[FIN] Winter Wonderland

[Blood_Goddess]

"I think I heard that... without really knowing what was happening." She dreaded that it was just what he had said it was thought.
"I'm glad to hear that most of them showed you some kindness. I mean... leaving you behind and telling me that they did, I... I didn't really expect that. It gave us a place to start looking at the very least, with Leste's help."

"I was worried that i had made things worse for you, the one seemed so angry..."  

[Suudonym]

Green eyes blinked open, looking faintly surprised. "They told you that?" Huh. He exhaled quietly. "They should have just left my gear then. Protecting some kind of bad guy image...? Seems awfully weird." Luke could have sent the message himself just as easily, as well as turned on the GPS to make his discovery that much faster. He probably could have been home by nightfall from day one. But they were Rockets after all, not known for their altruism. He imagined he was fortunate to have been shown as much mercy as he had been.

He shook his head with a weary smile. "He was just angry because he came out of that fight worse than me." Probably a bit of a bold boast given the state in which he had been found, but he didn't think the sentiment was without some truth; most of his condition was only due to the fact that he hadn't been given aid until so long after the time of injury. "I think it changed something, though. I mean if they were just planning to let me go from the beginning, I don't think they would have bothered to keep me there so long."

There was something else strange that he had nearly forgotten in his preoccupation with keeping himself alive, and he paused for a thoughtful moment as he tried to recall what was said. "The one - I think he was in charge of the group; he was the one who decided to leave me and my pokemon - said something about... how I'll get trapped fighting, and how I should leave while I can." There was the chance, he supposed, that it was just an attempt to get an enemy trainer to consider leaving the region, but it hadn't felt insincere. "I thought about it, and of course the first thing I thought was 'that's not possible,' but I wonder if that doesn't just mean I'm already trapped..."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"I wish they would have left your gear," Rosie admitted as well, knowing he probably wished just the same thing, though it did make her curious as to why they didn't just give it back in the first place.
"We're going to need to let people know about your gear... I think the League can help shut it off." There was something deeply unsettling about the fact that Rocket might have hers and her friend's contact information. "I might want to change my number anyway though..."

Rosie looked surprised at Luke's statement about the other guy coming out worse then him, her initial reaction responding to the fact that Luke looked as bad as it got.
"Oh- wow, did he really?"

"Leave the fighting? Is that what he meant?" Rosie didn't expect anything like this, that was for sure, She never thought of this as something that one got stuck doing, at least... not in a certain sense anyway.  

[Suudonym]

He nodded faintly. "Kind of inconvenient... I guess it could be worse, though." It had very nearly been worse, and he felt that they both knew that fully well. A missing pokegear was hardly something to feel terribly sad about.

"Mm, he also got first aid right away, though," Luke replied. "So in the long run I guess I was the loser..." That was kind of frustrating to admit, but it sure as hell wouldn't be the case the next time they met.

He nodded once more, "Leave the fighting, or just leave Kodo... It's not something I could even consider."  

[Blood_Goddess]

She shook her head lightly, not really thing of it that way at all, in all honesty just having Luke back kind of overshadowed everything else that she knew they would need to do.
"If that's all that was inconvenient I would gladly do it a thousand times over." she said quietly, with a little sadness.

Again she shook his head, "You survived it, I don't see how that means you were the loser."
It was probably obvious she wasn't thinking in terms of the fight, it was hard enough hearing that Luke got into a fight that brutal. She might have just been tired from searching and relived to have him back, but this was difficult right now to understand. "That other guy was a loser becasue he did this to you, that he would do this to another person"
Plain and simple.

"... I couldn't either" Rosie admitted, even if she didn't like it "Its an odd thing to say though.. I mean, we wouldn't have to fight at all if they didn't do such terrible things to Kodo and its people."  

[Suudonym]

He responded to her sadness with a gentle, reassuring smile, curling his fingers around hers. She really had the patience of a saint to deal with his continuing misfortunes so unfalteringly.

"Barely," he replied automatically, though he realized after the grim word passed his lips that that probably wasn't a particularly warming sentiment. With as fresh as everything was, it was all still uncomfortable to think about. He dismissed the thought.

"He said-- The violent one, I mean: He said that it was the League's fault for 'messing with them,' and for forcing them out of their base. He said if we didn't like it we should just leave," Luke said, frowning. "I don't understand it. I don't understand how someone could think that way, that the criminal is being inconvenienced by the law-abiding, so the people who dislike crime should just pack up and leave. How could a person reasonably think like that?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Barely still counts." Rosie added, looking up at him with wider eyes.

She paused for a moment at his statment about what the violent Rocket had said, Rosie agreed with Luke's questions, not understanding it herself but it made her think.
"I don't know... I wonder about that a lot too. Faleen's always been such a level headed and helpful person, what is her mindset that made her join Team Rocket, why does she stand by that? Why are there so many of them?"
She let out a small breath.  

[Suudonym]

He nodded his agreement. 'Barely' counted for an awful lot, given how dangerously close it was to the alternative.

"I don't know, I don't get it," he said. "Kodo's trainers - even the people who aren't trainers, who aren't attached to the League at all - they're all just trying to live and be happy. They're not trying to hurt anyone. How could someone justify treating people the way they treat them? What is it about hurting and terrifying perfect strangers that makes them feel so superior?" His eyes fell shut again without his recognition, and he curled slightly into himself with a mildly exhaled breath. "I don't mind Rockets. They're just people. It's Team Rocket that I can't accept."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"I don't understand either..." she never has, and she didn't think she ever would. The idea of hurting someone was just not something she really considered, and when she was forced to think about it, she felt lost and unsure of how to even feel about it. The fact that there were people doing this willingly and openly was just... terrifying, in all honestly.

Luke closed his eyes again, he looked tired and warn down, even the way he spoke reflected it.
Reaching a hand up to gently brush the hair away from his bandaged forehead she spoke quietly "You should get some rest."
Its not like this topic would be going anywhere anytime soon, but his health right now was of more concern.  

[Suudonym]

He made a soft sound that could have been either acceptance or rejection. He was glad to be home, but most of all he was glad to have Rosie nearby; he wanted to talk with her more, about anything, just to hear her, but he was steadily becoming too tired to uphold any kind of conversation. His body made the choice for him, exhaustion overtaking his ability to give a verbal reply.  

[Blood_Goddess]

She was careful where to touch him, right now she knew that he was in a lot of pain, and it didn't take a trip to the doctors to see that. as she finished smoothing the hair away from his eyes, her hand felt back into the hand she was still holding, gently brushing her fingers over his fingers and wrist.
He didn't reply again, but the small noise he did answer with drew a soft smile from Rosie, she wasn't sure why, it could be for a number of reasons, but it was nice to just see him being his usual stubborn self again, despite everything that happened.

As the silence continued she started to sing gently, keeping to a quiet calm melody as she just laid there holding his hand and watching him.  

[Suudonym]

His thoughts remained active, though increasingly foggy, for a while still, but in the warmth, comfort, and security offered by his location and company, he wouldn't be able to keep it up for very long before losing himself to the depths of sleep.  

[Blood_Goddess]

The rest of the afternoon and night went by mostly uneventful, Rosie let Luke sleep as much as he needed to, taking naps herself when she could fit them in between making sure that Luke woke up enough times to drink something and taking care of the pokemon for their meals.

The morning was quiet, or at least, as much as it could being a home full of pokemon. Most of whom where still asleep.
from the silence however was the sound of thumping, as if something had just fallen down the steps and the door to the room Luke was sleeping in bursting open, and something darted along the floor around the bed a few times before spotting. The orange ears and once fuzzy tuft how laying flat and damp sniffed up at the covers with wide teal eyes.  

[Suudonym]

Luke slept far more restfully than he had in the wilderness, even with the occasional interruption to keep his body hydrated. By the morning, he had recovered just enough strength to be jarred awake and into a brief panic by the sudden, noisy intrusion, and he bolted upright with every expectation of having to fight back against something. His eyes fell upon the Growlithe as one foot touched the floor in preparation to take up a defensive stance - though as his bleary thoughts began to understand the situation, the endeavor was quickly abandoned. He relaxed gradually as he stared at the fire-type, laying a shaky hand at his chest to calm his hammering heart. This was all kind of confusing, actually; he was fairly certain he knew that Growlithe.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Luke's sudden movements caused something from under the covered to let out a startled squeak as well. a smaller lump moving where Luke's side had been, and slowly scrambled around looking for the edge of the blankets.

The Growlithe, eyes growing wide at the humans reaction stood in momentary surprise before his wet tales started to wag and he pushed himself up untill his front paws were on the bed, bouncing once and barking at Luke before the small lump on the bed caught its attention, and a white cyndaquil managed to crawl her way out.

A deep frown on her face as she looked from Luke, to the soggy Growlithe half on the bed
"Cynda! Cy Cyndaquil!" she scooted back at the other fire type, who jerked his head back at whatever she had said and blinked as she stomped her way over Luke's lap and over to the Growlithe.