If there was any indication that what the tiny, metallic pokémon was currently experiencing was far beyond normal, he didn't know of it. At the present time, all he knew was that there was a very loud, dulled pain through his body, but he was unable to pinpoint where it was originating from. It felt like he was opening his eyes for the first time -- and for all he knew, it very well could have been. Confusion would have been prominent in a normal instance, but the small pawniard could only feel a vague sense of fascination over the ordeal. Everything was new; everything. He didn't recognize any of it, lease of all himself.
It was difficult to orient his eyesight, dizzy and unsure how to direct where his eyes moved. At first, he wasn't even sure he was moving his vision at all, that perhaps something else was pulling the strings and he was only allowed to observe. With practice, he found that notion to be false, and slowly began finding the quirks to using them on his own. The limbs were a bit more of a challenge to master, even to an amateur level, but the small steel-type rummaged with curiosity and was able to unearth a few basics in reserve under instinct. That at least helped him discover his sense of balance within the hour instead of taking him many more to build up the knowledge through trial-and-error means.
It wasn't until the armored pokémon discovered how to sit himself upright did he pause to visually take in the most immediate aspects to the area. Wherever he was, it was pretty warm, and that hard-to-look-at sphere in the sky seemed to be the cause for the overheating. Or maybe it was just the stony scenery that was producing the warmth... whatever it was, he didn't know why it felt so uncomfortable, and they both seemed to be producing heat. Maybe he just wasn't used to it... but then, he didn't seem to be used to anything yet anyway.
Amber eyes focused downward next, keen on figuring out the bladed arms that he also seemed to be in control of. He flicked them out a bit, testing the muscles and joints to see how they moved. Unfortunately, he got carried away once he started getting the hang of his motor control, promptly discovering the kind of damage they could cause. Hissing sharply at the cut that emerged on his leg, he dropped his arms back to either side and bit back any further reaction to this new kind of pain. Idly he wondered if it was because of a similar happenstance that he initially awoke with pain, but this seemed a bit different. Should he be worried about that red stuff seeping out..?
It took him a moment to get up the nerve to do anything else, figuring that the sharp stinging wasn't really in a hurry to recede. Raising a blade back up, much more careful about where it was pointing, he tapped the flat of it against the pointed edges along his torso. The resulting sound was rather interesting, but it was also rather harsh; he didn't think he wanted to do that again unless he was trying to discourage something from nearing him. The claw-like protrusions along his front were also similar in appearance to his weaponized limbs, giving him connection to the prospect that they were also probably just as sharp... so he refrained from prodding at them any further.
The warmth of the day was starting to rise, and the small pawniard rolled the idea in his head as to whether there was somewhere he could go or do that would keep this temperature off of him. While not unbearable at the moment, he wasn't sure how much more it was planning to heat up and wanted to have himself an out, just in case. He kicked his shielded feet and rolled the joints, feeling the movements and likening them to the way he was able to move the sharp arms of his. Sure, he was reaching into a different part of the brain, but the familiarity to what he had been able to learn moments before made relearning the similar effects with that much more ease.
Managing to fold his legs to either side of his small body, he felt his upper half begin to topple over with the redistributed weight. Reaction times were still sluggish, but the sparked adrenaline created a catch enough to allow the pawniard to stab the ground with one arm and attempt to do the same with the second. His balance was still iffy and he fidgeted a little off to the side in confusion. And now he was having difficulty taking his arm back from the confines of the dirt floor...
So, in the meantime, the pokémon tried to figure out what his center of balance was with the aid of an arm he couldn't pull back to his side. It actually turned out to be rather convenient, considering all he did with his free arm was flail it about in an unhelpful manner when he was losing his grip on orienting himself with gravity; he wasn't going to fall as long as he was at such an awkward angle to how his bladed limb was locked into place. Keeping that center of gravity when he attempted to stand, however... that took a little more effort.
By the time the small pawniard had the general hang of it all, the warmest part of the day had already come and gone. Through his exertion over focusing so strongly on learning the basics, he hadn't had the time to feel discouraged about the warming weather any further than he already had. Now that his attention was shifted again, he took notice. It was unfortunate that steel seemed to conduct heat so rapidly, for he found it near impossible to ignore. The temperature may have been decreasing with the increase in the angle of the sun, but the heat already trapped in the armor was a little less willing to leave so promptly. Stumbling a bit as he gradually eased into his ability to walk further distances, his shoulder caught the edge of a shadow of rock and the difference in degrees was immediately noticeable. It made the small pokémon flinch in his footing, nearly knocking him over in the abrupt halt.
Under the cover of shade, the trapped heat was more easily urged to leave sooner, and the searing from the conducted metal became much less intense. So, the darker areas were colder, were they? He supposed he should try to find somewhere that had more of it if this hot weather was suppose to be a normally-occurring event. In the meantime, though, he would wait it out where he was situated, for the darkness from the boulder seemed to be growing in size. Maybe it would make a path for him to follow or something...
One of his arms shifted, tapping at a metallic chain sitting in the darker area of the shadow. His head tilted to the sound, but his eyes had a hard time spotting the item when the surrounding area was blaring with so much light. He took a stab at it -- literally -- and raked the blade along the floor to pull it over to him. The beaded metal chain had two larger, flatter pieces dangling off of one side, and on closer inspection, had carefully-carved notches along the surface of each piece.
While he thought it peculiar, he hadn't any thought to the idea that perhaps this was a means to communicate, the written word. No, he spent a good deal of time gingerly wrapping it around a forearm because it was the strangest thing in the area, outside of he himself. Maybe it could lend a clue as to why he was here... but even if it couldn't, it could at least be used as a memento, to his first memories of life in this world. It was kind of pretty, in a strangely cold sort of way.
Peeking around the boulder where he hid, the pawniard noted that the shadows seemed to be taking over the land in a more wholesome way than he had initially been thinking it would do. Rather, he hadn't expected the whole place to be enveloped in it... how strange. There went his shadow-bridge idea, but at least it gave him a clearer picture of the situation he was in, and the canyon he seemed to have found himself located. The way the boulder's shadow had been pointing before seemed to have led to more of the same, but upon inspecting the area behind the stone, he noticed that there was a bit more color. Curious to see what grass was all about, he decided to head east instead, prompting the small pawniard into traveling decisions based mostly out of curiosity and survival instinct.
Premise: Being lost in translation might actually have been a step up.
MoogerMint Crew
Sparkly Pants
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MoogerMint Crew
Sparkly Pants
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Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 5:24 pm
✵✦New Perspectives Sight-seeing in a world most alien
It was quickly becoming apparent that there were more than a few types of terrain unsuitable for those of particular builds to traverse. For a pokémon on the smaller end of the spectrum, a good majority of the trouble areas could likely have been less of a problem compared to what wayfarers of taller stature had to endure. Unfortunately for the short pawniard, his steel frame caused a weight distribution similar to that of one who was less vertically challenged. The pressure points he put on the ground underneath his feet were more focused to a minute expanse.
He had had a rough enough time trying to cross the beach without finding his body precluded with the grab from the particles that littered the floor. While Mycah was curious how something so easy to sink into was so much more difficult to move forward in, it didn't help to soothe the irritation that build up through the journey. He was not a fan of sand. The stretch seemed to last quite some time, especially with the number of pauses he allowed himself, but he had managed to make his way through the area nonetheless. The bizarre fowl equipped with the onion he had met while cutting his way through was an added perk; he hadn't really run into anybody else before her, nor anybody since.
The pawiard had continued on, faced with an area unlike any he had encountered yet. The path through appeared to be further along on the treacherous scale, the floor made marshy with the abundance of water to either side of the land bridge. He had figured out early on in his travels that, no, the tiny steel-type could not cross through those parts. He was neither an adept swimmer, nor could he breathe underwater... so the more annoying paths seemed to be the only ones that allowed access.
Of course, a swamp didn't turn out to be preferred over the sandy beach. In fact, it was likely multiplied much worse, as far as Mycah was concerned. Not only did he sink just as easily in the mud, but it was much more difficult to pull himself out. Perhaps it would have been safer to travel with Switch to wherever it was that she was going, after all... but the value of traveling in groups was lost on the little amnesiac, despite innate pawniard pack-oriented instinct. Maybe it was because she was a farfetch'd and not one of his own species -- it was difficult to tell when it was not apparent that it was unusual.
There were numerous times that Mycah found himself stuck, early on in his attempted crossing of ********* Swamp. Once or twice, the pawniard even managed to flee back to the shores of the beach, hoping there was another route he could take to get to the other side. While it was possible that maybe, if he had passed the outskirts of the city further down the trail, he would find another means, it seemed to be much too out of the way. He was determined, and as long as he didn't allow the ground to eat him whole, he would assuredly be okay. Aside from the aggravation of the ordeal, that is to say.
Through trial and error, much time was spent in the effort to locate a more convenient way to travel across the marshland. Mycah could quickly tell that the lack of progress being made through the strangely clingy surroundings could result in more dangerous effects later down the road. What if the small pokémon were stuck here over an extended period of time? Was there even any edible food around here? How far did this span of swamp even reach?
He took a rest against the twisted roots of a tree. It took the pokémon a few minutes to correlate the solid structure amongst its less-solid home, especially when Mycah found himself having to move and shift his weight to keep from sinking further while standing still. He had just about hit the back of his shielded head on the trunk before the thought came to mind as he was once again trying to reclaim a foot: there were plenty of trees and logs in the area, why not make use of them in order to cross more productively? It was worth the shot, while he was stuck here. Luckily, he came fully-equipped with adequate climbing gear, finding little issue in hoisting himself up from the greedy hands of the wetland floor. It was at this point in time that Mycah learned the value of environmental manipulation to one's benefit, despite it being but a beginner's crash course.
With the surroundings now rigged to Mycah's benefit, the swamp was more easily overcome in a shorter span of time. The trek still took a lot of effort, and the pawniard ended up requiring the use of one of the trees as a temporary stop for the night, but the knowledge that such a despicable place could be thwarted under stubborn persistence was a point worth noting.
The meadow was a welcome change from the days' worth of tough terrain. The mud-caked feet of the metallic pawniard had long since dried, and it was beginning to itch. Cutting through the tall grass of the peaceable meadow at the break of dawn took a small increment of time to accomplish in comparison. He shied away from the synthetic structures scattered at erratic intervals in the distance, the alien notion of a humanoid residence seeming to unnerve the pokémon hidden in the grass.
The forest to the northern side of Mint Meadow felt more at home to the pawniard as he crossed in through the foliage, the sun casting fewer threads of light in the clutter of the sky through the leaves. Mycah had awoken to senses finally his own within the stomach of a canyon, but any further recollection before then had been lost to him; as a pawniard, habitat within the forests and plains were a much more common sight, and the faintest of instincts were instigating the match in his head. It had been the most in-tune Mycah had felt to who he was, but nothing more came of the vague hint, so hastily retreating behind curiosity over the unknown and a strive to understand. Instinct was invalid, and did not help him. In fact, the impulse seemed to take a backseat in Mycah's mind once he realized how different it was to further his aimless journey onward, the trees lessening in the spaces between one another the further he entered into this unknown territory. The outer edges of the forests slowly seeped into the thick congregations on either side, and for a bladed pokémon that was a touch taller than a foot and a half, it was effortless to catch oneself on the myriad entrapments littered throughout. How many times was it that he found himself ensnared in the bushes, caught by unexpectedly low-hanging branches, or blockaded by a fallen trunk or raised root? He would soon find himself losing count, if he had even known where to start.
However, despite the hassle it was becoming to continue forward in a misleading sweep of greenery, Mycah also found himself quite capable of securing food within the cramped quarters. Pawniards were a pack pokémon species, but working alone would have proven most difficult -- nigh impossible for one practically newborn -- had such requirements not been met. As carnivorous as the shadowy-metal types were, there even proved to be enough berry bushes in the area to satisfy had he not been able to catch a small bird who grew too interested in his foreign appearance. It would be enough to carry the bladed pokémon a great distance further, and he wasted no time in putting the energy to use.
The mountainside, while definitely a new experience, tentatively felt moderately more welcoming, if only for the fact that it simulated the stark canyon he came to associate as his place of origin. Well, loosely; it seemed to be made of a similar material. There were paths through the surface that appeared to have been bored out by something quite large, perhaps numerous smaller somethings working together as a group. Tunnels, though who knew how far through the rock surface they would lead. Mycah was willing to take the chance, if nothing else but for a change of pace.
While very dissimilar to anywhere else the pawniard had thus far been confronted with, raising interest in and of itself, the twisted and winding shortcut through the base of the mountain range was rather uneventful. Maybe it was the day of the week, or the time of the year, or even coincidence, but Mycah found himself running into a lack of anything in the way of interaction. While probably for the best, it was still ambiguously disappointing. Was it but once in a blue moon that he was to stumble upon the one pokémon that would give him the time of day? Maybe he was merely moving too fast.
Oh... or maybe it was the blood. He glanced down at the blades mounted to his forearms, where the majority of it was located, now dried and chipping off the sleek surface. That would be... intimidating, yes? That was why others shrank back when he pointed his bladed arms in indication? Note filed. Out of the corner of his eye and down another branching path, the diminutive pawniard caught a glimpse of a blinking flash of light, a life of its own accompanied by the burnt smell of electricity. There was only a momentary pause before he continued on, thinking better on scaring anything else away before he could get this stuff off.
Attempting to backtrack was against interest for the wayward pokémon, so even when he had managed to clean up a bit in the hours it took to cut through the mountains, he didn't try to relocate those he passed by. Other than potentially and unintentionally chasing something else off, there was no real incentive to do so anyway. The sudden light of day was unexpected and blinding for one who had only moments before been trapped in an endless array of darkness, lit only but dimly here and there with the lighting system for excavating Gaians. After making the effort to persevere through the sudden change in light intensity, Mycah retreated back into the cave system and waited the remnants of the day out until his shadow bridge returned once more to envelop the scenery beyond.
Hiding in the shadows past the threshold of the cave entrance, Mycah had the time to survey the reaches of the horizon. It almost seemed a repeat schedule, but there were enough details to differentiate between settings. Both sections seemed to fancy forests, which wasn't too bothersome on the whole for the blank slate of a pokémon but... yeesh, that was a lot of trees. Maybe he could come to favor their presence better throughout his time among them as well, though; who could really tell?
A glint of light caught a tag on the necklace wrapped carefully around his right wrist. Amber eyes spotted the hazy reflection of a setting sun on the face of the flattened metal, the sky cast in a warmer sheen of orange. Looked like it was time to get moving again.
Premise: What stands between anger and devastation is an anomaly.
- - -
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: Thu May 01, 2014 12:06 pm
✵✦The Small Picture The world looks different when you see the forest for the trees
The trail was not difficult to follow through the underbrush of the forest, even for a pokémon of such diminutive stature, but keeping pace was another story. Who would have thought that a train of boulders the diameter of some of the caves carved through the mountain could move at those quick speeds across such a flat surface? Even while slithering, the massive stone onix was out of sight in the blink of an eye, and did not return to view until far past the time she had decided to rest.
The verbal child didn't seem to be of much threat, at least not while he was by himself, so Mycah gave little heed to whatever Kenley decided to do next with his time -- there was nobody left to yell at, or torment in the way he had been doing prior. Whatever he had spoken was apparently meant to work as a weapon, or Frank may not have been so distraught with his tone. Probably. They obviously did not get along, at any rate, and only one of them seemed aggressive at all...
So Mycah found himself stumbling across uneven terrain in unfamiliar territory once again, or maybe it had been recognizable only hours ago. Obstacles that may have once been present were removed, while new ones took their place in different areas. The world was constantly changing, it seemed, whether by living or natural causes; it was something that he would be wise to keep in mind. Luckily, Mycah seemed to be able to avoid any impasse that may have been created in the mayhem of the day, for it couldn't have been more than a half hour before he finally located the serpentine pokémon he had been searching for, still as upset as ever.
He hesitated, catching his breath in the surrounding foliage that had bypassed being steamrolled. Quite honestly, he was fairly certain there wasn't anything he was really capable of doing for her that wouldn't manage to potentially upset her even further, in some manner or another. She seemed very uncertain, and he wasn't blind to the fact that he didn't appear to be the most non-threatening of individuals. Whether he meant to look the part or not was irrelevant when a person was so distressed and skittish.
There was very little time spent deliberating what could be done in this particular instance before a shiny object came tumbling out of the sky, descent slowed by the snatching, flexible branches overhead. The small pawniard flinched, unsure what to expect from it, but Frank reacted in a more positive manner, nudging him to mirror the sentiment. It apparently wasn't dangerous... more fascinating than anything, from the way the stone snake reached out for it.
That is, until it broke. She had actually seemed near happy when that crystalline trinket rushed to her grasp, but it only seemed to make her more troubled once it shattered upon landing. It was only the last step that led to the young pokémon's current search after what seemed to be a series of misfortunes, but it was the only one to give Mycah inkling to what he might be able to do to help. Maybe there actually was a reason he was here after all, and not merely as witness to a mental breakdown.
He didn't understand the importance of the item, and had never seen something like it before. At the distance he was watching from, it was difficult to make out the definitions of what appeared to be a sparkle from the sky, but the strange glow it emitted was not overlooked. She had found it within the depths of these woods, so there was a chance there were more around here, wasn't there? Things seemed to gather together with like-things, and while he was unable to comprehend the concept of a patch of flowers growing together with 'family,' or soils that were fertile for only specific plants, he correlated the phenomenon with other objects, even if it seemed the pokémon he'd met thus far did not follow similar conduct. Perhaps it was only those that did not seem capable of moving of their own accord that acted in such a manner?
Regardless, Mycah felt vaguely certain that he might be able to find a patch of stars somewhere in the area if he looked hard enough. Maybe then he could show Frank that she didn't need to be upset about breaking one if she could replace it. Simple as that.
However, it had been a number of long moments before, while digging through the surrounding underbrush, the fading light of the sun caught the dog tags wrapped around his wrist. There hadn't been any others of its kind in the bare, stony area he had found his particular set in, either. It was different somehow, also not quite sentient but off from the surroundings from where it originated. Maybe that was why the larger rock-type was so distressed... maybe it really was set apart from the forest, just as the man-made metallic necklace was. Just as they all were.
The doubt was short-lived before the pawniard continued his search. It didn't matter if it was in vain at this point. He would keep looking, at least until she woke back up. If he couldn't find another shiny trinket, then maybe something else could work as substitute. Perhaps sleep would even help her out and he wouldn't have anything further to do for her emotions to stabilize, in the end. There were no solid answers, however, so the only thing he could really think to do was ensure that the outcome was favorable.
While rummaging through the area, Mycah distracted himself enough to waver assurance that he could even find the way back as quickly as he had managed to run off. He could follow the trails she blazed through the forest easily enough once he stumbled across a trench again, at least, so he wasn't considerably worried. Making it back before dark, however, was unlikely. The phases of the sun and moon were a common enough occurrence that he was able to recognize the pattern in his travels. It may be wise to head back...
Glancing skyward, he opted to take a rest first, rocking back to seat himself in the grass. His attention maintained their station towards the canopy, in the off-chance he was able to see if the objects grew up higher than he was capable of reaching. The one that Frank found had come from there, after all... but no others fell? Maybe someone had accidentally dropped it, but then why had they not gone back to look for it? He was almost positive that they likely grew up in the highest reaches of the trees. How inconvenient.
With his sight momentarily deviated, by the time he heard anything in the surrounding area, whatever had caused it had already vanished from view. Or had it? The glow was unmistakable, in the grass on the far side of the small clearing, but Mycah was sure he heard something actually moving through the foliage just a moment ago, not something tumbling as before. Were... were the objects actually alive, then? Surely someone wouldn't just be leaving them lying around... especially since the last one broke on impact! But then, he wasn't aware of what happened after a pokémon came into contact with these items of importance.
It honestly didn't really matter to him, for he had finally found what he had been looking for all along. Quickly he scampered over to it, but paced around the light-emitting stone curiously. He hadn't actually seen the other one up close, and wondered if it had looked just as pretty. However, upon closer inspection, Mycah realized he was posed with a bit of a problem.
He turned sights back the way he had traveled, no longer spotting anything remarkably familiar in the area. Scanning back downward at the star in the grass, he poked the air near it with a blade, considering just how he was supposed to move the ornament back that whole way. This was not something he really planned for, having hoped he'd run into the star nearer the vicinity he'd left from.
It was a little on the large side, so there was but one way he could think of accomplishing moving the stone in a thorough manner at the moment: end over end. It would take a while, but it could travel that way... just as long as this one didn't shatter as easily as its predecessor.
Unceremoniously, the pawniard dug a blade beneath the star and flipped it like a pancake, moving it forward a couple of inches. He paused briefly, noting that it did not break and concluding that it must have been partially the fault of the drop the previous one had taken that led to its untimely demise. That would make things a bit easier this time around.
At the second flip, Mycah paused again, studying the star more closely. A shiver had run up his spine, the cause unknown and incomprehensible. The emotion was sudden, an internal resistance and sharp hesitation he was entirely unfamiliar with. He took a step back, opting to regain his bearings before continuing on; there was really no rush, after all, so no point in pushing the issue if he couldn't make it before sundown.
The fatigue came on very suddenly, however. As soon as the small steel pokémon allowed himself the time to rest, the sleepiness came down on him like a bag of hammers. After the stress of the new-found emotion, of the nearly-endless search for a replacement star, it didn't seem like a bad idea to take a little nap before heading back...
