[PRP] Parental Guidance

[Tymiko]

Tymiko spent the morning exploring Sandalwood, enjoying the unique tree-top city and the link to nature it offered. Since she enjoyed climbing trees and being up high, the elevated atmosphere of the leafy canopy was like paradise to her.

Most of the people she had met and known so far had lived in Camphoreon City, but while it had its own perks, the girl wasn't so fond of the urban scene. A whole community dwelling in tree houses was definitely more appealing to a child, particularly one as adventure-loving as the water trainer.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Tymiko wasn't the only one enjoying herself up on the elevated walkways in the trees. A pink-eyed Buneary suddenly bounded over and stopped near her feet, then rose up onto its hind legs as it waved a paw happily at her. "Buneary, bun, buunnn!" Finn hadn't seen this girl before, so she must be new! Or maybe she wasn't from around there? Either one made the child incredibly interested, so he waited there, looking up at her with an eager expression.  

[Tymiko]

Pausing to stare at the bunny pokemon, the girl tilted her head, regarding the little one's unique coloring. "Hi there," she said merrily, crouching to greet him. She held out a hand. "Where'd you come from, little guy? Do you have a trainer somewhere around here...? Or are you just exploring like me?" Buneary didn't just wander around Sandalwood all on their own, did they?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Buneary!" Finn greeted enthusiastically, even happier when the girl bent down to be closer to his level. The small pokemon took her offered hand and attempted to give her a handshake like he had seen his own trainer do. Mention of where he came from and a trainer gave him pause, so he pointed back behind him with a "bun!"

Not too far off sat a normal-colored Lopunny, silently watching the pair like a hawk with a neutral expression on his face.  

[Tymiko]

The girl laughed delightedly at the little handshake, not having been quite sure what to expect. "You're really clever, aren't you?" Following the direction the pokemon indicated, she looked back to see the Lopunny watching them. "Oh, is that your parent?"

Smiling, she waved at the passive-seeming normal-type and stood up once more. "Should we go to him? He seems very watchful over you. Is he nice?" If it even was a him. She couldn't be sure with these pokemon, especially because Lopunny weren't the sort that had any obvious differences in gender.

As she spoke, the girl already began to take steps toward the large Lopunny, holding out her hand toward Finn for him to take if he so wished.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

At her assessment of his cleverness, Finn put his paws on his hips with a proud, "bunear!" Oh yes, he was clever! Mention of his sire, however, gave him pause. Yes, he was his parent; yes, they could go to him; yes, he was nice, but he wasn't exactly nice to anyone that wasn't him or their trainer or their trainer's other pokemon. Oh, but she was already heading that way, so he dropped onto all fours and bounded on ahead to Duncan.

The Lopunny watched as they approached, tensing only slightly. The building outside of which he sat appeared to be some sort of convenience store, and it wouldn't be a very difficult stretch to guess their trainer was inside somewhere. When Finn bounded into his lap, Duncan caught him with practiced ease - he'd certainly done it enough times - then glanced up at the girl silently, his expression, while mostly negative, was still at least a little curious. "Lop..?"  

[Tymiko]

Though the girl was just itching to jump up and hug both rabbits, she laughed when Duncan caught Finn and stopped, politely clasping her hands together in front of her. "Hi!" she said. "You have a very smart kid, there. And he's so adorable! You make an excellent parent." Glancing over the side of the nearest rope bridge connecting the tree dwellings, she asked, "You guys don't live up here on your own, do you?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Had Tymiko decided to hug Duncan, he would have growled and promptly attempted to punch her in the face. Luckily though she didn't, so he merely continued to sit there silently. Finn was the one to respond, and he jumped out of his parent's lap and gestured emphatically up at the girl, starting with his paws pressed to his cheeks before they raised and waved at her. "Buneary, bun! Bun!" To her question, he shook his head, then hopped over to the door of the store and pressed his face against the glass. After a few moments, he stepped back and pointed at a figure through it, though none appeared yet. "Buneary!" If Tymiko looked, she would see several figures, and probably not all of them were related in any way except for the fact that they just so happened to all be shopping there at the same point in time on that particular day. One of them, presumably, was their trainer.  

[Tymiko]

Giggling at the Buneary's motions, Ty dipped her head respectfully to Duncan before following Finn to the glass and pressing her own face up against it. "Oh...you're not allowed to go in there?" she asked. Her gaze shifted back to Duncan. "Not even with supervision? Or do you just prefer to stay out here?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Duncan eyed the young girl briefly before his gaze shifted out across the trees and buildings, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he slouched lower, as if shunning the very idea of going inside. "Lop," he said simply.

Finn, on the other hand, seemed much more expressive about the circumstances than his sire. "Buneary!" He said excitedly, and proceeded to point all around while speaking to her about everything he pointed to -- not that she would understand a word of it.

It was about that time when a woman stepped out of the shop with a bag on her arm, her brows raised slightly at the Buneary's behavior with the young girl. "Hello there," she greeted brightly regardless, offering the child a smile as Duncan stood in silent acquiescence with his human's arrival -- the fact that they'd be leaving the immediate area didn't need to be said.  

[Tymiko]

Ty blinked at the Lopunny's reaction before grinning at him. "You're so adorable," she laughed. "What a grumpy bunny."

Highly amused at the Buneary's enthusiasm, the trainer put her hands on her knees and proceeded to nod and listen intently to everything he seemed to say, even if she didn't understand. She certainly found herself wishing she knew how to speak pokemon. Things would probably seem a lot less lonely.

So intently was she listening that the girl jumped upon hearing a human voice greet them, abruptly straightening herself and turning to face the woman. "H-hi!" she answered, wondering what the lady must have thought of her. "I-I'm sorry, are these your pokemon?" Ty asked. "They're really charming; this Buneary here was just explaining...everything to me." She grinned sheepishly and looked down at Finn.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

While Duncan was very displeased with the girl's assessment of him, he merely gave her a disapproving look while remaining silent as he stood beside his owner.

"Yes, they are," Abigail confirmed with a nod and a smile, then gestured to both in turn. "This is Duncan, and this is Finn. Finn gets excited when he meets new people," she explained, "especially young ones." Probably, she figured, because he adored and missed her daughter.

The named Buneary had seemed infinitely pleased and ecstatic that this girl was listening to him so intently, and his gestures and 'words' became even more animated and excited -- until his owner appeared. He offered her a wave and a bright "Buneary!" before he began to hop in happy circles around Tymiko's ankles.

"Oh, pardon me - my name is Abigail," the woman said with another smile, this one mildly sheepish that she'd almost forgotten to introduce herself. "What's your name?"  

[Tymiko]

Giggling at Duncan's reaction, the girl nodded in acknowledgement of each of the pokemon names, repeating them to commit them to memory. "Duncan and Finn. Huh. Like King Duncan?" she asked, though she couldn't quite remember the story from which she'd heard of such a king. "May I ask why you picked those names?"

Beaming at the mention of how Finn especially loved younger people, the girl regarded the light-colored Buneary hopping about her ankles. "Maybe it's because he's young too and they can share his enthusiasm. He sure seems like he enjoys exploring and discovering things. No wonder Duncan keeps such a watchful eye on him."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the water trainer apologized. "I'm Tymiko. People call me Ty, though. Abigail is such a pretty name." She held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you. You and your pokemon." Looking up at the tree canopy above them, she asked, "Do you live here in Sandalwood? Finn sure seems like he knows his way around."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"I don't know about any King Duncan," Abigail said with a slight chuckle, "but I picked those names, as well as the names of my other pokemon, because they're Irish names. Plus I liked them," she added with another chuckle. It also helped that her parents had encouraged the naming theme when she was young with her first pokemon.

"He does act quite young, but I think that's because we baby him. He's actually a couple years old now," the woman admitted, "and I'm sure one of the reasons he loves children is because my daughter is about your age, but she's traveling in Kanto currently." While her tones were positive, she gained a rather wistful look as she spoke.

The topic switched to names, and Abigail smiled brightly as her face flushed a bit, and she readjusted the bags in her hands. "Why thank you, my dear, that's a wonderful thing to say. Tymiko," she repeated thoughtfully, testing the name out for herself. "That's such a lovely name, and unique, too. I think it suits you perfectly." She moved her bags to one hand and took Ty's to shake when she offered hers, not wanting to seem rude -- especially to a child who was behaving so maturely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ty, and yes, we do live here. Not too far in fact," she said as she straightened up and pointed off to one side, "in an apartment just over there. It's really quite lovely, such a beautiful area compared to Goldenrod. What about you?" Dual-toned blue eyes turned to focus on Tymiko again. "Do you live around here?"  

[Tymiko]

"Are you Irish, then?" she asked, curious. "Do you speak Gaelic?"

"Ohh...I'll bet you all miss her, don't you?" Tymiko guessed. "Maybe you should go visit her some time. I'm sure she misses you too. She might get homesick." Beaming at Finn, she realized she had more in common with the Buneary than she had originally thought. Neither of them really acted their age, it seemed.

At the compliment of her own name, the girl looked down at her feet and clasped her hands behind her back. "Thank you," she said timidly, rocking back and forth on her heels in a subtle motion. She shook Abigail's hand with a shy smile. "The pleasure's all mine. Um, would you like help with those bags? I know you said it isn't far to your apartment, but it still seems a lot for you on your own."

At Abigail's question, Ty shook her head. "Mm-mm. I, uh...came from Kanto, actually. It's been a while since I left home myself."