[UNDER EDITING] ᗷEIᗪOᑌ→ OᑎE ᑭIEᑕE

Chp 8: Consequences

(Artist belongs to: https://www.deviantart.com/ayyasap/art/Beidou-Genshin-Impact-880946072)

→｡.ﾟ+ ←
Little Garden

Beidou hummed while carefully rolling her brown tips of her hair between her fingers.As she watched the waving sea from afar.

The Grand Line had calmed the farther they sailed from Reverse Mountain, no longer ping-ponging between extremes, and she was relieved at the opportunity to spend time with her crewmates.

“Here.”

Blinking as a glass was held out to her, the brunette smiled and accepted Zoro’s offering, scooting over to make room while sipping at the refreshing beverage.

“Thanks.”

The swordsman grunted, ears warm, and watched as Luffy, Usopp and Sanji crowded around to watch Karoo guzzle drink after drink at breakneck speed-

BAM!

THUMP!

SMASH!

“Are you trying to get the poor thing sick?!” Beidou scolded, and Zoro snickered. “Aw, Beidou…” Luffy whined once he pulled his head free of a crate, Sanji dizzily swooning over her strength from where he had landed on the bow-side deck.

“Are you really human?” Vivi wondered, amazed, and Nami sighed.

“I’ve been asking myself that same question…”

Rolling her eyes, Beidou reached out to pat Karoo’s bill as he glanced over the female. happily cooing, earning a happy rumble at the attention.

“Hey, do you think it’s gonna snow again?” Luffy wondered, frowning at the sky, and Vivi straightened.

“It could snow, but the sea we were in first is special, since the seven magnetic forces from Reverse Mountain mess everything up. That doesn’t mean you relax your attention here, though. It’d be rare for this sea to be wild like the first journey, but it’s still true that this sea is a lot more difficult than ordinary ones. Never underestimate this sea. That’s the ironclad rule.”

“Hot and cold air colliding causes all sorts of extreme weather.” Beidou agreed, barely swaying as Luffy climbed onto her back like a koala. “The strange magnetism causes islands to be locked into seasons, so it makes sense that the oceans between them would be volatile.”

“So approaching any island, we need to be on the lookout for strange weather patterns.” Nami agreed, checking the Log Pose on her wrist and the horizon ahead. “There’s no mistake. That island and Cactus Island are pulling against each other.”

The crew turned as one to see a green landmass rising from a thin layer of fog over the water, and Karoo quacked with a frightened squeak.

“Our next stop is that island!”

“So that’s Little Garden…” The brunette mused, sharing a glance with Zoro as Luffy perked up with a grin.

Miss All Sunday’s warning was still fresh in their minds, and the swordsman kept a hand on Wado as the Going Merry bobbed closer, following on the port side and eyeing the shoreline nervously as they skirted around.

Trees towered overhead, trunks tightly hugged by vines with strange flowers blooming and roots thoroughly blanketed by wide-leafed flora, air humid and tropical where Cactus Island had been a more tepid temperature.

“What’s ‘little’ about it?” Zoro muttered, and Nami nodded, frowning in thought.

“This place doesn’t quite fit its cute name.”