July Catch-All

[friendlyflower]

Who: Flowey & Firepaw, Emporio, Lusamine, and others?
What: Quests (Learning Aides, Growing Harvest), maybe some meetings/interactions
Where: Southern forest, the city gardens, around the city
When: Throughout July
Warnings: Pokemon battling (violence/injury), Flowey's trauma (mentions of/themes of depression, depersonalization, guilt, child death, murder)

Comments

Quest: Growing Havest

[friendlyflower]

[Flowey had arrived early to the garden to steal some of the plants' nutrient-fortified water. When Lusamine finally arrives, she has a little bandana on her head as if to protect her fur from dirt. He doesn't doubt that if they made embroidered garden gloves for little ferret paws, she would wear them.

He's been avoiding her as much as he can without her catching on, admittedly-- the only thing scarier than a Pokémon who probably wants to kill him is one who wants to love him. But, she finally confronted him in that gentle "I could kill you if you betray me" way of hers and asked if he wanted to garden with her.]

Howdy! I was waiting for you! [He puts on a smile, just for her. It clearly doesn't meet his eyes.] Ready to get started?

[ibalsamina]

[Lusamine greets him with a grin full of sharp teeth—pleased, apparently, to find him present and accounted for. It feels like she's hardly seen him since their last quest, after all.]

I do hope you weren't waiting for too long—but thank you. [Her eyes briefly search his. If she finds anything there, she keeps it to herself.] Of course. I thought this sort of work would do us both good... Gardening has a way of soothing troubled minds, after all.

[It feels like it's been a very long time since she last gardened with her own hands, but living in the Canopy has made her feel a bit closer to it.

Before they can really get started, however, she pipes up again:]

How have you been healing, since our run-in with Tatsugiri and Dondozo?

[friendlyflower]

[The clinic wanted to keep him there for a while, which he refused. What is he, a baby? It was just a little bit of drowning.]

Just fine. Resting up. [Best to tell her what she wants to hear.] You really did a number on those creeps.

[She didn't seem happy about it, exactly-- it's like he thought, way back when she froze that Diglett. She did it to protect him. He still remembers the feeling of her coiled around him after he almost drowned, too, somehow still a little warm despite her wet fur.

... He doesn't know what to think.]

Thanks for watching out for me back there. How are you?

[ibalsamina]

As did you.

[She laughs a little—softly, almost self-deprecatingly. She did do a number on them, didn't she? It was hardly ladylike, but what else was she to do, when they were threatening her and her teammates? And she would be lying if she said that she didn't feel gloriously beastlike and powerful in that moment...]

I'm just fine as well, thanks to you and Mx. Siffrin. The both of you suffered far worse injuries than I did... [Her grin becomes more of a grimace as she says this, but she keeps her spirits high.] Considering that, I think it would be best for us to focus on watering and weeding for the time being.

[Weeding is taxing work, of course, but it seems like more manageable work for a Sunkern and Yungoos duo than repairing growboxes.]

[friendlyflower]

[The mention of 'Mx. Siffrin' sours his mood a little, visibly so. He plucks weeds out rather unconventionally: by reaching with his own roots into the soil and tearing the weeds out like that. It's easier for him than lifting a watering can.

He doesn't say anything for a while. It's warm and golden light is filtering down onto the other plants. He used to help his dad in the garden like this. Asgore always liked flowers, and grew a variety of them before he became obsessed with golden ones. He remembers spending forever trying to get all the grass stains out of his fur.]

Lady-- I mean, Lusamine. [Will someone like her get mad if he doesn't call her Miss Lusamine or some crap? He hopes she doesn't want him to call her 'mom'.] What was your life like back home? Before you came here?

[ibalsamina]

[Sharp as ever, Lusamine notices the sudden shift in Flowey's mood, but she says nothing about it, choosing to comment only on how clever his weeding method is before starting in on her own work. She allows the silence to settle over them both as she refamiliarizes herself with gardening, with tending to plants with her own hands (or rather paws, now).

There was a time she did this often with Mohn and the children, simply for the joy of it, but in more recent years, care of the vast, lush gardens surrounding the mansion on Aether Paradise had fallen instead to her staff. Still, it all comes back to her easily, even in her new form—albeit not without a distant sting of nostalgia.

Both out of curiosity and to distract herself, she means to ask Flowey what might be on his mind and perhaps convince him to explain his recent, conspicuous absence. To her surprise, he is the first to speak up.

She doesn't mind being called by her first name alone, but the question does give her pause. As she wonders, she takes her time pouring water over the roots of a flower she doesn't know the name of.]

... Why do you ask?

[friendlyflower]

[Why, because she was about to ask him what was on his mind and maybe explain his absence, of course. And also, because he wants to know, or something.]

Don't you remember? When we met, you said you couldn't summarize your entire life in one story. And you didn't want to tell it because we were trying to escape the tunnels, anyway. But we have time now!

[He remembers the scars she tries so dutifully to ignore; he remembers flashes of white tentacles and promises of paradise. But, like all the other shared memories he saw, it's more of a memory of a memory than anything. He's interested... but that would invite her to pry into his backstory, too.]

If you don't want to talk about it, then no skin off my stem. Just thought I'd give you the chance to share it and not some memory-fog-crap. [He guesses he'll let her ask him questions if she wants, instead. She's earned that much.]

[ibalsamina]

[Lusamine exhales a quiet sigh. Regrettably, she does remember saying that.]

Yes... I suppose I did.

[None of it is a secret, exactly, but her reluctance to speak about it is obvious. She could start with a surface-level description—her profession, her old passions, her knowledge of Pokémon... But she senses the strength of Flowey's curiosity. Inevitably, he'll ask her about the things she hates speaking of the most.

Eventually, as she's lifting the watering can and bringing it to the next plant in line, she speaks without looking at him.]

Truthfully, Flowey... I just don't see much reason to reflect on that time. [Yet she's been forced to time and again—in the fog, in the tunnels, in the rain. The thought makes her skin crawl.] That life is—quite literally—worlds away now... And the world I am from ceased being home to me long ago. There is nothing left for me there.

[friendlyflower]

[At first, he wants to grumble... but then, her next sentence punches him in the gut.]

... I get it. There's nothing left for me, either. [He tries to grin.] ... This new world is all I've got. It's not always so bad. I've got you, and the guild, and... I might evolve! And...

[...]

... It's only a matter of time until I ruin all of that, too. [He slumps.]

Quest: Learning Aides

[friendlyflower]

[Firepaw and Emporio are all set to leave with the scholar, Tinkaton, when Flowey shows up. As it turns out, Tinkaton was expecting him as her third guard.

The few minutes that follow are filled with rather unprofessional squabbling between Flowey and Firepaw until Emporio gets them to work together. Flowey- while not apologizing to Firepaw for how he acted on Firepaw's bithday- does put on a smile and promise to 'play nice'.

For the little it's worth, he sticks to his word. Firepaw explains to Emporio- quietly, while Flowey tries to keep Tinkaton out of it- what happened, though he leaves out Flowey claiming to be a mass murderer. Flowey notices.

The fog has begun to recede, but Flowey thinks the woods are just as wretched as ever. The sun only manages to shine a few beams through the thick canopy-- it makes him feel like he's back underground. He never thought that odd claustrophobia would ever be comforting.

Just as time begins to slip through their fingers- it's been an hour and they've walked for what feels like a day- Tinkaton solidifies her theory: the paths can't shift when they're being observed. Flowey curses himself for not thinking of that sooner. Soon, they come across some sort of landmark and Tinkaton studies it while Flowey rests.

He's so tired. The benefit of a reset was that it brought him back exactly as he was-- no scars, no aches, no exhaustion. He can't do that now, and he won't let himself lie down in the hospital. He won't end up comatose. Every time he begins to drift off in his dorm, even, he fears he'll never wake up. He doesn't want to wind up like them.

Flowey almost takes the opportunity to talk to Firepaw privately. Almost. He'll probably just mess everything up again even if Firepaw is dumb enough to forgive him. It doesn't matter-- he's waited so long that Tinkaton is ready to go back to town.

Unfortunately, the paths have shifted again, and even Tinkaton's strategy proves ineffective, as if the woods are adapting to them. Fortunately, a helper appears: a Buizel who offers to guide them home.

Yeah, right. Flowey immediately thinks it's too good to be true (what idiot helps someone without expecting a reward? Even he's only doing this to move up in the guild rankings), but the others seem to accept their help, and so he guesses that's what they're doing.

Flowey keeps his grumbling mostly to himself-- at least, until he notices that the Buizel is getting them even more lost. Finally, his patience has worn thin.]

Anyone else notice this moron is just as lost as we are? We passed that tree with the notch twice already. We're going in circles.

[This proves true, despite his brash way of saying it-- the others may notice their own scents or pawprints on the trail. The forest has begun to cover them, but they're still fresh.]

[seacub]

[Perhaps it's attributed to that ommission for now- that lack of mention of...Mass murder, and all that fun stuff. Even if it's as little as 'he doesn't like Dark Heart! He told me not to trust him!', Emporio seems more ponderous than anything.

He also quietly warns Firepaw not to get hissy. Flowey's being rather polite, only fair to do the same.

But, needless to say, he's expecting a rough go. Rough enough that he hangs back near Tinkaton for a bit in a vain attempt to give the two space.

So much for that though. Once Flowey's grumbling meets his ears... ...well and probably the Buizel's, being honest, hah.

He keeps his voice low, but at least moves close enough that Flowey can hear.]

...I'm pretty sure this Pokemon is trying to get our guard down... ...It probably isn't actually a Buizel either, given where we are...

[firealone]

[Firepaw has been trying his best not to be hissy - he's just failing miserably. It seems like every time Flowey talks, Firepaw is rolling his eyes or muttering something under his breath. It... honestly is making him look worse than Flowey.

And honestly, it almost annoys him more than Flowey has a point. They've been walking for ages, surely they would be back by now if Buizel knew what they were doing.]

Do you think ghost Pokemon can fake otter-smell? They sure stink like one.

["What are you talking about?" The Buizel stops, and gives Firepaw a hard look, before turning a more cheery expression toward Flowey. Although, their tone sounds like a warning. "You have to pass that tree twice to get on the right trail! It's... just a quirk of the forest here, yep!"

Tinkaton seems just as skeptical as everyone else, but it seems she's holding back and letting her bodyguards handle this.]

[friendlyflower]

[Something's definitely fishy. There are no other Buizel in this forest, but it doesn't seem like a Pokemon from Bottlecap Bay, either. And yet, if he contradicts Firepaw, it will start another argument. Flowey did just call him stupid and too easily trusting, after all.

And he was right... well, that's not fair. Firepaw's sense of smell has proven to be a powerful tool. If the smell is correct, then it can't be a ghost. It has to be something else... but certainly not a Buizel. (And besides all that, Flowey wishes he could trust as easily as Firepaw does.)

He whispers back to Emporio.] Tell Tinkaton to stay back. I'm going to try something.

[The team walks a while longer, growing more tired by the minute. That must be the Buizel's plan-- and that gives Flowey an idea.

He pretends to trip.] Whoops! How clumsy of me! [As he falls to the ground, he spits out a Worry Seed that hits Buizel square on.

"Be more careful next time," the Buizel says-- rapidly, its orange fur gives way to black, its two tails turn back into one, the flotation sac turns into a mane. The Illusion has broken, revealing it to be a Zorua. "Did you drop something? I thought I felt..."

When Flowey gets up, he has a smug, wicked grin.] Hee hee. Sorry, kiddo, you're years away from being able to pull a fast one on me. So who are you, really?

[Zorua doesn't panic-- rather, a smile cuts across their own face. "Your worst nightmare."

It moves as if weaving through the shadows themselves. One moment, it's on the path ahead; the next, it's hurtling towards Firepaw with its fangs bared.]

HEY!! WATCH OUT!!

[Flowey leaps with all his might and knocks Firepaw out of the way. He earns himself several Fury Swipes to the face. His shell is scarred; one of his leaves falls to tatters. Zorua follows up with a Knock Off, sending Flowey tumbling into a ditch. The Zorua, now with Flowey's satchel around its neck, smirks at the others.

"Now hand over the research and you won't end up like that idiot!" they demand, preparing with Hone Claws.]

[seacub]

[A quiet nod is what Emporio responds to his friend with. The cubone carefully pulls back with the appearance of simply passing something else on to the tinkaton, his helmet firmly in place.

And then it all goes to shit.]

Firepaw- [He starts, but Flowey's the one who takes the blow. Emporio's expression of worry quickly becomes far more distressed, watching the pieces of the seed fly off.]

FLOWEY!!

[Zorua. Dark type, he knows, because there was so much to compare between Emmet and the form of Zoroark that the subway master knew of. They're being threatened- foolishly perhaps, Tinkaton is Fairy Type, but that's not the point.

The point is, he's rather tired of watching people he cares about get hurt.

Or worse.

A power is building. Focus Energy, ensuring that whatever he does next, he'll do it well.

As far as the Zorua is concerned, all it's going to look like is a small, fragile little cubone hanging back with the adult of the group, its unarmed fists balled tight.]

[firealone]

[It takes Firepaw a little too long to realize that the Zorua is using Illusion... but it clicks as soon as their Buizel disguise fades, and he can smell their scent changing to something similar to Emmet's. Unfortunately, being preoccupied with his own thoughts and feelings makes it pretty easy for the attack to take him completely by surprise - he probably would have taken it at full force.]

Hey-

[Flowey knocks Firepaw out of the way, just in time to get hit with an attack, and Firepaw scrambles to get his bearings. The Zorua is likely going to go after Tinkaton, but Flowey is in much more immediate danger. He glances back at Emporio... just for a moment, before deciding that Emporio can definitely handle this, and he needs to make sure Flowey is okay.

With a frustrated little growl, Firepaw dodges past Zorua to reach the edge of the ditch Flowey fell into. Hopefully it's shallow, but it's entirely possible that Flowey has fallen back into the underground tunnels. Not that it's going to change his course of action - either he's hopping into the ditch to pull Flowey back up, or he's fully jumping underground to look for him.

It will be a while before he registers that Flowey protected him, but he did notice.]

[friendlyflower]

[The ditch is short and shallow. Water might have flowed through, once, but now the earth is dry and cracked. Flowey lays face-down in the dirt, unmoving. If Firepaw carries him- like he did the first time they met- he might think that, without all the posturing and grandiosity, Flowey is incredibly light and small. Pathetic, even.

Meanwhile, Tinkaton has swung her hammer in a panic at the approaching Zorua. It flattens the Zorua like a pancake. When Tinkaton lifts her hammer, though, Zorua pops up with the same smug smile on their face. They spit out the shell of the Reviver Seed they filched from Flowey.

"Oh, did you need that?" they call down into the ditch. "Too bad!"

Zorua levels Tinkaton with a Scary Face that makes her step back nervously. She may have a giant hammer, but she's an academic, not a fighter!]

[seacub]

[Firepaw has gone after Flowey. The Tinkaton, despite type advantages and being twice everyone's size at the least, is backing away behind him.

But that's fine.

Emporio inhales, gathering any power he can muster, and doing little more than aiming it.

It comes out looking like Fairy Wind. It hits, like a Normal attack.

And it lowers special attack.]

BACK...OFF! [he shouts, clearly not as scared as anyone would have assumed. That much is obvious when just under the false wind comes a hurtling stone- Fling, dark type though it is, means that stone is flying under as much force as Emporio can muster.

And with Focus Energy being buffed up by natural baseball skills, it turns out that's a lot.]

A wild medical appointment appears

[dripdrive]

[In a previous life, Anasui had studied to be a medical student. Before he ended up in prison for... reasons, he had a part-time job where he worked at the hospital and thus was familiar with the hustle and bustle of a clinic. Despite his natural inclination to dismantle things, Anasui was still somewhat interested in going into medicine, which was why he frequently spent time volunteering at the PokeClinic whenever he wasn't grumbling about the Archive's organisation system.

Today, Anasui's been asked to help out with tending to the day patients - people coming in with wounds or illnesses that don't need emergency medical attention. He's stationed in the entrance of the clinic but when Flowey appears, he raises an eyebrow. Whether Flowey is here by choice or because he's been dropped off here for a checkup by someone else, Anasui stares right at the Sunkern.]

What the hell happened to you?

[Unfortunately, despite his experience, Anasui is not known for his bedside manner.]

[friendlyflower]

[A nurse at the clinic is physically barring him from running out the door, which is the one thing he wants to do more than anything else. Even after battling Dondozo and being dragged in waterlogged and half-dead, he spat and fussed and fought until they let him rest in his own room with promises to take his medicine and follow up shortly. Which, of course, he never did.

Now he's been nearly shredded to death by a Zorua- his outer shell covered in scratch marks, one of his leaves torn off entirely.] I'm fine. This quack is trying to drum up more patients. I'm not paying you creeps a cent, got it?!

[He is clearly not fine.]

[dripdrive]

Got it. [Anasui doesn't feel the need to tell Flowey that he doesn't have to pay anything for healthcare. He just stares blankly down at the Sunkern] But you look like shit. And you're not going to be able to heal properly on your own without your leaves. So take your damned medicine or I'll force feed it to you.

he's referring to pokemon whose writers are on hiatus LOL

[friendlyflower]

Fine. Just don't tell me to sleep it off. I'm not winding up like them. [He nods toward Pokemon in the clinic who have fallen comatose. He doesn't seem to know what causes it... it's almost like he thinks spending time here is bad luck or something?]

LMAO

[dripdrive]

[Anasui rolls his eyes.] You should rest in general but... I literally just asked you take your medicine. That's the opposite of sleeping it off. I'm asking you to do something about the problem.

What's your issue?

flowey please. fjkdlfjlskd

[friendlyflower]

Is nearly getting killed out there not enough of an 'issue'? Is not wanting to be around a bunch of people who fell into comas and nobody knows what the problem is or if it's contagious an 'issue'? What are you gonna do, stick me with a big needle? I know about the Hippocratic Oath, idiot!

I also am shouting Anasui plz udhfkjshfkds

[dripdrive]

The comas aren't contagious and even if it was, we're not idiots. They're quarantined. You're not even kept in the same room as them, let alone the same ward.

[Anasui looms over Flowey and stares. His eyes are dark but an aura of cold calm surrounds him. There's a long moment of quiet before he smirks.]

I never took the hippocratic oath. I was arrested for murder before I could. So you will take your medicine before I pick you up and force feed you.

JDFSLKAJFDKLJFD

[friendlyflower]

I, uh... ... Okay.

[He shuts up and takes his medicine obediently.]