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Mortimer Balman      The Gate that leads into Poqmori takes people to the vast, overgrown metropolis once known as Ginseng. Ages abandoned, the materials used to build it must have been sturdy indeed to have lasted so many thousands of years without maintenance. Mortimer will lead people through this place along with his colossal thunderwolf Ulbrecht and wartortle Reder safely; even though the place is rife with tribal peoples who stare at them from safe distances while clutching crude spears and axes, and wild pokemon that occasionally size them up for food before deciding against it and retreating. All manner of wild Pokemon can be seen- a Latias of impressive size swoops down only a couple dozen meters over their heads at one point, so fast that the wind behind it threatens to blow lighter weight things away.

     Down into the bowels of this ancient city, a massive subway network that traverses entire continents. Though there has not been power for a very long time, a single bullet train's engine has been delivered and set up on the remaining tracks. Through this will they reach Grouda.. A vast continent that is so overwhelmingly desertified that it seems unliveable. But there is life here too, most of it Fire, Rock, Ground, and Flying-types. Mortimer will explain they have come to the old capital of Fyre (fee-ray). The vistas are similar in terms of architectural design, but smaller- and with a /magnificent/ oceanside view. He will guide them through the decaying jungle of polymaterial buildings, until they arrive in a massive oasis that has sprung up around what looks like it used to be some sort of mosque or synagogue, struggling to keep the sands out.

     "Take a few moments to get your bearings and set up a place to rest- night will be upon us swiftly, and unless you're keen to do night fishing over by the shoreline or sight-seeing, we will want to catch a little rest before we dare the deep deserts."
Seifer Almasy      Seifer Almasy is Prepared For This Shit.

     On his back is a military-style heavy-ass backpack. Waterskeins hang off the sides. There's trail rations in pouches. There's /actual/ food and drink in the cooler he's got slung over one shoulder, which bumps against the rolled-up bedroll and the rolled-up tent on top of it. There's a *frying pan* hanging off the bedroll, a *wood-chopping axe*, an army knife. There's a couple fishing poles folded up, sticking out of the backpack. There's a compass jiggling against his belt. The only weapon he has is Hyperion, which is on his OTHER shoulder, resting against it lightly as they march, pretty much in his hand the entire day. True to the form of somebody who's been in a military profession, Seifer doesn't complain about the hike, the distance, or anything else. He's only sweating a little before they actually stop.

     Seifer has been quiet for most of it. He doesn't like Mort, as he made clear over the radio. Mort put himself in a position that immediately set Seifer at odds with him, and if not for Caster's mitigating influence - i.e., getting Mortimer to apologize - Seifer would probably be talking a lot more and they'd have made a lot less progress. So instead of hearing Seifer yell about shit for most of the journey he's been uncharacteristically quiet, which some people might take to mean he's being thoughtful or he's taking in the view, but which actually means that Seifer doesn't trust himself to say anything without starting a fight, which would upset Caster, which he really doesn't want to do.

     Seifer Almasy will do a lot of things for the sake of a pretty girl - even hold his fucking tongue.

     But the look on his face does say that he kind of wants to do some night fishing as he looks over thataway. And it's not like he hasn't been taking in the view and looking at the weird creatures (which, again, he's /pretty sure/ are just monsters, and he's wondering if they drop anything interesting, because he's killed a lot of giant bugs in his life), he's just, you know, that's not the actual reason he's being quiet.
Tamamo no Mae     The overgrown metropolis has a beauty all it's own... the towering buildings and the foliage around. "Rustic, a beauty all it's own." the Caster-class servant muses to herself, following behind the firebadger, the turtle and the huge wolf. "Such strange creatures, no offense I hope, that wander around here. Are these those 'Pokemon' you were talking about?" she has a smile upon her face, looking towards Seifer and his backpack of stuff. Well, she /did/ tell him to prepare.

    "I do appreciate you hosting us, Mortimer. Caster is very pleased with this." She ducks from the swooping Latias and her eyes go a bit wide, "That.. was close. THey're kind of wild." a pause, "I hope the ones we're going to see aren't too wild like that one." she gives a bit of a huff. Though once they're on the train and to Grouda, she looks forward to the desert sands and the specks of life around it. "Hmm. Perhaps some night fishing to obtain dinner to cook. I think my Knight has packed some cooking implements and fire starters so we can make do."

    She turns towards Seifer, resting a hand upon his shoulder. "Looks like he did." a grin, "Let's see if we can make shore first before continuing, ok?"
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer nods a bit as the skies start turning orange. In the distance there is a noise like a great horn being blown, but it is so far away that it probably doesn't concern them. "Good. Smart lad. There should be plenty of fishin' out there- do be careful though, some Pokemon can be.. Aggressive when caught on a line. Ulbrecht! Give them a lift down to the beach, I'll stay here to set up some tents and hammocks. Reder! You go with them to make sure they don't inadvertently pull up a Gyarados or a Wailord or some such." The wartortle nods and gives a mock salute, "<You got it, Sarge.>" It's odd but it can be understood like a person.

     The oversized wolf-beast looks at its master for a moment, then at Seifer and Tamamo. Sniffing at them a little.. Both of them are given friendly nosings from a snout that's bigger than themselves, and the beast lays down so they can climb up on its back. Reder is already on top of it, waving for them to get up there. "If you're lucky lad, you'll catch us a Seaking and we'll eat like royalty!"
Seifer Almasy      Caster puts a hand on his shoulder. Seifer actually speaks up when she touches him. "Yeah, I packed a full kit for overnight work. You said we might have to stay the night so I figured I'd just bring everything."

     "If you want dinner I brought some stuff," he says, holding up the cooler slightly, "There's some canned stuff in the backpack and there's meat and drinks in the cooler. Nothing alcoholic." He's a minor. "Not that I'll say no to fishing but we should set up camp before we do anything el-"

     A huge dog just kind of noses him.

     Seifer does not like dogs. Seifer is not a huge fan of dogs, whether they can talk or not. In fact Seifer Almasy is what you might call a cat person. He's fond of animals that think they're in charge, since he is of that kind as well, which might explain a lot about why he was willing to take Caster as a Servant to begin with.

     He is not fond of dogs because they remind him of somebody who just follows when he could be leading and doesn't speak up when he should be showing his stuff.

     But Seifer is able to admit that dogs are useful. Dogs have their uses. So when the dog noses him, Seifer just kind of gives it a long look. "We should probably set up camp before we go fishing," he repeats, "Cleaning and cooking anything's gonna take a lot of time even if we catch it in one hit, which ain't really likely and ain't the fun of fishing anyway."

     But he does climb on, because, it's, I mean, it's better than walking?
Tamamo no Mae     Caster visibly smiles bright at Seifer, "Good. I knew you would prepare for us." she gives a firm nod, a kiss on the cheek, then ... tilts her head at the huge Thunderwolf. Tamamo rubs the snout of the wolf gently, a smile upon her face, "Aww, who's a good wolf, huh?" and when it lays down "Awww, giving us a ride? Such a good wolf, huh? Mortimer has trained you nicely too. You treat him good, ok?" she nods, rubbing the snout once more before climbing on, sitting behind Seifer with her hands upon his waist.

    She turns to the Wartortle... "Did... it just talk?"
Seifer Almasy      "Honestly talking animals is the least weird shit I've seen since I got here," Seifer says over his shoulder as Tamamo sits down, "Remind me to tell you about the fucking blood chain monsters. There's a fuckton of 'em for some reason."
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer goes and busies himself with setting up a tent. Ulbrecht growfs cheerily when petted and wags his tail, which thumps loudly against the ground and causes it to shake a little, and starts off at a leisurely trot when his passengers are aboard. Reder for his part, "<Yes, 'it' just talked, I'm known for talking. At length. Even when told to shut up. I'm a 'he' by the way.>" A brief pause, "<Blood chain monsters? Whatever world you're from sounds like a fuckin' hoot.>"

     As fast as Ulbrecht can move, he'll cover the four or five kilometers needed to hit the beach quite quickly. They'll be there just at the cusp of dusk. Magikarp can be seen jumping around in the distance. Once in a while a Gorebyss jumps up and spears one through the side, or a Carvanha snaps one in half mid-jump. A Stunfisk can be seen flopping through the sand, being chased by hungry Spearows that are trying to peck at it unsuccessfully.
Seifer Almasy      Seifer doesn't bother correcting Reder, though he is getting awful sick of talking animals /already/. It's like he's being exposed to a whole menagerie of Gilgameshes. And he already has Gilgamesh talking to him non-fucking-stop.

     No, Caster, you're not a talking animal, you don't count.

     Seifer is also used to actual vehicles, not riding on things, so with Caster clinging to his waist *he* is grabbing onto the wolf for dear life. He won't *admit* it, and he won't *show* it, because looking cool to impress girls is kind of a Thing he does, but he's definitely Not Loving This, especially since *he* didn't have time to set up the other part of camp.

     By the time they hit the beach Seifer is just clearly ready to get off the damn thing. He swings off, offers Caster a hand down, and then deploys a fishing pole.

     "Alright," Seifer says, offering one to Caster. He does not offer one to Reder. Reder can catch his own damn fish. "So the basic trick here is the snap." His hand goes out, gently demonstrating how to cast a line properly, how to bait it, how to hook, how to actually give the fish a little slack so you don't just tear the line. Despite his general attitude, Seifer knows a *shitload* about fishing, evidently, much like he knows a shitload about survival gear. He walks Caster through the full nine yards before he sits down, casts his line, and prepares to, at least, unwind for a little bit under the dusk.

     If Reder doesn't shut up and let him enjoy the peace he might punch the little bastard, but hey. That's *like* unwinding.
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo blinks.. "W... well, umm." Tamamo's actually a bit speechless at Reder's comment... a bit. "Pardon my offense then." she replies, unsure if she should pat the Wartortle or not.

    She decides not to...

    Holding onto Seifer as he's holding onto Ulbrecht, her tails flare out as the wind causes the fur and her hair to fan out behind her. "This is fine, this is fun!" she grins, "Who knew riding this would be fun! Who's a good boy..." she removes a hand from Seifer's side, patting the wolf gently before clutching onto Seifer again. At least, until they get to the beach.

    Taking the hand down, like a good Queen, she takes the pole in hand, and tilts her head, "I... I see, okay. It shouldn't be /too/ hard, right?" she watches Seifer for a few before stepping up and taking her turn, launching the line out...

    "This... should be relaxing."
Seifer Almasy      "Yeah. It's nicer when you're out on a lake or the ocean or a river in a boat, or on the end of a dock or something," Seifer says after a minute, reeling in and then re-casting, "It's quiet. It's private. The sun gets low and the water's on fire and you're all alone with nothing but yourself and the world and your thoughts."

     Seifer reels again and casts a third time. He seems satisfied with this one, leaning back a bit and watching it. "You just let the world pass you by. It's calming."
Mortimer Balman      Reder grins a toothy, predatory grin, "<It's cool.>" Ulbrecht carefully lets everyone down. And fortunately for both Reder and Seifer, Reder dives into the water without much need to be told to get lost. He's a big honkin' sea turtle, he can indeed probably catch his own meal. Ulbrecht, once he sees the fishing line, begins making the full connection to what Seifer is doing. This causes the monstrous creature to do a happy dance, hopping from forepaw to forepaw, because fishing lines means food! And food is delicious! But he only does this briefly, understanding that too much excitement will scare away the fish, and immediately lays down next to the Caster and her Knight and swishes his tail across the sands behind them. It will create a very lovely divot later. It does not hit Seifer or Tamamo when kicked up.

     A particularly small Krabby- barely five inches tall- scuttles along the beach, bumping into Seifer's foot. It snaps its claws menacingly at the perceived threat of his boots.. Until it cranes its eyes upward, sees how big he is, and scuttles rapidly into the water.

     Fish can be seen swimming near Seifer's third casting spot, curiously poking at his line..
Mortimer Balman      And then, suddenly, there's a tug on the line! Which.. Goes slack, shortly after a few very strong tugs. It's going slack, because the line is coming back toward Seifer. With terrifying speed, even.
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo's line doesn't get anything so far... but once she sees that Krabby poking at Seifer's shoe... she chuckles. "You got company." a pause, "And that line, I think you got something!" she digs the pole into the ground, focusing her attentions on Seifer, "Come on, pull it in... or ... let it come to you, that line is very slack!"
Seifer Almasy      The Krabby receives exactly the amount of attention you would expect from Seifer: fuckall none, it didn't actually do anything and it bailed. Seifer doesn't spend time on nobodies. Seifer respects strength and courage. He has a Rival Heart. This Krabby has neither.

     Seifer's third cast is, indeed, satisfying. He honestly couldn't care less if he caught something. He almost doesn't care about the huge fucking dog behind him. Right now, this as close to quiet as the whirlwind of thoughts in his head ever gets, as close to peaceful as the exciting life he dreamed for himself and pursues with every waking breath can reach.

     Fuck it. Seifer could spend the whole night here. His head even drifts towards Caster's.

     And then the line goes slack and starts coming back. Seifer's...Caster has /never/ seen him this patient. The guy who was like three days ago yelling at the moon for fucking with him has a look of absolute concentration in his eye. He's waiting for exactly the right second, exactly the moment the line gets close enough, and then-

     Wheel.

     Superhuman strength and a fishing rod to match come together. Seifer jerks the rod backwards, reeling like crazy. When Caster starts yelling, Seifer holds out the rod.

     "You wanna help?" He asks. He's got it mostly under control, but it's a Knight thing.
Mortimer Balman      The wolf, however, starts growling as Seifer's line gets closer, barring a set of massive teeth and standing up, with hackles raised. The line is getting closer MUCH faster than he can possibly reel it in.

     And it's picking up speed.
Tamamo no Mae     Talk about an adventure already, and she hasn't even seen the Vulpix or Ninetails yet! The patience shown by Seifer is... strange... he's never shown this before.... but when the question is asked, she gives a nod, and ... poorly attempts to help... she's a Caster, she's not that strong.

    She holds onto Seifer's hands to help brace, "Seifer... get ready to pull out Hyperion." she commands, "It's... huge." she lets go of his hands, and backs up slightly, her mirror appears into her hand and starts floating...

    "God who resides in Izumo. Aesthetically certain, Breath of the soul. Residing in the mountains and watery heavens, Amaterasu. Let this freely become the proof of purification. Thy name is Weighted Stone of Tamamo. Become the Sacred Treasure, Mirror of Uka! Just kidding~" a boundary encompassing a couple of blocks appears, the water intact... and everyone inside could feel a surge of energy, their stamina and 'magic' capabilities becoming non-worrysome...

    Tamamo's Noble Phantasm: Eightfold Blessings of Amaterasu!
Seifer Almasy      Seifer *always* has Hyperion ready.

     He knows it's something big, and probably with teeth. He could tell when it kept coming and the line decided to keep going. But this fishing pole's expensive, dammit. This fishing pole cost him hard-earned money. He *bought* this, and not with Caster's money, with his own. He *worked* for this fishing pole. This fishing pole is one of the first things Seifer Almasy ever bought for himself.

     So fuck that fish he's not gonna let it take his fishing pole.

     Fishing line still in his right hand, Seifer spins Hyperion up from the sand in a single motion. It's like watching somebody dual-wield - the gunblade is held ahead of him like a fencing rapier, the fishing rod above his head like a broadsword.

     Caster triggers her Noble Phantasm. Seifer feels it pull on his energy. Caster can even hear, for a brief instant, Gilgamesh's yellow and purple polka-dot voice yammering at Seifer some story about this time Gilgamesh was on a boat and this other guy was there, which is probably contributing to the look on Seifer's face.

     It's a kind of annoyed look.

     Caster offers him power, and he takes it gladly. And he's waiting until the last possible moment, until it shows itself, until it's *right there* on the beach.

     And then Seifer Almasy is just going to flip on top of whatever it is and ride the thing like a fucking lunatic, steer its dangerous bits away from Caster, and see how long it takes them to murder the damn thing.
Mortimer Balman      A large but oddly /short/ shark-looking monstrosity leaps over the blocks, out of the water, flying at the two of them as fast as a car going down the highway. Of course, it's not anticipating its prey being ready for it, so when it flies out it flies straight at the Caster and Knight.. And then finds the Knight standing on top of it, causing it to thrash angrily even as it hits the sand and starts skidding across it violently.

     The creature starts making *ANGRY SHARK NOISES* that almost sound like it's saying the word 'SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAARP'
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo /hears/ this third voice... and she scowls. "Shut up, Gilgamesh!" she shouts, grumbling, "Give him /some/ peace." she sighs, keeping her Noble Phantasm going so Seifer can chop up to his hearts content. "Jeeze, I know what you go through now, he's annoying." she mutters, going back to concentrating on her Noble Phantasm here.

    The drain on Seifer's own reserves is nominal, but it shouldn't be /too much/ to bear, "Wonder if it's good food...?" she mutters, "I'll get the fire ready after this..."
Seifer Almasy      So that's.

     A thing.

     Seifer finds himself surfing a shark. Caster yelling at Gilgamesh gets a huge grin out of Seifer, though, and he shouts, "CALL HIM GREG." He's riding the thing with the fishing line still in its mouth, which is probably kind of impressive if it wasn't also weirdly stubby and strangely strong.

     Seifer leverages superhuman strength against the fish, steering it further onto shore like he's got a bridle. It's a reasonable assumption - this fish is a fish. Fish are bad on land. Land is good for gutting fish on.

     Once he's got it a little ways away from the water, he puts that into practice, his gunblade flashing outwards rapidly into the top of the thing. He's being careful not to cut anything that looks like it might possibly be choice meat. Not that he'd /know/, but, you know, he's just got an eye for tender meat and good places to cut things. Something about being a surpassingly excellent swordsman tends to do that.
Mortimer Balman      The giant wolf barks angrily at the shark but it doesn't move to attack with Seifer standing on top of it. The 'shark' does in fact, begin righting itself and moving like it's going to start doing something on land.. But Seifer and his gunblade are far more dangerous to it, once it's out of the water. It will go into shock and bleed out well before it can actually fight back after its failed attempt. The scent of blood draws Wingulls which can be heard making very seagull-like sounds, though instead of 'MINE' they're making a squawking cacaphony that sounds a bit like 'GULLLL'. Several Spearows are also present- at least until Ulbrecht snaps one up and devours it whole, causing most of the birds to fly away.

     Not long after this, Reder beaches himself carrying a large Relicanth in his teeth. And then in his claws. "<Oh hey, you caught a /sharpedo/! She's a big'un, too! Pretty sweet! ...Weird to see one this close to shore in summer, though. Still, good eatin'!>"

     And there will be too, once they've got it back to camp. The 'Sharpedo' is /lots/ of prime muscle meat and sinew, and no real bones to speak of.
Seifer Almasy      Seifer also fires his gunblade into the air - there's no bullets, but it's a loud sound, and it'll probably scare birds. He doesn't need to be asked - he just hoists the dead thing over his shoulder once he extricates the fishing rod and puts it away. The brief moment of calm is over, it's time to get back to work. Once it's done he's a bundle of energy, shouldering the heavy thing. He's a little bit annoyed- it's gonna be REAL late before he can get the tent pitched and the bedroll rolled out - but not annoyed enough that it's gonna be a problem.

     He hoists the shark-thing onto the huge-ass dog and ties it down with a bit of rope. He's practiced at this. He knows how to secure things to the outside of moving objects.

     He's /definitely/ a soldier.

     Again he offers Caster a leg up, and then climbs up himself, sitting down in front of her. "OK. Well. I'll have to rush to set up the damn tent but all told I guess it was probably worth the sidequest."
Mortimer Balman      The trip back to the campsite will be uneventful. The noise made by the gunblade will ensure that the majority of creatures are leaving WELL the hell away from Seifer and company. Because holy shit that's a new noise around here.

     Fortunately for Seifer, he will hopefully be pleasantly surprised to find that the camp site has been set up entirely during their absence. Tents for himself and Caster, a pair of hammocks for Mortimer and for Reder, bedrolls set out, and a fire is roaring not too far from their watering hole.

     Mortimer waves as they return. "Heyyy, that's a pretty good-sized Sharpedo! Nice catch. I figured you'd only get some Magikarps or maybe a Goldeen at most, but this'll make some damn good filets and stew! Bring it on over, let's get to cookin'!" He's sipping at a bottle of what smells like hard cider.
Tamamo no Mae     And uneventful is nice, but Caster /still/ hasn't found what she was looking for, except a way to fill an empty stomach. She blinks a bit as the campsite is setup... and she grins, "Well, we definitely appreciate you setting up camp for us, as such, we've got dinner. I had... to use my Noble Phantasm but it's okay, no one but this fish got... 'Sharpedo', got hurt."

    She grins slightly as she hops off the wolf, "You have a good creature here, this wolf. Well trained. As for your talking turtle, he's a good hunter himself. A good team you have here."
Seifer Almasy      Seifer's really not happy about this, because he brought a tent, and a bedroll, and he lugged the damn thing all the way here, and it's pretty much just dead weight. He's actually kind of irritated by that, because if he'd known /that/, he wouldn't've had to carry the stupid thing. With a flick of Hyperion, Seifer cuts the sharpedo down and lugs it over to the fire, and another flick of Hyperion sees it carved up like a professional chef. Seifer is not a professional chef, but, again, his gunblade skill is *surpassing* excellence, straight into the territory of the divine, and something like "cutting up a fish" is no problem.

     "Fine. Get cooking."

     Seifer lays down in the grass, hands under his head, staring up at the sky.
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer laughs at Tamamo, "Aye, Ulbrecht's a good lad. Reder's been my constant companion fer a few ages now. When our trip's over, I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew! Well, you can meet one of them right now- come out and say hello, Nettle."

     A sock puppet-like emanation phases out of Mortimer's head, grinning an unnaturally wide, mischievous grin, with two huge glowing blue eyes. Her voice is a sing-song lullaby. "<Greetings, little Living--oh.. You're something different, aren't you? Not like me, but not like him~>" It floats around Tamamo and studies her, giggling a somewhat sinister grin. "<You always find the most interesting people, Master~ I wonder if she dreams?~>" And then she looks down toward Seifer. "<Ooh, aren't you the handsome one!~ Full of vim and vigor and vinegar~>" The wraithly thing laughs and settles upon Mortimer's head, apparently unphased by the flames. "<Is he the Knight, Master?>" "Aye, seems that way so far." "<What a delightful trip this will be~>"
Seifer Almasy      Seifer's gunblade spins out from under his back and levels it at the ghost. "You stay out of her head or I'll kill you." There's no hesitation, no braggadacio, just a straight-up statement of fact. A moment later, he slings the gunblade back under his shoulder.

     He looks up at something above him and rolls his eyes. "You shut the fuck up," he says to thin air, which Caster can probably now tell is assuredly Gilgamesh, "I don't need to hear that shit from you, you jolly grey jerkoff. -no, if that thing gets in *my* head, *you're* gonna kill it. Ain't that right?"

     Seifer nods. "Good. That's what I fuckin' well thought."

     His hand goes back under his head.
Tamamo no Mae     "Fair enough, then I'll introduce you to my Capital, I'm sure you'll find the extravagance to your liking." comes Caster's response, but when Nettle comes out, she looks curiously at her. She grins slightly, "You must be one of those 'Ghosts' correct?" the question about dreaming catches her attention, she opens her mouth, but Seifer's response causes a bit of concern, "I do not think threats of murder to our allies are appropriate here... but feel free to beat up Greg. He's annoying."

    Tamamo pauses... "Very annoying..."

    She gives a sigh, "Nettle, right? I may ask that you refrain from seeing if either of us dream, ok?" there's a bit of a smile, then she looks to the two tents, "One for Seifer and I, one for you, correct?"
Mortimer Balman      Nettle merely laughs at Seifer's threat. "<That would be an interesting battle, handsome boy!~ Perhaps someday we'll have it, morsels such as you are most pleasant.. And yes, I am long dead, dear princess~ many ages now, and more before my Master's birth~>" Mortimer 'hems very sternly, and Nettle vanishes back into the badger's head. "She won't be entering your dreams without my express permission.. Unless something happens that forces her to for your own safety. That said.. Let your Knight be angry or fearful or whatever he's feeling- negative emotions feed her kind, quite literally." He smiles brightly, and pulls out a pipe to light up and smoke, lighting it with his breath.

     "Eh? That would be /horribly/ improper, unless there's a relationship 'tween you and him I wasn't aware of. No, I set up one for each of you, my crew and I will sleep under the stars. The weather here is extremely comfortable, and I intend to enjoy it while I can. Come the morning, we will go and search for a Vulpix, and we will see how skilled you two are with handling animals. So make sure you're well rested."
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo chuckles, "I'm pretty sure we'll both have some stories to tell then, huh?" she gives a bit of a nod before Nettle vanishes, "As for the tents, we have a relationship, he's also my Master, as in a Servant's Master in the grail wars that you've been hearing about. And only until recently, we did sleep separately... at least, until i started waiting until he fell asleep then I just crawl into his bed anyways." she smirks. There's a knowing look towards Seifer.

    "Feel free to use the other tent, Mortimer. This 'princess' demands comfort for everyone."
Seifer Almasy      Seifer's face goes bright red at Caster's statement. He's still staring up at the ceiling of countless stars, though now he's actively looking away from Caster. He's embarassed by this kind of thing. "She's my wife."

     "So don't fuckin' go peeking around in her head, or mine."

     Seifer sits up, throwing an arm across his knee and giving Mortimer the look of That Guy At The Bar Who Is Pretty Fucking Tough And Feels Like He Just Caught You Hitting On His Girlfriend. Hyperion dangles over his knee as he watches Mortimer for a long moment. Eventually, the tension disperses.

     "So what's this shark thing taste like?" He says finally as he lays back down, both his blush and his irritated look dismissed.
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer gives a thumbs up to Tamamo. "Cool. In that case, I'll move my hammock a bit farther away so's you two can have privacy." And then he looks at Seifer. "Y'know.. A man once tried to coerce my eldest brother's wife away from him, to marry a proper officer of high standing. Y'know what happened to him? He got his ass beat. His own siblings, his friends, and his father came and beat the shit out of him. My brother never even laid a hand on him for it, though each of his siblings were allowed to punch him dead in the face once, as a matter of defending our sister-in-law's honor. That was the biggest insult of all, that Alphonse *didn't* beat his ass." There's a lesson there somewhere, if Seifer thinks about it.

     Another puff of smoke. "Here, have a whiff. Notice that pungent smell? You gotta cook it just right or you lose that, and you lose the strong flavor too. There's /just/ a hint of sweetness to it, and if we add a little salt.. We really draw that out a bit and enhance the whole meat." Bowls are produced, and a meaty stew is served.
Mortimer Balman      The sun rises red. Blood has been spilled this night.

     Well into the second day, there has been.. Zero progress, in finding a Vulpix, unfortunately. The heat is difficult to bear at this point in the day- it's well over 100 degrees F, and it's only getting hotter. Past a certain point Mortimer will force both Seifer and Tamamo from the deep sands and back to their camp in Fyre, until they cool off enough that *he* will be satisfied that they don't have heat stroke. And only once he's satisfied, damned if he's going to let tourists die on HIS watch. While this day's efforts have been a bust, they at least got to see many new Pokemon of all shapes and sizes! Sandslash and Sandshrew, Charizards hunting after Camerupt herds, Pidgeots in a mid-air duel with a whole murder of Murkrows and their Honchkrow leader, a human hunter from some local tribe and his loyal Arbok hunting through the sands with a crude spear for fresh meat. Many spectacles indeed!

     But no Vulpix, nor Ninetales. To this end, Mortimer will suggest they search for some Ice Stones, since the train is available to them- with an Ice Stone from the Kingsiron Mountains, an Eevee will evolve into a Glaceon. Tamamo would surely like that, Eevees are much easier to find, and frequently easy to tame as well. And a challenge specifically for Seifer, given his Knightly aspirations. The train ride to Terne is as uneventful as the last trip.

     But Terne is just as harsh a land as Grouda, albeit for different reasons. It is dark as night here, everpresent and eternal stormclouds circling overhead. It is cold here, cold as a Russian winter, and Mort will make sure his guests have some additional clothing to keep them safe. They arrive in what Mortimer explains is the old capital of the former Sovereign People's Socialist Republic of Terne. It has a very distinctive Russo-Slavic design compared to Fyre and Ginseng, and it is in much better condition than its sister cities.

     In the distance, they can see a great mountain with a massive crater in the side. At the top of this mountain, there will be Ice Stones, and Seifer's challenge. During the course of this expedition, Mortimer will ask for the Caster and Knight to keep their eyes out for a bush that looks bright green even when frozen, and to pluck a single golden flower from it when they do..
Seifer Almasy      Seifer bundles up, he guesses.

     He guesses because it's under passive protest. He's got a Thing, he's got a Look, and bundling up makes him feel that his Look is less prevalent and that he is much less cool, which is genuinely a concern in front of Caster. He's got a scarf, he's got a bunch of extra layers on, his coat's actually serving as a coat instead of a fashion accessory...it's like he doesn't even know where he is anymore. Like, what is this? What is this? People have to put on clothes like this to get around in other worlds? Shit, this is a hassle and a half. A halfssle. This is a halfssle.

     On the other hand, climbing is really not hard. Seifer's a really good climber. He's good enough that he can pause every so often to offer Tamamo a hand up like a proper Knight, and he climbs very much like anyone with a ton of military experience might. Where he can afford to be fast, he's very fast. Where he can't, he takes his time. Where he can slip past with handholds and tricks, he does so.

     When they get to a ledge where Seifer can pause, he rolls over to catch his breath. This /seeing his breath/ thing is kinda new on him, too. It's kinda neat to just watch.

     "Okay," he says, "Caster,"

     "Can you,"

     "I dunno,"

     "Magic at it,"

     "And find,"

     "Where it is,"

     "So this,"

     "gets shorter? 'cause,"

     "It's cold,"

     "As /hell/,"

     "up here."
Tamamo no Mae     Caster, however, is used to wearing less or more revealing clothes, plus her tail is nice as an insulator for heat. Soft, fluffy and warm, it sways temptingly behind her as they reach Terne. She does, however, take the additional clothing, as a sign of respect to her host for the time being, covering up her most important parts.

    /Everything./

    The mountain presents a unique little challenge for the fox... she could just 'Extella Maneuver' up it, but seeing Seifer offer his hand to help her up, she grins. Accepting the hand, she lets Seifer lead and she'll follow, not expending much effort if she can help it, might as well use the Knight for being a Knight, right?

    Her ears twitch a bit as she looks around for that ever-green bush. The ledge is found and she looks down at her panting knight.

    Visually shivering, she moves to tug Seifer over to her warm tail, "Cuddle this, it'll warm you right up. As for finding it..." she hmms, "I'm divine, but I don't have divination, we'll just have to do it the old fashion way." There's a small smile, "I'm cold too... and I don't have any Mystic Codes to wear to alleviate it. Mortimer's outfits help a fair bit though."
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer is wearing the same as he was coming in- pants, boots, and not much else. But he's on fire, so he's probably fine. Reder does not seem to like the cold anymore than Seifer does, the irritable wartortle is buried in the giant Ulbrecht's fur and occasionally grousing.

     "Here, one more ledge up, the cold will be less of a bother." Mortimer holds his hands down from a higher spot, down to Seifer and Tamamo. Ulbrecht simply leaps up past, having absurd strength to do that kinda thing. Once the two tourists are up over the new ledge, the wind dies down.. Substantially. They're at the lip of the crater, now, that Mort pointed out from afar. He points up further along the massive curve. "There are stairs there, Seifer. You can walk up them yourself, or you can get a lift from Ulbrecht to make it a shorter jaunt. There is a trial there, for people like you." He pulls a red sash from his pocket. It's old, and tattered, and has the barely legible name 'Watanabe' written upon it. "Bring back one of these, and those of this world with enough memory will know its meaning will recognize you as a fully fledged Knight."

     He'd turn his head toward Tamamo, "Princess, please continue to look for that bush? I will be praying over there-" He points toward the epicenter of the crater, "And once I have finished, we will join Seifer and pick up some Stones."
Seifer Almasy      Seifer takes Caster's tail willingly. It's fluffy and warm and body heat and fur, all the things that make 'a frigid mountain' a lot less awful. He snuggles into her as they walk, making himself comfortable as they go, still holding Hyperion in a gloved hand.

     "It's warm," Seifer admits of both the tail and the outfits. He takes as long as he's got to make himself so as well, up close to her. It's...uncomfortable. Seifer's uncomfortable with this level of intimacy. Hell, allowing Tamamo to sleep /next/ to him was such a huge step forward for him it's kind of remarkable. Being close to people, being near people, being...this way, it's not something Seifer really...gets. Not something the young Knight understands. It's not something he's altogether ready for.

     Then Mortimer starts talking about knight's trials and the world acknowledging him as a knight and all that shit.

     Part of him wants to say what he's thinking. The rest of him says, "I'm not OK leaving Caster alone with you."

     "I don't like you. I don't trust you. But moreover, I'm not leavin' my sorceress in the middle of a hostile somewhere." Seifer slings the gunblade from over his shoulder as he unravels himself from his fox's tail. "I don't have any desire to jump through hoops for you or your world."

     "But."

     "I bet this fox thing or this crystal or whatever it is Caster wants is gonna be at the top of this damn thing, so if I'm gonna make Caster happy I have to do it anyway. I care a lot more about makin' Caster happy than I do bein' annoyed at you."

     "Caster," he says seriously, looking her in the eyes, "If you need /anything/, you call me right away. I don't give a shit about failin' some kinda trial if you're in trouble. Don't you dare hesitate an' don't you dare get proud, 'cause if you get hurt, I'm gonna get mad, an' then I'm gonna kill that guy."

     And then he turns and heads for the crater.
Tamamo no Mae     "Ara ara~..." Caster mutters contently, giving a smile to her knight. "Of course it's warm, it's fuzzy and soft and fluffy. It's my secret Noble Phantasm." she says this in a very joking way. She smiles and pats Seifer on the head like a good boy, and lets him detatch from the fluff.

    She gives a small nod towards Mortimer, "Of course." she gives a bright smile and starts to head off, at least until Seifer speaks. She listens intently, an ear swiveling towards him before she turns around.

    "Of course, my Knight. I may be one of the 'weaker' Servant classes, but I can still hold my own if I have to. If I need you, I won't hesitate to call you, I know you'll come." she smiles, nodding some at the last bits of what he says. She gives him a small peck on the cheek, "Go forth and make me proud, Seifer. I'll be fine on my own."

    With this, she heads off in the other direction, time to look for that flower!
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer watches as Seifer leaves, blinking a few times. "..." Reder looks up at Mortimer from the ground, while Ulbrecht trails after Tamamo. Only once Seifer is gone do either of them speak, "<..Uhm, Sarge, he /does/ realize he's not like.. /Actually/ obligated to do this, right?>" "Boy's about as sharp as a pound of wet liver. No matter. Let's see if he's worthy of that lofty title.. Come, Reder. Let us pray.." "<Sure.>"

     The path up the mountain is simple. The stairs are comfortably wide and long, not too deep or too shallow. It's a long but easy climb, all things considered. And when Seifer reaches the summit.. He will find himself above the clouds, standing in bright sunshine. Did they truly scale to such heights so fast, or is there some sort of hidden magic at work here? The clouds roil angrily below him, offering no answer save the fury of everlasting Winter and Night. A grand cathedral, old beyond reckoning, stands against the winds and sunlight. (https://tinyurl.com/ycaaps4z) the front doors are open and inviting, almost welcoming aside from the fact that it's kinda creepily dead silent save for the wind. It's still cold up here, though not nearly as bitterly as before. He could afford to take off the winter gear if he so chose, without losing too much comfort.
Seifer Almasy      Seifer gives Tamamo a last lingering look before he's out of sight. He's worried about her. Of course he's worried about her. He's her Knight, he's her husband, and he's made her a promise important enough to want to carve himself into the Holy Grail for it. He may be bad at intimacy, he may be bad at affection, he may be awkward, but...he takes this shit *seriously*. Seifer doesn't do anything without putting his whole heart in it, and that includes marriage, and fighting, and being a knight, and being angry. He wears his heart on his sleeve, though not as much as others have. He's never let his heart endanger other people, and he's never put himself in danger because of his heart, never bitten off more than he can chew. Loud and earnest makes people think you're stupid.

     And that's not a bad thing.

     Now that he's alone, now that Caster's not here, now that he's got nobody to impress and nothing to do but excel, it's like an entirely different side of Seifer comes to the fore. The temple is regarded with tactical eyes. The magical place gets a thorough, soldierly scan as he swings the blade left and right out of habit, testing the air in front of him. He's not removing the coat - it would add time to what he needed to do, getting it on and off, which would keep him away from Caster, which would put her in danger for longer. Unacceptable.

     Seifer enters. He swings his gunblade left and right in front of him again as he passes through the doors - this time, it's a wide, sweeping, lazy arc, one that looks harmless because of Seifer's raw skill. The blade cuts through the air - and, if anybody or anything's waiting for him in ambush, them, as soon as they step out of hiding.

     Darkness doesn't bother Seifer in the slightest. As long as he has Hyperion he can see flawlessly. And a man who was raised as a soldier, as a killer, as a professional killer, doesn't worry about things like 'creepy'.
Tamamo no Mae     Meanwhile, Tamamo moves to ruffle Ulbrecht's fur. "Such a good, loyal wolf. You treat Mortimer very well, don't you?" she gives a smile towards the Thunderwolf as she trails along. "Such a good boy. Just like Seifer." she gives a slight sigh, "Poor thing, so unworked like a block of granite. At least he knows what he wants to be, and I'll let him get there." she chuckles, tails twitching behind her as she looks up to the wolf, "He's energetic and protective, I'll give him that."

    She takes a look down at the Regalia then around the area, pondering, looking. Golden flower on top of never frozen greenery... oddly specific but hey, if that's what Mort wants as payment for this expedition, then she'll comply. "It's nice over here, isn't it, Ulbrecht? Maybe I should make it snow for a bit at the Capital, I'm pretty sure he'll like it... or at least not complain as much, you know."
Mortimer Balman      SEIFERSCENE:

     Seifer is greeted by a visage of frozen beauty. A woman, tall and willowy in stature. She wears what looks like a helmet, from under which long hair as blue as ice flows in the wind. A simple white kimono drapes over her form not too loose or too tightly. Her skin is pale- no, on closer inspection it's a faint shade of blue-violet. Like all of her flesh is frostbitten. Her eyes are as cold as the snows down below, like a pair of glaciers staring into him. "Welcome, aspirant.." Her voice is hollow- like that ghost that Mortimer keeps in his head, but this woman's voice is gentle and soft, without a hint of sinister intent.

     She bows to him, and lifts an arm, gesturing down a corridor that looks endless. "Hast thou come seeking audience with my Lord? If so, I shalt lead thee to him. If not.. Then I ask thee leave, lest thou linger till nightfall and risk thy life without need.." Seifer should quickly notice, this woman is the /source/ of the cold inside this place, like some sort of living(?) freezer.
Mortimer Balman      TAMAMOSCENE:

     Ulbrecht wags his tail happily at the affection. He is essentially an oversized puppy, really. Even as montrous and strong. But unlike Reder, he cannot talk in a way that people can comprehend- but he's listening to her every word.. As though he understands what she's saying. There is a very nearly human glint of intellect behind those massive yellow eyes, that almost glow in the dim light cast from various reflective sources.

     The bush that Mortimer had directed Tamamo to is not only growing flowers but it also heavy with berries. They smell sweet and... Vaguely mystical, they carry a potent but subtle magical potency in them. The flower that she picks, however, begins to wilt almost as soon as she's plucked it. The golden leaves begin to fade and turn more of a silvery hue..
Seifer Almasy      Alright, she's attractive.

     Seifer slings his gunblade over his shoulder. "I guess so. Lead on, babe."

     That's all that really needs to be said. If she's a threat, he'll kill her. But right now she's making him an offer and it's an offer he's fine with. Why not find out what's going on?
Mortimer Balman      SEIFERSCENE:

     The ghostly woman rises and begins to walk- no.. It's more like she's floating, the way that kimono moves it's clear she has no legs of any sort. "As thou wish." The corridor is.. /Long/.

     And it is filled with rows upon rows upon rows of enormous stained glass windows that have many people- of many Pokemorph races, human and otherwise- from across numerous eras patterned into them. Men and women who wear armor and weapons from days of bygone antiquity, to people who are dressed and armed in fashion identical to Mortimer- a few of them even look like him, species wise- and those who are in far more futuristic and advanced attire.

     The woman comes to a halt what feels like hours later, opening the doors at the end of the corridor with a wave of her hand. Seifer is led into a grand throne room, whose glory has long since faded away. Tattered penants and banners float listlessly, reliefs that tell tales of epic battles forged in gold and silver rest within the walls, stands that bear armor and weapons stand at mock attention, surrounding an oddly humble-looking throne, that doesn't seem to mesh well with the granduer of the room around it. Upon this throne a weathered falx rests, attached to a Dacian-style shield of polished bronze with silver inlays, by a long red scarf. The sword has an emerald on either side of its hilt, and the shield bears three blood red rubies around a silver spike. Nothing else is there.

     The woman gets on her 'knees' and bows her head low to the ground, "My Lord.. An aspirant hath come seeking audience with thee." Her head twists around- a bit farther than it should- to look up at Seifer, "Please, ser. Take knee and tell my Lord why thou hast come unto his hall."
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo chuckles at Ulbrecht, shaking her head. "Such a good wolf." she whispers, patting him softly. THough once they get to this bush, she hmms at it. "Well, this is it." she moves in and plucks the golden flower on it... and as she does so, she tilts her head, it's ... turning silver? "What sorcery is this? It shouldn't change like that. Flowers don't do that."

    She taps her foot, looking at it, the berries get a look.. The sweet scent and mystical /feel/ of them garners her curiosity... and she moves to pluck a few berries... and one more flower, "Wonder what this berry tastes like..."

    And down the hatch one goes.
Mortimer Balman      TAMAMOSCENE:

     Ulbrecht sniffs at the flower a bit and turns his head away to sneeze. Silvery dust starts to flow off of the flower after that. Some sort of pollenation maybe? Who knows. The second flower also begins to fade and change from gold to silver when plucked.

     When Tamamo eats the berry she will feel.. Pretty damn amazing, actually! It's sweet but with a faintly bitter aftertaste, and it's /full/ of natural mystical energy- the healing sort. The kind that clears away maladies and cleanses infections and coaxes wounds to heal faster. It's even filling! But the ones she's plucked, she can tell- their potency will not last long when picked. In less than a day's time they will be little more than perfectly common berries. Still, miraculous little things, aren't they?
Seifer Almasy      Yeah armor is weird. Knights having armor? That's weird. The long walk doesn't bother Seifer, save that his eyes are open and he's keeping watch as he goes. It's long, but it's a march. He's trained in that. He once had to march uphill with a pack of...

     ...with a pack of...

     ...with...

     Seifer shakes his head. Not important. Fujin and Raijin had fallen behind and he'd just kept going. That was what was important. And that was hours, and hours, and hours, and hours of tough, rough, brutal training. That's what you /did/ as a SeeD. You trained. You got cultivated. You grew in the Garden.

     And as much as he had a thing against their decisions, their cultivation was serving him pretty well out here in the Multiverse.

     So he's patient. Time takes as long as it wants. The throne room is big, and impressive. He takes it in, looking over the room like a carefully trained combatant. Again, when Seifer isn't trying to impress somebody he is almost a totally different person, and the woman in front of him is a weird-ass ghost who doesn't really count. He looks the sword and shield over. Sure, OK, that's cool. Whatever. Who says a sword can't be king? Why not? Wasn't as weird as the talking fucking animals. That was /weird/. Swords and kings go together.

     He doesn't bow.

     "Sorry. That's not gonna happen. The only person I serve is my Sorceress." Seifer shoulders his gunblade. "You get respect. You don't get me takin' a knee."

     "I'm lookin' for a sash. Some trial. Gonna dedicate my victory to my wife. Let's cut through the bullshit and get right to it - what do I have to do for that?"
Mortimer Balman      SEIFERSCENE: The ghost-woman frowns. "Thy disrespectful nature is unbecoming of a Knight.. Thou shouldst bow thine head low to the ground and beg forgiveness, lest curses be thrown 'pon thine house!" She doesn't move to attack him, but she is clearly agitated.

     Neither the sword nor the shield move, but the emeralds glow a bit. "Cease." A deep, masculine voice. "Many aspirants hath graced our halls bearing far worse tone, my dearest servant." The sword floats and the shield with it, though Seifer clearly expected this. "Leave us." The still agitated ghost bows her head again, "As thou dost wish, my Lord.."

     The falx drifts behind the shield. The rubies snap open like eyes and stare into him. "Thou hast come far, indeed, offworlder; to simply make a show of disrespect. Art thou no Knight aspirant? If thou seekest not the path of the Chevalier, I can scarce see reason to test thee beyond mine own amusement."
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo starts to bounce a bit, the berry refreshing and revitalizing her quite nicely. "Mmm, delicious! I'm sure Seifer would like this." a pause, "I mean, if it'd stay longer. ANd this damn flower keeps fading." She taps her foot a bit, hmming, looking at the flowers... then the vines... and finally, whatever it's attached to. "He wouldn't like me displacing the entire thing, but..." she huffs a bit, tapping her foot more. "What would you do, Ulbrecht?"

    There's a minor pause, "On second thought... hmm. I wonder if we need something special to keep the flower going... Ulbrecht, can you dig me a small mound of dirt around here?"
Mortimer Balman      TAMAMOSCENE:

     Ulbrecht sniffs at the berries a bit and carefully nibbles at one off the vine. He then spits it out, apparently not caring for the taste. Bleeeech! But when requested to perform a task, the great wolf is quick to acquiesce. A single massive paw is used to carefully pull up a mound of dirt for Tamamo. He takes the time to make sure it's actual /dirt/ too, and not just snow.

     A nearly fossilized skull stares up out of the ground up at the Caster, when Ulbrecht is done digging.
Seifer Almasy      "It ain't disrespect," Seifer says, his eyes locked on the emeralds, "I'm not sayin' I don't respect your authority. But I can't kneel to anybody else." He dusts his hand against his knee. "I'm a king, after all. King of the moon."

     "You're in charge here, right? I'm in a hurry."

     Seifer swings the gunblade off his shoulder. "The person I protect is far away from me, an' I ain't got time to fuck around. Let's skip the ceremony. I'm not an aspirant. I'm already my Sorceress's Knight. I'm here to prove myself because I wanna make her proud and because dedicatin' a victory to her's a big, sweepin' romantic gesture, an' it turns out I'm pretty damn good at them."

     "So tell me what I gotta do, and let's get to it. I'm not leavin' here without that trophy."

     Seifer's lips split in a wide grin as his eyes narrow slightly. "Gonna tie it in her hair and let her wear it as a goddamn ribbon."
Mortimer Balman      SEIFERSCENE:

     The falx and shield float there for a few moments, perhaps puzzled or otherwise processing what it was just told. "...Indeed? Then I apologize- thy blood is that of a commoner, and so was I put off. But thy words ring of truth, and all too readily doth I grasp thy desire. Such action is noble of heart!" The sword glints in the sourceless lights, sweeping across the floor and spinning itself twice.

     If Seifer's eyes are attuned enough, he might see the faintest hint of an outline of a powerfully built man whose form is poorly defined but well armored, manipulating the shield and sword. "Then.. Show me, young king! Share with me thine passions, and let this age'd steel feel the rush of battle once again!"
Seifer Almasy      "Y'know," Seifer says, swinging Hyperion twice in front of him again and cracking his neck side to side, "It's pretty damn rude of you to expect me to kneel and then tell me that I've got common blood. I guess I'm gonna have to beat an apology outta you along with that sash."

     Seifer raises the gunblade in front of him, holding it like a dueling rapier. It looks weird, with the strange hilt and the long, thin blade. It's a weapon unlike any other, on pretty much any world that isn't his own - because even worlds that have both /guns/ and /blades/ don't tend to have /gunblades/ like Hyperion.

     He looks stupid. He looks full of openings, full of holes. At the moment he looks as skilled as you'd expect someone his young age to be - more heart and passion than talent. Goodness, he's even holding the sword *wrong*. Is he even serious about this? There's no way he can be getting good leverage with this.

     This will be easy. All lip. Dense and stupid and hot-blooded and unworthy.
Mortimer Balman      Guns were never a common weapon on Poqmori. But that Hyperion looks utterly ridiculous. Ridiculous of course, does not mean it lacks some sort of unknown danger- but he has no idea what that danger is just yet. The voice does seem to relish the idea, though. "A new challenge.. Magnificent." The falx raises up, from behind the shield, and begins slashing its way toward Seifer- no, it's dancing, clattering off the shield every so often, sharpening its edge against the bronze. Only when it draws near to the gunblade master does it start swinging at him in search of /blood/. Looking to exploit the openings.
Seifer Almasy      A dancing sword is kinda new. It's not *too* new - there's been legends about stuff like that - but Seifer hasn't personally seen it. He lets the sword get close, sweeping, swinging, even landing a couple blows. When the sword comes in real close, though-

     Well.

     It turns out that, no, Seifer isn't an amateur, and no, those weren't really openings.

     The cuts on his arms and legs aren't heavy - they're measured wounds meant to test his opponent, to see his attacks, to see his skill. They're simple wounds meant to give Seifer time to inspect the sword and find out where to hit it, to let the opponent get overconfident, to let it overextend, or to just let it keep trying to exploit those openings.

     And once he's happy with it, the change is *instantaneous*.

     The mistake is palpable as Seifer's blade comes snapping up with an almost slow, lazy, easy-to-follow arc. Except it's none of those things, because at its apex it comes jutting down in a flash. In the middle of the falling cut Seifer twists it sideways and pulls the trigger, dragging it outwards. The gunblade goes off, vibrating furiously to tear through flesh and metal as Seifer steps forward into his attack's reach, right up along the blade, right to where the blade is dullest on a sword - right near the hilt.

     He doesn't stop.

     He steps up and the gunblade steps with him, and his attack becomes an intense, *forceful* pressure, a ridiculous thing that no one his age, no one *any* age, should be able to do. This isn't some amateur punk, some dumbass kid who doesn't know what he's doing. Those were never openings.

     This is a /master/. This is /beyond/ a master. This is someone whose skill broaches into the realm of the divine.

     This is someone who has literally killed a god with its own sword and walked away from it.
Mortimer Balman      The sword goes flying away, and the shield with it. Attached at the metaphorical hip. "Marvelous! I'll not hold back either!" One of the emeralds on the sword's hilt is cracked, perhaps it is now 'blind' on that side? And yet the ghost seems /happy/ with this- one could theorize after all, sitting up here so long, combat is one of the few joys it has left to it. After a brief moment's hesitation- no, it's regaining its own momentum, the weapon begins flying at Seifer once more!

     A dark light flows around the blade and it swings down from high overhead. But the blow lands.. Short? Intentionally so, the blade has cleaved through the very air, and vanished through this momentary rift in realspace, appearing behind Seifer with only the sound it makes as it sails to warn him that it's about to leave a very big, deep gash across his back.
Seifer Almasy      Now this *is* something Seifer's familiar with.

     It's kind of funny that the flying fucking sword is less familiar than the dimension-shearing rift.

     He moves up to block it. Not where it's stopping, but where it's going. The gunblade meets the sword, hard, over Seifer's shoulder. Yeah, he saw through it.

     What he didn't see through, because he's never fought a flying fucking sword before and he's only adjusted slightly, is the leverage. A normal person, even a normal person using a dimension-cutting attack, could only hit from where their arm is. All motion would come from the arm. The axis is the arm. It's the source of strength.

     For a flying sword, it's the hilt. And the hilt can move in ways an arm can't.

     Like around a perfectly-positioned block, to cut into his back.

     Seifer goes forward. He skids, blood running down his back. It's a big cut, and a bad one, and he takes a second to catch his breath. His guard's still up, and it's like iron. But he needs a better plan. It can move on an axis he can't, it can fight on an axis he can't. It doesn't bleed like he does, and it doesn't have a visible place to kill it. It's a wildly lopsided fight.

     Some test.

     Oh. Wait. Of course. It's a test.

     Seifer's lips split in a wild, wide grin.

     And then he's right back in.

     His attack is *stupidly* aggressive. He swings with every motion, hit, hit, hit, hit, slash, slash, slash. It's an oppressive, forceful attack that doesn't let up, and it would seem like it's all power except for the /timing/, the /speed/. There's barely a second in between each motion, barely a step in between each attack. He forces the sword right into defense.

     And then at the last second, while the sword is worrying around dealing with his furious, brutal, metal-cutting strikes, he slips the blade to cut off the sash.
Mortimer Balman      The shield whips itself through the rift, catching the incredible force of the blade.. And the bronze cracks. And shatters! But the pieces still float together, the ruby eyes glowing a bright blood red now. "Incredible..!" The shattered shield and its sword float backward away from Seifer, in a guarding 'stance' of sorts. The dark glow fades.. And a bright, white one flows from it instead. It will probably not withstand another strike like that from Seifer, barring tremendously ill luck on his part.

     The light is almost blindingly bright, a familiar sense of vaguely divine might coming from the falx that Seifer might take note of. The sash unwinds from the grips of the shield and wraps around the sword, and it shoots toward and perhaps past Seifer with the speed of a bullet, swinging itself for one last mighty blow with all the power it can muster.

     It's.. Laughing? Joyous laughter. Not sadistic, or hateful, or sinister- just.. Happy. This is an incredible day, for this ancient ghost.
Seifer Almasy      Seifer fights wildly. He fights with what would be reckless abandon if it weren't for the fact that he's /ridiculously good at it/. The only problem is, again, he has no idea how to fight a living weapon. He's improvising. He's out of his depth, and while he's more than good enough to compensate for that, he's not more than good enough to exceed that. But he is good enough to focus in, with almost laser precision.

     And he makes a choice.

     And it's the kind of choice only a soldier can make, and it's the kind of choice where there's a technical win and another kind of win.

     Seifer grabs for the sash as it passes.

     It leaves him open, bad. He's only just able to block what might have otherwise been a lethal blow by pure, disgusting skill, and only just. A normal human wouldn't've had reaction times like that. A normal human would've just crumbled, would've been too slow from that position. Even a superhuman would've been.

     He was already moving before the sword was. He was thinking that far ahead.

     And it doesn't really help him. He takes a massive blow. It's deep, along his side. He goes skidding backwards, out of breath, eyes sharp and focused like the tip of a blade.

     And if he managed to grab that sash then he is *clinging to it* for *dear life*, because he pretty literally just risked his life to grab it.
Mortimer Balman      The sword.. Doesn't actually care about the sash being grabbed. It simply floats there, behind Seifer, for several moments.

     There's a cracking sound, and a line is visible along the falx's blade.

     "..What a life thou hast surely led, Seifer Almasy." It intones, in a stern and solemn voice. "Rare is it to meet a man such as thee, who hath written his soul into his art, who hath etched his passion into his forme. I can scarcely remember the last who came before me, whose name *screamed* itself from their weapon. Thou hast honored me with this duel, and so do I recognize thee, as one who bears the potential to be a true Knight. For this, I thank thee."

     The sword carefully pulls its sash from Seifer's grip, while the Froslass rapidly remakes her entrance and begins to treat his wounds. "Drink this, Lord Knight, it will ease and heal thy wounds." Wow her attitude changed quick didn't it? She holds a bottle to Seifer's lips, encouraging him to drink.

     And while she tries to get him to drink what is almost certainly some sort of healing draught, the sword and shield reconstitute themselves. The shield becomes whole, the sword's crack fades. Even its emerald eye returns to normalcy. And then it cuts its sash, slicing off a good measure of gold and red silk and neatly burning Seifer's name into it. "I pray this token will please thy Queen. And I offer thee one more gesture, humble or pittance as it may seem to one such as thee: any one question of import thou wish to ask of me, now or in the future, I shalt answer to the best and fullest of mine ability."

     The sword and shield slowly float back to their throne, rebinding themselves together. "Truly a magnificent duel.. I pray thou may'st consider returning for another round, someday."
Seifer Almasy      Seifer drinks, because that's what you do. And he listens. And he shoulders his gunblade as the wound heals, and he takes out some potions and applies them to the minor injuries.

     One might expect Seifer's pride to be wounded, or him to be angry, or him to be super pissy in defeat. One might expect from his attitude for him to be the kind of person who hates being challenged, who hates being shown up. He's /disgustingly/ competent, and he doesn't meet many people who can challenge him, and that probably dings his ego.

     Except the look on his face isn't one of a wounded ego. It's one of someone whose eyes are burning with skill, not anger. He's not frustrated by his loss. Seifer isn't the kind of person to stew on losses or blame the other person for not fighting fair. He won, /the objective/. He didn't win, /the fight/, and that's because /he/ wasn't good enough to compensate for something as unexpected as a sword that had no wielder. He takes the sash and moves the gunblade slightly.

     "I'll keep it in mind," he says to both the question and the duel. It's not an insulted tone, either - it's just a fact. He will keep it in mind. He'll play the duel over and over and over until he figures out how to fight something that doesn't have arms or legs or a head. He'll probably play it over in his *sleep*. It's an obsessive need he has to be better than he is. He tilts his head slightly, a nod of acknowledgement, and then he heads out and down the mountain.

     And once he's outside, once he's sure they can't hear him, once he's in the howling wind, he clutches the scarf and grins. "This is dedicated to Tamamo," he murmurs, her secret name that's only for him.
Mortimer Balman      And within the ancient halls of the Kingsiron Mountains, whose name has long been forgotten.. A new face appears in the stained glass halls, bearing an alien weapon and a smart-assed smirk.

     It shines in a special place, reserved for those who have earned the gold and red sash.

     Here, it will be remembered till this world is no more.
Tamamo no Mae     Such a good wolf that Ulbrecht is, she'll have to thank Mortimer later for letting him come along... For now, she watches the carefully placed paw as it gets dirt... "Good boy." she compliments him, moving to the new pile with a grin, setting both of the flowers upon it, maybe it's the dirt around here that has something to do with it?

    She looks down in the hole that was made, maybe there was something else she could use... that is, until she sees the nearly fossilized skull. She looks at it, gets into a staring contest with it... before leaning down to look at it closer. "Hey, Ulbrecht... do you know what this is? Or where it came from? Do you think it's important?" there's a pause...

    Ulbrecht can't speak.

    Tamamo sighs some, looking at it before plucking a berry off the plant and dropping it in the hole near where the fossilized skull's mouth would be.. Hey, if it reenergized her, maybe it'd do something?
Mortimer Balman      The skull.. Does absolutely nothing. It continues to sit there, and be a skull. This guy or girl has been dead for a /hella long time/, chances are pretty damn good one tasty berry won't fix that.

     The dirt does not seem to do anything for the flower. It remains silvery post-plucking. Maybe it's supposed to do that.

     Ulbrecht just kinda tilts his head and stares blankly at Tamamo for a few moments while she talks. And then licks her face, tail thumping on the ground hard enough to shake it.
Tamamo no Mae     Experiment 1: Place flower on dirt. No effect.

    Experiment 2: Place berry on skull. No effect.

    Experiment 3: Lick Tamamo. It causes a brief cross look from the subject... before the subject ruffles the wolf.

    Tamamo hmms. The berries did revitalize her. She looks at the berries, then the flowers, then to Ulbrecht. Then the berries, the flowers, berries... She takes one of the berries and squeezes it over the flower, trying to squeeze its juice off and into the flower's petals.
Mortimer Balman      This actually does revive the flower to its golden coloration. It's a duller gold than before though, probably because of all that dust it gave off.
Tamamo no Mae     And this prompts Tamamo to take another flower, with its dust, and a few berries. "Ulbrecht, let's go. I'm going to hop on, take me back to Mortimer!" she grins a bit at this before tucking the flower close and the berries... and launching herself up and onto the wolf. "Hyah~, let's go!"
Mortimer Balman      Ulbrecht hops a few times, and then dashes off to where his master sits. It's not a long run, maybe a few hundred meters.

     When they get there, they will see Mortimer sitting on his knees, in the snow, with Reder beside him. Both are praying to a small stone slab that has golden letters laid into it.
Tamamo no Mae     Once the two arrive, Tamamo hops off and hmms a bit, quietly. She looks towards Mortimer and Reder curiously, then a look at the flowers. She gives a slight nod, cracking open another berry to douse the more dusty-silver one in it to make it that gold color again before walking over there... and placing it on the stone slab. She says nothing the entire time, only to turn back... and kneel right next to Mortimer and Co.
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer looks at the flowers for a moment. "Heh. That wasn't necessary.. But it will look prettier.." The slab, Tamamo should see, is a list of names. A LONG list of names. Mort picks up one of the flowers, and delicately lights it aflame. This produces a brilliant torchlight that burns for much longer than it looks like it ought to. Tamamo can read the names, if she so wishes. Many of them look Slavic in origin.

     DMITRI VOHZD - LEYTENANT. CHESSA LITINOVICH - POLKOVNIK. SHIRO WAN - JOTOHEISO. WILLEM DONOUGH - QUARTERMASTER. BRENDAN BALMAN - EOD SPEC. REUBEN MALASHINKOV - YEFREYTOR.

     Those names stand out from the others, being slightly larger and having silver in their letters instead. Mortimer looks.. Very sad, staring at the slab. Reder doesn't look too chipper, either. Ulbrecht, sensing the mood, curls up around the three people to keep them warm. Which is unnecessary but he does it anyway.
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo just nods slightly, looking at some of the names curiously. She gives a slight nod, "Squadmates?" she questions idly before leaning up against Ulbrecht. She thinks a moment, shaking her head before keeping silent at this. This was a solemn moment for the fire badger, and she wasn't going to tarnish it with unnessecary questions. These people meant something to him. What, however, shouldn't be asked. She looks towards Mort and Reder... and just goes back to being a silent fox.

    o O (What is Seifer doing...?)
Mortimer Balman      Mort shakes his head. "No.. The last defenders of the People's Soviet Redoubt. And the ones who created the landspace around you.." He gestures around, to the crater itself. "This is where the World Coalition Force stationed during the Crimson Winter made their stand.. And where they died. ..There were no survivors.. Them, or the enemy."
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo nods a bit at this and hmms. She hmms a bit... she nods once more, "Total annhilation. Something that could have happened on the Moon Cell." she shakes her head a bit and looks around. "A lot of damage." she whispers, "Did you suggest here to pay reverence as well?"
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer shakes his head. "I hate this place.. I hate this crater.. ...I hate all of the things that took so much of my family, my friends, from me. ..I've come to terms with it, I don't suffer from survivor's guilt like I used to. I don't fight and scream in my sleep anymore. But there's still that ember of hate, for all the suffering we endured. ...There was a time where your little husband's distrust of me would have been wholly justified, when I was fresh out of the war. I don't blame him for having it. But that me is long dead and gone. Only this tired old man is left."

     Reder lets out a low grumble, chewing on the remains of a Relicanth's shell. "<..You still feel hate, Sarge? I can't even feel that anymore. I just miss the days.. I miss your ma's cooking. She made the best black soup.>" Mortimer nodded a bit, then cracked his neck and looked to Tamamo.

     "You wanted Ice Stones, so we'll find you some Ice Stones. But I can't pass by here without telling Brendan hi.. It wouldn't be right. Even with the feelings the place evokes.. Y'know?"
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo's ears wilt to the side of her head, a small frown. Her eyes look back at the names, one of them standing out. She turns towards Mort with a slight nod. "I understand." she gives a bit of a sigh, "My past... back when I wasn't a Servant, was sort of like this." There's a bit of a shimmer, the fox dissapears, only to be replaced with another woman. "Daji, I was called like this. Flirted with... and became King Zhou's 'helper' in creating a reign of terror back then. Ended a dynasty we did."

    She turns back to her fox-like self again, nodding, "Appeared in Japan... became Emperor Toba's courtesan. Made him sick, and then Abe-san ousted me... and soon, I was killed on the Plains of Nasu. So, I know." she looks up, "I don't regret anything I did though."

    She pauses, looking towards Mort, "I visit the shrine every time I'm in Japan before work. I say hello to the Killing Stone... I give some apologies... then I go work. But yes, let's go find us some Ice Stones, shall we?"
Mortimer Balman      Mort scratches his head a bit. "...Why'd you make the Emperor sick?" That's the only part he doesn't quite understand.
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo shrugs, "That part I don't remember." she chuckles, "And I remember a lot."
Mortimer Balman      Mort shrugs. "Yeah.. That's fair.. There's too much shit I don't remember that well, either." He stretches out and gets to his feet. "...See ya around, big brother.." "<Pity we forgot some booze to pour one out for'em.>" "Eh.. Brendan was never much of a drinker, I'm sure he'll understand."

     A series of unpleasant sounding cracks and pops while Mort shuffles to his feet. "The best way to find some stones would be a cave.. All the caves here are, well, caved /in/ is the problem. But I think-"

     Off in the distance, there's a loud cry of a small, wild animal. "PIIIX! PIX VUUUULLLLLP!" It is clearly in distress.
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo thinks a moment, "I can come back with some sake if that will help." she mentions to Reder with a soft frown, "A good peach sake." Tamamo's ears pin back a bit from the weird popping noises... only to refocus back up. There's a tilt of her head and she looks towards the direction it came from.

    "Mortimer, did you here that? It... sounded in trouble."
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer's ears flicker a bit, and Reder's ear-fins tilt in the direction of the wild animal's cries. "...That's.. A Vulpix." "<How the fuck did a Vulpix get all the way out here??>" "Hell.. I dunno? They can't survive the dark and the cold though. Uh.. Well, c'mon Caster, let's go see if this is the opportunity we've been waiting for! Ulbrecht, Reder, go look for that slick-haired punk and lead him back to us when you see him!" "<Aye aye, Sarge!>"

     Mortimer takes off at a brisk jog toward the direction of the screams, while Reder scrambles up on Ulbrecht and guides him toward the massive stairwell to wait for Seifer to return.
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo pats Ulbrecht as the pair darts off to the stairwell... meanwhile, she follows behind Mortimer, after all, this was a place that she didn't know well, it helped to have a guide. "Time for the rescue operation, huh?" she comments, "Poor thing, if it can't be in the cold and dark, why did it come here? I mean, why would it do that?"

    She shakes her head a bit as she hmms, prepping a couple of ofuda, lighting them on fire to give some more heat and light around the area.
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer shrugs while jogging. "I don't know! Maybe it fled through the subway networks from predators, or maybe it was adopted by a tribal who lost it or died or abandoned it or some such. Either way, godsawful environment for it!" Fortunately it's only a couple hundred meters, not a very long jog at all. And then Mortimer stops dead in his tracks, holding out an arm to warn Tamamo to stay back a bit.

     "Mime...?" Comes a hauntingly cheerful-sounding voice. A dead-eyed pseudohumanoid creature whose flesh looks like it's painted rather than pigmented, tilts its almost clown-like head at the encroaching duo. It's holding a Vulpix by some of its tails, and the small creature is flailing helplessly. It isn't breathing fire, though, for some reason. It's as pale as the snow around them, aside from the tips of its inner ears and nose, which are blue as ice.

     "VUUULLLP!!" "Mime!" The Mime slaps the Vulpix, flipping it up and gripping it by the body while backing away from Mortimer and Tamamo. As uncanny valley as the creature is, it's very clear that it's *hungry.* It doesn't look like it has very sharp teeth.. But every time it looks down at the Vulpix, it drools a little, but then its eyes snap back to the interlopers.

     They're interrupting nature at work.
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo follows along, giving a slight nod at this. "Humans have no care for others if it was abandoned." she mutters, "I'll have to find its former owner and give a swift punishment. Make sure they don't do it again. The jog is still taking some out of Tamamo, keeping up the magic fire to keep light and heat around ... at least her since she's in front of a walking heat lamp.

    She comes to a swift halt as Mort puts his arm up to stop her, the fox-caster tilting her head a bit in curiosity... as that cheerful-sounding voice hits her ears. Eyes scan the area until they land on the weird creature... holding onto something. "Mortimer?" she mutters, looking between the fox-like thing being held by its tails and the abomination of a creature holding it.

    "This thing is assaulting my being as a fox, holding the poor thing by its tails." she looks between the two... and the drooling Mr. Mime. Something hits her though and she pulls out some food... it's not much, small rice balls, in a small bag. She pulls one out and steps forward, kneeling down.

    "Let go of the..." a pause, "Vulpix. I'll give you some nice rice balls in exchange. You do that and we won't have to get physical. I would rather not get physical with you."
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer turns his eyes down at Tamamo. "..Hn.." He takes a few steps back. "Remember, Caster.. It's not a person. It.. Kinda looks like one, but it isn't. It's an animal.. A very smart, and very dangerous, psychic animal.."

     The Mime looks at the offered food. Its eyes dart between the largest predator- that's Mort- who is backing off. Leaving it to the small fox-woman-thing. It looks confused at first by the offering of food, until its caricature of a nose sniffs a bit. "Mr.. ...Miiiiiiime." The food levitates off of the ground and over to the creature. Sniff sniff.. Sniff sniff.. It takes a few testing bites. "Mime!" And begins wolfing the rice balls down. It does not, however, drop the vulpix.

     What will Tamfox do next?
Tamamo no Mae     "Technically, I'm not a person either. I'm a Heroic Spirit." the Caster-fox grins a bit as she watches the rice balls float over. "Was that delicious? I have more, but I can't give them to you yet. I need that." she points at the Vulpix. "I do have more." she reaches in her sleeves and pulls out one more rice ball. "Rice ball... for Vulpix. OK? You're psychic, you should know what I'm saying is true. I won't harm you if you trade me the rice ball for that Vulpix."

    Simple exchange right? She moves forward a few steps, keeping low to the ground to not startle the thing. "All I want is to have the Vulpix. That's all. And I'll give you a lot more of those rice balls."
Mortimer Balman      The rice balls are again, taken away. Mortimer kinda facepalms a bit. "Just because it's psychic doesn't mean it /understands/ you.."

     This point is driven home by the Mime's eyes flashing a bright, angry gold, "MIME!!" And a bolt of psychic lightning blasts the ground in front of Tamamo. It kicks up quite the flurry of snow!

     And when the snow clears.. It's awkwardly running away, with all the rice balls she offered. And the Vulpix. It probably doesn't want to give up a meal just because it was offered one.
Tamamo no Mae     The Caster looks up towards Mort, "Well, you can /try/..." she mutters, watching the rice balls float away... and suddenly the explosion of energy in front of her, blasting that snow and dirt up in front of her. "I... see your point." there's a pause, a tilt of her head.

    The Rice Balls are all gone.

    More importantly... THE VULPIX IS BEING TAKEN AWAY!

    Tamamo blinks a few times, tilting her head. She gives a light shrug, kneels down... and darts off suddenly... like she's there one moment and gone the next, catching up towards the Mr. Mime. "Hey, didn't I say leave it?"
Mortimer Balman      The Mime blinks as Tamamo is suddenly beside it. She is WAY faster than it is, especially with its focus concentrated on holding all the rice balls and the vulpix. Which is now floating too. "Miiiimemimemimemimemime!" It looks like it's freaking out a bit, flailing its hands around itself rapidly.. Wait. The briefest moment of a shimmer. It's not flailing. It's.. Pantomiming itself inside of a box. Like actual mimes do.

     Except the walls.. Are real!
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo grins as she catches up with the Mr. Mime. "What did I say?" she questions the thing, but the pantomiming catches her attention and she hmms, tilting her head. She pokes and pokes, lookinug at the shimmering walls. "Oooh, magic. I can do magic too you know." she gives a small little smile and pulls out a few talismans before encircling the static, boxed in Mr. Mime and her prize. She places a single talisman on the ground in each cardinal direction...

    Words are said and the talismans glow... "I think I can dispel that box of yours." she nods, sitting down in a way that she can lunge for the Vulpix. The talismans start to project a magic beam towards the Mr. Mime. "See, I know I can't physically get in there, but these magic beams can. Let's see, fire... ice... lightning. What to do to you since if you move... 'fun' things will happen."
Mortimer Balman      The freakish pokemon lets out a terrified shriek at the sight of being surrounded and trapped by these strange, foreign powers! And *BAMF* it's gone.

     Just teleports right the fuck outta there in a heartbeat. But teleport is a single-person trick. The Vulpix, the rice balls, the barriers.. They don't go anywhere. Well, the barriers do, they fade away.

     Now Tam is left with her rice balls and a currently unconscious Vulpix. Mortimer can be heard applauding. "Well done, well done indeed, Caster. Scared it off without having to kill it or risk the Pokemon you wish to tame. Now for the next part, how good are you with animals..?"
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo grins. "Well, that's one way." she gathers up the talismans and stuffs them down her sleeve before moving to pick up the Vulpix and a couple rice balls. "Naturally. I could be barbaric and just hurt it but I'd risk hurting this cute little thing." she smiles, looking towards the Vulpix and pulling out a berry... one of those miracle ones that made that flower go back to gold.

    "Wakey wakey, Caster has you now. Not to hurt you, I got you something..." she smiles, her ears twitch a bit, "I'm what people call a therianthrope... a beast person. I think I can relate to this Vulpix. Or at least try to." she moves the berry towards the small fox's mouth, "Come on, eat up. It's good for you."
Mortimer Balman      Mortimer sits down to watch, melting away snow and evaporating the moisture as he does so, giving himself a nice dry patch to watch from. "Perhaps. In my experience, though, your personality and the individual Pokemon's is all that matters, not race."

     The Vulpix slowly opens its eyes and looks around a bit. It starts sniffing rapidly at the air and stumbles away from Caster for a moment, until it smells the berry. It's moving.. Oddly, like it can't quite see her properly, following its nose and the swivel of its ears rather than its eyes. "Vull... Vulp.." It sounds scared and nervous but it is also pretty messed up. The smell of a Lum berry is very enticing to a Pokemon who's badly beaten, and it eventually finds her hand and nips at the berry.
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo gives a bit of a frown at the odd movements, "That poor thing hit you so much." she whispers, "Come now, Tamamo will take good care of you." the sounds of a scared, nervous creature is painful to hear, and Tamamo's ears and tails droop. "Poor thing, I won't let that thing hit you again, I scared it off." she tries to smile, watching it move slowly towards the berry.

    Tamamo reaches out and slowly pets the creature on the head, whispering softly, "It's okay, Tamamo is here. Tamamo won't let that thing come to you again." she keeps the berry close by, watching the nipping at it. "It's a good berry, it'll revitalize you. I promise."
Mortimer Balman      It's obviously skittish despite the kindness offered. As foxes tend to be. The berry does very clearly revitalize it but that just makes it swivel its ears up in the direction of Tam's face, and then it opens its mouth.. And proceeds to breathe snow on her, until her face is covered in it.

     Then it tries to run away, bouncing and bounding like a proper fox. Until it runs into a tree with a loud *THWOCK* sound and thuds over, letting out a whine and rubbing its head with its paws. "Huhn. Must be blind.. That'd explain why it's been abandoned out here. ...Y'okay there, Caster?"
Tamamo no Mae     Tamamo knows this skittishness. She was this way a few times. She watches the ears and blinks as her face gets covered in snow from the fox's breath. She blinks a bit in confusion, tilting her head, "Didn't you say that Vulpixes are /fire/ types?" she questions, shaking off the snow...

    The *thwock* sound causes a wince from the Caster and she moves to go brush the fox's head gently, offering more of the berry. "Silly thing." she lets out a soft sigh, "Blind? Poor thing, I'll take care of it. How dare someone abandon such a cute little white furred creature." she moves to pick up the Vulpix and cradle it to her chest, offering warmth and comfort to the little beast.

    "Do you have a name? Did your last owner give you one?"
Mortimer Balman      "Yeah.. They are. ...That's.. Pretty fucking weird, actually. ...Uh.. Y'know what, we'll figure it out later. I'll call up Switch to join me at your Moon Cell palace thing and we'll determine it's proper elemental type, or types. This.. I dunno, must be some sort of mutation.." Mortimer shrugs. "Caster.. It's a /wild/ Pokemon. If it's blind, then its family probably abandoned it, because nature is.. Well, nature." He'd chew on his pipe a bit. "...There's an old legend about blind Vulpixes, in Grouda. They sit at the shoreline and stare at the sun. They sit and wait for the tides to drag them away, because they know the next time, they'll be born with eyes that can see."

     The Vulpix flails a little when picked up, squeaking out vuls and pixes in a clearly agitated state. It doesn't seem to be capable of talking like Mortimer's pokemon does, though. Eventually however, it starts to tire itself out. Berry or no berry it's had a very long and trying day and it just kinda.. Goes limp, as if giving up and accepting its fate as prey.
Tamamo no Mae     "Shhh, shhh, it's okay, I'm here.. I'm here." Tamamo rubs the Vulpix gently, "It's okay... rest my little Vulpix." she leans in, shushing gently, rubbing her cheek against the white fur, trying to instill some sort of 'you're safe here' type thing. She turns to Mortimer and frowns, "Are you saying I should have let this one be taken and find one more... seeing capable?" she questions, "Nonsense, this one is just fine." she nods, "That legend, if I hear it again, is going to make someone cry."

    She moves towards Mortimer, humming softly, "It's tired, let's go collect my Master and we'll head to the Moon Cell, ok?"
Mortimer Balman      "Eh? No, I never said anything of the sort, Caster. You wanted to make a friend out of a strange, pretty, alien creature. Whether it can see or not is irrelevant, if you're taking care of it- I was simply stating that Nature is Nature, and Nature is both cruel and beneficent. Now that one probably won't develop into much of a combat-capable companion like Reder, but it will live a long, long time, given proper care- I'll help you with learning how to do that, hopefully it's not too dissimilar from common Vulpix." He gets to his feet and stretches.

     "Mm.. Sorry, Caster. My world is full of sad old legends. Much like Earth, in that regard. At any rate! Yes, let's get you and your boy out of here before you catch your deaths of cold." He starts walking, right as the snows start to pick up again.

     The little Vulpix snores little adorable chirpy-sorts of snoring sounds. Every so often its eyes open and it seems a bit confused.. But it nestles against the warm thing that is holding it, perhaps starting to realize that it will not be food now.