With the 'night' having passed without incident, Eddie found himself following dutifully behind Beau as he lead their expedition further into these spectral lands. He wasn't quite as antsy as he had been on some of their previous treks in these parts, but he still eyed their surroundings warily, staying vigilant in case the locals decided to start trouble with the both of them. [break][break]

As such, Eddie hadn't been consciously paying much attention to where they were going as he focused on keeping pace with his companion, so he was a little surprised when they stopped in front of the thundering waterfall. He looked up, grinning at Beau and his bear, [break][break]

“Yer damn right it is. Wanna check it out?” [break][break]

Now this was a proper adventure. He watched as Beau slipped through the thick curtain of water and vanished; considering he hadn't tumbled into the void below, Eddie assumed his hunch must have been correct. With childish glee, Eddie took a couple of steps back to give himself enough clearance to charge through the pounding waters, shuddering as the icy waves soaked his skin and saturated his clothes, [break][break]

“Why's the water so god damn cold?!” he gasped with some indignation when he reached the other side, sputtering as he shook the water out of his hair like a Maschiff trying to dry it's fur. [break][break]

Before he could continue to bitch and moan, though, he was stopped by the object of Beau's awe. Big room, big spooky fuckin' rock; this shit looked haunted as hell, but weirdly familiar, somehow. Dark eyes traced over the stakes that bound the seal with chains, and followed the angular patterns of the lines along it's surface. Eddie was almost positive that he'd seen this somewhere before, a long time ago; was it in a movie? Or maybe in a book? Something back in school, perhaps, but the answer continued to evade him even as he stared at the structure. He frowned as a stray droplet of water traced along his jawline and dripped off the end of his chin, [break][break]

“Dunno, but it looks an awful lot like someone's tryin' ta keep somethin' in. I know we're supposed ta be explorin' out here, but I think messin' with it's a bad idea.” [break][break]

But maybe that was just the superstitious part of him talking, although in all fairness, it had never steered Eddie wrong before.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Beau Fontaine [break]
19. involve a waterfall in some way [break]
02. examine the broken seal to the east, found behind a roaring waterfall

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Out of all of the weird things that the Border had offered so far, this was probably the weirdest one yet. [break][break]

Eddie had hardly noticed the procession of soldiers above until he saw the way Beau froze as he stared up at those marching men in the sky. He was about to offer some words of reassurance until, with a noise like rolling thunder, two alien creatures emerged to descend upon the ghostly masses, [break][break]

“The hell are those things?!” [break][break]

Some of the Ultra Beasts he'd been warned of before joining this expedition, he supposed, but Eddie had never heard mention of super buff mosquito men showing up in these shadowy lands. Maybe they were just as lost as the two of them were. He could almost sympathize with them, if one of them wasn't about to punch his friend's head off. [break][break]

With a flick of the wrist, Beau the bull emerged with a low of bellicose fervor, black fur alighting with sparks as he began a WILD CHARGE into the fray. Eddie charged similarly to join Beau the man at his side, ready to help punch a bug-man's lights out should they get past the raging Tauros. Eddie grinned in spite of himself; it was nice to be in the company of kindred spirits.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Beau Fontaine [break]
21. encounter soulmarchers, marching parades of warrior spirits (pokemon or human) with feet that do not grace the ground [break]
**. Encounter/battle/capture two displaced Buzzwole

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

The bull didn't stop his assault at just the charge, even as the bug was nearly knocked from its feet. The Tauros LASHED OUT with horns swathed in dark, pulsing flame the moment the dazzling sparks dissipated. Eddie grinned with pride; he knew bringing his favored companion along would come in handy. [break][break]

But as the onslaught on both displaced creatures continued, they refused to relent even as they grew more weary. Eddie puzzled over this, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he watched the Pangoro swing at the other creature, [break][break]

“Y'ain't wrong. These guys are tough as hell,” he mused. Suddenly, Eddie beamed with a bit of boyish mischief, “Hey, speakin' of cleanin' 'em up, whaddya think about snaggin' one'a them? If they don't belong here anyway, we might be doin' 'em a favor. I mean, I wouldn't wanna be stuck in a place like this if I were in their shoes.” [break][break]

The Poke Ball was in his hand before he could think better of it, and before Beau had the chance to talk him out of it. Eddie was sometimes a man of impulse, for better or worse, and it was no less true now as he lobbed the capsule at the creature now staggered by the force of the Tauros' blows. [break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Beau Fontaine [break]
**. Encounter/battle/capture two displaced Buzzwole

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Ain't nothin' to it!” [break][break]

Eddie grinned, equal parts happy and cocky at that gregarious little bit of contact and Beau's impressed cry. Fuck yeah, everything worked out just the way he drew it up, and Eddie left Beau to his own capture as he turned to scoop up the Poke Ball housing his newest addition to the team. When the younger man turned back with his own new friend, proudly bearing a smile that Eddie was sure could outshine the sun, something began to take hold of him as Beau's words sparked some bittersweet realization. [break][break]

It probably was time to go, wasn't it? They had made decent progress out here, scouting the places they could and capturing their new prizes, but Eddie felt strangely reluctant to depart from the Border. [break][break]

What was there to even go back to, anyway? Their findings would be recorded, they'd be sent on their way, and that would be the end of it. No more perilous but fun little adventures together, no more comfortable and solid companionship. There was just a mostly empty apartment waiting for Eddie back in Rustboro, with only a few sparse additions to the place since he had moved to Hoenn in January. Eddie would go back to being just some faceless unknown trudging through his day-to-day, alone and adrift as he ever was back in Cascarrafa. It would be so easy to just stay here, he thought, suddenly tired as he turned over the Poke Ball in his hands. No one from the outside would even know he was gone, and he could just remain to luxuriate in this little bit of happiness until the end of time. [break][break]

… But that wasn't quite right either, was it? Eddie did have friends on the other side he had to get back to, and there was so much more waiting for him there; wild rides with Shalin Nariya, history lessons with Yuina Higashi, treks through the wilderness with ollie morales, and quiet moments of understanding with MATIAS SILPH. Eddie couldn't just throw that all away on some sad little whim. And besides, perhaps the future had more in store for him and one of his newest friends, too, [break][break]

“Yep, looks like it's time ta get the hell outta Dodge,” Eddie finally replied as he smiled back, feeling lighter than he had since they first arrived in this extra-dimensional space, “And we better make it quick; I think this place is startin' to get to me.” [break][break]

Eddie paused and watched Beau for a moment, and wondered briefly if he felt that terrible rush of melancholy, too. Beau was strong and kind, so it was doubtless that he had plenty of people that loved him back home and would miss him if he was gone. Surely he wouldn't have any reason to throw that all away and remain here as Eddie had been nearly tempted to. [break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Beau Fontaine [break]
30. feel a throbbing temptation to pass through the border to the afterlife

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Eddie was relieved to see Beau was just fine, as far as he could tell, and already moving towards the next platform. He was caught a little off-guard when the younger man looked back at him over his shoulder, but Eddie was catapulted quickly from surprise to elation at the thought of good food shared with excellent company, [break][break]

“Hell yeah!” he beamed back, happy as could be. Eddie's stomach growled with similar eagerness, “Ya think they got unagi there? I'd kill for some'a that right about now.” [break][break]

Entrances and exits to the Border really did seem to come and go as they pleased, and thankfully, the fickle nature of this place worked in the men's favor as a whirling portal appeared on the far side of the next platform they came across. Eddie didn't think he could smile any wider if he tried; for all of his moping not long ago, he found he was quite looking forward to getting out of here after all. [break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Beau Fontaine

[attr="class","pokeclass"]