victory_road | [Closed log]

Entry tags:

[Closed log]

Who: Sion and Ryner
Where: Their house/property outside Ecruteak
When: The morning after prom
Summary: Canon updates mean terrible things and buttloads of guilt
Rating: PG, because this is denyuuden and we can't have nice things
Log:

The sun still hadn't risen yet when Sion awoke, blinking. That in and of itself was no surprise, it was a rare occasion that he slept through a night uninterrupted, but he immediately noticed that something was off. This wasn't where he'd remembered falling asleep to begin with.

And it was dreadfully familiar.

He hadn't seen this place in months, but it took only a moment for the memories to come rushing back. Both the long time he'd spent here, as well as all that had happened in Roland since then. And yet despite it all, here he was again, as if nothing had changed. The same bed, the same room, the same house... Every he and Ryner had done together in their time in this strange, nonsensical world.

Then, of course, there was Ryner. Sion could hear his even breathing, still sound asleep. Not that that was any surprise, Ryner could probably sleep through the end of the world if he were allowed to. No, that was no surprise, but rather the fact that they were still both here, after everything that had happened. After everything that Sion had done.

It was too much for Sion to bear.

"Sol?" Dusk was giving him a concerned look, watching him intently as he carefully moved to climb out of the bed. Of course she'd sense that something was amiss... Sion shook his head, holding a finger to his lips and glancing meaningfully in Ryner's direction; they didn't want to wake him now, did they? Then he reached out and gently stroked the absol's head, his expression sorrowful.

"I know it's asking a lot, but could you do me a favor?" he asked, as quietly as he could manage. Dusk gave him an inquisitive look, and Sion rummaged through some of his things until he came up with a pokeball. Her pokeball. "I need a little time to think. By myself. So..."

The look of concern remained, but Dusk was clearly conflicted. On the one hand, she wanted to make her partner happy, to do as he said. But on the other, there was something very, very wrong right now, some sort of disaster just waiting to happen, though she didn't know what.

Sion just gave her a sad smile. "Please," he said. "That way I can still have you nearby, just in case," he promised.

"Sol..." It was reassurance enough. After all, when had Sion ever given her reason to doubt him? He'd certainly never done anything to break her trust before, so while still a little reluctant, Dusk complied, returning back to her ball. Then, quietly, Sion turned, opened the drawer of the nightstand, and placed it inside, closing the drawer behind it.

That done, he straightened, and still moving as quietly as possible so as not to wake anyone else, threw on some clothes and slipped out of the room. Then it was over the railing and landing softly in the living room to walk over to the front door. Of course, it was impossible that none of the pokemon would be awake, but a simple shake of his head and muttered "not this time" was sufficient for those cases, at least. Which meant that soon enough, he was quietly closing the door behind him and stepping out into the predawn gloom.

And within moments, he was out of sight.

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Ryner could, indeed, sleep through the end of the world if permitted. Rather easily, in fact. That's why it took a Wake-Up Slap from Rose to finally rouse him.

"OW! I'm up, I'm up! Geeze!"

It was a surprise, at first, to not find himself at sword point, though surprise quickly turned to mild confusion, then nostalgia as the memories of the years preceding the last few months flooded back, all while Rose chattered on in her Clefairy language. (I tried to slap you awake four times, Dear Partner! You're not supposed to sleep through the first three! You were starting to worry me!)

"How long... was I asleep this time?" he asked quietly, glancing downward apologetically. Rose tilted her head questioningly - just because he was harder to wake than usual didn't mean he'd slept for days again or anything. And with a quick trip to the bedside table, a note reading You're supposed to wake up the first time, not the fourth! confirmed her side.

He sat up in bed. "Huh. So I wasn't asleep for a week again?" After Rose shook her head in response, he continued, "Well, that's better then..."

Rose picked up her paper again to start asking what he meant by that, but Ryner looked toward the other half of the bed, hesitating before touching the sheets where his best friend would usually sleep. Still warm...

"Did Sion... Is he still here?"

Sion, of course, was nowhere to be found. Nor was Dusk, for that matter. Perhaps he had stepped out for some early errands?

Unfortunately, none of the rest of his team that regularly sleeps in the bedroom appeared to know, either. Given how restless his nights could occasionally be, Sion was well-practiced at not waking anyone, after all.

Well, it wasn't so much worry about where he was, so much as was he still in Johto. For all he knew, they both could have gone home, and Ryner could have been the only one who came back... But a quick check of the Pokegear, grabbing it from where he'd left it, confirmed that Sion's was still registered, which answered that.

Errands would not be an implausible thing for Sion to be doing, then. Especially given the guy's erratic sleeping habits. But somehow, that didn't quite sit right with him...

Still, Ryner pushed himself out of bed to grab some clothes to throw on. To Rose's written question of What's going on?, he replied, "Remember that time I fell asleep for a week here, but I was back home for a while?"

A nod from the Clefairy.

"Ahh, well, I guess it wasn't a week here this time, but... I definitely went home for a few months." A quick flex of his arm - just slightly off from the original, he definitely took after his father - confirmed it. "And a lot of stuff happened... There's a lot I need to tell you about, but first I need to find Sion."

After all, if he's here too, there are words that need to be said (and punches that need to be thrown, if it comes to that, and let's face it, it will) that can't be said when you're half a continent apart and separated by multiple armies.

He was pretty much expecting it when Rose then proceeded to leap into his arms and cling to him - if he had really gone home again, she wasn't going to let him go. (And, in fact, he might have kind of ended up clinging a little to her, as well, not that he'd admit it.) "Heh, sorry if I worried you."

But then, as he petted the pink fluffball in his arms a little, he started scanning the room, just to catch who was in here (vs. downstairs or elsewhere in the house), and if anything happened to look out of place. If it really hadn't been that long, then anything could point to where Sion had gone.

The only one obviously missing was Dusk. Though of course, given her habit of not leaving Sion's side, that might not have been so surprising.

On the other hand, an attentive eye might notice that Sion's pokegear was still resting on the nightstand where he usually put it so as to be within easy reach when he went to bed. Which was perhaps odd, didn't he usually keep it with him?

For that matter, if one were to listen closely, it almost sounded as though something were rattling in the drawer...

...Well, the 'gear being by itself lent credence to this not being about an average errand run. Considering certain things that have happened in the past on otherwise average errand runs, one would be remiss not to bring a method of communication along.

But ultimately, the rattling drawer was more interesting, and Ryner went over to it to open it up and see who had gotten themselves trapped in there. Couldn't be anybody too big, but Glen wasn't really a fan of drawers in the first place...

Opening the drawer revealed not one of the 'mons, precisely, but rather one of their balls. A ball which was shaking as the occupant tried to get out, which the confined quarters of the drawer had made rather impossible. In fact, the moment the drawer was sufficiently open Dusk leaped out, heedless of anyone who might be in her way.

"Sol! Absol!" Her first order of business, of course, was looking around for Sion.

"Dusk??"

Okay, now it definitely wasn't errands. Sion might be sleepless enough to forget his 'gear, but he always brought Dusk with him, at the very least.

That, and the fact that she was in her ball in a drawer, meant that this was deliberate. Meaning Ryner had a feeling he knew what this was about.

He facepalmed.

"That goddamn idiot..."

Sion was running away because he didn't want to face him, was that it? Well, that wasn't going to work, and Ryner immediately ran through both of their teams in his head. Someone who can track by scent, someone who can track psychically, someone who can fly...

"Rose, Dusk, come on, we need to round up a search party, now."

"Clef!" Rose saluted, even if she wasn't quite sure what was going on. And so Ryner grabbed both 'gears and shoved them in his pockets, and set to go wake up some Pokemon.

Dusk had already begun making a dash for the door when being addressed by Ryner gave her pause, and she skidded to a stop before turning to look at him.

"Absol!" She fidgeted impatiently, obviously not wanting to be delayed from seeking out her wayward partner before he got himself into trouble.

He glanced at her impatientness, though also moving to extend his hand to Glen, who had been woken up by the commotion. Webs couldn't hurt, especially if Sion tried to keep running.

"Unless you know where he is already?" Not that he'd put it past the Absols, but.

That gave Dusk pause. She thought about it, then reluctantly shook her head. Not that that changed her anxiousness to be out and searching as soon as possible, of course.

He didn't think so, not that he'd ever think to lord it over anyone, especially not now. Instead, he made his way toward the door to downstairs, Clefairy in his arms, Joltik on his head.

"I can only bring six, and you guys are in already. We'll need somebody to look from the sky - I'm thinking Gail, he's an owl, he's got good vision and hearing. I'm also gonna get Fio - two of you trying to catch his trail is better than one. And Harper to try and track him psychically, since he'll have probably washed his scent a couple times."

So, you know, it wasn't like he didn't have a plan.

Jehra padded into the room silently, returning from calming an argument downstairs - something something homicidal starfish, not really that relevant. Somehow, he'd already picked up on what's going on, and he went over to rub up against Dusk, to try and help her relax a little.

Edited (tenses...) 2016-06-06 05:48 (UTC)

Plans were things for trainers to come up with, as far as Dusk was generally concerned. She wanted to be doing something, and the sooner the better. Maybe it was just those absol instincts kicking in, but even so...

Jehra's presence did help a little, though, and Dusk leaned against him for the reassurance the contact offered. It didn't diminish her worry for her partner any, but it was something, at least.

Fio, meanwhile, stood and padded over from his corner. He was still a bit drowsy from being awakened by all the commotion, though he certainly intended to help in any way he could.

Jehra would stay by Dusk's side as long as he was needed. His instincts were flaring too, even if he was (naturally) better tuned into Ryner's well-being. But no one would benefit if they had no direction.

With a hoot, Gail landed on the railing, having heard his name. Ryner then poked his head into the library to call for Harper - the Meowstics had been sleeping in a cardboard box, and Julia wasn't too happy to have her sleeping partner taken, but Harper seemed willing to help.

As he made his way downstairs, then, Ryner said, "Jehra, you stay here and make sure everybody knows what's going on and stays calm. And Marian -" there was a squeak from the Yamask, who had been listening in for a while - "can you make something for when we get back? I dunno what, something calming. We're gonna need it."

And after Marian had nodded and whisked herself away to the kitchen, Ryner opened the front door. "All right everybody, let's go."

Dusk most definitely needed the support, at least until Ryner said "let's go". At that point, she was out the door so fast one might have sworn she knew ExtremeSpeed. She stopped a few yards away, looking back anxiously, while Fio follow Ryner at a much more reasonable pace.

Now, if Ryner was Sion, where would he go to try and hide, was the question. Not into town, obviously. And while Sion could be an idiot, especially in this case, he probably wasn't dumb enough to go onto a route where he could easily be assaulted by wild Pokemon.

...Which left the woods. Admittedly a good hiding place.

Deep breath in. "Okay. Fio, Dusk. Can either of you smell his scent?"

It was possible he'd left too long ago for that to really be available as an option, and he'd probably washed it off at least once, but if it was there, it was a direction to start in.

Now that was a good question. And while Dusk and Fio certainly were giving it their all, there was the small matter that, this being just in front of the house, there was still plenty of old lingering traces of Sion's scent everywhere, anyway. Which meant it would take a bit of time to sort out what's what.

Eventually, though, Fio hit upon something that seemed promising. He followed it a bit, doubled back, and checked the surrounding area (with some help from Dusk, of course), and finally decided he was probably on the right track.

"Arcanine!" He glanced back, waiting for Ryner and the others to follow.

"You've found something?"

Without any second thoughts, Ryner and the other Pokemon followed behind Fio, trusting the Arcanine's nose.

Surely Sion couldn't have gotten too far, right?

Edited 2016-06-07 05:26 (UTC)

Ryner might well have been underestimating Sion. While he certainly had no magic to aid him, his sheer determination was a force to be reckoned with. Which was why Fio and Dusk had their work cut out for them just following the trail as it was... And that it probably shouldn't have been remotely surprising when said trail soon crossed and crisscrossed and doubled back on a creek, before seemingly disappearing.

Honestly, he'd figured as much. He'd assumed Sion would wash his trail, at the very least. But this was at least a direction to start in.

"All right, good job. This is a start, at least. Uh... Gail, you take Harper and look from the sky. Try and listen, too. The rest of us should split up and look on the ground. ...Well, Glen, you're with me, but."

Fio and Dusk were already off searching almost before Ryner finished speaking. Well, mostly it was Dusk who couldn't sit still, but Fio at least made sure to stay near her. Especially since he was the one who was better at tracking.

Which may or may not be their best bet; undoubtedly Sion took care to stick to places under cover as much as possible.

Oh, almost certainly. Sion might have never been the top in pure strength, but tactically he was hard to beat. If he didn't want to be found... well, it would be a challenge.

But, well, he'd already decided this wasn't a thing he could afford to be lazy about.

Gail and Harper took to the sky, the owl keeping a Keen Eye on the trees to try and spot anyone who might have chosen a hiding place among the leaves, the cat using its psychic powers to try to listen for Sion's thoughts.

Rose, meanwhile, scampered off into the forest proper, to look around the brush and the roots. With her relatively small size, she was confident that if he'd hidden himself somewhere small and hard to get into, she could get to him.

Glen took his comfortable place in Ryner's sleeve, and the mage started walking along the edge of the creek, looking for any signs of trespassing. "Sion?" he called out, deciding that if he heard him coming, the idiot king would either come out, which would be nice but unlikely, try to run further, in which case he'd make himself known, or freeze, in which case there'd be no change. "Sion, you dumbass, come out already! We need to talk!"

Of course, there was no response. Sion isn't going to be lured out that easily, even presuming he's nearby in the first place.

Though him hiding up a tree can probably be safely ruled out at this point; there's no disturbance to the upper foliage to be found. Nor does he seem to be in the nearby area of forest; Dusk and Fio still haven't picked up any new trail, either, for that matter. Not that that's going to stop them from continuing to look.

As for Harper, so far, there's nothing. Though whether that's because Sion's not close enough, or because he's carefully guarding his thoughts, it's impossible to say yet.

Well, lack of response is expected, honestly. It's also not going to stop Ryner from continuing to call out.

"Look, I get it. You don't want to face me right now. Believe me, I don't want to talk about this either. But running away is only going to make things worse. That's all it's ever done."

As for Harper, if a passive listen does nothing, maybe something more active. So he sends out a telepathic question to anyone in the area: Excuse me, have you seen Mr. Sion? along with a vague mental image of the man.

Ryner will have to have a chat with the Meowstic later, because he grimaces a bit at the mental voice, but it's gentle, questioning, even shy, hardly overbearing like some. And right now, they can't afford to not use something that could help just because of things.

Edited (I need to get the hang of tablet tagging better...) 2016-06-11 20:51 (UTC)

It can be taken as a given that Sion made every effort to avoid being seen, of course. But with that said, it was probably impossible to evade all notice in a forest populated with wild pokemon, especially with no magic to use as an aid. Not to mention the fact that long, silver hair and gold eyes tends to stand out just a bit.

Still, these are wild pokemon, after all, and the query is initially met with silence. What business is it of theirs, after all? After a moment or two though, there's a hint of movement on the other bank, and a vulpix shyly pokes its snout out. It stares for another moment, then barks out a response.

"That way," it says, indicating downstream, though not elaborating further.

Thank you! Harper psychically sends back to the kind Vulpix before conveying that information to everyone in the search party.

Downstream seems like the way to go, then.

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