During this interesting yet so far endless process to prepare herself for a jounrey into the grand line, there was one essential part of her skills that Linnea had so far been neglecting: Her Haki. Born on Amazon Lily, Linnea was one of the few people who could claim to have known about Haki from a very young age, having been educated in both its theoretical and practical purpose; what it was and how to use it. Outside the Grand Line, in the four blues, the mere mention of the word "Haki" was enough to be greeted with questioning looks from just about everyone she talked to, aside from one or two people who had incidentally visited the Grand Line at some point in their lives. Indeed, the Kuja pirates from her homeland had warned her of this, and thus she knew it wouldn't be easy to find anybody to train it with unless she happened to run into another Kuja. She wasn't the only Amazon to leave her homeland to explore the world, but so far she hadn't met any other. What would those other amazons be like? Would they be kind fellow tribe members with whom she might be able to get along with? Lin could only hope for that much after all...

Regardless, she had to train her Haki. Meeting other members of her tribe with pitiful Haki skill - a skill deemed paramount among the Kuja - would be embarassing, they have every right to wonder just what had she been up to all this time away. But the fact of the matter was, her Haki hadn't worked as well since she left Amazon Lily. Linnea couldn't really understand whether this had been because she trained and grew stronger in a single place before uprooting herself, or if something else was at fault. Her Haki, particularly her Kenbunshoku, had dulled to the point she refrained from using it at all. But no more. Today, Linnea would get back to the island where she carried out her survival training, and there she would re-train her Haki, focusing mainly on Kenbunshoku. After a reinforced breakfast of bread, fruit and cereal, the sniper stepped outside under the pleasantly warm morning sun, wearing a light grey ranger's dress with a short skirt and plunging cleavage, shyly hiding her face under her hood as she blushed under all the attention from everyone around her (mostly the men). To Lin, this choice of clothing was merely done in order to keep herself fresh and ensure fluid motion, essential when she planned on running through the jungle. But men seemed oddly intrigued by it... Since she already knew where to head, half the work of finding a proper training ground was already chosen. Lin thoroughly detested having her training interrupted, coming from a Martial Culture like the Kuja Tribe and there was certainly no better place to achieve this than simply isolating herself on a island where nobody would think to bother her...

The sea was calm and peaceful as it usually was around these parts, and the huntress relished the salty smell coming from the waters all around her. As she paddled her boat closer towards the deserted little islet, she thought back to her meeting with Melissa. The girl had an interesting Devil Fruit Ability, a power Lin envied all things considered. The ability to disassemble her own body into a natural element to avoid damaging attacks was incredibly tempting to a person who suffered greatly from her overall frail figure when it came to hand to hand combat, unlike some of the more burly amazons she knew in Amazon Lily. Not only that, she could brew up snowstorms? How impressive was that?! It was defenitely something to keep in mind, if she were ever to eat a devil fruit, she hoped it would be a Logia. She had read enough to recognize some Logia just by looking at them, but the known kinds of Devil Fruits weren't that many in the first place...

Even as she examined her envoiroment, Lin allowed herself to wander in her thoughts and before she knew it, her boat had ran aground at the same islet where she previously trained her endurance and stamina. Today, she'd be doing a wholly different training, but before she got to that part, she made sure to visit the same place where she camped the other day. Most of her camp was still intact, some damaged from being abandoned to the elements, but nothing stopping her from restoring it. She would be living her until she was satisfied with her priogress with Haki training. But even as she cut off large leaves and branches to restore her camp, Lin was already staying silent, paying attention to her senses. But she wasn't focued on her sight, smell or hearing. Instead, she tried to use this silence to better listen to the flow of the aura around her.

The basis of Kenbunshoku Haki was to read this flow of energy coursing through every living thing to not only scan her surroundings but even predict an enemy's attacks at a high enough level. Such a helpful technique it was that many Kuja warriors relied on it almost completely, the supremacy of their Kenbunshoku allowing them to steer clear of any and all attacks. But before she got to that level she first had to recover her basic skills with the technique, relying on it as if it were her sixth sense.

And little by little she could feel her progress. The blurry sight of the forest, the birds flying above, the rabbits strolling within and the maggots burrowing below; all of it became clearer, little by little... She couldn't see that far away, no more than fifteen meters away from her current location, but it was more than enough. Soon, she was done fixing her makeshift tent, and with that she now had a place to sleep. Lin was ready for the next stage of her training. Grabbing a piece of cloth, she dusted it off, closed her eyes, and tied it around them. This blindfold would be her training partner today. Deprived of sight, Lin was initially desoriented to find herself forced to resort to her yet rookie level Observation Haki... But she would get better in time.



TWC: 1059


OOC: Used D-rank Kenbunshoku Haki (2 posts), 10 Haki stamina remaining

This was only the very beginning. Limited to her blurry, aura based sight, and her hearing in an island virtually deprived of noise, Lin was forced to make do with what she had. She walked around her camp with her palms stretched out in front of her, feeling the envoiroment as if she'd only started learning to see. She would have to use her Kenbunshoku Haki as a second sight, something she could rely on as naturally as she relied on her own two eyes. But no way it would be that simple, it never was. As a child, she demonstrated a stronger aptitude for this form of Haki, hence why she chose to start with it to once more become accostumed to using her aura. First, a simple challenge: She would have to get from her camp, back to the beach, swim around some, and then head back to "her" island. She was going to start simple; fortunately she'd eaten plenty before coming here or else she'd be forced to get used to all of this the hard way, by having to hunt her meals in this state. Linnea started walking outside the forest, happy she was still able to see just enough to tell where she was going. Light still made its way through the holes in her blindfold, but trying to rely on it would be cheating, so she avoided doing so. She nearly tripped on some stray branches she failed to notice, barely avoiding a face first fall onto the sandy soil throught her keenly trained balance and a helpful tree she happened to have next to her... It served as a good reminder to pay attention to her Haki aura, but more importantly to trust her instincts.

Linnea took a deep breath, standing still right after the near fall. Keeping her eyes closed, she focused: There was no sight, so sound, no smell... Not in her mind anyways. As she denied and blocked off her own senses, things started to get become clearer through her mind's eye. This sixth sense grew steadily the more she calmed down and accepted it, she had a natural aptitude for it after all. Letting her aura flow in and out, treating her body as a medium between the outside world and her own mind. It was almost like the longest she managed to stand still and relax, the clearer her mind's eye could see. Almost as if that sense had been sleeping ever since she left Amazon Lily and she slowly had to get used to employing it once again. Linnea then headed for the beach, having a much better awareness of her surroundings that she did before. Haki was a mental skill after all, so there was much progress to be made simply by increasing her mental fortitude. She could now see her immediate surroundings with the same clarity her eyes normally afforded her with, plus a good bonus: She could see behind her just as clearly. Observation Haki wasn't limited by such measly little obstacles such as angle of sight. Completely determined by her skill with it, she would see everything with perfect clarity up to a set range, and it was that range she could increase through training. Once she felt her feet sink into the soft, warm sand beneath, she allowed the refreshing sound of crashing waves to fill her ears and soothe her soul, quickly doing away with her shoes and pulling down the straps of her dress. The whole skimpy garment fell down onto the sand, revealing the naked Linnea in all her splendor save for her panties and blindfold. It wasn't like anybody was there to watch her and even if there was, her body was one of the few things she wasn't shy about... It was a cultural matter. Further fastening the blindfold so it wouldn't come off, she calmly stepped into the ocean, relishing the even more refreshing feeling of the pleasantly cool seawater against her bare skin... She could see everything, from the small seaweed to the tiny little schools of tinier fishes swiming around her feet, and it brought her an unprecedented sense of clarity...


TWC: 1758

OOC: Kenbunshoku Haki scan, turn 2

Coming to the southernmost blue had been an interesting experience. Nothing crazy had specifically happened but it was a different sort of journey. She'd originally been hanging around in the east blue, cracking heads and minding her own business, she'd gotten transfered to crescent island recently for no discernable reason. She didn't mind. It was warmer here, she didn't get judged as often for wearing what little clothing she did. It was kinda just her style, she had a good body, a great body even. She took pride in it and didn't exactly feel any shame n showing off. The manner of dress she employed however wasn't something that'd always been there. She picked it up from her mother. She'd taught her growing up that men were creatures of habit. They were either pigs or fools. The latter would underestimate you, and hold back on the merits of your gender. The former would be easily distracted by what you had that they did not.

Now, Alice had discovered long ago her mother had a well earned hatred for men, but she definitely didn't share it. Boys and girls were good and bad in equal measure. She understood why her mom didn't like men. She'd remembered her stories about the island she'd been born on, alllllll the way out in the calm belt. An island exclusively home to women, a warrior tribe. Growing up with the brothers she had, it was hard to imagine a society where the concept of an opposite gender was unheard of. Did the animals only support a female live stock? The fish? What kind of island was it? How big? Had they explored all of it? Maybe on the other side of that island there was a society of all men, who'd never heard of a woman?

These thoughts made her mind turn to the Grandine. Supposedly that's where everyone dreamed of going right? The blues were an OK place, but the islands weren't exactly all that, right? Civilization was a far cry away, most places were lucky enough to have a village or two. Some didn't even manage to have a Navy barracks nearby. They were left to fend for themselves...

But in the Grandine... They had kingdoms, citadels, coliseums! The home base of the military was there in the new world, impel down was the super duper prison that was reserved for the best of the worst. Alice couldn't help but smile at the idea of an entire prison set up like a gauntlet of variable tortures. Would they let her train there? Could she put her body through those trials? Reach new heights of power?!

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. What was she planning on doing with her life? She'd said she wanted to uphold the law. Bring to places where it didn't exist. Enforce it. Protect it... The Grandine was also home to the revolutionary movement. Some anti-establishment group. Basically pirates but with a better moral code.

Alissandra couldn't fault them for what they wanted. They thought they were right, surely. Just like with pirates. These people wanted the freedom to live their lives the way they saw fit, and as it was the government wouldn't let them, Alice could sympathize. However, understanding why these groups did the things they did didn't exactly excuse the fact they were disrupting order. How many of them truly lived in a lawless place? Alice had lived that life. She'd seen what happens when there's nothing to keep people from taking what they want just because they want it. It was a hard life, one that no one deserved to live. To that end, she needed to do her best to help these people understand... Through force, as required.

But how? How was still the question. How could she evolve beyond who she was at this moment? She'd been putting it off for a while now, but she did have something she could practice... It was something she picked up from her mom. It was a weird collection of techniques, powers that augmented how Alice could see things, feel things, hit things... Haki it was called. She'd always kinda felt like it was cheating, most people hadn't ever heard of it. Little own knew what it could do. In her experimenting Alice had discovered she could use her Haki to coat her body in this hard, black, charcoal like material. It didn't seem to do anything except thinken her skin, it was useful for stopping swords or punches that were too fast or too random to properly block.

Then there was the far more useful ability she'd discovered only more recently. It was some kind of sensory enhancement. It let her "see" things better. She could see... Auras around people, animals, all sorts of things. She'd been using it a bit lately, mostly in conjunction with her martial arts. With it she could "see" targets all around her, her body would react to their presence. Attacking people who'd she'd never saw coming otherwise. It was a very cool ability and she definitely wanted to explore it more.

So, with a deep breath the blonde sat up from her resting position in the grass and focused on activating that enhanced vision thing, her sight Haki. Once activated, the world opened up around her. Everything came to lift with energy she hadn't been able to appreciate before! Every leaf, the babbling stream nearby, it all pulsed and echoed all around her. As she walked about  she felt her eyes close. She stepped into the shallow stream and just followed it. She let her heart guide, as she always did. It compelled her to follow this water way, feeling the current rush against her ankles. She happily spun and danced along in the water until her enhanced senses alerted her to the presence of a sheer drop. The bombshell blonde stopped herself and slowly opened her eyes, she had a great view from here. At the forests edge she could spot the sea from here, and with her enhanced senses still feeding all sorts of information to her brain, she spotted the mist peculiar thing, something she'd never really seen before. The vaguest hints of a large Aura of sorts, burning hotly by the beach, white and furious. Alice felt an odd sensation run through her body and she waved, as if this mysterious new sura could likely see her too.

TWC: 1115 words
OOC: Kenbunshoku Haki scan, turn 1

It was a really nice bath. The water was at just the right temperature, flowing around her body in a gentle caress as she elegantly swam around the beach. With all her training, Lin's toned yet curvaceous figure was gifted with exceptional beauty, and even with all her modesty the platinum haired girl herself was fully aware of that. In Amazon Lily, beauty and strength were interchangeable, and equally revered but for the most part, she found that being prettier than some of the stronger tribe members didn't really make her better than them. She was just a kid back then - in many other cultures she wouldn't have even been allowed to wield weapons - but Lin never saw that as an excuse. In her mind, if her beauty didn't measure up to her actual strength, then she was all flair and no substance: In the end, being pretty motivated her to train harder.

Good thing she was shy and innocent... Lin wondered about love, sure, but fortunately she wasn't nowhere near as hormone powered as most of the men she'd come to meet outside of Amazon Lily. She was calm, collected, and put other pursuits ahead of romance despite all the sexual attention she got. Hell, she hardly even understood why men gave her the attention they did, such being the extent of her innocence.

With her now soaking wet blindfold still firmly strapped to her head shielding her eyes from the outside world, the swimming Linnea found herself more lost than ever, at least she would have been if she had been relying on her five senses. She couldnt' feel ground beneath her, the sound of the flowing waves deafened any sound she could have used to find her way back to sandy shores. The smell of brine blocked out anything else, and there wasn't anything around she could touch and find her way around. For once she was completely forced to rely on her Observation Haki, and so she focused on it far more intensely than even before. She could see where the water ended and the sand began with perfect clarity, even the tiniest creatures, the fish and the crabs going about their lives, some seagulls flying low enough to wander inside her scanning range; everything. With this second sight, she also had a pretty good idea of which direction to head in order to reach land, simply by telling the deeper end from the shallow end of the water. After a goood 15 minutes swimming around, she finally headed out, her half naked figure slowly emerging from the water as she reflexively brushed her hair behind her, away from her face. A reflexive gesture which was all but useless given the blindfold on her face: Hair in front of her eyes wouldn't really hinder her like it normally did. The breeze against her dripping wet skin brought with it a pleasantly cold feeling that eased away the scorching sun as she stepped over to where she'd left her clothes and picked the garment up.


And then, something unexpected happened... Once again, she had company. There was a white aura a few meters away from her, waving amicably; A woman judging by her feminine hourglass shape. She could feel the woman woman waving at her devoid of any hostile intent, so Lin simply turned her way smiled and waved back, even if the blindfold still hid her eyes from view. Unabashedly slipping on the dress over her head, she ran her hands over it to adjust it and iron out the kinks before approaching the woman, thinking back to her meeting with Melissa. It had been something not unlike this encounter, with the Logia user falling from the sky out of the blue:

"Good morning!", she greeted, with a kind smile, "What brings you to this remote little islet?"

Was she here to explore, or to train like Lin herself? The girl rested one hand on her waist relaxedly, still looking towards the girl even if her eyes were covered: Old habits die hard. This blindfold wouldn't come off until her training was complete, regardless of her curiosity to look upon the face of the other girl. They had both stranded themselves on a deserted islet after all...



TWC: 2473 (Haki trained to B-rank)


OOC: Used D-rank Kenbunshoku Haki (2 posts), 5 Haki stamina remaining

Training approved

Life hadn't been easy for Alice, but she wouldn't have called it hard. It coulda been, sure, but she was a competent fighter, and fairly smart by her own account. Fighting was what she definitely knew best and she wouldn't pretend otherwise. Granted she wasn't that great with a weapon, but when your whole body was as lethal as any blade or bullet it seemed stupid to her to be visibly armed. People always suspected a person with a weapon,they were always scared and fear made them unpredictable. Approach with an empty hand and people are more inclined to extend an empty one of their own. It was just as easy to make friends as it was enemies, a smile and a sunny attitude was usually all it took.

Speaking of friends, Alice watched as the figure slipped on what looked like a dress, or a tunic of some sort. From some odd 15 meters away it was still hard for her to define the clothes specifically. Unfortunately though, the blonde's head began to hurt. She could never use Haki for too long without it tiring her out and giving her a headache. Once she'd seen the woman begin to make her off the beach and toward her she was forced to cancel her Haki.

Of course, she didn't need it now. The girl crossed the distance at a good pace, and you could smell her coming. Covered in the scent of the sea, when the girl got a bit closer, Alice realized from her glistening pale body that she'd been swimming before she arrived. Alive bit her lip as her eyes trailed across the form of the other girl as she took a chance to admire it. One part sizing her up, one part indulging in a friendly game of "stripping you with my eyes", Alice got a good idea why she might be out here on this most secluded of islets. Girl looked like a fighter... Or a model. Probably both if she out here swimming in the bloody ocean, something Alice hated for her own entirely rational reasons.

She didn't hate the ocean on the whole, just the idea in being in deep enough that if something bad were to happen, she'd drown. Up to about her ankles was good, she could tolerate her waist but any higher and she'd want out. The smell wasn't too bad, in fact it was pretty refreshing, and Alice adored the beach. Sand was one of her favorite things. The salty briney smell wafting off the girl reminded the blonde of the Marines back at base. Many of them had a playful habit of going for a swim or pushing each other into the water around the docked ships. It wasnt encouraged but people still did it.

Still, the task at hand needed a bit more attention. She'd found a girl she could say was attractive as she was and in almost the same shape. She shouldn't let her thoughts carry her away from this moment like they'd just had.

"Mornin'!, Alice all but purred as the gorgeous swimmer greeted her in much the same way. She was wearing a blindfold and Alice would inquire about that later, but for now it wasn't polite to leave questions unanswered. "Do you mean what brings me to this little hidey hole? Or the south blue in general?  To the latter, work. It keeps me moving around a bit. And uhh, in the case of the former... I guess I was just lookin' to relax and train? Didn't wanna bug anyone in town.", the bombshell blonde would state simply "Probably couldn't keep up anyway..."she'd mumble while she hooked her arms behind her head, leaning back a little towards the firm bark of a nearby tree.

"What about you gorgeous? Did you come all the way out here just to go swimming? And uhhh, do you always where a blindfold when you hurl yourself out to sea?", inquired the Marine with a playful mocking tone. It was a rather ridiculous picture to one-shot wasn't aware of what the girl was actually doing. Clearly she could see... But how? Devil Fruit maybe? Or did she know Haki? Did Haki work with your eyes closed? She'd have to try that sometime...


750 words
Observation Haki ended

It was pretty hard to actually look upon the person she was talking to. Her Haki did allow her to see colors, but not in the sense as normal colors, instead she saw everything colored by their aura. As she fine tuned her mind's eye, she got a clearer view of the girl's shape, but not her hair, skin or eye color, or the colors of her clothes. While she really didn't want to interrupt her training by removing her blindfold and possibly ruining all the progress she'd made so far, she still knew she would eventually have to do so. But that would only be the final stage of her training, hopefully they'd have enough time together to go through all of that.

The other girl seemed friendly enough as she returned her greeting, earning a warmer smile from Linnea who naturally eased up slightly towards nice people. She dealt with her shyness with cool composure but even then she naturally avoided crowded locations, feeling far more at ease in remote locations such as this one. From her aura - also white like her own, but even brighter - she could pick up on the girl's friendliness easily enough but that was just about it. She playfully answered her question with another question; two of them in fact, revealing her cheerful and likely outgoing self:

"I mean this place. There's not much to see here after all...", she looked around, motioning towards their isolated place. Karate Island could be seen up in the distance, but that was just about it. She promptly explained how she in south blue to work, and in this island to train and relax by herself, not unlike what Lin was doing. And then she complimented the demure girl's beauty, earning a blushing reaction as the girl looked down and away from with a bashful smile - another unconscious gesture she couldn't or wouldn't bother to control in her blinded state - as she raised one hand to her chest, "Eh... N-not much really... Just training like you; swimming was a good way to go about it."

The girl naturally wondered why did she need the blindfold for, as any other sane person might, and she probably already noticed that Linnea could see perfectly well even without her sight. She knew that haki was about controlling and reading aura, but how the hell was she going to explain that? Clearly Linnea wasn't yet at a level where she could be teaching other people about it, so she'd have to find a way around that limitation. Maybe it could be understood as a form of instinct? That was always how she used her Kenbunshoku anyways, by relaxing and letting that instinctive input come to her naturally:

"Some things are better seen if you block out your eyes...", she explained, scratching her head obviously unsure how to explain Haki to someone who probably didn't know about it. Ironically, it would be very much like explaining color to a blind person, "I guess you could say I'm training my instincts without relying on my other senses? Its a difficult training regimen to explain..."

She then turned her head to face the other girl again, remembering there was something else to ask her. They were clearly going to be on this island for a good while and it wouldn't be right to call her "hey" or "you" all the time:

"What's your name? I'm Linnea...", she introduced herself with a gentle faint smile, leaving out her surname. Ever since acquiring her bounty, she realized she had to be more careful with throwing her full name around so as to not draw too much attention. She wasn't yet ready to deal with it, nor did she want to have to deal with annoying bounty hunter. This girl was probably not one of them but who knew?

Did Alice have any shame? Not really. She grew up in a world where pride and reservations could get you killed. Speaking your mind meant you had the ability to handle the backlash, and didn't need to care about it. Life only happens once. Wasting it not pursuing what you desired was an enormous failure. To that end, Alice learned a long time ago she enjoyed the company of more reserved people. They reacted in ways she wasn't used to and it was fun to get them going. They didn't get angry, so much as worried. They didn't have the same kind of ego she did, so compliments and in this case, the ground work for flirting, was a lot more fun. It felt organic... Right.

So when the platimum blonde blushed and shyly brought her hand to her bust, barely contained in her body hugging "dress" Alice couldn't help but grin. Modesty was a virtue Alive didn't have. She liked seeing what it looked liked.

The bashful girl went on to mention that she was here to train, kinda like Alice, but apparently this girl did it blindfolded. She was either crazy or hard as nails... Actually she could be both, but she hardly looked like either. It was cute to watch her try to find the words to explain herself. Once she'd said she was training, Alice had stopped caring about the answer. Everyone trained in their own way, if this girl did with a blindfold in the ocean who was she to judge? But the girl continue to flounder about, looking for some way to explain herself and Alice rested herself against the tree, deepening her posture and enjoyed the show.

"That's... Pretty deep." Alice would remark with a short breath of surprise. ' some things are better seen if you block your eyes '. "Yeah... Blind yourself so you aren't hindered by what you see, and instead work off what you feel... That's pretty profound... That's what I try to do, myself. I figure my body knows how to keep itself alive better than my brain does. The first thing I do is just whatever feels right, ya know?" The blonde would say in a very laid back, comfortable sort of tone. Her eyes would scan up the girls body again, she was positively soaked. She hadn't just been splashing around at waist height, this girl had legitimately gone for a swim in the ocean. Water cascaded off her body like tears as it gave her whole form an enticing wet glaze.

"But without eyes, it's hard to appreciate the uhh... Booty in things..."

It took Alice a moment or two to finally realize what she'd said and quickly looked up from her distracted daze. "Beauty! Meant to say beauty... I'm Al-" , Alice stopped herself as Linnea introduced herself. She hadn't meant to talk over the other girl, Alice was just thrilled to be around someone she could look at and not just wish their face was mirror.

"Alissandra Beauregard Cassidy." Alice would say in a faux haughty tone before giving a short laugh and extending her hand toward the other girl. "It's a long, pretty name... Doesn't actually mean anything. Most people just call me Alice. Pleasure's all mine." Alice would admit with a hint of melancholy, her name had always been a bit of a misnomer for her. It was wordy and elegant and it certainly painted a picture of an entirely different sort of upbringing. Felt wrong to say it.

622 words

The other blonde seemed really laid back, making her rather pleasant company to be around; Linnea didn't know if she was affiliated with any of the big players, but then she didn't really seem concerned with that either, which was good. She disliked how her pirate affiliation kept her from meeting and interacting with so many interesting people who refused to see her beyond the label she chose; Linnea herself wasn't like that. She could hang out with Marines and Revolutionaries all the same, so long as they didn't try to arrest her or anything. She was a free spirit who detested being held down or restrained. Indeed, she often refrained from announcing that affiliation so as not to scare away potential acquaintances.

She naturally though she was being silly which kinda was to be expected given how poorly she explained herself. It wasn't an easy thing to explain to someone who didn't know what Haki was, but fortunately she seemed to have the right idea. Indeed, relying on Kenbunshoku Haki was very much like relying on what you feel that what your senses tell you:

"Yeah... That's the right way to train as far as I'm concerned.", Lin smiled happy that she still managed to convey her idea despite the limited choice of possible words, and giggling at the girl's mistake. The sexual innuendo was completely lost on the innocent, girl, but she still found it funny nonetheless. Blindfolded as she was, the platinum haired archer was unable to tell how the other girl was eyeing her not unlike men usually did, "I guess you're right, but there's a different kind of beauty in it too."

Enjoying the casual conversation with the other girl, Linnea took a deep breath and focused on her Haki once more, steadying her aura, not really concerned with being interrupted and just looking towards her. She finally introduced herself as Alissandra, or Alice for short, playfully making her full name sound incredibly regal, earning yet another chuckle from the archer, who simply took her hand:

"It's alright... Pleasure to meet you!", answered Linnea before sitting down on the soft sand beneath, crossing her legs, relaxing and leaning back slightly. It truly was a pleasant morning and she wouldn't mind hanging around here with Alice some more. Judging by how relaxed she was, the other girl wouldn't mind either. Curious as to what kind of training she'd be doing if she hadn't run into each other, Lin's eyebrow raised curiously, "So what kind of training were you planning on doing?"

It was hard to guess this while being unable to look at Alice with her own two eyes, but her Aura had an impressively vital spirit, she was defenitely a warrior like Linnea... Well, Like herself might not be quite right, she truly seemed a good bit stronger, like what she'd expect of a close ranged fighter.


OOC: Used D-rank Kenbunshoku Haki (2 posts), 25 Haki stamina remaining

It seemed Linnea either missed the Freudian slip, liked, or didn't mind it. She brought no attention to it so Alice took it as a victory and didn't mention it further. Her retort was a cheerful one, sounding moderately relieved that Alice had understood what she meant. In all honesty though the only thing Alice understood was how she'd lived her life up until now. If it happened to coincide with how Lin was training, then she supposed that was just a dandy little coincidence.

"Yeah, I guess all those colors makes for an interesting sight. Like... Smoke but colorful and you get this weird sort of feeling, ya know? From like... Everything? It's a surreal sort of thing..." Alice would admit, that perception enhancement thing was pretty cool. If it wasn't such a hassle to maintain she'd like to spend a day seeing through it. Just... Feeling the everything of everything. Could make for a truly radical experience, however she likely wouldn't be giving that a try today. Halfway because she felt like she spent too much time in it already, and halfway because it would be much harder to ogle Lin if all Alice couklld see was that smooth white Aura burning around her.

Lin took Alice's hand and leisurely sat herself upon the sands. Alice would of course join her, as it'd be rude not to not take this chance to exploit a young woman romantically upon the white sands of an empty beach upon a secluded islet. Alice sat herself besides Lin, plotting her head into the other girl's lap. Shed use the girl as a phenomenal head rest to begin doing some stomach crunches, but rather than moving her head towards her legs, she'd lift in reverse, curling her stomach as she lifted her legs towards her face.

"Never really thought about it actually. I probably would just have worked out, maybe kick a tree, or a rock. See how many blows it can take before it breaks. Could try working on sustaining this thing called, uhhh, what is it... Busoshoku? Bushushinko Bashioshi? It's not important, but uhh I'd like to hold it for a bit longer? It's my favorite personally, that perception thing is really cool and all but nothing quite beats that body armor, ya know? Who needs to dodge an attack that you could just eat? Wreck a fool who thinks that he can try that basic business on you.", Alice would say as she swapped her work out. She brought her knees closer to her chest and began to curl up from her resting position in Lin's lap. Lin's breasts, large as they were, would find the top of Alice's head gently brushing past them like a soft gust of cool wind as the blonde brought her head up into her knees while she did her curls.

She'd rested for a short bit now. She could probably hold her Haki again if she needed or wanted to. Alice was however, content to talk shop with Lin while she preformed less eccentric work outs. Lin herself looked like she could use one. She was in good shape, but it was hard to compare to Alice's washboard body. She looked like a person who... Who lifted a bit. Not a lot, just enough to give their body an attractive shape, and her personality certainly didn't lend itself to one like Alice's, who only looked as good as she did because she cared very much for how she looked. Lin was in shape because she wanted to be. But she wasn't in the sane sort of shape. Was she like 'ol red? Hey was kinda scrawny, but then he was a gunslinger, Linnea had a better body than that...

"I know it's not my business, and it's gonna sound a little rude so forgive me, muffin for sayin as much, but you don't exactly look like you pack a punch. You look good, definitely fit, but I wouldn't believe you if you told you were a swordsman or something. You a rifleman? Gunslinger? Archer?" as she thought about it, that would explain why she might have been training her eyes. If she could preform as good as she did blindfolded, as she did when she wasn't, it'd be hard to take advantage of a low visibility situation.

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The way she described it... It was almost like she knew what Kenbunshoku Haki was, her description truly was right on the money. Linnea looked at her, obviously impressed so it should be clear to Alice she was right on the money. Maybe she would be able to explain what Haki was but then again it was also possible that she also knew it. People who didn't wouldn't have answered something like that, no way they could, right?

"Exactly.", she'd confirm with a smile and an agreeing nod, surprised to hear such an accurate depiction. Yet this eager surprise was soon replaced by another sheepish blush as the girl softly laid her head on Linnea's still soaked lap, shy and confused by this sudden proximity from a girl who she'd only just met, "Oh...? W-What are you...?"

Still, she eased up somewhat once Alice started her workout routine. Ah, she wanted help with her exercise? It was certainly an unusual experience from Linnea who was hardly used to touching people other than those closest to her. Of course, she'd still be blushing for a good while, even as she smiled and brushed the other girl's hair away from her face, before resting her hands on her shoulders, allowing Alice to put her full strength in raising her legs. Seeing her new friend working out like this, Linnea felt motivated to work out harder herself, activating a higher version of her Kenbunshoku Haki. Soon she'd have to do away with her blindfold... However, something else caught her attention: Ali's words. Lin gasped as her mention of Busoshoku Haki confirmed her recently grown suspicion:

"Busoshoku Haki? So you can use it too...?", she looked even more surprised than last time, though she was soon washed over with a sense of kinship. The girl was either a Kuja herself, or she had trained with one. At least, Linnea had grown to believe Haki users had to have learned from a Kuja warrior, or from someone who did. She flashed a brighter smile, now clearly explaining, "I'm wearing this blindfold so that I'm forced to see with Kenbunshoku Haki. It's the best way to train it i've found so far."

Of course, this sudden ease was once more replaced by a redder blush once Alice switched exercises... It was like she was getting closer to her with each one? Well, Lin didn't really see anything wrong with it since she was just working out, but her head being just a mere inch away from resting on her breasts hardly escaped her notice. Even with her mind's eye, she couldn't keep herself from admiring the other girl's athletic figure, akin to one of her fellow Kuja warriors. She was indeed gorgeous: in Amazon Lily, Alice would have been treated as an really strong fighter even before she had a chance to display her skills. Lin was brought back to her youth when warriors like Alice were those she admired most; she was born meek compared to them, but eventually discovered her talent for archery. Still, talk about fitness and training was far from a taboo subject to Linnea, who for once didn't seem to be put off by her training partner's next question:

"It's alright.", she reassured her with a kind smile, resting her hands behind her, letting them sink into the soft sand, confirming her suspicion with an affirmative nod, "I'm a ranger and archer... What about you? You seem powerful enough to be a swordsman or a martial artist."

Linnea was also pretty sharp, even if this deduction was far from difficult. She looked towards Ali's face with a confident smirk, sure of her guess for once...


OOC: Used B-rank Kenbunshoku Haki (2 posts), 10 Haki stamina remaining

Alice was pretty happy to see Lin support her work out. This had all just been an easy excuse to work out and rest her head on the other girl's juicy thighs but Lin had taken the ploy pretty well. She pushed Alice's hair from her face and even braced her shoulders so she could focus on lifting with just her lower half. It also stopped her from teetering forward which was nice. She'd given what might have been the cutest gasp of a question when Alice had joined her, causing her to give a short giggle as continued.

Once Alice had mentioned her preference of Haki, Lin visibly brightened up, as if a switch went off in her head. She seemed to clear the dust out of her head and was finally able to speak straight about her training. It then occurred to Alice that it was likely she didn't know how to explain it to someone who didn't have Haki? Which was a good majority of people. It seemed... Alice herself, a practioner of Haki barely remembered what each one was called. She assumed kenshunoku or whatever Lin had said was the aura thing, and then everything began to make a little more sense. Now that Alice had context, she was able to piece things together. Lin had come out here to this secluded place to train up her Haki powers of perception. She elaborated that the blind fold was the best way she knew how to train them, which was going to be Alice's guess. It was a good thing to know, as her mother never guided her on any specific training techniques.

Alice couldn't help but shake her head with a smirk, the other blonde reddened up the moment her head began to tease the underside of her breasts. Her reactions were as innocent as they were priceless. She'd oy happened to be this close, but Alice certainly wasn't going to complain. The girl was a great motivator in the way that Alice liked seeing how far she could push herself and others. Linnea made an excellent work out buddy, if only because she was remarkably comfortable to work out on. She had some idea of how to assist which was a huge bonus, and of course since she was using that inner vision, minds eye Haki thing, she was always watching, which had always been a huge help for Alice to continue working out. As she hadn't said before, she only worked out for the sake of looking good.

As Linnea eased back into the sand, confirming Alice's suspicions, admitting her specialization in ranged combat, and even going so far was to admit she preferred a bow, Alice swapped her position yet again. She slid her hips into the other woman's lap, letting her legs slide into the gaps between Lin's arm's and her body, hooking her legs firmly around the archer's waist. Alice laid back flat then began to preform sit ups, keeping her hands locked behind her own head. Before getting into position, Linnea inquired about Alice's preferred method of fighting. It was only fair of course, and her two guesses earned a nod from Alice as she slid into the girls wet lap. "Bingo! *1* You're a sharp one *2*, cupcake. *3* she'd pause between her sets of words, mentally counting each sit up as she conversed with her new, bashful, beautiful friend... Who was wearing a very self assured smirk right now, which both excited Alice and challenged her. Lin seemed to be quite comfortable now that she was in her element conversation wise, which was good. It's likely that they'd avoid Alice flirting with her if they could keep this dialogue going.

"I'm *4* a martial artist. *5* I was born *6* in a bad *7* neighborhood, *8* my mom was *9* a former slave. *10* She taught me *11* about this haki crap, *12* used to tell me *13* about her home, *14* some island out in *15* the calm belt, *16* in the grand line? *17* It's an island *18* of all women *19* if you can believe that. *20* Anyway *21* she'd tell me all about *22* how if I'd been born there, *23* I'd have been some *24* prodigal daughter, *25* said my Aura was intense *26* and that I shouldn't waste it *27* by not training it. *28* Thing was though, *29* she never really taught me *30* how to train it."

Alice fished with a slight huff and let her take a few deep breaths as she mimicked Linnea's style of sitting, but rather than cross her legs she kept hers locked snugly around Lin, keeping the two Kuja close.

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She was pretty good... Her aura was barely flickering at this workout, implying a very good physical condition. But then, Linnea already knew that, didn't she? Yup, she most certainly did. Her own training sessions typically revolved around jogging and sprinting around obstacle courses (typically a jungle), she benefitted a lot more from those than from the regular sit-ups, crunches and push ups like Alice was doing here. She devoted a great focus to her abs which were indeed impressively toned. Then, Linnea noticed her Haki vision slowly growing blurrier. She was nearing her limit, and even though she could proabably push herself further, very soon it might be more beneficial to take a short break before continuing.

In the meantime, her momentarily regained confidence faded away almost as soon as it appeared... Finishing her series, the girl shifted her position yet again, sitting right over the ranger's crossed legs and hooking hers around her waist. Once more, that demure blush came back to Lin's cheeks as she hooked her hands onto the other girl's knees, bracing her in place. She reddened a little further and turned her gaze away with a faint smile upon being complimented. Even if she tried to slowly get used to Alice constantly teasing her shyness, feeling her wrapped around her this close didn't make it any easier for her; someone else would have probably just asked Linnea to hold their feet in place while they did their sit ups. The blonde would probably find out Linnea's weakness after this: Being touched or complimented.

If anything, these demure looks were lasting progressively less as she slowly got used to Alice's presence and increasing proximity. She rather enjoyed the girl's company, even more so after finding out she was so far the only other person she knew to understand what Haki was. There were heaps of them on Amazon Lily, but in the four blues, she was the very first. Alice continued speaking even as she carried out another series of sit ups, her sweat mixing with Lin's salt water

"I'm sorry to hear...", the gentle girl's smile faded for the first time after hearing about how her mother had been born a slave, resulting in the girl suffering from a rough childhood. But her eyes seemingly lit up as she heard her story: Her mother was born on an island that was no doubt her own home; Amazon Lily, "The Island's she spoke of is Amazon Lily; that's where I was born! That means you're a Kuja, just like me! You would have learned all of that if you had more Kuja Warriors to teach you..."

She sounded slightly disappointed at this last part, clearly she hoped to be able to provide Alice with the knowledge her mother was unable to, but it wouldn't be so easy... She was too young, too inexperienced, her Haki wasn't even strong enough to the point where she should try to go around teaching it to others. But this was the first time she had met another Kuja since leaving her home Island. One who had been born outside of Amazon Lily, and such one Linnea had never met before! What are the odds? Once the girl finished her workout, Lin was able to let go of her knees, instead she reached for her blindfold, pulling it off, smiling as if eager to look upon the newly met Kuja sister with her own two eyes.

"Wow... I haven't met another Kuja in over three years...", was all she could say, still in awe at the coincidence, admiring her blonde hair and striking beauty with a quick, discreet glance down and then back up

Her piercing steel blue gaze stared into the blonde's - a task made a lot easier by how close they was sitting - as she looked upon her with true sight for the first time: Alice was as dazzling as her Kenbunshoku Aura let on. More than just being born beautiful, she had obviously trained a great deal to achieve that shape, something worthy of respect and further admiration in their culture.

OOC: Kenbunshoku still active

Linnea to her credit was getting steadily more comfortable with Alice's forwardness. Was it as "stimulating" for the bombshell blonde? No. But it did mean Alice could take time away from admiring her body, and return to trying to find new things to admire about her. She was however responding very well, just on pure instinct. Alice had to wonder what the girl might be like in bed, if only this once. She was quick to lend a hand and knew precisely where to put them. She didn't exactly seem to be experienced in the subject of love whatsoever, but hey, looks can often be deceiving. Alice continued her work out and their conversation.

"Don't be." *31*, Alice said nonchalantly as she continued to lift herself towards Lin, her hands unlocking from behind her head to be held straight in front of her. Alice made it seem like she was simply furthering her stretch, but she was also letting her fingers glide against the side of the archer's wet breasts, if only to ensure she could continue getting a rise out of Lin. Alice of course was beginning to really enjoy this position, she had great view of Lin from the waste up and from here she could do just about whatever she needed to do abdominal wise.

The martial artist tightened her hold on Lin's waist with her thighs, now that she was easing further and further into her sit ups, she was drawing closer and closer to Lin's blindfolded face."I make it a point *32* not to apologize for things *33* that weren't my fault, *35* ya know? *36* Neither should you. *37* Gives people *38* someone to blame, *39* and that's always *40* the easy way out. *41* Plus, growing up*42* any other way *43* and the me I am, *44* the one with you *45* right now? *46* Probably wouldn't *47* exist. *48* So it's all good*49*  in the long run."*50* she'd say while panting a bit, her laid back view on life shining through in spite of the effort she was putting in. She could feel herself begin to sweat a little, it was only half her normal set but she wasn't so rude as to cover Lin in her own sweat. They'd need to be exchanging it, along with other bodily fluids, to make it fair.

Lin however, finally seemed to find something to be truly excited about. Apparently, she'd go on to explain that the island Alice's mother had always talked about was called "Amazon Lilly" and that meant Alice was a Kuja. If it'd been anyone else, she'd probably had introduced their face to her foot for calling her that, it was word she hadn't heard before and it sure as hell sounded dirty.  Lin Howe, seemed like an innocent sort of soul, who proudly didn't say bad words unless specifically provoked... Maybe even felt bad about it later too! Gosh, hypothetical Lin was such a cutie.

Alice was easing out of her set, mimicking Lin's posture. She'd sounded a little... Down at that last bit. More Kuja warriors? Teach? It sounded like a military of women. If they were as capable as Alice, they'd be dangerous, but teaching implied there were Masters of this haki stuff. What were they capable of? She'd have to report this to someone probably... Felt kinda important. The fishmen had been a very real problem recently, and just because these Kuja lived off on their own didn't mean the government outta not know about them...

"Well then..." Alice began as Lin let go of her legs to go for her blind fold. Those problems, they were trouble for tomorrow. Today there wasn't anything more important than embracing today, and embrace it she would! Alice would tighten up her grip on Lin's waist once more and pull herself up, merrily hooking her arms around the other girl's neck as the blindfold came off, bringing the two intimately close. With the blindfold now off, Alice was able to catch her piercing pale blue eyes. In fact, looking at Lin was almost like looking in a pale mirror. Their skin, hair, and eyes were roughly the same colors, Lin just appeared to be a don't of... Snowy version. Her hair was such a bright blonde it looked silver, her eyes were such a shining blue they too, looked silver. Her skin was fair, with a cool pale tinge, as if she'd spent just long enough indoors to appear frail, but not actually be adverse to the outside.

With her Arms lovingly hooked around the back of Lin's neck and the only thing separating their lips was the few inches of air they were given due to their breasts acting as a fleshy barrier of sorts. Teet to teet, to get any closer the two girls would have to force their breasts together.

Alice had a playful chuckle to herself as she lightly drummed the back of her new Kuja "sister's" neck, keeping her eyes firmly affixed on the icey blue of Linnea's. Alice of course was in her element, and she couldn't wait to see Lin so quickly thrust from her own.

"So nice of you to volunteer, cupcake ~" The Marine would say as she slowly pushed her body against Lin's, applying pressure, then removing it. Teasing the other girl's body, if only to see what the results would be.

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