In The Woods?

　　　　　　❝ in the woods? ❞

　well, he was living in the woods so perhaps that was a dumb thing to be incredulous about. somewhat. for rosinante, it was not so much the idea of others living in the woods with him, but he fixated on the word she used: 'tribe'.

he thought he had done his due diligence when scooping out the perfect area to build his home; secluded enough from people to satiate paranoias about his safety, but close enough to a neighboring townーan hour or two, both waysーthat he didn't have forgo modern conveniences. he could still make a living off what he hunted & grew, he could still buy the things too impractical for him to make on his own and, most importantly, he could still read the daily newspaper & get information on the world. he was connected to civilization, but could still step away from it any time he wanted. that was for the best. for everyone.

still, the idea of living on indigenous land of some kind wasn't ideal. if he wasn't meant to be there, rosinante would relocate in a heartbeat; the last thing the world needed was another donquixote coming in and asserting themselves as an owner of land in a place that already belonged to someone else. still, he liked to think he knew these woods fairly well; as long as he'd been living there, he had never come in contact with anyone who wasn't just a passing traveler, or people who were lost like the girl herself was.

❝ not that i know of. the area i go hunting in is pretty wide, in all directions, and i've never been approached by anyone who claimed to also live out here. what... tribe, exactly? ❞

she's not sure how to approach the matter - her mother might be dead and she might be free to do how she pleases, but this freedom has come with a fear pudding would have never expected. this world is cruel just the same way as it is beautiful, once found the most prized treasure here's another popping up for a new generation to take over already. people like her will be sought after until the ends of time and staying guarded is truly the only way to survive in this new life she's been gifted.

"i'm not sure actually." hand reaches into the pocket of her coat to get the map that was given to her by a kind lady on the last island pudding had found, and back then the instructions seemed pretty clear - turns out perhaps she should brush up on those raw navigation skills acquired from her siblings. "i'm looking for a tribe that is supposed to live in the woods... i just wasn't told which ones." the awkward hint in her tone is hard to miss, and if it weren't for her dedication, pudding would almost believe she's just not meant to find her kind. "does anyone else live here, that you know of?"

This idea wouldn’t leave my head so I just drew it.

　lawwy? rosinante snatched the nickname before it floated away with the sea breeze, interest piqued how law—so stern & moody—could have earned himself one that was so… endearing, and said with such casualty.

he should restrain himself. keyword: should. the majority of his own nicknames were not said with embarrassment in mind—merely holdovers from their shared past, the same way law refused to part with rosinante’s codename he hadn’t used in thirteen years—but… this was certainly not something law would want him to know, and the confusion of the day’s events left rosinante feeling mischievous. sorry, kiddo; don’t think i’ll be able to help myself with this one.

he probably would have snickered right then—tilted forward, pressing for details on what exactly law did to earn such a name—if the thought wasn’t halted by the linguistic equivalent of cold water dumped down his back once a second name hit his ears. no, ‘hit his ears’ is too soft a phrase; socked him in the chest, more like. 

　　oh. oh. he gets it now. law. law, what the fuck?

suddenly, the secrecy made sense. the evasiveness, the lack of specifics—armed with nothing but vague instructions and an insistence on law’s part that he’d ‘understand when he gets there’. it made sense, yet didn’t make sense at all. why? did law not trust him to be able to handle the knowledge? did law not trust him that much?

no, no, that wasn’t it. the doctor had to be trying to protect his feelings; saving him the mental anguish of spending his entire weeklong sail thinking about the fact he was going to meet a man his adopted father almost murdered in broad daylight. not just a man but, as fate would have it, strawhat luffy’s brotherーthe boy who was almost murdered by rosinante's own not even that long ago.

law wasn't being secretive for the sake of being a controlling little shitーhe quite literally had no options other than to just not tell him and let rosinante come to that understanding on his own. because nothing law could have said would have prepared him having to deal with all of this.

❝ rosinante.❞ oh, absolutely not. with every new face, there was a debate whether or not he should vocalize his surname for his own safety. there was no debate here. he abso-fucking-lutely was not going to give this man his last name. ❝not that it matters—you can just forget it, if you want. law never calls me a thing other than cora, so either is... fine. ❞

AS  EXCITED  as  ace  seemed  to  be,  his  smile  quickly  washed  away.  replaced  with  confusion,  and  worry  as  soon  as  the  man  stumbled  on  his  own  feet.  just  by  getting  off  the  boat.  law  didn't  mention  him  much  either,  it  was  just  him  and  the  tall  blonde  man  with  make  up  spread  aross  his  visage.  

he  was  not  a  caretaker.  this  was  the  crew's  job  to  keep  the  fire  fist  in  check.  but  as  long  as  ace  knew,  this  island  was  a  hiding  spot.  a  place  where  a  dead  man's  walking.  town  filled  with  the  ghosts  of  his  past  and  many  regrets,  guilt  that  tried  to  eat  the  ravenette  alive  if  not  the  medication  coursing  through  his  body  to  calm  temper  matching  his  wildfire.

❝  hey,  uh.  y'kay  ?  ❞  his  head  tilted  to  the  side,  a  questioning  look  graced  the  man  but  he  quickly  seemed  to  regain  his  composture.  no  need  for  the  pirate  to  step  in  carrying  aid.  ❝  yeah  i  know  lawwy.  's  been  my  doc  the  entire  time.  and  much  more.  ❞ 

the  answer  was  vague,  since  he  had  no  idea  who  is  he  even  dealing  with.  ace  was  willing  to  put  his  trust  into  the  surgeon.  he  wouldn't  let  any  threat  to  enter  the  borders  of  this  island  while  the  fire  fist  was  still  around,  recovering.  ❝  the  name's  portgas  d.  ace.  but  who  are  ya'  exactly  ?  ❞

Children need some fresh air! (Especially if they have just recovered from a disease).

Rocinante: "Law! Come on, let's go outside!" Law: "Not now, Cora-san." Rocinante: "But your friends are waiting for you." Law: "They are not my friends!" Rocinante: "Too late, I already told them you are coming!" Law: "Fine, we'll play… But you'll be sorry, Cora-san"

@climatact ❤️'d for a thing.

　　❝ you seem way more willing to be open about this than law is, so i suppose you're the person to ask. ❞

　not that law was necessarily not open with rosinanteーthey had plenty of deep conversations about all sorts of things. their shared past, what they want out of their future, what freedom means, what choosing to die for someone means, what they regretted, what they were thankful for. talking to your father figure about your significant other appeared to be off-limits, though. he needed to get creative, and approach things from a different way.

　❝ well, you're also the only other person i can askーbut at least you won't get embarrassed and hide your face when i ask for details. ❞

also, for reference to be used in said longform thing i'm writing, i am doing... math.

by the end of rosinante & law's six month trip, he has ~15 maps with an average of what looks like 4-6 hospitals marked off on each.

so, over six months (~182 days), rosinante took law to at least 60-90 hospitals, which is roughly a new hospital every 2-3 days.