In Chains

The Lull Before the Storm

"Samira. Do you have a minute?"

Said woman peeked over from her seat near the desk and smiled at Penguin. He leaned against the door of his shared room, arms crossed over his chest; his roommate and navigator were giving him sour expressions. This nearly made him laugh.

"Our Captain asked for you," he made clear.

Their unpleasant attitudes barely faltered.

Samira bowed her head and stood up. "We can finish the map another time. Alf šukr. (a thousand thanks)"

Penguin raised a brow. "A map? What kind?"

He pushed off the frame and walked into the room, peeking over the bear's shoulder as he drew lines on a chart sheet. It wasn't much to look at; Penguin could make out a landform with some notable locations, but he had never heard of them before.

"The Isle of Red Sand," he read out loud. He gave Samira a curious look.

She gently laughed. "It's where I'm from. Meister (mister) Trafalgar inquired about it during our last talk."

"And you're making a map for him? Does that mean we'll get to see your homeland someday?"

Samira hoped not. She hid her frown well, but her eyes narrowed. "Possibly. The Isle isn't exactly safe to visit right now, but one day you guys might be able to see it. My sister would love to meet you all."

"I'd love to meet her too," Shachi mentioned with a sigh. "I bet she's as sweet as you, Sami."

This was the first time he'd heard about her sister – Samira hardly talked about her life before meeting them – but he imagined they looked a lot alike.

"She's the nicest person I know ... my brother not so much," Samira mentioned. She didn't give her words much thought until Shachi trembled in fear; her brother was a sore topic for her.

An obvious frown appeared on her face, but she laughed regardless; awkward and loud. "He is extremely protective of us, but he's not a terrible person."

She wished this was true; he wasn't the same person she grew up with, but regardless of his bad decisions she loved him. Samira huffed a sigh and stood up.

"Mester (mister) Trafalgar asked for me; we should go."

Penguin nodded. He was curious about her relationship with her brother, but thought it best not to ask. Her entire demeanor had changed in a matter of seconds, and honestly, he hated it. What happened between them? The serious looks she was getting from Shachi and Bepo made him believe that they too were just as curious.

She said her farewells and left the room with Penguin, following him up the stairs at the end of the hall and to the second level. She assumed Law was on deck waiting for her, but was shocked to see that he and some of the crew were on the shore of the next island. When had they docked? She stared in awe at the vast scenery, and only snapped out of her daze once she heard Penguin call her name.

Following him from the submarine, Samira was eager to explore. Law motioned them closer, and ordered Penguin to head further onto the island with the others; she noticed a wooden barrel near the shore where he was standing, but paid it no mind.

"Are we going onto the island too?"

Law grinned. "Once we're done here. The Log Pose will take two days to reset and I have some business to attend to."

"I assume that means you don't need me to follow you around," Samira mentioned.

He laughed at her attempt. "You assume wrong."