Ghosts and Lions and Dinosaurs, Oh My! [Closed]

[faithfulflame]

Who: Rei Hino & Ami Mizuno
What: Bonding with Pokemon and one another.
When: Week 96
Where: Hikawa Shrine, The Ruins, The Fertile Plains



The trip was set, the shrine was prepared for Grandpa Hino to take over, and everything seemed to be in order for Rei and Ami's little outing. They needed it, and Ami had practically ordered Rei to relax after the busy week of Soulfasting...so, this was it! They were going to find her a certain ghost, and Rei had wanted to check out the plains to the northwest....

There was just one problem.

"Ami, have you seen my Zoroark Ring? I can't find it anywhere."

Comments

[allergictoloveletters]

Ami isn't the sort to ignore sound advice, and while she's able to analyze things quickly, this is still something outside of her realm. Rei is the authority on this and Ami is willing to let Rei lead. She smiles at Rei seemed to have the same thought process.

"You just want an excuse to have me near," she teased quietly. "But fine yes, however it is the wiser course of action to follow the advice of the more experienced and knowledgeable. Just let me know when I should begin playing."

[faithfulflame]

"As if I need an excuse," Rei teased back, reaching for Ami's hand as they plunged into the ruins. The Rampardos trotted ahead a bit, clawed feet crunching on the old stone.

"We'll be coming up to a fork, and we'll need to go left. Then right, then left again. That will bring us to one of the chambers I know well. When we get there, I'm going to put out some poffins. After that? you should begin playing. And wait. We...might attract something bigger than a Misdreavus, too."

There were all sorts of Pokemon down her, after all.

[allergictoloveletters]

When they reached the chamber, Ami watched as Rei placed the poffins, smiling as the one she loved had one of every flavor. How clever. She looked around for a rock and situated herself, pulling out her bag and the lyre within it.

She glanced up when she saw some shadows shift but merely turned to look at her strings and then ran a hand along the strings to see if they were in tune. Her fingers stretched along the strings, and then she closed her eyes, beginning to play and trusting her partner to warn her of things she could not see.

[faithfulflame]

Rei placed everything and waved a finger, lighting a series of lamps that ran along the outer edges of the room. The light distorted the chamber, casting shadow instead of that ominous gloom. Ghosts favored that, and the way she’d set the poffins, they were just on the edge of the light, within reach from a shadow but not without one of them noticing.

When her love began to play, Rei closed her eyes and focused, casting her senses out, seeking Pokemon that might be drawn in. A few came closer, most prominently a Gothorita that politely bowed and snatched up one of the poffins before wandering into the light to sit and listen. This was followed by a Mr. Mime, and then a second Gothorita.

“Keep playing. A dirge, if you can. We’ve an audience, though…not a spectral one.”

[allergictoloveletters]

Playing a dirge on a lyre was a little more difficult, but not impossible. She contemplated the tune for a moment before shifting into the dirge, the tune borrowed heavily from many others, but it was something she made up. It had to be, no one really wrote a dirge for a lyre and so she had to make minute adjustments.

She took a deep breath and kept looking around. She saw the Gothorita, both of them, and offered them a smile. The Mr. Mime was behind her, however, and she could only shift so far without affecting her playing.

Even as the air became a bit more chilly, Ami could not notice, her body too cold to notice.

[faithfulflame]

The air grew colder, certainly, steam floating up all around Rei, and silently, that was when the ghosts started to appear. First came a shadow, something enormous looming up out of the gloom. A Golurk stepped into view, the sheer size of the ancient sentinel enough to dim the lights around the girls. It made no move, but to sit just outside the right, watching.

Rei immediately became more guarded, but laid out more poffins.

"Keep playing. I only feel Goletts so far."

[allergictoloveletters]

She paused, for only a breath, when the Golurk came, Aurora's piercing gaze snapped over to it. Her tail made an uneasy flick, causing a single electric spark, but making no other move or action. Ami, meanwhile, took a deep breath and kept playing.

She wondered what it meant that she had yet to bring any Misdreavious around, or any other ghosts pokemon for that matter. Maybe the music wasn't the way to do it. She had brought on the other ghosts by playing a light trick on the guests at the shrine.

[faithfulflame]

The giant Ground Type ignored Aurora, but kept watching in silence. Eventually, Ami's efforts were rewarded. One ghost, more adventurous than the others, drifted into the light and settled down next to the Gothorita. It chittered happily, and announced it's pleasure.

"There you go, Ami. It seems you have a Misdreavus fan."

[allergictoloveletters]

Ami looked up and smiled when she saw the Misdreavus, but didn't stop playing. She didn't want the other pokemon to stop just because she had drawn in the one she wanted. She watched as the Misdreavus picked up the poffin. Rather than eat it, though, she placed it atop a rock, trying to organize the area. When she was moving about, Ami caught her gaze. Keeping her gaze with the Misdreavus, she pulled one hand away from the lyre and activated the Warp Band on the other wrist.

It instantly locked with the Misdreavus.

A silent conversation was clearly happening between Ami and Misdreavus as she tried to convince the Misdreavus to bond with her.

Ami, in the middle of the conversation, had stopped playing the lyre and...

She opened up her arms and the Misdreavu flew into them, cuddling Ami with happy chirping.

"Rei, I would like you to meet Hedy."

[faithfulflame]

Rei watched silently, keeping a tacit eye on the Golurk, ready to summon up an ugly surprise for it if it decided to become hostile, but no such thing happened. It nodded to the girls and when the Misdreavus latched onto Ami it seemed quite satisfied. Rising, it stepped silently back into the tunnel.

Turning away, Rei looked at the little ghost in her love's arms. "Hedy? What a nice name. Hello there! I'm Rei, and I take it you'll be living with us?"

Said in Poke-speak, of course.

[allergictoloveletters]

"Hello, Rei," Ami let go of Hedy and the pokemon swayed back and forth before she went to grab more of the poffins.

"I want to be with Ami," Hedy insisted, though unfortunately, Ami could not understand. She lacked the ability to speak with pokemon.

[faithfulflame]

"I understand that. You've made a very good choice, when it comes to partners. She's an amazing woman," Rei answered back. "We live together, so you'll be seeing me too."

[allergictoloveletters]

"Are you bonded to Ami too?" Hedy asked, curious at the other in the cave, since she clearly was not a pokemon, even as she spoke like one.

[faithfulflame]

"Hah! No, not like you are with her. We're lovers, and I'm not a Pokemon." Rei couldn't help but laugh. "Ami, she thinks we're bonded."

[allergictoloveletters]

"Is that what you two are discussing? Well, we are, in a sense, though it is very different than anything with a pokemon," she chuckled as she started to pack everything up.

"If you are lovers, where is your egg?"

[faithfulflame]

"We've yet to produce one," Rei laughed, not at all put out. "Are you ready to go, Hedy? Ami?"

[allergictoloveletters]

"I will go where Ami goes!" Hedy was quick to hover around Ami's head. Ami glanced up at her and then to Rei.

"Good thing Madame Curie can understand me or I'm going to start feeling jealous." Hedy swayed back and forth, grabbing more poffins as they started to leave but not eating them. Rather, she was placing them in new spots.

Aurora and Socrates got up.

"Well, not to Jynx us, but I'm glad we didn't have to use that blessed water?"

[faithfulflame]

"Yes, now...why don't we all get out of here and head west. I'd like to be clear of the swamp by sundown, if at all possible. It's a terrible camping place."

She did join Hedy for a moment, setting out more poffins and tossing one directly into a patch of shadow. It simply vanished without a sound.

"Shall we dears?" She offered her arm to Ami.

[allergictoloveletters]

Without hesitation she took Rei's arm, smiling at the steam that rose. No matter how many times she saw it, no matter how many times their skin touched and they made the steam rise from their bodies... it didn't matter that she had seen the same reaction with more or less skin. Even when pressed against Rei, with only their flesh between them, she was still amused, enthralled by how the steam curled around their bodies.

"We can clear the swamp before sundown, I've mapped out a course, but it does go through heavy pokemon pack and herd spots."

[faithfulflame]

The steam was something Rei had wondered about. Whether or not it bothered Ami, or not, at least initially. But after they'd started spending evenings together locked in passion it was different. She'd known otherwise, almost immediately, the curious fascination that came from her partner all the more clear.

Nodding, she allowed Ami to lead, and by mid-afternoon the following day they'd arrived at their destination. They could certainly have made it faster by flying but there was something about riding through the landscape that was just as much fun. And it gave Hedy a chance to get accustomed to their company.

The place they're heading to is the edge of a vast plain. Not like the crater plains to the south of Union or the Steppelands to the east, but rather something almost domesticated seeming, calm and placid.

"This...is quite different than I expected. It's almost like farmland..."

[allergictoloveletters]

Thankfully, there was little in the way of pokemon herds that they cam across. When they reached the plains, Hedy was quick to hover this way and that, never having left the ruins before now.

She gave a little twirl before coming back to Rei and Ami.

Aurora meanwhile saw slight movement and her tail snapped, sending out a spark.

"Perhaps so, it may even be used as such. We can keep an eye out for berries. The grass is so tall!"

[faithfulflame]

"It really is," Rei mused, sliding off Casius's back and rubbing his shaggy head softly. The tigerdog returned the favor by snuffling her hair and drawing a laugh.

"I hadn't expected much when I read the Ranger report, but you know a peaceful ride through the countryside is just what I needed. I wonder what all lives out this direction."

[allergictoloveletters]

"Well, the climate isn't exactly hospitable to water or ice types, and there is very little in the way of trees here, so the bug pokemon don't really have places to hide. It's too bright for cave dwelling pokemon like zubat and geodude, it's not exactly hot enough for fire types. I suspect a good deal of the pokemon here are grass and normal types, perhaps some flying types, and likely a good deal of rodent like pokemon. Maybe a few electric types," she offered as she gazed around. "I don't think we'll be meeting any dark or ghost types here, there might be some fairy-types, though."

[faithfulflame]

"Hmm," Rei replied, thinking over the list of possibilities. There were probably plenty of different kinds of species out here, and she had to wonder just what would come of the trip.

"I guess we should head through the grass, then. See if we can draw a few out with some poffins." She points to a hill some ways off. "Maybe from up there, what do you think?"

[allergictoloveletters]

"Well, we'll have a much better vantage point, certainly, but the position might be uncomfortable for pokemon. Perhaps we should have our lunch as well? Let them feel as if we aren't waiting for them?"