Sethera

Ivan nodded, giving a thumbs up. "You're more determined than I thought. You'll figure it out." Belle sighed. "I hope so." It was frustrating, dealing with Pokémon. She had never, in her wildest dreams, had thought she would ever have to-- Well, maybe back then. But that was all in the past. There was no point in getting lost in memory lane, especially when she had to figure out just what she was going to do. As if reading her mind, Ivan placed his hand on her shoulder. "Now's yer chance. Try and tell it to do something. Like, uh..." He paused for a second. "Tackle, or something." He shrugged, crossing his arms. "Who knows, maybe if you're inspiring enough it'll start listening to you. Or, at the very least, stop attacking you." "Inspiring? Me?" Belle deadpanned. "I doubt it. Still, yer right. Shouldn't waste s'opportunity." She turned back to the fight. "Uhhh, rat thing, use Tackle." Her voice came out monotone and not very inspiring at all, but the Pokémon then Tackled the other. Still, the girl had the feeling it was because it was already going to do that. As the Fletchling Pecked at it with surprising ferocity for such a small bird, the rat winced and jumped back to create some distance between the two, tail twitching as it scanned its foe with narrowed eyes. Seeing another opportunity to speak up, Belle nodded to herself. "Rat thing, I mean Rattata, use Tackle again." She had no clue what moves Rattata knew, but if Tackle worked, then it worked. The rat's ears went back and then forward. It had obviously heard her, but then, it stubbornly stayed in place, an orange light surrounding its body. "What move's that?" the girl wondered. She was far past the point where she would care about being annoyed at this Pokémon not obeying her. She would've been more surprised if it had, actually. With a start, she nodded. "Oh. Yeah, wait, the Pokédex." She still didn't have a complete grasp of everything it could do, but it couldn't hurt. Aiming the Pokédex at the Rattata, the girl's eyes widened as a list of information scrolled across the screen. "Okay...moves...looks like you know Tackle, Tail Whip, Focus Energy, and Quick Attack. You weren't wagging your tail, so...Focus Energy?" The Rattata ignored her, but that was fine. "Rattata, now use Quick Attack." As the rat ran toward the Fletchling in what was decidedly not a Quick Attack--in fact, it looked more like a Tackle, its opponent had heard Belle, and seemed to take heed of her words, rushing forward in a burst of speed that took not only Belle but also her Pokémon off guard, avoiding the other's attack at the same time. "That's what you get for not listening to me!" The girl wasn't sure if that was actually the case or not, but she needed to get this stupid rat to listen to her somehow. Hissing, the Rattata looked one second away from jumping at her...but turned its head from her to glare determinedly at the foe before it. Running forward, it seemed set on not using Quick Attack, instead, using its tried and true Tackle. Thankfully, the attack hit, but the Fletchling was still up and moving. Hearing a distant shout from where Jacklyn was still battling Dinah, Belle grimaced. She needed to get this over with before the other girl finished her fight and went looking for them. She might end up heading in the completely wrong direction. "Rattata, use Quick Attack." she repeated. As the Rattata stubbornly used Tackle once again, getting Pecked for its troubles, Belle clenched her fists in frustration. She wasn't the sort to get angry really, but she felt that this sort of situation would try anybody's patience. Seeing the Fletchling rush forward in another Quick Attack, she knew that another Tackle wasn't a good idea now. Which meant it was time for a Quick Attack. Think, think, Belle. How can I make this stupid rat obey me? Almost as if the need had summoned it, an idea formed in her mind. "Rattata, use...Tackle." she commanded. At that, the Rattata raced toward the Fletchling with equal speed, leaving nothing but a flash of purple where it once was. "Oh no." Belle's flat tone didn't match her words at all. "You're not listening to me when I said to use Tackle. Whatever shall I do." She smirked slightly when her Pokémon managed to strike first, knocking the other out in the process. I think I've found a way around this. True, it might not use the move I want, but at least I know it's guaranteed to not use a particular move this way. While this was more of a random chance than she preferred, she could work with it. Now I just have to hope it doesn't claw my face off whenever I release it. Thankfully, her Pokémon looked too tired out from the recent battle to do much more than stand over the bird's body triumphantly, panting for breath. When it finally moved away and back toward Belle, the girl smirked, her glee leaking into her expression. "Good job." The rat bristled, detecting the slightly mocking tone she used. "Now if only you actually listened, this would probably have been done a lot sooner." It probably wouldn't have been, and might even have taken longer, but she really needed to get this rat to obey her at some point. Hissing, the Rattata jumped toward her...but fell short, crumpling to the ground in exhaustion. Smirk growing wider, the girl returned the Pokémon to her ball. While it being exhausted meant she had one less good Pokémon to use before it rested up, it also meant it couldn't attack her either. And with this fight, she had gained some insight into how to handle the Rattata. Still, why can't they all be like Moo? And seeing how Rus behaves, I'm even gladder I chose the grass type now. One unruly Pokémon is bad enough. Realizing that she still had Moo out, the girl returned him as well. "So..." she turned to Ivan. "What now?" Part of her thought it'd be a good idea to head back before Jacklyn went looking for them, but she wasn't sure if the boy still had things he needed to do here, either.

Everything had gone topsy-turvy, but Shaymin didn't stop to admire the view for long. "This is nothing! I'm used to going upside down and stuff anyway from all the acrobatics I do!" he shouted. With that, the legendary began to jump from platform to platform, painting a bizarre picture as he quickly made his way to where Nine and Giratina were duking it out. After the Houndoom was forced down to the ground, Shaymin released a green ball of energy toward Giratina, taking advantage of the legendary's distraction to land a direct hit. With a pained growl, the dragon type turned from Nine, spitting a stream of draconic flames toward Shaymin. Despite his earlier words, the gratitude gijinka seemed a little disoriented by the Distortion World and wasn't able to evade the attack. Coughing slightly, he then lunged forward, a move which seemed to catch Giratina off guard as he then fired off a close-range Air Slash. While the ghost type set off another Aura Sphere last minute, it hadn't managed to mitigate all the damage. Roaring, Giratina took advantage of the now close range to grab Shaymin with one hand, the other grabbing some of the rubble nearby and bashing it against the flying type's head with raw, ancient power. Those watching would see that the youth's head had started to bleed profusely from the wound. With a contemptuous snort, the ghost type threw the boy on the ground next to where Nine had fallen earlier. Growling, the legendary then began to advance toward Shaymin. While the grass type struggled to get up, he seemed to be having some trouble, his eyes slightly unfocused from that earlier blow to the head.

Still using the same BGM for this fight So far, Catriona thought, stone has proven a more durable material than flesh and bone. Alois's axe did nothing more than further chip the wing, and Sienna's fireball, which normally would have dealt a decent amount of damage, splashed harmlessly against marble scales. It seemed it had done nothing more than light a fire within the statue--it letting out another angry roar. However, there were a couple of attacks that seemed to have an effect. Penelope's Wind spell and Tsetseg's arrow had taken out one eye each--the spell the left eye and the arrow the right eye. With those attacks, the gemstones embedded in the creature's face had shattered like glass, the blue light fading from the shards as they pattered to the ground in an emerald rain. However, those who kept an eye on the statue would notice that the light had not, in fact, died out at all, remaining in the eye sockets like ghastly blue flames. Soon, they brightened and spread to the rest of the statue, till the whole of its stone body was giving off that same blue light. This kind of unnatural sorcery was exactly the sort of thing Catriona couldn't deal with. But I have no choice but to fight. As the statue continued its forward lunge, she took one step, and then another, pausing only at seeing Shiro leap onto the statue with all the strength of his froggy legs behind him. As single-minded as it was, the statue had not even noticed the frog's jump, so his jump was successful. However, staying on would be another hurdle in itself, as the statue began to roll from side to side. If Shiro weren't careful, he would easily fall off. Adel attacked soon afterward, the hit itself did little to its stony hide. Still, it was enough for the statue to stop and turn toward the pegasusless knight, giving just enough time for Link to throw a coil of rope at Edrick, and the two to then pull it taut. It took Catriona a minute to figure out what they were doing, but when she did, she began to move again, this time to the side as it kept flying for Edrick. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like it would be tripped up by the rope, rather it was giving all of its focus toward the Pontic, especially after he had pulled out his icon. If nothing happens, they'll fail, and it will crash into Edrick instead! Gritting her teeth, the woman dashed up and shoved her shoulder directly against the statue's cloud-wreathed legs. While it didn't have much of an effect, the lord did not give up, shoving once more. Normally, such an action would not have even caused the statue to budge, but in midair, with no stable ground underneath, the figure was pushed off its course and toward the rope. It was then that both Link and Edrick would feel an enormous pressure coming from the ends of the rope in their hands. They would have to pull back, or risk either the rope slipping from their grasp or being pulled directly toward the statue. Regardless, the statue would start to fall from its brief flight...directly toward Tsetseg, who had been standing behind both Link and Edrick after firing her arrow. Acantha the beaver moved forward then to tug on Tsetseg's boot, but the creature was too small and weak to pull Tsetseg away from her position by itself. Meanwhile, at the doorway, Licorice seemed unaware of Ciela's presence on her back. As soon as Peaches burst through the door, leaving behind a wyvern-shaped hole, it stood still for a second before crashing down on the stony pathway outside, leaving it free for either somebody to come in, or somebody to go out. Scarcely had Peaches rushed in when Licorice ran outside, not even noticing Abdul nearby in her haste. She did, however, stop short, finally taking notice of Ciela on her back. Eyes wild, the fox began to shake like a dog that had just come in from the rain in an attempt to force the troubadour off. OOC

Huh, I actually changed from last time, which is pretty interesting. But I also feel like the change makes sense.

I'm not used to having an AMA with all that implies--aka replying right away, so sorry about that. Obviously a sign I've been stuck in the RP corner for far too long. Hmm this sounds familiar... To take a leaf from your book, I could talk about what the subject used to be. It used to be animals and the environment--basically anything to do with wildlife and the preservation of it. I used to be a rather gung-ho environmentalist in my elementary and middle school days, so while other people were talking about card games and sports and the latest happenings in school, I was that one weird kid who wouldn't shut up about the dangers of refrigerants and how we needed to be doing something about rainforests and most governments' disregard for their preservation since rainforests account for over a quarter of the world's natural medicines and oxygen turnover. It really wasn't right that not enough attention was being paid to them, and we all needed to take action somehow. And don't even get me started on coral reefs and coral bleaching... But I got away from that. It's not that I'm not still concerned about those things, but these kinds of topics aren't something that I, a single kid, could really do anything about. Whenever I opened my mouth, it was as if I was shouting in an empty room. Nobody cared. The only sort of acknowledgment I got was a pat on the head from a few adults with an "Oh my you're so very smart for your age aren't you" and that was it. Nobody had any ideas to contribute either. If I wanted to do anything about it, I was alone. I suppose if this were an anime this would be when I'd rise up and take charge. But that didn't happen for various reasons. I did do some small things like organize a couple of local litter cleanups and make a few speeches in school. But that was it. For all my big dreams, that was all that it was. Dreams. Empty talk from a person with more vision than sense. Well, looking back on what I've written, I suppose I could still talk about it. Maybe not for hours on end like before though. I've grown weary of a topic that seems to do nothing more than bring me down. So instead I talk about food! Food. Food never makes me sad. It makes me happy instead. I say this all the time, but I really wouldn't be able to live without food. Yes, I literally would not be able to live, but I also wouldn't be able to live. It's a simple pleasure, but the sensation of eating the perfectly-prepared meal made with just the right amount of seasoning--not enough to overpower the palate, but just enough to add to the natural flavor of the dish itself... Mmm! Perfect! And haven't you ever watched something where they bring up food and then you want to eat? I did that today. I watched an episode of Pokémon where Ash, May, and Max were starving and had all their food stolen by a Taillow. This was before Brock joined, but when he arrived and the food did come, when they did get to eat, they were so very happy and it made me happy. I was also happy because I was busy eating, but that just adds to my point. Food makes people happy. The only time it doesn't is when it doesn't taste good or you're too full or sick to eat it. I've gotten to the level where I can identify most of the ingredients in a dish just from look and flavor alone, and I tend to narrate it because I'm just so dang happy about eating it. "I can detect a hint of sherry and cream in this pasta dish...the mushrooms are probably cremini judging from their appearance and they taste just divine as well! The grated parmesan and thyme really top it all off too." Saying stuff like this is good to get a few laughs or weird looks from people, but it's all in good fun because food just makes people happy. I like that. There needs to be more happiness in the world, in my opinion. Edit: Also, I realized after the fact that I could probably talk about music for hours on end as well, specifically classical and choral singing, as that makes up the majority of my experiences with it, but I decided that that would make an already long reply even longer, so I won't. Now, if you read that big long tl;dr thing up above, you would probably think it would be something like a biologist, environmentalist, a chef, or even a food critic. But no. Actually, it's writing. I just really love making stories and stuff. That's actually what I want to do, eventually. I want to be a writer, somebody who can, with a few strokes of the pen, inspire others to action, light up their hearts, send them to tears, and ultimately, walk away from my work with the feeling that they, as a person, have changed from it. For me, personally, writing is one of the most beautiful, influential, and wonderful careers in the world. Along those lines, I might not mind RPing or running tabletop games for a living. These things are fun, and I tend to go a bit overboard researching and preparing for them, so it's not like I'd have a surplus of time with nothing to do on my hands either. I could also probably do Let's Plays for a living since I like to play video games, and while I might get bored with a single game, there are so many games out there that are being made every year, that I don't think I'd ever run out of games to play. I've actually considered going into Let's Plays, as I have actually done them for friends before. But the world of Twitch and Youtube seems to get more cutthroat and competitive each year, with copyright claims and strikes making it even worse. Maybe it'd be more palatable if I had started back when it was less busy, but now it just seems like more of a hassle than it's worth. And I don't think I'd be able to RP for a living either. This might sound strange coming from somebody who has RPed in YCM, and then NCM, for a decent amount of years, but every time I make a post, part of me feels guilty. I used to write more before I joined YCM, but that all fell by the wayside. Lack of free time, partially because of school and then work, but also because most of my spare time goes into RPing, means that I barely write anymore. In fact, I can't remember the last time I wrote something. Kind of sad. I recently made an effort to get a bit of both worlds by being less lazy with my RP posts and trying to turn them into good writing instead of just "he said she said they did this they did that." However, I'm having difficulty with that as the point of posts seem to be more like turning a Mel Brooks or Michael Bay scene into written form. So yeah, I'm not having much success there. I feel like someday, something is going to have to give, but until then, I'll be chilling and having fun in the RP corner. Ultimately, I feel like writing is the one big thing that I want to do for a living. RPing is fun to do, but it's a hobby, and that's all it will ever be for me. Same with tabletops and video games. Writing, however, is a life choice and a career, a path I hope I will eventually be able to walk without having to rely on supplementary income. Kind of went overboard on the word count here but I felt that questions like these deserved a serious answer beyond a sentence or two with a couple of lols thrown in per my usual interactions on this forum. Also, as I said, trying to be more open and all that rot. So yeah.

Yue breathed out a sigh of relief at seeing Leon relax. I didn't want to have to get into a fight so soon. If she had to, she would, but...she'd rather not have to, is all. The woman, Anne, smiled brightly as her name was cleared. "Worry not valued customer, you won't need to eat your saddle unless you're really in the mood for leather. And if you were then I have fine gourmet for your eccentric tastes located here today!" The archer sweatdropped. She hadn't seen someone so enthusiastic about making a sale since...well since she last saw Anne. After hearing the girl then talk about the loves of her life, Yue had to wonder what she loved first out of everything...she had mentioned what she loved third and second, but she never did say what came first in her heart. Then again, that was a bit of a personal question to ask. It was good to hear that the cart wasn't in as bad a shape as they first thought, but it was worrying to hear about the horse. "Oh, that's not good at all!" Yue shook her head, her stutter going away as her natural animal-loving self reared its head. "Should we try to find your horse then?" She had a sneaking suspicion that "loud noise" was caused by their earlier fighting, but she didn't voice the thought out loud. "How long ago did it run off?" However, it seemed the girl had other plans. Or at least that was the feeling the archer was getting from the merchant's conversation with Leon. After their leader turned to the group, Yue spoke up, "I think we should help. It's really sad to have an animal run off on you! Maybe we can find her horse too!"

Ask me anything but opinions on members. I won't answer those. I might make a thread for that someday...or I might not. Who knows. I've stayed away from making these before for a couple of reasons. Namely, not being very well-known, and because of that, there being little to no questions people had to ask me. I doubt anything's changed in that respect, but I've also been told I need to be more open and stuff. It's a new and smaller site too, so there's that. Also, I'm bored. That may or may not be playing a big part here.

"You really need to work on your explanations. I'd hate to see you get in trouble just because you ran into someone less patient than me." Miss "Mom" Jaeger replied after withdrawing her daggers, bending down to retrieve her staff. She still looked a little scary, but not nearly as scary as she had before, so that was good. "You were going to do some training weren't you?" she asked as Lachlan felt something hard poke him in the back. Wincing a little, he stumbled forward, catching himself at the last minute. Glancing back, he saw she was in the middle of prodding him forward. Pouting a little--he wasn't a cow--he forced his feet to move, hoping against hope he wouldn't see Lucine or Wada. Unfortunately, it looked like they had already arrived. Either they arrived before him or they passed him while he was busy "dealing with" the cat lady. More bein' dealt wae. The cat lady's voice brought him back to earth. "Go work up a good sweat for me and maybe I'll decide against exploding the place. Sound fair?" She grinned. "Oh and, of course, if you ever tell anyone what happened here I'll have to practice my knot tying skills on your intestines." She added with a wide grin, an ear twitching as her tail flicked behind her. Ach, just whit ah need, Lachlan sweated. "Nae--no, no, ye don't need to worry aught about me...hehe." Great, now he had to spar, didn't he? "And don't you fret, I'll make sure to keep mum...ah...hahaha." He backed away from her slowly. As he continued backing into the room, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise for some reason. Frowning, he glanced around--and then froze, wide-eyed. There was a blast of light. Coming straight. For. Him. It was too late to do anything about it though as before he could even do more beyond think oh shite the blast had already reached him. The force of it not only knocked him off his feet, but also sent him hurtling toward the far wall. As his head cracked against the wall he could only hope that it would be able to take the abuse...and him too. "Ach...Losh..." Lachlan muttered. He felt like one big ball of pain, and was that blood? Was he bleeding too? "Whit in the name o' aw that's holy wis tha'?!" Had the cat lady gone back on her words about the explosion? Is that what happened? Wait till he let down his guard and then attack? Well he wouldn't let her get away with that. Taking up his spear, he searched the room for her. Upon seeing her, he started to march toward her--and then fell over. "Och..." he groaned. "That was a daud of a blow right there." It was apparent that he needed some time to catch his breath and recover before he even tried fighting back. Should ah goo hairse? Lachlan wondered. His other form wouldn't fit here, after all. Either way, he needed to do something. They were all in danger now, especially if that mom lady wasn't acting alone.

"You could say that." Ivan replied bluntly. Belle frowned in annoyance. While she was glad that he had managed to capture that Vulpix, she couldn't help but wish things were going just as smoothly on her end. As the boy's Pancham walked over to get a closer view, Ivan crossed his arms. "You sure this Ratatta ain't more trouble than it's worth? I mean it's just a Ratatta..." "Might be," the blue-haired girl replied honestly. "Bu' if I give up here, that's admitting defeat, isn't it?" That was one thing she couldn't stand. She hadn't reached Challenger on League of Legendaries by giving up. It was easy and natural to be lazy, but once she had made up her mind to do something, she had to see it through. That was one of the reasons she was still on this stupid journey, after all. As if it could understand her, the Rattata let out an angry hiss. Sighing, Belle was about to return it to its ball, when the curious Fletchling hopped even closer, letting out a curious chirrup at the rat. Gnashing its teeth toward the bird, the Rattata struggled against its bonds once more. At that, the bird flapped its wings and, with an affronted look, charged forward, slamming against the rat. Screeching, the rat chomped down on the vines. With a low of pain, the vines loosened, and the rat dove forward. Not for Belle, or for Moo...but for the Fletchling. "Oh wow. It's actually doing wha' I asked." Belle paused as she watched the two fight for a bit. "Or maybe s'just mad."

Yue felt a little dispirited after that fight. "Do you think they'll keep trying to come after us then?" she wondered. The archer brightened up a little when she saw Anne. While the girl was a bit too enthusiastic for her taste, she did sell her that cool ancient bow. Even if part of her regretted buying it. She winced as the other asked her question about what happened to them. "It could be another ambush, commander." Rona said, eyeing the girl warily. "We should just keep going. It's too suspicious right after.....that." Yue hesitated, about to speak up, before Alexis and then Raynor said their pieces. Much as she admired Rona and her careful attitude, the archer had to agree with them here. "Y-yeah, I don't think she's d-dangerous," the girl stammered. "S-she's a merchant." She glanced over the cart herself after Raynor's observation. "I-Is it broken?"

While avoiding a Shadow Claw was not something his regular form could do, with this form's increased speed and the boost from Tailwind, Shaymin was able to avoid the Shadow Claw that came his way with a loop-de-loop in the air. "That the best you can do? It feels like you're standing still," he boasted, firing off a green ball of energy toward the legendary. Unfortunately, it looked like Giratina was also fast...fast enough to phase out into the shadows as the Energy Ball splashed harmlessly against the cave wall behind her. Shaymin looked around. "Hiding in the shadows like a true villain," he scolded the air. "What a--" he cut himself off as Giratina came down from behind, catching him off guard and smacking him into the ground from the force of the attack. "Oh that's it!" he shouted, firing off another Energy Ball. This time, it hit. As the legendary let out a roar of pain, Shaymin followed up with an Air Slash. Recovering, Giratina opened its mouth, letting loose a blast of purple flames which exploded on contact with the Air Slash. Without stopping for a breath, the legendary fired off an Aura Sphere that came hurtling through the dissipating smoke. Caught off guard, Shaymin was not able to avoid this attack either. Thankfully, the Leech Seed was still in effect, but he was not looking nearly as fresh as he had at the start of the fight. Sending off another Air Slash, the legendary followed it up with a second. "You're tough, but can you avoid two at once?!" With a growl, Giratina phased out of existence once more, managing to avoid both, but this time Shaymin was ready. When she reappeared, he had already turned around and fired off an Air Slash at point-blank range, straight at her eyes. As she attempted to recover from the attack, he sent another Air Slash toward the hand holding Lok in place. "Just face it. I'm awesome, and you're not. Now let go of Lok!"

BGM for this battle Those who had begun running from the back of the room would not make it to the front in time to stop the statue's attack. Link had just barely dashed past Catriona when marble fang met human flesh--or would have, had it not been for a couple of factors. First was Sienna's transformation. As soon as the Protean had shifted into her more bestial form, the statue paused, the blue glow dying from its gemstone eyes. One second passed, then two, before it flared to life once more, turning back toward Edrick. Next was the large blade of wind heading toward its wings. While they did little more than nick the wings, it was still enough for the statue to crane its head toward her, though its attention was quickly diverted when Alois, then Tsetseg, attacked it as well. Unfortunately, their attacks had about the same effect as the princess's. "How are we supposed to do this?" Catriona muttered. She and her allies were used to fighting flesh-and-blood enemies, not stone statues! Still, she couldn't sit back and let Edrick get chomped to bits either. Behind her, Cora was running up, sword raised high, the beaver following closely behind. The badger, however, had kept its course toward the back of the room, only stopping after reaching Gunther. Its furry form shivered in fear from its position behind the knight. Behind Catriona, Citron seemed equally paralyzed by fear. Understandable, Catriona thought. She's a civilian, unused to fighting. I'm an experienced soldier, and even I am at a loss for what to do right now. It was disheartening to see how little of an effect their attacks were having on this thing. Ahead, Adelaide attempted to circle around, keeping out of the firing range, but waiting for an opportunity to strike. And it seemed like she would get one, as soon enough Shiro, now transformed, let his tongue fly out and wrap around the statue's tail. While the Protean wasn't strong or heavy enough to stop it entirely or hold his ground, he was strong enough to force it to pause for a second, though the next second he would feel himself being lifted from the ground as the statue whipped its tail back and forth, roaring in rage. However, that single second of distraction was enough, as Edrick had time enough to step to the side and go in for his own attack. Unfortunately, the damage was minimal at best, and seemed to do nothing but make the statue angrier as it let out another roar, its gemstone eyes glowing with that unearthly blue light. Heedless of the tongue wrapped around its tail, it lunged forward once more. This time, however, it was more than a mere movement of the head, but a full-bodied tackle, its feet kicking off from the marble base. Its wings snapped open as it managed to maneuver itself into a divebomb straight toward the lancer, an action that, with its stone body, would be similar to being struck by a boulder. At this point, Shiro would have to let go or be dragged along with it. In the back, Licorice seemed unaware or uncaring of her surroundings as she sprinted toward the doors. They had just barely begun to close from Gunther's entrance when she flung them open once more. It was then that she finally registered two voices coming from beyond the second set of doors. One sounded a bit raspy and strange, but still human, but the other one sounded positively unhuman. While neither Ciela nor Licorice would have heard this particular sound before, the quality of it sounded familiar. Without hesitation, the fox transformed into her beast form and rammed the door with her shoulder. When the door managed to hold despite all of that, she hit it once more, then again, and so on, before finally pausing as she panted for breath, blood oozing from a wound on her shoulder. Through all of that, the door managed to remain standing, but it had not survived Licorice's assault unscathed. The wood was heavily cracked and splintered, the metal hinges bent backwards from the force of the fox's blows as she had, partway through, focused her attention on them. It looked as if one last hit would finish the job. OOC

What topic could you spend hours talking about and why? Also top four favorite foods. And oh, oh, top four favorite cookies.

Shaymin's head whipped back and forth between Kayla and Nine in a panicked fluster. Soon, however, the motions stopped as the legendary closed her eyes and breathed in. As she did so, a soothing breeze blew in from outside the cavern, carrying on it the scent of fresh flowers. As soon as the wind reached Nine he would feel his head start to clear. Giratina seemed to realize what she had done as the other turned her head toward Shaymin to give her a glare. While this caused the grass type to tremble in fear yet again, she managed to stay in place, closing her eyes yet again and clasping her hands together. Her body began to glow a bright white, though a green halo of sorts surrounded her form. At the same time, a shockwave of green power erupted from the woman, buffeting against Giratina. With a screech, the legendary's grip on Lok began to loosen. As the last of the shockwaves died down, so did the glow surrounding Shaymin's form, revealing an entirely different, yet still familiar person. The excitable youth from before. "Aww yeah! No need to fear, Skymin is here!" the boy tested his fist against his palm. Glancing around, he took in the situation. "Looks like things are pretty heated up." He grinned at Giratina. "Hey! Remember me, spike-head? Looks like we didn't teach you a good enough lesson, before." The legendary let out a roar of rage and recognition, and without letting go of Lok, used her other arm to rip part of the ground out and throw it toward Shaymin. "Ha! Gotta be faster than that to beat me," the flying type boasted, his cape fluttering as a large whirlwind whipped up and blew against both Giratina and the boulder. While an obstacle for the dragon type, it seemed a boon to the others, as they would find their movement speed increased. "Now..." the youth grinned, "let me show you a real attack!" And with that, he sent a blade of air headed straight for Giratina.

All right, and that's fine, no rush. ?

Yeah it's definitely still possible! This RP is always accepting, though there are a couple limitations. Apps have to first be approved by both Cow and I before the character is accepted, and the vetting process is a bit more thorough than most RPs. Also, it will usually take a while after acceptance before the character can be inserted into the RP, as it's already ongoing. Usually a few weeks, minimum. And before making a character, you should at least read both the Fire Emblem Guide (especially if you're new to the Fire Emblem series) and the Setting google docs. Though for the setting it's mainly the first part and the specific country you want your character to be from. I do recommend at least skimming the IC or asking Cow and I for a brief summary of what's going on--the Timeline google doc is also good for knowing exactly everything that's happened so far in the RP. While not required, it's also recommended to take a glance at the character roster and any waitlisted characters to get a sense of the people your character would be interacting with. While that might sound like a lot to read, it's really not that much more than what's required when joining a new RP. The main difference is most of the info is already out there to read and not in the process of being thought up, so don't let that put you off if you're really interested in joining. ?

“So… Do you think it was for some sort of, religious ceremony? Or something? Or that it could be related to why we're here?” Citron asked aloud, glancing around. "Perhaps," Catriona replied. "However, in Galtea at least, it is a luxury drink. I have had a little of it myself once." She frowned. "Though I do not think I shall try it again anytime soon." As Citron turned to Tsetseg, preoccupied with something the archer had said, the lord turned her attention to the others in the room. To the side, both the badger and beaver seemed to relax slightly as Edrick didn't end up doing anything aside from talking with the others and taking everything in. Finally taking their gaze off him, they divided their attention between Cora and the rest of the group. While the badger did not seem overly concerned with the militia girl's reaction to everything, the beaver did. Approaching Cora, it nudged against her leg and let out what sounded like a low coo. If the girl looked down she would see the beaver looking up at her with wide eyes for a few seconds before turning away in sudden embarrassment. It then waddled away to the end of the aisle. The badger, on the other hand, seemed more worried about the statue, and those inspecting it. Clomping over to where Shiro was beginning to scale the thing, it let out a couple sharp barks in warning before giving Edrick a side eye at hearing the boy speak his mother tongue. Meanwhile, the statue didn't seem to have taken any damage from Shiro's actions, it being large enough and strong enough to withstand the weight of another. The frog would find no trace of dust on it. In fact, there was nothing about it that seemed out of place at all...until he got to the back side. There, on the back of the head, was a strange symbol--a circle with a swirl in the center. Judging from the marble dust scattered around the edges, it looked to have been carved recently. BGM It was while watching this rather amusing tableau, with Shiro almost hanging off of the statue, that Edrick would see the statue's eyes glimmer with a strange blue light. Shortly after, he would hear a strange humming noise emanating from all around him, but it seemed to mainly come from his front. The others would feel it too, though the strength of it seemed to vary depending on where they stood in the hall. Gunther, who stood at the far end, would feel it the least, while Shiro, Alois, and Penelope would feel it the most. "What is happening?" Catriona waited for one of Penelope's witty remarks before remembering she was in the other room. Still, if anybody knew what was causing this, it would be her sister...or Licorice. Actually, if the Protean's actions were anything to go by, she knew exactly what was going on. The fox had turned as white as a sheet. "I knew it," she muttered to herself. "I would recognize that signature anywhere." Licorice shook her head frantically. "Can't go against...can't stay..." She turned on her heel and fled for the main door, ears flattened and tail puffed up in fear. The humming grew in volume, the sound causing the building to practically vibrate...until it stopped. At the same time, the statue began to glow a pale blue, its eyes more like aquamarines than emeralds now. Alois and Penelope would also see a flash of blue light from amongst the bouquets, but they wouldn't have much time to investigate it as they would then hear a loud sound from the other room. Those in front of the statue would bear full witness to what happened next as the glow began to die down. With a crunching noise, the statue began to move. First, its eyes, now a pale blue, flashed as if lit from within. Next, it raised one of its front feet from the base where it stood. The foot hung there for a second, as if giving the onlookers time to register what was happening, before stomping back down with another crunch as a crack formed in the base. The statue flapped its wings then, and, as if suddenly noticing Shiro on its back, crouched down before bouncing back up in a heave, throwing the Protean off. What looked to be muscles rippled underneath its scaly, but still calcified body as it shook itself free of residual marble dust like a dog. Its serpentine tail undulated up and down as its head turned from side to side in birdlike motions, tongue flicking in and out. But it soon froze as one of its gemstone eyes caught sight of Edrick. And then it opened its mouth and roared , pausing briefly before roaring once more, shifting itself with a crunch as it turned to face the boy fully. "What in the seven hells...how?!" Catriona gasped before whirling to face the badger. "Did you know it could do this?!" she demanded. The badger shook its head frantically and began to waddle down the center hallway as fast as it could. The beaver, however, stood at the head of the aisle where Cora, Link, and Tsetseg were, hissing at the statue while slapping its tail against the ground. "Whether you knew about it or not, it seems as if this is no ordinary statue. Either that or--" the woman cut herself off as the statue reared itself back before its head lunged forward with whiplike speed. Straight toward Edrick. -- Outside, anybody in the vicinity of the town hall would hear loud roars coming from within the building. OOC

Yue was relieved to see the cavalier that had been staring her in the face go down after her attack hit. She loosened her grip slightly on the bow, fingers trembling. She had enough experience she could still shoot with a certain amount of accuracy even if her arms shook, but she tried to keep herself still when she fired the arrow. Thankfully, it hit. The archer felt the breath leave her body in a whoosh when she heard the enemy commander shout for his men to fall back. If she had been relieved before, she was doubly so now. After he called them traitors and villains, she wanted to protest, but couldn't summon the courage to open her mouth. From their perspective, they were traitors and villains, but it wasn't like any of them, except maybe Alexis, were actually part of the Aeoran army or anything, so she wasn't sure what the big deal was. Unless he was talking about them being citizens of Aeora, which Yue wasn't sure she was. Though she'd lived there for a bit now, so maybe? Leon then put his hand up and called for them to stand down and move back too. Which was good. It took until he spoke for Yue to realize that he could've ordered them to keep fighting, which would've been messy. The girl was about to step back when she realized something. I'm already standing at the back. Or I'm the closest to the back out of anybody right now. She ended up taking a few awkward, shuffling steps backward anyway. I'm just making sure.

"All right all right. Berserker. Spoilsport," I mutter without any malice. "Speaking of Servants and stuff though, I hope Archer's all right. Haven't seen them in a while." I follow the others to the house and then think for a bit. "Now what?" I whisper. "Should we see if we can sneak closer?" I hum the Pink Panther theme inside my head.

Top ten zombos.

Whoa.

As the battle between Ivan and the Vulpix went on, Belle glanced around the area once again. She had finally sorted out her Poké Balls, so that was one less thing to do. Now all she had to do was sit back and watch the fight. Seeing a capture in action would help a lot in learning how to catch Pokémon. But, something was bothering her. Her Rattata. Much as she wanted to, she couldn't just leave it in its ball forever. At some point, if she wanted to use it, she'd have to let it out and try to train it to not attack her. And, with her companions busy, this would be a good opportunity to do so, hot as it was. Letting out a put-upon sigh, the girl released Moo first. If the cow was there, then it could restrain the other whenever it tried to attack her. Once more, she patted herself on the back for choosing the grass type. Not only was it calm and obedient and easy to take care of, but it was also useful for more than just battling. Upon exiting the ball, the Poamoo looked around and lowed in confusion. Which made sense. So far, she'd only let it out to fight. "I'm going to try to train up that Rattata," she told the cow. "You need to restrain it with Vine Whip whenever it tries to attack me." She felt a bit stupid talking to her Pokémon, but they apparently could understand human speech, going off of how they obediently followed orders. The cow nodded, so without further ado, she opened the ball holding the Rattata. Upon release, the rat lunged for her, but was stopped in place by the vines that appeared from both sides of Moo's horns. "Okay, listen up here," Belle said, stepping closer. "You might have taken me by surprise last time, but this time, I have the advantage. You understand?" she leaned in closer--but not too close--to eye it. "Whether you like it or not, I'm your trainer and you're my Pokémon. We need to get along if this is going to work out at all. Or I'll just keep you in the ball for eternity, got that?" The Rattata struggled against the vines, gnashing its teeth at her. The girl shook her head. "We're getting nowhere like this." She perked up at seeing a Fletchling exit some tall grass and hop over to where they were. "Perfect timing. Rattata, if you want to prove yourself, now's the time." She nodded at Moo. As soon as the vines released themselves, the Rattata lunged for her once more, but was stopped once again by Moo's Vine Whip. The rat hissed against the bonds, resuming its struggle. "No no no no no!" Belle scolded. "It's like you're deaf or something. Look, target there," she pointed at the Fletchling. "Trainer here," she pointed at herself. "Me no target." She glanced at Ivan. "I hope you're having better luck with that Vulpix than I am with this stupid Rattata," she groaned.

Shaymin was about to split the earth open one more time when she noticed the existing cracks in the ground start to bleed a strange dark liquid. "That doesn't look good. We should probably stay away from that." She should've known there'd be side effects to using that move around a being like Giratina, in their territory no less. The legendary clenched her fists, the nails digging slightly into her palm. Even though this move tired her out...she would have to do it. And maybe...that as well. But first, she would have to restore her energy. The grass type closed her eyes and concentrated, clasping her hands together. Soon afterward, her body began to glow green as the wounds across her form closed. It looked similar to the effects of the energy she got from the seed she had thrown earlier, but much stronger.

"You're right. Nothing rash. We'll take things... as slow. As. You. Want." As the Jaeger in front of her drew out each word, her voice seemed to turn more and more catlike, the last word coming out as little more than a purr. This wasn't good. Oh no, oh no, this wasn't good. Either this cat lady in front of him had some sort of problem with her vocal chords or she was starting her transformation into full-on cat. Maybe in preparation to eat him. Though there was something about the way she was getting closer and batting her eyes that made him remember something else. There was a ballad he had listened to about a man who had found a fairy, and in his slumber beside her, found himself in thrall. Not so very different from his own natural powers. Was this cat lady, then, like him that way? Lachlan didn't have time to think much more on this as soon after, the cat lady lifted her hand and brushed the side of his face gently. Her skin was soft and tender, and the first thing that crossed his mind was how, if she were human, piercing through the skin to get at the meat and fat below would be no issue at all. He wasn't much of a skin person though. His mother, on the other hand, seemed to love tearing the skin off her-- His train of thought had soon derailed though under the heavy onslaught of sheer panic. Because she was touching his skin! With her own skin! The youth's eyes widened behind his glasses. Though right now, there was little point in wearing them. The damage had been done. Still, he had to do something, or this person would end up doing something she would later regret. That's how it always was. The spell only lasted so long as his proximity to them, or in the case of some Jaegers, their willpower and natural resistance. First, he needed to get out of here. Sure, she probably wasn't hell bent on killing him anymore, but his life would be worth little more than two pence once the spell broke. However, he found himself held in place by the other's surprisingly strong grip. Still, since she was already in thrall, he wouldn't have to worry about accidentally touching her to break free. Deciding to do just that, he began to struggle as the other's face grew closer and closer, their lips drawing closer... And then, just as quickly as it had started, the spell broke. The cat lady--really, he needed to find out her name. He thought she had said for somebody to call her Mommy but that couldn't actually be her real name right? Right? Anyway, she had torn herself away and if looks could kill, he'd have to look for a priest to give him his last rites. "What's your game?!" the mom lady demanded, nearly screaming, sounding remarkably similar to an infuriated cat. Which was not good. Cats were great animals, but they were basically knives with fur when they got mad. Losh, speak o' bartie an' he shall 'pear. Those're some grand ol' gullies there. He sweated as she brought out literal knives on both sides of his throat. She's fairly gaun her dinger, soo she has. "Oh I get it, you play the shy, confused boy. You trip over your own words, there's nothing dangerous about you. Then the moment a woman gets in close you work your magic on her huh? What a cute trick. Must be real nice to not have to worry about their choices! I was going to play nice with you, but I wonder what you had in mind for me." Ach, whit naow? "I'd choose what you say next very carefully dear. There's not many people I've met that much enjoy bleeding out." The grin on her face made her look less like a cat and more like the bartie himself. This wasn't good. If she hadn't wanted to kill him before, she certainly did now. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and it didn't look like anybody would be able to help him out of this either. Which meant he had to save himself. Certainly, that was something a hero was supposed to do, but that was against villains! Not supposed allies who were misunderstanding you as a femme fatale...or whatever the equivalent was for men. Though maybe she was secretly a villain after all...she had talked about blowing things up, after all. Lachlan had a feeling she wouldn't believe him even if he explained what was going on. Still, unless he wanted to attack her with his spear--which probably wouldn't succeed, given his mediocre skill with it--or transform--which probably would, but then he'd have to explain himself to Dr. Jekyll as to why the wall suddenly caved in--he had no other choice. He would have to explain. And lord knew how well that would go. There was a reason he never stayed around for any after-rescue parties villages held for him. Talking to people...was not his strong point. Awright, keep a calm sooch there, Lachlan. He just needed to try to explain things, that's all. Lying wouldn't be good, and would probably get him killed if the fairytales were any indication, so all he had to do was tell the truth. Aye, the truth. But first. "Uhh...um...sure as sure I can tell ye, but er, can you put away those knives first? They're...er...making me dead uncomfortable. But uhh...anyway, yeah, so well, this is something I don't really have any control over. It's kind of like uhh, that one king in the fairytale, you know? King Midas. Everything he touched turned to gold, whether he wanted or nay. His food and drink, even his daughter turned to gold. So it's the same for me, you see? Or well, not exactly the same, but similar. Sorry if you don't see by the way, that's probably my fault. I'm not the best at explaining things," he stammered, hoping against hope she wouldn't take offense. Lachlan lowered his voice at the next part. It wasn't that he didn't want the others to know about this, but...okay, he didn't want them to know. This "ability" of his was a point of shame. Not all kelpies had it either. Some, like his father, had one where those who touched him found they couldn't take their hands away. Others, like his mother, had a similar ability to her son's, but it only affected children. It was just Lachlan's bad luck that he had what he had. "They don't turn to gold, but they do turn different. Whether it be a lad or a lass, they think themselves in love with me, but it's not the true love sung of in the ballads, where a hero overcomes adversity to rescue his lady love from the evil monster," his eyes turned starry at this and he began to relax slightly, lost in tales of daring do. "That's what true love is. Aye, nothing better. Through stormy skies and sunny days, these two face evil kings, wicked witches, and monstrous demons before they can finally find their own happily ever after." His hands clenched into fists. "But this is different. It's nae the love the bards sing of, but the false love of a wicked temptress...err, tempter in my case. I suppose I could try to become a female, but I'm not sure how well that'd work, and I don't think I'd want to anyway. Err...nothing against you all, but I just don't see myself that way, you see? Or maybe not. Sorry." Lachlan swallowed nervously. "Um...so that's why I don't like to touch people. Anyway...could you let me go? And maybe...not blow up the place either? I don't really like it here, but I don't dislike it either...not enough for that anyway. Sorry if I'm being rude, and sorry for earlier too. I really didn't mean to touch you like that. Er...be touched like that. Not that I'm saying it was your fault. I don't think it was. You didn't know. But I do think it'd be your fault if you set off an explosion. Sorry, that's just what I think is all." Och. He probably said too much again. He really needed to learn to not run his gob like that.

There had been a couple close calls with the two reckless members of their group. Ada gets hurt a lot too though. Really, just everybody seemed to love to charge on in except for Yue, Layne, and Edda. Even after telling Alexis to be more careful, the pegasus knight decided to charge forward again. "Sorry about this, but if I let that guy get closer this is all over." She then divebombed the enemy archer. I guess that makes sense... Yue knew, as an archer herself, just how vulnerable flying units were to them. Normally being up in the air provided them a bit of protection from weapons, but for an archer, it was as easy as shooting down clay birds. Which, come to think of it, wasn't that easy, but it was still easier than trying to hit a clay bird with a sword. And if you put an arrow in the right spot...say, a wing, then that could mess up the mount's ability to fly enough that they'd come crashing to the ground. Yue usually tried to target the actual people though. It wasn't the animals' fault that their riders were bad guys, after all. Speaking of mounts... The archer set her sight on the cavalier just in front of her, switching her bronze bow for her iron one. It was a little scary, being right in front of it and all, but she couldn't bring herself to hide behind Edda or Layne either. So instead, the girl took aim and fired from where she stood.