2023-12-20: Pokemon Panic!
- Log: 2023-12-20 Pokemon Panic!
- Cast: Gwen Whitlock, Lan Lilac, Seraph Ragnell, Xantia, Ida Everstead-Rey, Zed
- Where: Viridian Forest
- Date: December 20, 2023
- Summary: After being teleported to an unknown world (again!), several Drifters gather together. Gwen, who has been unconscious ever since, finally wakes up to meet several new... uh, friends.
=============================<* Viridian Forest *>============================== Viridian Park is an expansive, publicly owned and well-maintained nature reserve that doubles as the main commuter path between Viridian and Pewter City. The Park itself is most famous for Viridian Forest, a League-curated training ground for novice Pokemon trainers to cut their teeth on -- even those that don't have a spirit for competition find the Forest of great curiosity due to the large number of flora and fauna to be found and studied within. BGM: Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee & Pikachu! - Viridian Forest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44TQR6n16Jg
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Zzz....zzzz......."
Nibble, nibble.
"Zzzzz....... zzzz.... *grumble*...."
Nom, nom.
'.... Joltik, joltik...'
Gwen is much the way she was left: dead asleep, wrapped in an emergency blanket as she lays on the soft green patch of moss.
However, what is new is the group of small, yellow, fuzzy four inch tall animals, with four stubby legs and two sets of soft blue eyes, one large, and the other a pair of smaller simple eyes that almost could be mistaken for tiny brows. The fuzz on their bodies almost seems to hide the two shoft mandibles that seem to serve as a mouth.
These creatures have taken resident on Gwen now, mostly her right ARM and the faintly glowing area on her chest, right where her 'heart' is. In fact, they seem very happy about it, jumping around in quick, short bursts, while others wait patiently, sometimes communicating with displays of their mandibles, either raising them in a show of aggression, or doing simple little dances while, waving their mandibles in the air. Two Joltiks even nuzzle and delicately sort through Gwen's curly hair with their mandibles. Anyone who's seen a jumping spider may recognize many of the same patterns of behavior, though there's one key difference, if one looks closely enough.
While there is blood on Gwen, it's clearly the same stains she was teleported with. While some of the little beasts are resting on her body, it's the part that involve her ARM that seem to be prime real estate for them.
At least they're nice enough to not just swarm her, but what exactly are they here for?
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
A LITTLE WHILE AGO
'Just hold on a little longer,' Gwen had said, holding Lan like something safe and soft. Lan had held on tight, because she had been so empty, and then she was overflowing and it was too much. A brilliant, blinding light had swept them both up--
Lan woke up in a green place, pitched on her side in tall grass, arms tangled with Gwen's. There were lingering smudges of soot-like shadow on their clothes and skin, but her mind felt like her own. She'd sat up, head poking above the waving stalks of grass, and waited for Gwen to wake up to. And waited. And shook her (gently at first). "Gwen? Gweeeeen?"
Well, it wouldn't be the first time that Gwen had been absolutely out of energy after a fight. If Lan could get camp set up, and get some food into her eventually, she should be right as raisins in no time. And if foraging for firewood and setting up camp meant that Lan didn't have to think or feel about any kind of thing for a little while, that would be fine! "Stay here, Gwen," she'd told the sleeping girl, before gathering herself and her things up. The tall grass should be a good enough hiding spot to keep her safe.
Finding firewood had been an absolute hassle - whatever kind of place they'd landed in was weirdly.... tidy. Like a town park, but... not in a town that she could see? But there were practically no fallen limbs anywhere. No water source nearby, a bunch of weird ridges that most folks could jump down but not back up... Lan had frowned, and gone back to Gwen with nothing to show for it.
And then she'd had no Gwen as well, because the courier had vanished!! "Oh no, I said to stay here!" Lan absolutely did not whine, before locating a set of footprints that came shallow and left deep--
--and then there had been shrieking in the distance.
PRESENT DAY
She keeps learning more about the local plants, although it's been from a combination of 'consulting the spirits' and 'watching the local wildlife eat' and 'trial and error'. So far nobody has died or had cause to wish they were dead, which is a really good result! Lan is walking back to their camp with an armful of a leafy green that the local animals seem very fond of and has reset her empty hunting snare again. "How do they keep setting it off without getting caught...?" she wonders out loud, glancing over to check on Gwen again... and freezing. "!!" SPIDERS
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell usually has a few things going on. She's a busy gal. But after getting teleported over to a new world, the only thing she had going on was a need to explore. And exploration? Is fastest done on one's own. She'll catch up with her companions later. Right now, she needs to get the lay of the land.
Which means that, inevitably, she was going to run into someone else in the area. This 'someone else' is making herself real popular with the local fauna, even, if just by existing around then.
It's genuinely amusing to Ragnell, and she chills and watches from the branch of a nearby tree. It figures that Gwen would attract electric bugs. (Yes, spiders aren't bugs. Shh.) But then, Gwen's popular in general with electric things, isn't she? (Yes, Ragnell means herself. Shh.)
Someone approaches the camp in which Gwen is still unconscious. Ragnell glances up from her perch. "Oh hey, Lan," she says casually. "How ya been?" She grins down at Gwen and the Joltiks. "Cute, huh~?"
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Rustling foiliage heralds the coming of something considerably larger than the average bug Pokemon, drawing quickly closer to the location of the campsite. Something dangerous, going by the threatening growl accompaning them. Who's that Pokemon??
...It's Xantia, making a sound with her stomach before she gets around to making one with her mouth. She looks... fine, for the most part, just a few scratches here and there, which don't look like they're from any actual fighting, just from going off the beaten path. Whatever injuries she may have taken back on Marduk appear to have already healed.
She isn't surprised to find people here - she'd picked up the scent of a campfire and made a beeline for it, hence her unconventional shortcut through the more dense foiliage. Who knows how many random encounters she had on the way here. But it was all worth it. Her eyes light up when she sees the camp-goers and camp-observers alike, quickly jogging over to the site with a bright smile on her face.
"Phew, am I glad to see some faces I actually recognize! I feel like I've been going around in circles forever! This place is real weird, I dunno what's up with all the... uh..."
This is around where she notices the predicament of everyone's favorite courier. With nobody immediately doing anything about that... Well, Xantia probably would, normally, but not this time, it seems. She just kind of joins in on the staring, and decides to direct the obvious question to Lan.
"Why is Gwen covered in bugs?"
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
There's a divot in the ground nearby, about three feet across and perfectly circular. It's now playing host to a cozy campfire, ringed with a circle of perfectly-sized marker stones. Ida lies on the grass in front of it, thinking too deeply about the divot, the circle, and how the perfectly-sized stones were nearby. This is a firepit, but there's no sign of recent campfires--no scorch marks, no burned vegetation. Like the strange spherical container half-embedded in the ground, it's a stark reminder that someone not only engineered this place, but seems to be actively taking care of it.
But how, and why?
The fire itself is fairly small; Ida had the good fortune of finding some freshly-fallen branches and a few handfuls of leaf litter, but not much more than that. She's still wearing her battered, bloodied armor. There are fresh leaves poking out of her hair, and the bun is mostly undone. Her eyes are hooded.
Approaching footsteps. Ida jolts upright and rouses herself to a semblance of alertness. "Who's there," she says. She fumbles around on the ground, realizing something important fell out of her pocket while she was asleep...
And she finds it: a small red-and-white ball, with a single button on the front. Ida picks it up with a delicate, deliberate hand--like it's a grenade.
"...Lan?" Ida sees the young woman's silhouette, right next to... "Ragnell? Xantia? Is everything all right?" Something moves on Gwen's body, but it isn't Gwen.
Ida freezes, and stifles an undignified shriek as she sees what's happened to Gwen. She clutches the ball with white-knuckled fingers, eyes saccading as she takes stock. "Gwen," Ida says, her voice low and urgent. "Gwen, wake up!" Ragnell isn't wrong--the alien creatures are adorable--but she'd rather them not crawl all over her friend at the moement.
Aside from that, she seems stymied. Should she shoo them off? Would they turn hostile if she did? They don't look like they're hurting Gwen, and that's the one saving grace at the moment.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Shhhhhhh--" says a distinctly moss-headed figure in the corner of the campfire circle. It's Zed, and he's pressed a finger to his lips and is DEFINITELY shushing Ida, which is probably a novel experience. "Gwen and the electrospiders are bonding over naptime. Best not to disturb."
Zed is...
Uh. He's contentedly sitting with his own yellow (read: golden) companion curled up at his side.
The... the one equipped with a tesla cannon.
...
But for whatever reason, the Joltiks aren't bothering Goldie right now.
"Do not worry. Nothing this cute can be harmful," Zed nods, "This is a patented Riesenlied-ism, so you can trust it completely."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
'Joltik, joltik...'
Gwen, finding her right ARM heavy, lifts her left arm instead, lazily scratching her head. The two Joltik dancing on her head separate, curiously dabbing their mandibles on the hand, as if examining it.
Lan would know why Gwen somehow hasn't managed to wake up; she's seen this pattern before. Despite Gwen's antics, she's very, very mortal, and energy-intense actions require something to alleviate the debt that occurs afterwards. Sleep, calorie-dense food, or operating at half-capacity are all valid ways of paying it back. Especially knock-out dead-to-the-world sleep. Ragnell and Zed would likely also be familiar with this pattern, as well as the inevitable hunt for food that comes afterwards.
Actually, everyone here's pretty familiar with it, including the Joltiks, now.
The Joltniks also seem to prescribe to a lifestyle similar to Ragnell; while there is a nice lightning seraph up in the trees, they're content for now to dance around their food source that is nicely arranged on the ground than start climbing after the very awake looking Ragnell (in comparison). Or anyone else, for that matter, as they watch.
The spell is broken as Ida shrieks; all the Joltiks turn around instantly, seeming to notice everyone else for the first time.
The taste of ozone wafts in the air, some like Ragnell and Xantia may notice the slightest prickle of static.
.... Then Gwen wakes up. ".... Zzzhgnk...? Wh....hn? Wh?" The Joltiks's seem to panic as their sleeping giant begins to waken; some scuttle away, but others hang on for dear life as that right ARM moves. "... Waz.... Nuh? Wha?" Blue grey eyes stare at the Joltiks that have turned to stare back at her, their two pairs of eyes blinking alternately as she, with her one pair, blink as well.
"Haughhh!!" Joltiks fly through the air, but not out of their own will towards onlookers; Gwen's dislodged some already in her panic. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN' O--"
*BZZT* The electric charge is released, but unfortunately, it's on Gwen, who falls back down as Joltiks flee.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Lan looks up, into the branches (and away from the spiders). "...Ragnell!" The name takes a moment to remember, but she does remember it! "I'm okay. You look the same as always!" Lan means 'unbothered, ready to jump right out of her lane, flourishing' etc. All good things! Xantia also gets a smile. Thank goodness... if anything goes weird out here, they're amassing a nice selection of seasoned Drifters. Gwen will be safe for sure now, possibly even from spiders!
Ida isn't doing as well as Lan had hoped. Ida is also not the kind of person, Lan thinks privately, that can just focus on what's right in front of her whenever they get transported to another world. But Lan finds purpose in helping, and if she keeps her body moving then her mind will surely not betray her by letting her worry about things she can't change. "I brought back some-- your hair," the shaman frowns, but leaves it alone for the moment. Besides, her hands are full and Gwen is still covered in spiders.
At least, for a moment or two. And then Ida shrieks, and it all quickly saunters vaguely southward despite Zed's very reasonable observation.
"They looked kind of like they were playing," Lan observes, but freezes when a spider is flung and lands right on her face. The noise she makes from between clenched teeth could've shattered windows if there were any around.
SHE IS ONLY SO BRAVE, YOU GUYS.
"is... is it still playing," she whimpers pathetically, eyes squeezed shut.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Oh hey, Xantia. Got yourself lost, eh?" Ragnell says, shooting Xantia a two-fingered salute. "'s'been fun checkin' the place out, yeah? I've never seen anyplace like it before!" She shrugs. "Could use some better monsters, though. The ones 'round here are basically house pets. I'd rather have a good fight."
Ida rouses then, and Ragnell raises an eyebrow at her and her shrieking. "Damn, Ida. You seen better days. 'Course, I know you seen worse ones too, so--" She shrugs. "You do you, I guess."
She half-smirks at Zed and his assertion that sufficient cuteness cannot possibly also be dangerous. "Sounds like something Riese'd say," she remarks. "She's wrong, though. The cuteness is jus' how they get your guard down."
Does Ragnell know what the Joltiks are? Absolutely not! She's just being contrarian. She might be on to something when that smell of ozone wafts from the Joltiks, though...
Oh, nope, Gwen just wakes up and sends them flying. (Ragnell *does* recognize that pattern, but Gwen has lots of friends nearby; Ragnell isn't worried for her.) That electric discharge *probably* won't hurt her much. Ragnell grins broadly as Lan emits a high-toned screech when one of the spiders lands on her face. "Nah, it's about t'fry an' eat your eyeballs," she jokes. ...So in other words, Lan's observation of how *she* looks is on point.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Hmm, is that so...?" Zed asks Ragnell as joltiks go flying. One ends up in his hair, which gives a distinctly lemon-lime flavor to Zed's look. It swiftly hides away within, perhaps convinced that it has successfully found some Tall Grass to hide away in. Zed does not mind, he contains little that a tick, jolty or otherwise, would find appetizing.
Goldie is also Joltik'd, though she is somewhat more offended by the whole business, bristling with far too many teeth and a deep metallic growl before the offending joltik skitters away.
"Well, you lull people into lowering their guard pretty often, then blast 'em all with lightning," Zed says, a joltik leg poking out of his hair, "Does that mean you count as 'cute', Ragnell?"
Beat.
"Gweeeen, you okaaaay?" Zed peers over, letting Someone Else handle rescuing Lan from the bug on her face. "Did that jolt recharge you??"
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
'Same old Ragnell', you can just about hear in Xantia's chuckle. "I wouldn't exactly call it 'fun', just confusing. I thought I was rescuing a little girl from a giant bee monster, but apparently she'd wanted to capture it, and I messed it all up? Also punching it was 'doing it wrong'? So I don't know what's going on, but uh, I kinda forgot to ask the girl any questions after I was done apologizing for... whatever it is I was doing wrong. Sooo... I hope somebody else found out more than I did."
Her stomach growls. "And, that I could possibly maybe have some food...?"
Xantia, too, looks doubtful at Zed's second-hand wisdom. "I admit, I'm not a great judge of how 'cute' things are, but. As much as I don't like to argue against Riesenlied... she thinks Cuccos are cute." Enough said. Everybody knows just how harmful Cuccos can be. Xantia has found out the hard way not to judge by appearances.
Indeed, it doesn't appear to be a unanimous take that it's fine for these creatures to be crawling all over Gwen. Ida doesn't appear to be a fan, and neither is Gwen herself, sending the little buggers flying every which way. Xantia calmly steps aside and opens her hands close together, to catch an incoming Joltik as if it were a fastball. She holds it up with one hand, gazing curiously into its too-wide eyes. "Joltik?" it wonders. For a fleeting moment, it appears as if the two might have reached some kind of understanding.
Then Xantia just as calmly chucks it over her shoulder into the bushes. "Gonna guess these things are attracted to electricity," she remarks, just before the electric discharge happens to Gwen. "Electric bugs, I see. So, no lightning, fire's probably a bad idea around here... ice, maybe? Want me to freeze it off your brow, Lan?" She's helping.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
In the past twenty-four hours, Ida has:
1) Participated in the first crewed space flight on Filgaia in what's at least centuries, aboard a refurbished and questionably-safe rocket,
2) Fought her way through an ancient satellite full of wonders and horrors,
3) Fought an alien(?) supersoldier with terrifying Symbological powers,
4) Witnessed the near-release of a god bent on extinguishing human emotion, averted only through Saintly intervention,
5) Teleported to some alien world called "Energy Nede", which is God-knows-where,
6) Watched poor Avile get eaten by the very sphere in her pocket, and forced(?) it to spit her out.
It has not been a good day for Ida's nerves. The spoon reserve is perilously close to debt.
The heiress clamps a hand over her mouth, and glances sideways with a nod to Zed. Deep breaths. Deep, square breaths. Ida glances at Ragnell and nods in acknowldgment, but then Gwen wakes up and everything goes directly to hell. One of the Joltiks impacts Ida's shoulder, and holds on for dear life. Ida turns to stare at it, wide-eyed. Its exoskeleton is fuzzy. It smells faintly of ozone. Its clear, blue eyes seem to have at least a glint of advanced animal intelligence within.
As Lan shrieks, it skitters down Ida's back, leaps off into a bush, and makes itself scarce. (It hangs back just long enough to nuzzle the one Xantia tossed with its mandibles.) Ida steps forward, and for the second time this day, reaches out with careful hands to remove an alien insect from a comrade's head.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Ragnell's judgment proves to be correct; after discharge of electricity, Gwen is fine! Mostly. Ragnell's probably intentionally shocked her worse than that, and Gwen still considers her a friend. Which... is also a pattern too. Shall it happen here? (Spoiler: This is Gwen. It will.)
There's screaming and yelling and throwing and things saying 'Joltik' and Gwen is considering just going back to sleep to let reality resettle back to something a little more normal. But there's people here, and Auntie Frea has taught Gwen better than to be a bad host.
"..... It hurt is what it did..." Gwen rubs a hand through her hair as she sits up, squinting. "..... Uh... How long was I out...? G'damn... I'm still whoozy, so it couldn've been that long," Gwen says, blearily. Though when Zed calls Ragnell 'cute', she begins again to consider falling asleep again.
Wait-- Ragnell's here too? Ragnell's next comment on Lan's eyebells neatly answers Gwen's question. "Good t'see y'ain't changed," she says instead, a bewildered look still on her face. It's been a day. "... Soooooo.... did we all die or somethin'? Last I remember I was holdin' onto Lan, n' then I blacked out, n' you're a Seraph so maybe you're, like, some kinda guide t'the Underworld or somethin'?" Blue grey eyes squint up towards the tree Ragnell's voice is coming from. Pause. "Like, at this point, I'm willin' t'entertain the idea, but I can't see you do somethin' so labor-intensive for a single coin."
But what sort of afterlife has giant bee monsters and spider(?) things? Gwen fishes into her pocket, producing a red foil candy bar, much like the one she offered Innominat. "'Ere, Xantia. Catch." She tries to throw with her right hand, but the candy bar makes a weak little arc to the ground a few measly feet in front of her. ".... Uh... I might have another."
This is the worst afterlife ever.
As Ida removes a stray Joltik from her friend's head, Gwen searches her other pocket for another candy bar. "... Oh, hey--"
She instead... pulls out another Joltik, though this one looks slightly smaller than the others, and weaker, judging how it's not nearly as spry and quick as the others.
'..... joltik....' The small Joltik shudders in Gwen's left hand, as she stares down at it. A connection is formed. A check is made with Gwen's familiar stat.
".... Aw, damn, these things're kinda cute..." Gwen says, softly. "... Hey, little guy, it's okay..." Letting it scurry timidly to her other shoulder, Gwen looks up, still groggy. "... So.... again, what happened? Any of y'all know?"
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
"it is nnnnnooooooooooooooot," Lan really does not shriek this time, because she still has the power of positive thinking on her side and the spiders have already been proven to be able to hear sounds. "nonononopleasedon'tfreezeit," because Lan has mostly seen Xantia punch things, and she is not ready to be ice-punched in the face! Now or like ever! Her hands raise a couple of inches further and twitch somewhat uselessly, bruising the greens she worked so hard (read: wandered around) to gather. "xantia i will give you so many snacks if you don't freeze punch me--"
Ida, thankfully, comes to her rescue. Lan is very, very still as the heiress carefully picks the little critter off of her. "it's not that i'm really scared of spiders, it's just that i don't like surprise face spiders," Lan continues in a very small tone, because there could be more of them at any minute.
Pause.
There are no more spiders. Yet.
The tension leaves Lan's body with a whoosh of breath. She goes the rest of the way to Gwen and crouches down to drop the leaves in a neat heap nearby, before opening up her rucksack. "I was saving these for when you woke up. Want some pemmican? You too, Xantia. Anybody that's hungry." A waxed cloth gets unwrapped to reveal a few precious meatball-sized lumps of jerky, dried berries, and animal fat.
...There is one more spider. But it seems pretty piddly, and most importantly it's not on anybody's face. "Uh... There was a flash of light. And I woke up with you in some grass but you were all," Lan shrugs, "zonked, so I went to get some firewood to start a camp but when I came back you were gone because Ida had rescued you." Lan turns her head towards the woman in question. "So I tracked everybody down and we've all kind of been coming and going as needed, I think."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Guess that depends on your standards o' cuteness. Personally, I'd call myself charmingly butch, but I wouldn't mind if a pretty lady called me 'cute,'" Ragnell tells Zed with her usual total lack of shame. She winks at Xantia. "Right~?" A laugh as she brings up cuccos. "Exactly my point!"
She listens to Xantia's story about the giant bee monster, then shrugs. "That's culture shock for ya. Don't know where in the hell we all are right now, but anytime you go somewhere new, you're not quite gonna mesh with the folks who live there already. Doesn't sound like it went *too* bad for ya, though."
As opposed to Lan and the literal lightning bugs. Her denial gets a snicker out of Ragnell, and beyond that, she leaves her to Xantia, instead tilting her head at Ida. All considered, after the initial screaming, she's taking this pretty well. So, too, is Gwen, but Ragnell expected that from her. Gwen's stout.
"Would I ever change?" she 'jokes'--then snorts at the suggestion she'd be some kind of psychopomp. "The hell I would! What a thankless-soundin' job. You can keep your coin, I don't care none 'bout that. But no, you're still alive."
Ragnell probably wouldn't lie about that! After Lan's explanation, she adds, "'Cept me! I just happened 'cross y'all." But she'll certainly be coming and going as she pleases.
"Those li'l critters seem to've take a shine to ya, Gwen," she adds. "You gonna keep 'em around?"
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Poor Ida. It would probably have helped if she had Xantia's sense of what constitutes 'normal'. Most items of that list which were shared she didn't find particularly difficult to process either in the moment or not long after, she just kind of hated having to leave the planet for it. Stress is only really starting to mount now that she's stuck in yet another unfamiliar place with no way to get back. Though it's difficult to tell at the moment, given how calm she is at this particular moment in time. She's just glad to be among friends, feeling more certain that together, they'll manage to find a solution for the displacement issue. Somehow, eventually, even if they have no idea how yet. Previous experience suggests that this isn't just wishful thinking.
Yes, doubtless they'll manage to overcome that crisis just as well as the current crisis of tiny electro-spiders. Which is... a crisis not for Xantia anyway, she's more worried about her stomach right now. Which-- "Oooh, thanks!" She is quickly, if temporarily, placated by a candy bar, which she just hops over to snag off the ground where it fell. That wouldn't have been a problem even without the wrapper. Would have been better without it, even, since after the few seconds it takes her to stuff the candy in her mouth, she's left holding a wrapper she doesn't know what to do with.
Yes, she's fine with tossing a Pokemon, not with tossing trash. She has some standards.
Thankfully she also has a standing promise of more snacks for not doing a thing, which is thus all too glad not to do. Lan's offer once her personal crisis is over is thus gratefully accepted. "Oh, thank you so much! I'm glad you came prepared!" Xantia did brings some food, but regardless of volume, her supply tends to run out before anyone else's does. It's a real mystery.
The actual news is... less heartening, but she tries not to let it get to her too much. "So... I guess none of us really know much of anything about where we are, huh? Here I thought we were out of other planets and planet-like things we could end up on. But, at least it's inhabited, by more than just those things." She gestures at Gwen's shoulder companion. "Come to think of it, that girl I saw had pointy ears. Don't know if that means anything, but..."
She looks over to Ragnell because... well, she's by far the oldest one here, and so would know the most things. "Really though, even you don't have any idea where this could be?" She pauses, before asking another question. "How about those 'Wise Men', or that... 'more than a Seraph', who gave off that awful feeling back there? Know anything about what any of that was about?" Seems likely that something there could explain a few things about how this even happened.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
The Joltik wiggles in Ida's hands as she pulls it free from Lan's head. She sets it on a nearby branch, and it, too, scurries off into the suspiciously well-manicured underbrush. "Are you all right?" she asks Lan, reaching up to run a hand through her hear. Something goes 'crunch', and she plucks it free--a dead leaf. Lan was right, she must look a sight right now. But they're all alive, and that's what matters.
"I'm reasonably sure we're not dead," Ida says, dry humor in her voice despite her exhaustion. "If we were dead I wouldn't ache all over." She pauses, and reaches up to rub her temples as the others talk about what they've seen. Monsters, but nothing really dangerous, and apparently she dragged Gwen away from Lan's camp. Ida gives the younger woman an apologetic smile. But it's what Xantia says that gives her something solid to cling to--something that doesn't make her feel like she's been thrust into a bizarre practical joke."
"That girl," Ida says, turning to Xantia. "Did she have something that looked like thiiiis---!" As Ida speaks, she pulls the (oddly tiny...?) sphere from her pocket. In the space of a few blinks, it more than doubles in size, forcing Ida to hold it in something other than a death grip.
She stares at it a moment. "What the hell," Ida says, perhaps making a demand of the universe in general. "Xiumei stumbled across a container of some kind, and three of these things were inside. They appear to be Symbological constructs built to... hold living things in some degree of comfort." A pause. The others are going to ask, so she might as well explain. "There was a tiny accident where a friend was sucked inside, and had to be released."
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Having stabilized herself, Ida turns to the xenoform perched on Gwen's shoulder. "It is cute," she admits. "But..." It's so small, so weak. Can they just leave it? Should they just leave it? Ida sighs. "We are on an alien world, as far as I know. And I don't know how we're going to get back home."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"I mean, y'do have your cute moments," Gwen offers Ragnell, in that same oblivious way she usually has, "... but you're definitely more on th'charmin' side of things for sure." Xantia has the right idea of things, as she asks Ragnell a few questions. "I ain't sure you know anythin' you'd be willin' t'tell us, but one clue we might get is seein' if anyone can see ya when we get t'civilization."
If there is. But Gwen has her reasons for thinking there are, even before Ida and Xantia confirms there being others. "... Maybe elves? Or Beastpeople? I don't see Filgaia in the sky, so either we're just gonna have t'wait until the night cycle t'confirm this ain't Lunar." Gwen watches the Joltik as it continues down her ARM, finding a tear in her sleeve and nestling down, as Gwen keeps her ARM still.
Lan offers some pemmican, and Gwen's eyes light up. "... Guardians, Lan, you're more prepared than I was, hehe." Grabbing a fatty lump of pemmican with her left hand, Gwen digs into it, eyes tearing up. ".... Mmmm~ I'm feelin' charged already!" (Spoiler: Gwen is not completely charged.)
Gwen considers' Ragnell's question, looking back to her right ARM. ".... Hm. It's kinda hard t'tell, but. It *feels* like it's feeding off my ARM's energy. Not 'nough to really hurt, though. I mean, when I helped charge Azoth not too long ago, that took way more energy." She grins softly down at it. "... Probably wasn't strong enough beat everyone else back. I kinda get that feelin'. It's a wild animal, though, so I don't think it'll--"
Seeing the ball Ida takes out, the Joltik quickly scampers into a folder between Gwen's tattered vest and equally tattered blouse. ".... Guess that answers that," Gwen concludes. "Nothin's gonna get hurt if it comes along with us, I don't think, if it was gonna die anyway." Saying it like that seems to make something in Gwen's face tighten, as if she's become even more firm in her decision. "... Yeah, it's stayin' with me. Maybe it'll run off when it gets better."
Looking to Ida, Gwen nods. "Yeah, nothin' in this place feels like it does back home, even if it kinda looks *similar*." Her eyes scan about the manicured trees and bushes. "Real green, like Lunar, but it don't feel wild in the same way. But I can't find anythin' that feels like FIlgaia, n' I definitely never seen anythin' like that ball you're holdin', Ida. Maybe tonight I can take a gander at the sky see if there's any stars I recognize. Maybe Claude or Ethius might know? One of the people that's from space. Maybe we're in a different part of space."
Wait, did Ragnell know that part? Ragnell likely *doesn't* know that part.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
They were eventually able to return home from the moon. They'll probably eventually be able to return home from here, too. Lan doesn't want to think about Hicalu out there in the world without his strong and brave and capable big sister wandering around somewhere, ready to beat up bandits or guilt trip a Fang of Valmar on his behalf.
(He would be totally fine.)
"I'm fine," Lan reassures Ida, who is her hero now forever. "Come get something to eat. I bet you'll feel better." And maybe she can pick the leaves out of Ida's hair or something. "You're welcome!" she tells Xantia. "Maybe this is like. An elf planet. Or maybe we just saw an elf and it's a good omen!" Because elves are said to be lucky.
And in a way they are, because a thought finally percolates its way through Lan's everything. "But if there was another person here and they took off after seeing you, that means there's probably a settlement nearby. Right? Plus the..." She trails off momentarily, trying to think of the words to describe a place that should be wild but isn't. "The park forest," she tries, and huffs a bit when it doesn't sound right. "It's grown like a city flower garden. But instead of flower beds, it's trees and grass."
She gives the weird size-changing ball in Ida's hand the old hairy eyeball, but honestly it's probably the least of their problems right now.
If the creature is feeding off of the energy in the Mockingbird, then it's... "Kind of like Runeberry," she realizes. "You know, the cloudbear. Yeah, if it's really weak there's no harm in taking care of it until it feels better!" Lan doesn't have any way of knowing that. It's just a feeling!
"No matter where we are, I'm sure we'll find a way home eventually." She may be saying it to reassure herself more than anybody else.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell doesn't weigh in on what planets they could or couldn't end up on it. Something, the best thing you can say is nothing. The fact that she doesn't react to Gwen's mention of people from space might key her on that maybe Ragnell *did* know, though.
But then Xantia asks her if she knows anything about the Wise Men or Innominat. Gwen weighing in on Ragnell's cuteness gets her to cough into one hand, then cover it with a smirk. "We'll see 'bout that. As for the rest, those Wise Men or whatever are a new one on me, but... I do know a thing or two 'bout Innominat.
"That's... mmmm... so, you know how us Seraphim are s'posed to be holy servants of Althena's or whatever? Innominat is an Empyrean, and they're sort of... in between Seraphim an' Althena. Maybe they're even supposed to be where Althena is, all considerin'.
"Anyway, Innominat has a whole big thing goin' on, but the *biggest* thing is that he wants to rid the world o' Malevolence by gettin' rid of all emotion. If no one has any conflictin' emotions, there won't be any Malevolence, ya dig? An' if everyone turns into an unthinkin', unfeelin' zombie in the process, well," and a distinct derisive note enters her voice, "you gotta break a few eggs to make a crablette."
She shrugs. "But you'd be better off askin' Magilou or that Velvet gal if you really wanna know more about it. I only heard tale 'bout those things. *They* actually lived through it."
She eyeballs Ida as she brings out a red-and-white ball that abruptly doubles in size as she holds it. She's seen those here and there. What they're supposed to be for, she has no idea, but... someone got *sucked inside*? And they're meant to hold living beings? Creepy.
"Hmmm..." She considers Gwen's response about the Joltik--and *to* the Joltik, as it nestles up to her boobs. "Well, good luck with that." She swings her legs down and around to wheel off the tree branch she'd been sitting on, and lands on her feet below. "Looks like the entertainment's done, so I'll leave y'all do that. Later," she calls, waving a hand over her shoulder, as she strolls off.
Lan's right, after all: there are people around, and this place lacks the wildless of true nature. Which only means that Ragnell needs to get back to exploring.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Interesting... so that 'more than a Seraph' claim actually meant literally that, Xantia thinks as Ragnell provides more context on that. She wasn't aware there was a hierarchy like that. That power though... that was no joke. It took everything she had just to resist it. If they had to actively fight against this Empyrean... it's probably something she should be prepared for, should it happen. For now... she can only frown.
"I don't know why powerful beings often have the dumbest solutions to a problem. Is that just a thing power does, you start doing things just because you can?" She pauses, then looks down. Maybe... she shouldn't be calling anyone out for that sort of thing. She's sure had her moments where she meant well, but her solutions were... not great.
Xantia tilts her head at the weird ball-thing enlarging in Ida's hand. How odd. But it does spark recognition. "Huh. She did. Some kind of toy, I thought at first. Then I thought, maybe it's a weapon?" If she was planning to fight that giant bee, she would have needed a weapon... and nothing else she saw seemed to qualify.
Ida explains what it really is, prompting her to scratch her head. "So it's just... a really tiny cage? That's a weird thing to use symbology for." What friend would even fit in there, she wonders. "I guess if it can grow even larger it might be useful... doesn't seem like a very practical shape though." Not for the way of using it that Xantia is thinking of, anyway.
She has nothing to say on value judgements like 'cute' or 'charming' because the meaning of those are mostly just big question marks, just as much as matters of animal handling are. If Gwen wants to keep a pet spider, that's fine. As for elves... she can only shrug at that. "Maybe. I guess elves could be from another planet." Makes as much sense as anything else.
Unfortunately, it stilll isn't really narrowed down what planet that is, or how they got there. She thinks aloud, "A different part of space..." Then, with sudden realization and growing agitation, "Wait, that's really bad! We can still get back, right? If there was a way here, then there's a way off, right?"
Okay, okay, Lan thinks so, that's enough to breathe a sigh of relief. "That's... that's good then." And, immediately latching onto what was said earlier for additional support. "Yeah, I guess there'd pretty much have to be a settlement somewhere around here. So, maybe, I dunno... we could split up to look for one, but..."
Of course Ragnell will be fine, getting a head start on the splitting up thing already, she's wholly unconcerned about that. But as for herself, "...I'd rather not." Because she might get lost again. Or lose track of the only familiar faces she's seen on this planet. Or stumble upon another situation where punching is apparently not the right solution. What a world.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
The strange sphere, having done its secondary magic trick, just sits in Ida's hand. It doesn't eat anyone, it doesn't change shape or size, it just... exists. Ida feels relief.
"Thank you," Ida says. She takes a piece of pemmican and pops it into her mouth. Her brow furrows, and she starts to chew before giving a nod of approval. "That was good, Lan, thank you."
The naturalist's attention returns to Gwen's new animal companion. "...All right," she says. She can see why helping this animal might appeal to Gwen, and she's not about to argue. "Keep an eye on it, though." Ida arches a brow as she looks at Lan. "Runeberry?"
"I think he sounded... frustrated," Ida says, glancing to Xantia. "Like we could think of nothing better to do with our emotions than commit violence against one another. Reductionist, yes. Stupid, absolutely. But if he is that powerful--" A glance at Ragnell-- "That might seem like the best solution." A pause, then, as Ragnell looks at the ball. "Be careful if you find one," Ida says. "Lanval said they were 'Vessel-like', and they might be able to hold a Seraph." Civilization, though, that sounds like a wonderful idea! "If this is a park, there should be grounds staff, or a maintainence crew. We should look around, together."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"I mean, people like Claude n' Ethius look like us, n' we never questioned it. Maybe elves're th'same? It's just some pointed ears in th'end, so." Gwen grins at Xantia and Lan. "Maybe people with ears like ours are the odd ones out? You never know."
Lan brings up Runeberry; Gwen nods to Ida. "Runeberry's kinda a really cute... cloud... dog.... thing? Damn adorable." She considers, and tilts her head, looking to Lan. "Will Runeberry be okay with you here, Lan? Or is it stayin' with Loren?"
Ragnell does know a few things about Innominat, and shares them. Gwen shifts into a cross-legged position, keeping still as the joltik feeds. "... Hey, Ragnell. Does Innominat have anything to do with, uh." The redhead gestures uselessly, but sighs, shaking her head. "... Probably ain't worth hashin' out right now. But... That was probably one of the scariest things I'd felt, in a long time. Or, more like, 'didn't feel'." Gwen breathes a sigh. "N' yeah, you're right, Ida.
Xantia's agitation is reall, feeding Gwen's own personal suspicions as to her true origin, but more importantly-- "... We'll figure a way back. We've done it before. I promise you that, Xantia." Her tone and expression is sober enough; Gwen doesn't intend on leading Xantia on with a false promise. "I don't think anybody wants to be stuck here for very long, no matter how nice it might be here." _gwen is trying to be serious in her promise but she's defeating her point_ "N' maybe we'll figure out somethin' 'bout Filgaia in how it's linked t'here. We can't have just been randomly sucked here, there's gotta be a reason, so..." She smiles. "We'll know even more about Filgaia!" gwen is really trying you guys
Ragnell isn't the only one who finds the balls slightly creepy; Gwen's frowning at the one in Ida's hand until she puts it away. "Even if it's supposed t'keep things comfortable inside, I dunno..." She shrugs. "But I s'pose no one asked Gulliver's ancestors if they wanted t'become someone's horses." They're on an alien world, with alien ways.
It's probably better to reserve judgement.
"What?" Gwen laughs, as Ragnell considers her, and her ches--the Joltik. "I'm just glad it didn't hide in my cleveage. Which reminds me-- definitely gonna need t'look more decent before we'all meet company though. Unless y'all want the world's worst night light runnin' around tonight." She taps the dimly glowing scar over her heart.
But, with the entertainment done, Ragnell chooses to leave. Gwen gives Ragnell a two fingered salute and a wink. "Alright. Keep in touch, will ya? If this place has anythin' close t' a good drink, we'll catch up later."
The Joltik leans out as Ragnell leaves, and regards the rest of Gwen's friends. "... So. If this little guy's stayin' with me, we'll have t'think of a name, since it ain't like it's gonna give us one." Gwen grins wide. "So... gimme your name ideas!!"