1 - Crocodile and Yvonne

Yvonne's smile stayed in place. Ah. He didn't have a plan, then. "No. Probably not", she simply answered, leaning back a little and resting her hands on her own lap. "I'm afraid there aren't many ways out of here anyway. I can think of one, maybe two", she added, keeping her tone casual. She supposed Crocodile would never steep so low as to talk to the locals to gather informations - if she didn't keep an eye on him, she risked to wake up the morning after only to find out he had murdered some poor islanders in order to take a ship for himself.

Crocodile held Yvonne's gaze, and kept this cold smile plastered on his lips through the rest of the meal. In the end, when he was done, he pushed his dish away and stood up. "I suppose we'll be seeing each other tomorrow, then. Don't try anything rash tonight - that would be in your best interest." He walked past Yvonne, straight back towards the bar, where he paid for his room, and - surprisingly enough - for both their meals.

Yvonne narrowed her eyes at him. "And I suggest you heed your own advice, then", she simply answered. She disdainfully turned her head towards the opposite side when Crocodile passed by, intentionally ignoring him for the time being. When she got close to the counter to pay for her own meal and room, she couldn't hold back the surprise in finding out that he had paid for her food - it didn't please her, though. She found it infuriating.
Yes, unfortunately he was right - they'd see each other the next morning, again. She couldn't avoid to feel a certain kind of secret glee about him being stuck like some newbie - but it was all erased by the fact that she was also stuck there like some newbie.
You win some, you lose some.

Despite the cold shower taken before laying down, despite the... establishment being decisively subpar compared to what she was used to, and despite having her sleep plagued with the fact that she was sleeping in close quarters with the enemy, Yvonne couldn't really complain about not being rested the morning after. She had gotten up at dawn, like she always did, and had proceeded with her usual routine as if nothing was wrong at all. Washing her face, doing her hair. The small tube of lipstick she had bought the previous evening from the general store had maybe been a little whim born out of vanity, but she would concede that to herself.
Even with the little she had at her disposal, she made do - and taking care of herself never failed to make her feel better. She made her way downstairs quickly and, after asking for some light breakfast, she started to chat with the innkeeper, who was all too happy to talk - and share vital information - with a foreigner who was actually behaving in a friendly way.

Crocodile never slept much. He too had woken up at the crack of dawn, but unlike Yvonne he had taken the opportunity to take a little stroll on the shores of the island.

The sand there had a few things to tell him, notably about the weather around this island. It was most likely regularly stormy there, hence the reason why the island was kind of isolated from the rest of the world. It did have varying seasons, however, so they might expect some better, sunny and calm days on which to sail away from there.

He took a cigar out, and lit it up as he made his way back to the town. Thankfully enough, there was a tailor there, and after a little persuasion - some coins and an icy glare - he had gotten him to work on sizing up a coat right away.

An hour later, the work was done, the poor man got his money - and another glare - and Crocodile made it back to the inn.

While Crocodile studied the environment with a more hands-on approach, Yvonne had preferred to mingle with the locals - specifically the inn's regulars, and the fishermen who bought their bait and working tools from the close by general store. 

Thankfully it seemed like the scarce contact with foreigners hadn't done anything to make these people scared of strangers - quite the opposite, everyone seemed quite eager to have a chat and help her out. A kind smile here, a polite exchange there, and she learned that the island she was currently stranded on was the smallest and latest of an archipelago sadly well known for the unstability and unpredictability of the waters that surrounded it - varying seasons, indeed. 

Apparently, the maelstrom that had made her fall into the ocean was a four-time-per-year occurrence.
Great.

One of the fishermen probably caught her distressed expression and was so kind as to gift her an old but still good copy of the navigation route the locals used to travel between the islands, among other useful advice. Yvonne had found her smile back, thanked the kind civillians and made her way back to the inn. 
They'd find a glass of beer paid for each one of them once they'd make their way back in the evening.

When Crocodile would get back in the inn, Yvonne would be sitting at the same table from the previous evening - no glass of cheap gin this once, only some water and the old chart splayed in front of her as she studied it.

Crocodile entered back the inn, and went straight to the counter to ask for some coffee and breakfast. While waiting for his order to get read, he cast a glance around, and spotted Yvonne. If she didn't look up, he studied her for a moment, silently glad that he was given to see her again.
He'd rather die before admitting it, though.

"Lady Della Rosa," he greeted Yvonne as he sat down in front of her. With a dark coat on his shoulders, he looked just as classy as he had always been back on Alabasta. He put his cigar down in an ashtray he grabbed from the nearest table, and took a sip of his drink. "I see you're just as eager as I am to leave."

Yvonne had looked up from her map only for a split second, when she saw a familiar, imposing form at the counter. Crocodile hadn't been turned towards her right then, so she had conceded herself a couple of seconds to actually look at him. She hadn't done so the evening before, not really - they were both quite on edge, and reasonably so considered the situation. 
Oh, well.
If she lowered her gaze quickly enough and chastised herself it didn't really count as checking out, did it.

She didn't even flinch when he sat down at her table without asking for permission, by the way, and chose instead to take a second to aknowledge his presence. "Sir Crocodile", she greeted him conversationally, still looking at the map. "Indeed, I'd rather be leaving soon. I've dedicated myself to doing my homework, this morning. As you can see", she added, finally raising her gaze to meet his, a small smile on her lips. "I've gathered enough informations, I suppose. I wonder if you did some research yourself." She silently noted the sudden apparition of the coat - he did look just as classy as he had been, alright.
But realising it still brought that bitter aftertaste to her mouth, so she shooed the thought away. Again.

Crocodile scoffed. "What makes you think I'd rather stay there on this island instead?" He set his cup of coffee on the side, and leaned a little forward, to lay his hand on the map. "Here are how the currents seem to work around here," he told her. "I'm no expert navigator, but suppose it'd be in our best interest to find a way to get to the biggest island of the archipelago anytime soon... And avoid this area." He tapped to one specific island on the map. "There's strong volcanic activity coming from that one island."

Yvonne politely decided to ignore Crocodile's first line and concentrate back on the map, where he was showing her the route of the currents. She pursed her lips in thought when he pointed to the volcanic island and just nodded, humming. "I see. It's unfortunate, it seems like it's standing right in the middle of the archipelago - luckily one of the currents you showed seems to pass at a somewhat safe distance." She pointed to the largest island, where the map clearly indicated the presence of a large portual city called Lipari. "This place would be the safest bet to find working snailphones. It's a little far, but from what I've gathered from the locals the other islands aren't equipped to host a connection network, and it's more or less just little places filled with fishermen and tourists." She made a face. "The main issue is to get a ship, though." Well, the host had told her about some turist-oriented steamboat thing that made its rounds on the safe route to the other islands of the archipelago, but honestly. Seeing just who her temporary travelling companion was, that wouldn't have been feasible.

"We wouldn't find anything there aside from precarious fishing boats," Crocodile replied with a slight grunt in his voice, before he took another sip of his coffee. "However-" He pointed at one of the next islands. "These shores are close enough to us for me to fly across the sea. It would be dangerous - especially if it were to rain again - but we'd lose less time if we were to cross the next island by foot, all the way until the next one where it looks like there are far more inhabitants than here."

Yvonne lifted her head to observe Crocodile, blinking. Flying? She felt surprised - she had never thought about the fact that with the help of his powers, he could do even that.
Then again - she could pride herself about knowing the now Vice Admiral Smoker fairly well, and had the luck to train with him a couple of times. If he could use his Logia to fly...
"Well. I guess that would be the only solution we'd have. Even if it relies too much on luck", she said with a sigh, after some silence-filled seconds.
"On the next island, there should be at least the chance to take a small ship." And for as much as she didn't like it, it was impossible to think any of them could govern a ship alone.

Crocodile nodded, and remained silent for a while, simply sipping on his coffee. Once he was done with it, he put the cup back down, and crossed his arms, arching a brow. "If you expect me to carry you to the next island, however, I expect of you that you start packing for provisions. We'll need some." Eh, he had to set boundaries and not let her believe that he was helping her out of goodness of his own heart!

Yvonne raised a brow at Crocodile. Well, she wasn't surely expecting to be carried for free. "Of course", she simply answered, straightening on her chair. "I will ask at the general store for something that can be easily transported. I doubt there will be anything particularly good, but I suppose we'll make good with what I'll find." She took her glass to finish drinking her water. "At least if I take care of our provisions, and get to keep them, I guess I won't get dropped into the sea", she commented lightly, throwing him a little smile. Again - maybe she was taunting him. Just a little.

"I guess you won't," Crocodile replied on an equally light tone, before he let out a smile himself. Eh. He had kind of missed their little banters.

"I'll come with you. We might need some bedding for the trip, depending on what we'll find on our way to the civilised islands.".

"Very good." Yvonne got up from her chair, and mindlessly fixed a stray lock of hair that had escaped her meticulously done hairdo. "I just need to retrieve a couple of things in my room and freshen up, then I'll be ready. If you want to precede me to the store, you may." A couple of things, right. Like her lipstick, and the soap she'd managed to get her hands on. She'd die before saying that out loud, though - she really didn't need Crocodile to mock her about caring for frivolous things. She regarded him with a careful stare. "Refrain from terrorizing the shopkeeper in my absence, if you please?"

Crocodile scoffed, and rolled his eyes. "If they're incompetent and easily impressed, there's nothing I can do about it." He got up as well, and took a cigar out of his pockets. "I'll be waiting for you outside," he eventually said. "Diplomacy might be needed to get these idiots to cooperate fully and not scam us." Admittedly, they didn't know much about those islands yet, or the conditions under which they might be forced to sleep under the stars.

"Glad to see we're on the same page about being diplomatic, then", Yvonne replied, before she took a step away from her chair. "I'll be back to you shortly."

And she was, as promised - all her little necessities wrapped neatly in the bag they had been purchased with.
They luckily managed to find what they were looking for in the general store - starting with some simple bedding, a larger bag, water and enough packed, easily transportable rations to last them a good while in case of emergency.

As the shopkeeper calculated their due, Yvonne had casually, politely remarked about how hard it probably was to sell such things as dried and packaged food, since fresh produce seemed to be very easily accessible on the island.
The man had briefly stopped counting, looked up at her, frowning a little. Then his gaze went to Crocodile. And that had been enough to magically remind the shopkeeper that oh actually madame was right, of course there was a discount on all those things they were buying, what a strike of incredible luck! No, he hadn't been trying to scam them because they were tourists, of course not, he was just sweating profusely because the weather was warm on that day!

And just like that, the two of them were walking along the beach, looking for the place that would have been closer to the other island and optimal to depart from. "The weather's going to be quite dry for the next days, according to the people I've spoken to earlier this morning", Yvonne was saying as she looked towards the sea. "Hopefully they're right."

Crocodile let out a short, sharp laugh. After a few seconds without a proper explanation as to why, he took a long drag on his cigar, and puffed out the smoke slowly. "It is going to be quite dry, yes." Yes, he could feel this in the air. He prided himself to be able to feel just how wet the air could be - except it wasn't really of any use when a sudden tempest stroke, alright.
Oh, that thought just made him grumpy again, so he started to walk a little faster until they reached the shore where they were supposed to fly off towards the next island.

Yvonne raised a brow at Crocodile when he suddenly laughed before confirming the voices she'd heard about the weather. Right - she supposed this too would be a perk of his powers. Well, it was to their benefit right now, so she couldn't really complain about the strangeness of it.

Since she would have struggled to pick up her pace to match his (one of his steps amounted roughly to two of her own) she just walked calmly behind him until she finally reached the shore as well. She'd decided to leave her coat buried away in the sand, in the end. She didn't have any space to carry it with her, and she preferred to keep her anonimity for the moment.
She adjusted the bag with their supplies over her shoulder and squinted to look beyond the sea, where she could see the next island at the horizon.

It had looked closer, from the map's prespective.

She threw a suspicious glance at Crocodile. "Well then. How would this work?", she asked. Was she supposed to climb on his shoulders, to hang on his arm?

"I'm going to turn into sand and fly away to the nearest island," Crocodile explained quite matter-of-factly, before he looked Yvonne up and down. Asking how much she weighted would be quite rude, and even himself wouldn't get down so low.
Then again...

"It is however quite a long distance from here to there. I will ask you to hold on to our supplies for the entire trip, and keep as still as possible."

No lie, Yvonne had some difficulties in imagining how that would work out, and it could probably be read in the dubious expression. The logistics of it just eluded her - was she just going to be swept away in a sandstorm then? It had almost happened to her once, back in Alabasta, when she was going through the desert with her men.
Useless to say, no one had a good time with that.

Then again. She wasn't there to have a good time, so it fitted. "Alright, I can do that", she answered in the end, thinking it would have been useless to ask other questions. She made sure to grasp the bag so that she would be tightly bound to it, and straightened up to find a position that would allow to keep still as requested.

Crocodile walked towards Yvonne and, without any proper warning, he crouched down to lift her in his arms, with her legs resting on the arm with the hook. He did so almost effortlessly - almost, because Yvonne might be light enough but she was carrying a lot of supplies, which he had to carry too as a result.

And, almost immediately afterwards, the lower half of his body morphed into sand, and he got up in the air, carrying her still.

Yvonne almost let out the least graceful sound she'd ever produced in her life when she was grabbed and lifted as easily as that, without even a word in advance so that she could have at least readied herself.
Almost, but she still let out what had probably been quite a funny, disgruntled yelp.

She was about to protest, she really was, but a second later they were much higher in the air so all she could do was to do as she had been told and hold on tight on the bag of supplies - and try to press herself as close to Crocodile as possible, to avoid falling to her demise.

She did throw him a pointed glare, though.

Crocodile noticed Yvonne's glare, and he gave her a cocky smile in return. "I said I'd have to carry you to get us there. What were you expecting?" The wind and sand were blowing around them, making it a little hard for them to hear each other, but he somehow managed to make himself heard.

He was secretly appreciating the fact that she had to snuggle close to him to stay safe, but didn't point it out. That would have been embarrassing.

"Oh I don't know, to be warned maybe", Yvonne quipped back, loud enough to be heard above the strong noise of blowing wind. Yes, maybe she was a little irritated for having been taken by surprise. No, the fact that she needed to squish herself against Crocodile's chest and see him grin down at her like that definitely didn't make it any easier on her. "I usually prefer to know beforehand when I'm about to be lifted from the ground."
She threw a glance down, trying to see beyond the thin layer of sand surrounding them. She saw the sea, and some little specks of white above the waves.

Hm. Much too far below her feet for her liking. She wordlessly leaned away and used one of her hands to grasp at Crocodile's clothes.