"Dear Lily,
It's good to hear that you're doing alright, and tell Mary I wish her well and thanks for thinking of us. I'm glad you've been hearing about the Crimson Monarch, I told you he was pretty well known. Nolan's a good guy though when he's not tearing living things apart limb by limb. Oh that reminds me I haven't told you about the others either. I'll go ahead and tell you now.
I'll start with Alicia Tashigi, you know her of course from the tournament. Well I hear she has all manners of names, I believe Bow Black is one but I know her by the Maiden of Misery. You saw her fight before right? Well that demonstration paled in comparison to what it's believed she can do. I heard she cut a galleon apart by sneezing while her sword was drawn and that she can cut you without even drawing her blade. After what I've seen recently I wouldn't doubt that one actually.
Raymond Skalter otherwise known as the Fallen Scholar I don't ask about his past but it's clear he has some nobility in him, it's said his intellect have brought men to their knees but that his skill with the sword is nothing to ignore either. He's a wonderful musician but I advise you be cautious, should you ever hear one of his many songs, consider it a prelude to your own requiem as he only plays the beautiful songs for the ones whose lives he intends to end. Even now I wonder if I'll meet his gaze one day and know my own time has come. They say he walked into a town whistling a tune to himself and by time he reached the exit all the residents had departed from this world.
Then of course there is the captain, Runali. I could go on for days about all the legends surrounding her but I got to see one myself the other day. The Reaper's Eye I didn't believe it but she removed her eye patch and showed it to us. The captain is known as the Melancholy Queen and that eye, with the same color and mystique of mid-winter snowfall is said to be able to not only see how long a person has left to live but take the years away from them. If she willed it she could take all the time you have left and end your life and very existence, and I've heard that all the years she takes goes back to her. That's why she looks so young even though she's the captain, some say she's hundreds of years old...I don't believe it but after seeing that eye...I wonder. She doesn't remove it out of consideration for all those who would gaze upon it, I probably lost five years glancing at it.
Anyway that's all I know for now make sure to tell others what you've heard and. Also concerning that other matter don't bring up those names for me I went through too much trouble with the name Luro Makachi to have it overshadowed by a nickname. Still let the world know who have come together on the open seas.
Sincerely,
Luro Makachi
Luro handed the letter to the news coo and grinned to himself as he watched it fly off into the distance, none of what he said was technically true but he figured since everyone was trying so hard to be better that it'd become truth soon enough. Besides he didn't think it fair that all these people got fancy names and they didn't, Kai was 'The Leviathan', Shouta 'the rookie judge' Alicia was 'bow black' even he had a name in his hometown one that he promptly forgot but still it was there.
If everything went well the names would stick and Luro would be satisfied, with Lily's help and a little influence of his own he could see this going well. Although Luro did feel a little guilty he felt scary nicknames should be born on their own not through others, he figured with this little push more would come forward.
Feeling much better Luro went back into the rum room as it was early morning and he had more work to do.
Luro spent most of this time especially over the past few days researching how to improve his rifle, the exceptions were of course dinners and when he wrote the letter earlier this morning. He made sure to take the time to talk with everyone as he didn't want to ignore his fellow crew members but a majority of his time was spent doing research. He was actually glad someone said something about dinner, he tended to get too lost in his own studies that'd he'd forget to eat, sometimes for days. Luro smiled a little remembering when he almost passed out after staying up for three days straight messing with his original rifle.
Luro sat in the rum room in his throne chair, a schematic was in his left hand and his cheek was rested on his fist as his eyes scanned over the paper yet again, he had forgotten how many times he had viewed it but he could close his eyes and still see all the lines and notes on it. There were a few bags under his eyes as he had barely slept the past few nights, his red hair was disheveled and a few bangs hung in front of his eyes though he had tied it into a low ponytail now just to get it out of the way. Powder decorated his once white shirt as that was what he had been messing with for the past few days and some of it stained his hands as well which a few spots on his face as well, mostly his cheeks but he paid it no mind.
One leg was crossed over the over as he shifted in his seat a bottle of rum resting on the far end of the arm of the chair, he went to grab it only to knock it over causing it to fall. Thankfully the bottle was empty but as he watched it roll he realized he had made a bit of a mess in the room.
Schematics and all manners of personal notes were scattered about the room, drawings of the gun, potential parts, failed attempts, successful attempts, scribbles, each record over the last few days were scattered around the room.
"Hmm," Luro said rubbing the side of his head.
That was all that came from him however as he returned to the schematic, he had all the pieces but for some reason he couldn't get anything to work. Something just wasn't clicking and no matter how many times he messed with it nothing worked the way he wanted it too.
He had studied the flying ship out of curiosity but mainly he wanted to see what made it move, there was no way it could stay in the air and maintain that with just the wind the ship was far too heavy for that but that was common sense. Just as expected they used something else on the inside...and now Luro was trying to imitate that in a way. It wasn't possible to create it but the idea triggered something in his head.
He had to do so in a way that didn't get rid of anything he already made for the gun, the safety of firing multiple times, avoiding bad or damaged flints and of course the powder getting wet though the latter was difficult enough.
"If I could get rid of the hammer then I could remove the tumbler and perhaps use the mainspring in another manner...but without it I have nothing to hold the flint and I can't ignite it. On top of that I'd like to do something about getting the powder wet too which I adjusted with the pan but it's only so successful....ugh..."
Luro ruffled his already messy hair and looked over at his rifle which was leaning against the far wall, he let out a sigh but a small smile rested on his face. The whole matter was unnerving but Luro stilled loved the endless possibilities laid out in front of him, the bag full of mechanical bits was still there and he hadn't even reached half of it yet so he was fine.
If he chose to use another rifle this whole matter would be easier but Luro loved the flintlock he didn't intend on changing it.
"Hmmm well there's only one thing to do then. Drink some more until inspiration hits me or I pass out whichever comes first."
Luro reached for one of the rum bottles but was immediately thrown back when the ship lurched, he fell onto the thrown chair and blinked a few times before he got up and rushed out of the rum room and onto the main deck to see they were in the middle of a storm. He grabbed hold of the mast and laughed as the rain pelted his face causing him to close on of his eyes.
"Whoa look at this! The last time I saw a storm like this I ended up stranded on an island for months! Hahahah! Oh wait that's not a good thing."
Luro's attention immediately shot to Alicia hearing her mention the sail and Luro nodded and started making his way over to her, however he froze as one of the barrels rolled past him, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped as the barrel hit the side of the ship and fell over spilling the contents inside.
The world seemed to slow for just a moment as the top opened and rum fell out of it falling into the sea below, Luro extended his hand towards the barrel a sad cry escaping from him as he rushed towards it and peered over the side to see the rum floating in the water.
"I can still save them! Wait for me!" Luro yelled putting his foot on the ledge however he stopped as he was about to jump and grit his teeth. The Coral came first...just barely but she came first which meant he couldn't save the rum, he had to help with the Coral, it was the captain's orders and it's what his heart told him to do or at least he believed so, honestly at the moment he wasn't sure how much he had drunk the past few hours.
"You're sacrifice won't be in vain I'll enjoy drinking your brother's and sister's even more. Tell Davy Jones he owes me a drink when I meet him."
Luro promptly turned and running over to the main sail grabbed the rope and letting out a loud yell gave it a strong pull though he heard Ray's name mentioned earlier so he figured he'd have help with it.
Luro was thankful the other barrels were alright, he wasn't sure who tied them down but he owed them some thanks later...still that was his favorite barrel and the loss hurt.
"Be careful Tashigi!" Luro yelled looking up at her. "If you fall it'll probably hurt...well a lot! Also I can see up your dress!"
Luro lowered his gaze only to look around before looking back up at Alicia.
"Where's Nolan and Ray at?"
Luro slammed his foot down and pulled with all his might a wide grin on his face as he poured his all into making sure the sail raised, he wasn't against help with it though, the task was hard enough to do without a storm raging but he couldn't help but feel excited all the same.
"This is so great! We need to survive so this can happen again!"