[Action/"Voice"]

[mikangirl]

[Nami for her own part is content to either stay with her mother or go out exploring with Sanji for the first day or two she's home. It's bitterly cold out there and she doesn't like it much at all-- it's nothing like Cocoyashi-- and her feet are a little red from early barefoot adventures in the snow, but luckily she doesn't catch cold. She's more grounded and less restless than Sanji is, because Bellemere is here. And that means she can let Bellemere take care of things. Because after all, didn't mama say that they wouldn't be here for very long? She misses Nojiko, but if it's only for a little while, then maybe she'll just treat this as a holiday.

Then the second night passes, and Nami turns 10. And everything changes.]



[She's had nightmares before. And the last night was unsettling with the dreams she had, but they weren't bad dreams-- just ones that feel like she's lived a lifetime in one night. Or...one year, as the case may be.

The second night, she wakes up with a wail (muffled brutally by shoving the blanket up to her mouth, because nobody likes a crying human) and tears and her arm hurts but mostly all she can remember right now is Bellemere and the screams when they stepped on her arm and the blood and the way Arlong just shot her down--

die for your pathetic love--

--and everything that followed. And she knows why her arm hurts, but that doesn't make any sense, and Bellemere is right upstairs and Nami just spends the next ten minutes crying into the blanket and not daring to look at her arm. And when she can separate dream from reality just enough, she slides out of bed and doesn't even bother to dress properly, running for the stairs to the next floor in an oversized tshirt that hangs off her arms and going straight for her mama's bedroom.

She eventually falls asleep again and further returning memories distance her from the shock of that death, but none of them are good memories. And now she's confused to boot, because sometimes when she closes her eyes she expects to open them somewhere else entirely. And Nami grows to like the cold, because as long as there's snow outside, it means she's not at Arlong Park, and that means that maybe she can put it all aside as an especially bad nightmare and it didn't really happen. Because it didn't. Because Bellemere is here.

Anyway, distracting herself from darker thoughts is a damn good idea, really. Best to try and not think about it and just...stick with Bellemere a lot today.]

["Voice"]

[So in the afternoon, Luceti, there is a little girl staring back at you from the journals. And doing the most awesomely intelligent thing:



[Yeah. Because making faces at you all is really mature. She just wants to see how many people notice her, because damn this magical journal is fun.]

[Action]

[If people want to run into Nami at varying ages, she can be found:

-- At the library on Monday when she is 12, trying to reach that top shelf of navigation books;

-- At Good Spirits on Wednesday when she is 14, trying her luck at being served underage drinks (look, she can hold her liquor okay B|); and

-- Pretty much anywhere on the following Friday when she is 16, because she's smitten with a severe case of wanderlust; a rooftop, a shop, the forest, the battledome...anywhere. Chances are if you run into Nami today, she might attempt to pickpocket you just because she's got the suspicion she's damn good at it. And those ships out at sea hold her attention for a fair while, because...well, wouldn't it be nice to sail one away? These dreams, man. 

For ages 17 and up, well... there'll be another post much later.  Just to avoid confusion.]

Comments

[gavemyword]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. [Whatever. He lets the beer go with a scowl.]

[mikanthief]

[Nami draws back and toasts him with his own bottle. And then starts downing the lot. 8| Feel free to stop her.]

[gavemyword]

O-Oi! [FLAIL. He grabs it out of her hands, scowling into the near-empty bottle. Well, damn.] You don't have to drink it all at once! [Mutter mutter. He gestures at the bar keep, ordering himself another (much needed) round of drinks.]

[mikanthief]

[Nami doesn't answer him, settling back in the seat and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, expression thoughtful.

That's...what she thought, really.]

Hmm. I'm a pretty good drinker for my first time.

[gavemyword]

[His beer comes in a bucket of three bottles and he waits until the server leaves before pushing it toward Nami. But not before getting one himself, of course. Ah, Nami, what are you up to?] Let it settle first. [But all the same:] You're a pretty strong drinker most of the time. Figured it just kind of happened one day.

[mikanthief]

So I'm not meant to be this young, am I? [She might feel more drunk in a few minutes, she thinks. But that doesn't change the fact that beer tasted pretty damn familiar for something she'd supposedly never had before. Not that Nami really believes that anyway; not with the damn tattoo turning up on her shoulder.] And you knew me before the mountains.

How old am I meant to be?

[gavemyword]

[Zoro sighs and runs a hand through his hair. Should be ok to tell her the truth, right? He takes a swig of his beer before starting.] Eighteen by my count, but from what I heard you should be around twenty-one here. [He scratches his head thoughtfully.] I dunno how it works, though. You'll have to ask one of the others.

[mikanthief]

Hmmm~ [She props her chin on her hands. It's just a confirmation of what reason already tells her. The only thing that doesn't add up is Bellemere... which is a whole other can of worms, and she'll keep her feelings on that to herself.

Well, she got what she needed. Have a lazy smile.] Sooo. How do we know each other, then?

[gavemyword]

[Zoro laughs, a short barking sort of sound that gets drowned out by the noise of the other patrons. He grins, remembering everything despite himself.] We saved your ass from pirates, Luffy and me. There were a bunch of lousy ones taking over some town we were passing through and you were there for some reason. [He makes a face.] I guess you ended up saved our asses too, sort of. We're nakama.

[mikanthief]

Nakama, huh...

[Sooo. If she reads her regained memories so far correctly, that puts you as ...what, gullible marks? Saving her from pirates doesn't surprise her in the least. She has close calls all the time. >_>

Wait, this guy knows her when she's 18? She frowns. It's really annoying trying to second guess what your future self might be doing at that point in time. Even if it seems pretty obvious.

Nakama's a nice word, though.]

So...did we get along?


[Did I con you out of millions of beri? She's not sure what she wants the answer to be on that one.]

[gavemyword]

[He remembers being pushed down oily traps, getting yelled at and bullied and extorted into helping out against his will. All the horrible indignities he suffered at her hands, big and small and sometimes-booger-shaped. Nami sailing away with the Going Merry in the middle of a crisis.

Then it came, unbidden, the image of her that day. He and Sanji crumpled at Arlong's feet, Nami looking out at everyone and saying...

So... did we get along? Hah, what a question.] I don't think it matters. You'll find out eventually, right? [Zoro's lazy half-lidded eyes bellied the deeper thoughts swirling around inside of him. He nurses his drink with the calm air of a man with no regrets and he lifts it to toast Nami, if only for the buried sentimentality hidden there.] Kanpai.

[He downs his drink and then he's back, all sharp edges and thick skin again. Kuma prickles at the back of his head but he'd promised himself he wouldn't let it weigh on him until the two were back to normal. No use getting distracted right when the crew needed him most.] Besides, you were always kind of a witch about everything. Especially money. [He says it with a smile but even that skews a bit as if to say I wonder how much of that is true of you right now, hmm?]

[mikanthief]

Kanpai...

[It's a very thoughtful kanpai, and she drains half the bottle. Too many unanswered questions, and she thinks it does matter, because growing up a day at a time with memories that don't fit is driving her nuts. She's in a house full of pirates that claim her as crew, but none of them are fishmen, and unless Keimi is a brilliant actress she doubts Arlong has the mermaid on his crew.

...come to think of it, Keimi was horrified at the tattoo.

Nakama, huh...

She's too proud to ask more, anyway. She'll work it out on her own.]

No point being a witch about money in this place, is there? Especially as it looks like I'm not leaving any time soon.