azume | Departure.

INCIDENT.

The weekend starts off...loudly.

The commotion is coming from the direction of the Galactic Warehouse on the northern side of town, fairly late into the morning; given how quiet and peaceful (for better or worse) the city tends to be, it's unbelievably noticeable when something is going awry. Even more so when it sounds like something may have quite simply exploded.

You might want to see what's going on there, in other words.

Arriving to the scene to check it out will reveal a standoff occurring between the buildings and warehouses of the compound; on one side of the lot stands Cynthia, proud and tall, long blonde hair flowing down her back and a large, rather intimidating Pokémon at her side; it's worth noting that the Pokémon, too, doesn't seem to be suffering from the same sense of apathy as everyone and everything else that you've seen - its gaze is alert, and the sound it offers is loud and harsh, a bellowing roar from an aggressive, hunched-forward stance, aimed at anyone who might consider coming near its trainer.

And there are a fair amount of people to consider potential threats, standing near the building.

Most of them seem to be dressed the same way you were when you first arrived; there's a decent number of them, maybe ten or so, all just as blank-eyed as ever. However, there's someone else with them, a young man who can't be much older than his early twenties standing in front of them with his arm out to the side as though instructing them to stay back, one of those red-and-white capsules (Pokéball, those of you who have done your research should know what it's called by now, he's got a Pokéball with him) clutched firmly in his other hand.

There are two things that are likely immediately obvious about this man - one being that he looks completely different from the other members of Team Galactic that you've seen, which probably means something important. The other is that judging from his actions and the intense look in his eyes, he's just as alert and emotionally intact as Cynthia is.

She doesn't seem fazed by him, however; if anything, her voice sounds bright when she addresses him, reaching out to pat her Garchomp's neck affectionately as she does so.

"Commander Saturn!" She sounds downright cheerful, really. "Have we reached an agreement or not?"

The more astute among you will likely notice that the area around them is looking...rough, covered in scorch marks and still-unsettled dust. The man - Saturn, apparently - just glares at her for a long moment before he responds, though his gaze isn't steady; he pauses for a moment to make direct eye contact with the lot of you, obviously acknowledging your presence, before he glances back at the grunts as though to make sure they're staying back and away from the conflict.

Eventually he'll speak, though, and his voice is surprisingly low in pitch and smooth in timbre; outwardly it seems calm enough, but it's difficult to ignore the way it's brimming with something somewhere between anger and contempt, especially given how blank the others are by contrast. "Just the one warehouse, isn't it?"

"That's right," Cynthia replies, offering him a smile that's edged with something sharp. "Just the one."

Saturn pauses. Glances back again. It's clear that the grunts behind him are his charges, in one way or another; he keeps checking on them.

After a moment, though, he'll throw a key card across the way, sending it clattering to her feet; she bends down gracefully and picks it up, toying with it between her fingers. "Thanks, sweetheart," she says evenly; Saturn just clicks his tongue agitatedly and turns to leave, issuing orders to his grunts as he goes. Oddly enough, despite the tension, he seems to have no qualms about giving her his back, and she doesn't move to attack him.

"Fall back, and defend the main building if necessary. If there's trouble, report directly to me. Immediately."

Cynthia watches them go, still toying with the key card between her fingers; it's then that she notices the rest of you.

"Oh, this is wonderful, I was just about to come get you." When she smiles at you, the expression is far more genuine, far less hard. "I've got something for you."

The warehouse the key card opens up is comparatively sparsely-used; there are boxes and the like scattered everywhere, but perhaps more important is what's inside them - namely, an outfit you'll notice as belonging specifically to you, as well as a personal item you'll recognize.

"You shouldn't stay here," Cynthia says. "I'll stay in town long enough to ensure that he doesn't decide to give you any trouble, but it's in your best interests to leave. Take the southern exit out onto the route, and make your way toward Lake Valor; if you run into him or anyone like him, don't engage. He folded easily enough today, but chances are he won't go lightly on you. As much as I hate to say it, as you are now, he will defeat you.

"So stay out of his way, and try to stay out of trouble, all right? Take care of yourselves, and stay safe."

[OOC: Welcome to the end of Week 1! In the boxes you've been granted access to, you'll find one canon outfit belonging to your character, as well as one of your submitted material regains, whichever you decide that one regain to be! The one stipulation is that it's probably something small this time.

If your character is the sort to ignore the commotion going on, Cynthia will find them and tell them to get their stuff, and give the same general advice before leaving them be - get your stuff and get out of town, it isn't safe to stay here.

No NPC response will be given to this post, though you can thread here amongst yourselves if you wish; we'll see you tomorrow at noon with a new log for your further adventures!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nope, I mean aer.

[...]

It's... stuff that makes up the world, where I'm from. Usually you can't see it, but if there's enough of it in one place you can. The ring's used to power ancient machines, so it's not like it'd be all that useful here anyway, even if it did work.

...Interesting.

[Sitting by her box, she laces her fingers over her knees.]

That description reminds me of something from home, though it isn't point for point. I'd never think to power any kind of machine with it, for example. It's hard for me to picture it.

Yeah. To be honest, I don't know all that much about it. Never really had much of a reason to learn. I just know that it powers blastia, and I use my blastia to kill monsters. That's really all I needed to know.

...But then we ended up getting a genius mage to travel with us, and she tries to figure this sort of stuff out all the time, so I've picked up some things here and there.

[His life was so much simpler before he left Zaphias...]

[Something he says seems to ping her, because she sits up a little straighter. Even after talking with Zelda, and everyone deciding not to continue hiding her world's magecraft, it still surprises her to hear someone else talking about it so openly. Or casually, for that matter.]

The Rita person you mentioned before?

[Huh... Did she create that, Rin wonders, or discover and unlock its secrets?]

If it's such a precious mage tool, you're right; she would probably be sorely cross if you lost it. [Rin smiles.] You should find a good place to keep it safe.

[...actually, she might be able to offer something. She originally picked these out for gathering stones earlier in case they encountered them, curious about this world's rocks and gems. They're just little fabric baggies you could find in a crafting section of a department store, for sewing or party favors. They're just the right size to double as a jewelry bag though, for a ring.

Pulling one from a pocket of her pack, Rin offers it to him.]

If you're not planning to wear it, you could keep it in this.

Yep, that's her. And she would be pretty mad if I did...

[But he holds up a hand, not to take it but to decline the offer.]

I appreciate it, but I usually just stick to wearing the ring so I don't lose it. It was kind of weird to wake up without it on. I've had it for quite some time now.

Fair enough. That's usually the simplest way, but I know some men are strange about jewelry.

[She'll take the baggie back with a smile, and return it to her pack.]

Hah, yeah, I've definitely seen some guys who wouldn't be caught dead wearing jewelry.

[He's also wearing a thick, gaudy golden bracelet but that's totally fine because it's a blastia.]

[Oh, she notices it now!]

Is the ring a set with the bracelet?

Nope. The bracelet's a blastia - I use it to strengthen my physical abilities so I'm strong enough to fight monsters, but some people can use blastia to use magic.

[He twists the bracelet a bit so she can see the red stone, that's the blastia.]

[God, the mage in her is so curious. Though she doesn't reach for it, Rin can't help but get to her feet, stepping over to him so she can see the blastia up close.]

It's been unexpected enough to meet other people here who've heard of magic in their worlds, but I didn't expect to see a gem like this.

[She makes a quiet noise behind her throat; something caught between excitement and frustration.] I wish things weren't the way they are here, so I could properly study it.

Yeah? Do you have something similar, where you're from?

[He'll hold it out so she can examine it; it doesn't really look like anything other than a golden band and a gemstone, this is what it looks like!]

It doesn't work here, for some reason. Otherwise I'd definitely let you study it. Rita's pretty blastia crazy, so I'm used to it.

I can't say I'm surprised. Magecraft and magic in general seem to be defunct in this world.

[Despite her words though, when he lets her examine it she can't help but stretch her senses to the brim, trying to feel out even the tiniest inkling of magic. But it's the same as it was in the forest; if it's even present here, it's like that sense has been completely cut off from her.]

Where I come from, I'm also a mage. Jewel magecraft is my specialty—or it used to be, rather—so this interests me greatly.

[She turns the bracelet over, noting the stonework.] You can use it multiple times?

I'll admit I don't really know a lot about magic, but I've never heard of jewel magecraft.

[That question gets him to nod, though.]

Yeah, I use it all the time. This is a bodhi blastia, it strengthens my attacks and allows me to use strike artes. I'd offer to show you, but I haven't been able to use any of 'em here.

[He can do the moves, but there's none of the power he's used to behind them.]

Strike Artes? I'm not familiar with that term.

Oh, they're really powerful physical moves. Some people cast magic, others use strike artes. I've never been one for studying, so I stick to the physical side of things.

[He talks about magic as if it was a separate thing, but given this description she gets the feeling that there might still be a little magic laced into it? Maybe it's like reinforcement...

She's even more curious now, but they really should wrap things up here as quickly as possible. Some of the others look like they're ready to go. Regretful as it is to cut the conversation short, she's still mindful of their situation.]

I should probably make sure I have everything together.

[Admitting that reluctantly, she zips the pockets she opened earlier back up.]

But if you're up for it, I'd love to hear more about this topic later. It itches my curiosity.

Departure.

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