[PRP] Spare a dime?

[Magician Arcana]

Alexis Nordstram was many things: Smart, hard working, orderly, cleanly, and very proud.

There were many things Alexis Nordstram was not: Humble, weak, good with change, or one to give up.

And at that moment, in Camphoreon City, where he had gone to start life a new - Alexis Nordstram also found himself without a place to stay, money, or food. Which was a big change. A VERY BIG change.

Groaning, the twenty year old leaned against the wall of a building. In one hand was a suit jacket, neatly folded. His hair was still nice and neat, but it looked unclean. His clothes had a slight rumple. Today was day two without a room, and no money anywhere. Hunger was starting to gnaw angrily at his stomach.  

[Tymiko]

A girl who seemed to be around the ages of 12 and 13 was just walking around a street corner with a grocery bag when she noticed the stranger with the jacket. Curious, she walked over and tapped him tentatively on the arm with her free hand.

"Excuse me," she said, regarding the young man. "Uh...are you lost?"  

[Magician Arcana]

Jolting, Nord gave the girl a weary look. It melted quickly. Children had that effect on him. Sighing, he sheepishly looked away, "Ah.... I... yes I... I guess I am?" What the hell, she didn't mean that metaphysically. Wincing, Nord sighed deeply.

"I'm in a tight bind, if I'm honest. Do you know where..." God the word shelter felt like acid. No. He wasn't going to say it, "T-the park is?"  

[Tymiko]

Blinking, the girl noticed the look, surprised. It seemed this man had seen hardships before, and likely at human hands. Metaphysically speaking or not, she seemed to understand his words.

"I'm Tymiko," she told him, taking his hand. "Sure, I know where the park is. But why do you want to go there?" She smiled lightly. "Something tells me you don't feel like going there to play. What kind of bind are you in?"  

[Magician Arcana]

Staring at their held hands, Nord felt himself waver in strength. A slight smile tugged at the ends of his mouth, "No... I'm not in the mood to play. Ah.." Did he just tell her then? This little girl, a random stranger, his hardships?

"... I'm without a place to stay or food. I was.. swindled out of my money," It was a long stream of unfortunate, yet now standing on the other side of the stream, foreseeable events, "I know sometimes you can stay in the bushes and other homeless can help."  

[Tymiko]

"What?! How?" Ty cried, alarmed. "Was it Team Rocket? They're a really bad problem here on Kodo."

With the hand she had grasped, she lead Nord toward the park. "Come on. We're going to the park, but not to meet homeless people. We're going to have lunch." She held up her grocery bag as indication. "A picnic."  

[Magician Arcana]

So my savior is a teen-pre-teen with a bandana... Nord didn't know how to feel about this turn of events. It was the carrot on the end of the stick that Tymikko offered that led him along. Lunch. A picnic. In the park.

"O-oh! Yes, I'm... I'm Alexis Nordstram. C-call me Nord." Sighing, he walked beside her, "I'm a little surprised you'd just willingly offer to share your lunch with some strange, dirty man."  

[Tymiko]

"Nord?" she repeated, giggling. "Why Nord? I thought most people went by their first names."

Tymiko laughed harder when Nord mentioned his surprise. "And why wouldn't I? Pokemon trainers get dirty all the time from journeying. I'd be a pretty terrible one if I let that stop me. And half the fun of travelling is meeting new people."

Catching sight of the park, she hurried a little faster to plop herself on a patch of grass in the nice, warm sunshine. "Here we are. Look, Nord!" She gestured about at the green expanse with people and pokemon enjoying themselves. "Wanna know why there're no miserable homeless people around?"  

[Magician Arcana]

Her laughter put him at ease, oddly. Smiling despite himself, he explained, "There were a ton of Alexis' in my school. So we all got different names and mine was Nord because it was easier to say than Nordstram."

Well that was true. Most people were out training and traveling. Ah, right. This girl was a trainer, "I had forgotten. You're correct." Nord didn't have the privilege of being a child trainer. Studies were more important.

Sitting beside his rescuer, he shrugged and laid the coat over his outstretched legs, "Strict police patrols coupled with comprehensive shelter services?"  

[Tymiko]

"That actually sounds familiar," the girl answered, grinning. She opened her bag and brought out bread and other ingredients for sandwiches. To Nord, she gave a few fruits, including leppa and pecha berries. "The sandwiches will be ready in a few minutes. You can start on those in the meantime. Hmm...I wonder if I had a name that common, too," she murmured, busy fixing the ingredients together.

Casting the young man a funny look, Ty shook her head, answering slowly. "Noooo...unless by 'strict police patrols' you mean officers directing you to Pokemon Centers, where they have rooms to stay in for free. Closest thing to 'comprehensive shelter services', I guess, but I don't know exactly what that is."

Beaming at him, she remarked, "You haven't really roughed it out before, have you? Don't worry. If police were all that strict around here, we wouldn't have so many problems with Team Rocket. Speaking of them, were they they ones who robbed you?"  

[Magician Arcana]

Free rooms in Pokemon Centers? Nord felt so stupid, he could only dumbly lead a pecha fruit to his mouth to be bitten in half and chewed thoughtfully. As soon as the flavors hit his tongue, he groaned happily and swallowed, "Thank you, Tymikko. You're very kind... I owe you."

Sighing, he nodded, "Yes, they were the ones. I took a business offering here. It stated free room, one free pokemon of your choosing, and a good salary. They hired me on the spot and well... The pokemon." Nord eyed the pokeball in his suit jacket's pocket. There was something wrong with that creature.

"So, I lost all my money in a matter of days, was kicked from the apartment, handed this pokemon, and... Well I lost most of my clothes, furnishings, personal data..." God, he'd been such a fool.  

[Tymiko]

"No you don't, silly!" she answered, bubbling over with yet more laughter. "I think most other people would have done the same. And you can call me 'Ty' if you want. It's shorter."

She listened attentively as she layered the ingredients of the sandwiches before cutting them up into neat triangles with a plastic fork and then laying one set in front of Nord. "Ohh. That sure sounds suspicious," she agreed. "But you really got a pokemon?"

Ty's expression transformed from mirthful to sad in a matter of moments. "That's awful," she said. "I'm sorry that happened. But still, if you have a pokemon, it shouldn't be too hard to earn all that money back," the girl told him. "And you can get back at Team Rocket. All you have to do is train it."  

[Magician Arcana]

"I can get money with a pokemon? Do I sell it?" Nord looked again at the pocket, "No, it's no good, you see I..." he faltered and continued, "I was so busy with getting settled in I haven't even released the pokemon. I might not have one. Or maybe it's a really nasty one... I won't know."  

[Tymiko]

"No, you don't sell it!" Ty said, looking as though she were fighting the urge to laugh yet again. "Really? Well then, what are you waiting for? Let it out and let's see!" She paused. "But you might want to eat that food or put it away, first. If it's actually a pokemon, it might be hungry."  

[Magician Arcana]

Food? Food! Snapping from his dazed thoughts, Nord grinned toothily and took the sandwich, "Thank you again. Thank you." And began to eat. It didn't take long for the two berries and the sandwich to be mere memories. Delicious, tasty memories.

Since his stomach was no longer rumbling heavily, he felt at peace. With the sun overhead, Nord wanted to desperately nap and maybe, when he woke, this nightmare would be over. However, that was childish, and Alexis Nordstram was Not-A-Child (trademark pending).

Sliding the basic pokeball from his pocket, he sighed deeply and pressed the button to enlarge it, "All right... Ready... Steady..." He tossed it, expecting it to thud uselessly to the ground.

Instead, a red light beamed from its open body. Yelping in surprise, Nord backpedaled while pointing at the revealed monster.

"I... Is this an Eevee? It's weird! Why is it black and white?" Was it a ghost? Or maybe it was poisonous?