Ben also turns and says to Nijiiro and says “And also, if I may ask, why are you doing this? Why help us?”
This message was last edited by the player at 03:22, Thu 26 May 2022.

Tony relaxes a little and begins to head to the galley and begins food preparations, surely there will be a rest and rest means food! He wonders to himself what kind of food the King would like.

”Eustace has quite a large mouth. He should have plenty of air for a few minutes in there.”

He turned to Thane.

”The navigator! Excellent. So the Log Pose works by attuning itself to the magnetic field of a particular island. After a time, it will lock on to one of the seven next islands, after which your course is essentially set all the way to Sabaody. So seven paths to choose from, and your Log Pose will pick one based on how long you wait for it to attune. Once it’s locked onto one, it’ll stop spinning around. Then just go the way it points, and you’ll be heading towards the next island.”

Kamakiri turned to Ben.

”An excellent question, rock man! First and foremost, helping people is the right thing to do. Second, the watchman from the lighthouse had to attend to business elsewhere, and he asked if I could stop by and see how things were going. Third, I was hoping to join a pirate crew, and I figure the best place to find ones with openings was to visit Reverse Mountain!”

A low rumble came from the waters nearby. The hill-sized octopus surfaced much slower than previously, opened his mouth, and the Calico Pirates, ship and all, came pouring out, covered in copious quantities of slime.

”Ah! Here they are. Thanks Eustace!”

The octopus sank back beneath the waters, a stray tentacle waving as it lowered slowly.

”Uh, so, hi! Sorry about that, but you were about to get lost.”

The Calico pirates were all still in shock over the whole thing.

"That is... EPIC!" Leon shouts, "He can swallow the ship whole!? Wow!"

He turns to Nijiiro Kamakiri, "You know what? You may definitely join our crew. We could certainly use someone with a gigantic sea monster pet!"

”Eustace is not a pet! He’s a friend,” said Kamakiri. ”He couldn’t stay too long. I think he has other Sea Kingly duties to attend to. But I would love to join your crew!”

"Oh ok. Why do you want to join a pirate crew?" Leon asks, then puts on his most serious face trying to conceal his excitement at the prospect of a Fishman joining his crew, "Aaaand... Um... Oh! What skills could you offer the Lionheart Pirates!"

Ori continues standing in front of Nijiiro while holding out his origami creation. While Ori's hair is no longer standing up like exclamation marks, he is still nodding along to everything Nijiiro says as if it was entirely obvious to everyone. He waves a goodbye to Eustace,

"A Sea King party
Or maybe even a dance?
Eustace is a friend!"

”Hmmmm, well, I’m not sure how much you know about Fishman. We are considered less than people by many, especially the World Government. My entire Kumi-Daiko was taken as slaves, to perform music for some Celestial Dragon. I want to free them, and all Fishman, from this terrible oppression. There is a crew of pirates who are Fishman, but their captain was recently taken captive, and the crew disbanded. Those of us who still want to fight have found crews to join, but I didn’t like any of the ones I came across. I figured someone new would be more fun!”

“As for skills, uhhhh, well, I’m pretty good at fighting. I’m a black belt in Fishman Karate! I’ve even developed my own style! And, uhhh, well. . . . I can play music for you guys? I’m not just a drummer. I can play all sorts of things!”

"Ok, you're in!" Leon shouts, barely letting Nijiiro Kamakiri finish his pitch, "That is an EPIC goal we'd love to help you accomplish! Welcome to the Lionheart Pirates!"

”Wow, thanks! No audition? This is the best pirate crew EVER!”

He spun around, giving a dazzling display of vibrant rainbows. Then he leapt full force at Leon, wrapping his huge arms around the Mink in a very powerful embrace.

”Oh! Mr. Navigator?” he said to Thane. ”Would you mind informing the other pirates of how the Log Pose works? You seem to be quite mobile, and I need to go grab my Odaiko!”

He jumped off the railing into the depths again.

Ori sits down hard on the deck as Nijiiro dives overboard. The little origami fishman catches a bit of the breeze and follows the real one into the sea. Ori's eyes go back to being their regular shape, and a single papery tear tracks down his face and lands on the wood to roll away slowly.

"Miserable day
The ocean vast, uncaring
Gifts are forgotten."

He lays back on the deck and stares up at the sky, melancholy on his face.

Leon runs and leaps across the gap to Calico Jack's ship, "Jack, my good friend! Are you guys alright!? We were going to try to save you but the Fishman I just added to my crew said the sea king was saving you. I was very worried!"

Tony stares at the store cupboards and scratches his tummy, confused look on his face as he tries to think of what wine might best go with a 1/4 ton of fish.

After hearing what Nijiro told him about the Log Pose and examining the Log Pose for a while as the rest of the conversation continued in the background, Thane snaps back to attention upon hearing the newcomer address him as the navigator. "Oh, yea, I should go see how they're doing and get them up to speed." Seeing Leon leap over, Thane grins as as he then warps next to his Captain, prepared to inform the Calico Pirates about how the Log Pose functions.

_{Success on warp and body sense rolls.}

”Ahoy!” said Jack, waving not quite at Leon. He was completely covered in slime. After wiping massive globs off his face, he looked at Leon. ”I think we are okay! I thought we were in for a real cat-astrophe with that . . . thing.” He shuddered. ”What did you say it was? A Sea King? That’s pawsitively insane! I should have expected as much in the Grand Line!”

The rest of his men were scraping off goop, all looking as comfortable as cats in a bathtub.

”Come on, men! Introduce yourselves to our friends, the Lionhearts!”

Each crew mate introduced himself in turn.

Tabby was a broad-shouldered man, tall and muscular. He had a tan ball cap with the letter M in black. His matching tan athletic jacket had thick bands of black swirling across it, a black bullseye on each side, and a black butterfly stamp on each shoulder. He had ratty blue jeans and sneakers. He was chewing gum and had a steel baseball bat on his shoulder.

Tortie was a slightly chubby man wearing an actual gigantic green tortoise shell on his back, strapped on like a backpack with crisscrossing leather straps. His shirt and trousers were plain almost military garb. He had a matching green helmet with thick goggles, and slung a pair of hefty metal sledge hammers at each hip.

Siamese was a small framed man in a high-necked, form-fitting shirt, buttoned tightly down the front. The sleeves loosened slightly at and below the elbows, where the plain off-white had an embroidered pattern of stripes. The shirt was held in at the stomach with a broad sash, knot going down between the legs. He had loose brown pants tucked into knee-high boots. At his waist hung a pair of slightly curved short swords with longer than average guardless hilts matching the sheaths almost seamlessly.

Sphinx was dark-skinned and had a bright yellow cape attached at the neck to a striped black and yellow headdress and shoulder piece. His chest was bare, and he had a white cloth wrap around his waist and legs, like a loose loincloth, and plain leather sandals. On his back was strapped an enormous, scythe-like sword, the blade curved drastically in a half-moon shape.

Bengal was a thin, pale man in a leopard-print unitard, complete with a white, faux-fur belly and tail. He also had a thick, white fur coat with the sleeves cut off and poofy hood dangling down his back. His face sported painted on whiskers and a feline snout. He winked at the Lionhearts, a wicked bullwhip at his hip.

Tuxedo was just an almost butler-looking gentleman in a full tailcoat tuxedo, with black bow tie and vest beneath. He had a tiny mustache and a monocle with a tall top hat. He sported a simple black cane with a white cap on each end. He nodded curtly, then tipped his hat.

”My name is John Rackham, but everyone calls me Calico Jack, as you already know!”

Jack seemed the only mostly normal one, a bright red long coat, black tricorn hat, and high black boots with the tops turned down. He had a flintlock pistol at one hip and a cutlass at the other. The only strange thing was actual whiskers sticking out of his face.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:23, Fri 27 May 2022.

Thane addresses the now introduced Calico Pirates saying, "Whichever one of you is your navigator, meet me up on your crow's nest so we can talk about how to traverse the Grand Line. That was why the Sea King stopped you guys from rushing on ahead into an almost certain disaster." Then turning to Leon, "Enjoy your conversation with your friend, Captain. With a final nod to Leon, Thane warps up to the Calico Pirate's crow's nest; however, he misjudges the moment of arrival...


_{Warp success, but critical fail on body sense lol.}
This message was last edited by the player at 03:52, Sun 29 May 2022.

As Thane lost his balanced and plummeted to the deck, landing face first right back where he had been a moment before, Siamese approached, bowing formally, but remaining low so that his head was near to Thane’s own.

”I am the navigator. None of my instruments are working. Is there some secret in the Grand Line to making compasses function?”

He didn’t seem to mind the fact that Thane had just fallen from the crow’s nest, but the rest of his crew looked suspicious, as if they’d just missed some elaborate joke.

Thane stands up as quick as he is able to, and after brushing himself off, turns to Siamese, trying hard to pretend what just happened didn't affect him at all. "Why yes, there is. Hopefully you have one of these," Thane says motioning to the Log Pose on his wrist. "We were just informed that you need to get a bearing on this device, you need to attune it to the magnetic field of a particular island. Supposedly from there, it can lock on to one of seven different islands depending on how long you wait. All paths eventually lead to Sabaody. Once it is attuned, it apparently just points you straight where you need to go. Sounds almost too simple if you ask me, but that is the gist of what the guy that kept you from heading into the Grand Line too quickly told me."

Tony comes up the stairs muttering to himself about how he might feed the giant tentacled beast and has 3 bottles of reisling to go with any amount of fish he might be able to catch, sees the whole Calico Jack crew and does an immediate about face back down the stairs to rethink his menu.

Kamakiri burst forth from the water, just as Thane mentioned him. He had a drum under his arm as big across as he was tall. It seemed to be made from the skin of some sea creature stretched tight over a huge shell. He hopped up on deck, dragging the thing from the ocean and onto the ship. He hopped back in the water and zipped over to the Calico ship and climbed on board, standing right next to Thane.

The whole crew’s jaws nearly hit the floor, eyes as big around as the ship’s wheel.

”I don’t think I have one of those,” said Siamese, shutting his jaw and raising an eyebrow.

”Oh! Yes, I do have a spare one of those. Here you go.”

The Rainbow Mantis Shrimp Fishman proffered another Log Pose, handing it to Siamese, who bowed several times in thanks and took the device.

”Um, so normally I’d see if you were looking for any crew mates, but as I’ve just been taken in by the Lionhearts, I can only say that I hope we can be friends.”

He smiled, something that was a bit unnerving with his bulbous eyes and small, alien head.

”Um, yes. That would be a fine thing.” Captain Jack looked more than a little perturbed. ”Friends!” His voice shook slightly.

After Kamakiri had given Siamese the Log Pose, Thane says to Siamese, "Well, even more important that you didn't rush ahead. From what I've heard, it sounds like these things are necessary to traverse the Grand Line." Then Thane turns to Leon saying, "Captain, should we get to shore and start getting our Log Pose attuned to a route or stay out here a little longer? Either way, I'm getting off this slime covered ship, so if you need me, I'll be getting ready to head to shore." With that, Thane warps back to the Lionheart Pirates ship.

_{Success by 10 on both warp and body sense rolls}

"John, let's dock at the lighthouse until whatever it was the navigators we're talking about is done." Leon suggests, then he grins, "We just stole a Navy ship in Longuetown and we can have a feast courtesy of Captain ... of the World Navy!"

"Yes! A great feast! Unlimited sake! Exhibitions of skill! A contest of boasting our exploits!" Leon says immediately amped up on his own idea, "You'll be the guest of honor, rightly as you won the race up the mountain! Let's go!"

He runs and leaps back to his own ship, "To the lighthouse! We're throwing a rager in honor of the Calico Pirates winning the race up the mountain!"

Once the ships were moored on some rocks near the cliff face, the crews disembarked by dinghy and climbed up the long ladder to the lighthouse above. Jack and his crew cleaned up a bit before diving into the festivities. The lighthouse was indeed vacant, as Kamakiri had said, but it was overstocked with food and drinks galore. The Lionhearts and Calico Pirates partied hard while their Log Pose attuned to one of the seven islands.

Kamakiri grabbed dozens of makeshift drums and bachi and started teaching whoever wanted to learn.

”There are four fundamentals of Kumi-daiko. First and foremost, is Ki, the energy harnesses to play. This is the emotional and spiritual aspect of playing, through which you become one with the drum, one with the music, and ultimately one with each other. Second is Kata, the movements of playing, including stance and physical motions which makes the sound visible. Third is Attitude, respect for oneself, for each other, for the drums, and for the music. Last is Technique, such as how to hold the taiko, the bachi, and the musical expression of both the individual and the whole kumi-daiko.”

He grabbed a pair of bachi and took a wide, low stance. One stick remained close to the drum, while the other was raised as high as his arm would reach.

”There is nothing delicate or dainty about Taiko. When you strike once in the center, we call this DON!” he struck as he spoke, both sounding at once. ”Two strikes in succession,” he raised both bachi high, ”we say, DORO!” he struck in time with his words. ”If we strike the rim of the taiko, we say, KA! for one or KARA! for two,” his struck the edge of the head with a distinct clack as he spoke. ”To distinguish between loud and soft strikes, we might say TSU or TSUKU,” he rapped softly instead of a full swing once and then twice, matching his terms. ”And perhaps most importantly, the empty space between sounds is perhaps the most important. In practice we would say SU to denote this space. Now, try it with me!”


”Now try it together!”

For hours they played and played, people making up their own beats for the group to follow, some taking time to do small solo performances in the midst of the ensemble.

---

Late into the evening, Jack approached Leon and held forth an empty sake cup, another still in his hand.

”Have sake with me. Today, the Calico and Lionhearts become brothers!”
This message was last edited by the player at 19:05, Tue 14 June 2022.

Leon takes the cup from Jack with a solemn nod that quickly splits into another wide grin, "Brothers indeed! Whenever you call we will answer, whether for battle or for boozing! It will be good to have brothers among all the craziness here in the Grand Line."

The entirety of the Calico Pirates sat down crosslegged, facing the Lionhearts. They passed around the sake to fill their cups until it came to Jack, who poured his own and then passed it to Kamakiri.

Kamakiri took his seat alongside the Lionhearts and poured his sake, then passed the bottle around, ending with Leon.

They all raised glasses and toasted, while Jack interlocked the arm that held his sake cup with that of Leon, bringing his cup to his lips with a smile.

”Brothers!”

They all drank, cheered, and partied the night away.

---

In the morning, they pirates awoke to their Log Poses attuned, but they pointed in different directions.

”Strange. We were here for about the same amount of time. It seems destiny has both brought us together and now is sending us apart. I guess we shall see who makes it across Paradise first!”

With that, the crews made their farewells before boarding their ships and going their separate ways.