Open The Sundering of the World

The Mightyena nodded, following a few feet behind Shadow. Though she was mainly thinking about what could be bothering Shadow, her steps were light. Perhaps he was just afraid of what was going to happen to them once they fought the Burning Legion, just like she was. She stopped by Shadow and her Trainer as they reached the door.

Haru nodded, smiled, and headed out of the room to the main part of the Pokemon Center. There she noticed that there were some others already awake, one of which was the big Flygon. Honestly the Trainer was a little intimidated by her and the way she spoke, but it would be good to have such a powerful ally. Her green eyes wavered for only a moment, but then she adjusted her glasses and walked up to the others, with Runa just behind her. "Good morning," she greeted, rather seriously. The other person in the lobby was the violet human-type thing, who looked like an elf of some sort, and she didn't appear to have moved much. Still, Haru greeted them with a smile, and Runa stood by her feet, also looking up amiably at the others.

"Runa, mabye we should take a walk, alone," Shadow whispered to Runa as he passed her,"We can be more open if we are alone, I don't like telling secrets in public."

Then he walked out of the room. The lobby had some of the crew from last night already awake but he ignored then and Wilkes out the door. The weather was sunny and it was about 65 degrees. He walked to the edge of the forest and sat down taking in the smell of the woods. He turned around and faced to door, waiting to see if Runa would come walk with him. He just hoped the way he said it hadn't sounded creepy.

As Tobias ever so calmly strolled toward the pokemon center (where he suspected Olmak would return), he spotted the odd Houndoom exit the building and walk to the forest's edge. He chose not to acknowledge the creature, instead directing Arthron and Crast to stay on his either side.

It was going to be beautiful, this meeting. He was sure that Olmak had left with time to spare, and the Golurk could remain inconspicuous when he wanted to, so the chances of the message being delayed were between point-zero one and none at all.

And with that in mind, he knew that the battle today would be a glorious one indeed. He grinned outwardly at that thought, only to recompose himself as he and his insects entered the center.

"Why, good morning, allies," he said with a cheerful tone that just barely masked insincerity, "I do hope anyone that has a statement for the meeting today has it memorized. We wouldn't want them to slip up and potentially ruin this entire set up, now would we?"

Crast gave the Scolipede's equivalent to a sigh. Arthron said nothing; he simply hovered unwaveringly in place.

Runa paused for a moment as she heard Shadow's suggestion. It was weird for her to only be with one other Pokémon... usually she was either alone completely or with her Trainer. And it was kind of a weird thing for Shadow to ask in the first place, from what she knew of him. But then again, she didn't know very much about him at all. Maybe if he was going to be on the same team as her, this could be a good opportunity. She opened her jaws to say something, but then closed them again, and followed Shadow out of the Pokémon Center.

"So why are we all the way out here?" she asked as soon as they were out of earshot of the Pokémon Center. She also lowered her head slightly as she walked forward, out of caution. Walking out alone with only Shadow was still suspicious to her, though she tried not to look critical. She tried to keep her steps even and not speed up or slow down. Somehow, this moment demanded calmness and precision.

"Because I could tell you wanted to know why I am like I am," Shadow said to her,"Why I was depressed this morning,"

Shadow sighed and looked argue sky, it was clear and he saw some pidgies flying around. It was as if this little section of the world was free of danger, yet he knew something, or someone close to them was a spy.

This is no time to worry about that! Shadow thought to himself.

"Now I am older so I may ramble on," Shadow said to Runa, "Do you want to talk about my past?"

Runa dropped her gaze to the ground, watching the dirt about three feet in front of her as she walked. Her tail was down as well, and she considered what Shadow had said for a moment. There was definitely an air of gloom descending upon the two canid Pokemon, and Runa's eyes reflected that. But her ears pricked as she heard Shadow's last question: Do you want to hear about my past?

It was as if a dramatic noise went off in Runa's head. Her eyes widened for a moment, and her head lifted. After an enunciating pause, she looked down again, though she was gazing up at Shadow. "Okay," she agreed with a sigh. But after a few seconds, she couldn't bear to keep eye contact with Shadow, with the anticipation of him saying something depressing, so she lowered her gaze once more. He seemed to make a big deal about his past... what had happened?

"I was raised like a normal houndour, in a nice tribe in Johto. All was great in my tribe until my dad left, then my mother died of disease. I left the tribe in fear of them killing me, I found my way to the Dragon's Den. A first I wasn't accepted because I was different, but eventually I was accepted and lived with to the tribe. Then Team Galactic attacked, I saved to tribe but was captured," at this point Shadow looked down at the ground, he didn't remember the last time he told this story,"I was taken to Hoenn as a captive of Team Galactic, they constantly tortured me and wanted me to join. I eventually gave in and became the right hand man of Cyrus, their leader. It wasn't all bad, they have good intentions but carry it out in a criminal way. I eventually tried to escape, but was caught. This time they removed my eye to prevent me from trying it again. I finally escaped and that is when I met my mate. We lived in a cave and raised our pups, then the Orc creature attacked. We fought tooth and claw, but in the end I lost my mate and pups, just to kill it. I eventually heard word of these survivors and made my way here. And now I am here, and have found you."

Shadow sat and looked at Runa, waiting for her response.

Runa's emotions changed frequently throughout the story, though she tried not to exaggerate them too much. Sometimes Shadow's autobiography made her purely angry, but sometimes it lifted her. After that confusing mess was over, she sat in silence for a moment, thinking. Team Galactic removed his eye? They did carry things out in a criminal way... so Shadow had lived in a tribe, but his parents died, so he ran away... then he went to the Dragon's Den and lived there... then he was captured, then he ran, then he was captured again... then he lost his mate and pups in a fight with an... "orc." What was that, Runa wondered?

But the end seemed double-sided. On one hand, it was overly conclusive, but on the other, it sounded like Shadow wanted to say something else. Her ears twitched with curiosity, and she tilted her head slightly. Now I am here, and have found you, his last line echoed in her head. "What do you mean you found me?" Runa asked, her voice quiet as she sat in front of Shadow. "Were you looking for me in particular?"

"No, I was not looking specifically for you," Shadow said, at this point he looked down, he was nervous,"I was looking for someone to replace what I lost, my family, my mate, my pups. And now that I have met you and your trainer you are helping me fill what I have lost."

(Is anyone still RPing, it seems to be just me and Darksong, whenever she replies)
Shadow waited for Runa's response, he figured she was still absorbing his story. He watched birds fly by and bunnies hop around. Everything was so peaceful. Then he looked at Runa, the sun made her coat seem to gleem, he looked away and blushed.

Is this what I was looking for? Shadow asked himself, Is she the one I want to be with forever?

((I know, that's what I was thinking, too. I didn't want to post too often because I didn't want it to be just us, but waiting isn't really helping, so...))

Runa's eyes at first showed a mysterious emotion; she was still thinking about what Shadow had told her. But as he told her that she was helping him feel less lonely, she smiled; wasn't that what a dog companion was for? It was exactly why she was with her Trainer, and now she was helping Shadow in the same way... she felt oddly good thinking of this. Some odd canine satisfaction of helping someone she had just barely met was rising in her, and after a moment, she smiled at Shadow, contentedly closing her eyes. For a moment, she just listened to the sound around them. Even though the end of the world seemed to be coming, she could still hear the cries of Wingull who were lifting off above the beach, taking advantage of the updrafts. Maybe she shouldn't worry so much... She had been afraid of what would happen before, but now she just decided that she was feeling fine.

As she figured this out, she opened her eyes, just in time to realize that Shadow was looking away. She tilted her head, her ears cocked even further to the side to add to her perplexed expression. But then she figured he was just thinking again. He always was thinking deeply about something, like a philosopher... Now that his horns were facing her, he seemed more intimidating, almost dangerous to her, but also somehow stronger...

Runa stood up abruptly, almost as if to diffuse the mood that would hang over them for too long otherwise. Her tail wagged softly and she asked, "Time to head back?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he said in a sad kind of way, he wanted to stay with her. He didn't care what was happening around, if the world was to end so be it. But all he knew was that he wanted to spend the last of his days with Runa.

He had to figure a way to ask her, but how to do that? Though actions speak louder than words, this kind of action may startle or anger her. But then agian a direct approach may be bad too, oh this was so hard for him. He wished it was as easy as when he met Amber, she asked him but Runa showed no initiative to do that.

((I'm still reading, I just have a habit of not posting if I don't have more than a paragraph's worth of story to type. Don't worry about leaving me behind; if you haven't seen me post in a while I'm probably coming up with something soon. Axe's just not interacting with anybody right now, so I don't want to do any filler. But while I'm posting, I might as well...))

Axe turned towards the bushes as she walked. She remembered these bushes from yesterday, when the Houndoom had shown her where the berries were. He had probably saved her from starving; she probably would have only looked in the trees for berries, and she couldn't reach them up there. Smart Houndoom.

She looked a bit closer; there were still plenty of berries left on the bush. Feeling her stomach growl just a little, Axe immediately decided that it was time for breakfast. She took the remaining lumbering steps towards the bush and began picking the blue Orans off with her beak-like mouth. Again, their taste wasn't her favorite, but she could eat them, and they satiated her hunger fast enough. It would be a lot easier to enjoy them if she had someone with whom to share them, though. It was lonely out here in the forest ... maybe she'd find someone eventually. As soon as she learned how to speak to others without cowering in fear. That would take a while.

((oh. I guess that was more than a paragraph.))

(I was in the middle of a scene with Storm, Earth, and Fire. I can't post anything until he replies.)

Runa nodded approvingly as she padded back to the Pokemon Center with Shadow. Suddenly she realized that they had gone a lot farther than she had thought before. Her ears twitched as she looked around at the scenery, trying to figure out what this strange feeling in her chest was. She suddenly felt content at walking here with Shadow, now that she knew that her world could end today or tomorrow or whenever. The region she knew would be beaten down by this strange "Burning Legion" about which anyone knew very little. A soft sadness entered her eyes, and she kept her head down suddenly as she walked.

Shadow's story of his life also weighed down on her. From the outside, it was hard to tell that he had such a past, with the exception of the torture-by-Team-Galactic part. Runa wasn't startled as she thought of Shadow's missing eye for some reason, though she knew most Pokemon would be. If anything, his story had surprised her. As she thought about it for a moment, she realized that he hadn't told her what kind of mate or pups he had, but he probably didn't want her to ask, so she kept silent.

The Mightyena stiffened and stood up as she realized that there was a strange scent outside the Pokemon Center. Alarmed, and worried about the safety of her Trainer, she lowered her nose to the ground and quickly followed it to the door. This hadn't been there when they had exited the Pokemon Center, so someone must have recently entered. It could have been a normal Trainer, sure, but mostly only the people who were gathering to fight the Burning Legion were here. Runa looked dramatically over her shoulder back at Shadow. "There's someone here I don't recognize," she told him, and padded quickly into the Pokemon Center.

As soon as she entered, she saw what was different. There were various Bug-type Pokemon inside, along with their Trainer, whom Runa definitely didn't recognize. Urgently she trotted over to Haru, who greeted the Mightyena with a short stroke on the canid's mane, but this didn't console Runa. The Dark-type looked up suspiciously at the Trainer who hadn't been there before.

Shadow approached to Pokemon Center, but then saw the new trainer and pokemon inside. This was a perfect chance for him to stay outside, so that is what he did. The passes the door and laid next to the door waiting for someone, hopefully Runa, to fnd outside.

Tobias noted that the Mightyena was giving him a look that resembled something between fear and anger. Wondering privately if the dog could sense the corruption, Tobias instead gave another falsely cheerful smile. "And a good day to you, Mightyena. Does something about me or my comrades unnerve you?"

Upon hearing this, Arthron took a defensive position in front of Tobias, only for the trainer to wave him off. "Arthron, just because you or Crast unnerve this dog doesn't mean that I, as your trainer, are also what unnerves her." When Arthron refused to move, Tobias sighed. "Fine then, Arthron, if you're going to be that defiant..." he recalled the Volcarona and subsequently deployed his Bisharp, Calix.

"Perhaps you might feel more comfortable seeing one of your own type, Mightyena," he said, again with that false soothing tone.

Runa's ears pricked as she heard the strange Trainer's voice. It was strange somehow... but she couldn't figure out exactly what it was. There was something that she didn't like in it, but for now she would just mentally lay low and see what was going on. She had been growling subtly before, but she quieted as she replied to the human. "I haven't seen you here before," she replied simply. "If you were here to fight for the region, wouldn't you have arrived yesterday when all the boats were coming in?"

Then the fiery-winged moth attracted her attention, and Runa's red-and-yellow eyes trailed to it. It had an aggressive stance, but apparently its Trainer didn't want to fight, because the Trainer recalled the fiery-winged moth and sent out something else instead. Runa had only seen a Gallade once before, but this looked different from a Gallade. What was it? She examined it for a moment. She heard the Trainer say that the Gallade-like Pokemon was the same type as she, so it was Dark-type, not Psychic like Gallade. As Runa continued to think, her ears twitched a few times, and she tilted her head. "I'm not sure what that is," she admitted; her Trainer hadn't done very much field work in Unova, so Runa had never gotten a chance to see this other Dark-type Pokemon.

Tobias was slightly surprised by what the Mightyena was saying. She's... forgotten that I was here yesterday? I suppose I should consider that a good thing - it will make the attack that much more surprising when it inevitably arrives.

"I actually did arrive yesterday," he said, calmly pulling down the brim of his hat, "but I mostly kept to myself in this city - I wanted to ensure that none of my actions attracted the Dark Legion to the stronghold, after all. Imagine how terrible it would be if they learned of what was about to transpire here, hm?"

He grinned inwardly. Yes, it certainly would be terrible... for everyone except him.

((I really envy you people and your free time... Been busy and tired from work. Well, also I'm back home on my decktop so I've also been playing games with what time I do have.))

"Fey aren't insects. They are the sprites and other magical creatures that inhabit nature.", Kathris answered before going into her own question, "The humans of this world... don't know war, do they? I haven't seen any evidence that they do. However, the creatures, such as yourself, that they keep as companions vary greatly in shape and size, and I assume power levels as well. To answer your questions, the Legion is capable of widespread destruction, as you may have noticed. They consist of great numbers of demons, as well as any races they've corrupted, mostly through promises of power. And it would seem that in this world they too have used necromancy to bring the dead back to life. They aren't just brutes, though, I'm forced to admit that they possess quite a bit of guile and trickery. Be careful, there's no telling whether or not they're spreading their influence onto this continent as we speak."