On the Road, For Better Or Worse

Powar's Energy: 19 - 5 (Entrance) = 14

Powar stood in the sunlight just outside the Pecha Forest, fidgeting with his left front leg. With a bag he had picked up back in Grassveil before coming here, a nondescript satchel hanging to the right of his shell, he took a deep breath of the very oxygen he produced as his leg began to calm back to a neutral state. "Welp..." the Turtwig spoke out loud, nearly unaware of his outward speech, "...I guess this is where my adventure begins. Everything in my last 13 years of existence has led up to this. Time to see how well I fare in this Forest." Powar knew that this would be a challenge. Hopefully, he'd find items and money to better prepare him for classes at the Academy, or better yet, helping innocent Pokemon in need by working at the Guild. He knew that experience would be a guarantee, however, and that that would definitely set him up for success in the future.

One nervous step after another, Powar enters the forest. Or at least, he did an hour ago. This first hour of "adventuring" was rather uneventful and so Powar, in spite of all of his nerves of being in here, was bored. Adventuring was meant to be exciting, yet... something's up. No, really. No idea who, what, when, where, or why, but... A wild cry in the lonely Forest, probably unexpected by anyone nearby, "H-Hello? Who's there? ... Anyone?" If he would have done it, it was now. Powar was trembling on all four of his legs under the idea that he might be attacked. Pecha was a good place to start from what he had learned and heard, but he felt as unprepared as he had ever been.[/color]

(Energy: 27-5=22)

It was nice to walk in the woods from time to time, to clear the head and soothe the mind. A dungeon like Pecha Forest was probably not the best place for this, but, bah, woods were woods. Clovis had lived around Grassveil all his life and been in and out of the Pecha Forest a few times here and there-- the guild-types came and went through all the time. There was nothing for the Piplup to worry about.

Clovis had entered the forest not too long ago, and stuck to a slow pace around the forest's brighter sections. A leisurely foray, for the time being. While the Piplup knew the place had the potential to be dangerous, he kept this thought at the back of his mind, figuring that he would worry about it if it ever became an issue. Often in the past trips to dungeons ended in violence, and perhaps Clovis had a feeling that this would be the case once more. Perhaps, but if it was, he was confident in his ability to defend himself from any of the local ferals, at least if he could see them coming.

That is, see or hear, as a primal shout rang out from somewhere else in the woods. A bit of an oddity, but Clovis supposed he ought not to be too surprised. Looking around, its source wasn't immediately apparent. Clovis wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to encounter whatever had produced the scream, but he was still curious enough to look around a little bit. He had only taken a step or two, before another sound reached him. "H-Hello? Who's there? ... Anyone?" Said... someone. Someone reasonably close, that is, though concealed from his vision behind some bushes and trees. The Piplup approached the source of the noise, and spotted a... Turtwig! Someone else from town, probably. "Hellooo... lad." Spoke the Piplup in response, casual and in an offhand sort of manner as he approached the Turtwig from the side. He didn't feel he had to say much else, really. He'd answered their question. Hopefully the Turtwig wasn't as shaken as his voice seemed to show.

Powar's Energy: 14

As his anxiety spiked, right after his cry, Powar couldn't bear to think even five seconds into the future. With the sunlight beaming down on the clearing, he took those five seconds and focused on photosynthesis, and then on breathing. It really was an effective calming strategy he had learned over time, aided by natural abilities. It was at that point that a Piplup of all Pokemon made his approach toward Powar's side, making a casual greeting like it was no big deal. "Hellooo... lad."

An especially large breath left Powar's jaws at that point, and Powar attempted to be a normal Pokemon after a sudden suspicion that was unexpectedly confirmed. Some excitement, and now he was being approached socially in a Mystery Dungeon.

By now, it was probably 20 seconds of solid deep breathing, and Powar is just now speaking. Shallowly, but finally making words. "Hh... Hello. Sorry about that. Hh... Not used to this whole adventuring thing quite yet." That was all he could bear to say. He wasn't fully composed yet, and even though he hadn't really been physical, he was short of breath as if he had just run a marathon.

Following Clovis's approach and relaxed, lazy hello, the 'mon he had approached responded with no words of his own. The Turtwig stood where he was, initially giving an exhale comparable to a gasp, before proceeding to do nothing but pant air for a solid twenty seconds, during which the Piplup himself only stood and stared, with a look on his face which could alternatively be interpreted as either concerned or judgemental.

While both feelings were indeed present, Clovis's expression turned more neutral as the Turtwig began to speak once more after his little breathing session. "Hh... Hello. Sorry about that. Hh... Not used to this whole adventuring thing quite yet." While the Turtwig's lack of words before had implied that his nerves were shaken, it was his statement just then that confirmed it. The Turtwig was having trouble bearing the dungeon-- or social interaction, though the former seemed more likely. New to adventuring, he was, though Clovis wasn't sure that visiting a dungeon so close to Grassveil counted as an adventure.

"I see." The Piplup nodded, with his eyes turned away from the Turtwig as if in some disbelief. "I'm Clovis, from Grassveil." He adjusted the joy ribbon around his neck and stuck his head up a bit, looking down slightly into the eyes of his company as he awaited a response.

Powar's Energy: 14

Even if reading social cues was a hard thing for him to do, Powar could tell that his panic was poorly timed by the look on Clovis's face. He took one more breath to settle himself from what seemed to be a false alarm, and then spoke more calmly than his last spurt, eventually running himself out of breath in another manner.
"I'm Powar. Nice to meet you, Clovis. I come from... uh... I mean, I used to live in Rainfront, but now that I don't live with my parents anymore, I'm kinda unsure. I think I came through Grassveil Town on my way here, so I think I know what you're talking about."

Powar turned the grass below him with his foot, fidgeting yet again. He failed socially on the other end of the spectrum now, and now all he could hope was that this Piplup would at least remotely understand him and possibly not just walk away at this "freak show".

((That was post #5. That leaves the first dice up to you, should you accept it.))

The Turtwig continued to speak, albeit with a bit more coherence, as he gave his name, Powar, his hometown, Rainfront, and a bit of his history, in between the occasional 'uh' and with increasingly less force as he ran out of breath the further he got in his sentences. Powar. Hmm.

"Rainfront, ahh. It's a nice town. Love the beaches. Wonderful vacation spot. Not as big as Grassveil, but I suppose that's part of the charm." Clovis blabbered. "Picked this up as a souvenir when I was there, one time." He took a step back and pointed to the vibrant joy ribbon tied around his neck into a string bowtie. Briefly, he stuck his head up into the air and stumbled back a bit, before stepping forward back onto both of his feet and again making eye contact.

"You're uh, looking for treasure and whatnot, aren't you?" He leaned in a bit closer. "I mean, that's usually the goal of most adventurers, when they're not questing for honor or love or justice." The Piplup blinked, and looked around for a moment. "Maybe we can help each other out. It's good to travel together with ferals about."