[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"]skyler dross

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

The ocean's surface escapes upward, as does the slow trickle of filtered sunlight. Oceanic currents snatch it away, greedy, casting Skyler's surroundings into a strange sort of underwater twilight that briefly reminds her of the Unown dimension she'd experienced during the Soiree incident.

Deprived of any sort of light source, the captain chooses to straddle the narrow stretch of sand between shallow waters and yawning darkness. She isn't looking for artifacts or shipwrecks, being all too familiar with this particularly uninspiring area. 

No, her goal here is of an entirely different kind.

She keeps close to the bottom, stopping at certain intervals to allow for her body to get used to the pressure. Which it does, surprisingly fast. Suspiciously fast. 

But it's only when she's standing at the lip of a sudden drop into the depths that the ocean flashes red.

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"]skyler dross

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

It's distant at first, something lingering at the edge of her vision. When she looks those first few times, thinking she'd seen something, she's only met with the cold, unknowable depths.

At times like these Skyler's inevitably reminded of the enormosity of the ocean, that even this close to shore a leviathan can swim, undetected.

In fact, it isn't until a disturbance in the water catches her attention that she takes notice of a row of razor-sharp teeth, as big as boats. And it isn't until crimson markings illuminate the ocean floor beneath her that she realizes how close Kyogre is, a massive body stretching far past the edges of her vision. Silent. Still. Expecting.

Free me.

The squak of Wingulls and other seaside birds fades as clouds start to gather in the sky above. Ancient eyes stare at her, but no words are forthcoming. Nothing but the sensation of storm-tossed seas that crash against her ribcage, begging to be free. Of the surf that eats away at the shore, eternally devouring, eternally hungry.

And maybe, just maybe, an inkling of understanding trickles into her mind.

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"]skyler dross

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

She rises to meet the surface, water bursting from her mouth as her lungs work to expel the remaining liquid. Her hand is clutching onto a Blue Orb so tightly her knuckles bleed white, but her expression remains calm, thoughtful, heavy with some sort of purpose.

The swim back to shore is short. Sirena follows after her with small, effortless movements of her flips. Those who believe Lapras to possess higher-than-average intelligence would be able to spot the crease between her eyes, the worry that followed Skyler's path to dry sands.

A questioning whine is met with Skyler's silence and with the screeches of overhead Wingull. Annoyed, the Lapras shoots an Ice Beam at an unfortunate bird, stopping it midflight. Before its frozen body can crash onto the ground, it disappears in the red flash of a pokeball.

"Eveything's okay, Sirena." The words taste like a lie, but Skyler pushes heedlessly forward. It's the only way she knows how to be. "Everything will be okay."

In the depths, a primal leviathan watches.

And waits.