Accidents and Purposes

[Juli]

The sun slowly climbed further and further to its peak as it neared noon, its movement to slow to see with the naked eye. Loguetown was as busy as ever, with ships both coming and going to and from a variety of destinations.

One arrival had no ship to speak of. A brown, clawed, webbed paw grasped the edge of a dock. Few noticed it until the torso of a bear rose out of the water, a pair of arms wrapped around its neck. Those in the vicinity began to back away in fright, unsure of why such a creature had so boldly entered this place. A figure slowly rose up from its back, wearing an indigo, long sleeved top. Juli stretched and rubbed her weary eyes, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light. Her venomous tentacles coiled loosely around the Umima’s neck, keeping hold while the rest bunched out of the way underneath her.

Looking around at the amazed and still somewhat frightened, she managed a slight smile of nervousness and amusement before saying to her companion, “Be on your best behavior, Eddy.” Juli stroked the course hair on his neck as he gave a passive growl. Eddy shook his head vigorously, sending water droplets everywhere before beginning too walk, his paws making wet footprints trail behind him. Eyes followed the pair, amazed by the absurd sight.

Juli mentally went over what they needed from here, as they normally would try to avoid coming to a place so crowded at this time of day. Food didn’t seem to be terribly plentiful around here for some reason, be it the season or some Sea King activity nearby, she couldn’t be quite sure. But in order to buy food, she needed money, and she was trying to save up... But food was more important than a book, so there was some thinking she had to do.

[Sean]

Gazing out of his campus window, Sean looked far towards the sea, just to the horizon which he looked upon everyday. The sun shined through his glass window and filled Sean's entire room with its natural rays. Sean's shadow stretched flatly behind him, as an ordinary shadow would do, naturally since Sean's body blocked out the light. Ah the horizon, where the eye can look no further; where the sky meets the ocean. At long last Sean could finally travel to that horizon once more. To travel far beyond the horizon he once gazed at every day. Now his plan was simple, to leave this university for the last time and begin his new life as he once use to have. The life sailing the seas, where one was free to do whatever he wishes; that was were true liberty resided. Sean turned his gaze further down to see the city buildings below him. Sean lived within the university campus, where the students lives, located right next to the Loguetown University. The university sector of the city is on a slope like terrain, where a mere sector of the city was simply located at the bottom on the slope. For Sean, this is the area to target. It had a general low marine presence since it was more of the 'commoner' area, where nobodies simply landed their boats and tied it up to the poorly secured dock of this sector. And after much long anticipation building up inside of Sean, he simply kept that straight face. True it was exciting, but he was not out of this yet, if all works then maybe he could celebrate by himself on his own ship.....

To begin with his plan he simply had to take a closer look at the ship he targeted. This ship had come in just today. It may have been a basic average looking ship, but it was better than the other crude ships and mere sailing boats. Sean passed through the busy streets, dodging the crowds of people. The occasional dog wandering around and the sound of the seagull's gulling gave that city atmosphere. Merchants shouting their products on sale and pubs/bars singing songs and telling their tales of pirate activities. Sean simply kept his low profile, placing his hands in the pockets of his long and black leather trench coat. Some people found his figure quite eerie, to see a long black haired boy, wearing a pitch black coat, jeans and boots. Then again, strange figures came everyday in the city. Eventually Sean was walking around the edge of the city, where a wall blocked out the very cliffs which shot down into the sea. The dock was covered with a small marine checkpoint, which acted as the only entrance into the dock, since the rest was walled in with an iron gate; yet it looked fairly easy to climb over. And just about four piers away was the ship Sean had his eye set on. A small smirk grew from his face as he examined his soon-to-be ship. Yes it was perfect! Perfect to start his new life as a pirate of the sea.

Sean left his prize for now. he walked back into the heart of this sector in the 'commoners/students' side of Loguetown. A few marines marched in the opposite direction to Sean, none even taking a gander at him. As of now he was completely concealed. No one knew his identity as the son of the notorious pirate Captain Kuro who raised havoc in the East Blue a long time ago. As far as he was aware, Sean was a ghost to the marines and they had no idea of his existence. It was a nice feeling to keep it that way for now. Sean's smirk faded and reformed to curiosity to see a few people stop their activities around his general area. The background noises and environment remained, but around six or seven people near Sean observed an awe. Sean's curiosity got the better of him, he moved the few streaks of hair out of his face to give him a clear view. Was that a mermaid? Strange? And what was following it? Long purple hair, slim body and a jellyfish like lower half. Why was a mermaid here? As questionable as it may have been, Sean had no time to stop and ponder now. He had to return and pack, ready to steal the ship at midnight tonight. he continued on his journey, back up the street towards the Loguetown University.

[Juli]

The crowded streets were making both Juli and Eddy a little anxious. Neither were very good with crowds, but Juli was relived that Eddy seemed to be parting the crowd quite well. Kind of. All of the staring made her a little nervous, though she hid it under a slight smile as she adjusted her sitting position, keeping her tentacles in check.

She turned to examine one of the stalls, displaying fish, though not particularly fresh. She wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but it seemed that she wasn’t the only one to have difficulty finding food out there recently. She moved on to the neighboring stall, one with loaves of bread. That seemed a little more appetizing! Plus it was a nice change of pace from various seafoods. Maybe she should buy some thing to go with it, or even something more filling... Then again, there was Eddy to account for; he wouldn’t eat much that wasn’t meat of some kind.

A young voice from behind her got her attention, “Are you a mermaid?”

Juli turned to see a young boy with short brown hair and a yellow shirt looking up at her, glancing fearfully at the occupied Umima. She giggled before answering, “Yes. I was born on the Fishman Island!”

The kid gave Juli a confused look before asking, “I thought mermaids had fish tails...”

“Some do! It depends on the mermaid,” she raised her finger to her chin as she tried to gather her thoughts, trying to form sentences in her mind in ways he would understand easier. “You see, it all has to do wi-”

“Excuse me ma’am; you’re going to pay for those, correct?” Said a disgruntled young woman with straight, blue-gray hair standing at the stall of fish. Confused, Juli turned to her. She wiped at a spot on her apron before pointing downwards, she Juli saw Eddy munching on several of the hanging fish.

“Ahhhh! Eddy! No!” Juli cried out, flinging herself downwards to try and pull the fish out of his mouth. The boy moved out of the way as another person walked by. Having leaned down to try and stop Eddy, Juli’s tentacles flopped around a bit. One of them swung and struck the black haired passerby in the back.

[Sean]

Sean continued to pass by the people to get back to his campus quickly. The sooner he got there, then the more time he would have to pack. Sean took a gander back to see the crowds around the mermaid get bigger. Truly it was an extremely rare case to see a species from Fishman Island reach this area of the East Blue. Maybe it had gotten lost. But besides the mermaid question, perhaps Sean should buy a small snack now to eat before the time to initiate his plan starts. Yes that would probably be a good idea. With that thought in mind, Sean changed his direction back towards the mermaid. There was a baker stall that he had passed nearby. It may not be as good bread from the baker shop, but it was cheap and filling. Sean hurried back with the decision of buying a cheap loaf of bread to eat, unluckily for him, Sean never accounted for there to be the mermaid nearby.

What seemed to be a commotion at the fish stall, proved uncaring for Sean. His aim was simply to purchase bread from the stall next to the fish. At that current moment in time, just as Sean passed the fish stall, there was an intense pain somewhere on his back. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as his reaction to a sudden attack on his back. It was as if he lost his complete though from that second. The intense sharp pain on his back, naturally caused his spine to straighten up. The momentum of his leg muscles came to a complete stop, no longer could they support his weight. The pain had made him feel weak, it was stinging horribly. At first he collapsed onto his knees, before falling onto the ground. Luckily Sean was able to gain the motion and sense to turn his head to the side, so he fell flat onto the side of his face.

He lay down a few seconds, attempting to regain his senses and movement again. The pain on his back had been agonizing, as it still stung sharply. Sean's fingers curled up to try and grip, with what little strength it had, the concrete ground he lay on. "Wh- What was that?" He mumbled, but at the moment was too stunned and weak to actually ask it aloud, which was what he intended to do. Never had he expected to suffer from, what Sean though, a vicious attack on the streets of Loguetown at this time. Gradually, within a matter of minutes, Sean was able to make that swift recovery. The pain was still agonizing, but he was able to regain enough senses, to push himself back up onto his feet. He turned around and stared at his attacker. "Mermaid?"

[Lawrence Pure Regent]

It was quite the beautiful day out in Louguetown as many citizens of the island bustled about. The pathways to the center of the island remained packed with merchants, cooks, dancers, family, and above all else, pirates. Yes, pirates. Why would pirates walk around in broad daylight you say? Well, it wasnft uncommon for pirates to stock up on Louguetown, as this island was the nearest to the entrance of the Grand Line. Being the most dangerous sea in the whole entire world, pirates thought they were smart for making a short detour before wandering into the mysterious but fabled sea. Upon Louguetown was also the site of a small building engraved with words that said gMarineh. Outside the building, it looked like a miniature replica of a church, pure and extravagant. But inside, it was totally different then one would expect. Upon the entrance, there were two doorways, one leading to the leader of the divisionfs quarters, while the other led to the marinefs quarters. In there, there were no such things as separate rooms. The entire marine slept beside each other, except for the leader of course. But the lack of privacy wasnft as horrible as you would normally imagine, it was actually more on the good half then bad. Marines were able to chat about a lot of stuff, but most of their conversations were about their families who were waiting for them at home, the simplest subject for a normal civilian of Louguetown, but it was the subject that kept most marines fighting. As all of the marines were asleep upon the ground, one was wide awake, a man next to the window. Hand blocking the curtain from falling down, the manfs blonde hair gleamed in the sunlight as he just smiled at the streets of Louguetown. This man, of course, was Lawrence Pure Regent the seaman recruit.

hALRIGHT! WAKE UP!h A loud voice filled up the empty walls of the room as all the marines in the room woke up, somewhat in a defensive stance, as if someone was breaking into their base. Though the intruder was no criminal of any kind, nor was he a civilian in desperate need of help. The person that had called them was none other than their useless beloved leader, Musker De Laroot. Muskerfs head mostly covered up with a marine cap, but it was quite clear that this officer was bald, really bald. The manfs face also somewhat resembled a rodent of some kind, and his brown mustache had only added to the resemblance. Lawrence turned slowly towards Musker as the rest of the marines remained prepared, but more relaxed than what they were a few seconds ago. hALRIGHT! PATROL, NOW!h Musker yelled out, voice cracking up some as he tried to hit the high notes, definitely because he wanted to sound much stronger then what he actually looked like. The marines grumbling, they slowly got out of their blankets. Lawrence, as the other marines, did the same. The new recruit knew he wasnft supposed to mess up right now, or else his whole life ahead of him would go downhill, especially if he messed up in front of gMusker the Strongh. gSQUELCH YOUR YONDERS!h The officer screamed, face red as a cherry. Nobody actually knew what those words meant, but their best guess was that it was suppose to be a much more gmanlyh version of gSHUT UP!h. It had only taken Lawrence a few seconds before he put on his uniform, and cleared out of the room as every other marine beside him.

It looked like a parade was being held as Lawrence, cap covering his face, walked down in a row with a small group of other marines as Musker led them down the streets of Louguetown, not bothering to watch out for the people that stood in his way. Upon the way, a large crowd of people surrounded a stall, which of course as every other marine knew, would soon be investigated by Musker. gThat seems quite interesting~!h Lawrence muttered quietly as he raised his head, staring at the commotion. hMy, my, MY! What do we have here? Clear the way peasants! I want to see what is happening here! g Hand tapping his lips, Musker smiled viciously as he pushed and shoved many out of his way. As Musker did, Lawrence slipped out of the formation he was supposed to be in, as well as all the other marines to check up on what was happening. hWHAT IS THIS? A MERMAID? Hmmmmc.it seems like you attacked this poor innocent boy.h Now smiling, it almost seemed like money symbols were popping out of his eyes. hIfm going to have to take you back to my base young lady! And we shall decide your punishment there!h Showing his white teeth, Musker started to stride towards the mermaid as Lawrence raised an eyebrow. hShouldnft the boy get medical attention first?"[/i] Lawrence thought to himself as he continued to stare at the boy.

[Juli]

As she pulled at the fish tails sticking out of Eddy’s mouth, Juli felt her tentacle hit...something. Surrendering the fish to the unyielding jaws of the Umima, she shot up to try and see what else had happened. She saw the victim of her poison lying on the ground in pain. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what she had done. “Ahhhhh! Nooooo!” She cried, hands covering her face in guilt and shame. This was the first time she had done this since leaving the Fishman Island! Eddy seemed uncaring to the whole matter, simply keeping himself from moving too much and snorting every now and then.

The boy stood up, mumbling about ‘Mermaids’. Juli broke into apology, “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!” She barely heard the approach of a group of Marines. Eddy on the other hand, did, turning his furred face at them as they approached, growling lowly.

“WHAT IS THIS? A MERMAID? Hmmmm...it seems like you attacked this poor innocent boy.” A booming voice interrupted Juli’s panicked thoughts. She listened as the Marine officer continued, “I’m going to have to take you back to my base young lady! And we shall decide your punishment there!”

Juli found that she had frozen in fear. Mouth agape and feeling nauseous, her thoughts whirled. She whipped around, on the verge of tears as she said, “It was an accident I’m sorry!” She turned quite quickly, and one of her tentacles whipped out, slapping the bald Marine in the face and neck. Making pained gasps, the legs of Musker the Strong shook as he tried not to fall to his knees. There were noises of shock from the crowd as he tried to recover.

Juli’s thoughts burst, OhgodIdiditagainandthistimeitwassomeoenimportantandi’mgoingtogotojailforlifeandican’tgotojailbecauseitwasanaccidentiswearipromiseiwon’tdoitagainpleasedon’thurtmeeeeee. It was too much for her to take. Gibbering madly, she collapsed, fainting atop Eddy. The Umima reacted, standing on all fours and baring his teeth with a snarl.

[Sean]

Before Sean had known it, he recovered enough senses to notice a large crowd of marines quickly take position around his area. Sean barely took notice to the mermaid's apologise, in fact, he was much more concerned over the swarm of marines who had just appeared on the scene quickly. Right now Sean struggled to support himself standing, but he continued to do so, gradually regaining back his senses and nervous system. All he could do now was watch as the scene unfolded itself to him. “WHAT IS THIS? A MERMAID? Hmmmm...it seems like you attacked this poor innocent boy.” Instantly the face of detest filled out Sean's expression. 'Boy?' He had turned seventeen a few months ago now. There was only one person who would call, even the older teenagers, terms that suggested their youth and inexperience in life. 'Musker De Laroot' and in Sean's eyes he was the typical Pett Officer ranked marine who allowed the rank to get to his head. Blinded to his worldliness around him, he was the same old naive Petty officer who gave orders around this side of the city, where he is positioned, giving unnecessary orders to ordinary people here and there; trying to make a buck or two through his abuse of power. A waste of the tax payers money if you ever asked Sean. “I’m going to have to take you back to my base young lady! And we shall decide your punishment there!”

Why? There was no need to do so. No one consulted Sean if he even wanted to press charges against a mermaid who was pleading for forgiveness. The apologise suggested that it was not an attack Sean originally thought it was, but an accident. Sean examined the marines around him some more. A few of them, he recognized as Musker's cronies. Besides Sean was a Seaman recruit, one Sean had never seen before. A young looking chap, roughly around the same age as Sean, probably slightly older. It was a shame to see someone new join up under Petty Officer Musker. Then again, Sean was use to new recruits in the marine force. By now Sean had recovered enough senses to keep his stability in muscle and mind. He had a feeling that the only marine who was bothering to care for his injury was the new seaman recruit. With a slight effort to talk, he mentioned "I'm okay", uncaring for any medical attention as of yet.

Sean's attention turned back to the mermaid and navy. Immediately, Sean just wanted to get rid of the marine presence. So was going to try and reason with Musker. Although Musker was not the very reasonable man to reason with, it was an effort to get rid of the marines nevertheless."Officer Musker I'm fine there is no need to pu-" At that moment, Sean's voice went unheard and no longer continued to finish off. In an act that had even made Sean utterly stunned, sharing his reaction with the crowd, the mermaid had too stung the crooked petty officer in the face. It was blatantly an accident, true, but at this point it was almost unbelievable to his senses. It had not even been two minutes and already someone else was hit in what looked like a huge accident. She had truly been one unlucky mermaid, to fall pray to Musker. No one really deserved to be treated under Musker's conviction. And especially a mermaid, who Musker would probably sell off to the nearest underground organisation. Sean wanted to just step in now and have all the marines go off, but he was much to caught within the tension of the mermaid's attack on Musker.

Musker looked as if he had gotten into a fit of rage, not even listening to the mermaid. Could this foolish man not see that it was a mere accident? Eventually the mermaid had fainted over sheer fear. The fish like-bear creature looked vicious now, as if it were to attack Musker soon. And that would not be a good idea. Not for Sean now, it would ruin his plan. Court hassle and the marines monitoring everyone present at the scene if he did not do something now. Sean forced himself to intervene, he walked towards the middle of Musker and where the umima and the collapsed mermaid was. His face was simply cold and angry over Musker and the marines around him, though he hid this face underneath his hair which covered it for the time being.

When he got to the middle, he pushed the hair out of his face to reveal a smiling, charming expression. The type you would give as a formal greeting to your negotiator, unfortunately the face Sean had to pull for Musker. "Good afternoon officer Musker sir." Musker was no officer ranked marine yet, but anything that suggested he was not as superior as an officer and Musker would have hit the roof. "Can't you see I'm fine sir? I was simply walking down towards the port to see my cousin here, whom also happens to be a mermaid" He gave an indication towards the mermaid. "She is my cousin and she was simply so excited to meet me that she walked up the market street, she simply got into a little accident with me and now with you. But you know me sir, I take full responsibility of her!" Sean blatantly lied through his teeth. Had he really suggested that the mermaid was his own cousin? They looked nothing alike, yet it was still a possibility. Although Sean was unclear about the family relationship himself, he was hoping that Musker wouldn't ponder on the subject and ask questions of their inter-family relations. True he never knew the mermaid and she did sting Sean in the back. Yet Sean wanted to protect this mermaid solely because it was an act of kindness, only to stop how she would be treated under Musker. if it were another reasonable officer, perhaps he would have allowed her to fall into marine hands under what Sean thought as a more reasonable and official justice. Though no justice existed under Musker.

[Lawrence Pure Regent]

Lawrence nodded slowly as he heard the boy say that he was okay. At least it was clear that the mermaidfs tentacles were not poisonous of any kind, and of course, no serious injury of any kind at all. Though it was a quick movement, Lawrence had managed to catch all of it as he held his stomach with his left hand, right hand clutching his mouth. Lawrence felt water in his eyes as he prevented himself from laughing in public as Musker was hit by the tentacles, straight in the face and neck. This was just hilarious! Even though it looked like the hit was just a fast tap to the face, big red gash marks appeared upon Muskerfs rodent-like face. Moving a bit more into the crowd, Lawrencefs smiling face soon stopped as he had realized what Musker was going to do. The rotten officer never really did have patience, especially when it was personal. Looking around, Lawrence gazed upon the nearby marines, which also edged closer towards the scene, completely surrounding the boy and the mermaid. The once loud crowd now grew completely silent as Muskerfs mouth opened to speak. Now more people had came to observe the performance that was taking place, obviously interested in anything involving Musker De Laroot dealing with gcriminalsh.

gAlright, no more chances girly. You die!h Musker spat out silently as he somehow found the strength to stand back up once again. But as he did the mermaid fainted, which somehow added a lot more tension in the crowd. Lawrence raised an eyebrow as the boy stood up and intercepted Muskerfs pathway towards the mermaid. The boy of course, looked brave in front of good olf Musker , but at the same time he looked stupid. There was no point in trying to have Musker take a reality check; the officer was just one of those people that you had to leave alone. So reality can come back at him, like a ton of bricks. Musker smiled wryly as the boy came in front of him, obiously trying his best to get to the mermaid. hWell now boy, I was just going to ask a few questions to your cousin, no harm done. Now if you pleasech Hand on the boyfs jet black hair, Musker messed it up a little before removing his hand to give the boy a little shove to the side. hYoufll see your cousin soon boy, donft worry.h Giving his best smile which looked hideous, Musker bent down to observe the fainted mermaid as well as to stare at the umima, which looked like it was ready to strike whoever touched itfs companion. Pursing his lips, Musker rose up and looked around, looking somewhat happy from what Lawrence could tell. Waving his hand over towards a marine, Musker signaled for the soldier to come and listen to what he had to say. Though it was quite brief, the marine nodded silently as Musker stood there, smile still on his face.

Lawrence tried to get closer amidst the crowd, curious to what was going to take place in a couple of minutes. Sure, Lawrence was supposed to be all serious and obedient at times like this, but why should he ever act like that when he has a man like Musker as his leader? Apart from when Musker had stood there smiling, which of course meant something bad was going to happen, Lawrence had a gut feeling that whatever the officer had said to the marine probably ended with the words gpromotionh. After all, it was nature for people like Musker to think about gsurvival for the fittesth in rankings. Hands clenched, Lawrence attempted to move closer once again, but was soon blocked out from the people at the scene, who were just as curious to learn about what was going on at the moment. hfScuse me, pardon me.h Lawrence muttered silently to the people in front of him as he finally got front row seats to the gshowh. hAlright, everyone! You should all leave! Nothing to see here anymore, just a little accident, thatfs all!h Musker announced, determined to see whatever he had thought up of come through successfully. Cap still upon his head, Lawrence moved towards Musker before he instinctively looked at the boy for a second. Getting a closer look at the boy, the gboyh, didnft seem as much of a boy anymore. He had a mature sense of an aura around him, one you would find from an old man that had experienced a lot on the battlefield. Lawrence stared at the gboyh once more, but this time Lawrence smiled a bit before he faced Musker once again. hCapt. Musker, I know you have something to do but I-g Before Lawrence was able to finish his question, Musker held out his hand, signaling for Lawrence to be silent. hLearn when to find the right time to speak fool! Ifm in the middle of something important!h Sneering, Musker looked back at the marine he had talked to a while ago, and waved his hand at him. hNow if you excuse mec.h Back facing Lawrence, Musker examined the mermaid once again, hand running through his mustache as he did.

[Juli]

The Umima stood and kept a low growl going as the conversation went around him. Eddy much preferred talking to Juli, as she was much easier to understand. Tiring of the eyes upon him, Eddy backed up a step or two and reached up to shake Juli. She jerked a bit, groaning before Eddy shook her again.

Juli sat back up, now awake. Her eyes widened when she saw Musker staring at her. Disconcerted, she let out a cry of shock and hopped backwards, falling off of her mount and crashing to the ground. At the movement, Eddy let out a snort and a growl before standing to his full height, now towering above the others.

Juli, trying not to panic is confusion, wrapped her arms around Eddy’s leg defensively. “Eddyyyy please don’t hurt anyone!” She warned, fearing what he could do. She looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. Aside from her stinging everyone; she wasn’t sure about what was going to happen about that. “I don’t wanna go to jail...” she whined quietly.

[Sean]

Musker's ghastly looking smile was not relieving to see at all. Not only that, but his ill manners of scuffing up Sean's hair and budging him away had only driven Sean angry. If only he had decided to bring with him his entrusted weapons, perhaps he could quickly slice up Musker now and run off with the mermaid. Of course, now was not the time nor place. Nor had he decided to bring his weapons since he had never expected a marine confrontation. Despite Musker's words, he would never believe that he would see his 'cousin' again soon. perhaps he didn't buy it? Sean remained standing out of the way, as Musket took a good look at the mermaid. She had collapsed off her mount.

The marines gathered closer together, listening to Musker's silly and predictable plans. And if it was what Sean expected, it was to sell off the mermaid for cold hard cash and earn himself a promotion. Sean caught a glimpse of the Seaman recruit observing him. Though Sean was much too in deep though now. Thinking of what to do next? What could he do now to get him, the mermaid and her bear-fish like companion out of this trouble? Sean's gaze turned to Musker, who was well into lecturing his marines about the plan. Such a despicable man, it was clear that he was one of the corruptions of what the meaning of justice holds. he looked back down to the mermaid, who was on the floor. Her animal looked aggressive, like it was going to go into a berserk rage any time soon. Everything was all happening too sudden, one moment Sean just wanted to ensure his entire plan was ready, and now he has to go through with this chaos. Perhaps he could just turn around now and go? Maybe it was not worth it all. Though that thought left as soon as he could hear the silent words of the mermaid “I don’t wanna go to jail...”

She's right. No one wanted to go to jail, and definitely not under Musker's conviction. There was no way Sean could let go of his principle and leave her to face an 'unjust justice'. Sean took a few steps forward until he was right next to the mermaid. He would resort to one last lie, one that even Musker would easily fall for if the phrase he loved so much was mentioned. "Enough Musker!" Sean exclaimed out aloud, taking a hard cold glare at Musker. "If you want money then I shall give you money! I'll give you plenty by tomorrow morning! You know my university and my accommodation, you can collect what money I have!" The facial expression on Musker was as Sean expected. From Musker's hideous anger, it quickly reformed into a happy looking rat. Money talks! "All you have to do is leave us for now. Tomorrow at seven in the morning I will go to your office and hand you the money. If not, then you can come to me!" Sean spoke as if it were final. Like he would hear no more negotiations. This was his ultimate proposal. He took another look at the mermaid, feeling sympathy for her, it was only honorable for him to help her out now before she falls into Musker's hands.

[Lawrence Pure Regent]

As soon as the word gmoneyh was said, Muskerfs attitude turned at least eighty degrees. But the words werenft the ones that shocked Lawrence; it was actually the person that said those words, the boy. hHow could he afford enough money to compensate for a live mermaid?h[/i] Thinking to himself Lawrence stepped a few inches away from Musker now. The seamanfs face was now grim as he heard Musker snigger quite stupidly; obviously enjoying the moment he was in right now. Whatever Musker was thinking, it was certainly not the thoughts of a priestfs. hOf course boy, I will gladly accept your offer, but I shall be keeping your cousin until you get the money. Wouldnft want a misunderstanding now right boy?h Raising his hand, Musker pointed at the mermaid, and snapped his fingers. Two marines, one bulky while the other skinny, stood by the now awake mermaid, waiting for new orders to arrive. The officer now placed his hand on the black haired boy and gave him a business-like smile before he placed his hands behind his back. Examining the area around him, Musker took a deep breath of air before he faced towards Lawrence, who was surprised to see that Musker would even bother to acknowledge his existence.

hAnd you, go back to the base and wait for orders there.h Turning around again, Musker walked towards the boy to obviously make more proposals for him. Unable to hear their conversation, Lawrence cursed under his breath before he turned around and made his way back to the base. hEeehhhc.what a day!h Hand pulling off the cap on his head, Lawrence revealed his face which seemed to have surprised many. Yawning, the seaman moved closer to each stall as he passed by, observing a lot of trinkets as he did. Louguetown was certainly a very beautiful place to live in, but it would certainly look a lot better if someone were to replace Musker. Body now walking in a relaxed motion, Lawrence looked up at the sky and at the marine base, which had now appeared into view. Walk now pacing faster and faster, Lawrence pondered on a few questions he had thought about in the middle of walking back to the base. But the main question outgrew the other questions by a landslide. hWould the mermaid be alright?h Yes, the boy said he had enough money to pay for her freedom, but there were times when Musker wouldnft actually abide by the rules as he was supposed to. Though Lawrence had the chance to save the mermaid back there, he had also realized that himself alone against a whole flock of marines was futile, and would anger Musker much more than what he could already be. Figuring that he would secretly save the mermaid from Muskerfs hand if he had seen her once again, Lawrence stumbled upon the door to the base. Opening it up, the marine now held his hand to his stomach, wondering if there was anything good to eat for dinner.

[Juli]

Juli still wasn’t sure what was going on as the Marine and the black haired kid tried to come over an agreement. Musker agreed, it seemed, at the price of keeping his cousin. Juli frowned, What about his cousin? Is he a captive? Juli sighed, not enjoying that she had missing information here. Musker snapped his fingers and two other soldiers approached causing Juli to let out a gasp of surprise. They stood at either side of her, but were kept at bay by the leering Umima. Eddy bared his teeth at them while Juli just kept quiet, keeping herself from making eye contact.

Musker ordered some of his men away, and Juli glanced back and forth between the two Marines. With little choices available to her, she considered her options. Running was a possible one, but what if she was caught again? Trying to escape the law was a crime, right? Alternatively, she could have Eddy fight them, but that was even worse! She looked over to her only other option, that guy who seemed to be defending her for whatever reason. Juli wasn’t going to complain. She looked over to him, hoping he would offer help when she couldn’t help herself...

[Sean]

((Lawrence has left the RP so it's just you and me for now Juli))

Sean detested every second of Musker's cold hand on him. After Musker gave a signal for the marines to guard over the mermaid, and for the Seaman Recruit to leave; Musker had forgotten to remember one term of the deal; most likely trying to slime his way out of this one on purpose. "Hold it Musker!" Sean gave another commanding call to Musker. "We both had an agreement. I stated that you have to leave 'us' for now." Sean gave an accent to the word "us" emphasising that it meant both him and the accused. In lighter terms, the mermaid. Musker gave himself a shocking feeling, believing that those were the terms laid out by Sean. It was surprising to Musker that a simple student could catch him off with specific words. Neverhteless, Musket still gave a nod to his guards, signalling for them to prepare to grab the mermaid by each arm. Lastly, Musker stepped back up to Sean and stoog over him, attempting to shadow the boy. He wanted to negotiate secretly now, just bewteen him and Sean.

"Listen to me boy!" Musker spat. "I don't care what you can learn. A kid like you comes out of a university and thinks he is all that smart and advanced, that he knows how to negotiate in business!" Musker's attempts to intimidate Sean did rattle Sean inside, though there was no way Sean would show that. There was no way to stand down now. Sean opened his mouth to give a response, only to have been interrupted by Musket, trying to prove his dominance over the situation. "No boy! I'm talking you are listening. I carry the title of an officer in my rank." Not really an officer rank though, but Sean couldn't say that to Musker now, it would only get him angrier. "I'm a key figure in charge of this area of Loguetown and I can do whatever I want. I will still take this mermaid with me to ensure your payment. I can do whatever I want" And with that finished, Musker lifted up his hand and was just about to swing it forward, signalling for the mermaid to be grabbed and taken away.

"Hold it Musker!" he returned and grabbed Musker by the wrist to cut off his hand motion. Musker turned his attention back at Sean to give him a nasty glance, which was to very soon change. "Hear me out Musker. Like I said, if you leave us alone I can give you a full payment. I was intending to pay one hundred million beli. Should you break our agreement then I shall only pay you fifty million" Musker fell right into Sean's bluff. perhaps the excitement over money got the better off him. If a marine such as Musker were not so corrupt into money, maybe they would have called out Sean's bluff. But not Musker. There was no doubt Musker would even scrutinise Sean, not when so much money was involved. he was well aware that Sean had come from a rather wealthy background so he was sure to have a good family fund. Musker gave an order for the two marines to stand back, both of them walked backward from the mermaid. "Very well then boy. You have yourself a deal. I expect to see you at my office in the morning. Be no later!" Musker placed both hands behind his back and walked past Sean, the marines followed Musker as they left the area. Musker leaving with a wide smile across his face, thinking that by tomorrow he would be a rich man.

Sean let out a sigh of relief, it was finally over. Negotiations were over with now, and Sean was in debt to Musker. There was no way he could stay here now, he had to leave Loguetown. Tonight! He remembered the mermaid and turned around to see the Umima right next to the mermaid who was still on the ground. it was quite a surprise to see that the umima did not attack any marines while they came close. The whole situation seemed constitutional. The mermaid must have been bewildered by now. Sean reached out his hand to the mermaid, offering to pick her up. "Hey, don't worry about that whole situation. It was just-" Sean hesitated to find the right word, he didn't want to make it seem as if it was too much of a big deal. he did not want to make it seem as if he was any saviour. After all, they were still in deep trouble if they remained here by tomorrow. "A huge accident I suppose."

[Juli]

Juli could only clutch her companion tighter as the marines took another step closer. Eddy responded by raising a paw to strike, but Juli whispered, “No Eddy, please…” Musker and Sean stepped away, but Eddy didn’t lower his paw. The four of them stayed there for a few moments as the other two negotiated. The two marines had their eyes on there leader, but were glancing back to the Umima whenever he made a threatening noise. Musker made a jerking movement, but was stopped. After some more words, Musker made another gesture, and the marines backed away, relived. Feeling less threatened, Eddy lowered himself to all fours while Juli breathed a sigh of relief. Musker and his men left the scene.

The black haired kid approached, saying “Hey, don't worry about that whole situation. It was just...A huge accident I suppose” He stretched out his hand, which was met with another growl from Eddy. Juli glared and lightly punched the Umima on his rear leg, and said, “Eddy! No!” With a snort, the Umima took a few steps back, putting some distance between himself and Juli. With a slight smile, she took the outstretched hand and raised herself up. “Thank you,” She said gladly. Curiosity struck her. “For...whatever it was you did, exactly.”

Juli sighed. It was amazing; she blacked out for all of three seconds and lost track of everything!

“Are you going to pay for the fish or what lady!?” came an irritated voice from behind the stall.

Frowning in embarrassment, Juli mumbled, “Y-yes...” as she reached for her purse.

[Sean]

Sean jerked a little from his reaction to the growl of the umima. Never before had Sean seen such a creature, then again, the sea was the home to many different creatures. Many have probably yet to be discovered. As the umima backed away, as the mermaid had wanted, it was clear to see that she was in control. 'Eddy' that must have been its name. Sean gave a weary smile back as he lifted up the mermaid with his hand. “Thank you....For...whatever it was you did, exactly.” Evidently she must have been curious, she had been out for a duration of that problem."Well I just told the Marine petty officer that it was a whole accident. Though, I don't think we are out of the woods yet. Looks like we have a lot of money to pay off if we want to remain free people." To cut the whole thing short, Sean didn't want to seem so rude. Yet he was eager to ask his question, being curious if the mermaid was going to stay. "You don't intend on staying here right? I mean after all that commotion and such?" Sean may have to go long to ask, but there was no way he could just leave the mermaid here in Loguetown. He had to leave and so did she. The idea crossed Sean's mind that perhaps he would have to take the mermaid along with him, for the whole midnight plan.

Before she could answer, they had been interrupted from the fish stall owner. He did not have a too friendly of a glance. perhaps he judged them with their whole ruffle with the marines. Watching the young mermaid reach fr her purse, perhaps she did have enough money after all. Maybe enough to buy her freedom. She did have that elegant style around her. Maybe she was financially fine to pay off Musker. Though there was no need to pay off Sean's debt now. And knowing Musker, he would probably take the money and the mermaid. Loguetown had way too many corrupt marines around for her to be safe here. It's probably for the best that Sean should invite her and her companion to leave with him.