[PRP] Winding Down

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Oh, oh, yikes, I'm sorry. I didn't even think about that," Akira apologized. "Thanks so much. Um...good luck!"

Silly rolled his eyes. As if a server needed luck to do his job. Why did Akira have to be such a blatant idiot? Wealthy-born aristocrats who acted as commoners were just as bad as commoners who acted above their station. As far as the Serperior was concerned, neither should have ventured into the realm of the other because it just made them look stupid to be outside their element.

How had Akira survived this long pretending to be one of these everyday people? Maybe he just didn't realize how dense he seemed to actual common folk or he surely would have given up this facade by now. It was painful for the regal Grass-type to watch. If they were nice to him, it was probably just out of pity, but Akira was probably too naive to recognize even that.

"He seems like a really nice guy, doesn't he, Silly?" Akira asked, his mind evidently elsewhere as he watched Mark work. "I wonder where he came from...and why he's not still a Ranger here. Do you think they maybe don't have Rangers in Kodo?" He paused and glanced at his pokemon. "By the way, you're going to pay for this belt. I'm sending you out to battle the next chance we get so I can use the prize money to buy a new one. Just a heads-up."

The Serperior responded by fixing his trainer with a chilling, narrow-eyed glare.

"Wow, that really was fast!" Akira remarked, pointedly ignoring Silly as Taavi set down the food and water. "Welcome back!" ...Was that something appropriate to say in this situation? Ack, whatever. Stop sweating the small stuff! Silly's constant serpentine gaze on him was making him more self-concious than ever, though.

"Oh, no thank you! You've already been running around so much. Sit and have something!" Whoops. Was that too rude a demand for someone he'd just met? "Er, please?" The scent of the hotsauce reached his nose. "Whoa...you must really like spicy food, huh?"

Silly ignored the humans and began his meal first as he believed was his right. At least he seemed to observe table manners as best he could, though, and dabbed at his mouth with a napkin between meaty bites.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Heh, thanks!" Taavi beamed in response to Akira's slightly strange greeting and not perfectly phrased following request, he had to admit it was kind of nice to meet somebody who seemed as awkward with new people as he was. Maybe they cancelled one another out? "It's amazing how fast you can do things when you've got something nice to look forward to and yeah, I love spice! I pretty much put hot sauce on my hot sauce.... Oh, um, and as we're sitting down together...." Taavi took off his name badge, put it on the table and gave Akira an apologetic smile. "Ah, I have a small confession to make. My name isn't actually Mark - well Mark's my middle name - my name's Taavetti but my friends call me Taavi. Um, Mark's just easier to put on a name badge you know? Heh. I hope you can forgive the little lie there." If he was going to sit down and relax enough to be properly entertaining then it would help if he wasn't being called Mark all the time. "But um, yeah, did you want to ask anything or shall I just shoot factoids at you? Because I'm happy to do either! Well I'll do my best to do either anyway."

It seemed like Supercilious was enjoying his meal anyway and that was a good start, it always made him happy to see a pokemon in here enjoying the food.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"I'm relieved you thought of it as something nice. I was worried it was just a stupid, selfish request of a demanding customer." Akira admited, tugging the tips of his bangs again with a sheepish smile.

"Hot sauce on hot sauce...wow, I wish I was that brave," he chuckled. "Then again, maybe that lack of courage is why you were a Pokemon Ranger and I wasn't." Blinking at the action involving the name badge, Akira raised his brows at the server's confession. What a coincidence.

"Oh! Taavetti...that's a wonderful name! They really made you put a different one on your badge? I guess it would save you the trouble of having to correct people who pronounced it wrong, but that's still kind of unfair." He frowned at his food. "It's like forcing you to pretend you're someone else just for the sake of society's standards. I mean, I know it's just a name, but still...names are important."

Speaking of names...he was going to feel guilty now if he didn't mention his own. "No, no, not at all. It's not your fault," Akira said, smiling at Taavi. "Even if we just met, I'm honored you would consider me enough of a friend to tell me that. Um...actually, if we're being entirely honest here, Akira isn't my real name, either.

"I, uh...kind of abruptly left my home in Snowpoint City of Sinnoh a few years ago and took on a new identity so they couldn't find me. I doubt anyone's still looking now, but I was born with the name Roka." He chuckled, face flushed with embarrassment. "Like a child running away from home, I suppose. But Akira is what I've been going by for around two years now, so I'm used to it."

He took a bite of his salad before Taavi reminded him one of the main reasons he'd asked him to eat with them in the first place. "Oh, yes! Well if you don't mind personal questions, I was going to ask why you stopped being a Ranger or why you aren't one here. But if you do mind," he added quickly, "maybe something a little less invasive? Liiike...how might you suggest dealing with a spoiled brat of a pokemon who wants to stay in his luxury ball all the time?"

Supercilious stopped eating mid-bite and gave Akira a pointed look. he hissed quietly. respect...>  

[TawnyAngel]

As Akira spoke, or possibly as Roka spoke, Taavi watched him with an expression of increasing surprise. "Wow, really? I guess we've got a couple of things in common then! I mean um, sort of. With different names and- Okay one thing at a time, do you prefer to be called Roka or Akira?" Just because Roka was his 'real' name didn't mean he necessarily liked it... What had been going on at home that had forced him to take on a whole new identity to avoid his family finding him? Taavi looked down at his food, frowning slightly and nibbling his lower lip. "I don't think there's anything childish about getting out of a situation that's hurting you though so um," he looked up again and gave Roka or Akira a small encouraging smile, "so, yeah, don't call yourself childish for it. I left home when I was sixteen myself." It had been the right decision, he was sure of that even if he regretted some of the consequences.

"But, next question!" Taavi's smile broadened to a little grin. "I became a ranger because I'd never wanted to be anything else! My dad was a Ranger and his pokemon partners were like extra parents or older siblings to me so I grew up loving pokemon and wanting to work with them, plus I'm an outdoorsy type so it all just kind of made sense. I stopped being a Ranger because I left Hoenn to come here to Kodo because...." Taavi paused and shrugged, now looking faintly embarrassed. "Well because of The Egg of Arceus to be honest. I just felt like this was where I needed to be now, even though it meant giving up my dream job." To come and work here where he got called Mark, and to live in a crappy studio apartment in a crappy part of town. He didn't regret this decision either but he really hoped he found a better job soon.

"Heh, and the last question!" Taavi nodded at the pair. "I would say that you need to find things to do that both of you enjoy ideally to start with. As well as that if one of you does something for the other they don't really want to do then the other does something for them in return; a favour, a treat, just something they'd enjoy really. Um. Sorry if that's a bit obvious but that's probably where I'd start from."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

While his pokemon was almost half-way done with his meal, Akira had all but forgotten to eat. "We do? Oh, either one is fine with me, though I think 'Akira' might be safer to use in general. That's why I changed my name in the first place, after all." How considerate of Taavi to ask! "Do you prefer Taavi, then, since your friends use it?" He also knew people who enjoyed calling their friends whatever they wanted whether said friend preferred it or not, so Akira thought it was best to ask also just to be sure.

The silver-haired man's nervous fingertips let the bangs they were tugging on slip through them and gradually left them alone altogether. He regarded Taavi in amazement when the ex-Ranger gave him an encouraging smile and felt his face flush again. "You...you did?" Wow, sixteen...that was much sooner than he himself had been able to make that definitive decision. This must have been the other thing they'd had in common that Taavi had referred to. "Like...on a pokemon journey, or actually cutting yourself off from your family?" Oops; maybe that was getting too personal for now. "I-if it's not too bold of me to ask, of course."

"So it was like a family trade passed down from your father? That's amazing!" Akira marveled. If only he'd had that kind of passion for his own father's work. But then...why had Taavi stopped doing what he'd loved? "The Egg of Arceus...I think I heard about that briefly on the news and such, but I didn't have much time to look into it," he confessed. It had sounded very important, but when all was said and done, it just hadn't seemed to really have much effect on Akira's day-to-day life. He wasn't a pokemon enthusiast or scientist or even a very good trainer and he still had bills to pay with money from his minimum wage job.

But Taavi had deemed it important enough to give up his dream job. "Please pardon me if I sound rude, but...why?" Akira asked. "Isn't the Egg something you can just as easily find pictures of on the internet as to see in person? Why leave your region and give up your dream job just to come here? At the very least, you could have simply taken a vacation and gone back once you'd visited it, right?" So much for trying to refrain from asking too many questions.

He pondered Taavi's response to his last question for a minute or two in silence, glancing over at Silly. Things that the both of them enjoyed? "I think lately we've been trying to compromise regarding doing things that the other doesn't really want to do," Akira said, "like taking him out to dinner like this. But it doesn't seem like that's enough." He sipped at his water.

"Unfortunately, Supercilious still seems to long for our previous, more wealthy lifestyle and I left my region to get away from said lifestyle. So now the only comfort he has left of it is his Luxury ball since my income has become a great deal less." He sighed. "I feel bad having dragged him all the way out here with me, but at the time, he was the only pokemon I had. I don't think he's ever really forgiven me."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Right, Akira it is then," Taavi nodded amiably. "And I like Taavi or Taavetti just fine, it doesn't really bother me which one people prefer to use. Heh. So long as it's not Mark it's all good really... well not other things maybe like noodle boy, I got called that for a while because-" Taavi waved a long wiry arm to demonstrate a slight hint of noodlyness about him. "Also at the time I ate a lot of noodles so it was a double joke but neither joke was all that funny."

Humm, next question. Taavi paused to have a bite of his burger, shaking his head as he chewed before swallowing to say; "Mmh, I don't mind. If I minded I wouldn't have mentioned it, promise! I mean, I'm not wild about going into detail but yeah I'm not in touch with my family anymore. I send cards to my mother and half sister and stuff but that's all. It wasn't easy to do but it was the right decision for me, I guess leaving your family was for you too?" He really did need to get that card for Lauren or he was going to miss her birthday not that she'd probably care not knowing him at all but it mattered to him.

"I guess it must seem pretty extreme to drop everything and come here, it did to the other rangers as well," Taavi continued with a small sigh and a slight shrug. "I mean, I can't even go see it now with the security around it in the tower but...." How could he answer this without seeming crazy? Pretty much everyone he'd told thought he was crazy for it. "Um." Taavi's left hand came up to his hair and started fiddling with a braid. "I just.... Ah.... I just felt like this was where I had to come. Arceus was here, this place was special to It somehow and it left its blessing behind. I mean, people are learning to understand pokemon! That's like, the holy grail or something right?" Taavi shrugged again, still fiddling slightly anxiously with his hair. "Haha. I guess I must seem kind of crazy right? But... well it's just what I felt I had to do." He really hoped Akira didn't think he was too weird, he was enjoying the company and didn't really want to be asked to leave because crazy.

Perhaps he could avoid Akira wanting him to go by being helpful but honestly he wasn't sure how much he could be with their problem. "But - um - I'm sorry, that's a tough situation." Taavi took a sip of his water, giving himself a few extra moments to think. "I don't know how much help I can be," he said once he'd set it back down; he wanted to help but he had to be honest, he really didn't see how. "I guess... could you try some new things together? Maybe you will find some common ground."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Does the name Mark really bother you that much? Is it because you've been made to use it here?" Akira wondered aloud. The demonstration of the reason for the name 'noodle boy' made him laugh, though. "It's like the noodles gave you their flexibility," he commented, amused.

Silly was with Taavi - he couldn't see what was so funny. After all, as a serpent, he was more noodle-like than most. It was how he could coil around Akira and threaten to suffocate the human if he chose to be too disrespectful. It was a good thing for his trainer's sake, Silly thought, that he hadn't been compared to something as lowly and laughable as a noodle.

"I'm relieved to hear that," Akira said with a gentle smile at Taavi's promise that he didn't mind. "Where I'm from, in the name of being polite, too many people weren't honest about things they did and didn't say." So, he only sent cards to his mother and half sister? Curious. Since his father seemed to have been the one who inspired him to become a ranger, Akira wondered what could have come between them. At first he thought it might have been because Taavi had stopped being a ranger and come to Kodo, but that seemed to have been more recent and this thing about him leaving home sounded like it'd been a while ago. Since Taavi wasn't 'wild about going into detail', though, Akira decided to let it go.

He turned his focus instead to the question he himself was being asked. "Yeah... Actually, it took me a few years of misery and doing what was expected of me - including an arranged marriage - before I finally found the guts to leave and seek my own future. Maybe it was a sense of duty that kept me there or maybe it was cowardice. I don't know." The man sighed. "I miss my sisters a lot, too, but since they were always encouraging me to do what made me happy, I'd like to think they would have supported my decision in the end. It sounds like you really love your own sister a lot to still keep in touch with her even if she's just a half sister."

"Wow, the other rangers, too? I would have thought if anyone would understand your reasons, it would have been them due to how close you all are with pokemon." With even his colleagues and peers against him, that must have been especially difficult. Quitting his job and moving, leaving everything and everyone behind that he knew just to come here with no other plans but to see this so-called Egg of Arceus. No future job security, no friends in the big city, no inkling of what he would do or how he'd survive when he got there... That must have been a powerful pull to bring Taavi to Kodo. But Akira realized he couldn't really talk when he had given up pretty much his entire fortune and status as the family heir just to escape his own society and attempt to start a new life as a commoner. The difference was Taavi had run to something while Akira had run from something.

The older of the two couldn't help grinning a bit upon noticing the younger man's hand reach up to play with a braid. It seemed he wasn't the only one who messed with his hair when he was nervous. Akira was gradually coming to realize that there were more than just two things they had in common. "I think I understand what you mean. A call of destiny; a tug of fate...the idea that the same feeling that drew you to Kodo may have been what drew Arceus here as well. There's a certain mysteriousness to it all. I'll admit I'm still not sure what to make of the talk that people can understand pokemon now. I mean...doesn't that seem kind of...unreal?" The silver-and-brown-haired trainer couldn't help perceiving the whole thing with the same skepticism as an adult might treat the story of the Tooth Fairy. Sure, he'd heard the tales that even prior to the Egg being discovered, there were legendary pokemon who could supposedly talk to people mind to mind, but Akira wasn't sure he even believed that.

It occurred to him, though, that it would be cruel to stomp all over his newly-made friend's hopes and dreams. This would be particularly mean after all Taavi sacrificed for them, so Akira tried to limit voicing his doubts or skepticism so as not to put Taavi down. "If that's part of the reason you came here to Kodo, then that's not so crazy after all. You're right; it would be wonderful to be able to talk to pokemon. The possibilities would be endless! But wouldn't trainers and rangers like you who have such strong bonds with pokemon already have even less of a need for an ability like that than ordinary people like me?" Okay, maybe 'ordinary' was stretching it. 'Below par' may have been more accurate, but that was beside the point. "Why would you want or need that kind of ability to understand and communicate with them?"

He took a few bites of his chicken strips and swallowed. "Call me a skeptic or a pessimist or a down-to-Earth realist, but I'm the sort that likes to experience things for myself before I believe them. It'd be great if we could converse with pokemon like we do with each other, but I can't help feeling it just sounds too good to be true. I was one of the those who developed a major headache around the time that people were saying it was a symptom of gaining that ability. Even after it went away, though, I haven't heard a pokemon speak." Smiling sheepishly, he raised a finger to tap his ear. "And of all my five senses, I pride myself on my hearing the most. If I were able to hear them, I'm pretty sure Supercilious would be complaining to me non-stop." Despite his playful statement, Akira seemed to be more aware of Silly's mood this time because he spoke softly enough that only Taavi would hear.

"Don't worry about it," Akira told the brunet, beaming cheerfully. "I didn't expect there to be some miracle solution or overnight remedy to our problem anyway. It was nice to hear an expert's advice, though. At least I know I'm somewhat on the right track." He looked thoughtful at Taavi's newest suggestion. "Hm...maybe that could work. I've been so stuck living a mundane routine, I don't think much about deviating from it. Thank you, Taavi."

Suddenly, something else seemed to occur to him. "Oh - how rude of me. Here I am going on and on about Silly and I didn't even ask you about your relationship with your own pokemon. Are you close with any of them?" Twiddling with the tips of his bangs, he added, "I know pokemon rangers enlist the help of wild pokemon they encounter whenever they need it, but that doesn't mean they don't have their own team to work with, does it?" Even if they didn't, Akira assumed that at least an ex-ranger would have had his own pokemon.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Ah..." Taavi almost began but then quickly trailed off to consider things before saying anything more. He wasn't going to lie or anything but how much truth did he want to share? He didn't want to make Akira feel awkward by sharing too much personal information and he didn't know how comfortable he felt saying it either. It was difficult to talk about but when you ended up chatting about yourself, your family and all that it was a bit hard to avoid. Taavi nibbled at his lower lip, fingers still fiddling with a braid of hair as he tried to decide what to say. "Um... well I like the name Mark but it's not mine it's... ah, sorry I'm not trying to be cryptic or anything but it's a bit - um - difficult to talk about. So, yeah, it's... I guess it's a name that's... I don't know, important to me? But it's not mine and using it feels wrong. Heh. Sorry. That was kind of an awkward non-explanation. I am fairly flexible though! I used to get called pretzel sometimes too because I'd sit with my legs folded up. Didn't mind that one though! It felt more, um, complementary than teasing."

Honesty. Honesty was important, he couldn't stand lies which was why he'd just so awkwardly danced around the whole name thing. He guessed maybe that would mean Akira would understand or at least appreciate the lack of lying? He hoped so. "Honesty's usually the best policy and pretty much always the right one!" he agreed aloud with a smile. Some lies were necessary like 'I hope you enjoy your meal' to rude customers but other than stuff like that and maybe little lies to save people's feelings he didn't think it was a good idea to be false with people.

"I guess it doesn't matter how you're related, it's what people mean to you that matters right?" Taavi continued, considering his mixed feelings about Lauren with a faint frown. He did love her but he hated her too, but he knew that was wrong and that it was stupid reasons that were in no way her fault. Best he could do was try to push away the negative bits and send her cards and stickers and stuff. "But it sounds like you love your sisters too, and that they love you. I'm sure they would support you and.... Well changing is hard but whatever your reasons were for staying so long you left in the end! That's what matters right?"

Ah, yes, the other rangers though. Taavi shrugged. "Oh, they all wanted to go visit of course! And they think the new ability to understand pokemon is amazing but... heh, I guess they just found me getting up and going a bit weird. I don't know about destiny that sounds way too important to be for someone like me - I mean I'm just some guy - but... yeah, that kind of thing. And yeah, it does sound unreal doesn't it?" Taavi grinned and shrugged. "Have you met anyone who can do it yet? It's amazing! My friend Gary who works here speaks to fire types! And... Humm. Well I guess I have a good understanding of pokemon? But I'd like to be able to have conversations!" Taavi gestured vaguely, still grinning broadly. "Like you say, being able to talk to them like we do each other? That'd be wonderful."

Akira had had the headache, but he hadn't developed the ability though? Taavi frowned a little, he hadn't heard of that happening yet! Ooooh, was Akira's type something that they hadn't discovered yet? Imagine that!... Or maybe he hadn't interacted with all types since? That seemed more likely though a lot less exciting. "Have you tested yourself with all the types yet? Maybe you've just not found which one it is yet!" Taavi suggested, his oft-adopted warm open smile returning to his face as he lent over to murmur; "I guess we know it's not grass though!

"But yeah," he continued in more normal tones, "um, I mean I am close with a particular pokemon; Valour's my best friend, we've been together since I was ten and he was just a few months old! He's a Braviary, a normal and flying type native to Unova. We've been through a lot of adventures together, I don't know what I'd do without him." It would be really, really amazing if he got normal or flying as a communication type... if he got a type at all, he shouldn't even get his hopes up about that much let alone about a specific type.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Don't be sorry. That makes perfect sense," Akira told Taavi. "It's an important name to you so you don't like using it because you don't consider it yours and you don't want others to treat it so lightly. I still think it's very unfair for them to make you use it just because it's easier to pronounce," he added, frowning. "And the fact that it's an important name to you just makes it all the more detestable. Can't you ask them if you can use another name?"

He still wasn't sure what was wrong with using 'Taavi', especially if Taavi told people how it was pronounced when he introduced himself as their server. However, if he preferred not to risk them butchering it, that was his choice. Attempting to lighten the mood, he smiled slightly and asked, "Do you still sit with your legs folded up sometimes?"

Nodding at the other man's comment on honesty, Akira paused to consider the next one concerning how people were related as opposed to what people meant. In his family, blood was very important. Blood was why not just anyone could have been chosen to be his family's new heir and tradition kept his sisters from taking his place. He hadn't liked that policy, though. Now that Taavi mentioned it, he did feel closer to some people than he did with those whose blood he shared. And couldn't those who weren't related to you at all still become family and mean as much as if they were? How peculiar. Perhaps he would never have come to this realization if he'd never left home.

"You're right," he murmured, still pondering the idea. "I never thought about that before. About what people mean to you being what matters instead of how you're related. And about changing eventually regardless of how long it took. You're right on both accounts." He was finding that talking to Taavi was making him feel quite a bit better about these things; things he'd had so little perspective on for so long. It was forcing him to look at them in a new way and maybe not feel as bad about them.

At the younger fellow's statement about being 'just some guy', Akira had to laugh. "Sometimes it's the people who people expect the least from and who expect the least from themselves who end up with the greatest destinies," he answered. "Oh, goodness. That sounded cheesy, didn't it? Or corny or cliche, or whatever the term is." He chuckled some more, shaking his head at himself. "Still, though, I think it's true."

"I don't think I have," the silver-haired trainer replied, trying to recall anyone who might have. "But maybe they can and just haven't told me. I suppose I haven't thought to go around asking." He himself wasn't sure he would have been able to tell anyone if they didn't ask. Regardless of how many other people claimed to have gotten the ability, Akira couldn't shake the notion that they might have thought he was crazy. "Oh...fire-types, huh? That's interesting. He could...uh, keep them from setting things on fire." Brilliant deduction, Akira. But Taavi's grin and enthusiasm were infectious and Akira found himself grinning right back.

But the next question promptly wiped that grin off his face. "Have I - er, no," he said, coming to a certain realization. "Yeah, I guess we do," he chuckled sheepishly about his type not being grass. But sweat began to form on his brow and he found himself feeling very nervous all of a sudden. He absently reached up to tug at the bangs over his right eye once more.

What if he...what if he could talk to pokemon and he hadn't known? What if certain pokemon had understood him all this time? What if he insulted them? Arceus, he had enough of a time trying to confer normally with other people, let alone pokemon! What if more of them were like Silly and took offense easily? Was that why wild pokemon attacked humans at the slightest provocation?

No, no; breathe. He was with a pokemon expert, here. An expert who was currently sharing about his best pokemon friend. Maybe if he listened and payed attention, he could learn a thing or two. "Wow...so you're basically childhood friends." What an odd term to apply to a pokemon and trainer when he was so used to applying it to two human beings. "I don't think I've heard or seen of a Braviary before. Um...do you think...maybe he'd like to come out for a little while?" Akira asked timidly.

His panic about understanding pokemon temporarily subsided. This would be his chance to see a real bond between a trainer - and not just any trainer, a former Ranger - and his best friend, a pokemon her grew up with. This would probably be a fine example of how pokemon and human relationships were supposed to be. Perhaps it would give him and Silly something to aspire to.

TawnyAngel

((Shoot, I'm so sorry this took so long! xp I meant for it to be shorter but evidently Akira had other ideas.))

 

[TawnyAngel]

Akira Midoriyama

Sorry for the delay!

"Oh," Taavi blinked and then gave Akira a slightly embarrassed smile. "You know it didn't even occur to me to ask them if I could use something else. I guess it's too late now but I'll remember for the future!" Though he really hoped that his next job would just let him use his actual name, if not he could at least pick something other than Mark.

"But, yeah, I'm glad you agree!" he nodded, smiling more broadly again. "I mean, I'm not related to Valour - obviously! - but there's nobody more important to me in the world. Eheh, and maybe I'll discover my great purpose here? Serving racks of ribs with superhuman speed maybe? Or maybe I'll get a lucky break and manage to found a ranger station here, that would be really cool."

Akira's comment about stopping fore types from setting things on fire got a good-natured 'heh' from Taavi; "Right?" he added but he didn't make more of it than that, Akira had sounded a bit awkward saying it - just looking for anything to say maybe? - and so highlighting it would be unkind. Instead Taavi continued with; "That's right! I can't imagine life without him, and I'd love to introduce you! He's actually not with me right now though," Taavi gestured vaguely to the ceiling, "he hangs out around the city while I'm working but he's always quick to spot me when I come out! Um, if you'd like we could leave together when you're done eating and I could introduce you?" Akira's interest in meeting Valour was really nice actually, he couldn't help being pleased that somebody wanted to meet his friend!  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Why would it be too late?" the inexperienced trainer wondered aloud. "At the most, it would just require a new nametag, wouldn't it?" Maybe there were other obstacles that prevented him from changing his name now that 'Mark' had been established. Akira had only ever had one commoner job, after all, and he'd never felt the need to ask to be called something different.

"Hehe, I'm sure you and Valour are destined for much greater things than serving rib racks," Akira assured Taavi with an easy smile. "Founding a ranger station here sound much more worthy of you. Er, I don't know how much assistance I could be, but please let me know if you think there's even the slightest chance I could do anything to help with whatever endeavors you end up pursuing."

"Oh." Akira seemed astonished at the fact that Taavi allowed his pokemon to roam free while he was working. Sure, maybe they were best friends, but he really trusted him enough to choose to come back when he needed him? And furthermore, he wasn't worried anything might happen to Valour while the two were apart? "That's...wow. You must really have a lot of faith in him," he marveled. "But what about Team Rocket? You aren't worried they might try to capture him? Or that some other dangerous wild pokemon might attack him?"

Setting what remained of his food aside, the silver-and-brown-haired young man looked determined. "I'm done," he announced. "Could we go now, please?" How cool would it be to see a new pokemon? Not to mention one that had been with its ranger trainer for so long!

Silly frowned and wiped his mouth with his napkin using his tail. In Akira's eagerness, the Serperior wondered if his trainer had forgotten about him. How inconsiderate not to even check if his own pokemon was done with his meal! Silly rolled his eyes. Whatever. The humans seemed too wrapped up in their conversation to pay him much more mind anyway. Besides, he was full now and wanted a nap too much to command attention from them. Sliding his tail over to Akira, he pressed the button on his Luxury Ball and returned to it in its beam of red light.

TawnyAngel

((FINALLY RESPONDED. XD Wow, I'm so sorry this rp is taking so much longer than I thought it would.))

 

[TawnyAngel]

Akira Midoriyama

So sorry for the delay!

"Ah, well, we have regulars," Taavi gave an awkward little laugh and shrugged. "I wouldn't want to explain the whole thing to them, I'd probably mess up somehow." And get in trouble, which was the last thing he needed. "And thank you, uh, for the offer I mean; I'll take you up on it if I think of something. Or, uh, you know it's just nice to know somebody else in the region. I only know a couple of people outside work really. Sasha, Abel, Hen... that was about it for people he'd met more than once, which was probably a bit sad really.

"Valour can handle himself," Taavi continued with a smile and a nod, "he generally keeps away from strange humans, and there don't tend to be all that many really strong wild pokemon in the city. But yeah, let's settle up and then go find him?" Taavi waved to get the bill brought over, just about as keen to introduce Akira to Valour as his new friend (could he think of him as such?) seemed to be to meet the Braviary.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

The flash of red light that was Silly dismissing himself back into his Luxury Ball hardly phased the Serperior's trainer. He was too engrossed in what Taavi was saying to really pay attention to anything else.

"O-oh. I hadn't thought of that," Akira confessed, passing his fingers backwards through his hair. "I suppose that makes sense." He nodded with a small smile at Taavi's thanks. "I think it might be…fun to be a ranger, too, if you end up being able to start Kodo's first ranger station. And if I can somehow get used to the outdoors." Some of the training he had once done with Ray came to mind. "Not to mention finding myself a good deal of whatever it takes to be a good ranger, because as bad a trainer as I currently am, I'm pretty sure I have nowhere near the minimum."

He paused. The mention of people reminded him of something. What was it? "Oh! Er…I know you're probably pretty busy, but would you like to exchange numbers if you don't know that many people here and want to keep in touch? Even if we can't find the time to call or meet up, we can at least text." Akira hurriedly pulled out his phone and started selecting options from it as he spoke. "Only if you want, of course! Um, I may have been here a while, but I don't know too many people myself. I feel like the more I can keep in contact with, the less lonesome it is."

"Oh…yeah, I guess there wouldn't be," the emerald-eyed man remarked thoughtfully upon Taavi's mention of there not really being many strong wild pokemon in the city. "So Valor knows to stay away from unfamiliar humans? Amazing! That definitely sounds like something all trainer pokemon should learn or be taught. I bet it would probably reduce the number of pokemon stolen around here, particularly by Team Rocket." He got up before realizing that 1) Silly wasn't around anymore, 2) the red light that he had vaguely noted before must have been the Serperior returning himself to his ball, 3) much of his salad was still uneaten, and 4) he hadn't yet paid for their meal.

Embarrassed at his absent-mindedness more than ever and without Silly around to scold or prevent him, Akira hopped up with his wallet and hurried to meet the person with the bill so that he could intercept them before they walked all the way to the table. He was quickly reminded that his belt had been slashed when he had to use one hand to hold up his pants on his way to the other server. Apologizing profusely while as red in the face as a raspberry, the silver-and-brown-haired fellow bowed at the waist while keeping his pants held up manually. Hand still holding on to his pants, Akira used his free one to help clean up the remains of Silly's meal as best he could and to pack away his own in take-out boxes before cleaning up his area, too. The server who had gotten the bill was given a large tip (as large as Akira could afford with his minimum wage job, anyway,) because Akira had felt bad that he had kept Taavi from helping them. He made sure to match that tip (with a little extra) for Taavi, taking the other green-eyed man's hand and insistently pressing the money into his palm.

"Here, here! I'm so sorry, I'd completely forgotten everything. This is the least I can do for all you've done; please take it." He clasped his own hands together eagerly. "Now, then…shall we go?" Catching sight of he boxed and bagged leftovers, he snatched it up. Then he hurried to the exit of the Meat Palace and pushed open the door, holding it that way for Taavi to go through. "Or, er…do you usually go out another way? The back or something?"

TawnyAngel

((It seems I am the master of delay. >_>; ))

 

[TawnyAngel]

"Everyone starts somewhere!" Taavi replied with an encouraging smile to Akira's self deprecation. "You just need practice, maybe some guidance? Um, I had a great teacher myself so that made things easier for me. I'd be happy to train with you sometime if you like!" More friends was good and Valour enjoyed a good friendly bout so it was all to the good! Swift could do with building his confidence too.

"We can't easily meet up again if we don't swap numbers," Taavi continued, fetching his pokegear out of its pouch on his belt and swiping through to the right screen to input a new contact before handing it to Akira. "Here, go ahead! We could both do with some more friends, sounds like." Akira seemed really nice and if he could help him out a bit with pokemon stuff that would be great!

"And yeah," Taavi nodded and made a vague gesture towards the ceiling, "he knows how to take care of himself! I think it would be a smart idea for all pokemon to learn too, stranger danger right? Some pokemon are too kind and friendly for their own good, I mean it's good to be friendly buuut you've got to be safe first right?" Taavi nodded on agreement to his own point and then gave a lopsided grin. "Or maybe that's just the safety obsessed ranger in me talking, I tend to be kind of over-prepared for everything like that."

When Akira pressed the money into his hand he almost refused but then he remembered his bills, rent, that he liked to eat.... "Thank you," he smiled, looking a bit abashed, and tucked the money into his pocket. "Um, but yeah, let's go! Out the front is fine, Valour will spot us wherever."

They stepped out of the Palace together and Taavi took a grateful breath of the (reasonably) fresh air; cooking meat smelled amazing but when you smelled it all day it kinda got old. "I usually meet him around the corner after my shift," Taavi explained, indicating the direction and setting off down the street. "There's a designated landing spot, it saves him dodging people and all.... Oh look there he is!" Taavi grinned and pointed upward at a large avian shape gliding towards them from over the rooftops.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"That would be amazing," Akira sighed in happiness at Taavi's offer to train with him. Maybe he would actually be able to get somewhere. He felt to nervous to train alone because he was never sure if he was doing things right or if he was just wasting his and his pokemon's time.

"Yeah, sounds like," he laughed, gleefully inputing himself as a contact before offering his own pokegear for Taavi to do the same. "Thanks so much."

The older male nodded solemnly at the mention of pokemon being too kind and friendly as well as the priority of being safe. "The way I see it, it's better to be safe than sorry. If more people thought like safety-obsessed rangers, maybe this region wouldn't have a Rocket problem. Who knows? You and your way of thinking might end up leading to the solution."

"You're very welcome," he answered, glad that his new friend accepted his money. He'd felt there wasn't much more he'd been able to offer him, anyway, especially after all the advice and knowledge Taavi had shared. That taken care of, he followed the other trainer out the front door.

He looked down the street at the corner Taavi indicated, keeping pace and listening. "A designated landing spot? An official one or one you two came up with?" he asked, mildly amused. But then his companion spotted Valour and Akira's jaw dropped. "Wow...he's giant! Are all his species that size?"