[Action] Let's Talk to Pokémon!

[sixwholeplates]

[Backdated to the 11th.]

[Cecilia talked to Apollo and Lucas about the same thing: needing to talk to Pokémon to find out if they had seen any iron lately. It seems like a good idea to her, though it came from Apollo. But she can do that -- at least with ones that talk. And thus, here she waits, near the indicated place.]

[A huge, ancient oak stands up behind her, and sits on the crest of a hill. It makes it stand out. It's hard to miss. Being short, Cecilia is just dwarfed by it.]

[But, worst of all... she doesn't know Lucas's name.]

Comments

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Nor does she know Apollo's age. Both of those things will soon be remedied though.

It's subtle, but there's a faint rustling of the leaves in the treetops moving towards Cecilia's position, branches bending for an instant before snapping back into place. It becomes increasingly louder as it approaches until it would be hard not to notice. The sound stops abruptly in the thick canopy near her, then a bit more rustling, quieter this time, comes from that spot.

A figure drops down next to her and lands in a crouch before standing, a red-haired boy in an old shin-length green coat with a large feathered amulet around his neck. The way his coat billowed as he descended would have allowed her to see that under the coat is worn dull green clothing, a brown leather courier bag, and a pair of very beat-up brown boots. Saying that he's 5'1" would be generous. He's most definitely not an adult.]

[a_gentle_boy]

[Mysteries all around. Lucas knows nothing about the third person accompanying them, nor does he know much about Cecilia beyond the fact that she could speak with Pokemon. Having told his grandfather that he was going to stay at a friend's house ('you have friends?') and after requesting some time off from his work, he leaves the city as unobtrusively as he can.

The boy can probably be seen approaching the hill from a distance with an Eevee trailing along behind him. He carries a hefty pack that almost seems to be as long as he is.]

[sixwholeplates]

[Cecilia had not expected Apollo to be so young or so short. She blinks at him for a moment, trying to decide which of the two she is -- and then she opens her mouth, closes her mouth, and smiles at him. That's when she spots Lucas approaching. She waves at him.]

[She waits until they're both closer, and then she smiles. A life of attending noble parties, social functions, and the rest takes over.]

Glad you both could come! I'm Cecilia, and this--

[She instinctively tries to make introductions, but she doesn't know which is which. And what Lucas's name is. Awwwwkwaaaaard.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo doesn't pick up on the awkwardness of the situation, but understands that an unspoken invitation for introductions has just been given.]

I'm Apollo. I'm a Ranger.

[A Fletchling descends and lands on his shoulder. He smiles slightly.]

This is a friend of mine who's coming along.

[The Fletchling hops from side-to-side and happily chirps a greeting. He's very pleased to meet you both.]

[a_gentle_boy]

[As he draws nearer, Lucas smiles in a bashful manner. Though thirteen, he appears younger, not yet having reached adolescence. Hopefully Cecilia would be totally cool with traveling with two young boys.]

I'm Lucas. It's nice to meet both of you -

[A slight laugh.]

I'm sorry I broke off before I asked your name, Miss Cecilia. I guess I was in too much of a hurry...

Oh - and this is Avey.

[The Eevee has boldly walked straight into the middle of their circle and sniffs at Apollo and Cecilia.]

[sixwholeplates]

[A second Eevee pops up from under Cecilia's scarf. She reaches a hand over and scratches between her ears, then smiles and shakes her head.] This is Raftina. Ah--don't worry about it, Lucas. I should have asked earlier.

[She looks at Apollo and nods. A Ranger would be good to have.]

Well... we should probably move, before it gets late! We can get back before dinner that way.

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Seems like both the boys are the same age.

Apollo sends a mental greeting to the minds of the two Eevees, then points to the west.]

We'll need to head west, past the Forest Shrine and to the canyon. Don't rush just to be home for dinner. It's better to take longer than have an accident because you were trying to save time.

[a_gentle_boy]

[Avey blinks at Apollo before responding with a cheerful yip; it is accustomed to this form of communication with Lucas himself.]

I've never been down into the caverns, but I know the Pokémon there are a lot more aggressive than the ones in the forest...

But, um. I brought dinner, if we're out too late.

[Lucas shifts his pack slightly with a smile.]

I hope everyone likes tofu...

[sixwholeplates]

[Raftina, conversely looks confused for a moment -- and then perks up on Cecilia's shoulder, tail swishing curiously.]

We should stop short of the caverns, I think, but the Pokémon outside may know something.

[She pauses, then she smiles, and nods her head.]

I love tofu! And jam. And berries. And hamburgers. And salads. And cookies. And cake. And...

[This could go on awhile.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo nods and cuts Cecilia off when he speaks.]

Grandpa said that the Pokémon at the bottom of the canyon are stronger than the ones near the top, so we shouldn't go too deep if we can help it. Hopefully the Pokémon who aren't as deep into the canyon will be able to tell us something.

We should start moving if we want to get there soon.

[He begins walking, setting a decent pace that he thinks the other two should be able to handle.

OOC: I'm using three of the weekly levels on Apollo's Fletchling to let the party hit danger level 12. If we need to I can add 5 more levels so they can safely enter the deep canyon, but I'd rather save some of them for Apollo himself and anyone he bonds with while there.]

[a_gentle_boy]

((OK! I actually made Lucas's Eevee Level 9 earlier this week, so I think we're effectively 13 at the moment. As a note, I typo'd 'canyon' as 'cavern' earlier; sorry about that!))

I don't think I've got any of the rest of that, but, um... Maybe we can see what we'll find on the way.

[Cake trees could exist. Potentially.]

Oh - I forgot to say. Please let me know if anyone gets hurt. I have healing abilities, so... hopefully we'll be OK.

[Lucas will follow on behind Apollo.]

[sixwholeplates]

((I can toss some levels on Raftina, or call up Cecilia's level 7 Silcoon, too!))

Thank you, Lucas. I can't heal, yet, but I can do spells to support us... and Raftina is tough.

[Her Eevee nods. Cecilia starts walking after Apollo, too, and grabs her staff tightly as she does.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

((Please tell me the Silcoon knows more than just Harden.))

What kind of support?

[Apollo doesn't look at them as he speaks, nor does he look around. Instead he's listening for Pokémon with both his ears and his Child of the Verdant Forest ability.]

Bonding

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[They'd stopped for a break once they had reached the canyon, taking the opportunity to have something to eat before they started asking the locals if they'd seen any iron ore. Apollo had stepped away from the group for a moment to find an unobtrusive spot where he was unlikely to be leaving marks in someone's territory (and because he'd long ago learned that most humans would prefer not to have to watch). His business completed, he starts heading back to the others, using his Child of the Verdant Forest ability to mentally "listen" for any Pokémon who might be nearby.]

[bravenewmods]

[Few people make it out to the canyon - the Pokémon here are brasher, more open about their activities. Apollo will hear a veritable chatter of thoughts and emotions as he opens up his mind... It is uncertain, therefore, how close the nearest Pokémon truly is.

The forest has given way to dust and looser dirt at the edge of the canyon. From where Apollo stands, there seems to be a path leading down, although it might be foolish to head off on his own.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo's used to filtering through multiple Pokémon's thoughts, but this many minds in one area in the wilderness isn't common, and it piques his interest. His Fletchling is still with the others, and a quick exchange with him tells Apollo that his traveling companions aren't ready to move quite yet. Telling Fletchling what he's doing, he picks up a fallen branch that had ended up nearby and cautiously moves down the path, tapping it with the branch to make sure it's stable and being prepared to both retreat and call Fletchling if need be. He has no intention of going too far, but he'll scout ahead a bit to see if it's worth bringing the whole group this way.]

[bravenewmods]

[Apollo will be able to descend about twenty foot or so down a narrow path before it widens into a sort of ledge overlooking the rest of the canyon.

The edge is quite steep but it seems possible to continue further down if one takes great precautions. ...Alternatively, there appears to be an identation off to the right, set into the side of the cliff. It seems to go a ways in, and there is something like a large boulder visible deep inside.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo took a look at the path farther down and decided that it would be a good idea to let the others decide if they could handle it. He could, but the others didn't have his sense of balance. The view was quite nice though, and he paused for a moment to take it in. Noticing the indentation and that it appeared to have an end point, he made his way inside to see if anything that he could recognize as iron was visible. He wouldn't take any branching paths if they appeared of course - he wasn't about to get himself lost.]

[bravenewmods]

[Nothing quite so clear as iron and no branching paths - the indentation appears to extend further in and tapers off into what seems to be a small passage about three feet high. Apollo might fit, but there's certainly no room to turn around if he gets stuck.

The boulder sits next to the passage. It's about two feet tall and presents with an aesthetically pleasing, mottled pattern of brown, gray, and tan.

...The boulder also has eyes. And is quivering.

A wild Hippopotas has appeared!

It seems to be just on the verge of awakening!]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo won't risk getting himself stuck and is about to turn back when he sees the "boulder" move. He stops and carefully sets down the branch, not wanting to look threatening. His mental attention focuses on the mind before him, the relative quiet of a sleeping mind having been harder to pinpoint through the noise of everyone else, even this close. He begins sending calmness and a sense of safety at the Pokémon, being careful to be gradual about it and not jolt them awake; he wants to make sure that his presence isn't a source of fear and alarm when the sleeper awakens.]

[bravenewmods]

[Hippopotas slowly blinks awake, having vaguely sensed in some fashion that there was something nearby it should pay attention to. It hefts its head in Apollo's direction and stares dully.

...
...
...

Then it sneezes a thick cloud of dust and sand, following which it sniffs a few times.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[If there was any reaction that Apollo was expecting, that one wasn't it. He coughs at the cloud of dust, lifts the collar of his coat to cover his nose and mouth, pulls it back to sneeze a few times, then recovers his lower face and blinks rapidly as his eyes tear up to get rid of the dust.

Once he can focus a bit better, he mentally sends a greeting and asks if the Hippopotas has noticed any iron around, sending his own impressions of what iron is: what the ore that's fed to the Aron in the habitat tower looks like, what rust is like, what worked iron looks like, and so on. He's well aware that this is a complicated concept to get across, especially when he isn't sure how intelligent his conversational partner is, but he's going to try his hardest.]

[bravenewmods]

[The Hippopotas still seems rather sleepy, so all Apollo will get for a few moments is confusion and a blank sort of expression. When the image of the rust comes through, though, it will blink before sluggishly getting to its feet and meandering over to the wall.

It will concentrate before releasing another snort of dust that settles over the walls of the cave. The powder is reddish.

Ta-da~

Red rock.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[...Could it be? If this unknown Pokémon eats metal it could be. Apollo will move over to one of the now-red walls, being careful not to make sudden movements, and rub some of the dust between his fingertips to see if it leaves a rust stain on his skin.]

[bravenewmods]

[...It leaves a dirt stain.

The walls of the cave are some sort of red-tinged clay.

Hippopotas looks satisfied and seems ready for the heaping accolades that are sure to be bestowed upon it.]