By Sunset [Completed]

[Shikoba]

The small village was so peaceful, It would seem rude to disturb the peace. Shikoa was seated up on a hill, not too far from one of the small villages on Shimotsuki Island, He didn't have any plans on actually visiting the village but it was nice just to.. Observe. Shikoba's last visit to a town had ended up in chaos. Well, he'd got what he wished for, a bounty but several people had lost their lifes, altough it was probably his partner's fault. He couldn't help but to feel guilty about it. He may have been trained to kill all his life but he'd been taught to only target this enemies. Well, the person he'd been teamed up with was just evidence how insane this world was, he needed to be to his guard. Especially now that he'd a bounty on his head, he wasn't sure how much he was worth in Blue Sea currency but now that he had his face plastered all over the place so some people might recognize him and try to turn him in.

He sighed and leaned back on Wayra, his southbird. " I wonder what we're going to do next.." he asked the giant Southbird. "Chooo.." the bird answered, It was obvious that he was tired from the trip. Wayra wasn't used to flying long distances, It was nothing short of a miracle that he'd found land when Shikoba had fallen down. He could feel the bird slowly dozing off next to him. He started to feel a little sleepy too but he couldn't fall asleep this close to the village. If he did it was probably just a matter of time before he was discovered. He sighed and looked straight into the sun, hoping that the bright light would keep him awake. But finally his fatigue wo the battle and he closed his eyes. " Remember to wake me up, Wayra." he mumbled to the already sleeping Southbird.

He woke up later that day. The sun was setting. He immideatly sat up, panicked. How long had he been asleep? but he calmed down when he realized that nothing had changed from when he fell asleep, Wayra was still safe and sound and by judging by his loud snores, still asleep. Shikoba relaxed, So no one had discovered them yet, perfect. He was almost surprised that they hadn't, especially when you considered Wayra's snores. Instead he focused at a more direct problem. He was hungry.

How long was it since he ate? His supplies from Sky Island was long gone. He glanced at the village, the people had begun retreating into their homes after a hard day of work. There was surely food down there but he wasn't sure if he dared to sneak into the village, let alone go into someone's house and steal their food. Of course he could always wait until nightfall but he didn't look forward to sitting up on the hill on an empty stomach. He scratched the back of his head, not sure what to do. Suddenly he realized that Wayra probably hadn't eaten in a while too but he showed no signs of it. Maybe he flew away in the middle of the night while Shikoba was asleep and found something to eat. Shikoba's stomach growled again, loudly. He frowned and looked over at the Southbird. If Wayra had found something edible wouldn't he share? Shikoba surely would. Maybe he just had a bigger stomach and therefore didn't get hungry as fast or something, he'd rather believe this than that his best friend was hiding fod for him.
He shifted his attention to the village again, There was few people still outside, maybe they were enjoying dinner with their families right now? The thought of a freshly cooked meal watered his mouth, though he'd no idea how food actually looked like down here.

[Tyki Mikk]

A small boat hits a beach with a faint sound of snoring coming from it, a wave quickly follows as water splashes onto the snoring passenger. Shocked he rose from his sleep from under his blanket, yawning Tyki rubbed his eyes and looked around. Standing up and patting himself as his stomach started to growl. Grabbing his jacket he put it on and started walking towards the scent of pulsing blood and food, his stomach start growling he put his head down in pain "Oh the hunger" he said as his steps started to slow down. Night was hitting the town hearing people yell for their kids to get home and smelling blood in the air Tyki's mouth started to water. Cupping his mouth he stopped himself "No..No Tyki, you can't kill anyone" he said to himself, stopping outside of the town the stars started to pop out and he just couldn't hold back any longer.

Sitting down on a barrel he starred at the ground, thinking what can he do if he couldn't kill a human a animal would have to be the next reasonable choice. Standing up there was a couple hills around the town, smelling a interesting scent he couldn't help but to follow a strange noise came out of nowhere. But suddenly a cow walked by, looking around and seeing no one Tyki lunged at the cow and dug his fangs into the cow. Drinking it's blood enough to last him for a day or two he stopped, pleased in his meal the cow laid on the ground shocked. Tyki kept enough in the cow so it can still live, patting the cow Tyki walked away so the cow can get up whenever it pleased and go on about it's night. " Well that was quit satisfying didn't expect a cow to taste so delicious hehe" he said with a chuckle, walking up to a hill he sat down leaning against a tree.

Still smelling the food around still made him hungry, reaching into his jacket and pulled out a cigarette, placing it in his mouth he then took out a match and lit the cigarette. Sucking on it only to breathe it in and exhale he smirked, not having any blood in a week was crazy pulling out a pouch filled with fruits and jerky that he stole. Tyki took the cigarette out his mouth and bit into the jerky, wasn't quite blood close enough, was he chewed the jerky he kept wondering where his next destination will be, but anywhere would be better than being chained up in a cell and being a slave again.

[Shikoba]

Shikoba was the one who noticed the smell first, It seemed vaguely familiar. He couldn't say it smelled good, In fact it smelled quite bad but it reminded him of something. He couldn't just figure out what. He sighed and gently poked at Wayra. The Southbird slowly woke up. " It's time to get going.."[/color] He said and the Southbird slowly stood up, annoyed that he'd been woken up but for the moment Shikoba ignored Wayra, he was more interested in the smell. He grabbed his belongings and started to walk towards the source of the scent.

It took a while for Wayra to understand why they were getting up all of a sudden but finally he smelled the scent. He excitedly cawed and started to flap his wings, so he recognized it too? Shikoba increased the speed. Suddenly he saw a man sitting on a hillside, much like he had not so long ago. He looked at the small stick that he repeatedly brought to his mouth, so that's what had made that scent. They had something similar on Sky Island too, a dried herb rolled up in a piece of paper. There were some smokers in the Shandian tribe.

Soon he noticed that the man was eating something, he could feel his empty stomach growling again and he grimaced. Well, what was he going to do now? Run, hit the guy over the head and take his food? It seemed like a simple but stupid idea. Then again what said that the man wasn't going to fight back? Shikoba sighed. It wasn't like he could just go ahead and ask him for food, He didn't trust the man and he was certainly not a beggar. So he just stood there, not sure what to do, watching the man eat his food.

[Tyki Mikk]

Finishing his Jerky Tyki pulled out another from his pouch, taking a bite as this one seemed a little tough. Wrestling with it, it finally ripped feeling a bit of accomplishment he chewed it with pride and swallowed it as if it was the last jerky to ever be made. Hearing faint footsteps Tyki kept his cool if they was a threat they would attack him, if they was suspicious he was no harm to them. The footsteps got closer and he stayed calm, taking bite after bite from his jerky.

Opening his eyes he took another puff from his cigarette only to move it away and take another bite from the jerky, his chewing slowed down as the scent he smelled earlier got real close, but for some reason wasn't making a move. Placing the cigarette back on his lips he ripped the jerky in half,placing it back into the pouch he tossed the pouch with the fruit and jerky towards the person. Seeing as he still had some beli from the old man he could go into town in the morning and buy some more food if needed. Taking another puff from the cigarette he put his head back onto the tree and looked over at the town, seeing how light after light started going out.

"Dunno why your hiding, you can have the rest in the pouch I already had enough to last me for a couple days" He said, as he took another puff from his cigarette. His eyes kept glancing over towards the pouch wondering if the person was going to take his kindness or just refuse, if so maybe he can just kill him and feed knowing it will last for a couple weeks instead of a couple of days. But he was curious to know if the person was a friend or foe before he initiated a attack.

[Shikoba]

Shikoba knew that he was easy to spot and didn't waste any effort on trying to hide. He knew it was just a matter of time until the man spotted him and Wayra. Besides, he didn't really have any reasons to hide, If the man attacked he would fight back not cower behind a bush.

Suddenly the man turned his head and Shikoba smirked. He had been seen. As a safety measure he heaved his Burn Bazooka up on his shoulder, ready to fire if neccessary but he rather not. This world was too flammable, the bazooka could easily start a forest fire and burn down everything. The clouds on Sky Island were barely affacted by fire so Shikoba was used to just shooting fire wherever he wanted without thinking to much about it. Here everything could burn. He was surprised how destructive his weapon was down in the Blue Seas.

He walked towards the pouch which now laid on the ground. He sat down where it had landed "Thank you."[/b] he said and picked it up. It was filled with some strange fruits and something that looked very unappetizing, he poked at the jerky but quickly changed his mind and grabbed a fruit instead. He ate it calmly, attentive to every move the other man did. He needed to be on his guard. He couldn't think of anything else to say. He could feel Wayra's feathers on his back, he was pressing his body against his back. Shikoba felt Wayra's shivers. The Southbird was terrified. He tried his best not to show it but Shikoba knew that the southbird was probably going to faint.
Shikoba was right, Wayra was scared out of his mind. There was something off about this man and Wayra couldn't quite put his finger on it, It barely seemed human. All he wanted was to run away. Instead he stayed as close to Shikoba as possible hoping that his master would protect him from that weird thing but to his dismay he spoke to that thing again. Well, It seems like you have scared my friend here." he said as he patted Wayra on the head,And to be honest, you seem a little off. I have to ask, What are you?"[/b] he said, curiosity tinting his voice.

[Tyki Mikk]

Hearing the Thanks he smirked, finishing his cigarette and taking it out his mouth and rubbing it into the ground, turning his head slightly to look at the man and the big bird that had a freakishly odd look and huge beak. Tyki couldn't help but to laugh a little the bird looked kinda funny, he has never seen anything like it before. But the scent of him and the bird was not the same as he smells from ordinary humans, turning his head back towards the town he sighed taking in the scents of the area.

Standing up Tyki took off his jacket only to fold it and lay it on the ground.Getting back onto the ground he laid his head on his folded jacket looking into the sky, the guy didn't seem all to bad they accepted his food noticing he didn't go for the jerky which made him chuckle a little. His eyes looked over at the man and the bird, seeing his wings the first thought that came into his head was "he must be a angel" since they was the only ones with wings. But he quickly shrugged off that suggestion and yawned.

Feeling the two looking at him he gives them a blank look, glancing at the bird he claimed to be his friend and back at him as he smirked "Ah I'm nothing special, no need to be worried of me haha" he said with smile on his face. "And terribly sorry to scare your friend there, but just like me you two are a little "off" as well, where might you two be from? If I can be so bold to ask" he said, wondering if humans would disapprove of him being a vampire. And if so he would have to fight his way out of another town, which was something he didn't want to do.

[Shikoba]

Wayra was still terrified but Shikoba was starting to relax around this guy. It was obvious that he didn't want to fight and neither did Shikoba, he was still pretty tired not to mention hungry. He took another bite of the fruit, It tasted rather sweet. He didn't care much how it tasted,he was still hungry. He threw away the leftovers and grabbed a new one from the pouch.

He scratched the back of his head. "Ah I'm nothing special, no need to be worried of me haha" He wasn't sure if that statement was true, he hadn't seen many people down here with tattoos across their foreheads like that and he hadn't seen Wayra act like that around anyone but maybe people like that were common here? He decided to not press harder on that question. "And terribly sorry to scare your friend there, but just like me you two are a little "off" as well, where might you two be from? If I can be so bold to ask"

"Well there's not much he isn't scared of so no harm done.." Shikoba said and smiled, though this was the first time he'd seen Wayra this terrified. "Well where do you think we're from?" Shikoba asked, He was curious of the answer. This was Shikoba's first civil conversation with someone from the Blue Seas and hopefully it wouldn't end up in a fight. His only weapon so far was his bazooka and he didn't want to burn this beautiful island. He would prefer if they just could have a nice chat.

Wayra was still terrified, Why couldn't Shikoba see that this man was dangerous? He was used to endure scary situations but this was something else. "Chooo" He nervously cawed, He bet that there was someone nice to chat with on the next Island too but Shikoba didn't listen. Well, he found little comfort that if a fight broke out Shikoba would protect him.

[Tyki Mikk]

Tyki thought to himself for a moment, that was a interesting question and something about him, the odd looking bird, and the small wings on his back had him thinking back to a book he read at the old man's place. Something about a man talking about a city of gold and some bell with people living there. But then again Tyki hasn't seen much of the world much less the other race of people around the world.

"hmm your from that Sky-pea place right?" He said with a confused look, while looking into the sky wondering if the place was truly real and if so was it above them right now. Rubbing his chin he was curious but it quickly followed by a laugh, looking back at the man as he bit into another fruit he saw the bird look at him and make a noise again. "By the way, what kind of bird is that? He keeps looking at me weird and making a somewhat eerie noise." He asked as the bird seemed to be shaking and not take his eyes off him.

The conversation with the guy seemed to be fine, The stars twinkled and it seemed the whole town was sleeping. The cow he bit earlier seemed to have gotten up and ran away he couldn't help but laugh on the inside thinking that cow is going to produce some sour milk. Morning wasn't coming for another couple of hours, so till then he felt this man and his scared bird would be great company till the sun came up and he would have to flee to shade.

[Shikoba]

"hmm your from that Sky-pea place right?" Shikoba smiled, "Yeah Skypiea. It's quite far away from here though. I think it's in the so called grand line.." He said. He couldn't help to think how his family was doing. They were probably worried about him. They didn't have any bounty posters over there, or atleast not from the blue seas so they probably didn't know that he was a wanted man now. He let out a nostalgic sigh.

"By the way, what kind of bird is that? He keeps looking at me weird and making a somewhat eerie noise." Shikoba was brought back to reality by the mans question. He couldn't help but laugh, The man found Wayra a bit eerie when the bird in fact was terrified of him. "It's a Southbird, you see his beak is always facing south." Shikoba said and pointed at the tip of Wayra's beak. " He's from Skypiea if you hadn't guessed it already I guess he sounds weird but Im used to it.." He said and shrugged his shoulders. Since he could relax now he leaned back on Wayra. "By the way Im sorry for his behaviour, He isn't usually like this."

Wayra realized that the strange thing didn't want to harm Shikoba he relaxed a little bit. He was still "hiding" behind Shikoba, though it wasn't the most brilliant hiding spot, he was clearly visible. but he was getting tired so he laid down. He could feel Shikoba's warm body against his own and he was starting to think back to that nap he'd had. He was still sleepy. He had just closed his eyes when he remembered that the dangerous creature was there and his eyes flew wide open again.

[Tyki Mikk]

Tyki laughed at hearing what the eerie bird is, he was curious as to why it only faced south but maybe there was some questions best lefted unasked. He looked into the night sky and looked at the moon he was so bright and big it looked as if he could touch it. A slight gust hit and made the night breeze seem ever so distinguished, "whats it like in Skypiea? I'm exploring the world and would like to visit there one day" he replied gazing into the sky.

Hearing his other comment and looking at the Southbird he smiled at it and turned away. "Ah So there is no Vampires in Skypiea, I assume?" He said in a humorous tone, lifting his hand to the sky he balled a fist, then unballed it. Then something came to him wondering why would a Skypiea person be down here, he didn't want to ask seeing as it may not want to be spoken about.

Thinking back to all those that wanted to kill him once they found out he was a vampire, but Tyki didn't want to take any chances his gun was next to him. The Gunfire would awaken the towns people and he would have to make a hasty retreat, or possibly in the commotion he could sneak in a few feedings. Thinking of the worst case scenario if this guy had a issue with Vampires.

[Shikoba]

Shikoba wasn't sure where to begin. Skypiea was such a big place. "Well, Skypiea is mostly made of clouds but they're different from normal clouds. There are a big variety of them, There's Island cloud which is solid and that's where all the Skypieans and Shandians live. There's Ocean cloud too and it's a bit more like liquid, I guess. There's more types but those two are the most common." He said, " There's three races, Shandians, Skypieans & Bilkans. They're quite similar, all of us have wings but we live very diffrently." Shikoba didn't bother to explain that the three races had been in war for years, It had been peaceful when he left so he assumed that it still were. "Well, Im a Shandian. I guess we're considered a bit more barbarous than the others. Skypieans live kind of like humans, in houses and towns." Shikoba skipped out on th Bilkan's lifestyle since he had no Idea how they lived, all he knew about them were that they looked kind of those horned animals hed seen wandering around this Island, they even sounded like them too.

The man's next question baffled him, He'd no idea what a vampire was. "Well, i guess there's none since I have no idea what a vampire is." He said and looked over at the man, hoping that he might tell him what a Vampire was. He could see that the man was reaching for his gun, Maybe this was a sensible subject? but Shikoba's curiousity got the best of him and he asked "Excuse me for asking but what's a vampire?" He couldn't help but feel like a little child. There was so little he knew about this world and he could certainly use the knowledge on his jouney.

[Tyki Mikk]

Laughing Tyki was amazed at hearing that people live in the sky and there are different races, seeing how this man is he was curious if their all like him. Oceans made of clouds boggled his mind, he couldn't help but have a smile on his face he wanted to see it even more so now. "That is amazing, You guys sure are lucky indeed." He said looking into the Sky as the stars slowly disappeared, thinking about where Tyki was born and raised he never saw the clouds or ever dreamed there is more than just merfolk and humans on this world.

Hearing what he said and asked, Tyki put his hand next to his gun but didn't touch it. Thinking about the question "whats a vampire?" Ever since he was turned he never once had to explain what he was at a lost for words, even though the words was at the tip of his tongue. "A Vampire is to say the least, a monster we drink the blood of the living, humans, and animals to sustain our life." He said with resentment in his voice, lifting his hand to look at it. "We cannot stand in the sun for too long or we die, and we cannot go longer than a couple of weeks without feeding to sustain ourselves" starting to pat his belly, as his fangs came out just for show. "For a few days we drink enough from a human, to sustain ourselves for a week we drink every drop."

It was a little odd to tell people about vampires, he has been one for years now and no one has ever really asked about them. "Most people want to kill us out of fear, bright side we get to meet people haha" Remember all the people he killed that found out he was a Vampire he shrugged it off, if this guy was going to kill him because he was a vampire at least he kinda sorta made a friend.

[Shikoba]

"Well, I don't know about lucky.." He said and laughed. " We don't always get along.." He didn't bother telling him the details of the war, Thankfully Enel was gone but there was still some tension between the races.

Shikoba listened intensely to Tyki's description. Vampires sounded surreal to him. Why couldn't they be out in the sun and why did they have to feed on blood? He wanted to ask the man but he doubted that even he knew the answers to that. He scratched his chin, lost in his thought for a while, He could understand why this man chose to hide the fact that he was a vampire. He knew that the citizens of the blue seas could be quite ignorant atleast judging from his own experiences.

"Well, To be honest it doesn't seem like it was your choice to become a vampire and therefore I can't blame you for what you are." He said and scratched the back of his head. "Despite that, it isn't like you are some blood crazed monster killing everyone you come across" Shikoba said and smiled. Even though he'd only known the man for a few hours he could tell that he was a civilized person, Whatever views the people of the blue seas had of Vampires was probably based on some exaggerated tales. Well, He now could understand why Wayra was so scared of him. It was a known fact that Southbirds didn't originate from Skypiea. They'd came up together with Upper Yard from the blue seas. Maybe that's why Wayra had this irrational fear of vampires. Well, This man didn't seem to have a problem fearing him as he was openly joking about it.

[Tyki Mikk]

"Blood Crazed?!" He said he said with a slight laugh as he got to his feet, The sun was about to rise in the distance. Picking up his jacket he patted his jacket as he raised it over his left shoulder "Nah I'm only blood Crazed if I haven't eaten in weeks haha" he said as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the tree. The Sun was so close coming up and he could see people leaving their houses and starting their day. Tyki yawned as the sun rose it was time for him to go to sleep.

"It was a pleasure to speak to a Shandian, it's time for me to go before I burn up" He said with a smile, followed by a yawn. Sliding on his jacket, picking up his gun and holstering it he nodded to the man. Starting to walk down the hill "take care of your self" he said with a slight wave. More people started to walk around the town as the sun got higher, Tyki put a hood on making his way to a merchant to purchase some food, then making his way back to his boat he kept hidden on a beach on the other side of town.

Stepping into the boat Tyki pushed off laying down in the boat, covering himself with his jacket he closed his eyes. Hoping that the man he met will make his way back home and that he can visit Skypiea one day. Forgetting his pouch he shrugged maybe the man will try the jerky and love it just as much as he did, suddenly his mouth watered for jerky...or blood.

[Shikoba]

Shikoba simply nodded "It was nice too see you too, hopefully we'll see eachother again someday.." He said and watched the man's silhouette slowly walking away. He didn't bother getting up, atleast yet. He was still tired though, He'd spent all night chatting with the vampire. Wayra was quite a good pillow, he thought, he could easily fall asleep here. he noise of the awakening village brought him back to reality and he quickly realized that he was still visible.

He stood up, facing the village. "Wayra, come one. It's time to get going.." He said and yawned. Surprisingly Wayra didn't answer him. He turned around and to his surprise Wayra had already fallen asleep. He smirked as he gently pushed the Southbird. "It's time to get going, Dumbass. We can't sleep here, We'll get discovered" He said to the still half-asleep Southbird. Wayra didn't even react to the insult instead he just followed Shikoba deeper into the forest. Shikoba hoped that this forest wasn't visited so often as he felt very sleepy. While walking he inspected the pouch he'd gotten from the stranger, He still had two fruits and some of that things that looked like dried up skin. Well, he'd rather not eat those things but in an emergency he guess that they'll have to do.

A loud thump behind him turned his attention from his newly acquired food, Not too surprising Wayra had fallen asleep. Shikoba quickly inspected his surroundings, all he could see was trees so he shrugged his shoulders. "Good enough" he mumbled as he made himself comfortable next to Wayra. Both of them needed to be well-rested for their next trip.