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6,670 posts
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92 likes
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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 Jun 23, 2020 12:09:42 GMT
There is a small startled jerk at the sound of the plate settling on the table, the boy having either woken from a fitful moment of sleep or stirred from a dark inner reverie. It would be rude to spurn a kindness, but he wasn't really hungry. Slowly unfurling, he slid his hands around the cup and tugged it close. The warmth was nice, despite the day not being particularly cold to begin with. His eyes searched the marshmallows for answers, they didn't have any either. "I didn't until today. Thank you, both of you."
An experimental sip of the drink, and the sweetness of cocoa mixed with warmed milk and the texture of dissolving marshmallow brought back some small semblance of peace.
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 23, 2020 16:24:27 GMT
"It tends to sneak up on you... that's what makes it hard," the girl says. "I'll be inside if you need anything, or just want someone to talk to or yell at. I've been where you are. It can be hard to climb out of the hole on your own."
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975 posts
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5 likes
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Hm, I should probably actually update this with a status...
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Jun 18, 2022 18:49:06 GMT
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Post by seraphflonne on Jun 23, 2020 20:10:43 GMT
Kai winced at Ruby's question giving her a shrug as he did. "Not here, eh? I was hoping he would be. He left while I was calling you, and I thought maybe he had just wandered back cause it was... too much to deal with."
"I guess if he's not back by the time my Pokemon are healed, we should head out and search. I think he needs time to... come to terms to things since y'know...Ayah" He mutters her name, looking down as he does. He still doesn't know how he feels about all this, not really.
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 23, 2020 21:41:30 GMT
"Yeah it's... something," Ruby says. "I'm still trying to come to grips with it myself. It... doesn't feel right." She shakes her head. "I still haven't told Ev. She's already just recovering from one shock. Even if she can't remember it, she knows what that means."
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6,670 posts
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92 likes
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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 Jun 23, 2020 23:19:38 GMT
Quietly nursing the drink, it wasn't until the cup cooled fully that he realized he'd been staring at the last few marshmallows in the bottom. A small bite from one of the cookies, more out of obligation then interest or hunger. Theo rose with cup and plate, and went slowly inside. "I'm not very hungry, but thank you for the cookies, and the drink." The boy stated quietly, as he pried his eyes from the floor and finally looked up at the people who were just trying to help.
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 23, 2020 23:26:45 GMT
"Everyone encounters tricky parts in their lives," the girl behind the counter says. "I just hope it helped even a little bit. And don't feel bad. I'll make sure the cookies don't go to waste." She gives a smile and a wink.
"Let me know if you just need someone to talk to. Or at. I know I'm a stranger, but... that's the thing. I don't know you. I can just listen, and you won't be bothered by someone in your life knowing about it. I know the look of a heavy heart, and sometimes it helps to just... share."
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6,670 posts
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92 likes
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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 Jun 23, 2020 23:49:15 GMT
"..." Taking another small bite of the cookie he still had in hand, there was a moment of slow chewing counter-side. Someone is trying to look after me, when I can't even look after myself. How much farther am I going to fall into this hole? The corners of his mouth curled downward, but after swallowing he spoke up.
"Something big happened a little while back, it... really rattled me down to the core. I looked in the mirror and I couldn't see myself anymore. I held onto my ideals, and my passions. Tried to rebuild who I was... only to have one friend collapse them like a house of cards, and another, one who... had been with me since it all started. She had done everything to help me find my footing again. It was at least partially her fault, all along. Then she left, and I probably won't see her again." His voice was hoarse.
"I'm just the scraps of a person that nobody wanted."
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 23, 2020 23:57:09 GMT
"Look, there, uh..." she flounders for a second, "sorry, I didn't catch your name. I'm Emily, by the way. But... I know what you're going through. To have a friend turn out to not really care, to use that trust to hurt you. It's... it's not easy. But you'll be able to move past it. It may not feel like it. But take it one step at a time. One day at a time."
"There are people out there who love you. Who care for you, and who want to help you. It may not feel like it... but you just have to find them. They'll come into your life eventually. And you are not scraps, Emily says, strongly. "You are a strong, wonderful, beautiful individual. It all hurts now, and like you'll never move past it... but you will. You'll build yourself up better, and stronger. This isn't your whole life. It's just one chapter. That doesn't make the pain and raw emotion any less real, any less valid... just know that it will pass."
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6,670 posts
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92 likes
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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 Jun 24, 2020 0:12:42 GMT
"...Theodore." The trainer replies in a very small voice, color spreading across his pale features. Breaking eye contact to finish off the cookie he'd taken from the plate. "I was so sure of everything... and all along it was tenuous. Now that it's scattered at my feet... there's too much to even know where to start." Slowly turning from her, the boy stared at the door back outside.
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 24, 2020 0:17:59 GMT
"Oh... I'm sorry..." she stammers, "I'd thought you were a girl, sorry..."
"That... that doesn't change what I said, though. It hurts right now. I know that. Don't be ashamed to just... cry it out, until the tears won't come anymore. Then think about one thing that makes you happy. Focus on that. And just... do that, okay? It'll help distract you, and stop you from spiralling further down. Don't think you have to try and mend yourself entirely. People expect that, but it's okay to feel hurt. Eventually, you'll figure out what hurts the least, and you can start working you way from there, putting yourself back together."
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6,670 posts
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92 likes
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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 Jun 24, 2020 0:27:28 GMT
"I don't know what I am anymore." Theodore replied with a ghost of a smile. "I didn't take offense. Thank you Emily, for listening. I should get to the Pokemon Center, before the people that still care start to worry..."
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 24, 2020 0:32:12 GMT
"You can be whatever you put your mind to," she says with a smile. "Take care, Theodore."
It's a good half-hour later than when Kai'd entered that he and Ruby finally see Theo entering the Center. Evelyn's still under enforced bedrest, fighting with the current nurse about that.
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975 posts
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Hm, I should probably actually update this with a status...
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Jun 18, 2022 18:49:06 GMT
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Post by seraphflonne on Jun 24, 2020 14:19:01 GMT
Kai had been wandering the center, unable to really sit still while he had been waiting. He'd been silent since he and Ruby had tried when he entered. He just couldn't think of anything to say, he couldn't imagine how the other two felt right now.
When Theo walked in he gave him a weak wave, not entirely sure what to do or say to him.
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6,670 posts
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92 likes
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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 Jun 24, 2020 17:26:06 GMT
Waving back at Kai, Theo turns his Pokemon over to the attendant, and asks to be looked after himself in a soft, quiet voice. Combing his fingers through his hair, he keeps his eyes on the desk in front of him and waits for her to check on their available rooms. "Hey Ruby..."
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 24, 2020 20:00:29 GMT
"How're you holding up?" she replies, quietly. "You look... very haggard. I'm sorry; I know that you both were... very close. This is probably even harder for you than it is for me."
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6,670 posts
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92 likes
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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 Jun 24, 2020 20:09:41 GMT
"I'm not." Theodore replied softly with a curt edge to it. "Going to... get patched up and go back to berry farming at home, with Mom and Grandpa." Giving the pair a weary shrug and the view of his open palms, he glanced towards Kai. "You got ahold of Maximillian and Mister Stone then?"
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 24, 2020 20:37:44 GMT
"Oh, you're... leaving us?" Ruby asks, sadly.
"About that..." she says, quietly. "Look... if anyone talks to them, my journey is going to end here. I don't want it to, yet. But, I have an idea here. Of how we can go after them. I'll explain more once we get Evelyn caught up to speed, okay?"
"Mister Weed," the nurse says, "You can come this way. Got a free bed in the short-term unit. You shouldn't have to be here more than a few hours."
She guides him to a room, the others following along, to the room in question. The only other occupant is an irate-looking Evelyn. "So, can I go now?"
"No, sorry, dear. You were half-unconscious when you got brought in," the nurse replies, shaking her head. "You'll need to be here a little longer."
"Oh, hey, guys," Evelyn says, looking at the new arrivals. "...geez, what happened to you, Theo? You look awful."
"Ah, you seem to be friends. Well, in that case, I'll leave you all to catch up."
With that, the door closes, leaving the four alone in the room.
"Look, it's... a bit of a story," Ruby says. "I'll let them catch you up, and then I'll chime in with my piece."
Through those of whom want to talk, the story is shared, and Evelyn gets decreasingly energetic. "I... see," she says at last. "I... I don't know what to say."
"That's fine... it's a lot to take in." Ruby says, sighing. "But... as I mentioned to the others, there's probably a way we can go after them."
"What? How?"
"So... the first development of the PokéNav was as a navigational aid," Ruby explains, "and a way for lost hikers and stuff to be found more easily. It expanded into... more than that, but the core is still there. And, to that end... there's a way to ping the location remotely. It's designed to be able to help locate people who might be unconscious, or otherwise unable to respond. I... can get a friend at Devon to do me a favour, and locate where Ayah's Nav is. Say she lost it at some point, but we're not sure where. It'll tell us where she is. Where they are." Ruby's face takes on a darker expression. "I want to be able to give them such a piece of my mind."
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975 posts
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5 likes
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Hm, I should probably actually update this with a status...
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Jun 18, 2022 18:49:06 GMT
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Post by seraphflonne on Jun 25, 2020 0:26:40 GMT
Kai grimaced at the thought of facing them, while he did hate their methods, he wasn't entirely against the idea they presented. And.. they had mentioned how dangerous it was to handle that... whatever it was. He seemed solemn about it, but nodded to Ruby. He got closure, so Ruby and Ev needed it too... He wasn't sure Theo even wanted it, so he wasn't going to push that.
"Alright, I'll help but... we can't go in swinging or anything like that. They mentioned that the energy they were gathering could wipe out a city is handled wrong, and since they're finishing up their plan, I imagine they gotta be using it... for what only Tapus know" The Tapus probably did not know, but that was a minor detail.
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6,670 posts
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92 likes
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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 Jun 25, 2020 0:41:24 GMT
Theodore spent most of the discussion staring glassy-eyed up at the ceiling. The initial answer he gave Evelyn was some non-committal sound or other, but after the explanation was laid bare for her it was pretty clear what had happened to him. "They stepped through an opening in thin air. I don't think a GPS is finding them anymore." Theodore replies in a soft tone, and rolls onto his side to face away from the other three. "Whatever it is, we failed to stop it."
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 25, 2020 0:51:45 GMT
"Look..." Ruby says, a look of determination on her face. "The worst that can happen is that we try and we fail. And we're at a loss again. But we lose nothing by giving it a shot. That's what we do, right? We don't give up, and we persevere through challenges!" She gets up, and heads for the door. "I'm going to go give Quinn a call. He's hopefully still in, and can run that ping for me."
Evelyn gives a bit of a chuckle at it all. "Ahhh… man, I think I'm rubbing off on her. Usually I'd have to pull her along for things. Stop and smell the roses and all. I'm so proud." She looks up at Kai and Theo. "So... should I expect any strange side effects the next few days? Turbulent-er emotions? Uncontrolled... whatevers? Ruby mentioned that it seemed to be Aura for me, so... uh, I really hope that doesn't mean I can accidentally burn out my soul or anything." She gives a nervous laugh.
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