154 Captains conundrum (2/2)

”A bit earlier than you. On that vein, the Whitebeard guy, Thatch, he woke up too. Just a few hours ago in fact... He wanted to meet you as soon as, but Marco didn't want to complicate things too much so he got me instead. Suffice to say that there is gonna be a lot to talk about.” and with that he left the room.

With a slight groan I got to my feet silently, pins and needles shooting up my leg as I hobbled forward.

Most of the crew often asked me, why I wasn't always using the fruit to keep myself on a proverbial high, keeping my body at peak performance at all times and numbing even the slightest hint of pain. The answer to that was simple, if ever there was a situation wherein I would be forced to separate from my devil fruit (Sea stone is a motherfucker, I assure you) then I would be caught dry.

The relief that my fruit gave me would literally be an addiction at that point, and I didn't want that kind of liability. Emotions, and feelings were a pain to deal with, but they couldn't always be escaped. Unfortunately.

With a small flinch I pried the door open, gripping onto it for support as I walked through the hallway.

A faint limp riddled my steps as I used the walls around for aid. With each successive step forward, my gait grew stronger.

As I walked forward I could hear the sound of murmuring arise from a room in the corner, speckles of light shining through the doorway to the wall on the other side.

With a soft rap I made my presence known as walked through the threshold.

”I am here...” I called out, relishing the overall feeling of the strange reference in my mouth. The residents of the room stared back at me, and then Marco with a sigh simply ignored my presence, opting instead to comment to my first mate.

”When you told me the guy did not take orders from anyone, I was under the impression that did not include his doctor...”

”To be fair doc, when you say that, you make it sound like you told me to stay in bed.” I quipped snidely, taking an undue amount of satisfaction from watching the man sigh in frustration.

”Let it go doc, that's the kind of guy he is.” Fawkes replied deadpan before shooting me a serious glance.

”Captain, I think reintroductions are in order. This is the captain of our pirate crew, and this” here he motioned to Thatch, ”is Sorren's father.”