Mist Continent ~ Frozen Summit

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Not far away, Melanie had curled up in a small patch of ice she'd formed about her to nestle down as flurries swirled about her. The icy weather was a welcome reprieve from the warming spring, as well as more troublesome thoughts that had come to mind. The past few weeks had been a bit of a blur, though even amidst it all, the Kyurem shade kept finding herself troubled by her encounter with Bahamut.

It was hard to accept that she could really be an Eternatus larva. A Pokémon that was wholly unlike her and if Bahamut's description was to be believed, a glorified parasite that leeched off the world around it. Kate and her housemates had given her some reassurance that surely Bahamut was oversimplifying things and that whatever happened, she'd still be her... but every now and then, she just needed a moment to purge her thoughts and let the world go by, much as they were on Frozen Summit.

The Kyurem sighed for a moment when she heard the sound of crunching snow, looking over to see Icetales gawking about. The shade blinked a moment and got up, craning her head puzzledly.

"Oh, hello. You're... Icetales, right?" she asked. "What brings you all the way out here?"

 

[Cresselia92]

The Ninetales’ ears swiveled immediately in the direction of the other presence, and he turned around to study the origin of the voice.

That thick ice in the shape of a giant mask. The frozen wings and tails. The dark plasma resembling a dragonian entity.

A Kyurem shape… made of darkness. Ah. Yes. The dots connected instantly.

“In the flesh, Miss. Thou art… Melanie, right? The shade accompanying Miss Kate?” Icetales wagged his tails, before bowing with respect. “I am very much pleased to make thy acquaintance.”

The Ninetales walked toward the Kyurem, before gazing temporarily at the sky. “Oh, as of what I am doing here… Well, I desired to enjoy some cold air, thou see? Springtime is a fairly unfair weather for yours truly, and I needed some time to… chill, we could say.” He looked again at Melanie and flashed a smile. “As a Kyurem and fellow Ice-type, I wager thou came to this mountain for a similar reason, yes?”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

"... Something like that," Melanie answered. "But... I..."

The Kyurem shade trailed off and shook her head with a low sigh.

"I've just had a lot on my mind lately, and needed to get away from things for a bit."

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales stared intently at Melanie, his eyes narrowing in concern and his tails twitching. “I see…”

Feeling his heart brimming with sympathy, he took another step forward and sat beside the Kyurem, letting his tails flop noiselessly in the snow. His posture was composed as usual, while his eyes seemed to be glowing with a brighter shade of blue. Whatever was in the shade’s mind, he was there to help her in any way he could.

“If thou desire to vent about what is troubling thee, I can lend an ear.” He tilted his head. “Does it have to do with recents events or discoveries? Or… something else?” He paused and shook his head. “It is fine if thou not desire to talk about any of that, but I wanted to let thee know that I am more than willing to help relieve whatever weight thou hast in thy mind and heart.”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie hesitated for a moment, before shaking her head and turning to Icetales with a wary glance.

"Remind me, Petram's your shade, right?" she asked. "Are you... worried at all about what's going to happen to him as he gets older?"

 

[Cresselia92]

That question took Icetales by surprise, and he tilted his head on the other side.

“Well, of course I do worry! He’s like a son to me, despite his nature and origins, and I only desire the best for him.”

The Ninetales pawed at the snow, drawing many short lines. “Sure, he might be a descendant on Miss Eien and Sir Diyem, but we still have a bond that goes way beyond bloodline, and I shall be there for him forev—” He cut himself short. That was a bad choice of word, as it wasn’t something he could promise. “…For as long as I can. No matter what.”

As he said those words, something popped to mind about what Melanie said, specifically the ‘older’ part.

Eternatus eggs… unhatched. Nobody knew what was going to happen to the shades of those eggs were to hatch, right?

“Does this… have something to do with the fact that you shades are essentially incubating Eternatus eggs? That you still didn’t… grow up completely, so to speak?”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

"It does, yeah," the Kyurem admitted. "I mean, my friends have kept telling me that whatever happens things would be fine, that I'd still be the 'mon I am now, but..."

Melanie looks about uneasily, before shaking her head.

"But that wasn't the case before I became a shade like this," she said. "We possessed other Pokémon back then, and didn't have the personalities we currently do. How do I know that whatever I turn into won't be something totally different or even think and feel the same way I do now?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Oh. That was the big question, wasn’t it? Nobody had ever seen a shade grow up, not even their common patron, so there was no way to tell what would have happened to them.

No wonder that the uncertainty of the future fostered so scary thoughts. Even Petram, despite being excited to have a powerful dragon as a father, had his own doubts.

The long tails of the Ninetales thumped against the fresh snow, while he pondered what to answer. While there wasn’t any way to tell what the future had in store for the shades, at least he could try to alleviate those worries somewhat.

“…I believe thou just described growth, Miss Melanie,” he said at last, flashing a small reassuring smile. “The way I see it, when you shades possessed other Pokémon you were basically… babies, who only desired to sustain yourselves and, perhaps, find your own identity. Looking for ways to grow up and gain your independence. Which is something you accomplished, at the end.”

He looked at the sky, his tails flicking rhythmically as he thought about the events from months ago.

“True. It sounds like a horrifying method, and there was quite the chaos when all of that happened. But… at least those times are behind now, are they not? You don’t need hosts anymore, and no one has traversed the Twilight because of that, so… huh…”

Hmm. Maybe that didn’t help his case much.

“Erm. Anyway, about changes…” Icetales narrowed his eyes and looked again at the Kyurem. “That is a natural phenomenon in life, if thou think about it. Every single individual changes throughout their entire lifetime, but even if they change what they are, that doesn’t mean they stop being who they are.”

He closed his eyes, seeing the various phases of his life flashing in his mind. The young and carefree Vulpix, full of hopes… chained in Chaos and driven feral by madness… who then turned into the gentlemon and respectful butler he had become to that date.

A bitter half-smile made its way on his muzzle.

“…Wouldst thou believe me if I said that at some point I became a feral beast, whose only concern was to survive and take care of myself and only myself?”

Despite changing and suffering so much, he remained the same kindred soul, deep into his heart. A crushed child who somehow managed to preserve a part of himself and heal, no matter how deep the wounds were. That notion warmed him somewhat.

“Yet, even if I spoke and thought in different ways throughout various steps of my life, I was still myself. I changed many times, but I never stopped being me.”

He reached out for her paw with his own paw.

“I understand what thou art getting at, however. You shades are one enormous question mark, a novelty that this world nor our common patron had ever seen. As such, the future might look blurry and uncertain, due to you traveling in uncharted territories, and I understand this concern of what shall become of you all. What you will become.

“However, if there is something I can tell from experience, it is that souls stay the same at their cores. So, even if you were to change in some way, I want to be most confident that there is a side of you that shall remain the same, no matter what. And… I am confident that Miss Kate will be there to keep thee connected to thy true self with your unique bond, just like I shall be there for Petram. The entire Team Spectrum is with you all.”

He paused as he recalled a certain dragon who had some troubles with Eternatus in general.

“Well… most of us, at least.”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie gave a small smile at Icetales' reassurance, only to pause and catch herself after her mind drifted back to his mention of once being a feral beast, which made her hesitate. Icetales? The same Pokémon that Kate said that was some sort of noble in his world and didn't do a good job at hiding it? How did that make any sense?

"Uh... what exactly happened with that feral beast moment?" she asked. "And how did you get back out of it?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales exhaled hard, the misty cloud disappearing with the wind. Despite talking about that with many folks, it still wasn’t a pleasant memory to bring out.

“I was imprisoned, by my father. In a place where the laws of nature are twisted and bent, with no day and no night. Stuck in raw and unfiltered Chaos.” He looked at his paws. “Solitude and paranoia drowned my civilized persona, leaving behind only a shell of darkness and wild instincts…” Dark plumes surrounded the Ninetales, and his mane burst into ghostly flames, “…a daemon.”

Icetales sighed and focused on his power, dispelling his daemonic aspect.

“When I was rescued from that place, after so many years, I wasn’t the same young prince anymore. People saw me as a beast, an unfixable monster, and… I had started to believe those voices.”

In a second, his sadness was replaced by a nostalgic smile.

“But my sister, Fifth, never heeded those statements. She trusted me with her entire being, and never stopped believing that I wasn’t gone. That I was still the same, despite my behavior showing otherwise.”

A lone tear ran down his cheek, but he quickly wiped it away. His smile brightened, the memory of his sister hugging him and reassuring him that everything was going to be all right made his heart beat with joy.

“…And she was right. Her trust, her hope, her love… they saved me and gave me back what I thought I had lost: my heart.”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie looked at Icetales after he relayed his tale. Becoming one of these 'daemons' sounded downright frightening, and yet his sister's love had managed to pull him out of it. Was... was that what made him so confident about Petram? And about shades like her in general?

"So... you really think that you'll be able to do the same for Petram? And that Kate will be able to do the same for me?" she asked.

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales nodded, his eyes brimming with confidence. “Yes. This is my belief, and I shall not let go of that. No matter what the future has in store for thee, or Petram, or any other shade, I want thee to remember that we will not leave you all alone. We shall face whatever challenge might be ahead of us — together, as a team.”

The Ninetales started wagging his tails, which were coated in the golden sheen of Radiance. An empowering energy was spread around the area, carrying the strength of his spirit and hope.

“As such, dost not lose faith. Because if there is a will there is a way, and we will pursue the way for you to be what you desire to be — Eternatus or anything else.” The Ninetales’ eyes gleamed like sapphires, showing absolute and incorruptible confidence. “I mean, we pulled off so many miracles. What is some alien bloodline?”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie looked back down at Icetales and paused for a moment, before letting a small smile creep over her face.

"You're right," she said. "I'm sure it's something we can get through together."

Just then, sudden light caught the Kyurem shade's eyes from the sky. She turned her head and looked up, where much to her astonishment, curtains of rainbow light danced in the air above them.

"Oh! It's those lights everyone was talking about!" Melanie exclaimed. "Those 'oh-roh-rah's or whatever they're called!"

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales couldn’t help but chuckle softly, both relieved that Melanie was feeling in a better mood and amused by her reaction.

Though, he found it bizarre that a Kyurem hadn’t some knowledge of auroras.

Different folks for different worlds, he wagered.

He turned to the sky, his gaze locked on the colorful patterns. “Ah, yes. Those are auroras, the rainbows of the winter areas. At least, that is how they are defined in my world.”

A bright green line circled the peak of the mountain, followed by a cascade of azure and magenta trails. The light reflected on the snow, making it look almost there was a glowing, grassy field. The Ninetales lifted a tail toward the sky, waving it constantly and seeing it turn in different colors.

“In my country, auroras are considered a sign of hope. A phenomenon that is fills the hearts of the observers with renewed joy.” He sighed with nostalgia, before glancing again at the Kyurem. “So, what dost thou think of them?”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie looked up into the night sky, her worries fading away as Icetales' reassurance lingered and the sight of the dancing lights put a smile over her face.

"I think they're wonderful," she said.

The Kyurem sidled up beside Icetales, laying in the snow and looking up off at the auroras in the distance. A veritable spectrum of colors, just like the team's name.

Perhaps it was a little daft, but at that place, at that moment, she couldn't help but feel reassured that no matter what the future held for her, she could rest confident that her teammates would be there for her, just like the auroras over Frozen Summit.

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