Trying to feel comfortable {Ryleh}

[Glacia]

The shiny Amaura swam through the water with glee as the sun beat down on the river. She had needed a good cool off after the battle she had just finished. She wondered what had happened to the Inkay and if she had been too hard on her. They seem almost evenly matched, at least until he turned into a ground type pokemon. As Glacia swam she wondered what would have happened if he hadn't done that. How much longer would the fight have gone on? The almost unbearable heat was more than enough motivation to get that battle over with. She continued swimming for a few moments before stepping out and laying on the grass to dry. Laying on the grass made her feel stiff where the Inkay had wrapped his tentacles around her. She shifted, trying to feel comfortable.


As she closed her eyes she heard a rustle and quickly jolted awake. Feet away from her was the Inkay she had just battled. Glacia paused, wanting to say something but unsure of what to say. Another moment passed and she stood up, ready to put on her big girl pants. "Hello there. That was a good battle back there. I'm Glacia by the way, named after the white ice glaciers in the north." She tried to sound polite, not wanting to come across as rude.  

Ryleh

[Ryleh]

Ryleh pushed trough the undergrowth. He was still sore and stiff and raw all over from the beatdown he had sustained in the arena. The thing that stung the most was still the routine with which the medics had processed his battered form afterwards. He hadn't understood a word they said, but he could fill in the blanks easily. "Look at this joker, thinking he can fight." One of them must have said. "That amaura sure gave him a cold-served reality check." The other must have responded. And then they likely laughed all the way to Ryleh regaining conciousness. Of course afterwards they had helped him to his feet, fake smiles plastered on their faces as always.

But alas, he shouldn't think like that. He was almost upon the river. The place he always went to just relax for a day. Just a last bit of brush and then... an uncomfortably familiar face. The same one he had looked into as he was so effortlessly cast aside in the arena. Was she here to gloat about her victory? To bully him away from his favorite resting spot? Or maybe something altogether more sinister? There was an awkward silence, broken by the amaura's initiative. She was... complimenting him? For the pitiable scratches he had inflicted on her? Was this some sort of cruel mockery? The inkay kept his composure and moved towards the soothing waters of the river. "No need to spare me, we both know you utterly dominated me back there.." He turned to the aumara and gently let himsel fall backwards into the river. The water felt good on his slimy skin. The flaring rash of frostbite was hust background noise, at least for the moment. "Name's ryleh... after some mythical city my father always searched for."

He briefly remained silent. Simply soaking in the calm of his surroundings. "You come out here often?" He finally asked the aumara. Kindness was the first weapon to use to pry loose the truth. No doubt she would answer positively. But perhaps he could glean deeper meaning if he kept the conversation going on long enough.

[Glacia]

Glacia watched as the Inkay, Ryleh, fell into the river. His movements looked slow and painful, and she knew it was her doing. She wanted to apologize but knew better than to show weakness around a stranger. Instead she watched him move his tentacles about, Watching as he seemed to find some relief. A silence fell between the two opponents, and Glacia looked about. Grass, a dungeon entrance, a long running River, it was all here and beautiful. She waved her fans around a little and shifted weight, her shoulders feeling where the constrict had been. As she went to compliment his attack, he spoke. "You come out here often?

Glacia looked, unsure of why he was asking, before she responded. "I used to come here all the time as a child. My parents used to bring me. I haven't come here much since they went missing around here. They came searching for berries, never came back. I'm positive the fog has something to do with it." She looked about, irritated that something could happen to someone she loved and she would never be able to help them. She didn't even know where they were and yet, part of her never wanted to know. "I like coming here after battles, it's a good place to cool off. And you know, us ice types like the cold." She smiled, her fans moving in the slight breeze, or was it in happiness? She decided to compliment his move, seeing as how her shoulders were still aching. "That constrict was pretty good. My shoulders are still aching from it." She didn't want to see insulting, she was trying hard not to be. Glacia stepped into the water, her shiny form shining brightly beneath the water. The ache subsided slightly but it remained, getting worse when she moved too quickly. Thankfully her feet could touch the edge of the river bottom so she stood, trying to see what position would work best to provide relief. "I've never met an Inkay before. Only read about you in books. You are pretty cool in real life. Even if you are a little slimy." She smirked and hoped she wasn't offending him, she was just trying to be honest.

[Ryleh]

Terrence righted himself in the water to face the aumara as she talked. Her eyes did not betray even the slightest hint of malice, her words sounded as genuine as they came. Either she was a supremely good liar... or she was genuine in her friendly demeanour. Either seemed equally likely to Ryleh. Still, a fifty/fifty chance was a pretty good shot, and it wasn't like he was going to expose anything that could be used to truly harm him.

"Disappeared, yes, I do suppose the presence of the fog is just a stone's throw away. Perhaps you'll find them one day. The debacle on the twon square a few days back did prove those lost in the fog can be brought back... I wonder how that druddigon is doing." Ryleh took the moment to think about his own parental situation. How his father had swimmed off in pursuit of some likely nonexistent city... and how his mother had been debating the merits of the sky being deep purple last time he spoke to her. A plausible justification for her presence followed, Ryleh chose not to dig deeper on the subject. Then came a more concrete compliment of a veracity he doubted. "It was really? I... didn't think I had so much as hobbled you." If she was lying to him she was really laying the subversive compliments on thick... Then the aumara trotted into the river near him. Her proximity felt quite treathening to Ryleh, but he handled it as always. By simply keeping an eye out for any sudden movements. He didn't care his staring eyes often served to make people uncomfortable around this point.

She began speaking about her lack of past interaction with Ryleh's kind. What was she on about? was her joke about his sliminess a veiled insult? but then she also gave him a general compliment... "Yes, my kin usually hang around closer to the sea. The fog pushed us inland as it did many others that are so out of their usual habitat here. I don't mind, I've been here long enough to adapt from salt to fresh water... No idea how that worked though, I'm not a biologist." He glanced at the aumara's rainbow frills. "You mentioned you like the cold, did your family flee here to get away from the fog as well?" He kept staring at the aumara. Her demeanour was oddly comforting... It worried Ryleh, did she want something from him? "I... nevermind." He would confront her with his suspicions if she kept talking. Most pokemon started making excused to get away from him around this time, weirded out by his staring eyes.

[Glacia]

She looked at Ryleh as he spoke, not sure of what to say about the fog. She had heard about the town square event, everyone had, and it was definitely interesting. He had returned from the fog out of nowhere and rumour had it that he was sent back after he was attacked. It was a terrifying thought and every time she felt like fainting she imagined the fog taking her too.She shuddered, unsure of what she would do if she saw that happening. Part of her wondered if her parents would return, yet she didn't ask or ponder too much on it. Her mind drifted before she looked over at Ryleh. His eyes were watching her, like always, they never blinked or moved, just stared. It should have creeped her out but it didn't. She had seen many things in her short life, so this was nothing to make her uneasy. He looked for a second like he had taken her slimy joke offensively but as soon as the look was there it was gone, back to the same stone look he had all he time.

He explained how his kind had been pushed inland, away from their native sea. She felt a tinge of sadness for him. He asked if her family had come from the cold because of the fog. "Yeah, my parents were forced away from their home in the colder lands because of the fog. I hatched shortly after they came to this place. My mom says that me being a shiny Amaura is a sign of hope and that we can move back later. That the fog will somehow go away. Not too sure how I will do that as one pokemon. I'm not even that strong." She felt uneasy with the prospect that she might have to face some huge foe one day. What would she even do?

He went to speak and stopped, simply saying "I...nevermind". She wanted to know why he had stopped. She stepped out of the water, her huge form finally feeling the constrict fade. She turned to him and wondered what he was trying to do. Make friends? Make enemies? Challenge her again? She wasn't sure and she didn't know if she wanted to find out for sure in the first place. A couple of moments passed before she spoke again. "What were you going to say?"

[Ryleh]

The aumara seemed quite capable of talking about how the fog had affected her family. Her story ignited a spark of recollection of the day Ryleh's mother had told of how they had fled from the fog. The parallels were striking, the difference being Ryleh had been around to see it happen. He could still sometimes faintly recollect the underwater volcanos and subsurface jetstreams that he had played in so gleefully... All of that was lost to the fog though.

He was thinking of a thoughtful thing to say about the aumara's unusual coloration when she gently harkened back to an earlier topic. The thing he had almost revealed that almost always turned people away. Her tone was so thoughtful and full of care though... It reminded Ryleh of his mother before she was claimed by the madness. Yes... the madness. Perhaps it would be alleviated somewhat if he told someone about it. "I... I'm sorry to say this, but I find it so very hard to see your words as genuine... I know in my mind that you're most likely just doing your best to be friendly, but the deeper reaches of my mind scream at me to not believe a word you say... I'm sorry if this offends you, I just felt like being honest about this maddeningly unreasonable line of though for the sake of respect for you..."

Ryleh sighed, he had told the truth, for better or for worse. Now he would have to see if he had repulsed someone willing to give him a chance yet again. "I think it's omething that runs in the family too... With father being lost to his obsession... And mother rambling on in her shack about the merits of a deeply purple sky..." Ryleh counted himself lucky his kind didn't have teeth, else he'd be biting back the ever so slightly noticeable tears his confession brought up.

[Glacia]

His eyes looked at her as she asked him what he was going to say. He spoke, his words telling the story of a damaged soul. She suddenly understood why he seem distant and like he was holding back in conversation. Glacia studied his eyes, trying to think of what to say or do. "His father is gone off an some crazy adventure. His mother rambles on about a purple sky. No wonder he feels like this is. He must be alone in this world, physically and mentally." Her features softened, the decision being made to show emotion and weakness on her end for a moment as she formulated a sentence. It had to be good. And why would he think she would be offended? She had been called a land whale before, outcast was another name too. Being shiny had its downsides in life. Her mind flickered back to her family. Them all laughing at the river as her father pretended to be a Wailord. Her mind drifted back to reality slowly, like it wanted her to remember that memory for some reason. She shifted her weight, her mind collecting its thoughts before she finally spoke.

"I'm not offended and I am quite pleased you decided to share that with me. No one can change what your mind thinks but we can certainly try. I wish you no harm, I'm just a solo explorer. No family left for me either. I wish I could help with your family. I really do. Maybe we could search for your father together? And bringing him back might help your mother. And you." Glacia proposed an idea. She knew it was crazy, she knew he might snap at her for having such an idea. But what was the harm? She missed her family and she knew how he must feel. He even knew where his mother was but from what he said, she was a shell of her former self. Glacia prepared herself for a backlash, physical or mental, as she waited for Ryleh to speak or attack.

[Ryleh]

Ryleh waited for the inevitable exasperated sigh and glaring retreat of his conversation partner. No such thing followed however. The only reaciton that came was one that felt even more genuine than anything that came before. Words of concern and support. He had heard such things once or twice before. It made Ryleh think about how long it would be until this aumara too would be broken by Ryleh's constant distrust... He shouldn't think like that. Thoughts like that only hastened the vicious cycle the poor shiny pokemon was now another link in. Ryleh broke Eye contact for a moment. He blinked a few times to dispell the bloodshot quality his eyes had no doubt gained from his unending staring prior.

"I... thank you for your understanding. I've considered going after my father myself in the past, but the seas he wandered into are deep in the fog nowadays. Way too deep for a safe expedition." Ryleh sighed as he recalled his father's folly. Everyone had told the man how insane it was to go that deep into the fog, and yet still he had gone. To Ryleh's recollection, he hadn't always been like that. The man had spent much of his adult life raising Ryleh to the best of his ability. Indeed, the real issue had been Ryleh's mother. She had always had an unstable streak to her, and so it came as a surprise to no one when the wrinkled Malanmar that lived out in the forest had snapped when her husband was lost to the fog. "You are sure you want to continue tolerating my presence? Past experiences have showed me I can be... tiresome to be around, even to the most magnanimous of personalities."

[Glacia]

Glacia watched as Ryleh blinked, trying to correct the redness of his eyes, before he spoke. She listened, wondering how she could possibly help. She wasn't adapted for the seas, and he didn't even seem to know where his dad was or where to even begin looking. She felt as if he had no hope left, only loss and sadness. As if anyone would let this consume their whole life, there had to be a better way. He said earlier that others had left before and the sadness that tinged her heart when she remembered the comment, and gazed down on him, made her feel sad for everyone and everything. Her mind snapped back to reality as he finished speaking and paused. He spoke again, asking her if she wanted to put up with him, as if he was some terrible pokemon. Her heart hurt again as she formulated the sentence to finally say to him.

"I will help as much as I can. We may not get far, we might not even get to find your parents or mine, but we can try. We all need to try sometimes." She shifted her weight and thought about what to say before walking in a circle and looking back at him. She didn't know where her parents were and he didn't seem to know where his parents were, so they were lost misfits together. Him an outlaw, her an explorer. They couldn't be an official team but they could be a team together. "We can do this together." She stood up tall and shone slightly in the sun. "Come on Ryleh. We can do it."