Booze, Bets, and Brawls! Tanuki on the Town!

[Fox]

It was late afternoon. The air was crisp and warm like a summer evening. You could never really tell what these Grand Line islands were going to be like, so Maple was happy that this one seemed pleasant enough. She'd arrived just this morning after stowing away on another ferry and had spent the day meandering and pocketing snacks from local food stalls. Maple actually had a stick of something in her mouth. Tako… something or other. It was yummy.

Maple had her tail all unwound and was using it to cover up the parts of her furry body that her clothes didn’t. She got some weird looks on occasion. Maple supposed that she would also give someone a weird look if they were covered head to foot in bandages. Hm, hm! Maybe she could play it off as a gimmick. They had like… fights for fun here with fighters with all sorts of different gimmicks. The Bandage Bandit! Or something. Hehe!

She spun the stick around in her mouth. Actually, how did she get into one of those fights? Hm! Well, she could go around and ask. Darting around, Maple asked pretty much every random passerby on the street. A lot of them were tourists like her, and didn’t know. Some of them were pretty rude about it though. Some pointed her to a tower up the mountainside. Ugh. But climbing was work.

Maple stopped off at a bar, grabbing a huge tankard of rum. She downed it in one go, much to the astonishment of the bartender. She asked for another, but brandy this time. Maple liked to sample a wide variety of drinks. She knew that she liked rum and brandy and definitely did not like whiskey. Ugh. Beer was kind of a nothing drink. She didn’t hate it, but she didn’t really like it either? It was like the water of alcohol. Going a bit slower on the brandy, Maple sighed happily and looked over to the person next to her.

“I s’pose you wouldn’t have any idea how to sign up for one of these… fights? Brawls? Bruisings? Burritos! Gah, I want a burrito. I wonder if they sell those here… Do you know if they sell those here?”

---

Maple | Tan #D2B48C | Post Count: 1
Tags: The Love Ballad

[The Love Ballad]

Mag downed another serve of whisky, although the fact that the distiller had opted to use maize and rye made him hesitant to even use that term for the swill. Still, there was no delay as he drained the schooner of chestnut liquid and placed it onto the stack of similarly shaped glasses. The bartender had given him significant side-eye when he'd ordered the oversized glass of liquor, but considering that this was the Grand Line and far more exotic folk ordered far more ludicrous sizes for their drinks, it was hardly out of the norm. Mag had seen fishmen drink before, and he hardly expected that even a pint of whisky would put hair on any of their chests. Of course, that was assuming that they could even grown hair on that part of their body.

"One more," Mag slurred, although it was more due to his incomprehensible accent than it was due to the drink.

Years of abuse had rendered his body particularly adept at filtering alcohol from his system. Naturally, this meant that he was forced to drink more and more, only compounding upon the cycle of adaptation. For a man so beholden to his vices, it was almost a tragedy. But that tragedy was off-set by the splendor of the island upon which he found himself, it's every facet seemingly created just for him. There was drinking, gambling and fighting. For the first time since he had entered the Grand Line, he felt comfortable.

Yet the comfort, like all comforts that he had felt in his years, was fleeting. Such a feeling, as it had throughout his life, led him further to dice and to drink. The dice had not been cruel to him that night, as they had so many others, and more than a few disgruntled patrons of the bar he found himself in had been forced to hand over their beris to the man who had out-bluffed them.

That money was now set toward a much more noble purpose, paying off the amateur pirate's ever-growing bar tab. Or perhaps he would just dash out the door without paying if things got rowdy, he wasn't exactly opposed to the idea of a free drink or two... or ten.

These rather devious thoughts filled his head as he took deep gulps of the harsh brown liquor that was placed before him, the burning of the drink akin to a mother's embrace. But even as he focused on the sensation of alcohol against his throat, and his plans to escape from the establishment without paying and without recourse, he found himself still slightly taken aback by the newcomer that entered and sat next to him. A bandaged figure, perhaps one of the fighters that took to the ring, their absurd gimmicks selling them more to the crowd than their prowess. But Mag was no mark, and he was all but certain that beneath the wrapping was little more than an average human.

Such thoughts were abated when they ordered a tankard of rum and downed it with a single gulp. Not even Mag, as lost in his alcoholism as he was, could do that. Rather, he felt entirely emasculated as he took sips at his glass of whisky.

She spoke up, her feminine voice betraying her status as a woman, and ordered another tankard of spirits, brandy this time. For the first time that he could remember, well chose to remember may be the more apt expression, Mag was face to face with someone who could threaten to drink him under the table.

Still, it was rude to look at another so intently and it was even ruder to judge them. As such, Mag returned both to his own glass and to his equally glassy-eyed expression as he allowed his inner monologue to take over. 

Those thoughts did not last long, however, as the pirate found himself taken-aback by the fact that the person to his side actually asked him a question. Something about whether they sold burritos here? He blinked for a moment, before turning over his shoulder, equal parts lazy and groggy.

"Uh, sorry," He started as he allowed the words to process, before he added, "I dun' think so."

He sucked on his teeth for a moment before turning to the bartender, "Chief, ye' got food? Burritos?"

The bartender's incredulous look was obviously designed to make Mag feel small, embarrassed and all sorts of ridiculous for asking. However, the drunkard was far too lacking in social graces to even process the attempted attack on his social capital. 

Another painfully awkward moment passed before the worked sighed in the negative, "No, check the board." The words were accompanied by a tired jut of his thumb to the dingy blackboard hanging on the far side of the room.

Satisfied, Mag turned back to the bandaged woman, "Nope."

[Fox]

“Dangy,” Maple cursed, assuaging her hunger for burritos with more alcohol. It had a pleasant burning feeling as it ran down her throat. She sighed and took a look at the board the man had indicated, lifting some of the ribbons out of the way of her eyes. Her robber mask and brown fur were just barely visible this way, but how else was she going to see what they had. None of it looked spectacularly appetizing though. Just basic bar food. They’d probably have better stuff at the towers where the fights took place, though not by much. Perhaps they’d even have the fabled burrito there.

“Hm… I guess I’ll take the jalapeno poppers.”

Dropping the ribbons back down into her face, Maple stretched and happily sipped at her drink. She was already halfway through it. She was pretty bad at moderating herself like this. Oh, speaking of… she needed a way to pay for the bar tab that she was inevitably going to rack up. She glanced at the guy who’d asked the bartender about the burritos for her. Hm… He seemed like a little bit of a sucker. Maybe she could get him to foot the bill if she was cute enough? Hm! Evil plan initiated!

“So, uh, what’s a guy like you doing in a place like this anyway? I mean drinking, yes, but what else? You from around here? You going to one of the fights? Are you more of a spectator type or a participant type? Or maybe you’re a gambling man? Gambling’s pretty fun, right? Oh, and drinks are cool too, haha.”

While she’d started like a bad pick up line, Maple eventually worked her way into something more normal sounding as she jabbered on. She felt the fur on the back of her neck start sticking up as her social anxiety started to kick on into high gear. He probably thought she was a weirdo. Haha. Just a girl who started chatting his ear off. Wait. Wait!

“OH SHIT! Er- I mean, uh, I haven’t introduced myself at all yet, did I? Shit, oh god…” Maple buried her head in the bar in embarrassment when she felt the prick of everyone’s stares at her sudden outburst. “Maple,” she said, muffled through her arms, “Is my name, that is. Oh god, sorry. I’m such a dingus.”

---

Maple | Tan #D2B48C | Post Count: 2

[The Love Ballad]

Mag returned to his drink, letting the harsh liquid burn his throat as it passed down his gullet. The woman didn't seem to require any further help with ascertaining whether the bar sold food, nor did she particularly need assistance with choosing what exactly she was supposed to order, as such it seemed that Mag's good deed for the day was entirely completed. Satisfied with that, the petty criminal instead chose to focus on that which he was so enamoured, namely the alcohol before him. The haze that buzzed behind his eyes clouded his vision, and in that half-stupor he felt properly like himself. At his core, he knew that such a thought process was unhealthy, and downright approaching wrong, yet he could not bring himself to care. After all, it was his life, his body, if he were to destroy it with vices, that was his prerogative. A solitary existence of drink and debauchery had become his life, and he could not bring himself to find issue with his current standing.

The island he had found himself upon seemed similarly, and rather uniquely, to fall into the same general aesthetic to which he had chosen to dedicate his waking moments. Alcohol and gambling, fueled by an undercurrent of fixed fights and raw violence, it was entirely his kind of place. Accordingly, he expected that those who would also be drawn to the isle would be of a similar frame of mind.

Naturally, therefore, he was surprised when the woman continued to speak to him. It seemed that she was genuinely curious as to him and his life's story, and the pirate of little renown found himself somewhat taken aback. The first line of her speech sounded almost entirely like a pickup line, albeit Mag was entirely unused to receiving them, and was all to eager to allow for the added context to clarify what was meant.

Yet, even as Mag turned back to look at her, he found that she was continuing to talk. It seemed that the faux-bravado had been exactly that, faux. Mag stretched his neck from side to side, unleashing an unseemly pop before he answered.

"Aye, drink 'n gamblin' mostly," He felt somewhat awkward as he spoke, answering friendly conversation and not the harsh barks of his fellow petty criminals or the interrogation of local militia was still somewhat unnatural to the sea bandit, "Mos'a moi foightin' isn't well-paid, unfortunately, 'ere mainly to enjoy the show and sink a few drinks while Oi'm at it, y'know?"

As if to accentuate the point, the pirate downed the last of his glass, the shot of whisky disappearing down his mouth without so much as a reaction from the red-headed man.

"Name's Mag, dun' stress it," the man introduced himself with a lazy smile, although the sheer number of metal and chipped teeth may have served more as a method of intimidation than the friendliness that he'd hoped to convey.

Still, the pirate found himself imbued with a delightfully devilish idea. What if he were to offer to buy the woman drinks, after all she seemed a naïve sort, the kind that relied on the kindness of strangers, only to leave her with the bill. It would leave him with more money to wager on the upcoming matches. Internally, Mag couldn't help but smile, and such a reaction was all the more present on his face, his eyes twinkling with genuine enthusiasm.

"Tell ye' what, le'me boi ye' a drink, Maple," He told the bandaged woman before whistling down the bartender, the man looking even more fed-up at the blatant rudeness of the gesture, "Two of wha' the lovely lady orders, thank ye'."

He felt half a genius, there was no way that she'd expect him to attempt to straddle her with the bill, she seemed a friendly sort, and friendly meant daft.

[Fox]

The bartender slid her poppers in front of her along with a fresh drink courtesy of Mag. Maple shot him a big grin and tossed a couple of poppers into her mouth and chased them down with a big swig of her new drink. She threw a little arm over Mag’s shoulders happily. Hehe, being cute worked! Damn, it usually doesn't. Most people thought she was a leper or something.

“Ya know what, Mags mah boi, I like you!”

She jabbed a little claw into his chest and quickly pulled away to have another drink.

“Gah, I’d gamble. But… I’m pretty broke,” Maple admitted, putting a paw on her face, “Though I was thinking of getting into the fighting scene to earn a quick buck! I’m tougher than I look.”

Maple put a proud paw to her chest.

“Oh! Right! The tower thingy!!!”

Hastily scarfing down the rest of the poppers and the drink in a superhuman feat of eating and drinking, Maple hopped off the seat. She was about to run off and even took a few steps before pausing and looking back over to Mag as an idea popped into her head.

“Oooh! Ya know!! We should go in together! Like, like…! I’ll do the fighting! And you do the betting for both of us! Yeah! That’s the master plan! ‘Course, I need some winnings first… so I’ll come see you after the first fight! Maybe a street fight, they got some of those around here… I better look! We don’t got long till tournament time!”

Already sure that she had roped Mag into her master plan, Maple ran off through the doors, not showing even a hint of intoxication after all that alcohol. Okay. Street fight first. Then. Tournament. Launching her paw up and latching onto the roof, Maple scrambled up, attracting some stares as she made her way onto the roof of the bar. Haha, a bird’s eye view would help her. Uh… Where… where… Oh! There was a crowd! Maple bounced from rooftop to rooftop like a hyperactive chipmunk, heading over to the crowd.

---

Maple | Tan #D2B48C | Post Count: 3

[The Love Ballad]

Mag nodded as politely as he could, in spite of his rather rough appearance, as his new companion expressed her gratitude at his gift. Of course, he had no intention of paying for it, and he was certain that her newfound fondness for him would dissipate as soon as that became obvious, but for the moment, he felt no such worry. His smile was wide, genuine, albeit not warm, even as she poked him in the chest with a surprisingly sharp finger. Was that a claw? For but a moment, he found himself ever so slightly taken aback. Was she a fishman of some sort under her bandages? She would have been the first of her kind that he'd met who was so eager to hide her undersea heritage, so many of the fishy folk were braggadocious about their origins under the vast black depths.

He didn't have time to properly process it, however, the conversation was continuing, and he couldn't bring himself to care about the personal affairs of another. The spirits only knew how much he kept hidden away, lest his ill will and criminal past boil to the surface, damaging one of the few petty gambits he had hoped to run. 

But, she had offered the fact that she was broke freely, and for a brief moment Mag almost felt bad about his intentions. The thought was quickly perished to the recesses of his mind, others had done far worse to him, and he had grown to expect far worse in return. After all, the world was dark and terrifying, and that therein was where the fun lay, there was profit to be made should one be willing to beseech their morals at the foot of industry and of adventure. 

It seemed adventure called for his new companion as well, as the woman announced her intentions to get involved in a street fight, use Mag's funds as gambling collateral, and took off before the northern pirate could even process what exactly had occurred. She was out the door, and with her had left Mag's hope of straddling her with the bill. By the maker above, the drinks she had ordered had been expensive, and no doubt the food would be laid upon his tab as well. How quickly had his plan backfired? It was almost impossible to consider, impossible to even conceive of. 

"Shit," He muttered under his breath.

Mag cast a quick glance to the bartender, and found that deep relief washed over him, as waves broke over the rocks upon a pier, at the realisation that he had begun conversing with another gentleman on the far side of the bar. As casually as he could muster, the redheaded man stood up from his seat and began the slow walk out of the bar, lest he draw attention to himself. Fortunately, it seemed that fortune favoured him, as not a single word was raised at his leaving of the bar, not a beri paid from his bill.

If he could maintain that luck going forward, it would seem that this island would be a very profitable stop indeed. Yellowed teeth smiled.

Now, where exactly did that woman go? He wasn't particularly sure what to make of Maple, but Mag had swiftly learnt that forces of chaos upon the seas were better kept close to oneself, and their own wild energy redirected in a way that would benefit him. He couldn't control a hurricane, but he could loot the houses that it left wrecked in its midst. His eyes darted around, attempting to locate her bandaged form before anyone in the bar caught wise and sought out after him, and was pleasantly surprised, and then shocked, to see her form bouncing on a far rooftop.

How had she gotten so far away so quickly?

With purpose in his step, he pushed off after her, albeit he was forced to walk on the floor, relying upon his physical strength to force bystanders aside as he strode forth. As he moved, it became increasingly obvious what she must have sighted, a crowd had formed, their loud and boisterous behaviour cutting through even the noise of the city.

Mag just hoped that nothing would spiral further before he arrived to put it on a course to which he could directly benefit. Hopefully, he wouldn't arrive too long after Maple herself joined the crowd.  

[Fox]

When Maple got to the roof above where the crowd was formed, she could see that it was, in fact, some sort of money making racket. There was a box of it as well as a huge surly looking dude with muscles for days and a short squat little pea of a man with an oversized handlebar mustache beside him. Her little racoon dog ears flicked forward underneath all those loosely wrapped bandages and she could just barely make out what he was staying.

“If anyone can push the invincible half-giant out of the ring, you’ll win ten million beri~! If you can knock him out, you can have the whole pot! Just step into the ring! Any-”

Maple leaned forward to hear more, but without her tail, her balance went to shit. She toppled forward head first off the roof and face planted right in the middle of the ring in front of the massive rippling musclehead.

“-challengers...?”

Plucking her face out of the dirt of the cobblestone street, Maple clapped her cheeks with both hands. A little puff of dust came off of her. Shaking her head, she glanced around to see where she had landed. Oh. Maple felt her face grow hot as she realized that everyone’s eyes were on her. She shrunk down even smaller and chuckled nervously. Oh Zou, she didn’t think they’d stare like that.

“Ah, fudge…”

Maple squeaked when she was suddenly hoisted off the ground by the scruff of her neck. The giant buff beefcake had pinched it between two of his sausage fingers and lifted her up to meet his eyes. Maple grinned sheepishly - even though he couldn’t see it - and waved nervously.

“You challenge me, tiny bandage man?”

“Ah- um- Well… tiny bandage lady. But!! Yes?”

Maple shrugged at him. The surly beefy adonis of a man and his toady exchanged looks before he dropped her on her butt and belly laughed. Feeling mocked and a little annoyed, Maple dusted her bum off and stood up with her hands on her hips. The toady waddled over to her and held out his hand. Immediately, Maple’s knee jerk response was to give him her paw. He looked confused, and Maple hastily retracted her paw.

“Ah, well, little missy, you’re gonna need to buy-in to give fighting the champ here a go.”

“O-Oh…”

Maple hastily cast frantic looks around in the crowd for Mag who had followed her here, surely. He had to, right? He could buy her in and she wouldn’t have to do the walk of shame. Oh pleeeeease don’t make her do the walk of shame. Her eyes eventually found him in the crowd and laser targeted him, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.

---

Maple | Yellow Green (#9ACD32) | Post Count: 4

[The Love Ballad]

Mag pushed through the streets, letting grunts and half-baked threats out of his mouth as he did so, the crowd being forced aside as if he was parting the sea. As he got closer to where the interest seemed to originate from, he found the amount of people growing thicker. Yet, in spite of the sheer number of people, he could see the giant of a man that towered over the group, his body planted firmly at the core of congregation. If there was ever a focal point, that would be he. Mag forced his way through the crowd, caring not for the number of people he pushed to the side. A few shot angry glances his way but he couldn't bring himself to even pretend to care. In a few short moments, he'd pushed his way to the front of the crowd. Just in time to see Maple hoisted off of the ground by the giant.

He'd lost track of her movements whilst he pushed through the crowd, his focus entirely upon making sure that he could get a decent look at what was going on, and thus she must have found a way to enter the makeshift arena. Perhaps she had jumped into the centre. However she had done it, she was now not only being challenged to a fight by a man twice her size, but had actively accepted it. Of course, she had no money with which to pay the man. He frantic looks to the crowd seemed to betray as such. That was until she found her eyes resting upon Mag and instantly her expression changed. The two men, both small and gigantic, followed her line of sight toward the redhaired pirate. The toothy smile the toad-like man gave Mag made his skin crawl. He'd been involved in a fair few scams, hell, he'd even run some of them back in his hometown. He had been made as a mark. 

"Good sir! Will you be paying for your friend here to compete?" He asked.

Mag felt his skin crawl. He was used to a certain type of filth but something about pure slimey sleeze still made him shudder like he had in his days as a teenaged dockworker.

Mag opened his mouth to answer but found that the gap had been closed by the little fellow, his hands already outreached for coin, "You wouldn't leave your lady-friend in the lurch, would you? That would be downright ungentlemanly."

The eyes of the crowd now rested firmly on Mag, those that were not also looking at the bandage wrapped woman with a suicide-wish. Mag fancied himself in a brawl, but he never picked fights he couldn't win, and especially not against those of this number. There were times where you could not risk angering a crowd and it seemed that there had been a particular lack of bloodshed that morning. They wanted him to pay the piper. 

He grimaced before digging his hand to his belt, unclipping his small pouch of beris. The movement was deliberate, the assortment of knives that sat next to the funds being flashed to those who sat around him. A warning, he may possess money but he also held weapons, a few of the more unsavoury elements were known to prey on defeated fighters and their sponsors after bouts, Maple knew that, surely? 

"'D'be me' pleasure, mate," He dropped the handful of coins into the man's hands and returned the remainder to their safe place on his person.

The small man waddled back to the centre, his smile wide, "Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the kind of fight that the towers refuse to sanction!?"

He droned on, riling the crowd up, but Mag made a point of ignoring him. Instead, he shot his glance toward Maple. The look was coupled by a nod and a smile, "Get 'em, kid." The words were drowned out by the crowd-pandering of the duo of lowlifes, but Mag hoped she got the message. More than that, he hoped that he had somehow backed the right horse. 

[Fox]

Maple gave Mag a solid two thumbs up for bailing her out of an awkward situation. In return, she’d be sure to make his money back and more! She and the massive hunkcules squared off at their respective starting lines. The little toady man stepped between them, smirking at her and giving a nod to the big fella. He swung his arm down and hastily backed away to just outside of the ring by the money box, tossing Mag’s coins in.

Tensing up, Maple looked up at the giant lunk, but he merely smirked at her and folded his arms over his chest. He made a gesture with two of his fingers as if asking her to bring it on. Maple looked at him for a moment, wondering if this was some kinda trap. Probably not given how confident he looked to be. Maple clicked her tongue and flew at him, latching onto his chest with her claws, but the force of her tackle didn’t do much in the way of budging the guy. He raised an eyebrow at her but almost immediately burst out into a fit of laughter.

“Bwabwahorhorhorhor!”

Maple scowled. Alright, she’d had just about enough of this musclebound freak chortling at her. She dug her claws in seriously, which stopped his laughter and caused his body to jolt a little. Reforming her hands, electricity sparked, and she launched them into Muscles McGee at point blank range. The electricity stunned him, and the impact was enough to send him toppling down, flat on his back.

Maple hastily retracted her claws and unspooled them into bandages again before anyone could see. When she was sure she was okay, she looked up to see that big man wasn’t… immediately standing back up. Maple tiptoed over to his side and looked down at him. Huh, he looked like he was down for the count. Maple kicked him in the side just to make sure. Yup. Down. She looked over to the toady man and pointed at his fallen man ape.

“Uh, he’s out. I win?”

Maple reached out with grabby hands.

“Money please?”

Both the toady man and the crowd stared at her stupefied. Maple began to sweat nervously again, her pleading eyes finding Mag again, begging him to help her out here.

---

Maple | Yellow Green (#9ACD32) | Post Count: 5

[The Love Ballad]

Mag had faith in Maple’s ability, the fact that he had no choice but to trust said ability given the fact that it was his money on the line and that if she lost then he’d be without the ability to afford passage of the island, let alone lodgings for however many nights he’d be forced to stay here until appropriate work showed up, certainly played no small part in that faith. The big fella was certainly the odds-on-favourite, that went without saying. Size played a part in it, and he had the advantage of having felled a number of opponents. Mag merely prayed that his newfound prize fighter was half the fighter that she made herself out to be.

The fight was over before Mag even had a chance to process what was going on. The big guy had beckoned the bandaged woman forward and then she was on him and he was down. The silence was palpable.

Her pleading eyes found his, but every other pair of eyes was on her. The silence deafening in just how far it had managed to shock the crowd. It hadn’t even been a fight, she’d trounced the local champion and was set to make an absolute killing with her winnings. The pirate recognised the panic in her expression and realised once more that he’d have to dive in. Was she really so unfamiliar with how these things work? No wonder she’d been so eager, she probably hadn’t spent a day in the seedy underbelly of any city in the blues, let alone one like Four Post Island.

Mag had to think quickly, but fortunately, wretched hives of scum and villainy were exactly his forte. His shocked expression was forcibly wiped from his face, and he put on a mask of a cocky showman, his yellowed and broken teeth on full display.

“Ye’ new champion, ladies and gentleman!” He called, stealing the thunder from the toady man.

Mag made eye contact with the little man as he spoke, and the frog-like fellow seemed to visibly shrink as he did so, “Ye’ mistake ‘ere, friends, was bettin’ on some local ruffian against a bona-fide impor’ed talen’. A woman whose face is so fierce she dare nae’ show it! A woman known as t’e terror of t’e east!”

He shot a look over the crowd and was pleased to see at least a few appeared to be nodding along as he built up her gimmick, sold her as a competitor.

“Dun’ let ‘er behaviour outta t’e ring fool ye’, in battle,” He drew his thumb across his neck in a mock slash, “So, as t’e lady said. Money please… Unless any of ye’ wish to take ‘er on for it.”

The ad-libbed speech seemed to have worked, at least as much as Mag could hope for, as the little promoter rather shakingly and crestfallenly reached for his money pouch. This was the easiest beri that Mag had ever made. He couldn’t help but grin at the sheer stupid success of it all.

“Rubbish!” A voice called out from the crowd, “It’s rigged! I’ll take on your little bandaged freak!”

Why was it never easy?

[Fox]

Mag came to her rescue again, her grubby knight in stinky armor. Maple could have melted in relief as he stepped into the ring and lifted her arm into the air. Maple waved and chuckled nervously. The toady man didn’t seem very pleased with this turn of events, having the thunder stolen right out from under him! Or was that the rug? Whatever!

Maple tried her best to play up her part, flexing in various ways. She wasn’t sure how much was enough, but she did kinda like the gimmick that he was making up for her. She scratched the back of her head. Terror of the east, huh? She felt herself starting to sweat nervously. Mag was kinda overselling it now, didn’t he think? Well, overselling or not, it seemed to convince Toady, which was good enough for her. She happily trotted over to Mag’s side, giving him an eager thumbs up.

Her ears perked when she heard someone pipe up from the crowd. Maple turned and watched another guy step into the ring. This one wasn’t as huge as the other guy - who took up like half of it lying down - but he did look a bit spookier. Maple glanced at Mag. Damn, she was gonna have to fight another one, wasn’t she?

“Uh- n-not a freak!! But okay… Just remember, you asked for this.”

The warning was more for herself than for her new competitor. Maple took a couple steps toward the guy so that Mag could say game on or whatever, but this guy! He roared and lunged for her, which made Maple duck and dive out of the way of his grapple. Unfortunately, it was no good. He wrapped his muscled arms around her as her little legs flailed in the air.

“Welp.”

Not great. Ah. Well? He started turning to toss her out of the ring, but Maple wasn’t gonna let that happen so easily. Her body basically exploded, bandages going everywhere and turning on her captor. It must have looked terrifying because the crowd didn’t utter a peep as she basically mummified him. Her head reformed - kinda, she kept it unravelled so it still looked bandaged - along with the rest of her body except her arms and tail.

Planting her feet, she swung the mummified guy around and let him go. He sailed above the rooftops and landed with a crash somewhere behind some distant buildings. Reforming her arms, Maple sweated nervously. That was… that was a bit much, wasn’t it? Panicking gently, Maple glanced over to Mag. A low croaking sound came out of her throat as words left it. Should they ditch? They should bail, right? That was bad, right?!

"H-Help."

---

Maple | #9acd32 | Post Count: 6

[The Love Ballad]

Before Mag even knew what was happening, the fight was on. Before either he or the small froglike man could process a thing, or open their mouths to speak, kinetic energy exploded from the new challenger. It was all the pirate could do to step hastily backward, getting decidedly clear of the circle as the combat commenced. That same shocked silence continued as he watched the bout, if it could really be called that, for Maple moved with the same speed and purpose that she had demonstrated well in her previous bout. Sure, the man was the larger, and he wrapped her up in a rather impressive hold, but she seemed to have some sort of degree of control over the bandages that adorned her for they all but exploded across the circle. One moment she was trapped, and the next her attacker was mummified and screaming impotently into coverings on top his mouth.

The glee at seeing her win hastily dried up as she continued the battle to its natural conclusion. He forced himself to suppose that was the correct descriptor, for if it wasn’t then he had been dragged into something so well and beyond his realm of comfort that it was beyond whatever words he could manage. For she flung the man far and beyond into the horizon. By all accounts, he was almost certainly dead.

Her plea for help would not at all help the matters.

Mag could feel the shock of the crowd as if it were an oppressive cloud, the thickness of the atmosphere almost clung to his skin, drowning him in the sheer incredulity of the situation. He, too, was shocked. But he managed to pick his jaw up and off the floor before any of the assorted gamblers and spectators could.

Wordlessly he approached the bandaged brawler, making pointed attempts to avoid looking at her exposed arms and tail. Fur meant that she was one of those animal devil-fruit users. That would explain how she had managed to so easily win the two bouts, and whilst he was certain he may have been able to sell it as a fair use of ability or talent on any other day, the crowd had just lost a good deal of money. More than that, the man who had been sent to the sky in much the same way that a rocket may have been would almost certainly have angry friends.

He grabbed her furred arm and without a single word, made as if to drag her out of the circle. Pulling her into a hasty run, his free hand reaching for his belt. Whilst it may have been hidden to the crowd at large, to Maple she would be able to see the hilt of the weapon he rested it upon. He hoped he wouldn’t need to stab anyone as they fled the circle, but that was the sort of thing that seemed to happen to him.

“We have to run,” He whispered hoarsely to the mummy-furry-brawler-girl and then made true to those words, his hand not releasing its grip on her.

[Fox]

Maple flinched when Mag grabbed her arm. Oh, shoot. She forgot to keep it unraveled. She did it now, but she had a feeling it was too little too late. Fine! Then they were gonna run! Maple’s body exploded in another unravelling. She shot one of her paws out and snatched the toad man’s money bag right off his belt. She’d earned it after all! Hastily retracting her arm, she wrapped herself around Mag’s torso and shot another of her paws off, clamping onto a distant chimney on a roof. Got it!

“Hold on, Mag!”

Wrapping herself around him, the two launched into the air as Maple reeled them both in. Maple made sure to use her body to cushion the impact for Mag as they arrived on the rooftop. Maple’s body reformed completely, revealing her distinctly humanoid tanuki form. She glanced back at the stunned crowd that they’d left behind before looking up at Mag and shoving the bag of money into his hands, grinning.

“Hehe! Not too shabby! C’mon, let’s keep going!”

Maple whirled around and ran off across the rooftops. No one was gonna catch them that easily! Her fruit was definitely good for quick escapes.

“How much did we get?”

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Maple | #9acd32 | Post Count: 7

[The Love Ballad]

One moment Maguire Magherafelt Jr. was quite sure of what was happening, he wasn’t particularly happy about it, nor the circumstances that had led to said event happening, but he was aware of the goings on. The next, he was launching through the air. He was aware of the fact that Maple had warned him to hold on, and he was also aware of the fact that she had wrapped him up. But with what, he wasn’t aware, nor was he entirely aware with the method of propulsion. All he knew was that he was soaring, and then they were landing. Or rather, the more apt term would probably be crashing.

He slammed down onto Maple’s form, her body blocking him form the impact with the rooftop. Only for that form to not long after reshape itself, it was as if it had been entirely unravelled, and then much like a spindle of thread, it returned itself to its natural shape. A shape that he saw was now that of a tanuki, well a humanoid tanuki. The pirate blinked, trying to comprehend what exactly she was, before a bag of money was thrust into his hands and she set off across the rooftops.

Instinct kicked in, and the man took off after her, running across the rooftops with decisively less grace than his partner. Still, he wasn’t one to fall behind and so he kept true behind her, his mind racing as he tried to understand exactly what she was. He had assumed she had eaten a devil fruit, hence the ears and fur. But, the unravelling could only have occurred due to eating another one of those cursed foods, and as far as he was aware, there was a one per person rule. Unless he was entirely mistaken.

Those thoughts were briefly interrupted as she turned and faced him, seemingly unbothered at the task of running backwards.

“Uh,” He thought allowed, running all the while. He shook the bag, feeling the weight of it, and was pleasantly surprised by the heft of the coins, “A lot! Ye’ got a damned lot!”

A grin formed on his face, whatever she was, that was beside the point. She had helped to make him some money, and that made her alright in his book.

“That a fruit?” He called out to her, a question in response to her own, “Y’know, the unravellin’ and whatnot?”

Fruits had always been rare in the blues, perhaps that wasn’t the case now that he was finally upon the Grand Line.

The only sound accompanying the question was their frantic footsteps, it seemed that robberies and escapes were not entirely rare in these parts. An island governed by street fights, it seemed, did not have the best legal system.

“Oi think we got away, ye’,” His grin only widened as he spoke, but he dared not slow down, “Ye’ got a place to lay low?”

[Fox]

Maple’s grin widened as Mag confirmed that they had in fact scored. Scored big! Hell yeah! More than enough to party her heart out and then get the first ship off this place. She nodded, falling in step beside Mag and tilted her head curiously at him, confused at first. Her eyes widened with realization when it hit her.

“Oh! Yeah!” Maple held up her hand and unravelled it, wiggling around the ribbons to demonstrate, “I ate the Kase Kase no Mi! The Reel-Reel Fruit! It makes me… do this! Pretty handy sometimes!”

As Mag asked his next question, Maple was busy unravelling her face, running essentially blind. That was why, when the time came to make a jump between rooftops, Maple’s foot was met with open air. She dropped like a rock down into an alley, crashing into a couple of empty crates. She hissed in pain and tried to pry herself up out of the debris. Ouch!

“Little help, Mag?”

She called as she dusted her head off and tried to find a way to extricate herself without jabbing herself with a rusty nail or broken piece of wood.

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Maple | #deb887 | Post Count: 8