[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

Smokestack Round 6

Aron wants to use Iron Head!
Disobedience: (2)
Alright, Headbutt it is.
But first, Aron is flinched.

Flame Wheel 1
8 dice, -3 actions
(1)(2)(4)(1)(6)
(5)(1)(2) Mareep takes 1 dmg
Burn: (5)
Static: (3)(4)(1)

Monferno wheels Mareep around just once before getting tired, but fire is still burning briefly everywhere!

Luxio comes crashing through the fire, crackling with sparks of his own, as Aron moves in for the headbutt! Aron, his hated rival! He ignores the Lady Rose for now.

Spark 1
(3)(5)(1)(3)(4)
4 Str + 2 power +1 stab = 4d6!
(5)(1)(3)(6) Aron takes 2 dmg and his armor sparks! 3/6hp -2 pain
Paralyze: (5)(4)(3)

Thunder Wave
8 dice -3 actions
(4)(1)(3)(6)(6)
Monferno becomes paralyzed!

Headbutt 2
(2)(5)
3 Str + 3 power -3 vit
(5)(3)(5) Luxio takes 2 dmg 4/7hp -1 pain.
Flinch: (2)(1)(6)

It works! Aron butts Luxio directly into the fire, causing him to flinch! Aron makes a brief feint toward his opponent as he lies there on the ground, and Luxio blinks.

Close Combat 2
8 dice, -4 actions, -2 par
(5)(5)
3 Str + 5 power +1 stab +1 blackbelt -3 vit = 7d6!
(4)(5)(4)(5)(2)(2)(1) Luxio takes 4 dmg and faints! He looks briefly dazed that this pretty lady could dish out so much damage!
-1 def for Monferno.

"You know the rule, Mareep! When your partner faints, use Discharge!"

Discharge 2
(4)(5)(2)(4)
3 Str + 3 power +1 stab -3/2 vit = 4d6 or 5d6
(3)(6)(2)(1)(4)
Aron takes 1 dmg 2/6hp -2 pain
Monferno takes 2 dmg 5/7 -1 pain
Paralyze: (5)(2)(1) Aron comes through without being paralyzed.

Headbutt 3
(5)
(4)(3)(2) Mareep takes 1 dmg 5/6hp
Flinch: (6)(2)(1) Mareep flinches!

Close Combat 3
(3) The monkey goes sailing overhead, foot extended in a kick. But she lands like a monkey, too.

Mareep is flinched.

"Mareep is outnumbered and outgunned. I'm not going to risk Numel since your little Aron is faster anyway and he's staggered. Here, have a victory cigar, if you partake! And here's your money. And you can pet Mareep if you like."

Heart has 18XP to spread among his Pokemon, who are all worn out! He gains 9Xp.

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Smokestack Round 6

Aron wants to use Iron Head!
Disobedience: (2)
Alright, Headbutt it is.
But first, Aron is flinched.

Flame Wheel 1
8 dice, -3 actions
(1)(2)(4)(1)(6)
(5)(1)(2) Mareep takes 1 dmg
Burn: (5)
Static: (3)(4)(1)

Monferno wheels Mareep around just once before getting tired, but fire is still burning briefly everywhere!

Luxio comes crashing through the fire, crackling with sparks of his own, as Aron moves in for the headbutt! Aron, his hated rival! He ignores the Lady Rose for now.

Spark 1
(3)(5)(1)(3)(4)
4 Str + 2 power +1 stab = 4d6!
(5)(1)(3)(6) Aron takes 2 dmg and his armor sparks! 3/6hp -2 pain
Paralyze: (5)(4)(3)

Thunder Wave
8 dice -3 actions
(4)(1)(3)(6)(6)
Monferno becomes paralyzed!

Headbutt 2
(2)(5)
3 Str + 3 power -3 vit
(5)(3)(5) Luxio takes 2 dmg 4/7hp -1 pain.
Flinch: (2)(1)(6)

It works! Aron butts Luxio directly into the fire, causing him to flinch! Aron makes a brief feint toward his opponent as he lies there on the ground, and Luxio blinks.

Close Combat 2
8 dice, -4 actions, -2 par
(5)(5)
3 Str + 5 power +1 stab +1 blackbelt -3 vit = 7d6!
(4)(5)(4)(5)(2)(2)(1) Luxio takes 4 dmg and faints! He looks briefly dazed that this pretty lady could dish out so much damage!
-1 def for Monferno.

"You know the rule, Mareep! When your partner faints, use Discharge!"

Discharge 2
(4)(5)(2)(4)
3 Str + 3 power +1 stab -3/2 vit = 4d6 or 5d6
(3)(6)(2)(1)(4)
Aron takes 1 dmg 2/6hp -2 pain
Monferno takes 2 dmg 5/7 -1 pain
Paralyze: (5)(2)(1) Aron comes through without being paralyzed.

Headbutt 3
(5)
(4)(3)(2) Mareep takes 1 dmg 5/6hp
Flinch: (6)(2)(1) Mareep flinches!

Close Combat 3
(3) The monkey goes sailing overhead, foot extended in a kick. But she lands like a monkey, too.

Mareep is flinched. 

"Mareep is outnumbered and outgunned. I'm not going to risk Numel since your little Aron is faster anyway and he's staggered. Here, have a victory cigar, if you partake! And here's your money. And you can pet Mareep if you like."

Heart has 18XP to spread among his Pokemon, who are all worn out! He gains 9Xp. 

"Whoosh! What a awesome battle. High five Rose!" Rose and Heart give each other a great hight five and Aron receives a good pat in his head. "And you did a great job out there little buddy. Different from certain Nidorino I should add. And no, I do not smoke so I pass. But I accept pet Mareep if you dont mind." Then Heart come a little close, but not much to not receive a shock. "Her wool its warm."

[Dragonstrike]

(In case you missed it, I added a music link for this conversation earlier.  Here it is again, though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saJuOPHecQM)

'Welp, here goes...'

Probably much to Shiva's surprise, Nathan summons Raphael.

...and after giving him a rather sad and...tired look for a moment, he rolls the pokeball over to Shiva.

"Once we're done here, return Raphael to Ventus, please.  He has some...qualms about what I have to say, and he left Raphael here as a precaution.  And quite frankly...you might appreciate having him around for comfort in a moment.  So...I need to start at the beginning here...you have a right to know what happened in full, regardless of whatever worries I or Ventus might have..."

He pauses, takes a breath, lets it out...and then begins telling Shiva what happened...he's purposely got the brim of his fedora low so he can avoid looking at her directly.  He wasn't sure he'd be able to say what he needed to if he didn't...

Spoiler

"So...it started after you collapsed after our battle in Corsage.  I'd brought you back into the Center with Nurse Joy's help, Ventus was camping out elsewhere, Valder was...somewhere.  Everything seemed fairly normal, minus the sleep issues everyone was having while in the city at the time.  If you remember that Lemonade I'd left there for you to help ya recover from the lack of energy...that was when I noticed something was really wrong.  Or rather...Kirlia did.  Something spooked him, and I didn't know what.  He was rather...concerned though.  And he eventually got across to me that we could do something about it.  When I said I willingly entered a nightmare...that's what happened then.  Kirlia and I fell asleep knowing that whatever was waiting on the other side, it was going to be a product of something in everyone's dreams...

...what we found, we'd seen before in one of Kirlia's visions.  A bleak, desolate landscape filled with obsidian black pillars, lit by eerie, dim red and blue flames.  A nightmarescape.  We 'woke up' in a cage with locks on both sides of the door.  There were sounds of battle coming from the direction of a brighter, purple light.  That was my best guess as to where you might have been, based on Kirlia's earlier reaction.  

I had Starmie, who I'd just evolved that evening, light the way, and out of the shadows came...a pack of Houndour.  Strange Houndour.  They weren't like anything else I had ever seen.  And they were there for a chase.  A chase which I gave them.  With Swiftfire's help, I was able to outrun them eventually, with Starmie soaking the two that managed to keep up somehow with his newly learned Hydro Pump and Bubble Beam moves.  That was when I discovered the dogs were able to use Psychic attacks somehow.  I was...curious.  I'd never heard of a Houndour using Extrasensory before.  But my main concern was finding you at the time, trying to find out what was wrong, what was causing your sleep to be somewhat restless in that nightmare...

...and when I reached the area I'd heard the combat coming from...I found an entire group of dead Houndour.  It was...scary, sad...and I was rather upset in a lot of ways...and so were the Houndour that approached soon after.  They looked very, very mournful.  They didn't antagonize me at all.  So...I told them that if they wished, I'd take one of them with me, let them meet whoever it was that did that to their friends...I didn't think it would work.  Houndour are loyal creatures, but those ones...they seemed far, far more loyal than your average dog pokemon...

...and yet, to my surprise, one did split off from his pack.  I don't know why he did, but he'd made his decision.  The remainder of his packmates used Smokescreen, another move the species can't normally use, and cleared out all of the corpses amidst the smog, disappearing completely by the time it cleared.  I didn't know if or how it would work, but I used a Flash Ball to capture that Houndour that had done the unthinkable: defied its very nature as a pack animal of its own will.

When I continued on towards that bright purple light, I heard footsteps up ahead.  I knew the Houndours' killer was close...but I didn't expect to find what I saw there...Ventus, holding your unconscious form with blood covered hands...I still don't know what exactly he did to cover his hands in so much blood, but whatever it was...I'm concerned that's what was making your sleep that night so restless...

I tried to explain what was going on to him.  He didn't believe me, at first.  That we were all asleep, that it was just a nightmare.  A frighteningly real one, maybe, but a nightmare nonetheless.  Eventually, we kept moving.  That light, whatever it was, was likely the source of the problems there...

...and what we found was terrifying.  A large Mega Houndoom, a mega stone held in her jaws, with purple, crystalline horns and, from what I could tell, feeding on the fear and misery her pack was causing.  We could see the images of children in PJs being chased around by groups of Houndour between her horns.  Never getting attacked, but always on the run...Ventus and I weren't going to let that stand.  She was the source of all that trouble.  Conveniently, Valder showed up at that moment too.  Between the 3 of us, it only took about 6 seconds to KO her and her bodyguards.  And when we did, the nightmare faded, and Corsage's sleep problems were solved.  No more Mega Houndoom, no more nightmare.

...and when I woke up, I checked to see if I had actually gained or lost anything.  I'd used a potion, a Flash Ball, caught a Houndour...the potion was definitely expended, the Flash Ball, definitely used.  And occupied.  I don't know how exactly, but doing things in that nightmare definitely carried over to the waking world...sort of.  Houndour was there, the potion was gone, but the Flash Ball captured only a picture of perfect, inky black darkness.  That's beside the point though.

I'd caught one of those Houndour, convinced him to come with me of his own accord.  And he was there somehow, in the waking world.  When I looked up his information on my pokedex, that was the first time I'd heard about the Holon region and the term Delta Species, which is used to describe any pokemon with a type different from normal.  A rather broad usage, but after reading a bit on Holon, I understand why it's commonly used that way.  Anyways...

...I'm pretty bad at hiding secrets most of the time, as I'm sure you've noticed...I wasn't entirely sure I could trust my new dog completely, so I had hoped to keep his presence quiet until I could...but Ventus was quick to pick up on it.  I explained why I'd caught the dog as best as I could...it's a brand new subpecies of Houndour, something that needs to be researched...and why I couldn't just get rid of him...he came with me willingly, and I don't think he'd even consider listening to anyone else.  I'd discovered that these Delta Houndour have the ability to phase in and out of reality, traveling between the waking world and the Dream World...the dog was staying because he wanted to stay.  If I traded him away or handed him off to some other researcher, I don't think he'd hang around for very long.  He'd jut vanish, and that would be the end of any opportunity to learn about his species...that was the gist of what I said to Ventus.

He wasn't entirely happy, but he ceded that I had some decent points.  Since he'd figured out I have the dog, I suggested I just get everyone to meet him right then and there...he wouldn't have any of it.  Said he was worried about how you'd react.  I didn't see many problems with revealing the dog at the time, since Starmie was more than capable of dousing the dog if anything went awry, but I agreed to hold off on it for a couple days at least...

...and here we are, two weeks later.  It wasn't until just recently that I felt entirely comfortable with letting Orthros out in public.  I figured people would overreact if I didn't show he was following my orders, so I waited, and waited...showed Orthros that he wasn't wrong in his decision to leave his original pack...and now I have his trust, and he has mine.  He's a sweet thing.  Very friendly, very, very loyal.  Won't snap at anyone if they don't give him good reason to.  He just needed someone to give him a chance, that's all.  He's terrified of Ventus though...I'm not sure I want to know why...but I do know I'm going to prove him wrong, one way or another.  Prove that Orthros isn't the monster he thinks the dog is."

"...*sigh*...sorry about the rant, but...it's...something you needed to know eventually.  Short of it is: I have a Delta Houndour, he's not as bad as everyone thinks, and I'm going to prove it to everyone.  He's not going anywhere any time soon, so...*sigh*..."

...it's then that he finally looks up slightly and at Shiva, a pleading, hopeful look in his eyes, yet also afraid of what he might see and hear...

"...do you want to meet him, Shiva?  I promise you, he's not as scary as he looks, that he won't cause any trouble.  He's somewhat scared of Raphael, but I'm sure he'd love the additional company.  He's been cooped up in his pokeball for two weeks straight.  He could use another friend besides me, I'm sure..."

[Iron]

Something really interesting is happening as Nathan talks. Shiva can actually feel the faintest bit of happiness and hopefulness coming from that Pokeball. This is probably a lot like Ventus' senses, she thinks.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

...Raphael has been kept in the background, contained in his Pokeball the whole time?Why? What was he doing here? And more important, there must be a good reason for 1. Ventus excluded here and 2. he leaving his sweet Togekiss here, so much Shiva understood. For now, though, she welcomed the familiar archangel with a coy happy smile and a half hug. "Raphael! How sweet to see you, even if I didn't expected that... Now, your owner is conspicuous by his absence though." Carefully, she moves her gaze a away and back to Nathan after she distangled herself from the archangel. To her suprise (or not), Raphael gently and lightly floated over and places herself directly beside Shiva, giving a confident coo and meaningful look to her. Which in return, earned him a few strokes over his chest as she returned the gaze for a few moments. It took a few moments until she got the message he was trying to give her. "...I see... You're here, probably to Ven's desire or his orders, to soothe things between me and Nathan and improve my wellbeing? It's as Nathan says..."

Next, her expression got deadly serious, and her voice got that lower tone as she packed away the Pokeball with one hand. "Qualms, you say,,,No, I won't ask what might have caused Ven to leave Raphael here, but I understand that there must be reasons and you spoke with Ven before speaking with me. Please go on, I'm all ears." She keeps her gaze fixated on him while he avoided it thanks to fedora, and did not say a word or gave any reactions during his speech. She was, in fact, simply listening.


+++++++++


It took long after Shiva even said a single word after Nathan finished. Silence filled the room again - uncomfortable silence. There was so much to say, and yet the words hesitated to even come...

"Fine... I thank you for your honestly." were the first words that broke these silence and probably the ice as well. Though, there was barely any emotion in these words - almost painful neutrality painted them. For those that know of her vivd pool of emotions this felt very wrong. "I've been already wondering why these sleep issues almost suddenly disappeared... Now I know."

She closed her eyes again and fell into this silence again, prefering to concentrate on her breath. All to somewhat try to calm herself to a degree, process what Nathan revealed here in her mind, consider what to respond at all and prevent herself from throwing up due to some of the 'delicate' information here. In front of her inner eye, that heavy door appeared again - that one that formerly has been unlocked due to the key having his the semi-honest 'I'm sorry' engraved from back at the camp on Route 4. All this time, Shiva has been gathering the strength to walk the path she saw behind this door, the path of regaining trust - now, as she has just went a few carefuly steps, the path became much more darker and sinister as it looked like before, and she almost collapsed on the spot at the sight.

That was also the point where she rather quickly openend eyes again only to meet that pleading, hopeful look in Nathan's eyes, and picked up her breathing got a shallow pattern. The memories came back. - The city's just not pretty as it used to be. Lucky that both Raphael and Kyuu were with her here. "Nightmare Escape, as you call it? I remember nausea and uncomfortableness during sleep, especially during that night... I don't think it has been caused ONLY by Ven raging at this place. It may add to it, but maybe it was more because of the Houndour's worries and the battle you people held there... The Houndour's killer... Ventus killed them... He did... He stained his hands in blood... For me?" Thankfully, a worried glance at her clothese revealed no filthy stains of blood on hre clothes. Neither does she remember any of these on her clothes as she woke up that particluar morning.

Still, hearing this caused an unheared yet massive conflict in her mind.

He killed Pokemon. Many.
These were Delta Pokemon. They better stay in Holon.
They're still Pokemon, and deserve to live.
They are dream demons. They hunted and haunted people, terrorized the whole city.
Murderer.
He did that for you. He was scared for you, he wanted to save you, bring you back to the overworld.
Did he? It's partly my fault, is it? If I hadn't lured these creatures to me, if I only had abstained from wearing that tuft of fur...
You killed these Pokemon.
No... I haven't... Why...
Still, Ven did everything because you were in danger.
Saviour... Still, the path is stained in blood...
Just a few hours ago you spoke about slaying the Dragon. Sometimes, bloodshed is inevitable.
Is that so...??!
Death and Life is one circle. Never forget that, as blatant as it may sound.

In the end, it seems like Shiva's mind as well as herself silently agreed to find it incredible noble what Ven did for her, yet it incredibly spooked her to imagine how he did that. Next issue.

Nathan kept one of these abominations. Those dream demons... Those Delta Houndour. "Nathan... It's sounds very kind and chivalrous what you did. How you felt sorry for that pack... How you wanted to bring justice to this 'Killer' of their pack mates... How you caught that one exemplar that defied its very nature as a pack animal of its own will... Yet, it'd be lying if I'd say this thought creeps. Me. Out. You own one of these... Despite knowing that they where causing terror to not only me and Ventus especially, but to the whole city... You force it to us... How...Why... I don't get it... Doesn't matter to me whether it's a new species... I better NOT give me further thoughts."

Yes, Shiva was actually close to shed bitter sad tears here, and probably continue doing so for the rest of the night once started. She saw Nathan's points, absolutely, but she failed to understand how they justify the keeping of such a Pokemon. Proving a point he says... Different than the rest he says... And now he's subliminally asking her to be fine with that, maybe she can be a 'friend' to that creature? Haha... Nope.

That was, BEFORE she suddenly picked up something, something that caused a new conflict.

That Pokeball in Nathan's hand... It contains the Delta Houndour.
Weird... I sense a very subtle happiness, even hopefullness from that object... How can that be? What IS that?
Maybe it's similar like Ventus' senses - You understand a Pokemon's unspoken message.
When... did this happen... And how?!
Don't you ENJOY this? Maybe there's a predisposition in you showing very first signs, being awoken by Pokemon?
I... I do, but I still don't get it...
Concentrate, my dear - are you sure that these are postive feelings and no aggression you sense coming from that Pokeball?
... ... ...Yes, I am. Could it be true what Nathan is saying about this dog is 'friendly'? 'Loyal'?
Go on and find out. Be brave, just for one moment.

"... ... ...Nathan...", she threw into the room in a low yet settled tone after a period of more thick silence. "Before I'd give you an answer, let me give you an advice: Don't try to proove Ventus wrong. Don't try to change his mind about your Delta Dog. If he killed those and feels like they harmed those he hold dear, there is barely a chance to get him to change his mind, whatever you may do or try I feel like I know him well enough to be somewhat sure about that. Just leave it be... Go on and proove your point about your dog - how did you name him, Orthros? - is no monster. Feel all free to so so... HOWEVER, please don't expect me to change my mind that fast either. Or even, at all. These Pokemon harmed me, harmed a lots of people - you expect me to forefeit all these experiences because this one exemplar is loyal to you? Want me to be friends with him? I'm sorry, you're sadly asking a bit too much from me here. I cannot do this... You have to understand that I AM SCARED OF THESE DREAM DEMONS. Maybe terrorized. I cannot just approach your dog and stroke it, see it as that...'sweet' thing you see him as... If I'm honest, I'd rather not have a single of these creature near me... Still, YOU DRAGGED IT HERE. I seriously don't understand why, as you could have KNOWN I might have a bad feeling of these creatures when they kept me in their nightmare... Still, you own one of these and even keep him... Ugh..." ... "Go on though, keep him. I remember Heart has shown interest in these Delta Species. Ask him, as from my side you cannot expect more than 'he is there, and he belongs to you' from my side... Don't force me, and don't force your dog to interact with me when there are clear signs that I'd rather be left alone..." All these words were sad with a mixture of feelings... At some points, sadness was audible, at others shame, at others even a trace of rage... This all was depowering her quickly.

"It... It is nice though that you say he won't cause any harm... I can only pray to Reshiram that these are no hollow words. I like to believe you, and therefore... ... ... go on, call that Delta Houndour out of his Pokeball. Just that he sees me and I see him... Then let me leave for bed unless you have more to say. Please keep him by your side though, for now. I want to see whether he's indeed that good dog you claim him to be... If it proves true, I have no right to ask you to get rid of him. But I do have the right to better keep my distance anyway and be scared, can I? If the sleep issues start again, you know who I'll blame."

"Besides... I already caught a glimpse on these creatures. Just once, and for short though - they were chasing my Espurr in a lucid dream I had just before I woke up. It seems that was right after you people defeated the pack. There you have another reason I'd better keep my distance - I don't want to distress my psychic kitten. Kyuu... You listened to all this, did you? This dog won't chase you... If it tries, however... Please stay close to me. If you feel uneasy, we'll leave afterwards to head to bed. Now that you're with me, I won't allow anyone to even harm one hair of your grey fur."

[Dragonstrike]

Silence.

...

"...I didn't see what happened.  All I know is Ventus had blood, lots of it, on his hands.  That battle was over by the time I got there.  Somehow, he kept any of it from getting on you, though, that much I know...if it truly was self defense, fine, but...I'm still worried...I don't know what could have caused nausea in a place like that..."

...

"...they never harmed anyone if unprovoked from what I saw, Shiva...just scared everyone silly...all for the pleasure of their pack leader..."

There's a surprising amount of anger in the last part of that statement, and that statement alone.

"...not to say there weren't aggressive ones in the pack.  The two that caught up to me and Swiftfire were somewhat aggressive.  If the Houndour couldn't scare their victims, they likely were ordered to knock them unconscious so they couldn't cause any problems."

...

"...I've not experienced any sort of dreams or nightmares in the two weeks I've had Orthros.  To create something of that scale again, I think they have to go Mega.  Maybe even as a non-Mega Delta Houndoom, he'd have more control over something like that, but whatever the case is there...he's not harming anyone here.  If he did, I'd deal with him myself."

...

"...I didn't drag him here.  He chose to come here.  And he's choosing to stay."

...

"...so that's where Kyuu came from...he's from the Dream World too, isn't he?  Certainly would explain why he has his hidden ability...*sigh*..."

It's with a heavy heart that he turns his back to Shiva and summons Calam and Starmie.

"...you two have your orders...*sigh*...I don't like having to take this precaution.  It's not needed, yet nobody believes me when I say that...Ventus left Raphael specifically to KO Orthros if he acted aggressive.  And to ease you.  He...doesn't care what I think.  Doesn't care what Orthros thinks.  Doesn't even care that he's threatened one of my pokemon."

He shakes his head sorrowfully...and then summons Orthros in the corner of the room, the picture of perfect darkness obscuring his entrance once more.

Nathan doesn't tell Orthros a thing about what to do.  He trusts the dog almost completely.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Shiva was still VERY undisclosed whether asking Ventus for more information on what he did there in...let's call it 'Nightmare Land' was a good idea to bring relief to her mind or a bad idea to bring tears to her and sadness over him. Actually, she was rather sure that simply asking would make him uncomfortable. He was a murderer yet a saviour - caring or merciless, depending on the situation.

"Just scared everyone silly... You can leave out the 'just', Nathan. That almost sounds as bad as harming people. Still, they only followed orders, so much I am getting from your words... Well, well. Though, if the dog's choosing to stay with you, I indeed have no right to seperate him from you. That'd be cruel, in many ways. As said, keep him... Care for him as you like... Just, keep in mind what he did to me and Ven. You may have a different opinon and viewpoint - just as we are allowed to have ours. WE TWO, Nathan, can still be friends if you like- " *insert a very weak yet, in an almost magical way, warm smile for him* " -it depends on what you do with these different viewpoints though. Don't force us to change minds because you disagree, and I'll make sure Ven does not to go mad over your...Pokemon."

'Yet nobody believes me' earned him a mentally raised eyebrow though, as well as was hitting on her patience. It was, well, no real wonder in her view that none believes him - yet, that is. A few security measures never harmed anyone either. She better kept her further thoughts for herself though.



... ... ... That Pokemon indeed looked like those Shiva caught a short glimpse at while saving her Espurr. Now, taking a closer look at it, she even less understood what Nathan could call 'sweet' about this Pokemon. But, she is in no position to object, at all.

She simply kept her gaze fixated in a non-threathening way on that dog, in a neutral expression, while trying to concentrate again.
... Indeed, she felt no aggression coming from this Pokemon. Not a trace. That was...relieving to know, indeed... It was not enough to give him 'a chance' though. However, it clearly prevented a bad outcome of this revelation.

Also, she tried to give calm signals to this Pokemon. Like 'I'm not aggressive towards you.' 'I don't hate you, but I'm scared of you - please respect that.'

[Iron]

Orthros sniffs the air heavily. He's happy that Ventus isn't here.

He's never met Kyuu, but he's definitely interested in a cat Pokemon! He takes a step toward Kyuu, who does not change his wide eyed expression, but sidles behind Shiva. Orthros IMMEDIATELY backs off.

Kyuu plays with the Aprikorn nervously but does not retreat farther.

Shiva and Nathan can feel Orthros' naked presence: a hound looking for a pack. His eerie brain throbs as he looks about the room for those pack members, someone he can run with and fight with and defend territory with. His senses alight upon Starmie and Calam - yes, these are his family.

He sniffs in Shiva's direction. She can tell that some of her own fear is automatically reflected in him. If she feels loyalty, he will feel loyalty. Fear doesn't bother him, in fact he enjoys it a bit, but she can tell he's not feeding on it the way the nightmare felt.

Suddenly Kyuu vanishes. Orthros vanishes. They both reappear just about instantly. Kyuu looks exhausted, but he's chuckling as if he just thought of the best game. Orthros is wagging his stubby tail furiously. If anyone could sense Orthros' loyalty (which is 4), it would be a psychic type. Kyuu has gone from a scared child to a shy child, still clutching Shiva's skirt and the Aprikorn, but now looking on with interest.

Orthros gets closer to Calam until they are touching flanks, then he waits for someone else to make a move. His behavior is very doglike despite his horrifying appearance.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Weird... Very very weird. If her Espurr does not feel fear for this creature, could it be true that there was nothing to fear, actually? ...Possible. Still, Shiva stayed sceptical - too deep lies her own fear for this creature, and too deep lies the shame that she almost brought harm over herself by luring something arcane to her just because of interest. She struggles very hard to forget that.

Nevertheless, this was a signal. She carefully picked her psychic kitten up, and made it directly look at her. "Kyuu... Please, just tell me one thing - is there any harm to fear from this particular Houndour? "

[Iron]

Kyuu just stares right into your eyes with his own round eyes. He trusts the Houndour as far as he knows. This means Orthros is DEFINITELY not one of the individuals who was chasing Kyuu or Shiva.