[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

(Did I remember to give Haneal +1 Loyalty after that last fight? I was supposed to. If not, you can add that now, or maybe the next time you bring it out. Haneal is just more obedient now.)


Apsis flexes her tail at Ventus, showing him that she survived that in one piece. But with this little bit of independence, without even getting really yelled at, Apsis makes a decision: she would follow Ventus anywhere. Again, she realizes how much she has changed since leaving Trillium.

Apsis is now perfectly loyal. Unlike Togekiss, she has no innate morals to get in the way. She'll obey any command that doesn't seem suicidal, and needs no prompting to defend Ventus' life.






Kirlia sits down across from Nathan while all this is going on. He is ready to really get inside Nathan's head and figure out what's going on in there, once and for all.
Why is Nathan so frequently the only one who doesn't ignore him?
Why does Nathan take so many burdens on himself? Sometimes without any emotional assistance other than Kirlia's own?
Why had Nathan gone to the literal ends of the Earth instead of simply using the Neverstone on him?
Why is Nathan unafraid of this giant Arbok who has seriously threatened him before?

And Kirlia gets it! He understands! Everything Nathan does, despite all his shortcomings and instabilities and stressors, Nathan does because he loves Pokemon. All Pokemon. Big ones, weak ones, useful ones, ugly ones. Even a Pokemon he may have to destroy.

Kirlia's eyes are filled with such admiration, suddenly, that Ventus feels it almost tangibly. Nathan may hardly even notice, since he is distracted, but later he will come to realize that Kirlia would die for Nathan and admires Nathan like he could not possibly admire any other human. Kirlia also has perfect Loyalty now. He'll obey any command as long as it doesn't remove Nathan from his life.