Dagda hesitated, looking cautiously at the metallic raven. "Heimdall?" he asked, the raven nodding and casting his eyes to Dagda's bag. "Indeed. I sense his son's energy from your bag." he said, the bird remaining statue like as Dagda tried to compose himself.
"My brothers tell me that you are a trainer with potential, and yet, I find you perched in a nest crying like a chick without it's mother." it spoke, and Dagda sighed. "Sorry… I just..." he trailed off. How did he say it?
"What reason do you have to shed tears and show fear? The lives of your loved ones are not in danger." the bird stated, as if convinced that Dagda did nothing wrong. "I… I hurt that person." he said, and the raven tilted it's head. "You puzzle me." he said, hopping off the railing and roosting on the ground.
"Perhaps it is only because my brother is a bold man, but I do not see an error in thy action. There was shelter, and you took it. It was done for more than just yourself, so I struggle to see why you should feel so." he said, and Dagda winked.
"But I choked that man out after breaking into his boat." he said, and the bird nodded. "I am aware. I am also aware that the man you defeated was planning to use the boat to flee the region and avoid the authorities." he said, and Dagda was surprised.
The bird glanced to the sky, an empty look in his eyes. "I am Hresvelgr. I can learn all at but a glance, and I can see the struggle within thy heart and mind. A part of your being desires power, outward expressive confidence that commands respect." he said, turning back to Dagda.
"And yet, now I see the other part of you. A weaker, kinder side that seems to almost beg for attention through it's kindness. You must find a balance if you wish to prove yourself to others." he said, and Dagda nodded.
"Heimdall said that he saw me as one of you guys. I didn't feel like I deserved it, but that made me really happy." he said, and the bird's mouth moved, as if in a smile. "Indeed. I can see from the fact that Heimdall entrusted his son to you that you are a worthy trainer. A shame you can't speak to Pokemon." he said, and Dagda winked again. For the third time in a row, someone mentioned the fact that he can't speak Pokemon.
"How can Pops speak to Pokemon? Is he really that old?" he asked, and Hresvelgr looked to Dagda and stared, as if contemplating something. "I can see that the answer to that question is not yet something thou are prepared for. I will relay this information to my brethren." he said, twitching his thick neck.
"But knoweth thusly, Young Dagda, you must find a balance within yourself. I can see that you deign to challenge the Gym Leaders of this land, and you will struggle if your mind randomly switches between nervous kindness and focused determination. My sister in arms, Sleipnir, will be waiting to help you in Motostoke." he said, turning and hopping back onto the railing.
He lifted his gaze to the sky, inhaling before tilting his head slightly and looking to Dagda. "Motostoke will be important for you, Imp. Something else awaits you there. Be confident in who you are. None will give you respect if you are as I found you." he said, opening his massive wings and taking to the skies, a gust of wind blasting Dagda in the face.
With the massive raven gone, Dagda simply stared off into nothing for a while as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky. He soon shook his head, frowning and nodding. The bird was right. He couldn't do anything in life if he was always so hesitant, or if he kept flipping back and forth between two different mindsets.
He rolled his shoulders, standing up and stretching as he turned his gaze to the Hullbury stadium. He knew that he had another hurdle to overcome, and it was the next gym leader.
When Dagda entered the stadium, he inhaled deeply. He found it rather relaxing, the atmosphere of this stadium. It was calm, almost like waters that didn't stir. He made his way to the reception desk, preparing himself for the worst. The person sitting behind the desk had short, messy hair and odd eyebrows that were rather round.
He received a smile, and Dagda offered one in return. He could see the person behind the desk, who he could now see was female, staring at him. Remembering Hresevlgr's words, Dagda chose to ignore it for the sake of his own pride. "My name is Dagda De Danann. I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader." he said, and the woman nodded, half spaced out staring at his scarred face.
"Of course. Just change into your uniform and we'll have someone escort you to the Gym Challenge." she said, and Dagda nodded, rather glad that he didn't let her staring throw him off of his game. He headed for the fitting room, trying to remain composed, as he knew that this battle would be much harder than the last.
When he exited the fitting room, he noticed the girl behind the counter waiting for him, her small stature and kind smile something that Dagda found rather pleasant. She escorted him towards where he'd be taking the Challenge for this gym, the girl casting fleeting glances at him.
"U-um… if you don't mind me asking, how did you get that scar?" she asked, and Dagda winked. He didn't remember anyone asking about his scar before. They just stared and remained silent. He smiled, rather happy.
"I was attacked by a wild Obstagoon in the Wild Area. I barely made it out of there." he said, pulling his shirt aside to show the girl the scars from the Obstagoon's bite. She seemed rather surprised as they entered a very large room, Dagda seeing massive pipes with varying colors spewing torrents of water.
"All you have to do is get passed the maze while battling any of the trainers along the way." she said, and Dagda nodded, rolling his neck and shoulders as he took a step forward. He stared at the maze, remembering the words of Hresvelgr. He had to find a balance within himself. He couldn't fall to one extreme or another.
He looked back to the girl, smiling and nodding his thanks to her as he headed forward to figure the maze out for himself. And yet, the girl remained. She was enthralled. There was something about the way this trainer carried himself that was completely different from many of the trainers she'd seen.
She watched him as he headed through the maze, aware that she'd be scolded for slacking off. She couldn't help herself though. This trainer was able to smile and continue pressing on despite his scars. She couldn't imagine what he was going through every day, but she realized that he had to be very strong to handle it.
Dagda wasn't a big fan of this puzzle. He had avoided getting his uniform wet, but it was a struggle. His uniform, a symbol of someone that believed in him and his abilities, was important to him. If he were to fall off the bridge like maze and into the pool of water below, his uniform and his mood would both be ruined.
He wondered to himself if he should take Hresvelgr's words too too seriously. He remembered as he traveled the maze, that the raven told him Motostoke was 'important'. How important? Was there something in Dagda's future that the raven wanted to warn him about? What could it really be?
He pressed one of the many switches in the maze, once again switching the flow of the water in the pipes so that he could press a little further. He tried to think about what was important about Motostoke, but nothing came to mind. Then, as he pressed another switch and saw the path to Nessa open up, he had a terrifying thought.
The raven wasn't talking about Motostoke itself. Perhaps, just maybe, he was referring to the Wild Area, which Dagda would have to get through to reach the fourth gym after making it passed Motostoke. Was Dagda ready to head back to the Wild Area? What if there was another, or worse, the same Obstagoon that had heavily injured him the first time? He shook his head. The bird had to be bluffing, trying to ruffle his feathers.
He entered the locker room, another one of Nessa's gym trainers telling him to wait for Nessa to be prepared for him. He sat in the locker room, the thought of having to go through the Wild Area again distracting him and throwing him off of his game. He scratched his head, sighing in frustration.
"Focus, dumbass." Dagda heard, looking up to see Evil standing in front of him, arms folded. Dagda cast a glance to the small corner in front of the lockers, where Fairy was sitting curled up as normal. Dagda looked to the two, realizing that his focus was slipping.
"Sorry, it's just that Hresvelgr threw me off with something he said." he noted, and the two hallucinations looked to each other. "Why are you listening to cryptic bullshit from a damn bird?" Evil asked, and Dagda shrugged.
"I don't know. I've just been really… gullible recently." he said, and Evil grunted to himself. "Whatever you do, you need to focus. I'm not about to let you look like an even bigger idiot then you already fucking are." he said, and Dagda chuckled, taking that as a form of encouragement.
"You can do it! Just think about all of your fans that'll be watching!" Fairy said, trying to psyche Dagda up. Dagda chuckled, closing his eyes and enjoying their positivity, wondering if this was what Hresvelgr meant.
The two beings, be they figments of his imagination or not, were unified in their confidence in Dagda. He nodded, the two starting to fade away as Dagda was called for his next Gym Battle.
I don't do little author's notes anymore, but I feel inclined this time. Please, do not beef with people in the reviews of my stuff. There are countless other outlets for your malarkey, my stuff isn't one of them. Thanks, Jiro 'The Ghetto Shaman' Uchiha, OTF Inc.