CLOSED -「ROAD TO NOWHERE」

[seacub]

Who: Emporio, Firepaw, Emmet, Ingo
What: The Third Expedition Team Sets Off
When: Late February
Where: Forest Beyond The City (South)
Warnings: To Be Added As Needed (Possible Psych-Horror due to Hallucinations)

Packing for the Exploration quest is an interesting experience. As pokemon, there are certain advantages and limitations inherent to all of them- Firepaw in particular is quadrupedal, lacking anything in the way of true hands. It means any packs brought along need to be fastened for him, and Emporio quietly wonders if they might be able to come up with some kind of system around that one day.

Ingo and Emmet at least aren't obligate quadrupeds, but the twins are also meeting them at the edge of the town rather than at Emporio's little house. It might not make complete sense- locationally speaking, the adults of this team will be coming from the farthest point, but then again maybe that's the reason in itself. Best to give them as much time to get ready and get there as possible, and who knows how long the boys themselves will take to put things together.

As it is, soon four pokemon prepared for travel are now standing there at the limits of the forest as covered and watched by the Cheri Berries Guild. Even looking forward into the woods ahead, things feel ominous. The canopy visibly creates a greater level of shadow the farther ahead into the woods one looks, and Emporio doesn't doubt it'll only get darker.

And thus, comes the first question to ask before they set out, Emporio slowly sliding his helmet into place with a swallow.

"...Did anyone bring a compass, or something magnetic?"

Comments

[firealone]

Firepaw is similarly keeping a lookout, unsure of how else to help. His ears are on the swivel, and he keeps lifting his head to sniff around the area while Emporio builds his markers. He thinks he can smell Ghost Pokemon, but they're the hardest ones to scent-track so far. Especially in the fog... everything here seems to muddy and move around in ways that animals shouldn't be able to.

"I'm gonna scout in the trees before we keep moving." He mentions, mostly to keep himself busy, and runs up the tree he was scent-marking.

He comes back down, from a different tree a few feet away, and looks just as puzzled as everyone else about it. "Um... there's a clearing up ahead, maybe twenty fox-lengths.... uhhh.... that way? Emporio, what's a fox-length for Twolegs?"

[offtracks]

"I ought to be able to learn Sunny Day! Not naturally, but maybe if I met another Pokemon who knew it already?"

Digging up the rocks is easier than actually collecting them in a pile. Ingo's carefully rolling them along the ground as he speaks. "I'm sure that you could as well, Firepaw - it is a fire-type move. Fire is more powerful in harsh sunlight! Emporio, you could probably learn Sandstorm, but that would be a bit more dangerous!" It's all moot, of course. None of them know any of those moves right now, so the fog is staying.

[outbounds]

"Meanwhile. I get the feeling that I probably can't." Learn Sunny Day, that is. Emmet straightens up once Emporio's done collecting what he has to, giving himself a good fullbody shake as he does. "Maybe Rain Dance or Hai— well, no, they prefer Snowscape these days..."

His attention is caught, however, by Firepaw coming back down somewhere he certainly did not go up from, the general... wispiness of his body quickening just a little in heightened alert. Maybe the Litten had crossed over a branch or something in the canopy layer? But if that was the case then he shouldn't seem so surprised by it, right?

"A clearing, up ahead? Hmm. Maybe more visibility might help." If the break in the trees allows for more sunlight to shine through to help with the fog, or something... or they could get surrounded by thick fog on all sides... "Would have to remember which direction we entered from, though. Or we might really get turned around."

[seacub]

A blink, and Emporio glances to Firepaw. "Huh? Oh, Fox? Depending on tail or no tail...2 feet, or one foot? Maybe stick with two..."

Maybe he should stop muttering? Anyway. Weather is quite the antsy topic for Emporio, putting it lightly, so he just figets under his helmet at the idea of learning...Sandstorm. "Er...h...hopefully I don't learn something like that then, if it's dangerous..." Ahem.

"Anyway, we've got our markers here, so as long as we mark off where we enter the clearing it should be fine right?"

[firealone]

"Twoleg feet are that big?"

Not the important part. Firepaw clears his throat.

"If we mark off the start of the clearing, then if we get lost we just have to follow the edge until we find that marking." For once, his warrior training is coming in handy, and he's thrilled about it. "I don't think it looked big enough to get lost in, but the fog is definitely worse deeper in, so who knows."

[offtracks]

"Hm...yes, we can make a marking."

Ingo glances among the other members of the group. Did he miss something while he was digging up rocks...? Well, it's probably alright. It's been a fairly uneventful journey. He's pretty sure he knows which way they've been going anyhow; he's always had a good inherent sense of navigation!

[outbounds]

"Well. If the clearing is not that big. Then there is less to worry about, at least." Of course, they'll still mark their entry even so. No reason not to, reasonable precaution no matter how big the clearing is or isn't, considering.

Emmet watches the assembly of the cairns with his attention still more on their surroundings than otherwise, working through a stretch as he does. Once everything is in place... "If we are all ready to resume, then let's go."

Onwards through the dense foliage and the denser fog.

[seacub]

"Not really, they kinda vary..."

Ahem.

"I think we should be good...I don't see anything, but I get the feeling we shouldn't stay here too long either..." So indeed- onward, and onward, into denser fog.

...Where it's...a little more unnerving the more they go.

It feels like they're being watched. Being followed. He can't help but try and glue himself closer to whoever is nearest him, as if trying to hide behind them from. Well, everything. Which of course makes that difficult.

And he swears.. "...Did anyone say something..?"

He swears he can hear whispering.

[firealone]

Emporio ends up moving closer to Firepaw, who in turn bumps into him by accident, but he just touches his nose to the Cubone's shoulder as a silent apology.

"I don't think so... but I think there's other Pokemon out here. Somewhere nearby."

At least, that's his best idea for why he keeps smelling their species ahead of them. And it's a great idea, until they travel in the direction he thought the clearing would be in, and instead end up right back in front of the bush with Emmet's fur tied to it.

"...How...?"

[offtracks]

There certainly is a vibe out here. It feels not unlike the sensation of having an Alpha Pokemon's gaze upon you...Ingo sticks close behind the others, eying the brush around him distrustfully. He's so focused on watching for external danger that he very nearly trips over whoever's in front of him in turn.

"What?" He turns, and sees the trailing white fur over the heads of the shorter Pokemon. What? How did that happen? He's quite certain they have been walking in a straight line; frankly, he doesn't think they've even gone far enough to loop around again yet no matter which way they were headed. "That is...exceedingly strange."

He lowers his head to sniff the earth again. Yes, it still smells like them.

[outbounds]

"... We have been proceeding in a straight line. Yet we have somehow missed the clearing. And looped back to here."

He's just going to say what they're all thinking out loud, his smile somewhat fixed. Just to get it out there.

Ingo's already ahead of Emmet in trying to check for scent; the Zoroark, on the other hand, is going to look in all directions (including behind them, because didn't they agree to mark this spot right at the edge of where their entrance to the forest would go out of sight? can they still make it out? ... ah, but the fog now...) before trying to approach his own shed fur to see if he can actually touch it.

Huh. Yep. It's real. Well then.

"... So. What do we think it is? Trick Room, twisted dimensions? Illusions? ... Psychic Pokemon who are somehow verrrrry sneaky with hitting us with Confusion?"

[seacub]

Emporio tries to resolve his panic by focusing on the one thing he can pick out of Emmet's questioning.

Which of course, he panics over. "Th...Pokemon can do that?" he asks, voice shaking somewhat. "How are we supposed to navigate at all if they can do something like that..?!"