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Sojaveña Wilds Totally Normal Bulletin Board

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Nova tilted his head at that. "Uhh..." He hadn't given it any sort of thought. But maybe if he concentrated?

The null took a few deep breaths and shut his eyes. In and out. In and out. Nova wasn't psychic like this. But if he could just sense something. Anything.

Nova stiffened. A cold chill ran down his spine. His fur stood on end.

"Try to strike me." The words came out before he even realized it.
 
Mhynt frowned, wondering if that would hurt either of them. She wasn't exactly strong, but...

"If you wish," she said. She stepped out from the bucket and shook out her scales, frowning at the sand that immediately stuck to her feet. Then, she crouched and went for a basic strike with raw energy in her first--she had little to her techniques just yet--and tried to strike Nova on the flank.
 
It happened suddenly. One moment, Nova was standing there, fur prickled and an uncertain look in his gray eyes. The next... a strange shield of crimson energy formed in front of to meet Mhynt's strike. It would not only stop her dead in her tracks, but Nova got the sense it sapped some of her strength.

Nova saw the shield for all of a second and, rather than being impressed, his gray eyes were full of fear. The shield vanished as quickly as it appeared and he staggered back, trying to stop himself from coughing and attracting unnecessary attention.
 
Mhynt winced slightly and shook her fist of perceived numbness. She was about to acknowledge it with some kind of quip, but she recognized the look in his eyes. There was a pause, a look of concern before she said, "...You aren't tied to your world right now. It was only replicated when it came here." She glanced at her shadow as the apex of noon was only seconds away. "...Make the power your own."
 
"It's not... supposed to be mine..." There was a faraway look in Nova's eyes. "It's his. And if it's here..." His gaze fell to the ground. "I have to control it. Those instincts can't take hold. It's not safe if they do."
 
Mhynt's gaze softened the most it ever had. Nodding back, she said, "You have the power, so perhaps you can focus on honing it for now," she said. "We're presumably going to save this world from something else. We can keep each other in check so we don't have fighting from within, too. At least for now... you seem in control, hm?"

The crowd was starting to gather. The bulletin board was about to change...
 
"Yeah. Control..." A heavy sigh. Nova saw the people gathering and did his best to look like he belonged.

"A vacation, huh?" he mumbled. "Guess it has to be. You mentioned lack of control. Well, where I'm from, everyone's fates are already decided. Because I screwed up badly. So, it's more like the wildest second chance anyone could cook up."

He focused on the board. Maybe Nova's senses were better with an RKS System, but he'd have to make do. He'd spent ages around people who could teleport and make portals of their own accord. Surely, if that idea held water, Nova could see something peculiar...
 
Mhynt watched curiously as well. "Everyone's fates are already decided, hm? Total determinism?" she said. "Well... From what I know about that, it's only true for a closed system. Who knows. Maybe an outside force is already trying to tip the scales... just like here."

The bulletin board had a curious warping of light. Keen eyes would spot the sudden shift around the papers and baskets in particular. There was no way--with their limited senses--to determine where it was coming from... but Nova could tell very easily the nature of this warp.

It was not a Dungeon. Perhaps it was something else... but it almost looked like a precise Teleport. From where, how far, or how powerful, he couldn't tell.

But it was most definitely Teleportation.
 
"Keen eye." Nova said, nudging Mhynt's side. Meant to be a hint that wouldn't tip off the regulars. "You think there'll be anything here we can tackle?"
 
Mhynt's eyes were darting around. Amid the buzzing activity of the adventurers gathering their next wave of requests and taking up their rewards--Mhynt even recognized a few on their team as part of the rabble--it was unlikely anyone was paying attention to their activity on the side.

But she couldn't spot anything. Maybe she was just unlucky and wasn't looking at the right spots.

"As we are, no," she said. "Maybe we can learn something. But confront it, or trace it? ...No. But I am very curious what this board's goal truly is..."
 
"Teleporter," Nova whispered. "Telltale signs are there. My guess? If we can find a way to train up fast enough — take on tougher missions at a quicker pace — we may catch the attention of whoever's behind this."
 
"A personal message, you mean?" Mhynt guessed. "Maybe so..."

She sighed, settling into the bucket after thoroughly cleaning off her feet.

"Still, this was ultimately a lot of time lost to waiting for that bulletin board to change. Maybe we can discuss this with the others if they have any theories... Otherwise, we have other things to focus on."
 
"Eh. A little decentralization at this point ain't a bad thing." Nova glanced at the board, then back at Mhynt. "I'm due to meet that prinplup today. Trying to get onboard the construction team. Maybe I can work on the railway. Gather some info while training up with heavy lifting."
 
"Good idea," Mhynt said. "Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of strength..." She eyed him. "Or stature. I'm going to look into something better for my talents. Though, I'm not sure what Teleportation would get me without drawing even more attention to us... So, as of now, I've been focused on charting and scouting. Feel free to offer a suggestion for something better." She shrugged. "I'm a bit new to full independence after some number of centuries in servitude."
 
"Well, those aren't bad options." Nova tilted his head left. "But, hmm. Construction work isn't just about being big and brawny for moving stuff around." He tilted it right. "We need people who can keep an eye on things. Understand, like, designing structures and whatnot."

He realized that that could be too awkward if Mhynt did spend a lot of time in castles or other fortifications. "Nooooot that I'm saying you ought to consider that. If anything, I'd pick something that's, uh, the opposite of the life you were living?" He traced a claw in the dirt. "If you had to be holed up in some royal snob's place, then you ought to find something that lets you move around on your own."

Like charting or mapping, now that he thought about it. That didn't help with the desert heat, though.

"How well tuned with your grass element are you?" Nova wondered. "Could look to see if there's a herbalist or something similar. Helping get more plants growing around here. And it'd double as training up your natural typing."
 
"Not as much as I'd like," Mhynt admitted, holding her palm out as if it would do something to the sand. Nothing happened. "But that is a good idea. Maybe I should get back to my roots."

She nodded and stepped out of her bucket, looking at the bulletin board now that most of the crowd had left.

"I'm going to take on another job," she said. "I'll meet with you sometime later. I've been taking the time at an inn for now... I'm not sure what our normal housing will be, if we will be given the opportunity."
 
“One step at a time, I guess.”

Nova leaned over. “Just, uh, from one shellshocked ‘mon to another, keep an eye on me. This’ll be an adjustment.” He paused. “And it’s been a millennium since I even had company. Let alone friends. Frankly it’s a miracle I’m even coherent.”
 
"Perhaps our benefactor helped stitch together your mind, too," Mhynt theorized. "I certainly don't think I'd be very stable if I was truly mortal again." She nodded, though, with the unspoken caveat that he'd do the same for her. "I've yet to see my... sensibilities truly tested. Not yet. But I'm sure it will happen in time."

She stood straight. "Well. Let's check in with each other tonight."
 
"Sounds good." And if Nova learned anything from meeting with Lucien, he could pass it along to Mhynt. He stuck his foreleg out. "See ya then?"
 
Mhynt smiled wryly, entertained by the gesture. She reached out, her whole hand required to wrap around a single talon. "See you then."

As the hustle and bustle of the adventurers faded with the top of noon, Mhynt wandered the roads to chart out another path...

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