Comelossiem: Blink and Missing [Closed]

[cedricthegreat]

Who: Cedric + Archnemon Hatenna
What: Searching for Rotom
Where: North Woods, mostly
When: Mid-February, mid-Quest
Warnings: Social awkwardness /shot

As they gathered information to find this Rotom friend, Cedric settles into his usual rhythm when it comes to rescue quests: fly up, seek anything shiny (in this case, blinking lights) or resembling "footprints", point them out to his companion.  He concentrates so much on the routine that he hardly notices the chattiness (or lack thereof) of the hopping purple party hat; said routine is very familiar to him at this point.

Almost too familiar.  For after he ponders the details, he starts to notice a pattern, and he's reminded of his conversation with Akechi about events "repeating themselves" around here.  So instead of venturing further, he drops down next to Hatenna and finally speaks.

"Were you one of the parties that searched for Furfrou, by any chance?"

Comments

oof, hope you're feeling better!

[wovensecrets]

It did seem unseasonal, unless what was potentially lost happened in an area that needed more airflow at the time. She tries to rationalize what seems more important to prioritize. She's quiet for a moment, one of her hair tendrils twirling slightly in an imitation of a fan's rotation.

"Rotom tend to specialize in assisting with powering things, so maybe there was somewhere they had been before that reminded them of when it was needed..."

I am, thankfully!

[cedricthegreat]

"Something that compelled them to go..."

He's not a weather expert, but traditionally cold winds come from the north. Is the North Woods known for its winds? That might explain why the Rotom was near there.

He finds himself staring at Hatenna's hair, for the twirling motion is oddly mesmerizing, before shaking his head to snap out of it.

"Then perhaps we should follow the wind. I may not have my wand for a tracking spell, but I can at least fly and feel where it-"

We don't belong here.

Cedric freezes up, abruptly folding his wings back into his body. Another intrusive thought? Is this just like last time? Did he forget to unblock Flowey on the Grumpearl?

The déjà vu might be getting to him. As he tries to keep his cool after that discomfort, he steals a glance at Hatenna, to see if she felt anything, too.

[wovensecrets]

Hatenna had been filing away all of Cedric's considerations, about to voice a response when that thought suddenly flits in, causing her to pause.

We don't belong here.

"Right..." She mutters, and he might notice she seems a little annoyed, wincing, even if her eyes are hidden behind a fringe, but something in her stance shifts.

"You might be on to something, though the North Forest isn't so much known for it's wind but for its annoying spores, if that's the direction you're thinking of. Having someone able to create a wind effect to keep it at bay would have been useful for navigating through there."

[cedricthegreat]

His eyes widen as he notices the shift. Not just him. What is going on with these quests? Some sort of Psychic influence?

Whatever it is, the North Forest sounds quite unpleasant after her description, and something tells him they should be going more in. He opens his wings and flies back up with a newfound gusto. "I don't think we'll need to worry about that - I don't do well with spores anyway. Follow me!"

'Wind effect', however, doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Maybe he can...?

Cedric moves forward, his wings flapping more vigourously than before. If wind is air, then it only makes sense if a Flying type could...

[wovensecrets]

Her land speed can't quite keep up with his fly speed, but at least being a psychic type has it's advantages. His pearl will begin buzzing once they've had a chance to cover some ground. If he chooses to answer.

'Notice anything yet?'

It helps to have a method of communicating if he runs the risk of getting too far ahead on a whim.

'If they came here for some purpose before, it could be further in. These woods used to be much more difficult to navigate.'

Not that there wasn't still a level of potential problems, but it seemed prudent at this juncture to make sure their communications were established.

[cedricthegreat]

He flinches when she hears her voice in his mind - you'd think he'd be used to that now with the Grumpearls, but they weren't often used during his previous quests.

Thankfully, he recovers quickly and ponders over her last point. She seems to know quite a bit about this area's history, she must be even more experienced than he thought. Something he'll need to ask her about later.

'Further in' definitely sounds right to him. He focuses on the darker patches of the woods and- is that a flash he just saw? Maybe they're close!

"I see something!" he caws out, and suddenly his flapping produces a large Gust that blows aside the thick foliage. Cedric stops midair - did he do that? Poseidon's pumpkin, he produced another move! He feels so powerful!

Hearing Hatenna behind him, he calms down and regains his composure - of course, he meant to do that, who ever thought he couldn't? But more importantly, his Gust uncovered a certain red Pokémon resting on the ground, barely visible through the grass with its blinking light.

[wovensecrets]

It seems correct; she knows enough of the marked paths to know they're on their way to the Forest's Heart if they don't stray. His timely gust seems to affirm that fact once the clearing is revealed.

"Well this is familiar... keep an eye out in case there are any attackers around."

She doubts it, given they'd managed to evade any so far, but she'd had her share of experiences to be wary.

[cedricthegreat]

"Right!" Said a little too fast, thanks to the adrenaline rush. He can make winds, like some powerful twister spell!

Ehem, anyway, he does follow the instruction and observes their surroundings. In the heart of a forest is often hiding wildlife, so that could only remain true here. Not all of it is bound to be friendly. Yet it continues to be quiet, and he wonders if that's a good or bad thing.

She's correct, though, this is familiar. Like the sleeping Furfrou - is Rotom also asleep? Is everyone here asleep? Maybe that's why it seems so still...

[wovensecrets]

It is too quiet. She doesn't like it, but it doesn't seem too likely they'll be disturbed the more they're able to approach. The air doesn't seem to be too abundant in leftover spores, as though Cedric's application of wind attacks had done much to clear anything lingering. While he keeps watch, she quickly shuffles her way over to their target.

She's no nurse, but experience and psychic abilities come in handy for assessing. She can tell there's a hint of fever, indicating some kind of illness. Didn't seem to be caused by the usual conditions, given the lack of response to the carefully chosen berries in her satchel. It's just the same as before with Furfrou; even the emotional readings didn't give too much else to go on.

"No physical injuries, at least, but they've been pushed beyond their limits in some way to be this exhausted... you'll be able to help carry them, right?"

We don't belong here. Ugh, there it was again.

[cedricthegreat]

He has been grateful for the lack of spores; not that his allergy, dandelions, is typically present this deep in the woods, but you never know. This would be the worst time for him to discover he's allergic to some random foreign plant, too.

He shudders at the thought again, distracting himself by clearing away some loose twigs with his wings. Not a full Gust, but he'll work on that; knowing he can do it in the first place makes a huge difference.

"Yes, of course." He flaps over to the two of them and gingerly hooks his talons around the rescuee's... very strange body. Rotom's definitely small enough, so this is easy enough so long as it doesn't wake up and suddenly zap him. But if this is at all like Furfrou, that's very unlikely; only the clinic will be able to stir the poor thing.

[wovensecrets]

Much as anticipated, the Rotom shows no sign of stirring even once Cedric manages to get a hold on the plasma-like being. If only they had something container-like to make the process easier, but they'd have to work with what was on hand. She readies a Light screen.

"Let me know if you have any issues. We need to leave." She doesn't know if psychic shielding would help keep Rotom together, but she does have electro-web as a back up plan. If it came to that.

[cedricthegreat]

He stiffens when he catches the light out of the corner of his eye, until he recognises the shield. Right, of course. How does this Hatenna manage to make him feel secure and on edge at the same time?

"N-no issues here." Cedric takes him and Rotom's form off the ground and is already backtracking to town. As small and light as it is, carrying does slow him enough that Hatenna should be able to keep up all right.

[wovensecrets]

It seems an accurate response to being around someone so guarded and yet adaptable. Hatenna prioritizes the mission, which means seeing that they are able to safely return back to the clinic with their charge.

"We're not out of the woods yet, but we should make for the Clinic. I'll reach out once we arrive to get Lickitung to meet us there, while you keep an eye on our 'charge'."

... She's offering because she thinks that makes the most sense, though mostly she's trying to avoid getting too close to the clinic itself. Not the best location for her to be within enough radius of with her particular issues.

That and with the rate some pokemon seem to vanish from the clinic after checking in, she wants to make sure their quest-giver is on the scene to verify everything with someone keeping an eye on Rotom.

[cedricthegreat]

He nods, taking a moment to reply properly as carrying Rotom is now taking most of his efforts.

When he speaks, his voice sounds strained. "Trust me, they're not going anywhere." Seems silly when they're unconscious anyway, and not likely to wake up, but he's not going to question her concerns at this point.

Once he has sight of the town, he's going to make a clear beeline for the clinic. Thankfully, this is easier to do in the air, and he's going to keep above the buildings so he's still within Hatenna's line of sight.

[wovensecrets]

If nothing else, she's certainly familiar with the ground routes to get there, even if she's less eager to be approaching the clinic.

Still, she does as promised, mentally reaching out to find the original quest giver to alert them of their return and where they were headed-- and Lickitung will be already waiting there once they get close enough to the place to greet them.

"Looks like he didn't waste any time..."

Though hard not to wonder how many times it's been for the pair, or if they're the first.