[FIN] Wilted Emotions

[BlackFireKitsune]

The day's bright, sunny disposition was a little ironic considering the events over the past week - for Inigo as well as for others, of which he remained entirely clueless - but it was on his own problems that he currently dwelled. Time had faded his black eye somewhat, his brown skin tone helping to hide it, but it was still visible close up or if someone were looking for it from a short distance. Unfortunately for him, time had not healed the ache in his heart from his father's harsh words - truths - nor had it healed the larger ache in his heart for his mother, brought on by the contents of the box his adopted mother had given to him. All the same, he was glad for it, despite being so depressed, and he had put them all away extremely carefully and instructed his pokemon very insistently that those were completely and utterly off limits. Bonnie seemed to have the hardest time with that out of all of them.

Nerius did not, however, but Inigo hadn't expected the Vaporeon to. Said Vaporeon was out walking with him, excited to go to the large fountain in the middle of the park like his trainer had promised him. They were taking one of the winding paths through the park to get there, though, to pass by as many trees as possible so Inigo could see how the new buds were doing, and how soon the flowers would blossom.  

[Tori Honoo]

Though the day was bright and sunny, Dove sat silently in a secluded area of the park, Lovey and Sparky at her side, both 'mon watching her carefully as she stared ahead into space, her face tearstained and her breathing uneven with childish hiccups.

The girl was burned out emotionally, physically, mentally and could find nothing positive in her world, the past few days haven given her no reason to so much as fake a smile. She curled in on herself, her chin on her knees and her arms around her legs, only the cool breeze offering her any relief from the misery she found herself shrouded with.

Sparky kept himself alert, though the girl's disposition bothered him deeply. Though wounded and bandaged, the large typhlosion would do his best to protect the girl from whatever came her way. However, emotional discomfort was not his strong suit, as it was Lovey's, and even the eevee seemed out of place now, unable to sooth their trainer's mind.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

While Inigo didn't hear anything - either because it was too quiet for him to hear, or because he was too absorbed in the plantlife that surrounded him - Nerius did, and the Vaporeon paused, the fins on his head splaying as he glanced around. The noise was soft, almost inaudible from where the pair stood, but his innate curiosity drew him to follow the sound. The grunt's attention shifted to the water-type as Nerius wandered off, so Inigo simply shrugged inwardly and followed.

When they got close enough, Inigo could hear the quiet sounds too, and before long at all the pair rounded a copse of trees to find the girl with her two pokemon. The teen immediately had a look of concern on his face, but the bandaged Typhlosion gave him several red flags, so he only took two steps forward before he squatted down to be on her level, intending to remain at such a distance until he knew he wouldn't get bitten or burned or anything. He never was a fan of fire types. Now what was her name again..? It had been a while ago, and he'd only seen her once... Ah, yes, of course. "Dove, what's wrong?" He asked, expression one of pure concern and worry for the girl. He'd had enough time to handle his own emotions for the time being, so for the moment his sole worry was for the obviously distressed young woman curled up in front of him.  

[Tori Honoo]

As the vaporeon and the young man drew near, Sparky turned his head in their direction, the low, dark rumbling in his chest drawing Dove's attention back to her surroundings, though she still seemed only half aware. Lovey tipped her head, an ear flicking and her tail waving once in grateful greeting to the familiar face.

She lifted her eyes as he addressed her, memory clicking swiftly with the face, a distant sense of relief trickling along her spine-- Inigo hadn't been involved in the slightest with the events of the past few days, and to see anyone who had escaped being a part of the cruel events was more than a blessing, though her low energy and weakness would serve her no good in attempts to be social. She looked at him a long moment, expressionless, then raised a hand to Sparky, nodding as his growl died away.

After another moment to recall the ability to form words, she greeted him, ignoring his question as though she hadn't heard it, her voice scratchy from the onslaught of emotion. "Inigo...hey..."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Inigo half expected the Typhlosion to dislike his presence, if only because it seemed to have been injured recently enough to necessitate bandages, and injured pokemon usually weren't too happy about much of anything until they got better. The fire-type seemed appeased though, so Inigo took the opportunity to rise and move closer, not even bothering to get up to his full height because he knelt down soon after, right next to Dove. One knee was on the ground and the other propped up to support his weight and keep his balance, one hand on it and the other outstretched to the distressed girl, the very obviously concerned expression still present on his face. "What's wrong?" He asked gently, ignoring the greeting altogether. Something was definitely wrong.  

[Tori Honoo]

Sparky kept his eyes locked on Inigo and his companion, still not fully trusting anyone around his mistress in such a vulnerable state, though he respected her command and yielded, allowing the boy to draw closer to her.

Dove looked at his hand as though the gesture was alien to her, then closed her eyes, feeling lightheaded. "So...so many things... I'm not even sure what's right anymore..."

Lovey's ears drooped as she listened to the girl, still in the dark about all that had happened, and alarmed that her trainer would so willingly admit to being in such a state of confusion and upset. The girl was never so openly vulnerable, especially not in front of people she didn't know very intimately.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

He exhaled softly as he shifted to a sitting position next to her instead, and moved a hand to gently pet Lovey as Nerius moved to lay obediently beside his trainer. Inigo focused on Dove though, and reached a hand up to lay it very gently on her arm, mostly as an unspoken reminder that he was here, that she wasn't alone. "Start at the beginning, then," he suggested softly, concern still etched in his features. All of his movements were pointedly slow and gentle, because the last thing he wanted to do was to upset Dove - or provoke the protective fire-type.  

[Tori Honoo]

Lovey nuzzled his hand, grateful for his presence and the fact he was trying to help her trainer.

Letting the lightheadedness pass, Dove opened her eyes again, her gaze falling far from Inigo's eyes. "I...we.... were kidnapped... three days ago...held at gunpoint... completely surrounded," she started, her voice nearly too soft to hear. "Long...Long story short, one of my only friends got hurt and the other one did some terrible things to get us out of there, and then..."

She paused, her shoulders shaking as the violent images flashed across her mind without warning, her hands sliding into her hair, the heels of her palms pressing against her temples.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Inigo inhaled sharply, quietly, at her disjointed explanation, and immediately moved up onto his knees so he could lean over and wrap his arms around her trembling shoulders. "Ohh, shh, it's okay now," he said gently, moving a hand up gently onto her hair, "it's okay. Your friend - was he shot?" The old gunshot wound in the back of his shoulder twinged at the thought. What sort of terrible things..? Probably death, unfortunately. "Are your friends alright?"  

[Tori Honoo]

When he moved to hug her, the girl tensed and the fire type beside her growled once more, though it quieted after a moment as the trainer shifted and buried her face his shoulder, hugging him back tightly. She nodded against his shoulder, in response to his first question, struggling to answer the second. "H-He's okay, b-but he's not a-and his brother, is....h-he...A-And Yuri didn't just kill those people, he also..."

The words fell apart as she fought for control, a muffled weak sob escaping as he held her.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him, while his other hand gently stroked her hair. He didn't know who this 'Yuri' was, but death was never an easy thing to deal with, whether it was someone you cared for or someone who threatened you. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said in completely honest tones that held a tinge of sadness for her, "but I'm glad you're okay, and your friends." Though one of them was okay but wasn't..? Yuri might've been the second one.. Presumably the one who wasn't shot.. Maybe? It was hard to tell. He exhaled slowly, trying to wrap his head around the terrible situation Dove had found herself in. "He killed them - the people that kidnapped you, and your friend?" Why did there always have to be death..? "What else?" He prompted gently, trying not to push her too hard about it, although he was a firm believer in the thought that talking helped.  

[Tori Honoo]

"Y-Yuri killed them, a-about... I-I think, a-at least fifteen...a-at once, a-and then L-Luke had to have a new h-heart a-and A-Asch j-just...!"

She clung to him, her face buried in his shoulder as she sobbed, not caring that he was someone she had only spoken to once before. It didn't matter, not now. "I-I shouldn't have read the-the letter, b-but I-I did and it should have been someone c-closer to him and n-not me and I- I just...!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Whoa, this was all a hell of a lot to process. One of them got shot, one of them needed a new heart, one of them 'just', and Yuri killed people. Rather than express his confusion, he merely continued to hold her trembling form and gently stroke her hair. "It sounds like," he began softly, "Yuri did what he had to do to protect you guys. I know how awful it must have been for you, but if he hadn't done that to protect you..." He let the statement hang there, not really wanting to heartlessly add in 'you probably would be dead right now' because really.

"What letter?" He couldn't help but ask, not really sure where that even tied in... Man this was some long and convoluted stuff..  

[Tori Honoo]

She stayed quiet aside from her crying for a long few moments, trying to at least piece together a few more words to explain herself. "A....A suicide letter....!" she finally choked, her throat tightening dangerously. "I-I....I read it to him! To his twin-- to Luke! H-He died t-to save his brother a-and n-now there's no way to... they can't--! A-Asch is--!"

The little eevee at her side moved to nose her way into the girl's bag, dragging out an inhaler with her teeth, just in case.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Okay so... She and a friend got kidnapped and held at gunpoint... maybe Yuri was too? But Yuri saved them, the other friend got shot, and needed a new heart because of it...? So, was that Luke..? Asch - the name did sound hauntingly familiar, which made a feeling of dread pool in the pit of his stomach - was in there somewhere... She read a suicide note that had been addressed to Luke - so Luke must've been the one to get shot and need a new heart. So Asch must have.. been the one to commit suicide. Oi carajo.

Regardless, he simply continued to hold her and stroke her hair as she struggled to convey the story that had so obviously scarred her emotionally, if not physically. Lovey's movements went unnoticed by Inigo, but Nerius perked up and moved to inspect what the Eevee was doing. "Shhh, it's okay," he said gently, moving to lean his cheek on the top of her head. "Everything will be okay. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that, but you're safe, Luke is better, and Yuri did what he had to to save you and make sure you weren't hurt." Holy crap he didn't even know any of these people. "And Asch did what he thought he had to do, too."

A light sigh escaped him as he hugged her a little tighter, "Sometimes what you think is the right thing to do, isn't easy to actually do... And sometimes you do what you have to do if you only have one or two options, even if it seems bad. Situations like that can't ever be good, no matter what - I'm sorry you had to be in one."