the ghost before the storm [dw]

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

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owli

dross, captain
she, her
25
august 17
Lilycove, Hoenn
bisexual
sailor / treasure hunter
nautica owner
how bold I was, could be - will be - still am
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skyler dross
the ghost before the storm [dw]
POSTED ON Aug 23, 2020 19:52:30 GMT
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Skyler felt the rumble of thunder in her bones, the deafening roar like a warning, an omen, a promise.

She should've known better. She was a seasoned sailor and she'd learned long ago to read the tides and the wind; to search the sky for rolling clouds or flying Wingull - the Pokémon always knew first.

She should've known.

Overhead, flashes of lightning illuminated the otherwise dark sky, and Skyler had to blink through the rain to try and see anything. The ocean was growing rough, choppy waves  lapping hungrily at her boat.

As if to prove this point, a large wave hit the side of the boat, the collision making Skyler cry out and skid sideways to the very edge of the boat.

She had to battle every inch back to the helm, and when she saw what she thought to be a seaside cave, she immediatelly maneuvered her boat into it - and away from the tempest outside.

At least a minute passed while Skyler knelt on the deck of her speedboat, breathing heavily. When she finally got her bearings and looked around, the fear of the storm was replaced by something far worse.

Sea Mauville spread out around her in all its creepy glory, the creaks and groans echoing even over the storm outside. Skyler couldn't help the shiver that ran up her spine and settled on her shoulders like a cape. She- she had to leave. But she couldn't

Face white as a sheet, Skyler quickly moored her boat and gingerly stepped into a half-sunken corridor. She needed to move away from the water in case the waves got bigger. 

"Shit." The curse was heartfelt, and it brought her some measure of relief up until it started to echo in the chamber, her own voice becoming distorted beyond recognition.

Her fingers held onto the beads in her necklace so tightly her knuckles turned white, and it took her some long seconds before she could finally take the first step forward. She held a flashlight in one of her hands, using it to light the way ahead. 

'May the legendaries have mercy on me.'


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played by

Magnere

she/her
23
December 4th
Slateport City
Pansexual
Fortune Teller
Grunt
Death does not save you from the cruelty of man.
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Celeste Abbiati
the ghost before the storm [dw]
POSTED ON Aug 25, 2020 8:02:48 GMT
Celeste Abbiati Avatar
[attr="class","merkI"]
[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

Sea Mauville was starting to feel more like home as of late. The abandoned ship set up as a natural wildlife preserve, protected from the outside world. However, it also gave her the peace and quiet that she often desired. To Celeste, the ship was almost magical. A tragic tale of nature claiming what man made for itself, and man promptly knowing better than to mess with it.

So here she stayed whenever she needed to get away. Team Rocket's submarine was amazing but restricting at times. There was never any true escape, no fresh air. The rain couldn't blow into her face, she couldn't hear the wild winds of the storm approaching and she absolutely loved everything about it. Nature's wrath was terrifying in its beauty and she dare not disrespect it.

Standing wearing her properly trimmed suit, parasol resting carefully between her hands to support her weight, Celeste closed her eyes, listening to thunder crashing down around them, echoing throughout the entire ship. With a soft smile, Celeste began to continue what she had been doing for the past several hours, practicing where no one else could hear her. Singing.

"Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be
Who love a jolly sailor bold that ploughs the raging sea,"

Her voice echoed throughout the mostly empty ship, reflected by the steel walls. A very melodic tune, albeit distorted from the partially rusted and dilapidated state of the old ship. Thunder would suddenly crack in between verses, the ship groaning with the waves crashing against it. And yet, her voice remained firm, this was obviously not the first storm she had sheltered from within this great ship.

"While up aloft, in storm or gale, from me his absence mourn,
And firmly pray, arrive the day, he home will safe return."


[attr="class","merktagI"]


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played by

owli

dross, captain
she, her
25
august 17
Lilycove, Hoenn
bisexual
sailor / treasure hunter
nautica owner
how bold I was, could be - will be - still am
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skyler dross
the ghost before the storm [dw]
POSTED ON Aug 25, 2020 19:27:46 GMT
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The world narrowed to that lightless, half-sunken corridor ahead of her. Outside the storm still raged, but in here Skyler could only focus on the sound of her feet moving through ankle-deep water. Perhaps there was still time to turn back and brave the dark waters instead of hurtling herself into this cursed leviathan of steel and rotted wood.

And...ghosts.

Her fingers tightened painfully around the flashlight in her hand, the muscles of her arms straining against the rising tension. Fear was like a living thing beneath her skin, riding through her veins and wrapping its hands around her throat, saying 'turn back, turn back, here lie monsters'.

If Skyler had been a religious person, she would've been praying. Because she was not, she took another step forward, and another, and another, until she reached some sort of algae-incrusted stairwell that led up into darkness. 

Water splashed behind her as she climbed up the stairwell, holding on to the rusty railing lest she slip and fall. The chamber above was wider, and a small hole had been blown into its side, letting in the howling of the storm and the brine of the raging sea.

Someone was singing.

The voice was almost drowned out by the roaring of the wind, but its haunting cadence still reached Skyler. The young sailor knew the song; she'd heard it many times, but not - never like this. Like they'd taken a part of her soul and sang it back to the sea.


"Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be 
Who love a jolly sailor bold that ploughs the raging sea,"

The flashlight fell from her suddenly slack hands as a creeping cold froze the blood in her veins. It clanked loudly as it hit the metal grating and rolled away, the sound reverberating in the chamber. 

"While up aloft, in storm or gale, from me his absence mourn, 
And firmly pray, arrive the day, he home will safe return."

A sudden flash of lightning was enough to illuminate the pale figure standing on the other side of the room. Skyler took a few steps back immediately, breath held in her throat in terror. She didn't notice the ominous creaking of rusted steel behind her.

A cry of alarm escaped the young sailor's throat when the floor disappeated from under her, and she grasped at anything, anything that she might hold on to. Her eyes fell on the pale figure once more and then-

Then she was falling. 




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played by

Magnere

she/her
23
December 4th
Slateport City
Pansexual
Fortune Teller
Grunt
Death does not save you from the cruelty of man.
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Celeste Abbiati
the ghost before the storm [dw]
POSTED ON Sept 14, 2020 6:53:29 GMT
Celeste Abbiati Avatar
[attr="class","merkI"]
[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

Celeste was no stranger to sudden noises and surprises amongst Sea Mauville. It was a wildlife habitat, after all. Pokemon of all kinds made this giant ship their home. Not to mention, Ghost pokemon were often quite mischievous after all. They seemed to enjoy the occasional teasing once they warmed up to you. However, this sound was unlike anything she had heard before here. Human, paired with the crash of steel.

Slowly, Celeste's eyes opened up. There was a flashlight rolling across the room, its light shining up against a wall now. Someone was here, someone had been listening. Stopping her singing for a brief moment, she simply began to hum the rest of the remaining verses in quite a melodic tone as she slowly walked across the floor. Her careful movements as light as ever as she evaded any weak spots in the floor, her footsteps almost inaudible.

Finally standing against the edge of the hole, Celeste slowly leaned over just enough to glance downwards to see what had befallen her surprise visitor. A sudden crack of thunder paired with lightning shook the boat, the lightning illuminating the hallway she was standing in. From below, her silhouette would be illuminated, revealing a figure standing above and looking down below. Her hair perfectly framing her face, kept back with a simple hairband.

[attr="class","merktagI"]


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played by

owli

dross, captain
she, her
25
august 17
Lilycove, Hoenn
bisexual
sailor / treasure hunter
nautica owner
how bold I was, could be - will be - still am
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skyler dross DOLLARS
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skyler dross
the ghost before the storm [dw]
POSTED ON Sept 20, 2020 16:36:42 GMT
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For a brief instant, Skyler thought she'd found her death - or at least a very serious injury - here in this forsaken place. As she felt her body plunge into the dark innards of Sea Mauville - all notions of superstitions and ghost stories fled her mind. For the longest three seconds of her life thus far, Skyler fell. 

The sailor found herself jostled when her downward movement suddenly halted. A hiss escaped her lips at the sharp pain that clawed across her back, but it wasn't enough to overwhelm the relief that overtook her at that moment. It was almost enough to make her want to laugh,
almost. Adrenaline was like live electricity in her veins. 

She was hanging by the back of her t-shirt. When she reached up she could feel the rusted metallic beams that had caught her. With a sharp exhale, Skyler caught the beams with both hands and pushed herself up. Shit, her back was on fire. She'd need to take care of that quickly.

The crack of thunder and the following flash of lightning made Skyler look up - and see the silhouette of someone looking down at her. The sailor froze, the earlier feeling of dread coming back. She'd heard someone singing - an apparition, a ghost she'd thought at the time. 

This was no apparition. At least she didn't think so. 

Pale hair. Pale skin. A preternatural stillness that had the little hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. There was little else Skyler could see at the moment - but she'd heard her. The haunting voice. 

"Was it you who was singing?"
Her silvery eyes searched the darkened shape in search of something she couldn't quite name - not yet. "And - err, I think I might need some help." Understatement of the year. 



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played by

Magnere

she/her
23
December 4th
Slateport City
Pansexual
Fortune Teller
Grunt
Death does not save you from the cruelty of man.
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Celeste Abbiati
the ghost before the storm [dw]
POSTED ON Oct 20, 2020 4:34:06 GMT
Celeste Abbiati Avatar
[attr="class","merkI"]
[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

She was injured, that much was obvious. Celeste had arrived just in time to watch the young woman crawl back up a metal beam. It was dark and she couldn't see the figure well but only a fool would assume a fall like that would leave someone entirely unscathed. As she finally spoke, Celeste slowly tilted her head as she debated to herself.

Why were they here? There hadn't been anyone else when she had arrived, which meant it must have been quite a rather recent arrival. Judging by the storm still raging outside, she could only assume that they were simply attempting to wait out the storm. Finding pity for the young woman, Celeste slowly moved to grab a Pokeball from her bag. Even she could understand the ferocity of a storm at sea, for one unprepared for such.

"Yes." It was a soft tone, betraying her curiosity. Slowly, Celeste sent out her Dhelmise. The massive pokemon hardly fit within the interior of the ship, with its anchor already resting down within the hole her strange visitor had fallen down into. "Kelporeal, help our... friend here. Will you?"

The ghost pokemon's eye locked onto Skyler as it began to move with an eerie quiet nature to them. Lowering its anchor, the kelp chain would certainly be easy enough to climb should she wish. Or perhaps they could sit atop the anchor and be lifted upwards. Regardless, Celeste would give them the opportunity to rescue herself. She could do that at the very least. Leaving the woman to die here would be pointless. Death came for them all someday, but there was no reason for that day to be today.

"... When you get back up here, I'll lead you across the floor to a safe place to sit. This part of the ship is quite unsafe." The danger was left obviously unsaid, walking across the floor with wild abandon was sure to cause another collapse if Skyler wasn't careful. Not to mention, the woman surely would need first aid of some kind. That meant she was going to need to get into her own supplies... What a night this turned out to be.

[attr="class","merktagI"]


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played by

owli

dross, captain
she, her
25
august 17
Lilycove, Hoenn
bisexual
sailor / treasure hunter
nautica owner
how bold I was, could be - will be - still am
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skyler dross DOLLARS
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skyler dross
the ghost before the storm [dw]
POSTED ON Oct 22, 2020 17:03:24 GMT
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The whisper of a soft voice drew her attention to the figure again, still half-encased in shadows where Skyler couldn't see her very well. The familiar flash of a pokémon being released filled the young sailor with relief -- she was being rescued, thankfully.

That relief was
very short-lived.

She scrambled back to where the metal beam stuck out of a wall at the sight of the Dhelmise, her reaction immediate and visceral. Eyes wide, Skyler's shaking hand reached for the beaded necklace at her throat.
Like it would help. She only noticed that she hadn't been breathing when the Dhelmise's eye locked onto hers and she shuddered. Sweat ran down her back and mingled with the blood there. She was- she couldn't- she-

That soft voice trickled down once more, an anchor in the maelstrom of terror within her mind. It suddenly became clear to her that this phantom was supposed to be her - ladder? - out of this hole. Everything in her rebelled at the thought. But it was either this or death.

Skyler really didn't feel like dying today.

When she reached for the kelp and felt it reach back, wrapping its cold tendrils around her hands, she almost backed out. Bile rose up her throat and Skyler only kept it there by sheer force of will. She started climbing up the Dhelmise, telling herself that at least this way she could have some measure of control. Hah.

She ignored the pulsing pain in her back, fear propelling her up at a surprising rate. When she finally hauled herself out of the hole, Skyler's face was white as a sheet and her whole body was shaking. She didn't get up for some time, and only after having gulped down some oxygen (she really didn't want to throw up now) did she look up at her savior. 

Amethyst eyes met her own and Skyler blinked at the woman's pale appearance. It... fit this place, somehow. Hauntingly beautiful. 
"Hello." She tried for a smile, but she wasn't sure she'd succeeded. "I'm Skyler Dross. Thank you for saving me." 



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played by

Magnere

she/her
23
December 4th
Slateport City
Pansexual
Fortune Teller
Grunt
Death does not save you from the cruelty of man.
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Celeste Abbiati
the ghost before the storm [dw]
POSTED ON Oct 27, 2020 12:30:54 GMT
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[attr="class","merkI"]
[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

It didn't take an expert to figure out that the young woman was scared, especially with the way her reaction was so instant. Years of ripping people off based on how they reacted to her words surely have refined her ability to read people, but this was so obvious Celeste couldn't help but smirk slightly. Afraid of Dhelmise? Understandably so. They were not typically a friendly Pokemon, then again many of her pokemon were terrifying things to many sailors, but it still amused her to see the way she was utterly terrified and yet still climbed anyways.

Even when she climbed out of the hole, still kneeling down and shaking Celeste had to commend her. She was terrified and overcame that fear. An admirable trait, at least. She wasn't allowing her weakness to condemn her to death. Good. It wouldn't look good if someone as muscular as she was had been stopped entirely by a single ghost, otherwise, this ship was a death sentence for them already and this was all futile.

When she finally looked up at her, Celeste simply gave the faintest whisper of a smile in return as she returned her Dhelmise back to its Pokeball. "Celeste. Be careful standing up, your back will need plenty of time to heal." She didn't offer a hand to help Skyler stand to her feet, simply because there wasn't much Celeste could do. If anything, Celeste was more likely to be pulled down. Instead, Celeste simply offered her parasol over as a temporary cane. Right now, it seemed this stranger could use it more than she could.

Considering the darkness of the room, and the woman's flashlight was still exactly where it had rolled, Celeste simply reached into the suit pocket and pulled out her phone. Only to just suddenly toss it straight into the air as it sparked and seemingly came to life. The back of the phone lit up as two bright eyes stared at the two women with a large smile on its face. This was of course her Rotom at work, he had taken quite heavily to her phone and she could hardly complain, it was extremely useful.

"Voltergeist, light the path for us if you please." The Rotom seemingly let out a little ringtone in response, only for the flashlight to suddenly flicker on and shine on the two girls. Thanking them with a nod of her head, Celeste simply motioned for Skyler to follow her across the room. Moving slowly and carefully, it eventually became quite clear that someone had laid down a few carpets across the floor she walked, likely taken from more stable sections of the ship to showcase safe places to walk.

Once Celeste was back over where she originally had been standing, a small set of couches could be seen. They were certainly old and raggedy but seemed to otherwise be holding up decently. Seemed like this used to be a lounging area, long before the ship became what it is today. "Lay down. On your stomach. If you are to stay here and survive the night, or at least until the storm dies, we need to make sure this doesn't get infected." Already, Celeste seemed to be digging into her bag that she had left over here, pulling out a surprisingly large first aid kit.

"This might sting." That was a lie. It absolutely was going to sting with an injury like that. But people weren't often a fan of being told the truth. Regardless, the excitable Rotom continued to light up the area, even as lightning occasionally flashed outside and rocked the ship.

[attr="class","merktagI"]


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played by

owli

dross, captain
she, her
25
august 17
Lilycove, Hoenn
bisexual
sailor / treasure hunter
nautica owner
how bold I was, could be - will be - still am
awards
2,345 posts
skyler dross DOLLARS
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skyler dross
the ghost before the storm [dw]
POSTED ON Nov 2, 2020 14:16:43 GMT
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The shuddering didn't disappear entirely, but Skyler managed to keep it to a minimum. She felt cold down to the marrow of her bones, except for her back which was starting to pulse in time with her own heartbeat. The pain hadn't quite registered yet, Skyler's fright and resulting adrenaline too deep-seated to leave room for much else. 

Perhaps, for now, that was for the best.

She blinked in surprise when a parasol was offered to her as a cane of sorts. The faint smile on Celeste's mouth snagged her attention briefly, its soft curve holding a strange sort of compulsion over the sailor. For a few seconds Skyler just stared, then she pulled herself to her feet with a grunt of effort, gratefully taking the parasol and leaning on it slightly. 

The sailor nearly jumped out of her skin when Celeste's phone started to float all on its own, two bright eyes materializing out of nowhere to look down at the women. The parasol in her hand shook under her weight, but it could've as easily been physical weakness instead of the fear that refused to remove its claws from Skyler's psyche. 

When they reached the couches, Skyler was starting to feel dizzy. She swayed for a few seconds, blinking at the flashes of lightning from the storm outside. Celeste's instructions, however, sounded loud and clear to hear ears despite the woman's soft-spoken ways. Nodding, Skyler casually took off her shirt and dumped it on the floor before laying down on the couch.
"Do you want me to take this off too?" This being the sports bra she'd been wearing under the ruined t-shirt - she honestly had no idea how far the injury went.

As Celeste's hands met her back, Skyler let out a sigh that had nothing to do with pain. Her silver eyes fluttered and she did her best not to think of amethyst eyes and barely-there smiles. When the fingers moved closer to the wound, however, the sigh turned into a hiss and the muscles of her back tensed, pain finally trickling back. 

"Do whatever you need to do, Celeste."
She turned her head just enough so that she could look at the pale woman. "I can handle it." This time she did smile, a little bit lopsided and faint - but it was there. 

"Just try to be gentle, yeah?"


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