Sandkasten eins eins eins

„Ah, hell,“ Zoro muttered, as he elbowed his way through the crowd. The people pressed around him were murmuring in anxious discontent, trying to peer over one another's shoulders and headdresses to whatever was in the center of the throng. Zoro didn't bother looking. He already knew what he was going to find. This was a peaceful island and they were the only pirate ship in the port, so it was pretty much inevitable that one of his crewmates had caused this.

Satva was an autumn island, currently at the end of its winter. For the past week of sailing there had been constant sleet which had kept them all crammed into the Going Merry's cabins, except for whichever unlucky soul had drawn watch. The wind had been against them the whole time, so the voyage had taken longer than expected as it were, and while they had been in no danger of exhausting their food supplies, the meat had run out some five days previous, so even Luffy had been in a bad mood. By the time they docked at Satva's major city, even Robin was showing signs of wear.

However, the mountains, though visible throughout the city, proved harder to locate than he would have thought, thanks to the labyrinthine layout of the streets. The city was arranged around a central temple, a trio of gray granite towers jutting into the sky, and all roads lead there sooner or later. Mostly sooner. The eighth time in an hour that Zoro found himself before the carved archway of the main temple entrances, rather than the city gates he had been seeking, he began to get annoyed. So when he ran into the crowd on the other side of the temple, he was already impatient, and not as polite as he might have been shoving through the knot of disturbed people.

He was expecting to find Usopp and Chopper, since the reindeer tended to attract notice and Usopp wasn't quick to deny any kind of attention; or possibly Luffy, who could locate trouble absolutely anywhere, and Zoro doubted even this peaceful city was exempt. This was definitely trouble of some kind, given the uneasy temper of the crowd, and he dropped one hand to the hilts of his swords, readying himself, should captain or crew require him.

At the port they learned that the Log Pose would take sixty hours to reset, and no one had objected when Nami grabbed her rucksack, said, „I'll meet you back here in a couple days,“ and disappeared down the streets. Robin had agreed to watch the Going Merry, so Chopper and Usopp had left together for a shopping expedition, and Sanji had followed for his own supply restocking once he had made a list of necessary ingredients. Luffy had vanished to who knows where, and Zoro had decided to explore the rocky wilderness outside the city.

A couple days' mountain climbing in the cold fresh air was just what he needed to stretch his legs after those long days stuck in the cabin. He hadn't even been allowed sword practice, just because he had accidentally cut a few of Nami's bangs that she had apparently been trying to grow out. While the subsequent wrestling match with Sanji had been a little exercise, he needed to get back in shape. orfel