Bashou (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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farawayplace2023-08-06 10:01 pm
bashou) wrote in farawayplace2023-08-06 10:01 pm
A new adventure...
A. TURNTERRACE ROAD - CLOSED to buson
"I suppose we didn't need this." As they neared the entrance to Turnterrace Tunnel, Bashou folded the map of Ohritori Island. "You must have walked this route all the time when you worked on the farm...?"
He swung his rucksack around to the front of his body so that he could slip the map back into its pocket. His rucksack had some additions, most notably a length of neatly coiled rope and carabiner clips attached to the side. Bashou, too, was dressed differently. His clothes were more form-fitting, not the usual loose and flowy things he'd gotten used to wearing in Ultern. There was a climbing harness around his hips, and a helmet with an integrated torch on his head.
Would there be any climbing involved in this trip? Bashou didn't know for sure. As with all the Mystery Dungeons, it seemed that this one defied any attempts to map beyond its entrance. But he always liked to be prepared, and going into an unchartable cave system felt a lot more dangerous than the unchartable forest island they'd visited last time...
B. ROUTE 5 / CRABRAWLER COAST (BETWEEN PORT OPPORTUNE AND ADANOOK TOWN), CHURA ISLAND - *OPEN!*
[You may want to take care if you wander off the path. Bashou likes to train his Pokémon around here, often with the 'help' of a creepy-looking cloth mannequin for target practice. He's currently focusing on his newest Pokémon, Roselia. She's learning how to use Toxic Spikes! If anyone gets too close, they'll get a glare and a 'tsk'.]
"You nearly got a face full of poisonous thorns. I'm trying to save my Antidotes for real emergencies, so please be more careful next time."
buson"I suppose we didn't need this." As they neared the entrance to Turnterrace Tunnel, Bashou folded the map of Ohritori Island. "You must have walked this route all the time when you worked on the farm...?"
He swung his rucksack around to the front of his body so that he could slip the map back into its pocket. His rucksack had some additions, most notably a length of neatly coiled rope and carabiner clips attached to the side. Bashou, too, was dressed differently. His clothes were more form-fitting, not the usual loose and flowy things he'd gotten used to wearing in Ultern. There was a climbing harness around his hips, and a helmet with an integrated torch on his head.
Would there be any climbing involved in this trip? Bashou didn't know for sure. As with all the Mystery Dungeons, it seemed that this one defied any attempts to map beyond its entrance. But he always liked to be prepared, and going into an unchartable cave system felt a lot more dangerous than the unchartable forest island they'd visited last time...
B. ROUTE 5 / CRABRAWLER COAST (BETWEEN PORT OPPORTUNE AND ADANOOK TOWN), CHURA ISLAND - *OPEN!*
[You may want to take care if you wander off the path. Bashou likes to train his Pokémon around here, often with the 'help' of a creepy-looking cloth mannequin for target practice. He's currently focusing on his newest Pokémon, Roselia. She's learning how to use Toxic Spikes! If anyone gets too close, they'll get a glare and a 'tsk'.]
"You nearly got a face full of poisonous thorns. I'm trying to save my Antidotes for real emergencies, so please be more careful next time."
[ B&B: Ultern is like a vacation from our old criminal lives... also B&B: let's blow things up ]
It was a fun idea. But definitely one that was better in theory than in practice. The tunnel that these caves led from was one that people actually used, after all, and to damage it would cause a lot of disruption. Not that that would usually stop a Rocket from doing what they wanted, but if they were trying to lay low...
They were just joking, right?
"Or...what about this? I'm thinking aloud here, for once, so this may be a terrible idea, but...if it works, we keep the maps. Memorise them, even. Don't tell anyone they exist. In fact, we stick to the story about how the mystery dungeons are practically impossible to map. But we offer our services as guides, for a price. Then we keep the knowledge to ourselves, and anyone who comes with us is under our control. Could be risky and attract some bad characters, but...I doubt most people could get the jump on us, together, with our Pokémon..."
And their relative lack of regard for morality, and people's lives.
Would anyone choose to go with them, though? They did make a strange pair, probably, to people who didn't know them.
"I wouldn't trust us as tour guides, though."
[(villainous) castles in the air; CW: implication of killing... in self-defense, but still]
Buson kicked a stone. "... if it's a dangerous character, we make it look like an accident easy... treacherous environment, unstable rocks, wild Steel types protectin' their territory... a cryin' shame, but not our fault."
The stone continued to travel, clattering along the way, followed a side tunnel out of view, before hitting something with a much higher sound than the cavern floor or the cave walls, a hollow, almost drum-like sound.
"... hey, did you hear something?"
Maybe there was something to investigate?
[ cw: just Bashou fantasising about someone's death... ]
Not allowed to kick someone off a cliff, even if they deserve it...
The distant thud brought Bashou's attention back to the present moment. To his ears, he thought it had sounded almost metallic, like the kind of noise a Steel-type Pokémon could make. But it was hard to analyse a one-off sound like that. Bashou stood still and nodded.
"I heard it. Shall we go...?"
[(lovingly) they're so messed-up]
The hollow sound might have come from striking a part of the cave wall, the translucent and crystalline nature of which, allowed a near-uninterrupted view of a Mega Stone, not too deeply incased. A little bit of chipping away should reach it.
"Hey, Bashou! Looks like we found some jewel already... looks like... amber, almost, but there's something interesting at the heart of it."
Bashou's guess, however, wasn't wrong, as there was also... a large, sleeping Steelix coiled up front of it looked rather irritable, watching them both with one eye. The stone Buson kicked seemed to have annoyed it...
[ lots of urgency there, Bashou... ]
"Well..." Bashou spoke through the last of his sigh. "Do we think whatever's behind it is worth it?"
He didn't want to sound pessimistic, but they were better at battling with Steel types than against them...especially in a place like this, where space was limited and some types of attacks could put them in danger...
On the other hand, that stone could be something valuable or useful, and it would be a shame to come away from here empty-handed.
"Suppose we might not have a choice now, but...what do you think? Some water would be good, but I have none..."
[we move!]
The Steelix, now, on top of being annoyed, looked offended at Bashou's eye-roll and lazy, cat-like blink. What was that...?! Were they not taking it seriously?
Its tail twitched and Buson, rather than reply, opted to just shove Bashou as he ran back to where they were before, Mawile leaping after them.]
Slow it down!
[Mawile dutifully sliced and kicked aside some large stones to seal a little less than half the entrance to Steelix's area, to distract it. It could probably easily crunch through them, but they just needed the time to run and take a different route, losing it down some other paths. Unfortunately, this gave Mawile little time to mark anything except once!
They might be... slightly lost.]
no subject
Even Bashou's exclamation was understated, but it held a note of surprise, firstly at the annoyed tail twitch from the Steelix, and then at the flurry of movement.
Before he could react, Bashou felt himself being shoved out of the cavern, back in the direction they'd come from. For a split-second, he thought Buson was planning to act the tough guy and take on the Steelix by himself. But it soon became clear that, no, they were running.
Well, that's fine, too.
It didn't take long for Bashou to build up some momentum. Any rocks in his way didn't pose an obstacle; he leapt over them like he was in a hurdles race. If anything, it was harder to stop. He couldn't even slow down to look behind him. He only knew that Buson and Mawile were following because he could hear their footsteps, and the occasional clang of Mawile's jaws against stone. The acoustics within the tunnels amplified everything, making it impossible for him to tell where Buson and Mawile were, or if the Steelix was following...
Spotting a small alcove - or perhaps it was a narrow tunnel that led somewhere else - Bashou ducked into it and flashed his head torch repeatedly, so that if Buson was some way behind, he might still see the flashing light...
no subject
No longer hearing Steelix behind him, Buson slowed, but didn't stop, deciding to continue ahead in shorter bursts, and to simply walk when he could. He wasn't sure if Steelix's hearing might be more attuned to pinpointing prety (he had to admit, to a Pokemon that large, they might as well be, even if it wasn't exactly predatory, subsisting on rocks and soil) in these tunnels.
Walking allowed him to see the lights, although he hadn't found Mawile yet. Should he whistle? Was that sound too distinctly human? It sure would be nice if he still had a recorded Pokemon call or something to play... or a call or lure or something...
He quietly made his way over, gripped the wall and casually leaned, smling down at Bashou.
"Am I cleared to land?" he asked jokingly, before glancing back.
"... I can't hear Mawile. Wonder where that guy went... it was keepin' up 'til just now, so I don't think that Steelix got it..."
Should they lie low for a bit? It's quiet... or go look?
no subject
The most important thing was that they were both safe, but Bashou felt a twinge of concern for Mawile. He tried to rationalise it away - they live in caves in the wild, he can defend himself, he'll be fine... - but they had to find him before moving on. Then they'd need to figure out where they'd ended up.
"We should find him, but I'm not sure it's safe to go back that way. We could get even more lost, or cross paths with that same Steelix..."
The possibility that they really were lost, and that there might not be another way out, pressed urgently upon Bashou's mind. But Mawile was helping them to navigate. It made sense to find him.
"I could keep flashing my torch. Might wear the battery out, though." Bashou thought about what else was in his backpack. Or on his belt. "Hmm, what about Claudia...?"
no subject
"Remind me, Claudia is...?"
One of Bashou's Pokemon, clearly, but the Bashou in his world didn't name his Pokemon so much, so it's a little hard for him to tell. (He wouldn't have any idea that this one was named by the Buson in Bashou's world!)
"I was thinkin' a Pokemon call might be subtler... maybe we could even ask one'a our Steel types to call Mawile, they wouldn't attract so much attention, but Mawile'd know their voices, right? Maybe our Pokemon could work together."
Buson waited to see what Claudia might be before selecting a Pokemon himself.
no subject
Bashou would sometimes forget that this wasn't his Buson. Whenever he remembered, it was a little jarring, until he reminded himself that everything had been fine in Ultern. He was happy here, even if this Buson was from a different world. Maybe, at some point, he'd stop thiking about it at all. For now, he shrugged it off.
"My Golbat." He realised, then, that he'd never seen Buson with a Golbat, either, unlike in his home world. "Do you not have one, too? Back home, they..."
They work together, Bashou was about to say, but it felt wrong to be talking about stuff like that. It might have made him sound wistful for his old life. Anyway, now wasn't the time for comparing worlds.
"She's quiet. She could find Mawile, lead him back to us. And with her echolocation, I doubt she'll get lost."
[Bashou: Now wasn’t the time to compare worlds. Buson: -compares worlds, gets distracted-
“Sorry… never trained one, ‘scept when I borrowed a Zubat in some exercise during training as a temporary Pokemon.”
He looked sympathetic as Bashou realized the difference. It’s fine if Bashou fondly recalled their—his—life, even if Buson couldn’t relate. Nothing seemed worth what he had to do for a living, except Bashou, and he’s here now, so…
He gave Bashou’s shoulder a little pat, even if he didn’t know the details. Were their Golbat a team? Related? A pair? Not the time to ask, really, but it seemed recalling the differences still bothered Bashou in a way it didn’t bother Buson anymore…
He hated thinking about his old life, but Bashou didn’t take to Ultern so completely as he did. He didn’t mind the differences and enough folks drifted in from Johto that he could find a lot of the same food he liked… that’s good enough for him. He hardly ever missed home. Having Bashou here, even if he’s a little different in some superficial ways, is all he needs. He’d rather spend the rest of his days here, even though he knew he couldn’t die here. It wasn’t his world. He just wished it was.
He was distracted by his thoughts, but he made out enough of Bashou’s words to know when he should nod.
Meanwhile, Mawile had gotten lost wandering a tunnel branching off to some side away from the route Bashou and Buson had taken. He, too, had slowed to a walk and looked around himself at the dazzling lights. This wasn’t where he was meant to be, he realized, and the wild Aron seemed too skittish to answer his questions. He gashed the wall and sat down a moment, straining to hear his master or his friend, but it seemed they’d moved too far apart… he breathed deeply for a few seconds, then rose to his feet again, prepared to keep searching. But he still felt tired and now, hungry too… it might be bad to carry on in this condition, but the humans weren’t accustomed to surviving in a place like this!
To replenish his strength, he searched for something to eat… there was nothing to hunt and there wasn’t even rock salt to lick, but… he did find overturned earth soil and small tunnels. Diglett? Maybe… but they’d disappeared far below and his paws weren’t exactly built for efficient digging. He frowned at them and decided to swing his second set of jaws to eat soil instead and try not to think about the contents too much.
[1/2]
Even though "his" Buson had named her, Bashou rarely called his Golbat "Claudia" to her face. He'd never quite gotten used to it; she'd been with him since a time when he never named any of his Pokémon and never though he would. But since he'd brought up the subject, he called her by her nickname as he released her above their heads. He wondered if she'd think it was strange.
"Claudia. We need your help. We had to run, and we got separated from Buson's Mawile. Please be so kind as to track him down and lead him back to us. He was marking the path, so look out for crosses on the walls. And if you can get any sense of where we are, and how to get out of here...that would be helpful, too."
Bashou didn't want to say that they were lost, but without Mawile keeping track of their path, they might have been.
[2/2]
Once she understood what she had to do, Claudia silently flew off, using her Supersonic and its echo - too high-pitched for humans to hear - to build up a picture of what was ahead. The walls were dotted with crystals made of unfamiliar material. Claudia had to wonder if the humans had come here for something they considered valuable.
It should have been easy enough to identify a Steel type of the right size. The only risk was that Mawile might end up getting confused by the Supersonic, but it would wear off soon enough. But before she found Mawile, Claudia found one of his marks. It looked like it had been made in a hurry. The Golbat followed their trail, passing a chamber where a Steelix lay coiled, glaring.
Eventually, she reached a point where the crosses seemed more deliberate, less rushed...but no sign of Mawile, and it looked like there was an exit up ahead. Presumably Mawile wouldn't have just left without his trainer...?
Claudia turned around and doubled back, firing a Supersonic at the Steelix along the way as it growled at her in passing. She followed the trail of increasingly messy marks again until they stopped. When she reached this area, this time she took a different path, calling ahead with her Supersonic again and analysing its echo.
This time, she picked up on something moving in the distance, and called out a greeting with her audible voice.
"I'm looking for Buson's Mawile. Is it you...?"
[Agitating that Steelix further and further is not very good for their predicament...]
Buson's Mawile did wince at the Supersonic and briefly couldn't tell up from down nor left from right owing to the terribly sharp sound. It's a good thing Claudia spoke before approaching!
'I am! Do you know him? If you hadn't said that name, I'd have torn you limb from limb for all that noise! That was your doing, wasn't it?'
Great at conversation, clearly, no wonder he came off too intense for the wild Steel types. ... he was not usually so threatening, really, and this was quite chatty for Mawile's standards, but he might be overcompensating for the fact that the Supersonic made him so suddenly unsure on his feet and landed him gracelessly head-down, peering up at Claudia from between his legs. He's embarrassed!
no subject
The complications of this place aside, that is. Claudia didn't think she really knew this Buson, but...well, that was her trainer's business. She wasn't ruffled by Mawile's warnings either.
"We all have to find our way around somehow, don't we? Weren't they your marks on the walls? But, yes, I'm sorry for the confusion. It'll wear off. The most important thing is, I was sent to find you. And here you are. So now I can lead you back."
Claudia began to fly off, but she stayed low to the ground and looked behind her regularly, making sure that Mawile was still following and that he was doing okay. Since she'd already mapped out the route, fortunately, there was no need for any more waves of Supersonic.
"The humans are fine, by the way. No injuries. But they might need help from both of us to get out safely. What made them come here, anyway? Was it the glowing rocks?"
no subject
'Another difference, then...'
The Bashou in his world didn't seem to have a Golbat, but until he was certain of Claudia's truthfulness, he would have to be reticent.
'They were my marks.' Matter-of-factly.
He listened to her words and nodded sternly.
'The rocks do not interest them. My master thought so little of them, he spoke of destroying them. They seem to be seeking even smaller, more colourful stones... perhaps they're valuable to humans or hold some kind of strange power.'
He won't tell her that he saw one more deeply embedded in the rocks earlier, not yet.
'Can you only see the surface of the rocks with your voice or what is inside of the rocks too?'
[ Claudia was just in Rocket's 'stock' before she was given to Bashou... probably from Mount Moon ]
"Sounds like it could be gemstones. Or evolutionary stones."
This type of place was Claudia's natural environment. Back in Kanto, she'd been captured - en masse, with many other Zubat - while their gang of greedy captors went digging around for one or both of those things. They'd needed to get the bats out of the way. It didn't bother her anymore.
"Mostly I see shapes. But some echoes are different. I can tell if something is more solid, or more liquid, or not what I expected...but, no, it's not exactly x-ray vision."
[poor thing ;~; CW suffocation, crushing injuries]
They ddn’t resemble any evolutionary stones he had ever known.
‘I see. More hollow, then…’
Mawile had no issue with the multiple worlds, as they did not trouble his master, but having never met Claudia before, he would regard her as a possible threat or deceiver until he saw their trainers again. It shouldn’t be long, should it?
The crevice Bashou and Buson had taken shelter in, Buson felt a sting in his eye, saw a thin trail of dust suddenly begin to pour, gradually growing thicker with bright chunks of crumbling stone, instinctively stepping back, towards the mouth, before, his eyes widened and he grabbed at Bashou again (shoulder, bag, whichever was closest to his reach) to shove him forwards out into the cave (he trusted Bashou to break into a run again or leap away from danger, but if he couldn’t, crashing to the ground outside was still preferable.)
He intended to follow. In the same motion, drive out his partner and flee to safety. He was half out, head down, running with a forward tilt, but even so, he was just that much heavier than Bashou that a heavy rock came down before is lower half could pass through.
Everything caved in behind him, he could hear it, but all he felt was this boulder crushing more than half of him, a blinding pain, then, he felt nothing below, only the pain of drawing breath with something heavy weighing on his chest. Lungs couldn’t fill with air. Perhaps some broken bones. The side of his head which hit the ground made his senses dull and dizzy, but he was awake still. He would only be dazed a moment before he pain and panic began to settle in… why couldn’t he feel his legs? Was there a way out of this?
Mawile and Claudia would not find their masters until it was too late to prevent any serious injury.
[CW suffocation, crushing injuries, mention of nausea]
After just a few paces, he realised that something was horribly wrong. He slowed down as quickly as he could, fighting against his own momentum, placing a hand upon the nearest wall like a makeshift brake. There had been noise, but now there was too much quiet. Where were Buson's footsteps? Where was Buson's voice, either breathlessly shouting about what had just happened, or at least urging them to carry on?
Bashou turned, slowly, as though he didn't want to look with his own eyes. At first, he only saw a cloud of dust surrounding what had previously been the crevice entrance. The spot where he'd hidden was gone, that section of the cave wall practically unrecognisable now. Buson must have been somewhere behind all of that. The thought made Bashou's chest swell with fear, but he clenched his fists and began to approach. He had to stay calm. They would find a way out of this.
As Bashou got nearer, and as his gaze tracked downwards, he saw a vivid splash of blond hair, lying on the ground. Bashou followed the line of Buson's body, his brow creasing in confusion as his mind struggled to process - or to accept, maybe - what he was seeing. From his torso downwards, Buson seemed to be gone. There was only a large rock, too heavy for anyone to lift. Too heavy for any person...
Although the dust made him choke and cough, Bashou ran through the remaining cloud and dropped to his knees at Buson's side. He was about to reach for his partner's wrist or neck, but it was clear that Buson was still alive - for now. Bashou's other hand was already clenched around his Steelix's Poke Ball, and the words were already out of his mouth.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here."
For once, Bashou had spoken before thinking. As he began to fully process the situation, his hands shook and his vision became blurry. He couldn't release his Steelix here without risking another collapse. What about a different Pokemon? How long would it be before Mawile returned? Would he be able to...?
After every silent question, Bashou took another look at the boulder, trying to convince himself that moving it would fix the problem. But it was too heavy. The injuries it must have caused...
Bashou's stomach contorted, as though he might be sick. He wouldn't speak his realisation aloud, since he didn't want to cause Buson more distress, but it must have been obvious in his eyes, and the way his chest heaved rapidly, as though he were trying to breathe for both of them. He threw a hand over his mouth, like he was trying to restrain the words.
We can't...! I can't do anything!
[CW suffocation, crushing injuries, mention of nausea]
But the rest of him was too scared, too selfish, to tell him to go back. He was in so much pain and the lack of pain and sensation beyond the crushing weight made him even more frightened and panicked than he would have been otherwise. That brief look of anger was quickly replaced with a fearful, searching look. He was too scared to look down at what became of his lower half, he seemed to be gauging his reaction based on Bashou's. He tried to push against the rock, blindly, but it proved a painfully futile effort. It hardly shifted, only increasing his pain, with a repulsive sound.
Even Bashou's reassurances didn't hold the sway they normally did for Buson.
"How, Bashou?"
It was a bit too harsh, incredulous. Almost mocking. He didn't mean it that way. He spat it out without thinking, felt his throat wet.
Bashou's expression made him feel a mixture of despair and pity, heightening the fear. It's over, isn't it? His gaze looked distant.
Leave. Get out of here.
"S'not your fault. Y'don't... gotta do everything. It's—"
His words were cut off by a cough.
Pathetic. He picked a fine time to turn coward, after all that. If he really cared, he could've told Bashou to leave (would he?), instead of giving him half-hearted words that wouldn't reassure him if their roles were reversed... if they were, he wouldn't be able to leave Bashou's side either. Maybe it wasn't cowardice, then, that kept him from sending him away. But he still felt selfish for not wanting to be left alone.
Mawile found Bashou kneeling and rushed over, freezing mid-step when he drew near enough to see his master, eyes wide.
Buson gave Mawile a tired, sorry look. The only one who survived, huh? His other Pokemon didn't make it, the crushed remains of their pokeballs digging painfully into him... but maybe their sacrifice provided a little bit of space between him and the boulder.
Mawile seemed to realize that too and immediately wanted to remove the boulder with his jaws, but could hardly open them wide enough to get a good grip, scraping his teeth against rock, trying to open his jaws so wider than his mouth could open, trying to find a place to bite. When he realized he wouldn't be able to lift it (rather than cause more damage by rolling it around...), he decided to dig Buson out, thinking he could make a path underneath to draw him out safely. Unfortunately, Mawile didn't exactly know dig and he was a very small Pokemon, so his digging was the equivalent of someone very earnestly and desperately trying to dig a tunnel with a spoon.
[CW suffocation, crushing injuries]
Now that that thought had been crushed, Bashou realised how irrational it was. It was based in luck and fortune, things which he claimed he didn't believe in. For all his strategising, he'd failed to acknowledge that Buson could ever be the unlucky one, if it was between the two of them.
Bashou hadn't even thought of Buson's other Pokemon, but when Mawile appeared, he suddenly felt their loss, too. With their usual home being the bandolier on Buson's chest, they must have been gone already. It seemed odd and cruel to Bashou, that somehow he felt a separate grief for them - for Skarmory, especially - when he was sure he had no room for any more feelings.
He was so consumed in this, it took him a few moments to understand what Mawile was doing. When he realised, Bashou didn't immediately have the heart to stop him. At least he was doing something; what right did Bashou have, to tell him to give up on his trainer?
Meanwhile, Claudia had flown in silently and landed at Bashou's side, her mouth closed and set in a deep frown. She glanced at her trainer, waiting to see if he might order her to help Mawile...but, somehow, she knew that he wouldn't. She could sense that he was realistic, even now.
"I don't think it'll help."
Bashou whispered so low that nobody might have heard it, except perhaps Claudia. He didn't dare reach out to touch Mawile, not even to get the Pokemon's attention. He leaned in closer and appeared to bow, until his forehead almost touched the ground, not far from where Buson's head lay. Though Bashou wasn't one for prayer, it was a position that reflected his desperation. His arms were wrapped tightly around his own waist, as though he were holding himself together. He spoke louder this time, although his voice cracked with the effort.
"But it is my fault. You saved me before I even knew what was happening, and now there's nothing..."
Nothing I can do. Nothing I can think of. Even though I always think of something.
"What can I do? Tell me...please..."
[CW suffocation, crushing injuries]
Buson blinked fast, an eye tearing. Whether from pain, fear, or the dust Mawile's desperate digging kicked up around his face, it wasn't clear, but his gaze was still unfocused, distant, until Bashou knelt down, which only made the situation feel more alien, more unnatural.
He didn't like seeing Bashou laid low by anything, but if it provided some comfort...
He couldn't have heard the words Claudia might have, but he heard Bashou's insistence.
"Shut up!"
It's harsh. Too harsh, Buson winced at the growl in his voice, although he didn't raise his voice, and wondered why everything came out sounding so angry? It wasn't anger he felt! This feeling gnawing at his chest, this emptiness, this wasn't anger. Grief, maybe. Fear.
He wanted to shake his head, but felt a wave of dizziness at trying to lift his head, that he immediately regretted. He realized his head felt cooler than the wet spot it laid upon on the ground. He lowered his head, then spoke again, gently, much more gently, even if his voice shook. He hoped Bashou wouldn't notice from where he was.
"Sorry—it's just... I'm scared. I'm real scared," he confessed. "Saved you... I did that without thinkin', but it's... not like when I said I'd give my life for you. I thought, maybe, I'd be cool about it. Like, it'd happen in an instant."
His voice sounded weaker, higher, he spoke a little faster, breathing shakily. Maybe he was on the verge of tears or laughter or both.
"I didn't think—I'd still be looking for you to make it better. Thought I'd be stronger—I can't—I don't want you to go, but—"
His voice cracked and he looked embarrassed with his own weakness, going quiet. He might've turned red, under normal circumstances.
Mawile's frantic digging finally stopped, his claws twitching in pain. He stared down at his paws, the skin rubbed raw and scraped from digging through rock, and this distracted Buson enough from his own embarrassment that he raised a hand weakly to place it on Mawile's back, trying to reassure him, to tell him it was alright to give up. Mawile only stubbornly shook his head and returned to digging more furiously.
[CW suffocation, crushing injuries]
There was nobody, nothing else to turn to. Nobody to blame. Nothing to analyse. The outcome seemed inevitable, and all because of a brief moment, an accident that Bashou hadn't foreseen and couldn't control. He clenched his teeth tightly in frustration, and to hold back his own pain.
What could he do now? He could tell Buson not to be scared, that there was no need to be scared...but those would be empty words. Bashou didn't know what it was like. Anyway, he'd never been the type to offer well-meaning platitudes. Whatever comfort he could give, he thought it shouldn't be as false as that.
"I never thought something like this would happen."
Bashou sounded like a wounded child, like it had only just occurred to him that he couldn't see the workings of the universe. It certainly wasn't the first time something had shattered his illusion of control. This time just felt different. Because there was no fixing it.
"Nobody could be stronger than you. You saved me."
How am I supposed to live in Ultern without you? What will I do here? This place is made for you, not me. I don't want to be here anymore.
But Bashou wasn't about to burden whatever time Buson had left with his own worries. He could figure that out...later. Even though he couldn't accept that he would have a 'later', and Buson wouldn't. He wiped away tears and mirrored Mawile's stubborn head-shake.
"But I'm not going anywhere. Don't even suggest it."
[CW suffocation, crushing injuries, character death]
"... 'm glad."
He didn't mean to say it outloud, but it's fine. A shaky breath.
"Even though I'd done so much wrong... I didn't have t'be alone in the end... got you... got Mawile..."
He hated being alone. So, even if this was scarier than anything, he knew it'd be so much worse, waiting for the end alone, with no one to talk to. Looking for some silver lining to this. But, seeing Bashou like that hurt, too...
"... live, okay? Sorry... nothin' here was supposed to hurt you. But, y'got a job and a place to stay, even if it's hard... alone, hang in there, alright?"
It'd have been worse if Bashou was only relying on him, so it's a good thing Bashou insisted on working, too, and continued to train... Buson had been short-sighted in wanting to do everything else for him so he was grateful Bashou hadn't relied on him so much that he wouldn't be able to live by his own strength.
But he remembered feeling lost, those four months before he met Manzana, that half a year before he saw Bashou again...
"If... maybe, if I don't get another chance here... i-if maybe... I'm not welcome back in Ultern, o-or..."
—if what they'd learned about the drifted not being able to die here wasn't true. He felt like he was drowning and it was getting harder to get any words out, but he made an effort. He hated silence, so he kept speaking as long as he could still make himself understood.
"Thought it was a shame. That I couldn't stay... didn't... wanna go back. But I—I miss home. Could you... t-take what's left... and scatter it there? Or bury it... I don't—know if my old home is still there... dunno where my parents are, if they could even afford a—"
Mawile's scraping was doing more damage to himself than the ground now and, arms trembling, collapsed to his knees, exhausted and starting to shed tears. He tried to move a paw to stretch again, but Buson frowned and reached to to pet its head, but felt too weak to keep raising his hand, so let it drop, to rest on his shoulder instead, trying to give it a reassuring squeeze. That's enough.
His grip felt weak and Mawile only became more upset, trying to push off his hand to dig again.
Buson winced and tried to tilt his head back, his breathing shallow, as he proceeded to write, shakily, but still in a bold, heavy-handed script—he was dragging his hand. Names. A family name, then a given one... it might seem like a practical joke, if Buson were that keen on teasing Bashou even while dying, or perhaps, they really were destined to meet.
武尊
The characters could be read as Buson, but not like the poet's. Rather than a name suggesting a rustic village, a more martial name, evoking soldiers and weapons, and a legendary warrior's name. The name could also be pronunced Takeru or Hotaka.
He had to stop, coughing terribly, struggling to breathe. Blearily, he wrote some coastal town's name, but it didn't seem familiar. Some wavy line and "Tohjo" near it. Even his usually bold handwriting looked gradually thinner, fainter, and harder to make out.
He might have wanted to write more, scratching weakly, but lacked the strength to do so, his eyes were losing light, and his struggling slowed to a halt...
[CW suffocation, crushing injuries, character death, suicidal thoughts? / thread end?]
[CW suffocation, crushing injuries, character death, suicidal thoughts? / I believe so]