Char (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rivalkidneypunch) wrote2010-05-20 01:35 am
rivalkidneypunch) wrote2010-05-20 01:35 am
[Rude awakenings ITT]
It took two days of rest before Char woke up, an action which he regretted immediately. Every last part of him ached. No, ached was too gentle of a word. Every last part of him felt like an Onix was attempting to tap-dance on it. He was positively exhausted; even just trying to think about moving seemed like a chore. He felt wretched and miserable and sick. In fact, he would have been entirely content to just curl up in a ball and never move again. He'd never felt this roughed up. He'd never felt this weary.
But he'd also never felt this hungry. Even in his wild days, when he'd been absolutely inept at foraging and even worse at hunting, he couldn't remember it being this bad. He was absolutely starving. That alone was enough to force him out... of... a bed that distinctly was not his.
Where... was this? Biting back a groan, Char forced himself upright, slid off the bed. There were two beds in the room, though the other was empty. Judging from the... weird... machine... doohickeys... this was... a hospital? No, that was dumb. Char was a Pokemon: this had to be a Pokemon Center. Funny, though... he didn't think they treated Pokemon in their human forms. How'd he wind up here, anyway? It was safe to say he'd been injured -- the nonstop aching in a billion different places definitely wasn't a case of growing pains -- but... how?
Char moved to the door, peeking outside. Moving was hard. His body protested every single little movement. He felt... strangely heavy. Nobody around. ...Good. Char never much cared for Pokemon Centers -- no way he was sticking around here.
He barely managed to take a step before his wings caught in the doorframe. The newly-grown limbs would have been sensitive enough without the abuse they'd suffered; the collision sent a red-hot jab of pain rocketing down his spine. Char hissed and backed up, biting back a swear. Stupid wi...
Stupid wings?!
Char twisted in a frantic circle, trying to get a look at them. Those... those were wings, alright. On his body. Attached to him. His wings. That he had. Because he had wings. Why were there wings? Frantically, Char looked down at his hands. Long, thin arms. Battered, sliced up, bruised, but still unmistakably orange. They rose up to the top of his head. Two horns. Not one. Sticking out of him like antennae. Underneath that, some kind of freaky swan neck. Way too long. No wonder he'd felt so heavy... he was huge. He hadn't even noticed his own height at first -- he'd assumed he was human, but... no. He was just giant. And orange. And there were wings.
...Char needed to sit down. So he did. On the floor. He was positively dizzy with shock. This... was he hallucinating? High out of his mind? He had to be, because suddenly he was a Charizard and that made no sense because why was he a Charizard oh god this was not something he could just undo oh god. Frantically, he tried making the switch back to his human form, hoping that it would all go away and he'd be back to normal.
Those wings were still there. Offensive, mangled, alien objects, protruding from his skin like leeches. Looking at them made him feel vaguely sick. So he didn't. Maybe if... if he just pretended they didn't exist, he... oh god, he needed to figure out what had happened. Char tried to fold them against his back, but they wouldn't respond. Maybe they were too smashed up to move. Maybe he just couldn't figure out how to move muscles he'd apparently grown overnight.
...He sucked it up and forced his way through the doorway anyhow, pulling them through with brute force. Doing his best to tune out the screaming pain that stupid move brought on. He was quite sure he was going to faint. Maybe he should sit down again.
Char pressed on, keeping a hand against the hallway for support and trying to pretend his legs weren't shaking. The last he could recall, he'd been looking for Sharks to rough up. Did they do this? No, that was crazy. They were just a bunch of punks. Nowhere near tough enough to hurt him like this. He'd never evolve for something like that. Never. ...Oh. He'd made it out to the lobby. Several waiting trainers and a few Pokemon stared. For half a second, he desperately looked for Green's face in that crowd. Stupid. What the hell was he hoping to find? Green wasn't here. Even if he was... he'd be looking for a Charmeleon.
One of the helper Chanseys had noticed him. She waddled up, chiding him in Pokemon-speak. "Mr. Kerosene...? What are you doing out of bed? You shouldn't have transformed, you've messed up your bandages. Come on, let's go back to your room. You can't leave yet, we haven't been able to contact your trainer."
He opened his mouth to speak -- tell her not to call him Kerosene -- Who'd even told her to call him that, anyway? -- didn't need to contact his trainer, he could take care of himself -- but all that came out was a hoarse little rasp. His voice was raw, like he'd been screaming nonstop for a day or two, and his neck throbbed. Bruised, bitten. But what part of him wasn't? He could have laughed. Instead, he just ignored the Chansey, brushed right past her. There was always a PC in Pokemon Center lobbies. Char logged onto the school network, frantically typing out a hasty message:
What the hell happened?
But he'd also never felt this hungry. Even in his wild days, when he'd been absolutely inept at foraging and even worse at hunting, he couldn't remember it being this bad. He was absolutely starving. That alone was enough to force him out... of... a bed that distinctly was not his.
Where... was this? Biting back a groan, Char forced himself upright, slid off the bed. There were two beds in the room, though the other was empty. Judging from the... weird... machine... doohickeys... this was... a hospital? No, that was dumb. Char was a Pokemon: this had to be a Pokemon Center. Funny, though... he didn't think they treated Pokemon in their human forms. How'd he wind up here, anyway? It was safe to say he'd been injured -- the nonstop aching in a billion different places definitely wasn't a case of growing pains -- but... how?
Char moved to the door, peeking outside. Moving was hard. His body protested every single little movement. He felt... strangely heavy. Nobody around. ...Good. Char never much cared for Pokemon Centers -- no way he was sticking around here.
He barely managed to take a step before his wings caught in the doorframe. The newly-grown limbs would have been sensitive enough without the abuse they'd suffered; the collision sent a red-hot jab of pain rocketing down his spine. Char hissed and backed up, biting back a swear. Stupid wi...
Stupid wings?!
Char twisted in a frantic circle, trying to get a look at them. Those... those were wings, alright. On his body. Attached to him. His wings. That he had. Because he had wings. Why were there wings? Frantically, Char looked down at his hands. Long, thin arms. Battered, sliced up, bruised, but still unmistakably orange. They rose up to the top of his head. Two horns. Not one. Sticking out of him like antennae. Underneath that, some kind of freaky swan neck. Way too long. No wonder he'd felt so heavy... he was huge. He hadn't even noticed his own height at first -- he'd assumed he was human, but... no. He was just giant. And orange. And there were wings.
...Char needed to sit down. So he did. On the floor. He was positively dizzy with shock. This... was he hallucinating? High out of his mind? He had to be, because suddenly he was a Charizard and that made no sense because why was he a Charizard oh god this was not something he could just undo oh god. Frantically, he tried making the switch back to his human form, hoping that it would all go away and he'd be back to normal.
Those wings were still there. Offensive, mangled, alien objects, protruding from his skin like leeches. Looking at them made him feel vaguely sick. So he didn't. Maybe if... if he just pretended they didn't exist, he... oh god, he needed to figure out what had happened. Char tried to fold them against his back, but they wouldn't respond. Maybe they were too smashed up to move. Maybe he just couldn't figure out how to move muscles he'd apparently grown overnight.
...He sucked it up and forced his way through the doorway anyhow, pulling them through with brute force. Doing his best to tune out the screaming pain that stupid move brought on. He was quite sure he was going to faint. Maybe he should sit down again.
Char pressed on, keeping a hand against the hallway for support and trying to pretend his legs weren't shaking. The last he could recall, he'd been looking for Sharks to rough up. Did they do this? No, that was crazy. They were just a bunch of punks. Nowhere near tough enough to hurt him like this. He'd never evolve for something like that. Never. ...Oh. He'd made it out to the lobby. Several waiting trainers and a few Pokemon stared. For half a second, he desperately looked for Green's face in that crowd. Stupid. What the hell was he hoping to find? Green wasn't here. Even if he was... he'd be looking for a Charmeleon.
One of the helper Chanseys had noticed him. She waddled up, chiding him in Pokemon-speak. "Mr. Kerosene...? What are you doing out of bed? You shouldn't have transformed, you've messed up your bandages. Come on, let's go back to your room. You can't leave yet, we haven't been able to contact your trainer."
He opened his mouth to speak -- tell her not to call him Kerosene -- Who'd even told her to call him that, anyway? -- didn't need to contact his trainer, he could take care of himself -- but all that came out was a hoarse little rasp. His voice was raw, like he'd been screaming nonstop for a day or two, and his neck throbbed. Bruised, bitten. But what part of him wasn't? He could have laughed. Instead, he just ignored the Chansey, brushed right past her. There was always a PC in Pokemon Center lobbies. Char logged onto the school network, frantically typing out a hasty message:
What the hell happened?
Re: [Private but hackable!]
Lemme guess. You got attacked too?
Re: [Private but hackable!]
...Whether it was you or not, it wouldn't be the first time a Pokemon's become a monster for no apparent reason.
Re: [Private but hackable!]
Y'mean what happened in October? ...This is different. I burned down a forest, honey. I beat up my team.
...Didn't mean to rough you up, Miss Blacky.
Re: [Private but hackable!]
Did you just call me honeyIt wasn't your fault. No Pokemon in their right mind would attack their teammates like that. [So she firmly believes.] But you don't remember what might have caused it...?
The important thing is that nobody is dead. The forest will regrow, and those of us who did get hurt will recover in time.
Phsyically.How are you doing?Re: [Private but hackable!]
[It wasn't his fault. If only he could just believe that.]
I... you got a trainer, Miss Blacky?
Re: [Private but hackable!]
I do. He's the dearest person in the world to me.
Re: [Private but hackable!]
Look... you know what it's like bein' on a team. The first time Pokemon started goin' all nuts, Casper was one of 'em. Then on Halloween... they got to Bulba. I know neither of 'em would ever wanna hurt me on purpose, but... it took me a while to forgive 'em. They still hurt me.
I just did the same thing to them, Miss Blacky. Maybe I didn't mean to do it either, but... how do I explain that to Green? ...I ain't sure I can forgive myself.
Re: [Private but hackable!]
...I know how that feels. More than you might think.
But I have no excuse. I hurt him with it knowing full well what I was doing.Even if it did take you a while to forgive them, you still did in the end. Likewise, they will forgive you. A team understands and loves one another, no matter what. Even when it hurts.Re: [Private but hackable!]
[He wants to point out that nobody's stupid enough to keep forgiving forever, and he's already screwed up so many times -- that he knows for a fact that screwing up enough will get you left behind, but... he's too tired for this conversation, and he barely knows Blacky.]
...God, what a mess.
Re: [Private but hackable!]
...I know.Hey, I'm trying to make you feel better. Which I'm not even obligated to do considering how very in pain I am because of you.grumblrgrumblegrumbleHow are you adjusting to the new body? You're powerful, I'll give you that.
Re: [Private but hackable!]