|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
Apr 10, 2024 12:51:43 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on May 1, 2018 12:01:18 GMT
"B-But I... that's just..." Em took a few deep breaths. Feelings were so complicated, more than even her new friends might understand, explaining them in a single word or even a few words felt like... It felt like it cheapened everything? Didn't do it justice? "I just feel scared, and uncertain, and especially lonely. I don't want to feel that way." She protested softly to Thel as the other three began to file out after Gold.
Kursz kept glancing over his shoulder, back towards the battle that raged despite there being no sign of it ending or spilling out after them, as though he expected pursuit. He was big now though, being big meant that he was better then being small. He'd show them all... something. What was it that big things did, other then just be big? He puzzled over this, pulling on his new fingers nervously.
"..." Gold looked up at Omega with a surprised expression, free of judgement, then back to Muku. Thel and Em's exchange didn't go unnoticed either. "I... I understand. I will help you as best I can..."
The jaunt to the 'red roofed building' was short through the outside. The outside! It was there as promised, with the sun high in the sky and the wind through the trees, and the shocked, confused humans pausing in the main thoroughfare of packed dirt to stare at the odd spectacle as Gold hurriedly ushered his charges onward. In the red roofed building, the floor was made of something a bit harder, a pink haired woman with pink and white markings, and a + on her forehead covered her mouth in surprise, looking to Gold for explanation.
"Nurse Joy... something really strange has happened. Do you have a lost and found bin they can go through to clothe themselves? A checkup wouldn't be a bad idea, I promise I'll explain but things are very much not okay right now. I need to make a call to the Professor."
|
|
Member
|
Post by birdy51 on May 1, 2018 14:58:50 GMT
There wasn't so much as a single peep out of Muku as they made their way towards the Pokémon Center. All of those eyes, the silence, the horror of the day, stunned her. She didn't want to be around humans. Their beady eyes, their flat, freakish faces were abhorrent to look upon.
She wanted to get away from them, not closer. Far, far away.
Yet, she found herself in the lobby of this garish building, with bright lights and yet more terrible faces staring at her. Staring at them. Why wouldn't they stop staring?
Her legs shiver, and she instinctively makes a madcap dash to the nearest bit of greenery in this wretched place, an imprisoned plant that seemed to resist the innate horror of it's existence. There she curls up around it, using it's thin form as a makeshift form of cover as she watches the rest of the proceedings carefully.
She hated this, hated being inside another place like this. There was a hole to the outside world nearby. If she had to escape suddenly, she could go out that way. Yes. Just leap through the hole, and taste freedom...
|
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on May 1, 2018 18:26:07 GMT
"I will be with you for as long as you want me to," Thel says, "And will do as much as I can for you." Hopefully that's enough. He's still not used to being constantly upright, yet, and his capabilities are... far different. So what he can do... he isn't entirely certain yet.
He waits until Em starts to follow the others, not wanting to risk having it seem like he's trying to tell her where to go. He wants to get out of this place, but his wants are unimportant. Upon actually getting outside... the sun is lovely, far more so than he remembers. He would bathe in it when he was able to before, but now, it seems all the warmer without his internal fire to keep him as warm. The breeze is colder, though... and the surroundings are entirely unfamiliar, barring perhaps a glimpse in the distances. Where are the rocks? The slopes? The mountains and crags? He must be far, far from home...
The humans all staring at him makes him feel very awkward, because any other time everyone stares at one being... it means they majorly screwed up and are about to be punished. So, he spends the entire walk in trepidation, awaiting pain. Thankfully, it doesn't come, but being in the other building doesn't exactly... lessen the stares. He's not exactly certain as to what is happening, or if it's good, but so long as Muku and Em go along with it, he cannot let himself falter or show cowardice. They know best.
|
|
Member
|
Post by Breakthelevee on May 2, 2018 6:04:25 GMT
In his mind, Omega was blending in perfectly and everyone else was the only focus of the stares, not realizing that the bright red clothes he had taken stood out when work regularly, let alone when put on backwards by someone who didn't know exactly how clothes work. Thankfully he had figured out the pants, though he hadn't bothered with shoes, his claws...feet...digging into the dirt when he made his way outside. He was less happy with the harder floor once inside, his connection to the outside feeling like it was fading.
His nose twitched as Omega tried to get a feel for this 'Nurse Joy' that the Gold boy was speaking to. He couldn't get a read on her, but since she seemed to be deferring to Gold he felt right in his earlier assessment, the boy must be the Beta to this Lance. It was odd to him that they had names other than their ranks, but something the other species haven't realized is the best way yet.
"Other clothes would be good" Even if everyone else was quiet, Omega would not simply sit in the back and cower "What is this checkup that you speak of?"
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
Apr 10, 2024 12:51:43 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on May 3, 2018 23:27:12 GMT
"An examination of your health, to ensure you aren't injured, ill, or in any immediate danger." The 'Joy' explained gently, even as she retrieved a bucket of mismatched clothing articles, shoes, bags, and accessories such as scarves. "If you'd like to come to the back of the center you can have a little more privacy?" She offered.
Gold, Meanwhile, had gone to the square box on the wall with water in it, and was speaking to another person in his reflection, re-iterating what Omega had told him with a great deal of uncertainty, as well as the conditions of the 'Rainbow Rocket Hideout'.
|
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on May 4, 2018 0:05:34 GMT
Thel isn't sure how to react. On the one hand, he feels fine. Strange and... human-y, but fine. On the other hand... he should defer to Lady Joy, because she clearly knows better than he does, and he'll probably be punished if he refuses. Back on the first hand again, though, that would require leaving Lady Em, and he said that he wouldn't do that.
Life is much harder now, he muses, without a clear hierarchy. He turns to Em, daring to ask, "What should I do? I should listen to her, and go... but I promised you that I would stay by you for as long as you wanted. I know not what you desire."
|
|
Member
|
Post by birdy51 on May 4, 2018 2:16:15 GMT
The bird, though woman, stares at the nurse with beady confused eyes. She wanted to see if they were healthy? No! She didn't want any more tests! None!
Muku readies her legs, ready to dash out back into the world through the walled portal, except... W-why wasn't she afraid of her? Looking the woman up and down, Muku wasn't able to understand it. What was it? She couldn't sense any malice about her. Muku wasn't a good judge of character. She never was. But this person seemed so singularly different than any other human that she had met.
"This check-up, isn't going to hurt us, is it?" The bird asks, rising up from her little corner. "I... I don't want to be tested on any more."
|
|
Member
|
Post by Breakthelevee on May 4, 2018 5:39:18 GMT
Omega nodded along, knowing that if Gold was telling them to go with this Joy thing, then it must be alright. Besides, even in this form, a small pink human wouldn't be a problem for the five of them to fight off, at least he hoped not.
"I will come along for this 'Check Up' then. I should hope none of us are injured though" He eyes drifted to Kursz as he spoke. He was the one who had taken the attack from the angry light after all, he was most likely to be hurt.
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
Apr 10, 2024 12:51:43 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on May 5, 2018 0:07:43 GMT
Em smiles politely at Thel. "Joy is a nice name, and she is carrying herself very gently. I... I think we can trust her? She helps me feel... at ease? Comfortable?" Em grasped for the proper 'feeling' word. Words did them so little justice, and the absence of that constant ebb and flow of emotions left her constantly disoriented, socially.
"As a nurse, my sisters and I all took an oath to do no harm." Joy coaxed Muku gently. "I promise I'll explain each part of the checkup, what it is for, and how it'll feel. I'm surprised you've never been to a Pokemon Center before..." She began, before cutting herself short, as if understanding her statement might upset. "Please follow me with the clothing you like, we'll get you dressed, and fed, and make sure you're alright." She disappeared into the back through a pair of swinging doors with a certain casualness that left the open ended feeling that they could simply refuse. Choose to go elsewhere. There was no force, no one was being corralled or mishandled.
"A-aah... What did I do?!" Kursz jerked a little, noticing Omega's attention on him while he examined a too-small hoodie, holding it up in front of himself like a shield.
|
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on May 5, 2018 0:34:38 GMT
"Alright," Thel says, nodding at Em. "I can accompany you, if you want... or, if you'd prefer to go alone?" He would rather not be presumptuous. That is how one loses favour.
Joy did mention something about clothing, though. He understood that to be the coverings that humans wore... presumably to keep them warm, given their lack of fur or fire, or anything like that. But, the ones that were out here... unlike the humans that had held them captive, they did not look remotely the same. There must be some sort of status, or something going on, but he couldn't pick it out. So, he ventures to Em, "What in there do you think that I should take?" He certainly does not dare take whatever she or Muku would want.
|
|
Member
|
Post by birdy51 on May 5, 2018 0:54:10 GMT
Hands wring hands as Muku watches the Nurse disappear behind the threshold of the doors and disappear into the back room. Nyah! W-who was she? Why is she being so nice? Nobody treats Muku like this! Nobody!
But, still. She's not bad. She's not hurting her, or telling her where to go or even beeping noisily at her. She's just, there and Muku didn't understand! Kyah!
Fine! Fine, fine, fine, fine! Muku would trust her. She had to trust her! Muku turns to Thel as she readopts her formerly mostly confident, but not real demeanor and says, "We're all going in. I think. A-and as for... Clothes..." The bird-woman pauses. Her fingers trace her chin. Oh. That was tough. There simply wasn't enough time to try to find something to wear but, maybe he could- Ah! Yes! That's it. "Maybe the nurse has something like her things! She's weird, but maybe wearing odd clothes like that is... Important? You should wear it anyways, I think!"
|
|
Member
|
Post by Breakthelevee on May 5, 2018 1:43:51 GMT
"You took the hit from the light. I was....worried that you might be hurt" Omega had to think for the word. Worried. It wasn't something that the pack did often. If someone was weak they would just slow everyone down. He was slowing them down, that's why they left him to the men with the R's on their chests. A different feeling welled up inside him, anger maybe? Or sadness. Shaking his head to try and chase the feeling away, Omega looked back at Kursz and looked him over quickly "But it looks like you're fine."
Turning his attention to the bin, he grabbed a dark pair of the leg coverings that seemed to be made of a slightly sturdier material, and a dark colored top cover, though it only went halfway down his arms. Digging a bit deeper he found a slightly larger top cover, this one going the full length of his arms and being made of another dark and sturdy material, this one a bit different than the leg covers. This would do nicely.
Once he had chosen the clothing, he began to follow this Joy deeper into the building.
|
|
Member
|
Post by birdy51 on May 5, 2018 15:37:36 GMT
Oh! Muku finally notices the box of clothes that the strange Joy woman had left in her wake. She settles on a gray shirt looking thing, along side a pair of small... Shorts? They didn't seem to go much anywhere. Vague memories of younglings surface in her mind. They usually wear leggings like this. She could see why. Shorts are comfy and easy to wear!
Once she has that figured out, she also follows after Joy. It seemed to be what Omega was doing and well... Breaking the flock wasn't high on her priority list.
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
Apr 10, 2024 12:51:43 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on May 6, 2018 12:09:50 GMT
Kursz was attempting to squeeze into yet another shirt. He'd watched how the others did it, and he reasoned that if humans had clothing instead of carapace, that must be their armor! Two T-shirts and a hoodie that barely fit to begin with, several scarves and a blanket later, and the mass of cloth with purple shorts could hardly move, his eyes and nose the only thing visible thanks to the drawstrings on the hood. Finally, he felt safe! Also uncomfortably hot, and kind of wet? His body was producing water? MAYBE HUMANS WERE POKEMON AFTER ALL! He couldn't move, but that was okay, he'd just sit here.
Em picks out a flowing white thing with no top or bottom to wear over her legs, and a green button up shirt, pulling them on with studied grace. Omega and Muku had been good examples. "What about this, Thel?" The girl retrieved a pair of pants in a coarse, sturdy material in a dark blue, as well as some kind of thick leather shirt with a zipper on the front and a flame symbol on the back.
The backroom of the Pokemon Center was a sterile smelling place. Not metal and ozone like the building they had come from, but antiseptics and 'clean'. Still very alien from the outdoors, but it was well lit, with most surfaces being a spotless white. Joy waited by a series of long flat platforms, and patted the white stripe over the red markings. It made a crinkly noise! "Just have a seat up here, it's a type of bed we use to help you be more comfortable. I wanted to start by taking your temperature, to make sure you aren't too hot, or too cold."
|
|
Member
|
Post by birdy51 on May 6, 2018 17:00:34 GMT
Clean rooms like this made Muku more nervous than she had any right to be. There was comfort found in the dirt and the woods and the rocks and the crags. None of that was present here, and being alone with only Omega and this nice but existentially terrifying woman was no soft blow to the psyche. She felt that she could trust her, but at the same time, there were just so many new and terrifying experiences going on that Muku didn't know what to think any more. Omega seemed to be coping so well with this, so she couldn't understand why she felt so nervous. What was wrong with her? Even these strange surface were just terrifying and wrong! She traces her fingers along one of the platform and gently pushes down.
*crinkle*
Muku jumps back in surprise. Oh? What was that sound? Her fingers probe the white paper again, pressing down upon the sheets.
*crinkle*
Oh! That is so cool! Muku's lips part a little bit. A strange tittering noise emerges from her throat and she laughs for the first time in her new form. Oh! This is so weird! In the blink of an eye, she's sitting up on the platform pressing down on the paper playfully. "I think I like this stuff." She says chirpily, giving the nurse a small smile. "What do you call it?"
|
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on May 6, 2018 17:21:33 GMT
"I couldn't do that, Lady Muku," Thel says, nervously, at her suggestion. "If she has it, that means it is surely beyond the status of one such as I to have." Clothes seem very important to humans... perhaps different ones denote different levels of status, since there are so, so many humans. It is such a large and confusing world...
Back in his own, much smaller, world, though, he accepts the clothing that Em picks out. "My thanks, Lady Em." He's intrigued by the flowing fabric of Em's garment, but, that's hers. And while she's adept at putting her clothing on... he very much is not.
The pants weren't too difficult to put on - though he's still not used to the proportions of his limbs, and the angles at which they like to move - but the shirt, on the other hand, proves much more difficult. (He does like the design on the back, though.) The zipper in particular is what causes issues... he's unable to figure out how the shirt is supposed to connect, eventually shrugging, and deciding that clearly it's not meant to. There is a thing that when he swishes it up and down, it makes a fun little zip-zop zip-zop zip-zop noise. It's fascinating, he's never heard anything like it before. Just a reminder of the pure alien-ness that he's managed to stumble into.
After getting more-or-less comfortable with his clothing, he waits for Em, either going into the room with her, if she wants, or waiting behind if she prefer he not.
|
|
Member
|
Post by Breakthelevee on May 7, 2018 5:44:06 GMT
Omega leans against the wall, exhausted from walking around on only two legs. His leg wouldn't stay still however, and it began bouncing in place seemingly of its own accord. He looked around, the walls all sterile and white and the furniture having the same look to it. His nose twitched and he looked around, noticing the lack of even an opening to the outside. Gold was here no longer, just him and Muku and this Joy. He moved from the wall and began to pace, his stomach feeling...off. This wasn't right, staying still inside like this. He should be outside. He already had clothes, that's what he needed to blend in with these humans, right?
For a moment he began to head towards the door when he heard Muku begin to play with the loud....thing on the bed, and then she laughed. He stopped in his tracks before moving back to his previous position on the wall, leaning back up against it. He couldn't just leave. This was his pack now.
He quietly waited his turn for the 'check up'.
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
Apr 10, 2024 12:51:43 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on May 7, 2018 11:07:37 GMT
Joy giggled alongside Muku, it was always a pleasant moment when the little things helped a patient overcome their fears. "It's paper, it is used to keep the beds clean between patients, we roll out more and throw it away." She explains , retrieving a number of tools, none of which look sharp or dangerous.
Muku's temperature is taken with a standard thermometer, blood pressure, weight and height, and her reflexes are tested. Joy explains why each thing is important and how it will feel before they continue. She even demonstrates on herself, if there is much resistance. The cuffs make a psh psh hsss sound, and the scale goes clang clang clunk. Not everything in here is noisy, but it is interesting at least.
"I have a little light here, it's just a pen light, I need to see if your eyes dilate properly. This is to make sure you haven't hit your head, and can help detect damage that way. It won't hurt at all, it'll be like looking at the sun for a second or two, then we'll be done and I can start Omega's checkup."
Gold, having finished his call, approaches Thel, Em, and Kursz. "I've explained what happened to Professor Elm, and he was admittedly just as confused as...". The teenager trailed off, eying the mound of clothing with the massive Kursz inside, and The with no shirt and an open jacket. "I am." He finished. "He would very much like to meet all of you, and extends the invitation to head to his lab."
|
|
Member
|
Post by birdy51 on May 7, 2018 12:16:20 GMT
Perhaps to Nurse Joys, well, joy, Muku's prior caginess seemed to melt away the longer the nurse was spending time in the check up. Trust didn't come immediately, she still flinched a little bit whenever a stray hand brushed along her arm or when a particularly frightening instrument was used. But, if it wasn't the strange medical devices making noises, it was certainly Muku. Every once and a while, she pestered the kind woman with little questions; why does her muscles jump back like that when she hits her with the tiny hammer? What was blood pressure? Why was this 'weight' so important? There were so many things she didn't know that she couldn't help not asking, usually with a curious, excitable smile on her face.
They were just getting to the last test now, and Muku was sitting on the table swinging her legs absently. "Ok. So it's like a little sun. But how do they get the little sun into the pen? Oh! And what do my eyes look like? I've never looked at them before!"
|
|
Administrator
|
Post by DataNinja on May 7, 2018 16:07:57 GMT
"Lab?" Thel asks, taking a step back. He'd heard that term used in regards to the place where they'd been held captive. "No. I'm not going back to a lab. You can't make me. No more restraints, collars, weird lights." There's traces of fear in his voice, because he is very much not sure if he could stop Gold from doing that if the Trainer so wanted.
|
|