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--- character:dakarai-n-sehla [2012/11/30 21:01] – pinkgothic
+++ character:dakarai-n-sehla [2017/11/18 21:34] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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 //"Demons are typically there for those who summoned them."//
-**Dakarai N'Sehla** is a pokémon trainer. Born in [[place:Togi]] on the 16th of April, 1979 (1974 in
+**Dakarai N'Sehla** is a pokémon trainer. Born in [[place:Togi]] on the 16th of April, 33 years before the active plotline, he lived much of his regular life in [[place:Njoty]].
-Arsaga-canon), he lived much of his regular life in [[place:Njoty]].
 He always introduces himself as '**Rhaptor N'Sehla**', if at all.
+His primary historic achievement is winning in [[place:Taqnateh]] after doing the [[:Sehto gym circuit]] (three years before the active plotline) in attempted (and probably achieved) record time, pushing both himself and his pokémon to and past exhaustion achieve this stubborn goal.
+For an old draft of his experience in Taqnateh, see [[character:Dakarai N'Sehla:Taqnateh|his written back-story]]. For a better canonical reference, read the logs of [[plot:N'Sehla]], though there sadly isn't //much// in-character chronological overlap, even if it showed [[plot:N'Sehla:2008-09-18|the calculating way he trained his pokémon]] very well. For his death in [[plot:Arsaga]], see //[[character:Dakarai N'Sehla:Arsaga Death]]//.
+Technically, he is partly of [[culture:Xhosa]] heritage and the language can be considered his mother tongue, but he's equally fluent in English and only accidentally lapses into Xhosa when he's at the point of complete mental exhaustion. Being coloured certainly hasn't helped him gain respect - while the Xhosa subculture of Sehto is certainly affected by Sehto's egalitarian attitude as a whole, there are still rare groups within it that would heap scorn on him for his mixed heritage.
 ===== Personality =====
-Dakarai N'Sehla before his fall was distinctly inhuman, having a slight autistic streak that he'd never
+Dakarai N'Sehla before his fall was distinctly inhuman, having a slight autistic streak that he'd never managed to get rid of. With no empathy to guide him, he largely interacted with the world by analysing the facts he could observe, and quickly adopted a few axioms that, while it let him survive in society, also netted him the nickname //Togi Demon//. Most notably, he never raised a hand to harm anyone that didn't harm him first, but was utterly famous for the kind of animalistic energy he put into his self-defence, reckless and stubborn in execution, to the point where he was near impossible to deal with once in that state.
-managed to get rid of. With no empathy to guide him, he largely interacted with the world by analysing
-the facts he could observe, and quickly adopted a few axioms that, while it let him survive in society,
-also netted him the nickname //Togi Demon//. Most notably, he never raised a hand to harm anyone that
-didn't harm him first, but was utterly famous for the kind of animalistic energy he put into his
-self-defence, reckless and stubborn in execution, to the point where he was near impossible to deal with
-once in that state.
-His honesty both was and is not the candid sort, instead often considered callous by those dealing with
+His honesty both was and is not the candid sort, instead often considered callous by those dealing with him, though he rarely means to insult anyone. Some social etiquette is best skipped with him, such as '//Do you mind if I...?//', to which he frequently responds with '//I do//.' Generally, asking his opinion is commonly met with a straight, unflinching answer.
-him, though he rarely means to insult anyone. Some social etiquette is best skipped with him, such as
-'//Do you mind if I...?//', to which he frequently responds with '//I do//.' Generally, asking his
-opinion is commonly met with a straight, unflinching answer.
-He spent much of his life trying to find a way back into social standing, not comprehending his own
+He spent much of his life trying to find a way back into social standing, not comprehending his own loneliness (if it can be called such, devoid of the usual emotional pain that comes with it but nonetheless undesired), much less how to fix it, causing him to make a series of rather bad decisions.
-loneliness (if it can be called such, devoid of the usual emotional pain that comes with it but
-nonetheless undesired), much less how to fix it, causing him to make a series of rather bad decisions.
-Before Taqnateh, he used to believe he had an exceedingly good grasp of himself, granting him an alien
+Before Taqnateh, he used to believe he had an exceedingly good grasp of himself, granting him an alien confidence and callous arrogance when confronted by people trying to treat him as subhuman. Generally, he ended up attracting the attention of bullies and gangs for most of his time in Njoty, the interactions with who he effectively ritualised as his source of social routine.
-confidence and callous arrogance when confronted by people trying to treat him as subhuman. Generally,
-he ended up attracting the attention of bullies and gangs for most of his time in Njoty, the
-interactions with who he effectively ritualised as his source of social routine.
-Taqnateh violently broke him out of his tunnel vision - he certainly hadn't considered pokémon as
+Taqnateh violently broke him out of his tunnel vision - he certainly hadn't considered pokémon as anything but tools before [[character:Jagdish Tsukinaka]] and the notion that he'd broken his most important moral guideline (not to harm someone who didn't harm him first) shook him up rather badly. He's put some effort - with Jagdish's guidance - to adopt a semblance of empathy, something he's been quite successful with given the odds (he'd certainly claim he can //feel// people now), though he's still likely to register to people as distant even now.
-anything but tools before [[character:Jagdish Tsukinaka]] and the notion that he'd broken his most
-important moral guideline (not to harm someone who didn't harm him first) shook him up rather badly.
-He's put some effort - with Jagdish's guidance - to adopt a semblance of empathy, something he's been
-quite successful with given the odds (he'd certainly claim he can //feel// people now), though he's
-still likely to register to people as distant even now.
-Both before and after his fall, he'd rather suffer or die than back down from a position he believes
+Both before and after his fall, he'd rather suffer or die than back down from a position he believes in. His virtues are honesty, integrity and responsibility - though that's about the full extent of positive things that can be said about him.
-in. His virtues are honesty, integrity and responsibility - though that's about the full extent of
-positive things that can be said about him.
-He certainly has no issue giving people the impression that he's an asshole, though he doesn't
+He certainly has no issue giving people the impression that he's an asshole, though he doesn't deliberately aim for the effect unless a history with the person in question kicks his pride into gear. He's quite capable of being polite - social etiquette notwithstanding - and frequently is helpful to complete strangers, in stray cases even forthcoming.
-deliberately aim for the effect unless a history with the person in question kicks his pride into
-gear. He's quite capable of being polite - social etiquette notwithstanding - and frequently is
-helpful to complete strangers, in stray cases even forthcoming.
-He has a certain wary prejudice toward other pokémon trainers, but at least as much sympathy, and he
+He has a certain wary prejudice toward other pokémon trainers, but at least as much sympathy, and he takes recent role as [[:Observer]] quite seriously.
-takes recent role as //Observer// quite seriously.
+<hidden Sexuality>Dakarai N'Sehla is asexual - but distinctly not //aromantic//, and //not// wholly alien to sexual interaction. He simply does not seek it out by himself. He can and will use it as a tool, and moreso as a treasured gift, but he takes little pleasure out of the physical aspect of such encounters. Unfortunately, it makes him a bit inexperienced in that regard, so even when he wants to do someone a favour along those lines, it tends to be a clumsily delivered.</hidden>
 ===== Appearance =====
-His attire being black, featureless slacks, Rhaptor's coppery skin comes across as lighter than it
+His attire being black, featureless slacks, Rhaptor's coppery skin comes across as lighter than it is. His hair is a myriad of colours, base being a dark brown, but this being indistinguishable, as the short, flame-like hairstyle is riddled with streaks of various colours, ranging from white blond to black, with the extremes of the colour scale most numerous. His eyes seem to have no colour in particular, being brown flecked with silver and gold specks that seem in constant motion, a sliver of pale blue lancing through his left iris, a lack of pigmentation - people don't usually remember his eye-colour when attempting to describe him, or misrepresent it as black.
-is. His hair is a myriad of colours, base being a dark brown, but this being indistinguishable, as
-the short, flame-like hairstyle is riddled with streaks of various colours, ranging from white
-blond to black, with the extremes of the colour scale most numerous. His eyes seem to have no
-colour in particular, being brown flecked with silver and gold specks that seem in constant
-motion, a sliver of pale blue lancing through his left iris, a lack of pigmentation - people
-don't usually remember his eye-colour when attempting to describe him, or misrepresent it as black.
 ===== Pokémon =====
+Post-Taqnateh, the pokémon Dakarai carries around with himself are hardly numerous:
   * [[pokémon:Iris]] (Venomoth)
-  * Paragon (HootHoot)
+  * [[pokémon:Paragon]] (HootHoot)
-===== Past Pokémon =====
+Of those, Iris is 'his original pokémon', but both are quite free to do what they want - even leave their custom pokéballs at will.
-  * Fracture (female Marowak with //Bonemerang// and //Thunderpunch//)
+Pre-Taqnateh, his line-up was extensive and included the following pokémon:
-  * Salt (Parasect with //Slash// and //Spore//)
+  * Fracture (female Marowak with //Bonemerang//, //Bone Rush// and //Thunderpunch//)
+  * ??? (Jynx with //Powder Snow//)
+  * Basilisk (male Dragonite with //Outrage//)
+  * Dawn (male [[species:Coronav]] with //Endure//, //Reversal//, //Sacred Fire//, //[[:Types:Light:Solar Flare]]// and //Swift//)
+  * Fafnir (male Tyranitar)
+  * Fenrir (male Houndoom with //Crunch//, //Faint Attack// and //Solar Beam//)
   * Incision (Skarmory with //Drill Peck//)
-  * Basilisk (male Dragonite with //Outrage//)
+  * Kamaitachi (Sneasel) //only in some canons//
-  * Static (Magneton with //Supersonic//, //Thunder Wave// and //Zap Cannon//)
-  * ??? (Jynx with //Powder Snow//)
-  * Fenrir (male Houndoom with //Crunch// and //Faint Attack//)
   * Magnolia (female ???)
-  * Fafnir (???)
-  * Kamaitachi (???)
   * Mimickry (Ditto with //Transform//)
+  * Salt (Parasect with //Slash// and //Spore//)
   * Soot (male Muk with //Sludge Bomb//)
-  * Dawn (male [[species:Coronav]] with //Endure//, //Sacred Fire//, //[[move:Solar Flare]]// and //Swift//)
+  * Static (Magneton with //Supersonic//, //Thunder Wave// and //Zap Cannon//)
+  * Strix (Murkrow) //only in some canons//
-Of these, //Fracture// was his first pokémon, won in a fist-fight with Auran Collins on Njoty university's
+  * Yena (female Umbreon with //Zap Cannon//)
-campus grounds.
-===== Dakarai's Past Training Methods =====
-Collected from [[plot:Arsaga]]:
-What a strange medely of opinions to have. It was easy to respect her new master - she was rapidly
-learning more tricks than she even knew to be conceivable - but the fear was not abating. Today,
-they are fairly far north, in vicinity of the mountain, trees mostly of the evergreen variety. A
-glistening branch has led them across a river, cascading through the sloped forest in white rapids.
-A flat rock splits the stream - that same flat rock they are now both standing on. Salt, Dakarai's
-Parasect, currently one of his most prized pokémon, clambers resolutely but slowly off the end of
-the branch, chitin feet clicking against the stone ground, Dakarai stood with his delicate hands
-on his hips peering down at the two pokémon.
-The glance is the same critical, analytic, inspective gaze that both pokémon already know from all
-the previous days. "Good," he remarks, simply, single-syllable praise enough to excite the Parasect
-to clacking in rapid succession, its forelimbs together in restrained glee. His gaze drifts from the
-insect to the Marowak, though his words adress the Parasect. "Salt, SLASH the branch," he remarks,
-voice level. It's an unusually direct order - he's been training them to deal with obscurity. Still,
-that makes it easy for Salt to react - hesitance had not been something Dakarai had been fond of
-seeing. As such, the branch whips to the side, half-split at their end, splashing noisily into the
-currents, parting the whitewater with ease, before being picked up into a twirl and downward cascade
-by the same. Gone.
-Fracture looks up at Dakarai, nodding slightly and doesn't look away from him for long seconds before
-she lowers her gaze, flinching ever so slightly as she watches the branch break and go with the
-rushing water. She doesn't make a sound though and shifts slightly, shoulders twitching.
-Thumbs slide into his pockets, expression unchanging. For a moment, he seems contemplatively held
-in this stance, before sliding his left hand out of his pocket and gesturing back to the shoreline
-they came from. "Today's assignment is to get back to the shore. Together, individually, either way.
-Individually scores more points."
-Fracture ducks slightly and eyes the fast flowing water then looks to the shore before back up at
-her trainer without saying anything; eyes wide and fearful. She lowers her gaze and chitters very
-softly to the large insect, stepping carefully closer even as her head tilts. Exhaling, she drags
-one forepaw across the bone helmet, frowning and feeling miserable.
-The shoreline isn't that far away - but neither Fracture nor Salt are good at jumping. The gap's
-too large for them to just leap across. Dakarai, on the other hand? A swirl of motion, a gust of
-air, the sound of rubber soles on the shoreline - and he's stood looking at them from their
-destination. Meanwhile, Salt, foreclaws held together as if in a praying position - though it's
-nothing of the sort - blinks not-understandingly at Fracture.
-Fracture actually whines but only very softly and just the once, shrinking back from the water's
-edge. She directs a glare at the insect, scowling before she folds her forepaws across her chest;
-resting the boneclub against her side and growls, softly without that she actually says anything.
-The ground pokemon is scared of her trainer but she is scared of water more and a shiver runs
-through her.
-Dakarai takes a step back from the shoreline, right hand now resting, curled, in the palm of his
-left, being kneaded into. His gaze is on Fracture in particular, even as the Parasect unfreezes
-and scurries to the edge of the rock, only to dip its left claw into the water, holding itself
-still for long moments.
-[...]
-It's too much. That barest second of a moment ends in her shape being seized by the pull of
-gravity, nudged by the momentum of her lunge, and a loud //splash// can be heard as Salt smashes
-into the unfortunately fairly shallow waters, against jagged rocks, furiously consumed by the
-rapids trying to pull it down. Her shape follows the tilt, tugged by the weight and a split
-second's too late reaction toward the water's surface. The threatening roar of the water is
-in her face one moment - and then it's gone, and she finds herself in disoriented stagger
-cast back out of the pokéball on the dry shore, finding the isle off to her left somewhere,
-Salt collapsed in pant between Dakarai and the shoreline just behind her.
-Fracture gasps heavily, her head lowered before she steadies herself, coughing a little.
-Straightening she exhales and growls lowly at Dakarai, her eyes narrowed and glittering
-dangerously. Walking towards her trainer, the angry sound grows in volume and intensity,
-the ground type beyond angry as she hefts her bone, not looking away from him. "<Not. Like.
-Water.>" she grinds out.
-Fracture comes to a stop in front of him and stares up into his face and though she's scared,
-she's angry. "<You not nice.>" Her free forepaw glows yellow, sparks radiating from him and
-she attempts to THUNDERPUNCH him, not caring whether it hurts him or not, she's that angry.
-Apparently, it catches him off guard - the crackling forepaw darts forward, displacing the
-air, striking against his right knee and abruptly causing him to crash down on that side,
-snarling. She doesn't get much of an opportunity to see his face twisted by a fierce
-sensation of pain - she's recalled before she's even fully aware he's still holding her
-pokéball; and then the red engulfs and consumes her. Nothing. Timelessly - so to her, it's
-not even an instant between being recalled and the next time she is called forth... but
-Dakarai holds the ball in one hand, rolling onto his back to remove his knee from anything
-touching it but the leg of his trousers, hissing, bringing his right hand up to dig
-fingernails into his thigh.
-"Fuck," he snorts, pulling his lower lip into a bite between his teeth, his nose wrinkling as
-if in emphasis of his emotions, grip on the pokéball tightening, nostrils flaring as he forces
-himself to breathe steadily. Salt scurries to him, wearing an as worried expression as is
-possible for an insect pokémon of that species, being gestured to distance by its master.
-The pokéball crashes down against the ground, grip unrelenting, grinding against the ground.
-Fortunately, it has no effect on Fracture as Dakarai uses it to lean against and push himself
-to a rise, slowly, surely, angled slightly awkwardly. Some part of his mind analyses the
-damage - a fracture of the knee cap? If he's lucky, that's all it is. Grimacing, he props
-himself up into a sit, left leg angled beneath him. Snorting a breath, he peers past Salt
-toward the churning waters, before narrowing his gaze, steadying himself, ensuring he's sat
-sturdily. Silence. Motionlessly, he lets a few moments pass as he collects himself.
-Then, in abrupt decision, he brings up his left hand, wielding the pokéball, outstretching
-that arm, before summonning Fracture with the press of a button, making sure she'll
-materialise in or immediately above the water.
-Fracture appears then drops into the water with a startled yelp before she snarls and attempts
-to wade back out of the water, shoulders hunched. She doesn't get far before the current sweeps
-her off of her paws and down river. Struggling and terrified and she yowls piteously before she
-coughs, spluttering and swallowing some of the brackish water.
-Salt cringes in on itself, gaze tracking Fracture as she's washed down the river by the sheer
-force of the rapids, shredded against and across the sharper pebbles that have yet to be worn
-down by water, a painful downhill ride, further emphasises by her weakness to the element.
-Dakarai pulls in a breath through his nose in distaste of her behaviour that spawned this,
-watching her tumble; before abruptly recalling her just before she is out of range. The
-pokéball twirls, re-aligning with the height of the river they're at, and she's cast back out
-into the water, Dakarai's nose wrinkling in silent contempt.
-Fracture whines as she dumped back into the water, blood streaming from a myriad of small cuts
-scattered across her small shape before she coughs again, barely coonscious due to the pain
-and tiredness. A shudder wracks her shape and she splutters then sags, eyes half closed, barely
-any strenght left to keep struggling as the river sweeps her away again.
-A moment later, the world around her disintegrates once more - only to be replaced by the sight
-of Dakarai leant across her, right hand raised. A moment later, the palm cracks down against
-her skull, reverberating horribly through the bone. His jaw, meanwhile, is set, expression
-full of resentment. "What the fuck was that about?" he snarls, not looking very human at all,
-eyes glinting with a fierce, demonic energy. He's still sitting as he was while she was
-tumbling down the river - but not because no time has passed since. In fact, Salt seems to be
-back in its pokéball.
-Fracture whimpers and cowers as she is smacked, cringing away from him without that she looks at
-him. A shiver runs through her and she trembles, not daring to say anything although she shifts
-backwards away from him before she is still, held rigid by fear. Her eyes roll closed and she
-sags a little more, coughs up a little of the river water.
-"Answer my question," he narrows his eyes, kicking his left foot out behind him and to the side
-slightly, against the ground, eliciting a grinding sound as he pushes himself after her,
-slightly, with aid of his hands on the ground. It doesn't fully close the extra space she's
-made for herself, though. A snorted breath. "//Answer//, //now//."
-Fracture whimpers and cringes, skidding backwards a little more before she raises her head and
-stares up at him. "<You mean,>" she blinks slowly then adds: "<Water hurts.>" She wails softly
-in pain then, the sound edged with fear. "<I not do it again. Be good now.>" she whispers,
-cringing and pressing herself into the ground even though it hurts.
-A guttural snarl surfaces from him, fingers of both hands flexing, the edges of his palms on the
-ground. He still doesn't really understand pokéspeech, but he can make out the tone of an apology
-without knowledge of her precise statements. "That was totally," he snarls, "//Totally// uncalled for,
-you little bitch. Do it again and I'll fucking //drown// you," he growls, his eyes glinting; all the
-while trying to ignore the fierce ache in his knee.
-===== Descriptions from Sessions =====
-Collected from [[plot:Arsaga]]:
-"I... since Togi doesn't have its own high school, I spent much time in Njoty, as... an outsider...
-in all senses of the word," he begins, trying desperately to keep his voice level and not skip out
-of facts in the process. "I wanted..." he trails off at this point, unable to continue for long
-moments. "...a little bit of respect," he finally whispers.
-Dakarai takes a deep breath, finally finding the inner courage to continue speaking, regardless of how
-painful it is for him. "Early in twothousand-and-five, I decided I would try to... I would try to show
-them my worth by completing the gym circuit. I... prepared..." - He twitches abruptly. - "...myself by
-reading many books on the subject and informing myself about various... related technologies. On the
-fourteenth of May, I..." Again, his words catch in his throat - and now he whimpers in protest, though
-to no avail.
-His eyes open slowly, revealing that the swirl of green has slowed and dimmed, making way for a strange
-emptiness. His voice continues, flimsily: "On the fourteenth of May, twothousand-and-five, I gathered
-several utensils together to begin working on a project I thought would help me attain my goal swiftly
-and efficiently. I completed it on the... twenty-ninth of September, twothousand-and-five. The result
-of my efforts was... a weapon... which... unfortunately... is still in use today."
-"On October the thir-" - "Aren't you forgetting something?" Jagdish interrupts Dakarai's roll, his
-grip twitching against his scalp. - "...m'lord?" Dakarai asks, his voice sounding utterly drained. -
-"Shouldn't you be a little bit more specific?" - Dakarai winces, his shoulders sagging a little.
-"...the device... - weapon... was - is - a whip," he manages to say, with surprisingly little effort,
-shame tingling across the entirety of his body. He shifts his head slightly in Jagdish's grip, before
-taking an audible breath and continuing: "On the third of October, I set out to begin, and spent
-approximately a week capturing and strengthening pokémon around Mount Black."
-"On the eighth of November, in the late evening, I returned to Njoty and battled for and won the Path
-badge. On the ninth of November, I reached Nahla, and battled for and won the Dust badge. On the tenth
-of October, I reached Nightclaw and battled for and won the Glin-" - "You can summarise," Jagdish sneers
-abruptly, interrupting Dakarai again. - "...m'lord?" Dakarai asks, his voice trembling. - "I assure you,"
-the gymleader remarks, icily. "It won't be mistaken for a brag." His fingers flex through Dakarai's hair
-almost soothingly for a moment. - Dakarai swallows once more, before continuing: "...I progressed one
-gym a day and reached Taqnateh on the sixteenth of November, twothousand-and-five. I battled, and..."
-he trails off again, before shaking his head despite the grip on it. "M'lord, please?"
-Jagdish pats Dakarai on his right shoulder, before regarding Raiko and telling him, simply: "It's a
-little wonder of technology that bundles the energies of pokémon types into [its three strands],
-selectably." Then he chuckles, before pulling Dakarai's head to the side and tracing his fingertips,
-one each, down the marks left by Marcus' attack. "It hurts. A lot," he says, simply, his voice thick
-with venom.
-"Now, continue," Jagdish snaps at Dakarai, pulling his head back slightly again, but without restricting
-his ability to swallow easily. - Dakarai whimpers softly, before whispering: "On the sixteenth of November,
-twothousand-and-five, I battled for the Astral badge in Taqnateh... and I won the battle." His eyes drift
-closed, his last words having been barely audible.
-"Nuh-uh," the gymleader snaps. "You forget, Raiko is //new// here, treat him like a tabula rasa, waiting
-for your paintbrush to fill him with knowledge," he says in a venomously yet saccharine sing-song tone.
-Dakarai whimpers, trying to cringe away from him slightly - and it prompts Jagdish to straighten and
-glance across at Raiko, sighing softly, as though dealing with a defiant little child. "The gym battle
-up here is designed to be unbeatable, Mr. Zelenka," he tells Raiko. "Trainers wager their lives,
-possessions and pokémon in return for the Astral badge... perhaps they think that it is a test of
-courage?"
-"I have won many lives in those battles, Mr. Zelenka. Losing is not usually part of our routine up
-here... but Dakarai here surpassed our expectations of cruelty." He lets his fingers flex rhythmically
-against Dakarai's head, like a hypnotic, soothing massage. "Needless to say we couldn't let him go, not
-after all of that. He was quite... unique."
-"Since then, Dakarai has been our little experiment," the gymleader remarks. "He was trying to fool us,
-you see," he says, with a note of heavy sadness entering his voice - it's not a mocking one. "He understood
-quickly... very quickly, because he had focussed so hard on his little share of pride that he was well
-aware of it. He never wanted to be cruel - he just never realised it. And he's a bright lad," he coos.
-"I think he understood it the moment we said, 'Dakarai N'Sehla, you are charged with excessive cruelty
-to your pokémon,' he knew, he knew what he'd done right there and then," his voice drops to a whisper.
-"But he's a good actor, aren't you, my boy?"
-"He pushed us to come up with the worst things we could possibly imagine. He was, of course, sentenced
-to death - so many that come up here are, after all, it's unfortunate, but wholly fair." He chuckles a
-little, leaning down to kiss one of Dakarai's brows, before straightening again. "After eight days... -
-because, while sentenced to death, that was to come last, and he had a while to go - after eight days,
-I caught on, by chance... and I asked him, Dakarai, you silly boy... you're hurting yourself, you're
-making it worse for you, so much, much worse... why do you do that?"
-Dakarai is silently crying by now, tears glittering on his cheeks, soundlessly. - "My sweet boy," he
+Of these, //Fracture// was his first pokémon, won in a fist-fight with Auran Collins on Njoty university's campus grounds.
-remarks, softly, sighing slightly, before giving his shoulder a soothing pat. "He's a bright lad -
-and with that... momentary blindness of his life removed, there //was// nothing other than purity, do
-you understand, Mr. Zelenka?" he regards Raiko with a broad, genuinely happy smile, like the smile of
-someone who's found enlightenment, a twinkle in his eyes. "He thought he was beyond redemption. He was
-crafting his own punishment... by manipulating us. The little swindling bastard." He chuckles, last
-phrase full of fondness.
-The gymleader sighs theatrically, before letting go of Dakarai's head. "Well, he was sworn to secrecy,
+===== History =====
-though. He fucked that one up, unfortunately." His expression darkens noticably. "And every experiment
-comes with its own terms and conditions. Dakarai, tell me, what did we agree on?" - Dakarai lets his
-gaze drift down and latch to the ground, his face a frown. "...I live on borrowed time," he says,
-simply, his tone neutral, even though he looks shaken and beaten to the core.
-He glances aside, his gaze settling down on the ground somewhere, but it's nowhere in particular.
+Dakarai N'Sehla was born in [[place:Togi]] as one of the only Xhosa in the community, his parents notwithstanding. While he wasn't outcast in Togi itself - them being far too used to consisting of wildly different personalities and backgrounds to flinch at even obvious outward discrepancies - he made the error to think of Togi as his home and never truly began investing in emotional attachment to Njoty when he went to school there, which only served to make the quirks of his personality that much more apparent.
-"...I knew what I was doing when I broke my vow, Raiko. I don't expect special treatment." His voice
-sounds hollow.
-Dakarai's glance drifts up to Raiko for a moment, brows twitching as though to say: 'No shit, sherlock,'
+As such, he was quick to slot into the 'nerdy and emotionally fragile' category, though it was quickly clear to anyone that physically picking on him was a dangerous gamble with one's health. Picking on him from a distance was always sure to net a reaction, however, even if he quickly 'matured' to the point of making his retorts smoothly venomous. Alas, it only made him more of a challenge. He wasn't about to call for backup, after all, and his opinion of anyone didn't matter, so he still made for a good target.
-but without bringing it up. Instead, he sighs softly. "I'm... trying to come to terms with myself, Raiko.
-Please shut up." Well, that was quite... frank, even if delivered with strange amounts of earnest care.
-Long minutes pass, before Dakarai's shape stirs and he shifts, slowly pushing himself to a sit, strands
+After school, he never really made it out of his social niche, dragging himself from low-income job to low-income job, just about managing to keep a roof over his head (in the form of a tiny apartment), though that aspect never bothered him - he had very few material aspirations. The social issues bothered him, though, and he struggled with them, but never fixed them. He managed to shift their focus partly, but never really change their intensity.
-of hair coming to rest across his forehead, his eyes drifting closed. A moment later, he's pulled his
-legs up and is resting his arms over his knees. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out, and
-he merely shakes his head slightly. "Sorry," he remarks, softly, the word barely audible.
-Knocked back by Raiko's weight and momentum, [Jagdish] snarls reflexively - skidding across the hard
+Eventually, he got it into his head that if he tried his hand at the gym circuit, people might at least impart marginal respect toward him, and so he negotiated to fight one of his longer-term bullies, Auran Collins, for one of his pokémon, //Fracture//. He won her off him and started to collect and train pokémon in the area around [[place:Mount Black]]. His lack of preconceptions about it made him surprisingly effective, as he simply deconstructed strategy from the ground up, and outright 'corrected' pokémon perceptions about their moves, such as explaining that for //Bonemerang//, bones don't actually make for good boomerangs, and how to craft a better returning projectile.
-stone ground on his back, bringing up one hand to push against Raiko's shape, fingers curling to grab a
-hold of the fabric of his shirt. But of course it's not that simple - not with Dakarai, and,
-retrospectively, it was probably to be expected, but the motion still catches Raiko entirely off guard,
-arms sliding around him with sudden energy, Dakarai's left arm attempting to come to rest against
-Raiko's throat, right held in parallel to Raiko's, fingers grasping for his wrist to pull it back and
-against his spine, all in one graceful motion.
-There's hesitation, of course - no amount of courage is going to make poisoning oneself easy in a hurry,
+Of course, Dakarai N'Sehla was never the type to want to do anything //half-heartedly//, and so he not only set out to best the gym circuit, he set out to do so in the minimal possible time, travel effort included. This pushed both him and his pokémon to the brink of exhaustion, but not before he (technically speaking) achieved his goal in November of that year. He took the normal Sehto gym circuit run, prepared to utmost degree with as much information about it as he could attain (and a rather sinister weapon of his design to better train his pokémon to complete obedience), and got one gym badge a day starting on the 8th (excepting an extra day travel time between [[place:Ehqaj City|Ehqaj]] and [[place:Kzye City|Kzye]], with a night's slumber in [[place:Nahla City]]):
-unless one was truly suicidally inclined, which, despite everything, Dakarai was not. His hands loosely
-resting on his knees, he flexes them slightly, before squeezing his eyes shut and taking a sip. Eugh,
-bitter. No surprise there - but a petty part of him wishes for some sugar and berates the man holding
-the cup for not ceding that courtesy.
-"Drink up - unless you're in the mood for a horribly excruciating and drawn-out death, which, well...
+  * 08: Path Badge from [[character:Cecile Madhukar]]
-knowing you...?" Jagdish mocks slightly, fondly. Something about his calmness seems off, as though it
+  * 09: Dust Badge from [[character:Terry Kiran]]
-weren't natural to him... not right now. He's gentle in tilting the goblet and a frown touches his lips,
+  * 10: Glint Badge from ???
-pulling their corners down into a grimace. A few moments pass, before the last drop rolls from the metal
+  * 11: Feather Badge from ???
-its crafted from, and Dakarai's face contorts in a sour grimace, moving his head to the side, air
+  * 12: Haze Badge from [[character:Rose Kaiki]]
-hissing from him, before he coughs reflexively, twice, loudly. "Fuck," he mutters, though it's more to
+  * 14: Pyre Badge from [[character:Keith Sirius]]
-himself.
+  * 15: Vale Badge from [[character:Yarver Bakema]]
-A tremor runs through Dakarai's shape, his hands flexing, and, eyes squeezing shut again, he exhales
+When he hit [[place:Taqnateh]], he managed the battle by the skin of his teeth, much to [[character:Jagdish Tsukinaka]]'s abject horror. Believing it to be wholly irresponsible for him to let Dakarai escape the fate usually reserved for those quite so cruel as he'd been, Jagdish deviated from his usual strictly consensual life-wager and incarcerated Dakarai, dragging him before the legendary Council despite his success in battle.
-audibly, in a soft wince. Then he seems to quieten, though, remaining sat as he is... waiting. Arms slide
-around his shape, pulling him into a loose hug - item discarded with a soft clatter - and Jagdish's gaze
-shifts to latch onto Raiko, through him, looking quite bitter, his jawline resting against the side of
-Dakarai's head at height of his cheek bone, holding him silently.
-The hug tightens into something like a grip as Dakarai's shape is gripped by a reflexive spasm and the
+He noticed extremely quickly that he'd made a grave error in judgement and that his obsession had gone considerably too far. Utterly nauseated by the lucid spin on his own actions, he resolved to try and portray himself as the monster he'd been in the Council session itself, not just in actions, but in motivations as well, and succeeded in convincing the Council that he was beyond any form of redemption (an easy task to achieve, given that everyone //in// the Council was biased against him from the start, given the sheer severity of his actions). However, as easy as it was to keep up the pretense in the trial, it was significantly more difficult to maintain a lie of venom and uncaring under Jagdish's attention, and eventually the manipulation came to light.
-attempt to curl forward and in on himself - a pitiful sound surfaces from him, mixture of gasp and whimper
-of pain, and he lets himself lean forward, sagging slightly, his right hand rising to rest against the
-gymleader's back, fingers curling into the fabric of his jacket as though for support. The softest
-series of whimpers spills from him as he buries his face into the man's shoulder.
-Jagdish bites his lower lip with visible force, causing the skin to pale further, his eyes closing as he
+Jagdish was, of course, not pleased. He didn't like Dakarai, so he was disinclined to have his sentence reduced to its fair margin - most notably, removing the death sentence that loomed ahead of him. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Jagdish's sense of professionalism and justice overrode his personal distaste, and [[plot:N'Sehla:2012-12-08-2|he spoke to Solalon about the matter]]. [[plot:N'Sehla:2012-12-22|A later Council session]] resolved the matter in Dakarai's 'favour' (even if Dakarai wasn't //happy// about it), and he was instead 'enslaved' to the gym circuit in the role of //Observer//.
-holds Dakarai's now shivering shape. "Shh," he says, softly, whispering, his arms pressed against the
-suffering shape, circled around it supportingly. Could he imagine what he was feeling right now, other
-than an horrible, all-consuming cold? Not really - especially since it was beyond Dakarai's abilities
-to say something as trivial as: "It hurts." It just wasn't part of his vocabulary - but it probably rung
-true now.
-Slowly, very slowly, the trembles subside, defeatedly - he's still breathing, though, a strange calmness
+Since then, his relationship with Jagdish has been increasingly friendly, to the point where the two can be considered rather intense platonic friends who would do practically anything for each other, even if outside appearances still very much suggest the strict, militaristic, hierarchic power dynamic.
-setting in, crowding into the remnant of conscious thought as he feels a numbness close in on his shape,
-pleasant in that it dispells the sensation of stabbing cold. Not finding the energy to speak, his lips
-move in silence, mouthing 'Thank you,' though he distantly wonders if anyone will ever know what for.
-Smiling lightly, he decides he has faith that it will be understood, and he lets himself relax.
-Arguably, it's not easy for Raiko to tell the last breath for what it is - he's not at an angle to see
+{{tag>[comprehensive]}}
-those subtle motions; but indirectly, it becomes evident as a violent shudder seizes Jagdish's shoulders,
-travelling down through his arms, them shifting to cling to the lifeless shape, and silent tears of very
-real grief leak from his eyes, his teeth gritted to force himself into silence, his cheek pressed against
-Dakarai's head.