[RP] Spiritwater – Tides of Witchcraft

[Noblejanobii]

Avery Miller & Abital Ecke
Tide Song Hotel Lobby
Affected RP'ers: Anyone still at the hotel (which I don't think there is anyone)

Avery felt their heart sink a bit as Cassandra delivered the news that they weren't sure what sort of spell Avery had been hit with, so curing them right away wasn't an option. They'd need to use a special Nox Purge spell, which wasn't possible at the moment due to how draining it was. Given they had just performed it on Jarena, they wouldn't be able to perform it again until tomorrow. It was disappointing news for sure, but not something Avery couldn't accept. "I understand. No need to strain yourselves on my account. One night as a centaur won't kill me. It'll just take some getting used to." Abital didn't seem quite as at ease with this decision as Avery was, but Avery knew this was simply because their husband lacked an understanding of how Shadowcraft worked. They'd have to explain it to him later.

Avery and Abital watched as pretty much everyone in the lobby filed out to head somewhere else. "Any idea where they're headed?" Abital signed to Avery. Avery shook their head. Even though the Triad had just mentioned dinner, they had a feeling that wasn't where they were headed.

"Let's follow them," Avery said quietly. If there was something going on, they wanted to know about it. Unfortunately, this was a lot easier task said than done. While Avery and Abital initially were able to trail behind the Triad, Jimmy, and the others, between Avery's constant stumbling due to their lack of familiarity with their centaur form and possible supernatural forces at work, the duo quickly found that they had lost the group and were now alone in the streets of Heahea City.

"So now what?" Avery asked Abital in exasperation. It seemed that for now the witch attacks had stopped so at least they could potentially enjoy this moment of respite out in the open.

Abital tapped his foot in thought before gesturing to a lone open kiosk. Avery cocked an eyebrow at Abital, glancing down at their own lower half, before looking back at Abital, causing their husband to snort. He simply signed in return, "I'm sure it's not the weirdest thing they've seen today."

"You have a point there," Avery mumbled. The newlyweds walked over to the kiosk and made their orders. It was a bit of an awkward process since the clerk didn't know FSL (Fiore Sign Language), or any signs for that matter, so Avery had to translate. While normally not a problem, when you're suddenly 7 feet tall, this means you're now usually taller than the kiosk window itself, leaving them in a bit of an awkward position as they tried to bend over to speak with the cashier. Still, just as Abital had said, the service worker didn't seem at all bothered by Avery's half-horse form. Either that was a testament to the hell of the day, or perhaps the food industry at large, but nevertheless it was a relief to be able to grab some dinner while they were here.

Taking their food with them, the duo sat down at a table near some grass. Avery wasn't exactly made to sit in a chair so they simply knelt down in the grass like they had seen Daybreak do many a time. Both spouses made short work of the sandwiches they had ordered. Neither had had a proper meal in days since the chaos started, so these sandwiches seemed like the best things ever for the time being. By the time they had finished eating, Avery had an idea of what to do next while they waited for the others to hopefully return from wherever they had gone.

"I think it might be worth getting used to moving around in this form more. Namely learning how to gallop and potentially carry you if need be," Avery said.

Based on his expression, Abital didn't seem entirely opposed to the suggestion, but he did have some questions. He quickly signed, "But if they're just going to Nox Purge you tomorrow, what's the point?"

"No offense to the ladies but..." Avery hesitated a moment before shrugging, "I don't fully trust that they're going to cure me tomorrow. They'll cure me eventually, I know them well enough to know that they'll get around to it before they disappear again. But there's something much bigger going on here right now, and I don't want to get in the way of it. This Nox Purge ritual seems to take a lot out of them, and I'd rather they conserve their energies on doing whatever it is they're planning rather than fixing My Little Keldeo over here."

Abital rubbed their chin and nodded slowly in agreement. It did seem better to prioritize people in much more dire situations. They had tried to ignore the broken statues and piles of goop they had seen on the way here, but those images weighed heavily on both Abital and Avery's minds. The girls needed their strength for the big battle, and it didn't seem right to demand they fix Avery now when presumably their condition wasn't life-threatening. The operative word there though was presumably. There was no guarantee this spell couldn't backfire in some way and potentially kill Avery somehow, which is what Abital was really worried about. "Promise me then that if you start to feel different, anything at all, you'll tell us so we can get them to cure you right away."

Avery smiled and pat Abital's arm. "Of course. We haven't even been married a week yet, you're not getting rid of me that easily."

"You sure you're okay staying like that for longer than a night though? It can't be comfortable," Abital signed.

"Bah, it feels more normal by the second," Avery responded with a cocky grin. "Besides, when's the next time you're gonna be able to say you went horseback riding on the beach with your spouse as the horse."

Abital's expression fell flat and they glared at Avery. "Not funny," they signed simply.

"Incorrect, I am hilarious. Now come on, probably better to practice back closer to the hotel where we can wait for the others to return."

Avery and Abital made their way back towards the Tide Song Hotel. Standing out in the roundabout in front of the hotel, Avery sent out the entire team. Since the majority of their team consisted of Pokemon with hooves, it made sense to learn directly from them. Abital took his seat on a nearby bench and let Gloria rest in his lap, the little Shaymin not being able to help much in this situation. They both watched in amusement as Avery tried to take directions from their team, though the process was chaotic at best.

"You need to lift up your front left leg and your back right leg at the same time!" Daybreak chastised.

"I'm trying! I'm not exactly used to having an extra set of limbs," Avery retorted.

"Just take your time," Knautia said, "You've gotten the hang of walking and trotting. Cantering is the really tough one for most young horses, and you're practically a foal for all intents and purposes. So just take it slow."

Daybreak nodded. "Come on, another lap around the roundabout," he commanded.

Avery let out a huff in exasperation and tried to canter again around the fountain, with Knautia, Mint, and Acacia following behind and beside them.

"You're doing great!" Acacia cheered. "Keep it up!"

"Yeah! You can do it, Boss!" Mint bleated.