Grass Continent ~ Treasure Town Beach

[Virgil134]

"I... think they're supposed to shield me," Cabot said. He slowly took a step forward, only for the rocks to move with him.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr tilted her head (while very deliberately keeping her eyes on Cabot and not on whatever the hell had just possessed Cynthian). "Huh. Only one way to find out."

Maybe it was a bad idea, but whatever--she took a swipe at one of the rocks surrounding Cabot.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Are you going to use your Radiant on him?!" Cynthian asked, already up in Starr's face again when he got the hint she was about to use a move. "You should! Your earlier use didn't do much, but we don't know what happens when you actually strike someone with it!"

 

[Virgil134]

The rocks moved in the way of Starr's paw, blocking it for the most part before dissipating into small flecks of light, leaving Starr's claws to weakly scrape against Cabot's right arm.

"H-Hey!"

Cabot abruptly jerked his arm back, though more out of reflex rather than it actually hurting him.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr grimaced. "Ah shit, sorry. Didn't think that'd hit you at all." The rocks had definitely responded, though, blocking her paw before shattering into light. "Looks like they really did shield you, though."

 

[Virgil134]

"It's... alright," Cabot said, looking over his arm. Luckily, Starr's claws didn't pierce any of his scales. "At least this will definitely come in handy during our next fight, since that barely hurt me."

Right as Cabot finished speaking new rocks began to form around him and it didn't take long for his stony shield to fully return.

"Oh! Looks like they come back on their own!"

 

[Adamhuarts]

"That's pretty amazing! This Radiance thing is great! I want to use mine again!" Cynthian raised his flower to cast another one, and it started glowing dangerously brighter and brighter. He'd surely explode after his next use if no one stopped him on time.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"It's... alright," Cabot said, looking over his arm. Luckily, Starr's claws didn't pierce any of his scales. "At least this will definitely come in handy during our next fight, since that barely hurt me."

Starr nodded. "Nice. That'll be a big help, yeah. Especially since you're kinda the team railgun right now," she added with a smirk.

"That's pretty amazing! This Radiance thing is great! I want to use mine again!" Cynthian raised his flower to cast another one, and it started glowing dangerously brighter and brighter. He'd surely explode after his next use if no one stopped him on time.

Starr gaped at him incredulously. "Holy shit, cut it out with the Radiance, we're literally standing right here," she said, smacking a paw against his shoulder to knock him off-balance.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Who-oh!" Cynthian stumbled forward a bit and the his glowing flower began to dim. He jerked back towards Starr, and it seemed some sense was starting to return to him.

"Uh... I'm sorry about that." Cynthian shook his head and groaned. As his white rose dimmed completely, he furrowed his brows uneasily. "What the hell happened to me back there? It's like there was a strong voice in my head just telling me to keep going no matter what! It was different from the one usually telling me to doubt everything I do."

And then, it all came back to him at once and his face went red. "Oh Mew, that was really embarrassing, wasn't it? Thanks for snapping me out of it... Starr. I felt like I was about to explode like a seed flared Shaymin back there."

That last sentence made him recall another memory he'd rather forget.

 

[Virgil134]

"Let's... be careful using these powers," Cabot said. "We should probably avoid using them more than once or twice per battle, unless we really have to. Since you definitely looked like you were about to explode, Cynthian."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Is it weird that I wasn't at all scared of that happening? I don't really know how to put it." Cynthian stared at his white rose with a conflicted look. On one flower, it felt amazing not being tied down by his anxiety and cowardice. On the other, exploding didn't really sound like a pleasant experience at all.

"You're probably right that we should use it sparingly, but I felt really alive a minute ago... I don't mind getting radiant high again honestly."

 

[Chibi Pika]

"You're probably right that we should use it sparingly, but I felt really alive a minute ago... I don't mind getting radiant high again honestly."

Starr raised an eyebrow. Jeez, one hit and he was already itching to get back into it. "Yeaaaahh, uh, I think that means you might wanna give it a rest from here." She paused, then added, "Or at least not without keeping someone on hand to knock some sense into you."

She glanced back at Cabot. "Still, we made decent progress, so that's good for something. Probably gonna call it here though." She still felt like she'd taken a sucker punch outta nowhere. Hopefully just a side effect of not knowing how to use it right.

 

[Adamhuarts]

Starr raised an eyebrow. Jeez, one hit and he was already itching to get back into it. "Yeaaaahh, uh, I think that means you might wanna give it a rest from here." She paused, then added, "Or at least not without keeping someone on hand to knock some sense into you."

Cynthian rubbed the back of his neck grumbled. "Yeah. That would be best."

A large part of him still wanted to get back into that radiant state again, but Cynthian shook his head and swallowed back the temptation. "I think had enough light for one day. Are you heading back to the dojo? I could tag along if you don't mind."

 

[Virgil134]

"You're probably right that we should use it sparingly, but I felt really alive a minute ago... I don't mind getting radiant high again honestly."

"That's... not a good thing," Cabot said as he looked at Cynthian again in concern.

She glanced back at Cabot. "Still, we made decent progress, so that's good for something. Probably gonna call it here though." She still felt like she'd taken a sucker punch outta nowhere. Hopefully just a side effect of not knowing how to use it right.

"Sounds good. I was planning on heading back to the dojo anyway."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"That's... not a good thing," Cabot said as he looked at Cynthian again in concern.

Cynthian nodded solemnly at that. "I can't make any promises." Especially since his radiant self was an actual functioning individual.

If he was like his radiant self, he could've held true to the promise he and Nora had to become an Exploration team together when they grew up. He could've been like his Roserade mother...

"Let's just get going."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr stood up, stretching. "Sure, why not. I'd rather watch other folks beat the snot out of each other than keep at it myself anyway." Taking part in battles was fun, sure, but there was no denying the hype of spectating.

With that, the three set off back up the path to Treasure Town.

<><><><><>​

 

[TheGOAT]

Was it interesting? Okay, sure. A Lugia showing up was definitely pretty interesting. But Astrid had resolved to get herself a breath of fresh air, and with all of the party members swarming the young Legend, that was a lost cause. She avoided the guild altogether; the others would handle it, and she wouldn’t be too far if they needed help.

A little while had passed before she headed back down to the beach. Curses, she’d left her bag by the treeline, forgotten when she had escaped up to the bluff earlier that day. Ohh—hopefully her items were still there… Even her Useless Lump, in all its useless glory, surely held some sentimental value to her. Even the scratched up jar she held her berries in.

And—ah! There it was! As Astrid skipped down the well-trodden path, she spotted it hidden where she’d left it, right by where the beach opened up into a broader expanse. Shouldering her bag with a satisfied harrumph, she turned to leave when something else caught her eye: a silver and brown figure was pacing back and forth by the shoreline at an impressive clip, with a bag of its own slung around its shoulder.

Astrid squinted so she could see better, then started to approach. Wait, is that…?

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Gods. Fuckin' Curio. She... Brisa had thought... No, she was just being stupid. A sparring match, a sorry conversation, and a couple weeks of rooming together. That... that made a real friendship? Ha! No! Fuckin' idiot. 'Course they weren't close enough to ride out something like that last fight. She shoulda kept it together. It was... yeah, was her fault for goin' too hard. Was it? Maybe. Fuck. Why'd she get her hopes up, anyway? Stupid, stupid, fuckin' stupid idiot.

Brisa paused to swig more drink. Fuck. She hadn't got her usual alcohol tolerance after all. Good thing she still seemed okay at keeping steady, not taking too much. Just... gotta keep just drunk enough to keep the edge off the thoughts. No more than that. There was no point in muffling them entirely, they'd just start back up again with a vengeance during the hangover to come. Fuck.

Curio...

The wind changed, and Brisa caught someone's scent. Familiar, not Curio—thank sky—and not Starr—thank stars—but... the vulpix. The pretty one. Fuck. Astrid? Yeah. Astrid. Was that... good?

"How do you do, Astrid?" she called. She wasn't slurring yet. Good. Good.

Godsdamnit.

 

[TheGOAT]

“Hi!” Astrid called as she approached. Blissfully unaware of Brisa’s condition, she jogged forward and flicked her ears in a friendly greeting. “Come to smell the salt in the air?”

It was then that she noticed the bottle in the Shinx’s possession, and it occurred to her that there may be some unintended depth to the answer she’d get regarding ‘salt.’ For all she knew, at least. Nobody casually took a whole bottle of alcohol all the way to the beach just to pace around in public view while guzzling its contents—not unless something was wrong.

Back at the lunch, I saw her glaring at Starr… maybe they’re having issues again…? But then why would she suddenly be drinking over it?

Unsure how to press the issue, Astrid (for now) resolved to keep smiling and try not to look at the bottle.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa blinked owlishly at Astrid. She couldn't tell if the vulpix was behaving in a normal way. Was it... not noticeable that Brisa was a mess? Surely she wasn't doing that good a job of holdin it together.

"I guess," she said. "Never saw the coast back home. Too far inland. Novelty ain't worn off yet."

Maybe she should stop drinking while Astrid was here.

...

Ah, what did it fuckin' matter. She took another swig.

"Want some? S'good single malt."