[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Ventus sat there silently, enjoying his friends' company while patiently absorbing all of the little details of her life. After she was done talking (for the moment), he sat there in his chair mulling over what she reveled to him, carefully considering the personal nature of the knowledge. 'Shiva is like me, in the aspect that we keep our past close to our hears. The fact that's she's telling me why she came here in the first place...it can only mean she holds great faith in me now. Enough that she feels comfortable sharing part of her life's story with me, at the very least. I believe if she is willing to give me something so precious, then its only natural I return the gesture,' the researcher though, draining the last of his tea before placing it down on the small table between the two.

Clasping both hand together in front of him, he carefully regarded her for a moment, before he launched into his answer. "I do believe you are the first person that has asked that question in quite some time. Perhaps I was around your age when someone last asked me the same thing, or maybe it was a few years earlier? Hmm...well, I suppose it doesn't matter too much. I was born in Opelucid City, and it was my home for about 9 years or so. Its a place of tradition and veneration of Unova's ancient past, and subsequently is a place that stubbornly refused to embrace modernity like the rest of the region. Opelucids were, and probably still are, remarkably resistant to changes in their lifestyle or culture, so the city and its people has gained an isolationist status of sorts. I believe the phrase 'Stubborn as a Dragon, and twice as quick to Outrage' was coined because of this, but such quotes are notoriously hard to verify."

Giving Shiva yet another winning smile, he continued his story. "Despite the being stuck in with regards with their lifestyle, my childhood in the Opelucid was remarkably enjoyable; idealic, really. My natural empathy, even at such a tender age, was an ever present force in my life, bringing me into contact with a varietable amount of people and Pokémon alike. The fact that I got along well with the local Dragon types and, more importantly, those same Dragons got along with me with relative ease certainly made me stand out among my fellow youth. My ability gave me a rough insight on a person's true feeling at the time, but that was more than enough for me to become friends with almost everyone, regardless of age or status, and this is without factoring in my kind hearted nature. Needless to say, from the moment I could walk and talk, I was never without a friend or good company. My family was baffled by unique traits, for a time, until they finally just accepted it as it was."

"Of course, all that constant attention and affection just caused my inate empathy to grow even more. This ended up forcing me to learn very quickly on how to manage my own emotion state, how to separate and filter outside emotions from my own, and develop an iron clad control of myself so that, if my emotions went wild for whatever reason, I would still remain in some form of control. As a result, I matured far, far more swiftly than my peers, something else that my parent noticed and where greatly concerned about. I always managed to waylay their worry, however, and simply continued on my path of growth. I felt, and still believe to this day, that my gift, my empathy, and my very nature asked for me to be responsible for others and their needs, there wellbeing. So it was that my childhood was not of innocence, but of reflection and self dedication to my beliefs. I do not know how my life would have turned out, had I been but a normal child, but I never have regreted the path I choose. After all, its lead me to experience so many thing, and meet wonderful people like you, Shiva."

Taking a deep breath, he unclasped his hands and briefly searched in his satchel, before he pulled out his photo album. Flipping it open, he searched his pages before finding the picture he was looking for. Gently taking it out, he reach across the table to hand it to the young lass. The photo was a family picture, with five people all standing together, hugging each other and looking into the camera. Standing very tall in the picture was a man with raven color hair, deep green eyes, and a smooth pale face. He had a full beard on him, neatly trimmed to just a few centimeter off from his face, and he was wearing a bright white shirt with the words 'Best Dad in Unova!'. He had a simple smile of his face, conveying his contentment with his life. Besides him was, by comparison, and absolutely doll of a woman in size and stature, yet somehow seemed to have a presence far larger than herself. She had long flowing hair the vivid color of orange, with bright blue eyes that twinkled with barely conceled mirth. She was grinning fiercly at the camera, enjoying the moment to its utmost.

The three children, as it were, were a varietable mix of those above traits. A young adolescent boy, not quite as tall as his father but was closely reaching that point, was leaning with an arm slinged across his dad's shoulder, and his other behind his head in mock relaxtion. In contrast to the rest of his family, the teenager had hair the color of platinum blond, and his eyes were a deep, almost piercing icy blue. He had a lazy smile on his face, as if he was smirking while enjoying his family good mood simultaneously. A small girl, with hair color taking after her father but eye just as black, stood in the middle of the gather, with a wide smile on her face that was missing a few teeth. Finally, close to his mother's side with both arms around her, was Ventus himself. He was just a child at that age, but he already stood even height with his mother. His eyes were closed, but there color should have been obvious to Shiva, and he had that same heartwarming smile that he always wore, both in good time and bad. All of them were together, looking as happy as they could possibly be.

If one knew of the tragedy that would follow later, the picture was extremely heartbreaking to see. A fact that Ventus was keenly aware of, but showed no outward sighs of distress or discomfort. "Naples, Deliah, Zansibar, Rachael, and myself," the researcher said, pointing to each person in the photographs, "My family. Despite the...difficulty we face down the line, we were joyous up until the very end. But that is neither here or there at the moment, so let me continue on with my story," Ventus said, taking back the old Photo and returning it to its rightful place in his album, before returning that to his satchel. "When I was on the cusp of 10, my family moved to Castila City, as dad had gotten a new job in a far away region, and wanted us to be close to him as possible when he returned to Unova with his brief days of rest leave. My mother, a florist in her home town, sold her old business in Opelucid and started a new one here, and cared for us while my dad was gone on work. Sans had already become a trainer by that point, so it was just me, my sister, and mom most of the time. The whole family got together when they could, but life was different here than in my old home. It would soon become much more different, but that is a story from another time. One best told in private and safe location," Ventus concluded, sighing in slight tiredness from his long winded speal. He had a look in his eyes, cloudy and faded, as if he was lost in his own narrative. They looked happy, yet so sad at the same time...


The look quickly faded away, however, as his eyes refocused on Shiva, and he smiled a bit abashedly to her. "Sorry for drifting off there. To skip ahead, I eventually finish my schooling with phenominal grades. My empathy, natural intelligence, and the connection I managed to build managed to net me a Scholarship to The Science and Arts University of Castila. The class you are interested in, Pokémon Breeding and the Pokémon Handling classes, where present at the time I attended the institution, but its possible that the University dropped the course in favor of more medical classes, and relegated them to its more specialized and private auxiliary schools.  Its been almost half a decade since I left the University, so I am not entirely privy to all the changes it has since undergone. If you are still interested, however, I could get in contact with my friends there and see if I can't find where those courses are being held. Before you ask, it would be no burden to me. After all, friend help friend, correct?"

Order: Ventus has side his side of the conversation, now let's hear what Shiva has to say!
EDIT: Nope, now its time for confrontation!