Captain!♡

ㅤㅤ"Petit citron, heh..." Setting the contraption aside, the boy's brow lightly furrows with the moniker, unsure if the mild offence which bubbles up within the centre of his chest is justified or not, slowly thinking through the attributes of its use ( petit? oui. jaune? oui. aigre? hmm... ). It's that latter unpalatable descriptor that had left him momentarily unsettled, but the abundantly loving way in which she looks at Sanji reminds him of their mother, a reminder that it wasn't possible for a person to have untoward intentions when they wear that softened expression— a sudden pang of confused malaise and grief threatens to settle, feet restlessly shifting a little on the spot. He manages a smile nonetheless, distracting himself with the thoughts of Usopp's gadgets ( ils ont l'air trop cool! ), wondering what else they had up their sleeve and in the depths of that little workshop.

Sanji watched the emotions run across the smaller blond's face. Somehow just seeing them made a complicated mix of her own swirl in her chest. 'This must've been what they saw...' She thought, in a mix of wonder, disbelief and anger. How could those bastards see something so normal, so natural as just feeling as something so...abborent? It frustrated her to no end, to reconcile with the fact that her childhood was snatched from her before she was even born, made to suffer just for having something as simple as emotions.

It made a fierce protectiveness befall the cook, not for the first time. No one would harm him the way they did. Not under her goddamn watch.

Whether or not she briefly squeezed the younger closer to her without explination is not brought up. Instead, she keeps the smile on her face as to not worry Sanji. The way he fiddled with her shirt buttons, gliding up to inspect her nicely pressed shirt collar with an admiration in his eyes made her chest tight with affection. At his agreeance to help, followed by the cutest giggle in the world, the cook couldn't stop herself from pressing a kiss to the boy's hair, grin even wider than before. "I know you can! You're gonna be an amazing chef one day." And she meant that, with all her heart.

Sedna had been swimming nearby as there were shipwrecks around the region that she wanted to explore. She had found some artifacts she wanted to take to the surface to see better. The whale shark mermaid was not paying attention as she was swimming towards an island she swam past a few days prior which would be perfect to look at everything she had gathered. The woman was slowly coming up when it was far too late, spotting something large above her.

Squeaking with shock, the mermaid tried to stop in her tracks, but her long tail ended up smacking the rear of the merfolk that was floating on the surface. He was much bigger than her which was rare considering her size, but she put her hands over her mouth trying her best not to make a sound. Once the male put his head under the water she swam a couple feet deeper underneath him to create some distance. The female did not know how he would react, but she quickly put her hands together and bowed slightly to apologize.

Eyes falling on the much smaller being that seemed to be the source of the issue, Shachi relaxed considerably. She didn't seem to be any sort of a threat, especially with him at this current size. With a curious flick of his tail, the hybrid's head tilts to one side, listening to her speak.

There was a brief moment of silent before a wide, sharp-toothed grin spread across his face, looking just a little menacing by accident. "No worries." His voice rumbles, coming out a little slow as its not often he speaks in this form. With another flick of his tail, he moves to lower himself so he's not towering over the poor girl so much. "Sorry t' scare ya. People don't really come near me like this."

Not really something new to him. He was a rarity, an oditiy in this world, something not many got to witness. And when they did, it was even rarer that his ire wasn't turned toward them, teeth bared and preparing to strike.

They were children, he's not wrong about that - but, he's wrong. It was their job to be something, it was her job to be something. Wasn't that why the joined in the first place? A reason to be needed, a reason to do something - or was that just her? She let's out a humourless chuckle, her walls breaking down, "Yeah, I was a child - but, I should have done something." She should have, it's something she's beaten herself up over the years since they left to never return.

Thinking about all those adults in her life - it breaks her heart because as she looks back on things she knows they failed in so many ways, especially with her but she finds it hard to admit that out loud, that Law isn't wrong about that. Because what kind of adult figures let a child become the way she did without a cruel purpose.

"That's not-" Law stopped himself a sighed. She had always been like this, finding any all reason to either be of use, or wish she had been more of use. One of the many strikes against Doflamingo to use a little girl's dsperation to her detriment. Especially without a care for her wellbeing or mental state after the fact.

"You...you argubaly were one of the most valuable people to him. You can make yourself into any personal weapon he wanted, and he didn't even have to pull the trigger." His tone comes out sharp, bitter and disgusted. The perfect weapon for someone like Doffy. "But you shouldn've needed to be anything other than a child." But as it stands, Law knew he wouldn't get through to her like this any time soon. It was something that always rubbed him wrong, seeing as he saw Baby as something of a fucked up version of a little sister.

The change of topic saves him from having a pointless argument with her, instead bringing the surgeon to silence for a moment. "...He's someone hard to forget." A trait he unfortunately shares with his demon of a brother. "...If he could, I'm sure he would've taken you as well." But, just taking Law out of the blue was dangerous enough. And knowing what he knows now, running around with two children would've only put more suspicion on the man.