...something Like That.

　　　　❝ ...something like that. ❞

　his voice still remained unfocused, sounding as if it were coming from somewhere off in the distance and not from his own throat. the scent of smoke brought him back, and he realized the ominous quality of what he had just said. he felt exposed, like he was wearing too much of his heart on his sleeve in the moment. he panicked.

　❝ not... not the 'cooties' part, the 'going after his bounty' part. ❞ wait, why did he say that? of course she wasn't serious about the first partーshe was joking. sigh. clumsy body, clumsy tongue, it turns out. he tried to tamp down his embarrassment, shifting focus to his coworker's face.

　❝ i don't think i could. at least not on my own; my fruit isn't really cut out for direct combat, and the higher-ups say he's a monster. apparently, he ran a gang with territory stretching all over the north blue islands since he was a kid, and i guess he just wasn't satisfied with that. makes me wonder what he's after. ❞

"You don't have cooties, do you?" Such sarcastic questioning was followed up with a long inhalation as the crimson-haired marine stepped beside her companion. Grey eyes scanned the posters, landing on the one she thought he might have been eyeing. "Ugly bastard, isn't he? Thinking about going for his bounty and ridding the world of one less shitty pirate?"

Taking down pirates- bad pirates- not one's that fought for a better life for everyone- were the entire reason she had become a marine in the first place. Her one eyes drifted away from her fellow marine had been eyeing to move to that of Shiki. The moment she'd heard news of his plight and looked upon his mug she knew what she wanted to do with herself for the first time in her life.

THE MANY MEANINGS OF "HEY.": A PROMPT LIST.

i often have these ideas that have no real origin, but i can actually tell you precisely why my brain wanted this: i was listening to "hey, soul sister" by train on a loop and i got thinking abt the fact that we really do just say "hey" for so many reasons. and i wanted to make that your thought of the evening! so happy november, bon appetit, wrap up warm, DO NOT ADD TO THIS LIST, and enjoy your writings!

[ GREETING ]: sender says "hey" as a greeting to the receiver.

[ ATTENTION ]: sender, having just noticed something strange or remarkable, calls for the receiver to get their attention.

[ REASSURE ]: in a bid to steady the unsettled receiver, the sender lightly says "hey" to help them calm down.

[ ANGER ]: the sender sharply snaps "hey" at the receiver, clearly angry about something the receiver has just done or had done in the past.

[ IDEA ]: having been presented with a predicament, the sender suddenly unravels a solution, introducing it to the receiver by saying "hey…".

[ GUILT ]: having just done something that they know the receiver won't be pleased with, the sender sheepishly greets them once they arrive to see the damage.

[ GOSSIP ]: the sender turns to face the receiver conspiratorially, clearly eager to share some new gossip with them.

[ URGENT ]: the sender rushes to the preoccupied receiver, desperately shouting "hey!" to get them to focus on a far more pressing matter.

[ SOOTHE ]: after finding the clearly distressed receiver, the sender pulls them into a careful embrace, gently murmuring "hey…" to try and soothe them.

[ SMILE ]: the sender (who hasn't been smiling up until they actually see the receiver in front of them) lights up with a smile as they greet the receiver.

[ TEARS ]: the sender greets the receiver while very clearly in tears.

[ FAKE ]: alternatively, the sender (who has just been crying in private) hastily wipes away their tears and tries to greet the receiver casually (to varying degrees of success).

[ WARNING ]: when the receiver begins to say things about subjects that are off-limits to the sender, the latter gives them a warning by saying "hey…".

[ LAUGH ]: having found the receiver to be decidedly unhappy, the sender lightly catches their attention before doing something to make them laugh, or at the very least, grin.

[ PROTEST ]: after the receiver does or says something that the sender deems to be unfair, the sender tries to exact justice by saying "hey!".

[ BREATHLESS ]: having clearly just sprinted down to the receiver, the sender tries to catch their breath while greeting them.

[ SAVE ]: after just saving the receiver's life in a very heroic fashion, the sender smoothly greets them while helping them escape.

[ FLIRT ]: the sender meets the receiver in a social setting, and attempts to flirt with them with the very traditional pick-up line: "hey.".

[ APOLOGY ]: the sender, having recently done something that hurt or upset the receiver, reunites with them and addresses the elephant in the room by greeting them with a sincerely apologetic tone.

[ AWKWARD ]: after a particularly rough first encounter, the sender meets the receiver again, and awkwardly greets them with more than a touch of embarrassment.

[ GENTLE ]: having found the receiver in an emotionally compromised position, the sender closes the door and approaches them carefully, gently saying "hey…" to try and get them to communicate what has upset them.

[ HARD ]: preparing to deliver what they both know will be bad news, the sender tries to prepare the receiver by quietly greeting them in a solemn tone.

[ WAKEN ]: walking into the receiver's bedroom, the sender gently shakes their shoulder to waken them, and whispers "hey." to encourage the process along.

[ WHISPER ]: the sender gently whispers "hey" to the receiver to discreetly get their attention without drawing the attention of others.

　　　　　　❝ 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?"

Better start cooking.

　　　❝ if you're hungover, that's your own problem. ❞

　rosinante had no sympathies, halfway through his plate already, having given up waiting for his colleague after he had already run late ten minutes passed their appointed meeting time.

he wouldn't go as far to say he was a morning person, but he was stricter with his morning routine than most on the base. nearly every morning, he got up at least an hour early to stretch properlyーan essential part of preventing (or at least mitigating) future injuries for a man as clumsy as himself.

@code01746 Rosinante

Smoker groans. It had been another long night, and he was tired. He had promised Rosinante they could get coffee and breakfast together before running laps. Smoker sighs as he enters the mess hall, looking for the blonde male. Finally finding him, he approaches, "You lucky I like you. It's too early to be up and alive..." So yeah, Hina may have gotten him drunk, but she was a pretty lady. How could he say no?

@chillin-at-partys-bar ❤️'d for a thing. (smoker)

　❝ i'll be lucky if i don't get discharged for that, never mind demoted. ❞

　rosinante dangled one leg off the side of his bunk while the other was curled up to his chest, gripped tightly as he subconsciously tried to tamp down his anxieties.

maybe he was being a bit hyperbolicーafter all, being the adopted son of an admiral awarded him way more leniency than others in his ranksーbut sengoku could only save him when he screwed up so many times, surely. only so many times he could convince rosinante's superiors that his son's tendency to accidentally light his surroundings on fire when he tries to light a cigarette totally doesn't make him a liability. rosinante was just waiting for the day it happened at this point.

❝ but something that flammable shouldn't have been on the tween deck at all if they're gonna complain about it. everyone knows that's the best place to smoke. ❞