Grass Continent ~ Treasure Town Beach

[Virgil134]

Cabot breathed in deeply as he walked along the beach. It had been a while since he had visited Treasure Town without Pleo, the last time being when he was still a Cranidos. He'd always been fond of Treasure Town's beach, much more so than the one south of Destiny Village, which always cold and windy. Even now during the winter Treasure Town's beach was pleasant to be at.

As Cabot continued on he eventually noticed a Roserade up ahead, who as he got closer turned out to be none other than...

"Huh? Cynthian? I didn't expect to run into you here."

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian heard him coming before she heard him speak. She followed the voice and saw the rampardos walking by himself.

"Huh? Cynthian? I didn't expect to run into you here."

"Likewise," Cynthian said with a chuckle. "Here to enjoy the beach as well? It's certainly less moody than the one in Destiny Village."

 

[Virgil134]

"Uh-huh! The beach at Destiny Village is so cold and miserable, but I've always liked going here," Cabot replied. "Can't help but wish sometimes we would have stayed here in Treasure Town though. Destiny Village isn't bad, but you know..."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Yeah, it's much colder back in Destiny Village right now. I can stand it better now though." Cynthian wondered whether to shift to give him space on the mat, but it wasn't exactly wide enough for both of them. Still, it felt rude to keep him just standing there.

"Help yourself to some cupcakes if you'd like," Cynthian said, gesturing at the basket. "They're good. Icetales and Petram made them."

 

[Virgil134]

"Oh! Well I'm not gonna say no that!"

Cabot happily sat down and took one of the cupcakes, before biting down. The Rampardos chewed a moment, before giving Cynthian a beaming smile and wagging his large tail slightly.

"Dere preddy gud!" he cheered, some bits of cupcake flying out of his mouth in the process.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"I know, right?" Cynthian said, reciprocating the smile. She took another cupcake for herself and took a bit out of it, and her flowers gave off a tangy aroma as she enjoyed the taste. Cynthian left the basket in between them, letting Cabot take as many as he wanted. Icetales had made plenty enough to go around.

"Now that I remember, you were already a rampardos the first time we met. Or was it the second time?" Cynthian asked, tipping her head aside as she eyed him. "Or was it our second meeting? That time we met at the campfire truth or dare game still feels like a distant loopy dream."

"I've remembered more of it now. Odd how not everyone that we met back then ended up being sent here."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot nodded. "It was the second time we met, since I remember I was still a Cranidos during that game of truth and dare. I think I had you jump over Diyem's tail as part of a dare..."

The Rampardos trailed off as he tilted his head and put a finger to his mouth.

"Though I didn't know you had trouble remembering stuff. I thought only Bahamut and Celeste forgot about that time."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"For a time it was all just a blur really. I remembered you, and Nip, and Curio... a few others as well. It sure eased me into getting along with some of you," Cynthian said with a laugh.

"It's funny. If I'd told the me from that time he'd stop suppressing his identity, find love, and even evolve... he'd probably tell it's about as convincing as a pathos plant in full bloom." Cynthian had a wistful gaze when she said that, though her high spirits were quick to return.

"It's fascinating how having companions and a purpose guiding your life can change you, right?"

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot paused a moment and gave Cynthian a hesitant look. While he wasn’t sure what Cynthian meant with "suppressing his identity" and part of him wanted to ask more about it, there was something else about what Cynthian said that bothered him slightly.

"I mean, I'm not saying those aren't good things, but you know it's just temporary right?" he asked uneasily. "After we save Cibus we'll all go back home and only remember all of this whenever we visit Veritas."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"I know, but..." Cynthian's eyes wavered with unease and she bit her lower lip. A crack had formed on the glass floor she was standing on, but Cynthian closed her eyes and looked away.

"Say, I heard you guys duked it out with Leg at the colosseum earlier. What was she like?" Cynthian asked with a rekindled smile. "I spend a lot of free time hanging out with her at her home that I sometimes forget she's probably part of Maple's group because she's strong."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot blinked at the sudden change of topic, before giving a brief shake of his head.

"Well, she was pretty strong. She's indeed good at disrupting her opponents, just like we heard," the Rampardos said, before flashing a determined grin. "Still, she wasn't good enough to beat the three of us though!"

His smile muted a bit. "Though... I wish I hadn't gotten knocked out right before the end," he sighed. "I even could have prevented it so easily! If I just hadn't forgotten to bring a Heal Seed I wouldn't have been confused the whole fight. And you know how our shades can help us get stronger? Pleo and I have been working on something that would allow me to endure a hit that would otherwise knock me out, but I decided to leave it be at the last minute and focus on other things for this fight. If I hadn't made that decision I would have been fine even with the confusion. And then there's of course that new trick I picked up in the Voidlands that I could have used to boost my defenses, but I forgot about that too in the heat of the moment..."

Cabot quickly gave back a reassuring smile. "But, it's fine! We all have our off days, and better to make mistakes here than during an actual battle, right?"

 

[Adamhuarts]

"You win some, you lose some, as they say. Although, you didn't actually lose in the end. I'd personally be overjoyed if I help others win even if I get trampled and tossed along the way, so long as my contributions mean anything..." Cynthian sighed, a bit bitterly as she recalled the outcome of her last colosseum participation.

He'd have won if he had partnered with someone else...

No, that was silly. Hadn't Icetales also felt they lost because of him back then too? She frowned from the fact that her shadow still echoed things Cynthian thought she'd long overcome...

Cynthian shook the thought from her mind and resumed speaking like it didn't happen. "What's this about a trick you picked up in the void lands? I know we've gotten more shadow moves, so that's probably not it, right?"

 

[Virgil134]

"H-Hey, I definitely did more than just help the others win!" Cabot insisted, puffing his chest proudly. " I did lots of damage and Leg barely knocked me out too and everything."

The Rampardos paused, before giving Cynthian a sheepish look. "Er, anyway... you're right about it not being a shadow move, even if it does involve shadows. Basically I learned to channel shadows in such a way that I can use them to defend myself and endure more attacks. I can show you sometime if you'd like, maybe even teach it to you."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Oh, you don't have to teach them to me. I'm only mildly curious really." Cynthian picked up another cupcake and simply started at it while slithering vines around its surface. "The shadows bring out the worst of my anxieties. The fewer things I know that can worsen that, the better."

"Though it's great to hear that it's been working out for you though. You handle your shadows a lot better than most of us do in fact. Can't say I'm not the least bit envious of you in that regard," Cynthian said with a small laugh, and then sighed. "I should do better to control my own fears. I won't always have someone's shoulder to... cry onto when I start losing it. Like the saying goes 'a tree with a firm stem towers over the forest floor'."

 

[Virgil134]

"Well, what are some of those fears? Since sometimes the best way to control your fears is by confronting them head first," Cabot replied. "I said the same to Brisa a while back, but something that helped me handle shadows so well was to think over everything that drove me when I attacked the team in Shaymin Village. Maybe you can try something similar with your fears."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"I think deep down I fear a lot of the same things I did when we first came here: the fear of staying weak and helpless, the fear of being a burden to those I care for, and most of all... the fear of being abandoned. I live with these fears day in, day out." Cynthian pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms and vines around them.

"I thought becoming a Roserade would help me leave those fears behind." She brushed a vine on the edges of her mask. "It feels like all I've gotten better at is putting on a brave face. But hey, anything is fine so long as it works, right?!"

 

[Virgil134]

Once again, Cabot gave Cynthian a hesitant look. "Er... it doesn't really work like that. Putting on a brave face won't help you when dealing with shadows. They bring out your negative thoughts and suppressed feelings after all, and you're not gonna master those by pretending they aren't there."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"I don't know. It's bad enough that my flowers broadcast my emotions, but I'm working on suppressing them down too when it's not necessary," Cynthian said, nothing the faint lemon scent radiating from her briefly, before it got muted and imperceptible.

"Out of sight, out of mind. I can't let my own emotions detriment our world saving efforts," Cynthian said with a shrug.

"Speaking of which, I'm planning to meet Shield's and Darkwhite's counterparts of this world sometime tomorrow. I'm worried about the thing we heard about their dark matter situation here... maybe they might have noticed something when they'd gone up against it."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot scratched his cheek as he was unsure what to say for a moment. Surprising your emotions was the exact opposite he was suggesting and probably the last thing you'd want to do when trying to deal with shadows. On the other hand, was it really his place to press Cynthian about it? The two hadn't been all that close ever since their sparring session months ago, and it's not like being forceful right here would really accomplish anything. The Rampardos let out a small sigh, before opting to go along with Cynthian's attempt to change the topic.

"Is it because of what Bahamut said in telepathy the other day? About Cibus' Dark Matter actually being the one from Balm and Cepa's world?"

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Yeah, that. It's left me worried... It's bad enough with all the things happening right now. I heard that Diyem's wife talked to a dark matter before coming here. If it's the one that Shield's counterpart faced..." Cynthian paused for a moment as a her petals fluttered in the passing breeze.

"Whatever the case, there's a dark matter currently unaccounted for that we must find. If they're up to no good, we subdue them. If not... perhaps we can ask them to lend assistance to our cause."