Set in the original region of Arciel, Legends Rising is a route-inspired, but not strictly route-based, Pokemon roleplay. Pick a faction, pick a class, and strike out into the wild to take on the League, master Contest coordination, research the mysteries of Pokemon and Arciel, and much, much more. Will you be a classic trainer? A criminal? A farmer? Choose your destiny on Legends Rising.
Gabe should have been frightened. He should have been startled, been confused, been sorry. But even as Koray shouted in his mind, Gabe fielded an incredible level of indifference. The glares, the physical tension, the Pokemon’s responses. None of it fazed Gabe at all.
Harriet’s eyes flashed from Gabe to Koray and back again several different times. She didn’t know what to say.
Tell me why. Gabe shifted and rested his cheek on his closed fist. Why I wouldn’t want the one thing I have a passion for. Yellow eyes held brown ones. Suffered through so much, endured so much. Nothing. A vapid expression. To see every fucking dream slip through my fingers. No warmth was added from Gabe. No sympathy. No empathy. The last part, the shouting, had Gabe shifting back slowly in his seat, and a weird smirk had twisted up onto his features.
And then Harriet understood. And she wished she didn’t. Gabe…. Wasn’t connecting with this at all. It was information. He’d parsed out the emotion and gone straight for the jugular. The coldness was separation. And all of this was information. It might as well have been written down and read plainly to him. This was frighteningly cold. Precise. Calculating. And it alarmed Harriet right then how the young man so bubbling with emotion could suddenly become like this.
….
….Why?
“You either do or you don’t. If you want something bad enough, you take it with your own hands. Or you don’t. You give it one hundred and ten percent, fight tooth and nail, or you don’t,” Gabe answered with such a cool collected tone that he might as well have been describing the weather then. “If you want it and haven’t planned for it at all, then it’s a bucket list item, a one off thing, not something you’ve dreamed of making a reality.”
Gabe’s arms folded in front of himself as he leaned back. “Tell me why I should cater to your self-loathing tantrum? I’m being realistic. If you want it that badly, you don’t hope for it. You don’t wish for it. You don’t dream. You do it.” Gabe’s eyes held Koray’s. “You’re not the only one who’s been through shit. You don't know me either unless youwant to believe what Ara's said.” A moment, a flicker of weakness. Gabe's eyes glanced away. His arms tightened around himself a little more. "It's not like I said your dream is stupid or laughed at you for it." Was he really digging into that Koray-laugh again? Maybe so.
Why? Why wasn't Gabe even flinching? Did he even care? Apparently not. Of course the person he'd thought was a friend might as well be getting ready to stab him in the back. Of fucking course. Who knew a chance meeting at the masquerade would lead to this. How could someone that could make him feel happy to dance, someone that they'd been able to be themselves around, be so cold? None of Koray's words had any impact. Not one word made a difference.
And then Gabe started speaking, started invalidating everything Koray had just said. He hated it. But more than that, Koray hated himself because as much as he hated hearing what Gabe was saying, there was a grain of truth to it. Describing Koray's words as a tantrum only made him glare that much harder. You're not the only one who's been through shit. Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. Koray knew that, but he'd reached a breaking point and was teetering over the edge. Why the hell not just jump right over.
Or be pushed over as Gabe mentioned Ara. All eyes turned to Koray as he swore he saw red right then. Rowan floated further away from Koray, eyes pleading with Harriet now. Please make him stop... The Phantump couldn't stand seeing Koray in this much pain but he knew better than to attack unprovoked. "I never fucking believe a word Ara says. Not since she painted me as a manipulative asshole that she's still ashamed to be around. Because she chose already, and I lost. I'm still fucking losing." A fist hit the bench, it stung, but Koray wasn't done. Gabe had talked about him laughing, about his weakness at the restaurant.
Fuck you. "I wasn't laughing at you. Don't be so conceited to think everything is about you. I was laughing at myself. You were describing exactly how I felt. How I'm still fucking feeling. You know what? I wish I could walk away from Ara. I want, desperately to be strong enough to do that." There was truth to that, a pain in Koray's eyes that he couldn't put words to. He wanted to walk away. But... she still needed him, wanted him even.
"Except I can't. I owe her. I fucking owe her and I can't just walk away. No matter how much being hidden away hurts. No matter how much I feel like I'm being used. I'm a sounding board, nothing more than a pawn. Why not? That's all I've ever fucking amounted to. Nervermind that I see spirits. Nevermind that they fucking torture me. Nevermind the endless cycle of foster parents that hated me. Nevermind that I can't tell you the amount of times I've wondered why bother. There's no point. I can count on one hand how many people actually give a shit about me and fuck it if I hadn't counted you among them. Pokemon notwithstanding. Ara... was... is among them. I can't let that go. Fuck me, I can't let that go." Another breath, another slam of the fist. This time it almost sounded like there was an audible crack.
The Absol, ever the silent watcher raised her head. She'd heard enough. Choose your next words carefully, peon. If you harm him further, I will retaliate. I've watched him suffer enough at the hands of this witch you call 'Ara'. I won't stand for it. You've done enough damage already. And for what? Both of you share something. Stop fighting, both of you. Adding salt to an open wound won't solve anything. Koray meanwhile was none the wiser that his Absol had just said anything. He just had nothing left to say. Not that it mattered, Gabe had shown he didn't seem to care...and like a fool,they had fallen for it. How pathetic. Same song, different verse. If he could only get out of this vicious circle, maybe he would be able to get somewhere. As things stood right then, it was hopeless. Or at least that was how Koray saw it.
Harriet looked from Rowan to Koray to Gabe. Her mouth had shut dangerously tight. Why was it every time she peeled back a layer of Gabe, there was something worse behind it? A patch work quilt of semi-fixed semi-broken things. Her attention flicked back to Rowan again. <I don’t know how.> Because either way, it was going to hurt both of them. But knowing what she knew right then….
Gabe, meanwhile, sat listening. He was there in the present, but at the same time he was somewhere else, far from himself. Far from this. Koray was blowing up at him for every single word and then some, but not once would Koray see a look of sympathy, empathy, or otherwise. In those amber spheres was a void. But a void that was listening.
Koray was losing, still losing. He had laughed because he recognized the feelings? I owe her. No that was……. a foreign concept to Gabe. Of all the things Gabe had felt, experience, or otherwise, debt was not one of them. Koray continued on all the same. As if Gabe hadn’t already demanded to know why he should be privy to it. Koray saw spirits. He was tortured by the living and the dead. He’d doubted and doubted and doubted. And he was desperate for connection.
As Freda’s thoughts came barging into the conversation, though, Gabe’s eyes flashed sideways at her. She could retaliate? Gabe’s eyes flicked back to Koray again.
“I get it,” was the first three words. And some life had come back to Gabe again. No emotion, but some life. “You crave a sense of purpose and think human connection will offer that. Textbook desires. I get it.” Gabe glanced sideways out the window again. “And you bent over backwards for someone who you trusted to be at your side because at least then you’d have that. And she chose someone else.”
Gabe took in a breath. Harriet glanced downwards.
“I’m not gonna lie and say I know what it’s like being tormented by spirits, but thoughts are literally burning their way into my skull right now so, I can imagine well enough.” Gabe snorted loudly at that. That was almost funny— Almost. “I'm not gonna lie and say I've had foster parents who hated me. But my old man--" Gabe froze. A hand had raised and clutched itself over his mouth. Gabe wouldn't finish that thought. A shaky breath came and went.
"I’m not going to lie and say I’ve ever wanted a purpose. I don’t think it’s useful or worthwhile. I can’t relate. But I know what being bent over backwards is like. And I know what being broken is like.”
Gabe paused, folded his arms tighter around himself, and took in a breath. “I’m sorry for hitting you. I didn’t understand why you were laughing at me.” Breath in, breath out. "It just hurt."
Rowan stared helplessly as he watched Koray fall apart, not sure how to make him feel better right then and there. There was so much yelling, and the Phantump felt every bit of pain behind it. It hurt so badly and yet... it seemed like it was something that needed to be said. As soon as Koray quieted down, Rowan would fly to his side, trying to be of some comfort, even if the Phantump knew it would do little good right then and there. Even still, Koray would wrap his arms around Rowan, curling up with the Phantump much like a child would with their favorite stuffie.
Gabe's words didn't have Koray looking up, not immediately at least. It all sounded so medical, as if he was reading from a textbook. Whatever it was, he didn't want or need a lecture. Hearing it from such a neutral standpoint was... weird. Still, at least it was something. An acknowledgement of his hurt, Gabe hadn't dismissed it... and that was enough. At hearing that Gabe thought they could imagine what it was like to be tormented by spirits, Koray focused on him again. That was doubtful, but he supposed he could appreciate the comparison. There was something almost said about Gabe's father and Koray looked curious. Of course he wasn't one to try and figure out exactly what that meant but it was interesting nonetheless.
There was more, Gabe knew what it meant to be broken, to be bent over backwards. He even apologized and Koray just sat there, studying him. I'm so tired... The emotion having died down, Koray was finding it hard to stay awake now but instead reluctantly released Rowan to dig one last thing out of the lunch basket before bringing it over to Gabe. A tray of chibi charmander truffles sat would be handed over before Rowan promptly went back to Koray's arms. "Sorry I lost it..." he managed to murmur, "I kinda... snapped at the restaurant... wasn't laughing at you..."Arceus, but he was tired. A hand would wave briefly to the tray, "Also I tend to bake when I'm stressed. So... enjoy."
Harriet wanted to cry. A claw hand reached up and wiped her dry eyes in a similar manner. She wanted to cry, and she wanted to pry. How much of this was left, Gabe? She wouldn’t ask right then, though, not right there.
Gabe, meanwhile, had glanced out the window again after speaking. Elbowing the table, he rested his cheek on his hand. Thoughts buzzed in the air. Gabe had to wonder if it’d ever be silent again. He couldn’t know, not yet. The sound of a tray setting down on the table was just enough to have Gabe glancing back again. The cute little Charmander truffles smiled upwards, and Gabe frowned softly back at them. Reaching down, he raised one and took a bite.
Koray watched silently as Gabe took one of the Charmander truffles, noting too how he'd frowned at them. A question about whether they looked wrong came and went before it would be dismissed just as easily. He wasn't worried about the presentation as much as the taste. His stomach was already feeling nauseous, wanting to reject the meager bit of salad he'd managed to eat earlier already. It wasn't until Gabe said that the truffles were good that a hint of a smile came to Koray's features. Good.
"You can have them." It was... easier to change the subject rather than focus on the elephant in the room, "They're safe for pokemon too... if you'd like to share." That was an afterthought, especially after seeing how upset Harriet seemed to be. Either way, it seemed that a vague sense of peace had been restored. It was almost a relief.
He could have them. Gabe fished up another truffle having finished the first. He glanced sideways at Harriet as Koray mentioned they were Pokemon safe but didn’t say anything immediately.
Harriet glanced sideways at Gabe in turn and then forward at Koray again. This conversation was like a rubber band that had been stretched far beyond its bounds but relaxed at the last second, and she wasn’t sure how to react to it. These children had been tormented by so much— only some of which she had known up to that point.
Her gaze dropped to the truffle, and immediately a purple film sealed around it before it raised up and floated over to it. Taking a bite, Harriet hummed. So far, everything had been delicious. Too bad the atmosphere was so stale. Her gaze flicked sideways to Gabe again. He was thinking deeply but had banished much of his emotion in the process. This was probably as far as they could go. She’d need to think of something to say soon or—
“Liz evolved recently, by the way….. I want Charmeleon pops…next time.” Gabe stated looking out and away from it all. “They’d be good to have when planning logistics.”
Despite himself, Koray smiled when he saw Harriet was able to enjoy the truffles too. Good. This was... good, wasn't it? At least it was something else to focus on aside from how his stomach still felt like it was twisted up in knots. Curling up with Rowan helped, it always had. He felt safe like this, safe with Freda and Rowan there. The Absol and Phantump were among the most loyal of his pokemon. There were others, certainly, but none that Koray felt such a strong sense of protection from.
Gabe's words had Koray focusing on him once again. Charmeleon pops? Well, that made sense... though, the next statement about... planning logistics had Koray's breath catching. It still... hurt to think about his dream. Something held so precious to him. Could it really be in his grasp? Still, the promise of a next time was something he could hold on to. The fact that he hadn't chased Gabe away was a relief. "Next time..." Koray agreed with a nod, managing a smile, however brief, "Be sure to tell me if you need Charizard instead though." Was that an attempt at a joke? Perhaps.
A small snort escaped from Gabe at the mention of Charizard. “Sure,” was the answer even as his eyes dropped in consideration of that.
He wondered how much Koray knew about that, if anything. He wondered just how close Ara and Koray were even against Koray’s own words. He wasn’t … willing to trust an answer regardless of what it was. Not right then. I could probably tear through his mind right now and get it myself… But did he want to? To know or otherwise. He did, but not right then, he decided. Some other time.
“They better increase in size with each version, then.” He warned with a small smirk. “Or I’ll be disappointed.”
Harriet had been unabashedly aware of Gabe’s thoughts up to that point and found herself uncomfortable again. She wanted to… talk this over, think this over, again, maybe later. But for now… she supposed… this had been…. uh. Well, not great but reasonable. ‘Well… it has been a good lunch. We should… probably head out, Gabe?’
Koray smiled and managed to laugh a little at Gabe's response. He was feeling better about this. Maybe it would be better if he just left it at that. He was feeling so tired and really just wanted to go back home and nap for... well, maybe a week? Hah. Like that would happen. Still, it was nice to think about. Gabe's next comment had Koray laughing all over again. "You got it~," he agreed, smirking back in return.
Harriet's comment earned a nod from Koray before he pushed what remained of the lunch in the basket towards Gabe. "There's more in the basket, feel free to take it with you. You can give it back to me next time."Next time. That was the unspoken promise they'd made, wasn't it. They could talk more next time. Next time maybe there wouldn't be this awkwardness. I can dream, can't I... Yes... maybe.
Returning everyone but Freda and Rowan, Koray managed to get on the huge Absol again. It hurt, his bones felt stiff and sore but... hey, he'd managed. "I guess... text me when you want to meet up again. Though if it's food you want, I need at least an hour head's up," Koray teased slightly. This hadn't been what he'd expected, but it was... still nice.
Gabe half smiled. “Alright….” He clasped the basket, and that unspoken promise between them. There was… still a lot to talk on, if they even wanted to. If this was even worth talking about. Eventually. Gabe helped clean up, and then glanced sideways at Harriet. She gave a small nod in response. Looking back at Koray again, Gabe smirked. “Sure…” And with that, Gabe and Harriet teleported off.
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