Departure.

[azumods]

GATHERING. You've been in Pastoria City for almost five days now. While the city overall is still unsettling, it could have been infinitely worse; for the most part the townspeople seem accepting of your presence, if still generally neutral and blank in response to your actions and efforts. However, now that it's been a while, it's likely time to continue onward, to attempt to finish what you started and return to the vicinity of Lake Valor to check on the...whatever's out there that wasn't worth reporting. Maybe it's truly nothing; maybe it's something worth your while. You won't know until you get there. Either way, it seems leaving the city isn't going to be as easy as it first appears; a few of the townspeople seem to have gathered on the eastern side of town, heading back toward Route 213, with the purpose of intercepting you on the way out. They don't appear to be doing this on Team Galactic's orders, seeing as there's no one from that organization anywhere in sight; rather, they somehow appear to be doing this of their own volition. Because they want to. They don't seem to be empty-handed, either; they have what look like a few large baskets between them, all bearing a number of large eggs inside them, cushioned with blankets. Upon counting, there's one for each of you. They'll stop the group before you head out; they're still blank-eyed and seem to be having difficulty formulating exactly what they're trying to say in words - it's all very cyclical and meandering, despite the sentences being surprisingly blunted, but it's clear that there's an attempt being put forth to try to express something independent of a simple stimulus response. The message will become clear eventually, though; the eggs will eventually hatch into Pokémon - or at least, they're supposed to. The people here haven't had much luck hatching them on their own, but perhaps you'll have more success. Consider it a gift for your work here in this town; they still don't know how they're supposed to feel about it, but it seems they've noticed the group of traveling strangers that showed up one day and promptly did good things for the town, even if it was for the sake of making money along the way. The reason isn't particularly relevant, in the end. What matters is what you accomplished. [OOC: Welcome to the end of Week 3! The eggs you've been given will hatch after the event next weekend, at the start of the following week; there's one for each of you, and it contains a Pokémon of your choosing, from any gen up to Gen 7. 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!]

Comments

[niceoppai]

Whoa... [Chelsea carefully wraps her egg in her jacket.] That was actually nice of them. Not in the brainwashed doormat way, either!

[anythingforyou]

It seems our kindness managed to have an effect on them...I think it's just lovely to see.

[Like. They're actually effecting things for the better. Who'da thunk?]

[niceoppai]

Who knew lemonade and part-time jobs could make people happy like that? Or at least sort of happy.

[hyruglyphics]

[ Zelda honestly looks overjoyed to have this ceremony as they're exiting the town, and she's fascinated at the idea of seeing what might hatch from an egg like this! But perhaps just as importantly - no, perhaps more importantly, the egg she takes is from a member of the family she hd been staying with while they were here. She can't help but hope that it's something to honor the fact she did stay with them, and that being the case... well, she's overjoyed to take this thing.

She's curious what other people's eggs look like too? Honestly, she just looks very much her age at the moment. ]

[semistableman]

[Bucky looks delighted? He's delighted, holding onto the egg carefully.

Taking the blanket with him only makes sense, he thinks, because this is going to be difficult with the one arm and a backpack full of travel equipment.

He looks to Flora for a long moment.]

You think you could carry a few things?

[He looks pretty uncertain about addressing the pokemon like she can understand him, but she huffs in a noise that doesn't indicate she wants to or doesn't want to, just that she can.]

All right, then.

[It takes him a while to do it, with the one arm and all, but eventually Flora has a little travel pack of her own, and the egg has enough space to safely be wrapped up in his backpack.]

[thunderwolf]

[The last thing Eustace expected to receive from anyone here is an egg. It's a pretty awkward moment when he gingerly accepts his egg, visibly a little uncomfortable to have this responsibility placed upon him. Those who have been keeping tabs on additions to the group's parties may have noticed that Eustace has yet to catch anything. He's been reluctant about it for whatever reason, so the prospect of caring for a newborn Pokemon is a bit overwhelming.

Still...he thinks he recognizes the significance here, so he's not going to refuse. He'll make sure the egg stays safe, along with whatever might come out of it.

He can be found off to the side while the process of everyone receiving eggs continues, studying the egg that he has cradled in his arms. Rose is observing too, from her perch on his shoulder.]

It's pretty big, huh?

[Bigger than a lot of eggs he's seen, at least. Just what could be in there...?]

[niceoppai]

Yeah, I guess it's like how most of the Pokémon are bigger than most animals.

[thunderwolf]

[Eustace nods.]

Yeah, they are. They're more like monsters than regular animals.

[And he hasn't really seen a lot of monster eggs...]

[ventulus]

Yep, it sure is.

[ Ventus isn't expecting to receive an egg either but in contrast to the other man he doesn't look too bothered by it. Still, he's glad it isn't too heavy or anything, because that would be unfortunate. ]

I guess we'll be waiting a bit to find out what's exactly inside, though, right?

[thunderwolf]

[Yeah, fragile and heavy would be a dangerous combo.]

Probably. I can't make a guess of how long...but taking care of them and keeping them warm might speed up the process.

[Maybe?? He honestly has no experience with this.]

[radiantflame]

[This is... incredible, honestly? As thorough as their conditioning is, the people of Pastoria managed to break through it, if only a little. There's hope, then, that they really can make a difference in this world.

The slightest hint of a smile appears on Morag's face, but then it falters, just slightly.]

...If we encounter Team Galactic again, it will be best not to mention how we obtained these eggs.

[She doesn't want to be responsible for these citizens being punished in any way.]

[enjoymyatelier]

What's our story, then?

[he totally agrees, actually, but...]

We should probably agree on something so we don't cast suspicion on the residents.

[radiantflame]

I believe Michael has the best cover story for them. We found them in the citizens' homes, simple as that.

[semistableman]

Sounds like a good idea.

Maybe we found a few abandoned nests.

[radiantflame]

Perhaps not all of them. Who knows if they'll even hatch into the same type of creature. We have found them here in town, without the citizens' knowledge.

[They can look like the bad guys for a little while if it keeps the residents safe.]

[hyruglyphics]

You raise a good point, Morag.

[ That we shouldn't... hmmm. ] ... Perhaps that- well, no, these would not all be from the same nest, I imagine.

[anythingforyou]

[...Oh, this is...

This is actually really sweet? Camilla couldn't say she was expecting to get anything for her efforts after she'd returned the wash basin and done some chores for the people she borrowed it from, but...wow. Everyone seemed to have brought out their best, didn't they?

Camilla's getting her stuff together and trying to find a way to keep the egg nice and safe. It's a bit of a dilemma, though she watches Arion sniff the egg out of the corner of her eye. He doesn't seem to be having too much of a reaction to it, or at the very least, anything adverse. If anything, once he's done sniffing, he seems to settle down by the egg and keep a watch over it. It makes Camilla smile, really.

...Though, speaking of Pokemon, Camilla notices that little Wooper just kind of sitting idle nearby; she hasn't actually caught it, but...]

...Sweetheart, would you like to help me out?

[The Wooper seems to stare for a moment before looking around the pile of stuff, using...it's mouth...to pass something over to Camilla. It at least makes sense, at least, due to the lack of arms, but. It's something, she supposes.

...It's better than the Glameow who's just kind of laying there, ever blank.]

[takestheblame]

[Honestly this is something rather heartwarming. Looks like not only their first Pokemon are starting to recover some of the spirit they lost. It can happen to people too.

It's a start. For the first time, returning the world to normal seems more feasible. It'll take a loooooong while, but it can be done.

The Pokemart workers bring Kiryu an egg, egg he takes with a lot of care. Such a fragile thing...]

I will make sure it grows to its full potential.

[It's a promise]

[enjoymyatelier]

[Kayneth can't help but seem a little flummoxed by the whole thing, since he's not really used to receiving presents like this from students outside of the occasional baffling Valentine's weirdness that leaves him faintly unnerved because he's never sure if it's students who are crossing a weird line or if it's a poisoning attempt until he breaks out the testing spells. And also, like, he just tutored that kid, it wasn't even an actual teaching job...

So he's basically trying to get his mind off that bit of weirdness by trying to figure out where the heck he should put this egg. It'd be one thing if he could put it in his backpack, but it's... kind of gooey? Is that a problem...?]

...would it suffocate if I put it in a bag? I really hope not, but...

[niceoppai]

It's an egg, isn't it? I'd guess it's like chickens...

[ventulus]

I think it'd be fine. Also, since you're supposed to keep eggs warm, it'd be a nice place to warm it up anyway.

[ That's what he thinks, anyway. ]

So, what do you hope is inside of the egg?

[discutio]

I don't...think eggs can suffocate, Kayneth.

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael frowns at the teenage girl who hands him his egg, though it seems to be in recognition. Huh...

Anyway. Now he's got to carry this. It's lucky that Cat Janet's so much larger now. As long as everybody's stopped to re-arrange their gear, he'll also start making her a little travel pack.]

Do you think that Pokemon born without spirit are capable of having any later, if this is fixed?

[niceoppai]

I mean, their spirit's just suppressed, right? Hopefully. Not just gone.

[divinedescendant]

[Emmeryn thanks the townspeople over and over and the glowing warmth in her heart and her smile doesn't leave her even as she realizes that this is the weirdest egg she's ever seen in her life and oh jesus christ she's already so bad at hiking and now she's gotta take care of a delicate fragile baby the whole way oh no oh god

She solves this with a sling over her shoulder that keeps the egg near her chest like she's carrying an actual human infant around. Look, whatever works, okay. For the moment, as everyone prepares to set out again, she's crouched on the ground with the egg in both hands so she can show it to Duma.]

What do you think, love? We'll take good care of it, won't w—Do not headbutt this, too!

[WHY IS THE ONLY THING HER BAGON KNOWS HOW TO FEEL IMPULSIVE VIOLENCE!!! Duma stops his little charge short when Emmeryn draws the egg back and sets it in the sling, only to lightly thump his head against her knee and hide his face in her skirt. Laughing lightly, Emmeryn pats his head.]

It's all right. You'll do better next time.