The newly named Phantom Sailors/Pirates docked in their first Grand Line island.
"I am not going on a winter island. You guys have fun." Fredric announced as he went back into the warm interiors of the eldritch tech marvel that is Herbie.
"He really doesn't like the snow, huh?" Dud observed he was wearing a deep blue winter jacket with matching fluffy earmuffs and yellow wool gloves, the color scheme of Huggy Wuggy.
Reiju shook her head before disembarking; she was dressed similarly but in the color scheme of Kissy Missy.
They left the port and caught the attention of a teen couple.
"Hello!" greeted Reiju.
"Hello!" the teens greeted back.
"I am Rei, and this is my partner Dud. Do you know how long it will take for the log pose to set?" Reiju introduced herself and Dud as she laced her arm in his.
"I am Fiona, and this is my partner Franky. It takes about 16 hours for the log pose to set. Your jacket looks nice, Rei. Where can I order it from?"
"Thanks, Fiona, it is from..."
"Are you guys free?" Franky asked Dud as the girls got lost in the world of fashion.
"Yeah, we are," Dud answered.
"Then you should definitely attend the Plushies festival that is going to take place tomorrow; you will have a lot of fun." Franky said with a grin, which caught the girls' attention.
"Oh yeah! You definitely should attempt the Crystal Acorn challenge! It is like the biggest thing for couples around here! This year is going to be our 3rd go at it!" Fiona stated as she nearly started ranting.
Dud and Reiju chatted a little longer with the young couple and went their separate ways.
"Should we drag Fredric to the festival?" Dud asked as they walked around town with their arms laced together.
"As funny as it would be, no." Reiju replied as she dragged Dud to a store where something caught her eye.
The next day.
"Is everyone who wants to participate here?" said the announcer into a megaphone, getting an enthusiastic yeah from the participants.
"Remember the rules! The rope connecting you to your partner must not be broken! You must not hurt the snow squirrels. You must not destroy the environment! Yes, I am talking about you, Greg & Goldie. You must not hurt/sabotage other participants; help each other if you can, and finally remember this is not a race! IS THAT CLEAR!?"
"YEAH," came the enthusiastic response of the participants.
"Happy scavenging!!" yelled the announcer, receiving a thunderous cheer from the audience.
"They are intense." Reiju noted with a smile.
"Heyo. Are the two of you new in town?" asked an older man with a smile as he greeted our budding duo.
"Oh, we are just travelers who got roped into this competition." Dud said with a wave of the hand that connected him to Reiju, earning him a laugh from the older couple.
"Any advice for complete newbies?" Reiju asked, and the older couple exchanged a glance with a smile.
"Why don't you join us? We can teach you all about the festival," offered the lady.
"We would like that. I am Dud, and this is Rei." Dud introduced himself and Reiju.
"I am Kacper," and "I am Zofia," the older couple introduced themselves.
"...so the acorns we are searching for are not really acorns but ice shells?" Dud asked as he held up a clear ice sculpture in the shape of an acorn with an actual mini acorn inside of it.
"A bit of both, actually," said Zofia as she took one of her own and showed him how to separate the acorn and the shell, and a very pleasant aroma started wafting from the acorn.
"The acorns are used for flavoring and perfume, and when processed right, can make beautiful gems," Zofia said, showing the couple the bracelet on her husband's wrist that had beautiful gems of various colors. "The shells can be filed with a liquid made from the sap of the trees that makes amazing light sources," she said with a fond smile.
"So is the entire competition an excuse to get free labor?" Reiju asked with a frown.
"Goodness! no. The event is mainly for couples, and to give the people of the town something to do, we already have everything harvested and prepared. Kaceper told the novice flame mage, mollifying her.
"Fiona told us to watch out for the snow squirrels, but so far we haven't really run into them." Dud expressed his doubt.
"Oh, you will meet them soon." Zofia assured them with a mischievous smile.
The group spent a few more minutes talking and then went their separate ways, with Dud and Reiju holding a small basket nearly filled with crystal acorns each.
"This has been pleasant," Rei said, taking a deep breath.
"Yeah, it is good to just spen—WOAH!" Dud explained as he tripped over nothing and fell with the rope pulling Reiju on top of him, and they found each other's faces centimeters apart.
Their eyes locked to each other with hearts beating hard with a mixture of adrenaline and budding romantic feelings, but any developing feelings were squashed by chittering laughter that seemed to come from everywhere around them.
"Those must be the squirrels." Reiju said not to try to move.
"Yeah," Dud said, not trying to move either.
Yeah, I am not narrating the rest of the date/romance event; long story short, they had a good time playing around in the plantation till it was time for them to return.
"First place like always goes to the Drey couple!" announced the announcer, gesturing to the suspiciously squirrel-like couple, earning them a round of applause as they took the large trophy filled to the brim with raw crystal acorns without the icy shells.
"Second place goes to Greg and Goldie!" announced the announcer with a voice tinged with surprise, making the muscley couple jump up in surprise. The announcer waited for the super strong couple to calm down before presenting them with a smaller trophy also filled to the brim with raw crystal acorns.
"And the third place goes to Fiona and Franky!" The announcer announced, earning him a loud shriek and thunderous applause from the locals.
"Thank you for your participation! We hope to see you next year!" The announcer said, bringing the event to an end.
"Do you want to stay for the rest of the celebration?" "Dud?" asked he as he eyed his log pose, which was now set to the next island.
"Yeah." Reiju said softly as she eyed the acorn shell buds that glowed with various colors, coloring the town in a soft, colorful light that made her emotions try to break free of her modifications.
Dud smiled at her, and they joined the festivities with their hands interlocked.
A few hours later, they returned to Herbie with a simple necklace decorated with a simple crystal pendant that represented each other's colors and left the town with fond memories.