wing_attack | |11| [Video]

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|11| [Video]

[It's a good thing that Tobias lives in a house now, because the sight that greets the network right now is way too big for a tent. A Braviary is perched on the floor, eyes closed. A Noivern leans against him, a Noibat perched on his head. A Charizard flops next to them, tail burning low, and a Talonflame is perched next to him.]

[Five Spritzee huddle in a pile nearby, all asleep. An Empoleon is flopped over on his back next to them, beak clacking as he dreams. An Aerodactyl broods nearby, eyes closed, and a Scizor and Hawlucha rest next to him. And in the middle of it all is Tobias, curled up with a blanket, a pillow, and a Swablu, Emolga, Farfetch'd, and Pidgey all spread out on top of him.]

[And who's holding the camera? Well, if the quiet grumbling laughter wasn't enough, the big brown paw and bearish grin that suddenly appears is enough to identify Rachel the Ursaring as she shuts the video off.]

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It's okay. Rachel should know better than to be playing with the Gear anyway.

[They've had a discussion about this before.]

I'm Tobias. I've been here about a year.

Huh.

[The kid is, what, sixteen, seventeen? Young enough that a year would be a significant fraction of his life.]

That's a pretty long time. The way folks around here've been talking about disappearances, I guess I didn't figure people usually stayed that long. That staying power common?

Sometimes. I've known people who have been here for three, four, five years. It's not super common, but there's enough people around for it to not be super unusual, either.

[He whistles long and low.]

Long time.

[York considers the pile of Pokémon Tobias was just sleeping in and shrugs with easy grace.]

Though I guess maybe that's not so bad, yeah?

Yeah. And I think some of us kind of need a break from our worlds. I know some people who were fighting some pretty bad stuff and... need a vacation.

...A year or more is a pretty big vacation.

You wanna go back?

... War's over. I don't have a real reason to go back.

Edited 2015-09-26 22:26 (UTC)

[There's so much packed in such a short couple sentences, York doesn't even know where to start.

Still, he knows a long fight when he hears it.]

...How old are you?

[His voice is lower, now.]

[He blinks, and glances at the Pokegear. ... Huh.]

I guess in a few days I'll be... seventeen, I think. ... And yeah, I know that's young to be fighting, but when it's six of you against an entire alien invasion you don't get much choice.

Nah. War, it hits everybody, soldiers or not. There isn't really a such thing as 'young to be fighting,' much as we probably wish there was.

Still, just six of you. That had to've been hard.

Yeah. It took us three years, but we finally won. I don't know how things are going to go there now, but... really, the only thing I'm missing here besides my friends is my wings.

...

...

It's probably not the same thing as your wings, but I miss my armor, too. And my friends, too, of course, even if most of them sucked as far as friends go. But it's nice to know my part of the fight's over, at least, and that I can just hang out here without worrying about them.

Your part of the fight - oh.

[Um.]

Are you... ?

['Are you dead?' But maybe that's too rude to ask...]

Yeah, seems that way.

[His expression's distant, but it's still mostly a smile.]

But one of my friends, she's from further down the road. She said she made sure what happened to us would never happen again. That's more what I meant than the part where I was KIA.

... Oh. Good. That's... good. I'd say 'try not to let it get to you', but I know that's pretty much an impossible thing to ask. But if you've got friends with you, I think it makes it easier. Just make sure you take the time you need.

[He just shakes his head a bit, sighing.]

Sometimes people disappear from here and reappear with new memories. That happened to me. Apparently it was about a week that passed here, but almost a year back home. But I had friends to keep me grounded and to help me stop flipping out. So let them help you, if you need it. I'm glad your friend could help with... whatever needed to be done back home.

Edited 2015-09-27 03:14 (UTC)

Hey, I'll be okay. Don't worry about me, man. Didn't mean to overshare. I'll keep it in mind, though.

[Haha yeah right, asking for help is for people who aren't kickass special agent space soldiers.]

Uh, can I ask about the wings, though? I mean, I'm pretty sure this isn't any kind of standard afterlife, but if I'm actually talking to an angel that could be kind of cool to know.

It's fine.

[He just laughs a bit, and Regal wanders over and drops his big Braviary butt next to Tobias.]

Nah, I'm not an angel. I spent most of the war as a hawk, though. We got the ability to change into animals, but it's got a time limit, and I went over. I got the power back, but it was a one time kind of deal, so I had to keep hawk as my 'normal' form so I didn't lose the power again.

A...hawk.

Is that normal where you come from? Turning into animals? No offense, man, but it sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie.

[Not the aliens, though. Aliens are totally normal.]

It's not normal, but we got given that power just so we could fight against the Yeerks. That's the species we were fighting. There were other aliens, too. Some helpful, some... not. But for the most part we were on our own.

... It seems like magic, but apparently it's just really advanced technology. I have no idea how it really works. Ax could probably tell you more of the details, but uh... science isn't really my thing.

Oh, no, I feel you, dude. I had a friend who'd be after you for that explanation, but if it's just me? I know when I'm not gonna understand something.

Helpful aliens, though. That sure is a concept.

Not something you've experienced a lot of?

Most of the aliens I'm aware of back home are religious zealots who want to wipe humanity off the face of the galaxy.

Also, their Grifball team sucks and they're ruining the sport for everyone.

Yeerks just wanted to enslave humanity and infest them. They take over your mind and it's... ugly.

Okay, I'll bite. What's Grifball?

Oh, okay, so you know rugby? It's kind of like rugby but with gravity hammers and energy swords. And also, the ball explodes when you make a goal. It's awesome.

That does sound awesome. Also really dangerous.