[FIN] Facing the Music

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie watched him, before she reached out toward him, putting on an encouraging smile. "Its okay." she said, keeping her voice calm, but positive.  

[Suudonym]

Luke raised his eyes to meet hers momentarily before removing them again, inhaled and exhaled lightly, and pulled the luxury ball from his belt. With some lingering hesitation, he leaned and crouched near the ground, pressing the release on the ball.

The last thing Mieu had known was a suspicious stranger in the park approaching his master and his master's friend and forcing his human companion to withdraw him into his luxury ball. He remembered a dark expression on his master's face that indicated a dangerous situation, but he had known nothing since that time. And the expression he found on his dear human's face now - regret, pain, and exhaustion - was of immense concern to the Flareon. Mieu advanced a few small steps with his head tilted, a curious and concerned "fieuuu?" rising in his voice. When Luke failed to offer any direct or indirect response, he turned to Rosie with a persisting worry, hoping for some kind of explanation or reassurance.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie watched the two, standing by them quietly, and giving Luke a chance to speak first.
Though the words never came, and the Flareon's look to her made it clear that he was worried.
Rosie just offered the fire type a gentle smile, and knelt down with the two.
"Luke." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You should say something to him. Its okay."  

[Suudonym]

He bowed his head, searching through countless impossibilities for the words he wanted to say. Asch is dead. He killed himself. I'm only alive because of that. He continued to miss the vocabulary he needed, an intermittent tremble shaking his shoulders as he failed to stop himself from rehashing everything that had happened since the distant day Mieu had last been out of his ball. The dread spreading in his features was replaced suddenly by surprise at the warm weight that settled on his shoulder, the Flareon nuzzling gently against his trainer's face and cooing quiet reassurances. Luke's posture gradually relaxed, and he reached up a hand to wrap around the fire-type. "Sorry," he said, quiet. "I-- Sorry…"  

[Blood_Goddess]

Luke was having a hard time finding the words, Rosie wanted, letting him try and find them. but, as if knowing that his trainer needed something more, the Flareon had moved up, and placed himself up onto Luke, in a gesture of compassion.

Pokemon and trainers, there was a bond that was very special, and without even needing words.
Rosie smiled, sitting back further onto her heels, and remaining quiet, letting the two have their moment.  

[Suudonym]

Mieu eventually moved away, settling with his paws on Luke's knees and watching the boy's expression. The trainer stood and gathered up the Flareon in his arms, standing with unease and conflict in his features. It was fine for now, but he was hesitant to allow the pokemon to walk as his companion as he had in the past. He wasn't confident in his ability to keep watch over the fire-type, and he wasn't sure what he would do if Mieu was stolen again…  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie moved to stand as well when Luke was back on his feet, pausing only as Kiss Kiss hopped over and jumped up onto her shoulders, having to balance herself over both the trainer's shoulders, due to her increased length.

A hand reached up to pat Kiss' head, watching Luke and Mieu with a warm contentment, though not missing the expression on Luke's face.

"Rai Raaai!" Kiss Kiss burst out happily, waving a paw out to get Mieu's attention in greeting.  

[Suudonym]

Mieu sensed his trainer's discomfort and was disheartened by it, worried about whatever had happened for him to find the human in such a state but unable to do anything more than offer his silent support. He pushed aside his concerns as best as he was able to respond to Kiss Kiss's enthusiasm, producing a pleasant "faa!" in greeting. Luke watched the pair communicate, unsure about releasing any of his other pokemon for now. Tartarus was the only other of his team who would have any specific knowledge that anything was wrong, and the Aggron was always so stoic that he wasn't sure it was possible to worry him much.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Kiss kiss leaned forward, pressing her paws against Rosie's shoulder as she flicker her ridiculously long tail behind her.
"Rai rai chu! Raaai!" She called, in an invitation to go play.

Rosie smiled at the two pokemon, stepping forward so she could reach out and pet the poof on Mieu's head.
"Ahhh, you just get cuter every time I see you~"

Blue eyes found Luke again, "Its a beautiful day, we should let everyone play for a while, before more trainers start showing up to train." She perked up "more space for us."  

[Suudonym]

'Everyone,' he assumed, meant the rest of his team, but he remained unwilling to release them now. He wanted to properly explain to his team the events that had transpired, the causes that had led to him becoming such a poor trainer with such a terrible disposition, but he didn't trust himself to explain those circumstances calmly now, and he loathed the idea of burdening Rosie with the task of maintaining his emotional stability yet again. He did, however, lean to let Mieu to the ground, encouraging him in a few short words to spend some time playing with the excited Kiss Kiss, though the Flareon regarded him apprehensively. "I'll be fine," he assured quietly, leaning down to seat himself on the ground. "I won't move from here, see? Don't worry about me."  

[Blood_Goddess]

As Mieu looked up at his Trainer, Kiss Kiss pounced down, landing next to the Flareon, giving him a pleasant look and encouraging him.
Though the Raichu still wasn't above giving the other pokemon one of her usual loving cheek brushes, that would promptly statistic up some of his fur.

For whatever reason, Luke decided not to let the rest of his team out, starting with one pokemon at a time might be a good idea, if that's how he felt comfortable approaching the encounters.
"I'll stay with him too, you can check in anytime." Rosie told the Flareon, crouching down and leaning forward over her knees.

Kiss Kiss nodded, then pounced up to hop over Mieu, running past a very unimpressed looking Lopunny, who just frowned further after the Raichu.

Instead of standing up, Rosie just let herself rock back, taking a seat in the grass, and folding her arms over her bent knees, watching the pokemon in the field, as well at other scatterings of trainers in the distance.
"Mieu's really special."  

[Suudonym]

Mieu shook himself briefly in a failing attempt to disperse the static that stood his fur on end, though he abandoned this endeavor in surprise at the sound of a light laugh from his trainer, regarding the boy in wonder as he reached out to help brush down some of the fluff, "That's a good look for you."

The Flareon responded with much more enthusiasm now that there was a smile, however faint, in his master's features, and with a bright exclamation the fire-type moved to run from Kiss Kiss, encouraging the Raichu to give face. Luke's expression gradually faded to a calm neutral as he watched, responding quietly to Rosie's comment, "He is. He was given to me as a present when I was four. I don't remember it, but he sure does." It filled him with an immense remorse to remember how pointlessly mean-spirited he had behaved towards the Flareon in days past.  

[Blood_Goddess]

It was small, and quick, but the laugh that Luke had given had not escaped Rosie.
Her eyes widening for a moment, unable to keep a small chuckle of her own, especially watching the two pokemon tore off into the field after one another.

She looked back up at Luke when he spoke, giving a soft nod, she remembered he had told her that in the last. "Was he always a Flareon? Or did you get to choose what he would evolve into?"  

[Suudonym]

He shook his head, "He was an Eevee until I was ten. I was a brat, I'd lost six years' worth of memories with him, and I was tired of a cutesy little Eevee following me around all the time, so I evolved him into a Flareon because I thought that would be more badass." He frowned at the words as he said them, sighing at the memory. He'd been very cold to the pokemon that had been his constant companion.  

[Blood_Goddess]

It was adorable to think about, being so young, and growing up with a pokemon.
At least, it was to Rosie, She knew that Luke had lost his childhood memories, she knew the situation with his family with him brother was... complicated.
She remembered how Luke used to act toward Miue when they first arrived in Kodo, though she had watched as more and more the two became a team, and now, now the Flareon was getting Luke to laugh.

“It’s kind of incredible though,” She realized, looking up at him “I mean, I’m sure you already know all this,” A sheepish smile for forgiveness before she continued.
“It just sounds like Mieu’s always been there for you, It must have been hard to lose your memories, but Mieu still followed you around.”
Looking up at the red head, she made a motion as if to brush something off of her riding boots, then pulled herself to sit up straighter. “Even if you say you were a brat. I don’t think he ever saw you as anything but the boy he grew up with.”

Kiss Kiss was rolling through the grass, enjoying the sun, before she was pouncing up again, trying to catch Mieu.

“Pokemon like that amaze me, just one of the reasons we do what we do.” Rosie gave a confident nod.
“Also~ for as much as its worth, Flareon was the best evolution you could have pick for Mieu, though I don’t really know about the ‘badass’ part. at least for the way he looks” She giggled a little, in good nature “I think you were out of luck hoping for that. He is so cute, aahhh”