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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Apr 27, 2024 17:48:03 GMT
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Post by Robot on Sept 27, 2019 22:53:10 GMT
Arriving just at dusk, the hustle and bustle of the thriving city is a stark contrast to the sleepy reserved nature of Ecruteak, or its more utilitarian neighbor. The radio tower stands tall and proud to the southwest, as does the train station. Pokemon are accompanied by trainers here, or hidden away amongst the sewers, dark corners, and back alleys.
Besides the Radio Tower, the locations that immediately stand out are the Train Station, the Games Corner, the Pokemon Gym and Center, the exit to the north for the National Park, a store that sells something called a byesickle, and a number of other shops as one would expect in the largest shopping district in the region.
In addition to these things, Muku spots shadows moving about around the radio tower. They stay close to the structure itself, and seem to be Pokemon of some kind. There is also a "Master Tradesman" looking to trade Pokemon, set up on the south end of town.
Thel gets the impression that this is a city of opportunities, work can be found and performed easily here. People are readily willing to barter, haggle, or trade. Several times he gets the impression of being observed, and on checking his surroundings finds the same dark haired girl watching him. Each occurrence of this she casually slips out of sight a moment later, after feigning disinterest.
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Apr 27, 2024 14:22:13 GMT
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Post by birdy51 on Sept 27, 2019 23:06:13 GMT
So. Let us recap the life of Muku.
Kursz had a good idea. Lay down a challenge, abscond to some underground thing, and wait for Omega to apologize. It was a good plan. A logical plan. Maybe. Muku didn't plan, because Muku had the brain of a Starly, which is to say, she was usually quite unintelligent. She was of course, reasonably intelligent now, but she was definitely out of practice for this kind of thing.
That's probably why she missed that Omega was super-aggressive and chased after Kursz like a wolf chasing a bug. Because that's sort of how it went down. One moment he was there, the next he was howling into the woods after him.
She reflexively grips Thel's arm tighter and gives him a nervous glance. There were shadows here, shadows that weren't in the woods. Dark shadows, moving shadows, bad shadows. It would have been had Omega not run off, but there was no changing the truth that he did and now Muku was more alone than before and while she could live Kursz running off, losing another person was bad and damn it all she was not going to let Thel out of her SIGHTS.
"Big tower. Little shadows. Pokémon?? Maybe. Muku doesn't know, Muku can't see that far... Tradesman? Maybe trade... Pokémon? No, no, Muku can't tell that." She pauses, giving Thel a pained look. "Thel isn't going to leave too, right? Right!?"
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 28, 2019 5:58:55 GMT
"No, no, I wouldn't do that," Thel says, a little strained. She has a very tight grip. Very tight. "So you don't need to cling on my arm so tight, it's painful..."
"If I was going to leave you, I would have just stayed back with Em," he continues. "It wouldn't be right of me to come this way and then just run off. Not that I'd know where to go, even."
"Do you want to go to the Pokémon Center first, in case our companions are there? Because I don't know if they would have even made it to that underground thing Kursz was talking about. At the very least, we could ask if they've been seen." He shrugs, before lowering his voice and leaning in closer to Muku. "I would also like to maybe stop there and rest a little. I've noticed someone watching us. So, I'd rather not go wandering off in an area where there are fewer people. Safety in numbers... and if it is anything like the last ones, the Center will be especially safe."
Though, despite the number of people around, he definitely feels alone, and out of place. This isn't his life, and he keeps expecting people to turn on him and snap that he doesn't belong...
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Post by birdy51 on Sept 28, 2019 13:32:55 GMT
Muku relinquishes control of Thel's arm and goes stiff in the street. "Where are they?" Muku asks, eyes dead ahead. "Muku doesn't like being stared at. Muku can teach them not to stare at Muku and Thel."
She wrings her hands together and cracks her knuckles. Muku was, as some people might put it, an angry bird. She didn't like stares. She didn't like people watching them. She didn't like people doing that. She didn't like Pokémon doing that. She didn't like anyone doing that. She was angry and scared and she wanted to fight.
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 28, 2019 16:04:39 GMT
"She's gone again for now," Thel says, quietly, "so there's nothing we can do. Best to just... get to somewhere safe. And where she'd be close enough to confront if she shows up again."
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Post by birdy51 on Sept 28, 2019 17:31:12 GMT
"If Thel sees her again, and Thel needs to let know." Muku states with firm conviction. She grabs back onto Thel's arm, resuming where she had let off. "Ok. Pokémon Center. Let's walk."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Apr 27, 2024 17:48:03 GMT
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Post by Robot on Sept 28, 2019 18:31:21 GMT
The soft sterile whites and pastel pinks of the Goldenrod Pokemon center are warm and inviting as always. Nurse joy is engaging a short line of trainers with a bubbly enthusiasm. Unlike the Joy in the previous town, who was periodically sinister or sly, this one cooes excitedly and finds something nice to say about each trainer to brighten their day.
"Oooh what a cute couple!" She comments airily as Muku and Thel approach the counter. "I saw you escorting the young lady along outside, what a gentleman! What can I do for the two of you today?"
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Post by birdy51 on Sept 28, 2019 18:45:41 GMT
Muku gives the nurse a terrible nod of acknowledgement before hurling a barrage of words at her. "Muku and Thel are indeed a couple, and Muku is not going to let go, because that's what she didn't do for Kursz and Omega, and they both ran away. Kursz is underground, and Omega is not where he should be, which is here, so maybe you could point Muku to Kursz and then Muku will feel better about life, because he's been gone too long and that is making Muku nervous because things make Muku nervous."
She pauses, adding. "Also, you have a weird, but nice voice. It reminds Muku of trees."
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 28, 2019 18:55:48 GMT
"Couple?" Thel asks confused, before his line of thought is interrupted by Muku. "You can let go here, Muku. I need to have use of my arms if I want to get my Pokémon healed."
He does look at the Nurse, though, and asks, "Though, uh, on that note, Lady... Joy?, I do want to ask if perhaps some of our companions have come by. One is a very large person, all bundled up with clothes, and is always a little skittish, and the other's thin with dark hair, and is very loud and always looking for a fight. That, uh, I guess isn't very descriptive, but they tend to be a little memorable if they did come in, I think..."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Sept 28, 2019 18:55:58 GMT
"Underground? Like -the- Underground? That is a series of walkways and shops that run underneath the city. I really can't advise a sweet young lady like you going down there for any reason, a lot of ruffians congregate in that place, and it isn't particularly safe. If you are sure that is what you want..." Joy added with a sigh as Muku stared intently. "There is an entrance in the West and the Northeast of town..."
A pause and she considered Thel's question a moment. "Well, I did hear a story about a couple of boys wrestling in the street, having to be separated by a constable not all that long ago, that matched the descriptions you just gave."
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 29, 2019 2:18:50 GMT
"Oh, don't worry, Lady Joy," Thel says, "she is more than able to take care of herself in dangerous situations."
"Though, uh, where is that 'constable' person? We should probably talk to them after we get things healed..." He sighs. "Because, yep, fighting sounds like them all right."
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Post by birdy51 on Sept 30, 2019 13:09:31 GMT
"Muku isn't really sure talking to the constable would even help." Muku says, folding her arms behind the back of her head and glaring at the nearby citizens. "We know where Kursz is, and Kursz is Underground. So why don't we go there first? Muku doesn't like being Underground, but if it's to find Kursz, then Muku will find a way not to care as much despite caves being bad."
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 30, 2019 14:11:22 GMT
"You are right, I suppose," Thel says. "I was just hoping to figure out where both may be. I guess Kursz would probably know where Omega is, though..."
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Post by birdy51 on Oct 1, 2019 15:50:25 GMT
There’s much less hesitation when Muku nods her head in reply. Not knowing what to do was paralyzing. Having a goal, a mission in mind allowed her to become resolute. She looks into the window and pulls her hair back and up into a rough ‘comb’ shape.
She could do this. She needed to be brave. “Ok... Ok! Nurse, Muku would like to leave this pointy egg with you... And then we’re going to go find Kursz. Muku knows this to be true.”
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6,670 posts
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Apr 27, 2024 17:48:03 GMT
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Post by Robot on Oct 2, 2019 1:44:06 GMT
"I'll put it in the incubator for you Muku, it seems to be ready to hatch soon. If you want to be around to imprint properly, I'd be back..." She hefts it thoughtfully. "Probably around midnight."
Heading back out into the bright lights, big city, you make for one of the stairways described leading beneath the streets where it is bright in most of the areas with shops. Cameras watch down the long hallways, a number of the shops locked up for the night. There are sections where the lights are out, damaged or flickering, which don't give the impression of being safe places to be. When Kursz is finally located, it's at the edge of the bright and the dim, his hooded sweatshirt a clear giveaway though his back is to you. The sounds of fighting are going on in the space beyond.
The room is all chain link fence and phosphorescent spraypaint, with rowdy, aggressive looking humans yelling and swarming around an arena with two Pokemon combatants. Kursz heaves a sigh and looks up, noticing his friends. "Hey you made it to town." A pause as his attention drifted back to the match. "Omega's come and gone." The drawstrings tightened on his hood, narrowing the profile of his face as he hid in it. "Went to 'become an Alpha'."
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 2, 2019 2:38:15 GMT
"Thank you for your assistance, Lady Joy," Thel says.
The underground areas are at once comforting and not to Thel. There is a familiar pressure, much like the den, carved into a mountainside... but it's also sterile, artificial... impersonal. The darkness also isn't nice. He can't see in it, nor does he have fire to light it up. His senses very much say to steer away from it.
The loud, angry noises speak to him in very much the same way. He does not want to be down here any longer than he has to... but, be down here he must. At least it seems that Kursz is here. Though, uh, with bad news. "Oh, uh... did he say where?" Well, that's not good. His decision to not fight fight fight always must have caused this. It's... very not good.
"Also, uh," he peers behind the fence for a moment before wincing, "what is this place? Why did you come here, it feels... angry."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Oct 2, 2019 10:30:01 GMT
"Olivine, to challenge the gym leader there.". Kursz answered quietly. "The words we exchanged were not good, he is off to make a strong pack." He considered Muku for a moment, offering her a little smile and a nod.
"Before he evolved, Dad brought me here sometimes to explain "posturing". Carrying yourself in such a way that people think you are powerful and won't mess with you. Faking it to help yourself win by breaking your enemy's confidence. He taught a lot of lessons like that, then we would steal the meat pucks from the place around the corner. Nostalgia, I guess."
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 2, 2019 14:47:00 GMT
"Uh, I see..." Thel says, to both statements. "We should... maybe go that way, but also he'll probably move to the next fight before we find him." He sighs. "What we should definitely do is get out of this place, though. It makes my skin crawl, and my hairs stand on edge, and all that. Not a good feeling. Too much fighting, and anger, and aggression."
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Post by birdy51 on Oct 2, 2019 21:03:08 GMT
Off to the side, a young woman nods her head quietly and tries to listen to the ongoing conversation between her companions, but she is distracted. Her eyes stare down into the fighting pit, watching the Pokémon and their Trainers dance together in a macabre celebration of battle. When she closed her eyes, she could smell it, the feathers and the dirt, the storm of leaves, the pecking and the clawing and the tackling. Soaring, up, over, under; all across the battlefield in a wild ride.
She didn't really know how to be comfortable. Comfort wasn't apart of her DNA. But fighting? A sly grin crosses her face as she clues back into the conversation.
"Not yet. Muku wants to go down there and fight." She says. "How does Muku join the fight?"
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 2, 2019 21:33:04 GMT
"That seems like a terrible idea, Muku," Thel says, aghast. "It looks and feels dangerous, and Lady Joy warned us against going here, too. What if you get hurt?"
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