Poppin' Arms ~ Dorm Lounge

[Cresselia92]

"Not a problem, my name is Shiron. And yours?"

“Ah, pleased to make thy acquaintance, Sir Shiron!” said the Vulpix, before bowing his head. “Name is Icetales. I am just thy average ice Vulpix.” He turned to the stone on his back, who wiggles forward to emulate a bow. “And this good chap is Petram. It might be silent, but it sure has plenty of thoughts to share.”

"I gotta say, I'm not a fan of tea, but I guess yours is an exception!"

Icetales grinned. “Well, this fills me with pride and joy. I am delighted thou appreciate that!” He stored the bottle back into his bag. “Pray tell, art thee Pokémon or human? We have both Pokémon and human folks in our cortège, thou see, so I am interested to know what is thy original species.”

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv reemerged into the room, carrying Starr's stone on their back.

"Here you go!" they cheerfully said to Starr, taking the stone off of their back with a vine and laying it next to the Torracat.

 

[Navar]

“Ah, pleased to make thy acquaintance, Sir Shiron!” said the Vulpix, before bowing his head. “Name is Icetales. I am just thy average ice Vulpix.” He turned to the stone on his back, who wiggles forward to emulate a bow. “And this good chap is Petram. It might be silent, but it sure has plenty of thoughts to share.”



Icetales grinned. “Well, this fills me with pride and joy. I am delighted thou appreciate that!” He stored the bottle back into his bag. “Pray tell, art thee Pokémon or human? We have both Pokémon and human folks in our cortège, thou see, so I am interested to know what is thy original species.”

"I used to be a human," he gave a small chuckle. "It was... shocking to walk on four legs, which is why I'm really glad I'm a Marshtomp now! Well, except that I'm gonna have to stay away from grass attacks, haha..." Shiron blushed a little, embarassed by that.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr listened to the back and forth between Owen and Cal, Chip and Balm, with a sort of stunned disbelief. First the shades were people. Then they were psychic. Now they were spawning into literal shadow beings based on their hosts' memories, what the actual hell was any of this.

...why didn't she go to Chip's lab with Dave when she had the chance.

The Chikorita newcomer had just set Bob down in front of her with a cheerful expression on their face. Starr muttered a half-hearted "thanks," because she didn't have the heart to tell them that that she'd really rather never see 'Bob' again.

"You're not really him," she said to the rock.

Much to her surprise, Bob replied, "Nah, I know. Sure doesn't stop you from thinkin' bout me like I am, though."

Starr's eye twitched. Was this all some kind of trick? Was the shade just screwing with her? "How did this happen? Why do you sound like him? What do you know?"

"Geez, I only just got like this, gimme some time to process, yeah?" he said, rocking back to front like some sort of shrug. "Seems like I've got all your memories of him, but other than that, I don't know much more about what's going on than you. I'd love to find out more though, wonder if I could chat with the Porygon Z over there."

With any luck, maybe she could just give Bob to said Porygon Z. That would be fantastic.

"Also... 'Bob'? Really? You couldn't do any better than that?"

Starr glowered at him. "I didn't want to put any more effort in than that. And I'm not all that motivated to change it now."

"No no, don't worry about me, Bob's fine. So long as you're okay with that," he replied with a far-too-innocent tone. He was doing what he always did. Trying to psyche her out. It wasn't gonna work. His name was Bob and he just had to live with it.

...Except there was no getting around the fact that she would feel like a moron calling him that.

"I changed my mind," Starr muttered. "You don't get to be Bob. If you wanna pull the same garbage as him and pretend to be him, then I'm treating you like him, Lexx."

How the hell did a rock manage to look so smug.

 

[Namohysip]

"Looks like everyone's making good pals with their new friends," Cal remarked to Owen.

"That's sarcastic, right?"

"God, you really are dense as you are smart." Cal brought her arms behind her head. "I can't believe we're related."

Owen pinched his brow and pat her on the shoulder with his other hand.

"There are a lot of questions still unanswered, including prolonged infection..." Chip said. "Ooooh, it's so exciting! Please, if any of you want to see me, please, I'd love to get more data and observations on everyone! Oh! And I also made some new items that might need some testing out for your team. I know that stronger items were never compatible with your strange energy, so I've been trying to make them so!"

"Oh, that's good news," Owen said. "Just having Orans wasn't really doing it for some of us..."

"Precisely! Perhaps that will change!" Chip swiveled his head toward Balm and Cepa. "As for the Shade problem... We should have the God Squad take a look, too. I'm working on a Shade radar with all the data I've gathered, and maybe that will help us!"

"Right. I'd like to help, too," Balm said. "Cepa and I haven't been doing enough. I'm more than recovered from my Shade infection, and we're ready to reenter investigations where we can."

Cal prodded Owen on the side. "Yeah?"

"I'm bored."

"Bored? We were just doing some exercises. You were having fun back then."

"Well, duh, what else was I supposed to do as a rock? But now I can move around way better. Can't we go someplace else?"

Owen sighed. "Cal, I'm tired. I still need to get fully recovered from that fight."

"Oh, now you're an old man." Cal crossed her arms disbelievingly. "Then can I go out on my own?"

"Not yet. You can... explore the guild. How about that?"

Cal grumbled, digging her fingers into her arms until they melted inside. "Fiiiine." Her golden embers moved like she was rolling her eyes. "Oh, I know! I'm gonna go to the café and see what I can eat!"

Before Owen could ask if she even had the ability to taste, she was running off in a strange mixture of steps and slithers, running on all fours to round corners, but sliding on her jelly-like belly for longer stretches.

 

[Ambyssin]

"If that shade is supposed to be a manifestation of your psyche... then you will never convince me you're anything other than a hatchling." Bahamut strolled by Owen, with Poipole's goopy, flattened form wrapped around the black spikes on his right forepaw. Though there was a hint of sarcasm to it, Bahamut was skeptical Owen would pick up on it. For someone who claimed to be so perceptive, his density could make some steel-types blush.

 

[Namohysip]

At first it seemed as though Owen couldn't hear Bahamut, or was simply ignoring him, but more accurately, he was lost in thought. He stared at the final spot that he had seen Cal, then glanced at Bahamut and his own 'manifestation of his psyche' that had been messing with Bahamut only moments ago.

"Mm," Owen replied, then looked back at where Cal had been. "She's..." More silence. His flame was incredibly dim, but his expression was like stone. "Well, I should finish my aerobics."

 

[Cresselia92]

"I used to be a human," he gave a small chuckle. "It was... shocking to walk on four legs, which is why I'm really glad I'm a Marshtomp now! Well, except that I'm gonna have to stay away from grass attacks, haha..." Shiron blushed a little, embarassed by that.

Icetales leaned forward, clearly intrigued. “Ooh, another human! How fascinating! Though, I can say that it must have been quite the experience, haha. I sure know I would feel awkward if I were to walk on two legs.” He chuckled with mirth. “And yes, that is understandable. If I were to evolve again, I would need to beware of metal. That is… not quite healthy for fae, thou see?”

He shrugged. “But, well, I guarantee thee that grass might sting more, yes, but with some proper training thou can learn how to resist that better. We could even have duels, if thou wish,” he continued, before beaming a reassuring smile. “And fear not, I shall not go rough on thee. Good-fellowship is a priority of mine.”

Then, Petram started thumping the back of Icetales’s head, getting his attention.

“Oh? What is the matter?”

Petram rolled off of the Vulpix’s back and started hopping around. “Krrrshhhvaaal…”

Icetales stared at the rock, dumbfounded. “…Huh? What art thou trying to say?” He narrowed his eyes. “Krrr… shhh… vaaal…” He gasped in realization. “Val? Oh goodness! Thou art right! It almost slipped my mind!”

The Vulpix turned to Shiron and bowed. “Apologies, good sir, but I must skedaddle. I have a few important matters I must resolve. I shall see thee around, right? Now, if thou excuse me…”

Without another word, Icetales scooped Petram in his jaws and bolted out of the room.

 

[Jedi Shulk]

"I used to be a human," he gave a small chuckle. "It was... shocking to walk on four legs, which is why I'm really glad I'm a Marshtomp now! Well, except that I'm gonna have to stay away from grass attacks, haha..." Shiron blushed a little, embarassed by that.

“You're a human -

Icetales leaned forward, clearly intrigued. “Ooh, another human! How fascinating! Though, I can say that it must have been quite the experience, haha. I sure know I would feel awkward if I were to walk on two legs.” He chuckled with mirth. “And yes, that is understandable. If I were to evolve again, I would need to beware of metal. That is… not quite healthy for fae, thou see?”

- and you are a human, is there any other humans I should be aware of?” Fay asked the question.

 

[Navar]

The Vulpix turned to Shiron and bowed. “Apologies, good sir, but I must skedaddle. I have a few important matters I must resolve. I shall see thee around, right? Now, if thou excuse me…”

Without another word, Icetales scooped Petram in his jaws and bolted out of the room.

"Oh, that's nice! I would love to spar, I need to get the hang of this body anyway," the Marshtomp smiled, waving to him. "See ya later!"

“You're a human -

- and you are a human, is there any other humans I should be aware of?” Fay asked the question.

Shiron heard what Fay said and turned around to face them.

"Honestly, I don't really know. It's not something I go around asking people, uh, Pokémon." he shrugged.

 

[Jedi Shulk]

“I don't recall you being here when all this started. So what is your name? Mine is Fay.” Fay asked the question too the Marshtomp and held out his Paw.

 

[Navar]

"Shiron, actually. I'm new at this place, that's probably why," the Marshtomp shook Fay's paw. "Nice to meet you, Fay!"

 

[Jedi Shulk]

“Well Nice to meet you Shiron.“ Fay responde back to Shiron. “Any plans?”

 

[Navar]

"Not really, mostly exploring this place and uh, training, I think," he shrugged. "Icetales offered to help me with that, so that's probably the only plan I'm having right now."

 

[Jedi Shulk]

“Then let’s see Icetales.” Fay answered Shiron.

 

[Navar]

"He said he had some important things to do, but sure, I guess? As long as we're not bothering him," Shiron scratched his chin.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

<><><><><><>​

I have been spilling sweat and fur and gathering the best of material and gourmet food to organize a truly luxurious and delectable festival. I mean, getting good comrades back safe and sound is an event that ought to be celebrated.

It had taken a few weeks, but the festival was finally upon them. The festival that had originally been intended specifically to celebrate the safe return of Brisa and Starr from the Reverse World.

Brisa felt like she was back in the pit.

Luz, her ultra stone, nudged her hindpaw insistently, trying to rouse her from her spot in the the dorm lounge where she was alternating between reading one of Cibus' classic literary novels, and tormenting herself by looking at text messages on her phone and not knowing how to reply.

[Brisket -> Team Spectrum]: I am sorry to say I am not yet ready to participate in the festivities, being preoccupied with personal concerns for the moment. With luck, I will attend shortly. -Yrs, B. Escarpa

Even in written form, she was a terrible liar.

"Not now, Luz. Not unless ya can find yer way to fillin' me with confidence as well as fightin' power."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr made her way down the hallway at a brisk pace, passing by Nate as he headed for the study, most likely to check on Silver. Starr thought about visiting with Silver herself--she hadn't gotten a chance to follow up with him since... since encountering their (his, just his) father during the last mission. But no, she didn't want to deal with that kind of stress right now. Not when there was a party to get to.

“Sweet, a party. This’ll be great, can’t wait to meet the rest of the team," said the rock sitting on her back.

“You’re not on the team,” Starr replied, rolling her eyes. “And I’m only bringing you along so I can keep an eye on you."

"Worried I'll get into trouble?" Lexx asked innocently.

Starr didn't feel the need to answer that. “Why haven’t you hatched yet, anyway?"

"Dunno. Maybe it's your fault for not being imaginative enough," Lexx said dramatically. He paused for a bit, then went on, "Nah, but seriously, I have no idea. Maybe I get to pick; what should I pick? Suppose it’d be cool to be an electric-type. Favorite type and all. Wouldn’t say no to steel either.”

“Magnemite,” Starr replied dryly.

“Ha, nice. But nah, kinda wanna stick close to the body I’m used to. Or, y’know, the body my memories are telling me I oughta be used to. Pretty wild, isn’t it? I remember being human even though I’ve never been human."

Starr tuned him out after that. They reached the lobby and were about to head outside when she noticed Brisa sitting on one of the cushions, reading.

"You heading out soon?" she asked.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz bounced agitatedly at Brisa's foot at the suggestion. Brisa looked up from her book and closed it as she realised who'd arrived. What did you say to someone you recently saved from a fatal encounter with someone from her past whom you knew nothing about? With whom you'd evolved in that same moment, trying to help each other? But who in weeks of knowing each other, you'd scarcely heard a pleasant word from?

"Ah, I'm not rightly sure," she stammered. "To tell ya the truth, I've been thinkin' I'm bound to screw it up somehow, and maybe everyone will have a better time without me around."

Boundaries were weird. She felt uncertain about whether to give Starr so much as a 'how d'you do', but she could admit something like that without hesitating. The complete opposite of her normal interactions with normal folks.

Luz spun like a top, nudging at her paw repeatedly. Why? Why do you care?

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr tilted her head. "Screw it up like how? Who cares about everyone else--if you wanna go, then go."

She couldn't help noticing the rock nudging Brisa's paw. So that made someone else whose lump hadn't hatched yet.