Vanity Fair

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(OOC: Discussed in this thread.)

[Energy: 19-10=9]

T'was a windy, chilly day in Shadowhue, the kind of day in which most pokémon would sooner spend time near the comfort of a pleasant fire in Grassveil than running about in the woods. But for whatever reason, a particular pokémon didn’t seem to be spending time getting cozy and warm, and was instead moving forwards, away from the comfort of civilization and towards the dark woodland of Shadowhue.

This pokémon was a piplup named Clovis, a local of the general area, albeit not one too familiar with the in and outs of such a dark and dungeonlike place such as Shadowhue. He had found himself on the outside of the forest as the result of an aimless afternoon meander, and as he had far too much free time, he decided that he would stay.

Clovis blinked before looking into the dark, thick forest. Many 'mons he had met in the past warned him to avoid such a place, but he paid these warnings little mind. So long as these woods existed, and ferals roamed them unrestrained, there would need to be civilized pokémon like himself to explore the unknown and shine metaphorical light into the literal darkness. So he walked into the forest, prepared to spend all afternoon learning whatever secrets lay in the gloom in front of him...

Alki did not feel great. Quite the opposite, in fact. And the words that came from the Kecleon weren't helping matters. If anything, they made her feel worse. She was poisoned? And what was wrong with being a fairy? She wasn't the only one who was poisoned, wasn't she? Alki felt a tad confused, but she began to feel worse...

"I... w-would love to g-go back to G-Grassveil..." She managed to squeak out, before lying down next to a tree, and closing her eyes for just a few seconds. A cough interrupted her silence. Alki didn't think she could sustain herself for much longer at all, let alone "a while." But... closing her eyes like that would make it seem much worse than it was. Yooka would think she'd passed out! Or something... she cared, right?

Alki noticed that the Piplup had gone a bit silent. Was he alright? Alki suddenly wanted to help him, but she didn't have the strength to get up, let alone provide any sort of meaningful assistance or consolation, so she simply sat there and gazed at the Piplup with a mix of embarrassment, pity, and worry. Was he poisoned too? Yooka seemed to think so... "But... ahem, w-well... yeah..." She finished, unsure of what to say. Her mind felt a bit foggy, but what was there to do? She kind of just wanted to sleep... Oh! This was bad...

ooc, x2 and also evana left...:

The reactions Yooka got were somewhat to be expected. At first the igglybuff rested against a tree, Yooka thought she knew the true art of resting, but sadly, no... she suddenly woke up as soon as she closed her eyes for a bit. Next, Kimori mentioned not having the berry. Yooka kind of guessed the reason was because most pokemon in this forest use spore or powder attacks which the Treecko was immune to but she could be wrong for the reasoning. lastly, the piplup... No response, but it did seem evident that it had some form of realization. Perhaps this is it's first time poisoned?

Yooka looked back towards Alki and replied to her statement, "Well then we should at least find the exit." She pulled out her crudely drawn map, but her face went when she realized that it only shows the surrounding areas of Grassveil. However it did show at least how big the forest was and the general shape of the forest. But it isn't entirely detailed.

She started to murmur to herself rather angrily... Right... this map isn't all that helpful... but it will do, pff...and I too didn't bring pecha berries aswell... I do have an idea of where I am but I'm not set for a sudden escort through this forest, mmmrrr... figures. I guess this will count as a D-rank considering the situation, should be fun. This could be a semi-pain in the rear if things got worse, Yooka sighed. "Well I guess I'll take Alki out of this forest, I guess. If either of you two want to come with me that's on either of you two."

Yooka quickly remembered Alki is also from the guild and that she knew the move heal pulse. However, it wont effect herself and she does look pretty bad. Yooka didn't bring any healing items for she didn't think she'd need any considering she could just use recover whenever she felt weak. She didn't actually think something like this would happen infront of her. Yooka growled to herself, She needed to find something. However, she did feel a bit tired from all of this sudden activity herself, but... she just got here. Perhaps now would be the best time to rethink and recover. Yooka started to look spaced out but she was focusing on anyplace that seemed worn-out around her body. Not much had changed physically but she did feel better. She should start looking around for something to help out the Igglybuff before they start. It may end up being just Yooka and Alki.

ooc, Id rather end it here than continue without.:

(Ah, here we go~)

With a soft and nasally groan, Clovis rubbed his plump, pained penguin-belly up and down in an attempt to soothe himself. He was certainly hurting on the inside, but, eh, it would probably be a lot worse if he hadn't received a heal pulse from Alki earlier. Maybe he'd say thanks for that, eventually. Probably not now, though, it just wasn't a good time. Probably.

Anyway, it seemed like Alki and Yooka were headed back to town, maybe in search of some medical care. A return to town was a very appealing prospect to Clovis at that particular moment, due primarily to his own particular poison or affliction. He didn't have much choice, really. So he spoke out to them, with a voice intentionally slurred just enough to make his serious request seem less needy and apprehensive than it would have otherwise. "Wait jussssst one moment now, you two!" He approached the kecleon before anyone went anywhere. "I think that urrghh... you'll do better to have the accompaniment of one such knowledgeable and handsome pokémon such as myself on your way out." This statement was almost wholly facetious and was delivered as such. He was in need of a safe return home, just like the rest of them. But that didn't mean that he was going to admit to it.

Alki looked up at the Piplup, a raspy cough coming out of her. What was she good for? Now they'd have to take her back to town and get her a cure. Didn't that cost money? It certainly cost time, and it was all Alki's fault that it was happening at all...

She looked up as the Piplup came over to tell them that he was coming with them. His voice sounded funny, and it almost caused her to smile, until a particularly bad coughing fit struck her. She simply managed a nod. Her voice sounded faint, and even quieter than usual. She felt like she was losing her voice... "W-Well... o-ok. Let's go..."

Character recap¦ Yooka:

Things were not very great. The entire group was poisoned and the town was a fair distance away. Looking at the brighter side, the path towards the exit was at least clear. It wont take them long to get out if nothing bad were to occur, but just chiche-like as it was. She heard a noise off to her right. The first thing Yooka did when she heard the noise was to get between Alki and the noise. for Alki was her only important objective. The piplup sounded like he could handle himself.

(

ooc, rolling:

Ravio carried out 3 launched of one Shadowhue Forest :

, ,

Yooka seemed awfully concerned about the igglybuff, what with immediately standing by her side when the slightest noise sounded. Perhaps Yooka was being a bit paranoid, but her actions were perfectly logical. Alki was the smallest of any of them, and didn't really seem capable, in Clovis' mind, of defending herself.

Although poisoned and fatigued, Clovis nonetheless made remarks on their situation, clearing his throat before speaking so as to avoid having too noticeable of a rasp. "I suppose there are ways of dealing with poison besides pecha berries. Bloodletting is a reliable treatment, we could even try it right here." With this, a grin hit his beak. It seemed as though some part deep within him relished in a chance to 'play doctor' like this. Although the suggestion was completely serious, nonetheless.

Shadowhue was cold. And it seemed to be getting colder. A cold sweat struck Alki. It was awfully cold. It certainly wasn't that cold when she'd entered the forest. And even though Shadowhue was known for it's shadows, hence the name, the Shadows now seemed larger. Deeper. Darker. Scarier. Alki shivered. She'd be alright... she could protect herself.

She closed her eyes, until a sea of colors flooded her. Blues and wavy pinks -- like her -- and shimmering seas of ever-changing colors and then a bit of darkness and some more colors until...

Bloodletting is a reliable treatment... we could even try it right here. Alki opened her eyes, the bright colors of her mind's eye dissipating into the drab greens and grays, the shimmering replaced by shadow.

"W-Well, sure. I m-m-mean, i-it's reliable, right?" She mumbled. Her voice was rapidly disappearing, and a lisp made her small voice sound slurred too. A small, still clear part of her mind alerted the rest of her jumbled senses that a procedure called blood letting might be a bit painful. "B-But... d-don't let out TOO much blood..." She said, giggling and coughing as her eyes shut again, observing the shimmering, ever changing colors yet again. The Igglybuff was delirious. A small part of her knew that. But really, what was so wrong with that? She didn't feel nervous. Or stressed. Or really, worried. The only thing she felt was awe; the colors were pretty! And if the Piplup wanted to let out a bit of blood, so be it.

"C-Can I h-have a Pecha berry, erm, a-anyways? Heh..." She mumbled. Pecha berries were sweet. Right? They tasted nice. Why not do both? The Piplup said this... bloodletting was reliable, but so were berries? Maybe she'd get better twice as fast. Alki stopped bouncing, looking between Yooka and Clovis, waiting. Even the shadows began to seem a tad more colorful. Although it also sounded a bit noisier. Was that just her?

((ooc: lol, first time I've seen a "+5 trap"... Im going to assume "things go her way". erm... the group's way. ...er, "lucks on our side". I mean that's pretty much a reverse trap, yes? trap nonetheless but it seems to favor us.))

Things seemed to be getting even worse, for the igglybuff at least. So many things occured around Yooka she nearly failed to react correctly. The one thing that distracted her the most was how Alki reacted to the Piplup's request, which Yooka completely cringed to. That process is extremely dangerous if its not done by a professional. Too little and the poison continues albeit delayed. Too much and the patient faints or worse... but the way Alki spoke was what really made Yooka cringe, it even made her think of the items she had. It sounded like Alki was going... well, Yooka didn't have time to describe Alki's behavior to herself.

She pushed both the Piplup and Alki out of the way as a Heracross decided to stampede their little group. It didn't hit her directly but it coat hangered her to the ground. She looked upside-down at it to see what it'll do next. It only seemed to turn around, perhaps it's going for another charge. The impact to the ground took alot out of Yooka. She'll have to roll to dodge the next one and she managed to speak up when she caught her breath, "I'll distract it, you two run ahead." she also managed to toss over a reviver seed when she did roll aside to dodge the next attack.

The seed was just incase they did decide to go for the technique and it fails, or for whatever other reason they would need it for. Alki seemed fairly close to fainting from the way she spoke. Yooka had no intention on fighting, she'll escape as soon as she knows they managed to escape themselves and hopefully find them again before something else does.

Alki, for once, sounded unusually agreeable and optimistic- giggling and speaking in a merry, if somewhat quiet voice. This was of course, a good thing. Clovis was glad to be around reasonable company for once, though he was sadly unable to produce a pecha berry. If any of them had one, they probably wouldn't be in this situation to begin with...! As a matter of fact, all he had on him was another pointed stick like the one he had thrown, and a green gummi wrapped in parchment, both inside of the small bag he usually carried.

Alas, just as soon as his spirits had been brightened by the positive feedback he had received, Clovis found himself thrown aside, and watched in horror as Yooka was hit by a charging heracross, which stopped to turn around after completing its first rush. Being poisoned, and wounded to a degree, Clovis really did not have the strength to survive a direct encounter with such a large and powerful pokémon as heracross, and probably wouldn't want to face one alone even if he were perfectly healthy. Still, he wished that the group was in fighting condition. Retreating from feral savages felt dishonorable, and filled him with a sense of helplessness.. If only the kecleon hadn't been caught off guard, perhaps they might have had a chance to to take it down together?

Yooka instructed the two of them to simply flee while she caused a distraction. While Clovis did indeed fret for the safety of the kecleon who would be serving as the 'distraction', he really didn't have time to think anything over, and reluctantly ran off, with his heart pumping poison and adrenaline filled blood all throughout his body. As he ran, he nearly tripped on some seed. Hopefully Alki wouldn't stumble on it, too.

The colors were so incredibly impressive, even more so when they began to spin around and around, forming a Kaleidoscope of Color. Reds and Yellows and Oranges and Pinks and Purples made the forest of Shadowhue seem more like the Fallen Leaf Copse. She felt herself come to a slow stop, a bit away from the Piplup who now seemed almost shiny. She couldn't help but think that things hadn't been like that before she'd come into the forest.

But what was causing all these incredible colors? Alki felt like it was important to find that out... something she'd ate? Or maybe it was something else. What had happened? A fight? She remembered the dust, that was not colorful at all.

Maybe it was that?

In any case, it seemed as though she had more pressing concerns, as the Piplup began to run off, and the Kecleon began to have some sort of fight with another Pokemon. She'd thrown something! And it seemed colorful, Golden! It was golden! Alki stumbled towards it and picked it up, before bounding after the Piplup, eager to show him what she'd found.

As for the fight, Alki didn't hear any of it. What did it matter? The dull sounds were irrelevant, the color was what mattered! Although, she felt the colors began to fade, and a headache beginning to creep in. She coughed more violently, when she suddenly felt herself began to fall and fall. A trap? Why? Alki managed a feeble cry, before going back to her coughs. Hopefully things would be alright, Alki couldn't see much other than colors, but she couldn't see the distinctly bright blues of the Piplup anymore, so she could assume she wasn't in the same place anymore. As the colors began to fade, she recognized her situation. She was, indeed, in a trap, and Alki began to feel the familiar fear creeping up on her again. She cried out for help, as loud as her feeble voice could manage. The Poison was losing it's pleasantness, the bright colors were almost all gone, now replaced by a pounding headache, more violent coughs and a sense of feebleness. Alki could barely move, let alone get out of the trap herself. She heard the noises of a nearby fight. What was going on?

ooc, group chaos.:

In the midst of the encounter, Yooka herself was distracted. She didn't notice the Piplup ran off and that Alki stumbled into a pit not that far away, but at least Alki had managed to pick up the reviver seed Yooka tossed over. All Yooka could think of was how to get away from the Heracross. She's not all that competent in fighting, unless watching professionals duke it out and learning by watching and pretty much mimicing their actions as best she could counted. She was up and staring at the heracross. It didn't seem to want to talk and she couldn't quite run just yet, or maybe she could.

Yooka went to take a step but felt a sudden slash, but from this distance? She was pushed into some shrubs near a tree from the attack. Good thing she somewhat was, but wasn't, paying attention to what just happened though. The move was flying type due to her ability but she didn't know exactly where the heracross's attack came from. It was fast nonetheless. The heracross seemed to have lost sight of her as it slowly approached the place where she landed but was looking around. She used her shadow to move a different shrub a little bit aways from her and in the opposite direction of the two.

When it turned and headed in that direction, Yooka quickly and quietly went up the tree into the canopy. The paths formed by the branches uphere were rather twisted and harder to navigate than below, but it was away from that heracross. Now that she's away. Time to relocate those two. Unless Alki's gotten better at hiding she'll be easy to track. The Piplup though, was going to be the harder one to find. Here's hopeing the two made it to the exit first, for finding them would be a hastle if they got lost.

Yooka would not be happy with herself if either one managed to get lost due to her little action. What was she thinking, sure the heracross was terrifying, but maybe it wasn't strong. She made assumptions. She growled to herself because of her too quick decision to just run. Assumptions. The one thing she wants to stop doing. She wants to know, not guess. Guessing can lead to problems and problems may be fun, but too many can be seriously bad. Once the heracross was no longer in her sight, Yooka decided to start the search. slowly making her way through the entangled branches over the ground in the direction the two went.

Running, running, stopping. Clovis hadn't been running for very long, just far enough to escape the heracross' immediate wrath. He might have gone further, if not for the fact that he did not see Alki anywhere with him, and that poison had greatly hampered his own stamina. And poison, however much it seemed to weaken him, was not enough of a burden to satiate his concern for the companions who had aided him against the ambush of a venomoth. Besides, empoleon were supposedly nigh-immune to poison, outside of the most corrosive toxins. Surely some of that ability was present within him.

It was a bit worrisome that Alki hadn't come with him. He didn't know where she was, and if she had heeded Yooka's advice, chances were that Yooka didn't know where she was either. Leaving her to find her own way home just wasn't good enough, the poor igglybuff was poisoned and more than likely rather frightened about the whole situation! Clovis was, perhaps, a bit frightened, too. Shadowhue was dark, and while his feathers did well to protect him from the cold, there was nothing he possessed capable of protecting him from the savage wrath of a territorial feral, except for a pointy wooden stick, intuition, and the waning strength of his own two flippers.

To be craven in this situation would be to accomplish nothing. The piplup kneeled in front of the healthiest looked tree he could find, and took a moment of deep breathing to gather his courage and physical constitution. He recalled the heroic epics of days long before, he hummed a marching tune, and he set off back in the direction where he had last seen the rest. With a mighty breath, he tried to shout their names, but collapsed into momentary coughing after the first attempt. His second was more successful. "Yoo-ka! Al-ki!" He repeated his shouting at an uncertain interval, with each one sounding progressively less booming as his throat gave way to the stress of repeated shouting. Come to think of it, shouting was probably equally likely to attract unsavory company as it was to attract anyone he knew, but, ah well. Let come what may.

vonSteakhand carried out 1 launched of one Shadowhue Forest :

Alki moaned as the bright colors began to fade. They couldn't start fading now, as Alki's mind began to clear, she felt the stark memory of the attack, of the poisonous dust and her problems and she began to wish they'd leave, and the bright colors would return. But that wouldn't happen. She was stuck in the dark forest, in an even darker hole, with no way to climb out. At least she could move.

But what could she do? She felt woozy, nervous and weak. As though she could pass out at any moment, and she didn't want to be alone. She needed someone to find her, she didn't want to be stuck in a deep, dark hole alone. There wasn't any hope of her getting out by herself either. Maybe if she wasn't tired, or poisoned, but she was. And it was far too deep for her to get out in her condition.

If she called for help, what if the Pokemon who'd made the trap heard her? Pokemon made traps, didn't they? They didn't just show up by themselves, that wouldn't make sense... and what if it was angry? Alki closed her eyes, moaning again. Her voice was disappearing too, but she heard her name being called out, off in the distance.

"H-Here!" She called out, quietly, painfully. Her voice was disappearing, and she called out as loud as she could, one last time. If anyone hadn't heard that, she'd be stuck there for a while. She called out more, of course, but as her tired throat gave in to the poison, and her calls for helps became helpless, silent gasps, she sat back and gave up. She hoped someone had heard. She didn't want to be alone there.

energy¦ 6:

current type¦ Flying:

Today's been fun for Yooka. She hasn't been this active for a long time. It was exhilarating, if it wasn't for the fact Darcy would not be happy if anything occured to Alki and Yooka did practically say she'd bring them both back to grassveil... ...Yooka sighed.

Off in the nearby distance Yooka heard a shout saying both, the igglybuff's and her own names. That Piplup's... Yooka was about to go off towards the piplup till she heard a rather weakened voice. The Igglybuff's... It was coming from directly below her, somewhere just behind. Looking down she noticed the outline of a pit but couldnt see into it. Yooka decided to jump down and investigate. Landing next to the pit's edge and peering in, There was alot of dust kicked up inside but she could see the igglybuff. After testing the walls she called down as she went down."Found you."

Noticing the reviver seed in her hand unused ment she was still poisoned. However, the Igglybuff looks just about out of it. This kid had endurance. As she picked up the igglybuff and got out of the pit. Yooka whispered, "Come on, we're getting out of this forest." Despite the group splitting, the Piplup did head in the right direction of the exit. Perhaps he made it out, nonetheless, Yooka would catch up to him even if he made it out.

ooc, slakoth:

Ravio carried out 1 launched of one Shadowhue Forest :

[Energy: 1 - 5 = 0]

Clovis couldn't help but feel that he would be more capable of prolonged shouting if he just drank water a little more often, instead of berry juices and teas. Although a cold pecha drink would be very much welcome. Sadly, Clovis' shouts didn't seem to be attracting an audible response from anything. Perhaps he had not been loud enough? Perhaps Yooka and Alki avoided answering for fear of attracting hostile attention? Or perhaps the two had succumbed to poison or wounds entirely?

The piplup kept on waddling to where he had last seen his companions... although the trip felt longer this time, somehow. As he walked past hulking trees, he saw at last another pokémon! Although he had no way of telling if this pokémon was civilized or not, as it was sleeping. Slacking off. Slakoth? Clovis had no quarrels with slakoth. As a matter of fact, he rather admired their lifestyle. They lived without care, and without worry. They spent such little time in their lives awake, that even the simplest of pleasures must surely mean so much more to them. Their legendary laziness was almost tragic, but Clovis romanticized it regardless. The slakoth's slothfulness was practically contagious. Clovis could feel his muscles relax more and more as he spent time standing still, not progressing, just staring at this slacker pokémon.

There was still... something that he had to do. Alki was, erm, somewhere and Yooka was somewhere else, probably? He put some distance between himself and the slakoth, and shouted to the heavens once more. "This forest can't be that big! Yoo-ka! Al-ki!" By Arceus, he hoped he wouldn't wind up returning to see a victorious heracross.