[PRP] Brave Altaria, Assemble!

[TRHQ Yuri Lowell]

It was said that the early bird catches the worm. Well... Yuri wasn't a bird, and he didn't catch any worm, but he was early. He was here to make sure that those arriving knew it was the right place. The place they had all agreed to meet before setting out on their trip around the island.

Today was warm, even though there was the telltale signs of fall all around them, and sunny. Pidgey chirped in the few scattered trees around the outskirts of Camphoreon, and one Yuri Lowell sat beneath one of them.

The man was leaned up against the trunk, in his usual attire plus one leather jacket and a hat that matched his outfit. The hat was pulled low over his face, his sword resting against him as he seemed to have dosed off into a nap. One arm draped over his his knee while the other loosely held the weapon. A traveling bag also sitting next to him.

Nearby rested three Pokemon. Repede was right at Yuri's side, wearing his doggy backpack. Link was also there, the largest and most noticeable feature. The Arcanine keeping a look out and also wearing something similar to his smaller canine companion. Astal was flopped over Yuri's leg, sleeping on his back with his mouth wide open.

A serene if not somewhere humorous scene.

It was there they waited.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove might have kept the nickname of a bird, but when it came to rising early, she had literally had to teach herself, and even now, after months of routine, today was pushing it. She had risen at an obscene hour of the morning to ready her team, saying goodbye to the few she would leave behind for now and preparing the others to travel. That done, and her bags packed, she set out, Thierry and Aurora following along after her, Lovey at her heels and Diana asleep in her arms. A few stops had to be made before she would arrive.

A young boy and his parents had been waiting, the mother tearful, the father alert but slightly hesitant as Dove had arrived. Jace literally leapt from his place in their living room, his backpack already on his back, his hooded jacket and gloves on tight. He had been up and energized all morning waiting, and the moment the doorbell rang, he was there to answer it, throwing it open with a bright grin.

Promises of a safe return and a few teary goodbyes later, the two set off, Jace beaming and waving back at his parents, Dove watching fondly, understanding of the parent's concern. She had assured them their child was in safe hands, and that constant communication would be no issue-- they would check in every so often, just to set them at ease.

After a short while, the two and the pokemon would arrive at the meeting site, Thierry and Aurora's bags secured snugly, Jace's belongings safely tucked away inside them as well, aside from the backpack he wore. Dove adjusted her bag across her chest, straightening the sleeves of her own jacket as she stepped closer to the man on the ground, squatting to reach forward and tip his hat back, a smile on her face. "Nice jacket..." she told him, forgoing greeting in favor of a gentle tease.

Jace stayed close to the pokemon, still in awe of Aurora who gladly accepted the attention and saw absolutely no flaw in keeping the child company. When he reached up to pet her, she gladly laid on her stomach, setting her head atop her paws to allow him better access to the ruff around her neck and ears.  

[Gwennythe]

Gummy bobbed up and down in Henrietta's arms; she wasn't actually sure if they were late or early or what- she'd forgotten her 'gear or 'dex probably had the time on it, and had judged by what the day looked like and the glimpse of a clock in the town as she'd made her way through and out to the meeting place.

The Totodile wasn't concerned either way; he just dangled in her arms, contently bobbing along with each hurried step the girl took- almost skipping- while she hummed some old cartoon theme tune to herself.
She wore her usual attire of black, yellow and blue, while her hair remained as uncombed as ever. A blue and yellow rucksack was slung over her shoulders and her three 'inhabited' pokéballs- One normal, one Quick Ball and one Luxury Ball- could be glimpsed on her belt.

She spotted the people she was looking for, almost as soon as she got near- Link was kind of hard to miss- and grinned, waving like crazy as she ran toward them, then slowing as her eyes alighted on Yuri's hat.
She blinked, stared, and Gummy blinked. Then Henrietta tilted her head curiously and grinned again, excitedly.
"Are we hunting vampires?!"  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri looked up as Dove lifted his hat and gave a little smirk. "Thanks, I picked it out myself," he teased lightly. He then looked down at Astal who was still out cold and kicked the Eevee off his leg. The sparkling fluffball tumbled head over tail before sitting up abruptly with a huff.

The man then stood and placed his sword on his shoulder, looking over at Henrietta as she showed up. "Vampires?" He asked with a confused look and tone. Clearly he didn't get the reference.

Repede got up as well but not without a wide yawn and a languid stretch of his limbs. Link was happy enough to remain where he was for now.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove grinned at the remark, then pulled the hat back down over the man's eyes as she stood up. "I don't believe it for a minute..." she laughed, her expression changing completely from amusement to soft surprise as Yuri kicked Astal off of his leg. The eevee, of course, was completely unharmed, but the action certainly explained why Astal hadn't warmed up to him yet...

Henrietta's comment drew a laugh from the woman, and she smiled brightly, lifting a hand in greeting to the girl. "I don't know... I don't think I signed up for Vampire hunting..."

Jace, upon Henrietta's arrival turned to greet her as well, jogging over to the other three. "Henrietta! Yuri!" he shouted, before playfully tagging the man in the side. "This is gonna be awesome!"  

[Gwennythe]

Henrietta beamed at them all, happily about to explain her vampire remark when Jace piped up with their names.
As he went to tag Yuri's side, Henrietta, releasing Gummy to greet the other pokémon, finally, flung her arms into the air and tried to aim a happy hug at her friend, grinning at everyone.

"So awesome!" She agreed, and then beamed at Dove, fidgeting to hold up a Luxury Ball. "I brought Fluffster!"

Gummy looked around at all the other pokémon then decided to stare directly up at the sky for a few moments.  

[TRHQ Yuri Lowell]

"Hey!" Yuri protested lightly as she pulled his hat down again, tilting it back up once more almost immediately. He then blinked at the girls. He still didn't get the vampire thing, but oh well. He just mentally shrugged it off.

As Jace tagged him though, Yuri's hand came down on the boy's head to ruffle his hair. "You guys ready to hit the road?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove grinned, sticking her tongue out at him as he tipped the brim back up, then shook her head. She and Henrietta would keep it to themselves, an inside joke, unless the younger girl still wanted to explain.

Jace grinned at Yuri's reaction, laughing lightly and shaking his head as he ruffled his hair, then leapt at Henrietta, stealing the offered hug. "Yeah, lets do this! I wanna catch a thousand pokemon before we get back!"

Dove only smiled at the group, suspecting the question was more for the younger ones anyway and content just to watch them, hoping their excitement would shake the nervousness she now hid.  

[Gwennythe]

Henrietta probably hadn't thought to explain anyway. She was rather caught up in the moment and in the fact that she was finally going to get to go places that she hadn't been able to before, and with friends.

"Yeah! And me, and me! We'll have -TWO- thousand pokémon and we'll totally be able to beat all the League!" Henrietta's excitement was fueled by Jace's, and it hadn't needed any encouragement in the first place, really.
"We're totally ready! We're more ready than if we'd already left yesterday!" She beamed up at Yuri, in response to his question.  

[TRHQ Yuri Lowell]

Placing a hand on his hip, Yuri grinned at the enthusiastic kids. He then looked to Dove with a smirk. His question had been meant for everyone, she wasn't left out here.

"Then I guess we better get moving, huh?"

And with that he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Link and Repede taking this as a cue to get up. Astal glanced back and forth between the humans with some impatience.

"Who's gonna lead the way?"  

[Tori Honoo]

The smirk was mistake as amusement at the kids, and Dove shook her head, waving to her Pokemon to follow them as they set off.

Jace immediately jumped to the front. "Ive got it! Somebody just tell me where and I'll take us!" he piped up enhisiastically, striking a fist into the air. Henrietta's call for two thousand Pokemon wasn't ignored and he wanted to set out as fast as possible, though something did draw his attention back to 'reality' and though random and a bit late, he had to ask, "What's a fluffster?"  

[Gwennythe]

"I'll lead with you!" Henrietta piped up, immediately after Jace, also a semi-answer for Yuri. She didn't mind sharing, or even being 'second', but she had to pipe up to show she was willing.

When Jace asked about Fluffster, however, her face lit up happily, realising that Jace hadn't met her new pokémon yet.
She pointed at Repede and then at Lovey "Those two are boyfriend and girlfriend and Fluffster," She fumbled for the Luxury Ball, calling the little Eevee, who looked a little bemused for a moment, and flopped down on her bottom, out into the group.  

[TRHQ Yuri Lowell]

When the Eevee appeared, Repede wuffed at his daughter in greeting. He hadn't seen her in a while after all. Astal frowned at the other Eevee but stayed silent.

"Well, if we're going to Sagestone it's that way," Yuri said, pointing with the hilt of his sword. "Just follow the mountains."  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove watched, still amused as the two younger ones took up the front of the group, and as Henrietta released Fluffster into their midst. Upon Repede's bark and the young eevee's appearance, Diana stirred in Dove's arms, then turned to offer her own greeting, her tail wagging excitedly as her girl put her down gently. From there, she dashed toward her sister, followed shortly after by her mother who also wished to greet her baby.

Jace grinned, "Oh yeah! I guess that makes sense," he speculated, looking between the two parent pokemon and then their trainers as he kneeled to pet the little eevee. That still wasn't totally clear, but from what Henrietta said before, it made sense that those two specifically had had kits... or pups... or whatever his mom would have called them. "It's cute! Oh yeah!!! Look, look!" he told the younger trainer, pulling his own ball from his pocket to release a young pokemon as well. "I got a baby too! Her name is Rona, and she's an aron!"

Dove smiled brightly, glad to see that the young eevee was doing well, then laughed again, looking toward Yuri. "Looks like we've got more kids with us than we thought..." Pokemon in general were a challenge, as were human children, but the addition of baby pokemon was sure to make things even more interesting.

Given direction, Jace nodded, seriously willing to lead the group. "C'mon, lets gooooo!" he called, rising to his feet and setting off, expecting the others to follow. The aron, tipping her head, toddled after the boy.  

[Gwennythe]

Fluffster's ears perked; she heard her father first and yipped back at him, almost like some kind of returned, audible, salute. The young eevee looked rather proud as well as excited.
She was also rather proud to get attention from people who weren't Henrietta too and perked her whole form up to meet Jace's petting.
Immediately the pride 'spell' was broken and her tail broke into wagging as her sister and her mother approached. She yipped another greeting at the two of them, in a similar tone but her body language betrayed her now; Dad was here, Mum was here and Diana was here too!

"Yeah, she's really cute!" Henrietta agreed with the boy, then her eyes widened as he, in turn, brought out Rona. "Wow! She's so cool! A steel type! Awesome!" She was crouching to see Rona better now, reaching out experimentally to offer petting to her, but she was ready to move off just as soon as Jace was ready to move, looking over and calling to make sure Fluffster wasn't about to fall behind; not that she was too worried with Lovey and Repede around.

Gummy had moved his gaze from the sky, but he remained rather indifferent to the flurry of activity all around as he dutifully toddled after his trainer.