[FIN] Didn't see it coming

[Suudonym]

"You said you found her wandering, so I guess she didn't have her pokeball, huh?" He kind of wondered how they went about identifying pokemon and their trainers if they didn't have the properly registered ball available, but there had to be a way to do it… Worst case scenario, he supposed, they could just put up a notice and hope the trainer in question saw it. He was glad they'd been able to bypass all that hassle. Struck by an idea that should have been obvious earlier, he removed his pokegear to send a message to Seraphine, then thought again and gestured to the device, addressing Anastasia, "Here, let's send her a picture."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Nope," Abel replied with a shake of his head, "not that I could see, anyway. The only way I knew she even had an owner was that collar she has," he said, pointing with the bottle in his hand. Huh, no pokeball.. That might've presented a problem, now that he thought about it, but he had no idea what they could do at pokecenters anyway. Either way, though, it wasn't something he had to worry about now that Luke had identified her and knew her owner. This made things so much simpler.

Mention of taking a picture made the Umbreon tilt her head a little, not sure what purpose such a thing could serve. "Ee?"  

[Suudonym]

Thank goodness the collar had been left to her, then - though there was a brief thought of concern over why she had been allowed to keep it. He answered the dark-type's confusion with a faint smile, "So we can show her you're here and okay, right? I think she'd appreciate it more than just a message."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Anastasia brightened at the explanation, even offering a "bree!" of agreement before she turned to nose at the pokegear. The sooner this picture was taken, the sooner she would see Seraphine! Right? Right, yes, of course! That definitely meant she would see her in a very few minutes, obviously. "Eon!"

The blonde chuckled lightly at the dark-type's excitement. It was almost as if she'd completely changed or something, from the mopey, depressed and quiet pokemon he'd nursed back to health over the past week. "Want me to take it for you?" He offered, half-extending a hand.  

[Suudonym]

Luke had had no witness to Anastasia's dejected mood, but he was he glad nonetheless to see her in high spirits. "Oh, sure," he replied to the offer, reaching to pass over the device, the camera application already activated. "Thanks." That was probably the easier way to do it, versus the alternative of trying to maneuver to get a good shot of the Umbreon that apparently had no intention of leaving his lap.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The Umbreon indeed had absolutely no intention whatsoever of leaving the redhead's lap, having curled up there pretty much the instant she jumped on him and gave no indication that she had any inclination to leave for anything. Abel accepted the gear and set his beer down on the coffee table to use both hands, then stepped back to take a proper picture. Once finished, he handed it back. "There you go," he said as he did so, then picked up his bottle once again.

A light tapping on the door arrested his attention, and he leaned back to glance at the door briefly before offering Luke a light wave. "One sec, I think that's Sonia." That said, he moved to go answer the door.  

[Suudonym]

He offered another thanks as the pokegear was returned, attaching the picture to a message addressed to Seraphine and only barely remembering that she wouldn't be able to translate the French that had become nearly habitual in his exchanges with Rosie: found Anastasia at a friend's place. she's ok and wants to see you soon.

Abel's response to the sound at the door - a name that he recalled being associated with the Zoroark - inspired the desperate hope that he had before put aside to avoid disappointment. But if Anastasia could come back after a year in Rocket captivity, certainly his team could be recovered from well-meaning trainers…  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Anastasia watched as Luke did something to his device, not understanding the various buttons or anything on it at all except that it could communicate with Seraphine. Had the tapping at the door come at any point after Luke's communication with her trainer, she very well might've interpreted it as Sera coming to get her. Maybe in a few minutes! With that thought in mind, the Umbreon settled more comfortably on Luke's lap and eagerly awaited her trainer's arrival. (Unfortunately for them both, Seraphine had again neglected her phone and its battery life, and the device had died earlier that day.)

After a quick glance, Abel pulled the door open all the way to allow his Zoroark to enter, though he could immediately tell from her body language that she had been unsuccessful. Regardless, he closed and locked the door behind her and followed her back into the main room. "No luck, huh?"

"Zor..." Her ears slicked back and she seemed to shrink a bit - if she'd had a tail, it probably would've been between her legs - and appeared apologetic, disappointed and vaguely dejected that she hadn't accomplished the single task she'd been given.  

[Suudonym]

Despite admonishing himself over getting his hopes up, Luke found himself holding his breath, almost expecting everything to have worked out perfectly. It didn't take much evaluation, however, to see that that was not the case, and he wilted where he sat, lowering his eyes absently to the Umbreon in his lap. He eventually gave a small, humorless laugh. "Guess it's what I deserve."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Hey now, hey, none of that," Abel said with a frown and a shake of his head, "you didn't deserve any of that s**t. It'll be alright though. You said they were trainers, right? Trainers don't steal from other trainers, at least not to my knowledge. It'll be okay," he went on, his expression softening a bit. Man, he didn't know what he'd do if anyone stole his pair. "Don't worry."

While he spoke, Sonia entered the kitchen to retrieve Abel's gun where he'd left it on a counter - facing the outer wall - and silently moved through the main room and disappeared into the bedroom beyond. The sound of a drawer being opened and closed floated out before the Zoroark appeared once more, sans gun, and watching the other human and the Umbreon with some confusion and bewilderment.

Anastasia frowned up at Luke, her ears twitching back and forward in her uncertainty. She didn't know what had happened or why he was suddenly upset, but she didn't like it. "Breee," she trilled softly, moving her head to bump his arm lightly with her nose.  

[Suudonym]

"They might steal from Rockets, though," he said, certain that they were still quite set in their opinion of him. They weren't stealing pokemon so much as they were liberating them from a criminal. They were doing the right thing. In a reflexive response to the Umbreon's nudge, he raised a hand to her head, searching for some solace in the fact that Seraphine could at least be reunited with her precious pokemon. Such solace was hard to find, though. "…All of them, huh…" Only five, not even a full team, but each of them an important companion that he'd been working with for so long now, that had stood beside him through so much.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Well, he couldn't argue with that, but still... Luke's dejected countenance earned a frown in his direction. "I said nope, none of that," he continued, moving over to plop next to Luke on the couch. "Don't worry about it right now, alright? Everything'll be fine. How're you feeling - did the ibuprofen kick in yet?" Luke's failed attempt at picking up the Umbreon came to mind, prompting the question he should've asked before, "Anything broken?"

Anastasia nuzzled into the hand at her head, still watching Luke with large blue eyes. She still didn't understand what was going on - just that Luke was suddenly sad.  

[Suudonym]

He made efforts to pull his thoughts from their desolation at least long enough to assess himself so he could provide a response. The headache he'd been ignoring was dulled but present, the pain in his abdomen had cooled to a slow throb, and it just felt like a bad idea in general to move his hand much. "I don't know," he answered honestly, trying to compare the various pains to what he recalled of the time he had fallen into a sinkhole near the mountains and broken his arm. He moved the affected to hand to observe it more clearly, noting the harsh bruise from his aggressor's digging heel and the swelling of his wrist. He flexed his fingers to test the range of motion and flinched from the endeavor. "Maybe?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel hummed lightly, thoughtfully, as Luke took stock of himself, and idly stroked the Umbreon's back as he awaited the trainer's response. The response garnered an uncertain frown. "Maybe, huh? Maybe you should go to the hospital, then.." Broken bones weren't something to ignore, especially in something like a hand. Still, he frowned over at a section of floor as he considered. "I don't know that I have anything to help that. My first aid cabinet isn't really stocked with much, honestly."  

[Suudonym]

He frowned vaguely; moving around much at all didn't sound particularly appealing, and he didn't like the thought of being tied up with the hospital while waiting for a response from Sera. "It'll probably be fine, at least until tomorrow," he said, raising the limb in question. "Elevation reduces swelling or something, right?"