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 Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 4:05 pm
It had been two weeks since the last time it snowed in much of Kodo, much of the ground had been cleared from its white cover, leaving only wet patches of half melted snow as a reminded that it was indeed still winter.
Oh the plus side, despite the brown and wet mess that many of the forests and paths were it had started to warm up, making travel much easier than it had been during the heavy cold of dead winter.
Pokemon and people a like looked forward to spring, the young trainer named Rosie, most of all.
The sky was painted colors of deep orange and purple, the clouds glowing pink as the sun began to set down rapidly into the horizon.
Trainers that braved the wet wild were setting up camp for the night, those who were close enough to the trainer’s camp houses took shelter within a covered, warmed hut, that was provided in scattered arias by the league.
Close to the path that lead to Sandelwood city, one of these huts sat, and sitting outside of the hut, with a fire burning in the built in pit, a girl sat, leaning back comfortably in a chair, tired from the days travel. Her pink and white clothing was wrapped in a blanket as she sat by the fire and watched the clouds grow darker, curled on her knee a light colored Pikachu with heart shaped cheeks already slumbered, while held against her chest was an elegant green egg.
Rosie knew where most of these were, very much preferring to sleep in them, that out in the wild, on the dirt.
The trainer herself looked to be about 16 years old, though with large blue eyes, and blond hair that curled delicately around her cheeks and chin, it wasn’t hard to mistake her for younger, She was singing softly to accompany the crackle of the fire, stroking the egg lovingly.
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Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 6:13 pm
Cold. He hated the cold. Whoever invented winter ought to be taken out and hanged in his opinion. At least with the slight retreat of snow and ice it wasn't as cold as it had been, and he could actually ride his bike again rather than having to walk everywhere... Still, even with the weather a little better, he didn't fancy driving down these twisting paths in the dark. Sandlewood was still a way off, and sleeping under the stars was out of the question. So it was that even when he spotted the fire outside the wayhouse, which announced that he couldn't have the place to himself, Aulus slowed and turned off what passed for the road. So be it, whoever it was would just have to put up with him or clear out; their choice.
Not far from the hut itself Aulus braked to a standstill and killed the engine. As he flicked out the kickstand, Tortie hopped to the ground and prowled towards the fire. Some little singing girl with some little rat. Right now she was too cold to bother with growling at them; it was windy up behind her trainer, but still better than being inside her pokeball.
Climbing out of the saddle and retrieving his staff Aulus followed after his multi-coloured companion. As he put weight on his left leg, he grimaced under his helmet and allowed himself to lean slightly on the staff as he approached the fire. He sat down without a word, setting aside his stave before pulling off his helmet to reveal his scarred face. Placing his head-gear on the ground, he turned his sharp red gaze onto the other trainer seeking refuge here tonight. She looked... What? Thirteen? Fifteen? He never could guess the age of kids...
Great.
He had to share this place with some kid. Still, maybe the very sight of him in his bike leathers with his staff and his scarred face. Miracles did, occasionally, happen. Occasionally. Very occasionally.
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Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 7:07 pm
The forest in winter was an eerily silent scene, pokemon were usually deep in slumber till the warmer season, voiding the wood of natural chirps and calls of the night creatures.
Any sounds made was a loud contrast to the emptiness, and one of a motorcycle engine was particularly prominent.
Rosie stayed where she was, though her blue eyes were drawn toward the pathway up to the camping hut from the main trail. Blinking, with a slight incline of her head, a dark hunched figure of a pokemon arrived first, a beautiful coated Absol! this was her first time seeing an Absol! wow, they were quite large.
"Oh" she voiced when soon after the Absol, a man came walking... no, limping toward them, holding a staff.
He said nothing to her though, from what she could tell not even taking notice that she was there as he moved toward the fire.
He looked right a rough man, Rosie couldn't exactly hide an uncontrolled look of surprise when he took his helmet off, and the fire illuminated a hard, scarred face.
Ashamed of her initial surprise, she glanced down for a moment, before she looked back up, giving the man a welcomeing smile.
"Well good evening" she spoke, her tone always friendly "I wasn't sure if anyone else was going to come here tonight"
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 2:41 pm
Aulus turned his head to regard the girl. Slowly. Then he raised an eyebrow. Slowly. "We obviously have a different definition of the word 'good'," he said gruffly, not quite having the energy for outright snappish in the face of genuine good-humor. He supposed part of him was glad of the human company but... but why did it have to be so pink? She looked like what you might get if you bred cotton candy with good will to all men. At once sickening, and hard to be angry with. Great.
"What's a girl like you doing out here possibly all alone, possibly in unsavoury company anyway?" Aulus asked after a brief pause, looking the fluffy thing up and down again. "Off on your pokemon journey, or what?" She didn't look like a serious trainer, more like the sort of girl who prettied her pokemon up for contests. Still, he supposed that still involved trudging from town to town until you became successful enough to have groupies and limousines and suchlike.
Grumbling faintly deep in her chest Tortie lay down; it didn't look like any battle challenging was going to happen any time soon. Shame, she could have done with loosening up after the cold ride, and plus she liked the idea of tearing up the pikachu. In her opinion it was just to sweet to be allowed to continue living.
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 1:27 am
The negative reply earned a small laugh from Rosie, she knew it was very cold, and with how he was hovering by the fire, she thought that maybe he had been riding his bike in the cold for a while.
Though his question caused her to blink, blond eyebrows arching up over her eyes to give a puzzled look, what did he mean by unsavory company?
But he pretty much guessed the answer to his question already.
"Yes, I'm on my Pokemon journey" she confirmed "And I'm not all alone, I have my pokemon with me" she mentioned, smiling as a hand worked out from under the blankets she had over her shoulder, and stroked the back of the curled up Pikachu on her knee.
The small yellow creature shifted in her sleep, eyes blinking open when she was touched.
"Chuuu" She muttered sleepily, ears drooping as she pushed herself up, curious as to why she was woken up, mouth opening wide in a long yawn.
Blue eyes caught sight of the man by the fire however, and she was suddenly much more awake, ears perking up in curiosity "Pika!"
Rosie giggled softly at her Pikachu, moving her arm back around the egg against her belly, and folding the blanket back over.
"Are you a pokemon trainer to? I saw your Absol, very beautiful."
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 9:42 am
Well, it was true enough that a well-trained pokemon could look after you just fine, and while it might look like a weakling for all he knew that pikachu could pack a real punch. It was never wise to judge based on appearances, he knew that, but it didn't make it easy to remember all the time and there was some logic to it in certain cases. Cases such as his own. It was smart for people to be scared of the big scarred up man, and to leave him alone. This girl, however, was just happily chatting to him. He wasn't sure whether this annoyed him, pleased him, or both. To cover his internal uncertainty of how to deal with spun-sugar incarnate after a long cold day, Aulus continued to settle for his default expression of generalized gruff annoyance... Although perhaps his face softened a little at the compliment to his pokemon. Perhaps. Only a little.
"Hu. Fair enough," he said eventually with an indifferent shrug, "pokemon can be good company." As if to illustrate his point Tortie sat up, stretched, and then lent against his leg; it seemed that for now at least she wasn't going to pester him to get into a battle. "Suppose I am a trainer," he went on, "not why I'm here, you don't need to worry your little pink head about me challenging you to a battle or anything... What's the egg?" He'd spotted the lump under the blanket earlier but had been too busy being annoyed about the girl's presence to really register it.
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 12:03 pm
It wasn't in Rosie's nature to make assumptions about people, be that a good, or very bad quality. It was dangerous if nothing else, but that was something she either refused to acknowledge, or was just too naive to comprehend.
The man before her was intimidating, there was no way around that, but her heart filled more with worry for him when she saw the scars on his face, and the limp in his step, he certainly looked like someone who could use a kind smile, and Rosie was more than happy to oblige.
Kiss Kiss seemed quite happy to help out to, the Pikachu, still tired waves one of her little paws over at the two newcomers that joined them by the fire, before a sudden shiver ran through her body, "Piiiikaaa" she bunched up for a moment, before turning around and squeezing her way under the blanket with Rosie and the egg.
"Oh" Rosie blinked down at Kiss, opening the blanket to let her in, and smiled at the Pikachu's head that now stuck out from the bundled blanket, still watching the other two.
When the man started to talk again Rosie giggled, both at him saying 'don't worry your little pink head', she knew she was... very pink, and liked when it was acknowledged, and touched when she saw his pokemon lean against him, that was so cute.
"I wouldn't mind if you did." she answered to the reassurance about not being challenged "But thank you, my pokemon are very tired. We’re been training a lot today, I’m happy because it means I get to spend more time with them, It would get very lonely if I didn’t have my Pokemon." she shook her head quickly, to shake some hair out of her face that was creeping closer to her eyes, her smile only growing when he asked about the Egg
"I don't really know yet~" she said happily, shifting once again to lift the egg up out of the blankets and hold the deep green egg so that is was now visible to him. "I bought it from a man in the market one morning, I’m really excited to see what it will be though"
She didn’t leave it out for too long before returning it to the warmth of the blanket. Since the subject was on Pokemon, she looked back over to the Absol “I’m really excited! Yours is the first Absol I’ve ever seen in person, they’re a lot bigger then I imagined them to be,”
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 2:37 pm
Aulus' lips pulled back from his teeth in a grimace that was not a disdainful as it might have been, but only due to the fact that his brain wasn't quite managing to process adorableness of this level. She was like what you'd get if you took a nice girl, and injected her with all of the niceness that he himself lacked... How was she so perky anyway? If she was any way into her teens at all (she had to be older than twelve, he was certain of that much), then surely life had to have tossed some crap her way. Perhaps she was simply too dense to be jaded, too dense or too away with the faeries. Maybe she smoked something special.
"Ye-eaaa," Aulus said slowly after some time, "where would we be without them? The understanding love of pokemon could show the world a thing or two if only it would look and see." That sentence made him want to hurl, no matter how sarcastically he'd said it. Under normal circumstances he would have done better than just sarcasm despite the fact that he agreed with her (he'd feel lost without Tortie, and he still missed Phaeth like hell), but his brain still hadn't quite wrapped around the entity that it found itself confronted with on this cold night.
Luckily, it was abruptly distracted by the unveiling of the egg. Frowning and leaning forward slightly, Aulus studied the dark shell intently. "Well, I've no idea either," he said after a moment, "but unless you got it somewhere reputable, I expect it's a pidgey if you're lucky, and a chocolate egg if you're not." People didn't just go around selling good pokemon cheaply after all, and Pink seemed dim enough to buy from somewhere shady... But then again she also seemed like she might have rich adoring parents somewhere who might have got her something special from a reputable breeder. "Might get lucky though," the red-eyed man went on reluctantly, "like I say if you got it somewhere reputable. I got Tortie from a breeder, took a lot of generations to get her pattern apparently." He'd vaguely entertained the idea of becoming a breeder once, but had quickly dismissed it as far too touchy feely a profession. People would have laughed at him.
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Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:09 am
After the pause of silence, the man by the fire had spoken, saying something that seemed to take Rosie a little by surprise.
Blue eyes blinked a couple of times as she considered his words.
"Humm... well, I wouldn't really say that, I think pokemon learn love and compassion from people-" she added, lowering her gaze into the fire, before eyes drifted over the Absol at his leg,
"Just as much as humans can learn love from a pokemon, its a partnership."
Rosie never doubted the kindness and compassion of people, growing up without pokemon, she knew the capacity of good in people, and she saw how it not only could spread to people, but to pokemon, and then returned.
That is what was going to make a better world,
Either she didn't catch it, or she didn't pay mind to his sarcasm, she continued to smile politely, though her head did tilt to the side softly.
"I bought it from a stand at the farmers marker in Camphoreon City, Its held every week, depending on the season. That event is usually full of breeders, along with farmers and craftsmen of all kinds, I'm not sure if you've ever been."
She shifted, tightening the blanket around her and her Pokemon.
"I wouldn't mind if it is a Pidgey, I think I would love a flying Pokemon on my team."
The younger trainer couldn't help a small grin at the comment of it being a chocolate egg.
"But if it was chocolate it would probably be gone by now."
A more interested look crossed Rosie's face when he spike about his Absol.
"I thought she must have come from a line of good breeding! Mother used to tell me that selective breeding like that was extremely difficult, and took a lot of time and research, It carefully done to ensure the results of appearance and strong genetic inheritance." Rosie smiled, pleased to see such a level of selective breeding like that in another pokemon.
"She must be an amazing partner, if her coat tells anything about her breeding."
Her gaze moved up from the Absol and toward the man again, taking a moment of pause, before she shook her hair out of her face again.
"There are extra blankets stored inside, if you want me to grab you one"
As she offered this, Rosie leaned forward, freeing one of her arms to reach down and pick up one of the logs sitting by her chair, leaning forward just enough to be able to place the log into the fire for more fuel.
It was cold out tonight, and even being in front of a warmed fire that was starting to burn hotter, he must be cold. if she didn't have a blanket she wouldn't be able to be out here like this.
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Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 3:17 pm
Aulus watched her eyes skip to Tortie as she went on about pokemon and people teaching one another, an ugly sneer spreading across his face. Who did she think she was? Did she have any idea about the real world, about what most people were like deep down? Yes he and Tortie were partners, partners against the rest of the world that was just so disappointing, so full of hate and betrayal and... and she had no idea. A world of sugar-spun clouds and chocolate dreams. There had to be something wrong with her if she was this idealistic, and there she went on about how she didn't care how common the pokemon that came out of the egg was... Well, that was fair enough he supposed, but even if he secretly approved of the sentiment he decided to dislike her for it. How could she be so nice?
"I've not been to the market," Aulus responded after a moment, his sneer twitching into a momentary snarl, "markets aren't my thing; packed tight with idiot punters, traders trying to rip you off, and people who don't seem to have heard of personal hygiene. Much rather go to a breeder proper so I can actually see their pokemon, only an idiot buys an egg blind; it could be anything from any stock. That's how I got a healthy, powerful pokemon, by doing things properly rather than taking lucky dip."
Stupid girl. She wasn't hateful, he had no desire to actually hit her, but she was annoying, and the thought of having to spend a night in the same cabin as her was beginning to give him a headache. His whole face ached actually; the cold air was making the scar ache, and every gust of wind was like being stabbed with a few hundred rusty pins. The rest of him was cold too which made the other scars ache too, and thus made him even more grouchy than he otherwise would have been. He was not, however, prepared to cuddle up in a blanket like a kid at a slumber party. Plus, of course, it would involve getting up and walking, and he didn't really want to do that until he was going to bed, and he wasn't going to do that until she did. Much as she seemed all sweetness and light, he had no intention of being asleep while a stranger was awake close by, he would not allow himself to be that vulnerable... He could take her up on her offer of fetching one for him. It was cold, and she seemed too perky to judge him as weak for giving in to the elements...
Fine.
"If it would make your day to go and get me a blanket, don't let me stop you," Aulus said eventually, feeling painfully aware of how long he'd paused before saying that. "I don't need one, but I should hate to stop you if it is your heart's true desire." Egh. That had been pretty weak. Well, he'd just have to hope he never saw her again after tomorrow morning, and that she never met anyone he knew and go on about what a sweet person she was sure he was deep down. Egh.
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 12:25 am
A long silence drew from Rosie’s side of the fire, and for that drawn out time, the only sounds in the camp was the crackle and pops from the burning wood in the fire pit.
It might have been the amount of negativity in his words, the looks on his face, or even the tone in his voice that was clearly unpleasant.
He hadn’t been the nicest of company Rosie has ever had, but she was becoming aware of that certain tone people sometimes took, and the result seemed to surprise the younger optimist.
Looking through the flames, at the man’s hard features that it illuminated through its dull light, she remained still, choosing what to do next.
The Pikachu on her lap was giving the man the same kind of taken aback look, dark blue eyes blinking a few times.
Despite her bewilderment, she did come to one conclusion she could act upon, He was cold, and even if his reply to her offer in getting him a winters blanket for around the fire was met with something of a snarky reply, it was clear he could use one.
So, with a small “Okay” Rosie unfolded the blanket from around her shoulders and stood.
It only took her a couple of seconds to place the Egg I her arms down onto the chair, and laying the blanket over it and Kiss Kiss. Still she said nothing as she made her way up the four wooden steps of the cabin, pulling out her pokedex when she reached the door and allowing her ID to link with the cabin’s locking systems.
Once it assured that she was league registered, the lock clicked open and she was permitted to enter, vanishing within as the door closed behind her.
Ears twitching, Kiss Kiss watched Rosie leave, before she hunkered down next to the bundled egg, poofing out her fur and watching the man at the fire with another yawn.
“Pika…”
It didn't take long for the trainer to return back onto the porch, a folded, outdoor winter blanket that the league supplied for the cabins draped over one of her arms.
"I have a question," she started, walking forward on the porch, but instead of making her way to the steps, she moved toward the railing that framed the higher set porch.
placing a hand onto it, the younger girl, with surprising ease and grace, simply hopped up and over it, landing on the ground below as if the act itself was as easy and fluid as a simple step taken.
It got her to the fire more quickly, as she walked over to him and held the blanket out.
"I understand the benefits of having Pokemon of advanced breeding. But in comparison, where would other pokemon stand? For battle, contest, or just companionship."
It sounded like a genuine question, She had her own opinions yes, but She was confused by the inconsistency of his words, his opinion.
From behind Rosie, a form was moving through the darkness, at a steady leisurely speed, most easily detected through a very faint glowing, in contrast to the darkness that now engulfed the cabin.
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:17 am
Aulus accepted the blanket in silence, and for a moment found himself unable to meet the girl's gaze. Why was she still being nice? Why was she still asking amiable questions? Why couldn't she take the hint that he was a horrible man she ought to just leave alone? Really really must be soft in the head. Draping the blanket around his shoulders, Aulus forced himself to make eye contact again; he would not look away like some submissive little boy.
"Benefits?" he echoed after a moment, his voice losing a little of its edge; clearly it was doing him no good so why expend the effort? "In battle and contests I'd say in most cases bred pokemon have an edge in whatever field they were bred for, but only if they're trained right. If you just coddle your precious bred pokemon, it'll be soft, whereas a wild pokemon that's had to survive on its own until you caught it will be tough, and could well overcome whatever fantastic bloodline you've bought into... Companionship," that word still had a little sneering bite to it, but nothing compared to his earlier words, "I suppose that depends. There's a lot to be said for knowing your pokemon from hatching, but in the end you can't control their personality any more than you can control a child's. Pot luck. Just have to hope you end up with a pokemon you can understand, and who can understand you." Hence there was here with her cuddly, happy seeming pikachu, and here was him with vicious Tortie; thank goodness she hadn't turned into the perky sort who felt the need to be friends with absolutely everyone she met.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:01 am
When he returned eye contact with Rosie, she blinked once before returning with a soft smile.
A shiver ran up the trainers back, this prompted her to shift, and move down toward the fire, kneeling by the edge as she held her hands out toward the flames.
Looking sideways over her shoulder while her fingered warmed by the fire, watching him as he spoke his experience.
"I see... though In the end it sounds like much of it must depend on the trainer to properly utilize these advantages, if the goal is being a stronger trainer."
At this Rosie gave a little sign, hands pulling back to rest under her chin, distracted blue gaze drifting up at the very dark sky, though that soft smile still remained on her face.
From the moment silence though, the noises from the forest caught her attention, and she stood
"Vahy'n~"
The light rattling jingle coming from a string of golden beads pierced into the fins on her head along side a golden feather,
Large yellow eyes, turned up in an intense stare were framed by an elegant pattern of bio-luminescence speckles that continued down the length of her royal dark blue body, all the day down to her finned tail.
The Vaporeon's pace was leisure, her skin glistening with residue of water, still clinging to her from a swim she must have just taken.
Vany'n gave a soft content breath through her nose as the sight of the camp fire drew closer. She could picked up the sounds of Rosie's voice, accompanied with a Male's talking, it seemed that another trainer had showed up.
This didn't bother Vahn'y, she knew Rosie loved to socialize, but when yellow eyes actually caught sight of the man that was sitting by the fire with her trainer, Vany'n reacted in a much different way than Rosie had.
The older, experienced pokemon froze in her step just outside the camp, stance widening slightly as her eyes locked onto the gruff looking man with a gaze of caution and suspension.
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Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 3:05 am
"Mmh, right, that's why we're 'trainers'," Aulus said with a snort, "because we train them. Like people, you can be born wherever you like in the world but if you're not taught right, you'll go... nowhere." It was the appearance of the vaporeon that had made him hesitate mid sentence, and as it froze in place Aulus froze too. It was a stunning specimen, no doubt of that, and it moved with easy grace. "This one yours?" Aulus asked after a moment of total silence, his tones suddenly soft, impressed even. "She's a real beauty." It didn't look like she was too sure of him, which he supposed was fair enough; if she was protective of her trainer (he was still assuming that Pink was her trainer), then his presence probably wouldn't be too welcome.
By his side, Tortie shifted slightly and studied the newcomer with as much suspicion as the water type was aiming at her trainer. Had Aulus not put a quelling hand on her shoulders, and had he not sounded so pleased, she would have growled at the glistening eeveeloution, but as it was she settled for a bit of a glare.
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Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:31 am
Arms folded against her chest to try and protect from the growing cold, Rosie ventured away from the fire just enough to meet the Vaporeon half way.
When the Aulus had spoken though, Rosie had glanced back over her shoulder at him.
"She is~" The girl replied with a smile, but it slowly faltered to that of puzzlement when Vahy'n didn't stop in front of her, but instead continued to move part and stop to stand between her trainer and the fire, taking another moment to survey the man there closely, before her yellow eyes drifted down to his pokemon, an Absol leaning against the side of his leg.
It was here that her gaze lingered for a time.
The temperament and behaviors of dark types was distinct, they could be quite the dangerous group, but the longer Vahy'n observed, the more a quiet appreciation seemed to shift with her caution.
The other pokemon was clearly from a good linage, the beautiful with that coat was clear indication of that and just her structure.
Rosie could tell that Vahy'n was being protective again, and her answer to that was to come up behind the water eon, reach down and happily wrap her arms around her shoulders.
"Oh Vahy'n~ is okay, he's been keeping us company" she told her pokemon, resting her forehead against the water types.
Vahy'n's large eyes rose to meet Rosie's tilting her head slightly against the girls, and responding with a gentle coo of; "Vaaa" and she seemed to relax a little.
rosie smiled, hugging her close and kissing her Muzzle, before looking back over to Aulus
"This is Vany'n" she told him, introducing her pokemon.
"Vahy'n, this is... uh..." she paused here, eyes blinking when she realized that she hadn't yet asked for the man's name,
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