“The one that you apparently could not wait to get rid off,” she answered with a sigh, conceding the point without acknowledging herself doing so openly. Sure, he could not exactly conjure one up out of thin air here. But that was only a problem in the first place because he had so inexplicably taken it off. Else they would still be fine and decent.[break]
Again, not that she minded too much. But evidently, it was a distraction for their other member. Fortunately, she had been around enough good looking people working out in Rocket that just the sight of a chest did not faze her too much. Not like she was influenced much by that anyway. Actions were what attracted her, less so physicality.
[break][break]
Probably a good thing. “At least we can agree on this. I know a thing or two about those kinds of things, even if I don’t know yours. At the end of the day those are your demons to fight,” she agreed with Desiree, arms still crossed, though she offered a sigh at the end of it. “Though my gut tells me you will succeed at that,” she added, more quietly, before deciding to focus on the matters at hand for the time being. Once again, she acted much more as her father would have wanted her. Yet, she had never been who he had wanted her to be, even as she’ tried. Maybe now she had become someone more along those lines. But in her own way. On her own terms.
[break][break]
The other woman gave off a slightly similar vibe. Hence Vio’s confidence in the matter. Hence, she recalled her Pallosand and instead brought out Dreepy again. “Scout ahead, see if the tunnel looks stable. And if anything is waiting for us on the other side,” she ordered the little dragon, which darted ahead through the melting debris. It would sound alarm if there was reason for it. So far, that did not seem to be the case. “The castle looked somewhat intact from the outside, so the big Pokemon are likely guarding the exterior, not the interior. But they also, uhm, do not really match the whole mechanical aesthetic of the place. Not really, at least. There probably are other Pokemon in the smaller corners. Once we get out of the cave I will keep my Aegislash at the ready. It can take the first hit of whatever is thrown at us. You guys can bring up the vanguard.”
[break][break]

+ ooc notes

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Naturally, Dreepy was not able to convey all the detailed information. But it did not have to, anyway. For the time being, all it needed to convey that the path was mostly clear, that some other Pokemon awaited them, yet not another of the big guards outside. That was enough. Violet conveyed as much, then took point with her Aegislash’s ball at the ready, just in case. Even when they met the smaller Pokemon, Vio did not completely let her guard down. Looks certainly could be deceiving, yet even if not, there was also the potential for others to be around as well. Hence, she ordered Dreepy to fly around, into and through walls, floor and ceiling to ensure that they were truly alone.
[break][break]
Someone had to do the boring, menial tasks while they so eagerly approached the strange Pokemon. Sure, she understood the urge of it. This one talked, after all. But she had decided to accept some parts of her old self more and handle this in a more serious, ranger-like way for the time being instead of putting on some act. Which did not mean that she was going back to the person she had once been. Of course not. But she was at the very least willing to take the best of what she had once been and allow that to flow into who and what she currently was.
[break]
After all, she had wasted so much time screwing up and just being a nobody. She probably should have picked a better time for that though than an excursion with some strangers that meant nothing to Rocket. Still, it did mean something in the moment, so she tried to follow the developing conversation anyway. They seemed busy reasoning with the little one and she noticed the glance she was given by Desiree.
[break][break]
Instead of replying right away, she briefly stopped and pondered. Ever since that last big fight, she had found herself being better at taking these breaks to clear her head and think things through. “Well, Pokemon are both capable of speech, though only rarely. And it is not too uncommon for them to exhibit psychic powers, nor to be mechanical in nature. In fact, it does kind of look a bit like a princess, which would explain the castle, or vice versa.” Nodding to herself, she instead focused on the little robot. It had already proven to take things literal and to possibly have a different understanding of most matters than normal humans did. Talking to it normally probably would not be too useful. Instead, when she spoke to the little one, she tried to be concise and keep things as direct and simple as she could. “Was this place built by humans, or by Pokemon. If so, did you exist before the castle or were you made here?”
[break][break]

+ ooc notes

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“I don’t think that’s true,” she replied, eyes still focused on the sight ahead of her. It was not unexpected. Given the context clues and the state of this place, finding any human survivors would have been an almost outstanding thing. No, this was what she had expected. [break]But she had not expected how she, herself, would react to it. There was a brief shock, yes, even a tear welling up and solemnly streaming down her face. Yet, she felt….not indifferent. That would be much too harsh. It was rather that she felt like she was used to the sight of death. Even though, to her knowledge, she had never seen something like that. Yes, Sootopolis, the asteroid, the otherworldly tree – she wasn’t a complete stranger to death and dire situations. Heck, even from a young age she had watched father dispose of dead wild Pokemon, sometimes even put them down when necessary. [break] [break] Yet this was new. Or rather, it should be. But she was able to process it reasonably well, which was strange. Yet, seeing her companions in those states had forced her to cut the mud anyway. If she was the only one that could keep her wits about herself, she had a duty to work with that. Mia, Violet, the name or even identity did not matter. Right now, she was their self-proclaimed leader. She had to sort things out. [break] [break] And first she had to contradict Ms. Self-Depreciation over there. “Life does not shackle you down or is something to be freed off. Life is what allows us to feel. Joy, love, happiness, anger, sadness – you can only feel while you are alive. I don’t know what comes after, but that is why I decided to live life. My way. In a way that I won’t regret living. I don’t think I always made a good job of it. Still though, these people lived. You can see it, they feasted and at least lived properly until the end. That is something we can find solace in.” [break] [break] Maybe that whole spiel completely missed the mark. This wasn’t part of a role or anything, no carefully crafted speech to boost morale or anything. It was simply her speaking from the heart. She extended a hand to each of them. “So, let’s go on living, yes? Besides, we are being quite the terrible guests to our dear hosts right now, aren’t we?” The mask returned. But only because she felt that it was appropriate now.
[break][break]

+ ooc notes

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At least they got it. Maybe. Honestly, Vio wasn’t quite sure. She was used to be the odd one out, the person hiding her true feelings beneath a mask, the one who wasn’t normal among those who were. But she had not forgotten what had happened before. Just how messed up were these two already? Not that she particularly minded. They seemed like decent people, really. But at the end of the day, Violet sensed some kind of morbid fascination with these two. Desiree had taken the hand and agreed, but it did not feel quite convincing. [break] [break] Which was a shame, really. Pink and bubbly was such a cute combination in a woman, Vio would have enjoyed being in the presence of one. But something seemed to hold this one back. Just like the shirtless boy, really. Unlike her other companion, Violet was not obsessed with his abs and, again, focused on the character. [break] Not that either of them were ugly on the inside or anything. There was a certain beauty to vulnerability, if that made sense. Yet, it was worrying all the same. Past her would have probably have preyed on that. Well, middle-her, really. But right then, she was at least in some ways more than her true past self and cared about these guys potentially having self-destructive traits. It wasn’t something she would have admitted before that last big mission, but now she could. [break] [break] After all, it wasn’t always bad to be more like her original self, nor to acknowledge that. That much was for certain. But these issues didn’t have too much place in an excursion like this. They had found something here, after all. More investigation was warranted, but it seemed like the others needed a break. [break] And as a leader, she had to accept that. “We should get going, yes. But don’t forget, there might be more guards that might not be as accommodating as Megaerna. Best to keep our wits about ourselves, at least as long as we are underground.”[break][break]

+ Making peace with her old self, t_PPWO6s

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