Namur had belonged to the Third Division from the day Whitebeard took him in. On the ship he was treated as an equal, and the initial reserve gradually turned into boundless trust when the fish-man proved himself a loyal companion. After four years sailing aboard the Moby Dick, Namur was called "brother" by the crew and "son" by Edward, and he called them all "family."
He felt safe on board, and he avoided spending time on islands, not wanting to draw attention to himself or provoke people. He knew they were afraid of him, and that fear made the pirates uncomfortable as well, because there was only a small step between fear and hatred. He did not need anyone else anyway. The crew was enough for him, and until Rida and Lerena appeared everything had been perfectly in order.
Namur had noticed Rida's reaction to his otherness—the bluish shade of his thick skin, the shark-like appearance, and the powerful, frightening jaws that could not be hidden by human clothing or by walking on two membranous fins. That was why he always tried to stay out of her sight, because he did not want to see fear, disgust, or contempt reflected in her eyes.
The woman sensed this, but every time she tried to apologize for her reaction, Namur disappeared somewhere. The matter was eventually resolved by Lerena, who until that moment had not had the slightest contact with the fish-man. The "human fry," as some jokingly called her, was so fragile and so quick to cry that Namur had no heart to torture her with the sight of his appearance. Thatch's speeches about tolerance did not help much either.
So on the day after Lerena received her second name she was standing on the deck of the Moby Dick, to the delight of everyone watching, trying to stand on two feet. Rida was meanwhile searching for a way to approach the fish-man. Namur was talking with Marco near the captain's chair, while Rida and the child were standing about six meters away. Edward watched the girl's little acrobatics with amusement, occasionally pretending to drink water from a barrel.
"Hoppy, naturally," Thatch commented loudly in his usual style, encouraging Lerena to take her first steps.
Unfortunately the child did not seem particularly enthusiastic about the idea. After standing for a few seconds she plopped down onto the deck again, clapping her hands happily while the pirate let out a disappointed groan, as if she found it amusing to make him angry.
After a moment she looked around, rolled onto her stomach, and began crawling toward Marco and Namur, while Rida followed behind her. Miraculously the fish-man did not notice them at first, because he was completely absorbed in the conversation, and only a tug at his leg caught his attention. He looked down—and froze when he saw tiny Lerena touching his membranous fins. She lifted her astonished gaze toward him and laughed loudly, then patted his right fin and stretched both hands upward.
"She wants you to pick her up," Rida said with a smile, leaning slightly out from behind the fish-man.
"I… but I can't…" Namur protested hoarsely and instinctively stepped back, which made Lerena immediately crawl closer again.
"Her Majesty doesn't know the word no, yoi," Marco laughed, clearly impressed by the child's determination. "Take this little despot into your arms, or she'll make Pops order you to do it and then you'll have no choice."
"Marco… I can't… she's so tiny…" Namur protested again, showing his sharp teeth in confusion.
Lerena, however, was losing patience. She made a small protesting sound and tried to stand up again. When she finally managed to stand with her arms stretched toward Namur and he retreated another step, the girl took her first step toward him.
Marco held his breath.
Rida froze completely.
And the child kept moving forward, step by step, toward the fish-man, babbling happily to herself as if announcing to the retreating pirate that she would soon catch him.
She had not taken more than six steps before her legs bent beneath her and she sat down again, but after a moment she rose once more and took a few more uncertain steps.
Namur slowly bent down and lifted her into his arms, still unable to understand why the little creature had not burst into frightened tears, why she had forced him to accept responsibility for her safety, and why she had done it with such a trusting smile and childish confidence that the fish-man surrendered completely.
He looked into the girl's golden eyes for a long moment and felt all the anger and sorrow he had carried toward people—because of their hatred and distrust—suddenly melt away. The girl's tiny hands seemed to heal wounds in his soul that others had caused long ago. Namur looked in disbelief first at Marco and then at Edward.
"She… she's so tiny… you know," he whispered, holding the baby carefully with both hands.
Her little fingers began examining his thick neck, one finger poking curiously at his gills, another pressing against his cheek, and then Lerena moved on to exploring his jaws, making a clumsy gesture that seemed to command the fish-man to open his mouth, which he obediently did.
"Hey, hey, hey, where are you pushing that little head, yoi?" Marco reacted immediately and gently pulled Lerena back. "Namur, don't open your mouth like that, you'll hurt her by accident."
"I didn't want to!"
"I said by accident…"
"Marco, take her away! I can't hurt her! She's so fragile!"
"Close your mouth or you'll scare her!"
Their argument was interrupted by Edward's loud laughter as he watched the entire scene.
Lerena immediately turned her head toward him, always reacting to his voice.
"Lerena Saphira has taken her first steps today," he announced to those who had not witnessed the moment. "This deserves a proper celebration!"
A collective cheer rolled across the deck, instantly putting everyone in high spirits. Some pirates rushed toward the mess hall, others toward the cargo hold and the galley to spread the news and begin preparing the celebration.
Namur handed the child to Edward, and in his enormous hand she suddenly yawned, deciding to take a nap without any concern for the commotion she had just caused. In truth she had already taken a few uncertain steps in her cabin earlier, and on deck she had simply refused to do so, because she knew there were plenty of people willing to carry her.
She only woke up later in the evening, when Thatch gave her warm milk—something he, quite unusually, did not complain about at all.