[FIN] Conflict of Interests

[BlackFireKitsune]

A gray, spotted Vaporeon laid at the water's edge, her tail stretched out behind her and her front paws crossed daintily in front of her, as the waves gently washed up around her. The water was deliciously cool, compared to the hot sun above her, and its rays glinted off her dark jewelry as she closed her deep blue eyes, perfectly content.

Quite a ways up the shore, near the boardwalk, sat a brunette in one of the benches. Clad in a thin, white hoodie and light colored jeans, with her feet on the edge of the bench, her knees drawn up to her chest and her head bent between them. Her right arm was wrapped around her knees, while her left arm disappeared between her legs and her stomach, and a pair of white flip-flops laid on the sand beneath her.

The girl and the Vaporeon, from their distance, might have been completely separate from each other, unless one knew better.  

[Tori Honoo]

While the Vaporeon and it's trainer seemed completely uninterested in each other, another pokemon, this one an eevee, followed closely behind its mistress' heels as the young woman walked along the beach, her arms wrapped loosely over her stomach, her fingers absently twisted around the ends of the sleeves of the thin shirt drawn down over her arms, her mind calm.

Though the girl's gaze was leveled far out on the horizon, she paused, catching sight of the Vaporeon from the corner of her eye. Stopping only a few short, short feet away from it, she glanced around as if in search of who it might belong to, her brows furrowed as she turned to it again. "Are you here alone?" Surely it couldn't be a stray, or a wild pokemon...

Lovey paused behind her trainer, but peeked around the girl's legs as she spoke before making her own presence known. Amiably, the little eevee strode forward and took a seat not too far away, her ears high and her tone polite. "Hello! It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The girl's arrogance in coming that close was absolutely unacceptable, despite whatever positive or friendly tone she used with her question, and the Vaporeon did not hesitate to make that perfectly clear. All her fins slowly slicked back - the thin chains clinking together delicately as they moved - her shoulders and head hunched forward and she slowly, very slowly turned an incredibly displeased face to the pair, fangs bared and a growl emanating from deep within her throat.

Her deep blue eyes snapped down from the girl to the Eevee, who received the same growl. was,> she replied through gritted teeth and bared fangs, her tone laced with venom, alone.>  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove immediately stepped back, her hands up now, palms forward to show she meant the pokemon no harm as it growled.

Lovey, on the other hand, simply put herself between the pokemon and her trainer, very calmly redirecting her efforts, though she obviously now held an air of caution, and perhaps a little disgust at the Vaporeon's rude return of greeting-- if one could even call it that.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Jasmine glared up at Dove through narrowed eyes, and as she backed away her head raised again and her shoulders relaxed, though the Eevee's audacious words made her growl continue. At least the mutt had apologized, as she should, it absolutely nothing else. was enjoying myself, until some vapid girl and her equally vapid mutt traipsed over here and almost stepped on me,> she finished, her growl increasing a little in volume as she aimed a withering glare up at said vapid girl. Her gaze, though, quickly returned to the Eevee.  

[Tori Honoo]

Lovey's fur bristled a bit, but she quickly shook out her mane and leveled her gaze on the eeveelution, calm once more. she smiled, though inwardly, she knew this pokemon was just like a few of the others in her past she had regrettably encountered. speechless in your presence, I'm afraid I'll have to remain here until she decides to move on.> Sarcasm hung lightly in her words, and while she had enough sense to at least fear that the Vaporeon might be strong, she couldn't resist the opportunity to further conversation, just to see how humiliatingly foolish and common the water-type was.

Dove watched as Lovey continued to converse with the other pokemon, though she honestly wished she wouldn't. With a soft call to the eevee, she looked around the beach again, her eyes falling on the only other close occupant, deciding then that it might be in her best interest to at least find the pokemon's trainer, should it choose to attack. She chose not to move immediately, however, not wanting to spur the Vaporeon into action, and instead waited in hopes that Lovey would be able to talk it down.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

At the Eevee's words, Jasmine merely snorted, though she didn't miss the brief shake to rid her of her discomfort. she said pointedly with a sneer, try that whole 'I would love nothing more than to do this',> she echoed, picking up Lovey's particular pitch and turning it into a more aggravating tone, Her tone suggested that nothing about this encounter at all was even remotely 'cute'. Her deep blue eyes flicked back to the human as she radiated discomfort and even glanced away. Jasmine snorted again. leave,> she growled pointedly, her fins still slicked back against her head.

The figure on the bench was still curled in on itself, oblivious to the group near the shore. For all anyone could tell, the girl might even have been asleep or something.  

[Tori Honoo]

After another few minutes of watching the two interact, Dove shook her head and made her way up the beach toward the person in white, looking to Lovey to follow. While the vaporeon was clearly aggressive, the person closer to the boardwalk seemed strikingly the opposite, and though she knew it was little of her business--the thing had growled at her, afterall-- she was curious, and at least thought she might speak with the person--the girl, she noted, as she came closer. She looked... completely bored or unaware of the pokemon, and in her own opinion, Dove could see why, if she was, indeed, the Vaporeon's owner.

Lovey simply laughed, and lifted herself from her seat to follow the girl, shaking her head. she sighed innocently, though the compliment was true. For now, however, the inelegant Vaporeon held little of her concern, aside from an honest pity and a slight amusement, and the little eevee strolled off after her trainer.

When finally close, but at a polite distance, the girl spoke up. "Hello! I'm sorry to bother you, but is that your Vaporeon down at the water?" she asked openly, not a hint of aggravation in her voice. She was only curious, afterall.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The Vaporeon snorted again, clearly amused at the pathetic little Eevee. Oh, it was almost sad how pitiful these common creatures were, those pretending they had class... she commented snidely. They were gone now, though, and that was all that mattered, and Jasmine returned her gaze to the ocean, relaxing again already.

The girl half-raised her head, only high enough to discern the form of the Eevee nearby and the gray Vaporeon near the water, and possibly the lower half of the other girl's form, then dropped her head again. Ugh, of all people to come bother her now... "My mother's," she corrected dully, not caring nearly enough to elaborate more than that.  

[Tori Honoo]

Lovey paid the Vaporeon no mind, as she was almost out of hearing range by the time the words were vomited forth. She did, however, frown-- she rather liked her little heart.

Dove blinked, then nodded, slightly confused. The girl's voice was familiar, but the tone and way she held herself didn't quite match the identification at all. If it was, however, the person she thought it might be, there had to be something wrong, especially since the words offered held very little malice. With a slight inclination of her head and a concerned look on her face, she tentatively spoke again, all the while expecting to be asked to leave if the girl even replied at all. "...Sera?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

No, no, nope, nope nope nope. Nope, go away -- nope. "What," was her muffled reply, and though the single word hoped to be angry and dismissing, it was instead mildly bitter, tired, and a little depressed. She didn't raise her head fully yet, though.  

[Tori Honoo]

The affirmation that the single word offered was much more frightening than it ever should have been. While it confirmed Dove's suspicion, it also worried her, ironically, she thought, that the girl's reply was so tame and soaked through with a tone she hadn't expected in the slightest instead of the venomous harshness she had expected.

Feeling a little awkward, she stayed as she was, her brow still knit in concern; she knew Sera disliked her-- the other young woman had made that blatantly obvious-- and would likely want as little to do with her as possible, but the need to help if possible stopped her from moving and begged the question, "Are you alright?"

Lovey sat a little ways away, turning her back to the girls to give them privacy, knowing that if her trainer had been in the other girl's position, she wouldn't have liked multiple eyes on her at once, even that of a pokemon's.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"None of your business," she replied in similar tones. All of Dove's assumptions were correct -- she had absolutely no desire to be in the other girl's presence, especially in so depressing a time as this, and did not at all want her help with anything. Since she was currently staring into her lap, both Dove and Lovey were out of view.  

[Tori Honoo]

With a sigh soft enough she hoped the other girl wouldn't hear, Dove nodded, knowing Sera wouldn't see it, then stepped away to give the girl the space she so obviously wanted. "Look, Sera, I know you don't like me, and I don't fault you for it... but if you need someone to listen, or really, anything at all, just... let me know...okay?" she said softly over her shoulder.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Nope," came the muffled response. Even if she didn't have anyone else to go to, she wouldn't dare condescend to go to Dove, of all people. She'd have to lose every scrap of pride for good for that to happen.

Or just go walk and fall through the rain and not give a single s**t about anything anymore again.