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 Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 5:56 pm
The Psychic rubbed furiously at his eyes, ashamed and irate that he'd just broken into pieces like that with little warning. He'd kept it all in check so well, had found some manner of composure in his routine and the Scyther ruined it with two words.
Alfred hastily dropped his hands back to his lap, still sitting on the ground with no inclination of standing back up. On the floor, at least, there was no risk of falling again as he was already there.
He tugged absentmindedly on the bandage on his face before glancing up finally to meet the insect's gaze.
"...what happened?" and then immediately the flurry of questions escaped him.
"Is everyone else alright? Is it all over? Did we win?" and the last question uttered in a tone bordering a whisper, "...what about me?"
His memories, the..the thing Tolin had explained before about legendary blood. He was mutely concerned. Dying sounded hardly pleasant now that things seemed to be returning to a more peaceful ambience.
The soft tapping of someone knocking quickly pulled the topic elsewhere and a small Audino stood at the door, glancing around with a frown.
"So-sorry? Am I interupting anything?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:18 pm
 Tolin
Tolin's posture straightened slightly as he gave Alfred room to sit up and place himself more firmly on the ground. Though the time had passed it seemed as if he still maintained his faculties well enough, which was a good sign. It meant there was still a Gardevoir left to cure, thankfully. He listened carefully as the Gardevoir rattled off question after question and gave himself barely a moment to think, yet he was still unable to answer before the interruption came. He glanced quickly back at the Audino before looking back at Alfred and, for lack of a better term, gave him the abridged version. "Yes, yes, yes and you'll be fine. Don't worry."
Tolin stepped back onto his two feet before turning back around to look at the Audino. Whether it was by nature or situation she was, frankly, seemingly something of a feeble individual though that was often enough the case with people he talked to. "What's wrong?" He simply asked the question with no answer to the Audino's own in a neutral but commanding tone. Now wasn't exactly the time for interruptions, but he was hardly crass enough to simply shoo her away. Perhaps he was just a little too used to being in charge.
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:35 pm
Alfred's expression was the portrait of relief. Tolin could have told him the sky was red and he'd believe the Scyther without question, so was his absolute trust in the bug type.
As Tolin stood and turned it was then he noticed the Audino and quickly rose to his own feet, perhaps a touch too quickly as he wavered unsteady with a susden dizzy spell as a result.
As he composed himself again the normal type frowned more deeply and took a step back in caution at the Pokemon before her.
Scyther were generally not the nicest looking species and she didn't fancy getting cut.
"I don't know who you are but yo-"
"Ah-wait. Tolin. This is Tolin." The Gardevoir responded, cutting in to stop any threats before they could be made.
The Audino looked at him and then to the Scyther once again before nodding, the name sounding familiar to her.
She'd not personally met him but when you were as well known as the bug it wasn't surprising someone you'd never met would know your name.
"I thought you were mute." She said simply to the Gardevoir who glanced to the side and refused to look her in the eye.
Her attention drew back to Tolin and she clasped her paws to her chest nervously.
"...I was just coming to inform Lady Eclipse that the hospital has been opened at last. We finished repairs."
She seemed to realize something as she finished speaking for she gave a slight gasp.
"OH, I'm sorry. I never introduced myself. I'm Fortuna. I'll be working at the hospital..."
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 9:17 pm
Tolin
Tolin nodded, taking in the information. It was simple enough. "I'm Tolin, as you know. She's likely in the Main Hall. Regardless, the group we sent just recently returned. There's going to be people in need of medical attention, please head there quickly and direct them." The fight had been... surprisingly clean all things considered but it wasn't like the guilds escaped without injury. At the very least, it would get the Audino moving, likely in the right direction and it would be pertinent to get medical aid there as soon as possible. Even if there weren't any seriously injured (at least, any who had survived) treating the existing wounds was important. "If she returns, I'll inform her of what happened. And you..." Tolin turned back to the Gardevoir, aware that he had stood from the noise he had made in the process. "Let's get you to a chair." He offered Alfred an arm, noting his generally unsteady footing and would quickly begin guiding the Gardevoir to a nearby seat. There was, at least, a little bit to talk about for the time being. It would be brief, but important... he had other places to be, so it would be best not to tarry too long. He needed to make it back to Ebony if he was going to make good on his claim.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:21 pm
A curt nod was the Audino's only response before she took a step back to redirect her route to the main hall.
The Scyther was correct, someone would need to inform the newly returned guild members that the hospital was open for their injured to seek attention.
The quick tapping of tiny feet echoed down the hall as she carried herself briskly to her destination, a soft 'excuse me' sounded as she skirted around another Pokemon trekking through the hall.
Alfred's green gaze never left the Audino calling herself Fortuna until she had vanished from his site.
She was nice enough, but while he could ignore Minerva to the point the Vaporeon became annoyed and gave up, he could not ignore that normal type enough.
She pestered, prodded, questioned. Of course she was doing her job as a doctor, checking up on him and such. But all the same he felt resentful for her attempts to intrude on his self-exile from socialization.
When Tolin turned to him and spoke the Gardevoir quickly raised a hand as if to accept the offered arm but instead held it up in a silent 'no thank you' of sorts.
"...I can...stand on my own." He quickly replied, giving a partial smile before stepping back to reclaim the couch he'd perched on previously.
"...I...want to know what h-happened." His words were cut with a cough and he raised his hand to his mouth in mild annoyance. Having not spoken for so long it was a bit of a strain now.
However, Tolin would not be given the chance to reply once again as a quick rap on the door claimed the attention of the room.
Not one for patience, Aire was content to simply stroll into whatever parlor she so wished with little regard for...courtesy.
Her air of composure was swiftly shattered the second her green eyes noted the equally green insect standing before her and the casual expression on her face warped to one of undignified outrage.
"I thought you were dead..." Was her only comment, uttered with a spiteful hiss and she paused to take a long drag on the cigarette in her hand to stall herself from saying anything further.
Alfred's only response to yet another Pokemon interupting him was a simple sigh. If he noticed the similarities between him and this female Gardevoir he said nothing.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 8:56 pm
Tolin
Tolin took care with Alfred, but none the less he left him stand on his own. There was uncertainty in how well Alfred was and it would be no good to have him collapse out of nowhere and the Scyther took care to make sure he was close enough to help prevent such a thing if it were to happen. Tolin eased up slightly as Alfred got to his feet and as he shifted back onto the couch, Tolin relaxed and stood properly straight once more. Alfred was doing fine, or fine enough for the time being and he deserved to know what happened.
Not that Tolin would have the chance, not now at least. He turned quickly to meet the knock and although his face shifted little, he was internally less than pleased and Aire would easily enough pick up on that. This was the last person he wanted to deal with--or rather, she was one of the few people he simply couldn't tell what to do. Almost anyone else would listen to his words and simply leave. Aire, however, wasn't one to actually do as she was told by any means. Of course, he could always give her a "choice".
Not that he was one to resort to threats unnecessarily, but... "Leave. Now." The words came with a predatory hiss. "If you don't I'll force you out. There won't be a rock left to hide under if you try to fight me."
And that was a very, very true claim. She would be easy to identify. Alfred had seen her--there was no one else like her in the kingdom, at least no one that would brazenly stroll in here. She wouldn't touch her own son and if she attacked Tolin in any regard, it wouldn't exactly take long for everyone else to remember how she had intentionally betrayed the guilds.
It was dirty, it was underhanded and it was callous in all regards but Tolin really, really didn't want to deal with her. He didn't have the energy, desire or time.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:30 am
Aire was silent, not out of respect or loss of what to say. She simply didn't feel the need to dignify him with an immediate answer.
Slowly and deliberately she removed her cigarette from her mouth and snapped it in half just for show before crumblng the remnants in one hand to allow them to sprinkle the ground.
Her eyes skimmed past Tolin to the confused Psychic sitting behind him, her gaze softened only slightly. She seemed more irritated at his inability to recognize her than not.
Casually dusting off her hands she moved to place them on her hips before finally regarding the Scyther with a scowl.
"Oh? How are you going to force me? Cut me, attack me? Really? How barbaric. It's not like you can teleport me either. The day a mere insect can out-teleport a pure Psychic is the day I decide to take others feelings into consideration." She waved her hand at him, making his point moot.
"Well, alright. Go ahead then. I have no intention of leaving until my business is done, I came here to speak to him, not you."
Alfred's ears went up and then down at that, he kept his expression blank though confusion was still evident in his gaze as he turned from the Gardevoir at the door to the Scyther standing in front of him.
He was torn on what to do, anything to say.
He didn't know this Pokemon, why did she want to speak to him?
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 11:00 am
Tolin
Tolin wasn't deterred in the slightest by her words. At most, he was a little bit angry but then again he was that the moment she showed up. More than anything, however, he was far from at a loss of what to do. Aire spat out the words as if he didn't have a choice; as if he didn't have control. He had lots of control. When you were a Scyther, you learned very carefully the difference between "hurting" "wounding" and "killing". If you were to avoid killing your kin, you had to. Many of his kind didn't bother applying such practice beyond "friendly" competition, but when you were experienced you learned many things.
Agility helped with this. It was a wonderful skill. All in one, it let you have so much more time to prepare and control your strikes while at the same time making you move so much faster than the normal pokemon could react. Blades sunk into flesh soundlessly. Not deep, not hard. But sink they did all the same. Two fresh cuts opened up on either side of Aire's abdomen with the offending tools still inside. Aire was, simply, stuck. Tolin's blades had a gentle curve to them--whether she tried to step forward or back out, she would merely end up deepening the wound as she run the knives further into her body.
Tolin simply, quietly leaned forward and whispered into Aire's ear. "I don't need to kill you to make you leave. Now, unless you want an infection, I suggest you go to the hospital." As if to punctuate the statement, Tolin's blades slid forward slightly as he shifted, grating against vessels and nerves. Of course, he had been careful. It wouldn't kill her as long as it was treated. Even if she laid down as is, she wouldn't bleed out. There wasn't even that much blood as it was. Though, that was largely a result of the scythes blocking off the blood flow... when she leaved, that would begin to bleed decently enough.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:35 pm
From his angle on the couch it was hard to tell what it was the Scyther was doing but his fury was as clear as day to the Gardevoir who'd yet to learn how to filter unwanted emotions from his mind.
As a general sense, Gardevoir were the most empathetic of Pokemon. So much that their very species name was 'emotion Pokemon'.
Alfred picked up the anger in the room, finding that it became overwhelming very quickly.
He raised his hands over his ears, eyes closed tightly to try and block out the emotion to no avail.
Fortunately, as he was no longer looking, he didn't catch sight of the slight red lines bubbling up from around the bug type's blades.
Aire inhaled sharply through her nose, eyes wide in shock that he'd actually assault her in front of her own son. Not that Alfred could see from his vantage point, nor was he even paying attention at the moment, but that wasn't the point.
She was furious, frothing mad. Had moving not risked her further cutting open her sides she would have struck him immediately.
"...if you THINK you can keep my own flesh and blood from me you are wrong." She raised both hands to grip the backs of his blades and leer at him, mere inches from his face.
"You're a dead man next time I see you. If I do that is..." A smile curled her lips upward slightly and she exhaled the smoke she'd held from her cigarette into his face before vanishing with a snap of a teleport.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:51 pm
Tolin
Tolin coughed lightly as the puff of smoke hit his face, but aside from calming down his reaction was little else. It was, simply put, business as usual; for a creature of violence, violence was not a significant thing. The blood on his blades was little more than an inconvenience that would stain the carpeting and Tolin was quick to find his way to a sink so that he could rinse them off. It would be awkward to have to explain to Minerva why her carpet was covered in blood, at least, so it would be best to at least clean himself off. "Are you alright, Alfred?"
Sink, sink, sink... Tolin stepped into another room, his ears alert for a reply as he walked around looking for some sort of faucet. It didn't take terribly long to find one and he was back after just a moment. He expected some questions about that, so he said little else to give Alfred a chance to speak.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:43 pm
The petite Psychic glanced up only briefly at his name before dropping his gaze back to his hands immediately after seeing the flash of red on Tolin's blades. It wasn't much, but it was enough for him to recognize what it was.
He'd seen enough of it for a decent comparison.
The sound of rushing water came as a relief, knowing full well Tolin would rid himself of the bright, crimson stains before stepping back into the room.
Alfred finally lifted his eye up to the Scyther but couldn't help flinching in reflex at the gleam of those silver edged swords.
"I-I'm fine.." He replied at last, folding his arms defensively across his chest. "I just...who was..."
Did he even need to ask the question? It was obvious he was both curious and somewhat frightened over the unwelcomed guest.
Not to mention he was finally processing the similarities between his own appearance and hers...as well as her use of the terminology 'flesh and blood' which, from his knowledge, meant relative of some form or another.
The past few months had been generous to him, at least in terms of comprehension though he still found himself backed into a corner at times.
He reached silently for a thick notebook on the desk next to him and began nervously flicking the pages open and closed in a gesture of uncertainty.
"...my...previous question?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:59 pm
Tolin
"The simple version? We won." That, of course, was the simple version. There was much more to it and Tolin took the moment to find and place himself firmly in a chair. No point in standing right now, might as well sit. The long version could... well, be summed up all the same but questions were something of an expectation. "We killed Darkrai. Solaris used Roar of Time and ripped his host out of existence and in turn causing our delay. It's not even been a full day since I left, yet months have passed because of it. Once his host was dead, a weapon Arceus had planted with us came about and destroyed him. I don't know what remains of him, if any, but suffice it to say he'll be gone for a long time. In the aftermath, Arceus was repaired and the balance restored--so we'll be fine now. Since things are calm, for once, we'll need to take the time to heal and repair but for now we can say we're 'at peace'."
The Scyther carefully avoided any mention of the plan. That was something Alfred didn't need to hear--it would do nothing beyond imbue him with blind rage. As cruel, in a way, as it was to deprive him of the full truth it would be just as cruel to tell him. "Beyond that... there's not much. There were casualties of course. We've ended it." There wasn't anything else to say--nothing else that would be wise to say, at least. Ebony was with them but Tolin very much doubted that she was someone Alfred wished to meet, nor did he need to know exactly how they would confirm the functionality of whatever cure they concocted.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 3:18 pm
Alfred listened as well as he could, but his attention was drawn between Tolin and the book he still held in his lap.
It was habit, a book was present and it silently demanded that he read it. This book, however, could wait until after he'd asked some questions as it was relevant to what he wanted to say.
No one was aware of it, as he had his face in a book at all times, but Alfred had been doing something productive at the very least the entire time.
It wasn't much, in his opinion, but it was a start...
As soon as...as soon as he got his mind sorted out he could do something better.
Tolin might be surprised of his next questions, but his sudden reading spur had gifted him with fairly decent observational skills and something the Scyther said didn't...fit...
"...what weapon?" He asked once, unspecified before continuing, "...he planted a weapon with us rather than use it before this entire thing started? He could have stopped it at the beginning. What of him? The dark god and his opposite? If they were destroyed the world would have ended." He'd been told so before and had gathered more with research.
No, he wanted the full story. There was more to it, he sensed it. He could feel the uncertainty, the casual covering of what was beneath the clean and neat surface. Tolin couldn't slide anything past him, as much as the Scyther would like to.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 4:07 pm
Tolin
"Two of the Eclipse children." Tolin answered quickly and smoothly. "The youngest ones. When Darkrai came about, they unleashed a Judgment together and the power was enough to wipe him out. And, as I said, Arceus was repaired; the two gods have been returned to him. Arceus is now complete and is capable of holding the balance in check." They were two short, simple answers to two short, simple questions. The reality behind it all was a truth that revealed a very painful reality, which in turn bore a great rage behind it. It was all planned. Everything was; every single aspect of it that could affect things. The entire history of every pokemon that had--and had not--taken a stand had been shaped for this event. All of it. All the death. All the friends lost. Every last one had been planned.
That wasn't a reality the Gardevoir needed to bear.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 4:34 pm
"The Judgement of two primarily mortal Eevee-spawn does not equal that of a God himself. He could have ended Darkrai before any of this had begun, yet he did not." But pressing would hardly work in this situation. Alfred's inability to reel in his empathy was making matters more concerning than before. Where usually he'd accept Tolin's words without hesitation he could sense something further laced behind each truth and each calmly stated fact.
On one hand he adored the Scyther for trying to protect him from something he probably didn't want to know, but on the other hand not knowing made it hard to tell if he should be grateful or furious.
Alfred sighed, continuing his frustrated and absentminded flipping of the books pages before dropping the subject. Tolin was not an easy Pokemon to convince otherwise. He couldn't recall when or where he'd met the Scyther, but he had the feeling they had had arguements of a sort like this before.
He also recalled the feeling of having never won one of those arguements. Why break tradition?
"...i-it doesn't matter, I suppose..." He said, ending whatever further twisting truths the Scyther was planning to appease him with.
Alfred wanted to ask who had died and at the same time he didn't, he had other questions too but each made him dread the answers so much he quickly decided against them.
"...I'm glad your back." He said and then quickly raised the notebook up to change the subject.
"I've been-" Papers fell from the leather binding that had held them, quickly revealing this was no ancient novel but merely a portfolio of sorts filled with pages upon pages of handwritten scrawl and the occasional hastily sketched blueprint.
"-s**t." He dropped down to try and gather the papers back up, revealing that he'd picked up some colorful language in the Scyther's abscense from some place or another.
On the table a few pages had fallen, a quick sketch of what appeared to be building plans of some kind and another with a list of the guild and their high ranks.
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