[FIN] I'd feel a lot better if my mom weren't dead.

[Suudonym]

Returning to Kodo had been a difficult decision, the choice between staying with his father and helping him to support his political ventures while he regained his bearings or returning to Kodo where he had made his home and his friendships. The ultimate deciding factor was the knowledge that Mieu was still in Kodo - if the Flareon indeed still lived - and the guilt of abandoning the place where he might eventually find his lifelong friend outweighed that of leaving the side of his stoic father.

From that logic, though, he felt guilty nonetheless for simply sitting in the park, as though his justification for returning meant that he should immediately jump to the search for the fire-type. Where was he to search, though? He had been listening for rumor ever since the loss of the pokemon to no avail, and he was beginning to doubt that his fruits would ever come to fruition.

Feeling utterly useless as a trainer, as a son, and as a human being in general, Luke remained at his chosen station in Camphoreon's broad park, sitting below a tree with an abused and broken trunk - the tree that had borne the brunt of his anger ages ago; he was surprised park management hadn't had it removed - with his legs drawn up and a cheek resting lethargically against a knee. One earbud played soft music into his thoughts, but he otherwise kept no company.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove's spirits weren't much higher than Luke's, though her situation wasn't quite so severe. She now walked quietly through the park, Lovey padding along at her side, her mind still catching up from the past few days. She pushed her bangs out of her face as a sharp gust of wind gently tossed her hair over her shoulders, looking across the way absently. Words couldn't describe how relieved she was that the park wasn't as as crowded as the ones at home always had been; at least there wouldn't be anyone to follow her and start rumors about their breakup.

His family wouldn't stand for it, and she wouldn't deal with it.

Lovey watched as her trainer tightened her coat around her shoulders and continued walking; the girl hadnt been herself the past few days, and though the eevee had seen her in this mood before, she worried. Something needed to be done. Pausing, the tiny Pokemon looked around the park, hoping something would catch her eye, something that might entertain Dove.

Catching a head of red hair out of the corner of her eye, Lovey blinked, then started over to the boy, head tilted curiously. He looked familiar...wasn't he the boy that had saved them? Confirming it in her own mind, Lovey shot toward him, pausing just at his foot and sitting politely next to him, offering a small yip in greeting.

Dove sighed frustratedly and rolled her eyes as he Pokemon ran off again. "Seriously, Lovey--"

Her voice faltered as she noticed the boy as well. Closing her eyes a moment to regain her composure, she headed toward him as well, her brows furrowing curiously at his demeanor. "Hey...Luke, right?" she asked cautiously, stopping a short way away. Already, she could feel her shoulders relax at seeing a familiar face, downcast or not.  

[Suudonym]

The movement in front of him drew his attention, and Luke shifted his posture to view the Eevee that had taken a place in front of him. He watched it for a moment before recognizing its markings as those belonging to an Eevee he had met before, and he raised his green eyes to view the expected trainer. A nod and a quiet "yeah" in response to the hesitance with which she said his name. He hadn't really wished to face the necessity of polite conversation, and he wasn't particularly confident in his abilities to maintain such interaction at the time, but he thought to try nonetheless, "Dove," he was glad he was able to summon the memory of her name since she had done the same for his, "have you been all right?" The last interaction he remembered with the girl had taken place in a hospital, so it was at least somewhat of a relief to know she had apparently recovered okay.  

[Tori Honoo]

Lovey, as the red head shifted his way of sitting, moved closer to the boy, tapping her head to his arm fondly; he had after all saved her and her trainer, and though she had tried to express her gratitude last time, her own had stepped in and swooped her up before she could.

Dove hesitated, watching Luke from where she stood, unsure if she should stay standing or join him in the grass. He looked to be deeply in thought, and she knew better than most not to interrupt. An overwhelming part of her, however, had drawn her over to him, if only to check the state of his wellbeing. When he recalled her name, she nodded, then looked at her own feet at his question, waiting a long moment before answering quietly.

"I....I've had worse. You?"  

[Suudonym]

Absentmindedly he lowered a hand to pat the Eevee's head, remembering again thoughts of his lost Flareon. He exhaled them with a light sigh, summoning what pitiful little friendliness he could hope to sustain, yet still he answered her with a humorless laugh, "Yeah, same." A severity fell upon his expression. "Pretty sure 'worse' is all there is anymore." A sound of frustration, and he removed his hand from the Eevee's proximity to comb it through his hair, offering a murmured "sorry" for his cold response.  

[Tori Honoo]

The girl's brow furrowed at his response, and she tapped the side of her leg, quietly calling the eevee back to her side. After a moment's thought, however, she kneeled down close to him, just far enough away for comfort to allow.

"What's wrong?" she asked simply, her concern fully genuine. The last she had seen him, he had been all but bound to his hospital bed, connected to multiple machines. He at least physically looked better, though she couldn't know for sure, and she surely wasn't going to reach out and touch him. They weren't...quite on that level of familiarity yet...  

[Suudonym]

He didn't really want to attract the concern of this girl who was practically a stranger, but somewhere in his mind was born the thought that since they were practically strangers, she wouldn't be burdened by his troubles. It was a rare opportunity for catharsis during a time when physical stress release wasn't much of an option. He inhaled shortly and deposited his face into his raised lap, squeezing now hidden eyes tightly shut against the painful surge of emotion rising with the words as they formed on muffled lips, "She's dead. My mother."  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove stifled a soft gasp, her eyes widening as she found herself drawing back an inch at the boy's declaration. She certainly hadn't expected something like this... After a few long, long moments, her lips twitched, trying to form the words her mind couldn't piece together. What was she to say in this situation to a boy she had only met once before?

She looked across his shoulders, then to the small eevee before setting her hands in her lap and looking down to her knees. "I...Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry..." she whispered, finally, unsure of what to do to comfort him.

Lovey, feeding off the emotions from both trainers, returned to Dove and curled next to the model, tucking her head down in her paws as the humans talked.  

[Suudonym]

The hand at his head tightened intently on his hair, as if he were driven to hold onto anything before he was torn away from himself. His words had thrown off the cloak of denial in which he had safely shrouded himself, forcing him to confront those raw feelings again, and his shoulders trembled under the weight of his thoughts. When his voice came again from within his compressed posture, it was strained, tormented, "Sorry. Didn't mean to put you on the spot like that." What was anyone supposed to say in the face of such a confession? Way to throw a veritable stranger under the bus.  

[Tori Honoo]

As he spoke, her instincts slowly kicked in. "No, hey, it's alright..." she said softly, tentatively reaching out brush her hand along his shaking shoulders. "Don't worry about me..."

She watched him closely to gauge his reaction to her comforting method, still unsure how he would react to gentle physical contact of a stranger, well intentioned her actions might have been. As she watched him, another thought pricked at her mind. "Have you been here alone this entire time...? she asked quietly, hoping he hadn't been. She couldn't imagine bearing the weight of something like this on her own, especially not out in the cold. Surely he had other family...  

[Suudonym]

Realization of her attempts at offering comfort brought him to understand that he was probably making a spectacle of himself and troubling her much more than he had ever intended. He exerted efforts to at least quell his trembling and was partially successful, though somehow the touch and tone of voice afforded some solace in their own right. Perhaps he was foolish to attempt to withstand his grief alone, but turning to others for support was right at the bottom of his list of skills and tendencies. Her question was replied with a brief nod of his still lowered head; he had gone straight there after his return to Kodo, hoping to successfully sort his feelings before he had to face anyone. He was beginning to understand, though, that he had underestimated the weight of his burden.  

[Tori Honoo]

She nodded back as he did, though she had no idea why. As he continued to hide his face, she looked around the park, now even more grateful that there weren't many visitors today. She could tell just by looking that he was doing his best to keep himself together, and though the park was mostly empty, it still bothered her that he had to endure such painful emotion in such a cold, public place.

Turning back to him, she continued to rub his shoulders. "How long have you been out here?" she asked him, voice not demanding an answer if he didn't wish to give it. Her eyes fell to the hand in his hair, her own hand leaving his shoulders just long enough to cover it. She blinked at how cool his skin was to the touch. He needed to get inside... it couldn't be good for his health...  

[Suudonym]

"Since I got back," he murmured, though he quickly came to understand that the answer would mean nothing to her. What time was it, anyway? He shifted, straightening his back slightly to see above his knees. The face that greeted the rest of the world was harrowed and weary, and dull eyes scanned the colors of the sky. "A few hours, I guess," he clarified, his voice a bit clearer with the lessening of its obstruction. Unrelenting thoughts had prevented him from recognizing the temperature much if at all; he would likely have remained until his limbs no longer responded to his wishes if the time hadn't been brought to his attention.  

[Tori Honoo]

Since he had gotten back...? From where, she wondered, removing her hand from his as he lifted his head. As she looked to his face, her heart sank further; there was no way she could just leave him to suffer alone...

At his talk of ' a few hours', she shook her head quietly, shifting a little next to him. "That's no good... Not in this weather...." she reasoned quietly, setting a hand at his back again. "My loft isn't too far away from here, if you'd like to come inside and warm up a bit," she offered, caring only a little that her offer might come across as too forward to some. "I could make us something warm to drink, if you'd like... It wouldn't be any trouble at all," she added, aware that she might think herself to be if she were in his situation. However, as it was, it wouldn't take any of her time, nor would she mind at all. It really was the least she could do, and she was more than willing.  

[Suudonym]

He pressed his lips together in defiant contemplation before shaking his head lightly, "I really shouldn't. I've already bothered you this much." Someone he hardly even knew, at that. He wouldn't have been so brazen even with Yuri.