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Post by DataNinja on Apr 19, 2020 1:45:29 GMT
"Ahhh…" Rainbow says, nodding. "Okay, that makes sense." She pauses. "Where do you think Yellow went? The Center? They didn't say, did they?"
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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 Apr 19, 2020 14:30:42 GMT
"The center is certainly an option, he looked like he needed food and a bed pretty badly, but speculation won't get us very far. If we go looking for him, I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere, most likely where there's food." Gathering her things, there was a twinge of regret about her bearing as she moved to hunt for their friend.
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 19, 2020 19:34:19 GMT
Heading for the Center - and the food there - Yellow doesn't appear to be there. The attendant hasn't seen anyone matching their description recently, so it's a fairly sure thing that the Jirachi didn't end up there.
The pair are able to get some food of their own, though, and drop off their things. "So... I don't know how best you work," Rainbow says. "Are you wanting to get all of the research you want to do done all at once before we see anything else here, and challenge the Gym, and all, or are you wanting to take breaks and do that stuff in between sessions or something? I know different people work differently."
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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 Apr 20, 2020 20:59:53 GMT
"The intent was to finish the history capsule, make a singular attempt at the gym as that goal is secondary in the moment, then make for Mossdeep. For now I'm just really worried about Yellow though, once we find her, and make sure she's properly on the mend, we can round out the day together and get to work in earnest come the morning."
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 20, 2020 21:11:24 GMT
"Alright," Rainbow says, nodding, though looking a little uneasy. "Where, uh, where are you wanting to look? This city is big, and... I don't have any idea where she'd be. She could be anywhere, right?"
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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 Apr 20, 2020 21:21:48 GMT
Beatrice gave an uneasy shrug. "I've never seen him that tired before, so I've not the funniest where I could look. All we can do is try... I'll ask around and see where the best sweets are in town. Even if he isn't there, I'll have something nice for him when we do find him."
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 20, 2020 21:27:19 GMT
Asking around at the Center, Bea gets the impression that the town of Sootopolis really isn't anything special besides the unusual geography. There's nothing that would stand out to any travellers besides the fact that it's "overlooking the crater" or whatever. Some various people give some shops for baked goods or candy shops or ice cream parlours, but nobody really seems to have a unified agreement on anything. The whole city seems like a tourist trap, almost. Everything just cheap and designed to look good in pictures. There's history, and some unique things here - the library she'd gone to earlier, Crater Overlook, the Cave of Origin, and the Gym apparently is also a temple - but it's not a very impressive list.
But, she does have a list of at least a few shops that might provide what she's looking for.
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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 Apr 20, 2020 21:32:58 GMT
Swinging through one of the bakeries for a frosted cinnamon bun, Beatrice decides to try the historic sites first, wondering if they might somehow have ties to the legendary they'd kept company with. All the lore she'd found on Jirachi to date was inconclusive about where it was from, only that it discreetly granted wishes. They had found the yellow star, but had he fulfilled his role in all of this so far? "Let's check out the Cave of Origin, and the crater afterwards."
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 20, 2020 21:49:31 GMT
The city is busy and alive as Bea wanders through, the streets fairly narrow and filled with people - the crater tiers don't exactly allow for much excess room, with how thin many of them are.
In contrast to the splendor of the Gym nearby, the area for the Cave of Origin is much more... subdued. It's a simple, small, unremarkable building. She has to ask a few times, even, to make sure that she's heading to the right place, because it really just looks like the houses next to it.
The door is unlocked, and heading inside, the expected interior of the house is... well, not a house. Not entirely. It's the front half of a house buttressed up against a tunnel descending into the stone. And it's closed off, with a metal grating over it, and a locked door.
The only occupant of the building is an old, white-haired woman with a grandmotherly-looking face, seemingly in the process of making tea in the kitchen. "Welcome," she says, looking at the new arrivals. "What can I do for you?"
"It feels... weird in here," Rainbow says, whispering to Bea. "Like there's a.... heartbeat, or something."
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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 Apr 20, 2020 22:36:05 GMT
"We were looking for a blonde boy about so tall..." Bee settled a hand at about Yellow's height. "But now that we're here, the air feels strange, like a fluttering?" She suggested to the old woman, considering the large metal door, offering Rainbow a slight sideways glance. "This is the Cave of Origin?"
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 21, 2020 3:07:42 GMT
"Oh?" the woman asks. "Well, I'm afraid this isn't really the place to find anyone besides yourself. Which, of course, doesn't seem to keep the tourists around," she gives a wry smile. "This cave is said to be the origin of all life in the world. Hence the name. I can't say that I necessarily believe that... but there is definitely something special about it."
"I... feel it, yes," Rainbow says, drifting towards the tunnel. "There is a power within. It is the deep earth, come to the surface. Not in the violent way like a volcano. But in the growing way, like trees." She looks over at the woman. "What is down there?"
"I told you," she says, simply. "The Cave of Origin. It is a place where the only answer is itself." She moves to go back to tend to her tea.
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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 Apr 21, 2020 11:58:21 GMT
"May we enter?". Beatrice asked the older woman respectfully, casting a sideways glance at Rainbow. This was certainly not a normal sort of reaction for her to anything. The sudden interest was stirring though. She felt nothing peculiar about this place herself, but she wasn't a hybrid, maybe that was it?
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 21, 2020 15:25:07 GMT
"What is it that you seek when you enter?" The woman asks. "The cave is locked for a reason. It is not a place for people to enter willy-nilly. It is a sacred place. We cannot have tourists traipsing down and destroying it."
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Post by Robot on Apr 21, 2020 16:14:58 GMT
"Understanding, meaning, and a memory to carry with me into my twilight years." Beatrice replied succinctly. "I am happy to leave my things here, if that will prove my intent is well meaning, and my presence not a destructive one." Gently, she squeezed Rainbow's shoulder reassuringly.
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 21, 2020 16:38:56 GMT
The woman looks them over, and seems pensive. "Yes, I think we can allow that." She moves to lock the door to the house itself, before going to unlock the gate and lead the pair down.
The cave seems unremarkable, spiralling down into the darkness. It's smooth, though, with nothing really to trip on, even in the dark. Just going down... until there's light at the end of the tunnel. There is a room, a cavern, that the tunnel ends in. Crystals pulse in red and blue, with a handful of other colours flickering amidst them, giving the room a gentle glow, hard to distinctly see everything.
"It all feels alive..." Rainbow breathes.
"It is a mystery. An enigma."
"It's ley lines," a weak voice calls. There's a noticeable stirring in the dim light, as a small figure sits up from where they were laying, curled. "A place where the energy of the earth from multiple places converge to bubble up. It's why the city would have been built here. Plants grow better, people live slightly longer, and they feel slightly happier around it. I can... tap into it, a little. Not much. But... it helps." Yellow looks a little haggard, though the girl's somewhat more alert than before.
"I knew what you sought when you mentioned the child," the cave's keeper says to Bea. "But I needed to know that you intended no harm."
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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 Apr 21, 2020 16:46:55 GMT
"Yellow!" Beatrice cried in distress, picking her way down to where the girl is resting. "You really must've overdone it... this is why I didn't want to play around with stuff like that. I... I brought you a pastry and... and please be okay? I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you, especially if it was my fault." She scrubbed at her eyes. "Thank you for looking after her." She addressed the keeper briefly, moving to have a seat beside her friend. "It's pretty in here, but I don't really feel anything."
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 21, 2020 16:54:10 GMT
"It was... my choice," Yellow says, taking the food. "I didn't know it'd be that much, compared to everything else, but... I had an idea that it would push things." She gives a wry smile. "I could have just given you a rock and chisel, if you preferred."
"Most people don't feel anything. I don't. Your friend there," she gestures to Rainbow, "seems to have a special connection with the land. But I don't ask questions about that stuff. It's not my place, and I've seen enough of... unusual people who've come here."
"It's appreciated." Yellow says.
"It's probably my bond," Rainbow says. "I've always felt attuned to nature. This is... just another reflection of it. An unusual one. But one nonetheless."
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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 Apr 21, 2020 17:04:17 GMT
"A nap ago that would have been the lead of the innovation curve." Bee smiled weakly, teasing back. "It'll speed things up a lot, but I'm sure you'd be less eager to get a move on if Rainbow and I were a little more interesting. Please don't push yourself like that again? Promise me? Convenience isn't worth... this..." She gestures to the prone girl eating with gusto. "Can... Yellow stay here until she's recovered? We'll bring food by... she's going to have to take it easy."
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 21, 2020 17:15:50 GMT
"Wasn't planning to," Yellow says back, winking. "Now wouldn't that be embarrassing, dying for you guys."
"You can, yes," the woman says. "I will let my granddaughter know to expect you, too, if it happens to fall on a day where she is here instead."
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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 Apr 21, 2020 17:21:51 GMT
Beatrice leaned in to hold Yellow tightly, interrupting her casual munching on the pastry. "Doooon't even joke about that, we all know what's at stake." She chastised softly, burying her face against the girl's neck. "Any requests for what we bring by? I know what you enjoy, but in particular?"
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