WoPC RP: Hoopa's Game [T] [IC]

In retrospect, it probably wasn't their best idea. Good ideas usually don't cumulate in Sorley stuck upside-down in a tree.

Golurk had been carrying them down a lonely road when the whole world seemed to rattle, startling Sorley from their nap. Clambering atop Golurk's shoulder, they scanned the area for any weirdness. A few yards behind the duo was a small gold ring, hovering in the air about three feet from the road.

"Well obviously we have to go check whatever that is out, right?"

Golurk seemed to sigh as Sorley slid down and ran toward the mysterious apparition. The thing's diameter was about the width of their palm, with the gold around the circumference being about a finger's width. The interior of the circle was hazy, but seemed to show a forest from above. Sorley tugged at the ring to see if it would move. It stayed in position but grew wider, wide enough for Sorley to stick their head through. They were just above the treetops in an unfamiliar jungle, close enough to touch the leaves; which Sorley did and promptly overbalanced, falling straight into the tree below.

"Hey Golurk! Can ya get me out of here?"

A booming voice was the only response.

Shi Bao inspected the ring embedded in her office doors. It was perfectly circular, stretching across both halves of the sliding doors and brushing both the top of the frame and the floor. What she saw beyond it was not her office but a clear stream flowing through a forested area. She tapped the interior of the ring. A soft breeze began to blow from the ring, steadily increasing in strength until Shi Bao was pressed against the wall of the hallway, unable to fight the force of the wind. Suddenly the vortex reversed its direction, dragging Shi Bao straight into the stream on the other side. As soon as she was on the other side, the ring popped out of existence, leaving her lost, soaked, and completely terrified.

Then she heard the voice.

Okay. She was okay. Soaking wet, but unhurt.

Shi Bao pulled herself out of the stream and onto the shore. A nice collection of large, flat rocks downstream seemed appealing to rest on, so she headed toward them. There didn't seem to be anyone around, not even any Pokémon. It was warm, but her wet clothes negated the heat and she shivered. Eyes darting around, daring anyone to appear from nowhere, she stripped off all her clothes, wrung out her undergarments, and put only those back on. Okay. Covered enough. Less wet. Better. She wrung out her hair and the rest of her clothing and laid out beside them on the sunny rocks.

Where was this jungle? How big was it? How could she win this game? Where were the others this "Hoopa" had claimed were here? How many of them were there? Too many questions, no hints to any answer. Shi Bao sighed as she stared at the dazzling blue sky. All she could hear was the whispering wind through the foliage and the babbling of the brook beside her. She didn't know what to do. In Yoko, she knew her place. She knew her job. She knew the people around her...

Tears welled up against her will. Her queen and her love... they were not here to guide her. She was lost and so, so alone.

She cried herself to sleep in the middle of a beautiful, sunny afternoon.