Username + ID: EchoIre 798835
Archive: herePokemon name: Beiste (323)
Pokemon typing: Rock
pokemon pronouns: him/him
prompt:Beiste was born into a herd that still follows the old ways; in ancient times, herds were formed in order to protect the many, and to do strict and since outdated rules were implemented. When threats of predation were more prevalent, herds and their structure were needed in order to confuse predators and defend young members. Roles and rules were strict and regimented, and extreme conformity was required in order to ensure the whole acted as one
and to make individual members hard to identify, thus making picking off one member more difficult - especially when the herd was fleeing.
In recent time, Beiste's herd has become less archaic, or so it likes to think. They still follow mostly the same rules as they have for nearly a century, and are still led by a single Herd Mother, but are more friendly towards those outside of their herd. Not that the Herd Mother is likely to let them join - while friendships with other species of pokemon are permitted, members are still wary of pokemon who may have acted as predators in the past, and the herd is still almost entirely Wooloo and Dubwool.
Beiste is the only exception.
He isn't sure why, honestly. It's been decades since one of his herd's Herd Mothers chose to exile a pokemon, but he wouldn't have thought Leithe above it - not for him, at least.
Beiste is... disliked in the herd. His mother was eccentric and rowdy, things that are still looked down upon in their herd, and she passed away due to complications of Beiste's birth. This was enough to label him a foul omen, a label which was doubled in potency once his Lycanroc blood was revealed. These things earned him his namesake from Leithe: Beiste -
beast in the old tongue.
From a young age, Beiste was a social pariah. Born with paws where hooves should have been and fangs he could not hide into a society that valued conformity above all else, he truthfully had no chance. Beiste could never be convinced of it though; even as a Rockloo, he did his best to fit in to the herd, only to be met with rejection time and time again. He was
wrong - wrong fur, wrong type, wrong
nose even. What didn't he understand?
Eventually, Leithe made him a night guard, watching over and protecting the herd from feral pokemon during the night. It was one of these nights that he evolved, having won a battle against a lone Houndoom that refused to back away. He hoped that it would make his herd finally see his value, but instead it caused their distaste to turn into
fear. He's come to understand it by now - he truly is a fearsome beast, with tireless endurance and a headbutt that can pulverize bones, but only in defense of his family. However, they fail to see it that way, and after many failed attempts and harsh scoldings from Leithe, Beiste has given up. He loves his family more than anything, and if this is how he fits into their ranks, he'll accept it.
Though, he isn't entirely peerless.
There was a Wooloo born a few years ago, wild and courageous like no other. Within her first three seasons, the night guards caught her trying to sneak off or even
join them multiple times. By her fourth season, Beiste would keep quiet when he was the one to find her, allowing her to join him on patrol so long as she let him take her back to the herd before sunrise. Named Freya and born to Leithe, the young Wooloo lives up to both her namesake and birthright with a fiery spirit, yet in doing so has made herself an outcast much like Beiste. Like outcasts so often do, Freya and Beiste grew close quickly after finding one another. To Beiste, Freya is one of the few who doesn't fear or scorn him, and to her Beiste is the only one who doesn't belittle her or her dreams. They have formed a sibling-like bond, and while Beiste knows that Freya will likely leave the herd once she matures, he still roots for her. She may leave him behind some day, but Beiste will always support her, and enduring the glares he receives from the rest of the herd during the day is worth it to listen to Freya enthuse about the rescuer's guild she'll form during the night.
Beiste may not fit in with the rest of his family, but neither does his little sister, and fitting in with each other is enough for them.
Username + ID: EchoIre 798835
Archive: herePokemon name: Accalia (324)
Pokemon typing: Rock
pokemon pronouns: she/they
prompt:Accalia's herd is rather backwards, that much she knows. She's interacted with outsiders enough to understand that the scorn they give her is unusual, rooted in prejudice and fear. Not that she would expect anything different of them.
Though the time of such things has long passed, her herd has an extreme prejudice against pokemon that would have acted as predators in the past. This, combined with the fact that her mother passed away shortly after Accalia was born, stole any chance of Accalia having a normal life in her herd. From a young age, Accalia was told that she was both dangerous and a curse, and forbidden from playing from the young Wooloo her age. Eventually, she was made into a guard - most likely just to keep her away from the rest of the herd, if Accalia had to guess. But it was as a guard that she flourished: Accalia was made for running and fighting as it would turn out, long legs, with spikes that could cut through anything, and wool that could reflect any attack. She had the mind for it too, always analyzing, always pinpointing weaknesses. Though she doubts she was given the role to try to benefit her, Accalia discovered that she
loved to fight, eventually evolving while saving a brash young Wooloo and becoming even more suited for it.
Since then, Accalia's position in the herd has become somewhat elevated. The Wooloo she saved was none other than the Herd Mother's daughter, and the fact that Accalia evolved while saving her was taken as a good omen. Some of her herdmates still fear or dislike her, but there is a respect there that wasn't there before. Accalia is seen as their hero, their tireless guardian.
Frankly, she could care less.
She never fit in with her herd. The fact that they
almost like her now doesn't change it.
For months now, she has been talking to a pack of various wolf and dog pokemon. They meet at night, when no other guards are posted (for Accalia could certainly defend them all), and talk until dawn most days. They have extended an offer to join their pack many times, but Accalia has turned them down up until now. Still, the wild of the night calls to her, and the next time it comes asking for her she plans to accept. For so long, she has been a wolf in sheep's clothing. Why not leave behind those who try so hard to make her what she's not? Why limit herself?
Perhaps these pokemon only want her for her strength too. But at least joining them will have been a choice. At least they
might see her as a peer, and not a beastly guardian or a loathsome omen.
