A Thousand Treasures (One Piece)

Six

Snow fell calmly from the clouded sky, building a thick layer on the main deck. A chill ran along her skin, though the harshest of its bite was deterred by the fabric of her winter jacket. The long coat reached her knees and was zipped all the way to her neck, the black fur-lined hood buttoned at her nose. She wore large dark gray earmuffs over her ears, heavy boots, and thick gloves. Even still, mist floated through chapped lips as she focused on her task. Careful and precise movements had steadily built the snow teddy bear in front of her; crafting its likeness from her memories of Smokey, her own teddy, as he was when she first received him all those years ago.

"Alright, done!" Luffy and Usopp both joined in her snowman building some time ago, each picking their own little area of the ship for their constructions. "This is the man that fell from the sky, Mr. Snow Barrel!" Mixed eyes turned from fixing Snowkey's button nose to see Luffy's pride and joy. A basic snowman whose face was twisted and uneven and wore a green cape with a barrel hat.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." She turned to Usopp. "That's such a crude snowman."

"What?!"

However, what Usopp presented did indeed make Luffy's look like a toddler's construction. A perfect snowy silhouette of a woman. "Look at my soulful artwork, the Snow Queen!"

"That's awesome! Okay then!" Seeming to want to prove his snowman's battle prowess, he smacked its arm to send it towards Usopp's creation. "Snow Barrel Punch!" The stick destroyed Snow Queen's head in an instant.

"Boys." Illyria grumbled, eyes rolling as she turned back to her own creation while chaos ensued behind her. It was almost finished. With round pieces of charcoal, she pushed them into place. Snowkey was a spitting image of her teddy in his prime. When she was a child and he was presented to her by a grumbling marine tired of her whining at Loguetown's fair. When she had repeatedly failed to win her own at one of the stall games. It was a memory that brought a wide smile to her lips while a hand raised the final eye to its place.

"Take that!" Snowkey burst into an unrecognizable pile of chunks in front of her. A long nose poking from its midst.

"Luffy, you... ah." Silence fell over the boys as Usopp sat up and met her gaze. She blinked, her hand still hovering where the charcoal piece was going to go. Though, the warmth of the memory had been swept away with the chill of the ocean wind. Her brows furrowed as shock morphed to irritation, turning her attention to the boys. "R-R-Ria, sorry! I didn't mean to break it! It was Luffy!"

"Don't blame me!"

"You punched me!"

"You flew into it!"

Usopp scrambled away from her though she turned to follow. Hands forming fists at her sides.

"Remember, my Sweet, never lash out in anger over something so small. It's unbecoming of a young lady."

She stopped. Words her mother spoke echoing in her mind. Striking out in anger was fine when it came to big issues. But something like this? It wasn't something worth anger. Still, the irritation wouldn't leave and instead boiled beneath her skin. Building to an intensity that she refused to give outlet. Instead, it built into her eyes and released down her cheeks.

"Ah! Luffy, you made her cry!"

"You did to!" Leaping to their feet the boys crowded her. "Sorry, Ria, really! Check this out!" Pulling his jaw down to the floor, he raced around until it was filled to the brim with snow. Closing it until both his cheeks were puffed out impossibly large. Then shot it at Usopp like some cannonball.