[FIN] Check Yourself

[BlackFireKitsune]

Seraphine never particularly liked hospitals. They were full of sick people, or upset people, or injured people, or sometimes even dead people; she had experience with all of those things in hospitals, and thus had no good memories in hospitals at all. Even though her most recent experiences had been for her prosthesis, she still didn't care for hospitals. Of course, getting a long, painful surgery didn't help matters. Just because it had been necessary didn't mean it'd been any less unpleasant, and Sera was not looking forward to how long it'd take to heal. At least when it healed, she'd be able to get her prosthesis and have a functional arm again... To some extent she wasn't sure about yet. It should be just fine, but she couldn't help feeling apprehensive.

And in pain. Lots of pain.

She'd gone out shopping to try and take her mind off her apprehensive feelings, but her medication had slowly worn off and she couldn't take more yet, and so her apprehension did take a back seat -- it took a back seat to the growing, aching pain in her arm. The brunette huffed and grumbled to herself as she carefully readjusted her hand and short arm in her hoodie pocket, disliking the feel of the bandaging around the latter and just how badly it ached. Another hour - a whole hour - before she could take more pain killers...

"Ugh," Sera said as she walked along, causing Anya to perk up her ears a bit. The Umbreon trailed along at her trainer's heels, watching her anxiously rather than where she was going, while Mordecai followed along obediently, several small bags hanging from his arms. She didn't even want to shop anymore, or look at anything or anything. Maybe she should just go home... No, not yet; there was at least one more store she wanted to hit up before giving up and heading home. Maybe if she was quick... Yes, that was a good idea. If she got there quickly, she could go home quickly, maybe get some ice or a heating pad for her arm; that sounded perfect. With that thought in mind, the brunette quickened her pace a few moments before sharply turning the next corner, focusing more on what she'd do to get rid of the pain rather than on where she was going or if there were any obstacles in her way.  

[TawnyAngel]

Another person not looking where they were going was coming in the opposite direction; it is practically a law of the universe that something like this should happen when two people are having a bad day.

Taavi was tired, he always seemed to be tired these days. In between shifts, training with his pokemon, and sleeping badly from stress he always felt.... tired, just tired and worn out and used up. He'd been shopping too not that he'd bought a lot; noodles as usual, a couple of cans of peas that had been marked down, and pokemon food of course. All he wanted now was to get back to Abel's place and eat something quickly before heading out to train and perhaps find some battles, for the money and to work off some steam.

What happened instead, as he rounded the corner, was Seraphine.

Normally when he bumped into somebody or was bumped into Taavi was the first to apologise but his reactions were slow today and his good will a bit limited so when his shoulder bashed against the brown haired woman's instead of going into auto-babble he just stopped dead, a frown creasing his tired face even further.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera never liked being bumped or run into. She knew she was short and taller people sometimes didn't see her right away, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it whenever it happened. Normally it merely irked her, but she'd huff about it and get on with her life. Usually she was just as much at fault, because usually she wasn't paying as much attention as she should've been.

Like right now.

Someone else rounded the corner just as she did and she didn't notice him at all until she collided with him, let alone notice fast enough to avoid or lesson the impact. Given her short stature compared to the height of the other party, she found herself stumbling back a step with a startled gasp. The impact had been minimal at best but pain shot through her arm regardless, and she found herself reaching out to push him away from her - and would probably end up pushing herself away from him instead - as she glared up at him. "******** hell -- watch where you're going!" She yelled; somewhere in the back of her mind she recognized that she probably shouldn't respond nearly so strongly, but the contact had caused the persistent ache in her arm to instantly flare up to an agonizing pain almost on par with how it felt just after the surgery when the pain killers had worn off.

Anya stopped short and her ears perked straight up for a moment before they slicked back, uncertain how to respond to the situation for the moment. Mordecai simply made a concerned whirring noise, but remained where he was.  

[TawnyAngel]

He had been about to apologise, probably they were both a fault but whatever he was tired and wanted to just go but then- then! What the hell was it with white girls in Kodo? Was it something in the water - or their ******** skinny soy lattes - that turned about half of them into raging evil bitches?

"Watch it yourself!" Taavi snapped back, suddenly he didn't feel tired anymore he just felt angry. Who did she think she was with her big pile of bags, looking at him like that? Oh, had the peasant got in her way? Arceus forbid! He was probably dirtying up her air just breathing it! Probably you had to have a mommy or daddy making at least six figures to make eye contact with her.

"Next time you might want to send your butler ahead with a broom to make sure nothing dares get in your way, how about that?" Taavi added in acid tones, glancing behind the woman at the pokemon trailing her; he wondered if they hated her guts but at the moment they both just looked startled so he couldn't really tell.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ow, ow, ow ow ow ow--

Even if the impact had ended and the other offending party wasn't touching her anymore, that didn't lessen the pain in her arm even a little bit; it continued to ache and throb angrily, and the brunette couldn't help but wonder if she could just take her medication now rather than wait an hour. If it would feel this atrocious the whole time, she wasn't sure if she could handle it that long or not.

The fingers on her sole hand flexed, alternately stretching out before clenching into a fist and back again, her nails even digging into her palms a bit each time. Holy s**t did her arm hurt. "Oh please," she snapped back, not missing a beat after his retort and immediately latching onto the altercation as a means of focusing on something other than the sudden onslaught of pain in her short arm, "if you want to get swept off to the side so badly then do everyone a favor and do it yourself. There's dumpsters in pretty much every alley on this street, just go pick one and climb in."  

[TawnyAngel]

Taavi was distantly aware that this wasn't going to actually get him anywhere, that he should just save his energy and walk away but he was sick of life walking on him. It wasn't going to help but he was damned if he was just going to back down now!

"What the hell is your problem?" Taavi demanded, his hand tightening on his meagre bag of shopping. "Do you just walk around all day waiting for the chance to yell at people? Is that what passes for entertainment in your book?" She was probably the kind of person who'd demand to see a manager over the smallest little problem with her order in a restaurant, or who'd give a cashier who wasn't bagging fast enough hell, or - or- lots of other stuff like that! Ugh!  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"You're my problem," the brunette said with a glare, her hand still clenching and unclenching at her side. Damn did her arm hurt; this wasn't really working as a good distraction, but at the very least it helped let off a bit of steam. "I was about to ask you the same question - do you bump into people on purpose and then play it off like it's their fault and you're the victim or something? Or do you just expect to be able to bump into anyone you want and then get pissed when someone actually fights back?" Seriously, what was his deal?

And what was her deal, a voice in the back of her head asked, but she ignored it for the moment.

Anastasia hesitated before glancing up at Mordecai - he was focused on their trainer, unfortunately, so she couldn't exchange a questioning glance with him - before she frowned and looked back up at the pair of humans, ears back. She whined softly in an attempt to get Sera's attention and to maybe encourage her to stop, but her attempt failed to garner any sort of reaction from the brunette.  

[TawnyAngel]

"We both walked around the corner without looking," Taavi snapped back quickly, gesturing to it wildly with his free hand. "We could just have had a mutual 'oh, sorry about that' but no, you had to decide to yell at me and blame me completely for it! I mean why?" He gestured again, at the sky this time to illustrate his disbelief. "I don't get why some people decide that the best way to react to a simple accident is to throw a temper tantrum like a spoiled brat who wasn't allowed any candy from the store!"

This was stupid, he should just back down and go but damnit he was right! They should both apologise, and then she should apologise for acting like a crazy b***h! She wasn't going to though was she? Well... well he wasn't going to back down either! If he just stayed angry enough then maybe he wouldn't end up shrinking away from the conflict pathetically like he usually would.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Because it hurt!" She shouted back, as if he'd understand why it had, and only acknowledged his gestures enough to step back to avoid them, even if they didn't come close to her person. "And don't start acting all high and mighty like you're so much better than I am - or did you forget already that you started yelling back and you were the one to start slinging s**t, not me!" This time, anyway.

"Umbreon," Anya interjected firmly as she stepped around to better aim a frown up at her trainer. Why did she insist on standing here, yelling at a perfect stranger? What good would that do?

"He did though!" She insisted, this time to the dark-type at her side, as if Anya had contested it. Anya whined again before she grabbed the fabric around Sera's ankle and tugged on it gently, hoping to convey her meaning better this time; they should just leave and go home. What was the point of standing here shouting like this?  

[TawnyAngel]

"Yeah, after you'd cursed at me! Was I just supposed to roll over and take it?" Maybe he should have, he was still angry but this was not fun and he really wished it wasn't happening. Just like everything else in his life right now! Wasn't that just something. Taavi let out an irritated breath and shook his head. "I'm sorry if it hurt," though he couldn't see why it would, it wasn't like he'd kicked her or anything! "but that's still no reason to just launch into swearing at somebody when you were equally to blame!" Why did stuff like this keep happening to him? Was it some kind of sign that he'd ******** up by coming to Kodo? Nothing had gone right since he'd come here, nothing, and it felt like nothing would ever again. How had Abel put up with having a gun to his head for so long? It was exhausting, soul destroying. How could anything ever be okay again?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"I didn't curse at you," she clarified, almost scoffing at the fact he could even think such a thing. "Some people swear when s**t happens, it doesn't have to be aimed at anybody. I didn't say 'go to hell' or '******** you' or anything, did I?" She asked, pointing an accusing finger at him, but she didn't bother to wait for a response before she continued, "No, I didn't! I just said 'watch it' and then you started railing into me about butlers and s**t! Seriously though, butlers? What's that even about? Where did that even come from?" The brunette demanded suddenly. Seriously though, why did he start off with butlers and s**t? She didn't dress fancy today at all, no make-up, no nothing - so why? Maybe he just had a Thing about girls going shopping or something? Was that it?

Anya huffed and let go of her trainer as she flopped her hindquarters onto the pavement, ears falling back. Obviously they'd be here for a while... A thought occurred to her though, and she peered large blue eyes upward into empty space. "Breon? Umbreon, eon."

"Mis," a wispy voice replied a moment before a pale Mismagius appeared floating in the air near Mordecai, and she offered the dark-type a skeptical, dubious expression. "Magius..."  

[TawnyAngel]

What was this girl's problem? He'd apologised but apparently she wasn't done being a psycho! "You said '******** hell' watch it," Taavi snapped - she'd said something like that anyway - "and it was pretty obvious you were directing it at me! And come on," he gestured at the Metang following her, "all those... tiny little bags!" That hadn't made much sense, had it? "Tiny bags are always expensive; have expensive things in them!" He kind of felt like he was losing the upper hand here; this was an argument and he didn't like it, he wasn't good at arguing, he hated it, he wanted to leave - right now - but he still didn't want to back down either! He shouldn't have said anything, he should just have let her yell at him and taken it- but why should he? Why should he just let everyone walk all over him?

Torn between wildly opposing impulses and emotions Taavi remained rooted to the spot, silently wishing that he'd been walking on the other side of the street so none of this would be happening.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"There was a pause between the two," the brunette pointed out impatiently, "meaning they were separate." Duh. Maybe he was just bad at interpreting what people said, maybe he had a victim complex or something? Some people were just so self-absorbed like that. For a brief moment, Sera was quite glad she had gotten past that point, herself.

Tiny bags...? Bewildered for a moment, Sera glanced back at a surprised-looking Mordecai at the small bags he held in his arms. What? No, seriously -- what? "What?" She voiced her eloquent thoughts before she turned back to aim a glare at him. "Seriously? 'Tiny bags have expensive things in them'? Do you even hear yourself?" She asked incredulously, gesturing at him with her hand while keeping her other, aching arm firmly in her hoodie pocket. "Oh yes, of course they mean s**t's expensive, because big things aren't expensive or anything, or it's not like the employees didn't want to waste a big bag for something small, like some pens or a pair of socks or something," she said with a huff; not that those items were on her list of things she bought, but they were the first items that came to mind. "And besides, my shopping is a whole lot of none of your business, what do you care if I buy anything expensive? What if I did have a butler, what's that got to do with anything? What -- are you jealous? Do you want a butler or something?" Seriously, it was a little weird how he immediately started harping on about butlers and apparently expensive things. What was his deal? Did he just not like rich people or something? Did he think she was rich? ...well he wouldn't be the first person to make that mistake, she realized; Nate had made the same mistake when she'd met him, too.  

[TawnyAngel]

He had definitely lost control of the situation. A lot. With his stomach now knotting more with a growing cold dread than hot anger and hands tensed by his sides Taavi tried to think of something to say. What could he say? She kinda sounded rich and he'd assumed? And tiny bags did often have expensive things in them! And he was just angry damnit and even if she wasn't rich she had to be way better off than he was and yeah he was jealous of that! He would love to have stuff like a home and money to but actual decent food!

"I... I... Well you didn't have to yell!" Tavvi stammered after a painful silence in which he totally failed to think of any smart comebacks. "Just- just why do you have to be so aggressive?" Right now he really wished something would happen to break this- this stand off or whatever it was, he shouldn't have engaged with her, he hated arguments.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Aha; he was out of comebacks now and seemed to be on the defensive. Did she have to yell? No, no she didn't, but she had and it wasn't like she could change that now. Not that she probably would; that had hurt. So, passing over that comment and latching onto the next one, Sera said, "Because I don't put up with bullshit from people, that's why."

"Magius?"

"I don't have the patience to deal with it."

"Magius."

"And another thing," she began, pointing a finger at him and continuing her glare, "you--"

"Mismagius," Giselle interjected firmly, her usual ethereal tones hardening in an effort to get Sera's attention.

It worked. Sera's head whipped to look at the ghost, her glare softening into an expression of obvious displeasure. "What?"

"Magius, mismagius," the ghost-type said, frowning. "Mis."

"But he started it!" The brunette contested heatedly, gesturing to Taavi. "I was just--"

"Magius. Mis mismagius," Giselle said, frown deepening as one wispy tendril gestured down to a mildly frustrated Anastasia.

Sera frowned and followed the gesture for a moment before glancing back up at her Mismagius, who continued speaking for a few more moments. Once she finished, the brunette huffed and put her fist on her hip, "Fine."