fellsing

Epyllion: Beyond Moonlight's Reach

Chapter 2: Scar Tissue

They say time heals all wounds, but those who have experienced true pain know that is a gross oversimplification. While time dulls pain and allows for the reflection and growth needed to overcome it, it can also allow for a wound to fester. Infection can seep in, causing even the smallest cut to become a fatal if not properly treated.

Even in his young age, Skobeloff has seen enough tragedy in his life to know this, and as such, is not content to leave Stargaze's island in its current state. With the strange shadow dragon gone and missing dragons recovered, he sets to work on finding a way to restore the island's heart to its former glory. Not a simple task, but thankfully one he is not alone in.

As the group are regaining their bearings, Echo gets in contact with the party, manifesting within the reflection of a small dewdrop as Stargaze and her clutch explain what has occurred. Even in a such a small image, it's easy for the group to see that Echo is not only doing better than when they last saw her, but she is quite literally radiating with pride, as the bioluminescent algae on her skin seems to glow brighter and warm when addressing Stargaze. She seems a little surprised when Skobeloff expresses his desire to heal the island's heart - an emotion that Stargaze would know the elemental does not show often - but she agrees and soon joins the group.

Once everyone is together, Skobeloff discusses his idea with the group. Most agree with little hesitation, the only exception being Garrock, who seems impatient to get Maug medical assistance and to report what they have witnessed to the Council. However, because Skobeloff has proved himself worthy of his respect and out of a sense of duty as the clutch's supervisor, he does eventually relent and allow the group to start formalizing plan. Between Vipereye's studies of the area compared with her already extensive knowledge of nature, Tamba's historical expertise and Echo's innate connection to the island, they are able to work out the outlines for a purification ritual. Of course, in order to bring it fruition, they will need huge amounts of moon magic, which requires access to a plentiful supply of moonlight. Altostratus is able oblige by coaxing the few sylphs in the area to come out of hiding and manipulate the wind into parting the leaves of the trees. Soon, their is a steady steam of moonlight illuminating the glade, and the way the plants in the area seem to bend towards it show that something is already starting to take place, starting to awaken beneath the surface.

Vipereyes also informs the group that they will need a dragon with a strong connection to the Spirit Moon, the Moon most associated with growth and healing. Ideally, an Elder who has devoted themself entirely to that moon would be the best, but since one is not readily available, it's up to one of the present bearded dragons to fulfill that role. Garrock has already given up his connection to the spirit moon ages ago, so he's automatically out. It's between Vipereyes and Fogdance, and the former is particularly eager to take up that role, believing it would be a fascinating opportunity and experience for her to gather some data for her reasearch. However, Fogdance interjects, saying Vipereyes is still weakened from being held captive by the Darkness for the past few days, and that such a ritual may prove particularly strenuous on her. After some back and forth, the Myndoth dragon does step aside and allow Fogdance to proceed.

The grey Tessith dragon takes a stand at the very center of the hollow, her scales glimmering slightly in the moonlight. Vipereyes scratches some markings into the dirt with her claws, making a very rough looking circle that encompasses the area and then instructs the group to stand at different points of that circle. Those not partaking in the ritual - Garrock, the unconscious Maug, the pixies and Alpin - all stand to the side, a few feet away and observe in silence. All those partaking in the ritual raise their heads up towards the sky and silently call upon the Spirit Moon's power, and in the response, the light starts to intensify, filling the woods until the light is so blinding everyone is forced to close their eyes. It takes a few seconds before everyone can open their eyes again, and when they do, it initially seems like nothing has really changed...

... then Fogdance starts glowing, her scales suddenly lighting up and turning from a dull, purplish-grey to a silvery white. Her eyes start glowing a pale green, and her expression becomes pensive and unreadable as she digs her claws into the dirt beneath her. The light from her feet seems to sink into ground, and everyone feels a brief tremor before the roots beneath the earth lights up, the same pale green light spreading through the system and into the various trees, bushes and other plant-life until they too start to give off the same shine. Echo's body is also starting to glow, implying that whatever healing magic that is sweeping through the area is also effecting her. There is a faint hum in the air, barely audible but still present. Beautiful tropical flowers start to bloom throughout area, similar to what happened when Fellwing had called upon the moons earlier, and the last of the dark vines that previously filled the area seem to crumble away, allowing for brighter, healthier vegetation to take its place.

Once the glow has seemingly overtaken the entire forest, the group hears a loud yawn come from one of the nearby trees as large dryad starts pulling himself out of the bark. Once his gnarled, moss-covered wooden body had fully formed, he stretches starts stretching out his limbs, which give a loud creak as he moves. He opens his eyes and surveys the area in a sleepy manner before focusing on the group. He frowns, seeming a little wary at first, before noticing Echo among them, and gives a big, loud laugh, and calling out to the rest of the forest that it is time for everyone to wake up. In response to his words, several other elementals start to form: a few flimsier dryads sprout out from the trees and bushes, while rocky gnomes start to dig themselves out from the earth. A splash can be heard in a nearby stream as shy-looking undine lifts her head from above the water. There's even a couple of mixed elementals that look like collections of dandelion fuzz floating around in the area, attempting to form a vaguely humanoid shape and only partially succeeding. Stargaze recognizes a couple of these faces as the other elementals that call the island home.

The greenish glow eventually dissipates as the ritual reaches its completion, but the surrounding woods remain much brighter and more colorful than they were previously. Echo moves away from the circle to go talk to some of her fellow elementals while the dragons regroup. The magic that was filling Fogdance's body seems to let her go and she stumbles slightly as she regains herself. Notably, while she is no longer glowing, her scales and eyes seems paler in coloration than they did before. Vipereyes starts checking her over and asking her several questions, both as a way of making sure she's okay and also out of curiosity on the effects such a powerful ritual may have had on her.

As this is all happening, Fellwing starts to feel an odd tingling in the back of her mind. She catches a glimpse of one the symbols that Vipereyes had scratched in the dirt and finds herself unable to stop staring at it as her vision starts to blur and shift.

Fellwing's vision

While Fellwing's visions often leave her disembodied, there are times where her powers allow her to see through another dragon's eyes. This is one of those times, as she finds herself in a different forest. She's running a claw across the bark of a tree, tracing over an old symbol that is carved there, not dissimilar from the symbol she was just staring at. However, the claws she sees in front of her are not her own: they are larger, gnarlier and covered in tough verdant scales.

"This is still here I see," Fellwing finds herself saying in an unfamiliar voice. "You know, for all Tessith preaches of living simply and living off the land, even they find ways to do irreperable damage to the world around them."

"Unsurprising," a voice rumbles to her left. "They are still dragons, after all." Fellwing, or whoever she's currently seeing through, turns her head to see standing beside her a being unlike anything she has seen before. It's form resembles that of a horse, but instead of flesh and bone it's made of some sort of dark matter, the same color as the night sky. It's eyes are made of pale wisps of light, which also seem to be covering its feet. The only part of it that is solid is the silver horn in the center of its head, which is notably has a crack running down the middle that is causing it to split into two, with the two ends starting to curl outwards in different directions. Despite this creature's frightening appearance, Fellwing feels a great sense of reverence looking upon it. "Are you ready to do this?" the horse asks.

Fellwing feels herself give a heavy sigh. "Not really, no," she says after a long moment. "But this is our best chance." She pauses before adding, "You'll let me do the talking, yes?"

"If you can think you can handle it," the dark horse responds.

"I do. Don't worry, she's an old friend, she'll hear me out."

The horse creature gives a loud, prolonged snort, but otherwise doesn't respond. He doesn't have to. Fellwing can sense that whatever reason they're here for, he doesn't hold much hope. He seems impatient, as if this whole endeavor is a waste of time. Fellwing also gets the sense that that's not an unusual sentiment from him.

They move away from the tree and start making their way to the centre of this forest. It's colder here than the forest Fellwing is in, more alpine, with a thin layer of fog hanging in the air that seems to grow thicker the further they walk. Eventually, they reach the a glade within the forest, containing a large pond. While snow has yet to fall in the area, the water's surface is already covered in a thin layer of ice. Fellwing approaches this pond and gazes into her reflection, allowing her to get a good look at the face of the dragon she's controlling. It's a bearded dragon, with beautiful green scales that remind Fellwing of a luscious forest in spring. Her wings, seen just behind her head, even somewhat resemble leaves. She looks at herself for a long moment, and Fellwing senses within herself a strong sense of disastifaction with her own appearance, as if what her reflection is showing her is not what she wants to see. However, before Fellwing can fully analyse these feelings, something moves behind her reflection's head and she raises her eyes up to find herself gazing into someone else's.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here today." This voice belongs to a pair of icy blue eyes, which in turn belong to a being who's body is composed entirely of thick white mist, from its skin to its long flowy hair. It's humanoid in shape, floating just above Fellwing's head with its legs and arms tucked up close against its chest.

"It's good to see you again, Brume," Fellwing says, before pausing and adding, "Assuming you still go by that name?"

The misty being shrugs. "It's a good as name as any," she responds. She tilts her head to the side. "What about you? You still go by your name, or have you abandoned that as well?" There is the smallest hint of frost to her voice.

It's Fellwing's turn to shrug. "You can still call me that if you wish," she says, seemingly not picking up on the elemental's tone. "I haven't thought of anything better, or if I even want to be called anything at all."

"Hm," is Brume's only response to that. She turns her cold gaze from Fellwing to her companion. "And who's this?" Without waiting for an answer, she makes a beeline for the horse-like creature, stopping directly above him. He gives a loud snort and begins pawing at the earth with a hoof. "Not an elemental, nor some kind of beast or monster. What exactly are-" She reaches a hand out to touch the creature's horn, only to recoil when violet sparks start flying from its points. She starts floating backwards, eyes still transfixed on the creature. "Moons above!" she hisses under her breath.

"He's no threat," Fellwing speaks up, yet even as she says that, she feels a twinge of panic within her chest. This discussion is clearly not going how she hoped.

"Like Darkness he is," Brume says, turning to face the dragon once more. "This creature, whatever it is, is full of shadow magic. What kind of forces are you playing with?"

"Shadow magic, moon magic, elemental magic," Fellwing says. "There isn't really as much distinction as everyone would have you believe."

Brume gives a shake of her head. "Not this again," she says.

"The Darkness is a part of nature, Brume," Fellwing continues. "Just as much as you are, just as much the wind, the trees, this very pond that you and your sisters protect. It's been a part of this world long before dragonkind started to form, and will be a part of the world long after we're all gone."

"Just because the Darkness is old doesn't mean it isn't unnatural," Brume interjects. "It's a toxin, a parasitic force that sucks the moonlight out of the world around it, then twists it into something else, something horrible." She gestures to the smoke horse. "Just look what it's done to this creature, look what it's done..." She hesitates before pointing directly at Fellwing. "What it's done to you, Greeny." Her voice cracks slightly on that last word.

Fellwing blinks before gesturing to herself. "I feel fine," she says. "Better than fine."

"Don't lie to me!" Brume suddenly shouts, a sharp cold wind suddenly passing through the area at her words. "I saw the way you were looking into the pond. You can't even stand to look at yourself anymore!" Tears start to form in her eyes, yet instead of falling to the ground, they float upwards and become one with her vapourous mass of hair. "Deep down, there's a part of you that knows what's happening to you is wrong. That's why you can't stand to look yourself in the eye."

Fellwing feels her body tense. "That's not why..." she starts, only to trail off. Whatever she wants to say, she doesn't quite have the strength to voice.

"Listen to me," Brume quickly speaks again. "You can still stop this. You can still go back. Dragons have done far worse than you have under the grips of the Darkness, and they're still able to find their way back to the light." She starts drifting slightly closer to Fellwing. "You can turn around and go back home. You can go back to your family, I'm sure they would love to see-"

Before she can finish her sentence, the dark horse interjects, taking several steps towards her. "This is taking too long," he says, and even as Brume turns to face him, he doesn't hesitate: he brings down his horn and spears it right through her chest.

That same panic that had briefly gripped Fellwing's heart takes full hold of her. "Bicorn, stop!" she shouts, but it's too late. Purple light starts to fill her body, causing it to destabilise to lilac cloud of mist that begins to fill the glade. The air becomes incredibly cold, the sensation of frost beginning to form on her scales creeping over as the vision comes to an end.

Fellwing's vision fades back into reality, and while definitely disturbing, it doesn't have the same knock back her previous vision had. In fact, no one (besides, potentially her clutchmates) seems to notice anything is wrong with the Seer. Echo is conversing with her fellow elementals, some of which she brings over to introduce to the younger dragons, while the older dragons are still fussing over Fogdance. Once it becomes clear that the grey dragon is okay, Garrock starts to clear his throat in hopes of getting everyone's attention, likely about to suggest everyone heads out... when there is a large rustling in the bushes nearby.

Everyone briefly stops what they are doing, and Garrock in particular tenses up as if to prepare for a fight. He calls at whoever's hiding to show themselves and after a long pause, someone comes stumbling out: a brownie, older and a little chubbier than Alpin, their clothes left in tatters despite seemingly having no real injuries. While the other dragons do not recognise them, both Fellwing and Alpin do.

It's Bartley, now completely free of the Darkness' influence.

Alpin immediately comes scuttling towards him, and without waiting for a response, gives the other brownie a hug. Bartley seems a bit hesitant at first, clearly a little dazed, but eventually returns it. As the two reunite, several other purified brownies start to come out of the bushes, all of them a little confused but otherwise no worse for wear. Alpin quickly fills them in on what happened, aided by Foxglove and her fellow pixies. It appears some of them are old friends, as several start embracing and chatting among themselves.

As things start to quiet down and everyone starts to go their separate ways, with Garrock adamant that they start the flight back to Yves now, Echo requests a moment alone with Stargaze and her clutch. Garrock seems like he might object, but quickly swallows whatever protests he might have spoken, instead telling the group not to take too long and that they'll meet them at the same beach they first landed on. He and the other dragons then leave them alone.

Echo congratulates the four drakes on a job well done, seeming particularly grateful towards Stargaze for scaring off the shadow dragon and Skobeloff for insisting on restoring the island's heart. She says that she can sense no other traces of Darkness on the island at this time, and that the environment is likely going to be much healthier as a result. However, even as she's saying this, hints of graveness start to creep into her tone, and her eyes briefly meet Fellwing's as she states that they were likely going to face much more dangerous foes going forward. She doesn't elaborate on what she means by this, of course, instead changing the subject to say she has a gift for Stargaze.

She produces a large pebble covered in a thick coat of glowing moss. In the center of this stone is an odd spiraling symbol. Echo tells the group that this stone is attuned to her essence and if they ever wish to contact her, for any reason whatsoever, they must trace their claw against the symbol and envision her in their mind, and she will be able to speak with them. She does warn them that the further away they are from the island when using it, the more difficult it will be for the signal to go through. She then hands the stone to Stargaze.

Custom Move: The Echoing Stone

THE ECHOING STONE: When you use the echoing stone to contact Echo, roll. Add +1 for every true statement.
- The stone is being used by or in the presence of Stargaze.
- You are using the stone while in Southern Yves or one of the tail-bone islands.
- You have no Darkness marked.
On a 10+, the call goes through and Echo picks up immediately. On a 7-9, the call doesn't reach Echo immediately, and she'll get back to you at a later point. On a miss, you end up contacting another elemental by mistake.

As the drakes are bidding the elemental farewell, Stargaze slips up and refers to Echo as 'Mom', surprising everyone in the group. There is a small pause before Echo gives a smile and places a hand on the white drake's head, ruffling her horns gently. It is a genuinely touching moment, yet both Skobeloff and Fellwing may notice a hint of sadness in the elemental's eyes as this is happening. However, it passes just as quickly as it appears, leaving the two of them to question what they saw.

The clutch then parts ways with Echo and makes their way to the beach to meet up with the other dragons.

---

The flight departing Stargaze's home feels drastically different from the one arriving: while Garrock is at the front of the group once more, he is no longer shooting scathing looks over his shoulder at those following behind him. Instead, his attention is split between keeping a look out for any possible threats and making sure the unconscious Maug doesn't slide off his back. Fogdance is at his side, also keeping an eye on Maug's body and consistently reminding Garrock to speak up if he feels he needs to rest. He merely grunts in response each time.

The drakes are flying all in the center of the formation, with Vipereyes and Altostratus on either side of them. Tamba is flying in between Vipereyes and Skobeloff and is chattering excitedly to the both of them about what they just witnessed. Vipereyes in particular chimes in with how she's hoping to return to the island again with a different expedition to study what long term affects their ritual had on the environment. Tamba seems eager to join her.

Altostratus isn't conversing with any of the dragons present, though he does occasionally glance over towards where Vipereyes and Tamba are when his name comes up in conversation. Instead, he is chattering in the tongues of wind elementals with a flock of sylphs that have started to gather around the group, aiding them in their flight back to the Capitol.

Kyte and Pleexem are slightly behind the other drakes, with Pleexem in particular seeming quite grim. He keeps looking between where Tamba is and where Maug is, the frown on his face deepening the longer they fly for. Kyte keeps trying to start conversation with him, but the lilac drake only responds in short, curt responses.

It's still some time before the group reaches the Capitol. What will our drakes do?

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

Just dropping this right here...

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

<Snipped quote by rush99999>

Ouch. ^^”
Yeah, He got pulled into the water.

@XxFellsingxX will need to make a Dexterity Saving throw since Jub was on Brut’s shoulder.

@Guardian Angel Haruki

This'll definitely go well!

...

I got a 7 :'D

Pokemon: Dream

Jill Brookes

---

Location: Bjyerfal City Mentions: @Pyromania99@Thayr@PKMNB0Y

---

Jill didn't seem at all offended when Richard didn't take her hand, a big smile still plastered on her face. That smile grew even wider when Isla took her hand instead, and Jill gave it a strong, enthusiastic shake. "Richard and Isla," she repeated, as if committing both those names to memory. "Alright, got it." She let go of Isla's hand and took a small step back, looking between the two of them before suddenly seeming to remember something. "Oh, and this is Aster!" she said, gesturing to the Aipom atop her head.

Aster's ears pricked up at the mention of her name and she glanced over at the two other humans. After looking them up and down for a moment, she raised her tail-hand in a lazy wave before going back to eating her apple.

Richard then mentioned they should get moving and gestured to something behind Jill, causing the girl to once again turn very suddenly towards where Camila was. "Oh!" she said, before giving a small laugh. "How did I miss that?" She gave the woman a wave and started following the rest of the group towards her.

Pokemon: Dream

Jill Brookes

---

Location: Bjyerfal City Mentions: @Pyromania99@Thayr@PKMNB0Y

---

As everyone was fixated on the battle playing out on deck, few people noticed an Aipom scampering through the crowd, weaving in and out from between people's legs and under their feet as she made her way towards the front of the ship, where a teenage girl was sat perched atop the railings. The girl was holding an notebook in one hand and a pen in the other, the former of which was open to a page that had the words written "Dearest Ma and Pa"... and nothing else. She'd been staring at the page for a good few minutes, and was apparently so fixated on it that she didn't notice the Aipom grab the railing with her tail and swing up to perch beside her.

The Aipom brushed herself off before producing two apples, one of which she holds out to Jill. When the girl continued to stare at the page, none the wiser, the Aipom suddenly got haughty and threw the apple at the girl's head. It bounced off the top of her skull, flying back up into the air. The girl looked up just in time to see it falling back down towards her and caught it with one hand. She looked at it for a moment, as if her mind is taking a while to fully process what it is before looking over towards the Aipom.

"Oh, is this for me?" she said. Her face broke out into a big grin. "Thanks Aster!" Still smiling, she took a big bite of the apple. The Aipom, Aster, looked more than a little infuriated, and might have done something else had an announcement not sounded over the boat's PA system.

“This is your Captain speaking! We’ll be pulling into port shortly! Everyone get ready to pack up and move out! If you need assistance, ask any of the crew! I’ll be out on deck.”

Both the girl and the Pokemon glance upwards at this before the girl suddenly rose to her feet, all while still standing atop the railings. "Welp!" she said, stretching her arms up over head. "Looks like it's time to go!" She closed her notebook and put both it and her pen back in the duffel bag she was wearing around her shoulders. Aster forgot her momentary rage and quickly scampered up her trainer's body until she reached the girl's shoulders, wher she proceeds to perch and continue eating her snack. Holding her arms out at either side for balance, Jill then started walking across the railings as follows the other disembarking passengers of the ship. More than a few of them cast her strange looks as she passed them, but she doesn't seem to notice. If Aster catches them staring at her, she proceeded to stick her tongue out or blow a raspberry at them, and that seemed enough to put people off.

Eventually, Jill exits the ship and begins craning her neck to try and find this assistant Camphor's letter had told her about. As she's doing so, however, she overheard Camphor's name being mentioned and turned swiftly to see a girl about her own age attempting to strike a conversation with a young man. Without even waiting for the boy to answer, Jill bounced up excitedly to the two of them. "Oh, are you guys about the job too?" she said, jumping up and down as she speaks. Again, without even waiting for a response, she extended her arm out for a handshake to the pair of them. "Hi, I'm Jill, and it's very nice to meet both of you!"

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

Rolled a 6 (technically a 7 given Jub has the good luck stick but I don't think that makes much difference ^^;)

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

btw I'm poisoned. Does that mean I have disadvantage when rolling initiative?

Pokemon: Dream

Jill

Profile

Name:
Jilleen "Jill" Brookes

Appearance:
Jill is a scrawny girl who stands at about 5'2". She is incredibly pale, to the point that her skin seems to have a bluish hue in some lighting, has long olive green hair that is almost always tied back in a ponytail, and large golden-brown eyes. She dresses primarily in greens and browns to allow for better camouflage in the wilderness, and her clothing is traditional and light in a way that allows for easy movement. She also likes to wear a scarf, bandana or mask to cover the lower half of her face.

Age:
16

Gender:
Female

Personality:
'Eccentric' is one of the nicer words that has been applied to Jill over the years as a quick and easy way to encompass and explain all her bizarre tendencies, of which there are many. She is a highly energetic individual who is incapable of being still for even moment. Even in mid-conversation, expect her to be wandering around, swaying, fidgeting, jumping up and down or even attempting to climb up or swing from various things in the area. She doesn't like sitting down, preferring to crouch or perch somewhere, and she gets a bit antsy if she's in the same place for too long. This can make her a little difficult to talk to, as one can never be entirely sure if she's listening or not. This is made worse by the fact that her reactions and understandings of certain things can be a little... off. She's not always the greatest at reading people's emotions and intentions, and her rather sheltered upbringing means there are just a lot of things she doesn't know about and can't connect to, leading her to either maybe saying something that unknowingly comes off as insensitive. On top of this, she doesn't often catch sarcasm or when people are being rude to her.

That being said, Jill does genuinely care about and want to be around people, and when she does see someone suffering or in pain, she has a strong desire to help, even if she doesn't fully understand the situation. This has led her to getting into trouble more than a few times, as she is quick to jump into action without fully knowing what's going on and what she's up against. This especially doesn't help when the situation requires more subtly and delicacy, and can lead to her jumping to conclusions or even being easy to influence and manipulate. She can display weird moments of cunning, strategy and even deep emotional insight at times, but these tend to happen out of nowhere to the point that no one, especially Jill herself, can predict when they will happen.

Hometown:
Ć̷̡̮͉̜̟̞̝̦̣̬̼̞͊̈́̂̌̏̏͘͜͝ȩ̶̥̲̻͇͍͖̥̜̗̃͋̔̊̐̾͋̒̏̋͂̍ͅl̶̟̔͗́̃͂̀͗̒͛̈́̉̓̔͑͊͜e̸̡͈̩̳̹̻̻͍̽̋͌̄̽̔̋̑s̷̨̝̫̩͔̲̯̗̀͒́͂͋́̌͌̃͂̎̈̀̕̚t̵̛̩̔̌̉̔̆̕͝i̸͓̓̈́͝c̴̠̥͊̀̈́͋͒̍ ̷̧̟͕͎̜͇̖͑ͅT̴̟̟̍͌̆̑ͅo̷̹͕̠̬̪̻͙͖̠̱̙͉̣͐͌͊̈͗̌͑̈́̽̍̑̾͘̚͜͠w̶̤̹̮̜̜̱͚͙̦̯̫̝̎̈n̸̛͈̜̞̤̺̤̮̣͇̠̳̗̻̪̜̂̽͒̊̇͐̋̾͑̎́͘͠,̵̡̗̪͉̲͓̺̖̭̬̻̞̗͉͕̓͋̂̔̑̉̊͌̂͝͠ ̵̨̣͙̠̖̦̺͉̲͙͚̺͗̆͊͘ͅS̸̗̜̲̠̮͊̏i̵̡̢͔̯̳̗͇̪̫͖͋̐̄̈́̔̊̓̚͝ͅṉ̸͖̪̀̈́̀͋̂͂̒ņ̵̨̧͓̞̤̓̅̒ơ̷̮͙̦̥̱̏̀̒̚̚͝ḩ̸̧̣̞͎̰̟̮̎̓͑̂̆̕͜͜

Background:
Jill was found at age eight by the Celestic authorities the day after a particularly violent storm, wandering outside the town with no adult supervision and no identification. Attempts to question her about who she was, where she came from and where her parents were proved fruitless as she seemed reluctant to speak and the things they were able to get out of her didn't make much sense them. They assumed she had either been abandoned by or separated from her parents during the storm, and that she was in shock because of it. Eventually, when attempts to locate her real parents or any other family members turned up nothing, she was taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Brookes, an elderly couple with no children of their own. While a bit shy around them at first, it wasn't long before she started warming up to them and even started referring to them as her grandparents. However, even as she became more talkative and open, they never were able to figure out where she actually came from as the stories she told them seemed... more than a little implausible, not helped by the fact that she often seemed to confuse or get mixed up on some details. One thing she was consistent and adamant about, however, was that her parents had not abandoned her and that they were going to come back for her at some point. Eventually. "When they're allowed to," is what Jill would often say. What this meant exactly was, again, kind of confusing, and the Brookes eventually stopped asking and never decided to correct her or convince her otherwise.

Celestic being a smaller, more traditional town filled with an older generation meant that there weren't many other kids for Jill to hang around with and not much to do much within in the town itself. Sure, she did watch TV from time-to-time, particularly enjoying watching cartoons about superheroes, magical girls and those who fight for justice, but with the limited channels they got and a lack of good internet, Jill found herself hanging around outdoors instead. When she was a little older, her grandparents even let her go outside the town to explore the wilderness, with the caveat that she wouldn't go far and wouldn't stay out too late. It was during her various explorations that she would meet her two closest (and only) friends: Aster the Aipom and a young farm boy from Solaceon named Zeph.

Aster actually stole from Jill when they first met, taking the girl's packed lunch her grandparents had made for her before attempting to escape. Unfortunately, while trying to get away the Aipom ended up running into a Machoke, who proceeded to take the lunch for himself. Enraged, Aster attempted to fight the Machoke... only to get her ass completely handed to her. It was only through Jill using her slingshot to pelt the Machoke with rocks and then scooping up the injured Aipom that they were able to get away. After nursing the young aipom back to health and realising that, like her, she didn't seem to have any parents, Jill decided to bring her back home with her. The two have been inseparable ever since.

Jill would meet Zeph a year or so afterwards, when the boy came into the wilderness in search of a missing Mareep from his family's ranch. Jill aided him in locating the missing Pokemon and returning home safely, and the two ended up remaining in contact afterwards. In fact, it was actually Zeph who informed her of the job opening with Professor Camphor.

See, as the years went by, Jill started to fall into a bit of a depression. Despite her adventurous nature, she'd never really gone that far from Celestic, not because she didn't want to see more of the world, but because she was worried about what would happen if she left. After all, she'd been separated from her parents just outside the town, so it stood to reason that if her parents were ever going to come looking for her, they'd return there... but they never. Jill waited for eight years, always expecting that they would one day just show up and take her home. But it never happened. And once she reached 16, her unwavering belief that it was only a matter of time before they would return started to falter. She became a lot less cheerful, a lot less keen on going outside exploring, and just a lot less like... well, Jill. Her grandparents became incredibly concerned for her, but she wasn't really willing to open up to them about what was bothering her. Eventually, she did confide all of this in Zeph, who had often talked about how much he wanted to leave his family ranch and go on his own adventure. So, when he heard about Camphor searching for trainers to help with her research, he suggested to Jill that they apply together. He stated that, if her parents weren't coming to get her here, perhaps she could go looking for them. It took some persuading, but eventually, Jill was able to muster up some enthusiasm and the two sent in their applications, looking forward to exploring a whole new region together.

Just one problem though: while Jill's application was accepted, Zeph's was not. While Jill did receive her acceptance letter, Zeph never got one. The two of them waited for a bit, expecting it had merely been lost in the mail. However, it never arrived, and while Jill still remained optimistic, Zeph quietly realised that it was unlikely that he was never going to get his letter, and encourage Jill to go to Byjerfal without him, albeit saying he would "catch up with her eventually when his letter did arrive". Jill now heads to Byjerfal with only Aster by her side, excited for a new adventure and hoping to be reunited with her best friend (and eventually, her family) any day now.

Kind of Pokémon you like:
To the onlooker, there isn't much rhyme or reason to the Pokemon Jill likes. She seems pretty excited any time she encounters any new species, but can get weirdly fixated on a pokemon in particular for seemingly no reason.

Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other:
- Carries a slingshot with her, both as self-defense and as a way of getting things down from high places
- Outside of seeing more of the world and hopefully finding her parents along the way, Jill doesn't really know what she wants to do but she's willing to try a bit of everything, from gym battles to contests to whatever sounds fun in that moment. The world is full of cool and exciting things and she wants to see as much of as she can.

Items:
1x Potion.

Pokédollars:
1000p.

Pokemon

Aster the Aipom

Species:
Aipom

Appearance:
- Yellow parts of her body are paler than normal
- Three small purple freckles beneath each eye
- Red eyes

Level:
7

Gender:
Female

Type:
Normal

Ability:
Pickup

Moves:
- Scratch
- Tail Whip
- Sand Attack
- Screech

Personality and Nature:
Naughty nature, somewhat of a clown. Aster was a wild Pokemon first discovered by a young Jill during one of her many explorations into the wilderness around Celestic Town, and while she's been by the girl's side for the six years now, she's never quite adapted to a domesticated life. She has the same high energy at her trainer, but due to her temper and her general lack of regard for rules tends to channel this towards more destructive activities: running around, throwing or knocking things over, taking things that don't belong to her, screaming at the top of her lungs, and committing pranks from the simple to the comically elaborate, Aster has gained quite the reputation among the residents of Celestic and has had more than a few brushes with the town's law enforcement. The only person who is able to calm her down and who she listens to IS Jill, and even then she takes her words more as suggestions than orders. They really don't seem like a trainer and her pokemon, but more like sisters, with Aster being the younger, more foolish one and Jill attempting to reign her in with... mixed results. That being said, they do genuinely care for each other, and treating Jill with respect is one way to avoid being the target of Aster's nastier behaviors. Being rude to Jill on the other hand... well, let's just say, that's a very quick way to make an enemy, and not one that will so easily forgive you afterwards.

Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other:
- Aster's father was a primeape, which is where her Screech move, unusual colouring and fierce temper originate from.
- Has a habit of mirroring whatever pose Jill is doing at the time. Whether this is purposeful mimicry or a sign of how naturally in-sync they are is unknown.

Held Item:
None

Epyllion: Beyond Moonlight's Reach

Quick update: sorry for the delays, everyone. Been a pretty busy past month and have had some trouble with motivation but I should be able to start focusing on getting this opening post up. Should be done in the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your patience, and I'm sorry again ^^;

Pokemon: Dream

Finally, I'm a done.

Jill

Profile

Name:
Jilleen "Jill" Brookes

Appearance:
Jill is a scrawny girl who stands at about 5'2". She is incredibly pale, to the point that her skin seems to have a bluish hue in some lighting, has long olive green hair that is almost always tied back in a ponytail, and large golden-brown eyes. She dresses primarily in greens and browns to allow for better camouflage in the wilderness, and her clothing is traditional and light in a way that allows for easy movement. She also likes to wear a scarf, bandana or mask to cover the lower half of her face.

Age:
16

Gender:
Female

Personality:
'Eccentric' is one of the nicer words that has been applied to Jill over the years as a quick and easy way to encompass and explain all her bizarre tendencies, of which there are many. She is a highly energetic individual who is incapable of being still for even moment. Even in mid-conversation, expect her to be wandering around, swaying, fidgeting, jumping up and down or even attempting to climb up or swing from various things in the area. She doesn't like sitting down, preferring to crouch or perch somewhere, and she gets a bit antsy if she's in the same place for too long. This can make her a little difficult to talk to, as one can never be entirely sure if she's listening or not. This is made worse by the fact that her reactions and understandings of certain things can be a little... off. She's not always the greatest at reading people's emotions and intentions, and her rather sheltered upbringing means there are just a lot of things she doesn't know about and can't connect to, leading her to either maybe saying something that unknowingly comes off as insensitive. On top of this, she doesn't often catch sarcasm or when people are being rude to her.

That being said, Jill does genuinely care about and want to be around people, and when she does see someone suffering or in pain, she has a strong desire to help, even if she doesn't fully understand the situation. This has led her to getting into trouble more than a few times, as she is quick to jump into action without fully knowing what's going on and what she's up against. This especially doesn't help when the situation requires more subtly and delicacy, and can lead to her jumping to conclusions or even being easy to influence and manipulate. She can display weird moments of cunning, strategy and even deep emotional insight at times, but these tend to happen out of nowhere to the point that no one, especially Jill herself, can predict when they will happen.

Hometown:
Ć̷̡̮͉̜̟̞̝̦̣̬̼̞͊̈́̂̌̏̏͘͜͝ȩ̶̥̲̻͇͍͖̥̜̗̃͋̔̊̐̾͋̒̏̋͂̍ͅl̶̟̔͗́̃͂̀͗̒͛̈́̉̓̔͑͊͜e̸̡͈̩̳̹̻̻͍̽̋͌̄̽̔̋̑s̷̨̝̫̩͔̲̯̗̀͒́͂͋́̌͌̃͂̎̈̀̕̚t̵̛̩̔̌̉̔̆̕͝i̸͓̓̈́͝c̴̠̥͊̀̈́͋͒̍ ̷̧̟͕͎̜͇̖͑ͅT̴̟̟̍͌̆̑ͅo̷̹͕̠̬̪̻͙͖̠̱̙͉̣͐͌͊̈͗̌͑̈́̽̍̑̾͘̚͜͠w̶̤̹̮̜̜̱͚͙̦̯̫̝̎̈n̸̛͈̜̞̤̺̤̮̣͇̠̳̗̻̪̜̂̽͒̊̇͐̋̾͑̎́͘͠,̵̡̗̪͉̲͓̺̖̭̬̻̞̗͉͕̓͋̂̔̑̉̊͌̂͝͠ ̵̨̣͙̠̖̦̺͉̲͙͚̺͗̆͊͘ͅS̸̗̜̲̠̮͊̏i̵̡̢͔̯̳̗͇̪̫͖͋̐̄̈́̔̊̓̚͝ͅṉ̸͖̪̀̈́̀͋̂͂̒ņ̵̨̧͓̞̤̓̅̒ơ̷̮͙̦̥̱̏̀̒̚̚͝ḩ̸̧̣̞͎̰̟̮̎̓͑̂̆̕͜͜

Background:
Jill was found at age eight by the Celestic authorities the day after a particularly violent storm, wandering outside the town with no adult supervision and no identification. Attempts to question her about who she was, where she came from and where her parents were proved fruitless as she seemed reluctant to speak and the things they were able to get out of her didn't make much sense them. They assumed she had either been abandoned by or separated from her parents during the storm, and that she was in shock because of it. Eventually, when attempts to locate her real parents or any other family members turned up nothing, she was taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Brookes, an elderly couple with no children of their own. While a bit shy around them at first, it wasn't long before she started warming up to them and even started referring to them as her grandparents. However, even as she became more talkative and open, they never were able to figure out where she actually came from as the stories she told them seemed... more than a little implausible, not helped by the fact that she often seemed to confuse or get mixed up on some details. One thing she was consistent and adamant about, however, was that her parents had not abandoned her and that they were going to come back for her at some point. Eventually. "When they're allowed to," is what Jill would often say. What this meant exactly was, again, kind of confusing, and the Brookes eventually stopped asking and never decided to correct her or convince her otherwise.

Celestic being a smaller, more traditional town filled with an older generation meant that there weren't many other kids for Jill to hang around with and not much to do much within in the town itself. Sure, she did watch TV from time-to-time, particularly enjoying watching cartoons about superheroes, magical girls and those who fight for justice, but with the limited channels they got and a lack of good internet, Jill found herself hanging around outdoors instead. When she was a little older, her grandparents even let her go outside the town to explore the wilderness, with the caveat that she wouldn't go far and wouldn't stay out too late. It was during her various explorations that she would meet her two closest (and only) friends: Aster the Aipom and a young farm boy from Solaceon named Zeph.

Aster actually stole from Jill when they first met, taking the girl's packed lunch her grandparents had made for her before attempting to escape. Unfortunately, while trying to get away the Aipom ended up running into a Machoke, who proceeded to take the lunch for himself. Enraged, Aster attempted to fight the Machoke... only to get her ass completely handed to her. It was only through Jill using her slingshot to pelt the Machoke with rocks and then scooping up the injured Aipom that they were able to get away. After nursing the young aipom back to health and realising that, like her, she didn't seem to have any parents, Jill decided to bring her back home with her. The two have been inseparable ever since.

Jill would meet Zeph a year or so afterwards, when the boy came into the wilderness in search of a missing Mareep from his family's ranch. Jill aided him in locating the missing Pokemon and returning home safely, and the two ended up remaining in contact afterwards. In fact, it was actually Zeph who informed her of the job opening with Professor Camphor.

See, as the years went by, Jill started to fall into a bit of a depression. Despite her adventurous nature, she'd never really gone that far from Celestic, not because she didn't want to see more of the world, but because she was worried about what would happen if she left. After all, she'd been separated from her parents just outside the town, so it stood to reason that if her parents were ever going to come looking for her, they'd return there... but they never. Jill waited for eight years, always expecting that they would one day just show up and take her home. But it never happened. And once she reached 16, her unwavering belief that it was only a matter of time before they would return started to falter. She became a lot less cheerful, a lot less keen on going outside exploring, and just a lot less like... well, Jill. Her grandparents became incredibly concerned for her, but she wasn't really willing to open up to them about what was bothering her. Eventually, she did confide all of this in Zeph, who had often talked about how much he wanted to leave his family ranch and go on his own adventure. So, when he heard about Camphor searching for trainers to help with her research, he suggested to Jill that they apply together. He stated that, if her parents weren't coming to get her here, perhaps she could go looking for them. It took some persuading, but eventually, Jill was able to muster up some enthusiasm and the two sent in their applications, looking forward to exploring a whole new region together.

Just one problem though: while Jill's application was accepted, Zeph's was not. While Jill did receive her acceptance letter, Zeph never got one. The two of them waited for a bit, expecting it had merely been lost in the mail. However, it never arrived, and while Jill still remained optimistic, Zeph quietly realised that it was unlikely that he was never going to get his letter, and encourage Jill to go to Byjerfal without him, albeit saying he would "catch up with her eventually when his letter did arrive". Jill now heads to Byjerfal with only Aster by her side, excited for a new adventure and hoping to be reunited with her best friend (and eventually, her family) any day now.

Kind of Pokémon you like:
To the onlooker, there isn't much rhyme or reason to the Pokemon Jill likes. She seems pretty excited any time she encounters any new species, but can get weirdly fixated on a pokemon in particular for seemingly no reason.

Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other:
- Carries a slingshot with her, both as self-defense and as a way of getting things down from high places
- Outside of seeing more of the world and hopefully finding her parents along the way, Jill doesn't really know what she wants to do but she's willing to try a bit of everything, from gym battles to contests to whatever sounds fun in that moment. The world is full of cool and exciting things and she wants to see as much of as she can.

Items:
1x Potion.

Pokédollars:
1000p.

Pokemon

Aster the Aipom

Species:
Aipom

Appearance:
- Yellow parts of her body are paler than normal
- Three small purple freckles beneath each eye
- Red eyes

Level:
5

Gender:
Female

Type:
Normal

Ability:
Pickup

Moves:
- Scratch
- Tail Whip
- Sand Attack
- Screech

Personality and Nature:
Naughty nature, somewhat of a clown. Aster was a wild Pokemon first discovered by a young Jill during one of her many explorations into the wilderness around Celestic Town, and while she's been by the girl's side for the six years now, she's never quite adapted to a domesticated life. She has the same high energy at her trainer, but due to her temper and her general lack of regard for rules tends to channel this towards more destructive activities: running around, throwing or knocking things over, taking things that don't belong to her, screaming at the top of her lungs, and committing pranks from the simple to the comically elaborate, Aster has gained quite the reputation among the residents of Celestic and has had more than a few brushes with the town's law enforcement. The only person who is able to calm her down and who she listens to IS Jill, and even then she takes her words more as suggestions than orders. They really don't seem like a trainer and her pokemon, but more like sisters, with Aster being the younger, more foolish one and Jill attempting to reign her in with... mixed results. That being said, they do genuinely care for each other, and treating Jill with respect is one way to avoid being the target of Aster's nastier behaviors. Being rude to Jill on the other hand... well, let's just say, that's a very quick way to make an enemy, and not one that will so easily forgive you afterwards.

Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other:
- Aster's father was a primeape, which is where her Screech move, unusual colouring and fierce temper originate from.
- Has a habit of mirroring whatever pose Jill is doing at the time. Whether this is purposeful mimicry or a sign of how naturally in-sync they are is unknown.

Held Item:
None