( 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. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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. )