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Mystery Continent ~ Northern Pines

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Negrek

Play the Rain
Staff
Nate's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I heard you mighta had a run-in with Rocket before. Didn't realize they showed up all over the place like that." And in every world where there was a Team Rocket, a Red would rise up to oppose them? Maybe? Made some uncomfortably mythic-sounding shit out of what should just be normal real life. Like some gangsters out for money and a kid with his favorite rat. The idea that it kept happening over and over again felt... real fucked up, for whatever reason.

"Oh, I get it," Rocky said. "That's pretty smart. I know legendary pokémon do that sometimes. But I guess it didn't work out so great."

Yeah, if that wasn't the fucking understatement of the century. Nate grimaced. After the way the conversation had gone so far, he couldn't imagine that bringing up Eternatus was going to go great places, but... almost nobody else had even heard of the damn thing. "So, all this... Eternatus shit," he said. "Maple was saying something like it produces this energy-suppressing aura, I guess why we've been meeting shit that Cibus pokémon's attacks can't hit. Do you know anything about that? Or... any way to get around it?"
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
"Well, I can't say if the eternatus here is like the one back home." Bahamut sat on his haunches and looked up. "I can safely assume it isn't, since the one plaguing my world is the sign of a moon." He shook his head. "Regardless, Eternatus warps space and time around it. I don't think it's unreasonable to believe the neutralizing aura is an extension of that fuckery."

He pursed his lips and exhaled a small tuft of shadows. "The thing that's letting us break through the distortion seems to be the energy Dark Matter gave us. If we didn't have it, I'm fairly confident we would be just as useless as everyone else." Bahamut tucked his head to his chest. "And Dark Matter is apparently in danger. If he's done in, I daresay we won't be helping Cibus anymore."
 

Negrek

Play the Rain
Staff
"Yeah, Maple was saying your Eternatus didn't sound like the ones she knew of. So if it sounds like this one's different than the one here, uh, sounds like that's a good thing." The size of the moon, good fucking Christ. Rocky would fucking love that. Nate glanced at the familiar, who was watching Bahamut, rapt, eyes wide. Probably thought the guy's stories were about the coolest thing ever. Nate could only hope he didn't bust out with something super fucking insensitive before they managed to get through this. "And yeah, sure seems like it's something to do with Dark Matter that lets us break through the distortions. You ain't got no Dark Matter where you're from, though, right? Is there anything else you can use to fight it?"
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
"If such a creature existed, it was devoured by Eternatus long ago," Bahamut said. "Eternatus is a living paradox. It has an entire realm inside of it that defies the laws of nature themselves. Time does not pass. Space works on a whim. Daemonic spirits claim to 'protect' the realm from corruptive influences, possessing those trapped inside and warping their bodies to suit their needs.

"And yet, despite all of this, the beast continues to output unlimited amounts of energy." He growned. "We couldn't stop Eternatus, so my friends sacrificed themselves to place it in a sealed stasis. I'm trying to break the seals in the hopes that, perhaps, Eternatus can be destroyed from the inside. Because attacking it from the outside is useless, no matter how much power one musters."
 

Negrek

Play the Rain
Staff
Attacking from inside... Now that was interesting. Bahamut's description made it sound like there was one of those dungeon things in there. If the Eternatus around here was smaller, you'd think there'd be less room for there to be anything inside, but it sounded like there was some kind of spatial bullshit going on in there anyhow. "Well, I guess if we're lucky, we won't have to find out. But what are the chances of that, huh?" Nate glanced away, towards the quiet, snowy trees that ringed them. Easy enough to forget about all the dark shit going on out there when the place was looking pretty as a picture.

"I've been thinking... We ain't seen shit from Eternatus ourselves. And I figure Giovanni ain't got his paws on it yet, or he wouldn't bother with whatever fucked-up shit like mutating Sword. I'm kind of thinking we might have to find it first, make sure he doesn't get to it. And then I guess worry about dealing with it after we make sure that asshole's done for. But I don't know shit about Eternatus. If you had to guess... Where the fuck is the damn thing? Still flying around up in space?"
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
"Unlikely. If that were the case, one of these so-called deities would've sensed or seen something by now," Bahamut said. "If I were a betting 'mon, it might've gotten trapped under the planet's surface. No idea how deep underground it could be, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's burrowing toward the core of the planet as we speak."
 

Negrek

Play the Rain
Staff
"They'd notice it flying around up in space, but not if it was digging around down there? Wouldn't that piss Groudon or somebody off? Or Zygarde... I was talking to that Bean guy recently, and he didn't mention any weird shit going on underground."
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Bahamut shrugged. "Then perhaps it is just trapped somewhere, leaking out corrosive energy like a broken faucet."
 

Negrek

Play the Rain
Staff
Nate sighed. "Yeah. Could be." Not like there could have been an easy answer, anyway. If there had been, they'd already be off dealing with it. "Well, I guess we're probably gonna head back into town." He'd been hoping for a little more information about what was going to happen to Silver, but it sounded like Bahamut didn't know much about whatever the hell he was now, either, and... seriously not poking around in all that. Especially with Rocky hovering right there, just waiting for the opportunity to say something that would make him want to die. "You want to come with, or are you gonna hang out and do, uh. Whatever it is you're up to out here?"
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Bahamut had actually been experimenting with something, but it wasn't panning out. And more time wouldn't change that. "... very well."
 

Negrek

Play the Rain
Staff
"Yay!" Rocky snapped out of his trance, raring to go at the prospect of a change of scene. "We should hang out more often, Bahamut. I bet you have a lot of cool stories. You've been so many different places."

"Way to make a guy change his mind, Rocky," Nate said. "How about we play the Silence Game on the way back? Know you fucking love that one."

"You're just grumpy," the familiar said cheerfully. "Both of you. Anyway, I guess you don't need me to melt things anymore. I'm gonna go have fun!"

"Sorry about him," Nate said, watching the familiar bounce around to either side of the path, galloping through the snow and drawing things in it with feet and flame alike. "Let's get going. Leave it too long, and he'll get bored and want to have a conversation or some shit." At least it was only a short walk back into town.

<><><>​
 
[R10] Echoes of Grief and Hope (Icetales, Keo’Keo V and Petram)

Cresselia92

Gym Leader
Pronouns
She/Her/Hers
Partners
  1. ho-oh
  2. sneasel-nyula
  3. rayquaza-cress
  4. celebi-shiny
CW: Themes of grief and mourning.

Borealis, Vulpix Kyukon Keo’Keo X

This tombstone is erected
In affectionate and grateful remembrance of
Queen Kyukon the Magnanimous

Who hast been a guidance at the service of Borealis
For 109 Years

May her soul reach the Twilight and her glorious light shine on her family forevermore.


No matter how many times he read those engraved words on that azure tombstone, Keo’Keo X’s heart would not stop aching and squeezing. Sorrowful tears fell on the intricate snowdrop patterns, with froze instantly as soon as they reached the frigid cold surface.

“Why did thou perish, Mother?” whimpered the Vulpix, his spirit wracked in minuscule pieces. “Thou were such a sweet mother and such a graceful leader. Thou did not deserve this.” He sobbed some more and rubbed his nostrils. “What will I do without thee…?”

Keo’Keo X stayed silent for a long time, a part of him wishing that his mother could just answer him. But nothing. Only winter wind.

“I miss thee, Mother…”

Once again he paused, and once again there was no answer. But then, he heard someone plodding through the snow. He turned around to see one of his older sisters approach: Keo’Keo V, the Healer Vulpix.

“Tenth! Oh, praise the heavens! I finally found thee!” she exclaimed, rushing toward him and shooting a concerned expression. “Dost thou know how long I have been searching thee? I… I believed thou would have done something foolish!”

“…Apologies, Fifth,” he responded, his ears drooped and his tails wrapped around his body. “I did not mean to alarm thee…”

Fifth leaned closer and glared at her youngest brother. “Dost not do this ever again! I do not know what I would do if thee…” She froze, not wanting to entertain that thought any longer, and shook her head. “Well, at least I found thee.”

Tenth nodded absentmindedly, before turning to the grave. Fifth followed his gaze and frowned. That resting place was a blaring reminder of who she lost, too.

“I still cannot believe she is gone…” she said quietly, before walking by Tenth’s side and embracing the smaller Vulpix with her tails. “Poisoning. Who could have done such an atrocious act?”

Tenth sighed and looked at the snow. “I do not know. I fail to comprehend who could brew foul intentions toward Mother. She was… such a pure being.”

“Yes, but this is evidence that even the purest entities have their specters wishing their demise.”

“…It seems like it.”

The two siblings stayed silent for some time to pay respect to the defunct. Tenth cuddled against his sister, seeking for her comfort. The older Vulpix glanced at her brother — it was time for the Healer to be of help.

“…Mother would not have wished for thee to continue mourning her. She would have wanted thee to move on, to continue thy path and become a Ninetales some day,” she pointed out, holding her brother closer. “Wasting thy life seeking the dead will not honor their last wishes for us to persevere.”

“…It aches, sister,” he responded, before sniffling. “It aches so much…”

“I know. Though, perhaps it is a good advice to remind ourselves what she used to tell us.”

Tenth looked at his sister, wondering what of their mother’s teachings she was referencing. She quickly followed up with the answer.

“Life is not eternal, and some of us traverse the twilight earlier than their peers. That does not make their lives meaningless, however. If all, we should carry and treasure the shards they leave behind, so that thy path will shine the brightest,” she recited with a calm voice, trying to give the encouragement to herself, too. Then, she looked at the sky. “Comets. We all become comets once we pass to the next plane. Keep looking at the sky for any comet and, perhaps, if thou spot one, the soul will observe thee from the Twilight.”

Tenth listened intently to his sister’s words — she sounded exactly like Mother, albeit much younger, with the same comforting tone. The small Vulpix turned to the dark blue sky, and then a comet raced across it. His eyes widened and his tails wagged.

“M-Mother?”

Tenth looked all over the sky, trying to spot the comet once more. While he was disappointed that he couldn’t see it anymore, his heart seemed to have become much lighter.

“Told thee. She is watching us.” Another embrace, which was reciprocated by the little brother. “She will be always watching us and giving us strength from the Twilight…”



Cibus, Ninetales Kyukon Keo’Keo X

Icetales’s paws were dirty after digging for so long. Funerals were not his specialty, but he didn’t want to concern anyone by asking them to bury graves for him. Also, he didn’t want to burden his comrades with an extra weight. They were suffering enough as is.

The Ninetales took a step back: seven holes for seven comrades. A mournful sigh escaped his throat, but he quickly shook his head. No, he couldn’t let his emotions take control of him. He turned around to look at Petram, who was holding a small bag in his paws.

“So, huh, are we really gonna do that?” asked Petram, tilting his head and clutching the bag. Something about performing that action made him jittery.

“Yes. I must do this. This is my way to honor them, and help them find their way to the Twilight,” answered Icetales, before taking a step toward the spectral Vulpix. “Did thou do as I told?”

Petram nodded. “Mhm. I got everything from everyone’s room,” he said and extended the little bag. “You can check, if you want.”

Icetales was quick to grab it and drop the contents to the floor.

A tuft from Brisa.

A scale from Cabot.

A petal from Cynthian.

A tuft from Dave.

A tuft from Nip.

A scale from Owen.

A piece of wax from Vix.

“Most marvelous job, Petram,” said Icetales, even if there was no enthusiasm in his voice. He collected those last remains of his comrades in his tails and turned to the holes. “Time for the deed.”

One by one, the seven mementos were dropped into the graves, which were filled with the extracted earth. Then, Icetales turned to a box placed under a tree and opened it to unveil its contents: seven shining swords.

“A knight ritual for seven mighty warriors…” muttered the Ninetales, before taking the seven swords in seven of his tails. He returned to the buried mementos and plunged the swords into the soil. “This… is the least I can do.”

Icetales took a few steps back and slumped in his haunches, fatigued and still emotionally stressed out. Petram waddled by his side and snuggled into his fur, making sure that no dark thoughts clawed at his father’s mind.

“Do you… think they’re watching us from the Twilight?” asked the Shade, wrapping his paws around one of Icetales’s forepaws.

Icetales didn’t answer at first and looked at the dark sky. He stared at it for quite some time, and then a comet raced in front of him. His eyes widened and a small smile spread across his face. It was something very small, but that meant a lot for the Ninetales and he wished to spread that small message to the surviving comrades, too.

“Yes, Petram.”

A small gust blew across the forest and the two foxes hugged each other.

“I believe they are…”

<><><>​
 
R10 - Tethers

TheGOAT

🗿
Location
Houston, Texas
Pronouns
Him/his
Partners
  1. serperior
  2. alolatales-goat
Astrid didn’t quite recognize this part of the woods, not that she was in any mood to be nostalgic. Or stop for a moment’s rest, for that matter. Her unplanned, aimless sprint led her to make countless mistakes she wouldn’t otherwise, tripping over roots and charging through prickly branches that tore into her fur. She grit her teeth and powered through anyway.

When she came to a stop, her legs had to make the decision for her. She collapsed into the ground and finally—finally rested. According to a voice of reason in the back of her head, she should’ve first sought medical care, regrouped with the team—right, the ones still left—and…

It got tuned out. So what. She’d regret this later. She’d probably isolated herself from any other soul ages ago, but this far out still didn’t feel far enough. She could still feel the city at her back, and suddenly couldn’t stand the sight of it, the very thought of it. But it remained. And soon, that image began filling in with faces.


"I mean, how do you grasp anything with a paw? You don't have anything to grasp with. If you -" He extended his paw towards the canteen as if to grab it, only to... actually grab it. "Wait, what the fuck?"

Somehow, it had just attached itself to his paw, as if he had an invisible thumb. "What the fuck," he repeated.

He waved it around warily. The water inside sloshed. "How the - what?"

He lifted it and poured some water into his mouth. It was good, refreshing after the fight. He handed it back to Astrid, staring. "I - okay, I'm not even going to try to make sense of this."


“Stop…” she whispered, holding her head. Lights and shadows danced in her vision, even when she closed her eyes. The battle was history now, written in stone. She would have to suck it up and keep going, because that was what she’d agreed to.


Cynthian paused to smile as a warm breeze blew by. "Your experience as an explorer shines through whenever it matters. I'm sure you'd become an even greater explorer in the future when you return home after all this is over."


No. I refuse to believe… I refuse to believe they’re gone forever.

But oh, she’d never felt so hopeless.

They had a chance to save everyone yet: the Voidlands. Hell itself. Or something else entirely? And that voice of reason—fuck them—spoke up again. This was bad. Very bad. Their souls were damned for eternity? Very very bad. Their odds were slim as it was, only worsened by politics. And… what did Diyem mean that he couldn’t send their souls back? Why??

The thought of being stuck on this world forever was… sobering. Only for a moment, it silenced her expeditious mind altogether and substituted the worst dread Astrid imagined were possible. What happened in they failed, then? Fuck Cibus. What happened if they couldn’t save their friends’ souls?


Cabot shot Astrid a look of sympathy and he shifted a bit, before speaking up.

"Maybe try to take it easy next battle? With using Radiance, I mean," he said. "I know it's one of the most important tools we have, but what if you end up injuring yourself so much that you have to sit out a fight? One where we might really need you. Or worse, you'll no longer be able to fight at all while Giovanni and Eternatus are still out there. You... don't have to go through this."


Her throat tightened up—a red flag. Her shadows were surely rising. The pain wasn’t receding, and though her body had numbed itself lying in the cold dirt, she wailed out towards the skies. The universe did not hear her; the pain continued its ascent. Everything was sinking in. Each death, one by one, faster and faster, their gravity inescapable…


Nip suppressed a winced, annoyed just thinking about the zangoose, then realized he was being addressed and answered Astrid. "I'm pretty satisfied with ice shard... for right now. But I wouldn't mind picking up a dark move. Or maybe something like shadow claw - always wanted to try learning that one. My fighting style has always been to strike first and to strike hard. Your opponent can't hurt you if you've already knocked them out, after all."


I got that one! Owen's flame doubled in size as a dumb grin spread across his face.


"I got your back, Astrid," Vix said firmly to her partner, pumping her fist. "We're gonna wipe the floor with these guys!"


Astrid clenched at the dirt beneath her and held it all in. She had to… assess the damage for once. Take control of herself somehow. What—who—had they lost? What was left to tether her here?

They’d lost an inquisitive girl who had only just begun to discover themselves. They’d lost a powerful warrior who brightened the room with his optimism. They’d lost…

Astrid curled further into a ball, filthy and covered in wounds. It hurt. It just kept going. An experienced adult who brought pragmatism to any challenge they faced. A lonesome rouge who’d grown into a source of energy for everyone on the team. A dedicated candle who had only just starting finding her confidence. Owen—Owen, the mysterious one—which somehow felt the least real of all. All dead.

There was another, wasn’t there? But the Blacklight blocked it out. She wasn’t thinking straight, she knew that, but its allure was too much for her battered mind. It was an easy decision; she reached a paw out to nothing and conceded everything, drawing inspiration upon what she found herself believing to be Cibus itself. What a waste. Cibus had nothing good left to give her anyhow.

Radiance filled her body nonetheless. It was a frightening comfort how familiar the feeling was, right before everything abruptly snapped. Every time.

She’d be fine. She was always fine after she did this. Every time, yes. And if this didn’t wake her up from this nightmare, then what would?


Astrid used Blinding Meltdown, dealing 38 damage to several pine trees!


It was pitiful. To her, it felt nuclear. Barely conscious, a horrible guilt tightened her throat further, but she forced it back down. She would lay there in peace and let it linger.
 

Chibi Pika

Stay positive
Staff
Location
somewhere in spacetime
Pronouns
they/them
Partners
  1. pikachu-chibi
  2. lugia
  3. palkia
  4. lucario-shiny
  5. incineroar-starr
She couldn't feel the winter chill. Whether that was her inner fire, or the fact that it was hard to feel anything, Starr didn't know.

Footsteps through the snow, one foot in front of the other. It was natural and strange at the same time. Months getting used to walking on all fours, and now Starr could suddenly do all the things she'd been able to as a human. It was a single grain of grounded familiarity in the midst of a day that had felt hazy and unreal since it began. She was going to wake up any second now.

And yet, it just kept going on.

She'd woken up in the infirmary with a splitting headache. Demanded updates from both Diyem and Maple when there weren't any yet. Gone down to the training rooms and endured the sideways glances and concerned looks from bystanders. Snapped at the first person to ask some inane question before storming out to find some place with fewer eyes on her. She didn't have a destination in mind. Somewhere. Anywhere.

She wasn't sure if she'd imagined the way that the others flinched around her. She didn't care. She didn't care. It was good to be feared.

Starr grasped her forehead, cursing under her breath. She took several deep, shaking breaths, then drew back a fist and slammed it into the nearest pine tree with enough force to shatter the bark.

They were gone, and she'd spent the last moments fighting alongside them thinking the worst kind of shit about them, and no matter how much she told herself that it didn't make any difference, didn't change anything (it's not like they heard you), that fact wouldn't stop playing in her head on an infinite repeat.

You didn't deserve them anyway.

"You aren't here 'cause you wanna go on makin' wretched choices. You're here 'cause you're makin' up for yer mistakes.
"I know you! You're always in control, always strivin'! Get a goddamn grip and fight yer fuckin' demons like you always do!"

You didn't ask her to believe in you. That was her choice.

And just look at how well you've lived up to that belief.

Starr drew her fist back and slammed it into the tree again. And again. Her knuckles stung with each blow. Cracks spread across the bark with each impact until finally, with a creaking groan, the trunk slowly toppled over and slammed into the snow with an echoing thud.

She stood there breathing heavily, steam drifting up from the melted snow around her feet. Part of her wanted to keep going. Part of her knew how stupid it was. Part of her just wanted to go home.

And then a not-so-distant boom echoed through the air, causing snow to fall from the nearby trees. Starr's ears flicked around, pinpointing the source of the noise, to her left. Without knowing why, she trudged through the snow in that direction until she came across a clearing. And in its center was a Ninetales, sprawled out limply in the snow, steam leaking from her body. Starr's chest tightened. Astrid. Just about the last person she wanted to see right now, in this state.

Just turn around. You don't owe her anything.

For several seconds, Starr didn't move. But then, finally, she took a step forward. And another. Until she was standing right next to the Ninetales's pitiful form, not entirely sure how she'd gotten there.

"Hey," Starr muttered. "Can you move, or does someone need to drag your ass back to the infirmary?"
 

TheGOAT

🗿
Location
Houston, Texas
Pronouns
Him/his
Partners
  1. serperior
  2. alolatales-goat
“I can move,” she muttered back. Okay, Starr was here. She was close with Brisa too.

The snow around her body provided what little comfort was to be had. That, and the pleasant absence of shadows and radiance competing for her validation. Rolling over onto her stomach, she shoved herself to her feet, wobbling on the way up.

“I… tried to grab her,” she said in a dull, pointless tone. “I just couldn’t… hold.”
 

Chibi Pika

Stay positive
Staff
Location
somewhere in spacetime
Pronouns
they/them
Partners
  1. pikachu-chibi
  2. lugia
  3. palkia
  4. lucario-shiny
  5. incineroar-starr
“I can move.”
Starr wasn't too sure she believed Astrid, but she didn't have the will to make any kind of sarcastic reply. So she just sat down in the snow next to her and said nothing for some time.

“I… tried to grab her,” she said in a dull, pointless tone. “I just couldn’t… hold.”
Astrid had tried. She'd tried. And that was more than Starr could say.

"I didn’t see it until it was too late. I was..." Too busy thinking the worst things about everyone. About Brisa. Like she deserved her pain when all she wanted to do was help everyone, all the time, even if it killed--

A flash of hot pain flared up in Starr's chest, and she balled her hands into fists. It should've been someone who actually deserved it.
 

TheGOAT

🗿
Location
Houston, Texas
Pronouns
Him/his
Partners
  1. serperior
  2. alolatales-goat
They sat in the snow there, doing nothing, saying nothing, for minutes. Astrid still understood so little about the Incineroar—and maybe that was how Starr preferred it, whatever. But in those moments, they could at least understand one another’s pain. They didn’t need to speak on it because there was nothing to say.

Determination bubbled in Astrid’s chest after some time. It burned like anger and stung like dried ice.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Astrid finally admitted to the trees, “and I don’t know who to trust,” she admitted to Starr, “but I do know one thing. We have to get them back. There’s no other option. We can’t let…”

She paused, frowning, tasting the roof of her mouth as she fought for the right words. A foul taste poked at her tonsils, but she simply didn’t have the energy to shadow right now.

“We can’t let anyone get in the way of that. This whole time we’ve been told what to do, where to go, who to fight. And, and… I’m so tired.”

It hardly occurred to her that it was Starr she was ranting at. Didn’t Starr hate her from the moment she’d introduced herself? Astrid bit her lip; she hadn’t made the best impression down the line either. Regardless, Starr was on Team Spectrum, and right now, right-fucking-now, that was good enough for her.
 

Chibi Pika

Stay positive
Staff
Location
somewhere in spacetime
Pronouns
they/them
Partners
  1. pikachu-chibi
  2. lugia
  3. palkia
  4. lucario-shiny
  5. incineroar-starr
“We have to get them back. There’s no other option. We can’t let… We can’t let anyone get in the way of that. This whole time we’ve been told what to do, where to go, who to fight. And, and… I’m so tired.”
It had been so easy for Starr to fall back in line. Like she'd been trained. But now...

"I don't care who says what, about Diyem or about us," Starr managed, her voice raw, unfamiliar. "We're going to that tree. We're getting them back."

An image flashed through her memory. Brisa visiting her and Astrid in the infirmary. The way her eyes lit up when she saw them both. She'd wanted all three of them to spend time together. Wanted to enjoy both their company. Brisa... thought so highly of Astrid.

What would she have said if she'd found out what you thought of her?

Brisa thought highly about you as well.

And you let her down.

It felt so stupid to ask, after all the times Starr told herself she didn't care. It wasn't like she'd never been hated before. She'd encouraged it at times. And yet... it just hit different when it there was that nagging feeling that things weren't supposed to be this way.

"What did I do to make you think the worst of me?" Starr asked, her voice low. "I don't care if you hate me. Just tell me what I did."

Thinking about yourself again. And is that so bad?
 

TheGOAT

🗿
Location
Houston, Texas
Pronouns
Him/his
Partners
  1. serperior
  2. alolatales-goat
"I don't care who says what, about Diyem or about us," Starr managed, her voice raw, unfamiliar. "We're going to that tree. We're getting them back."

A tiny nod. Her shoulders somehow bore the weight of that commitment, for the moment at least.


"What did I do to make you think the worst of me?" Starr asked, her voice low. "I don't care if you hate me. Just tell me what I did."

Why Astrid was caught off guard, she wasn’t sure. But she was.

Maybe it was because she was hoping this conversation wouldn’t happen again. Because she was an idiot and almost exploded the last time she and Starr… talked in any capacity, for fuck’s sake. And that had been, what, over a month ago? They were roommates, they saw each other almost every day. It didn’t seem absurd when it was part of her daily life, but now, after everything?

This time, she had no more explosions left to give. Briefly, she felt her heartbeat skip. Starr could pulverize her right now. But—no, why in the world would she do that? Astrid had seen the looks people gave her… but Brisa clearly saw something else.

What, then?

Astrid drew in a breath and let it hang. “…I don’t… I don’t know what to think of you, Starr. You were one of the very first people I talked to, and I introduced myself, a-and I don’t know what happened after that. I thought I’d offended you somehow, or, I don’t know.” She dared to look at her; only now did it occur to her how much taller she’d gotten. “And then I thought you were picking on Cynthian, and then Brisa. Uh, I don’t know the whole story there, and I get the impression it’s water under the bridge now, but… mmmnn. I didn’t have much else to go off of. I-I guess.”

Her ears flattened. Then why didn’t you reach out further and make a personal connection?
 
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