PoA: M10 - Deluge - p2

    Reilly was a fount of never ending optimism and enthusiasm, even after nearly two weeks at sea. He was often prancing about the ship in his free time, talking to the different Pokemon and learning more about them, or even jumping off the ship and running alongside it for a bit if the waves were calm enough. They had long since passed the rough waters that created a perimeter around the alabaster statue that rose from the ocean. Long since parted ways with the sister ship that was being guided by one of the island’s local traders, bound for a harbor that had sheltered Aetherians in the past. The island that had seemed so far away before now sat in sight, though still small, the blueish, muddled features of the land had been slowly rising out of the sea on their approach and seemed to stretch out as far as the eye could see.

    “S’pose you could say that.” Liam responded as he laced his fingers behind his head. “Mostly just worried about our success in what’s coming.”

    “The need to worry of such things that you lack influence to change is meaningless.” Bayard grunted with conviction. “More weighs your mind.”

    “Ah.” Liam glanced up at the afternoon sky, absentmindedly studying the wispy clouds above them. “Well, I’m really just missing Gavin in all this.”

    Bayard groaned in annoyance. The old dog’s relationship with Gavin was far from what one could call friendly. The two butted heads frequently, one thinking the other obnoxiously loud and hasty, while the other considered the first simple minded and insufferably boring. Even Neve had a hard time keeping the two of them from squabbling.

    “Who’s Gavin?”

    Liam’s attention jerked downwards, away from the sky and clouds and onto Reilly, who stared in eager curiosity at the mercenary.

    “Oh, Reilly-!” Liam blinked as he pulled himself up, not having expected the colt’s company. “Ah, Gavin’s a friend of mine who’s still back on the mainland. He’s a funny little bird, runs a shop for my family, good sense of humor-”

    “Of voice alone that disturbs the dead.” Bayard added in with a snarl.

    “He sounds fun!” Reilly exclaimed, stopping Liam well before he could even attempt to curb the hound’s attitude.

    “He's a lot of fun.” Liam agreed, settling back from his near tense position. “He’d usually sit on my shoulder and we’d joke and talk about what’s on our minds. Just find myself missin' the little guy here is all.”

    “I could sit on your shoulder, mister!” Reilly offered excitedly, tamping his hooves down in front of him in a playful gesture. “I can tell ya all the jokes I know too!”

    Liam was at a loss for words, staring in stunned silence before a wide smile spread rapidly across his face as he broke down into a fit of laughter.

    “Thinkin’ you’re a tad large for that sorta thing, but your offer’s appreciated!”

    "Ah, well alright!" The pony grinned, standing tall once more and shifting his head to look about the ship deck. Two small coin-like objects connected to a tie that held back its owner's braided red mane jingled and plinked with the motions. Calming from his laughing episode, Liam settled back against Bayard's side, the coin sound leaving him to reminisce further of his absent friend.

    "I need to start getting everyone ready anyway, I think." Reilly planned aloud with a distanced stare to the far off shore. A moment passed, a shrewd look crossing the colt's face before he shot the mercenary and his perturbed hound a confidant smile. "Moon's not gonna be too far behind the sunset, so we're not gonna have too much dark cover for too long. Gonna go herd everyone up here onto the deck and go over the plan one more time!"

    He was off before he even finished what he was saying. The rhymed beat of Reilly's hooves against the deck boards filled the air as he quickly disappeared through the archway down into the ship's belly.

    Bayard lifted his head, giving it shake to shift his shaggy mane about. "Thrice weekly is clear to not be enough to take this to memory."

    "For some? Who knows, might not be." Liam shrugged.

    Grunting loudly, the old hound rolled his gold eyes, neither confirming nor denying his thoughts on his master's words. Below deck, the both of them could hear Reilly, plain as day, rousing some sleeping Pokemon and encouraging everyone to collect what they needed before heading up. Some hurried, some trudged, but everyone streamed up through the archway, finding themselves a place on the deck before their show pony strategist made his grand reentrance. And with the same flare he'd had a half dozen times before, Reilly went over the plan. This time though, the Keldeo's performance didn't seem as entertaining, as most of the Pokemon shared a similar steeled expression.

----

Holy cow! Personal work? On my own stories and characters?! This can only mean that I survived Icon Hell! Woo! And now onto personal hell!--  But not really. Been looking forward to getting my mission all worked out after working on the mission itself for so long, haha. Who knows, maybe I can get all caught up on the other stuff I'm waaaay behind on. Though, I seem to count my chickens before they hatch often. Can't count on it without solid effort on my part, so gotta work on that bit first. Either way, working on this and other stuff now. Gonna probably need some actual faces here coming up. So I guess I'll be making a cameo call soon to use for the rest of my mission.

<< Previous  |  Next >>

Word count: 1004