Private/Closed The Dream (RP)

[Cicada]

Salvatore had noticed the weary way Rue had been looking at him, checking over her shoulder to make sure he hadn't suddenly dropped dead without her notice.
The musty smell of the dank corridor hardly bothered him in comparison to the pastry shop, and the eerie setting almost put him at ease. At least the town wasn't trying not to be sinister anymore.
He followed into the stupendously glossy room and brushed past the Kirlia, his shoes squeaking against the floor's surface. With a moment's hesitation, he dropped down to the level below.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

Rue had barely registered that the murkrow had passed her, having been focused solely on the path ahead. It was only when he dropped to the floor in front of her, landing with an audible thunk that she noticed him again.

She stashed the knife back in her pocket, dropping to her knees as she came to Salvatore's side. Swallowing everything; her suspicions, Kathleen's theories, and even the tiny hope which had taken residence in her chest at the notion that maybe, he would be spared from the fate of being trapped here and losing his mind, or dying along with the rest of this world, she reached out and shook his shoulder, in the hopes of rousing him somehow.

"Salvatore?" She crooned softly, "If you're still there... Say something!"

 

[Cicada]

Salvatore looked back in surprise before an atypically tender smile broke through his face and he took her worried hand in both his calloused own, bringing it to his lips almost mockingly.
He lowered it and let it rest in his hand delicately, the other retreating back to his pocket.
"Still here," he replied at last, feeling especially reckless now that he knew he was nearly knocking on death's door. "You know I'd never leave you 'less I had to."

 

[shiguregure]

"That's really awesome. If you can make it back with us," at this point she glanced at Salvatore, the tiniest trace of a smile surfacing, "That would be even more awesome." She knew she was addressing Salvatore, but this was probably important to Rue as well, so she made sore to acknowledge her. Kathleen, though, not so much. She seemed slightly unempathetic at times, but Noelle didn't blame her. It was totally fine by her. She liked Kathleen a lot, of course, along with the other two, but it was just that while Rue seemed to think of him as a good friend, Kathleen probably still thought of him as a forced ally. She had to force e her mind out of the thoughts. "Alright, Salvatore. Listen up. We're all gonna make it back. This is going to work out. Once we get back, everything will be okay. Just stay with us, kay?"

 

[Cicada]

He slipped Rue's hand from his own, eyes wandering over to a rather optimistic Noelle. He tapped his foot absentmindedly and tunelessly and nodded passively, a mirrored simper gracing his ineloquent face.
"That's kind of you to say," he replied aridly. "I hope above all that you're right. Some swan song this is, right?"

 

[The_life_as_a_shadow]

Kathleen brushed bast the three. "Come on." She called impatiently as she hurried past, "we dont have time." Kathleen knew that she was sounding harsh and unemotional, but that was just they way she needed to be right now. The Leafeon continued down the hallway as it ended to a large room with 3 different ways. "Um..." She replied unshure of what way to go.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

"You mean, to this dream, or..." Rue paused all too suddenly. It seemed rather insensitive of her to joke about the possibility of the murkrow's death now. Or ever, for that matter.

She stuck her head through the first hole. It was a but a brilliant white room, which lead to nowhere. So she backed out, and checked the second. Inside the hole, it was pitch black, except for a tiny white dot of light near what appeared to be the end of a tunnel.
And the third room was just identical to the second.

Continuing on from Noelle's cue, she covered up her first sentence and reassured Salvatore with, "You'll definitely make it back. We'll make sure of it!"

She crawled through the second hole, and stood up on the other side. "I think we're supposed to go this way," the kirlia ordered.

 

[The_life_as_a_shadow]

Kathleen nodded and was about to head in when she paused. Familiar voices sounded from the 3rd way. She looked to see if the other heard it but wasnt in luck. The lefeon shivered as she followed rue though the hole. On the other side if the hole, Kathleen couldnt hear the voices anymore. 'What was that?' She though trying to decipher the voices. They were like screams and pleads.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

"You mean, whatever those voices were?" Rue enquired, eyes still fixed on the dim dot of light ahead. Those voices, though muffled and very quiet, did sound a little familiar. But they more sounded like the voices of the recently-deceased townsfolk than anyone she knew in real world...

"I didn't see anyone when I looked in the other holes," the kirlia remarked, "It's probably just a trap."

Rue stepped gracefully into an ankle-deep puddle of water as she continued towards the light...

 

[Cicada]

Salvatore strained his ears for the voices the other two conversed about and heard nothing. He hesitated and followed after Rue, trusting her natural instincts more than his own. He treaded over the ground carefully, poking around for traps wherever he felt necessary.
It was with this strategy that he spotted a dull glint from an indentation in the ground, seemingly filled with rain water. He held his cloak back as he snatched the luminous item from the ground and wiped it free of mud on his pant leg, holding it up to his eye. The object was a golden coin, flat and round, with markings unlike anything he'd seen before. He held it in the flat of his hand and quickened his pace to flaunt his findings.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

Rue rolled her eyes she noticed the murkrow's new-found treasure. Though, honestly, what was she expecting? Being a murkrow, it was but a primal instinct of Salvatore's to search for shiny things, not that he had a honchkrow don to bring them to. Or would he, if he made it to the other side? Would he become the grunt of his evolved form, or would he invest in a dusk stone and evolve into a honchkrow himself?

Finally approaching the light, which, even up close, was just a tiny dot on the wall, Rue tested it with her fingers. The light expanded, and a strangely familiar image appeared.

A little room, littered with notes and warm-up wear, and dead pointe shoes of varying colours. And then she was there, in a ratty little bed, practically dead to the world.

"I think this might be it," she relayed, "When I touched the light, it showed me where I am in the real world. If we keep touching the light, I think we'll finally make it back!"

Yes. Kathleen would go back to her friends. Noelle would awaken in a pokemon centre, and be left to deal with the death of her beloved owner. Rue would pack her things and run away to Black City, where she would audition for the job of her dreams... And attempt to recover from her assault. Maybe see a counsellor, and vent everything that she had felt since that night. They'd all be separated, that was for certain, but at least they would be able to continue where they left off.

 

[The_life_as_a_shadow]

(Kathleen is now the only characters who hasn't told told her full story yet. So here it is)

Kathleen stepped closer to the light and also touched it. A strangely familiar image appeared to her. It was her laying under a tree with bandages all over her hand and a back pack near by. Kathleen stepped back just as a memory showed up:

Kathleen was standing in a large room with trears in her eyes. In front of her was a man cloaked in shadows and a female espeon gijinka along with a cage with a flareon in it. "Dont do this!" She begged to the dou, "please dont hurt my brother! It was my falt and I will fix it like I always do! Just dont hurt James!" If they had any sympathy they didnt show it as the espeon pressed a button on the key pad in front of her. "Run Lee! I am already dead! Save your self and run away!" James called from the cage as a wall moved to reveal a large arcanine with slit eyes. He seemed to move in a slow fashion tword the flareon. Kathleen shut her eyes as she lood away just as half scream erupted followed by a large snap. Tears filled the leafeons eyes one more as a small chuckle came from the man. "Now back to business" He said, "We need to pack up and leave before the police find us, thanks to you" Kathleen just stood there her brothers last words echoed in her mind. "No...." She said softly before running away wanting to be no were near this place again. "If a murderer like you think you can leave and live a normal life your wrong" The man said will a smile just before the leafeon left.

Kathleen ran out of the room. No one was anywere to be seen as she ran away. She stopped only for a second as the leafeon grabbed her bag. Kathleen pushed open he door to the out side. It opened to a forest, but Kathleen couldnt care less as she ran. She had no idea were to go but the leafeon know she had to get away from that horror.

Kathleen stopped and stood out of breath. The sun was setting as she set her bag down. The leafeon curled up as she started to cry again. Everyone she had loved is now dead. She has no one and only a history of pain. 'I want to be away from here! She thought as she dosed of, 'a place of no worries'

Kathleen shook her head, now realizing she was back at the cave. She decided to change the subject to the matter at hand. "Well I think we need to go to the source of the light not just to be at the ray" Kathleen said just as the group rumbled. She looked around to find many ground-type pokemon heading there way!

 

[Cicada]

Salvatore had lingered behind, hesitant to go into the light in fear of what he'd find. The outlier watched, his heart like a hummingbird beating its miniscule wings against his ribs. Now would be the time where he'd find whether he'd be able to escape this personal Hell or be forced to rot away at its core for an eternity, but it didn't feel that way. For the very first time, it occurred to him that none of this felt real in of itself. He felt desensitized, as though something was deathly wrong.
He pocketed his silver coin and forced himself to take a step forward, the vibration ringing out against the cavern's hollow walls. Simultaneously, and almost as if on cue, the ground began shaking beneath his feet and he stumbled several paces back, holding out his spindly arms to keep himself from falling. He turned just soon enough to dodge a Golem's Roll Out, crying out in bewilderment.
"Not again!" he hissed, hurrying to place his body between the attackers and Rue.

 

[The_life_as_a_shadow]

Kathleen moved out of they way of the move just in time. 'Better for me' She though remembering something her older sister taught her, 'I am strong againt ground/rock- types' She quickly set a swarm of razor leaves to the golem, making his stumble. Kathleen was charging up a giga drain before a onix used dig to wack her. The leafeon slumped against the wall, barely conscious. 'They are definitely strong' Kathleen thought.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

Rue immediately jumped in front of Salvatore with a psychic, lifting a golem as high up into the air as the tunnel would allow her before she let it drop to the ground. The end of his life was possibly approaching, as was the end of this dream, and yet, she still felt the need to protect him, as he was trying to do for her.

"Cover your ears," she ordered her companions, as she left off a disarming voice attack. Rue had come all this way to face her reality, wake up, and recover from her assault. The road to recovery was going to be as long and as arduous as her journey through this dream. But she wasn't the only one. Noelle too, would begin her road to accepting her owner's death. And Kathleen would recover from... Whatever it was that had happened to her. And maybe, just maybe, Salvatore would get to go with them. It was the least that he deserved after what he'd done for them.

 

[Cicada]

As a begrudging compromise, Salvatore rushed to her side, fingers trembling to unbutton the front of his cloak. Following her request, he paused to press his hands to his ears and only continued when her mouth had shut. He draped it over the head of an oncoming Sandslash and tugged firmly whilst it thrashed against his grip and wildly waved its gnashing claws against him, not only catching his cheek and neck, but slicing through the fabric of his overcoat as easily as butter. The damage had been done, evidentially, as its figure crumpled to ground, flailing against the ground and gasping like a fish out of water before stilling completely.
Maybe a couple would die on his account, but they'd almost made it and he wasn't going to let anyone ruin their chances now.
"Are you sure you can fight?" he asked Rue, bracing himself for the onslaught.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

"I have to," she answered, "I don't think these guys care about my injuries. It's either fight or die, and I'm not going to die when we've reached the final hurdle!"

Though Rue's gashed legs had long ago stopped bleeding, they were still quite painful to walk on. So, her only option was to use attacks which made no direct contact with the attacking pokemon. No more draining kisses were to be dished out while she was still down here.

Turning back to face the attacking ground types, Rue attempted to lift a second sandslash into the air, her legs folding beneath her with the effort that it took. She crawled backwards, and attempted to lift the pokemon again, as it struggled against the force of her psychic. She so hated to be a wounded spearow at a time like this, but if she didn't hold back just a little, she'd die out here...

 

[Cicada]

He nodded, although he wasn't certain that she had recorded the gesture. He tried to focus on his share of the assailants, but couldn't help but get distracted by his concern for the ballerina. He felled a Golurk with a swift Foul Play, but found himself confronting the mass of a Gliscor without a hair's breadth to catch his breath. This, too, he disposed of with a second dirty trick: using a particularly large rock to smash against the traducer's temple.
He himself found that he was weakening, already worn from the first battle. Salvatore didn't have much room to complain in such a situation against adamantine opponents.

 

[The_life_as_a_shadow]

Kathleen watched as her companions slowly lost energy. 'I need to help' She though as she slowly got up. Kathleen used a fury of razor leaf in a blind attack. She was unsure if it hit anything of anyone as she slumped back. Darkness unfolded her as she fainted.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

As Rue noticed the fallen Kathleen, and the slowly but surely weakening Salvatore, Rue took a moment to think about the best course of action. Her heal pulse would be enough be relieve them of some of their wounds, but using it would completely tucker the kirlia out, leaving her at the mercy of the attacking sandslashes.

She could attempt to regain some of her own strength by using a draining kiss on one of her enemies, but to do would be to risk even more injuries, since the attack had to make direct contact to work, not that she felt like giving those charming gentlemen a smooch anyway.

Unless...

"Hey, can somebody pin down one of those sandslash? If I can give it a draining kiss, I'll be able to regain my strength and heal you guys!"

 

[Cicada]

Salvatore, although hesitant for a moment's time, ejected himself from his battle with a peculiarly fierce Hippowdon with a disgraceful lurch and planted himself firmly behind the weakest of the few Sandslash, wrenching his hands behind his back. He was rewarded with a sharp cry of pain from his victim of choice, but only half-heartedly fought against Salvatore as he walked the assailant to the weakened Kirlia. He was forced to ignore the attacks from the Sandslash's comrades whom didn't seem to appreciate him commandeering their fellowman.
He forced the Sandslash to his knees before Rue with a grim expression, spreading his slick wings to shield them from further harm.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

(Wow, I was convinced that this RP was gonna die! Nice to know that we might actually finish this thing )

Pleasantly surprised by Salvatore's offering, Rue nodded as her lips began to glow a faint pink.

She hesitated for a second, before swooping down at the sandslash, locking her lips firmly with his, and keeping them there for a good ten or so seconds, until some of her smaller wounds had disappeared, leaving little more than pink welts on her skin from where they had once been.

"Thanks for that, Salvatore," she said with silvery smile, "Now, as promised, I'll see what I can do to heal everyone."

The kirlia only managed to muster up a small heal pulse, but for now, it would have to do. She stood between Salvatore, Kathleen, and Noelle before crushing the pink orb, in the hopes that the resulting ripple would only hit her comrades, and not what remained of the group's enemies.

 

[Cicada]

((I've been caught up in Sun and Moon for the past couple days, or else I would have responded sooner ^^"))

Although the Heal Pulse hadn't been as powerful as it once was, he felt a refreshing surge of energy travel throughout him. He breathed in deeply and offered her a shaky smile before hurrying back to his post with newfound determination.
Salvatore was quick to notice that the flood of Ground-types was dwindling and found himself smiling exuberantly. Nothing could stand in their way, lest for the fact that he may have had to stay behind in a twisted Hellscape, after they overcame this hurdle. For the first time in a long time, the thief was optimistic.

 

[The_life_as_a_shadow]

Kathleen slowely gained conciseness as she looked around. Her freinds were still fighting as she used giga drain on the Pokemon near them. Kathleen nearly fainted using this attack but the engergy she gained countered it as she regained full energy. 'Now first thing first' The leafeon thought turning to the onix who made her faint. The onix was taken aback with her death glare as her eyes turned to slits. She sprinted first to him and used leaf blade and cut him in half. She then turned to the rest of the rock-types and continued her new fight.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

Eager to make use of her newly regained strength, Rue smashed another sandslash against the cave's wall with her psychic, going in for another draining kiss as soon as it landed. Learning that move had truly been the best decision that the kirlia had ever made. As long as she had a living opponent to use it on, she could keep regaining her strength and fighting indefinitely.

Just a single golem and an onix remained between the group and freedom. Or death, for Salvatore...

Channelling her sadness over the murkrow's fate into her attacks, Rue delivered another speedy psychic to the onix.

 

[The_life_as_a_shadow]

Kathleen looked up to see rue starting to fight an onix. She turned toward the only remaining Pokemon to fight, the golem. Kathleen used shadow ball on the golem as it used rollout on her. Kathleen dogged it barley as the golem was to slow. It hit him square in the face as the leafeon stumbled. She turned to the onix. Kathleen decided to wait and ceach her breath while the other fought it. 'They can get it.' She though as Kathleen watched.

 

[shiguregure]

Noelle turned to fight the Onix. She used a blizzard on it, but it barely did any damage, only agitating the Onyx even more. Then, of course, she had to remember that rock type gijinka had an advantage against ice types after charging at one. "Oh," she muttered to herself. "I maybe should've thought this through first. But no worries. At worst I'll get injured badly and die." And then she prepared herself for whatever was going to come out of assaulting the rock type and used hail.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

"You're not going to die," Rue insisted, "None of us are!"

Rue delivered one final psychic attack to the onix, holding it still as the crystalline hailstones buffeted the gijinka. It wouldn't be long now... Just one more assailant to defeat, and then it would be homeward bound for all of them. The ballerina's mind was already wandering to thoughts of which piece she wanted to perform at her audition in Black City...She loved the Kitri variation from Don Quixote, though, perhaps now, it felt more appropriate to do The Dying Swanna. Refusing to face reality, while struggling against death... After doing that for Arceus knows how long inside this dream, it felt that the dance would come naturally to her in the real world.

Letting go of her psychic for just a second, she called her other comrades. "Can you do us a favour and take care of that golem?"

 

[Cicada]

Salvatore didn't hesitate to slam his dully glowing wings into the second of the two targets, whom struggled to hold back his slew of attacks. The Golem grunted as he attempted to fend off both, but fell short of reaching him with the fell swoop of a Sucker Punch from the Murkrow. A shock of pain shot through his arm on contact, but he had rendered the Golem incarcerated. He brought back his bleeding knuckles and shook out his hand to try to wave off the pain, cursing through gritted teeth.
"Got it," he announced, staring down at his awkwardly angled fingers and frowning. He retracted it gingerly and straightened his shoulders and glancing about the bloody battlefield. Salvatore strode over to the Sandslash he had suffocated with his cloak and fastened it around his shoulders with his good hand, unable to move the other.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

Rue inspected her own target, gingerly placing a finger on its neck. No pulse throbbed against her touch.

The inside of the cave was absolutely covered in blood, most of it belonging to the fallen assault of ground and rock types. Not that such a sight bothered Rue much now, having already faced a bigger bloodbath earlier that night.

It was over. A step towards the light, and she would finally be free, as would Noelle and Kathleen. And...

Salvatore would almost certainly die. Almost.

The kirlia stepped over towards the murkrow, unaware of the fact that she was reaching for the hand he had injured during his battle with the golem.

"It's over," she announced, "We can leave now!"

 

[Cicada]

He impulsively flinched away from her, but smiled grimly when he turned his head, showing her his hand briefly as explanation before bringing it back into its lair. Thankfully, it was still numb from adrenaline.
Instead, he offered her the besmirched other and took the reassuring skin of hers in his. Salvatore took in a deep breath of stale air, unable to force himself to view the carnage.
"If Rue's theory is right, we just need to take a step towards it, right?" he remarked, glancing at each of them in turn whilst subconsciously imprinting their faces in his mind. "I'm not much for ending on a glum note, but desperate times, desperate measures and all." He chuckled nervously at this, his mind completely void of any cohesive thought other than to prolong the inevitable. "If I make it through, well, I'll be one Hell of a keepsake, eh? If not... You've all been a real fine bunch. The finest I've met, which doesn't say much considering. I just wish we could have met under better circumstances."

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

Rue nodded in agreement as she felt a slight heaviness wash over her dainty body. These gijinkas were but total strangers, and one was just a figment of her imagination, yet they had done more for her than anyone, human or half-human that she had ever met in real life. It truly was a shame that she had to leave them, but it was for the best. They all knew that.

If Salvatore made it, Rue had to wonder what he would do with himself in their world. And how would he answer mundane questions such as, "Where are you from?", "What's your family like?" and "Where did you used to work?" without sounding like a madman?

She let go of the murkrow's hand, tentatively touching the light. To her surprise, her hand slipped right through it, and on the other side, it was heavy. If her theory was correctly, then her hand had just twitched her real body in her sleep.

"In spite of all that's happened, I'm really glad that I met all of you," she said quietly, "I think this is it. Who's brave enough to go first?"

 

[The_life_as_a_shadow]

Kathleen looked at the light. She though back to her real life. She was lost and had no one there. Kathleen looked at the others. She knew that they had different feelings for her murderous nature here becouse everyone here was trying to kill them ,but what about in the real world? Its there she had killed many and redened her claws first. Kathleen kept her thought to herself before replieing. "I will go first" She said dryly as she stepped forward, "See you in black city." Kathleen then stepped into the ligh as she felt herself get heavier. Darkness was around her as she relized her eyes were closed. Kathleen opened them to find herself in a forest and daylight streaming through the leaves.

 

[Cicada]

Salvatore swallowed painfully hard, rough saliva scratching his dry throat on the way down. He stared at the light in amazement as Kathleen left his world behind and entered her own, his mouth slightly agape. It was absolutely impossible, which was what made it so fantastic.
He flashed Rue and Noelle an abrasive grin and tipped his hat, approaching the luminescence. He thrust his arm through it after a moment's hesitation and flexed his fingers from the other side of the light with a frown. Had it travelled through, to their world? Was it even attainable?
"Black City," he repeated, and forced himself through the pool.

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

"See you there," the kirlia called after them, stepping into the light.

Rue's eyes fluttered open, revealing the ceiling of her flat in Nimbasa City. Revealing the reality she had been delivered from.

Dispelling all of the heaviness of her weary body in a flash, Rue leapt out of bed, threw some clothes on, and packed a bag, filling it with nothing but her essentials, her ballet gear, and her invitation to the audition, which was to be held at eight o'clock that evening in Black City. It was only half past nine in the morning now, but before her audition, she had to see that everyone had made it home. Or to a new home, in Salvatore's case.

She took the first train that she could catch to Black City, scanning the station for any possible signs of her former companions...

 

[The_life_as_a_shadow]

Kathleen walked through the forrest only for it to end at the edge of a city. She edged her way around to find the rout to the city. Kathleen then entered the city. From the sign at the entrance, She knew that Rue was going to be here. 'Nimbasa city' She though silently before heading to the train station. Kathleen didnt see Rue as she bought the ticket to black city. She then sat down to wait for the teain, her bag right next to her.

 

[Cicada]

Salvatore's eyes had slowly flickered open to an absolute darkness. He crowed out a disgruntled groan as he attempted to force himself to his knees, but couldn't find the energy. It was long until he raised his head abruptly, having had weaved in between consciousness despite his best efforts. He looked around groggily and patted himself down, making sure his entire body had made it through the dizzy dreamscape he'd hopefully been ejected from.
He realized with a start that he couldn't move his wings. After frantically searching through the gloom for the reassuring grease of his feathers, he realized the source of his anxieties. He had none.
I'm featureless, he conceived. His wings were a small price for his freedom, Salvatore supposed reluctantly. That was, if he was free.
Ironically, when morning came, he found that he had arrived in the Sinnoh region's, as it was called, burial place: the Lost Tower. He had been shaken awake by a teary eyed girl whom found it disrespectful for him to be sleeping in a cemetery. Peculiarly, a Murkrow had been watching him curiously from the window he had fallen asleep by, but flew off after he had been roused.
"Black City," he sputtered out urgently and the girl backed away from him in bewilderment. "Do you know where Black City is?"
She crossed her arms as to make herself look more intimidating, but was clearly off-put by such a ragged man who had been sleeping atop the grave of someone's beloved Pokémon.
"Yes," she answered in a miffed tone. "Unova, isn't it?"
"How do I get there?" he demanded, struggling to his feet. She took a step back, eyes wide with concern.
"By plane?" she offered. "It's a 14 hour flight. Why... Why do you ask?"
Salvatore had no idea what a plane was, and so this information meant little to him. "There are some very important people I'm supposed meet with there. They'll be expecting me."
She hesitated. "Look, we're 9 hours ahead here. If you leave now, you might be able to make it today. My uncle might be able to lend you his Staraptor, if you're up for the ride."
"You'd... really do that for me?" he asked with a disconcerted expression, straightening his hat.
She shrugged. "Why not?"

 

[Shiny Blue Gardevoir]

Come to think of it, would they even recognise her if they saw her? Rue frantically scanned the train station once more. Still no sign of any of them.

Instead of the garish orange hairpins she had worn in the dream world, Rue now had a pair of tiny, real red kirlia horns protruding from her light green hair. The white minidress she had thrown on barely stood out against her porcelain skin. Gone was the tattered tutu, the torn tights, and the pointes whose shanks and boxes were on the verge of falling apart. Gone was the disgraced and violated ballerina of Nimbasa City. Gone was the kirlia who'd grown to hate the world around her so much, that she had had no option but to escape into a dream.

Would she recognise her companions if she spotted them first? What was to say that they were even gijinkas in this world? Or that the names she knew them by were even their real names?

She went through the train station once, twice, three times. And then she gave up and waited by the toilets as she checked herself over in the reflection of her everstone bracelet.

 

[Cicada]

After he had explained himself to the girl's uncle, leaving out such details as the fact that they had met in an alternate dimension and had participated in two separate bloodbaths with only each other as comrades, he gruffly replied that, yes, he could borrow his Staraptor, but he had better make himself presentable to prevent his companions from holding their noses at the sight of him. Salvatore didn't take any offense.
After scrubbing his skin raw of the dirt and dried blood and lingering scent of sweat that had followed him from his twisted nightmare, he barely recognized himself when he looked in the mirror. He gently touched his own gaunt cheek and gazed at his reflection when a knock thundered against the bathroom door and Salvatore jolted where he stood.
"I left you some clothes," the boisterous voice of the uncle announced. Salvatore quickly called out his gratitude and quietly waited for the man to lumber off before checking the door for his spoils. The clothes seemed slightly too big to fit the thief's lanky frame, but they certainly were clean and dry.
He had been supplied with a black tank top, accompanied by a simplistic, red track coat and jeans that sagged below his waist. For this reason, the uncle graciously provided him with a frayed belt.
The uncle held to him a curious red and white sphere which he accepted cautiously, turning it over in his hand. Seeing his reaction, the uncle scoffed and explained how to activate the so-called "Pokéball."
Along with this, the girl insisted he implement a carrier bag filled with the necessities required to keep he and Staraptor alive and well during their flight. Salvatore humbly thanked both of them and asked what he could possibly do in return, but the uncle stubbornly brushed him off.

 

[The_life_as_a_shadow]

Kathleen sat down and waited. She put on a brown hat to cover her face. 'Should they recognize me?' Kathleen though suddenly thinking back to her own image. For one, she want covered in blood and second her clothes weren't the same. Kathleen sighed as she leaned back on the bench but stopped to look up. The leafeon had noticed a munchlax gijika on the other side of the tracks. She first noticed the blue bow in the small girls hair and knew who she was. The "company" used spy to check on their assassins or to see what's around the area. Kathleen could only guess that the girl would know her and would recognize the leafeon. A slight panic free through her as she tryed to looked at a near by sign. Kathleen looked for a place to get away and noticed the girls bathroom nearby. She quickly whent towards it, but not enough to draw suspicion. Kathleen opened the door to find another girl in it looking at her bracelet. She though it was rue fro a second but des regarded it when she noticed the horns. Kathleen decided to ignore the girl as she looked back out for a second. She noticed the muchlax had looked on and didn't notice her. Kathleen sighed as she shut the door fully again. Her hat still covering her face as her ears layer down on her head.