[voice]

[yourotherleft]

Oi. I'm making a list for the next time I send the cook shopping.

What's the best alcohol around? I don't care what it costs, I just want to find out what I haven't tasted yet.

Or if it's from another world, I guess I can ask the Backwater lady if she can get it.

Comments

[yourotherleft]

Haaah? [Looks at the leaf. Looks at Luffy]

What d'you mean, cut it up? How do you want it cut, and why?

[allendsmeat]

[he manages to get the other leaf off and slides back down]

Into strips. Look. [he crouches by one of the tears in the nest where you can see the ground and part of it looks like the leaf strips have been woven together]

We need to do something like that.

[yourotherleft]

Oh.

[Well, then. Don't need to tell him twice. Since he already had Wadou free, he gently pulls the sword and then floats the leaf above him so he can flick his wrist and neatly slice it to ribbons as requested]

What, are you trying to fix a hole you made or something?

[allendsmeat]

[when Zoro's done, he'll give him the other leaf to do the same to and then grab the strips of the first, plopping down near his backpack. The bentos have long been eaten and he's filled it full of mud so he can make the weaving stick better as he slowly gets to work]

You made that one.

[kind of accusingly points to the smaller tear.]

But I found a lot of these nests with big rips. [he holds out his hands to show how big] The eggs were still there but they were hollow...

[and that annoys him. The nests were here to keep people out of the eggs, but if you really wanted them, you should crack them and give whatever's inside a fighting chance]

Saw this, too. [and he flicks a grappling hook he attached to his backpack. There is some dried blood on it, obviously not his but he'd found it that way]

[yourotherleft]

Hollow...?

[strange. He deftly slices up the other leaf and holds out his arm to let the strips fall over it, the better to hang onto them until Luffy needs them. Leaning closer to the muddy backpack, he peers at the hook]

It's normal-sized. So the giants on this island wouldn't have been the ones using it. [hmmm. Blood.] Think some of the other crews have been visiting?

1/2

[allendsmeat]

Maybe. I haven't seen another ship but I wanna go look.

[he doesn't think it's people like them but he--]

[allendsmeat]

GIANTS? There are giants here?!

[so cool! He hasn't really met any since those guys from Little Garden!]

[yourotherleft]

Yeah. Saw a couple, the other day when I was having a hike around. They're real quiet, though, seemed like they didn't want any trouble.

[while holding his armful of weaving material, he sidles around the nest, peering at the giant eggs and taking a look over the edge. Shit, they're high up.]

[allendsmeat]

I wanna go meet 'em. I bet their food is huge!

[happy happy sway]

We should give them something so they can make us a feast.

[best part of being a pirate]

[yourotherleft]

[snorts. Well, these eggs sure are big enough to make a giant omelet]

We'd have to find them, first. I didn't notice a village or anything.

[because he got lost and wandered in circles]

Think there's anything like sky-sea-kings up here?

[allendsmeat]

That bird was kinda big. [almost as big as the yoh birds in Skypiea.] Maybe there are snakes.

[because the nests were off the ground. But some snakes could climb even this kind of stuff so maybe not]

Maybe the giant villages are in hiding. Maybe they're camelflashed.

[finishes that weaving and tries to work it into the tear. When that's done he grabs armfuls of mud and pats on top of it. Then he takes the strips from Zoro's arm and starts to weave those]

They look like mine.

[yourotherleft]

Camouflaged. [on beat.

He glances over his shoulder just to make sure that giant bird isn't about to destroy them for being near its eggs.]

I guess it's possible. If they don't want to have anything to do with visitors to their island, makes sense.

So, these eggs are clearly off the dinner menu. We'll just have to find something else.

[allendsmeat]

[he nods absently and finishes the weaving. Dumping the rest of the mud on the grass and stamps it into place. Then he unties one of the eggs.]

Here hold on to it.

[He says as he rolls it to where the patch is. He trusts Zoro's grip. If it's too heavy, he knows Zoro won't let it fall through. Besides which, he has to get the other one so he can see if it will hold when the eggs were back where he found them]

[yourotherleft]

All right...

[Never let it be said that Zoro didn't trust his captain's whims. He loops his arms around the egg and does exactly as told, hanging onto it until Luffy can test them both.]

[allendsmeat]

[he rolls the other egg into place carefully and lays it down. It seems to be okay and he waves for Zoro to let go. He stares at the patch hard, trying to see any sign of weakening and even stamps it lightly with a foot and though the greeny thick branch its perched on trembles, the nest stays intact]

Yoshh.

[he uses some leftover mud to patch up the tear Zoro made and then shoulders the muddy backpack]

Let's go! [they have a ship to find, and maybe a village, too. He jumps off the side of the nest, bounding down giant leaves as he lands on them and uses one to jump over the river, landing and nearly falling in butt first.

Fortunately he catches his balance and turns, crouching, to wash the mud off his arms and wait for Zoro to join him]

[yourotherleft]

[Wow, look at that, Luffy made a thing. And it works! Zoro nods, impressed, before Luffy is off like a shot and he's left scrambling to follow before the bird lands on them and breaks them in two.

He makes his way down with slightly more grace and only a little bit of slipping on the vine here and there, leaping from perch to perch and only stumbling at the very end. Brushing himself off, he looks to see if Luffy's ready.]

Not bad. You'd make a fine momma bird.

[allendsmeat]

Haha no way! They gotta share their food. Anyway--

[he puts the bag in the water to wash it out and then flaps and squeezes it before hooking it over one shoulder]

Do you know how momma birds feed their kids?

[do you? Do you? It's pretty gross and he wants to share]

[yourotherleft]

Yeah, I do. [no thanks Luffy. He already knows and doesn't need the visual details right now.]

So. What now?

[allendsmeat]

They throw up. [he was going to say it anyway, let's be honest. As for where next. He puts his hands on his hips and looks around. A wind blows and he sniffs it absently, smelling a faint kind of firey smell from that direction. Where there is fire there is people or at least interesting stuff so]

This way!

[starts off]

Wolves throw up, too, sometimes. Isn't it weird? Who'd want to eat that? I guess it must be super tasty to them.

[yourotherleft]

[shrugs and follows]

Gross, Luffy. I know that! I...wait, wolves too? Weird.

Fine, you don't have to be a momma bird. I think we're all better off.

[allendsmeat]

I don't wanna be a momma anything.

[they come to a place with a fallen log and he jumps up on it, using it as a balance beam]

Someone said that everyone has one of those. Do you think it's true?

[yourotherleft]

A mother? Well, yeah. We were all born from someone, it ain't like they're finding babies under cabbage leaves. It's just. [a quiet sigh] We don't all get to keep them for our whole lives.

[allendsmeat]

Ehhh They really don't come from those? [peers at him] At all? Not even sometimes?

[yourotherleft]

Not even a little bit. [althoooouuughh...] Of course, I dunno where fishmen come from but. Probably not cabbage either way.

[allendsmeat]

I guess they come from other Fishmen, right? ...And people too sometimes. [Wasn't Chimney related to a fish person? Well never mind]

I wonder if I'll ever meet 'em one day. [he'd be fine either way but he was sort of curious. Just like he was sort of curious to know what his dad looked like.

The firey scent is stronger now and it's almost acrid, stinging his nose and he snorts and rubs it.]

It stinks...

[and something big lows in the distance like a giant cow-- so he keeps going toward it anyway, curious now]