Challengers of Destiny

There was no reason for Rivor to try to explain anything. What had happened in the past should stay in the past. Not only that, but the Espeon had already had enough of a read on his current state of mind that adding anything more to it would only make things more difficult.

Instead.. he just stayed in the embrace of a ‘mon who actually cared about him. One who had earned his complete honesty, fair and square. He wasn’t afraid to show weakness-.. emotion around her. His head rested carefully against her, claws resting to her fur.

    “  Sakura .. I’m ..  “

He knew he wanted to say.. something. To thank her for being here. For knowing that he needed her comfort upfront, even when he didn’t express it. But words were failing her. Instead, he just remained quiet. 

She gently gave the Sandslash a kiss on the cheek, holding him in her embrace. She didn’t fully understand all of the pain he’d gone through, and she couldn’t, because she was lucky enough to be surrounded by those that actually saw her as family, as opposed to a mere tool or object. However, what she could understand of the Sandslash’s personal feelings, she didn’t very much like.

The Espeon took a bit to formulate her thoughts, from her observations and what she's been told of the Ground-type's past.

" If I were to guess, you're someone who uses his bravado and a flirtatious attitude to try and cover the immense hurt you've received throughout your life. You were hurt and scarred, and I'm certain that deep down, the memories still haunt you. But despite all of it, you were strong enough to not let it freeze your heart. You still have an aura of warmth and kindness. I know that if I went through half of the hell you've been through, I probably wouldn't have been able to recover, and instead I would've been consumed by shadow. "

Have your muse give their unfiltered opinion on him [Accepting]

Rivor stood observant. Practically frozen in his place when the Espeon started to speak. It was very rare for him to hear such an accurate description of himself. Had it not tapped into his deepest, emotional defenses, he might’ve praised her. Sakura had done one hell of a read on him.

    “  Girl ..  “

He began to speak, but stopped. Insticts told him to fight against this and say otherwise. If there was one thing that had remained on him, aside from the numerous scars that painted him from head to toe, it was his trainer’s rule to not get emotional. Try as he might to break it, the idea of showing emotion. True, unfiltered emotion.. was still seen as a weakness.

While it had certainly taken hold as his main outward personality, his charming nature started as a shield for that. After all, if he always expressed himself as a confident, no one could question his mental fortitude. Right?

Sakura nodded before hugging Rivor, just holding him for right now. He lived in a hell for the majority of his life, and had endured more suffering than she felt anyone should go through in their entire lives. So she was especially determined to make Rivor’s future much better.

Rivor happily wrapped his arms around the Espeon as she moved in for the much needed embrace. His chin gently rested on top of her head, keeping her close to his chest. This was exactly what he needed after the day had beaten him up so much. 

One could’ve expected his usual, erotic ways of speaking now that they were close.. but given the setting, he’d instead just speak plainly with his girlfriend. She deserved to know how much he meant to him.

She stretched up to give the Sandslash a brief kiss on the lips before going back to cuddling him, gently headbutting the underside of his chin. All the while, she was letting out a gradual purr. Though she briefly broke it to whisper something else under her breath.

Sakura just let out a sigh and lied against Rivor. She was looking a little better, a bit less ominously dark and more of her looking like her normal self.

"Tough week for you too? Might I interest you in a Frequent Suffering card program? One stamp is worth a free cuddling session from yours truly."

Ohh, now this was exactly what he needed to hear. If he was going to be down and out for the rest of the day, the least he could get was a cuddle.

    “  Madam .. I’m interested and want make my first stamp now, please ~  “

The corrupted Eevee let out a bitter laugh, quickly devolving into one that a lunatic would let out. It was the kind of thing that would send chills up the spines of some people. ... It was the laugh of someone who had nothing inside anymore, and was just empty.

" Ooh, you thought I still cared? Now that's hilarious. "

Meme || Accepting

The Eevee was in Rai’s face now, crimson eyes staring down the Electric-type with a harsh glare. “ That’s all you are anyway. Completely, utterly, pathetic. ” He punctuated the statement with a jab to his chest. “ You can’t even muster up the courage to even say a single word. I’m left wondering why I ever fell for you, or how anyone could for that matter. ”

He knew his words would probably cut pretty deep, but in his blind fury, he didn’t care. He just wanted to share this pain, make them know how he felt, no matter who he hurt or what bridges he burned. Night and day compared to his true self, to be sure.

Incorrect quotes [Accepting]

Sakura: So you like cats? Rivor: Yeah. Sakura: *tries to impress them by slowly pushing a glass off the table*

As he wanted, she let out a small laugh at hearing his yells of victory. Honestly, she was glad to have met him. Helped bring a little more joy and humor into her, at the time, darkening life. 

“ Yea, me too~ For now, let’s keep it kinda on the down low, okay~? ” Her desire to keep it hidden from the general public was mostly her playfulness, while the rest was to keep Rivor out of Team Rift’s attention.

“ Though don’t worry about me. We’re over by Sky Pillar, so at most it should only take a few days at most for us to– … Oh you have got to be kidding me… ” She paused for a few moments. “ One moment, I’ll be right back. ”

Setting the phone down, she took a few steps away from it. “ Hey, what are you still doing over here?! ” Moments later, the sound of shattering rock came over the line, with a panicked scream. “ Yea, run! If I ever see your ugly mug around here again, you’re going to know what it’s really like to be in between a rock and a hard place!! ” This threat was punctuated with several boulders crashing down into the ground.

She just came back and let out an exhausted sigh. “ Whew… Sorry about that. I know they can’t understand me, but it helps getting that stuff out after a long couple days. ”

The stark contrast to how she would speak so sweetly towards him, to the way that she handled the unwanted visitors left him momentarily speechless. While he could only hear the sounds and her booming voice, it left little to the imagination. Whatever she did, it had left them scrambling away from the scene in what sounded like sheer panic.

This gave him something to be proud of. As if the friendly, playful way she spoke to him was just that. A tone reserved for him. Whatever the case, it made his heart flutter with excitement. Of course, he rarely stayed quiet for long.. and he was sure to make this part known.

     “  Daaamn, girl ~ .. you’re a boss, aren’t you ?  I think- wait- let me check ..          yup. You made my heart skip a beat. Sheesh Sakura, I’m already in love,          no need to make it worse. I want you here with me. Now.  “

They were far away from each other, of course. However they could go about it, he’d need to be patient. Now that he’d actually asked her and made it official though, it was going to be a much more grueling wait. At least he had the phone here to keep his flirts up and running

“ I know the feeling. Don’t worry, I’m gonna be bringing back some souvenirs from Hoenn. The weather was turned into a complete mess across the region, but thankfully now that the Hoenn Legendaries aren’t being harassed anymore, it’s just a little chilly. ”

Really, she was looking forward to returning home, mostly just to spend time with Rivor as well as get away from the stress and constantly being on edge. Plus, it was starting to wear her out, too.

“ I’ll be sure to bring a blanket or two for us to snuggle up in! Mareep wool is like Wooloo wool in that it’s actually pretty sturdy, so your spikes shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The only difference is that Mareep wool is fluffier and more comfy, but isn’t as good at keeping things warm. ”

“ No less than a month and a half to actually ask. Well, take a wild guess~ ”

Really, she figured that they’d been dating for a while, but she guessed he just needed verbal confirmation. Of course, her offer for him was rhetorical, and only a few moments after asking him, she said the answer.

“ Here’s your answer: Fuck the absolute hell yes. ”

The Sandslash was left with momentary anticipation for her answer, a short chuckle coming after her prompt for him to take a guess. Rivor had on many occasions had unofficial relationship where the two would just “fool around”. Thus, it was a little blurry for him to know when a girl was genuinely interested.

So when her answer came, he was all too excited to hear it. That said, he would answer rather calmly.

   “   Phew .. That’s great, Sakura. So I can say you’re my girl now.         Hey uh .. could you excuse me for just a moment, will you ?  “

Rivor went silent for a while, putting the phone a short distance away from himself, but kept the microphone on. Soon, some victorious yells could be heard from his side of the line.

     “  FUCK YEEEAH !!! YES !! SCORE !!  “

While this was done to illustrate his genuine joy about hearing her say this, he did so partly to make her laugh. Still though, it was an easy way for him to show how much he truly had come to like her at this point. Soon, he came back to the line.

As he wanted, she let out a small laugh at hearing his yells of victory. Honestly, she was glad to have met him. Helped bring a little more joy and humor into her, at the time, darkening life. 

“ Yea, me too~ For now, let’s keep it kinda on the down low, okay~? ” Her desire to keep it hidden from the general public was mostly her playfulness, while the rest was to keep Rivor out of Team Rift’s attention.

“ Though don’t worry about me. We’re over by Sky Pillar, so at most it should only take a few days at most for us to-- ... Oh you have got to be kidding me... ” She paused for a few moments. “ One moment, I’ll be right back. ”

Setting the phone down, she took a few steps away from it. “ Hey, what are you still doing over here?! ” Moments later, the sound of shattering rock came over the line, with a panicked scream. “ Yea, run! If I ever see your ugly mug around here again, you’re going to know what it’s really like to be in between a rock and a hard place!! ” This threat was punctuated with several boulders crashing down into the ground.