#pawpadtyrant

[askku-chan]

His phone surprised her. They haven't spoken since that day. But his voice was as calm as always when he asked for a meeting. As calm as when he had told her about his decision. She couldn't blame him for that. And he couldn't blame her, either. She gave him the address and started thinking what to prepare for a dinner, which was always a trouble considering their height. Some people considered it quite useful, though. She never liked dinners served there, she also never asked him if he had liked them.

But he quit. And she didn't.

She checked if her gloves are fully covering her hands and turned the key in the lock. The door opened with a crack. She didn't need the program to know who was standing right in front of her, although it was working perfectly. As always.

Mew looked straight into the eyes of her twin brother. "Bartholomew. Please, come in." She led him to the dining room and let him choose the place to sit by the round table. He looked exactly like the last time she saw him. Blank white lenses. Black and white clothes. And his ever-present favourite hat. A sudden wave of warmth reached the cold heart just to vanish in the same moment when this thought came to her mind.

You haven't changed at all. But I have.

[imashadowman]

roommates

Situated on the site where the Red Line intersects with the Grand Line was the 'Holy Land' Mariejois. It was no coincidence that the beautiful city had been built on this spot, in spite of its high altitude; it hovered like a crown in the clouds above the oceanbound world, reinforcing the divine heritage of its inhabitants and giving their leaders a base of operations at the navel of the world. The jewel at the center of Mariejois was the World Government's headquarters, a cyclopean palace which itself towered over the rest of the city. Historians of the government which the Tenryubito had created loved to recite the details of its construction, listing how many blocks of white limestone had been quarried and transported to the plateau of Mariejois, how many masons and carpenters and drudge workers had been needed for its oversized construction, how many meters tall each floor of the palace was... while these clever bits of trivia had as much value to Gecko Moria as a fart in the wind, he couldn't deny that the Government headquarters was just the right size for a man of his height.

As he found himself standing in an empty bathtub that would have easily accommodated three of him, he was almost amazed by the irony that, in a palace with hallways large enough for him to walk in, he would be assigned to the guest room that made him feel downright puny.

"Kishishi!" He cackled, his voice echoing in the giant-sized bathroom. "This is kind of entertaining, even if I'm really annoyed to be here at all," he said to no-one in particular, looking around the room at the gargantuan fixtures. The decor was a little more spartan than that of the smaller bedrooms, but the giants' guest room at HQ had probably once been a store room. He suddenly found himself wondering how he was going to reach the sink.

[imashadowman]

After the nightmare (pawpadtyrant)

The little brig had clearly been designed by someone who was more interested in style and comfort than efficiency. With her wide beam and lack of a fore-and-aft sail (or a bowsprit on which to mount one), she cut a slow, ponderous path through the ocean, seeming grateful for the steady wind which had been provided for her use. Her figurehead was a great black bat, which grinned proudly from between its folded wings, and her foresail was cut into a stylized 'batwing' shape to match. The words 'THRILLER BARK' were painted across the foresail, along with a menacing jolly roger; the brig was a pirate's pleasure-craft, complete with a comfortably large deckhouse and festive paint job. No one was present on deck, but the ship's condition suggested it was not abandoned. A piercing scream from below broke the silence, confirming the presence of life on the brig.

"IT HURTS!!!"

Moria awoke to a world of pain and the faint sounds of panicking nearby. Every inch of his body seemed to throb in protest at his return to consciousness, but the worst pain was on his face, where one of his cuts had just been doused with disinfectant spirits. He went rigid as he screamed, then instantly sagged again as he found himself overcome with pain and fatigue. To his right, his minion Hogback stuttered, "M-Moria-sama!" and scooted back with well-honed reflexes, his heels making an audible 'click' as he moved to avoid being maimed by his master-slash-patient. Moria stirred again, and in a much softer voice, croaked, "...we... where are w- ah, it hurts! Dammit... who's there? Hogback..?"

Further to his right (and not so close to his sensitive ears), someone cleared his throat. "And Absalom, Master. We've left the Florian Triangle, and are heading to the nearest free island." Without bothering to ask for confirmation on this course of action, Absalom got up and limped away, shutting the door behind him. Moria groaned, and was mustering the energy to yell at him when he felt a hand on his brow.

"I've got to put a suture in this or it won't close, Moria-sama... keep still, it's the last one and I was about to finish it when you woke up," Doctor Hogback explained, too weary to break into his usual 'falsetto of appeasement' as he prepared to make his boss hurt even more than he was already hurting. Moria opened his mouth to speak, but Hogback cut him off, adding, "And I can't give you anything stronger than ice for the pain, I'm afraid- the only analgesic I have on hand are opium pastilles, and they don't agree with you."

Silently, Hogback set to work at patching up master's gashed forehead. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Moria began to suspect that his minions were punishing him. Or maybe it was God punishing him. He was pretty sure that his two weaselly little followers were angry with him, something that bothered him more than the possibility that God might disapprove of his current situation.