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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 Feb 12, 2021 2:49:05 GMT
"A true Lady. A flower that never wilts, my Essentia.". The man declared in Diva's voice as an all too sickly sweet aroma began to bleed free of Thel's skin. Rich purples and vibrant pinks starting to shine through his human skin. No matter how much he thrashed or clawed, the changes took and took, until he awoke with Patience frantically trying to restrain him.
"Thel! Thel! You have to stop please!". The small girl was on top of him, holding his arms at his sides.
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Sept 26, 2024 13:32:53 GMT
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 12, 2021 3:09:15 GMT
Emotions writhe and snake around in his chest as he bolts awake, staring uncomprehendingly at Patience, breathing heavy and rapid. Eventually he manages to steady his breaths enough to calm himself a little, but his insides are still tight and tense.
"I... I'm sorry, Patience..." he says, at last. It's all he can bring himself to say. "I'm so sorry. ...thank you. So, so much."
He has no words, but a lot of thoughts. What did it all mean? Did it even mean anything? It was different from the one where he saw the paths. Different again from the one with Serenity. Different still from the one with the bird, because he was just an observer there, mostly...
It couldn't be what could happen? Right... He... he wouldn't just turn back. And not even just back. Into a Salazzle. He was never a Salazzle, it couldn't happen. And that wasn't Diva. And and and…
But Patience. Patience changed, with nothing like how he had. ...that could mean there was a way. A way that it could happen. Perhaps. He doesn't know. But the thought... the thought fills him with dread. And it's clear on his face.
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6,672 posts
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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 Feb 12, 2021 18:13:42 GMT
When recognition dawns on Thel she gently releases him and begins to rifle through the boy's pack, producing water and gauze. It isn't until then that Thel realizes his arms burn and ache. Deep scratches and even a gouge mar the skin there. His friend starts to wash and wrap them.
"You started thrashing and crying, then tearing at yourself...". She explained in a shaky voice. "You wouldn't wake..."
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 12, 2021 18:44:19 GMT
"I'm sorry," Thel says again. His throat is sore. And he aches. It stings where Patience washes.
"It was... an awful dream. I was with Aliana and her friends, looking at flowers. And there was this man there... he... he had Diva's voice." He shakes, remembering it. "She called me a Lady, and... I started becoming one. A Salazzle… I couldn't stop it. It was bleeding through my skin, and there was nothing I could do. It just wouldn't stop..."
He holds still under Patience's tending, but he just wants to hold someone close.
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6,672 posts
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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 Feb 12, 2021 19:10:21 GMT
Once she gets his arms wrapped, Patience tugged him half into her lap, wound her arms around his shoulders. "As long as I'm around that won't happen Thel. I won't let it. You are... You are you! And you are going to be who and what you want to be...". She stroked his bangs, thumb playing across his eyebrows.
"Nobody is going to make that choice for you... To be like that, they can't.". She both insisted and pleaded.
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 12, 2021 19:24:33 GMT
"T-thank you, Patience..." Thel says, giving her a smile. "I appreciate it... I really do. You're always there for me. But... others were the one to make the choice for me to be human in the first place." He exhales deeply. It doesn't reduce any of his tension. "I... worry. I fear that this might be the same. I just... have to hope. Hope that it won't come to pass."
He clings to Patience, still shaking. Essentia. It's a word that still echoes through his mind, giving him chills. Well... no. Not a word. A name. He knows it was one. That... that can't be who he is. Can't be who he becomes. Can it?
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6,672 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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Post by Robot on Feb 12, 2021 19:50:21 GMT
Sleep pulls at Thel as he lays still trying to recover a sense of calm. A wet blanket heavy across his thoughts. Calling him back into an uncertain dreamscape. Patience's hold on him remains an anchor, a point for him to draw himself out. The light brush of her fingers.
(Thel may choose to remain awake and take penalties for the day, or sleep once more.)
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 12, 2021 20:02:07 GMT
The thought of sleeping again terrifies him. But... he needs it. He knows he does. So many others are counting on him to help...
And he's never had the same dream twice, anyways...
Tired, and comforted by Patience's presence and touch, Thel drifts back to sleep.
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6,672 posts
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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 Feb 12, 2021 20:20:17 GMT
The mask lay splintered at Thel's feet, he was free to be himself again. Mable was gone entirely from the dream, Patience by his side, hand in his, blue arcs of power bouncing between her long spikes of hair. A man in a crisp suit with a leonine mane towered over the pair, easily many stories in height.
His face was fraught with sadness, perhaps disappointment. "Death for all, to spare them their collapse.". One hand held the massive blackened flower, a red bird with broad wings perched upon it. "Or eternal life, that you may know, and suffer with what they will become.". The other, the rose that never died, a blue stag with rainbow antlers poised over it.
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 12, 2021 20:32:56 GMT
He grasps tightly at Patience's hand, clinging onto the familiar. He feels so small, so very, very small, he needs the familiar. The support. Someone there next to him, it helps so much.
"I... I don't understand," he says at last, voice sounding so small. He's not even sure if the other can even hear him. "The world... the world is made by those who are in it. Constantly changing. Wiping that out, stretching it forever... I don't understand. Why?"
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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 Feb 12, 2021 21:18:13 GMT
Bushy brows furrowed and the man who was as a god leaned low, his expression resolute but kind. "Humans and all that they are will ruin it, given the time. Given the chance. A few might be worth saving. A few will be spared. You who believes in people then, will you watch the fall of man, or be the hand that guides those that survive. Cast them out, or know eternity. Death or life."
His voice echoed, the crystalline flower Thel had seen in his first dream resting between the giants arms, lit from within with fel potential.
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 12, 2021 21:41:37 GMT
"I... I can't," Thel says, stomach sinking. "I-I've seen the good in people. They've rarely been anything but generous to one that had nothing. That had nobody. There is so much good... they can't all die!"
"I couldn't guide anyone either..." He closes his eyes, futilely attempting to block out what was in front of him. "I rely on everyone for so much. Me trying to guide anyone... it would be a disaster for them. I... I couldn't put anyone through that."
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6,672 posts
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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 Feb 12, 2021 22:18:37 GMT
"You don't have to choose Thel... It isn't his place to force anything on you...". Patience's grip on the boy's hand was tenuous at best now, threatening to slip away. "Fight and make your own choice.". His friend pleaded, now a Joltik on his palm, with blue polished legtips.
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 12, 2021 22:24:57 GMT
"I'm... sorry, Patience," he says, slumping to the ground, cupping her in his palms. "I know you believe in me... but I can't. I can't make a choice. I can't fight. I've... I've failed you. And everyone. I... don't know what to do. I never wanted any of this..."
"...why me?"
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6,672 posts
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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 Feb 12, 2021 22:47:43 GMT
Patience, tiny Patience. No larger to Thel then he is before the daunting presence that demands choice continues to speak. Not in the broken mechanical voice she came from, but one whole and full of emotion. "The smallest things can make a difference, Master. Don't let fear rob you of your right to be happy again. Stay with us, on your own terms."
On the Joltik's scale, Harmony, Serenity, Bliss, and Hope joined the small bug. They rested along his hands and forearms, small, vulnerable and in his care, each glowing with trust.
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 12, 2021 22:57:42 GMT
"You don't have to address me like that," he says, gently. "It doesn't matter the bodies, the size, the anything... we're equals here."
"And... you're right. All of you. Thank you."
Finding his feet again, he stands up to the titan. He had those who depended on him. He depended on them. This was what mattered. "I'm not going to play your game," Thel says, steadily. "You demand between two impossible choices. And people will suffer either way. Why can't you see the good in the world?"
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6,672 posts
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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 Feb 12, 2021 23:11:04 GMT
"I've seen the worst they have to offer.". The giant replied, drawing the hand with the vibrant flower away. "To choose neither is to accept death with the rest.". The crystal flower began to glow and pulse. "Goodbye, Lucasta. We will mourn you. With your gifts, I had hoped we could be friends... A soft heart would not survive the path we must walk."
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 12, 2021 23:26:13 GMT
"Why? Why must you walk it?" he asks, instinctually pulling his Pokémon close to his chest in his hands, sheltering them. "There is always another way... of this, I'm sure."
He closes his eyes, holding close those dear to his heart. "I'm sorry, all of you."
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6,672 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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Post by Robot on Feb 12, 2021 23:50:07 GMT
"The answer is known to you, Lucasta. You have not looked upon it, but it is there.". The black flower is replaced with the crystal one in his palm, the bird simply gone now. Bliss stands and Thel's sole focus draws to her.
"Pride in what you do.". Bliss wore the look she so often did when she seemed upset with him, as though she were above this. In that moment, realization dawns that she thinks him above it too. Unbidden, memories, true and his came forward
Every moment of joy, in saving a life, in making a friend, in supporting and raising his partners. Memories he was unabashedly fond of.
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 13, 2021 0:04:11 GMT
It's true. His life, short as it was... it's full of happy memories. Things that he is proud of.
"It doesn't matter what you feel the world is," he says. "There's no fixing it by destroying things. There's no solution there. If you really care... you would try and encourage the good. Because I've seen it. Positivity and effort breeds more goodwill. If you care... so will people. They notice. All this is... it's pointless. It solves nothing."
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