Marsh Madness

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[Energy: 19 - 15 = 4]

"I guess I should explore somewhere... a bit out of my comfort zone..."

Tempo walked towards the marsh, thinking if he was going to explore more dangerous areas, he would need to train up, first. Maybe this would be an OK first place to explore...

Doesn't mean it's not freaky to him. It is a marsh, and he's heard of many poison types living here. He hoped that if he were attacked by one of them, he wouldn't be too sick from the poison... On the other hand, he's heard of the sights being beautiful at night, thanks to the Volbeat and Illumise. Maybe he should stay around until that...

Eventually, though, he reached the flooded part of the flatlands. "This must be the place, I guess." He said to himself. One part of him was screaming to turn back, but another was curious about this place... He decided to wade into the water a bit, before heading out for something more dangerous...

[Energy: 0 + 1 (page regeneration) = 1]

Clunk! The sound of a small object reaching the surface sounded in Clovis' ear, prompting him to turn directly towards the source of the noise. It appeared that a little shell had floated up from underneath the water, one that sort of looked like the one the oshawott wore on his chest. That was... a discomforting fact, to say the least. Concern swelled up inside of Clovis, and he took the shell in his left flipper before taking a breath and diving down under.

It took a second or two to adjust his eyes to seeing underwater, but even once they did, marsh water was still must dirtier than the clear pond water he was used to. The marsh itself was fairly shallow, and a taller pokémon could probably have stood up in the water, but the short height of the piplup species forced Clovis to swim his way down. What caught his attention quickly was the sight of Tempo with his leg stuck on some plant. Oh, dear. Oh goodness, uhhh... could I cut that thing? He waved at the imperiled oshawott before heading down to try and slice the root with Tempo's sharp little shell. Granted, he wasn't entirely certain as to the proper slicing technique with one such implement as this, but it was just a sharp object like any other, how hard could it be?

He could barely hold his breath any longer... He knew that Clovis didn't know his predicament, but he hoped he would swoop in to save the day... But it was unlikely that it would happen... He tried to pull the root, but it was too tough for him... He was too close to drowning to do anything else... All he could do was wait...

He could barely make out the image of a Pokémon diving into the water. As it neared him, he sees that it was Clovis. He sees that he is holding Tempo's scalchop in his flipper! Clovis was seen trying to cut the root off of Tempo's leg using the scalchop. He tries to help out, but he couldn't... He couldn't move any of his limbs, any more, and he begins to pass out...

It was a tough bit of plant, sure, but the hardness principle dictated that, given sufficient time and effort, it was entirely possible for him to use the harder razor-shell to cut through the softer root. Besides, even if he couldn't get through it, flat out cutting off the oshawott's trapped foot could also work... As a, um... last resort, of course. Before he began the cutting process, Clovis made one quick attempt to skip the entire procedure by simply wriggling the oshawott's foot loose, which achieved next to no success. Of course, if it was that simple, Tempo would have gotten out without needing help by now.

He began by gripping onto the root with his free flipper, then wrapping both of his feet around its bottom, essentially hooking himself on to prevent from floating away, and allowing him to put more weight into his efforts. Having harnessed himself, the piplup held the shell in both flippers, and began making precise, slow sawing motions, which gradually became both larger and faster as he became more comfortable in his sawing position. It would take a good half minute of concentrated sawing to make it through the root completely, but for Clovis, and probably for Tempo as well, it certainly felt much, much longer. For whatever reason, oshawott around Rainfront had a strange tendency to find themselves in need of rescue from drowning when Clovis was around, although it was much more romantic when he was saving the lady oshawott. When the root was broken, Clovis immediately pushed the oshawott upwards from underneath, getting him back to the surface as quickly as was in his power. Clovis would himself surface once the oshawott made it up.

He was basically just floating around at this point... He was too limp from the lack of air to be able to at least assist Clovis in cutting off the root, and was just about to pass out... He closed his eyes and hoped Clovis would be able to help before he drowns...

He suddenly feels a force underneath him, soon after he blacked out. The time between him blacking out and being pushed was only about 30 seconds, but to him, it seemed like it took forever for this to happen... His lungs began accepting the air instead of rejecting water, like they were trying to do when he passed out on the root, and he began waking up... "Thanks... Clovis..." He said, feeling sorry that he had to see him like this... Probably shouldn't call himself an expert diver, anymore...

Clovis resurfaced a moment after the oshawott, just in time to hear him squeak out his "Thanks... Clovis..." Having been properly, if perhaps somewhat underwhelmingly thanked, Clovis did what was only natural and to be expected after such an event, and that was to brag on his own heroism, and to berate Tempo for being foolish enough to get himself into a situation like that to begin with. He held his head on high, so that he could be physically looking down on the oshawott, and began to let loose a rant, consisting of whatever words came to his mind first. "How is it, exactly, that a water-type like yourself can manage getting trapped in water this shallow? Certainly you'd been down there for at least ten minutes- ah well, you poor lad. I came down right as soon as that shell of yours hit the surface, figured you wouldn't let that loose of your grip intentionally. It appeared to be the case that your foot was stuck on some root. I waved, to try and get your attention, but I think you were a tad too busy drowning to notice. It's a real shame you didn't get to see all of that, then. I had to saw through that root for a solid 30 seconds before it gave way; you might consider sharpening this thing." He held up the oshawott's scalchop in his flipper, and began turning it around so he could look at it from multiple directions. He hadn't noticed before, but the scalchop had a purple musical note adhesed to it, probably put there as a form of personal decoration. Decoration was fine, although Clovis probably would have used, the image of, say, an angry, screaming braviary, or the trident-crown of an empoleon as adornment if it was him that had to decorate a weapon. A musical note would have made more aesthetical sense on a musical instrument than on an object used for fighting.

"Pretty little shell you've got here, Tempo. Perhaps you ought to let me keep it, as thanks for saving you from that vile plant." The part about keeping the shell was really meant as more of a joke than anything, but Clovis did love souvenirs, and he would gladly take the shell with him if he got a positive reaction.

Tempo recovers from drowning, and finally steadies his breathing. Just in time to hear Clovis's rant, but he seemed to hear him bragging a bit, too... "So, you want to buff up your pride, huh, 'Expert Orator...'" He said in a mocking voice. He is right, though... For a Pokémon like him to nearly drown like that... It's inexcusable! "But... You still make a good point... Though, would it be more embarassing to..." Before he finished, he noticed Clovis was studying his scalchop.

When Clovis finished on his... 'scientific examination,' as he might call it, he begins speaking to Tempo again. He says he wants to keep his shell after saving him from the root, mocking Tempo as well. This freaked him out. "Dude, don't even joke about that... You know how special a scalchop is to an Oshawott! Plus, that charm on it... It's..." He begins to look down, seemingly sad about something... "It's... a present from a friend, long ago..."

Ah, of course he wouldn't get to take it with him. Those oshawott must really value their possessions. But if the charm really came from a friend, Clovis supposed that it would be more noble for Tempo to keep it than give it away. He sighed and said, "You're breaking my heart here, Oshie. But what's yours is yours." He let the scalchop free from his flipper to float in the water in front of Tempo, so that he could grab it himself. "I guess my reward will just have to be in praise and veneration, then."

Suddenly, a realization smacked Clovis by the side of his head. 'Tempo' was the name of an oshawott whose scalchop had a musical note on it. 'Tempo' was also the term used to describe the pace at which a passage of music was to be played. He grinned at the sense of humor possessed by both the gift-giver and by the oshawott's parents.

"I'm breaking your heart? Dude, it's my scalchop, and my charm... And I don't really have anything to give you as a reward, honestly..." He grabs his scalchop, then pulls out the items he found from his bag. "I mean, unless you want dirty food or a tacky scarf, that is... I highly doubt you do... Also, 'veneration?' You know you don't have to sound all cool, right?" He's a bit annoyed at the Piplup being all hoity toity. "Still, I have to thank you for saving me. If it weren't for you... the water would've finally taken my life..." He said. "And I do mean 'finally...' If I had 10 Poké for every time I nearly drowned, I would... Wait, did you just call me 'Oshie?'" He was flabbergasted by that... and kind of offended, as well...

What in the name of Arceus was this supposed to be, a lecture? The oshawott seemed to be berating Clovis for having used clever sarcasm and a big, beautiful word like 'veneration'. What with the unenlightened times they lived in, the ability to use ten-letter words properly ought to be more deserving of respect than criticism! A retort quickly entered his mind, but was restrained to thought. I can't not act cool, dammit! Cool is my natural state!

Ah, but he said thanks again, so there wasn't much reason to be angry. Although, the oshawott did become rather bothered by Clovis' use of the nickname 'Oshie'. "Oh, come on, Tempo. I sincerely doubt that I'm the only pokémon to have called you that in your entire life. I am pretty creative, though. So who knows?"

Something about Clovis seemed like he was about to explode, but he seems to be holding it back... Likely to preserve his 'cool' state of mind... He also calls himself 'clever' for using the nickname 'Oshie'. "'Oshie' is a nickname that my parents would've given me, you know... It makes me feel like a kid..." He says to the Piplup. He's at least glad that Clovis completely ignored the fact he's nearly drowned so many times... It would lead to an awkward conversation, for sure...

Nevertheless, they were here for reasons. One of them was waiting for the Volbeat and Illumise to light up the night sky. The other, Tempo's specifically, was to train himself to explore more dangerous areas... Though maybe after nearly drowning, he should at least take a break before doing something else... He relaxes on the top of the marsh water. "It seems to be getting late... Maybe soon we will see the beautiful lights..."

Clovis too, relaxed atop the marsh water, much like he had earlier whilst Tempo was diving. Or drowning. One of the two. He looked upwards to the stars, and searched for patterns or constellations. The moon shone bright- not quite full, but clearly just a few days away from being complete. Out from behind masses of grasses and flowers came small numbers of volbeat, and illumise from other areas. Clearly it seemed that they were preparing for their nightly display.

It was a shame that Clovis didn't have anything to eat, or read, or listen to in order to pass the time. Conversation would have to do, just so long as he wasn't berated for it this time. He asked, "So, where are you from, Tempo?"

Tempo was simply taking a little nap, floating on the top of the ocean. That's what Oshawott do, from what he heard, actually, but it would surely be creepy if he grabbed Clovis's flipper during his nap. He heard some buzzing, though, causing him to wake up. He sees the Volbeat and Illumise fly out. Looks like it's finally time...

Clovis didn't seem to have anything to do, either. The Piplup began speaking, once again, asking where Tempo is from. "I would say Rainfront Town. Actually, more off the edge of town. I live in a cave next to the ocean! I'm pretty sure you won't be surprised when I say this, but I love swimming and diving. But when I say I love it, I mean love it. I don't usually go without a day of swimming! The ocean's a beautiful place, and is also so vast... I want to see everything that's in it, one day..."

Goodness, that buzzing was loud. The sound of dozens of wings flapping did have a tendency to make a lot of noise, although nothing was quite loud enough to stop the two water-types from having a conversation. Tempo talked about where he lived, and how much he loved swimming and the like, and how he'd like to explore the seas. What with living near the ocean, this wasn't too surprising, although something else was. "You said you lived in a, um, cave? Like, as in, an actual cave made of stone? Wouldn't a cave be more suited to ferals?" Clovis' home was a free standing structure. No one in Grassveil lived in caves. The world outside of his own civilization tended to be rather primitive, sure, but Tempo never really seemed like the cave-dwelling sort. He must have received some sort of education, as the musical note on his scalchop demonstrated at the very least rudimentary knowledge of musical notation.

The buzzing of the bug types preparing was a bit annoying... Tempo didn't expect it to be so loud.... As he went on about where he lived, Clovis stopped him to question him about one fact. "Yeah, I guess you're right. A cave isn't exactly the best place for an Oshawott to live, huh? But I wanted to live near the ocean, and there really didn't seem to be any other options. I mean, I can't live in the ocean, can I?" He said, replying to Clovis's question. But yeah. A cave does seem a little... unsophisticated, but he wasn't one for that kind of stuff. "But, I think that's enough about me. What do you like to do?" Tempo asked Clovis

How one so familiar with the creature comforts of Rainfront could willingly choose to live in a cave was beyond Clovis' understanding. But, the oshawott had asked him a question, so the piplup wouldn't have time to ask Tempo what it was like to be a cavemon. Just as simply as he was asked, Clovis revealed some of his hobbies. "I'm a fan of literature, be that epic tales of adventure, or the latest discoveries. I read about this wonderful medical procedure called 'trepanning' just the other week, supposedly it's a cure-all for ailments of the head." Modern science sure was fascinating. "And of course, I do enjoy travelling. I am a fair ways away from Grassveil, afterall. Mayhaps the guild there suits me. I just hope the missions they send me on involve relaxing by the beach, or 'investigating' the massage parlor at Steamrise." He joked, but that didn't sound too far off from what the Grassveil Guild dealt in.