“I’ll leave Grand Line…”
Perhaps she should’ve said that a slight more delicately. The moment the words spilled from her mouth, the people she’d fought so much to protect immediately panicked. It had taken full five minutes to calm the crowd down before she could properly explain what she meant. They still had not been pleased, but they didn’t halt her.
So, here she was, in a small single person vessel, making her way back to the four Blues, opposite to the great race of pirates. Carried by the wind, she hummed absent mindedly, rested clumsily in her sphinx form midst the hoards of supplies she’d brought along from her latest stop at Whiskey Peak. Just a little further and she’d be crossing the Red Line, back to the calm tides of the sea.
Considering her goal, she should be heading the opposite direction. She should’ve been boldly marching towards the Shabondi Archipelago, off to give those damned Tenryuubito the beating they so desperately deserved. However, she was well aware of her limits. She couldn’t face the consequences her dream might bring her, not in her current strength…
A cool breeze soothed the otherwise smothering heat, ruffling the dark brown shaded tabby pelt that distinguished her from human beings. The sea’s winds were thick with the tang of salt, a smell that now lingered in her own shape due to her many days of wandering in these vast waters. Her tail lazily tweaked, her oak eyes followed a cloud as it strolled aimlessly across the otherwise untouched blue sky. Moments before, she had been engulfed in a terrible storm. Trust Grand Line to be bipolar. Dust and stone odors now mingled with that of the sea; Paura guessed she must be reaching the Red Line.
Seconds later, a startling gust pelted into Paura’s sail. The vessel jostled violently, sent into a rush towards the single return route the Red Line had; a narrow passage between the Calm Belt and the towering crimson canions. Paura yelped, grabbing onto her boat’s mast so not to be tossed over board. Being sunk into the sea now would definitely not do her any good. Her claws dug into the wood of the mast as the vessel seemed to continuously pick speed, as if carried by a twister. After what felt like the longest minute she’d ever lived, the wind died down, returning to a leisurely breeze. Surprised, the sphinx blinked her eyes open, glancing curiously behind her. The Red Line was slowly disappearing from sight. That had been one hell of a current! At least she could trust her luck to navigate her through such a situation despite her lack of skill.
Now, facing the Blue seas that stretched before her, Paura grinned. She stepped confidently to the front of the vessel, glaring off into the horizon. “I’m here for a challenge…” She began, as if talking to the sea. “I need help, someone to guide me from the very beginning of these seas to my final destiny. I need strength, the kind I can only gain by suffering all of the adventure from the first four Blues and through as much of the Grand Line as needed…” She stood on the small railings of the ship, arms spread wide as she welcomed the adventure with a fiery glint in her eyes. “Take me to the beginning! Give me someone to follow! Oi, you stupid sea, can you hear me?!” Her hands clenched into fists, her pads lightly harmed by her claws, but none to matter. With conviction, she punched high into the air, roaring out her last remarks.
“Give me the path I need to help my people! Make me strong! Give me the person I need to follow! Give me someone to strive to! Can you hear me, baka ume*!?”
“Give me the nakama I need to protect! Give me the nakama that will help me make this darn world better!”
((Baka ume = foolish/stupid sea))
Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:57 am
