I want.... this. Just stay at my back. And I'll hold the hum at bay even as it collects inside us, eh?
[Come night, he'll probably send Ikki back to the ship when he's feel better and when he can face the night head on alone, but for now, really just Ikki there, and knowing he's not the only one who feels it all at once is all he needs. He's been the only phoenix for so long that sometimes he can't tell what is Marco, what is Whitebeard, what is pirate, what is human, and what is bird.]
[And there's something peaceful in the knowing. In an actually goodish way. Less absolute than the peace the forest demands, and more heartening. Soothing.]
[So he'll collect the rage, compress it, and use it to dismember enemies. And holding that isn't fighting, but it's not letting the forest invade him either.]
[Action]
[Come night, he'll probably send Ikki back to the ship when he's feel better and when he can face the night head on alone, but for now, really just Ikki there, and knowing he's not the only one who feels it all at once is all he needs. He's been the only phoenix for so long that sometimes he can't tell what is Marco, what is Whitebeard, what is pirate, what is human, and what is bird.]
[And there's something peaceful in the knowing. In an actually goodish way. Less absolute than the peace the forest demands, and more heartening. Soothing.]
[So he'll collect the rage, compress it, and use it to dismember enemies. And holding that isn't fighting, but it's not letting the forest invade him either.]