[And that's all Rindo will ask of Gladion. It's… already too much. With the decision made, he nods grimly. He cannot judge him for it either way. At least Gladion is still in control of himself.
(Privately, Rindo tells himself they'll stop partway if things escalate before they can make it.)
He temporarily places the parcels on the ground to free up his hands so he can pick up Gladion and place him on Silvally's back. Somehow, he's even lighter than he looks.
It's almost funny, how much he doesn't fear Gladion frenzying. It's certainly not due to trust in his own abilities. Perhaps it's Gladion's current form. Perhaps it's because Rindo's mind is too saturated with other things right now-sympathy at the way Gladion's clutching his tail, guilt for ever asking that question, a suffocating sense of responsibility. Or perhaps because he finds it hard to muster a reason why he should care about himself getting hurt anymore.
At any rate, they have to hurry. He picks up the parcels again and gets on Silvally. The weight of his burden makes that a difficult task, and his balance is precarious, but he'll manage… though with his vines busy holding the tools, he can't use them as reins. He's not going to waste precious time fetching the Pokémon's bags.
…He'll just have to hang on with his roots, then. They sprawl across Silvally's underside, gripping its body tight, not digging in (never digging in)—a mesh network, each fractal end a weapon, like holding so many knives to an innocent's neck.
He thinks uneasily back to a past conversation. "We're stronger than it." He can only hope to be worthy of Silvally's trust.
When it looks like Gladion's ready to go, Rindo will ask Silvally to run to the patch at full speed.]
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(Privately, Rindo tells himself they'll stop partway if things escalate before they can make it.)
He temporarily places the parcels on the ground to free up his hands so he can pick up Gladion and place him on Silvally's back. Somehow, he's even lighter than he looks.
It's almost funny, how much he doesn't fear Gladion frenzying. It's certainly not due to trust in his own abilities. Perhaps it's Gladion's current form. Perhaps it's because Rindo's mind is too saturated with other things right now-sympathy at the way Gladion's clutching his tail, guilt for ever asking that question, a suffocating sense of responsibility. Or perhaps because he finds it hard to muster a reason why he should care about himself getting hurt anymore.
At any rate, they have to hurry. He picks up the parcels again and gets on Silvally. The weight of his burden makes that a difficult task, and his balance is precarious, but he'll manage… though with his vines busy holding the tools, he can't use them as reins. He's not going to waste precious time fetching the Pokémon's bags.
…He'll just have to hang on with his roots, then. They sprawl across Silvally's underside, gripping its body tight, not digging in (never digging in)—a mesh network, each fractal end a weapon, like holding so many knives to an innocent's neck.
He thinks uneasily back to a past conversation. "We're stronger than it." He can only hope to be worthy of Silvally's trust.
When it looks like Gladion's ready to go, Rindo will ask Silvally to run to the patch at full speed.]