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)

Varda's idea was turned down, as Sova did not want to dance. They didn't have time for it, he said. And that was right. They were on a strict time limit, they had to find the pieces of the music box and get to the room somewhere in this house to hopefully put a stop to it all. Yes, it was all good, he understood it, but... For some reason, his body just yearned for the dance and it was pushing his other thoughts aside! He knew they shouldn't and it would be such a waste of time, but he couldn't help himself! His foot was already tapping in the beat of imagined music, but it wasn't too difficult to stop it when Sova started to move once more. Varda had to follow him, after all, and in his current state... Well, movement wasn't an issue at all, that's what he wanted to do!

He hurried after the Glaceon, his steps light and springy as he hopped along happily. The Altaria hadn't intended to dance and he certainly wasn't trying to after he was told that they shouldn't. But despite that... There was a certain sashay to his step as he followed an imaginary beat, his motions growing larger and more pronounced with each step. In the end, he couldn't help but spread his wings a little, taking longer jumps and shaking his body. Perhaps it was as if he expected that no one noticed... And indeed, he didn't quite notice it himself! Soon he was gracefully jumping around with his long legs, the long streamers on his head pulled along and following his motions.

Sova did his best to tune out the subtle noises as he moved along, ignoring the attempts at intimidating words plastered along the walls. However, it seemed the more he ignored them, the harder they got to ignore.... They were.... getting louder. It took him a while to realize Varda's movements were off, something that would have been picked up nearly instantly otherwise. He glanced back to see the altaria dancing.... and it agitated him. They were on a VERY important mission, lives were at stake, and Varda was DANCING. He was used to the bird acting in such a manner, so it was odd that this bothered him so much, but it did!

The glaceon did his best to just ignore the fact that his ally was merely goofing off, but with every second, the sounds grew louder and his self-control seemed to slowly slip away in sync. WHY was this agitating him so much? That didn't really matter now.... he just wanted to make it stop. His movements abruptly paused before he suddenly spun around and shouted, "STOP!"
His tone clearly was not one intended to be kind at all, he was so obviously mad that.... actually, he seemed to be getting lightheaded. Was this from his agitation? Well, then, all the more reason to fix the problem!

Nevi did her best to just ignore the noises, failing. She took note of Varda's dancing faster than the glaceon, given she was paying more attention to him. It would have made her happy, she would have thought such actions were funny.... but she didn't. For some reason, she didn't really feel much. However, the dancing was at least serving as somewhat of a distraction from the noise, so good at its job in fact that she didn't even notice it gradually getting louder. But.... then Sova suddenly turned around and shouted in a very loud and mean manner, causing her to jump back in surprise. Well, she wasn't the one being yelled at, oddly enough, but it was arguably worse....

(Swagger hypnotizes Varda into dancing. Noted.)

Varda shuffled along, his feathers ruffed as he shook his body and proceeded forward with dancing steps. It was kind of fun, but kind of not. At some point he had noticed that he was indeed dancing, his body having decided to do something like that on its own, it seemed. The bird couldn't help but twirl dance, once even falling over as his long legs got caught up with each other, but he didn't mind. He just got right back up, continuing his dance as if nothing had happened. Had something happened? He wasn't even all that sure himself, now...

And then, suddenly, Sova stopped and yelled, the Pokémon's voice quite loud in the silence of the eerie manor. While such a thing surely would have made anyone jump back in surprise and stop everything they were doing... The Altaria didn't really react. He noticed it, yes, and he was surprised, but... His body continued to dance without even a moment of hesitation, not even flinching. Varda glanced down at his feet and then back to the Glaceon.
"I can't!"


((Swaggerest bird.))

Normally, Sova would have just been openly agitated at someone not listening to him. At that, he probably would have noticed something wasn't quite right.... but right now, for some reason, he just couldn't think straight. All he could think of right now was the whispering sound that still seemed to be growing louder and what he'd decided to be Varda taunting him. "Alright, then...." he muttered as he glared at the dancing bird.
His breath began to grow visibly cold as he spoke, which normally signaled he was about to use Frost Breath.... but he wouldn't attack his ally, right?

"I'll just MAKE you stop!" he shouted once more before viciously blowing, sending the freezing air in his lungs toward the altaria.
Yes, in a normal state of mind, he wouldn't have attacked a friend nor someone as pacifistic as Varda, but he was not in a normal state of mind. Right now, he could barely think, let alone contain himself. However, his attack was suddenly stopped as something darted in front of it.... the froslass.

Nevi watched idly as the glaceon quickly grew heated - ironically for an Ice-type - with the strange noises making it difficult for her to think of anything to do to help the situation. But when an attack was thrown out, she didn't need a normal state of mind to figure out what to do next. She quickly flew in front of the attack and put her arms out in front of her, seemingly doing nothing. However, when the attack neared her, a green partial barrier flashed in front of her for a moment, blocking the attack and sending the icy mist away from herself and the bird.

"Stop it!" the froslass demanded, a bit more hostile as well thanks to the infuriating whispers.
She was never scared of the glaceon in the first place, but in her normal state of mind, she was simply too nice to want to do such a thing with such a friendly altaria around. Now, though.... she was just a tad bit out of it.

(....How again does Swagger hypnotize Varda into dancing?)

Varda couldn't help but dance, his legs indeed not wanting to stop even though he was now aware of what he was doing – and didn't want to continue, as Sova was right! They didn't really have time for this, dancing somehow was slower when it came to walking forward even though his steps were faster this way and his pulse was racing! Must have been how he was taking sidesteps and back-hops every now and then. Yes, that made a lot of sense. But it didn't really help. When the Glaceon was willing to help him to stop, he did take that offer happily.
"Oh, um, okay!" He chirped while his legs continues to dance wildly.

The Altaria hadn't really thought how he would be stopped, the blast of freezing air traveling in his direction at the kind of a speed that would make it quite impossible to dodge – even if he was in control of his body. He couldn't even brace himself for the hit, his wings just flailing around in their feverish dance. But the coldness never came.

Nevi had rushed in front of the attack, telling them to stop. Varda assumed he was supposed to stop as well, but unfortunately he really couldn't. What he could do was flop over and fall on his belly, though his legs and wings continued to twitch as they still tried to dance.
"I think I'm stopping!"


((Normal Pokémon have this fight part of their brain and clearly Swagger causes their fight part of the brain to control everything. Varda's brain lacks the fight part and is instead replaced with a dance part, obviously.))

Stop.... that word took a moment to really register in Sova's mind.... He was being told to stop? The spastic dancing of the bird suddenly no longer mattered, nor did the words the altaria spoke. All that mattered was the thing that'd decided it could order him around, and oh how he wanted to prove it wrong. He took a few steps toward the froslass, his attention now focused entirely on her. "Stop? Or what?" he questioned as he continued to calmly walk closer and closer to the froslass.

Nevi noticed that her demand to stop seemed to have affected the wrong 'mon, as she hadn't really been talking to Varda. But, at least now he was down and wouldn't hurt himself.... probably. This meant she could focus her attention entirely on the increasingly hostile threat. "Or I'll make you!" she retorted, balls of cloudy mist beginning to form in both of her hands.
However, the glaceon continued to approach her, seemingly trying to call her on her bluff. She hadn't noticed, but she was backing away, just feeding into exactly what this glaceon wanted....

Sova grinned menacingly as Nevi's demands turned to threats, which gave him more than enough reason to attack. However, this wasn't good enough for him, he still wanted more! He wanted to get her to strike first, just to show how truly outmatched she surely was. He noticed the ghost trying to keep away from him and in return, picked up his pace, inching closer to her until he was nearly in her face. "Oh, please, you're not gonna make me do anything, because you wouldn't be able to even if you tried. And besides, you know if you do.... I'll ki-" he began to rant, suddenly being cut off by a blow to his face from one of Nevi's hands, which were still wielding Weather Balls.

The glaceon stumbled to the side a bit from the blow. It surprisingly hurt more than he'd expected, though it was partly because his face already had a considerable injury on it and it seemed Nevi had purposely targeted that. But, his response was merely a grin, with a very.... threatening tone to it. Sure, his face was hurting, but he'd gotten exactly what he wanted. More importantly....

It was his turn.

(Wow, that's an impressive argument. GG. Also, explanation because I know this post was probably a bit difficult to understand; Nevi b*tchslapped Sova.)

Varda wriggled on the floor, his limbs living their own life while he did his best to stay still – poorly of course, as his body was having other thoughts. Everything kind of ached, he had hit the floor so many times throughout the day, not to mention how his muscles didn't exactly enjoy their constant use. Even when protected by his feathers, the floor's chill managed creep up to his skin, causing the bird to shudder slightly. The whole world was dark too... Oh, but that was because his face was against the floorboards, his vision blocked. He got it!

The Altaria lifted his head, his neck craned as he looked up. He was still wriggling, but he felt like he at least understood what was going on better now! And... It wasn't good. His friends were already fighting, Nevi's hand having slapped the Glaceon's injured cheek. The situation looked like it was dangerously close to just blowing up right in their faces!

"Um, hold on!" Varda chirped from the floor, trying to get up but he didn't quite know how to do that when his limbs didn't seem to want to listen to him. They did want to move however, so the bird squirmed until he managed to flop over to his back and somehow shuffle his way closer to the pair like some kind of odd feathered bird-snake.
"We weren't supposed to fight, right?"


((Maybe one day Sova will become one with the dance as well.))

Sova heard his friend's attempts at calming the situation, but he didn't really care for such a thing at the moment. He glanced at the altaria for speaking once more, "It's a little late for that. Stay back."
His words were not only a simple response, as they also doubled as a warning. Right now, he was intent on fighting something, and it didn't particularly matter to him if it was a two on one. The moment he finished speaking, he proceeded to make it clear he meant what he said, with his fur seemingly instantly flash-freezing into spiked armor. Then he made his move, darting to the side and behind the froslass too fast for her to keep track of.

Nevi paid a great deal more mind to the altaria than the other member of the party, lowing her guard momentarily as it was requested for the fighting to stop. Right.... they weren't supposed to be fighting. Then the glaceon spoke up and made it evident he didn't intend to stop fighting, before bringing about his battle armor. "W-wait, we-" she began as the glaceon seemingly disappeared from her view.
However, her words were cut off when a sharp pain suddenly slammed into the back of her body and forced her into the ground with a light "oof..."

The second Sova got behind the froslass, he attacked, not even waiting to listen to what she had to say. He lifted himself onto his front paws and did a sort of cartwheel, bringing his now-spiked - and weighted - tail down as hard as he could on the froslass. It worked perfectly, swatting the pesky airborne creature into the ground. At this point, he had a passing thought about perhaps leaving the fight at this since he'd already shown the dominance he'd wanted, but.... the whispers.... they compelled him.

(Sova can never become one with the dance. His brain doesn't have a "happy" setting, let alone a "dance" setting. That and it's hard to dance with 4 legs.)

Varda continued to wiggle on the ground, pouting a little as his comments were brushed aside by the Glaceon. Late, late... That was right, they were late! He had almost forgotten their task, even his dancing had been seen as a waste of time! But this was a waste of time too, wasn't it? Maybe an even bigger one! They had to stop this and get right on track, but while the bird was trying to figure out how to get back on his wiggling legs, Sova... Turned spiky and lunged at Nevi before he could even blink! With a slam, the floating ghost-like Pokémon was on the floor, causing Varda to let out a little chirp as he jumped on his feet from the surprise.

His body still couldn't stay still, hopping over to Nevi with one big leap – one he almost failed, but he managed to keep his balance instead of crashing over the poor Pokémon on the floor. Standing between the two, the Altaria couldn't help but swing and move his body in the beat of imaginary music, his wings stretched.
"You can't do that, Sova!" The bird chirped his protests, standing – or, well, dancing his ground,
"That's... Mean!"


((You fool! Don't you realize... That with four legs he can do twice the dance?!))

Sova paused for a moment as the altaria leaped between himself and his target, reminding him of the reason he'd originally been agitated.... that dancing.  The bird was saying words, but he didn't really care.  However, he was more interested in attacking Nevi at the moment than Varda.  More interested, but still willing to get through Varda if he had to.  He wasn't in a normal, sensible state of mind, after all.

Challenging the dancing bird's words, the glaceon took a few steps forward, speaking as he did so.  The air around him began to grow cold as he spoke.  "I don't care.  Now, move, or else."
The water in the air was beginning to freeze into ice crystals and a breeze was starting up, carrying the bits of ice in circles around him.  It wasn't enough to hurt anyone yet, especially since the wind wasn't harsh, but that was going to change very quickly.

Nevi moaned as she laid on the ground, a bit dazed from the unexpected hit.  However, she wasn't pathetically weak like the glaceon seemed to think.  She shook the attack off just as Varda stepped between herself and her assailant, though it took her a moment to lift herself off the ground.  She heard Sova's words, a clear threat, but wasn't sure what he was threatening to do.... until she noticed the temperature drop.  It wasn't bothersome to her - she was an Ice-type after all - but she knew this had to signal an attack.  Maybe she'd be okay after an Ice-type attack, but surely, Varda would be hurt with his typing!

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

(But the question is will it be twice as good?)

Varda kept dancing – after all, what else could he do? By this point, he already realized there was nothing he could do to stop it, resigned to his fate of being a vessel of the dance. It was much better than being a bush, like he had been earlier in his life, as he could at least move this time! ...Even if not necessarily how he wanted or in the right direction. He did his best to dance in place however, blocking the path to the injured Pokémon behind him. It was kind of the bird's fault in the first place when Nevi got injured! Sova had tried to stop him, but then...

Well, he just wouldn't let it happen another time! Standing – or dancing – his ground, he didn't move aside when he was told to. Well, other than the slight sideways sway he did. Talking hadn't seemed to really help, so he had to come up with something else – and fast! It was getting colder, but with the way the Altaria was moving his body, he wasn't really feeling it at all! Actually, it was getting a bit too hot by now!

And then it hit him. Varda couldn't move well, yes, but... He seemed to have his control over his voice, at least! Fluffing up his chest, the bird opened his beak, letting a soft melody to fill the dreary hallway with something more... Relaxed!

Bird carried out 1 launched of one Ruined Chateau :

((You fool, it's not about being good... It about feeding the dance gods with your dance essence! Believe in the bird that believes in you!))

Sova's glare persisted and preparation for his next attack continued as he awaited an answer. When none came, he assumed the altaria was going to continue standing in his way and thus, needed to be dealt with. However, a sound suddenly captivated his attention.... it wasn't the whispering that'd been haunting him, no, it was.... singing. Varda's singing actually overtook the whispering noises, which was a nice relief for a moment. Then the glaceon began to feel drowsy.... and he remembered.... what Varda could do. The pace of the wind began to die down and the temperature started rising as his consciousness slowly slipped away.

Varda was trying to put him to sleep. He lifted his injured paw off the ground, wobbling a bit from the drowsiness that was creeping up on him, and pulled out a small berry with a blue and tan coloration. He immediately ate the berry, finding it tough and difficult to chew.... the flavor was very dry. It wasn't a very appealing taste to him, but he wasn't eating it for the taste. Chesto berries were known to work well for keeping someone awake. Sure enough, before he'd even swallowed the berry, he began to feel more awake and alert. He swallowed, then took a moment before speaking. "Your choice...."

The temperature suddenly spiked back down and the wind actually picked up to being faster than before, with snow and ice rapidly forming in the air all around. This made the earlier preparation look like nothing, showing he'd been stalling to give Varda time to move. But if the bird was going to try and incapacitate him instead, he was no longer in interested in giving his friend a chance to back down. The change in weather was quickly creating a blizzard, one that was aimed to hurt both of the things standing against him.

Nevi watched for a moment as the altaria tried to persuade the fox to stop fighting, to no avail, then took to.... singing? Oh, she knew what this was! It put those who heard it to sleep! So, in response, she put her arms over her head to block out some of the sound. It seemed to be working for a moment, the glaceon was clearly getting tired and the weather was dying down, then he took a berry out of his bag.... a Chesto berry! The attack picked back up, actually appearing a lot more intense than before, as if there was worse intent behind it.

"Ah, g-get near me, Varda!" the froslass shouted, taking her arms off her head.
This attack, she could block it from hurting both of them, but only if Varda was close enough to her! She moved closer to the bird, but hoped he would move as well to close the gap faster, as the blizzard was already starting to sting her despite her Ice-typing.

(But if we feed the dance gods, they will become too powerful and take over the world! And did you really just reference what I think you referenced pls.)

Varda sang, his eyes closed as he really put his everything into it. Well, his conscious everything at least, as his body was busy hopping around with its dance. It did kind of cause his singing to suffer, having to gasp in enough air to somehow keep his body and voice going at the same time! It wasn't easy at all, but when he opened his eyes a little, he could see his friend calming down a bit. And not just see... He felt it too! It was getting hotter – or maybe that was just his imagination or the way he was constantly moving? Hoo boy, he sure was starting to feel a bit too hot, a moment to drink would have been a great thing...

Sova's paw caught his attention as it was slipped inside the Glaceon's bag, pulling out... A berry! That was right, a berry would be perfect for this! They tended to be so full of nice, refreshing juice! ...Well, at least some of them, as some tasted bad and even spicy, which had the opposite effect of quenching one's thirst! This berry wasn't offered to the bird however, as it was Sova who decided to have the snack. The Altaria stopped, already digging into his bag with one of his feet when he managed to actually lift it properly, hopping in place as he tried to dance with just one leg...

He completely forgot to pay any attention to, well, anything happening around them, only snapped out of his quest for a berry by Nevi's voice. Varda blinked and looked around, trying to see if there was something he should be worried of... But the way he had been instructed to do it was so hurried that he couldn't help but feel like he had to be fast! After a moment of confusion, the bird Pokémon danced his way to Nevi as fast as he could, hopping in the icy Pokémon's direction and flopping on the floor.


((That's okay. And who knows wink wonk.))

Varda didn't even really seem to notice how dangerous this situation was for him. Typical. Did he even notice that a blizzard was forming around him? Didn't he feel the cold air? This bothered Sova more than it should have, but he really wanted his power to be recognized before he used it. Or at least noticed.... Well, that didn't really matter, so he focused his attention on the blizzard swirling around instead. Most of the snow was forming around him, as was most of the violent wind, but in mere seconds, it all suddenly burst outward, covering enough distance to envelop the others completely. However, he spotted a green barrier forming just as the blizzard approached the other two, and sure enough, it seemed to block out the attack.

Nevi's pace picked up as she noticed the blizzard suddenly turning extreme and dangerous in a shockingly short amount of time. She and Varda just barely managed to reach each other fast enough, and she immediately outstretched both of her arms to create a green energy-field around both of them, just as the wind and ice reached them. Luckily, it was blocking the attack for now, but.... "I can't hold this forever.... I'm gonna have to really hurt him if he keeps this up! He's your friend, how do we calm him down!?" she spoke up, wanting to make it very evident she'd have to fight with her all if this kept up.

From just one hit, the froslass had learned that this glaceon wasn't a pushover and could indeed fight. He was surprisingly strong for such a physically weak creature, so she didn't want to imagine what non-physical attacks would feel like. Glaceon were known for hitting very hard with non-physical attacks, right? If he couldn't be stopped peacefully, Nevi knew she would have to fight all out to stop him. Sure, Varda wouldn't like that, but at this rate.... he probably wouldn't like what would happen next otherwise either!

Instead of being upset by his attack being blocked, Sova merely chuckled. However, he knew the others wouldn't be able to hear it, nor could he hear anything they may have been saying over the violent wind. It was a truly amused laugh, because he knew he could keep this blizzard up more than long enough to outlast the likes of Protect. It wasn't even a big blizzard, he'd made far bigger ones before! Albeit.... those tended to really take a toll on him, but one of this size would take a bit longer to exhaust him. He watched the green dome through the snow, though it was hard to see exactly what state it was in, as the blizzard restricted vision.

(YOU DID.)

Varda panted on the floor, trying to catch his breath. This really wasn't easy for him, even though he liked it when Pokémon danced! Actually continuously doing it had proven to be very taxing on one's strength. But luckily, he got a short moment of rest while he flopped around on the floor by Nevi's side. As he glanced around, a green, kind of transparent shell had formed around them, shielding them from the sudden blizzard in the hallway. He could hear how the wind was howling, the noise partially blocked by the shield... And the bird couldn't help but wonder if this was how it was like to be inside an egg.

The Altaria shook his head, removing such thoughts from his mind as he looked at Nevi. Of course he looked concerned, as he didn't want anyone to hurt Sova and... Wait, how did they get here exactly? His head was feeling a bit woozy as he tried to connect the dots that actually led to this!
"Oh, um, right, right!" He chirped, trying to think. Something to calm down Sova, anything... Uh oh. Varda furrowed his brow. They... Hadn't been in a situation like this, had they? He hadn't had to calm the Glaceon down! Except that Esses guy or whatever.

Was this him? He had no idea! He didn't even know if they could get close to Sova like this! Oh, it was really bad. The bird thought and thought as hard as he could, but nothing... He even turned to his bag to see if there was anything in there that they could use! He had his berries, and while he was still thirsty, he had forgotten his need to eat one of them for now. Instead, his eyes fell on the smooth orb he had picked up earlier as they had walked through the house.
"Um, would this be good?" Varda chirped, picking the orb and holding it out for Nevi to see.


((What noo. Also I guess this could be the slumber orb that was rolled earlier wow.))