#i went into a fugue state and came out the side with over 20k about her and lae'zel and it's not even remotely close to being finished yet.

[tizooky]

I have a lot of drawings of my Tav I've been sitting on, so I figured I might as well start posting some of them. Her name is Wren, and she's a green dragonborn and a spore druid! As it turns out, getting tadpoled might have been one of the best things to ever happen to her, even if the situation was a bit dire at times. Nothing says honoring your clan like saving the world, right?

Bonus comic:

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

tfw you are a one-shot writer (provided you are writing at all atm) and you reach 10 chapters with 20k words

anyway, have the 10th one, titled “To kill a killer whale”, alterntively also “Shachi nO”

it also happens to be twice the length of the longest chapter preceeding it.... (aka it’s  4k+)

Fire.

That's the thought that yanks her out of the dream. Or rather nightmare... she cannot recall any other detail past the big building going up in flames, but she's certain there was nothing good about it otherwise, either. It was upsetting enough to make her sweat through the shirt she's had on, and something is burning in her chest. This has nothing to do with the fever dream, though- the sensation is very much real.

Sitting up while holding her left side, Kat takes a look around- she's still alone. Or, wait... no, the book lying on her head is gone. It's back to the pile where it originally should have been. Law is nowhere to be seen, however... seems like she passed out for a while, then. It's still light outside, though, so there's that.

She looks back at her practice station, but as soon as she considers returning to the drill it occurs to her that she's more hungry than anything. She stands up, and the piercing pain to the side makes her wince; the left lower arm also feels as if someone inserted a really long needle along the middle. Similar is the situation regarding her left shoulder. She couldn't have laid on them, either. Thinking back, though... apart from the shoulder, these were roughly the spots she noted stinging yesterday evening, after getting into Law's skin. She was fine all morning, though.

Weird.

Having taken a few steps, she notices the door being ajar, with a sturdy bag holding it in place. Probably woke up to the room cooling off a bit. Maybe. She tumbles back outside; by the time she steps out of the submarine, the stings in her chest become less apparent, until nothing but a little tension remain. As if nothing ever happened. Which is even weirder than the pangs out of the blue, but she's grateful for them being gone nonetheless.

As of outside, it's a lazy Sunday afternoon with no soul in sight. The days have yet to get cold, but since it nears winter on this autumn island, that might not be the case a few days down the road. In fact, the only things she's guaranteed to check in the daily newspaper she brings home from the cafe are crosswords, jokes, and the weather report. Tomorrow should be cloudy with some wind, she reminds herself. As she's pondering about that, a breeze blows against her damp clothes and heated body, giving her chills.

“Ah-hah, I knew my eyes weren't lying!” comes a high spirited call back from the doorway; turning around, she sees Shachi saluting playfully. “How's it going, Miss Kat?”

“Oh, hi,” she yawns, rubbing her arms to fend off the cold feeling, flinching a little as she comes across the bruise from that morning. “Nothing spectacular. Came out to grab something to eat.”

“Right, the... captain mentioned that you will come up later before he left not too long ago...” the man muses, holding his chin. “Won't you come down to the kitchen, then? There's red beans and rice,” he informs her with a smile.

“Actually... why not,” she ponders, then sighs. Stepping back towards the entrance, she also notes: “Asking Sanji for meals would get weird really fast, anyway.”

“... can't argue with that,” he says with the shadow of fear and worry on his face. Black Leg is not to be trifled with. He learned it the hard way. “Well then, this way, please,” he instructs her, stepping to the side.

“By the way, is it always so damn hot down here?” she asks while facing the warm draft coming from below as they trot down the way she just came from.

“Actually, no,” he answers, beaming. “It usually depends on the weather while we are on the surface, then the water temperature including warm and cold streams once we submerge. It can get hot all of a sudden because of stuff like volcanic activities... or really cold at great depths and around winter islands!” Having said that and remembering a few cases, he also shivers. “Both of those suck.”

His enthusiasm draws a small smile to her face. “And it's also really dark, I assume,” she muses.

“It... is, I guess,” he continues a little calmer, “but there are not a lot of windows on board anyway, so after living here for a while, you don't even notice the difference between nighttime and underwater. Unless there's creepy deep sea fish passing them, which... happens. Ah, here we are,” he says, stopping on the level with the doors she already assumed to be the dining hall when first coming down here, and opens the way for her.

Which he always does, and it's reached a point of making her a little uncomfortable. That should probably not be the case; it is a place she's unfamiliar with, so it's alright, and she also holds doors even for total strangers when they are on their way to enter or leave the cafe. On the other hand, however... it's never the same person, over and over. Hell, even Sanji did this only once. Same for Penguin and Robin... with Shachi, however, she's long lost count.

Either way, she remains instinctively polite. “Thank you,” she nods with a shy smile, stepping inside.

There are long tables along the walls, with benches covered in pillows running next to them; the opening to the kitchen lies halfway on the right side. Seems as if the place is also used as a kind of living room, since about half of the crew is inside playing games, talking, and of course eating. As soon as they notice who came in, every last eye zeroes in on her. Yep. This... is exactly what her severe anxiety needs right now, alright.

She waves with a nervous smile; some people welcome this with an amused one, and wave back. She also can hear a few of them say 'hi'. A second later, as she can hear the exit close behind her, Penguin pops up on her right; he's been likely idling around the table corner hidden by the door.

“Greetings, Miss Kat!”

If she wasn't hyper aware of literally everything happening around her right now, she would have jumped for sure. “Hi, Penguin,” she squeaks.

“... are you okay?” he asks with some concern, ignoring Shachi poking him in the shoulder.

“Just a little nervous,” she answers, vaguely distracted by their shenanigans and the other man's... pout, by the looks of it.

“Oh, I see,” he continues more cheerfully, finally swatting his friend's hand away. “Well, no need to sweat it, really. Came to grab something to eat, did you?”

“Yeah,” she breathes, accompanied by barely audible grumbling; the boys crack a smile upon hearing latter, to which she reacts with a blush. She's been peckish up till now, but the smell of food is getting to her.

“Alright, I'm not gonna hold you up,” Penguin says suppressing a laugh, then shouts to one of his crewmates, a rather burly and tall guy who can just about be seen doing his thing in the kitchen; she's only seen him once. Very likely the cook on board.

“Hey, Fugu! Get another helping going, the captain's cuter half has arrived!”

Kat hides behind her hands. It's been years since she wanted to sink into a hole on the spot... guess it was time again. The embarrassment is almost bad enough to forget about the other problem, but she's quickly reminded of all the people witnessing the scene as some of them are laughing to themselves to the left. Someone also definitely went 'aww'. From the corner of her eye she can see Shachi attempting to kick Penguin in the shin in a silent brawl where he likely comes out victorious, as he's the one nudging her towards the kitchen a few seconds later.

“Okay, okay, let's get going,” he states, basically shoving her forward with an especially high spirited Penguin walking after them. Having two people by her side who are on talking terms with her is reassuring, but not enough by far. Especially if they are like this.

By the time she manages to calm down somewhat, she's already being offered a plate of red beans and rice.

“Would you like a cup of coffee as well?” the man apparently called Fugu asks with a wide smile.

The gut reaction would be a 'no, thank you,' but.. she is thirsty... and even if coffee is not her go-to solution, it will do for now. Her bottle of water down in Law's room can wait. Last time she took a sip it was already disgustingly warm, anyway.

“Um... yes, if it's no bother,” she says in a barely audible voice, “with two spoons of sugar... and a little milk if... you have some.”

“Alright,” the huge man complies, preparing it as per request. She also gets a croissant.

“Oh, thank you,” Kat mutters as she receives them on a tray. Behind her, she can hear Penguin break and whisper to Shachi; “I can't handle this, man... the captain never speaks in such an adorable voice.”

She should probably just use this spoon on her plate to dig herself a nice, deep hole as soon as she's released from this hell.

After short consideration, she decides to sit at the doorway corner where Penguin popped out of, hoping she can eat mostly alone, then puts down the items with a shaky hand. They rattle at least three times each before settling safely on the table.

“You sure you alright? You do look nervous,” Shachi asks carefully as he slides to the corner on her right, likely raising an eyebrow under his sunglasses.

“Damn straight I am,” she squeezes the sentence out, also taking place. There's a little disappointment on her part; she finds the two of them exhausting to talk to and would rather eat in peace... well, as much peace she can get under current circumstances.

He cracks a nervous smile himself and puts his hands up. “Relax, Kat... we won't bite.”

“I know, but... it's like an old habit that really sucks... that I can't get rid of, you know?” She lets out a high-strung laugh, then takes a deep breath to try and calm herself. “I'm always a mess when drawing attention from too many people. And right now I'm not even... myself, goddammit.”

“Oh... hm. Can't help with that, then, can we,” he says scratching his head and leaning onto the table.

She eats the first few spoonfuls of her beans and rice share, which seems to be a little overboard concerning the amount. It tastes good, though, so she might finish it up, and not just to be polite.

Penguin seems to be done with his daily routine of being a mildly annoying flirt and steps to the exit while stretching a little. “Well... I'm off to finish up the shopping list for med supplies... see you around, guys!” he waves, then mouths something to Shachi, who gives him a thumbs up.

Wondering about that, she carefully peeks at the opposite side, where most people hang out; they returned paying more attention to their own little things, though she could swear that one of the guys also took a glance in her direction. All in all, though, she's basically left alone... with... Shachi.

… 'Good luck.'

That's what he said, wasn't it.

Her breath stops for a second as she swallows the last spoon's worth of food- stepped into this one for the umpteenth time, didn't she. Being aware of her neighbor's intentions brings some comfort, though; the new problem draws all of her attention and energy, so she can focus and calm down instead of being a shaking mess. Now... she knows from experience that just taking it without comments is not an option. Too many people interpret that as interest... 'take the spoon and dig yourself out of this rabbit hole while you can' is the name of the game.

He seems to be stuck on deciding where to start. Good, this gives her the opportunity to nip the incoming stressful stuff at the bud. Let's try and start with something basic.

“If you also have something to do, feel free to do your thing,” she speaks up after eating a little more. “I'll be fine now.”

“Nah, we share tasks and I did most of our assigned work yesterday, Penguin will manage with the rest,” he answers, perking up as soon a she speaks. “How's the training going, by the way?”

Alright, neutral enough. Let's keep the topic on this for the time being. “So-so... I really suck at popping stuff from one place to another. Which is apparently the thing I need to reverse this trickster bullshit? On the other hand...” she lifts her right hand, and the croissant lifts form the table. “This... easy as pie, somehow,” she says, flinging it in a circle lasso style, then eats another spoonful of rice. Her little trick attracts an audience left unnoticed.

Judging by what she can see of his face, Shachi is beyond impressed. “Woah, good going... the captain uses this stuff rather sparingly, you know? At one point he said it's more draining, I think... and also concentration-heavy. Cannot possibly know how much truth there is to that, but I also never had a reason to question it,” he shrugs.

“Oh... that explains a lot,” she says with an exasperated sigh and a voice that's liquid venom, then drops the baked good back on the plate. Been a while since she's been pissed at herself- but of course she can do this, no problem. Seeing his questioning face, she continues in an annoyed tone: “All my damn life... I had the exact same problem: I solved stuff that was supposedly more complex with ease, while I made every. possible. mistake. when doing the easy exercises. Inorganic chemistry? Almost failed one year. Organic chemistry which others sucked at? Minimal effort, and fucking fours, one after another... um... I think in most places that's called a grade B, if that sounds more familiar. Either way... I hate whenever this happens.”

Getting worse grades in general because of that all the time ticked her off ever since she noticed it. Honestly, she has no idea how she passed the enrollment test to Wenna's college to this very day. Shoehorned herself into the middle of the scores somehow. Shit seemed too basic, yet she made it in. Was happy to make her ragged mother proud, if nothing else... then, as soon as she left one madhouse for another, it all just fell apart.

She reaches for the coffee and takes a big, angry gulp, then thanks whoever responsible for it not being scorching hot. Seeing Shachi being visibly intimidated and at a loss considering what to say, she remembers the current impasse she's at. No time to spiral into a mental breakdown right here... She takes a deep breath and blows the silence before the brewing storm away.

After he gets over the murderous glance directed toward the poor pastry and assumes she's calmed down, Shachi pulls himself together to dare a response. “That's... pretty cool, actually! I wish I was smart enough to not get the mundane stuff instead,” he laughs.

“My little brother told me the same, and look where it has gotten me,” she smiles halfheartedly, taking a smaller sip of caffeine. It's kind of a stretch, as he never put it like that, but also not untrue; the youngest of the family was indeed in awe of his big sister.  Probably not anymore, but that's not the point of the statement.

“To a pretty island complex, surrounded by cool people? In my book they are cool, at least,” he shrugs.

… honestly? She won't be able to stay mad at him. Putting the cup down, she rests her head on her left and gives his hat two little pats with the other hand. “You're not wrong, alright.”

He's a little taken aback from the action, and starts scratching his neck with a sheepish smile across his face. “Heheh... either way, a smart and pretty girl like you really shouldn't bring herself down because of that!”

Shit... should have done that without a comment. The pat would have been condescending that way. Now she's gotta figure out something else.

“I also kinda like... that you are so open about things?” he shrugs. “Few people do that. Uh... hearing it in the captain's voice right now is weird, though, as he's rather reserved all of the time... but it's still nice.”

He's gonna get a load of being open about things, alright. As Shachi is nervously fiddling with his fingers and she's staring into the unknown with furrowed brows, Kat could swear to hear a giggle from the side. Oh, right. The others are still here. Fuck it.

“Eh, I've gotten used to that already.” At least she's found a tone where she doesn't make his vocal chords break all the time like some kid who just hit puberty.

“Like, the voice...? Isn't it weird, though? Having an entirely different body, I mean?” he asks in a lower voice, leaning in closer.

Kat considers the overall state of things as she picks the cup back up to sip some more. She glances over to the remaining little food; her hunger's pretty much gone and it must be cold by now. She'll have to pass on the rest, unfortunately. Anyway, where was she? Oh, right. Trying not to ignore her problem. “It's really not that big of a change,” she concludes. “I need to watch my head and sometimes it's hard to guess what's appropriate to do, but... yeah, pretty much the same.”

Shachi seems somewhat confused, but it takes him a little before he speaks his mind. “He sure is tall, so that makes sense. What exactly do you mean by 'appropriate', though?”

Walked right into the trap, he did.

“You know... things I'm unsure Law would be okay with. Like wearing his hat, which is a thing we have already settled, but there are millions of other things... Could I dig into his wardrobe if I needed something, for example? Should we let people hit on us in this state? May I go to the shops to buy girl stuff that I need at home? Buy that for him while he's in my body? Send him instead and hope he'll find the right thing? Am I to pay with my money, or his? Should I even attempt to use anything that belongs to him, including sword, books and wallet? His toothbrush? … okay, fuck, now I'm going to think about the toothbrush for the rest of the week... anyway, these things. Like how to handle a conflict... or a bath. You name it.” One of these is purely rhetorical, being a decisive no to anyone who's been following. Catch the drift, knucklehead.

“Oh, the ba--- haha, I didn't even think of that,” he laughs nervously. The blush sticks out from underneath his glasses. “He just switches me and Penguin for a few hours when he's had it with our shenanigans... I couldn't imagine what I'd do if I were suddenly Ikkaku... or even Bepo for an indefinite amount of time...”

Or take the last bait, that works, too.

“You'd probably panic, then get to know the dumbest shit about each other as you try to figure things out.” She sips, then thinks back to morning. “In my case, first thing that threw me off was how keen he is on having his goofy hat. Then, he collects coins... and hates bread because of overdosing himself who knows how far back. Oh, and even his underwear has your jolly roger plastered all over it... yet he denies being a nerd.”

Shachi is officially uncomfortable, but does his best to keep up with her. “Oh, wow... it took us years to figure out why he put some pieces aside when going through his change. And I don't think he ever told us why he doesn't eat that stuff, either?” Getting to the end of the sentence, his thoughts visibly get sidetracked. He almost looks hurt. “We have been sailing with him for over a decade, but... man, you might know more about him in a few days than we do, huh?” he asks, forcing a smile back onto his face.

Okay, now he looks like a lost puppy. That won't do. “Hey, now, are you jealous?” she asks with no ill will. “I asked him straight questions and he gave me straight answers, more likely than not just to keep me focused. I'm not here to seduce your captain. I'd rather be home roasting pumpkins.”

“Oh, no, no, like... he's kinda like that, keeping random personal things from us!” the man jumps, waving his hands in protest. “It's nothing new, we are used to it... and, uh, even if you wanted to seduce him, that's fine! Actually... it might be for the best, he's been stressed lately. I've yet to see him get openly interested in anyone, though, so maybe not...”

She blinks. “Really? Noone tried to ask him out, either?”

He gives his nose a scratch, signaling to her that he's actually thinking seriously about the question. “A few did. But his cold attitude is quite a turnoff for most of them. If you ask me, he's snappier when someone is actively chasing after him. It's rather hard for him to trust strangers, too, which is what others couldn't handle.”

“I see...” Taking those points into consideration, it's not that big of a surprise. Well, she's also guilty of disliking people who are hitting on her straight away. Feeling him in that regard. Still, while he's not the conventionally attractive guy, he's handsome. And (in)famous. One would expect more interest. “Kind of baffling. He's a solid 8,” she thinks aloud.

This seems to shake Shachi's serious business mode a bit. The hall is also dead silent. As in, more than before. “You think so?” he asks without thinking.

“Uh... yeah.” Whoops. Reapply filter asap.

“That's the nicest thing I've heard anyone say about him lately,” he laughs.

Kat sighs. Problem children, the lot of them.

“Well, feel free to give it a go? You are a kind person, he has a weak spot for those. He needs some peace of mind more than ever, with both us and the Straw Hats around.”

She has to roll her eyes; now that he's totally distracted, he's trying to play wingman. On the other hand, the conversation turned into a fun one. Her fading annoyance also woke the shameless little devil inside, giving her an idea.

“Are you asking me to lay down the law?” She puts it a little slower, just to make sure the point gets across. Likely unnecessary with the smug face she has on.

He coughs a second later, both to keep himself from laughing and to hide his moderate embarrassment upon hearing that. Yep, he got the stupid joke. Judging by various other sounds in the room, others have too. She shouldn't be half as proud of it as she is, to be honest.

“Sorry for the shitty pun... anyway, I'll have to say no,” she continues once having basked enough in the reactions around her. “Even if the temptation, as little there is, exists now. He can make rather funny faces when blindsided, after all.”

The statement throws Shachi for a loop so much that he has to speak up. “Huh? Like, I'm not surprised, he can be intimidating... but how come?”

“Believe it or not, despite the inappropriate jokes, I've never been comfortable about being... touched? That's not the word I'm looking for, but... I don't like it, and prefer not to do it to others, either. I'm not straight enough for that shit, anyway. Or... gay enough...? Hmm. This situation is rather complicated, huh,” she muses, scratching at her chin. This last thing is a question that actually might keep her awake in the dead of the night. She better forget about it as soon as possible. Oh, and also, time to cut the jig. It's long up.

“By the way, just so you know... the others have been eavesdropping for a while.” She takes the last sip from her cup.

“Oh.... really?” He's suddenly sweating bullets, and that's where the discussion comes to a merciful end, because the door opens and a smaller figure with frizzy hair enters the scene.

It's her card to freedom; though he's about five minutes late.

“Oh, Law! There you are~” she says with a lot of pep as she basically jumps from the table with the croissant in one hand. “Sorry for dozing off on you like that. I'm just about ready to continue.” She can hear people snicker and the one female voice available, that is to say Ikkaku, whispering the word 'demolished'; looking back to the table, she can catch Shachi falling to his side as he remembers what he wanted to accomplish there in the fist place.

“I have been looking for you... what were you even doing here?” he asks, but judging by his quick assessment of the situation followed by squinting and a head shake, his question becomes a rhetoric one. He turns around without further ado and lets her out first; she waves a quick goodbye to his crew inside.

Kat can hear 'captain, that's not fair...' in a really low voice from under the table as they leave. She needs every ounce of self-restraint to keep the man's remaining dignity intact by not laughing out loud right there. Law does notice the magnanimous effort, though.

“Really though, what's with you?” he asks as they enter the stairway.

Kat takes some deep breaths, but smiles regardless. “Nothing, really. It's just... he's been trying to pick me up.”

So he was right... he sighs. “Was it Shachi only, or did Penguin also participate?” Those two, he swears to god.

“As of today, Shachi only... but I should have decimated his expectations as soon as I compared him to my little brother and patted his head,” she adds with lenience.

Law shakes his head, then chuckles at the mental image. “No mercy, eh? Anyway, you did well to do that,” he notes. “Those two are incorrigible womanizers and have yet to learn their lesson.” He can already hear the rumors of Shachi crying into his pillow tonight. Odd that Penguin wasn't on her case... then again, he likely kept his distance because of the swapped body deal. One less thing to worry about.

“Managed to derail the conversation after that, he didn't even notice until after you've arrived,” she muses with a bigger smile as the innumerable layers of tension are shed by the dozen. “What really did him in was probably my 'I'm not straight enough for that shit' comment, though,” she adds snickering. The guy wasn't even thinking about flirting at that point, but the smile freezing onto his face one last time... she should feel bad, but that was priceless.

He raises an eyebrow. “Oh?” That's new.

“Oh,” she nods.

He's not going to pry here, one thing does bug him, though. “How did that even come up? Asking right away for a date or anything else is just... not what they do.” Beating around the bush, that is their specialty. All in all, “What was the other topic?”

“Trust me when I say that you don't wanna know,” she states giggling, then bites into her sweet croissant.