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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:34 pm
It had been perhaps a month since Mycah had awoken to a lack of recollection of any of the days prior -- or truthfully, anything else. The only thoughts that had graced the pawniard's mind at that time was that it was uncomfortably cold weather, and that his head was throbbing. Perhaps it would have seemed strange had it not been for the fact that Mycah didn't know what the difference was between such happenstances and what 'strange' was, for he had no knowledge or instinct on the matter to draw from. He had discovered a set of dog tags on a chain nearby, and thinking that it may have something to do with him or his situation, he decided to take the otherwise useless chain along for the ride, wrapping it around a bladed arm.
Without direction, Mycah began wandering aimlessly through the landscape. He had no destination in mind, and nothing was drawing him closer or further away through instinctual preservation or any sense of revenge. Maybe he could find something to do with himself if he kept moving, that was his only motivation on the matter.
Or, at least, that's what usually was the motivation. Currently, however, as he traipsed through the shifting of sand beneath his feet, he only wanted to get to more stable ground. It seemed like he had spent hours trying to get to the other side of this sand bank -- and there was a good chance that the estimation was accurate -- but his legs had still not landed on a good patch of ground. He didn't like being slowed down like this, as it took twice the effort to move half the distance for a steel-endowed tiny pokémon as himself. He was exhausted, finding himself plopping his body on the cushioned floor to give his feet a rest.
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 8:26 pm
Many days had passed on Switch’s journey from her home. Grossly understated had been Watch the Houndoom’s estimation of the length of this journey. Several days merely brought them closer to their destination, not to the journey back, and not to mention whatever length of time the farmers would decide to remain at their destination.
During their travels, Switch rebelled against her strange desire to follow. After all, she had no obligation to stay with them, and to do so might even endanger her life, for everyone knows that a farfetch’d is regarded as a delicacy in the human world. The closer she came to the human civilization, the greater her chances of being discovered and tracked down. She understood that well enough. So why, then, must she stay close?
So she wandered.
She stayed within sight, or at least surveyed the road ahead before flying in her own direction. Why she did so she refused to consider. And when they had come within an afternoon’s journey of the sea, the wagon broke camp and the farfetch’d broke off to investigate its shores.
The beach was fascinating. The smell was something she had sometimes caught a brief whiff of without understanding its origin. Now she was practically wallowing in its thick, humid stench. Drying seaweed and broken shells littered the sand. Sea birds used rocks to break sea-bugs upon their hard and sharp surfaces. What a barbaric custom! Perhaps I should try it too? Regardless, the bleached shells were kind of nice.
In the distance, she saw something glimmering metallically in the sun. It appeared to be a large body or small structure, and moving, though the strange water-like waves radiating up from the earth made everything seem that way. But as she watched and waited, she realized that it was in fact changing its position and moving in a definite direction: down the beach.
Curious, she took flight and approached, remaining high above just in case it turned out to be dangerous. As she neared it, though intending to stay out of sight, her desire to know and understand the wide world around her got the better of her.
By the time she skidded to a stop on the sand a dune or two away from the pawniard, he had already stopped to rest his legs. She had no way of knowing whom or what he was, she had never seen one before in her life. His armor was quite alien to her-- perhaps some kind of bug? All she knew was that he must be a pokémon, (just as she “knew” that Rocío’s bicycle must be a pokémon, or had been at one time).
It seemed to her that a great deal of time passed in which she studied this new entity, before any move was made by either of them. He seemed not to notice, not to care, or perhaps he was simply sleeping. Who knows whether much time had passed or not; her impatience took over yet again and she ambled over until she stood before him. She stayed out of his reach, but wanted to be absolutely sure he had no choice but to acknowledge her, that is, unless he was indeed asleep!
“Er, hello,” she chimed with tilted head. She was bent slightly over to the side as she looked down at him. It would have been impossible to meet him eye-to-eye otherwise, unless she had sat down. She didn’t want to take that chance just yet. “Who are you? My name is Switch. I haven’t met anyone like you before. I hope you don’t mind."
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 4:46 pm
Throughout the short span of time that the small pawniard could recollect, he had yet to find much that had really rubbed him the wrong way. This endless expanse of loose granules had quickly reserved a spot on that small list, Mycah noted as he prodded at the ground with a bladed limb; it didn't stick like it would have with the grassy floor on the other side of the beach. It was, at the very least, interesting to observe when he wasn't trying to travel through it. However, it was also kind of irritating that the small particles seemed to get everywhere, and didn't always like to release their grip. In fact, it was kind of itchy...
The pawniard let the sand cascade off a blade every so often, preoccupying himself as he waited for his legs to recuperate enough to get moving again. He seemed to be completely oblivious to the out-of-place farfetch'd curiously watching his antics, but then again he wasn't in the habit of feeling as though he were anyone's target or prey, so there was no cognitive guard at the ready. Why would anyone attack anyway, unless they were having a particularly bad day? Then again, he hadn't run into that many individuals, pokémon or human, so he had no real basis for any theory he may have otherwise possessed.
While he saw the wild duck pokémon approach cautiously approach him, Mycah didn't move from where he was seated. His bladed arm lowered once the sand had completely fled from its surface and his amber eyes rose to meet a pokémon he didn't recognize. He watched Switch's movements, so vigilant and careful: definitely not one Mycah felt concerned over an unprecedented attack, so his defenses remained lowered. She was... certainly making a lot of noise, though. In an effort to try to identify her motives, he mimicked the tilting of the head to a lesser degree, something he thought was a manner of curious or quizzical nature. He had an easier time discerning body posture than spoken language, it seemed, but he was perceptive enough to realize that it was an attempt at communication. He tapped the flat of a blade against his lower jaw, as though determining where voice came from in the first place.
Obviously, nobody had ever really tried to speak with him before, and he had no idea where one should begin learning to socialize. Outside of actually learning speech itself, at least.
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 11:24 pm
It took little time to realize that the pawniard was studying her just as carefully as Switch was studying him. He watched her movements as she watched the movements of his limbs, which, it turned out, appeared to be some kind of weaponry. She glanced at the stick she held for protection and knew without a reasonable doubt just whom would win a fight. However, though she became cautious again, he did not seem interested in a fight. She would try not to annoy him...
He tapped his chin with one bladed arm; she considered what it could mean. Obviously he had heard her, so she did not need to repeat herself, but perhaps he did not understand? Or... perhaps he could not talk? "Can you speak? What about gestures, or writing? Oh... but I can't read..." She pointed to herself, then said, "Switch, that's me," then she pointed at him, "Hm?" Of course, how he responded would probably tell her for sure whether he could not understand, or whether he could not speak.
Of course, there was also the possibility that he simply did not want to be bothered.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:06 pm
His eyes did not leave their stead on Switch as she silently evaluated the situation, perceptive enough to notice the hesitation but not thoroughly enough to know exactly what it was aimed at. The fact that she was so bold had him confused, for although he knew what curiosity was like, he didn't tend to come up to another living creature that was similar in size. Maybe it was because she had the height advantage and a longer reach that she felt safer, Mycah didn't really know, but her body language seemed to be giving mixed signals in that arena. She certainly had a slightly differing perceptive hookup than the pawniard had, which undoubtedly caused curiosity to surface in the small steel-type as well.
As she attempted to converse with the socially-impaired pawniard once more, instead of trying to decipher what she was trying to convey, Mycah tried to think of how she was even making the sounds she did. The 'F' sound had him particularly interested considering she utilized it so frequently and effortlessly. He attempted to huff a sound, but stopped when he realized it wouldn't have had the desired result. She motioned to herself, and Mycah attempted to copy it by pointing at her as well; when she then moved her wing to direct it to the pawniard, he followed the motion. He glanced down to the blade pointed at him and then back up at Switch. Oh, he was suppose to do something here, wasn't he? But what did she want him to do? He didn't understand this, but he didn't want to just stare blankly...
So he glanced down, prodding around the sand for something, and then turned his attention to the water. He was obviously clueless. Turning attention back to Switch, he blinked and then rolled to his feet, stumbling as the sand rolled under his feet. Once he regained his bearings, he jabbed a bladed arm behind Switch, attempting to tell her that he was trying to head that way. He wasn't trying to cut the conversation short at all, but he thought he'd guess as to what she was trying to say. One would wonder what he was doing out here, right? Or was he totally off base here?
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Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:38 pm
It had become rather obvious after a time that neither pokémon excelled at understanding the other. His helpless gestures were a big clue there. When he finally made a sound, she froze completely, listening; when he apparently gave up, that was the final piece to the puzzle, as far as her theories were concerned. He seemed unable to speak at all. But what confused her more was his apparent lack of comprehension. Don't all pokémon understand one another? Perhaps... they do not! Not automatically anyway.
Fascinated, she continued to watch without uttering a single word, and allowed their actions to attempt communication on their own. Of course, there was mixed success on both sides.
Eventually, it became apparent that he was interested in something that lay beyond her, behind her. She followed his gaze, only to step off to the side when he rose to his... feet. Oh what interesting rolly ball-toes! she didn't dare utter aloud. Instead, she realized that he was pointing towards the water. "Oh... you want to go there? The water?" Oh, perhaps he was resting, and I interrupted that? But again, he did not seem bothered by it.
And... she was certainly saying 'oh' a lot today, wasn't she?
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 12:24 am
Mycah was unsure if the amount of silence Switch was exhibiting as the pawniard attempted to comprehend and explain was due to befuddlement or not. He was almost apt to believe that any other pokémon could gather what he was trying to show, at least better than he may have been able to, just because they probably had a larger recess of knowledge to draw understanding from. Perhaps this was just a way of thinking that kept the small steel pokémon from getting frustrated, or perhaps it was just another aspect of the world he had yet to fully comprehend.
When the farfetch'd attempted to verbally communicate with Mycah once more, the pawniard glanced at the avian in order to try to decipher any clue her body language or facial expression may give way to. No such luck, it seemed, except... He inched a bit closer and redirected where she was looking with the flat of a blade, nudging where she was looking a little to the right. It seemed she was looking at the water, but he was trying to walk down the beach.
He flinched slightly, noting the discoloration in the landscape off to the distance. Amber eyes squinting to try to make out more detail, but Mycah had never really seen a swamp before... what was it? And was it easier to walk on than this grainy floor they both were stuck in? He certainly seemed perplexed, curious, and turned back to Switch, now pointing toward the swamp. Had she ever been there before? How interesting!
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:27 pm
The biggest breakthrough so far was probably her understanding (with the help of the flat end of a wicked looking arm-blade) that he was not indicating the water, but further down the beach. And since he had risen to his feet, he must want to travel that way. "Ahh!" she exclaimed, though what she uttered was far quieter than what she would have expected to make. Perhaps it was that awe-inspired moment of realization, or perhaps it was because there was a blade at her throat, who could say, really?
She nodded slowly to herself-- perhaps, again, because nodding too quickly would be rather dangerous. "So you want to go down the beach? There's a swamp down there. And beyond it is a town." She had never tried to just walk in her travels, mainly flying and swimming because it was more convenient. But walking was probably the only thing he would do, and his feet did not seem very up to the task of tearing through sand, and later muck. She wondered (finally) just why he was out here, likely entirely out of his element. And yet, perhaps she had never really considered this question because she had always just assumed that he was here because he belonged here! Perhaps he was wandering too?
"Maybe I should... go with you for a while?" she wondered aloud, not really expecting him to understand at this point. "I don't need to be anywhere in particular anytime soon.
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:26 pm
With the way Switch was talking, it appeared she was able to comprehend what Mycah was trying to say. Either that, or she was asking more questions... he still hadn't built up the ability to pinpoint inflections quite well yet. Regardless, she had a general understanding of what he wanted to do, as her curiosity was visible. That was curiosity, right? Her tone was even enough, but it seemed the blade he used to redirect where her eyes were focused on startled the farfetch'd a bit. He pondered why that was, wondering if he made some sort of indication that he was going to use force on her at all. Mycah didn't think his body language said that of him, but then again, he was oblivious to normal customs. It would be so much easier if he could follow along...
It was useless to dwell on it, though, and it seemed that Switch wasn't disconcerted enough to leave. The pawniard seemed to have caught on to what 'misunderstanding' was well enough, but was at a loss for how to determine where to place blame in order to avoid it next time. The farfetch'd seemed more knowledgeable -- though just about anyone seemed that way to the confused pokémon -- so maybe it would help to see if he couldn't get her to show him around some. Even if she did seem to prefer to express such explanations with verbal language, it was better than nothing.
He pointed at the swamp again before turning back to face the bird-pokémon, curious to see if she might follow. Maybe even showing him a better way, though he couldn't very well explain that he had no designated destination... he was just curious and had nothing better to do. Tilting his head slightly to the sound of her voice, the armored pokémon took a couple of careful steps backwards, wondering if she was going to follow. Though it was entirely possible she had just been waiting for him to leave all this time... for all he knew, she lived here. Or could be trying to get somewhere as well, even.
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:37 pm
The pawniard indicated the direction of the swamp again with a long, bladed arm: his interest was most certainly focused there. Then he turned to her and took several deliberate steps backward, in that direction. He seemed to be waiting.
So, this is it, then. She realized that he might want her to follow after all, in which case she needed to indicate with her own movements what she thought he wanted her to do.
"Wangk," the farfetch'd nodded slowly with an affirmative little quack, hoping that she was reading his movements correctly. Then she waddled in typical duck fashion a couple steps after him, but stopped short, waiting. She was not about to assume anything just yet. Rather, she needed his confirmation that her mirroring movements were what he wanted to see. If his intent was that she should follow, then he would continue in that direction. If she was incorrect, then she would have to watch for some indication that they should go their separate ways.
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Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 12:05 am
As Switch took a couple of paces forward, Mycah made sure she was headed in the same direction before turning himself around as well, toward the swamp he had indicated previously. He moved quickly -- or rather, as quickly as he could while feet still insisted on burying themselves in the sand with every step. After about a yard or so, he paused and turned himself around again, making sure that Switch was still keeping up, or was even coming along at all. She at least seemed to be less tense, but it wasn't clear if that was because the farfetch'd was beginning to understand what Mycah was trying to illustrate, or if it was because she no longer had his blades so close to her. He'd have to figure that insecurity out sometime...
He only paused a few times on the venture to the marsh before he was convinced she was following. It was simple enough not to rush too far ahead, but the hopefulness he was feeling with a chance at more stable ground made the pawniard wish he could get there sooner. Truthfully, it was not all that long of a trek, even with the impeding sand along the way. Mycah stood staring at the discolored patch of land, trying to assess what could not be gathered from what little he held in his own memory banks. It smelled different... but that was about all he could read from it. Turning back to Switch, he prodded at the scene with a blade, once more directing attention to the very same swamp. Did she know anything about it? He was tempted to test it out himself right then and there, but he didn't want it to end up being another lake.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 8:52 pm
Ducks are perfectly capable of walking, though anyone would see that their gait can be quite awkward, considering they have no arms or forelegs to swing as counterbalances to their legs. Switch did have one advantage, her wide, webbed feet that kept her from sinking in the sand.
Simultaneously she kept an eye on the pawniard and considered his situation. She could see that her new traveling companion had a difficult time with it. What she had first thought were wheels were in fact toes, but his navigation nevertheless was stiff, like a bug or similarly restricted body. She could not conceive of a solution. That made his own compensations appear just as awkward as hers. Maybe he would see her movements as a reference to adjust his own. Until then they continued at his pace.
When they reached the edge of the swamp, the pawniard stopped and gestured at it. He definitely wanted to go there, but how safe was it for him? Since she couldn't ask him directly, she decided to show him while he still hand the chance to change his mind.
She gestured to him with her stick. If he could do so with his blades, she could with Bait. Her movements were slow as she tapped him lightly on the chest, "You," then pulled it away and tapped the ground firmly, "stay here." Then she glanced at the swamp and back at him. Then she pointed to her own chest, "Me, Switch," and out at the swamp, "I'll go there."
"You stay," she repeated, unsure if he would understand, then suddenly took flight with several powerful wingbeats. She remained low to the ground and circled overhead before moving out over the swamp. If he could sink into the sand, he would sink into the mud, that much seemed certain. A moment later, she landed in a pond and began to tread water for a couple of heartbeats before taking off again, then landed on a firm, but squishy and muddy patch of land.
Moments later, she returned to Mycah and landed in front of him. Then she looked down at her dripping wet feathers and muddy yellow feet. Then she looked up at Mycah. "What do you think? Still want to go?" Perhaps her dubious tone would convey what he couldn't understand in her words. "But I'll still help you if you want." This time, she hoped that her voice was more encouraging.
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Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 10:27 pm
The closer the pair of traveling pokémon became to the marshy lands, the sturdier the sand dunes began to feel under the weight of the pawniard's feet. It was not a big difference, but it was the slightest bit easier to reach compacted grains under the loose ones, resulting from the shifting of terrain: the sand gave way to muck, it was just a gradual process. Once one focused on their own steps forth, attentions receding to a more focused span, the distance between two points seemed to shrink as well.
To one more familiar with the basic concept of consequences from actions, they may have flinched when Switch whipped out her leek to point it at them. Mycah had no reason to think her actions came from hostility, or even that being smacked upside the head with a tough-bodied onion might actually kind of hurt if it made contact with momentum to spare, even though Switch made conscious effort to prevent such a thing to occur. He only glanced down at the vegetable when he was prodded with it, but for the most part, his attention was trained on the farfetch'd before him. He could tell that she was trying to communicate something to him, but whether or not he could guess the meaning correctly was another thing entirely.
Fortunately, Switch's instruction seemed pretty straightforward. The words, while alien, seemed to emphasize her actions of partial demonstration. At first, Mycah thought that he might have been standing somewhere that he wasn't supposed to, but then Switch pointed to herself, and... then out over the marsh? Again, she indicated the ground, and while the pawniard fidgeted a little, he didn't move out of the way before the farfetch'd took to the air. She seemed to trace the arc she had moments before been pointing towards. It was apparent that she was pointing to where they should be in the seconds that followed.
Curiously, Mycah tilted his head slightly as he watched, waiting to see what she was trying to do, what she was trying to tell him through movement as opposed to through voice. Rather abruptly, he followed motion-command a little too literally and sat himself down as he exercised patience. He didn't understand the concept of weight displacement, but he understood that Switch could float... whereas Mycah would sink. Was that a skill she managed to pick up, to counteract the sinking? He didn't understand how vastly different the both of them were from one another, and saw no reason why he couldn't do the same such thing with a little practice.
But how much practice? How much was he really willing to deal with water again, after the first mishap?
He glanced up at Switch once she landed, but did not move to rise from his spot. She spoke haltingly, but Mycah couldn't pinpoint where the reservations were pointing to exactly. Eyes falling to the mud on her paddle-like feet, he made the slightest move to reach over and poke at the mud clinging to her, but thought better once he remembered he had weaponry for hands; it almost seemed abnormal for a moment. He watched her for any further explanation he could scavenge from her body language, but she just seemed a little hesitant. Mycah could gather that the mud was different than sand, than water, but it also seemed as though Switch was familiar with it.
Was she waiting for a reply? Hastily, he pointed back across the swamp, straight through the middle as he turned back to her questioningly. He might have been mildly confused, but he caught on that she might be able to help through the demonstration she had provided.
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