mikangirl | [Action/Voice] Forward dated to the 19th

[Action/Voice] Forward dated to the 19th

[Nami comes back to Luceti with a bang.

...literally. Because the first indication of her arrival on the networks is her journal hitting a tree at high velocity. The journal window won't pick up more than a whole bunch of dizzily swirling forest scenery and then a bare, reddened foot as she kicks it afterwards for good measure. Then she just abandons it in the grass and stalks off. Incredibly useful contribution to the journals, isn't it? Sorry about that.

She's not really in any hurry to go home, and in no hurry to go announcing herself through town, but she is cold. So after some indecision, she heads for the Avatar house instead, knocking hesitantly on the door in her New Feather dress in search of warmth and other things.

A little while later, having borrowed a coat and some shoes and feeling a little more herself, she heads for home, letting herself in quietly and... sort of standing there and listening for voices, noise, anything. Then she'll come say hi. Sort of.

Whether she stays there or not after that, who knows? But she does eventually make a journal entry in the evening, borrowing someone else's. She's not cruel enough to pretend she's not here when there are friends in town.]

[Voice]

Shirahoshi, are you still here? I remember you, now. Just thought I’d let you know.

For everyone else... hi. I'm back. Again. All that. Business as usual, I guess.

[She sounds cheerful enough. Just tired.]

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[His expression softens and just goes distant.]

Aye. Welcome back.

Was Fishman Island...

I'm sorry, I know it's your first day back... [He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Ace hated watching everyone race into the future without him, but Marco? Marco preferred it. It meant things were still standing. That people lived. Ace didn't understand, he still thought Marco and the rest of the Whitebeard crew were practically immortal. And he didn't have that fear. He trusted them. And he was braver than he realized.]

It can wait if you'd prefer. [Okay Nami, this time, Marco's deadpan cheer is gone. He wants to be a comfort and to help, not to have someone else reassuring him, but responsibility is a heavy weight sometimes and when joking fails, his cover wears thin. He's still composed, still deadpan, but the grin is gone.]

[She notes the difference. But Nami isn't actually sure what it is Marco wants to ask. So.]

It's okay. Just ask.

How was it, really?

Robin told me Big Mam's been protecting it, but she'd require a tithe. Are they okay?

Not just Shirahoshi and King Neptune, but the Fishman District and merfolk...

[Rubs his forehead. Fishman Island wasn't the only island of theirs in trouble.] You have to understand, when Pops, Jozu, and I... when we first came by Fishman Island after Roger's execution, it was a mess. Pirates were everywhere doing whatever they wanted, enslaving anyone they could snag...

[Small sigh and his voice is thick.] I don't want it to go back to that.

[Teach. Fucking Blackbeard. He'd been there helping them defend the island and now it was his fault it was in danger.]

Pirates still do that, you know.

[She pauses. A day ago, Nami thinks she could have answered this with a lot more enthusiasm and reassurance. Now, she sounds almost disinterested. But it's important, so she finds the relevant facts for him.]

There was trouble with a fishman called Hodi Jones. Old prejudices...you know all about those, I'd imagine. Luffy fought him down and stopped him from dropping a giant ark on all of our heads. We stopped his army and took down the ringleaders. Currently, the island's at peace.

...Big Mam isn't protecting it anymore. Luffy is.

[He doesn't know about the prejudices actually. Part of the bonus of being someone who only got to see fishmen as nearly "victims" who had to fight back to regain their turf and respect. To make people fear them just in order to try to survive. Something Marco himself could rather understand. After all, isn't that what he did as a pirate? Isn't that why he was always so determined to make sure the whole world knew what the Whitebeard tattoo meant? That he'd kill anyone who touched his family.]

[He's never felt so far removed from home. What did home even mean at this point? It was here with Ace, wasn't it? Very well, removed from the situation then. There was nothing he could do about it. It was in the future for him, even when he got back it'd be two more years of fighting, of losing, and it didn't apply in Luceti.]

[Still, he's almost relieved. Among other things. His voice doesn't seem to be working, so he stops trying to figure out what to think about Luffy protecting it. That Whitebeard would be proud? That it should be himself? That if he wasn't dealing with other things -- No. For now, he'll put it aside to deal with later.]

Thank you.

[He sighs and pinches the bridge between his eyes.] Not for the island, but for the information. Still, you seem to be doing well, eh? And for that... I'll thank you too.

You're thanking me for doing well? [She's wry, but Nami smiles a little.] Well. I hope that helps, anyway.

It does, actually. On both accounts. [Sticks his tongue out. He can't explain better about Fishman Island, or the others, but he knows there is one thing he can explain.]

At Marineford my Pops asked your captain to show him what the future era would look like. It's difficult to have to watch from the sidelines sometimes, but so long as you're doing all right back there, it's encouraging too, eh?

[Don't fight Big Mam yet, there's more at stake... he wants to say, but it wouldn't do any good anyway. Que sera, sera. What will be, will be. And he isn't going to waste his breath fighting against the tide.]

[Whitebeard said that to Luffy...?

...huh. That's...]

Yeah. I guess it is.

[Not that Luffy was paying attention at the time.]

Ready to face this place once more?

Or would you like to do what I did for Ace and call yourself a mini-vacation?

Whether I'm ready to face it or not I've got no choice in the matter. I'll make do.

Define mini-vacation.

You hide out in your room and convince some poor dupe - usually me in this case - to bring you food and hide out under a blanket fort doing something you like until you're more energized and ready to be carried outside.

At least that's how it goes for Ace. I imagine some of the details would be different for you, but the principle concept would be the same, eh.

[...that is not a flattering picture of Ace you're painting there, Marco. She's not sure whether to be amused or disconcerted.]

Ace actually does that?

Sometimes I do it with him.

[This is not helping his case, is it?] You have to try the blanket fort before you can say anything otherwise.

Besides he used to just mope alone in a corner and then fly into rages and attack Pops. This is really much better. At least when we carry each other outside now the other one actually goes instead of fighting back.

[....]

[Whitebeard pirates: no one ever said they aren't special.]

[Very special. She'll put it down to male pirates in general being a bit...odd... '_' Though she shifts uncomfortably, because a lot of that doesn't sound like something she should be hearing. And yet. That feels off base to the Ace she met in Alabasta. (Not so much Ace here, but then again Ace died.)]

Why? I mean... why attack his captain? [She's missing a fair chunk of history.]

[One day someone will explain to him that Ace also learned showing off from Marco. At the moment, he still thinks they know Ace as well, Ace. Relatively the same way Marco knows him.]

Pops wasn't his captain back then, eh.

Ace never told you how he first met Jinbei? Mah, all right. Fireworks first came to us trying to kill Pops. We stole him instead.

Don't get me wrong, he's damned loyal to the old man, but it took him a little while to realize he didn't have to kill Pops in order to achieve his dreams. He's a funny kid like that sometimes.

Ahh. So it's a press-ganging with a happy ending, is it?

[She's teasing, though there's a faintly wistful note there. Or maybe it's just nostalgia.]

Of course! [Beams.]

How do you think we got Izou? Although Izou is actually Vista's fault. Ah those were the days... Vista's mustache was always telling him to capture fair maidens, that's how we got most of Pops' nurses you see, but then one day he captured Izou, of course he thought Izou was a fair maiden -- that's why I call him "Trap-chan." And that was when we knew we had to put Vista into therapy...

[Um. No. This all lies. Ignore the crazy pirate.]

[Yeah, Nami is just going to commence staring at Marco until he eventually dwindles into silence. Because dude. Seriously.]

And then there was that time when Blamenco tried to stuff Namur into the pockets on his chins...

[You might just want to interrupt him because when it comes to ~~talking~~ ~~lying~~ telling stories about his crew he could go on forever.]

[No, no, go ahead. Nami will just casually put her journal down to do other things and come back in a few minutes to see if he's still going :Db]

[He actually waits until she comes back, but changes what he was going to say.]

And that is why we never let Ace eat soup alone.

[See what an awesome story you might have missed out on?]

Edited 2012-12-04 20:20 (UTC)

Oh, I see. [Nami nods wisely with all the blatant falsehood of someone who obviously wasn't listening.] I guess that's the problem with narcoleptics and small bodies of liquid.

Aye. If I wasn't a phoenix I'd have had a hundred heart attacks before he was even eighteen. Especially with that damn skiff of his. Do you know he kicks it under water when he wants to show off?

Never mind how dangerous that is, he turns into fire around the wooden boats, so even if he mistimes that jump just a little, he won't even have another ship to stand on!

[Folds his arms and huffs, every bit the ~~mother hen~~ overprotective big brother Ace can't seem to escape.]

Ha! I saw him do that on the first day I met him. We were all having trouble believing he was Luffy's brother.

[Now Marco really is surprised. The Whitebeard crew had a completely opposite reaction upon meeting Luffy. Most of them instantly knew he had to be Ace's little brother. Dumb rash punk kids. That and Ace never shut up about Luffy. Nothing like Marco going on forever about Ace at all. Nope!]

What really? But they're so alike! We all knew Luffy had to be the kid brother Ace always talked about. They have that same sort of rash refusal to let anything slow them down, eh? Even if their obstacle is just simple physics, or reality.

Let me ask you this, does your captain ever nearly give you a heart attack with his -- [Crazy rash thirst for getting into the most dangerous situation possible, like breaking into Impel Down, showing up at Marineford with former enemies and surrounded by powers way over his head? What's a better way to put that....] -- let's say: "reckless disregard for personal safety in the pursuit of a single-minded goal and dangerous adventures?" [It's not quite tactful, but it's the best he can come up with for now.]

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