with knowledge comes great responsibility

[anythingforyou]

[What an absolute ordeal all of that was.

Today was certainly one hell of a day, that's for sure; they've managed to take care of another Guardian and gain it's trust (or at the very least, something resembling it), they managed to find Candice and manage to...well, maybe not get her back in a state that's altogether wanted, but ensure they managed to get her at least into a place where she could possibly regain herself. It will likely be a process, as such things are, but they've done their best, and they should have no regrets.

The center is definitely going to be a welcome reprieve for all of their suffering, at the very least. The Kompot is certainly more than enough to likely get everyone warmed back up and in a stable condition, along with the copious amount of blankets the locals have provided. They've got the time to rest and get ready for their next adventure.

Rest well, ye merry band of travelers. You've earned it.]

Comments

[bloodspent]

[God.

So all of that has left Jake entirely too keyed-up for him to know what to do with it, he's frustrated and generally just...kind of upset, and as such he won't be seen for long inside the Center - he'll stay just long enough to warm up again (and Zelda apologizes while he's in there, which is just managing to piss him off more) before he's gone back outside into the cold.

He'll eventually stop at the docks and shipyard just outside of town, to the south; it's dark here, and it's quiet at night, and he can just...well, for now he's punching the shit out of the side of one of those large shipping containers, just to feel the sting in his knuckles and maybe bleed some of the frustration out if he manages to break skin. (His skin breaks so much more easily here, it's not something he'd noticed but he has to wonder- ...no, no, he's not going to think about that.)

The sound is hollow and heavy and empty, and it hurts but he doesn't care, and when he's done taking his feelings out on something that won't care if he hits it he'll come back inside the Center.

He doesn't comment on anything anyone's doing, he just goes to the counter and asks for some damn medical supplies and he'll wrap his damn hand until it's no longer a fucking biohazard, and then he'll just...settle somewhere. He'll let his sea slug out of the ball for a little while, and she rewards him by not oozing on his clothes while she sits patiently in his lap and just stares at him like a fucking weirdo; he'll...well, she likes weird blue kompot, so he'll get her some weird blue kompot eventually so she can put it in her face, that sounds like a plan.]

centre

[niceoppai]

Hey, you okay? I mean, I guess no one is after that.

[bloodspent]

[...Hey, Chelsea. He is currently on the floor, letting his slug put kompot in her face, she's having such a good time.]

...Not really, but I'll get over it. You?

[niceoppai]

I mean, all of this is just so sad, isn't it? Life is unfair, but still! [deflates] I thought we were goners for a second, y'know?

Pokemon Center;

[ventulus]

[ Ventus is in the Center too, kind of meandering around but not because he has a lot of energy left within him this time. But because he's been wondering around and just seeing people, so when Jake returns, he finds himself coming over.

Well, Jake having his hand wrapped in medical things is also something he's not going to miss...as long as it's like out in the open and all. ]

...What happened to your hand?

[ It wasn't like that earlier when they were with the Guardian, he thinks. ]

[bloodspent]

Went out to go beat up some things that won't care if I hit 'em, that's all.

[He doesn't see much point in lying to the kid.]

Mostly metal stuff. It's not a big deal, it doesn't hurt all that bad.

[ventulus]

[ Ventus doesn't think Jake's lying to him and he's glad nothing worse had managed to happen even though it's not exactly ideal. ]

Oh, okay.

...Did doing that manage to help a little?

[ He figures him doing it probably had to do with tonight's everything, but maybe it can't hurt asking as he is checking in and all. ]

Docks

[anythingforyou]

[...Camilla's never been very good at leaving well enough alone. Raking her nails through Arion's fur is nice at first, but she finds herself leaving somewhat later on and wandering around the town herself. She's...not sure when she started hearing sounds being carried by the wind, stuff that sounds like it could really be bad, and--

...Well, hopefully her footsteps don't give her away instantly, but jesus christ he's going to town over there. But...on the other hand, it does look like fun, honestly. And a much better way to vent out aggression. She contemplates her options a bit, but...

She'll be a little bit of a distance away, but hopefully he doesn't mind a very similar sound coming from a little bit away, at another one of those containers. She's going to be kicking the goddamn thing about as hard as she can manage--it's not a lot, really, but...

Well, she may just be trying to keep an eye on him along with that. Don't break your hands over there, Jake.]

[bloodspent]

[He'll look over after a bit, see her just kind of venting over there. Tips his head a little.]

You should be inside, Camilla.

[It's light, though, almost flippant in tone; she's gonna do whatever it is she decides to do, and honestly he's kinda glad for the company.]

Aren't you sick or something?

[anythingforyou]

You act like sickness has ever stopped me a day in my life.

[Honestly, that much is a bit light in and of itself, if a tad...wired, for sure. Gods, this is absolutely fun, why didn't she think of this earlier? It's not quite the same as beating the shit out of someone, but god damn if it isn't close to it.]

And you know, I could say the same to you. [...] But...I think a bit of much needed stress relief after all of that is an acceptable reason to come out here, really. Good on you for making a racket.

Docks

[takestheblame]

You're going to shatter your fists.

[Looks like you have to let out a lot of a steam, Jake]

[bloodspent]

That's gonna be my problem later, probably, yeah.

[He knows.]

[takestheblame]

Did everything that happened today hit you that hard?

[It's not the kind of reaction he expected from Jake]

Center

[heritrix]

['sup, Jake. Tonight's unasked for gift-giving session was prompted by Zelda's suggestion this time and only half Rin just being Rin, I swear.

Which is why she approaches him with a bag from the PokeMart, but stops short of giving it to him when she sees his bandaged hand. Huff. She's not even surprised, really.]

If that starts to itch, I have ointment you can borrow.

[bloodspent]

...I'll keep that in mind.

[Just...saying.]

You doing okay tonight?

[heritrix]

[...well about an hour or two ago, she kind of had a breakdown outside the pokecenter that left her sobbing, so uh. Kind of not?

Her instinctive reaction is to downplay that though, of course, and she opens her mouth to smoothly deflect the question. But then she pauses and shuts her mouth after a moment and looks away, seeming to reconsider her answer.

...]

What happened earlier brought up some uncomfortable memories for me. I'm sure I'm not unique in that regard.

[She gestures at the room. Everyone in here looks to be some level of upset, and we all kind of project way too much as a group as it is.]

But I'll be fine in a few days, if not by morning.

center

[semistableman]

[That is a really bad looking injury. It's one of those things that immediately attracts Bucky's attention.

He's not going to outright ask Jake if he's okay, but]

That looks like it's going to leave a nasty scar.

[It kind of looks like Jake was really trying to break his hand, uh.]

[bloodspent]

[Jake just kind of snorts a little at that, and when he speaks it is just...the most sarcastic thing ever.]

Oh no. Whatever will I do.

[...says the guy with the fucking nasty facial scars, i'm so sorry his sense of humor is like this.]

[semistableman]

[I mean. That's half the reason he said anything at all.]

I knew our companions were smart, but I didn't think they'd have full-fledged conversations with each other.

[Let's talk about that and not.... Uxie's everything.]

Center

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael will be sitting up when Jake comes back, like he's somebody's dad or something.

Well, okay, it's probably because he fell asleep in a chair and now his neck fucking hurts. Anyway.]

So. What's this "disappearing for hours and coming back hurt" thing about?

[bloodspent]

[ohhhh my god is this what having a dad that's actually around is like

...how about we never have that thought about michael again]

Got in a fight with a big, steel inanimate object, because people around here hate violence and I figured the shipping container wouldn't bitch if I beat it up.

[eudaimonikos]

...wouldn't say I hate violence, but I would prefer not being beaten up, yes.

[Don't say that to Michael or he'll make it his weird life quest to be aggressively paternal at you, just to freak you out. Which is itself arguably not paternal?]

I take it today...upset you? [Even as he's saying it, he's visibly aware that it was a stupid thing to say, but he doesn't know how else to breach emotion okay]

docks

[fatalstrikes]

[No one seems to be taking any of this well, but Yuri doesn't want to be stuck in the Pokémon Center with the others. He doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't want to think, he just wants to shut his brain off for a little while and hope the feelings fade a little by the time he's done. He hasn't felt this helpless since hearing about Ragou's plans to escape punishment, but even then he'd had an opportunity to make things better—

He's not going to think about it right now, and that's how he ends up wandering down to the docks. He figures it'll be empty, somewhere to privately vent his frustration, but it seems great minds think alike.

He watches Jake for a moment in silence, his hands jammed in the pockets of his coat. Only the ghost sword is following him tonight, because he doesn't like being without a Pokémon, but he doesn't want to deal with Rukeno or Roc potentially worrying about him.

Eventually he speaks up, though he's sure Jake heard him approach already.]

I'll spar with you, if you'd prefer to fight something that can hit back.

[bloodspent]

[Jake pauses in what he's doing at that, though he doesn't turn the face Yuri right away; he just...takes a moment to catch his breath, and he's quiet, and when he shakes his head it isn't to imply a negative answer, it's just to clear it before he turns around.]

...Fine. Let's fuckin' go.

[And that's...it, he's not going to ask how Yuri's doing right now because it's obvious they're both fucked up, and he's not going to bother asking questions because he gets it, he's just going to square up a bit because come on, let's just do this shit and work some stuff out of our systems.]

[fatalstrikes]

[Good, who wants to talk when you could fight??

Yuri can hold his own pretty well in a fight even without a weapon, but it's obvious within the first few seconds that Jake is much better than he is. He's fully aware Jake is holding back and by the time they're done he's out of breath and kind of hurting, but the physical pain's way better than dealing with feelings.]

...Shame I couldn't keep up with you. You're pretty damn impressive.