Looking for balance

52. The wall of silence

Thanks to KumaZura for proof reading this chapter.

***

"Hey, I think I see something!"

Everyone quickly gathered around Usopp who was searching the sea through his binoculars from the front of the Sunny on this beautiful morning, trying to see what he had spotted.

"What is it?" Nami asked.

"It looks like... It's a barrier reef!"

"Awesome, we gotta go!" Luffy yelled straight away.

"It doesn't look very big but it's full of colors!" The sniper continued with enthusiasm.

"I'm heading to starboard!" The cyborg decided, rushing towards the helm.

The crew members focused their attention on the point Usopp was showing, impatient to discover the reef. Not much had happened since they had set sail again a week earlier and the prospect of seeing such a beautiful panorama was delighting them.

After a few moments, Brook leaned forward. "I see it, it is magnificent!"

"It looks as if there is an island just behind," Robin noted.

"That's right," Usopp confirmed, "It's not large and it seems deserted. Its beach looks gorgeous though!"

"Sandy beach?" Nami asked hopefully.

"White sandy beach with coconut palms!" The sniper gushed.

"Can we stop there?" Chopper asked them, eyes lit up.

"Why not, we might have a good time," Sanji approved, taking a drag on his cigarette.

"There's something next to the coral reef!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed. His friends focused on the growing landscape in sight and Usopp took his binoculars again. "You're right, these are animals," he said after a few moments. "They're on a strip of sand just behind the reef."

"What kind of animals?" The swordsman asked, "Do they look hostile?"

"They..." The sniper lowered his binoculars before sighing. "You're not gonna believe me but they're marmots."

"Groundhogs?" Franky wondered, "In the middle of the ocean?"

"They must be... sea marmots," Robin suggested.

"Either way, that's original," The cook noted.

"I see them, they look adorable!" Nami got enthused.

At these words, Zoro scowled. His hopes of fighting legendary monsters were over if the navigator found the creatures so pretty.

"I'm going to ask them what they're doing when we get there!" Chopper decided.

Soon, the coasts of the island became clearer and the coral reef appeared in all its glory. The reef was drawing a large irregular border lining the small island and between the two, a small headland of sand was hosting a colony of marmots in the middle of the sea.

As the reindeer was about to greet them, Luffy frowned. "These marmots are weird, it looks like they're not fine," he showed them.

Indeed, the group seemed to panic and they were running from one side to the other of the strip of sand although no enemy seemed to chase them. While Franky was skillfully maneuvering to get them through nearby without running aground the Sunny on the sand, Chopper waved at them.

"Hello, are you all right?" He called them out. One of the marmots rushed to their side and answered the reindeer in a visibly distraught tone. When Chopper turned to his friends to translate, he was actually worried. "They're stuck on the strip of sand and the tide is rising! They can't swim!"