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Sojaveña Wilds Escarpa Clan Camp

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Luz stared, unseeing, at Sage. Her whiskers twitched.

"Yeah, I feel it. Deep down, under all the Shadow, it's still there. This one has been Radiant before – barely – but ain't touched by it right now. Hmm... Reckon they never actually wielded the light. Just exposed to it. That's the way of it..."

Luz extended a paw and snapped her fingers, leaving her index digit to point at Sage.

"How'd you like to be a lantern after all, kid?"
 
Behind the large ceramic mask, Sage's red eyes blinked slowly. The chimera's reactions were generally subdued at the best of times, so Nova might've been the only one present who had spent enough time to spot the telltale flickers of hesitation in their movements. They glanced at Nova with a look uncertainty, as if to ask, would this really work? What if it backfired somehow?

But then after a few moments, their tail mimicked the motion of Nova's, and the Shadow chimera took a tentative step toward Luz, saying, "How the light feels—the true light—I want to know."
 
"Light and shadows can mix," Nova insisted. "Some of us are proof of that. We've run around with both energies for a fair while, now." He jerked his head toward Luz. "Besides, in theory you'll have the best teacher around."
 
Kimiko looked between Sage and Luz curiously, before addressing the chimera. "Maybe we could all learn together," she offered. "If you're worried, it might help to have others by your side, no?" She too nodded her head back towards Luz with a small grin. "And like Nova says, you're not gonna find a better teacher than the Light herself. It's all up to you, this time. Your choice."
 
Artificial Radiant Knight Unit said:
"How the light feels—the true light—I want to know."
Click to expand...

Luz nodded approvingly, and got to her feet. Though she did so with a grunt of effort and a creakiness of limb, there was enormous strength underneath her evident age. There was a knack to sensing the strength of a 'mon, but it was hard not to intuit that of a Saint.

Motes of light flickered over the old legend's fur.

"Radiance," she began, her voice softening, "is a pokémon's aura at its most bright – and its most volatile. It's yer soul burnin', continuously. Y'can burn yerself up usin' it. The trick is to burn soft enough that ya keep goin', and keep yer head."

She beckoned with a paw, golden energy coalescing just above it.

"This light... is a form of aura with specific properties an' wavelengths, as a 'mon could measure an' record. It's also the burnin' of yer heart unshackled. A power that comes with duty, accountability, an' history. An inspiration, and a dangerous risk. It's also just... an elemental type."

Luz splayed her paw wide, and the sphere of soft-spun amber brightened further, until it looked like she held the sun in her palm.

"If'n you can take this an' carry it steady – neither lettin' it flare into a conflagration, nor flicker out like a candle in the wind – you'll carry the light with ya fer good. Once yer aura learns t'hold the light, it ain't goin' away."

Her voice crackled and thrummed with Radiance. Inside the tent, at that moment, there were no shadows.
 
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Nova stared intently at the light. There was a fascinated gleam in his turquoise eyes.

At its most volatile, huh?

That would... certainly describe the person— or, rather, people who wielded its equivalent back home. And he'd definitely gotten a bit volatile toward the end of that fight with the void swarm. Was that going to happen again if he drew on that energy in the Quarry?
 
Sage stared intently at the ball of light in Luz's palm for several long seconds before slowly taking another step forward. Then another. Until the miniature sun was mere inches from the chimera's chest plumes. With one last glance back at the others, Sage leaned forward, and the sun melted into them.

Ripples of gold spread outward from the meeting point, across the chimera's body. Sage crouched low, eyes screwed shut, limbs trembling as their feathers stood on end.

"I choose this. I choose--"

Talons dug into the earth. Rays of light streamed from the mask's eyeholes, as if the energy within was struggling to be contained, searching for any way out, threatening to force its way out. Until finally, the chimera let out a sharp cry and sank backward, panting hard. Flecks of gold speckled their violet plumage. Occasional motes of light still seeped out from around the mask's collar.

Eyes opened. Golden eyes.

"Did it... work?"
 
The hum in the other chimera's voice and the golden light suggested as much. But Nova opened up his back and slotted a pink disk into his cheek bolt. Pink painted over turquoise. Nova concentrated on those golden flecks. His pink eyes glowed.

"I think so," he said. "I'm sensing both."
 
Luz withdrew her paw, and stepped back to 'observe'. A dry smile slowly grew on her face.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's real Radiance, kid."

She nodded slowly, appraisingly, one paw at her chin and the other supporting her elbow.

"Can't be sure how holdin' Radiance and Shadow in ya long-term will affect ya. Stay focused. Don't spend any aura in attacks, however temptin' it is – not until you've got a solid grip on yerself. This is the time to look inward, make careful choices. Remember – hold the flame steady, protect it. It's a candle in a dark room: don't let it go out; don't set fire t'the house."
 
Sage pawed at the ground, the tip of their crest flicking slightly despite the mask’s hold. “Stay focused, nn…” Their head lowered. “Head buzzing. Need to go somewhere quiet, I think.” The chimera took a hesitant step backward.
 
Sage nodded gratefully to Nova, golden eyes flickering slightly behind the mask. They paused for a moment and then lowered their head toward Luz. "Thank you."

The chimera's posture was tense, straining slightly as they exited the tent, but underneath it, there was an undercurrent of something that hadn't been there before... confidence?
 
Quietly, Kimiko watched as Luz lit up the entire tent, and listened intently as the legend explained the properties of Radiance. Most if this she was already aware of, but she found it easier to absorb this time. Perhaps not preparing to march into an enemy stronghold mere moments from now had some reason for that. Luz' light slowly grew stronger, until soon, the it was almost too bright, blinding... eventually, she had to look away, until the strain on her closed eyes faded.

When she looked back, the intense light had was gone, and traces of it danced around the other chimera. Their new power was reflected clearly in their voice. but they did a surprisingly effective job at maintaining their control, at least for now.

She understood the need for quiet, that much was certain. As Nova and Sage passed, she offered a simple nod and a grin. Then she turned back to Luz.

"Thank you," she echoed. "They're in good hands, They'll be okay."

Then, she took a brief look around, locking eyes with Sierra for a moment. "If that's all for now, then please excuse me. Someone should go check on Archie."

She almost bowed at them, her mind already having vacated the tent, but caught herself and again offered a nod of the head before she too turned and departed.
 
Luz nodded with casual respect to Ghaspius and Nova, then to Kimiko. She exchanged a look with Sierra – half the time it felt as if she wasn't really blind – and stretched her arms behind her head.

"I think that's a fair place t'call a break fer now. I'll keep checkin' in with you do-gooders, of course..."

Luz smiled to herself, a faintly wry expression, and made her exit – giving a meaningful nod to Seth and Leona. She'd be having a more private meeting with the two of them once the Wayfarers had fully dispersed, it would seem...

Sierra stood, and gave a modest bow of her head to Koa.

"Fair skies, Wayfarer," she purred, as she made her own exit. "Until our next meeting."

There were sure to be more to come.

<><><><><>​
 
Ch07: [Brisa & Koa] New
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    • Where was she....

    In the days after making it back to Frontier Town, he'd made himself busy helping with the election, talking with Sonora and the Rangers, and doing whatever else he could to help. Anything to stay busy.

    Now that the election was over and Sonora was Sheriff (she was Sheriff! Sick!) he wanted to try and find Brisa. Technically he needed to ask her for help, but more than that he just wanted to see if she was okay.

    It was a longshot, but since he hadn't seen Brisa around town, he'd hoped to run into her near her... clan? family? Details were sparse, but he knew the relationship was... complicated. A running theme, he though drily. He'd greeted the one or two of the Escarpa he knew of by name, and said hi to Bosque and Nube when he spotted them, but he was otherwise more focused on sticking to the edge of the camp and trying to spot Brisa.
     
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