Dungeon Diving

Mayr lets go of the breath he didn’t realise he was holding as he exits the building.
Clutched in his claws his what he’s got to do and he’s not sure why he’s so anxious about it all. It wanted to do this, a way to get back into his old life while in his new one.

Kozmotis suggested it.
Go get something to do at the new Dungeon Diving Institute, Mayr had seen the building before when he was given a tour of the town by Ozul, but it says it’s for guild members only and he’s sure none of them are, he’s not and Cassius defiantly isn’t. This had just made Kozmotis laugh and head over to a side cabinet, bringing out a license, a guild license. He tried to question him on this, but he’d give up no answers, even Cassius did, he seemed just as confused about its existence but the Gardivore fusion gave nothing away, a single low hanging almost threat. Keep pushing him about its existence and he won’t be able to use it.
So, the fact was dropped, well dropped for now. There will be a day that Mayr works out exactly what’s going on in that man’s head.
It left with the thrill filling his veins, excited to do this. Cassius wanted to join him but no, not this time, please not yet. He needs to do this alone, prove to himself that he’s not lost his skills over these last few months since he's arrived in this time. Training with Cassius didn’t really help, he knows that vampire went easy on him. Not only because he’s sure that he shouldn’t have so easily beaten him anyway, but he knows Cassius’ masked form is weaker and not his preferred state, so it was a red flag that it changed.

It was nerve-wracking, entering the institute, going though who he is, his levels, his skills. He knows it’s to keep them safe, stop him from doing a dungeon he won’t be safe in, but it didn’t stop it from feeling like he was being judged about everything. The looks he kept getting by doing this alone didn’t help. There wasn’t anything less then a group of three when he went, but there’s no rules against doing it alone so he’s going to – maybe down the line he’ll invite Cassius along, he’d quite like to see that pokemon truly fight and flex its powers. He also won’t lie, the reason for that isn’t completely pg.
The Gothic Maze was the name that stood out to him most from the list that was handed across to him. Sure, he more then reached the requirements for it, but he needs to warm back up not over push himself. So, that’s the one he took.
There was more paperwork he had to fill out, disclaimers and then he was handed a final sheet of paper, a summary of the current conditions of the dungeon, helpful. Though he noticed that there was little information about what sort of pokemon he could encounter, not helpful, he’d like to know what he could be going up against. It is however, also glad that there’s no one that needs rescuing in there, it eases off the pressure and truly lets him test his strength.

He's stood outside the building and urges himself to relax, it’s time to go and he knows he can do this.
He is a warrior, a guardian who’s trained his whole life. He pauses, both mentally and physically, stopping his journey he had already begun.
He’s not that anymore though. He can’t be a warrior and guardian to something which no longer exists, or rather doesn’t exist yet? Or maybe will never exist in the future of this timeline, honestly all of this still makes his head spine. Focusing too much on the time he has lost, the future that was his that will be no longer hurts, he just has to focus on the current, focus on the now. Cassius helps, he’s a good distraction, though distraction feels a bit mean for the feelings Mayr is trying to ignore, but they’re beginning to grow beyond the level one can ignore. That’s not something he should focus on right now. He’s got a dungeon to go explore, and some abilities to prove he still has. He needs that, he needs it for himself.

The walk is long and boring, he can only cope with his own thoughts for so long, maybe he should have brought someone with him to even just leave them behind and go in alone. But finally, the Maze is making itself known to him. It spreads out in front of him, a massive forest that has grown itself into a maze, thorns and roses crawling out, something it finds incredibly beautiful. He’s taken in by it, and he can already tell how people get lost, he expected fog but the weather is as clear as can be.
He expected to be nervous, now that he’s finally here, but no the adrenaline is thrumming through him like it used to and he’s so excited. He flexes his claws, summoning his arm blades first. They appear with their natural glow, a bit slower than it used to take them to form, but they’ll do – he didn’t think it was something that he’d need to keep on top of practicing. They’re sharp, he knows that much, it is easier to make them sharp then safe, that’s what takes more effort. A gentle exhale and they disappear again. There’s a quiver to his hands now, but it’s not nerves all of it is excitement and he so hopes that this isn’t going to let him down, hopes he can get into at least a more casual fight – there’s stuff in him he now needs to get out, not a rage, it’s cooler and more collected than that but it does burn in his gut the same way. It still has one more thing to check before he steps foot in the maze, which now seems to be calling out to him, begging him to enter. Maybe that’s what makes this place a dungeon? It’s sure not it’s looks because it looks stunning and there’s no unusual weather with a hold over the area. Mayr focuses his attention, on his energy and takes a deep breath before letting it out in a stable stream. Slowly his staff appears in his hands. A comforting cool object he tightens his grip on it, feeling the weighting. It feels off, and that feels like a stab to his heart.
Unclear as to if it’s a difference in him, the staff or simply he hasn’t used it in so long that it just feels wrong when nothing has changed. It hurts and Mayr has to close his eyes, blinking away the tears that are threatening to try and form, he won’t get upset about this but it’s just so hard. Something that used to always be by his side, but he hasn’t needed it in months, another firm reminder that his whole life has changed now. It’s really not sure how it feels about this, does he want to go back or accept that this is his new life and there’s no changing that. The people do at least make this easier.

He shakes his head firmly.
“Toughen up Mayr.” He growls to himself, “We can do this, we know who we were, just because that’s no longer our duty doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten our training.”
His pep talk seems to help, with a shift of his hand the staff disappears and he strides towards the entrance of the maze. It gets taller as he gets closer, well no, it doesn’t get taler. Rather he can finally tell just how tall some of this is, reaching up as if it’s ready to absorb anyone who goes inside, it doesn’t put it off however. A maze doesn’t scare him, there’s always a way in and out of a maze, no matter how lost you may end up.
He can’t stop himself and reaches out to one of the roses by the main entrance, stroking the petal with the edge of a claw, it’s soft and he wants to pull it off and take it with him, though he’s pretty sure that’s not a good idea. Even if the maze itself is just natural, it doesn’t mean there aren’t pokemon who would take great offence about him taking a single flower with him. It remains there a second, hand brushing against the flower, ensuring that it is ready and its body isn’t going to do something stupid and become overwhelmed. It was never like that before, and he is fully willing to blame this time rather than anything being different within himself, though it’s not something he truly believes to be at fault.
There’s no sign of any pokemon life just yet, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any. Even the most feral pokemon knows when best to hide and lure in someone to attack, so he can’t be too careful, ensure he’s not glowing in anyway, draw the least attention until he has to. Old commands and orders run through his head, preparations and plans; of course, none for this specific event, this specific place but they can always be of help. He’s snapped to attention by the craw of a Honchkrow in the distance, there are pokemon inside. It pulls his hand away from the flower and to his side, summoning just one of his arm blades, just in case prepared for if something gets to him announced, meaning summoning another has less of a time restraint, less of a risk.
He takes another breath, it’s a little shaky and he doesn’t realise he had been holding the last one for so long, before he takes a step further forward and heads into the maze. 

So, things do feel a bit spookier as he’s inside of the maze, the weather is still clear and he feels like there should be fog, if anything it’s more unnerving to him that there isn’t any fog to be seen, and Mayr is completely on edge. He’s not panicking, every emotion he has is being held under control, but he knows his pulse is spiking and that things need to be kept in control, he needs to keep himself in control as he leads with the blade in front of him. The Honchkrow has fallen silent now, and that’s more worrying then if it had continued to make noises, it had gotten louder for a while but then stopped, and with every conner Mayr turns he expects to come face to face with it and that makes it all that bit more nerve-wracking. Even if a normal sized specimen of the pokemon is less then half his height, it doesn’t stop them from being a dangerous foe if he has to face off against one, especially with how out of practice it is. Not to mention it’s a Honchkrow and they are rarely seen without a flock of Murkrow with them, and if there isn’t one – the thought makes Mayr shudder slightly. A Honchkrow that doesn’t have a flock at it’s call his even more dangerous, unusually it’s because they are unnerving in some way so the Murkrow don’t want to work with it, that it’s not giving out orders they even vaguely like the idea about.
A twig snaps.
Mayr freezes. He was just about to round another corner. Glancing down at his own hoof placement, it’s instantly clear to him that he wasn’t the one who stepped on it, which means there’s some pokemon ahead of him. A craw echoes from just ahead of him. It makes Mayr’s blood run cold, it’s defiantly the Honchkrow he heard before and it is angry.
He takes another step back, he knows he’s going to need his staff for this, even if he can just scare off the other pokemon, he’s facing off against something that can fly, which makes his arm blades less useful. The blade slides back into his arm, dispersing the energy so that it can resummon it as the staff, glad he’d practiced this exact process before he entered as it goes smoother this time around. His energy and body beginning to warm back up to this, and oh the thrill.
Someone gasps. It makes Mayr’s ears twitch, the sort of sound he doesn’t really expect to hear, there isn’t a rescue here so what could be going on, all he knows is he needs to be prepared. Expect there to both be an actual problem but also the fact that it may genuinely be some pokemon that needs help, maybe another pokemon who lives in the maze that has chosen a fight they cannot win. 

Slowly, Mayr steps forward again, sticking to the edge of the hedge, not sure exactly where the pokemon will be in the path, so he could either be hidden at first or spotted instantly. Of course, keeping the element of surprise would be ideal, but that’s not necessarily the only way he can do this, when you guard something, you get used to not having the element of surprise on your side – as well as how many pokemon just waste the opportunities that surprise can give them.
Glancing around, he has to hold back the sigh of relief that they’re both facing the other way so he can work out what’s going on. There’s a Morgrem, they’re on the floor, and they seem hurt. Mayr’s eyes flicker, the Morgrem doesn’t seem to be faking it, a genuine cry of pain and fear comes out as the Honchkrow readies another Shadow Ball. Mayr knows he has to act fast, even more so as he spots a flash of the Honchkrow’s eyes, it’s feral. It makes more sense, connecting to why another pokemon within the dungeon is being attacked, normally the dungeon pokemon get along, at least simply because they all live there but if one of them is feral, well they’ll lash out at anyone they can, even if they live together.
He can’t allow this pokemon to get hit again, and as he watches the Shadow Ball approach he lurches out, getting between the feral mon and the one on the floor. There’s a squark of anger from the Honchkrow as it spots the new figure getting in the way of its attack, even more enraged as it is stopped by his staff, the energy weapon taking down the Shadow Ball.
“Are you okay?” He calls back to the pokemon on the floor. They grunt in response,
“I will be, stupid Thievel disturbed this Honchkrow, didn’t realise it was feral till it was having a go at me, we don’t get many of them things around here.” She replies, accent heavy. Mayr nods, so he was right with the assumption that this was out of the ordinary.
“Right, well I recon our best bet is to get out of here.” He replies, while trying to bonk the bird ‘mon on the head with his staff, he doesn’t want to out right hurt it knowing how the feral nature affects a pokemon, but also knowing that right now it just wants to hurt them. The morgrem laughs.
“You can, ‘ve got no where else to go, got to live with this thing.” She replies.
Mayr dodges another Shadow Ball, wondering if it can remember any of it’s other moves right now, it leaves him turned around however, facing the pokemon he’s helping. This is probably a stupid question, she’ll probably turn it down, he doesn’t even have a home of its own yet, and he doubts Cassius would think going off on this personal quest would result in bringing home more people.
“Look, you can come and stay with me, I can get you on your feet. I have people who have done the same for me and I would like to be able to pay it forward.” He states, surprised at how honest he’s feeling right now.
“I- I’d like that yeah.” She says, suddenly feeling nervous, and Mayr spots the blush on her cheeks and hopes he’s not implied anything to her because he really didn’t mean it.
It's at this point the Honchkrow decides to remind them that he’s still here and still angry, Mayr’s staff is knocked out of his hands and sent flying across the clearing, its claws catch one of his jaw horns and he yelps out in pain, though it’s more shock then actually hurting him in anyway.
The Morgrem growls and she then leaps at the Honchkrow, partially clambering up Mayr to be able to do it. A growl comes from Mayr in return, he doesn’t like to be used as a spring board, especially not from someone that honestly, he has just met. He does have tip to turn though and see her press a kiss onto the Honchkrow’s beak, before falling back to the ground, tumbling and Mayr catches her. It has little time to react as the Honchkrow’s eyes then flicker, before it returns to its tamed form and falls to the floor, fainted and the Morgrem laughs, though makes no move to leave Mayr’s arms.
“I’ll give you credit for nearly getting him there, but ta dah, one final draining kiss.” She’s so proud of herself and Mayr can’t help but laugh before then opening his arms and letting her drop to the floor.
She snarls at him but gets up brushing herself off and the two of them glare at each other for a second before they then both turn their attention to the passed out pokemon.
“We can’t just leave him here.” Mayr broaches, because they can’t. He’d leave no fainted pokemon just out int the open like this and he feels for any pokemon that has something they can’t control, unlike Cassius who is always in charge of himself and reveals in his other form, a feral pokemon can’t do that. The Morgrem winces,
“If you want to carry him then go ahead, I can keep us safe.” Though she winces as she says this, placing a hand weakly on her arm. 

It takes them a lot longer to get out of the maze then it did with Mayr getting in, even with the Morgrem, Anna as she’s now introduced herself as, who knows this maze like the back of her hand. It doesn’t help that she was hurt more then she thought, a limp slowing her down and Mayr has had to carry the Honchkrow.
He felt bad about it, considering it had fainted, but they tied him up before moving, not wanting him to wake up and snap back into it’s feral state and try to take his face off while they were helping it.
“You sure it’s okay, us commin with ya?” She asks, pulling Mayr back to full reality and the fact she’s now one step away from leaving the maze. Worry fills her face as she turns to see him. He tries to make sure the smile that forms on his face is comforting.
“Of course it is, and I couldn’t just leave you in there. At the very least I’m getting you patched up and him,” He sort of shifts his arms to point out the Honchkrow in mention, “Some help.”
This seems to be all she needed, a smile forms on her face and she turns back, taking that final step to leave the maze.

A soft sigh escapes Mayr as he follows her, this is going to be an even longer journey back and it’s getting late. He has camping supplies but he’d rather not have to, not wanting to scare their currently passed out member as well as wanting Anna checked over as soon as possible; but if they have to stop then it’s nothing, he can do to stop that.
Well, at least the journey back home won’t be boring.