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"Gotcha!" Cypress would take out her Golden Pokeball as she ran alongside the dragon tamer, gripping it tight in her hand as she followed along, both Pokemon in tow. She couldn't help but let out a excited cheer at the sight of the solar-infused punch, throwing her own Pokeball against the living rocket.
After a moment, when the creature was caught, the hybrid would exhale more through her teeth than anything - heart racing like a rabbit in her chest.

"That was...that was a rush."

"I agree." The Houndour would state as well, finally slowing down to stand beside his trainer. Cypress would scratch behind the canine's ears with a grin on her face. "Nice one there, though! You got two really good hits on it."

Tag: Alicia Westfield

First there is nothing. Then there is Light - at some point, Felicity realises the light is coming from everyone, coming from her and she can't help but laugh as the flames threaten to burn higher and higher.
They will not harm her. They will not harm anyone else here. Things are coming to a head, and yet...and yet...

And then, the darkness fades, and there is Everything all at once.
Colours and light, all of different shades and hues - tenacious navy blue, icy cyan with a frozen grip, soulful orange, a cyan as soft as a summer sky - all fill her vision, and it is nothing like the hybrid had ever seen before.

"...What are you playing?" The blue-haired girl in the doorway asks. Her parents had dragged her to a housewarming party, and over the chatter of small worlds and 'welcome to the neighborhoods', she was sent off to enjoy herself - the adults were talking after all.
"Pokemon Platinum." The other girl responds, laying on a beige coloured bed cover, head turning to the newcomer, then back to the game. She then tilts her head back to look at you more. "I'm just on the first fight with a guy named Roark! He has a Craniados!"
"A...Craniados?" You tilt your head.
"It's a cool dino looking-aww, no, critical hit!" She seems to pout at a black screen, before perking up. "Here, I have to restart the fight after I heal at the Pokemon Center anyways," She says, scooting over on the bed and patting in the empty spot, inviting her to come and sit. "You can come and watch me!"
The girl would carefully enter the pastel green room, filled with a few cardboard boxes with words written in Sharpie, and sit down on the bed.
Hours would pass, the girl pointing at certain members of her team as they were swapped out, and exclaiming what they were. "This is my starter! He's a Piplup, his name is Splash! And that's a Starly, her name is Skies! I'm not sending out my Bidoof - he's called Bob."
The bluette laughs a bit. "Bob?"
"Yeah! Bob! He just...feels like a Bob, you know?"
This continued, on and on, until the victory music played to excited cheers from both parties.
The girl appeared to notice something, offering a hand to the girl.
"Oh! Uh - my name's Felicity! Felicity LaChance! It's nice to meet you - welcome to the neighborhood!"
"Hey, likewise, Felicity - the name's Samantha. But you can call me Sam, everybody used to back in Colorado."

Even as memories played at the corners of her vision - memories of others, memories of Philo...memories of her own, she tried her best to smile.
For the sun always rises in the morning, and that is what she shall do as well.

"I can't believe you fainted to Cynthia three seperate times."
"Her Garchomp was a menace, Sam! A menace!" Felicity exclaims the words, emphasising the hiss as she grips the pearl DS Lite in her hands. Sam had invited her over to play Battle Revolution, and since the end of summer was fast approaching, the final year of high school moving alongside it, it would be nice to get to hang out with her friend again.
"All right, so what's the rules."
"Uhh...let's just do the usual. Standard party, best outta three?"
"You got it! Loser pays for pizza."
"We're getting pizza?"
"Yeah! Mom's going to order, but one of us has to cover the costs. You in?"
"Oh, I'm so in. Game on!"

While you may have lost that bet, the feeling of playing a game with your best friend never got old. Things like this were something you treasured.

Be steadfast. Be everburning.

"Tell me we're gonna beat this Totem trial, s'il vous plaît..."
Felicity begins, bookbag thrown askew as always. Even in the depths of university, there always was a moment for Pokemon.
"We're gonna beat this Totem trial, Sun. Besides, you got the actual Sun on your side." Sam says, voice slightly raspy with a cold.
"Says you, getting it to the red."
A moment of silence passes by, until...
"Don't you have a late shift once you get over this cold?"
"Yeah - but hey, it's all worth it if we get to beat this stupid Totem...Oh hey! How's your semester, miss university girl?" The other girl says, tilting her head over the couch's arm rest to look at her. Felicity smiles.
"Oh, stop...It's going as well as it can be - got a scholarship from my high school grades, but it doesn't pay for everything. Working at Xmart to pay for any more years."
"That's good, nice to have on the ol' resume."
She exhales a bit softer, in mirth.
"How's the hardware store treating you?"
"Eh, can't complain. Hard work and some play doesn't make anyone dull, right?"
The bluette blinks. "I don't think that's how the quote goes."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure-oh, wait, Totem's doing some-it called for help..."
Felicity dangles her head, voice still cheerful, as Sam laughs in the background. She lightly punches her shoulder, laughing in joy. "You got this, Sun! Keep going!"

Light. Life. Joy. Optimism.

But in that brief moment, in that seemingly eternal moment, as her memories play in the corners of everyone's vision - she understands.

The funeral is quiet. She wouldn't have liked that at all.
She would have hated the music played, would have hated the way everyone cried over the closed coffin, over the eulogies that said only the simpliest things about her, over the gravestone's simple message as they lowered her into a final resting place.

And yet, as you glance around, adorned in black - you see everyone's expressions.
Sorrowful. Tears. Trying not to cry, when everything is almost hopeless. Friends, family...all of them hurting.

...

The sun always comes brightest after sadness. She would have wanted you to help them.

So, you offer condolences.
Offer to help with chores, yardwork - anything anyone else needs. As time marches on, people start smiling again. Some people smile at you, say you're doing good work. Your schoolwork is pushed more to the wayside, but that's okay! You're helping. You have a job, you can support yourself - it's everyone else's feelings that are important!

You're fine! You'll be fine!
Nevermind the ache in your chest that only sooths when you tense into a ball, alone in your room. Nevermind the stutters in your breath that you play off so easily. Never mind all of that!
You'll be OK. You'll always be OK.

You're the sun after all.

She hopes things will get better.

Even now, she continues to work, thanklessly.
Even when someone shouts at her, upset about a coupon that expired months earlier.
Even when someone gets into an argument with another customer, resulting in a manager having to break up a fight.
Even when she keeps walking the sales floor, helping customers, helping anyone who needs with a 'is there anything I can do to help you?'
Offering perisistence and great service, as the job weighs her down more and more.
She's fine!
Why wouldn't she be fine? What grief? What pain? What heart ache that threatens to tear through her, until there's nothing left?
She's fine. The more you repeat it, the more it becomes your new normal.

But then, things shift.

A new Pokemon game is announced - more like a expansion for it...called UNOVR. There's a slight feeling in her chest - homesickness, sorrow. Off shift, she buys a copy and a Worldscreen.

It's just another Pokemon game. Just another game to play. But without...without...

For the first time in ages, tears roll down from her eyes.

A presence forms, not seen but sensed - She is here...and then She is gone. Blink and you'll miss it.

Felicity opens her eyes to find that she is laying on the floor. Her head aches slightly, and she touches her face to find wet tracks snaking down. She exhales, relief flooding her veins.

The sky is bright and almost picturesque, an early morning breeze tickles her face - the smell of salt and fish. It was a dream - no it wasn't.

A weight on her chest and beside her hip prove otherwise.

She laughs weakly, breathing evening out to some sort of normality, before picking herself up and going over to each of the others who had...experienced everything - Bill,
Celeste, Evert - offering a hand up.

Once everyone had a hand offered to them, accepted or denied, she'd exhale a bit and seem to prepare to say something but would stop herself, mouth closing with a quiet click.
What could she say? What could she say?
What...did she want to say?

...They already knew so much about her now, potentially.
Was there anything left to say after that?

Her ears would flatten, and she'd look a bit more...nervous. Waiting to break the ice, any sort of tension that had developed during a moment that felt like eternity.
...
A splash caught her attention, a ear twitch signalling her noticing the noise before turning her head.
Four Magikarp were staring at them - but one in particular stared at her. He smiled, the best he could as a fish, anyways.
The hybrid smiled back at him, a cheerful expression on her face.
"...Welcome back, Philo."

A small nod mixed with a noise of affirmation would be Cypress's response, as she'd begin to think. She hadn't noticed there were Ultra Beasts here before, and since in Ultra Sun, they came from different habitats, it did make sense communication would be hard. It did sound interesting though. "That sounds pretty cool! What kind of methods have you-?" The Nagadanel chittering and hissing got the hybrid's attention, and before she could ask-
"!"
"Eh-?"
"Good heavens-!"

The trio were picked up by Player, Dragon and Ultra Beast alike and sped away - as a Stakataka slammed into her previous location.

For a second, Cypress didn't say anything - that was...really close. Once the trio had stopped though, Paprika had hopped out of the Ultra Beast's grip and Huck was out of the dragon's maw as the other girl took a moment to breathe.

"No...no, it's OK. You've explored this area more than me, how could I be mad?" She'd manage, before glancing around the dunes.

”Ostellia is dangerous right now. Until you know the spawn points well enough, keep your eyes peeled for anything."

Her eyes would widen slightly, as a glint of something in the distance would catch her attention. Metal? A bit of squinting made it focus a bit more - something was getting closer...and at a fast pace. "Speaking of anything...something's coming this way."
The sound of something firing off caught her attention next - it sounded like a engine of somesort.
Or a booster.
If Ultra Beasts are here, there was only one Ultra Beast that would make sense - the word immediately came to mind. "A Celesteela."
Immediately, the Houndour would fire off an Ember to attempt to hit the metal...'Celesteela' in one of the boosters, as Huck watched as it approached with a wary eye, preparing to move at a moment's notice.

Alicia Westfield

Despite the eye looking down upon her, despite the house being lit ablaze (and yet a part of her Knew the flames would not harm her, they could not harm her for she was herself) - Cypress knew what she had to do.

A Qestkh like this needed something to be called. No, not something, someone.
They needed Her.

Carefully moving, despite the house being lit in orange and reds, the wolf-hybrid picked up a piece of wood - what once was a cutting board - and began to carve. Unknowingly to her, her tail would begin to sway, back and forth - a small metronome to her heart, to her Self as she continued to carve, and whittle away at the ebony wood, her nails seemingly cutting through the plank like butter - despite not knowing how to carve, her body moved through the motions, carefully and calmly.

Which was helpful - for the wolf-hybrid Knew what she wanted to create.

Time passed, Cypress carved dutifully.

Until, at last, it was done - in a small flash of comforting light, it was finished.
A violin, with soft multicoloured lights floating around the neck and body - a vibrant lapis lazuli once lost in grief, a knowledgeable orange as bright as the sun, a cyan the colour of frosted skies and a navy blue as complex as a night sky speckled with stars.
It was perfect. Just what she wanted - a Ejrsqtiajs of the hybrid's very own, both heart and desires made manifest.

But it still needed one more thing.

The Ashes.

Cypress carefully stuck her hand in the stove - cool to the touch, they shall not harm her - and dusted the violin with the remains of the note ashes; the instrument lit up, the lights shimmering excitedly, almost gleeful to sing to their heart's content for Her.
A ghostly bow formed in her hand - guiding light all the more bright and warm - as the hybrid picked it up, took a deep breath, stepped inside the circle-

and began to play.

Her heart beat in time with the movements of her fingers and the movement of the bow, the song echoing and resonating across the flames, across the circle, across the sky...

It was a song of boundaries, a song of truth, a song of Cypress trees in all their glory, for it was all Cypress's own. This was a song of love - platonic, friendship, strong - simple, yet made stronger by all present - all who helped her in this very moment. A song that was true to all, potentially resonating in their bones, in their hearts.
A song to call upon Her.

(Cypress is a tree of boundaries - a psychopomp in its own way. It is a tree of grief and resilience, of sorrow and joy.
Of Heaven and Earth, of Man and Being.
She Knew who she had to call.
Daq Sesha was to be called on, and all Sesha's deserve respect. And so, she spoke, the words springing to her mind as the song came to a close.)

"We Call Upon The Watchman! We request Her aid and guidance in bringing an end to the darkness that surrounds this village, the abyss that threatens to shatter everything around us! One of Shining Light, please assist us, for without your guidance, there is no light, no truth, no colour, no existence!"


And with that call, that request to appear, the performer would do as was expected at the end of a song, and bow to the audience - the ghostly bow disappearing in soft balls of lazuli light, as she gave a silent prayer of her own.

Thunder crashes, lightning strikes, and for a moment, the house shakes on its axis. Books crumble to the ground, and Cypress - despite her efforts - lets out a squeak in fright.
The eyes are dripping, dripping with tears and there is seaweed creeping up the books, no longer bookmarks but sacrifices for a greater purpose (when did that get there?) and everything is loud, Loud, the rain crashes through her eardrums and it's-
then.
then-
Her heart isn't her own, raspy and pained, and her movements are not her own, what an awful case of bad karma - she stares in panic as her body steps and jerks outside into the gloomy starless night. The wolf hybrid tries to stay still but can't, a marionette on a string - and for a moment, she glances around the darker yet darker night.
Is this the end?
Is she doomed to fall, just like this? Doomed to the fate of the villagers prior, doomed to die like everyone here?

Doomed like whatever happened to-?

There is a sudden crash that doesn't reach her ears, a distant tinny thing different than the heartbeat-that-isn't-hers and the loud that threatens to consume everything, but there - someone is on the ground, darkness threatening to consume them, consume her and she doesn't know what to do-

But then there is Light.
Bright, shining light that cuts through the dark, coming from another house, impossibly bright and shining and real.
It's bright as the Sun.

And in that moment, despite her jerky movements, despite the heartbeat-that-isn't-hers coursing through her veins, a memory passes by her mind.

"as long as the moon is with the sun, let's always be friends!"
a promise made by two friends. a laugh shared at similar middle names. you grip their hand tight, and a friendship is forged in a handshake.
"yeah! let's be best friends forever!"

Her eyes move to the white haired man, laying on the ground, and the Greninja who leaped out to try and help.
She grits her teeth, and makes a decision.

"Hey-!"
Cypress begins as she halls Altair up to his feet, out of the inky black as she slings a arm around her neck to keep him upright - trying to talk to him, if he could even hear her. "Don't - don't give up. I'm...gonna try and get you somewhere that's...safer!" With that, she begins to move away from whatever threatened to drag them down, towards the light, gritting her teeth all the while as if the strain threatened to tear her apart.

The strings threaten to pull her back. She tugs against them as she turns her head back to the sun itself, to Soleil - and moves forward.

Don't Give Up.
'Persistence and Great Service, that's the XMart Way.'

Don't Falter.
'You would be considered braver than almost every member of the BFC.
[...] We need people like you, unafraid to show their passion and love for Birds in the public eye.'

Don't Stop.
'For it is my right as a Sinclair to do the best I can for those I love...even if they're gone.'

DON'T STOP!
Somehow, someway, Cypress wanted to protect those close to her.

DON'T STOP MOVING!


The travel towards the literal light-house may be deadly, slippery, slidable, so easy to fall into the sea and shift into something unknown - but isn't that just like an aisle in a grocery store? Avoiding spills, avoiding tripping on shopping carts, avoiding all of these things. It's a surprise that Good Luck can come from anywhere, even muscle memory.

She keeps moving forward against the tide, avoiding slips, trips - anything that could slow her down, that could make her let go, that could...could cause hurt.

Throughout it all, the wolf grips onto Altair's hand like a vice, continuing to move despite the Jerks, despite the Bumps, despite the commands of a presence begging her to come back COME BACK COME BACK-!
Unnoticable to Cypress in that moment, a annoyed growl escaped her throat.
An emotion, unfelt for so long, now kindles within her soul, bright and warm. No. No, she wouldn't listen. She wouldn't obey.

Philo wanted to do the best for those he loved, even if they had passed.
Talking with people was the bravest thing Cypress had ever done, for the BFC.
And that's not even mentioning the Christmas Event...the atmosphere, the blood and ink on silver, the odd feeling of that entire event.

Despite all of that, she pressed on.

She was brave.
She was strong.
She was passionate.
(...she's the sun, despite a wheel's constant turns).
She can't give up. She won't give up.

For the people of the village who couldn't be saved. For the people here, who might be drawn into the deep.
For someone who she only came to know through words on a page (and a part of her feels like she's lost someone all over again, an ache echoes in your chest but you press on)
She'll keep moving, despite it all.

Because she's brave, isn't she?
Because she's strong, isn't she?
Because she's passionate, isn't she?
(because she's the sun, isn't she?)
...
Because she's come this far, hasn't she?

The wolf-hybrid keeps moving towards the light with the other player in tow, keeps striding towards the literal lighthouse - a hole in the side with light shining through it - and the wolf enters with no delay, attempting to pull Altair in with her as she does so.

A simple bathroom, abandoned overtime, with a hole in the wall wide enough for someone to enter - she enters a room filled with light -

the strings snap.

and her heart finally beats to her own desires.

She takes in a strangled gasp of air, that she hadn't noticed she was holding.

There's water streaming down her face.
...Rain must have gotten in her hair. She wipes it away with her jacket sleeve, before turning to Altair, her ears unknowingly flattening to her skull.
"Are...are you OK?" She begins, before turning to herself, slightly shivering, with a shaky whisper. "Merde - that was...that was..."

Her hand balls into a fist over her chest - and there's a moment of pause. Her breathing returns to a shaking varient of normal.

She's alive. She's alive. She helped someone, tried to anyways.
...
She can't stay in here.
Not in this room, anyways.

She needs to keep moving.

Cypress would exhale, before making her way into another part of the house, a bedroom with a...ruined mattress? Regardless, her eyes move around the room. A simple mattress, a wooden floor, a closet door - wait...closet door?

Curiosity grabbed a hold of the wolf.

Opening the door, something would fall to the ground with a slam, another, a clatter of steel. For a second, her ears would flatten, eyes closing suddenly, only to open on a...jewellery box?
There wasn't a lot of jewellery in it, the old looking box having fallen to the floor but...but something caught the light, and her eyes would widen.
It was strung on a thick leather cord, with two pearls seemingly framing the sides of it, catching the light with soft hues...but there was no mistaking it.

[...]it is a simple sapphire charm aurrounded by gold, cut in a pear shape, with a ruby in the midle, like a mythical waterfaringmon itself.

That...that was the Charm of the Sea. That was Philo's heirloom, why was it here?
And there, lying on the ground - a sword with blue-white steel, accented with navy - that had to be the sword he was describing too! How-why...?
For a moment, the wolf-hybrid would stare down at the two heirlooms, before picking them up. First, the Charm, which was slung around her neck with reverence. Second, the Sword, handle gripped in one hand.
With a smile, she'd close the door with care.

Soon, Cypress walks into the rest of the home proper, and two figures - one with a orange outfit, the other in pastels...Celeste and Cardinal Glace , their player tags read.
She'd apologize for intruding, but this doesn't feel like the right time. So, she instead, asks a question, adjusting the sword into her left hand, rather than her right.

"Uh - excuse moi? Sorry to be a bother, but...did you also feel like something was...trying to drag you into the darkness?"

As she asks this, something catches her eye on the ground. A...Journal?

She picks it up, with a shaking hand. The pages are torn out...only a few remain.
She whispers the words softly, as if reading a letter from a old friend.

SPOILER: Click to show

{note 4 (or: in the end, we become, all that we behold.)}

Dear Journal.
There is...no hope here. She has seemingly taken to dragging us all into Her embrace, begging us to return to her side. I daresay, she feels a lot like my mother on a bad day.
Yet, in this moment, my mind feels clearer than it ever has been. I am unsure if this is due to the lack of headaches, or this feeling of...utter peace that has embraced me...but, even so, I feel...goodness, I'm not even sure what I feel. Grandfather, is this how you felt before everything? Laying on your bed, preparing for the end?
[Ink smudges the pages, as if a fountain pen rested for far too long.]
...To whoever finds this, please.
If I may not survive, then carry on my legacy - our legacy. [there are slight tear stains here, smudging a few words.]

If not by name, then by word. If not by word, then by deed.
I can hear Her now. Clearer than ever - the eyes threaten to consume me, and Her call is almost...deafening.
...

I suppose this is where we part ways, Journal. Now and forevermore.
I shall swim in Her embrace, a life of glory and wonder in the deep blue - free of migraines, free of life, free of everything that once shackled me down.

Sincerely,
Philo Sinclair XIV.

PS. I love you. Goodbye.

A weak smile flickers across her face. In the end, he couldn't escape his fate, but...there's closure. An understanding - clouded by madness that it may be.

Her hand smooths the pendant around her neck, the sword resting on her hip.

She'll fight for him. Carry on a legacy she didn't even know.

"...Goodbye, Philo. Thank you."
The Journal closes with a snap.

notes found: 4/4.
objectives completed: find dripping eyes, creeping seaweed, body betraying you beyond her light + note 4 and become known, source of her light.

The heat was almost unbearable, the desert sun almost scorching down on the hybrid as she made her way through the dunes - the hollow echos of skyscrapers towering over her as Cypress made her way through the suburbian paradise that this once was.

She had never really explored this area in its entirety, and there was almost something a tad nostalgic about moving her way through the once-neighborhood.
An abandoned playground caught her attention, worn over the depths of time forgotten, the chains of swings intertwined with rust.

Beside her, a Mudkip and a Houndour followed close behind, both seeming unfazed by the heat. As both Water and Fire type walked alongside each other, they'd occasionally glance to the small things in the area - a skyscraper here, a rusted over street sign there.

Huck was the first one to speak between the two.
"This area feels...kinda lonely, huh."
Paprika tilted his head, eyes moving to the mud skipper, voice raspy in tone. "What ever do you mean?"
"All these rusted signs, the abandoned area, these kinda skyscrapers," The Mudkip continued, tail twitching occasionally. "There's just somethin' about all this that feels...lonely. Like it's a shell of its former self and all that." He'd exhale, making a motion with a foreleg as he continued to walk.

"It...does sort of feel like that." Cypress would add in, walking speed slowing to be at pace with her Pokemon. "I guess its because of what this could have been? This could have been a city, all full of life...at least we can assume that with," A hand motion to a sandblasted YIELD sign, the shape the only indicator of what it once was, what it could have been. "So seeing it all empty like this? With no one really around? It's no wonder things could feel lonely."

Huck would give a calm nod, and Paprika would exhale a small ember of flame, as the trio kept up their trek through the dunes.

tag: Alicia Westfield