April Catch-all

[firealone]

Who: Firepaw and all his various friends (including an open prompt!)
What: Quests, training, feelings jams, etc etc etc
Where: All over the place!
When: April
Warnings: References to cat injury/death in the Exhaustion prompt

(This is a fake cut, there's prompts below!)

Comments

Exploration: Northern Forest (Akechi, Ren and Junpei)

[firealone]

Even if his last adventure was pretty rotten, Firepaw is excited to be out in the woods again. The city is nice, but the soft dirt under his paws is something that just can't be beat. It has him in high spirits, even if he's struggling to adjust to the new masks they bought. He managed to find ones that would fit nicely on him and Ren, even leaving their whiskers mostly free, but he's not used to clothing and can't stop feeling keenly aware of the way it presses on his fur just a bit.

But it's important, and he can't afford another slip like he had in the southern forest.

"Alright - are we all ready?" He glances between his friends, speaking with as much authority as he can muster, "If we had more time to train, I'd say it was safest to move through the trees... but for now I think it's best if Ren and Junpei stay on the ground. If I climb up and move between the branches, Akechi will be able to fly, but he won't be alone if something happens to him. And if you're both on the ground, then you'll be together if something happens below."

[truthdecided]

"I'll try not to fly too high." For now, Akechi hovers above the group, low enough to be seen, but high enough to get a decent view at the path ahead. "We should be ready to fend off hostile Pokémon that may have already inhaled the spores. Additionally, if it's anything like before, even the plantlife isn't safe."

Humming, he looks down at Firepaw. "It may be wise to create some form of torch to light the way." Ren shouldn't carry it, of course. He's a grass type, but...

Swooping down, he picks up a stick in his talons. "I don't mind carrying it, since I've a bit more dexterity."

The others are quadrupeds, which limits how much they can carry.

[moondregs]

"You're pairing with Akechi ..." Junpei murmurs from beneath his mask, looking between the bird and the cat with an unsure expression in his button eyes.

He's tried not to dwell on the discussion he and Firepaw had had that one day they were gathering resources together. The Pokémon in charge had said it was fine. So it was fine. There was a difference between the birds in the forest and the birds in the guilds.

Shake it off.

Glancing towards Ren he gives him a nod in greeting, "I've been practicing breaking rocks and logs, so leave any obstacles to me. I'll give you a warning to stand back."

[colorsflyinghigh]

Ren hums in agreement with Akechi. "Yeah. We can see well enough now, but the deeper we get, the darker and more disorienting the forest gets. If we have a torch, we can look out for it even if we get separated."

It's probably also for the best that he stays on the ground. He used to be pretty nimble, but with the ache in his muscles (even if fainter now than before), he's probably not in the best condition to be jumping from branch to branch.

(Oh, how he misses his grappling hook, though.)

That- and travelling in pairs of two is probably safer anyway.

Having said his part, he turns to Junpei, giving him a sharp smile- though only his eyes are visible, under his mask. It is quite the adorable sight.

"Sounds good. I'm a little more immune to the spores, so I'll take the front until we get stopped by an obstacle." He looks at Akechi and Firepaw, then back to Junpei. "If I can smell any, I'll yell."

Mush to be Done (Emporio and Anasui)

[firealone]

It would have been reasonable for Firepaw to hesitate about spending more time around Anasui, after their first meeting. But Firepaw isn't always reasonable - before any other trait, he's friendly. It was actually his idea to bring them both along, so he could learn more about them. If Emporio liked this man, Firepaw is determined to also like him.

Firepaw greets them at the edge of the forest, rubbing his side against Emporio as a greeting and then politely dipping his head to Anasui. "I found a mushroom patch a few fox-lengths into the woods here - we should be able to get plenty without losing sight of the forest's edge."

[seacub]

It did not take long, after Polteageist extended the official invitation, for Emporio to introduce Anasui to the quest board. The idea of working up ranks might not really be on their minds, but the idea of doing something productive at least is.

Even if for likely different reasons.

Still, foraging is an easy one, and so Emporio beams and greets Firepaw as the other bunts along his side. "So, probably two steps for Anasui then," he can't help joke with a look to the espartha's legs. "That's probably for the best- if the forest is still causing any illness, we should keep an easy way out. Did your guild say much about the edible mushrooms here?"

[dripdrive]

It's not like Anasui wants to be here but at the same time he doesn't have anything better to do. And since he doesn't particularly dislike Firepaw, Anasui has no objections to foraging mushrooms. A mundane task, sure, but something simple is just what he needs, given his headache.

The Espathra grunts to acknowledge Firepaw's presence (which is actually one of his more pleasant greetings, funnily enough).

"Not my fault you're both tiny," Anasui mutters. He doesn't say much more than that, instead looking around. He squints in the gloom, trying to see if he can spot the patch of mushrooms from here.

[firealone]

"That's okay, I can keep up with you - although Emporio might have more trouble." Firepaw's whiskers twitch with amusement. "If we need to run away from something, you might need to pick him up."

He takes off toward the mushroom patch, trying to move slowly enough that the Cubone's stubby legs can keep pace. It is indeed visible to Anasui from their starting point - a fairly large patch of mushrooms, along with a few edible roots that are growing up through the ground. Some of the mushrooms are arranged in a fairy circle, although they've clearly spread a bit from there.

"I'm not actually sure how to pick these... I guess I can cut them with my claws? Or should I pull on them...?"

Mush to be Done (Firoza)

[firealone]

Firepaw doesn't know Firoza super well, but he does like her. She's been a very comforting presence since they first arrived, and especially helped to soothe the homesickness he felt early on. So he's very excited that she accepted his offer to go mushroom-hunting with him, mostly as an excuse to talk to her more. They've already set off into the woods and wandered around for a while before he speaks up.

"Ribombee mentioned roots, too, but I'm not sure how well I could dig them up..." He means it more in terms of his tiny cat paws, but he also probably doesn't have the energy for it. He's been visibly running on empty for a few weeks now.

[bladeofnymeia]

I could probably do that.

[Her own paws are pretty good for tearing things up - well, dirt, in this case. She's not too concerned about how they'll get to the various edible roots they're searching for.

But she is concerned for that visible exhaustion Firepaw is sporting.]

Have you been well, Firepaw?

[Let's start with a softball question first.]

[firealone]

Um... yeah, I'm fine.

[His fur prickles a bit, the same way it always does when folks ask him if he's okay. Most of the time he's not even sure how to answer it.

But he does feel bad about making everyone worried. He ends up sitting down, grooming a forepaw the same way one would pretend to tie their shoe.]

I think swimming less is helping, but... um... it's just hard to find time to sit down. It feels like something always needs to get done around here, which... I guess is a lot like it was back home. But more.

[At least he isn't feverish from the water on top of all his self-imposed duties, anymore.]

[bladeofnymeia]

Mm, 'tis clear that this is a town perpetually in need.

[She won't argue that point - it takes a village to maintain...a village. Making sure there are enough resources and that the metaphorical trains run on time don't happen out of nowhere.]

Which means it is all the better that the burden can be shared. [Not so subtly telling him "hey, sometimes it's okay to take time for yourself, there's a safety net of people doing things here".] No one person can do everything, or be expected to. Did you not work together with your fellows back home, when the need arose? In certain things, at least.

Mush to be Done (Siffrin)

[firealone]

As always, Firepaw will take every opportunity he can to hang out with anyone vaguely cat-shaped. He invited Siffrin along to mushroom-hunt, but it's mostly just an excuse to chatter, and maybe share some of his knowledge of how to cat. They're about halfway to the mushroom patch he picked out, when a thought occurs to him.

"Hey - did you ever end up remembering your name?"

That seems important - he's been referring to them as Shinx but never actually followed up on the name thing.

[loopsiedaisy]

Siffrin is much more comfortable on four paws at this point than about a month ago! Which isn't to say they can match up to Firepaw's level of coordination yet, particularly with their depth perception problems. But they can trot alongside him confidently enough, leaping over tree roots and not having to worry about getting their legs tangled if they're not thinking about it.

(They do miss having thumbs, though.)

Oh! They never did let him know, right. They didn't mind Firepaw still calling them Shinx - when it's just coming from one person, it seems more like a friendly nickname than a replacement.

"I did! It's Siffrin."

It must be, with how familiar it felt, even though they still have the nagging feeling they're missing something. But they've already been telling everyone to call them that, so!

"I still don't remember much from before I showed up here, but since that came back, I'm sure it all will eventually."

It's kind of a relief to think it's the fog's fault, and that if something gives them a terrible feeling, they don't have to try harder to remember it. It'll come back at the fog's pace, they're not to blame!

[firealone]

"Oh good - Siffrin it is, then."

Every human (or at least non-cat) name he's heard so far sounds foreign to him, but so did his own housecat name. Who knows what 'Rusty' means, not him.

"Well, I'd love to hear about everything you can remember - and that goes for whenever the rest comes back too. Everyone's worlds are very different, and that alone makes them worth talking about."

Firepaw himself isn't entirely sure if he wants to fog gone, but he hasn't really told anyone about that. It feels a lot more comfortable to hunt wildlife, when they're acting berserk anyway. But he'll definitely work toward clearing the fog if it helps Siffrin out.

[loopsiedaisy]

Let's see - what do they remember, that Firepaw might be interested in? It's kind of in bits and pieces, all over the place. They remember much more about their friends, now, though embarrassingly still not their names. They remember they were on a quest to stop someone who was freezing the country of Vaugarde in time, which is interesting, but kind of dark as casual conversation material.

"I traveled a lot, so it's hard to know where to start..."

They remember sitting under a tree for a while, or maybe over and over. They're not sure why that was so important, or who they were talking to, though...

They raise their nose to sniff the air, trying to practice what Firepaw was telling them about scents. The smell of wet dirt makes them think of storms, and reminds them of something else:

"Oh! There's a lot more types here, than there were in the place I came from. And it's kind of weird that they're not connected to shaping the world around you." Or at least not as directly...

"Did the place you came from have less types too?"

FINALLY EXPLORING THE CITY (Shoka)

[firealone]

[ooc: i'm handwaving that they've probably explored the city a little in march too.]

Firepaw has mostly gotten a feel for the city - and better yet, he's getting used to the lights and noise of being around this many animals all the time. But it's still a lot, and he's still a cat with just as much sensitivity to it all.

On some night in mid-April, he invites Shoka out to go exploring again - although in this case it's not really exploring, because he had a spot in mind already. There's a building up on a hill that he manages to climb up the wall of, and help Shoka if she needs it. From there they can see the lanterns in the marketplace, and the few Pokemon that are still hanging around before bed.

"It's quiet up here - I've been coming up here whenever I start feeling too crowded in the canopy. Back home we weren't allowed to sleep anywhere except for the apprentice den so... it's nice, to have the option."

[telewarped]

Shoka is surprisingly agile for a legless creature. On top of the graceful leaps she's somehow able to pull off, her true body seems almost formless, claws and tendrils of shadow extending from beneath her cloth disguise to pull her with ease along the side of the building—but she does allow Firepaw to help her up the final ledge and onto the roof.

Once there, she shuffles to the edge to admire the lights glimmering below. It is quiet here—much quieter than home—but still almost nostalgic.

"Not a bad view either..."

When she was still a Reaper, she'd often Telewarp up to the top of 104 or Tower Records just to be above it all for a while, and to watch the streams of people and cars passing through the streets below like blood through the vessels of some huge, alive creature. Bottlecap Bay isn't really on the same level, but there's still some amount of nightlife down there, sparkling in the dark. It's nice; peaceful. Truthfully, she's probably needed a bit of a reprieve from the crowded dens of the Spire herself.

Firepaw's last comment earns a tilt of her disguise-head.

"Aw, but I thought your Thunder-club gave you true freedom?"

[firealone]

He still chafes at the idea of criticizing his old home, although it's getting easier to take it now that it's fully in the past. He's almost an adult now, and in the grand scheme of things ThunderClan feels like a tiny portion of his life story.

"More freedom than being a housecat, at least - there was no kitty door to lock, and no begging for wet food. But... there were still rules and expectations. Bluestar was understanding when I messed up, but um... I did get the sense that I was expected to stop messing up once I got my warrior name."

He pauses, and lets out a quiet sigh.

"It's not actually that different from here. ThunderClan apprentices hunt to bring back food for the Clan, they run errands for the medicine cat, clean out old bedding, patrol the territory's border, train their fighting skills... I know I don't have to help out everywhere, but staying still feels like wasting time. That's how the older cats always acted, at least, and... I don't want to disappoint Ribombee by slacking off."

Teaching a Dog to Hunt (Laios)

[firealone]

Firepaw has tried to teach a few Pokemon here how to walk, and occasionally how to fight, although he's quickly learned that not everyone can learn to move exactly like a cat. If nothing else, it's made him a little better at adjusting his lessons to suit the Pokemon in front of him.

But he really isn't sure how to work with a dog. Especially one as wiggly as Laios (although they all seem to be like that).

"Alright, before we actually try stalking anything, we should practice your form - we want to avoid an actual fight if we can. If the Pokemon catch you sneaking up on them they'll attack you, and some of their Moves can be really painful."

Or they'll ask what you're doing, which Firepaw considers markedly worse.

[dunchies]

Laios sits fully at attention, oddly composed despite the rush of emotions at that moment. Firepaw's offer to take him on a hunt had left him ecstatic, unable to think about much else until the time finally arrived. Despite himself, though, he knows better than to let his excitement overwhelm his movements too much, lest he make his teacher just as antsy. While definitely not the largest Pokémon here, the size difference is enough to keep him mindful, as any respectful student should be.

Containing himself is a much harder feat in this form than he first realized, however. Slowly, he feels himself start to slip, his tail twitching eagerly until Firepaw breaks the silence. He stands up almost immediately, relief washing over him.

"Right. Form," he repeats, ears flattening back as he lowers his stance. With a determined look, Laios stares off in the distance, recalling his father's prized hunting dogs at the ready. Then, he loosens just a bit, glancing at Firepaw for approval. "Something like that? Or maybe..."

He shifts a little without being told, widening his form this time. The mention of moves certainly makes his fur bristle slightly. "I keep forgetting these are Pokémon we're hunting, not just birds."

[firealone]

"Yeah - although we want to look for low-level Pokemon, so most of them won't have their most powerful moves yet. Fletchlings will Peck at you, Pidgeys will use Sand Attacks. I've been leaving Duckletts alone because they can shoot water at you, which really hurts Fire types like me, but I bet you could catch one."

For a dog (?), Laios's stance is pretty good. Firepaw can tell he used to be some sort of hunter or warrior back home (or whatever the Twoleg equivalent is), just from the way he holds himself. In turn, he tries to channel the way his mentors would inspect his form, looking for any minor thing to critique.

"The second stance is better - you want your paws to be just below your shoulders, so you can move more freely." That was his mistake when he was first teaching other folk to walk, assuming everyone could move their paws close to their chest like a cat. "Make sure you're as low to the ground as you can without stumbling, and keep your tail off the ground. But not too high up, or they'll see it over the grass."

Exhaustion is Catching Up (open!)

[firealone]

After another day of running errands for the Clinic, plus practicing his swimming (with a spotter this time), plus training with a few different sparring partners, plus gathering mushrooms yet again, Firepaw comes home and flops dramatically into his little nest of blankets. Instead of curling up, he just lays on his side, like a fluffy rug.

He's exhausted, his vision is swimming, and yet he can't sleep. And worst of all, the relative quiet of the canopy is giving his mind plenty of space to run. Space to think about home, how much he misses his old cat friends, how different he feels from all of his new friends, and... the sheer horror of his experience in the southern forest. He can still vividly remember walking through the ThunderClan camp, with the ground coated in blood and the sounds of cats in pain ringing in his ears. He can still see the hollow look in the eyes of Tigerclaw, who stood alone and blood-soaked on top of the Highrock, the tall boulder where only their leader was allowed to sit. It wasn't real, he had no reason to believe Tigerclaw would do anything like that... but it still clings to his mind.

He might stay in the canopy, looking despondent and troubled, or he might get up to take a walk. Either way, he could really use someone checking in on him. And this will likely happen a few times during the month, as he struggles to shake the gloom that's come over him.

[outbounds]

There are a lot of them running themselves ragged these days, aren't there? Ren, that Cyndaquil that's taken to Ingo, Firepaw...

Emmet's had his fair share of sleepless nights here. Mostly previously, when they were all still only just settling in, the close quarters of the Oran Berries' housing structure helping to stave off— certain feelings, but not all of it. He knows restlessness too, the desire to keep doing, keep moving, until eventually you exhaust yourself enough to collapse into sleep until you have to get up and inevitably do it all over again.

But he leaves it be, at first, when he initially notes Firepaw's odd mood and overall state in passing, whether it's via projects like the Litten's ongoing catalogue of scents, brief run-ins while running errands for the Clinic, collecting mushrooms, or otherwise— perhaps it is only temporary. The Zoroark's seen the kitten in company with a good number of the others here, after all; surely they are closer to the Litten, surely they'll have helped, and this will pass?

The mood persists. That. ... That is a little concerning.

(They'd prioritized Emporio first, back then, because the Cubone hadn't been responding to their calls, and who knows what might have happened with such a sudden cave in, under those conditions. Still. ... Still. He might be neither conductor nor Subway Master here, and Ingo doesn't even remember it ... but Emmet does, and as such, he has a responsibility to their passengers.)

Thus, the next time their tracks cross, late night wandering meeting late night wandering:

"... It is verrrry late. You know. Most of the places in the city are closed by now."

[firealone]

Firepaw freezes in place, as though he was caught doing a crime. He's still not completely used to the freedom of movement he gets at night - both his owners and the older cats of ThunderClan expected him to be in his bed after sunset. But- no, it's fine, he's allowed to be out here.

He sits down, and as soon as he stops moving the aching of his paws catches up to him, rooting him to the spot.

"I just needed to get some fresh air."

Which isn't a complete lie, at least, although there's maybe too much fresh air in the Canopy. But he is, slowly, starting to work on his habit of brushing everyone off when they check on him.

"...Actually, funny that I would run into you, I was... just thinking about our last quest together."

He'd been shaking when he finally snapped out of his hallucinations, although he hadn't accepted any comfort at the time. It had felt too complicated to explain, and to some extent it still does, although talking to Shoka has made it a little easier to process.