guess who's almost done, and it hasn't even been 6 months

The island's light becomes tolerable once Riley has a couple minutes to acclimate himself to it, trying to tone down his aura sensitivity. Despite the fat that is was dusk by the time he and Steven disembarked (Eldritch flat-out refused to get off the ship, saying he'd rather not incur a legend's wrath), as far as Riley was concerned the entire island was bathed in perpetual dawn.

The island itself is, for the most part, nondescript to those without aura sensitivity. It's quiet, largely lacking pokemon life. Trees and short grass cover it, becoming a forest to the east side of the island. Along the coasts and in places where rocks and dirt are visible, pink crystalline rocks are scattered sporadically. Riley makes a point not to step on any of the larger ones.

Riley leads the way into the forest, going whichever direction his gut tells him is a horrible direction to walk. Steven's still got him by the hand, following alongside.

"So," Steven starts, "Do we actually have a plan for this?"

"Ask politely?"

"I'll mark that down as 'we're winging it'." Riley's forced to admit Steven's not wrong. Talking to minor deities tends to be a task for plucky youngsters that believe in themselves and whatnot, which Riley feels the exact opposite of.

But he's pretty sure this won't kill him, and that's the important part. They keep trudging through the trees until they see a clearing that seems oddly familiar to Riley. He hasn't dreamed about this place exactly, but he's dreamed about one like it. Even the trees have little dots of pink on them, not just of aura but of crystals visible to Steven as well. Riley gestures at a gap between the trees. If they look very closely, something inside is moving.

"I think this is it," he says.

That question is answered for him by the emergence of a pokemon from the copse. It floats at human height, all pastel colours and graceful curves. The beautiful arcs of pink light forming loops around it darken in shade once it focuses on the two men.

YOU HAVE TRESPASSED, announces a foreign and distinctly angry voice that echoes in their heads. Steven steps forward at the same time Riley holds his hands up defensively.

Cresselia glows further pink, bobbing once. At her motion, an arc of psychic energy issues directly at Riley. He yelps and hops out of the way, and though he wasn't hit directly the burst is still powerful enough to send him off-balance into a tree. Cresselia darts forward until she's directly in his face, glowing angrily.

What do you think you're doing, she thinks at him.

Riley would probably have a better response had he not just had his head smacked into a tree trunk. As it is, he manages a hazy "uuuuhhhhm," before Steven steps in.

"Cresselia, please." Steven's tone is wary, but resolute. Cresselia turns to face him, saying nothing but remaining between him and Riley. Steven continues on. "We're not here to challenge you or anything, we just… need a lunar wing. Riley's not trying to harm anything here, he just needs help."

Cresselia watches Steven for a few seconds, evaluating, before her angry glow simmers down to a more peaceful glimmering. She bobs a little lower and peers over herself towards Riley once more. Now that he's gotten over the headache and getting bonked, he actually feels a lot better than he has in a while. His head's largely clear of gnawing anxiety and it gives him an incredible feeling of freedom. He straightens up and nods to Cresselia. She backs away, allowing Riley and Steven the ability to step forward and face her at a more direct angle, which they take. She focuses mainly on Riley.

Then you are not a guise of Darkrai? she asks.

"I don't think so. I know I'm myself, for the most part. Riley Maris, aura guardian, caretaker of Iron Island. Somewhat possessed by a bit of Darkrai."

The rings around Cresselia expand as if they are inhaling and she shifts from side to side. Procured from this motion are a few feathers, which she holds up with psychic powers in offering to Riley. He takes them carefully. They hurt his hands a little to hold, but not so much that it's unendurable. Much like being around Cresselia itself, he has to acclimate. They're painfully hot at first but settle to a soft warmth soon enough. "Thank you." Steven echoes him, glad the mission could be accomplished with only minor bruising. Not bad, in the scheme of things.

My feathers shall protect you from Darkrai's ability if you keep one near you while you sleep. But you should not have had to endure anything at that pokemon's hands in the first place. He should have been locked in, after the last incident I forced him into even further isolation on that island. Worry not, I shall see to him.

Though Cresselia does sound genuinely concerned over Riley's fate, the remainder of her thoughts strike him as distinctly off. At the very least, they're not what sounds right to him. So, he decides, he shall do something that may or may not be rather stupid. He can't tell if it's his idea, the idea of whatever part of Darkrai has ingrained itself in his aura, or just his own idiotic gut impulse that makes him voice a counteroffer. "I thank you for your anger at my defense, but will you allow me to deal with it? I believe I can do something that will keep other from similar problems."

Steven turns toward Riley, not saying anything in order not to interrupt anything Cresselia might say and therefore come off as rude, but quite clearly giving Riley a 'what are you doing?' expression. Cresselia asks the same. How so, what authorizes you?

"I'm no god as you are, but I am a Guardian, as I said. I protect, I keep balance. Trust me, Cresselia."

She has to think about it before she speaks. Riley responds to Steven's continued subtle but bewildered gestures with a small nod. I shall face Darkrai on the full moon to ensure his compliance nonetheless. You may attempt, Guardian.

Riley bows. "Thank you for your favour." While Cresselia does not move aside from nodding back to him, Riley figures it's a good enough note as any to leave on. He turns, taking a great amount of effort to walk off calmly as opposed to bolt. While Cresselia may have forgiven him, she's still rather terrifying (as any pokemon with that powerful an aura and who threw him around at first sight would be). Steven hops to join along with him.

"That's not what I figured was going to come of winging it," he whispers.

"Yeah, I know, but I think it's the right thing to do."

Steven shrugs. "You're the psychic one, I guess. You lead the way and I'm here for the ride."

"I'm not psychic."
Steven deigns to reply to that, instead giving Riley a wide grin and a nudge to the side. "Look at us, though, the main problem's solved. You got the wings and now you'll be fine again, right?"

Riley laughs, finally coming to the idea that yes, he will finally be fine. "I hope so."

They return to the ship, quite pleased with themselves. Captain Eldritch is pleased with them too, as the mission was accomplished and only one of these boys looks worse for wear coming back out of the island.

He's pleased, that is, until Riley points to the other island a couple clicks away and says "We need to go there as well, actually. If you don't mind."

"Son," Eldritch says, staring at the island as well, "are you out of your mind? That place is bad business. Can't even get close without picking up on that feeling. Nosir, nothing good can come from you goin' there. You were lucky with your feathers, it's time for you to go home and call it a day."

Riley argues that they're going to go over there regardless, it's merely a matter of using the boat or using a flying-type. He wins this argument largely with the idea that if the island does hold Darkrai (or 'bad news' as Eldritch calls it), the legendary's aura could possibly risk pokemon brought out against it, which is not ideal when said pokemon are in midair. Eldritch concedes after agreeing that drowning is inadvisable, and finally agrees to ferry them over to Newmoon Island.