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Bepo dives into the freezing cold water, the chill muted by his thick coat. He yells out Law’s name but he’s already sinking. He angles himself downward and propels himself deeper into the water, just managing to grab Law by his coat. He pulls him to shore and lays him down on the dirt as Shachi watches anxiously and Penguin shakes Law frantically.
Law’s eyes flutter open as he chokes and coughs up some water onto his soaking clothes. The icy air sinking it’s fangs into his flesh and gnawing on his muscles and bones, refusing to let go of its catch. He pushes Penguin away and firmly places his trembling hands in the dirt, coughing and spluttering harshly, the effects of the water still sapping his energy. His arms trembling as he leans on his hands.
Eventually he pulls himself to his feet, the ground below him damp and his clothes still soaking wet. He crosses his arms tightly, trying to keep himself warm. He doesn’t need to catch a cold, they have a lot of distance to cover.
“Maybe we should set up camp for a while and dry your clothes.” Penguin suggests.
“It’ll take too long.” Law’s answers are blunt as another chill runs down his spine, his teeth chattering. He peels off his coat, heavy from all the water and wrings it out. He takes a few shaky steps away from the others, his body practically vibrating and hides in some shrubbery to wring out the water from the rest of his clothes. Putting them back on is unpleasant to say the least. They stick to his skin and are almost unbearably cold. However, Law reasons with himself that walking should be enough to warm himself up, or at least keep his internal temperature high enough to function.
Law’s other jacket is now lost to the sea in the bag he’d been carrying. He doesn’t care enough to make Bepo go back into the water to retrieve it. It’s probably sunk too deep by now. Thankfully, Penguin has a spare scrappy jacket he stole in the previous town and hands it to Law.
They continue their journey, venturing into the forest, following the route that Bepo mapped out a few days prior to the nearest town. They still have a lot of ground to catch up on since they slept in this morning.
As they walk, the remaining water coating Law’s clothes seeps into the dry jacket Penguin had given him, the damp clothing making him feel worse. He still feels exhausted and brushes it off as a side effect from being submerged in salt water.
The dead shrubbery and leafless trees provide no cover from the wind that continues to pick up. A few sticks are scattered along their path but most of them are still damp from the rain last night. They won’t be very useful if they want to make a fire.
Bepo remains in front, guiding them. Shachi and Penguin chat about what stick looks most like a gun and Law trails a bit behind them. His eyelids feel heavy and a slight haze resides over his mind. His trembling fingers starting to burn in the wind that nips at his skin. His legs feel heavy and it’s getting harder to move them.
Shachi finds a couple of dry sticks and starts collecting them, saving them in his makeshift backpack. He offers one to Law saying that it makes the journey more fun, earning him an eye roll. As Shachi gets a better look he realises how much Law is shaking. He tries to ignore his concerns but they continue to simmer in his gut.
Law continues to trail behind, each step becoming harder than the last. He keeps forgetting where they are going. Why are they in this creepy looking forest? He looks up at the grey over clouded sky, his vision spinning and wishes that the sun could come out. He’s so cold. He can feel it in his bone marrow.
Leaves crunch under the boys’ feet and the ground is less damp. Penguin looks around, trying to find a good place to stop. He catches up with Bepo at the front, trying to figure out how much left they need to cover before taking a break. He assumes Law will object to any breaks today but they really need to eat something before someone collapses.
“We should try for at least another kilometre before we stop for lunch.” Bepo shrugs, pointing at the map. “But we’ve been making some pretty good progress all things considered.”
Penguin glances back over his shoulder to see Shachi pretending to cast spells with a stick and lagging further behind is Law. He sighs and jogs back towards Law.
“Come on, we’ve got about a kilometre to go before lunch.”
“Sounds good.” Law mumbles, his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth. The words come out a little slurred. He tries to force himself to pick up the pace but his body feels like it’s pleading with him to stop. He isn’t shivering anymore. That’s a good thing, right?
Law looks over blearily at Penguin, “M’tired.”
“Yeah I know. Just a bit further.” Penguin encourages, trying to keep everyone’s spirits up. He knows he isn’t the captain. Not officially. However, it’s times like these where he remembers that he is the oldest and needs to act like it.
Law blinks slowly, his eyes drifting over the skeletal trees then up to squint at the sky, trying to find the sun. His shoe snags on a tree root, sticking out of the ground and he smacks into the ground, all the air leaving his lungs. His ears are ringing and he manages to roll over onto his side, gasping for air. Each sharp inhale wheezing and squeaking against his vocal cords. Someone is calling out to him but he can’t make out what they’re saying. He just lays there, pain radiating through his tingling body as he tries to catch his breath. Nervous hands hover cautiously by him but don’t make contact. Law is grateful for that, at least.
“All in favour of stopping here?” Penguin asks, looking over the other three. He raises his hand and waits. After a few moments, Shachi joins him and raises his hand. Law glares at Bepo trying to telepathically will him into disagreeing with the others but Bepo raises his hand too. They still have much further to go.
Where are they even going? Law can’t remember. Why is he on the floor? What is happening?
His thoughts continue to spiral, becoming less coherent and distinct. All he wants to do is close his eyes and sleep.
Shachi takes the sticks he collected and starts constructing a fire near where Law remains curled up on the ground, dirt mixing into his damp clothes. Penguin kneels down next to him and takes some food out of his bag.
“Are you hungry?”
Law mumbles some incoherent response, his words running into each other. This only makes Penguin more concerned. He can tell that Law is significantly paler than before and he isn’t shivering. He should be shivering. They all are, and Law should be much colder than the rest of them because of his damp clothes. He barely understands what Law is saying but picks up on the fact that he’s cold.
“I know, I know. We’re starting a fire.”
As he says this, Shachi and Bepo manage to start the fire, blowing on it to try make it bigger. The flames start to dance and radiate heat. Law’s eyes drooping shut.
“No- no you need to stay awake.” Penguin stammers. He’s not sure if he’s right. He’s not even sure why he said that. His words purely fuelled by anxiety. He tries to think about how they could warm Law up. However, it’s difficult when his thoughts keep spiralling towards the fact that something is very wrong and will probably get worse.
“Law, we need to get you out of those wet clothes, ok?” Penguin says, trying to seem like he knows what he’s talking about. He carefully unbuttons his spare coat, and tries to take it off Law who unsurprisingly protests.
“No. Don’t touch me.” Law slurs, his voice weak. He catches a glimpse of the fire and tries to push himself to his feet to move closer to it but his muscles refuse to cooperate. With his remaining strength, he moves onto his hands and knees, painfully crawling towards the fire, Shachi having to stop him from falling directly into it.
He feels himself being moved and in his barely conscious state he tries to fight back. Someone is pulling at his shirt and fear bubbles in his gut. He tries to say something but he can’t. He isn’t sure where he is anymore, much less what’s happening. Tears well up in his eyes and he weakly thrashes around, his body moving much slower than he needs it to. Frustration and fear boiling in a confusing mix, spreading through his nervous system.
“Law, I think you’re hypothermic. We need to get you into dry clothes.” Penguin says gently, removing his hands from Law, “But I need you to tell me that it’s ok for me to do that first.”
Law hesitates for a few moments, trying to process Penguin’s words. He cracks his eyes open, trying to focus on the figures around him. All three boys stare at him with concern. It’s just Shachi, Penguin and Bepo. He’s safe. He’ll be ok. He’s not back there. He’s not with the Doflamingo Pirates anymore.
“Ok.” Law croaks out, his voice unsteady. He fights to keep his eyes open as Penguin helps him out of his clothes. Penguin takes off his own sweater and puts Law in it. Since Penguin is older and taller, it goes down to Law’s knees, leaving him feeling less exposed. He stays near the fire as Shachi builds a makeshift line with some sticks and rope, hanging up his clothes near the fire to dry.
Bepo remains close to Law, his soft fur brushing against him. Law shuffles closer, his body aching for warmth. Bepo looks over and notices, repositioning himself to lay down so that Law can lay on top of him. It’s odd – scary almost – seeing Law so weak and docile.
Bepo remains laying close to the fire, Law draped over him. His eyes slowly droop shut as he soaks in the warmth of the fire and the fur below him. Something is draped over him, probably one of their unzipped sleeping bags. He drifts in and out of lucidity, unable to move from his cosy spot due to how weak his muscles felt.
Penguin and Shachi huddle by the fire with their sleeping bags too, occasionally glancing over at Law. Eventually, Bepo can feel him start shivering and isn’t sure of this is a good or a bad thing. He looks over at the others and asks for confirmation.
“It’s good.” Law murmurs from under the sleeping bag, his eyes cracking open. “And warm…” He hums softly, a smile sluggishly spreading across his face.