[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

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'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.

In that moment, Ventus became almost overwhelmed by the almost inexplicit flourishing/flood of Loyalty not only from his great big sister, but from Nathan's Kirlia as well! His eyes widened at the dedicated, resolute, and strangely wise expression Apsis gave him that all but showed the permenantly solidified the bond between them, but soon he couldn't help but delicately place a hand on her scaled body and, with a great big smile, gave her a solum but joyful nod of his head. If his sister has decided to fully dedicate herself to his cause, then he too would do the very same for her, and together the both of them would look out for each other. Just like the family they were....

Despite the monumentous occasion between him and Apsis, Kirlia's own deepening of the bond to Nathan did not go unnoticed by the empath, and he couldn't help but give them a bright, respectful smile for revelations and choice. Still, despite his fresh joy over both their Pokémon becoming perfectly Loyal , Ventus couldn't help but secretly worry that the psychic dancer's now even more intensified focus on his young trainer could cause complication, or even become a liability. Their is fine line between complete dedication and abject zealotry, and what actions one considers appropriate on each side, something that the researcher was all too painfully aware of . Hopefully nothing unfortold comes from this....or his own history doesn't end up repeating in young Kirlia....

"...she didn't really eat...just kinda...stuck around...she...politely refused the food I offered her...gave it back to me...kept me company...Orthros gave her some of his food, weirdly...she ate that...it's been...weird..."

...

...yeah, Nathan doesn't really know what's going on exactly, let alone why.  Nathan's veeerrrrryyyy quiet and timid, though.

(Whether this happened before or after the Max Loyalty Scene, this is Ven's Reaction!)

The sociologist couldn't help but look between Apsis and Nathan with an even more curious look and a raised eyebrow, receiving a non-plussed *Hissss* from Apsis and the rather subdued/timidness of the boy. "That is indeed......strange behavior from my sister, but delightful none of the less, as it means that my sister cares enough for your wellbeing to ignore her own needs, at least temporarily or in certain instances. Hmm.....perhaps she considers you a friend or close ally now? I do remember her being distinctly comfortable around you during our tail end stay in Corsage, before things......cooled off somewhat between you two, but it seems like making amends with her back in.....The Tusk helped restore her friendly interest in you. Its rather heartening for me to see her bond with others outside me and her family, so this is a development I fully can get behind!"

After he said this, Ventus then gave a thought frown at how......dispirited the boy appeared to be, and while he no longer had any real inclination to care about them deeply or really was comfortable/happy to do so, this was not something he could easily ignore. Of course, if he tried to brute force the issue and get them to talk about their feelings directly, their was a more than likely chance they would clam up and/or flee the scene, so he tried a more.....indirect approach. "Hmm......Nathan, would you like to accompanying me and Shiva to the Shelter today, if you don't have any other plans? The Pokémon their are shaken up from the Vines disaster, and my fellow staff their could always use an extra helping hand to tend to matters. Your experience with working on your mother's ranch and caring for the Ponyta would be a boon to have indeed, and I know the Pokemon their would be delighted to see a new, friendly face, so how about it?"

(If Nathan is feeling timid and nervous, and he gets along really well with Pokemon and feels much better around them, why solve his problem with another?)