Mystery Continent ~ Southern Beach

[Namohysip]

[Soda > Cucumber] chilling. what want something? i dont really know if im that interested in flirting over text.

He wasn't a very wordy individual, and the cold weather meant Soda probably wouldn't come there on his own. But after some quick exchanges, he indeed followed Astrid out, and he appeared nearby at the designated time.

"Y'know," Soda said, brushing off a bit of snowflakes from his mane, "when I said chilling I didn't mean literally... What's all this for? Need anything?"

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid, meanwhile, had built up a paper-thin layer of snow on her back. Her body didn’t mind.

“I have an issue,” she admitted. “I… want to use more of my Radiance at once. Truffle taught me how to keep it from overflowing on accident, so I think I can safely give it a shot.”

She stared at him. Or rather, she stared at the space in which he chose to project himself.

“You know how to get a lot out of a little, right? Well, um, I’ve got a little bit of training, and I wanna keep going. Starting with you.”

With a teethy smile, she added, “Please?”

 

[Namohysip]

The Zoroark stared at Astrid, somewhere between annoyed and incredulous. "So you're telling me," he said slowly, "that you wanted to get some training done with the God Squad or whatever so you can get better with your Radiance, and you're asking me to help this time. What even can I help you with that Truffle couldn't?"

 

[TheGOAT]

“Truffle…” Astrid exhaled, “isn’t risky enough. Or—I don’t know. I guess this whole thing seems a little crazy to me, so I, y’know, I thought I’d text someone like you. And you’re—well. I’m not trying to call you crazy, but you’re…”

Astrid was drawing imaginary shapes in the air as if they added extra context to her words. She should probably stop that.

“…you’re very detail-oriented. Like, you’re aloof, um, no offense. But you notice a lot about what goes on around you, right? I want to replicate that in battle, with my Radiance. Somehow.”

 

[Namohysip]

"Hm. Well. I guess so." Soda shrugged. "I don't really do fighting all that much. I'm more of a scout and planner. Mastermind? I dunno. I get sent in to investigate things. Get in, get info, get out. Maybe some sabotage now and then. Haven't been able to do a lot of that recently because of the whole power suppression thing, though...

"Bah, I'm getting distracted. Fine, whatever. What do you need from me?"

 

[TheGOAT]

“Tell me how you make your illusions work so well, for one.” Astrid walked a quarter-circle around him. “Like, you’re not actually standing there, are you? But maybe you are now that I said that, and I just wouldn’t be able to tell. How do you do that? It’s so—”

She fumbled for her words. “I-it’s like you’re not even trying, you know? I’ve seen you do it.“

 

[Namohysip]

"Well, yeah. Radiance powered me up, and then some of my power channeled into my natural talent for illusions. You know, Zoroark things. It's not something I think you can replicate all that easily since my thing was more innate. My kind are all about deception and being untrustworthy, after all." He shrugged. "I'm actually behind you." He was not, if she checked. Though he also wasn't in front of her.

 

[TheGOAT]

“My kind,” she started, then stopped. “I don’t know. We’re hexers. Dragonkillers. And, I guess, we freeze things with our frosty snow powers? It’s a thing.”

A dismissive flick of her paw sent Radiant frost straight through the Zoroark’s heart. The light around his figure shimmered a bit, but the illusion remained unscratched.

“But I guess there’s not any one or two things I can just fall back on like that. Or, there are, but there has to be more. I have to keep building on what I have, and what my peers have.”

She stopped to contemplate, but started again before Soda could speak up. “That’s why Iiiiii… want to draw power from Team Spectrum. Maybe even provide them some power. Somehow. Like, hear me out—I can feel their energies sometimes when my Radiance spikes. I think it’s their Radiance I’m feeling? Possibly? If I could just to reach out and grab it…”

 

[Namohysip]

"Hey, take me to dinner first at least," Soda said with a shrug. "Though, I wouldn't be against that sorta thing if you asked nicely." He winked. It didn't look like he had anything particularly productive to add; his powers were illusory in nature, and it didn't seem like he knew or cared about what Astrid was talking about otherwise. Eventually, with a shrug, he added, "If you're looking to reach out and grab things, your best bet is probably Leg. She's the one who's been trying to help out with getting you guys stronger. Actually, I heard that she's been trying something with your auras lately, using that Charmeleon kid as a test subject... Wonder how that's going..."

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid tilted her head. “Illusion yourself a combed mane—maybe deep, brown eyes too—and I might’ve.”

She was joking, but that still came out meaner than she’d hoped. Still, ignoring his dismissal was hardly difficult. “Hey, um, who are you anyway? You aren’t like the others. That I’ve talked to, I mean. I guess you’re all a little different…”

 

[Namohysip]

"Who am I...?" Soda hummed, thoughtful, and he seemed to be studying Astrid top to bottom. "I guess I'm just any other Zoroark in the end. Deceitful, illusory, someone who moves ahead in life by tricking everyone I need to trick. The world I came from and the worlds I visit are generally the ones that only let you get ahead if you don't show all your cards." Soda let out a single laugh that was more like a huff. "In the end I'm just someone who left home for another gig."

 

[TheGOAT]

The edge of her mouth ticked upwards. “…And I take it you aren’t going to show me those cards now?”

 

[Namohysip]

Soda's smile mirrored Astrid's. "Asking a Zoroark to lay bare their information? You clearly don't know us very well." He shrugged, looking indifferent. "Well, I guess a bit of a fair trade would be in order for that," he said. "If you're so interested in my past, what're you gonna offer in return? You know what, I think I know what I want in return. I'll tell you a little about myself if you tell me what's up with that Shade of yours." He leaned forward, hands behind his back. "What's the story behind his base?"

 

[TheGOAT]

Her grin plummeted into the sand. “Myles? Myles is… ”

…

“He’s my ex.” She shrugged suddenly. Two of her tails began drawing a circle in the sand as she talked. “We… used to explore together in the mountains of the Grass Continent. Sometimes Water too. Dated for… a year. And a half. But. Mmm.” She forced out a sigh. “Didn’t work out in the end, obviously. I don’t really know where he is right now, but with him here, it’s hard to pretend he’s not haunting my memories. I’m trying my best to act indifferent, y’know?”

 

[Namohysip]

"Your ex, huh?" Soda asked, tilting his head. "Well, not that I want to offend, but I'm kinda surprised you two wound up being the same species. The way you guys were acting, I would've though you guys were feuding siblings or something. But hey, feuding siblings, exes, depending on where you're from, maybe the line's blurred."

 

[TheGOAT]

“Sibl—?” Astrid blinked, then shrugged again. Harder this time. “Aha, um, no. Where I was born, Ninetales and Vulpix roamed the icecaps in packs. We had big families, but there were plenty of those that traveled together, settled together, fought together… and so on. I met a lot of my kind that way. And, I guess it got boring sometimes. So. Y’know.”

 

[Namohysip]

"Riiiight, so you decided to hit it off with someone and it didn't work out. Oh well. That's life." He nodded. "Alright, fine. I guess manifesting your ex is about as healthy as the rest of your team's issues so I can't fault you for that."

He turned around. "Alright. Guess it's my turn, huh? Ohh, what to share, what to share..."

 

[TheGOAT]

Huuuuuaaaahhhhhh I’m glad that’s over. She didn’t show it though.

“How did you first meet Maple? And how did you get Radiance? I bet it was different from how I got it, huh?”

Astrid looked him up and down, searching for any discrepancies in the illusion. There were none. Was he actually standing there this time?

 

[Namohysip]

"Ah, ah, ah," Soda waggled a claw at her. "You answered one question, so I only have to answer one of those." He grinned with a glint of jeering confidence in his eyes. He was enjoying this...

 

[TheGOAT]

Normally, Astrid would’ve cut her losses right here. It was the best decision available. Take the money and run. Her reward was right there. Was that what Soda would do?

Or would he keep going? Astrid already knew, and grinned, a surge of confidence swelling up in her chest. “You will answer both, right after you ask me another.”