A written ask blog following a host of characters transported from another world. A side story to the Pokemon original story, Some Sort of Hero, though knowledge of it isn't required to understand this blog!
Inbox: Only for OOC
RP?: Not anymore
Characters Available: None
So... It’s probably pretty obvious that I haven’t really wanted to do anything with this blog for a while now. And really, I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I’ve even tried to come up with some sort of finale post to write to wrap things up and just... Can’t. I’ve long since been unhappy with the plot I had come up with for this blog and while I was nearing a point where I could change things, I’m just unsure of what direction I could take it to make me be happy with it.
Additionally, there’s the core problem with being a written blog in the ask blog community anyway, a community dominated largely by artists and drawn blogs. While I’ve learned to deal with the fact I’ll never be as popular as even the most average drawn ask blog, combined with my unhappiness with the plot and direction of the blog it’s just like... What’s the point? If I’m not happy, and I barely have an audience to make happy, then why bother?
Third, I’ve long felt that making this blog has negatively affected my ability to write my ACTUAL stories. Like, Shrike and his friends are characters from an actual, novel-format story I want to write. This entire blog was meant to be an alternate universe branching off my planned ending for the second arc of the story. Yet, because I was focused on this blog for so long, it meant I never even managed to finish writing the second part of the original story. And that second part is far before the actual point at which this blog is meant to branch from...
So, yeah. I’m officially ending this blog so I can just finally go and focus on other stuff instead: the original story it was based on (Some Sort of Hero), my second Varlaja story about the Guild, or even other stuff that’s completely different. I’ll probably still send asks as Shrike occasionally, but unsure if I’ll send them from this blog or my main ( @shrike-alvaron ). Maybe I’ll even still participate in events? Not sure how that’d really work, so perhaps not.
If you are actually curious about what was going to happen with the story, I’ll put a summary of my planned ideas under the cut.
Shrike would receive a gift from Omni thanks to his prayer, a necklace that could take him anywhere. He almost uses it to travel to his friends, but Aster stops him in time recognizing the potential of the artifact. Knowing that Shrike can’t stay pent up for much longer and with the crisis of Skeith averted, they depart to head there the long way.
Eventually they would reach the house Celine and the rest are staying at. I probably would’ve added some stuff happening between there or had either party go to an event or something, but nothing definite was planned.
The group would finally be reunited, with Aster joining them and Iris occasionally as well. With everyone together, Aster reveals to Shrike what he needs to do to receive Armisael’s soul fragment back: he must travel to the Aetherial Realm and confront her directly, and the artifact Omni gave him might have that power.
Shrike begins to activate the artifact, but during the process something goes wrong. Not with the artifact itself, but rather with the cracked gem Zeke’s been carrying around. Reacting to the Aether energy of Shrike’s Aura and the artifact, the gem comes alive and begins materializing a body by siphoning Aether from the two sources. An Espeon would appear, with the gem fitting into its forehead.
The group would recognize this Espeon as Voldric, an antagonist they had faced back in Varlaja. He had been killed in the attack by another villain that sent the group fleeing from Varlaja in the first place. At first they think he is an ally as before his death they had convince him to see the error of his ways, but they soon realize that madness his gripped him once again and he attacks the group.
They are forced to flee from the house, and it is here that I had become divided in terms of how the plot would go. One branch could involve Shrike losing the artifact and thus not being able to visit Armisael quite yet, while the other would have Shrike keep it. If he did keep it, he would promptly use it to visit Armisael as soon as they were safe and in doing so get his full powers back. However, with Voldric running lose on Earth now, he would return to Earth to deal with him rather than merely going back to Varlaja.
Regardless of whether he kept the artifact or not, Shrike (and his friends) would thus end up remaining on Earth with the plot shifting over to fighting Voldric. Voldric would also become a “controlled” character, meaning I’d have used him to send asks to other blogs. This would’ve been fun since I could basically terrorize the entire community with him due to him being effectively an insane warlock capable of stealing people’s souls. Think Aku, but not bound to a forest!
At some point during that plot, Aster and Iris would decide that it was finally time for Shrike to meet the Eldest (If he did retrieve the artifact and thus regain the fragment of Armisael’s Soul, it would probably be because if the reveal that Armisael’s powers don’t effect Voldric due to his Aura being shrouded in Darkness or something). The two would reveal themselves to be Mews with twin forms much like Shrike himself, and the three Mews would teleport to a hidden village on the moon.
There, Shrike would learn of the history of Armisael’s experiments with implanting fragments of her own essence into others. The moon village occupied by the Lunarians as they call themselves was effectively a laboratory Armisael used for testing long ago. This would cast a dark light on her, especially as it’s revealed that her initial test subjects were live Pokemon she abducted from Earth. The very first successful test she had performed resulted in the “birth” of the Eldest: essentially the first “Avatar” she had made.
The Eldest would be revealed to be a permanent hybrid between a Mew and his original Pokemon species (I forget what I had planned for that, possibly a legendary of some sort), much as Shrike had begun to turn into when he visited Alanoi. Eldest reveals that this form is the result of all three of an Avatar’s essences coming into sync and uniting together. Over the several millennia that the Eldest has been alive, his trio of essences would gradually merge together and result in the permanent hybrid state he is now in.
Later after returning to Earth (and retrieving the artifact if Shrike hadn’t yet), there would at some point by a big climactic battle between Shrike and Voldric. It’s at this point that Shrike manages to unite his essences properly, unlike previously when the surge of Aether corrupted the process. He would turn into what I call Awakened Form, a hybrid Mew/Jolteon with wings much like Armisael’s. Using the full extent of his and Armisael’s powers, he is able to fight back against Voldric and defeat him.
That’s about as far out as I can think of stuff I had planned. Perhaps I would’ve ended the blog properly then, or maybe I could have come up with some other excuse for them to stay on Earth. One possibility could even involve following them as they return to Varlaja and showing the rather bad state it would be in now following Shrike’s prolonged absence. Who knows!
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I cleaned up some stuff related to when I was formulating and opening @pmdvarlaja as I realized how cluttered the first page or two of this blog was!
Also if it wasn’t already clear, this blog is on a sort of hiatus for now! I may make occasional posts like the one I just did, but I really want to start focusing on @pmdvarlaja! Of course I do need to write more for that and get the plot moving there...
But yeah! If you haven’t already, do come over and follow me at @pmdvarlaja if you want to see more from me!
A Delphox stood atop the peak of a mountain, her fur white and blue. On her flanks she bore the mark of the crescent moon, and a chill surrounded her. She gazed down into the valley before her, observing the battle that had taken place from a distance.
The great serpent Rayquaza lay defeated, blood seeping out of the many wounds that crossed its body. Darkness seeped off the Mew who had fought it, black giving way to their natural red fur. Some words were exchanged, and the Mew flew off. They probably saw the Delphox, but Iris wasn't concerned. Not about her own well being, at least. She raised her wand, gripping the ornate handle as she slashed the air in front of her.
A swirling portal opened, the fabric of space torn as if the wand had been a blade. The Delphox stepped forward and through the portal which collapsed behind her, one end closing as she hurtled through a higher dimension towards the other end. Light streaked past, but in reality the time the passage took was insignificant. The other end of the portal burst open in an isolated cabin, Iris stepping out of it with the same motion that had led her through the entrance.
"Welcome back," Aster spoke. The black and blue sky-form Shaymin stood at a window, gazing out at the sky. She stepped back and dropped her paws down from the windowsill, turning to face the Delphox. "How was your recon?"
"Troubling. The rogue element has returned. Rayquaza has been defeated." Iris flicked her wand before smoothly sliding it into the sleeve-like fur of her left arm. She was significantly taller than Aster, peering down at the Shaymin.
"My my, no need to dance around reality. You mean one of mother's kin, don't you?" Aster looked oddly amused, though not about the situation. As she thought some more her face darkened, the smile she had worn at the sight of Iris dropping to a frown. "Skeith..."
"She is unbefitting of a name."
"Even our enemies are people, you must realize that." Aster paced around, her frown deepening. "From what I recall, Skeith was supposed to have been sealed away. She must have only broken free recently. But why is she here?"
"As I said, she defeated Rayquaza. I assume this is not a social call." Iris crossed her arms sternly, shaking her head. "But, at the same time, this is not our mission. The machinations of mother's kin should not concern us."
"If Skeith wishes harm unto Earth, I believe that would concern us," Aster pointed out.
"Us, or him?" Iris nodded towards the closed door to the bedroom their visitor was located in. Shrike was supposedly sleeping in there, but at the commotion the Jolteon had gotten out of bed and stood against the other side of the door, ear pressed against it as he listened in on the conversation.
"Yes, I understand what you mean." Aster gave a nod, turning back to the window she so often peered out of. The moon hung in the sky above, the Shaymin smiling wistfully at it. "Earth is as little our planet as it is his. Still, if any cataclysm were to strike, we could evacuate him."
"That would violate our orders, he is not to know of our identities."
Aster held a paw up, quieting Iris. The Shaymin glanced at Shrike's door and tilted her head. For a moment she was quiet before speaking up again. "So it is that Eldest wishes, however his judgment is often skewed. Our top priority is to keep Shrike safe, while our second priority is to find a way for him to see mother. That is what is important, and if he must one day learn the truth then so be it."
Truth... Shrike's eyes went wide as he heard his host talking to the other girl. He had seen her around occasionally and Aster had told him that she was known as Iris, yet Shrike knew little of the frosty Delphox. From the sound of it, there was something much larger behind the two strangers than what he was aware of. For one, Aster hadn't just found Shrike randomly: she was tasked with protecting him.
"I must speak to Eldest about this matter," Iris finally said. "He deserves to know about Skeith and the danger she poses."
"Very well. Send him my regards."
Shrike heard a portal breaking open and the sound of footsteps as Iris walked through it. The roaring noise of the portal fell silent as it closed, Shrike taking a step back from the door as he was about to return to his bed.
"You can come out, I know you were listening," Aster suddenly called out. A moment later the door creaked open as Shrike emerged from the room, walking over to the Shaymin.
"You're the one who saved me in that forest, aren't you?" Shrike warily asked as he looked at his host in a new light.
"You were teleported, correct? I may not be a normal Shaymin, but I do not believe that my water affinity would grant me such psychic powers," Aster smirked, holding her ground against the Jolteon despite their size difference.
"Perhaps Iris opened a portal for you? You two seem to be working together, to protect me."
"Yes, that's a possibility." Aster continued to smirk, eyes twinkling as she toyed with Shrike. "I can say that, indeed, we are partners and have been charged with protecting you."
"And that's why you've forbid me from leaving?" Shrike had been staying in the cabin for about a week now, and every day he had asked Aster if he could leave. Each day the Shaymin came up with a new excuse for why Shrike had to stay inside and by this point he was getting rather stir crazy about it.
"Due to recent events, that may be changing soon. For now we stay here."
"I want to see my friends again, they're still out there!" Shrike burst out with what he had been holding in for the past week. "They might even think I'm dead by this point..."
Aster tilted her head. "Ah yes, we were informed about your companions. We received no orders to protect them."
"I-I order you to protect them!" Shrike yelled, increasingly frustrated.
"Not how it works, I'm afraid! Only our Eldest can give us orders." Aster was clearly enjoying messing with Shrike, the Shaymin's smirk the broadest Shrike had yet seen.
"I don't care about this Eldest! Who are they anyway?! Do you know who I am?! I'm Armisael's Avatar, you should respect me!" Shrike didn't like abusing his status, but he couldn't lie and say this was the first time he had tried pulling rank like that.
"Not anymore~" Aster sauntered over to Shrike, planing a blue paw against his chest. "You had something stolen from you, didn't you? A little piece of yourself, or rather that Goddess you worship. Without it, you're nothing more than a two-faced Pokemon with an identity crisis."
Shrike snarled as he stepped back from the Shaymin. He wanted to refute it, but he knew that she was right. That Zoroark back in the forest had stolen from him that which made him the Avatar and without it... Well, he was nothing. He didn't get another word out before Aster spoke, her eyes narrowing and the smirk vanishing. "Trust me when I say that you are not the only one to know how that feels. Look, Shrike, I would tell you more if I could but you have to understand that it is not so simple. If circumstances demand it, I will tell you. Currently they do not."
"And my friends? If you have to protect me, come with me." The wind had been pulled out from under Shrike, the Jolteon falling onto his rear as he sat on the floor and gave a deep sigh.
"We will be departing soon, I fear that this location will not remain safe forever. Once we leave, we may find your friends if it does not pose a danger."
"Thank goodness..." Shrike sighed in relief before looking back up to Aster, "If they haven't moved they'll be in this abandoned house we found; it's not as nice as this cabin, but we could stay there."
Aster walked over to Shrike and extended a paw, which the Jolteon took to help pull himself back to his feet. "You should've just told me the truth when we met," Shrike said, speaking his mind.
"...Where Iris and I come from, revealing the truth is often dangerous." Aster was hesitant as she spoke, Shrike looking at her curiously.
"What do you mean?"
The smirk slowly returned to Aster's face as she looked up to her charge, teasingly winking. "Perhaps one day you'll find out."
Shrike returned to his bedroom after that, closing the door and walking over to sit on his bed. Back against the wall of the nook it sat in, he looked up to the dim evening light that shone through the window above, just starting to fade away as night fell. His ears perked as he realized he had been so caught up in the secrets Aster had been and still was hiding from him that he had forgotten to ask about this Skeith they had spoke of.
"Skeith... Their mother's kin..." he repeated to himself, placing a paw against his chin in thought. He wondered if Alanoi would know about this, but he had no way to contact the Mew anyway. The last he had seen Alanoi was before he was dragged into the portal that led him to that forest; hopefully he was doing okay.
Shrike closed his eyes, face falling flat as he held his paws out in front of him and placed them together. From the sound of it, this Skeith was bad news. Could he really cause a calamity to befall this world? It was a frightening thought, even if it wasn't his own world, and all the more reason to reunite with his friends as soon as he could.
Despite his status, Shrike surprisingly wasn't the most religious Pokemon. He had never been one for organized religion, even as he accepted the existence of the Gods as facts. Facts that were now shaken due to the reveal of the universe's broader nature, but still, what were Gods if not protectors of their domain? And right now, well...
"Hey, whatever God this planet worships... I know I'm not one of your subjects, but... I know you have to be out there, yeah? Heh, you're probably a Mew aren't you, like Alanoi. Like... Me. Guess we're family, huh? But ah... This is silly..."
Shrike paused, his whispering voice falling flat. What was he doing? Praying? Did he really think that this planet's God could actually hear his voice? I mean, he was a Mew and it wasn't like he could hear people talking the world over. Still, perhaps those older Mews were different... Those like Alanoi, or Armisael. Lacing his digits together and clasping his paws tightly, Shrike furrowed his brows and resumed.
"Sorry about that, hope you're sitll there. Just, look... I heard about this Skeith; I don't know who or even what they are, but... Well, If Aster and Iris are worried about them, then I guess I should be too. So please, if you can do something, anything... I want to see my friends again, and now I have to worry that this Skeith will do something that could separate us even farther, or kill us! I mean, that'd be bad.
"I still have to get back home too, and now... With the darkness that tried to attack me and without my link to Armisael, I feel that's even harder. So please, God, whoever you are, wherever you are, if you hear this prayer... I feel like this planet, Earth, it needs your help to stop a coming storm.
"Oh, that was so cheesy..." Shrike muttered the last sentence, his voice trailing off as he slipped down the wall to lay in the bed. He could only hope though that his words were heard, his last thoughts as he fell asleep being of his friends and his desire to return to them in the face of this upcoming catastrophe.
Zeke was helpless. He had meant to protect the girl, but in some misguided desire to make peace she simply pushed him to the side and confronted the mad Eevee by herself. And truly, mad was right.
“Dammit, you idiot!” Zeke roared as he watched Quar slam into the Deerling, shadowy energy wrapping around her frail body. She didn’t stand a chance, slamming into the ground with a disturbing thud. This was no time to worry about her, though.
“You piece of--” Before Zeke could finish voicing his frustration at Quar, the next attack came. That dark Aura of shadow energy reached out from the Eevee, soaking into the ground and forming spikes that shot up from below. “Watch out!” Zeke yelled at the nearby Pikachu while he went on the defensive, flipping about to dodge the spikes.
Compared to the eruptions Simon had used in their fight back on the beach several days ago, these spikes proved much more challenging. Shadow energy licked at Zeke’s Aura shield as he was nearly hit, the Riolu’s fur standing on end from the close calls. Whatever kind of energy this was, it was unlike any he had seen before. Similar to dark energy, but usually such attacks would be no problem for Zeke to withstand. This stuff, though...
“Augh!” With a cry of pain, Zeke found his Aura shield shattering, his defense dissipating and exposing himself to the raw, malicious force of the attacks. It was a glancing hit that got to him in the end, but it was still enough to drop Zeke to the ground. Pain wracked his body and he heaved as he tried to stand up again. Pushing through the pain, the Riolu shakily pulled himself to his feet, a few scratches visible through his fur from where he had fell along with some peculiar burns from the shadow energy.
“You... You...” Zeke snarled at Quar, trying to compose himself even as his head spun. Yet he pushed through it, he had to. So he raised his arms and flexed his paws, focusing on channeling as much Aura as he could manage into his palms. “If you want a fight... You’ve got one.”
With the soothing feeling of Aura cascading through his body, Zeke began to run in a kamikaze charge. His paws were glowing, twin spheres of concentrated Aura forming in them. They quickly grew to a large size, nearly as large as the Riolu himself. With a yell he thrust one of the Aura spheres at Quar, following it up with a swift roundhouse kick to propel it forward with speed. In its wake he ran with the other sphere held in his paw, ready to personally slam it against the mad Eevee once the first connected.
All the while, Zeke failed to notice something odd. The cracked ruby-colored gem he held in his sash, that he had found back at to the Forest Life Festival, pulsed with a new warmth. It drank in the shadow energy, feeding off Zeke’s own pain. Yet still it remained dormant, for one more condition must first be met...
@askshinydeerling (Man Turnip really messed up there huh)
Have you ever heard of the Guild? Its Wardens are said to be great heroes: of valor, strength, and wisdom. They readily journey the land to seek that which has been lost, combat the forces of evil, and uncover the mysteries of our past. Explorers. Mercenaries. Researchers. Together, these three branches form the Guild, shining a beacon across the lands of Varlaja from their fortress headquarters of Sentinel’s Watch.
So you see? That’s what I want to be. A true Warden of the Guild, both in title and in spirit. I want to be that hero, I want to carry that light, I want my deeds of good to outshine all that I have done wrong in the past. But it’s best not to dwell on the past, right? The past is no longer who you are: you are who you make yourself in the present moment, and in your future. So, me? I may not be one yet, but I know that I am a Warden at heart.
My name is Quinn. For 18 years of my life I was a criminal. I stole, I killed, I committed atrocities I am still trying to put out of my mind. But now, that is no longer me. The Quinn that used to be is no more. A month ago I set out for Sentinel’s Watch, with one goal in mind: I will move beyond what my life had made me and make proud the parents I never had the chance to know.
So I ask, will you join me? Join me on this adventure into the unknown, walking the path of redemption and heroism. I do not know where it will take me, I do not know who I will meet, what challenges I will face. All I do know is that my back is to my past and the unknown future lies before me. But first… I have to wake up.
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Species: Eevee
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Origin: Ivorith
(Art drawn by Rai)
Appearance: Average size for an Eevee, Quinn tends to stand and walk on his hind legs. This is both to make him appear larger than he actually is, as well as for the superior maneuverability in tight spaces such as the deck of a ship, and to keep his hands free to hold onto things and use objects including weapons. All four of his paws are a darker brown than the rest of his fur, while he has golden yellow eyes. He wears a red bandanna over his scalp, tied around his head as a hat, which forces his ears to hang low. Over the bandanna he has a pair of round silver goggles that sit on his forehead. Around his waist is a black belt with pouches and pockets he can hold tools in, and on his right forepaw he wears two golden bangles.
Personality: Quinn has an optimistic outlook on life and tries to be ideal, believing that any situation can be resolved to the benefit of both sides. This outlook was motivated by his former life, where he sailed with many pirate crews from a young age and committed acts which he does not wish to speak of. It is this history though that has led Quinn to do good now that he is on his own, but he is unable to shake all of the shackles of his former life. He can be almost wild-hearted and dangerously spontaneous at times, as well as underhanded and dirty when required. Nor is he above cheating or otherwise breaking rules for the greater good.
Background: Orphaned at birth, Quinn had a difficult life growing up. He lived as a slave to pirates for a period of time in his youth, before showing his chops to the crew and joining them as a shipmate himself. For most of his life he’s sailed with multiple pirate crews, moving from one to the other when instability and dishonor among thieves inevitably broke apart his current crew. A year before leaving to join the Guild, however, something changed. Quinn doesn’t like to discuss what happened, but it was shocking enough to make him disown his former life as a pirate. Having been sailing far to the south of the Varlaja mainland, it took Quinn a month of traveling before finding his way to Sentinel’s Watch and joining the Guild to atone for his past.
So is there like any sort of Pokeask Skype group or Discord server or anything. I’m working on getting my new blog set up and I don’t really have anyone to talk to about it @w@
Also I really need to stop avoiding it and just get to designing the characters already uuuugh.
Oh god I just thought I need to write up bios for all the guild leadership too don’t I uuuuuuugh. ...And not all of them have real designs either so I’d need to think about that uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh
Zeke's eyes flared open, and he crossed his arms in front of him. It was like a wave of energy bursting from the Eevee, and as he braced against the surprise he could feel his Aura sensors drifting upwards. Without even focusing he could SEE the immense amount of energy Quar was emanating. It was dark and corrupted, unlike any Aura or Aether he had seen before.
Aura gathered in the Riolu's paws and he projected it in front of himself, a shield to deflect the dark energy radiating towards him. The others who he had run into wouldn't be so lucky; he could only hope that the dark energy wouldn't affect them. There was one though...
A Deerling had walked right up Quar. No, not just any Deerling, he recognized them. Turnip, he had seen her at that festival...! "Dammit!" Zeke yelled, leaping into action purely on reflex. Protected by his shield of Aura, Zeke found himself jumping in front of Turnip, facing down Quar as he slid his feet and arms into a fighting posture.
"I don't know what's gotten into you, buddy. But if there's one thing I can't let you do... It's to hurt the innocent!" Zeke chuckled after he said that, realizing who he was sounding like. "Heh, guess Shrike's rubbing off on me..."
Shaking his head out, the Riolu looked up to Quar with a look of determination on his face. Any hint of usual, free spirited attitude were gone. "So what'll it be, fluffball? Stand down, or face me!"
Thinking of putting this blog on break and just, doing something else. As I mentioned i had been thinking of doing something with my Varlaja guild where people could make their own teams and take part in and stuff, and while I’m not sure if I want to go all out on that yet, I do think I need to just... Break away from the stuff on this blog for a good while.
What I’m thinking of doing is another blog about a new recruit to the Varlajan Guild. For those who don’t know much about the Guild, it’s the organization Simon, Anton, and Tenebrae are from. Think of the guilds and societies and stuff in the PMD games and other fan-PMD things and it’s kind of like that!
The new blog would thus take place in Varlaja itself and be centered around Sentinel’s Watch, the sprawling headquarters of the Guild. It’d star a new recruit who’s come to Sentinel’s Watch to join the Guild, and tell of his progression through it and his adventuring on missions for the guild. Over all, I want it to be rather lighthearted and adventurous, not as serious as this blog has become. I think, the seriousness of this blog has kinda dragged me down some...
I’ll be working to think up ideas for characters for the new blog as I don’t really have anything in mind, other than the new recruit maybe being an Eevee pfft. That seems a bit... Too similar though? Problem is the characters I have on this blog are like all my favorite species and I’m unsure if I should let myself reuse any of them u_u;
Anyway, I’m opening answers here if anyone has questions or feedback?
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I’m seeing all these PMDN blogs and it’s kinda like... That’s something I always wanted to do with Varlaja but never did as I feel no one would be interested in it :S
Honestly... Feeling that no one’s interested is a bit problem with me, and is hitting me hard with this blog right now. It’s not the only reason I’m finding it hard to update though, I’m also having issues just thinking of where to take the plot next. But yeah, feeling like no one cares about my stuff because I write and don’t draw... It always seems to wear me down in the end whenever i try anything like this :<
sobs I missed all the Munday stuff, as always :< I always seem to miss activity on Tumblr ;w;
There was the contact stuff that went around... I’m okay with mutuals and people I follow contacting me at anytime and for any reason by any method, but I’m a bit more shy towards people I don’t really know like at all. Some points of contact:
Calm. Peace. The group of Varlajans had returned to their makeshift home after failing to locate Shrike, and so far it seemed that no one wanted to talk to each other. There was a pervasive sense of failure among the group; failure and a lack of idea on what to do next. Without Shrike they were stuck here on Earth, and if they couldn't find Shrike... What then?
Zeke sat on the cliff away from the house again, feet dangling off the edge. Beside him sat the flute he had... "Won". Lost in thought he stared out across the forest below, feet kicking at the cliff, staying in motion even as he sat.
After a few minutes he reached over and laid a paw on the flute. He had never actually played it since he got it, just used it to carry things. Curiously he picked up the instrument and put it to his mouth, experimentally blowing through it a few times. The notes were strained and off tune, the Riolu frowning as he manipulated the holes that lines its shaft and adjusted how he blew into it. It took a bit but finally he managed to produce something that sounded all together decent, the Riolu going with it and making up a song as he went.
Yet, then he stopped. Zeke lowered the flute, clutching it in his paws as he watched the rising sun. Another day was before him, and what would he spend it on? Sitting, waiting for Shrike to return? Silently Zeke pulled himself up, reaching behind his back and tucking the flute into his sash behind him. No, an offer had been made to him at the festival and he intended to make use of it.
Glancing back at the abandoned house in the distance, Zeke could swear he saw someone move in one of the broken windows, watching him. But then Zeke turned away and leaped off the cliff, feet extended before him to catch himself on the steep downwards slope and run all out down it. He ran as fast as he could, descending the cliff and making his way through the forest. His destination? Blackwater Ranch.
----------
Enigma had told Zeke the location of the ranch back at the festival, and fortunately Zeke was fairly decent at navigation. He couldn't make the journey within one day so he found himself having to take a break as night fell, the Riolu tucking into some bushes to sleep. Berries grew on them to provide food, Zeke eating a sizable meal of them in the morning before setting off again.
He knew that he had to avoid cities: they'd be full of humans, humans who would probably try to "capture" him. It was an odd concept to Zeke that only enhanced how foreign this world was. Capturing Pokemon to use in fights? How barbaric. Still, it was one of those Pokemon he heading to see now and he couldn't complain about being forced to fight. He just preferred to have his freedom, and if he was caught by a human there'd be no returning to Varlaja. Ever.
Finally Zeke came across his destination. A fence surrounded the ranch, with signs written in that human language he couldn't read. He vaulted over it with ease, looking around as he walked through the fields. Where to find Enigma, now? Without any real idea where to look he kept wandering deeper into the ranch, only to see one familiar sight in the distance.
"Hey, Quar! Remember me?" Zeke called out as he rushed over to the Eevee. "Looking for the big guy, he around anywhere?"
Except, as Zeke approached the Eevee he couldn't help but notice something... Off about him. "You okay...?" he hesitantly asked.
And with that, I have FINALLY wrapped up RPs and advanced the plot! Be sure to read back over the RP with @askillusionfox / @askthepokeblogsrp if you didn’t while it was in progress! Events there are very, very important to understand what’s going on now with Shrike! And now, importantly:
All characters are open for asks, including Iris and Aster!
(Yes Aster doesn’t have a bio page yet, I’ll try and add one soon)
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Celine walked up to Zeke as he silently stormed away from Quill and Fox. Glancing over to that Jolteon, the Vulpix couldn't help but give him a look of condolence as if trying to apologize for her partner's behavior.
"Tch, you could say that," Zeke said it with a scoff, bouncing the flute he carried to jostle the bag on its end. Or at least as much of a bag as a bandana with its corners tied could be. "Got some food at least, so there's that."
"Please don't punch the first Pokemon we see after we leave."
"Man, it's like you read my mind," Zeke snorted. "Whatever, I'm over it. This place was a bust, wasn't it?"
Celine sighed, her shoulders sagging. "Yeah, no sign of Shrike."
"Well, take what we can get at least." Zeke jostled his bag again. "What's our next move?"
Celine pursed her lips, tails wavering before she started to walk towards the forest's entrance. "We head home."
"...Home, right." Zeke quietly repeated, glancing around at the Pokemon leaving the festival. It was growing late, they weren't the only ones who were done with it. All would be going to their homes as well, homes which were much more... Homely, to be sure. Trying to put a positive spin on it, Zeke added on, "Our little getaway from the troubles of Varlaja." Neither of them laughed.
Zeke and Celine found their other three companions by the forest's exit. Simon and Tenebrae looked much the same as usual, while Anton was carrying... A fishing rod with him? "Nice," Zeke whistled as he saw that. "We'll be feasting on Goldeen from now on!"
The Buizel went a bit pale at that comment, rather uncharacteristic of him. Why did everyone think he was good at fishing just because he was a water-type? "D-don't count on it..."
"Didn't find him?" Simon asked as he stepped forward. There was no need to specify who 'he' was among the group. Celine didn't bother responding other than with a shake of her head.
"Got some loot at least, about the only good that came of this trip." Zeke once more shook the flute, the musical instrument creaking uneasily. The repeated jostling seemed to have finally shook something out of the bag, the Riolu's ears flicking at the small sound. Carefully he set his makeshift stick down, turning around to dig about in the dirt before coming up holding the cracked jewel he had found for the scavenger hunt.
"Plus, whatever this is..." Zeke muttered, holding the hemispherical gem up to the fading light. He watched the light refract about within the gem, making it sparkle peculiarly as he twisted and turned his paw. The crack down the center of the gem only enhanced the sparkling, if anything. Mesmerized for a moment, Zeke didn't notice that his friends had walked off until he turned around and found them starting the trek down the mountain.
"H-hey! You guys want to leave me behind?!" He shouted out, securely tucking the gem into the knot of his sash before grabbing his bundle and running off after them.
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"Urgh..."
Slowly Shrike lifted his chest up, raising a paw to press against his forehead. He felt a great pounding behind his eyes, pressure and pain spreading upwards from there. His vision was unfocused, not like it mattered. Wherever he was he found himself in darkness, but he felt that beneath him was... A bed? An actual, real bed. When was the last time he'd slept on one of those?
Sleep... That's what he needed. Shrike eased himself back down, letting his head fall into a pillow he found had been placed underneath it. As much as he tried, it didn't seem that his pounding head would let him fall back to sleep though. Indeed, the longer Shrike lay in that bed the more he came to feel the aches of the rest of his body.
Shrike twisted and moved his limbs, testing each one and feeling just where they hurt. Fortunately the pain was dull, as if from sore muscles. Within a day or two he expected they would be gone and he would feel normal again, a remarkable change from the adventures of the last few hours as he remembered them. Then again, who knew how long he had actually been out.
Resigned to his lack of sleep, Shrike sat up and slid himself off the bed. He settled himself onto all four feet, taking a few steps as he let his eyes acclimate to the darkness. It was during this that he realized two things: he was a Jolteon, not a Mew as he had last remembered, and he was standing on all four legs without excruciating pain.
Blinking in surprise, Shrike sat on his haunches as he rubbed his paws over his body, feeling himself all over. Yes, he was undoubtedly in his Jolteon form now and not the Mew as he had been while confronting that Zoroark... Back before he was grabbed and fell unconscious. Grabbed by who? Was it whoever this bed and room belonged to? Were they the one who had apparently healed him?
With his eyes having grown somewhat used to the darkness, Shrike could just barely make out the basic features of the room he was in. Turning around he found the bed he had been in, set in a nook in the wall with a shuttered window above it. Not a trace of light shone through it, Shrike assuming it had to be night outside. A cupboard and table sat against another wall, and opposite the bed Shrike found a door with a faint soft light shining underneath it. The room otherwise appeared quite plain.
Grasping the door handle, Shrike pulled it open and stepped out. He immediately found that the light came from a fireplace set against the wall of a small living room. The firewood was smoldering, presumably lit hours previously and left to die of its own accord. A few chairs sat before the fireplace, and from the dim light Shrike could better make out that the walls of the building appeared to be wooden logs; so he was in a cabin of some sort. He couldn't help but feel like he was back in Varlaja again.
"Just because your leg's healed doesn't mean you should be walking around on it."
Shrike jumped at the voice, catching himself as he came back down and turned to find its owner. There was another door next to the one he had come through, opened and with a small Pokemon standing in the frame. They were hard to make out in the dim light, their fur being mostly black. Yet the tips of their paws were a bright blue, matching the spots that covered their back and the crest of fur atop their scalp. Most tellingly, a purple leaf hung off the side of their neck almost like a scarf. Shrike had seen just one of this Pokemon's species before.
"A... Shaymin?" Shrike asked, puzzled at the sight of the rare Pokemon. "And... In your flying form. Aren't you supposed to turn back to your normal form during the night?"
"A curious one, are we? Yet, learned. I am glad to see you know of my species." The Shaymin, who Shrike surmised to be a girl from the sound of her voice, walked past Shrike and into the living room. As she passed he noticed that they were just a few inches shorter than himself, on the large size for what he knew of her species. She gathered up some wood from the corner, carefully pushing it into the fireplace and using a metal poker to nudge it into place and help the embers ignite it. "Come, let me exam your wounds."
Shrike slowly walked over, laying down on a rug in front of the fire which the Shaymin motioned to. In the light of the newly reinvigorated flames, the Shaymin began to walk around her Jolteon patient, poking and prodding at specific muscles and places where just before there had been a cut or gash, yet now only showed thin scars. She paid particular attention to the leg that had been broken, testing its range of motion and observing Shrike's expression for any pain. "You are correct of course when it comes to normal Shaymin, but as my coloring likely gave away I am certainly not normal," she spoke, replying to Shrike's question finally.
"So you stay in this form at night?" Shrike asked, putting up with the curious pokes she was giving him. He was puzzled as to how he was already healed so thoroughly, as that her doing?
"To be precise, I turn into my sky form at night, while during the day I revert to my land form as we call it. Like others of my species, I will turn into my sky form even during the day while within the presence of a Gracidea flower. Do you feel any new pain?"
"New?" Shrike repeated, looking at the Shaymin. "Ah... My head hurts, and most of my body aches. Does that count?"
"The headache, yes; the soreness is due to the healing process. Head down, please." Despite telling Shrike to lay his head down, the Shaymin pressed a paw to the Jolteon's head and forced it down herself. She held her other forepaw over the Jolteon's head, Shrike's eyes focusing on it as he looked upwards. As he watched the paw glistened, and he realized water was forming between the strands of her fur. Gently she set her paw down atop Shrike's head, holding it in place as a cooling sensation spread out and muffled the pain Shrike had been feeling.
"T-that's better... Are you a healer?" Shrike asked in amazement, the pain fading away gradually until it was all but nothing.
"Mmm... Yes, you could say that. It is one of the skills I am most adept at." The Shaymin shook some stray water from her paw, a few drops landing on Shrike's fur. "You appear to have had quite the ordeal; it was fortunate I got to you in time."
"O-oh!" Shrike shot up at that, clutching his paws to his chest. The reminder of what he had been through had stirred him, making him recall... Well, what had happened. What he had lost... He grit his teeth and peered inside himself, feeling for the warming presence of his Goddess. Yet, nothing. It truly was gone. Where once there had been that fragment of a foreign yet familiar and comforting soul, there was now only a hole. An absence.
The Shaymin was looking at Shrike curiously, her patient breathing heavily and exposing his distress. "Did you recall something?" she asked.
Shrike solemnly nodded. "I... Lost something. I don't know what to do without it." He paused a moment there, thinking. A question came to him and looked the Shaymin in the eyes before asking, "Were you the one who saved me back there in the forest?"
The healer shook her head, quickly. "No. I merely found you unconscious and brought you back here. Why do you ask?"
"I just... Remember hearing a voice," Shrike pondered, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "I had given in to despair, when someone grabbed me and spoke to me. Then... I think I was teleported. I must have fallen unconscious from the shock."
"And then I found you, lying in the grass," the Shaymin said with a nod. "I couldn't leave someone as injured as you alone, of course."
"Thanks for that. It's like I was never hurt..." Shrike cracked a smile as he wiggled his once-broken leg, bending down to rub a paw over it. "Was I out long? You really worked wonders."
"Not long, no; a few hours. As I said though, I am rather adept at healing. It is one of the talents granted to me by my affinity with the moon." She stood up at that, walking over to a window. Slated blinds covered all the windows in the cabin, but she pulled the blinds open for that window to reveal the image of the moon in the sky. Shrike could see a smile creep across her face as she stood there, basking in its glow.
Shrike watched his host for a moment, before realizing that neither of them knew each other's names. "Oh, I'm Shrike by the way. I'm... Not from around here. Well, assuming we're still on Earth that is." Shrike sadly chuckled at that. With how that darkness seemed to want to drag him back to Varlaja, he had to wonder if still being on Earth was actually so bad after all.
"Aster," the Shaymin spoke, not looking at Shrike as her gaze was fixated on the moon. After a pause she managed to tear herself away, shuttering the window once more before looking to her patient. "You can call me Aster."
Shrike pulled himself to his feet, standing firmly on all four legs as he stepped over to Aster. Extending a white paw towards her, Shrike gave the Shaymin a warm smile. "Well then, I thank you, Aster."
She looked down at Shrike's paw curiously, seeming confused. Not wanting to be left hanging Shrike thrust forward and grabbed at her paw himself, firmly shaking it up and down. "O-oh, of course, no need for thanks." Aster shook her head, going along with the shaking of her paw. "What kind of healer would I be if I passed up someone in need?"
Tiredness was bearing down on Shrike finally and he stifled a yawn as he let go of Aster's paw, though he was unable to stop himself from wavering on his feet. "I think... I think I could use that rest now."
"Don't let me stop you, I will be out here if you need me," Aster replied with a curt nod. She helped escort Shrike back to the room he had woken in, watching the Jolteon crawl into bed before she closed the door on him. On her own again now, she wandered back to the window and opened the blinds once more to stare up at the moon.
"You look so different from down here..." she whispered with a wistful smile.
The mysterious Delphox stared at her opponent with a harsh gaze. Her icy blue eyes were just as cold as the rest of her, peering at the dark beast as if judging it. "My name?“ She asked, her voice cool, calm, not a hint of fear in her demeanor.
Slowly the Delphox raised the arm she held her icy sword in; the wooden wand her species was known to use visible through its length as a solid core. With every movement deliberate, smooth and graceful she moved the sword in front of her, thrusting its tip into the ground as she placed both hands atop its pommel. Spires of ice shot out of the ground and tore through the red flowers at the blade’s touch, forming a circle of icy spikes around the fox as if a barrier to block any sudden attacks.
“You may call me Iris. I ask again: what is your name?”
“You may address me as ‘Deva’. I suppose you’ve come to collect the little rat and save him from this fate, so tell him when he wakes that if he wants a 'refund’, he’s more than welcome to come here again to get it.”
While the Delphox presented herself with a confident stance, he knew well enough when and where to test his limits. Apart from her appearance and ability, nothing seemed of interest otherwise.
“I am afraid that will not happen.” It seemed as if Iris was preparing to attack. She lifted her sword from the ground, the weapon light in her hand as she pointed its tip to her foe. “I cannot allow him in your presence again. Even if what you speak is true, the soul is useless to him now. His body would reject it, only our Goddess has the power to gift the Avatar her soul anew.”
With that Iris stood down, her arm relaxing and letting the sword drop to her side once more as the spikes of ice around her melted into a pool of water. “Unfortunately, I fear that I would be no match for you in combat. I would relish the opportunity to dispatch you and rip that which you have no claim to from your corpse, but it was not my directive. Farewell, Deva. We will never meet again.”
Iris turned away from the Zoroark, holding her wand out to the side and letting water run off it as the ice blade melted. With a flick of the ornately carved wand a shimmering ice-blue portal appeared before her. Iris didn’t miss a step as she walked through the portal, just before it closed behind her.
