A bell rang out through the quiet morning, it’s heavy low tone call familiar to all those stationed at the base. Renero looked up from his book, which had the title “The Expeditions to the four Blues: A study of the ever expanding islands.” embossed in a gold archaic font; on a plain blue cover and looked across, were his clothes were folded neatly, and most importantly; his . coat; freshly ironed; hanging Time really flies in the quiet hours of the morning. The mild annoyance that he would have to end his bath and reading was plainly written on his face as he laid the book to the side; using the bound blue silk bookmark to mark his progress and silently finished his bath. It was a quaint half-cut barrel bath but for the likes of him, having a bath every morning was both relaxing ritual that helped him get the day started; It didn’t matter if he took it in the Fleet Admiral’s Golden Bath or in a lake, as long as he could relax in cool water and read, he was set. He rinsed himself one last time to wash off any remaining soapy residue before he got up and dried himself with a course white towel. He slowly got dressed in the usual white short-sleeved shirt; blue neckerchief and dark blue trousers. He set himself in front of the mirror and quickly gave his ruff a quick comb. He finally slipped into a pair of boots; before stopping in front of his hanging coat; a look of pride beaming on his face. He reached for it gingerly; as if afraid that he would tarnish it with a mere touch, before gently resting it upon his shoulders, before he made his way out of his dormitory with a relaxed pace, the coat fluttering with each step.
The sun was scorching hot, the winds carrying warmth on their edge, a sign that they were approaching the land of Alabasta. Renero wasn’t too keen on visiting such a sweltering land, seeing as his fur made it all the worse for him; yet duty called and that was all the reason he needed. Saluting the Officer on duty, although he barely got a glance of recognition in return, before he set himself in line, standing at attention. It was his first time standing with the Ensigns. The rest of the crew joined and soon after, the same ball rang once more; signaling the beginning of their brief, as the man in front, a rugged man; long white sideburns and a look that could split a cannonball, picked up a receiver off the large den-den that lay next to him. “Men, as you already know; we have finally reached our destination. This should be a mostly quiet stay, but don’t let your guard down. There are those who still seek to plant the seeds of discord, especially in the seat of power” He stopped, letting his words echo over the den den speaker. “By the next hour, be packed and ready to disembark. Dismissed men.” He finished plainly, resting the receiver on the table that stood next to him as the men below saluted.
Although not so fond of the weather, sweat already matting his fur, he could not deny he looked forward to finally serving his first tour at a Marine Base. Since he graduated from a cadet, he had been on ship after ship, rarely staying on land for more than a few days before departing in the wild blue sea, patrolling against the growing menace of pirate scum. Well, Renero did more cleaning and training then actual patrolling, although he did get the occasional overwatch duty at night and he always secretly wished that some low life would show their flag yet no such luck, although it was to be excepted in the most well patrolled routes. He set off once more to his room to pack what little belongings he had. Although he had spent most of his life serving, only after he got promoted to Petty Officer did he start getting a monthly paycheck and even then, it was not that large; yet he had saved it all for this occasion; His promotion to Ensign. Although he could still wear his old uniform, he kept that only to use when training; He now could wear anything he desired and as soon as he settled in the base, he would go look for a proper outfit.
Renero spent rest the next hour training, lifting leading weights on the deck as the other marines conducted their training regiments; stabbing cloth sacks with swords and sparring. He would have preferred the latter, yet few found interest in sparring with a “beast man” two times their size. The heat made the dumbbells weight a thousand kilos more, yet he bit through it; This was going to be the condition of work for the coming time, which may be years before he might find himself stationed someplace else. Sweat dripped of his ruff as he did the last training set before dropping them with a cracking thud, yet thankfully the noise was lost among the shouts of vigor and training of the rest of the marines. As he undid his blue handkerchief and whipped the sweat off his brow, he felt eyes starting on him. It was no unusual, he was the only Minkman on board after all. He had yet to meet on in service, although he knew there were others. There had to be, right? He turned his attention to his side to see the person who had their stare fixed on him, a shaking young chore boy, clutching a typed brief as if his life depended on it.
“That’s for me?” Renero husked; though the boy remained silent, his face laced with sweat, an unflinching stare. Seeing no response, he took the brief from the boy’s hand, who seemed to melt as he touched him, running off as fast as his two little legs could carry him. It had only a few lines, but they conveyed their message clearly. Very clearly. Yet, he read it twice. Then thrice, just to be sure, Among the sweat, a few tears fell upon his ruff. A squad; He was going to be assigned to a squad. G-6. He never heard of it, but he didn’t need to. The fact he was chosen was more than enough. Getting up, he hurried off to his room, wanted to celebrate with another cool bath.
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It took him a while, as the task of making clothes for such an abnormal frame proved too bothersome for many, especially without a high payment a marine paycheck could not support but finally, Renero found a tailor that could cater to his tastes. He didn’t seem too keen but he took the order, whilst grumbling about the lack of work recently. The store had only one textile enough in stock to make his shirt; black with green floral imprints. Although he was worried it might leave a bad impression on his new team mates and commander, time was of the essence and deep down, he thought it didn’t look too bad. It cost him practically most of his savings and he could not afford to pay for a tie, so it had to make due. The Tailor, an angular and small balding man with a bushy beard; worked like his life depended on it; taking measurement after measurement; grumbling about “Nanohana” whilst his spindly assistant cut and sewed in silence and Renero read about faraway lands, from the infamous Loguetown to small towns.
A few hours later, he walked out in the streets, his white cape flowing in the wind. It was “rushed” work according to the Tailor, yet Renero found complained, loose and comfortable; it felt good on him. The man declined the meagre tip Renero offered him, which suited him fine; Although he would now be getting a bigger paycheck, that was still a month away and he had to survive on the remaining savings he had.
The hustle and bustle of the tight-packed streets made every step take a minute and even though his larger frame and white cape of justice afforded him a bit of space that kept people from bumping into him, he still had to make haste as to not arrive late at the meeting, even though the station was in view from where he stood, although a lot of things were in view thanks to his size. With a quick gait, he made his way, eying the crowd behind his darkened spectacles, looking out for any handsy fellows; beggars and vagrants lined the streets, yet, his walk to the meeting point was uneventful to say the least. Looking up at the giant clock that lay on top of the entrance gate, he saw that he was just a few minutes early. Renero re-read the letter to make sure he got the place right, although it was more of habit than anything else, as each word has been ingrained in his times from the two dozen times he had read it before. It was strange to note that he was addressed as Renero D. Wajima; When registered into the cadet academy and then promoted to Marine, the D has always been present, yet he did not know what it stood for; When he asked, all he got was strange looks and shrugs. Maybe it was just an error that error that had stuck with him. Unlikely, but he wouldn’t have thought it was likely he would be drafted into active duty with a Branch Unit.
He looked around, searching for any sign of a Marine Official, yet he could see no one that struck him as such. Maybe his commander was stuck in the crowd; maybe they got caught up dispensing justice; It was not for Renero to judge. Finding an empty and quiet seat, curling his tail to his waist before sitting. Resting his back, he stared at the horizon The sun had begun to dip and for the first time in a long time, he felt a drum in his heart, a drum of eagerness, hope, fear and excitement. He tried to calm himself by continuing to read, yet the words were not making sense, finding himself unable to focus with all these emotions beating in his mind, deafening everything else that went around him. He just stared onwards through the black tinted shades, hands clasped together as his tail passively beating against his gut in excitement.