Skyrider Shura:
-x-
Truuuuum... tring tring... trruuuuumg...
"I'd call this one of the finest batches in years," Gan Fall remarked, "Would you agree Pagaya?" After saving Conis from Eneru's wrath, the current Sky Knight and former God Gan Fall had made a quick stop to pick up her father and took the two back to his house where they would be safe from Eneru. Gan Fall's house wasn't nearly as lavish as Eneru's palace. It was a simple wooden house sitting in the shade of a small tree on a small cloud that was separate from the rest of Skypeia.
Pagaya stood outside the house while Gan Fall casually watered his pumpkin patch. Conis was a little ways away with Suu and was sadly playing a harp.
Truuuuuummm...
"Huh?" Pagaya questioned.
"I'm referring to the pumpkins," Gan Fall told him, "I don't think I've ever grown them quite as sweet."
"Hmm..." Pagaya hummed to himself, "Of course. I'm sorry by my mind is wandering elsewhere. It was very kind of you to take us in. I dislike putting you in this position."
"Not at all," Gan Fall reassured him. "If they believe that your daughter let the Straw Hats escape they'll consider you an accomplice. The only safe place for you is here. You can consider this one on the house. We're all lucky that Eneru's Mantra doesn't reach this far."
Trrrruuuum trrrruuuuum tring...
"How are things back on the island?" Gan Fall inquired.
"I'm sorry?" Pagaya questioned.
"The crops," Gan Fall clarified. "Are they coming in hearty this year?"
"From what I know of it, yes," Pagaya replied, "Quite well indeed."
"Well that's good to hear," Gan Fall remarked, he left the garden and picked up a tray with three glasses on it. "I've prepared some pumpkin juice made from the very ones that grow here, wonderful flavor." Gan Fall placed the tray on the front porch next to Pagaya before returning to the garden. "Try some."
"Thank you," Pagaya said, "It looks refreshing." Pagaya picked up a cup, "Conis dear, you should try this."
Tring tring...
"Hmmm..." Conis sighed as she half-heartedly plucked at the strings of the harp.
"Young lady, I'm curious," Gan Fall addressed Conis, "Have you ever heard tale of those from the Blue Sea World called 'pirates'?"
Conis blinked at the unfamiliar term, "Never," she answered.
"They are basically just criminals that travel on the water," Gan Fall stated, "And though each ship may vary somewhat, these pirates are usually recognized by their flag with a skull and crossbones on it." Conis went wide-eyed when she remembered seeing the Straw Hats' smiling straw-hatted Jolly Roger. "I have my suspicions that your new friends fall in line with his kind."
"That's absurd!" Pagaya protested. "You mean these people were criminals before they set foot on our shore?"
"Hmmhmmhmm," Gan Fall chuckled, "They may not live by the rules of their world but I can't necessarily call that criminal. There are those that fall out of grace with the rule of law in any society. I don't see you two as any different from them. Who says that those that don't fit in are wrong and others are right? Sometimes the way of the world is backwards and blurred. And it can change in an instant. For example, you kill a man in war and you're branded a hero. Kill the same man in peace-time and you're prosecuted as a murderer. I myself had a pirate friend a long time ago. He came here with his band more than twenty years ago while I was still God of Skypeia. They were funny, all of them, boisterous people with lots to laugh about and a general air of freedom. I hated to say goodbye. The beauty of this land masks a truth as old as time. Skypeia is entangled in endless war. We the people of Skypeia wage this war with those we call 'guerrillas', the Shandians. Even now they move against Eneru constantly, trying to siege the sky. I worry for all those I could not protect."
