[Game] Lord Windos' PokeRole Adventure: Celadon City Vandel

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

[Keep up the good work, Giratina.  I have faith that it won't disappoint.]

Whew, this is a lot to respond to...

Well, first of all, Reiner also gets a little more flustered/reserved out of surprise when Taylor says that all of a sudden.  I mean, it's not that surprising, but ooh boy, it's definitely another thing entirely to have confirmation of any previous suspicions/hypotheses.
And Taylor basically took the words right outta my mouth, too.  Hehehe...they're more true than she probably thinks...
Of course, Taylor doesn't give him any time to immediately respond to that, so that gives him enough time to quickly *ahem* and say, "...er...yeah, maybe there is...partner."



Even as awkward sounding as it is, he does mean it.

Weavile's chuckling to himself (as he does find the current situation at least a little amusing, and it's helped cheer him up a little) when Taylor asks for his opinion.  He stops for a sec to ponder something about it...then shrugs.  And with a wave of his paw, says, "Eh, I'm sure you two can work it out.  I'm really just along for the ride as far as that goes.  I will admit it's certainly nice to see Reiner in slightly less dour spirits for once, though."  And then he resumes chuckling again as Taylor no doubt ends up surprised yet again.


Which gets a chuckle outta Reiner too.  "...yeah, he, uh...kinda picked up on how to use Assist recently.  Gonna solve a lot of our communication issues, that much is certain."

That oughta help distract from (some of) the awkwardness of the situation a little. ;P

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

Taylor's explanation of how ludicrously rare and powerful the Yatagaryu family of Dragons is definitely provokes a little bit of a sense of wonder and surprise from Reiner.  He knew Lucy was unusually strong as far as her control over electricity went, but to think it was because she has ties to the draconic, and that the Elders were seemingly willing to do almost anything to get their hands on that power...well, suffice to say, Reiner's own expression also briefly darkens when Taylor says they don't deserve any better than what they got (though obviously not for all the same reasons that Taylor's expression did).  Though I will say that forcing someone into a bad deal by exploiting their connections to someone they care about is certainly a new low...just not the lowest 'new' low they've pulled off...
...the mention that Taylor apparently received Lucy as a gift from someone addressing themselves as Z...well, when Reiner hears that...he just kinda quietly sighs, as he instinctively knows that it's more than a simple letter or abbreviation (because how else am I going to explain that IC, right?), though Taylor might mistake it as meaning something entirely different given the context of the situation.  "...well, it's definitely not an 'epic origin story'...but I suppose they don't all have to be, do they?  Still, that's quite mysterious...and that is weirdly prophetic...but I guess owning such a ludicrously rare and powerful pokemon is just bound to cause situations like those anyways, right?"


 In no way does Reiner want to hint that he might know who gifted Lucy to Taylor.  He definitely isn't pretending to know why Z gave the little birdy to Taylor, though.  There's no way he could, really (besides the gifter himself saying exactly why he did so, anyways).  Funny how even now, he is still showing up in Reiner's life in some fashion or another, isn't it?  Though I also suppose that once you've learned of the existence of something beyond what's 'normal', it's impossible to ever see things the same way ever again, isn't it?
But what probably interested him more was Taylor mentioning...she has family...in Blackthorn?  He could never get her to talk about her past over the course of the 3 years they got to know each other...but now that he thinks about it, Taylor's been dropping hints about her past all throughout the conversation...she must definitely be a little more flustered than usual if she's dropping so many hints...though Reiner's not sure if she's doing it on purpose or not...

...hang on...does it have something to do with...?

...that's when he reaches into his boot to pull out the knife that Taylor had given him 4 years ago.

As he examines the Dragon Fang Knife and the name engraved on its hilt, the last name scratched out to the point where it's all but unreadable...his gaze happens to flicker from the blade to Taylor's face, as he's not sure what he'll see from her reactions...

What he sees from Taylor is a bit of...resignation/acceptance amidst trying to stay as straight faced as possible, I guess.  She'd obviously known this was coming ever since she gave him that knife.  As Reiner examines the weapon, she probably stays silent, waiting for his reaction...

...what makes it click though isn't what he reads from Taylor's emotions.  No, the key to this mystery is...

...her scars.  As Reiner holds up the weaponized Dragon Fang...a fang designed to rip and tear through flesh, made all the more deadly by its surprising durability and the care taken to make it even sharper than before...now that he actually looks at it a little more closely, and if he uses his imagination a little, it almost looks like it's...the same...fang that...

"...Taylor...is this fang from...a Salamence...?"  
Hehehehe...oh, the almost poetic irony of it all for both of the humans present...it's not just any Salamence Fang, Reiner...
If Taylor doesn't want to do another long winded speech, that's okay.  Reiner has just enough puzzle pieces to figure out some of Taylor's backstory on his own now.


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

As for the egg Reiner receives towards the end of the conversation...

...well, he'd recognize that color scheme anywhere.

Another moment where Reiner just kinda stares and blinks in surprise before he verbally reacts.

"...an egg...so, they got one outta her after all, and it was among the ones they 'relinquished'...huh...a, uh...I'm sorry, but what species is Lucy again?  Yatagaryu is the final form, obviously, but what about the others?  And...you're sure it's okay for me to...ya know, nevermind.  I can just ask Lucy myself soon enough, right?"
Oh, and one more thing: Merry Christmas, Reiner!  The timing of this is just too good, lol.  Even if it is (probably) currently the middle of Spring in your universe, given the theme of the Flower Festival and all...

Just try not to shock everyone to death with your new gift...

The thief extradordinare chuckles as she catches you marked reaction to her casual declaration of love, leaning forward towards you with the most impish grin, mischievously glinting eyes, and innocent tilt of her head that was certainly thought provoking.

"Glad to hear. Thought I had to kiss ya again to get my point across like last time, but thankfully you spared us of that awkwardness. Unless......you're still a bit unclear on things? Hm?

.........Dear me, you can't tell if she's teasing your or not like old times (but up to 11!), but either way she feel open to about any answer you give her. Ho ho ho....

Reiner's Awkwardness: not cleared. Not by the tiniest margin, noooo.

At this point (before he gets to a-speaking), Weavile's barely restraining himself from breaking out into full blown snickering , holding a claw to his face and resting his bottle of milk on the table to not accidently spill it in his merriment. Ah, now this is rich and sweet, like a nice juicy steak! It ain't the same as the fun they all got up to in the face, but its even better, so no complaints in his fellow thief's advances here!

When the sly feline does speak up, Taylor does a double take and stares at him bug eyed and in shock, then at you when offering the explanation for his sudden capacity for human speech, before she plopped backwards into the with a half bemusement, half 'what can you do about it?' acceptance.

"Well, that's certainly a creative application of a Pokemon Move right there. Guess I'm not alone in that sort of experimentation as I thought as I was, heh heh. I'd be more surprised, but Mr. Mime demostrate Pokemon can speak humanese just fine, and after everything's Kyubi told me about what you've been up to lately and herself, and how swell our talk has been, I guess I'm just rolling with the Sucker Punches like a Machamp now, eh? Doesn't hurt I've been through my share of out there stuff too, but still.....talking Pokemon."

-------

Despite how in tune and on point she's been at reading you/the situation (if just not being entirely understanding of it), she completely misses the deeper implications behind your reaction to how she came into possession of her thunder bird/Dragon, and *Sighs* along sympathetically with you, nodding her head with closed eyes.

"Righty-o and righty-o, partner. Still, wish I knew who game me Lucy so I could thank them properly for that, but tis not to be, I guess."

....
....
.... (.....And They're not responding. Good?)

(...)

One more thing to add about her expressions at Reiner's comparisons: her body goes still as a rock, though her posture/position doesn't change. After you posed your question, though.......she just gave you smile. A sad, careworn, reserved, and dull smile. The exact same smile she gave you whenever you tried to pry and tease out answers about her family or her past.

Its not a straight answer, and barely even an answer at that, but you didn't have to be Alexandria to not understand what it meant.

----

Taylor chuckles again at your stunned reaction, as she derived no end of amused for getting them out of you, just like old times when she showed off some of her tricks, trinkets, and the embarrassing tidbit of Knowledge about you. Never gets olds, heh heh! When you ask more about the Egg and if it was really okay for him to have it, her smile turn a bit more bittersweet, but not enough to indicate any real drop in her mood.

"Her lineage's Evolutions starts with The Storm Chick Volchick, then The Three Legged Voltasu, and finally the The Stormbringer Yatagaryu. First couple of stage are Electric/Flying type, but Yata itself is a Electric/Dragon through and through. Loses an Immunity that way and gains all the Weaknesses Dragons have, but it can learn Magnet Rise pretty easily to negate that and gains a whooooole lot of power, heh heh, so its not too much of a problem."

"Was pretty wowed and furious when I discovered it myself, since my girl had a baby but.....not by her choice. She was feeling a bit mixed up herself about her Egg, so when I asked if it was okay if I gave it to you, she indicated it was fine by her. Lucy likes you, felt you were - and still are, in my opinion -  trustworthy and....well, plain worthy enough to care for her firstborn, and she dodged her issues with them by foisting them on someone she knows would be able to take care of them without problem or qualm, so its aces partner! Think of it as a present for all the good times we had, and all the birthdays and Christmases I missed [Don't question why a Christian holiday is celebrate by the Dragon Clan of Blackthorn, just roll with it!] ! If you want to get her permission directly though..... *Smiles* Then lead the way, partner. After I get my drink, of course."