[PRP] To Start: Faceless

[Suudonym]

"I guess we sort of came to be," he said, satisfied that apparently this wasn't too odd of a topic after all. "The other pokemon in the village taught us a lot about tracking and hunting over the years, though I guess there was a lot of trial and error involved too. What about you? It sounds like you've got a lot of experience with riding."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"It sounds like some useful set of skills," Rosie admitted,
she sat up a little more as the cups of coffee were brought over to them, Rosie took a glance around the room, after thanking the man, though she snapped her gaze back to the table when she saw an individual at the group table looking in their direction.
Swallowing hard she tried to focus on the conversation.
"I like riding, Pastin and I have been working together for years, so its been a long time in the works. He's rough, so it makes riding other types a little more easy by default." She admitted, taking her mug and sipping it quickly.
"Did the pokemon you live with ever teach you stuff like that? Like riding?"  

[Suudonym]

Sorey didn't see what Rosie did, but he did detect the growing tension in her demeanor. In response, he kept up a relaxed and casual atmosphere; he may have been a poor liar, but he was used to meeting with skittish or wary pokemon. He positioned his hands around the cup, absorbing its warmth into his fingers. "So that's like two birds with one stone, in a way," he said. "Opens up a lot of options for you when it comes to choosing the most appropriate mount." He hummed thoughtfully, then shook his head. "There weren't really any pokemon in the village that could carry humans. Although when I was little, I'd try to climb up on Noctowl sometimes. At first he would fly around with me - low to the ground, of course - but then Gramps found out and made him stop."

Mikleo added.

"Yeah, he didn't think it was safe."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"That's a shame, learning how to fly is pretty great too." she noted, glancing at Mikleo when he spoke but getting an idea of what he said with Sorey's answer.
"Though I guess it would depend on how young you were."  

[Suudonym]

"Yeah... It was exciting so I wasn't very good at holding still, as I recall, so Noctowl was unsteady too. It was a disaster waiting to happen if he'd flown much higher." He shrugged his shoulders lightly, "But I've managed to get around pretty well since then with just my own feet. And the occasional boat, of course."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Oh, yeah, you would have to since you explore so many different places, and its just the two of you." She added with a small smile.
It was difficult to keep things slow, when all she wanted to go was get out of there as quickly as possible.
Northern was keeping very quiet, nothing was being alerted to them that they were in any danger, but it was hard to ignore the feeling that they were being watched.  

[Suudonym]

"We've been joined by other pokemon occasionally," he recalled, "but we usually wound up going our separate ways before long. I guess wild pokemon don't have a whole lot of interest in learning about history."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie wished she could have enjoyed the conversation a bit more, learning about Sorey's adventures and his experiences living with Pokemon was certainly someone she would be very interesting in hearing out, but this had to be the longest cup of coffee that she had ever experienced before.

She held her hands tightly when she wants drinking from the mug, and politely turned down any refills.
By the time they had wrapped things up and were ready to go, Rosie pushed herself to her feet, paid and started moving outside.
"that was weird." Norhtern said as they stepped out into the streets now partly soaked from the rainfall that had started.

"They weren't suspicious of us were they?" Rosie asked nervously

"I felt a lot." Northern replied "the longer we sat there."

Rosie shivered with that news, unnerved by it. "O okay, well lets try and get away from here. Norhtern, where are we going?"  

[Suudonym]

Mikleo agreed, casting a glance back towards the establishment as they moved away from its doors. He was used to being treated as something of an oddity by property of association with Sorey, but this time, at least, he was sure the strange atmosphere had not been due to his partner's behavior.

"It's a good thing Northern's coming along," Sorey remarked, regarded the Jirachi with a smile. "There's no chance they can sneak up on us without us knowing, right? I'm sure we'll be fine if we take it slow, no matter who's suspicious of us."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Northern didn’t give a vocal reply to that, though the answer she heard Rosie give was still more then half right.
Though northern could already feel her anxiety, it was helped along by the tone in her response.
“Yes, she can.” It was said through a dry mouth, and weak tone. Northern would probably be able to feel more if Rosie’s own fears weren’t so overwhelming. Northern wished she hadn’t told them that they had been noticed now, and was now grateful for choosing to keep the information quiet that she felt someone taking a very intense interest the longer they sat there, mixed with a variety of different emotions, none of them subtle.
Norhtern knew that couldn’t mean anything good for the situation they were into.
Nestled in the soft dim environment of the bag, the Jirachi sat in silence for a few seconds as she gathered her memories of the Sandslash and his instructions. Hints of light seeped through the fabric of her bag, giving her just enough to be able to see the outlines of her hands and feet, and providing a safe… though somewhat uncomfortable environment.
She reached her hands out to place them on the wall of the bag where she knew Rosie’s back was, putting pressure on it and the trainer she could feel on a deep level wasn’t meant for this kind of thing. Northern never understood why she kept trying, but never questioned her.
Rosie could feel the pressure of the little hands on the small of her back, looking down and taking a breath to try and quiet her worry, knowing that it was all being lay out raw in Northern’s face.
It helped the further they got away from the bar, led on by Northern they were lead down the streets away from the mines, without question turning through alley ways and up empty stair cases. Until they came to what looked like a storehouse, the door looking old and rusted where the paint was falling off.

“He’s in there.” Northern reassured. Then without warning Rosie suddenly felt the weight from her back disappear.
“Norhtern?!”Rosie asked, looking behind her in alarm.
She pulled the bag off of her back, able to confirm that it was empty just from the collapsed state alone. A few moments passed and the door before them was opened, and the form of a large harry dark mass was standing in the doorway looking at them.

The man looked rough, his face mostly hidden by a heavy brown beard. He was wide with muscular arms and wearing a dirty shirt, His hands rough and stained black obviously from his work.
“No one followed you?” He asked in a deep, but somewhat soft voice.

“No.” Northern’s tiny voice replied, floating into view from behind the large man.
He shifted his gaze around then nodded roughly for the two humans and Vaporeon to hurry in as he stepped to the side and allow them enough space to.
Nothing seemed particularly special about the storeroom. Obviously used for the materials that were mined from the caves, it was dark, filled with crates that smelled like dry rock and earth.
To the side of the door sat the same Sandslash they had spoken to in the bar, sitting by some of the crates next to a armful sized brown sack.
“Ray said she was sending one.” The man, obviously being John Lastish forced the heavy door closed behind them.

Rosie swallowed “She decided to send someone with me.” Rosie explained, getting a gruff nod and a sigh of “Good, Good” From Lastish as he moved to lumber back toward the Sandslash, only pausing to look up and examine the Jirachi now close to him.
“I half didn’t believe her.” He said in a subdued kind of awe, holding a hand up toward Northern, but stopping short as if not daring to touch her.
Northern tilted her head, blushing a little and looking down at his hand, her own hands folding over her third eye“… I don’t understand that.” She said, responding to something unspoken from the man.

“How could ya.” Lastish muttered back to her still in awe. “And easy to think yer special livin’ in yer own heads all the time.” He explained “Just gatta say, It don’t matter where you came from, the fact that you exist at all is somethin’ of wonder miss.”
Again Northern blushed, closing her hands tightly against herself.

the large man shifted, and once again regarded the two humans once again “Name’s John Lastish, if Kenney haddn’t told ya already. And you two are?”  

[Suudonym]

Sorey wasn't deaf to the worry in Rosie's words. He wished that he could supply some kind of reassurance, but the only had only recently met and she knew virtually nothing of him - it was only natural that she wouldn't feel secure from the company of a mere acquaintance.

They reached their new destination without incident, and Sorey took in the visage of the man who stood before them. Despite the dark and gruff appearance, Sorey didn't get much of a bad feeling from the guy - a feeling that he felt increasingly assured in trusting as he watched how he interacted with Northern.

Sorey extended his hand in greeting after their new company gave his name, "I'm Sorey. It's good to meet you, Mr. Lastish - and good to see that you're safe."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Lastish took Sorey's hand into his own and shook it. "Good to be safe, few faces came in that I didn't trust... especially since I got myself in a bit more trouble then I meant to." He explained with a sigh "Best to lay low till after ya lot leave."

He turned to Rosie who perked up a little and held her hand out too.
"I'm Rosie." she greeted shaking his hand as well.

"Didn't expect..." He started, but seemed to pause looking between the two younger trainers, shaking his head sharply "Anyway!" he burst, finishing his trip toward the crates, picking up something from the top and handing a thick folded paper toward Rosie. "Make sure that gets in Kenney's hands, she'll know what it is. and please... don't lose that." He said with a point to it "I've been working for months gettin' that information."

Rosie looked over the thick yellowed paper in her hands, before looking back up at Lastish, nodding in understanding and placing it into a sip up pocket on the inside of her new coat.
"We'll make sure she gets it." Rosie reassured him.

"Well, thats what she sent ya for, but that ain't all I got for you to take with ya." He said, with a bit of guilt in his tone.
With that he reached down to pick up the bag next to Sandslash, and holding it out, half tossing it to Sorey.
It wasn't too heavy, it was an comfortable armful but not so much so that it would be cumbersome, and it seemed to be full or many things.
"See that thats taken care of."  

[Suudonym]

Sorey had had an idea that this was a complicated situation, but it felt like something out of fiction - it seemed as though he were miles away from the light-hearted world he had always known. He reflexively held his arms out to catch the bag that was tossed to him, taking stock of its girth and weight and the way it fit in his grip. "Not fragile?" he asked. It seemed like a safe assumption from the way it had been passed to him, but it didn't hurt to double check.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Uhhhh... No." Lastish replied with a moment of thought that didn't seem all the important to him. more absent minded as he shuffled around and gathered his things.
"Knock it around if you want to, but I mean... be careful about spilling it, might lose some when they go rolling all over the place."

Rosie walked over to the bag, reaching to the flap on the top as Sorey held it and peered in, her eyes widening when she uncover that the bag was filled with pokeballs, twenty of them at the most.
"Where did you-?" she looked back over to Lastish, who now wore a somewhat grim look.

"Never you mind that, You just get those to Kenney, and get them to a safe place." He made a gesture "And hurry."

Rosie looked back at the pokeballs, feeling a pit of worry growing in her stomach all over again, only this time at the fact that there are pokemon victims still involved, and for how long?

Northern however, how at all oblivious to what this meant floated toward Lastish "Are these the people who made me?"

The man gave the pokemon a sad look and shook his head "I don't know that darlin' That seems much deeper then I dare to look into."

She wilted a little, but felt a hand on her head as Rosie reached out to her. the sympathy and encouragement, while appreciated, meant very little in the long run, Norhtern was just too used to being fed that now a days.

"Now get out of here quick." Lastish said with a wave, making his way over to the door they had come into to pull it open again.  

[Suudonym]

The sight of the pokeballs made Mikleo bristle, but before the growl could rise in his throat, Sorey leaned to place a hand briefly on the Vaporeon's head, warning, "Now's not the time."

Mikleo regarded his partner with an expression not unlike a glare. He didn't really think it fair to be the only one scolded when he knew that Sorey was at least as angry as he was, but at the same time, he supposed he was right: Conditions weren't such that they could afford to waste time and cloud their judgment with anger.

"You can count on us, Mr. Lastish," Sorey said with a nod, moving in preparation to depart though the opening doors. "Take care of yourself, okay?" Perhaps it was presumptuous or even outright rude advice, given the man's age and experience in comparison to Sorey's own, but the flutter of worry in his stomach wouldn't allow him to leave the words unsaid.