bottlecaplogs | For destruction, ice is also great [Noelle November Catch-All]

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[Noelle has only been out of the clinic for a few days when A.B.A suddenly decides they're going on a quest.

She's never been good at saying no before, and it's especially hard when it's to someone like A.B.A. So she finds herself walking toward the flood basin of Heavy Downmoor, only somewhat aware they're supposed to be looking for some reflective 'Team Watchlight'.]

Um... wait! I heard it can flood really suddenly here. Will we be okay?

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When Umemiya and Bigby had decided to take on Fireheart's quest, Noelle begged them to come along. She lost someone who had only appeared for a short time, too. She had been discharged from the clinic, and Nurse Chansey even thought some low-stakes guild work would be good for her. (To keep her from spiraling, but still.)

Umemiya and Bigby likely had been asked to keep an eye on her, and she would probably just run off and search on her own if they disagreed... one way or another, Noelle winds up on the quest with them.

They decide to start on the coast, where they last saw some of the Pokemon that disappeared. For a while, Noelle isn't sure where to start, but fortunately, Bigby catches the scent of a Thievul.

"Umemiya, didn't you say the person you were looking for was a Thievul?" she asks.

[A part of Noelle thought she'd never leave the clinic. She would just sit there, forever, rotting away.

But life marches on. She's declared to have made a near miraculous recovery in record time, and soon, she's back in the Spire. The sleigh style bed she received as a quest reward has been left alone in her absence, to her surprise.

Also while she's been gone, a big part of the Spire has turned into a construction site with a new face as the project lead. Pokémon are walking all through the tunnels with loads of building materials, including a startling amount of Corviknight bones and feathers.

Noelle doesn't know if she's feeling up to helping, but she can at least keep them company. She doesn't want to go back to sleep, anyway.]

Sorry, I've been away, um... what's being built here?

"Yeah. Yeah, he was. Though his fur was paler than most Thievul I've met since. Um, if we do end up finding him, be careful. Endo's not..." How to end that sentence? He eventually just kind of lets it trail off with a sigh.

"We weren't friends. He kind of hates me."

[ parvati's been hard at work with the project of hers -- grateful it got approved, and more grateful that so many pokemon were eager to help. she's been back and forth doing a fair bit of it herself, but the sheer scale of it requires far more hands.

she's honestly not used to a team this big, not after so many jobs were kind of just her. she's been wondering how junlei manages it all back on the groundbreaker.

a fair bit of the tunnels have been cordoned off entirely, but parvati's done her best to ensure that as much of the low-tier rooms are still accessible as she can. she feels bad for the people she's had to ask to move in the meantime, but most of them were more than happy to if it meant they didn't have to deal with being flooded before anyone else.

parvati's in the middle of giving a gurrdurr and a trubbish instructions on where to put the materials they're transporting when noelle comes over. ]

So if you just put it over by the-- yeah, that. Should be good. [ a glance behind her at the deerling when the two walk off. ]

Oh, hi! [ she gives a small wave with her free hand, her hammer ominously looming above her on her other shoulder. ] It's a water pumping system, to stop the flooding. People's rooms shouldn't be getting all wet once we're done. Your room isn't over yonder, is it?

Edited 2025-11-05 23:33 (UTC)

Now that's something to note, though he's not surprised Umemiya is still willing to help find the guy.

"Let's just hope he's appreciative, not in a mood for a fight."

Especially considering one of the three is still technically recovering from last month. That said, the sooner they find this Endo, the better. Bigby's not much of a fan of following this scent in particular; diluted over time, but still somehow overwhelmingly musky, mixed with more than a hint of licorice. His nose scrunches before he glances over at them both.

"The sand and water will make old tracks harder to find, but doesn't mean there won't be anything either. It's shedding season, so keep on the lookout for stray fur. You remember what color it was?"

Though this lesson was intended for Umemiya, there's a part of him that's glad Noelle managed to tag along. It'll be good for her to learn this sort of thing too.

[Hammer. Bludgeoning. Crushing. Could break her bones with a good swing.]

Oh, yeah, it is, fahaha! But that's okay! I'm not in a hurry to go back there. Not having to worry about flooding will be great! [Escape routes: down the hall, around the corner. Parvati's weak spot: maybe her exposed stomach. Possible easy targets: Trubbish, some of the materials stacked unsafely atop each other.

It feels weird to have a 'normal' conversation while her mind keeps racing with these awful thoughts. She isn't sure she'll ever be 'normal' again. She seems nervous, but gives off no other indication she's thinking these violent things-- and the nervousness could easily be explained as her usual awkwardness.]

You must be like the guild's new engineer or something! I'm, um... [Well, here goes nothing. Parvati may have heard of all the trouble she's caused recently.] ... Noelle. Noelle Holiday, haha.

"We weren't friends," Umemiya had said, "He kind of hates me." Those words ring in her mind like a church bell. She stops entirely, staring off into the far distance, before her attention turns back to Bigby.

"... yeah."

(Thievul: sounds like a Dark-type. Double Kick would prove effective. Umemiya knows Fighting-type moves, and Bigby could support the team with ranged attacks.

... She shakes the thought out of her head.)

It seems like Bigby's trying to teach her something about tracking, but she doesn't get it. Everything just smells like a mix of sand and scents and snow.

The idea of Endo shedding fur this shedding season depends on him still being alive and around.

(She doesn't say that, but it's written all over her face.)

[ parvati's looking between noelle and over her shoulder at the construction that's happening. everything looks fine, but she can't help but worry in case something were to go wrong. gurrdurr is pulling multiple materials out of trubbish's... hands? and placing them down on the pile.

she can sense noelle's nerves, her expression softening when she turns back to her again. ]

Aw, I'm sorry. Tried to let everyone know before we started. [ a roll of the shoulder. ] I'm Parvati, it's nice to meet you. Are you the one everyone's been real worried about?

[ she's heard noelle's name thrown around -- comes with being friends with similar people, she supposes -- and has spent a lot of her time hoping she's been okay. ] I'm glad you're back on your feet.

[Noelle was missing a lot last month, although A.B.A never truly got to learn why. It doesn't matter, all she knows is that something of hers was gone and that isn't allowed. She knows, she knows she promised Paracelsus no more confinement, and she's certain he'd apply that to other people as well, but sometimes A.B.A just wants to take her teammates and lock them in a cellar where no one can find them... Where she'll always know where they are...

She supposes forcing teamwork is a good compromise. The guild sees it as her contributing, a lost Pokémon gets rescued, and A.B.A can keep her eyes on her tiny murder deer. No one can yell at her for this. She is.....behaving.]

Of course we'll be okay, who do you take me for? My affinity is water...it bends to my will...not the other way around.

[As the ground under them gets even softer the closer they approach, A.B.A's talons grip the moist earth.]

Mnn...murky. The water won't be as clear as I prefer it to be. I won't be able to peer into its depths...

[Which would make it difficult to spot any Pokémon. Not that A.B.A is even thinking about that.

She's just upset it won't be the proper shade of blue.]

"Pale desaturated brown. Like, greyer than the lighter color you see on a Furret, but similar lightness." Thank you, Tsubaki and Momose, for teaching this boy how to talk about colors. What he doesn't have the terminology to explain is that Endo was shiny.

"The accent fur had a blue tone. The overall look was kind of pretty. Or would have been, if it hadn't come with his attitude. Though...the fact that he was here and Takiishi wasn't accounted for some of that. They're close like Ren and Akechi are."

"Muted colors can be harder to spot over a distance. We'll need to keep our eyes open."

While attentive to Umemiya's description, he can't help but slowly glance over at Noelle. There's a stark contrast between the two, enough to warrant a soft sigh before he goes back to focusing ahead. A measured approach then.

"... It's a good sign that his scent is still around. Likely means he's been here more recently after showing up the first time." Despite this, a part of him also knows some rules simply don't apply here. A few months should be more than enough time to wash away any trace of their mark, but with everything else that's happened, would some kind of temporal displacement be out of the question? Who's to say this trail isn't from another Thievul either.

"Maybe he's been on a rescue mission of his own."

At some point, some paces ahead, Bigby does eventually find a small tuft of fur caught in the sand. It's close enough in color to leave little room for doubt.

"Umemiya, try to hone in with this. Your nose is probably the strongest between the three of us, so it should be easier for you to pick up the trail now." Again, he looks over at Noelle, this time with something to say. His ears flick before he addresses her. "As for us, it'll be easier to focus on sound. Rustling, walking, sniffing. Anything that gives you the feeling that we're not alone the further ahead we go."

A very prey-like approach, but he's leaning into it for now.

Noelle just nods, unsure if she'll notice anything. Though, when she focuses, she can hone in on Sandyghast shifting about along the beach. She points them out to Bigby so they can question them later. She only faintly remembers the boy she talked to-- the one from her dream, who looked so much like Kris's brother.

As they walk along the coast, Endo's scent gets stronger, but eventually they seem to wind up where they started.

"Um... sorry, but, aren't we going in circles?"

Edited 2025-11-10 17:54 (UTC)

[A.B.A seems comfortable as the ground gets increasingly damp, but Noelle has stopped.]

I'm, uh... I'm not a very strong swimmer. I bet you'll be okay, though! Maybe you should go on without me... I wouldn't want to slow you down or anything. [This isn't entirely a lie. Her favored way to move over water is skating over it when it's frozen. But also, she's still intimidated by A.B.A and trying to find an excuse.]

[Wow, Parvati is sort of direct, Noelle thinks. She stares down at her hooves at the idea that she's made everyone worry.]

I... I guess? Sorry. I shouldn't have made a fuss. [She didn't expect so many people to want to save her.] I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble.

Couldn't have been trouble if you had that many people who cared about you wanting to help. [ well, maybe a little. but that's not for her to say, because she's been here. she also genuinely has no context for what happened at all. ]

I'm sure you don't wanna talk about all that, though. It is real nice to finally meet you. [ parvati glances over her shoulder again at the construction site. ] Should hopefully be outta here by the end of the month, at least.

[Parvati is right-- that she doesn't want to talk about it, that is. She's eager to jump on the subject change.]

I wish I could do something to help... the doctor told me to take it easy this month, faha. Um, maybe... do you like cookies? I might bake some later if I can get everything together. Gingerbread ones. It's never too early for Christmas cookies!

[ that's a few words she doesn't know all in one sentence. ]

Gingerbread? Not sure that's a thing where I'm from. Or Christmas. [ thank the architect she's at least vaguely familiar with cookies as a concept. ] Awful sweet of you to ask, though.

[ noelle really is as nice as they say, it seems. ]

"We can't be. The scent's getting thicker, I'm absolutely sure it's him." It actually reminds him of Endo's cologne, the scent he's getting, which isn't quite right for here, is it? But the association's clear in his mind, a strand of red yarn pinned to an imaginary cork board.

[How do people keep coming from worlds without Christmas???] Really? Gosh, that's... I don't even know! [She realizes halfway through it would be mean to call it 'sad'.] That just means I'll have to make some for you to try! And we can all celebrate together!

[Now she's curious, though.] Didn't they have any holidays where you come from? Especially ones where you give gifts and stuff?

Nope.

[ parvati at least fully expects a reaction of shock and awe at this point. ]

What exactly is it meant to celebrate? [ free stuff is worth celebrating on its own in halcyon, since things scarcely come without cost in the capitalist torment nexus. is that it? ] Like, are you celebrating the fact that you're getting gifts, or?

[No holidays at all?!?!?!?

Noelle freezes like she's a computer that just crashed. Then she blinks, getting her bearings.]

Wow, umm. I'm sorry, I had no idea! [Where does she even start?] So, we can start at the basics. Holidays are like... The word comes from 'holy days'. They're days where something notable happened, maybe something religious, and you usually celebrate in some way. Maybe you take the day off work, or have a big feast, or give gifts to each other, or something like that. It depends based on the occasion.

[She pauses to give Parvati a moment to process this.]

[ with all the love in the world to noelle, this explanation is a few random mathematical terms away from sounding like one of max's long tangents. parvati nods along anyway. ]

Yeah, getting time off work wasn't really. A thing. Back home. [ well. it was going to be before she woke up here, and nyoka got weekends! parvati wanted to spend her weekends with junlei... and now she's just homesick again. ]

... No time off at all? What about weekends? [The horror is beginning to sink in.]

Didn't get 'em till I quit my job and ran off with my Captain, but even then. The adventuring lifestyle is still restless. And my friend Nyoka kind of had to tell me what those were...

[ she glances away awkwardly. ]

You're not the first person to find that weird. I still haven't worked out what to do with all my free time here.

It's not weird! [She lies, badly.] I mean, um... okay, maybe it's weird, but it's not your fault. Sounds like you didn't have any, like, work-life balance! [That's probably a term Parvati has never heard.] I'm glad you got out of there and got to be an... adventurer? Is that right? It sounds really cool!

He immediately breaks focus.

"No, that's—" Impossible, he wants to say, but all it takes is one quick look around to see Noelle is exactly right. Even after taking the backseat, Bigby had made sure to stay on the scent just in case. His nose twitches. Umemiya is also exactly right; the scent is just as strong as it was before. "... How did we even get back here?"

If Endo's scent is actively moving, then he has to be close, but the light-colored Thievul is still nowhere to be spotted. The fact that they got this turned around with nothing to show for it is completely jarring.

"Alright, change of plans. Those... those sand castles we saw. Maybe they caught something we missed."

Well, technically the term is "freelancer", but that's just what we call anyone who doesn't work for one specific corporation. I was under Spacer's Choice, working as the chief engineer of a cannery, but before I woke up here was the engineer on our ship. She's a real... [ calling the unreliable a piece of crap feels mean to her. that's her hard work as much as it is anyone else's, too! ] ...fixer-upper.

[ the thought of what "work-life balance" could possibly mean is running through the back of her mind in the meantime. ]

[Noelle nods, barely hiding her interest. That sounds so cool... like an epic space soap opera! Some people come from the coolest worlds.]

... well, if you've never celebrated Christmas before, I want to make this one special! I mean, if you want to try celebrating, faha... I promise it would be fun!

"M-maybe he also came in a circle?" she tries to offer. It doesn't really make sense, but she feels bad not having an answer for Umemiya. It doesn't feel like they went in a circle. It's more like... the trail didn't make sense to begin with. Like he just disappeared.

"Right. Um, good idea." She's glad Bigby's taken the lead. She feels completely lost.

It's not hard for her to find a weirdly-colored Sandyghast. "Excuse me, but, um..."

"You're the one who made me this weird color!" cries the Sandyghast. "What did you do?"

This puts her immediately on the backfoot. "I... I don't know. I was hoping you did."

The Sandyghast seems a little agitated; it's been dealing with months of confusion, after all.

Can't say no if you're asking so nicely, can I? [ parvati gives her a reassuring smile ^w^ ]

Hopefully this should all be done soon-ish, anyway. I think. [ she's looking back at the construction site again. ]

Okay!! I'm really looking forward to it! [She smiles back. It will be nice to have something to focus on besides the incident.]

I'll get out of your way, I guess. I've got Christmas preparations to get to...! [Noelle, sweetie, it's November.]

[ it's okay it's not like parvati knows that! ]

All right. It was lovely to meet you, Noelle.

Ume is immediately braced to put himself between Noelle and the Sandyghast if this seems like it's going to get out of hand. Is he weak to ground types? Yes! So is Bigby, for that matter. But still, no one makes Noelle uncomfortable without getting the side-eye from the dog-guy.

[A.B.A pauses. Although she can't disagree most people tend to slow her down, she's surprised Noelle would think she would purposely sabotage herself by ~~forcing~~ asking her nicely to join her.]

Your capacity to swim means absolutely nothing to me... You're riding on my back.

[This isn't a suggestion.]

If we find a body, I need someone to hold it steady while I ferry it back to safety... With any luck, they'll still be alive, but that also means they tend to...squirm more.

Find a body?! [That makes it sound like they might be dead already! ... She never even considered. Why is she still so sheltered and stupid?

That renews her determination. Awkwardly, she gets on A.B.A's back, not really able to hold on very well with her hooves. Nonetheless, she tries her best.]

... I can heal them if they're still alive. That might help with the, um, squirming.

Oh... I wasn't aware that you're well versed in medicine...

[Mixed feelings fill A.B.A's head. She'd love to talk to Noelle about her favorite bones in the human body, but...........doctors also scare her.

And now there's one on her back.

S-Scary.]

J-Just try to keep your balance, I can't promise I'll go after you if you're to fall off. We'll be submerged soon. Or, well, I'll be... Do keep a look out for anything peculiar, I need to focus on swimming.

[The currents look surprisingly strong, but...A.B.A is fairly certain she's stronger. Yes, she can probably take on a whole basin.]

Make that two dog-guys giving them the side-eye. One just happens to be a hamster.

"Hey." The Sandyghast probably wouldn't pay him much mind if he didn't have the voice he does. They shoot each other a glare before Bigby, surprisingly, drops it first. "We're just as confused as you are, alright? We've been trying to track someone that might've come through here. A Thievul."

Their witness hardly seems willing to talk about anything unrelated to their predicament. The Morpeko huffs before an idea hits. "Actually, his fur's an off-color too. Maybe he might know something about what happened to you."

That seems to do the trick, but admittedly, the Sandyghast hadn't seen Endo go past in either direction. Paw to forehead, Bigby sighs, turning to Umemiya apolegitically, before the Sandyghast suddenly pipes up again: "But I remember there was a weird looking Umbreon a while back too. You think he might know anything about what's going on with me?"

I mean, I wouldn't say... [Is using magic to heal someone really 'medicine'? She certainly doesn't think she's good at it, either!]

O-okay! I'll keep a lookout and try not to fall off!

[Easier said than done; she hasn't figured out how to swim in this new body yet and she doesn't have hands with which to hold on.

Still, somehow, she manages. Maybe it's because A.B.A is as good of a swimmer as she says, taking them through rough currents. Does she use this power to hunt and fight? Or is it for fun? Noelle would love to ask when she's not focusing on clinging on and avoiding a watery death.

And speaking of watery death-- a shining light catches her eye. Floating in the water like an ice floe, half-submerged, a frozen Machamp appears on the horizon. Noelle points eagerly.] There! I think that's the one!

"That's him! That's--"

Admittedly, it takes her a minute to remember his name. They only met briefly back home, and the fog that afflicts so many others here has been eating away her memories of their meeting here. "-- Ralsei. That was it. He has to know something!"

"He went into town," the Sandyghast says, "but he never came out. I think he went with a weird seed into a cafe!"

Noelle exchanges a look with her team members. The only 'weird seed' she knows about in town is Flowey, who she has been pointedly but politely avoiding ever since hearing about his cruelty and many wicked deeds. What if something happened?

"Thank you," she says, bowing her head to the Sandyghast. "We'll follow up on this. I know you and your friends must want to go back to normal soon."

The Sandyghast seems to calm down from being understood. (Or maybe it's the two dog-guys who stood protectively over Noelle, or a combination of the two.) After a little more mollifying, it becomes apparent that it doesn't know anything else about their mission. Noelle politely excuses the three of them and heads into town with the others.

[Ah, good eyes. See, A.B.A knew taking Noelle along would be fruitful. She would've totally missed that otherwise, completely lost in the sensation of swimming. Hehe, she loves being a water-type.]

Let's hope so, or else we'll be forced to ask why these waters are littered with bodies.

[And that sounds like an exhausting conversation.

Now with a destination, A.B.A starts swimming at full speed, cutting through the heavy currents like butter. As they get closer, she can't help but grimace. This creature's flesh...already looks rather grey. Perhaps they're too late...]

Eek...

[Very brave, very powerful.]

As soon as we approach, y-you'll have to—

["Grab the body" is what she WANTS to say, but A.B.A pauses.]

...Are you capable of grasping large mounds of flesh?

... No. [She should've thought of that.] We're... we're going to have to push them to shore.

[And by 'we', she mostly means A.B.A.]

For destruction, ice is also great [Noelle November Catch-All]

Who Watches The Watchlights (A.B.A)

Is Anyone Out There? (Umemiya & Bigby)

It's Not The Best Choice (Parvati)

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it's spacer's choi-- *i am taken out by an auntie cleo's sniper*

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sorry for my lateness u_u

sorry for my lateness :[

no worries :]

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more like sorry for my lateness

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sfjdlfkjslfkdjs

it's spacer's choi-- i am taken out by an auntie cleo's sniper