[ video ]

[dejabrewed]

[ this time, sandalphon willingly activates the video features. he needs answers, and he needs them now.

it’s clear from the start of the video that aside from the new starly perched on his head and the new backdrop of cherrygrove, he was clearly very, very distraught. it honestly looked like he hadn’t slept for the night, with disheveled hair and slight bags under his eyes. aside from the fact that he’s never really seen an aurora borealis, the stars in the sky were bringing back really, really bad memories. he’s at least thankful that the little bird pokémon was on his head in the first place— his presence made it a lot more easier to articulate his emotions without screaming his lungs out.

yeah, he’s not taking the entire thing very well. ]

Can someone please explain the phenomena in the sky?! Those seekers only made me even more confused and I can’t wrap my head around anything they said, aside from their Lost Temple or whatever nonsense they were spouting...

[ the starly chirps a couple times on his head, as if to say calm down, it’s nothing too serious. sandalphon only gives him an annoyed look before continuing. ]

Regardless, anything would be greatly appreciated, thank you. [ and the feed cuts off there. ]

Comments

[fayblood]

Well, that just makes Shrike even more curious.

"How come?"

He usually avoids people, himself, after all, but from what he saw in Sandalphon's video post, there's nothing particularly strange about him.

[dejabrewed]

“Being behind a camera changes a lot of things.”

Just… not going to say it, huh, Sandy. Well then.

“Ah, that looks like a good spot to camp for the night. I’ll depart for now. Thank you for the conversation, at least.”

[fayblood]

Ordinarily, Shrike would probably just leave it at that. But that very last remark catches his attention to blurt out a response immediately.

"Oh! Um, you don't have to camp if you're in town, there's places you can stay."

He'd had a hard time understanding how readily available those things are, himself, so it's not unreasonable to assume someone else might similarly be unaware.

"Uh, unless you want to, I guess..."

[dejabrewed]

“And how much do people charge for a room in town…?”

He thinks of the rooms as an inn, so he fully expects to pay. But if it was cheap, then… a bed would definitely be better to sleep on than in a sleeping bag. He wasn’t used to sleeping often, but alas, the limitations of a human body.

[fayblood]

"The inn has rooms that aren't very expensive... Just a few hundred of the poké-dollars." A pause, then he thinks to add: "You can earn enough to stay from working for a few hours somewhere."

The currency here is definitely a little different from what he's used to, so he thinks it would be the same for others.

"Oh, and I think maybe you can stay at the Pokémon Center for free? But you have to share a room..."

[dejabrewed]

“I’ll take my chances with the Pokémon Center.”

Free sounded a lot better than spending money. Was it cheap of him? Absolutely. Was it worth it? Yes. But working this early, when he could battle people for money? That sounded like a nightmare.

“Thank you for the information again, Shrike. Definitely very useful.”

[fayblood]

Shrike himself is far too shy to be willing to share a room with others, so he prefers earning enough to pay for something himself. Even if it's small.

But more importantly, being thanked for his help and told it's useful really feels nice.

"Oh, um, good. I mean, it's good that it's useful."

It's a pity there's no chance of seeing his face right now, his voice alone probably conveys quite a bit at how thrilled he is to have helped.

[dejabrewed]

“A simple ‘you’re welcome’ works as well.”

Sandalphon certainly met a quirky type. At least it only reminded him of another angel he used to be friends with.

[fayblood]

There's a brief pause as Shrike considers that. He was never properly taught manners, but that does sound like something he's heard people say to each other.

"You're welcome?"

If that's what he's supposed to say, he can try to remember. Emphasis on the try.

[dejabrewed]

“There you are.”

Sandy adopts yet another kid, more at 11.

“‘Till next we speak.” And he cuts the feed there.