Back to School

First topic message reminder :

Osiris didn't think there was ever a time when the streets of Grassveil weren't busy.

Having been born and raised in Grassveil, he'd spent much of his early childhood slithering all over the place at every given opportunity. The dratini was confident enough to make the claim that he knew his hometown like the back of his tail, and he definitely moved like it. He waded his way through the streets, snaking through the legs of much taller and larger pokemon, dragging behind him an empty leather satchel affixed to his neck by a strap.

"Excuse me—pardon me—comin' through~," he called out absently, his first stop of the day clear in his mind. That stuffy old book store that his mom used to drag him into when he was little.

Usually, he spent his time reading at home or playing with his friends, or occasionally working up the nerve to explore one of the forests surrounding Grassveil. It wasn't so, today; Osiris had an actual, bonafide errand to run. Classes at Peak had just started, and while Osiris had attended his first one already—his instant favorite, Countering—he had preparations to make for the second. School supplies, essentially. His second major was Essential Skills, so he figured it was probably a good idea to show up to class with at least the ability to take notes.

He didn't know what he specifically needed, but as he lived in town, he could afford to just get a few things and pick up others as he needed them. Today's list was simple - some writing utensils, some paper, and whatever else jumped out at him while he was out.

The dratini came to a reluctant stop at his destination, a decrepit, sad little structure with a sign out front reading Grassveil, Used Books and Other Goods. He heaved a long-suffering sigh before steeling himself and slithering through the open door, resigned to his fate.

Alki collected both her own dishes, and those of her new friend, and stacked them on top of each other. One bowl fit neatly within the other, and the two cleaned-empty plates served as a platter upon which to place them. Once she'd gotten them stacked safely, she twisted the doorknob before her, and gently pushed it open... She saw no hint of Osiris' mother, and didn't much want to talk to her at the moment. She seemed nice, but... Well, she wanted to see what Osiris had planned! Even if it'd involve a bit of pain for her, she'd never really been a part of a mock battle that had just been for fun...

Alki placed the dishes on top of a kitchen counter top, in a place where they'd be easily visible, before backing off, and rushing back outside. She closed the door softly behind her, not wanting to bother the Dragonair with any unneeded noise. "O-Ok! I-I'm ready whenever, I... I can't say I've really done much like this before, though, s-so... h-how does this work, exactly?" She asked nervously. She'd been in a couple fights before, and as far as she could remember, had never come out on top... Even if it was with a friend, it still was a bit scary... "A-Are there any r-rules?"

By the time Alki came back outside, Osiris was ready. He wore an excited grin on his face, watching the jigglypuff approach with palpable delight. "Mmm... nothing crazy, yeah? No holes in the ground or anything, or like, super hard-hitting stuff that would make us need to go to the hospital." he pitched, mostly shooting from his hip. "Let's say the first person to hit the other twice in a row wins, okay?"

That seemed fair to him. In a real fight, one good hit was all it took to end things, yeah? So if they were going softly, then two hits would be the compromise. "I'm ready when you are!" he exclaimed, hunkering down to the ground, ready to explode into action.

Alki tilted her head slightly as her ears perked up, noting the joy on the Dratini's face. He really seemed to enjoy things like this, huh? She couldn't imagine why... The rules he laid down were sensical, and to be honest, quite relieving to her. It's not like she was capable of such things, but... Well, he was making the rules for a reason, right? He might be capable of stuff like that... Alki was just happy that he wouldn't be going all out on her, presumably. "Y-Yeah, I c-can't see anything wrong with those rules..." Alki said, tapping the tips of her hands together nervously.

She probably didn't stand any legitimate chance of winning this fight, even if it was just for play. Still, he really wanted to practice, it seemed, and if it seemed apparent to him that she wasn't trying her best, then she might be upset! So... Well, why not try her best? After all, it'd be useful to her too... What if she ever got into a serious fight as a thief? Then... Well, better to have at least a bit of experience actually fighitng, even if she rather wouldn't...

"O-Ok... On the count of three?" Alki offered tentatively, shifting her position on the ground ever so slightly. She wasn't a very fast pokemon, naturally, barring her teleport move. She couldn't really overuse it though, it was far too disorienting to be moving with it constantly...

Two hits, huh? Well... She figured she might have an advantage in range with her hidden power... And with double team, well, she might become hard to hit? She did have flamethrower, and that would probably be more useful in an actual fight, but... well, burning him certainly seemed like it might be hospital worthy...

Yeah, better to not use that... Maybe a disable at first? That could come in useful later... Yeah, that seemed alright... Disable, then teleport away, then activate her hidden power... As far as plans went, that was the best she could hope for at the moment... So long as she went on the defensive immediately afterwards, it might be quite good... If she did it fast enough, it could certainly give her an advantage later on... Maybe he wouldn't notice? ...Come to think of it, what did it feel like to have a move disabled?

She took a couple of deep breaths, calming herself. The fight was about to begin! And... Well, even if the conclusion was obvious, she was still going to try her best... "O-Ok... I-I'm ready when you are. Y-You can count down, if you want..." She stammered out, exhaling a final breath as she fixed her gaze on the Dratini in front of her. She tapped her hands together more and more rapidly, anticipating the beginning of the fight.

Osiris nodded resolutely at her suggestion, excited to get things underway. "Three..." he started, hunkering down further. How was he going to start this? Going all out from the start was boring, but on the other hand, he wanted to have fun here. Maybe he could Extremespeed right into her face, but that seemed a little cheap to him...

"Two..." he went on, his eyes tracking her every movement as if he knew what to look for. Thunder wave was out of the question - nobody liked to be paralyzed, and they were just trying to have a good time here. That left him with... Dragon Tail? No, no no, that would send her flying! It sent everything flying, it's just what the move did. She could land wrong and sprain something.

"One..." That left Dragon Rage and Dragon Dance, and of the two, one stuck out as a much better idea. Dragon Rage would hurt, but dancing to boost his stats just put him in a better spot for the rest of the fight. Especially if he could get one or two of them going - he could leave her in the dust, teleport or no teleport, if he was smart about it!

That was his plan, then. "Go!!" he cried out. And then he immediately began wriggling like a vertical worm, swaying in the air like a party streamer caught in the wind. Sure, he looked like a dork now, but in a few seconds he'd be slithering all over the place!!

Alki tapped her arms more and more nervously, as the tension in the air (at least to her) seemed to mount with each number the Dratini counted down. Breathe! She had to breathe. She breathed. Breaths, deep breaths. 3... She fidgeted in place, doing her best to calm her mounting nerves. The tapping stopped, and she simply stood in place, staring at the dratini. He was studying her so intently... Like he already knew what she was going to do... Was he that confident? Maybe she should change her plan...

No! It wouldn't do to come up with a new plan two seconds... No, One second, before it started! Just go with her original plan, and see where it led her... One... Alki subconsciously took a small step back, wanting to put as much step between herself and the Dratini as possible. She pressed her arms together as he shouted those final words: Go!! And... He started dancing...?

Don't pay attention to that! Alki closed her eyes and took a breath, focusing on the Dratini's image in her mind. What moves did he know... Well, she had no way to know, but she wanted one of them gone! She disabled one of his moves, although of course, she had no clue which one it was. How could she?

Hopefully it was a move that was important. Alki opened her eyes only a few seconds later, taking in the sight as the Dratini was... Still dancing. In the same spot. Well... He wasn't dancing for fun! It was probably some scary move of some kind... But seeing as he hadn't moved, why teleport? She didn't need to, and it'd only serve to tire her out... Maybe she'd need that burst of movement later... Instead, Alki simply began to collect her shadow in her hands, readying her hidden power for use should he try anything sudden...

She hoped he wasn't too powerful... Dragon types were usually really strong, weren't they...? "N-Nice dance..." She said lightly, her words more playful teasing than any mean-spirited taunt. It wasn't that serious a fight, right? No need to be silent the whole time...

He did it!! Osiris felt himself get stronger and faster, his dancing speeding up and growing more vigorous as it progressed. If Alki was just going to let him boost up for free, he was going to take the opportunity and show her what for!! The dratini felt himself grin for a moment, but that confident half-smile died off as soon as his body locked up of its own volition. Confused, the dragon-type tried to remain dancing.. but his serpentine body refused to move - at least in that specific way.

Then Alki spoke, and he felt it dawn on him. Did she do something?! Some kind of psychic move to hold him in place, maybe? Well, fine! He already got one round of dancing in, so why not go right for it? "Nice for you!!" he eloquently blurted out, the excitement of the moment getting to him. Then he blasted off in a burst of Extremespeed, crossing the distance between him and the jigglypuff in less than a moment. It was, in truth, the fastest he'd ever moved - never before had he increased his natural speed before using his best, most fastest attack, but the results were pretty spiffy.

His Extremespeed attack was nothing graceful or intelligent - in all reality, the dratini just launched himself head-first at the jigglypuff like a rocket, aiming to ram into her with all the speed and force that he could currently muster.

Alki felt herself smile proudly as the Dratini attempted his dance again, but seemed to be unable to continue. She still didn't really know what it was he was attempting to do... The dance was cool! But... Well, she didn't know what it did. By the looks of it, however, she wouldn't have to worry about it for a while now. So... Now she had to keep an eye out on what he was going to do next. It seemed like he'd wanted to dance more, but that was out of the question...

"Nice for you!!" He blurted out, alerting the jigglypuff that he was about to try something. Had she not been in the middle of a fight, she would've questioned what exactly he meant by such a cryptic phrase, but... Well, she was a bit pre-occupied. She figured she'd be ready, but she couldn't possibly be ready for just how fast the Dratini was. Her plan would've been to teleport, but it's not like it was instant. Well... Technically it was, but it took a moment for her to concentrate on where she wanted to go, and he was so fast!

Instead, the jigglypuff chose to use her hidden power, placing the shadow half a meter in front of her and doing her best to solidify it as a shield. He was just going in a straight line! Assuming her little structure held (Which was no guarantee, given how few opportunities she'd had to actually practice in a real fight...), then she should have a chance to run away some more... Or maybe counter-attack? But... Well, he was so fast... What if she didn't have the chance?

Go go go go go goooohhh no! Osiris' enthusiasm and eagerness with using his trump card melted into dread when he realized there was a thick wall of inky shadow suddenly standing between him and his target. And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it; helplessly, he crashed into the hidden power construct and bounced upward, his momentum carrying him into the air like a noodly ragdoll. Instinctively, his eyes clenched shut in pain and his jaw snapped shut, the little dratini drawing into himself somewhat as he went airborne.

When he hit the peak of his soaring arc, he realized what had actually happened. Though his head hurt like heck and he probably was going to have to keep an eye out for whatever freaky move that was... he was on the other side of the construct! This was a chance! "Gerominoooo!!" Iris cried, positioning himself in the air so as to fall down as close to Alki as possible.

He couldn't come down on her with an attack - the angle of his descent was all wrong, plus she would probably teleport away once she saw it coming. But what he could do was spring up off the ground as soon as he landed, aiming an ultra close-quarters Extremespeed right at her before she could react the same way. When the dragon-type smacked against the dirt ground, he gritted his teeth and exploded into action immediately, blasting off towards her in a high-speed full-body tackle extremely reminiscent of his last attempt.

Alki grinned as her shadow construct seemed to hold. She recoiled with the impact of the Dratini against her move, and hardly even noticed a small crack in the construct. She was just happy! She hadn't instantly lost! Honestly, that was more than she'd expected from herself! She watched as the Dratini flew up, up and away, her smile fading a bit. She felt... Well, honestly, she felt a bit guilty... That probably hurt, didn't it...? Did that count as a 'hit'? She wasn't sure... She watched, momentarily forgetting the fact she was fighting, before stammering an apology. He seemed to be coiling himself into a ball...  

"S-Sorryeeeeee !" She managed, before his own cry frightened her too much to say anything more. He was falling fast... She stumbled backwards, activating her double team move so as to create a copy of herself. If there were two of her... Well, he wouldn't know which one was the real one, huh? And he was falling too fast for her to teleport away... Well, she could, but she wasn't sure if she'd be fast enough...

A coin flip, then... And she was never lucky... Alki activated her hidden power once again, making sure that both the real Alki and the copy looked suitably similar... If he guessed wrong, then she could attack him... and if he guessed right, well, she was screwed, then... And he was moving now... Too fast for her to do anything else...

She didn't want to lose already... But it was probably going to happen, huh...?

This, Osiris had faith, she wouldn't be able to dodge! They didn't call the move Extremespeed for nothing - Osiris coiled up, sprung off the ground, and blasted himself at the jigglypuff in front of him. Except at the very last second before impact, he noticed another jigglypuff standing to the side. The dratini went right through his target, his headbutt hitting nothing but air and illusion as he failed to find purchase once more.

He was left blinking in stupefaction, staring at absolutely nothing in front of him. Was she not real? Was it some kind of move?! He didn't know, and he didn't have time to think about it. As he landed in the grass, skidding into the dirt ground from the momentum of his attack, he was left wide open for Alki's attack to strike him from behind.

Alki laughed in excitement, her earlier worry and guilt vanishing as she realized that she had won! Or... Well, at least won a point. Maybe. She wasn't quite sure what qualified as a point or not, but at the very least, this was her perfect opportunity to strike! She'd gotten lucky! That... was quite rare for her, honestly, but she wasn't about to complain!

"Better luck next time!" She cried out, giddy with excitement. This was the first time she'd ever won anything! At the very least, the first time she'd ever won anything on her own... Alki extended her hidden power, much slower than she would have in an actual fight, but still fast enough for her to confidently follow the skidding Dratini. She poked his side with the shadow, before dissolving them and resuming a neutral stance.

"Gotcha!" She exclaimed, laughing gleefully. That was fun! Of course, she couldn't expect to do that again, but... She was even more excited to tell Darcy about today now! This was amazing!

By the time Osiris had whirled around, ready to leap back into the action, a shadowy tendril gave him a sharp poke in the side and he heard Alki's giddy exclamation. It took a moment for him to register what she said—'better luck next time'—was it over? He reviewed the fight so far, and realized that he'd tagged himself on that shadow thing with his extremespeed... and failed to hit her before she got him again. That was two in a row.

She won and he lost. The dratini exhaled a soft breath, not really that beat up about it - he kind of expected this from the sister of a guild member, to say nothing of her actual experience in combat, compared to him having none. "Ah... drats," he grumbled good-naturedly, sagging against the ground. "You played me like a fiddle." Osiris realized. She'd let him come to her both times and basically ask to get hit.

It was kind of impressive. "Well, it was fun." he went on, shrugging off the loss quickly. "You're better at this than you let on!"

Alki giggled again, softly. She wasn't used to winning... This wasn't a bad feeling, actually! She wished she could feel like this more often, but... Well, she was small, and slow, and honestly, she'd just kinda gotten lucky during this whole thing... But she'd take it! This was the first time she'd ever felt this happy about a fight, and the large, dopey smile on her face might've clued any onlookers in on this fact. She hopped up and down, hardly able to contain her excitement as she nodded along.

"T-That was fun! ...T-That was the first time I-I've... w-well, I've ever d-done anything l-like this without m-my sister..." Originally, she was going to say that that was the first time she'd ever won a fight, but... Well, she didn't want to demoralize the Dratini... It wasn't like that was nice news to hear... If she'd heard that the person she'd lost to had never won before beating them... Well, that'd be pretty hurtful to her, she thought...

And then he complimented her! She blushed, nodding softly. What was she supposed to say...? She wanted to say that she wasn't, that he was wrong, but... She'd still beaten him. That was a fact, and... Well, if she said she was bad, then she was implying that he was bad too, by proxy. And she didn't want to imply that! She'd just gotten lucky...

"I-I'm... O-Ok...?" She finally said, after a few seconds of deliberation. She framed it more like a question, unsure of how exactly to respond. "H-Honestly, I-I just think... t-think I got a bit lucky, I-I mean... Y-You probably didn't expect me t-to know a move like that..."

"Well, no, I didn't, but that's just another part of battling." Osiris replied."It's probably smarter to keep people guessing what you can do, I imagine." He began stretching himself out and coiling up in a resting position. He didn't feel super sore - Alki must have been pulling her punches.

He didn't think he did too bad, all things considered. It ended quick, but he came close to interrupting her second dark move. If only he'd hit her instead of her illusory copy, then they'd still be fighting right now. It'd been something of a coin toss, and he felt better about losing that way. "You wanna come back inside and cool down for a bit? It's getting pretty dark, so you can stay over if you want - if your sister would be okay with it and everything." he offered, not wanting to push her out on the street or get her into trouble.

Alki nodded along softly as the Dratini easily dismissed her claims to have merely gotten lucky. She supposed what he said made sense… But… If he had guessed right on her double team, and tagged her… Then that would’ve been unlucky for her, and lucky for him… She supposed that was how a lot of fights might go… Just luck. She couldn’t really complain about it, seeing as luck had helped her that night. Still, she felt a tad bit guilty…

“Y-Yeah, I guess you’re right...” Alki said softly, still smiling, although the giddiness had worn off by now. She was excited to tell Darcy about tonight, but she wasn’t really looking forward to walking all the way home by herself. Maybe she should --

And… Nevermind. Osiris had beat her to it… He was inviting her to stay over…? Her eyes widened as she took in his offer, and her smile grew slightly as she spoke. “R-Really…? Y-You’re f-fine with that…? T-This is the first t-time anyone’s offered t-that to m-me...” She rocked back and forth as she considered his offer. It didn’t take long. “Y-Yeah! D-Darcy’ll b-be f-fine with that, a-and I can j-just go home in the morning! T-Thank you a t-ton, O-Osiris...” She stammered out, giving him a small bow as she rushed over to the door and held it open for him.