Vertigo

Expedition to Isekai

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So much for a peaceful dinner. In the time it took Duncan to refill his bowl, the entire campsite had erupted into one big shit show.

Asahi still wanted to go to the damn mountain, alone, while Ayana went on another tirade about... honestly, Duncan wasn't sure. He couldn't help tuning out half the things she said as the ramblings of a madwoman. What he did gather was that she wanted to be their leader and uproot the entire camp. Some wanted to wait for rescue — a concept Duncan hadn't even spared a thought to before. It did make sense there'd be attempts, though. The police or the government or the military or whatever would have started to wonder where an entire bus full of students fucked off to without a trace, and eventually connect the dots. There was a chance they'd be found and brought back to the real world any minute now.

The thought made Duncan's stomach turn.

Shun, who Duncan wasn't sure should've been moving about just yet, was about to go off on her own again, though this time only to the lake, and Ayana seemed to have turned her ramblings on Asahi now. Some people seemed to honestly be entertaining the thought of an election. Nothing was actually getting done or decided. His bowl was empty again.

"For fuck's sake!" Duncan finally groaned, slamming the empty bowl into the grass. "You guys aren't actually serious about the damn election, are you? I don't care how shit of a job Masato's done, she," he jabbed a thumb towards Ayana, or whatever the hell inhabited her body. "Is batshit insane, if you haven't noticed. You'd be better off voting for a goddamn rock."

Duncan, who wasn't exactly known for his respect towards authority figures, hadn't really ever considered Masato a leader, exactly. Some of the others clearly had, though, enough so to outsource decisions and responsibilities to the guy. So to think they'd be ready to replace him with a freakshow like Ayana was unbelievable.

"And you," he pointed a finger over to Asahi now, "Ain't gonna go anywhere alone. You don't want anyone dragging you down? Fine, I'll come, and you know there isn't a damn thing you can do to stop me. Hell, I can carry your ass there and back in two days, tops, with or without your go-ahead. Watch me."

The second the words left him, Duncan remembered what had happened the last time he left. How he should have stayed; should have been where he could protect everyone. Was he about to make the exact same mistake again, not even a day after he'd sworn he never would?

... Maybe, but what fucking choice did he have?! If Asahi went and died, they'd need to send another party anyway, and he couldn't go without the damn pinkhead because he didn't know where the fuck he was going — a fact he knew the other student would be more than happy to point out if given the chance. "I'll just. I'll just bleed enough before we go that you guys can heal up if you get hurt while we're gone. And you can keep a lookout. We got a tower for it now."

Duncan's determination had faltered, words sounding more and more like questions than declarations. His eyes trailed over to his friends, to Haruko, to Shun, who he'd failed to follow after twice, and almost let her die for it.

"And while we're gone, you guys either stick with what you have," he nodded towards Masato. "Or at least vote for someone playing with a full deck. If I see any weird shrines of worship when we're back, I'm burning the damn camp down."

Expedition to Isekai

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Duncan was the first to realize he wasn't exactly acing his little stealth mission, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He tried; made his steps lighter, hunched lower, even held his breath as if that had been what did him in, but nothing could mask the sound of his approach. All he could realistically do was hope he wasn't nearly as loud in the ears of normal humans as he was his own. Heightened senses made it difficult to judge. It was like wearing noise cancelling headphones and not realizing how loud you were, except the exact opposite.

Having fixated on the sounds he was making, it took Duncan a good while to realize that he could no longer hear Haruko and Akito talking. It wasn't quiet, it never was anymore, but it was quieter, and that was honestly pretty suspiciou—

A shout so loud it made Duncan's ears ring pierced through the forest. He recognized the voice and the panic first, already bursting into the scene by the time his mind registered the words.

"Get the h—" his body was faster than his thoughts, and certainly faster than his words. Duncan hadn't factored that in, hadn't even gotten out half a warning before he'd already closed the distance between him and Akito, one hand thrusting towards the wannabe delinquent.

He grabbed the guy by the front of his shirt, hoisting him up. Higher, faster than he'd meant to, his other hand pulling back to prepare for a punch — only for his mind and his senses to finally catch up. To remember his punch felling a tree and realizing what it would do to the squishy face of a human. To see that Haruko was unharmed, if startled — and to understand that the startlement likely had nothing to do with Akito.

"I, uh. Came... to tell you guys you're missing out. The water's nice."

—

The water had been nice, and it would've been nice to continue swimming, but once Masato showed up with fresh meat in tow — had the guy really killed that thing alone?! — the waterfront was hastily transformed into a butchery instead. Not that Duncan minded, really. He was starving, and had high hopes that in the midst of handling guts, Haruko would forget about what had happened. Duncan himself was quickly starting to, the process expedited by a trip to a literal monster den — be that he'd apparently missed out on the action itself.

As he looked at the more handy students making tools out of monster parts, he swore he would not miss out on the next bout, though. Not in a million years.

Duncan was practically inhaling his dinner, idly wondering whether they'd be able to somehow make their own alcohol out here to go with the meat, when Asahi suddenly stood. Duncan wiped broth off his face and looked up. The dude sounded serious. So much so that although Duncan grinned at his gorilla comment, the grin didn't last long.

Reflexively, Duncan turned to look towards the mountains. As expected, he didn't feel shit.

"Did you land on your head or something back there? Bro, come on, you're talking crazy. You really think we're about to let you wander off alone cause you think you felt some... presence at the mountains?" He didn't stop eating to talk, so half his words were muffled by bites of meat. "And no offense dude, but if there really is something deadly out there, you sure as shit ain't going to be able to deal with it alone."

He swallowed and threw up a dismissive hand. "What's the rush, anyway? We're doing fine out here. We got food, water, shelter... hell, for all we know, everyone could "Awaken" or whatever eventually. Just chill, have some meat, you got time to rush into certain death. Doesn't gotta be first thing in the morning."

Pokemon: Dream

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_{Camphor's Lab
@Rune_Alchemist, @XxFellsingxX, @Crusader Lord}

Never mind. She was definitely not going to leave Frieda out of her scathing review.

Seriously, feigning ignorance after a visitor was attacked on the premises was so not a good look. Chloe very much intended to let the assistant know that, but between the explanation of her upcoming job and Snuggles barking up a storm in her arms — where she'd scooped her up after the puppy recovered, much to the Pokémon's dismay — she couldn't quite find a chance to. She hadn't even found a chance to apologize to Jill! Chloe herself knew Snuggles had just wanted to play, but she also knew people tended to misjudge the poor pup — and that even her play bites hurt. Well, supposedly. She'd never been bit, so people could be exaggerating.

Anyways, at least no one had gotten hurt this time, and Jill didn't even seem to have noticed anything was amiss, so... maybe it was better not to even mention it. Chloe had to admit, as ugly as the little devil thing was, it had been pretty useful at stopping Snuggles without escalating things further. But that was literally all it had going on for it, and it was definitely way too smug about it.

Once Chloe had her items, she was finally given the go to ask questions. She had many, but could only get out the most pressing one, "Are you seriously telling me you know nothing about the weird, hairdo ruining Misdreavus harassing people in here?" before the dex in her hand made a beep and lit up. She heard a similar sound over from what she assumed was Jill's own Pokédex. A quick glance at the screen, and she realized it was a message from one of the other trainers. Huh. She hadn't even realized the thing had messaging functionality! Could it take pictures? It had like, a scanning function, right, so—

Thoughts wandering, she scrolled over to read what seemed to be a call for help. Someone named Clarissa was trying to catch a Murkrow. Those were dark type, right? She fixed her grip on the Snubbull; a fairy type. And ghosts? Like the one that had just been a bitch to her? Oh my god, this must've been fate!

help's on the way, hang tight girl 💖💋

Chloe typed in her contact information, sent the reply and turned her grin over to Jill. "You're going too, right? It's not even that far!"

Truth be told, Chloe was unsure why she was getting so excited in the first place. Some Toy Company building wasn't exactly a glamorous start to her new journey, and even though she got paid per Pokémon caught, Murkrow, if there even were multiple to be caught, didn't really fit her style. Yet somehow, just the thought of actually getting to do this, to do something on her own, seemed super exciting.

Besides, streaming a rescue mission would get insane views!

She tried to seize Jill by the arm, snap a quick selfie of their rescue group, and practically haul the poor girl out the door, the assistant — and her potential answer to her question about the Misdreavus — all but forgotten.

Epyllion: Beyond Moonlight's Reach

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Oh, no.

After surviving a magical plague, a dragon made of darkness itself, and a flight that seemed to go on forever, it seemed they were due for the true final boss of misery: family drama.

But while Fellwing purposefully distanced herself from Garrock's reunion with his estranged sibling, not wanting to meddle in their business, her clutchmates seemed to be of a different mind. Skobeloff made a joke of it, Stargaze — bless her heart — was entirely clueless, and Shieldwing was earnest if blunt as ever. Fellwing buried her face into her wing and sighed.

She did peek over when she heard talk of a... half a healer, though. Before she had to ask, Skobeloff did so for her.

"And that's truly all we can ask for," she hurried to comment on this Coryn fellow, eager to change the subject from the matter of family. "I'm likewise fine, but it wouldn't hurt to have a healer look some of us over, just in case."

She looked over to Maug openly, but couldn't help her gaze also flicking to every dragon they'd rescued — as well as Garrock's wing — in turn. Hopefully briefly enough not to be noticeable.

"If you would," she smiled at Rudrick, gesturing with a wing for him to lead the way.

Epyllion: Beyond Moonlight's Reach

Glad to have you back, Digi!

And nah, go ahead, I'll post her reaction in the next round.

Expedition to Isekai

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The forest was noisy as hell once you really stopped to listen, Duncan realized. He had to push past birdsong and wind, leave behind the shouts from the lake and ignore the suspicious rustling from somewhere far away, and really hone in on what he was trying to hear. Footsteps, voices, some indication that the two had gone this way at all.

“That’s…huh.”

Duncan stopped mid-step, head whirling towards the voice. That was definitely Haruko. He turned, starting towards where he thought the sound came from, but even if his hearing was good, it didn't mean his ability to follow his ears was. So, for now, all he could do was walk and listen, trying to make sense out of what sounded like the tail end of a conversation. Goddamnit, he'd just missed the main point!

Urgency turned into annoyed curiosity once he realized there didn't seem to be any real danger involved. It was just some weird police shit. Was Akito confessing to a crime? ... Nah. The dude barely had the balls to cause trouble at school, much less outside of it. He was all talk.

... But what did he want to hurt as much as possible?

Just in case, Duncan quickened his pace until he could hear the two's heartbeats. He wasn't about to just bust in the middle of whatever was going on, though. So, once he got closer, he slowed down and crouched down, trying to keep hidden as he tried to get close enough to see, but not to be seen.

Chronicles of the Six: Magic’s Awakening: A Magical Boy RP. Reboot

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The sun was slowly setting on the group's first day at the beach, and Noah couldn't help but feel melancholic. Maybe it was the beer talking, but it was slowly dawning on him that he was running out of sunsets with these guys. How many more would he get before they all went out and... did things? Before they left his sorry ass behind?

Noah took a swig of his beer, lukewarm since a while ago, and decided not to think about it. He hadn't come all the way out here to be a bitch and sulk. Yeah, the beach wasn't exactly his kind of scene, so it's not like he was ever going to be at the height of happiness out here, but it sure beat sitting at home alone. Besides, Conner's excitement was pretty contagious, he had to admit. Noah had even tried surfing earlier, at the dude's insistence. He'd sucked, big time, but honestly, it'd been kinda... fun.

Conner was setting up the tents now, shouting something about a bonfire. Gray volunteered and offered help with the tents as well, the damn overachiever.

Noah crumpled the empty can with an audible crunch and tossed it into the sand.

"I got it," he drawled, pushing himself to stand with far more effort than it should've taken. He was tired, unable to remember the last time he got a good night's sleep in. But how fucking lame would it be to go sleep early on a trip like this? Screw the stars or whatever, this could very well be the last weekend out with the boys. He wasn't going to quit on them just cause his body couldn't keep up. His relationship with these five assholes was the one thing he refused to fuck up.

So, ignoring his exhaustion, Noah made his way over to their bags. His own was easy to identify, brimming with beer he wasn't supposed to have, with barely enough room left for other essentials. He wasn't sure who brought the tents, and didn't rummage around long enough to identify the other belongings. It was probably one of the responsible ones, Eli or Gray.

Noah walked up to where Conner was setting up the first tent and started work on another in silence, save for a few assorted curse words whenever the fabric threatened to slip from him. Hopefully the poles would hold in the sand; he hadn't set this shit up on a beach before. "Think it's gonna get windy?" he called out to no one in particular, knowing someone must've checked the forecast.

... Wow, damn, their last camping trip, and here he was talking about the weather. He really had to wake up. Without averting his eyes from his work, Noah extended a hand into the fresh evening air and groaned. "Toss me another can. And help your damn selves too, I wasn't planning on getting shitfaced alone."

Pokemon: Dream

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_{Camphor's Lab
@Rune_Alchemist, @XxFellsingxX}

"Hey, are you listening to me, you—"

Before Chloe could finish her sentence, much less register the ghost type's intent towards the Snubbull, another voice cut through the empty laboratory. Out of reflex, she turned her gaze to find what she supposed must've been the professor — and some help or whatever — across the hallway. Finally!

She was just about to relay the tale of why she was like the only person in her life today who was not late, when the professor was already taking off again. For a meeting with some random guy called Maximus, or something.

"What's her problem?" Chloe huffed in the professor's wake, only to suddenly remember the other annoying shortie she'd ran into earlier. She held onto her hair and looked around wildly, but the thing seemed to have disappeared. "Look, I'm sure you can do a fine job catching me up — Frieda, right? — so this isn't like personal or anything, but it should really be the professor's job to deal with the people she hired. Like I don't expect a welcoming party — though it would be nice, the trip was long — but at least she should keep her Pokémon from attacking people, seriously. I'm so going to mention that in a review."

She looked to the assistant at last, and for what it was worth, she did seem genuinely nice and apologetic at the very least. Chloe sighed, just about to assure her that she would leave her out of any bad review, when they reached the reception and someone waved at them. One of the trainers from outside, with an Aipom. That was a... uh, unique choice for a Pokémon.

Not as unique as the girl's fashion sense though. She needed some emergency help in that area, stat.

Chloe couldn't help but smile at seeing the Aipom playfully whack at the girl, though. She would never own a weird monkey like that herself, but she could tell the two were close, and honestly? She loved that for them.

"Well hi, Jill! I'm Chloe, and this is Snuggles," she introduced herself cheerily in turn, moving the bag slightly to show off her partner. Really, she could tell she and this girl were very different, but the other's relationship with her Aipom reminded Chloe of herself and Snuggles, soundly asleep in — oh.

Her eyes trailed all the way down to the bag. Oh, no.

Chloe snapped her gaze back up just as Jill was apologizing about not saying hi earlier and offering for her to travel with her and a friend, an offer she would so rescind in a second, when—

"Snuggles, no! Sit! Gosh!" Chloe took off after her Snubbull, who'd woken up, seen a creature she could actually bite, and immediately wiggled her way out to dash towards the Aipom, its swinging tail reminiscent of a big, thick chewing toy.

Epyllion: Beyond Moonlight's Reach

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As the dragons touched down for a break, Fellwing found herself sighing in relief. She counted herself lucky to have survived the flight at all, much less in such great health. Throughout, she'd debated what would make her plummet from the sky first; a sudden gale or the weight of the awkward atmosphere she'd helped create.

As it turned out, neither. The currents had been favourable, so much so that her wings were barely sore despite the distance, and apparently awkwardness could not, in fact, prove fatal.

Fellwing took in her surroundings as she stretched her wings, only to spot an older dragon staring at them — at Garrock, rather. She quirked a brow, gaze trailing to the old grump as she pondered on the two's relationship.

"I'm not opposed to a rest, certainly," she answered when prompted, turning to her clutchmates who seemed to echo the sentiment. She smiled despite herself at Stargaze's enthusiasm over Kyte's comment, figured Skobeloff's detour must've been part of a new scheme of his, and then glanced back over her shoulder to the old dragon from earlier.

ooc

Fellwing studied the old dragon, and with a 7, asks: "What could I learn from you?" (About Garrock)

Epyllion: Beyond Moonlight's Reach

Oh damn, decided to roll for funsies, and apparently Fellwing continues on her good roll streak, because I got a 10.

Uh. Maybe she's really good at navigating the currents.