driftfleet | Channelling Fire Fist

Entry tags:

Channelling Fire Fist

Who: Nami + You
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Iskaulit / Bloodsport / Briefly on the Ring
When: Now!

[The last few days Nami's been feeling progressively more drained, which is annoying, but these glitches tend to follow right on the end of overworking herself anyway, so she doesn't quite notice. Until today, when she quite literally falls asleep for a few seconds and ends up faceplanting on the shoulder of the complete stranger she's buying a bunch of bar alcohol from.

Awkward.

Then half an hour later when she's loading up the shuttle, one can find her literally sleeping on top of a couple of barrels. Maybe she should get someone to help fly her to the Iskaulit, because that seems less awkward and more stupid... okay, so something's up, she's either coming down with something or she's glitching and she'll just get her supplies back to the bar and (zzzz)--

...what was she doing? Oh, right.

Yeah, if you're anywhere nearby she might flag you down to fly her back, because death by faceplanting the shuttle somewhere would be just plain embarrassing.

-------

Whether by miracle or responsible supervision she makes it to the Iskaulit eventually, feet dragging and yawning, and manages to square away new supplies and give the bar staff a heads up.] This stuff's pretty strong. Don't serve it to anyone you know can't--- [Owlish blink.] -- hold their licks. Liquor. [Yeah, that stuff.]

------

[And finally some hours after that, text to avoid yawning in people's faces. It's the slowest text ever.]

New stock at the Space Bar. Massive kick. Spicy, sweet. Drink wisely.

[...Nami you're not crafting a telegram. Man, why is this so hard--]

Lot of glitches lately??? you people have stolen all my izhu

[...well. That could be a fancy alien word. Or it could just be that she fell asleep while typing. She'll be back after this nap. Or after someone yells in her ear or... something.

After this, she'll ping the Bloodsport with a message to come get her and go sleep in the garden until someone wakes her up.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I wonder if it'ssss--

[She was going to mention the jamming devices, because she's not blind. She can see a correlation in timing. But one foot catches on the ground (deceptively flat ground) and her eyes close, and apparently Nami's brain has decided that falling asleep mid-transit is a common sense and safe thing to do. Timber...?]

[Before her body touches the ground, Stefan swoops in, carefully carrying her bridal style back to the Center. He knows she might give him hell for this later - he'd give himself hell - but he wasn't just gonna let her sleep there.

Once they arrive and he's able to set her down on one of their couches, he stops to lay a blanket over her and -

He pauses at that sudden jolt. He's felt it before. He's also not sure what it means. So he takes a breath, closing his eyes and focusing on the sensation.

The Center's giving way to some place else entirely, and he's starting to remember that oh. He's diving right into her subconscious.

Here's to hoping she doesn't mind, wherever in her dreams (or memories) he ends up.]

[Hope Stefan likes sailing, because he's on the deck of a catamaran and there's ocean almost as far as the eye can see-- a hint of forest on the horizon, at least? Blue skies, no clouds. There are two people Stefan will recognise on board-- Nami and Sam-- and three others that he won't, but as they flicker along the wooden boards like ghosts and are barely there apparitions... well.

Nami herself is a lot more lively here, skipping along the rail itself to tighten the sails before tossing a rope in Stefan's direction.] Here!

[You clearly know what to do with that, right?]

[The salty smell of seawater hits him first. He steps back, remembering belatedly that Nami is far more familiar with the ocean. (Save for the tropical planets, he's never been.)

Only his quick reflexes allow him to catch the rope. He glances st it, then at Nami.]

Thanks. [ . . . ] Um, what do I do with this?

You tie it off, you--

[--idiot. It's a fond kind of idiot, but nevertheless she breaks off before that, looking at him in confusion. Before looking warily across the rest of the deck. Because she has a vague sense of deja vu, dream or not.]

Well, I guess at least you're not a triangle.

[He stares down at himself for a couple of seconds. Nope, nothing different from Real Stefan.]

I'd sure hope not. [He furrows his brow.] Sorry, uh - I'll kick myself out as soon as I figure out how.

You wouldn't be the first familiar face in here, don't worry about it. [She waves a hand around at the ship, suddenly vacant of all other people.] It's not like this is exposing my innermost secrets or anything. I'm pretty sure I don't even have innermost secrets.

You sure? [He furrows his brow, almost skeptical.] Most people do. It may not be huge, but I wouldn't want to run around and discover something I'm not supposed to.

I'm literally an open book. I mean-- I don't talk about stuff a lot, but I don't care if people know about that stuff. [Mostly true. She's not a believer in oversharing.] All my secrets are in the moment ones.

That being said-- you're here accidentally? [Grin.] What, did you trip and fall?

Something like that. [He tilts his head.] I told you about my amnesia, right? Every now and then, I remember that I can do something and if I'm not careful then -

[He leans forward, as if mimicking a trip-and-fall.]

Well. You see how I'm waltzing into your dream as if it's no big deal.

[It takes her a moment to recall the conversation-- it was a while ago, and her dream self is a little hazier on these things. But yes, that's right. One life slowly overlaying the other. The fact that he can apparently wander into dreams is interesting, but not overly shocking.]

That's gotta be inconvenient at best. I guess you haven't remembered how to leave yet?

Nope. I'm sure that I can, but until you wake up or I'm kicked out, we're at an impasse.

[He grimaces, partially from the realization that this will be his life for the next few hours but also partially because that role feels heavier. At least there are worse people to be stuck with...?]

...[Well, this is weird. She glances around, and then swings her arms up with a what-can-you-do gesture.]

I don't know. Ever wanted to learn how to sail? Or we could play I Spy or something.

Sure? For both, I mean? My hometown was landlocked, so until I got here, I'd never really been by the ocean.

[The Fleet's been great in that respect, he's come to realize. The entire universe is at their fingertips, albeit at the slowest pace imaginable. Maybe soon, they'll encounter a planet like Nami's homeworld. Until then, though - this is as good of an opportunity as any to learn.]

Ahhh, you're missing out! I don't know what I'd do in a landlocked place. [Be out of a job, that's for sure.]

Well, this is a katamaran, so it's reasonably easy to sail. A good place to start. Inasmuch as weird dream sailing will be useful.

[To be perfectly fair, even if Nami has figured she's dreaming, she doesn't think Stefan is actually here. This is just the playground that Bill ended up leaving for her.]

[He pauses, about to ask what the heck a katamaran is - but it's a kind of ship, right? That's all he needs to know in dreamland.

So he nods, rolling up his sleeves.]

Hey, you never know. [He laughs, gesturing to the rope still in his hands.] Maybe weird dream sailing'll be the golden ticket I need in the near future.

Given the weird stuff that's happened here...? Probably more likely than you think.

[She grins. IT'S FINE IT'S FINE just... this is the part where she launches into a lesson on sailor's knots and how much slack to give sails. And the dream is static enough, but things keep wavering and changing just on the very corners of Stefan's vision. Eventually, the crew flicker back to life again as she stops focusing on Stefan's unexpected entrance so much.

Dream sailing 101.]

[This was way more than he bargained on, but Stefan's a quick learner.

His sailor knots are uneven at first; he gives far too much slack; and he sure can't predict the winds based on the outside atmosphere. However, this is also Nami's dream and Nami's subconscious. He'll integrate with the crew far faster than if he were learning on his own.

By the end, he'll give her a cheeky grin,] You're a good teacher, you know.

You're a good listener. [She grins cheerfully.] I try to teach my crew back home about stuff and they fall asleep or just talk right over me about the mysteries of the sea.

[Jerks. But she's good-natured about it, and they take in just enough. Even Luffy knows plenty about actually sailing a ship now, even if he has a habit of trying to crash it into rocks at the drop of a hat. (We don't let Luffy navigate. Like ever.)]

Ah, well - you can lead a horse to water but you sure can't make him drink.

[He would know, just from his limited experience on the Fleet. Still, he's pretty proud of the sailor knot that he's mastered!]

Or would that be their wanderlust taking over at the worst possible moment?

Definitely the wanderlust. My Captain wants to sail to the ends of the ocean and become the Pirate King, but he doesn't care about the technicalities. [She throws a hand up, rolling her eyes.]

But then that's why he recruited me.

Huh. [ That's one way to go about it. ] Doesn't he worry that you might want to be the "Pirate Queen" someday?

Crews don't work like that. [She grins briefly.]

But it's moot, anyway. I wouldn't even be a pirate if it weren't for Luffy. And I've got no interest. That's what he wants, and I want him to get it, and he knows it. I'll settle for drawing my map of the world.

Thankfully, no. [Or else Stefan wouldn't have known what to do.] But this Luffy guy was lucky to have you as long as he did.

Whenever you get the chance to finish your map, though, I'm sure it'll be great.

Of course it will. [She grins. Shameless.]

Might take a while, though. Given I'm mapping everything I see myself in person. But seeing the world isn't exactly a sacrifice.

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