“Y’know what they say; when the competition turns stale, turn to gardening warfare,” he hums out distractedly, flirtatious smile absent from his lips. Usual passion for their back and forth lost within a turbulent cloud of thoughts. [break][break]

Skyler’s lack of communication hadn’t gone unnoticed, Angelo quickly picking up on her short responses and uncharacteristic silences. But with his head full and heart heavy, it had been easier pretending everything was normal. As if, acting like his issues didn’t exist would stop him from losing his nerve and breaking for the Shoal Cave entrance. [break][break]

But it’s like her to get straight to the point. Angelo’s lips curl at the edges with subtle fondness as Skyler pushes through the tense bubble that had settled over them, crashing through like the unavoidable tide. [break][break]

“Yeah. Yeah, I did.” His voice comes out even and sure, unwavering. Finding strength and reassurance in Skyler’s forwardness; the sailor pushing him into action when the unfamiliarity of sharing had made him unsteady. [break][break]

Flexing his fingers, cold and wet from the frosty ground, Angelo stands and turns to finally face the captain with a careful expression. He ignores the way his digits start to turn a little numb, feeling not unlike his throat as he pushes out words that he’s unaccustomed to. Sharing personal thoughts, confiding in others with secrets, was a muscle he’d long near forgotten how to use. [break][break]

“It’s about the other night. After the festival.” [break][break]

It doesn’t matter that they’re alone, their only company the two minior that float above their heads in an illuminating array of blue, Angelo suddenly feels like they’re very exposed. That eyes, not glowing like soothing moonlight, might be burning into his skin. He takes a step towards Skyler, seeking to close the distance. [break][break]

“In the night, I went out for some fresh air.” There’s a brief pause, his brow crinkling as he weighs words that he’d been pouring over during their time apart. “And while I was on the deck... something happened.”


[break][break]

+ skyler dross // planting carrots ( 2/3 ) [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“It’s not that easy to explain, Sky,” exhaling, he regards Skyler’s growled demand with a defensive frown of his own, frustration scratching and made worse by the nerves twisting tight in his chest. He clenches his hands, knuckles paling.  [break][break]

Fighting with the instinctual desire to take it all back, Angelo swallows words of deflection that he’s so used to wearing like a protective shield, forcing past the lump in his throat. Retreating now wouldn't be an answer neither himself or Skyler would accept. [break][break]

“Do you remember at the end of the festival when all those ghosts started appearing? You know, the glowing wispy ones we saw that made us leave early?” There are some points of the night that had become overwritten with the taste of rum and tequila. The spirits however, was one that Angelo remembered with clarity, if only because Skyler’s reaction to them had him howling until tears prickled in his eyes. [break][break]

“While I was out there, one of them showed up. But it wasn’t like the others. It... Kind of looked different and when I moved away, it followed.” He’d played the scene over and over in his head trying to make sense of it, telling himself that he was overthinking the moment. Only the more he reflected, the more it became apparent that the wisp had definitely been seeking him. Entangling itself in his orbit stubbornly. [break][break]

“And I don’t know what happened but, when I touched it…” Blue eyes close, almost feeling the sensation of its cold dewy surface on his fingertips. Its contained energy spiralling like the wind in his palm. [break][break]

“It wasn't a wisp anymore.” He frowned, dissatisfied with his own answer. Frustration and irritation at his inexperience voicing such things grating enough for him to move to a different tactic. “Y'know, it's probably easier just showing you.”[break][break]

Carefully, Angelo slips his backpack off his shoulders and lowers it to the cold ground. Whatever he has to show Skyler, it’s buried in far enough that he needs both hands to retrieve it. The wisp that is no longer a wisp shoved down deep with soft objects organised around it, hidden in a protective cocoon. [break][break]

When he crouches beside his bag, Antlia drifts closer from where it had been dreamily floating around the cavern with its companion, illuminating the courier’s features with a soft blue glow.[break][break]

Angelo peers up at the captain just as he pinches the zip between his fingers, pausing. Minior light reflects in ocean eyes, revealing to her complex and restless emotions that swirl within their depths. Unguarded as uncertainty swims, for the secret he holds and for the unfamiliar act of sharing in it. [break][break]

But also in the firm resolve of a decision made to do just that… [break][break]

Because Angelo was used to carrying his own weight, was familiar with the act of swallowing the things that troubled him down where nobody could see. Only this thing, sitting innocently in his backpack as light as a feather, was too heavy for him to shoulder alone. [break][break]

And although the notion of reaching out for someone was a strange and foreign concept, one that made his stomach twist into uncomfortable knots, Angelo knew that it would be her who he would open himself up for. [break][break]

His hand stretches out towards Skyler, a single finger curling around one of her own in a loose lock. And with a tentative, gentle tug – on her hand and in his heart – he asks for her to share in this secret that’s too expansive and too dark with the unknown to adventure into alone. [break][break]

I can’t do this alone. I need you, Sky.



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A breath he hadn’t known was trapped escapes when Skyler descends beside him, crouching at his side even when the frozen tundra threatens to turn their skin numb with its cruel bite. The captain answering his silent call with a reassuring entanglement of fingers and the steady warmth of her presence beside his. [break][break]

Her thumb brushes over his hand in a vow of silent support, one that he finds himself trusting in, completely. Not unlike a whispered oath against his lips under forgotten fireworks… [break][break]

Angelo leans into her shoulder, chest a little lighter and achingly fuller, all at once.  [break][break]

“You know what, if you fought it,” his mouth curls in soft amusement, as if he’s privy to some private knowledge for whom the tide of the battle would swing. Squeezing Skyler’s hand, he can’t help the teasing words that are breathed into the intimately narrow space between them, momentarily uncaring to the way his affection peeks through. “I’d put my money on you.” [break][break]

Almost hesitantly, Angelo slips his fingers free from the comfort of hers, finally unzipping his backpack so he can dive inside to carefully rummage through a protective shield of clothing. [break][break]

“Okay then, Sunshine. As you like them so much, here it is; one, evil spirit.” [break][break]

When he pulls the former-wisp out into their private circle, a blue glass-like sphere is revealed, shimmering underneath a spectrum of minior light and pinned gently between calloused fingertips. A misty haze of pink subtly rolls within, like a soft, pastel sunset cloud. [break][break]

Ocean eyes peer towards Skyler, observing her reaction. Seeking out any signs of familiarity.[break][break]

“Really terrifying, huh?” [break][break]

And it was terrifying, in a way. [break][break]

Not from how the energy within the orb seems to spiral of its own accord when Angelo rests it comfortably in his flattened palm; tints of pink curling in on itself until it drifts away altogether. Sunset dipping beyond the horizon to make way for a clear, dewy night sky. [break][break]

Angelo’s trepidation instead coming from how the ethereal sphere throws over him a looming sense of uncertainty for what its presence could bring. Ominously hovering overhead like a darkening cloud, leaving him blind as to if it would bestow to him a disaster or a blessing. [break][break]

Whether it would be an ocean storm threatening to drag him to the darkest depths or a sweet, summer breeze to guide him towards the right destination... [break][break]

And yet Angelo’s fingertips clench around it tight, unwilling to let it slip through his protective grip. Finding himself unable to reject the forlorn wail of the wind that he can feel nudging against the edge of its container, as if it’s trying to caress his skin. As if it’s longing for freedom. [break][break]

Not when he feels it; the recognition of a kindred soul.



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+ skyler dross // planting carrots ( 2/3 ) [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Their amusement, habitual rather than heartfelt, drains out of existence like the breaths that furls skyward in transient clouds. Thin, fragile and drifting away almost as quickly as it materialised. Quashed by a freezing, heavy atmosphere that’s much too imposing for it to last long. [break][break]

And all the while, the orb twinkles and twists with its otherworldly power, continuing to spiral in a loose whirlpool. Innocent or indifferent to it's gravitational weight.[break][break]

Skyler’s slight change in expression is not lost on him. Angelo’s fingers unconsciously squeeze tight around the dewy sphere, instantly met with the urge to tuck it out of her view and shove it back inside his bag out of sight; even though he knows it won’t break the spell she’s under. [break][break]

He’s become more than acquainted with the dullness – grey and haunted from remnants of the past – that he now spies sneaking into her eyes like shadowy claws, trying to lay claim to Skyler’s mind. [break][break]

Deep down an aching plea rattles against his ribcage, beckoning him to reach out and brush calloused fingers against her cheek, to pull her into his orbit instead. To bring his lips (his touch, his whispers, his teeth) against her skin so he can steal her away from the ghost's grasp. Until the red in her gaze, in her thoughts, is instead replaced by blue.[break][break]

But he doesn’t. Can't. Hands too full with his own burdens. [break][break]

Rather, as a question leaves her lips, Angelo slips an arm between them. His only reply a palm that comes to rest lightly against the small of her back, thumb brushing back and forth in an ingrained rhythm. An intended source of comfort for the memories and an answer he can't make any less true, no matter how much he repeats it. [break][break]

'I don't know why it came to me... but it did.'[break][break]

“One…” His voice is flat and uttered low. As if a realisation had pressed on his mind the moment the spirit had settled in his hand, and yet he still clings to the possibility - a quiet hope - that it might not be the case. “But it’s only a theory. I don’t have anything to actually back it up.” [break][break]

There’s a short nail tickling against his palm, brushing dangerously close to the orb but Angelo doesn’t flinch away nor push himself into Skyler’s indecisive touch. His fingers remaining curled tight around the sphere, still, as if more than his skin was starting to turn numb. [break][break]

“Do you know about any Alto Marian legends?”




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+ skyler dross // planting carrots ( 2/3 ) [break][break]

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“No.” There’s a slight tilt to the corner of his lips then, recalling moments where he’d revealed to her a new repertoire of curse words to add to her already expansive collection. Watching with amusement as Skyler’s tongue fumbled over the pronunciation or with devilish satisfaction, when the sailor spat it out just right. An appreciative moment of warmth sparking in frozen, heavy bones. “But you might learn some more curse words because of it, if you’re lucky.”[break][break]

Angelo steels himself, as he always does. Long used to standing steady against the elements as they threaten to drag or push him down. No matter how confusing this all was, no matter how much weight he could feel steadily piling on his shoulders, he doesn’t slump or bristle in his desperation like the cornered beast that snarls in his veins. Smothering it. Pushing through it. Like there's no other option. That, at least, he’d always been good at. [break][break]

“I’m just going to jump straight into the important parts, sure you know how these things go, anyway…” [break][break]

It helps that the story is one that rolls off his tongue without pause for thought, voice flowing smoothly that shows Angelo was more than familiar with the legends of old that were celebrated and cherished in his place of birth. Ingrained from when he’d eagerly hung off every word as a child and then later memorised, for when he in turn repeated the tales to captivated eyes as his siblings settled into their cosy beds. [break][break]

“A long time ago, a great evil threatened to destroy Alto Mare. But a legendary pair – a Latios and a Latias – who were already living on the island in secret, revealed themselves to fight against it. And they, along with more of their kind who came to help, saved the city with a powerful orb that they brought with them.” [break][break]

[break][break]

“The orb was called the Soul Dew and after the darkness was defeated, the flock gifted it to a couple who’d taken care of the original Latios and Latias, so that Alto Mare could always be protected with its power. Latios and Latias stayed, too; to guard the Soul Dew and the city in case disaster ever happened again.” [break][break]

Angelo pauses briefly at the end of the shortened version of the story, gaze remaining on Skyler as he takes in her expressions; watching the glow of the Minior play across silver eyes. Moonlight encouraging him, even if she didn’t know it. [break][break]

“I don’t have anything solid to say it’s a Soul Dew for sure. Nobody has even seen one, at least, not in recent history…”[break][break]

“But it’s depicted all over the city. In the museum, in art and stories, in the winner’s medal for the Tour, even.” He knew first hand, he had one back in his childhood home, hung up by the window so that the sunlight cast shimmering ocean green waves upon his wall. “And it kind of looks like this.” [break][break]

[break][break]

Blue eyes shift towards the object of their attention, unclenching his tight hold as an elbow comes to rest on his knee, watching thoughtfully as mysterious energy swirls like a cyclone of stardust within a carefully cradled palm. Angelo’s lips part, throat feeling dry as his internal contemplations find themselves materialised for the first time. Tasting their weight. [break][break]

“Though, there’s another thing… It’s not one of the more popular stories, I guess because it’s a bit more awkward to explain to kids.” A soft scoff, a single chuckled breath, fans over the orb like a cloud. “Normally, they don’t really go into detail about what the Soul Dew is or where it gets its power, but there’s this one version where they sort of do.” [break][break]

This branch of the tale usually isn’t regarded with much clout, considering it depicts a Kabutops being drowned by the Guardian duo… But despite the inconstancies children may ignore in favour of lapping up the picture of legendary heroes battling resurrected fossils to their demise, there were parts that stuck out in the side-tales. Now more than ever, after what Angelo had witnessed that night. [break][break]

“Some people say that one of the Latios who fought, he sacrificed his life to bring the battle to an end. And that when he did, his soul and the remnants of his power was left behind – and that’s what the Soul Dew is.” [break][break]

It sounded ridiculous; he knew. The idea that a Latios, departed from its physical form, may very well be sitting innocently in his hand… But… He’d seen it, there’s no denying that, whatever it's identity, it had once been an ethereal, blue spirit. A ghost. [break][break]

“It might not be. It might just be some wild, fucking speculation I’ve come up with from piecing together old legends but… Sky, when I hold it, it feels...” Angelo pauses, his brow pinching into a frown, suddenly unsure how to describe what it was that he could sense. What he could hear. When he’s not sure if he’s the only one who can.
[break][break]

“Familiar.”[break][break]

+ skyler dross // planting carrots ( 2/3 ) [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

A fingertip dances across his hand again, dragging a tempestuous gaze down towards the ticklish trail she leaves, watching as Skyler dares to push at invisible boundaries. Undeterred and advancing across the creases in his palm like they're a path, until this time she boldly claims the stone under the brush of an exploratory digit – and Angelo lets her. [break][break]

He finds himself leaning against her shoulder as they slip into a moment of intimate, contemplative silence. His gaze transfixed, studying the captain’s expressions as she remains by his side even after the clear turbulence that he’d exposed to her. Appreciative warmth chasing off the cold. [break][break]

Angelo fails to notice the subtle shifting of the cyclone within the orb, furling away from her fingertip. [break][break]

Instead, he’s drawn in by a quivering sensation rolling up his arm from where Skyler’s nail had dragged, something light and almost achingly weightless settling in his chest. In his ears, a fluttering hums, like he’s falling from a great height. And yet… [break][break]

“You couldn’t hear anything…?” His brow pinches, confusion flashing naked in his eyes. So certain that he had felt it react to her touch; that she must have felt it, too. [break][break]

Then her fingertip leaves the orb and a different sound drifts into the forefront of Angelo's mind, incoherent like the wind whispering through a maze of woodland trees. Wholly unlike the earlier reverberations that swirled around his chest. [break][break]

Was that…? [break][break]

It’s then that Skyler delves into her cleavage, pulling Angelo’s attention back with a faint curve to his lips, a comment not quite reaching his tongue. Fading as a glint of stone is revealed under Minior light.[break][break]

Angelo pauses, eyes narrowing as he takes in a jagged claw of deep blue. He’d only seen it momentarily, a flash of water amongst the blistering lava before Skyler’s fingers had clamped around it, hiding it from his curious view. Honestly, he remembers her reaction far clearer than the shard itself, bristling and on the edge of lashing out with teeth bared. [break][break]

“When we were in Meteor Falls, right?”[break][break]

Wariness crackles, mouth suddenly dry as he pieces together an alignment between it and their current conversation. Something instantly heavy pooling in the pit of Angelo’s stomach that ocean eyes attempts to steel over, trying to hide the sinking feeling – and failing, his throat tight. [break][break]

“…What is it?”





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+ skyler dross // planting carrots ( 2/3 ) [break][break]

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