The Crucible
Feb 13, 2019 19:29:26 GMT -8
Post by Persimmon on Feb 13, 2019 19:29:26 GMT -8
Martini's Odyssey Ch. 6
The Crucible
The Crucible
Seasonal Spring Event: You seem to have a fan! Do they have a crush, or maybe they are just awestruck. Whatever it is, they have stars in their eyes!
Ribbons of white foam rippled across the clear blue sea, dissipating into watery depths as coquettish waves gobbled up the fizzling tapestry. It was a constant dance underneath the warm winds, the current never ceasing its gradual ebb and flow. At its peak, the sun shone down on the glimmering expanse, cooking the sand bars that snaked their way through the hissing waters. Salty waves scraped at the flesh of the lonely islands, luring the sand back into the schools of kelp that flickered underneath the tide. Birds flocked overhead, their hungry caws defying the music of the sea and her whistling lover.
It was a tranquil scene, made whole by the two blue canvases that kissed on the horizon. The portrait was still, broken only by the flitttering silhouettes of distant wingulls and a bullet shaped boat that carved through the turqoise water.
The S.S Dutchess, one of the many luxury liners roaming the seas of Godai, was on her maiden voyage. Sleek and streamlined, the opal coloured vessel glimmered underneath the midday sun, reflective panels sowing flecks of bright colour across the surrounding water. Smaller than her predecessors, the Dutchess was manufactured for a cruise experience far more lavish than that of other ships. Having left the ivory city of Aurmouth to the uproarious applause of beach goers and the local media, the Dutchess, now burdened with four hundred exclusive passengers, was to make her first Voyage to Amadour. The ports at Kroy and Glosterrice town were to be the vessel's only pit stops, with full food tours available to passengers willing to leave the ship's cozy interior. With live shows, cooking classes, an on board tournament, five star dining and scuba diving on the itinerary, there was an abundance of activities for any guest willing to explore the Dutchess' many quarters.
She was to be an experience like no other. The marketing made that abundantly clear.
Explore heart, home and beyond.
Splayed out on a massive bed in the splendidly furnished suite of room seventeen was one of the lucky patrons experiencing the Dutchess' good fortunes, Martini Ravensdale. Garbed in little more than a black bikini and a red chiffon shawl, the heiress glowed underneath the filtered sunlight streaming through her room, porcelain skin still shimmering after an early morning visit from the on board masseuse. It was a fine start to an already impressive holiday, made all the better with free booze of course. Already halfway through a complimentary bottle of champagne, the raven haired woman found herself betwixt a small crowd of individuals all joining in on the midday fun.
They were, of course, Martini's chosen compatriots she'd dragged along for the trip.
Seated cross legged beside her was one Piper Chevalier, the blonde woman lazily curating a mass of photos taken from an antique polaroid camera. She was garbed in a grey nightgown and knee high socks printed with little eevees, her slightly frazzled hair tied up into a bun. Faint freckles danced across her slender cheekbones and breathy laughs escaped her lips as she listened to the two individuals opposite them. A duo that had not stopped toying with each other ever since they joined Martini on her impromptu cruise.
Tangled on a couch dragged in from another room sat Alexander and Scarlet, the pair dressed in matching floral rompers. Both decided, early on in the very last minute planning of the trip, to share a room together, one that just so happened to be right next door to Martini's. It was a choice that shouldn't have surprised the young woman, Alex was, after all, hopeless like that. He'd been affably hopeless ever since the first day she met him all those years ago. Alas, the heiress' nostalgic memories of the awkward boy that once was had been replaced with an uncanny vision of a young man, confidently and unquestionably, in love. He was happy. The typically cynical heiress could not deny it and in the midst of her second and a half glass of champagne she found herself unwittingly smiling at the couple.
"So then this guy tells me he saw a big ass bird flying near the power plant, claimed it was larger than his house." Alex stated with an intense furrow of his brow, only just now getting to the meat of a story he began ten minutes ago.
"And he had no pictures to prove it?" Scarlet snorted skeptically, shoving a pedicured foot into her partner's hand for him to massage.
"He said his holocaster's battery died! He was half deaf as well, said that the bird's cry broke his ear drum!" The young man sputtered incredulously, idly dragging his fingers against Scarlet's sole.
"Let me get this straight...some random deaf guy you met at a grocery store claims to have seen a bird as big as his house, has no photos and asked you for a donation to fund another trip to Tiensee." Piper mused slowly, blue eyes narrowing as she took a meticulous swig of her champagne.
"How much did you give him, Huber?" Martini sniffed haughtily, glancing up at Piper and sharing a look for the briefest of moments.
"Th-That doesn't matter, obviously. What matters is that I funded the dreams of a fellow person, it's our duty to offer our fellow man a helping hand." The young man countered, his cheeks now flushed.
"Yikes." Piper uttered.
"Cross my heart. He was really getting worked up about it!" Alex nodded to himself, his eyes fretfully darting between the three young women all staring at him. "None of you seem convinced..." He mumbled, a lengthy exhale escaping his lips.
"Baby, I think he just wanted money for drugs." Scarlet cooed, offering Alex a conciliatory pat on the shoulder before nudging his fingers to get back to work.
"Or maybe you were roped into a social experiment. You're gonna be an online hit. I can already see it, 'Scamming idiots for free cash'." Martini declared theatrically, hands fluttering in the air as she snickered devilishly.
"Come on, you guys are such negative Nancies!" Alex huffed, mimicking Martini's proclamation with a very unflattering face.
"Dude, it was totally drug money." Piper noted dryly, apologetically shaking her head at the flustered storyteller.
"Or a poor person who knows you look like a sucker." Martini grinned, porcelain fingers trailing through her shampooed locks.
There was a pregnant silence, the cogs in Alex's mind turning as he muttered something underneath stiff breaths.
"Shit, what if it was for drugs?" He groaned, burying his face into Scarlet's thighs and eliciting an unintelligible noise. After several seconds venting his retrospective discovery into the floral print of his girlfriend's shorts, the young man finally curled back upwards for some air. "He was so convincing!" The last word ending in a wheeze.
"Oh, Alex. You're too nice for your own good." Scarlet mused coyly, ruffling her boyfriend's sandy hair and planting a kiss on his pale cheek. "Look on the bright side of things, at least now you've got a quirky story to tell and learned a valuable life lesson." The red haired dancer grinned, cupping Alexander's chin with an elegant hand.
"I think the lesson I've learned today is that Alex is still an idiot." Martini uttered flatly, removing a fleck of dirt from underneath her fingernail, "and Scarlet, honey, why settle for his massages when this boat literally has professionals on board? I feel like a squeaky baby after this morning." The heiress purred, stretching her legs across the length of the bed. The scent of the masseuse's oils still lingered in her room, now joined by a cocktail of Piper's perfume and the aromatic dessert wines.
"Oh I don't know, Alex just knows which spots to hit." Scarlet shrugged lightly, her lips curling into a coy smile.
"Gross." Martini grumbled.
"Don't be a hater." Alex chided, proudly flaunting his apparent massage skills with three skillful cracks of Scarlet's foot. It was enough to summon a yelp from his companion's lips. "Besides, you only think its gross because you're the literal embodiment of a Purrloin, always to be looked at and never to be touched." The young man snorted, egging the heiress on with a teasing tilt of his jaw.
Martini swiftly showed him the finger.
"Let me interrupt you there and say Miss Ravensdale definitely enjoys touching." Piper noted dryly, shamelessly flaunting a photo taken the previous night at the Dutchess' opening ball. Sprawled out over all three of her travel companions with one shoe missing was a slightly inebriated Martini, her obsidian locks tumbling down bare shoulders as she planted a kiss on Piper's cheeks. It was definitely taken well into the night for the young woman to only half remember.
Who'd even taken the photo? It was a thought that came and went as quickly as she snatched the photo out of Piper's hands.
"Well now your proof is gone!" The heiress exclaimed triumphantly, quickly shoving the little snapshot in her bikini and leering at the trio that now openly laughed at her.
"Aww don't be like that, it's a cute photo." Piper fawned, teasingly nudging the heiress with her shoulder. "You can keep it if you want, I've already got a copy of it ready for the social medias." She shrugged.
Wrinkling her nose, Martini remained unswayed.
"I think she wants you to go digging for what she snatched off you. Although it shouldn't be hard, not with those boobs." Alex giggled, not even bothering to shield himself from Scarlet's disapproving slap as he wriggled an eyebrow at Martini and Piper.
"You've had too much to drink Mr. Huber!" The red haired dancer tutted, offering Piper and Martini an apologetic grimace.
The heiress didn't respond, for she was furiously sculling the last of her champagne so the blush in her cheeks would disappear. Piper, on the other hand, let out a dry chortle. "If I'm doing any digging I'd prefer to do it in private." The blonde woman motioned nonchalantly, finally stacking her photos together before flopping back down on to the bed, her legs idly swinging back and forth into the mattress.
"Well I guess that's our cue then! I'll take Mr. Generous over here for a walk and we'll meet in an hour at the arena? I know we didn't have much planned for today but I reckon a battle or two may relieve some...tension." Scarlet murmured innocently, gently placing her emptied glass atop a plate that was just recently filled with a colourful array of snacks. "We'll check out the planetarium and let you two know if it lives up to the hype." The dancer noted, grabbing her boyfriend's hands and blowing a kiss at the two young woman awkwardly spaced on the bed.
"Don't forget to trim your nails, Alex!" Piper called out unceremoniously from her comfortable perch, not even bothering to hide her grin as Scarlet dragged a slightly confused Alex out of suite seventeen.
"Byeeeeee ~" The dancer sung, finally yanking Alex out of the room with a giggle.
With a soft click the door to the room was closed, the only noise remaining being the muffled lapping of waves just outside the Dutchess' paneled exterior.
Exhaling slowly, Piper turned to face Martini, the heiress lightly swaying in her rich red chiffon cocoon. "You know we were all joking, right? Ain't nobody is hating on your boobs." The blonde woman noted gently, leaning her head against her palm and peering up at her stoic companion.
"Duh, obviously. I'm not an idiot." Martini mumbled in exasperation, glancing down at Piper and pursing her lips. "Things are...still weird." She shrugged idly, thick lashes rapidly blinking away one of their stray brethren.
"Me being here?"
There was a lengthy pause, Martini's brow furrowing as a quiet monologue raced through her mind. She shook her head.
"Not exactly? It's that I want you here." She uttered quietly, clicking her tongue and resigning herself to sway with the Dutchess' rhythm.
It had been three months since she'd met Piper. The young woman still beguiling the heiress with her presence...to the point that Martini demanded the journalist in training join her on the trip up north, for no other point than to have her around.
The sheer desperation of it all made the typically emotions averse girl shudder with embarrassment.
"That's sweet." Piper simpered quietly, her icy blue eyes tracing the features of the champagne filled heiress. "Listen, I can be here as a friend or whatever else is easy for you to digest. Just know that I'm present and I'm having fun. You don't need to stifle your emotions, especially not out here on open waters." The woman chuckled, tracing circles into the skin of Martini's knee.
Sighing, Martini nodded her head. "You're probably right."
"I'm rarely wrong." Piper grinned, springing upwards and catching the dark haired woman's gaze. "Besides, who else is going to tell you how pretty you look?"
WC: 2176
Pokemon | |
---|---|
Gothorita Caught at Level 5 (10%) Nickname: Gypsy Gender: Female Type: Psychic Ability: Frisk Height: 2'4" [70 cm] Weight: 39.7 lbs [18 kg] Health: Intermediate EXP Rate: Medium Slow EXP Gauge: (188/210) EXP Gained: 186 Level: 28 Division: D7 Total Stats: 358 [336 + 11 + 11]
|
1 x Calcium (10%)[/ul][/td][td]
[Summary]Gypsy was born the runt in a troop of Gothitas presented to the Ravensdale estate. Having vowed to spoil the pretty little pokemon for the rest of her life, Martini showered Gypsy with love, poffins and overly expensive grooming treatments. Because of this upbringing, Gypsy is an overly affectionate albeit slightly clumsy pokemon, often exhibiting physical acts of love towards her trainer and any person/pokemon who gains her trust. However, this Pokemon does possess all of her trainer's cunning and will utilize her adorable facade and psychic power to commit pranks for the mere fun of it.
Moveset:
1. Pound
3. Confusion
7. Tickle
8. Play Nice
10. Fake Tears
14. DoubleSlap
16. Psybeam
19. Embargo
24. Feint Attack
25. Psyshock
28. Flatter
Unique Moves:
- Shadow Ball (TM Move)
- Psychic (TM Move)
- Hidden Power [Fire] (TM Move)
Item: Twisted Spoon
Spiritomb Caught at Level 14 (10%) Nickname: Nox Gender: Female Type: Ghost/Dark Ability: Pressure Height: 3'03" [100cm] Weight: 238.1lbs [108kg] Health: Intermediate EXP Rate: Medium Fast EXP Gauge: (126/136) EXP Gained: 86 Level: 22 Division: D5 Total Stats: 312 [308 + 4]
|
[/ul][/td][td]
[Summary]This eldritch horror is a sadist. That doesn’t mean she’s cruel, but that her idea of fun isn’t what most kind hearted people think. It comes from a place of ignorance, and that she really just needs the right playmate who enjoys being the victim of some psychological horror.
Moveset:
1. Confuse Ray
1. Curse
1. Pursuit
1. Shadow Sneak
1. Spite
7. Faint Attack
13. Hypnosis
19. Dream Eater
Unique Moves:
- Nightmare (Egg Move)
- Shadow Ball (TM Move)
Item: Dread Plate
Arbok Given at Level 26 Nickname: Naga Gender: Female Type: Poison Ability: Intimidate Height: 11'06" [3.5m] Weight: 144lbs [65kg] Health: Intermediate EXP Rate: Medium Fast EXP Gauge: (189/210) EXP Gained: 0 Level: 26 Division: D6 Total Stats: 347 [338+9]
|
[/ul][/td][td]
[Summary]A cold and collected member of Martini's team, Naga is the clinical precision to her sibling's chaos and trickery. A natural born hunter with a penchant for ambush attacks, Naga remains an enigma compared to the rest of her kin.
Moveset:
1. Leer
1. Wrap
1. Poison Sting
8. Acid
9. Bite
12. Glare
16. Haze
17. Screech
22. Crunch
Unique Moves:
- Dig (TM Move)
Item: Salac Berry
Mismagius Caught at Level 16 Nickname: Morrigan Gender: Female Type: Ghost/ Ability: Levitate Height: 2'11" [61cm] Weight: 9.7 lbs [4.4kg] Health: Above Average EXP Rate: Fast EXP Gauge: (106/110) EXP Gained: 60 Level: 22 Division: D5 Total Stats: 308
|
[/ul][/td][td]
[Summary]After a chance encounter with Martini in Firebird Villa, this dainty ghost Pokemon formed an immediate liking to the girl and the rest of the team. Far more gentle than the rambunctious cohort of Pokemon, Morrigan has proven to be the most maternal of the siblings and utilizes her vocal abilities to soothe and calm anyone caught in a tide of despair or angst. Innately curious, this Mismagius is constantly striving to experience new things under the protective wing of her beloved trainer.
Moveset:
1. Growl
1. Psywave
5. Spite
10. Astonish
14. Confuse Ray
16. Mystical Fire
16. Phantom Force
16. Magical Leaf
16. Lucky Chant
19. Mean Look
Unique Moves:
- Shadow Ball (TM Move)
- Psychic (TM Move)
- Hidden Power [Fairy] (TM Move)
- Thunderbolt (TM Move)
Item:Spell Tag
Houndoom Caught at Level 16 (3%) Nickname: Amadeus Gender: Male Type: Fire/Dark Ability: Flash Fire Height: 4’ 7” [121 cm] Weight: 77.2 lbs [35 kg] Health: Intermediate EXP Rate: Slow EXP Gauge: (186/204) EXP Gained: 186 Level: 24 Division: D5 Total Stats: 355 [336+17+2]
|
[/ul][/td][td]
[Summary]Fiercely loyal and brimming with a fire that is rarely quelled, Amadeus is a Houndour that puts Martini's safety at the top of its priorities. A valued guardian and friend, the keen eyed canine will be the first to jump into the fray to defend his master and siblings.
Moveset:
1. Leer
1. Ember
4. Howl
8. Smog
13. Roar
16. Bite
20. Odor Sleuth
24. Thunderfang
Unique Moves:
- Hidden Power [Flying] (TM Move)
Item:Amulet Coin
[/div]
Spinarak Caught at Level 10 Nickname: Weaver Gender: Female Type: Bug/Poison Ability: Insomnia Height: 1'09" [50cm] Weight: 18.7lbs [8.5kg] Health: Scrawny EXP Rate: Fast EXP Gauge: (64/68) EXP Gained: 44 Level: 18 Division: D9 Total Stats: 180
|
[/ul][/td][td]
[Summary]A hard worker this one is. No time to play with the ghost or ghouls, she'd simply rather tend to her own work. Between all the pranks and horseplay that goes on, this mild mannered spider is often found cleaning up the mess her siblings make and ensuring nothing gets too out of hand. When push comes to shove, Weaver hangs in the shadows and utilizes traps and ambush strategies to counter her foes.
Moveset:
1. Poison Sting
1. String Shot
1. Constrict
5. Absorb
8. Infestation
12. Scary Face
15. Night Shade
Unique Moves:
- Toxic Spikes (Egg Move)
Item:
Added graphic and some font fixes