Ninth Dream: When you fall down... [Action]

[rainsrespite]

Home/Streets:

[It's been a few days now, since the conflict ended and Yuuna returned home. She'd kept the dojo closed and taken a brief leave from her Ranger duties to recooperate. Mentally, she wasn't sure that was going to be enough time, but she had responsibilities and duties. It didn't help that she was hesitant to broach anything with Merrill that didn't involve cuddling, but more than once she'd woken up in a cold sweat. Not that she didn't think her lover wouldn't understand, she just refused to burden anyone else with her problems. Not even Merrill, especially not with how the Dalish woman had reacted to the incident. She'd be there to help, to talk if needed, but she wasn't going to push. She'd be there, Yuuna'd be there, and life would go on. Life had to go on at home, time would help heal the trauma, and that was all there was to it.

That not wanting to burden anyone didn't entirely extend to her Pokemon though, as the ones that couldn't read her thoughts? Knew something was off. Yuuna wasn't taking them on runs, or pushing them to train, and eventually she's forced out of the house at Poison Point. And she has to admit, her partners are right, but that doesn't mean she has to want to go out and be social.

Which prompts a very, very odd sight: Yuuna being dragged through the streets of Union by a gaggle of Pokemon. A Bagon, Gible, and Jigglypuff all riding on a Rhyhorn's back pushing her alone while a Hitmonchan is literally dragging her down towards her dojo. And while all this is going on? A Spoink is merrily bouncing on her head...]

Yashio's Dojo:

[Once she finally does get in the door and gets into a rhythm, things become a lot simpler. There's her fists, all wrapped up with thick strips of cloth, and there's a bag. That's it. Just the bag. Her focus narrows, her fists fly hard. One two. One two. One two...wham...and with a particularly weighty punch her knuckle manages to puncture the lining. With a growl, she steps back and just starts kicking it, vicious and precise strikes that drain the rice grains out of it onto the floor.]

Drop! You stupid thing! Just...go down!

The Park:

[And finally, she ends up that evening in the park where she'd first had that meal with Merrill. Her Pokemon have realized that training is not going to help, and they've basically shoved her down and several are quite literally sitting on her. A Sylveon is just flopped over on her chest, while a Spiritomb hovers protectively around her head (ready to snatch up any nasty thoughts), and that same Spoink is bouncing up and down on her stomach, squeaking in delight. The rest of the assembled Pokepals are all close at hand, doing things like playing with sticks or all the fighting types putting on a breakdance show, trying to get trainer to laugh.

She's doing that, of course, but to an outsider? This might look a little absurd.]

Comments

[rainsrespite]

[And without another word, she will do just that, leading them to a small and out of the way shop on a corner. It's a little shabby, but in that homey sort of way, and the exterior has a porch for sitting with buzzers to call over a waitress.

Which she does, and orders tea and biscuits and poffins for the Pokemon.]

Okay...so, I guess honestly first question: What do you know, about what's going on?

[roadsprings]

[ the homey-ness of it all puts him a little more at ease as he settles into his chair, honestly; a good choice. he thinks he'll need that homey quality to ground him for the conversation to follow.

his brow crinkles in a small frown. ]

Not much, I will admit. If it is wholly to do with Sanctuary, I only know what was in the report released to everyone involved afterwards. Those... homunculi, was it?

[rainsrespite]

Homunculi was the word I heard tossed around, yes.

[She sits, just...sits, for a moment after that statement. She's not really sure how to proceed but eventually she manages a question.]

D'you know what they were?

[roadsprings]

Something similar to the Enhanced, weren't they? People who were - who were changed, somehow, by those magi. Changed and... controlled by them?

[ the uncertainty in his voice isn't just from not being sure of his answer. mostly, it borders on uncomfortable disgust for the whole concept. ]

[rainsrespite]

Similar, yeah.

[She pulls a face, head shaking uncomfortably.]

But not completely. See, Enhanced? Still have more will of their own than not. I didn't get that feeling from the Homunculi. They seemed mindless, like...I dunno. Shells. Not like, say, when a Pokemon uses powers on things to temporarily control them...but like they just didn't have any free will left.

[roadsprings]

[ Bilbo's frown seems to have entrenched itself on his face until she finishes, when he screws it up and lets out a breath, leaning back for a moment. ]

Saviour.

[ ... and here comes the fridge horror. ] ... Then the magi, they - oh, no, they must have been using them like weapons!

[rainsrespite]

[Yuuna nods, a slow and unhappy one. Her eyes are firmly fixed on the cup below and her hands twitch, curling inward in frustration.]

They were. They'd mutilated those people, gave them hooks or claws for hands, and had them attack Gigan soldiers. And when we objected? Us.

[roadsprings]

[ in lieu of answering immediately, Bilbo just shakes his head speechlessly and takes a drink of tea, not even sure what to say. gods, he'd expected something horrific, but expecting something doesn't make it any easier to hear. ]

I'm sorry. I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like.

[rainsrespite]

[Yuuna's quiet too, taking a long drink from her own cup while she lets Bilbo collect himself.]

It's...fine. It is what it is, and it's over now. It won't happen again, if we have any say in the matter.

[And she believes rather fervently that Union will stop it.]

What's really bugging me is Merrill. She...seems to think that people will confuse what she does for the same thing. Since it's magic from blood.

[roadsprings]

[ Bilbo, for his part, believes well enough that Union will try its best to stop it. whether or not Sanctuary's magi will let them is another matter.

his fingers, which had been nervously and softly tapping the side of his teacup, stop abruptly. ]

What-- is that what has been bothering her? [ he looks aghast. ] Anyone who talks to her for more than five seconds would know she'd never do something like that.

[rainsrespite]

[And as for herself, Yuuna believes they will stop, if only because Gigas is right there, poised to strike.]

It is...[Yuuna nods in confirmation.] Anyone who so much as looks at her can tell that. I mean, I told her as much myself, but she's still worried. Because let's be honest...people do react out of fear.

What do you think? I mean, is there some way we can show her that nobody's afraid of her? Because seriously, she's harmless and just...it's doing my head in worrying about her. She's barely spoken in a week.

[roadsprings]

There has to be something we can do. I mean, we can't just leave her worrying, not about something like this. I don't know... [ a brief, wry smile crosses his face. ] We could always try and coax her out for long enough to see that people aren't running away from her screaming in the streets. Or-- she's with the Seekers, isn't she? Surely she must have friends or, or colleagues, there, who know she's harmless as much as you or I do.

[rainsrespite]

She does have friends in the Seekers, yeah. And apparently made friends with a kid from Sanctuary recently too. [Yuuna manages a half smile.] But I like the idea of getting her out of the house. Maybe another short trip, if you're up to it?

[roadsprings]

As a matter of fact, I rather find that I am. Seems I've picked up a taste for short trips, recently. [ he manages a crooked smile back. ] Though I beg of you, let's try and make this one free of any hallucinatory experiences.

[rainsrespite]

Then maybe down to the coast, or something like that. A bit farther but safe for a day trip.

[Because hey, the beach!]

And...that was hardly my fault. I was just being amenable to the Spoinks hospitality.

[roadsprings]

Well, it was hardly anyone's fault, really, but a fine pickle it was all the same. Not a bad story, though.

[ which means that yes, if he ever writes a memoir, that's going in it. ]

But yes, the coast sounds like a fair enough plan if we can get Merrill to agree to it - it's the season for it, really, isn't it?

[rainsrespite]

Ugh. I guess it's a story. It's just something that happened, really.

And you know. How'd you feel about the ruins down south then? I think they're pretty nice, even with the ghosts.

[roadsprings]

Isn't that true for all stories, though? Everything that has ever been written down is just something that happened.

[ he raises his eyebrows at that. ] --Ghosts, you say?

[rainsrespite]

Well, something like that. Or something near enough to the truth.

[A pause.] Do you not like ghosts?

[roadsprings]

[ he frowns slightly. ] I don't not like them, if that makes any sense at all. I simply find them a bit, well... bothersome. All that mischief, you know, and not all of it entirely good-natured.

[rainsrespite]

No, it's not. I can't count the number of times Litwicks and their line have tried to eat my soul.

[And she's still here. how about that?]

And then there was the Gengar. But...well, he got a sword through the middle.

[And he's still here too, huh.]

But I have a few ghosts in my...menagerie, and so does Merrill. They're pretty sweet, if you know how to raise them.

[roadsprings]

Hm. That's always the rub, isn't it? [ he looks more than a little alarmed at the idea of losing count of the times your soul has almost been eaten, but manages to smile wryly. ] Though if I may say so, you're not making a very good case for their defence with the tales of multiple attempts at, erm, soul-eating.

[rainsrespite]

It generally is not the best situation. But I do bring it on myself. I hear my soul is juicy.

[Okay, she smirks]

But it's worth it. The adventure of it, and the story.

[roadsprings]

[ where once there would have been very vocal sputtering at that comment, there is now just a silent double-take before he pulls a "really? i cannot believe you just said something like that" face at her.

her comment about adventure, though, that makes him pause, quiet. it reminds him a bit of... well, of long ago. ]

Do you honestly think so? That it's worth it, I mean.

[rainsrespite]

[He's growing up. She smiles cheekily at that look but his pause is telling. As is that question. Bilbo Baggins, the fussy librarian...asking about adventures beyond a few Spoink.]

Absolutely. There's nothing like it in the whole world. [She lays palms flat o n the table and sighs, suddenly quite serious.]

I looked my whole life for a job that fit. I finished training to become a medic and quit. I finished schooling to become a historian, and I quit. The only thing I stuck with was martial arts. And then I met Uzu. My little Poliwag. The one that's all grown up now. And I realized that becoming a trainer was the right move. He gave me a push, and I ended up outside the walls.

And now? It's harder to stay inside them.