Poppin' Arms ~ Large Dorms

[IFBench]

"I felt overwhelmed," Saltriv answered, their expression starting to not look quite as dreary. "And thank you."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut fought back a sigh. It was... unfortunate that Diyem had gone missing. He likely would have been in the best position to help Saltriv with their predicament. But that wasn't the case. "Overwhelmed, hmm?" How could Bahamut press this? "Considering who your opposition was — so-called friendly battle or not — I'd be more concerned if you didn't react that way." He tapped a hand against his back. "We can't all be as large as I am.

"Regardless, now that you're aware of it, you can reach out to others if you're feeling similarly overwhelmed in the future." He stepped back from Saltriv and turned toward the door. Bahamut still felt there was something more to all of this. Something Saltriv was still sitting on, whether consciously or not. But it wasn't his place to chase that lead. Odds are he'd just rile them up and cause their shadows to manifest.

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv headed out of the dorms a few seconds after Bahamut did.

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[Cresselia92]

The corridors of the dorms were unnaturally quiet, a silent reminder of the absence of a quarter of the cortege. Icetales strode through the empty place, unable to sleep despite the tiredness in his muscles and mind.

He couldn't help but worry about one of his dearest friends: Celeste. Poor fellow had just lost two of his roommates, so he wanted to pay him a visit to make sure he was still alright.

After a few minutes of quiet walking, he knocked at the door of his room.

"Sir Celeste, art thou there? It is me, Icetales."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste was lying in bed, staring restlessly at the distant ceiling, Soul tucked snugly asleep against his side, when heard a knocking on the door... Was it fo- Right. Of course it was for him. Who else would it have been
for?

He got up and went to the door. It was... Icetales. That was good. Of anyone that could be knocking for whatever reason, he was glad to see it was Icetales.

"Oh, hello. I take it you're not sleeping well either?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales sighed somberly. "I am afraid not, my good fellow. Too many thoughts rushing in my noggin and my heart is still heavy. Not even my special blend of chamomile helped soothe my spirit. Not by the amount I desired, at least."

He took a peek inside the room -- how utterly heartbreaking it was to see those empty beds.

"And... I was concerned about thee, Sir Celeste," he murmured, glancing again at the Absol. "I do not know how close thou were to Sir Cabot and Sir Nip, but... it must still be a painful ache at thy heart. Thou have my... condolences." His eyes narrowed subtly and his tails flicked, clearly concerned. "How art thou feeling? Dost thou mind if I offer my company for a little while? I reckon we both could use it."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste nodded. "Come right in. It's eerily empty, so I'm glad for the company. Especially from you."

He moved to allow Icetales through the doorway and looked back to the room. Both he and his room were not quite as clean as he'd like, but he wasn't expecting company... Icetales wouldn't judge him for it, he was sure, but Icetales always had an immaculate feel to him. Like he belonged in a better place than this.

 

[Cresselia92]

From inside the room, Icetales could feel the stifling emptiness and lack of vibrancy. It seemed like the cheerfulness and dutifulness radiated by their owners were gone as well, sucked away by that malevolent sphere of death.

The Ninetales could still see the last traces of two ‘mons that inhabited that room mere hours ago. Objects with lost owners.

A part of him didn’t even want to sit anywhere. He felt like he would have disrespected the wandering souls by disrupting those last signs of life by just… sitting in bed or something. Good thing that his tails were soft and comfortable, so he went toward an empty spot besides Celeste’s bed and curled his tails on the floor, before lying on top of them as if they were fluffy pillows.

“Please, approach. There are… a few matters I would desire to talk about.”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste took to Icetales' side. He picked up Soul, who remained soundly asleep as he moved them to elsewhere on the oversized bed. At first he sat at the edge, but then reconsidered and shuffled further down.

"You'll cut off your circulation if you lay like that, won't you? There's room for three of us to fit on this."

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales tilted his head and beamed a sheepish smile. “Oh, I… did not want to be heedless by just sitting in thy bed. But if thou not mind…”

The Ninetales stood up and hopped gracefully on the bed, barely making it shake. He laid down and wrapped his tails around his body, then glanced at Celeste.

“Hm. How art thou holding up, Sir Celeste?” he asked, before his ears drooped and his smile turned upside-down. “So many of our comrades… gone, just like that, without even being able to say goodbye.” He sighed and rubbed his forepaws. “So many good ‘mons… They did not deserve what happened to them. They might have died as heroes, but… they still died, nonetheless…”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"I don't know... I'm distraught, of course. Just not in the way I'd expected. I feel... hollowed out. Empty as a Shedinja. Mostly, anyways. At least I still have you. Otherwise, I'd just be alone, save for Soul."

He sighed. Should he be angry? Crying? Anything? He wasn't sure.

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales hummed as he stared at Celeste, impressed by his emotional self-control. He wondered if the Absol reacted like that because he went through much worse in his original world and as such could handle those tragedies much better. He envied that fortitude.

“I see.” He looked at his paws for a while, pondering about something, before looking again at Celeste. “And I am grateful to have thee by my side. If thou disappeared as well,” he sighed, “I would have only Petram as a close bond…”

Icetales closed his eyes and thought again about the battle, especially… the moment he was enveloped by both Radiance and Shadow, and Celeste talked to him. Brought him back to reason, stopping his heart from succumbing to his emotions.

“Right, I never got the chance to do so…” He stared intently at Celeste, showing a bright smile. “I cannot be any more grateful for reaching out for me during that battle. I felt like I could have fallen to despair, but… thou saved me, Sir Celeste. Thy words were just what I needed to regain my control. I do not know how I can repay thee for thy nobility of heart…”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"T-Thanks. I wanted to save someone, even if it was just one person. And likewise, thank you..."

Celeste tried to swallow what felt like a lump in his throat. Why did he feel like this? "Thank you for being a reason to keep going. That is what you wanted, was it not? To be a light to shine our way... I'll not pretend I'm feeling splendid, but when that attack first happened... I... I gave up. I just stopped. Wasn't fighting, or even trying to survive at all."

He sniffled. "S-So, that's why I thank you. I don't know what you did there, I don't even really remember the latter half of the fight much at all, but... Whatever it was, it rallied me. I owe you my life for that. Sincerely. You gave me something to keep going for, and with that I would have... I wouldn't have made it out."

Am I crying? I... I am.

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales stared at Celeste with wide eyes, stunned. Did he really do it? Was he really able to illuminate the path and instill? Could he himself hope to bring hope?

“Thou truly mean it, Sir Celeste?”

By the way the Absol was staring at him and talking to him, the fox knew that those words were genuine. That sense of gratitude filled his heart with joy. He saw it — a faint glimmer in the darkness.

Without hesitation, Icetales crawled forward and dried Celeste’s tears with a gentle rub of one of his tails. Then, he wrapped his forepaws around his friend, locking him in a warm embrace.

“…Then I shall always illuminate thy path. If thou will ever feel like the darkness is surrounding thee… I will come for thee, because thou art what most precious I have in this world, and I shall never let thee down.”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste's heart skipped a beat as Icetales drew him into a hug. He snuggled into Icetales' fur.

“…Then I shall always illuminate thy path. If thou will ever feel like the darkness is surrounding thee… I will come for thee, because thou art what most precious I have in this world, and I shall never let thee down.”

"You-" Celeste had to take a moment to catch his breath before attempting to speak again.

"And you are the most precious treasure in all of Cibus. I am grateful to have you at my side, and I will... I will do everything I can never to let you down, either. Just... You're not allowed to die on me, okay? I need you. And I'll make sure I'm there for you, too."

He felt his heart was sore from beating so hard. He should be at ease, what was this he was feeling?

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales felt as light as a feather when Celeste snuggled into his fur, his heart brimming with serenity and... happiness. Yes, he was... happy. Or perhaps even more than that?

He wondered if it was normal to feel like this, especially after a tragedy, but... no. That was no time to think about that. He could afford a few minutes to relish in that physical contact and push his worries away. Yes, just... a few more minutes.

"And you are the most precious treasure in all of Cibus. I am grateful to have you at my side, and I will... I will do everything I can never to let you down, either. Just... You're not allowed to die on me, okay? I need you. And I'll make sure I'm there for you, too."

Icetales narrowed his eyes. That was something very big to promise. Until that day he believed that they could have accomplished great things and that they could reach the end of the journey and save the world together. And yet that didn't happen, and many of them were now wandering souls.

Could he really promise him that?

...Well, by the heavens! He was going to!

"I promise. I will not die on thee. This shall be... my royal promise." He chuckled. "Though, I expect thee to promise the same. Will thou stay by my side and not traverse the Twilight? I... I need thee, too."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

To think that, in the minutes before Icetales had arrived, he'd been worried he wasn't able to feel anymore. Now here they were, snug together, cherishing their time...

"I promise. I'll be by your side until Diyem does us part."

 

[Cresselia92]

“Until Sir Diyem does us part.”

Icetales stayed quiet for some time. The silence of the room didn’t feel as stifling anymore. There was emptiness, yes, but not in their hearts anymore.

The Ninetales pondered about something. Poor Celeste was now mostly alone in his room, and so was he. However, perhaps that wouldn’t have to last?

“Hmm, Sir Celeste? I have a small query,” he started, before looking at him. “Would thou mind if I moved here with Petram and Miss Ivy? It is utterly disheartening to spend the night in such empty rooms, so…”

Icetales scratched his leftmost tail on his cheek, wondering if that was a rash move.

“Um, if… thou art swell with that. I just believe this would be a good way to keep the loneliness at bay.” He glanced at his paws for a few seconds, then again at Celeste. “What dost thou think?”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste looked around the room. The possessions of the dead were still about. Moving them seemed wrong, to some extent. However, having them around left the room feeling like a crypt. Like their ghosts still lived with him. He couldn't live with that for the rest of his time here, so have to get used to the idea of cleaning it up eventually.

"That sounds swell to me."

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales beamed a grin and wagged his tails, elated and feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. "Oh, how lovely! I shall gather some pillows from my room and bring both Petram and Ivy, then. We could arrange the move and everything else tomorrow, as now it is particularly late."

With this said, the Ninetales hopped off of the bed and shook slightly his body, then glanced around the room. Hmm... There was plenty to do, but nothing that a head butler couldn't handle. He glanced at Celeste and showed another reassuring smile.

"I shall get going to my room now. See thee in a few minutes," he chuckled, "my roommate."

Then, he headed to the door.