Post by pepsi on Mar 3, 2020 10:21:06 GMT -5
In the early days, humans believed that the goddess of Dawn extended her pink fingers every morning over the sea - that colour tinged the sky and paved the way for the god of the Sun to start his journey through the heavens, as it had done the day before, and the day before that. The goddess marked the beginning of the day, but not the end.Deman never believed that. On Elysium, dawn and sunset were just two shades of the same colour, two manifestations of the same phenomenon. Red, blood red sky.The original plan for that night included a quick way out of Loguetown on a ferry Deman had rented. Fortunately that money didn't go to waste and he could embark on it with Phoebe, the spearman, and a loyal set of former slaves.The moment the ferry moved away from Loguetown's waters, Deman collapsed on the deck's wooden flooring, not before thanking everyone for their assistance that night - and finally gave in to exhaustion. His techniques were taxing on the body and the mind.Of the three, he woke up the last. The handful of slaves, now free men, were manning the ship and steering it towards the correct route, judging from the direction of the boat with respect to the sun.Byakko stood up, taking the coat off - that thing needed a few more patches after that night - and approached the spearman. "That really was a night, wasn't it?" His signature warm tone and smile complemented the rhetorical question."Your contribution was fundamental. Many people would be dead by now if it weren't for you. Including me." Deman's relaxed tone conveyed all of his thankfulness."There was no time for presentations, last night. My name is Deman Reeves, although I'm trying to make 'Byakko' and 'White Tiger' catch on."
He extended one hand towards him, hoping for a handshake."And your name is... ?"After a few seconds, Deman chuckled to himself: she was so cute when she acted all shy like that. "Phoebe, you can come out. He doesn't bite."The wall next to them seemed to move on its own, and outlined a feminine figure that had perfectly blended in. Rather slowly, the colors shifted to reveal a girl with green hair and a green suit. "She's our sniper, Phoebe von Kessler." The girl stood with her hands joined behind her back, trying to look away from the spearman.Deman had an hearing so fine, he could detect her breathing and her heart beating from relatively far away. "I think she wants to ask you about your Devil Fruit powers. She likes that kind of 'magic'." Phoebe's only reply was a light nod.According to Deman's religion, dawn and sunset were gifts of Suzaku, the Red Phoenix. And just like the Phoenix, Deman thought, the spearman had been lifted from the ashes into a bright new life.Fire, which begins a cycle anew - the symbolism couldn't have been more spot on, he thought. And maybe, just maybe, his lifelong project could have begun right then and there.