Treasure Town ~ Woodland Outskirts

[Shiny Phantump]

Most people would’ve gone to the dojo to spar, but it was already in use, and Celeste figured fighting inside of a building seemed rather uncivilized anyways. Instead, he headed to the woodlands. He hadn’t actually checked to see if anyone had wanted to come with him, but he’d make it work either way.

He really, really hoped this radiance thing could give him back his disaster sense. Honestly, if it could do that, he didn’t really care wether it was really from Arceus or not. Either way, Diyem worried about everything, even their allies, so there was probably no basis behind his worries.

 

[TheGOAT]

“Dojo’s busy, huh?”

From the bushes, Astrid emerged. Her footsteps were threatening, malevolent, precise, like a great beast stalking its prey. She bared her fangs—not that she really had any—to mask the abundance of playfulness that lie underneath.

“Finally, we return to nature—our environment, our birthplace.” Pop, crackle, snap. A quick stretch of her joints, a hop in place to get her blood flowing, and she was ready. “…In this moment, our battle shall raze the history books, untold spoils going only to the victor!”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste shut his eyes and focused on his horn.

“Before we start... try to hit me. I want to see if my sense is back.”

His horn shimmered with light for a moment, but he couldn’t see it.

 

[TheGOAT]

Ah. Well. Okay. Theatrics could wait. They did have plenty of experimenting to do, after all.

Frost collected around Astrid’s tail, and soon her mouth as well, coalescing around a rapidly growing mass of energy. Just as she felt the Weather Ball’s chill glance the tip of her nose, it was gone, zooming inches above the grass straight at where Celeste stood.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

The weather ball hit Celeste. He was overwhelmed with disappointment.

But... when he opened his eyes, everything looked different. It seemed like the trees had streams of light hanging from them.

A few moment later, an autumn breeze dislodged them, and the leaves followed the paths marked by the light perfectly. The streams followed ahead of the leaves, marking their future paths.

A light light came from Astrid, and a moment later she shifters her weight, moving to occupy the space the light had predicted.

He shut his glowing eyes and focused again. His horn shimmered once more, and when he reopened his eyes, they were glowing brighter. The trails of light were longer. He was seeing further into the future.

“Hold on. Try that again.”

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid flattened her ears and flinched, expecting a shield or a dodge of some kind. Tentatively—not wanting to hurt the Absol—she generated another and fired it at a slower speed, still aiming for the same spot.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

As Astrid began her attack, Celeste saw a beam of light extend from her to the spot he was standing. After waiting long enough to ensure she’d fully committed to the attack, he stepped to the side. The Weather Ball flew through the space he had been standing, but missed.

He grinned and winked a glowing eye at her. “Yes, perfect. This is what I’m supposed to be capable of. Better, even. You’ll have to try harder than that if you want to hit me. Heh.”

See this, Diyem? Take notes. This is how an Absol is supposed to be.

 

[Namohysip]

...Hm. Don't overuse it. Or do. Perhaps I can use the entertainment.

 

[TheGOAT]

“Yeah! There you go!” Astrid cheered, hopping in place. “Wow, h-how did you––”

Thump. Thump. Her heart beat in her ears. Her breath became heavy. Her mind grew wings all of the sudden, and a distant but rapidly approaching feeling was calling to her. Out of curiosity, she immediately reached towards it.

She wasn’t cold anymore—but it wasn’t the uncomfortable, suffocating cold she felt when she’d climb high peaks that was missing. It was the cold that permeated her entire being every second of every day. It was gone, replaced by the notion that she could travel to other galaxies.

“I…” At some point, she’d raised a paw, and her eyes had grown wide, but it only caught up with her now that it was glowing. “Woa––whaat…?”

A single pulse flashed forward, aimed once again straight at Celeste, this time much faster than the Weather Ball had been. The recoil sent her to the foliage below, struggling to catch her breath.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

In some part of Celeste’s brain, Diyem’s warning meant... something. Whatever. He had more important things to worry about,

In the moments before the attack, Celeste tried to move out of the way, but the light followed. He was struck, and felt frost creeping over him, making it harder to move. If he wanted to keep dodging with this frost slowing him down, he’d have to be able to see further. He focused again, and when he reopened his eyes, he was glowing, the light coming from his body refracting through the ice coating his fur. If the fact that it was happening didn’t terrify him, he would’ve found the effect beautiful.

“Wait, what’s happeni-”

And now his voice was all wrong, too. It sounded like it was coming from something hollow... but it was coming from him? His heart was beating like a drum. He wanted all of this to be over. Now.

“Wait. Stop. Stop. What’s happening? What’s wrong with me? What’s happening?”

 

[TheGOAT]

She got up.

Through blurred vision, she reviewed what she’d just done. It seemed Celeste had dodged that attack too, but only partway. If she landed another, even as a glancing blow…

Would that be smart? What even was that attack? Why did––?

Something silenced her. Those inhibitions didn’t matter right now. Not after such an unspeakably amazing feeling. That… it…

The biggest grin she’d ever worn crossed Astrid’s face as she began bobbing back and forth, flexing her haunches like she was juking an opponent right in front of her that wasn’t there.

“This’ll be fun!” Her eyes flashed, and she’d copied Super Luck. But, it seemed like she would start on the defensive, preparing to try and evade any attack thrown her way. “Alright! Your move, big guy!”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“Wait. No. S-Stop this. What are you doing? What did you do to me?”

He curled up into a ball. He tried not to cry, for even in his uninhibited state, he did want to retain some dignity.

Diyem? Help. Make her stop. Make her stop what she’s doing to me.

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid’s spirit crashed back down to the earth, becoming one with the soil, bursting beneath the roots and earthquakes that rocked her beating heart. All of it, in only a moment, stole the breath from her lungs.

“…What…?” She took a step forward, focusing, shaking her head like she was trapped in a dream. “I’m not…” Ears flattened once more, most of her radiance had been shelved away, reduced to an afterthought. “I-I won’t hurt you, Celeste. I––”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste was shaking. “What do we do? Do you know what’s happening to me? I’m scared. This is bad. There’s something bad happening. Something’s wrong with me. I feel... all wrong.”

 

[Namohysip]

Calm down. I mean this literally, Diyem said quickly. His words were swift but more like a command. Close your eyes and focus not on the light, but on darkness. Stillness. Silence. Control your breathing and forget about the light. Cast it aside. Diyem spoke hypnotically, but if Celeste followed the commands, it would indeed stop--and the strange, overwhelming glow would subside.

 

[TheGOAT]

“I-it’s the radiance…”

She’d meant for her words to carry more weight than they did. But she, too, didn’t understand how it worked, or why it made her feel like she was walking on air. She had almost attacked again. She had only barely noticed Celeste’s panic in time.

“Just…” Astrid stepped closer. The distance between them was halved, then halved again, and again, until the Vulpix had to take an alternate angle to avoid being within range of that massive scythe on his head. Lip quivering, she reached out a paw. “…Just focus. Just relax and focus.”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

He shut his eyes tight. “Focusing. I’m focusing. Well, I’m trying to.”

Eventually, the glow faded from his eyes. “I still feel kind of funny, but I suppose this is an improvement.”

Celeste suddenly became very aware of how he was curled up on the floor. He had done that? He got up, still shaking a little, and brushed himself off.

“I... I don’t think I’m up for any more testing. That’s enough excitement for today. S-Sorry about... all that.”

 

[TheGOAT]

Thump. Thump. Thump. Her heart wasn’t beating in her ears anymore, but it was still hammering away. God, this was stressful.

She reached up and placed a paw on the back of Celeste’s neck, giving it a light squeeze. Her comparatively small size did her few favors, but in spite of the awkward motion, she did her best.

“Hey. We’re still getting used to it.” Indeed, as she, too, was fearful. Her legs shook ever-so-slightly from the waning adrenaline rush. “We just need practice. A-and then it shouldn’t be an issue. It’ll be fine.”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“T-Thank you. I... I think I’ll stick to using this in emergencies, though... I don’t want any more accidents.”

It was a little odd getting reassurance from someone half his size, but it was nice enough anyways. Either way, plenty of Vulpix never evolve at all, so that made it less weird than all the adults running around in children’s bodies.

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid nodded. “Let’s head back to town and get some refreshments…”

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