Frontier Town Greenbough Empirical Orchards

[Chibi Pika]

Zapdos watched Steven and Koa taking defensive positions in his path, a wild grin slowly forming at the corners of his pointed beak. "So you do think yourselves able to stand up to me. Perfect." He took a step forward, bearing down on them, eyes flashing.

"H-hey now... this ain't right..." a small voice said.

Zapdos turned his head sharply, eyes falling on the small bit of purple amongst the tree branches--Xoco.

"Don't... don't the Escarpa gotta head out to the stomping grounds if they want a shot at facing the Cyclone? Ain't that... a better place for a battle? More... open 'n stuff," the Gligar mumbled, not quite making eye contact with the giant avian.

Zapdos narrowed his eyes, but then let out a crackling laugh. "It would be a shame to strike down so few of the supposed saviors of this world. Fine. The stomping grounds, then." He glanced back at Koa and Steven. "Your group will find me there, or I will find you." The unspoken threat was clear. Running away would not be an option.

The Roaming Cyclone stamped his feet in the dirt, kicking up a wave of dust before he disappeared off into the hills, as quick as he'd come.

Xoco let out a huge sigh of relief, practically collapsing against her tree branch. Then her eyes fell on Dave and she cursed under her breath before gliding down to him and digging through her utility pouch for a berry.

 

[Butterfree]

Steven and Koa both reacted with a heroic fervor, like grand champions of defending the fucking vulnerable. Dave struggled to push himself to his feet, gritting his teeth, but it wasn't working.

Zapdos was apparently delighted, though. Fucker really, really just wanted a goddamn fight. Well, they'd give him one. Kick him into the fucking stars.

The Gligar arrived with some dungeon berries, and after a few he more or less had the energy to stand up. His ribs were still pulsing with pain as he breathed. Probably going to have to hit up Drungfield's. Goddamn it.

"Why do you indulge this guy by talking about him like he's actually a force of nature, anyway?" he said, glancing at Xoco. "Yeah, sure, nature can't be reasoned with. An actual guy, with a brain, who can talk to you, who's just decided he's not going to respond to reason is just a pretentious dickweed. Don't tell me you actually consider that creep a Saint."

 

[Tetra]

Koa faced Zapdos, bristling and ready even as a part of him slightly panicked. Was it going to try and attack them now? Just him and Steven couldn't possibly do anything to a Saint. Why was it doing this? What kind so-called Saint would behave this way? Anger burned in him and he readied himself for an attack. Xoco intervened, to his relief.

"Can't wait to put your beak in dirt," he snarled as Zapdos retreated.

He rushed over to Dave once the stupid bird had fled, glad that Xoco had something on hand for him. "Are you alright?" he asked, giving Dave a once over. Their bodies here were tough but that had been a nasty hit. The fury knotting his chest hadn't loosened any and his hackles were still up. "I don't care what anyone says, I'll never call that thing a Saint. Its just a regular garden variety bully." He spat the words through gritted teeth, still glaring at where it had left.

 

[Chibi Pika]

“‘Saint’ don’t mean anything good or bad,” Xoco said quietly, gazing out over the orchard. “They are what they are. Y’can’t expect all of ‘em to think like a person.”

She shivered slightly, obviously still rattled. “C’mon, let’s get ‘im to Drungfield’s. Don’t wanna hang around here much longer.” Even though Zapdos had left, a palpable tension still hung in the air.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven held his stance facing where Zapdos had been, even after it took it's leave. Only once he heard Koa's voice asking after Dave did he let out a shaky, warbly breath. His limbs still tingled with the buzz of Radiance; like adrenaline but more potent. As the sensation faded, so too did his energy, and his arms drooped by his sides.

He upturned his gaze to Xoco, half exasperated, half exhausted. "You said the Escarpa regularly challenge the Cyclone? And it indulges them?"

Lowering himself down, he tipped in Dave's direction. "I can offer a lift if you need it," he said. "I don't mind."

Assuming Dave would protest, he added, albeit somewhat darkly, "Besides, you should to save your strength for when that Zapdos returns."

He left a lingering gaze on the hazy dust settling in the Saint's wake. Did it really hate them that much? But why?

 

[Chibi Pika]

"You said the Escarpa regularly challenge the Cyclone? And it indulges them?"

"Well, it ain't what I'd call common, but... it is a part of their history," Xoco said, rubbing a claw on the back of her head. "'Bout once every few years, a pack of their warriors go out to face the Cylone in ritual combat. Dunno if it's something they came up with to try to sate him once upon a time, and it's stuck around as tradition, or something he came up with, or what. An' sometimes..."--the Gligar's voice grew quieter--"I heard that sometimes, some folks go out to face him alone, like they're not hopin' to come back from it."

 

[Butterfree]

Dave waved a dismissive paw in Steven's direction, only to quickly lower it back to the ground with a grimace. "I'm fine. Honestly I'm not super inclined to even show up to his dumb show fight, personally. If he wants to fight some Wayfarers, great, kick his ass, but if I'd have to listen to his insufferable preening the whole time I'm sure I can find better things to do with my time."

The Escarpa regularly sparred with him? They must have the patience of saints. Truly the real saints of the Sojavena.

 

[Tetra]

"If he's unconscious he can't talk," Koa muttered sourly under his breath. "Well whatever he is, I'm not going to stand by while he acts high and mighty. If he's going to behave like an idiot cyclone and destroy property then I'll fight him." Maybe Dave didn't want to, fine. Or Steven. But he felt sure at least a few of the other Wayfarers would be willing to help, especially if Zapdos was destroying property.

"Did the Escarpa win against him, do you know?"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven gave Dave a mildly skeptical look, but hovered back to his usual height. He winced, though, at Koa's biting tone.

"I don't want to stoop to his level," he cautioned, "but if he well and truly won't leave this alone until we face him, then I'll go."

He wore a resigned look as he took in the orchard's sorry state.

"We need to put a stop to this before more innocent people get dragged into the Cyclone's vendetta."

At this he turned to Xoco. "Thank you, by the way, for speaking up. You helped to deescalate the situation even though he could have turned his anger on you."

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Did the Escarpa win against him, do you know?"

"Doubt they win very often, but, hmm..." She scratched at her ear with a claw, thinking. "Seem to recall a time about ten years back--I was just a kid then--an' some of the Escarpa kids were all excited and trading rumors about a warrior pack managing to hold their own against the Cyclone." She shrugged. "Never did find out if they were stretchin' the truth or not."

At this he turned to Xoco. "Thank you, by the way, for speaking up. You helped to deescalate the situation even though he could have turned his anger on you."

Xoco fussed with her bandana a bit. "Just part of bein' a ranger," she said a bit dismissively. Still, there was a definite note of gratitude underneath.

"Alright, let's get a move on."

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