( one. ) » ( voice. )

[tibias]

[ in the background, there's the sounds of nature. rustling leaves, rushing water, chirping birds... and then there's a quiet chuckle from the owner of the journal. ]

This is quite the place. I've seen a lot in my time, but nothing like this. And that guide is handy! [ there's another small laugh ] Very thorough in its explaining this place. My thanks to its maintainer.

[ shanks pauses and there's the sounds of splashing. he's kicking his feet in the river. ]

If this place gets new arrivals in cycles, I imagine you get a number of these "I'm new here," journal entries. Aaah, well, that won't do. Let's spice things up and give you something more interesting than that!

Stop me if you've heard this one before... A Marine officer falls overboard during a battle with some pirates. He's a Devil Fruit user, so he can't swim and has to be rescued by a deckhand. When he's back aboard his ship, he thanks the deckhand and asks how he can best repay his underling for saving his life. The deckhand looks sheepish as he replies. "I think the best reward would be keeping it a secret, sir," he says, "If the other fellows knew I pulled you out, they might push me in!" Dahahahaha!

Comments

[tibias]

I am! And I happen to be friends with him to boot.

[fourteen]

Really?

[ That gets a smile. If he's friends with Luffy, then he's probably a pretty good guy. ]

I'm Xion. I'm friends with some of Luffy's crew! I've known them for a long time... [ Well. Friends is an understatement where Sanji is concerned, and complicated where Nami is concerned, but details. ]

[tibias]

It's very nice to meet you, Xion. I'm Shanks.

[fourteen]

It's nice to meet you too! [ He's so nice. It's hard not to warm to him immediately. ] So how do you know Luffy?

[tibias]

My crew stayed in his village for a while when he was a kid. Before we left for good, I gave him my hat and told him to hold on to it for me.

[ there's more to it than that, but the abridged version works. ]

[fourteen]

... you mean that hat he always wears is yours?

[ She really doesn't know Luffy that well; Sanji's the one she's pseudo-related to. But she's seen him enough to remember this much, and it's kind of surprising. ]

Wow. You must be really special to him.

[tibias]

It used to be.

[ shanks laughs quietly at the second comment. ]

Well, I like to think I am, anyways.

[fourteen]

That must mean you're a pirate, too. Have you been to the Grand Line?

[ She went, once. It's a long, long, long story. ]

[tibias]

I've been to the Grand Line more than once. In fact, I spend most of my time in the New World.

[fourteen]

You must be really strong. [ She knows. ] Isn't everyone there like that?

[tibias]

There are people in the world that are a lot stronger than me. [ but he's not denying the fact that he's pretty damn strong. ]

[fourteen]

[ .... ]

Hehe, that's kind of a scary thought. Everyone from there is so strong already!

[tibias]

Physical strength isn't everything though. And no matter how powerful one person is, there's always some way to defeat them if you can find it.

[fourteen]

[ ... powerful words, especially for a girl who once never would have believed them. ]

I know... but sometimes it's hard to believe that. It took me a long time to learn there are different ways to be strong. To learn different ways to fight...

[tibias]

It gets easier every time you see it happen.

[fourteen]

.... do you see it happen a lot in your world? I guess I sort of thought... [ Physical strength was king, really. All the pirates she's met are so incredibly strong. ]

[tibias]

Not too often, but sometimes it does. For most people, battles are always physical strength versus strength.