Why did he agree—

He would do anything for a member of the Anderson family, especially if it was a cousin or two—but this, this was something else entirely!

The heat rolling off the entire location was more than enough to make him sweat, even though he was wearing clothing that helped with the location—light colors and a sturdy pair of boots…

A certain presence was still missing from inside his head, but who knew if the presence of another mirage would lure them back out…

“You know… there’s a reason why I avoid this part of Hoenn—like the plague!”

She felt bad for Lars. She really did. The disadvantages imposed upon him by his Icy-patron seemed a bit excessive given the tropical climate of the region.

But alas she couldn’t really change that. All she could do was grant him an empathetic gaze and an apologetic look.

“I think you might’ve mentioned it once or twice.” Elinor replied.

She turned her attention toward Volcano. Pondering how they were supposed to go about this.

Oh well, they’d figure it out when they reached the top.


OOC: The Search for Moltress begins!
LOCATION: Mt. Chimney

The sweat was rolling off of him in buckets—enough to make anyone just fucking strip and continue the rest of the trek topless.

(Thankfully he’d packed several changes of clothing but holy shit, the heat radiating from the ground alone was more than enough to make him internally scream and rage.)

“Are we really going to take a dive into the danged lava?!” he grumbled as he followed the winding path that she took. Clearly, they weren’t where they needed to be—at least, not yet anyway.

“And you think—you think we’ll be able to find what you’re looking for once we get there? To the top?” he continued as he was literally second-guessing his choice of not stripping off his top and literally continuing up Mount Chimney topless.

The heat really did a number on him and was making him cranky.

“I sweat, if we have to go into the belly of this damned volcano…”

Elinor was quite enjoying the heat herself, even if she was starting to sweat as well.

“I don’t know for certain. But it’s worth a try.” Elinor admitted. For a moment she felt doubt, hesitation. But she pushed those away quickly. She had no time nor need for them.

“Honestly this is new territory for me. You are the Avatar here. How did you go about finding Articuno?” Really, she was just a kid fumbling in the dark when it came to finding a Legendary to recruit.

Besides, they needed to fill the time until they reached the top.

OOC: The Search for Moltress begins!
LOCATION: Mt. Chimney

“If I told you, would you believe me?”

Because the entire story about it was—borderline fantastical, borderline hysterical.

“I know you’re going to laugh at me when I do share it, but… since you asked, I’ll tell you.”

He was now seriously considering stripping his shirt off right then and there because the heat rising off the environment was starting to bake him.

“There were rumors that Shoal Cave had gotten way colder than usual. And, well… evan fader went there too, so did a couple of other people, but… I went there alone—I left Ro and Alpha at the entrance, I told them to wait for me while I checked out what was deep inside the cavern.”

It wasn’t as glamorous as she thought it would be.

Elinor listened surprisingly intensely to Lars’s tale as they kept trekking up to the trail. No laugh, only genuine interest.

“That sounds rather reckless.” Elinor admitted. She had never thought Lars would do something THAT reckless.

“What happened then? I assume you didn’t just walk up to Articuno and asked to be an avatar?”

OOC: The Search for Moltress begins!
LOCATION: Mt. Chimney

“Well, there was a fucking alpha-sized Glalie in the Cave—he’s still there, last I checked—that tried to take a bite out of my leg while I was making my trek down there alone. No Pokémon companions, just. Just me,” he shared.

Because what better way to get to where they waited, than to go alone without any kind of support?

“There were apparently several other people who made the trip down there, however… I don’t know really, I have no idea what their criteria was when they picked me out of everyone. Hell, I’m sure that Josh Dragomir also made the trip because I remember getting a report from them about the ‘rumored sighting’… I think LANCE VOLLANS also went?” he went on.

One thing was for sure, evan fader had gone there. Hell, they’d even gotten a chance to talk about it—in fact it was Evan himself who was the very first to find out that he was the one that Articuno had chosen—and not anyone else.

“But I guess… going down there alone and… like, not disturbing nature sealed the deal for me?” he added after a few moments of silence.

“I’m sure that these ‘choosing ceremonies’ are different from legendary to legendary Pokémon. I… did you know, I was there the first time that Articuno chose their previous avatar?”

Elinor walked in silence as Lars regaled her with the tale.

Lost in thought perhaps as they were getting closer and closer to the summit.

“Yeah each ceremony is probably different.” She mused in agreement. Yet she felt a mild pain in her chest. The fear, fear that she might never be good enough for any Legendary Pokémon to sway their allegiance in favor of the League.

But she didn’t voice her doubts, instead she perked up and said. “I did not know that, please do tell me more.” She couldn’t even remember the name of the previous Articuno Avatar.

OOC: The Search for Moltress begins!
LOCATION: Mt. Chimney

“This happened at a ball, of all places. And of course, I had to arrive late because back then I wasn’t the Head Ranger you see right now. I was just a rank and file idiota doing legwork, then.”

It’s here he fell silent, trying to recall as much details of the ceremony as he could—had it really been that long ago when the Iceborne Mirage had chosen Senri? Damn it.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one who heard that voice speaking directly inside our heads—but damn, I had so little to offer to the table. There were a lot of worthy people that stepped forward. In the end, though, they ended up choosing Senri…”

At the mention of his friend’s name, he sighed.

“…and then sometime, I don’t know how long had passed between when they were chosen—they ended up. Dead. Somewhere.”

His tale was riveting. She had never heard the name Senri before, but perhaps looking into them would provide yet another brick in the puzzle of what makes an avatar and how to emulate it to tempt Legendaries to her side.

“You, rank and file Idiota?” She tried to mimic his accent. “I can’t even imagine that.” She mused.

“...Do you know how they died?” Elinor had to ask. Her gaze went toward their destination. They would be there real soon. Perhaps they would conveniently reach the summit once Lars’s tale had ended?

OOC: The Search for Moltress begins!
LOCATION: Mt. Chimney

“Laugh all you want, Eli, but it’s true…” he continued with a quiet little sigh. “I didn’t get the Head Ranger spot right away, I legit went through years of being just a normal rank and file and then—things went to eleven pretty quick, considering that nobody else was stepping up to the plate and so I decided to be the first.”

And look what it got him. He was the only one to hold onto the position for so long. The others came and went too quickly…

When she asked how Senri had died, he felt another cold chill run through him as he turned to stare at her quietly.

“…frozen to death in a block of ice.”

Should she have access to the official AQUA documents, then she’d be able to pick up the rest of the details.

Of all the Andersons out there that she knew off. If anyone would put in the effort, besides herself of course, it would be Lars. And so she didn’t question it.

Not that the following subject offered much to question. Lars gave her grim news, news she was certain she could get more details about if she were to rummage through the documents.

“Oh…” Was all she said in response. Letting the rest of the journey happen in silence.

And as if by magical means or some convenient scene change they would find themselves at the top. Heat rising with great intensity from the Volcano.

She looked toward Lars, an almost apologetic look on her face. “How do you want to do this?”

She had a few ideas, but perhaps Lars might have some better ones?

OOC: The Search for Moltress begins!
LOCATION: Mt. Chimney

“First…”

He absolutely detested the heat. Fuck it, to hell, all the way down to the deepest circle. Mamma mia, why did places like this exist?!

Without even thinking, he then reached for the hem of the turtleneck he was wearing and moved to strip the offending piece of clothing down and away. Fact of the matter it was already drenched in sweat and he did not like that feeling either.

By doing this, it would also reveal that he had… much more tattoos than the last time. Most of his skin that wasn’t exposed for the world to see had intricate designs permanently etched into it.

“…this is my way of honoring the lost one,” he muttered quietly as he ran a hand through his equally-sticky hair, never mind if it got slicked back because… ugh. Being in extremely close proximity to this place was literally going to cook him alive if they didn’t hurry up.

“And now… we wait.”

Even if he knew that his voice couldn’t reach the other presence that used to sit in his mind, he closed his eyes and stood there. Waiting quietly…

After what seemingly felt like an eternity, the wind chilled—somewhat, and in an explosion of scattered ice shards that melted almost immediately into water droplets—the NEET Iceborne Mirage appeared, an equally-cranky look on their features, before letting out a low, guttural growl that he picked up on.

“Look, look!” he began once he could feel the frigid presence nearby. “I know you can hear me. Can… can you tell if there’s any sign of Moltres around here?”

Surely, with him namedropping the other Mirage, maybe that would elicit a reaction from them…