123 Jagged dagger (1/2)
Marco choked as he glanced at the door. His hands slowly leaving the cuff of the man that he was holding up before he walked back to the counter with a forced expressionless face. With a small snort he settled down before picking up a half finished bottle of booze and chugging down silently.
The room shifted awkwardly under the sudden silent turn, before the bar tender who had ducked below the bar counter rushed out to welcome his latest customer, thanking the man in his mind for appearing when he did.
With sweat running down his forehead the man straightened out his crinkled apron, fingering his beard anxiously.
”Welcome sir! What would you like to have..?” He began with a voice of faked bravado.
I couldn't help but smile at the man. He was quite well built, but still his torso crouched forward, making his actual figure appear much smaller than it was.
”Can you get me a bottle of booze and a plate of some decent grub?” I asked simply. Shooting him a small smile before wading through the wreckage towards the room corner.
”Ummm… This..” the bar tender began hesitantly, his eyes shooting over at the till recently rambunctious crew that had been chugging away at the last vestiges of his booze stores.
The pineapple headed whitebeard came to his rescue, shooting me a small smile before he offered me an unopened bottle of booze.
”We finished the last of the alcohol, but this bottle is unopened. Why don't you take it?”
With a slight chuckle I nodded at him, turning from the direction I was heading towards to walk over to the phoenix man.
”Huh, you guys must have cleared out the poor man's coffers if his expression was anything to go by. I'm Lorean by the way, nice to meet you.” I said with a small flourish of my hands before seating myself next to the other pirate, grabbing the bottle from his hands and uncorking it in one motion.
A few people around chuckled at my jovial statement shooting the sweating bar tender an understanding smile.
Thatch had the decency to look a little guilty at the damage that he had caused to the tavern. Of course his rambunctious personality made it so that he could not remain grim for too long. Almost as soon as I had taken a big gulp from the bottle that had been offered to me, he sidled into the seat to my right, grinning cheekily.
”So tell me, Lorean. What are you doing on an island this far into the grand line!” His baritone voice rumbled out as half the drinking crew shot me looks of curiosity.
”Eh, wanted to be a pirate. scrunch. gulp.
Got into the new world with a few accidents… Gulp.
Literally the first island that I found..” I said as I stuffed my face with the steaming food that had been offered to me.
”So.” Marco began in his clipped tone. He had offered me the booze more as a sign of courtesy, but now there was an actual hint of interest in his otherwise flat voice. His eyes narrowed as he looked at me, ”What's your bounty?”
Ah. There, he just had to go ahead and say it. We were having such a good time too.. I had begun to question the overall efficiency of the marine system at this point, seeing as they had still mooted on my bounty. Not a wink of it had been seen, from the time of my escapades on Swallow island!
”Ugh.. About that… Those bastards still haven't -” And there I was interrupted by the bar tender gasping loudly. Then came the ringing, as a precaution, I had gotten a few of the transponder snails from the ship, both as a means to call the ship if there was ever a need for a quick entry and in case there was a report that Mimir had for me.