Chapter 14

Once the hangover faded, Marshall was reintroduced to Rouge's newest crewmembers.

There was Darrow Wildred, a dark-skinned woman built like a brick shithouse and almost as tall as he was. She wore her dark green hair in a combination of cornrows and dreadlocks, the color matching that of her wary eyes. Sporting some rather impressive scars on her upper arms, she had an air of 'fuck with me and die'. She was the new helmsman, much to Claus's relief, and her preferred weapons were her fists.

Hollybell Daisy was the new scout; the pixie-like girl had eaten the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Sparrow and was one of the most upbeat people he'd met in this world to date. Considering where Rouge recruited her (from one of the slave ships she'd raided), her attitude was pleasantly surprising. She was shorter than Rouge by almost a foot with her light blonde hair cut into a short bob and her light hazel eyes sparkling with humor. She and Wildred were apparently best friends, with Daisy often being found perched on the other woman's shoulder in either human or bird-form.

Moonshine Lykan was the wolf mink...and also the one in charge of brewing all the alcohol on the Queen of Spades. He didn't know why his sister-in-liquor decided she needed a personal brewer, but he couldn't very well argue with the results. The mink's fur was a blend of gray, black and hints of red and also absurdly comfortable to sleep on. His dark eyes were kind and gentle most of the time, but Rouge admitted he was still learning to control his Sulong form, and when he transformed he could get a little crazy. He was the same height as Jane, as his main weapon seemed to be martial arts, with some...variation...when he was intoxicated.

(The mink knew the Drunken Fist. Cool.)

Kimberly was an angelfish mermaid, eleven foot tall including her tail, which was a shimmering pink color that matched her hair and eyes. Curvaceous and all-around gorgeous, he could admit that she lived up to the mermaid legend. She was the designated swimmer of the crew and in charge of making sure no Devil Fruit users drowned. Also, she was a treasurer and part-time seamstress.

("A fish of many talents," he muttered.

"Yup," Rouge agreed.)

Laganda Shamari was dressed like a dancing girl from Alabasta and was the dancer/singer of the crew, so it made sense. She had golden tanned skin, burgundy eyes, and soft red hair that went down to her thighs. She was Claus's height and insanely curvy, every movement a seduction. Since she'd eaten the Boil-Boil Fruit, he figured it was best not to get too close. Gold jewelry glinted around her wrists, neck and ankles.

Tabitha was the crew's musician, a pale skinned wisp of a woman with curly black hair and gothic makeup. Black nail polish, black lipstick, the works. Her eyes were dark and outlined in smokey eyeliner, dreamy yet focused as if she was looking at something no one else could see. Dressed in black from neck to heels, she reminded him of Morticia from the Addams Family, but damn could she play the violin.

Jane now had an assistant chef, Mirabelle Linda. Older and rounder like Frieda, she was a jolly woman; quick to laugh and always ready with a smile. Her specialty was fruits and vegetables, she confided, and she was experimenting with growing fruit trees on ships without the aid of Devil Fruits. So not just a chef, but also a gardener. She favored bright sundresses with aprons over them, the aprons often stained with a variety of fruit juices and soils. She had bright red hair, green eyes, and freckles. Her curves had curves and she was one of the sweetest women he'd met. She reminded him a lot of Annie, and damn if he wasn't homesick. Also, she could hold her liquor surprisingly well. Her and Lykan were best friends.

Last but not least was Haroldic Stephen, the shipwright. Eight feet tall and the shape of a bodybuilder, Stephen was bald, covered in scars, and tended to walk around shirtless so a lot of said scars were visible. His eyes were light blue, and he was a jovial person, though his smiles were rather frightening due to the scars on his face. Sometimes he wore a blacksmith's apron and gloves (his hobby was metalworking, Rouge informed him), and he confessed to occasionally dabbling in engineering.

Marshall greeted them all, about to introduce himself, but was stopped when Daisy chirped from Wildred's shoulder, "We know who you are!"

Wildred nodded, "Yeah, the captain talks about you a lot,"

Jane cleared her throat and said, grinning, "Don't worry, we cleared up the misunderstanding."

Minervon nodded.

He stood there for a minute and then turned to ask Rouge helplessly, "What do you tell people about me?"

Rouge looked to the side and whistled innocently, not answering.

Marshall had a decision to make. A very important decision he'd been putting off.

Yes, he was finally going to name his ship.

He had a list of possibilities, and yeah, he was kind of reaching when he came up with some of them, but they couldn't all be awesome, he mentally grumbled. He looked over the list in his hand, then up at his ship critically. Hmm. His ship didn't look like a Silverfish (white and purple, not silver), so that was out. Ditto on Lagom. Wanderer didn't fit either, but Metanoia had potential. He went over each option carefully.

Three hours later, he was down to two options. His brow was furrowed in thought, torn between the choices but determined to pick one.

Finally, he closed his eyes, took a breath, and made his choice. Folding the paper and picking up the paint he'd prepared, he got to work.

"You named your ship what?!" Rouge demanded, aghast. Her crew shared the sentiment. He just grinned as the others stared up at his ship in bewildered shock.

"What?" He defended, "It fits!"

Spelled out in dark purple paint was his ship's name: The Coddiwomple.

He didn't know how, but somehow he was talked into making Rouge a bracelet. He knew some glassmaking because of Annie, mostly small stuff like decorative beads and vials, but he was pretty good at it.

The glass beads he made from the beach sand on the island they were on were a mix of bright indigo and vivid pink, sparkling brightly like polished gems. He carefully drilled holes through the middle of the beads, stringing them together with some threads he'd bought on Olympios. It turned out pretty well, if he did say so himself. The bracelet was made in such a way that it would break if grabbed during a fight, which he was proud of. The finished product was a string of alternating indigo and pink beads on white thread.

He gave the finished bracelet to Rouge and smiled at her gleeful expression. Aside from being glad she liked it, he thought that was the end of it.

(A few months later, Rouge's new wanted poster had her posing in a way that showed off her new bracelet.

Rouge was laughing when she called him later that week because Roger saw her new accessory, got jealous, and tried to not so subtly ask who gave it to her. Her whole crew was keeping quiet and it was driving Roger crazy, she told him.)

"Hey Marshall, mind if I ask you something?"

Turning to look at Rouge, he shrugged, "Sure, go ahead."

"It's actually something I've been wondering for awhile," Rouge started, "but...why are you so obsessed with shaving? I don't think I've ever seen you with so much as a bit of stubble."

He opened his mouth to answer, then paused, closing it again as he thought. He couldn't exactly say that it was because he didn't want to run the risk of getting the original Teach's epithet. He'd worked hard since before puberty to make sure he looked as little like Blackbeard as possible, last thing he needed was to get slapped with the guy's name. Finally, he settled on, "Before I set out on my journey, I swore that I would never grow facial hair of any kind."

Rouge looked at him silently, then decreed, "I bet that not only will you one day grow facial hair, you'll even get named for it."

(A number of years later, he'll look back on this conversation and swear.)