Ashes To Ashes | One Piece

𝟏𝟖|Decisions, Desicions

( Alabasta Arc )

The next morning was a lot less jarring and chaotic. Ashe woke to the warm desert sun shining through the open window, her body curled under the soft blankets, and the smell of fresh linen. She had dragged herself out of bed with surprising ease and dressed in the fresh clothes she had bought the day before in the city. Some plain black jeans, a black button up shirt done all the way up and tucked into her waistband, with her hat and some bright red socks. She once again didn't bother with makeup.

Ashe ambled through breakfast, silently judging the pirate crew and the absolute mess that they made, and headed to the garden when she was done. She had grabbed her journal from under her pillow as well as a pen and the desert rose before she finally made it to the gardens. Most of the flowers beds were empty or simply filled with a large variety of cacti, some with a few flowers blooming on them, but there were many lush palm trees that loomed high and cast shadows over the courtyard. There were some benches set up but Ashe opted for simply dropping down under the biggest tree she could find and leaning back against it. Her hat resting on the ground beside her.

The flower, still in its jar but now with sand covering its exposed roots, rested beside her hat and fluttered in the breeze gently as Ashe sketched it silently on one of the few blanks pages of her journal. The old pages crinkled. They had become slightly rigid after being soaked and dried out so many times and it was a miracle really that the ink hadn't completely run off the page. So she decided to go through the whole book and simply rewrite anything that had smudged.  It was a slow process but surprisingly therapeutic. Ashe didn't know how long she was there, hours maybe, before someone finally found her.

"Ashe!" Chopper yelled as he came racing into the courtyard, panting hard and wobbling on his feet slightly "Ashe! He's awake! Luffys awake!"

The little reindeer let out a loud 'oof!' when he ran straight into the woman's legs before he scrambled up to grab her right arm and shake its wildly. She chuckled at his enthusiasm. He continued to jump around her when he let go, kicking small clumps and clouds of sand into the air, before he jumped towards the exit to the garden. Chopper pointed at it rapidly as he almost danced on the spot.

"Come one!" He whined "let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Alright! I'm up!" Ashe chuckled as she ambled to her feet slowly, dusting off her hat before she put it on, and grabbed her journal and flower. Chopper jumped up to grab her hand and began to lead her through the hallways as he laughed giddily while Ashe was forced to lean forward with how short he was. The doctor didn't seem to notice.

"Have you seem Zoro?" He asked suddenly with a pout as they began to make their way up a flight of stairs. They twisted through several more corridors till they came to the familiar hallway.

"Nah" she hummed and readjusted her hold on her things "last time I saw him was at breakfast"

The doctor pouted with a huff as he tugged at her hand "He's probably out training. We're here!"

The door creaked as it was pushed open before Ashe was tugged inside by the excited little reindeer. He let go of her hand and she was able to straighten her back, the vertebrae clicking slightly, before she smiled gently at the sight in front of her. Luffy sat up crossed legged in bed with his trusty hat on while several bandaids stuck to his cheeks and forehead. He was giggling happily with Usopp, who sat on the couch beside the door, while Nami and Vivi lingered by his bedside. Ashe smirked slightly. At the sound of the creaking door, Luffys head tilted towards them. The woman watched as his dark eyes brightened so suddenly and his smile widen to an almost impossible before he almost launched himself out of the bed. Vivi pushed him back down so Ashe simply made her way toward them boy so he did the have to move. She dropped her journal, as well as the flower, on the bed beside Luffys.