[Closed log]

[dreamsofahero]

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.

Comments

[tearsofademon]

Still, something was better than nothing. Something was reason not to lose sight of Dusk as long as she ran.

Gail swooped by with a hoot, and Ryner called out as he ran, "Gail, Harper! Dusk found something! Tell Fio and Rose! He came this way!"

And Gail swooped away again, with an affirmative meow from the cat mon on his back. They'd let them know.

[dreamsofahero]

Fortunately, after her initial burst of speed, Dusk slowed to a more reasonable pace. She didn't want to miss anything in her hurry, after all, though she was still just as eager to keep going.

Once Fio and Rose got the message, well, it would still take them a little while to get back, but luckily there were some advantages to knowing moves like ExtremeSpeed...

[tearsofademon]

And to Rose being small enough to ride on an Arcanine's back.

Gail returned first, with Harper waving to confirm that the message was delivered before the two of them flew on a bit ahead. Might as well scout the area from above. And, well, no reason to stop and wait for them. They'd catch up.

[dreamsofahero]

While there was still no telltale sign of Sion, at least as they proceeded further up ahead there was a bit of a change of scenery. The stream cut through an increasingly deeper gully, with banks of earth and rocks pressing in on both sides, the forest's trees looming overhead.

By the time it would take Ryner and Dusk to reach the area, Fio ought to catch up, for that matter.

[tearsofademon]

"Glad you made it," Ryner greeted the other two Pokemon as they arrived.

Rose waved cheerfully from Fio's back - just because their search hadn't found anything didn't mean that she wasn't glad that Dusk had. She then jumped off the Arcanine's back, mostly to be able to look around on her own two feet again.

Ryner, meanwhile, decided to focus on the banks on either side. For any signs of attempts to climb up the edge, or for signs of indentations. Who knew if there was a shallow cave he could be hiding in.

[dreamsofahero]

For now, there was little enough that stood out. The banks were steep, but still sloping down to the stream, without any particular holes or hollows in them. The further the group continued, though, the steeper those banks became, the water even cutting underneath to leave slight, low overhangs in places.

[tearsofademon]

"Smell anything?" he asked as he continued following the stream, though he wasn't expecting much. If they had found anything, they'd probably have bounded after it by now.

Rose peeked up at one of those overhangs curiously. She hadn't been this far from the house or the main roads before. This has been hiding in her backyard?

[dreamsofahero]

"Nine...." Fio shook his head in answer, while Dusk continued to doggedly check every square inch of ground she could cover.

The overhanging banks were quite low to the water here, sometimes with as little space as a few inches. Underneath was soil, and roots, or sometimes protruding rocks. Definitely much too small for a human to hide in, at least.

[tearsofademon]

"All right... Well, that's fine."

Which meant that unless he'd covered it up himself (which would have left a lot of evidence that couldn't be as easily concealed from the inside), he wasn't in a cave in this area. So Ryner continued forward along the stream, still looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Gail swooped overhead once again, Harper continuing to listen for any thoughts in the area.

[dreamsofahero]

Not in the current area, at least. Though as they went, the banks of the little ravine the stream followed continued to deepen, angling slowly but steadily more sharply toward the water. If the trend continued, it probably wouldn't be long until it would take a good deal of effort to scramble up or down the bank.

Dusk paused, looking down toward the water. She knew what Ryner had said earlier was reasonable, but she was still worried about missing something.

[tearsofademon]

He glanced at Dusk, put together what she was thinking, and inwardly sighed. He should have thought of bringing a fish, shouldn't he... Oh well, hindsight is clearer and all that.

"...If you feel like you've recovered enough," he finally decided, "then you and I can take down there. But don't push yourself too much."

Either way, he took off his shoes and socks. Just because he was prepared to get soaked at this point didn't mean he couldn't at least try to save something.

[dreamsofahero]

Dusk just nodded, and carefully made her way down the steep bank. The water here tended to run a bit deeper, as the stream was narrower, though the bed was uneven from protruding rocks and occasional pieces of large branches.

Still, though, there hadn't been any sign that Sion had left the stream, either. For that matter, he seemed to be keeping his thoughts to himself, if he was in range of Harper, at least.

[tearsofademon]

And this is why he'd asked for Jehra and Marian to head to the Pokemon Center. Sion don't drown yourself. :<

But Ryner made his way down the bank into the water as well, and proceeded to continue to wade his way along.

"Rose, Fio, you guys keep looking up there, okay?" It made sense to keep somebody up there just in case, anyway, and besides, Fio was weak to water, and Rose was small.

[dreamsofahero]

Fio had no argument with that, especially as he could still easily leap from one side of the bank to the other as needed. Dusk, for her part, was already trying to make her way upstream, glancing from side to side for any clue of her wayward partner.

[tearsofademon]

Ryner stayed a little behind Dusk as he waded up stream, partially because he didn't want to contaminate any evidence that Sion might have left behind - it would be bad to accidentally splash something crucial that he'd have no way of noticing - and partially because he wasn't sure Dusk was definitely recovered enough, and he wanted to be able to catch her if needed. He couldn't be sure if Sion's stubbornness had rubbed off on the Absol or if she'd been partnered with him partially because they were so alike in that way, but fact remained that that was a thing.

Besides, he'd still be able to see things she might not be able to, given his extra height, so it wasn't like he was useless if he hung back a few feet.

Sion was meticulous, yes, but claims that he was perfect were severely misinformed. There was no way he hadn't left little clues somewhere. The problem was finding them.

[dreamsofahero]

Sion wasn't perfect, no, and obviously after traveling so far even he undoubtedly must have started tiring, himself. Not that that would have deterred him in the least, of course.

Still, though, if Ryner was paying close enough attention, he might notice a thing or two. An overturned rock, some damp soil where water shouldn't normally be able to reach, that sort of thing. So he was on the right track, at least, even if there was no indication of Sion slowing down.

[tearsofademon]

Those little details didn't escape his notice, no. And the confirmation that they were still going in the right direction - that they hadn't missed something, probably anyway - was welcome.

Still, as he waded, he muttered to himself. "Stupid Sion... I swear, when I find that dumbass..."

Not that grumbling to the void was going to help much, but it made him feel slightly better.

[dreamsofahero]

It's probably a good thing Ryner noticed, considering that a little further up, while the banks are no less steep, the stream for a time had a smooth, sandy bottom. Easy walking, and even easier to hide tracks in.

Though for that matter, even a little beyond that patch, whatever signs there were before seem to no longer appear.

[tearsofademon]

He took another glance at the walls as he noticed the sand. Was there any chance that he might have climbed up them here? Probably not, but better to check.

[dreamsofahero]

If he did, there was no sign of it. Perhaps he stuck to the water after all?

[tearsofademon]

Probably...

Still, to be sure, he called up. "Hey Fio, anything up there around here?"

[dreamsofahero]

Fio paused a moment to trot back to the edge and shake his head. So far, not a trace on either side of the stream. Perhaps there would be something to find further upstream.

[tearsofademon]

"...All right, thanks. Let's keep going."

Continuing forward it was, then.

[dreamsofahero]

It wasn't long before the sandy bottom turned back to pebbles, though for the most part still lacking in the large rocks of other areas. The banks still loomed to each side, high enough now that the top edges were taller than Ryner would be able to reach when standing at the base. Much of said banks was rock, as well, the stream apparently running through a natural cleft between whatever stone lay under the layers of soil. At the same time, however, the woods pressed in closer, with trees whose branches and roots dangled over the ravine, shading it somewhat. Further ahead, the shade deepened, casting the stream into a state of permanent gloom.

[tearsofademon]

On the one hand, that was why Fio and Rose were still up on top.

On the other hand, if this would be a challenge for Ryner to climb, he surmised as he glanced over it, it was unlikely that Sion would have been able to.

...He'd probably gone further into the woods, it'd have lots of places to hide. Still, he took a minute to look to see if there was anything here that looked promising, while glancing at the Pokemon to see if they smelled anything.