[Event] Settling Up

Wading his way through the mists of the deeper swamplands for the very first time, Goro did not at all feel like a brave explorer treading new ground. The Misty Mire might have been his backyard metaphorically, but he hadn't dared step foot here as of yet. One, he was probably much too weak, and two, he had no good reason to.

Today was different. After he'd been ambushed by the rudest little rabbit in the world, the croagunk found himself with a problem that needed fixing. Namely, a big fat hole in his shack. He wasted no time in conscripting the little twit into aiding him, and serendipitously, there happened to be two travelers nearby who also offered their services. And all they asked for in return were some directions - valuable information to someone who didn't live here, Goro assumed. He must've been something of a lifeline for these two. The thought put a touch of arrogant swagger into his step.

"I figure we can use wood from trees out here in the Mire. S'probably tougher, less brittle, you know? Like all the pokemon out here," he explained, his hands on his hips authoritatively as he led the group of ragtag companions into the deep marshlands. "We do good enough o' job, I might even escort y'all wherever you're going." he went on, feeling quite gracious and generous now that he was setting about not just fixing, but improving his beloved home.

34 energy - 20 (entry) - 5 (bringing Silk): 9 energy

Silk was happy just to no longer have someone threatening to eat her, even if it meant helping that same someone. It wasn't too upsetting though, since she had sort of broke his house for no reason and wanted to make that right. Even if he was kind of a crazy raging jerk and she still felt like "I'm gonna eat you" was uncalled for, still... she wanted to fix what she had broken. It wasn't even about him so much as just doing the right thing.

Besides, he seemed... better, now that he'd calmed down. He was even offering to be an escort! Although... the buneary wondered if that applied to her.

Well, only one way to find out. "Does that include meee?" she spoke innocently, peering at the croagunk with her hands behind her back.

In truth, she had no idea where she was going in this place, and she hardly even understood what her goal was. She'd just heard about something that sounded vaguely like it involved heroism and now here she was.

Aries was still absolutely terrified. He felt like a hostage all over again. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't. Yera volunteered them to help this aggressive frog and now he was stuck. His legs shook with every step, he jumped with every sound, and it took all he could to keep his body from locking up and falling over like it had at the guild. He already felt awful from the lack of sun, this overabundance of groggy water just made it worse. He was miserable, but he dared not to complain. Papa always told him complaining was wrong.

The deerling was a little less miserable than her friend, but still not exactly in the best spot. The buneary seemed happy at least, but the way Aries acted just made her feel a little guilty. He looked so dejected and sad...maybe she could make him something when they got back to cheer him up? The croagunk spoke, cutting her off from her train of thought. She swallowed nervously as she attempted to speak, but she couldn't really get any words out of her mouth. The frog might try to eat her if she made it angry.

"Th-that'd be very kind of you..." she managed to comment at the very least. She just had to stay nice and polite. Pokemon usually stayed friendly if she did...right?

(Aries bringing Yera 29-20-5 = 4)

"If something else out here doesn't gitchu by the time we're done, maybe," Goro grumbled, giving the buneary the stink-eye as he walked along.

The rabbit was not as terrified of him as he'd like it to be. Maybe he had himself to blame for not smacking the little thing around at the most opportune moment, but there was always time, he supposed. If she slacked off or failed to deliver on her promise to fix his shack, then he would definitely teach her a painful lesson. The deerling, on the other hand, struck a much better tune. She was respectful rather than coy and fake like the rabbit, at least. He liked her the best.

The quiet little skiddo Goro wasn't quite sure about. On one hand, he implied pretty heavily that he thought he could hurt him. On the other, he was pretty damn quiet up 'til now, so points for that. "Y'all got names I can call you by while we're doin' this?" he asked, slinging his bindle over his shoulder.

Mr. Grumpy's demeanor wasn't too much of a deterrent for Silk. She was keeping an eye out for any signs of active aggression, but as long as he didn't try to attack anyone, she wasn't bothered by his attitude. The two of them had just gotten off on the wrong foot was all! And even if they hadn't, well, she would only have to put up with him for a while. The other two, meanwhile, seemed friendly... although maybe a bit shy? Them being uncomfortable seemed understandable with how they'd entered the situation. After all, they were traveling with some angry guy who liked to threaten to eat people and the maniac who had just assaulted his home. At a glance, not the best company in the world.

"I'm Silk!" she chimed with a happy little bounce as she followed along, figuring maybe the other two would feel more relaxed if she was happy and outgoing. It was easy since, well, that was how she normally was.

It wasn't until after she'd spoken that she considered the possibility of the question not even being intended for her. The croagunk didn't seem to like her much, so that wouldn't have been surprising... buuut she didn't care.

(Rabbit - fkn ded)

The frog wanted a name, yet Aries did not want to speak. Could he go five minutes without feeling terrified out of his mind these days? Apparently not. He wished someone from Sentima was here. He kept his eyes low as he tried to gather the courage to speak, but he simply couldn't. The skiddo couldn't even bring himself to look at the frog. There was a fear in the back of his mind that as soon as he did, the mean pokemon would turn around and attack just because he looked at them wrong. Fortunately, the skiddo was spared from the pain as Yera would speak up for him. What would he do without Yera?

It was actually fascinating to Yera how she seemed to have more courage to speak despite her more natural shyness. His refusal to speak only pressured her to say something in fear that something would go wrong. The deerling couldn't bring herself to smile like the buneary could, but she could at least do something, "I-I'm Yera...and this is Aries." Her ear twitched as an idea came to mind, "Isss there a name we should call you?" Besides terrifying.

The deerling and the skiddo were practically glued together, desperate to stick to the closest thing to familiarity they had. They had never been to this side of the marsh before. This was foreign territory.

Aries:

Kat carried out 4 launched of one Misty Mire :

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Yera -> Eat a Snack Mix +10 Energy

Kat carried out 5 launched of one Misty Mire :

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"I'm Goro," the croagunk replied, "S'good to meet you two."

And it was. The one called Aries hadn't said a word since they took off and judging by the way things were going, it didn't sound like he was going to - not voluntarily, at least. That made him pretty okay in Goro's book, handsy vines be damned. And Yera was good. He was glad to have them on this little trip through the Mire; it was every bit unfamiliar territory to him as it was to them. Having some people to lighten his burden, or to blame in case they all got beat down, would do him some good in case they ran into trouble.

Until then, it was just a matter of getting in, getting the job done, and getting out. "I don't suppose any of y'all are handy at cutting trees down to size, are you?" Goro asked peering through the thick mists swirling in front of him. It was a mostly useless effort, but when he walked into one sooner or later he wanted to be able to get it down and go back home as soon as possible. Given enough time and effort, he could probably knock a tree down, but he still wanted to know in case someone else had a better way.

the sunset hero carried out 9 launched of one Misty Mire :

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Yera, Aries... and Goro. Silk noted the names, even the one of the big jerk, for future reference. If all went well then maybe she would end up with some new friends by the end of this, and... she didn't really expect this Goro guy to be one of them, but it was still nice to have a name to call him by instead of "that one over there" regardless. She would have thought maybe the two of them could be friends, but the croagunk was still making it perfectly clear that he had no interest in that, greeting the other two and not her. Fair, she thought; they didn't break his house so of course he'd like them more. She still wasn't sure if him not liking her was a big loss anyway.

But, the next thing Goro said seemed to be directed at everyone. Of course it was, since he was trying to figure out how optimally everyone could do work for him. "I can light 'em on fire if that counts," the buneary responded with glee despite knowing that wasn't what he was looking for. Technically she could, like, punch a tree apart, but she figured such an inefficient method also wasn't what he was looking for.

Still, she was quite proud of being able to light trees on fire.

Uh-oh. Yera didn't have anything useful for cutting down trees. She...she could kick them? She guessed? The most she could do is use her Tackle attack-

"NO!" both Aries and Yera objected to Silk's proposal of setting the trees ablaze in unison. While Yera's voice shook with a more timid and terrified tone, Aries' suddenly seemed more forceful and demanding. Both made it quite clear that they were not in favor of bringing fire into the mix.

The deerling was a little shocked by Aries' tone. He was so quiet up until now, not to mention usually as shy and small as she was. The deer risked a glance at the skiddo to see that his shivers grew worse. She pressed her side against, it was about as close to a gesture for comfort as she felt that she could risk. They were both aware of their particular relationship towards the flames, but Yera could understand that Aries' was far more...recent.

The skiddo's heart pounded. He hardly even registered his own tone until a solid second later. All of his prior defiance and determination deflated. While he did not feel the need to explain himself, he was frantic to suggest something else, "I-I can use R-Razor Leaf...I-It's not that good but it could help shape things and m-maybe help cut down trees..." truth be told, he wasn't sure. The little skiddo was just desperate to suggest anything but fire.

(Admin note: Only acknowledging first five of sun's roll)

House Orb

Kat carried out 10 launched of one Misty Mire :

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All the more reason to like these two. Goro didn't even have to waste his breath in shutting the annoying bunny down. Maybe the deerling sounded a bit more frightened than he would have liked, but the one called Aries more than made up for it. Sure, he might have been arrogant and handsy (vinesy?), but he was usually quiet, and when he wasn't he spoke well. The croagunk was beginning to like him - maybe they'd be friends once they settled that whole "I don't want to hurt you", bullcrap.

"Better than nothing," he nodded, relieved that someone had some method of cutting. "I'm pretty sure I can knock one down but I'm gonna be needin' you to do the delicate stuff, like cutting it down to size."

Goro nearly cut himself off as he almost missed a step in his marching, his foot slipping to the side and sinking half an inch into water before he jerked himself back onto course. The thick swirling mist made it difficult to see, but just now he had come close to slipping into what looked like a shallow lake. He turned and squinted while he studied it, spotting at least two large moving bodies milling about under the pond's water. Whiscash, he recognized them to be. There were a few of them back in Cattail Marsh as well. "Watch yer step, now." he cautioned, a little unnerved. "If you fall under, ya probably ain't making it back up."

Aries and Yera's reaction to the notion of burning trees down made it immediately clear that the idea was not appreciated. To Silk, it had only been a joke; obviously she wasn't planning to light the marsh on fire! But, if it was this big a deal to them, they probably had good reasons for such a response. Maybe they were just afraid of fire on account of being grass-types. The buneary made a note to try to avoid using her flaming fists of fire while in their vicinity if she could help it, out of respect. She rubbed the back of her head and gave a sheepish smile as her ears folded at the little scolding she had received, but it didn't bother her much beyond that and she bounced back quickly.

The croagunk was doing his job as a guide, trying to advise everyone to be careful around the water, and it was pretty clear why. Big ol' fishies were swimming around in there, and Silk couldn't be sure without pulling one out and comparing her own size to it... but she was pretty sure they could totally eat her whole. Not that it mattered because she had no intention of falling in. "Hah, I don't fall," she remarked even though everyone here knew this to be distinctly false. "I mean, other than earlier... but that doesn't count," she added on.

The buneary may have seemed dismissive of the warning, but in truth she took it to heart. She was only trying to make light of the situation to put everyone at ease since even the big dumb brute seemed concerned. Besides, even if someone fell in, surely the combined efforts of everyone else would be able to save them, because teamwork!

Normally Aries would have been proud to be useful, but circumstances lead to a weight being dropped onto his shoulders. What if he messed up? Was the croagunk going to be upset if he did? What if he accidentally hit the poison type-oh-or even the buneary??? Yera would be fine-but the other two not so much. He didn't exactly have much practice with the move, so the thought of it all only terrified him.

Aries went back to his silence. He kept his head low and his eyes away from eye-contact. He didn't know what to do or say other than to heed the Croagunk's warning. He did not dare to look into the deeper waters, fearful of what he might see.

"Okay..." Yera nodded to acknowledge the word of caution they were given. She made sure to keep close to Aries, the only familiar face around here. The deerling wasn't so sure about Silk's joke. It seemed like the kind of reminder that would only tick the poison type off even more. She decided to keep quiet and simply not comment on it. If the croagunk got angry again, she could just get Aries to help him calm down again, right? It worked decently last time, so it should help again at least a little.

She glanced over to Aries. She wanted to talk with him, but she didn't know what about. It was always easier to talk with a friend when things were dark. He seemed like he needed it as much as her, but she didn't know what to say. There was also the matter of the two total strangers that could listen in on their conversation. It's not that they had anything to hide, just that Yera preferred to talk with people she knew.

"I don't fall," she said, all smarmy and stupid. Goro frowned intensely as the buneary's annoying little voice bounced around in his head. The other two had the good grace to at least be quiet; why couldn't she be more like them? If she had, maybe there wouldn't be a giant hole in his house! It did count, he almost snapped, and that's why she was here in the first place.

"Don't you ever shut up?" he grumbled instead, waving his good hand around in front of him in an attempt to disperse some of the mist.

It didn't help with that, but he did smack his palm into something thick, wooden, and hard. Blinking, Goro turned to the side and was greeted with the sight of a tall tree, perhaps three Goros tall and one-and-a-half Goros wide. He grinned at the sight. One step closer to rehabilitation for his baby.

"Don't answer that," the croagunk said immediately. "I need you to run into this tree as fast as you can."

He turned to the buneary in question before he spoke, placing his hands on his hips authoritatively. If it could withstand an ambush from a stray rabbit, it would be a suitable tree to fashion some planks out of. As he stepped to the side to allow her room to do her portion of work, he glanced at the skiddo who tagged along. Once they knocked it down, it'd be his turn next.

More of that grumpy attitude from the croagunk was the only real response Silk got, which was fine since she was starting to get used to it. If he wanted to be all angry, that was his problem; it didn't have to be hers too. Well, it kind of was her problem since she had to help fix his "house," but she could at least do it with a smile on her face. That smile faltered, however, when Goro asked for her to... run into a tree? Did he think she enjoyed ramming into things, or more importantly, that her poor little rabbit figure could handle that kind of abuse? She had been hurt bad enough just by falling through his decrepit shack!

"Right, I'm just gonna smack face-first into this tree for you," she remarked in response. She would still help test the durability of the tree, but she would also make sure not to hurt herself to do so. Carefully watching her step, she backed up to get enough room to sprint before bolting toward the target. As she neared, however, she did not simply crash into it as she had done to the shack earlier. She instead jumped off the ground and threw her legs in front of her, slamming both feet into the bark of the tree. "Ow, ow," she whined under her breath as she landed, hopping around a bit on her now-stinging feet, "Happy?"

If anything, she assumed he would not be happy just because she wasn't hurt bad enough.

(Eh I'm gonna use a reviver seed and commit gambling. Event's technically done, so I guess I can roll the normal amount?)
(+19 energy)

Lord E V carried out 10 launched of one Misty Mire :

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Both skiddo and deerling flinched in unison at the sound of the buneary crashing into the tree. The two looked at each other with unease, not sure what the croagunk was going to do next. Aries found that he was being looked at by the poison type. His body tensed up as he avoided eye contact and backed away from Yera's side. He wasn't going to run away, he just wanted to express just how unwilling he was for any sort of confrontation. Each step was cautious, but the moment a single back-hoof touched the shallow end of the murk depths, something clamped down on it.

A small fish bit down as hard as it could onto the little skiddo's leg. The skiddo bleated in terror, instinctively attempting to kick the creature off. The fish wriggled and bore its teeth into the leg before it took on an orange glow. It almost seemed to drag the skiddo back to the waters with ease despite his resistance, the soft mud failing to provide solid friction for him.

Yera too, was intimidated. Her fear of Goro, however, was immediately re-directed towards the sound of Aries' terrified ruckus directly just behind her. "ARIES!" She screamed helplessly as the skiddo was suddenly ripped away from her proximity. Out of instinct she would attempt to bite onto him, something to help him not get yanked into the waters further. As she did, however, another Basculin leaped out of the water to latch onto her. She narrowly managed to avoid, the fish, causing it to flop onto the ground face-first.

The basculin wasted no time water began to cloak it. Almost as quickly as it appeared, it burst back into the water in a jet-powered attack. The creature would attempt it once again despite it's previous failure, this time moving far quicker than it did last time, surrounded by water.