The Marketplace

[Cysic X]

"Ah... don't worry about it." Aiden waved a hand in a gesture of dismissal. In reality it was all very much like searching for a needle in a haystack. If he wasn't lucky enough to have her stick out, then he likely wouldn't find her at all. But that was why he was searching, of course, and if there was no other option then he would most certainly resolve himself to chasing after every lead no matter how tiny. But for now it was a pointless and wasteful endeavour. "It's... nothing important." He had paused, briefly, not out of anxiety but simply to find the words. "I'm simply keeping my eyes open." It had been more of a polite dismissal than anything else.

"Now then... I do believe the two of you were on your way? Pardon the delay, it was little more than an idle question." It was a rather courteous and deceptive way of saying "leave." Which is to say, someone who wasn't particularly clever or empathetic (as Aiden imagined Stefan was not) wouldn't be likely to recognize it for what it was. Aiden was, simply put, bored; the conversation had not been stimulating in the slightest and what filled the gap was a most unpleasant sense of second-hand embarrassment. He would, quite simply, be glad to be gone.

Your Missing Period Wrote:

There's actually not a strictly defined location, though if you wanted a place to interact with it it would most certainly be the Main Hall. Most people who take missions either have their characters do so off-screen or else they use it as the intro to the mission itself, which is a perfectly acceptable tactic and it's something I do myself as it allows me to establish the mood of the characters in an unobtrusive way. Also, I was under the impression the board was bulkier so I will be increasing the # of missions on it in a day or so so if you don't see anything you like, leave it be for the time being.

 

[thegoodsamaritan]

.::Stark & Mako & Siegfried & Nariko::.

"What about this pair?" said Nariko, holding up another pair of sunglasses. Stark simply blinked in response, and there was a beat as Nariko awkwardly put the glasses down. "Uh, never mind. We'll find something else that suits you."

"Is this really necessary? My birthday was days ago, and you already got me a present."

"A bottle of whiskey that Argonne and Will demolished in a drinking contest does not constitute as your present. We need something uniquely for you."

"Well, unless they're Blackglasses, I don't have much use for accessories. Besides, I already have this," he said, tapping at the Dark Globe he wore as an amulet. Nariko wrinkled her nose.

"We need to get you to stop wearing nothing but combat accessories. Come on, Captain, live a little!"

Stark shook his head as she poked about for some other goofy trinket to try on. Why this interest in my appearance all of a sudden? Surely it shouldn't matter this much to her, should it?

"Sensei!" came the shout from behind. Stark's eye twitched involuntarily.

"Mako, how many times have I--" He cut off in a sort-of choking gurgle as he noticed what his "student" was holding. He eyed the sword, obviously of fine make, though the hilt and sheath left something to be desired. What was so startling was that the damn thing was almost as tall as the Combusken himself. Stark shook his head, raising a paw to his head.

"Okay, Mako. Mind telling me what's up with the overcompensation here?"

Mako's face showed equal measures of confusion and embarrassment at the question, but gathered his thoughts quickly. "I had just received a letter from Master Kenshin. He said he was pleased with my rate of growth, and that I should commence training with the sword." He nodded again.

Stark tapped a claw on the ground. "And does Kenshin recall that I lack the opposable thumbs to commence such a tutelage?" Kenshin. Just the name alone was enough to send shudders down Stark's spine. Just as the awkwardness was due to return, a claw suddenly rested on Mako's shoulder.

"Young master, I hate to be frank, but it is considered ill-mannered to remove a hawker's wares from their stall without purchasing." He tilted his head in the direction of a rather livid-looking Mightyena a short distance down the street. Stark blinked, unamused.

"You didn't pay for it?" he asked, deadly quiet.

"Uhh."

"Arceus' blood. Sieg?" he said, tossing a wallet toward the Heracross, which was caught deftly. "Take care of this. Before I go into conniptions."

The Heracross, obviously amused, buzzed over to the miffed seller, leaving Mako alone with his miffed sensei. Stark shook his head and sighed.

"You have a lot to learn about etiquette, Mako." His vision suddenly darkened as a pair of red-tinted dark glasses was draped over his face. He blinked, and turned toward Nariko, who was smiling sheepishly at him. He rolled his eyes, and nodded at the inevitable question. Nariko squealed appreciatively, and turned around to purchase the shades.

"So do you, apparently," he said, smiling ruefully at the blissfully unaware Dewott.

 

[Cysic X]

It wasn't a particularly remarkable day aside from the fact that Steven had recently had the "joy" of taking on two new little burdens. His life, as it were, was beginning to feel a bit like a daycare though he had to remind himself that only a few years ago he hadn't been that much different from the two he had taken on. Well... he had always had a better sense of responsibility and a more realistic world view, but, the certain sense of youthful naivete had been there. He'd been better than this, though, he knew that much.
Not that that "betterness" changed anything. He was still walking around with a Sentret stuck to the back of his head and a Charmander/Torchic duo nearby... It didn't change the last few days, certainly. The two that he had found under his care had asked him if they could take a walk around and see the city, since it was there first time. They hadn't really seen much of it at all since they'd come through in the middle of the night to begin with and the day afterwards was spent sleeping, eating and establishing some ground rules. And given their reactions he could definitely tell they were new to the city; there was a clear, childlike joy in the way they reacted to everything they saw. They had never been exposed to it all so everything was new and wonderful. It would have been a little bit embarrassing if it hadn't already happened multiple times.
It would have continued as such without interruption if it wasn't for the fact that Hal's previously aimless curiousity suddenly focused in on something. Steven noticed the sudden shift in focus immediately and Shannon picked up on it not long after. Hal had honed in on one of his own. Torchic were, among a few others, not very common pokemon. Though they weren't exceedingly rare, they had the sort of frequency among the kingdoms that made it easy to never see one if you didn't go looking for them. Steven's interest, however, swayed a little bit. To one watching him, his hand would curl and pause in front of his mouth briefly as he thought before walking towards the Combusken. Or, more specifically, his Absol friend.
"Stark?"  

[thegoodsamaritan]

.::Stark & Mako & Siegfried & Nariko::.

Stark started upon hearing his name called, and turned toward the source of the voice. His eyes fell upon a quartet of Pokemon approaching his ownj quartet- a Wartortle, the Sentret attached to his head, and the Torchic and Charmander that were currently homing on on Mako's location. From the Wartortle's gaze on him, Stark assumed he was the one who had called to him. He glanced at Nariko, who shrugged, then back at Mako, who shook his head slightly, a bemused expression on his face, and then toward Sieg, who had returned clutching a receipt, an aside glance to Stark, as though waiting for introductions.

So, I'm not just a terrible person and don't remember meeting this guy. Excellent. He turned back to the Wartortle, inclining his head slightly.

"Yes, that's me. Stark Dravin. I think I'm at a loss, though, since I'm not quite as familiar with you. Do I know you from somewhere else, perhaps? A mission? Spar? World-ending catastrophe?"

 

[Cysic X]

"Gabriel's a friend. We eat together every now and then." Suffice it to say Gabriel had mentioned his new team at some degree of length, though Steven thought it was best if he omitted the exact descriptors. Gabriel was very frank in how he described people and he hadn't exactly given the rest of the team the most glowing of descriptions (his description of Nariko had included "weirdo" "fingers" and "pants") though he did seem to like them.
"My name's Steven. The two of us used to be team mates a while back, if he hasn't mentioned it."
It was more an attempt to open up a conversation than anything. It would be more mentally stimulating than babysitting and it would give Hal the opportunity to talk to his elder, who he seemed so very interested in.
"Hey, uh, my name's Hal. You... You use swords?"
Hal was a paragon of smooth social etiquette.  

[thegoodsamaritan]

.::Stark & Mako & Siegfried & Nariko::.

Stark nodded. Gabriel had mentioned once or twice being part of an older team that had disbanded, though he rarely talked about them, if ever. Stark shrugged, not caring either way- this Wartortle- Steven- seemed a nice enough fellow, and seemed to run a tight-enough ship. Stark smiled.

"Nah, Gabriel keeps a lot of his past under wraps. You probably know how that is, considering he was your teammate a while back." He turned slightly toward the other members of his team.

"These are some of my teammates- Nariko, Sieg, and Mako," he said, pointing to each member in turn, who each gave a polite bow. "We came here to stock up a bit. We just transferred guilds, and we're just making sure we've got everything we need. Roaring Thunder doesn't exactly have easy work, after all."

Mako was half-tuned in to the conversation at hand, until the young one- Hal, he said his name was- began talking to him. He looked down at the bundled blade in his claws, then back at the Torchic.

"Um, yes... no. Kind of. My foster father was a swordsman. It was his wish that I learn to use the blade as he has. I just picked this up today. I'm hoping my sensei can help in some way," he said, pointing at Stark, "though... he is somewhat limited in sword-wielding experience. As you can plainly see."

 

[Cysic X]

"Ah." Steven blinked blankly a few times. It was a clear expression of surprise. He hadn't expected that... it was a very "small world" kind of revelation. "We're coworkers then. I actually joined about a week ago." It was an odd coincidence to say the least, though it made sense that Gabriel would find himself in Roaring Thunder no matter the team. Work at the guild of Ice or the guild of Fire wouldn't have suited him in the slightest.
"Though I think you might have him pegged wrong." Calling him secretive wasn't right. He wasn't secretive, he just... "He doesn't put a lot of weight on it. He just doesn't like talking about things that irritate him." There wasn't much else to it. Unless you asked him what he was doing before the forest he'd tell you just about anything unless it was bothersome to do so, or even if it was should it become more bothersome not to. The fact that Stark didn't know more seemed to suggest he'd maybe given the Weavile more distance than was necessary, but it's not like it really mattered.
"So I take it you're out shopping with your team?"

"Ah." Swords had always kind of struck Hal as odd. It seemed needless to come to rely on something like that when it simply served as an extension of oneself. A sword didn't have a lot of advantages either. He had known a few who had used swords back home, but unless they were fighting someone else who was using a sword they didn't seem to be very useful. He wasn't sure since he had never sparred with any of them, though... he hadn't done a lot of sparring, since usually you were supposed to evolve first.
"You're Mako, right?" Shannon had stepped forward slightly and for the first time since the encounter began, spoken. "My name's Shannon. If your... sensei can't help you then why not try asking a different teacher?"  

[thegoodsamaritan]

.::Stark & Mako & Siegfried & Nariko::.

"No joke? Heh. Small world, right? Good to meet a fellow guildmate, then." He nodded to himself. "And yeah, I kinda figured about Gabriel. He's very much a, 'to-the-point' kinda guy. He's a good teammate and a good friend, and that's all that really matters to me." He looked over at Mako, who seemed slightly uncomfortable with the attention he was receiving. He smiled a little in response, thinking he needed to get his "student" out and about more often.

"So... yes, I guess we are all out shopping. I take it you and yours are up to the same? Or just showing them around? They look a little fresh to me. Have they been making the transition well enough, do you think?"

Mako shifted as the Charmander approached. Oh, boy. More inquisitive types.

"Well, that's what I was getting at. Sieg- that's that Heracross over there- used to train with me when I still lived with my foster father, and he knows a bit more about his sword style than I do. Other than that, my sensei knows a lot of people through his line of work. Maybe he can help me find someone who's talented with the blade."

 

[Cysic X]

"He is and they're new." They were really new. "They just came in late the night before. They didn't get a chance to take a look around at all on their way in. Other than that I can't say, but they don't have much of a choice. I didn't exactly invite them after finishing the request."
Which was to say the whole "joining the team" exchange hadn't exactly been a voluntary one all around. Steven's hands were more-less tied on the matter the moment they asked since the only other option would have been leaving them on the streets. Two inexperienced fire types wouldn't be able to form a team together so it was this or nothing.
"You know how it is."

"Then I hope you can find someone to train you." It was a well-meaning comment that came with a good-natured smile that was quickly followed by a faked "realization". "Sorry."
With the word she excused herself and walked over to Steven in a decent hurry, though she paused with a great deal of unease as she got closer. She eyed Nariko suspiciously and it was with an obvious degree of discomfort that she went up to Steven, but he had noticed her and as such leaned over slightly. Words were whispered into his ear and then Shannon quickly went back to a confused looking Hal. "Sorry about that."

Steven let out a bit of a stifled sigh. "Sorry to cut this short, but there's something we need to do. Would you mind if we met up somewhere in about half an hour?"
It was a lie, it really was, but the only people who would know what was going on were the two that shared it. Even if he knew it was a lie, Stark wouldn't know why and those who could know why were oblivious.  

[thegoodsamaritan]

.::Stark & Mako & Siegfried & Nariko::.

Stark nodded knowingly- he knew exactly how that went. Pretty much half his team was runaways or Pokemon with nowhere else to go. He shrugged.

"Yeah, I know. But hey, it may be hard at first, but those are usually the ones who work hardest to get better. Give 'em time, they'll be ship shape before you know it." The conversation took an odd turn, then, as one of the Fire-types- the Charmander- came up to Steven, whispering something in his ear, before returning to talk to Mako. Steven sighed, and made his excuse, leaving Stark very confused.

Was it something I said?

"Uh, sure. Where'd you have in mind?"

Kids are probably just nervous. New place an' all. No worries.

 

[Cysic X]

"Do you know where the Honeydrop Cafe is?" It was an easy enough place to find and it was a popular enough place to visit. The popularity of the cafe had boomed nicely since it was established which was a fact that pleased Steven. Well, whether or not Stark knew, Steven would give him directions and the eight of them would meet up later. "We'll meet you there in about half an hour."

And it was as such that the encounter suddenly came to a close. "We'll see you soon then, Mako." Shannon gave a friendly wave though, secretly, she was relieved that it was done with for the time being.
"Ah, yeah. Later, Mako." Hal would have waved too. If he could have.