October Quest Catch-All

[heartonachain]

Who: Kris, Emporio, Chara, ???
What: Questin'
When: Throughout October
Where: Places
Warnings: Probably some battling, probably some child endangerment... will update if needed

Quest Results
INTIMIDATION TACTICS
WAYFINDING: FURNACE MOUNTAIN

Comments

[heartonachain]

[That's... a good point. They remember hearing once that ghost monsters can't die, normally? Or only under specific circumstances? They didn't talk to the ones that live ("live"??) in Hometown much, so they don't know the details. It's not exactly a topic you can just bring up out of nowhere. Even their Soul isn't that bold.

* It counts enough.
* Unless you really want to test that.

... they shouldn't be giving it ideas. Talk about something else.

* What were you before?

Even as I am now has some weird implications. Were they already a ghost, or were they something else "non-living"? They've met enough Darkners that the latter wouldn't surprise them much.

* I'll tell mine if you tell yours.

The geysers seem a little more spread out in this section, so it's probably fine to leave the Soul to navigate by itself for a bit. What's it gonna do, get them lost?]

[consequerer]

[ Their what is a little slower to come this time, though whether it's from focus on mapping, distraction, or just thinking over their answer isn't readily apparent.

* Not human.
* Not anymore.
* Not quite a ghost monster either.
* Truthfully I am not sure what one would call it.

Theirs was a soulless existence, and they hadn't expected to wake up again in the first place. Flowey and the Amalgamates of the True Lab are one thing, but it wasn't even something they possessed that...

* When one is the lingering remnants of someone who very much did die, and who very much already did have their soul absorbed by another...
* Well!
* Not exactly a lot of precedent for that, is there?

After all, not one human soul was ever taken by the monsters during the war. Not according to the writings in Waterfall.

As for the other six souls, those who fell after them, and then fell, one way or another ... those are all accounted for.

Determination makes quite a few impossible things possible, it turns out.

* Does that answer suffice? ]

[heartonachain]

[They're quiet, seeming to soak in all these gruesome details while the Soul putters around, picking up rocks with their mouth.

...

* Damn.
* I was gonna guess you were a hat.

Were they actually? Hard to say. Their tone is as dry as always.

Not a Darkner, though. Distinctly human, but also... not anymore. They're not sure how they should feel about that. They thought they'd be more disappointed to find out their new friend was a human, but in the end it doesn't seem like it makes much of a difference.

Neither of them are human anymore. Neither of them seem to regret that fact.

* Same.
* Aside from the whole dying part. Only the human part.

Which feels kind of lame when their answer is just the default of most of the Pokemon in their situation, but also, they never promised their answer would be interesting.]

[consequerer]

[ * Oh no.
* Completely unwittingly, you have uncovered my shameful secret.
* So shameful I spun an outlandish story of being a soulless ex-human instead...!
* Isn't it a more interesting tale that way?

They'll match that sardonicism with their own. But for a moment their focus turns back outward, and ... hmm.

The path they're on, it is no longer quite so level, is it? Given that it is beginning to slope downwards, they must have crossed a decent portion of the plateau by now, though ... was their objective not to thoroughly map the entire thing? Or merely to mark out a single safe path?

(* Onward you forge, across the erupting plain of an active shield volcano.)
(* Ahead, the caldera awaits.)
(* The thought of unveiling those shapes in the haze, and what else might possibly be found there... it fills you with determination.) ]

HYDRATION: [[◼◼◼◼◼◼◻◻◻◻]]

[heartonachain]

[Kris snorts, nearly choking on a rock in the process. Their body pauses afterwards, as if waiting to see if they'll say anything more before it finishes making its little rock pile near the edge of the caldera.

They're still not keen on possession, but maybe it's fine if it's just stuff like this. Someone to talk to, without any filters. Someone who maybe gets it. They bury that thought in the back of their mind.

Thoughts of determination make their posture straighten, staring ahead pointlessly.

* (Smells like ash and dust.)
* (Leaving the geysers behind, your mouth already feels drier.)
* (You're filled with the power of remembering to stay hydrated.)

...

They actually do stop for a second, gnawing at the bag under their mane to get a drink from their water pouch. Holy shit. Gamification actually works?

Once that's done, it's back to the mission. They take a straight path towards the nearest shape—Chara will no doubt have something to say, but whatever it is, their reaction will be the same. Kris succumbs to their draconic instincts and immediately bites the object.]