[PRP] Much Ado About Nothing

[BlackPidgeot]

It's that time of year again. The time where people scurry about an shop till they drop. Trying to find the perfect gift for those special someones in their life. Yuri never really was much into Christmas. It was sort of a thing that happened every year, and just came and went. He paid it little mind usually. Not that he was a scrooge or anything, but well... when you grow up without a family and live in the poorest part of town, that's kinda how it goes.

He did enjoy seeing the decorations all around Devoirue when he was a kid, but he's since grown out of that fascination. If anything, it kinda annoyed him how people went around spending money like nothing for frivolous things that may or may not be appreciated by others. It was something he tried to ignore.

Yuri was doing his own bit of shopping this day, but the practical kind. He needed a few things and was dodging crowds to get there. Carrying a couple bags, even Repede toted a small one in his mouth as he followed, Yuri was taking a different route home. One that took him through a plaza with a large fountain. It was a nice part of town, and with an easygoing smile. he stopped to stare at the water feature which reminded him of the one back home.  

[Suudonym]

Corinne, conversely, loved the holiday season. She loved the cooler weather and the possibility of snow, the lights and decorations, the tastes and scents that persisted in the colder months. And, more importantly, Christmas was the one day out of the year that Olivier was guaranteed to get out of work - but that didn't exactly matter anymore. Despite all efforts to get into the spirit for her first holiday in Kodo, Corinne was having a hard time feeling very festive. Her "family" seemed awfully unaccommodating, and what good was a holiday when you couldn't be comfortable at home with your family?

But she was determined to at least try to enjoy it, and she started this effort by buying a few ornaments she liked - all her favorites had been left behind when she left Olivier's apartment in Grande Ile. Camphoreon's plaza was crowded, though, with shoppers similar to herself, and she with her own purchases for the day achieved, she tried her best to maneuver through the crowded area (it was during times like this that she felt most advantaged to be unable to hear; she was having a hard enough time fighting back a crowd-induced headache without all the noise they were probably producing). As she moved, one of the bags on her arm was jostled by someone moving in the opposite direction, the handle snapped, and the little padded box contained within slipped to the ground. Neither its owner nor the Growlithe trotting along at her side noticed its fall.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Repede noticed though, and stopping, put down his bag and sniffed at the box. He then turned to Yuri an wuffed, which got the man's attention. Stooping down, he picked up the small box an looked up just in time to see a girl walking away with a broken bag.

"Hey!" he tried calling out to her. "HEY!" When she didn't respond or even stop, Yuri tried following her through the crowd.

Had he been any less of a person, he might have just walked off with it. Instead he was weaving through the throngs of people, trying to get that girl's attention. Which wasn't so easy.

Repede picked up his bag again and followed too, making eye contact with Yuri who took the bag from the canine. The blue Growlithe then ran ahead, able to dodge feet a lot quicker than his human companion. The Pokemon barking as he ran through the crowd, which earned him a few glances and stares.  

[Suudonym]

Ordinarily Lady would have noticed that someone was calling to her trainer, but it was nigh impossible to distinguish which humans were calling to which in such a crowd, especially if she didn't know the voice of the one calling. What she did notice, however, was the voice of one of her own in a tone that beckoned her attention. The vest-clad Growlithe leaned against her trainer suddenly, holding her dark eyes when she looked down; Corinne had come to understand her guide's expressions easily and slowed her pace, turning to look behind her in curiosity and tilting her head at the other Growlithe that approached them. Lady seemed to be expecting communication from it, so maybe it was someone she knew-- not likely. Curious circumstances.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Finally.

Repede slowed to a trot as he came up to the two ladies and wuffed at the other Growlithe to wait. He then turned to look behind him as Yuri was pushing past shoppers and those gawking at his dog.

"Dammit. Sorry. Coming through."

Clutching the box, Yuri eventually managed to push his way through.

"Good job Repede," he told his companion. Then held out the box to the girl with a slightly flustered smile.

"Hey, you dropped this."  

[Suudonym]

Lady seemed to be waiting for something, and so Corinne waited too - but it wasn't a very long wait before someone followed in the other Growlithe's wake, fighting his way through the inattentive masses. She watched him curiously before she realized that his lips were moving and she probably should have been paying closer attention to what he was saying than to his overall appearance. Then he was presenting a familiar-looking box to her.

-y, you drop--

Suddenly in motion, Corinne inhaled a soundless gasp, inspecting the broken loop on her shopping bag and noting the missing contents. She turned back to the stranger, her expression both grateful and mortified, with her hands gesturing rapidly. A thought seemed to strike her, and she reached into the panels of fabric on her person and withdrew a dark device that sprang to light at her touch. In a few short strokes, she presented her response, 'Thank you so much! I had no idea I'd dropped it!'  

[BlackPidgeot]

Looking on as the girl's hands move rapidly, Yuri's face is now one of confusion. Was that... sign language or something? His confusion mounts when she pulls out a phone and looks as if she's texting, before showing the screen to him. He has to lean in closer to actually read the words on the small screen.

Once he's read it, Yuri leans back again and smirks a little.

"Don't mention it." He then pauses and looks a little sheepish. "Though I guess you can't actually hear what I'm saying, huh?"

Naturally if she's using sign language and has to type her words on a phone, she must be deaf or mute or both.

Repede meanwhile seems to be paying more attention to Lady. The blue Growlithe sitting tall with his head tilted up, looking at her with his good eye and a doggy smirk on his face.  

[Suudonym]

A smile, and another message presented for him to read: 'No, sir. I have some experience with reading lips, though.' Halting experience, but as long as he didn't suddenly change the topic to something completely unrelated or stop looking directly forward or something she could more or less deduce what he was saying.

Lady inclined her head to a side under the other Growlithe's scrutiny, dividing her attention between him and their trainers. Though not hostile by any stretch of the imagination, the fire dog wasn't much of a conversationalist. She regarded Repede politely, quietly enjoying the novelty of meeting another that was like herself and yet so different from herself.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Huh. Well I guess that's pretty handy."

He then takes a moment to actually look the girl over and notices something interesting, his smirk renewed.

"You're not from around here are you."

Yuri tried to speak a little slower since it was now obvious that she had to read his lips to know what he was saying.

It wasn't often that Repede got to meet other Growlithes either, and a girl at that. Eventually he wuffed at her in proper greeting, introducing himself and asking her name.  

[Suudonym]

Ah, now that was nice. It was always pleasant when a conversational partner didn't mind making small adjustments to accommodate her. It was a rare treat when she was able to distinguish every word of a sentence. His words caused her a brief confusion before she remembered that her mode of dress wasn't exactly the norm for Kodo, and she smiled sheepishly, 'I suppose that's obvious, isn't it? Yes, I just moved to this region not too long ago.' Although, come to think of it, wasn't he dressed in just the same fashion as her? She amended the text on the screen, 'Either there are a lot more Grande Ile natives here than I expected, or the style is strangely popular in Kodo.'

Lady replied with her own designation in turn, adding the specification that she was Corinne's companion - for that was the most important thing about her, of course. She looked up at the conversing trainers with interest, noting her appreciation that Repede's human would take the time to properly speak with her own. Corinne always seemed especially pleased after such encounters.  

[BlackPidgeot]

The same fashion yes, but certainly less elaborate than her and a lot of other people from their native island. "Yeah, there's a lot of us running around here. I keep finding them. Nobles and all."

Yuri then suddenly had to dodge some man who wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Causing Yuri to have to do some fancy footwork to keep from stumbling into Corrine, the dogs, or anyone else for that matter.

"Whoa! HEY!" he shouted at the guy who nearly ran him over.

"Maybe this isn't the best place to talk."

Repede, about to answer Lady, took a couple steps back to give Yuri room when he stumbled around. Yeah, it was definitely crowded here and just standing in the middle of a mass of people like this wasn't smart.  

[Suudonym]

Nobles? She blinked in surprise, wondering if maybe she had misunderstood his pronunciation. It was an odd thought that foreign nobility would wander around in Kodo so openly that one could simply run into them on the street.

Suddenly her company was moving, and her eyes quickly drew an understanding of what was going on; she signed an apology to the inconvenienced passerby, but he was already well on his way before he even had a chance to raise an eyebrow at her movements. That was always a bit disappointing; it was often difficult to portray herself as considerate as she wanted to be.

'Sorry to hold you up like this,' she wrote, returning the box with her other hand to one of the undamaged bags. 'Where were you headed? I can walk with you a ways.' Another epitome emerged in her features, and she quickly withdrew the phone to make an addition, 'if you don't mind.'  

[BlackPidgeot]

It was odd, Yuri would have to agree with that. What was even odder was that one particular noble he even considered a friend. He never would have thought that any of those high an mighty aristocrats would ever want to associate with him. Let alone he end up actually liking one.

Once he was able to stand in one place again, Yuri looked at the present phone and shrugged his shoulders. Clearly he wasn't all that worried about being held up. "I'm not really in a hurry. Just on my way home."

Her quick revision drew a small amused grin. She was very polite, he had to give her that.

"Sure," and with that he waved for her to follow him. Stepping past the girl to start in the direction he had been going before. Repede was quick to follow, glancing back at Lady as he expected her and her human companion to tag along.  

[Suudonym]

Corinne issued a similar gesture to her Growlithe, a notification that they were resuming progress. Lady met Repede's gaze momentarily before proceeding to her trainer's side and raising her ears in alert attention; during movement was when it was most important for her to be aware on Corinne's behalf.

So long as he was facing away from her, she could neither read any of his words nor present her own, so Corinne satisfied herself to follow dutifully, warmed by the prospects of a little company. She took the opportunity to give the man's appearance a little more attention in a passive effort to learn more about him. He was sort of... disheveled. For her tastes, anyway. She wondered if he was aware that his hair hadn't been trimmed neatly or that his boots were unfastened. It was a little frustrating, but it wasn't like she could just lecture a total stranger on how to present himself. Maybe he had just finished doing some kind of manual labor or something and hadn't had the opportunity to clean up yet.  

[BlackPidgeot]

It would be difficult to talk that way anyway until they were out of the crowd. So it wasn't until they were in a less busy area that Yuri slowed his pace a bit to eventually walk next to Corrine. He motioned with his hand to get her attention and show that he was talking to her.

"So what brings you all the way out to Kodo? Devoirue not exciting enough anymore?"

He couldn't help but be curious as to why other Grande Ile natives chose to come out here. After all, he hadn't exactly had a choice in the matter. The silent criticism of his appearance had also gone unnoticed, by Yuri anyway. Repede had seen how Corrine looked at him and the dog was a little amused.