Serious: Milky Way Pirates: Nocturne Division: Chapter 1: Preparations for the Grand Line; The Division meets for the First Time!

A young woman of eighteen years old looked out over the docks from seats at the front of a small harbour tavern.
She hadn't been on the tiny island very long and she had to admit, as far as islands in closer proximity to the Grand Line went- this one was rather mundane in terms of action. However, due to that very lack of action, there was a low marine presence in the small main town and as such, it made the place perfect for the very first meeting of a new division of a certain pirate crew.

That crew was the Milky Way Pirates.
This division was the Nocturne division.
And the newly elected, very surprised, division captain sitting in that cafe was the scientist Arianne Greyson.

She looked down into her cup of tea, pushing her very long blonde hair back over her shoulders. She wasn't used to it being so long. For the past eighteen years of her life, it had never fallen past her shoulders. It now came down to her waist and definitely was going to take some getting used to.
Along with that, the once extremely conservative young lady now found herself with a set of pierced ears, tanned brown skin and a tattoo. Granted the earrings weren't necessarily glamorous, a tan was nothing spectacular and the tattoo was a bible quotation...but Arianne still felt that her new appearance was going to take a while to adjust to. Right now as she stared into the watery brown swirls of the surface of the tea, she still felt her heart jump a little when she caught sight of the small gold hoops glistening at her ears.
Every now and then, Arianne would catch a passer-by, most of them male, staring in her direction- but that didn't matter to her at all. Arianne had never been particularly concerned about the attention of men and now, she had even less of a reason to be.

The only man that she cared about was Avery Crusher, her lover.
Arianne's knuckles whitened as she clasped her hands on the table. She hadn't seen him in almost a year, not since before the crew had split up to train seperately.
A million questions spun around in her head.
Was Avery alright? Where had he gone? Had he changed? Would he like her new appearance? Would he think that she had changed?
Arianne took a deep breath, closing her eyes and saying a silent prayer for Avery's health and consoling herself, telling herself to stop worrying for a moment.
Not a single member of her division had arrived yet and she didn't want to appear weak or flustered when they did arrive.

And the amount of male staring, in hindsight, was most likely to do with the fact that sitting beside Arianne was a girl who looked (save for a lack of glasses, curly blonde hair rather than straight, pale skin and a corset that showed off that little bit too much of her bosom) identical to her.
Elsinora Còrazon was more than happy to wink, smile and pucker her lips at any boy who caught her gaze, giggling behind the rim of her wine-glass.

"Elsie, you really don't have to stay with me," Arianne murmured, sighing a little at her sister's behaviour.
Elsinora waved a hand and grinned. "Relax, Ari, mi hermana. I'll leave when your crewmates start to arrive! You've seen my friends. I want to see yours." She winked. "Particularly this Avery fellow..."

Arianne stood up, deciding to stretch her legs for a moment and taking a second to scan the docks. She had notified her crewmates via letter to meet her outside that small tavern, (neglecting to mention that her nosy courtesan of a twin sister might be with her) and despite the low marine presence, she was paranoid that one of them would be spotted and captured before they got to her.

She furrowed her brow as she sat back down again.
"Alright, where is everyone?" she murmured under her breath.

Two boats pulled into the harbor of the small island. One of them was little more than a rowboat, but the other was a decent size and even had a sail.

In the rowboat sat a young man. He had dark hair and odd, piercing, silvery eyes. He was dressed in a sleeveless, black hoodie, which was worn over a long-sleeve black shirt, with dark brown pants, around which he wore a light brown belt, and he wore a pair of black, combat boots. He also was wearing his own signature pair of fingerless gloves, each of which had a flame design on the back. On this man's back was a spear, which had a blade on both ends of it rather than just one side.

The man's name was Avery Crusher. He had changed a little since leaving his crew, the Milky Way pirates. His skin had been darkened from spending nearly the whole last year out under the sun. He was now slightly skinnier than before, having lost some weight during the intense training sessions he had been put through and because he had had to catch, kill, and cook his own food, which wasn't easy for anyone who had to do it on their own. However, the little he had lost in fat had been replaced by muscle. He didn't look like a bodybuilder, but it was much more evident now that he was strong.

Avery hopped over to the harbor and behind him, in the other boat, a much larger figure rose. This figure was obviously not human and it caught the attention of many of the people on the harbor causing them to come to a sudden stop out of shock.

One of these people, in a low whisper, voiced what all of them were thinking: "Is that a dog?"

Well, it was definitely a canine and just by looking at it anyone could tell that it wasn't a wolf or a coyote. It was just a dog. An ordinary, everyday bloodhound. Except, it was also five feet tall at the shoulder.

This giant dog sprang onto the dock and walked over to Avery. He nudged his master, who reached up to rub the side of his muzzle.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Avery said to him. "I haven't lost our directions, Lawrence."

A grin spread over Avery's face as he marched away from the harbor. He hadn't noticed the looks that he and Lawrence were receiving. All he could think about was Arianne and the fact that soon they would see each other again very soon.

While he had been traveling back towards the place where he had last seen the Milky Ways, Avery had gotten a letter explaining the changes in the divisions and telling him about Arianne becoming a commander. It had also included where he was supposed to go to meet up with Arianne and the others from his division. It even mentioned the tavern where she was waiting. The only weird part about the whole thing was how the letter had found him out in the middle of the ocean. Those seagulls really could deliver anything.

He spotted the tavern fairly quickly since it was within visual range of the harbor and he made his way towards it. His heartbeat was starting to pick up, as was his walking speed, as he turned in its direction and headed towards it.

Arianne took another feverent sip of tea, her twin silently laughing at her over the rim of her glass of red wine.

"Ari," she crooned. "Relax...your shipmates will be along, any second and if not, you can sue the guy who you rented those seagulls from and come back to the Rouge District and stay with me..."

Arianne gave her a blunt look to which Elsinora hastily retored with a chuckle: "...I'm joking, babe. You can go back to Eric and ask hi- " Elsinora paused, her eyes widening as she let out a low whistle. "Is that even a dog? It's huge! Oh...but the guy beside him is pretty hot..."

Arianne looked up for a moment, her attention suddenly diverted..
The hot guy comment was pretty subjective but a dog?
It couldn't be...could it...?

She stood up and whipped her head around, looking in the direction that Elsie was oggling in. Her eyes widened further and she raised her eyebrows, her heart rate picking up and her breath catching in her throat.
"Lawrence...?"
That bloodhound though bigger and stronger than before was definitely Lawrence...meaning the young man at his side, had to be...

Arianne stood up, turning around completely. He had gotten bigger in build. Like her, his skin had darkened in tone and new scar and marks, tokens of past hardships now lined each layer of hardened muscle.
Despite the slight differences in his appearance, she recognised him instantly...
And there was no one else whom Lawrence would allow to travel with him. Whom he would walk by his side in such a way.

Avery.

"Avery!"
Arianne's voice started working before her legs did, but it wasn't long before she was running at full speed towards Avery Crusher (despite her twin's sudden shouting).
She pulled herself to a halt when she got to him. He was two years older than her and had always been taller- but he was so much more muscle bound now. He had always been fit but now he seemed so much stronger...
He had always been handsome to her...and he still was...
The face that she hadn't seen for almost a year, the one that she had thought of while she lay awake in the jungle at night, pored over books of chemistry and watched other girls cling to the arms of their lovers, was now right in front of her, half drenched in midday sunlight...those beautiful silver eyes just as piercing as ever.

Arianne suddenly came to her senses, her own blue eyes briefly squeezing tight and opening again and her cheeks flushing red.
"Uh..."
She had made quite the scene running over to him and now as she looked up at him, her mouth was rather dry, words seeming to have evaded her.
"Avery...I..."
She had to force herself to start making some coherent sense and the longer her eyes stared up into his, the more she felt the need to smile softly.
"It's been a long time."
Shakily but automatically, she lifted a hand and placed it on his shoulder, stepping a little nearer to him. "I...I've missed you..."

When Arianne started running towards him, Avery found himself speechless. It was just like he was seeing her for the first time all over again and he, as inexperienced as he was, didn't have a clue as to what he was supposed to do or say.

It was almost funny. Avery had envisioned a scene where Arianne was running to him, but in his mind, when she reached him she was going to hug him and he would sweep her up in his arms and...well, anyone with half a brain could figure out what would happen next. And yet, instead of what Avery hoped would happen, it seemed that they were both feeling a little awkward and unsure. Perhaps it was the way they looked. Avery had to admit, Arianne definitely looked more intimidating than before, although in some bizarre fashion, he thought this made her just that much more beautiful. Still, how could he know whether or not she had changed in all that time?

Immediately Avery felt foolish. It had been a long time. She obviously had been hoping for some kind of amazing reunion as well, if the way she had approached him was any indication. Well, his hesitation had pretty much ruined that and so, after mentally kicking himself to get himself moving, Avery reached out his right hand and gently stroked Arianne's cheek with a single finger. He stepped towards her, his hand moving around to the back of her head, carefully intertwining his fingers with her hair. Then he leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers.

"Hello Arianne," Avery said, speaking for the first time since she had appeared. "I've missed you too. More than you know."

Then he kissed her and he felt no fear.

The moment Avery's lips met hers, the world seemed to pull to a halt around them and Arianne's heart leapt within her chest.
The scent that she had only been able to imagine for the past year ensnared her senses. The warmth and heartbeat that she had only been able to dream about for the past year were now against her skin. The lips that she had only been able to fantasize about for the past year were now melded perfectly with hers.

She continued to kiss Avery for what felt like hours, her arms moving to encircle his neck, pulling herself closer to him. Every feeling of tension and terror that had once clung to her seemed to dissolve into the air.
Not caring about who was watching or what anybody thought- Arianne pulled herself closer to her lover still and lifted a hand to run her fingers through his hair.
She had no desire whatsoever to break the moment...

...so Elsinora promptly broke it for her.

Arianne parted with a slight jump when she heard a cough from behind them and turned to see her twin standing there, her arms folded and a smirk on her lips.
"Uh...," Arianne gave a small nervous chuckle and took Avery's hand, gesturing with her free one. "This...this is Elsinora. My sister. The one I had told you about...Elsie, this is Avery...my..."

"The hot lover I've been hearing all about, huh?" Elsinora purred, taking Avery's hand and shaking it. "Encantada*...."
Arianne turned flush red again, deciding to keep talking rather than freeze up before her sister. "And this is Avery's loyal companion, Lawrence."
The blonde scientist suddenly smiled brightly and stooped down (though she didn't have to stoop far) to stroke the bloodhound's ears. "Hey, Lawrence...I've missed you too..."

Elsinora nodded to Lawrence, looking a little nervous. "He's a big fella. Does he bite?"


((*Nice to meet you))

Avery was initially annoyed by the interruption to their reunion, but was then pleasantly surprised to find out who it was, though he was also a little bit nervous, having remembered what Arianne had said about her sister and her particular lifestyle. She hadn't seemed too happy with her sister back then, but maybe things had changed between them. Avery could only hope that that change had not extended to Arianne herself. To be honest, he wasn't sure how he would feel if Arianne started acting excessively flirtatious or seductive around him.

Regardless of how she had changed personality-wise, Arianne certainly looked different. She seemed a little less reserved and more rugged. It looked to Avery like her training had been every bit as rough as his own.

At least in this respect, that of her appearance, Arianne seemed different from her sister. While Elsinora was wearing a somewhat overly revealing outfit, Arianne was still much more conservative in her dress. Though admittedly she was showing her midriff, a fact that had made Avery lightly blush when he had first noticed.

Avery's grin had disappeared at the moment of the interruption, but he brought back a pleasant smile when Elsinora took his hand. As they shook hands, he said, "Yeah, nice to meet you."

He dropped her hand, but kept a hold on Arianne's, as the conversation turned to Lawrence.

A flicker of Avery's usual grin appeared on his features when he saw the twins' reactions to his pet. It seemed that the sisters weren't quite as similar as he originally thought.

Lawrence grumbled happily and wagged his tail as he was being pet. He leaned towards Arianne a little, but was careful not to put any of his now considerable weight on her.

"He won't bite you," Avery told Elsinora. "Not unless you're planning to go on a murderous rampage through the city." Avery affectionately jabbed Lawrence in the side with his fist and smirked at the dog. "This big lump may look tough, but he is a real pushover when it comes to people."

Trying to prove Avery's point, Lawrence dropped his head lower and gave Elsinora the most pathetic look that he could muster. Avery merely rolled his eyes at his dog's actions and he turned back to Arianne.

"So how did your training go?" Avery asked. "Oh, but we could go and sit down first...if you want to.