ohmyarceus | January - February Test drive

[Said skirt is being pulled out of the mouth of a Wooloo as Mirabel argues with it.]

That’s not a food! You really will eat anything won’t you? Oh-!

[She looks up. Big sis!]

Luisa, there you are!

[See now, he gets that. However this little Cubone was an innocent animal so knocking sense into it seemed cruel. The glare he got though? Iwaizumi was unphased by it as he shoved his 'Gear back into his pack.]

It's called a Pokemon. And it's name is Cubone. If it's yours you can give it a name. But keep knocking it's head and you'll just make it run away. So good luck with that.

It's a hollow. [Grimmjow repeats it slowly, like Iwaizumi is stupid. He picks up the Cubone, so he can see the pokemon's face.] Got a mask. And a hole. [And he turns the Cubone around to give Iwaizumi a look under the poor thing's tail, for just a few seconds before putting the Cubone down again.] Stop cryin', or I'm gonna eat you.

[The Cubone did not stop crying.]

[A shake of her head.]

You're fine; I also should have watched where I was going. [It says something that her guard was dropped... she really is getting relaxed in this world.] In any case... I am Allura. Pleased to meet you?

[At her feet is a tiny white fox who gives a soft bark to Luisa's Larvitar. Friend?]

Ah, yes, and this is Coressa, my Vulpix.

[He was all set to argue... until the weirdo actually did it. He officially became the strangest, craziest person he had met in this strange and crazy place and he was done with it.]

You're making it cry and why're you showing me that? What's wrong with you? Are you some kind of dumbass? Did you fall and rattle your braincells or something? Do people go around abusing animals where you're from?

[Iwaizumi decided to hell with it, he darted forward, quick as you please, and snatched up the Cubone before darting out of reach.]

Stop bullying it!

[Grimmjow grins in that big, toothy way he has, about ready to kill Iwaizumi with a scathing comment of some kind when the little bastard swoops in and grabs his fracción.] It ain't an animal any more'n I am, you stupid human. [Apparently that is a very, very vulgar insult where he's from, if his tone is anything to go by.

And then he jumps up, and launches himself at Iwaizumi in a way that screams both experience and a very different level of strength than he's used to, because as he does get some ground clearance, he is very confused about how he just. Drops back into the dirt, landing lightly on his feet.] The fuck? The fuck did you do?! [Yeah, he's blaming everything on you, Iwaizumi. Your bad luck for being there when he discovered he has been reduced to human. And since he can't just pounce, well. He can still run, and that's what he's doing, aiming to tackle with no regard to the safety of anyone or anything.]

[Well, he does want to see new Bug Pokemon, sure, but is taking a boat really the best option?]

You are putting a lot of faith on someone you just met, lady... [He doesn't know if this woman is too trusting or if he's way too suspicious of everyone. Could be a bit of both.]

And while I do want to see other Pokemon, I think we can just take the road on the other side of the town and... leave? Without having to pay for a boat?

[Not a particularly enlightening answer, he has to say... He supposes that is also not surprising. Even back down in the holy tomb, it seemed as though Rhea kept things close to her chest. Even with the Professor sitting upon that throne, her reaction back then...]

[If he asked her about that, would there be a point? An answer? What if she has not even reached that part of her life yet?]

[He can't let himself get sidetracked.]

They are indeed, Lady Rhea. This place... deals with more than the travel between different lands. People can arrive here from the same place, having spent most of their lives together, and yet recall very different points in those same lives.

For example... One person can come from the start of a war, and another can be from the aftermath.

[He glances back down to Kent, who has taken the time to shift forward just enough to extend his snot for some short sniffs. Perhaps it is mere bias, but he likes to look to his Pokemon to see if things are going well. Kent doesn't seem particularly bothered, or distrustful... But then, Kent doesn't seem bothered by much, often.]

...It has been five years since I last saw you, Lady Rhea, down in the tomb.

[ Very blunt, indeed... Rose couldn't say either way, really, but her Pokemon seem to be happy with her. Rough starts notwithstanding. ]

It's... progress! I'm sure it'll come around eventually, yeah? I'm surprised Little Guy warmed up to me as fast as he did. [ Ha. 'Warmed up.' ]

I'm sure it'll be fine! I mean, yeah, they probably have like... fighting instincts but I don't think it'll be a problem. [ Or perhaps she's just using personal experience since, well, her own fighting instincts have been curbed.

She does catch the movement out of her periphery but he's already taking care of it. ]

Sorry, Chip, it's gonna' take more than that to scare me. Nice effort though.

[ It's not a bad idea to have a little personal touch. Rose just knows she won't go anywhere without her guitar and its case; it seemed the most obvious choice to keep those memories safe. ]

All kinds! Rock'n'Roll is where I got started but now I can singe just about any genre. I'm not, like, the best at Opera but... I'm still decent.

I've spent centuries learning how to speak with creatures like these. It's very simple to pick up their needs once you've accustomed yourself to their way of communication.

[ it was a time of captivity and isolation-- he was lucky animals were around to at least alleviate that monotony. ]

If you travel alone in this world, I'm sure the talent will come to you as well.

[ Rose doesn't mind the brief pause of assessment. Honestly, she expects it. Rhea doesn't look like the type to get out much. No offense intended, of course, just... That outfit doesn't lend itself to someone that's out and about. ]

Pft, me? Nah. Glad I already seem like I know what I'm doing though. [ Her adaptability works in her favor yet again. ]

I know enough to get around though so, y'know, if you need any help- I'm here.

Wait, these things evolve?! That's so cool!!

[ that made naoto light up like a little kid on christmas. he may not know the nuances of how evolution works, but that was super cool!! he wanted to see it!! ]

And you get more by capturing them in those pokéballs? Ah, but if they need to be caught, then that means they need to be weakened, right? I hope I'm understanding right...

No, you understand it correctly. And some Pokémon species don't evolve, or some may choose not to, but most Pokémon species are capable of evolution.

This is all so cool...!! I honestly think I'd love it here! I get to be human again, and see cool things-- what's not to love?

[The same point they left. And they remember nothing of this place.

How can such a thing be? For some moments, Rhea doesn't appear terribly convinced. It would be convenient to say such a thing to her simply to get closer to the things she holds to her heart. Suffice it to say, there is no shortage of those things she has bound herself to. Perhaps to the point that it would be considered an unhealthy attachment.

She has very little reason to think he would speak falsely to her. ...Doesn't she? It was Edelgard who had pressed her so. It was Edelgard, after all, who stirred her to the point of such...

Rhea shakes her head slowly. With whom are Felix's alliances. Dimitri, perhaps? Would that not be for the better?]

The monastery was no longer a safe place for me. [She admits quietly, knowing very well it was not simply an attack on Garreg Mach. It was not simply an attack on the Church of Seiros. It was an attack on her personally and everything she stood for.] I apologise for having caused you and the others such hardship. I can tell you nothing more and I would request that you ask nothing further.

[What sort of aftermath lies at the end of whatever the Empire's ultimate goal is? What sort of world does Edelgard hope to create? What sort of future? Little more than to undo all of Rhea's timeless attempts to where she has driven the masses toward.

Mere recollection stirs her. She knows very well of what he speaks. Of how she thought her very heart might burst when Byleth took the throne of her mother. The reflection of that warmth she has, for so long, gone without, despite the presence of Seteth and Flayn at her side. How pieced together will she remain here without them?

Rhea hardly wishes to find out.

The smile she offers to Kent is a subdued one, though no less kind than it has been since crossing fated paths with Dimitri.]

I remember of what you speak. [She confirms for him.] I am here now, am I not? As I have only arrived recently, allow me time before you should think to press me for much more. Regardless, it seems we remember things as they were, the Empire's animosity. A grave betrayal that I never foresaw.

Centuries? Then you must be very good with them.

[...What could he be that he would see so many years? Something similar to her, perhaps. How many centuries has she seen? Perhaps by this point Rhea has lost count. As he continues, she offers a subtle dip of her head, thoughtful at best, though that seems to have been her state of being since arrival.]

Although there may be some here I am familiar with from my home world, I should think it wisest, perhaps, to integrate myself at my own pace. That may include travelling in solitude at times.

[Or many times, given that she still seems to have drawn a line between herself and those who knew her.]

[Rhea could have been fooled, she realises in hindsight, even in the face of Rosalina's truth. Of course, in a word that is foreign, it is important not to swallow all things as gospel. As such, the archbishop comes with a healthy dose of scepticism at best.

Local or not, she seems to be a fount of knowledge. It would be a shame not to use that to her advantage.]

It seems you did not favour either route—sea or its alternative. [She smiles kindly before she continues.] Although that may be the case, which would you choose, given what you know of this place and its... unique characteristics?

[Too late, he was already startled. But he was also relieved he wasn't about to be attacked by a wild and/or feral Pokemon, too.

Adam took a deep breath, a hand pressed against his chest to try and calm his racing heart.]

It's okay. I'm just a little jumpy.

[And that wasn't anybody's fault but his own. Or maybe it was his father's, if you were getting technical.

Catching a new team member was still a weird sentence to hear. He hadn't quite gotten the hang of all of this yet, though he was trying his best.]

What were you looking for, exactly?

[Felix doesn't really care one way or the other whether she believes him - it's not like he can prove it. He just figured it would ease her mind to know that nothing was happening in Fodlan without her, as it had for the rest of them, and that she wouldn't be making some grave mistake if she said the wrong thing to the wrong person.

He looks at her with confusion, and just a hint of irritation.]

You can, you're just choosing not to, for reasons I don't understand. But what do you mean, the monastery wasn't safe? It was empty. Until Dimitri turned it into his own personal abattoir for Imperial intruders, anyway.

['Dimitri,' not 'the boar,' and there's far less venom in his tone now than there would have been before - though who knows whether Rhea paid enough attention to any of them to know the change is notable.]

[ the noibat in his lap nodded furiously, crying out for added affirmation. yes, his trainer was very good at understanding him and his teammates. he wouldn't change him for anyone else. sandalphon notes this and has the self awareness to blush lightly. ]

Again, it's merely practice. I can guarantee you it does get easier.

[ he nods at the sentiment. being alone allows one to gather one's thoughts, to come to a conclusion that satisfies them. but for him, whose entire life has been defined by isolation, he can't stand it sometimes. it was with that thought his next words were guided. ]

If you ever feel the need to speak to someone, no matter how frivolous... Feel free to speak with me. I'll lend an ear. My name is Sandalphon.

...If I may speak frankly, Lady Rhea, I have pressed you for very little. But very well.

[At least this much is... something. The start of the war is clearly in the past for her. Was she captured? Did she go into hiding? Some other mystery, much like what happened to the Professor?]

[Dimitri doubts he will be the one to get such answers out of her. While he was raised in politics, Rhea is clearly a woman who is not unused to them, if her careful way of speaking is any indication. Perhaps that is something that comes with being the leader of an entire religion]

[He will simply leave that task for Claude, and see if he fares any better. Claude has quite the talent for hammering out secrets, after all, and he is more than persistent enough.]

[Either Claude will get his answers, or Rhea will regret knowing other people. One or the other.]

[For now, Dimitri shakes his head.]

At any rate... How have you been fairing in this place? It is quite unlike Fodlan.

[And it is a hard thing to imagine someone like Rhea making her way through it like he did, or any of them did, before they came to rely on their Pokemon companions. He cannot envision her working on plumbing, or serving drinks at a bar, or...]

[...Hm. He is not sure what it says that he can imagine her taking Felix's way of beating others in battle for money.

[Rhea does not bother to contest his reaction. Mostly because he's right. She could, theoretically, share with him any number of her grand designs for humanity. For the necessity that bears responsibility down upon nobility and crest-bearers. For all of that she holds back from those around her. For even the things she refused to fully divulge to Seteth.

She shakes her head at him.]

I do not expect you to understand. There are reasons I could not return the way I would have wanted to. When it is the time for you to know these things, you will learn them and more.

[She fails to specify whether such things will come from her or others.]

Until then, perhaps you can practise your patience. I do know that I can tell you I suspected I could trust my safety in the hands of Dimitri.

[She cannot say the same for Claude or Edelgard. A clever tactician or a woman on a rampage against the things she loathed the most? Both are dangerous options.]

January - February Test drive

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