eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:04:38 GMT -6
Muy stared at Freija in surprise. The more he heard about this town, the stranger and stranger it seemed. The council seemed, at least to him, oddly distant for the rulers of the town. From its absent founder to the fact that Freija wasn’t even entirely sure how many of them there were, it seemed that the council themselves were not a significant presence in the city. As the two of them made their way towards the tavern, the Mew glanced upwards against at the big house. It seemed so close, and yet, after these revelations, so distant. He concentrated, in the hopes of perhaps listening to some message carried down from the hill but, if there were any people up there at the moment, Muy and Freija were far too far from them to hear much of anything.
“So, so these council members do occasionally fight in the arenas too? What are they like, in combat?” Muy asked. A moment later, he had another, more important question. “Actually, what is combat? What’s it like, fighting in the arena? I’ve...I’ve never really done it before.” Muy was silent for a moment, looking down at the cobblestones he was gently floating over. “Well, I don’t think I’ve ever done it before, I can’t...I can’t really remember…” he left the sentence hanging, not wanting to retell his story a second time that evening. He was far more interested in listening, both to his Flareon companion explain the habits of the city’s habitants and in the sounds of Aanakiak itself, than he was in talking about himself, or what little information about himself he knew.
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eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:05:01 GMT -6
"Combat, huh?" she replies, smiling at him. "You're asking the right person for that, I'd say. Combat - to put it simply - is the act of hurting someone to the point where they can't hurt you back. Of course, that's not the same as killing. Killing is awful. You only beat up the other so much as where they can only breathe with a beating heart."
"Well, that's how the old days go, really. With the reputation Aanakiak has received, all combat stops the moment someone can't get up from the ground within five seconds. Also, if they're on the ground, you can't hurt them, because that wouldn't be fair, I suppose. Oh! I guess we'd have to explain what 'hurting' is. Have you ever been hurt before?"
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eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:05:12 GMT -6
Muy frowned at her, uncertain whether or not the Flareon was being entirely serious with him. “I..I have not been hurt before, in my memory at least, perhaps, but I do understand what it means to be hurt.” Nodding, Muy continued floating alongside Freija. It was with a faint shudder that he realized his local companion was indeed a talented fighter, and perhaps a little more savage than his cool companion had initially seemed, from the slight disdain she seemed to have for the fight having to stop the second one fighter hit the ground.
“So...the point of combat is to keep your opponent down for five seconds straight?” It would be difficult, he thought, for her to try and pin some of the larger creatures he’d seen before, huge Ampharos, though she hadn’t seemed the fighting type. Perhaps even harder to take down was the Dusknoir that had been his guide. Come to think of it, he had yet to see Opheosis even touch the ground. The perpetually floating Pokemon surely was the ultimate foe in the arenas. A moment later, he came to another realization, even more astonishing. How incredible a fighter must this other Mew be, to be able to routinely win fights against warriors as skilled and as large as Freija, and to come out on top.
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eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:05:29 GMT -6
"You certainly could resort to keeping them pinned down," she starts, "But not as many really go for that anymore because of how hard that can get in different situations. It's possible that they can fight back while you're trying to pin them, and being so close could mean getting hit or something along the way."
"Nowadays, most people tend to instead just make it hard for others to get back up. Rough 'em up and all. A good body blow-" Her tail swings around to point at teh area under her rib cage. "-can incur enough pain to make someone freeze. They can't breathe in for a moment and their legs stop moving. If they collapse to the ground, then five seconds might not be enough for them to get back their bearings, especially if it's later in the fight."
The Flareon gestures forward down the stone path with a sole right forepaw, a few wooden buildings, one clearly outsizing the rest with its unoccupied porch of a few tables and chairs. Inviting them were steps up to its entrance of double-doors, made of the same material.
"Well, here we are. Not exactly busy at this hour, but just as cozy if you ask me. You okay with only a drink? I don't particularly like chowing down on something on such a lazy afternoon, honestly."
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eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:05:47 GMT -6
Muy listened carefully, trying to pick up as much as he could from the seasoned fighter. He had thought the idea of holding down some opponent fighter for 5 seconds sounded difficult, but the idea of beating them so hard that they weren’t even capable of getting up seemed nigh impossible, especially for a Pokemon as small as he. Then again, he reminded himself, he could do more than simply fly at his opponents and try to physically beat them into submission. He had powers of his own, powers he didn’t entirely know the scope of. He remembered that first day, when he had fended off the Digletts that had raided Bilro’s berry farm. It had, he realized, not been that long ago, it must have been a couple of weeks at the most, but it felt as if it had happened a very long time ago. Aanakiak was so marvelously different from that world.
“I see.” he responded, perhaps a few seconds late for the Flareon. “Sorry, I was just...thinking.” he added, unhelpfully. He drew to a halt with the Flareon as she indicated the tavern she’d been leading them too. It was a set of three houses built along a fork in the road, one on either side and one in the middle. Two of the houses were smaller, faded green paint and a yellow stencilled name that had long faded away. The middle one seemed slightly newer than the other two, a darker, more vibrant shade of green that still seemed to be a little faded. It seemed a well worn location, despite the fact that it was entirely deserted. Muy hovered slowly towards the larger porch, trying to peer through the windows to see if there was anyone inside. “Yeah...yeah, a drink would be fine. Sorry, Freija, is it always this...empty?”
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eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:06:01 GMT -6
"Mm? Empty? No, not always. There's not many around now, but when a new person shows up, or a person we knew about was leaving, some will be around to greet or bid farewells," the Flareon explains, stepping up to the doors and shoving them open while on two. As Muy had asked about, the place indeed almost would be considered deserted where it not for how the area was kept modestly cleaned. To their immediate front was the bar itself, the wooden counter tended with a bit of care as someone was currently wiping its underside. He was not shaped to differently from Freija, but unlike the bountiful coat of fur and tail she possessed, the bartender's coat was a shorter and of a yellow variety, in addition with his white mane. The compsition was rough and jagged, spiking out along his back and sides. He didn't take long to notice them, head flicking up with his long ears as he looks over at them.
"Welcome back, Freija. Greetings to you too, sir," he would greet. "The usual for the afternoon?"
"Yup. Get another for me good fellow Muy here," she replies with a bright face upon beginning the new interaction, all while heading right to the bar.
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eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:06:13 GMT -6
Muy started at the sight of the peculiar yellow fellow, leaning slightly against the bar on the opposite end of the room. He raised a hand, waving slightly to him. He was like Freija, or at least, of the Pokemon he had seen of late Freija was the most similar to him, though he was as yellow as Amalyria back in his new lodgings. He was a tad shorter than the Flareon, with an odd white ruff around his neck that seemed to crackle with a kind of electric energy. It was strange to see such a Pokemon, who seemed, at least to Muy, like he would have been a formidable opponent in the arenas, bussing surfaces.
“Greetings!” he said, a bit quietly. He floated behind Freija, seating himself beside her at the bar on a high, small seat that seemed made for Pokemon of his size to be eye level with the Jolteon at the counter. He was quite glad, indeed, quite honored to have been taken under Freija’s wing. She seemed perfectly friendly to him, willing to show him the ropes of this entire city.
“It’s nice to meet you!” He called out to the bartender, louder this time. Turning to Freija with the same curious expression he’d had when they talked about fighting and Aanakiak, he asked, “What is the usual, exactly?”
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eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:06:27 GMT -6
"My usual, you ask?" the guide echos back with a mild smirk. There was nothing of malicious intent behind the expression, but the Flareon definitely was entertained by the question for some peculiar reason. "For afternoons like these, I go for a berry blend of sorts, usually Tomato-based."
"Don't mind her about the drink," the man behind the counter interrupts. "I whipped up a drink she quite enjoyed a while back and forgot the combination I only told her once." He then then glances back to catch Freija holding a pocket of air in one cheek, restraining herself in spite of a few wisps of smoke escaping her nostrils. The yellow-coated bartender takes a pink berry, the fruit pointy at one end. He shocks it through its juicy contents with an audible crack, parts of the outside charred as he nonchalantly tosses it into a wooden heap, a rectangular prism of sorts. The electric treatment was provided to solely that berry, the rest left intact as they joined it one by one into this container. "Freija here enjoys particularly spicy drinks, as is common for her typing. I'll start you off with something more mellow."
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eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:06:46 GMT -6
Muy nodded, albeit somewhat skeptically. He had a feeling that Freija, while a friendly and outgoing individual, had something of an odd sense of humor. He doubted whether she would intentionally do anything to put him in harm’s way. Then again, she certainly seemed to have a much higher pain tolerance than he.
Nodding to the bartender, Muy offered the Jolteon a polite smile. He still wasn’t quite sure what to make of him, but it seemed, Freija trusted him, though, judging by her current expression, that was to her own cost. He turned to Freija, offering her a concerned glance, but, judging by the Jolteon’s calm, it seemed this was a regular occurrence. Perhaps the drink boosted her powers in some strange, clearly painful way. “Yeah…” said Muy, to the Jolteon, his eyes still on his Flareon guide. “Mellow sounds good.”
Muy watched in mingled shock and awe as the bartender quite casually electrocuted a berry with ease. It was quite a spectacle for the Mew, who had never seen an electric type using their powers, nor anyone who dealt with their abilities with such indifference as the bartender.
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eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:07:06 GMT -6
"Never seen electricity used like this, have you?"he inquires, finding the reaction modestly entertaining. Not often does he receive that sort of response from newcomers, though the Jolteon has on occasion witnessed country folk amazed by what appears to be unorthodox utility of his powers. "I've been around out of town and for the sweeter berries, burning them makes for a nice roast for flavor. You'll se what I mean soon enough."
Not having a problem working bipedal, he goes on to include a few more of the round fruits into the wooden container. Fitting on wooden lid of sorts, he sets both of his paws onto a lever and pushes down with a bit of a grunt. At the bottom of the hopper, a pinkish orange liquid drips out, falling into an empty glass he has previously set there.
"Now that I think about it, I forgot to introduce myself with Freija barging in," he notes, walking over with the glass and presenting it to the Mew. "The name's Lupus, the city's sole bartender. I do hope you enjoy your stay in Aanakiak."
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eevee
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Post by eevee on Apr 5, 2018 0:07:48 GMT -6
“No, never...at least, I don’t believe I have.” Muy continued to watch the bartender curiously, as he worked on the mysterious drink. It was a little strange to see the Jolteon up on its hind legs, though Lupus did not seem mind, just as Freija, to Muy’s side, had no problem sipping the little glass Lupus had sent her way with her own paws. “Well I certainly look forward to it.” said Muy, trying to be something close to the cheerfulness of Freija who had been silent, struggling with the drink Lupus had handed her.
Lupus handed him a glass of the vibrant pink-orange juice, and, while the glass looked ridiculously small for the Joleton, twice Muy’s height when not up on his hind legs, it was a suitable size for the Mew, perhaps a bit too large for one of his small, pink hands. Holding the glass in both hands, Muy tasted the juice. It was strange, the electrification Lupus had given it had made it somehow bitter and sweet at the same time, but the overall taste was quite nice, certainly better than anything from Bilro and Willis’ farm, though he’d have never said so to either the Croconaw nor the Oshawott. Muy smiled over at Lupus. “It’s very good, thank you,” he said, taking another sip, enjoying the electrified brew.
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