bottlecaplogs | november catchall

[ So, Odile's first actual quest didn't go quite as well as she'd hoped!

It was fairly well-planned, or so she'd thought. Her natural type advantages ought to have made her a natural at fending off those particular Pokemon. But of course, type advantages are not everything. She thinks they're actually somewhat less important than they are with Craft.

And, well, she's still an old woman. Maybe she got a little overzealous.

Odile fumes quietly as she sits in her clinic bed, icily allowing a nurse Pokemon to bandage up her injuries. She's not angry at them, she's frustrated with herself, but the poor Audino still looks a little nervous... ]

I'll be checking myself out when you're finished.

[ She's well recovered by the time the blizzard hits Bottlecap Bay. As an ice-type, Odile doesn't actually find these conditions too intolerable. It's remarkable, really, when she considers how she would have felt before this transformation. Regardless, joining the search effort for anybody out in the streets is an easy enough task for her.

She's not working entirely alone; the pearl network's useful for getting reports from psychics and the like. When she locates a Pokemon who seems to be lost, the Weavile approaches quickly, calling out: ]

Come with me!

[ Her ears are flattened against the wind, but the situation is too dangerous for her to get actually annoyed at anyone for venturing out in these conditions. Not yet, anyway. That sort of thing can happen to even the most seasoned traveler. ]

[ On the grand scale of getting snowed in, this is really not that bad. Odile still has access to the archives, so she should have no trouble keeping herself entertained. She can be found in the archives when she isn't venturing outside for stragglers. Really, it's fortunate for others that they're teleporting people in...she can't imagine being trapped in one of the other guild lodgings.

(She's worried about the Siffrins.)

Other Lum Berry members will get a nod, but not a verbal greeting unless they engage her. Anyone who's been brought in specially, though, will get: ]

Where are you coming in from?

[ After how badly last time went, Odile opted for a less combative quest this time. It suits her, anyhow; she does enjoy poking her nose into other peoples' business. Akechi and Dolly are two Pokemon she holds in good esteem, so she hasn't been forcing herself into any sort of leadership position. She takes notes, and interjects the occasional sharp question if she thinks there's something they missed.

As they're just about ready to set out after Furfrou properly, she takes a moment to review their information. ]

- "making it right". I'd love to know what that means. We have reports of tracks along a specific trail near the lake, so we should likely start there. And th -

[ "They're going to leave me behind."

...what? Odile stops speaking suddenly, eyes narrowing and darting to the others. Did one of them hear that too...? ]

[ It was nice, definitely nice especially after the previous quest. There was no exploding autumn berry ghosts or being turned into a ghost type for a few days with this one. Both Odile and Akechi were great to work with, it felt much like how it was back at that little Scooby Doo club Dolly had ran for three decades. ]

[ Thinking cap on, what exactly does 'Making it right' mean? Had Furfrou gotten into something like an altercation or... ]

[ ...what was that?! That hadn't been from Akechi or Odile and it most certainly didn't come from Dolly. ]

..Where did that come from?

[Flowey manages to get himself teleported in. If he doesn't get something to read, he'll really snap. He can only do so much playing nice with new people before he's sick of it--

Oh, speaking of. He's about to give a snarky response and hop away, but he recognizes her somehow. But he can't quite place it.

Well, now he's curious. The books can wait.]

The Canopy! Good thing we got all that weatherproofing done, right? Our lodgings are a little more rugged than yours. [There's just a touch of bitterness in his words.]

[Akechi shivers, though a flash of recognition crosses his face.]

I experienced something similar while rescuing Zweilous. Thoughts and feelings projected with no apparent source...

[Slowly, his eyes narrow.]

Perhaps Furfrou's disappearance is related. But, if so, it's entirely possible that they'll wander off again.

[But that's a matter for later. First, they have to complete the mission.]

I see...

[ Odile's unnerved, though it's difficult to tell with her generally stern demeanor. How common are psychic...disruptions, here? ]

Well, I suppose it doesn't change our next steps. Though perhaps it's something to keep in mind. It did sound to me as though Furfrou may have been involved with something.

That's why I chose Lum.

[ Odile doesn't actually realize, yet, that getting multiple offers the way she had was unusual. ]

You should unionize.

[ ...Okay..that is something Dolly hadn't counted on here. This had happened before? Maybe there's a connection between the two incidences? ]

May I ask? What happened with the Zweilous rescue? Maybe there's a common factor at play here.

[ Yep, ask questions and try not to freak out over spectral disruptions, it's fine, totally normally fine. ]

[Not this crap again.] Easier said than done. Half the guild is operating under Ribombee's brainwashing. I had to get everyone to build roofs ourselves so the rest of us who aren't his little pets wouldn't freeze to death.

... You do know that most people get chosen rather than 'choosing' their guilds, right? [Show off.]

...I didn't. [ Interesting. ] I suppose they were particularly disorganized about mine.

[ Or, rather - she suspects Polteageist made that little power play on purpose. Odile sort of knew that from the start, and was a little annoyed to reward it...but, really, she's not living in a treehouse without a roof in the middle of winter.]

[... Interesting way of trying to play it off. He strongly suspects she's thinking something along the lines of "at least I don't have to live in a tree house without a roof in the middle of winter," though (an obvious thought to have) which pisses him off.]

Disorganized is right! That idiot who calls himself our guildmaster mixed up both the Siffrins and has them living together... even though one of them publicly announced they wanted to kill the other.

[As he says that, it begins to dawn on him how he recognizes her.]

... seems like SOMEONE helped them figure it out, though.

[Rather than dawdle, Akechi moves along. Fortunately, it's easy enough to multitask and recount the experience.]

Zweilous went missing multiple times, each time ending up in a different location. The clinic staff had no explanation for how they escaped detection, and each time they were found, lost in a slumber so deep, we were unable to rouse them.

[It's foreboding, certainly, and his expression turns grim.]

Ha! I'm sure they didn't help.

[ Since when are either of those two forthcoming with anything? Odile imagines they just didn't want to make a fuss by pointing out that they were two separate people (literally not even the same kind of Pokemon).

As it happens, she hasn't said anything about that to Ribombee. Odile's not in the business of sharing anything about Siffrin(s) with others. It feel too private, too vulnerable - a family matter, or something like it. More to the point, this little seed has clearly somehow recognized her, or at least her relationship to them. ]

You know the two of them?

Have they woken up at all since?

[ She's aware of the comas that seem to befall some Pokemon here. They say that some victims have since recovered...but by her reckoning, that's a minority. ]

[ That certainly was an ominous foreshadow as Dolly doesn't have great hopes for Furfrou after learning that. Sure she understood there was a sleeping illness of some kind going on, but this was something else... ]

I'm echoing Odile, did Zweilous awaken some point afterwards or are they still deep in slumber?

[ Or did Zweilous fully disappear all together? Dolly couldn't bring herself to ask that one... ]

Zweilous eventually awakened, though there's something peculiar about them.

[How to put it...]

Despite being rescued multiple times, they only seem to recall one rescue at a time. For instance, when I asked, they recalled my team being their saviors. Yet, multiple teams came to their aid.

[So would it change, depending on who asked? There's something ominous afoot...]

...and they remembered differently with others?

[ Curious. She'd like to dig into that further, once they're back...or maybe once they find Furfrou. ]

Do I KNOW them?! Ha ha... Golly, we're GREAT friends! Just the best! [His stupid smile barely contains his rage.]

The Shinx and I go WAY back. Sure, maybe we had a few rough patches. All good pals do! [He thinks about all the times he tried to bait them into killing him, tormented them about their deepest fears...] ... but we had a great mission exploring recently! Right before... gosh, you know! [Suddenly changing everything about themself right when he thought they had an understanding and then publicly announcing their desire to kill someone!

God, he hates them so much. (No, he doesn't. (Yes, he does.) (No, he doesn'--)))]

The Meowth is just great! [Actually, all he hates about him is their sense of humor. Other than that, they've been fine. A vision of what could have been? (No, it's all part of his master plan to make them like him.)] Quite a jokester, that one!

... But I take it YOU know them better than lil ol' me! [Rather than tell her exactly what he knows, he decides to keep her on her toes. Maybe she'll reveal something interesting.]

[ Odile watches all of this impassively, one eyebrow cocked. What's this kid even trying to do? She's not stupid, she's not missing the obvious strain in that smile. Still, she doesn't see a reason not to respond. ]

Yes, we're from the same world. My name is Odile. You may use "she" and "her" pronouns when referring to me.

[ A very Vaugardian affectation, that. Her use of it tends to give away a little more than she likes, in one way or another, but that's moot in this other world, in these other forms. ]

[ Had this been told outside of the current situation, Dolly would've thought it had come from an old anthology show from the sixties she had enjoyed. However, this was different and a lot more concerning. ]

Or do they recall what they were doing before they disappeared the first time?

[Hm? ... Oh, he forgot about gender for a second.]

... Call me Flowey! "He" is just fine by me! [He honestly doesn't care. As far as he's concerned, he kind of stopped being a person when he became a flower, much less a seed.]

So! You were in a party together, huh? Saved the world?

Saved Vaugarde, at least.

[ It actually sounded as though the King intended to stop there. But as curious as Odile tends to be, she never would have had the patience to try interrogating him. That man needed to die. ]

He told you about the King, then?

[ How much, exactly? She very much doubts that any version of Siffrin has been running around talking about that most recent loop - which is the only one she knows anything about. What story are other people hearing? ]

[Who's this "he"...? Oh, right, the other Siffrin uses those pronouns in addition to they/them. That answers another one of his questions. No wonder Loophole was so upset!]

Yup. What a real nasty piece of work. Good thing Siffrin put him out of his misery, right?

november catchall

first quest aftermath.... (clinic)(backdated a bit)

blizzard

snowed in (lum berries / archives)

furfrou's sake (for akechi and dolly)

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context: siffrinx had a vision of their party members as pokemon once during a TDM & flowey saw

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