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 Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 8:21 pm
Ah… now, this was the life. After all the excitement of the road, Alastair was glad to be back in society and civilization again. Well, sort of glad. So far, there was a lot of interest in the small group of trainers and what they had found. Alastair had elected to keep his mouth shut about the silver hidden up in Inhinx. If word got out about that, it would repeat all over again. Each and every trainer had done his or her best to hide the silver or destroy it, but… it wouldn’t be enough. Just let it stay hidden, was Alastair’s opinion, which he had frequently vocalized in the helicopter, probably to the annoyance of the others.
Defying the laws of chance, he also managed to sustain a wound while in the helicopter. It was amazing, in a way. He had managed to get past a cave-in, several swarms, a snow storm, a sudden heat wave, flame-storms, melting silver, and a huge battle, but… getting out of a helicopter proved to be too difficult for the trainer and he fell out. Damn… he would be hearing about that later from Malice. Stepping into the hotel gratefully, he made a beeline for the cushy-looking chairs in the lobby. Now there was something his butt had missed this past week: a nice soft chair.
He sank into the soft cushions with a happy sigh, pleased to have returned to some sort of civilization. It wasn’t home, but it would make due. Oh, right! Speaking of home… he unclipped the pokeball from his belt and released Conrí in a flash of light. The pale houndoom looked around the place uncomfortably, looking very out-of-place among the glitz and glamour. After all, it had been years since he had been in such a place. With a quiet whine, he placed his head in Alastair’s lap and consistently growled quietly at anyone who walked too close.
No one would take him from his trainer THIS time around…
Conrí had never felt so out-of-place in his life. After all, his entire life had been spent in Inhinx, which, for the better years, had been just a small village. And then it had turned bad… he shook his head slightly to dislodge the memories before he nudged at Alastair’s hand, wanting some reassurance from his new trainer. Either that, or food, since it seemed like he had an awful lot of food on his person.
This new trainer was pretty much the opposite of his former one. The first one… again, Con didn’t want to think about the past. Not right now anyway. And he would KEEP this trainer too! Whenever anyone walked too closely---Con decided he was the perfect judge of this----the houndoom would growl, just enough to keep the offender away. Clearly, since no one had tried to take Alastair away, Con was doing a very good job.
ooc| Yeah... >.> This is pretty much an after-Halloween-event rp for Han and me. Yeah, I know there's another thread already set up, but... we kinda just want to rp together. No offense. We just don't want to sift through thirty replies before we find each other's.
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:05 pm
... Talk about a culture shock. Malice had never really been the type for excess or oppulance, but to go straight from the frozen wasteland of Inhinx to some satin-padded five star hotel... It was almost too much to take! Was it really necassary for each chair to be lined in satin and stuffed with the finest Mareep wool? Did every wall need to be covered in tapestries or reproductions of epic paintings? And the food... God, the richness nearly sent her stomach into dry heaves when she first tried it, wincing and wishing for nothing more than a bag of trail mix or granola.
In short, she didn't belong in such a fancy hotel, or a fancy life, for that matter, but... at least the beds seemed comfortable enough-- silk sheets or no. So long as it was warm, dry and sheltered, she could handle the new "terrain" without complaint.
Her Pokemon, on the other hand, all seemed to have no trouble living it up.
Following an obligatory investigation of the vicinity (it was only natural to be suspicious of new places), Kabuki decided that the bed in Malice's room looked mightily comfortable-- and thusly claimed it for himself. The Ninetales was currently sprawled across a nest of messy covers, head rested on a pillow and dozing peacefully. His injuries were already beginning to heal, thanks to expert nursing and ample leisure time.
Stellar was interested more in food than rest, of course, and promptly plodded off to find the nearest buffet in which she procured a number of sugary fruits and berries to chew outside in the courtyard. Lazing beneath a perfectly pruned tree, she was currently indulging herself with a bowl of wedged pineapple, muzzle sticky and smiling up at the clear sky. Also hungry, Sepia had joined her for lunch (which was unusual, given that she was generally attached at the hip to Mal), chewing a slice of apple in utter content.
... Which left Phinneas, poor Phinneas, to whine and cower in the strange new place, hiding behind a curtain until a certain somebody happened to spy the trembling lump, grab him by the tail and scoop the little Shinx up in her arms. "Shhhh.... Phin, relax..." Gently rubbing at the tips of his ears, Malice had managed to finally settle him down somewhat, and decided that it would just be better to keep him in tow for the rest of their stay. She didn't want him having a seizure from panic, after all.
And so the redhead, freshly clothed in a pair of white pajamas (hotel courtesy) and cradling her dear neurotic furball, strolled lamely off down the hall towards the lobby... well, actually, the buffet-- but the lobby came first and...
Oh, dammit.
It couldn't be Alastair sprawled across one of the public chairs. It couldn't be. But it was... and she was right in his line of sight.
And naturally, spotting the giant, ghostly Houndoom prowling about, Phinneas had to start screaming again. JOY.
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:33 pm
Actually, Alastair would have missed Mal’s entrance entirely, since his eyes were currently closed. Mmm… this chair was so comfortable that he wanted to sleep right now. Forget going to his room! This was plenty comfortable. And the chair was just perfect for slouching… the sudden shriek that went through the air made his eyes shoot open, however. Even more important was the sudden howling from Con.
“Con! Con, please be quiet… people are staring, Con…” he pleaded ineffectually with the houndoom, stroking his head and jerking his hands back when the pokémon suddenly snapped at his fingers. “CON!” Now there was a shocked tone to his voice. The houndoom whined softly, and ceased howling, looking absolutely pathetic. And also like he expected to be hit.
Aww… now Alastair felt back for yelling at him. “Poor baby…” he muttered, although the words were probably lost in the chaos that was the shinx’s scream. At least Con was calmed down, at least mostly. He still looked scared, the poor houndoom. Clearly, it would take more than a few hours for his mind to recover from the abuse he had endured over the years. “Hey, Mal!” Alastair waved at his new best friend, raising his voice over the shinx’s cry. “NICE DAY, HUH?”
Con couldn’t really say why the sudden noise spooked him so much. Maybe it was just because everything had been nice and quiet… and noise always meant trouble. It meant pain again. And more work in the mines, of course. Naturally, he reverted back to his typical state, which was to send a warning to his blind friend in the form of a howl. A very, very loud howl. The hand in front of his face merely startled him…
But now that it was all over, the pale houndoom felt a little ashamed of his actions. But still annoyed at the noisy shinx. The noise was starting to grate against his ears. And that person! He remembered the red-hair female from earlier. She had spoken to Alastair before, or, more often, Alastair would talk to her and she would grudgingly respond. Was she here to take him away from Alastair? If she was, she would find it a tough battle.
With all the noise from the shinx and houndoom, it was no surprise that other pokémon were also screeching in their own calls.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 7:35 pm
This was great, really-- just bloody GREAT. In no time at all a harmless stroll to the buffet had fallen into utter chaos! Phinneas was screaming his head off. Conri was barking and howling up a storm. Alastair was still trying to irritate her with chipper sarcasm and a small crowd had taken to staring at the freak-show-on-display with no sublety or tact whatsoever! Could this get ANY worse?!
And then Con suddenly resigned itself, leaving only a certain Shinx to fill the room with ear-splitting cacophany. Fed up, shaken and nothing short of disgruntled, Malice finally gave up clamped her bandaged hand over his muzzle... which, to the surprise of all, actually worked. Several seconds passed before the trainer dared release her grasp, rewarded with wonderful, blessed silence at last.
... Aside from the damned ringing in her ears, that was-- and whatever other Pokemon had been riled in the distance. Now to address the next matter at hand!
"... Nice isn't the adjective that first comes to mind," she remarked in her usual deadpan tone-- which was all but norm now, and (against every better judgement) seated herself on the nearest couch cushion. She might as well, there was no quick escape from Alastair, anyway. "But... it's fair enough, I guess. You seem to be... enjoying this place."
It was quite possibly the closest she would ever come to conversation-- but still progress! ... right? At least she hadn't turned tail and bolted the other direction!
Phinneas, in her lap, had taken to silently gawking at Conri now-- or moreso.. staring at the Houndoom in utter terror, wide eyed and unblinking as though he'd been frozen in place. What was WITH him, anyway?!
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 7:55 pm
Oh. Well, this was a nice surprise. Alastair had expected Mal to take the nearest exit, polite or not. After all, she didn’t really care about etiquette, now did she? Clearly, he was growing off of her after all. He let out a grateful sigh once her shinx stopped screeching. Damn, he had never heard any pokémon make that much of a racket! And considering that he had grown up on a ranch, that was quite a few. Ignoring the crowd completely, Alastair luxuriously stretched out before languidly relaxing in the chair. Or ‘lounging’, more specifically. It probably shouldn’t have been possible for the man to relax that much in those cushions, but he managed with one leg thrown over the arm of the chair.
“Enjoying? Ha! Damn right I am, Mal. After a week of riding that tauros, my crotch is grateful that my a** gets the brunt of sitting now.” He suddenly seemed to become aware of the crowd with a false-start of surprise. “Oh. Hello. I don’t suppose any of you would be willing to kiss it better? No? Then shove off, the lot of you…” that actually worked surprisingly well, as most of the people disappeared as soon as he had made the offer (or threat, depending on how you took it). Alastair grinned in satisfaction at a job well done. Still had that touch… well, except for Mal, apparently. He could annoy her easily, but still hadn’t gotten a blush out of her.
“You’re not enjoying this place?” he asked, now that they were at least somewhat alone. “Can’t imagine why… sleep when you can, because you never know when you’ll need the energy. Eat when you can because you don’t know when the next meal will come. And bathe when you can because no one wants to sleep with someone who smells like a decomposing tauros. That’s my motto.” Kind of… weird for someone who hadn’t bathed in the past week, actually. None of the trainers on the road to Inhinx had bathed. “Is that Phinneas?” he asked, gesturing towards the terrified little shinx. One of his hands went to Con’s head, petting the houndoom in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. See? The pale houndoom wasn’t going to eat anyone!
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:14 pm
Malice chose not to answer (or rather, gutlessly dodge) Alastair's first question, brushing it off as though she had been too distracted to hear. To be honest, she really wasn't enjoying this overkill of luxury like the other trainers. Sure, it was nice to have a warm bed. It was nice to get up and know that there was breakfast waiting just down the hall. It was nice that they didn't have to worry about murderous Absol or saddle sores (which STILL hurt like HELL) or thieving Meowths, but...
But there was just something she couldn't stand about the place, something about the false smiles of the doll-faced attendants whenever they offered a drink or lemon-scented handtowel. Then again... it could've just as easily been the company they'd been forced to put up with. If Malice had her way, she could have left the other trainers (well, most of them) behind her and never looked back.
"Yes," haulting her digression, she rested her good hand atop the Shinx's head, lightly stroking his funny, mousy mowhawk. "... This is Phinneas. He... tends to be high-strung at times."
As if THAT hadn't been made obvious from the screaming-- but at least it was an answer, right? Sure, she wasn't exactly prompting him to ask more questions... but at least she seemed to be tolerating him well enough?
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:57 pm
Of course, if Malice had tried to leave Alastair behind, he probably would have followed her anyway, out of morbid curiosity and boredom. The power of boredom was truly an amazing thing… it was probably that amazing power that was keeping Mal here now, but Alastair didn’t seem to mind. As if completely oblivious of Mal’s distaste towards the cushy environment, he continued, “Course, I wouldn’t be able to stand this place for more than a few days. It would get boring quickly, I imagine, being waited on hand and foot. That, and there is something vaguely unnerving about someone waiting for you right as you get out of a bathtub. Sure, it’s flattering, but…”
He eyed the little creature in Mal’s lap for a little while longer, trying to form an opinion of it beyond ‘aww… what a poor little guy’. There was just something about those wide innocent eyes and the piercing shriek that demanded more sympathy than a roadkill jigglypuff. Far more, actually, since Phinneas was actually cute. “Huh. Makes me glad I chose Stellar for the loan… by the way, thanks for doing that. I don’t think I would have gotten Con here if you hadn’t lent her to me.”
At the mention of his name, the pale houndoom looked away from Phinneas and wagged his tail a little. This place, with all of the people, made the houndoom anxious. It wasn’t normal for his species to be nervous at all, but… well, he had plenty of reasons to be. For one thing, people kept looking at him all funny… One person had even approached Alastair with an offer to buy him! BUY! Con snorted out a small smoke ring before resting his head on his paws once more.
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 2:43 pm
Of course he would've followed her anyway if she tried to escape-- so what was the use at all? Malice wasn't a fool. That would've just been a waste of energy, trying to remove the un-removeable parasite that was Alastair! All she could really do was sit there and humor his conversation until he got bored and left her alone, really.
"... It was necassary," she responded somewhat mechanically, but then paused, debating something, and sighed defeatedly. "... But... you're welcome, Alastair. Stellar seemed to enjoy herself quite a bit with you.” God, that was painful to get out-- and what kind of grave was she digging for herself with all this chatter, anyway?! At this rate, she'd never be rid of him!
Phinneas's attentions were still trained on Conri all the while, staring at the ghastly Houndoom as though he expected to be torn apart and devoured at any moment. Was that poor Shinx always this neurotic?
"... Your Houndoom seems to be showing some signs of anxiety," Malice commented offhandedly, following her own Pokemon's gaze (if only to keep from eye contact with a certain other human). "... I don't think... this environment suits him very well."
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 9:35 pm
Well, what do you know… Malice apologized, the world didn’t collapse entirely. The signs of the Apocalypse were still noticeably absent. Clearly, Alastair would have to re-write his own personal Signs of the Ending of the World. This didn’t bother him, as his edition tended to go under frequent revisions. The current version included Malice blushing like a little schoolgirl, her shinx facing down an arcanine, and a certain individual ceasing her attempts to shift blame on something else completely unrelated.
He glanced down at Con, who was now giving him the great big puppy dog eyes of doom. “Yeah… he doesn’t like being around a lot of other people much… the only reason he came out at Inhinx was because he was afraid that his friend would be badly injured… can’t blame him for thinking that, seeing all he’s gone through. Both of them, I mean… he’ll have to get used to people though. I’ve got plans for him.” His hand went to the houndoom’s broken horns, gently brushing by one of the broken tips. Hmm… that would probably be a mark against him in any contest. But Alastair had other plans in mind for his new houndoom.
“I’m gonna see if he likes herding at all,” he said, answering the question that had not yet been asked. “I think he’d like it. It’s easy work that involves lots of running around and protecting things. Maybe I’ll even enter him into the trails, if he gets over his… people-thing.”
“So… what’s Phinneas’s excuse for being as high-strung as a harp on amphetamines?”
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:09 pm
Oh, joy and rapture; he was asking questions YET AGAIN-- and she, in a sure sign of the End he had prophecied, was actually going to give in... and answer him. Woe unto the planet, doomed by such misfortune and impossibility as this! If only the rest of the world might know its terrible fate!
Hearing his name called by a person who was most certainly NOT Malice, little Phinneas's fussing started anew; this time, it was a long spell whimpering and shaking in her lap. Was there anything that didn't make him have a shuddering fit?!
"... Well..." Deciding it best not to comment on her not-quite-friend's ridiculous notions for poor Conri, Malice, against all better instrincts, decided to answer his other inquiry instead. "I suppose he's just always been that way, really... His breeder reported that the psychoneurotic tendencies began just days after birth, so... it's always been present, I suppose."
A breeder? So, that was where she'd gotten him? Or was she oversimplifying a complicated story? Who could guess, because she certainly wouldn't be explaining herself willingly. Instead, her attentions were back to the Shinx in question, carefully using her good hand to massage at his back... which, surprisingly, seemed to quiet him down. Then again... if he had "always" been that way, she had to have countless experience with these ridiculous panic attacks and know every trick in the book on how to counteract them!
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:37 pm
Wow. Now Alastair had to look at Phinneas with pity. The poor little critter… imagine going through life knowing nothing other than fear. That was simply sad. If you were constantly afraid of something, then nothing would ever happen. A breeder… clearly not a very good one, then. Or maybe Phinneas was just one of those unfortunate pokémon who was chaff. Waste. Alastair understood that, in a way. His family depended on pokémon for their money. If they wasted money on one that wouldn’t repay… well, it had to be gotten rid of, usually by selling it to a nice trainer. If not that, then a family friend got a nice new pet.
“How’s your hand?” he asked after a moment, gesturing towards her injury. That was kinda a stupid question. It still had a bandage on it, didn’t it? Clearly, it wasn’t completely healed. “And don’t think that I missed that telling look when I told you that I want to train Con to be a mareep-herding houndoom. It’s not that unusual. My family’s used growlithes for years. Can’t see why training a houndoom would be any different. I’ll have you know that I’ve trained pokémon before. And won prizes for it too in the trails.”
Weell… maybe training THIS houndoom would be different. Training tactics had to be tailored to specific pokémon, after all. Positive feedback was always the best method, in Alastair’s opinion. Hmm… speaking of training… he eyed the neurotic shinx, wondering what he would have done with a similar pokémon. If it was Phinneas’s nature, then there was no training it out of him. And it certainly sounded like it was his nature. But maybe he was simply too full of energy.
“You know what? You’re right. Con doesn’t like this place. We should go outside or something. Some fresh air will do him some good. They should all go outside tonight, or else they’ll keep everyone else up.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:03 am
"My hand... is fine." Once again the redhead skillfully avoided any comment on his plans for poor Conri's future, glancing down at her wrapped hand. Sure, it still hurt terribly-- but she''d never bother admitting that. "It was only a superficial wound and..."
Wait a second.
Go outside-- with him-- and inevitably perpetuate this ridiculous social contact any further? Ha! Surely, Alastair must have been crazy to believe that Malice would ever cooperate with such a thing! As far as she was concerned, her number one objective remained on that of food and, once that had been accomplished, it was back into seclusion for the rest of this silly stay!
... But then she heard the approaching chatter of their once "traveling group" and had a prompt epiphany that maybe it wouldn't be so terrible to stay in his company, after all! Better him than the rest of the sheep!
"... Outside sounds lovely," she muttered a bit too hastily, scooping Phinneas back up in her arms (to which the little Shinx responded with a squeak) and making a beeline for the nearest door. "I'm sure an open environment might do Phin's nerves some benefit."
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Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 6:18 pm
As a matter of fact, some people did indeed believe Alastair to be crazy. In general, he did nothing to dissuade them of this opinion, on the basis that being considered insane wasn’t that bad. No one ever asked him for money, for one thing. No one ever bothered him. In fact, most people would just avoid him. And, best of all, no one would ask him to help move heavy objects. If they did, he could always start shrieking about shrimp and their nefarious scheme to take over the world with the help of broccoli gnomes. But that’s a story for another day…
Alastair merely smiled at Mal’s sudden interest in going as far away from the traveling group as possibleoutside, and said nothing of it. Why should he? He was getting what he wanted, right? “I dunno about any benefit, but at least then he’ll be outside and then he can scream as loudly as he wants to without waking anyone up,” Alastair pointed out as he followed Mal. “Con? Come on, Con.”
For a moment, it looked as if the pale houndoom would rather stay right where he was. He had just gotten comfortable! And he didn’t want to go near the shinx again. He made loud obnoxious noises, which Con didn’t like. But, at seeing his trainer’s insistence, he followed with a quiet whine. At least they were going away from all the people… Con didn’t like crowds. They were so… cumbersome and entrapping.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 2:13 pm
Cumbersome? Entrapping? Oh, Con didn't know the half of it! Having (regretabbly) spent her life around the human animal, Malice was all too aware of just how bothersome they could be-- particularely in large herds... and she wanted no more to do with them than was absolutely necassary. Besides, stupidity seemed to amplify in stupid company.
"... Fresh air... is good for the psyche," she commented, as though it might be some attempt at conversation, but didn't rouse the nerves to glance over at her 'friend' (sort of) while they strode out. "It calms the nerves. Mental health directly effects physical, after all..."
The heavy, luxurious hotel door swung open now to reveal the courtyard: shining under the sunlight in all its perfectly-groomed splendor. Blue skies, dotted with friendly cotton balls, rolled across the horizon. Trees waved lightly in a pleasent breeze. Giant furry pink sheeps sat beneath them, bleeting and chewing pineapple from little plastic bowls in their laps with little brown foxes beside them--
... Wait a second.
"Sep, Stell, there you are..." Sure enough, both the Flaaffy and Eevee had been eating under the shade, and both turned in unison to squeal a friendly hello... with sticky fruit juice plastered all over their faces. "It looks as though you two are enjoying this life quite a bit, hnn..."
Now, if she could just get Phinneas that relaxed, all would be right in the world!
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Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:08 pm
Speaking of fresh air directly affecting mental health, Malice was being oddly friendly. That is, she was making a half-assed attempt to carry on a conversation. Sort of. Kind of. Not really… still, it was more than she usually did, which pleased Alastair. He was getting to her. Sooner or later, she might actually seek him out intentionally instead of randomly running into him!
And the skies of the world may someday be filled with grumpigs. Maybe piloswine and swinubs would join them. If you’re going to dream, you might as well dream big, right?
There was a special sort of wildness that came from a garden that was perfectly trained. There wasn’t a tree here that grew out of order. Even the weeds were afraid to poke up without permission, which they invariably never got. This was a place where every single plant was pruned, preened, and snipped into submission. Alastair’s nose wrinkled, but he went out anyway, on the basis that it was better than being inside. The sight of Stellar and Sepia brought a grin back to his face quickly, especially Stellar. He had grown rather fond of the fluffy flaafy.
Also, it gave him a good idea. If Con was going to be a herding houndoom, he had to start training right away. Most started when they were just puppies. Might as well start with Stellar, since Alastair knew and trusted her.
“Hmm… could I borrow Stellar for a moment?” he asked, turning to Mal with that innocent grin of his, the one that so many people seemed to trust. That is, unless they knew him, in which case they didn’t trust that grin at all, since it always preceded some crazy idea.
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