[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

"...you...felt more of those lurches too?  Heart, Terra, have you guys...also felt those weird lurches?"

Nathan's maybe three-quarters surprised by the response Shiva gave him.  His clay Aotius and Mutios necklace clacks quietly in the silence of the room as Nathan shifts his position slightly, as if to remind everyone that it's there.  Two pokemon that nobody has seen in person yet, but Nathan earnestly believes are out there, their influence present in the world...very few solid facts for him to go on, and a whole lot of faith...

Nathan shakes his head in response to Shiva's hypothesis concerning his vision.  "...no, it wasn't quite seeing it from Kirlia's eyes...it was more like...I was watching Kirlia have a vision of me from a distance...like...a vision of the past that was still relevant to the future, I suppose?  Gallade recognized the vision when I described it to him, so he apparently had the same one when he was still a Kirlia..."  No comment concerning the clockmaker and Laurelin.

His every word is laced with an underlying nervousness and uncertainty.  He has no idea if what he's saying will be reasonable to Shiva's ears or set her off in some manner because she doesn't agree with his reasoning at all.  He's not really looking for approval, but...that doesn't mean he's trying to make things worse than they already are.  He's uncomfortable enough right now as it is.

Heart's attempt at a compromise is...kinda helpful, I suppose?  Except not really because the bad joke about Nathan being the 'grumpy trainer' doesn't really help at all.  Terra's unspoken support, however, is definitely a lot more helpful.  Not to say Heart's wasn't, but...it definitely could have been phrased a little more elegantly.

Even though Heart's rally doesn't arouse any cheers, there is one other in the room who seems to firmly believe everything will turn out fine: Gallade.  And he looks Shiva in the eyes to make sure she knows that.  Come what may from the Ruins, he'll take it on.  They all will take it on.  Together.  Unfortunately, he can't really do much consoling as far as Shiva's issues with Nathan go...just assure her that they'll still be tackling the upcoming/current crisis as a group.

Nathan has zero comments on the hentai thing.  He wishes Heart wouldn't use that term, though...that is not an accurate description of those vines...

"...*ahem*...we, uh, kinda trekked through the wilderness once already when we first visited Arrowroot, Shiva...and, uh..."  Nathan casts a glance at Terra.  Ya know, Mr. Wilderness Adventurer himself.  That comment seemed just a tad tactless to Nathan...

"...*ahem*...yeah, uh...if we could stay here for another day or so, that'd be great...I still need to do a task for Laurelin to get my Claw Fossil revived...need to visit a nearby location called Ancestor Cave and catch a few undersized Unown for her...lots of rare pokemon and old pictures and stuff there apparently, too...Meowth, Ditto, Eeveelutions...also still have one exhibit in the museum I want to pay a visit..."  Shiva and Heart might notice the implication that Nathan might have already revived the Toenail Fossil since Nathan made no mention of it in that statement.