Eseka Legends: Winter's Heart

[Raposa Dalua]

{Arrrthuurr~} she repeated, rolling the 'r's off her tongue dramatically as she pronounced it out, {Arrruuthur! I liike~ that name. Yes, yes, if I had a son, surely I would name him Arrrrthur!}

The Misdreavus whirled about on the spot, letting the name float through her mind. Surely, he was one of the missing puzzle pieces that made up her frazzled, dysfunctional memory. She repeated it over and over in her head, trying to pick up some inkling of memory, some vague remembrance that might attach her to him. And yet, no matter how desperately she tried to remember, the name just did not sound familiar to her. And she was sad for a moment, just a little bit, but she easily brushed it aside once more, as she did all the other times she tried to remember someone she just met. She smiled brightly at the fire pup, completely overlooking his obvious fear of her undead...ness, and continued speaking with him. He was so nice, after all.

{Arrrthur, it's so nice to meet you! My name is Caroline!} she grinned as small bits of memory popped up at the mere mention of her name (for she so loved to hear her own name be spoken), {Or Cary, or Carol, or C, or 'Line, or Linny, or... ah, whatever you want is fine! And you could also be Arrrt, or Arrrty, or 'Thur, or... nah, I like Arrrthur best!} she nodded, as though she was also convincing herself of this, then continued, {So, Arrrthur... Do you like to play games? Or trick people? Do you like to build snoooww creatures? What do you do for fun~?}

It was at this point, she noticed, that another creature had joined their little group without her noticing. It was an odd little critter (though she supposed she didn't have any right to think that, considering her own condition), with black skin (was it really skin?) and a big eye to the center left, as well as a couple prongs sticking out of it. She blinked at it, then smiled warmly, seeing that it couldn't possibly mean them harm, and turned her attention back to Arthur.

~~*~~

Hakira smiled as Rina spoke about their slight injuries; to those who didn't know her the grin would appear to be that of amusement that Achan and Jojo had been hurt. To those who knew better, it was more like one of her rare little smiles of relief. Though, she did crack up at Achan's whining over a little bruise on the cheek. She made a mental note to buy him a good bit of cheese for his birthday next year, since she couldn't exactly send any for Christmas from all the way up in Eseka. And, for that matter, was there even any good cheese here to begin with? She shook her head, clearing her mind of the thought of good cheese so she could listen to Rina properly.

"Dun worry, eh? Who said I was worried?" she shrugged, "I just wanted somethin' t' laugh at, is all."

She noticed the blonde's sudden interest in Kushin, if only for a split second, and grinned, her pink eyes glinting mischievously. Kushin noticed too, but by then it was too late for him to make a proper escape. She picked up the disgruntled alligator, struggle as he might, and set him on her lap, hugging him tightly to herself.

{Put me down, Hakira!}

"Aw, but you're warm~!"

{I am not your personal heater!}

She smiled up at Rina, "Aw, don't mind him, he's just cranky 'cause I did something he didn't like a bit ago," she chuckled, "As for what I've been up to, well, I've been travelin' with Kushin here aaalllll over the place! We've pretty much just been explorin' areas that haven't been traveled to much, or maybe not at all! We've charted beyond the caves o' Mt. Silver, trudged through forests that were prolly stuck entirely in one season the whole year round, sailed through lakes so big they could be mistaken for new oceans, and mapped through massive jungles that'd put any Safari Zone to shame!" She swelled with pride and excitement at the mere thought of all the places she had been, how she knew they were but a small part of this huge world, and that there was so much left to explore! "I also made some new pranking friends, though, honestly, they just can't live up to Achan and Jojo," she pointed discreetly with her thumb, indicating Caroline, "The Misdreavus makin' nice with the scaredy-dog over there is one of 'em, the other is still sleeping in his pokeball. They're a pair of troublemakers, the lot of 'em, but they're sure fun to have around."

She started for a moment, suddenly aware of someone else speaking to her. Or, rather, someone else speaking to an entire group that included her. Looked like Mira was finally ready to continue the tour! Hopefully there wouldn't be anymore random stops, as she really, really wanted to get to the Dawnbringer and check it out properly. She grinned, folding up her map and tucking it away, along with her writing utensils. She then stood, putting a rather thankful-but-not-appearing-to-feel-that-way Kushin back on the ground to walk. She wasn't about to carry him, after all. Can't have him getting complacent.

"Tour's movin' agin, so let's walk 'n talk, 'kay?"

 

[Nigma]

Luckily he had tricked Mira and avoided every of her questions. It seems she has enough... Then he listened to Emilie´s explanation that she was here to explore the legends of Eseka. She also started with another question.

"Why are you here?"

This was a very dangerous question which Amarezoth couldn´t answer that easy. Yesterday night in the storm he was really thinking he could die as he saw this town. Of course he couldn´t Emillie or any other person the truth, that he was a former Rocket member and now hiding in this place. Because Emillie looked clever he thought she could conclude that he did lie if he would tell some odd stories of catching Pokémon and such stuff. Perhaps this Mira has already was aware that something isn´t right with me... the grin he saw earlier in her face isn´t a smile i call to like it... He couldn´t even imagine that in a place like this would live any interesting Pokémon to catch. This was a place in nowhere. Possibly there was a chance that some strong Pokémon where lurking around out of the city, but he was sure none of them would suit into his team. Perhaps he had some luck finding a Nidorina or something like that, cause he had heard they like it cold. He realized that he was too much in thoughts. Emillies question. What should he answer? And what if she asks about his markings? No one would believe the truth about it, even if he would tell.

"Well, for real my team and i where on another adventure as we got in a snow storm yesterday evening. Luckily we found this city, so now we want to discover where we are. Perhaps we stay for one or two days until we continue with our adventure..." He noticed that Thunder approached him. "Thunder? You aren´t looking good. You are alright?"

{Amarezoth... I think the time has come... to repeat the usuall... My... my electricity is... is very high.. per.... perhaps i return to... my pokeball... I don´t wanna... want to hurt you... again...} "Ah, come on Thunder, this isn´t the first time we handle this... So just come here so we can get started." He turned again to Emillie. "Excuse me, my Pokémon needs medical attention now. He is critical overloading himself, so he needs to find an absorbing spot...." He kneeled down and lifted Thunder softly and hugged him. {Is this alright to you?...} "It should be Thunder. You aren´t going to hurt anybody. See, i have my boots on, so none of your sparks and thunder can reach the ground.

The Raichu sighed with a smile and started to transfer the energy to Amarezoth´s body, so he got infolded with a crackling shiny aura of electricity. He was used to such a shocking pain, but he didn´t want to endanger the other Pokémon and people here. Because snow was just freezed water and was a good transmitter for such a kind of energy, he concluded that there was a 70% chance that everyone in a circle of 20 meters around him could get critical damage if Thunders shocks would reach the ground. They weren´t attacks, but strong shocks tough. The potential of the mouse was great , but nothing could reach the ground because the brines of Amarezoth´s boots where composed of chicle. Chicle didn´t transmit electricity, so Amarezoth absorbed every spark of the Raichus Power.

{Johto? That sounds very interesting...} the Persian repeated to the Parasec. {Let´s get back to our trainers...} Sphinx had heard that Amarezoth called for him. {What the...} he said out lout as he saw that Amarezoth was shocked by Thunder. {Oh no... that this always happens... uh... Dot, i have to return to my trainer. It was nice to meet you. Hope that we can have a talk again...} he said and speeded up to get to Amarezoth.

 

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: I'm finally posting! XD I would've yesterday, but my brother took me to see The Queen with him @ the movies. At least it gave Nigma a chance to post! ^^


Emilie
~~~~~~~

As Amarezoth explained his situation, Emilie nodded appropriately, looking interested. She suspected he was not telling the whole truth, as he had avoided Mira's questioning, and taken a good deal of time to answer her simple question. He didn't seem like a bad person, but the odds were against him in this case. Emilie was not one to judge on appearances; she would, for the time being, regard the young man as a trustworthy person.

Once the boy's Raichu came up to them and Amarezoth excused himself, Emilie nodded to the two of them. "Yes, of course; go on please," she said kindly.

She turned around in time to see Arthur shaking a good deal as the Misdreavus he had been talking to had taken to saying his name rather loudly. Emilie repressed a giggle; this pokemon was surely one that could do the Houndour some good, whether the pup noticed it or not.

Arthur was blinking rather quickly, afraid that if he blinked too slow, the ghost pokemon would pull a fast trick on him. He gulped.

Edgar nodded to the Misdreavus, and then peered over at Arthur. {Well come on Arthur!} he said in an extremely giddy, shrill voice, {Don't be rude, answer the lady!} He had clearly picked up on the Misdreavus' mood.

The fire-pup stared oddly at Edgar for a moment, and then returned his frightened gaze to the ghost pokemon before him. {I-I-I um... fun? I don't-I mean I guess-I like to b-battle. And run. Race, I mean. I like to race. Racing is what I-I do for f-fun. Racing. I d-don't like snow very much. It-It's cold and w-wet,} he stammered, sounding quite nervous.

At that moment, Emilie walked up behind them. "The tour is starting again," she said in her usual, calm tone, sounding almost business-like, "Edgar, Arthur; be sure and stick close to the group as we move along. I can only keep one eye on you while the other is looking at ancient objects."

 

[Mika]

-OoC-

Nyu... Sorry, I was sick all weekend and we lost power abit last night with a yucky storm that resulted in a SNOW DAY. ^______________^

Alter, thanks sho much for tracking down Clow. :3 Now instruct him on how he's not to blame the RP master.

teehee. I'll post there and in Dynasty Tomorow.


-IC-

Oh god, not again! Goddamit. Why did I sleep in? STUPID NON WORKING ALARM CLOCK!

How he got dressed that morning was anything from eloquent. Practically scrambling into his layered attire of leggings, shorts, a tunic with the Poison Gym's symbol emblazened on the back and one very very very warm fuzzy purple cloak over all of the above which also bore his hometown's symbol. Bending over to snap the shiney buckles of his boots, Koji barely took any time to brush out the long locks of navy-blue hair while he was still hanging like a noodle and once he had finished his shoe-buckling, tossed his head back and quickly shoved his hair into a low ponytail, situatied the steel plated bandana (Also with your classical Poison Gym Symbol) firmly under said-ponytail and after making sure everything was the tan sling-bag that was now under his cloak, jumped out the window and made a mad crazy-person dash for the now departing group.

"Matte! Matte yo! Freakin- S-l-o-w-d-o-wn!" Yelling lightly, he managed to catch up after a few moments of his mad-man sprinting and between breathes, continued to keep the leader's pace, "Name...Koji....Slept... In... I'm...going...on this tour....I think..." Letting out an exasperated sigh, he caught his breath and tucked his fingerless but still gloved hands behind his neck and smirked, "Sorry I'm late...? I have a tendancy to do that when my ALARM CLOCK doesn't work." The words 'Alarm clock' were in direct reference to the pokeball on his left wrist, "Don't you dare hiss at me. I told you four am, not four pm! You better be happy I woke up or you'd be missing more than one of your precious little scales."

Noting he was probably being watched (If not laughed at) he chuckled and stuffed his hands into his pocket and began to walk as tho he was part of the group in the first place, "Uh, where's this tour go?"

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: You're welcome, Mika. Seriously, I'm glad that that silly situation is finally resolving. Oh, and I'll be sure to pass on the message. xD

IC:

"Matte! Matte yo! Freakin- S-l-o-w-d-o-wn!"

Upon hearing the boy's exasperated scream, the first thing Mira could do was be amazed. Her pace had hardly exceeded a brisk walk, had it? Still, the stranger was running with the frantic pace of someone who was just about to miss the last bus. And speaking of strangers, this one certainly was rather...well, strange. Okay, so he wasn't quite in Amarezoth's league, what with lacking the strange complexion, scary eyes, and funky marking, but still...it wasn't every day you saw someone with navy blue hair. Mira self-consciously ran a hand through her own black locks at the thought, vaguely registering an excuse about over-sleeping. Sure, she liked her black hair, but she was still slightly jealous of this stranger who had been gifted with such an exceptional colour. 'Then again...' she added for herself, 'For all I know it could just be a good dye job.'

Whatever the case, the rest of the boy didn't look particularly enviable at the moment as he screamed at a pokéball by his wrist, his clothes looking literarily thrown on him and his face reddened from a mixture of the sudden excercise, the cold air, and probably just plain old anger and embarassment. Were she not so personally acquainted with the pains of bad mornings, Mira would probably have burst out laughing at the sight. As it were, she managed to feign a small cough as an excuse to turn her face away and stiffle the worst of her mirth against the sleeve of her coat. The stranger soon made a relatively graceful save, however, falling casually into step and acting as if he had been there all along while asking where they were going.

"Dawnbringer's shrine." the girl replied, "Oh, and I'm Mira, by the way." she briefly considered offering him a hand to shake, but decided against it. After all, performing a handshake while walking at a decent pace and avoiding walking into anything was no small feat, so she settled for a nod instead, "Nice to meet you. Any question about the tour or the town you've got go to me." meanwhile, the question at the back of her mind kept urging her vochal cords, persistently poking, prodding, fighting to get out...and eventually suceeding.

"Oh, and if you don't mind a small question." she added, struggling with the question to the very end, "Is that...you know..." she allowed her glance to travel across the boy, noting the multiple identical symbols spread across his various clothing articles, meandering before they reached their intended target, "Is that your real hair color?"

 

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC:

As it were, she managed to feign a small cough as an excuse to turn her face away and stiffle the worst of her mirth against the sleeve of her coat.

XD I totally did that the other day at the mall! There was this guy, (he looked a little... off) talking about socks and holding a CD player stereo thingy that was blaring some radio station, who was being ushered out by the mall security. He's probably someone who needs medical treatment for some awful mental health problem... but I couldn't help noticing the humor in the situation. So I did what Mira did! ^^;

Anywhoo, that aside...


Emilie
~~~~~~~

This new person that came up to the group was interesting, to say the least. He seemed quite flustered about being late, and Emilie didn't think highly of those who put the blame on their clocks when human error was clearly the problem. If the clock had failed to alarm him at the time he entered, then the clock was indeed broken. However, it was most likely his fault if the clock was set at for incorrect time.

Arthur, who had still been pondering the Misdreavus, took this moment to look at Koji. The boy certainly was odd; why was he yelling at his watch? He tilted his head slightly, confused about it.

Edgar merely floated in silence, watching as Mira proceeded to explain where they were going.

"Dawnbringer's Shrine?" Emilie repeated, eyes darting to Mira, "Oh good. Shrines are always wonderful places to learn about. Let's press on then." She looked rather excited about this prospect; after all, this was why she was here.

 

[Nigma]

OCC: I´m wondering why everyone is writing my characters name wrong... He is called AMAREZOTH, and not AMAZEROTH.... >_<

Amarezoth watched the strange newcomer. He was looking some kind of odd, and the way he had introduced himself and added himself into the group was barely strange. Or perhaps Amarezoth just didn´t know such a kind of personality, and he was wondering about the navy blue hair. {Amarezoth... I am nearly done with unloading...} "sss.... Rrr...ight..." Amarezoth answered. The electric energy was to big and every muscle hurted. {You´re sure that´s OK?} The Raichu had the feeling that he was a great burden to his trainer. I cause him much trouble and pain. What if he doesn´t want me anymore? He small tear felled down to the ground. {Am i... A burden?...} This question shocked Amarezoth more than every shock he received ever. But he couldn´t answer because of the torture, so it was like a horror. Why was his friend asking him such a question? The sparks and thunders danced around his body.

{Why are you asking him such a question in a situation like this?} a voice behind them asked. Sphinx had arrived again, and even he made a surprised face. {I... I just thought...} The shocks ended. And Amarezoth who had walked the hole time silence by the group had to kneel down for a moment. His breath was hard and he was looking to the ground. {Amarezoth? Are you alright?} "No, not really. I feel like killing someone..." Why is it always like that. To feel better, i have to make him feel worse. The Raichu thought.

Amarezoth himself was wondering about the hole situation. Nobody had noticed that he was under electrical energy. Were they used to something like that? Perhaps everyone was avoiding him. "Uh, like everytime..." he said to himself. "Thunder?" {Ye.. Yes?} "You are feeling better again?" {Yeah...} "Very good. Then let´s hurry up to catch up to the group. I´ve gotten interested in every single person of this strange touring group." Of course he held his voice only that loud that his friends could hear him.

He stood up again and started to observe everyone. Especially Tori. He didn´t know why, but he was afraid of this boy. And his eyes. Amarezoth was fascinated about the boys eyes and afraid too. They continued walking and joined the group. Sphinx was walking by his side and Thunder was on Amarezoth´s shoulders.

 

[Ibuberu]

{Y-Yes! Of course, go ahead...}Dot hurried to say, gesturing his pincers in a circular motion as if it would help the Persian return to his trainer faster. The Parasect cringed in fear as Thunder clambered into Amarezoth's arms and began – what it looked like, anyway – shocking him. He squeaked timidly, turning around and retreating back to his own trainer's side with much haste.

Meanwhile, Rina was having a hard time replying to Hakira, what with the girl's continous talking, she could only nod and manage to say 'I see,' or 'Of course,' every now and again, recording down whatever she could remember of the older one's words in her mind so she could accurately answer them later on. Through all this, Rina still examined the Totodile in Hakira's arms with much interest, from his disgruntled look to the blue scales on his body.

The girl looked up for a moment as Mira announced that they would be leaving for the Dawnbringer's Shrine, and Hakira followed up by stating that they could walk and talk for the time being. This brought much relief to the fifteen-year-old, as she could finally gather up words to answer her white-haired friend. She acknowledged Dot with a pat on his mushroom shell as he joined her side, glancing over a shoulder as a boy with blue hair came rushing over to the group. Rina gave him a curious look as he started talking to the tour guide, before finally deciding to reply to Hakira.

"Sounds like y'did lots of stuff, eh? Well, I ain't really much for travellin' and battlin' though. Liked to sight-see here and there. But I don't think I ever wanted a trek through some big jungle."Rina had yet to even go to the Safari Zone. Why spend money when the Pokemon there were more than likely to appear across the regions? With a bit of luck, of course. The girl wasn't really enthralled by the fact that there was a time limit of some sort either.

"Misdreavus, eh?"Rina paused to look at Caroline conversing with the very terrified looking Arthur.

"She looks like she's havin' fun."the girl chuckled as she realised that perhaps, Flax would have a good time with the ghost. "I caught me some good critters too. Krabby.. Ekans.. Slugma"she counted off each of her Pokemon with her fingers, taking note that Dot might have been around long enough for Hakira to know him. "And, maybe y'can remember Dot. He was a Parasect last time, though."she rubbed the Paras affectionately on his shell as they walked on after the tour group.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Well, Nigma, if you really want to know...it's a conspiracy, we're all trying to tick you off by misspelling your character's name. Didn't think you'd catch on. :3

Nah, just kidding, of course. Really, sorry about that. The thing is that whenever I forget how to spell a character's name, I just copy it from the last post that mentioned it, so if a typo gets through it tends to stay there, 'cause I'm lazy. Really, you could just have said something sooner. It's not like anyone is doing it on purpose, you know...or are they? >D

Anyway, I've corrected all the misspellings from my posts, so it should be all good now. ^-^

IC:

Mira blinked at Emilie's comment. Sure, she enjoyed being around the Dawnbringer's Shrine, but only because of all the pretty lights and shiny things, whereas this girl...the stand-in guide couldn't help staring for the briefest moment, this other girl was actually interested in staring at old buildings and hearing all that mumbo-jumbo about how one big church father after the other built or broke this and that? Seriously, Emilie didn't look like she was much older than Mira, but still she was talking like her grandma. Mira shook her head in disbelief, this Emilie sure needed to get out more...

"Umm...yeah, I'm glad you're looking forward to it." the girl commented at last, not wanting to leave a disapproving last impression, "Allthough really, I don't want you people making a too big fuss about it. Sure, the shrine is pretty and all, but it's not like it's some huge cathedral or anything."

 

[Mika]

"My hair?" He let out a shrill laugh, "Yes it's my natural color. Oh! I almost forgot, I promised Plush I'd call her out once I caught up with the group!" smacking himself in the face, he took a pokeball off his wrist, "Plush-plush~ Come play in the snow and make new friends~" Tossing the strangely pink pokeball into the air, the most adorable piece of cuteness one could ever hope to get their hands on decended with a cute little coo and after around thirty seconds in the snow, whined her way into Koji's cloak, her little igglybuff puff (which had the cutest red ribbon in the world) and her big blue eyes the only things that managed to stay out in the yucky cold.

Papa! Ish Cold! The igglybuff whined, shivering against it's parent's sweater.

"That's why you have Papa."

Yesyes Papa an Pwush.Giggling up a storm, it looked over curiously at the tour-leader, She pwetty! Giggling more, she stuck a little paw out towards the girl and waved (Adorably one might add) Hihi hihi! Pwetty Lady name? Plush plush!!

Petting the cute lightly, Koji let out a second short laugh, "Alright alright. Shrines are good. Shrines are very good. Am I allowed to photograph the shrine or do I need to do so behind your back?"

 

[Random Plushie]

OOC:

Gosh, finally found time to make a Tori post. It takes me fifty minutes or more to make one, and since I usually don't have that much time on the computer anymore, I wait until times like now to post, when I actually have the time. Hope that wasn't too confusing..


IC:

His eyes seemed restless, never lingering on any one thing for too long. The surroundings were filled with people and their endless parade of companions, the air heavy with conversation and an accompanying breath of winter frost, delivered, of course, by the consistent, blustery wind. Tori submerged himself in his thoughts, using Mira's nearby presence to make sure that the group wasn't going to start moving any time soon.

It was such a bad decision to leave home. His mind was drifting back to Mossdeep yet again, away from icy temperatures and hazy predictions. Although I doubt she would have listened to reason if I had continued my.. attempts.. at persuasion. A sudden flash of red light to Tori's side distracted him, and it wasn't until he realized that it had been the work of a Pokeball that he shakily returned to his ponderings.

But.. I also doubt they would have led me here for no reason, Tori cast a brief glance at the two Natu on his shoulders, who had returned to silence, seeming overwhelmed in curiosity, probably over the many Pokemon surrounding them. Hoshi and Kita.. is it possible.. In his mind's eye, Tori could see the awe-inspiring Xatu once again. Were you put into my life specifically to steer me in this direction? By this point, Tori's eyes appeared entirely glazed over, as if in a daydream. I mean, considering who your..

A loud sound of some sort suddenly penetrated Tori's mind, and his train of thought was all but scattered to the winds in a matter of seconds. After a momentary wince and a check to make sure that Hoshi and Kita had not been disturbed, Tori turned toward the source of the ear-splitting 'Thank-you!,' and it seemed to be no surprise to him that Mira had been the one to produce the sound, who was hugging Reith in a very appreciative manner at that point. Actually, it seemed more like he didn't know what to think.

Tori gulped, immediately moving closer to Mira and Reith as soon as he became aware of the gap between him and the two of them. As he arrived, it seemed that Mira had just finished talking about what appeared to be a small, worn photograph that Reith had removed from his wallet. Dawnbringer's Peak? Tori blinked several times in succession, paying close attention to how Mira had referred to it as a holy place. That sounds like what people would say back home.. The thought struck Tori with a sudden question, and it wasn't until the boy had actually opened his mouth to voice it that he realized; Mira and Reith were probably talking about something that wasn't meant for him to hear.

At the sudden realization, Tori took a few steps back, hoping that he hadn't already intruded on their conversation by being there, effectively missing out on whatever else the two had decided to talk about. He sighed for a moment, closing his eyes in disappointment. He had actually had something very important to say.. well, at least he thought it was important.

Out of nowhere, something nudged Tori in the side. He turned this way and that in mild surprise, noticing--after a few moments--that the source had been a mental probe from Serenade. The tour was starting up again--the Psychic was just trying to get him moving so that he didn't get left behind. Tori's disappointment lifted--now, instead of confiding in Mira, he could go to the Kirlia.

'Serenade..'Tori called out, his mental tone dripping with concern. 'I hope I'm not bothering you, um..' He paused, hoping, more than ever, that he wasn't becoming an inconvenience. 'I just wanted to ask.. could you.. please let me know if there is anything here in Alvene that is not meant for my eyes?' His thought seemed rushed, as if Tori wanted nothing more than to be done with 'speaking' entirely. 'What I mean to say is.. um..' He paused again, as if taking great care in choosing his words.

'Back home, there used to be many sacred places that meant a lot to.. the.. native people.' At this point, Tori seemed to have calmed considerably, now that he had reached a familiar subject. 'But.. now.. those places are overrun by tourists, new roads, buildings, and other such things.. and.. it is so sad to see that few seem to care that these places are no longer treated with respect.' Tori's tempo was slow, now. Once again, his eyes had that 'glazed' look to them. 'I am filled with sadness whenever I think of these places, and the lost traditions there that are no longer honoured. I don't want anyone here to feel this way about the special places in Alvene, especially because of me. So.. let me know. If it's not.. trouble.'

Tori was so absorbed in what he was saying, he had barely registered the new arrival, much less his navy blue hair, or his frantic screaming for the group to slow down.

 

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: Dun worry Nigma, you know we love you! ^-^


Emilie
~~~~~~~

Emilie had the distinct feeling that Mira thought her opinion of the shrine odd. She had been staring at her longer than people usually did, and so the girl must have thought something odd about it. Emilie smiled at Mira's comment.

"Pretty? Well, I'm sure it is, but I'd much rather learn the stories behind it than look at it. Of course, it's probably old news to you, but to me it's quite exciting," she said kindly, attempting to explain herself a bit. She had this feeling that the girl would most likely never really understand her passion on the subject. After all, the only ones who ever did were other researchers.

At this point, Emilie glanced over at Amarezoth, curious about how the medical treatment of his Raichu was coming along. Everything seemed all right, but the boy did look a bit... off. She tilted her head a little in confusion, then turned back to her previous position.

Was Amarezoth okay? He seemed almost as if he were recovering from something, but Emilie couldn't think of what. Perhaps she would ask him if he was feeling well.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Ehh...sorry about not posting sooner, I kind of got hooked on Bleach (the anime, mind you, not the household product xP) and ended up watching a whole lot of episodes...funny how time flies, eh? Well, YouTube is rejecting me at the moment so you don't need to worry about me sneaking off anymore...for now. xD

Anyway, nice to hear that you finally got a bit of well-deserved free time, Plushie. Cheers for the post. ^-^

IC:

"Really?" there wasn't really much Mira could say to the blue-haired response, her eyes once again turning to stare at the boy (and come to think of it, what a disturbing laugh that boy had). Was he really being honest? She knew how touchy people could be about their hair, especially the ones who had something to hide in that department. Well, whatever the case, further questioning probably wouldn't serve any use, so she decided to drop the matter. Besides, the odd boy was already providing an additional distraction in mentioning something he had forgotten. Plush? What on earth was-

Mira was not even given the chance to finish the question in her mind before it was answered by the sudden appearance of...the most darling little pokémon you ever saw. Sure, the clinging little Igglybuff with her pink skin and wide, innocent eyes went so far into the realm of cuteness that she was practically poking her fluffy little head out from the other side, but on the other...Mira was a girl, in many very insultingly stereotypical ways...and despite the small part of her mind that wanted to run into the nearest shrubbery and empty the newfound contents of her stomach into it, the rest of her couldn't resist doing what girls were expected to do when something small, pink, and fluffy reached for them and let out an adorable little cry.

"Aww...she's so cute!" Mira cooed, unable to resist beaming at the little Igglybuff and reaching out a hand to pat the little dear on the head. Were it not for the very fresh and embarassing incident with Reith, she'd probably have lunged at the little thing and hugged it. Fortunately, the small - and now decidedly disgusted - voice in the back of her mind managed to persuade her from it, which was probably best for all concerned. Even a pokémon with as squishy a build as Plush would probably have sustained injuries from one of Mira's hugs.

"Now I'm kind of jealous, though." the girl added, looking back up at Koji, "Where'd you get this little cutie?" she paused, vaguely noting the question about taking photos, "Ehh...you'd have to do that behind the backs of the shrine caretakers, I'm afraid." she replied, "Pictures from the outside are okay, but if they catch you trying anything indoors you'll get in trouble like you wouldn't believe, the least of which being that they'll take your camera and probably trash it to boot." she paused, looking the weird stranger in the eye, "Some of the folks here still take their religion very seriously. Trust me, you don't want to mess with them."

The girl paused, noting that Emilie had seen fit to speak up and elaborate, "Oh, I see." she replied. It was a lie, though, she couldn't for the life of her understand someone who'd stare at old rocks and decipher musty old parchments for fun. Especially since they didn't even tend to be nice rocks or parchments. Sure, the girl had indulged in this herself now and then, but that had been in hopes of finding an old treasure trove, a means, not an end, "Yeah, I guess I can see how hearing about those things could be...exciting." her conviction was slightly better, but not much. Mira vaguely considered suggesting that Emilie would speak with her grandmother, but that would have been the last nail in the insult.

{Hmm?} Serenade immediately became more alert as Tori adressed him, moving closer to the boy as he presented his question, {Certainly...} he replied, a smile spreading on his face as he heard the request. What a considerate young man Tori was, so very concerned with not offending anyone, {What you're asking is no problem at all. Mira should know these things well, and I'm sure that the other townspeople will make it quite clear if there is something you aren't meant to see. I shall let my trainer know, just to be on the safe side.} the Kirlia paused for a moment, {How are you holding up?} he added after a while, {Such large amounts of people can be quite the strain when you aren't used to them. You don't need to respond in words if you don't want to, it's enough that you feel.}

 

[Random Plushie]

OOC:

Yes, free-time, and it's all thanks to the lovedliness that is a four-day weekend. =D Especially when that weekend includes a birthday party featuring much paintball. Painful, yes, but also very hilarious.. especially when one's mother decides to be the frontal assault in every game..


IC:


A sigh of relief managed to escape Tori's throat, and in a matter of moments, his worries subsided ever so slightly. Many confusing things were happening at once, what with the whole business of discovering his destiny, not to mention the fact that understanding these unfamiliar surroundings was the first step toward finding it. The last thing that he wanted to happen was to cause more of an inconvenience by disturbing the land that rightfully belonged to the citizens of Alvene..

'Thank.. you..' Tori nodded toward Serenade in an appreciative manner, the corners of his mouth lifting in what could only be the tiniest fraction of a smile. 'And.. um..' As for the Kirlia's last question, he cast a brief glance at the surrounding people, from Mira, to Reith, to the new arrival, then shifted his gaze back to Serenade before gathering his feelings and hoping that the Kirlia would understand: he was just glad that he hadn't caused a scene.

Meanwhile, Kita was busy squinting at Serenade, trying to figure out what could be so interesting about him that would make Tori want to talk to him. Unless of course, Tori was not communicating with him, and was just staring at the Kirlia for no reason, in which case Kita would be utterly confused. Or at least, more confused than she already was.

{Psst! Hoshi!} She called out, probably a lot louder than she had intended. Rather than give her a worded response, Hoshi gave her the infamous 'Now what?' look, commonly used among teenagers worldwide. The sister Natu briefly scanned the surrounding area with her eyes, as if someone could possibly be listening in on them, and then leaned in Hoshi's general direction, as if it would make a difference upon how well he could hear her. {Are you as confused as I am?}

{Does it ever occur to you to think about what you're about to say.. before you do things like ask me these questions!?} Hoshi resisted the urge to raise his voice, instead letting out all of his irritation through ruffling his feathers in a disoriented manner. {Besides, why would you be confused about anything? We're sitting on Tori's shoulders, admiring the view. What, pray tell, is confusing about that?}

{....}

{....}

{..Whoa, sorry I asked.}

 

[Raposa Dalua]

((Oooh, that sounds fun, Plushie. x3))

Caroline quietly squealed with delight at Edgar's comment, blushing happily. Ah~, he called her a lady! How nice, how nice! She let the thought of being called Lady Caroline wherever she went circle around in her head for a moment, then popped back to reality as she heard the quivering voice of Arrrthur answering her question. So, he liked to battle and race, but he wasn't particularly fond of the snow. She didn't feel it was a complete answer, but it worked for her, as she wasn't particularly picky about such things.

{Ooooh, so Arrrthur likes to battle, does he? Battling is quite fun, though, not so much fun as tricking. I used to think you could combine the two, but Master told me that it isn't trickery anymore once it's in battle,} she paused, {Then... then it's something called "strategy." It's a very confusing subject...} she trailed off, quickly picking up with his next hobby, {Racing is quite the delight!} she tilted her head to the side, {Though, I'm afraid I've not the ability to race any besides my fellow ghosts; the ability to phase through solid objects gives us a rather unfair advantage, don't you think?} she laughed merrily, as though the subject really didn't bother her at all, {I'd surely challenge you otherwise, perhaps in a place with less of this snow you seem to dislike so much.}

She held for a moment, peering down at the snow, seeming to get lost in its white depths, then looked up at the fire pup once more.

{Understanding your dislike of wet and cold is something I am unable to do. It has been quite awhile since I've felt anything physical; even being hit by elemental attacks in battle only provides me with mental pain and fatigue. So, you see, wet and cold are concepts that are particularly foreign to me, you see,} and though her words spoke of things that might be sad, her voice was as happy and bouncy as ever; she even had a vaguely cat-like smile gracing her features, {But Master told me once that, even if ghosts cannot feel, most had already discovered how to be warm again. By playing tricks, pranks, and such, we bring ourselves into a jovial state, a state of happiness. And happiness, she said, is the warmest feeling in the whoooole wide world~,} if possible, her smile widened further, {So, so Arrrthur, maybe you'd feel less wet and cold if you made yourself feel happier?}

~~*~~

Hakira was oblivious (or, at least, she may have been pretending to be) to the fact that she was overwhelming poor Mira as she spoke of what her life had been like, but, even if she had known, she couldn't have cared less. She loved what she did and she loved talking about it. Even if the people she spoke to weren't particularly interested, she'd tell them again and again, as many times as they did or did not want her to. To her, retelling was the same as reliving, and she reveled in the moments when people actually took interest in what she had to say about her multiple (albeit useless) adventures.

"Hah, wouldn't want to travel? Eh, with traveling, most times ya don't know if ya wanna do it until yer already on the journey, heh."

Hakira then followed Rina's gaze as she commented on Caroline, and she mentally agreed with her; the Misdreavus certainly did look like she was having fun. And that was good, because then she was doing her job right. Scare the pants off him for a good laugh all around, then be a git and go apologize. She always did that when her "twin" wasn't there to stop her. Ghost was just too darn considerate sometimes.

"Ain't perticulerly fond o' Krabby or Slugma, but Ekans is a fine choice. An', if'n it's who ya like, I can't really judge ya, eh? I got myself stuck with this stuck-up jerk here, after all," she nonchalantly pointed to Kushin, who nonchalantly replied with a very rude hand gesture he most certainly did not learn from Hakira (or so she'd insist), "An' now that you mention it, I thought that li'l bug looked kinda familiar... So that's Dot, huh?" she patted his mushroom for good measure, "I'd give ya a proper greetin', like maybe a hug, butcha look spooked enough t' have a 'Holy Crud I'm Friggin' Scared' contest with that Houndour over there, so maybe not..."

Beyond hearing the comment Hakira made about himself, Kushin was barely listening to the conversation. His attention was mostly focused on two things. One: that he didn't trip over anything while they continued their walk to the shrine, and two: what in the world was so interesting about himself that it solicited rather uncomfortable stares and observations from this Rina person? He would have liked to politely ask her if there was something stuck on his face, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise with Hakira blabbing on the way she usually did. He was startled out of his thoughts as he heard his name being spoken again, and decided it was a good time to start listening.

"By the by..." the black girl shrugged, "If there's anything ya wanna ask about Kushin, just ask. Ya seem to have taken quite an interest in the li'l bugger, can't imagine why though," she grinned, folding her arms behind her head, elbows propped up in the air, "Anythin' perticuler ya wanna know?"

 

[Ibuberu]

OOc-

Yes, that does sound fun Plushie. We usually just play Soccer, Netball for fun.(The seniors keep hogging the basketball courts.. though I'm not the appropriate height for such a sport.) And of course we have our daily craptalk with each other for entertainment. XD


IC-


"Ehhh.. Somethin' like that. I never really had a destination when I left home. I just wanted to get somewhere."Rina admitted as Hakira explained that one wouldn't really find travelling enjoyable till they tried it out for themselves. Sure, the girl believed in trying everything at least once. Excluding participation in any sports competition or rather, anything that would need her to run or work just for a gold-painted, round, metal... thing.

As Hakira commented on her earlier statement of her team of Pokemon, Rina nodded as the girl explained that one couldn't really judge another's opinion. Truthfully, she never really gave judgement to a Pokemon's looks, she usually relied on her instincts and interest in that certain creature on whether or not she would capture it or not. And, looking at her current team of a mere four, the girl gave off such a picky image. Rina missed Kushin's rude gesture while she pulled her gloves further down her arm, as Hakira reached forward to pat Dot. The Parasect froze for a moment, before relaxing his tense limbs as he felt the familiarity of the touch, giving the trainer and her little crocodile a weak smile. He looked over to the Houndour which seemed equally spooked as him about all these scary new Pokemon.

{ A-A hug?}Dot repeated, {No, no, no.. No such thing is needed.}he shook his head with haste, though fully knowing that Hakira had no idea what he was saying.

"Not really.."Rina answered as her friend shifted the conversation over to Kushin, honestly, she just liked the way the Water type looked, blue scales and all. "Though, didja' get him from that Elm guy's place? I don't remember seeing him around town last time.."the girl decided to ask anyway. She had yet to get to know Professor Elm personally, not that she really was that enthusiastic about meeting an expert in the Pokemon field, but then again, it really wouldn't hurt to just ask.

 

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: Yes, let's not get hooked on household cleaners. XD And by the way Alter...:

Happy Birthday To You~! ^-^​

*gives cake* :3 Oh... Alter, what's your favorite of the new D/P pokemon? *sneaky look*

I haven't tried paintball yet, but it always looks like such great fun! =D Yay for Plushie!

And sorry for not posting sooner, I couldn't throw together any decent writing yesterday, I was too nervous while waiting for my job interview. ^^; Hopefully they call me for a job! :3


Emilie
~~~~~~~

She nodded politely to Mira, a knowing smile causing her features to appear slightly pompous. "Oh it is. Nice talking with you Mira," Emilie said in her calm voice, "I think I'll go check up on Amarezoth now though; so if you'll excuse me...."

Emilie had seen through the faked response; the way Mira had used "I guess" in the sentence was the way of someone who was agreeing only to be polite. This didn't really bother Emilie, for she had come to the realization that not everyone was like her parents. Not everyone was up to their eyeballs in old script books and relics covered in dirt. Not everyone hooted and cried for joy when they dug up an old pokemon bone. Emilie accepted this fact just as she accepted any other fact. There was nothing wrong with acting older than your age; right? It just made her respectful and dignified.

{Happiness... is warmth?} Arthur repeated, frowning slightly, {Well, if that's true, then fear is cold... very very cold. But... lemme get this right: you don't scare people to hurt them or anything? You do it for fun? To be happy?} This was a really odd concept for the pup to grasp. He had always thought that things like that were done to scare and hurt people. He had no idea that ghost pokemon did those things so that they could be warm. He felt something glancing at him and peered over to see a rather skittish Parasect. The weird eyes... the odd mushroom back... the pokey front legs; that thing was creepy! There was something else though. Arthur could swear that he smelled fear, not his own, coming from that orange pokemon. He briefly wondered if someone else felt the same way he did. He wasn't sure about asking though, and so he turned his attention back to Caroline.

Edgar watched silently, hovering near Arthur's head. He could feel Arthur actually calming down in the presence of the Misdreavus, which he thought Emilie would sure be proud of.

 

[Nigma]

OCC: Sorry that i couldn´t post earlier!!! >_<

ALTER!!!! I WISH YOU A

>><<~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY~~>><<​

Well, let´s bring it on...

IC:

[Amarezoth?] The quirky voice of the orange mouse asked. [Amarezoth, are you feeling better already?] he asked. Sphinx joined: [Amarezoth, are you listening? We are worried. We don´t want that something happens again so... uhm... Ama?] Both looked at Amarezoth, who moved a bit... unusual. He was smiling and just ignored them. [What the... hey Sphinx, do you hear that?] A small sound was heared from Amarezoth. As they looked closely they saw that he was already listening to his new music Shera had send him. He noticed their intense looking faces.

"What´s up guys?" [That´s not fair! We wanna listen to the music too!] the Raichu yelled and jumped at Amarezoth and bite him in his ear. "Whaa! You can´t do that!" [Iww cwwann dwoo what iww wwwant....] "Ouch! No no no nooo..." His trainer answered and tried to get off the mouse. The Persian made another tricky move. Sphinx jumped in front of Amarezoth´s legs, so he fell over the big cat into the snow. All three were in a funny snow battle now. "Let off!" [I got you!] [You legs are tasty!] "Whaaa... grrr... your tail is mine..." [Nananaaaaa.... noooo....]

It sure looked something weird seeing those nearly snowballs fighting each other. Finally Amarezoth got both of them and carried them under his arms. "... so you have lost again eh?" [Just because we don´t use our attacks...] "He hehe!" Amarezoth had forgotten that they could be watched. He had forgotten about nearly everything which worried him a while ago. He had fun, that was everything what mattered. He let his Pokémon down to the ground and catched up to the group.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Aww...thanks, guys! ^-^ Sorry I couldn't manage a post today, but we (as in, me and my family) went to watch a play today and it took a good three hours alltogether. So yish, probably no ICs for me today. :3

Oh, and my absolute favourite of the D/P pokémon is Rozureido, it looks like some kind of funky superhero. xD

Anyway, yayness! Aaaand IC tomorrow. ^^

 

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: Yay! I finished the B-Day pressie! ^-^

Clickies for "Hero-in-Training: Magical Leaf"!! ^^

Now for a really tiny IC because I really have nothing to say, but I wanted to post this... XD I'll post in Showgan later today.


Emilie
~~~~~~~

Emilie walked up to what appeared to be a bumbling ball of tangled limbs and pokemon. She smiled a little as she stopped in front of them. "Having fun? I'm glad to see that the treatment for your Raichu worked out," she asked as the group righted themselves.

It was a little strange to be seeing a trainer and his pokemon act like this. Most trainers just used their pokemon for battling and brought them out for medical attention and feeding. Emilie kept some of her pokemon in their pokeballs because they became a bit difficult to keep track of. She rotated them of course, but there was Edgar, who never went into a pokeball. She only had a pokeball for him so that she could safely transport him when injured.

The girl briefly wondered if she would ever reach a point of knowing her pokemon so well that they would act like Amarezoth and his pokemon were. That probably wouldn't happen though, Emilie was far too dignified to roll around on the ground. Besides, what if one of them accidentally got hurt? No, no, it wasn't something she could do at all.