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 Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 1:28 am
James peered into the darkness before him illuminated with a soft, pink glow from the spiky crystals jutting out of the cave walls. Turning to Magnolia, his lips creased into a frown. "Why are we here again?" he questioned, to which he earned an open book jabbed into his face.
"To find this!" Magnolia chirped joyously. "This is a Mega Stone. Remember I was telling you about it? Apparently-" She took a moment to turn the tome back over to her, flip through a few pages, and then push it before the bespectacled male's sight again. "They can be found in mountains and caves, just like this one! So we're going to take a look around and, hopefully, we'll find one."
James, despite being confounded by her enthusiasm, furrowed his brow in concern. "But doesn't this place look a little... dangerous?" he asked as he watched her take a few trots inside the abandoned mine.
Magnolia flashed him a small smile. "Rest assured, James, I know what I am doing," she responded, though her words just made him worry more. "I've traveled to places much, much more dangerous than this, so this'll be easy. Just a quick in and out, okay?"
Shoving his hands in his pockets and relinquishing the lead of their journey to her, James obediently followed. "Whatever you say, Illia," he responded with a shrug of his shoulders and a sigh.
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Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 1:46 am
Both of the fourteen year old trainers were bathed in the neon glow about them, dyeing them a warm pink in the process. Rho glanced around curiously, as did James, but Magnolia had her eyes downcast into her book, squinting into the faint lettering on the pages to catch up on the passages she hadn't read on Mega Evolution yet. The two walked in silence for some time until James pipped up.
"So, um, why exactly didn't you bring your other Pokemon?" he asked her, not letting the fact drop that their journey into the mine was incredibly dangerous.
Without looking to him, the lavender-haired girl responded, "I needed to bring a few things. All of my Pokeballs took up a lot of room, so I just brought Rho's. Besides, if you're still hanging on to the notion that something's going to happen, James, calm down. Nothing has and never will."
"I-if you say so... So, where are we headed?"
James received a one-shoulder shrug in response. "Wherever my feet take me," the redhead heard her say. "It's going to take a bit to find a Mega Stone -- if there are any -- because they're usually deep in the earth. That's where the most expensive crystals grow anyway, y'know. At least, that's what I heard about from these mines. There's bit of gossip about them."
"Such as?"
Magnolia stopped walking and turned to him. "Like, that a Mew used to live here," she responded, ticking the rumors off her splayed fingers one by one. "That Team Rocket tried to take it, that these crystals are really expensive, the obligatory belief that it is haunted by the ghosts of deceased miners. Typical stuff."
The tawny-skinned male grimaced at her lack of response to any of them that might be true. "And you didn't take any of them into consideration before coming here?"
Magnolia let out a huff. "They're rumors for a reason, James -- they may not be true," she let him know. "Besides, even if this place was crawling with apparitions intent on slaughtering little ole humble me, it wouldn't have stopped me from coming."
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Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 2:02 am
"Y'know, I really don't get you anymore," James commented as the two continued on their way.
"How so?" Magnolia responded.
"You're... You're, like, different," he said, shifting a hand out from one of his pockets and winding it in the air as if doing so would will better words to explain himself from his mouth. "You've changed... Yea, that's a good way to describe it, you've definitely changed. You're much more, um, braver? Yea, braver, and confident. Did something happen in between the time of our battle together and now that caused you to do so?"
Magnolia pursed her lips as she recalled Altais, the Jirachi she had traveled with to the Kesfas Mountains to return to his hibernation. Her journey and experiences with the wishmaker certainly had matured her some. Who's to say she was changed for the better, as James seemed to say, but she certainly changed for good. Turning pink eyes to her companion, she almost told him, but the words stilled on her tongue.
Shaking her head with a smile, she said, "No, nothing happened. I've just become a little more independent, that's all."
While her response was satisfactory, James couldn't shake there was someone or something to blame for her change in character. Clearing his throat and averting his eyes, he stuttered out, "A-are you sure? It wasn't, like, a guy or something, right?"
Magnolia blinked. "In what regard?" she asked to his own inquiry.
"Ah, I mean, um, like you didn't come to like a guy or nothing, right? L-like, um, you didn't decide to change for him, or something?"
The lavender-haired girl's eyebrows rose a centimeter. "What an insinuation," she muttered aloud. "Where'd you get that idea, James?"
"My sister..." he responded. "Well, I should explain: She met a guy while in Fiore and really came to like him. Ever since then, Sonya's been awkwardly nicer, more responsible... So I thought..."
Magnolia hummed in response. "I see," she said to him. "Well, I have heard love changes people, though I wouldn't know... I've never thought of someone as that. So, to answer your question, no, it isn't because of a boy. Satisfied?"
James nodded his head. "Y-yea," he mumbled.
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Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 2:11 am
Rho rolled his eyes. It was painful to see James layering it on so thick and his owner remain so oblivious to his intentions. he thought to himself.
Magnolia and James continued to talk, discussing various things from her intention to pursue Mega Evolution, to why she got interested in it in the first place, to what James was up to since their separation, to even why he didn't have a Pokemon yet.
"So that's your reasoning?" the female fourteen year old asked. "It'll interfere with your studies?"
"Exactly," James nodded, pushing his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose. "If I want to become a computer whiz like Cashell, I can't have frivolous distractions like a Pokemon bring me down. Besides, you have more than enough to protect me and you, y'know?" The bespectacled male didn't want to admit it was because his mother was strictly against his obtaining one until he was at least an adult. The woman was too paranoid for her own good.
Just as James was about to continue speaking, Magnolia clutched his shoulder and jerked him back a bit. Blinking, he watched a curious sparkle glitter in her eyes. "Illia?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
"L-look," she muttered, pointing in the distance.
Turning his eyes in the direction of her erected finger, James saw a luminescent sparkle on the cave wall. "No way... Do you think that's...?"
"There's only way to find out," Magnolia chirped as she raced towards it. "We have to lo-oo- J-James!"
"Illia? I-Illia!"
Suddenly, Magnolia lost her footing at the edge of a ravine. James, panicking at her tumble, raced forth to try and grab her. Unfortunately, her momentum and their linked arms caused them both to be brought to the bottom. Their screams echoed as crystal cracked and shattered and the two slid down the ledge and hit the bottom with a heavy collapse. Eventually, two bodies and Magnolia's Glameow lay stiff at the bottom of the mine.
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Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 1:00 pm
Rho was the first to his feet, protected when Magnolia was swift enough to pull the feline from her shoulder and hug him to her bosom. Racing up to his trainer, he nudged her face, and the lavender-haired girl groaned in pain. Wincing up to her Pokemon, she forced a smile, and patted his head reassuringly.
"I-I'm glad you didn't get hurt, Rho. What about James?"
Turning her head over her shoulder, she saw the redhead stir as well, and her worries, for the moment, quelled. Refocusing her eyes to the glimmer she had saw before, Magnolia heard something snicker, and closer inspection revealed what she had seen wasn't a Mega Stone at all, but the glint of a wild Sableye's eye in the darkness. His pearly smile cracked in the ebony as he let out another mischievous giggle before scuttling away to commit some more trouble elsewhere.
Sitting up now, Magnolia looked to the height between her and the top of the mine shaft and knew then and there, with their sudden fall, they wouldn't be able to climb out. Nudging Rho, she pointed above her, and said, "Rho, I-I need you to go get help. James and I aren't in any c-condition to climb out. Find anyone and bring them here, please."
The Glameow didn't need to be told twice. Propelling himself from her shoulder and against the adjacent caves walls, Rho bounded himself upward and started in a swift run through the mine and out into the wilderness. Hoping for his trek to be safe and soon, Magnolia turned her attention to her companion. Pulling him up to sitting, she heard him groan, and frowned deeply at his well-being.
"I-I'm sorry, James, this is all my fault," she apologized, dusting shards of pink crystal from his cheek. "If I hadn't dragged you along..."
James looked to her and forced a placid smile. "Don't worry about it," he said, wincing a bit. "I... I wanted to come. Being with you is an adventure, after all."
"James..." Pursing her lips, she looked to a torn section on the male's sleeve, and drew back at the sight of a large scar. "Oh Arceus, you're bleeding," she gasped in horror.
James tried to calm her. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt..." he started, but ended up witnessing her tearing the frill from her sundress and tying it about the wound. "Thanks," he told her, reeling a bit when she tugged too tight.
"Yea..." she chagrined.
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Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 7:25 pm
Silence touched upon Magnolia's lips when she realized she was to blame for this mishap. Despite what James said to try and reassure her it was simply a mistake, the girl chose to shoulder it. There was only so much James could do before he to was brought to acquiesce as well, his tawny-colored hand slipped over her in a comforting gesture. Looking to him, the lavender-haired girl frowned, and then turned away.
"By the way, James, I, um, I lied earlier."
The bespectacled male blinked. "What do you mean?" he questioned.
Connecting her pink eyes to his grey ones, she said, "A-about why I changed. In actuality, I-I did... I did meet someone."
This admittance made his chest feel heavy. I thought so, he thought to himself, swallowing. "I see... W-well, what is he like?"
Magnolia thought for a moment and a small smile curved on her lips. "He's really bossy," she said. "He would drag me everywhere and he would say a lot of mean things sometimes... He always put himself first. Always. But that didn't mean he didn't care! He did care... I'm sure of it. We were together for a few months, but then he had to leave..."
Hearing this from the lavender-haired girl made the redhead visibly frown. "I-Illia!" he snapped. "T-that's not right! How could you let him treat you like that?" Suddenly, the male grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her a little. "N-no one should treat you like that! If I was your boyfriend, I wouldn't-"
Magnolia blinked. "Boyfriend?" she repeated from him, before following it up with a chortle. James drew to silence. "I'm not talking about a boy, James, I'm talking about a Jirachi."
"J-Jirachi...?"
She nodded her head several times. "Yes," Magnolia replied, dropping a nostalgic smile to her lap. "When I first came to Zatao, a Jirachi protected me from a pack of territorial Mightyena. He introduced himself as Altais then demanded I take him to the Kesfas Mountains in exchange for him saving my life. We traveled together for a few months until we had to part. Altais is currently in his hibernation right now and... I won't ever see him again in this lifetime, but he remains one of my best of friends. I've changed thanks to him and I wanted to tell you that. I'm sorry for lying earlier."
James's stern grip on her shoulders loosened and ran down the length of her arms. "Oh," he muttered, realizing his feelings had, once again, gotten the better of him. Rebuking himself internally, he released her, and said, "So you met a Jirachi? T-that's amazing... Really amazing. I see how that could change anyone."
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Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 8:05 pm
Meanwhile, Rho galloped with the strength of a freed Rapidash across the valley as he headed for Motterossa for help. Halfway there, he stopped in his tracks before a dark-skinned male standing beside an Absol. The man looked to him curiously.
"G-Glamrrow!" he mewled toward him. "Glam, glamrrow!"
The man tilted his head. "Eh? Is something wrong?"
Since the girl had just poured her heart out to him, James felt the need to do the same. Taking a deep breath, he looked to her face, but ended up blushing and turning away again. Clenching fists, he steeled his determination, and muttered, "Um, there's something I want to tell you as well, Illia."
"What is it, James?"
"Um, w-well, for a, um, long, long time, Illia, I've, um... For a long time, Illia, I've li-"
"Hey!"
The two teens jumped at the sound of a masculine voice through the mine and the crunch of footsteps above them. Darting their eyes up, both could make out the silhouette of a figure in the pink hue of the cave.
"Glamrrow!" cried out Rho, which provoked a smile from the girl's lips.
"Rho!" she responded. "We're here! Down here!"
Osmond squinted into the darkness and noticed the paler girl's flailing arms. "Oh crap... I see you!" he called down. "Are you kids okay?"
Magnolia nodded her head. "Y-yea! Um, my friend here got hurt, but we'll be fine!"
"Gotcha! Give me a moment, I'll get you two out of there. Osiel." The Absol trotted up alongside Osmond and looked to him expectantly. "Bring them up, please."
Bounding from the dark-skinned male's side and down into the mine shaft, Osiel stopped before them and motioned a head to his back for the two to get on. Tentatively, Magnolia and James clambered onto the Disaster Pokemon and, after making sure they had a secure grip, jumped from the ravine and back to the main path of the mine.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 12:57 am
Osmond took the two to Motterossa's police station to collect themselves and submit a police report on their behalf. Despite being out of his jurisdiction, he requested they forward the information on his post in Katarina while he tended to Magnolia and James. Upon approaching the two, he realized they were more drained then shaken.
Kids these days sure are braver, huh? If I was in their position some years ago, I'd would've s**t my pants...
Bending down to the lavender-haired girl's height, he rested a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, are you two okay?" he asked, gliding his eyes between the girl's downcast face and the bespectacled male studying the gauze placed over his arm's cut.
Raising her head to him, Magnolia replied, "Yes, we're fine. T-thank you, um, Mister...?"
"Osmond's fine," he reassured her with a smile. "Your names are Magnolia and James, right?"
Both of them nodded at him.
"Well, everything's been taken cared of, so you two are free to go home if you want. I'll check it on you two later if you'd like."
James shook his head. "N-no need, sir. We'll be fine."
"All right." Osmond rolled his shoulder. "I know you're both Pokemon trainers and all, but be more careful, okay? You're still young and if your Glameow there hadn't come around as he did, you guys could've been stuck in there longer than expected."
"Understood, Mr. Osmond..." Magnolia replied.
Ignoring the formality of the girl's tone, he offered next, "Do both of you need help getting home? I don't mind taking you back..."
The fourteen year old girl shook her head. "It's okay, we live here in Motterossa," she replied. "Again, thank you so much, Mr. Osmond. James and I are in your debt."
The two parted come Magnolia's words. Throughout their walk back to her room at the hotel, the lavender-haired girl did not release the hand of James's hurt arm. The male knew it wasn't out of fondness, but concern; a subtle gesture that she wanted the pain to be shared because it was partly her fault, but impossible against the boundaries of skin. That didn't stop the prickle of goose flesh across James's neck out of embarrassment, though.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 1:04 am
She broke the link of their hands when they entered into her hotel room. At once, Magnolia headed to her private quarters with Rho in tow as James took a seat upon the living room's sofa. Slipping off his glasses, he reclined onto the plush seating a drew a hand down his face, wincing a bit when he realized it was the arm where the gash on his bicep was located.
She needs her space, the bespectacled male thought to himself. Needs a bit to unwind and get her emotions in check. She always does something like this when she loses her composure. I'll... I'll see how she's doing in an hour.
Unfortunately, slumber felt like a better option then and there, so James shut his eyes to the dimness of the living room and fell asleep upon the couch. He felt older than he was because of all of the action that happened that day. Not only was it physically toiling, but mentally and emotionally as well. He did make plans to check out his friend after he had taken a few winks, but upon waking up and finding a blanket thrown on his bedraggled form, did James realize he was the checked upon instead.
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