Estelle + Xiu: Unexpected Adventure!

[brandnewshoes]

Who: Estelle, Xiu
When: May 16, 2016! That's Saturday. Forward-dating!
Where: Tropical Island
Warnings: Adventure!

[Estelle told Xiu that if she ever wanted to go some place dangerous, she would tag along! She knows, on some level, that she's now a tough and more experienced Enlightened than many. She likes that part of it; helping and protecting people close to her is great. It's like going into ruins and seeing the world.]

[She hasn't been to the tropical island before. It's nice to see it, and as she walks down the beach, she takes a look around, before stretching her arms. Then she looks over her shoulder, back at Xiu.]

It's nice and warm here! Want to look around the beach or the jungle area?

[Reminds her of home, at least in that way. It's completely different in others. She flashes Xiu a grin; it's actually nice having her along for reasons besides finding exploring fun. After the incident with the gods, she'd been out of sorts, but Xiu -- even if she didn't know it, even if she didn't intend to -- helped her get a sense of peace again. Estelle owes her for that.]

Comments

[echoingmelody]

[Something definitely feels strange, and Xiu's hair looks a bit frazzled.]

Yeah...like that feeling you get before a big storm.

[bnw_void_npcs]

[Staring down, baleful eyes glowing red and a literal cloud whipping around upon its back, is an enormous Pokemon. It is standing on a small hill nearby, watching the two with intent interest.]

[brandnewshoes]

[That's--that's huge. Estelle looks up and stares at the Pokemon, pointing towards it. She takes a couple steps back, at first, before she realizes that it's just watching.]

That's--

[She shakes her head. A Pokemon of a size and scale she's never seen before. Another god? Or one she hasn't heard of before? Then, she calls out:] Can you understand us?

[echoingmelody]

[That...really is big. Xiu stares at the thunder Pokémon in awe. Not only does it look strong, but she can tell that feeling is coming from it. It's like nothing she's felt before. Or at least that she can remember.]

Wow... [The musician is speechless, but she's always been better at communicating through music, which she begins doing, focusing on playing her instruments to a calm, peaceful melody.]

[bnw_void_npcs]

[The creature fixes Estelle with a penetrating stare and nods once]

[brandnewshoes]

[Estelle stares upward. Normally, Xiu's music does a good job of calming her down, but today... she's at a loss. There's a hundred things, a thousand things that she wants to ask the gods. About the past. About the present. About the future.]

[If he is a god; if he saw that thing with the Wailmer and if he's mad. She opens her mouth, but none of that comes out. Instead...]

I-I'm Estelle Bright. This is my friend, Xiu. Nice to meet you.

[echoingmelody]

[None of that comes to mind for Xiu. Not a single note is misplayed as she waves at the creature with a big smile.]

Hi there!~

[bnw_void_npcs]

[A voice echoes in Xiu and Estelle's minds]

Greetings, humans. Well met.

[brandnewshoes]

[Estelle stares at Raikou for a moment longer, before she steps forward, and clears her throat.]

You're a god, right? A--one of the ones from a long time ago?

[echoingmelody]

...huh?

[Xiu glances over at Estelle for a moment looking confused. A...god?]

Really? [She looks back at Raikou.] Um...it's nice to meet you too!

[bnw_void_npcs]

If that is the term you wish to bequeath me, I will not deny it. I have walked this world when humans ruled it, and I helped bring that era to an end with my own teeth and claws.

[brandnewshoes]

[Estelle glances at Xiu, then she nods. It's a god; she was sure of it, and Raikou confirms it. She swallows, hard, and then she looks back at Raikou. There's a moment hesitation, but... she sees why.]

Why... did you, um, end that era? [She hesitates for a second, then:] I'm not angry about it, but we've only got legends to explain it.

[echoingmelody]

[She's heard more about them in her short time at Union, but other than in conversations with the locals, she's clueless about the gods and most of the stories of the past.

So she just...nods. Hearing more from this thing might shed a little more light on this. And Estelle can probably expect a bunch of questions later.]

[bnw_void_npcs]

Mankind arrogantly sought to enslave us. We shared our opinion of that idea with them.

[brandnewshoes]

Th... that's a good reason, yeah.

[She swallows.]

How do you think we're doing, this time around? Some of us are worried.

[echoingmelody]

...yeah.

[Xiu has to kind of agree with that, sort of.]

You're not gonna do it again, are you?

[bnw_void_npcs]

We have received interesting reports. We are investigating before we'll make a decision.

[brandnewshoes]

[She hesitates. That could go either way. But in the end... she smiles, then nods.]

Not all of us are perfect. But some of us--uh, okay, me, but others too--wanna do the right thing for everyone. We don't wanna end up where we were before. But...

[She hesitates a little more, considering her words carefully because it's a god, then nods.]

We don't wanna do the terrible things we did before, either. If you need to talk us, we'll listen.

[Then she glances sideways at Xiu. She doesn't ask aloud, but it's written all over her face: 'How'd I do?']

[echoingmelody]

I just wanna spread my love of music to everyone.

[It's her own little way of spreading peace, and doing what she loves to do.]

Mm. We'll totally listen! [Xiu glances back at Estelle, but it's more of an 'I dunno' look. She knew pretty much nothing about the gods before now, so she has no idea.]

[bnw_void_npcs]

I suppose that has yet to be seen. But know this, humans, I see promise when before there was none. For that, you should be proud.

Thunder crackles as the air is filled with electricity, and the mighty hound bounds away on massive paws, vanishing in a storm cloud.

[brandnewshoes]

[Promise, when there was none before. Estelle stares for a moment -- and then she turns to look at Xiu. Her expression is drawn; a little thoughtful, too.]

That... that was pretty heavy, huh? But it sounds like he doesn't wanna kill us...

[echoingmelody]

It seems that way.

[If he did want to harm them, he probably would've, right? Xiu's just gonna take this as a really good sign.]

Can you tell me the whole story about them?

[brandnewshoes]

Yeah, of course!

[She sits down on a rock; a seat after all of that seems wise. They can keep going after the story, maybe. Estelle glances after Raikou, then she looks at Xiu.]

So... like a long time ago, humans were a lot more advanced. They had some really powerful technology. Kinda like Gigas's. You've seen that?

[echoingmelody]

[Story time! Xiu sits down too. Well, more or less. She sort of floats a couple inches off the ground. She even stops her music for the time being so she can focus on listening to Estelle.]

I heard someone mention something about Gigas back when I was in Caldera, but I don't know much more than that they're another city.

[brandnewshoes]

[She frowns. She doesn't like Gigas; her mother died because of them, she suspects. Her eyes look down.]

They use machinery, supposedly like the past... and Pokeballs. They're devices that trap Pokemon and force them to serve people. It's not like what Earthkin and Enlightened do.

[She frowns.]

They did this in the past, too. Enslaved Pokemon. It was... awful.