Finding Your Legs (Open)

Orion was finishing up his food when she opened her mouth again. He didn't so much pause as jerk his head jarringly up to stare at her. Are you damn well kidding me! He had to force himself to not speak aloud until he collected himself. He took a napkin and carefully wiped his mouth and then his hands if only to have something to do that wouldn't include speaking before he had fully admonished himself for the internal outburst. At least well enough to know he wouldn't yell it out.

“Well,” He started but paused to clear his throat. Maybe also to take a long controlled breath. “If I were in the same situation, I would be looking for a way to get stronger. Faster.” Was he really planning out this girls next move? “Devil Fruit, training, partners. Whatever it takes. However, this conversation suggests you're not exactly ready to do whatever it takes. So honestly, the answer to the question you should have asked me would have been no.” Despite his lessening view of the rabbit girl, she did bring about a good point he would need to consider in depth. Should he think about hunting down a Devil Fruit? It hadn't been in the plans. Would bring about too much attention most likely but the idea of a very quick increase in strength sounded appealing. He'd have to dedicate some time to deciding.

“I should thank you for the input on Dr. Zee.” Should. “ Very helpful.” Not so much. “But I do have another appointment.” Lies. “So unless there was anything else?” He rather thought this well was tapped so to speak.

Something was wrong with this girl. That was the only thing he could think, as she continuously said things that made him think she was far younger then he thought. He supposed it was a good thing that she seemed to think well of him but as she didn't seem to be much help for him, that wasn't the best start. At least not yet.

“Grand Line.” Bad. He shouldn't be continuing on with this whole thing without a thought out plan. “For both I would imagine.” The idea was that she either made it and became more of a plus in his arsenal or she didn't, in which case he was rid of a weak link. “Though I might think twice about the fruit. They may be more trouble then they are worth. I haven't yet decided.” Also if they were both after a Devil Fruit then it was a significant issue in the future. “Not able to swim chief among the concerns. Not to mention the specific weaknesses to each. No, I'm not sure it's something that should be decided on a whim.”

He looked between the door and the girl and with a reluctant smile settled in for the rest of what was beginning to look like a very taxing conversation. “Now as far as partners, that would all depend. What exactly did you have in mind to practice?” His eyes went to the giant scythe. Ridiculous weapon if he ever saw one. It would be nearly impossible to hide and if you had the strength to wield it, there were other things you could be doing besides swinging such a monstrosity. To each their own, he supposed. Granted he needed someone similar to the role he assumed she'd play, a meat shield of sorts. “Your weapon I assume? In which case I still suggest Grand Line. But if you were thinking of something with a little more finesse, I suppose we could come up with something.” He wasn't about to play training dummy but they could set up something interesting. Orion still found it unnervingly odd that she didn't seem at all concerned that he supposedly had the information she wanted and yet she didn't press for it. Lack of passion like that could prove difficult to predict. Unpredictability was deadly.

Well this would be perfect. “I actually think I might be able to assist temporarily. A course of sorts.” Orion only had one slight issue now. He had been intending on forcing her to have to pay up on their meal. With no real way to pay for it himself, he had fully intended to simply leave her here. The both of them skipping out would be quite rude. After all, the chefs worked hard to provide their services and he would be furious should someone skip out on his services. Granted if all worked out he'd have plenty of cash in a matter of hours so perhaps a slight delay of payment would be acceptable.

He stood and held out his hand to assist her like a proper gentleman, though it was mostly to make sure she would move her ass when everything went down. That said, he took a slightly less direct path to the door so that it took him past a man whose sword was hanging down at the side of his chair. It was foolish and improvised and he absolutely hated it. Still, Orion kicked the sword up so that it would go up under the dress of the woman at a table near him as he passed. The shriek she let out wasn't exactly welcome or expected but he'd take it.

Orion turned to look at the woman, a thoroughly perplexed and concerned look on his face. “At least show some respect.” He spoke to the man with the sword he'd thrown under the bus. As he'd hoped, the woman's companion jumped at the chance to prove his manliness. The man with the sword’s companions also stood and started throwing insults and threats. Maybe he'd picked the wrong man. Oops. Sure that a brawl was about to start in the inn, Orion tugged on the girl’s arm. “I believe we should move.” He wasn't about to get in the middle of a full on fight even if he had started it. To be fair, it was a better diversion then he had hoped but if they didn't move quickly he could end up on the bad end of some punches. He pulled on the girl’s arm again trying his dampest to lead her to the door and hoping she had enough sense to not get involved. He glanced at her scythe and sincerely doubted she did.

Surprise of surprise, they managed to make it to the door without any issues. He had at least expected a bit of resistance from the girl, but he supposed, to be fair, she was a pirate. Orion had hoped she wouldn’t want to jump into the fight. It wouldn’t have ruined his plans, merely made things more difficult. He was speeding up his original plan which meant a lack of knowledge about basic things such as locations and city design. The rush made him a touch peevish but it wasn’t as bad a deviation as it could have been.

That said, he lead her toward the center of the city. “Now, my idea is two birds one stone, if you understand me.” He began telling her, not wanting to waste time and not concerned if they were overheard given the very basic nature of the conversation. “It should get you a bit of real time practice and as an added bonus you gain a reputation that might gain you friends down the line.” True enough, though he honestly didn’t care if that was how it worked out. He was merely telling her the good points that would convince this little pirate to be his unknowing decoy. “What better sparing partners then Marines out to arrest you? They won’t be trying to kill you but they won’t hold back and so will pose a good challenge, see?” Actually they very well might try and kill her if she ended up with some corrupt marines on her ass but that wasn’t going to convince anyone to do anything so best to keep that tidbit to himself.

“We’re looking for a place open enough to not be a hindrance but remote enough to not draw too much of a crowd. At least not a crowd of the wrong sort. I was thinking there.” He gestured ahead of them where at the far end of the street, one could make out the tall stage where the previous pirate kings were ended. There were a few people lingering around the square. Enough to make a small crowd of bystanders. “You’ll want the extra civilians around to keep from being singled out.” He glanced over at her and frowned. “Do you have a hat? Those ears aren’t going to help you blend in.” Orion was already debating the best way to start the ruckus. It would have to be big enough to draw most of the marines in the area but subtle enough that they wouldn’t know who to go after right away. He needed them to be busy for some time. A plague would have been perfect and had been the original plan but he no longer had the time to craft a mass sickness in the population. Maybe an explosion but that also meant he needed tools he didn’t have just yet.

That was step one taken care of. Thankfully she was going along with the flow for the moment. Should be long enough to deal with any fall out. With any luck, by the time she started questioning, she should be too far in to have much of a choice. He was further debating the merits of a mass attack of some sort when she told him that no she did not have a hat and that they could likely buy one. The disgusted look he passed over the clothing shop wasn't caught fast enough for his liking.

“Maybe.” He relented to the fairly neutral commitment. It wasn't the clothing store which offended him exactly. Her use of the word we in that statement triggered the uncontrolled emotion. “Maybe it would be better to have a better description for the bounty should this work out better then we hoped.” No. No it was not better. Not for her nor for his plan, but buying her a hat irked him. He was already invested in her meal back at the inn, the thought of picking up more items for her wasn't a pleasant one for him. “Yes. What better iconic image then your ears for future companions. They will certainly remain in the memory.” Far too long and a hinderance in the moment. He really should just get her the damn hat but he was steadfast against it.

He was beginning to think he would have no options but to get his hands dirty in getting this off the ground. It was risky, in the case that he was seen, but also not the most effective option given that he preferred subtle methods. Orion glanced at her scythe again but decided against it, assuming she wouldn't have the stomach to do what he would need of her, particularly given that it wasn't marines he'd be asking her to harm. Orion opened up the little pouch he kept the few medical supplies he had and let his fingers ghost over the cold metal of the surgical blade’s handle. “We need to draw their attention.” He voiced mostly false hope that she would come up with some other idea that wouldn't force him to expose himself so completely.

Shit. She was almost more trouble than the worth he'd be getting out of her. At the very least she was decently manipulated. He looked over the people around them, this time slightly different from the way he had before. Now he was examining them with a purpose in mind. People who would make the most impact. And maybe one more criteria. “Stay out of trouble until you're ready to fight the marines that come to check out the commotion.” He advised her even as he was already walking away from her.

Orion used his hands to make his way through the crowd. Even when there was really no need to. There were points where room between people was enough to completely avoid them altogether but he needed the normalcy to trick the eyes. He used gentle guiding pats and touches along with friendly apologies and excuses on those around him. The man he'd picked out had his back to him. Perfect. He came up behind the man in a way that looked almost accidental. He supposed it could be considered such if he didn't have his surgical blade in hand, the blade under his thumb to give him solid control and the handle hidden by the rest of his hand and wrist.

One quick and small cut just under his armpit, hidden by the same casual movements he had been using, and the man was going to go down. He sort of jerked at the sharp pain, but Orion wasn’t going to wait for the next step as he grabbed the man’s hat off his head, put his free hand against the blood for a moment and worked his way back to the rabbit girl. Two minutes. He echoed the knowledge he’d learned through the doctor who trained him. Two minutes before the first man bled out and died. So he had two minutes to get the hell out of the way. Shoving the hat on her girl, he smeared his bloody hand across her cheek. “Wait till their frantic.” Orion repeated his advice before heading back into the crowd, this time making a bee line to the main building marked with the navy symbol. On his way he nicked more people, counting them off.

He clipped the backs of knees, thighs and under the arm of those who would potentially see him. Those who weren’t looking in his direction he aimed for less severe locations. When he noticed the shift in the crowd as people began noticing those who were falling over from blood loss, he had counted out six. Men and women, mostly large or showy people who would make an impact when they dropped. He nicked one more, a woman smaller than him on the side of the neck. Quickly scooping her up with an arm under her shoulder, Orion stashed his blade and started dragging her toward the navy building. Once in distance to be noticed he called out to the nearest marine. “Hurry! There are more. They need help!” A few marines headed to investigate while two stayed to identify the problem in front of them. “I can help. I’m a doctor. Is there a bed or table?” He had hoped for more marines to enter the courtyard immediately but if the rabbit played her part well he expected more would venture out soon.

“Bring her this way.” The marine he'd first approached decided that medical help offered so freely in the middle of whatever mess was going on shouldn't be turned down. The other marine with him looked a bit uncertain about guarding the doors alone but stayed put as the first began to lead him in. It was likely the intensity of the screams and commotion behind him that made Orion look back. He couldn't really tell what was going on by sight, too many people running for cover. Uncertain if something went terribly wrong, he decided it didn't make a difference and continued into the navy building, dragging his cover.

He was led to a medical bay where he set the unconscious woman down on the bed and bustled around gathering supplies he would need to patch her up. “Bring me any others. They’ll need help quickly.” He tossed the command over his shoulder. However once the marine left the room his movements changed. He still gathered supplies, but instead he was collecting drugs and slipping them into his own bag. Orion was meticulous about it. He picked bottles where there were more then two and he didn't take more then two of any given item. Orion sought out items based on his need or want for them, but also picked out those which were expensive commodities. Not everything he took today would stay with him.

Outside in the courtyard, the two marines who had originally headed out to investigate were split by the crowd. One was crouched down by a body, examining the damage and checking for life, while the other noticed Rina’s little display. While a new recruit, the man pulled his standard issued sword and held it ready. “Halt.” He called out to her, ready to enforce the law he was sworn to uphold. The sword was held properly and his stance, while a bit heavy to the right, was correct, but the tension in his jaw and the way his gaze flicked around hoping for backup, suggested he was new and very uncomfortable. “You're under arrest.” The marine had decided the best course of action here was apprehend this girl amount the injured and let higher officials figure out the rest. He just hoped she would come without protest.