Day 32: Sun Room (2nd shift)

[heraldric.livejournal.com]

After the couple glasses of water Leon managed to gulp down during breakfast, the mage felt immensely better. He was still a bit tired, but that was nothing a little lounging on one of the sofas wouldn't cure. Stretching his arms above his head, he couldn't help but wish he'd had the chance to grab one of his new doctor's coats before leaving his room that morning. Maybe they would have let him get away with wearing it. Maybe.

He grabbed an empty sofa, pulling out the journal he tried to keep on him at all times. It was nearly complete now. Just a couple more pages to go. It might not improve his spellcasting that much, but any improvement was better than none. It was getting to where it might be too dangerous for him to use spells at all, if it left him so worn out without even finishing a monster off.

Comments

[transgenix.livejournal.com]

"Your whole crew is here?" Max asked, then shook her head. "I'm not sure if I should say good for you, or I'm sorry. And thanks for the invite, but things are rarely dull where I cone from, either. I've probably got plenty waiting for me back home once I get out of here myself, as well."

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

"Well, not the whole crew..." Not yet anyway. At this rate, though... "Just the majority. And don't worry. We're a tough bunch!" Not that he wasn't going to attempt to keep Nami from harm at every turn whether she liked it or not.

Sanji was disappointed to be turned down, and he sighed. "I guess I understand. Everyone misses their nakama." He didn't stay saddened for long, however. "So! What's life like where you come from?"

[transgenix.livejournal.com]

"What's a nakama?" she asked with a laugh, a smile flitting across her lips at his obvious disappointment. "Do you recruit for your crew often?"

"My world... is sort of like this one, but way more run down. This was what it used to look like, I've heard, but there was a war, of a sort, so not a lot of places like this are left."

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

"What's a--?" Sanji blinked. What was it about that word that was different from anything else he'd said? Certainly she knew what a nakama was! ...Unless she didn't have any. That would be terrible. "You know, a nakama! A... well... a friend?" Close enough.

The description of her world wasn't very flattering. And she'd really rather return there than travel with him and his crew? She had to have nakama there.

[transgenix.livejournal.com]

Understanding flickered across her face. "Oh! Yes. Sorry, it wasn't a term I was familiar with. Yes, I have good friends and family back home. Ones that are no doubt wondering what's happened to me, if they've even realized I've gone missing. The way this place works with pulling people from different people from different places and times... I don't get how it works."

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

It was odd that she wouldn't have been familiar with the term, but it could just be a difference in worlds. She really did have nakama, and that was good! Perhaps it didn't help him any, but he wasn't going to wish loneliness upon anyone.

"I don't think anyone does," Sanji made a face. "We had a crewmate arrive today who had apparently joined after even where my memories stopped. Now he has to reintroduce himself to everyone. Shitty for him."

[transgenix.livejournal.com]

Max looked sympathetic. "I bet. I can't imagine showing up here to find your friends only to have none of them know you. That's got to be hard. Although there's a man here who could be an identical twin with my brother. I mistook him my first day here. That led to a confusing conversation for a bit, as well. Luckily, no one I actually know has shown up yet, but who knows how long that will last?"

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

Sanji nodded. He couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if someone showed up claiming to be from their crew even further in the future than Brook. At least Sanji had remembered him - but not up to his actual joining. This could be troublesome.

"That's odd," he mused. Had he heard about others having look-alikes? He didn't think so. It might have just been coincidence.

[transgenix.livejournal.com]

"You're telling me," she replied with a chuckle, shaking her head. "So have you been here a while? You and your crew?" There were so many strange and unknown faces at all times. Some disappeared and new ones always seemed to be arriving. She wished she knew how the bastards running this place were managing it.

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

"Varying amounts of time, it looks like." Luffy and Usopp had both been around longer than he had - Luffy the longest by far. "I've been here..." he frowned, attempted to get a proper count on his fingers, then shook his head. "A few days." It seemed longer, but he knew it hadn't been.

He didn't even want to get into the whole mess about how he and Zoro had apparently been there before...

[transgenix.livejournal.com]

Max nodded. "Enough time to get the hang of the place, then. Have you had much luck exploring the place, or have you been focused on other things?"

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

"We've had... some luck." All right, no. Their luck had actually been very poor so far, and every attempt to get where Nami really wanted to go had been thwarted. It was though monsters were strategically placed to block their way!

"There's a handful of us, so we've focused on various things aside from exploring to some success." Kind of. Maybe.

[transgenix.livejournal.com]

"Whether you're a handful or alone, this place seems to delight in interrupting your plans either way," Max replied wryly, lips twisting in rueful exasperation. "I've managed to get to the basement once, but the nights never seem quite long enough, yeah?"

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

No, they didn't, but Sanji skipped all discussion of that in favor of focusing on what she'd said right before that. She'd been to the basement? Wasn't that where Nami was trying to go?

He should ask her what the best route to take to get there should be. Then again, if he did that, would that be an insult to Nami's guidance? The last thing he wanted to do was get her upset. He'd bring it up with her first, then, and see if she wanted to ask this woman herself.

"They're not normal nights, no," the chef frowned again, shaking his head.

[transgenix.livejournal.com]

"Still, I suppose it could be worse," she sighed. "At least they give us the night hours relatively free. If they kept us as locked up and closely guarded as they did in daylight, I think some of us really would have gone mad by now."