azume | Eighth.

ENCOUNTER.

It's been days since you were brought here.

Or, at least, you think it's been days; even if it's not something you're necessarily unfamiliar with, the stagnation of time and space are likely taking a toll, as is the fact that it's impossible to become spatially oriented in this place. The rotation of the walls to become ground beneath your feet, the floating patches of land with their bizarre floral biology, the pools of water flowing silently and horizontally directly above your heads... It's all a bit much to take in, a bit much to acquaint yourselves with.

Perhaps it isn't meant for you to become acquainted with at all.

The massive creature here with you has been becoming bolder over the last few hours; it's difficult to tell what's gotten into it, but its path through the shadows has been bringing it closer. Once in a while a sleek, sharply-spiked body can be seen twisting its way through the darkness; sometimes long, black tendrils with wicked-looking red tips are seen cutting through the shadows, each of them far larger than you are, before disappearing again into nothingness. It seems to fade in and out with the contours of the abyss; sometimes it disappears entirely, only to reappear so close to the patches of land you've taken to standing on that it feels liable to collide with them, that it seems almost like you can reach out and touch it if you wanted to. Whatever it is, your Pokémon don't like it.

You can tell just by being in its presence that it's one of the old ones, one of those whose memories span far longer than most of you can comprehend - one that's always been, since the creation of the world. An ancient and powerful entity, and there comes a point on one of those passes that's too close for comfort that it doesn't pull away and disappear again.

Instead it stays, and its head breaches the darkness, and it finally lets you see it.

It's massive, alarmingly so, in the same way that Dialga and Palkia were massive - not just in physical size, but in the way that something about being in its presence makes you feel very, very small. Its body is long and graceful in a way that's almost repulsive; it doesn't set down anywhere near you, or anywhere at all; instead, it simply is, hovering before you in a way that commands the stagnant, empty space before you, floating over the abyss like it was meant to be in it, like it's been here for longer than you likely care to imagine.

Those long black tendrils ripple a little as they stream out behind it; its body seems to glimmer in the darkness as it watches you from behind bright, red eyes. For the time being, it doesn't seem about to attack; just the same, it's watching you very, very closely.

What happens from here is, evidently, your call.

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[...]

The creature does seem like it could use one, perhaps.

[Camilla hides her expression behind her hand, but there's...probably the ghost of a smile there, for a few seconds before it fades at the next question.]

Why are you here, if I may? Outside of attempting to find us.

I come and go from this place nowadays. I spent a good while here, though, some time back.

...Might I inquire as to why?

[You know, she was expecting more anger out of the situation here; Camilla despises the idea that Cynthia could have done such a thing to a child, but Ignis is kinda. Getting all of the anger she wants out there with his words. Hers are just kind of...there, really, in a sense.

She can't believe she's actively attempting this, even if her gaze is a little cold on Cynthia.]

I was trying to calm Giratina. It can cause rifts between this world and our own that can lead to the destruction of both; it was important that Giratina's rage not become any more uncontrolled than it already was. Cyrus did a good job of making it angry with what he was doing.

[...Huh.]

I suppose that does make some sense. It would be quite good to see Giratina calmed, before the world was lost even further than it already is. And I can hardly blame them for their anger at Cyrus; it's quite justified.

[...]

Are we still to die here, then?

[Camilla kind of. Looks more towards both Cynthia and Giratina at that. Pretty calm, but it's a blunt question.]

[...You know, we are all lucky that Cynthia has some sense of decorum? Her face would just be buried in her hands and she'd be screaming a little into them, otherwise.

As it stands, she just kind of shoots Giratina a bit of a Look before settling again.]

No one is going to die. I don't...think it meant to kill you, otherwise it would have.

[...Okay, maybe that gets Camilla's expression to turn a bit in some amusement. Dear gods.]

Oh, no, believe me, I'm certain it would have. It's a fearsome enough Pokemon to do so, after all...and if there's one thing we've learned about those creatures, it's that they absolutely won't hesitate when they need to defend themselves.

[we've been nearly killed by like, half the pantheon at this point, it almost seems par for the course]

...I suppose it does give just a touch of ease to know that we won't, hm?

Edited 2018-11-10 21:57 (UTC)

...I'm sure it's just...worried.

[She mayyyyy have spoken a little bit to it about how she's concerned about you guys, because sometimes you've just got to vent and sometimes the only thing you have to vent to is the giant stabby elder god you're trying to encourage to trust you.]

It still tries to protect the region, even though it's no longer really a part of it. It always has.

...I can understand that much.

[Camilla's hand does drop from her face for a moment, just kind of looking at Giratina for a moment with a bit of a smile. Maybe it's weird to say that she understands a very stabby elder god, but it's stabby, it wants to protect, and she can get that sort of mindset.

Giratina, you're...something resembling alright.]

It sounds like it does have a truly good heart, underneath what those will say about it.

It doesn't trust humans, and it doesn't handle things in the way that most find...acceptable.

[See: very stabby.]

But it really is doing its best. I fully believe that.

I believe you, dear. I could sense the sheer anger from the darling when it threatened us, and it truly doesn't want the world to ever go back to the way that it used to be. I think that's wonderful of it to keep such a devoted heart.

[...reasons why Camilla should probably never have an amiable talk with Giratina: this.]

[...Dar...ling...]

I'm sure it would like you, if it got to talk to you enough.

[...if it got to talk to jer enough, the last weekend of this game would be camilla riding the fucking thing into battle, probably]

[have i apologized enough for this woman in game yet, i don't feel i have]

Oh, if I ever had the chance to, I'd love to talk to them for a while. Why, I'd love to spoil the dear rotten, if given the chance!

[WOMAN THAT IS A GOD YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AND NOT EVEN ONE OF THE SMALL, CUTE ONES?

At least she has the decorum, a few seconds later, to try to be a little less. That. Clearing her throat a bit, trying to look like a dignified princess again--] ...Ah, but I do suppose that is a little beside the point. Will we be able to proceed back on our path? And what do you intend to do, going forward?

I'm not going to keep you here. I can try to talk to it, to send you back where you came from - I doubt you really want to be sent back to Lake Valor, which is one of the easier ways to and from this place.

[...]

I'm sure Giratina will keep an eye on you, either way. It can see into our dimension from here; it's probably been watching you.

...Oh gods no, that would set us back quite a bit, really--considering our Pokemon aren't exactly fond of flying up the mountain at all. I wouldn't want to do that to them again so soon. I do hope that talking goes well, then.

[...Melady kind of gives Camilla a bit of a quizzical glance at that--it's not like she minds--but the Drifblim does smile a bit.]

...I suppose we'll do all we can not to disappoint, then, hm? It's the least we can do.

...It won't want to oppose the Creator. It's opposed Arceus once before and lost, after all.

[you know, the whole...banishment into another dimension. thing.]

I think that might be part of its concern.

...It's a very warranted concern, all considered. The Creator does stand at the top of all of the gods, and under Cyrus's control...it's going to take some doing, to try to get them to see sense.

[It's...stated in a bit of a conflicted manner, that she's honestly not the most sure of what they can do going forward, but congratulations, Cynthia? Her immediate response is not to try and suggest a way to murder Cyrus?

...It's not much in the grand scheme of things, honestly.]

Eighth.

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