[FIN] Nothing But Trouble

[Suudonym]

"You really don't have to worry so much," Luke said, raising an eyebrow at the Flareon curled up beside him on the bench. Last he recalled, Mieu was more for running around the park than sitting adamantly in one place, but it had become fairly clear that the pokemon in fact had no intentions of ever leaving his side. "I mean, I'm sitting right now. I can expend literally almost no strength like this. Why don't you go have a look around?" Mieu didn't move except to lower his ears slightly in stubborn defiance. "Come on, they renovated that one area that was all overgrown. Installed some new things." The incentive was snubbed, and Luke breathed a sigh. Not that he couldn't understand the fire-type's sentiment, but he didn't want Mieu holding back on his account.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove wandered through the park, Lovey at her heels, enjoying the way the sun shone overhead. The day has this far been peaceful, if not boring, and the girl found herself delighted at hearing a familiar voice from a bench beside the path she currently strolled along.
"Luke, hey!" she called, jogging over to the boy an the fire type. Lovey immediately bounded toward his side on the bench, her tail wagging in greeting as she pawed at his arm for attention.
Noticing the flareon at the boy's side, Dove tipped her head curiously. "Is this...?"  

[Suudonym]

Mieu's ears flicked back up at the sound of someone's approach and the unfamiliar voice that accompanied, and he lifted his head in attentive curiosity. Luke greeted the recent arrival more amicably, raising a hand to acknowledge her approach, "Hey, what's up?" He offered a smile and a pat to Lovey in response to her enthusiasm, a quiet word to his Flareon easing the fire-type's overprotectiveness before he made too hasty a judgment against the unknown Eevee suddenly running at his trainer. "This is Mieu," the trainer answered with a confirming nod. "He was returned a while back."  

[Tori Honoo]

"We were just enjoying the sunshine, first day of spring, and all," she laughed, watching as Lovey turned her attention to Mieu and moved to introduce herself to the other Pokemon. "Nothing exciting, really."

She smiled brilliantly, looking from the flareon to the boy's face. "Thats great! How did that come about?" Luke certainly looked much happier than he had the last she had seen of him. Maybe things really were starting to look up.  

[Suudonym]

"My brother," he answered, "like with Rosie and her Vaporeon. I tried to get some idea of an explanation, but no real luck." Nothing solid enough to call a definitive conclusion, at least. Mieu, who watched Dove as she spoke, turned to the Eevee as she introduced herself, doing the same in turn with only a small amount of apprehension. These two strangers certainly didn't seem hostile, and his master seemed to be okay with them too, so he assumed there was no reason to worry…

"Hey, yeah! That is great!" The voice approaching from behind the bench was unfamiliar, and Luke turned to view the source with an expression of mild confusion. It was a male a few years his elder - no one he recognized in any way. He moved towards the bench, leaning on it behind Luke with his hands folded on the seat's back, "And hey, long time no see. Looks like you've been doing just peachy, huh?"

Luke didn't respond verbally, but his expression darkened and his hands curled loosely unto themselves at the sharp sensation lingering threateningly at his back. The stranger was nonplussed, "Man you're cold. But hey, here's an idea: How about you put away your pokemon for me? You know I'm not fond of the things."  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove's smile warmed at his explanation, though it immediately faded into confusion as the man approached and soon demanded they call the pokemon back. Unsure if he was speaking to her as well, she stood her ground, watching him warily. Luke's demeanor had changed, and already it put her on edge; That, the man's posture and crude speaking, and the lack of warm greeting made her brow furrow; obviously, Luke didn't know this man, or if he was familiar with him, he certainly didn't like him.

Lovey cocked her head, blinking at the man before shrinking back. Something was wrong...  

[Suudonym]

Mieu bristled at the stranger, detecting his human's response, but Luke raised a hand to calm the Flareon. "It's okay," he said quietly, withdrawing the reluctant pokemon into a luxury ball and returning the item to his belt. He understood too well that he wasn't capable of defending himself against sudden attack.

"Awesome. And the other one?" The man looked to the Eevee expectantly, and Luke shook his head.

"Not mine," he said curtly. "Dove, you should go."

The stranger turned his attention to the mentioned girl, "Hey, whoa, no, that's no good. Dove, is it? You can't just leave. If you're not here, well, then who knows what would happen to your friend?" The smile in his features was cold and empty. "How about you put that adorable little fuzzball away and we three go for a walk?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Even as Luke told her to leave, she hardened, her eyes not leaving the man's face. There was no chance she would leave him on his own, not with that man quite literally breathing down his neck. Even if he was doing better physically, the vague speculation at the hot springs and his previous hospital visit (that she knew of) told her he would be in no condition to defend himself for long. She might not be able to do much, but at least he wouldn't have to be alone if anything happened.

Drawing a luxury ball of her own from the clip at her belt, she returned the eevee, then tucked the ball away again, her eyes not leaving the man and chills running along her spine. "What do you want from us?" she asked smoothly, liquid fire hiding behind her words.  

[Suudonym]

"Wow, you're a charmer," the stranger observed, an eyebrow raised. "And it's not really a 'you' thing, not in a plural way. You just happen to have bad taste in friends. Did you know this guy killed one of my best friends?"

Luke blanched, a grave remorse rising in his expression. He knew immediately who this person was and had a dangerously good idea of what he wanted. He pressed his lips together wordlessly.

"No even gonna deny it, huh? I can respect that, but I'm still gonna need you to stand up."

He closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to maintain his composure, and complied.  

[Tori Honoo]

At the revelation, Dove shook her head, almost ready to laugh until Luke reacted to the man's accusation. Before she could stop herself, she looked to her friend, confused and alarmed, then directed her attention away from him, her mind picking up its pace as it tried to stay in the present situation and piece together information of the boy's past. A murderer...? There was no way... The man had to be lying, right? But he wasn't denying it... surely it had been in self defense, if this man's deceased friend was anything like him... It couldn't have been in cold blood...

When Le rose to his feet, she again stood still, watching the two cautiously, debating running or not.  

[Suudonym]

The man moved around the bench and slung an arm around Luke's shoulder as if in a friendly gesture, though there was nothing especially friendly about either's disposition. Dove might have noticed a vanishing glint as his hand moved. Green eyes inclined towards her, and the sad smile he wore certainly looked less the murderer's face than the expression of the stranger who had imposed on them. He spoke in a quiet tone, "You should go. It's okay." Last time Emil had suffered for Luke's actions; he didn't want another bystander to become involved because of him.

"I don't think you should," the man countered, looking to Dove and lowering his volume. "How long he lives, that's your decision. It's just a minor inconvenience if he can't come with me."  

[Tori Honoo]

When the man moved, she did indeed notice the glint from his hand. Her body tensed as she tried to process what was happening, what might happen.

At the softer spoken words, Dove met Luke's gaze easily, giving him an uneasy look, before again switching her eyes over to the man, his words settling along her spine like ice. The red head wasn't a threat, at least, not at the moment.

"I'll go," she said heatedly, the hair on the back of her neck bristling even as she agreed. She shot a look to Luke, as if to note he was crazy for even thinking her leaving was an option.  

[Suudonym]

The word Luke said in response was uttered under his breath, "Idiot." If they were changing locations, though, that at least bought him some time. Physically he wasn't anywhere near top form, but he could at least think, and supposedly thought processing was boosted during times of stress, right…?

"Good to hear!" the man said, gesturing in a wide sweep with his free arm. "Then let's be on our way, shall we?" He would lead them somewhat windingly from the park to the pier, keeping a light expression on his features but an attentive look in his eyes.  

[Tori Honoo]

Though in her stress, her first reaction would have been to bite back at Luke's namecalling, a small ray of reason shone through, keeping her silent as the man began to lead them. It would do no good, and in some way, deep down she was sure he was right.

All thoughts of digging for her phone disappeared, as did those of releasing Sparky; either would give the man more reason to harm Luke, and at the moment, it was obvious he had the better leverage. Running would only provoke the man to attack sooner.

Silently, she followed, though she kept her distance and an eye on the atmosphere for any sign of help.  

[BlackPidgeot]

It seemed like a nice day, and Yuri was going about his business in town when the trio were passing through the streets. He'd just come from the area of the docks and happened to catch a glimpse of bright red hair out of the corner of his eye.

Yuri, and Repede, both paused to look, seeing Luke and Dove both. And some guy he'd never seen before. However, the man could easily tell by their body language that something wasn't right. Yuri frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly. Repede glanced up at his partner in silent question, and Yuri looked back down at him.

The two then began to follow, keeping a good distance and staying out of sight.