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Post by DataNinja on Nov 29, 2021 21:55:35 GMT
"If all of you couldn't find a solution to that, I don't imagine I can," Thel says, quietly. "But... I suppose who knows what's out there."
"Oh, that's the word I was looking for," he says, laughing. "I knew there was one, couldn't think of it. Yeah, I don't want to keep her waiting any longer than I have to. I'm a little surprised that you heard already," he admits, before groaning and laughing again. "Oh, man, it's going to be all over the school when I go back Monday, isn't it? I don't think I'll be ready to handle that after last weekend."
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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 Nov 30, 2021 19:42:59 GMT
"The ring gives it away, that and a gossipy shopkeeper who has a thing for young romance.". Mable smiled, laughing in spite of herself. "When you first present a ring to someone, you are said to be 'engaged'. You and they then become each other's fianceé, someone you have promised yourself to. When you have a wedding to make it official, then you are married."
With a wave she started off to the Pokemon Center.
It wasn't Em who greeted him first, but Patience. The girl had been lurking on the lighthouse stairs and made a beeline for him as soon as she saw him. "Did it all work out?"
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Post by DataNinja on Dec 1, 2021 0:41:17 GMT
"Ah, right, I should have realized," Thel says, grinning. "Well, thanks for the advice. I'll see you around."
He smiles upon seeing Patience. So earnest, and probably just as worried sick. "It... probably went as well as could have been hoped for. Not perfectly, but... I should probably wait to explain the whole story so I can do it all at once." He brushes a hand against a lock of her hair. "But, the important thing is everyone's safe. We don't have to worry anymore. Now let's go find Em." Which isn't going to be hard, given that he can feel where she is.
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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 Dec 1, 2021 1:18:23 GMT
"Might not have ended up that way if the girls that were fiercely loyal to their leader weren't conveniently indisposed, don't you think?". Patience asked slyly as Thel made his way north of Olivine, past the gym and up into the fields.
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Post by DataNinja on Dec 1, 2021 1:23:37 GMT
"I don't suppose a certain someone might have had anything to do with that?" he says with a wink, poking her lightly in the side. "It certainly would be a clever thing for them to have done, and I'd be proud of them for pulling it off. Even if," he lightly teases, "they may have been told to not mention it to anyone. That would sure prove me wrong." It certainly answers his question of how Jasmine had known.
"Thank you," he says, quietly, squeezing her hand.
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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 Dec 1, 2021 1:29:36 GMT
"Oh you know spiders... A thread here, a thread there. The dry ones we know to walk on.". Patience beamed with pride. "I slipped a bit of undercooked this-or-that into a meal... Expressed to Jasmine and Madame Papillon that they absolutely couldn't do without the girl's expertise after picking their brains about their subjects of interest relating to the weather damage. Mable didn't eat, and I had to leave someone out of the web to move things along.". She threw her arms around Thel's neck and pulled him close. "It was so much fun!"
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Post by DataNinja on Dec 1, 2021 1:35:57 GMT
"Very, very clever," Thel says, pulling the girl's hug in closer. "I'm glad you had fun. And the best thing is, it was all you. You did that all on your own. Be proud of yourself. You should be."
"I should hope you don't go about messing with my cooking like that though," he says winking, before releasing the embrace. There would be time enough for more hugs later. For now, he wants to make sure Em knows that he's safe.
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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 Dec 1, 2021 19:14:48 GMT
"No promises, but never when it isn't important.". Patience smiled angelically.
Thel finds Em dutifully brushing a Mareep in the fields, talking to it in low tones. She smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes, they only hold a resolute determination. As though every fiber of her being were struggling against breaking down into tears. She hasn't noticed Thel, and Patience keeps quiet and to the side.
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Post by DataNinja on Dec 2, 2021 0:45:00 GMT
"I'll have to keep my eyes on you I guess, you little trick-weaver," he teases Patience.
That teasing falls away upon seeing Em, though. There she is, trying so hard to be strong. Not letting herself feel. But... that isn't healthy. He doesn't want to make her wait one moment longer than he has to.
Soundlessly, he makes his way across the grass of the fields, before crouching beside her. "It's okay, Em," he says, quietly. "I'm okay. I can be with you now, love. You were my strength... now let me be yours. It's okay to cry."
He wants to break into tears himself, just collapse against her... but no tears come. There are none left after weeping at the other world's unmaking.
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Post by Robot on Dec 2, 2021 1:44:23 GMT
Em impacts him hard enough that the two of them go sprawling into the cropped green and the Flaffy bleats and runs off in indignant protest.
"Promise me you'll never ask me to stand aside like that again?!" Her arms pressured his ribs uncomfortably, and she buried her face in his neck. "That... That was agony... I'd have rather been by your side... Shared our final moments together endangered then waiting quiety somewhere for you!"
Despite venting her upset, she still chokes back her tears, but she holds her fiancee with such insistance her need for some kind of release is clear.
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Post by DataNinja on Dec 2, 2021 1:59:28 GMT
"Never again. I promise," Thel says, gently stroking her hair. "You don't deserve to have to go through that, the uncertainty. I... I just didn't know what to do. But I do now."
"I'm sorry, my love." He gently kisses her. "I wasn't fair to you, at all. But I promise, no matter what comes to pass. No matter what good or bad times may be before us... we will always be there beside each other."
"I can't ask you to forgive me. I just... hope that I can make it up to you." He lets out a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry, Em. I'm so sorry. I was scared, I didn't know what to do...
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Post by Robot on Dec 2, 2021 19:01:10 GMT
Thel's kiss stifled a sob, and her voice broke, hot fat tears brushing against the hollow of the boy's throat. "We didn't even say goodbye..." She held a wail in her throat, took a few steadying breaths, and slowly pulled back to look him over as if seeing him for the first time, checking him for injuries. Wholeness. "You're here though. You made it back to me, alive, and in one piece."
With more ease she lowered herself back on top of him, returning the kiss at last and just letting herself go limp.
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Post by DataNinja on Dec 3, 2021 0:46:09 GMT
As she looks him over, he half-realizes that his arms and palms and everything haven't hurt at all since his encounter with Xerneas. But that thought's soon brushed aside.
"You're stronger than I could ever be..." he whispers, just holding her, brushing fingers through her hair.
"I made mistakes. I'd do things differently were it to happen again... though I hope with all my heart that we never have to go through anything like that ever again. Even if it does... I won't leave you again, ever. I promise."
He wants to say more, to reassure her, to make her feel better... but he feels like he's out of words. So he lapses into silence, and lets his actions speak for him.
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Post by Robot on Dec 3, 2021 1:54:41 GMT
Resting on him as she is, emotionally exhausted and cried out, it doesn't take long for Em to drift into a placid sleep. Her hair tickles his neck, an easy smile on her lips. The sun shines warmly overhead, and a sea breeze tousles the long and cropped grasses both. The sound of wind and wave is permeated by the distant bleat of sheep. All the scents of earth, and water.
Patience rolls her eyes at Thel and his Fiancee, rather then join them, she starts down the hill back towards Olivine.
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Post by DataNinja on Dec 3, 2021 2:01:40 GMT
Thel gives a silent smile and small wave at Patience, and lets out his Pokémon. It seems like they'll be here in the field for a bit, so he would rather they have sun and fresh air. With that, though, all his weariness seems to catch up with him all at once, and he falls asleep beside Em.
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Post by Robot on Dec 3, 2021 3:23:45 GMT
Thel wakes in the early afternoon, Em still in his arms. His Pokemon have played themselves out and rest about the lawn nearby. She watches his face for a long moment, expression placid and in good spirits now. "You did what you can, as best you can. That is what matters.". Her cheek brushed against his.
"We're okay.". She breathed a sigh of relief.
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Post by DataNinja on Dec 3, 2021 3:43:51 GMT
Thel's rest is thankfully almost entirely bereft of dreams. Almost. But this one isn't clear like his dreams before, instead hazy like a memory, but a memory that never was, could never have been. As he wakes, he tries to hold onto the feelings, but they fly apart and escape him, leaving him with only fleeting shreds.
He remembers being small, young. Laying on a couch in front of a fireplace. His head resting in the lap of a woman, watching the flames, as his hair's brushed. She was saying how proud she was. He could remember her warm smile, her long hair the same colour as his. But nothing more, as hard as he tried.
As Thel collects his bearings, he feels somewhat of a yearning, a small emptiness. Though, it mostly dissipates - forgotten - when he sees Em. Mostly.
"We are okay. And we're together. We can find the future we always wanted." He pulls her into a tight hug. "I don't know what it will hold, but I don't care. We'll find it together."
He rests like that for several long moments, just taking in her presence, before he picks himself up into a sitting position. "...it might be a good idea to make our way back to the Gym, though. As much as I want to just sit here in the sun with you forever. I've... got some things that I should fill people in on, and questions that need to be answered."
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Post by Robot on Dec 5, 2021 3:06:51 GMT
Em watched him quietly after they parted the hug, and stood with him, offering her arm for escort. "Then I'll accompany you on your business, we can make supper together, and afterwards maybe plan for the future? For a nest to settle in, people to keep close, a place we can be comfortable and happy? She walked arm in arm with him back to the gym, speaking animatedly about the little joys of working with the tea house Kimono Girls from Ecruteak. Service, and company, passing gossip with strangers, and the mental tranquility that they taught that had steadied her whenever she felt off balance.
The Gym was sparsely populated at this hour, the folks who had taken to sheltering in it no longer needed to do so. Jasmine's staff had returned, what little she possessed to begin with. Patience was resting in the stands, watching Jasmine go through the motions of getting her gym ready to receive challengers again.
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Post by DataNinja on Dec 5, 2021 3:31:32 GMT
"I would love that," Thel says, gladly taking the arm in turn. He eagerly absorbs all that she speaks about - he'd shared often the bits of his life, but this is the first chance to get into some of the details of hers.
In the Gym, Thel first goes up to Patience to ask her to join them, before going down to where Jasmine is to speak with her. "Uh... hi, Jasmine," he says, feeling a little awkward at interrupting. "Would you mind if we talked to you in private for a bit. You and... well, any of the other Gym Leaders who're here? I'm not sure if Morty still is, or any of the others made it before the rains stopped." Falkner probably still came around in order to see the Swanna, but who knows about Claire. And if they came, if they were still here. "It's... important."
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Post by Robot on Dec 6, 2021 22:02:00 GMT
"Alright Thel, I'll see to it immediately." Jasmine answered placidly, offering Patience and Em a sidelong glance before excusing herself from her duties. Not a half hour later, seven figures met in the private back rooms of Olivine City Gym.
Thel was well familiar with Jasmine, and Morty by now, but they were joined by a carefree trainer who must've been around Morty's age. Falkner seemed to shift often between a sharp eyed stare, and a relaxed posture. Once something had been taken notice of, he was comfortable to relax into some daydream or other.
Imperious Claire, too, had made her way to Olivine for the recovery efforts. She quirked a brow at Em's presence, but made no comment beyond a hint of a proud smirk. If one made due on willfulness, who was she to complain. Jasmine yielded the floor to Thel without ceremony.
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