Hungry For Money, A Quack Meets Cook

[Vio]

^{Charlotte #8}

---

Minutes passed them by as Mister Kovac worked his magic within the kitchen. Glacáin Charlotte was none too concerned for the process — elaborate cooking methods were more or less a waste of time as far as she was concerned. Not that she was about to say that to him. His presence was most auspicious, and such an untoward comment would only have sullied their partnership before it had really been fully established. Better to stow unnecessary opinions.

Meanwhile, the men muttered to one another as the pan sizzled. A conversation of weakened exhalations that was far from subtle — a debate of what to do as they were assessed each in turn by the woeful woman. She could not have cared less for their hushed discussions. They weren’t in a position to barter nor to reason, either with herself, or with Karr. Something about him had already suggested, rather clearly in fact, that he was not about to let them go without proper payment for his meals.

“Lunch is served,” the chef said, directing his comment more towards the only other person capable of actively moving about. Though there was no disdain nor amusement in it, Lotty’s glare was rather stern. It was almost as if he was treating her like some sort of child. A harkening back to her past that left a bitter taste in her mouth, though said taste was quickly washed away by the sweeter scents of the dishes being presented. Taste buds had been previously overwhelmed; thus, she was not too quick to oblige.

Not quick, but did so anyway.

^{“Fine,” she agreed, taking her place:
“Though I’m not sure I can manage.”}

Pale green eyes scanned the plate almost instinctively, analysing each and every little aspect of the meal. A tender steak, salad garnish, and chips. Nothing abnormal, though decidedly more complex than the simmered stew that had served as their starter. Little hesitation on her test subjects’ parts, for they were already attempting to dig in with whatever energy they could muster. A gentle, near silent sigh escaped her lips as she mentally braced herself for the inevitable overstimulation her olfactory and gustatory systems were about to receive as she took the first bite…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
Charlotte reluctantly prepares herself for Karr’s next meal.

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NOTE: ——

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Glacáin Charlotte | #4d5d53
Karr Kovac | #ce5a3d
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #eeeeee | #bbbbbb | #888888 | #555555

[Kami-Gaz]

The first bite. It is always the first bite that is the most important, it draws the eater in and gives them the need to eat more. If the first bite of a dish tasted bad it could stop a meal dead in its tracks and ruin an entire event. This was something Karr has known from day one of this cooking journey, something he took to heart and was something he feels can be perfected.

The plate of food that sat on the table in front of the sharp chef looked amazing, it passed the most basic of tests. It was inviting him to take that first bite, but where to start? Maybe a sliver of the medium rare steak in its white peppercorn and mushroom sauce? Maybe a chip that was perfectly seasoned with local salt and peppers, with a dash of paprika from the south blue coating the golden fried stretches of potato in minute specks of white crystal, black grounds and orangey red flakes? Maybe some of the leafy salad and tomato salad which looked like it was just pulled from a garden and washed, lightly drizzled with his homemade vinaigrette?

He had so many options to consider in this heartbeat, this brand-new dish using a key ingredient he had never used before. The sailors had made their choice in their hunger ridden state and were wolfing this meal down as if there was no more food left in the world. This virus had really brought out their base instinct to consume, which made this feel slightly hollow.

‘Why not have a little bit of all of it?’ He asked himself as the utensils were plucked from the table, spun in his fingers and then grasped properly. ‘No, that’s for later. It would just muddles the tastes too early.’ He clarified to himself as he moved the fork, piercing a small chip, lifting it and placing it to the steak before pushing the fork down further to dig into the tender steak. He slid the knife behind the chip and elegantly cut through the meat, making the Whale Steaks juices flow out and mingle with the sauce.

Karr finished his cut, gingerly lifting the fork up and away from the plate with his first bite on it. This was it, the first bite. “Bon appétit.” The man chimed before placing his food into his mouth and letting it sit on his tongue before closing his mouth and removing the now empty fork.

With eyes widened he chewed with a smile. This. This was good. A first bite to be proud of, he wanted more. He could taste the beefy flavours of the whale steak which was tricking his brain, the peppercorn sauce was elevated by the juices of the meat. All of this topped off with the fried chip that bound the entire flavour together into an eye watering bite of food that just made his tongue beg for more.

It took a great restraint for the Chef hold back and not become like the bestial fishermen who were already close to finishing their plate. Instead, he grinned and carried on, cutting more meat and eating that alone, then some salad. After that a few chips. He had done it. He had perfected this dish’s first bite on his first attempt!

“Let’s talk payment when I’m in a good mood.” Karr announced menacingly as he looked over the table from the head seat at all of the men. Men who had finished their meals and were licking at their plates for just more. “Everything that is in your pockets now and you can have the rest of the meals needed to fix you.” He declared, pointing his fork into the middle of the table. “Put it there, if you don’t, I’ll take it from your pockets myself. Which will put me in a bad mood so I might take jewelry as well.”

With his threat clearly made the men started to ruffle through their pockets as Karr carried on eating this magnificent dish using what can be considered sub-par ingredients… well all accept from the steak.

[Vio]

^{Charlotte #9}

---

A small and crispy chip, a small cut of the tender and juicy steak, and some of the creamy peppercorn sauce found their way onto Glacáin Charlotte’s fork — severed by an easy cut of the knife against which the meal provided no resistance. It was almost mocking that a meal could be consumed so easily. A bizarre mockery of nature’s typical ways, where evolution gave predators the advantages necessary to hunt and consume their prey. Yet here sat humanity upon its high horse, preparing meats and vegetation in such a way as to minimise the physical effort. All the same, the small offering entered her mouth.

^{“Mm…?!”}

If flavour could be likened to music, then this singular bite was the entire first movement of a classical symphony, and Lotty had front row seats to the gig. For somebody who was absolutely fine eating hard cheeses, biscuits, jerky, and other rationesque meals simply to survive, this was practically divinity in meal form. Unlike the rest, it was nigh impossible to surpass the shock of the first bite, the woman eventually sliding the fork out from between her lips and starting to chew what the incredible tenderness had already partially dissolved. It wouldn’t have been a stretch to say that chewing was a waste of time, but the tongue said otherwise.

All a sudden, the woman’s back straightened, frozen in time with eyes widened. Silence befell the table, only broken by the soft sound of her swallowing the mouthful she had taken, and then by the sounds of the cutlery hitting the dish. What followed was her entire form, still rather stiff, tumbling sideways off the chair and onto the floor, arms spread and face up with mouth agape. Whatever odd noise came from her mouth was more of a whimper, a defeated one at that…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
Charlotte experiences a sensory overload and collapses by virtue of Karr’s culinary creation.

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NOTE: ——

---

Glacáin Charlotte | #4d5d53
Karr Kovac | #ce5a3d
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #eeeeee | #bbbbbb | #888888 | #555555

[Kami-Gaz]

The chef had made good progress into his meal when he had noticed Charlotte’s reaction to the first bite. He noticed the straightened back, the bulged eyes and form stiff. Perfect he had done it; he had blown some one’s senses into overdrive. This was a feat that could be achieved if the right circumstances were met. Given Charlottes approach and earlier actions to the half assed stew he gauged that the good Docktor would be easy to break.

A grin was on his face as the sailors were depositing all of their cash onto the centre of the table with fervour. This had all played out perfectly, he had gotten some cash and his money-making opportunity was experiencing what true professionals called… “The Foodgasm”. All he needed to do now was to finish up their treatment plan, knock them out and leave them out on the street.

Then it all happened in slow motion. Charlotte had slowly started to falter, leaning heavily in one direction. Her weight shifted in the wooden chair and she began to fall landing on her back with a thud, leaving her sprawled out and mouth agape staring up at the ceiling. ‘Did I do it?! For people with unrefined tastes can I kill with just a bite?!’ He asked himself as he stood upright, dropping his fork to the plate with a clatter.

“Charlotte!” He called out to try and see if she was there. He quickly kneeled down and put his ear to her mouth and fingers to her neck. The former was to hear for breathing and the latter to search for a pulse. She was whimpering so that meant breathing and a pulse too. “Damn. I’m getting closer.” The chef sighed, moving to help Lotte sit up and get her senses back.

One of his hands pointed out as he noticed in the corner of his eye one of the sailors reaching for his plate. “Touch my food and I’ll be serving you to the rest.” The threat was quiet and harsh, the only thing that broke the silence was the crackling in the fireplace. The sailor had stopped in his tracks and slowly began to recede into his own chair to patiently await the next dish in his meal plan.

“S-sorry Mate” He spoke, the act of him being able to restrain himself out of fear from eating was probably a sign that having eaten the meals Karr was making was reducing or negating Charlotte’s vile virus, there was more work for her to do.

[Vio]

^{Charlotte #10}

---

What was that…? I thought taste was meaningless to evolution, Glacáin Charlotte debated in silence as she lay there, mostly ignorant of Karr’s medical analysis of her current condition. Aside from the absolute necessities, her attention was almost entirely focused on processing this moment, analysing and breaking down what information she could siphon from the stream of firing synapses that still seemed to originate from her tongue. Needless to say, such data was far outside her fields of study, thus it meant little. Her brain could only really give one answer, and that answer eventually escaped her.

“Yes…,” she muttered, sitting up, facial expression still very much displaying the shock of what she had just experienced. Eyes of water green simply stared blankly, her vision irrelevant to what her mind was working upon, as if any and all power had been completely rerouted to the gustatory system. A few moments passed and the deprivation receded, senses returning in kind and awareness coming back to her as Lotty took a second to comprehend that she was sitting on the floor and not in a chair.

^{“Mister Kovac,” she questioned:
“What, exactly, just happened…?”}

^{“Y– You fell…?”}

“I wasn’t speaking to you,” Charlotte replied sharply, eyeing the once starved sailor who had dared to respond in the chef’s stead. Still, she could not be angry about his interjection, for a swift analysis of his physique gave her a great deal of data regarding her creation. With renewed haste, she sprang up, once again taking the man’s arm and stretching it out to examine with scientific scrutiny. “Rapid redevelopment of muscle tissue suggests high nutritional and caloric intake was successful,” she muttered again, studiously. For a moment, she simply stared, then a frown formed upon her face as she released her grip.

^{“Nälkään Sairaus’ efficiency is too low,” Charlotte sighed:
“I’ll have to research alternative pathogens…”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
Charlotte recovers from her episode before analysing her pathogen’s rapidly diminishing effects!

---

NOTE: ——

---

Glacáin Charlotte | #4d5d53
Karr Kovac | #ce5a3d
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #eeeeee | #bbbbbb | #888888 | #555555

[Kami-Gaz]

Karr opened his mouth to reply to the question the questions that was presented to him by his partner in crime. Something he was going to answer perfectly before being cut off. These sailors were getting close to normal now, maybe two meals at most to rectify them before some bed rest? Either way Karr had now stood up as Charlotte did and sighed. He was close, so very close to actually making a meal so good it overwhelmed the eater to death.

‘Replacing some of the ingredients with better sources and keeping the whale meat and we have a real contender here.’ The chef had thought as he leaned over the table and pocketed everything that was placed in the middle as payment for the life saving meals. This was stupidly lucrative, he had already recouped his losses on renting this home, the ingredients and travel to the island and gotten some profit too.

“To answer your question Mrs Glacáin, I gave you a meal that would normally be served in high end restaurants on the grand line. Admittedly using mostly subpar ingredients local to this area. It seemed to have overloaded your senses and caused a minor blackout.” He explained as he sat back down to continue eating his meal. Using the utensils to easily slice the meat and spear that chunk with a chip.

As he held the product to his mouth, he looked to the meal thief he had threatened and stared for a moment. “If you are meaning with that one, well he got cheeky and tried to steal my meal, which would have contaminated your experiments results as they would then have had different calorie intakes.”

Karr continued his meal wanting to finish it quickly so he could wash up the dishes and get started on the prep work for his next creation… one that would not be served to Charlotte again, she had recognised his cooking abilities. She had not said any words it was her reaction to the meal that did that.

[Vio]

^{Charlotte #11}

---

This pathogen at least serves as a powerful tool for Mister Kovac’s ‘business ventures’, but, Glacáin Charlotte noted in silence, taking a step back from the table and the sailors who stared at her with equal parts hatred and worry. Perhaps I should synthesise a pathogen that attacks the pulmonary system, instead? Already was the corrupt quack seeking alternative means of sowing suffering, allowing thoughts to trail as Karr replied to her previous, spoken query. Admittedly, lost in her considerations, her brain only passingly captured some of what he was saying.

“It seemed to have overloaded your senses,” he had explained, continuing his own meal with his apparently usual, steady savouring of his own creations. To that, Lotty could not really complain, for it seemed to Karr that the culinary was just as devoted a field to him as pathology was to her. For a second, she pondered further about experiments revolving around sensory deprivation or overstimulation — diseases that could inhibit senses, or perhaps even sensitise them. That would almost certainly have to be viral. “He tried to steal my meal, which would have contaminated your results,” the sharp chef added, referring to the man who had dared to interrupt.

“Unfortunately, my work is hard to assess in a controlled environment,” Miss Glacáin nodded, understanding Karr’s point but at the same time not seeing it as much of an issue. Effective testing on human subjects meant proper scientific analysis, controls, and minimised — if not completely absent — external contamination. Not every human was the same. “Though I suppose I appreciate the sentiment. Having the results too heavily skewed would make these subjects worthless,” she finalised with a nod to Karr, still somewhat feeling the aftereffects of the meal despite having not even digested it yet.

^{“Why you little–?!”}

With renewed physique and enough energy to expend on hatred for being treated like some specimen in a petri dish, the sailor stood up, knocking the table as his chair slid back. With a lunge, he attempted to grab Charlotte, but the misty-haired malcontent was nothing if not prepared. At a moment’s notice, perhaps because she was still running on a high, she had grasped her cane and unsheathed its secret — a thin blade which quickly flourished and poked against the man’s thigh. By no means was it enough to pierce flesh, but her stance was certain, and that had stopped him in his tracks.

^{“If you’re threatening someone,” he mocked:
“You’re supposed to point it at the neck…!”}

“Incorrect,” Charlotte stated, matter-of-factly, keeping the sailor at blade’s reach. Clearly, he was intending to grab her by the neck, but her positioning kept him at fingertip’s reach as the rest watched with reluctance. “I have no intention of killing you at this point in time, sir. However, if I were to thrust and twist my blade in its current position, I would completely sever the sciatic nerve, resulting in an almost complete loss of sensation and motor functionality in your leg from the knee and below…” The sailor blinked, and so Charlotte further clarified in a way that seemed fitting for the current environment: “Your leg would become little more than a floppy noodle. Now, sit down, if you would.”

He obliged, a grimace on his face.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
Charlotte takes heed of Karr’s comments, but assures him there is little worry, proving so when she nullifies an attempted attack.

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NOTE: ——

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Glacáin Charlotte | #4d5d53
Karr Kovac | #ce5a3d
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #eeeeee | #bbbbbb | #888888 | #555555

[Kami-Gaz]

A great commotion unfolded around the chef as he ate his meal, the sailors had gained the energy to get uppity and boisterous to Charlotte. Something Karr felt was unwarranted, she is a great scientist after all. A woman pushing her field of study to new levels in a similar way he is aspiring to push the culinary world. As he finished his dish and let the utensils clang against the china as he leaned back happy with the meal. It was superb.

“Now kids, be nice or Doctor here will give you another dose of medicine and I won’t feed you through the next famine.” He warned, moving to lean his elbows on the table and look at the sailors as the trouble maker was returning to a seated position. His eyes locked on all of the men, his sharp gaze almost enough to pierce into their souls, carve them up and serve them. The man wore a kind smile that any would confuse for that of a school teachers.

“She’s Psychotic!” One of them called whilst moving to stand up, somewhat shakily as they were only just getting strength back. “She would have left us to die and just watched if you didn’t walk up!” He was the youngest of the lot and still looked somewhat gaunt in the face as his cheeks were sunken and eyes carrying heavy black bags.

“She’s a researcher, looking to advance the world of medical science. You sorry lot should be happy to be of use.” Karr defended her, standing up to stack plates. “I’m just a money-grubbing low life that is using her to line his pockets.”

Another man reached for the butter knife that still on the table and moved to stab at karr as he came near to collect his plate. “Yer both monsters!” It was quite a pathetic thrust that Karr avoided with a simple step backwards.

“Now now. I said you should behave.” The chef said as he leaned back and placed the stack of plates on the kitchen counter before picking up another butter knife and rubbing its dull blade between his fingers. There was a minor sound and a glint of light reflecting from the now razor-sharp edge. In a calm and calculated manner he stepped back forward, caught the attackers next swipe, slamming that hand into the table and then impaling it with his extremely sharp butter knife.

“Where Miss Glacáin shows restraint, I do not!” He growled, leaving the butter dagger embedded into the table with the sailor’s hand. The chef moved back to the kitchen to continue his cleaning, leaving a scene of screaming and cursing as that sailors adrenaline finally failed him and he started to feel the pain.

[Vio]

^{Charlotte #12}

---

One’s uppity revolt had spurred into action the rest of the sailors, even if Charlotte’s actions had at least quelled the one — the rest were more than hot-blooded enough to turn their recuperating strength into an attempt at rebelling. Karr put a stop to that rather abruptly, defending the doctor’s actions and even going so far to condemn his own before impaling an aggressor’s hand upon the table with a butter knife. That last bit was what prompted the scientist to raise an eyebrow.

“The lot of you seem to have misplaced your faith,” Lotty murmured, watching the poor wreck of a man try to prise the knife from table and wound alike, but clearly having second thoughts as he clenched his teeth and took in rapid, whistling breaths. With a certain slow grace, she slid her own blade back into its sheath, tapping the cane against the floor before walking to the kitchen’s threshold — some form of etiquette and respect kept her from crossing it without the culinary king’s permission.

“Mister Kovac, I believe my test subjects have begun to outlive their usefulness,” the misty-haired medic stated, loud enough for all within range to hear. Such a callout got her glares of disdain from the sailors, who were now somewhat preoccupied with aiding their disabled comrade. “Unless, of course, you have any further… ‘experiments’ of your own to conduct,” she added, observing him for a moment before looking back to the struggling men. The dull glint of the butter knife jogged her thoughts a little.

^{“C’mon, man…! Pull it out…!”}

^{“I’d strongly advise against that,” she gestured:
“It will do you more harm than good…”}

^{“Shut the f*¢< up…!”}

“Apply pressure to either side of the wound,” Miss Glacáin instructed, ignorant of their protests. “Have cloth ready to bind the hand, then remove the knife carefully. Otherwise, you’ll lose far more blood than necessary,” she finalised, practically rolling her eyes at the medical inexperience of these men. They called themselves sailors, yet didn’t know such basic things as this? Pathetic…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
Charlotte talks to Karr briefly, then addresses the sailors’ medical issue.

---

NOTE: ——

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Glacáin Charlotte | #4d5d53
Karr Kovac | #ce5a3d
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #eeeeee | #bbbbbb | #888888 | #555555

[Kami-Gaz]

Charlotte had decided to made her opinion known about the sailors, in quite a blunt fashion as they bit back and tried to free their pinned companion. Though her thoughts to ask if he had any further experiments did cause the man to pause his cleaning efforts as he stared at the slowly dripping tap. Did he have anything? All that was here was what he was going to use for feeding himself whilst inspecting the island for potential good ingredients.

Between the solitary drips of water, he could hear the cursing and Charlotte’s advice, it was good. Something that he would have followed to the letter. The confidence and tone in which she spoke it had that air of doctor’s authority that just resonated well. He looked over to see the group following that advice, though they did all look as if they struggled with it due to their lack of strength.

“These guys will just go and get the local militia involved to chase us off.” Karr noted as he picked up a rolling in and walked to the door where his business partner was stood. “We could just kill them.” The cursing stopped and the man grasping the knife looked up, as Karr started to rub his hands along the length of the rolling pin, with horror.

“You can’t take all of us!” He spat.

“Matey, you can’t even pull a knife out of yer buddies hand. I could take you all and not even get any blood on me.” The chef said as he now brandished the sharp cleaver like rolling pin, it was round just moments ago.

“We won’t talk, we promise!” The lad who was keeping the wound pressed shouted out. His face still slightly gaunt as he put every ounce of effort into keeping his friends’ hand from bleeding too much. To them the entire situation was a mess and a horror show.

“If you can get the knife out o’ his hand then you can leave, but if I found out you tell people about us then I’ll cook you all up. If not then I’m sure the owner of this place would like some nice new flower beds.” The chef walked forward to be level with Charlotte and looked over to her for a sign of confirmation to his actions.

“Now, Miss Glacáin. I don’t have any more experiments. I already figured out what are the best ingredients from here… There aren’t that many.” He explained as the group floundered with the butter knife. “I already know how effective I can utilise these 2nd rate foods.”

[Vio]

^{Charlotte #13}

---

“We could just kill them,” Mister Kovac stated, now brandishing a rolling pin of all things. Charlotte eyed the object, an answer to a previously unspoken question being given as she watched the chef’s hand run along the wood. Wood seemed to shape itself at his touch, turning from blunt to blade in the wake of his fingers. Indeed, analysing such a phenomenon was at least a little more interesting than anything her victims had to offer, even as they seemed to switch between ideals at Karr’s threat.

For some reason, he turned to her.

“You can do as you wish,” Lotty commented, not too concerned about what became of the men. If anything Karr’s threats had done most of the work and — after much trial and error — the butter knife finally found freedom from flesh and table. It seemed they had reluctantly followed instruction. The curious cook confirmed his lack of further need, taking no chance to second guess himself as he stated his disdain for the land’s lack of quality.

“It’s not difficult for me to synthesise further strains of Nälkään Sairaus,” Miss Glacáin added. “Improving its potential — the potency of its symptoms, resistances, etcetera — may be more of a challenge, though now I have a suitable sample of those infected I can work on that. I can also put the knowledge I have gained to good use in creating further pathogens. Until then,” the meticulous malpractitioner muttered, handing a small vial to Karr as she did so.

“That is a sample of the antigen to the disease, on the off-chance you become infected,” she confirmed, receiving glares from the men as they did their utmost to tightly bind the knifed one’s hand. Nutrition and healthy immune systems combined had served to stave off the effects of the plague, symptoms rapidly waning. Sure, they weren’t wholly recovered, but it would not take much longer for them to do so — an hour or two at best. With a few final curses, they simply took their leave.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
Charlotte and Karr close up the events as the sailors finally get their man free and take their leave. Charlotte hands over a sample of an antigen.

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NOTE: ——

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Glacáin Charlotte | #4d5d53
Karr Kovac | #ce5a3d
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #eeeeee | #bbbbbb | #888888 | #555555

[Kami-Gaz]

Eventually the gaggle of sailors managed to get the knife out of the table and their one friend’s hand free. It seemed Karr’s light encouragement had gone along way. He had to admit that watching the show that was put on was quite funny to watch, flailing and struggling with just a simple butter knife that had some slight enhancement. That was when Charlotte began to rattle on about her work, what she needs and will need to do to improve it.

As the Antigen was passed over to him, he cracked a crooked smile. That mean he had earned this quacks trust, perfect. She seemed to be in agreement that this place was used up in terms of useful things to them. The front door closed behind the still weak sailors, prompting the chef to simply drop his sharpened rolling pin to the side. It stuck directly into the marble counter top like a hot knife into butter. He had perhaps made it a tad bit too sharp.

“Let me pack up my good utensils and we can get going before they feel strong enough to get a group together to chase us off.” Karr said in a simple matter of fact fashion. He knew his threat would only keep them from talking for a short time. When they had plenty of friends to form a good ol’ angry mob then they would have the confidence to attack the pair. “My threats can only keep them from spilling the beans for so long.”

The chef had placed the antigen into a pocket so it would be nice and safe and started to get his kitchen knives, which were cleaned immediately after use and placed them into their carrier. The rest of the stuff he left piled up in the sink, it all came with the house he was renting on short term. He was never going to be back so Sedna could deal with some dirty dishes.

“Charlotte, I do also need to warn you. I have eaten a Devil Fruit. I am assuming you had guessed as much but I thought I should at least clarify with you just in case we have any issues with larger bodies of water.” Karr said before picking up the case of knives and then heading over to the bedroom where he picked up a large backpack which seemed to be already packed. Karr never settled down in once place for too long, so unpacking was just a hassle.

[Vio]

^{Charlotte #14}

---

“Alright, but don’t expect me to save you from drowning if you end up in the ocean,” Glacáin Charlotte responded, hiding nothing of her opinion on dead weight. The world was based around the survival of the fittest and, even if he had partaken of a Devil’s Fruit, Karr was clearly not fit to continue if he succumbed to the curse’s most prevalent and well-known weakness. Rumours, perhaps, but as a woman of science she could wholly understand. An actual ‘Ability User’ in her midst was never something she had anticipated, yet here he was — living proof.

Soon enough, Mister Kovac was prepared; almost as if he had predicted the need to make a quick exit. Then again, Sednan people were hardly known for their hospitality or open mindedness towards outsiders. Taking up her own belongings, Lotty stepped towards the door of the property, but not before securing her mask to her face one again.

^{“A precaution,” she muttered:
“In case we meet resistance…”}

With that said, the madam of malpractice stepped out into the colder climes of the country, breeze brisk and unwelcoming as ever. Though seldom did she care for it, there was no denying that she would be glad to see the back of such a dreary, almost deathly place. Its crooked flora, bitter inhabitants, and frosted earth were far from ideal breeding grounds for the world’s most interesting pathogens. At least she had found something vaguely useful in coming here.

^{“Do you have a means of leaving…?”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
Charlotte and Karr begin their escape from Sedna!

---

NOTE: ——

---

Glacáin Charlotte | #4d5d53
Karr Kovac | #ce5a3d
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #eeeeee | #bbbbbb | #888888 | #555555

[Kami-Gaz]

As the Chef was finishing his preparations to leave, see putting on his winter jacket, he heard Charlotte give a reply to his forewarning of his abilities. ‘Ouch, that is cold.’ He joked to himself just before fastening his zipper and making sure his backpack was securely placed on his back. He stood by the door and watched the doctor place a mask over her face in preparation for any potential confrontation. She was going to drop that disease on people as a defence mechanism? That was really cold.

“I don’t expect the angry mob for another hour.” Karr quipped as he pushed his way through the doorway and into the bitter dry cold of Sedna’s great outdoors. The mostly rock and tough vegetation riddled island was as in hospitable as its natives.

“Only resistance we’ll have is the guy guarding the boat we’re going to pinch.” He said in such a matter-of-fact fashion. It sounded so natural for him that this seemed to be how he got from A to B if no one new any better. “I saw a boat that should be suitable for a short hop to the next island in the port.”

With that the cook started to lead his companion from the cottage to the path that led down the sheer rock face from the town of Sedna proper to the dock and the now packed up market he had visited that very morning. What was once the liveliest place on the entire island was only populated by a few people milling around the decreasing number of stalls and moored boats. Stealing a small vessel capable of travelling between islands in a blue was going to be child’s play for himself and a doctor of questionable ethics.

[Vio]

^{Charlotte #15}

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“Only resistance we’ll have is the guy guarding the boat,” Mister Kovac announced, so blasé about it that it certainly sounded like a regular occurrence. Those who had eaten Devil Fruits were often regarded as freaks or monsters, or so the folklore went; that they would receive unnatural powers in exchange for their ability to swim. Seeing it first hand, Charlotte knew that messing with a man who could turn anything he touched into a blade was unwise. A simple sailboat from Sedna’s half-frozen jetty was an easy acquisition.

“It will be sufficient, I’m sure,” Miss Glacáin commented as they walked. Sednan streets had quietened nearer the shoreline, aiding their intended getaway, and the secluded rocky path that Karr had led them down had further helped them avoid unnecessary confrontation. Time was of the essence, supposedly, though neither of them seemed all too concerned about the threat of the isle’s militia running them down. Besides that, Sedna’s reputation was famous. Nobody of this land — not in their ‘right’ mind — would waste time and effort pursuing them across the Blue, even with the bounty upon the doctor’s head…

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SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
Charlotte and Karr head to the jetty to make their getaway!

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NOTE: ——

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Glacáin Charlotte | #4d5d53
Karr Kovac | #ce5a3d
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #eeeeee | #bbbbbb | #888888 | #555555