Treasure Town ~ Woodland Outskirts

[TheGOAT]

“Sounds like a plan.”

No use in waiting any longer; the sun was already descending towards the horizon.

In the other direction: nothing but open land, the river, and the occasional tree or patch of tall grass. Astrid had assumed this area had been opened up for a reason, perhaps in the past, but could not find anything to confirm as much. It was just nature out here, and it had delivered them a perfect line-drive to sprint down.

She got in position. “One.”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

“Two... Three!”

Brisa paced herself, knowing that Astrid was full of surprises and that she’d be wise to save some energy. Still, her new body—her old body, or near enough—had so much of her former power that keeping pace with Astrid felt easy, effortless.

And fun.

Brisa put her head back and roared, now that she could, letting out a feeling of joy she’d been missing for a long, long time. Thank you, Astrid. Thank you for this.

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid took off, bounding forward, river flowing along in her periphery (to her satisfaction, she realized they were outrunning the waves).

Brisa fell in stride next to her, then ahead of her a bit, only for Astrid to close the gap again. Then repeat. The wind, the sun, the water—it felt incredible. For the moment, it was like Cibus was a vacation. Liberation from the realm she’d come from, which grew blurrier and blurrier by the day.

She looked ahead at Brisa, whose roar filled the plains. Radiance spiked within her a little more with each bound. Nothing was blurring her vision now.

“Hey Brisaaa!” the Vulpix called between breaths. “You’re gonna have to run faster than that to beat me!”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa couldn’t resist a challenge.

Her fur sparked into a full electrical blaze as she pushed ahead with a Wild Charge. You want me to be faster, Astrid? How’s this!

“Come on, then! Give it all you got, partner!”

 

[TheGOAT]

Something swelled up in Astrid’s chest as Brisa sprinted off, causing her to lose focus and very briefly slow down. She sounds so happy. Something about this is making her feel… alive.

Friendly competition. That means a lot to Brisa, huh? Picking up speed again, Astrid knew she couldn’t let this opportunity pass.

Diverting course, her momentum carried her towards the river, closer and closer until she was sprinting along the very edge. Her leftmost tail skimmed the gravel, crystallizing the moist air and forming pockets of ice in the water. They were quickly swept away and broken apart, far too small to last against the stream.

"First to tap a tree trunk wins"

All’s fair.

Flexing all six tails, Astrid leaped into the water.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa's ears pricked at the sound of something crashing in the river. She looked to her side and–

Huh.

Well there was a sight to see.

Astrid was… Brisa didn't know if there was a word for it. She was riding one of her Radiant Icebergs, surging along faster even than Brisa's current pace.

Fucking spectacular!

She ran faster still. It didn't matter who won. This… this was so, so good.

 

[TheGOAT]

Only when they got right up beside one another did Astrid realize just how close this was. She was cheating a bit, sure, but it had put her in position to try and take the lead. It was Brisa’s stamina versus her own.

Plus her corruption, she quickly discovered. One blast of her power could only freeze so much water; instead, she had to draw it out, letting it flow like the river. With it flowed Radiance through her ethereal veins, flaring up her senses while leaving her extremities feeling numb. Her body felt wrong, like it didn’t fit, but her spirit had reached its climax.

I feel alive too.

I feel wanted too.

I…

She looked to her right side, smiling.

I… am happy to be here.

Why do I feel so warm?

She was glowing.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa was looking sidelong at Astrid, all smiles, when the light came.

No. Don’t you fucking explode on me from a friendly challenge! Don’t ruin this!

But it wasn’t Radiance.

It was something far more marvellous.

“Astrid! Look at you, you’re evolving!”

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid couldn’t see a single coherent thing. Rainbows and flashing lights sprinkled her vision for what felt like an eternity (really, less than twenty seconds had passed) and as she regained control, limbs foreign, body tingling, it was just in time to avoid hitting the water.

Three new limbs were now at her whim: long fluffy tails, all of them shimmering with silverish-gold energy. Astrid—Ninetales Astrid!—would have to get used to their existence later. It was time to win this race.

The first cast of her power froze the entire river end to end, allowing her to rest and skate across while her previous stream of power—the last remnant of her time as a Vulpix—fizzled out.

The second cast of her power brought the waves up, rising and then gliding around her. Beneath her, ice formed on command, smoother and thicker than she’d ever wielded. A grin spread across her face; if she was still a Vulpix, she would’ve fallen in every time.

The third cast was sent behind her in the form of a blizzard, and in seconds, she was moving faster than she ever had in her life.

She was not tired. She was not going to explode. This was… an ascension.

“Brisa! Brisaaa!” she called, marvelling at the depth of her new voice. “Ha! Hahaha! You’re right! I am! Er, I did! I just did! I just evolved! I just evolved!!”

She sped ahead of her. Brisa was never far behind, but Astrid’s river-gliding left her with no tired legs or obstacles to bound over, however flat the plains might seem at a glance. Looking ahead, the trees were less than a minute away.

More Radiance meant less inhibitions, leading Astrid to let out a deafening roar of her own. She’d never done anything like that before! It didn’t feel natural; it felt scandalous, uncharacteristic of her, of what was expected of her. But she didn’t care, or didn’t notice.

I’m alive and I’m here doing good work. I’m doing what I love. I’m with people who care for me and whom I care about. And I’m a Ninetales! Bet Brisa can’t body slam me so effortlessly now, heh.

Brisa probably couldn’t lock her jaws around her throat so easily either, Astrid realized. It had grown noticeably wider. How would Brisa clamp her jaws around someone she wanted to court if their neck was too big, anyway? From a cultural standpoint, Astrid wasn’t ready to admit how fascinating this was. As far as she knew, Brisa could only throat-lock smaller Pokemon she found attractive––

Her paw slipped, her eyes broadened, and now she was underwater.

For a moment she simply floated several feet under, rubbing at her neck. Her eyes were wide open. Her Radiance forgotten.

Wait. In Brisa’s culture…

She…

…what exactly does this mean?

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Astrid, Ninetales Astrid, was… stunning. In this form she had more power, and more beauty, than Brisa could have expected. Forget the race, all she wanted to do was look at–

Astrid fell in the fucking river.

Awe and joy could wait. So could the fucking race. Brisa dove in at once, knowing Astrid would struggle to find her bearings so soon after gaining her new body. Pulling her out wasn’t even hard, given her own strength and the lack of resistance—Astrid was larger than her now, but not by much, and half of that was fur volume besides—but her heart was still hammering when the two of them lay on the riverbank together, sodden but alive.

“Astrid? Astrid, are you okay?”

There was confusion in Astrid’s expression. Fuck, was it the Radiance? Was she in shock? No, no, Astrid was fine. Confusion was giving way to gratitude and… fondness. She was okay, she was safe, she was glad to see Brisa. And Brisa was glad to be here with her.

Her heartbeat didn’t slow.

What if…

What if she put her teeth to Astrid’s throat right now, before the moment changed? Doing that in combat was forward, but doing it now would be…

No. It wasn’t like Astrid knew how roughlander courting was conducted. She wouldn’t understand. Brisa’s mouth stayed closed, albeit in a gentle smile.

 

[TheGOAT]

In a span of seconds, she was yanked back to the surface and rested on the bank. Feeling twice as heavy as before—from the evolution, or perhaps from waterlogged fur?—she rolled onto her stomach and laid down, forepaws cupped together. Briefly, she and her friend met eyes.

“Astrid? Astrid, are you okay?”

“I… yeah, I—”

She fell into a coughing fit, but quickly recovered. “I’m all good. Heh. You’re friggin’ fast, Brisa!”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Yeah. Guess I am. But that trick of yers was astoundin'... at least while it worked! Let's call it a draw?"

Brisa shook herself a little drier, and looked back for a moment to their would-be picnic spot. They still had time for food.

"Ready for a bite yet?" she asked Astrid, grinning.

...ah, she maybe shouldn't have used that wording, huh. Fuck.

 

[TheGOAT]

"Yeah. Guess I am. But that trick of yers was astoundin'... at least while it worked! Let's call it a draw?"

To someone who had just face-planted into the river, a draw was generous. “Deal,” Astrid said, taking a moment to giggle at the state she was in. Soggy, dripping, lounging on a gritty surfaces—yet oddly comfortable.

"Ready for a bite yet?" she asked Astrid, grinning.

Forcing herself off the ground, she let out a grunt when sand stuck to her belly. The fur along her body had grown much denser, much softer. Like an extra blanket, kind of. Still, the thought of cleaning it would give her nightmares…

That was a bridge to be crossed later.

“Sure! I’m starving!” she exclaimed, voice cracking. A paw shot up to her about, eyes widened. “—oop! Hehe. Still gotta get used to this.”

She peered over towards where they’d come from, but by now that had become a long ways away. “I hope our picnic setup is still where we left it.” She licked the tip of a tail (wow, they were longer now too!) and held it up for good measure. “…Can’t feel any wind, so it should be fine.”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Oh, oh good, Astrid hadn't gotten the wrong idea. If she'd– Yeah. Good.

"I'm sure it's right as rain," said Brisa, getting up to walk back. The weather was still idyllic. Still time for a pleasant meal.

She gave Astrid another look up and down. "Congratulations, by the way. You look... You look strong."

How did you tell someone that, even soaked in river water, they looked incredible? Goddamnit.

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid’s eyes gleamed. “You really think so?”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Sure do. I'd even give ya decent odds against me in a rematch." She gave Astrid a wry smirk. "'Course, you'd better take that chance while you can. I don't plan on slacking at the trainin' grounds."

Those gleaming eyes. It meant that much to Astrid, just to be told she looked strong? She shouldn't need Brisa to tell her that. Didn't she know how much she counted for in the team's fights?

"You were already darn strong—y'know the team depends on you, right?" added Brisa. Then, to cut short Astrid's flustered reaction, "Hey, don't give me that look, I ain't wrong. Now c'mon, I'm starvin'."

Brisa set off at a lope, Astrid close behind, feeling... undefeatable.

Watch out, Lucario Shield. Keep your eyes open, Rayquaza. You don't stand a goddamn chance.

 

[Negrek]

<><><>​

It was ages since Nate had visited Treasure Town. Maybe he ought to do it more often--the weather was better for sure, even with summer coming on. The air was cool beneath the trees, and now and again the call of some wild pokémon--some "feral" pokémon, Nate didn't think he'd ever get used to that concept--sounded from deeper in. No obvious signs of Karat or Deoxys. No psychic field or squiggly footprints or nothing.

"Karat probably just wants to be left alone," Rocky said, shifting nervously while he stared into the trees. "I don't want to make him mad again."

"Mostly I'm just worried that he didn't tell us to fuck off when we sent him those texts," Nate said. "Pissiness? Normal. Silence? Not so much."

Rocky made a noncommittal noise of affirmation, but his face was still set in a nervous grimace. Nate thought what he really ought to worry about was less grumpy clone and more getting attacked by some mindless wiggly monstrosity that came of a fusion gone wrong, but whatever. That was definitely a "run away and try again with more backup" situation anyhow. "We all ready to go?" he asked, glancing around for Vix's familiar.

 

[Fusion]

Puddle hardly remembered Treasure Town, aside from a few memories left over from Vix, this place was pretty much new to it. The cries of feral 'mon didn't seem to bother it, but there was a bit of nervous bubbling rising in Puddle. Er, well, more anxious, since it was kinda looking forward to seeing Mewtwo-Deoxys, but was weary it'd try to rip everyone else apart.

Seeing how there wasn't many signs of violence around here, thankfully, that probably meant that Karat and Deoxys were sane. A rare commodity this time around.

The Scraggy familiar gave Rocky a nod and its usual grin. "Hell yeah, at least I am. I just wanna know if Deoxys is up yet or not. If he ain't we got a few back up plans ready to go, just in case." By "plans" it meant "plan" which was going into space. Hopefully Bahamut would still be up for it, since it was his idea in the first place. "He still hasn't replied yet, right? Maybe they're sleepin' or whatever?"

 

[Negrek]

"Yeah, we ain't heard nothing," Nate said. "We sent a couple different messages, so hopefully Karat wouldn't be sleeping that whole time"--definitely something wrong there if he was--"but who knows? We're just seeing what's up."

He started forward, deeper into the forest. "Karat! Hey, Karat!" he yelled. Rocky flinched, glancing around skittishly.

 

[Namohysip]

No response. According to Chip, Karat was definitely here. Perhaps he was a little deeper inside?

Chip had given a miniaturized version of the Mewtwo detector for Nate to bring for checking. Thankfully, it was pointing in the right direction--it had taken a moment to 'refresh,' perhaps because Karat hadn't been using his powers. It was finnicky that way.

Suddenly, as they advanced, they would bump into an invisible barrier that pulsed with violet psychic energy. Seemed like they found the place...