FLIGHT AND FREEZE

[heartonachain]

Who: Kris, Umemiya, Archnemon, Shoka, Bigby, Siffrin (SA), Kinger, Sanji, Need, Ren, Akechi, Anasui, Emporio, Ingo, Emmet... and Noelle!!
What: Move over Team Intimidate, there's a cooler Pokemon that needs saving.
When: Early October
Where: All over
Warnings: Will update as needed!!

Noelle has vanished while recovering at the clinic and nobody can find her! She may have run away while having a mental health crisis. Please, bring her back safely!

Mightyena doesn't know where Noelle went, just that she was still in recovery when she vanished. She thought Noelle couldn't have gone far in her condition... but if that's the case, why hasn't she been found yet?

[ QUEST START ]

After a tense day of discussion, organizing and planning, Kris and Ingo gather the volunteers at the outskirts of Bottlecap Bay. Supplies are handed out, groups are chosen, and everyone is given a quick debriefing on the plan: start close to home, then work their way further out as they narrow down her location. Some groups should hang back, ready to set out once a fresh lead is established—the pearls are perfect for this, so everyone should keep their own handy. Spreading out too wide will only make things difficult once they find her trail, so it's important that everyone stays on task.

Once everyone's roles have been assigned, it's time to set out. It's going to be a long, long day.

BEFORE THE SEARCH
TEAM A | TEAM B
TEAM C | TEAM D
TEAM E

Comments

BEFORE THE SEARCH

[heartonachain]

[for all your pre-quest mingle needs. last minute questions? got a tip or good luck charm for your buddy on another team? will Sanji share some of the good snacks??]

[offtracks]

[ Ingo's here, as he would be for any such case! Fortunately, it all seems well-managed enough that he need not take charge. He'd have done so, but he's a lot more confident about it on his own home ground. Now...

He does remember Noelle's story about her bout of amnesia. Is this related...? Maybe she's prone to such things, and he should have paid more attention from the start. ]

I'm afraid that I do not know Miss Holiday very well personally...if there anything we might be able to say in particular, to help her calm down?

[ He's probably directing this to like, Shoka or someone. RIP he has no idea who Kris is. ]

[heartonachain]

Sneak up behind her and scream really loud

♥︎

Send mice at her

[... y'know what, maybe it's for the best that he asks someone other than Kris.]

sorry about him

[undeux_allblue]

Can't go wrong with a good compliment or two, for a lovely lady such as miss Noelle~! She's such a cute little deer, perhaps you can shower her in compliments about her antlers? Unless she's hurt, then tend to her and destroy whoever dared to lay a finger on her or-

[He's. This vulpix is not stopping is he. The legitimacy of this "advice" is particularly dubious since Sanji had never interacted with Noelle in person. In. Pokemon. But at least he's being sort of helpful doling out some snacks for those who don't have any packed! Trail mix and pastries loaded with nuts and berries, nothing super fancy...]

[offtracks]

[ WELL THIS HAS DERAILED IMMEDIATELY ]

I apologize, but I don't believe we have met...?

[ whomst the fuck ]

[telewarped]

[Shoka is obviously on edge, the visible parts of her true form more static than shadows, its outline jagged and pointed like raised hackles. She's mostly been keeping silent and to herself beyond the offering of the occasional piece of advice or Noelle Knowledge, because every time she does speak up, she knows that something snippy and uncharitable is sure to come out as a fun bonus.

Something about the question Ingo asks her makes her shrink in on herself, eyes averted.]

Wish I knew...

[Her voice is small.]

Here's an idea: how 'bout you focus on how to find her first.

[undeux_allblue]

[Some time before perhaps, Sanji WILL get in contact with Kris with a very important question. Probably just walks right on up to Kris to ask.]

Hey. Does Miss Noelle have any favorites as far as food goes? The poor girl might be having a rough time of it out there, I wanna see if I can throw somethin' together that might...help?

[Being teleported to god knows where in Blue-damned unfamiliar bodies, can't hurt to eat something even a little familiar...]

[heartonachain]

[Kris stares blankly. At first, they hardly seem like they're even listening... then they turn to him, clamp their jaws shut, and try to say something with their mouth closed, which is probably a lot weirder than spacing out. Only after they've gotten whatever that was out of their system do they lower their head, suddenly seeming a lot more tired than before.]

... salad's fine. Vegetarian. [half-mumbled, in stark contrast to all the confidence and volume they had when going over the plan earlier.]

[telewarped]

[For the most part, Shoka has been silent through the planning, speaking up only to answer a question about Noelle or to lob a terse comment at Pokémon that are only trying to help. As it turns out, however, she does have a couple last minute questions for Kris themself.

She knows of Kris (Noelle's mentioned them before, and Shoka's seen them around the Spire once or twice), but she's never actually talked to them. Now is as good a time as any, she guesses.]

... Hey. You're—Kris, right? [Dumb question. She already knows they are, and they probably mentioned their name themself at some point, too.] You... knew Noelle before all of this.

[heartonachain]

[They look up at her with the same blank, stony expression they've been wearing since the day started, like they don't quite know how to turn off serious-business-leader mode. Which isn't wrong, exactly...]

Neighbours. [is her one-word, monotone answer.]

TEAM A: Kris, Umemiya, Archnemon

[heartonachain]

Team A (Kris, Umemiya, Archnemon) is first to depart. Kris leads the group following the river toward the sea, where the small boats carrying spirit flames departed in the final week of September. After learning about Noelle's near-drowning incident, the possibility had been raised that maybe she would try to see her departed loved one again. As they continue, Umemiya and Archnemon's ability to sense aura and emotional distress picks up a great disturbance that may feel overwhelming to them both.

Soon, they find a large gang of Corphish and Crawdaunt in various states of injury and distress, along with sharp fallen leaves that don't seem to belong. The group will discover that the gang confronted a Deerling matching Noelle's description, but she used a powerful Leaf Storm attack to defeat them. This level of strength and violence doesn't sound like Noelle at all, but who else could have done this?

The Corphish and Crawdaunt are injured, but may be volatile and need to be calmed down or fully defeated in a fight in order to receive more information from them. Once dealt with, they reveal that Noelle was last seen heading north through the woods.

[heartonachain]

[Since the moment they learned Noelle had gone missing, Kris has been locked in. It's easy to lose themselves in the drive to simply act, to do anything and everything to accomplish the goal set in front of them. As much as they dislike how their body acts on its own, their mouth forming words without their input, plans and commands and strategy that they never would've thought of on their own... it's times like these, where their goals line up perfectly, that they can't help but appreciate how useful their Soul can be.

Because if it were just Kris, they'd be... they are scared. Learning the details of what lead up to this only makes everything worse. She almost drowned, chasing a ghost. They know exactly who that ghost is. They might've thought to do the same, once. They can't blame her for trying.

They should've done more when they found her at the outpost. They should've tried harder to help instead of just scaring her even more. They should've kept her closer, been there when she needed them, been a better friend...

... but their will is an overwhelming force. Today, they let it take the lead without complaint, stamping down their own fears and anxieties like stubborn embers. Now is not the time for doubts.

All of that to say—their vibes aren't exactly great, but they're keeping them under control. The Deino leads in silence as they approach the edge of the beach, keeping the pace brisk.]

[wovensecrets]

[ The ability to sense the emotions of others is something of a curse. A weakness, if it becomes too debilitating, but the best direction seems to be to utilize it in a constructive way...

Her familiarity with Noelle is really only a handful of encounters, mostly mirrored encouragement when seeing the deerling struggle to find her 'footing' with adjusting. The girl misses too much, underestimates herself too much, thoroughly a teen in every way... Archnemon can probably even "thank" her creator for how she can recognize the loneliness and desperation for recognition in every person...

... just. Actually sensing it on a level is not ideal. That is to say. She's familiar enough with learning the individual signatures of others. From explanations of the previous events that might have led to the deerling being pushed over a certain edge-- well, she certainly could recall feeling some recoil from those events too. The trail itself might be cooler now, but... echoes do remain.

Focusing on those and trying not to get disbalanced by other potential jarring vibes is the other challenge, but... one step at a time here. The feeling of getting closer to the water's edge is... also not great. Too many emotions had passed through here. Ugh. For the moment she's quiet, focusing, relying on the others to make a pathway.

Even if she's not too familiar with either of her current companions, at this juncture, only having explained just enough for them to have been made aware of her 'weakness' just beforehand during the earlier discussion of planning, but... the priority was Noelle, currently. ]

TEAM B: Shoka, Bigby, Siffrin

[heartonachain]

Team B (Shoka, Bigby, Siffrin) follows this lead into the woods. There, they find a Winter Deerling... a whole group of them, in fact, with Sawsbuck leading them in migration! All of them seem to be revering a figure they just encountered who they're referring to as their 'angel'.

Apparently, a Deerling much like them- but who wasn't part of their migratory group- passed through and froze a cruel Vileplume who was giving them trouble. Not only that, but the 'angel' used some type of healing ability to patch up those who were injured by Vileplume! Since Deerling can't normally use ice or healing moves, they believe this must have been a magical occurrence.

Anyone who tries to claim that this strange Deerling wasn't an angel draws the group's ire. Either by playing along or forcing information out of the group, Sawsbuck will reveal that the strange Deerling seemed to be heading into the mountains.

[wolfcut]

[ When news broke about Noelle's disappearance, Bigby wasn't sure how to take it. He made it a point not to cross paths since the festival, the lingering shame and resentment enough to make him wary around her. He was angry — he still is angry — but coupled with overwhelming guilt and worry over her safety, it all seems pointless now.

Who's to blame really, for him loosening his own restraints? For once, she wanted to experience what it was like to have power over something — it just happened to be over him. On a visceral level, it makes his blood boil, but who better to understand that desire than him? He told her it wasn't her fault, and even outside of Froslass's influence, he still doesn't think it would be.

But this isn't about him. Seeing how upset Shoka in particular had become was enough to put mixed feelings aside to help in the search. With the first team's lead, the trio heads deep into the woods, quickly making work to find the right tracks to follow. Maybe this will all be over sooner than they thought. ]

Wait. The trail. It's... [ Not exactly cold, but he hesitates. What little he could pick up of a familiar scent has since thinned out for him. All he can rely on are the visual markers left behind. Inconsistent tracks. Foliage disturbed at a greater rate. Even the path they're on now seems worn, as if walked over season after season. ] There's been more than one Deerling through here.

[ He looks at Siffrin, then Shoka. ]

Can you still... can you make out her scent?

[ Frustration underlines his words. Too caught up in his own head, and with his senses dulled as they are, he was bound to lose it. Good thing he's not alone. ]

[loopsiedaisy]

[Siffrin(?) (for now) (they can still be Siffrin, for today) (they're here to help Shoka and it's easiest if they're just Siffrin, like before, and they're     not         thinking about it) -]

[Siffrin doesn't know Noelle well, so they haven't been volunteering any opinions on where they think she could have gone. In some ways it's almost an advantage; it makes helping less complicated. They can tell themself this is just a rescue quest like any other on the questboard. It's important to do a good job, to find her, but at least they're not panicked about it. They're not dwelling on the other feelings they're having about it, this isn't about them -]

[But they've been quiet in general, really. Every time they speak, they're not sure which voice will come out until it does. If it's the wrong one it'll make it worse - or honestly, either could?]

[Siffrin leans down to sniff the ground intently when Bigby asks, circling the trampled path a few times to be sure. The scent feels like it's been fading faster than they can chase it, or maybe just getting harder to pick up on with the cold; either way, it was a relief when they could use Bigby's tracking expertise and move faster that way. But it's -]

[There! They catch something, and follow it for a couple steps. It's faint, but -] Yeah. Still smells like peppermint.

[They were worried that they'd fail to make out Noelle's scent if other Deerling smell the same, but apparently the peppermint is just her. Because there sure is a strong Deerling scent here!]

...there were a lot of them here, around the same time. Maybe she followed them...? Or they followed her?

[They lift their head - at least for now, the scent does seem to be going along the trampled path.]

TEAM C: Kinger, Sanji, Need

[heartonachain]

Team C (Kinger, Sanji, Need) are following Sanji's 'damsel in distress' sense, which just so happens to lead them into a mountainous region. The air soon grows cold, and it begins to snow a bit early in the season. Kinger, who is a Grass-type, may struggle to acclimate.

Soon, the group follows the trail to its conclusion: a Jynx who got stuck under a toppled tree! It seems like a Deerling cut a path through here and she was caught in the crossfire. Fortunately, she isn't injured, and she tries to reward Sanji with a big fat Lovely Kiss!

... Wait, that would leave Sanji unconscious in the snow? Oops!

[0dchess]

[Kinger learned from his brisk autumnal stroll with Flowey that even as a Pokémon, it pays to wear warm clothes.

Unfortunately, the only clothing Kinger owns is the maid dress from the Froslass incident which (in addition to being barely effective as the mountain grows colder) may be confusing to Sanji's chivalry senses.]

I wish I still had my cape right now.

[Kinger looks at the pair of swords and very warm looking fox next to him.]

You two seem a bit better built for this.

im laughing so hard that summary is IDEAL turnout hELP. sorry team at least he's small

[undeux_allblue]

Then why didn't you bring one, idiot?! [Between the pink and purple, and the ruffles and bows, Sanji did initially think Kinger was a lady in need of aid. Perhaps this is how he ended up teaming up with him. But Sanji ALSO wore a dress for much of the Frosslass happenings, so he knows it's not always the case that whoever's wearing it is female. Perhaps a good thing to learn some nuanced gender expression early COUGH For Need, he's still having trouble figuring them out...her?? But do swords get cold...

Anyway. Freezing mushroom. They need this mushroom guy. Sanji sighs, dramatically petulant.] One of you, hold my bags. They have food, and I'd rather not risk the snow making it all soggy. Now here. [Sanji turns his head to bite at the hem of his coat (it's more of a cloak with pleats that look like arm holes) then yanks it off. Clasps pop before the garment slips off his person, and he brandishes it at Kinger.] Can't have ya freezing, you'll slow us down and how will we help miss Noelle then!!

[Please ignore how his own fur is already puffing up to keep himself warm.]

TEAM D: Akechi, Ren, Anasui

[heartonachain]

Team D (Akechi, Ren, Anasui) search up high and down low using their unique suite of skills. The route Noelle took becomes obvious due to the trail of destruction she's left. Several Pokemon report that not only did she use a powerful Leaf Storm attack on anyone in her way, but also Double Kick and Frustration attacks that cleared a path straight to Icefall Lake. Following up with the other groups will only confirm this information. It seems that Noelle wanted to find Froslass and would stop at nothing to follow her.

Unfortunately, going to Icefall Lake would prove extremely dangerous for this group. A new opportunity presents itself, instead: some of the wild Pokemon they encountered who fought Noelle will need healing, whether from berries, abilities the team may use, or even an escort to the clinic.

[colorsflyinghigh]

[The moment the quest went up, Ren signed himself up, determined to save his new friend. He knew Noelle wasn't doing good- she didn't look good when he visited her in the clinic, either, and he wishes he'd stayed around a little longer. That he'd kept an eye on her.

It's a relief there's so many of them to help find her, at least. He's going to give it his all.

After he, Akechi, and Anasui set out, tracking the trail with a combination of detective skills and pathfinding, it quickly becomes obvious things were worse than they thought; the trail of destruction starts suddenly and heavily. It looks like a demon came through. Ren sniffs the air...]

I can smell her scent, [he says, worried,] Noelle's been through here.

[truthdecided]

And it seems she's made quite a mess of the place.

[He turns his attention to a nearby Snover, whimpering and from an unfortunate Double Kick.

With a quiet huff, Akechi flutters over, ready to dig into his satchel.]

TEAM E: Emporio, Ingo, Emmet

[heartonachain]

Team E (Emporio, Ingo, Emmet) are well-suited due to Ingo's search and rescue and mountain expertise. Unfortunately, the ice proves challenging for Emporio in particular.

After a dangerous trek through a heavy snowstorm, the group finally finds Noelle completely frozen solid. A tall, strong, and very aggravated Abomasnow seems to be the cause! It will not listen to reason and is very likely to lash out with powerful attacks like Wood Hammer and Blizzard.

The astute team may notice the cause of its aggression: it seems to be protecting a bunch of young Snover who are hiding from the battle. It seems like Froslass is truly gone for the season and cannot be reached. Abomasnow knows nothing about any of this and was merely attempting to defend its family.

[seacub]

It's cold.

Dangerously so, and maybe Emporio should have anticipated this given the clues toward just where Noelle went, but even so, he gathered his notes from Anasui and looked expectantly at Emmet while asking for a ride.

Please sir, his tiny little ground type feet.

Upsides, up in Emmet's mane it's quite warm actually. He can peer out with relative safety and ease, keeping watch for anything the other two might miss.

Which, sure, might not be a lot, but still.

...

There probably won't be any missing Abomasnow.

"Uhhh..."

Uh oh.

[outbounds]

Wow it sure is convenient to have all this thick, dense fur considering the weather conditions they're going into. Considering the passenger riding along in his mane, Emmet has half a mind to throw caution to the wind and just bring to life and then maintain the circling blue-white foxfire of Will-o-Wisp.

As it is, the Hisuian Zoroark blends in greatly with the swirling snow of the storm. Soft-footed as he makes his way across the snow and ice, he has to wonder how far the Deerling could have even gone in this... Regardless of any personal preference or odd ability to use the ice type, she is still a grass-type without a secondary typing to give her any extra resistance to ice. Being the winter morph of Deerling can only do so much under these extreme conditions.

It is going to be difficult enough to spot her in blizzard visibility, and the funny thing about winter morph Deerling specifically is that they have very little scent to track. She's been gone long enough for the storm to likely cover any tracks, so while Emmet's ears are pressed flat to try to conserve body heat, considering the rest of the destruction she's left for the other teams to find he is still trying to keep an ear out for any commotion.

Or, apparently, little Cubones in his mane suddenly sounding verrrry apprehensive as they crest a particularly tall snowdrift.

"Yes? Is there something you want to say?"