[ti]solo[/ti]To Sail a Verdant Sea

It was everything that he could ever have hoped for. That, more than anything, was what he found most surprising, most difficult to digest and accept as true. Matthias - Bronze, now, here - was long since accustomed to viewing the world with a jaded, bleak cynicism, and adjusting his expectations way, way down as a consequence. His luck was poor enough to be comical, were it not so bitter a thing at times. People, most of all, were far more prone to letting you down than meeting even the most basic of standards. Life, the universe, and everything in it generally had geared him to bracing for the worst, so he could be pleasantly surprised when something did not, in fact, go terribly awry.

Which is what made embracing that UNOVR had not disappointed him so difficult. It was like trying to swallow bread with a dry throat. Everything felt so...So wondrously real, so miraculously, heart-fluttering authentic. Careworn face lifted up, lined eyes closed in an expression of quiet rapture, Bronze simply stood, and reveled in it all, relishing the versimillitude of all the tactile sensation, how the wind flowed through his silver-streaked hair and carried upon it the scent of ozone. His heart beat a steady, slow rhythm to the symphony that was the susurrating sea of grass, nature's hushed, murmured melody of freedom, of potential and promise. It was real. A mouth typically set into a grim, firm line bent like steel beneath the duress of immense, inexorable force, curving up into a small, unguarded smile that made the years slip from him.

<You seem much happier, now that we're away from the carriage,> a yet-strange voice observed calmly, smooth as river-polished stone, despite its evident youth.

His eyes flicked open at the comment, turning his head to turn a short-lived smile upon the Totodile that drifted through the air an arm's length from his shoulder. That had been an unexpected, but pleasant surprise - the little crocodilean was not built for long treks, so him benefitting from the boon of Bronze's Swimmer feature had made their journey thusfar much less arduous upon the blue Pokemon than it might otherwise have been. The aged man took a moment to again admire the sinuous, dreamlike manner with which his partner coiled through the air, as if borne upon somnolent currents within the deep. "I don't like being in a situation where people feel obligated to make small talk. Have no patience for it. Never had." His voice was the grind and rumble of tectonic motion, low and almost guttural, though far from unpleasant. The Totodile rather liked it, for all that his grim-faced new friend was miserly in its use. He was steady, this man, quiet and patient as the earth, so the Totodile found that the large figure was perfectly at home amongst the colossi that ruled these endless plains; A titan of bronze amidst giants of steel and iron.

They had been walking for hours. The shhft-thump rhythm of Bronze's implacable stride forming a ceaseless metronome that the Totodile kept time with silently in his head, a muted percussion that was accompanied with occasional exchanges of words. His new friend did not speak often, or for long when he did, but the Tototdile did not mind, for he sensed that in this case, that was due to Bronze being lost to the speechless revelation of pure, joyous wonder.

"We need to get another Pokemon." Abrupt, that statement, though not in the fashion of a decision bursting into life via impulse or whim. It, as much of his companion's statements were, was delivered with the absolute decree of someone who was intent on making words into reality, a monarch's thoughtful decrees stamped into the fabric of the world with gravitas. The Totodile, as yet nameless, for Bronze had said names should not be rushed, hummed a neutral sound, and waited.

"You need someone to train with. It will be safer. Better for when we come up against Pokemon that hit hard against Water types." Ah. There it was. Not a justification, so much as it was an elucidation for the young Pokemon's benefit - the gift of insight into Bronze's inner workings, a privilege that he already believed was a surpassingly rare one. A blue snout dipped in languid, easy agreement, but did not part to give voice to a reply. A grunt of acknowledgement was his reward, and more than sufficient. They were in accord, fresh as their dynamic was, and were falling swiftly into lockstep.

ENTERING THE TALL GRASS!

When a Wild PKMN appears, reply using the ATTACK button to weaken it! But watch out— it might fight back! If your PKMN faints, you must go to the closest SHRINE to restore your PKMN. When the Wild PKMN's HP reaches 10% or below, up to 2 players may spend 25 BYTES to catch it here. You may also simply retreat to end the encounter.

Bronze