bottlecaplogs | [CLOSED] the only me is me

Entry tags:

[CLOSED] the only me is me

Who: Shoka Sakurane, Siffrin
What: Over the Brink
When: Mid-April
Where: ???
Warnings: Hallucinations, fog-induced paranoia, suicidal ideation, quest-typical peril

It only takes a few minutes for the search to go completely awry. Not only are the other teams and Chimecho conspicuously absent after Siffrin and Shoka teleport, but there's nothing even remotely familiar about their new surroundings. Open sky surrounds the stone platform they're standing on, and—while this is a fact that evades Shoka's notice, as a Pokémon that doesn't truly breathe—the air is suddenly thinner. To make matters worse, a few experiments with their Grumpearls make it clear that they won't be contacting home base any time soon. They aren't even able to contact each other, even while standing right next to one another.

Against her nature, Shoka tries to muster some optimism for Siffrin's sake. At least they still have her around to look after them, after all (so she jokes with some of her usual smugness), and they have plenty of supplies. Maybe they just wound up a little off course and Chimecho will be waiting for them right around the corner.

When Shoka starts to take a look around, however, it's immediately apparent that there really isn't any walking around the corner from here.

"Hey—Frinrin?" she calls out. "You're not scared of heights or anything, right?"

(A star, scared of heights. Hah.)

She's perched at the very edge of the platform—the edge that was there all along, obscured by the gnarled branches of trees—staring down into the sheer drop below. There's the fog they were warned about: an expanse of white spread out beneath them like a sea, wisps of it rolling like gentle waves against the stone. They're moored in its center, so high up that they're out of its reach.

Gazing out into the abyss at least reveals what they're really standing on: the top of a stone pillar. Several others just like it reach out through the fog, their peaks brushing the sky.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Who do you think I am - Odile?" Siffrin jokes back, realizing only belatedly that this might be an Odile Fact that Shoka doesn't actually know yet. Hm. Hopefully that won't be a problem for them later!

Either way, they peer over the edge, a ripple of slightly bristling fur going down their spine. This is the kind of height that gives you intrusive thoughts about what-if-you-just-jumped. They're not generally scared by them, but it makes them understand why someone would be... and wow are they glad they snuck out for this quest without Odile now. Can you imagine if she'd also gotten stranded here?!

They test the side of the pillar with their claws. ...in some spots it's solid rock, and in others pretty crumbly and unstable where roots have gotten to it. Neither is very reassuring for their prospects of climbing down!

"Duly noted," Shoka replies with an air of mischief. This is indeed a new Odile Fact for her, and she will remember it, for better or for worse.

Unlike Odile, Shoka herself has always loved heights. Even now, stranded in a mystery location, she can't help feeling exhilarated, seeing everything laid out beneath her and nothing but open sky above. Wind ruffles her ears; sunlight beats down on her disguise. The fog shrouds the base of the pillar. If she were to let herself slip off the edge right now, who knows how long it would take her to hit the ground?

Siffrin's approach cuts than line of thinking short. As they test the side of the pillar with their claws, Shoka searches for a pathway down. Tangles of thick roots are keeping the overall structure together—some appearing maybe just wide enough for a small Pokémon to stand on—but even as she watches, ledges that look for one moment to be sturdy enough to serve as a step are already crumbling, sending loose fragments of rock tumbling down into the mist.

"Well," she starts, "that's not exactly promising... But I guess we can't stay up here forever."

Even if someone were to come looking for them (it's hard for her to imagine that anyone would come looking for her, but maybe they would for Siffrin), would anyone think to check this high up? It isn't even visible from the ground, considering all the fog, and it isn't as if they left a trail of any kind to follow when they teleported here.

Speaking of teleporting...

"I think I might be able to Telewarp us down, but I can't promise it'll be a smooth ride..." Teleport isn't the exact same as Telewarp, after all, and the move is so new to her that she hasn't even had a chance to mention it to Siffrin before now. "You ready?"

Uh oh. Surely this won't be a problem for them later.

It doesn't even occur to Siffrin to that someone might come looking for them, despite just talking about Odile. They're not used to being looked for - chased down for answers, maybe? (That's not entirely fair... but they still don't think of it!) And even in a group, their lingering unconscious impression is how nobody in the town of Dormont was willing to risk their skin for Mirabelle. So! It's a given that it's up to the two of them to get themselves out of this mess.

Their ear twitches a few times, interested - that's new, isn't it? Wasn't she still missing being able to do that, not long ago? - and dubious at the same time. "Like we just got telewarped out here?"

Despite their words they shuffle closer to Shoka in case she needs to grab on. They've been teleported solo before without issues, and... they trust her.

How bad could it be?

"Uh, no," she replies with mock-offense. "This time I'm Telewarping us, and have I ever let you down?" Not giving Siffrin much time to consider if she has—or if she would—she touches a ghostly hand to their shoulder. "Just keep your hat on, all right?"

With that, the two of them are enveloped in golden light—and she does literally let Siffrin down, depositing them onto one of the thicker roots several feet below their starting platform, sturdy enough to hold them both. Her fingers tighten around Siffrin's leg to keep them (and herself, maybe) steady.

She lets out a breath that is half-laugh and half-sigh of relief. "Not bad, right?"

It'll be slow-going (she's not about to try warping all the way down in one go when she can't even see the ground), but still better than actually climbing. She peers downward again, scanning for the next step... and, once Siffrin seems ready, Teleports again, sending them this time to a ledge of stone.

It's not a pleasant sensation, exactly, but it's not a terrible one either. Not any worse than what they experienced getting warped here!

Siffrin sinks their claws into the root, fighting off disorientation, and looks around. (And up and down.) Then they stick out their tongue a little bit. "So... they should have just put you in charge of the telewarping room. Obviously."

The stone doesn't offer as nice of a grip, but the second time around they're more prepared for it. After that Shoka will be able to chain together as many Teleports as she'd like without them needing to catch their breath. Considering the situation the two of them are in, it all seems to be going swimmingly - at least, until...

"Obviously. I sure as hell wouldn't've botched it this ha—"

Another Teleport; another rocky ledge. This time, their arrival prompts a crackle, then a loud crack as the stone crumbles under their weight. Shoka hardly has time to gasp—and no time to Teleport—before they're both falling, then swallowed whole by the fog.

It's another root that saves them, looming serendipitously out of the mists just below the (now absent) ledge. The fall lasts only a couple of seconds before they're caught, landing hard against the bark. Like a cat, Shoka lands on her foot; on instinct, she immediately lashes out an arm, then another and another, coiling them around the root and Siffrin to help stabilize them.

It takes her a moment (checking if Siffrin is hurt, then checking that she hasn't exposed too much of her true form in her haste to catch them) to manage speaking. "... Sh—shut up."

... And even longer to manage Teleporting again. It looks like she's trying to get them to a more solid foothold, judging by the way she shuts her eyes tight with effort and briefly flickers, as if about to disappear, but she re-materializes right away, shuddering violently and swaying as if dizzy. Static pulses across her tendrils.

"... Ugh... Whuh—... What the hell...?"

Siffrin lets out their own startled yowl as everything drops, but they're twisting in the air to stay upright instantly. Reaching to grab Shoka's disguise in their mouth, too, to keep them together, though they don't manage it before they impact.

They land with an 'oof' of breath and instinctively dig in their claws. Shoka wraps them both before Siffrin has a chance to worry about stabilizing her, so all they do is anchor themself more steadily until the clatter of stone fades away.

(In the process they might get a glimpse of her true form, but the part of their mind that's very good at not thinking about things promptly doesn't think about it.)

Once they're sure everything's stable, they unlatch one paw to make a mouth-zipping motion. "I didn't say anything~"

Their heartbeat is still racing, but no harm done!

Siffrin's right back to alarm when Shoka flickers wildly, though. She... failed to teleport?

Just in case she starts to sway off the edge, Siffrin pins down the corner of her disguise. Their thoughts are already racing, though, assuming that this is related to however they ended up out here. The fog doesn't come to mind, since there's never been a problem like this with the forest. So what they think of is - they perk their ear, scanning the surroundings furiously. As much as they're able to with the fog, at least... they're still far above the ground, though there's the suggestion of treetops below now. And several other pillars jutting to each side.

Under their breath, to Shoka, "...is there a Pokemon doing this?"

After her third attempt to Teleport, Shoka is so unsteady that she's grateful for that paw pinning down her disguise.

"Hgh—... H-hell if I know..." Her shadowy eyelids flutter. "Whatever it is, it's... I'm gonna be sick."

Her disguise rag sags in defeat, the body underneath now little more than a shivering tangle of static that wavers and jitters at the edges. The nausea is overpowering, the fog and foliage around them spinning wildly every time she dares to look... but the longer she sits there, not attempting any moves, the more it ebbs away. Slowly, her thoughts and form start to even themselves out.

Was it just Teleporting that did it? But it was working just fine a moment ago!

"Sorry," she finally chokes out. "I don't think I can—keep this up... T—Telewarping, I mean. Not unless you wanna find out if Mimikyu can hurl..."

There's really not much they can do about that! Aside from shuffle closer across the root so she can lean on them if she wants. It's not like they can hold her hair out of the way... or wait, would it be ears? The hem of her disguise? Where would a Mimikyu hurl from, anyway...

Their gaze darts between her (concerned) and their surroundings, scanning for any hint of motion. That shiver of leaves - was that just a breeze, or a Pokemon darting through? Can they catch whoever's doing this...?

They take a breath in and out, then chirp, "Maybe I do! I bet I can bribe our way into the Lum Berries with a fact like that."

They don't wait for her to respond before peering carefully over the edge. Well, they can see treetops down there now... and more roots and ledges sticking out the sides. They don't feel entirely confident, but it's their turn to act it - it's not like they've done much so far.

"You got us most of the way down! I can take it from here, if you hold on."

"Or..." they stick their tongue out a little. "We can try to use your fabric as a parachute."

Despite herself, Shoka does find herself leaning against Siffrin as she wills her head to stop swimming. Even in her current state, she does manage a snort at their joke.

"Gross..."

Their suggestion that they carry her the rest of the way is just a little humiliating (almost as humiliating as the thought of using her disguise rag as a parachute)... but when she tries to open her eyes again, the whole world is still spinning. For the time being, climbing down herself doesn't seem to be in the cards.

"Well..." she sighs. "If those are my only options... Guess I'm gonna have to take the Shinxpress."

Climbing up onto their back fortunately isn't that difficult, considering she's already halfway there thanks to the way she was leaning on them. Cautiously—and with extra care given to making sure she doesn't knock their hat askew—she pulls herself up, coiling her tendrils loosely around their front. At the very least, she doesn't add much more weight to their load (though she does, as always, leave a subtle chill down their spine).

"Sorry—again..." she mumbles. "I... think it was just that one move doing it, at least... For some reason."

Which is to say, she feels as if she's slowly but surely recovering—and if Siffrin falls, she hopes that her Fly will be able to give them wings.

"Is riding on me that much of a cat-astrophe?" They're still sticking their tongue out...

Siffrin waits until Shoka seems settled on their back before they start carefully picking their way down to the lowermost edge of the root. There's a short drop to another ledge down below that, which they land on very gingerly, ready to bounce off it if this also crumbles. But it holds, so they pause to make sure Shoka still has a grip, then continue.

Wherever they feel like they're on particularly stable footing, they stop to lean from side to side and calculate their next few jumps, trying to compensate for having just one eye. Even so, in a few spots they're left to pick their way nervously directly down the cliff by sinking their claws into the side. Those sections take much longer, with most of that time spent trying to find a pawhold that won't crumble.

"I... think it might be affecting all my moves... For some reason."

Siffrin pauses for a second, ear twisting anxiously. They glare across to one of the other pillars. Did they just see something vanish into a crevice?

"Will you be okay if we get into a battle...?"

"Total cat-astrophe," Shoka manages to slur out. "And I'm not lion..."

When they first start moving, she has to shut her eyes against a fresh wave of nausea, huddling pitifully under the brim of Siffrin's hat, but the further down they get, sure enough, the dizziness ebbs away that much more. Eventually, she's able to open her eyes and look around without feeling completely sick to her stomach.

Come to think of it, these cliffs... They're not too far off from Chimecho's description of the region where she and the Lum researchers got lost, are they?

She's still staring out into the distance when Siffrin asks their question.

"Duh," she answers automatically. Why wouldn't I be? she wants to quip... but the reason why she wouldn't be battle-ready is perfectly obvious: she's still recovering from her mystery sickness, still being literally carried. "I mean, I'm already starting to—"

Starting to feel way better, she means to say. Maybe even ready to be a big girl and walk all on her own again! Siffrin (or a voice she thinks is Siffrin's) interrupts her.

"We've got company."

"Huh? You sure?" She bristles, eyes scanning the fog—and sees nothing. "Where—?"

Siffrin takes Shoka's bristling - a very weird sensation with her on their back, but not an entirely unfamiliar one - as a sign that they're right, even if her phrasing confuses them.

"You saw it too?"

Under Shoka, their muscles tense as if about to try jumping across to the other pillar - then they relax. There's no way they would make that leap, even without carrying a whole extra person, and with how crumbly the footing here is they'd probably just break off whatever they landed on.

But they're still more than half-convinced that it's a Pokemon making Shoka sick, and maybe it's that one specifically. So they charge up and zap the cliff at the entrance to the crevice with a warning bolt of Thunder Shock. It fizzles out quickly against the rock, and...

Nothing moves.

...but that's just more proof! If what they thought they saw before was just the breeze ruffling leaves or moving fog around, wouldn't it keep moving despite any attacks?

One moment, Shoka is bracing herself for Siffrin to jump, and the next she's instinctively cringing back to avoid getting hit by any stray sparks. Something apparently freaked them out, but...

"I didn't see anything, Frinrin. Didn't say I did either..."

That doesn't mean there isn't anything out there, of course, but this moment reminds her of a simple fact:

"We are in the fog now. I... think it might be time to start checking for things that might be off." She pauses, thinking. "What did you see? Another Pokémon?"

"But you said..."

Siffrin shakes their head, tip of their hat bobbing above Shoka. Suddenly they're not at all sure what she said. She's right about the fog, though - is it messing with their memory again?

"...yeah. I thought I saw someone hiding in there."

Mmgh. Alright, maybe they should just get to the bottom first. Fortunately it's only a few more leaps to get to the treetops, where Siffrin leaps gratefully to the first large branch they see - they're a lot more confident here, thanks to a year of living in the Canopy.

"Gotcha. It does sense for there to be other 'mons out here..." Even if she didn't see anything herself. "I'll keep an eye out."

She'll keep an eye out—and make it a point to check in with them every now and then, the way they're both used to by now.

Even after they reach the treetops and make their way down toward the undergrowth, the trail remains no less treacherous than it was at the start. Brush that should be hiding solid ground beneath gives way to open air as they attempt to step through; branches that appeared sturdy one moment snap all too easily. It isn't long before disorientation sets in. More than once, they have to pause to discuss whether or not the vine-entangled tree before them is the same exact one they passed by an hour ago. More than once, Shoka argues that it definitely wasn't, only for Siffrin to tell her they didn't say anything.

If nothing else, Shoka soon recovers from her nausea enough to manage walking on her own again. In fact, she's even able to traverse along a thin branch using her Shadow Sneak entirely without issue. It's almost as if her bout of sickness never happened. Almost as if she was faking it. But why would she?

Dark shapes skitter along hanging vines. Eyes glint in the dark spaces between the leaves. Though it all, Shoka can't shake the feeling that they are being followed after all.

Eventually, they come across a pool of clear water, shaded by tall brambles heavy with berries. Only once she sees it does it occur to Shoka how hungry she is. How long have they been walking?

"So, world traveler," she asks Siffrin, her eyes on the berries, "what do you bet any of this is safe for consumption?"

In a distant sort of way, Siffrin can tell they're not doing... great. Returning to (maybe) the same spot over and over would be one thing, but they also keep thinking they hear Shoka saying the same things on repeat. After the first time they responded to one and she didn't know what they were talking about, they chalked it up to fog and stopped bringing it up - but ignoring it entirely is harder. Every once in a while they flinch out of nowhere. And it's making them tempted to zone out Shoka's voice in general... so they're slower to respond, which also isn't helping!

It's lowering Siffrin's defenses against the other things, too - the rustling shapes of Pokemon are making them more and more wound up. Shoka's sudden ability to use moves again but not trying to Teleport once more is gnawing at them, though they're trying to trust she has a good reason.

But they know how to function even when they're not doing good. They're fine. They can handle it. They need to make sure Shoka makes it out of this.

They squint their eye at the brambles, shaking out sore paws.

"With our luck?" Siffrin jokes. But they don't recognize these berries, which means there's no way to be sure. Except...

"I could take a test bite. If I'm not throwing up my guts in a couple hours, they're probably fine."

Not at all safe wilderness behavior, really. Which they're fully aware of! But it's a gamble they've taken before, when they were desperate enough - sometimes it paid off, sometimes it backfired, but never enough to kill them like just stuffing themself would have. So far.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[CLOSED] the only me is me

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

cw: emetophobia mention

me double checking if Siffrin would know what a parachute was

parachute mechanics confirmed for ISAT 2

2 min time loop repeats until you land without dying

your mind

no subject

no subject

I'm figuring Shoka gets to rescue Siffrin after Big Fog Argument

YES 🫡

cw: emetophobia mention