FicWad

It seemed like a miracle to the Heart Pirates when the snow actually stopped falling. The sun had risen no more than an hour ago, though it still offered no warmth to Summer. The air was cold and clear, but the act of wandering around the town was now manageable.

Her arms wrapped around herself and she thanked her pants for being a thicker material, Reid for giving her a scarf with their jolly roger on the end, and begrudgingly acknowledged Law's contribution in buying her the jacket.

'Thank God I'm out of there.' She thought, glad she was away from the cramped inn lobby. For a reasonably small crew, in her opinion, the main lobby was much too small for all of that testosterone. Sure, she got along better with men than with women, but there was a limit to the amount manly roughness she could take.

"Summer, where are we going?" Bepo asked, walking alongside her. She glanced at the bear and smiled.

'Bepo doesn't count...' She thought. 'I could never get enough of Bepo.' In answer, she shrugged.

"No place in particular. Just wandering." The bear nodded, satisfied that there wasn't any danger in what they were doing. If another storm came in, he would be quick to take her back to the inn.

The road was quiet, save for a few residents shoveling away the snow from their doorways. It seemed like a feeble effort, but she didn't say anything about it. To her surprise, one little boy helping his mother outside noticed them pass by and gave a small wave. She hesitantly waved back, surprised that the locals weren't very hostile to the pirates.

'They must get a lot passing through.'

The main street continued, and the two passed the clothing shop Summer had visited before as well as countless others. The windows were all warmly lit, waiting for someone to step through the door and sit by the fire. It was just so cozy.

The air was so cold, she couldn't feel herself smiling. Unconsciously, she began humming a tune aloud. At first it wasn't any sort of recognizable song, just random notes that sounded pleasant when strung together. It soon began to take shape into a familiar melody that she remembered from a long time ago.

'Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me...' She began singing the lyrics in her mind, unaware of Bepo's eyes watching her moment of bliss. 'Small and white, clean and bright, you look happy to meet me.'

She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and accidently ran into a young woman walking in front of the pair. The woman's elbow reflexively pushed into Summer's stomach and she felt as the wind was knocked out of her. A strangled grunt escaped her lips, and she caught herself on her back foot. Startled out of her thoughts, Summer looked up into the terrified eyes of the woman.

She pointed a small dagger-though it looked more like a letter opener-towards them. From the way she held it, Summer could tell she wasn't experienced in combat at all. Her short hair was colored a blood red, she wore a dark purple shirt and black jacket and Summer wondered how in the hell she hadn't spotted her in the first place. She stood out like a sore thumb.

"Please...leave me be, pirates." She begged, hands on the dagger beginning to shake nervously. Her lip quivered and Summer took a step back, aware that their close proximity wasn't helping the girl's anxiety.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run into you. We weren't going to hurt you or anything. So why don't we put the knife down, huh?" She gently goaded, watching as the woman's eyes quickly flashed suspicion and apprehension. It took a few moments before she slowly loosened her grip on the hilt and slid it back into her messenger bag slung across her waist.

"Are you alright?" Bepo asked, and the girl froze up again. Her eyes widened as she took in all that was Bepo. Her silence stretched on, and poor Bepo must have taken this as a sign of disapproval. "I'm sorry." He muttered with his head lowered.

"Umm...that's...alright?" She said, clearly uncomfortable and confused as to how to respond to the situation. Summer held out her hands.

"Ah, don't worry about it. I was pretty shocked when I figured out he talked too." She said, trying her best to make this strange encounter as un-awkward as possible. Though, it had already crossed the super-awkward line at this point.

She glanced away and wrung her hands. "It's alright. M-my name's Kat, by the way." She mumbled. A half-hearted, pathetic excuse for a wave was sent their way. Internally, Summer deadpanned.

'/Could this woman be any more awkward? Seriously...' /She audibly sighed.

"Well, sorry to bother you. We'll get going now." They began to walk away but the woman grabbed onto Summer jacket sleeve.

"Wait...are you...actually pirates?" Her eyes were hard to discern, but Summer thought she saw a spark of fascination...or awe, or something. The hand on her sleeve gripped tighter, preventing her from leaving.

"Yes?"

"What is it like...being a pirate I mean?" She wouldn't meet her eyes, and the arm that held onto her sleeve shook. Summer gave a very confused look, then shrugged.

"It's fun, I guess. Full of adventure and all, but not exactly the safest career." The hand let go of her sleeve and Summer drew her arm back to herself.

The girl kept her head down and shuffled her feet, fingers fiddling with themselves. She looked to be the same age as her, but her innocence seemed like that of a toddler. Summer was about to ask why it mattered, but a distant shout drew everyone's attention farther down the street. The girl's eyes widened and she took a few steps away from them.

"I-I have to go." She whispered before taking off in the other direction, short hair bouncing with every step.

"She was kind of weird." Bepo said, watching as the girl turned a corner. Summer nodded and continued walking.

"Yeah. I don't know what her problem was." She shook her head, ridding the strange girl from her mind. "Let's go." Bepo followed close behind her.