· • · ·Blind Self-Loyalty So it has come to this... (Rehome entry)
Although it wasn't the most bitter of days, and perhaps one of the calmer ones of the past week, it certainly seemed like they were only getting worse as time dragged on. There were clouds in the sky and a soft breeze in the air -- rather pleasant for spring, actually! -- but Kenley could only think about how much the world seemed to be taunting him. To an emotionally unnerved caterpillar, the puffy balls of cotton dangling over his head appeared much darker than they truly were. He was certain that it was only a matter of time before they started raining down on him, depressing him that much further. If Kenley was unhappy, surely the world must be as well. It was only logical.
The wind picked up in a brief but temporary instant, a minor shift in directionality, but it was all that was needed for the wurmple to roll up into a ball of misery for a second, fighting back what he thought were a bout of shivers. Unfurling his body, he looked around for some place he could hide before the waterless clouds above could start dumping invisible rain on the poor little bug. Scanning his surroundings, he spotted the top of a tall building in the distance over a cresting hill none too far away, and began motoring towards it. Best a place as any; he was sure to be found by someone awed by such a marvelous creature such as he, and the pokémon could be pampered in adoration. Who wouldn't want to be in his glorified presence, after all? It was inconceivable to think otherwise!
It was slow going, even at top speed and with so many tiny peg-like legs at his disposal, but he was determined enough to not notice the amount of time it was taking him. Rather, he set his sights on the nearby industrial habitat and focused with all his might. He even started mapping out what he might do next when he arrived depending on what happened first, or didn't happen: a web of scenarios. It kept his mind off of more grumbling, for, although he was quite good at it, it wasn't his current resolute stance.
This whole mess, this entire travesty that Kenley currently found himself in, it was all his trainer's fault! If he had been spoiled as well as he had been told he would be, this never would have taken place. Things wouldn't have gone so far! Never mind that his trainer had all the reason in the world to have done what they did, that didn't matter -- Kenley should have been first and foremost in the decision-making process. All judgment calls should have kept the larval pokémon as the point of focus, or there was no call at all. No, that would make it something selfish instead!
However, it was true. It had never been the trainer that had been the selfish one. In fact, if this authoritative individual had been given all the time and money they had needed to do everything they would have wanted, Kenley would have quite possibly floated around on cloud nine for the rest of his life. He was a pretty bug, and nothing bad would have befallen the tiny creature had it not been for government interference -- or, rather, lack thereof. There was no way the Gaian would have been able to keep up with Kenley's demands to keep him happy and keep a roof over their heads. In fact, they were having a hard enough time keeping a roof at all. All that paperwork they had managed to fill out, and they were still having difficulty being recognized as a needy person. As a single adult, they couldn't even get food stamps without working nineteen hours a week. One would think being unemployed would have been a hard enough feat to endure...
No, Kenley's bar had been set much too high after that encounter. The royal wurmple was content where he was, being with his trainer in such a state as long as he got adequate attention time. Every day. Unfortunately, the Gaian had been requiring longer and longer bouts of time away from home in an effort to try to secure a job. Kenley failed to see how hard this individual, barely out of childhood, was striving to earn a decent living for the both of them. True, the tiny insect was curious as to why they had been missing so long, but never to the extent that it was ever a cause for worry.
It wasn't until it started to seriously affect Kenley did the bug take adequate notice. It was obvious that there was no way that this kid could care for the pokémon any longer, as they were barely able to take care of themselves. The young pokémon was offered to a friend -- in fact, the trainer almost pleaded for it -- something that rubbed the wurmple wrong. For one, why was there any need to twist someone's arm to take a caterpillar so beautiful? For another, and perhaps more painful a realization, why get rid of Kenley before getting rid of something else? Was he not like a son? Was he just some sort of stray mongrel that had been taken in temporarily, out of pity?
It never occurred to Kenley that the kid was showing humility -- something the wurmple seemed to lack entirely -- and knew that they couldn't care for the shiny pokémon like they felt he deserved. In truth, it was probably one of the hardest things the kid ever had to do, and a final act of compassion that the young trainer could offer. Heartbroken and embittered, Kenley could only see it as an effort to get rid of what was not needed, to take out the trash that was cluttering up the home. The selfish one was the wurmple's own worst enemy, but was not anywhere within eyesight. His anger was turned, instead, on the only person he felt deserved it.
Unfortunately, that person could not receive such punishment, and if Kenley had anything to say on the matter, he never would. After all, that would require the caterpillar to have to see his first trainer again, and there would be none of that! So, instead, Kenley ran away from his foster family, the only one capable of feeling his tantrum-fueled wrath. He ran and didn't look back.
He didn't look back until he was far enough away that the uneven earth obscured the view of town completely. Nobody could see him turn around this way; nobody could see the flash of regret, of longing, or of pinpointed rage. He would just keep traveling until he found the next town over, and a home that took him in out of love and adoration of the royal purple bug. No strings attached, and no background to sour the facade.
Pulling out of his reminiscence, Kenley realized that his stubby legs were tapping along cobblestone tiles. Glancing upward, he watched with wide eyes as people passed by, oblivious to the tiny one at shin-level. They were all so strange and varied, it made the wurmple think about how similar they were to pokémon themselves. In fact, there were so many different colors, features, appendages... were they any better than pokémon? They didn't see him standing there, and they didn't care to look. Kenley found himself side-stepping on numerous occasions, so as not to get bowled over by a set of feet or rolled over by a cart. This wouldn't do at all, not at all... and certainly not in the way he had been mentally mapping at all, either.
His snout wrinkled in frustration as he determined a new realization, <<These beasts don't deserve me. I'm too good for the lot of 'em.>> It was a milestone in the way the threads in his head were woven, but whether it was for better or worse was not so clear-cut.
So the prince ventured back into the wilds, a strange land he had only heard of from hearsay, armed with nothing but a pompous attitude.
[[ Word Count: 1,363 ]]
Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 9:06 pm
· • · ·Castle for the Crown And an army of one
Within a matter of hours -- or had it been a day already? -- Kenley had already formulated numerous paths to surviving out here, but only under the most fortunate of conditions possible. He was aware of this fact, and although his expectations were set to a high level, he was determined to keep it at that optimistic and determined level. Sure, it was a bit confident of his own survival skills (despite the fact he didn't ever remember being a wild pokémon), but he could do it, right? He was Kenley, after all! Shinies always were capable of grabbing hold of what they wanted!
Well... unless it turned out to be for the better that they didn't. That must have been the only exception to the rule, it had to be. He was better off without his trainer, wasn't he? If he stayed under his trainer's supervision, something surely would have gone horribly wrong... and that must have been why the fates decided to rescue him from that situation. And... and thrust him into...
He shook off the pessimism in favor of grasping tighter at his blind trust in personal abilities. Yes, that was exactly what it was. This was better, and... and would build character! No, not just that... look at all this uncultivated land! Humans and various other Gaian fauna didn't inhabit this forest, and there were few pokémon that seemed to be in the vicinity as well. True, that appeared to make it more of a lonely place, but that was all a disguise! Fact of the matter was that those conditions were quite favorable for a takeover, for a ruler to secure his position of power where no one else dared before they... well, thought of daring!
Yes! It was all too perfect! Perhaps it was the fact that the forest was situated within (distant) sight of the nearest town, or maybe it was because it seemed a little cramped, but to Kenley, it appeared to be the perfect place. Just look at that tree over there... it would make an excellent lookout tower! And that one over there, great for a defense tower! Just look at the abundance of towers! There was a chittering giggle that came from the purple wurmple's maw as it glanced around its fortress of solitude, content with the piece of land he had recently acquired.
Tiny stubbed legs clawed at the edge of the branch in which Kenley stood, high in a tree to survey the place better. Truth of the matter was that he had been sulking in the tree before assessing his situation further, pacing on paths of "woe-is-me" until he shook it off. This was no time to be depressed, he told himself, as it was no way that one was to survive out here, where survival was reserved but only to the fittest. Why, Kenley would show them all who "the fittest" really was!
He stumbled in his footing, but quickly recovered his balance before he was overcome too completely in his narcissism. In fact, this tree that he was hiding out on, it seemed to be the most sturdy. A very reliable steed, Kenley was thinking, and quite possibly one of the thickest trees in the thicket. <<Perfect!>> the wurmple exclaimed, <<A base of operations for the lord of this forest!>> Good, good, this was quite fortunate indeed!
Now all that was needed were some food rations for this little kingdom of none, and he'd be all set to start ruling it!
[[ Word Count: 588 ]]
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 9:07 pm
· • · ·Roleplay #1
Link:No Banditry in These Parts! Participants: Lilly, Honey, & Kenley Stages: Child (Lilly & Honey) & Pokémon (Kenley) Status:Ongoing
Premise: A kingdom needs some food supplies, and a ruler needs some, er... charisma.
Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 12:48 am
· • · ·Aggressive Intervention Bring in the cavalry!
He couldn't believe it, he absolutely could not believe the amount of bad luck he had been experiencing lately. While Kenley was headstrong about providing as little depression pressing onto his brain as possible, the frustration continued to mount. Okay, so he wasn't blind enough to not realize where he actually made mistakes -- well... most of the time, depending on the circumstance. It was obvious to anyone, shiny wurmple included, that he had a lot to learn about seizing and controlling this piece of land that he still considered to be his and his alone. He was still having great difficulty at maintaining a supply of food, and apparently also at keeping fortress walls defended. While it was expected that Kenley not be able to keep everything out of the sparse expanse of trees -- especially with one as small as he -- his most recent encounter had put him on edge.
He grumbled as he was reminded of that day. It had only been earlier in the week, but the mental wounds the children-who-thought-they-were-pokémon left on Kenley's pride were still very fresh. It made him more bitter than usual, and in the spirit of such lackluster confidence, his ego made a push for being center stage. Not that that was any different from normal, but today, it acted with a sense of determined vigor, and it would take no prisoners. In short, Kenley wasn't in the mood to offer any pity, driven by a spark of anger renewed.
It didn't help matters that the little insect was currently faced with a sense of minor déjà vu, beady eyes narrowed on a pidgey that managed to fly in. It appeared as though the bird were looking for some berries or something... Poor fool, didn't it know that Kenley already tried that approach? The wurmple shook his head, only to start scrabbling away from the tree that was made into his central position and toward this trespasser. If it was going to try taking anything from Kenley's stronghold, even if that something didn't exist, it had another thing coming! Nobody tries to steal on his watch, especially when the offending pokémon would have been stealing from the mastermind himself!
While he wasn't being altogether quiet about his approach, the distance was not far and therefore the pidgey had little time to react. Skidding to a halt, Kenley reeled back and shot silky webbing at the muddy-colored bird to give the caterpillar more leeway with which to get a better strike in. He didn't seem to fear the fact that, as a bug, he was quite susceptible to anything the flying-type may have had in store for him, let alone that his level was staggeringly low. A well-placed string shot to catch a flustered opponent was all he needed, in his mind, to grapple the advantage from the trespasser. Scampering to stay behind the pidgey as the bird attempted to pull the irritating webbing from its wings, Kenley aimed a tackle and struck.
Kenley may have been annoyed by this happenstance before, but he was quickly being overthrown in that department as well. The pidgey puffed up, ruffling its feathers to look more daunting as its own rage levels rose dramatically. This half-pint had something it wanted to say? The pidgey could literally eat the wurmple for breakfast! Was he touched in the head or something? Enough was enough, and the pidgey just wanted to be left to its own devices, preferably by leaving this forsaken area and the idiotic prey it had inhabiting it. While Kenley would have made for a rather easy -- and gratifyingly vengeful -- meal, the pidgey fought that urge in favor of teaching it a lesson. Maybe it could come back for it later, but the bird was much too annoyed to get any satisfaction out of it now, not after such a plight. Perhaps when less fire was in its belly.
For now, though, it would hit hard and made sure the insect paid for this. With the shiny wurmple so close, it became an easy target. Usually, attacking from behind may have created problems with a slower pokémon, but pidgeys were anything but. Spinning around, the bird swiftly countered with a well-placed quick attack, once to the forehead and once to the shoulder. It packed a powerful enough punch to knock Kenley out, but not before he had a chance to realize what was going on.
However, it was a few hours before he came to, and with such a crack to the head, the pokémon was pretty dazed with a headache. <<'M seein' stars... Blast it!>> he growled with a wince. A perfectly horrible end to a perfectly horrible week, this was sure shaping up to be! He sighed, noting that it was taking too much energy to feel glum about past events; he couldn't even move at the moment.
Instead, he started marking priorities off in his mind: first of all, he needed to focus on the present. He was quite aware that survival was top priority, and thinking back on the fight previous, understood that his actions were quite foolhardy. It was obvious Kenley would have lost that bout; he needed to be more stealthy about it next time and not rush in kamikaze-style. Pidgeys fed off of younger insects smaller than it, and instinct would have kicked in had he not been overwhelmed with ferocity.
Now that that was settled, he needed to figure out how he was going to survive the night, especially if that foe were to come back for round two. He tried to wobble to his feet, but wasn't sure if he could really climb back up the stalwart tree he preferred. If he couldn't fight back and couldn't make it back home, he was just going to have to find some place to hide while he regained his strength. <<Such a bother...>> he hissed, but complied with his own order, <<This wouldn't have been a problem had I been stronger.>>
Turning around to where a larger gathering of shrubs were, converging on a close-knit congregation of trees, Kenley made his way over; he was sure that it was labyrinthine enough to throw off any immediate dangers, and he could still keep an eye out if he needed. He could even hear things coming through there, as the dry bark tended to react to funnel sounds through the gaps in the bush branches.
It was then that Kenley caught a glimpse of a glow through the very leaves he was aiming to envelope himself in, and the sight caught him off-guard. He hesitated, not looking forward to another encounter should that be what the light indicated. It was getting dark out, so the possibility that that was what it was was merely rising in likelihood. However, he was also fairly certain he knew his way around this thicket better than most others, having called it home for nearly a month now. He could be careful if he tried.
So, Kenley took great care to avoid tripping on the occasional loose twig and fallen leaf, wiggling through the bush gaps until he came across what it was that was giving off such a soft glow. At first, he found the star to be rather pretty, all things considered. In fact, it even led him to a place that appeared to be a safe haven for Kenley as he recovered enough to make a proper retreat. If he wasn't so sure, he may have considered it to be some strange form of a guardian angel. However, there was one problem that he immediately found with this picture, and his eyes narrowed to meet it, <<Stars, huh? You just had to take the bait for the pun... 'I'm seeing stars.'>>
He climbed over to it, a little worried that it may have been left here by someone when they heard Kenley coming over. Or even during his battle with the pidgey, they may have gotten startled and left it. Were they going to be back for it? Should Kenley high-tail it out of here as well? Shaking his head, he soon found himself unable to come to a proper consensus on the matter. He was much too sleepy. Chalking it up to possible head trauma and fatigue, he only had enough energy to curl up near the star and fall asleep.
[[ Word Count: 1,403 ]]
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 5:22 pm
· • · ·New Lease on Life A chance to start with an (almost) blank slate
Before the tiny wurmple was even fully awake, he knew something was off-kilter about himself; he was just unable to pinpoint what it was. Many ideas came to mind as he slowly began emerging into the waking realm, few of which were any sort of positive sign. With the week going as well as it had been, his optimism and determination that held him up so high was beginning to dwindle. He wasn't used to such depression, finding it quite annoying as much as it was debilitating.
While his mind was in its most asleep state as he became more aware, he briefly wondered if it was because he had died in his sleep. A dull, faraway pain reminded him that that was not the case, though he might have felt it a blessing after such humiliation.
Maybe it was the head trauma he had been worried about before passing out. Did it flip a switch in his mind and screw up his senses? It was a likely event to have occurred after such a strong blow to the skull; a concussion was not out of the question. In fact, he'd have been surprised if that was not the case, considering it had caused him to faint directly after. Still... that didn't feel like it was it. There was something off about the scenery, maybe that was it.
Perhaps whoever had lost that glowing star in the bushes had truly come back for it after all? Did that mean he was captured? It sure smelled like there was a human in the vicinity, but he wasn't sure if that was just a lingering scent off of himself from his time living the lie in the city.
Blurred vision came to sight, but he refused to budge as he waited for his headache to die down. He thought sleep was suppose to cure that sort of thing, but it seemed to have only made it feel all the worse. Just his luck, it was a concussion. That human smell was making him a tad nauseous, but it was strange he hadn't really noticed it all that much before the head injury...
No... it wasn't there before. My sense of smell didn't get stronger, he was coming to terms with it surprisingly well. He had heard about such a phenomenon occurring in other pokémon on the news, though he had never actually seen it. It seemed like a hoax, but he knew himself well enough to know that he was no longer residing in the tiny, multiple-legged caterpillar body he was so resigned to. Closing his eyes to shut out the spinning world, he pulled himself up by the arms to sit seated upright -- a feat quite unlike he had ever been able to before. He wobbled slightly before he found his center of balance, and only then did he peek with a single eye at the height he managed to have gained overnight. Kenley Kenley Kenley, what have you done to yourself? he chided, peering around his sanctuary of a bush to make sure he was still safe.
He sighed, lifting a white hand upwards to meet it outside of a blind zone so he didn't have to lower his head and potentially topple over. He turned it around, examining the familiar coloration; it was strangely soothing to find familiar characteristics. "Not... bad," he murmured, testing out his voice. This was going to take some getting used to...
His eardrums' pulsing got to such an extent that it was cutting through his examination process, and the shiny poké-child found his hands clutching at his ears, curling into a ball as he leaned his head into his knees. His small, golden horn found a niche between the knees, keeping the boy from gouging himself while also managing to remind himself of who exactly he was. His fingers found that his pointed ears had spines along them that used to reside along his back, another testament to the insect he used to be. He... he wasn't all that different than before, and yet he seemed to have been given a second chance.
Once the pulsing had alleviated its takeover, Kenley leaned back a little, touching a hand to his forehead to find that his tiara was still where it had always been. He was grateful of that, but was unsure as to why. Wasn't it just a reminder of the life he used to live, the one that was nothing but backstabbing and betrayal? But... but it was also a memory of the good that happened back then. He was happy before all that happened, and the ornament acted on the best of those. He shrugged it off; it didn't need to make sense as long as it made him feel... well, more at home.
Yes, at home in his own little wooden fortress. He had made so many mistakes in the past, and was the result of so many misdeeds that it was more than a slight detriment. He was tired of all the bitterness, and missed being the content wurmple he used to be. Maybe with this change in appearance, he could change his thought processes to better fit with it. Maybe he could finally just let go and let some other good memories replace the bad ones. That star -- Jirachi's star -- it was a wish fulfilled before he even truly knew what it was that he wanted so badly.
Like this, Kenley could start his life over and live the way he wanted to.
[[ Word Count: 927 ]]
Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:16 pm
· • · ·Autocratic Jurisdiction Tightening the reigns of an expanse much too big
It would probably be some time before the bug-boy was capable of going through a day without a random tinge of a headache, and his thought processes seem to have been kicked for a loop, but Kenley was back to his previous confident levels. That is, he was being irrationally confident. So what if he stared down death a week ago? It high-tailed it outta there and gave him something that would help him get stronger! He wouldn't be having another visit from that guy uninvited any time soon, and he was planning on making that very clear. By, you know, thrusting himself back into harm's way as soon as he was capable of it. It wasn't like he was suppose to be lying down and recovering or anything.
So, while Kenley was intent on bettering himself and starting over, it seemed he was practically starting off on the same foot he used to step right into his new life. Change didn't take place in a day, not when it came to determination and stubbornness, and it seemed Kenley was also intent on proving that fact as well. Nobody was going to mess with him, and he was inherently misusing his new-found abilities in the same respect as a bully misuses karate -- making his own rules clear with the help of force.
Glancing upward, he watched as the sky started covering the area in a thin drizzle. Grabbing at his collar, he mused at how fortunate he had been that a merchant's truck happened through the area. The driver had no idea how the tire could have been punctured in such a thorough way, but it gave the little vandal time to grab some clothes from the haphazardly padlocked back. Kenley had been quick to discover that this new body was more susceptible to the elements -- most likely from the larger surface space than his previously tinier one. Too bad he couldn't really pay the man back... but then again, he was a filthy Gaian; Kenley didn't owe those people any favors.
He felt the old emotions rising and tried to exhale them out. He could almost see his breath, it was getting so cold, but his temper was enough to warm him up enough. Eyes turning downcast, the caterpillar-child spotted a flexible branch at his feet. It looked as though the wood had broken off, and upon closer inspection, made brittle enough to have broken in an updraft. Looked like the rain was actually direly needed. Well good, he wasn't in the mood for fragile fortress towers; he wasn't entirely sure how he'd replace something so large and strategic. Nudging the trunk of the tree with an elbow, he assured, "You'll get better. The weather is changing, so there should be more of this in the future."
The apparent soft side of the boy was quick to be covered up as he whipped the branch out, as though testing out a rapier. It was nice and aerodynamic, not too heavy, and in a pinch, could probably explode on impact with how dry the bark on the outside of it had gotten. It would be good to use to make a point.
As much as he would have liked to have kept the artifact of authority around a bit longer, there were more important plans he had for the stick. Right about now, he was standing in about the center of the wood. Well... at least as far as he'd managed to have scoped out so far, it was the center. Glancing around the thicket, he found little in the way of animate life -- no doubt most, if there were any around, had run for cover. No matter; if any were bull-headed enough to try to trespass on his territory, no doubt they'd be within earshot, hiding out in a bush or a log or something.
Shooting a sharp glance at the tree standing beside him, Kenley smacked the parched tree limb against the trunk. It didn't shatter as much as he had been expecting, which was... good, in a way, considering he didn't really want to be pulling out splinter shrapnel from his person all week. The sound that ricocheted off the collision made a satisfying cracking noise, and Kenley was sure that it would have sparked attention out of anyone in the vicinity. Perfect, that was exactly what he wanted.
"Listen up, all you freeloaders! If you're looking for a safe haven, this isn't it! You're in my territory now, and that's not going to give you a free ride; not anymore!" the child roared over the white noise of the rain on leaves. Stamping a foot down, he heaved the branch onto his shoulder in defiance, "You stay here, and you're either working for me, or you'll be taken as prisoner. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You live in my neck of the woods? You live by my rules!" Spinning around, the mint-haired boy tossed the battered twig to the ground at his back, as though daring anyone to question such steadfast authority.
Working together toward a similar goal... might not be too bad of an idea. Just as long as he was in charge, it was fine by him.
Premise: Confidence can begin to crumble in the face of an old predator of such legendary magnitude.
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:07 pm
· • · ·Caustic Ire Corrosive to both wielder and opposition
It did not exactly bode too well for a child -- who had taken martial law into his own hands within the forest he lived -- to have so easily been undermined by an outsider he had not ever laid eyes on before. Kenley had been lucky the intruder had only been itching to explore the world, for he had been almost certain Rime had been sent by the pidgey from before his transformation in order to finish the job the pokémon had failed to carry out, in all his irritation with the shiny wurmple.
Kenley shuddered at the thought, almost disbelieving his own ignorance on the matter. Why he had not thought about how dangerous it was to initiate battle with a predator, he had no idea, but it caused the child to be more than a little cautious when it came to avians. The event perhaps even caused Kenley to think about his actions more, and the increasing instances he found where he discovered new intruders within his fortress were beginning to dig into his mind with another thought: maybe he should think about who he was facing before he switched on auto-pilot security instincts and attacked.
Well... there was still a ways left to travel for habit to grasp onto measures of holding back, but the fact that he was even considering it was a step towards fulfilling that caution. Rime hadn't been all that bad, despite Kenley's own automatic haughty paranoia, and truth be told, Honey and Lilly hadn't been that bad when he reflected on the encounter, either. They all had been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt even though he had yelled at them. And ordered them around. And, well, attacked them on sight.
Of course, he wasn't going to admit he was at fault in any of those instances... but he could see that there was more to these trespassers than he initially gave them credit for. He wasn't entirely sure what to call it, however: "friend" just wasn't in his vocabulary, especially when he insisted he keep distance between himself and everyone else in the world.
Shaking it off, he suddenly decided it wasn't worth his time to be thinking of all of this now. When was he ever going to see any of these people again, after all? He had scared them off, and... and that was for the best, right? This was his home, not everyone else's playground! He didn't understand why thinking that made him kind of depressed, though. He should be glad he was alone now, nobody else would be able to hurt him this way...
"Th-That must be it. I'm just worried they'll come back," he tried to convince himself, pulling his child-like body past a familiar patch of bushes into the center of the forest -- the same clearing where he had made his forceful declaration earlier that month. He glanced around, taking note that nothing was in the area: just like he had planned it. He sighed, "They might bring in reinforcements if they ever did come back here, so I don't go bothering them while they're in the fort." Seemed like a weak excuse, even to the boy, but it was no matter if it was actually true.
He stood unsurely for a few moments longer, as though waiting for something to pop out as soon as they were sure the boy had turned his back. There may have been a beetle that passed by, but nothing problematic. Kenley almost felt disappointed, but there was still a sense of relief that he didn't have to talk with anyone. Or shout at them, as he was so prone to doing.
Nudging the poor-conditioned tree from earlier, he took note that the bark along the surface of the trunk seemed less brittle and sharp. It must have been soaking up the recent rain, and at that thought, a small smile peeked out from Kenley's otherwise gruff expression, "I told you it would get better. I hope you're sharing with the rest." Patting the trunk of the tree, he moved himself past it and headed for the outskirts of the forest he patrolled so often.
His pale hands were held behind his body as he marched himself along, trying to look lively while not necessarily feeling like he was up for it. He was glad that the overcast days seemed to be overtaking the number of sunny days for he found that the brighter the sun was, the more likely he was to get a headache from it. Moonlight was no different in that respect, and was sometimes even worse than the intensity of the sun. Perhaps it was the difference between white and yellow light, like it was for indoor artificial light?
Kenley never had headache problems before, and although these increased occurrences may have been worrisome, the child was more apt to feel rage billow from the thought instead of concern. He was fairly certain it was because of that one-sided battle with the pidgey when he had first claimed this area as his own, and because of that it was difficult to feel anything less than fury about it. Though truthfully, it was anger borne of terror, but that was something Kenley was not ready to admit. As far as he was concerned, he had no weaknesses.
Well, no weaknesses that weren't easy to remedy, at least. He knew that, as much as he boasted, he was far from being the all-powerful overlord he projected himself out to be. He was weak, and for the most part, defenseless. He sure had a mouth, that much was certain, but that could be his saving grace as much as it could be a defection. There was only so far words would take him, and he wasn't much for being a conciliator. His lack of patience didn't help matters there, either.
He rubbed a palm into a closed eye, feeling all this introspect becoming a little much for him. Others were so difficult to understand, but he felt that he knew himself better than anything despite the fact he probably knew even less when it came to his scarred mind. He had simple needs and wants now, much less than before, and focusing his attention to the future instead of the past was starting to work toward the better. Really, he should stop worrying; it wasn't doing any good to think about all those... others. He didn't want to bend to their wants and n--
The golden-eyed boy skid to a halt, a piercing glare shooting daggers at the unoccupied tree limb before him. Along the top of the otherwise smooth ledge were a set of raked talon marks, no doubt created by a bird. Kenley's mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that it must have been the pidgey from earlier, leaving a threatening remark that he would be back to finish the job. It didn't matter that the gouges were worn from the passage of time and likely had been made before Kenley had ever arrived in the area, no, this was a message.
The rage the boy had managed to diffuse and bury through his walk bubbled back to the surface with such ferocity that Kenley's mind blanked out, information sparking through without his own control. Before he knew it, the child whipped his arm out and shot a barrage of needles toward the place the bird would have sat perched, tipped in venom where words would not work. While the action caught Kenley off-guard, surprising himself as much as it may have surprised anyone observing, the anger held him steadfast -- he still looked completely enraged. Turning on a heel, he stormed off like a kid may throw a fit toward an opposing parent.
Anger and terror, it seemed, worked in many of the same ways.
* * * * *
Level: 4 --> 5 KENLEY has learned POISON STING
[[ Word Count: 1,315 ]]
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Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:09 pm
· • · ·Roleplay #3
Link:Toll at the Intersection Participants: Bastet, Lorne, Arashi, & Kenley Stages: Pokémon (Bastet & Lorne) & Child (Arashi & Kenley) Status:Complete!
Premise: What is all this, a flash mob!? Not in his territory!
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:15 am
· • · ·Roleplay #4
Link:Just Dropping In? Participants: Calliope (+ Zap and a mob of joltiks) & Kenley Stages: Pokémon (Calliope) & Child (Kenley) Status:Complete!
Premise: The tables are turned when Kenley stumbles into someone else's territory.
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Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 2:15 pm
· • · ·Taste of Vengeance It may not be all it's cracked up to be
The forest had been bustling with life off-and-on, much more frequently than what the self-promoted keeper of the woods would have otherwise liked to have seen. While the span of time between each encounter was great in the eyes of someone more social, for one who tried desperately to hold onto the solitude he was convinced he wanted, it was much too persistent an occurrence. He thought this span of forestry lie out of the way, along the embankment trenched to the north, reaching much further away from the carved trail than most would likely want to venture. While not uncharted, he would have thought adventurous types would be drawn somewhere more promising, not an expanse of trees and... more trees. People didn't even camp here -- that was all done in the forests closer to the city, on the opposing side of the river.
So then, why was it that people kept stumbling into the middle of nowhere like this?
Kenley had never been witness to a map of the area. He was sure that it was separate from most colonies of the human kind, chalked up to his own sense of direction, but he never could get solid proof of that educated guess. Was he closer to town than he had initially thought, in that case? Was there another town in this more southerly direction that he had been unaware of? There were a scattered few civilizations closer to the mountain range, but that was still a great distance away...
No, I can't be the only one that has ever wanted to get away from those wretched places... he sighed, glancing upward to where the light from an overcast morning clawed through the canopy. In some ways, it was a lot nicer to be living out in the wilderness, albeit much less convenient. One had to fight for their rights out here; they weren't just handed to you as an everyday part of a cohesive society. However, that also made the ownership of such a privilege that much more rewarding, as annoying as it was to keep a hold on it in the face of adversary. Sure, when things had once merely been handed to you before, it was difficult to shake that sense of entitlement, but it wasn't impossible to. It had grown to such a point that it was now more welcome to have to grab hold of it himself, for there seemed to be more power behind the prerogative when more work was put forth towards the goal. A sense of pride in one's own accomplishments, even though they had... adverse consequences.
<<Curious, curious...>>
Kenley froze to the poké-speech that originated from directly above his seat, immediately tuned back in to the world around him instead of his own inner speculation. He didn't react any further to the spoken words, a half-hearted attempt to pretend he didn't understand what was being said. There was a sinking feeling as the wurmple-child recognized the dialect, though he was steadfast on playing the role of the ignorant for a few moments longer. He wasn't the same as before, not the same...
<<A human that smells like a wurmple, now that is strange...>> the pidgey continued with a puzzled tilt of the head, <<I wonder if it would taste like a wurmple as well?>>
It was an off-handed comment made from mere observation, a theory with no 'testing' intent, but Kenley couldn't sit still any longer at that remark. That was precisely what he had always feared, and hearing such sentiment vocalized outside of his own deluded imagination was more than his façade was capable of defending against. Jumping to his feet, he stumbled quickly away, startling the pidgey almost into premature flight, flapping his wings and hopping once along the limb he was perched on. Wide-eyed, Kenley stared at the avian in the tree, his terror not so easily hidden behind the threatening glance he attempted to force. The boy was nearly shaking with the sudden surge of adrenaline, kick-started by terror with the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears; he was ready to either run or fight, depending on the actions the pidgey opted towards.
The bird gave a scrutinizing look, but it didn't seem as though he were interested in initiating combat -- no, he was quite confused with the expression that was offered to him. <<Are you... can you actually understand me?>> the pokémon treaded carefully, dumbfounded.
"Get away from me!!" the boy cried, taking the opportunity to give in to hostile reactionary instinct and shoot a Poison Sting in the direction of the pidgey. He realized not a second later how awful a decision that was, and reeled his hands back to his chest in a futile attempt to stop the move from occurring. It wasn't an attack that had ever worked in the past, but it nonetheless had dire consequences the last time it was used. He didn't want to spark a battle!
There was a hasty ruffling of feathers at the sudden attack, a flapping of wings, startled at the unexpected pokémon-specific move. It clipped one of his flailing limbs, though, so instead of pulling himself aloft above the branch, he found himself plummeting downward. The bushes to either side of the tree broke the fall, luckily enough, but the bird's head was spinning from the insurgence of questions, compressed time frame, and overall confusion of this entire scenario.
"I..." Kenley blinked in disbelief, "...I actually hit him!?" The shock worked to stabilize the fear, and before the child thought to reassess the situation, he was digging through the shrub to pull the fallen pokémon out. There was no further consideration on the matter, such as the pidgey being angry enough to attack once he had been fished out, but Kenley was only focused on one priority at a time. Consequences of impulsive actions were never priority.
The boy picked the bird up by the waist, though he had to pause a moment before he had ended up picking the pidgey up by a wing tip. "Woah, you okay?" he asked, looking the flying-type over to make sure there was no obvious damage. He seemed alright, just a little dazed.
<<Did... did you just use Poison Sting..?>> the pidgey responded once his sight steadied itself, baffled, <<How is that possible?>>
"How is it possible I actually hit you with it!?" Kenley retorted, almost angry that the pidgey hadn't dodged it in time. Before he accidentally hurt the avian any further, though, the wurmple-boy set the bird onto the ground. Making sure the pidgey could stand alright on his own two feet, Kenley took a few steps of his own, backward and away from the bird's beak. His fear was threatening to well back up on him, so before it had the chance to gain the upper hand, he snatched onto his usual bossy nature -- he had to kick it into overdrive to get back to average levels. "You'd better get out of here, if you know what's good for you," the boy warned, crossing his arms.
Balanced once more, the bird pokémon tossed out another questioning look with a tilt of the head, <<You... actually are a wurmple, aren't you..?>>
Kenley replied by turning attention away. He didn't want to grace that query with an actual affirmative -- of course he was a wurmple! It should be obvious! It should be...
The pidgey took motion to do as he was directed. Before he caught air, he took a moment to offer his condolences, <<Tough break, sorry about that. Good luck!>>
That... wasn't expected. While Kenley didn't turn back around to watch the predator leave, he could hear the rustling of wings and the draft that sped the bird upward and out of the forest. In fact, he refused to move for a number of moments longer, conflicted. He didn't understand what just happened, and he didn't understand his own actions on the matter. Fingernails dug into the sleeves of his shirt, trembling, "I had him... I had him, and I just let him go..!?"
Premise: Catastrophe strikes in the form of a... distraught, animate landslide?
- - -
Roleplay: Under spoiler
Melomar A distant rumbling filled the lowlands beneath the mountains. A flock of birds announced the coming of the rockslide as a huge hole opened up the mountain's rock face. The dust and debris had not finished their mad tumble before a roar shattered the growing silence and the massive form of a young onix entered the sunlight. Trees and shrubs bowed out of the way or were demolished in a mash of splinters and green goo as she raced in a straight line through the forest.
MoogerMint It hadn't been the most eventful of weeks, and Kenley was expecting the same to come out of today as well as he strolled around the perimeter of the expanse of land he called his. In fact, when he felt the ground begin to shake under his feet, he thought he had merely been experiencing the onset of another headache, now a common occurrence... until the shifting continued to increase in intensity. He was frowning at the ground until he witnessed the demolition explode before him, eyes growing wide in bewilderment. "What the..?" the words fell without conscious thought as he hastily began pursuit of... whatever-it-was that was taking out his fortress walls, "Hey, s-stop that!"
Mycah had never experienced the ground move in such an unnatural manner, at least in the history he was able to create thus far. While the rolling beneath his feet and the sudden departure of birds overhead was an ominous sign, the small pawniard's curiosity was getting the better of him. If others were fleeing, he'd have to be careful... but that didn't mean he couldn't investigate. Clambering over all the forested obstacles, though, that may be a different story. It felt like it was nearing, so maybe he hadn't as far a trek to go as he thought.
Melomar Frank the Onix hardly heard the outcry of the forest’s guardian as she blew right past. However, it was just enough to cause a small falter in her pace, and obstacles were finally beginning to slow her down. She was tired! But she could not stop. All she could do was -- run into that boulder -- she veered off, and into another straight line -- until she ran into another. She felt like a pinball, and wailed a tortured “UWAHHHHHH!”
Should anyone happen to notice, a fine mist of clear, salty liquid rained down from above.
MoogerMint Kenley was irritated that yet another intruder in the midst of his territory was ignoring his words, of course, but that seemed to take a back seat to the imperative nature of the whole ordeal. This was... a heck of a lot of damage that he was going to need to be attending to. He wasn't even sure how he was going to be able to fix those fort walls, but the damage unnerved him in more than a single way. In fact, he was unsure whether he would even be able to catch up to her, for even though she was being slowed by the obstruction of the larger trees, she was still very fast for such a massive pokemon. "Stop it, you're bringing the whole place down!" he attempted to call again, hopping over felled logs and gouged forest floors.
Mycah flinched as the ground seemed to rattle with each hit the rock snake took. After it happened a few times, the steel pokemon paused in his movements, attempting to gauge the situation with what little knowledge he had. It felt like he was close, he could hear the cries that were being sent forth... but they didn't seem of malicious intent. However, whatever the intent actually was, he could tell it was still of a destructive sort, spotting the kicked up debris ahead.
Melomar Finally Kenley’s words were getting through to her. She understood yelling, though he did not seem to be angry, more surprised and maybe fearful than angry. She also understood words like, “stop.” The exertion from her Rage fit was wearing heavily on her. She was young and had good endurance but she had not advanced many levels in all the time she had been trained. By that. Awful. Human. “WAHHH!” The world was becoming a dizzy mess. Tears filled her eyes. She could no longer see through them. “I can’t… stop!” she bawled.
MoogerMint Kenley huffed as he heaved himself over another fallen tree, a bit dismayed by all the arbor carnage. He was trying to keep up, and noticed that the way she was zig-zagging through the undergrowth, he wasn't lagging so far behind. In fact, he tried to jog up beside her by taking a shorter route, as futile as it might have been to cut her off. He hadn't been expecting the stampeding snake to actually respond after he had received none before, so was a bit taken aback by the unexpected response. "Can't?" he asked, more of a growl than he had intended through the exertion, "What do you mean 'can't'?!"
Mycah refrained from chasing down the onix any further, noting that she would probably not stray too much further than where he could see already. He stood his ground, surprised that she was still tearing through the place when she seemed so exhausted already. His head tilted, side-stepping in case she made another sudden turn as he watched her form. She seemed awfully upset about something... what was making her so sad?
Melomar “CAAAAAAAAAN’T!” she roared. She was still in a full tantrum, but the next tree she ran into was an especially old one, and as big around, if not more so, than she. The impact was enough to stop her dead in her tracks, her trailing tail bunching up with a crackling of impacting boulders behind her. “Can’t...” She wobbled in midair and fell like a great tree herself. Then with a sob, she curled up into a ball, tears streaming down her face. She had fainted from exhaustion.
MoogerMint Kenley cringed even before the impact ensued. It helped block some of the awful sound out, but that was hardly much of a blessing. "Oooh..." he winced, skidding to a halt in a relatively close vicinity. He had... absolutely no idea what to think of this whole bizarre situation. While he was irate that so much destruction was caused in the wake of the onix's barreling ride, she apparently couldn't stop. What did that even mean? Was someone taking HER for a joyride or something? Glancing back, he stared down the scar across the land and latched his hands onto his minty hair. He did NOT appreciate that view!
As it appeared that the powerful force had been halted, Mycah took it as cue that it was probably safe to investigate. He was quick on his feet, nearing a dangerous proximity to the felled onix if she had actually still been conscious. His steps slowed, inching closer to her head. He could spot the tears, but he couldn't quite recognize their meaning, unable to link it to sadness. Regardless, the intensity of her emotions through her rampage was enough to give plenty of feedback into her mental state, and he was concerned about it. Was it something that this irritated kid did?
Kenley sighed, spinning back around only to spot the small pawniard standing between him and the source of destruction before him. His eyes flared, "You! What do you want? What are you doing here!? Is this your fault!?" He stormed closer, but Mycah was incredibly quick to raise a bladed arm in warning. The message was clear: No more rage, and don't come closer. The boy growled, standing there with a scowl. Slowly, he backed up against the nearest tree, intent on seeing this matter through to the end. The question was only... how long was he going to have to wait here to get his answers?
Melomar Frank’s consciousness wavered back to her slowly. The world was dark and fuzzy around the edges, and had a funny hue. It was also at an angle. Struggling to focus her vision, she slowly lifted herself up from her soft bed of debris; soft, for most surfaces are softer than rock, after all. The world spun briefly, but she was finally able to see properly, and in the proper colors. She looked around, bewildered by the destruction surrounding her. She saw the unmistakably onix-sized track that led right up to her and her eyes widened in shock. She groaned, finally beginning to remember being out of control. But where was her trainer, and just where was she?
MoogerMint If this had been any other instance, Kenley may have been dozing off with the wait time unhindered by activity. He could have preoccupied his time by trying to pick up what he could, but he was half-expecting the onix to bolt as soon as she came-to. He didn't want to be too far away if that happened, or he might never have anything come of this situation but crisis. As she slowly rose, Kenley jumped to his feet, as though his tiny stature could intimidate. Especially when the one he was standing before was almost seven times his height... He was good at ignoring possible consequences when angered. "What. Were you. THINKING?" he hissed, indicating the chaos she was already surveying.
Mycah watched Kenley carefully. He felt no threatening vibes coming off the onix, but he wasn't so sure about the boy. Intent was within a grey area, and he didn't want it to get out of hand. The onix didn't want to hurt anyone. The wurmple... might be tempted. That didn't mix well, and it kept his nerves tensed. A blade twitched again from where it rested at his side in warning. Hadn't enough been done already? Why hurt someone further over it?
Melomar The baby onix’ survey of the scene included a tiny metallic pokemon... and something that looked like a hallucinogenic mix of human and pokemon. From her recent past, she recognized the basic format of diminutive bipedal form, issuing angry, sharp, barking noises, and surrounded by minions in the form of fighting pokemon.
She didn’t need to know what Kenley was saying at all. She had already identified him as the trainer, and she the worm. The pawniard was obviously his minion as well. It would stand to reason, then, that she would never realize that she was physically larger than he, even before she folded over until they were at eye level, or as nearly as was anatomically possible. Likewise, it never entered into her mind that crouching as she was might be viewed as something equally aggressive to Kenley’s posturing.
From the side, however, it would be only too obvious that she was cowering. The tears streaming down her nose probably helped there, too. She mumbled: “I’m. Sorry.”
MoogerMint Kenley bristled as the gigantic stone serpent lowered her head, easier to see eye-to-eye but also easier to snap him in half, if she so desired. Despite the warning prickle rise up his spine, as though poking him into reconsidering his aggressive stance should it be a fatal or altogether idiotic move. Of course, out of habit, he ignored it. He continued to jab at the trail the onix had blazed through his front door, his voice tensed, "This is my home, and you just trashed the place! Do you know how long this is going to take to fix? I don't even know if I can do it! You're trespassing and--!"
He faltered, his defenses shot once her quiet words finally worked their way into registering in his brain, "W-What..?" She... she apologized? He blinked, finally realizing that she was crying at the realization of what had just happened. This was not something that usually... strike that, this was something that NEVER happened, twice over. "Um... I..." and suddenly, Kenley was tripping over his own words in an effort to locate something that actually made sense. How was one suppose to accept an apology? Most people fought back, most people called him names... they didn't cry, and they didn't listen to what he had to say. "It's... um, apology accepted," he said, though was unsure what to do to stop the sobbing.
Mycah watched the scene unfold, glancing from one pokemon to the other... human? The actions didn't seem to change from before the onix had originally collapsed, and because of that, it seemed things were getting worse. Didn't Kenley see the warning he gave? Why did he continue to act that way? He was just about shooting daggers at the boy, about to lunge at the child for it before his own anger seemed to completely vanish in a single moment. The pawniard brushed the child off, opting to ignore him as he scooted closer to Frank, curious as to what the tears were about. He'd never actually seen those before, but seeing as they were a side effect of her sadness, he didn't like to see them continue so freely.
Melomar With every acidic sentence another pair of tears ran down Frank’s nose. Drip, drip, drip-drip. There wasn’t much she could say, really, so she took his verbal assault in silence. Well, except for a nearly-constant low whine that she tried to suppress unsuccessfully. There was one thing she did respond to and mumbled, "I'll help you fix it." Of course, she did not know how in the world she could, but she would do her best. After all, she had broken his house.
If Kenley did not know how to respond to an apology, Frank had never experienced an acceptance of said apology. She squirmed a little, with small grinding noises from her segments rubbing together.
Mycah approached and Frank, having assumed he was Kenley's pokemon, had given him little thought. But he seemed to come at her with great intent. Her eyes widened and she reared back a little. "What's he doing?"
MoogerMint Well, this was all-around awkward. There were very few instances that Kenley could recall where conversation didn't consist solely of the wurmple-boy having to yell at a trespasser before him, and due to habit, he was rusty with... well, being civil. In fact, prompted reaction almost urged him to counter with a snide remark or two, if only because he was upset something like this occurred in the first place. Luckily, common sense managed to gain the upper hand by this point. Despite reservations about it, he sighed and turned to look at how much work they were going to have to do to fix what had been done. "Alright, but I'm holding you to that," his reply finally came, though he was nervous about how much help she really would be, "Where to start, though..." To say the least, it was quite the mess.
His attention snapped back in confusion when Frank had mentioned Mycah, nearly forgetting about the pokémon's random appearance in his territory. Frowning, the poké-boy turned gold eyes down to the tiny steel-type, "I... don't even know why he's here, let alone what he's doing. What, so he didn't come here with you?" Not only was he now confused why the pawniard was keeping Kenley from taking one step forward, but now he was kind of wishing he was on higher ground, considering Mycah seemed particularly volatile; Kenley didn't really have much of a means of protecting himself outside of his lungs.
Mycah had stopped moving once Frank had pulled away, recalling the action was meant for a response where one wasn't quite sure what to expect. At least, that was how it seemed when the leek-bearing Switch had reacted in a similar manner when Mycah had pointed a bladed limb her way; he quickly learned when he should and shouldn't do something like that from such experience. She sure was a jumpy one! Turning himself around, he wandered over to a tree a few yards away and sat himself down, aimed toward observing; he hadn't intended on being a source for more anxiety now that it seemed to be slowly decreasing.
Melomar “You aren’t his trainer?” the onix asked in bewilderment. Her eyes followed Mycah’s sudden retreat, her gaze a mixture of dwindling fear and growing curiosity. Had she done something wrong to prompt him to leave? She didn’t think so, though out of habit she almost apologized anyway. This new knowledge made her recognize her hasty first impressions for what they were, and she found herself now doubting her fears and her assessment of the whole situation. Her eyes had ceased to fill with tears.
She continued to watch Mycah for a moment longer then rotated the segments of her body in the opposite direction. It must have been a sight to see, many great boulders spinning in unison on some invisible or imaginary axis. She glanced at Kenley while she turned around in place, unsure of what to make of either one, but particularly the wurmple boy. She glanced around the (onix-made?) clearing to assess the situation. “I could move trees and boulders for you,” she offered.
MoogerMint "No, I'm not his trainer. I've never seen him before," Kenley's nose scrunched up at the thought of being another pokémon's trainer, and the word left the wurmple-boy with a bad taste in his mouth. With a huff, he spun around, pretending to be surveying the surroundings so as not to potentially upset the large onix further with his anger. She thought he was a human!? Humans were beneath him! However, he had to come to terms with the fact that he did, actually, look much more human... and when he had awoken after being touched by the jirachi's star, he had even realized he smelled somewhat human, too. Ugh... why did the onix's hasty assessments, that Kenley highly despised, have to be justified!?
Mycah glanced between the two before him, noting that while things still seemed stressed, what he had perceived as 'danger' had all but evaporated. Good, then maybe he had made the correct decision by getting out of the way! That meant it was probably safer for him to stay where he was, and with that idea he began turning attention to poking around in the grass. It seemed different from the type on the other side of the mountains, less coarse from hiding beneath the shade of the trees.
The movement of Frank's serpentine body caused Kenley to quickly sidestep a bit further away, as though the onix didn't have full control of her own body. At the giant pokémon's suggestion, the boy's eyes landed on the nearest fallen tree trunk. Yeah, there was no way he was going to be able to move that on his own, not very easily... "An adequate proposal," he commended, lightly kicking at the trunk before reiterating after a pause, "That would be very helpful, actually."
Melomar Kenley’s response was certainly perplexing. Despite his generally human appearance, and she had seen trainers dress like their favorite pokémon before, Kenley’s disgusted tone and posture made it clear that, not only was the pawniard not his pokémon, but perhaps he would not want him if he had the chance, nor even any pokémon at all! Glancing down at his midsection therefore, perhaps it should come as no surprise that he wore no belt of pokéballs, nor a bag that might carry them.
Briefly she glanced back at Mycah once again. He seemed distracted, or perhaps considering something, as he fidgeted with the grass. The more she saw of him, the more she felt a sense of kinship with him. He seemed inquisitive instead of aggressive; a very young pokémon like her, perhaps? She wanted to ask him things, even though she had yet to see him communicate beyond gesturing (another puzzle). Unlike with Kenley, she did not feel intimidated to ask, but rather, just a little bit shy. And preoccupied.
The wurmple boy had quickly moved out of her way when she spun around even though he was in no danger. His shift from hostility to nervousness was another spark for her smoldering curiosity. She really could not fathom why he would change so much in such a short amount of time, though an image of her trainer’s cowering parents briefly came to mind. Maybe she would figure it out when she had a little more time to consider everything. But for now, she had to help him fix his home: as he kicked the tree, which did not budge in the slightest and made only a small muffled sound in response, it was clear to her that he wouldn’t be able to fix it otherwise.
“Now? Should I move that one now?” she asked and tilted her head, deliberating between trying to bite and lift it, or rolling it.
MoogerMint Kenley didn't realize how confusing a conundrum his presence and actions seemed to be. Most of those he had interacted with in the past had no former knowledge of what it was like to be a pet to the overprivileged human populace, so he never thought twice about such similarities in background. After all, if one was owned by a human, what would they be doing so far out this way? Never mind that he was here, that was beside the point.
It was a bit of a relief to see that the onix appeared to have calmed down. Even though it was kind of nice to know that he could, in fact, instill fear and command others to do what he requested... it didn't seem like it worked on those that he preferred it to; the most prominently opposed individuals never seem to acknowledge his rule. The onix, however, didn't seem all that bad, at least once she had ceased her rampage. Kenley was still wary of her helping out until the mess was taken care of, but this was a good start nonetheless. He nodded his head at her question, motioning to the side in a manner that indicated to push it over, "Yeah, go ahead and try that. I'm thinking if we can just clear a bit of a path, it should work for now. As it is, I can't make it through here very easily. Just as long as paths aren't blocked." Heck, nobody could make it over the broken trees very easily at the moment unless they proceeded to go around the long way.
Mycah rose his head from its preoccupation with the grass coating the floor. The tones of the chattering voices sounded more relaxed, and their postures were less tense. He had no idea what it was they were discussing, but it was immensely more civil. The way they moved, it seemed as though they were conversing on a plan of action. This caught the pawniard's attention, curiously observing from his stead.
Melomar Frank continued to study the clearing in an attempt to formulate a plan. Kenley wanted to preserve pathways into the forest so he could move about freely. She took special note of the ones she could see, that is, ones whose mouths had not been covered by debris, before attempting to pick up the fallen tree the wurmple boy had originally kicked.
Gingerly, she descended over it and took it into her jaws, as gently as a great stone maw could manage. Lifting it proved to be rather tricky; though she had aimed for somewhere in the middle, just a bit off balance and it became difficult to keep aloft. She did not want to hurt anybody. One end made a loud thunk! as it grazed another trunk laying on its side. The tree in her mouth wobbled before she brought it back to horizontal and finally released it on top of the other one. Instead of stacking neatly as she had wanted, however, it rotated and slid downward for several feet before landing diagonally across the other tree with its roots in the air.
“Hrm,” she muttered in mild frustration, then glanced back at Kenley nervously. She did not want to mess things up again, but the tree had fallen between the trunks of two upright trees. She grimaced and reached down again, this time to both lift and slide it free, before rotating the tree and trying to stack them properly again. This time it rolled back toward her and thumped against her large boulder-like chest, drawing a surprised grunt.
Then she tried again, awkwardly trying to reach it without moving herself and disrupting her companions. This third try finally spelled success and she paused to look at her good work with pride and a huge stone-eating grin. Good. One (well, two) tree down, half a dozen to go.
MoogerMint Kenley side-stepped a little, more as a way to get a better vantage than it was to actually get out of harm's way. Frank seemed to take to the job fairly readily, which was promising: it meant he didn't have to waste any more energy arguing his point. Not that he thought he had to, for she seemed compliant enough to his requests, even though she was the one that originally caused the destruction. Boy, was this entire setup weird...
He cringed slightly as the trunk of the tree held aloft decided it wanted to play a game of see-saw, but otherwise didn't move from where he was standing. Currently, he was far enough away, though the size difference between the onix and the piece of forest in her jaws might have been enough to intimidate the average child. Kenley was still within the bounds of the frame of mind that he was likely invincible, though.
As the tree proceeded to flip-flop around, Kenley watched as Frank attempted to resituate it so that it stacked nicely, only to have it roll over again. "Hey, you don't have to... It's fine l--" he tried to cut through the pounding of the battering ram on the forest floor, flinching his mouth inadvertently shut each time. He didn't really mind if they weren't stacked in such an orderly fashion, it actually made the place look more organic when it wasn't! However, the efforts the great stony snake went to finally managed to pay off, and the persistence she instilled to make it so far didn't go away unappreciated. "Wow, thanks," he managed, the surprise he felt not escaping the inflection, "You could make a pretty good construction worker." If she were ever in town, that is.
Despite the fact that Mycah had absolutely no idea what the two were trying to do, his curiosity didn't vanish. He continued to try to figure it out, but what little he could remember having experienced didn't lend any hints, as though he were grabbing for an answer at thin air. It was still interesting to watch, either way.
Melomar While she worked, Frank had been mindful of where both Kenley and Mycah positioned themselves. Because Kenley had moved out of the way to watch, he was not a worry, and Mycah seemed inclined to stay where he had been. She had heard Kenley’s protests, she really had, but she didn't want to speak with forest in her mouth. That would have been rude. And she was not sure what to say in any case; of course she had to do this.
In the end, his words of praise were worth all of her diligence and patience when stacking those two logs. Wow, did Frank ever feel good about herself. Her task was not nearly done, she understood that all too well, but she was becoming more familiar with the mechanics of moving these trees with each mistake and realignment she made. Things were definitely looking up.
She sighed, feeling a hint of fatigue spreading through her jaw, and looked around before repositioning herself to roll another log up against the other two. She glanced back to ensure both Kenley and Mycah were where they were supposed to be before nudging the tree trunk with her nose. Wrestling with it until it ran parallel to the lower log in her stack, she finally got it into place. Then she worked on another one, and another, until the stack was nearly as tall as she was. She glanced back at Kenley in search of approval from the persnickety poke-boy. She definitely felt tired now, but accomplished. Today is becoming a good day, she thought with relief, feeling a little woozy.
She swayed a little, just enough to bump the stack of logs with the string of undulating boulders that was her body. A log nestled lower on the pile rocked back and bounced back toward Frank, carrying the rest of the stack with it. For an instant they seemed like mirror images in wood and stone before both went down. Frank, caught underneath the pile of trees, was stunned for a moment before crying out in fear and pain. Naturally, this translated into an onix-sized roar and an eruption of logs as she emerged, covered in splintered wood. Acting on her instinct, she bolted for the trees, leaving a wide pathway in her wake.
MoogerMint Kenley remained at a distance as the onix worked to clear a path through the destruction. It wasn't only to give Frank the space to work, but also to avoid the feeling of being too close to getting clocked in the head by the remnants of a full-grown tree. He had the urge to help her out, not because she was struggling to work so hard as much as he just wanted it back to normal all the faster, but upon observation he realized there was very little a small child like him could honestly do. There were some snapped limbs here and there that he could likely lift on his own and set aside, but many of those options would have conflicted with Frank's handiwork as she moved about. Not standing in the way was a good decision all-around, it seemed; he could always pick up the smaller stuff later.
The wurmple-boy kept watch as she worked. It was not as though he believed that she wouldn't try to finish it herself, but something about leaving another person alone in 'his' part of the woods, whether he knew what they were up to or not, made him rather uncomfortable -- it was better to know what was happening at all times.
Despite the fact that any extended time working such a chore would have resulted in quick exhaustion from most anyone, it still came as an unexpected surprise, perhaps because the young onix had been working so carefully and diligently throughout the whole endeavor. Kenley was far enough away to be safe from immediate harm, but he still cringed against the sound, pulling his arms partially up to brace for impact that wouldn't come. It was a swift motion, and was shaken off before the newly-created mess had even settled. Blinking, he stared at the log that had been the metaphorical "last straw," unsure of what to say. His first instinct was, of course, to yell... but he knew where that would land him now, and knew there was little point -- she had tried her best, and it was bound to happen eventually. He hissed out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his messy hair as he deliberated on where to go from here.
Before his thoughts could travel too far, or even untangle themselves from the yarn ball they had created in his head, Frank's panicked response broke through the clutter. Stunned silence was all that he could really muster as he watched the great stone snake cut... yet another scar through the forest. He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't manage it -- he couldn't manage much of anything, except that this was way, way too bizarre. Call it denial, call it what you might, but Kenley was unable to wrap his head around how this could possibly be happening outside the realms of a kid's cartoon.
It was only when he started turning away from the new trail that he noticed the unnerving, fixed stare that the small pawniard was giving him, now up on his feet and a little too close to comfort (though anything closer than he had been was 'too close'). Mycah wasn't sure what exactly had just happened, but it seemed similar to when Kenley had yelled at Frank before, only in greater magnitude. So then, was it Kenley's fault? Mycah couldn't decipher, other than the fact the wurmple-boy didn't feel comfortable with the diminutive pokémon. Or was it his actions?
At a loss, Mycah decided it was worthless to stick around. Instead, he followed down the new trail. If something was hurting Frank, maybe he could do something about it -- it was a better chance than trying to figure out the mouthy brat, at least.
Once more, Kenley found himself alone. Irregardless of the state of the forest, he should have been glad to have the two trespassers vamoose from his home. He should have...
MoogerMint Crew
Sparkly Pants
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MoogerMint Crew
Sparkly Pants
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2014 6:59 pm
· • · ·Spinning the Wheel Time knows no mercy
The excitement of the previous day -- no, the stress of it all -- made time a difficult abstract to keep track of. Kenley had been trying to stay awake for as long as possible, in the off-chance those that barreled through the forest decided to come back, but it was a losing battle. The boy couldn't even recall when it was that he had closed his eyes, for it was only to be a moment of time: the slippery slope had been too steep a climb back into consciousness.
Everything was a jumbled mess, everything from the surrounding area to Kenley's own state of mind. It had gotten to the point that, before he had pulled himself fully awake, he had drawn the conclusion that it had all been a really bad dream. That sort of cataclysmic happening was the stuff of fiction, after all! He was stubborn enough to believe it, at least for the moment... at least while his eyes were still closed. It was strangely easy to trick oneself while under the influence of a dull headache.
He tried to pull an arm up, finding it oddly stiff to move... and warm, as though something were trapping the heat in. The thought jolted him, moving his arms with more of a yank toward himself, one hand grabbing at the other wrist as his eyes landed groggily on the limbs before him. That golden silk wasn't there before, he was fairly certain...
With a sharp inhale, Kenley abruptly found himself at the ready, startled into wakefulness. With quickened, tensed movements, he glanced about the immediate vicinity in every which way. The material wrapped around his arms reminded him of a String Shot, though not quite the same, but that nevertheless lead his mind to jump straight to the worst possible explanation for it. Had someone attacked him!?
It didn't take him long to realize that he was coming up empty on a focus for his fear. Err, anger. The forest was the same wrecked state that he last left it in... it hadn't been a nightmare at all. The air in his lungs was trapped for the moment as he surveyed the destruction once again, until his muscles allowed him to slump back into the trunk of the tree he found himself resting against. Well this was just perfect... but it didn't look like anyone had come back, to help clean up the area or cause more chaos. In fact, the normal background noises were strangely nonexistent, outside of the rustling of tossed leaves in the wind. It was more than a little unnerving.
Almost reluctantly, his eyes fell back on the wrappings around his arms, hands still latched onto one another across his lap. He tugged at the fibers a little, but the realization was coming at a lazy pace. His hands were still white under the obscuring materials, but the lack of his normal violet tones were hidden beneath the platinum gold strings. It wasn't until he realized that he felt dizzy, a momentary lapse of vertigo touching his perception, that he understood it was due to the slight alteration in height.
Kenley jolted for a second time, catching sight of the same blonde color in his hair, almost having ousted the pale minty hue that had been present before. His fingers tugged at the messy bangs, fumbling in a panic to grab hold of familiarity once more. They stumbled over the tiara across his forehead, just under the wurmple's horn that was still very much there, and his hands refused to budge, lungs clenched.
It was still there.
Everything else may have changed, everything else may have been destroyed, but it was still there.
A shiver ran down his spine before he felt calmed down enough to lower his arms again. He could roll with this... it was going to be okay. Changes happened all the time; he should be used to it! Nothing good ever lasted forever, something that was painfully obvious in the shrapnel of the trees up ahead. Who knew, maybe evolution would make this tragedy easier to handle?
...Despite it being even more to adjust to...
Stubbornly, he rose to stand his shaky ground, propping himself on the tree to his back with a single hand. The silcoon glared at the splintered forest, his voice strained with obstinate, if frightened, resolve, "Dammit, I will not let you get the best of me!"
He could handle this. He'd show fate a thing or two about messing with him!
[[ Word Count: 757 ]]
Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 8:27 pm
· • · ·Roleplay #6
Link:Solicitous Confinement Participants: Carwyn & Kenley Stages: Teen (Both) Status:Ongoing
Premise: Old habits die hard, despite the notion of accommodation, when destruction makes for a fine example.
Premise: One girl's sympathy is another boy's twisting knife.
- - -
Roleplay: Under spoiler
MoogerMint It had taken a bit of effort, but Kenley was finally able to move past the complete and utter irritation he felt every time he spotted the destruction that cut through the forest. There had been very little progress made in cleaning up the wreckage, and it would likely have to stay in such disarray. With the toppling of trees and carved ground floors, there wasn't much the silcoon could really do to fix what had been broken. Except get angry, but even that didn't seem to help this time. Not that it ever really did... but habit was difficult to break, and he was prone to associating the temperament with his stake on authority around here. He couldn't lose the forest, it was the only thing he had
However, irritation was getting Kenley nowhere. Nothing really was, but this time, he didn't even have anyone to take such anger out on anyway. Nobody came around these parts very often, and... and that was how he preferred it. Just a mite discouraging that he had to keep reminding himself of that...
He held his post in the lower canopy of his choice tree, still large enough to hold the weight of a grown teenager in its limbs. Not that he looked much older than a child, height considering, but then he never really compared himself to others in that way. Maybe it wasn't so bad that Frank had destroyed part of the forest... it might even deter others from wandering blindly in, for fear of what had caused it. The fallen trees could be used as benches, maybe. Sure, it was still a sore spot, but if he kept thinking this way, maybe Kenley's mind would change to reflect those points. He was stubborn enough, surely he could manage that much insistence.
Fidgeting with the silk wrappings about his arms, Kenley sighed and repositioned himself, as if it would help him give better assessment of the situation. At least things seemed alright in the area of the forest that he frequented most.
Lirilei Lyla had been taking care of Aatami and nursing him back to health for a short time now, and today he’d seemed stronger and mentioned something about fishing since they were near a river. That seemed like a wonderful plan to her, because she was running low on higher quantities of meat and wanted to go and hunt, but didn’t want to leave the Eevee boy alone when he was still so weak. Promising him she’d be back as soon as she could (and she would be seeing as her tent and things were there with him!), she’d slung her weapons over her shoulders and at her sides and taken off at a quick jog away from the river area to find a quiet, uninhabited area she could take down a small animal.
As she walked she picked various plants and berries stuffing them into pouches that hung from her belt, all of which would be helpful in teas, or even as snacks as the day progressed. Chewing on the stem of a yellow flower she tasted the bitter juices flowing into her mouth, focusing on it a moment, and wondering why she’d enjoyed the things so much in pokemon form! Spitting the flower out she refocused her attention on the surrounding area, her hackles raising at all she saw.
Something had some through here and caused some serious damage….and whatever it was looked like it was rather large! That was enough for Lyla to bring the bow she carried up an arrow held loosely and ready to fire at the smallest movement or sudden loud crashing noise. She doubted that whatever had carved up the forest like this was very quiet. Though it did make her worry about the boy she’d left at the river. Was he safe there on his own? Were they safe there camped out like they’d been? The idea was actually momentarily frightening, and she fought that fear down, stamping fierce determination over top it. She couldn’t afford fear!
As her eyes scanned the area she heard a rustle, saw the tip of a tail and let her arrow go, taking down the small bird that she’d spotted rooting around the bushes. Moving towards it she picked it up and wrung its neck to ensure it was fully dead and stuffed it into her game bag after getting her arrow out and checking the tip. Still good. A grin at this good sign for the day was on her lips as she heard another sound overheard this time, a strange rustling sound it seemed!
The arrow was knocked and she aimed upwards swiftly, aiming at the sound and releasing her shot before she was jumping back in case whatever she’d aimed at wasn’t dead, and was instead mad and looking for a fight. Another arrow was held to the taut string, her third hand holding onto a knife, her fourth holding yet another arrow. She had become quite adept at using all her hands independently, and efficiently.
MoogerMint It was perhaps the first time that any jirachi-touched pokémon had opted to be stealthy with the way they entered Kenley's neck of the woods, and due in part to that, he was slow at taking the initiative with his... 'proper welcome.' Thoughts scattered by trifle annoyances added to the mixture of relenting in his daytime vigil. Of course it was always when he least expected it, or there never would be any repeated incidents of trespassers around here! At least, that would have been the case, if it wasn't for the fact that Kenley had been trying to secure an expanse much too large for him to handle such upkeep; he lived life too much on a whim.
However, the sound of Lyla's arrow striking something blunt caught his spined ears, wrenching him from whatever distraction his consciousness had been supplying with a mild flinch. He didn't recognized the means such a sound would have occurred, and stayed his position for a moment longer to try to decipher from imagination alone. Maybe something just gave way, for there was certainly enough wreckage... but it sounded too clean, nearly organic a reaction. His eyes narrowed through the spaces in the sparce covering the lower canopy provided, until something in the distance came into sight -- something that stood on two feet.
The silcoon's eyes flashed, his nerves tensed, and he made a hasty judgment to try moving into sight and scare this individual off. "What are y--" the words came as impulse, but they barely had the chance to rise in volume before they were cut off by shock. He had only been shot at once before as an introduction, and that was only because he had shot first; this was entirely new, and the horror of it ripped his voice clean from his throat. The arrow came to land square to the trunk of the tree, embedded in the bark where he had been but a second before. Out of surprise, he didn't notice as the point sliced its way past his shoulder -- he had slightly more pressing matters to attend to.
Matters such as trying not to crash to the ground floor below. In his haste to avoid the deadly projectile, much too slow a reaction time outside of his quick jump to snap at the girl instead, Kenley forgot to focus on balance. He flailed a bit to stay upright, but that was about the extent of his ability as he slipped off the branch and into the bushes lining the base. At least he managed to land on his feet, but after the system jolt, it was only for a couple of seconds before he stumbled back, fully against the tree.
Wide-eyed, he stared at the young girl, disbelief at what had just occurred. In fact, it was almost as though he didn't realize how crucial a moment it was that had just transpired, as though death was not an option. Repression. He grabbed firmly back onto the anger that he had been toying with before, redirecting it more venomously at the ledyba across from him, "What do you think you're doing!?" Outside of snapping, Kenley couldn't shake free of the numbness that seemed to be affecting his body. Fear, of course, but he was all about attributing it to the rage.
Lirilei Of course one of the few times she opted to shoot before looking, it would come to this. She hadn’t seen Kenley up in the tree branches, had merely heard the movement with her sharp hearing and had assumed – incorrectly – that it was something she could turn into food lurking up there. She had at least been correct on her assumption of her target coming out of the tree, and being mad. It was too bad she’d not caught the start of his indignant yells before aiming at him!
What surprised her was the fact her target, was another one like her and Aatami! It stunned her a moment and her stance wavered as the arrow was lowered towards the ground, before she simply stuck it back into her quiver along with her bow, the knife momentarily slipped back into its sheath as she brushed hair back from her eyes, realizing she was being yelled at. How dare he!?
“Now listen here pipsqueak! I didn’t realize you were up there! I thought you were something that was dangerous and I was shooting at you, under the assumption that you were food and I could take you back to camp. I didn’t expect to be shooting at another pokemon geez! Lay off with the attitude already would ya?” she rolled her eyes in irritation of the older boy, not at all intimidated by his very obviously aggressive personality, hers was just as bad usually to be honest. She was still of the opinion boys were – generally- rather stupid. She had no time for their games, and their egos. Girls were just squeamish and even stupider than boys.
Lyla opened her mouth to say something else, but momentarily thought better of it, closed her mouth, took a deep breath and counted to five before opening her mouth again. “You okay? That wasn’t the most graceful fall I’ve ever seen.” And she wasn’t the politest of girls. Then again any girl that tramped through the forest laden down with weapons, and hunting, obviously wasn’t yoru typical girl…and he…was not your typical boy she was noticing suddenly.
Her eyes narrowed some as her brain went down some weird and twisted path for a second and she resisted the urge to smack herself upside the head to jar that thought process loose. Why was she looking at him suddenly, and with such interest? Bah. Boys.
MoogerMint Kenley's attention drifted briefly, tapping a foot at the ground in order to jog the feeling back into his nerves as he leaned further against the tree. The numbness, instigated by the shock, was already loosening its grip on him, much to his relief; once it did, maybe he could stop looking as ridiculous as he felt he looked...
However, Lyla's retort startled a different kind of unprepared surprise to the surface. While Kenley may have been quick to label her with terrible manners merely out of spite for the launched arrow, her defensive words solidified the assumptions to be more justified. He bristled at her tone, but once the term 'pipsqueak' burrowed into comprehension, he couldn't hold back the reactionary argument, "Like you're one to talk! Do you shoot at anything that moves? Anything that gives you a funny look?" Master of name-calling, he was not. It also didn't help that, once he said it, he realized he was chastizing her for the very same thing that Calliope had -- shooting first and asking later. This was different, though, because, "You don't come barging into someone's home like that and raining down a torrent of artillery!"
His temperament was obviously getting the better of him, for any injection of a voice of reason was lost. That is, until he caught the notion that she assumed he was food... ohh the bad memories that dug up. He should have been grateful that, with his recent evolution came a paler pallor, for he felt the blood drain from his face. Or maybe that was the dizziness, he couldn't be sure, but it had been one too many times he was chased by a hungry bird as a wurmple. Kenley fought the urge to slump further to the ground, growling with an uninformed and blunted, "I'm fine! Worry about yourself -- do yourself a favor and beat it before I have to force you out myself!" Sure, he lost the height advantage, but... yeah, no, there was no way he could take her on if she had that bow. Maybe if he got a well-placed Poison Sting off before she had a chance to reload...
Lirilei “Not always but with evidence of something large having torn through here, I wasn’t taking any chances!” her arm was swept to encompass all the surrounding destruction to emphasize her point on the matter. She threw her hands up in aggravation. “How would I have known someone lived here? Who in their right minds lives in a tree!? Honestly.”
This was her first prolonged argument she’d had since she’d woken up that morning to her trainer angry at her. This though was different. She didn’t feel as if she were in any immediate danger, though she was sure the Silcoon could cause her some serious damage if he was of the mind to do so. She was going with her gut, which was telling her that his bark was bigger than his bite. For the moment at any rate.
His blustering wasn’t lost on her, but instead of listening to his words and taking off, she came closer and merely brushed past him and climbed up the tree. She wasn’t about to abandon her arrow after all! Once up in the tree she found it embedded in part of the trunk and yanked it out with some effort, her eyes focusing momentarily on her birds eye view of the damage caused to the forest. In fact she was so distracted that one particularly hard yank freed her arrow and caught her by surprise, which resulted in her tumbling from the tree unceremoniously…and barely managing to avoid landing on Kenley.
Laying there flat on her back, one foot up on the tree and the other bent under her, she swore the sky was dark save for a few stars. There was a wince and a groan as she pulled herself upright, realizing she’d landed on her weapons and she actually dreaded the idea of checking them over for damage. With another winded groan she leaned against the tree gingerly and pulled her quiver around and looked it over. Slightly smushed…a broken arrow…and of course her bow was busted.
This brought a defeated sort of sigh from her as she realized her hunting trip was cut short, and she had to make – or steal – a new one. She rubbed one hand over her face as she settled things on her properly before pulling herself up to her feet, two of her hands rubbing lightly at one of her arms since it was stinging some.
MoogerMint He flinched, his shoulders still tensed and obviously flustered; the disorientation wasn't helping his mood any, either. "You shouldn't have been here in the first place!" Kenley snapped. It didn't matter to him that it wasn't fully understood to the outside world that this patch of forest was claimed by a severely territorial silcoon, or that her reactions, as impressive as they were, were entirely reasonable under the circumstances. No, he almost got hit, and that was what mattered most! If she hadn't been here... well, she wouldn't have reacted so negatively to the results of Frank's tantrum. Despite himself, his attention followed where Lyla indicated, mostly to gain the time to collect his own thoughts a little, but there was a visible wince when the teen spotted the damage. Wow, he hadn't realized it was so apparent from down here, at this angle...
Whipping his head back around to face the ledyba, Kenley was about to say something in his defense about his living arrangements. That is, until he realized he didn't know what to say to that effect. He tipped a little to the side, the quick momentum messing with his head, but he offered a stern, "...I don't have to answer that." Brilliant counterattack, genius.
He knew he was in trouble, though. Now that the numbness was ceasing, he recognized this pain, and there was no way he was going to let someone stick around when he was experiencing another migraine. All the stress and anger, it was bound to happen, but it always seemed to happen at the most inopportune of times... not that any time was good, mind. However, Lyla's silent assessments of Kenley's behavioral traits were spot-on; even if he did manage to fire off a Poison Sting, he wouldn't be aiming to hit her. Even if her complete disregard of his forceful instructions made him want to reconsider.
As the girl pushed past him, he could only stumble around in bewilderment at her actions. She wasn't intimidated in the least bit, was she? But why the heck did she think she could just waltz up into the central station of his fortress without resistance!? "Hey, wait!" he called to her, but she was fairly nimble in scaling up the tree. Little resistance indeed, this was immensely disconcerting. He was going to have one hell of a time getting her to leave before all his senses were back fully... "What do you think you're doing!? Get out of th--!" he continued to holler to her, cut short when she managed to... do the exact same thing that happened to him, moments before. With a sharp gasp, he took a swift step back, but she was at little risk of hitting him with her weight. Herself, on the other hand...
Ignoring the increasing pounding of his head, he cautiously stepped back toward her, leaning over slightly to gauge the damage. He was terrible at assessing it unless someone outright told him they were hurt, but even then there was no guarantee he would always have the mind to hear it. It seemed he had been surprised back into full attention to the situation this time, and tried not to offer a snide smirk at what had just transpired, "It appears you're not the most graceful at falling, either." He doubted that would earn him any respect, but one could only hope.
She was making an awful fuss about it, though, and it made the teen wonder if she was actually hurt from the landing, or if she had merely been disappointed of the state of her weaponry. At least Kenley was now safe from being shot at with an arrow again... He fidgeted slightly, realizing he was about to ask if she needed help up until she got to her feet on her own. Idly, he wondered how dizzy such a fall made a normal indicudual in comparison. With a knit of the eyebrows, he watched her, but he had taken a few more steps away from her before being tempted into speaking, "...You alright?" Could she even walk out of here, or was he going to have to tie her up and evict her later?
Lirilei “Hey a girl’s gotta eat, and I don’t see any signs anywhere saying Keep Out, so I’m sorry but you’re just going to have to deal with me being here. Not like you can own the forest anyhow genius. It’s nature. Open space.” Seriously who in their right mind thought they could own nature?
His comeback, as lacking as it was actually made her smirk a little and shake her head. “Wow, what a comeback. Take you long to think that one up?” she was on edge, this guy was making her nervous in ways she didn’t recognize, or like. It was making her snappier than usual. Stupid boy!
“Oh shut up.” She growled on her way up the tree. Honestly, he was so full of hot air! It was her own hot air knocked out of her in that fall, and it had taken her a few moments to realize he was looking down over her in concern, which she brushed away almost literally.
“Stupid arrow pulled loose when I was looking around from up there. Great view…and boy whatever did all this had to have been huge.” She rubbed at her arm a little more before dropping the others down as well. It was bothering her, but it didn’t seem to be broken. She’d probably just sprained it or something. At least she had three others to help her out still.
Still his question caught her off guard and she looked up at him, surprise written in her eyes. He hadn’t struck her as the type to care about anyone else but himself, so for him to ask… “My arm hurts a little, but I think it’s just sprained. I’m more worried about my bow. If it was just me I was hunting for I could get by with my knife, but I found another boy not long ago who was half drowned and I’m helping him get stronger and teaching him to hunt and stuff so he can survive on his own.”
She looked away from his eyes, her own sliding over his shoulder and away only to jerk back to his shoulder. “Whoa…hey! Are you okay!? You’re bleeding!” She was more alert, her own pain forgotten as she moved towards him again, arms reaching for him. “Here you need to sit down somewhere before you fall over, and let me take a look at it and get you bandaged up a little or something okay?”
MoogerMint Kenley flinched, deterred by Lyla's aggressive verbal counterattacks. It had been a while since anyone fought him back so fiercely, and he was quickly reminded as to why he tended to hate encounters with others outside the metaphorical bubble he created with this expanse of forest. Why couldn't she just shut it and leave? "Of course you don't see any signs," he snapped, "I can't say I've heard of many wild pokémon doing that with their territories. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only ones that would be so arrogant to do such a thing would be the humans. I don't think I need to tell you what I'm not." His disdain for the thought was plainly evident.
He sighed and rocked back a little, closing his eyes in a partial attempt to will the pounding of his head to desist. His counter, however, was little more than a shrug and laced sarcasm, "I'm sorry. I just don't really feel like divulging my life's story to explain something to you. So you're going to have to deal with the lackluster response." Not that he would have really felt like telling her had she been more congenial from the start anyway, but that was beside the point.
The teenaged silcoon grumbled incomprehensibly at Lyla's response to his request that she vamoose from his favorite tree. Was she going to listen to anything he had to say? True, that was never anything out of the ordinary, but even the knowledge that this sort of reaction was commonplace wasn't going to make him feel any better about it. The stress was already wearing him thin; he didn't want anyone to see him in such a state. Why couldn't she just get fed up with him and storm out!?
It didn't help matters that she seemed to think he genuinely cared about her well-being after her fall. While he felt it was a little over-the-top in explanation, at least he could appreciate the fact that she seemed to be less volatile. Interesting... was that because Kenley asked her about how she felt, or because she fell in the first place and knocked a screw loose? Regardless, maybe it was better to get on her good side. Maybe then she'd leave sooner. "That arrow seems to be causing a lot of problems," he stated, attention following to the destruction the girl indicated once again, "Yeah... that's a long story, and one I'm not sure I fully understand anyway." Deterred her from asking anything else personal of him yet? Kenley briefly wondered if she was pointing this stuff out just to prolong her stay...
He frowned at her deduction of her own physical condition, mirroring her words with pointed emphasis, "...Just sprained. Ahuh. That sort of thing not faze you?" Sounded painful, but he had no idea how to take care of such a thing aside from refraining from using it for a bit. Strange, he thought, that she was taking care of someone else along with her: she just didn't seem the type to really get along with others. Or maybe that was just the way Kenley rubbed off on people; it's not like he had the best of luck with successfully being friendly, so that was entirely possible... did he just bring out the worst in everyone else? The concept was actually kind of amusing.
"Eh?" the sound came more out of surprise than anything else, but he didn't realize what Lyla was referring to at first. Did he really look as bad as he felt? Oh... no wait... Glancing over to where the ledyba-girl's sight was locked, Kenley found himself taken just as off-guard. He pulled at the bloody sleeve quizzically, "...When did--?" The way the cut went, it was apparent it was more of a slashing injury than something caused by sliding off the bark of the tree. Luckily it didn't hurt him at the moment, but that was likely because his headache was so much worse; adding water might reverse such roles, though. Turning back around, he saw the concern that Lyla was suddenly exhibiting toward him, and he stumbled back a few paces, unnerved but scowling to mask it, "H-Hey, I'm not that fragile. I'm fine! It's just a little cut!" It didn't help his argument that it appeared he was going to fall over just by backing up, but that was due to an entirely different affliction.
Lirilei It was likely a good thing Lyla was sticking to being verbal rather than taking any sort of physical action, she was a lot stronger than she looked especially given her height but she’d been on her own long enough to start toughening up and developing muscles that did her quite a bit of good when she had to use them. Though there was a disbelieving snort at his words and she shook her head. “You do realize that you’re no longer a wild pokemon right? We look closer to the humans than pokemon, so really its your own fault that people keep…what was that? Coming into your territory?” she rolled her eyes at the teen. He was something else!
His refusal to explain anything didn’t deter her, she honestly didn’t care. She was just poking at him to get reactions from him. It was proving to be an interesting tactic, seeing what irked him more than other things she said or did!
Still rubbing lightly at her arm, she gave a wry smile at the comment on the arrow, and slung it all back into the quiver with a sigh. This was going to take some time to get it fixed up and all, or a new one found. She wasn’t looking forward to it. Glancing down at her arm she was glad to see it wasn’t bleeding, but it still ached more than it should have. She’d keep an eye on it.
It was his insistence he wasn’t fragile, when he looked ready to keel over that drew her attention back to him and sighed in exasperation. “Just a little cut? Your sleeve is soaked! That’s more than a little. C’mon let me take a look. You need to sit down before you pass out from getting too lightheaded from that. Really, you don’t look like you’re feeling so good.”
She moved closer, her own sore arm pretty much forgotten as she reached out a hand and rested it lightly on the forearm of his uninjured arm. “Please. Let me help you.” There was genuine concern in her voice as she looked up at him, though she was fully expecting him to push her away in anger or annoyance and she couldn’t blame him, it was her fault she was hurt. “I’m really sorry I hurt you, it wasn’t my intention to hit another person.” Of course not!
MoogerMint Kenley knew full well that he -- that most of the pokémon he ran into nowadays -- resembled the humans more than their original-born species. Anybody would be hard-pressed to say they were pokémon any longer, or admit that any of the others were, but Kenley was willing to push the envelope, if only out of stubbornness and hatred. Very obvious hatred, with the way he scowled at Lyla's statements, a building anger. "I'm a pokémon and I'm wild, so of course it's still an accurate description!" he snapped back, "I can't just suddenly not be one!" Never mind that he wasn't always wild, and that evolution was all part of the game. He didn't know what was up with that star he found, but that wasn't his fault, either! And neither was the concussion that caused him to temporarily forget his better judgement against touching the thing in the first place... He reeled a little, bracing himself at the sudden thought, "Wait, you wouldn't happen to think you're one of them now..?" How disgusting.
Her carefree attitude after falling from the tree caught him a little off-guard, mostly due to the smile she feigned. He wasn't even aware she could even try faking that expression... interesting. She also wasn't looking for attention for any injury inflicted, despite it sounding rather painful. In fact, she seemed to drop the subject altogether. It was about that time, between everything else that had occurred, that Kenley realized that he really, really didn't understand this girl. What was she out to prove? Or was he putting too much weight on a chance encounter?
The concern that Lyla was showing probably put him more on-edge than her abrasive personality had before. At least with arguments, he was used to those. This was bordering on kindness, albeit a gruff sort, and he backed up a little further in reaction. "Yeah, it's just a nick. Those things are bleeders, you know..." he tried to justify, voice quieter in his hesitance, especially once she pointed out that he didn't look like he was feeling well. He still didn't want to explain that one, for the migraines had quickly grown to being one of his bigger weaknesses since shot with the affliction and he didn't want it to be exploited.
Stubbornness to such ignorant degree, however, wasn't always the wisest of choices. This was something that Kenley was aware of but oftentimes didn't like acknowledging. He didn't back up any further when she neared, mostly because he felt he might actually fall this time should he try it. It was weird, having someone else touch him like that without it being an attempt to punch him or something. Before the last of her words fully registered to him, his head still fuzzy and broken from the pain, his eyes narrowed and he replied with a sharp, "...Why should I let you?" Of course, he wasn't above blaming her for all of it -- the less blame on himself, the better -- but he wasn't sure it was such a good idea. He was too vulnerable at the moment, what if she saw past that? What if she tried to take over? Incapacitate him further? He had almost convinced himself her concern was all an act, but her tone left residual doubt.
But... she apologized, didn't she? Did he hear that right? He almost fell over at that, catching himself on the tree to his back. "...What?" he blinked. Lyla was such a willful girl, he didn't think she'd cave and admit to that, regardless of fault. He was utterly confused, plain and simple. He didn't want to trust her.
