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Luke didn't seem to have any qualms about acting oddly, or rather, he didn't want to impose explanations on Emil and drag more people into a matter that was really only his concern. He was in his room preparing a small bag for the trip home and trying to determine an appropriate excuse for where he was going when a certain lavender and blue Eevee interrupted, grabbing the passport that had been set aside and darting off into the common area. Whatever Human was doing was boring. She wanted to play!

Luke made a grab at the pokemon as it took off but was much too slow to catch it. He pursued her, noting her location as she hopped up on the couch and took a place beside Emil with the passport still in her mouth and her tail waving excitedly. Her trainer frowned. "Rem, bring that back over here."

The Eevee blinked her large eyes in innocent rebellion.

Rem folded her ears back with a slight pout and turned a circle on the cushion before taking a seat and making herself comfortable, only half listening to the Espeon. No one in this place was any fun.

Mm, he'd sort of wanted Rem to return it herself, as some kind of discipline thing, but it looked like Byakko was having Words with her, so that was as good as anything. Of more concern was Emil's premature discovery of the passport and, as a rational conclusion would lead, the trip he intended to take. Not that he was planning to keep it secret or anything, but he hadn't come up with a good reason yet.

He couldn't just stand there staring dumbly, though, so he shrugged his shoulders slightly and gave a proper response, "I need it for tomorrow. I'm going home for a little bit."

He nodded once to confirm the location, fighting back the nervousness that that confirmation elicited. At the question of why, he stiffened slightly, his gaze defocusing and turning somewhat downward. "Well," he said carefully, "for a lot of things, I guess. I can't really put off talking to my parents anymore."

He gave a tired smile. "Well, for one thing, I don't think they'd talk to me. My father is kind of a hard-a**. If I called, I'm sure he'd just shout at me and demand that I come home." He wasn't really interested in taking that kind of verbal abuse. His smile faltered easily. "And there's something I need to do over there too. Just calling won't work."

Well, but that was just what Luke didn't want to talk about. He changed the subject promptly, "It's about a day-long trip by boat, so I'll be gone at least three days." Hopefully not any longer than that. Lingering unnecessarily was the last thing he wanted to do.

He nodded, remembering the conversation they'd had in the past about their respective families. It was hard not to feel increasingly nervous about it all, especially if the subject of his mother and father came up, but he managed to discard his anxiety - or at least subdue it.

"I wouldn't mind if you kept Rem busy," he said, looking accusingly at the Eevee. She flicked her tail in intrigue. "Sorry it's so short notice. I don't wanna bother you or anything." He certainly appreciated the offer of help, but he's already bothered Yuri more than enough. He couldn't keep imposing on his friends just because it was convenient for him.

Rem rose and stretched as Emil stood, hopping down from the sofa to circle the boy's feet idly. Everyone was always so quiet and glum. They needed some good, quality playtime! And that appraisal was not at all solely because Rem wanted playtime, of course. She was just looking out for the Humans.

Luke smiled faintly as he accepted the returned passport, passingly amused with - or embarrassed by - his own thoughts. "Dunno why I can't get it out of my head that I'm just a burden on everyone. Sure doesn't seem like anyone else is acting that way." It probably had a lot to do with the fact that he couldn't stop perceiving himself as some kind of porcelain doll, fragile and completely useless.

Luke gave a passive smile, shrugging slightly, "If there's anything I've figured out lately, it's that it's really easy to imagine things as much worse than they are." Well, in terms of the way others thought of him, to be specific. It was hard to imagine his current circumstances to be much worse than they already were.

It was difficult not to betray a slight melancholy in response to Emil's words, "That's the plan." As rough a plan as it was. It was a bit of a glorification to call it any more than a hope, really.