Welcome to Gaia! ::

(Quite all right.)

Q nodded rapidly, head zipping up and down like a bobblehead on steroids. "Ah, yeah, I getcha. Between you and me, I accidentally broke a few things myself - I used large amounts of glue to fix 'em when nobody was looking, though, so hopefully they won't notice." he noted cheerfully in a stage-whisper. Then, in a rare moment of sane intelligence, the Elgyem glanced over at Katherine, eyes seeming to pierce her very soul. "Besides, what's done is done. The only thing we can do is keep on moving on." It almost seemed like a twofold statement, referring to both her earlier anger and guilt and the broken artifacts he'd mentioned a moment ago. Perhaps he was smarter than he let on?
"...Do you think maybe the talking sword wants a hug?" He looked down at Arturius curiously, examining the Honedge carefully. "'Cause he looks like he hasn't gotten a lot of hugs before. Yeah, I think he needs a hug." He then proceeded to try and hug the sword, seemingly oblivious to the razor-sharp edges it had.

Air

"Good to meet you Kent, Keivera," Air said cheerfully, tail still wagging gently behind him. He glanced over at the hole when the absent Arlyn was mentioned, but didn't shout out to him, figuring that the Marill must be fairly busy with whatever he was doing if he didn't want to say hello. "Oh, right," he added, again for the benefit of all parties involved (though the Bronzor had yet to engage him telepathically at this point). "I'm a member of Team Essence. My captains couldn't make it today, so I'm here on their behalf." He smiled good-naturedly, deciding that he was glad to have come after all; he didn't know for sure but it really seemed like he might have stumbled across some Pokemon who would make good friends in the future. Neo always said that he had to branch out and meet others outside the Team, and now he'd done that--he had a feeling the Meowstic would be proud. At that moment Herbert made his introduction, and the Ditto-Growlithe turned eagerly, but was prevented from speaking when Arty spoke up, instructing them to deposit their last findings. "Good to meet you too!" Air said with a smile toward the Bronzor, once the Smeargle had finished giving his instructions, unaware that the Dual Type hadn't extended his telepathy. "One second." He excused himself from all three of his companions to hurry over to the pile of artifacts, rod and candlestick in mouth, and returned quickly after.

Air opened his mouth to speak again once he came to a stop beside his companions, but the Teleport cut him off--it was only through sheer force of will that he didn't topple over when they arrived back at the Guild, caught of guard for a second time by the strange sensation that accompanied their mode of transportation. Immediately after Barcel spoke, Keivera and Kent excused themselves, their Marill companion now joining them. Air saw them off with a cheerful farewell and and invitation to come visit if they so desired, as the Ditto was eager to introduce Neo to his new friends. He watched them go with a wagging tail before turning back to Herbert, who hadn't left his side.

Frowning, Air listened to his companion's request, nodding quietly. He didn't know what was going on between the Bronzor and the Dunsparce who was watching them--which the Ditto assumed was the aforementioned Captain since he was beginning to head towards them--but apparently Herbert felt it was best to keep quiet about things around him. Although Air didn't understand, he did recognize the importance of honoring a potential friend's request, and so kept his mouth shut when the Dunsparce spoke up. When the Bronzor began to go Air held his tongue, but also stared after the Dual Type, thinking very clearly in the Pokemon's direction. I won't say a word, the Ditto thought, hoping that Herbert was perhaps still listening, I hope to see you again. I'll take a different form if I do though, so he won't recognize me. Telepathy was a strange thing, but if one was attuned to their Psychic enough, they could pick up on the thoughts of others if they tried--the only difference was the non-Psychic couldn't ensure or even know if the Psychic was listening. Air hoped that Herbert heard though, since he didn't know what else to do now that the Dunsparce had arrived. The Ditto-Growlithe didn't balk under the intensity of the Normal Type's stare, though he didn't meet the other Pokemon's eyes either. Instead, he tilted his head and offered a bark--something he'd picked up from little Eliot--and a slight tail wag in response to the smile before wandering off in the opposite direction.

The Ditto didn't approach the reward shop until he saw Herbert and his Captain wander off, and when he did do so, he stayed the shortest amount of time possible, opting to take money in exchange for his points rather than any of the alternatives: this way Neo and Nyx could put the funds towards something and he couldn't be reprimanded for choosing the wrong TM that was offered. He carried the rewards in his mouth all the way back to the safety of his Team room, not daring to shift forms for fear that the Dunsparce might somehow see, and a part of his conversation with Herbert might be revealed. Yes, he was acting a little paranoid, but Air didn't doubt that it was better to be safe than sorry, especially in regard to situations he didn't understand.

Team Essence: 3 Points (Final)

Erinn

Erinn balked at the harshness of the Shelgon's thanks, wincing as though she'd struck him. He stared at her in favor of Keiran for a moment, since the Riolu was still approaching and she had begun to mutter to herself angrily, and watched as she shot a glance at Keiran when he came to a halt before walking off without a word. "I...hope you find him..." the Paras said dejectedly, staring down at the ground before he turned back to Keiran. Engaging in social interactions hadn't been a great idea it seemed: first the Metang, then the Shelgon, and now Keiran, who he still didn't know how to explain himself to.

The little bug gave a jolt of surprise when his Riolu companion pulled him into a hug as soon as he'd arrived, but didn't pull away, returning it with a gentle claw after a moment. Unlike Keiran, Erinn had never really gotten used to the hugs, not being a particularly touchy Pokemon, but it felt nice to be in the embrace of someone who really cared about him--it felt like being at home again. The Paras smiled again, a bit less nervously when he heard the warmth in the Riolu's tone, not recognizing any anger or hurt in Keiran's words, only genuine happiness. It was things like this that made him wonder why he couldn't be such a good person; people like Keiran and Era could forgive anything, but Erinn never had the strength to overcome his anxieties, not entirely. Still, it was good to know that he'd already been forgiven before he could apologize, that was something he could never express enough gratitude for, as long as he lived.

The Paras smiled back at his friend, trying to come up with a return to the Riolu's comment, but Arty spoke up at that very moment, calling him back to business. "Oh--oh no--hold on just one second Keiran," Erinn said, slightly panicked. The bug scurried over to transfer his Cresslia amulet to the pile of artifacts immediately after, not wanting to accidentally steal some priceless find, and breathed a sigh of relief when Arty's staff members accepted it without question. He hurried back to Keiran with an equally rapid pace, returning to the Riolu's side just in time for the Teleport that pulled them back to the Main Hall of the Guild; perhaps surprisingly, Erinn took the traveling in stride, hardly blinking at the sudden change in surroundings, but this came from years and years of experience.

Listening to Keiran's words quietly, Erinn tapped his mandibles together nervously when the Riolu named his Teammate. Riley? Riley was here too? The Paras felt utterly crushed at the knowledge that two of his teammates were here, together, starting over on a new Team, and his decision to strike out on his own left him separated from them both. He hadn't asked Keiran because he hadn't thought the Riolu would be interested after his previous experiences with the former Guild; he hadn't asked Riley because he'd never dreamed that the Espeon would have it in him to do something that Era was so strongly opposed to. It was probably killing him: the thought made Erinn feel instant regret the moment he realized that it was slightly comforting to know that he wouldn't be the only one struggling with his decision to come here. "Wow, you and Riley are both here too..." the little bug said softly, unable to meet Keiran's eyes, "I never expected I'd find anyone else here." It hurt more than he would have thought possible, but a part of the pain came from knowing that he couldn't shift over to their Team. He was growing to like Silver, and they were looking after an Egg now, so he couldn't leave them all alone; that, and even if he did want to change he wouldn't have the heart to tell his Leader--he wasn't that strong.

"I...I'd love to see him again too," Erinn said after a moment, struggling not to lose his composure any more than he already had. "It's been a long time since I've seen him. It's...been a while since I've seen anyone." A month was a long time to go without seeing any member one's family, especially when you'd been so tightly-knit for so many years. He'd found Eon a little over a month ago and left him shortly after: he'd been on his own ever since. The Paras straightened up, putting on a brave face for the sake of his friend. "I-I should be collecting the rewards too. I'm the only one here for my Team today," he said, "I'll come visit sometime, I will. And it's...Team Phantasm, if you ever need to find me. My Leader's an Espeon named Silver--he and Era were friends once. I'll see you later Keiran. It's really great to see you again. Really." Unable to contain himself any longer, Erinn bowed out of the conversation with a series of rapid explanations, each a little more rushed than the next. He hurried over to the shop and grabbed his rewards and money in exchange for the points, not even bothering to glance at the TMs he could take. The little Paras knew that he needed to get somewhere else as soon as possible; somewhere no one else would see him fall to pieces.

Team Phantasm: 3 Points (Final)

((Essence and Phantasm are both taking the base rewards and cashing in their points for money (because, alas, no evo stones this time around), so since each had 3 points they'll each get 1200 additional PD))

Venari
Katherine & Arturius

"I cannot feel the touch of those who are not flesh." In other words, he apparently couldn't feel the Elgyem even if he was ticklish. Which... he wasn't expressly denying but it would be sort of odd for a sword to be ticklish, wouldn't it?
Katherine wondered briefly why it was that Arturius could only feel the touch of "those who are flesh". It was the first time she had heard about it but she just as quickly discarded the thought. It was kind of odd and maybe she would ask him later but it didn't really matter for now.
"I think that's just how he is." Grumpy, that is. Or not so much grumpy. Stoic was a better word for it. "He's very quiet."

Edit: ((Goblin, if you want to reply to this you still can but I'm marking this as [closed] and moving it to the archive. It's been idle too long. If you choose not to reply, I'll just assume that she retrieved her partner and headed home in a friendly manner.))