bottlecaplogs | [closed] while the snow falls all around me

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[closed] while the snow falls all around me

Who: Emmet, Laios, Ingo
What: Play Nice and Exploration: Blue, for now
When: various points in August
Where: Middle Forest, uncharted territory past the Southern Outpost at current
Warnings: Cold weather environmental hazards; to be added if they come up

play nice (for laios)

[ So the guilds are looking to expand! Makes sense. Makes sense if they're intending to scale up operations as the town expands past the immediate area that they've well and mapped out by now. If they are to continue on these tracks then of course they are going to need more members to avoid being spread too thin, possibly on a little more reliable of a basis than 'every other month when strange things start happening.'

That still doesn't mean they know who or what they're looking out for, exactly! What sort of roles the guilds need filled, if there's any specificity in traits or abilities they should be on the lookout for or if they just need to bolster numbers in general. At least that means they have free choice of where to head? ]

It's cleared up a lot here from how it used to be... [ Emmet notes, picking his way carefully across the earth. Every now and then he'll eye the ground a little dubiously, but whatever he's waiting for or expecting to happen never seems to. So, after each of these moments his ears just flick a little as if to dismiss them. ] But anyway. What sort of Pokémon do you want to run into, you think?

exploration: blue (for ingo)

[ Uncharted territory again! It's been a while since they last ventured forth into the unknown. This time ... they are probably more prepared for it? It's a scouting mission, once again, so there is no imminent peril or time pressure.

Being surrounded by trees is familiar enough. What isn't is the drop in temperatures, especially given the season. And soon enough the familiar sight of densely wooded forest begins to give way to thinner vegetation, the few trees remaining growing gnarled and stripped barren. Snow is starting to collect on the twisting branches.

Emmet's ears twitch a little as he tilts his head back to take a look up at the sky above. Snow, huh. Not hail, at least, and not storming, but... ]

Knew it was to be expected, but. I am Emmet. Suddenly I am glad for all this fur.

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[ There's a suspicious pause, though it could also be attributed to Ingo finally negotiating the last bit of cliff wall, finally setting down onto the ledge he spotted. It seems sturdy. There's no movement even as he lowers himself down onto it entirely. ]

...more or less?

It is a yes or no question.

[ Cool so we're dodging answering in a more concrete way. What does more or less mean here!! Emmet also pauses, waiting as Ingo settles himself on the ledge before carefully, carefully following after, determined not to slow the two of them down.

But also. ]

... How often did or do you cut yourself.

Hardly at all now! I just...leave the chin be.

[ That was the hardest part! Eventually, he thought - why even bother? Ingo's always known that his previous habit must have been otherwise; he was clean-shaven when he was found. But it's...fine. He hardly even sees himself anyway, or else he would be able to just shave it! ]

Of course I do not let it grow too - [ He breaks off for a second, turning sharply to look at the ice wall next to them. He could've sworn he saw movement...but it's only their reflections? ] ...ah, too long.

... You have a goatee. You have— hrk—

[ An ankle twists in just the wrong way when he puts weight on it wrong for it to slip out from underneath him on tractionless ice and nearly have him faceplanting. Nothing's actually injured other than his dignity, though it happening pretty close to the edge might be briefly alarming considering how slick the surface is, but it's no more than a close call. Is this what they call karma, he didn't even say anything, that is not fair.

Fine. Fiiiine. Emmet picks himself up, and as he also finishes navigating the cliff wall he will settle his weight onto the ledge Ingo's on, first carefully, warily, then a little huffily when it proves to be stable. ]

Are you alright?

[ Ingo shifts forward sharply when Emmet slips, but fortunately thinks twice before lunging again. It probably would've just sent them both over the edge! ]

Fine! I am Emmet, and I am fine.

[ He's just going to drop himself a little more heavily down on the ledge they're both on after seeing Ingo shift like that, as if to prove a point. Neither of them are going anywhere! ]

Alright...

[ He'll sit himself down as well. It just seems safer that way! Ingo looks up towards the opening of the ravine. The light from above has grown dim, blocked out by swirling snow. Wind howls over their gap in the earth. Yes, they certainly made the correct choice; they did not have time for much more than this shelter.

But they're out of the wind and most snowfall is not making its way down into here. It's about as good as can be expected. Ingo's flames flare to life, casting dancing purple light and shadows over the already oddly reflective ice. ]

With luck, it will blow over before too long. I am glad to be a fire-type!

[ yes he is indeed moving past the goatee thing without comment ]

Edited 2025-09-08 15:50 (UTC)

[ Lucky indeed. Considering the timing of when he slipped a moment ago, Emmet gets the feeling that the universe would take offense and somehow just drop a pile of snow on him and him specifically if he tries to bring the subject back up to heckle Ingo about it.

The dimmed light from above just makes the softly glowing blue from somewhere still below them that much more stark by contrast, at least before Ingo's collar ignites. Emmet's ears twitch a little whenever any particular gale howls more strongly than another, but instead he glances around to take in the play of light across the glittering ice. With the slightly different angles and cuts of the ice down in the crevasse, countless flickering reflections of Zoroark and Typhlosion surround the two on the ledge, not one of them appearing quite the same as another.

As the Zoroark cranes his neck to peer down over the ledge at whatever awaits below, some of the reflections don't quite mimic him. ]

... Can you see a bottom from here?

[ Safely lowered to the ground, Ingo inches over to the edge, peering down into the depths. ]

...no.

[ Maybe he could spit a cinder down and see how long it takes them to lose sight of it? But more importantly...he can see an awful lot of reflections from this angle. He sounds a bit unnerved when he adds: ]

The ice is strange...

[ Emmet's also still peering down into infinity, so, with some doubt... ]

Distracting. [ A little eerie, definitely. ] I could maybe try to do an illusion to block it out ... not sure if that is a good idea, though.

[ He's also not done anything quite so widespread as an environmental illusion just yet, so that's another thing. ]

Might be that we end up missing something important because of it?

Can you do them that large?

[ Ingo's never seen a wild Zoroark do that - that would be incredibly dangerous! But he can believe that Emmet might have trained in some ways that a wild Zoroark would not. ]

Lostlorn Forest is partially the way it is because Zoroark live there. Unovan ones can make landscapes that can fool large groups of people. Don't see why Hisuian ones would have lost the ability?

[ Maybe it's the difference between Unovan Zoroark wanting to stay hidden, and Hisuian ones... what? Maybe they want to be seen. As ... a reminder? Ghost things, you know.

Or maybe it's just that it's more practical to hunt that way. That too maybe. ]

I...think we would likely know it if they could.

[ That may not be how they currently hunt, but Ingo can imagine some pretty effective hunting strategies that could arise from such an ability! That sounds disastrous!

Maybe they just don't want to. It would be effective, but Ingo has always thought...well, if it were only about getting close to their prey, they could pretend to be a Pokemon no one would think twice about. Wild Spheal roll up to people all the time! Instead, they actively try to lure people in with visions of loved ones. That's what they choose to do. Is it experience, or malice? ]

...maybe they have simply forgotten that they can.

They have forgotten a lot of things, huh.

[ Emmet lifts his head from the glimmering depths of the crevasse to glance up and back at the ice face immediately behind them. Would probably be a good idea to establish whether he can do it at all before discussing it more...

... Strange. The ice isn't a completely smooth or flat surface, of course it isn't. There will be distortions, but. Does his expression really look so...

His ears pin back a little, but the flicker of disquiet helps in a way, because as it turns out it's still easier to fuel these with negative feelings. He hasn't ever yet actually tried to create any illusions apart from himself, but if he uses the same idea of masking, hiding, pretending, not wanting the image on the wall to be there, maybe ...

Well. Now it is uncanny for a different reason. This particular face is devoid of any odd reflections, but that just now makes the plain ice wall stand out compared to the other, still reflective ones. At least it's a proof of concept? But just to check: ]

Can you see it too, [ or, well, not see, considering, ] or just me?

I see it!

[ Ingo confirms, staring at the new ice wall. That...is disquieting! He'll just have to hope that none of the Zoroark of the Icelands learn how to do that, he supposes. Rising to his feet, he steps a little closer and reaches out cautiously to poke at the illusory wall. ]

It certainly does make the uniqueness of the real ice much more apparent...a shame we do not have any ice-types along!

[ The longer they're down here, the stranger it seems to him. Something in the corner of his eyes. But he doesn't quite want to make that observation out loud. He's not certain that it isn't just all the reflected Zoroark in his periphery making him instinctively nervous. ]

Okay. So it works. Don't think I'll be able to do it too much though. [ Emmet says, settling his head back onto his paws. ] Illusions— still aren't the easiest. Limited area and distance only, probably. Maybe just the closest to us. If things get too disorienting.

[ Dizzying, distracting, same difference. The illusion of the plainer ice face isn't the most convincing when examined in closer bdetail, if the intent were for it to appear like a perfectly normal ice wall; the light cast by Ingo's flames doesn't quite catch on it right, and in some spots the surface seems a little more matte than it should while in others seeming a little too shiny. Though the lack of reflected Typhlosion or Zoroark persists regardless. Emmet's aim really was just to get rid of the oddly distorted reflection— everything else was secondary.

To that end, the texture of the ice beneath Ingo's claws, unaffected by the illusion, may or may not actually reflect the image superimposed over it. Maybe the disconnect might be a little strange? Emmet's ears perk as Ingo rises to examine it, though. ]

The ice ... right. Could still try to break some off to see if we can bring it back for examination?

Well, do not overtax your engine! I'm sure we can deal with it for a while - it ought to be easier now that we are not moving around so much.

[ Ingo doesn't love the reflections, but he'll manage! Emmet is already not at full health! At Emmet's reminder, though, he nods and digs his claws more firmly into the real ice behind the illusion. It's thick! He's familiar with ice, but he doesn't usually try to carve into permafrost! It takes a bit of methodical work to break some off.

Finally, a few shards clink to the rocky surface of the ledge. He paws at them, then picks the largest to stick into his bag, on the side with their food. Nothing in there that can't risk getting wet. ]

They can send an expedition, if they want anything bigger!

Just had to see if it would work. You know. Before we actually needed it.

[ He's still kind of curious about what might be further down, even if they couldn't quite see anything when they peered over the edge. For all they know they might send any follow up expeditions straight into a Froslass' collection. ]

[ Ingo nods. The space between them has felt strange ever since they came down here. He cannot quite put his feeling on why, but he settles back down against Emmet's side regardless. Neither of them really needs to huddle for warmth, Hisuian species as they are. Why not, though? ]

I truly hope we do not run into anything else like the forest. Mount Coronet and the Icelands have nearly as many ghosts as the coast does, back in Hisui...though, of course, that is partly the ruins on the mountain.

[ There's some older structures in the north as well, but Ingo doesn't think the ghosts cluster around Snowpoint Temple like the ancient graveyards near the summit. As he speaks, his eyes are down - not looking at the ravine, but at Emmet's bloodied paws. ]

... I did not really think Sinnoh was known for its ghosts. Or that they were so widespread. Lost Tower, I am aware of— it is like Mt. Pyre in Hoenn, or the Celestial Tower in Unova... [ So is that just a difference between the present day and back then? Have the unquiet spirits moved on, or are there just fewer ones made? Have the resting sites Ingo's talking about been disturbed, after so many years of development and urbanization?

In any case, Emmet glances over, follows Ingo's gaze down towards his paws and— oh. He still noticed, huh. Maybe he should have made an effort to clean them off (with ... with what, his tongue? that's really the only option, isn't it,) or hide them better, extend just a minor illusion for it if only he'd thought to earlier while Ingo was occupied.

It really is a decent match for the red elsewhere in his fur... ]

Looks worse than it really is. You know.

[ The white just makes everything look very stark against it. ]

Hrm. I suppose.

[ He's right. Ingo can see for himself that they are not terrible injuries. Probably a fair trade for getting out of that hole. But that does not stop him feeling bad about it!

Still, they've already talked it through. He should try not to dwell. He goes on, tone a bit subdued. ]

I am not sure if Hisui is known for ghosts...but they are certainly there. I do not live terribly close to any ruins, but I see lights often at night, up closer to the summit. There is an old burial ground up there, very near the path to the Temple.

[ Now that he's pointed them out it feels awkward just leaving his paws as they are, but really, what is he supposed to do about them. It's hardly an injury requiring bandaging, and neither is it bleeding all that freely. Just enough to be noticeable in the white. He barely even feels it unless he's specifically focusing on it, considering.

So Emmet just follows along with the current subject, but not before bumping his head against Ingo's. ]

Well. On the bright side. Wet have not yet run into any ruins here. [ Like in the Southern Forest, or apparently up near the summit of Mt. Coronet. ] And I have not seen an excess amount of bones.

[ Like in the Middle Forest. Yet is the key word in all of this, but... ]

So maybe it will be different here than it was in the forest? [ ... ] The old burial ground and Temple, though...

[ Shouldn't something of that last, though? Emmet might not be a scholar of its history, but he'd had the impression that Sinnoh as a region was pretty proud of its ties to it, or something like that. At the top of Mt. Coronet... ]

Oh. You are talking about ... Spear Pillar?

[ Ingo hums, leaning back. The comfort is appreciated, even if he'd been trying not to solicit it. Spear Pillar, though? What is that? ]

The...temple on top of Mount Coronet?

Mmhmm. Think it is called that because the broken pillars up top look like...

[ Beat. ]

... Oh! Is it not broken yet for you?

[ Oops, spoilers? ]

Oh! No! It is, but only just! That happened when Akari was up there battling Dialga!

[ Ingo sobers a little at his own mention of Akari. ]

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