The sea and sky were their normal peaceful selves at first at least for a few hours as the sun rises but it suddenly became overbearingly hot as a light fog and haze seamed to pour over the edge of the large waterfall, almost like it was creeping over to invade the grand line.

"What a hot day..." Came the clear as day voice of Locke who was fussing her hair into a ponytail... She wasn't going to need her hair in the way today!

She steps out from behind a boulder, while on a small islet that the ship was docked at, while being unable to be seen from the main island. Unusual for her, she's only wearing a bikini(she wears them under her clothes anyhow), but thankfully she's the only person on the islet at the moment, so it should be fine!

"Alright, I need to better practice my fighting skills..." Locke thinks out loud as she readies herself in her fighting stance, targeting an old, roughly human shaped, tree... She starts to move around, almost like she was dancing before running forwards, striking it with her Blade Kiss technique and hitting the tree squarely in each spot she aimed at... Of course a tree's not going to fight back, but this should be bit more practice before she even needs the abilities in combat...

She then decides to go jogging, after picking up a lunch from the ship, and basic supplies, she jogs for a good hour or so before stopping for lunch...

After a few more hours of training, and the heat continuing, Locke's already exhausted as she sits under another tree and cant help but dose off, almost forgetting were she was...

While she was asleep, the weather quickly changed, cooling off to a springtime temperature as the haze also faded...

318 words (OOC: Locke hasn't used her Haki yet, making it easy to sneak up on her.)

As Locke worked on her war fan skills, she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched... But she knew that no-one was around the islet, since the crew had gone out exploring, working on their stealth, or training somewhere else.

But the jogging that Locke had been doing after her weapons training, which had been exhausting, was even worse, as the air was completely still, the humidity was worse than a tropical jungles, and the heat was almost unbearable... It also didn't help that the ground was slightly shaky, or when there was quicksand pits that Locke sunk up to her hip in, in a couple of places...

While Locke dosed, she had the strangest feeling that she was beside someone... someone who was napping under the same tree she was at.

But as she dreamed, it wasn't a peaceful sleep, it was nightmare. As Locke found herself on a wanted poster, as the most wanted blacksmith in the world. Marines were swarming the ship, the sounds of fighting and the smell of death assaulted her senses as she found herself holding a dying friend, Naga D. Linnea, as she bled out... The rest of the crew were in a circle around them as the doctor was trying her best to bandage Linnea up and save her life... An explosion rocked the ship right before Locke jerked awake! Having a cold sweat, she slowly manages to remember what she was doing.

She then hears a small *thump* sound beside her. As she turns to look, she finds Linnea, on her side with a peaceful look on her face, but do to the nightmare and Linnea falling onto Locke's lunch-bag, splattering something red all over the grass, she screams "Linnea!!!!" while slightly hallucinating, before checking Linnea to see if she was alright.

Locke even forgot about her embarrassing lack of clothing, as she started to cry and pulled Linnea's head to her chest, rocking back and forth and not noticing the red stain on the lunch-bag.

Word count: 350

Total word count: 668

The "bleeding" form of Linnea was the only thing Locke noticed as she cradled her head, crying"Was she here to warn me of something? Was she hurt trying to save me? Was sh... Wait, what smells like tomato sauce?"

Things manage to piece themselves together as a moan from Linnea proved that the captain was in-fact alive, as Locke was relieved, she remembers the lunch she packed was a amount of spaghetti... "Oh, What a relief... You scared me Linnea." Locke whispers to her now-proven alive captain and friend, before the sleeping Linnea decides to give the greenette a hug, which Locke returns.

Unfortunately for Locke, the hug seamed to encourage Linnea to start nuzzling her chest, which was embarrassing in of itself, to which made the amber eyed girl realize the fact that she had no clothes on other than a bikini.

"Kyaaaa~!! What are you doing?" Locke yelps, as she just realized what's happening. The yelp must have awoken the captain as her eyes jerked open, and she must have noticed what was going on too, as she had turned a deep red as she also sat up quickly and started talking so fast that it was almost impossible to understand the blond. The few bits of talking Locke could understand were apologizes, pointed towards the greenette who was hiding behind the tree she woke up under.

"It's okay Linnea..." Said a similarly red Locke as she peaked out from behind the tree "I was woken up by you falling onto my lunch bag... And I did put you in that position... But you should have t-told me that you were going to be back, that way I wouldn't be nearly as embarrassed about this..."

After a few minutes, Locke asks "Did you fall asleep while waiting to teach me more about Haki? Or was it something else you wanted?"
Her face had started to cool down from it's burning red, to a mild pink as she's still embarrassed about this situation....

Word Count: 363
Total word count: 1031

"Y-you thought it was impressive?" asked a shocked Locke who remembered her "training" "It's nothing special, just something I taught myself, that way I could defend myself from pirates or what not when I was back in Foosha Village... Not that I'd..heh.. use them against you."
Locke was starting to calm down now, but she's not moving from behind the tree... Being in nothing but a bikini in-front of somebody else, that notion was one of the most embarrassing thing she could think of...

"You like my fighting style? I never was praised for it when I was at home... I guess I've always had a feeling that I'd need to fight one day, so I guess it was my fate to be on your crew, huh? Locke thinks, feeling good about the captains praise.

"I'd be afraid that I'd hurt you, or worse... I've not really tried it against anyone, so I dont know if how I would  hold back... Locke's concern was truthful, she never did use it against anyone, the one time she needed it, she was knocked out before being able to use it in an actual battle situation.

"If your up for it, I guess we could... But please forgive me if I hurt you." Locke steps out from behind the tree slowly, the pink on her cheeks slightly fading as she says "Over this way, there is a good spot train over here."and she was right, there was an old ruin of some sort, that mostly only had its base left. the base of this ruin was relatively circular in shape, and though there were many cracks and plants that found their way through the strangely still smooth, gray, marble like stone... It was like this place was a battling ring or an old lighthouse...

Locke turns to Linnea, saying "Is this a good place?"

"Strength is beauty? I'm not all that strong, compared to you." Thought Locke as Linnea explained some of the culture of Amazon Lilly...

"You can come out now, I promise I won't do anything weird again..." Said the Captain, "But that's not what I'm worried about..." Locke continues to think..."She goes around with more revealing clothes, it must be a fashion in her home town."

I really dont want to hurt her... But I said I would do this, so there's no backing down now." her inner voice says as they make their battle poses, with Locke seaming to be stepping lightly and her fans folded out..."Start slowly... Gain momentum." She kept repeating that in her mind, trying to aim towards non vital body parts...

"Here we go..." sighs Locke as she dashes forwards in a kind of unusual zigzag pattern, before reaching Linnea's side, to which she uses the blunt end of the fan to act like the blades towards her kneecap... Locke then goes into a spin, trying to strike once more with her fan, and another is in the works...

Used a basic attack and

Swirling Slice:

Locke thinks "Busoshoku Haki.... I wonder what it feels like." as she made her strike... "OH,NO!!!" thought Locke as she seemingly broke her captains leg... before realizing that Linnea regenerated it as she hoped back. "It must have been her Devil Fruit..."

Locke didn't even know what hit her as she landed face first onto the ground... Ohhh... That hurt.... I forgot to use my Haki!" She stands up, definitely going to have a bruise as she turns back to her captain... activating her Kenbunshoku Haki, and immediately after words the world seamed much more alive...

"Focus.... Come on Locke focus, you need to learn how to use this, that way you can prove your worth..." she told herself as she focused, moved into uncomfortable distance(almost right on top) of the captain, and uses her Blade Kiss technique, forgetting that she's actually striking with injuring intent now...

The first 3 strikes, if they hit, are just normal strikes, but the third and forth start to shimmer with a metallic sheen as her arms, up to her elbows and even her fans... then this new Haki seamed to fizzle out at the 5th strike as it then attempts to hit it's mark....

Used D-rank Kenbunshoku Haki,

Blades Kiss:

, and D-Rank Busoshoku Haki.

Linnea was... taunting her? Locke knew it was most likely a ploy, but she couldn't help but wonder if the captain's power was going to her head...
There had been many tales of Devil Fruits corrupting their consumer, as they slowly drifted into madness they lashed out at friends and innocents alike, and the Logia type devil fruits were the largest source of the roomers.. Especially the Devil Fruits that allowed the users to control shadows, or darkness....

"Just dont let that power go to your head Linnea... It might corrupt your ideals and make it to where we have to knock some sense into you..." Locke said as she readies herself for her captains barrage.... but it doesn't come, in-fact Linnea seamed to have taken a defensive position and as her top half shattered and reformed(which still looks creepy by the way) there was an evident look of pain on her statue like face as a bruise forms.

That was Armament Haki? It felt empowering! But it also felt like I could have lost myself in it..." Locke says as she focuses on creating it again, only this time she has some idea of what to do... Her right arm and fan get covered by a light iron colored aura, but it still feels unstable...

"Here goes nothing..." thinks Locke as she looks around for a platform, or something in reach....
She sees one behind Linnea as a part of the ruin's wall was still intact, though not very sturdy. She runs, while still maneuvering like she was dancing, and jumps onto the wall. She then pushes away from it in a millisecond, while somehow keeping her momentum... Locke started to soar almost as she reaches the pinnacle of her jump......

Uses D-Rank Armament Haki once more, and

Sky-born Strke: