Week 11.

[azumods]

WEEK 11 The meeting with Mars could have gone infinitely worse. It's difficult to say that it went well, admittedly, but at least it didn't go as poorly as it could have; either way, her departure leaves you free to look around the Valley Windworks, and it shouldn't take you long at all to find something interesting on the floor. It's bright yellow and glowing, set into the ground like any other normal part of the floor otherwise; stepping on it will cause the world to spin briefly in your field of vision, and when it straightens itself out again, you find yourself standing in the corner of the lobby of a large building you've never seen before. Welcome to the Jubilife TV station. The place seems staffed with Galactic grunts, but they leave you alone outside of just watching you in that dead-eyed, vaguely unnerving way they have of watching everything; they'll let you leave without a fuss at any rate, and it's probably for the best that you get yourself situated for the time being. After all, you've got an entire new city to get accustomed to. The people here seem to be trying to get themselves situated as well, though obviously that's for entirely different reasons. The world continues to change, around them and you both, and overall things do seem to be going in a direction that might be considered favorable. Noticeably, the grunts in the TV station don't seem to be changing at all, regardless of what happens to the other locals; that might be cause for some concern... CURRENT LOCATION: JUBILIFE CITY POKEMON AVAILABLE: WITHIN CITIES SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY [OOC: Welcome to week eleven 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 this weekend!]

Comments

[divinedescendant]

[Jubilife stands so tall and wide and bright, and somewhere under Emmeryn's amazement at it all, she's pretty sure she's just kind of had a headache this whole week. She'd forgotten how absolutely goddamn bonkers the future is between Veilstone and here, too caught up in how much snow sucks and how much Floaroma doesn't. Jury's still out on Jubilife, even this late into the week, but she's not not ready to head out on the road again.

Not at all helping the general state of the Emmeryn is Duma, who's been in more of a Mood lately than usual; hence why, in the early afternoon, Emmeryn's usual walk about he city with her team turns into her sweeping her Ralts up into her arms and protectively holding her up near her shoulder like a human toddler while Duma fumes and whines and jumps angrily up and down at Emmeryn's feet.]

No, we are done fighting. Honestly, you—

[Displeased by this, Duma instead squawks and lunges sideways to headbutt poor Latona standing at Emmeryn's side. She still doesn't really have enough of a personality to be more than dimly inconvenienced by being hurt, but Emmeryn gets to fuss enough for the both of them.]

That's enough! [Strict and sharp, suddenly, enough to make Duma recoil shamefully. Emmeryn has mastered the art of the Mom Voice, and Duma huffs and sulks in place while Emmeryn tends to poor, largely indifferent but mildly bruised, Latona.

A little later in the afternoon, after all appropriately dished-out time-outs have been given, Emmeryn takes her team out towards the edges of the city so Duma can maybe headbutt out his frustrations training with the wild Pokémon instead of picking unnecessarily belligerent fights with his sisters. Duma spends long enough not doing anything that Emmeryn crouches to check on him properly and he promptly worms his way into her lap. Emmeryn can't really do anything to keep a hundred pounds of dragonsaur from pushing her into the dirt, so she's just sort of sitting on the ground patting him while he makes the occasional soft whimpering noise.]

Just what has gotten into you, darling?

[Latona and Ralts, at least, are doing a decent enough job of occupying themselves in the meantime, with the latter, straight-faced, sitting on the former's back as if mounting a mighty steed. Latona doesn't yet have enough of a personality to stop this...

When evening comes and Emmeryn settles into the Pokémon Center for the night, Duma takes his usual place in her lap. He's wearing those dumb googly glasses they got back in Floaroma and chewing idly on a...teething ring......like for real human infants........... Sometimes gently whining but otherwise occupied by his, uh, new toy, he's got about all the makings of a cranky toddler too tired to actually throw a tantrum at the moment. Latona and Ralts both curl up at her side, with Ralts half-sat on Latona and occasionally sternly staring over at Duma.

Now that Emmeryn doesn't have to be as aggressively on top of babysitting duty as usual, she gets to make idle conversation with people as they filter into the Pokémon Center.]

Good evening. I suppose we will be heading out again rather soon, hm?

evening

[redbellion]

[ hey duma, did you miss your houndour friend? red gives out a bark in greeting to the bagon and wags his tail. he's happy to see you!

keith's tropius, pidge, tags along behind them, tall and bulky before it settles on the ground with blue perched on pidge's back. ]

Hey, Emmeryn. [ he greets her with a smile. he likes that his pokemon are getting along so well, and seeing red take such a big liking to duma is really nice to see, too! ] Seems like it. There's a pattern, isn't there? Every week we're somewhere new.

[divinedescendant]

[Duma always misses his Houndour friend, but he is too busy wallowing in the throes of despair (a very interesting state for someone wearing giant gag glasses and holding a goddamn teething ring to be in) to do much more than squawk lazily back at him. ...He drops his ring on the floor in the process, but doesn't complain indignantly enough for Emmeryn to notice yet.]

Since the very beginning, we've kept very close to that schedule. The consistency of a routine helps while everything around us is changing and different.

[redbellion]

[ oh. red notices that and tilts his head curiously. he lets out a howl that sounds more like a question than a statement. what's wrong?

keith, on the other hand, doesn't notice. he's pretty much gotten used to trusting his pokemon with not acting up or misbehaving, for the most part. ]

Makes sense. It gives us time to investigate anything that might be going on in our surroundings, and set aside time for training. [ he's used to moving around a lot more frequently back at home. but this is fine. he realizes the importance of bonding with and training one's pokemon. ] Has everything been okay on your end?

[divinedescendant]

[Droning in a way that suggests he probably isn't actually dying, Duma just kind of goes, I'm dying, and mumbles in acknowledgement when Emmeryn leans over to pick his teething ring up, wipe the dust off on her skirt, and put it back in his mouth real casual-like.]

Most importantly, it allows us some time to rest. The marches are long and it is important to take care of ourselves between all of the commotion.

[because there's always some kind of ruckus around here with these idiots]

I am holding up well, thank you. Truthfully, I still haven't adapted to the sheer size of this place—it's unlike anything I am used to, and such a change from Floaroma... Part of me is looking forward to setting out on the road again.

[redbellion]

[ red lets out a little whimper. he is worried about his bagon friend, despite duma just being overdramatic, because red is also very gullible. the houndour nudges his nose against duma's foot. what happened?

meanwhile, rest. what is rest? that isn't in keith's vocabulary. this sort of city isn't really strange to him--he's been in bigger places--but he can agree that it's definitely a drastic change from floaroma town. ]

It won't be long before we head out again. Hang in there.

[divinedescendant]

[Everything is terrible and I'm dying is approximately the shape of Duma's next squawk before Emmeryn, ever helpful goes,] Would you like to play with your friend, Duma? [and shifts so he can get down from her lap. He...tries to boop Red's face with his face, but mostly this just turns into hitting him in the nose with the teething ring. R.I.P.]

I will make it through just fine. This city is nothing at all like home, but even if it's strange, it's exciting, too.

evening

[enjoymyatelier]

[...well, you know, he's going to try not to ask about the teething ring, so...]

I think so, yes. Honestly, I don't have a terrible feeling about getting back on the road again, because the terrain here doesn't seem to be as rough as a lot of what we've been dealing with.

[divinedescendant]

[look. duma's not wailing and complaining anymore is he??? it's working]

If and until we meet it again, I feel like we may just spend the rest of our travels saying, "ah, but at least it isn't the snow." [She laughs lightly.] The journeying gets easier every time we set out, doesn't it? A far cry from those first few weeks.

[enjoymyatelier]

It does, doesn't it? It barely feels like an ordeal at this point. I suppose the more you do it, the better you get at it... still, I rather prefer our time staying in cities.

[divinedescendant]

Truthfully, I miss Floaroma... The proper cities are built so differently than anything I am used to, and it's exciting, but a little strange, too.

[enjoymyatelier]

No, I understand. You're from a less technologically advanced world than this, right? Well, the larger cities are probably somewhere in your world's future, I suppose, unless something prevents it.

I do agree that the smaller towns are nicer, anyway.

[divinedescendant]

Far enough in the future that I would never have seen anything like this but for our field trip to Sinnoh; the difference is so vast. Even that the city is always so bright amazes me, and then I sound silly marveling over lights, of all things.

a little later in the afternoon

[nightcure]

[ Huh. Noctis is concerned when he sees the whole thing, and he comes over--his new friend, a little Houndour--in tow. ]

Is he alright?

[divinedescendant]

I wish I were certain... Hardly an hour ago he was headbutting anything that breathed at him, so I dont think he is sick, but now he does not want to do anything at all... He isn't always on his best behavior [that's the nice way to say it] but this is rather new.

[nightcure]

That's not good.

[ He takes a seat, and pulls out a few berries from his bag. ]

Hey, little guy-- [ "little" ] --are you hungry?

[divinedescendant]

There, there, dear. Noctis is a friend.

[Duma shifts a little to look real discerningly at those berries, like he's considering it, for a long couple of moments, and then makes one defiant squawking noise before burying his face in Emmeryn's skirt like he's trying to hide? no...no, we can see you......]

[nightcure]

[ ..... ah, that's cute. ]

Alright, I'll set them here so if you get hungry, you can have them.

[ And he puts the berries to the side, closer to Emmeryn. ]

[divinedescendant]

[Duma doesn't really move yet but he does lift his face just long enough to see where the berries have been put... He's thinking about it...... Latona slowly marches her way over, less intrigued by the situation than Ralts on her back, but Emmeryn says, softly chiding,] You had some already, [which makes Ralts try to redirect Latona in another direction like they weren't even coming this way... Like she's trying to play it cool......]

Thank you, Noctis. I hope this isn't any trouble.

Evening

[eudaimonikos]

Guess so. Better to keep on the move - though at this point, I'm not sure there's anybody left to come after us.

[The Commanders are probably gone, and moving won't protect them from Cyrus.]

Everything's been moving so fast.

[divinedescendant]

We're a terribly busy lot, aren't we? Sometimes it feels as though we have been here an impossibly long while, but the feeling fails thinking about just how much we have done since.

[eudaimonikos]

Oh, I don't know. Live as long as I have, and we've been here literally no time at all. But the flipside of that is that we normally don't accomplish anywhere near this much, this fast. You humans just hurtle break-neck through everything.

[divinedescendant]

I hadn't thought about it like that. You're right, of course this time is nothing at all to you. I suppose since we haven't the luxury of time, we humans end up in quite a bit of a hurry to get things done.

[eudaimonikos]

Even so, it's been a very full few months. Just a feature of living with humans, I've come to find - it's exciting!

[divinedescendant]

Is it? I know how hard the journey has been, so I am glad you have a silver lining to it.