#── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Saving Me From Myself ( Streli. )

[lxngfxrgxtten]

                                       a friend like no other.

@darkestaken

[lxngfxrgxtten]

each step deeper and deeper into the corridor makes her heart sink further back into her chest, leaving a dull ache there that begged her to run away and never look back. meet someone ? who could they possibly be meeting ? wasn't the whole point of six coming here to see streli ? who else could she be seeing ? regardless of the swirling thoughts inside the mind of a forgotten champion, she followed instructions well,  ( when it came to streli giving them, at least. )  sticking close to her to ensure that whatever happened next, she wasn't alone in it. when the door opens, she ducks in quickly, and the door clicks closed behind them both, leaving just them and the one that six would supposedly be meeting in the room. empty, it was so empty… except…

streli continues speaking, explaining what six is seeing. her eyes follow the other, watching her every movement, hanging on each word with care. learning of this pokemon that streli once had. six's gaze falls upon the lone pokeball as the atoman woman mutters the one word that struck a cord with the champion. the one word that tied it all together. abandoned. her blood feels as though it's run cold, remembering that faithful day. the argument. the loud, unchecked screaming between two best friends. the day something broke. she'd left her pokemon behind, two of them. a beautiful and powerful decidueye, arrow, and a troublemaker murkrow who helped her to work on her drinking problem, dusk. cast aside without even so much as a goodbye. it stung, deep in her heart. she regretted how that had gone down.  ( she let her pride get in the way. things could've been different. should've been different. )  it seemed streli was here to remind her of her mistake, in a way, while sharing her own.

the more she shared, the harder to think about it things got. it's as if streli had struck a dagger deep into her chest, and with each word that let itself free from the gym leader's lips the knife twisted deeper and deeper, in all directions. waves of emotion washed over her as she stood and looked between streli and the pokeball, alone on the chair. alone for a long time. left behind by it's trainer. it was like looking in a mirror, and the champion wanted nothing more than to break that reflection. to stop looking at it, to stop seeing herself in this position. no matter what happened, no matter what she desired, she could not look away. she had done this very same thing, and it had explained why streli, her best friend,  ( if six was even considered that anymore… )  had reacted the way she did to her actions. streli saw herself in six in that moment, she must've. it made so much more sense, and for six, in this moment, it was as if her eyes had been opened for the very first time.

she doesn't get much time to consider that fact. to consider it to be an awakening. it seemed the awakening had only just begun.     ❝ w-what do ya mean… until now… ? ❞ her words trail off, her breath shaky. the confidence that could exude from the champion was nowhere to be found. the words come out a little broken. a little wrong, and she finds she can no longer keep up her voice, and that old accent slips back in.

❝ we're goin' to meet somebody. ❞

the corridor is unexpectedly long, unexpectedly dark; as if the heavy light from the sun had been TAKEN AWAY the second they stepped in, as if too shy to even dare grace the empty hall. it's pleasantly cool from the trees, above the rooftop, arching above. but it only makes the place feel more EERIE.

❝ STAY CLOSE. ❞ finally she stops in front of one of the doors, a hand resting upon its handle. it opens with a soft click, and she makes sure to close the second six is past its treshold.

and the room did nothing to make her feel any safer; EMPTY, void of decoration and furniture. only fresh wallpaper and a chair, upon which an old pokéball rests. and if the corridor seemed dark, IT'S NOTHING IN COMPARISON TO THE ROOM. ❝ stole a pokémon when i was a kid. dunno if you knew, but there were NO GYM LEADERS in atoma 'til a few years ago. most kids went to kalos if they wanted a shot at the league, an' i wanted that. i thought i was OWED that. ❞

❝ his name was OZ. ❞ she steps further in, careful to go past her, hands in her pockets, her back to six. ❝ dumbass professor wasn't payin' attention. was a quick snag. an' for a while, HE WAS MINE, AN' I OWNED HIM. i thought i could do whatever i wanted. that it meant that i could TRAIN HIM, that i could PUSH HIM, that i could THREATEN HIM— ❞

❝ in the end, i thought it meant i could ABANDON HIM, too. ❞ and suddenly, it is quite clear what this is about. ❝ evidently, that's not how it works. i thought i could do anything, an' along the way, i forgot to LOVE 'EM. i didn't even WANT to. rex an' bergamot might have forgiven an' forgotten, but HE CERTAINLY HASN'T, not in almost ten years. an' you know what ? I CAN'T BLAME HIM. ❞

maybe she's being graceful in her lack of mention of arrow and dusk, maybe it's to make the lesson harsher. or maybe it's because THIS WASN'T REALLY ABOUT HER, not this time. not completely.

❝ didn't even see him in years. he wouldn't show up. well, UNTIL NOW. ❞

[lxngfxrgxtten]

did you die.

it had been a long time since her battle with bede that rocked the world to it's very core. she'd been back at home for a long while, tending to her true duties as champion. working diligently on everything. she'd sort of gotten swept up in her work over the years. from helping improving the dash taxi system to ensuring the league ran a tight ship, challenging trainers to ensure they were ready for their final bouts with six, though none had reached her still. in that time she'd been so busy, she sort of… forgot about people that weren't business related. ( not that she truly forgot them, but more so she had been neglecting them. )  while running through some paperwork for an update to whisper's badge design, she hears her phone go off. 

[ TXT received from Streli ] [ TXT ] ▶ did you die.

her heart feels like it sinks so low into her stomach that it might burst forth and fall out of her body. strelitzia. her fingers let the phone slip through her hand and clatter onto the desk she's working at with an audible thud. it had been years. years. it had been so long since they had spoken. memory drifts to their last meeting. which didn't exactly go the greatest. it was positive, but rocky. almost bittersweet. the champion's mind drifted to wonder if streli had seen her feat, her showing the world who she was. her showing that she was no longer hiding. perhaps she hadn't. perhaps she had. perhaps she wasn't impressed. she knew how strong streli was, how much she had stuck to her morals. but, for some reason, the last time they had spoken, streli had been willing to give her a second chance.

strangely, she once would feel fear at the thought of facing herself. ( and sometimes, she still did – her life was turbulent like that. ) but streli struck a fear into her unlike no other. it was not fear of what she would do, it was fear of what she wouldn't. the red-head was well known for wearing her disappointment on her face, and six thanked her stars she couldn't see the features on her face in that moment. she had to respond, she couldn't not respond, right ? it shouldn't be hard. it'd be hard to explain… but just… tell her where you'd been ? what you'd been doing ? why was this so hard ? fingers tremble as she slowly sends a message back.

[ TXT sent to Streli ] [ TXT ] ▶ streli it's so good to hear from you [ TXT ] ▶ i'm so sorry it's been so long… [ TXT ] ▶ in a manner of speaking, yes i did die i guess [ TXT ] ▶ if nothing else, the part of me that hid myself for years died [ TXT ] ▶ i finally am back into the spotlight [ TXT ] ▶ i stopped running away [ TXT ] ▶ i promised i wouldn't run anymore and i meant it [ TXT ] ▶ i'm sorry for everything

she drops the phone once again and simply buries her head in her hands. despite doing seemingly everything right, everything the way she was supposed to, why did it feel like she'd totally fucked up all of a sudden ? it had been so long, so long since she spoke to the other… if it had been this long since she spoke to streli, how long had it been since she spoke to everyone else ? had time simply escaped her ? ( and if it had, where exactly had it gone ? ) she didn't know. she felt like she knew nothing and everything all at once, but the message had been sent. the deed was done, all that was left to do was wait and see.

[lxngfxrgxtten]

(( oh yeah, it's all coming together… ))

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Sleeping On The Job ( OOC. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Thinking Big & Dreaming Bigger ( IC. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Discovering The Truth ( Main Verse. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ A Colorful Array ( Kanto Verse. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Making Headlines & Going Sky High ( Rareita Verse. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ The Lightning Rod Champion! ( Type Swap Verse. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Getting Me Through It All ( Team. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Road Work Ahead? I Sure Hope It Does! ( Crack. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Sleeping In The Shade ( Queue. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Delibird Delivery! ( Asks. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Unknown Faces ( Anons. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Understanding What's Inside ( Musings. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Saving… Don't Turn Off The Power ( Memories. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Scouting Out The Others ( Dash Commentary. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Seeking Out Excitement ( Starter Call. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ A Mirror Smiling Back At Me ( Self Promo. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Future Challengers ( Promo. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Champion Six Is Looking For A Fight! ( Muse Memes. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ A Memory In The Ruins ( Headcanon. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Hey! Quit Pokin' Me! ( Tag Games. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ In The Tall Grass ( Pokemon. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Stargazing ( Likes & Aesthetics. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Saving Me From Myself ( Streli. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ A Champion Who's Seen It All ( Six. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ I'm Beyond Confused By What We Are; But I Don't Want It To Stop ( Streli & Six. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ The Best Chef In Rareita ( Food & Cooking. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ CTRL + Z That Shit ( Mun Art. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Setting Myself Ablaze ( Abilities. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ What Are We Even Doing? ( Dash Games. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Rareita Will Be Mine ( Candle. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Standing In My Shadow ( Five. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ As The Clock Hand Spun It Was Long Forgotten ( Rareita. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ How Am I Doing? ( Status Update. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ I'm An ‘Alcohol Enthusiast’ ( Booze. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ I'll Follow Wherever You Go! ( ChiChai. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Lost With The Wind ( Helios. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Faster Than I Care To Remember ( Blazer. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Shining Even In The Dark ( Kaze. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Never Alone ( Crimson. ) 

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Eyes On The Prize ( Striker. )

── *₊˚🍹⸝⸝ Sitting In The Garden Waiting For Her To Come Home ( Redwood. )

[lxngfxrgxtten]

{再び行った}➺ “C’mon Streli, yer supposed ta HIT ME!”

{一人で}➺ THE DODGE IS EFFORTLESS, considering she didn’t even have to move an inch. This was war, and honestly? SHE WAS EXCITED. Maybe it’d get her back to being friends again. For now though, THEY WERE MORTAL ENEMIES LOCKED IN COMBAT.

Without hesitation, Six CHUCKS a rotten egg at her. "GAME ON, STRELI!"

And it is a clear ! A spectacular ! A dashing miss !!

As the egg splats against the wall behind her, Strelitzia simply tosses some of her red curls with her left hand, before tucking a lock behind her ear.

“ ‘S that all ya got ? Cuz ‘s that’s the case … ”

► STRELITZIA THROWS AN EGG !

[lxngfxrgxtten]

@darkestaken​ sent: grab :)

🍲|| Grab Her By The Jaw And See What Happens Next ( Selectively Accepting. )

{一人で}➺ Things were quiet for awhile. THE DEAD SILENCE BETWEEN THEM made her feel odd, like things were full of anger again. She didn’t know why, but the red-headed gym leader STRODE ACROSS THE ROOM, CLOSING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO, hand moving at an incredible speed, slamming against her jaw, fingers CURLING UP ALONG THE EDGE OF HER FACE. It’s aggressive, violent, and doesn’t feel right. Everything is suddenly FROZEN IN PLACE, her body seizing in place, rigid. Her boiling blood FEELS LIKE IT’S RUN COLD. Everything in front of her, that familiar, wonderful face, becomes a complete blur. Nothing feels real, and yet, IT FEELS MORE REAL THAN ANYTHING EVER HAS.

{一人で}➺ Memories flood back. PURPLE HAIR, BROKEN GLASSES, STRONG HANDS, a grip around her throat. Murder in those strange pink eyes. A LOOMING GHOSTLY PRESENCE. Fear, screams, anger, passion. Everything she’d ever hated, THE ONE PERSON SHE EVER HATED. That’s who’s in front of her now. Streli is gone. Streli is not here anymore. Everything is SO SLOW MOVING, yet so fast paced at the same time. There was once a look of horrible fear, of pain on her face, but now, she’s screaming. SHE CAN’T HEAR IT, BUT SHE’S SCREAMING. Hands whip up to grab the woman’s throat before her, the heat bubbling in her body. Something is stopping her from igniting, BUT THE HEAT OF HER HANDS MUST BE BURNING THE COLD SKIN OF THE NECK BEFORE HER.

{再び行った}➺ “GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME BEFORE I KILL YA, CANDLE! 

                                                                                             GET OFF OF ME!”

{一人で}➺ There’s fire. It’s started. Not on her hands, but on her shoulders, licking at her cheeks, along her arms. It doesn’t touch the woman in front of her, BUT IT THREATENS TO TRAIL IT’S WAY DOWN HER ARMS, TO HER HANDS, UP HER NECK, allowing her to burn the other. She’s writhing, screaming, YELLING BLOODY MURDER AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS. Her eyes look wild, gone. Like they’ve disappeared into ANOTHER WORLD ENTIRELY. She’s not here anymore, she’s in a trance and it’s not stopping, she’s NOT BEING SNAPPED OUT OF IT BY HERSELF. Her teeth are barred like a wild Pokemon. And in addition to the flames licking at her body, THOSE EYES ARE SHIFTING COLOR, THOSE TEETH ARE GROWING SHARPER, and yet, still she screams and snarls wildly. Her rival was before her, it was Candle. Why couldn’t she bring herself to burn her more?

[lxngfxrgxtten]

{一人で}➺ She cared about Streli, SHE REALLY DID, but her words from awhile ago still STUNG LIKE BEEDRILL EVERYTIME SHE THOUGHT OF HER. Seeing her made it worse. She’d been pushing the rage away, WANTING TO MAKE IT STOP, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t get rid of it. Hand BANGS THE TABLE AGAIN WHEN SHE SPEAKS, her response made her feel livid again, made her WANT TO SCREAM, and in some ways, she does. The champion doesn’t seem to CARE IN THE SLIGHTEST about the hangover the other had.

{再び行った}➺ “It’s not melodrama! Ya really don’t fuckin’ get it do ya? Ya don’t think I forgot what ya said ta me before? ‘ow Rareita’s Champion should’ve tried ‘arder? Ya ‘ave no idea what it’s like to ‘ave the entirety of a region thrust upon you and called yours when yer just a child!”

@tenebres-champ​ || bubbling anger overflowing like magma

[lxngfxrgxtten]

{一人で}➺ She’d found the box, and NATURALLY HER CURIOSITY HAD TAKEN HOLD. She shouldn’t have snooped but she couldn’t help herself. UNTIL SHE OPENED IT. A single pack of cigarettes. That’s all that it contained within the confines. All the marks on the box, THE NAILS AND DELIBERATE HARM BROUGHT TO IT, it was all horribly confusing at first. So confusing, this was all so confusing. ALL THIS OVER ONE PACK? It didn’t make sense. Until she flipped the pack over, TURNING IT IN HER HANDS AND SEEING SOME WORDS CARVED INTO IT. It’s not Unovan or Galarian, it’s not Kantonian, the main languages she knew. IT WAS KALOSIAN. She’d heard Streli speak it before, and while she didn’t know it well... she could pick out a few words. Fingers RUN OVER THE MARKS, not done with a tool she could easily figure out, and after a bit of deciphering...

                                              I don’t depend on you anymore.

{一人で}➺ Now Streli helping her had made sense. NOW IT ALL MADE SO MUCH MORE SENSE. There was no doubt this was hers, no doubt in her mind. Carefully, SHE PLACES THE BOX BACK WHERE SHE FOUND IT, only now realizing that Streli really did have a good reason to want her to stop drinking. It turned out SHE TOO HAD AN ADDICTION THAT IT SEEMED SIX HAD NEVER KNOWN ABOUT. That made the fact that she’d broken the promise hurt even more. She of course hadn’t WANTED TO DO SO, but she wasn’t strong enough, and that was beyond clear now. 

                              She’d be stronger from now on, she had to.

[lxngfxrgxtten]

🍲|| Something Isn’t Right Here ( Streli. )

For a moment, she can hear anything but musing, followed by silent rustling. She had grabbed a towel hazardly, still looking ahead at the door. She wipes the back of her neck. Arrow and Dusk. It had slipped from her mind.

No, not that she doesn’t care - more than anyone else, Strelitzia cared. But so much has been happening lately, and …

“ They’re in Atoma. Been stayin’ with my right-hand man. Takes good care a’ ‘em. We figurin’ what to do next. ” A pause. “ 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙞𝙣’𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣’ 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙩, 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚. ”

It wasn’t meant as another stabbing, but the facts were there. Pokémon that were left by their trainers, no matter the ammount of communication done beforehand, needed time to adjust.

𝐈𝐭 … 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. It was done anyway. A part of her just let things go. Maybe her anger was one of them. Her energy was needed elsewhere. 

Which is why she stays quiet at her apology. She doesn’t feel the relief of the possible ‘𝘪 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰’, doesn’t feel the warm rush of victory, how 𝓹𝓮𝓽𝓽𝔂 that might sound.

There’s nothing.

She asks a question instead. “ … Yer safe, yeah ? ”

{一人で}➺ The champion catches herself shivering, as if frozen to the core, but in reality, IT WAS FEAR AND NERVOUSNESS THAT MADE HER FEEL THIS WAY. She tries to shake it off, get it out of her system, but it remains, AND THERE’S NOT MUCH SHE CAN DO ABOUT IT. A bit of regret washes over her as Streli points out HOW HORRIBLE HER POKEMON MUST FEEL ABOUT BEING LEFT BEHIND. Especially Arrow. Poor Arrow was rescued from a horrible trainer, one who abandoned him, and yet, SHE DID THE SAME. She left him behind, and while it was for good reason ( not to mention, she didn’t set him on fire like his previous trainer ), it still FELT LIKE SHE STABBED HIM IN THE BACK. Blinking, she catches her eyes watering and quickly wipes those tears away. 

{再び行った}➺ “I... I um... yeah, I’m safe. I’ve got a lot of people lookin’ out fer me. But... Streli...”

{一人で}➺ There’s a SINKING FEELING IN HER CHEST, one that fills her with a deep, uncomfortable dread. Why would Streli ask her if she was safe? Why would she be worried about that? EVERYTHING HER MIND TOLD HER WAS THAT STRELI HATED HER GUTS, so what would ever make her care? Her heart knew it was true, though, that Streli cared. But even still, WHAT MADE HER ASK IN THE FIRST PLACE?

{再び行った}➺ “Are YOU safe?”

[lxngfxrgxtten]

literally no one:

streli:

six:

[lxngfxrgxtten]

throws an egg at six, baseball style

{一人で}➺ A decent dodge from the Champion, AND A SMALL BIT OF A TAUNTING SMIRK LATER, and next thing you know, she’s returning her own baseball pitched egg!

{再び行った}➺ “’ey batta batta, swing!”

[lxngfxrgxtten]

can i get a motherfucking witness

🍲|| What Does Six Have To Say She’s Sorry For? ( Accepting. )

[lxngfxrgxtten]

“Try me bitch.”

🍲|| IT’S OFFENSIVE AS FUCK AN I DON’T CARE ( Accepting. )

                                hits her with a box of candy.                                                                             god damnit it’s on fire again.

[lxngfxrgxtten]

tenebres-champ replied to your post: {一人で}➺ She KNOCKED OUT AT HER DESK again. Seems...

scribbles a dick on the other

[lxngfxrgxtten]

🐤

🍲|| Six does have a lot of bird Pokemon… ( Accepting. )

[lxngfxrgxtten]

tenebres-champ replied to your post: {一人で}➺ She’s horrified. DOES SHE NEED TO HAVE A...

casually eats the plastic wrapping along with her snack

           N O ! !  !