mikangirl | [Voice/Action]

[What a cheerful week it's been. Almost like a vacation away from this place.

Or not.

Nami doesn't have the energy to complain when she finds she's been returned out at the orchard in the early hours of the morning. Not that much of a problem, bar the fact that it's freezing and she's dead tired. The cottage isn't heated, but there's still a bed in there, and she collapses across it for a few hours' sleep.

...and at some point, rolls herself up in the covers, because that's smart.

When she finally wakes up around 8am, her journal's sitting on the floor next to the bed, and she flicks it open with a finger, not bothering to work up a filter to the crew. Too much effort, and she's just not in the mood for things that require concentration today. Or in much of a good mood at all. Valentine's is... still a little too raw. Among other things.]

[Voice]

I'm back. [Not that anyone but the crew knew she was going somewhere. Details. She doesn't much care.] You guys weather the storm okay?

[Later she'll make her way home, and then inevitably make her way into town and collapse in Good Spirits for a while in the evening. She's catchable wherever, and probably not that hard to cheer up if you want a lighter conversation.]

((ooc: and I will be slow for a bit, so bear with me.))

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[It's an awesome subject change, isn't it? But she's rounding back to the first point.]

We're friends, right? [That's all there is to it. Right?]

[Not quite. She frowns guiltily when she sees him freeze, but. It feels better to tell him this. Maybe easing off one extra thread of anger.]

He apologised for being an ass about everything afterwards.

[Heh. His lips quirk slightly] Good. [No, really. He's glad she got an apology.] I'm glad to hear it.

[...]

Yeah. We are. [That really is all there is to it. He's really thankful, Nami.]

[It's what she means. Not once has Nami ever thought she did the wrong thing by taking up Arlong's deal-- it was the only thing open to her at the time and she took it. Telling your mother how you spent the next eight years? How painful it was? Despite Bellemere's words, she doesn't quite want to tell her about that.

But she deserves an explanation.]

...

Arlong offered me a deal to buy back the village from him for 100 million beri. And in return, I'd join his crew and draw maps for him.

So I decided I'd steal the money from pirates. That's how I met Luffy. Only when I tried to steal from him, he followed me right back to Cocoyashi.

[Shortest version she's ever told, but. Her hand goes up to her shoulder.] I took the tattoo off the day before I left again with Luffy's crew. This one is just all my love of home. It's a free and happy place now, Bellemere-san. It just took a while. Everyone else is okay.

[Nobody else died.

Just you.]

Ugh, yeah. I'd almost rather have the moonfall experiment again than something like that. [Priorities: Pao-Lin has them!]

[Technically the apology also extends to Sanji, she suspects, but Ragna is too bullheaded to say so. Either way, that's not her place to say. She has to broach a more difficult subject on top of that.]

We talked a little about Noel, too. And what happened last time she was gone.

[Oddly enough, it's easier talking about Noel in this context. Sanji only loses his mental cool when he starts connecting an emotional attachment he doesn't know what to do with. This? This is alright. Sorta. If nothing else, easier to handle.]

... When she turned into Mu? [That said, his voice is still grave, even while he tosses together a light breakfast for Nami. He's going for filling rather than sweet, so the sugars don't keep her up.]

Yeah. [Said on a small sigh, but she relaxes slightly. A little easier, then.]

I don't trust the Malnosso not to mess with her like that even more. [Or Hazama, for that matter.] So I asked Catherine for help.

[He turns his head at that. Frankly he hates Catherine enough to want him maimed, but they've gone to him before with requests. And if Nami's bringing it up...]

Tch. Did the shithead have an idea?

Then.

Let's just put it down to one more reason to kick the Malnosso's ass. I'm not holding either of us responsible for something we couldn't control.

... Good. You did a good thing, Nami.

[A smile.]

I wouldn't have done anything different in your place. And the fact that our home is safe and everyone is happy... That--and your happiness?--that's what's important to me.

[a beat]

It's a very nice tattoo, too. I'm jealous I don't have one.

Sounds good enough to me. [Even though he feels like that whole debacle with Noel was under his control, and still his fault.] ... Thanks.

Better than many people here, I'm sure. Though one does have to wonder why they aren't able to have their own healers take care of such things, unless they truly happen to be that short on help.

I do wonder it. The Malnosso have never struck me as being really good at resource management.

And yet they seem to have no end of resources to pour into keeping us content.

So would I. [Nami thinks your priorities are totally valid. :|b]

Yep. For a given definition of 'content', anyway.

Yeah. He claims he's set up one of the rooms at the battledome with a failsafe. If Noel walks in as anyone other than ...than Noel, the failsafe will register that and Shift her back to normal.

We just have to get her there.

If she acts anything like Mu, that might not be a problem. [It helps when you're crazy and want to wipe out all existence, so much that you'll probably follow any bait laid out.]

... But if it works... [His voice softens into something resembling cautious hope before something else occurs to him]

Are you gonna tell her?

[Nami smiles tiredly.]

Actually. She already knows. I set this up months ago.

[There's a note of apology to her tone.] I figured it was her business and she should be the one to tell people. But... it turns out she didn't tell anyone.

[And Nami refuses to take the risk so close to a possible disaster.]

[For just a moment, her smile develops a tremble, before she gives a grin that's near impish and ducks her head. She loves you, mama. So she's not spoiling this by wibbling at you, 'kay.]

Nojiko has one too, you know. You're the one out.

I suspect their definition is anything that doesn't include a violent uprising.

... Yeah, that sounds like Noel-chan. [Said dryly. He doesn't blame Nami at all, nor Noel for her choice, but it certainly makes plans harder to orchestrate.]

Who else knows, besides Ragna?

You know, though...I think it's kind of weird that they're offering those to us. The Malnosso are the ones who run those experiments, right? To...to do research on how to get us all back home. So wouldn't they want as many people to experiment on as possible? [Then she remembers something Shikamaru mentioned to her a few months back, during the moonfall experiment.] Unless this is just their way of trying to make nice with us.

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[action] /makes this thread last forever, mwahahaha

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