House of Hallways

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Varda was quite exhausted! The trip through the odd house had been very taxing already, but when he had to make a quick trip back to the little town with a Glaceon on his back... Well, it certainly had been something, alright! Luckily he didn't have to carry his friend back, as they had been lucky and there was a Pokémon who could deal with their injuries for a small compensation, so they could just rush to the spooky weird house as soon as their legs – and wings – allowed them to! They had lost some valuable time doing this, but the bird believed he had done the right decision on his own, without Sova's help...

The house felt strange this time. They had been through such strange rooms on their first visit, but now the door they took sent them to an odd, extremely long hallway. It was rather narrow compared to many rooms they had seen before, but the hallway was wide enough to let a couple of Pokémon to walk side by side. There were no doors the bird could see, there hadn't been any doors for a while since the last one they took. As usual, there were various candles on the walls lighting up the gloomy house, some dark spots left behind by the dim lighting. The floorboards creaked under the pair of Pokémon and the old wallpaper was ripped in many places, revealing old wooden panels.


Current Energy: 38 (57 -19 from entering)

Sova watched as his blizzard slowly whittled down the strength of the barrier, patiently staring and waiting.  He knew Protect couldn't last forever, that the barrier would break eventually, and he was confident he was strong enough to overpower this froslass and break her barrier easily.  Sure enough, cracks showed in the green bubble within a few seconds, slowly spreading with every moment.  The cracks glowed a white color in contrast to the green, which was actually kind of pretty....

The light was almost enough to distract the glaceon momentarily, and he began to realize what he was doing.... he was senselessly.... attacking.... his........ fr....

The whispering sounds seemed to just get louder as he thought to himself, quickly getting to the point where it seemed to be in his head.  All traces of rationality dwindled out of him as the strange, corrupting noise entirely took over.  He suddenly darted through his own blizzard and rammed himself into the forcefield, creating a web-like pattern of cracks in the area he'd targeted.  He jumped back before charging forward once more....

Nevi was already struggling to keep her barrier up, with it cracking from the stress of the constant blizzard, but she managed to glance over to Varda anyway as he questioned something.  He had.... an orb.  Would that be good?  Well, that was a good question.  "U-uh, I don't know, what is-" she paused as a sudden THUD against the barrier sounded out, drawing her attention back in front of her.
Sova was apparently taking a more direct approach with breaking it....  She tried to redirect some of the power to the front to help hold it off, but it was too late, a second hit came and the barrier nearly immediately shattered into white light before disappearing.

The froslass gasped, before throwing both of her arms in front of her and creating yet another barrier quickly enough to still block out the blizzard.  But she doubted she would be able to muster the energy to create another if this one was broken.... in fact, she didn't even know how long she could keep it up.  "I.... I can't...." she muttered as she struggled to hold off the blizzard, her attention being too focused on keeping the barrier up at the moment to focus on Varda.

Sova showed no signs of joy when the barrier was broken, where he normally would have been glad to have some small victory.  Right now, he just seemed.... heartless, uncaring for a concept like "victory."  All he could think of was the noise, and he wanted it to stop, but he couldn't think clearly enough to figure out what was making it.  Actually, he couldn't think clearly at all, and his reaction to this was simply to attack.  At this point, he wasn't even attacking out of spite.... it was because it was all he could think to do!

(Sure, though that's not gonna work at the current moment since Sova just ate a Chesto berry.  A Silence orb could work, it'd stop the whispers.  Or I could just have Sova stop it if you want it stopped.)

Varda glanced up, noticing how the green protective shell around them was starting to crack. It really did feel like they were inside an egg, but... They weren't doing anything to crack the shell themselves! Cracking an egg from the outside wasn't a good thing, so obviously this wasn't fine either. All he had was the orb he held gently in the embrace of his wings, but unfortunately, when Nevi took a look at it... It didn't seem like she actually knew what it was. He didn't, either. Well, he knew it was a Wonder Orb and could do amazing things, but what it did, he didn't know. They all looked the same to him honestly!

But every time he had used one, it had been very good, saving them from trouble. He was a bit worried about what would happen to Sova if they did use this one, as they could potentially have some very bad effects... Yes, maybe it was better to abandon this plan and think of something else for Sova's safety!

Such thoughts were soon stopped by a sudden thud from the outside as something slammed against their little egg home. A second hit seemed to shatter the whole thing, vanishing after turning white. Cold air started to rush through before another shell was put up – but the sudden sound had really started the bird! He had jumped, the orb flying up in the air as well seeing that he had no actual hands to hold it with. The Altaria scrambled to catch it, his wings spread, but the thing just easily slipped through his feathers. He tried again and again, unable to catch the slippery orb... Until it fell on the ground and shattered into many little pieces.



((Dun got no silencers. But this one might put the ghosties to sleep to stop confusion dance mantra.))

The blizzard beat away at the barrier continuously as Sova prepared to attack it head-on once more, when a sudden sound made him pause.... Glass shattering? He couldn't very well see inside of the barrier, so he wasn't entirely sure, but.... he almost immediately noticed something else. The whispers, they were subsiding, and quickly! The blizzard began to die down as his state of mind cleared and he realized what he was doing. He wasn't quite stopping, but he was becoming hesitant. Then the barrier suddenly disappeared, forcing him to make a decision whether to keep fighting or stop.

The wind nearly instantly died out and the snow all fell to the ground. He couldn't attack Varda. Why had he even done this in the first place? What had gotten into him?

Nevi glanced back as she heard a shatter, but felt the barrier begin to weaken within just a moment of losing her concentration. But before she could even think to do anything else.... she began to feel drowsy. Her concentration was entirely lost within moments and the Protect faded, she felt the cold air for a moment.... then nothing. She fell to the ground, yet did not phase through it like most ghosts.

(Oh.... I didn't even think of that. Yep, that works.)

Varda looked at the small shard of the broken orb on the floor, silently worrying about what had happened. He hadn't meant to break it, he shouldn't even have taken it out of his bag to risk this! He didn't feel like anything, but he never really had felt like anything when breaking an orb, ever! But this time... The shell around them disappeared, the cold air rushed in and ruffled the bird's feathers as he quickly shut his eyes... And then the wind died down. It was still cold, the snow was falling from the ceiling and gently landed on the fluffed up feathers.

The Altaria opened his eyes, blinking. A little sneeze escaped him, causing some of the powdery snow that had gathered on his beak to scatter into the air. It was... A bit cold now – and he was still exhausted. What he failed to notice was that he was no longer moving so much, his dancing having stopped – and he actually had been pretty still for a moment before, as well.

What he did notice, however... Was Nevi. The Pokémon was lying on the floor, awfully still. Varda flinched, quickly taking a step closer to her as he started prodding her with his wings.
"Nevi? Nevi! Are you alright?"



((You were only thinking of some smooth bird moves, admit it.))

As the snow fell, the situation began to really dawn on Sova. He noticed the froslass laying on the ground and couldn't help but wonder if it was his fault, if he'd actually hurt her. It.... it felt bad, he was guilty, but he wasn't sure why. He'd been wanting to fight her the whole time, and she surely wasn't dead! He slowly approached the two, but only managed to get about halfway there before something suddenly fell from the ceiling and landed on the floor right in front of him! A big purple-ish thing.... oh, a gengar. Wait, gengar generally didn't normally fall from the ceiling. It seemed to be half-asleep, probably disturbed by the fall, but....

Oh. OH. The glaceon growled as he realized this creature must have been behind the whispers.... It'd been an attack, one targeting the minds of the group, and he had a good guess as to what it was! He noticed the shards on the ground and gathered that the breaking sound had been an orb, presumably a Slumber Orb if it'd put both Nevi and this gengar to sleep. Well, he wasn't willing to let this creature go without far more of a beating.... though this was partly because the effects of Swagger still lingered in him.

He bit onto one of the ghost's ears and pulled it up to its feet before it could begin sinking into the floor, to which it responded by stumbling back a bit and beginning to fall over. He took a deep breath and blew freezing mist at the gengar before it could fall, knocking it into the wall and fully waking it up. "Well hello there," he spoke as he slowly approached the creature.
It could try to escape into the walls, he knew this, but he was prepared to grab it and pull it out if it tried.

Nevi laid on the ground, unconscious, but breathing. She wasn't hurt.... at least, not severely, the orb had just put her to sleep.

(I admit it. Forgive me feather for I have sinned.)

Lord E V carried out 1 launched of one Ruined Passageway :

Varda had no idea what to do! He had no idea what had happened, either! Of course there was a reason to panic when someone suddenly just fell over like that and didn't move! Was Nevi sleeping? Maybe she was just sleeping. He didn't know why she'd be sleeping just like this in the middle of a weird hallway but, but...! She could have just fallen asleep. Somehow. Maybe she was really tired. She had looked very tired, after all. Maybe it was all fine. But thinking about it didn't really make the bird feel much better.

Walking in place, the Altaria was quickly trying to figure out something he could do to help. All he could really think of was to poke the Pokémon on the ground gently, occasionally calling her name in case she would get up. She had to get up, after all! He was so worried about Nevi that he didn't even notice the purple ghost-like Pokémon floating down, much less Sova... But he did remember the Glaceon's existence when he spoke up, causing the bird to lift his neck.

He noticed the odd Pokémon Sova was talking to now, yes, but... He didn't really pay much attention to it! After all, there were much more important things to think and talk about!
"S-Sova!" Varda chirped at his friend, looking very worried and lost,
"Nevi's just... There! What do I do, what do we do?"


((You should be ashamed of yourself. But I don't think anyone can look away.))

Bird carried out 1 launched of one Ruined Passageway :

Sova's mind began to cloud once more as he allowed the lingering effects of Swagger to overcome him. With the assumption this gengar was the cause of the entire scene that'd just occurred, though, his mindset really wouldn't have been all that different even without the confusion. This was one thing he would want to hurt enough to act on it, even in a normal state of mind. Then something else came into his mind, breaking his tunnel-vision of the gengar. Varda.... worried about the froslass. Right. She was unconscious.

The glaceon turned toward his friend for just a moment, then back to the gengar.... but there was only a wall now. Turning away for just a second had allowed it to escape. But he doubted it would be back, considering how hard he'd just hit it. Either way, with the thing he was infuriated at gone, the lingering effects of Swagger began to fade once more. He turned back to his friend and the unconscious froslass and calmly made his way over to them, clearly not in a hurry.

"Relax. Looks like one of you broke an orb, and since a gengar just fell from the ceiling and she's unconscious, I'm guessing it was a Slumber orb," he began just as he reached the two.
Just to make sure he was right, though, he bent down a bit next to the froslass and listened for a moment. She was breathing, she wasn't dead, good enough. "Yeah, she's breathing," he continued.
Though, even if he wasn't worried about Nevi's well-being, he figured Varda would't leave without her, which meant they'd have to carry her or wake her up.

Nevi remained unconscious and unresponsive the entire time, the orb having sufficiently knocked her out cold.

(I can't be ashamed if I have no humility.)

Varda was still worried and very concerned despite Sova's awfully calm demeanor now that he had caught the Glaceon's attention and caused the Pokémon to start walking towards him and Nevi. Sova suspected an orb, and... That was right! He had accidentally broken that orb in the middle of everything... Maybe it would do something like this. A Slumber Orb sounded good, better than, well, kill-everything-everywhere Orb. He turned to look at the sleeping ghost-like Pokémon on the floor, feeling a bit better.

"Oh, maybe, I did break an orb... I didn't know what it was," the bird chirped, tilting his head slightly as he looked up at the Glaceon,
"I have... Never been orb'd! What do we do? Can you um, wake someone up? Or... Something," he continued, a bit unsure what it actually meant for someone to be hit by a Slumber Orb. Nevi was breathing, but... She was still fast asleep, despite his poking and prodding and all the talking he had done. Did these things ever wear off?!


((In the presence of our dance lord Varda, everyone is a pure, innocent maiden.))

Sova stared at the froslass for a moment, briefly considering suggesting just to leave her behind. His memories were a bit hazy, given he'd been sent into a blind rage, so he was a bit distracted trying to put what'd just happened together as well. In the end, though, he remembered enough to know Nevi protected Varda.... from him.... he'd been the villain. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't justify continuing his unkind behavior toward the froslass. He looked down at the unconscious specter and wondered what to do, before deciding on an option and beginning to walk along the path forward down the ever-extending hallway.

"Just carry her. She'll wake up soon enough, the effects don't last too long," he suggested as he walked, finally being willing to keep the froslass in their group without any trouble.
He didn't really want to wake her up, though, as he was hoping to get a bit of time to talk to Varda before then. He'd done something very wrong, even if the altaria just couldn't see it, and he needed to apologize. Actually.... maybe he needed to do a bit more than that. Varda didn't really deserve a friend as bad as him, maybe he.... needed to go back to being alone. It seemed to be where he belonged, what he deserved.

(B-but I don't wanna be a maiden. I LIKED MY SIN, GIVE IT BACK!)

Carrying... Varda looked down at the unconscious Pokémon after hearing the suggestion. Or sleeping? Would it be better to call her sleeping because she was sleeping? Was there a difference between being unconscious and sleeping? He had no idea! But the idea was good, probably. If Sova didn't suggest waking her up, then... Well, they probably couldn't wake her up. But Nevi would totally wake up at some point if they waited! He was sure of that. Certainly the orb couldn't make someone sleep forever, right...?

The Altaria had made up his mind, sliding his wings underneath the Pokémon. She wasn't a very small Pokémon, but she looked light... After all, she floated around and looked like she was made of nothing! Even her form was very slim! But when the bird actually started lifting her, well... It turned out she was much heavier than she looked, causing him to struggle as he tried to get Nevi on his back!
"Oof... Do you think... She will be mad if I said she's pretty heavy...?"


((I feel this video works here.))

Sova watched as his friend lifted the froslass and seemed to struggle doing so. He couldn't help but wonder how a froslass could be heavy, since the main portion of one's body was actually hollow and they weren't particularly large. Then again, Varda had never shown to be overly.... strong, at least not on the physical side, so perhaps this shouldn't have been so surprising. Still, it was a bit funny to see someone struggle with lifting something that seemed so light in theory. He just couldn't resist the urge to bring up how silly this situation seemed.

"....You can barely lift something that's nearly completely hollow," he stated in disbelief, finding it hard to really understand how a froslass could possibly be so heavy.
"You need to exercise more," he continued as he watched his friend's struggle.
If this kept up, he'd probably have to help, which meant he'd likely end up being the one carrying the froslass. Not ideal, but he supposed he kind of owed at least that much to his friend after what'd just happened. He also owed it to Nevi, as much as he didn't want to, since she'd protected Varda.

(It does. It truly does.)

Varda raised the awfully floppy, unconscious body of Nevi over his back, holding her in place with his wings. He wasn't really built for this, or trying to hold anything with his handless arms anyways! He supposed he just had to manage somehow, keep his back level so he wouldn't accidentally cause the Pokémon to slide off him with gravity! It would have been so much easier, had Nevi been a smaller Pokémon without such long parts that dangled off the sides and made everything so difficult...

The Altaria scoffed a little at Sova's words, puffing up his white, fluffy chest even further – though considering his hunched position, he didn't really manage to look at big and tough as he wanted.
"Well!" He chirped to start, clearly about to explain how nothing was as easy as the Glaceon thought it was,
"She just isn't very light!" Varda continued, taking a few, careful steps forward. Saying it so directly without even trying to dress it up as something... Well, maybe he had to be glad that that she was currently sleeping and not listening, in case she would be offended. Maybe ghosts were very sensitive about their weight, being all... Floaty and and stuff!


((Good, now you know how futile it is.))

Sova chuckled as he walked, keeping a slow pace to make sure Varda could keep up while holding a froslass. It at least seemed the altaria was managing, though he still wondered if perhaps he should offer to do the carrying himself instead. He wasn't the most physically strong thing in the world, but he'd carried others more times than he ever would have expected to, so he was kind of used to it. But he didn't want to hurt Varda's ego by offering such a thing, even though he wasn't sure if the bird even had an ego to begin with.

"Want me to carry her?" he questioned, figuring it couldn't possibly be too big of a deal to simply ask.
He looked around at the walls as he walked, all of the red words covering them. It seemed this area had been claimed by a group of ghosts, as he felt hesitant to believe one single gengar could cause so much trouble alone. However, none of this mattered now as the ghosts were presumably all asleep now and they were nearing what seemed to be the end of the marked territory. The creatures surely wouldn't pursue them outside of the marked area, and besides, he'd just given the gengar a pretty good reason not to come after him in the form of pain.

(Ayyy trawl orb tho)

Lord E V carried out 10 launched of one Ruined Passageway :

, , , , , , , , ,

Varda continued his slow, shaky steps, following the Glaceon down the hallway. It wasn't easy, but he just had to keep at it. The last thing he wanted to do was to drop Nevi! That would have hurt, and that was bad. He couldn't really focus on his surroundings, his head low and eyes often closed as he concentrated on just that one task he had to take care of. The bird did raise his neck slightly when Sova offered to help, ready to carry her. He didn't stop, though. It would have been really hard to get moving again if he did!

"Oof, well, you don't really have... Hands, either," the Altaria huffed, his voice strained from the carrying. A long, limp body like this... One reason it was so difficult was because it was really hard to hold them in one place, seeing how they were constantly shifting with the motions of the carrier.
"I did get you back to the town earlier when you couldn't move! Though... I think she's a bit  heavier than you," Varda continued, his voice becoming lower in volume towards the end, almost a whisper.


((How many trawl orbs does it take for us to get a music box piece?))

Sova didn't have hands, this was true, and he would be lying to say that it had never been problematic in the past, but he hadn't had any severe problems carrying others due to this. The biggest issue was the weight, as he wasn't very big, nor very physically strong. Maybe he looked like it in fights, but truthfully, he used momentum to make his physical attacks hit harder rather than his own strength. Still, he'd managed to carry others plenty before, though he had no problems with just letting Varda do the work since the bird was insisting so much. He certainly didn't want to do it himself, his offer had really just been an attempt at being nice after being.... less than nice previously.

"Alright, if you insist...." he muttered as he walked along, not wanting to be annoying and press the topic, especially since neither of them wanted what he was offering.
But now that that was out of the way, he had something else he wanted to talk about, and he hoped Varda would give some kind of insightful answer instead of a normal narrow-minded, naive Varda-y answer. "Varda.... why are you still here?" he questioned.
It wasn't that he wanted to start a pity party for himself, but he was starting to realize he was kind of a terrible guy most of the time, and he couldn't understand why someone so nice as Varda would ever want to be around him.

The mind of the unconscious froslass began to spark back to life as the effects of the orb gradually wore off. She wasn't quite waking up yet, but that would hopefully happen soon.

(More than 3.)