[CLOSED] the only me is me

[telewarped]

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.

Comments

[loopsiedaisy]

"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!