smash_logs | herei come snep run over your pokmens

Entry tags:

herei come snep run over your pokmens

Who: Kieran, Captain Falcon, the medbay squad, and YOU
What: Some idiot deer gets hit by a car and proceeds to moron it up all over the joint.
Where: Directly outside the school, then in the infirmary, then EVERYWHERE
When: Thursday, March 8
Warnings: Deer Xing

What was this place?

Kieran had never before left the comforting embrace of the forest. To see the trees entirely absent, replaced by these strange, perfectly rectangular... caves? It was... disquieting. The paths were full of those peculiar two-legged creatures, casting him odd stares and jostling against him as they hurried to wherever their destination was. It was so different from the forest in every single way... a part of Kieran couldn't help but wonder if someone he had wandered right out of the mortal realm entirely. It was starting to make him nervous; he felt oddly exposed without the cover of the trees all around him.

He... he needed to get out of here. Wherever this was, he wasn't ready for it. He pushed his way out of the crowded sidewalk, bounded out into the road. His hooves scrabbled for purchase on the oddly smooth surface, but if there was one thing Kieran could do, it was run.

[OOC: I am setting aside a thread for WHUMP, CARFACE and also one for the infirmary. For the rest of the log, Kieran will be exploring this wondrous magical place called the school. Feel free to post your character anywhere -- cafeteria, dorms, in the shower -- and Kieran will just... butt on in to say hello.]

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[He had no idea what Kieran could be referring to as the school's guard - could've been anything considering this kid. Vinnie dusted himself off. There was broken glass everywhere, and that was priority number one before anyone else could get hurt.

He reached for a nearby broom as he continued to speak.]

Wolves're one thing. You always know why a wolf wants t'hurt you, and that's cuz he's hungry. Lot've things in the world just take understandin'. But sometimes there's, uh... a wild magic that takes over this land, and not even the gods can control it half the time. That's what you gotta watch out for.

Call me Vinnie.

[Forces beyond even the control of the gods? Kieran never would have supposed that was possible. Then... is there something above gods? Where does the magic come from? This is something to ruminate over. Less than a day in this place, and everything he supposed about the world has been turned on its ear. What a very perfect test of the adaptability his kind preach!]

Vinnie it is, then. There's no reason to worry. Whatever happens, our roots stay planted.

[What is broom for? Heck if deerp knows. Let's study this turn of events very intently.]

What is that thing for?

[Roots, huh? Vinnie liked that. It felt like something the monks would've said. He smiled a little, warmed by this association.]

Yeah. An' we look out for each other.

[Seemed like he was already eager to learn, huh.]

This thing's a broom. It's used for sweeping debris, like this. [Vinnie bent down and picked up one of the larger shards of glass, holding it up so that the light glinted off its edges.]

When you break invisible walls, they leave behind pieces. Sharp, too, kinda like Razor Leaves. Since they're hard t'see, they're dangerous t'leave lyin' around.

[Kieran leaned in, nose coming alarmingly close to the shard Vinnie held up. Huh, not even a hint of scent! Can't smell it, can hardly see it, it's made of cutting edges... these invisible walls sure are dangerous.

He straightened up, a faint little frown hovering on his face, then held out both of his hands.]

Maybe we do look out for each other, but it was me who broke the wall. Let me clean it.

[Vinnie was a little hesitant, but... Kieran was just so earnest. He couldn't say no to anyone who wanted to help out in the greenhouse.]

Why don't I show you how t'use it first. You put one hand here, near the top've the handle, and another over here. Then use the bushy end t'move shit on the ground.

[Here is a demonstration: sweep, sweep, sweep.]

Got it?

[Just like a Bellossom dancing. Seems simple enough! Kieran nodded, then took the broom from Vinnie. His grip was, admittedly, distinctly clumsy; he'd only had fingers for a matter of hours, after all, but at least a basic five-finger grip isn't something that requires a whole lot of dexterity. Okay, yeah, he can do this. With a look of ~~INTENSE FOCUS~~ vague distraction, sure, but he can do this.]

Vinnie... you said you don't know much about Sawsbucks. Do you mind if I tell you a little about them?

[Vinnie believes in you, bro. He watched the Sawsbuck's progress with interest - both in seeing how quickly he could learn, and to make sure he didn't knock over anything.]

Go for it. I'd love t'learn 'bout your pods.

It must be different for Pokemon who evolve twice, but we only have one evolution separating a child from an adult. Our entire lives are spent in a constant state of change, but this is a very abrupt one. Up until maybe... a month ago...? Up until then, I was like a Bulbasaur.

[He kept his head down as he explained; not because it's a particularly hard topic to deal with -- that's simply the natural course of life -- but because he was trying really hard to not be the clumsiest ever at sweeping.]

The hinds are the spine of the herd; they stay once they evolve. For the harts, there's a tradition to help us cope with the change. For a full cycle of seasons, we set out alone to gather up experiences. We find out what the world is, we settle into becoming the stag the forest wants us to be, and we give the gift of everything we've learned to our herd.

[Vinnie listened intently, quietly drawing parallels to the nature of Saurian pods as he knew them. Of course, those memories were tied to bitter and conflicted feelings - considering how few of them were left in the wild, there were times that it felt like his responsibility to return to the Garden for good. Like this journey with Red was the equivalent of a Sawsbuck's rite of adulthood.

But it wasn't the time to weigh himself down with such thoughts. Foremost, Vinnie still wanted to know more.]

How big do your herds get? Are there a lot of Sawsbuck in Unova?

[He paused for a second.] ...Are you gonna be able t'find your way back t'your herd, once your year's up?

My herd is pretty big! Only as big as the forest needs, of course... the wolves make sure of that. I don't think I can answer your second question, though. Where is Unova?

[There! A neat little pile of glass shards. Well... a kind of neat... sort-of-pile of shards, anyway. Kieran finally looked up from his task, meeting Vinnie's eyes with a tiny little satisfied smile.]

I don't know the answer to the third question, either. The forest is a big place, and we migrate every season. Some of the Sawsbucks who set out never come back. If that's where I need to be, though, then I believe I'll come back to them. I evolved in winter, after all.

[Ah, if only Vinnie could have your endless optimism. He smiled back despite himself - it must've been nice to have such a simple, but pure understanding of the world. The needs of the forest, and all.]

Must've been not too long ago, then.

What's the difference between Sawsbuck that evolve in all've the seasons?

Edited 2012-03-10 11:21 (UTC)

Oh, I guess that isn't something a Venusaur would know about, is it?

[With his task completed, he was paying keen attention to Vinnie now. This one, after all, had a keen understanding about this world. Probably had a keen understanding of a lot of things, really. Just a thought to keep in the back of his mind.]

It's a little difficult to explain, and in fact a lot of it is sacred to us! I guess I can say this, though: rut happens in autumn, so almost all Deerling are born in spring. The season that we evolve in is one of the most life-shaping parts of us. Honestly, my mother was very surprised that I was a winter one. It's a pretty poor fit for me!

...Oh, hey, what season was it when you evolved?

If you're talking 'bout evolvin' to Venusaur, that'd definitely be winter.

[Though Vinnie had to supplement this with a chuckle and another explanation:] But that was when I lived in a place with practically nothin' but snow all year 'round. Spring an' summer goes by in a handful of days on the summit, and even then it never stops bein' cold.

I guess we have somethin' in common, then. What's it mean?

[It seemed as though the Sawsbuck were even more in tune with the cycle of the earth simply by nature of their connection to the seasons. For a Grass Type that was eternally in bloom, the idea was both fascinating and staggering at the same time. After all, Saurians took their power from surpassing the seasons in overgrowth, rather than bending to the flow. This was so elegant in its harmony.]

[Kieran looks positively delighted by this discovery. By which, of course, I mean, he keeps up that polite little smile.]

I thought so! You seem almost perfectly winter-hearted to me. It certainly fits, if you could endure a climate like that.

[Maybe he ought to tread lightly? The concept of secrecy is not one that an open book like Kieran is really prepared to handle, especially if it's for a fellow forest child. Having grown up in the bosom of his herd, he's never needed to keep it secret, but this is something very important to his kind, and surely he ought to honor that? Kieran's brow furrowed ever-so-slightly in confusion.]

I'm not sure I can tell you everything, but I don't think it could hurt to tell you what you probably already know. Winter's a hard time. A lot of the Sawsbucks who set out on their own in winter don't survive it.

A Sawsbuck who evolves in winter will come to understand some pretty painful things! All the isolation and hunger, the helpless suspension of life -- we'll know these things better than any other season. But enduring those things builds us up, too. We are the roots that hold the tree up. The steadfast, the dependable, the sentinels.

I guess you can tell why I don't seem very wintery at all, but I can see it in you, Guardian of the Sacred Grove.

[Well, that was a whole number of things that Vinnie was not expecting. He blinked, visibly taken aback by a title that should've belonged to someone more like his father than to him, and a description that hit a little too close to home for all his struggles and self-placed expectations. The Venusaur was too stunned to try and correct him. It was too uncanny to simply be coincidence - this was the coming of age ritual of wild Sawsbuck, but Vinnie was certainly no deer. Technically he wasn't a wild Pokemon either, and hadn't been for some time, even if he kept the forest imprinted upon his heart.

'Almost perfectly winter-hearted'... and yet Kieran had barely known him for half an hour. It felt like bucket of indirect praise had just been thrown at him, and the Venusaur didn't know what to do with it.]

Uh... thank you.

Look, um. I don't think you have t'worry 'bout not being wintery yet. No one starts off on a journey already a sentinel. That just takes livin'.

There's no need to thank me. It's just nature, isn't it?

[Kieran kept smiling away in that vague little way of his. Yep. Definitely still paying attention. Though he was... kind of starting to gravitate over toward those Cheri berries now.]

Yes, that's very true! If I'm supposed to be winter-hearted, then it's inevitable that I'm going to change. It's a lot of pressure, though, don't you think? A year feels like a very short time for a sapling to become a tree strong enough to carry the herd!

Then, thank you for tellin' me 'bout your herd. If that stuff's secret, then I don't wanna drill you t'learn more... but I'd like to.

[Vinnie's mustered a smile, though it was a bittersweet one.] Been a long time since I've met anyone with as much tradition as your kind. Most Bulbasaurs today're born outside the forest. They never end up knowin' our Gardens.

Focus on bein' strong enough to carry yourself, first. As strong as a tree gets, the strength've a forest is always in its numbers.

You seem wise, Vinnie. I think if I did ever say more, it might just be even more things that you've already known for a long time. My herd takes its duty to honour the forest very seriously, but I sometimes wonder if we aren't just guarding a bunch of universal truths!

[Oh. How did that Cheri berry end up in his mouth? That delicious, delicious Cheri berry, which he normally would never be able to taste for another like three or four months when they came into season. After the long, lean months of dried-up grass and juniper, it's hard to resist that temptation.]

Being born outside the forest, though? I find that shocking, to be perfectly truthful! It sounds a little like trying to grow a meadow without any soil to put it in!

[Ha ha. When was the last time anyone ever told him he sounded wise. Oh god it confused him. It felt like th-- wait, was Kieran eating a Cheri Berry?]

Hey. I know you're probably hungry, but there're still rules in here. You're not allowed t'pick the Berries of any tree you didn't plant yourself.

If you want some, I can share some've mine. But this one belongs t'someone else.

[Going over to one of his own groves, he plucked a fruit and offered it to Kieran. Cheri Berries had always been one of Vinnie's least favourite ones to eat, but he still kept them growing for Sasha's sake, and for their curative abilities.]

[Kieran looks down at the offered berry, expression slowly melting to something puzzled and maybe a little upset. He's thinking very hard about what he was just told.]

These plants... are owned by someone?

[This is not a concept he is familiar with. Back home, the forest is mother to them all; each takes what's necessary, because it's a mother's selfless nature to offer her milk to all her children. The idea that a plant can be property -- that it will eagerly bear fruit that will only reach one mouth -- seems... against the will of the forest to him, honestly. Taking away the freedom inherent in nature.]

[Vinnie sighed, sensing the discomfort such an idea was giving the wild Pokemon. As a Bulbasaur, he would've felt similarly - but some less than gentle lessons had already taught him the way of things in the land of man a long time ago. It was all he could really do to explain, and hope Kieran understood.]

Things're different, once you're outside the land of true forest. The people who live here don't see the plants as their, uh, mother. [Which was a little embarrassing to say knowing that Celebi herself was on campus.] They're more like children.

People plant a seed and nurture it themselves, rather than leavin' growth to the Cycle. In return for that care, they receive the fruit.

It might seem wrong, but this is what most've'em do. It's how they wanna protect'em.

Edited 2012-03-12 13:17 (UTC)

I'm not at all sure how to feel about that, Vinnie!

[While it's definitely a nice thing to want to nurture the plants, the Cycle itself is a Very Big Deal for creatures like Sawsbuck. Captivity and ownership would be difficult enough concepts as is without the addition of overriding nature's will. Reluctantly, he takes the Cheri berry, though he still doesn't look too convinced.]

Thank you for the gift. If that's the law of this place, then I'll touch nothing else in the Sacred Grove.

There's a lot these people do that're backwards. You don't have t'like it - I mean, I sure has hell don't like a lot've it - but y'gotta understand that they don't see things the same as us. An' we're in their land, so...

[For lack of anything else he could offer, Vinnie shrugged. He'd been among humans for too long to truly see nature as an all-powerful will anymore. Certainly, the forest and the cycle remained incredibly important to him, but he'd seen how easily the will of selfish, destructive humans could overtake his home. The green that remained on this earth, it seemed, only remained by the grace of humankind. It could just as easily be taken away.

This whole reminder of his wild days was beginning to instill a bitter nostalgia in the Venusaur. A sadness was beginning to show on his face.]

You're always welcome in here, though. It's... pretty nice havin' someone born of the forest around.

I've missed it.

[He definitely intends to yield to the rules of the gods -- he wouldn't be much of a Sawsbuck if he couldn't adapt, would he? But then again, Kieran couldn't help wondering if this was something where the right thing to do is refuse to change? A funny conundrum. One more thing to solve over his journey year.

He takes his time with this Cheri berry, trying balance making it last and not dripping that delicious juice all over the place. It was easier to think with something to eat, and Vinnie had given him plenty to think about.]

Why not go back? If I can cross from the forest to this realm, then it should work the other way around, shouldn't it?

[It was a thought that had certainly crossed the Venusaur's mind in his darker moments, but not one he contemplated seriously ever since his return. He had responsibilities in his Garden, yes, but nothing at the moment so dire that he could pull himself from his team. As much as Kieran may have believed him to be winter-hearted, he still wasn't convinced that he was ready to be that sentinel just yet.]

If there's one thing 'bout Venusaurs, it's that when we got something we care for, we don't leave easy. We don't migrate like your guys do either. I got a Garden t'go back to, yeah, but there's people here that're important t'me.

Family. Debts... and friends. [He mustered up a smile for the Sawsbuck.] I hope y'don't mind me thinkin' of you as a friend, too.

herei come snep run over your pokmens

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