action (ecruteak)

[mon_dieu]

Who: Antoine D'Coolette & you!

Where: Ecruteak

When: August 19th.

Summary: After preparing to say his goodbyes to Yotsuba, the festival, and Ecruteak, Antoine encounters a ghost from his past. Sort of.

Rating: S for Sads. Nothing otherwise.

Despite Antoine's many, MANY issues with this place, he had somehow relaxed and managed to enjoy himself with his little companion. With the festival coming to a close, he had relented and worn a simple yukata, though he wished for his fur instead of robes. As the sun was setting, he had left Yotsuba to buy her one last parting gift, though he was being indecisive about what. As he mulled, a hand on his cheek, a specter begins to form nearby. He doesn't take notice, not until he drops his wallet, and his eyes glance over -

And there stands General Armand D'Coolette. Antoine's father - who he had been told died in the line of duty.

The wallet was forgotten, along with everything else in the world. Antoine stared with a slack jaw, only able to utter a quiet, "Papa...?" Shaking, he suddenly began to run forward, arms outstretched. "Papa! N-Nicole, she said you had passed, where have-"

But he effortlessly ran through the image of his deceased father, slowing down as he realized what happened. He staggered, and then fell to his knees, trying not to let tears win. "... What kind of... sick joke ees zis... Get out of here!" he slammed his hands to the ground, trembling harder with every passing second. "Leave me alone!"


((OOC: Use whatever style you please, I'll follow.))

Comments

[monge]

Oh dear, it would appear someone's wallet has sought out freedom. Well that's not right, everyone knows wallets can't survive on their own. Always the helpful citizen, Komasan picks up the stray, only to find...some guy?

OH NO WAIT, he remembers him, that's the guy who made him cry. Haha, good times...

Looks like things are the other way around this time, so Komasan can only cautiously approach him.

"Eh..."

It's really hard to ask someone if they're okay if they're crying, because obviously they aren't.

"You...did you drop this, zura?"

[mon_dieu]

Antoine doesn't even acknowledge or recognize the other person at first, but the 'zura' sticks out. He quickly wipes his face, trying to pretend he isn't shaking.

"I. Ah. Well." He gulps, lifting his head. "Oh. Z-Zere eet ees... I was wondering... T'ank you, I..."

[questionmarksthespot]

"Whoa."

So, that looks pretty heavy, and more than a little familiar. Figuratively, anyway. Whatever his dad looked like, Soos was pretty sure he wasn't an anthropomorphic fox person in military regalia. Probably not, anyway; there wasn't a lot he was willing to entirely dismiss out of hand at this point.

Regardless, this was definitely an emotionally tricky situation. He'd have to approach it with caution.

"Hey dude, you gonna be okay?"

#nailedit

He sits down a few feet away, cross-legged, so at least he's not towering over anyone.

"I mean like, you need help or anything. I'm not really a ghostbustin' expert myself, but I seen plenty of weird junk like this, y'know?"

[mon_dieu]

Antoine still wanted to desperately pretend this wasn't bothering him, but since he was THIS close to a blubbering mess, it wasn't easy. He sits on his knees, furiously rubbing his face in an attempt to clean the mess.

"Z-Zat cannot be ze ghost of my father." He tries to reason out loud, mostly to himself. "Because zis ees not where he..." Died. Died is the word. But he does not want to use the word.

[questionmarksthespot]

"Oh, jeez."

Yeah, that's. Pretty bad. And definitely more than a little familiar, unfortunately.

"That's rough, dude."

He eyeballs the apparition of General D'Coolette for a moment, frowning. It definitely doesn't look much like the man sitting across from him, but that probably doesn't mean much.

"Yeah, that's- look, I know it sounds weird but I've kinda been where you are now. This is rough, but sooner or later it'll be over. And whatever jerk decided this was funny'll probably explode or something. Maybe."

[dreamsofahero]

For his part, Sion had been more or less enjoying the festival. Mostly by spending time with Ryner or his 'mons and finding activities to do on his own rather than socializing, for once. At least, up until certain ghost-types decided to make things rather more interesting than Sion cared for. Which meant he was currently attempting to do his best to ignore it.

Overhearing the commotion nearby, however, got his attention, especially as he recognized the voice as belonging to someone he'd spoken with a time or two before. A glance at the man crying at the ground and the nearby ghost was more than enough to tell him what was going on.

"It's a ghost-type Pokémon, taking on another appearance as an illusion," Sion said calmly, as he approached. "Though I'm afraid I don't know what will convince them to stop."

If he did, he wouldn't still have a ghost that looks pretty much exactly like him, other than having golden-blond hair instead of silver, following him around, after all.

[mon_dieu]

Antoine's ears would have flocked up, if they were still canine in nature. But many humans have sharp teeth, and he felt like baring his as he began to rise to his feet. "An illusion?!" He snaps, still in despair, but now it was being matched in anger. "These damn monsters! Are we supposed to battle these things as well?!"

With that in mind, he stands up, glaring through blurry tears at the image of his father. "You think zis ees amusing?!" Naturally, it said nothing in return.

[dreamsofahero]

"To be honest, I've no idea what we're supposed to do about them." Certainly neither he nor Ryner had figured anything out so far, which was why Sion had simply settled for ignoring it as best he could.

"This isn't the first that the ghost-types have caused trouble, however... A few years back, a number of people ended up possessed."

Perhaps not the most comforting thing to hear, but Sion's intent was to give Antoine a distraction until he could regain his composure.

[mon_dieu]

"Possessed!" If there was composure to regain, it wouldn't be found here. "Zen we must defeat zese creatures! I will not have eet sully my father's image to do such evils! He died a hero, and..."

There it is, the word 'died', and Antoine chokes. Tears threaten, and he rubs his face, not wanting them to come. "And... and he deserves better zan to see his son quivering before some illusion..."

[dreamsofahero]

"Ghost types seem to be mischievous by nature; I doubt trying to defeat them would do more than egg them on," Sion explained with a sigh. He fell silent when Antoine trailed off, however.

"Would it be possible to ignore it?" It was the best suggestion Sion could offer; he wasn't exactly the best person to go to for advice for dealing with loss or fathers.

[mon_dieu]

"How can I possibly ignore eet, when eet's what I've wanted to see for years?"

He didn't even have the chance to bury his parents, it had been deemed too dangerous to find the bodies. All he'd been given was a screen telling him they were gone.

"I'll have my own monsters tear eet to pieces, eef zat ees what eet wants!" He's already begun digging around in his robes to find a Pokeball.

[dreamsofahero]

"Is it?" Sion asked, watching him, but not moving to intervene. Yet. "Is an illusion that happens to prey upon your sense of loss what you've wanted to see?"

[mon_dieu]

The accusation prevents Antoine from chucking the Pokeball, at least for now, as he whipped his head to glare daggers at Sion. "Zat ees not what I meant and you know eet! I wanted..." A hard, shaky gulp. "...I didn't WANT eet, but... I was... never... never entirely sure eef he was..."