Proving Ground

First topic message reminder :

Osiris had pre-gamed this particular adventure with ice cream and love.

Well, maybe not love, but hot dang it if he didn't really like this sylveon tagging along with him to Shadowhue this evening. Maybe it was the infatuation with his temporary dungeon buddy, maybe it was the ice cream, or maybe it was the encroaching desire and need to prove himself to someone who just got it, but the dratini was particularly jittery tonight. He felt high-strung and metaphorically coiled, really to lash out and spring at the first chance to show off what he was all about. And they hadn't even gotten to where they were going yet; The coolest dungeon around town (by default, really.)

Shadowhue Forest was always somewhere that Osiris wanted to go. Like everyone else, he'd been to Pecha and played around for a bit, pretending to train like all the other kids, when really he just wanted to feel like he was on a real adventure. Shadowhue kind of was that adventure, at least in terms of atmosphere and...well, he assumed it would be a tougher dungeon to run through. Maybe not tonight though. Tonight, he had himself a killer partner in the form of a fun-loving, adventurous sylveon who was all too happy to take some time out of her day to mess around in some spooky woods with a kid she just met.

"You said you'd been here before, right?" Osiris said over his shoulder. "What kindsa stuff do you usually run into? Ghost-types probably, yeah?"

Geo giggled as she watched the noodle dragon stumble over his own words and struggle to express something that she felt was fairly obvious. He wanted the life, and so did she... although she admittedly had more specific reasons. "Well, I feel pretty much the same way. My uncle used to tell me stories about his adventures all the time, and when I heard 'em, I knew: I wanna be just like that someday," she spoke, deciding she should explain next since Sterlie didn't seem to be speaking.

"I wanna be awesome and have an awesome life... aaand maybe be a ninja too but that's another thing," she added on, seeming very enthusiastic about it all.

Then she looked back at the sword strapped around her waist and decided it had been silent long enough. "What about you?" she asked.

Sterlie's response was very simple: "I'm a sword."

Simple, maybe, but... Geo didn't understand how that was supposed to be an answer. "Well yeah but you seem like you like exploring..." she pressed, now even more curious.

"No, really, that's my answer. I'm a sword. I can't do much on my own, so when I have the opportunity, I like a good adventure as much as the next gal," Sterlie elaborated, clarifying what her initial comment was supposed to mean.

At first Geo was thrilled to have a proper answer, even if it was just a tad bit depressing. However, as she thought about the words, something in particular began to stand out to her. She slowed to a stop and stared back at the sword.

...Gal? It... was a girl? She supposed Sterlie did sound like a girl, but...

Osiris breathed a nearly silent sigh of relief when Geo merely giggled at him and went on to agree. Crisis averted. He was content to merely slither along as they traveled, listening to Geo explain her goals and motivations just as he did earlier that day at the ice cream stall. It wasn't quite as inspiring this time around, seeing as how he knew she was awesome already, but things got interesting with it was Sterlie's turn.

It made enough sense, but something stuck out immediately to his little prepubescent boy brain. Most notably, that last little tidbit, uttered like it was not at all out of place or irregular. "There's girl swords??" Osiris blurted out, all shock and confusion. The dratini stopped moving as he looked up at the blade on Geo's waist with something resembling betrayal and bewilderment. His mind screeched to a halt, trying and failing to process the implications of this statement.

Geo glanced back at Osiris, then back to the sword, and couldn't help but feel the same. "Y-yeah, I never woulda thought..." she muttered, still having a bit of trouble coming to terms with it herself. The idea that the sword could be a girl sword had never crossed her mind. How was such a distinction made?

Alas, Sterlie seemed to take offense to the surprise. "Don't be such bigots! Of course there's girl swords! And boy swords!" it exclaimed. Or... she?

"But... how do you... decid-" Geo began, only to be interrupted by a more furious outburst.

"BECAUSE I'M A GIRL!!" Sterlie exclaimed, causing Geo to flinch. "WHAT, DO YOU THINK I JUST DECIDED TO BE A GIRL ONE DAY??" she continued, making the sylveon recoil more.

Geo suddenly didn't know what to say. "I-I mean... it's not like there's anything wrong with that..." she tried to clarify sheepishly. That's basically what she had personally done, but the sword seemed very blatantly offended by such an insinuation. She wondered if Iris felt the same...

"Is that not how it works?" Osiris cut in, his face scrunched up in an expression of intense thought. "I mean, you know, there's differences between boy and girl pokemon, like girls smell nice and they're prettier usually and sometimes they're scared of bugs, but...

"But swords get forged, right? What's the difference between a girl sword and a boy sword?" he asked out loud, audibly and visibly confused. There were a hundred zillion stories where the knight with the sword slew the dragon or the bad guy (and sometimes the dragon with the sword slew the knight, and those were the best), and Osiris felt like he was having a crisis at the prospect of those swords possibly being... girls. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but now he felt like he'd been reading Sailor Lunala stories, and that could get him made fun of.

Geo wasn't sure how she felt about this conversation, and Osiris' confused reaction did nothing to dissuade her own confliction. Fortunately, or perhaps less so, the sword spoke first so she didn't have to.

"That is so closed-minded! You aren't a girl just because of what you look like or act like or whatever. I just am one!" Sterlie berated, paying little attention to the sylveon next to her's ears slowly flattening more with every word spoken.

Geo was feeling more uncomfortable about this topic by the moment. "Well, I mean..." she muttered quietly, too nervous to speak up as the sword continued to talk over her.

"Honestly, that's like saying she's just a girl because she's got pretty pink bows and stuff! Like, you think she just woke up one day and decided "welp I'm a girl now" or something??" Sterlie continued to rant, and continued to ignore Geo's demeanor shifting.

"Y-yeah... kinda..." the sylveon finally spoke up nervously, barely able to get a few words in before the blade continued.

"Like, you know a sylveon could be a boy too, right?? Then what would-"

Processing what Geo had said a bit late, Sterlie fell silent mid-sentence.

"Are... I don't..." The dratini started, eyes flickering between Geo and the sword on her waist as the sword's rant trailed off. He heard the slyveon's minute, quiet interruptions, but was kind of at a loss as to what to say. He felt like he had an important question on his lips, and he tried to ask it, but fell short as soon as he began.

Sterlie's words barely registered with him before Geo dropped something resembling a tactical bombshell that left his brain screeching to a halt. What did that even mean? Was she not a girl before she decided she was? Could people do that? His first instinct was to plead for clarification, but something about the silent atmosphere told him that this was a sensitive subject. He had to consider his next words carefully.

"Uh—what?"

Dang, he was good.

Silence... That didn't seem good. Geo wasn't sure if she preferred the silence over any verbal response, since she had no idea how bad it would be, but she soon found out...

...

Well actually that wasn't very bad. She didn't know what she was supposed to say now, though. She felt very judged at the moment, and maybe not in a bad way, but it was still awkward to be the center of attention. Iris had asked for clarification, and Sterlie was silently waiting... "I-I mean... I'm... technically... a boy? When I first evolved, I thought I turned into a girl... because..." she paused and gestured to her body with her feelers, "...And by the time I had it all figured out, I just... I realized I felt more comfortable that way." She shifted her paws nervously and shrugged, not knowing what to expect after such confused initial reactions.

Sterlie, for one, was speechless.

"Oh."

That was really just about all he had to offer, at least right away. Osiris silently puzzled over the information he'd been given. He'd never heard of someone just doing that, but then again, most people he met were pretty okay with who and what they were—at least on the surface. He thought that if he were in Geo's position, and he evolved into a pink girly pokemon complete with ribbons and stuff, then... yeah, maybe he'd have some of those thoughts.

"Well... okay," he said, nodding a little bit and schooling his expression as if to say, "what else can ya do?" There were probably boy slyveons running around, but if Geo felt like a girl, it's not like anyone could really correct her. Not without knowing, at least. And even if that ever happened, she could probably kick their butts. "As long as you're happy?" Iris lamely added, subconsciously phrasing it like a question.

Geo's worry melted away when she heard the dratini's response. He didn't really seem to care at all; the perfect reaction. She nodded with a smile in response, "I'm happier nowadays than... ever, I think."

Then came Sterlie's response, which was not nearly as respectful. "Well I'm actually a girl," she spoke with a bit of an attitude, seemingly offended at being compared to Geo. Who did she even have to be upset with? Herself for making assumptions, maybe?

The sylveon was offended. She gave a hurt look before speaking back, "Hey... that's kinda mean..." She didn't want to get into a big fight over it but she felt like that could have been worded much nicer.

"What?" was the sword's immediate defense, "It's true, you're a boy!" She sounded as if she didn't even see anything wrong with the way she was acting, like someone just stating a fact.

At this point, Geo was getting a little upset. With a scowl, she responded, "And... you're a sword."

Both fell silent. Immediately, Geo felt bad. It wasn't as if Sterlie had made it clear how oddly important this was to her, and Geo knew she had probably just said something hurtful. Even if it was only in retaliation, she still felt bad about it.

"And I'm, uh... a noodle. If that makes you two feel better," Osiris added, his eyes flickering nervously between sword and wielder once more. He was pretty freaking lost.

That immediately felt like a really stupid contribution to the conversation, and not at all what he was trying to say. So he went for it again. "Like, everyone's got stuff they're not happy with. I don't have hands, you know, so... everyone deals with that stuff different." the dratini tried to elaborate, a boy lost at sea, no clue what he was doing or where to go from here. "It's kind of a jerk move to throw somebody's effort at being happy back in their face, though, no matter who you are." he finished, feeling like he was addressing them both, and neither of them, and everyone at home listening, for all he knew.

He almost went with 'technically, neither of you are girls,' since Sterlie had never answered him on the differences between boy and girl swords. Of which, in his educated opinion, he was pretty sure there were none, because swords weren't that complicated. That would have been a jerk move too, though. Osiris missed the simpler days of ice-cream.

There was a brief silence between sword and sylveon, even after Osiris was done talking. Geo, for one, felt terrible. She agreed completely and was disappointed in herself for even responding in such a way, despite the fact that it was only in retaliation. "You're right. I'm sorry," she spoke without hesitation, choosing to be the first to humble herself.

Sterlie, on the other hand, was more flustered than regretful. She was right! She was a girl, and the sylveon wasn't, and... "Whatever, moving on," she responded, trying desperately to dismiss the topic so she didn't have to talk about it anymore.

Geo was hesitant to just leave it at that, especially since Sterlie didn't seem particularly satisfied... but she wasn't going to force it. "Alright, um..." she looked to Osiris to see if he wanted to keep leading, since he had been doing that so far.

Honestly, he was absolutely winging it there, but whatever he said seemed to have disarmed the two of them. The dratini nodded after he was absolutely sure they weren't about to take off again, not positive what he did right but proud of himself regardless. "Let's go keep kicking butt and finding cool stuff," he suggested, figuring that would fix whatever funk the two of them had going on.

Nothing helped smoothed over egos like winning fights, scoring treasure, and feeling like an absolute legend. Even if they didn't manage to agree, they'd be more happy with themselves, and probably less motivated to be prickly. Also, like, teamwork or whatever, since Geo had to swing Sterlie around to beat things up.

With that proposition in the air, the dratini turned back to the direction they were originally going and made double-time, eager to make up for lost ground and distract all of them. To his dismay, though, there really wasn't a lot going on in the forest besides grass, bushes, and trees. There were a pair of non-agressive ledian floating overhead, waving at him cheerfully in response to his aggressive expression and provocative wriggle, and a slakoth he was pretty sure didn't notice him until after he passed it by, and no freaking trinkets to fight over.

"UGH. THERE'S NOTHING COOL ANYMORE GEO WHY DO YOU LIKE THIS PLACE."

With no complaints, Geo nodded eagerly and continued following the dratini with sword still in tow. She took Sterlie's continued attachment to her as indication she was also okay with continuing the exploration now. Geo, for one, was eager to do anything she could to move on from this topic. Unfortunately she shared Osiris' problem of rapidly growing bored as step after step brought no new adventures. They walked and walked and didn't see anything bar a few less-than-hostile pokemon that didn't offer any kind of excitement or even a conversation... and then, finally, Osiris had enough.

Geo jumped at the sudden outburst from the draconoodle, and even Sterlie gave a metallic yipe in surprise. "Well, I mean... you have to find the-" the sylveon started, only to be interrupted by the sounds of rustling in the distance. She fell silent and turned toward the noise, standing around like a big dumb idiot while she waited for whatever potentially harmful thing was coming their way.

"It sounds like you're about to get "something cool" alright," Sterlie remarked, a bit of tension in her voice. She, for one, was concerned over whatever the sound was, especially since it seemed to be coming closer at a considerable speed.

"Whatever you do, don't let me get eaten," Osiris exclaimed, shaking himself out and preparing for battle. "I'll do the same for you guys, but I don't think people eat swords or ninjas!"

The dratini backed up so that he stood at Geo and Sterlie's side, tense and coiled up, ready to lash out at whatever leaped from the bushes. This was decidedly impossible because a miniature stampede was what burst out at them - Iris only just managed to scuttle out of the way, catching glimpses of three different pokemon in full retreat. The tawny brown feather of a farfetch'd nudged him roughly out of the way, as he wasn't quite quick enough to dodge their charge. A bellsprout and a paras scurried frantically at both of its sides, all three of them looking panicked and fearful.

"Move, blockheads! Go, go, go!" the duck pokemon quacked wildly, its leek flailing about as it and its friends cut across the mild clearing in record time, disappearing into the shadows of the forest behind the trio of explorers. Osiris blinked dumbly at their impromptu entrance and exit, staring after them with a stupefied expression.

His eyes flickered toward his sylveon companion before slowly turning back to look in the direction the three came from. And in the distance, just beyond the stomped-on, frayed bushes that the farfetch'd and its pals trampled... two pairs of chilling, violet eyes stared back at him. Along with two pairs of sharp, chittering mandibles, a duo of horns, and way too many legs for Osiris to be comfortable with.

Ariados' probably ate ninjas, he realized in hindsight, to say nothing of noodles. And then the pair of them lunged forward, limbs outstretched and toxic spittle spraying from their maws.

Sterlie began to glow red once more as the sounds grew closer. Geo, meanwhile, tensed up and crouched down in preparation for whatever was coming. The sylveon couldn't help but give an awkward, confused glance at Osiris, wondering why he was so concerned about himself specifically being eaten. Well... he was kind of a noodle. Maybe dratini were secretly a delicacy and he was assaulted on a daily basis by hungry maniacs; not that she would know, because she definitely wasn't interested in meat-eating.

Fortunately, there was no ravenous beast approaching with intent to eat anyone. It was just a few harmless passerbys, which caught Geo off-guard but did little else. She stepped to the side ungracefully as the paras ran practically right under her, then turned to watch the trio go. They definitely weren't interested in fighting... or even just sticking around to chat. She was disappointed if only for a moment before she turned back forward. "Well that was-" she began, falling silent at the sight of something ahead. She barely had any time to realize something was staring back at her before two ariados sprang forth, attacking by spitting everywhere. The sprays seemed different in consistency, and felt different too, because she was too surprised and too slow to avoid either one.

The spray from the left ariados stung, while the right one was more... numbing. She suddenly felt like the liquid in her fur was weighing her down, and for a moment she zoned out of the fight, closing her eyes and shaking her head in an attempt to dispell the icky sensations. Then a voice snapped her back into reality.

"SWING!!" came the demanding voice of Sterlie, prompting the sylveon to open her eyes just in time to see one of the ariados skittering straight for her.

Geo obeyed the command, turning her head and biting onto the hilt of the sword at her side before pulling at it. Sterlie seemed... heavier now, taking her by surprise. Geo nearly dropped the sword on the ground in hesitation at how much harder it was to lift, but she quickly got over it and swung in a crescent arc as hard as she could. The spider lunged and threw its front legs forward, and they collided with the sword with a clang almost like crossing blades. Both parties were knocked back by the impact, with Geo stumbling and nearly falling. The ariados' legs seemed unfazed by clashing with a sword, despite the fact that Geo had used the sharp side this time.