[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

(...)

That train of thought caused her issues to actually sleep in once she and Ven were back at the dorm and she was OVERLY delighted to finally find some well-deserved rest, eventually she must have doozed off from mere exhaustion, keeping sweet Marill close to her for this night, Cottonee directly beside her head on her side of the bed.

Luckily, no bad dreams this night, Haaah, Shiva was silently thankful for her dream catcher's aid.

When Ventus would wake her up, he'd find her in reluctant state to actually get up. For the likely first time in Shiva's life, she was subtly fearful of what may await her if she would step outside into rainy Stair City. She knew that she MUST get out though, as work at the Shelter awaited. She does not want Ventus to leave though, apart from maybe getting down the Lobby to get breakfast, and would silently try to get a hold of one of his sleeves in an attempt to keep him by her side for only a little longer.

Similarly to the shock and fear that plagued Shiva in one form or another due to her near abduction at the hands of those heinous Scimitars, Ventus was practically swamped by his own fretful feelings for her peace of mind and emotional stability and MORE as he journied back to the Center with her. If it wasn't for his iron grip on himself in general and his own dogged determination to not let these chaotic and sinister events get to him, he would have been consumed by his own turbulent emotions too. Well, that, and the fact that his life experiences up until present times have....... desensitized the dubiously sane researcher to such calamities. That too.

Point is, despite how it appeared that Ven was unfazed by the Near Little Cup Blackout Incident, his emotions and state of mind was hardly untarnished. His worries, apprehension, and utter hatred of the Scimitars and all they represented united with his growing fears of them, which could have easily lead to a disaster feedback loop had the empath not been HEAVILY focusing on/managing/controlling etc. his emotions to forestall the possibility. The more the Ventus had learned of the vile, evil cabal of mages and fiends, the more treacherous and insidious they seem to become, which in turn amplified and strengthen the negative feelings he harbor for those repugnant wizards. On top of that, the sociologist ALSO had his dearest friend and not as secret as he would like love wellbeing to carefully manage along with his increasing paranioa that the Scimitars were ever searching/hunting for the group to put an end to their crusade against them......

......OR they were most likely already have found them and were just watching, gathering data on their every move and sequence of action, recording their behaviors and scrounging their personal histories for every morsal, actively searching for all their weaknesses and faults to weaponize against them, and just waiting and watching for the right opportunity to Ambush them all,  utterly destroying them and dooming all Cheshire and perhaps the world OR capturing and torturing them for all the intelligence they have before slaying him, Nathan, Heart, Valder, SHIVA, and feasting on and defling their corpses or corrupting and brainwashing them into loyal MONSTERS of their cause with their own horrendous magics and technologies into twisted mockeries of who they are just like his own Mo-

'ENOUGH! BEGONE!! CEASE TO BE, TENEBOROUS PREMENITIONS!!!'
'...'

'...'

'.....My fears will not rule me. My doubts will not consume me. My paranioa will not cripple my thought process, my sense of logic, OR my good reason. My emotions and feelings inform my decisions, color my moods, and  alter my perception of things, but THEY HOLD NO DOMINION OVER ME OR MY WILL. I shall not be made lame by my rampant emotions, nor have them wage war and sow turmoil on my mind or others. I can not afford to succumb to stress, let myself be crippled  by anxiety , or become deranged because the growing severity and expansiveness of the enemies I....no, we face.'

'I must be ever strong, resolute, and ready to support myself and the others in the face of adversity, or they will be rendered prey to this harsh reality we live in. I shall never allow myself to falter or show weakness in times of duress, or my companions will pay severely for my negiligent lapse. I must be keen eye and ever prepared for threats leveled against me and my own, but I shall not let such alertness to become perverse and cause me to jump at shadows.'

'My name is Ventus Zackarieh, and I am the undisputed master of myself. '

'Each and every aspect that makes up my being in under my complete and total control. '

'This is the Truth, and if it is ever not, I will make it . '

'Let all of this be so.'

.......And so he had finally managed to wrestle and conquered with the malestorm of negatively, fear, and paranioa that had so briefly escaped his tight grasp. All without alerting or even giving away the tiniest of hints to his brief panic attack and the inner struggle that result from it. All without letting Shiva know or realize this, as he neatly divided his attention between dealing (lesser priority) with himself and making sure she was amply comforted (greater priority).

That was an ever present danger for him as an empath: letting his and others emotions consume him to the point he goes wild. Letting his uncomfortable past and the dire effects it has had upon him erode his clarity, paralyzing him their orneous burden or worse, overly affect his decisions. He had to learn and acquire his Iron grasp control over himself at an early age, and ever strengthen his that and his own mental fortitude over the years to meet and overcome the challenges life or he himself has deemed to burden him with. It was something he rarely discussed with others, as he did not think or desire to worry them about himself.

After all, he's managed this well despite it all, has he not?

When he and Shiva had turned in for the night, Ventus patiently waited until his most blessed friend was peacefully slumbering, before giving her a sweet smile and a light kiss on the forehead.

"Sleep well, my dear Shiva. When the sun rises, let yourself rise with it. I will be by your side."

Then, he finally allowed himself to pass out into dreamless nothingness.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the new day arrived, the researcher was up at the crack of dawn as per usual, feeling much better after a good night's rest. Seeing that his mystical darling had yet to mimic his morning patterns, he silently and gracefully slipped out of bed and commenced his morning routine, before quietly exiting the room to pick up breakfast at the mess. He got himself his standard bowl of oatmeal porridge (Heavily Spiced and fixed with fruit, of course!), and decided to get Shiva a rather hearty breakfast of biscuits and gravy, crispy hashbrowns, a bowl of her favorite fruit (finely dice and fresh!) and nicely seasoned fish fillets (Not Pokémon fish!) .

Accompanying them was a whole pot of coffee, two cups, and plenty of cream, sugar, and other flavorants to go around. The research had an strong inkling that his dearest friend would need all the substance to be able to function after that intensely stressful battle at the Little Cup + Nearly Being Kidnapped, so he came fully prepared for this!  If she didn't manage to eat all of it, he would just end up sharing it with his Pokémon! Waste not want not!

Ventus was indeed right on his money as he gently shook her awake once he returned to their room, with breakfast lying in wait on the table. "Shiva, morning has now come. I brought breakfast up here this time, and we need to eat before it cools off, dear....."