Noelle Holiday (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
holidaygirl1225) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bottlecaplogs2025-08-04 10:09 pm
holidaygirl1225) wrote in bottlecaplogs2025-08-04 10:09 pm
[Closed] Quest: Play Nice
Who: Noelle & Shoka
What: Looking for Pokemon to recruit
Where: The Middle Forest
When: Mid/Late August
Warnings: Pokemon battling (violence/injury), likely references to death and disassociation
[It's Noelle's first trip into the Middle Forest, and she can't imagine how horrible it was before the fog receded. Even now, a light haze blocks most sunlight and she keeps tripping over bones that litter the ground. Every time she comes across one, she can't help but freeze in terror, stopping their progress completely.
Be brave, she keeps telling herself. Shoka is with you. But there's a sense of unease that won't go away, a perpetual chill that tells her she's making another mistake.
It's Noelle's first trip into the Middle Forest, but she doesn't feel like it is. Logically, she knows she's never been here. But in her heart, she feels as if she's ventured into the dark unknown beyond the boundaries of her 'normal' world once and never been the same for it.
After almost tripping off a cliff, Noelle opts to stay close to Shoka. How funny of her to cling to something arguably more scary than a little fog and old bones. But Shoka is... the good kind of scary.]
S-sorry if I'm slowing you down. This must be nothing to you, fahaha...
[... It's Noelle's first trip into the Middle Forest, and she's glad she's not alone.]
What: Looking for Pokemon to recruit
Where: The Middle Forest
When: Mid/Late August
Warnings: Pokemon battling (violence/injury), likely references to death and disassociation
Come follow me into the dark
[It's Noelle's first trip into the Middle Forest, and she can't imagine how horrible it was before the fog receded. Even now, a light haze blocks most sunlight and she keeps tripping over bones that litter the ground. Every time she comes across one, she can't help but freeze in terror, stopping their progress completely.
Be brave, she keeps telling herself. Shoka is with you. But there's a sense of unease that won't go away, a perpetual chill that tells her she's making another mistake.
It's Noelle's first trip into the Middle Forest, but she doesn't feel like it is. Logically, she knows she's never been here. But in her heart, she feels as if she's ventured into the dark unknown beyond the boundaries of her 'normal' world once and never been the same for it.
After almost tripping off a cliff, Noelle opts to stay close to Shoka. How funny of her to cling to something arguably more scary than a little fog and old bones. But Shoka is... the good kind of scary.]
S-sorry if I'm slowing you down. This must be nothing to you, fahaha...
[... It's Noelle's first trip into the Middle Forest, and she's glad she's not alone.]
no subject
She turns her attention back to Zubat.] Are you sure you're okay? You can come back with us to the clinic in Bottlecap Bay if you want. It's a nice place! You might like it there, I think.
[The Zubat seems to think this over, turning its head between the two of them. It still has that silly grin on its face. "If everyone there gets along as well as you two, it must be a great place, keheheh!"]
Huh??? I mean, um... [... She and Shoka are friends, right? She can say that? It's nice that she's made a friend. Shoka can be a little rough around the edges, but Noelle knows she's actually really nice.
... and she kind of likes that first part.]
1/2
Not gonna lie—it would be pretty sick... [Shoka means it, and might be staring a little—but the guilt and concern still lingers. Noelle took that hit trying to protect her, when Shoka was supposed to be the one taking the lead on battles... and when Shoka hardly deserves it, having been standoffish and distant lately at best.] Buuut let's get it looked at by the clinic docs back in town before you get too attached, okay?
[They're both distracted by Zubat again, then. Its assessment of her and Noelle leaves her blinking in surprise, first at Zubat, then at Noelle. Shoka's been distant without explanation, hardly friendly... But they did make a pretty good team just now, didn't they?
As Noelle is trying to stammer through a reply, Shoka speaks up.] They do, for the most part. We all... try to look out for each other, y'know? [Her eyes move from Noelle to Zubat.] And everyone's free to live how they want there...
[Or at least it felt that way to her. Despite her sharp edges, her consistent shirking of duties, and the fact that she'd been dropped in from an entirely different world, Bottlecap Bay had accepted her, much in the same way Shibuya had before it. She'd been ready to disappear for good, but still she managed to find reasons to keep going, a mentor in Mightyena, and maybe-friends all around her—even if it's been easy to forget that lately.]
no subject
... Seriously? [That's all it took?!] You're really out of it, aren't you?
[Then again, maybe Zubat is just like this. It looks like they were already convinced, even before the confusion set in.]
no subject
[Honestly, things got pretty scary there for a minute... but she had no doubt that she could figure this out if she were with Shoka. Her devastatingly low confidence grows just a tiny bit.
After a little bit longer, Zubat is able to fly again, and Noelle lets Shoka lead the way back to town. Noelle takes the opportunity to talk to her a little more.]
Shoka, um... you were going to say something earlier, weren't you? You said something like... "Listen, you don't..."
no subject
[When Noelle speaks up, calling her out on that abandoned sentence, she startles, just a bit.]
Huh? Oh...
[I don't remember, she could say, or maybe, It was nothing. But truthfully she does remember, and it feels like she owes Noelle a little more than that, after everything. Almost timidly, she starts to fidget with one ear of her disguise as she starts her hesitant answer.]
I was gonna say... you don't have to be so nice to me. [Her tone is light and nonchalant, but there's the smallest hint of shame to it, like she'd be wearing a slightly pained smile if she still had a mouth.] I know I piss people off. And when I'm not pissing 'em off, I'm usually finding some way to freak them out instead. So I guess... if I'm doing that, you don't have to keep it to yourself. I can handle it.
no subject
Shoka, what are you talking about? I mean... sure, you scared me a few times. And sometimes you're kinda sarcastic? But I like that you speak your mind! I... I'm really not good at it. And I get scared really easily. And I'm kind of a wimp...
[Agh, she shouldn't be getting down on herself. This is about Shoka!! She redoubles her efforts!]
But you've really been nice to me! When I first got here, I was so confused and disoriented... I don't think I could have managed. But you were there for me, even after I froze you! And when you scare me, I kind of... like it? I mean... [She backpedals a little.] It reminds me of how my neighbor used to play pranks on me, so it's kind of nostalgic. And it's cool seeing you use your ghost powers! I guess it's like... I don't mind being scared if it's by you. Because you would never really hurt me. You protected me today, and I feel safe around you...
[What was it Shoka called her? A 'motormouth'? Noelle feels her face heating up.] I'll, um. I'll shut up now.
[From nearby, Zubat goes "Awww...". Noelle gives them a death glare.]
no subject
Are you kidding? You were so far from a wimp today. And we bagged our new party member, right? So give yourself a little more credit, would ya?
[Her tail swings once left, then right like a metronome, waving its extra branches. The single flower, still proudly in bloom, doesn't lose a single one of its petals. Distantly, she wonders if it's here to stay.
Her voice shrinks in her throat.] If you're really sure about all that, then... Thanks. It—means a lot to me. Really.
[And that's enough feelings talk for her, apparently, because she immediately follows that up by teasing:]
Guess I should make it a point to freak you out more often, then.
no subject
[Relief washes over her that Shoka seemed to believe her words. Not that she was lying, but-- that could have gone a lot worse. This time, blabbing paid off!
Her words imply that she's about to prank Shoka immediately, but... she can't do something like tickle her- like her sister did to her when she was young- without fingers. And tripping her feels too mean.
Instead, she falls a little behind in step for a minute. When Shoka turns around, she does a little leap forward.]
BOO!
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[She means it, but she also doesn't really expect Noelle to try right now. So when Noelle slows, she turns around, a touch concerned—and then springs several inches up into the air like a startled cat, her shadows standing on end.]
What the hell—?!
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... That might have been dangerous, actually, if Shoka had lashed out in surprise. Fortunately, that didn't happen.]
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Faintly embarrassed, she huffs—and then she hears Noelle laughing. It's not an unkind sound. It's... kind of nice, actually. A ripple of pale color passes through her form, like static across an old TV screen, before her shadows smooth themselves out again.]
Yeah, yeah, ya got me... Fair's fair and all. But you are so gonna regret that.
no subject
... Well, it might not be so bad if it's Shoka. She prances the rest of the way back to town, clearly very happy despite the injuries.]