[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1095565172824875130/1199529250676547634/All_I_Had_Was_You.mp3[/player]

the only thing i had was everything, when all i had was you

room for cream and sugar, you say. normally, you'd order a latte, but they seem rather busy and you only have so much time on her lunch break. you stand by the counter and fish out your phone. she's only a few feet away, but that doesn't stop you from sending a dumb amount of emojis her way. 

i truly cannot believe the way you text. 

you're about to hit send, but your phone is knocked from your hand. someone staggers brutishly into you and your phone clatters to the ground. the screen doesn't crack, thank goodness, but you're mad enough that you push back. 

fuckin' bitch, he mumbles under his breath, as you're bending over to pick your phone up. but ye got a nice ass.

you have a fire inside of you that must be fed and that you must obey, little dragon, before you can feed it yourself. you have spent your life obeying and it is now, in this split second, that the hunger you've felt all this time rears its ugly head. 

there is blood on your hands before you know what's happening. there is blood on the coffee counter and this idiot man is crumpled on the ground cradling his nose, calling you obscenities, and his words are slurred around the edges. 

eva is by your side in an instant. your coffee cools in the barista's hand; he's slack-jawed. you grab a wad of napkins and grab him by the forearm. 

help me get him outside. 

he's heavy. it takes the two of you to haul him outside. eva fusses over him, despite your protests, and you resign. she says she'll call out of work, but you say, no, no. fern will kill me if i steal you more than i already do. go. i got this. 

she kisses you on the cheek. 

yer pretty good with yer hands, sweetheart, he drawls as he pinches his nose and looks up through his lashes.

you look exasperatedly after eva, but she's already gone, apologetic smile and all. you split the stack of napkins you'd grabbed on your way out and shove them towards him, grimacing as you wipe your own hands.

don't call me sweetheart.

he barely catches a clump of dark red, but forces it to his nose anyway, stuffing it in his bleeding nostril like he can't feel the pain. 

he probably doesn't.

mmm, yer right, ye give me more of a...princess vibe.

your heart does not ache. why would it? 

look, you're a dick, but because my girlfriend is a very nice person, i'm sticking around to make sure you're not too hurt. so can you please make this more bearable and just stop talking?

yer girlfriend? he says, surprise coloring dull blues as they follow appreciatively after your beloved. well, where's she goin'? more than enough of me ta go 'round.

you smell like the bottom of a bottle and look like last week's garbage.

flirting, eh? i thought ye said ye had a girlfriend. he smirks, but that shortly twists into a grimace, lips falling as a measure of something you recognize as irritation? frustration? trickles in. the hell am i anyways?

you're outside my least favorite coffee shop. at least now i'll have a reason to dissuade eva from insisting we meet here. i swear they burn their beans.

eh? whatever the fuck that means. what time is it?

he looks around as if clarity is seeping in. you look at him pityingly. you can't tell if he started early or if this is a byproduct of last night bleeding into today. 

it's...quarter to one.

he bares his teeth at you like an animal and you resist the urge to shuffle back at the malice behind the look. ya, well, that explains some things. it doesn't explain anything. he raises a brow at you, lip still curled. still time ta take me up on my offer.

you imagine kicking him, but you settle for shifting your weight instead, rolling your tongue in your cheek. your shoulders come up, completely exasperated, and you resolve to tell eva you tried and you're pretty sure he won't remember where the blood came from in an hour. 

you know what? your voice drips honey sweet. no, thank you. enjoy the rest of your day, sir. 

yer loss. he stares at you a moment and then, resigned, staggers off. thanks fer the gift ta remember ye by. blood trails after him; small droplets, the only proof of his presence there.

you never learn his name. you never see him again, after that. there are a few times, as the years go by, when you recall his sleazy smile and bizarrely enough, his face is always accompanied by the vaguest pang of hiraeth.

ghosting your body, haunting my soul.

☉

a glass of prosecco feels normal in your hand now. you stand beside abbiati, shaking hands, sharing knowing looks every once in a while. you always make time to excuse yourself for a breather, to feel at ease under the sky, before the sea. but that will come later. 

waiters drift by with stuffed grape leaves and feta stuffed mushrooms on toothpicks. you pluck a couple and squirrel away with a napkin in one hand, your half-drunk prosecco in the other. at a cocktail table, you're afforded one bite before you're accosted by thankful figureheads. 

you say, i'm grateful we could help with the war efforts. i'm sorry we can't do more.

they kiss the ground you walk upon and you search the sea of faces for liv, but she's out on the terrace, far from your purview. 

someone says, are you freya?

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1095565172824875130/1198844426437546076/Kishi_Bashi_-__Honeybody__Official_Audio.mp3[/player]

you turn and you nod; your mouth is full. her smile brightens and she reaches out to clasp your hand. you wince, brushing her off, reaching for a napkin, but she doesn't seem to mind.

she looks beautiful. you don't think this, of course. not yet. you stammer out your 'you're welcome' all the same as you have with the rest, ready to move on and find liv or alex or roy so you can escape the vapid formalities of the room. she reads your disregard, though she doesn't take it personally. 

in fact, she becomes your savior, looping her arm with yours and saying, how about we get some fresh air?

you don't know how late afternoon turns to dusk turns to twilight so quickly. you don't know how you end up down there, on the bluffs, your heels in one hand, your dress drawn up with your other.

wait, you yell, laughing. the sea rolls in to greet the two of you and you stand at the edge of sootopolis. salt sprays your skin. water soils your clothes. you exhale, breath whispering over your teeth. 

follow me, you say and you take her hand. 

the stars wink into existence above, watching the two of you snake down the bluffs, down near the shore. roy and alex are already there. fernando and liv will wrap up with the caterers, as per usual. your mother's disapproving sigh at your antics can't be heard all the way from galar. 

boys, you say with a grin, meet eva.

☉

you adorn yourself with rings and bangles, all hand-crafted, worn by your mother and her mothers before you. you comb, with trembling hands, your silver hair. slowly, all its snarls untangle and you sit before the mirror, staring at your full cheeks, long lashes.

i think, do you see me?

because i do not see myself. it is enough to make me...fall silent. i've been with you for years now, but you never fancied mirrors. you never stared at yourself, searching for your soul. and only finding me. 

so i drift. you don't notice, of course. you gather your things. you pin back your hair. and you walk to the cliffside, garbed in white. when you fall, you are haloed in dragonfire. when you rise, your clothes are burning. 


again, she says. 

again, she says.

again, she says.

later, you find her in her study. her cheeks are gaunt, drawn from her puckered lips. alex once told you it seems like your mother's always sucking on a lemon. you laughed, felt bad about that, but agreed.

now, she looks so very tired. you try to step away. your shadow falls across the desk and she stirs, waves her hand, tiredly says, come in. and when you come in, she says, sit. 

you wait for your reprimanding. she puts her face in one hand, squeezes her eyes shut. she sighs. 

do you know why i push you so hard, freya? she says. it's not gentle. it's not soft. that's not the kind of woman she is. 

no. i don't know. maybe i - 

because you can take it.

...

because you have to.

why?

because your home will need you.

she turns the screen towards you. you don't understand the implications at first. but the months after, as the world's powers shift, and kanto falls, you feel the weight of your responsibilities leaden.

again, she says.

when you fall, you are haloed in dragonfire. when you rise, you are resplendent. 

☉

her demeanor doesn't change when illeana brings up avatars. she recalls words shared by her bedside, a friendship torn to shreds because of the conflict between higher powers. even now, as much as she wants to claim she has no puppet strings of her own, ghost strands shiver against her skin. 

she rubs her arm, takes a sip of her coffee, and uses her heel to swing gently. 

"you may," she says.

she sighs. "i think they're chosen for a reason. we don't know what those reasons are. and we don't know what happens to avatars in the long run. how they...change.

"so no, i don't think we understand them. i don't think we understand them at all."

illeana reyes

☉

"i - you signed your name," she says, blinking. she's bad at technology too, but that's a whole new level of misunderstanding. maybe it was an auto-response and he didn't realize it was included on the message? no idea. 

the attempted anonymity, she thinks nothing of. people are weird about their accounts, especially when it comes to public correspondence with the league. 

she finishes her signature while he talks - throden velkais - freya morningstar and then closes the cover. she rests her palm atop it, fingers tapping away at the emboss, rather than return it immediately. 

"i'd love to take a look at them at some point, if you're able. and i'd love to invite my colleague. he's more of an expert on tangential artifacts." Remiel Calcifet would be ecstatic over the opportunity, she's sure. 

howard slayte
peepobigsmile

☉

she understands the desire for answers, but her tongue is stayed. one glance at the naganadel that floats patiently between them reminds her that this creature's motives are just as much of a mystery to them. and if it can recall, with perfect clarity, the past, it may very well be an emissary of the triad itself. 

"i can't answer that. not in front of the naganadel. and not until i've talked to the rest of the council."

she pats down her side, but of course she doesn't have her wallet on her. she fishes out her personal phone instead and pulls up a new contact page. 

"i'll get in touch with you when i can. ollie morales and i can talk about a security detail in the meantime. yuina, we'll make sure you're safe."

Yuina Higashi

☉

her resolve is marked by the tucking of her phone back into her pocket. she pulls her glove back on and drops both of her hands. her new charmander bats playfully at her fingers, though she withdraws. after a moment, she signals to calcifer and says, "we're leaving."

the charmander follows dourly, falling into step behind its superiors. it casts its gaze around at the place that's been its home this past month and then it growls. freya flicks a hand out, asking calcifer to deal with it. 

but she's forced to turn around when there's a scuffle behind her. calcifer watches on with interest as the charmander picks a fight with a wandering poltchageist. 

the earth rumbles beneath them and freya's brow arches as the charmander uses ancient power to summon a volley of rocks at its target. the teapot goes spinning, innards sloshing out the sides. it sprawls over the ground and the charmander spits embers. it looks back at freya for her approval.

she clasps it on its round, reptilian head and withdraws her last safari ball. 

premium safari 0/4
catching poltchageist!

☉

as soon as it went into the ball, it popped back out. now it walks stolidly behind calcifer, who seems more than content to ignore it. 

freya shakes her head and teethes off her glove. she fishes for her phone and taps past the lock screen as they walk, hopeful. 0 new messages. her email is full though. lots of reminders from tsubaki about upcoming meetings. 

maybe...he's being smart about not reaching out. 

glued to her phone as she is, she completely walks by the bronzor levitating ten feet above them. 

premium safari 1/4
skipping

☉

servos whir in denial and still the knight, with its glowing neon eyes, advances towards lyune. the storm present in the air since the tournament's beginning continues to darken. the clouds are swollen, threatening rain, but it's as though nature itself holds its breath when the valiant leaps. 

there are z-crystals spun in her braids and one of them glows now, a nova amidst starlight. lyune's muscles roll, wings slamming down, pluming the fire that sputters at the edge of his maw.

he will not maneuver away in a dodge. his mistress would never demand him of it. 

the red scales under his throat glow molten as explosive heat claws free from behind his tongue. indignant flames blast outward and towards the assailant without mercy. 

[attr="class","heroesgymbar"]

Michael Navidson
lyune uses inferno overdrive
round 3 | 60+50 (110) vs ??

Z-Move users can add a +50 modifier to any single roll. This can only be done once per vital battle.

sQXOmJ_D

☉

[newclass=.heroesgymbar]background-color:#333333;padding:5px;height:5px;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;[/newclass]

the walk this year is different. there is a pendant in her palm; the pointed ends of a crescent moon redden the skin under her thumb and pinkie. she is still growing accustomed to her own autonomy. it's not as unfamiliar a feeling as she wishes it were. 

bagon and dratini stir as she walks, but they leave her alone. one of her roaring moons clambers behind her, warding off the fauna with low growls. 

the water is dark on either side and in one breath she is within it - the battering and thrashing of dragon scales breaking apart her skin, forging her anew - and the next she completes her stride, swaying as she comes to a standstill before the shrine. 

korlessa bows her head and freya is dumbfounded by it. the creature is of the mist; this world's customs are not its own. do you sense the power here? or is there more to your story? 

she kneels. the pendant drops from her hand and swings, caught by its leather cord. she raises it in the air and watches it spin. blue-tinted silver sparkles in the firelight. 

"i saw what i could have been, had i not lost you, mother. who i could have been." the pendant slows in its orbit. she holds it closer, thumbs the sapphire at its center. and then she looks up. "but none of that matters. not really. i'm so tired of measuring my worth against what i haven't or couldn't or didn't do. and i'm sorry. i am. for not knowing you. 

"but i won't apologize for finding a family, for living a good life, for being a morningstar. that's who i am." she exhales. "but the what? i'm still figuring that out."

zinnia. draconid.

"i know parts of it now and i want to thank you. you understand why i couldn't say it then. and i know now why you acted as you did. i'm like you, i think, in a lot of ways."

silence stretches. she stands. the pendant stops swinging. she lifts it above her head and tugs the leather cord down, over her braids, where it settles around her neck.

and then she reaches for the bell. 

THE DRAGON'S DEN
after father winter 2
korlessa learned dragon hammer & draco meteor

☉