Chapter Text
Dawn creeps through your open window, wind billowing the curtains like sails. Your glare is settled on your alarm clock, a dingy and battered old thing, waiting for the little hammers to hit the beaten brass. Resetting it would be more of a pain than waiting, so you wait.
Do you really need it at this point? You're usually up a good hour or three before it goes off.
As if reading your mind, it begins to rapidly ping.
Quick as a flash, you slap it off, lest you wake your sleeping beast of a younger sister stationed at the opposite end of the hallway. Your bones crackle as you stand and stretch, lazily tossing whatever clothes touch your fingers first onto the bed. They'll be dirty by the end of the day, regardless.
Once dressed, you take your cap from a hook by the door, slipping it on. Confirming you're prepared for the day with a quick pat-down, you step out of the villa, quieter than a ghost.
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
The net is heavy in your hands, putting an ache in your arms as seawater splatters over your shoes. Yet, a grin parts your lips. The fish inside of the woven material are large, fat, and healthy, some overly-plump with eggs. If they continue to grow and thrive like this, your people won't have to rely on the government's assistance any longer, and you can free yourself of the stupid political marriage thrust upon you. Even better, your sister, Flora, will inherit a healthy island with reopened trading ports and routes. You can't help but laugh at the prospect; freedom is just shy of your fingertips.
'BOOM'
'VRRRRR'
'BOOM'
Sounds of a fight echo across the water, forcing you to cover your sensitive ears. It'll pass, you know it will. Amaranth's volcanoes screw with the magnetism log poses use, making it difficult to find without a vivre card, and that's only if entering the Calm Belt doesn't deter travelers first. So, whoever is fighting out there will either die or go on, leaving your island at peace.
You sort the fish, tossing the gravid ones back into the sea.
'VRRRRR'
'VRRRRR'
'VRRRR- BOOM'
Would it kill them to die quicker? Or leave, at least?
One scream starts over the water, pinching a pain behind your left eye. More follow, the sounds of chaos unbearable. Grunting, you throw caution into the wind and plunge your open palm beneath the ocean's morning-chilled water.
"Invenio."
Blood, fire, and pain fill your senses, along with the sensation of sinking. Surely, they're too close to death to be worth helping. Another shrill cry ricochets over the waves, a woman. "Captain! Someone - help him - Captain!" She sounds so young, maybe Flora's age? Marines don't typically take in child recruits…. Dread sinks into the pit of your stomach. The Grand Line is cruel to women, the younger you are, the worse it can be. You glance at the cooler full of fish, out to the water, and back again.
"My people need food. It's not my problem." You utter as you fold the net back up and place it on the cooler. "It's probably just some kid who got in over their head," the rocky surface of the jetty cools your feet as you place your shoes on top of the net. "But I'll be damned if I let a slaver's ship leave these waters alive." You secure a satchel around the tip of your tail, stripping off your clothes and shoving them into the bag.
"Fuck it," you sigh, diving beneath the cold ocean. Sea foam engulfs your body, drifting away as scales and tentacle-like feathers replace your skin. The screaming people are easier to track this way, their blood churning a cocktail in the water. It makes your stomach growl.
'No,' you shake the feeling away, reigning yourself in. Never again will you let that part of yourself take control.
The closer you draw to the wreckage and blood, the more chaotic your surroundings become. Body parts litter the water's surface, tinting it pinkish-purple as hemoglobin mixes with salt and sea.
Another beast, smaller than you, but strong nonetheless, terrorizes a ship just out of your reach. A Humboldt type Sea King. There's more on the other side of the ship, their tentacles waving as they strike. The ship's frenzied occupants fail to notice your approach, screaming for their captain whilst trying to fight the monsters. Their ship itself intrigues you, the large skull embedded into it not too unlike yours. Your eyes flit upward, landing on the pirate insignia painted on a slackened sail.
'Shit.'
Part of you thinks the better idea is to turn around and leave them be. Verdanda will return any day now, and might literally kill you if he found out you brought pirates home.
Just as you get ready to leave, you hear the young woman wail out again. "Killer! Killer! Holy shit!" Followed by loud splashing and more screaming. Then, you see her, a little thing with green hair and pointed teeth. Tears well in her big brown eyes, threatening to spill down her rosy cheeks. "We're gonna die! We just started and we're already gonna die," she sobs, voice cracking.
'Damn it all.'
You turn around and beeline for the ship, snapping at the Humboldts as they try turning their fury onto you. No wonder the pirates are so overwhelmed. Those little shitheads are a bitch and a half to pass, especially during spawning season.
The squid-like Sea Kings rip people from the ship like favors from a party table, weakening the overall strength in number of the crew. Starting from the ones clinging to the hull, you pry them off, sinking your teeth between their eyes, turning them pale gray with death. The pirates take notice of you now, looking all the more terrified at your presence. Their fear wouldn't be too much of a problem, if you didn't need to surface on their ship. The Humboldts will continue to snack on the pirates unless you put yourself between them.
You pull yourself up over and over the ship, squishing a Humboldt beneath your claws as you go. A blonde man falls from beneath it. Before he can hit the deck, you catch him in your opposite webbed foot, gently placing him down. Something jabs your back knee, burning like a paper cut.
"Are you fucking stupid!?" You snarl at a giant of a man dressed head to toe in fishnets and chains, in his hands is a trident dripping with your pearlescent blood. He looks at you in shock, checking the others for reassurance. With a nod, they all agree that they, too, heard you speak. "I'm trying to help you idiots! Now, get beneath me and stay down!"
The pirates obey without much of a fuss, huddling beneath your body and dragging the blonde man with them. You drape your six wings down like a shield, wincing as the Humboldts begin to tear off your feather-like tentacles in their desperate attempt at getting to the pirates.
Once you're sure the people beneath you won't get hit, you plunge your face into the water, inhaling a huge mouthful. Raising your head back up, you clench your throat, then spit the water out in a blast of steam. The Humboldts panic as they're steamed alive by the stream shooting from your mouth. The few remaining ones scatter, retreating past the horizon.
Everything stills, the only sounds being sniffles, moans of pain, and sloshing waves. You wait a moment longer, before raising your wings and slipping back into the ocean. Thick, white blood oozes from your torn up wings and punctured knee, but you pay it no mind. It's too toxic for Sea Kings to eat, but safe enough for human contact.
"Can you find our captain!?" Shrieks the green haired girl you saw before, her body bent over the ships railing. "You helped us, so I know you're good! Please! I'm begging you!" She's scared, her small fists trembling where they grip the railing.
"What does he look like?" You ask, drawing close enough to look her in the eyes. Her face lights up, tears dripping down her cheeks. "R-red coat! Red hair! You cant miss him!"
"I'll do my best," you promise with a dip of your head. Without waiting for a response, you dive under.
The water thins bluer the deeper you go, fading from the purple blood-mixed surface. Frequencies bounce off the whiskers next to your nose, guiding you better than your eyes can. None of them come back human, except one.
You locate the man with ease, gently clasping him in your jaws. His chest his still, body limp. Not a good sign. Ascending slowly and carefully, you finally break the water's surface again. The pirate crew shares a collective gasp, rushing to you as you place their captain on the deck.
"He's not breathing!"
"He's cold!"
"I can't feel a pulse!"
Knowing what you need to do, you dip below the water once more, visage turning to sea foam. It's a fight to put on your wet clothes beneath the waves, but you do it anyway; not wanting to risk indecency in front of a child. Again, you emerge, climbing the side of the ship until your feet hit the deck. The tall man from before raises his weapon at you, causing you to hiss, "Put that damn thing down." The rest of the pirates snap their heads toward you, confusion written on their features. That is, until they see your horns and tail. Most of them put two and two together rather quickly.
"Move," you command, shoving through the crowd until your kneeling next to their captain. "Who here has the biggest lungs?"
"Get away from our captain or we'll-" one of them starts, only to be silenced by you. "-Do you want him to die? Is that it? Because the longer you wait, the closer he gets to the afterlife."
"I think I probably have the largest lung capacity here…" States the tall man from before, his voice flat and disinterested. "Good. Get over here. Quickly." He obeys, taking a few long strides then kneeling at your side. Pinching their captain's nose, you tilt his head back and opens his mouth, instructing the tall man to take your place.
"When I tell you to breathe, put your mouth on his and blow until his chest rises completely." Balling one hand into a fist, you place your other over it, then press them both over the captain's left pectoral, right against his sternum. The crew watches anxiously as you repeatedly push down hard, reciting the rhythm the nuns taught you in your head. His sternum cracks, but you feel a slight twitch in his muscle.
"Breathe!" You snap at the tall man. He fills the captains lungs until they can rise no more, then pulls away. A few more pushes later, and the redhead beneath you jolts up. His fingers dig into your shoulders, and he throws up all over your front. You cringe away, feeling too warm seawater and stomach acid coat your chest.
"Kidd!" The blonde man you saved from the Humboldt stumbles through the crowd. His captain turns his eyes away from you, "Kil.." The man faints before he can say anything more.
"Who are you, and where the hell did you come from?" The blonde turns his attention to you, sneering. You have half the mind to pick a fight with him, but decide against it.
"Wisp, Empress of Wisteria Peninsula… where I came from." You hold out your hand, but he ignores it.
'Fine. Be that way.'
"Wisteria Peninsula? Never heard of it." He barks, suspicious.
"No shit. You're inexperienced pirates who just rushed for the fucking calm belt. I doubt you've heard of much of anything at all." Finally rising to his attitude, you add; "By the way, you have maybe three hours before your captain catches pneumonia. Better hope someone nicer comes along to clear out his lungs." Brushing off the more… chunky parts of the redhead's vomit, you move to take your leave.
"Wait!" The green haired girl wraps herself around your leg, anchoring you in place. "We need food. Fresh water… a-a doctor… please, take us with you." She begs, burying her face in your hip.
"Dive!" The blonde snaps, approaching her. He stops in his tracks as you place one hand over the girls shoulder, the other held up in defense. "It's true, Killer. We'd be idiots to push away an outstretched hand." An orange haired woman agrees, leaning over the blonde - Killer's shoulder. An open wound oozes on her leg, dripping onto the deck.
"Quinc'…. What if she's just trying to collect on our bounty?" He reasons, glancing around at his desperate crew.
"I would have taken your devil-fruit eating captain's head, and left the rest to the Humboldts." You shrug. Dive tenses against you. Patting her back, you whisper, "A poorly timed joke…" Addressing the rest of the crew, you speak again. "Besides, I have no need for the minuscule berry the bounty of some upstarts would get me." Killer takes a white and blue striped helmet from one of his crewmates, shoving it over is mop of blonde hair and face. "Are you going to continue to insult us, or take us back to this island of yours?" He queries, voice muffled by the new addition to his head. With that attitude, you ought to make him beg for it; knock his pride down a few pegs before it kills him. Instead, you part from Dive and walk to the edge of the ship. "Find anything you can fasten to the ship, I'll tow it to shore." Killer suddenly rushes toward you, grabbing your arm before you can plunge down. "We have a motor, much safer than swimming with those… things."
"Your 'motor' is what caused them to attack you in the first place," you shake him off, "Ropes, chains - Hell, even the sails will work - I just need something to pull you with."
The other's on the ship get to work immediately, much to the confusion of their helmeted crewmate. "She's just gonna swim us to shore?" You hear him press someone. Their response comes just before you hit the blue surface below, "Just watch, Kil."
Two strokes land you beneath the ships hull, allowing you to strip with some privacy before slipping back into your other skin. The sun makes your scales sparkle like jewels as you lean over the side of the ship, your neck long enough for you to look over without tipping it. Killer freezes, dropping the spool of rope in his hands. Just like the rest of his crew, he quickly figures out it's you, the tail and horns you bear are the same, but much larger. After deciding he's gawked long enough, he returns to Kidd's side.
"Partner, you're not going to believe this…"
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟