't aged a day, guaranteed to make any noight a good one. Now, now, it is quite pricy though," Mag smiled at her, his hands making grand gestures as he did so.

If he could pass the swill he'd made off at such a profit, to a lass who obviously wouldn't be able to tell due to her age, he'd be dreaming of a berth to the Grand Line before he knew it. It was almost enough to make him hope again.

"Now I can part with this mighty fine drink, guaranteed to wipe out half a marine division for the low price of 50,000 beri a go. The others vary of course, I can throw you a barrel of beer for anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 beri depending on the style or some-such. Of course, Oi dun' make the rum, that's all been imported from a nice feller from Orange Town, and Oi understand he has contacts in the sugarcane farms in that there region so that's a bit pricier..." Mag rambled on, it had started as an attempt to confuse the girl with overly technical terms and figures, but all he'd done was managed to get himself on a tangent about his very real passion, "now the key to a good whisky is o'course the maturation process, lass, and Oi'm afraid the oak barrels here aren't me' first choice..."

They were an odd pair, the short girl and the crook. Mag had gotten so distracted by the girl's disarming smile and cheery nature that he hadn't even noticed the dagger on her belt or the metal bands on his wrists. He hadn't even considered the thought that there could be danger in the market.

"Right! So if ye want six barrels of various assortments, Oi'll sell 'em te' ye fer the low price of 200,000 beri!"

[shiniwin]

Post #2

Little Yukiyo's eyes were wide as she listened to the man talk a bunch of jargon about drinks, and maturation processes, and different business terms she wasn't quite familiar with, but she had listened with as much fervor as she could, her mouth lightly agape as she slowly nods every now and then to make note that she indeed was paying attention. Everything that the good man said seemed to make sense, so she thought. He talked about rum, and beer, and whisky, and for a moment, she wondered how the spirits of each of these drinks would affect the hardworking crew of the marines, and how it would make them feel. Hopefully delighted. 

That, and every fellow did pitch in a part of their paycheck for it. So. "Yeah...sugar is pretty expensive. I remember when I had to pick it before. Hehe..." She seemed slightly absent minded, thinking about distant memories of sugarcane, hot sweltering heat, and the appreciation of having a small piece of it to suckle on when the day seemed long and dragging. She smiled lightly with a light giggle before lightly opening the wallet and beginning to count bills, mostly of the smaller denominations, and not quite realizing that the man was a criminal, a bad man who was potentially a trouble. She never considered it because. Well? He seemed nice. 

Like a good man. Perhaps that meant Yukiyo was just a bad judge of character. As she slowly counted through the bills, she slowly hands the man a neat assortment of ten thousand beri bill notes, before then slowly looking the barrels over. "Mister?" She asks cutely with those big sparkling blue eyes as she lightly pats a barrel. "Why do grownups like the spirit? The grown up juice. Isn't it...bad for them?" She never asked one of her fellow marines this, because she felt they knew what they were doing, and it seemed to make them happy, but she didn't know for sure. She never had any. She then briefly paused, as she considered her past youth, younger days, and the thought of it.

The pursuit of booze, endless spirit to sate a father, and a mother too at times if she recalled. She never realized it was because of the booze that conflict happened, more so because she wondered just how good it had to be for the fight to break out over it. She remembered wishing she could make money so that her mama and papa could...have all the booze they could ever want to drink. She however smiled brightly, and with it, she slowly looked at the barrels in question before turning her head away from such thoughts. She didn't seem to mind lingering around here for a brief series of moments to get to know the man. Speak with him. Not particularly in a rush to take her products and leave. 

After all, the fun of being a chore girl if anything was meeting new people and hearing their life experiences. Or at least, it was for her. Because she remembered a period of time where she wished she could speak with anyone and not be punished for it. Wasn't that truly privilege? 

[The Love Ballad]

-Mag Post #3-

Mag's tirade about the proper way to mash in grain when brewing a lager as opposed to an ale came to a natural conclusion and it seemed that it had worked at getting the girl to pay the cash over, no questions asked. Truth be told he didn't know what exactly he did that convinced the lass to do it, considering he'd zoned out from her own actions in order to focus on his own speech about the appropriate ways to brew different varieties of liquor. In spite of that lack of empathy, his smile had genuine warmth when he took his beri notes. It was more money than he'd held at once for far, far too long.

That smile darkened into a frown when the young lass asked her next question, as innocent as it was. He knew it wasn't accusatory, but he felt accused all the same. Why did some grownups like the spirit? Why did he like the spirit? By the heavens, he hadn't even had to think about that since he was sixteen. He hadn't tried to justify himself to, well, himself for years. The pirate got a good look at the girl for possibly the first time, by the great blue below she looked so... innocent!

"Well..." He sighed, "Depends on the grown-up." He scratched the back of his head, "See for some, it's about the taste. Oi for one love a nice hop-forward beer. But why do people keep drinking it past te' point of feeling sick? That's more of question fer their own inner demons."

"Think of it like 'tis, it makes things number, whether that be physical hurts... or mental ones."

Mag tried not to feel too somber, something about such an earnest question from such a small girl had well and truly disarmed him. Mag scratched at his teeth before sighing and digging into one of his wooden boxes, pulling a bottle of ale for himself and water for the girl, offering to her without much fanfare.

"I take it, yer boss or yer master or somethin' sent ye for the drink yeah?" Mag asked, pointing the unopened bottle of beer in his hand rather nonchalantly as he did so, "Well it makes things fun, makes yer giddy and ye can feel the whole room dance around yer head. As for why Oi drink," Mag flashed his toothy grin, "I 'aint genna live forever, lass, and Oi really do just love the taste!"

His laughter was throaty and relatively violent, but it was genuine.

"So before all these barrels get carted away, care to tell me why a lass like ye is buying six barrels of grog?"

[shiniwin]

Post #3

When confronted with these ideas. When told that the spirit made both physical and mental horrors go away, she looked ahead with a hint of contemplation as her fists were lightly balled in front of her chest, her eyes looking deeply with anticipation, for understanding more, and she understood it. It was because it made bad times go away. As the man sighs, she firmly takes the offered water before lightly looking at the bottle and sniffing at it, before then slowly taking a sip. “Mph, mngh, mngh!” She gulps, as if pretending to be drinking the spirit of adults, perhaps trying to understand what it felt like to some extent, following Mag’s example.

As she lowers the bottle from her lips, she bows her head in appreciation for the gift of life, the presence of water. “Uh-huh mister. My captain sent me with some money from a bunch of the crew to pick up some spirit for everyone.” She looks at him with a look of slight confusion though when he asks why it was she was buying six barrels of booze of varying quality considering everything. She then just bursts into a light set of giggles as she heard his explanation on why he himself enjoyed the magical powers of the bottle and brew. She honestly didn’t know what to say.

“Oh, I’m a chore girl, so they send me out from time to time to do jobs like this is all.” Firmly stepping up to the barrels, she looks and sees that they’re fairly large, quite possibly as big as she was, or close to it. “Hrmh~” She gives the barrel a deep observation as she takes in the lingering aroma scent of beer and it’s earthiness as the seagulls flew overhead with sharp caws over the bay. She then turns her attention from the tantalizing cask towards the hearty Mag. “I guess it’s because they just didn’t want to be bothered with the job is all maybe.” The black haired cutie proceeds to however let her eyes dart lightly to the lower left as she cutely raises her left foot and shuffles the tip of her left shoe into the ground, as if in thought before she slowly opens her wallet again.

This time taking out a smaller value sets of bills. “Umm. Mister? You said that...the spirit tastes good and makes things feel better right?” She looks up for validation, and then in an almost heartbreaking pitch, speaks whilst she slowly hands over a small assortment of neat bills with a nervous, but happy smile. “Do you think?...I could have some mister?” She rapidly then shuffles her hands slightly before she explains, “I’ve umm. Never had any before, because the adults said I’m a little too young for it, but. I’d like to be happy too.” It was almost then that the world seemed quieter if that was even possible. A coming of age moment and influence moment from a crook on the streets. She looked slightly flushed with embarrassment as she imagined she was going to be lightly chastised. Oh dear.

[The Love Ballad]

-Mag Post #4-

"Hmmmm," Mag scratched at the back of his head. The girl seemed quite young, probably far too young to be drinking in the middle of the street with a stranger. Was he really about to give alcohol to a child? Then again, Mag hadn't been much older than her when he'd started drinking. He had turned out okay, hadn't he?

"Sure thing, lass!" He chuckled loudly, "Here, Oi have just te' thing."

Mag just about jumped to his feet and moved to one of the wooden boxes positioned relatively further away from the rest of the barrels and boxes. With an audible sniff, Mag fished out two bottles of one of his weaker and fruitier lagers. It should be relatively crisp and closer-to-water.

"No charge, girl!" Mag laughed as he cracked one of the bottles open using the barrel that the raven-haired girl had measured herself against, "Oi 'aint bout te' charge a wee lass for her first ever drink. What kinda man would Oi be?" He continued to chuckle as he handed the now open bottle to the other girl, before biting his own bottlecap off.

"If ye're old enough te' buy booze, ye're old enough to drink it!" Mag exclaimed quite loudly, casting a sideways look at some off the disapproving bystanders browsing the more formal stalls. Fortunately, no marines had seen his potential crimes of selling liquor to minors. Was that a crime here? He really should get around to learning the laws of the islands he visited.

The redheaded man raised his glass in a makeshift toast, "Say, what's your name? We'll toast te' ye and pray fer ye' good fortune!"

After taking a deep swig of the bottle and almost coughing up half a lung as the liquid went down the wrong whole, Mag would finally introduce himself, "Name's Magerafelt Jr. Call me Mag, near everyone does. Now just don't tellin' the marines that. Can't have them knowin' all my secrets, nor can I have them knowin' Oi'm sellin' liquor to girls of yer age, who knows what they'd do to me."

Mag smiled again, awkwardly scratching under his shirt as he did so. The damn knives were itching against his skin, lord he hated the hotter climates. The sooner he could go back to strapping them to an undershirt under a jacket he'd be a much happier man.  He almost came close to taking the whole shirt off to air out the sweat, before realising that would do little in the damp air and more importantly, present company was well... present. "So who ye doin' chorework for? Sugar merchants or the like?"

[shiniwin]

Post #4

The offer of booze and free of charge at that had made her eyes sparkle as her mouth went agape at the generosity. “T-Thank you so much!” Bowing her head, she slowly put her smaller amount of cash into her wallet and back into place as the man presented her with some imprintable ideas. That if she was old enough to fetch and buy the alcohol, she was old enough to drink it. It made perfect sense to her. Though, she wasn’t aware of if the purchase would be illegal or not all things considered. Though...why did he want to hide his working from the government? She had to consider everything, and she would have probably not even realized this was a crime seeing the government often turned blind eyes here and there. Well, maybe a lot, but she wouldn't know for sure on that regard.


She was pretty sure this is what her superiors might call a minor crime. Making alcohol and selling it, she was pretty sure wasn’t illegal. Though one might say that selling it without a license could be a potential crime seeing it could compromise people’s health when it was performed incorrectly. Though one would consider it “not messing with the free market” in some cases. Considering that, most marines would overlook crimes like this because it brought good booze to the table and for a relatively fair price. About market price value one might imagine in every case. The cute girl took the offered bottle, and smelling it, it smelled fruity, but also daresay...yucky.

“My name’s Yukiyo mister. Just everyone calls me Yuki. Ehehe. Bottom’s up!” She slowly raised the bottle to clank against his before to her lips, and with her first sip, she tasted the fruity crispness of lager. She at first thought it was a fruity soda, that was until they experienced a bitterness and a slight warming heat inside of her. The very slight burning in her throat. “Mngh! Bleeeegh…Eheeeh!” She lightly cringed as her cheeks flushed, and she realized just how different it was. Where a fruit juice or soda would be sweet all the way through, the after taste for booze was bitter. Being the little girl she was, purple anime lines appeared at the side of her head before she cringes, not quite used to the after taste as she looked up with the beginning. It tasted at first fine like sweet punch, but the taste of almost wood afterwards made her confused. The heat flowed.

She felt herself shift for a few moments before looking sheepish at her initial reaction, but she proceeded to flush from a mix of shame and booze as she slowly raised the bottle to her lips again, that was until she was asked a question. Who was she working for? “Mnhgh...I don’t know why you’re scared of the marines mister but. I’m a chore girl for a marine ship. 001-A.” She wasn’t very drunk at all, but she had zero alcohol tolerance built up, so even something as light as this had an effect on her.

“Mhmn...Spirit tastes a little yucky at the end mister.” She smiles, showing her whites, slowly taking another sip as she could see how the warmth on the inside was good at least. Though, it didn't seem like it was much for her. Just. In her mind. Maybe it proved she was still just a little kid on the inside. 

[The Love Ballad]

-Mag Post #5-

Mag watched Yukiyo take her first ever sip of alcohol with an odd sense of curiosity. He couldn't compare it to that of an older sibling watching with bated breath as their younger sister finally reach adulthood, nor that of a stranger watching someone from afar. He didn't know the girl, but he had influenced her to do something. The man felt an odd smattering of pride for the girl, for taking such a step toward growing up. A small rebellious act as she reached those years in which they were all but necessary. Mag couldn't help but smile through his drinking as he watched her first ever reaction to drinking something with more kick than fruit juice. Ahh, to be young and coughing over the smallest amount of drink again.

That strange sense of pride and happiness quickly shifted into one of off-kilter panic when the girl mentioned who she was doing the chores for, the twice-damned marine corps. Mag's eyes opened wide at the revelation, and he had to stop himself from coughing to match Yukiyo's earlier splatterings. He rather noisily cleared his throat. He wasn't wanted per se, but he had many a bad run-in with the marines over the course of his short career of high seas banditry. Not to mention he'd actually killed more than just a couple of them. Here one was, well one of their chore girls was, drinking beer with him.

Mag coughed loudly when Yukiyo mentioned the taste of the spirit, and he quickly reformed it into a laugh, "Aye, it does that. It's a bit of an acquired taste, but Oi assure ye, ye'll get used te' it if ye drink it often enough."

He paused as if in contemplation, "But if it's too much for ye, don't feel obligated to finish it. It's hard on the first attempt, trust me I know."


Mag smiled at the girl and finished his own bottle with a quick downing, he'd lost count of how many he'd had that morning, and he was barely feeling it. Maybe he did drink far too much.

"So, yer ship, 1-A?" Mag asked, the zeros escaping his mind, "They er, told ye' te' get six barrels without mention of how to carry it back?"

Mag had always thought of the marines as an unmovable mass of men coalesced into a single unit. Not individuals who drank, were accompanied by cute little girls, and forgot to figure out a way to get said cute little girl to assist them with said drinking. He didn't particularly like the thought that normal men could become marines, he'd only ever met them while out at sea and they'd all been intense to say the least.

"Do ye need help gettin' it back? I can sneak ye' some special reserve fer ye te' keep on ye," Mag winked, "Help ye acquire yer taste."

Mag sniffed and looked around, his eyes darting side to side as if surveying the surrounding marines. Was he being set up? As much as he didn't want to believe it, he was rather fearful that this was all some elaborate ruse. Maybe the girl wasn't even a marine! Maybe she was a pirate chore girl masquerading as such! He had very little idea of what to actually think. When in doubt, he defaulted to the safe play, pretend nothing was happening.

He wasn't exactly subtle with his looking around, and for the duration of their time together by the market square, he would appear more increasingly on edge.

[shiniwin]

Post #5

Due to being a bit of a child and thus not really as conscious of her surroundings as she should have been, Yukiyo seemed not to acknowledge or seem to notice the internal paranoia, thinking that Mag was simply choking on his booze as much as she was. However, as she lingered, holding the bottle and gazing at the man with her soft eyes, she had to wonder for a moment or two the kind of life the man was living, selling booze, presumably making all of it himself. He reminded her of her father who used to make a brandy out on his porch due to not being able to really afford any of it himself at any market. Little Yuki blinks as she was told she didn't have to finish her drink all in one go, and she then proceeds to nod in acknowledgment.

"Okay~ Also. I do come from ship 1-A. Uh-huh!" Though, when she was asked how she was supposed to carry all of these barrels, she took the liberty to blink again. A little dumbfounded before she slowly steps forward, a bit sheepishly, offering the man to hold her bottle for a moment. Assuming he did, she stepped on up to one of those barrels, lightly sloshing it's contents before lifting the barrel with both hands. "Huph!" She proceeds to lift with her legs and back as she holds the thing firmly, as if it were light. Before she proceeds to lightly bend her knees up and down. It didn't seem so bad at all. 

She slowly lifts the barrel above her head so she could look Mag in the eyes as she smiles. "I can carry them back I guess! We aren't too far away from the docks I think!" The awkward look of people from the street was pretty obvious at this point, because normally you didn't see a girl that was freakishly strong enough to lift a barrel, never mind a filled barrel, and with it, she slowly steps forward and grasps a second barrel, shifting it along the ground and pushed against a wall so she could tip it and balance it on her shoulder. "Ooph..." She stumbled for a moment to get adjusted to the weight.  Though with it, she slowly asks, "Do you want to come with me?~ I think everyone would like to thank you! I'd appreciate the help! Also...I think I'll take you up on the special brew mister! We can talk about how much I owe you for it."

Thus, off the pair went, unless of course he'd opt to wait here with his booze to avoid a potential theft while the girl went off and was likely to return for the other four barrels. 

[The Love Ballad]

-Mag Post #6-

Mag stood in shock and awe as the little girl lifted the barrel up and over her head. How was that even possible? A full wooden barrel filled with liquor would have weighed significantly more than the girl itself. What kind of monster was she? No wonder she was serving with the marines, even if she wasn't actually fighting or doing anything more than swabbing decks and fetching grog, she'd be a real force the justice in the future if that was her natural talent.

"I-," Mag started, "sure I'll help you bring them over."

The pirate didn't even think to protect his stock from thieves, curiosity over the little girl with the strength of a giant beating out his fear that regular men would be able to haul away any of his liquor away. Besides, if he could get in good with the marines then he wouldn't have to stress too much about getting in trouble with the law before he set off. With a grunt, Mag pushed one of the barrels of beer to the ground with an audible thunk. Where Yukiyo would lift the barrel using her inhuman strength, Mag would opt to merely roll one of the barrels.

So off the two set toward the dock, Mag falling into step next to Yukiyo.

"So," Mag asked as they walked, "Why'd ye join the marines? Always been curious as to how they got their younguns. They do pay ye?"

There was a genuine curiosity to it all, Mag wanted to know how different their two lives must have been to end up on different paths. Maybe if he'd been lucky enough to be born into a richer family in a richer part of the Blues, he'd have ended up a marine instead of a thug. Ah to dream.

As the two slowly made their way toward the dock, the clouds that had sat ominously in the sky for ever-so-long finally made way to thunder. The loud boom echoing across Loguetown, the iron smell of static filling the air. They had been lucky so far to avoid the rain, and yet here it had come. A scant few seconds past, and then another boom of thunder. As if all at once, the heavens opened up and rain began to fall, the water starting slowly at first before quickly making way to near torrential fall.

"Ah that 'aint good," Mag mumbled to himself.

Fortunately, the rain had only begun as they had reached the dock, the ships moored to the shoreline well and truly visbile.

"Alright, lass, where be yer crew? Let's get these unloaded before we drown?"

[shiniwin]

Post #6

Reflection...

She had to stop and think for a moment when she was asked why she worked with the marines, and for a moment or two, she stopped walking as the rain began to pour down upon them, and with it, she smiled for a moment as she thought about the memories of distant pasts which seemed so far behind her. A bright, toothy, and happy grin as she felt warm despite the rain thanks to the man's bottle of booze. Something she treasured. Something she wanted to hold dear to herself, even if she might not be a habitual drinker. It was something special. Asked why she joined the marines, and she looked up into the air as her dark hair became matted with the pouring rain. How could she answer his question?

"I guess...for the same reason I wanted to try your spirit today mister. Because. I wanted to forget. Hehehe!~" She giggled to herself cutely, leaving her story an enigma before she continued moving forward with another step. "They pay me well enough." She felt a glimmer, of hope, of shining light as she remembered how the Marines had given her a slight purpose. Something to do in her life, even if it was menial. That made her fulfilled, to know that she was appreciated and cared for, doing something for someone. As she looked on forward at the docks, the decent sized warship was evident as young Yukiyo brightens, dashing forward, and for a moment, the world felt quiet.

"Everyone! I'm baaaaack!" She shouts with delight as she practically skips and hops with the barrels, and with it, a resounding cry is heard from some marines. "Welcome back Yukiyo-Chan! Good job! Haha!" Or another call of, "The kid did it! Man, she's grown up a bit!" Hopping her way on along, she runs up the rampart and rests a barrel along the deck with a satisfying clunk as she slowly looks towards Mag, and with it, she firmly turns towards him with a bright grin.

"This is the nice mister who sold me the booze today! He even cut me a really good deal!" The marines turn towards him, and surprisingly, they more or less smile and cheer in the rain, waving him upward. "Heeey! Welcome aboard! Thanks a ton for supplying us with some of your booze! We've been wanting some forever now!" Another bigger man slaps him on the back with a friendly cheer, and with it, the young Yukiyo proceeds to look outward for a moment or two while it seemed the crew was more or less delighted. The captain and some other officers off doing "more important" things. 

"We've got three more barrels everyone! Yosh! I'm gonna go and grab them and bring them back for us! Come on Mister Mag!" As they arrive in the alley, assuming all was well in this rainy weather, she seems to be smiling, so cutely with that bright child like wonder and hope as she slowly drinks her booze in the rain, kicking her legs back and forth on a barrel, despite the yuckyness as she gives a small hiccup, a tinge of red on her cheeks as she firmly asks him something before they begin moving their next barrels. "Mister Mag?...I wanna thank you a ton for helping me. Get a taste of being a grown up! And helping me with the barrels too. Can. Hehe. Can I maybe give you a little bit of money for thanks?" A heart touching moment between a petty criminal, and a girl with a heart of gold. 

[The Love Ballad]

-Mag Post #7-

Mag stood awkwardly back, leaning forward onto the barrel he had helped to roll toward the warship. He felt as though a stranger looking into another’s life, the girl’s smiles and the elation from her crewmates cutting through the grey sky and downpour. If it weren’t for the relaxing patter of rain beating down around him, it would be as if it weren’t raining at all. The petty thief couldn’t help but give a sad little smile as he observed the girl interact with the men who on any other given day he’d find himself at odd’s with. There was an odd beauty to the world.

As the girl and her comrades smiled and laughed, Mag couldn’t help but feel awkward, out of place. He was little more than dirt on the government’s foot, a lowbrow criminal. The smiles directed back at him shocked him into place, and he almost fell over when he was slapped on the back, more from surprise than anything else. He let out one of his barking laughs and rolled the barrel up. As cute as the seen was before him, he couldn’t help but feel on edge, as if at any moment the marines would pull their guns on him and he’d be off to some work camp before dawn.

“Naw, naw, weren’t nothin’. Just a salesman,” He tried to deflect any attention away from himself, his posture crouching as if to hide in his clothes.

Mag didn’t say much of anything as he looked across the smiling marines, “Aye, there be more comin’ up. Oi’ll go help the lass.”

So Mag followed Yukiyo back toward his makeshift little stall. The streets were all but deserted in the rain, the many citizens of Loguetown having found respite from the storm in the little shops and houses. As such, his little stand of barrels and boxes hadn’t been touched, no one wanted to risk stealing a barrel in weather like this.

Mag was shocked as the girl offered him more money and paused. He had already overcharged her, and she had been so sweet. Could he really take yet more cash from the girl, it seemed diabolical? He was a criminal, not heartless. Mag seemed to think about it for a while before shaking his head.

“Don’t worry about it, Yukiyo, it’s all apart of me’ sellin’ service,” He waved her away with his left hand, “Oi ‘aint garn take yer cash. Now come on, let’s get these back, ye hear?”

The pirate would ignore any protest from the girl, instead opting to push another barrel onto its side and roll it toward the dock. The walk back was quiet again, only the sound of rain and the chill of the wind keeping the odd pair company as the took more of the stock back to the excitable marines. Loguetown felt almost earie without its usual throng of people throughout it, but Mag supposed that was to be expected in a storm like this one.

The only people that Mag could see were the sort of ne’er-do-wells he’d usually fall in with. Huddling under awnings in alleyways, watching the odd couple manoeuvre their way to the docks. Had they been there before? He couldn’t recall them. But then again, he couldn’t see any of the marine guards he’d been so wary of either.

Mag kept one eye on the girl hefting the barrel, and another on his surroundings, it seemed when the sun hid itself those who hid themselves from the sun made themselves known.

“Yukiyo,” He spoke quite loudly, well aware that his voice was carrying beyond just the two of them, “Oi do hope yer fellow marines loike this. It is a very special brew.”

But he wasn’t looking at the girl who had bought from him, rather, his eyes had shot towards a couple of unsavoury gentleman who had taken to tailing the pair. They weren’t far from the dock, but the weight of the barrels, awkwardness of the size, and the rain had served to slow them at least a little bit.

[shiniwin]

Post #7

The man might be surprised to find that Yukiyo was pleasantly oblivious to danger if there was any, or perhaps more so she was so happy to be doing things and being around good people that danger was something she never had to worry about before. As she walked with the man and seemed to internally make him squirm from her cuteness and innocence at an open glance. Honestly, she never even knew that she was being cheated. Even if they were, she had enough money to pay for it, and that was fine if he milked her out of every penny they gave her. Hell, even if it cost her every penny she earned from swabbing the decks and otherwise, she would have been fine with it. She had her own basic equipment she bought for herself from saving. She had food and clothes on her back. Did she need anything else really?

'Isn't the very air I breath a luxury? She thinks to herself as as she follows step by step with barrels on her arms, walking ahead with a relaxed demeanor, little to complain about in any regard, and it's then that she hears Mag speak a rather odd statement. That he hoped that the boys would enjoy a special brew that he'd been cooking up. Unable to pick up on the wariness, she responds as she normally would. "Uh-huh! I think they will. The marines don't get a ton of choice in liquor often, so I think that some choices is really gonna make people happy!" She slowly thinks then with her mouth lightly agape as her eyes tilted to the upper left.

"Well...other than the bigwigs from the Brass. They usually drink whatever they like. But I hear that they're so rich that they can buy their own houses. I hear that officers and captains make a bit more than everyone else too." She notes to herself as she wondered the difference in paychecks between marines to be honest. She's met lots of hardworking people in the marine corps, and some less so. Huh. Weird. Really weird. She didn't know if her words were warding anyone off persay, but slowly, she returns to the topic of things as she trudges on through the rainy cobbled streets. 

"Well Mister. If you won't accept my money, I hope you'll accept my thanks! You're a good person a hundred percent!" She speaks with such bright confidence as she wasn't aware that Mag would be the kind of person someone might consider scummy, or horrible, or not deserving to exist, a nuisance, a criminal. Why is that one might ask? Because little Yukiyo had lived among worse monsters. She had been with good defenders of justice and have seen instances of what true monsters or terrible people are. People who didn't care about little girls buying booze, or ones that worked as janitorial staff on a marine boat. People that would hurt her without a second thought. 

"I'm...glad that I was able to grow up a little bit today. Ehehehe! Glad I was able to meet someone like you." 

[The Love Ballad]

-Mag Post #8-

Mag remained on guard as they walked, his eyes continuously shifting to the unsavoury characters that seemed to emerge from the very woodwork of the town. Wasn’t this a damned marine basing town, how could such a sizeable underbelly exist in such a place? The girl may be freakishly strong, but she was still just that, a girl. Mag felt a sense of paternal instinct toward her, and it annoyed him. He was supposed to have thrown that off, the world was harsh and so was he. He had to look out for himself above all, and yet here he was, acting all self-sacrificing and high and mighty. He wasn’t a blighted marine nor a saint, he was a petty thief. Yet he melted under the smiles of a kind-hearted young girl. His father would be proud. In a way, that made him happy.

“Always happe’ to help moi friends in the corps, lass,” Mag responded to her, loudly again.

By all that was sweet under the blue sky and above the blue seas, he did not like the look of one of those men.

Mag chuckled as Yukiyo pondered the differences in pay between the brass and the non-commissioned men. She truly was a sweet girl. Mag wasn’t even military and he was all too familiar with the stereotypes of the commissioned officers. Ex-marines tended to talk when drunk, and the benevolent Lord above only knew how many bitter ex-marines had turned to drunken piracy in the blues.

Those thoughts were entirely gone from his head by her genuine thanks and assurance he was a good person. He was taken aback, he hadn’t heard that in… Well, he hadn’t heard that ever.

“Oi…” Mag stuttered, “Thank ye, lass. Oi’m glad I met ye too, ye’ll be a damned fine marine one day, an admiral in yer own roight.”

Mag stopped in the middle of the road, about halfway to the dock and rather embarrassedly rubbed the back of his head. He wasn’t used to this kind of thing, being praised.

Of course, the rain couldn’t keep his mood down, but two ruffians could. One was big, one was small, it was damn near obvious. Mag looked rough, but these two looked even rougher, he was impressed to tell the truth. He thought he was a walking stereotype, but these two, with their tanned skin and lack of hair, they took the cake.

“You with the marines, girlie?” The smaller one laughed, his voice like a parakeet in its tone, “Don’t make me laugh.”

Mag gritted his teeth, he’d taken his eyes off the sides of the road for one thrice-damned-blighted second.

“What’s in the barrels?” The small one asked again, the big one merely grunting.

“It’s liquor, cuz,” Mag spat on the ground, his right hand reaching under his shirt for one of his many knives, “Liquor Oi sold to the marines this lass is workin’ wit’. Back off, yeah?”

Of all the blighted times to be caught in a storm and with criminals, it had to be the one time he wasn’t on the other end of the mugging.

“Yukiyo…” Mag whispered, “Ye’ know about bad folk, ye? Moight be best if ye’ run…”

Mag slowly moved his other hand under his shirt and pulled a pair of knives into his hands, his face betraying nothing but the same crooked smile he'd held for the entire day. Of course his luck was due to run out.

Should either of the two make any sudden moves forward, he was ready to throw both knives at the bigger man. Striking first was the first rule he'd learnt in stree fights after all.