Nimbus Whistler

When the cold winds rushed through the caves at first Pankaa would simply enjoy the cool feeling they brought with them given him being an Avali and all, but the sound that accompanied the cold wind was unsettling and caused two ears on the same side of his head to twitch at the noise. The sound was certainly different now and almost like someone was actually whistling rather than it just being the breeze. The Avali would clutch onto the goofy vacuum gun a little tighter and hold it to his chest as he peered around the caves.

That was when a voice would echo out-- And a familiar one at that too, it started in the caves before eventually echoing out in his head as well. Pankaa would flatten back his ears at hearing his name be repeated to him and would place one hand to his head when a strange feeling began to surge. He'd felt a similar feeling before though when he'd been corrupted by Phakk all that time ago and Nero had been extra careful about making sure that something like that would never happen again, Pankaa would close his eyes and place a paw to the scar on his chest that was left behind when his brother had removed the corruption once and for all-- It acted as a reminder but also as something that helped keep him safe too.

"That won't work on me!" He'd call out back to the voice as his eyes shot open, darting around the caves again for whoever it was that was trying to grab his mind. "The light will always be with me, Pankaa is the light!" He had his suspicions on who this could be especially since they would have to have heard his name before... But he didn't want to jump to conclusions either and the whistling caused by the winds in the caves helped to mix and mask the voice. The scar hidden mostly under feathers along his chest would start to glow a faint blue but Pankaa himself didn't seem to notice.

"I've already had my mind clouded once by another, it won't happen again! If you want me to join you you'll have to come and face me!" The cave did feel colder and darker then before and it seemed like things around him were shifting and changing too but Shroom would find it difficult to get a hold on Pankaa's will and mind overall, as if there was something there to block his way. The Avali did his best to look brave and defiant in the face of potential danger while all on his lonesome but he was well aware of the fact that he was alone this time. "Show yourself!"

The voice didn't seem too happy that he was able to resist what they were trying to pull off, and he'd frown at them referring to themselves as 'lord'... There was someone else he'd met on bad terms that referred to themselves that way too. He didn't want to think it was that little Namekian though... Hadn't they left on better terms at the end of that day?

Pankaa was snapped out of his thoughts though as one of his ears flicked-- And then another did again at catching the sounds of the water drips from all around the cave. The winds had picked up too and were strong enough now to ruffle his feathers, which was strange he had been to the Whistling Caves a few times before sometimes even for training himself but he'd never seen the winds that carried the whistling become so unforgiving like this. If it kept going like this it felt like it might just pick him up and fly him away!

Where were his friends? He didn't know for sure but probably busy and trusting him to go out alone by himself for once. He hadn't forgotten how long it'd taken for his mother to let him go out without having to have another person with him, mainly Nero, after he'd been corrupted all that time ago. She had wanted to make sure he'd be safe and he was only just starting to get used to going out by himself again since then, why did this have to happen now? "My friends have their own stuff to do! Nothing is too scary for Pankaa! The Caves are good for training too..." Did this person not realize other Nameks trained here too? Maybe it wasn't who he thought it was? Surely the little Namekian would know about something like that.

The Avali would hold onto the tech gun the same way he would've a fighting staff as the voice told him that the light is tricks and trying to fool him, he'd tilt his head lightly to show his confusion. "Wh-what do you mean?" He stammered back to the voice, were they trying to say his brother and family were trying to fool him? That they were only close in order to hurt him? But they'd never do that... Pankaa would clutch the tech close to his chest again defensively. Their next questions puzzled him though, why did they want to know that? And how did they know about Nero? His ears would flatten back against his skull at the memory of something but for now those thoughts were safe to be his own only.

"That's... That's none of your business!" He'd find the courage to snap back as his power rose forth, bringing him to the same form he'd taken back at the Castle Ruins-- Though Nero's blessing on it had worn off slightly and this showed through Pankaa's more pointed teeth, slightly taller size and more unruly looking feathers and fur. Only after his transformation did he notice Shroom had finally revealed himself, stepping out from the shadows. He hadn't wanted it to be Shroom, he'd hoped since their last run in that the Namekian would've re-thought his path but that clearly wasn't the case. "You don't command me."

As Shroom approached him though Pankaa would start to back away and practically fell over his own feet backwards in confusion as the Namekian declared that he had... Missed him? "H-huh? What?" The tear that was flicked at him though-- The Avali's senses were shrieking in alarm in his head, he needed to move, to react and quickly! He'd leap to the side as the menacing purple sphere headed for where he had just been almost taking a couple feathers with it! Recovering quickly to his feet he'd give a swift tap of two fingers to his forehead before launching an energy beam of light blue and gold back at the small Namekian by pointing his fingers at him in a technique that he'd learnt from Nero. "So it is you... We don't have to fight here Shroom, what do you want from me? I thought we'd left on peaceful terms last time?"

Shrooms', uh, logic? Made Pankaa frown in confusion for a few moments before eventually retorting with "If Pankaa is friend of Shroom then why are you attacking me?" He'd give a little snort "Why're you tryna corner me in the caves while my friends and family are busy for that matter, that's not what friends do! This isn't very polite yanno" The Namekian had said that Pankaa was part of Namek though too which was an improvement from last time at least from cowering in fear at him being an Alien. Was this the little old Namekian's attempt at trying to relate to him or something? It was an odd approach if so but Pankaa wasn't exactly a master with words or interacting with others either.

As the light from the Avali's attack lit up the cave he would squint his eyes closed for a few moments at the stark change of brightness before slowly opening them again once the darkness of the caves returned. He did see a glimpse of Shroom's pain and his first response was to jump to apologies but would it even matter? He wasn't sure the older alien would see it as genuine no matter what Pankaa said or tried.

His voice echoing around the cave walls again the Avali listened with his four ears flicking this way and that as Shroom explained what happened to him after the last time they met. "If we hadn't wanted peace, you would've been way more hurt than what you were when you left that day. The Pirate captain was attacking that big worm thing-- Nero and I never even touched you, one of Nero's friends even protected you against an attack, remember?" He tried his best not to grumbly add that the attack was something deserved as Shroom had been trying to manipulate Zerori's mother at the time, being accused wasn't fun but he was going to at least try to talk to the old Namekian as calmly as possible. "You know we could've helped you make a home! It just couldn't be the castle itself... It's important to the Mazoku, we must protect what's important to our all our Namek friends and family even if to you it's just a run down old dusty castle"

Two of Pankaa's ears would prick upwards at hearing Erebos be mentioned and how Shroom had met him, "Oh Erebos? He attacked me the last time I saw him-- He didn't attack you did he? He means well I promise!" It didn't seem like the Demon had though and that Shroom had just learnt something during their exchange? Pankaa wondered what the two had talked about. "Shroom..." The Avali would wince and rub the side of his head for a moment as the Namekian's voice throbbed in his head, he wasn't sure why he chose this kind of telepathy to speak to him when they were within talking distance but if it was what the old man wanted he wasn't about to argue. "Shroom. Pankaa's suffered at the hands of other aliens and demons too, shinjin and namekians as well! But that doesn't mean every one is bad and evil and out to hurt you, I promise not everyone wants to see Shroom suffer"

The Avali would bring forward his little gadget gun again but this time in an attempt to show Shroom it rather then to hold it defensively to his chest. "Look look, I made this! I can make all kinds of stuff so if you really wanted I could help you build a place to stay even nicer then the castle! And--" Shrooms shout would startle him and he'd look up just as the dark ki was shot forward at him unfortunately though it wasn't enough time for the kid to react. Pankaa would drop the gadget he'd made as the dark ki hit him and it'd slam onto the ground with a hard thud and clatter into pieces on the cave floor. The Avali's eyes grew wide at the explosion itself as it erupted from underneath him, giving a pained squeak as he nearly hit the ceiling of the cave in response to shooting upwards! Whatever it was Shroom had just done, it hurt badly! His tail felt like it was on fire from the pain that came with having been hit and several of his usually nice and well patterned tail feathers were now crumpled as well as in pain and the gadget he'd spent so long on too was now ruined...

"I already have a family and we're already family in that we're both a part of Namek. I don't want to have to fight you Shroom, you're not gonna let me leave though, are you?"

The caves around them seemed to take a gradual change and though Pankaa didn't notice the visual changes right away he did notice the audio ones pretty quickly-- The water droplets had stopped sounding off against the stone floor around them and the whistling iconic to these caves would slowly fade away like they were being taken someplace out of reach. Pankaa was familiar with the use of magic though as a magic user himself but he'd not say anything on the changes for now, maybe this helped to make Shroom feel more comfortable to talk to him in a peaceful manner? He wasn't sure but he could handle it for now, it was just a scenery change after all and it was just like the one he'd made at the Castle Ruins too, interesting.

At least the little Namekian seemed to want to talk now? It was step up from being attacked anyway or having him slink around in the shadows of the caves. "Uhh, erm-- Okay" When the darkness came over them and everything just seemed to be gone for a brief moment Pankaa felt like he was going to fall into the nothingness-- It felt a lot like back when he'd gotten corrupted but without the whole corrupted part, thankfully it only lasted for a moment and eventually the light returned though this time it was pink! The pink light came from that same pink neon sign like he'd done on the Castle briefly so whatever this place was it seemed to be something Shroom did really like or had seen before somewhere.

It was all very fancy and the Avali was about to follow when gestured by Shroom but he'd find he didn't even need to-- As the ground beneath him seemed to practically move for him and fling him through the doors! "Woah!-" He'd hold out his winged arms in order to rebalance himself after they'd been flung inside-- The room was very busy with activity right from entering though Pankaa had never been in an Earth nightclub before so he didn't really know what all the fuss here was all about, but the music was a little too loud for his liking he did have four ears after all.

Seeing the two that had been with Shroom the last time they met smiling to him made him give an anxious smile and wave back-- Shroom wasn't alone here but he was it would seem. Had they been there the whole time? Looking back though he and Shroom had come to some sort of office? Pankaa felt like he was back at the principals office at school, like when he'd gotten in trouble for biting another kid while he was corrupted. He looked a little awkwardly at the Namekian as Shroom took up a comfy seat and pulled out some paperwork and a crayon, like Pankaa was waiting to be told to be seated and anything else would be seen as rude.

"B-but Nero's friend, that lady with the blue?" He was pretty sure he'd heard her name be said as Amara but he didn't know her personally so he couldn't be sure. He didn't understand though what Shroom meant and why they would've protected him if they were just trying to manipulate him. "But Shroom, what would they gain from tricking you?" He did give a sympathetic look though at the show of the scar. "I know what you mean, I have one of those too..." The Avali would push the feathers around his neck upwards just enough to let Shroom see the 'x' shaped scar he had left behind at the top of his chest before flattening the feathers back down again so that they covered it. "But don't you trust your friends over there?" He'd point a claw towards where Lebu and Ricu had been, "Who close to you hurt you Shroom? Pankaa will listen" Maybe the two were more alike then they realized, the Avali had been hurt and taken away from his birth family from the moment he was an egg but maybe he had had a better support group then Shroom did when growing up and that was where they were different.

"Yes! I could make this place real for you even" Pankaa listened to the sounds of Shroom's crayon scribbling away against his note paper as he continued "It's just that we couldn't build it over the Castle, you'd be hurting people if you did you know?"

Pankaa looked a bit bewildered as a tray of treats and drinks were brought over on a silver platter at the mere mention of him leaving-- "But-- If you don't trust anyone anymore why do you want me around? I don't understand" He looked over the tray of goodies before looking back to the Namekian as he hit his fists against the table between them.

"B-but he's my brother! And our mum would be really upset, she's a really nice Namekian and she's raised me since I was an egg! Maybe Shroom could join our family of friends instead? Then you'd have even more friends right!" Maybe he was being a bit naïve but he was still a teenager after all. He still felt a bit of a looming dread too at being here alone with both Shroom and his buddies but he tried to push down the feeling now that they were just talking to one another.

The little Namekian sure was quite confusing! So Amara was tricky and so was Zerori and her mum? But so was Shroom too? AND his cat? The Avali would rub the back of his neck looking quite confused, if Shroom was tricky too then why was he supposed to trust him? Was everyone just tricky to Shroom? Then why did he want Pankaa to stick around? Too many questions with not enough straight answers.

When the cat came in and started batting at Shroom's antennae though his thoughts would be put aside as he gave a playful laugh in response tot he cats antics, it didn't last too long as Shroom scolded the feline before putting them back down on the ground but it was still sweet nonetheless. What a funny name for a cat too!

"Leverage?" Pankaa would put a hand to his chin in thought at what Shroom tried to explain, pointing out how he'd learnt it from Earth's football-- Which Pankaa didn't really know a whole lot about unfortunately, but he had the leverage word before at least. The Avali would pick up one of the little cakes from the tray himself but wouldn't go to eat it as quick as Shroom was doing, instead opting to examine it wondering if it were a real cake or made of magic like the place around them.

"Others hurting Shroom is bad too" Pankaa would point out or at least he thought so, hurting others in general was never a nice thing and he certainly didn't want to have to fight with the old Namekian either if it could be avoided. Shroom didn't seem fond of thinking back to these old memories though and though he understood why and wouldn't push on it he did wish there were some way for the elder Namekian to share them somehow. "Do you remember who hurt Shroom? Are they here on Namek?"

He seemed a bit surprised to hear the old Namekian wasn't really interested in the castle anymore but he supposed that was good news right? Shroom soon spun around in his chair and Pankaa would look up to the TV screen that came from the ceiling-- Only to get stuck halfway which Lebu then had to come and fix quickly, Pankaa seemed pretty amused at this but wouldn't say anything witty especially since he was being shown one of Shroom's ideas for Namek and didn't want to be rude! Maybe he could offer to fix the TV later-- Wait wasn't this all magic anyway?

Watching the television Pankaa would sit back in his own chair at the other side of the desk to Shroom with his four ears facing forwards so he could listen with full attention. It sure was uh, a video? The part with his brother and some of his friends as cheap masks being worn by Ricu and Lebu got a laugh out of the teen as if he thought that particular part as being intended as humorous, when did Shroom put this video together? Had he made the masks himself? Pankaa at least thought it was pretty funny but he did watch the rest still with as much seriousness as he could muster.

Overall it seemed like a fine idea though so the elder just wanted to make some kind of Villas? A couple of those could be pretty helpful here and there across Namek or at least Pankaa thought so. The Avali looked a little alarmed at being dropped a scroll of documentation though-- And it was all in a language he couldn't even read... Could Shroom even read all this himself? Who had even written it? Pankaa tried looking over the scroll as though holding it at a different angle would suddenly make it readable but to no avail. "Well I think with a bit of help your idea could work just fine! I think Nero would love to help Shroom too if we asked, he could probably even help find good spots for them!" Pankaa knew Shroom still didn't really seem to like the Guru all that much but... Well it was worth a try! He knew Nero wasn't the bad guy the old Namekian seemed to think he was just based off of one exchange.

"So you'd be okay with Guru being part of your family too? I mean, Nero is my brother you know" He'd bring up his hands a little defensively though as the Namekian hit the table again with his little fists. "You don't need to hit the table Shroom! That's no way to make friends you know. Why do you want me in your family anyways?"

Pankaa furrowed his brow a little hearing Shroom answer his question-- It was good not all of them were still on Namek but it sounded like some still were. He wanted to ask the little Namekian to name those responsible or at least point him in the right direction so he could make them regret it but he wasn't sure the old Namekian wanted to talk about it further and the conversation moved onto other things.

All the while the Avali's ears were hard at work listening to every little thing-- There was a lot of noise here in a place like this but some of the noise was real and some of it was just magic at work and this was good training for him to tell the difference. "You know that's not how it works right?" He'd say with a frown to the Namekian who thought he himself would be Guru soon. "It isn't something Nero can just give to you" He was fairly certain that wasn't the kind of answer Shroom wanted to hear though, he seemed pretty set on that either the Avali stayed with him or he become Guru and only one of those options was something Pankaa could even provide.

Pankaa would raise an eyebrow at Shroom and his drawing which he tried to play off as some kind of contract, "I think I'm a little too young to be signing any legally binding contracts Mister Shroom-- And I'm pretty sure that's not how contracts work" What was Shroom winking at? Pankaa would peer over his shoulder for a few moments before looking back, looking even more wary than he had done earlier. He wasn't so sure now that the Namekian just wanted to sit and chat with him, he wasn't sure that had ever been part of Shroom's plan actually.

When the game was pulled out Pankaa looked like he was slowly getting ready to spring out of his seat but he tried to stick around as long as possible to offer the Namekian as much benefit of the doubt he possibly could. "A game? S-sure I guess I like games" He'd say mainly to try and reassure himself in some way. The game didn't seem really well thought out though, you roll the dice and Shroom wins? He wanted to humour the old Namekian but he was making it increasingly harder as things progressed. Looking to the card Pankaa would squint for a moment to try and read it before the little alarm bells in his head and body started going off again, the scar hidden behind his chest feathers glowing a deep blue in response.

Shroom was trying to pull a trick on him again and a very violent and nasty one at that, not one that was just physical but one that attacked his greatest strength directly, his mind. He had wanted for this whole exchange to actually just be a chance to talk to the old Namekian and maybe even befriend him but it had become increasingly clear to Pankaa that Shroom didn't want the same, Shroom didn't trust anyone, didn't seem to want to trust anyone and like he'd said earlier he too was a tricksy person. The Avali felt stupid for ever having believed that maybe the Namekian had just gotten off on the wrong foot with them, that he just needed a little help and someone to hear him out he had tried to do what he thought Nero would've done but he was wrong for having done so and he was angry at feeling taken advantage of.

The Avali would spring to his feet as the attack from Shroom's mind was launched on him his feathers raising in a flurry of adrenaline and panic as his head began to throb painfully-- It hurt and it hurt a lot, burned even making his mind feel like it was on fire but Pankaa had a trick up his sleeves and wasn't so easily fooled. "I thought I'd told you that that wasn't going to work on me" His blue eyes brimmed with a burning energy so bright it practically covered his eyes as a whole making them look like just pools of blue light. Pankaa's feathers all began to glow a soft golden colour to act as a second barrier against Shroom's attack, which while some of the Namekian's assault did slip through the barrier, most of it was softened to more of a flaming bad headache that hurt outside and in for the Avali than anything further damaging. Shroom would find his attempts to attack Pankaa's mind again would not prove fruitful even a second time.

Pankaa wasn't satisfied though with just defending himself there, as the pain throbbed in his head and throughout his feathers he'd summon forth enough ki for an attack of his own. Shroom had insulted his family, his brother especially but not just that he'd insulted Namek as a whole here today or at least in Pankaa's mind. "You'll NEVER be Guru..." His power burned brightly and shifted in amongst his feathers as it reached his large tail ones which were already ready to fire. "Namek would never pick somebody like you. You only care about yourself, not me, not your 'friends' here and certainly not about Namek" On the last word his ki powered feathers which were now strong enough to act more like sharp blades would launch at Shroom, with some splitting off to head for his two sidekicks as well. "You only wanted me around as leverage over my brother, didn't you? You're nothing but a selfish brat!" With his attack done Pankaa would whistle for his Jack-O-Nimbus and would make a run for it trying to reach the orange cloud to make a quick escape out of the club and out of the caves hopefully before Shroom or his buddies had time to react. But would he be fast enough?