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 Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 10:16 pm
... Oh yes. The day that Malice sought him out for attention would be the day that spoinks took to the sky, hell froze over, and magikarp stopped being useless. In other words, that day wouldn't be coming at any time in the near future-- not if she had a say in it!
Giving Phinneas's stiff blue mohawk a ginger stroke, the trainer finally set him down, watching, with a look that seemed almost content (goodness forbid!) as he scampered off frantically to hurl himself in Stellar's lap. The Flaaffy obligingly welcomed him with open arms and set to her usual motherly soothing-- but wait, what had Alastair just asked?
"... Borrow Stellar?" Blinking back a moment's confusion, the answer to Mal's thoughts descended a moment later... but he couldn't be serious! "I don't think--"
"Maaaaa!" But before she could get out another word Stell had hopped to her feet (carrying little Phin in her stubby arms like an over-sized puppy), let out a boisterous bleet and, momentarily freeing one hand (much to the Shinx's distress) gave an awkward salute, bobbing her head up and down all too excitedly. Heaving a sigh, her trainer flooped down to occupy the now-abandoned patch of shade she had left beside Sepia.
"... I guess the lady has spoken," she mumbled half-heartedly, placing a hand atop the furry brown head with had just rested against her thigh, "... I... have no arguements."
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:05 pm
D’awww! Stellar remembered him! Actually, more likely, she just remembered that Alastair had given her treats before and she was likely to get another from him. Alastair diplomatically decided not to mention this to Mal. Some trainers were horribly fussy about what their pokémon could or could not eat. Sure, Alastair had an understanding of nutrition and whatnot. He simply felt that the occasional treat for good behavior was absolutely the best training tool. Much better than what the Inhinx pokémon had received. “Hello again, Stellar,” he said cheerfully. “Maybe you should put Phinneas down…” the last thing he wanted was for the little shinx to spook.
Hmm… now how to do this? Normally for practice, one would have small fences set up, a little pen, and maybe some poles in the ground to practice weaving around. But, alas, while the hotel seemed perfectly capable of offering Alastair the finest foods from across the world, swimming pools, the softest silken sheets, water beds, and many other luxuries, it looked as if it was all out of herding tools. He would just make do with rocks. At least there were a few of those around here… Alastair gathered up as many as he could find and eventually created two lines about three feet long each. Sure, it wasn’t exactly a pen, but it would have to do.
“Alright, Con, here’s what you need to do… move Stellar between the lines,” he explained to the pale houndoom.
Con blinked at his new trainer, not entirely sure what he was expecting. So… he wanted the flaafy to go between the lines? What was the point of that? If he wanted Stellar to go between the lines, why didn’t he move the flaafy there himself? Or ask her? She seemed more than eager to help him with whatever he wanted.
And how was the houndoom supposed to move the flaafy over there? Ask her or something? Con responded by sitting down and yawning expansively. Clearly, he was unimpressed with his trainer’s current methods. Sure, treats were nice, but… Con liked to feel that he did something to earn them, at least a little.
Alastair’s shoulders slumped at his houndoom’s expressive response. “Come on, Con…” he whined slightly. “I’ll give you a treat…”
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:55 pm
Sure, Stellar might have been drawn to Alastair for his ample treat giving in particular-- but that didn't mean she disregarded his niceness! Any sweet tempered human was lovely to befriend, after all! The fact that he loved to feed her berries and sweets was just a convenient side benefit! Really!
Giving Phinneas a long, deliberating glance, she finally (and hesitantly) relinquished the little Shinx, depositing him in Malice's lap like a cherished doll. Stubby hands free at last, she was ready to play sheep and be herded!
... Wait a second. Why wasn't the pretty white Houndoom herding her? Alastair was offering treats, the greatest motivation of all, to do such a silly, simple task! It just didn't make sense!
Maybe if the Flaaffy herded herself, she would get the treat instead? Yes, that made sense!
And so off she went, trotted over toward the pair of lines, flopped herself obediently in a spot of grass between them, and let out a bleet of glee. Surely, this would earn her something sweet!
"... Perhaps Stellar would be more apt for herding than Con," Malice commented in a deadpan tone (god forbid she might be AMUSED) to Sepia and Phin, who both gave a sympathetic nod.
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 3:45 pm
Alastair didn’t even notice Stellar’s amazing performance. He was too busy trying to convince Con to do something. “Come on, Con…” he repeated. “You’ll get a treat! All you have to do is make sure Stellar here moves between the lines. How difficult is that? Look, I even have some poffins with me!” digging around briefly in one pocket, he revealed a rather squashed poffin. Amazing that it had survived at all in his pocket, all things considered.
Con blinked his pink eyes at the poffin, as if wondering just what it was. While Alastair didn’t notice it, he had seen the flaafy obediently flop down in the exact space the trainer was talking about. Ok, good! Wonderful! She had done it herself, so why should Con move at all. The houndoom yawned once more and flopped down as well, basking in the sunlight. Mmm… this was nice. Forget the poffins. He would take nice sunshine over a treat any day. It had been a long time since he had felt true sunlight on his fur.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes, hoping to take a quick nap. Imagine his surprise when he realized that Alastair was poking him. The houndoom groaned and rolled over and curled up. If he had been a smaller fluffier pokémon, like a vulpix, it would have been adorable. Actually, it was kind of cute anyway.
Once again, Alastair’s shoulders slumped. “Conrí!” he whined, poking the sleepy houndoom once more. “Don’t sleep now… you can sleep later!”
No such luck. It looked as if the houndoom simply wasn’t interested.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 5:03 pm
Oh, this wasn't going to end well. This wasn't going to end well at all. Glancing from Alastair to Con, from Con to Stellar, and finally back at her human (so-called) 'friend', Malice heaved out a breath, slumping in her seat. That houndoom obviously had no interest in playing along; hell, the one he should've been trying to corral had more herding talent than he did!
Phinneas and Sepia both exchanged a look of equal understanding, mirroring their trainer's sigh in perfect unison.
Well, at least Stellar had decided to take some initiative (SOMEBODY just HAD to, after all!) and help herself to an obviously deserved treat, rising from her perch, plodding over to Alastair... and blithely plunging her stubby little paws into his pants-pocket to fish out the extra treats that just had to be there. Malice was about to speak up and stop her, but--
"... Kabu?"
But it was right then that a certain Ninetales strode onto the scene, slipping into the sunlight with a dull, half-hearted growl. He was looking significantly more intact and rested than the battered creature from Inhinx, though he seemed to lack the usual air of flamboyant superiority. Curious. He even sat down beside his trainer without a fuss, tolerating her stroke along his cheek without a protest.
"... Niiii," he snorted and turned his gaze to Alastair, then Con, and seemed to... roll his eyes? Well, naturally! As expected, that boy was as pathetic a trainer as he was a proper MALE! Hmph!
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 6:14 pm
The feeling of something rooting around in his pockets grabbed Alastair’s attention and he stood straight up, a little confused. That is, until he looked over at Stellar, at which point he was torn between being amused and disgusted. Of course, poor Stellar had no idea that groping around in someone’s pocket was rude. How could she? Unfortunately for Mal, it also gave Alastair a brilliant line…
“…Mal. Your flaafy is molesting me.” Alastair did his best to imitate Mal’s perfectly deadpanned voice, but didn’t come very close. Clearly, the redhead was far more practiced at keeping her emotions perfectly locked away than Alastair was. Gently brushing the flaafy off, Alastair dug around in his pocket until he came up with a little biscuit, which he promptly offered to Stellar. Ah well… she had done her best. And Con… well, he hadn’t done his best, but that was ok. He was just tired from the trip! That’s it!
Now that he had found the perfect excuse for Con’s disinterest in herding, Alastair could safely blame that instead of just realizing that his houdoom simply… didn’t want to herd anything. “Ah, there’s the lovely Ninetales…” apparently, Alastair was also delightfully oblivious to Kabuki’s dislike of him.
Con, on the other hand, was very much aware of it. He simply agreed with everyone else on this matter. Stretching out carefully, the houndoom briefly shook himself off. “The boy,” he explained to the other pokémon, “Is simple. I think he’s been kicked a little too often in the head… would explain quite a lot…” his eyes glanced over the other pokémon, watching them carefully. He recognized a few of them from the journey, mostly just the Ninetales and the Flaafy, since they had taken a part in the battle against Ryou. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that…
But, it was over, and he was ready to put it behind him. “My name is Conrí. Feel free to call me Con if such mellifluous syllables prove to be too many for you. It certainly is for my so-called ‘trainer’.” That was said with a dark sardonic tone to it, telling that he wasn’t mocking Kabuki and the others. He was simply stating a fact about Alastair.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 6:50 pm
... Molesting? What?! Granted, Stellar's rooting didn't exactly look like the most innocent thing Malice had ever seen, but the little flaafy certainly didn't MEAN anything vile! No, that was only Alastair, taking advantage of the situation to make another rotten joke-- and was he mocking her voice, too?! How uncouth!
"Perhaps she wouldn't have 'molested' you if you had been more attentive," she shot back at him, showing off the typical perfectly-deadpan-tone which had no rival when it came to stoic.
Stellar, however, was blissfully unaware of any and all rotten implications with her deed. As far as she was concerned, the mission was a rousing success; she had gotten her biscuit! Grasping the treat and eyeing it with a starry look, she promptly devoured it in two bites, thereafter letting out a cheery bleat and sprawling on her rear in the grass, crumbs flecking her muzzle and content with all things.
Kabuki, however, was paying no attention at all to Stellar's antics (or Alastair's idiocy); rather, the Ninetales was focussed on something more intrigueing... the houndoom from the burning city. And Conri seemed to be talking to him. Hmm... choices, choices. Dare he snap and snarl, or swallow his pride and be civil?
"(... Con, then, to spare my breath,)" he grumbled in a quiet growl, signifying that he grasped those giant words and didn't give a damn for them all at once. Still... there was something caustic about the houndoom that was almost... fascinating. "('Kabuki, if you have to call me something. Your human... is nine tails short of a covered a**, frankly.)" Finally yielding to Mal's stroking of his ears, he huffed a smoky sigh and layed down, but kept his gaze fixed firmly on Con. "(He's an idiot and a fool. I don't like him.)"
Okay, so it wasn't the nicest thing ever... but at least it was civil enough? Sort of?
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 7:32 pm
“I was paying attention!” Alastair’s voice took on a shocked tone. “Oh, wait… you mean to Stellar! No, I was too busy trying to convince Con to do something. Hmm…” following Stellar’s example, he flopped on the grass, ignoring any damage that the grass stains would do to his clothes. Well, they had already gone through hell. A few grass stains wouldn’t make them that much worse. Besides, it reminded him of home. As much as he loved traveling, he still missed home a little. Especially the good home cooking. Mmm… and the growlithes, of course. Heh. Great pokémon… really great…
“So, are you gonna tell me where you’re from, Mal? I’m expecting a letter from home today. That’s why I bring up home and families and such,” he added quickly, knowing that ‘family’ was an oddly sore point for Malice. Since she was such a black sheep, he supposed he could understand why… but, then again, everything seemed like a sore point to her. Best not get offended.
Oddly enough, Con had just adopted the same tactic. After spending years in Inhinx with only Ryou and an ill-tempered absol for company, he knew how to deal with those he didn’t like. He simply crossed his paws and yawned expansively before relaxing his head on the back of them. “Kabs does have a more musical tone to it than fleabag, so I suppose that’s what I’ll call you. As for my ‘trainer’… he barely has enough brain cells to rub each other. But, a good enough boy.”
The fact that Kabuki didn’t like Alastair wasn’t overly worrying. Lots of people, Con was discovering, didn’t like the boy for some reason. Ok, not for ‘some reason’. For several very good reasons. If Con was to attack each and every person who didn’t like Alastair, well, he would never get anything else done. And he had a lot to do, like sleep, eat, and maybe even flirt if he found someone worth his time.
“So, Kabs, where have you been hiding yourself?”
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