It was often said that students learn from teachers, but a teacher's best teachers are his students. Finn smiled sheepishly, although he hid it well. Zev's bemused response taught Finn something valuable. Ironically, it was the same lesson he just tried to convey. One outfit won't work in every situation - Finn couldn't approach Zev like he would someone younger.

"You're right."

Zev was an older student. In fact, he was older than Finn himself. What experience could Finn convey that Zev might not have experienced?

Not that of love, heartbreak, and loss. But certainly, Finn knew what it was like to meditate and find that the true blade is not the sword in your hands but your mind.

"You've been through much more than many other students. But the more you believe you know who you are, the less you allow yourself to change. Shift. Discover."

A light wind coursed through the slabs of stone.

"The swordsman who shifts like the breeze wins. The one who insists he is right where he needs to be will not."

Finn's eyes were open and clear like the sky.

Zev Harcourt

Hey, that sounds good! I'm excited to explore how their relationship develops. Could you please start?

Kazimir Wynter

Finn's green fringe dipped over his brow in thought. Noah was right; he'd wondered that about his Iron Valiant too. Its red eyes glowed not like suns or stars - not in a way that reflected the spark of life that you would see in an organic being - but like the infrared glare of a screen.

Yet, something whirred in the mechanical creature's head. But was it thought, or the focusing lens of a hunting camera?

"One way to find out, man."

Finn looked curious. Curious but also playful.

"Wanna battle?"

The Gardevoir-Gallade hybrid robot's ears perked up. Its eyes glowed even brighter.

noah faber

An interesting question - even if Zev might not have meant it that way.

Finn spun about smartly, like a Swellow making a turn.

"Sometimes I dress like this." Finn gestured to his outfit - a snugly fit black combat kimono top, athletic trousers and green-streaked running shoes. "And, sometimes I wear my dress kimono. It all depends on situation. Time of day, social context..."

"...who I'm with."

From straight and formal to sweet and casual, Finn liked each taste in equal measure.

A quizzical bird - if it could even be called a bird - floated from behind a stone pillar, beeping and glowing. A Sigilyph! Finn had the space to admire such an unusual Pokemon too. The Sigilyph screeched like an ancient computer glitching as Finn's Skarmory swiped a sharp wing at it.

Finn tilted his head up into the air, feeling it lighten as they ascended the Pillar.

"Flying Sword School is about more than just the swords. Use the time to figure out your tastes and likes. Who you are - what your desires are, and how to get there."

Zev Harcourt

Catches the Sigilyph!

Finn was relieved to hear he wasn't alone - and that his kindred soul was Noah. If even a Gym Leader was still figuring out how to deal with a Paradox Pokemon, that validated his own feelings of disorientation. Also, Finn really liked the guy. He was affable and earnest - totally no airs about him.

Of course Finn would say --

"Oh, yeah!"

Finn released Jiangjun, his Iron Valiant, and Ran's stance stiffened when the robot fairy appeared in a metallic flash. Things between Jiangjun and Finn's real-life Pokemon had been... difficult. Sometimes, it felt like Finn was training his other Pokemon by getting them to gang up on Jiangjun and put him to sleep.

But for a creation so close to life, surely there had to be a spark of the real thing somewhere.

Jiangjun's eyes stared onwards like blank screens, but a soft whirring in his head signalled that he was computing, observing, analysing.

Finn nodded at Noah. This was unknown territory, but he was glad he was jumping into it with a new friend.

noah faber

BLOOD MUD & IRON SIGN-UP

ON THE HUNT!

CHARACTER: Finnegan Yang [break]

PKMN TEAM (3 MAX): Decidueye, Lucario, Braviary. Moves coming soon!
[break]

WHAT IS THE IC REASON FOR YOUR CHARACTER'S PARTICIPATION?: If there's a monster roaming in the wild, I want to take it down before it gets to my school. (Flying Sword School is on the border of a forest)

Ran sizes the Hariyama and snorts respectfully. Finn grins proudly at Noah's compliment and how Ran carries himself so gracefully - Ran really glows with the radiance of his teaching. Unlike many Primeape, Ran sees his wrath as a source of grounding and power.

"Thanks, man!" Finn blushes.

And speaking of raising Pokemon...

"By the way, since you're a Fighting-type expert and all, I wanna ask if you have any advice. Do you have any experience with... Paradox Pokemon?" Finn asks, lowering his voice. He knows the public knows they exist, but they are shrouded in so much mystery. And Finn is having a really, really difficult time getting his new Iron Valiant to behave.

"Because if you do, I'd love to learn from you."

Meanwhile, a Hawlucha swoops past, and Ran unleashes a grunt so fearsome that the Hawlucha squawks and crashes into a bench.

noah faber

Captures the Hawlucha!

Finn might still be keeping his deeper, baser interests at arm's length, but he really liked tea.

"I like the roasted type. Sometimes, I actually gather the tea leaves myself. There's a small tea garden that my family keeps off the side of one of the hills. Then, we roast it over a Will o' Wisp - gives it a nice, charred, almost otherworldly taste."

As Finn spoke, his face and body opened up with the warmth of interest. Perhaps it was his enthusiasm that attracted the Misdreavus, who fell quickly to a sharp peck from Fei's beak.

"I could bring you someday, if you want."

Finn felt like he was warming up to Zev. Really getting to know him better.

Zev Harcourt

Captures the Misdreavus!

Finn chuckled. Part of it was that he didn't know how open to be with Zev, and part of it was that he didn't know who he was outside the school. Did a self exist outside of a social context?

Sheepishly, Finn diverted his attention to a stray Murkrow. "Eh!" Finn's kimono fluttered behind him like an emerald wing. Fei hopped from ledge to ledge, homing in on the Murkrow before shrieking it off its flight path.

Click!

As the Murkrow shook about inside its Pokeball, Finn's cover ran out of run time.

Time to confront the question - who was Finnegan Yang?

"Tea. Working out. I like flying out to offshore places." There was so much more Finn could say - fashion, liquor, theme parks, cute boys. But he felt awkward about stepping out from behind the sword.

Zev Harcourt

Captures the Murkrow!

Finn felt the soft, tender turn of a genuine moment between Zev and himself. An unspoken bond between student and teacher - a shared understanding of suffering and the commitment that arose from it. It shone like moonlight off the edge of a blade.

And then, Zev brought their silence to a smooth end, raising the mood with a bright smile. Finn blinked his solemnness away and returned the grin. Now, he felt guilty about weighing Zev against Isaac Merlo in his mind, always wondering how two friends turned out so differently. Zev took a bit longer to understand, but it seemed like Finn was getting closer.

Fei pecked at a little armoured dragon, holding it in place long enough for Finn to swing a Pokeball at it.

"I hope you're ready for a good fight," Finn said, anticipation evident on the edge of his breath. "The Pokemon here are strong."

Finn hopped onto a step and began ascending towards the Pillar.

Zev Harcourt

Finn catches the Jangmo-o!

Zev's words touched something deep inside Finn's heart - a memory covered by scar tissue, tough and fibrous on the outside but wounded within. Finn knew, from his own memory, what terror looked like, smelled like. Finn looked at Zev, stricken. The real reason Finn devoted his life to the sword? A house on fire, smoke choking his lungs, Pokemon suffocating in the inferno.

Finn nodded solemnly. I thought so too.

Fei's wings caught the sun's glare a little bit too brightly.

"We can't change the past. It wasn't your fault." Finn dropped his usual stoic cover. His posture was open and honest, and his voice soft like a Swablu's wing. "We can only do better for the people who come after us."

And that's why Finn invested his time into rebuilding and strengthening Flying Sword School. He could work out his penance by ensuring it never happened again.

"You've got a good heart, Zev."

Vulnerably, Finn gave Zev a gentle smile.

A small Farfetch'd tumbled past them in the background, and Skarmory pecked at its leek and swung it around until it fell on its beak.

Zev Harcourt

Catch attempt - Farfetch'd!

Finn liked Noah right from the get go, but he didn't know how much to tell him. How about I am still recovering from the horror of almost being killed in an alien dimension by a wild bandit? Not the best way to make a first impression.

"I just need some time away from the School. Nice sun, good drinks, strong Pokemon."

A cute Buneary toddled past them, but Finn's attention was wholly focused on Noah - the man, the legend himself.

"How about you? Do you come here often? And cool Hariyama!"

Excitedly, Finn releases Ran, his Primeape, so Noah can have a look at his own Fighting-type Pokemon. Finn also noticed the difference between their Pokemon - Noah the brawler with his big, bulky wrestler, and Finn with his comparatively fast-footed crafty fighter.

"I'm not sure about my ace. I guess who that is depends on whether I'm showing up as a swordsman or a fighter."

A deep response to a fairly innocent question, but Finn's identity was also in constant flux. The events in the other world did make him think harder about who he is and who he should be.

noah faber