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"Hey, wait!" Brenny called after Jayme. He held out a paper cup of lemonade to the teddiursa. "You forgot your lemonade, Jayme. I want you to try it. I made it with Mei's help. It's good, I promise. The first time I made it, it had too much sugar. It wasn't good then," he made a face, sticking out his tongue slightly to show just how it'd tasted. "And the second time it didn't have enough. So it was really sour," he made a face like he had swallowed a lemon. "But Mei and I fixed the recipe so it's perfect." The celebi paused, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly. "Thank you for helping me buy a present for my Daddy, Jayme. Urban was right, you really are nice!"

He went back behind his stand, blinking at Mei. "But... Mei, they're pokemon, and they don't carry money..." He would have been stuck, if Connie had decided to charge him for the trailmix they'd shared when he'd first met the tauros teen. "I'll only give things to people who look like they really need it," he promised. Of course, his definition of "really need", and Mei's might have been different. If someone looked like they really needed to smile, Brenny figured he could give them something. Or if someone really looked like they needed a friend, he'd give them something then, too. "What if they were starving, Mei?" he asked with a slight frown. "Do you think I should have given them more?"

His head shot up when he heard Urban, and slowly, a smile replaced the frown. He nodded to show his graditude. Maybe things would be less chaotic now. "Thank you," he said, with a smile. He handed Urban a cup of lemonade. "It was getting really crowded, I didn't know what to do."

The celebi boy handed Zeraphina another cookie. "You shouldn't always do as your friends tell you," he said. "You might end up getting hurt. Sometimes people tell you to do stuff because they won't do it. And it could be dangerous." He picked Zera up and pulled her into his lap. "If you want, we can be friends. My name's Brenny. And this is Mei. Don't worry, she's not mean. If you're hungry, I'll give you whatever you like. I'll pay for it though, so I still get money from it." He put a handful of coins into his jar. "Are you all alone? Is that why you're so hungry?" He petted Zera's back, frowning in concern. "I'll buy you some lemonade too! I bet you're thirsty, and there's a lot more food here than I could ever sell," he gestured around awkwardly. "So it's okay. I'll take care of you and make sure you get enough to eat."

He glanced up at Adriana, beaming. "Thank you, Adri," he said. "You've brought so much more than I ever expected. I'm sure I can get the camera now! And then we can surprise my Daddy with it." He blinked up at Damien. Things would have been more interesting? For some reason he felt he wasn't talking about buying comic books.

Renee lightly held onto Nyx as she bowed, with her tiny paws that was difficult to do "I don't mind that at all. It's nice to have tall friends especially when there is such a crowd and high chance of me getting trampled over by them" she said "I'am grateful for the safety" she said with a smile. She eyed the glasses of lemonade and the cookies. At least the good part to it being so hot you get refreshed just by a simple glass of lemonade. She smiled at the owner of the stand before piping up "Thank you for the Lemonade and cookies" she said and then glanced up at Nyx "thank you to you as well" she said with a smile.

(I think I got everyone!)

Jayme gave a bright smile to the child that had stepped up to sing with him, though he stepped over and motioned for her to stand in the shade, thinking she looked a little hot and needed to cool down in a bad way. Her voice shook and he wondered if it was nerves, or just a parched throat. Both could do it. Still, he didn’t mind the company at all! When the other two joined in it seemed like a bright and merry affair even with Morgan’s deeper voice which just seemed to mix and mingle wonderfully with the brighter, higher pitched voices.

As the song came to an end, Jayme heard Brenny and laughed softly. ”You can give mine to someone else. I don’t tend to drink lemonade, something about it makes me feel sick after which isn’t fun, but maybe she’d like it.” he pointed to Ismire then with a smile. She did look like she needed it. Looking down to Morgan and Osha he smiled. ”I can buy you each both a cup if you’d like before anymore singing is done.”

~

Urban shook his head. “No Tris, he’s unable to play but I’m sure we can always come back later to play. Though if he needs a break one of us adults can help out for a bit and let him play and keep an eye on things. So you may get a chance at I Spy.” There was a laugh at the question of his hair however. “I’d prefer my hair stay white Tris. But you can make pictures of me with different colored hair when we get home how’s that?”

Money was placed in the jar to cover the cupcake, cookie, lemonades..and more. Urban didn’t mind helping the kid out after all. “I think actually painting us would be messy but pictures are good and can be hung up after you’re done.”

~~

“I don’t think he agrees either, he looks sort of panicked at the moment.” It was a good thing Urban had stepped up and taken charge of the situation to try and bring it all under control. He smiled at the Skitty and nodded. “Alright we can each have one and share. If you want more, I can always pay for more.” He ruffled the child’s hair gently and chuckled. “There’s Urban and Tristan and Tania if you want to go say hello.”

~

“Oh yeah there is that…” Mei was so flustered by how many people had shown up that it had left her uncomprehending of that one fact. Of course, being pokemon they wouldn’t have money. Still she’d do her best to keep him from giving away too much of his stuff or he’d never make any money!

~

Lorne had managed through all of this to sneak up on the stand and his childish hand was snagging some cookies off a plate, only to find himself being picked up by a rather unamused looking eevee teen. “I hope you intend to pay for those.” “P…pay?” Lorne stammered. It was unusual for anyone to actually catch him off guard. “Thought so. Tell me how many you have, and I’ll pay for them for you. Just don’t let me catch you stealing again.” Lorne huffed a little but took the cup of lemonade given to him as well while Cupcake put money into the jar, and turned spying a rather familiar group and walked over to Dea.

He hadn’t seen them in awhile…and it hit him then, he didn’t think he’d contacted her to tell her about Kelsie’s death. He’d been so grief stricken he hadn’t thought straight!

Lorne stood there with his abundance of cookies and the lemonade, and saw Ryder looking around lost, and he stalked forward and shoved some of his cookies at the other. He really had grabbed too many and he’d eat them before getting them back to Bast at this point, so sharing was best…for once.

(Hopefully I've touched up on everyone D: )
The shade was pleasant on Ismire. At least she was away from the sun. The joining of more singers made her heart flutter. She sang with all of her heart hoping to make up for the slight shake in her voice. As the song drew to it's end, so did the last bit of Ismire's voice as it came to an abrupt stop with a blurp of off tuned notes. Before she could move or scurry off in shame for the sudden hiccup for an ending when she was offered a drink. Nodding furiously, she chuckled shyly. “Thank you, sir. My throat is feeling rather parched.”

She was about to offer her hand in a greeting when the sound of a very worried Dea caught her attention. Blinking a few times in the hot noon sun, she discovered a worried Dea staring up at her. How did Ismire not see her there? Shrugging off the mental face palm, Ismire carefully flopped into the woman's arms, careful not to knock out of her arms Teddy. “Mama~” she sang hoarsely. Her voice sounding a little shot, but that's easily cured with said lemonade. She waved away Lucy's worries, giving the girl a soft smile. “My first day way from the mountain since the day I was hatched, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Besides, it seemed rather important!”

Ismire reached out and poked Fluff on the nose. “Don't worry. My ice will keep trying to freeze over. They won't fall off or anything.” She chuckled softly.

Her gaze left her family and fell on a young boy presenting her a glass of something yellow that she presumed to be the owner of the stand that was in need of money. “Aw, thank you!” She noted down the man's name. 'Jayme' she thought happily, 'What a lovely name~' He really made it quite the experience. When the Celebi boy came back with ice for her, she was in shock. People are nice beyond her mountain! Of course she hadn't really thought much about beyond her mountain, Dea and family aside. “Thank you, thank you! You're very kind. I'll keep that in mind.”

Now with full hands she slide back to the ground, sipping on her lemonade while wearing an icepack on her head or at least balancing it on her head. She felt a lot better now. Eilam's arrival couldn't have been better. With a little more ice on her, she felt singing fit especially after the nice and refreshing sip of lemonade. “Hello Eilam and thank you.” Her smile was all big and innocent, happy to see her family from beyond the snow of Mahina. “Sooo, what did I miss?”

--- --- --- – - ------ --- -

Ryder was about to move in line when bags of cookies were suddenly shoved into his arms. He paused for a moment, confused by the action. 'Random act of kindness?' he thought, 'People with honor this far from the sea. How interesting... The tides of his thoughts nearly sucked him under when he recalled that he had yet to thank the stranger. Returning his gaze from the cookies in his hands to the boy before him, Ryder nodded his head in acknowledgment. “Thank you.” In retaliation for such a generous act towards him, he flicked the Lorne two gold coins. Hopefully the other would find the coins as an equal trade for the goodies.

--- --- ---- --- --- - - --- -

“I am happy to be of service to you, Plusle-san. Besides, I would not want to see you harmed or in harms way.” Seeing the smile on both Renee's face and Brenny's warmed her heart. “You are very welcome.” She beamed proudly, but perhaps not as proudly as when Brenny finally found the words he seemed to have lost. “It's a tradition with my family to bring the host of a gathering a special gift and it's a tradition that I love to honor.” Releasing Renee onto the table to have at her share of the food and drinks gave Nyx the chance to unfold the cloth she'd brought the gifts in before motioning to the Plusle. “The lemonades and cookies will be fine for me, but if you may extend your kindness to my friend here, I would be most grateful.” Wrapping up the bags of cookies that were hers, she took the time to wrap them up nicely into a sack. “You are very welcome. Feel free to keep the change. I am a hard worker and an excellent performer, so I can make the money back in no time. I cannot tell you how happy I am that you enjoy the gifts. Nana always says I make my gifts a little too extravagant, but seeing the smile on their faces after is always worth the extra money. I hope your father enjoys the gifts as well.”

Her cheeks had flushed a bit from all the cheeriness. Seeing a happy host and happy customers always made her day brighter. She watched him for a moment go off and offer drinks to his other customers before turning back to Renee. “Eat until you are full and take your time. I can walk you home whenever you are done.”

Dea smiled softly when Ismire came into her arms and she carefully hugged the girl to herself, glad she was alright.

"Well, yes, it is very important to Brenny who is trying to raise money to buy his father a special present. Brenny is the one who handed you the lemonade, he is very sweet. We are friends of his and his father, Connie. Connie we met when Dea's dad wanted to learn more about Pokemon who had been changed by the stars,"Lucy explained.

"So you do not melt at all? Well, I am glad you are okay. I wouldn't want you to melt. I can see you are hot though. The lemonade and ice must feel good. It probably helps you not be so hot,"Fluff smiled.

"Hello, Ismire, it is good to see you. You can thank Dea for that, she was the one that noticed and had me go get the ice,"Eilam spoke.

"You haven't missed yet, Ismire, just a whole crowd coming to help Brenny. We brought stuff too, which the others are about to go take over to them,"Dea smiled, watching her group go deliver their goodies and table they had brought. Then she watched them head back to her and she smiled. Also out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cupcake coming her way and she waved to him.

It may have been because the day was a particularly warm one, an instance to tell of the Summer heat as it would be throughout the year, but the day's work was not very rough on the employees this day. Some had complained that it was torture to have to be working on inventory shipping, for one needed to step outside the cooler confines of the warehouse, but were quick to hush when superiors wandered by. Altogether, progress wasn't slowed, but the whining could get grating. Most of the places the warehouse supplied to were not asking for shipments at the present time, however, giving leeway on the employees -- it was just a little too warm for any business to be partaking of a haul of customers, for most wanted to stay indoors.

Which is one of the first instigators of confusion that crossed the tauros-teenager's mind when he spotted the gaggle of people in front of the apartment complex he called home. He had time to stop by on his lunch break, but this... this was not expected. Momentarily, he worried that something bad may have happened, that the crowd were spectators posing as passersby. That is, until he spotted the small counter headed by a young, green-haired pixie-boy. Good thing Mei-Ling was with him, but what was going on?

Connie cautiously made his way over to the counter, weaving past the celebi's customers and waiting until the boy was free before pressing, "Brenny... what's going on?" He wasn't irritated, merely surprised.

Nyx smiled softly at Mei, bowing respectfully in return. “You are very welcome and I should thank you for having me.” She was beaming; Feeling the overwhelming sensation of joy running through her body as she straightened. She was happy to be able to help others and put smiles on their faces. These were her favorite parts of social gathering. She hoped the little Plusle was enjoying herself.

– – --- ---- --- --- –

Ismire was happy to see Dea and the family. So happy to see each of their faces. She hoped she didn't worry them too much. After listening to Lucy's explanation, she responded with a nod and a grin“Brenny seems really sweet. I would be happy to help him in any way I can be it singing or ice sculptures!” She pulled from her little bag an icicle that she had yet to work on. “Ice cups maybe?”

She couldn't help, but give Fluff a big ol' hug. “Oh, don't worry. I'm a bit more hardy then I look. The ice and lemonade really did help. It's not quite like home, but it makes me feel a lot better than before.”

Ismire was bouncing everywhere with joy. Hugging Eilam and Lucy, giving the little Togepi a kiss on the cheek. She paused as Eilam explained it was Dea's idea and couldn't help, but beam. “Well, you ran pretty fast to get it. So I'm still very thankful to you.”

“Hopefully I can help, too~!” As a child, Ismire was rather active, falling away from her regal seeming self, but hey – when you're a kid, you're a kid. She's finally begun to accept that... with a little Articuno flare.

She turned her gaze for a moment to the Eevee teen and gave him a passing wave. Anyone who was a friend of the family was a friend of hers. Though when he asked for Eilam, she took that as her cue to focus elsewhere and that elsewhere was cookies. “Dea, can we get some cookies? I've never had fresh cookies before!”

----- ----- ----- --- – ----

“An honor.” Ryder replied, giving a half baked salute. One day, he'll have a captain's hat to tip to others like his surrogate mother does to guests on her vessel. He quickly turned his attention back to the task at hand, he'd managed to navigate the line until it was his turn to pick up his paid meal. Unsure of how much 5 cents were, he dropped 5 gold pieces in hopes that that was enough to pay for a cup of lemonade and a bag of cookies.

It seemed that Connie hadn't the need to even ask Brenny what was going on in the first place, for his voice seemed to have been drowned by the boy's excitement as he met the teenaged tauros partway, Mei-Ling fastened in his hands. He glanced around the crowd and whistled, impressed, "Wow, you guys did all this? What a turnout!" His ears twitched, tuning into the celebi's mention of a present, stunned for a moment before he recalled a need to shake his head, "A present? You don't have to get me anything, Brenny. It's unnecessary!" And it wasn't like he had the means to repay something like that as it was! Hard work was suppose to be rewarded by the one that toiled through it, in some manner. It was set long ago in his mind that such kindness needed to be repaid in the same respect. "It does seem like you're doing a pretty good job on it, though," he observed thoughtfully.

"Sorry, but I'm only here for a short lunch break, but I'm not all that hungry. Save those for your customers, you seem to have a lot of them today! I've got about a half hour, but with how slow work has been today, it's looking like I might be able to come back early tonight," the teen tried to lighten the blow. Curiously he watched as Brenny set Mei down before tackling the tauros, and in reaction he quickly grabbed hold of the green-haired boy in the off-chance his grip slipped, careful of his gossamer wings. He smiled when he was sure he hadn't done any damage, "Wow, so many people! And you know all their names; you're quite the popular kid!" In truth, Connie didn't find that fact so surprising -- Brenny was a lot more outgoing and friendly than the good majority of the people he had met, human or pokémon both. Connie also didn't know most of those that the child had rattled off, but Brenny's eagerness kept him from mentioning that part. "I think it's more likely that they've come to get some homemade lemonade, are you sure it's not that you're that good of a salesman?" he laughed, but he wasn't refusing the help. He just felt awkward to accept it out of the blue! "Hmm..." thinking on it, he decided to at least have a little snack, "Okay, since you put so much effort into it, I'll have a little bit. Homemade is the best stuff, after all!"

Connie snickered as Brenny's imagination, plans for the use of the earned money, started running away with the boy. He may have said something about the celebi's irrational contemplation of paying for a mother if Tania hadn't spoken up just then -- and good thing, too, she was much more direct with it, but not in any mean-spirited manner. Nudging Brennen back toward his stand, Connie decided to leave it at that, "Well don't let me keep you, it looks like you still have quite a lot of customers. I'll be right here, and I'll let you know when I have to head back, okay?" He ruffled the boy's short green curls with a grin, "I'm proud of you."

Noticing that Mei looked particularly beat, Connie felt the need to ask, "Are you sure you can handle everything alright? You've got the best intentions, but I know that Brenny also has a lot of energy. No idea where he gets it from, either..." He offered a sheepish smile, but really, he hadn't any idea of how to help out. He wasn't exactly on 'friend' terms with anyone at work, least of all to a degree where he could request assistance and be assured of it, but he felt bad about leaving Mei here with all this excess work to accomplish. It could be overwhelming for one not accustomed to this sort of job! Brenny was confident enough about it, but what about the little mienfoo? The tauros didn't want her to have to put herself out, especially when she still didn't seem too sure about her own capabilities yet.


It was upon Karma's insistence that the laboratory-bound man found himself subject to the heat of the sun this fine day. The ditto-child was eager to be able to stroll the city streets, like zhe had yet to do to much extent, and each time seemed as a new experience. In a way, that's just what it was, for Karma's faulty memory had yet to start picking up on what should have been familiar, with such little exposure. However, Grayson was getting cranky, so the excursion had slowly declined over the course of time. Due to this, Karma was getting a bit more withdrawn about it, despite the pestering prodding zhe had been attempting on the scientist earlier.

Of course, Grayson was not completely oblivious. So when they came across the little gathering before the lemonade vendor that was a familiar sight, Grayson couldn't help but smile. Finally. "Hey, it's Brenny..." he mused, causing the ditto to jump slightly and follow zher trainer's gaze to the celebi behind the counter. Pulling out the notebook the child never left home without, the ditto began flipping through the pages to locate the notes taken on one zhe should be able to recognize. The bracelet around the child's wrist indicated that they were on good terms, green to indicate friendship, but that was all the ditto could decipher at present. "You want to get something cold to drink?" he asked, thrusting a thumb in the direction of the counter.

"Found it!" Karma exclaimed, wiggling a bit in pride as zhe scanned the page for a refresher on a forgotten memory, "Ohh, Brenny was fun to play with. Hehe, he liked you a lot!" The colorful child beamed, and then responded with a nod; zhe was sure the cold drink would stop Grayson from being so cranky as well. Perfect!

Grayson also spotted the familiar congregation that his daughter always seemed to be engulfed in, Dea's entourage, but it seemed she was a little too busy at present for the scientist to just waltz up and chat. No, that would be rude to interrupt! Instead, he grinned at her and waved a hand when he thought he had caught her eye, but progressed to the counter, urging the slightly nervous ditto-child forth.

"P-Pardon!" the blue-haired child squeaked where Karma's trainer remained silent; zhe didn't want to run into anyone, that was no way to make an impression!