[Rina]

Listening as she followed, her train of thought came to a halt upon hearing the rustle of the bushes. Ringo turned to where the sound came from, getting ready for what came after them. It was...a goat? Ah, but it's rushing at Ringo and Ciel!

...well, it would be, but it came to a stop at a distance. A small sneeze escaped Ringo from the dust cloud, but she was curious. This one looks like an ordinary animal, but the foliage on it speaks otherwise. Ringo kept her distance, looking at it with curiosity. She didn't move an inch from where she stood. A sudden movement might accidentally provoke it into attacking in self-defense.

"...what's that called? It doesn't seem hostile."

[Mari]

Ciel hesitated a moment to respond, waiting to see if the gogoat itself made a move before allowing herself to relax somewhat. "I'm... not sure! I don't believe this particular monster was in the book we retrieved. I'll have to inquire about it once we return unless, of course, it's one of the extremely rare talking varieties." Ciel mused aloud, only for the gogoat to stomp it's feet to get the girls' attention, emitting its cry!


...Ciel flinched.

"

...No such luck. That's territorial body language it's exhibiting right now. It must want to know why we're here...

"

[Rina]

"The field guide I found was, presumably, a rather old version. It only contained information for about 300 or so-"

Ringo's train of thought was interrupted by the Gogoat's cry; she stifled her surprise by covering her mouth. Uh oh, looks like it's getting wary... The last time she tried to talk to things that don't speak human languages, she got the message entirely wrong. Onions, acorn frogs, even Carbuncle she misunderstood. She's not going to risk negotiating with it, as it could ram her across the field. She turned to Ciel to consult what to do.

"...I don't know how to properly communicate with animals. What do we do?"

[Mari]

Ciel considered Ringo's question for a moment. One thing was for sure. Time was of the essence, as the gogoat was getting impatient. She could try and speak to the gogoat normally, but that seemed to be a dangerous bet at this point in time. She wasn't entirely sure if the gogoat would understand her, and if so how? Perhaps body language was a better mutual language to speak... Ciel crouched down with her knees pressed together, wrapping her arms around them as she tried to communicate her non-violent intentions by minimizing her visual presence. She then held out a hand, fully outstretched, as if offering to shake a hand. In reality, she was offering it for the gogoat to smell.

yKUA52Ckp_1d20+2 (Ciel's Attempt at Communication)

...Unfortunately for Ciel, the color pink had clearly killed this particular gogoat's parents or something, because as it slowly closed in towards her it abruptly picked up speed and began rushing her down! Ciel had only a moment of alarm to regret her actions as the gogoat lowered its head so that it's sharp horns were pointing right at her. The scientist struggled to move out of the way, but her awkward position prevented her from dodging the horns poised to gore her. A shriek of fear would pierce the forest moments before Ciel was struck upon her side by the gogoat's megahorn attack, wounding her and sending her rolling several feet away. The gogoat proceeded to inch nearer to the fallen scientist, eyeing Ringo from the corner of its eyes. Ciel decidedly did not get up, possibly because she was still reeling from the pain.

Ciel Damage: 30% Shield Damage: 0% Status: Bleeding

1d20+2

[Rina]

"Ciel!"

Ringo was taken aback by the aggression, her mind in a mild panic on what to do to deal with it. She tried to consider the multiple possibilities, but then once it began inching towards the injured scientist, Ringo attempted to try and draw it away from her and placate it. She crouched down, waving a hand for its attention and called it out. She's likely going to get charged at, but Ciel is certainly not in the condition to fight right now.

1Ok1Whobp_1d20+2 (Ringo attempts to calm the goat down)

"Uhm...nice goat...! We mean no harm...!"1d20+2

[Mari]

...The gogoat hesitated a moment, buying Ciel precious time she desperately needed to try and recover. If the gogoat had continued attacking her, she would have not only been entirely vulnerable but wouldn't have been able to address her wounds. She was currently bleeding pretty badly and needed to put a stop to that before her condition worsened... Remaining where she'd fallen, she first worked to stabilize herself.

((Ciel takes this opportunity to spend three actions to cure herself of the bleeding status effect.))

The gogoat, however, was not done being hostile. This time it eyes Ringo, approaching her as it had Ciel. Once again it abruptly picked up speed! ...Thankfully, however, it did not lower its head to gore her this time and instead opted for a much less severe headbutt attack. It was attempting to bowl her over with raw strength alone! It seemed like this gogoat was unsatisfied with her reassurance.

(Ringo! Roll 14+ to dodge the headbutt; Else, take 15% damage)

Ciel Damage: 34% Shield Damage: 0% Status: Normal

[Rina]

nZobDY2Wp_1d20+1 (A very sound evasion!)

"Bwaah!"

Albeit a bit driven by adrenaline, Ringo managed to jump out of the way of the headbutt. With it having grown hostile against the duo, Ringo finds herself having no choice but to retaliate in self-defense. She didn't want to have to do this, but it's not going to stop anytime soon. Drawing a triangle in the air, she conjured up a triangular, tri-elemental shot at it. Since Ciel is busy with tending to herself, she's going to have to do much of the brunt force.

"Pythagorean Theorem!"
(15%, 20% Burn, 20% Freeze, 20% Paralysis, 3-turn cooldown) p_1d20+31d20+1·1d20+3

[Mari]

The gogoat involuntarily turned away as it was hit by Ringo's attack, electricity racing across his body as he found himself abruptly paralyzed. It was a rather nasty condition for him to suffer from, given that his species' most iconic strength was their mobility. He staggered a bit, glaring at Ringo in response to her attack. Her assault had given Ciel the time she needed to safely stabilize herself and the scientist began picking herself back up, brushing herself off and quickly drawing the gun at her hip. The design would be somewhat alien to someone outside of her world, but it was still distinctly a handgun by general shape. She wasn't just going to leave Ringo hanging, even if she was hurt.

"

"Alright Curiph, I need your help.

"

As Ciel spoke, a small digital fairy would manifest itself from Ciel's presence and dance about her, emitting a gentle glow as it showered Ciel with some sort of light-emitting energy, giving the appearance of a shower of tiny stars falling about her. It was quite pretty, but raised a lot of questions about what the little elf actually was. In but a moment, the elf would vanish into thin air.

HFeVk0Nfp_1d15+2 (Ciel's Curiph; Heals herself for 12 HP)

While this was going on, Ciel was adjusting her gun. She flipped out what appeared to be a small radar attachment over the barrel and snapped it into place before taking aiming and firing, rather than a bullet, a mostly transparent wave of pink energy at the gogoat!

p_1d20+4 (Ciel's Pacifier; Does 18% Damage)

The gogoat shuddered a bit as the ray hit it without any apparent kinetic force, but it did seem to have a very noticeable effect and the pokemon soon collapsed, the emotionally ravaging attack sending it into a state of confusion and distress.

"

Are you alright, Ringo? I think I've got it subdued... I'm not sure if it'll stay that way, but it seems like it's having a hard time getting up.

"

Wild Gogoat Damage: 33% Statis" Paralyzed

Ciel Damage: 22% Shield Damage: 0% Status: Normal Curiph Cooldown: 2 Turns Remaining

1d15+2·1d20+4

[Rina]

Pythagorean Theorem Cooldown: 2

"Is...is it safe to make a run for it?"

Ringo cautiously sidestepped around the Gogoat, inching towards an escape route and holding out her book in self-defense. While it is paralyzed thanks to her attack in combination of the beam, getting too close would likely get a horn to the gut, arm, somewhere on her body that'll hurt a lot. She didn't want to make more enemies by continuing to fight while it's down, but she has the feeling there's going to be more hostile creatures to defend herself against...

[Mari]

Ciel hesitated a moment. She knew they were just a couple of young girls, and while their brains might be super their legs were not. That goat's territorial body language suggested it was trying to protect something, potentially the land itself. There was a good chance it would simply chase them down after it recovered. Nevermind that she'd just been gored, and would have a really hard time running like that She needed to try something different. Ciel held up a finger as if to ask Ringo to wait before approaching the downed gogoat. She moved to its side, being careful not to make any sudden movements. There was something about this pokemon's physiology... those horns weren't designed with ramming in mind. They were curved too far back, almost like ... the handlebars on a motorcycle. It was almost as if this creature had been domesticated or genetically engineered for human use. taking a chance, Ciel would reach out to grab one of the horns. It still had a bit of blood on it, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. Gripping the horn, she held still for a long moment in anticipation of the gogoat's reaction.

N|oVLHBkp_1d20+2 (Ciel's Persuasion)

...the gogoat lifted his head, but seemed to be able to pick up on Ciel's intentions and emotions through his horns. Her pacifier ray had completely reset his disposition via an overwhelming amount of confusion, allowing the scientist an attempt at influencing him. Ciel's dangerous gambit paid off and the gogoat ultimately became docile at her touch. She waited a moment to make sure he wasn't about to attack her before slipping over the gogoat and mounting him.

"

...Looks like we won't need to exhaust ourselves on foot after all! Which is good because I'm still hurting pretty bad. Hehe...

"

There was, of course, several implicit questions in the air. Would Ringo ask about the weird ray she'd seen, or perhaps the fairy. ...And would she once again join Ciel for a ride? It was up to her, but it seemed like Ciel's quick thinking had granted them a breather and momentary safety.

Ciel Damage: 22% Shield Damage: 0% Status: Normal Curiph Cooldown: 1 Turns Remaining

1d20+2

[Rina]

Seeing that she's managed to make peace with the goat, she let her guard down and lowered the book. Whew, that's one fight averted. Naturally, Ringo wondered how Ciel was able to heal herself. She did have it pretty rough with that horned attack. Why not? Ringo herself doesn't know how to use healing powers on herself. She never really did figure out how to do it.

"Say...what was that fairy-like thing that healed you up? I've never seen it before."

Once her question was answered, Ringo carefully approached the Gogoat and tried to ride on its back. Could it carry two? Only one way to find out...

[Mari]

The gogoat eyed Ringo warily, but Ciel kept a firm grip on his horns which seemed to soothe him. Soon, Ringo was able to mount up with the scientist! The strong goat pokemon seemed more than capable of handling two somewhat light weight humans.

"

. . . You saw that?

"

Ciel seemed somewhat impressed. She was the only human she'd ever known that could see cyber elves. Most humans of her world didn't even know they existed! What did this mean, that Ringo could see them too..? Ciel had to put that off for a moment, not wanting gogoat to get too impatient.

"

Can you bring us to your friends..? There's a monster we need to find named Porygon.

"

On cue, the gogoat emitted a little huff and began to move. It was a bumpier ride than the chaser, except for the small detail that the terrain itself was much flatter. It probably evened out a little. Once they got moving, Ciel would glance behind her to once again acknowledge Ringo's question.

"

"His name is Curiph. He's a cyber elf, a self-aware artificial intelligence. They're very special in that their physical form is made of energy rather than matter, so most humans can't see them. ...But I guess you and I have special eyes~!

"

Ciel Damage: 22% Shield Damage: 0% Status: Normal

[Rina]

"Well, a rather elegant-looking lady I met in the past did comment about my eyes. They're both 20/4; I'm able to sight the Andromeda Galaxy in the daytime."

Ringo casually commented about her supernaturally high perception. There's not a lot of people with superb eyesight like hers. Actually...is having 20/4 vision even a normal occurrence? In hindsight, not really. Maybe she did have innate magical powers in her after all. It just took learning how to play Puyo to awaken it. Though, seeing great distances don't equate to seeing what's invisible to normal beings. For sure, Ringo's not exactly a normal schoolgirl.

"Though, I have a feeling that incident back at my home town played some part in being able to see more than just galaxies."

[Mari]

"

...That's incredible! I can only imagine what the world must look like through your eyes. ...In fact, I'm a little envious. I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but your eyes produce an image of the world more focused, detailed and dare I say beautiful than my mind can even comprehend. It blows my mind a little when I think about it like that.

"

Ciel had to restrain herself to avoid gushing over Ringo's frankly inhumanly good vision any harder than she already was. It only took her a moment to realize she'd just nerded out rather hard over the other's eyes. One didn't need to be a genius to recognize that.

"

Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away there. *Nervous giggle* ...I think Curiph's done resting. She should be able to show herself again. Curiph~! I got hurt pretty bad. I think I need a bit more healing, just to be safe. Would you mind showing yourself to Ringo..?

"

On cue, a tiny elf-like girl materialized for Ciel end turned to look up at Ringo. One could see the somewhat surreal look their artificial origins gave their bodies, almost like little doll people.

"Every cyber elf is created with a purpose. Curiph's is to heal our wounds. Back during the days of The Resistance, it used to be that they would expend the energy that made up their bodies to accomplish this, killing them in the process." Ciel explained, a wave of sadness overtaking her as she recalled the lives lost during the war. She promptly repressed those feelings. "...But I worked really hard to find a solution, and late during the war I was able to use the power of science to make it possible for cyber elves to help people without sacrificing themselves."

bBoeErwnp_1d15+2 (Curiph's Healing)

Ciel Damage: 7% Shield Damage: 0% Status: Normal Curiph Cooldown: 2 Turn Cooldown

1d15+2

[Rina]

"Oh, don't worry. To be fair, I'm deeply fascinated by scientific discoveries and puzzles myself. Hehehe!"

Well, scientific minds think alike! Ringo does tend to get a bit overenthusiastic when her curiosity gets the better of her, but she is partially aware that she behaves this way. Getting back on track, Ringo was given a better view of the cyber elf Ciel called forth.

"So this is one of many, you say? Fascinating beings... To think that they'd disappear once they served their purpose though...I don't think I'd bring myself to do call for their help. It's great you've been able to preserve their life!"