victory_road | [closed] February Catch All

Being able to watch Felix battle without being the focus is a delight; Dimitri sometimes doesn't get to see it too often. He's always the focus, after all. So he smiles, and makes out what he can through the dark and with the help of Gremlin manning the flashlight.

The Zubat's capture is a surprise, but it's one made clear when Felix speaks up. "I was wondering why you would capture a Zubat," Dimitri comments, chuckling. Felix's favor towards Jinx is always a delight to see.

Still, with the Zubat taken care of, Dimitri crouches down and lets Gremlin scurry onto the floor. "If you wouldn't mind, perhaps I will take you up on that, although I feel terrible for imposing so much on you... That reminds me, have you heard of the ability Return?"

Felix rolls his eyes. "Quit agonizing. Obviously I don't mind and it's not an imposition when it was my suggestion to begin with." Then he shakes his head. "I haven't. What is it?"

"It is a Normal type move with an interesting condition to it," Dimitri says, letting Gremlin scurry across the floorboards. The completely broken ones are easy enough to avoid, but what about the others? Best to have a rat scout it out.

"The stronger the bond between the trainer and the Palien, the stronger the move becomes."

"Is that so? I can see why such a thing would appeal to you." He watches Gremlin's course carefully, making note of the rat's progress. "Is that one of the disks you want to find?"

"No - I already got it when we were in Goldenrod, before I made the decision to start building up my funds." Dimitri watches Gremlin too, proud of how the Rattata carefully tests out the various boards to make sure they pass muster. "I thought you might find it interesting as well. It is apparently quite suitable for Normal types especially."

Dimitri rolls his head from side to side. "There are some TMs here as well, although I haven't looked into them too deeply... However, it doesn't seem as though there are any that Gremlin could learn. Goldenrod has the most."

"Hm. Something to look into, perhaps. Particularly for the Eevees and the cats." Ordelia makes a small chirping sound of interest. "Did you know that some Pokemon can only evolve when they build up enough trust with their trainer?"

Felix nods, beginning to pick his way across the room, following Gremlin's indicated trail of safe places to walk and tugging Dimitri after him, since the man seems intent on climbing this entire tower while holding hands. "Then let me know what you're looking for. I'll probably go tomorrow."

Dimitri is absolutely lovestruck as Felix grabs his hand and tugs him along again - and it absolutely shows on his face, even with the dim lighting. When they reach Gremlin and the rat scurries up onto his shoulders once again, it's even more obvious. "I have heard of it, to some degree," Dimitri murmurs. "Dedue's Budew needs to grow closer to him, or so I've heard."

It'll be interesting to see what his friend's partner becomes. Dimitri knows that he could look it up, but, well... It's more fun to see it as a bit of a surprise, instead.

As he inspects the state of the stairs they reach - even more busted up than the ones they've just climbed - Dimitri hums. "Well... If they have the TM for Toxic in Goldenrod, perhaps that? I was recommended it."

"Mm. Some of Eevee's evolutions are the same. Ordelia chose to evolve as an Umbreon, so we'll have to get to know each other better." The Eevee nods with resolution.

When they reach the rat, Felix turns to say something only to stop at the look on Dimitri's face. "...what? Why are you looking at me like that."

Oh, so he noticed. Dimitri doesn't stop smiling, instead tugging Felix close to bump their foreheads together. "I was just thinking that I love you so much, it's unbelievable," Dimitri murmurs. "You are good to me, Felix."

Felix's face floods with red. You can't just spring this stuff on people out of nowhere, Dimitri!

"You're what's unbelievable," he mutters, but he follows it up by pushing up onto his toes to kiss Dimitri, his free hand coming up to rest on the other man's chest. This date of theirs really is shaping up to be a lot like the "adventures" they used to have when they were young, tugging each other around the hidden corners of Fhirdiad by the hand and giggling whenever they went somewhere they weren't supposed to be...

No, Dimitri's right, sometimes it is hard to believe that somehow, they managed to get this close again. It's different, of course, in more ways than one, but...being with Dimitri no longer feels like a painful tug of war between the halves of his heart. He can let himself love this man without reservation.

Still, this man is being awfully embarrassing right now. Felix clears his throat, trying not to smile like a giddy child.

"Come on, before this place comes down around our ears."

Perhaps being 'unbelievable' isn't such a bad thing, not when it earns Dimitri a kiss like this, that hand over his heart. Dimitri smiles into it, allowing his eye to slip shut. A year ago - less - and he would have thought Felix would sooner drive a sword into his heart instead of this.

Sometimes, Dimitri had wondered if even forgiveness from the Goddess would do him any good. It turns out that he never needed her.

All he needed was the same thing from Felix.

"Of course," Dimitri says softly when Felix pulls away, still smiling down at him. "Do you want me to give you a lift up to the landing? We can avoid dealing with the stairs entirely that way."

"I'll get up there myself." Give him a lift, psh. Who does Dimitri think Felix is? "Besides, if you do that, you still have to deal with the stairs. What's the point?"

"I could jump!" Dimitri offers, not entirely aware of if he could reach it or not. He has decent height on himself, he could reach up. Probably. Still... "If you're certain, then. Hopefully everything holds well enough..." It will certainly be embarrassing if they crash through the floor and have to explain injuries to the Nurse Joy in town.

“It’s too late to worry now, you’re the one who wanted to climb the tower with the huge ‘do not enter’ sign. Now you reap the consequences.” He smirks and moves to tread lightly on the stairs close to the wall, feeling out each step as he goes.

As Dimitri starts to follow him, Gremlin scurries atop his head to better shine the flashlight. Gotta help! "Is that a complaint I hear?" Dimitri teases, careful of where he's putting his feet. He's never been particularly careful or subtle, unfortunately... "We can always go back down, if it is."

“Not on your life.” He tests a stair and it creaks a little too much; he steps lightly over it, but the next stair isn’t all that sturdy either, and he hurries to take his full weight off of it. “Watch your step, here.” Ordelia hops down from his shoulder to test the remaining stairs ahead of him.

"Understood." Obediently, Dimitri awkwardly just... skips two steps entirely, once he's certain that Felix is far enough ahead of him. "You know, I heard that the other tower is interesting as well - the one that isn't burned down. But the monks there are far more strict than those in Bell Tower."

With the Eevee's help, Felix makes it up to the next landing without incident, pointing out trouble spots to Dimitri as he goes. "So, you can only break rules when it's a sign telling you what to do, not a person, I see."

He looks around this new floor. It's a burned-out wreck just like the others, and the damage is getting worse the higher up they go, it seems. "Why haven't they torn this place down already?"

"I think you are stretching somewhat to call advice any sort of 'rule'," Dimitri comments as he reaches the top as well. He pauses a moment, allowing Gremlin to swing the light around again. Something skitters away from the light, behind the ruins of a pillar. Well, as long as it's not bothering them...

"Perhaps it is a sort of holy place. I told you some of the myth behind it, did I not?"

"It's not a 'stretch' to call a sign that literally says 'do not enter' a rule. If you gave an order like that, you wouldn't expect your soldiers to assume it's just advice."

At the skittering, Felix's hand gets halfway to his sword before he remembers that Pokemon like the Zubat just...live here. "You did. That it was meant to match the other tower but was struck by lightning. Something about legendary Pokemon. That's all."

Dimitri makes a small noise that says, yes, he knows Felix, but must you call him out on it?

It's Felix. Of course he did.

Moving on. "Yes, the two towers were meant as roosts for a pair of Legendary bird Pokemon. When this was struck down, one of the birds left forever, and the other... blessed three Pokemon that had fallen in the tragedy, transforming them. Perhaps, with that in mind, the town regards this as a sacred sight of sorts."

Felix only gives him an unimpressed look at his whining.

As Dimitri explains, he takes in the scorched and ruined interior of the tower again with this new knowledge in mind. "Huh. Could be. These three transformed Pokemon, were they transformed into Ghost Pokemon? Is that why they supposedly gather here?"

"I don't believe so," Dimitri answers with a shake of his head, allowing Gremlin back down again for floor navigation. "They became legendary creatures in their own right... Legendary Beasts, they were described at."

Dimitri glances around at the sad sight. "Still... The sight of a tragedy is still a tragedy." No matter who survives.

"...it is." He gets the feeling they're not only talking about Pokemon anymore. So romanticizing death and turning the fallen into absurd legends is something they do in this world, too. Disappointing.

"Which is why they should destroy it. Instead of continuing to memorialize a tragic accident with something dangerous enough to potentially lead to more tragic accidents."

"You're acting a little hastily," Dimitri points out quietly, stepping forward in the appropriate spaces when Gremlin squeaks at them across the room. He paid attention to the Rattata's movements and decisions.

"I could only guess at the reason why it has been left in the state that it is, and I am merely an outsider to the city and its history. Perhaps there is something I don't know, or a cultural expectation that I missed."

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