|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
May 15, 2024 21:00:37 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jan 27, 2022 23:34:11 GMT
"Nihilego, they've come from so very far away. From oceans and pools you couldn't conceive of in your wildest dreams. Waters of vivid sunset orange, or vibrant pinks. Colors we don't have words for, some we can't even perceive. All they have is each other now, and me.". She turned her attention back to him.
"It's not unlike you and your siblings, all of us one big family, as though it was meant to be."
|
|
|
8,797 posts
|
16 likes
|
May 16, 2024 23:42:04 GMT
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on Jan 27, 2022 23:38:50 GMT
"Wow..." he says, impressed, though faint alarm bells are almost ringing in his head. "I'd love to see that sort of thing. There are so many things in life, though, that you could never see them all." And even if you had all the time in the world… it's clear that eventually you'd no longer have the desire to do so.
"That's something that not everyone seems to fully understand, so I'm glad that you do. That friends and family can come from anywhere. My Pokémon are part of my family, too, some of my closest friends."
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
May 15, 2024 21:00:37 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jan 27, 2022 23:50:46 GMT
One of the Nihilego lets out a shrill cry that seems to come from everywhere at once. It drifts nearer the glass, a tentacle passing easily through the barrier. Its movements are slow, gentle. It reaches for Thel.
|
|
|
8,797 posts
|
16 likes
|
May 16, 2024 23:42:04 GMT
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on Jan 27, 2022 23:54:15 GMT
Thel feels transfixed, watching it drift closer, staring as it reaches through. Almost involuntarily, he reaches a hand back out at it.
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
May 15, 2024 21:00:37 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jan 28, 2022 0:07:21 GMT
To his surprise the surface is silky, and the brush of the appendage gives him the impression of his hand starting to fall asleep. The sensation doesn't grow in intensity, or spread. It seems content to lightly brush up against him, trilling softly.
(Thel's attitude towards Nihilego improves one step in all future interactions, to a maximum of 'friendly').
|
|
|
8,797 posts
|
16 likes
|
May 16, 2024 23:42:04 GMT
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on Jan 28, 2022 0:13:56 GMT
"Huh... not how I would have expected something that lives in the ocean to feel like..." he says, surprised.
Hesitantly, he pets the jellyfish like he would one of his own Pokémon. It seems friendly, but he isn't sure if that's something it would like. Sea Pokémon are unfamiliar to him.
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
May 15, 2024 21:00:37 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jan 28, 2022 0:22:55 GMT
"If you gave it a name, it might come again if you were to call.". Lusamine smiled placidly. The Nihilego seems to enjoy having its tentacles tousled. Despite the lack of eyes it has a clear front and back. It drifts slowly side to side as though in a dance.
|
|
|
8,797 posts
|
16 likes
|
May 16, 2024 23:42:04 GMT
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on Jan 28, 2022 0:35:03 GMT
"Is it all right if I call you Grace?" Thel asks the jellyfish, after some thought. It just felt right, at least to him. "I'm sorry that you don't have your oceans and waters still. Family is good, but... it hurts to not have a home. I know that." He gives a small smile. "Even if I'm not exactly a fan of the water myself."
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
May 15, 2024 21:00:37 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jan 28, 2022 18:59:12 GMT
"Grace is a lovely name.". Lusamine's hands worked over his shoulders from behind, offering a squeeze.
The scene shifted, slowly and reluctantly as though somehow mired, to a forest Thel often recognized from Em's dreams. He knew where he was, and where he had been for what they were.
Em rested between a debonair looking Pokemon with forearm blades, and a distinctly more feminine looking one, though some of its facial features reminded of Lusamine. Neither figure was more than a dream fragment.
|
|
|
8,797 posts
|
16 likes
|
May 16, 2024 23:42:04 GMT
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on Jan 28, 2022 19:09:19 GMT
Thel smiles as he sees Em resting in a place that seems to make her happy. He isn't sure if she's asleep or not, if this is her or just a vision of her... dreams are always strange that way. A weight that he wasn't aware of except by its absence is gone, as fresh air and trees replace cloying water.
Quietly approaching the trio, he gives a bow to them, as he had learned from Chrysanthemum.
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
May 15, 2024 21:00:37 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jan 28, 2022 19:47:45 GMT
Both the figures wordlessly bow at the waist in kind. Lounging they seem to prefer kneeling, and Em occupies her mother's lap. As her eyes fixate on him, the figments evaporate, and the details of the environment fade to unconsciousness.
"You did say you'd come. Dreams of times gone can wait.". She gently brushed his bangs to one side. "Last time she and I spoke, Sabrina said dreams could be used for wonderful things... Inner peace, mental solidarity... Maybe we could build and plan our future here?"
|
|
|
8,797 posts
|
16 likes
|
May 16, 2024 23:42:04 GMT
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on Jan 28, 2022 20:52:58 GMT
"I keep my promises," Thel says, lightly embracing her. "Even if I did end up on a slight detour before."
"I don't think our future could be built here," he says, shaking his head. "Dreams are coloured by who we are, how we feel. It would be lovely, I'm sure... but, in the end, an impossible fantasy. One that we would always fall short of, no matter how good our life was." He gives a reassuring smile. "But we can plan, undoubtedly."
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
May 15, 2024 21:00:37 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jan 31, 2022 21:44:13 GMT
"Dad used to say something like... Yes your mind can take you anywhere but there is nothing like the real thing.". She acquiesced. "I couldn't have imagined a place like the Aether Foundation in my wildest dreams. A manmade island filled with forests and rivers, all of it indoors.". Em shakes her head and smiles.
"It's a neat idea... Pokemon having rooms just for them.". She settled against him. "What had you delayed?"
|
|
|
8,797 posts
|
16 likes
|
May 16, 2024 23:42:04 GMT
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on Jan 31, 2022 22:19:32 GMT
"I know," Thel agrees, "it's... incredible, really. You don't feel like you're in the ocean at all. And it's all to help Pokémon?"
"I had a dream of... well, the Foundation, but... underwater, I think. Lusamine was there, humming like she was when I went to sleep... so, I guess it's probably just me having that and the Foundation on my mind. There were underwater rooms, and I saw one with a lot of jellyfish." He thinks. "I wonder if they actually have rooms like that. It wouldn't surprise me at all, given... well, everything they have here. Why not habitats for underwater Pokémon? I could probably ask, I'm sure Lusamine'd be happy to say."
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
May 15, 2024 21:00:37 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jan 31, 2022 22:39:33 GMT
"It couldn't hurt, she's been very open to answer your questions so far. It might have just been a regular dream for once. You don't have nearly enough of them, and you are well overdue for a good night's sleep.". Her fingers played across his hair. "Tonight touched on a lot of things I miss from Mom."
A pause. "Sometimes I think of... Remaking myself, here. It's a dream... I could go back to being a ralts, but I'm not a child anymore either."
|
|
|
8,797 posts
|
16 likes
|
May 16, 2024 23:42:04 GMT
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on Jan 31, 2022 22:48:45 GMT
"It could be," Thel says, nodding. "I don't know if I could tell whether a dream was normal or not," he admits. "I never had dreams before... well, I started having visions. I had one after the whole... Lysander incident that I only held onto fragments of, so that might have been a normal dream? I don't know." He shrugs.
"I'm sorry, Em. I can imagine that the only thing harder than not having a family is... well, having one and then losing it."
"I remember Serenity touching on that sort of stuff. She appeared to me as a human in my dreams, instead of a fox." He nods, thinking. "...would it make you happier, love? Or would it just... make life outside of dreams hurt more?"
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
May 15, 2024 21:00:37 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jan 31, 2022 23:01:46 GMT
"I genuinely don't know.". She brushed the back of his hand with her fingers. "Realizing who I could have been... Going back to what I was before... Or just having an outlet for those feelings in a place where I can sense you."
Leaning in, cheek to cheek, she settles her hands on his hips. "Would it be strange for you? Loving a Pokemon as you love me?"
|
|
|
8,797 posts
|
16 likes
|
May 16, 2024 23:42:04 GMT
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on Jan 31, 2022 23:06:30 GMT
"You are you, Em," Thel says, gently. "No matter what you look like, I will love you forever."
He gives a wry smile. "I don't even know what I am. Not a child, not an adult. Not a human, not a Pokémon. There's a lot of things that I'm not."
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
May 15, 2024 21:00:37 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Feb 1, 2022 0:01:55 GMT
"You are nothing, if not caring.". She closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly. Finned ears pushed through her green hair, her nose lost definition. Skin paling, she became ever so slight in his arms. A crystalline horn jutting from her chest. When she was done, her eyes opened slowly.
Awkward claw like hands flexed gently, and she gave a small twirl in place. "I feel so light."
|
|
|
8,797 posts
|
16 likes
|
May 16, 2024 23:42:04 GMT
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on Feb 1, 2022 0:06:26 GMT
"I never had the opportunity to care before," he says, smiling. "You gave me that chance."
"Well, we can test that," Thel teases, gently scooping her up and holding her, before putting her back on her feet. "...other than that, how do you feel?"
|
|