"Ready, Bez?" Spoke another mink. A Large Bison mink named Bif. Loading up crates of produce, stone, wood, and other things that could be sold for little.
Three Years prior, these groups of minks had left their home. A place far away. They were apart of a group that was attempting to return to their home land.
Over Decades, the relevance of Minks had become sparse. There were Islands of small settlements, but the exact whereabouts of their homeland, or cultural homeland, was unknown to many.
This caused many minks to become Nomadic. Traveling the world in search of something to give themselves meaning.
As for Bez, and the Rest. They just want to settle down somewhere new, but after crashing their Galleon in a storm that'd happened just after Dezzi's birth, they were forced to set up on this small island.
Many of them worked at the Nearby island in hope of one day getting a ship that was far more suitable for traveling long distances through the Grand Line
"Yeah." Bez sighed, eyes clearly exhausted despite having ample sleep.
Bez, Bif, Goli a Lion mink, Taog a Ram Mink, and Goji a Gorilla Mink.
The all left the island for weeks at a time. Sometimes the voyages were as short as a couple days or less.
The Island itself was only a few hours over the Horizon, and even without an eternal pose or Log, one would be able to sail to it from memory.
"Hugh…" Taog sighed loudly, causing Goji to shift an eye "What wrong Tao?"
"It's just- Why do we put up with these Humans? Like- Why don't we just become pirates?! Ain't like those damn hairless beast have their best interest in us…They don't even know we're minks! All we do is cover up!"
"Tao…" Goji shook his head with disapproval "Not now."
"C'mon Goji! You know I'm right! We're forced to be laborers for some bastards that would rather sell us out for a quick buck if they had the chance! These fuckin-"
He pulled out a wad of Berry "Pieces of paper have no use to us! Why are we forced to pay for this shit! Paid fuckin' squat! Damn it!"
He harshly threw the wad to the ground, the bills splattering across the deck, before crossing his arms forcefully, giving a final huff.
"You're not wrong." Goli said, eyes hanging shut
"But he's also not right." Goji swung from one of the mast, before scaling down with agility, landing softly on the deck. Extending large callus fingers to gently pick up the bills and finger them into his hands, and flipping them into a stack.
"Sure, Its fucked. But it's the best we got right? Can't complain when at least we're staying a float." Bif the Ox added, attempting to reassure Taog.
With a yawn, Bez and the Group of minks unloaded from the small sailboat.
They all wore leather and wraps across their bodies. With gloves that covered their furred hands.
At a glance they looked totally human. Even Goji, who had shoulders comparable to that of a open door frame, looked and passed as human.
"Seems like their back." Said one of the workers who wore a bandana. Slamming a crate down a top a few others
"Usually they don't come back for a while. Must need more cash." Spoke another, wiping her brow with a rag.
"I tell you, somin' ain't right wit 'em." Spoke another who game up from behind, setting down a load of steel.
"And you've been sayin that since they first showed up, they're some of the best workers this docks have seen in ages." Spoke the woman, sitting down and pulling a cigarette from her overall front pouch.
"I've seen guys that strong before. But, that Toby guy" Toby was Goji "He just doesn't smell right."
"Smell right?" The woman leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees, giving a slap. "What'dya mean? You smell the rest of us? I don't think any of us smell right! Depepep.." She gave a strange laugh
"Man, fuck you guys. You just don't see what I see." He said throwing a glove to the ground and standing up.
"Barns been givin' us eyes this whole time." Goji said under his breath to Taog as he lifted up a ton of steel over his shoulder.
"Lets just Hurry up and get this shift over. Keep your heads low and-"
"Ay! Toby!" Before Bez could continue speaking. Barns interrupted him, loud voice booming over the docks as sounds of saws powered by hand cranks and hammers bounding backed it. Goji, in turn, stood up tall. Barns was the second tallest man on the Dockyard, next to Goji. Both standing at 7'3.
"What goin on with you man." Barns said, wrapping a hand over Goji's shoulder. His grip was tight, like a side bearing chokehold.
Goji attempted to stay calm. Giving a deep chuckle "Whatd'ya mean Barns? What's goin on? You know we gotta shit to do." He attempted to defuse
"Yeah. We got a shift to do. But, I've been thinkin for a while- That you don't belong here." He gave a smile. But it oozed malice and insincereness.
"Hey!" Goji, forcefully unhanded Barns from his shoulder. It wasn't harsh, but with it, Barns was triggered. Quickly snapping
"Don't! Touch me!" The sudden sound caused many around to turn to attention. Eying the situation.
"I don't know who or what you are, but you and this band. You don't smell right."