So remember the confrontation with the Whitebeard pirates?

Yeah, that was three months ago. Now me and Meeko are on a little island called Flora that is a few islands to the north of Marineford. After two months of sailing around the New World something frightening happened.

Kong called, there was a mandatory meeting at Mariejois that Garp was needed to report to. And all five of the Gorosei and two Celestial Dragons would be attending so he could give them a progress report on my magic. After the call on the Den Den Mushi Garp was furious, he was pacing the floor for hours with Bogard, myself and Meeko in his cabin as he ranted about not wanting to go back to Mariejois while the Gorosei and Celestial Dragons all present.

And then Garp had an epiphany.

At the meeting he was supposed to give a progress report. Nothing was mentioned about me having to be present at Mariejois during that.

Is he going to catch hell for that convenient loophole? Oh, you bet your last berri he will. But that's the best thing about Monkey D. Garp, he could care less. So the solution for was to drop off me and Meeko off at Flora on his way back to Marineford so we'd be islands away. Considering it'll take at least three weeks to get to Mariejois, at the minimum a stay of a week there and then to come back to pick us up. Yeah, two months at least on Flora.

Which is actually really nice. Flora lives up to its name with the amount of vegetation that grows on the island, rolling hills filled with flowers and fruit everywhere. Peach trees grow beside the roads so you only have to reach up and grab a snack, berry bushes grow around the cottage I'm renting during my stay and Meeko has come back inside with a juice stained muzzle several times already and we've only been here for only five days now. It is the most beautiful spring island I've ever been too. Did I mention that spring is my favorite season? The weather is not to hot and not to cold. Perfection.

The cottage I'm renting is gorgeous itself. Located about a mile from town for privacy and surrounded by several trees, it has beautiful red brick walls, and a light gray roof is the first thing you see when you walk up the cobblestone path through the trees. The interior walls are a lovely shade of a very light green with pure white doors and shining cherrywood furniture. White sheer curtains line the walls and soft white throw blankets hang across the couches. A super king size bed covered in the most fluffiest white comforter and pillows is where I've found heaven, and the kitchen is beautifully done with copper pots and pans hanging from a trellis that was put on the wall. There is even a small garden in the back where I can use Crescere to grow my herbs. I'm quite proud that I've gotten very proficient in that spell and I'm working on a potion that greatly helps the aliments of arthritis right now. There is a little old lady in town that suffers from it so I want to see if this helps with her daily pain.

I wonder if I can stay here forever.

"Meeko can you bring me some of the frankincense and cats claw out of the back?" Stirring counterclockwise for a few seconds and now to let it simmer for fifteen minutes.

Trotting through the backdoor with the herbs in his mouth like a little bouquet, Meeko jumps to the counter and I take them from his mouth as I pull the stone grinder towards me to put in the cats claw and flax seed to mash down to a pulp. "The garden is overflowing Laurel, anymore and we'll have to sell some at the market to make room for anything new you want to grow. And can you cast Crescere on the berry bushes? It's running low on berries."

"Mah mah well if you stopped eating all of them maybe we wouldn't be running low on them Meeko."

"I do not!" He exclaimed. Turning to him after grabbing a tissue I grab his muzzle gently and wipe it, pulling it away I show the tissue. Stained purple.

"You were saying Meeko?" All of a sudden becoming bashful he pounces off the counter to head to the backdoor. "You're such a meanie sometimes Laurel."

"Love you too Meeko, don't worry I'll get to that later on today, and I'm leaving the house in ten minutes to go to town for a bit so don't worry if I'm not here when you get back." Poking his head around the corner he squeals out a thank you and disappears into the shrubbery again.

Pouring the herb mixture into the pot I give it a quick stir. Once clockwise and three times counterclockwise, and then grabbing a needle its time for the final ingredient.

Blood.

I was grossed out a bit when I first started to make potions after reading that little tid bit. Turns out that the last ingredients in all potions is a drop of blood from the witch that brews it. In the book it details that the enzymes in the blood of a magic user is what makes ordinary herbs and other ingredients extraordinary. If a non magical person were to brew this exact same potion perfectly they still wouldn't be able to make a working potion as a drop of blood is needed both to start and end the brew. One drop into a empty pot then you start adding and stirring, and at the end one last drop. After reading all of that it was actually incredibly interesting.

Laying out some wooden discs made of cherrywood (they are the size of a gold coin with a small hole drilled into the top of it to put a thread through to wear around the neck) I prick my finger and squeeze the tip so a thick drop of ruby red blood falls into the pot. Wrapping up my finger with the band aid I had on hand I take each of the discs ( I have 24 total ) and begin the process of placing each of them inside the potion, fully submerged for fifteen seconds a piece then pull them out and let them air dry on the counter. It was actually fun to watch that part, each time the disc was fully submerged into the potion it actually SUCKED up the liquid into the disc. So at the end of twenty four discs there was no liquid to be found in the pot at all.

Now you can drink the liquid if you wanted an immediate relief, however the effects don't last as long as a disc which I have found to be my preferred method of distributing the potions. The discs can last up to six weeks at a time once they are activated and even a non magic user can activate them as well which is great so I can make as many as I want without worrying about waste. All you have to do is scratch the middle. And then wear it. Simple right?

Cleaning the area and hanging the pot up to dry I grab my bag out off the coat hook by the door and start wrapping and packing all of the discs away in it, grabbing my keys I leave the cottage locking the front door behind me. "Meeko! I'm off now, make sure that if you come in that you wipe off your paws!"

"IT WAS ONLY ONE TIME!" he shouted from the back. That may be, but it only takes once with that amount of white in the house.

TIME SKIP HALF AN HOUR WALK TO TOWN

"Good morning Mrs. Caputo, how is your arthritis today?" Giving the eighty two year old woman a warm hug in hello I place my bag down onto the table and reach in for an amulet.

"I swear that these old bones sound more and more like the groaning of this old house everyday now. You will be an angel if you can actually help me manage this pain Laurel."

Mrs. Caputo runs one of the local pubs in Flora. I met her when I first came to town before I found the cottage. Me and Meeko were roaming the town and the most mouth watering aroma hit us all at once. After she had fed us until we had food coming out of our ears we ended up chatting and bonding fairly quickly. She's been around since before the time of Gol D. Roger and oh the stories she could tell. Captivating is an understatement.

"Do you mind if I put it on for you?" Nodding her head I walk over to where she is sitting and gently move her wispy grey hair to the side so it wouldn't get caught in the chain I had threaded through the disc. Placing the amulet gently over her neck and moving around the the front of her I hold the amulet between my thumb and first finger and in the moment of truth, scratched the center.

Taking a few steps back I ask "How do you feel?" She's just sitting there practically motionless just staring at her hands not looking at me at all. Its starting to worry me. "...e..l" a faint whisper comes from her.

"I'm sorry? Could you repeat that ma'am?"

"Feel...the pain...its ebbing away." She stands up and starts to walk slowly around the room flexing her hands and bending her knees. Walking next to her to steady her if she looses strength we make two laps around the room before she looks to me with the biggest grin on her face.

"Its gone! The pain from my arthritis is gone. I don't care what the rest of the world says about you, you are a good wonderful kind witch and I am so happy to have had you come into my pub so I had a chance to meet you."

"Mah mah , those are very kind words but I need you to focus on a few things for me. Can you still have feeling in all of your limbs?"

"Yes."

"Can you feel the arthritis, but not feel the pain accompanying it?"

"...yeah...its there but only if i focus on it. But still no major pain that usually comes with it."

"Good, that means that in a case of injury or illness the amulet won't mask or hide any symptoms, I want you to wear that for two weeks and keep very close attention to what your pain scale is everyday and keep a log of your pain,daily activities and anything additional that my seem out of the ordinary ok?"

"I can do that Laurel. Now you and that adorable little fox of yours come back to my pub later on this afternoon and I'm going to make you the best meal you've ever had."

Grabbing my bag I give her a quick hug I assure her that we will be back later for a meal. Leaving the shop out to the uneven pavement I take a quick look back into the shop through the big window and have a quiet chuckle to myself as I watch the eighty two year old do a backwards shuffle while laughing like a loon. Turning to make my way to the port I crash into the back of a red shirt on a large figure causing us both to stumble.

"I'm so sorry, that was totally my fault!" Turning towards me the figure looks down at me and I can't believe who it is.

I thought everyone was at Mariejois?!

"Sir Jimbe? What are you doing here?"

SO SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT GUYS. I'VE BEEN SUPER BUSY LEARNING MY NEW JOB AND I'VE BEEN SO TIRED THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS, SO I KNOW I'M PAST MY USUALLY TIME FOR A POST. I HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED THE NEW CHAPTER NOT ALOT OF ACTION I KNOW BUT THIS IS A SLOW BUILD STORY.

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE. I OWN MY O.C. LAUREL LAPUTA AND MEEKO.

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