[FIN] Back in our day...?

[Gwennythe]

It had been a hectic couple of days, and at one point, Tambrey had managed to work from the beginning of one day into the beginning of another on something in the labs.
There was just so much to do lately, all the time. Fossils, cloning, tests, equipment tests, storage diagnostics and daily inventories that seemed to get longer and longer... Not that that latter thing was bad. The more sequences, the more data, the more species they had, the more effective the labs became... Of course, then there was the growth medium and chemical components of everything... It had felt easier when she had someone she considered a friend enough to talk with, grunt clearance only or not, when it came to the chemical nature of her job... Not that it was particularly any harder to do now, at a basic level, but she missed KO's input and talk when they had to collaborate on such things...

And... as much as she enjoyed the labs, such long shifts and so much to do swimming around caused stress...
Technically, she could count today as research too, of course, but she didn't intend to put /too/ much stock in that... Everything would be rather anecdotal in any case.

She and Aulus had chosen to take some time to return to Sagestone, and the surrounding trails, but this time they were bringing three individuals who had come from the area... and yet never seen it in its current form.

They'd stopped in town before heading onto the trail, and Tambrey was just returning from purchasing a couple of bottles of water. Sure, she had a flask, and she suspected Aulus did to, but she always felt like more water was a good idea...
"So, um... I'll follow your lead, but I don't think we should let them out until we get a little bit up the trail? Um, I'm anxious, a little, actually... I've no idea how Millicent's going to react to all this. What do you think about Borealis and Helix? Shall I let Treestar out with them too?"  

[TawnyAngel]

It was always good to get away from the base. The enclosed white place didn't freak him out anymore but it still felt good to breathe real air, to feel a breeze rather than the waft of air-conditioning, and to have the sun above rather than artificial lighting.

"Humm?" Aulus looked down as Tam approached, he had been watching a pair of Pidgeotto up above engaged in a territorial spat. "Yeah, agreed," he nodded, "let's get a bit further from town before we let them out." Tam's other question took some more mulling over, Aulus made a thoughtful noise as they set off up the trail. "Not sure," he admitted eventually. "Borealis seems to be getting more confident very quickly, and I think Helix is more or less okay so long as she's around. Need to break that dependency sooner or later but not just now. Speaking of letting people out though...." Aulus reached for one of his pokeballs and released the occupant.

Phaethon appeared with a snort and looked around with interest.

Aulus gestured to the trail ahead of them. "Go on and stretch your legs mate, we'll be on the trail somewhere behind you. Probably. I'm sure you'll be able to find us."

The Rapidash whickered acknowledgement, bumped his nose against Aulus' shoulder, nodded to Tam, and then spun around on his hind legs and galloped away in a streak of golden fire.

Aulus grinned and gestured after him. "He's been itching to do that for ages."  

[Gwennythe]

Tambrey nodded.
"That makes sense. It's probably good to just see how -they- react... Um. Maybe with a translator though? Did you bring Rose?" She'd left Franklin back at base, to play in her room. She was fairly confident the little psychic wouldn't get into any trouble, especially as Palu was also out and Palu did not tolerate things going wrong in the room; it was her 'territory', after all.

She smiled as she watched Phaethon gallop away, and then realised she probably should have brought Octavia along too... She simply hadn't connected the mountains to 'love to run about' in the same way she might have thought of the desert or plains...

"I'll bet... Um. Hm. Next time we go to the plains, I suppose I better Octavia do similar. She doesn't get as much out-side running as she should..." Especially considering where the base was now; treadmill training really only went so far...

Tambrey offered one of the water bottles out to Aulus.
"I wonder if they'll... feel anything for the place..." She mused, thoughts predictably returning to the fossil 'mon.  

[TawnyAngel]

Aulus took the bottle with a nod and, "Thanks," opening it to take a swig. "I really need to go somewhere remote so I can let Asgard out too," he continued with a sigh and a shake of his head. "It's difficult with something as bloody big as him to be inconspicuous. We've been to the lake a few times but it's not the same as the open sky or ocean." They'd get around to it, sooner rather than later hopefully.

"I've got Juno with me today, she paraphrases a bit more than Rose but I figured it was about her turn to get out and about.... And I don't know." Aulus looked about them with a thoughtful frown. "It must look completely different to what they saw when they were alive but still, it's where they lived and a lot of pokemon seem to have pretty good homing instincts."  

[Gwennythe]

Tambrey was reminded that she was somewhat glad that her largest pokémon were nowhere near the size of Lugia... Getting out to a suitable place, with her schedule, for wings like those would have been so difficult... 'Once in a blue moon' was the phrase that sprung to mind.

"Hm. Hard to get away for long lately? Everyone's seemed so busy..."

She knew she had been of course, but it struck her that, in fact, so many people had seemed much busier than usual, as far as she could tell. Was that an indicator of something? She was probably just reading too much into what she knew of pokémon behaviour and sub-consciously, or rather, consciously right now, applying it to people, but still she wondered.

Another nod; well, as long as they did have a translator.
"I brought, um, Tarana... I /should/ be able to talk with him but he's just so quiet. He never really seems to talk." Tambrey explained, then grinned and nodded again.
"Well... Mountains. That's the biggest difference for Helix, I'd think... They were probably forming in later times, but... young mountains, um, not weather or as big as these... Also. Um. I guess they were made from fossils, but it's still unclear exactly what they might remember if anything at all. Genetic memory is still a... rather little understood subject."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Yeah," Aulus nodded, "I mean they don't seem to have any memories as such? But this place might wake up some instincts or," he waved a hand vaguely, "something, who knows? And honestly I've been getting out more in the last couple of weeks than in the last year, but not for recreation." He grinned and shrugged. "Once Foxtrot is able to keep simple illusions up for long periods of time it'll be a lot easier, we can take her along and she'll invisible us... make us invisible that is." He could grammar, totally. "For now though he'll just have to be patient. Fox is coming along well though, so it won't be too long hopefully."  

[Gwennythe]

"Mhm.. Homing instincts or, um... Yes, something. It's hard to qualify that scientifically... Um, what was that word? You told me it the last time we here... The german one?"

Oh? Ohh! Riiight... The arm thing...
"Ah... Yes. Um. I didn't even think about that... Out and busy, then..." Tambrey returned the grin, sheepishly.
"Oh! That'll be so neat! You can pretend he's, um, a Romulan Warbird or something! You three will be able to cloak!" She grinned, less sheepishly, but still a kind of silly expression; she really enjoyed the idea.  

[TawnyAngel]

Aulus paused, looked over at Tam, and started to grin. "Now that's all I'm going to be able to think of, you do realise that right? I always liked the Romulans, way better than the Vulcans if you ask me.

"Oh, yeah, and it was fernweh." Aulus looked around them, rolling his right shoulder to ease a slight stiffness in the muscles. "Well it's a cool place even if they don't feel anything special for it, and it'll be a good experience for them. Want to go around the next bend in the path and then let them out?"  

[Gwennythe]

"Good." Tambrey smirked, mischievously; as far as she was concerned, there was nothing wrong with thinking about turning a huge legendary bird invisible and pretending you were a Romulan ship...
"I know what you mean, um, they were always a little more complex and... you felt like they had a right to be angry about the things they were angry about. More of a complex villain than, um... Well, the Borg."

"Fernweh... I do like the word. Um, yes," She nodded "next bend and we'll let them out... Should be on trail enough to avoid anyone creeping up on us," she didn't mean deliberately of course "and spooking them... I think?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Psh, the Borg." Aulus snorted. "We are drunk of borg, resistance is floortile. I never got the whole queen thing either. I mean, they were a good scary threat? But not complex and interesting like Romulans, plus the Romulan aesthetic is cooler. Who wants to fly around in a sodding cube? Give me a Warbird any day of the week.... And don't you think it's funny how the ships are always the same way up? It's space, they have artificial gravity. Surely as often as not they should meet oriented differently, right? But when have you ever seen that?" It was good to be able to share the random geeky stuff that occurred to you in the middle of the night when you were half asleep.

"And yeah I should think so. I can put Red out to keep an eye on things for us though, just to be sure. Last thing we want is for this to turn into a bad experience for any of them."  

[Gwennythe]

She could help but grin as Aulus went on and she found herself nodding in agreement after each thing, especially as he reached the bit with all the ships being the right way up...

"Oh that is so annoying though if you're trying to, um, watch an episode and it pops into your head... I guess it's for a reason, or so not to confuse a general audience or something? Um, like when things 'go boom' in space? But it is so irritating when it pops up while watching and then you just... can't concentrate because it seems so odd... Oh!"

She nodded.

"Red sounds like a good idea. And, um, I have Pygi, too, if need be, so we're covered for air support."

They were approaching the bend, so Tambrey reached to cradle Milli's ball in her left hand, ready. She'd wait until Aulus' pair were out and settled, however.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Mmmh, I have to admit even though it makes no sense it wouldn't be the same without the 'booms' and the 'pew, pew!'s," Aulus replied with a grin and a shrug. "Drama, I guess."

Once around the bend Aulus released Red and gave her instructions; the Pidgeot nodded and launched into the sky, the beat of her wings stirring up dust behind her. Aulus coughed and fanned the dust away, next releasing Juno to tell her her part in proceedings.

"Right," he nodded, "here we go then." He reached for his fossils' pokeballs and let them out onto the path.

Helix appeared retracted inside his shell, but Borealis looked around with wide eyes. <> she stared upwards. <>

Juno laughed and nodded. <> She turned to Aulus and gestured to Borealis. <>

Aulus grinned, passing this on to Tam, and nodded. "It is! But it's not like a ceiling, the sky isn't a physical solid thing up there." As he spoke he knelt down next to Helix and gave his shell a gentle tap. "Hey, it's me, it's safe to come out when you want to but no rush."  

[Gwennythe]

Tambrey watched Red ascend, smiling at the bird's launch... Ah, it wouldn't hurt to have Pygi out... and she could use a stretch of her wings too.
With her free hand, she called the Pidgeot out, and instructed her to 'go play' but keep an eye out for people like Red was doing.
A moment later, the normally-coloured bird was flapping up into the sky after Red, before wheeling off to glide around happily.

She stood back, letting out an 'aw' as the Omanyte appeared, already hiding inside his shell... Helix was repeatedly proving how cute he was...

"The sky?" Tambrey asked, looking to Borealis to watch her reaction to the sky and what she was told about it. "Hm... Right... They haven't /seen/ that yet, have they?" Well, that was cute too...
"Um, let me know when you feel they're okay for me to let Milli' out?"

In the scrub, at some height above the trail they were on, a pair of eyes stared at the two agents. A 'buzz' of a mumble, sounding curious, emitted from the owner of the eyes, before the being rolled through the brush, trying to locate a way down further onto the path.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Nope, they haven't," Aulus replied, sitting down on the ground with his legs stretched out and lifting the still retracted Helix into his lap. Leaning his back against a convenient boulder he looked up at the scattering of small white fluffy clouds and sighed contentedly. "What must it be like to see stuff like this for the first time when you can remember it? We get used to all this stuff when we're still at the constantly crying and shitting stage of life. Must be pretty amazing to see when you know what you're seeing, when you understand that you don't understand.... And I have no idea where I'm going with those thoughts; sure, let Milli out, and Treestar too?"  

[Gwennythe]

"Hm... Kind of like science." She grinned "There's so much around that we know and yet don't. And then, when we see something for what it really is... We get used to it, far too quickly. Um," she nodded at Borealis "she's a good example. We've had the Amaura sequence for a while and yet many people just see another pokémon because we don't -have- to find a fossil to make one..."

Well, if Aulus was going to sit and cloud watch, then it was probably safe enough to do so where they were then. And so, she did, before letting the other two 'dinosaurs' out.
A couple of flashes brought, first, Treestar, who gasped happily and waved his leaf at Borealis, and then a different, new, shape... A pale dinosaur stood, looking warily around.
This place... was different.
It smelled different.
She felt like she liked it, but it was so big and wide and... new. Did she have a place out here, as she did where they were before?

<> She grunted a one word question, looking from the humans to collection of pokémon; humans, she'd learned, tended -not- to understand her words.