Children of the Sun

Feathers and Freckles

Vienna's dreams that night were more vivid than usual. Her abilities of premonition were getting stronger as she trained her haki. She could tell what she was seeing wasn't as far into the future. The images and scenery were a lot clearer than before. It was like someone cleaned the window and took off the earmuffs. She could see Ace standing with his back facing her down the shoreline. His fists were ablaze as he stood in a fighting stance. The angle flipped, showing the back of a large blue fishman also ready to fight. It seemed to flash forward several days as Ace and his opponent seemed exhausted from their constant fighting. Just as Ace seemed victorious the scene changed, a dark shade looming on the sea behind Ve. Her field of vision was blocked by blue flames as a loud laugh filled the air. She saw the shadow of a giant man, sitting on a large chair on the deck of a ship. There was a man perched on his shoulder, with what looked like talons and wings. Just as Ve felt herself start to wake up she heard Ace's voice,

"Pops!"

Vienna spent the rest of the morning in a daze, her mind focused on analyzing the vision. Ace and Deuce watched from afar at first, but when she almost fell down some stairs while carrying a box, Ace stepped in,

"Woah there!" He catches Ve, securing the box before both go tumbling down the stairs. The contact breaks Ve from her train of thought and she realizes what is about to happen,

"Oh, thanks, Ace. That would have left a bruise." She steadies herself and collects the box from Ace,

"You saved me and the," she glances down at the box, "clothes from getting injured. It's not like my wings could have caught me." She adds. Ace laughs softly,

"Yeah sure, feathers." He laughs at Ve's pout when he brings up the old nickname,

"Oh go stuff your face in a plate of food, freckles!" She retorts. Deuce watches with an amused expression,

"He already did that today." He comments,

"Hey!" Ace complains as Ve begins to laugh, she was too distracted to notice the event during breakfast.

Ve's dazed state from that morning is quickly forgotten in the chaos of enemy pirates, marine sightings, and a thunderstorm. Ve is so tired at the end of the day she falls asleep before getting a chance to talk to Ace about her dream.

The next day is a little bit calmer, allowing Ve to talk to Ace in private,

"Hey, what's got your feathers in a ruffle?" Ace asks with a smirk closing the door to his room behind him. Ve glares at her brother from her perch on his bed,

"That's the fifth feather comment today! Why did you just randomly remember that nickname!" Waving her arms around with a huff, Ace just laughs some more, joining her on the bed. She waits for her brother to quiet down before she recounts her dream. Ace listens intently, trying to make sense of her dream. It was obviously about him, and a future battle. Ace said the fishman was probably Jinbe, the warlord. The large man could have been Whitebeard, the bird would be his first mate. It seems Ace is a little more knowledgeable about the pirate world than Ve is.

"I couldn't tell if you won or lost the fight against Jinbe. I think Whitebeard comes at the end and you're too tired to fight. I don't know what happened after that, but from the way you sounded, it was happy." Ace frowns remembering a detail,

"Why would I call someone pops? Why would I think of Whitebeard as my father?" He wonders aloud. Ve keeps quiet not wanting to voice the possible truth, that Ace would join the Whitebeards and no longer be the captain of the Spade Pirates. Ace seems to come to that conclusion as the room falls into silence.

"Do you know how long until it takes place?" Ve shrugs,

"Pretty soon, I would bet within the next few months, possibly even sooner. This vision seemed concrete, like it is going to happen, not just a possible future." She adds glancing at her brother's stoic expression. He lets out a loud sigh before standing up,