high_seas | Mayhem at Malihini

[he huffs a small chuckle at her response. Of course she wouldn't. They trust their crew that much.]

Yeah, it does. The New World is as dangerous as a sea can get. But, you know. They might be powerful enemies, but they're also powerful allies. It's not always about the power itself.

New World? That's the name of the sea you're sailing at?

[It's not a name she would have ever considered for a sea to be honest.]

That's true, by itself power, no matter how big, may be useless by itself. No matter how powerful someone is, allies are the most important thing. It's probably even more important for pirates, after all, in some ways it's pretty much them against the whole world. And that's an even more dangerous enemy.

Yeah. It's the far half of the Grand Line.

[he glances aside at her, smiling a little more than he usually would. She gets it. Elsa really does get it. Perhaps she's more fit for this crew than anyone.]

Some people take a lifetime to learn that lesson.

[he suddenly stops and throws an arm out to prevent her from moving forward as well. He can sense something coming toward them, stalking them, up in the trees. Something larger than a squirrel, that's for sure.]

[Most people aren't born with some great power that they come to fear for years, neither study and learn about politics and history as part of preparation to rule a country. And she knows it well, she could have handled things different in the coronation, she could have hold her ground, retaliate at the accusations of sorcery. That was her kingdom, her castle and no foreigner had any right to chase her as if she was some animal.

It wouldn't have been pretty. She would have had to fight, to use her power and hurt people in order to impose herself. She could have done it, but what then? For how long could she rule Arendelle by fear? Not very long once word got out, and it would, there were too many people in that ball, too many countries that wouldn't take lightly her actions. Even without those things, it wasn't just a matter of power, she had the power to do that, sure, but she didn't have the heart for it. All she had wanted was to be free, to not live in fear, and that wouldn't have given her that.]

Some people take a lifetime to learn most basic lessons. And even among those that learn them, they may not understand them well. Some people would agree on the value and importance of allies, but they would regard them simply as tools, choosing them selectively for who suits their needs better.

I suppose not everyone can just understand- Eh?

[She halts, slightly taken aback by the gesture. Her eyes first fall to the ground, but upon not seeing anything she looks back to him finally understanding the situation. She steps back carefully, slowly, hands raised as she raises her guard, keeping her eyes open for anything that may come.]

Hold on a minute.

[It doesn't take long for the intruder to catch up - a leopard, prowling along a branch and clearly thinking they look rather like lunch. Zoro lowers his arm so Elsa can move if she wants, only to flick a sword free from its saya in preparation. If the big cat wants them, it'll have to come real close, and probably die regretting its decision. At least for now, it's just eyeing them, but also licking its lips and showing its teeth.]

...what do you think? Doesn't look like it'll be tasty.

[She can't say to know the extent of Zoro's skill, but she doubts the animal would pose a real challenge to him. Still she doesn't lower her guard, accidents can always happen, something may go wrong somehow and she knows that very well. And she's not taking any chances. Besides, no matter what she was born to be, what she almost was, now she's a pirate and thus not someone to just stand and wait to be protected.

She answers without looking at Zoro and in a hushed and calm tone.]

I don't think so either. But if it attacks us and dies it would be a waste to leave it to rot here.

Besides, I'm sure Sanji could make it better even if it's not that tasty.

[A quiet noise under his breath is all he gives to acknowledge that yes, Sanji probably could make it taste great. It's a leopard, though, not a deer or a dinosaur.]

You catch on pretty quick.

[Killing it would be far too easy. But he also wants to see what this little lady can do.]

I don't really want to kill it. But if it pounces, I'll have to. Unless you have a better idea?

It's okay, I'll just have to stop it from pouncing then.

[Somehow she manages to say that with far more confidence than what she actually feels. She knows what to do, she has it clear in her mind and her ice will respond accordingly. She knows that her ice will melt eventually, between the general temperature and the body one, so she's not worried about the animal being left defenceless for long. The problem comes with the what if. What if she freezes too much for the animal to recover? She doesn't want to harm it, but Zoro is right, if it attacks them they will have to kill it and so the result will be the same.

The leopard keeps watching them but then shifts slowly, apparently getting ready to pounce. Elsa doesn't wait for an answer from Zoro when she sees that, choosing to be safe rather than sorry. Blasts of magic leave her hands, both landing on the ground right in front of the leopard. In an instant the ground is covered with ice, right under the animal's feet. The leopard tries to step back alarmed, but the ice is faster, with a gesture from her hands the ice seems to take life, raising and covering the big cat's legs immobilizing it. Of course, that causes the animal to get quite pissed off with her as its roaring demonstrates.]

... Good enough?

[Judging by that big, daring grin, it's more than good enough.]

Nice work. Yeah, yeah, complain all you want, [he says to the leopard] but we're not interested in being your lunch. Pick on somebody you can handle.

[Zoro feels quite confident in turning his back on the cat, so they can resume their walk through the jungle. Predators mean there's probably water nearby, it would be good to see if it's clean and fresh and can be taken back to the ship.]

I think you're gonna fit in just fine with this crew. You understand the same things we do, you even know what it is to support and protect your crew. How long before we picked you up were you talking to Luffy over the journal?

[She lets go a breath she hadn't realized that she was holding upon seeing that grin. She can't help but smile proudly even if she knows that halting a leopard is hardly an achievement compared to the things Zoro may have done.]

It may be better if you stick to things you know you can deal with.

[She says that to the leopard as she moves to follow Zoro, the animal still roars behind them and she sends a very tiny and soft blast that hits its nose and causes it to sneeze. Now, even when the ice melts it won't be able to track them by their scents, it will be too busy sneezing.

Her attention focus to Zoro as he speaks.]

Oh, I first talked with him when he and Sanji were inside the kraken. So more or less it was around a month before you found me.

I didn't really expect that to happen so fast... Or ever. But back then I didn't know much about Luffy so it's natural. Have you been on Luffy's crew for long?

Ahh... [those dumbasses. But he's not surprised, Luffy was probably bored and hungry and struck up some chats, and now they have some great crewmates. It's how it goes]

Mm. Yeah, well over two years. Close to three by now, if you count everything. I was the first person he dragged into his crew. [More smiling. He must really be in a good mood.] He has that effect on people. It's almost like magnetism. You can't help but get pulled into his pace, until it's too late and you look around and realize, it was the right thing all along.

[She giggles softly.]

Is it true that everyone in the crew refused at first to join him? I mean, back at your world, of course.

I understand what you mean now. I suppose I was already caught on that first conversation, after all I made that pointless game, even if back then I thought that he would give up considering it too much trouble.

But no matter what doubts I may have, now I don't regret joining this crew. I just hope that there won't be a day in which you all regret having me.

[He thinks about it for a second, and then realizes how true it is.] Huh. Yeah, I guess we all did. Mostly because he just comes out and asks you, bulldozes right over whatever is going on in your life or any honest reasons you would have for not joining. It can be startling.

[he brushes a vine out of the way, and ends up showering both of them with pollen from a large flower. Oops.]

Don't even think that. If you've talked to Robin, you know: we don't turn our backs on anybody. No matter what.

[The confirmation just makes her laugh a bit more openly, with it coming from the first mate, who was also the first to join, it certainly settles it. It's amazing though, how even after almost three years Luffy hasn't changed his approach to people at all.]

Yes, he did that with me as well. I told him I didn't want to join a crew, even that I had a goal that didn't require any crew or travel around the world. But he ignored it all, he just told me I could come with him, without even making it into a question. And after that it was all "I decline your declining", "Change your mind!" and "I will change my mind when you change your mind".

[Complete with an average level impersonation of Luffy's voice, despite the short time she has been with them there's a great fondness in her tone when she does that though. She's definitively all caught in Luffy's rubber net.

The pollen rain makes her sneeze a few times as they continue.]

Robin? [Atchoo.] Did she fear that you would regret having her as well?

[Her worry about being rejected from the crew hasn't been a conversation subject with many, only with Sanji and Zoro so far actually.]

[The impression makes him snort - yes that is Luffy. Exactly.]

So you got the royal treatment, then. Good. And you still ended up here, that means it must have been fate.

[He shakes his head slightly, then, sobering a bit.] That story isn't mine to tell. But suffice it to say, it was something like that.

Oh, that was the royal treatment? Maybe it was simply because he couldn't just reach and pull me into the ship.

[A soft giggle.]

But yes, it may have been fate. I didn't tell anyone where I was, all I told him was that it was an empty island about which I had heard some rumors. Yet you still managed to fine me. What else could it have been besides that or just luck?

[She nods at his answer.]

I know, I didn't intend to question further about it. That much is enough for me, I had the impression in our chat that we had some things in common. I suppose I'll discover more of those things as time goes.

[There's probably more truth to that than she knows.]

Yeah, there's a lot in this crew's journey that we owe to luck. I don't knock it.

[He pushes through another bush, following the sound of water, and sure enough, there is a river here, spilling down some of the volcanic rocks and into a stream that runs to the sea.]

Probably. Robin's a hard nut to crack but I guess you girls might get along better.

[She has the feeling that her guess is probably right, after all Luffy seemed quite ready to do that when he found her and realized who she was.]

I've heard a bit about it. From Smoker and someone else... Aokihi? The way the talked made it seem as if luck had been a good ally of this crew back in your world.

[Excuse her for butchering the name, it's her first time trying to pronounce it.

When they reach the river she approaches the shore, crouching down to look at it, carefully before she tries to test the water.]

That's okay, I don't wish for her to tell more than she wishes too. We all have things we would prefer to not share or remember.

[Like her exact situation and position back home. Though in her case it's more because it has hardly any importance anymore. It's not as if she's a Queen even back in Arendelle, so why should it matter in another world?]

Aokiji...? You've talked to him? Interesting.

[The water is nice. There's a fresh smell in the air, and nothing seems out of the ordinary at all. But yes, testing it would be wise.]

He has ice powers, too. It's his Devil Fruit.

[Just in case, you know, she hadn't learned that in chatting with him...]

Back when he arrived, at least I think he had just arrived, and he talked about how it was possible to make an honest living here. Should I not have done that? I didn't know he was from your same world until later in the conversation and I didn't tell him anything other than that I belonged to this crew.

[She's worried for a second even if she still focuses on examining the water, she creates a small cup of ice to gather some of it for it, eventually giving it a small sip. She then nods satisfied.]

The water is clean and sweet, we could gather some to bring it back to the ship.

[Her head snaps towards Zoro when he speaks again, though. Clearly the subject about powers hadn't come up in their chat.]

He has? ... Is he the one who froze Luffy and Robin then?

[His intention is indeed to gather water, especially if Elsa says it's worth it. But he'll work on answering her questions and concerns, first.]

It's all right, you wouldn't have known. Not that it matters, I also poked at him to see if I could tell whether he was from my time or Luffy's.

But yeah. He's the one who froze them, and gave us a warning. But I can't tell here what he'll do, what his motivation is, because I know things he will do in his future that he hasn't done yet. I don't know where his intentions lie.

[He takes a breath and then looks down into the cool, clear water.]

He fought someone equally powerful in the years between. Combined, they nearly destroyed an island. Half it still lies in eternal winter as an effect of what he did with his powers during the battle.

An... Eternal winter.

[The idea is unsettling, someone powerful enough to cast something like that... Her powers were big, but she's absolutely sure that she couldn't do something like that even on purpose, it's true that the island she was in was covered in winter weather but that was her actively using her powers. Ever since she left, even without Celestia's help, warm weather should have returned to the island.]

I don't think I could do that even if I wanted to, at least not without staying there and constantly using my power. Do you think he will be an enemy then? I mean, in the sense of chasing us and so.

[Because in general pretty much anyone is an enemy or has the potential to be so, especially with the competition for the shards.]

As far as I've been able to tell, he's still a Marine admiral. Even though the Navy here doesn't seem to want help with their law-enforcing, the Marines still aren't pirates like us.

[he bends down to wet his fingers and then cup a little of the water. Yep, it does taste fresh and untainted. Perfect.]

I don't know what to expect, but I reserve a right to say 'I told you so' if he appears on the opposite side as us someday.

[Elsa nods as she mulls it over for a moment.]

Even if the Navy isn't interested in receiving help from people brought here by Davy Jones, I could see him still considering the pirates from his world as part of his jurisdiction and responsibility. I can't say that I know him, but if the ideals I saw in him during our conversation hold true, I think that at best he won't come after us until we cause trouble on purpose. Though I don't see how that could work, handing us to the Navy would risk his own neck and I don't think he could maintain all of us as prisoners locked somewhere until the situation is resolved.

[She shakes her head falling silent for a moment. She could understand Aokiji's position and she respected and admired it even. It wasn't the same as with others who failed to see the reality, he didn't seem to be that kind of man. But she really couldn't see how it could work out, for how long those ideals could support him in this world. Not engaging in actual piracy? That was easy, no one was aiming a crossbow at them to force them to do so. Actually retaliate against other crews and try to maintain his jurisdiction over those from his world? Hardly possible.]

Zoro, what do you think will happen when all the shards are found? With the way the situation is, the shards are most probably going to end in different hands. Without an idea of how the wish granting will work, don't you think that it's possible that it will all end in an all out war among the crews of people brought here?

[he lifts his head, at that.]

War is one possibility. Unity is another. It depends on the minds of the people who all end up with shards. I think, right now we're all just assuming that piecing the jewel back together and wishing on it is the one and only way home, but nobody's proven that there's any other options. So, willing or begrudging, if the captains don't think they have the strength to take on all the other crews, they're gonna have to ally instead.

If the map's right and there's one here, it'll be the first one I've seen. Dunno how big it is or how many more are out there, but something tells me it's no easy task.

[The jungle is quiet and the river is nice, Zoro is content to sit down in the long grass at the water's edge and relax for a bit. Elsa is clearly intelligent and already thinking of the crew's good, he finds her pleasant company even if the subject is serious.]

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