"They said it's supposed to have tormented the village of Kitakami," the assistant begins. "The Loyal Three are said to have fended off the Ogre at the cost of their lives."

Sven hums to himself and takes a sip of his drink. It was his first venture to Kitakami and it admittedly felt a little underwhelming. But then again, he had grown so used to the hustle and bustle of Mauville. He wasn't one for folklore, but any information he could get was worthwhile. There was a rumor of some pokemon that had ties to the terastalization phenomenon that had taken roots in Hoenn, that it could change its tera type based on certain factors that had not been discovered, so further research into the folklore seemed necessary. The pair is greeted by a kind representative with the community center and told of the festivities that approach.

"Huh? A festival?"

Sven seems to find the suggestion to be a surprise. It'd be rude to decline the offer to partake in the village's traditions. He ponders the proposal for a bit and eventually gives an approving nod. Why not? It'd be an easy way to wind down after their research concluded. But he's restless, ready to explore a bit and learn more of the phenomena. With his Dragonite withdrawn, he crawls onto the dragon's back and props himself up to speak to it.

"Let's go scout, Barney. The mountains to the west look promising."

He and the Dragonite soon take to the skies and scout from the air. The outskirts of the village look far more breathtaking than the village itself, with much more to do and see. Posts along the way tell the village story of how the Loyal Three protected Kitakami from a creature they deemed the Ogre. The plight itself was impressive, and the idea that these guardian pokemon were willing to sacrifice themselves? It felt like a real fairytale of sorts. While he wasn't necessarily the praying type, he figures the least he could do was pay his respects to the shrine the village had built.

Though as Sven and his Dragonite ascend the mountain, he can't shake the feeling something is watching them.

Maybe he was just paranoid, or maybe the flight left him exhausted. He brushes the thought into the back of his mind and continues along the trail with Barney. Once they reach the top of the mountainous surroundings, he catches the sight of a pool that looks like it's littered with tera crystals. Sven takes photos for the sake of further inspection, but his keen eye manages to catch something at the bottom of the pool. He motions for Barney to wait as he takes a leap into the waters below and dives further to retrieve the mask at the bottom. It looks like a celebratory one, someone in the village probably dropped it in when exploring the area. Best to reunite it with its owner.

The feeling something is watching them grows more evident the moment he opens his bag to place the mask in.

"Hey, I've had a really long day, so if you could quit--"

As he turns to face the source he's speaking to, he pauses. The creature looks more like a lost child. Maybe someone who wandered too far away from the village? He gives a gentle smile and speaks to the creature again.

"Hey, I think you went the wrong way, buddy. The festivities are supposed to be east of the village. Don't worry, I'll walk you back."

The creature seems hesitant and refuses to follow. Sven notices and cocks a brow. His eyes travel from the creature to the mask in his hand that it seemed to be eyeing. Then Sven realizes: maybe this kid dropped this mask. While he attempts to approach, the creature backs away, almost frightened. Sven halts immediately and simply places the mask on the ground at the halfway point.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You uh... Well, you go ahead and pick this up whenever you feel like it," he insists before he looks at his watch. "But don't wait here too long! The festivities are supposed to start soon!"

As Sven runs off with his Dragonite, the creature retrieves the mask and sits alone with the feeling: maybe someone as kindhearted as that human is happens to be worthy of its attention.

prompt avatarship
words 742
total sleep score 200

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