|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:21 pm
> Solace in Fact <
And safety in numbers The large green insect brushed at a limb with a joint in a scythe, pulling himself out of the brush that he so unceremoniously tossed himself in to. He had figured that the shade of the scattering of trees in the area would suffice enough to obscure him from view, but he wasn't one-hundred-percent on the matter; that sort of uncertainty, no matter how small it was, rubbed the scyther the wrong way. Out here, it was better to be safe than sorry, especially when one wasn't too eager about confrontation.
Sighing, he double-checked his immediate surroundings. Large pokémon always set his nerves on edge. In fact, pokémon half his size that looked like they could very well be a bit territorial made him nervous.
No, this was no way to live. He had enough of a self-sheltered life as it was; this sort of hypersensitivity was sure to only prove to hold him back even further. He could acknowledge the outcropping of consequences that came with this mental territory, but alas, he wasn't eager to change it. How was one suppose to change a mindset when it has kept him alive this long?
"Well aren't you a strange one?"
Flipping-- What the heck was that!? the insect panicked, trying to find the owner of the voice. He raised his arms defensively, trying to look like he was on the offensive while simultaneously somehow making himself look that much smaller. He had yet to use the tactic, and it seemed he wasn't quite getting it right.
The voice snickered, and the scyther heard a harsh -- if quiet -- scraping sound that came in quick bursts. Peering around, he found a man in a lab coat, disheveled hair almost obscuring his spectacled eyes as he scribbled notes down on a clipboard. Human... okay, this was new. What should he do now? Were humans normally violent? He'd heard of horror stories of pokémon disappearing after an encounter with a human, never to return again... Was he going to turn out the same way?
His fear took him down a road that he didn't normally trek: instead of fleeing from the confrontation to save his own shell, he froze in stance. <<Not good, not good...>> he breathed, joints tightening more with increased panic. What was going to happen to--?
Clack! The researcher clipped the pencil to the board and glanced up, noticing the scyther was still there. "What?" he asked the man-sized bug with a frown, as though the pokémon were perfectly capable of answering back, "I'm not going to throw a pokéball at you or anything." He snorted and waved a hand dismissively, walking out further into the field, presumably to find something even more interesting to take note of. "So long!"
The scyther lowered his arms, shock-stricken. What... the heck just happened? He blinked, watching the man walk away. He couldn't help but find this whole happenstance fascinating.
Flinching, he heard a rhydon's roar off in the distance. Instead of hopping back into the safety of the bush he emerged from, he decided to follow this strange fellow instead. Weren't individuals safer in a group?
[[ Word Count: 526 ]]
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:23 pm
> Seasonal Hazards <
Maybe it was better to stay home after all The cold hung in the air like a thick fog, frost painting the grass in a thick matte, making it crunch with every step. Vision may not have been obstructed by a lowering of clouds, but Nix found that his breath could have fought for that right. The sky was clear, but it was obvious that if there were any rainclouds, he'd be traveling through a thick downfall of snow, or even hail.
Or... make that "they" would be traveling through it. The aide smirked to himself, letting the partial grin die down before he turned an abrupt one-eighty, hands in the bleach-white pockets of his coat. The motion startled his moving green shadow, who frantically tried finding cover to dive under. "Still following me, are you?" Nix queried, readjusting his glasses to hide another amused smile. This was definitely an interesting specimen when it came to the pokémon world.
<<N-No...>> the scyther responded, despite knowing well enough that the professor's assistant couldn't understand what exactly it was that he said.
There was no need to, however. Nix started laughing at the stuttered answer; even if it had been due to the cold, it was too perfectly timed to the question. It didn't matter if it were an affirmative or negative, either, as the true answer was clear regardless. Why else would the scyther still be near the man two months after his first study of the pokémon? He was nowhere near the grasslands now!
Noticing that the tips of his fingers were starting to go numb as they were exposed to the chill air seemed to trigger a light bulb in his head. He motioned for the large insect to come over, but when he only received a quizzical glance in response, Nix decided to do so verbally, "Come here a moment."
The scyther watched as the man fumbled through a rather large messenger bag. He moved closer, albeit carefully, when instructed to do so. Scythe-arms clutched close to his torso to reduce loss of energy, he tried to get a look into the confines of the portfolio before it was quickly closed, the object Nix was searching for now clutched in-hand. The pokémon reeled back; that scent, it couldn't be...
But Nix wore a grin, inching closer and wrapping the pale scarf around the insect's shoulders. "You're cold, right?" he asked, though his expression indicated it was more of a statement. The scyther was flustered, but also confused. "If you're going to be following me around, you can't be freezing to death on me. Don't give me that look! You keep that on, y'hear me?" It was almost as though the man were scolding him for something.
The scyther stiffened, but nodded. The bug might not have caught all that, but he had a good enough idea. The man smiled, "Good! Now... what to call you... Can't very well keep calling you 'bug,' or whatever."
This man must have been completely out of his gourd! The scyther lifted the end of the scarf to examine the fabric more closely. He could smell that it came from an electric-type pokémon, and shuddered at the thought. It even looked as though it were tinged a pale pink, but that was possibly imagination playing tricks. What was that human thinking? In fact, why would he be out in such cold weather in the first place? Why not go home?
By the time the winged insect snapped his attention back to the here-and-now, Nix was already turning to move forward. Noticing this, the chitin-infused green shadow hurried to catch up. "If you don't start paying attention," the lab coat-wrapped human laughed, "I'm going to have to name you Endymion, sleeping all the time."
Despite the threat, the name stuck.
[[ Word Count: 627 ]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:24 pm
> Roleplay #1 < Link: Let it snow
Participants: Alexis, Sasha, Endymion, & Nix
Stages: Child (Alexis & Sasha) & Pokémon (Endymion)
Status: Complete!Premise: Might not be the best of weather to meet some new friends, but at least nobody's gone and licked a pole! Oh wait...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 9:57 pm
> Roleplay #2 < Link: Lawn Ornaments
Participants: Oheňdrak, Endymion, & Nix
Stages: Child (Oheňdrak) & Pokémon (Endymion)
Status: Dead
Premise: To be added...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 1:17 pm
> Sludge Puddle <
Watch your step It hadn't been more than perhaps a month or so that Endymion had started traveling around with the strange human known as Nix Talon -- a name that perhaps any other human may think was a pen name more than a given one. In all that time, the scyther had grown to realize that there really wasn't all that much to his lifestyle, nor to his thinking procedures. These habits and routines only seemed to grow more obvious in time, and more irritating to the large green insect in step. At least they were tolerable, to a certain degree.
A certain degree that seemed to take a nosedive. It was obvious that something about this area they had wandered in to wasn't right. The air about it just seemed so... thick. The dense air only seemed to get worse the further they strode on, and Endymion was hit with the realization as to why that was. Trying to smother his nose with his arms, he glanced around through tearing eyes, trying to find the source of the noxious fumes. It smelled horrible in this part of the plains! Unfortunately, there were so many outcroppings of rubble and overhanging, short ledges that it would have been just short of finding a beetle in the grass.
<<Niiiiix!>> the scyther complained, muffled under his sharp arms. He tried to swat out at him to get his attention before he realized that that would require the removal of a portion of his makeshift gas mask. How could the man not smell this horrid stench!?
It only took a grazing of a glance to pinpoint the reason why, and again Endymion found irritation wash over him like the sunlight on his armored hide. Nix was completely preoccupied in his report, scribbling down notes here and there before pausing to read over a portion, gnawing on the end of his pen. He was so engrossed, not even the sickening smell would pull him from his train of thought. In aggravation, Endymion huffed and decided to fly off somewhere else to be rid of the smell, as it was starting to make him feel sick.
"Ah, wh-what was...?" Just as he was about to take off, Nix decided to pipe up, halting in his random wanderings with tablet in-hand to peer down. It seemed as though the researcher had found the perpetrator of the gas, literally stumbling into it.
<<Ouch! What's the big idea? Watch where you're driving, maniac-with-the-van!>> the purple mass grumbled, disoriented. Endymion nearly stumbled on his own, not anticipating the cause of the smell to be coming from such a small... pokémon? Yeah, that either.
Nix, however, seemed to completely bypass the fact that the area was practically toxic with the stench. Instead, after regaining his bearings, spouted a simple, "How fascinating!" He crouched down to get a closer look at the grimer, a grin on his face, "Aren't you an urban pokémon? What are you doing way out here, so far from civilization?" Immediately, he began scribbling furiously on his clipped pages.
Oh no. No no no, End knew that tone of voice. <<You have GOT to be kidding me... No way!>> he objected, nearly throwing a fit by stomping a foot down. Nix was too interested... he may instigate the grimer to--
<<Heehee! You're a funny-looking man,>> the grimer noted, reaching her head out to take a better look at the strange glass-things that were protecting his eyes. <<You may have stepped on me, but I suppose you aren't necessarily all bad. I will give you a second chance to redeem yourself!>> the grimer stated matter-of-factly, as though she were passing judgment under rule of a judicial system.
Derailing her own subject, she leaned over to try to see what the man was killing with the stick in his hands. To do so, she reached out and tried to yank the pages out of the clipboard, a little more forcefully than she had planned for. "Hey, hey, watch what you're doing there!" Nix growled, pulling the clipboard back and clinging to it possessively.
The grimer's eyes brightened before she laughed, <<What a reaction! You're fun! My name's Margarita!>> It was as though the grimer could cohesively converse with the human, or didn't realize he couldn't understand her. What a pair, they may very well have been made to travel together.
And despite Endymion's fear of duress over the situation, it seemed that that is exactly what the so-called Margarita planned to do.
[[ Word Count: 750 ]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 1:19 pm
> Face Value <
It will run deeper in time There was once a very curious shroomish, a fungus-type pokémon who took pleasure in learning about what made others tick, what went on in others' heads as they went about on their everyday routines. However, the shroomish was also shy and still building up the nerve to venture outside of the forest -- the only place the little shroomish had ever known. It had seen humans venture through the leafy corridors, and was determined to follow and find others like them. It was fascinated by these strange mage-like beings who could conjure up pokémon from such tiny balls!
The shroomish started off by trying to figure out what made rocks think the way they did. It began by trying to pull emotions and nonverbal cues from the inanimate objects, but soon found that many of them thought in the same way. The shroomish quickly mastered the art of reading and mimicking the stalwartness the rocks displayed, earning the pokémon a magnificent poker face.
After moving up to insects and other pokémon in the area, the shroomish started gaining a variety of new faces to add to its collection, practicing either until the miming was perfect or until the subject of its testing became too annoyed with the faces the shroomish bounced at it. The mimicry was fine-tuned to such a degree that the shroomish felt confident enough to venture outside its safe haven, and it wasted no time in tracking down the nearest group of wayfarers to follow to the nearest town. It would be a gold mine of new traits and personalities to copy!
Nix stared at the document in his hands, a mixture of shock and disbelief scarring his face. He flipped through the pages, skimming the text to verify that this was all there was to the paper. Momentarily pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed before snorting a half-hearted snicker, eyes falling back on the first page. "This reads like a fairy tale..." he mumbled, slapping the document on the table in exasperation, "And they think I'm nuts!"
Endymion jumped back at the loud sound of paper-on-wood, ice blue eyes downturned to the culprit of the sound before offering Nix a questioning look. Nix had to hold himself back from shoving the pages off the edge of the table in irritation, "This is from a researcher. This! Are they trying to mock me?"
His eyes widened at the realization, at the implications the paper provided. His scoffing laughter made Endymion flinch and step back. Or maybe that was just because of Margarita; she did smell nearer. "So this is what I've been reduced to, huh?" he asked nobody but himself, pulling the document closer. He didn't want to play into the higher-ups' hands like this, making a mockery of the professor's aide, but there was really nothing better to do at the moment. He had no other leads to follow, and it looked like he was scraping the bottom of the barrel with the report he received.
Standing to full height, he grabbed his bag and waved his two traveling companions on, "Endymion! Margarita! We're heading out, so get ready!"
* * *
"You've... got to be kidding me."
The shroomish stared the man down with a passive, blank stare. Its face seemed to sag a little after a moment, turning into a more deflated expression: utter defeat. It was exactly how Nix was feeling, amplified and staring back at the man. It was almost creepy. Were pokémon suppose to have so much control over the muscles in their faces? It was astonishing, even though Nix was reluctant of acknowledging the mockery of a report that led him here.
He kneeled down to get a better look at the little fungus, and the shroomish perked up. Its eyes almost seemed to sparkle with fascination, its mouth turning circular and somehow becoming more... cute. Nix chuckled, "It's so eerie!"
The shroomish seemed to scoff at the terminology, but blushed at the compliment -- at least, she was pretty sure it was a compliment. She had practiced hard to get this far! It already seemed to be making her famous, with the number of visitors having increased as of late. She was a regular tourist attraction!
Glancing around the man in front of her, she noticed another pokémon. She waddled over to the scyther and blinked up at him. Endymion hesitated a moment, flushed at the attention, and lightly swatted at her to get away. She hopped out of the way of the movement, paused a moment, and then seemed to cower after-the-fact, without any forewarning. Endymion was confused; shouldn't it have done that after he tried to get her to leave him alone? Or, better yet, actually moved away without having to cower? This was embarrassing, and he didn't like it one bit!
The shroomish glanced up after a few seconds, its face contorting into a frown as she tried to read the scyther. He was a bit hard to crack! She phased through a number of different expressions, trying to match it up with what she was picking up from the giant insect. It was as though she were reading a book, accidentally whispering aloud as she went along the lines of the page. She just now came across a word she didn't recognize, and was trying to sound it out, in a sense.
Nix pulled out a notepad and started scribbling notes about the scene. This sort of interaction wasn't something he saw every day, and he could bet that it wasn't something normal. Not only that... but it was certainly better written than that storybook of a file he read earlier that day. He was almost disappointed that he had to leave Margarita outside the forest -- that was sure to have come across as an interesting exchange, but he had feared that the rotten stench the pokémon gave off would have driven the shroomish away.
The shroomish frowned once more, but this time it was a more steady gaze. Endymion attempted to glare back in the hopes that it would get her to shove off, but her face began to lessen in intensity, turning into a softer version. There was a hint of sadness in the look, or fear, or...
Endymion turned away, agitated. If she wasn't going to leave him alone, he'd just leave on his own! The shroomish trilled in surprise, but almost seemed to whistle a tune in happiness once recovered. This big guy was certainly an interesting fellow! Maybe she'd have to follow him around and really get it right!
[[ Word Count: 1,099 ]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:59 pm
> Dreams of Silver <
Make a wish, turn out the lights Ugh, that pungent smell... Endymion rubbed his nose with a wrist joint, as though the shell-laden skin could stifle the scent that was haunting him from memory. He was far enough away from camp to not be able to smell the grimer any longer, but it wasn't a smell one could so easily forget. In fact, so late at night and running on an empty stomach, it was making the scyther feel a bit nauseated. Maybe he could just walk it off...
It was a pleasant enough night, a wind from the south towing with it warmer weather. The sky was clear and the stars weren't quite out yet, but the expansiveness of the sky and cooling hues it wore made pretending that he could see familiar constellations easily. Not that he could name any of them... he just felt more comfortable knowing some things wouldn't change so fast.
The breeze was mild, but it was still a bit chilly as the sun settled behind an obstruction. He knew he couldn't wander too far off, or he risked not being able to find his way back in the dark. Scythers weren't known for their night vision capabilities, and Endymion was no exception to the rule.
Taking a glance backward, he saw that the harsh blaze of the campfire was still able to cut through the scenery, despite it still being light out. That was a good sign: it meant that he could still wander quite a way further without having to delve into worry-mode. That was the last thing he needed at the moment: another panic attack.
Once he was sure he was far enough away not to spontaneously start getting a whiff of Margarita, careful to be upwind, he noticed a bit of a flaw -- without the stars being out to stare at, he was kind of bored. After a moment of thought, making sure the surroundings were just as empty as they were minutes before, he heaved a sigh and stabbed a forearm into the soil. Maybe if he... huh. Well, this was harder than it looked like it was going to be. He tried to lower it, to drag it across the ground and pull it toward him, but it was pretty stuck, and at a vertical angle. <<Really? You're going to do this?>> he grumbled at the dirt before yanking his left blade back out of the surface. He had been hoping it would work more like sand -- a little more like sand -- just so he could perhaps draw a little picture.
Tapping the excess soil off his scythe, he mulled it over again, <<Maybe it's for the best. I have no idea what would have come of it.>> He hadn't exactly drawn before, or even had the notion of trying to, so it probably would have turned out absolutely terrible. The ground did the world a favor in that respect, he supposed. However, it still led back to the question of what he was going to do n--
Eyes widening, he quickly tried to locate a hiding spot. Unfortunately, he was rather exposed out in the open, hardly a structure around that was large enough to completely obscure his spindly form from view. In a nearly uncharacteristic change of pace, he held his breath and decided to think the situation through more carefully.
Nearby, there was something that seemed to glow faintly of silver, and Endymion was fairly certain that it wasn't there before, the other half a dozen times he checked around his immediate vicinity (see, it did help to be obnoxiously cautious!). At first thought, he figured it might be a ghost -- they came out around nighttime, didn't they? -- due to the faint and, well, ghostly light it gave off. It didn't move at all, however, and when he watched it, it started appearing more inanimate than anything. But then how did it get here if it hadn't just walked on over and sat down?
Biting at the edges of his tongue to fight his "flee" instinct, he narrowed icy eyes toward the object instead, <<If you are luminous due to some radioactive cause... I am going to kill you.>> An empty threat to a stone or a trick of the light, but it got him to move forward to examine the... <<Star? Is... what?>> Well, it was star-shaped, or at least what humans tended to think the stars were shaped like, but... that was just bizarre.
Inching closer, huddling into a crouch, he had to admit that it was a fairly pretty piece of jewelry. Out of curiosity for the material, he poked it with a blade to test it.
He didn't even remember getting sleepy before he passed out.
[[ Word Count: 793 ]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:02 pm
> Shall Not Be <
A scyther no longer? Completely disoriented and feeling slightly woozy, it took Endymion a moment to recollect where he was. As a matter of fact, it took him a moment for the scyther to remember who he was, let alone the general area where he currently sat. Okay... his arms gave him a big hint of the first part of his dilemma, and the wide open spaces offered help for the second. Endymion... okay, that was his name... and the crazy old dude was the one who gave it to him. The scenery was just where they happened to be at the moment.
Now that he had his bearings on the past, he realized why he was so dizzy: his head hurt, and it hurt an awful lot. At least, that was the surface irritation of the problem. The rest became more evident when he tried to get up and lost his balance. That was something that did not happen, even when he was dizzy. Well, unless there was ice, but it was a perfectly nice day out!
He stared, wide-eyed, at the legs that he was using to stand on. Those... those were not his! Where'd his legs go? He kicked one to try to get back up, and realized that it was moving in tandem with his thoughts. While desperately confused, he didn't know whether to be disheartened or not with what was registering to his panicking mind. He was human... but not? What was all this? It didn't make sense! He wanted answers!
It was then that he remembered the conversation that he had had with two very strange girls that seemed to be able to speak his language, the universal language that all pokémon were familiar with. Alexis and Sasha had features and abilities like any other pokémon, but a distinctly human build. They didn't seem to find anything wrong with the way they looked, with the the way they seemed to 'evolve,' and they found it strange that he didn't seem to be familiar with it. Familiar with all of this.
And then he remembered the star.
It seemed to be happening much too fast, and without proper time for Endymion to react with any semblance of grace. He curled up into a ball as best he could, beginning to feel the cold of the wind on his suddenly-unarmored skin, and called out to the only one in the vicinity that he trusted enough, "Niiix!"
He whimpered at the sound, closing his eyes tight. That's not my voice!!
* * *
"This is... quite unusual..." Nix stated, mastering the art of obviousness. Endymion would have scowled, had he not been currently undergoing a silent panic attack. Margarita was trying to get a closer look as Terpsichore looked on, a bit worried.
Nix had given the newly-grown child-pokémon access to an extra lab coat and a change of bedsheets while the man tried to sort everything out -- the scyther-child promptly shredded the sleeves of the coat and poked numerous holes in the sheets in his attempt to put them on. Oh well, at least they covered enough.
"What... what--?" Endymion tried to stutter, but couldn't get past the first word of the question. He sighed, burying his nose under the sheets as he pulled them up using his wrists, What am I suppose to do now?
"I'm going to have to do some research into this," Nix stated calmly, his usual excitement absent from his voice in lieu of respect for how frightened the scyther seemed to be. It also meant that the scientist was going to have to start taking care of a kid... that didn't bode too well. He wasn't the best with kids. Luckily, he seemed to be doing alright with the pokémon currently under his care, so maybe that didn't really matter? If he continued treating them as though nothing had happened? No... that wouldn't work, either. He'd need a little of both. Maybe that was something he was capable of handling, after all? "First things first, though," he determined, turning back around to face the three pokémon in the room, "We need to get you some decent clothes. Ones you won't tear right on through. We'll take baby steps, alright?"
Endymion nodded. This was going to be one arduous and bumpy road.
[[ Word Count: 719 ]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:04 pm
> Roleplay #3 < Link: Endy Scytherhands and the Amazing Sailor Moo
Participants: Meadow, Endymion, & Nix
Stages: Teen (Meadow) & Child (Endymion)
Status: Complete!Premise: Grocery shopping has never gone so... Is there even a word for this?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 9:17 pm
> Roleplay #4 < Link: Bounding the Picket Fence
Participants: Carwyn & Endymion
Stages: Child (Both)
Status: Complete!Premise: Gardens are good for the mind's rehabilitation, even if they are situated in public.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:15 pm
> World Bubble <
Taking a breather in the marathon called life In Endymion's short time on Gaia after the incident with the 'radioactive star,' he had been through more uncomfortable situations than he could remember having to deal with in all his time alive. He knew it was obvious that such a statement was an exaggeration, but despite that fact, he couldn't shake the feeling. He had already been into town a good three times since, whereas he never had to bother with the detour before. He had suffered through the bustling of the streets and the anxiety that went with being in a crowd, despite never having enjoyed congregations -- or being that near to anyone. Not only that, but he was constantly uncomfortable with himself, neither trusting being able to handle his partially-weaponized body nor feeling as though it were his own body to begin with.
It was just too much activity, too many new things to have to deal with, and the scyther-boy was having a highly difficult time adjusting to it all in such a short period of time. He felt as though the world expected him to have everything down pat within the first week, falling into his role with little complaint, but it just wasn't something he could do. He was good at adapting to new situations in general, sure, but when everything was new to him... he just wasn't sure he could handle it. Maybe he wasn't the only one to have this happen to, but he was on his own with it for the majority of the time. There was no coaching, there was only learning by doing, and that only raised the bars on his stress levels.
He just needed time alone to be able to think, to be able to sort everything out and untangle the torrent of emotion in his head. It was getting harder and harder to find the space, though. With a roving scientist and two female 'siblings' in the group, time and space was a commodity. If he were to stay sane, he was going to have to come up with a solution, makeshift or permanent, and fast.
While the troupe was staying in the fields between Barton and Aekea, Endymion finally found the time and space he so desperately craved. There was plenty of space out there, and they didn't seem to be moving camp for another day or so. With little in the way of answers provided, the scyther-child wandered off on his own. While this was not particularly characteristic of Endymion in particular, it was far from unusual for any of them.
The weather of spring was just now starting to pick up after a harsh bout of winter, but the cooling breeze that obscured the warmth of the sun didn't bother the partially exoskeleton-clad boy as much as it could have. While his mind was being particularly noisy and distracting, he had found that the cold didn't seem to have quite as much of a negative effect on him as it used to, though it was still far from usual by human standards. He felt some brittle achy-ness in his arms and wings, but he didn't exactly need the mobility at the moment. Nobody was going to bother such a strange amalgamation of a creature as he, not way out here and without cover.
He supposed that was one good thing about becoming more unusual than people were used to, but it was a subject he had already touched upon. It was advantageous to be so much more intimidating-looking like this, and his choice of attire only added to it. However, he found early on that there were some people that still didn't see him as much of a threat as he would have liked. Sure, they also happened to be pokémon-turned-human (or the occasional small, annoying child), but it was still a cause for worry. Especially if they all ended up being as persistently embarrassment-prone as Carwyn or, Arceus forbid, Sasha.
He shuddered at the thought, though was partially concerned that it still bothered him as much as it did. Bitter feelings like this were suppose to fade with time, which was another reason why he had wanted to find himself somewhere he could just... be alone. Both instances involved individuals who were really quite friendly, deep down, but End couldn't help but linger on the aspects that had really irritated him. He was letting too much negativity pile up, and it was starting to become the only parts of a meeting he would remember. He had to shake it, and to do that, he was going to need to force himself to relax.
This was never something he really had the time to practice in the past, so it was new for him. Never had he been required to consciously loosen up, to get rid of all the tension that built up over time and focus on only the here-and-now. In the past, as a wild pokémon, he didn't need to. Sure, he was constantly fearing his safety and trying to locate the safest place to hide, but there had always been time in between bouts of manic anxiety to calm down and look to the future. Now, however, he had to redirect his thinking and look to the present. There was no moving forward if one was stuck where they were in the past.
He inhaled slowly and closed his eyes, focusing briefly on the sound of the wind passing through the nearby trees and long spears of grass before he turned inwardly. It was something he had heard someone else do, but he couldn't quite remember for sure who it was. No doubt it had been some passersby through the woods whom he had overheard speaking, for there had never been many people who had been close enough to speak to him, leave an impact, or spoke a name. Regardless, it was an idea that he had made a note of and filed away before moving on because it had made sense enough to try.
He focused on the fact that he was currently alone, and that there was no real possibility of anyone else being there. Truth of the matter was that it was always possible for someone else to be hovering about, but he had to convince himself otherwise. Next, he gathered up everything that had been bothering him as of late, and filtered through it all, assessing why it was bothering him and whether it had any relevance anymore, let alone if worrying about it would really help matters. As it turns out, very little of it mattered anymore, and only about one or two held up against the test. Grabbing nearly all of his worries, he tried to imagine tossing them out of his head as though they had been stuffed inside a garbage bag. There was no use keeping them in here any longer as their only use was in crowding the important topics, adding to the already barely-manageable pile of tension he had at his disposal.
It took a good few hours to accomplish, Endymion finding that he was... just about afraid of everything. It was slightly disheartening, but also empowering to notice it and be gone with it. Although it was obvious that he couldn't get rid of the apprehension entirely, it was a start. Turning back to face the direction of the campsite once more, there was one final measure he could try before he concluded that there was nothing more he could offer himself to be able to settle down and relax. Glancing around to determine that he was still by himself, he imagined that he was surrounded in a bubble, a shield he could use against the irritations of the world. The whole logic behind it all was flimsy, sure, and he wasn't really the most creative person in the world... but at least it was a start. If he kept it up, he might even be able to feel less anxiety about every little thing that happened. Yes, it was a stretch, but it was also something he was willing to work at.
Confidence, after all, was something Endymion desperately needed at this point in time, no matter how small.
[[ Word Count: 1,372 ]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:16 pm
> Roleplay #5 < Link: At Water`s Edge
Participants: Cascade & Endymion
Stages: Teen (Cascade) & Child (Endymion)
Status: OngoingPremise: People can bound across obstacles if met with the right circumstances.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:17 pm
> Wake-up Call <
The sun's just a bit TOO sparkly She could feel the delicate breeze and the warmth of the sun already, but she refused to open her eyes. No longer slumbering, but she didn't want to let go of the partial sleep-state that she was still experiencing. Dozing, that's what people called it, right? It was a little deeper than simply resting one's eyes, but not much. It was nice enough to just lie there and feel the scenery, even if she wasn't the type to take in the atmosphere very often.
"Margarita? Margarita!" a familiar voice called out to her.
She frowned, but her eyes were still shut tight. Her posture was currently on her side, leaning almost with her stomach to the floor, but she tipped to her other side to face away from the intruding voice. Grumbling, she rolled out a barely-coherent, "Mrrh, jus' another five minu'es." Vocal functions weren't currently working the best for her, having just woken up themselves.
It didn't seem to occur to her that said 'vocal functions' were acting in a very different manner. No, she was still too content being blissfully unaware, whether it be purposefully or not.
"Good gods, Margarita..." Endymion breathed; he sounded panicked, but that was hardly unusual for the grimer to hear when she was in the vicinity. She refused to budge until the scyther-boy attempted to roll her back around by shaking her shoulder with the dull edge of his bladed arms. She grumbled again, and the shaking stopped abruptly. She could hear him stumble backward a bit, as though in deepened shock. She didn't even do anything to set him off like that, what was his problem!?
"I'm up already, yeesh, what's the big idea?" she tried to hiss, but it came out sounding as groggy as ever. Not that she was ever very good at sounding grumpy in the first place. It didn't occur to her that she was sitting upright, rubbing at an eye with a slender arm as wispy lavender hair grabbed at the edges of her vision. Nothing out of the ordinary here.
Endymion, of course, could no longer hide embarrassment on his face a fraction of how he used to be able to as a full-fledged pokémon. He started turning red before he snapped his eyes away from the grimer, a sharp frown appearing on his face despite no longer looking at Margarita. His voice toned low, he growled, "You found a star, didn't you?"
Margarita was jolted awake by the appearance of such an astounding mind-reading trick. "How did you know that, Endy?" she gasped, both hands slapped firmly before her to indicate he now had her full attention.
"Are you serious!?" he asked, his hushed tone immediately forgotten in favor of his prominent exasperation. He glared briefly before spinning around on a heel, suitably mimicking Margarita's previous attempt at tuning the other out. After a moment, he sighed and stated flatly, "I dunno if we have another change of clothes. Suppose we'd better start looking."
The grimer stared in puzzlement for a few seconds before she started catching on. Glancing downward, arms outstretched, she let out a yelp; there was only one reaction that was appropriate for this turn of events...
"Dude! I'VE GOT LEGS!"
[[ Word Count: 539 ]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:22 pm
> Breaking Foundation <
And adding to the repertoire
If there was one place Endymion felt he was going with his life, it was nowhere, and at a very fast speed. Gradually, very gradually, he was trying to take away the obstacles that stood in his path, but he could only work at them for so long before he found himself utterly exhausted with the exertion of energy over something so stressful. It was about time for a change of pace before he felt comfortable going back to whittling away at the ideas that blocked his progress.
Self-improvement was never an easy process, as the scyther-child was quickly finding out, but the rewards were too tempting not to strive for. He was persistent and stubborn, traits that were both good as well as troubling in this instance. Nix was starting to worry if the kid was going to wear himself out and end up breaking under all the goals he was stacking on top of himself.
It was then that the man decided he would take a day off from work and help his first pokémon (or dare he say, his oldest child?) out; at least, that way, he could monitor the child's progress and stop him before he hurt himself or something.
"So," Nix broke the long period of silence before it became too awkward, ruffling his hair as he thought, "what's the plan?"
Endymion had lead the two of them to an expansive field for some one-on-one time, but as he turned to face his trainer, he was disappointed to find the partially-hidden forms of both Margarita and Terpsichore as they attempted to hide in the tall grass, curious. Oh well, he sighed, Not much I can do... and it won't hurt. Despite the fact that he was trying to ease his own mind with the words, he couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated to be having an audience for his little performance. Breathing slowly, he tried to push the knowledge of their presence out of his mind, like he had been trying with so many other obstacles. Erect his bubble and ignore them. Crystalline eyes fixated back on Nix, he responded with a noticeable amount of doubt in his voice, "Well, I wanted to see if I could... um, well pokémon can use fighting moves, right?" Why did he even bother tethering that notion to a question? Of course they could!
Nix nodded in response, no sign of impatience in his expression at all. In fact, it seemed he was catching on already, and a glimmer of mischievous interest flashed across his eyes, "You're wondering if you can still use them in this form, correct?"
"Well... no, not exactly," he felt abashed to be chalking up a wrong answer to someone he deemed as much more knowing, but continued nonetheless, "I've already tried that, and I can still use all the moves I knew before, more or less. Actually... I was wondering if I w-were still capable of... of learning new ones."
Despite the obvious growing of uneasiness emanating from the scyther-kid, Nix was hardly offended. In fact, he seemed downright giddy about the prospect. Slamming a fist into the cupped palm of his other hand, he put on the biggest smile that End had ever seen, "Oh-ho! I would love to help you out on that! This would be such an interesting idea to study!" The man seemed lost in thought about how to go about it, or if it was a logically sound idea, allowing time for Endymion to recover from his uncomfortable stance. After a moment or two, Nix came to a consensus, "We're going to need a lot of honey, and a lot of potions."
* * *
"Nix..." Endymion stated, worry dripping from his words as though they were just doused with a bucket of water, "I really... don't want to hurt anything." He winced as the man started dumping a jar of honey on the ground, feeling less and less sure about his decision as time went on.
Nix glanced up from the ground, but his hand kept shaking the jar to get every last bit out. Turning his attention to the scyther, the researcher smiled behind the shining of his spectacles, "Don't worry, don't worry, I know!" This statement only proved to worry the boy further, so Nix elaborated as he smacked the bottom of the jar a few times, "We're going to teach you something that won't make any of the pokémon faint, and we've got the potions here to thank them for the time. Besides, free honey!"
"I'm not so sure... what if I mess up?"
"Well, of course there's always the chance of that," Nix batted at the air like it wasn't a big deal, "I've got a few revives with me, and if I run out of them, then we'll stop with the practice. Don't worry so much; feral pokémon are used to battles, of winning and losing, so this would probably be more refreshing than just a random trainer knocking the bejeebus out of them and leaving them there."
Endymion sunk a little, but nodded an affirmative nonetheless. True, most feral pokémon were used to the rigors of random encounters, even though End hadn't been one of them when he lived in the wild, but even he could admit that he was an oddity -- even before the physical changes occurred. "So what did you have in mind that I could learn that doesn't involve fainting an opponent?" he asked, incredulous.
Holding up an index finger, Nix quickly pulled out a small notepad and flipped through the pages, as though he knew exactly where it was written; Endymion wouldn't doubt that he did. "False Swipe," Nix read off, scanning the words further down before putting the notepad away, "It's an attack move, but if it would otherwise K.O. the enemy on strike, you'd hold back enough to leave them barely conscious. In other words, the point of it is to do as much damage without actually making the opponent faint."
Endymion stared, wide-eyed, "That sounds like... I'm torturing them."
Nix huffed, and Endy thought he could almost see a pout on the man. "You can't have it both ways, you know. You either have 'em faint on you, or you beat 'em up and heal them back to full. Revives are more expensive than potions, so I'd urge you to consider the latter," he grumbled.
"Can't I just learn a, ah, boost or something?"
"Get out of your comfort zone for once, Endy," Nix stated bluntly, putting the lid on the now-empty jar of honey and stashing it away, "That's what you wanted, wasn't it? It's still more humane than your other options. We can learn a stat-boost ability next, if this works out. Deal?" He really wasn't going to take no for an answer, was he?
And Endymion couldn't very well argue with that barely-concealing logic, despite the foundations being a bit hazy. "Fine, fine, deal," he sighed, just as a caterpie crawled out of hiding toward the sweet-scented goop on the ground.
Backing away, Nix gave the two of them ample room. "Just remember, you need to hold back just a little, but not too much," he instructed, urging the punky scyther to move forward. End caught the jabbering of Margarita and Terpsichore behind him, and he could swear they were making bets on whether or not he could pull this thing off. While he flushed slightly at the notion, he was made more determined than ever because of it.
Endy took more than his share of tries on the ability before it was able to start sticking, Nix having it chalked up to the fact that, while the boy was rather rusty at battling, he was also very eager to get it just right. This painstaking practice was spurred even further by the fact that he made the first one angry enough to take off, while the second one he went too hard on. After the first faint, End either got the attack spot-on or, more often until the end, he went too easy on them. About half the potions used ended up being used on Endymion himself, despite the huge gap in levels, because of the uneasiness about using the ability. After he accurately used False Swipe on three separate enemies in a row, Nix deemed that he passed the class. "Congratulations! Now you know that you can still learn everything a scyther can, you can still improve yourself, and you still have drive to be better!" Nix laughed, clapping a few times in emphasis.
Endymion offered a weak smile from his occupancy on the floor before pointing to Nix's bag, "Y-Yeah, that's great. Can... can I get another potion, please?"
* * * * *
Level: 10 --> 15
ENDYMION has learned FALSE SWIPE
[[ Word Count: 1,459 ]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 10:03 pm
> Countermeasures <
One needs defense as much as they need offense Margarita's antics were usually a cause for worry and speculation into the mental workings of the child's mind as much as they were a cause for inherent vexation. It didn't help matters that when she got preoccupied trying something new out, or having fun with anything in general, she tended to take it a step too far and remain stoked for it. She could be a single-minded little bugger, even better than most, in that respect.
While it was most commonly an irritating turn of events for everyone involved save for the grimer herself, it also happened to be an elaborate form of leveling up, even though Margarita wasn't even aware of this fact. She was constantly stretching her imagination, using her excessive supply of energy to propel herself toward completing a task she set herself to do, and all while stretching the extent of her stamina. It was actually a pretty well-rounded training regiment, and one that only managed to increase her neurotic abilities.
Despite Terpsichore's best intentions, her insistence to teach Margarita of 'class' and 'knowledge' tended to backfire much more often than help matters. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to start with fairy tales, but the grimer seemed so much more interested in learning of them than she was of anything else... and gauging her attention was always the hardest part. So the shroomish girl had relayed these stories to the lavender-haired grimer, who in turn let her imagination roam unleashed more flexibly than before.
This time, it was with the help of Paprika. The two of them (or rather, the one of them plus an inanimate object) proceeded to figure out who all had the same genetic composition as a slug. While completely flustered, Terpsichore was at least grateful that some knowledge outside of tall tales managed to get through to her teammate. That was perhaps the single good thing that came of the situation, though.
"Margarita, I need the salt," Nix sighed, repeating himself for the fourth time in a span of five minutes as he continued to hold his hand out. In truth, his food had long since gone cold in his search for the mineral, but the added time spent trying to wrest it from the annoyingly chipper child wasn't adding to the gratefulness.
She giggled, hugging the shaker of salt closer to her face, "But I already gave you some! You melting yet?" Leaning in, the girl tried to examine Nix's face better as she kept the salt to her side, just out of reach of the much taller man. "Hmmn, don't look like you are..." she took note with a scrunching of the face.
"Margarita, what's gotten into you?" Nix sighed, finally saying something else than a request for the shaker. It made her laugh, but didn't offer any further insight.
In fact, she was tempted to add another dash of salt to the man, juuuust to be sure he wasn't going to melt. However, at the last minute, she decided to high-tail it out of there, getting the feeling that if she didn't now she would have to surrender her friend to the 'authorities.' She was a mite too slow, however, and ended up running into a familiar green form, knocking her back and almost against the card table. She coughed out a flabbergasted, "Men in black, men in--! Oh... Endy, hi!"
The scyther seemed a little less than pleased about walking in on the middle of this mishap. He was tempted to turn right back around and forget about it, but decided against it. Maybe it was because he owed Nix, or just because he was fed up with Margarita's hyperactivity, both were plausible answers. "Just do what he says, Margarita," he stated firmly, exasperated already.
But the girl clung more possessively over her shaker of salt, wide-eyed as though trying to get her 'older brother' to feel bad about ordering her to do such a traumatizing thing. She shook her head, and her stance became more defensive. Endymion rolled his eyes, but refused to budge. "C'mon, Endy, move outta the way already!" the girl complained.
"Um, how about... no. Just listen to Nix, okay? It's easier that way," he attempted. Unfortunately, he was using logic to try and get through to the child.
And Margarita was having none of that. She was a slippery one, and she was beginning to feel backed into a corner. She made a dash for the exit, directly to the side of the scyther in front of her, but Endymion was too quick on the uptake. Despite trying to be careful about it, Pursuit wasn't a soft-hitting move, and the boy was already affected by annoyance. It didn't take much more force to knock her fully into the table behind her this time, ending with the lightweight frame of it collapsing under her small body's force. "Watch it!" Nix called out of reaction, concerned for the grimer that appeared so much more delicate now that she was a changed poké-human, "Are you okay?"
Margarita ignored the worry, however, bristling with an irritated scowl from the floor. She wasn't a newcomer to pokémon battles, and she was right up there with the resistance should they befall her. She was, however, quite rusty... and honestly could barely remember her attacks. So the girl decided to hit inspiration and do whatever, which happened to be rather unexpected. Hopping to her feet, she rushed forward, and thumped Endymion on the chest with a well-placed middle and forefinger in a circular array with her thumb. Hopping backward, she waited a couple seconds for a reaction.
Endymion had no idea what the point of that even was, though. He glanced down to see if it did any damage (if he hadn't had an exoskeleton where she prodded, he may have bruised slightly from the impact). Finding nothing, he readied another Pursuit should she try to escape again. Seeing this reaction, Margarita's expression was unreadable but no longer frowning with focus. She made another mad dash for the entrance to the tent, and this time was met with no resistance.
The boy turned around, confused as he watched her run off further into the fields they were stationed in. Nix wandered over to the scyther's side, a questioning glance on his own face, "What... was that?"
The bladed figure turned back to the man, a passing realization visible in his eyes, "I... think she used a new move on me."
[[ Word Count: 1,082 ]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
