Kincaid

Cyrus looked down at the well worn herbalism book he had pinched from a local book store only days before. He had never really dabbled in poisons before, but seeing the book and having nothing better to do he had decided to try his hand at a little poison craft. As a Revolutionary Agent, it couldn't really hurt to know how to craft at least a few different types of poisons. Maybe just something to knock his enemies unconscious, leafing through the book he had managed to locate a few different types of flora located here on Jaya Island that were known for their ability to lower heart rate and blood pressure. Cyrus figured if he combined enough of these, mashed them together and added a splash of some water or some sort of catalyst, he'd have a potable sleep serum or something of the like.

Popping open the center of the book, he stared down at the wrinkled bar napkin he had used to take notes, listing the various types of flowers and roots he'd need to concoct his poison. Three different types of flora in total, he wasn't sure the exact amount of each he'd need, deciding that would come later. For now he just wanted to locate them and harvest as much as possible.

Standing on the edge of the northern Jaya jungle, Cyrus took a deep breath and sighed. He wasn't exactly the outdoorsy type. Bugs creeped him out, animals perturbed him and no natural weather could compare to the sweet, clean taste of central air conditioning. What he really strived for however, was a lab of his own someday. Some large, state of the art facility where he could maximize his robotics research, produce massive metallic creatures that would shock and stun the world.

Oh well, everything in steps I suppose. Cyrus said, adjusting his single shoulder bag for collecting the ingredients before venturing into the jungle. Inside he found the air to be surprisingly cool, the massive leafy trees surrounding him offered a welcome break from the intense sun found on the beaches of Jaya. A constant buzzing echoed throughout the jungle, the symphony of millions of insects going about their daily routine. Cyrus found the whole thing somewhat unnerving.

Alright so first thing's first, something called creeping root. He said to himself, reading the entry about the type of tree the roots grew under, Heh, creeping root? What's next? Eye of newt and little puppy dog tails? He joked to himself, but the ensuing hollow echo of his singular chuckle only reinforced how very alone he was in this vegetation.

After a few minutes he spotted the tree that the creeping root liked to grow under, Hmm according to this, the creeping root isn't actually the root of this tree. It's a parasite that wraps around the roots of the Tiger Budding Tree and literally squeezes the life out of it. Cyrus stared down at the book entry in silence for a moment as he processed this, Damn nature, you scary. He said with a shake of his head before bending down and beginning to dig at the soft soil beneath the tree.

A few minutes later he had exposed several roots of the large  tree and managed to find about half a dozen thin white roots wrapped around the tree roots. He had used his strings to cut them free and held one up to the entry in the book, Yep, that looks about right. He said before placing the white Creeping Roots in his herb bag.
Next up, the leaves of a Lawn Palm. He reread the name on the entry and frowned, That sounds like someone just made up the name on the fly. Surely that's not real...then again I guess making names up for things is 30% of science.

Walking along, Cyrus eventually came across a grove of palm trees with large, blue palm leaves. Red lines zigzagged through the blue leaves, showing Cyrus some of the strangest plant life he had ever seen. Yeaaaah those are definitely poisonous. Cyrus said, scratching his head as he looked up at the leaves a good thirty feet above his head, wondering how he was going to get up there. Snapping his finger he smiled, Oh right, duh.

Even well over a month and a half later, the Revolutionary was still getting used to his new Devil Fruit powers and often forgetting them. He dropped his bag on the ground for safe keeping so as not to have it open on the way up and spill his Creeping Root. Launching several threads up towards the top of the tree, he began pulling himself up, rapidly scaling the trunk of the tree and then suspending himself while harvesting another half dozen leaves. The leaves were large, but folded easily like paper.

Back on the jungle floor he folded the leaves into quarters, easily stuffing them into his botanical bag. However, rustling in the trees behind him made him turn suddenly, leaving the bag on the ground as he gazed through the trees. What in the- He muttered to himself before slowly turning back to his bag only to find a large furry creature leafing through it in curiosity.

Wahhh! Cyrus cried out in surprise, jumping back a bit. What the hell are you? The creature looked up at him, also recoiling a few steps back from Cyrus's sudden noise, his bag in its large, ape-like hand. The creature reminded him of some sort of monkey, big cat hybrid. It was probably half his size, far larger than any monkey he had seen, but had the trademark tail and long limbs used for moving deftly through treetops.


The creature cocked its head to the side as Cyrus studied it. Slim muscle shown through the fur and Cyrus could tell this was a beast he didn't need to tangle with, but unfortunately it also held his bag of supplies captive.
Um...hi there? Good...boy?
The creature breathed hard suddenly through its nostrils, clearly displeased, Girl! Girl, good girl then, that's fine. Cyrus said, placing his hands out to show he was of no threat.

If I could just...if I could just get that bag back reaaaaaal quick, that'd be great. He said, slowly approaching the creature so as not to spook it and cause it to flee. The creature regarded him curiously before looking behind him suddenly as Cyrus felt something land on the jungle floor maybe two feet behind him. Freezing, he turned his head slowly to see two more of the creatures skulking towards him on their fists. They passed by him, frozen in place, looking him up and down before joining their friend.

Around Cyrus the trees began to rustle as more furry heads and arms poked their way out of the Lawn Palms. Cyrus swallowed hard as his eyes darted around the treetops, counting around a dozen of the creatures. Um...yeah, so like I was saying. He said, beginning his slow approach again. However, one of the new creatures noticed his approach and turned quickly, baring sharp, angry teeth at him which caused Cyrus to freeze immediately in place.

Sighing, the Revolutionary said, Okay fine, screw this. Slacking out a large bundle of strings from both hands, Cyrus quickly slashed his hand across the nearest monkey-cat (MC for short). One moment the MC was standing there, the next it was falling apart into six cleanly cut pieces. The other two MCs paused, staring at their friend in confusion. It was eerily quiet as Cyrus simply stared at them, waiting for a reaction to their bloodied slab of a friend. Then, one of the MCs began making what could only be described as a bull frog ribbit, croaking and rustling the tree branches. The others joined in, creating a deafening roar of croaks as the two nearest Cyrus bared their fangs.

Cyrus raised his hands to his ears to block out the sound as one of the MCs took off on all fours, headed straight for him. It leapt into the air, claws and fangs bared to rip him to shreds, but Cyrus was faster as he swiped his hand across the creature. Large chunks of Monkey-Cat rained down around him, accompanied by a large splash of warm blood coating his jacket. Shaking his hands Cyrus groaned, Ugh, gross. That's definitely going to stain.

The final MC in front of Cyrus backed up as her friends began descending from the trees, the croaking dying down as they stalked towards him. Cyrus put out his hand, Come on, give it to me. He said, indicating the herbalist bag the creature was still holding. The MC looked down at the bag before pulling it closer to its chest. Cyrus looked around, time clearly not on his side, Fine, but let it be known I asked nicely first. He then slashed a single finger across the air, decapitating the MC in a beautiful crimson fountain of blood. Quickly he attached strings to the carrying bag, pulling it to him as all hell broke loose.

The remaining MCs descended upon him, but Cyrus was prepared as he launched bundles of string to the nearest tree, pulling himself up and out of the fray as they all collided with one another. From the tree tops Cyrus began swinging through, the bag hanging on for dear life strapped across his chest as the MCs gathered themselves, realized Cyrus had escaped and began their pursuit.

Like a scene out of a George of the Jungle movie, Cyrus ran and swung through the trees as carefully but as quickly as possible, often being whacked in the face by small branches or eating bugs lazily buzzing through the air. Behind him a pack of pissed off creatures croaked and roared through the trees, gaining on him with their vast amount of experience in this mode of transportation.

However, where the MCs excelled physically, they had nothing on Cyrus intellectually. From time to time he'd blindly swipe his hand backwards, causing nearly invisible strings to slice cleanly through branches and even entire trunks of trees. The crashing and splintering of wood roared around him, causing the MCs to fall from the trees or even be crushed.

Up ahead the trees thinned and Cyrus found himself cornered on a thin cliff overlooking the sea. Stepping to the edge he looked down and swore, Well, shit. He turned back to leave just as the remaining MCs, about six in total appeared angrily from the trees and cut off his escape.
Oh hey guys, um, so about that little mix up with your friends. Cyrus said with a smile, his jacket still covered in their warm blood.

The creatures croaked and then charged, but Cyrus was faster, pulling himself back into the trees and over the monkeys. He flipped over them and, while upside down, opened both hands and slashed through the thin rock cliff with ten razor sharp threads. The cliff crumbled away just as the monkeys reached its edge, taking them with it to the roaring sea below. From the branch of a tree Cyrus simply waved before disappearing back into the jungle for his final ingredient.

About half an hour later, Cyrus left the jungle, bloodied (thankfully not his), sweating, and mildly bruised with a sack full of ingredients. He didn't even look back at the jungle behind him as he walked away back to Mock Town to begin his experiments. Instead he simply flipped the bird towards the jungle and said, Fuck you nature.

[end]