[attr="class","post"]
Although he'd prefer not having to set foot in the Giant Chasm for some time after the events of the previous month, Rhys had to acknowledge the fact that his last foray into Area Zero had left him with precious little data to go on, given that his observations had been enthusiastically derailed by
tavish rose.
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This excursion's efforts had been considerably more successful, and Rhys made his way leisurely toward the mouth of the chasm, even humming to himself slightly, so proud he was of today's results.
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As though to spite him, the skies began to darken, and as he felt the first drops of rain, he cursed, running for the cover of the trees. No, he couldn't have one moment to himself to be happy without something else screwing it up, but that was his lot in life. He shouldn't have expected more.
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The thunder sounded distorted, almost as if it were coming through some kind of pipe system, and he chanced a glance out from his arboreal refuge to look skyward. The darkness of the thunderclouds was overlaid with a rippling sort of energy that expanded outward in a dome, and Rhys's luck being what it was, Rhys was square in the middle of it.
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The air crackled, and he blinked, suddenly soaked from the rain; the tree he'd been standing under was abruptly no more than a sapling that barely reached his knee. Drawing back in alarm, he moved to progress through the thicket. The crackling pierced the air once more, and the next tree he passed was a centenarian mammoth, covering the entire enclosure in its broad leaves.
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He gaped, fumbling for his phone, but when the next sound pierced the air, he abandoned all thought of investigating and turned instead to
run for the mouth of the chasm - he couldn't gather reliable scientific data if he was dead.
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As he dashed through the foliage, a gnarled root arrested his progress, catching his foot and causing him to crash to the earth with a cry and a snap of bone.
"Fuck!" he howled, and without even looking he knew he'd just broken his ankle. Gritting his teeth, he dug into his hip satchel and released his Clefairy.
"Come on, Callie, fast," he urged, pointing a finger at the mangled ankle that currently sent fiery lances of pain up his entire leg.
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The Clefairy chirped in worry, toddling around him to focus on his ankle and holding her hands out, a glowing LIFE DEW beginning to coalesce. As Rhys breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his bones mend, a sharper light cast its radiance on the area, and this time the crackle of the distortion sounded right next to him.
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Briefly, the world went white.
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He blinked, fumbling to stand, damn his sore ankle, and almost tumbled to the ground. Clearly his Clefairy hadn't done the trick, for now it wasn't just his ankle that hurt, it was his EVERYTHING. Every joint, every muscle felt as sore as if he'd been put through a taffy puller, and he turned to reprimand her, only to find a Clefable standing in her place.
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"...What?" he spoke aloud, his voice coming as a growling rasp. He patted his hands down his own torso, feeling for wounds, then up to his head - had he been concussed? No, but the hem of his trousers hit just above his ankles, his shirt tighter in places and looser in others than it should be. His fingers skated along his jawline, his cheeks, his nose, and none of this was right. It was him, but it wasn't the him of a moment ago.
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"No....no, no, no," he chanted, glancing skyward once more. The storm had yet to abate, nor had the periodic crackles of dimensional energy, and the sounds of riotous wild pokemon echoed from deeper within the Chasm. He turned to stare at the Clefable once more, uttering,
"Callie?"[break][break]
The Clefable nodded, chirping happily, and tottered over to him, extending an arm to pat him reassuringly. Feeling faint, he returned the pat absently before recalling her, willing his aches and pains to subside long enough for him to make it out of this triple-cursed place alive.
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If he
could make it out alive, he thought helpfully, as he began to run.
[attr="class","ooc"]
NOTES
• Claiming Blue Shard.[break]
• Callie the Clefairy evolves into Clefable.[break]
• Rhys ages to 35.
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