[PD] Unexpected reconnections & ramifications (Emery & Pyry)

[MoogerMint]

It was difficult for Emery to keep his foggy attention divided, despite it only being between Pyry and himself. He couldn't locate any pain throughout his own body, though he vaguely remembered feeling it before his panic took hold of the captain's wheel. Perhaps it was because of this that he ended up more focused on Pyry's injuries, especially when the magnemite wasn't currently having to try to work around the failures in his internal systems, seated as he was. He had fallen back into the chair after taking the potion, the taste still lingering but the numbness still present, as he made sure that Pyry actually took his own potion as he said he would. "Good," he remarked simply, sinking further in the scarf so that it came up to his nose. How could the teen drink that stuff without so much of a flinch? Did he... have to take the medication a lot? He prodded at the empty potion bottle a bit, waiting for the feeling to come back, "Doesn't it taste bad?"

Emery offered a bit of a fatigued nod when he was asked whether he still felt cold. While it hadn't been the case, it felt like the chill had dug so far down to take his sense of feeling that it would be but an impossible feat to retrieve. He knew that Pyry knew better, but when depression started to dig its claws in, it was never very gentle about it. Having the chair pulled closer to the fire was a bit of a surprise, which worked to distract the boy from the unfamiliar grounds that was the workings of his mind. He pulled the sides of the coat tighter around himself and blinked in surprise. Was he actually starting to feel that?

"Hmm?" the child once more tried to redirect where his concentration lied, fighting some to get those prior thoughts pulled up again, "Out in the... oh." He tried to locate the pocket that had Pyry's bell from before, but he had bundled himself up a little too tightly, and the sensation of touch had still not come back to a noticeable level. Oh well, maybe he could explain it well enough instead, "You... when you had dropped your bells in town, before..." He looked around, spotting the one that he had dropped closer to the cave's entrance and sighed, exasperated with his broken speech, "...Not that one. I didn't get them all. I was bringing it back." Pyry had told him in what direction he lived, after all, it seemed only natural to Emery to give trying to find him a whirl. How was he supposed to know what snow did to a person? He didn't realize that, to anyone else, it was blatantly common knowledge. "I'm not a thief," he stated flatly. Had he explained everything? Was he even making sense?

The shivering had him unnerved, and he gripped tighter to what he had on hand in order to try to make the shaking stop. It wasn't working. As Pyry moved away to grab something hot to drink, Emery closed his eyes tightly, attempting to ward off the fear instead. All of this was just so new to him, and apparently dangerous: he may be an adaptable individual, but everyone had their limits. When Pyry returned, Emery jumped a bit, momentarily having forgotten what he had been doing within the forced darkness. His surprised expression relaxed after a second and he scooted to sit more upright, attempting to grab onto the tea without it sliding through his fingers. Once he was able to make sure that he had it comfortably secured and pulled to his lap, he chanced a taste; it was considerably more pleasant a flavor than the super potion had been. He felt a twinge run down his spine from his chest and he tensed up, the reaction not from the cold but the warmth combating it. Emery paused before making any other move, staring at the liquid as it lazily tossed the light about its surface. "I-I'm sorry, Pyry," he winced again as he urged himself to break his own silence. He couldn't remember if he had already apologized yet or not, but in the end it didn't really matter. This wasn't right, and despite the confusion, he wanted to apologize. Pyry was going through too much effort.  

[Lirilei]

“It doesn’t taste great no, but I know it helps…so I take it without complaint as needed. I had to have a lot of it when I was still a pokemon. After everything that happened…” he trailed off some, lost in thought a moment. He’d needed a lot of super potions and berries to keep from doing more than just fainting. He supposed he’d grown immune to the taste of the medicine after all of that.

Pyry was trying to follow along with Emery’s broken attempts to explain why he was there. Something about a bell…and town…but not the bell he’d dropped when they got into the cave area…and not a thief? What was that all about? He closed his eyes in concentration, trying to piece together what he’d just been told. “You found a bell…from when we met in town…and were bringing it to me…but not the bell that you dropped there, a different one? ….why would I think you were a thief?” his blue eyes opened again and he blinked at Emery in confusion.

As he sat there after returning with the tea for the both of them, he lowered his cup down in surprise, blinking at him and tilting his head, the sound of bells both sweetly tinkling, and dully thudding was easy to hear over the fire, and he gave a smile. “Why are you sorry? I mean you attacked me yes, and I’m hurt okay…but…I’m okay. Or will be with a little more rest. I am guessing you had a good reason for attacking me mister Emmerich. You looked scared, and I realize I am a lot bigger than last time we saw one another, and you couldn’t see me with light at my back. No wonder you looked scared. But, if it makes you feel any better, your apology, is accepted. Though I am not mad at you.” Not mad one bit!

Pyry for as ease as he seemed to be around the fire, was honestly terrified of it, being so close to it, even in a confined spot…and the only thing that gave him away was the slight tremble of his hands as he threw a few more pieces of wood onto the fire to make it grow before he shifted away from it so Emery could feel the heat better and he sat there leaning back against a chair relaxing….as far from the heat as he could get and still be close to Emery. This was fine for him really.  

[MoogerMint]

It took Emery a moment to correlate Pyry's words to their previous meeting, but as the cryogonal relayed his immunity to the taste of the super potion to his past experiences, the magnemite flinched as it sunk in, delayed as it was. "Oh yeah, the..." he began, cutting himself off from noting anything definitive, "You told me about that before. I... guess that would make sense. S-Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up..." One wrong move after another, it seemed; how much had Emery ended up apologizing in just the past hour alone? Or at least meant to...

While it surprised the magnemite boy that Pyry was able to follow along so closely to what he was saying -- or perhaps that was relief he was feeling -- he didn't show it. Instead, he offered a nod, trying to gather up a better method at explaining should there be any need for clarification. "The other bell was from earlier," he explained, indicating the bell at the entrance and the battle from earlier that day, before moving on to the posed question, a hinted shiver still on his voice, "I had asked if you were a thief before, and tried to take the bell. I was j-just joking!" He was pretty sure that's how that meeting went down, sure of it! Either way, he might sound a bit crazy if Pyry couldn't recall the prior conversation, and he buried his nose back in the scarf as a vain attempt to protect himself from that possibility, like a child hiding under the sheets.

Despite the twisting emotion the boy felt, hands gripping the mug of tea tighter than he meant to after the apology was issued, the sound of Pyry's bells as the teen tilted his head in confusion offered an odd sort of comfort. He had long since tuned out the drawl of the radio static strapped to his side, but the metallic chime from the cryogonal's hair brought back the realization that it was still on. It didn't, however, quell the frustration that came with Pyry taking the situation much too lightly. "Th-That's no excuse! That's a terrible excuse! There is no 'good reason' anyone could come up with that could justify attacking you like that! Y-You didn't..." he teetered a little at the spent energy, but tried to play it off as though he merely cut himself off. Who in their right minds would ever think of harming Pyry, when he acted so sweet? Emery... was most certainly not in any 'right mind,' by any stretch of the imagination, was he? "I think... something's broken in my head..." the magnemite mumbled through the scarf, once he caught his breath a bit.

He fidgeted a bit as Pyry moved to stoke the fire, but was too distracted to see anything meaningful from the interaction. He took another taste of the tea and set it back on his lap. Taking note of how the flames seemed to billow out slightly when more wood was placed on top, Emery seemed to be lost in thought, or perhaps just simply tired. Without really thinking about it, he started scratching at his fingers as they held tight the cup in his hands, the warming blood flow starting to feel a bit itchy like dull pinpricks under the skin.  

[Lirilei]

“All the training I’ve done, I’ve come back with more than a few injuries. I’ve also had to take them with me in case I needed them.” He smiled lightly, glossing over the harder past that would have been the main reason he was used to the taste. But even the injuries he got while training had needed attention at times, so that was as good a reason as any and no less truthful to boot.

“Oh that’s right. I forgot you made that comment.” He was laughing quietly, the bells tinkling with the movements of his laughter a pleased smile given. “Thank you for bringing it back. You could have kept it. I wouldn’t have been mad or anything really. I have so many bells losing a few isn’t so bad. Even if sometimes I might act like it’s the end of my world.” He was more relaxed than he’d been moments ago away from the fire and all and watching Emery.

Pyry frowned some and set his drink down, reaching out to touch Emery’s arm. “Mister Emmerich…it’s okay. You were cold, and confused and scared. You’re still cold even now and I bet you were colder there. The cold can make people see funny things, and do even weirder. I blame the cold for making it hard for you to think. It’s okay, please don’t worry okay?” though that comment made him tilt his head again. “Broken in your head?”  

[MoogerMint]

With an awkward fidget, Emery realized he may have jumped the gun a bit when he issued the apology. Pyry... hadn't been talking about his tragic past just then? Maybe it was time for a different apology... He was entirely oblivious to the fact that the teen knew very well what Emery had meant, and was trying to steer clear of the darker notes. Spinning the mug of tea a bit in hand, the boy glanced up and gave an intrigued tilt of the head, "Training? Like learning moves and stuff?" Could a person hurt themselves so often, in a case like that? He hadn't actually heard of the adventures that Pyry was so attuned to, under the tutelage of the great palkia.

Emery couldn't tell where precisely it had occurred that he got annoyed with the situation. It certainly wasn't Pyry's take on the events that transpired that did it -- his laugh was actually quite nice to hear -- and it wasn't the offer to keep it. Even if the journey all the way over here was meaningless to others, it still meant something to Emery, even if it was merely as a focal point for the task-oriented magnemite for a few weeks. He felt a prickling along his spine at the reaction, and repeated stiffly, "I'm not a thief!" Somehow, the words seemed more tinged with fear than the irritation that drove them on. He wanted a purpose, and he took the situation with Pyry's bell very seriously because of it. As much as he would have gladly kept the bell under any other circumstance, the fact of the matter was that his task wasn't completed until he gave it back. Quickly, he tried to fumble for his pocket again and fish out the bell, trying his best to cancel out Pyry's sentiments on the matter. Pulling it out, his hand encompassed the tiny chime as he held it out to the teen, trying not to shake too badly, "I j-just wanted to return it, that's all. It's yours." Please, please don't tell me it was for nothing...

The touch at his arm was a surprise, but it was not unwanted, and he relaxed a bit at the comfort. Was it all because of the cold? No... no that couldn't have been it, this wasn't the first time it had happened, despite it being the first time he felt the knife that was frostbite. "Does... do other things cause the same sort of reaction as the cold?" he asked tentatively. Was this spiraling feeling, fragmented and dissociative as though a nightmare... was that sort of thing normal? How did one control it? As Pyry prodded for more information about his nonsensical observation, Emery couldn't help but grasp for that hope, "I-It's happened before... It's normal?" He wanted an answer so badly, and for once, he didn't feel like it was out of the question to ask. Pyry wouldn't make fun of him for not knowing something that was common knowledge, that much was obvious now. Could he tell him how to fix his head?  

[Lirilei]

“That’s right, learning moves, learning to survive in different weather, and locations… I’ve traveled a lot due to that. Mister Escher thought it would be beneficial to me to know how to adapt to whatever area or situation I might find myself in.” as a result, he’d been to a lot of different places, seen a lot of things. Some interesting, some beautiful, some frightening. “A few of my battles left me injured, so I would need the potions and such to get better and heal up but it was a good way to get stronger.”

That annoyed exclamation had Pyry tilt his head. “I never said you were. I was giving you the bell as a gift Mister Emmerich sir…that’s all. But if you don’t want it, then I will accept its return, thank you.” He was puzzled by the others behavior honestly! He took the bell from the other and smiled as it landed in his palm. “Now, will you accept my gift? I’ll keep this one…and….lets see…” he set that one on his leg before he was reaching up and undoing one of the braids in his hair a bell still in good shape let to fall loose from his hair and he held it out. “Will you accept this one as a thank you?”

“I’m sure there are a lot of things out there than can cause similar reactions to the cold. I’m not very good at all that sort of stuff….book smarts and learning though I do my best when Mister Escher teaches me and has me study. I wonder if he might know honestly. I just know best about the cold since it’s where I live. “Maybe he has a book. I will look once we warm up, see if I can find something about minds okay? It will be okay Mister Emmerich, really. You’re with friends now after all!”  

[MoogerMint]

Emery's eyes lit up as Pyry explained what he had meant when he had mentioned his training before. The teen hadn't seemed like the type to really battle all that much, even though he was present to see one of those damaging moves when they had first met, so this perspective was intriguing in its own way. "Heh, you don't look like the type that really likes to fight, though maybe that's the whole thing about ice types," he grinned; the ice did make Pyry look more glass-like, after all! His smile dissolved some as he turned back to the tea in his hands, the warmth of the cup radiating out to them, "Just so long as you don't always use that barrier thing... I don't think that would be very efficient." At least that familiar side to his personality seemed to be coming back to him in his mental haze, but it still didn't feel entirely right, with the subject matter as it was. "So have you traveled all over the world, then?" Emery asked curiously. He had absolutely no idea how big the world out there was.

The magnemite boy shook his head in response to Pyry's explanation on gifting the bell, but he couldn't manage the words. He did want the bell, but then why would he have traveled all the way up here? Just to state that he wasn't a thief, but he wanted to take the bell anyway? That wouldn't have made any sense! No, he was here to return it, so that it was no longer lost! As soon as the bell dropped from Emery's hand into Pyry's awaiting palm, he retreated his arms closer to his torso with the tea in hand, as though pulling into a shell. The comfort came a bit slow, but the fact that Pyry had accepted the returned bell and sounded like he felt grateful worked to lessen his apprehension on the matter. The apprehension that was similarly knocked into disbelief as the teenaged cryogonal thought to return the sentiment with a different bell. Startled, he stared a bit, making sure he wasn't just filling in the blanks himself as the teen untied a different bell from his minty hair. "Ah! Really?" the boy queried, pausing a bit before giving a sharp nod and holding his hand back out, "Th-Thanks! Are you sure, though? It looked nice where it was."

Blinking, Emery hung on to every word that was said, attempting to process it as well as his foggy head could. It didn't sound like Pyry himself had really experienced what Emery was trying to explain, as vague as it was in his fatigue, but if it was normal, then... maybe it was something really easy to fix? "Well you still know more about it than I do," he prodded, his smile returning. He didn't feel like he really deserved all this help, but... if it could be fixed, maybe this sort of mishap would never happen again. Then maybe he'd be able to properly thank them for all that they were doing for him. "Thanks a lot, Pyry, this all really means a lot. I just wish... is there any way I can help at all?" he asked, fidgeting slightly. Let him help with anything... he felt like he was being such a burden. Was he asking too much?

His attention was redirected before his thoughts drove him down that dangerous path again, scratching at his leg just below the knee, still pulled up to sit huddled on the chair. He pulled his hand back, rubbing at it with the other hand as the tea mug sat at his stomach, "It hurts... It stings from the inside." Perhaps the stinging was an improvement from feeling nothing at all, but it sure didn't seem like one!  

[Lirilei]

“I’ve heard it before, that as an ice type aren’t I afraid I’ll break, that I was too cute to fight…whatever that means.” A shrug given at that one since he wasn’t aware what those sorts of backhanded compliments (or even compliments really), were. Though look at him smile and shake his head. “No, but I didn’t want to hurt you. You seemed really scared, and I didn’t want to make it worse by hurting you.” Not one bit. He’d handle being attacked and injured to keep from harming his friend! “I don’t think it’s been quite all over mister Emmerich…some places are just far too hot for my comfort even looking like this. I can handle the heat yes, but I really do not like it so I try to stay in areas that do not get too uncomfortably hot.”

There was a warm smile to the boy a nod of his head given. “I’m very sure, a gift for my friend. The one you brought back, can go there.” And he did quickly and easily slide a small amount of hair through the bell loop, and braided his hair back to how it’d been, a light shake of his head with a smile. “Now, the bell mister Emmerich brought me, is safe and sound. Just like I know you’ll keep that one safe now that It’s yours.”

“Maybe…I’m only guessing. But I will look through mister Escher’s books and see what I can find. I don’t promise he has something but maybe…” he sure hoped so! Though look at his shake his head with a smile. “No, no. Right now, you sit, and be warm. You were so cold, so frozen…that is why it stings on the inside. Your skin is waking up again, it was asleep and now it’s awake and unhappy to be. Do you need more tea? Or food? I can get you a snack, it will help with warming more.”

Though look at him peer back towards the fire, and he took a deep breath, steeling himself for the task as he did chuck a little more wood into the fire, it flaring up suddenly and nearly burning his hand. As it was it got a little too warm, too quick and he yanked his hand back with a startled gasp, eyes wide with surprise and heart pounding. Reaching for the fire poker with trembling hands, he got the wood situated better, jumping a little at the wood popping noisily, eyes closing tightly in his sudden fright. His fingers were curled tightly around the metal poker in his hands, knuckles losing color from how tightly he was gripping it. The next pop of wood didn’t register with him…nor did the fact a small chunk of wood had fallen out with it, and bounced to a stop next to his other hand, burning his pinky finger as he sat there with eyes closed.  

[MoogerMint]

While Emery might not have been very familiar with the properties of ice itself, as many a person would have been prior to making those comments to Pyry, he knew what material ice looked like. "How different is ice to glass?" he asked, trying to compare, "Maybe that's what they meant?" He'd at least worked with glass before, but being stuck inside, his knowledge of ice was a little more limited, and it didn't always consist of being water-based, either. His irritation on the matter with their prior battle and Pyry not wanting to hurt him was muffled a bit as he drank some more of the tea. The negativity wasn't necessarily on Pyry's answer at all, namely that Emery couldn't put his finger exactly on what happened, or even remember it fully, remaining like a confused jumble of slides to a projector. Even then, it didn't always feel like it was through his own eyes, so he wanted to settle his nerves a little before attempting to respond to that, "I was scared... I think. But I don't remember why." Other than the frostbite, of course, but that shouldn't have been anything that would have made him attack Pyry for trying to help! Considering all the places that Emery had been since his own transformation, always having been on the move but not for nearly as long, the magnemite's fascination was still very evident, "I've not been anywhere very warm before. You must travel a lot! What other places are there out there?" The world was a strange place, but that didn't mean he had to be scared of it. Quite the contrary.

Emery glanced down at the bell now in his hands, studying it for a brief moment. It looked almost exactly like the bell he had just returned to his friend, but he knew it was entirely different, and held a completely alternate weight. It was no longer arbitrary obligation, but a passive reminder. He did have friends, Pyry wasn't just saying that. Wrapping his fingers around the bell, now capable of feeling its metallic frame, the boy glanced back up in time to see Pyry finish threading the returned bell back in his hair. "That's better!" he smiled, slipping his own bell back into the pocket that the other one had been kept safe within, "And this one's not going anywhere. I'll figure out a better place for it later, but for now this should work. Thank you, Pyry." Having the bell replaced, in knowing it was not the same one, added an extra layer of comfort, further incentive to relax.

Even through the doubt, the mere act of trying to find out anything was good enough for the magnemite. If Pyry couldn't find anything, that didn't mean it was a lost cause, it just created a setback. In all honesty, there was already more progress made than he had anticipated at all. He'd never told anyone about it before. "Well it's a start, at least. I really appreciate it. If there's anything I can do, you let me know, alright?" he insisted, fidgeting a bit with the mug. Just sit here... he supposed that was as close to any order as he was going to get at this point. Not one of his better skills, but he could make do, even though that put his focus more on the stinging. He made a face as Pyry explained that the feeling was just coming back, "Skin is weird..." It's not like he had any of it before. "I think I'm just tired..." Emery concluded, pulling on one side of the coat collar nervously, "If you think it'll help, I'm up to giving it a try." He didn't honestly want to fall asleep, and nearly passing out earlier had only strengthened that uneasiness.

While he may have been overall distracted by a few little things bothering him, absently scratching at an arm through a sleeve, Pyry's stiff movements toward the fireplace caught his attention this time. It was obvious that the fire made the teen nervous, but it was the quivering poker in his hand that confirmed it ran a little deeper than that, more towards terror than simple avoidance. Silently he watched as the teen came back to sit down and regain his composure. Emery frowned after a moment and snapped his attention away, the irritation in his voice unrestrained, "...Why do you do that?" It was directed at his interaction with the fireplace, as indicated with the way Emery was now glancing in its direction, but the words were weighted more on the entire day. Why did he have to try to keep hiding things like that? It was obvious Pyry was scared, and yet he still seemed to be playing it off as if it was no big deal. He sighed, but his voice was no more than a quiet grumble now, "You're a terrible liar..." His hand flinched against the cup of tea, now mostly empty, as one of his fingers seemed to start stinging more than the others; that was odd.  

[Lirilei]

“Well, ice can break like glass…” he lifted his hand and used iced shard, a perfectly clear piece of ice sitting in his palm looking just like a piece of glass. “Here, you can feel. It’s cold since it’s ice, but it’s clear like glass…” he’d wait till it was touched, before he’d drop it to the ground and let it shatter to continue on. “And like glass it breaks with enough force. Though, glass won’t melt if exposed to hot…” he didn’t illustrate that one…mostly because it was in pieces on the ground. “I’m a little more sturdy than that though, since changing.” Which was good as far as he was concerned. “Maybe the cold was making your thinking fuzzy.” He smiled softly. “There’s a lot of places… some are sandy, some are colder than here, others are covered in trees. There’s a lot of really neat places.”

He watched the bell be placed into the others pocket thoughtfully “I’m sure I have something you can put it on if you want it as a necklace or something. Plenty of stuff around here to tie them onto.” He grinned some as he said that but it was true, he had a lot of pieces of thin leather and all that could be used easily enough.

“I’ll do all I can to find you an answer mister Emmerich so we can help you be all better and all okay?” very ‘we’ “I can show you to a place to sleep so you can rest, and warm up and stay. It will do you good to rest awhile. Let the storm blow over which might take a day or two.” Better than sleeping in that chair too!

“Do…what?” his voice was soft as he lifted his head pulling his hand away from the hot piece from the fireplace he idly freezing it so it wasn’t an issue, picking it up and throwing it back into the fire, listening to the hiss of the melting ice and let out a low sigh looking up at Emery from the floor with a wry smile. “I’m not attempting to lie. Just try not to dwell on the past. I try my hardest to move past that…but fire…hot stuff…makes me very uncomfortable. Makes me recall the past far too much.”  

[MoogerMint]

Listening to the explanation, he studied the shard of ice in Pyry's hand a moment before he realized that the teen meant that he could feel it, literally. With a start, Emery reached out for it, pinching the piece of ice with his fingers a moment. He pulled his hand away again, noting the cold but keeping the sensation from sticking to the extremities that only just recently regained their feeling back. Watching it shatter, he was reminded of the staff of ice that Pyry let drop when they left the alcove out in the cold. He winced a little, just as he would have back then had he been more fully conscious at the time, but the reaction was quickly dulled when the cryogonal verified he was not so fragile. "So it just... only looks like you're made of ice there?" Emery asked, poking at one of his own cheeks as indication. The weird headgear and... what were those, wings? Had those been strengthened as well? He was so curious!

The boy didn't think the cold was to blame for his temperament before, but it was difficult to explain past the fact that it had happened before, and in warmer climates. After all, Emmerich barely remembered what happened when he had encountered Lorne either, but the aftermath was much clearer in recollection. Despite that, he shrugged and have a hesitant nod, "I suppose it's possible that could have done it, this time..." He couldn't even imagine all the many places that Pyry was listing off that he'd been, but at least had some idea of the few that Emery had, and formed a vague link between the two. However, one stood out more than the others in that tally, "Wait, colder!?" How could that even be possible?

The thought of having a bell around his neck certainly helped to amuse the magnemite, but he couldn't say it was a bad idea, all things considered. The metallic chimes caused by the tiny instruments seemed to snap him back to reality much like the radio static could be used as a preventative measure, so having it immediately at hand could prove to be immensely useful. His hands reached up to grab at the scarf currently wrapped about his neck, tugging it down a little before readjusting it, "Maybe we can do that later, I think I like that idea. Better than keeping it in a pocket." He didn't want it trapped in there anyway; how could it make any sound at all, ensnared in fabric like that?

While Emery nodded at Pyry's proposal on finding a way to fix what might be broken, his smile hadn't just appeared from that, "Heh, you know, you can just call me Emery. It'd be easier to say, and doesn't sound so... formal." He wasn't sure how that would switch out of habit, considering it seemed like Pyry tended to use such forms of etiquette naturally, but he could still point it out... much like he had in their first encounter, interestingly enough. His unease with rest had a quickly subduing effect, though, and he tensed a little, shaking his head, "N-No, I don't..." There was a brief pause as Emery tried to figure out how best to explain his hesitance, "What if... what if I don't wake up?" It had never been much of a concern before, but he didn't know how deeply things were affected now, or how quickly they could be remedied.

Emery was watching the fire from his seat, flinching a bit to the sound of the ice reacting with the heat of the flames. The exact thing Pyry hadn't wanted to demonstrate moments before. No, he wasn't surprised about it one bit, but that wasn't precisely the reason why he was aggravated at the moment. First the injuries, now this... "You keep hiding behind your smile, even if you're not feeling happy. I can't tell when you're telling the truth or not." Pyry's words may have been taken as fact easily enough, but his outward emotions were conflicting with the inner, and it was messing up Emery's perception. He could identify that being able to put on a brave face to such a degree, in front of that which scared him, was a definite show of strength... even if, in a way, he was tricking himself into believing contrary to what he really felt, at the same time. He had heard Pyry's explanation, and nearly out of reaction to the teen's tone, he offered a hurried, "Sorry..." He still didn't know if he was making any sense at all, feeling as though his thoughts were spinning in circles.  

[Lirilei]

“I’m sure it’s an illusion. An interesting one, but nothing more than a carry over of my looks from when I was just a pokemon. I’ve never tested that though to be certain.” He laughed softly, and gave a shrug. “Though now I have these fiery colored bits and though they look like fire they’re no different than they were before they changed colors.” There was a grimace as he recalled what caused that particular change. “Though I think if the rest of me was able to be melted or broken I’d have known when Moltres visited me not long ago…” that was good at least that he knew he couldn’t be melted.

“Yeah colder…some mountains are much higher than this one, so it gets much colder there. Snows sooner, and heavier and lasts longer. Blizzards that can last for days and weeks….” He gave a light smile to the other as he said that. “I hear there’s even places it stays so cold there’s snow there all year long. I’ve never been to them though.”

“Later then I’ll help you do that.” There was a warm smile given to his friend, though he gave a pondering look as he stared at him a moment, brows furrowing. “Emery…” he tried the name and made a face and shook his head a little. “I think I can do Emmerich…but not Emery…I’m sorry.” It felt weird to just call him Emery. It felt so terribly informal and impolite even if he was being told that it was okay. It felt wrong to him personally, and it might have just been thanks to long ingrained habits from living with the Palkia. It was hard to say. But, Emmerich…while still a short a “title” was still easier to say than Emery. So, Emmerich it would be.

Though the worried question made him frown some and he reached out and lightly rested his hand on the others arm. “I will make sure you wake up. I won’t let you fall asleep, only to stay that way. I won’t let you die.” Words soft, but fierce really. He meant exactly what he said!

“I put on a brave face…try to act like it doesn’t bother me because if I don’t…well…” he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “If I don’t, the terror, and the fear I have of it threatens to overwhelm me, and makes me want to curl up in a corner somewhere and not move. So I force myself to face my fears. Force myself not to be frightened even though I am. I think a part of me hopes if I make myself pretend to be brave long enough…that I’ll actually become brave.” His words were soft as he explained his reasoning. “I am sorry for confusing you, and making you wonder. You have no reason to be sorry, really.” Not as far as he was concerned anyhow.  

[MoogerMint]

"Illusion..?" Emery parroted quietly, as though trying to put the pieces together. As a pokémon, he had been very familiar with a body made of a refined material not known to be animate. It reacted differently to other elements than peer materials, and similarly to yet more. There was, however, a great difference between metal and skin, something that became as obvious as it was disorienting. Pyry would know if the sensation was different between ice and skin, that was almost a guarantee, but the thought brought with it a furthering insecurity in Emery's own perceptions, distinguishing the line between something that was actually there and something that the magnemite only thought was there. The fogginess he was feeling, suffocating under the weight of his own exhaustion, was not helping his confidence. Instead of voicing any of the turmoil that was causing him to fidget slightly, uncomfortably, he decided to merely ask, "...Moltres?" Even if he was somehow only imagining the conversation, or the subject therein, the query was not harmful. At the very least, Emery could agree easily enough that it was probably a good thing that Pyry was no longer constructed of ice, especially with how warm he now felt.

It was difficult to imagine anywhere colder than outside the cave they now resided in. The extremes were strange and, as he was quickly learning, sometimes frightening things... but it seemed they could more or less be lessened, if not controlled. It didn't mean he'd ever really want to test such limits out, but as he buried the fingers of his unoccupied hand into the folds of the scarf around his neck, he realized any such fear was no longer present -- just curious awe. "Would you ever want to see those places yourself?" his question lacked any conviction, as though he were seeking directive to how he should be receiving this new-found knowledge.

As Pyry toyed with the feeling of saying the magnemite's nickname and the faces he provided in response to doing so, Emery's amusement came out as a slight smirk -- it was all he really had the energy for anymore. "Alright," he conceded to the halfway point, at least for now, "but don't be surprised if I keep reminding you anyway." Then again, maybe it was alright if he stayed on more formal terms, as it would provide the opportunity for him to distance himself. After all, there would only be more problems if he got too comfortable with any situation, of that he was sure. Murphy's Law.

The anxiety that had grabbed hold of the boy's nerves faltered in their grip as Pyry's hand reached his arm. Strange, there was... really no reason not to trust what the teenager was telling him. Despite what Emery had just said, about not being able to identify when the cryogonal was being truthful or not, the firmly stated certainty aligned with Pyry's perseverance; he really was quite stubborn despite being so mild-mannered. Emery nearly dropped the empty mug in his hand before his thoughts could be redirected back from the muddied confusion that came with a single, simple realization: of all the people Emery had ever known, he somehow felt that Pyry was the one he could rely on the most. He didn't know how he was supposed to respond in kind, so after a hesitant pause he merely gave a small, if sharp, nod. Wasn't this the exact same sort of thing that Pyry was defending against with his smile? Fear, specifically of death? Maybe Emmerich now knew more about it than he originally thought. Pyry made a logical enough case about it, regardless. "This... this was how you were able to rise above your fears, wasn't it? Because you had help from..." he concluded, lightly sighing as he lowered his feet back onto the floor, attempting to stand up again, ...from someone you could trust.  

[Lirilei]

“Illusion…you know not what it really looks like it is.” Though there was a wry sort of smile and a nod of his head. “Moltres found me awhile back…just before I grew like this…apologized to me for the death of my family actually…said it felt responsible since it was fire Pokemon that did it. Gave me…I guess you could call it a blessing?” he shifted and the orbs floating along behind him came into view, the last few on each side a more fiery coloration than ice. “They’re not warm or anything…just a different color.” He knew it made him different.

“I don’t know maybe. I know it’d be cold even for me. Especially given how I am now. So while I might want to, I think it’s safer if I don’t. I don’t want to risk being as immune to the cold and ice as I think I am, and freeze out there you know?” that would have been bad, really finding out he was subject to such things, and merely had a crazy high tolerance to the cold not a complete immunity.

“I’m glad you don’t mind and it’s okay if you keep reminding me. Who knows maybe some day I’ll be able to use the shorter name when talking to you, but for now…I can do Emmerich.” He gave a wry smile feeling like he was being a bit of a pain on that point even if the other didn’t seem upset about it. That was a plus at least.

“Because Mister Escher helped me. He saved me and healed and raised me and without him I wouldn’t be here to be able to help you. I hope you get to meet him soon, but he’s not in right now. Probably later.” Pyry finally got to his feet and took the others mug and set it aside before he was holding his hands out to Emery. “Let me help you up and I’ll show you where you can sleep. You will stay here with us for awhile yes? It is too cold out with this storm to be out there after all.” There was a concerned look as he asked, amazingly ready to argue if the Magnemite said he was going to go.  

[MoogerMint]

Emery nodded as Pyry went about explaining; he knew what an illusion was, even if he never thought he had ever seen one before. It was hard to be sure. Listening to the cryogonal's tale of meeting with another pokémon of legendary status, he was having a difficult time coming up with an adequate enough comment to make on the matter. Instead, he focused his attention on the icy tails as the teen brought them into sight, the familiar pale blue glow fading to a striking red at the ends. Oh that's right, now he remembered seeing those, framed in the rocky alcove entrance. Without thinking about it, he reached out a hand to touch the autumnal end of one. Red against red; that was weird. He grinned as it was confirmed not to be as warm as it looked, "It looks good, though!"

Pyry's concern seemed misplaced to the boy enrobed in the long coat, and this was made rather bluntly clear at how little resistance he found in coming up with a vague idea, as though he could rattle off a half a dozen more suggestions, "Then just go with someone if you're worried, if you want to. Nothing's holding you back other than that, right?" Of course, he meant it as long as Pyry was prepared. He was fully aware of what happened to a person when they were not careful with where they were headed... at least, now he did.

He wasn't exactly sure why hearing his full first name felt a little bothersome, especially considering it gave him a way out. Maybe he was just so used to hearing his nickname that 'Emmerich' felt so cumbersome; there was almost no attachment he had to that name. His outward appearance could have fooled, paired with a small, quiet laugh. It was a bother, but then again, it was a relief at the same time. He didn't want that attachment.

As stubborn as the magnemite was so adept at being, he was more than willing to admit that Pyry may have been even more so, and in a much nicer way. The child nodded in understanding as the cryogonal confirmed the very same things that Emery had suspected. He grabbed for the offered aid, hoping his legs would cooperate with him again. It was taking more effort than normal, but it seemed to have been vastly improved in that short time he sat by the fire. He never released his hold, allowing Pyry to help steady him, but it was still a drain on the energy, as was apparent in his strained mannerisms in speech, "E-Even if I wanted to... there's no way that I could." Currently he could barely walk on his own, and if he went outside, he'd only end up right back where this whole fiasco started. His hold on Pyry tightened slightly -- he may have looked and sounded all manners of frustrated at the moment, but he was still very scared.