I don't want to survive, I want to live!

Multifandom/multiship oc, non selective muse. Please read the rules/verses! Mun Ali.

[aidulcex]

She nodded at Annalise’s suggestion, following her down the path. Aiyanna’s eyes widened at her warning about the rabbits. “They make mochi? Really? What kinds do they make?” She asked, excited at the thought of having mango mochi or even strawberry mochi. 

[aidulcex]

Aiyanna grabbed one of the sweets in the container, looking at it for a moment before biting down on it. The sour taste was immediate but it was quickly balanced by a sweet taste. She let out a sigh as she looked at Haruta. 

“Haruta dear, these weren’t rejects. They’re just lemon and blackberry tarts from the island. We’re going to have to go back and there and make a new box for them. And you’re paying. I’m not covering your mistake as an expense.” She specified. 

[aidulcex]

Aiyanna nodded, “Right! Now, do you still want these cookies though? Cause I will eat them all if you don’t want any.” She laughed. 

[aidulcex]

“What do you mean by that? I can make it mean something else?” Aiyanna asked, hugging him back. 

[the-flaming-spade]

“I mean, language is complicated, one word can have multiple meanings, if you work to change the meaning of one word it can mean something different. I mean some words are so negative you can never change their meaning, but then there are other words that…I dunno, maybe you can?” Ace suggested with a confused shrug. What did he really know in the end about it anyhow?

[aidulcex]

Aiyanna tried to follow his train of thought. “So, what you’re saying is that you want me to change the connation of that word? Does that mean that I’m still... that... to you but in a different manner?”

[aidulcex]

“What do you mean by that? I can make it mean something else?” Aiyanna asked, hugging him back. 

[aidulcex]

Aiyanna listened to him, frowning at what he said. She felt guilty for saying that now, especially because Ace took insult to it. “I feel bad saying it then. I’m sorry Ace, I didn’t know that that was what it meant. I don’t want it to seem like I think that you don’t take care of yourself or me! You really do and I appreciate everything you do.” 

Walking over to Ace, Aiyanna leaned up and kissed his cheek. 

[aidulcex]

“But... don’t I already do that?” She asked with a puzzled look. “You act like it’s a bad thing...”

[aidulcex]

@the-flaming-spade

“Oh, I can’t remember who it was. But they asked me if I was your sugar mama. Pomona told me that it probably means that I give you a lot of sweets!”

“Is... that not what it means?” Aiyanna asked curiously, confused as to why Ace was blushing.

[aidulcex]

"Maybe by 'sugar mama', the mysterious person means the sweets and cookies you like? Such a strange thing to say to you, though." She gives a small pat to her sister's back and gently pulls her into a hug. "Don't worry about it, Ai. You are not a 'sugar mama' to anyone, and I believe Ace thinks so, too. You are more than that."

“Oh that could be it! That would make the most sense!” Aiyanna exclaimed, hugging the taller chef back. “You’re so smart Mona! I would be so lost without you.”

“But wait, then what would it mean in this context then? I do give my sweets to Ace, which is true, but I give them to everyone if they are polite enough though. So does that mean I’m everyone’s ‘sugar mama’?” She asked.

[aidulcex]

“That’s true, but it would involve us having to stay a little bit longer in order to sell it. Maybe we should wait until the day after tomorrow to set sail? Just so that we can have everything in order and prepared?” She thought out loud, trying to think of all the things they would need to do before setting sail again. Her hand gave his a squeeze back while her other began to count the number of things that she knew they needed to do. Aiyanna started to space out a little until Ace spoke up. 

“It’s alright. There are more things to be upset about than burnt plants.” At his confession, Aiyanna looked the other way while her cheeks reddened. Surely that wasn’t the case, or he would of been thinking about her the whole time? “You just want to make me blush, don’t you,” she stated. 

Several things had reminded her of the other. An open flame, the colors red and orange, playing cards, meat, even the sound of laughter made her think about the other. What could they be doing if he was there? Would he had found that joke to be funny as well? Would he had started drooling at the smell of the smoked meat? Such questions would fill her head during those times, and her mind would begin to wander as she thought about the scenes and how they would play out. 

Aiyanna laughed, nudging him back. “None of these actually. It’s not on the main dock. Let me show you.” She replied as she tugged him onto the dock, walking towards a different section nearby. Instead of it being filled with merchant ships, this dock was filled with empty fishing boats. Eventually they arrived in front of one of the boats that had the word ‘Snapdragon’ written on the back. 

“It’s not the ‘Herb of Healing’ but you were close with it having a name related to plants.” Laughing, Aiyanna pulled Ace onto the boat. It was a medium sized white sailboat with a dark wood finishing. Once they got on the boat, Aiyanna lead him to a small room that acted as the bridge and the sun room for some of her plants. “So the stairs lead down to the living quarters, and if you lift them up that’s actually where part of the engine is.” Under the deck there was a decently sized kitchen and a sitting area. There wasn’t that many decorations, but a lot of blankets and pillows of various different shades of green, pink, or yellow. “That door leads to the bathroom which has the basics, the tiny door next to the kitchen is storage, and the main door there leads to the bedroom and the closet.” 

[aidulcex]

A chuckle left her lips as she nodded. Aiyanna couldn’t of imagined that he had been able to eat as much as he used to. “Then I bet you must be excited at the possibility of eating some of my food again. Though I do have to admit I might not have enough food for the trip with you coming along...” 

Although she was worried about the possibilities that meeting Gabriela might bring, the woman knew that Ace would be there to help and support her. The thought of him being there made her feel a lot better than she did before. Aiyanna knew that she was stronger than she was years prior and would be able to stand up to Gabi if she went out of line. However, it was nice having Ace by her side to look out for her. Which, she hoped to do for him as well. 

After Marineford, several of her plants had been lost. It took a while for her to get caught up to speed again, but now her whole kitchen was filled with various medical and cooking herbs. The same went for the other items on her boat. “Yes, I’ve been slowly building my collection back up. There’s not that much room in the kitchen anymore because of it. It’s actually very similar to the vessel that I had before.” Placing Doodle onto the ground, Aiyanna got up as the three prepared to leave.

“I think that’s a good idea. It’ll make much more sense for us to travel with one boat instead of two. We will have to abandon one eventually.” Linking hands with him once more, Aiyanna began to walk with Ace down the streets again. Snickerdoodle ran a couple of feet away from them, bouncing on his feet as he waited for the couple to catch up. It was amazing, being with him again, not a care in the world. It almost made her want to throw the job out the window to spend a couple more days like this with Ace. 

Work was the only thing that Aiyanna did anymore (besides playing and taking care of Snickerdoodle of course), as she constantly went from job to job. Moments where she went out to eat and relaxed weren’t things that she was used to. Unfortunately, the nymph found it hard for her to focus on herself after everything had happened. Things needed to be done, and with the fear of being found and the stress of being on her own, she didn’t realize that she was slowly neglected herself in the process. Her hair was a constant struggle, the bags under her eyes had layers upon layers of concealer covering them, she was constantly tired, even when she woke up. And those were only a couple that Aiyanna could list off at the top of her head. Overworking herself was probably the cause of her situation, but she didn’t want Ace to know. She didn’t want him to worry about her immediately after their reunion.    

[aidulcex]

So I take it that youre Aces sugar momma

“Um… what exactly do you mean by ‘sugar momma’? I mean I like sugar, but I’m not his mother…” Aiyanna explained, trying to figure out the meaning behind this mystery man’s words. 

[aidulcex]

“I don’t like it either, but she’s part of the trio and I must. Gabi knows that her abilities don’t work on me. If it is a trap, well, at least you would be there to help,” Aiyanna reassured. She nodded at his proposition, it only made sense to talk to her clients first before meeting up with Gabi. Whatever it was, Aiyanna knew that she didn’t want to be involved. With everything that had occurred in the past two years, and now with Ace returning, the woman wanted nothing more than to settle down for a while and to take a breather. 

“Together,” she repeated, reaching her hand over to squeeze his. Once she finished her food, Aiyanna let out a yawn and stretched her arms. “I have not eaten that much in a while. Now I just want to curl up somewhere and take a cat nap.” 

After her stretch, a chuckle left her mouth while she watched Ace finish his last plate. “Had enough to eat?” 

[aidulcex]

“Really? You’ve been there? I’ve heard so many amazing things about it! I can’t wait to see it in person! And I’ll finally get to meet the people behind the fabled Galley-La Company!” Aiyanna squealed a bit at the thought of even being on the same island as the shipwrights. Meeting them in person? She didn’t know what she was going to do! What would she say, what kind of clothes would she wear, what would she do if they liked her work? The woman had to take a deep breath to calm herself down so she wouldn’t make a fool out of herself. 

At his next question, the excitement that she felt slowly started to fade away as it was replaced with uncertainty. She took a few bites of her food before continuing.  

“Yes, I do. Do you remember me talking about an ex that I had named Gabriela? She’s not apart of the World Government anymore; actually she did a complete 180 and joined the Revolutionaries in a funny twist. There’s something urgent that she needs to speak to me about.” Aiyanna didn’t want to lie to Ace about the other reason for the trip. Right now, she wanted to be open and honest with him, which she hoped he would be as well. All her cards were out on the table, for just his eyes to see.

In the past, Aiyanna had told Ace about her previous lover. Aiyanna and Gabriela dated before she joined the Whitebeard Pirates, and had separated a month or two prior to her joining the crew. The reason? The woman had found out that Gabriela was lying to her about her job as a judge for the World Government. At the revelation, Aiyanna immediately broke all ties with her, yelling at her about her betrayal. Gabi’s lies filled her with rage and was the final straw. Aiyanna told all of this to Ace, even talking about how she didn’t ever want to be in a relationship with someone as controlling as Gabi. Even the tone of her voice when she told Ace about the meeting was unsure and concerned.

Knowing that he might get suspicious, Aiyanna pulled out the letter from her bag and opened it. She presented it to Ace, that way he wouldn’t have to hold onto it and get it dirty with food. The letter was neat and printed, with no signs of her asking the nymph to take her back or still having feelings for her. Instead, it talked about a pirate captain that Gabi was concerned about. It wasn’t a familiar name, but one would know of the name if they ever dealt with the black market, or grew up in the West Blue. The name? Captain Epidemic Nostra. 

“Before I even joined the Whitebeard pirates, I was approached by her and asked to join her crew. I didn’t trust her at the time, and now it seems like my suspicions are correct since some... startling new information came up.” Taking the letter, she put it back into her bag. “I told Gabriela that I would meet her in two weeks. We can leave tonight or tomorrow, but to be completely honest I’m a bit scared of meeting up with her.”

[aidulcex]

Aiyanna giggled at his display, nodding her head as she started to cut up her food. “Did you think that you were not coming along? I am not letting you out of my sight ever again Ace! Of course you’re joining me!” She pointed her fork at him for emphasis, a grin on her face as his excitement was contagious. 

“Well, there is no guarantee that Doodle isn’t going to do that. But I get to have you as a body guard? Now I feel like a queen.” It took Aiyanna a bit to die down from her laughter, and when she did she then addressed his previous question about their destination. 

“I need to head to Water 7. The shipwrights on the island want me to help them with a project because they need a special kind of wood for a client.” Aiyanna explained, taking a few bites of her food after the waitress left. 

[sunsetquotes]

“Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.”

— Max Ehrmann; Desiderata

[aidulcex]

The silence that permeated through the forest made it so that she could hear every sound she made. Her breathing, her rapid heart beat, all rang through her ears while the rest of the forest stood still. Despite the impending threat looming several meters above her, the nymph stood her ground as she attempted to hold eye contact with the giant, arms stretched out to further indicate the meaning of her words. She did not let the silence scare her, nor the gaze of this man as he observed her. 

Ahyoka had protected her for most of her life, being the compassionate motherly figure that she needed in her darkest times. If it wasn’t for her lessons, she wouldn’t have been able to figure out how to temporarily subdue the Grand Dent. Or how to stop her late mother’s killer from causing anymore harm. Guarding her flowers and her tree was the least that she could do for the woman who saved her life so many years prior. Even if it meant joining her if the giant decided to ignore her words. Aiyanna would not let this man trample deeper into the forest without putting up a fight. 

His voice was loud and firm. It had an air of authority to it that demanded others to listen to him. However, instead of an order or a demand leaving his lips, it was an apology. Words that were sincere and considerate as he gave his sympathies about the passing of a woman who he had never met before. 

She could only nodded her head to confirm his statement. Aiyanna watched in shock as he placed his hand on his chest in a sign of respect. When his eyes closed, the tears that she had struggled to withhold at his words had now started to flow. The woman silently wept during his honorable display. Although few in number, his words spoke volumes. The other priests and priestesses had not given her any sympathy towards the passing of her adopted mother. None of them had addressed it when the flowers had appeared, or given her any comfort when the young nymph cried for the following days. All were silent and did not address it. 

Except for him. A complete stranger, had offered Ahyoka and her much more sympathy than the people who she knew for over sixty years. With all the heaviness of the previous days, the positive but solemn act was a refreshing sight. 

Wiping her tears once the man had opened his eyes, Aiyanna put her arms down and relaxed. She allowed the stranger to see her grateful but sorrowful expression, lowering her guard as her eyes turned back to dark brown. The woman nodded her head at his apology, bowing her head immediately following his as a sign of gratitude. “You did not know, I forgive you and thank you for your actions. They mean the world to me.” Listening to the remainder of his words, a chuckle escaped her lips. 

“I am afraid that I feel otherwise. My loss has done nothing but made the only light that I had in this abyss of nightmares escape from my grasp. I hope that maybe one day my heavy heart can discover what you mean about a world of dreams. The Deep Forest is not a safe place for travelers to explore right now, even for someone as strong as yourself. But for now, would a drink and my knowledge help to answer any questions that you might have?”