Bittersweet

Consciousness slowly returned to Osiris.

The first thing he was aware of was the all-encompassing agony that enveloped his body. The dratini came to life with a pitiful, pained moan, weakly fluttering in protest. His head was throbbing like never before—his mouth was dry and sandy, his eyes felt heavy and stung every time he blinked, and he couldn’t even move without every muscle screaming at him in protest. He hurt, but he was awake.

Why this was the case, he wasn’t sure, but the dratini was determined to find out. His eyes blinked open slowly, squinting as he tried to get a sense for where he was. His surroundings were dark. Very, very dark. He could feel himself rising and falling, the ground below him passing by as he… floated? No, he could feel something enveloping him; sharp teeth that cradled him gently despite their power. Osiris’ head rolled back weakly, and he caught a glimpse of powerful, scaled legs and wickedly sharp claws staggering along.

It looked like Victoria. It all came rushing back to him at that realization; she’d held off a trio of golurks while he tried to secure them a way back out of the cave, but then he tried to help her fight. And then… nothing after that. Iris felt a weary sort of confusion but metaphorically shrugged it off. They’d obviously made it out, and Victoria had probably picked up his slack again. He needed to make it up to her at some point.

The dratini sucked in a harrowed, struggling breath. ”My—” he tried to speak, only to cut himself off as a series of weak coughs took over. They lasted for much longer than he’d like, and it took another moment for him to compose himself; even speaking was painful. ”My bag… m-medicine.” Osiris prompted, voice weak but audible in the silence of the cavern.

47 energy (we found da place mufuckas)

Her body felt as automated as the golurk she fought before. One step after the other, she did not know where she was going exactly. The tunnel seemed to go on forever. Her mind struggled to keep a grip on consciousness. Her head and tail were low, but not out of caution or threat like before. She couldn't hold herself upright. Her whole body felt heavy.

She didn't know how far she'd gotten, but she reached her limit long ago. The tyrantrum struggled along with a dratini in tow, steadily making progress to...wherever she was going to end up. It wasn't until the voice of the dratini spoke up that she snapped out of her mindless trance. The moment she did, the moment it all seemed to feel ten times worse. Her steps slowed into a stop. She had no idea if they were safe just yet, but she couldn't bring herself to care at that moment.

The dratini had medicine in his bag. Where was his bag again? Probably on the dratini. Yeah, that'd make sense. There was a problem with that, and it was more than just the fact that she was massive in comparison to the dratini's bag. She lowered her maw to the ground and gently released the dratini into the dirt. Either the kid was bloodier than she remembered, or some of her blood had gotten onto Osiris.

"...You're gonna hafta get it, kid," her hoarse voice mumbled. Black dots danced in her eyes as her head was flooded with a strange feeling that made it feel oddly lighter. Her vision disappeared from her senses just before she collapsed, a small threat of crushing the dratini underneath her chin imminent if he didn't move ever so slightly to the side.

Energy: 54 (Free energy entry due to dungeon discovery)

Osiris felt himself be dropped onto the ground, his tyrantrum friend taking extra precaution to make sure he didn’t land roughly. His bag hit the ground next to him—it must have been dangling on the outside of Victoria’s mouth, because it wasn’t nearly as bloody. It was pretty tattered, though; he could tell just from a glance that whatever happened to him had happened to his bag, too. It was a miracle that the strap was intact enough to hold it to him still.

The wyrm slithered toward it, which was a very fortunate thing because a second later Victoria joined them on the ground… the bulk of her side landing precisely where he’d been a second ago. The dratini swallowed nervously—they were in worse off shape than he thought. She was hurt too. Osiris tried to call out to her, but the words died in his throat. He knew he should just make himself useful and do what he could for her. Gathering what little strength he had left, the dratini nosed the flap of his satchel open and rolled it over to its side.

His stomach clenched uncomfortably at what was inside. All of his precautions and supplies had been flattened. His berries were beaten into mush, his orbs were smashed into shards, and his seeds had been crushed… Something was better than nothing, though. Squinting in the darkness, he picked out the two pulpy leftovers that most resembled reviver seeds and lifted one up with his tail. Grunting, he slithered over to the fallen tyrantrum’s maw, clenching his eyes shut in pain and concentration as he lowered one of the seeds into her mouth with his tail before withdrawing it.

”I need you to swallow, Victoria,” he forced out, his voice almost indistinguishable from his labored breathing. ”It’s a reviver seed… o-or what’s left of one.” Osiris very pointedly did not take the other seed for himself. They'd been creamed, and so they might not be as effective—in that case, Victoria was going to need both. She deserved it more than he did.

It didn't last long. Her little trip into unconsciousness was as brief as it could get, as if her mind decided to try turning off and back on in order to fix whatever problem there was with it. Her head still felt as if it were high in the air despite being able to feel it against the ground. Her tiny arms curled into a more comfortable position as she was quick to give up on the idea of getting back up so soon.

At the very least, Osiris avoided being crushed. She could hear him ruffle through the bag-or rather the remains of the bag. She expected Osiris to take care of himself first, she wouldn't have blamed him if he did. She didn't expect anybody to take care of her really. Just like that umbreon back at the mansion who prioritized a plush toy over her life. She was a big girl, she could take care of herself. The worm, however, turned right around and gave the remains of a reviver seed to her. She already knew it wasn't going to do much, but she accepted it anyways.

She swallowed. The effects weren't instant. The fact that it was only half didn't exactly help. She didn't make a single complaint to it. "Thank you," she expressed her gratitude to the dratini... "Now you...?" It was framed more like a question. She had no idea if that was the only salvageable item from the bag, but if they were going to get anywhere then they both needed to have something to keep them going.

Hearing her voice after she fell over was a huge relief to Osiris. For a second there, he wondered if she was going to be out of it—he had no idea what he would’ve done in that case. The dratini breathed out a shaky sigh, nodding to himself. He had something to work with at least.

The smaller dragon didn’t do as she asked, though. She was still on the ground, and in the darkness of the cavern, he couldn’t see any effects of the seed kick in. ”I-is that enough?” Iris pressed, not willing to take the second seed for himself yet. ”How do you feel? I-I have another if you need it.” There was more in the bag as well, but he wasn’t sure what good a bunch of mushy half-smashed berries would do for two brutalized pokemon.

It took a moment to piece her thoughts and decisions together. A second of hesitance before the eye that faced the wyrm narrowed. "Now. You." she repeated, more force put behind the voice with a grumble. It was not a question this time around, but a command. She knew there was more around now, the dratini confirmed it. So, she wanted it to go to him. If she had more sense in her at that moment, she would have accepted it. Not only was she the one more capable of defending the both of them in times of trouble, but she needed to save herself in a tight spot. She had a kingdom to lead after all. The lives of the many should supersede the sake of one...should.

She didn't get up. They seemed safe here for now, so she didn't see any real reason to. The aches and pains began to fade, but her head still felt odd and dizzy. She didn't quite trust herself to walk at that moment. Her attention was focused on Osiris as she pointedly made it clear that refusal wasn't exactly an option for the tiny dragon in her eyes.

As soon as Osiris saw the eye staring at him squint at him meaningfully, he felt an inkling of familiar terror that came with being under the scrutiny of an authority figure. But the weight behind Victoria’s order was nothing like his mom’s; it was almost a physical thing, and he found himself moving to obey her before even thinking about it. ”I—um—y-yes, ma’am,” Iris stammered, slinking back to his bag and plucking up the other pulpy reviver seed.

The little dragon faced her again before mechanically chewing, meeting her eyes for only a second before they dropped to the ground again. In a weird way, it was relieving to see her this way, even if it was the first time she turned that ferocity on him (though it was well-meaning.) Osiris figured that if she felt well enough to order him around like that, she was at least not horribly injured. The dratini swallowed the seed, doing his best to ignore the texture and taste of the natural medicine. As he felt it work its magic on him, aches gradually fading and open wounds closing, it wasn’t a difficult task. His eyes flickered between Victoria’s head and the ground she was laying on.

He wanted to ask if she was okay now, but he was pretty sure he’d just been scolded, and in his experience, it was not advisable to ask questions immediately afterward.

the sunset hero carried out 10 launched of one Crooked Boneyard :

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The kid obeyed the order, which was fortunate considering she had no idea how she'd make the kid do it against his will. She couldn't really stand and it wasn't like she was going to hurt him even more. She didn't have any true authority over him, she just acted like she did. She relaxed a little more once she saw Osiris force the disgusting medicine down. The dratini was getting better by the second, while she still had a bit of a struggle. That was fine, to her at least, she needed rest. Her own wounds were slowly making their way closed, but the dried blood didn't exactly make them look any nicer.

The dratini didn't say anymore...so neither did she. The light feeling in her head slowly faded out, but it was far slower than what she would have liked. She took in a deep breath and exhaled. For a good long moment, she let the silence sit as she did what she could to plan their next move. It was obvious to her that they couldn't go back. They'd have to find a different exit to the dungeon, one that perhaps didn't involve some secret alarm system. What were those guys even protecting anyways?

Oh. Speaking of... "You did well." ...Oh, was there supposed to be more? Nope. That's all she said.

Kat carried out 10 launched of one Crooked Boneyard :

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Silence. Yeah, he was definitely in trouble for something, but Osiris was wracking his brain trying to figure out what. At least until his friend spoke, which caused all his mental faculties to grind to a screeching halt. ”R-Really?” he stuttered out. Where before his stammering had been because talking was painful—and it still was, a little bit—here he was just plain caught off guard.

He did well at what? The whole time they were in this dungeon, he’d just been making problems for her. His dumb desire to go exploring was the whole reason why they were sitting in some dingy, dark cavern, all demoralized and beaten up. ”But I—you had to save me… again.” he protested, for some reason not willing to accept the praise. ”And I don’t even know what I did wrong! I just remember jumping in and I tried blasting one of those guys who had you in a chokehold and then—then nothing.” he rambled, memories of the brief fight coming back to him as he recounted them. What did happen to him?

The dratini looked at her again, having to gaze upward at the tyrantrum even as she lay still on the ground. He wasn’t even sure what he was getting at or asking for—he didn’t have a specific point in mind—but it felt important nonetheless.

"You don't know what you did wrong because you didn't do anything wrong," at least, that's how she saw it. She'd hoped for a little more peace and quiet here, but the dratini seemed to have other ideas with the rebuttal of her attempt at being nice. "You did as you were told, you found the door, and you helped me out of a tight spot. Granted you shouldn't have entered the fight in the first place, but I'm not about to sit here and condemn someone for helping me out of a tight spot." Her eyes closed as she spoke. They felt heavy. She wasn't sure if she was tired or if this was some reaction her body was having to her injuries.

"Don't fault yourself for trying to help, what you did is what any knight would do," granted the knight would have done it because she was their queen, but the point remained. Her eyes opened back up, still groggy and in need of a decent rest. She wasn't too sure if she should remain here or press further into the caverns. One meant they would get out of here faster, while the other meant that she and Osiris would be assured the energy they needed should they be attacked. Hopefully, the dratini would just take the compliment and cherish it. If she'd known he'd fight it, she would have waited until they were in less of a confined area...so she could walk away and not allow the dratini to fight her on it.

Trawl Trap!

Osiris sat and listened, eyes dropping to the ground as soon as the tyrantrum started speaking. His first thought was that she was going to explain what it was he did wrong, but instead, it was the total opposite. He’d done everything he was supposed to and even a little bit extra. ”Oh,” Osiris uttered afterward, not sure what to say or think. There was wetness behind his eyes, and they stung like he was about to cry, but he valiantly kept it together… mostly. There were a few stray tears and a very suspicious sniffle, but he composed himself quickly.

It felt good. It made him feel validated. All the work he’d done so far wasn’t for nothing if he could influence a fight of Victoria’s. And she admitted that plainly; he had helped the Queen of the Blacktooth Kingdom out of a tough spot! It wasn’t like he saved her or anything—she’d covered him afterward from the sounds of it—but that just meant that he still had work to do. Maybe one day he could save her as if repaying the favor. ”Like a queen’s knight…” he repeated, the idea bouncing around in his head. When she said it like that, it was… well, it was pretty freaking cool.

The dratini heaved a big sigh, tension and uncertainty visibly flooding out of his posture. ”Thanks, Victoria,” he mumbled, averting his gaze slightly. ”You were really cool, too.”

"Well I'd certainly hope so after that stunt," the tyrantrum snorted, her "modesty" knew no bounds. She didn't take much consideration into just how much that seemed to mean to Osiris. To her, it was obvious. This should have been normal. "If I ever see another "statue" again, it'll be too soon," A more casual demeanor took over her, though she still carried that annoyed tone that didn't carry any true hatred.

The rex gave a huff at the recollection of the situation. In truth, she could hardly recall how she got out of it. She remembered fighting the golurk, looking for Osiris, latching onto one of them, then it all became a blur from then on. Her gaze shifted from the dratini to look onward to the tunnel ahead. Now that she focused on it...was it just her or was there a light up there? She squinted at the distant figure...hoping very much that whatever it was, it wasn't hostile.

She would prefer to avoid breaking even more bodies that day.

Osiris liked to hope that all ‘statues’ weren’t such awful people, but the sentiment was at least a little funny coming from Victoria. ”Hehe,” he laughed, the lack of tension in the atmosphere so welcoming that it felt easy. All of the conflict certainly made it easier to appreciate peaceful little moments like this one. His smile quirked and he looked about ready to make a joke at the probopass’ expense, but then he noticed the tyrantrum looking away.

He followed her gaze, picking up on the same thing she did. As ominous as the phrasing was, there was a light at the end of the tunnel and it looked like someone was waiting for them. Their silhouette was too far away for Osiris to make out any details, but it definitely wasn’t a pokemon his size. The figure looked to be leaning against the tunnel exit, unaware of their presence, but they’d probably notice when a freaking tyrantrum came strolling up.

The dratini glanced back at his still-resting companion. ”I think we’re in some kind of private club. The little statue said they were only supposed to open those doors for people who knew the password,” he offered. ”You think we could get away with acting like we’re supposed to be here?” Osiris pitched, really not eager to fight his way through wherever they were. And they had to try something, seeing as the way behind them was blocked off.

[note: above rolls were made before galar update. Galarian mons don't need to be acknowledged. ]

Annoyed grumbles sounded from the rex's throat. She didn't want to have to deal with anything right now. They were going to have to get up and move at some point though. She didn't exactly feel completely one hundred percent, but it was enough to get up. They couldn't risk staying around here. It would look more suspicious being caught in this hall than it would if they approached. Slowly, her hind legs pushed her up. She staggered a little, but she managed onto her feet.

"We're going to have to," she grumbled, "Come on, it's time to get a move on." She wanted to get a move on. If the dratini hadn't already hopped up, she would lower her tail for the dragon to crawl up. At the very least, if whatever bouncer was up there gave them any trouble, one of her talents happened to specialize in just the thing that would help in this situation...

Being an entitled brat.

Attagirl. Osiris smiled wide as Victoria pulled herself to her feet—he almost felt bad disturbing her rest, but sooner or later that figure at the end of the tunnel was going to notice them. Just as wordlessly as she offered her tail for him to crawl up, he hopped onto her and slithered to the crown of her head, settling into his spot. With curious eyes, the dratini locked onto the silhouette up ahead and watched as they approached.

As they drew closer, it was apparent the pokemon was a cacturne. Tall, green, and spikey, it almost managed to look mysterious with how torchlight seemed to be reflecting off of it. Osiris glanced up at noticed the offending torch perched up on a wall—wherever they were, there was civilized folk running around.

“Y’all making a dump?” the cacturne asked, voice flat and mild. Now that they were closer to it, the pokemon didn’t seem all that foreboding (despite all the thorns) or interested in them. At a glance, Iris got the sense this one was content to just waste its time lounging about someplace with light. Maybe there were people waiting out the sandstorm in here, he thought.

The dragon-type said nothing, though, instead hunkering down on Victoria’s head slightly. He was not especially willing to try his hand at diplomacy after the disaster that followed last time.