Desperate Days [open]

[Seren Kaleen]

Words: nah Music: Cosmos Muse: Pointless Journeys Person(s): @open Notes: Open for anyone if someone wants to antagonize or maybe some kind of ally I don't really care just something to start this whole Akiro thing off. Seren is trying to gather a team of raiders to attack some kind of media network or radio station in Illyis so if you're interested go for it. "All of this fucking ash." Seren wasn't pleased. He'd walked and by extension rode from the camp he'd set for himself and crew in the slums of Mauville all the way out here to fallarbor in hopes of being able to expand in the rural area. The town was literally in the middle of nowhere which made for a good base in Akiro territory. Due to the volcanic ash in the area crops weren't really plentiful, it was a pain to trek through the ash for about an hour and half after scaling a part of Mt. Chimney itself. The only other way to get here was from Meteor falls and that wasn't exactly the easiest climb either. however the advantages were also disadvantages. Despite the fact the area would protect them from any kind of enemy it meant without proper preparation they couldn't leave the volcanic valley, much less in a hurry. Not to mention the massive food shortage here, but that was a problem wherever he went in the region. The man swore making his way into the town the familiar face of poverty spread neatly around him. The dirt roads serving as home for homeless of all ages. Many of the elders were injured and obviously couldn't work, it was apparent this was how they'd spend the rest of their days. Decades of working at various factories and fields of the region and this was how they were rewarded spending their dying days in the streets inhaling copious amounts of the ash that slowly poisoned and eventually killed them. However he couldn't say he was surprised poverty and death were more than common here the only thing that ever seemed to change was the way they died. The raider pulled a single pokeball out from his back pocket. sliding it up his sleeve in case someone decided to be slick and attack the newcomer. 'Might as well explore the city before returning to Mauville. He didn’t really feel like dealing with the desert or taking another trip around the Volcano so despite speed he figured he’d go by sea and take the long way back through Rustboro it’d be a two day delay but he didn’t have anything really important to do. His crew could handle themselves for two extra days it wouldn’t be much of a deal as long as he relayed some kind of message back to them, and so the man would walk through another fallen city for the most part making note of all the despair he’d seen wherever he went in the region hoping that maybe just maybe this trip wouldn’t be entirely worthless.

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Feet pounded against the path. This was further from base camp than she was normally used to, but they had to move soon. Littleroot was not sustainable, just like her father had said. Then again, most of her father's words had fallen on deaf ears, and here they were now. She wasn't even with the same clan anymore - No, she had moved on to greener pastures. Or, not so green pastures, really. They were running short on supplies, and the land had been exhausted, and as most nomads, they moved on to anywhere that could sustain them. But more importantly, the government was onto them. Raiding was their trade, and as one of the largest rebel factions corporal, she had to do her fair share of scouting.

Pilo wasn't exactly the most inconspicuous, but it was easy to pass him off as a flying wild Pokemon. Compared to her giant Tropius, Sapphire looked a little small and wiry, and she could afford to hide behind his wings and go undetected. Almost like a perfectly noticeable veil over them. The more obvious, the less likely they could be detected, wasn't it? The Tropius moved with large sweeps of his massive, leafy wings, and they covered distance faster than small fliers. Her eyes scanned their surroundings, which gradually progressed from dense forests to rocky mountain terrain.

The air was becoming thin and it was getting harder to breathe. With a pat on his neck, she gestured to Pilo to lower their altitude, which he obliged readily. She didn't even realise that it was... snowing? Except, it wasn't snow - but ash? She narrowed her eyes, inhaling ash and hacking her lungs out. "T-The heck is dat?" Her words slurred with a heavy native accent. The Tropius shook his head, not knowing. He groaned, struggling to stay in the air, but remaining airborne while flying in undesirable weather was not working. They had no choice but to land.

Her Tropius' wings beat the ash on the ground, sending it flying as they landed and she returned him quietly, hoping that they had gone unnoticed. The large creature was quickly replaced by a smaller, more nimble comrade of hers', Toro. The Combusken kept her eyes sharp, gaze shifting constantly on the lookout for potential enemies. She would strike the moment an assault was launched, with deftly speed, accuracy, and power. She heard him before she had even seen him, extending one of her arms, claws poised for the kill. Sapphire held her gaze with the mysterious man and called Toro to ease. Her blue eyes studied with a scrutinizing stare.

"...R'ya friend or foe?" she uttered, not offering further elaboration. She would see for herself who this stranger was. Toro backed away, but her stern gaze did not falter.

[Seren Kaleen]

Words: more Music: The Space Between Two Worlds Muse: Unexpected encounters Person(s): @peeko2 Notes: Much thinking, Very Ash, Wow. "Hmm." His moral compass swung back and forth as he observed the pokemon crash land. His blade hidden among the sleeve of his torn garb alongside his single pokeball. He could feel his arm twitch, anticipating a fight between himself and the person who controlled the Tropius. Would he take a life today, would his life be lost, or could bloodshed be avoided? As the pokemon finally landed and somewhat steadily a wave of ash was launched in all direction the black air piling on top of each other in plumes of death. The man quickly slid his forearm in front of his face preventing the volcanic waste from being inhaled, his eyes kept closed until he could feel the wave had passed. Before him stood a girl around his age he reasoned his right arm stayed, blocking his face while his Gold eyes analyzed the situation best they could. The Tropius had disappeared for now leaving a rather vicious chicken pokemon in its place. He’d never seen one of these, but it looked rather powerful. Seren thought to flee the situation but the girl was fast calling out to him asking a question he’d asked and been asked far too often. Seren wasn’t a liar he had no reason to fight this girl and in the respect they weren’t enemies in the slightest. She was either extraordinarily brave to fly through the volcanic ranges or extraordinarily stupid, regardless her accent if nothing else proved she was an Akiran and by extension one of his own. The moment was thick like the ash around him. He was covered in this dirt thanks to her maneuver and having been so close to the source could make her sicker. He didn’t know what the ash did to one’s body, but he’d deduced that it wasn’t good. However they weren’t friends either and in the world they lived in it often was a fool’s errand to blindly trust in someone even temporarily. If he did reply with the positive there was no way he could trust her especially not with the pokemon out ready to gut him. His blade arm twitched while his eyes met hers, both unfaltering. They were on the knife’s edge so speak one wrong movement or word would lead to battle, and by extension; death. Seren was by no means smart. He didn’t know much at all he could barely read much less write. He knew nothing of arithmetic or science, but he did know how to survive. He taught the younger ones the practices and ways of peace fighting with knowledge as their weapon and encouraged them to study what little they had, he believed in the coming generations the fight would be that of words than of blades. Perhaps it was time to practiced what he preached if only slightly and so he spoke up ending the silence that felt like an eternity. “Friend.” It was said quickly, Seren didn’t scream it, but his voice was loud enough to carry over the distance. “If you don’t want to die I suggest you follow me.” The second line would be his last lest she had something else to say. Seren would turn back towards the actual town where the ash was lighter he’d learned that the ash all but disappeared once you passed the bridge on the other side of the town. Hopefully the girl would follow they could talk once they were in some kind of civilized setting. He swung his duffel bag over his shoulder as he turned to making his way back to town keeping a very close eye on his own rear, Seren’s arm still trembling all the while.

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Her shoulders tensed. She disliked games of any sort, mostly because fooling around got people nowhere. If Toro was accurate enough, she could cleanly slit his throat from where they stood. Not necessarily painless, but it was fast and effective. Knowing her Combusken, this was of course, entirely possible a plan. She was rooted firmly where she stood, and her question asked was simple and to the point. One wrong word and they'd strike. She had no qualms about battling - her father's license made it completely legal for her, but she couldn't say the same for the stranger in front of her.

But he had chosen the right word. Sapphire didn't know whether or not to believe this - Anyone could call out the right answer as long as they weren't knuckleheads. Her brow furrowed, her expression still knitted into a stern and unforgiving one. "I ain't dying anytime soon." Eyes shifted and tried to make sense of the situation. Like what her father did. He used fancy words that she didn't understand a lick of. The tanned complexion and the roughed up, battered look he was giving of instinctively marked him as a native, which lowered her guard just slightly.

She heaved the small pack she had over her hip bones and tightened the straps. Sapphire travelled light, if only because it made her more nimble and agile without the burden of necessities on her shoulders. She kept her guard, stepping slowly behind. She maintained a distance between her and Seren, if only to give them space for a counter if he so turned his back on her, metaphorically. "Where r'ya takin' me?" she demanded, refusing to be led blindly by a stranger she couldn't just trust. Toro let out a low huff. Part of her was itching to battle, but part of her was still unsure abot this whole damn thing.