Nihil River

[windskull]

Nip's shadow gave him a quick nudge, then stood at attention, watching the two figures as they slowly made their way towards them. Nip twitched his ear in acknowledgement, then stood up. He considered leaving - he was rather enjoying the solitude and he was in no hurry to repeat another incident like with Vix - but Cabot would likely notice that. And the last thing he wanted to do was have to explain that later.

So with a sigh, he climbed back to his feet and raised a paw in greeting. He had caught the tail end of the conversation. "Are we going to have to drink this stuff to keep hydrated? Do we even have to drink here? I hope not..."

 

[Virgil134]

"Oh, hey there, Nip!" Cabot greeted, giving the Weavile a cheery wave. "And.. I'm not sure. I know I haven't felt thirsty yet since we've gotten here..."

"We technically don't have a body, so it would make sense if we don't need to eat or drink," Dark Cabot said, before crossing his arms. "Still, drinking it should be possible if we try boiling the water."

 

[windskull]

"It would certainly be prefered," Nip said. He turned and kicked a stray pebble into the water, satisfied with the sploosh sound it made. "Mmm... I should probably-"

"It won't do you any good to leave," Nip's shadow interjected. "We're all trapped here. Sooner or later the four of us are going to have to talk things out." It smiled wryly, glancing at the two cranidos. "Even if all the two of us are good at is running away from our problems."

"You were pretty keen to run away from Vix," Nip grumbled, turning his head with narrowed eyes.

The shadow narrowed its eyes in turn, staring at Nip. "And you wouldn't let me. So now I'm not letting you run away. And this time I will prove my point. Besides. That was different."

Nip's ear feathers drooped. A question lingered in his mind, but for the sake of not arguing in front of Cabot, he held his tongue. But why do we have to confront this issue now?

 

[Virgil134]

Dark Cabot raised a brow as Cabot looked between Nip and his shadow both in confusion and concern.

"Talk... what out?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"I think Nip is finally ready to admit that everything isn't as fine between us as he's been claiming for the past two months."

 

[windskull]

Nip shot his shadow a look, but it had turned to stare at the river, clearly indicating that this was Nip's issue to deal with. Funny how it could get him Into trouble but refused to take responsibility. He decided now was not the time to work out what that meant about him.

"I.... It's been a long day," Nip began slowly. "Maybe I should..."

"You won't be able to get out of this that easily," his shadow said without looking up. "This has been festering for a while, hasn't it?"

Nip didn't answer.

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot shifted uncomfortably. "I mean, if you don't want to talk about things then-"

"Enough. Nip's shadow is right," Dark Cabot said. "This has been festering for a while, so let's just get this over this. I for one wouldn't mind getting to a point where my own roommate doesn't occasionally look at me like some cornered feral."

 

[windskull]

Nip flinched as if he had been stung. His feathers dropping back. "I'm..."

"You might as well face it," his shadow said, its eyes narrowing as it glared into the murky red water. "He's right. He might as well call you feral, because that's the way you've been acting. That's the way you've been living half the time you've been here, and for some time before you came here. And that's probably what we would have been if you hadn't been adopted into the tribe. You might as wellf ace what we are."

"Fine!" Nip snapped, whirling on his shadow. "But do you really have to word it like that?"

His shadow shrank back, then forced itself to stand taller, looking Nip in the eye. "Am I wrong, though?"

Nip looked like he wanted to fight for just a few seconds longer. Then he drooped, turning away from his shadow and instead faced Cabot. "...might as well get all this over with..." he mumbled. "It... hurt. When you called me by that word. And it particularly hurt because it might as well be true."

 

[Virgil134]

Dark Cabot looked at Nip incredulously. "Wait, that's what you're still upset about? Not the fact that I tried to kill you and broke a bunch of your bones? Since that seems a lot worse to me than calling you something you used to be."

"Didn't Nip's Reviver Seed heal most of the injuries we caused though?" Cabot asked. "I don't think Nip had to go to the infirmary after that fight..."

"So? I wouldn't forgive someone for breaking my bones just because Cibus' Reviver Seeds work like something from a bad fantasy novel."

 

[windskull]

Nip shifted his weight back and forth, considering his words. "I mean.... Maybe I'd be more upset if that damage was more... permanent. But pokemon get hurt in fights. Sometimes your opponent catches you off guard and you get seriously hurt. Or worse, you..." He paused, tilting his head up to look at their surroundings. "...you end up dead."

He paused to give his words some weight before continuing. "I guess.... I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a contributing factor to how I feel, but only because it came with your words. See... feral is a word the pokemon in my tribe use as an insulting term for outsiders. I just... It...

He stumbled backwards, falling into the snow. Pain exploded in his chest. It hurt so bad. Something had to be broken.

A paw jabbed into his chest, sending a shooting flare of pain through him. The mawile's eyes glared down at him, seething with rage and hatred. The top of her head still shimmered with the light of an iron head attack. "Get this through that thick skull of yours. You. Are. Nothing. You don't belong here. And I don't care what the elders say, I refuse to be mates with a weak, pathetic feral like you."

"...It dredged up bad memories."

 

[Virgil134]

Both Cabots stared at Nip in surprise, before exchanging looks with each other and turning back to Nip.

"I... didn't know about that," Cabot said, rubbing his right arm uncomfortably. "I knew calling you that might upset you, but I didn't realize what that word meant in your world, or that you had a bad experience associated with it..."

"The reason I called you a feral is because according to our world's standards you would have been one," Dark Cabot added. "Not just you, but everyone from your tribe. I mean, you lot live out in the wilderness and hunt other Pokémon for food, so of course I'm gonna call you that. You're not exactly the peak of civilization."

 

[windskull]

Dark Cabot's words were likely meant to reassure Nip, but they hadn't. He uncomfortably averted his gaze, thinking for a moment. "You couldn't have known. I hadn't really talked about it."

"It's obviously a sore subject," Nip's shadow added before turning to the weavile. "But you can't control how others feel about you, for better or for worse. Usually for worse."

Nip's tailfeathers sank lower. "If I hadn't been brought to my tribe as an egg, I would have been born an outsider," Nip began quietly. "But because I was brought to the tribe, not born to it, I was still considered an outsider. Not everyone liked that." He paused, considering what to say next. "Tempest was also an outsider, though he joined the tribe after hatching.Perhaps that's why he's always been the one pokemon on my side. The one pokemon I could depend on."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot visibly hesitated as he thought about what to say in response, before lowering his head in shame.

"I know I already apologized for everything when we first became roommates, but... I'm sorry for calling you a feral," the Cranidos said. "I remember at Shaymin Village I wanted to hurt everyone any way I could, whether that was through words or attacks. You just happened to be the one closest to me, and since you used to live in a way that's considered feral in my world..."

He looked back up at Nip. "Though it sounds like Tempest was a pretty great Pokémon even in your world."

 

[windskull]

Nip closed his eyes. "... Thank you." And this time. He really meant it. Even if he wasn't in his best state of mind right now, latching on to that apology, and better understanding why everything happened the way it did, helped him tread the churning, turmoiled ocean of his feelings.

Speaking of which, Cabot's segue into Tempest provided the perfect out to lach onto. He focused all his thoughts on Tempest, snatching at them like a lifeline. "Yes. Tempest has... Always been good to me. If perhaps a bit overprotective at times."

"Even when he probably shouldn't be," Nip's shadow added

 

[Virgil134]

"If everyone treated you guys as outsiders it makes sense you stuck close to each other," Cabot nodded, giving a brief look at his dark counterpart. "In our world former ferals usually aren't seen as outsiders. I mean, yeah, their behavior is strange at first due to their lifestyle being so different compared to ours, and a lot of 'mons don't always have the patience for that, but even those frustrations are just because of how they act right then and there. Once those former ferals get used to things they're just like everyone else. It wouldn't be fair to judge a 'mon because of the way he was born after all."

 

[windskull]

Nip laughed weakly running a paw through his crest feathers. "Your world sounds so much nicer than mine, if I'm being honest. Cibus has been nicer as well." He lowered his head, looking into the murky red water as if searching for something. "A part of me wishes I didn't have to go when all this is over."

 

[Virgil134]

"Yeah, I can't really blame you there," Cabot replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wish I could offer you the chance to go to my world, but unfortunately that just isn't possible."

"Doesn't really help that we'll forget all of this once we go back home either," Dark Cabot added.

 

[windskull]

"That's maybe the worst part of it," Nip mumbled, his voice tinged by a surprising amount of bitterness. "Forgetting those that only judge us by our merits, not our past or our failures. I can only imagine how going back is going to be for some of our team members." He paused, deciding he didn't want to get into the meaning of his words, and instead changed directions with his explanation.

"Take Cynthian, for example, who's slowly gained confidence over our time here. Imagine having to go back, having to forget all of that."

 

[Virgil134]

"Yeah, that... must be pretty rough," Cabot murmured. "I guess some of us really have changed these past few months, and it's like they're being set back upon returning home."

He let out a sigh before offering a small smile. "At least we'll still be able to remember whenever we go back to Veritas, right?"

"That's assuming we'll still be able to visit this place after all of this is done," Dark Cabot countered.

 

[windskull]

Nip closed his eyes. "I would think we'd be able to... provided we haven't made Diyem so angry that he won't let us." He paused. "If we're able to restore him at all, that Is. We, should be able to, but..."

Nip's shadow turned to look at the weavile. "But even if we are able to go back, you're worried you won't want to, aren't you?"

Nip had no response to that. He was quiet for a moment. Then he looked to Cabot. "Do you think we should head back to the village? I don't know that we need to sleep here, but I feel like I would enjoy a short rest."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot tilted his head for a moment and wondered why Nip wouldn't want to return to Veritas. If he was worried about forgetting everything that happened in Cibus then wouldn't it be all the more reason to visit it occasionally? Especially if it meant having a chance to reunite with the rest of the team. He opened his mouth to say something, only for Dark Cabot to speak up before him.

"You can go back in the village if you'd like. I just got here and I'd actually like to see a bit more of the place."

Cabot looked at his counterpart and let out a small sigh. Did he really have to say things so bluntly towards Nip? The Cranidos shook his head and took a step forward towards the Weavile.

"Well, I don't know if we need to sleep, but I've done it a few times and it is really nice," Cabot answered. "Maybe try to get some? I'd go back with you, but I would like to look around a bit since I haven't explored much of the area around the river. At least the village is pretty close from here, so it should be a short walk back."