@ToadRopes Sounds good, look forward to seeing her :)
@lugubrious I'll be waiting on you to post, unless you'd like me to attempt to characterize the mission myself (oh dear)
@luckyblackcat Posted your location onto the doc but was wondering whether you had any preferences for weather? Fudged something random up in the meantime, feel free to check it out.
@Zarkun Do you have a convincing argument as to why we need gyms? The RP is player/character-driven, and there current isn't a need for them, per se. I'd be open to bringing it up to Balthazar, but there would have to be a good reason or it's going to get delayed until the more important things are settled.
Nylah was just about ready to pay when a hand clamped down on her shoulder, spooking her enough to cause her to flinch. Whirling around, Nylah saw who it was and grinned broadly. “Kieran, just in time to confirm that I indeed ordered the correct thing this time — Canuck Cluster, right?” Turning to the cashier again, Nylah handed her credit card over with a smile. “If it weren’t for my parents, I really would be a starving artist right now,” Nylah said to Kieran, a wry smile on her face as she took back the card.
While not entirely ashamed of the fact that she still relied on a monthly allowance of sorts from her parents, Nylah wasn’t exactly proud of it either, but it saved her from becoming a waiter — a career path that almost every actor in New York always seemed to consider at some point. In fact, Nylah thought, thanking the cashier politely before walking over to the waiting area, she’s probably an aspiring actor too. Or artist — either or.
Setting the depressing thoughts aside, Nylah turned to Kieran with a grin. “So, how was your night? I’m assuming that — since I couldn’t reach you via Snapchat after ten pm — you were out?” Nylah’s hand shot up just as their order arrived at the pick-up counter, bagged separately and everything. “Seriously, why do they bother calling out the numbers? We’re all watching them like hawks waiting for a chance to strike — which, since we’re picking up food, is a pretty apt comparison if i do say so myself.”
Picking up the two bags and handing on of them to Kieran — “The one that smells better, no surprises there,” — Nylah led the way outside of the shop and towards one of the tables set up by the shop. “Let’s pretend to be tourists,” Nylah joked, referencing the fact that New Yorkers hardly ever touched the cafe benches and chairs since they always had somewhere to be, always had somewhere to go after grabbing their food. “First, I’ll stage my food and take a picture of it before eating,” she said, unwrapping her bagel and lowering it onto the table. Just before it touched, however, Nylah retracted her arm. “Just kidding — I’m way too hungry for that.”
Taking a satisfying bite of her toasted turkey avocado on whole grain — Nylah’s father imbued into her a tendency to eat healthy when offered the choice, if nothing else — Nylah chewed and swallowed before speaking again. “So, it’s Phillip’s birthday. Did you get him anything?” she asked, taking another bite of her bagel.
@LuckyBlackCat Saw the location, will get it back to you in a few hours (life for a moment first xD)
And erk I might have taken up the title of GM, but sadly I don't know when everything will be coming. Balthazar is pretty amazing at grinding out bits of magic, but he's currently overrun with life (his job) so I'm not sure how long it'll be until his schedule clears up to work on things. Currently, I think his energies are focused on making the site up-to-date as it is missing a few sections (such as the guidelines for organization creation, etc). I do know that contests are on his to-do list, but gyms and professor labs have not yet been mentioned.
Leisy listened to Olivie’s words with horror. The other trainer, his ace… the thought was too hard for Leisy to finish. “Dumbasses” would be a little harsh in normal context, but Leisy couldn’t blame Olivie. After all, she was the one that ran, not the brunette. Lapsing into silence due to lack something to say, Leisy was prepared for Olivie to stomp right off. Instead, the other girl’s footsteps led towards the trees, prompting Leisy to look up in surprise. She was about to inquire about what Olivie had seen when she saw that the brunette seemed a little cautious — on edge.
Resisting the shiver threatening to creep down her spine, Leisy made eye contact with Ella briefly before following Olivie into the darkness. Her relief was brief but there when Olivie took up the lantern, guiding the way through the dark, but Leisy’s blood turned to ice when the lantern illuminated a familiar face in the dark — the old man from the Pokemon Center. Almost in shock, Leisy took a step back, muscles tense as she looked the man over again. Although his eyes were closed as if he were sleepwalking, his face was tight with some emotion that Leisy couldn’t figure out. Grief? Fear? she thought, watching the man progress out of the lamp’s rays and into the night. The cloud of raven black shadows around his head had been ominous, almost like—
“He’s having a nightmare,” she whispered, eyes wide as she turned to Ella and Olivie. “But he’s sleepwalking. Nobody said anything about that when we asked around about the mission.”
Leisy fell silent again, this time because she was thinking. Nightmares — that’s why his face was tense, as if on the verge of crying out. And now he’s sleepwalking to — to where? Leisy paused, taking a shuddering breath. It couldn’t be—
A light beside her caused Leisy to turn around, spotting a cactus-like Pokemon — presumably one of Olivie’s — balancing a sphere of green light on its head. Is that the beginnings of a Solar Beam? she thought, thinking back to the Pokemon tournaments she’d watched on TV. That particular Grass-type move always sparked fear into the opposing Pokemon’s heart, prompting them to either launch an all-out attack immediately or get out of the way. The light resembling the sometimes match-deciding move that Leisy saw, however, was nothing in the face of what it illuminated: people, hordes of people, all sleepwalking and all walking slowly in the same direction the old man had left in.
Arceus help us, Leisy thought, the overdue shiver finally breaking loose and clawing its way down her spine, inciting goosebumps in its wake. A remark from Olivie interrupted her thoughts, and Leisy snapped her head to look at the girl. Should they follow them? Three unprepared trainers who’d taken on a mission that they clearly had no business taking in the first place, considering their run-in with the Malamar earlier that day, were considering finding the mastermind behind everything. But we’re already this far in. And we can’t just let all the villagers get kidnapped like this, Leisy thought, making up her mind and accepting her decision with a tinge of fear. When she opened her mouth to speak, however, Leisy found that Olivie had already made up her mind and was now — with a blue bug Pokemon on her shoulder — keeping a brisk pace beside the sleepwalkers.
Taking a breath, Leisy followed the brunette and thus the sleepwalking crowd, knowing full well that she was probably unprepared for what lay ahead. But, she thought, I’m as prepared as I’ll get.
@MissCapnCrunch@QueenOfTheBee So uh I need clarification as to who's texting who. Mistake on my part for not labelling who the "Perpetually drunk epicureans" were, but it's Cici + Nylah + Olivia. I assumed that "The Ladies" was just Cici's name for the same chat, but now it seems like two different chats?? Is "The Ladies" just Cici + Olivia?
Kenza listened quietly as Derrick told his story, fiddling with the slightly bent piece of wood in her hands. "Sounds like you miss them," she remarked once the boy had finished his story. She fell silent after speaking, mind wandering back to the days she'd spent with her mentor, then even earlier with her family. Now's no the time for reminiscing, Kenza told herself sharply, setting down the now frayed piece of greying wood with a sigh as Derrick came to a stop beside the door, examining something.
"Did you find something?" Kenza asked, rising from her seat in the cell and walking over to Derrick. As she walked closer, Kenza saw that the part of the cell the Wolfwing had slammed into earlier was bent inwards, creating a convenient crack that allowed for hope of escape. Turning around, Kenza picked up the original half of the wooden tray and stuck it through the bars, sliding it towards the boy's cell. "Here, use this," she told Derrick.
Remram
Achronum