Eseka Legends: Winter's Heart

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Actually, Yoshi, they're outside the inn right now, so feel free to join into the merry little band whenever, although it's basically just Mira and Maud thus far. Oh, and possibly Amarezoth too. ^^

Also, Charon, tell your sister to stock up on Escape Orbs. If she did, these things wouldn't happen. Never leave home without an Escape Orb, I say, at least if you can help it. The MD game mechanics are liable to screw you over at any given moment with a random monster house or critical hit. :O

IC:

'Disco?' Mira hastily stiffled a laugh at the thought of a disco in the calm of Alvene - feigning a sudden coughing fit to cove it up. The town was mostly populated by old and conservative people, after all, and even the production of the more traditionally styled bands like Night Shade was enough to send most of the senior populace into an uproar, with Dahlia Tanglebrook at the very front. She couldn't even properly picture the reaction to an establishment that made a living of playing even louder music, especially at late hours. It was decidedly humours, though.

"Sorry." she replied, "But there's not a disco to be found for miles. You might not have noticed, but a lot of the people around here are rather...old fashioned. Besides, we're a bit careful with the noise levels around here because of those." she nodded towards the mountain chain in the distance, "We'd rather have all that snow looking pretty up on the mountain tops than down on our heads, you know? We've got a spa, though, it's all the way on the eastern edge of town, but I think the owner has closed down for the holidays. You could try the inn, though, they've got hot water and I'm sure you can reach some kind of agreement."

 

[Nigma]

Amarezoth noticed the nearly laugh by that girl. His eyes looked carefully at her and got a lightly cold touch. Even if i notice much, i didn´t think all the time that this is an old styled town. Actually we just arrived yesterday evening... "Well, i just arrived yesterday evening so i couldn´t gather much informations about the city." he started growling. "Perhaps you can tell me about this town and show me the city..." he gave his Pokémon a naughty vista.

{Ungh... i didn´t think about it too. So.. sorry.... } The mouse started. {You don´t have to look like this, or I´ll throw a snowball into your face.} the Persian said. Because Amarezoth didn´t want that somebody thought curious about him, he didn´t answer. {Perhaps we should do a nice tourist tour eh? This girl seems to know much about this town, even if she doesn´t look like that.} Thunder meant smirking. {Don´t speak to loud, there are other Pokémon nearby...} {And no word about the Team, you know. I am not interested in being pursued.} {Alright. I did understood Mr. faultfinder...}

Amarezoth turned and kneel down to his friends. He whispered "If you both aren´t silent about this, it will need more than a snowball in my face to stop my rage. So please hold it back..." He stroked the heads of his Pokémon and turned around again to await the answer from the girl about the sightseeing tour he asked about. {He didn´t do that in a while...} the Persian purred. The purr could be heared by everyone, and even the mouse gave him a funny look. {Somewhat louder and you are imitating a chainsaw...} But even the Raichu felled good getting a stroke.

 

[Charon]

It wasn't long before the two girls were approached by another stranger; this one, a tall, almost egyption looking boy, accompanied by both a Raichu and a Persian. Hermione gave them a sympathetic look; after all, she had her fire to keep herself warm, and heat the air around her. They must be ever so cold! She supposed Mira's Kirlia was used to it; at least, the old thing wasn't complaining. Hermione was very wary of him; he seemed so... old, and very proper.
Maud had remained silent while Mira - what a pretty name that was! - explained to this poor stranger, who looked very out of place in Alvene, that were was neither a public bath nor a disco. Maud couldn't help but smile.

"So.. are you here with family too?" she ventured to the boy. "I was dragged along by my family," she continued, talking now to both of them, "and I had no idea what to expect. My parents only gave me the brochure on the plane over...." here both she and her quilava pulled identical disgusted faces, as if to show how little they approved of her mother's dextrousness.
Maud was about to continue, when she caught sight of a boy not far away. He seemed to be listening in to their conversation; his expression was that of concentration. Maud bowed her head, and gazed up at this boy from beneath the rim of her hat, praying he wouldn't notice her attention. The boy was certainly unusual in appearence; his hair was a stark, bone-white, and his eyes were a wonderful shade of blue. Maud found herself staring. An albino, was her first thought, but no... they have awful eyesight, he'd be wearing glasses...
A jab on the leg from Hermione brought her back to reality. Hermione's right, she thought, I can't just stare! What a spaz I must seem... Maud swallowed, and stepped forward. She put a hand lightly on the boy's forearm.

"'Lo there," she said, feeling remarkably brave, "were you listening in?" Maud paused as realisation struck. How rude that sounded! "No, I mean.... I wasn't..." she glanced desperately at Mira for help. She had intended to invite him into her conversation; after all, he was probably new here too. Of course, Maud had manged to put her foot in her mouth in the mean time.

{Um, Maud?} Hermione tapped her on the leg again, dragging Maud from her thoughts, {A little help, please?} Maud glanced down at her pokemon, only to see her standing in a large puddle. The quilava was lifting up her feet, an anxious look on her face.

"Oop, sorry!" Maud exclaimed, and scooped up her pokemon. The fire-type curled into Maud's arms like a cat, her fire sending a warm glow washing over the upper-body of both her trainer and the other teenagers.

{ooc| I know Reith's a local, Maud just isn't that perceptive...}

 

[Nigma]

"Yes i am here with my family. My friends - " he said while he made a gesture to his Pokémon "- are the only family i have. But you which came with your family don´t look like you aren´t having fun with your family together. So why aren´t you by your family?" then he noticed that the girl was looking into another direction. He followed her look and saw a boy that looked like an albino. "Wow..." I have never seen somebody like that. He became aware that the boy was listening. "Just don´t stand over there, come here and join us." he said in a calm voice.

{Sphinx?} {What?} {You look very... weird. Like a black spot in this snow area.} the Raichu said. He was right. Sphinx was as black as the night and this wasn´t normal because the other Persians had a "normal" fur color. He started to clean his fur. {And what do you want to tell me? Our Egyptian ornaments in our faces are as remarkable as my fur color.} Sphinx answered. {You are right. By the way, when does the tour start?} "The girl will show us soon." Amarezoth said to them silent.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Nyah, actually if I recall Reith's history he hasn't been in town for years, so Mira probably wouldn't know that he's from around there either (Seeing as how she was just a little kid back then), although of course Reith could remember her. xD Oh well, that's Kogenta's call, not mine. ^^

Btw Nigma, Mira never really laughed since she let it out with a fake cough. Still, Amazeroth could just have seen through that and figured out that she was about to laugh, so I guess it amounts to the same.[/Prick Mode]

IC:

Mira couldn't help raising an eyebrow at the way the new boy growled all of a sudden. Sure, it was kind of rude to laugh like that but she did do her best to keep it in, and it wasn't like he had been very polite either. After all, the boy had taken one look at the guide badge and gone straight to asking questions without as much as introducing himself, and now he seemed to be trying to order her to show him around. Apparently she had a real charm school dropout on her hands here.

{Mira.} Serenade scolded wearily, {Don't say anything rash. The boy's a foreigner, not everyone has the same social conventions as we do.}

'That's no excuse for being rude.' Mira shot back, 'But fine, I'll play nice, for now...'

{That being said.} the Kirlia continued, turning his attention to Amazeroth's pokémon, particularly the Persian {I would suggest that you don't hurl around such insulting remarks so lightly.} the psychic type's eyes narrowed, {You may be guests in this town, but that doesn't give you the right to ignore proper social conduct. My trainer is doing this job out of her own good will, so the least you could do is to avoid insulting her intelligence. Furthermore...}

'And he tells me to watch what I say...' Mira thought for herself, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as Serenade embarked on one of his more intricate moral lectures, glad not to be its target for once as she turned back to the conversation. Maud seemed to have taken up on that, though, so she decided to keep quiet for a while. This silence didn't last long, however, as the girl suddenly decided to involve another person in the conversation, a boy, this one, or possibly even young man, with decidedly white hair. Even though Mira didn't recognize the boy, he seemed to have a strangely composed air about him, not at all like the usual tourists. He almost seemed...at home in the town.

Mira didn't have much time to ponder further on this, however, as Maud spoke up and...the girl flinched sympathetically, her new acquintance certainly had a way with words; one sentence and she had already managed to accuse the stranger of eavesdropping and embarass herself completely.

"Umm..." the girl stepped forward, "I think what she meant to say was would you like to join into the conversation?" she took a brief pause - yeah, that approach would probably do - "I mean, you were standing on the sidelines for quite a bit, weren't you? If there's something you want to ask or something I could help you find then I can try to help. No need to be shy about it. Helping visitors out is what I'm supposed to be doing, anyway." she managed a fairly nice smile, although it turned a bit half-hearted as her stomach took the opportunity to remind her of its emptiness.

 

[Nigma]

occ: Sorry alter.

"I am sorry to be so rude. I didn´t watch my words. My name is Amarezoth. Amarezoth Azamir. So could you show us this beautiful town if you can find the time?" Amarezoth tried a new start. Damn. That wasn´t nice Amarezoth. He thought.

The Persian turned to meet sight with the Kirlia. {I am very sorry for insulting.} he begun serious. {We are still excited from our adventure we had yesterday by finding this city, so please accept my excuse. We are guests and we have to behave decent. Even we haven´t seen Pokémon and humans since 3 month. I repeat, please accept our excuse.} It´s true. We shouldn´t have been away from cities that long. It´s just to expected that we´ve gotten a handicap. The Raichu joined the conversation. {I have to apologize as well. We didn´t want to be blessing.} It was obvious that the both Pokémon were surprised. They had never seen a psychic type so they were impressed. This Pokémon is skilled i guess. That´s exciting. I want to know more about him... Sphinx thought. The Raichu had his own thoughts. This Pokémon is kind of... eerie. And Sphinx has this "i want to know everything" look in his face. That will be kind of boring. Maybe this girl knows how we can do something in this town.

"What kind of activities except snowboarding and such stuff can be done in this town?" Amarezoth asked the girl. He took his sunglasses away so his eyes could be seen. Would be better to take these off. He had a bad feeling about being rude. Perhaps he was used to it, because of this Team Rocket. But he tried hard to be something like normal. He knew he had unusual eyes, but it would be the best to meet the girls view with his eyes instead of the distancing sunglasses. Now everyone could take a look at his Egyptian descent. His eye rims had some ornaments in black which gave the outlandish look the best way.

 

[Miss Kaeldra]

[( Sorry, but I must withdraw. Not that it will leave a huge mark or anything, seeing as I have not interacted with others yet. It seems everyone posts while I am asleep, and I can't keep up with that. And yada yada yada. But I do like the role play so far, and everyone is doing so well! Good luck to all ^^! )]

 

[YoshiRiRu]

OOC: Alter, if it's going to move this fast while I'm asleep.. You're posting at like, 3 AM for me.. in which I'm generally not awake. I'll give it a few more days, but this makes it hard to interact with people when by the time I can post they've gone and moved on. :(

IC:

Artemis stood outside of the inn's back door, his warm breath mixing with the cold air to create a slick fog. His belt firmly strapped to his waist, he selected a Pokeball, plucked it from the belt, and tossed it to the ground, where it exploded in a flash of white light. When the light receded, Smoochum stood, looking positively flushed. Her makeup was still streaked, and the photo of the Pokemon she'd "fallen in love" with was clutched very tightly in her left hand. Artemis smiled sympathetically, and dropped to one knee, semi-conscious of the slowly melting slow soaking his knees.

"Hey.. C'mon. Cheer up. We're only going to be here for a couple weeks, and then you'll be able to see Percy again, I promise." he said softly. Smoochum looked up, genuine sadness leaking from her eyes. But then, she nodded, wiped her eyes with one small hand, and smiled as best she could.

<Thanks, Artemis.> she said, and ran towards him and hugged his knee. Artemis grinned, and stood up, placing Smoochum squarely on one shoulder, where she held a point of great view. As he turned, and began to walk towards the house, he first heard, then saw a group of people. 2 girls, and a boy, from what it looked like. Smoochum squealed with glee.

<Ooooh! Peeeeeeople!> she cooed, rocking back and forth on his shoulder, and nearly falling off. <Let's go meet them!> she squealed and grabbed onto Artemis' head in a pleading whine. <Pleasepleasepleaseplease?>

"I.. I dunno. They seem kinda busy, I mean.." he tried to begin, but Smoochum began to squeal again.

<Pleeeeeeeeeeasee!?> she whined, and she began to sniff, which threatened tears.

"Okay, okay.. fine. Let's go." Artemis grumbled, incontent. He didn't know how much he liked these people yet. Guess I'll find out. he thought to himself as he walked over.

As he got closer, he got a better look at the people in the little band of people. The one closest to him was a girl. She seems pretty irritated. Artemis thought to himself. She had dark hair.. like, really dark. Darker than anyone Artemis had seen around this area. Her skin was pretty dark for this area too, come to think of it.

The other girl looked more like she belonged around here. She had lighter hair, and a rather cute hat with Fireballs all over it.

<I like her hat!> whispered Smoochum pointing at the girl, still perched on Artemis' shoulder.

The last guy was... intimidating, to say the least. A huge guy, who obviously wasn't from here.

<He looks like one of those.. um.. pyramid guys.> said Smoochum, scratching her head. She was right. The boy definitely had an Egyptian tinge to him. Tall, dark, and.. tall. Very tall.

Artemis gave up gawking, and stepped towards the little circle, trying to be as quiet as possible. He listened to their conversation for a minute.. and then spoke.

"Um, excuse me.." he began lamely. He wanted to go with them, but he didn't just want to say that.. He looked quickly around for a solution. Thankfully, his eyes settled on the badge of the black haired girl. "Oh, are you running a tour?" he asked, his fingers crossed for good luck. "My uncle told me.." he stopped, and motioned towards the inn. "..he runs that inn.." he looked back at the girl. "...he told me to look out for badges like that." He finished, even more lamely then he began.

 

[Kogenta]

[OOC: I am sorry you are leaving, Miss Kaeldra. ^-^;; Admittedly, I have needed to do the same with several roleplays I have participated in. But I hope I will be able to RP with you in the future. ^-^

As Alter Ego said, Reith only re-arrived in Alvene recently. ^-^;; Since Reith left Alvene before he was a year old, and Reith and Mira have a two year age difference, they probably never met, though.]

Reith laughed reassuringly as Maud began to stumble over her words, indicating he had not been offended. For a fleeting moment, the youth's blue eyes glimmered like clear gems in candlelight as his gaze passed over those present, for the first time fully taking everyone in. Dark hair and purple eyes . . . interesting. A firm stance, indicating he has endured harsh experiences and emerged somewhat guarded, yet apparently confident in his abilities. And that girl--even without her guide badge, she does appear to be a local, though somehow a little different. In some ways, she reminds me of-- Reith's thoughts were interrupted as he returned his gaze to Maud and her Pokemon. Seeing the girl's Quilava being lifted from a small pool of water, he asked, "Is your Pokemon alright?" Before he could expect a response, the two other participants of the conversation invited him to join them.

After a slight pause, Reith nodded amiably and moved a few paces closer to the three trainers. "Thanks," he began before continuing after a moment of silence, "and sorry about listening to the conversation. You see, I was trying to figure out if anyone around here knew where I might find a friend I lost." Here a smile more apologetic than cheerful crossed his features. "So I guess I really am looking for something after all." Reith then fell quiet as another boy and his Smoochum approached, turning to listen to the trainer speak.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Amen to Kogenta's statement, Miss Kaeldra. I know the feeling, though, so you're not the only one. This is what usually happens when you've got large amounts of RPers (Which is why I prefer to stick to my quotas :\): when the RP starts there's always a surge of posts if the RPers are competent, so it's easy to get lost. It should pass in a couple of days, though, so try to hang in there, people. ^^

IC:

Mira smiled, relived that the white-haired boy didn't seem to have taken offense. What struck her, however, was that the way he looked at her for a moment seemed...odd somehow. The girl had half a mind to ask about it when she was suddenly faced with another multi-tasking situation, courtesy of the first boy apologizing for his behaviour and introducing himself, the white-haired one explaining his reason for eavesdropping, and - to top it all off - the appearance of a third boy, this one accompanied by a Smoochum, all of these events happening in a rate too fast for her to react to.

"Okay..." Mira said slowly, raising both her hands a bit in what she hoped was a calming gesture, "One at a time, please, I'm just a stand-in guide, you know." she took a deep breath, trying to figure out a fairly logical order of working things out.

"Never mind about the rudeness thing." she replied to Amazeroth, "I wasn't exactly at my friendliest either." she turned around, trying to still down the anxieties building up inside her. Granted, she didn't have any problem talking with people one on one or even being in large crowds, but having a large group of people all fixing their attention on her was a bit unnerving. Mira cleared her throat a bit, "Everyone. A little attention please?" she took a pause, partly to take one last deep breath before what would probably turn out to be a longer speech, and partly to let everyone's attention gather.

"First off..." she began "...my name is Mira, in case anyone is wondering, and yes..." she nodded to Artemis, "...your uncle was correct, this is a guide's badge and yes, it does mean that I'm supposed to show you all around, but I'm going to have to prioritize here..." she paused for a bit, biting her lip - a bad habit of hers that she had never managed to get rid off - as she tried to sort out the rest.

"Right, I'm going to start off with you." she turned to face Reith, "You mentioned you were looking for someone, right? I think I can do something about that. Hang on..." the girl reached beneath her sweater, procuring the remaining pokéball, "Genki. Go!" in a flash of light, a smallish - if rather chubby - Swinub appeared in the middle of the little circle that had formed, taking the collective stares of the crowd with complete calm...in fact, the pig pokémon could very well have been asleep on its feet. This was finally disproven, however, as the ground type's nose briefly twitched, his whole body becoming a mass of small, subtle motions as he took in the new scents. He soon reverted back to a passive state, however, as he didn't seem to find what he had been looking for.

{No food.} Genki stated in a slightly melancholy voice.

"Right." Mira remarked, turning her attention back to Reith, "This little guy is Genki, although I guess you all already realized that. If you've got something on you that smells like your friend, I'm sure he can track down whoever it is in no time. Don't let his appearance fool you..." she added, "...he's an excellent tracker." the girl turned back to adress the group as a whole again, "Now I'm sure you've all got places you want to go to, right? Unless it's really urgent then I'll have to ask you to wait until the people-tracking issue has been sorted out." she smiled apologetically, "I hoped that's okay with you all. Oh, and you all might as well pitch in with the search since the sooner that is done the sooner I can lead you to wherever you want to be. Any questions?"

'Well...that went well enough, I suppose.' she thought for herself, realizing that her throat felt very dry after all the talking, 'But still...Isa, you're so going to pay for this once I get my hands on you.'

 

[Random Plushie]

As he stepped outside, Tori couldn't help but notice the immediate drop in temperature, wincing a bit as the wind picked up. His green eyes darted around as the wind blew, barely noticing the noise of the crowd around the Pokemon Center over the gale force. It was very harsh here, the wind. Harsh, unforgiving. He felt both Hoshi and Kita react to the icy cold, the two of them sitting down on his shoulders so that the warmth of their feathers would reach their unprotected feet.

Tori rubbed his hands together absentmindedly, his gaze flicking from the chaos of the Piloswine incident, to the snow-covered buildings on all sides. Now was the time to start looking for the "roots" of his future, if it was even in Alvene, anyway. Tori couldn't help but look back at the magnificient mountains in the distance--so grand, and yet, probably just as unforgiving as the winds, despite how beautiful they were. For all he knew, his future could lie anywhere beyond the city's limit. After all, Hoshi had pointed to 'Eseka,' not Alvene specifically.

{Oh, look!} Kita piped up suddenly, alerting Tori to the stranger in front of them. {That girl thinks we want to talk to her! And look, that little Parasect is saying 'hello' to us! How delightful.} Kita finished, tilting her head with a smile. {Hello, little Parasect!} She exclaimed, waving one of her minute wings. On Tori's left shoulder, Hoshi had put on his "irritated" look again, turning to face Kita, despite being blocked by Tori's head.

{How many times do I have to tell you! People are perfectly capable of hearing you!} Hoshi squawked, flapping his tiny wings continuously. {Honestly!} The little one settled down as he finished his last exclamation, ruffling his feathers a bit before he turned forward again, so that he was facing the blonde girl and her Parasect. {Do excuse my dear sister. She's a bit..} Hoshi trailed off, shaking his head. {..never mind.}

Meanwhile, Tori had unconsciously taken a step away from the girl, trying not to make eye contact with her. She had coal black eyes--so difficult to read. While Hoshi and Kita had no problem talking, he found himself unsure of what to say. Can't talk.. Everything will come out wrong if I talk.. She won't understand me.. "Um.. um, no." He said, doing his best to answer the girl's question, looking at the snowy ground as he did so.

With that, Tori was about to make every effort to walk away as quickly as possible, when a thought struck him. Perhaps she knows her way around. Tori forced himself to look the girl in the eye, hoping that she was still listening after his earlier statement. I need.. to know where I'm going, if I want to find my future. The boy closed his eyes, and took a deep breath while he thought, trying to find the right words to say.

"A-Actually.." Tori began, taking more deep breaths to calm himself down. "..Do you know.. your way.. around Alvene?" As he finished, Tori's entire being seemed to droop slightly, and he sighed in frustration. I wish I knew why people think so much of the opinions that others have on them. Kita was the only one who reacted to Tori's words, turning her gaze on the blonde girl, awaiting her response with curiousity in her eyes.



OOC:

Dear me, I almost forgot to reply to Miss Kaeldra. ;o; I have to say I'm sorry to hear that.. truly I am. Because.. you know.. everyone posts while I'm sleeping, too. xD Except for you, Yibber and Kogenta. :3 Most times. So yes, I hope it'll work out better in the future..

 

[Kogenta]

"Thank you," Reith told Mira as he slipped Kasen's Pokeball into his hand and his smile warmed. "Even if you're a stand-in in guide, seems whoever chose you for the job chose well." As he knelt in the snow beside the Swinub that had been introduced as Genki, the trainer heard Mira say something that caused him to glance up. His expression now apologetic, Reith explained, "I'm sorry. I guess I've given a wrong impression. My friend isn't a person--she's a Pokemon. A Ponyta, actually. Still, Kasen's never been alone before, so I was pretty concerned." I wonder if I've caused everyone unneccessary trouble . . . I hope not. The guide does seem a little stressed. Reith's gaze flitted over the features of those present, human and Pokemon alike. Though he knew he would never be able to remember their faces, knowing their current reaction to his statement would determine his next course of action.

After allowing the others a moment to deliberate, Reith asked a question addressed to any who would be willing to answer. "Is that alright?" Using the back of one hand, the male pushed a few strands of white hair that had been rearranged by a passing breeze to the side of his face, as he assured them, "I understand you're all busy and have things you want to do, so either way it's good with me."

 

[Raposa Dalua]

Ah. It sure was a grand, lovely, absolutely wonderful morning... in some place that, currently, wasn't located in the same spot as Alvene. After all, who could think of a place with blistering cold air, freezing snow, and no disco club as anything but the most boring, completely not worth going to place in the world? Clearly, this was no place that anyone in their right mind would willingly travel to, especially with the reports of the continually dropping temperature, with the wind chill only making things worse. So, of course, this would be an ideal location for Hakira.

This crazy black chick had been up since six AM (she was quite the morning person), scampering about in her room at the Inn, washing up and having herself a decent breakfast (Cheerios, baby!). The minute she was finished preparing for the day she was instantly outside, without so much as a single moment of hesitation, basking in the not-so-warm glow of the rather small bonfire as it was reflecting shattered bits of light into the surrounding snow. It only took about five minutes for her to become bored with that. She stood and deposited her now empty mug of hot chocolate near the door to the Inn, and set off to wandering about the town; she'd remember to pick the mug up when she came back later, it was of little importance right then.

It didn't take long for her to find exactly what she was looking for. A clearing not too far from the Inn itself, completely free of anything but the snow that covered it. Grinning like a young boy that knows he's about to unwrap his beloved Red Ryder Bee-Bee Gun, she made a beeline for the untouched territory, letting loose a rather disgruntled Kushin in the process. Bright red energy curled and waved up into the form of a Totodile sleeping in midair, and he didn't quite realize he'd been materialized into the outside world until he had a face full of snow to contend with. The little alligator snarled up at her indignantly as he brushed snow off his multi-toothed jaws, clearly unhappy with his rather rude awakening. Hakira only grinned at him as she began molding up snow in her white gloved palms, making the base of what would eventually be a snow creature of some sort; of what she wasn't quite sure yet.

"Oh, come off it. Ya promised you'd help me make snow critters an' all, though I bet it'd be askin' a bit much if you were t' smile while doin' so," he glared at her, his gold eyes glinting dangerously, "Yeah, I'll keep my part o' the bargin, ya won't hear hide nor tail o' the twins all day, that I swear. It's Christmas after all, so I suppose it'd be our gifts to each other, eh?"

He sighed in resigned agreement; despite the fact that he considered it way too early in the morning to be doing anything besides sleeping somewhere warm, he just couldn't pass this chance up. A whole entire day without being bothered by those double-trouble Misdreavus was like a dream come true, and he definitely didn't want to mess it up.

"When we're done, this one'll look jus' like you, 'cept it'll be smilin' so it won't look like you at all."

Another sigh.

It took about two grueling hours of snow sculpting until Hakira was completely satisfied with her work. The snow level in the clearing was considerably lower at that point, and around four or five "snow critters" sat in place. There was, of course, the grinning Totodile (highly uncharacteristic), the ever spectacular Misdreavus (complete with a mischievous facial expression), a rather flighty looking Togetic, among others. Each had been carefully frozen, down to the finest detail, so that things like arms and wings wouldn't fall off due to the weight. Kushin ignored his trainer's taunts about his carefulness with the sculptures; he especially ignored her comment about his need to be more attentive and artistic like that in battle. He was lucky; she was so occupied with making fun of him that she didn't notice two smaller sculptures of his own making entirely, each no bigger than about two fists. They were of Cynda and Chika respectively, and though they were the smallest of the bunch they were clearly the best made; each detail carved and shaped exactly as he remembered it, until it was as if they were really there, and had just shrunken in size. He lingered for a moment, feeling strangely nostalgic as he stared at them, before he scampered off to follow Hakira, who had already turned to head for the Inn.

Upon her return she noticed a sort of group had accumulated outside the entrance, each person standing around what looked to be some kind of important official not much younger than herself. Hoping that the kids surrounding her might be getting in some sort of trouble, she ambled over to listen in on the conversation. What she found out was quite boring; the "official" was simply a temporary guide, and the people surrounding her were either looking for a good conversation or were there for the tour. Finding she had little else to do, and hoping that, since the guide was a teenager, she would actually know some good and interesting information about Alvene itself, she decided to hang around and go on this supposed tour. Kushin appeared to be less than thrilled at this notion - he would've much rather gone inside for a well deserved morning nap - but it couldn't be helped. Just as long as she didn't attempt to start toting him around on her head again, he was fine with a little bit of traveling.

((Of course, Hakira didn't hear all of the conversation, so she isn't aware of the search or anything like that. Feel free to bug her for help or interrogate her. ^_^; ))

 

[Ibuberu]

OOc-

Don't worry Miss Kaeldra, I'm faced with the same problem usually. Everyone posts at around 4am here, excluding Plushie, Kogenta and Raposa. X3 Hope we get a chance to RP together the next time round, yup. ^^;



IC-


Rina raised an eyebrow as she realised that Tori had taken a step away from her, her eyes somewhat indifferent as he replied to her with a 'no', sounding much like Dot. The odd boy simply refused to look her in the eyes, for whatever reason, the girl didn't really give much of a thought. Her intuition ordered her to root herself to the ground, to wait for who knew what.

{Little?}the bug repeated the word to himself, clasping his claws together as Hoshi proceeded to tell Kita that she was speaking quite loudly, causing the timid Parasect to blink one eye as he ruffled his feathers in what looked like frustration. {N-No!! Don't worry! I-It's fine!}Dot hastened an answer as the Psychic type turned to him and his trainer.

The girl decided to open her half lidded eyes, showing that she was alert and paying attention to Tori as he started to speak up again after a moment of thought, even though the Natu on the left seemed to be more attentive than the boy himself. "Ahh, no, not really. I just got here yesterday,"she drew a breath and released it slowly before continuing, "Though, there seems to be some sorta' tour group gathering."Rina nodded her head to the Inn, pointing out the group of six. Come to think of it, when did the other boy, girl, Smoochum and Totodile join?

The girl with silvery white hair and dark skin seemed vaguely familiar to her, the trainer recalled seeing someone like that back in Azalea a few years ago. Rina mentally brushed it off, returning to the blonde boy. "Don't really like groups, though."she fell silent when she realised that was nothing else to say.

{B-But Rina, I-I think it'd be better than h-hanging around here.. we don't really have anywhere to go..}her Parasect said weakly, raising one pincer to catch her attention. Dot then allowed his trainer to register his words into her mind.

Rina raised her eyes to the sky and exhaled a deep sigh. "Ahh well.. Nothing to lose now, is there?"she told herself, nodding to show agreement with the statement. She fixed her gaze onto the large group, the white haired boy now talking to the tour guide. The girl took one slow, deliberate step before pausing.

"... You coming? Can't really find your way if you don't know where you're headed,"she was directing the question to Tori, " Tho' I usually go where I feel like, something's just telling me that we should really go over there," she found herself waiting for him, her eyelids falling halfway once again. The boy was so quiet, something in her gut telling her that she couldn't leave him alone for now, perhaps, it was just maybe because that he reminded her so much of how Dot was earlier on, before the Mushroom Pokemon gained a tinge of self confidence. The girl absentmindedly tapped her right earring with a gloved finger so that it swayed briefly in a passing breeze of wind, this in turn causing her to realise that she had yet to introduce herself to the young boy. Though usually, she would save introductions for a later time, the cold must've been getting to her, since she felt the sudden urge to take a short step back and hold her hand out in a warm greeting.

"Ahhh, always slips my mind,"she shook her head slowly, "Name's Rina."she introduced herself before gesturing to the Parasect beside her,"An' this's Dot, my best friend."

{H-Hello, nice to meet you!}he winced once before raising a pincer to the boy and his two Natu, the Bug type's gaze directed on Hoshi and Kita more than Tori.



OOc-

Hmm, since they come for the same town, Rina should have seen Hakira once or twice before, Azalea's not the biggest of towns, after all. XD

 

[Charon]

{ooc| Sorry, I'm only posting so early because it's the school holidays! Normally I post around 3 PM, GMT.}

Maud glanced down at her Quilava at Reith's question. "You're fine, right?" she asked the pokemon. The Quilava laughed coarsely at this.

{Far from it, Maudie! I'm soaking! The ground melts when I stand on it! I'm cold! And Lysander's in his ball! I am not fine!} she declared indignantly. Maud blushed, and put her hand over the fire-type's mouth. Hopefully no one would have understood her, but then again, quilavas were common-enough pokemon. Hermione always got nervous when she was away from Lysander, but today she was uncomfortable and missing her 'brother'. Maud didn't dare release her arcanine here, though; he was far too big, at just over six foot, and very aggressive when the safety of his trainer and Hermione might be in doubt. Annoyingly, 'strangers' came into that last category.

"Yeah, she says she's fine," Maud blustered, before shooting her pokemon a glowering look. Humour me, Maud mouthed at her pokemon almost pleadingly. Everyone else seemed preoccupied with finding Reith's ponyta; hopefully no one would have noticed Hermione's outburst.

She shot a smile at the boy who had just arrived. He was relatively handsome, with sandy hair and warm brown eyes, and he had a odd little pokemon on his shoulder - all hair and eyes - that Maud had never encountered before. She had seen them on tv, of course - they were called 'smoochies', or something similar - but never up close. Hermione, meanwhile, shared none of Maud's interest, in the boy or the pokemon. She was quite busy 'stewing', as Maud's mother would have called it, her expression sullen.
"Cheer up, Ermy," Maud told her, "it's not that bad."

 

[Alter Ego]

"Oh, it's nothing really." Mira replied at Reith's remark, unable to resist feeling proud about it all the same.

Serenade's mouth curled up into a slight smile at this, for all her claims of the opposite, Mira's ego really was rather frail, and she certainly welcomed any chance to bolster it, intentional or no. It was also an excellent way to keep her from remembering the less pleasant parts of the morning, which was definitely a good thing. Apparently the girl had filled her morning grumpiness quota for the day.

"So...it's a pokémon you were looking for?" Mria echoed, feeling slightly embarassed about the misunderstanding, "Well..." she persisted, "...I still think it's a serious thing. I mean, a Ponyta out here all on her own isn't exactly safe. Why something as simple as a minor snowstorm could be enough to put her in serious trouble..." she paused, casting a glance at the continuously clear sky, "...not that we're likely to get one any time soon, but still."

{I concur.} Serenade remarked, {There are simply too many risks out there for a lonely fire type.}

Genki didn't join in however, as there was something more important preoccuping his thoughts at the moment, specifically the boy who was currently crouching down to his level and...holding something out? The little pig's nose twitched a bit, finally someone was taking the hint and providing a well-deserved snack.

"Uhh..." Mira began, noticing the familiar expression - well, if you could call it that - on the ground type's face, "You might not wanna'..."

She never got the time to finish the sentence, however, as Genki reached forward and took a tentative bite of the pokéball. Luckily, the Swinub hadn't bitten too hard, and his fangs had done little more than placed a few, faint scratches on the surface. The object itself, however, was now hosting a fair amount of Swinub spit, which wasn't exactly the most pleasant of substances.

"Sorry about that." Mira apologized, "I forgot to warn you...Genki usually assumes that anything you offer him is food. Genki?" she turned to the Swinub, "We need you to smell that and find anything else that smells the same, okay?"

{No snack?} the pig pokémon asked, letting out a faint sigh, {I can't really find anything without a snack...}

"I'll give you something after you've found that thing for me." the girl replied.

The ground type pondered it for a moment, {Will there a whole package of that something?} he finally asked.

"I..." Mira felt like sinking through the ground. There was a Ponyta missing in the snow and a tour group to guide and here she was, haggling with her own pokémon, "Fine." she whispered at last, "I'll give you a whole package, you little extortionist, but only a small one, and only after you've found what I'm looking for."

{Fine.} the pig pokémon replied, {Don't know why you'd want to find any more of that stuff, though.} he wrinkled his nose, {It's hard and it tastes awful. You're so weird at times.} he took a few whiffs of odor from the pokéball, his nose twitching at an incredible rate, before he began sniffing the immediate area for a similar smell, immediately settling on pointing it towards the North-East side of town, the small feet - invisible beneath the fur - suddenly sprining into motion as the Swinub began moving at a surprisingly fast pace.

"Come on!" the girl called out to the others, gesturing for them to follow, "I think he's caught the scent."

{You don't have anything to complain about by the way.} Genki remarked to the Quilava in Maud's arms, {At least you don't have to work for your food.}

"Say..." Mira added, noticing a new girl at the outskirts of the group whom she seemed to have missed earlier - Genki had slowed down his movement to a relatively average walking pace, not to mention that his nose sniffed loudly all the time, so it wasn't really hard to keep track of him so the girl once again had eyes for her surroundings - "...I didn't see you there. I take it, you're another visitor who wants to be taken somewhere? If you are, then I'm afraid it will have to wait a bit." she smiled apologetically, "As you might have heard, we've got a bit of a situation with a lost Ponyta here."

 

[Random Plushie]

Hoshi would have raised an eyebrow at Dot's statement if he had one. Sadly, that was not the case, and the Natu resorted to making a sound that somewhat resembled a snort. {It's fine?} Hoshi repeated, his gaze intensifying. {We'll see how long you stick around her while thinking everything is fine.} And with that, he nodded firmly, although he did not do so much as smirk. After a few moments, the Psychic-type turned to his sister. {What, nothing to say?}

{No~!} Kita instantly replied, with a bit of a song in her voice. {You're too negative all the time, so now I'm going to stop listening to you until you improve at being a good little brother.} For all the world, it seemed that Kita was grinning happily, even though she had a beak. {I'm tired of fighting.}

Tori listened to Hoshi and Kita talk, and would have smiled at Kita's words if he had not been attempting to talk to the girl in front of him. Or rather, listen to her without losing whatever was left of his calm demeanor. She was doing most of the talking now, saying that she had no knowledge of the city around them. However, the girl was quick to point out some sort of tour group gathering in front of the Inn.

Tori set his gaze on the group of people she had pointed out, his discomfort returning at the mere thought of being around so much people. They were all talking about something.. talking.. without hearing their conversation, he knew they were all on a different level than he was, no matter which way you looked at it. Even this girl in front of him was on a different level. She was much better with words than he. Experienced, easy-going.

"... You coming? Can't really find your way if you don't know where you're headed. Tho' I usually go where I feel like, something's just telling me that we should really go over there." That was her speaking up again. The girl with the checkered scarf. He closed his eyes, unable to form a proper reply, or at least the type of reply she was expecting. He was saved from such a difficult reply, though, when the girl introduced herself as Rina, holding her hand out in front of him for some reason. Strange, so strange..

Simple enough for him. Just exchanging names.. "M-My name is Tori." He said, stuttering despite the simplicity of the statement. "This is.. Hoshi and Kita." Tori continued, slow as always. He pointed to each bird as he said their names, Kita hopping up and down on Tori's right shoulder with delight as she was mentioned. His gaze then dropped down to Rina's hand, again. For the life of me, I can't figure out why she's holding her hand out like that.

Noticing Tori's confusion, Hoshi cleared his throat, then whispered to the boy discreetly. {Shake her hand..} Nothing happened. Hoshi's words only seemed to put Tori into even more of a dilema, and of course, Hoshi sighed heavily before trying again. {Grab her hand.. and shake it up and down..} He wheezed, jabbing at Tori's neck with one wing in frustration.

Why would anyone want to do that? Still, it seemed to be of importance to Hoshi, meaning it was probably in his best interest to do what the Natu had said. Hesitating for a moment, Tori slowly reached out with one hand, grabbing Rina's hand and performing what he hoped was a good 'hand shake'. Of course, he only lasted for a few seconds before he quickly drew his hand back to his side, hoping that he hadn't looked like a fool.

"And.." Tori began, finding himself replying to Rina's earlier question. It had been bothering him so.

"..I don't want to go.. there." Tori said, casting a glance toward the tour group. "Too many.. people. I will watch from far away." Tori glanced back toward the large group again, noticing that one person was now following a Swinub for some reason. "Because.. they're all so strange to me.." He concluded, referring not only to the strange scene with the Swinub, but also to a prior experience that was quite similar. Yes, quite similar indeed.

 

[Kogenta]

Reith's expression lightened as Maud and Mira both seemed to consent to continuing the search for Kasen. While he did not understand what Hermione said, neither did he fail to notice the Quilava's displeased tone--choosing, however, to ignore it for the moment and spare Maud or the Pokemon any unnecessary embarrassment. I guess most fire types don't like the snow . . . Makes sense. At least Kasen has been conditioned a little more than most, though I'm not sure what she'd do when she's in this unreasonable mood. Feeling a pressure against the Luxury Ball in his hand, Reith turned toward Genki, only then fully registering Mira's voiced warning. The corner of the male's mouth turned upward, indicating amusement. Gently wiping the dark-coloured Pokeball clean in the snow, Reith then dried it on his knee, casually commenting, "Heh, well every Pokemon has their take on things." After glancing down at the dimly-shining Luxury Ball in his hand, Reith turned the sphere toward Mira, assuring her, "See? No harm done. And it was kinda my bad anyway." He laughed quietly before lowering the Pokeball to permit the Swinub to properly sniff it.

Remaining beside the brown-furred Pokemon until it had caught the scent, Reith quickly minimized his Ponyta's Luxury Ball and reattached it to his bracelet before hurrying after Genki. Then, seeing the Piloswine slow its pace, Reith reduced his as well before coming to a halt entirely. The trainer turned and followed Mira's gaze until he saw Hakira, with Rina and Tori being some distance beyond her. Someone else with white hair . . . That's unusual. Perhaps not quite as pale as mine, but still notable. And those two other people--they appear to be watching us at the moment. I wonder if they intend to come over here? If anything, the boy seems somewhat intent on avoiding us. After giving a slight smile and friendly nod of greeting to the girl, Reith returned his attention to Genki. Though the Pokemon would be difficult to miss whether by sight or sound, he did not want to risk losing his guide to Kasen.

 

[YoshiRiRu]

OOC: Alter, I'm really sorry about this, but this is moving really fast, and everyone posts in the middle of the night. I can't really keep up. I'd just detract from the experience. I'm gonna have to drop out, I think..

 

[Ibuberu]

OOc-

Gah, sorry to hear that Yoshi, hope that we'll get a chance to RP together next time, yes? Still, consider about this for a bit, I'm sure the posting'll die down right after the holidays, which isn't really that far away. ^^;


IC-


Dot observed that the Natu on the right, the one called Hoshi, was seemingly coaching his trainer on how to shake hands with Rina. Quite odd indeed. The Parasect however, chose to keep it to himself, his trainer not really giving Tori her full attention while they were shaking hands to notice that the boy was exchanging words with the Natu on his left shoulder.

"Tori.. Kita.. Hoshi. Got it,"she spoke each name at her own pace, once the boy had let go of her hand, though the girl had trouble recalling which Natu was which. They looked so identical, very much like a pair of twins. Tori then proceeded to answer her previous question, saying that he didn't like being in groups.

"Ahh, I see. You don't like strange things,"Rina saw no reason to complain, turning around so that she could survey the tour group. They were actually starting to move now, a Swinub being the leader. They stopped abruptly however, when the tour guide noticed the familiar girl and her Totodile.

".. They're moving off already, y'know.."the girl spoke, yawning with a hand over her mouth before continuing, "We wanna watch from afar, might as well close up the big gap a bit, doncha' think so?"she suggested, pointing to the snow covered ground and the fact that the group was quite a distance away from them now, Hakira being the only reason why this distance wasn't increasing.

"Since we wanna hear the tour guide when she's talking about the town.. find out where we're going and all."she slowly said the reason, making no motion to move just yet. She awaited Tori's response, taking note that even without the boy, she would still take her time to catch up with the group.