"Where are you, Kuhn?" Lina mumbled, pouting from the lookout point. Sitting up, she took another glance down at the tasting ground out in front of the inn. She grimaced as there seemed to be more of a crowd mulling about. It was still more than a few hours until it began, but there was some antsiness. Lina's heart leapt as she realized a potential cause: was the wine arriving? Looking around, she started seeing some uniforms: purplish suits from the looks of it.

"Is there a reason you're snooping around, ma'am?"

Lina felt her heart split from her body. Hopping up, lips curled into an innocent smile, she saw as one of the purple suited men and come across the lookout.

"Hmm? What? Uh..."

"Why are you here?" He asked. She saw that he had an emblem on his breast of four berries, a spark shooting off as she realized he was part of the winery.

"I was..." Lina muttered, before realizing just how suspicious she looked with her sword in this weird place.

"She was just resting," came another voice. The two turned to see an orange haired boy about Lina's age. The guard look between the two, before he raised his fist, snarling, "So buzz off already!"

The guard's eye twinged in frustration before he turned off, leaving the two be. Lina let out a sigh, mumbling, "Thanks."

The boy was quiet for a moment, before asking, "So, what [i]are[/i] you doing here?"

"...Snooping," Lina said plainly. As the boy frowned, she said, "Well, I'm not here for tasting, if that's what you think."

The boy seemed to think for a moment, before saying, "I think I know what you're after...do you-"

"Wait," Lina interrupted. Blinking, she realized, "Were...were you watching me?"

"Buh? Uh..." he stammered, stunned speechless. Lina gave an awkward smile before shuffling off.

Behind her, Saff watched her go, rapping his knuckles against his head.

---

Letting out a sigh, Macario lounged on the deck of the Breeze. He glanced around, as if certain spectral might pop up, before checking his hand, where a spherical compass lay.

"The Grand Line, huh?" He muttered. They were close. But then what? Macario had his duties, and the possibility they would align with the impossibly free spirit that was Chester was...unlikely.

...So? There was no commitment. Macario didn't have to help with any wine heists or company beatdowns. But the Saoboady Archipelago was a hell of a way away, and Chester seemed as likely to get there was anyone.

Macario's ear twitched, and he looked up to see a figure down below on his boat. Jumping up, he snarled, "Hey!" The figure, clad in green began to head away, when Macario realized he had something in his hands. Jumping up, Macario leapt over the railing, bearing down as the man jumped back to the dock. Pulling back his fist as he landed, he cried, "Xun!" A burst of air smashed the grunt away, launching him into the hull of another ship, where he smashed out of sight, the briefcase clattering to the dockside. Hopping over, Macario picked it up, dusting it off and checking the contents briefly. "Bastards..." he muttered.

Glancing over to the cityscape of Stagio island, his eyes widened. "They know we're here!" Clenching his fist, his foot made to move for a moment, before he turned back to the ship, slinging the briefcase over his shoulder. "They can handle themselves..."

---

Opening the door of the bustling inn, Lina stepped aside as a man was thrown through the doorframe. Grimacing, she saw Kuhn at the center of things. Why were he and Chester so competitive!?

As he arm wrestled the next contestant, Lina got a bit closer, yelling over the noise, "Kuhn! What do you think you're doing!?"