anger? [break][break]

no, she isn't angry. not at her father, not at her mother, and not even at herself. if she has to put it in a way, it's disgust; pure and unbridled disgust when she looks in the mirror or looks in the past, or in a picture frame that's often kept turned down against the desk for a reason. [break][break]

"i don't wish it could have ended differently" there's nothing but honesty here, though she seldom lies she seldom tells the full story "and i don't think it's a waste of time." another skewer through a can, the crumpling fills the silence between words.[break][break]

then her gaze lowers, her hand maintaining its hold. the spike of the skewer sticks to the ground as her brows furrow. "i just couldn't stay where i was, anymore. so i crumbled, and broke, and tried to pick up the pieces." [break][break]

it just so happened that the pieces became someone new.

Asahiko Hakuryuu

☉

he's still worried about her. [break][break]

a waste of time, she'll say. still, she smiles slightly as a hum buzzes between her lips. self care is important, but there isn't much room for that when you're still in school, still taking classes, and also an intern nurse at both a hospital and pokemon centre (it changes from time to time, an she would have gone to pokemon were it not for the way nurse joys have made her so uncomfortable). [break][break]

"it should be within the hour." thinking back on it, the other nurses won't let her attend to the patients with worse conditions. something about her being a student, and therefore her credentials weren't on par. so, in short: they think she can't be trusted. which is fair, even when it gets slightly frustrating when she knows she's overqualified. [break][break]

"about half an hour.. only because the nurse in charge has been insisting that i take a bit of a break." she skips her lunch breaks, after all.

Calix Nikolau

☉

his light-heated reaction brings a small smile to her lips. [break][break]

keyword: small, only because it's made her think of her father's horrid cooking again. you'd think that charcoal would just taste like charcoal, and somehow the man was able to make it taste even worse than that. if there's one thing she's grateful for, it's that his absence has freed her tastebuds.[break][break]

"don't remind me." disgust is expressed via her tongue sticking out, slightly, and her brows scrunch in memory "disgusting. it was horrible. he's the reason i've become such a picky eater." or.. not exactly, but he's the reason she learned how to cook. it's not her fault that she's a lot better at cooking than the average person. [break][break]

she finishes up her part of the skewers, and with that, raises a clean hand to wipe the sweat off her face, tugging the eyepatch off while brushing the longer bangs out of her face, over her head. the sun hits her face, and she raises to face the sun. it's warm, and refreshing, so she takes a deep breath to say "although because of hat, i've learned how to make a couple of palette cleaners." then she opens her eyes again, turning her attention so she can face him properly with a small smile.[break][break]

"if you need any, i can pass some over to you next time i cook."

Leonidas Stone

☉

"i think you know a bit too much." is her first answer. [break][break]

if he already knew that he was the missing child of the family, then he already knew quite a lot - knew that she went missing, and knew about rocket, maybe, if he had done enough digging (wendy was never good at keeping it secret after she left; although the reform of rocket did help her with cutting her ties with the criminal organization). oh, but now she was running in circles in her head. the fact that he only waited to confront her after suspecting enough, or suspecting this much, to this degree, was a surprise in itself. it makes her think that maybe there's some truth to him saying he was waiting to see if she'd say anything about herself. [break][break]

but what is there to say when you desperately try to bury what's supposed to be said? [break][break]

nothing. nothing at all; is her usual response, but there's something about the later words that will ring and resonate a little more strongly. ah, yes, she knows. what goes around comes around, and wendy used to think that if she would be kind to others, they would be kind in turn, even when she tried to help. wendy used to be naive. it's weird to meet someone who finally reciprocates that kind of thinking. it's been so long she's forgotten that's how she thought. [break][break]

was he a friend? was she struggling so much because she thought of him as a friend? does it ail her, thinking that someone she thinks of as a friend could be distancing themselves, because she's been distant altogether? she remembers when he told her that he'd be willing to listen to what she had to say, or if she had anything to say, or if she just needed someone to listen. she remembers him telling her the same; was he waiting for her to take him up on the offer? [break][break]

it doesn't sit right with her, and when he glances over, he can see her brows furrow in pensive thought as her hands maintain their position over her chest. marisol has blocked out emotions, but she isn't unaware of them. no, she knows what she's feeling; and it's guilt, and it's slight anxiety. [break][break]

in her thought, she furrows her brows more, pensive, then her gaze is immediately shifted when her eyes meet his. "and i--" she pauses, and for once, the disdain is on her face when she gently bites the inside of her cheek in thought. "... i've never had to share, or talk about this before." not in detail, or not to someone in her new life. "so i.. don't know what else to say past yes, i am wendy olson."[break][break]

the name still stings. [break][break]

".. but this time--" she lowers her voice. her body still coils, trying to wall itself off, but there's an attempt to slow the coil as she slowly, very gently, reaches her arms out from her chest to slowly lift herself up. still, with her knees hugged to her chest "i'll try to answer, in.. more detail. or.. at least what i feel comfortable with." [break][break]

keyword: try. he's already seen how she was during the events of mirage island. [break]
what is there to hide?

Leonidas Stone

☉

oh, she shouldn't have said that. [break][break]

of course he'd jump on it. a woman who doesn't often show the emotion or concern on her face, openly admitting it was a death sentence. to her. of course he wouldn't pass up this chance when she finally says something about it. [break][break]

in response, her brows furrow, and a hue of red or pink can be seen on her cheeks as she maintains a steady gaze on the soil. "maybe." she responds, haphazardly, the shade only deepening the longer he eyed her with amusement on his lips. "i--" she pauses, wanting to say something else. she was a nurse, o course she'd be worried. he's her friend, of course she would be worried. she called him all the way out here, of course she would be worried. [break][break]

none of it comes out of her mouth, though. [break][break]

so instead, she clicks her tongue and raises a clean hand up to gently ruffle at the bangs, damp from the rain now, but she's trying to get them to cover the majority of her face. ".. yes, i am." she grumbles, narrowing a violet eye to him "and what of it?"

Leonidas Stone

☉

it's okay. [break][break]

everything is okay. what's another ten lives to sacrifice, what's another bunch of people to be deleted? it's not like she hasn't seen life leaving the person before, not like she's unfamiliar with death. hell, it might even be a good thing, that they'll never be able to see the bodies. this is a good thing, isn't it? they'll be able to get home, they'll be able to be safe. it should be a good thing. [break][break]

but wendy's guilt begins to eat at her, though her fear of the doppelganger's smile overpowers what self-sacrificial thoughts she had. and she's relieved, then she feels guilty for being relieved, when Leonidas Stone doesn't take the chance. maybe she's selfish. wendy, when have you become so selfish? [break][break]

when the light dies, she's left gazing up at the bright, cyberscape of a sky - for all of five seconds, before she feels her body topple, and her mind go blank. when she awakens, the side of her head that seemingly vanished was back, right in the sand below. a groan escapes her lips as she slowly raises herself up onto her hands, knees dug into the sand as her eyes adjust to the light. she's a little dizzy, but it subsides before long. and as she's looking around, watching the people who seemingly reunite, she doesn't feel anything. [break][break]

if anything, she remembers the loss of a ghostly, bleached coral reef. [break][break]

everyone is having their heartfelt reunions, and something in marisol is dead inside. she lets out a shaky breath, lifting herself from the sand and brushing the particles off. one glance, and she sees that leonidas is safe. what a relief. [break][break]

she's about to approach as he rouses, until she hears a familiar, soft groaning of a cursola not too far away. her plate is still in the sand, though the ghostly ectoplasm is bent with the main head resting on the sand. then the ghost pokemon slowly raises up, curious. [break][break]

until she's met with the hands of her trainer, trembling, in a gentle hold. [break][break]

"c-carci.." she's hugging onto the large body, nestling her face against the ghostly pokemon. when marisol starts to tremble and whimper, it's a rare sight - but who can blame her, when another pokemon of hers died because of her? again, it died for her. the tears are foreign when they well up, and when the heat rises to her cheeks and when the ghost pokemon turns around, reaching up with ghostly branches to attempt to wipe them away. there's a soft whimper from the ghost. [break][break]

marisol is left sitting there, for a little while, but doesn't let go of the ghost. if anything, she only blankly (tiredly) stares at the sand through tears. [break][break]

".. lets go home."

---

[break]
𓆙 CARCI IS BACK IT'S OKAY
[break]𓆙 mari just wants to go home

cyberchase conundrum

☉

if she didn't know any better, she'd think that he was traumatized. by.. his sister's cooking. [break][break]

but based on what she's heard, both sisters seem to be horrible cooks. it's oddly relatable when she thinks back to her father's cooking (there's a reason she learned how to cook on her own, and it was to pre herself from the atrocious concoctions that the man makes in the kitchen. dad always said that cooking was like science, but clearly, he was reckless all the same). [break][break]

it's not a happy memory, but probably the tamest. [break][break]

".. that sounds like my father's cooking." he already knows about him - or at least, knows of her identity now. he already guessed right. he'll connect the dots. "he treated cooking like a science project. so it was either.. i'd cook for myself, or i'd eat charcoal." he's holding back a shudder, and she's unrestrained with it. "i can still taste the bitterness, arceus have mercy.."

Leonidas Stone

☉

'no.'[break][break]

he says it so easily that it's almost irritating - she hopes that he knows that he's lucky to be in her good graces. or her tolerable graces. she can only look at him in sheer disbelief; does he hear himself? wouldn't it be better for him not to be sick? especially while the region wasn't exactly in the best place to begin with. hell, they were collecting herbs so that medicine can be concocted due to an impending shortage. [break][break]

they're getting sick to collect medicine, and the irony isn't lost in her. [break][break]

"you're an idiot." and can only say, taking the hand shovel to dig easier into the soil, loosening up the roots and gently shaking the remaining dirt that clings on. her eyepatch is slowly getting wet beneath the bangs over half her face, but she'll let it happen. for the time being. [break][break]

"i--" she starts, then pauses, and she's grateful that the overcast shadow of clouds from the rain is enough to cover the exposed half of her face. her lips turn inwards, and she gently bites for a moment before letting out another sigh. "... i'd still feel guilty." her brows furrow, and she digs another small hole "i called you out to help me. if you get sick, i'll feel responsible."

Leonidas Stone

☉

maybe the problem is that she isn't trying hard enough? she's starting to think that maybe she's pushed the mantine too hard, trying to land such a difficult move so many times - is what she would think, were it not still rearing to go. "are you okay?" she asks the pokemon, who only lets out an energetic cry and a flap of its... wings? [break][break]

well.. they say it's okay, so there's no harm in another magikarp splash attempt.

[break][break]

JMc7Bg0I

@tag[break]
10,850 pts

☉

another pokeball from the reef.. [break][break]

she's starting to get tired of seeing them, but what can she do? they're all over the place, and the clamperl seem to be perfectly happy with leaving her stranded like this. so with a sigh released, she gently taps the greninja to motion him down some more. they don't have a lot of time left so it's better for them to search a bit harder. she's sure, though, they'll find something nice this time around. [break][break]

.. her fingers are crossed, at least.

[break][break]

glu0_akx

[break]
+10 pokeball[break]
+1 devolution[break]
+1 z-crystal[break]
+1 gachapon[break]
+1 blue shard[break]
+1 ability capsule[break]
+1 salac berry[break]
+2 mega shard[break]
+2 form change[break]
+1 incense[break]
+1 egg tutor[break]
+1 tm/tr[break]
+1 lvl tutor

@tag

☉