[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Ventus would be the first one to wake up from sleep. He wouldn't find Shiva cuddled up to him, though - she's laying beside him just where she bedded yesterday evening, after she expressed that she'll head to bed right away while he prepared to silently meditate (probably), and dozed off relatively quickly afterwards. She's clutching the Snivy-plush he once gifted her.

She seems peacefully, it looks like she managed to get good and restful sleep in Ven's dorm. Azurill and Braixen were still in the Healing Machine of the Center, both of them healed up and awaiting for their Master to be welcome back in her warm and comfortable arms.


(@Lord Windos, your call now.)

[Dragonstrike]

Emptiness...darkness...

...total solitude...nothing but Nathan and his own troubled thoughts...

...except for one other presence he could only faintly tell was there...

...a presence that couldn't seem to reach him, no matter how hard it tried...

...and then...all the pain simply vanished...as if it had been drained away by that faint presence's persistence...

...

Just Before Nurse Joy checks on Nathan

Nathan's eyes flutter open, and he finds himself looking at...a ceiling?

He looks around...

When did he...end up indoors?  

Where was he?

Looking around some more, he spots...Kirlia, zonked out at the base of the bed, snoozing away...

It doesn't take long for Kirlia to wake up after Nathan does.  And when their eyes meet...Nathan can tell his best friend's been fraught with worry, particularly when Kirlia tackles him with a hug and a huge feeling of relief.

What...happened?

Just after Nurse Joy checks on Nathan

Nurse Joy had informed him he'd collapsed due to what his companions thought was extreme stress.  They'd brought him to the Center immediately...

Nathan doesn't say no to visitors, but...

...he has no recollection of what the heck happened last night...it's just all a big blank spot in his memory...he remembered going outside to battle Ventus and Shiva and then...

...nothing. Nothing at all...

[Lord Windos]

Ventus would be the first one to wake up from sleep. He wouldn't find Shiva cuddled up to him, though - she's laying beside him just where she bedded yesterday evening, after she expressed that she'll head to bed right away while he prepared to silently meditate (probably), and dozed off relatively quickly afterwards. She's clutching the Snivy-plush he once gifted her.

She seems peacefully, it looks like she managed to get good and restful sleep in Ven's dorm. Azurill and Braixen were still in the Healing Machine of the Center, both of them healed up and awaiting for their Master to be welcome back in her warm and comfortable arms.


(@Lord Windos, your call now.)

Rising high in the sky and bathing Ginger Town in its warm, welcoming rays, the sun ushered in a brand new, hopefully much less frenetic day, and with it rose the erratic sociologist himself.  Before he conducted his usual morning routine of stretching, showering, breakfeast/note reviewing etc., Ventus leaned over from his side of the bed to check on how his dear friend endured the night, and a smile of pure relief crested across his face at her serenity in slumber.

'Thank Reshirim, Shiva's mental state appears to have re-stabilized from the night we spent together. I was fearful that yesterday's events took too great of a toll on her mental/emotionaly foundations, and seeing her standing outside the center feeling so hesistant and fearful...I'm glad I arrived to her aid when I did. She's like a Diamond in a the rough: so strong and dazzling, yet so very brittle when enough forces and pressure is applied to it.... I'll let her sleep in the morning, as more rest is always a good thing in my professional opinion, and leave her a note saying that I'll be grabbing breakfast and visiting Nathan. May your dream be wonderful, my blessed friend,' the researcher thought, brushing some loose strands of Shiva's hair back in place, before writing the note and getting out of bed to properly begin his day.

After he showered/got dressed, and got breakfast for himself and made a return trip to his room to lay a covered tray of Eggs, rashors of Bacon, Toast, Fresh sliced fruit, and a cup of black coffee for Shiva to enjoy when she arises from her slumber, Ven made his way to Nathan's room in the clinic, knocking politely first to make his presence known, before entering into the room. He say the look of perplexition and confusion adorning their face, and so calmly said: "Good morning, Nate. I'm glad that you appeared to have fully recovered from you blackout episode from yesterday, but something appears to be troubling you none of the less. Do you want to take about it, my friend?"

[Dragonstrike]

...Ven made his way to Nathan's room in the clinic, knocking politely first to make his presence known, before entering into the room. He say the look of perplexition and confusion adorning their face, and so calmly said: "Good morning, Nate. I'm glad that you appeared to have fully recovered from you blackout episode from yesterday, but something appears to be troubling you none of the less. Do you want to take about it, my friend?"

Nathan's tired.  Really tired.  He's literally just woken up, found out he blacked out, and has no recollection of anything that happened last night.  His head drops into his hands as he tries again to remember something...anything about what happened...

Nothing.

Everything between when he reached the battlefield and now is a blank slate.

Rather groggily and reluctantly, he tries to respond to Ventus's question..."Ugh...what...happened?"

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Shiva actually awoke from her peaceful sleep relatively soon after Ventus left the room for the second time. Oh Arceus, how late was it... Too early yet, so she cuddled up back into the pillows or the mess of blankets and pillows that Ven does call a bed. It was rather comfy though, but when she awoke - she couldn't help but to feel a little lonely again. How often did she already awoke alone after she had to endure unpleasant things with the party? Oh well - She hugged that Snivy-plush tighther in a way to comfort herself, but it felt different than the fluff Cottonee once shed and gifted her Master.

It also didn't took long for her to notice that...feast of a breakfast standing there on the table that belonged to every dorm in a Center and that gave her the spark needed to get out of bed eventually. The note was the first thing she realized about it, and she certainly knew the handwriting. ... ... ... Coffee was actually enough in the mornings to her while traveling, but Toast never hurts, and since she skipped dinner yesterday... thinking of yesterday, that day somewhat gave her cold shivers when remembering. It started neatly, but ended horribly for her well-being. Ven wrote that he was visiting Nathan - oh right, he passed out yesterday. To say it bluntly, that's entirerly his own fault, it's not like someone forced him to battle her and Ven - but it'd be rude to not visit as well, she would prefer to not speak about that at all, but at the same time she wouldn't enjoy to carry the loathe that came from a friend putting her through emotional mayhem. Bless her ability to forgive things. Not that this will happen right away though and like nothin', hmpf. First feelings of being overshadowed and then this additionally... She's not a person one can do everything to and get away with unscolded.


*****


Finishing breakfast, dressing and taking the plate of sliced fruit with her, she soon left the room. First stop by was the counter, where she thankfully accepted back both her blue mouse and her magical fox. According to Nurse Joy, both were fine and battleready again, the night in the Healing Machine certainly did well to them. What would the world of Pokemon would be without the inventor of such a machine... Joy also confirmed that it's one of her travel companions that's laying in infirmary, and expressing who she is earned her allowance to visit Nathan there.

Standing in front of the door starring up to that 'Do not disturb'-sign, the feelings of worry came again. Fear of what may await her - but also the determination that she cannot run away now. Stay strong, my dear one... Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door to make herself audible, before carefuly entering the room and taking seat beside where Nathan was laying-sitting, before placing the plate of sliced fruit as a gift on the table.

She didn't say anything though, but kept her gaze awaitingly on Nathan.

[Iron]

Nurse Joy agrees with your sentiment on the Healing Machine. "Pokemon battling would probably be illegal. It used to be a gruesome arena sport, not practiced by anyone of good temperament, and often to the death. This was in the time even before the King."

[Lord Windos]

Nathan's tired.  Really tired.  He's literally just woken up, found out he blacked out, and has no recollection of anything that happened last night.  His head drops into his hands as he tries again to remember something...anything about what happened...

Nothing.

Everything between when he reached the battlefield and now is a blank slate.

Rather groggily and reluctantly, he tries to respond to Ventus's question..."Ugh...what...happened?"

Despite how much of a negatively loaded question that was for Ventus, given the ordel that battle turned out for both him and Shiva, he still was kindly smiling at the somewhat invalid boy as he pulled up a chair and sat down beside his bed.

"I wish I had some aspirin for that headache of yours, but sadly I haven't thought to buy any in recent times, since its seldom that I have one to begin with. Now, what happened to you yesterday is...complicated, but I'll do my utmost to concisely explain it to you, as I believe you would rather get on with your morning before it drifts away. To put it thus, to cope with the sudden stress of facing both me and Shiva in battle, on top of accomplishing whatever you had planned in regards to it, you forced yourself into uneasy apathy. It seems willingly subjecting yourself to that state caused your mind to go at war with itself, as I noticed two distinct streams of emotion 'arguing' within you, on top of the swirling, chaotic storm of deleterious feelings that formed where you suppressed them."

"To put it succiently, the end result was that you were not yourself during battle and that your were constantly suffering from one form or another of emotional backlash. You were rather....tough/cold to us in your apathetic state of mind, to the point that Shiva was starting to become unbalanced herself as the fight dragged on, and it I had to keep up a air of jollity to lighten how tense things have become. In the end, after a particularly difficult round that ended....very poorly for us, Shiva was on the verge of breakdown, and I was fed up with the conflict's turn towards the dire, so I forfeited the match. I said some heated words that should not have been spoken with how fragile your mind was at the time, and you subsequently blacked out from severe emotional and physical stress a short while later. Heart, who had been spectating the fight, and I rushed over to escort your to the Pokémon Center's clinic, and the rest, as you say, is history."

Their was a brief moment of silence as the sociologist finished his abridged re-counting of events, as he let the boy process everything that has come to his attention, before asking them: "Well, does that help any, Nate? If you want, I can go out and get you breakfast and some aspirin, and go over the fine details of my explaination, or leave you be while you fully recover and prepare for the day. Whatever suits you, my friend, and I'll do my best to fulfill your desires....within reason of course. I can't promise you the world and all its riches, but I'll do what is within my power."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

(Hmmm... I assume Shiva arrived at Nathan's room just before Ventus explains what happens/Nathan asked, so she'll hear what Ven is telling.)

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan's not sure what to say to that...Kirlia does confirm that Ventus isn't lying, but...

He can't remember a single detail.  Not one.

And just trying to think about it was making his headache worse...

Why?  Why can't he remember?

This had just left him with more questions than answers...

Kirlia, meanwhile, looks a little sad and is feeling slightly guilty.  Oh no...this wasn't his fault, was it?  He'd only been trying to help Nathan calm down and get some good rest...

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Shiva actually had not much to add to Ventus's words of explanation what happened. She just sat there beside his bed with her arms semi-crossed, but her mind was certainly open. The threat that she'll overreact or act impulsive like she'd do when approached with things yesterday was clearly lower.

The emotions came back though when the battle was discussed again, and with it a whiff of...disappointment in Nathan. She hesitated to speak at all, but if she doesn't do so now, maybe she'll never get the chance to do so, and brutally murder the chances to rebuild bridges with Nathan. There was a big question mark at 'why', but actually... She didn't even cared about the 'why'.

That disappointent and tiredness was surely audible in her voice if listened closely. "You know, Nathan... First of all, it's good to see that you're doing a little better and managed to get some rest. Recover to your old strenght and tell if you need anything, okay? Second... *cough* it's be lying if I said I'm completely clueless why you thought battling us was a good idea. Kirlia kept a close watch on us during battle, I noticed this, but I don't enjoy being an open book one without knowing. Furthermore, do forgive me to say it out directly, but...you know... It's clear that I greatly disliked the battle. It's just not what a FRIEND would do, you see? Friends support one another, and that's why I nevertheless went through the battle and emotional havoc - all for you. Now, you can't remember a thing, neat. A friend doesn't...use their friends to help himself, you know?"