An Unlikely Solution for an Unlikely Situation!

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #8

Beast the debate between Danielle and Olivier started, Beast´s fur bristled as the large canine released silent, threatening growl towards the man. She didn´t like him. No, that wasn´t the right word, she hated him. For the first time in her short life she found a human she truly hated from the bottom of her heart, because he wanted to steal her best friend away and that was something even someone as positive as Beast couldn´t forgive.
Then the question came and the fluffy doggo was sure, that Danielle will say no to him. They were friends after all. The best friends in the world, so despite everything she never truly believed that the blonde could leave them simply because her mind couldn´t really comprehend the idea that someone could betray a friendship. So when the treasure huntress gave her answer the first reaction was a smug smile, that slowly changed into pure disbelief and horror.
As the debate continued, Beast was watching Danielle, jaw dropped so shocked by her answer, she couldn´t even chase of that terrible redhead that came to them.
“Youuuu…youuuuu traitor!”
She snapped at the woman, when she finally turned to her and said they could leave, her face reflecting the devastation and betrayal she felt. If she could cry, she would but like this all she could do was howl and run away from these three evil people that hurt her.
Her monstrous strength at fool display, the doggo ran through the door like a battering ram, smashing them open, only to find alarmed Gabriel standing right in front of her.
“Beast are you alright? What happened.”
Gently grabbing the fur on her neck, the Professor stopped his fleeing doggo, his soft and worried expression suddenly stern as he noticed the excruciating pain reflected in her face.
“You hurt my puppy.”
He growled furiously, his rage focused on Olivier. One of the guards tried to stop him, moving himself between the Professor and his employer, only to pause when he found Gabriel´s palm touching his chest.
“Pressing Palm.”
The guard tensed and fell to the ground a blink of an eye later as what looked like a gentle touch to a regular onlookers hit his heart with a powerful shockwave.
Seeing what happened, the second guard released his grip on the sword, raising his arm in a “I don´t want nothing to do with this” gesture.

[Bobbie]

As Beast snapped at her, Danielle flinched, freezing with her hand outstretched and reaching out for the large dog. Her eye grew wide as she stared at the malamute, perhaps the real one true love in the story that was the life of this treasure huntress; the unexpected encounter that filled her heart with so much love and passion for another creature, which was now all being overtaken by so much hurt and regrets that it was overwhelming. Her heart felt like it could explode.

The blonde’s lip quivered and her eye welled up with tears once more, a lump quickly forming in her throat that made it hard to breathe. She was being crushed. From all directions, Danielle felt a pressure weighing on her that made her chest ache. Blinking her tears away and withdrawing her hand, she cleared her throat in an attempt to resist the tremendous urge to simply collapse into a fit of cries and just let her grief take over. Then she walked out of the study after Beast.

“Hmm… not so injured after all. She can walk.” Olivier quipped in a subtle mutter.

Danielle heard him, but she didn’t dare look back. She didn’t dare look forward either. She couldn’t bare the gaze of neither Gabriel or Barbossa, so, with her lips pressed together, her teeth silently chattering with the rage and heartbreak, she made her way past everyone to the stairs.

She heard the Professor call her his puppy again, but she didn’t care - no, that wasn’t entirely true. She did care. She cared very much… but she didn’t care to correct him. The difference was that it didn’t make her angry, but incredibly sad. After that, she heard a body fall to the ground, and she wasn’t bothered with correcting that either. For a moment, she considered the chances of Gabriel killing everyone within this castle, sparing only Rosalina and Olivier to let him see what his insolent actions cost him… that consideration developed into hope as she wished for it. Olivier insisted that Gabriel was dangerous and refused to be persuaded otherwise, perhaps showing him that he was right wouldn’t be so bad.

Barbossa witnessed it all without uttering a word, simply observing and assessing the situation in his thoughts. Staring at the man who collapsed for a moment, he then glanced at Gabriel, before crouching down to place two fingers on the man’s neck. Looking up at the Professor once more, he shook his head and stood up.

“We should leave,” the older man offered his counsel and turned to descend the stairs, knowing that Danielle couldn’t be too far ahead of them with her injured leg.

It wasn’t until she felt the cold air sting her dry throat that Danielle realised the strain that her body was under. Her breathing was laboured and heavy, having laxed her jaw just enough to breathe through her mouth, and she had made it down a considerable amount of steps at a remarkably fast pace. There was so much anger inside her that she didn't know what to do with it. Danielle didn’t know how much further there was to go, but taking the moment while she was alone, without knowing how much time she had before the others would catch up, she clenched her teeth and stupidly punched the wall of pure stone and mortar. While feeling no pain limited the satisfaction she got from the sudden surge of energy, the appearance of her wounded knuckles and stiffness in her fingers that resulted from it was enough for her to settle for only one outburst.

Feeling spent, she lowered her hand to her side once more, and continued to descend the stairs at a slower pace.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff
Hayden: #c3f8fa
Barbossa: #4f8235

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #9

Danielle passed by them and walked down the stairs, followed by Beast´s heartbroken stare. Somewhere next to his right, Barbossa asked Gabriel to leave the castle, but the Professor didn´t listen, slowly walking towards Olivier, the man who made his puppy cry.
Knowing what was coming for him, the lord of the castle grabbed a gun. Highly decorated pistol and pointed it in Gabriel´s direction.
“Mirrored Moon.”
He pulled the trigger, but the bullet never hit its target as the Professor relaxed all his muscles, turning his body limp and flexible enough to dodge the incoming projectile on its own.
“Phantom Step”
Disappearing from the sight of all the people present the Professor rushed towards his target with a blinding speed, reappearing again with his hand placed on Olivier´s chest.
“Dragon Palm.”
The older man´s eyes started slowly widening in shock and fear when a violent push threw him across the room and out of the window, towards the cold ground below.
Shocked by the sudden turn of events, Rosalina opened her mouth to release a terrified scream, but not a single sound left her throat as Gabriel twisted his body to the side, hitting her head with an elbow strike.
As her body hit the ground, the Professor turned around walking down the stair. Hearing a gunshot, the guards rushed upstairs to protect their master, but in the eyes of the martial arts master, they were simply too slow and clumsy with their weapons.
One guard tried to stab him with his short sword, but Gabriel was faster, capturing his arm and twisting it into an armbar, before stabbing that man´s chest through his plate armour. Another sword and another man fell down the stair, his arm broken. And while Gabriel was pushing the defenders down, using the staircase, which was built exactly in the manner that should stop any attackers from going up to his advantage, Beast moved by his side, crushing limbs and men with her powerful jaws even with the armour that was supposed to protect them.
They were on a hunt together. Father and daughter walking down the stair, leaving a trail of death in their wake. And then it was suddenly over. The fighting spirit of the defenders was broken by the sight of what they considered to be a monster. They started running in panic, screaming about the demon from the depths of hell that took over the castle, leaving Gabriel and Beast without anyone to fight before they even made it to the courtyard.

[Bobbie]

Danielle had no idea what was going on upstairs and not the faintest clue of the chaos that ensued - until she heard the loud gunshot. Freezing, she turned to look toward the steps she had just descended. She had never seen the Professor with a gun, so her assumption was that he wasn’t the one who fired it.

Torn, the treasure huntress with a broken heart really didn’t wish to get involved, as she had enough grief to deal with currently, but she was also worried about Rosalina. At first, she didn’t particularly care about any of these lives lost. While she admitted wishing for this, however, it didn’t take her very long now that it became a reality to realise how stupid of her it was. Her Rosalina could be hurt, or worse, and everything endured so far would have been for nothing. However… staring at the vast number of steps she had already come down, ascending them alone seemed like an impossible task, especially now that she pushed her body to make it to this point in the condition it was in.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a platoon of guards rushed up the stairs, one of them bumping into her in the process and sending her feet slipping down a few more steps before she managed to catch herself. To her horror, one by one, the guards started tumbling back down the stairs, unconscious or dead.

“Rosalina…”

“Danielle!” Barbossa suddenly grabbed her shoulders, seeing the look in her eye and hearing the name she just whispered. It could only mean one thing, confirmed by her posture, that Danielle was going to force her way back up those stairs.

“What did he do?” her voice shook with the anger and devastation of everything crashing down around her - including her last ditch effort to be with Rosalina possibly shattered because of Gabriel’s rampage. “What did he do!?” Danielle reached up to grab Barbossa’s wrists to try and push his hands off her, causing the man’s attention to shift onto her wounded knuckles now.

“Listen to me, Danielle…” he started, making a decision which he wasn’t quite sure of, but it seemed like the best at the time. It would be better if she didn’t know. “Rosalina is unharmed, but we should keep moving.” Another body rolled down beside him, just barely missing the swordmaster’s ankles.

Meeting her resistance with a stern voice and a firmer grip, her former mentor spoke to her in the manner he used to in the past while she was his student. In a way that made it clear there will be no arguing.

Eventually, he’d get her over the bridge and to the gates of the castle.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff
Hayden: #c3f8fa
Barbossa: #4f8235

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #10

Danielle and Barbossa were faster than Gabriel and Beast. After all, despite Professor's strength, it took him some time to fight his way through the guards and to break their spirit. So, when he finally made it to the courtyard they were probably already gone.
Standing in the wet mud of the castle's grounds, Gabriel glanced back seeing Olivier lying down at the base of his tower. For a second it looked as if he was thinking about approaching the broken, unconscious man, but in the end, he turned around with a deep frown and left.
Walking down the hill and through the town, The Professor didn't meet a living soul as the townspeople weren't really eager to meet someone who made Olivier's guards run in fear.
As he approached their boats, the Professor found his people ready for war.
"Here you are."
Hariyama rushed towards him, worried for his master's safety.
"We heard that an incident happened in the castle and wanted to check if you are safe. What happened?"
Gabriel raised his eyes up, meeting the sumo wrestler's gaze, his own eyes empty as if he was trapped in some kind of dream or rather a nightmare.
"She made Beast cry…"
He muttered as the large canine passed around them, disappearing under the main deck.
"S*it and what about Danielle is she alright?"
Worried, Namkhai rushes to Gabriel, who shook his head in disagreement.
"She made Beast cry."
"So she is…"
The Titan's eyes widened in disbelief.
"No, she is alive…"
Walking to the ship Gabriel sat down next to the main mast followed by his people.
"I know I should have but…she is still my puppy. I simply couldn't…I couldn't…"
Broken and lost, the Professor looked up at the gloomy sky.
He stayed like that for almost a whole hour, sitting, staring into the void, unsure what he should do now. In a way when someone else hurt his puppy, it was very easy as all he had to do was eliminate the thread. But what was he supposed to do when one of his puppies hurt another? He didn't know and it was tearing him apart.

[Bobbie]

Reaching the main gates of the castle, Barbossa stood by Danielle, ensuring that she never turned around to look back and see the carnage that was left behind them by the Professor. Barbossa spotted Olivier’s body, but wasted no seconds in considering that man’s condition, and did everything in his power to prevent Danielle from seeing it. He could have been dead, but there was no use dwelling on that now…

Danielle was lost and didn’t know where to go. Should she go back to the ship? It was clear that Beast was angry at her, and she had no guarantee that the fluffy bundle of love could ever forgive her for this, even as flawless as she was. It was a despicable act to force Danielle to choose between them and Rosalina, but she had to do it… it was the only way. The thought of losing the friends that she made in the Professor and his crew, especially Beast, weighed heavily on her heart.

The further they walked, the more laboured Danielle’s breathing became. With a frown, Barbossa watched her, quite puzzled by the manner in which this exertion seemed to be increasing despite her slowing down. Then her breathing became audible in raspy but quick breaths, her condition rapidly declining as it seemed that his former student was not getting much air into her lungs before exhaling it again. It was at this moment, as he saw that she was shaking, that he realised what was happening to her.

The treasure huntress’ body finally gave in as her knees gave way and she collapsed. Quick to react, her former sensei grabbed her arm and held her up.

“Danielle, you’re having a panic attack.”

Her chest felt like it was in a vice. Her heart was crushed and her lungs refused to expand with the limited air that she desperately tried to inhale. Without warning, the blonde broke down into a fit of sobs and sharp breaths and suddenly collapsed to the ground, her arm slipping right out of Barbossa’s grasp.

The man stared at her in shock. He had never seen such an emotional response from her before, as even the day Danielle lost her eye there was never so much hurt and pain emanating from her. It pained him to see her like this, knowing full well that she would never allow him to see her in this state under any circumstances. Barbossa knelt down beside her, feeling his own eyes stinging, before he gently squeezed her shoulder.

“You need to take a deep breath…” he spoke softly to her, but to no avail. “Come…” With a firmer hold, he got her back up on her feet, unwilling to lift her in his arms at the expense of her dignity, but allowing her to lean on him as much as was necessary. The walk was slow, but Danielle's sobs would eventually subside and her breathing would return to normal. “Let’s get some food… when was the last time you ate?”

Food always seemed like a good idea; it would give her something else to focus on, pleasantly stimulate her senses, and provide her body with some energy, which the grief-stricken woman seemed to be severely lacking. Stopping at the nearest cafeteria, Barbossa seated her at an outdoor table to be less conspicuous to other patrons and offer a bit more privacy due to the unusually quiet streets. The Professor’s doing, he had no doubt.

Once she sat down, Danielle’s head and shoulders drooped slightly as she merely stared at the table without saying a word. She was silent, lost in her own world of sorrows.

“You’ll need to clean that and wrap it up. Maybe assess the damage, you might have broken a finger.” Barbossa’s words seemed to fade into nothingness around her, disappearing into the background of a scene that Danielle had no desire to be a part of. It was becoming a struggle to keep her eye open, as, devoid of energy, all she wished to do was fade away. Disappear.

“What would you like to eat?”

What she couldn’t understand was why… why did this feel like such a terrible loss? Of course, losing friends and loved ones would always be devastating, but it brought her one step closer to Rosalina. That was ultimately her end-goal after all. It always was.

The clattering sound of cutlery rattling on a glass plate brought Danielle out of her trance-like state after Barbossa had given up on trying to be heard. Instead, he simply decided to order waffles for her, hoping that the sweet snack would appeal to her and the sugar would help.

It didn’t, as she pushed the plate away from her.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff
Hayden: #c3f8fa
Barbossa: #4f8235

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #11

“We have to do something.”
Argued Niko in a small circle of the Professor´s friends.
“Yes, we have to bring Danielle and…”
Eponine nodded, but her argument hit on a disagreement from Namkhai.
“And do what? She is our friend, but there is no telling what Gabriel will do if she really…”
His reasoning was suddenly interrupted by Sigrid, who turned her eyes towards the main mast finding out that the Professor already wasn´t there.
“Ehm, speaking of Gabriel, where is he?”
Suddenly all the eyes were focused on the empty place, where the Professor was sitting just a second ago.
“How did he…”
Niko asked, his eyes wide open.
“Fu*k! We have to find him!”
Namkhai cursed, genuinely worried about Danielle´s safety.
“Sigrid, stay here and watch after Beast, the rest of you into the town. Find him before he´ll do something he will regret!”
While his friends were worried, Gabriel was walking through the town. He wasn´t lost in his thoughts, he was simply empty. Too sad and confused to even form a coherent thought. He walked aimlessly, his mere presence scaring people back into their homes.
He had no idea how long he was there or which streets he walked through. All he knew was that out of a sudden, he was standing in front of a restaurant, looking through its window at Danielle and Barbossa. He didn´t have any plan when he entered the place. All he knew was that he should be angry at her for breaking Beast´s heart. He should be but couldn´t because all he saw was a little lost puppy.
“Get out…please.”
He snapped at her teacher, adding the last word only after realizing that this came out more aggressive than he wanted. Then, without waiting for whether he´ll listen to him or not, Gabriel grabbed a chair, pulled it next to the treasure hunter, and hugged her. All doubts and anger washed away by love for his puppy.
“It´s alright, I am here now.”
The Professor whispered, petting her hair.
“We can make it right, I promise, we will make it right.”

[Bobbie]

Having pushed her plate away from her and into Barbossa’s spot instead, Danielle was showing a little more responsiveness to her environment. Her eyes shifted, their focus now drifting onto other things than the smooth and empty surface of the table; however, she still didn’t utter a word. It was clear that the only conversation she was willing to have at that moment was a silent one with herself.

Barbossa sighed, moving the plate aside and a little bit closer to her. He hoped she would change her mind and eat the waffles, so he had no intention of eating them himself.

“Danielle…” he kept his voice low as they were now in a more public space, and he knew how she felt about being referred to by her name instead of its supposed shortened form, Danny. The man had his own view on this, but now was not the time to challenge her. The next voice that addressed her, however, was not her former mentor’s.

Perhaps that was for the better, as Barbossa wasn’t quite sure of what to say. He didn’t know how to get through to her and whatever he tried seemed to be unsuccessful to the point that he doubted his words were even registered in the woman’s mind.

While he didn’t appreciate the aggressive tone from Gabriel, he seemed to comply nonetheless and rose to his feet to take a step away from the table, but that was as far as he went until he was sure she wasn't in any danger.

Danielle didn’t move from her own seat, but her head turned away from him slightly, her gaze travelling to another table to the side where the Professor was not. She couldn’t bare to look at him. She wondered if he was angry at her for upsetting Beast… if nothing else, she was sure that he couldn’t have known the reason, as Beast was always very careful to hide her ability to talk from her master, and so there would be no way to disclose the conversation that went on within Olivier’s study without compromising that secret.

Nothing concerned her enough to offer any sort of reaction. Barbossa moving, the Professor reaching for a chair. Her body felt tired and her heart was exhausted. It beat relentlessly even if she willed it not to, but it was suddenly so devoid of passion and motivation to do so. In her mind, it was like being in dark empty room where all she could hear was a monotonous thumping sound coming from nowhere specific and signifying absolutely nothing, the faint vibrations reverberating through her bones just enough to keep her from drifting away to the place she wanted to be. The legs of the chair hit the wooden floorboard as it felt like time slowed down, and she was suddenly wrapped up in the Professor’s arms, enveloped by warmth and care. The buzzing that ran through her body suddenly quietened and was replaced with gentle chatter of other few patrons in the restaurant, utensils striking plates, and the tapping sound of footsteps as Barbossa left them alone and waited for them outside the restaurant where he could watch them through the window.

He was hugging her. The Professor was hugging her.

Raising one hand to his shoulder, her body had less of the usual push reaction to his, as she held onto him tightly instead, her other arm wrapping around him. Danielle buried her face into Gabriel’s shoulder and closed her eye.

Grateful for the chance to meet him one more time, she squeezed him in her arms as if she were afraid to let go. How long would be long enough before never seeing somebody so dear to her ever again? What about the others? What about Beast? This didn’t necessarily mean that she was forgiven… the thought caused her to loosen her grip, only to tighten it once more as he whispered to her. She wanted nothing more than to believe him, that they can make this right, but she simply couldn’t see how.

“I’m sorry,” she replied, her words muffled into Gabriel’s body. “He… he made me choose.” As if fearing her words would cause him to abandon her, Danielle clung to the Professor, her fingers grappling onto any folds in the fabric of his suit that they could in an attempt to keep him from leaving her.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff
Hayden: #c3f8fa
Barbossa: #4f8235

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #12

Anyone who knew Danielle would be probably surprised by the sudden change in her behavior and the need for physical contact, but not Gabriel. The Professor realized the moment he met her, that deep inside, Danielle was a small puppy, lost and vulnerable. That was why he let her hold onto him as long as she needed, making sure his voice will be calm and soothing, despite the cold rage he felt. Not towards her, but towards the man he left lying in the mud of his courtyard, broken but still alive.
"I should have killed him."
He growled for himself, petting the treasure huntress's hair.
"It's alright. You can't travel with us, but that doesn't mean we won´t see each other ever again.”
Gabriel gave her an encouraging smile despite the fact that she couldn´t see it.
“The world is big, much bigger than Olivier can control so we can always meet somewhere outside of his influence. I have house for example, big house in the West Blue with dozens of cute little puppers who would love to meet you.”
He whispered just in case there would be anyone in the inn foolish enough to report their conversation back to the broken men in his emptied castle.
“And in meantime…”
The Professor continued.
“We can use letters! I will write you from every island we will visit, and you know what? I´ll get one of these new cameras so you would have picture of Beast and the crew in every single one, alright?”
He patted her head as he always done to puppies that were sad.
“And don´t worry about Beast that much. She is young and hot headed, taking everything too personal…”
Gabriel started, completely oblivious to the fact that if someone was to be blamed for these traits in his dog it was the guy who killed dozen or so of man over heartbroken puppy.
“but she is also smart girl too. I am sure that if you apologize to her and explain everything, she will forgive you.”

[Bobbie]

Danielle quite enjoyed being held by Gabriel for what may have been the first time since the two entered each other’s lives. His voice was soothing and the genuine care that he showered her with calmed her down.

She nodded when he explained that they will find the chance to meet somewhere out of Olivier’s reach. It was a risk, as if he somehow found out, it would ruin the possibility of marrying Rosalina entirely, but things were suddenly not so clear cut for the treasure huntress to immediately decline. Then the Professor referred to other ‘cute little puppers’ and she finally flinched.

Just like that she was suddenly reminded of who, exactly, had his arms wrapped around her and his hand petting her hair. With a gentle hum, Danielle pulled away, being slow and careful in her movements so as not to offend him while he continued to talk.

“Letters…” she echoed after him, a subtle smile creeping across her lips as she could now find it in herself to look directly at him. He will always be a creep, but he had somehow become one that she knew she would miss dearly.

”Letters sound nice… especially with photos.” That smile developed into a little chuckle as she nodded. It wasn’t the best solution, but it was one that she would have to settle for. She then nodded at his final suggestion, “I would like to do that… I hope you are right and Beast will forgive me. I would also like to say goodbye to everyone too.”

With a little sigh, her smile faded as one thought continued to weigh heavily on her heart. “Professor… may I tell you a secret that you must take with you to the grave?”

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff
Hayden: #c3f8fa
Barbossa: #4f8235

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #13

Completely oblivious to the real reason why she moved away from him, Gabriel was happy that his puppy was slowly getting better.
“Well of course, you are an important member of the family, so you have to say your goodbyes to everyone personally.”
He nodded, gently pushing the plate with waffles towards her as an experience was telling him that puppy with full belly was always happier than a puppy with empty one.
“We also have to make some preparations first before you´ll be able to defend your treasure yourself. Some proper combat training is in order, I have to finish that training manual I was writing for you, a letter for other M.A.R.I. members, and we also have to find a shop and buy some pretty ribbon.”
The Professor smiled gently at Danielle.
“She wished for one for ages, so let´s buy her one and say it was your idea.”
He grinned, reaching forward to head pat the treasure huntress, but paused with his hand few inches away from her hair as she asked if she can tell him something important.
“Of course, you know I would never betray your trust.”
Well, at least he hoped that she knew it as he never told anyone about her fear of spiders.

---

Meanwhile, back in the port, Sigrid was the only member of the crew remaining with their ships as the rest of the crew except Beast and Henry went out to look for the Professor and Danielle. Bored, she was watching a seagulls flying above her head, when her eyes ended up on the horizon, noticing two ships approaching the island. Nothing would be wrong with that if not for the fact, that these two were clearly marine´s ship and were heading towards them with a full speed.

[Bobbie]

Danielle looked down at the waffles, still not particularly hungry, but she picked up the fork anyway and just let that rest in her fingers for a bit. Staring at it while he spoke, she didn’t even notice that he had reached out to pat her head again.

“I sometimes wish that I had fallen for…” she sighed, scraping the prongs of the fork against the corner of one of the two waffles that had a toasted crust. At this point, she frowned and lightly shook her head, the expression of anger on her face reflected in the manner her fork tore through the waffle to cut off the corner of it with its side. “Somebody else.” Finishing her confession, she picked up a piece of her lunch and stuck the fork into her mouth, her teeth scraping the metal a bit as she drew it back out, clean.

“More training?” Danielle’s attention was now elsewhere as she was fully focussed on what the Professor just proposed. The last training session with him didn’t go so well, but perhaps the next one would only be better for that specific reason. It definitely wouldn’t hurt this time, but even with the damage done during his recent acupuncture experiment, she learnt that her body still suffered from exhaustion without pain.

“Wait… a training manual?” Seeming to be filled with life once again, the treasure huntress sprang from one topic to another, stuffing another forkful of the sweet dessert into her mouth as her body craved the energy it offered. “A pretty ribbon?” With each phrase, Danielle became more animated, her mind repeating the words uttered to her just moments ago.

“Who’s the ribbon for?” For a moment, she was worried that he could be suggesting it was for her, but then recalled that he mentioned somebody else who has wished for one for ages. Eponine? she silently tried to solve this mystery. No, I don’t remember her ever asking for a ribbon… or did she?

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff
Hayden: #c3f8fa
Barbossa: #4f8235

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #14

Seeing that she became interested in food again, even if only so little made the Professor smile as it was a good sign that his puppy is starting to feel better. His usual smile froze for a moment however as she mentioned her secret. For a very long second, he was worried, that she could mean him as while Danielle was definitely amazing person the Professor never considered himself to be a good material for a dating let alone anything more. Then however he realised that she was probably speaking in general terms regretting falling in love with someone like Rosalina, which allowed him to seamlessly slip back into his supportive role.
“Well, I mean if you are not sure you can always take a different path.”
He gave her a warm, encouraging smile.
“Remember what I told you back there during Gatling´s party. It´s not you who found the most amazing woman in to world, it´s Rosalina and unless she acts in a way that makes her worthy of you, no one can blame you for walking away.”
Taking the risk to actually touch her face to draw her full attention towards himself.
“Now listen, I know it can be hard to even think about it with everything you sacrificed for her, but Rosalina isn´t the only one. You are beautiful, selfless, brave woman and I am sure there is someone who will love you for who you really are and will cherish every single moment spent with you.”
Pulling his hand away, Gabriel smiled away as and let the conversation continue towards the ribbons he mentioned earlier.
“For Beast of course. Maybe she doesn´t look like that but she is very proud of her beauty and since she saw a girl with ribbon in her hair, as a puppy she wanted one. Obviously I was against it but, since this is very special occasion you might have a chance to convince me to allow her to wear one, if you know what I mean.”

[Bobbie]

Danielle’s interest in her food served as a welcome distraction as it felt easier to talk about certain things of a more sensitive nature without looking a person in the eye. This was particularly true when The Professor referred back to his previous speech. She remembered it, of course, that was a very particular moment in her life that she couldn’t see herself ever forgetting it in the future; but that didn’t mean she had to agree with his flattery.

Unfortunately, the luxury of distraction that she found in her waffles was taken away from her when Gabriel unexpectedly reached out to touch her face and turn her head to make her look at him. In less than a second, Danielle’s brow twisted into a deep frown, he eye widened for a brief moment, only to be narrowed soon after. As if by reflex, the treasure huntress pulled back and she let go of the fork she was holding, allowing the steel cutlery to clatter onto the plate and then onto the table, its contents spreading out on the table in the form of crumbs and berries that topped the waffles. Once her hand was free, it immediately flew through the air to slap Gabriel’s hand away from her face with full force.

Staring at him, her frown shifted from one of anger into one of shock and concern, while her mouth arced into a stretched grimace as she inhaled through her teeth - she did not mean to do that. Why the hell is this creep touching my face?

It was more aggressive than necessary, but she had made no indication whatsoever that such a gesture would be appreciated. It could have been worse… the restaurant could have been full of people, and I could have slapped his face instead by accident, she thought to herself, trying to ease her conscience with worse possible scenarios and excuses.

Once the shock had passed, she nodded, though the uneasiness and tension in her shoulders were ever present, a symptom of simply being Danielle, it seemed.

“Right… sorry.” The blonde offered a quick apology in passing and then moved on. “Beast would look beautiful with a ribbon. I would love to see it.” Of course, she had little to say about the first part of his speech. It was nice and very kind, and she would be lying if she said it didn’t feel wonderful to hear such things being said about her, but it didn’t matter. She only wanted Rosalina, and, as wrong as she knew that it was, how she was treated by the ginger was of little concern to the treasure huntress as long as she got to be with the love of her life.

“What colour will you get for her?” she asked, looking down at the fork again and picking it up to place it at the side of the plate as if she'd had enough of the waffles now, then dusting the mess off the table. As she did so, she’d have a quick side glance in The Professor’s direction… just in case he thought of doing that again.

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Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff
Hayden: #c3f8fa
Barbossa: #4f8235

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #15

The Professor looked at his hand with surprise written all over his face as his puppy slapped it away after he tried to touch her face. This surprise was however very short lived as it was immediately replaced by a wide smile. Under normal circumstances he wouldn´t be happy that his puppy bared her teeth on him, but in Danielle´s case it meant that the treasure huntress was returning back to her usual self, which was an amazing news.
“No need to apology, I am glad you are getting better.”
Gabriel said kindly, putting his hand back to the table, before answering her question.
“Well, I would obviously prefer some decent colour, like blue or green. Beast, at least at the very beginning wanted pink but something is telling me that she would love a yellow one. You know, because of your hair and everything. She is taking your friendship very seriously you know.”
Despite everything the Professor seemed to be in a good mood, which however quickly disappeared as a voice enchanted by megaphone came from the coast.
“Gabriel Moon! This is captain Cottee from the Marines! I have your fleet surrounded! You and your people have fifteen minutes to surrender or we will use deadly force!”
Now that was definitely unexpected. For a second the Professor pondered is someone from Olivier´s people could contact them, but then he realised that even if they did the Marines had to be very close to react this fast anyway meaning she was hunting him since the Shell Island.
“Seriously, talk about bad timing.”
The Professor sighed. Offering Danielle an apologetic smile.
“I am very sorry, but would you be so kind and buy that ribbon without me? Looks like I have to deal with something before you will be able to say your good byes.”