@Stitches Ended up going with something a little different, but kept the lost mother part. Hope this works.
—Kent Wesche—
—Kent Wesche—
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It Sleeps in Delville Heights - Interest Check and Worldbuilding
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7 yrs ago
Forum: Advanced Interest Checks
Eryn Montero
Wet Caverns || Day 3: Late Morning
Eryn followed the Onix along as it dug, watching in amazement as it repelled the wild Sableye with ease. Having pulled out her Pokedex to identify the wild ghost-type through the darkness, Eryn noted the genders of her wild companions, wondering whether Onix could see in the dark. Since they often lived in caves, that made sense, but who was to say they didn’t navigate by touch rather than sight? Her Pokedex noted that there was a magnet in the Onix’s brain, but that only helped with directionality, not sight, so perhaps Onix, Diglett, and all of the other burrowing Pokemon had evolved ways to make up for the darkness.
On the subject of seeing in the dark, Eryn realized that she had a dark-type in her team, and she turned around to look at Eri. For now, she’d had the Zorua disguise himself as a human, so it wouldn’t do to ask whether he could see in the dark. As such, Eryn shelved the thought for later and continued, admiring the Onix as she walked. While she could think of many reasons why she wanted the rock-type on her team, she could also see the reasons the Onix may have against his capture. For one, this was his territory—the tunnels where other wilds like Diglett lived, protected by the Onix’s strength. If she removed the Onix, there would be no one to protect his domain from the Zubat and Gravelers.
Eryn stared at the Onix as it dug through the wall and into the sun, this time wondering whether there were other Onix in these tunnels. With her time running out, having been provided with an exit by her unlikely help, she had to decide whether asking was worth the Onix’s ire. Having an Onix as a friend was pretty sweet, and—depending on how generous he was feeling—she could ask for his help should she return and go adventuring in the cavern. On the other hand, though, she really did want an Onix, so in a way there was no decision to be made.
“Thanks for the exit, Onix. I’d honestly still be wandering in there without you. But, before I leave, is there any chance you or another Onix you know would be up for an adventure with a trainer?”
Eryn smiled sheepishly. “Now, I know you might be busy protecting your tunnel, with the number of different Pokemon living in it, but I’m a trainer and my trainer senses say an Onix would be pretty awesome to train. I’m not specifically asking you to come with me but… I’d be pretty happy about it if it were you in particular.”
She shifted Dei in her arms, aware that both he and Eri were now watching intently, each for different reasons, but she pushed on. “That said, I’d understand if you refused. I wanna say I’d be open to proving myself, but my Pokemon are a little weak as-is. If you would prefer me to prove it through combat, well, I’ll be back in a day or so to take you on.”
Meeting the Onix’s eyes with determination, Eryn waited for him to respond.
@PlatinumSkink
Pebble Meyers
@Alamantus@Vertigo
“There’s a key here! But we need a hook for fishing,” Pebs said, getting back on her feet. “It has some sort of metal ring on it, but we don’t have a hook.”
Glancing at the table, Pebs walked over to it to look the items over again. Tool-wise, there was a pair of pliers with a built-in wire-stripping edge, and she set that aside to stow away or use depending. There were wires, which she pushed near the pliers, and batteries that she put together and pushed aside as well. What was left was the speaker and the sizable miniature pick-up truck, which she set about examining. She rolled the speakers over in her hand, looking for somewhere to place batteries or connect wires to. Then, after setting down the speakers, she moved onto the miniature truck, looking it over for any hidden compartments or otherwise. It was fairly big, so was there something inside?
Merja “Mer” Aaltonen
Evergreen Library || Thursday Afternoon || @Letter Bee@Savo@LetMeDoStuff@Sync@Conscripts
Just as Mikhail started apologizing, a brown-blonde boy arrived, Mer recognizing him by his height and hair. If she remembered correctly, his name was Laurence, and they’d shared a philosophy class last year. However, since she’d chosen psychology over philosophy, they didn't share any classes this year, so she was surprised to see him now despite having never talked to him. While she didn’t understand the cryptic phrase he’d led with, she understood the rest, and she looked to check if Mikhail was okay with Laurence listening along. It was his past and pursuit, after all, and Mer was relieved when he responded by introducing himself. If more people got roped into the conversation, perhaps Mikhail would feel less of a need to ask for help from her specifically. After all, she’d given all the reasons she could, and at this point she was left with hoping he saw the sense in her words.
Soon enough, though, another person announced their arrival, and Mer was unhappily surprised to find that she recognized him. Alex—a familiar face, and an expected one, given that their biology study group was slated to meet up in a bit. He was, unfortunately, also one of the two people Mikhail had given nicknames to, and Mer hoped he hadn’t overheard. As he continued, however, it became clear that he had, and her eyes widened when he stated that he didn’t know why she was dating Mikhail. Glancing at Mikhail, then back at Alex, Mer found herself unable to find words to clear the situation up, but when Alex continued, proving that he had indeed overheard the nicknames, she cringed, deciding it’d be better to stay silent until he finished.
When Alex accused Mikhail of manipulating her, and she again did a double-take to Mikhail. The encounter had felt a little forced at times, but manipulation? That was a harsh word, and Mikhail had cited his reasons. For now, Mer wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, and an opinion from Alex, who’d misunderstood portions of the conversation, didn’t seem like something she should take to heart.
His choice of words for Mikhail also made her wince, and it dawned on her that perhaps Alex was the worst person to overhear all this. Her fears were confirmed when Mikhail spoke again, his language also taking a turn for the worse. While she was relieved to hear him clear up the dating situation, explaining the real sequence of events for everyone to hear, she was a bit stunned to hear the scope of his plan. Since when was she to purchase lab rats, and if Britain’s best doctors and scientists had failed to make an antidote, why did he expect her to do what they couldn’t?
Mikhail’s last jibe at Alex also made her wince, but Mer was distracted by Laurence producing a pair of glasses. Putting them on, he addressed the table in a way that stunned her. Was he playing a part? Where was the hidden camera?
Still, she was glad that he took control of the conversation, doing his best to diffuse the tension and clear the air. Alex did need to be called out, as did Mikhail, and though Laurence’s choice of words for Mikhail was rather unkind, Mer appreciated the sentiment. Then, as he tied it all off with thoughts Mer could agree with, Mer’s attention was called again to someone arriving, identifying himself as Romani from Laurence’s philosophy class. Feeling bad for him as he realized his mistake midway through, Mer watched as Laurence addressed him, then turned to address her, much to her surprise.
“Yep, nice to meet you!” she said, her voice pitching oddly when multiple sets of eyes turned to her. Given that she wasn’t about speak despite being spoken to multiple times during the past ten minutes, she realized that perhaps calling attention to herself wasn’t the best idea, but thankfully the arrival of yet another person distracted everyone from that. This time, it was a boy in a suit and tie rather than a school uniform, suggesting that he was probably a St. Paul’s student. Like any reasonable person, he’d come to inform the group that they were beginning to become a public nuisance, and Mer was horrified to note that she was part of that group.
Surprisingly—or not—it was Mikhail that jumped on the newcomer, recognizing the boy as Philip and piling on praise to him. By the way Mikhail addressed him before admitting his own attempts at flattery, Mer found herself glancing at Alex, reconsidering his words. Okay, so perhaps Mikhail had resorted to some manipulation, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d had a hard life. It showed the lengths he as willing to go to fulfill his mission, however hopeless it might be, and even if she couldn’t respect or understand his means and motives, Mer admired his persistence. More importantly, though, Mikhail’s words indicated that Philip was a much better candidate than her to help, and she immediately focused on him, hoping to help Mikhail’s case.
While his final jab at Alex didn’t help his cause since Laurence had already mitigated the situation earlier, Mer looked past it to Philip, who seemed like a person of reason. Perhaps he would agree with her, and perhaps he wouldn’t. Either way, she felt that she should try.
“Um, Philip, was it? I’m Merja, or Mer. Mikhail approached me first about making the antidote, and while it does sound impossible, I think you’re the most fit out of any of us to try. I’m not sure whether using lab rats would be considered animal abuse,” she said, giving Mikhail a meaningful look before turning back to Philip, “but I think Mikhail’s cause is a good one. So, please, could you consider helping him?”
Anthony “Tony” Carter
Freddie’s Apartment || 9:00 AM || @Jasper19
A holler from a room over woke Tony from his sleep, and he sat up groggily, his mouth dry and his head aching. As he took in the apartment around him, his memory of crashing on the couch falling into place along with the other pieces of the previous night, he saw Freddie rush past him, calling for him to lock the door.
“You got it!” he called back, then winced, a hand going up to his head to stabilize himself. Then, raking it through his hair, he yawned loudly, padding his way over to the kitchen. His own place was a bit out of the way, being between the town and the closest park, so Freddie’s place was naturally the next best thing. That is, of course, discounting the presence of his parents’ place, which he disliked staying over at, even if he was heading there now.
In the kitchen, he poured himself a glass of water, wincing and blinking a few times before he downed it. Then, stashing it in the sink, he made his way to the bathroom to swish his mouth, splash his face, and brush his hair back with his fingers, before headin out, locking Freddie’s door behind him. After unlocking his bike, he rode the few blocks home, waving to his dad when he pulled up.
“Yo, pops!” he called.
Benjamin Carter, or simply Ben, as he preferred, was the local plumber who’d taught Tony everything he knew about pipes and drains. Currently, he was exiting his truck, acknowledging Tony’s arrival by calling Tony’s name. With a flannel shirt tucked into a worn pair of jeans and a belt to hold it all in place over his still-growing beer belly, Ben looked as old as he was: well into his middle ages and faintly irked by whoever was unfortunate enough to call him early this morning.
Parking his bike in the garage, Tony walked over to Ben, taking what wrenches and tools he was handed. If he had his wrenches and screws straight, it seemed like someone’s backyard faucet had sprung a leak.
“You fix it up, Dad?” he asked, dropping the tools into a spare bucket and hefting that.
Ben snorted. “Of course, who do you take me for? Now, I won’t say no to free money, but there’s something to be said about learning to change your own garden hose. Leaking for over a month—unbelievable.”
Shaking his head, Ben led the way into the garage, setting tools and buckets where they were supposed to go. “So, how’d the show go? Any attendance?”
“Three songs, small crowd. Wednesday nights are hardly busy.”
Tony shrugged, handing Ben another wrench. “So, Danny’s coming home tonight, huh?”
Ben grunted but didn’t otherwise respond, instead continuing to busy himself with the few tools he’d yet to organize.
“Been a while since Dan’s been home. Is Mom gonna cook her famous seafood chowder for dinner?”
Again Tony’s words were met with a grunt, prompting him to fall silent as Ben finished sorting the rest of the tools. While Tony knew better than to push the subject with his father, staying quiet never sat right with him. His brother, Daniel, was visiting home, and their father’s open lack of enthusiasm annoyed him. Would it hurt for Ben to just pretend to be happy for a night?
“Right, I’ll go check on Mom,” Tony said, setting the last tool onto the workbench and heading inside. When he opened the door, Tony was greeted by the warm aroma of melted butter and pancakes from his childhood, and his mother appeared around the corner with a plate almost immediately.
“Oh, Tony! Welcome home!” Mary said, cheerily hugging Tony with one hand while managing to balance the plate in her other. “Sit, sit! And have some pancakes. You haven’t eaten, have you?”
“Nope, been waiting for your pancakes, Mom,” he said, sitting and picking up his fork and knife.“You eat yet?”
“I’ll eat in a bit. No, eat, eat, I’ll go get another plate, and—Ben! Ben! Breakfast!”
Main Street || 11:00 AM
It was while biking back from the grocery store, a bag of last-minute essentials his mother had requested on hand, that Tony’s phone rang. Pulling over, he checked the screen—Jake—and picked up.
“Hey Jake, what’s up?”
“Tony, my man, I can’t find that bass guitar. You have it with you?”
Tony felt a spike of alarm as his mind rushed through last night’s events. “No, I don’t. I must have—damn it. I must have left it at Redcap.”
“The bar? Tony, bro, that guitar cost me good money. I can’t be losing that thing.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Tony said, glancing down at the bag he was carrying. It was light enough. “I’ll head to Redcap now. Call you when I find it.”
“Alright, man. I’ll be waiting,” Jake said, hanging up.
Pocketing his phone, Tony swung his bike around, riding back down the street towards last night’s venue. Redcap usually opened in the evening to serve burgers and beer, but maybe he’d get lucky and catch some cook or bartend heading in to prep. His mom needed the ingredients, but they were mostly seasonings, and Jake’s guitar was expensive. Though he’d lent it to Tony for free, Tony didn’t like the thought of losing it since neither of them had a hundred bucks just sitting around. So, priorities in place, to Redcap it was.
@Jasper19 You good with Tony waking up in Freddie's apartment? Anything to note about it? I'll probably just have him crash on the couch or floor
Ferris Talese
@Pezz570@HokumPocus
As Ferris had predicted, his teammates took the news of his paranoia without much of a problem. While he was grateful for Octavio’s comment, giving the man a nod after he spoke, Ferris had expected a reaction like Chres’: wordless acceptance, since there was nothing good about his magic-induced flaw. Though Ferris wasn’t ashamed of it because he was, as he’d said, largely able to control it, he also wasn’t proud of it. There were instances in the past he’d regretted, of course, and sometimes the paranoia yielded thoughts he was unable to shake. Being a lone wolf suited him well in these cases since relationships weren’t built on broken foundations.
Lynx introducing himself wasn’t surprising for Ferris because the hunter hadn’t given a thought as to whether the familiar could speak. From experience, he knew that most could, and the few that couldn’t were often still able to communicate with their holder mentally. In this case, however, Ferris was clued into the fact that this should be surprising by the Lynx’s word choice and by how Chres responded, turning to the familiar with a mixture of surprise and unease. His expression made Ferris do a double-take at the Lynx as well since Ferris had been prepared to brush the situation off entirely. Throughout his life, he’d met many a strange or secretive familiar. Some held their tongue to spy and blend in with the natural fauna while others pretended only to have one form to work subterfuge in a similar way. All this only fueled Ferris’ general dislike for familiars since it was due to their existence that he had to wield caution regularly, and he wouldn’t be surprised if either familiar he’d met was hiding a secret form or two.
At this point, Ferris was aware that his thoughts had drifted into the usual territory of second-guessing his teammates, and he decided he’d stop it there. It was a thin line between being watchful and distrustful, and the second required proof that Ferris didn’t have. Instead, Ferris chose to turn his attention to Octavio, watching the man whose familiar was speaking. Personally, Ferris wasn’t too keen on treating Lynx as an equal since familiars were always an extension of their holders, yet here was a familiar asking such of him. Perhaps he’d best play along, at least for now, as he didn’t want to stir up trouble over a minor issue.
The silence, though, was broken by Lynx asserting his opinion on the matter of his tail, and Ferris watched blandly as Sil went back and forth with Chres in what was assumedly a half mental, half vocal conversation before Chres started voicing his thoughts. Thankfully, Sil seemed rather easy to read, at least when she wasn’t trying. His eyes wandered off to their surroundings, though his attention was drawn up with his teammates when a voice spoke down to them. Drawing a hand up to his mask to loosen it, he breathed in, trying to pick out the scent that hadn’t been there before. There was the usual stench of the city underbellies as well as the placeable scents of his companions and their familiars, but otherwise the vulture familiar’s metallic scent failed to stand out, be that due to the direction of the wind or the vulture’s position. Considering that the familiar had chosen to out itself, Ferris doubted it was a threat, and that the vulture chose to take up a dialogue with Sil further convinced him of this.
“Whose familiar are you, Talon? And why have you sought us out?” he asked, hoping to redirect the conversation in a more useful direction. A glance at the door behind which the innkeeper disappeared told Ferris that the scared man had yet to return, and Ferris wondered whether things were amiss.
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