Grass Continent ~ Treasure Town Beach

[Virgil134]

Cabot nodded in reply. "Right. We should try to find both Dark Matters. Hopefully Giovanni didn't get to either of them before we captured him though..."

The Rampardos' eyes drifted off towards the cupcakes, before picking one up with a smile. "Though I guess it won't hurt either to take it easy for at least for a little bit. These past few weeks sure have been hectic, huh?"

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Things sure have," Cynthian said with a nod, followed by a relaxed sigh. She took another cupcake and smiled.

"Let's just enjoy this quiet evening, and enjoy the moment for now."

<><><^<><>

 

[Cresselia92]

Limpid black sky with bright twinkles; gentle waves crashing against the sand; fresh marine breezes caressing his face…

It was only Icetales and the dark sea. That was good.

The noble took in a deep breath, letting the iodine enter into his lungs. Then, he breathed out a snowflake-filled cloud.

Breathe in. Relax. Focus.

He brought a pair of tails forward and looked intently at them. Scrunching in muzzle in concentration, he channeled two opposite yet equally powerful energies into them: the golden burst of Radiance, and the wispy energy of Shadow. Two forces, two flames, two opposites that needed to become one.

“Dark sorcery… What he did not want others to know is that dark sorcery is more than just darkness, black matter and forbidden arts. It is…” her voice and fire faded away, “cosmos…”

“Cosmos…”

Without hesitation, Icetales brought both tails together, and pushed the Radiance and Shadow toward each other. He grunted as he fought hard to keep focus of those forces — golly, compressing them was much harder than he imagined! It was one thing to let them go wild, but it was another thing entirely to force them to coexist.

The Radiance and Shadow warped and twisted, until a black sphere with golden gusts appeared between his tails. That was… a black hole?

“Only… a little… more…”

Icetales pushed, pushed, pushed… and pushed too much. The miniature black hole began quivering, and the fox’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Oh, g—”

And the black hole blew up on his face, messing up his fur and giving him a darker pelt. He blinked slowly, still too stunned by what happened.

“…Ouch…”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"What are you doing?" Cynthian asked, arriving just in time to witness what just occurred.

 

[Cresselia92]

The shock of hearing that voice was enough to make Icetales’ jump worthy of a Bounce. By the stars, he didn’t expect that at all!

“Heavens! Who—” He blinked when he realized who was standing by his side, looking curiously at him. “Ah! Miss Cynthian! I… wasn’t expecting anyone to be around these parts at this hour, haha.”

A sheepish grin appeared on his muzzle, but that turned into embarrassment when the mane on his head dropped on his eyes. Huffing, he readjusted his fur with a few blows with his paw, before he shook up the dust with a few head-shakes.

“Um, well… I am here to practice with my powers a little, thou see. Mainly to… get a few matters off of my head for a while.”

He glanced at his tails, noticing that they were still surrounded by some golden and blue sparks, and shook them off with a few waves.

“And, hm, what brings thee here?” he asked, before tilting his head. “Did thou fancy a walk by beach or something?”

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian chuckled. She sat next to him and reached a vine to move a stray bundle of hair behind his ear.

"I often come here to relax," Cynthian answered as she rested her head on his shoulder. "It's not the same without the sun overhead, but the stars look pretty too."

Without light pollution obscuring the cosmos, a galactic band stretched across the sky from horizon to horizon. Cynthian reached a flower outward and pretended to grab the twinkling lights adorning the sky.

"Sometimes when I look up, it really feels like no matter which worlds we come from, we're all sharing the same sky." She lowered her bouquet and crossed her legs.

"Are you practicing a new ability?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales gazed at the sky and let the pleasant twinkles of the distant stars soothe his mind. Somehow, he could feel like his connection to the galaxy had become stronger and more solid, almost as if he could listen to the voices of the ancients. Though, he was pretty confident that was a mere impression.

“Yes… Truly a beautiful sky.”

Deciding to follow Cynthian’s cue, he sat down as well, letting the sand tickle his skin. He took a breath in and listened to the melody of the sea, before giving a small nod.

“We could say that I am practicing something, yes. There have been a few… recent events that have affected me.” The fox dug his claws in the sand, relishing on its softness.

“I’ve been to Spirit’s Edge, like planned, and I tried to seek for Mother’s advice.” He took another deep breath, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied about that trip. “I… could not find her on the Twilight. Though, I found someone else, instead.” His eyes narrowed. “One of my sisters…”

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian lowered her eyes. A calm breeze washed over them in the brief silence that followed. She placed her bouquet over his paw and made eye contact with him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Cynthian asked in a gentle voice.

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales didn’t respond at first, limiting himself to pawing at the sand with the paw that didn’t have Cynthian’s bouquet.

There was so much he could say. So much bottled pain and anger, so many destroyed dreams and hopes, so many machinations orchestrated behind his back.

Just thinking about all of that made his skin crawl, and a soft mist seeped from his tails. He fought hard to suppress a growl, but he still made something always between a strained groan and a hiss.

“…Give me a moment. I… There is plenty I need to sort through.”

As such, Icetales closed his eyes and let his mind drift away for a few seconds. There was darkness at first, but then many invisible leashes wrapped around those ominous clouds, and his mind was once again limpid.

Focus, and breathe. He reopened his eyes.

“I found out… that my youngest sister conspired against me, fueling the hatred and distrust among my family. She… used a common superstition among Ninetales families, painting me as some kind of monster and curse. I was just… her meat shield and main excuse to justify her shortcomings. My siblings… gods, my siblings have been manipulated, and she knew exactly where to strike — as a Spiritual Witch, she can read souls and see what buttons push them the most.”

Icetales sighed and shook his head.

“I just… I cannot fathom how someone could brew so much hatred. All I desired was to be part of a happy family, and she…” he growled, “she took that away from me. For her own selfish purposes.”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"That's... cruel. How could she do such a thing to you? And for what?" Cynthian said, giving off a faintly rising peppermint aroma. And then the fragrance cut off abruptly as she took a deep breath. Cynthian gazed back at him solemnly.

"Do you hate her, for what she did?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Now that was a question that Icetales didn’t know how to answer. How did he feel about his sister and siblings?

After many seconds of mulling over and searching deep into his heart, he found an answer.

“…I might have many strong emotions about how she treated me. About all the suffering I have endured from my other siblings because of her. About what happened to me… when she revealed my nature to our father.”

As he listed everything, he could feel the dark clouds invading his mind once more, but the noble fox latched onto the shining light that was buried deep into his soul.

“…But no. I do not hate her nor I wish to hate her. I shall not let past events corrupt my spirit and mind anymore. Besides, I… I could tell that she regretted a few of her past actions, even if she kept treating me like a runt.”

He narrowed his eyes, while his tails flicked and flailed. However, his anger seemed to be directed somewhere else.

“There is another individual far more deserving of my hatred,” his voice darkened and black fumes seeped from his tails, “and that is Father.”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"It pains me that I can't be there beside you when you must face him," Cynthian said, and then she grinned. "But hey, I'll always be ready to smack him in the face if he ever shows up through your shadows again."

Cynthian stood up and took two steps towards the shore, then she turned around. "I hope your sister learns to understand her wrong, and make an honest attempt to mend what she has broken. If she has any sense to swallow her pride, she'll know it to be the right thing to do."

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales tilted his head, thoughtful. “Well, if what her very soul manifested is any proof, she at least realized what kind of monster our father truly is. The horror on her face… that could not be faked. She was… dismayed, to put it mildly.” He snorted out a cloud of black ice. “Oh. Right. I did not even tell thee what she found out, while I was away from my country: an empty vial of venom, hidden in Father’s room. And wouldst thou not know?” His eyes flashed red and the dark fumes intensified. “There was venom in Mother’s bloodstream, when she… when…”

He shuddered and slammed his tails on the sand.

“I cannot even say departed, since my sister cannot find Mother’s soul in the Twilight. But one thing is certain…”

A familiar black aura surrounded Icetales, and his body shifted to resemble more a daemon. Blue flames erupted from his mane and his fangs and claws sharpened, unveiling his true essence. However, the aura was a mere veil on his body, as he kept his darkness in check.

“Father is responsible of what happened to Mother, and I shall find out what that is. Even if that meant tearing the entire Chaos apart!”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Come to think of it, I also learned that my mother may not have actually passed away as I'd thought all these years." Cynthian stared at a small shell on the ground, the sound of crashing waves lulling her ears as she closed her eyes and sighed.

"I wish you the best of fortune in unearthing the truth about your mother, Icetales" Cynthian said, giving Icetales a bittersweet smile. She held her bouquets over her chest and sighed. "But whatever you do to achieve that, never forget the light that shines in your heart. It's your greatest strength, my love."

 

[Cresselia92]

"I wish you the best of fortune in unearthing the truth about your mother, Icetales" Cynthian said, giving Icetales a bittersweet smile. She held her bouquets over her chest and sighed. "But whatever you do to achieve that, never forget the light that shines in your heart. It's your greatest strength, my love."

Icetales stared hard at Cynthian, his glowing eyes locked into her red eyes, while the marine breezes waved the Shadow-imbued wisps. Then, the glows disappeared as the half-daemon closed his eyes and sighed. “I… I shall not forget that. Even if my memories of this world will vanish, I am confident that my light will carry on. Forever, no matter the time nor space.”

Just as those words were carried by the winds, so did the darkness surrounding his body. Blue flames receded and revealed the mismatched silver and black pelt once more.

“My light… was always latched into my being. A glow in the middle of darkness, which shines ever so brightly when contrasting with the inky blackness.” He flashed a pearly grin and wagged his tails. “And… Thou hast my upmost gratitude for showing me that path and for accepting me. Truly, I cannot be any more grateful.”

Having said so, he walked toward Cynthian and gave her a gentle muzzle on her cheek. Radiance and pixie dust sparked into his pelt, before he pulled away.

“That light is partly why I was training here. I found out what is the true meaning of my powers.” He glanced at the starry sky. “I am like the night sky. Plenty of darkness, but also many twinkles here and there. That, my dear, is my true talent.” He glanced again at the Roserade, a light of realization shining in his eyes. “…Darkness and stars… Cosmos… This is my true essence, and I shall fight hard to unlock my real power. To reveal… my true nature.”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Speaking of fights, did you see me at the Colosseum today? Sword and I went up against one another, and it was crazy!" Cynthian said, doing a small dance from the rush of excitement.

"I was pretty nervous about this colosseum thing after lost last time." She paused. "I still lost today though, when Sword became Darkwhite. Funny thing is though, I don't feel upset at all. I want to fight her again."

Cynthian giggled. "Strange, isn't it?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales nodded. “Ah, yes. I was there by the stands, and I even tried to shout some words of encouragement.” He chuckled. “I had to hold back, however, or my Radiance could have burst out and tried to empower thee. That would have counted as a disqualification, I wager.

“Anyway, I am glad thou had fun, and I saw that burst of Blacklight. My, I daresay that was one of the most impressive shows of raw magical power I had ever seen.” Icetales’ eyes started sparkling, in a mix between pride and admiration. “Thou really improved dramatically, my dear. Really well done!”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Thanks," Cynthian replied a bit shyly, her cheeks a rosy red under the starlight as her mind struggled to process all the compliments Icetales showered her with.

 

[Cresselia92]

“Ah, thou art welcome,” said Icetales, the bright smile still adorning his muzzle. “I merely stated the truth.”

The Ninetales found it amusing how, even after evolving, Cynthian still had those traces of shyness, hidden deep in her spirit. He found it comforting how she was still the same kindred soul, even after all those months.

Feeling somewhat motivated by the retelling of the Colosseum match, he brought his tails forward once more. He lifted one set, then the other, and once he was focused enough, he channeled Radiance and Shadow in their tips and tried to push them together. There should have been some way to blend them together — he knew that!

“And, hm. Did thou plan another match at the Colosseum?” he asked, not letting his task distract him from their conversation.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Huh? Oh yeah!" Cynthian exclaimed and shook her bouquets. She recalled talking to Brisa at the park to schedule a match later in the week. That was just a few days before Brisa fought with the other gals and dealt the finishing below on Lugia. Those three actually beat Lugia!

"I'm going to fight Balm and Cepa tomorrow noon!" Cynthian finally said. She tilted her head slightly and smiled faintly. "I already have a partner... but there's still room for one more. Will you fight beside me, love?"