One of the most beautiful sights in the world- in Irie's opinion- happened to be the precious minutes before the sun peeked above the endless sea horizon. There was a period of time when the entire sky lit up and cast a mirage of colors across restless waters. While Irie's eyes absently studied the scene her hands lightly grasped the wooden railing of the crows' nest. A chilly breeze whipped through her hair causing the faint thought to cross her mind that perhaps the best idea would be to retreat into the main cabin of the ship. It was always warm there.

At the same time, the last time she'd been inside Ian had been badgering Kennit. The boy had gotten it into his head that the best way to pass time was to learn about the other members of the crew. It had taken her no time at all to discover the reasoning behind this annoying theory- Ian held a rather romantic view of the sea. In his head, it was a place of heroic adventures with friends, which was the reason he'd joined the marines in the first place. It was the view of an idealist who knew nothing about the world. Isobel had been in the room the one time that Irie considered correcting his misconception. The look his sister had given her warned that if she wanted to be treated nicely in the future when she needed the doctor's care, she wasn't to go out of her way to set him straight.

So, she'd simply shut her mouth and let him continue gushing about the "magic" of the sea.

"C'mon! Just a single detail!"

Her eyes flicked from the sky as a single, already familiar voice hit the open air. Irie only realized then that she must have missed the sound of the door into the cabin opening, as a single figure had already taken up position at the head of the ship, compass in hands. Irie's eyes flicked to her wrist, surprise appearing as she realized she did indeed have her compass in place. Kennit must have acquired his own at some point without her knowing.

"I already to--"

"Just one!" Ian interrupted as he propped his arms on the railing next to Kennit. Irie couldn't see his expression from where she stood, but she imagined it was most likely the one she'd quickly began to dub his "puppy" look. "Something about you and the captain! I heard you guys grew up together!"

Her lips pressed into a thin line at his choice of address. While she was the current head of the ship, her rank had yet to hit captain. Something about the title bothered her even if it was partially the correct term.

"We did. Now--"

"Please?"

Kennit sighed, lowering his wrist and glancing at Ian with an expression settled half-way between amusement and annoyment.

"Fine, one."

Her lips twisted into a frown as Ian thanked Kennit excitedly. Without any thought being put into the movement, she leaned further against the railing her hands gripped, eyes boring holes into Kennit's back.

"Let's see... well, I can think of a little something that is pretty common knowledge around the base. You heard we grew up together, right?"

Ian bobbed his head in agreement to the question. In response, Kennit pursed his lips, tilting his head back as if it took a certain amount of effort to draw up the words he wished to share in his head.

"Well, then you probably heard that rumor, too. The one that says I'm desperately in love with our dear captain. I bet that might even be why you've chosen me to be the one to share information with you."

At this, Irie's frown became a scowl. Even from where she stood, her sharp eyes could pick up on how Ian's face lit up as blood rushed to his cheeks.

"I.. uh... well..."

Kennit laughed, reaching up a hand to ruffle Ian's hair. The boy only seemed to flush further at the action, instantly mumbling a protest and reaching up to straighten the messy locks. From her position in the crows' nest, Irie simply glowered down at the man. If the "little something" that he'd decided to share was what she thought it was... he was in for an earful the next time she got ahold of him.

"No worries. You wouldn't believe how many times it's happened. Well, I happen to have a game set up for when this sort of thing happens. I'll give you one truth about me 'n' Irie for every detail you can get about everyone else, your sister excluded. How's that sound?"

Ian furrowed his brow.

"But I don't--"

"First one's free."

"Then... sure!"

"Alright. So, that rumor?" Kennit began as his lips twisted upwards in an expression that showed far too much amusement in Irie's opinion. "True as hell."

"R-really?"

Kennit chuckled.

"Yes, really. Calm down, you look as if your eyes are about to pop out of that big head of yours. It's pretty common knowledge, you know. Apparently I've spilled the whole story on several, drunken occasions. Pisses Irie off every time she hears about it."

"So, Captain knows?"

"Oh, of course she does. Told her about... oh, three, four years ago? Got turned down within two seconds- probably set some sort of record. Now, that's that. Bring me your own little bit of gossip and I'll share more. Alright?"

"Okay! Just you wait, I'm going to find out something real neat!"

Kennit began laughing once again, prompting Irie's scowl to only grow worse. Just as she was debating sliding down the latter to tell him exactly where to shove that game of his, the sight of something in the distance caught her eyes. Her gaze flicked up to the sea once more, a slight bit of disappointment flooding through her when she realized that the sun had already begun to peak above the horizon. The second she realized exactly what it was that had caught her attention- however- that emotion disappeared. Instead, she was filled with something akin to a mixture of excitement and determination.

"Kennit!"

The man went stiff, the boy next to him turning as pale as a sheet. Almost as one, they turned to face where their captain was standing.

"Go wake the other two," she ordered, his frame instantly relaxing. "Looks like we've almost reached Glitter Island."

"Gotcha."

Her gaze flickered from him to the island she could faintly make out in the distance. Her hands tightened around the railing until the knuckles had turned white, every part of her wishing they had already reached the port.

Finally, they could begin the real search.

_________________

"Does everyone know what their job is?"

"You've told them enough, it'd be--" Kennit began, cutting off at the scowl Irie sent his way. Instead, he put his hands into the air as a sheepish expression colored his face. "Ah, sorry."

"Izzy and I are making sure we're stocked on everything!" Ian offered, his eyes anxiously darting back between Kennit and Irie. Obviously, the little almost disagreement had him unsettled. "Then to stay with the ship till everyone reports back."

Irie tore her gaze away from Kennit to nod, an action which caused Ian's face to light up with pleasure. When she looked to Myra next, the ensign dropped her eyes and shuffled her feet against the wooden dock in a rather awkward, uncomfortable motion.

"..."

"A bit louder," Kennit encouraged her. "We can't hear you."

"... I'm to help load the supplies and find a paper with the bounties..."

"Great," Kennit replied, offering Myra a bright smile. "See, that wasn't hard."

If anything, the expression seemed to make her even more uncomfortable. Irie sighed, Kennit rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. It had quickly become rather apparent that despite her size and obvious skill when it came to physical matters, the woman had no social ability. In all honesty, Irie had a suspicion that it was most likely the sole reason that Myra was only an ensign.

"We'll all meet back here when finished," Irie tagged on. "If anyone hears news of the Spade pirates, find Kennit or I instantly."

Within seconds of those words being spoken, the group had split up. Kennit, of course, tagged along beside Irie as she began systematically dropping by each dive, inn, and shop to ask questions about the Spade pirates. For the most part, their search turned up empty. It was their last stop that finally turned up even a hint of a result.

"Hm... that boy?" the bartender mused, studying the picture with a furrowed brow. "Pretty sure... yeah, that's right, he was in here the other night. Missing that hat, though. Still, had a way about him that drew attention- I'd recognize him anywhere. 'sides, he was asking questions, that alone made it easy for me to remember him."

Irie leaned across the counter, her eyes searching the bartender as if Ace would appear from behind him any moment.

"Questions?" she demanded.

The man hesitated, then shrugged.

"Yeah, loads of them. Had all the pir--er... all my payin' customers all nervous like. Just a bad idea to be drawing attention from them kinds that he wanted to find."

"Who?" she prompted.

"Why, Whitebeard and Red-Hair."

She frowned, her lips instantly settling into a firm line. Why would Fire-Fist be asking about them? He was a small time pirate, a super-novice at best from the information that she'd managed to get out of Piatt before leaving the base. Going after such big names would be suicide. Perhaps he was planning on trying to join up with a larger crew?

No, even though their encounter had been short... and admittedly one-sided for the most part, she hadn't gotten the feeling that Ace was the sort to just accept a leash without reason.

So why would he be asking around about those two?

As Irie demanded more information about the questions Ace had been asking, as well as about his destination, Kennit's attention began to wander. Which, incidentally, was how he caught sight of the argument beginning to boil up between two men further into the bar. As his gaze paused on them warily, the two men's conversation seemed to slowly grow more heated. Within seconds it'd grown loud enough for him to catch onto the words even where he stood.

"What do you mean, 'it's lost?'" the angrier of the two, a tall, blonde man demanded. "Things like that don't just happen, dammit!"

"Xander, calm do--"

"No, I won't calm down. Someone doesn't just calm down when you tell them the damn mine is lost!"

Despite the fact that there had been a faint buzz echoing through the room until that point, the words seemed to cut through the air without problem. The conversation in the bar instantly hit a standstill. If the blonde noticed it, he gave no indication. Rather, he seemed to grow even more heated.

"You better damn well--"

"Shut up," the second man hissed, dragging the blonde half-way across the table as he seized a handful of his shirt. "You're drawing attention! Just think what will happen!"

The blonde suddenly paled, as if all the anger had been sucked out of him within a matter of seconds. Satisfied he'd finally gotten through to his companion, the second man released his shirt and cast a wary glance around the bar. The only person who hadn't been caught by their conversation was Irie and that was simply because she was still interrogating the bartender.

Kennit could almost feel the sudden tension that filled the man's frame as he slowly shifted to his feet and motioned for his companion to do the same. After only a second of hesitation, the blonde did so, only for many figures in the bar to stand and move to block their attempt at an escape.

"What do you mean, lost?" one of the bigger, muscled figures demanded.

As a grumble of agreement rippled through the room, Kennit dropped his hand to the gun currently tucked away in the holster attached to his belt. Even Irie seemed to have begun to pick up on the trouble stirring, her gaze finally tearing away from the bartender to the small group forming. The second man instantly put his hands up in the air, as if to ward off the thick tension that filled the air.

"Men, men, calm down, we're simply--"

"He said the mine was lost, Isaac," the big man interrupted. "Don't bullshit us. What the hell were you two discussing?"

As Isaac seemed to scramble for how to respond, the one he'd called Xander shot a dirty look in his direction. Another grumble of agreement swept through the group, prompting a response.

"Look," the blonde began. "It's none of your concern. Just let us handle it and you go back to--"

The biggest man took a step forward and Xander instantly shut his mouth. His partner threw his hands up in an attempt at a soothing action, his eyes frantically cutting between the man before them and the blonde.

"There was just a bit of a problem with the cargo... that's all."

"A bit of a problem?" the big man demanded. "A bit of a problem with cargo and you're discussing losing the mine?"

The reason that the entire bar had reacted finally clicked into place for Kennit in that moment. Acquiring simple knowledge of the islands they'd be coming across during their chase had been the main project he'd been focusing on since they'd departed from their base. Their current stop- Glitter Island- was a place known for the abundance of precious stones naturally found buried within its rocky ground. Many of the men who weren't employed as handlers at the docks worked as miners. It was hard, physical work, but it was money for their families.

Suddenly, the scene he and Irie had stumbled upon seemed much more volatile than it had only seconds ago.

"Dammit, Isaac, just tell them," the blonde snapped. "It's not like we're not gonna go down for this either way."

"... it really was just a problem with the cargo," he muttered in response, then raised his gaze to meet the miners. "The last shipment... disappeared."

"Damn pirates," Xander added, a few colorful words following the words. "Damn bastards..."

Those words were all Kennit needed to know things had suddenly gotten a lot more complicated. Well, those words and a glance at Irie's suddenly narrowed eyes as she stepped away from the bar and shoved her way through the crowd. One look at the vest she wore and it many of them backed off without a question.

"Pirates?" she demanded. "Start from the beginning."

Kennit simply sighed, adjusted his standard issue Marine cap, and moved to join her.

Well, at least they wouldn't be bored while their compass adjusted.