Once More With Scars

"Thank you once again for taking my mission! That ol'raggy bunch has just been merciless to everyone they meet!"

Spoiler:

"I-It's no problem, really. B-But uh...I guess let me know if y-you see any gravelerocks around here..."

Spoiler:

It's been a while since he took on a mission binge, especially alone. He wasn't so sure about this though. There was an audino here, the audino could get hurt. The purpose of the mission was to heal things, but with a "raggy bunch" laying around, he his hopes were a little high. It was a low ranked mission, but it could have easily been more dangerous than it seemed. Acro walked along with the Audino, the friendly normal type going on about whatever she felt like.

If trouble came, he could just tell her to run. That way, she'll be long gone when something bad happens. She'd have to follow his command, right? He's the explorer. If he could give her enough time, then it'd be alright. However, this hinged on whether the pack would decide to show their faces or not. While a part of him hoped they did, the other was fearful of what kind of consequences could come with his very very stupid decision.

Kat carried out 1 launched of one Mission Dice :

2

Shadowhue Forest was not spooky. It was like right next to Grassveil and Pecha Forest and all the kids who didn't want to go Pecha because that was lame went there. Osiris had only been there a few times and he was already sick of it! What was scary about a forest that was just kinda dark with a bunch of kids around?! Nothing!! It was a playground for little kids who thought they weren't little kids, and Iris was way above that.

Pricklemist Hill was spooky. It was a big hill and there was mist floating all around which made it kinda hard to see and there was a haunted house at the top! And no one knew what its deal was but there was a bunch of scary stories about it and there were even some woods up around the house. So it was honestly just like Shadowhue but way better and with more stuff.

That's how Osiris saw it, anyway. The young dratini slithered right up to the base of the hill, an excited grin pasted on his snout as he glanced up the trail. He wanted to get scared and see cool stuff, and maybe get some practice in so he'd be less useless when he and his sylveon friend finally joined the guild together. It was a good use of a day, he figured.

The audino babbled on and on as Acro sort of just tuned the normal type out. They approached the hill, the thick mist hung in the air around them. It almost felt suffocating in a way. His eyes kept an eye on their surroundings as the audino would continue to talk. Eventually, he heard her calling his name.

"Acro? Hello? Acro?"

"Oh-Uh, what? S-Sorry I thought I saw something..." It was a lie, but it was better than hurting the Audino's feelings.

The pink little pokemon covered her mouth with a small gasp, "Oh! I do hope it's not those dreadful canines! Though, they usually prefer to howl before they attack. I think they enjoy it when others run. But! I asked you a question: Whatever happened to that little Oya fellow? He was on your team right? He tried to take me out, but we ended up having to come back..."

Oh...right, Oya. Yet another teammate that ended up missing. "U-Uh...he's...not a part of the team anymore."

"Oh! I hope their problems with my mission didn't have anything to do with that!" The Audino sounded genuinely concerned. Acro shook his head before he opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off, "Is that the thing you saw?"

What.

Acro's attention snapped towards where the Audino was pointing. In front of them, there was a small serpentine creature. What was with him and finding Dratinis? Was the world trying to taunt him? He wouldn't doubt it. At the very least, the Audino saw it first. Otherwise, he probably would have thought it was a ghost.

"U-Uh...no, but..." he answered before he would raise his voice to call out to the dratini, "Hello?"

Spooooooky voices. Osiris glanced to his left and right, eyes squinty with suspicion. Was he being haunted already?! One of them sounded kind of familiar, and neither of them was scary at all. Maybe they were just trying to lure him into a false sense of security, lull him into thinking that he was talking to an old friend before BAM! They killed him and he was a ghost.

Turns out, no. One of the voices got a little louder and Osiris turned to the side... to see an archeops. The same archeops that beat up that cloyster, like, a couple of hours days ago! And also an audino, but that was way less interesting. "Hey!! Mr. Fighting Hero Bird, what are you doing all the way out here?!" he called back, bounding up to the pair of pokemon immediately. "You're not chasing more bad guys down, are you?" he asked after a moment, his eyes bulging slightly at the realization. Was Pricklemist dangerous?

It was...Osiris? The Archeops was both surprised and immediately filled with a sense of dread. Oh...well...that put a roadblock to his plans...again. A very very small part of him was relieved, but of course, a majority of his thoughts said otherwise. "N-No, not this time," he'd answer.

"Ohh? You know himmm?" the audino sang.

"B-But there is a bunch of dangerous Mightyena around..." he wanted to question why the Dratini was even out and about again, but at this point did it really matter? Did anything matter? Why was so concerned if either of these two were around? His feet shuffled nervously as he continued, "U-Uh, I believe this is, Osiris-"

"OSIRIS! That's SUUUUCH a cute name. Ah! Goodness you're such an adorable little guy!" The Audino stepped forward, ready to pinch the little dratini's cheeks.

"Oh yes, I know, thank you thank you, you're quite fluffy and nice too," Osiris preened, glad that something recognized his majesty around here for once. He would've preferred if she called him something cooler instead of "cute" and "adorable", but he'd take what he could get. "Fwhait, yew shaid sumfing abfout mighthyena?" he attempted to say, his voice somewhat muffled by the audino pinching his cheeks.

The dratini offered absolutely no resistance to the treatment - it was probably the first time a grownup lady went through with promise (threat???) to pinch his cheeks, but he'd been in similar situations before. That, and he was a little preoccupied mentally by what Acro said. Mightyena? Like, big black and grey dogs who eat the crap out of anything they don't like, mightyena?! Iris shivered a little under the audino's ministrations, remembering the last time he came across that kind of pokemon. Maybe it was just Kiba's mom doing her disguise again. That'd be nice, to see her again.

The dratini absently wondered who would win in a fight between her and Acro as he waited for the audino to finish her thing.

The audino took a good squeeze before she eventually backed down from the torture of the dratini. She seemed thoroughly pleased with herself. Fortunately for Acro, she seemed more than willing to explain the situation, "Oh yes yes yes! This mean ol' pack has been going around and biting others for just about no reason! I asked Aileron to send someone to help, and here your friend Acro is it seems." The Audino's hands clasped with a joyful face, "We're going to go around and help those who got hurt! I know of a few places we can go, it'll be so much fun! I'm sure they'll be really grateful!!"

Acro nodded in agreement with the Audino, though he seemed to lack heart in the gesture. His gaze trailed away and looked back to the surroundings. A whole lotta nothing. Disappointing yet relieving at the same time. He took in a deep breath and released a slow and silent sigh. He was probably going to have to bring the Dratini back to Grassveil again...if it even lived through this endeavor.

Kat carried out 10 launched of one Pricklemist Hill :

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Energy: 94-10=84

Iris shook his head out a little bit when the audino finally released him, greeting freedom like an old friend. What possessed ladies to do that? No one's dad had ever tried it on him, but he'd had a few of his friends' mom threaten to squeeze his cheeks, and this lady actually did! "O-oh," the dratini faltered slightly at the audino's information. That made sense - Acro was the kind of dude to do this kind of thing. "Well... how about I help?" he heard himself offer.

It made sense to him, at least. Acro was suuuper strong and good at what he did; the flying-type's fight with those cloysters was fresh in his mind. No doubt he could keep him and this audino lady safe from a few dumb dogs! And even if he couldn't, Osiris could actually help. "I know some good moves, and I've got experience against mightyenas, too!!" he explained. His one encounter with said pokemon didn't end too well for him, but that wasn't really his fault... it might have been his fault. He didn't know.

Besides, there's no way to better way to conquer your fears than facing them head-on, right? He'd heard that somewhere. Hopefully, it was true.

34 - 10 (entry): 24 energy

the sunset hero carried out 10 launched of one Pricklemist Hill :

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Collected Gravelerocks: 4/5

Maybe the dratini could help. Maybe the dratini could help?? "No!" He was quick to object with a panicked expression. "If they show up, both of you are to run as far away as fast as you can and not look back." His voice was...strangely stern and commanding. He didn't even stutter once with that sentence. The sheer and utter disapproval he felt even knocked him for a loop. As he realized what occurred, he was immediately washed with regret.

The audino stared at him with a shocked expression that only fed into his regret. He seemed to shrink down on the spot. "S-Sorry...I-I just...need you two to be safe is all..." He was a lot quieter and meeker. It was surprising to him how quickly he snapped between the two. Whether there was or wasn't a silence, his nerves were suddenly put on end. "W-We should probably just get going...and get it done..." he spoke...as a floating claw seemed to hover just over his shoulder.


Also > Acro Ability shifted to Healer due to Audino's presence being the first he saw.

Osiris deflated meekly at Acro's outburst, ducking his head instinctively when the much larger pokemon snapped. It was honestly shocking; he'd only met the archeops once before, and briefly at that, but he'd been mild-mannered the whole time. Even when he was fighting off two cloysters at once!

"So... I caaAAA SPOOKER, ACRO!!" Osiris was going to get some clarification for whether or not he could tag along, but the presence of a freaking ghost head and claws cut him off, causing him to jump out of his skin. His tail crackled with electricity, one aggressive moment away from dispensing a thunder wave at the first thing that moved.

The haunter, on the other hand, frowned down at the dratini. Its spectral claw rested lightly on Acro's shoulder almost amicably. "Well, that's not very nice." the ghost-type grumbled. Its other hand seemed to be resting on the underside of its chin, where its neck would poke out if it had one. Osiris could spot just the barest beginnings of an old-looking wound there, but the hand covered most of it up. "Did I hear you wrong, or were you guys talking about those devil dogs?" it asked, tilting its head (body?) curiously.

7 energy

Acro was shocked by the sudden change in the Dratini's demeanor. This was only further provoked by the sudden feeling of a hand on his shoulder. He took the time to look at it, ready to attack or move away, but the Haunter spoke quickly enough to realize that this was not a threat. His heart jumped from his throat all the way back to the pit of his stomach as his body seemed to somewhat relax itself once more.

"Oh, yes!" the audino chimed. It only took a second for the audino to notice the old wound on the haunter's hand, "I'm Rosey of the PHA, Pokemon Healers Association! We're a bit small, so you might not have heard of us, but we go around trying to help those affected by the nasty and unruly!" The pokemon paused, "Well, these two aren't, but I am. The Archeops is Acro, he's here to help escort me, and the little one is...well, we didn't plan for him to come along, but I guess he's a part of the party now~!"

Acro suddenly began to feel that despite what he said earlier, he had absolutely no power or say in what this group was to do. The way the Audino spoke made it seem like she put herself in charge. Honestly? he was okay with it. He gave a nervous smile, not all that comfortable with the hand on his shoulder, but he didn't exactly make any effort to break out of it.

"I could probably heal that hand of yours right on up, no problem!!!" she sang.

As she spoke, another pokemon trailed up behind the haunter. A gengar, though he seemed to be a lot more shy than the haunter. As soon as he saw the other pokemon, he seemed to almost sink into the ground as much as he could, only letting his eyes be visible so that he could see what went on.

"Oh, please. Nasty bugger got me good the other night, and I haven't had anything to patch it up with since." the haunter said, visibly and audibly relieved. It floated closer to the audino, letting its hand fall off Acro's shoulder while it offered its wound to the proclaimed healer of the group.

Osiris, meanwhile, struggled to not freak out. It was a GHOST! A real one, and everyone was just cool with it hanging around. He knew that ghost-type pokemon were just regular pokemon, but some of them were actual spirits and stuff of dead people. The gengar lurking nearly all the way beneath the ground caught his eye as well, and he smiled weakly at the pokemon. Maybe it was just waiting to see how the audino treated his friend - if they were even friends?

He signed up for this, he supposed. This was what he showed up for, and honestly... it was kind of awesome. The dratini couldn't contain a few muffled giggles, excited despite himself.

"Tis what I'm here for!" The audino chimed as she took a hold of the Haunter's wounded hand. The Audino closed her eyes with the sweetest smile as she took on a white glow. She hummed a tune to help her focus before a white pulse seemed to course through the Haunter's body. Just as the pulse passed over any wounds, they seemed to simply vanish. The haunter was returned to tip-top shape! She opened her eyes to examine her work, just to make sure, before she gave a satisifed nod. "Yep! Thaaat should do it! Be sure to exercise and flex it every now and then just so it doesn't ache over the next hour or so~"

Acro watched it happen, though he too focused a little more on the hidden gengar. He wasn't all that certain about this, but everything seemed to find and dandy. The gengar certainly didn't look hostile-wait...why was it grinning like that? A look of concern crossed him as he watched the gengar. The eyes of the pokemon seemed to take on a glow, which raised alarm to him, but...nothing seemed to be happening? At least-not that he saw...

For little ol' Osiris began to float off of the ground with a playful giggle of the Gengar.

As surreal as it was to just be hanging out with a few ghosts, the audino didn't seem that put off by it. Osiris watched her heal up the Haunter, no muss no fuss, and he grinned at her while he worked his hand around. "Thank you much, ma'am," he said smoothly. "You know, my little buddy got knocked around a bit too in the same scuffle - would you do the same for him if I fetched him... for you?"

The haunter faltered during his question, his gaze being drawn to Osiris himself, actually. The dratini in question felt a spike of nervous build up in him - did he do something wrong? Was he about to be haunted?! All he did was giggle a few times! The haunter grinned at him like something was funny, so he ducked his gaze down to the ground, not sure if he offended the ghost-type... and noticed that the ground seemed to be further away than it should. He was floating. What on earth did that mean? His mind grinded to a halt, possible explanations being drawn up and tossed out one after another.

"I'm floating!!" he blurted out excitedly. Dragonair could fly on their own!! Was he turning into a dragonair?! Evolving?! He had waited so long! That was the only thing that could explain something like this. His nervous expression blossomed into one of pure joy and excitement, his serpentine body wriggling around energetically as he rose up into the air.

The little dratini was free to move as they pleased in the air, the gengar catering to whatever whim the dratini had about his high-flying adventure.

Acro couldn't help but look up as well in confusion as the dratini seemed to just suddenly begin to float...out of nowhere. His memory reminded him of the actions of the gengar. It must have been the one doing this! Though, he didn't take any action just yet. It seemed more like Osiris enjoyed himself and the gengar merely wanted to play.

From the ground next to the gengar, another pokemon popped up to see what the ruckus was about. A much smaller ball of gas seeped out of the ground, though the gas seemed to have trouble collecting in an area. It was like something took a big ol' chomp directly out of the Gastly's body. The little guy seemed to find this amusing too with a nervous laugh.

Acro remained quiet as he watched the scene, still nervous but relieved the attention on his outburst was taken away.

Healed Pokemon: 1/5