Overlap [IC/PG-16/Accepting]

[LordCowCow]

Trevor and Kira vs Dark Thorn

The Heartless was struck by the Thundaga attack and let out a pained roar. That wasn't the only thing the attack did however. It highlighted the beast's body as the electricity crackled around it for a brief moment as it turned and crouched down in preparation to fling itself at Trevor.

Kira was on the move, eyes darting left and right, and she scooped up the closest relatively heavy object before flinging it at full force at the creature as it dove towards Trevor.

A loud ringing sounded as the bell struck the Dark Thorn directly in the head. The force of it completely twisting its mid-air body around and it soared over Trevor's head before crashing into the ground, unmoving.

Kira let out a sigh as she walked over towards Trevor. "Guess I shouldn't leave my kanabo at home...you break anything?" She asked. Then she glanced around at the destruction around them and winced. "I mean...on your body."

---

Fen and Valerie

"Though, I must say I'm also surprised with how fast you took down yours. Most people I can think of wouldn't do so well in fighting bare handed against an eggbear."

"Well, I'm the Number One Hero for a reason you know! It kind of reminded me of when I had to take down those raptors. Though these guys are a lot bigger...and smellier." She wrinkled her nose then shrugged. "Boxing? Yeah suppose so. Not sure I'd say it's that specific, more like Mixed Martial Arts than anything else. Don't wanna be locked into one style when you never know what you're gonna have to face."

She looked Fen up and down. "Guess I made things a bit tough for you huh? Still feels weird working as a team honestly. Used to taking down Villains on my own."

[radio414]

With God we will gain the victory,
    and he will trample down our enemies.
-Psalm 108:13 (NIV)

---

The moment Sandalphon’s rings swiped the Vylon Delta’s hand away, they snapped into position to fire another blast of energy into the Vylon’s center of mass. It was a direct hit, but the Vylon was undeterred, reaching out with its other hand to put a stop to Sandalphon’s defenses and get at its precious, vulnerable host. It was not a maneuver that Melissa had thought was possible, even if every component step to it made sense. She had Sandalphon pivot immediately to trying to remedy the issue. Continuing to spin was a non-starter, and even in the face of another beam of light at the point of contact, the Vylon’s grip remained firm. There was nothing for it, Melissa realized. The only way for Sandalphon to get out of the Vylon Delta’s grip was for Sandalphon to not be there anymore.

Melissa fell to the ground as Sandalphon disappeared back into her subconscious. She tried to make it an elegant landing, but she kept too much focus on exactly where the Vylon’s cestus was, and it was a minor miracle that she landed on her feet at all. She probably should have just collapsed; she needed Zadkiel out at a moment’s notice in case the Vylon adjusted its aim. As it was, she simply fell again into the cherub’s awaiting arms.

The Vylon’s assault had left it open again, and Zadkiel raced to take advantage of the opportunity, charging forward and up with its sword held by its chest. If the Vylon hadn’t recovered and brought its arms back to block, Zadkiel might have rammed through the monster right then and there. As it was, the attack was rebuffed, but Melissa still felt the impact through Zadkiel and was sure the sword had made better contact than such phrasing might have made it seem. If she were conscious, still on Ambrosia, and a different person altogether, she might have said, “You still take the damage,” but she was none of those things, so she only thought it instead.

Well, she could have had Zadkiel say it, but the moment had passed. Melissa had already had Zadkiel disengage from the attack and join Kasayee in circling above the Vylon, waiting for the next opening. Melissa already knew what such an opportunity would look like. Vylon Delta was in a defensive position again. In but a few moments, it would call forth another weapon. That part was something Kasayee already knew -- that part didn’t need to be explained again. The only part that did was making sure both Kasayee and Melissa understood whose job it was to be where, and Melissa was inclined to allow Kasayee to follow through on her promise.

We will press our advantage, Zadkiel said. Be ready.

As anticipated, the Vylon reached up into the aether with both hands and called forth another equip spell, another weapon. Zadkiel immediately gave chase, ascending to be even with the Vylon’s hands, ready to execute the same maneuvers Kasayee already had. Melissa wryly considered even snatching the equip spell, and nearly followed through with the idea until she saw just what the Vylon was pulling out: a Double-Edged Sword. Melissa was not sure what it would mean for Zadkiel to take symmetrical damage, but given how high up they were, she did not want to find out. Zadkiel’s next actions were more improvisational than anything. Zadkiel broke into a spinning dive. As it spun, it used its sword to knock the Vylon’s extended arms out of the way of the rest of its body, and, just to keep the Vylon floundering for just a moment longer, Zadkiel’s dive crashed straight into one of the Vylon Delta’s robotic wings.

For a moment, the Vylon was merely off-balance. It had been heavily damaged from all the fighting, but there was a world where it could still recover. It was not this world, though. Zadkiel had not been the only thing falling out of the sky. As soon as the way was clear, a spiked tortoise shell tore its way through the Vylon Delta’s center, and the whole thing broke apart. Zadkiel waited until there wasn’t any more debris before disappearing, and Melissa returned to consciousness with an inhale and a cough. She went over to Kasayee. “You broke it,” Melissa said. “Thank you for your help. Slow and steady, huh?”

[LordCowCow]

Melissa and Kasayee

The turtle that was Kasayee slowly crawled its way over the body of the fallen Vylon moments before the entire thing was absorbed into the dark void that they had seen happen to so many other beings they fought here.

At first she didn't give any acknowledgement that Melissa had said anything and then, so slowly as to be barely perceptible, she looked up at Melissa and stared at her for a solid half a minute.

Then suddenly she transformed and Melissa was greeted with the sight of a crouched down Kasayee looking up at her curiously. "What are you thanking for." she glanced over at where the Vylon vanished, then held up her arm and the only bit of clothing --the watch-- she had on. "It's what we do here." she said simply before standing up.

She looked around then back at Melissa. "Park time done?" she asked.

[Chaos Sonic]

Trevor could've swore he saw his life flash before his eyes as the Heartless was barreling down his direction after the Thundaga. He tried to stand his ground, preparing to launch a full powered Firaga to fire at point blank range... however, that wasn't going to be the case.

He watched as a bell was lobbed right into the Dark Thorn's head. From Kira, no doubt. Especially when he watched the Heartless twisting it and causing it to be launched over the young sorcerer and land over on the ground... unmoving. Trevor was in awe at the strength of Kira... but at the same time, he looked at the unmoving Dark Thorn and watched as it started to slowly dissipate. It was done fore... that was the sign there.

"Guess I shouldn't leave my kanabo at home...you break anything? I mean...on your body."

Trevor looked back in Kira's direction before waving his hand dismissively, smiling. "Nothing that little Cure spell didn't fix... but it was more or less just a few scrapes and bruises. No broken bones or the like." he dusted himself off, having the grimoire return the chain it had back to it's regular size and it proceeded to place itself back on his side. "Nevertheless, a job well done... especially against a Heartless like that. Though it's odd... I didn't take this place as being any kind of hot spot for Heartless to appear in... perhaps here there is still darkness within the hearts of this world's denizens... but perhaps it's more than that."

[radio414]

Melissa smiled and said,

---

“[...]give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
-1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

---

She was pretty sure Kasayee wouldn’t understand -- at least, she would claim not to -- but that was part of “all circumstances.”  She also realized she was proselytizing again -- fortunately, Kasayee did not seem like the type to care too much about that. Of course, if she did, would she show it? Was she just stirring resentment?

No, she couldn’t think like that. She knew where that path led. Melissa took a step back from Kasayee and took a full breath -- the kind where she brought her hands to her chest and pushed them away with all the air inside of her. It didn’t entirely solve the problem -- Melissa could still feel a lump forming at the back of her throat that threatened to drop all the way to her stomach -- but it delayed it for the time being. “You’re right, of course,” Melissa said. “This is why we’re here on Prana.” The way she said it, Melissa realized, was like she was experiencing a bout of homesickness, but of course, even if she did have an opportunity to capitalize on that feeling, she’d also feel obligated to say. She’d had an entire conversation with Mauvache about this. Two conversations, even, if you counted her initial recruitment.

Maybe it was just the Vylon that had reminded her. It was another flash of the familiar, even if dealing with it had been a direct departure from the last time she’d been attacked by manifestations of Duel Monsters cards. In contrast to all the previous feelings, though, there was also one of belonging. Who else would have recognized the Vylon Delta? Well, Fiona, probably, but to the degree that Melissa -- someone who, sometimes against her will, had been immersed in Duel Monsters for as long as she could remember -- had? What would have happened to the park in that scenario?

And yet, through all this, Melissa mostly just felt exhausted. It had been a draining day, both physically and socially. Kasayee asking her last question brought extra attention to that part too. “I think I’m ready to go back to the apartment,” she said.

[Skaia]

Fen nodded her head at Valerie's reasoning. She could understand, after all even if she defaulted to swords and bows it wasn't like her magic was just limited to that and she was beginning to understand the importance of having a more flexible mindset when it came to these things. Fen then briefly frowned at the next thing the girl said but smiled almost immediately after saying, "oh, don't worry about it. It certainly well, uh, helped in dealing with them in its own way. It probably felt the heat worse than I did, and all." It was true that the heat had disarmed Fen pretty swiftly and made her actual approach to killing the bears more difficult, but it also had revealed something to her. It was obvious, in hindsight, that her weapons made of ice would always have the weakness of fire and heat. She had gotten around it against the fire elemental by just using a much larger mass of ice and letting others deal with it. Yet when it was just her, to have this spelled out so plainly in front of her was frustrating. 

"Well, if uh, if anything it was something of a good learning experience. After all, if we ever have to work again I'll need to be ready either with something that won't melt or something to that effect." 

The girl then looked at Val curiously at her next statement. She could understand that there probably fighters here who were more lone wolves than team players, it was only natural with such a varied group. Yet the phrase "number one hero" seemed odd to the girl. She didn't know that was something someone could be "number one" in, to say nothing of most heroes that she was aware of being a product of story and myth. She supposed for their efforts, Fen and her guild had been referred to as heroes but she had felt like the terms itself never really had anything to do with her. "Do heroes often not work together where you're from, then?" Curiosity about her first train of thought then prompted the girl to ask, "and um, does being the uh, number one hero mean you founded the most prosperous city or uh, slayed some kind of wicked god?" 

[LordCowCow]

Trevor and Kira

"Cure spell." Kira said, an shook her head. "Magic, what a thing. Must be nice." She shook her head and let out a long sigh as she looked around. It seemed she was examining the damage and the more she looked the deeper her frown got.

When Trevor mentioned heartless she glanced back at him over the shoulder. "Anything can appear here. From your world. My world. Worlds none of us ever saw. Anything..." She seemed to double back to what Trevor said and mentioned, "and there's plenty of darkness too if that's what you're looking for."

She looked back at the damage and sighed. "Guess I should clean up. She always says we can leave it to other people but..." she glanced at some of the things she herself broke and winced, sighed, and started to move everything into a pile.

---

Melissa and Kasayee

“I think I’m ready to go back to the apartment,”

"OK." Kasayee said. "Let's go." Her words came with the implication that, for some reason, Kasayee intended to go back with her as well. She started to walk off and then stopped suddenly.

She turned back to Melissa and moved closer. Staring at the girl for several moments before saying, "you need a nap." And without warning picking the girl up, despite being shorter, and held her over one shoulder before walking off. Though it didn't seem like she actually knew which direction she was supposed to go.

---

Fen and Valerie

"Well, if uh, if anything it was something of a good learning experience. After all, if we ever have to work again I'll need to be ready either with something that won't melt or something to that effect." 

"Careful chasing things like that. Cause if you find something that doesn't melt, I'll just have to make it even hotter." Valerie said with a smile that didn't seem to quite touch her eyes.

"Do heroes often not work together where you're from, then?"

Valerie waved her hand dismissively. "Nah, they do it all the time. But I...well, guess I'm just that good that I didn't need to!" she declared. "Don't think ever slayed a god no. I'm number one because, well, I'm the top hero. I got there by...by...." she frowned, and suddenly clutched her head as if trying to think of an answer had caused her physical pain. "Well I got there by being the best, probably, that's all there is to it really."

---

Spoiler

So it's probably a good idea if you want more dialogue to ask for it, or if you want to move location or other such things go ahead and do that in your post too.

 

[radio414]

In vain you rise early
    and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat---
    for he grants sleep to those he loves.
-Psalm 127:2 (NIV)

---

The most fight Melissa put into avoiding getting swept up over Kasayee’s shoulder was an, “Oh! Um, okay.” But she also wasn’t about to fall asleep in all the jostling, especially when it became clear that Kasayee didn’t know how to leave. “I think we passed that scrambler already,” Melissa said the fourth time it happened. Of course, given the state of the rides elsewhere in the park, it was entirely likely that there could be four of the same attraction, perhaps even all causally linked in some way to provide maximum nausea across all instances, but, for her own sanity, Melissa chose to believe the simpler option that they were just lost. She couldn’t fall asleep being carried as she was; if Melissa wanted to get home to a proper bed, she had to be the one to get them both there.

It took some finagling to pull up a map of the park on her watch. Some of that was, again, the physical position Melissa was in, and how Kasayee wasn’t receptive to any meek “Hold on…” protestations; and some of the finagling was because it seemed deliberately obtuse, like the map (and park it represented) wanted you in the park for as long as possible. Thankfully, both Melissa and Kasayee were so determined. “Oh, I see,” Melissa said. “If you take a left here, and then- no, your other left.” She kicked a foot across Kasayee’s vision. “That way, and then another one past the drop tower, and then another one, that should get us out of here, I think.”

Thankfully, she thought correctly. Once they were out of the amusement park, things were a lot easier to navigate. Prana was much more sensible than whatever was going on in there, and the return back to their apartment building was one they had already made in reverse, right? Melissa still had to keep Kasayee honest, but she didn’t have to redirect or reverse after an errant direction anymore, at least. Finally, perhaps because they had finally reached their destination, or perhaps she was supposed to have all along, Melissa wriggled out of Kasayee’s grasp, less-than-gracefully picked herself back up, and brushed herself off. “I should probably check on Bartleby,” she said. She wondered if Kasayee still expected her to take a nap, even though they were the only two in the building -- not that Kasayee likely cared, but now it just felt like bad manners. “Um, if you also need to sleep off all that excitement, you’re welcome to do it here? I imagine one of the sofas pulls out, or I guess you can doze on the steps again if you want.”

[Skaia]

Fen had initially thought of simply getting a metal blade that wouldn't instantly melt, or at least evaporate as easily as her ice did. However, she couldn't help but feel a certain challenge from Valerie's comment and wondered if she could actually make an ice that wouldn't be rendered useless in such intense heat. The rest of what she had to say only made Fen more curious as well. 

The answer, while full of a sort of gusto she would expect from Valerie in the short time she had known her, was lacking in a sort of confidence that the rest of her speech held. She had no doubt that the woman was the hardworking sort though it seemed to her that the girl was hiding something, or at the very least not being fully forthright with her. The act of trying to tell her seemed to cause some sort of physical distress so Fen wasn't entirely keen on prying further, and she felt that doing so would be akin to belittling her new found companion which was hardly what she wished to do.

"Well, I couldn't possibly manage to do so much fighting entirely by myself so, well, I can see how you'd become 'number 1.'" Pondering for a moment the girl wondered aloud, "I wonder if I should try fighting by myself more often so that I can become the 'Number 1' of my guild. Though, I don't know if that'd make me a better leader." Fen pondered this for a moment longer before finally stating, "well, there's no enemy to fight at the moment so I'll figure that out when it comes up next."

Readying herself to leave Fen then said, "it's been a pleasure, um, meeting and fighting alongside you Valerie. Though, I believe I do have some, well, uh, preparations to take care of for tonight's meal. So, I'll be going shopping now. Oh and, um, if you want you're free to come over to enjoy whatever I prepare. After all, though I might be lacking on the battlefield I like to think amongst my peers I am unmatched in the kitchen." The girl puffed out her chest in pride, a rare bit of ego showing on her, as she cleared her throat adding, "oh but, uh, only if you want to." 

Regardless of Valerie's answer, Fen made way to leave the park and begin her tasks before dinner. 

[Chaos Sonic]

---

"Cure spell. Magic, what a thing. Must be nice."

"Yeah, it's a pretty grand little thing for sure." Trevor chuckled, surveying the surroundings as well, and he wasn't too thrilled about it. This damage was enough to make one cringe, especially seeing how full of life and even full of light this whole area was. It made the sorcerer's fists clench slightly at the thought of the darkness being able to get to this point. A world and dimension that was far from the one he knew... and yet... it was almost like the same story all over again. It made him sick...

"Anything can appear here. From your world. My world. Worlds none of us ever saw. Anything... and there's plenty of darkness too if that's what you're looking for."

Trevor looked at his clenched fist, slowly unclenching it as he exhaled slowly. "I appreciate that... but I'd prefer to stay far away from the darkness... you saw the horror there... Heartless, my master told me once that they were born from the darkness within one's heart...and those creatures feed and consume upon one's heart..." He paused, looking up toward the skies overhead. "The worlds out there... they're all precious, full of life and light... and the greater the light, the stronger shadows become. But this world... I am still surprised they're appearing here. If the Heartless are appearing, I wonder what else would be appearing here..." His mind began to slowly wander and wonder what else was breaking into this world from his own dimension and worlds. But at this point, he was paused as Kira spoke again.

 "Guess I should clean up. She always says we can leave it to other people but..."

The sorcerer looked towards Kira as she started to attempt to clean things up. It brought a small smile to his face, seeing this. "Then allow me to help out as well. Two can be better than one, after all!" Trevor thusly decided to give Kira an assisting hand, as he began to cast his magic on the debris, trying to have them move over to different piles in order to help. And he would do this until it was done, and after this... he would attempt to rendezvous with the others. Hopefully they would fair better in their battles.

[LordCowCow]

Trevor and Kira managed to pick up some of the mess before Tia appeared and insisted very aggressively that they leave it to her and "The Workers". They hadn't seen any such Workers yet but the way Tia said Workers made them seem like something important.

Both Kira and Valerie would turn down any offer to join further, each of them citing "having to make sure they stay out of trouble" for each other before going to meet back up with their teammate.

When the two got back to their home base they would find Melissa, and Kasayee, had beaten them there.

Kasayee, when Melissa mentioned sleeping, gave Melissa a blank look for nearly a full minute until responding. "Are you going to nap with me?" And then, "the Pokemon can come too."

Regardless the girl would eventually settle down near Bartleby. Who Melissa would have found staring at the door to the laundry room. After which Kasayee would tell them both that it was a bad idea to try and sleep in a dryer, though she would deny having tried to do so.

Spoiler

I have one thing in mind for later but it'd be after/during meal time and I figure you all might want to do something before that and I don't want to give too much at once to do.

Though if everyone agrees someone can get info for that as part of their post too.

 

[radio414]

[…]he said, “Listen to my words:
“When there is a prophet among you,
    I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,
    I speak to them in dreams.
-Numbers 12:6 (NIV)

---

Melissa didn’t realize exactly when she had fallen asleep, but she could recognize a dream when she saw one. This one was a swimming sort of dream, a vast ocean of blue, light diffusing in the water but still giving everything a soft, cool glow. Zadkiel and Sandalphon giving off light of their own certainly helped, too, though Melissa was pretty sure that even if the ocean were pitch black, she would still, somehow, know where everything was. A school of fish swam by underneath her, species Melissa had only seen in books or an aquarium… or perhaps her subconscious had just made something up -- a simulacrum of aquatic wildlife, or something.

She didn’t twist around to face either of the angels, she just kept watching the fish for a while, before finally she asked, “Did you do something to me?”

After a moment’s silence, one responded, Aside from joining ourselves to you, you mean?

A fair question, Melissa thought, though annoyingly glib in that way that they often were with her. She knew why they were like this. If she pressed them on it, they would say something like, “We would not mean to presume,” and that would be the end of that line of questioning. Part of her wondered if they were taking advantage of her nature, but, then again, that was what she actually wanted to ask about. “I mean, I notice I’m holding my own more. I’ve done things and had conversations that I would have shrunk from in the past. I don’t think I fully noticed what had changed until today, what with the amusement park. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that before. It still wasn’t great, but…” That was the end of that sentence, it seemed. “…anyway, I wanted to ask. It’s not even a problem, I guess, as long as I know about-”

We have noticed this as well. It is part of the reason we have not further updated you on your biometric spikes -- they are simply less prevalent. To answer your question more directly: no, this is not our doing.

“Oh,” Melissa said. She hadn’t really been expecting that answer, but she supposed she had no reason to disbelieve it.

She floated along a little further, catching a current that pulled her deeper into the water. She could have fought it, but it felt like this was where she wanted to be anyway.

We do have a theory, however. Would you like to hear it?

This question was a bit less fair, Melissa decided. Even if she said no, her actual answer would eventually become yes anyway. Just by having the statement linger in the water, they had prompted her assent. Thankfully, she was trusting enough of her guests (not to mention curious enough) to nod her head yes.

What is happening, Melissa, is a confluence of factors, some of which we believe were already coming into place before we even encountered each other, although suddenly finding yourself in a new location sans the weight of one’s reputation would certainly help. In fact, your new, assigned reputation as a Guardian of Prana is something you perceive as an authority. With our introduction and comingling, you even have the ability to back up this new reputation. Should a situation escalate, you have demonstrated your willingness to call forth our avatars, a notion that remains even in moments where we are proven unnecessary.

“Well, now hold on,” Melissa said. “It sounds like I’m implicitly threatening people into being nice to me.”

Perhaps that is how Guardians are perceived by the general populace, the voices said, but they were quick to follow it up with, however, that is not how you have operated in practice. For a better example, consider the reporter, or that photographer. In both cases, you found yourself overwhelmed, and allowed us to step in and assist you. Neither interaction was violent, nor was there ever the implication of violence.

If you treated us as weapons, perhaps it would be more true, but you seem to treat us as confidants. Is that a fair assessment, Melissa?

She supposed so. Wasn’t that what she was doing right now? Melissa had even looked forward to this meeting even before Kasayee had slung her over her shoulder and marched back home.

Put more simply, you have made some close friends, and that has measurably improved your mental health. So perhaps our answer is yes, we have “done something to you,” although not in the sense that you mean.

“I see,” Melissa said. But she caught something in there that finally got her to turn around and face the angels. “Wait, are you calling me your friend?”

Melissa, wake up -- you are about to fall off of the couch! And before Melissa could even react, her body jerked and her eyes snapped open, just catching herself before total disaster. Bartleby, somehow, remained asleep cuddled next to her, still off in his own dreamland.

The voices hadn’t actually answered the question, and she could have called them on that if she wanted -- it wasn’t like dreams were the only times she could talk with them -- but she supposed she already knew the answer.

Melissa sighed and scritched Bartleby’s neck, evoking a pleasant hum from the Pokémon. “You count too,” she said. She stood up, careful not to disturb Bartleby further, before going to the laundry room to grab a lint roller and get all of the Slakoth hair off.

Kasayee was not inside the dryer, as she had insisted she wouldn’t be, but she was still on top of it, asleep as well. It reminded Melissa of those moments during the Vylon Delta fight where Kasayee had turned into a cat. It was a very cat-like place to sleep. She wasn’t about to scritch Kasayee’s neck, though. The promise of food would probably wake her up later, once Fen and Trevor got back from wherever their carnival adventure had taken them.

[Chaos Sonic]

Some of the mess was picked up by Trevor and Kira... but alas, he couldn't finish up the help, as Tia came by and truly insisted... quite aggressively, one could add... that they leave it to "the workers". While he didn't see anyone yet, Trevor figured that he'd leave it to the experts and just let them deal with it.

After all... Trevor didn't want to leave anyone out of a job like this...

Trevor did offer to have Kira accompany him and his team at the house, most likely for some refreshments and to hang out with their new friends... if that's what they were at present... who knows. Alas, Kira did turn it down as she cited to him that she had to make sure they weren't in trouble... or something to those lines. It was understandable nonetheless, so Trevor decided to rendezvous back with the rest of the team at the house.

Once he finally returned to the house, Trevor let out a heavy sigh and wiped his brow slightly. He glanced in the direction of Melissa, before chuckling lightly. "Well, I think that whole carnival experience is one that I truly haven't experienced before." he moved slightly, going towards the fridge and grabbing a drink. "Although... I'll have to say it was the most fun I've had yet!"

[Skaia]

While Fen was looking forward to showing off her culinary skills to her fellow Guardian she was disappointed and understanding that she had to go off elsewhere. As such, Fen made a quick trip to the grocery store to get what she needed for tonight before making her way back to the her living quarters. As she moved about the girl couldn't help but also feel somewhat gross, her skin now readjusted back to the normal climate of the area reminding her of how much she had sweated during the fight against the eggbears, and she equally wished to both freshen up and cook once she got home. 

Stepping inside she had come in after Trevor had, catching the tail end of his remark and adding onto it herself, "it was certainly, well, the most, uh, novel experience I've had to date. At least here." The girl walked past him, giving a nod, as she made her way towards the kitchen to deposit her groceries, though continued speaking along the way. "I've been to festivals and the like before but I never expected there to be a place here that seemed to be constantly in one. To say nothing of all of the rides." The girl thought back to the competition she and the other Guardian team had, wondering if there would be a chance for a rematch with them sometime soon. Or, perhaps it would be a more fun outing to have with the others that she hadn't faced yet. The girl paused for a moment more before adding, "I wonder if the others play Duel Monsters too." 

As the girl placed his groceries down she walked back out and noticed Kasayee resting on one of the machines. The girl didn't say anything about this, instead finding it to be a perfectly natural sight and noted to herself about dinner plans. Looking to the other two she asked, "honestly though, between all of the various contraptions that I've seen here and all the unique places we've been to...well, wonders never seem to cease here." The girl added, "well, um, at least for me, that is. My own world seems a bit, well, lacking in comparison. Oh, not that we don't have our own share of things to do but, more so..." As the girl pondered about it some more she asked, "well, I suppose is there any other kinds of unique recreation or fun places to go from your world that you think would be here. I'd love to try anything new out." 

[LordCowCow]

As the group spoke with one another, and prepared their meal, Kasayee would eventually slip into the room with them. Sitting down at the table without a sound as she waited to be fed. Watching intently whenever anyone got anywhere near food.

A ringing noise sounded as someone evidentially was at the door. Whichever one, or perhaps multiple ones, answered the door would see something rather surprising.

There was no person standing there. Or at least not anything like a human. Instead there was a large, dog-like creature. In spite of how they looked there was clear intelligence, perhaps even wisdom, in the beast's eyes as he let out a low barking noise. Of course none of them would be able to understand him but, after a few moments, Kasayee wandered over as well. When the dog saw her he let out a louder bark and seemed to grumble a bit.

Kasayee walked over, "oh. Constable." She said, seemingly knowing the creature by name. "I was wondering where you went."

Kasayee looked over at the group. "Squad leader." she said simply. Constable let out another bark and Kasayee tilted her head, "oh, this isn't our place?" 

Then Constable suddenly went rigid as he looked past the group. Were they to follow his gaze they would see Bartleby poking out from around a corner. Also rigid and looking right at the dog.

Spoiler

So yes, stuff happening. Feel free to ask for any details or whatever. Also made it vague if this happened before, during, or after the meal so that's up to y'all. You also still can talk among yourselves but try and get dialogue from each other if you do (or from me if its with Kasayee)

 

[Chaos Sonic]

 

---

"it was certainly, well, the most, uh, novel experience I've had to date. At least here. I've been to festivals and the like before but I never expected there to be a place here that seemed to be constantly in one. To say nothing of all of the rides."

"Truly was a spectacle to behold for sure..." Trevor laughed some, though he stared at his drink for a moment, seeming... a tad bit wistful. "...I wonder if those back in my worlds would've enjoyed themselves with that..." He did his best to stay positive, however, not wanting to be a downer on the mood. He took a sip of his drink and moved on from that topic... at least for now. Though something did pique his interest...

"I wonder if the others play Duel Monsters too."

"Hmmm? That's the game you and Melissa kept talking about, isn't it?" he asked, an eyebrow slowly rising. "I may perhaps need to get a crash course in that game sometime... it does seem to be a fun little thing, at least from what you both have said on it." Trevor was serious about it, namely cause he wanted to know the ins and outs of other worlds... it was the curiosity he had inside him... a longing and want to know about other worlds... after all, that was his entire thing back during his time in the Ever.

"honestly though, between all of the various contraptions that I've seen here and all the unique places we've been to...well, wonders never seem to cease here. well, um, at least for me, that is. My own world seems a bit, well, lacking in comparison. Oh, not that we don't have our own share of things to do but, more so... well, I suppose is there any other kinds of unique recreation or fun places to go from your world that you think would be here. I'd love to try anything new out."

Trevor took another sip of his drink and chuckled after the fact. "I'll honestly have to agree with you on that. Least, in regards to my own personal world. Arcana Cabana was like... not like Prana... like the hi-tech city look. It seemed more, I guess one would call it... simple? Maybe that's a bad way of describing it, but even still, it pales in comparison to Prana. Though certain worlds I visited did somewhat resemble what we have here... so at this point, learning something new from all this adventuring and exploring of Rama-Indri just makes the time here even better."

As they all talked, however... Trevor did hear the doorbell go off... and went to open the door. "Good aft-.... huh?" He was a bit... dumbfounded... No person... no, it was a huge dog like creature. And it just seemed to be...

"oh. Constable. I was wondering where you went."

A bark from this... Constable dog... towards Kasayee...

"oh, this isn't our place?"

Silence... but looking rigid... Constable seemed to be... Trevor traced the gaze in the direction of...

"Oh no... that doesn't bode well..." Trevor cringed slightly, seeing that Bartleby was in the line of sight, and also looking rigid towards Constable. "Uh, Kasayee..." he cleared his throat, trying to do his best to block the view between Constable and Bartleby. "Annnnnnd reason why uh... Constable, was it? Why he'd be glaring daggers at Bartleby over there? Annnnd another question... whoooooo is this?"

Kasayee stared for a moment. Then looked between the two. She shrugged. "Eyes met, that means battle. Or something."

"...that doesn't make any sense..." Trevor pinched the bridge of his nose slightly. "What about the other question? Namely... who is this?"

"Constable. Squad leader."

"Your Squad Leader, I take it?" he asked, before glancing back down at the strange dog. "Didn't think that was a possibility, but weirder things have happened... I suppose."

"You talk to a book." Kasayee replied tonelessly.

Trevor wanted to come back with a retort, but alas... he couldn't. She didn't even hesitate with that response, and he even saw said book slowly start to float up, which caused him to sigh greatly, yanking the chain back down in order to keep the book from reaching eye level. "...fair enough..." he cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed at that little response he was given. He however, glanced back towards Fen and Melissa. "We maaaaay need to make sure Constable here and Bartleby don't see each other... something tells me that's bad news."

[LordCowCow]

It was too little too late to do anything now. Constable and Bartleby shared a look of mutual understanding for a few moments before Constable let out a sound that sounded like "harumph" and turned around to walk out into the yard. 

Bartleby, despite his usual lack of action, looked to be spurred to follow suit and went the same way at a pace that could almost be described as at a crawl. Which was faster than normal. He paused for a moment to look at the trio before continuing. 

Kasayee followed as well and then stopped and turned and seemed to be confused. "Didn't you hear him? They're going to battle now."

The two were positioned on opposite sides of the walkway leading up to the building. Kasayee made her way to stand a few feet behind Constable. 

The dog-like creature made a growling noise and Kasayee translated, "he wants to see what this whippersnapper can do." Kasayee looked at the others. "What's a whippersnapper? Is it a fish?"

Bartleby was looking at the trio too as if waiting for something from them.

Spoiler

Aight so to be blunt this is a "battle" but Constable is much higher level. It's not gonna be an instant lose because Constable is testing Bartleby.

Also Bartleby is waiting for a trainer. It can be any or all of you. I know it might seem weird to leave it all to one person but it shouldn't be more than one post anyway.

 

[radio414]

The righteous care for the needs of their animals,
    but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.
-Proverbs 12:10 (NIV)

---

Melissa’s mind was awash with questions as the Stoutland (it was frankly amazing she could even remember which Pokémon it was) and Bartleby the Slakoth sized each other up. The Stoutland (Commander?) had arrived to pick Kasayee up, only to be waylaid by spotting Bartleby and feeling honor-bound to do something about it. Through Kasayee, he’d said he “wanted to see what this whippersnapper could do,” which seemed a bit excessive. Weren’t there Pokémon that just… hung out? Cities or entire regions where Pokémon battling was verboten? Melissa supposed it didn’t really matter. This was just happening now.

Her other questions were a lot more generalized. She’d been worried about the specific location of the fight -- thinking specifically about the people who were contracted to clean the building -- but they’d ended up outside, so that was answered. More importantly, though, did this really have to happen now? Couldn’t it wait until, say, after everyone had eaten? On the other hand, of course, a recuperative meal afterwards could be just what everyone would need after this, so as long as Fen could keep the food warm just a moment longer.

That was most of the questions. Why, where, when? All that really remained was How? Bartleby looked at once intense -- a far cry from his usual lackadaisical demeanor -- and entirely lost. This mattered to him, but at the same time, he knew he couldn’t do it alone.

It was the sort of thing that Melissa could not help but rush to lend a hand. While Bartleby officially had the moniker of Team Pet, owned and cared for by anyone and everyone that lived there, if he had anyone as a trainer, Melissa had to admit that it was her. Not that she had any better idea at how to execute a Pokémon battle. All of her conflict skills had been relegated to either cards or computers. Melissa knelt beside Bartleby. “Alright,” she said. “What do you do?”

Bartleby just stared at her.

Melissa had spent more time memorizing Bible verses than the movesets of creatures that, at the time, she’d believed to be wholly fictional. Not that she regretted any of that time, of course, but they were already at an impasse. “Okay,” Melissa said. Fortunately, one thing that had stuck in Melissa’s mind was how useful her watch could be. Even if the watch didn’t know or have a way to know, it could point her towards someone that could.

She didn’t even have to look that hard. A few swipes in, and there was a multi-use scanner ready and willing to accept Pokémon as an input. “Slakoth,” the makeshift Pokédex read, “the Slacker Pokémon.” The entry went on, but, in the interest of time, Melissa skipped ahead to potential movelists. Despite the Commander’s desire to put Bartleby through his paces, Bartleby did not seem like the type to have battled much at all before, so Melissa looked at the top of the list. “Scratch, Yawn, Encore… Anything else?”

This time, Bartleby responded with a yawn. Not a Yawn yawn, just a normal one.

Well, that was a strategy, at least. If Bartleby could get the Commander stuck doing the same thing over again, they’d have time to Yawn Commander to sleep and Scratch him into submission. 

Her watch also warned her of Slakoth’s ability to be particularly lazy, as though she needed to be reminded of that! It was an uphill battle in front of them. Melissa braced herself for defeat, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t about to try her best, for Bartleby’s sake. Melissa said, “Give him a big Yawn, and we’ll work our way from there.”

[Skaia]

Fen an understanding nod to Constable as Kasayee had translated his intentions to the group. As an adventurer and guild member Fen knew that certain people simply had the urge to fight others on first glance. And that combatants as well could only understand certain things between each other. As such, she gave a thumbs up to Bartleby as he went into combat. Though, her understanding of the fight was a little flipped as it seemed that Melissa had to give it coordinated instructions. Perhaps it was some kind of beast tamer situation? Though it seemed Constable had no need for such a thing, and stranger still he seemed to look to all of them. 

Being her pet Melissa naturally took the lead on the fight, after seeming to search something up on her watch. As she commanded Bartleby to yawn, he did and for whatever reason Constable seemed to get sleepier. Though the girl was curious about this strange phenomena, Constable still seemed willing to fight, and so it charged the young slakoth. Fen didn't really know what to do but as Melissa seemed to just say something and that worked, Fen followed suit. "Oh, um, uh, Bartleby don't get hit!"

The slaktoh turned to face, an expression that seemed as unamused as it was unmoving before the creature showed an impressive display of athleticism and quite literally leaped out of the way of the attack. "Oh, that was surprising. Good job Bartleby!" 

Constable soon slouched onto the ground, its eyes closing as it drifted off to sleep. The girl was, once more, confused how this happened but figured this was all part of the battle. She had no idea what the slakoth was capable of so instead just used logical deduction to figure out its next move. "Um, go and uh, attack..." The girl looked at the creature before she settled on, "with your claws?" 

The slakoth yawned and stayed in place for a moment. "Um, are you perhaps tired?" She remembered a story involving a turtle and rabbit that this reminded her of, though in this situation she could not tell which was which. Still, she shouted, "but your opponent is wide open so take the chance." 

The slakoth still didn't seem particularly interested yet, once, jumped forward and scratched Constable in the face. Though she was certain that had to have hurt Constable did little more than stir in his sleep. 

[LordCowCow]

Bartleby had managed to score a hit on the large dog. Despite this he didn't seem particularly excited over this small victory. In fact he began to wander off before rolling onto his side and scratching his belly even as the group tried to cheer him on.

After a few moments of loafing around Bartleby rolled back onto his stomach and made his way back into battle. Constable was still asleep, though seemed to be stirring, and Bartleby tried to do the same attack as before. Jumping up to scratch at Constable's face.

Right at that moment Constable's eyes snapped open and, with a growl, he opened his jaw up, ducked to the side, and crunched down on Bartleby's torso. He then tossed the Slakoth down onto the ground and, as he bounced off the ground, it was clear that Bartleby was finished fighting. Swirls in his eyes indicated his status and the battle came to a sudden ending. 

Constable let out a woof and nudged Bartleby, who stirred slightly and had seemed to have actually fallen asleep directly after losing the battle.

Kasayee approached and lazily got onto Constable's back. The Stoutland, for his part, seemed to think not much of this as he moved towards the trio and barked.

"He says...he's still young. Train him well and he'll....something something something about fighting alongside us." Kasayee too seemed to be tired, perhaps watching Bartleby had made her sleepy as well, and she draped over Constable. "Are we gonna eat something now?"

Constable seemed to think for a bit before letting out a grunt. "Oh...this isn't ours?" Kasayee looked up at the building as she apparently only just realized, or remember, that it wasn't the same one she usually stayed at.

Spoiler

Battle over and...despite losing Bartleyby fought a much higher level foe and has reached level 7 clapclapclap

They're willing to stay longer though might have to convince Constable that it's no bother. Basically this would be wrapping up day there's nothing else had in mind. So if there's anything you wanted to do or any convos you wanted this is when would do that.

 

[Skaia]

Fen stood by at the ready, unsure of what to do when Constable had landed his decisive blow against Bartleby. She was a hunter of monsters and a chef, not a medic to them. As such when the large canine bit down on the sloth creature she was ill equipped to provide any form of first aid that may have been necessary. Thankfully, this turned out to be none. She was a bit confused as to how Bartleby got out of such an attack with no signs of injury, and similarly how it managed to fall asleep right after it, but she chalked it up to being yet another of the many mysteries of the world. 

"Good job Bartleby," the girl praised the slakoth as Constable, through Kasayee, instructed the group. "If you keep working hard, then, uh..." Kasayee didn't finish the thought so Fen improvised, "one day you'll uh, be strong enough to stand up against him. I think?"  Fen looked towards Melissa saying, "I'll be sure to figure out what he likes to eat so he can get a proper meal, so be sure to train him well. It's, well, important for a beast tamer to put in the work with their, um...pets?" Beast sounded too derogatory of a term to use yet pet sounded too demeaning for a creature that would be fighting. 

The girl looked back to the duo and said, "that's a shame you have to go now. But, I'll be sure to welcome you any time you want to come over. Um, Constable, was it? I'll do my best to figure out what you like to have a meal ready for you too! Oh, and uh, well pass on good tidings from me to the rest of your guild, if they ever wanted too, well, show up here too." 

Once she gave her farewell the girl looked to the others and said, "now, I'll go get started on our dinner." And thus with groceries in hand, the girl made her way to the kitchen.  

[radio414]

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”
-Matthew 18:10 (NIV)

---

She didn’t know how it happened, the exact sequence of steps that ended up with Melissa kneeling where Barleby had fainted, cradling the Slakoth in her arms, but it sure had happened. “You tried your best, at least,” she said. She still wasn’t sure why this all had to happen, but since it had, she hoped Bartleby could rest easily knowing that. It was a notion that felt parallel to her own experience. She wondered what Bartleby dreamed of.

More specifically, Melissa wondered if Bartleby did, in fact, want to be fighting “alongside everyone else” as the Constable (or the Constable through Kasayee) had said. This skirmish had, to her, seemed more like a facet of a Pokémon’s honor-bound nature, regardless of what Constable had said. Besides, even if the desire for self-improvement did lay somewhere within Bartleby, she knew where that path tended to end up for Slakoths. Slaking, after a vigorous middle evolution, epitomized “It wasn’t worth it.” It was a worrisome thought. At the same time, it was all she could do as Bartleby’s de facto caretaker -- she hesitated to use the word “trainer” -- to support whatever endeavors he did want to undertake.

Fen said something encouraging, even if she seemed to struggle with some of the terminology. Melissa was no beast tamer, no matter how many animal faces a cherub had. Not that Melissa was about to correct her. They’d designated Bartleby as the team’s pet, even if the implications of that meant so much more.

Melissa stood, still holding Bartleby in her arms. All in all, there was a whole mix of emotions still running through her, all coalescing into something akin to, “Thank you for your visit, Constable. Hopefully we have not kept you too long, and we would like to see you and Kasayee again soon. Right now, this one needs even more rest than he normally gets, so if you would excuse us…” She gave whatever curtsy she could with her hands full, and disappeared up the stairs to make a suitable bed. Hadn’t that always worked, a good night’s sleep? She would bring him dinner later, whatever she and Fen figured out that he wanted.

[Chaos Sonic]

Needless to say, Trevor, who by this point ended up having a bag of chips sent his way by his grimoire, he was enjoying the little display between Constable and Bartleby... albeit, he was hoping for some sort of action than just that. But, he figured, Bartleby was holding back. At least... he hoped that was the case though.

"He says...he's still young. Train him well and he'll....something something something about fighting alongside us."

"I suppose we'll have to figure out HOW to do so at a later date..." Trevor closed the bag after taking one last chip. "So putting it on the list... learn Duel Monsters... attempt to have us train our little mascot... maybe see if there's anything else we can collect and add to our arsenal." It did make him surprised though, namely how much stuff could they possibly obtain and have at their disposal? Intriguing questions for later...

"You did good nonetheless, Bartleby." he chuckled, giving the little sloth a thumbs up. "Though it seemed already that the old dog had a bit more experience than you... least for now. But we'll make sure you'll be back up and running for a round two against Constable." Trevor waved a finger around some, having some of the utensils having it lift in the air and dance slightly. "But first things first... let's see what we can fix up tonight for dinner. After all, we all were dealing with quite the ordeal today." And like that, the sorcerer's skills and hands were at the chef's disposal. Though, while he was prepping to help, he couldn't help but wonder... what could they gain aside from Bartleby and that Duel Monsters thing? The one thing he really did wonder about... could that one fabled weapon in Master Balthazar's studies and even in the Cabanomicon be here too? That "Key to All Worlds"? Part of Trevor wanted it to be the case... but only time would tell.

[LordCowCow]

The next day came, as most do, with the turning of time. Bartleby had eventually recovered enough to move about at his usual slow pace and seemed none the worse for wear. In fact he seemed ever so slightly stronger if anything than he had the other day.

They would be able to enjoy breakfast, or whatever other morning rituals they wished to partake in, but it wouldn't get to lunchtime before they would have a message to read from Mauvache.

Good day to you, Team Manna. First I would like to thank you for humoring my niece the other day. She was very eager to meet you all. Second I would like to make a suggestion. While fighting the invaders is an important part of the job there are other things that a Guardian is expected to do. Team Wildlife is going to be spending the day on some services to the community and to, shall we say, the Guardian's growing fanbase. I would like you to join them in this endeavor. If you are willing please let me know and I shall have them meet you at the Central Park to give more details.

[Skaia]

Fen had been early to bed and thus early to rise for the next day. As always she had found her place in the kitchen, preparing today's breakfast for everyone, as she had gone over all of the different things that had happened over the past few days. She had learned about trading card games from Melissa, the Spike Brothers and Fiona. Though she had relied on Melissa to be able to face off against her. There was boxing with Kelsey. Though she hadn't managed to get a proper fight with her. And then there was the bumper boats fight that they partook in. Fen nodded to herself and she recalled the thrilling experience as she wondered if there were more vehicles like that use in this world. 

As she went over each day she realized how many new experiences she had already partaken in in such a short span of time. She had a strange sense that everything should have overwhelmed her, in fact the technology and magic here on its own was a learning experience unto itself for her, but she could only find herself musing about how best to tackle all of these new challenges she had come across and learn from them. And felt herself looking forward to whatever new antic today would throw at her. 

As she finished preparing breakfast, setting it up on the counter and letting it sit, the girl stared towards the stove for a moment. Though there were no opponents for her to practice either her hand to hand or card gaming skill against here, there was a wall she could scale on her own.

She conjured an ice knife into her hand as she held it above the burner, watching as the ice slowly broke down little by little into droplets of water. Her magic continued to flow out from her hand as the ice had been parts that had melted away reformed. The girl frowned as this process had kept up, the ice melting as quickly as it fixed itself. This was the expected outcome and the one she had experienced yesterday. While this was a good stopgap it didn't fix the fundamental issue of too intense a heat preventing her from using her magic in the first place. 

She couldn't help but wonder if this was just yet another matter of perspective. She had never focused on the basis of why her weapons took the forms that they did, but once she did a whole new avenue of conjuration presented itself to her. In a same vein she had never quite focused on either output of magic or the intensity of the cold of her magic either. This felt like a simpler concept to her than the shape of her weapons yet, given how immaterial the problem was she found the thought of a solution to be even more abstract to her. There was always the possibility that this was just a limitation she had to face as well, but that went against the spirit of a guild member and team leader so she decided to think otherwise for now. She let her ice knife melt as she went to face the rest of the day. 

The girl brought the food out and looked to Bartelby, smiling, as she noted, "I'm sure you're working on overcoming your own limits now too." The girl giggled to herself before she noticed a message on her watch. 

"Oh. Community service?" In addition to being a guild member, guild chef and quasi-adventurer, in its early days Fen had done quite a lot of housekeeping around the guild building itself. This, in turn, lead her to working to help others that needed a similar service done which similarly had forced her into other odd jobs. Though they were never as glamorous or thrilling as fighting monsters in a lake or exploring the underground catacombs of her guild hall,  she found it an equally fulfilling experience. And once the world had overcome the crisis the Ashen King had brought with them, the girl had tried to keep the spirit of community service alive with all of her other guild members. 

Of course, I'd be delighted to.
Oh and do give my regards to Tia, she was also a fun person to meet.
-Fen Yi

The girl responded to the text, though was not so presumptuous as to speak for her other team members, and had hoped she followed proper texting edict this time better than her first attempt. "Wildlife though..." The girl mused aloud, wondering what kind of team they might have been. There was no one she knew who was more "Wildlife" then Kasayee, though each day had its fair share of surprises so she couldn't rule out that perhaps someone who surpassed even her in that regard existed. An anticipatory smile formed on her face. "I wonder..."

Edited yesterday at 04:34 by Skaia