[Fin] In Better Weather

[TawnyAngel]

It was next Monday at about eight in the evening and Zevran was lazing in his hammock playing an idle game of poker on his phone; he didn't win but he hadn't staked a lot so it didn't bother him beyond a brief huff of disappointment as he closed the game down and pulled up his message thread with Abel.

//Good evening! Are we still on for about nine and do you have ice in the house?// The weather was not very hot by his standards but it was hot enough for him to fancy something well chilled to drink.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel sat comfortably on the couch, his guitar in his lap and his fingers picking idly at the strings while he hummed along to a song in his head. The abrupt buzz of his phone drew his attention and his hand stilled over the strings. A quick glance showed him with no small hint of relief that it wasn't Alyssa, so he stretched a hand out to pick it up and read the message. He continued to hum quietly under his breath as he pondered over the questions - the former more than the latter. Seeing as he'd spent time with Alyssa earlier in the day he was fairly confident she wouldn't decide to come barging in a second time - at least not quite so late in the day - so he didn't feel too apprehensive as he typed his response. //Yes and yes. If you still have the beer I still have the place. And snacks//

Indeed, once he'd gotten rid of Alyssa for the day he'd headed back to his apartment to fetch his guitar before setting himself up on a street corner. An hour or two of providing music for passersby had afforded him enough cash to buy a few cheap snacks for the evening - or, if Zevran had to cancel, for him and Taavi to partake of - as well as more pokemon food, some packages of instant noodles and one pack of cigarettes. Alyssa paid a great deal of attention to his steady stream of income, but she didn't need to know about any instances of him earning a bit of extra cash from charitable people with a taste for music - especially when he turned around and spent it immediately so she wouldn't be able to take it from him if she did find out about it.

With the text sent, Abel lifted his head and glanced around for his friend. "Hey Taavi," he said loud enough for him to hear in any of the other rooms, "Zevran's still coming over to hang out, I think he'll be here in about an hour. Are you still going out camping tonight?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh, yeah I am," Taavi replied from the floor, where he was flopped comfortably on his back with Swift dozing sprawled across his legs. "I would get up and make eye contact but Vulpix. Um, I might hang around to say hello before I leave?... Or shall I just go?" He didn't really know what had happened after he'd left that night, maybe Zevran would think he was a loser or a prude or both and not want to talk to him.

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When the response came in Zevran rolled out of the hammock with a yawn, stretched luxuriantly, and then typed out a reply. //Excellent! I shall see you in an hour or so then. Where is it that you live exactly?//

"Hey, Amigo, we are going out soon!" he called out of the open window, the bug was out there on the wall somewhere enjoying the evening sun. The egg he would leave here, it was safer than carrying it through the street with a large amount of alcohol on the way there and presumably a large amount of alcohol inside him on the way back. It was safe enough at 'The Refuge' (the place's third name so far to his knowledge), safer than anywhere else he knew of certainly.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The blond frowned lightly and leaned over on the couch to try and see his friend, but only succeeded in getting a good glimpse of his feet. Giving it up with a shrug his friend wouldn't see anyway, he settled back comfortably against the couch and looked down at his phone again. "If you want to say hi then stick around, but if you'd feel too awkward then you can head out before he gets here. I'm not gonna make you do one or the other, do whatever you're most comfortable with."

With that said, he hummed a bit again as he sent two text messages in response. The first contained his address - floor, apartment number and all - while the second read, //You don't need to be buzzed in or anything, you can just head into the lobby and use the elevator to come up. Or the stairs, but that's a lot of stairs.//  

[TawnyAngel]

Taavi pondered the problem, he knew it would not be a problem at all for normal sane people but he couldn't help being him. So. What was the worst thing that could happen if he stayed around to say hello? Zevran might mock him but if he did that Abel would stand up for him, that much he trusted completely. What was the best thing that could happen? He could make a new friend, properly this time without running off because.... Yeah.

"I think I'll stay," Taavi said after a rather lengthy pause. "I want to give him my number actually, in case anything happens with the Zorua egg he has that he needs to ask about." And maybe next time, if there was a next time, he might hang out too? Not tonight, he'd been planning this trip for a couple of weeks for one and for another awkward.
____________________________

//Great, I will see you soon then!//

Once he'd sent the message Zevran put the address into his maps app and hummed thoughtfully; it was a couple of miles from here so about a forty minute walk at a normal pace, that gave him twenty minutes to freshen up a little. Nobody liked a smelly guest!  

[BlackFireKitsune]

When Taavi made his decision, Abel nodded his head - forgetting once again that his friend wouldn't be able to see it - and picked his phone up again. "All right, that sounds good. Zorua, huh?" He finished somewhat absently, his thoughts wandering as he sent Zevran another text. //Awesome. My roommate's gonna stick around to say hey before he heads out. He says he met you before, his name's Taavi//  

[TawnyAngel]

The water was cold out of the taps but fresh and pleasant enough to wash in given the warmth of the evening and with that, clean clothes, and other necessary preparations Zevran picked up his phone to check the map again before heading out. Another text from Abel however made him pause with a raise of his eyebrows. //Unless that is a common name around here yes! Middling height, ranger, talks to bugs? This is a very small island.// And Taavi was hanging around to talk to him? That was unexpected. After a moment Zevran added; //I'm not sure if he told you how we met but I'm a little surprised he wants to say hello. Pleased, however.//  

[BlackFireKitsune]

//Yep that's him. He told me a bit. We can talk more later//

Small island indeed.

With plenty of time left before Zev got there, not to mention the fact he'd showered and changed earlier after Alyssa had left, Abel had little to do to get ready and instead spent much of his time on the couch with his guitar.  

[TawnyAngel]

Taavi spent his time on the floor alternately petting Swift, filling in an application form to the KSO, and trying not to worry.

___________________

It was a pleasant evening for a walk and with a pleasant destination in mind too Zevran set off with Amigo perched on one shoulder and a spring in his step.

When the map informed him that he was only a short distance from Abel's apartment block Zevran diverted via a shop for alcohol. A couple of minuted later he came out with a crate of beer on the shoulder not occupied by his small green friend and a plastic bag in his other hand. When he arrived at the right building getting inside required the rather dexterous use of a foot but he was nothing if not flexible and adroit!

Given the large amount of liquid he was carrying he opted for the lift and on locating the right apartment he employed his foot again to knock politely. "Hello, I am here!" He didn't feel the need to clarify who he was, somehow he doubted Abel was expecting other accented guests at this particular moment in time.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

As nine o'clock approached, Abel got up to hang his guitar up on the wall before he made a quick pass around the apartment to make sure nothing was too horribly out of place. Not that he found anything, though - no trash laying around, no dirty clothes on the floor, nothing Elizabeth had chewed beyond recognition and hid behind furniture... Nope, everything looked fine and was more or less clean.

And just in time, too; the knock at the door drew his attention as well as his pokemon's, and he had to skirt around Caleb, Sonia and Elizabeth to get to the door. Vanessa had predictably bolted the moment she heard someone at the door and Tabitha had trotted off to comfort her, while Isaac remained in his spot on the back of the couch for the moment. Even though he had little need to do so - he didn't know anyone else who sounded quite like Zevran did - the blond still glanced through the peephole in his door before he unlocked and opened it with a broad smile. "So I see," he said as he pulled the door open further, and he waved at his nearby pokemon to give their guest space to actually enter the apartment. "Come on in, if you can." While the Zoroark and Growlithe had obediently retreated, the Charmeleon continued to hover nearby, even going so far as to try to circle the newcomer and sniff at his pockets.  

[TawnyAngel]

The knock at the door startled Taavi into sitting upright, he'd got a bit absorbed in application form - he had to get it right! - and had completely lost track of time.

Swift jerked away too, got to his paws and gave himself a shake with a slightly reproachful look for the door and whoever had just disturbed him.

____________________

The door opened to reveal Abel, Abel and a whole lot of pokemon, and also taavi hurriedly getting up off the floor. "Well, hello there everyone! Are we all well tonight?" Zevran grinned as he edged inside, only to be sniffed at by something with an open flame on its tail. How did these people not constantly burn their homes to the ground? "I'm afraid I have nothing interesting in there friend," he informed the strange green creature with a slight chuckle.

"Where can I put this?" Zevran asked, turning back to Abel and inclining his head towards the crate of beer on his shoulder.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah, we're good," Abel said with a brief nod as he shut the door behind his company, then took a step forward to put a hand on the fire-type's nose. She opened her mouth and snapped it shut again, then tilted it all the way back to look at her trainer upside-down with a broad, toothy grin on her face. "You've met Taavi before," he went on as if such behavior from the Charmeleon was completely normal - which it was, for her - and he gestured to his friend before gesturing to his other pokemon in turn, "these are Elizabeth, Sonia, Caleb, and Isaac." Since Vanessa and Tabitha were currently hiding in his bedroom, he left them out for the moment. If either of them emerged he would introduce them, but for the moment it seemed like four was plenty.

With that done, he gently shoved Elizabeth's nose away so he could offer to take the crate for his guest. "Depends, do you want it cold or room temperature?" Holy crap. When Zevran said he was bringing beer, he'd expected a six pack or something, not an entire crate. Not that he was about to complain or anything, not even a little bit.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Um, yeah, I'm good!" Taavi replied with a slightly nervous smile. "Just about to go off camping but I wanted to say hello before I went and to give you my number in case you need anything pokemon related.... Err... I'll do that when you have free hands. And hi Amigo!" As he addressed the bug Taavi's smile became less nervous and he gave the Caterpie a little wave too. "Oh, and this down here is my friend Swift; he's a Vulpix!"

______________________

"Cold is good, in the fridge?" Zevran suggested, passing the crate to Abel and nodding to the kitchen area but unable to keep his eyes from drifting to the very much on fire pokemon. After a couple of moments he looked over at Taavi with a wry smile. "You know, I would really appreciate that, it seems as though there's a great deal I don't know. For example I didn't know that some pokemon have," he gestured at Elizabeth, "fire on them. Are their tails always like that?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yep," Abel replied with a nod as he carefully accepted the crate of beer and stepped into the kitchen area with it. A little bit of effort with his foot later he'd managed to open the fridge door so he could set the crate in, and for the moment opted to just listen to Taavi and Zevran. He hadn't thought it odd at all when Taavi, a pokemon ranger, had wanted to make himself available to someone with a pokemon egg - not everyone had had eggs before and some liked more help with them than others - but the fact that Taavi had told him that Swift was a Vulpix did pique his attention. Clearly his friend knew that their guest didn't know what a Vulpix was and saw fit to tell him, and that made him curious about what pokemon Zevran did or didn't know - from his company's words, it sounded like not a whole lot.

At Zevran's gesture, Elizabeth made an amused, guttural noise in the back of her throat as she waved her fiery tail back and forth a bit, then promptly flopped her head backwards, opened her mouth and belched out a small burst of fire up into the air.

The brief flash of flickering light caught his attention and Abel straightened up as he shut the fridge door, giving the fire-type a reproachful look. "Elizabeth," he said firmly and the named immediately whipped her head over to look at him, "you know better than to do that in here." In response she hunkered down with her claws over her snout. Abel continued to frown at her for another moment or two before he looked back up at Zevran with an apologetic expression, "Sorry about that. She's a fire-type; not all of them are on fire like that, like Swift and Caleb here," he gestured to both of the other fire-types, "but some are. You don't have to worry about her though, she won't hurt you or anything."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Heh, Elizabeth is a bit, um, irrepressible. Also irresponsible and irreverent! But we love her." Taavi grinned fondly at the fire type and shook his head at her. "No setting light to stuff. Another interesting thing though! Swift and Caleb both need contact with a special kind of stone in order to evolve, you said you got a Budew too right? That needs one to get to its last stage but it'll go to the next one naturally. Cool hu!" This was okay! Actually not at all awkward... just so long as he kept avoiding the whole thing with him just running off without even saying bye last time they'd met.

_____________________

Zevran laughed merrily and shook his head to Abel. "Well that is good to hear but I was less concerned for myself, more for your furnishings. Do people's homes often burn down because of a stray hiccuped fireball?... Stones?" Zevran laughed again. "Okay now you're messing with me right?" He looked over at Abel. "Is that really true? Stones?"