(Yee, just gotta not die for the forseeable future and I should hit a new record of time without injury :D)

(I'm probably adding two new characters a bit later in the plot, so I have to get these ones out the way)

"You...again..." Cloud muttered, not even opening his eyes but still managing to identify the voice as the boy they had met a while ago. "You were...with Ara." His voice was hoarse, but it seemed like the more he spoke the better he was getting.

"Of course his wife's name is the first one he calls after waking up~" Sage chimed in, scribbling a few sentences into her notepad. Shadow, who had remained silent the entire ordeal so far, cracked a smirk at that.

"Makes sense. Masters Cloud and Ara are meant to be." Sage nodded excitedly, and Cloud managed a low growl in response.

"No...Ara's..stupid."

(Don't die! I believe in you :D)
(Ooh, nice. May introduce some of my own further down the road, but no current plans for more.)

"Oh, jeez." Wylie gave a sympathetic, but amused grin, his attention turning to Sage. "You only just woke up, and yet you're already having a marriage set up for you."
He then continued, "But yeah, I was with her." His eyes darted around the room for a split second. "Did I actually forget to introduce myself? I don't even remember." Wylie had a half-laugh, half-snort at his own absentmindedness.

(Good evening or morning or whatever, I've arrived! I'm glad you're doing better dude, I'm sending you heart emojis all the way from greece 💖💕)

(Handling Ara and her very slow character development is more than enough for me atm, but I'm more than ready to see you guys' new kids!)

Ara would never openly admit it, but her chest lifted with relief when Cloud made the smallest movement, when he muttered those first words. Granted, it was a swear, but that only proved that he was mostly okay.

... And then the insult came, and Ara decided he was absolutely, undeniably okay.

The girl scoffed, having to fight the urge to let her arms loose and drop him to the floor (she wouldn't do it, because that would inevitably drag Wylie along with him, and that was just unfair and mean). "I'm literally right here! Cloud, I swear to Arceus, next time you drop down unconscious, I'm leaving your body there to rot. You can get eaten by Ursarings, for all I care!"

Much to her surprise, she couldn't bring herself to sound as angry and annoyed as usual. At Wylie's comment, she pressed her lips. Really, did Cloud ever learn his name? "He's Wylie, by the way. In case you didn't know." She told Cloud, although his mind was probably still too hazy for him to memorize it.

(Not dying is the pro gamer move I'm currently aiming for 😁 Hoping for the best)

(Morning for me now, I live in the boring ol' US of A buuuut good whatever time it is to you too 😂💕)

(I already have four with Sage, Rose, and Cloud if you count me adopting Shadow, who I now have a plan for 😎 But I have one or two more on the way. One of them won't be important until the the plot kicks in though & Ara's been getting slow development, but slow and steady wins the race, yeah)

(I FORGOT ABOUT ROSE UNTIL NOW 💀 She's a part of the OTHER Cloud flashback I did a few pages ago lol I forgot she existed)

"And they're back to arguing~" Sage mused, her and Shadow always finding it entertaining to watch their favorite couple go back and forth for however long they would. Although Shadow's enjoyment of anything was always up in the air, as her stoic demeanor gave little in the way of emotion, even something as small as amusement. Cloud, who was seemingly still in recovery, who had been continuing to get more and more into character, finally opened his eyes at her remark, if only to roll them at her threat.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead. Death by Ursaring is probably just as pleasant as hearing you whine every time your whittle feewings get hurt." Turning his attention to Wylie, he smirked slightly. "And no, I don't believe you did, but the name's Cloud." Shadow, still silent as ever, watched the group interact with her usual blank stare, but if one took a deeper look into her eyes, they might have noticed what almost came across as longing. As for why that was, only she knew.

(I have never so deeply wanted to see someone ascend to pro-gamerhood)
(Yeah, Wylie's development will come slowly, with bits and pieces dropped in, but rest assured, I have plans for him. *evilly rubs hands together*)

"Yeah, so, it's Wylie." He gestured slightly with his head toward Ara. "Like she said. And don't worry, even if Ara ditches you, you've still got me!" he added, trying to lighten the mood some. Secretly, Wylie doubted his ability to carry Cloud by himself, but he wasn't about to say that.

(Go for it dude, I'll be cheering loud enough for you to hear over there!)

(Damn time zones 😂 It's like 10pm over here and my Saturday is nearly over, rippp)

(Y'all out there ready to break your characters and I'm just sitting here, hoping the kids won't get smacked around too hard lmao. And yeah I remember Rose man, loved that explosion. Can't wait to see more of her 👏)

Ara was beginning to think she liked Cloud much better when he was an unconscious sack of potatoes. Still, she bit the inside of her mouth and stayed silent, knowing that any further argument would encourage not only the boy, but the two other girls behind them. So, Ara let that one comment slide.

At Wylie's statement, the girl let out a little huff. "You don't have to be so nice to this jerk." Cloud would probably never even thank him for it - - heck, he hadn't yet thanked them for what they were doing right now. Frankly, Wylie deserved better than that.

"Whatever your issue with this boy is, I would advice that you don't just 'leave him there to rot'," the nurse spoke suddenly, strict gaze pinned on Ara. The girl's cheeks heated up, but the pink-haired lady opened a door for them and stepped aside. "He can rest here for a while. While it's good that he's awake, I need to make sure he's in good condition before he's out and about again. Same goes for his Pokémon," she added, with a glance at Sneasel.

(And I'll join in the cheering!)
(Dang. 1:47 PM here right now)
(Aww XD Don't worry, it'll be a while before anything is enough to break him. And yeah, I am interested to see where that goes!)

"It's fine." Wylie waved off Ara's concern. "I've heard worse. Even if he's gonna act like a jerk, he's still gonna have to put up with me helping him."
"Besides," he continued as he walked through the door with them, "we've still gotta figure out this whole necklace thing, right? We're all part of it."

(I continue to live 😎 Feel pro gamer asf, to y'all)

(12 PM right now, just got home from a very long two days out 😂)

(You're gonna break the wonderful wonderbread boi? 😔 I can't talk considering how much I broke Matt, plus how much I'm gonna break Cloud 😂)

(Rose is honestly getting more fleshed out due to tying her into some Cloud & Sneasel stuff more than I expected, I figured I would have to do more of her talking, but apparently not)

"I haven't been inside one of the back rooms before, they actually look pretty nice." Sage remarked, mumbling to herself mostly as everyone filed into the room. Even when she had her own Pokemon, she never let her Pokemon get hurt enough for a serious trip to the Pokemon center. Even back in Kanto she hardly would ever battle so hard her Pokemon needed much more than a potion or two. She glanced over to Shadow, who she guessed probably had a lot of battles based off how strong her Pokemon were. Ever since the two had met, she had been quite curious about her, her past, what kind of person she actually was. Especially during Cloud's outburst-

Oh, Cloud. Yes. She had ler her mind wander again. Shaking her head, she refocused her attention to the boy.

"Snea," Sneasel smirked, flexing an arm almost cartoonishly to show that at the very least, he wasn't too hurt. Cloud had taken most of the damage, which Sneasel still felt awful about. The nurse softened up a bit at that, nodding with a small smile before turning to the aforementioned trainer of the Ice type. "Well, Sneasel is certainly feeling lively. How do you feel? Cloud, right?" Cloud nodded in response, before attempting to lift his arm to mock Sneasel's flex.

Key word, attempt.

"I feel fi-Aaagh" His words were cut off by the feeling of fire spreading across his arms, white hot pain that he could hardly put into words. It was like his nerves were tearing themselves apart. After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Cloud looked in what resembled horror at his arm, which physically didn't seem to have any injuries. "Wh...what the..." He muttered in some mixture of pain and shock. The nurse didn't react immediately, staring at Cloud for a few seconds in silence before turning around.

"I won't jump to any conclusions yet, I haven't done any testing or anything, but based off what I've seen and heard," She crossed her arms in thought, "It seems an awful lot like some sort of muscle over exertion." Not bothering to ask who knew what she meant, the nurse turned back towards the others.

"To put it simply, it's like if you were to use your laptop with the vent covered. It overheats, and when overheated it's likely to start getting damaged one way or another. You need some time without excessive movement. If you're lucky, you'll be fine within the day, at the latest though you'll end up here for up to three days."

"Three days? That's not happening. I can take the pai-AAAH! Damn it!" His second failed attempt at moving and it hurt even more, the pain nearly blacked him out. Looking down in embarassment and frustration, Cloud conceded, biting his tongue to stop himself from screaming anymore. It hurt, it really, really, really hurt.

But he wasn't going to let them know how much. They'd already seen too much of that.

(Yes! Keep up that pro-gamer action!)

(Our poor children XP The things we do for that sweet character development.)

(Interesting, very interesting. So the story keeps unfolding!)

"Crap!" Wylie muttered under his breath as he flinched, seeing Cloud's attempts at motion ending in pain both times. Just what had happened to him? There was no way for Wylie to guess based on just looking.

"Hey, it's fine, okay?" "It's fine" is like my constant refrain right now. I'm like a broken record, just saying the same thing, Wylie thought. Even so, he wore what he hoped was a reassuring expression. "Don't stress yourself, or you're seriously gonna break something for good," he tried to warn Cloud. "What's a day or even three compared to losing movement for the rest of your life?"

(Oof, sounds like you've had an adventure. Tho it's been a day, so I'm hoping you've rested since then XP)

(Y'aaall, I'm so worried about the children now 😂 I really can't give any cryptic stuff from my side; while I have stuff I'd like to happen for Ara's character development, it really all depends on where the rp goes XP)

(Bring 👏 us👏 Rose 👏 I missed her involvement in the plot like twice man, I gotta see more of her XP)

Ara flinched upon watching Cloud wince and bark in pain; it wasn't surprising, given how he had literally collapsed a few minutes ago, but that didn't make it any less of a strange sight. The nurse's explanation didn't help too much -overheated laptop? she really didn't have much experience with those-, but what Ara did understand was that Cloud needed to rest well before he attempted to do... well, anything, from the looks of it.

At Wylie's statement, Ara blinked, jaw dropping.

"Wait, that can actually happen? Losing... not being able to move again, ever?" She was dumbfounded; receiving this information felt like a quick slap to the face. The girl turned to shoot Cloud a baffled look - - she wasn't sure if she was angry or impressed or concerned as she blurted, "What the hell did you even do?"

(I second that XP)

(Honestly, for Wylie's development, only a couple of things are really planned out. But I expect a lot to happen to him over the course of this)

(Agreed, I'm super curious XP)

Wylie looked taken aback. He was trying to talk sense into Cloud; he hadn't meant to worry Ara in the process. "I mean... It could," he semi-backtracked. "If you were to really strain yourself, to a point where you couldn't take it." His attention turned back to Cloud. "And to be honest, I'd like to know the same thing. What happened while you were gone?"

(So I was doing pretty good at not dying until i was walking home and got shot at, i didn't get hit but ya know, that's cool. Otherwise I've been busy with family, how are y'all?)

(For Cloud I have some things planned out both by himself and with Rose, his solo development is mostly gonna come slow tho)

(Rose'll be back when she matters again 😂 Which is actually kinda soon, sort of)

(Also, we're gonna say Cloud was put down even if nobody mentioned it lol)

"Awe, you almost seem worried about me. Careful Ara, wouldn't want our fan club picking up on that." Cloud joked despite the burning sensation from his previous movement still searing inside his body. Unable to sit up anymore, he fell back into the hospital bed he had been rested on. It stung a little, but the pain wasn't that severe. At least he tried to tell himself that. "But to answer your question, I was busy trying to capture a wild Beedrill when some freeloading idiot decided it would be a good idea to steal my catch. His Pokemon ended up decking me with some psychic type attack, and after that..." Cloud closed his eyes, a slight frown peeking its way to the corner of his lips. "I don't remember. I was on the ground, and then I was with you all." Sneasel, who had guessed Cloud had chosen to do everything he did in some sort of adrenaline filled mad dash, was caught very off guard.

Cloud was always on top of everything.

Always.

What had happened to him if he didn't even remember it? Some sort of posession? He hadn't felt any ghost type Pokemon nearby during the battle, but maybe? Why would a ghost type save him though? The questions kept piling up, and it was giving the poor weasel a headache. Meanwhile, Shadow stared blankly as per usual, not reacting when Cloud nearly screamed in pain, or as he explained what happened. Her mind was busy calculating, hypothesizing, observing.

Without warning, Shadow walked up to the resting boy, who had not interracted much with her since their brief argument that led to him running off. Cloud, who still had his eyes closed, opened his right one to acknowledge the stoic girl. "What do you want? I'm not interested in your idioti-" Cloud's usual string of insults was cut short by the girl suddenly leaning downward, pllanting a kiss on his cheek, emotionless face unchanging. Cloud just stared wide eyed, brain trying to process what happened and why, but Shadow gave him no time to reflect.

"You're in pain, mothers kiss their children when they hurt themselves. I'm not your mother, but," She turned away and started heading for the door, "I thought at the least, the momentary shock would disrupt the pain you've been in since regaining consciousness. Now, Sage," Her monotone voice continued, "Meet me outside, I have something to discuss with you." The green haired girl blinked in confusion, but slowly nodded.

"Oh, um, okay!" She turned and bowed her head slowly at the others. "Excuse me, I'll be back in a moment." And with that, she followed Shadow out. Cloud, who was still processing, just shook his head, writing off the whole thing as Shadow being a complete weirdo as per usual.

(Whoa, shit. Glad you're alright. I've been fine, just crawling out of the depths of my drawing drought. And writing, but that wouldn't have fit the alliteration. XD)

(Well, I'll be interested to see it all unfolding! You've certainly got me intrigued so far. :D)

(Oooooh. *glances around the corner*)

(Yeah, whoops. XD That's what I assumed as well)

"Huh." Wylie's eyebrows knit together in perplexed surprise, watching Shadow and Sage leave. "I gotta admit," he said, "I didn't take her for the motherly type."

"But a Psychic type attack... " Wylie considered what Cloud had said. "That would make sense, why we can't see any injuries on you or anything. Still, you're pretty resilient for making your way back to us even in that state," he commented, recalling how Cloud had approached them, bereft of expression, just before passing out.

(Yeah it was a pretty dumb exchange. I'm walking down the street towards my house with one of my friends, and this guy is like "Hey, do you gang bang? And after we say no he just started shooting at us...But same on the writing at least, I gave up drawing a couple of years ago 😂)

(Well then I hope to not disappoint 😎)

(Oh, what a coincidence 🙂 Here she is)

(Also, Sage development :D)

(Alsoalso, this post got loooong)

"Alrighty, what's up Shadow?" Sage finally asked as the duo passed the sliding doors of the Pokemon Center. They now stood in the courtyard typically reserved for pokemon battles, the shade of the trees half blocking the sunlight from pouring down directly over their heads. Shadow, who had silently walked ahead of her the entire time, remained with her back to the girl, but crossed her arms as if soley to make sure Sage knew she heard her.

"Masters Cloud and Ara...How do you feel about them?" She asked, and Sage blinked a few times in surprise. She had more or less ignored the master thing, chalking up to Shadow being her odd self. She remained silent for a moment. Cloud and Ara, and by extension Wylie and Shadow, were all people who she had just met only some hours ago. But despite that, it already felt like they had some sort of connection, a bond of some sort. Cloud was mean and prone to push them all away, and Ara seemed like a super sweet person who would probably make a great friend.

She smiled slightly. They were opposites in a way, that made them a sweet couple. Ice and fire, the sun and the moon.

She knew them, or at least was starting to, but she hadn't really thought of an overall opinion of them. She didn't feel like it was her place. She wasn't really a friend to them after all, just someone they said they would help. She was there out of their pity.

Because she was weak.

So weak that she let her Pokemon get taken by that pink haired girl and her group.

But now wasn't the time for that.

"Well, Cloud can be kiiiind of a jerk sometimes, but I think he has a heart in there somewhere. Ara just needs to warm him up a little, that's all." She tried harder to force the smile across her face, even though Shadow couldn't see it. It wasn't really for Shadow in the first place though, it was mostly for herself. She was always taught to smile when something hurt, to be her own superhero.

Weak.

"Ara seems really sweet, and even though she never would admit it, her attitude can be as bad as Cloud's. But she never means anyone harm. I think they're both pretty good people, they're helping me after all." Her voice began to crack a little, but she covered it up with a forced giggle at the end.

They aren't your friends, they'll never really be your friends. They probably hate you.

"Why do you ask?"

"I believe that they are both people of questionable morality." Shadow answered simply, still not looking Sage in the eyes. "Cloud lacks empathy, and Ara holds in a lot of guilt and insecurity. That's why she lies so much. It makes me curious. About others. What drives them to develop these walls around their hearts, what pain is. But that isn't why I asked you out here..." She took a few steps forward. "I took something once. I was assigned to, and I always do as I am told. From my observations, remorse is a common human emotion, like compassion. And since I cannot return what I took those years ago, I want to assist you instead."

Finally the girl turned around, facing Sage with the same stony expression she always had. "So in other words, I propose that we travel together in order to get your Pokemon back, as masters Cloud and Ara have enough to do. Do you accept my request?" Sage remained silent, her own thought about herself and Shadow's proposal mixing together into one messy ball of emotions in her chest. She didn't know what to think or do at all.

Weak.

Pathetic.

They pity you, all of them. Shadow too, that's why she's asking to help you.

You let your Pokemon get taken and you hardly put up a fight.

Weak

Weak.

Weak.

"I..." Her voice shook again, and this time she didn't have it in her to cover it up. "I..." She tried again, but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. Her eyes began to water up, and still she didn't have it in her to fight it anymore. "I..." And before she could fall apart entirely, Shadow ran forward, wrapping Sage in a hug.

"I'm still trying to understand emotions, like compassion," She started, letting Sage break down crying in her arms, "But I do know hugs are a great way to expell pent up sadness. So go ahead, please. Let everything out, I won't mind." To tell the truth, Sage wasn't even sure herself if she was listening or not. She had been holding everything in for the most part, and it finally exploded.
~~~~~

"I'm baaaaack~" A pink haired girl sang, her and her Alakazam seeming to appear out of thin air inside a rundown apartment. The girl flopped down on the beaten up red couch, popping a stick of gum in her mouth. "Cress, Flash, you here?" After hearing no response, the girl grinned. "Sweet, I get the place to myself. That means I don't need this!" With that she threw off her the black overcoat she had been wearing, exposing the pink crop top underneath. She always hated having to cover up, whether it was because of the knuckleheads she lived with or for missions, where for whatever reason they took their uniform policy very seriously.

She had just finished dropping off that girl's Pokemon at one of their small hideouts in Violet City, and now she finally had time to relax. Today had actually been fun. Usually shen she got missions to raid small towns they were boring, but she got to have fun this time. Even the mission itself was weird. She specifically was ordered to take that green haired girl's Pokemon away. She wasn't told why, but she couldn't help but wonder given how weak the girl was. She must have done something to get the boss's attention, but what that was seemed entirely beyond her.

And of course there was that boy. He seemed interesting too. She could almost taste the fear in the air around him, it nearly gave her shivers of excitement. Playing with him again was going to be fun.

Suddenly the door flew open, and the sound of two loud, arguing, annoying boys nearly shook the place, which meant Cress and Flash were home and she had hardly gotten to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Whelp, it was good while it lasted.

(Wooow okay, literally 👏 what👏 the hell 👏It's good that you weren't harmed but dude that's so wild??)

(And ooomf, that bit about Sage hit me hard, man. I know Shadow's already there to deliver hugs but like, Sage deserves so many warms hugs ya know??
On another note that isn't about crying over Sage crying, I'm interested in those loud annoying guys 👀)

Ara blinked, face blank in surprise as she watched Shadow, ever stoic and unwavering, plant a kiss on Cloud's cheek and then leave. What surprised her even more was Cloud's lack of what she would normally expect to be a reasonable reaction, but she supposed even he couldn't comprehend the situation fast enough to make a remark.

It was... well, it was pretty damn weird, after all.

At Wylie's comment, she found herself grunting in agreement. But then she tuned back into the conversation - - a psychic type attack. It would make sense for the reason that Wylie mentioned. An attack such as Psychic---it was merciless on the mind and body, yet left absolutely no evidence of harm, no clues. Even someone like her knew just how powerful it could be if used correctly. What she didn't understand, however...

How the hell did he recover from it so fast?

"To be honest... you looked really weird when you came back to us," Ara began, brows knitted in thought. "And not the usual kind of weird. It's like you were possessed, or something. So..." her shoulders rolled into a little shrug. "It makes sense why you don't remember, but at the same time, it really doesn't." As soon as she finished her sentence, her eyes lit up, and Ara gasped as realization dawned on her:

"What if it was that pink-haired girl's Alakazam?" the girl leaned forward, almost conspiratorially, as she went on: "Maybe it used Psychic on you and then... I dunno, possessed you and brought you back here?"

(It was so stupid 😂 I was honestly more irritated than scared, but being scared kinda took over as we ran. I ended up falling and scraping my hands a lot, busted up my knee, and then didn't have time to feel pain before I had to roll right back up and keep running. By the time we were safe I was trembling non-stop, if was awful. Didn't even notice I was in pain until I got home because of the adrenaline)

(I felt like Sage wasn't getting enough spotlight given she's literally there because her Pokemon were stolen. I had to address it, and now yes, she needs hugs 😂)

(You'll get to see them plenty, once we finally get to the first gym city 🙂 It's been 9 pages and we haven't passed the town before it)

Cloud's body noticably tensed up at the mention of the pink haired girl. He had more or less moved his thoughts on that to the back of his mind given all that had happened, and truth be told he very much preferred it that way. He'd take a dozen more psychic type attacks before he had to think about her ever again. He lost Rose, and he accepted that a long time ago. She had been taken because she was different, he was told. She could do things regular people couldn't, and if she stayed with him she would have hurt him sooner or later.

He had been weak then, too weak to protect Rose from those men, or even from herself.

But that was in the past. He wasn't weak anymore, and he never intended on letting someone get that close again. People were weak, expendable. Caring about them was such a waste.

But...

He looked at Ara for a moment, his expression returned to his usual half scowl of disapproval. She was wrong as per usual. Whoever had been attacking him was most likely male, and even if it was just a woman in disguise, their Pokemon wasn't Alakazam. The Pokemon had been small. "I don't think pinky is interested in me enough to attack me twice, if she was I think I might have come back with lipstick stains instead of parslysis." They had become...well,whatever they were to each other, because of this necklace ordeal. While Wylie more or less got along with the both of them, Ara had bsen getting on his nerves from the moment he saw her stupid face those few hours ago.

He didn't care about her, not that much. She was just needed for this necklace business, that was all. He only tried cheering her up on the bench because the necklaces ran off of emotions. He didn't need her exploding or something. That was it, absolutely all of it.

"Still though, I can't remember walking towards you at all. That part's got me worried." Cloud looked back down in thought, before his frown deepened, and his eyes shot up to her again. "Wait! You said get possessed? By a psychic type move? Possession is a ghost thing, you moron."

(I love how your first instinct was to be more irritated than scared 😂 But like, god that sounds like it was an Experience™. Are your hands and knee any better now??)

(Duuude that was such a good dive into her thoughts, she's just babie and wants to do her best 😭 If they do part ways the gang will still bump into her and Shadow right?? I gotta see more of Sage too man, I care her)

(Oomf yeah, that is true. But in our defense, we've been busy introducing our characters and fighting bad guys! Lots of things and emotions are happening. But yeah, it might be a good idea to speed things up in later cities 😂)

Ara was so caught up in her new theory, she almost didn't notice the tension that had gripped the boy. She almost wavered----to be honest, so much had happened within the span of a few hours that she didn't have time to think back to their encounter with the pink-haired lady.

Ara hadn't been present throughout Cloud's entire interaction with her. She had used the lady's interest in Cloud as an opportunity to escape---which she also tried her best not to dwell on---but... something happened back there.

Judging by the boy's angry outburst right after the incident, and by his reaction now, upon hearing about her... Something had definitely happened. Something bad. And Ara hadn't even thought of asking him about it, because... well, he was a jerk. He made sure to remind her of that so often that she had almost forgotten he possessed the ability to feel any emotion other than annoyance.

For a second, Ara felt a very odd sting of guilt.

But then Cloud opened his mouth to respond, and that guilt was tossed right out the window.

"Excuse me?" she scoffed, hand gripping the strap of her bag. "You're the moron---haven't you heard of the attack Psychic? A strong Pokémon can control its opponents with it---it could've easily used that attack on you and puppet-ed you back here!" Although... now that she thought about it, what they saw looked a lot less like simple control over the body and more like an actual, creepy possession. Still, Ara stood by her argument---mostly because there was no way she'd give Cloud the satisfaction of proving her wrong. So, the girls crossed her arms, stubborn pout on her face, and continued,

"And also, you still haven't exactly thanked us for dragging you all the way to the center. Were you never taught proper manners?" Was she straying from the original point of this conversation? Maybe, but she was too fed up to care.

(I'm really glad you're safe, and I hope your injuries do get better!)

(Oh my god, Sage. I volunteer to be part of the hug squad for her!)

(Probably, yeah. XD That pesky plot keeps holding us back from continuing the... plot... wait, that can't be right! ^^;)

Wylie was listening to their conversation, nodding slowly and considering what they had said. However, when their tones turned aggressive again, he rolled his eyes all the way up to the ceiling. "And we were doing so well... " he muttered mournfully.

"I'm, uh... Not gonna pretend I'm the expert on how Psychic moves work, haha," Wylie said with a chuckle, trying to redirect the conversation back. "But if Cloud's state was caused by a Psychic hitting him, I feel like another one would do a heck of a lot more damage... ? Still, though, we can't rule out what Ara said just yet."

(For a second I kinda just jogged without caring after he shot, I was just irritated that being a not gang member got me shot at and it made me mad 😂 But I'm doing better now, thank you both 😁)

(Well I'm glad Sage's emotional outburst worked in her favor, ahe is bébé and now she is loved. And yes, even if her and Sage do split ways, they'll rotate in and out the group, so plenty of Sage interactions.)

(Once we hit Violet City there's gonna be at least two plots outside of the gym happening, so we'll have plenty to do soon)

It had almost been too long since she had set him off. Ara had a habit of getting under his skin quicker than anyone else did, and while he had no idea why, he really didn't appreciate it. She was so stupid, with her stupid pouting face and her stupid wrong opinions.

If if weren't that these damned necklaces...

Wylie was talking too, probably in an attempt to mediate between him and Ara's coming argument. But he was seeing red now, the fool opened her mouth and how she was gonna be told in detail exactly how stupid she was.

"Yeah I have heard of psychic, and guess what buddy? That is physically moving someone, so unless I was knocked unconscious and then they dragged me over to you using psychic, which considering they were trying to kill me makes no sense since they would be bringing me to safety, I wasn't being affected by a freaking psychic type." Cloud's regular scowl turned into a more heated glare. "And you're telling me about manners?"

Cloud moved to cross his arms, but flinched a little and immediately stopped before it became too noticable. He forgot about the pain thing. Still though, he could glare, and his eyes could say more than enough considering the pure irritation behind them. "How about thanking me for helping when you lost your bag? Or for at least trying to fight back when those guys struck Cherrygrove and you ran way? How about a thank you for, I don't know, putting up with your nonsense for the past few hours, or even dealing with Ms. Robot and the porn author thinking we have any semblance of romantic connection, and after all that, you carried me what, a 30 minute walk back to town? Wow, the one time you haven't been completely useless." Taking a moment to breathe and more importantly to think, he continued.

"Was I ever taught proper manners? The better question is if you've ever been taught anything a day in your life."

(Not gonna lie, it's straight up the dumbest exchange I've heard of in a while, and the wildest at the same time. Like, your weirdness magnet really did its best with this one ya know?? At least you're doing better now tho!)

(God im so glad, Sage deserves so much support. Also, every child in this rp is like, dying or will die of emotions and I'm genuinely starting to grow concerned 😂)

(Okay nevermind that bit about speeding thing up lmao. Still tho, I'm interested to see what you've planned 👀 Can't wait to see our kids mess everything up pff)

(Hooo boy, this got a lil long 😂)

Ara felt herself freeze.

Her crossed arms slowly fell loose, her hands gripped the strap of her bag again as Cloud spoke---the grip was not aggressive like before, when she was making her argument. There was nervousness in her movements, this time. As if to shield; to protect something that wasn't quite the stolen Pokémon in that bag.

Her knees felt weak. Something twisted in her chest and a brick tumbled down her stomach---she felt sick. Sicker than before, when she was walking besides Sage. Sicker than when that girl appeared, crying and yelling. Sicker than when she followed her brother into that little town, when she ran and ran and ran until she tripped on the bitter, angry boy before her and everything became so, so much worse.

Sick, sick, sick.

By the time Cloud had finished talking, Ara's throat had closed up. She didn't feel like talking, anyway---or rather, she simply couldn't talk, couldn't and wouldn't give an equally angry response (because she might cry, she might break down), because Cloud simply didn't deserve one---not after blurting so many insults into her face, not after calling her dumb and rude and useless.

He didn't need to tell her.

She didn't need to hear it.

The girl took a step back, and then another. Her eyes burned, her chest felt heavy; but she pressed her lips together, took a small breath through her nose, and tried to recompose herself long enough to say just a few words:

"Wylie, I'll see you outside," She told the boy, glancing his way before turning around and heading for the door.

Stupid, dependent, annoying. Useless, useless, useless.

She already knew, goddamn it.

"And you---" She shot a brief glance at Cloud, hand on the doorknob. "---I'll see you in three days."

With that, Ara opened the door and rushed outside, promptly slamming it behind her.

She didn't even notice the warm glow of her sun necklace as she sped down the hall, arms wrapped tightly around her bag and chest heavy and burning.

(Yeah, dang, what the hell XD Glad you managed to get out of there mostly unscathed!)

(Bless their souls, we must create a support group of hugs for them.)

(Honestly, though XD Let's see how this is going to go.)

Wylie's attempts to smooth things over had long since faded into the air, and any words he was thinking of speaking died in his throat when Ara began to step back, then headed out the door in a rush of emotion.

Wylie stared at the door after her, then turned back to Cloud. "Um... Well, that could have gone better," he mumbled half-heartedly.

He then looked Cloud in the eye. "Listen, uh... I know it's not really my place and all, but if we're gonna figure out anything about the situation we're in, we have to at least be decent to each other." He clutched the string of his own earth necklace. "Slinging insults isn't going to get us anywhere in the grand scheme of things."

Wylie intended to tell Ara something similar, but figured it wasn't the time. Instead, he gave Cloud a tense and somewhat apologetic smile, stepping toward the door. "Alright, I'll leave you alone now. I really do hope you recover soon, and not just 'cause of the whole necklace thing." With those awkward words, he left after Ara.

(guess who's bored....bored again. Taika's bored....tell a friend.)

(nah but seriously i kinda forgot about this so im coming back outta boredom and yeah. hello again my lovelies)

Cloud stared at the door for a moment-a few moments, really-after Ara stormed off. He couldn't quite put to words how he felt. Somewhat gutted, maybe. Numb might be an applicable phrase too. The room had a thick feeling of emptiness, of tension that came and went too fast and left the air in its wake in a state of palpable unease. Cloud took a deep breath, glancing down at the moon necklace that dangled in front of his collar bone. It had a faint, almost soothing glow to it, and the more he stared at it, the more the sound of his own heartbeat seemed to ring in his ears. He couldn't place the feeling, no matter how much his brain scrambled for the words. For all intents and purposes he had won the argument, Ara was stupid. That's all she ever had been, a stupid dead weight he was only keeping around for the sake of these dumb necklaces. she could be mad for a few days, if anything he could probably use the break. That's how he felt, he was sure of it, so why?

Why the hell did it hurt?

The fiery, glossy eyed glare she had given him before walking out the door. The thinly veiled hurt in her voice that she poorly masked behind a false sense of composure. He knew he'd cut a bit deeper than he intended, but he was just telling the truth. She wouldn't make it on her own if she tried, she'd probably get herself killed. He wasn't sure how strong Wylie was yet, what if he couldn't protect her? What if that group came back, what if she got hurt? He'd be locked down on bed rest. Wait...

Why the hell did he care?

He'd been a bit nice on the bench after they first triggered their necklaces, but that was because he was tired. She did end up looking a lot better when she calmed down, and something about that had made him feel a tiny bit more at ease. But just a little, and it was probably coincidence. He didn't like her, not as a friend or anything else. She was stupid. He might even hate her. He refused to care, he refused to care, he refused to care, he refused to-

"Snea", Sneasel's voice cut him out of his thoughts. Cloud looked down and saw his necklace was steadily becoming brighter, and Sneasel shook his head. "Sneasel, Snea" He pointed at the door, offering himself as support. Cloud pouted, crossing his arms.

"Absolutely not. I'm not talking to that annoying stupid little-" Sneasel cut him off with a low growl, and he sighed. Cloud also sighed in response. Shaking his head, he slowly made his way to his feet, legs trembling aggressively. "D-damn it this is hard." He grumbled, using the bed as support his weight as he slowly approached the wall and switched his weight to it.

"Stupid Ara," He whispered to himself, cheeks turning a nearly white shade of pink, "Why can't I just hate you?"

(Hello again yourself! Sorry about boredom kicking your ass, I feel that though. Now let me enter back in with a long post of my own!)

Wylie was in a separate waiting room by this point. He had gotten lucky; the room in question was sparse except for the employees that would come in and out. Wylie stared down at his Cyndaquil, the quiet recipient of his ranting. "Yeah... It's gonna be rough if it's always like this," he said. "But I guess that's what I'm here for, right? Though I didn't do so good a job this time... " he admitted with a nervous laugh.

Wylie's gaze then fell down upon his necklace, the earth-shaped amulet catching the light. The opaque blue sea seemed to ripple and shine, and the green landmasses turned emerald and crystalline. It really was pretty to look at. He stared at it a few moments more, then was struck by a sudden thought. "Hey... What if that is why I'm here?"

Wylie held the earth pendant between two fingers. "It makes sense, right? Earth's supposed to be a balance of land and sea... So what if I'm the balance between Cloud and Ara?" His eyes shone with certainty. "That must be it! So I just have to try harder to keep the peace around here and take more of an initiative. Then we can figure out what's up with these things!"

He looked expectantly toward Cyndaquil, who was yawning and curling up in a ball as if he were about to fall asleep. Wylie pouted. "You could at least pretend to be interested, you know."

Still, he couldn't help but smile. Cyndaquil was really the best gift he'd ever gotten. His mother had told him that she'd been a friend of Professor Elm's, and he had entrusted her with the fire Pokemon to give to her son as a present. Wylie secretly wished he could have gotten to meet him herself, but he had no reason to doubt his mom's word on the matter.

Something nagged at the back of his mind... He couldn't figure out what it was...

Well, he told himself, pushing the thoughts away, what matters is Cyndaquil and I were able to become friends thanks to that. So of course I'm grateful! There's no way I wouldn't be. With that, Wylie scooped up Cyndaquil in his arms. "Alright, buddy. Let's get out of here. This place is getting claustrophobic."

yo is this chat dead?

(Weeeell sorta)

Oof