( it would take too long to write out a reply and this feels urgent, so almost immediately he calls back, swallowing the rising panic in his throat — )
What's wrong? Where are you?
( it could be nothing — he could be overreacting — but with the strange illness spreading around the village... )
( a long, weighty silence. the pain of her transformation has come and passed, but she's a little worried her voice will still be shaken with it. once she's confident, she carries on. )
Mister Shanks. My whole body cracked as if a tree felled by an axe swing. Down I went, and I arose something — else. ( a sigh. ) I am far stranger now than I was. I think. I have not seen, or looked in a mirror. And the hunger — it was very awful. I ate a, um. I believe it was a raccoon. I am still hungry, but I do not want to hurt anyone else. The raccoon was very kind. I feel awful.
( ah. this is what he was afraid of. suddenly, he's extremely grateful for nami's somewhat ominous warning. despite the stone sinking in his chest, shanks' voice remains calm even after bee explains the transformation, the hunger. this must be what happened to mihawk, he thinks, before either of them knew what it was. )
It's alright, Bee. I can help. ( he wants to help, needs to. it isn't the same as eating a devil fruit, these changes, but it reminds him of those early days with buggy all the same; the lack of control, the powerlessness, both of them scared and learning to navigate what buggy could do, what he'd become. he was still buggy — he'll always be buggy — but they both had to reckon with the fact that he was something else too. (buggy was angry with him for months and shanks never could figure out why.)
( fortunately, bee is very used to seeming odd enough to draw attention to herself. unfortunately, she usually knows how to at least play the part of a human, which she can't right now. everything is just a little too strange and overwhelming — being different, even slightly, is very upsetting to her. it isn't a subtle change. when she lifts up hands to feel her face, she feels instead these hard, fleshy rings cased around her like the drawn ties on a corseted bodice. )
Mister Shanks ... I don't want to hurt you, if you come near. Maybe you should stay at a distance. ( it defeats the purpose of messaging him, she thinks, and feels her throat get thick with presumed ineptitude. bee hates to look childish. ) Or not come at all, maybe. I was scared to be alone, that's all. But I think I am a monster now, like all the dreams said I would be — they call me "Destroyer." I would not like to destroy you, Mister Shanks, so maybe you should not come.
( at first, he'd thought to leave his sword behind so as not to frighten her, but now he wonders if, in a way, it might bring her some comfort to know that he has a weapon at his side. he wouldn't use it against her unless she truly meant him harm, but he isn't terribly concerned about that. maybe he should be after what happened with mihawk — maybe he shouldn't underestimate her just because she's a child, either. regardless of what bee may be now, regardless of what she might do to him, shanks hasn't changed his mind. he's already on his way back to the village, sword at his side. it isn't up for discussion. )
Bee... ( softly, as if to say oh, honey. ) Do you know why my sword is called Gryphon? It is said these legendary beasts are fierce protectors and guardians of great treasure — and that even a single feather from their majestic plumage can cure the blind. Many believe these creatures to be the bringers of swift, sometimes divine, retribution, their strength and courage heralded through the ages. I carry this sword with me as a protector and guardian in my own right, be it on land or at sea, and together we have faced many monsters and foes alike. ( he isn't calling her a monster, but, as if to clarify: ) A thing cannot be destroyed if it is protected. I promise to see to it you don't earn that title.
Edited (when u accidentally edit out the wrong word!!! SMH) 2023-12-29 17:43 (UTC)
( of gryphons, bee knows very little — but dragons, she knows much. there isn't a child in the six duchies who hasn't heard the nightmare inducing stories of the duke of chalced carving scaly flesh from the shoulder of an elderling man to cannibalize and save his health, with varying success depending on who told the story. it sounds like that — dragon infected elderlings, made lizardlike and serpentine through magic. curing the blind. retribution. just and deserved, bee thinks, for dragons and gryphons to take their noble place in the world.
it's easier for bee, naturally. people of her father's generation lived thousands and thousands of years without dragons — the only life bee has known has been one full of dragons and magic and ancient civilizations reborn. gryphons are as real to her as dragons, and dragons are as real to her as her own two hands. )
I will become the Destroyer. But — I hope not, with you. Shanks. You are very kind. Too kind. ( a hundred eyes on her body water with fat, baby tears. ) I want my mommy.
( and she cries, for a mother that has been dead for years, and for a father who last spoke to her to tell her all the reasons he had to leave her behind. neither would recognize her now. there's no one in the world to love her. only shanks, and only maybe. )
( why is it always "do this, shanks" or "can you help me, shanks"? why can't anyone just ask about his day? 😔 it's a good thing he likes to be needed. )
i've heard ... stories why?
( you spend enough time on the grand line, you hear all sorts of things, from humans, merfolk, and fish-men alike. )
( yes yes yes everyone is having a crisis these days it seems. )
legend has it there are those who can change their shape without consuming a devil fruit a person not quite human but not quite fish-man, either it is said their power lies within their pelt, and if stolen, one could even control such a being
any particular reason you're interested?
( he has a feeling he knows why, but koby came to him. koby can use his big boy words. shanks doesn't need to guess everything. )
that's a relief it's my understanding it could have been much worse
( which isn't necessarily a reference to mihawk, just — talk around town, things he's heard from nami and bee. people aren't just changing, it's like their minds are being consumed, too. )
( there's a long moment where shanks doesn't reply. it's a strange feeling, to know that mihawk is just ... gone. he has a million questions. how? why? when? but none of them seem particularly appropriate at the moment. or maybe it's just easier not to talk about it.
he remembers all too well what that absence feels like. shanks might have been the one to leave first, but that hadn't meant he hadn't felt like he'd lost something. like some invisible fire had gone out and left him cold. he doesn't have to imagine what koby must feel now. he knows it like the back of his hand. )
are you still by the river? i have a ship docked upstream, you can't miss it you're welcome to find a room here, in the meantime
( he's not ignoring the issue, he's just ... conveniently not addressing it. )
[It's a relief not to be asked about it, which Koby knows damn well is cowardly. It's an open, aching wound that he's deliberately ignoring right now. So he leaves it, let's it be.]
Where did you get a ship? Do I even want to know?
[It's much muuuuuuch easier to judge Shanks for theft instead.]
( there's a time and place for everything, and now is neither the time nor the place to ask. but shanks will ask, when he feels that time is right. he's still processing his own emotions about it. that familiar nagging feeling that they've left too much unsaid lingers on. perhaps in three to five business days he and koby can have a real conversation about it. )
i'm a pirate, koby i stole it from a wharf
( he doesn't say luffy helped, but luffy may have helped. it's monumentally more difficult to commandeer a ship with only one hand, after all. )
( it's not hard to miss. but shanks has seen some truly strange things during his time on the grand line, so a hot pink seal barely even registers as being odd. in a way, it almost feels like home. he calls out to the seal below: )
Koby? Is that you?
( who else would it be? it doesn't hurt to ask, though. just in case. and maybe he's also buying a little time. he's not entirely sure how he's going to get a seal on board without a crew to haul the nets. )
[Does the seal roll it's eyes and splash water up at Shanks with it's cute little pink flippers? Absolutely, it does. Disrespectful.
But then it -- he -- disappears under the water, reappearing on the other side of the boat, scoping out the riverbank thoughtfully. Moving around on land as a seal is very undignified, but so would transforming back into a human shape and being naked, so Koby decides to sacrifice his dignity in favor of lumbering up the rocky bank and scrambling onto a fallen log until he's about an equal height as the deck of the ship.
Then, gesturing impatiently with a flipper: come closer, I did my part. Maybe Shanks can find a board or something, a makeshift gangplank. Or honestly just pick him up -- he's not a big seal at all, just a little fuzzy guy.]
[It's been at least a full month since Koby'd been seen by anyone -- he's been in the river, leaving fish at people's doorsteps, keeping to himself. But it's starting to thaw now, and so.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text — un: NAMI
no subject
( knowing luffy ... probably both. )
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probably multiple times. with pictures.
no subject
( he'll see to it, though, don't worry. )
text — un: CUB
( winner for the most nonspecific text goes to ... )
something is wrong
voice
What's wrong? Where are you?
( it could be nothing — he could be overreacting — but with the strange illness spreading around the village... )
no subject
( a long, weighty silence. the pain of her transformation has come and passed, but she's a little worried her voice will still be shaken with it. once she's confident, she carries on. )
Mister Shanks. My whole body cracked as if a tree felled by an axe swing. Down I went, and I arose something — else. ( a sigh. ) I am far stranger now than I was. I think. I have not seen, or looked in a mirror. And the hunger — it was very awful. I ate a, um. I believe it was a raccoon. I am still hungry, but I do not want to hurt anyone else. The raccoon was very kind. I feel awful.
no subject
It's alright, Bee. I can help. ( he wants to help, needs to. it isn't the same as eating a devil fruit, these changes, but it reminds him of those early days with buggy all the same; the lack of control, the powerlessness, both of them scared and learning to navigate what buggy could do, what he'd become. he was still buggy — he'll always be buggy — but they both had to reckon with the fact that he was something else too. (buggy was angry with him for months and shanks never could figure out why.)
what is it that bee has become now? )
I'll come to you. Are you near the village?
no subject
( fortunately, bee is very used to seeming odd enough to draw attention to herself. unfortunately, she usually knows how to at least play the part of a human, which she can't right now. everything is just a little too strange and overwhelming — being different, even slightly, is very upsetting to her. it isn't a subtle change. when she lifts up hands to feel her face, she feels instead these hard, fleshy rings cased around her like the drawn ties on a corseted bodice. )
Mister Shanks ... I don't want to hurt you, if you come near. Maybe you should stay at a distance. ( it defeats the purpose of messaging him, she thinks, and feels her throat get thick with presumed ineptitude. bee hates to look childish. ) Or not come at all, maybe. I was scared to be alone, that's all. But I think I am a monster now, like all the dreams said I would be — they call me "Destroyer." I would not like to destroy you, Mister Shanks, so maybe you should not come.
no subject
Bee... ( softly, as if to say oh, honey. ) Do you know why my sword is called Gryphon? It is said these legendary beasts are fierce protectors and guardians of great treasure — and that even a single feather from their majestic plumage can cure the blind. Many believe these creatures to be the bringers of swift, sometimes divine, retribution, their strength and courage heralded through the ages. I carry this sword with me as a protector and guardian in my own right, be it on land or at sea, and together we have faced many monsters and foes alike. ( he isn't calling her a monster, but, as if to clarify: ) A thing cannot be destroyed if it is protected. I promise to see to it you don't earn that title.
no subject
it's easier for bee, naturally. people of her father's generation lived thousands and thousands of years without dragons — the only life bee has known has been one full of dragons and magic and ancient civilizations reborn. gryphons are as real to her as dragons, and dragons are as real to her as her own two hands. )
I will become the Destroyer. But — I hope not, with you. Shanks. You are very kind. Too kind. ( a hundred eyes on her body water with fat, baby tears. ) I want my mommy.
( and she cries, for a mother that has been dead for years, and for a father who last spoke to her to tell her all the reasons he had to leave her behind. neither would recognize her now. there's no one in the world to love her. only shanks, and only maybe. )
text; un: koby
[No "hello". No "how are you". Kids these days.]
no subject
i've heard ... stories
why?
( you spend enough time on the grand line, you hear all sorts of things, from humans, merfolk, and fish-men alike. )
no subject
Good. What do you know about selkies?
no subject
legend has it there are those who can change their shape without consuming a devil fruit
a person not quite human but not quite fish-man, either
it is said their power lies within their pelt, and if stolen, one could even control such a being
any particular reason you're interested?
( he has a feeling he knows why, but koby came to him. koby can use his big boy words. shanks doesn't need to guess everything. )
no subject
I see. Fantastic.
I have a theory that's what I am now, but I still need to test it.
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was it the sickness? the infection?
( and then, a moment later, because he can't help the inevitable swell of concern in his chest: )
are you alright?
no subject
[There's a very long pause.]
I didn't hurt anyone.
no subject
it's my understanding it could have been much worse
( which isn't necessarily a reference to mihawk, just — talk around town, things he's heard from nami and bee. people aren't just changing, it's like their minds are being consumed, too. )
do you need help? what can i do?
( this is why everyone comes to you, shanks. 🙄 )
no subject
[Koby hesitates again, part of him wanting to lie, to keep pretending everything's okay. But:]
I don't know. I haven't been back to the cottage since
He's gone.
I don't know if you knew.
no subject
he remembers all too well what that absence feels like. shanks might have been the one to leave first, but that hadn't meant he hadn't felt like he'd lost something. like some invisible fire had gone out and left him cold. he doesn't have to imagine what koby must feel now. he knows it like the back of his hand. )
are you still by the river?
i have a ship docked upstream, you can't miss it
you're welcome to find a room here, in the meantime
( he's not ignoring the issue, he's just ... conveniently not addressing it. )
no subject
Where did you get a ship?
Do I even want to know?
[It's much muuuuuuch easier to judge Shanks for theft instead.]
no subject
i'm a pirate, koby
i stole it from a wharf
( he doesn't say luffy helped, but luffy may have helped. it's monumentally more difficult to commandeer a ship with only one hand, after all. )
no subject
Wonderful. I'll find your ill-gotten ship, be right there.
[And yes, within twenty minutes there's a spotted harbor seal circling the boat. A...hot pink one. Shhhh.]
no subject
Koby? Is that you?
( who else would it be? it doesn't hurt to ask, though. just in case. and maybe he's also buying a little time. he's not entirely sure how he's going to get a seal on board without a crew to haul the nets. )
no subject
But then it -- he -- disappears under the water, reappearing on the other side of the boat, scoping out the riverbank thoughtfully. Moving around on land as a seal is very undignified, but so would transforming back into a human shape and being naked, so Koby decides to sacrifice his dignity in favor of lumbering up the rocky bank and scrambling onto a fallen log until he's about an equal height as the deck of the ship.
Then, gesturing impatiently with a flipper: come closer, I did my part. Maybe Shanks can find a board or something, a makeshift gangplank. Or honestly just pick him up -- he's not a big seal at all, just a little fuzzy guy.]
sometime in feb
[It's been at least a full month since Koby'd been seen by anyone -- he's been in the river, leaving fish at people's doorsteps, keeping to himself. But it's starting to thaw now, and so.]