This month's wanderings

[killedwithlove]

Who: Cole and anyone who doesn't get away fast enough
Broadcast: No
Action: Everywhere but the Marsiva and Tourist. Sorry Fenris, the Three Twins is fair game again.
When: During this month.

[Cole does this thing, where he parks the Pathstone alongside other ships, and then visits. He does this in a big circuit and then keeps doing it.

He likes visiting. Be prepared to be visited!]

Comments

[killedwithlove]

Um... I saw Luffy helping you. And... you mentioned Sanji and... um, the man with the funny nose.

[mikangirl]

[Her eyes narrow at that. Now she's curious what he saw, exactly. But instead of asking, she just sighs after a moment.

Then offers him a smile.] The man with the funny nose is Usopp. I'm assuming you're talking a long nose, instead of made of metal or... no nose at all.

[killedwithlove]

Yes! Him. Usopp. I'm not always very good with names, especially for people I haven't met in person.

[He tugs his hat on more firmly.]

I saw when you gave yourself the scars on your arm. Over your tattoo.

[mikangirl]

[Ah.]

Not a pleasant memory for you, then.

...here. [She shifts a little on her seat to face the shoulder in question toward Cole, then peels the white shirt she's wearing off, leaving her in just the pink tanktop. Her shoulder still shows signs of the damage inflicted years ago, but the brand he saw is gone, leaving the pinwheel tattoo to replace it.]

I like this one a whole lot better.

[It represents the people and the home she loves, and it's not a mark of ownership.]

[killedwithlove]

[He shuffles close to look at it, but very carefully doesn't touch.]

Is it poisonous? The Iron Bull's vitaar is poisonous.

[mikangirl]

No, it's not poisonous. It's just ink. My village doctor did it for me before I left. See, this-- [She traces down the swirl of the line--] represents a pinwheel, which means a lot to me. Our sheriff wore one when I was a kid to make me laugh. And this small part on the top edge is a mikan fruit, to represent my home.

[killedwithlove]

Oh. It's in your skin, not on it.

[He leans in to peer at it, but he doesn't try to touch.]

What's a pinwheel?

[mikangirl]

[Her lips curve up. What's a pinwheel, he says.]

Do you have windmills where you're from?

[killedwithlove]

[He nods, silent, pale eyes coming to look at her face again.]

[mikangirl]

Okay. A pinwheel is a miniature version of that-- it's a piece of carefully folded paper, or sometimes coated material, cut into patterns and attached to a tiny pole. [She draws out a vague shape of one with her finger on the console.] They're often brightly coloured and they clack in the wind.

Apparently I found our sheriff really scary when I was a baby, so he stuck one in his hat to entertain me instead.

[killedwithlove]

Oh.

Will you show me how to make one? I have paper from my basket, and my knives for cutting.

[mikangirl]

Sure. I can show you a basic one! After that, you can decorate or colour them as you please.

[killedwithlove]

I want to show Elize. I think she'll really like them. She likes drawing, and singing. Maybe she'll like making things too.

[mikangirl]

How old is she?

[killedwithlove]

I don't know. Eleven?

I'm not good with ages. Or... time.

[mikangirl]

Well, I loved them around that age. I think you might be right.

[killedwithlove]

[For a brief moment, Cole perks up, everything about him a bit younger and more open. Happy that he got it right.]

I'll go get the paper. I'll be back soon.

[He vanishes in a curl of smoke.]

[mikangirl]

Sure I'll--

[...huh. Neat trick.]

...just wait here, then.

[killedwithlove]

[Cole isn't gone long. When he returns, it's with some sheets of plain, printer paper.]

[mikangirl]

[Did he also bring scissors? Because otherwise Nami will start the hunt for a pair, or a sharp knife.]

That's useful. Is that how you got here to begin with?

[killedwithlove]

[No scissors, but at the thought of needing them, he pulls a knife from a sheath on his back and offers it over, hilt first.]

No. I'm the pilot of Pathstone. I docked the ships together. I can't move over distances that are too big.

[mikangirl]

Oh, that makes more sense. I was just thinking that's the kind of jump you don't wanna mess up out here.

[She takes the knife from him.] This is a little more exact with scissors, but if you've got a sure hand a knife will do. Here, I'll show you the shapes to cut in the paper.

[killedwithlove]

It's not a jump. I just move without walking.

[Probably best not to ask too much.]

I have a very steady hand with a knife. I have to, to make kills clean.

[mikangirl]

Figure of speech.

[The comment about killing gets a measured look, but he doesn't seem the murderous type, so after a moment Nami holds up a sheet of paper.] If you have difficulty remembering this I can draw the lines you need to cut and you can keep it as a template. But for now--

[She's made enough of these over her childhood that she works on automatic, laying the paper flat and drawing lightly over the right places with the knife tip.] That's how you start. Then the rest is folding.

[killedwithlove]

[Cole watches attentively, trying to memorise it so he can show Elize. he'll have to do the cutting for her, she's not trained with a knife.]

I think I can remember.