[FIN] Caught a Chill

[TawnyAngel]

It was dark by the time Zevran got off the bus in Camphoreon, dark but by no means late. He was quite tired though, it had been a busy day, and the prospect of going back to the freezing warehouse appealed not at all. Not only that but he had a couple of things to show Abel, Taavi too if he was around.

With his decision made, it had not been a difficult one, Zevran leant back against a pillar in the bus station and fetched out his phone to text Abel.

//Hola! Are you free this evening? I have been with my pokemon in the mountains, have a couple of things to show you.//

One of them was poking out of the top of his bag, swivelling its eyes around to take in the view as best it could. Zevran looked down from his screen once the message was sent and gave the hard green shell a pat. "It must feel very strange to be as mobile as a stone but don't worry, Taavi said this stage does not last for long remember?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

After a long opening shift, Abel had returned home and though his body felt tired, he couldn't help but have an excess of energy. There were only a couple more days before they left to go visit his family and he was so excited. He had packing to do, gifts to wrap, things to clean...

...but the buzz of his phone interrupted him in the middle of wrapping a small giftbox, so he set the tape aside to check the message. A small smile brightened his expression upon seeing the sender, and he wasted no time in tapping out a reply in his usual eloquent, verbose manner:

//Yeah come on over//  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran smiled at the response and then sent a smile as a response and then headed towards the exit. Before he reached it however he stopped and removed his coat, because it was freezing outside.

About fifteen minutes later Zevran knocked on Abel's door and shivered slightly, walking briskly had helped a little but the cold had still bitten deep into his bones. This however was not particularly important, he would be warm again soon and the green cocoon in his bag was wrapped up... well, as snug as a bug in a coat.

"I think I've got everything just about ready," Taavi said as he looked up from his bag, which he had just packed for the third time. "Um, everything fits in better now I've packaged the gifts better." There were still a couple of days until they left for Abel's parents' place but he could hardly wait!

And then there was a knock at the door; Taavi grinned. "I wonder who that is!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The smiley response softened his own smile, though he refrained from replying. Zev would be here soon, and he could simply smile at him then rather than text him a smile.

And Taavi was almost as excited for the trip as he was; his expression morphed into a grin as he chuckled and finished fitting all the presents of various sizes into his suitcase as best he could. "I think so too. Presents always seem to complicate things," he added with a wry smile.

Taavi's grin at the knock prompted the blond to grin wider as well. "Gee, I've no idea," he said as he pushed himself to his feet. "Maybe Santa came early this year or something?"

As he opened the door his grin promptly faded into a smile muted by concern for the shorter blond. "Hey," he greeted him regardless, reaching a hand out to his arm - either to just hold it because he could, or to encourage him to come inside, or to prompt a hug or whatever else, he didn't specify - and his gaze swept quickly over his rather chilly-looking frame. "You look cold, where's your coat?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"I am freezing!" Zevran confirmed with a grin as he stepped quickly inside, closed the door, and leant in to hug the - presumably - warm Abel. "And my coat is here, it was just busy in my bag," he explained in slightly muffled tones, having pressed his face into Abel's shoulder.

Zevran's bag was slung over his shoulder and the coat-wrapped Amigo peered up at Abel though his visible eye, the other was occluded by coat.

Taavi's expression of confusion at coat-less Zevran quickly morphed into one of glee. "Awwww, congratulations Amigo! The mountain training paid off hu?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Awww." Abel's smile returned full force as he wrapped Zevran up in his arms and leaned his cheek against the shorter blond's head, doing his best to be a good space heater. He'd been busy wrapping presents and packing for a while now, and was in fact quite warm because of it. "Good, you had me worried for a second you came here without it. And yeah, congrats Amigo!" A Metapod, huh? Poor thing couldn't really walk himself anywhere now, but it would be worth it when he evolved again.

"Ah, is that one of the things you said you wanted to show us? That Amigo evolved?" The taller blond asked after a brief pause in which he recalled the reason for Zevran's visit. Not that he ever really needed a reason anymore, but that was besides the point.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Mmmmh, yes there was another thing," Zevran replied, reluctantly removing his face from Abel's shoulder and carefully setting his bag down on the floor. "I found some sort of bird pokemon with its foot trapped in a crack in a rock face, how it got itself into that mess I do not know but I freed it and it seemed intent on following me home so I captured it; I hoped that you two would be able to tell me what it was." As he spoke Zevran removed his boots and then stooped to scoop Amigo up out of his bag. "I will put him on the couch," he decided aloud, "so that he can see what is going on. Alright Amigo?"

Amigo blinked once, which Zevran seemed to take as a yes.

"Hu," Taavi frowned thoughtfully, "I guess it might have been hunting and crashed or something? But sure, why not let it out in the living room?" He couldn't think of anything that could be described as bird-like would be too big to comfortably fit.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Just as reluctantly Abel withdrew his arms from his friend when he moved away and hooked his thumbs into his pockets as he watched with a hint of fondness as Zev spoke. "Ah, huh... It's not hurt too badly then, I'm guessing?" If it was then surely he would've taken it to a pokemon center or something for treatment.

...another thought struck him suddenly, and he looked back at Zev with a rather uncertain expression. "I'm also guessing it's not unfriendly like your knife-bird, yeah?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran looked around the living room thoughtfully for a moment - he knew it well but it was instinct to glance around before saying; "Si, it should be fine in here." Once he had set Aimgo down on the couch he fetched a Premier Ball out of his pocket. "It was not hurt just a little ruffled and it is very much more friendly than Estoque, so far it has not tried to kill me at all," he confirmed with a grin to Abel.

With these assurances given Zevran activated the pokeball and released its occupant into the middle of the room.

It was quite a large bird as it turned out, in fact its golden eyes were level with Abel's and Taavi's. The avian pokemon cocked its head curiously at its new surroundings and roused its white and icy-hued feathers.

That... that was.... That...

Taavi stared.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Alright," Abel agreed with a nod and a shrug. If it would fit okay, then it didn't really matter. He wouldn't mind a few stray feathers around the living room if it happened to shed, but hopefully it wouldn't accidentally - or intentionally - wreck anything... "Good, it sounds a little more friendly." A rueful smile accompanied his words; no, Estoque had not been pleasant at first. He remembered quite well how bad Zevran's wounds looked after that.

When Zev pulled the premier ball out, the taller blond took a step back to give the bird space - he didn't know how much space it would need, but he preferred to err on the side of caution - and eagerly awaited its appearance.

And then it materialized.

Abel also stared -- he did so for a good minute or two, in fact, as he struggled to process what was now in his living room.

"So uh," he began in rather uncertain tones, still staring with a slowly growing frown at the large icy bird, noticing how the temperature in the living room began to slowly drop little by little, "where'd you say you found it again?"  

[TawnyAngel]

At first Zevran was occupied with looking at the rather beautiful bird in the middle of the room so he didn't notice Taavi and Abel's expressions but as a long silence followed instead of enlightenment he turned. "Ahh...?" Zevran glanced from one shocked face to the other and back again. "In one of the lower mountain passes, we were training there. I heard some commotion and when I went to investigate I found this lovely thing lying on its back in the snow with one foot caught in a crack in the rockface.... Is something wrong?" And was it just him or was it getting cold in here?

Taavi continued to stare, unable to think of a single thing to say.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"It.. it is lovely, yeah," he agreed, his voice still incredibly uncertain. "Um." Abel lifted a hand to press over the lower half of his face as he stared into those bright gold eyes and tried to think of how best to respond. "It's an Articuno. Uh... So you know how some pokemon are rarer or more common than others?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran transferred his gaze to the pokemon, the Articuno apparently. Now he had a feeling he knew where this was going. "¿Yes?" Zevran drew the word out as he looked back at Abel. "¿You are going to tell me this one is very rare?" It was certainly majestic but he hadn't thought much about rarity, it had simply been lying there right in front of him squawking.

"Urk." Taavi contributed intelligently, his eyes hadn't left the Articuno's form for a moment.

The Articuno, which looked rather pleased with itself, started to preen.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yep, I am," Abel affirmed without hesitation, his gaze still fixed on the Articuno. "There's also pokemon that are so rare they're basically the stuff of myths or legends, so they're called legendary pokemon. Articuno's one of those. They're also known for being incredibly powerful and not always benevolent, so... I guess I'm still having a hard time imagining how you found it." A pause. "It is handsome, though."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh." Zevran blinked and then looked at the bird again. "Legendary you say?" A legend lying on its back making a terrible fuss, that was... that was hilarious. Zevran did his best not to grin, well not his best but his best while still being himself. No wonder Taavi had frozen, he adored pokemon and spoke with reverence of some. Suddenly finding himself in the same room as a pokemon of legend had to be quite an overwhelming experience.

"Perhaps we should ask how it came to be there?" Zevran suggested. The Articuno stopped preening and gave him a curious look and so he went on to explain; "Taavi can understand bug type pokemon, so we can set up a translation... if that is you care to talk?"

The Articuno cocked its head in the other direction and then nodded and made a cooing noise.

Talk to it. To Articuno. The aspect of winter. Beautiful as a clear snowy dawn, powerful and dangerous as an avalanche. Him. Talk to Articuno, even indirectly. "I... I don't know if I should," Taavi mumbled, still struggling to process what was standing before him.

...And Zevran had put it in a pokeball? "Zevran you can't... you can't just capture Articuno." The situation with Diancie had been different, it had been in danger and in need of protection; Zev could just have freed Articuno and watched it fly away. He would have given anything for a moment like that and Zevran had just- he- he had absolutely no idea did he?