Ray Chase The Man That You Are

ray chase the man that you are

　 ❝ yeahーfire safety preparedness. i guess that's... one way to look at what i've been doing. ❞

　smoker was, like him, on the fringes of the social circles at hq. not necessarily unpopular, but not popular either. the pair were in a weird class of their own, it seemedーwith smoker being so gruff & too-the-point that he was often at odds with everyone from drill instructors to admirals, and rosinante who was avoided not because of him personally, but the chaos he inadvertently caused.

not that his status as an outcast seemed to matter to the blonde; since he was a child, he had been taught to be cautious of others for his own safety. his surname. his brother. his former status as a world noble. if those tidbits of information about himself made their way to the wrong person, he could imagine himself being crucified upon a stone wall all over again.

but, as things were now, he didn't mind. at least he had smoker for company.

　❝ trust me, i'm... trying to avoid fires. i don't know how, it's just... my hands shake too much and i drop my lighter, sometimes sparks catch my clothesーit just happens. i'm a hazard. ❞

Smoker was resting with his back against the wall, arms crossed as he listened to Rosinante’s panic. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard Rosinante worry about being discharged. The man was a good one though, and had connections, so Smoker couldn’t imagine Rosinante getting anything other than a slap on the wrist about this. Like he had every other time. Accidents happened. More involving fire to Rosinante than usual but, well, whatever.

“We all needed the practice anyway. Fires can happen at any time. No one died.” But he did hear about one newbie getting sent to the infirmary for smoke inhalation. “Though maybe we should try to avoid anymore fires.”

And it was the best place to smoke, Smoker found himself out there quite often. He’d gone from a cigarette to a cigar, before he knew it he might need two of them to keep his nerves in check.

　　 ❝ three eye? mm... i haven't heard anything. sorry. ❞

　not that rosinante was exactly a well of knowledge when it came to the comings & goings of the surrounding area. he lived in the middle of the woods, for seas' sake, and the only 'news' he was concerned himself with following was the morning paper and keeping his ears open for sightings of a boyーno, no, he would be a young man nowーin a spotted, white fur cap.

but, still, the three eye people were a rare sight, he knew that much. doflamingo had told him so; they fetched a high price at the auction house, he remembers him saying. tribe members were supposedly highly sought after due to their ability, among other things, to read ponegylphs. because of this, rosinante could only surmise they were deliberately trying to hide themselves out of fear of persecution. fear of being hunted. he could empathize with that.

a single sighting of a member of the three eye tribe was certain to attract attention, so him not being able to recall anything recently solidified his thinking. the moment the statement left his lips, he was taken in by her obvious disappointment. he almost wanted to apologize. but offering his home seemed like an okay consolation.

　❝ well... i have some spare rooms here, if you'd be interested. i live by myself currently, so you're more than welcome to stay as long as you need. ❞

the disappointment on pudding's face is hard to conceal even though the poor man has done nothing wrong - another place that has nothing to do with her ancestor's land, no sight of them whatsoever and at this point she's starting to think that they might not even be around anymore.

"well, that's a bummer." voice trails, map put back inside her pocket. this brings another problem - what to do next; in any other moment pudding would have given up and gone back home, her life is still there and all she has to do is picking it from where she's left it. would her citizens still want her as minister though? are the ministries even a thing still? sigh pushes past lips at the thought - albeit safe and coddling, pudding knows well that her old life has to stay in the back and the future ahead is what matters the most.

"uhm, three eye?" hand raises slowly, fingers pushing bangs aside from her forehead to show her own third eye. "i'm looking for them but i guess this is another dead end." gaze studies her surroundings for a moment, wondering whether to go back to the town she came from or the next. "do you happen to know where i can find a place for the night? i definitely need to gather my thoughts before continuing to chase ghosts."

remember how i said i do balloon sculpting as a hobby sometimes