[FIN] Chasing the Sun

[BlackPidgeot]

"It's okay," he assured her, rolling his shoulders a bit before relaxing once more. Letting her continue, Yuri's eyes closed again as he soaked in the tranquil moment. For several moments he remained still and quiet.  

[Tori Honoo]

She let him go so he could roll his shoulders, then resumed rubbing his back, slowly working her way down his sides and hoping he was comfortable. Once she came to his midback, she paused, unsure of herself. "Um..." Another pause, during which she took a silent, deep breath. This was nothing, and what was stoping her? "Hey... Lay back..." she asked, the timid tone slipping away from her voice.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Wordlessly, Yuri complied. Leaning back, he did as she asked. No complaints from him.

Astal watched from a distance and wrinkled his nose. Getting up he shook out his fluffy coat and started to wander off.  

[Tori Honoo]

She smiled, scooting back to allow him her lap as a pillow and was careful to keep his hair from being tugged. With another smile that betrayed a small bit of shyness, she rubbed his shoulders again, then traced to his collar, her fingers light and calm. "If this is weird, I can stop...Just let me know."

That said, she began to massage his upper chest, knowing that most tension was held there.

Lovey also watched, curious about her trainer's intent. This was... Different.

Diana watched as well, and turned to her mother with a confused look. <>  

[BlackPidgeot]

It was a little weird, but not so much that he would ask her to stop. Instead he continued to say nothing. It was... well, relaxing. Nobody had ever done something like this for him before and he kinda enjoyed it.

Eventually he became so relaxed that he dosed off into a light sleep.  

[Tori Honoo]

Lovey nuzzled Diana's ears. <>

Dove grinned as Yuri started to drift off, and continued to massage his neck and chest, working out as much of the tension as she could without waking him.  

[BlackPidgeot]

He didn't sleep long, in fact it was getting dark by the time Yuri awoke. As he started to stir, he could feel her fingers in his hair. It was nice. A small smile on his face just before he opened his eyes.

Looking up at Dove, he remained quiet, but lifted his hand to lightly play with the end of a lock of her own hair.

It had been awhile since he'd felt this comfortable and at ease.  

[Tori Honoo]

While he dozed, Dove continued to play with his hair, willing him to rest as long as he could in this strange but oddly comfortable situation. In the silence, she had begun to hum along with the Pokemon--whatever they might be-- that sang in the darkening clouds, comfortable as the sun sank even lower and threatened to disappear altogether.

The gentle playing with her hair, however, immediately brought a stop to the girl's soft harmony, and she turned her eyes from the horizon to the man's face with a slight confused look that slowly broke into a shy smile. "So...did it work?" she asked, still playing with his hair.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Yeah, thanks."

With that he slowly sat up next to Dove and looked to the waning light. It would be dark in a matter of minutes.

"We should get going," he suggested.  

[Tori Honoo]

His confirmation earned a nod, and she watched as he rose up. Tucking her hair back, she looked down to her lap, then the Pokemon, and finally to Yuri as he spoke.

For a moment she was quiet, as if contemplating something, until finally...

Flop.

The girl lay sprawled on her back, hair wildly draped across the ground as she looked up at the small stars that had begun to flicker in the skies. "But it's so perfect here..." she whispered, a smile in her eyes.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri blinked in mild surprise when Dove just flipped onto her back. He then shrugged his shoulders and did the same. Lying back on the ground next to her with his arms folded behind his head.

"Works for me."

Plus she brought him here and he didn't want to walk all the way back if he could help it.  

[Tori Honoo]

She giggled as he joined her an spared a glance to him as he settled.

For a few minutes, she said nothing, her expression growing more thoughtful as she watched the skies drape itself in night. In a quiet, very serious and somewhat small voice, she asked, "What's it like, Yuri...? Traveling, and sleeping under the stars, I mean..."  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri laid there in equal silence as the moments passed. His dark eyes watching the familiar stars that dotted the night sky.

At her question though, he pondered it a few moments before replying.

"Peaceful, and kind of liberating. Away fron everything, you can do and go where you want. With no real obligations to be anywhere."  

[Tori Honoo]

No obligations... No boundaries... No rules...

She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, before looking off into the night, her expression bent as if she were remembering something painful. "That sounds... Amazing." she sighed, honestly. Her eyes returned to the stars, and she waited another few beats. "I never knew the world was so big. Or that there was so much in it," she admitted, her voice more forceful, perhaps even bitter at her former circumstances. "Where do you even start? Especially when in reality, you're just a fragile little human who can have their world ripped to shreds in minutes? I mean... I had it all planned out... Every second of every day, who I would be with, where I would go... And now..." She sat up a little, her words slowing. "Now it's like I've been caged this whole time... And this freedom..."

A deep breath, her eyes anyplace but him. "Its beautiful, and wild... And terrifying."  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri listened, his gaze moving from the stars to Dove as she sat up.

"Wherever you want. That's kind of the point of freedom."

He didn't really know or understand what her life had been like, except for how she described it. Sounded like hell though, and he couldn't blame her for wanting to be away from it.