[attr="class","rosepost"]Almighty Sinnoh, she never knew what was running through that mind of his.[break][break]

"How could there be nothing?" What was he afraid of, exactly? Holding onto all of those negative emotions for the fear of... forgetting? It could have been something else entirely. She furrowed her brow at him, pensive. "What if you let it go, and you're happier for it? And you're no longer haunted by things you can't change?" [break][break]

She almost broke out of his hold to shake him by the shoulders and try to drill it into him, but she let the urge pass just as quickly as it'd come. She couldn't force him to think as she did, but she hoped he would lessen the weight of the past that he carried with him, always. "When will it be enough? Your mourning of the past?" He couldn't think this was sustainable, surely. She didn't want to watch him continue to throw himself face-first at a wall trying to move it.

[break][break]Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Ah, she was starting to figure him out. [break][break]

A helpless romantic, huh? She hadn't expected to be swept into his embrace, leaving her to squeak and quickly loop her arms around his neck. "What's this for?!" She could walk, damn him. But after his lamenting of Gallade's inability to handle things without harming them, she felt he was reacting emotionally, rather than logically, and it would be an uphill battle to fight him in terms of reason. [break][break]

She caressed his face, directed him by the jaw to look at him. "People change. Pokemon, too." For a moment, she thought she was really looking at him. "You get stuck in the past. More than me, I think. Kind of impressive." She wasn't sure what to make of that. "You have to let that stuff go. If it doesn't serve you, you just carry that dead weight forward."


[break][break]Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]"Aw, you're right!" She'd totally forgotten about taking pictures. And she wanted to get some good shots of the desert, too. Now, they were at a low point where one couldn't appreciate how massive and sprawling the desert really was. She felt disappointment swell in her chest until Silverio's sandslash was running wild. [break][break]

She thought he was fucking with her. "An oasis? Dude, it's not the time for jokes. We need to fin-" [break][break]

But he was off to the races. Holy 'karp, did he think it was real? She fell in-step behind him. "Wait! It's not - don't!" As she pursued, the mirage seemed to be appear for her, too. She could see its blurry edges as they neared it despite her conscious mind telling her it's fake. They stumbled across some tall Maractus which offered them a coconut full of water. [break][break]

What the hell? This scene had been non-existent a minute ago, and now it'd blurred into existence?

[break][break]silverio delfino [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]The sands died down. [break][break]

She took a few breaths without her arm in the way, suddenly more grateful for open air than she'd been before they stepped into the rift. "I certainly hope so," she responded quickly. "I had no idea they could get so big." It was becoming more and more clear why the League forbade people entering these rifts alone. Things were too unpredictable. [break][break]

"Of course, I have no idea where to head to now. I don't see any landmarks." She hoped they could navigate their way back to the rift when it was time to leave. "I was hoping to see an unusual pokemon like those Volcanion we saw, but all we've got is a mega big orthworm."

[break][break]silverio delfino[break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]His sandshrew got right to work, so Slowking needed to get in the middle of it, too. The orthworm summoned a huge sandstorm around them, the abrasive winds cutting into her skin. She held an arm up to her head to block what wanted to entered her eyes, but she was blind and overwhelmed in her senses. "Shit," she grit out, then found herself having to spit out beads of sand. [break][break]

Slowking used disable to prevent the orthworm from recasting the environmental assault. Then, he launched a water gun at the bastard desert pokemon. [break][break]

Keiko took her free hand to loop around Silverio's arm, tugging him in some direction. If they didn't stick together, it'd be too easy to get lost. If they didn't keep moving, they'd be buried in the sand.

[break][break]silverio delfino | 03 involve dangerous sandstorms or the ability "overcoat".[break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Gallade left them to their devices. She bit back the urge to tease Rex for averting his eyes, only because she found it adorable. [break][break]

She stepped into his personal space once she was dressed, putting her hand on his horrid bedhead and tilting his head towards her to see if it could be persuaded to fall in order. "What do you mean by that?" This close, it was hard not to notice the way his eyelashes fell against his cheek. The hair was not agreeable. [break][break]

"Gallades are always stronger than Kirlia, and he seems pretty happy being strong, right?" His cheerful exterior had become subdued as he commented on his pokemon, throwing her off. "He's a good pokemon."

[break][break]Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]"Sir Gallade," she says with light mocking as she tosses the fish to her guardian. He pierces it. "Are you good at cooking?" She asks with earnest interest as she steps out of the sea, immediately squeezing at the ends of her hair to free it of excess water. [break][break]

With impeccable timing, Rex rises. "Hey, sleepyhead." Her gaze is trapped on his hair which... might need to be shaved when they get off the island. It's looking a little hopeless. "Didn't take you for a late sleeper." She'd expected it the first night after all they'd been through, but now she was wondering if he was a night owl. [break][break]

She picked through her clothing, warmed in the sun and pleasant to the touch. "I lucked out and caught breakfast. I hope you aren't a fish-hater." Especially because Slateport had excellent seafood boils, and she might take him to one if he could behave. "Does Gallade know his way around a campfire?" She was a more skilled baker than cook, especially when they lacked the tools to cook safely. She'd rather not burn her fingers on a cooking Tatsugiri.

[break][break]Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Keiko watches with interest as Maisie presents a bottle that's... cupcake flavored? [break][break]

Did it actually take like cupcakes? What was the default cupcake flavor? She would need to be more adventurous the next time she came. Or maybe she'd try a taste before she left today, but Maisie's reaction to the smell left her unsure about how brave she should be today. "Good luck," she said with a faux salute as Maisie went to retrieve some sugar. Keiko gently rubbed at the gentle Combee while keeping an ear out for the bartender's footsteps. [break][break]

Storage above the bar? That seemed odd. [break][break]

"She's gonna hook you up," Keiko cooed at the Combee.

[break][break]MAISIE MAUDLIN [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Souls? Into things? [break][break]

Keiko was no theologian, but she felt comfort in talking about her faith. "I like to think Almighty Sinnoh and Arceus came to be at the same point in time," she explained, "but there are differing opinions. Some say that Almighty Sinnoh was Arceus' first born." She didn't think birth order had anything to do with power or domain or righteousness. Almighty Sinnoh was who she prayed to, not Arceus. [break][break]

Eris' second question brought her to a full stop. "...of course it is." She furrowed her brow, then thought about it longer. Was Eris referring to the episode of Dialga in Littleroot, the very one Althus Rex had told her about? "I don't know why Almighty Sinnoh would send Dialga down; perhaps Dialga is enforcement for Her faith." They looked similar, but not identical, based on the scripture. "I am unsure what happened in Littleroot building up to that appearance." [break][break]

Without a doubt, Almighty Sinnoh had Her reasons. "What is your faith, if you don't mind me asking?"

[break][break]Eris Halla [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Keiko woke with mild alarm as the sensation of pressure came with her trickling awareness. But she wasn't being suffocated by one of her pokemon - Rex was lying on her. Was he a cuddler? [break][break]

She disentangled herself carefully, unaware of how much space she had initially claimed in the shelter. She left him to keep sleeping. It was early; the sun was only hinting at rising in the horizon, so the beach was dark. She traveled it just fine, however, and dropped her clothing to take another dip in the water. [break][break]

Gallade stayed close, stood on the shore like a sentinel, which she found endearing. Though she doubted a sharpedo or something would travel so close to the island and get her, she was flattered he felt like protecting her was a higher priority than whatever else he did on the island. There were certainly more trees to cut. [break][break]

The sun rose, and she found a school of fish far too interested in her kicking feet in the water. With some focus, she pulled up a curly form Tatsugiri from the water. "Aha!" She grinned as she held it up overhead, an unexpected but completely welcome victory. Her skills were up to par if she could react fast enough to catch the quick one-foot-long fish.

[break][break]Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Keiko had a lot of flaws: stubborn, judgmental, chronically type A. But among her greatest strengths was her ability to go horizontal and immediately conk out. [break][break]

In other words, she was already snoring on her back by the time Rex entered the shelter. She had sprawled out to take more than her fair share of space, and she hadn't had the foresight to remove her hair pins which left her hair looking disastrous as it pressed against the ground. One hand rested over her stomach, which slowly rose and fell as deep sleep already claimed her. [break][break]

She dreamed of nothing.

[break][break]Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Keiko stepped through the spatial rift and into the Ultra Desert with an awed smile. With the two of them off on another adventure in the wilds, it was bound to be an exciting day. She waved her phone as they stood side by side in the desert. "I have a full charge on this baby, so I can take plenty of pictures." She hadn't seized the opportunity to do so in the mechanical kingdom, but she wouldn't make that mistake twice. [break][break]

"I heard some Rangers talking about this place, and the advice I got from them is to not drink water you're offered, alright? It's, uh, usually not what it seems." Vague, but she didn't get specifics from them. "We gotta keep our mind right because there are some illusory pokemon out here." That, and the heat might take 'em out. [break][break]

She only got a few steps in the desert when she felt the earth shake. She turned to him with a furrowed brow, then to her Slowking. Slowking shook his head, not the cause of this one. [break][break]

And then the biggest orthworm she'd ever seen shot out of the ground and lurched towards them.

[break][break]silverio delfino | 02 involve gigantic orthworms who attempt to hunt you using tremorsense.[break]