Gazing Into the Abyss [Open]

[Will Ryan]

A sense of foreboding lingered here, so strong it could be felt from far out of its boundaries. But there, whilst you were outside of reach, the feel was merely a deterrent and ultimately harmless. However, should you stray further into the depths, the moment you managed to cross that line the strange feeling seemed to gather and build constantly over your shoulders, growing heavier with every step. The darkness compounded on the feeling almost as if it was alive and watching you, especially at this time of night. Here, where angels feared to tread due to these blankets of light consuming masses, your hair would stand on end and things would fade in and out at the corner of your vision while your mind tried to rationalize that there was nothing to fear. Night congregated and fell upon the land in warning and only grew deeper and more void the closer to the lake where it became an oppressive coalescent gloom. All this combined to make even the surest of self feel unnerved.

Will knew this from a combination of rumors and his own personal experience from the last time he visited this area. In fact, that's why he'd come here previously. The rumors. It was said that you could see your true self when you gazed into the lake. Last time, he carved his way through Pokemon mercilessly and bared the full brunt of nearly crippling paranoia only to lose his nerve when he came to the edge of the lake. Not over the feelings this area inspired, but due to the fear of what he might see if he looked into those dark waters. Strangely he barely felt anything now. Just like last time he had decided to walk instead of defeating the purpose of the experience and merely flying over. Unlike last time, each step was the same as the last. There was no feeling of something lurking in the tall grass nearby. His heartbeat was steady, slow and controlled. This was so different than the last venture here. Almost the opposite. Not even one Pokemon had tried to attack him yet either. Perhaps they gave off a different feel. Were they that different now? It was almost as if the lake was welcoming them back home as demons instead of shunning them as people and Pokemon.

Which, when taken into thought, wasn't that far off. Wasn't the area just a place where some of the strongest Pokemon lingered? If that was true then Will and his Pokemon didn't have anything to really fear. More down to earth people said as much. The demons were people imagination taking hold of them, the lake's properties nothing but a thing to brag about, and the darkness just tricks played by the landscape. Not even the legendaries had proof to gathering here. After all, there were plenty of remote locations so why did this lake hold anything special. Still, Will often felt as if he was a bit more sensitive than normal people despite what science often stated would be mere imagination. He felt things that didn't make sense. The connection was uncommonly strong to his team nowadays...like Sati. He could swear they understood each other without words or growls. Something closer to instinct.

Sati blazed like a star a couple of steps behind him. Her fire was bright enough to burn away the darkness that would have consumed others easily. Will stopped and took a glance behind him, meeting the Typhlosion's gaze easily as she stopped as well. She was well trained and stayed with him from the moment his journey started. It was amazing what she could accomplish. If he listed them, others would probably be skeptical. She was the final project of years of dedication and hard work. A potential brought out by a combination of both parties, Pokemon and trainer. That blaze didn't just apply to the one on her back. It was there in her eyes too. She was alive where others had died in the beginning. She was strong, stronger than what her type and species should suggest. She blazed where other fire Pokemon sputtered. Will truly wondered if he was worthy of her sometimes. But he was distracting himself. They were close now and he was stalling.

He turned away idly noticing an Ursaring watching them curiously, raising her head when they stood there and then lowing it shortly after. Then he continued without a word. Sati followed without hesitation.Without words or growls...  They'd spent a long time together and it often showed. Other trainers even commented on it occasionally. The two of them even took on some of the others' traits after a while. Sati took on Will's ferocity, rage, and even his silence. She was raised in a lab after all, the cyndaquil that she once was didn't have such a bloodlust even in the wild. In response WIll found the control she held over her temper (and she had quite a nasty one, despite it being carefully hidden), determination, and strangely enough a sense of purpose. One of simply belonging even if there wasn't a set destination more of the time.

Will brooding came to an end as he finally came up to the lake stretching across the earth. Yet again, Will stopped. The man even hesitated. That fear of what he might see hadn't quite fled. It plagued him the entire way here. He had hoped that the feeling would have faded by the time he reached his destination. The lack of fights and absence of that damnable dark aura hadn't slowed him in the slightest though. There was nothing to distract him, only more to take into account. The way it always was. Constant questions and little answers. What if he didn't see anything but himself? Maybe he was placing too much stock on silly rumors. Still, he hesitated.

Without turning around, he asked Sati. "What do you think?" Sadly only a low growl answered him. She was as hesitant as he was. The pokemon unnerved by a reaction she rarely saw from him. Fear. She was unsure of just what answer would put him at ease despite spending so much time with him. Honestly, Will hadn't expected her to have an answer. Her response was a small comfort though. That is what really mattered in the end. Will didn't step forward though. He was thinking, hard and long. Should he just turn away? Again?

[nehachi doe]

The girl kept silent, only occasionally giggling when the silence around her became deafening. It almost felt like a strange pressure surrounded them here as they grew closer to the lake’s shore. Even Nehachi, oblivious as she was to her surroundings at times, could feel the strange sensation trying to force her to panic and back out. Not that that could ever happen. It would be ridiculous for a ghost gijinka who didn’t even have a beating heart to be afraid of the unknown. Her existence had been shoved so far out into the unknown she doubted anyone could really understand how she functioned. The teenager glanced at her partner to check if he had spotted anything she could have missed.

Alastor floated near her, quietly studying the few Pokémon that they passed as they wandered closer and closer to the lake. According to the wild rumors about this place the lake was very important for people. It could attract legendaries that supposedly took advantage of the looming haze to hide themselves. At least, that’s what she had heard. Nehachi didn’t really care one way or the other for legendaries. Old deities that had been alive for so long were probably too dangerous to mess with. Not to mention probably hard to startle. Whatever the case, there was no evidence that the old pokemon even convened in this location so she really didn’t have to worry about it. Despite her arguments, the Gengar was still adamant about keeping a watchful eye as they traveled further into what should have been forbidden territory. Being able to phase through solid objects, however, Nehachi found it hard to believe anything was off limits to her now.

It wasn’t long before the girl spotted a light cutting through the darkness in the distance. Immediately, the girl and her companion disappeared and snuck closers to the strangers. Upon closer inspection, the pair discovered a large Typhlosion standing next to a ginger. He seemed to be staring at the ground, just before the water’s edge. Nehachi watched for a moment, frowning as she realized he wouldn’t be moving anytime soon. /Too slow!/ she thought, closing in on the human. The girl lifted her foot and roughly shoved it towards Will’s back, laughing happily. “This one got really far, huh Al?” she stated become visible once more and setting foot on the ground. The Gengar followed suit, keeping an close eye on the young man’s partner.

[attr="class","sooc"]for @sairri

[attr="class","stag"]ooc or lyrics whatever

by SAIRRI of GS

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[Will Ryan]

Will berated himself silently as he reached for a cigarette to smoke. When Will was unable to stand his own cowardice any longer, he threw his travel pack to the side. Lighting the smoke and taking a long drag he moved to take a step forward, but stopped short. This time, it wasn't because of anything that might appear. Instead, the young man watched curiously as a plume of breath escaped his mouth. However, that wasn't smoke. No, it was more crystalline mist. The obvious sign of hot breath meeting frigid air. A handful of seconds previously the air had been comfortable, neither verging on hot nor cold. For the weather to drop in temperature so suddenly was strange and made him tense in caution. It wasn't natural and in the back of his head he felt as if the reason in and of itself was staring him in the face. Like he was missing something simple.

Finally, he sighed in annoyance and exasperation as the answer came to him. A gengar was trying to toy with him. Not even on a normal day would he have felt the urge to humor a ghost pokemon. Right now, he was incline to experiment on just how one went about killing a ghost. But before any action could be taken a sudden kick landed on the small of his back. Strangely enough, it felt surprisingly solid. Very solid. Solid enough for him to be sent tipping forward. The ground fell away from his feet and he could do nothing but take a deep breath as the waters came up to swallow him whole. With a splash, he went under the bluish liquid and sent out ripples dancing across the surface of the lake.

The breeder was wiry, but still dense so he ended up sinking a fair bit before he started to drift back up to the surface. Meanwhile, Sati was far from pleased at the sudden sneak attack on her trainer. Normally, the Typhlosion was a gentle creature, slow to anger, but when enraged Will doubted there was a difference between a Charizard or Gyarados in that fury. She reared up, towering over the sprite of a girl and her ghost pokemon as the fires on her back began to burn as bright as a miniature sun. A roar that could chill a man to the core escaped her mouth and the flames only intensified. Those fires didn't just stop around the collar of her neck. They drifted further down her back and arms in a testament to just how battle hardened and experienced the creature was.

And just when it seemed like she was about to attack. To erupt with fire so hot it could melt the bones from a dragon type, Will surfaced. "Sati," and with that simple word, the flames snuffed out and the volcano pokemon backed off as Will dragged himself back up. She stayed close though, eyeing the ghost type and the strange trainer with a look of pure ire. The anger was still there and just as intense, but cold instead of hot. The now waterlogged trainer took a moment to push his bangs from his emerald eyes. Distractedly, he too a pull from the damp cigarette still between his lips before he grimaced in realization. He moved to pull out another, only to find that his entire pack had not fared much better. His scowl deepened and he was about to give the trainer the dressing down of a life time before he took a moment to study her and the effects she had on the environment.

"Odd," he muttered drawing closer. She had kicked him into the water not just the pokemon, but he had felt that temperature difference and she had closed the distance so easily. People didn't just catch him by surprise so easily anymore. It happened sure, but he hadn't been that distracted had he? Curiosity getting the best of him, he walked up to her, noting her pinkish eyes, dark hair and slight frame. Then he walked around her to try and pick out anything out of the ordinary. Some kind of new tech perhaps? Maybe she was someone's dirty little secret and was just that good. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't some sort of super trainer. Will was still very much human. But nothing was revealed and he stopped in front of her once more. "How did you do that?" He asked simply, getting straight to the point.

[nehachi doe]

The teenager clapped excitedly, watching the older ginger topple into the dark waters he’d been so reluctant to look at. She let out a satisfied laughed happy she’d managed what she imagined was a really big surprise attack. She only stopped with her giggling noticing the furious fire type rear up. She could only grin nervously to her partner, who quickly stepped between her and the Typhlosion. Though she doubted Alastor knew anymore that could repel such a huge fighting machine. The best course of action would have probably been to high tail it out of there to keep the Gengar from getting hurt. Alastor cringed at the roar but nevertheless stood firmly between Sati and his partner. Nehachi’s ever present grin faltered for a moment in the face of such an angry Pokémon. She felt bad for Al who was even closer to the burning hot flames of the Typhlosion. She didn’t like the idea, but she was considering calling him back and high tailing to find some other trainer to bother.

Fortunately, Al came out unscathed. The gijinka turned to look at Will, snorting at his appearance. He looked like a drowned Meowth! She couldn’t help it! He wasn’t trying to light a cigarette after splashing into the lake. He seemed pretty slow on the uptake actually. She’d been hoping he would at least let out a scream while falling. It would have made it the surprise even better. He didn’t look like he would sick his starter on them yet, and so Nehachi allowed herself to relax a little. She put her hands in her coat pockets, eyeing the stranger as he circled her. It didn’t feel very hostile but it was still strange. This wasn’t the reaction she had been hoping for. She waited, feeling like the seconds were starting to stretch into hours. Nehachi perked up at the question eager to break the silence that had fallen over them before.

“How did I do that?” she echoed happily. Al let out something that resembled a soft chuckle at the response. She paused her expression going blank for a moment before smiling brightly at the taller man. “Maybe we can figure it out if we try it again?” she asked eagerly lifting up her foot as if to push him back into the dark depths of the lake. “It’s not really that complicated though.” Nehachi added setting her foot down. “By the way, what were you doing? Al and me waited for aaaaages but you wouldn’t move an inch!” the teenager asked dropping her head with a sigh.

[attr="class","sooc"]for @sairri

[attr="class","stag"]ooc or lyrics whatever

by SAIRRI of GS

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[Will Ryan]

There was a faint feeling that dealing with this girl might be more of a hassle than he'd hoped for. The thought was proven by the girl merely repeating his own question. Will gave a stray glance to the Gengar the girl was with when it chuckled at his master. Those weren't common pokemon to keep around, but it was the cause of the sudden temperature drop earlier. The question still remained just how the girl had gotten so close. Even if Will was distracted enough to not notice her, Sati hadn't been. Still, Sati had been so surprised by the sneak attack she'd almost burned them into nothing. It was possible for the gengar to get that close, but not the girl. Not without sight, sound, or smell. Something that revealed her presence. Yet she had gotten right behind him and acted before he or his pokemon could have done anything.

If she was an enemy, he could very well be dead right now. And that thought angered him more than being soaked to the bone at this very moment. Bothered him more than any cold that might have settled. So bothered, in fact, that when she offered to do whatever it is she had done he almost agreed. Another dip in the water would be well worth seeing whatever had occurred. However, she had admitted that it was her. The girl even went as far as to say that whatever she'd done wasn't complicated. Getting passed a sentry pokemon that lit up the area around it and had superior senses than humans as if it was child's play.  How she did it still remained a mystery and still ate away as his thoughts even though she tried to change the subject. It did make him wonder who long they'd been watching for a brief moment.

"I was thinking," he answered, turning around to walk back to his pack. Sati nuzzled against his side, checking to make sure he was alright, but he waved her off easily. The volcano pokemon still lingered a bit closer than normal, doing a good impression of his shadow and flaring up slightly to chase away some of the lingering chill. All the while she kept watching the mystery girl and her ghost pokemon. Needless to say, the Typhlosion was still very distrusting of them. Will took out a fresh pack of cigarettes and packed them idly, considering how much of his thoughts to share. Breaking the seal and getting a fresh smoke out he lit the end on Sati's small flame, which got him an annoyed glance, and brought it up for a drag.

"There are rumors about what you see in the waters." He continued. "I'm not sure if they're true, but have you ever wanted to see your true self?" Will hadn't seen anything in the waters though. Granted it was while he was taking a unplanned swim. So the rumor might very well be false. That or you had to look at the surface reflection.

[nehachi doe]

Al allowed himself to drift closer to his trainer, seeing as the ginger had a hold of his own pokemon. The pair of Gengar had no intention of fighting the pair. Alastor wasn’t even sure how long he’d last against his powerful looking opponent. No doubt the flames could become blinding if Sati were truly set on them. Judging by the obvious look of distrust, he could tell she wasn’t very fond of either him or Nehachi. The girl only reached out to pat Al trying to reassure him that nothing dangerous would be taking place tonight. She wasn’t really in a fighting mood anyway. For a moment she fingered the switchblade in her coat pocket, focusing on the chill of the metal before snapping her attention back to Will and Sati. She revealed her hands to avoid pulling the dumb thing out. The gijinka didn’t want to alarm the two. After all, she was off duty. There was no need to harm humans.

“Oh?” she asked, eyes widening in sudden curiosity. Nehachi chuckled at the stranger as the smell of tobacco began encircling the area. The teenager had never really understood the habit. It was common knowledge that people did it to distress or relax but the effects of a cigarette could eventually amount to death. People were afraid of death, as it were. Every time she remembered this she would always move on with her thoughts after uttering a simple, ‘people are strange’. It was ironic that she of all people could say that. Oh well. “Were you thinking about what you saw? From what we could tell you didn’t even catch a glance of it.” Nehachi responded, smirking a little bit at Will’s apprehension.

She had no reason to believe in such rumors. With no friends or family to call her own, what appearances did she have to keep up? Shrugging off the question she countered, “Why are you scared to see yourself in the abyss? Don’t you know what you already are?” Al nudged her quietly frowning at the remarks. If she wanted to keep the ginger and his Typhlosion around it would be best if she didn’t say rude things. What if they acted irrationally? They were in no position to defend from the full force of Sati and whatever other pokemon Will had stored on his person. The girl brushed him off thinking nothing of it. “Are you afraid that you know what you will see, and it isn’t the true self you were hoping for?” the gijinka asked offering a friendly grin. Would her cheeks ever tire?

[attr="class","sooc"]for @sairri

[attr="class","stag"]ooc aaaay

by SAIRRI of GS

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[Will Ryan]

Will let out a deep breath through his nose, sending out two streams of smoke from his nostrils. His emerald eyes still unhindered by his bangs, watched the pokemon drift closer to his trainer. Was that a hint of fear in its eyes? The breeder never went too in depth on ghost types. His knowledge went far enough to surpass the average trainer, but he lacked any experience raising them or trying to breed them. Technically, they could be bred. They existed in their own form of pseudo-life so they must reproduce in some way of form. For it to fear something meant they were not nearly as invincible as bias trainers made them out to be. This one must be more reliant on hit and run tactics then, perhaps assassination attacks. Trading blows with heavy hitters was most likely avoided as a strategy.

The pokemon often defined the trainer that kept it around. It spoke volumes for a small girl that could sneak around and get the drop on an unguarded trainer and semi-alert pokemon. Stealth seemed to be their strong point not upfront battle. He should take precautions for it. His paranoia was flaring in the back of his mind. However, everything pointed that he should be dead by now if that was true. They weren't toying with him or gloating, so that didn't explain why the first strike wasn't a kill move because they weren't stalling for time. The duo didn't even need to stall for time if they took him out in the beginning. No, paranoia needed to be outweighed with logic and logic said that she didn't want to kill him. Not yet at least.

His eyes wandered back to the girl, almost narrowing his eyes as her hands fled from her pockets. A defensive tick, most likely. Weapon? Probable. Danger? Minimal. Had to be close ranged as there was no visible bulge or distortion from her clothing. He kept his expression carefully bored. Not expressionless or cold because he didn't want to seem completely unyielding, just dangerous enough for her to take caution. He wanted to be bothered by her words. He wanted to find anger in that curious smirk she gave him, which looked similar to the one that graced the gengar, but he couldn't find it in himself to bring about the emotion.

It worried him that he couldn't harness the anger, such a familiar emotion to him. The lake had robbed him of the careful balance he'd come to find himself in. Will felt empty, void of anything besides base functions and the constant analytical properties his mind had taken on ever sense he was a child. "It's not that simple." He spoke up, running his hand through his hair once more. It was never that simple. Fear was a factor, but it wasn't solely that. It was more, some things that he had trouble expressing in words. He may as well try to describe the first time he saw a pokemon for all the complexity he felt. 

"I'd say it is less fear and more anxiety." The fear came from the fact that it could influence him into becoming something else. There was dread that fill him at the thought that just by looking, getting a mere glimpse of what he was may change him into something else. He wasn't happy with what he was. He wasn't even content with what he was, who he was. However, it was something that he was used to. He was someone with a sense of self that could function normally and continue to develop at a pace he could calculate. If it happened to quickly, he might lose the sense of self that was him without realizing it and he didn't find that a desirable outcome. "We are all a product of out experiences. Even if one were to look and fully expect what he or she saw, it would still change them. For better.or worse."

He shook his head and for the first time in a long time, expressed an unaltered emotion. A sad smile. "I'm not afraid of what I'll see. I'm afraid of what I might become after I see it." The image if strong enough to be able to interpret could theoretically, make a person understand it. If it did that a person could experience through the image things that might have been foreign for years. An emotion that they shunned, good things that they'd done sullied, or giving meaning to nothing like how they might have hurt people without doing anything. And then his expression went back to neutral. "There is always a balance," He paused to look down at his smoke. Idly flicking the ash from the tip before taking another drag. Then he looked up, eyes meeting hers with a searching intensity. Something burning beneath the emeralds in an attempt to understand. "What would you see? I'll share if you will."

[nehachi doe]

The guy sure knew how to take his sweet time. Nehachi would usually just blurt out the first few things that came to mind during a conversation. Will was all kinds of slow. Though she should have figured judging how he’d been waiting for something right at the water’s edge. She took a few steps forward, eyebrows furrowing together as she frowned. Had he zoned out on her? The girl waved a hand in front of the stranger’s face before putting it down as he answered. That was a relief.

Will's explanation for his worry went right over the poor girl’s head. She listened intently, tilting her head towards him trying to understand his reasons for hiding from himself, or what she suspected was probably just a dumb lake. She supposed the part about being a product of your experiences made some sense but being influenced by the thing that you could see on the lake? That sounded weird. She didn’t get that at all. It still sounded like he was afraid of nothing, but she bit back the words not wanting to insult his fears. People got really sensitive when you called them cowards to their face, after all. So instead, Nehachi nodded in pseudo understanding pretending to have processed everything correctly.

“What would I see…Al?” she asked glancing at her partner who bobbed up and down in place. The Gengar shrugged unwilling or unable to answer the question. “You’re no help.” The teenager muttered with slight annoyance. “Myself of course!” she continued confidently. “I’m the most honest person I know.” She added with a shrug, casually reaching down to her toes for a stretch. Her legs were getting tired and shifting her weight to a different leg wasn’t working. Any other person would have attempted training a weaker part of their body, especially if you were involved in an extremist terror group- but that required effort Nehachi wasn’t very willing to give. “Ok- Now you! Whoever you are!” the girl blurted out standing up straight again and looking at the ginger expectantly.

[attr="class","sooc"]for @sairri

[attr="class","stag"]ooc sorry sorry sorry its late ;u;

by SAIRRI of GS

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