[FIN] World and Mind Through Darkness

[Blood_Goddess]

When the majority of your body was covered in tattoo's and very detailed tattoo's at that, getting each one of them touched up could become quite time consuming. This was Jerome's second trip down to Camphoreon city to get the the remaining tattoos fixed up.

It was done though, after a few hours of sitting around in a chair, with the buzzing of the needle practically lulling the lean man to sleep.
That was until the needles hit the arias of his ink that had scars distorting the ink.
This would certainly sharpen up his ink over the unsightly scarring of the bullet wounds, but the discomfort that joined the process was startling, and brought back memories of the pain and the circumstances in which he had gotten the scars in the first place.
By the time the artist had finished with him, Jerome was feeling pretty sore, and his mood, was faring even worse.

Standing out in one of the allies by the back of the tattoo parlor, away from the main street, he shifted his weight forward, so that his torso, with the fresh ink and agitated skin would not be touching the walls.
Teeth gritting down on the butt of his cigarette that was doing its best to try and settle the man's nerves.

"Gen Gengar." A voice behind Jerome spoke, the man feeling a hand being laid on the one scar that Jerome did not have covered up.
The one side of his shoulder that had practically blotched out half of his old gang sign.
glancing over his shoulder, peering around the cascading strands of his dreadlocks at the half glowing pokemon half sticking out of the wall.
"Still ain't sure what to do with it." He grunted back.  

[insidiousEnigma]

He really should have brought some gloves.
In retrospect he wasn't entirely sure why he didn't carry a pair on his person at all times. He never knew when he'd start digging around in the back alleys of Camphoreon and he always regretted it when he neglected to bring a pair of gloves with him. He'd been in a hurry though, it wasn't every night that the run down shops threw out their outdated wares.

"Shup-Shuppet."

With a jolt, Zacharie was brought out of his musings. "...Jabari, what is it?" He asked softly, turning his head slightly to peer at his companion from the corner of his eye. Just from the bobbing and weaving of the ghost pokemon he could tell that he was irritated. "Shuppet!" A not so gentle nudge on the back of his shoulder served to prove him right. "I know you're hungry, just give me a few more minutes." He reasoned, turning back to digging threw the various bottles of old ink, ointments, and glass jars. He just needed a few more jars to house his growing experiments and maybe even Horse Chestnut if he was lucky.

No, he doubted he'd find any here. Much too dangerous to use in a tattoo shop. But the old herbal shop a few blocks south might have tossed some out.

The teen stood from the pile of trash he'd been digging in and dusted off his clothing. "Alright, Jabari. Let's..." He paused when he found that his pokemon was not hovering nearby. "...Jabari?"

"Shup-Shup."

Turning sharply on his heel, Zacharie found his wayward Shuppet....stalking towards a rather large, rather angry looking man. "Jabari!" He stage whispered, waving his arm frantically in an attempt to catch his attention.

Needless to say, he went ignored.  

[Blood_Goddess]

The Gengar regarded the dark man in front of him a wide toothy frown, as a sharp click escaped his tongue.
though his eyes fell to the back of his shoulders once again, the the only two tattoos who were looking considerably more tattered then the others sprawling his back.

Though much of his chest was covered by now, with a gray wife beater, fitting loosely as to not agitate the new ink. leaving his arms exposed where some of his scars, not covered by tribal markings were displayed with more subtly then would be expected from someone that might have been of his poverty level.
Looking as if they had been wounds that were treated rather thoroughly to minimize the resulted scarring.
People on the streets just didn't have the means of such medical resource.
It was something Jerome himself was consciously grateful for, he's seen what a bullet scar could end up looking like, and it wasn't pretty.

A slap to the side of his shoulder jerked the man upright, the careless gesture from Bro striking the sensitive skin of his fresh tattoo.
"Hey." He grumbled, looking at bro, who's attention was instead turned down the ally, one eye squinting in a puzzled expression.

Knowing not to trust the streets here, Jerome was upright in one swift movement, pulling the cigarette from his lips as he stiffened his posture and searched the ally for what Bro was looking at.

He didn't see any gang members, or any humans at all for the matter, What he did see, was a Pokemon... a Shuppet from the looks of it, man, its been a while since he's seen one of those.

Bro spoke out to the Shuppet with a sharp jerk of his head upwards  

[insidiousEnigma]

Was the only response given as Jabari circled around the pair.
He'd always been a bit self centered.

Safely hidden from view behind a garbage can, Zacharie mulled over what he should do. The Shuppet was generally able to take care of himself...but he tended to avoid other pokemon when searching for food. He really didn't feel like dealing with a confrontation but if he knew Jabari, (which he did, very well in fact) he'd start one all on his own if left unattended. "Goodness." He muttered to himself, wincing slightly when he heard his pokemon's angry complaints.

"Shuppet! Shup-Shuppet!"


"...Jabari, stop it." He called, voice raised just loud enough for his companion to hear as he slunk out of his hiding spot. If he was lucky, he'd be able to collect the irate pokemon and they could leave unscathed. The Shuppet just sent him a heated glare and continued his circling. The disobedience wasn't anything new, but it was always embarrassing in front of strangers and he found himself at a loss of what to do.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Bro' repeated, squinting one eye at the Shuppet, though his and Jerome's gaze periodically shifted nervously around, as if expecting there to be more pokemon, or more troubling; someone following their pokemon.

Jerome frowned softly, taking a step back from the Shuppet as it moved to circle them, though he remain more of less calm, if not a little stiff.
Lifting the cigarette back to his lips, he held it there for a few seconds.

Bro' words were cut off as both Jerome and Bro heard a noise from the trashcans not to far from where they were.
One of Jerome's hands shot to his best, where three other pokeballs sat. Bro however perked his ears forward, the spines on his back frilling out a little in excitement.

Bro' smirked wide, his toothy grin suddenly floating over the trashcans as wide acid green eyes stared down at... a boy hidden behind the trash.
the Gengar let out a manic chuckle.

"Man I ain't in th'mood f'any ya s**t tonight." Jerome spoke, a deep strong voice carrying easily over toward where Bro was investigating, though inked black eyes didn't leave the Shuppet for very long. "Ya best not be punkin'"  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie, surprised by the forwardness of the Gengar, stumbled back a step. Though once he caught a good look at pokemon he couldn't help but be...a bit intrigued. He'd never seen markings like that before. Was it a mutation? Or perhaps it was because of its diet. The possibilities were endless and he would greatly enjoy the chance to run some tests or maybe get a blood sample...

On task Zacharie!

Blinking owlishly behind his bangs, the teen regarded the man standing stiffly near the entrance of the alley. "...I'm not...'punkin'." He said flatly, a scowl pulling at his lips. "Whatever that means." He muttered as he turned to heft his bag off of the ground and onto his shoulder. He let out a quiet, but shaky, breath as he crossed his arms defiantly across his chest. "Jabari." He tried to sound stern but really, it just came out sort of shaky and not very commanding at all.

"Shuppet!"
 

[Blood_Goddess]

Bro seemed to scare the kid out of his hiding place, giving Jerome a much better view of just who it was that spoke, It was a kid, a very out of place kid at that.
One look and the ex-gangster could instantly tell that this wasn't someone who was even from this aria.
This drew a confused frown from the man, furthered only only the way the kid had talked back to Jerome.
"N'yer case it don't mean nothin'" Jerome commented, highly doubting that this kid was up to anything that might be the remotely bit harmful.

Bro' righted himself as the boy stood, stubbly arms crossing over his chest as he too floated down to circle around the kid.
The Gengar cackled, Though it doubled at the interaction between the Shuppet and the kid.
Bro pointed to the Shuppet

Glancing between the pokemon and the boy who seemed to be trying to call his reluctant pokemon the dark rocket arched his eyebrow, "******** a kid like ya doin' n' a place like this?> Let alone this late.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Well...this was new. Most people didn't bother to ask him what he was up to. They either ignored him or tried to rob him. "I'm..." He was at a loss for words. What should he say? Would he possibly be interested in what he was doing? This was his chance to talk to someone! "It's really none of your business but if you must know, I'm collecting supplies for my experiments." He snapped, shoulders tensing slightly.

God dammit, that was not how you made friends Zacharie!
Too late, the damage was done. He could only pray that he wouldn't get beat up or mugged or whatever else happened in dark alleyways. Why couldn't he just have a pleasant conversation with someone? Why did he always have to mess it up? Mentally, he berated himself.



The purple haired male took a step forward on shaking legs, his gaze flickering nervously between the dark skinned man and his pokemon. "Jabari...come on." He pleaded, making a quick, jerky motion with a slender hand. The Shuppet was determined though, ignoring him in favor of bobbing just to the side of the tattooed man.  

[Blood_Goddess]

The kid had balls, Jerome would give him that, though that wasn't always a good thing in most situations down here on the streets, especially when you were as scrawny as this kid, who looked like he still had a few years to go to fill out into his height.
The ex-gangster remained where he stood, just stared quietly at the nervous purple haired boy as he once again tried to coax his pokemon away, taking a long slow drag from his cigarette as he regarded the boy in silent consideration. Though the stiff bitter look still lined much of Jerome's expressions from the discomfort that flared in his scars.

The Shuppet didn't seem at all interested in going back with his trainer, causing the vividly contrasting stare of the gangster to shift over to the pokemon.
It was bro' though that added his commentary, The Gengar letting out a bark of a laugh as he brushed past Zacharie toward the Shuppet
A wider cheeky smirk spread over the Gengar's face.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie wasn't entirely sure what the Gengar was saying to his pokemon, but whatever it was seemed to have caught the Shuppet's attention. Jabari asked, shifting his gaze to the approaching pokemon. Though the prospect of food was greatly appealing, he couldn't just leave his human to fend for himself. The brat needed him, would probably get killed out here by himself...and he couldn't have that. He asked, bobbing impatiently.

He was seriously at a loss at what to do. Should he just leave and pray that Jabari followed after him? No...no. The Shuppet was his only friend and he wasn't always entirely sure if the pokemon would return to him. He could always tuck him away into his pokeball until he could find a place that he could find food...but the resulting tantrum wasn't really worth it. Letting out a defeated sigh, he prepared to stand around until his pokemon decided that he wouldn't be able to find his food here and followed after him. It didn't seem like they were in immediate danger anyway...the other male didn't seem like he was going to be moving from his spot.

....And if he did he was a pretty fast runner.  

[Rocket Agent Jerome]

"Where y'goin'?" Jerome muttered as Bro floated past him, draping an arm around the Shuppet.
The Gengar shrugged, then gesture back behind him. "Gen gar Gengar gar"

Jerome didn't understand what the Gengar was saying, but he got the impression of what the ghost was trying to tell him. Letting out a slight sigh he moved his attention back over to the boy "ain't sure what kinda experiment ya think s'worth bein' out here like this kid, What kinda s**t ya cookin' up?"
Jerome would not be surprised at all if he was trying to deal drugs, or making some crystal meth, though Jerome would highly recommend he get an image change for that line of work.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Sending his human a hard look, Jabari accepted the arm slung around him. The teen would be fine for a few minutes while he went to eat. "Shup-Shup-pet."

Zacharie got the vague impression that he was being told to stay put and though it was incredibly backwards, he did as told. If Jabari did run off...he'd be fine without him. Wouldn't be the first time someone he thought was a friend ran off on him. It probably wouldn't be the last time either. Statistically the chances of his pokemon running off were very high...he tried not to think about that often though. When he came back to himself the pokemon were nowhere to be seen and it was just him and the slightly taller man standing in the dimly lit alley.

Wait...did he say something? Was he...was he asking him questions about what he was doing again?! Okay, okay, stay calm. He could do this, it wasn't that hard. "It isn't s**t." He grumbled as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. No, no, no, c'mon! "...I'm testing the toxicity of Horse Chestnut verses Digitalis on various specimen." He said softly, ducking his head and kicking at a pebble near his foot. "It's easier to find the various ingredients and needed instruments out here than to try and acquire them through conventional methods." He was doing it! He was talking to someone and he wasn't snapping at them. "Not that you would know anything about this sort of thing."

Seriously? He could kick himself, he really could.

"I'm also looking for Noni, which is supposed to help with various skin ailments. I've been trying to make ointments to get rid of scars and other skin defects but so far the marks have only faded..." He said quickly, hoping to cover up his little blunder.  

[Blood_Goddess]

This was far too amusing for Bro' to pass up, the Shuppet seemed pretty darn pissed at his trainer. Though food was never a bad idea either, let alone being able to be sneaky and go find some.
With a slight cackle The Gengar looked over to Jerome, nudging the man's shoulder, causing the man to frown again.
"M'good." He replied, assuming the Bro' was asking if he wanted anything.

<'Aight!> Bro burst, turning quickly to round on the smaller ghost type.

And thus Jerome was left alone with the kid, not that it bothered him, Jerome wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere, and he was kinda enjoying just being out in the chilled air with a cigarette, as much as he could anyway. He might have preferred to be alone, but it seemed like that wasn't happening.
Instead he was in the company of an awkward kid who was quick to mouth off, and was wearing a... whatever that was that he was wearing, looked nerdy... the kind of thing that nerdy kids wore.
This assumption was almost instantly confirmed when Jerome was met with a whole wall of words that the gangster just... didn't understand.

"'aight, 'aight, that don't sound like s**t." Jerome admitted, backing down from his previous statement when the boy had gotten a bit defensive "ain't really got a clue what any a'that is though. S'ya got me there." The gangster shrugged as he breathed out a cloud of smoke.

And eyebrow did arch though at the last statement the boy made, Still not quite understanding most of them, but sometimes he said made him curious enough.
"Scars n'skin defects hn?" He asked sounding mildly interested.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Jabari squeaked indignantly, rolling his eyes. He wasn't a newborn, he could fend for himself.

Nodding excitedly, the teen took a stumbling step forward and smiled. "Yes, it really is a difficult mixture. I was hoping to look into skin grafting but apparently it isn't entirely legal to conduct such experiments unlicensed and in one's home." He paused thoughtfully, chewing on his bottom lip. He supposed if someone was desperate enough the whole legal matter wouldn't particularly apply...but he'd yet to find someone who was willing to let a minor peel off their skin and replace it with healthy skin. He thought he was more than capable, he'd read plenty of books on it.

People were so fickle.

"Anyway, Noni plant is useful for many ailments. Such as curing boils, tuberculosis, Hypertension, malaria, and stomach aches. But it's also very useful for infected cuts. I believe that adding the juice of the roots to a mixture of aloe vera, opium poppy, and papaya oil will be enough to rid the user of scars and other skin related defects after an considerable amount of use." Realizing that he'd been rambling, Zacharie immediately closed his mouth with an audible snap and stuffed his once gesturing hands into the pockets of his jeans. "It's just a theory though, I haven't had a chance to test it on humans yet."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Bro pointed out, glancing over his shoulder at the two humans, the boy seemed to be content throwing words at Jerome.
A wide smirk on Bro's face, the Gengar swooped past Jabari as he fazed through one of the building.

Jerome didn't understand much of what the boy was talking about, but all the same, the gangster stood, quietly watching the boy and listening to what he was saying. It seemed they had time to kill before the ghost returned anyway, and Jerome wanted to finish his cigarette.
He found it helped with the discomfort too, paying attention to something other then the memories the scars surfaced.
"What ya b'n testin' on?" He asked when the Boy finally took a breath.