Shadowy Marsh and Clawing Mists

Marshes are not usually traversed through, at least not without reason, due to many sorts of dangers that inhabit the area. Territorial Pokemon prowl through the area, willing to jump upon anyone that come into their home. Environmental hazards in places you least expect, just poised to trap any traveler unlucky enough to stumble into them. That and many more makes that deadly mixture even more so. Still, in the midst of all of that, the place has its beauty as well, so long as you are willing to tough it out.

One such pokemon, a Zangoose to be specific, was one of those willing to go through with the dangers, though his reason for it was not as clear cut. Trudging through the swamp, his eyes glazed over the area, deep within his own thoughts. He kept quiet during all of this, the only noises in the area being that of his own movements, and the natural "music" of the environment. It wasn't until Kezz reached a small spot of somewhat dry land that the male stopped to take in the sight of it all.

(So...This is Cattail Marsh...) the male thought, still keeping his mental and actual eyes focused to any signs of dangers. (There is a strange...feel in the air...Maybe I should keep going...) Suddenly, the male snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of thunder, booming in the distance. With a furrowed brow, the male looked around more before muttering to himself. "I better find shelter first though.."

Hidden in the murky mists of the Cattail Marshes, a dark figure was wandering, watching the sun vanish between the dark clouds, that had been filling the sky since morning already.
With his glowing eyes of deepest crimson William the Gengar was much better suited than most other Pokémon to traverse these lands. Not many others wandered here, mostly because of the inate danger a place such as this posed, making it an ideal place to calm down, rest and clear one's head from the worries of everyday life.
Just as he had done so many times before, the Ghost type traversed the marshes, thinking about a variety of things as he spotted something new in the distance. Although the fog obscured the being's exact shape, there definitely was something hidden behind the white blanket of mystery.
Was it a foe or a friend?
William would find out soon.

The Zangoose gave a quick once-over of the area, keeping his mental map of his position updated by the second before turning in a direction to try to make his way to some coverage. However, before he took a step, his ears suddenly shot  up, feeling he was being...watched. He kept quiet, his eyes darting here and there. However, as much as he wish he could see through the fog enough to spot his onlooker, it was too tough to do so, especially without the sun's help to disperse at least a bit of the mist. Nevertheless, the Zangoose kept his guard up, wondering in the back of his mind whether it was a hostile or friendly as he stood there, rigid as a statue.

(I should not stick out in the open like this....) Thought the male, trying to keep himself from making a sound, a feat hard with his tail occassionally moving through some nearby water. (And that feeling...Who is out there..?)

The shadow had noticed his presence. There was no doubt about that part.
But it wasn't moving. Why? Had it not seen him yet?
But William couldn't just step out of the fog now. What if it was a dangerous beast intending to kill him like so many other Pokémon tried to long ago?
No, for now he would have to lie waiting. Or...maybe he could do something else...
Trying to sound as ominous as possible, the Gengar began to speak:

"What is your doing in these swamps, mortal? These plains of fog are my domain, so explain yourself...and make it quick."

If the male had any kind of fear, good luck with trying to see it, the look on the Zangoose's face was a stony as his posture when he heard the unknown voice. He didn't reply at first, his ears twitching as he thought through what he was going to respond. If there was going to be a fight he would be more than willing to defend himself..However, the fact that the presence he felt before was actually responding instead of just attacking confused the male, making him wonder who exactly this entity was. Still, he made sure not to dwell too much on his thoughts without responding.

"I am a traveler...Nothing more, nothing less..." the male spoke, his tone soft, but strong and clear enough to be heard with a sort of deep undertone. "I came to this place on merely a whim..." It wasn't a lie..But it wasn't exactly the whole truth...His real reason for coming was for the rain actually, this place being one of the few he has heard about that rains on a frequent basis...Even with the dangers, it intrigued the male, though he wasn't going to say THAT out loud.

The answer surprised the Ghost type, but as he was here for the same reasons, he decided to accept it for now.
Of course the shadow could have been lying, but just standing around in the fog would not solve anything and if it would come to a battle, the Gengar certaily wasn't weak.
Thus William slowly wandered out of the misty walls, that had been covering his shadowy figure, revealing himself to the being in front of him.
Hopefully it spoke the truth.

The Zangoose felt the presence move closer, however, when they finally made their appearance, the sight brought out a feeling of confusion, making one of the male's brow to raise a bit. However, considering that the pokemon wasn't just outright acting hostile, he decided to ease his guard some. After all, better than having to get into a tussle, even though the Zangoose was no pushover he still would rather not deal with it unless he had to. Still, he kept up a bit of a defensive posture due to a lack of information on this arrival. "You...Are a large contrast to what I was expecting to appear...." the male slowly started to speak, trying to register this new kind of information. "...Who are you..? Another traveler as well..?"

Okay, the shadow appeared to have been a Zangoose. And it didn't seem to be hostile...yet.
That was a good sign.
Grinning as usual the Gengar decided to respond:
"I am the ghost of christmas past and I bring a warning...Just kidding. As you should be able to see, I am a Gengar. And yes, I suppose one could describe me as a traveler of sorts. A rememberer maybe. And I would suggest for you to leave. It certainly isn't safe here. Especially not for beings of your type. Some of the Pokémon here exist in more dimensions than those you can see..."

The attempt at a joke...was not overlooked as the male's posture was kinda chipped away with a sweatdrop. "A ghost type doing ghost puns..." the male thought to himself, looking to the side for a second as his defense seemed to soften up a bit "Fitting I guess.." Still, even with the...joke..The male did hear the rest of what the Gengar said, looking back and nodding. "I can believe that...However, even with the dangers...As much as it is smart to avoid places like this, the place intrigued me enough to warrant a small lapse in common sense..." His gaze started to move a bit, keeping the Gengar within his mental field of vision as he looked towards some of the small views of the area, visible even with the fog. "This place..even with its dangers...has a comforting feel to it....As strange as it may sound..."

Now this answer was one to surprise William.
There actually were other Pokémon enjoying the fog of these lands?
Maybe this Normal type wasn't too bad after all. But one could never be too sure, so the Ghost type remained wary of his opponent.
"Interesting. It is rare for Pokémon to visit this place, much less voluntarily. Indeed I have come here for similar reasons. WHere do you hail from? I do not believe to have met you before. Neither here, nor in the many places I had to call home before."
As he spoke that last sentence, the corners of the Poison type twitched a little, memories of a past long gone filling his head again. Still the monotonous smile remained on William's face.

Usually, small features like that are usually unnoticeable to all but the very observant..However, when was the Zangoose EVER unobservant?..Though, he pondered whether or not to say anything, after all...Everyone has their "undesired information"...As he thought during the conversation it was easy to notice some similarities between the two..Which seemed to put him at ease, even with his still wary posture...Small bit of paranoia and what not..But, one thing he is sure of: This isn't a situation between enemies..

"Well..." the normal type started, thinking through his answer. The question brought some own bad memories to trickle back into the forefront of his mind as well, causing the male's already neutral, if not sleepy looking face to chip away into a more subtle type of somber. "I come from the western half of this world...In a more out-of-the-way area...Not too many pokemon actually do travel there...But....Its good that they don't..Its not a great place to traverse to..." The Zangoose sighed a bit and shook his head, looking at the ghost pokemon "How about you, if I may inquire..?"

Of course it would have to come to this.
William's story was not a pleasant one, but he didn't seem to have a choice here.
Sighing he begun to speak:
"I...I hail from everywhere and yet nowhere in particular. The longest time of my life was spent wandering the world...far, far away from any civilisation. Only recently I have managed to find a place to stay. For how long that will be I am unsure. I have never been a Pokémon of society and society has never really been my friend. There is one feeling, that can save your life. But in many cases it can do harm. More harm than you could imagine. That feeling is fear. I just hope you'll never experience what I had to. So...what do we do now?"

The Zangoose was quiet for a moment, listening to the pokemon's story. If anything, he had sympathy for him, that was to be sure..if not understanding... When the story came to an end, the male did say anything at first, looking to be deep in thought. However, when he was finally ready to speak, he gave a smile that seemed...sad if anything, moving back a bit of his hair and fur to reveal a claw mark over one of his eyes. "Its funny..." The male started to speak, a bit uncomfortable showing something like this but.. "..How pain can find its way to people, even if its in a different manner...I have felt many kinds of feelings before I started my journey...Fear....Sadness...Confusion...But the biggest have been.." He let go, his hair and fur falling back into place as he continued. "Anger.....And emptiness...Because of a menagerie...A circus act trying to masquerade as a town...Who can't get over a fact that has been hanging over their head ever since their ancestors' ancestors...And because of that, I no longer have a home as well..." The Zangoose doesn't know why he is suddenly spouting all of this to someone who he just met..But...It just seemed to come out really...Either way, he finally turned, looking up at the sky.. "...So its too late really...It might not have been the exact same experiences..But it has done its damage...However...If it hadn't happened....-" The male went quiet for a moment, not really sure of how to answer it..What WOULD have happened if life went a different path for him...? Its another question he just didn't have an answer for..

"-...Either way.." The male spoke, ending his previous line for a later date "You will find your place...I can feel it...Just got to keep looking...Until then, do not let your pain hide the beauty in this world from your eyes...It is a curse..but a gift as well...But..to answer your question..I would suggest to find some shelter from the rain coming soon...It might not effect you too much, but I rather not get drenched any more than how drenched I am from the marsh water..." He gave a soft chuckle, soon tilting his head towards the Gengar. "Know any places here..?"

For the first time in a few days the Ghost type managed to chuckle again.
"Thanks. Pain is a horrible feeling, but it makes us who we are."
Even though the two of them had never crossed paths before, William already had the feeling to understand the Pokémon in front of him better than most others he had ever encountered. And he seemed to understand him as well. At least he didn't seem to fear the Gengar...yet.
"We both have our stories. But while our beginnings may have been dark and gloomy we haven't reached our last pages yet. With hard work it should be possible to write our own destinies. And to answer your question: No, I don't know any places nearby. Or rather I know, that there aren't any places nearby. The closest would be Grassveil Town, but we wouldn't be able to reach it before it starts to rain. In these areas there are fog, mud, water and not much else. And...looking at you I'd say, that more drenched wouldn't really be possible.", he grinned.

The male gave another chuckle, a small smile seen as he nods in response. "Touche..Though, might as well find some cover either way...Still.." The Zangoose looks around for a moment, pondering his next move as thunder was heard in the distance. "If we can't get to town in time...Maybe we can use one of the few trees as shelter....Especially if they..." After a second of searching, his eyes came across a large tree nearby. It wasn't as plentiful with leaves to take cover under with rainfall like others, however a spacious underside was seen with its form as its roots dug into the dirt underneath some water. The male still needed to get wet to get there, but it was better than getting drenched on both sides.

"Ahhh...How about there..?.." The normal type asked, pointing to the tree where he was looking at. "It has enough room to move under to keep out of the rain..Even with needing to trek through the water to get to it.."