bottlecaplogs | November+December Catch-All

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November+December Catch-All

Who: Siffrin (Shinx) + Shoka, Laios, Cedric, Chara, Anasui, Parvati
What: The fallout of the Network Incident, and also quests. Sometimes both at once!
Where: Spire, Canopy, wherever various search quests take them
When: One thread backdated to October, otherwise throughout November (including during the snowstorm) and December
Warnings: Potentially Siffrin's warnings (definitely spoilers & alluded-to suicidal ideation in Shoka's thread), the usual quest peril

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[Apparently, someone in the Cheri Berry administration team remembers Siffrin and Laios's attempts at ~~EDM~~ practicing their electric move control. Someone remembers and was thinking "absolutely not," and has banished them to the furthest mid-tier housing available... practically on top of each other. If they're going to be playing loud music, do it away from everyone else!!]

[Until the snowstorm, this mostly isn't relevant. Laios is avoiding Siffrin, Siffrin is telling themself that's only to be expected and not thinking about it, all is well (no) and quiet in this corner of the Canopy. But the uneasy silence only lasts until everyone's snowed in and Siffrin has nothing to do but think ~~and maybe huddle with stardust~~. They can feel themself going stir-crazy at the snowed-in days feeling the same, itching with the need to go somewhere different, and that's the point where they abruptly come to the conclusion: being ignored is worse. Someone acting like they don't exist is worse. They'd rather be outright hated, even by someone who they were(??) friends with.]

[Which is what prompts a Shinx just busting through the layer of snow at Laios's doorway.]

[They're not supposed to have been outside? It's fiiiine, they're literally right next to each other. Siffrin's absolutely not shivering a little because their winter coat wasn't done growing in, they don't know what you're talking about. Far more importantly:]

Have you been avoiding me, sparky? I'm so hurt!

[Up to and including the point that Siffrin is outside Shoka's dorm doorway, they still have no idea what they're going to say. They don't know whether to be "Loop" for this or "Siffrin" (they don't know if they're still entirely capable of being "Siffrin"?), they're pretty sure Shoka won't want to see them... They feel guilty about warping Shoka into a bush and running away, but they've been feeling guilty about that for several days at this point. They've just been avoiding dealing with it.]

[But also, she's been having a rough time this past week-and-change. Her dead family showed up and then disappeared, her crush(??) is in a coma in the hospital (in the hospital again!), they caused her multiple headaches... With the Oran Berries, it's probably fine, but Siffrin. Kind of wants to check on her? Make sure she's been eating? They are carefully not thinking too hard on a certain conversation, one about being okay with "tapping out."]

[...]

[So! Here they are, with apology(? condolences? both??) malasadas. At least they didn't forget those.]

["Here" being... still just outside. It takes one of Shoka's roommates walking up to the door and squinting at them with an odd look to finally prompt Siffrin into motion. They give the Pokemon a sparkly smile and prance confidently through the door - but once they cross the threshold and spot Shoka, the image of her desperate expression when they said "Me, of course!" jumps into their head unprompted. It's a work of effort not to visibly wince, and in the process they lose their defensive sparkling.]

...hey. [It's muffled through the bag of malasadas.]

[After being trapped by the snowstorm, Siffrin is itching to go somewhere and get something done, and a search quest seems as reasonable an option as any! They don't even care who they go with, whoever they get grouped with is fine - which is why they're now waiting for a "Cedric" from the Oran Berries. They vaguely remember hearing the name around, but they can't put a face (or muzzle, or beak?) to it. So they're relying on meeting in front of the questboard and looking for someone approaching them that they don't recognize.]

[Thier first thought when they see someone like that is: bird. Hat bird. (Cribbing their style - no)]

[...but hang on. They never got a name, but they're pretty sure they do recognize that beak and hat.]

[Siffrin's eyes curve up into amused crescents.] Haven't we met already?

[They're thinking of another Murkrow. A shiny one, as it happens... but they can't tell! To them, at most Cedric is a slightly darker shade, and their memory of that encounter is already fuzzy. They assume the side tufts were always like that.]

[Similarly, Cedric is struggling to figure out who an alleged "Siffrin" could be. He's definitely heard the name floating around, but not enough to envision anybody specific - so when the alleged partner for this quest asks him that question, he gives an aggressive cock of his head.]

I think I'd remember meeting a lion ready for their Cauldronation.

[Shoka, who had apparently been struggling with a bit of sewing practice judging by the pattern and supplies strewn messily out before her, looks up in muted surprise. The look in her eyes is almost hopeful in that first moment before it turns wary, uncertain—the expression of someone who had just mistaken a stranger for an old friend.

She hadn't known how to approach Siffrin when they showed up to the search for Noelle (even if, in retrospect, she supposes she should be grateful that they showed up at all) and now is only different in that there's no longer any immediate peril to distract her from it. They're different now—that much was obvious—but it isn't fair to say that they haven't been themself. If all that's changed is that they've had missing memories returned to them, they should be more themself than they've ever been. Still, she can't help feeling like she's had someone snatched away from her (or, more accurately, that she's erased them herself, like she'd erased so many others; it was her who jogged their memory, after all). Should she treat them the same way she always has? That hadn't exactly worked out well when she tried.

We'll catch up later, they told her before, but when later didn't come, she'd become convinced that they wanted nothing more to do with her. Siffrin (or is she supposed to call them Loop now?) wouldn't be the only one to make that decision this month. Leave it to her to fumble a good thing.

But now here they are again. When she tries to think of something to say, she thinks also of the last time she tried to talk to them and wound up caught in brambles that tore at her disguise. The first options that come to mind are fittingly barbed and unkind. You want something? Can I help you?

Ultimately, all she can manage is:]

... Hey.

[A... what? Should they know that word...]

[And, more importantly: does that voice sound familiar? Not exactly, but, well, they're used to their memory being full of holes. It wouldn't be strange if they forgot.]

If you say so!

[They get up and stretch unhurriedly, very much like a proper cat. But they follow it with:] I already spoke with Delcatty. Furfrou is a white-haired dog, and Delcatty says they were headed past Skull Town, last time they talked.

[There's... something weird about the way they say "white." Like it's not a word they're used to pronouncing, though it's not mispronounced as such.]

[This version(?) of Siffrin keeps their eyes on her face for a bit longer before letting their gaze slide away. And then return again. It's odd, not like they're better at meeting people's eyes, exactly, but like they are used to watching expressions much more closely.]

[The wariness is...]

[Well, it's not like they haven't dealt with it before, haha! And it's not as though they haven't earned it, either!]

[They pick their way through the sewing supplies, carefully placing their paws to avoid stepping on anything - turning their head further to the left, to make up for their blind side. When they settle down it's within arm's reach of Shoka; they drop the bag of malasadas at their front paws.]

[...silence. Now what?]

[The thing is... the thing is, "Siffrin" never knew how to deal with awkward silences well. They weren't very talkative in the first place! "Loop" can deal with them, they were made to be chatty... but also to be annoying, and theatrical, and make people (stardust) (people in general, now) too tired of all that to look close.]

[And all that defeats the whole point of what they're nervously trying to do. ("You're going to have to talk to them, from now on.") It's not what they want. But they... they don't know how else to be -]

[Loo - Siffrin takes a deep breath in and lets it out. They feel their eyes scrunch up again, almost involuntarily.] So, this is awkward!

[They bat the bag over to Shoka.]

I brought you something. Couldn't be sure you weren't all starving in the mines down here!

[It almost sounds like when Shoka and Siffrin were teasing each other over their respective Guild housing, but...]

[It takes Siffrin longer than they expected, padding along the cliffs beside and beyond the Spire and peering over the edge, to find some Wattrel nests - or rather, to find enough of them in one general area to make it worth climbing down. By the time they do, they've already nearly forgotten about the mask they've got strapped to their hat.]

[Alright. How are they going to approach this. They can see... at least two possible routes down, they think. But on the first they're going to have to hope there are some clawholds in the rock that aren't visible from up here. The other is less steep, and less rocky, but that's because it's at least partially overhangs made of nothing but compacted dirt. If their weight destabilizes those enough...]

[And then they're going to have to climb back up, too. Or take a dive off into the sea and swim, which they're not uwilling to do, but - do weird bird nests dissolve in seawater? Probably it'd affect the taste, right??]

[(They have, at least, remembered to once again borrow a harness with some attached saddlebags. Or they'd be stuck carrying one nest at a time...)]

[ There's been plenty of reasons why he hasn't completely settled into his new housing as of yet. Siffrin has indeed been one of them.

The pit in his stomach after their last conversation still hasn't gone away even after a month. Confusion. Uncertainty. Concern. All things he struggles to manage, made all the worse that it's over a friend. Someone he thought was a friend. Are they still friends? He'd rather let that question remain unanswered than face the very real possibility that he misred who Siffrin was the entire time he's known them. It's easier this way. Worry about something else, they said.

Something like bundling up and bunkering down during a blizzard. He can do that. That's a solvable problem. Siffrin suddenly jumping through a wall of snow to barge in is not.

Laios immediately freezes as his lovely neighbor in question makes their grand entrance. The bone in his mouth drops to the floor. ]

—Siffrin? [ A gasp more than a name. He's too stunned to move. ] Um.

[ Rather than bumble out a blatant lie, he's going to completely ignore the question! ]

You look cold.

[He blinks at that phrasing. Who says it like that? Some sort of bizarre colloquialism? No, not important.]

Well, if their name is any indication, that white will likely stand out, which should be in our favour.

[He didn't mean to emphasize the word, really, it just slipped out.]

Past Skull Town it is. You cover the ground while I surveil from above?

[ One might think that the guild made up of scholars wouldn't be so insistent on getting them to 'go outside, get some fresh air!' Ah perhaps that is just a tired, overused stereotype? Still, it isn't as if they don't contribute to quests, now and again, so really.

That said, the setup the other guildspokemon gave them really is rather amusing. Perhaps they won't inform the Shinx as to what mistake they might have made just yet; they'll allow it, this little myth of 'it's dangerous to go alone. take this! (and you won't count as being alone!)'

Now, the predicament they are in ... ah, that's an interesting choice. And that stray question, the wondering... Let's see, can they keep this fairly neutral and natural to start.

* They are normally held together by saliva, right?
* If it is that kind of bird, anyway.
* That would most likely dissolve in the seawater below if so.
* Better not to chance it. ]

That's me, sparky! [Siffrin responds brightly, and then... pauses with an odd expression for a moment...]

[Moving on!! They wave one paw dismissively.] I'm fine!

[They'll warm up, they're sure. Meanwhile, they drop to the floor to prop their head up on their front paws - a pose that their current body is not made for, it can't be comfortable, but they're making it happen anyway - and smile winningly up at Laios.]

So what has my dear friend been up to? You know, since you've been so busy!

[What with trying not to shiver, though, they've forgotten about keeping their tail up to match the rest of their body language - it's low, swishing anxiously.]

[...right. Why did they bother trying to name a color again?]

[Siffrin finishes stretching out their back legs and straightens entirely to their feet.] Sure, makes sense!

["Past Skull Town" is unfortunately still pretty broad - it's safe to assume that it's in the direction away from the Bay, and therefore the forest, but that's still a lot to cover. Half the valley, and then all three of the new areas. Siffrin would like to say that they can at least eliminate Icefall Lake, based on it becoming more inaccessible, but what if that's the reason Furfrou is still missing?]

[At least it's easy to start - the initial way across the valley, no matter where you're headed, is basically the same. Siffrin tests the air repeatedly as they trot along, sniffing for "doggy" smells that they don't recognize. And looking for footprints that stand out.]

[They pause where the route out of the valley branches and look up - waiting for Cedric to either swoop down to reconvene, or to flap off in a specific direction if he's seen something.]

[Right! ...where did they learn that again, did they eat something like this at some point? No, that's expecting way too much of their memory, never mind all that.]

[So! It's even more important not to fall on the way back up. Then... maybe they take the looser dirt path down, see how stable it is, and scout out the rockier one as they're passing the sections they're not sure about?]

[...let's go, Siffrin. Get to it.]

[When they can, they go headfirst, hopping from particularly stable ledge to particularly stable ledge, but they don't trust it when they can't see what's holding a ledge up. Or when they decide something's too far to jump - something that's kind of a tricky line to draw when you don't have depth perception. (Considering that, aren't all these jumps really risky, actually??) Those sections have them digging their claws and climbing down.]

[Since there's no one else around (you know. obviously), they don't bother trying to keep the fur on their tail from poofing out, when dirt shifts alarmingly under their paws... but being nervous about this doesn't seem to stop them. There sure isn't a lot of self preservation on display here!]

[They may need to be "reminded" to glance over at the other route, on the way down... but if they are, they take a look (or several) without seeming to notice anything amiss about their thoughts. And somehow, eventually, they do safely get to the cluster of ledges that has all of the Wattrel nests stuck to it. They settle on the largest of these to catch their breath.]

[Instinctively, they twist around to groom their tail, smoothing the fur back down. Something about doing that gives them the same feeling as when they take a deep breath in and out.]

[Shoka watches carefully as Siffrin makes their way toward her, only looking away once they've chosen a spot to settle. This is awkward, but at least the Pokémon she was sharing the room with have politely vacated the premises, apparently sensing the tension in the air. She exhales a sigh.

If nothing else, this is familiar, isn't it? Teasing each other over painstries?]

Well, aren't you an upstanding citizen?

[It should bring her some comfort, but her attempt at teasing them back is feeble, her voice weak with an undercurrent of genuine irritation.

She eyes the untouched bag sitting on the floor before her. It smells good, but it also makes her stomach turn. When was the last time she ate?]

What's the catch? You line the bag with another one of your Electrowebs?

[They catch the irritation, but... it's fine. They were braced for it. Loop's good at having people irritated at them! And besides, that's not the point.]

I knew I was missing something. I'll just have to booby trap the next one!

[If this were... oh, a week-and-change ago, this might have been the moment where they hesitantly tried to ask how she was doing. But back then they hadn't remembered, or fought with her, or anything else. So, do they have the right to ask anymore?]

[They... open their mouth, and then close it again without saying another word.]

[They inspect her scattered sewing supplies out of the corner of their eye instead, trying to find hints in them indirectly. Her room in general.]

[...they should apologize, too. They're... working on that. Figuring out how to start.]

[Cedric has the same thought regarding Icefall Lake; unless Furfrou's ice fishing, what reason would they have to go there? Not ruling it out completely, but there's no point prioritizing it over Furnace Mountain and Heavy Downmoor. Not that either of those places are going to be pleasant either...

Still, he keeps within view of his lion buddy and looks out for any flicker of white or some fluffy mass moving below the trees. When Siffrin reaches the split, he swoops down to join him, and doing so helps him spot some tufts of fur clinging to the low branches. He gestures to them with a wing.]

That must be them... heading towards the mountain. [There's a hint of dread in his tone; he can't imagine such a creature feeling comfortable near a large heat source if the name's as accurate as he thinks it is.]

[Siffrin follows the direction Cedric gestures and pads over to the tree, rearing up on their hind legs and bracing their front paws on the trunk. This gets them tall enough - just about Furfrou height - that they can sniff at the fur tufts. Darkless fur... they're pretty sure that lines up to "white," but they can never be entirely confident.]

Smells doggy! [they agree cheerfully. And matches one of the scents they were trying to follow.] There's a different doggy smell in the direction of the Downmoor, but if you haven't seen anything else...

[It makes sense to start with Furnace Mountain. They swish their tail once and turn in that direction, going at a surprisingly rapid pace for their outwardly-relaxed attitude. They alternate between looking ahead and at the ground, checking for pawprints, and sniffing every once in a while - want to make sure they're still following the scent trail, and that they notice when it goes haring off the main path.]

Maybe Furfrou was trying to go somewhere that matched their name. [Get it, because Fur-nace Mountain... teehee.]

[The next one. Implying there will be a next one?]

Bummer. Well, luckily for you, I'm not hungry anyway, so.

[So the bag remains untouched.

Her room, by virtue of being shared with so many other Pokémon, doesn't look all that much like her room. Still, Siffrin might recognize her cellarette situated in one corner of the den with a number of items—layers of fabrics, small pouches, a snow-white cloak—piled up atop it. It looks like she hasn't left in a while and hasn't bothered to keep the space tidy.

The sheet of parchment laid out before her appears to be a guide on how to sew a plush version of some sort of four-legged, catlike Pokémon. A piece of plain black fabric lying on the cavern floor near Siffrin's paws, cut into a three-pronged shape that might be a head and two front legs, suggests that she'd only just started work on it before losing the will to continue.]

... So are you just gonna sit there, or...?

[Shoka isn't sure what she expects Siffrin to do. She knows that Siffrin, by their own admission, isn't very good at talking (though she wonders if that's still true). She doesn't even need an apology, even if a part of her is still angry with them. She probably owes them an apology, really, for pushing them during their search for Noelle and for being unappreciative of them now. It's not like they had to show up at all, after all, and they must be going through it themself.

She wants them to make good on their promise to catch up with her, maybe, but that could be asking too much. If it were her, she's not sure that she'd know how to start either. She doesn't even know how to start saying the things she should say.]

[ Fine, they say. If you ask him, he's certainly not feeling fine, but he can't be the one to get into it first. ]

... O-okay. [ He paws at his bone before sliding it behind him. ] I do have some blankets. Just so you know.

[ As much as he can't match Siffrin's cheeriness, Laios can at least play a decent enough host. Though, he can't help but stare at the way they hold themselves now. That does not look comfortable, buddy, even for a feline. ]

I was at the Spire for a bit. Helping with that new project? [ He pauses, distracted at the twitching tail before shaking his head a bit. ] But mostly just working with the Miltanks and Wooloos lately. N-need plenty of wool and milk for the winter! [ He wants to follow with a laugh, but all he can manage is an awkward smile. ] You've been busy too, S... Siffrin?

Probably wet doggy. [Said in a mutter, but he's not trying to hide the statement from Siffrin; it's more a jab at Downmoor than it is at him, Cedric felt soaked for two days straight after going there with Impmon.

He does, however, let out a light snort at the pun; despite the serious situation, he's always been a sucker for them.] Well I'm sure they'll be frou with the heat once the time we find them. [You can practically hear the ba-dum-tsh through the trees.

A-anyway, he keeps a close eye on his companion and any other signs as they continue down... is it getting warmer or that just him? Whatever's going on, he feels the natural inclination to open his beak in the hopes of staying cool. It's fine, they're fine, they'll find the doggo soon enough before it collapses from heat stroke, right... right...?]

[Siffrin's ear twitches, and they lift their eye from the lightless shape in front of them.]

Until you kick me out!

[Fortunately(?) for the two of them, while the Siffrin of before would have spent hours overthinking whether they should bring up the "catching up" at all when they're here to check on how she's doing, or whether it's been too long already, or if it'd be making this about them... Loop is good at making things about them! Teehee! It's an easy choice to launch into next, if only to have something to say.]

I said we'd catch up later, didn't I? So I'm here to catch up!

[Though verdict still pending on whether the actual catching up and explaining things is going to be as easy.]

A-and.

[This part's harder. But for the same reasons that it's harder (they can't be flippant about it), it sounds more like the "Siffrin" from before. They're looking to the side, ear flipped back.]

I'm sorry.

[For...?]

For running away and dropping you in a bush, and. For not coming to apologize sooner.

[Sometimes you just have to suffer for the Vibe! The "I am totally relaxed and making myself at home" Vibe! Maybe doing it in a more cat-like way would have been better, but they can't quite make themself flip onto their back and sprawl out that way, they're too tense...]

[On the other hand. The idea of rubbing against the inside walls of Laios's hut is kind of funny. Maybe they'll do that later. (They let the blanket offer by without comment.)]

Oh, just the usual! Quests, helping build roofs on the Canopy huts... I was wondering why I never saw you around, even though you live here!

But that explains it! You were just busy with the Miltanks.

[Their eyes are curved up into crescents, but uncharacteristically, they're looking directly at Laios.]

They will be on the way back! [Siffrin concurs brightly. They've experienced the Downmoor more than enough times themself.]

[Their ear perks, and they snicker appreciatively - oh?? Another punster?? They're just opening their mouth to pun back outright when, for the flicker of a moment, their expression goes odd. (Are they still allowed to have puns be their thing? ...argh, no, later problem. They focus again. But they never did give Cedric a response pun...)]

[Siffrin's generally preferred hot to cold, particularly now as a cat-shaped Pokemon - but as the two of them wind further through the rocky crags, even they have to admit this is getting a bit much. Instinctively they want to pause to lick their fur, but that would require stopping, so for now they just resign themself to bearing it.]

[At least the heat also makes the probably-Furfrou's scent trail very prominent. At one point they cross a patch of (dried-out) dirt, and Siffrin notices some very faint impressions of dog-like pawprints. They lift their tail and indicate them - though perhaps Cedric's spotted those before they did?]

[As they pass the prints, a Slugma peers curiously out at them from a wide crack in the rocks. Maybe it makes sense to ask them if they saw someone pass by...?]

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November+December Catch-All

Cheri Housing, during the blizzard (Laios)

Oran Housing, backdated to the day after Noellequest (Shoka)

Furfrou's Sake! (Cedric)

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Bone Appetit (Chara)

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me giggling over the bone

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his comfort bone in these trying times

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