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Four Years. It takes four years for one to come back to the hell of the Grand Line. A pirate had to be either the stupidest or daring person out there. Is a place for an early grave some might say, but luckily there’s enough stupid people to dare to go and succeed. Such as, Dahlia, who is going back to the deadly line for one thing. For a sample of the massive plant life that lives in the island of Little Garden. Dahlia is a Botanist, traveling across seas to study the life of greenery on the island. This was a main reason as to why she went back to the Grand Line, for one little island that she had passed over on her first voyeur.
With a small vessel to steer towards the island, Dahlia is forced to be a navigator in order to get through the bipolar weather of the sea. If she had managed to do it once, she could do it again, right? …Well it’s easier said than done with only one person in a stupid boat. She was lucky she managed to make it through the line alive. The ship received casualties to the stern which meant it would have to be a quick stop at the nearest island and pray that somebody knows about ships.
Dahlia has only sustained minor injuries in her arm after a barrel came flying at her. Nothing but a couple of bandages could fix that. Wish the same thing could be said about the ship. As frustrated as she was, she was glad she made it out of that storm safely. She looks around the vast sea and to her crummy luck there’s not a single island to be seen. Not like she can get far with a ripped sail, but with just a couple of stitches it should be fine. With a heavy sigh she sits there, taking the matter into her own hand and grabbing the sewing kit she had stored in her satchel.
Determination settled into her vein to fix this situation, to continue this journey that is dedicated to her life’s work. Dahlia’s choppy sewing was good enough to patch any holes in the sail. So the grueling trip continued, the weather was beyond unpredictable but she pushed through despite everything. And after countless hours of sailing she had managed to get to Drum Island.
Drum Island was a cold and icy island, with huge steep mountains. She’s been to the island once during her first journey, peacefully of course she was only there for research.
So, with the ship stopped on shore she slumped over her satchel and threw on a coat she had hoarded in one of the crates. Always overly prepared, that’s what her town used to tell her. But it is better to be overly prepared than to have nothing at all. The inches of snow crunched under her boots making an obnoxiously loud sound with each step. Her face was turning red due to the freezing temperatures, so she held herself to warm up. It was quite the walk to get to the destination she was looking for. A small quaint town in the northern part of the island.
Just like before, it was quiet. The residents of the town were more reserved and hostile due to an incident that caused a shake in the island. Dahlia never learned of the incident, she was never one to butt into people’s situations. So she kept her head down and looked around for a shop. Once located she made her way over, she just needed to restock on some lost supplies she lost during the crossing the Grand Line chaos. As she walked through the hefty snow, her shoulder connected to a stranger's. An accidental bump, no big deal. “Sorry” was simply said by Dahlia. A simple exchange of an apology but apparently not to the cloaked stranger. Rather unusual to be acting so mysterious in this small town.
A sudden hand grasps her arm, stopping her from going on. She stood still, made no movement and waited for the figure to speak or move. There was a moment of silence between them until finally it was broken. “Just be careful” a deeper, raspier voice spoke to her. Sending a shiver down her spine. Eventually she tilted her head up, their gazes meeting each other for a split seconds before she looked back down, his grip letting go. “Alright, just don’t touch me” she said while rubbing her arm. He was oddly warm considering the cold climate. Her comment must’ve been very amusing to the man since he snorted under his breath.
“My bad, didn’t realize you were royalty” the man said with obvious sarcasm. Dahlia on the other hand wasn’t too pleased with his rude derision, but made the decision to stay quiet about it. If there was a way to avoid things escalating she would take it. There’s no need to make a commotion from an accidental bump. With a heavy sigh she shrugged her shoulders. “Look, I already said I was sorry. Now excuse me” she moved around him to get to her destination.
But, no, this man was stubborn. Blocking her way, he wasn’t much taller than her, maybe 3-4 inches of difference. Dahlia stopped and tried her best to stay calm. “Sir, you're in my way” “I’m aware” he said with a noticeable grin. He was not making things easy for her and she didn’t really appreciate it. Patience is one thing tha Dahlia had but sometimes the wrong people tend to wear it thin. One last chance. “Please…” she asked politely.
Luckily for her it was just enough for the man to step aside and smile “What’s your name?”. The question made her raise an eyebrow, he’s definitely not from this town. He’s too…Lively, yeah that's one way to put it. She decided to play it smart and answered “Mary”. A fake name she uses a lot whenever a stranger ask for her name. “And yours?’
“Ace”