Sailing With Purpose! The Gang's Got Their Heading!

[The Prettiest Squish]

"One. Two. Three. Geronimo!" Wasting no time in escaping the mummy's tomb, Lea sprang to action and went flying into the air whilst carrying the delicate pet in her arms. The momentum squashed the kitten straight into the woman's bosom as she leapt up and over the door frame. A quick second later and the girl landed back on her feet on the other side of the hole, smugly smiling with the cat still in her grasp.

But all was not well yet. "Nyaaaah!" The startled feline spasmed in Lea's arms and even began to whip her back with its tail, albeit not effectively given its bushy formation. Being the astute observer that she is, however,  Lea grinned and poked the cat's belly with a giggle. "Hehehe! Awww, somebody's hungry aren't they? Don't worry boy, I smell some pancakes! Let's go~" The sponge skipped back to the kitchen with unrestrained enthusiasm while Guy shrieked with pain as his broken body bounced up and down against the rowdy daft runt. 


A few seconds later, as Harley and Sayuri conversed among themselves, a blur of blue manifested into the kitchen and slid across the floorboards. "Save some for meee!-" Lea sang before crashing into the cabin door. By some miracle, before the bluefoon could make impact with the hardwood, the restless kitten twitched out of her arms and escaped her horrid clutches. 

BAM!!

In a twist of irony, Lea became her own pancake as her face went flat against the oak. Guy the kitty fell in a soft thud in front of Sayuri's feet before giving a quiet and meek "Meoww..." finally relieved to be free. 

[Jade]

Harley was putting the requested pancake on a plate to serve when Lea and the cat-form Guy came sprawling into the kitchenette - Lea fell face-first into the floor, sending the man she had been carrying onto the floor by the edge of the table. The two who had been tending the kitchen looked over the two relative newcomers to breakfast in silence for a moment, until Harley broke it with the all-important question: "How many pancakes do you two want?" A small pause. "Guy, if you can eat pancakes as a cat, just meow as many times as you want pancakes. Or stop being a cat if you can't eat pancakes."

As Harley turned back to the stove, Sayuri looked down over the edge of the table at the sprawled-out cat. "Weren't you wearing bandages? What happened to those?" Her one eye darted up toward Lea. "And why were you carrying him like that?"

[The Prettiest Squish]

"Hnnnng....HNNNNG....BLOOP!! Ahhh!"  Lea gasped for air once her flapjack face was ejected from the floor. On the ground, Guy softly meowed once in response to Harley's request before curling into a ball. As the surfer came to her own senses, she noticed the two diners giving an odd look at the newcomers. More specifically she realized Sayuri was directing her question to her.

The sponge listened intently for a moment before shrugging off the inquiry and getting back on her feet. "He was wrapped up like a mummy, looked uncomfortable. Besides, did you expect me to carry him in normal size? He's a kitty! Everyone knows you gotta squish that cat!" As if to illustrate this point, she crept closer to the feline once more, whose instincts kicked in and sent him scurrying behind Sayuri's legs. "Oh. I guess he could move after all." said Lea with a disappointed tone. 

Unable to stroke the soft fur of her gentle companion, the lass sat back down on her seat next to Sayuri, her eye still peering down at the floor cat below. "Mmm...Harls? I'll take a fat stack of flaps if you could. As big as my head, basically." Unsure of how large that measurement truly was, Lea grabbed her tufts of hair and squeezed her squishy head, dripping a few beads of rain down on her lap. "Hmmm, make that a head and a half. I am very small, who would've thought?" She turned to Sayuri with both shoulders raised and head tilted as if this was big news to her.

[Jade]

Sayuri pinched the bridge of her nose, but stayed quiet while Harley and Lea bantered.

"Three pancakes?"

"Make that a head and a half."

Harley hmm'ed, and then turned back to her work. "Four pancakes, got it." She slid the spatula under four pancakes from the top of the stack and flipped them onto a plate, took the next pancake off the pan and onto the stack, and then returned to the table with a plate for Lea. "And that was only one meow from you, right Guy?"

A single meow of confirmation was what she was looking for, and with it, the giant woman turned back toward the kitchen, getting a plate ready for the cat man. Sayuri, meanwhile, with a fierce grip on her own nose and firmly looking down with her eye screwed shut, simply sighed - and then her eye opened, looking up toward the ceiling as she finally released the bridge of her nose. "Yes. Of course he was wrapped up in bandages, Lea, he was badly injured. Honestly, I should've stopped you from even bothering him..."

She looked down at her own disappointingly emptied mug with another sigh. "Sorry, Guy, that's my own fault. Can you sit up at the table with us?"

[The Prettiest Squish]

"Meow..." sighed the aching green feline, who promptly hopped up to the seat beside Sayuri. Now safe from the smug sponge's clutches, he rested his head against the calmer cyclops' lap and shut his eyes to nap for just a little while. As the kitten purred off some of the pain, Lea rocked back and forth in her chair eager to get the day started with a bite.

"Pan-cakes, pan-cakes, I want pan-cakes!~" The rambunctious lass hammered her fists on the wood as she sang her gluttonous demand, shaking the table to an unruly rhythm. Fully aware that this little gesture might upset the composed Sayuri, Lea leaned closer to her companion and grinned before trying to explain, "As a woman of the pancake variety, I follow the wise words that you are what you eat. And right now I demand to eat some flappy jacks! C'mon Cappy, we're starvin'!"

"Purrrr.....Nyahh!!" A sharp shriek came from below the table as the tiny kitty bumped its hind legs against Lea's squishy thigh. In such a small form it could hardly leave an impression against her but the sentiment was felt nonetheless. Cut short of her musical number, Lea grumbled and sighed, crossing her arms against her chest. "Hmmph, doesn't like my jumpin', doesn't like my singin', you're a lousy pet Guy. I wish we had a dog!" Lea turned her nose and huffed at the ungrateful cat napping against Yuri's lap. "A tough dog with a cooler name, like....Spike! Or...Beethoven! Yeah yeah...Beethoven. That sounds badass."

As Lea mused over potential pet names for imaginary canines, Guy the kitten blinked to himself with utter exasperation, hoping for the day to end quickly on a more mundane note.

[Jade]

"Eh, don't listen to her, Guy," Harley said as she turned toward the table, carrying three plates of pancakes spread across one muscular arm, "we're not gonna replace you with a dog." The plate with four pancakes was set down in front of the hungry self-proclaimed pancake woman, followed up the two with only one each in front of Sayuri and one of the empty chairs for Guy. With that, the moving mountain turned back to the stove, where she cracked the remaining eggs into a bowl and beat the contents with a fork.

"I'm not sure 'Beethoven' is a particularly tough name..." Sayuri frowned, and then looked down at Guy. "Hey, Lea, can you check the fridge for... Butter or syrup or something? The, and let me stress this again, extremely injured cat-man is laying on my lap."

"Oh, good call!" the big brute called back, just as the eggs were poured into the pan. "I'll be over in a minute, so you all feel free to dig in, alright? It'll be ruder if you wait for the food to get cold before you start, y'know!"

[The Prettiest Squish]

With fork and knife in hand, Lea grinned as her tongue hung from the edges of her lips. "Don't gotta tell me twice Harls! Dig in Sayu!" And like a bloodthirsty predator, the sea sponge tore into the doughy stacks with unrestrained ferocity ripping each piece asunder with her utensils. So terribly chaotic was the girl's eating habits that the table became littered with the crumbs of her pancake debris. 

As Lea viciously dined on her pile of flapjacks, however, Guy the kitten opened his eyes and sniffed the warm aromatic air. Sniff sniff. The pocket sized cat peeked its head above the table and saw the plate Harley had just delivered for him. A sly tongue poked out of his mouth indicating his hunger. With a graceful wiggle of his tail, the feline hopped onto the table and began to sniff atop the cooked surface of the pancake before licking its mouth once more and biting down on the edge. 

"Oh look, he can jump and eat but I gotta carry him? Lame." Still offended by the kitten's rejection from earlier, Lea leered the pet with great disdain, all the while chewing the fried dough on her plate with a sickening moist sound. Guy ignored the salty surfer's comments and resumed nibbling at his cake, chipping away the edges with such precision that the edges formed a perfect circle. Satisfied with the shape, he closed his eyes and attempted a smile, even forming a spiral with his tail to celebrate such geometric perfection.

Lea on the other hand blinked at the oddity of her companion's dining habits and looked to Sayuri for support. "The cat turned the square into a circle." Lost and confused at the madness, she turned to Harley and shouted, "SQUARES INTO CIRCLES HARLEY!!"

[Jade]

Sayuri rolled her eye as Lea ignored her - but Guy hopping off her lap freed her up to stand herself, so she stood and walked over toward the fridge, rummaging through to find any suitable condiments for pancakes. While she squatted down to get a good look, Harley flipped the eggs and looked over her shoulder toward the table to see what Lea was shouting about. "Oh yeah? Hey, Guy, eat it down into a triangle!"

It was another minute before the eggs were cooked and Harley sat down at the table with another three plates - one with the big batch of scrambled eggs, one with the remaining pancakes stacked on top of each other, and one for herself. She grabbed five of the pancakes and a heaping helping of the eggs and reached across the table for the bottle of syrup that Sayuri had just finished pouring over her pancake, poured it over her stack, and then got straight to work eating.

"Well, as long as we're all here..." Sayuri spoke up as she held up a small chunk of pancake on her fork and used it to gesture toward the three weirdos at the table with her. "We should probably get down to business. You two," the fork was jabbed in the direction of the blue-haired surfer and the black-haired brute, "don't know the first thing about sailing in the Grand Line, do you?"

Harley looked up mid-stuffing her face with a whole, folded-in-half pancake to look over at Lea, and then shrugged her shoulders as she finished shoving the pancake into her gob.

[The Prettiest Squish]

Lea glanced to the side at her large traveling companion and formed an indifferent grimace at the accusation. Judging by the Harley's reaction - diving headfirst back into the dough - the bluenette guessed they were on the same frequency regarding the matter. "Listen," Lea began. She raised her own utensil at the one eyed swordswoman. "We've been through this before, Harley and I just go with the flow, ya feel me? It's been working out so far, right? Don't rock the boat." She shrugged her shoulders with disinterest and redirected her trident into the gooey scrambled eggs at the center of the table. As the sponge shoveled some of the dish onto her plate, she continued, "Besides, we're tough as shit and we kick major butt! A couple splashes and shakes on the ocean aren't anything to worry about! We're the Riot Gang, yea yea!" Invigorated by her own hype speech, Lea sparkled with pride and struck a pose to impress the unimpressionable Sayuri.

As the women had their own little conversation, the kitten dined silently on its now triangular pancake, as per the captain's instructions. 

Returning to reality after such an absurd posture, Lea munched on a bite of syrup soaked cake with some warm eggs on the side. She tapped her other finger on the table, clearly formulating something in that conch shell of a skull. "Hmmm, then again," she started. The feline perked its ears and turned its furry face toward the sea lass. "I would like to know where we're going from here. Cut out any distractions and get straight to the fun stuff, sounds like a plan wouldn't you say, Harls?"

[Jade]

One eye rolled as Lea struck a pose even as the brawny woman sitting at her side made a muffled response in the affirmative. "I'm aware of your attitude about this, but..." Sayuri sighed and dropped her fork back onto her plate. "Guy, stop being a cat for a minute and back me up on this. I need you two to understand that the Grand Line isn't just 'some ocean' - this place is legitimately dangerous, especially since we're sailing with three people who can't swim."

"Hmrf show?"

"Finish chewing, swallow, then try again."

Harley made a face, but did as she was asked anyway and then jabbed her own fork in Sayuri's direction. "I said, how so? It's not like it's much different from any other ocean - you've got the water all around, the sky above, and a bunch of delicious things in both."

"Yeah, I'm not sure how you two haven't bumped into any of the crazy weather patterns yet, but your luck is going to run out sooner rather than later," Sayuri shot back. "These boats are fine for short trips, but if you want to go deeper into the Grand Line... These dinghies - no offense Guy, you have a lovely home - just aren't going to cut it. First sign of dangerous weather and these things are going to capsize, and quite frankly, I think the only one of you lot I'd be able to drag out of the water with me would be Lea."

"I would like to know where we're going from here."

"That's another part of the problem," Sayuri groaned. "We'll need to make it to another island nearby, but given how little time we spent on Arabara, I doubt your Log Pose had time to set... Which means, right now, we're sailing pretty much blind."

[The Prettiest Squish]

With one lick here and another lick there, the pancake soon vanished from the plate. Guy the kitten slumped on his tush and let out a content meow, followed by a satisfied purr shortly after. While his brief solace went on however, the ladies bickered amongst themselves over navigational issues. His ears perked up at the mention of his name and the cat slowly opened its eyes to refocus. Mmmm...

As Sayuri and Harley continued to debate, Guy walked to the edge of the table then leapt off and landed on the floor - all without a sound. Still suffering a bit from his bruises, he felt no desire to maneuver any further within the room and settled on his wrecked couch a few meters away. He looked about the chaotic space and did his best to sigh in his feline form, thinking to himself, Maybe I should have rearranged my things before telling Harley to flip the house...This is going to take some time to organize.

A second mention of his name - particularly one paired with his vessel - caught the kitty's attention. He glanced at the one eyed lady and attempted his version of a pout. Oh come on now,  it's not that bad! I use this thing all the time to travel to - travel to...Oh my gosh, how did I forget about that?...

At the end of Sayuri's miniature rant, Lea chimed in with a brilliant observation. "Well of course you think we're going in blind, Saysay! You have one eye. I have one eye. We're already half blind! But together? We complete a vision, that's called teamwork, yo." With a smug grin she crossed her arms with pride at the brilliance of her quote - completely ignoring how it provided no substance to the discussion.

Regardless, the gentle giant did have something to say. Something he regrettably recalled this very moment. Atop his leather couch, the feline grew out its limbs from abnormally huge to gigantic in comparison. The fur receded from his skin and soon enough the form of a man took the place of the kitten sitting just moments before. Guy the man stood spread out on his sofa with an awkward grimace as he did his best to look at them with a stiff neck. 

"Um ladies. I feel that I may have forgotten to mention something important." He blinked and swallowed, unsure how Sayuri would respond to the late timing of this news. "I worked as a carpenter on Arabara, but the wood I used was from another island called Treelore...And guess who has an Eternal Pose in their possession right now? Heheh...Heh." 

Anxious about the crew's reaction, he awaited for a reply. Sure enough, Lea stared and blinked at the lad before turning to Sayuri with a somber voice, "So does that mean we're not eye-buddies anymore?" Guy exhaled a sigh before rolling his eyes.

[Jade]

Sayuri winced first at the nickname, and then again at the reference to her single eye-status, and then a third time at the nonsense end of the thought. "What does that even mean?"

Before Harley could chime in with her whatever insight she could mumble through her once again full mouth of food, Guy finally spoke up for the first time since he'd joined the breakfast bunch - back in human form, standing upright on a couch, looking both as if he were in incredible pain and yet somehow nervous through that. "Guess who had an Eternal Pose in their possession right now?"

The big brute's eyes slid from the injured man in the tiny living space over to the swordswoman at the table in an attempt to gauge the meaning of this revelation. "I-" Sayuri opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before resorting to just leaning forward and holding her head with both hands. And then, softly: "Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhow?"

"'How'? How what?" Harley started, eyes going back over to the person standing on the couch and didn't seem to be in the middle of an existential crisis. "What's an Eternal Pose?"

[The Prettiest Squish]

Taking a second to recompose after the mixed reactions, Guy pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He rose his head and saw the confused face on Harley who repeated her curiosity to the fellow-with-all-the-answers. "Okay," he began. "As you two already know, a Log Pose is a compass that points to an island by recording its magnetic waves, right?...Okay scratch that, you might not know the technical part of it but-"

As if to reinforce that notion, Lea raised her hand and asked, "What the heck is a Log Pose?" Guy blinked rapidly and bent forward with an exasperated breath. Confused, the tot looked over to Sayuri who was clearly having none of this madness. She made a face of realization and chuckled to herself before looking back to Guy, "Ah nevermind, keep goin'." 

"Gladly..." He groaned beneath his breath. "Anyways! Log Poses point to one island at a time. They take a while to recharge but after a while they point somewhere else. Makes navigating pretty risky if you don't know where you're going, eh? However, an Eternal Pose circumvents all of that. Instead of resetting itself after landing on an island, it is permanently locked to one destination. So in other words~" Lea hopped from her seat and squealed, "We're going to the One Piece? NO FUCKING WAYYY!!"

Stunned by the degree of insanity the sponge had gone to, Guy screamed from his sofa with a thunderous roar, "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT IDEA FROM!????"

[Jade]

Harley started to tune out of Guy's explanation as it went on and on - partway through, she started shoveling some of the scrambled eggs on her plate into her mouth, eager to eat them before they got cold. Before he could really finish, Lea popped up out of her seat with a great deal of excitement to put the pieces of the puzzle together: "We're going to the One Piece?"

Guy's roaring response was almost overshadowed by Harley's laughter - a deep gararara that rattled through the ship - while Sayuri sat up to simply stare, dumb-founded, at Lea. "I'd ask why, but 'how are you like this' seems like the more apt question..."

"I think if there were a thing that just points toward the One Piece, someone would've went and grabbed it by now, blue," Harley chimed in, and then set her eyes back on Guy. "That's how these 'Eternal Pose' things work, yeah? They just point to a place, no matter where you are? So we can just sail straight on toward this 'Treelore' place?"

[The Prettiest Squish]

"Oh..." moaned the disappointed damsel, clearly unhappy that her hopes were dashed so soon. As Lea sat back in her seat, Guy pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "It's like Ms. Harley said, this age would have been long gone if someone had the keys to the One Piece that easily." To his minor surprise, the dense mountain seemed to be catching on to the conversation as she remarked with the right answer. "That's how these 'Eternal Pose' things work, yeah? They just point to a place, no matter where you are? So we can just sail straight on toward this 'Treelore' place?" Guy's eyes lit up and he finally cracked a proud grin at the woman's realization. He snapped with approval and nodded, "Pretty much Ms. Riot! Once we fetch it out of my belongings - wherever it is - we can start heading for Treelore straight away!" He looked to Sayuri with a grimace and nervously chuckled, "Apologies for not bringing it up sooner, I'm still getting used to being a fugitive, hehe..."

Suddnely, a tiny smash upon the table startled the man on the couch. Guy looked to the sponge in blue and raised a brow. "Um, is something the matter Ms. Lea?" The shorty stood with her face down, fist imprinted on the wood. "So you're telling me, we had another island to head to straight away and you forgot about it?...Unacceptable." The girl growled like a feral creature and stared at the green maned lad with such ferocity it forced him to gulp. "I-I don't understand what the problem is here? This is a good thing right?" Lea's single emerald eye opened up and she seethed a steamy breath. With unexpected speed, the gal dashed from the table and somersaulted into a dead stop in front of the man's bandaged face. Guy nervously looked to Sayuri and Harley for a hint on what he did wrong but the sponge grabbed his head and shoved it into her squishy visage. "A good thing? A GOOD thing? Do you have any idea what this means? DO YOU?!"

The gentleman blinked and murmured, "We get to port sooner than later?"

"No you fool...it means that we could've been AT THE BEACH this whole time!! Girls in bikinis, tropical drinks and more importantly, SURFING GNARLY WAVES!! How could you keep this from us!? HOWWW!"

Guy stared with a blank face into the tot's eye and blinked. He paused for a moment, raising his finger into the air to interject. The gears turned and he processed what he just heard until finally he could respond. "Because I was unconscious for most of the last 24 hours and have been in constant pain since the minute you dragged me out of my rest?"

Lea looked to her girlfriends with a dull grimace and sighed, "Are you hearing this? He couldn't remember cuz of his booboos. Unbelievable."