Edward Strand's Story

Nothing was better then morning on a boat, but of course, that was only Chris's opinion. The sky was a facade full of reds, pinks, and yellows, swirling across the open air in a beautiful motif of fiery beauty. The ocean was calm and the smell of salt was strong in the air today; Chris climbed down from the crows nest and checked his watch (he had stolen it off of a noblemen in Tsugitachi a while back), it was nearly 5:30 which meant that soon the crew would be bustling about, preparing for the day. There was at least another day or two until they reached the shores of the Pirate Island where they would be able to vacation and recuperate for a bit before setting out once more to collect treasure and terrorize islands.

Lately they had been going on a lot of raids and Chris thought that the crew deserved some time off in a place where no one would harass them. Besides, the island was practically empty this time of year aside from the workers that kept everything in order.

He walked across the deck, trying to be as quiet as he could for the crew below. The Captain's quarters were on the main floor, right under where the wheel was.

Chris opened the door to his room to find someone sleeping in his bed. She had been doing that a lot lately, leaving her bed to go sleep in his. That's when Chris noticed the grate to the vent on the floor was open and that there was blood trailing from the open hole to where she was hiding. With a sigh Chris pulled up the blanket to find her hugging her bleeding knees. "What did you do?" He asked, picking the little girl up to survey the damage. She had done quiet a number on herself and her skin was beginning to crack as well. "I guess I'll have to take you to Alister." The child went ridged in his hands, her face contorting into an expression that would have been amusing had she not been so scared. "Don't give me that look Little Sister, you're the one who banged yourself up."

He carried the squirming girl downstairs and knocked twice on the Medic's door before opening it. "Alister are you up?" There was blood slowly running down the child's legs. Thankfully none had dripped on the floor, otherwise Chris would have to have Edward clean it up. His watch began to beep and he placed the girl on the floor, "I have to go, I'll come back to get her soon." Chris promised and closed the door to Alister's room.

He had to go wake up Camelia to start on breakfast and then had to go discuss something with Robin and Cellia. Chris walked down the corridor until he reached the Cook's door and rapped hard on the wood, "Camelia, it's time to get up!"

Reyna had been crawling through the metal air vents, watching people sleep. She had stopped over Ki-Yo because of a noise that had come from the Woman's room and in the process Reyna scraped her knees on a nail. It had been a quick scramble back up to the Captain's room, where she proceeded to hide under his blanket and lick off the blood that had gotten on her fingers (how it had gotten on her hands Reyna wasn't so sure).

A few minutes later the Captain had come in to find Reyna hiding in his bed under the large quilt that covered the mattress. She knew what he was going to say, that she needed to go see the medic to patch up her knees, but frankly Reyna hated Alister. Not because he was a bad guy, he wasn't at all, she just hated doctors in general.

As soon as Chris put her down on the floor below she darted under the desk in the corner in a shimmery blur, her skin continuing to flake as it dried up. If Reyna didn't wet it soon, it would feel as though she were drowning on dry land. Maybe Reyna could run away to Cellia's quarters and use the second in command's bathroom to re-hydrate? Does Cellia keep salt in her bathroom? Reyna wondered.

Reyna silently begged for Chris to come back, it's not like calling out to him would do her any good, she didn't have a voice, plus it would have most likely only angered Alister and alerted the others that there was a stowaway on board; which was not something Reyna wanted.

Reyna watched the Medic move with keen golden eyes, she had seen what he had done to some of his other patients and wasn't going to let him poke her with any needles or get too close with anything that wasn't a band aid.

The bleeding was getting significantly worse, she didn't care though, even though it was staining Reyna's favorite dress. The child looked around the small space for an escape route, but the metal duct in here was in the ceiling; the only way to get inside of the crawl space was on a really tall chair or a ladder. Who might be able to help her get out of here? Only three people on the ship knew of her existence; one was in the room and the other had left her here. Everyone else was most likely asleep due to the early hour.

Reyna herself had been asleep only thirty minutes before but had, had a nightmare about her past and couldn't find Chris so she had gotten through the vents to look for Cellia, but had stopped over Ki-Yo because of a noise (which had turned out to just be the sound of breathing).

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Edward was lost in pain as he checked the bilge without giving it any attention. The funky smell of the bilge water wasn't helping his headache neither was the fact that he already dried his flask prior to passing out within the belly of the ship.
Was it morning already? Is it past noon? Or did he just rest for couple of minutes? And more importantly why was he cuffed to the wall?
Edward had gotten used to waking up in strange places and years of saturating in rum (and gin, brandy, etc.) had made him indifferent to antics he would get himself into while on the binge. Still the cuffs were unorthodox. The chains of the rusty old thing gave in to the pounding from the butt of his dagger. He knew that all of his questions would be answered once he made his way back on the deck and after urinating in the bilge, he zipped up to begin his slow ascent to the deck all the while contemplating what excuse could he use for his delay - if there was any - and whether or not anyone would have actually realised he had not slept in his room last night. Taking a moment to put on his shades, in case the sun was already out to get him, he stepped out in to the open.


After a quick sigh of relief that it was still early and no one would have missed him yet, he pulled out a cigarette to start his morning.
Another day. A new day for this boat to get dirty all over again. Yet another day to finish yesterday's work.
He took his time with his cigarette and as he ashed overboard he realised he was missing his trench-coat. His bandana smelt foul and he decided his white shirt was just clean enough for another day. Out of habit, he toyed with the cap of his flask but stopped short of taking a swig when he remembered he had drained the content hours before. Edward realised he needed to get to his room as soon as he is done with breakfast to fill the flask and maybe even change his clothes. One last puff and the butt was flicked off the ship to start a new life within the ocean. He noted that Robin burst out onto the deck and had a sudden epiphany that Robin was somehow involved with Edward’s little morning episode. Choosing not to acknowledge the prank in order to avoid any one else finding out that he had fallen sleep on the job, he approached Robin.
“Smokes?” he offered. “Beautiful morning isn't it?”
Although Edward tried to play it cool, the cuffs (which were still around his wrist as he had only broken the chain) were visible and without his trench-coat he had no means of hiding them. Noticing this, he cleared his throat and made his way to the galley.


“Is the coffee brewing? Make mine an Irish, please.” Edward said before realising that Camelia wasn't in the kitchen yet. Instinctively he reached for his flask again, this time bringing it to his nose after a sip provided nothing and took in the faint scent of the fermented molasses to sate his need till he could backtrack to his room and refill his favourite accessory.

Normally and early riser the cold second in command was jerked out of sleep by pounding on her door, Grumbling Cellia stumbled to her door and threw it open. Her state of dress was slightly embarrassing but she gave no indication of embarrassment when she took in Ki-Yo, her calculating eyes took in the distress and fear of the slightly eccentric seamstress and her molten silver orbs narrowed. "Whats happened?" her soft almost wispy voice asked, it was kind and mothering but there was a frost on it that had any one outside of the crew heard, they would have thought she was upset. Waving Ki-Yo in she shut the door and set to work getting ready for the day, she without thinking twice, pulled the over sized black button up shirt from her small frame and replaced it with a black silk breast band. Quickly, as she watched Ki-Yo in her mirror, pulled on her normal attire. Sitting down in a large chair her attention as finally fixed on the frantic woman and her alone.

"What happened? Ki, I need you to tell me or else I cant fix it." She murmured, she was obviously trying to be kind but there was somthing about her that never passed over the line to friendly. She was kind yes, she was polite yes, but no matter how hard she tried she wasnt friendly. "Sweetheart, what upset you." Her eyes, though angry because of her friends fear, were warm even if her voice wasnt.

Though she didnt want to rush the girl out Cellia was beginning to become uncomfortable, she has a routine in the morning and so far it has been blown to shreds. At this rate she wasnt going to be able to get breakfast before her normal morning meeting with Chris. Sighing, she reverted to distraction tactic. "I wasnt planning on giving this to you for awhile, and even then I was just going to leave it in your station but here. I found it during a raid last week." She said while handing the seamstress a small ball of rare lace, it was plant based and for whatever reason no one could get the plants to grow anywhere but on the savage islands meaning that it was to dangerous to collect the plant fibers to make. Cellia watched Ki-Yos face, she hoped the gift would comfort the girl.

"We should head to breakfast, but only if you want." She murmured in her gentlest that was still very cold and distant even if the sound of it was like the sweetest music. She really wanted to speak to Chris, she needed to know how far they all were from Pirate Island which Robin could tell her, and she also wished to speak to Edward about getting drunk on the ship, not that he caused problems but because he becomes an easy target for Robin. She only knew that because she had been up far to late and had seen Robins antics, antics which had almost gotten her wall of distance to break and that had almost gotten her to laugh out loud.

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Chris was quite surprised that Camelia opened the door wearing nothing but a shirt. He didn't mind, it wasn't a bad view or anything, he just hadn't thought of her as the type to sleep in just a button down shirt. "I'm so sorry I didn't wake up earlier! I guess I uh... stayed up to late! I hope you can forgive me sir!" This wasn't as much of a shock because frankly, it wasn't Chris's business as to what his crew did after hours. After Chris turned in for the night, he assumed the other stayed up for a few more hours before going to bed as well; you know what they say when you assume.

"Oh sir! Shall I start breakfast? Do you have any requests for today?" Chris leaned against the wall, an easy smile slipping onto his lips. He hoped he didn't look pervy, "There isn't really anything specific I would prefer. Although I did like those rice omelettes you made the other week." Chris normally hated eggs, they made him extremely nauseous, but rice omelettes had done nothing other than satisfy his taste buds and belly. "Would you mind making some more donuts as well? A little bird on board told me she greatly enjoys your pastries." Chris loved a good pastry and if Camelia didn't want to make omelettes than donuts and coffee were the next best thing.

"I'll see you in the kitchen," next he had to check in with his second in command and then find Robin. He heard stirring coming from another room and figured Edward was just rising as well; good there was some cleaning on the top deck that needed to be done. He knocked on Cellia's door and heard voices coming from within. Not one for the privacy of others, Chris opened the door to see Ki-Yo and Cellia sitting on the bed. Did all the girls on this ship sleep in just shirts? How had he not found this out until now?

"Morning," he nodded to the two. "Sorry to interrupt," Chris stepped into the doorway, opening the door up a bit more. "Cellia do you think we could meet after breakfast today?" He asked, seeing as how she was busy with Ki-Yo who looked as though she had seen a ghost. Maybe she had? This ship was quite old after all.

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Reyna relaxed a bit when Alister said that there would be no needles for her today. It was a relief, the girl hated needles almost as much as she hated doctors. Reyna winced when he put the disinfectant on the wounds, the stuff coming from the bottle smelled bad and it stung and in Reyna's mind that meant it was bad.

She sat still long enough for the Medic to apply the bandages, then Reyna began squirming once more. Once he was done the child followed Alister to the door and ran as soon as it was opened. She had to be careful as she made her way back to Chris's room. Reyna had to be sure not to run into anyone or to let anyone see her and it was hard work hiding on a ship at the hour when everyone was just getting out of their rooms.

Reyna stood in front of the Captain's corridors on the main deck. For a second she unsure if she should enter. The answer was obvious, but this was Reyna's first time outside in a very long time and she didn't really want to go back to the isolation of the room. It was the flaking of her scales that reminded Reyna if she didn't go inside, she would probably dry out. So Reyna turned the gold knob and went inside the large space, walking towards the closet. Inside the part the room the Captain had deemed her's, Reyna poured a cup of salt into the tub of water that sat in front of the small bed behind a second door. The girl doused herself in the metal basin, breathing a sigh of relief as her skin absorbed the salt water. Her lungs no longer felt as though they were going to burst and her knees felt significantly better as well.

Who should I spy on next? Reyna wondered as she ran her wet fingers along her neck. Suddenly the girl remembered Alister's advice and pulled off the dress she was wearing, balling it up throwing it in a wet heap into the corner. Robin and Edward are always interesting to watch, Reyna thought. Of course, at this time of the morning Camelia would be making breakfast and the smells would no doubt lure her to the space above the stove top. Darren scarred Reyna, he reminded her a lot of someone she once knew, although she couldn't remember who it was. So no, she definitely wouldn't watch him.

Reyna had already risked watching Ki-Yo and that hadn't turned out so well. The girl stood up and stepped out of the basin, the left over water absorbing itself into her skin. Reyna went through the small pile of dresses that she owned and slipped into a pink one with white ruffles on the front and a black ribbon.

Next she slid into the vents to explore the ship and spy on a life Reyna knew would never be her's.

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"Of course, Chr-Captain." Cellia said softly as she was dragged from her room by Ki-Yo, "Sir, Close and lock my door please!" She called over her shoulder, the glimmer of a smile fluttering at the corners of her lips. Looking at Ki-Yo, who now appears to be perfectly fine and even happy. Cellia knew whos blood it was but she couldnt tell her who it was, "Hey, Ki my dear, I dont know who or what spilt the blood but im willing to bet that it was Robin. So if you ignore it and pretend it didnt happen im sure that he wont do it again." She said, offering up a reasonable explanation of how the blood got in Ki-Yo's room.

Entering the dinning room Cellia's eyes quickly made their ways around the room, "Good morning Edward, Robin, Camelia. Cam, dear please tell me you have coffee made and that we have flavored cream and sugar" She called out, her voice was like music floating through the room. "Robin The Captain asked to speak to me after breakfast, that probably means that your going to be needed as well. Edward, I need to speak with you." She continued, it was very official, but there was something about the gleamer in her eyes when she said she needed to speak to Edward that would make anyone who knew her well and knew of Edwards predicament only a few hours earlier think she was amused.

“It is? Yeah, it is!” Robin stifled a laugh. “How strange to hear you mention that! You'd think it's a new thing for you.”
Edward knew by ignoring Robin he would be enticing the little man to prod him even more and it was confirmed when Robin began to follow him around the ship the same way Sparks followed Robin. Edward just hoped Robin would get preoccupied with something and forget about this particular prank before Edward had dug himself a pretty deep hole.
You won this round Robin. Just let it go.

Camelia ran into the kitchen, threw some coffee beans into the grinder and started to gather ingredients for something that Edward interpreted it as “not coffee”. She was in her zone and seemed not to notice anyone.
“Morning Camelia, you seem to have everything under control here so um, we’ll be out of your hair. Please don’t forget to add a little kicker to my coffee.” Leaving the frenzied cook alone, Edward noted that there was something different about her today although he couldn't exactly put his finger on it.

Edward was massaging his throbbing temples in the dining room, trying to recall where he had left his trench coat as more people showed up for breakfast. A familiar voice greeted everyone and Edward looked up to see that it was Ki-Yo and Cellia who had just entered. Edward greeted back with a weak salute and went back to caressing his aching temples. If he had his trench coat he could drink from his second flask, the flask designated for when being a pirate became more about looting and fighting than sailing. His special orange flask was kept only for a single purpose, to have gin on him at all times. "Dutch courage", some old sailor had taught him was all he needed to spring into action. He needed a little boost now, some courage to to stand against his worsening hangover.
“Edward, I need to speak with you.”
Those words jolted Edward up and he knew very well what they meant. Busted. Of course there was always the question of how much they knew so Edward decided to stall Cellia in order to get his bearings, gather how deep he was in the mud and use that to generate his latest excuse. Although he had a plan set in motion – a plan that was encoded in to his being by now – this wasn't the way he wanted to start his morning.
“Before you start can I make a rather embarrassing request?” Edward whispered to Cellia, while avoiding eye contact to feign his embarrassment. “As everyone knows, you are the best when it comes to locks and as you can see,” Edward pointed to his new wrist adornment. “I could use some help.”

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"Perfect," Chris clapped his hands together and walked down the hall towards the kitchen, he could smell the food all the way down the hall and wondered what kind of vegetables would be in the omelettes today. Speaking of vegetables, Chris had to get a list from everyone of what they needed when they landed on Pirate's Cove. He was going to restock the ship while they all rested. Something suddenly occurred to him and Chris realized this was an urgent question he was going to need to ask Cellia, but he didn't want to bug her.

He would have to ask her later then... When Chris entered the kitchen he noticed that Edward had a handcuff on his wrist and was following Cellia out of the room. Immediately, Chris's head turned towards Robin and the Captain rolled his eyes. Normally Robin's jokes were funny, but Chris was beginning to feel bad for Edward who seemed to always be on the receiving end of one of Robin's pranks. Chris was glad that Robin had not attempted to prank him yet, but then again, no one was allowed into the Captain's Corridors without permission. That didn't stop a few crew members though, sometimes he would walk into his room to find one of them sitting on his bed.

Suddenly, the ship began to tilt and Chris cursed. He bolted from the kitchen and past Alister in the hallway, up the stairs and bursting through the door before he finally reached the wheel and turned it sharply the other way. The ship began to even out and Chris sighed in relief, with all the future technology that Tsugitachi produced, their stabilizers weren't all the good. They might have to raid the island again to see what new machines they came out with that could help the crew in their endeavors. Chris was beginning to go back down the kitchen when he tripped and caught his foot on the handrail and ended up tumbling down the stairs. God, Chris could be such a clutz sometimes. He stood up and stretched, cracking his back and moaning at his sore bottom. Chris looked at his palm to see a piece of wood stuck in it. He bit down on his lip and pulled the splinter out, trying not to yelp at the sudden pain. Thankfully, no one else was on deck, otherwise his image as their fearless Captain could have been tarnished.

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Reyna crawled through the vents, avoiding the nail that had cut her knees up. The child was halfway to the kitchen when something caught her attention, a puppy! She watched as it followed the orange haired boy who was trailing behind Edward. Her golden eyes followed the two curiously, but only for a minute before Reyna remembered her previous task of getting to the kitchen. Reyna crawled carefully until she was positioned over the vents that looked down over the stove, the girl took in a whiff of the delicious food and sighed in contentment, her tummy grumbling at the sight of the perfect omelettes.

Then Camelia took something out of the fridge; could it be? Was that doughnut dough? Suddenly Reyna found herself salivating and wiped her mouth on her forearm. The Captain had better bring her donuts and not just eat them all himself. Could she bite him if he did that? No, last time she bit him he punished her and made her sit in Cellia's room while the woman was working on something, that had been a very boring hour.

Maybe Cellia would bring her donuts? Reyna turned and began crawling the other way to find Cellia. She reached the girl's room, but found that there was no one inside of it. Great, now who was she supposed to ask? Chris didn't always remember to bring her breakfast and she had a feeling that with all the preparations for their vacation, Chris would forget about her. She wasn't about to ask Alister... Which left no one. Unless she broke Chris's rules and asked Ki-Yo or Camelia? Maybe she could convince them that she was a ghost that needed doughnut sacrifices? This obsession with fried dough probably wasn't good for her, but doughnuts were Reyna's salvation. It was one of the first things she ate when the Captain rescued her out of a basement in Drek.

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Ki-Yo grinned while her eyes were set on that single lace on her hand, her hands shaking for excitement, various of images of possible clothes run through her head merely eagerly waiting to be practicised by her. Yes, she'll use it for a very important purpose, it is not to be wasted. Probably a new shirt for Edward or Robin? They urgently needed it, even without them requesting it Ki-Yo knew. Well, she had eyes after all. And in her eyes, the shirts were already garbage, in use for too many years already.

"Hey, Ki my dear, I dont know who or what spilt the blood but im willing to bet that it was Robin. So if you ignore it and pretend it didnt happen im sure that he wont do it again."

"You think so? Robin's prank?" She asked, now thinking back about what happened. Sure, it would fit to the navigator's profile, but Ki-Yo wasn't really convinced. It was real blood after all, which she found in her room, and something like that was a bit too much for a prank, even if it was Robin. "Hmpf. If he is the culprit, I will be sure to have revenge. He nearly shocked me to death! It's unforgivable!" Her aggressive side showed up that instant, but left not too long afterwards with the wind, leaving only a pouting Ki-Yo there with a frown. No, she was not convinced, at all. She couldn't think Robin is capable of doing such a prank, is he? It can't be changed, she needed to talk to the navigator.

Following Cellia into the kitchen, she spotted Edward and Robin, as also of course, the cook. Which left only the explosive expert and the doctor to be absent. "Morning Rob, Eddy--", she greeted the Swabby with the nickname she gave him, but stopped seeing in what miserable position he ended in. And most definitely the fault of... "ROBIN! What are you doing to that poor guy? That's definitely a bit too much, even for your pranks!" She said approaching Edward with a frown, still angry because of the believe that it was Robin who left the blood stain in her room to scare her, no, terrify her.

“As everyone knows, you are the best when it comes to locks and as you can see, I could use some help.”

With determination, Ki-Yo stared at the cluff on his wrist, puzzling on how she could help him out of these. Tilting her head after some minutes, she had not come to a conclusion... yet. Of course, she could give way to Cellia, but she was stubborn. Eventually she started to try braking them with bare hands, which obviously was a waste of time and so freaking dumb, therefore she finally turned around to Robin, attempting to catch the little rascal for good. Then suddenly the ship began to tilt... Ki-Yo almost fell! The captain though acted quick and went as fast as he could to the control room. In the meanwhile, Ki-Yo made an effort so that the perfect picture of the table set done by the cook remained somehow the same, at least, not that some go flying or something, that would be a real pain... for the feet.

After that, her eyes sparkled. "Robin, let me ask you a few questions...", she said dangerously while slowly approaching the navigator, wanting to know the truth.

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Ki-Yo was again, pissed off, not really seem to calm herself down after watching the act of the Navigator. “You got me. I swapped your shampoo with hair dye, sorry. I'm joking! I wouldn't do that. Hehe... Heh. Anyway, how may little Robin be of service to you, ma'am?” Sus.. pi.. cous... Ki-You watched the little guy with a threatening glare, no, she was definitely not up for jokes. "The blood! In my room! It was your doing right?" She accused him, pointing her finger with sprouting confidence. A confidence without any evidence. Yet a delation anyone in the crew would think as possible.

Meanwhile, Darren entered the kitchen. Actually Ki-Yo didn't really know how to deal with this one. He makes it difficult for her to figure him out, or at least trying to communicate with him as fellow crew members. It's not only Ki-Yo who had difficulties to get through him though, which isn't such a big surprise as to how quiet and unapproachable he was. Frightening. Intimidating. Creepy. Ki-Yo thought at the first encounter that he was a professional killer. That's why her attention averted to him as he entered and took a seat, apparently waiting for the food to be served. Which shouldn't take long... for her stomache sake, too.

Then, there was that really awkward silence.

Of course, Ki-Yo didn't really realise that; she was again, in her own world where she tried to calm down and accomplish a smile as well as a greeting, as it would be weird not to show such gestures to fellow crew members, even if we're talking about Derren who wasn't likely to have bothered with such triviality. At least, Ki-Yo believed it to be that way. Suddenly, a strange sound interrupting the silence. Metal against metal, a crash upon the wooden flor as well as a sound of a falling subject, roughly kissed the ground. Someone... or something, is trying to get through... At the time Ki-Yo grabbed the knife on the table, that little girl popped out. Made her way to the kitchen without a care for anyone's opinion and took milk out of the fridge. Immidiately, she gulped the white liquid down as of great thirst.

"Eh- uhm. Eeeeeeh??! Who-- no-- WHAT is this child? Huh, Huuuh, how did she get on the ship?" Ki-Yo was so confused she took a seat, while her eyes still fixed on the blonde girl, watching her obviously taken aback. Blind passenger perhaps? A LOST KID? While she thought of various possibilities as of how and why she was aboard, her attention shifted to the necklace she wore. The pink choker with the silver pendant. No outsider could own.

When the girl glanced around the room, Ki-Yo's confusion changed to curiosity. "Hey cute girl, what's your name? Where did you come from? How did you get that necklace? How old are you?" She however, approached Edward and held out the grate. A bit irritated she got ignored and all the attention was meant for Edward, Ki-Yo decided to tease that big guy a bit. "Uhm... I guess it's her present to you, Edward? She finds you attractive perhaps? Love at first sight? Or, or wait, she thinks you can break that cuff with that right? Or or..." While she tried to figure out the reason of why (which she eventually did very eagerly and not for teasing purposes), she heard sounds other than usual. It wasn't the reassuring ocean waves, nor the exciting sound and smell of Camelia's cooking.

Ki-Yo ran outside. Her hair flew widely in the wind, but her sight only fixed on one thing ahead: "LAAAAND, HOOOOO!!!"