Treasure Town ~ Marowak Dojo

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa's jaws lit up in an instant. This was an unexpected result, but it was still an oncoming melee. She knew what to do about those.

She went in with a focus she'd not had since before the Radiance had touched her a week ago. Controlled, confident, drawing on reserves of energy she didn't know she had. She would parry and evade the claws. Wait for the opportunity. Then take it. Bite down. Win.

'Bitch'. That's what Starr had said. Screamed, in fact. There was a new rage there.

The opportunity wasn't coming. Starr was too fast. What was happening?

 

[Chibi Pika]

She was a meteor, all blazing speed and fury, and she knew that this was stupid, and she knew that this was pointless, and she knew nothing would change what had happened (nothing could erase--) but in this moment, she just could not, would not, allow herself to care.

So Starr rushed straight for Brisa and crashed into her in a whirlwind of light and fire and claws, reaching, slashing, begging to tear the enemy apart because wasn't that the only thing she was ever good at, causing pain? The others had lost themselves, but she was all there, it was all her. She couldn't hide behind things like 'control' or 'intent', it was her, it always had been.

"Bet it feels real good having a bit of control over someone, doesn't it? Why the hell else would you have a Radiance like that?!" Starr snarled even as she felt blinding pain tear through her chest from her own light attacking her body.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

She was a storm, flash and thunder amidst rolling darkness, and she made no effort to protect herself. There was no reason to. She took each slash and paid them back with tearing bites. She would fully feel the pain later. Later, but not now.

Lightning danced at her mouth. "Come on!" she cried between attacks. "Keep hurting me! Show me what you are! Show me!"

Why did her Radiance restrain people? Because she was a ranger. Because she needed to. Because some people ought to be restrained.

Don't leave me.

You're a violent animal.

More Radiant bars sizzled into place, around Starr, yes, but around Brisa too. They were locked together in inescapable melee, claws and teeth meeting fur and flesh, over and over. The energy sizzled on all sides, bright enough to blind.

"You think you understand me?" she shouted, as they tore each other open. "You think I want to control people? You don't know the first thing about what's inside my head!"

One eye closed as blood ran into it. From her wounds or Starr's, she didn't know. Didn't care. She was still going to lose. But she could still make it hurt Starr to win.

"But I know what's inside yours," she hissed. "Cruelty. Aggression. Hatred."

She was going to lose.

"Tell me I'm wrong!"

You had this coming.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Blinding daggers of pain dug into Starr from all over. From Brisa? From her own Radiance? What did it matter. The only thing thing that mattered was ending this now and then never thinking about it again.

"I didn't want any of this!" Starr hissed with a sharp exhale as something tore her shoulder open. "You did! You wanted this!" Why did she even bother. She knew it was just gonna get thrown back in her face.

But Brisa was waning. She'd been tired at the start, that much was obvious. And Starr was all speed, all power, for as much as the light took from her, it had paid her back in that much more. She was all fire and adrenaline, light and pain, because why would being a Pokemon change what she was good at.

Until finally the two hit the ground, and as Starr pulled herself up and drew back for another strike, she realized that Brisa was down. The Shinx lay there, beaten, bloody, and breathing heavily. And Starr stood rigid, her body shaking with the effort of holding still with every inch of her still screaming.

Starr didn't know what she looked like, but she could guess. As the heat of battle slowly drained away, a smothering, sickening wave of frustration was left in its place.

I didn't WANT this.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa's body was ragged, beaten, drained of all energy. She felt like a single smear of pain across the ground. Still, she clung to consciousness.

She looked up at Starr, one eyes still screwed shut, and her mouth pulled open into a miserable red grin.

"I didn't come here to fight you... but I get it now. I see... I was right about you."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr stared at Brisa, speechless. All the things she could have said died on her tongue. She wanted to be anywhere else but here. She wanted to be home. She didn't have to deal with this there, not with people to hold her back, to believe in her, even if...

'I was right about you.'

"Join the club," Starr muttered, her voice hollow and empty.

She turned and limped out of the dojo, fighting to keep her breathing steady until she was out of sight.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

What the fuck was she doing. How had her intention to make an apology turned into this?

Brisa put her forehead to the ground and gave in to weak, agonising sobs. She'd never been in this much pain. How had this seemed worth it only seconds before?

"It was a mistake to come here," she said, quietly, to herself alone.

You will always be a violent animal.

But at least she wasn't the only one.

<><><><><><><><><>​

 

[Disco]

<><><><><>

It was a long, long day back in Treasure Town for Mellow. She scampered back and forth through the town, carrying huge jars filled to the brim with different tea blends; each had a list of what was contained inside. Most simply contained Oran and Lum berry as the main ingredients with Bitter Herbs and a few Leppa berries added to make a tea that would restore and invigorate any who drank it, but there were more specialized or stronger blends for ailments and for cases that required more than just a lighter one. As she carried the last jar into the Dojo, she smiled.

The other Pokémon in the team had gone to the Silver Trench to save the Legend known as Lugia. She had opted to stay behind and instead prepare for their return. Those jars behind her were the result of careful drying and storing for days, and testing and adjusting the ratios... Mellow gazed at them. She may have been worried whether anyone would even want what she had to offer, at first. Now, she was just worried there wouldn't be enough.

(She worried that there would be.)

Mellow shook for a moment, then rubbed at her head and sighed. They had backup. Meringue had gone with them. There was no way that Lugia wouldn't be rescued. If they fought together...

The Charmander took in a deep breath, then walked away to let Marowak know she was done with her delivery before going back to her stand in silence.

<><><><><>​

 

[Ambyssin]

It had been a frustrating time and a number of failures and wasted cheri berries — not that Bahamut could taste them anyway — but he finally reached a point where he had a sufficient amout of working cheri incense.

Bahamut had pooled it all into an appropriate container. He hoped the kecleon hadn't lied to him and sold him a dud.

 

[RJR Basimilus]

Seyka meandered in, stopping to watch the proceeding curiously.

"Hey-hey," the Skarmory said lightly. "Are you making soup?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Soup? Hardly. I cannot eat or drink." Bahamut curled his tail around the incense container. "This is a cheri incense. I've spent over a week trying to craft it."

 

[RJR Basimilus]

"So you can't eat or drink, but you can smell?" Seyka thought about it for a moment. "Well that's like half the experience, so that makes sense."

"If you spent a week making it..." the Skarmory trailed off. "Are you making offerings to a- er- god or something of the sort?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"I cannot smell, either. I tested the incense on willing townsfolk." Bahamut crossed his upper wings. "It's not an offering. It's a muscle relaxant. For healing purposes."

 

[RJR Basimilus]

"I'm sure at least some god would appreciate muscle relaxant anyway," Seyka mused. "But anyway, that sounds like good money! I mean, it doesn't seem like you would want to sell it, but stress relief is a big market- where I come from."

The Skarmory tilted his head. "Not that it really matters to me, but do you trust your smell-testers enough to call it finished? Smell can be kind of a subjective matter. Oh, oh, did you have a nose test? Like, I can't smell very well cause I think I've been near too many fires, but some pokemon smell great." Seyka paused. "By that, I mean they have a great sense of smell."

"That Smeargle that's always helping us out for example... I think their name was Mappy. I bet they have a good sense of smell."

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian happened to be passing by the dojo when a sweet fragrance lured him in. He followed the scent into the dojo and found a pair of individuals chatting in the dojo.

"Oh hello there, Neckyrozma and Seyka. What are you two doing here?" Cynthian sniffed at the air again and the scent only grew stronger the closer he walked towards the two.

"Smells good in here. Are you cooking something?"

 

[RJR Basimilus]

"Ah, Cinnamon!" Seyka called, turning to face the Roselia. "Don't come in here, it's a trap by this guy to steal your sense of smell for himself."

The Skarmory was silent for a moment. "I think?"

 

[Ambyssin]

What kind of brew was this skarmory drinking? He sounded as daft as some of the beggars Bahamut had the misfortune of encountering when they bumbled into Etherium's distortion. "This is cheri incense." Bahamut kept his tail wrapped around the container. "It's a muscle relaxant I've spent the last week working on. I was going to see if any teammates were interested in trying it." He glanced at Seyka. "However, I am unsure it can be of any help to one whose body is made entirely of metal."

Did skarmory even have muscles? It wasn't like he was an anatomist. And he shuddered to think about scientists back home dissecting skarmory... or other steel-types, for that matter.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Ah, Cinnamon!" Seyka called, turning to face the Roselia. "Don't come in here, it's a trap by this guy to steal your sense of smell for himself."

The Skarmory was silent for a moment. "I think?"

"I beg your pardon?" Cynthian asked, tilting his head with the most confused smile he could muster.

"This is cheri incense." Bahamut kept his tail wrapped around the container. "It's a muscle relaxant I've spent the last week working on. I was going to see if any teammates were interested in trying it." He glanced at Seyka. "However, I am unsure it can be of any help to one whose body is made entirely of metal."

"Oh, so that's what it is!" Cynthian noticed the small incense device in front of Neckyrozma and hummed with intrigue.

He took a seat next to Seyka and huffed a relaxed breath. "You know, my mother used to have something like that back home. They come in all sorts of varieties, but I preferred her Aromatherapy technique better than these concocted ones."

 

[RJR Basimilus]

"Don't worry about it," Seyka said to Cynthian, making a face.

"Anyway, it's no problem if it doesn't work for me. Stress is a way of life, you know? I personally like the rush, at least, that's what I get out of it."

The Skarmory eyed the mixture. "Metal doesn't make me too worse off anyway right? I got a leg that kicks." Seyka demonstrated precisely that. "And I got a neck that swings. What more could I want?" he continued, his neck lolling from side to side.


"I mean, I could go for some of the natural stuff," Seyka said, looking back at Cynthian. "If you take after your parents, we can compare them right? Natural versus concocted, and the loser has to- I don't know- just be an idiot or something."

"But I'm sure they're both good in their own ways!" Seyka immediately added.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"I'm really sorry to disappoint, but I didn't inherit the move even though both my parents used it, but I should be able to learn it naturally someday... whenever that is." Cynthian frowned and bristled his flowers for a few seconds, then he relaxed them.

"I am however able to use Sweet scent, but it's not really the same. That one puts others in more of a drunken and careless state of being. That's how most wild roselia avoid predators, aside from Poison sting."