[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Flashback because this scene is not yet finished to my taste?

Spoiler

The researcher's sharp and keen sense of empathy picked up on the lessened happiness and increased worry of his dearest friend in the world in response to his own tulmultious mood, causing him to minutely and internally panic until he quashed those sentiments. Before he could even think of a way to asunge Shiva of the negativity he tried to forestall earlier, however, his fae friend beat him to the punch and instead she was the one doing the comforting! Her prompt action and unexpected, sincere, and soothing words shocked/stunned Ventus, as usually it was him that did the consoling, not the other way around!

For a brief moment, his guard was lowered by this reversal, and all the anxiety, stress, fear, and uncertainly that lurked just beneath his joyful semi-façade was apparent to her. Quickly, though, he recovered, and soon all that Shiva was greet by a carefully neutral expression that was neither happy nor sad. Just......tired. Pained. Ven was silent for the span of around five minutes, and when he did finally speak up it his voice almost perfectly mirror his expression. "...........I'm aware of this, Shiva. Your child present has no nefarious intentions, nor any desires to beguile either of us. I know all of this..........but still, its hard to forget. To detach myself from that.....that 'fateful' day, from all the horrible first and second hand Encounter's I've had with the fae and arcane. To not condemn every Fairy type I see or meet as a foul monster with capracious designs upon anyone's soul. Its so, so hard at times......"

Ventus expression then shifted towards one of......peace. Content. "Still.....I know not all Fairies and Magical Pokemon are bad, so I must try to be open minded with them, and give them all a chance they deserve. If I completely close my mind and heart to those I perceive as 'bad', to endlessly persecute what I deem 'wrong'......then I would just end up like my brother, sooner or later."

"..........Thank you, dear. I'll get used to Spiritze in short order, so don't overly worry yourself about me, ok?"

When Ven was looking and sounding so painfully neutral, so stressed, old and plain not like Shiva is used for him to be, she remained completely silent for as long as he found his voice back. In a tense moment like this, she prefered to to speak any words at all, as they were just to endangered to break the silence in an unpleasant manner - but it was obvious that she felt for Ven.

When he spoke up, she finally faced him again with an expression that was just as calm as before, and she listenened to every word he had to say. When he has finished and asked her to not worry herself about him, nothing really kept Shiva at her place by the table anymore, so as some sort of answer she leaned over and extended her hand even more to tenderly stroke Ven over  the left cheek, luring him to face her as well - he'd meet her smiling carefully, yet that smile was one that was purely honest and warm, and it was adressed to him. She'd hug or even kiss him on cheek right now, but with that fragrance of her new Fairy Type on her clothes she abstained from that. "Certainly it's hard to forget, dear... And even harder to detatch yourself from it... But do you even have to forget and detatch yourself from it?" She faintly shook her head, causing Spritzee on her shoulder to move closer to her Master's cheek afterwards. "No. As long as you don't let the paranoia and phobia rule you and determine every of your decision, it's fine, really... Whether you give a Fairy a chance or not is up to you, but I feel blessed that you are giving my own fairies and me a chance." She withdrew her hand and leaned back again to let these words sink in into him.

The atmosphere got a lot better however when Natu appeared! Shiva, being naturally fascinated by the species, offered her hand to the psychic bird to sit on it while keeping the other closed one yet out of sight for it before that starring contest began (one that Shiva lost). "Uhm... well then, welcome, Haziel! Bet with your psychic powers you've also got to know me? If you can guess how many pirsif cookies I have crumbled here in my hand," *showing it to Haziel*, "you can have all of them."