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 Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 5:15 pm
Venari
Katherine, Arturius, Rebecca
Arturius did, ever so slightly, turn his edge downwards in an acknowledgment of Ghost's nod. They had reached an agreement, and a good one at that. There was little question that the two would be able to cooperate moving forward. It was an accomplishment in its own right; were it not for the muted, stoic nature of so many involved it might have been cause for celebration. Instead, they simply shared a quiet nod and the understanding that the two would see much more of one another. Much as a rule existed for its exceptions, fate existed for those who would defy it.
Rebecca nodded and smiled. "Alright then." She kept her words concise and ambiguous by intent. The quietness of Ghost's voice was unmistakable, even to the somewhat oblivious Rebecca, and was respected. It was a curious thing that Rebecca would almost surely ask about later on, and in modest ways a cause for concern, but the intellectually inclined Armaldo's mind was racing far ahead. She had so many things to check, so much to prepare. It was an incredibly precious opportunity and it would be treated accordingly, which meant that it would absolutely not do to waste any time. She needed to be certain of what she recalled so as to avoid wasting time on silly mistakes. She could get concerned about the nature of the whispers at a later time, she thought.
Katherine woke from her daze, the opening of the door having roused her consciousness. Her brief, petty utterances would go unchallenged but not unnoticed as she stood up and stretched slightly. The only one to properly say goodbye would be Rebecca, who would wave goodbye while speaking with enough pep to cleanse the room of its previous feelings. "Bye bye! I'll see you later, Ghost."[[ / End post. ]]
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 6:32 pm
 Ghost & AtiusGhost lay quietly on the top bunk, her head resting on her paws and her shoulders leaning against the edge of the step ladder that reached up from the floor. The rest of her body was all but hidden within the nest-like structure of her bunk and her frosty eyes were round and watchful as her much larger teammate paced irritably around the cramped room.
”It is inconvenient that your guest has yet to arrive,” Atius informed her pointedly, the Metang’s pacing abruptly stopped. Ghost supposed that it couldn’t truly be pacing, if he had no feet to pace with, but levitating repeatedly around the room was as close to pacing as she imagined he would achieve. ”It is much more difficult to protect you when I have to leave.” The hint of suspicion in his tone was purposely audible, his bright eyes flashing with disapproval. It was usual for the two of them that Atius would attend to most of the external work in advance of a mission but it was certainly less so that Ghost would not be spending that time alone. Tonight, Rebecca would be coming to visit them, and Atius wouldn’t be here as a safeguard if the Armaldo proved to be dangerous. It was obvious why Atius would be on edge.
He’d appointed himself as a sort of guardian to her, in spite of their respective ages. The protection was both appreciated and frustrating to Ghost, someone who was used to spending her time alone and isolated. He was comforting and stifling all at once and she wasn’t sure how to handle it. She wanted to trust him, but couldn’t. Even if the idea of inviting someone over to pry into her past and her culture was terrifying to Ghost, she’d rather do it alone than allow Atius to stand guard the entire time. Listening, judging.
”We leave in a few hours. She should only be here to talk,” Ghost reminded him passively, her eyes falling away from the Metang. She could hear his stern, metallic sigh.
”I’ll try to be quick about my work this evening. You know my route; find me if anything happens.” His tone was bordering on possessive, making Ghost wrinkle her nose in frustration. Her anxiety shouldn’t be that transparent to a psychic-type and yet he knew all the same. Her eyes slid shut with a silenced sigh of her own.
Something cool and solid brushed against her forehead and she jolted back in surprise. Her pale eyes were wide, watching the Metang retract his clawed hand from her face. His eyes seemed softer than she was used to, and he let his arm fall back entirely as he turned to collect their savings from the shelf. He was facing away when he spoke again. ”Be safe.”
She didn’t answer him when he left, uncertain of how to react to that. He was so much more gentle with her when others weren’t around. His mannerisms changed, as if she was a frightened child instead of a lethal combatant. It was more dramatic and confusing than anything else.
Ghost lay her head down, waiting patiently. The knock on her door would arrive several minutes following the departure of her teammate.
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 11:18 pm
Venari
Arturius, Rebecca
Rebecca would arrive exactly and perfectly at the appointed time and not a moment earlier or later. She had been ready well in advance and simply waited until the perfect time, an act that was perhaps more trying to her than assembling all the information she now bore on her arms. Each arm had a bag on it, one holding various books and papers for reference and another her own writing supplies. The knocking, as it were, would be several somewhat rapid thunks as Rebecca simply "shot" out her claw lightly at the door. Whether Ghost opened the door herself, or Rebecca was invited in, the two would come face to face and surely have a time to appreciate one another. The oddest thing about Rebecca wouldn't be the bags on her arms, or perhaps even the significant and large tribal tattoo that was on most of her chest. No, for Ghost it would likely be the sheathed sword in Rebecca's mouth that muffled her speech in a way that won't be represented in text because it's sincerely frustrating to both read and write that way. "Hello! I've brought Arthur with me, I hope that's okay?"
Rebecca would walk into the room proper as movements allowed and quickly bend over to drop Arturius on the ground. "He insisted quite strongly that it was important he be here and he said he wouldn't speak unless asked, but he didn't say why." As if in proof of his non-interference, Arturius didn't speak even to explain his own presence. "But we can leave him out if it's a problem." It was all a little weird for Rebecca to be speaking of him the way she was, but she had sort-of kind-of gotten used to it during her time with Venari. And more than anything, the strangeness of Arturius wasn't enough to put a damper on her intense and obvious enthusiasm. Had she a more normal body, Ghost might've seen dark circles under her eyes from the research she had received by sacrificing sleep. Arturius wanted to stay in the room, for whatever reason, but if it was necessary Rebecca would place him back outside and he could float home on his own. Nothing was stopping her from getting her interview. It was so exciting!
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 7:38 am
GhostAs the door swung open to reveal her guest, Ghost’s eyes went wide with surprise. Her expression was one of innocent bewilderment, but she rapidly stepped out of the way to give entrance to the heavily-laden Armaldo. The sheer number of things she was carrying was confusing enough in its own right, as Ghost hadn’t really understood the depth of Rebecca’s enthusiasm for this evening, but the presence of a very still and silent Honedge clutched in her mouth was probably even stranger.
Ghost snapped her jaw quickly shut as she realized she was visibly gaping at the pair of them. Her fur bristled in embarrassment at being so rude and she dipped her head in a very polite and apologetic greeting to both members of Team Venari. ”Hello Rebecca, Arturius,” she replied somewhat timidly. She wondered if Arturius’ conversational negotiations from the day before had been out of character for him, or if it was this silent solemnity that was new. She could guess at why he’d joined Rebecca, given the nature of an Absol’s visions, but she was surprised to find that he understood the processes involved. He was certainly well-read, whether he’d known beforehand or he’d done his research the night before.
”It shouldn’t be a problem,” Ghost decided in the same, quiet tones. She was far too polite to ask him to leave now, and even if she did it would only imply that she had something to hide from him. She doubted he’d be appreciative of that, even if he entirely understood. She would have liked it if it was only herself and Rebecca, but she would try her best to ignore their captive audience in the silent Honedge. ”I understand why he’d want to come along.”
It was at this moment, with the Absol more firmly focused on Rebecca alone, that she recognized the rasping sounds of weary breathing. The Armaldo’s posture was a little off, though not improper, and her armor-like plating seemed a little duller than the day before. She looked exhausted, but she was nothing if not enthusiastic in spite of it. Had she stayed up all night to prepare for this?
Ghost eyed the stacks of documents and notebooks. This was going to be a strange evening.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 12:52 pm
Venari
Arturius, Rebecca
"Excellent!" Good, good. Ghost's discomfort was entirely unnoticed by Rebecca, who was far too set on her goal. Arturius's presence didn't matter a whole lot--this was an academic pursuit more than a social visit--but the extra company was always nice. So Rebecca quickly set to pulling out everything from the bags, which would indeed be a considerable pile of books, writing supplies and a few stray isolated reference sheets. The process, though not arduous, would take time; Rebecca's long claws were only so efficient for the task given. The time would be passed by moving through the very necessary introductions that needed to preface the real, meaningful questions.
"Ghost, do you know anything about pokepology?" Ghost, surprisingly but pleasantly, would know a bit about the field. Enough at least to gloss over the basics. "Good, good! Well then, to get into the specifics of it, my end of the spectrum is less interested in the 'what' and more in the 'why'. I'll be asking you about some legends and history as well, but my main goal is to find out more about how Absol live. But to do this, I'm going to have to ask you some... occasionally personal questions. Things like what your family or other families were like, where you lived, whether or not you consider your childhood normal, and so on... If I ask you anything that makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to be specific in your answers or even answer at all. And if there's anything you're absolutely unwilling to talk about, you can just say so now and I won't ask about those things. Is that alright?" Rebecca's tone didn't lose its pleasant and upbeat disposition, but it did drop well enough to make it clear that she was taking the statement seriously. The questions could get quite personal and, if there was a unique history for the person, quite painful. If Ghost had some kind of family problems, or something to that effect, that she didn't wish to discuss then Rebecca simply wouldn't ask.
Even by the time she had said all that, she still wouldn't be done sorting things. To her it seemed like exactly enough--or maybe not enough--but anyone else had to wonder: was all this really necessary?
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 2:28 pm
GhostGhost tilted her head slightly, regarding the Armaldo with surprise as she asked about Pokepology. She knew of the field- it was scholar work, and most of the Absol she’d met were at least a little educated in the nature of science and literature. Philosophy was particularly strong with their elders, given how tragic and turmoil-filled their lives could be.
”I’m familiar with the subject. I don’t study it personally, but it’s been helpful in the past.” Her voice was a little pitched as she replied, though still soft as a whisper. She was evidently anxious in contrast to Rebecca, who was all but rocking on her heels as she started to unpack a small library from her bags. Ghost stared blankly at these, making no moves to help her guest. There wasn’t any reasonable way to assist with that. ”It’s the study of Pokemon and their cultures…” she noted nervously, perhaps looking even less reassured by Rebecca’s answering excitement as Ghost continued on to describe in brief what she knew of the subject.
Rebecca’s consequent speech about what she did and how their visit would go was in turn surprising to the young mercenary. She somehow managed to maintain her peppy enthusiasm throughout, even while she took the time to warn Ghost off of answering things she didn’t want to. The snowy white Absol simply nodded back. Team Venari were very… keen on gathering intelligence. Arturius was determined to know everything he could about her visions, and Rebecca seemed equally focused on the subject of Absol culture and historical significance. Rebecca was positively beaming at her once she’d acknowledged that she’d be comfortable with answering some of her questions. Even the circumstances they’d met under weren’t enough to dampen her spirits.
Trying not to feel overwhelmed, Ghost simply waited as the minutes passed. She watched Rebecca finish setting out all of her supplies. The room was likely more flammable now than it had ever been since its construction.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 5:30 pm
Venari
Arturius, Rebecca
What came from Ghost was more of a squeak than a real reply and it was enough to give pause, though not enough to cause her to halt her speech at the time nor enough to stop her ongoing preparation. It was a little worrisome, and she did hope she wasn't being too overbearing. Rebecca had a habit of getting ahead of herself in both her speech and her actions and she was well aware of it, not that that gave her the ability to stop it. It was always too late by the time she had noticed it. Hopefully she hadn't already crossed it, but the allure of the opportunity was too much for her to simply stop here. So it was with some trepidation that she pushed forward in spite of the concern that had grown rapidly since her explanation.
"Now then." Rebecca leaned backward and dropped to her behind with a thud, then leaned forward with her claw carefully poised over the large sheet. They were much too large on their own to write at any acceptable size, and thus it was that she had strapped a sharply tipped implement to the end of her claw that she would dip into ink and then write with. It made her writing a bit messy, but it was better than the gargantuan amount of paper her enormous claws would otherwise demand. "The first thing I have to do is I have to determine whether your own home culture was unique or not. I won't ask you where since I know well enough that's not the sort of thing you tell anyone, but can I ask what your family structure is like? Did you have tight bonds with your parents? Were you nomadic; did your family wander much, or did they stay in one place? Were your elders considered very important? Was it always taught to you that you were supposed to listen to them? Remember, you're free to answer however you'd like."
General Absol communities were very guarded, very hard to find and often fairly transient. It was important to establish whether or not Ghost was a part of a unique clan so as to avoid confusing information. The most dangerous thing in the study of cultures was to conflate information from sources needlessly; even among similar kinds, it was quite common for there to be differences and disagreements on how things were as well as why. If Ghost's clan was unique and that wasn't established, any information gathered from her could potentially confuse the profession for generations.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 11:10 am
GhostGhost twitched at the noise as Rebecca settled to sit on her floor. The Absol didn’t have much in the way of seating for an Armaldo, and it hadn’t seemed realistic to get any; they really had no space for entertaining in the tiny but functional room. She was fairly certain that some of the larger teams had closets about half the size of her entire lodgings.
She wasn’t sure what the plated Pokemon had taped to her claw for writing with, but she supposed it would work. It looked a bit silly, though. She was a little apprehensive about all of these questions, even if it was a little better with the reassurance that she wouldn’t be prodded for information about where she’d come from or how to find the others. That in itself would have been enough to shut up the flighty dark-type for a while.
”…My family structure?” Ghost questioned nervously. The question was unnecessary, as Rebecca evidently had an entire list of things she wanted to know about where Ghost had come from. She seemed to know something of Absol; she was asking the right questions.
”I did as a kit. Most of our kind are independent from our parents once we’re a certain age,” the Absol answered her. ”We’re on good terms, but we don’t talk much. I think they’ve moved since their last litter. It is safer for raising families. I’m young and unmated, so it’s only expected that I’d be nomadic instead.”
She hesitated, watching Rebecca curiously as she questioned her about their elders. She obviously couldn’t talk much about them, but she could answer a little. She’d just have to be careful; Rebecca didn’t seem like she’d take advantage of the information, but others might. ”Elders are always at the top of our hierarchy,” Ghost confirmed. ”There’s only been a few historical cases where someone young is leading a colony, and never during peace. They tend to know more than we do, and they’re important for teaching our kits and keeping meeting points safe. I’ve heard some colonies have a council of them as leaders, but my colony only follows under one. We respect his wisdom.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 2:04 am
Venari
Arturius, Rebecca
"Yes, yes of course. That's good, that all means that you're in, or near, the mainstream Absol culture. It would have been fun to record a splinter in its own way, but this is important and useful." What Ghost was saying, or most of it anyways, confirmed Rebecca's initial hopes: Ghost was part of the normal Absol culture and anything she was willing to speak of would expand, or solidify, the recorded knowledge of the broad society. Not that that stopped her from jotting down notes. Confirmations were important too, perhaps even moreso than discoveries. "This is quite exciting! I never would've had an opportunity if I'd stayed with the society." Those close-minded farts had smirked when they saw her tattoo. Guess who was laughing now, Albert? They could just suck her tail--
Right, right. Less distraction, less of that.
The momentary sight of odd, inexplicable glee might have disturbed Ghost somehow but if it did Rebecca paid it no heed. "Anyways~ A few more simple questions if you would just to confirm some more things. That is to say, most of this so far is going through information other Absol have been willing to part with." Although reclusive, the Absol weren't really unfriendly. Simple information like how they roamed and so on had no real merit beyond the scholarly sort, even to potential enemies, so it was decently enough recorded. Not as much as she would have liked, but that was that and this was this. "You said 'his'. Are most elders male? And 'historical', do you pass on your history orally or in writing? Is it considered important? Is it focused more on myth, like stories of past Absol, or does it cover more factual issues? And you said 'last litter', does that mean you have a large number of siblings with different age gaps?"
Of course, the initial statement still stood and would stand indefinitely. Ghost didn't have to answer a question she didn't want to.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 7:47 am
GhostIf Rebecca’s enthusiasm wasn’t concerning, the almost twisted smile on her face certainly was. Ghost shifted uncomfortably, frowning as she considered whether or not this had been a wise decision. Were all Pokepologists this… eccentric? She supposed they’d have to be, if they were this deeply entertained by other cultures. You had to accept a lot of the weird and nonsensical if you were going outside your own beliefs to find and follow someone else’s.
The news that she’d said nothing of merit wasn’t too surprising; it wasn’t exactly a secret that Absol had dispersed to live as solitary Pokemon, or that they still maintained family bonds between them despite the distance. Even the knowledge of elders would probably have leaked out somewhere down the lines. Why was Rebecca so excited, again?
”Um… No?” Ghost offered awkwardly, still looking a little unsettled. Her words did have a slight edge to them, as if to ask if Rebecca was just testing her on basic information again. ”Elders are the eldest in a colony. Gender isn’t important to us outside of mating.”
Her next rush of questions were a lot harder to answer. ”…Most of it’s told orally, but we still record it. Our elders are a bit like historians in other cultures. They mark important occurrences for later generations, even if it’s not something that affects us directly. It’s… useful, to keep a record when we need to make sense of a dream. And it’s good for teaching kits. My elder had just about everything committed to memory- every written record we have. I don’t know if that’s unusual or not.”
”…Past Absol? How would that not be factual?” she asked suddenly, a little confused. ”I think we only have a couple stories that would be adequately called myths. Most of them are about legendary Pokemon, but I guess we have a couple stories for teaching morals.” Ghost shook her head, still a little confused as to what Rebecca was expecting. ”Everything we record is as factual as it can be; important dreams, changes in colony structure, world events. Even visions that don’t come true can still be useful, if you know how they were avoided. It’s why we have to study so carefully when we’re growing up.”
And then, of course, Rebecca asked about her parents. Because of course she would. Ghost felt her face flush with embarrassment; it was a touchy subject with her colony, even if it wasn’t particularly a secret. ”My mother’s a Vaporeon, not an Absol,” Ghost disclaimed rather bluntly. ”Most Absol don’t take mates outside their species, because it means they can’t come home again. Our elder made an exception for Mother and Father. She’s only had two litters outside of mine- I’m an only child, and the next litter had two. I think she lost a few from the last one.”
”My people are kinder if you have young kits around, and she’s always been more social than the rest of us.” She was rather pointedly staring at the window, the fur bristling on the back of her neck. ”It’s not that they’re ever cruel; they just keep their distance just like they would for anyone else. I think it makes her happier if she has a big family, and it’s not like Father minds much.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 10:21 pm
Venari
Arturius, Rebecca
The slightly edged response was mildly disconcerting, but it was quickly washed away by the more important tide of information. Some of it might have seemed pointless to Ghost, but it was important to Rebecca. Even simple little things like confirming that "elder" status was based purely on age. Accounts tended to differ from author to author, and many were vague in their writing. One, in particular, had been a source of confusion as it had referred to the "eldest male". It was a study of a particular group, but it offered no clarity as to whether age or sex was the dominant factor. Ghost confirmed it was the former. Rebecca took her notes as quickly as possible while trying to balance between speed, detail and her focus on what she was being told.
Rebecca hesitated slightly as Ghost finished talking. There were more questions to ask; important ones, at that. Why was a different species an issue? What had caused the acceptance of Ghost's mother? Was it because impurities could weaken their powers, or was it the risk of outsiders harming the clan? How did they seek mates? In-breeding would eventually be an issue, was it common to "exchange" individuals and was there a sexed basis for such exchanges? Leadership may have been exclusively based on age, but it's possible that there was a legacy tradition that the males are to leave for the new clan, rather than it simply being whatever seems convenient. It's not like a couple could be in both clans, so there had to be some basis for the exchanges--the culture seemed too dutiful for clans to absorb one another and simply split apart on a frequent basis. Likewise there had to be some sort of cultural ritual involved in seeking out a mate, since Ghost was out here doing work but she would eventually have to return to her clan and seek a husband.
But even to Rebecca it was fairly clear that perhaps it was a difficult subject to delve into and that it would be best left for another time, if touched at all. "Mmm, that must be nice. A family with younger siblings must be enjoyable." She could only say it wistfully, but she quickly enough moved back onto an earlier topic. "As for factual, I mean it as... Some factual history would be something like saying that on a certain date the main territory changed from one mountain to another. A greater focus on myths would be mostly remembering stories and events and using them in order to teach lessons, or ideas. Harbinger, for example, would be somewhat closer to myth than fact. It's often used, from what I understand, as a tale meant to caution young children. But there's a great many versions of the story, you know? Many say the Harbinger acted, and died, fruitlessly. But there's another tale that's told that says that, at her death, those who had failed to listen vowed to never again reject the words of an Absol. Another still suggests that his visions went unheeded because he himself acted in folly, and that if he had only listened to those he purported to warn then he would have been more successful. It's quite strange, isn't it? Two very different tales and they can't even agree on whether Harbinger was a man or a woman! It might have even been two different people!" History and culture and people were terribly interesting that way. They could only hazard a guess at the truth, but that guess guaranteed the immortality of it all. It was things like this that she loved and it showed. "Ah, but I'm meandering a bit. Yes though, my interest in asking about the history was to find out whether your people chronicle the past in order to preserve it, or if it's simply that the stories and events are passed on from person to person in order to educate the younger generation." It sounded like a bit of both, which was exciting too, but with the proper explanation Ghost could probably answer directly.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 7:52 am
GhostGhost looked at Rebecca oddly. ”I suppose so,” she agreed. The Armaldo sounded more wistful than anything else, but the Absol had a feeling that one or both of them had misinterpreted something. Rebecca was quick enough to change the subject that she realized it was more closely related to her own family and desires than Ghost’s. It wasn’t something she wanted to divulge, apparently. That was fine by her.
Rebecca tended to speak in long, rambling speeches, Ghost had learned. It was easier to stay quiet and absorb all of it, provided that there weren’t so many questions tied into it that she would have difficulty remembering it all. It was a bit like speaking to Arturius, but with Rebecca she would get the full background knowledge of why she was curious and how it all connected. Both members of Team Venari were very determined Pokemon.
The Absol twitched again as Rebecca brought up Harbinger, recognizing the name, but her recognition quickly turned to surprise. She hadn’t heard some of these legends. They didn’t sounded vaguely like the tales she’d heard as a kit, but a lot of them were vastly stretched out to improve the theatrics of the tale. It was even more confusing that someone had thought to call Harbinger a female. Was their version of history really so different from the rest of the world’s?
”Ah,” Ghost broke in awkwardly, though she had waited regardless for Rebecca to finish speaking. ”I suppose it’s a bit of both. We’re taught the past orally as we grow, until we’re eventually old enough to learn from our elders and their texts directly.” She sounded a bit like she was rushing the subject, more eager to say something else. And she was; Harbinger was a much more interesting subject, and that was a story that she could share much more freely.
”A-and actually, Harbinger was male. I remember reading the logs his clan elder had written about him; it was about two hundred years old, I think, so there were psychics old enough to verify the papers,” Ghost explained with an uncharacteristic brightness. If Rebecca had researched that far into Harbinger, she’d understand Ghost’s enthusiasm for her clan’s history. Absol were both feared and revered in Harbinger’s time, and it was that behavior that carried down into the cultural mess that she dealt with today. ”It’s a little complicated, but there’s a bit of truth in most of what you were saying. Some of it just sounds like theatrics, though.”
”Harbinger’s real name was Vitran. He wasn’t very old when he died. Only a couple years younger than my parents. He was very skilled at making predictions, but in his time Absol were much more distant than they were today and Vitran wasn’t known for being brave. My elder calls it the ‘century gap’, because his generation was in the middle of a turning point between Absol as powerful mediums and Absol as myths and outcasts.
“The world was changing and it was much more dangerous for even the average Pokemon. World leaders were dying and a lot of cultures were buried entirely. It was much harder for Absol as a species; we’d lost a lot of our kind trying to protect others. Some of us in natural disasters, and others were swept up in wars and assassinations of the time. The record I read said that the number of us still living in specific clans had dropped from thousands to hundreds in the space of two years.”
“Everyone was uneasy, but Vitran let his fear control him. He became manic and depressive with every vision. It drove him mad to know that the next time he warned someone, it could mean he’d die too. That someone might kill him first to ensure that Pokemon’s death, or that his own reputation would get him hurt. He got more aggressive and fearful, and Pokemon began taking his visions as threats instead of warnings. He was too afraid to clear the misunderstandings, and when the Pokemon died he’d lose himself in guilt instead. His visions were very powerful, but he couldn’t let go of his emotions long enough to see the bigger picture. We see death more often than most Pokemon ever will. We tell Vitran’s story because it reminds us that if we lose ourselves in fear of death, we’ll also lose sight of what’s important.”
Ghost breathed deeply, her pale eyes looking almost sadly at Rebecca. “Vitran died young from a heart condition. He wasn’t a prophet of death or an ancient hero. He sounded more like a frightened kid.” She shifted, realizing she’d spoken more to the Armaldo than she had to anyone so far outside of her home clan. ”I suppose other species have different versions of it,” she admitted sheepishly, ”but he was one of the few Absol who earned his second name while he was still alive. The change of names from Vitran to Harbinger was written in more than one book, so we use his real name when we’re trying to sort whether or not something’s accurate.”
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 5:28 pm
Venari
Arturius, Rebecca
"Ah, that's wonderful. History is so very important." Rebecca set to jotting down notes, having received the confirmation of the Absol's more objective recordings. Rebecca's interest was primarily, and indeed almost exclusively, the cultures and the people that moved about with them. Mundane things such as moving from place to place or merging with another clan or anything of the sort was hardly fun to her. On the other hand, factual records were extremely important for understanding the culture and the shifts it underwent. Moving to a new place could explain a sudden change in stories to meet the demands of the new place. Merging with another clan could explain alterations, as well as the sudden addition or loss of tales and rituals. If writings suddenly started appearing that detailed, or mentioned, certain traditions that hadn't existed at all prior then it was the factual history that allowed pokepologists to understand why. Such records, one way or another, were quite rare. Many failed to withstand the test of time, and indeed very few existed at all prior to the disasters over the last hundred years. Even then, they were simply the head of things; Kyogre's sealing had merely been the culmination of ages of chaos that had come to a very sudden halt not long after. Records at the time hardly agreed as to what happened or why, but it was well known that it had stopped one day. It was the era of peace that had given birth to her profession.
What came next was, accordingly, far beyond anything Rebecca had expected. Her writing was quick, rough and shaky as she quelled her excitement and captured Ghost's words almost verbatim. Ghost was providing a summary which meant the words had already been processed once, it wouldn't do to summarize them again. A single summary was usually accurate, consecutive summaries were often not. Every word and detail was scrawled down as quickly as possible and then checked and rechecked once Ghost had finished, at which point she would assuredly hold her silence at the sight of the frantically moving Rebecca. It was hard just to keep her breathing at a reasonable, level pace. She could only make her request quietly, and hopefully, though she knew the answer. "I don't suppose I could read it sometime, could I?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 2:16 pm
GhostGhost watched as Rebecca wrote frantically and trying to capture her words as best she could. From what the Absol could see of her papers, she was quoting Ghost’s story almost exactly to the letter. It was a little flattering that her words were being followed that closely, but also a little unnerving. She found herself staring absently at the ceiling for a few moments as she waited out the scraping of pen on paper and hoped that she could avoid some of the shyness that had swept over her.
Almost as quickly as the sound of Rebecca’s writing stopped, the Armaldo made a surprising request. Ghost twitched slightly. She couldn’t very well bring a two-hundred-year-old logbook from her clan elder, for a number of reasons- not the least of which was how precious that information was. Losing or damaging it would be devastating in terms of the history lost.
She considered it a while longer, though, looking at Rebecca as the Pokepologist awaited her response. She could see the dim hope in her eyes, but she couldn’t read the Armaldo’s expressions very well. She imagined from her tone of voice that she wasn’t expecting a very positive answer, especially with how much she seemed to know of Absol cultural practices in general. ”…I don’t…. think I know you quite well enough,” she excused nervously, hoping that Rebecca wouldn’t take offense to it. ”I might be able to send for copies of some things, though… If you’d be interested in that.”
She shuffled her paws together, uncertain of how her offer would be taken. She was hoping with some of the same enthusiasm she’d shown when first hearing about the book, or when she’d first settled down to start talking.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 10:56 pm
Venari
Arturius, Rebecca
"Ohhh..." It wasn't at all surprising that Ghost wouldn't let her see it, honestly it really would've been surprising if she had been allowed to. The book was very old and very precious, much too precious for such a journey, and going to the book itself was out of the question. Absol were far too secretive and--"Copies?"
Copies.
Copies.
Oh if she could get actual word-for-word copies of the texts then there was so much that could be done. Very few maps existed of the time and most of them were terrible. Accounts of traveling were very uncommon as those were almost exclusive to diaries, of which almost none existed. Stories and names and such of many sorts existed but without factual accounts there was no way to really string them together. Even just a brief snapshot would be of immense value, as it would limit the number of moving parts greatly. Even the smallest confirmation could lead to immense gain.
But obviously of course none of this reality could be processed in anything even remotely resembling a calm manner. Rebecca began moving books about, opening, shutting them, stacking them, restacking them, putting them down in front of her and then changing her mind and quickly putting them elsewhere. The whole process was frantic to put it mildly and for Ghost the sudden rush of activity would almost certainly be disconcerting, but in truth Rebecca was little more than deeply passionate and incredibly excited. When the sorting came to an end she would blurt out three names, each likely familiar to Ghost. "The Harbinger, Tide-caller and Flame Augur, are there accounts of all three?" Harbinger, of course, had some information but the other two were a matter of uncertainty. Tide-caller's legends spoke of averted floods and lost cities, but saved peoples. The Flame Augur's spoke of an immense blaze that scorched the forests. But the stories passed on were unerringly grateful and incomplete; the dead didn't have stories to tell. It was thought that both came about from the rampaging of legendary beasts, which were thought to be quite chaotic at the time, but that was simple speculation.
But the one thing that all three held in common is that each one's visions covered a vast area, and the tales of their travels would shed an enormous amount of light on how societies were before and how they changed after. Ghost had said one thing, but it was one thing that she was in part wrong about: cultures rarely died, more often they changed. The roots of many traditions was in the past. Understanding the flow of pokemon would allow them to trace the paths of both their bodies and their cultures.
They could bring back the dead.
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