Week 4.

[azumods]

WEEK 4 Backtracking may not seem like an ideal situation, especially not given the situation on Sunday morning, but it isn't without reason or merit; after all, Lake Valor is within a reasonable distance, and perhaps more importantly, there's reason to believe that something may be there. Whether it's one of the Guardians you seek or something else entirely has yet to be seen; there's only one way to know for sure, however. So back onto Route 213 it is; you should reach Route 214 by Tuesday afternoon, and the entrance to Lake Valor by Thursday night; you may want to wait to explore the lakefront proper during the morning, however. Who knows what you may run into... You've seen at least some reasons to not give up hope as you left Pastoria; for the time being, let that hope give you strength. CURRENT LOCATION: ROUTE 214 POKEMON AVAILABLE: PLAINS/FOREST / MOUNTAINS/ELEVATED AREAS SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY [OOC: Welcome to week four of Azume; feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend. Don't forget that a write-up is due next weekend!]

Comments

[heritrix]

[Ah, so it's a sensitive subject...? Rin's glad she only lightly teased him. She likes needling people for interesting reactions, but it feels kind of awful when hit upon real traumas like that. Her smile softens.]

He's been paying attention to you all this time, then, even when it might not have looked like it. That's really sweet.

[Looking back over at Monkey, she slowly takes her hands back from him and gives him a pat on the head, so he knows he did a good job.]

I knew they were fast learners, but maybe they're more attentive in other ways than I was giving them credit for.

[bloodspent]

[He doesn't seem upset or bothered by it, really; what happened in the facility in China was...bad, but it's over and dealt with and the problem is taken care of.

And, y'know, Yuri's already asked him about it with all the tact of a blunt axe. So at least she's not doing that.]

I mean, I don't see why they wouldn't remember shit - they're still taking in information and stuff, they're just not reacting to it right. Or at least, that's what I've been assuming. I don't think the ability to notice things is damaged any, they just don't have a reason - or the ability, I guess - to care about it, so they don't respond.

[He shrugs.]

He was with me last time we were out here like this; I spent a long time sitting here with him like this. So maybe that's why, he remembered that.

[heritrix]

[She nods along to his explanation, thinking that's a good way to put it. It's a lot like how Michael tried to explain to Saturn, what things are like for the other humans of this world.]

Out of curiosity, has your Houndour done anything like that?

[She can't remember the pup's name. Lobo, she wants to say? It stood out to her because it sounded like the kind of joke name you would give a dog, but she could have sworn it was longer.]

[bloodspent]

Lobanja? No, she's about as stoic as ever. I'm pretty sure she just sticks around for the food.

["Stoic" is a surprisingly polite way of wording it.]

[heritrix]

[She hums, but doesn't look too surprised by that, looking back across the ocean as Monkey settles down to sit by her side.]

I'd say the same about Abbey, but I'm pretty sure she ate better before I found her.

[Probably. It depends on how regularly she hunted for herself.]

Other than that, she's hardly changed since the day we met.

[bloodspent]

Kind of weird how it's just one of them.

[Just...saying.]

If they were changing because of us, then I don't get why it wouldn't extend to the other ones we've got. We're spending just as much time around them.

[heritrix]

[She nods—right, that's her thoughts exactly. At first she wondered if it was an isolated incident, but it seems to be just the starters that are improving.]

Maybe it has something to do with where they came from. They're not from this region, but other than that, we don't know much about their origins before we woke up together in that room.

[bloodspent]

Or maybe whatever got us to be...not that anymore hit them too, it's just taking a while to sink in.

[He shrugs, though; takes a moment.]

Who knows how this place works. It's kind of a lot to take in.

[heritrix]

[Oh.]

Actually, that might be it. I didn't think about that before, but you're right. They were in the same room with us, so they were probably affected at the same time.

[bloodspent]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.

[It's true enough that Jake's field of work doesn't pay him to think, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't.]

That makes the most sense to me, anyway.

[heritrix]

[It was a pretty clever deduction. Honestly, she's kicking herself for not realizing it sooner. And with that in mind...]

That's a relief. If it's all because of those Lake Guardians, the other pokemon won't be like this for much longer.

I won't get my hopes up too high, but... [She shrugs, smiling with resolve.] If we find the one at Lake Valor, maybe it can do the same thing for them that it did for us.

[bloodspent]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Not wanting to get my hopes up too high, but maybe something'll actually happen.

[He's quiet for a moment once that's out there, though.]

So what do you think they're like? These Guardian things.