Demons, Swords, And Other Things That Nearly Killed Me

Timeskip To The Timeskip Before The Timeskip

      "Whew! Never thought I'd be able to escape all that. Think Buggy will miss this?"

A young woman spun a dagger around in her hands, the short blade gleaming in the sunlight. The golden handle was encrusted in blood red jewels. Quite the flashy weapon– if she said so herself. It looked like it cost a pretty beri.

Only the best for the best, she supposed.

"Considering that you stole not only his favorite dagger, but his entire collection, I'd say yes." He didn't fail to mention that she also took the blades that were in his shoes. "I don't know how you managed to do that, but at least you left before he could notice anything was missing."

"Serves him right for keeping it a secret that he had contact with my dad the entire time I was on the ship. I hope he liked the flight when he got punted. Too bad I left before that– it would've been so funny to see."

She put the dagger back into its small sheath and placed it into her drawstring satchel. It clunked against the wooden mask that lay at the side of the bag, and almost crushed a rolled up paper next to it.

"Watch it. It's hard to find that wanted poster just anywhere."

"Yeah yeah, I get it. I'll roll it up later and make sure I don't damage it." I should probably be careful with the mask, too. It was so hard to find one that fits against my face.

Her outfit was light that day. The sun was high, and she dressed down. A pair of durable shorts, which she also had a pair of black shoes, and a black sleeveless cropped turtleneck. Her four arms stretched out as she walked off her boat, which had been tied to the back of a small dock.

A gentle gust of wind blew against her body. She shivered and goosebumps began to litter her skin.

"Oh, coat please. Stop it at the midriff– oh, and thick sleeves!"

"Right away."

"Thank you."

A smooth, black liquid rose from her skin and flowed over her upper arms. It thickened slightly. It spread over her back and parted in her front, leaving her shirt visible. There was a tattoo in the middle of her chest and above her toned stomach. The collar and flare of the 'jacket' grew to just below her ears before it straightened out.

Her stomach growled and grumbled, as if right on cue. She clasped her hands together and squeezed her fingers. She stretched her lower set of arms a bit before hiding them right where the jacket cut off.

"Ooh, time to eat. Let's get going."

"Yes, let's!"

"Can I have some wine, please?" A soft voice chimed in from her side. She rested her lower hand on the hilt of her oldest looking sword and nodded to herself.

"Sure. Now, let's go!"

She walked straight through the doors of The Baratie

~ . . . ~

You sat down at an unoccupied table, your bag at your side and a menu in front of you. You looked it over and hummed.

It's so much quieter without that clown and his crew yelling over each other so much. I was always so embarrassed when we came over here...

"It's a good thing you beat some manners into them."

You snorted.

Ah, those lessons were fun.