bottlecaplogs | [closed] forest foray

Who: Ren and Maya
What: Questing!
When: December
Where: The Southern Forest
Warnings: None at this point, will amend if needed!

There haven’t been any traces of a shadowy Deerling in town, which is a shame, but… someone like that would be sure to have been noticed, right?

Outside of town offers more chances to see if anyone’s spotted anything. With the colouration Noelle described to Ren and Maya, it’s likely to be trickier to spot them- but at the same time, maybe that means it’s more likely that they stayed out of town for that purpose. Questioning the Pokemon living outside does at least give them the information that there have been some shadow-coloured Pokemon around- though they don’t appear to have seen a Deerling specifically.

Still, that’s at least some kind of lead! Where there’s one Shadow, there might be others. Presumably. Maybe! It makes Maya a little anxious, truthfully, but- it’s a different situation. Maybe it’s just heading out into the forest on a full quest. She’s much more of a city person, so she turns to Ren, head tilted and offering him a smile. “I’ll bet you know more about tracking than I do, so… how do we start?”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ren hums, sitting back for a moment. He sniffs the air, ears twitching.

"Best we can do is head in and keep our eyes peeled. From what the locals told us, there are shadowy Pokemon around." He tilts his head a little. "If we can find something out of the ordinary, that could be a good lead. Like..."

He sniffs the air again- he's no dog Pokemon, but he's still decent enough at scent. Fireheart taught him a thing or two, after all. Not that he immediately smells anything, but as he looks around, he notices the way some of the foliage has been bent out of shape, ever so slightly. Off the beaten path, not following where other Pokemon walk.

"There, you see that?" He points at what he found. "Someone came through there." There's no guarantee it's related to their target, of course, but it's a start. "Let's follow that, for now. Though, if you see, smell, or hear anything that doesn't seem right, that'd be a good lead, too."

Something out of the ordinary… She watches where Ren's looking, and does her best to follow his gaze. That's fairly straightforward to learn by example, at least, and she nods when he points out the bent foliage.

"If you're trying to keep quiet, you want to stay away from the commonly used paths… That makes sense."

Seeing and hearing she can do! Scent seems a bit more difficult, and certainly harder to pick up from observation. Still, she leans in to some of the foliage as they pass, taking a sniff- no, she's just getting the smell of plant here. How annoying!

The trail Ren's found continues on for a little while, though it takes a sudden turn. Maya stops, looking around, frowning. She's listening, but… "This doesn't look like it'd be where they stopped," she says. There's a little bit of noise, like someone's moving, but- in the distance. "So if I was going to conceal where I was going next… I'd look for a natural passage?" Does that make a difference, when it's bushes and plants? Still- there does seem to be dark fur, snagged on a thorn where someone might have wiggled past.

"Sounds about right," Ren hums quietly. His ear twitches, instinctively trying to angle itself towards the noise... but it's too far away to get a proper read on it. Hmm. "Let's see what we can find."

He keeps his eyes peeled, trying not to disturb the foliage too much himself. After a few moments of him and Maya looking around, his nose catches something that doesn't quite belong- and his eyes fall on it moments after Maya's.

"That looks promising." Especially considering their target is a dark-furred Deerling. It looks a little too small to fit one, but it's the best lead they've got so far. He's certainly fit through places he had no business crawling through before. "You wanna go first? Or me?"

He's used to going first as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, but this isn't the Metaverse, and his mission partners here aren't the Phantom Thieves.

She's much less used to squeezing through places, but on the other hand- she's worried about what might be on the other side. She can probably take it- and she suspects she'll be able to squish through more easily now, at least. "Would you object if I did?"

He shakes his head. "I wouldn't." He's not attached to going first, really. Besides, it's just plants and bushes. Worst case scenario, Maya will trample some of it. "Careful not to get caught on the thorns, though."

He's got a few Oran Berries in case they get hurt, but he'd rather keep them for later.

"Got it!" It wouldn't be the first time- the things she does for stories, sometimes!- but it's never pleasant. Maya pushes through, trying to squish herself a bit smaller to avoid thorns- though one still snags her. She bites down on a hiss, trying to keep quiet, as while it looks like the path opens up ahead- it looks like it's travelled more often, too, with other paths joining in.

"We might be getting closer," she says, stepping forward carefully- but while there is fur again, there are also footprints- but more pawlike than hooved.

Ren follows close behind her, his ears twitching as they emerge. There's something in the air... he can't quite place it.

He frowns a little at the footprints. "Not hooves," he comments with a hum, but maybe... "There's a chance whoever left these knows more, though."

He wrinkles his nose. No, really, something feels... off. He sniffs the air- but he can't quite make out-

A twig snaps right next to them, and a shadow dashes ahead- too quick to properly see who or what it was. His fur stands on end, and he turns to Maya.

"You saw that, right? Let's follow them before they're gone."

She jumps- that was too close! How did they not notice-!? How did she not notice-

It's definitely not the time for that, though. She nods. "I definitely did! But we don't know where they're going…"

It's still an opportunity they can't afford to turn down, though, and with that look she at least has a direction to direct her attention towards. It seems they've left a few light imprints, by some stroke of fortune.

For whom seems a little more dubious, though, as the two of them break through into a larger clearing- with several shadowy creatures standing there, apparently waiting for the duo. Their shapes are… disconcertingly familiar. Maya puffs up in alarm, not sure whether to go forwards or back.

One tilts their head, an ear flicking. "Is something wrong? Aren't you glad to be home?"

Ren's right next to Maya in the clearing, before he freezes, eyes narrowing at the shadowy figures. Something about them is... that can't be...?

"Shadows? Here?" he hisses in disbelief. He's only vere seen one person meet their own Shadow, but Maya's told him some about her own interactions with them, and these- these are...!

Yellow eyes mirroring his own blink at him with a smile. Not his human form, but his pokemon form. Don't be like that, now. Let's play a little~

More of the creatures (shadows?) appear- these ones not copies of them, but rather less defined forms. Hard to make out, halfway hidden as they are.

"They did say shadowy figures, but this is definitely unexpected!" She's trying to keep an encouraging tone, but she's alarmed. Though- it seems a bit strange. What would have woken them to be like this? The yellow eyes, too, aren't what she and the others saw in Sumaru, but Ren recognises them…

"Play? What kind of play are you talking about?"

She tenses more, seeing those. But if they're not immediately aggressive… maybe they can still negotiate.

"Do we win something if we play well enough?"

There's cackling and giggling from the sidelines, leaving Ren tense. The Shadow(?) wearing Maya's face grins.

'It depends. What sort of game will you play with us? Don't be boring, now!'

Something about this feels awful familiar, now doesn't it? Except it's them that's surrounded, not the Shadows (he's still not sure that is actually what they are, but he hasn't felt any of his personas since he arrived here, so...). He quick goes over his options- if they're anything like what he's used to...

Something about them tells him upbeat. He glances at Maya, hoping she gets the idea, before he straightens himself to answer, trying to look relaxed. Unintimidated.

"You seem pretty smart. Maybe you can answer a riddle for us."

[closed] forest foray

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject