Frontier Town Sanctum of Wishes

[Chibi Pika]

"Our-Your choices are your own," he said firmly, maybe too firmly. He continued in a more curious tone. "What would you do if you met one? A legend?"

"You sound so confident," Ralsen remarked with a faint smile, although it was hard to tell what he thought of that fact. He scratched at his chin, pondering the question. "I suppose it depends on the legend, whether they could help me find what I'm searching for, and whether or not I had anything I could offer them in return."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

It was a minor miracle Steven was seated on his claws, because with the amount of turmoil he was currently in, the urge to fidget was overwhelming. The waver in Laura's voice hit him like a freight train; the uncertainty, the unspoken questions, the muted fear. His memory of the whole ordeal was at best a fuzzy blur, except now... Now, sharp and clear, all he could see was the terror-stricken expression on Wallace's face when--

"Our-Your choices are your own,"

The conviction in Koa's voice sliced through his memory, snapping Steven back to the present. The faint tinkling of chimecho rang in his mind. Steven blinked as his body gave an involuntary twitch he hoped no one noticed.

Get it together, Stone.

Steven closed his eye, taking a moment to compose himself. A theoretical breath in, a theoretical breath out.

"A choice... I've often wondered about that. How much our choices are really our own. We can follow a path that feels like our own, without realizing what set us on that path."

"...You're talking about fate," he finally said to Ralsen. "Or maybe not quite."

He shook his head, letting his eye momentarily drift to Koa. "Either way, no matter what path you walk, you can always choose to walk away."

"In that regard," Steven directed his gaze back at Ralsen, "why does what you're searching for require your path to intersect with a legend? Is there no other way to find it?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

"...You're talking about fate," he finally said to Ralsen. "Or maybe not quite."

"Fate could be one way of looking at it," Ralsen mused. "But even aside from fate--our upbringing, the actions of others, the events surrounding us that are outside our control--they all have the power to shape our course in life." He held both palms up. "Of course... some would say that we have the power to defy those things, to a degree." He didn't glance at Koa with that line, but he didn't need to.

"In that regard," Steven directed his gaze back at Ralsen, "why does what you're searching for require your path to intersect with a legend? Is there no other way to find it?"

Ralsen chuckled. "I suppose my situation is a bit unusual. You could even say that it's because my path intersected with a legend's that I'm even here. It feels like it was a lifetime ago..." He stuffed his notebook into his bag and shouldered it. "I admit that's a bit personal, though. I ought to keep some things close to my chest on my travels," he added, a slight twinkle in his eyes.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Ah, forgive me, I didn't mean to pry," Steven said. They'd been the ones to disturb Ralsen initially. He didn't want to chase the grovyle out of a peaceful place with his questions. "I wouldn't ask you to bare your soul to a bunch of strangers."

"It sounds like you know your course, though. Made your choice, as it were, just like the rest of us."

He glanced around the sanctum at the candles, the streamers, the paper tags. Offerings for the Wishmaker. Any child from Hoenn knew the stories well.

Steven closed his eye with a hum. "Whatever you choose, I wish you luck."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Ralsen had taken one of the blank paper tags from a nearby table and, after some thought, wrote a short few words onto it before holding it above his head. A Chimecho promptly floated down from the rafters to take it and hang it with the others.

"Thank you," he said, turning back to face Steven. "I wish you luck as well, all of you, with whatever goals you seek."

 

[Jackie Cat]

The look on Koa's face for a moment after Laura had spoken was one of dread, and while Steven was harder to read, his eye certainly wasn't meeting hers, either. Ralsen seemed to consider the tangent closed, too, though he was not disturbed by the news. Did that... mean anything? In any case, Laura was left feeling awkward and adrift, as the conversation moved on to goals and fate. Figured, that nobody would want to engage with that heavy a topic. Howls...

"Thanks," she said, in reply to Ralsen's well-wishing. She wasn't sure what goals she even had that he could wish her luck with – Galar seemed very far away right now, and everything she tried her hand at in Forlas had seemed to go wrong somehow. It was easy to believe you were justified when you were successful. When you weren't, though?

You need to think this through. Where's your common sense? Why does this matter so much to you?

She swallowed.

"Good luck on your travels too, Ralsen," she said, hesitantly. "I was just wondering, though... What is it that you're defying, exactly? How do you know when... How do you know that you're right to?"

 

[Tetra]

Fate and destiny... Defiance. You can never defy the truth.

Koa's mind burned with questions. Ralsen had met a legend? Which one? He wanted to know more, but at the same time he sympathized. Ralsen had a right to his privacy. He couldn't pry. "Of course," he murmured. "I understand. I wish you luck too."

His gaze shifted to Laura. You defy what's wrong. He bit his instinctive response back, instead turning to watch Ralsen's reaction to her question.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"I was just wondering, though... What is it that you're defying, exactly? How do you know when... How do you know that you're right to?"

“Hm?” Ralsen cocked his head. “Well, I suppose some would have an easier time of it than others, if their path in life was shaped by something they knew to be wrong. I wouldn’t know how to determine that for myself—I’ve been following the same path for so long that I hardly know anything else. But I do admire the conviction it takes to forge a new path for oneself.”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura nodded, tail flicking up. She... kinda was doing that, wasn't she? Twice over, even...

"Uh, thanks. Um. For the answer."

Conviction, he'd said. The sane thing Malachai kept telling her she needed to have. She ought to show some right now.

"In that case, I'll keep shaping my own path."

 

[Chibi Pika]

The corners of Ralsen's mouth turned up--he seemed genuinely pleased by that answer.

There was a gentle series of chimes as some of the sanctum acolytes had set out cups of tea along with some dried berries, for anyone to partake in if they liked.

After the conversation had wound to a close, Ralsen shouldered his bag and announcing that he ought to be moving on. "I've got several destinations left to visit before heading back east. I suppose I'll have to add Fort Sunward to that list." But before turning to leave, he reached for one of the tea cups, holding it aloft with a slight tip of his head.

"Here's to shaping your own paths," he said, with a faint smile.

Perhaps they'd meet again, on their travels.

<><><>​

 

[Tetra]

After Ralsen and Steven left, Koa found himself lingering at the Sanctum, reluctant to leave yet. For a moment he stared vacantly at the way the lights danced across the walls, his mind far off, still ruminating on everything they'd learned the past few days.

The cabin, the conversation with Ralsen, his talk with Steven but mostly, everything that happened at the wagon. And Bellatrix's nasty attitude. He'd hoped coming here might take his mind off the Beast, but he couldn't seem to shake it. At least here he felt more at peace with his thoughts. He was keenly aware that Laura hadn't left yet either. Was she upset like Bellatrix? Did she blame him or think they'd been stupid to go?

Had going at all truly been the wrong move or...

"So... how have you been holding up?" he asked awkwardly. Half of him was dying to say something about it, but the other half didn't want to bother her. Maybe she had put it behind her and bringing it up was a bad idea. he stared not quite at her, instead intently studying the Sanctum and anything that wasn't Laura.

 

[Jackie Cat]

She shrugged, wondering whether to try to perform some kind of emotion. If she was honest, she wasn't really feeling anything much at all. Intellectually, on some level, she knew she was upset. Anxious, stressed, guilty, angry, frustrated, scared. But those feelings didn't live in her body – they were conceptual. Theoretical.

"I'm holding up," she said. "...How about you? You were actually there."

He'd know what she meant. He was certainly still hurt. They weren't strong enough yet to shrug off injuries overnight, and wouldn't be for a while.

 

[Tetra]

"Fine," he mumbled quickly. Liar. A transparent lie too. "I mean, fine enough," he lied. "What happened was pretty crazy but I've been trying to work on training. It won't do a lot yet but it can't hurt to try and be prepared, you know." It was perfectly true. Mentioning how poorly training had gone was entirely unnecessary. He distracted himself by studying Laura, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Had Bellatrix grilled her like she'd grilled him? She'd certainly acted like she blamed Laura.

Should he apologize? Reassure her? "What do you make of it? A few of the others of our group think it could have been... sent. On purpose."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Well, he obviously wasn't fine. Maybe he was just the type to worry more about others than himself. Even though he was younger than Laura. Even though she hadn't even been there.

"Training's good," she murmured, in agreement.

She'd been doing plenty of that. It did help. It was... satisfying. Killed anxiety like nothing else. Much more rewarding than exercise as a human ever was, that was for sure.

"I don't know," she answered, at last. "Honestly. I thought if we waited a month for the next wagon, either nothing would happen, or they'd get wise to us. It's hard to believe they knew what was up immediately, or that they thought that was the best way to deal with us. How the fuck could I have predicted that?"

Calm your shit. Forget it.

"Why even send the wagon? Plus, that thing killed their own guy and left seven survivors. No backup to finish the job? Really?"

She blew air out of her mouth, staring a hole into a burning candle.

"Hard to believe it's just a coincidence, though. Hope the guys who went to Blaguarro can learn more, but at this point, I'm almost expecting anyone who looks into this stuff to get hit by a Shadow.

 

[Tetra]

Koa tensed as Laura ranted. A faint sense of anger rose in him as he remembered how Bellatrix acted. "You couldn't have predicted it," he said firmly. "Nobody could have." They didn't even know shadow beasts were a thing until that night. "I mean why would that even be something we would look out for? It's not your fault."

The whole thing wasn't her fault. It wasn't anyones, he supposed.

He stifled a sigh. Now that she put it that way, it didn't make much sense. If it had been sent to eliminate them, it had done a poor job. Unless... "Maybe it was just a test. To see what one of them could do in combat." Which was an unsettling thought.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Koa was right. But it still felt like her fault. But what was she supposed to do, tell everyone not to ever travel at night? Just in case some fucked up horror story of a pokémon jumped them? There'd been eight pokémon in that group, if you counted the locals. It hadn't meant a thing.

Who was to say that charmeleon wasn't just gonna make its way into Frontier Town and start murdering them in the night?

"It was strong as hell. Vicious. It knew how to battle properly, like a trained 'mon. Or a sapient one. Test succeeded, I guess – they made something that lives to fight and fights like hell. Makes me wonder how the hell they'd recapture it, seeing as it sure doesn't seem like anyone's invented pokéballs here."

She swallowed, uncomfortably.

"Maybe they can't. For all we know, it's completely uncontained."

 

[Tetra]

"We never stood a chance." The words slipped out, and Koa shook his head. But why? Why would someone create something like that, if it had been created? His mind spun with theories to distract himself with, trying to wring out answers from what little they knew. "If its uncontained... Maybe that's what we're meant to fight here?" he murmured uneasily. But who was responsible? Humans? Pokemon? Or just some bizarre natural ocurrence of the world? "Somehow."

His head drooped. How many of their team would it take to have even chance at beating it? A moment of silence fell and he gazed at the statue of Jirachi. His thoughts circled back around to the plan and Laura. Did Laura blame herself, the way he did when something happened to his team? Should he say something more?

"I uh... don't blame you though. You did everything you could to make sure the plan worked." His plan. "If Sonoroa hadn't showed up..." Dead. He'd had brushes with danger before but not like... that. "So it was a good idea, trying to be prepared and have back up. Now that we know we can try to be more cautious... Ready." For next time. No matter how badly he wished it weren't true, he felt sure there was a next time. He could only hope it wasn't too soon.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura made a face. She wasn't sure what emotion it protrayed.

"For all we know, the planet's crawling with those things and we should move like we're stepping through a minefield," she muttered. "We don't know what we don't know – that's the problem. We can't learn what we're up against without taking risks... But the risks are awful."

She took a deep, ragged breath, and tried to focus on how cosy and warm the Sanctum was. How safe.

"We'll get stronger, of course," she told herself Koa. "We'll get better at coordinating with each other. We'll get more local allies. Maybe we'll even get some good news, to go along with the bad. I know I could use some."

Her ears pricked at an unfamiliar sound from the acolytes' room. Maybe they were coming to serve tea...? That counted as good news, in her book.

 

[Tetra]

"Coming here in the first place was a risk," he said firmly, still trying to keep his voice low. "Everything we do here is a risk. Not doing something is also a risk." He didn't care what people like Bellatrix thought. Safety was important, caution was good, but the thought of standing by and done nothing, letting everyone else take risks made his hackles stand on end. If they never acted, what was the point of being summoned? What if everyone believed they should wait for a perfect opportunity? That was how people like Ignatius got away with things...

"...We just have to figure out the right ones," he muttered. "If we always waited for the perfect opportunity to act we'd never do anything." Had this one been the right risk? What if they had made it to 'Terminal 2'? Was it wrong to act at all without certainty? "At least if something bad happens... we just go home, right?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura hugged her knees close. One benefit to being a cat – you could get completely curled up in almost any position.

"That sounds about right to me," she sighed, taking small comfort from it. "If we'd given up that opportunity, there's no way there'd have been another wagon sent a month later. Maybe we can find Terminal Two anyway just by investigating Blaguarro, but what's the difference between our plan, and the one where everyone takes a train ride there and starts asking questions? If they get attacked by a Shadow out there, they're not likely to fare any better than we did, if that charmeleon's strength was typical."

She wished she had an antacid for the unease in her gut. Maybe the town doctor had something for that. She could eat 'mon-berries now...

"We're gonna have to get used to being out of our depth," she added, looking at Koa. "There's no 'guidebook to saving Forlas' we can read. We're just going to have to do what we think is right, even if it goes wrong."