[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

+1 XP to Heart's Pokemon.

Koa is doing great with Dragon Dance. This lonely cavern is the perfect place for that kind of thing, to a Dragon. Ever since visiting the Eremite he has wanted this.

Tynamo keeps messing up and getting himself stuck to the magnetic walls somehow. In a way, Heart realizes this is a good sign, since it means Tynamo understands at least the beginnings of electromagnetism, if he can turn himself into an electromagnet.

Mudkip is still getting used to being on Heart's team and doesn't have much to do besides obey orders directly.

"Okay everyone thats enough for now!" Say Heart ending the job. "Time to return to Star City. Heart finally return to the same path but stops for a second. "Hmm I remember something about a rock who give good lucks to important battles. I dont believe much in luck but I think it couldnt hurt to take look. Besides I still have plenty of time."

Action: Go in the direction of the Worn Stone.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

In contrast to Shiva's uncomfortable night of dreaming up partially remember terrible memories, Ventus sleep was dreamless and heavy like the dead (which would explain why either Apsis release or Shiva's emotional distress didn't wake him up) itself, all thanks to feeding Litwick last night. When he awoke at the crack of dawn (before Shiva) in the morning to find her tightly cuddling his side, initially the researcher was somewhat nervous and bemused at being pseudo spooned/the designated cuddlelie, but that feeling took an abrupt downspiril when he noticed just how terribly, HORRIBLY her emotional state was functioning in her dream state. 'What in Reshirim name happen to her while I slumbered. Its almost like the time some clueless idiot tried to force me to snuggle with a Wigglytuff, and endure its awful singing *shivers.....* Whatever is the case, I can't let her endure it for any longer!'  he thought, before he twisted out of her grasped and gently shook her out of her sleep, and she was greeted with a small, extremely worried smile.

"Good morn, Shiva. I would normally have let you sleep for a more prolonged period, but it was apparent you were....in the throws of some atrocious nightmare when I gazed upon your slumbering form, so I thought it best to remove you from it ASAP. .......Would you care to share what triggered this, my dearest friend? If you don't, I completely understand, as I have.....more than my fair share of experience that trouble my sleep from time to time. ........How about I prepare myself for the day and grab breakfast for us, while you........cope with what you recalled in your dreams last night while I'm abscent? Sometimes, one needs a bit of privacy to deal with their own issues, and I'm more than happy to provide that for you, dear.....")

Logically that Shiva, being not much of a morning person - actually, she definitely isn't - cuddled up closer into the pillow as a first reaction to being woken up. Huh, but where did he went... He's been so warm and suprisingly soft to be near, and he radiated a calmness that was deadly pleasant... At a second successful attempt tof shaking her awake Shiva only rolled back onto back, before her gaze met that worried smile of his. That...was not a greeting she expected, suprisingly quickly she set up in bed and put on her glasses before meeting Ven's gaze now feeling worried on her own.

"My my, good morning, Ven... Thank you for waking me." At the mentioning of her seemingly having gone through a nightmare, her expression darkened, being plaqued with confusion, uncomfortableness and sadness. "H-have I? I'm sorry for this, Ven, dear..." She stroke through a stand of her even more messed up hair, trying to remember what she experienced in dreamland only to remember she can't really remember any details. Dreams were usually so transient, nightmares were no exception. The emotions could remain though, as that worry and uncomfortableness was very clear to remember. Ah, all that Poison yesterday... "I actually don't quite remember what has happened... Memories, bad memories. They must have come back. *faint sob* Constant worry, but in the end a psychic wave ended the dream by defeating that poisonous foe - That was pleasant. New. Please don't...worry for me too much, Ven, I'll pull myself through, do follow your thing as I'll get up and dress up for the day then. Be so nice and pick up a cup of black coffee for me, please. Double would be appreciated, even. Meh..."

Means, Ventus can head downstairs to gather breakfast and stuff while Shiva starts her day somewhat sluggish at first, but quickly warming up at the thought of Shelter work will be it later and successfully distracting herself by that morning training with Pancham.

(...) He of course ask the nurse to give a message to his friends: "Hey people. I gonna go to Mt. Sentry to train a bit with Tynamo. I see you all in the Little Cup. I have changed my mind Shiva. You gonna have a rival there :3 Assigh: Heart. PS: I prepare some leftlovers for you, Ventus and Valder in my room :P" Heart then give the message to the Nurse Joy to give them and go do his things!

Shiva would receive that message at some point while heading downstairs with Ven eventually. Since all of her Pokemon remained by her side overnight and didn't need the healing waves of the Healing Machine, Shiva had actually no reason to approach a Nurse Joy this morning, it's been rather suprising and somewhat worrysome to be called to please come to her for a moment. Did...something happen? After that nightmarish dream-thing Shiva was somewhat sensitive over this.

...Turned out it 'only' was a message from Heart. Well, her worry was blown away by that opening that everything was fine and he DOES participate in Little Cup. Neat to know!~ Hopefully he'll bring these leftovers over then, no time to retrive them now, sadly.


(Phew. I'll get to work at Shelter after dinner.)

[Iron]

The Worn Stone is back in the main cavern. It is roughly spherical and has been embedded in a smooth walnut wood frame, kind of like a fine globe.

The stone is a little brighter than most of the stone in Mt. Sentry, though essentially the same mineral. It's a bit like marble, especially when smooth. You can see different patterns worn into it from different superstitions: some say to use a spiral, some to pick a valuable looking spot, etc.

[Iron]

A smiling man in a fancy purple silk suit leaves Director North's office. He tips his hat to you.

"Come in!" calls the director.

Director North still needs someone to play with the Plusle triplets today, and he'd like someone to go grab a nice piece of stone for the Unown to hang on. The more ancient, the better. There's also lots of menial jobs to be done.

"Ventus, if you wish to work double shifts for a time, I hope you will take good care of yourself. But it is good to see someone give their all for the Shelter, even if they get something out of it in return. Try to take on opposite tasks. If you spend the morning on your feet, do some paperwork for me in the afternoon. I need about an hour of dictation taken, if you can type quickly. Or there's a loooot of old adoption paperwork to be filed. We're like 3 years behind."

[Spiritmon]

The Worn Stone is back in the main cavern. It is roughly spherical and has been embedded in a smooth walnut wood frame, kind of like a fine globe.

The stone is a little brighter than most of the stone in Mt. Sentry, though essentially the same mineral. It's a bit like marble, especially when smooth. You can see different patterns worn into it from different superstitions: some say to use a spiral, some to pick a valuable looking spot, etc.

"Hm thats strange. Such patterns might be made in old times back in the old times of civilization. Interesting." Heart then touch the stone like the sign say.

(Its something happens like a bright or something when touch the stone?)

[Iron]

No, you don't sense any magic at all. You know, though, that your fingers are touching where many great trainers throughout the ages have touched!

[Lord Windos]

Apsis flexes her tail at Ventus, showing him that she survived that in one piece. But with this little bit of independence, without even getting really yelled at, Apsis makes a decision: she would follow Ventus anywhere. Again, she realizes how much she has changed since leaving Trillium.

Apsis is now perfectly loyal. Unlike Togekiss, she has no innate morals to get in the way. She'll obey any command that doesn't seem suicidal, and needs no prompting to defend Ventus' life.

Kirlia's eyes are filled with such admiration, suddenly, that Ventus feels it almost tangibly. Nathan may hardly even notice, since he is distracted, but later he will come to realize that Kirlia would die for Nathan and admires Nathan like he could not possibly admire any other human. Kirlia also has perfect Loyalty now. He'll obey any command as long as it doesn't remove Nathan from his life.

In that moment, Ventus became almost overwhelmed by the almost inexplicit flourishing/flood of Loyalty not only from his great big sister, but from Nathan's Kirlia as well! His eyes widened at the dedicated, resolute, and strangely wise expression Apsis gave him that all but showed the permenantly solidified the bond between them, but soon he couldn't help but delicately place a hand on her scaled body and, with a great big smile, gave her a solum but joyful nod of his head. If his sister has decided to fully dedicate herself to his cause, then he too would do the very same for her, and together the both of them would look out for each other. Just like the family they were....

Despite the monumentous occasion between him and Apsis, Kirlia's own deepening of the bond to Nathan did not go unnoticed by the empath, and he couldn't help but give them a bright, respectful smile for revelations and choice. Still, despite his fresh joy over both their Pokémon becoming perfectly Loyal , Ventus couldn't help but secretly worry that the psychic dancer's now even more intensified focus on his young trainer could cause complication, or even become a liability. Their is fine line between complete dedication and abject zealotry, and what actions one considers appropriate on each side, something that the researcher was all too painfully aware of . Hopefully nothing unfortold comes from this....or his own history doesn't end up repeating in young Kirlia....

"...she didn't really eat...just kinda...stuck around...she...politely refused the food I offered her...gave it back to me...kept me company...Orthros gave her some of his food, weirdly...she ate that...it's been...weird..."

...

...yeah, Nathan doesn't really know what's going on exactly, let alone why.  Nathan's veeerrrrryyyy quiet and timid, though.

(Whether this happened before or after the Max Loyalty Scene, this is Ven's Reaction!)

The sociologist couldn't help but look between Apsis and Nathan with an even more curious look and a raised eyebrow, receiving a non-plussed *Hissss* from Apsis and the rather subdued/timidness of the boy. "That is indeed......strange behavior from my sister, but delightful none of the less, as it means that my sister cares enough for your wellbeing to ignore her own needs, at least temporarily or in certain instances. Hmm.....perhaps she considers you a friend or close ally now? I do remember her being distinctly comfortable around you during our tail end stay in Corsage, before things......cooled off somewhat between you two, but it seems like making amends with her back in.....The Tusk helped restore her friendly interest in you. Its rather heartening for me to see her bond with others outside me and her family, so this is a development I fully can get behind!"

After he said this, Ventus then gave a thought frown at how......dispirited the boy appeared to be, and while he no longer had any real inclination to care about them deeply or really was comfortable/happy to do so, this was not something he could easily ignore. Of course, if he tried to brute force the issue and get them to talk about their feelings directly, their was a more than likely chance they would clam up and/or flee the scene, so he tried a more.....indirect approach. "Hmm......Nathan, would you like to accompanying me and Shiva to the Shelter today, if you don't have any other plans? The Pokémon their are shaken up from the Vines disaster, and my fellow staff their could always use an extra helping hand to tend to matters. Your experience with working on your mother's ranch and caring for the Ponyta would be a boon to have indeed, and I know the Pokemon their would be delighted to see a new, friendly face, so how about it?"

(If Nathan is feeling timid and nervous, and he gets along really well with Pokemon and feels much better around them, why solve his problem with another?)

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

No, you don't sense any magic at all. You know, though, that your fingers are touching where many great trainers throughout the ages have touched!

After Heart do that, he decided it was time to return to Star City. The training he did here today help a lot to improve Tynamo. Perhaps someday he will close to evolve in Tynamo. Or not. In the path to Star City, Heart heard some strange grining sounds around the Gym. "What the hell is this?" Then he decided to take look until be ready to the Little Cup. He still have plenty of time.

Action: Investigate the Gym sound!

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

In that moment, Ventus became almost overwhelmed by the almost inexplicit flourishing/flood of Loyalty not only from his great big sister, but from Nathan's Kirlia as well! His eyes widened at the dedicated, resolute, and strangely wise expression Apsis gave him that all but showed the permenantly solidified the bond between them, but soon he couldn't help but delicately place a hand on her scaled body and, with a great big smile, gave her a solum but joyful nod of his head. If his sister has decided to fully dedicate herself to his cause, then he too would do the very same for her, and together the both of them would look out for each other. Just like the family they were....

Despite the monumentous occasion between him and Apsis, Kirlia's own deepening of the bond to Nathan did not go unnoticed by the empath, and he couldn't help but give them a bright, respectful smile for revelations and choice. Still, despite his fresh joy over both their Pokémon becoming perfectly Loyal , Ventus couldn't help but secretly worry that the psychic dancer's now even more intensified focus on his young trainer could cause complication, or even become a liability. Their is fine line between complete dedication and abject zealotry, and what actions one considers appropriate on each side, something that the researcher was all too painfully aware of . Hopefully nothing unfortold comes from this....or his own history doesn't end up repeating in young Kirlia....

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(Whether this happened before or after the Max Loyalty Scene, this is Ven's Reaction!)

After he said this, Ventus then gave a thought frown at how......dispirited the boy appeared to be, and while he no longer had any real inclination to care about them deeply or really was comfortable/happy to do so, this was not something he could easily ignore. Of course, if he tried to brute force the issue and get them to talk about their feelings directly, their was a more than likely chance they would clam up and/or flee the scene, so he tried a more.....indirect approach. "Hmm......Nathan, would you like to accompanying me and Shiva to the Shelter today, if you don't have any other plans? The Pokémon their are shaken up from the Vines disaster, and my fellow staff their could always use an extra helping hand to tend to matters. Your experience with working on your mother's ranch and caring for the Ponyta would be a boon to have indeed, and I know the Pokemon their would be delighted to see a new, friendly face, so how about it?"

(If Nathan is feeling timid and nervous, and he gets along really well with Pokemon and feels much better around them, why solve his problem with another?)

(@Iron, still need clarification on whether Kirlia actually has 5 loyalty on the character sheet or if this is just a mechanical thing)

Now Nathan looks puzzled.  Why's Ventus smiling at Aspis and Kirlia?  Ventus's suggestion distracts him from figuring it out right this moment, though.

"...yeah, sure...I guess that's...fine...might be enjoyable..."

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

A smiling man in a fancy purple silk suit leaves Director North's office. He tips his hat to you.

"Come in!" calls the director.

Director North still needs someone to play with the Plusle triplets today, and he'd like someone to go grab a nice piece of stone for the Unown to hang on. The more ancient, the better. There's also lots of menial jobs to be done.

"Ventus, if you wish to work double shifts for a time, I hope you will take good care of yourself. But it is good to see someone give their all for the Shelter, even if they get something out of it in return. Try to take on opposite tasks. If you spend the morning on your feet, do some paperwork for me in the afternoon. I need about an hour of dictation taken, if you can type quickly. Or there's a loooot of old adoption paperwork to be filed. We're like 3 years behind."

The researcher tipped his own head at the distinguished gentleman in return as they left, before coming into North's office as dictated andproposed his offer to throw himself into helping the Shelter. After doing so and receiving their approval/cautious warning (along with an updated list of tasks he could do), Ventus gave them a relaxed smile and a sharp nod of his head. "Yes sir, Director. I have ample experience working long shift and nights at my old university and out in the field, so a couple days of intense effort on my part will be more a return to my old form than any strenuous burden! Still, I'll take care not to over exert myself on the job! Hmm.......I believe I can run over to the ancient wall that surround the cities and find a big enough slab for the Unknown here, if that would suffice. Otherwise, I'm also willing to make a trip to the Skull Ruins and excavate a large enough rock their. Regardless, I'll take great care in my work, so worry not Director!

"As for my second shift, I'll be more than delighted to help the Shelter catch up on old paperwork! It may not appear so, but I'm quite adept in filling, sorting, categorizing, signing, and finishing all sorts of bueracratic matters, and I don't consider it the boring slog most people do- quite the contrary, I find it quite relaxing and fun- so by all means drown me in it!"

(Well, the will be Ventus' day, and he will automatically spend a Willpoint as he starts his second shift. Let's see what collecting a stone for the Unknown entails.....)