[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dies Irae]

"Hey. HEY!" Vincent interjects between the two before shooting a look in Winston's direction. "You. Go make sure that Ralts doesn't have a meltdown."

Winston gives a bark of acknowledgement and sidles closer to Nathan's Ralts.

"Cool it, Doc. You're not your usual chipper self, so obviously something has you stir crazy. Slow down and start from the top. SLOWLY." He draws out the last word for emphasis. "Drop the physical threats too."

"Way I see it, kid has questions that need answering." He catches himself. "Sorry, ki... Nathan... Forgot you don't like that. Don't see any harm in allowing him to ask them. If our man here has anything that can point him along to the answers, I'd consider that a good outcome."

[Lord Windos]

"Right now, Ralts feelings of discomfort are insignificant to everyone's safety. I can handle being the enemy if it means that everyone will get out of here safely. I will raze this place to the ground if it gets everyone to LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE," Ventus bellowed, his patience wearing thin fast. With a flick of his wrist, Apsis Pokeball was in hand, and with a burst of like, out come the snake. It looked around, seeing where her master brought it this time, when quite suddenly shiver at the sheer tension of the atmosphere. Glancing around, it see a young boy and the other guy that maimed it, and a Ponyta that was pawing at the ground nervously.

Apsis could feel how angry his master was at the young boy, and began to hiss threateningly at them. She might not exactly like her keeper, but he let her feed on her kill and promised that she can continue to, so she'll fight for him. "Ask your question to him, but if you are not done in the next 15 minutes...then I have no other choice," Ventus told him, the atmosphere of the place almost sparking with hostility. Thing are quickly going to pot; is there nothing that can stop that?

As if the fates answer that call, Vincent quickly spoke up and tried to difuse the broiling tension growing between the group. Ventus glanced over to him, and very calmly said, "We can all discuss thing once we are gone from this place, Vince. I promise I can explain why I am acting so...erratically, but not here. I gave him time to get his answer, but if he isn't done by then..." he said, his voice dropping of threatenly.

[Dies Irae]

"You do know, Doc. Technically, threatening violence using 'Mons is grounds for an arrest and a three meals a day in a nice cell." The humor is gone from Vincent's eyes and his voice has gone entirely flat. "But who am I kidding. Of course a man of science of your stature would know that, Doc."

"See. I'm not particularly good with all this emotional stuff, but I'm feeling sort of in danger all of a sudden. Maybe I'm taking a... supposed... colleague having a freak out session the wrong way. Maybe it's his large snake Pokemon attempting to intimidate me. But I think I'm mistaken obviously. After all, I'm bad with emotions."

The smile on his face is cold. There is no mirth behind it.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE UNSTABLE ONE." In his mind the officer calmly unlimbers his nightstick.

Apparently not.

Behind his back he calmly signals for Winston to prepare to evade a strike using hand signals as the grip of his other hand tightens imperceptibly around the handle of his cane.

"So. What say you we start again from the top. Without the threats and demands, Doc. You know. Like reasonable people."

[Lord Windos]

"...So be it, I suppose. If you want to so badly ruin your lives, by all means, do so. I will have no part in it, however. Just remember, when you are questioning where it went so wrong, I warned you. Good bye." With that said, Ventus waked away from the group, and headed out to who knows. Apsis slithered away with him, giving the group the stink eye as it glanced back every now and then. Given that he was carrying the tent on his person, and was the most knowledgeable when it came to Pokémon, the group just lost a lot of resources.

"...Reshirem damn it. I have to get a Fire type and come back here latter to burn away all these flowers, before any other fool decides they want to dabble with fey magic. Those idiots, don't they see I was trying to protect them?" Ventus mumble to himself, still shaking with imputent rage at the situation. He can't blame Vincent for reacting as he did, but if he had anymore battle ready Pokémon on him...he would have struck back, consequences be damned. If he had to go to jail to save them, he would have done it in a heart beat. Now, he can do enough to save himself, so that he can continue to care for his Pokémon, and accomplish his research. No matter how much the guilt in him threaten to devour him whole...

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

"... ... ... No! Wait for me, please...!"

That was Shiva's voice. It has lost some of its usual soft tone, and was now filled with...sorrow. 

She gave Nathan an expression that reflected pure incomprehension. Why did he put his Pokemon's fascination for a flower above the safety of the group... 

Then, she left, leaving him and Vincent behind to follow Ventus wherever he was heading to. Cottonee still by her side.

[Lord Windos]

Hearing Shiva call out to him, Ventus snapped out of his fugue for a moment, and slowed his pace a bit for her to catch up. When she did so, he matched her pace evenly, and silently continued to the camping site she pointed out earlier. He was tired and depressed by the day's outcome, and all he wanted to do was get some rest. Maybe not peaceful rest, what with the guilt nipping at him, but relief none of the less.

[Dragonstrike]

'Fool...if he's as empathetic as he says he is, you would think that he would know how much Ralts means to me...' Nathan backs down to attend to Ralts due to Vincent's interjection. Ralts is still nervous, but has calmed down now that Ventus has left.

Nathan turns to the survivalist once more, hoping he can learn something about the strange flowers. "I'm very sorry about that sir. I'd still appreciate hearing what you know about those flowers. Come to think of it, I never asked you for your name, did I? Mine's Nathan. This little guy is Ralts, and he's VERY interested in those flowers." Ralts stands close to Nathan, eager to hear whatever the survivalist has to say.

[Iron]

"Pierre...Pierre, they callt me. Me Deyo make good painkillehs. Walk up from the crater, they do, when the sun goes down. But they walk real slow. You won't see a crop like this again for a longaways."

[Dies Irae]

Vincent watches Ventus depart silently, still ranting away incomprehensibly. 

"DOC'S ON A BAD TRIP?" The officer asks airily, quietly filling up a case report form an invisible desk, the scratching of a ghostly pen on a fictitious clipboard audible in his skull as the phantom's hand darts across the page. 'Intervened in civic disturbance.' He notes down precisely in neat script. 'Separated participants. Will contact character witnesses for testimony.'

Don't know him well enough to care. He thinks, letting the thoughts percolate. I don't start these things. I just finish them.

When Ventus has withdrawn, Shiva following confusedly, he turns neatly on the balls of his feet, plodding back to join Nathan and the survivalist, Winston following warily at his Trainer's side. He feels a bleak cold ache in his right leg as he moves, suddenly aware of the tension pulling at his muscles and exhales slowly, balling the tension and pushes it out with the air from his lungs, as the flood of Adrenalin resides.

"Sorry about that. Just wanted to make sure Doc Doom over there wasn't having second thoughts about stabbing me in the face. Please continue."

[Iron]

The survivalist shows you how you can concoct a rather unpleasant painkiller from the Deyo. It gives your Pokemon 1, 2, or 3 temporary hit points depending on how potent you make it. But Pokemon hate it - it's too strongly concentrated and becomes bitter instead of sweet.

In this field, you estimate there are about 2 bushels of Deyo, and it takes 3/4 of a bushel to make the least-strong version and doubles from there. And of course Pierre is going to want lots of it for himself.