bravenewworld | A Well Earned Celebration

A Well Earned Celebration

[The battle was over and the god Reshiram defeated, driven away by the aid of Union and its allies. The city was safe, by and large, and as the news spread throughout the peoples of the tundra, they began streaming back into the settlement in droves. Dirty, ash-coated faces were filled with relief and gratitude when they saw that it wasn't just a rumor and that their home had indeed been spared. Not everyone was so lucky, but they'd weathered worse, of course. The people of Glacier endured, as they would always endure, and they were also a people that repaid their debts. And they most certainly all agreed that they owed their rescuers a debt.

So, as night fell after the battle, a great celebration was prepared in the center of Glacier. A wide square was cleared away in a matter of hours, and the people gathered what they could in a show of thanks. Tables of food, bonfires towering into the night sky to keep out the autumn chill, and throngs of cheering wellwishers lined the area. Warriors of glacier, men carrying swords and women all bearing axes offered enthusiastic handshakes and claps on the back. Music of all kinds was played, though tribal tunes full of horn and percussion, chanting and yodeling, and even some brass groups dominated the soundscape.

A platform for various elders was set up, and they offered speeches, of course...but those were somehow dwarfed by the presence of the divine beings that were waiting silently for the proceedings to end. Some of the gods that had come to the aid of the war parties had apparently decided to stay, though their reasons were as mysterious as they themselves. The humans would have their time, and the Servants would mingle freely throughout the evening.

Food, of course, is set out in piles. Meat, fish, arctic berries, and various pastries and the like line table after table. A smorgasbord of Glacier specialties, each with a new and unique flavor all their own, and some (such as the stew) possessing a smell that only a native could probably endure. Akutaq in particular seems to stand out among the worst offenders, but the Glacier natives seem rather fond of it, and offer it to their rescuers with great gusto.

And the rewards do not stop at simple meals. either. As the speeches begin to wind down, a woman some might find familiar walks up onto the stage carrying a singularly massive trunk and dropping it down onto the wood with a heavy thud.]

Southerners! You have done a great deed this day! We, the people of Glacier, would like to thank you and honor your sacrifice! Few would do as you have done, coming to the aide of strangers against the might of that dragon...and you have accomplished something we did not think possible. To that end, we would like to present you with the first of many gifts, a token of our gratitude and a promise that should you need it, we will come to your defense in a time of need!

[And then with a sharp kick, she cracks open the trunk and reveals a veritable treasure trove of three different stones to be distributed by her subordinates.]

Rest well, and enjoy the festivities! You are welcome here, for as long as you like! Eat, drink, and be merry within our halls!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, you know. Rampaging gods, refugees, certain death? Heck, it was even a Fire god last time.

Savior, that was the first time we really met, wasn't it? I think we're like, falling into a habit, Yuuna.

[A rampaging-God-fighting habit. Feliks could think of worse ones, but only because he was a little bit eccentric at the best of times.]

It was, yeah. And you know...[She reaches out and squeezes his sparkly shoulder.]

I'm glad it's never boring with you. Heck, that's what? How many gods now? The big fire thing, the death god, then the other two fire gods? Maybe one day we'll get lucky and find ourselves a nice Ice god or something.

Darkrai probably counts, too? At least halfway. I guess you weren't with me when that went down, though?

[He laughs, giving her a playful nudge.]

What's the fun if we're not totally outgunned, though? Doesn't really sound like our style.

No, I was with some of the Rangers. We ran into Cresselia, that time.

[She nudges back.]

And no, maybe it doesn't...but since we pretty much roll straight sixes, we've kinda lucked out.

[Feliks's eyes flicker towards the last place he saw a god, and his fingers fidget around his cup.]

...More than "kinda" this time, I think.

[Yuuna's hand tightens on his shoulder and she gulps down her own drink before replying.]

No. No we didn't. We've been doing the right thing all along. Our dividends paid off. Luck had nothing to do with it, because they didn't have to intervene. They did because of our actions.

[He sips his own drink, glimmering faintly.]

Well, we'd better keep it up, huh?

[He thinks they should feel proud, but it's distinctly humbling to think that the gods hold them in such favor, like he's receiving something he doesn't deserve and all too aware of it.]

[Yuuna nods, finishing her own drink in a final swig.]

We should. I mean, what other city has eight gods just...showing up out of the blue to help. I didn't expect it, but then, I guess it kinda confirms what I've been saying all along.

[Feliks brightens a little at that, and flops down onto a nearby log to sit, patting the spot beside him invitingly.]

Right? They showed up right on time, too -- super dramatic!

Next time somebody acts like we're dumb for wanting to treat Pokemon like our partners and respect the gods, I'm so gonna laugh in their faces.

[She will indeed sit, and wrap an arm around her sparklebuddy at the same time. It's just something tall people seem to do, she finds.]

Who's stupid enough to do that? I mean hell's bells, it's obvious Gigas is on the losing end of this debate. Even Sanctuary is coming around to our way of thinking.

[Feliks leans comfortably against her shoulder, wine cup still held in his hands. He's very warm to be around in this cold, especially when he's happy.]

It's not like we didn't tell them. This'll make them think twice for sure, though!

[Yuuna too, is rather warm for the weather. She is her own heat source, though not from fire. Just...spirit. And she puts on a slightly teasing tone when she replies.]

It's not like they can just ignore it. I totally got a few pictures of the lot of them. Well...except the MoonCouple. We have plenty of them.

Did you talk to any?

I, um. I talked to the one that was helping us?

[Them the most directly, that was.]

Entei?

[She thinks that's it's name.]

What'd it say?

Um... not a lot, I guess? Like, just that I didn't have to say thanks for helping us, stuff like that.

[He still looks a little flustered about talking to the gods, like an awkward kid who's not sure it's okay to talk to their more popular classmates. It's a bit of a weird look, for someone used to Feliks's bravado.]

They make you nervous, don't they?

[The question is gentle, no teasing there.]

Because they sure make me nervous.

I don't know if I'd go with "nervous?"

[He blushes, pushing his hair behind his ear.]

It's just, like, you know... I grew up hearing about the gods, so it's... kinda weird to be actually meeting them?

[And it's not like they fall short of the epic impression that was instilled on him roughly since birth; they're just as awe-inspiring as imagined, and he's just not sure how to cope with himself being around them.]

["Unworthy" is not a feeling Feliks is used enough to to even articulate.]

Yes, it is. But it's not the first time, is it? I mean, Darkrai. Cresselia?

[She was actually fond of mother moonduck.]

I guess it's a little strange though, with them sharing our space now, eating with us. I never thought I'd have the chance, either. But it's come. Hell...Feliks, I punched one. In anger. I struck a god.

A...even a year ago, when I was just starting out? You remember how stupid I was back then. I never thought I'd have the nerve.

[And the irreverence. But things were different now. The world was changing, and they were swept up in it.]

I dunno, it's like up on that mountaintop, when I awakened. This experience is no less eye opening, because hell...there's a clear divide. Battle-lines have been drawn.

Yeah, it's like, kinda different when they turn up and do their whole almighty-and-powerful thing and like, disappear again and when they just sort of... hang out.

[One doesn't simply hang out with the Gods. Even if one has punched one of them before. Possibly especially then? He's not sure, it just definitely feels out of his league in a way he's never quite experienced before.]

...It's for sure been a weird year or two.

[Who was he two years ago? A child struggling to define himself between the common and noble worlds, with hardly any friends besides Jadwiga, unsure of how to connect with anyone, with a thousand looming responsibilities and no real goals but getting out, out of the walls and their shelter and away from a world that told him what to be. He'd never loved, and he'd never lost, and he'd never had anything worse than a few schoolyard bullies to survive. He was always brave, to the point of impudence, to the point of recklessness, but it was nothing compared to what he'd done now -- even his first brutal taste of Mega Evolution's power was nothing compared to what he'd faced down again and again in the months since, or the future threat that had only been delayed this time.]

[It was startling to realize that, somehow, somewhere along the way, he'd done a lot of growing up.]

Anyway. If they really want to fight us again, at least it doesn't look like we're gonna be in it alone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A Well Earned Celebration

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I have written and lost this tag like 4 times