#dawnedon

"STOP PUTTING YOURSELF INTO DANGER!" PROMPTS / open.

Well, he can't always get away with his little night escapades unnoticed, can he? Let alone unscathed, but that's a different matter entirely— but hey, a bloody nose is on the infinitely less concerning side of things, especially compared to the average night excursion! He counts himself lucky with that one.

... Not that most people would agree. But he digresses.

"I know, I know..." He can't ( and never would ) blame Dawn for worrying, not when her care is genuine, when she's seen some of the worst and even been there for it. "I swear I'm not forgetting that, really." Even if sometimes it seems like it. Even if once, a long time ago, it would've been fine by him. ( thoughts better left unsaid, aren't they? even when they are obvious, to anyone watching close enough— )

"You know someone has to do something about all the lowlife hunting down wildlife for an easy buck around here—" and yet he stops himself, only a soft groan in the aftermath of his scrambling for words. He knows already there isn't any good excuse for the level of recklessness he's long since gotten used to, doesn't he? And yet— "I... will try to do better. Promise." Really, though? He's squirming just a little at the thought alone. "... Someone needs to take care of all those guys... but I guess I can have some more help from the team and have less blood outside of my body." That's... that's as good as it's gonna get, isn't it?

STRELITZIA IS HERE.

she does nothing but LOOK BACK AT HER: it's unclear how much security she had to avoid just to be in the gardens, but somehow, she made it.

❝ you gonna come down, or what ? ❞

It was a Moon Stone, though it was clear it was an atypical stone - the normally rough and jagged edges were smoothed down and flush with the surface. The rhomboidal shape was still clear, though the normally pointed edges were more rounded off than they were sharp. The sheen on the stone was iridescent, several colors glinting off the glossy surface when the light caught it just right. The color of the stone itself was lighter, the color appearing a bit more milky with twinges of blues and deep greens. It was clear Dawn had taken great care in both cleaning and polishing the stone as to not compromise the natural luster and surface of the stone itself - something the very Leader before her taught her, Dawn clearly putting his guidance into action.

"I didn't really know what it was at first. I thought it might be a weird Oval Stone." Dawn returns the velvet bag back to its spot, awaiting the next interesting stone to be placed within. "That was until I put it in the moonlight. I'm not gonna spoil how this particular stone looks in it. Just- trust me when I say you're going to want to try it for yourself. I've never seen anything like it before. I honestly don't even know how the stone itself got so smooth either. I know erosion and stuff happens, but I can't believe no one else dug it up for so long." She takes a second to pause, realizing she's absolutely yapping Roark's ears off at this point.

"Anyways. Wanna go digging and see if we can find some more unusual stones? I've been on a hot streak lately."

Ah, two late night degenerates would inevitably come across one another in the underground—what is there not to love about escaping society and all of the responsibilities of existing, with the added bonus of finding cool artifacts after enough searching? Volkner should, hopefully, be comforted by the fact Dawn frequents this place as much as Roark does. Nothing terrible would happen without one or the other coming in to help. Roark looks up from his makeshift table—an overturned bucket with a chunk of hard-packed dirt in an oddly rounded shape. The vague luster of a crystal shimmers under the overhead lighting. Ramses sits patiently, but when Dawn appears, he perks up just as quickly, happy to see one of his favorite people.

"Oh, artifacts for little ol' me?" Well, say less.

This is usually how it goes, most of the time, so long as Roark wasn't grumbling over yet another missing flag.

He turns the moon stone over in his hands, entranced for a moment by the way each face reflects, almost like a labradorite at certain angles. Overall, reducing the raw edges down to just barely a curve changed the way light interacted with the very structure of the stone itself, almost like Dawn managed to implant a foggy night within the stone. It takes only a little time before Roark breaks out into a smile. "You've improved immensely on your preparation skills. Not a single level missed before the polish! You know, I've never actually thought to tumble evo' stones, I just assumed it wasn't possible without compromising it somehow... but to think that this is actually just how it naturally formed...."

Ramses peers over, chirping in agreement—he knows what they're supposed to look like, given the household he grew up in. But this could pass for something entirely different. "That would have been my guess had it been completely opaque." Still... under what conditions did the stone form like this, he wonders.. "The first thing I'm doing on the way home is taking it out away from the city lights, that's for sure."

In it's natural, unfinished state, maybe the moon stone had dodged the amateur gaze... ah. The offer of more digging cuts off his train of thought, but he doesn't mind, happily moving to take his current chunk of interest and using the bucket for it's intended use.

Hopefully any fears of offense were quickly cast aside when bede for his credit laughed, it's a mirthful sound with a surprising warmth, He definitely knew something was up. Dawn in turn had a curious energy about her, Something that lingered on the edge of otherworldly though he couldn't begin to fathom what was causing it. Interesting enough now that he was closer, the details of his mask could be see while many of the residents wore colorful outfits in shades of red, blue and yellow, Masks carved delicately after the three birds

This man's was stark white that almost matched the shiny silver of his hair with etched blue curves jutting out from either side that soon got slid over his head but how curious that he was the only one wearing a lugia adornment, Warm purple eyes had lain hidden underneath

"No, no, do not apologize. I am used to catching others attentions, this becomes especially true for those who do not live here. "

Oh his amusement was present and yet he lightly bowed back to her all the same.

With surprising obedience, May takes to following Dawn’s lead towards their spot. Leaning on what May's learned during prior adventures together—many of which spiraled into such spectacle that they, to those not witnessing, would sound like nothing more than a campfire story—Dawn makes a terrific lead. The Hoennite’s instincts have guided her the entirety of her life, from childhood into the woman she’s become; relinquishing the reigns is something she’d previously thought impossible, even uncompromisable.

But, somehow, Dawn makes it easy.

It was miraculous, as far as someone who'd been so stuck in their motions gaining an entirely new perspective, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable; she is certain, in the very moment, that Paldea will make more sense of this shift in attitudes, the more the two women uncover its brilliance.

“Mmmm... I see what you mean,” quite literally, sapphire gaze surveying the map Sadako displays to close detail. Making a clean-cut route would do them well with navigating the unfamiliar region, cancelling out any chances of misdirection by even simply observing the sun’s spot in the sky. 

After all, relying on technological devices for guidance had never been something May felt comfortable enough adapting to—too many variables involved, for her to ever feel any true sense of security with that way of living.

She sits up more excitedly, seeing the wait-staff heading in their direction already; May appreciates a short wait-time, considering her incessant itch to abandon roads for the rough terrain, especially when finding herself in a city for too long. “It seems the smartest bet, fer sure... circlin’ around would give us more chances to take advantage of the ocean, too. Bet Emp would feel a lot more comfy travelin’ about that way, yea?”

The aroma of their entrees reaches their table before the food itself does; May’s insatiable urge to help herself immediately tones itself down, as she dutifully squares away what's what. She’d never been a girl of manners, a woman of constraint, but observing Dawn has taught the woman a lot about reeling in her more reactionary tendencies in times it'd be deemed appropriate to. It’s already aided her well in surroundings such as this, she’s found.

“Once we fuel up, we can get the hell outta here and start north? I know my team's dying to take a good stretch—they aren't used to stayin' cooped up this long.” 

It's an eerie feeling, stepping through the now-defunct halls of the Galactic HQ. Barry's hazel eyes are wide in the darkness as the timeless duo passes by dusty monitors, slumbering machines, and haphazard piles of abandoned documents.

He can absolutely understand Dawn's stress, being thrown back into the belly of the beast like this, but hey--at least they're together again, on another adventure to overcome a brand-new obstacle.

Just another Friday for them.

"Well, so far it doesn't seem like anyone is around. I mean, nobody responded to my summoning yell earlier," Barry agrees, still hanging on to his friend's sleeve in the darkness with a shiver. "Also, c'mon. You said that you wouldn't talk about haunted stuff while we were in here."

"...And now that I think about it, those admins should be paying us for doing their dirty work. When we get out of this sucky place, I'm gonna give them a piece of my mind. A big piece."

"There's so many different kinds of sandwiches..."

--ohsshit is that-- I mean. She knew there was some Big Name at the Ball, but-- the Sinnoh Champion??? Holy fuck. Holy fuck. And of cours she talks to her right when she has the mouth full of one of said sandwiches.

“Bbbuf--!”

Oh, come on, Fresa. At least gulp first. And maybe don’t choke while you’re doing it. God, what a mess.

“--phew, uh-