[PRP] Aftermath of Adventure

[Akira Midoriyama]

In the late afternoon, Akira wandered about the streets of Camphoreon with Happa by his side. He had taken to talking to the Leafeon on occasion, particularly when there was no one else to talk to, but he found some satisfaction in the idea that the pokemon understood. It was nice, but it still wasn't the same as a real human being.

After all that had happened in Sagestone, the young man had gotten to thinking a great deal about being a trainer full-time and helping out the League. He just wasn't sure he could do it. While he'd wanted to ask Ray about training him, all the time they were with her, it just never seemed like the right time.

And here he was, back in Camphoreon, uncertain as to what to do now. He wanted to be a good trainer, he really did, but...the question was, was he cut out for it? All of them had had so much experience, and where did he stand? They all trusted one another and their pokemon teams. It felt wrong to try to insert himself in that setting when he had come from such a sheltered background.

Sure, Luke probably had too from what he'd said, but he'd come so far since then that Akira hardly felt he could be compared to the Grande Ile noble at all. After all, while Luke had broken free from him his prison of a world early in life, Akira's uncertainty had caused him to delay taking the plunge into the 'real world'.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The colder temperatures brought with them the opportunity - and necessity - to wear warmer clothing, including thick, warm hoodies with large front pockets like the one Seraphine currently wore. She very much preferred them, given the fact she could easily hide her missing appendage in such a large pocket, and no one would be any wiser if they didn't previously know about it. It was for this reason that she always felt much more comfortable in the cold these days, though that wasn't always the case. Summer used to be her favorite season - in some ways, it still was, but more out of nostalgia than much else - and winter used to be her least favorite.

Winter was Agatha's favorite season, beyond any shadow of a doubt, and anyone who witnessed her behavior (and knew of Sneasel's dual-typing) would probably be able to guess this. The clawed creature was running around gleefully, skidding to a stop in the snow before turning and racing in another direction, flopping into whatever snow piles she could find and trying to cover herself in the fluffy flakes. Sera had other pokemon with her (namely Anastasia, Isabella, and Jacques), and though none of them seemed as enthusiastic as the Sneasel, they all seemed various degrees of pleased with the snow, or at the very least, indifferent.

As the brunette turned a corner, she happened to spot a familiar figure not far away with a Leafeon. Said Leafeon was vaguely familiar to her due to the recent expedition into the mines - she didn't remember meeting it once before that, shortly after her accident - but its trainer was even more familiar. Memories of their previous meetings caused her to hesitate; she didn't know where they stood now, or if they were even still friends, given his behavior and coarse words the last time they'd spent time together alone, but her previous experiences with losing friends spurred her forward, if only to offer a casual "hey" both to catch his attention as well as to greet him.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"...and I probably should have known from the start. But that's what you get for being too trusting," Akira finished saying to Happa before a human voice caught his attention. Both Leafeon and human looked up in surprise. "Hey," the young man answered, raising a hand slightly. "Um...everything going well?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

As she had no idea what Akira was talking about, she dismissed the fragment of the one-sided conversation she'd heard. After all, she talked to her pokemon sometimes, too. "Pretty much, yeah," she said a little cautiously, almost wary of him in case he started acting like a jerk again like he did back at the bar. "What about you?"

Agatha chose that moment to run past Anastasia, kicking up snow in her wake, and the briefly startled Umbreon made a noise as she found herself dusted with a light layer of snow. Once she shook it off, she stepped forward and sat beside her trainer's heels, looking to the Leafeon curiously. she greeted warmly, by default interested in anyone and everyone her trainer had gotten to know in her long absence and this pair seemed to be one of them. Isabella and Jacques stopped behind them, though neither seemed as inclined to be friendly as Anastasia.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"I'm okay," he began, regarding Sera's pokemon. He hardly had a chance to lay his eyes on Agatha, however, before the Sneasal ran right past. "Are, uh...are all these pokemon yours? That's a pretty Umbreon." He crouched to get a better look at her markings. "Hearts, huh? And pink. Heh, almost one I might have expected to be in Rosie's party. Unique."

Happa answered back, his posture suggesting his shyness. The Leafeon couldn't help but edge back slowly behind the legs of his trainer. The Umbreon seemed friendly enough, but he didn't care to be clipped by that Sneasal. Though he was speaking to Anastasia, his frightened sepia eyes couldn't help shifting from Jacques to Isabella to Agatha and back again.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

His question caused her to glance at her assembled pokemon with a raised brow before she focused on him again, 'both hands' still in her front pocket. "Yeah," she affirmed with a light shrug, watching him curiously as he crouched in front of her Umbreon, unable to help the small surge of happiness that she was back home with her again. "Right? Her name's Anastasia."

"Breee," the dark-type trilled at Akira in greeting, her ears perked up in curiosity before she looked to the timid Leafeon again. she said, despite the fact her trainer had just said the same thing. Her blue eyes shifted to follow his gaze, and she found herself looking towards Sera's other pokemon, though really, she couldn't have been too surprised. Isabella had sat herself down near their trainer, while Jacques had a wide grin plastered on his face as he watched them all appraisingly. Agatha was still racing around, playing in the snow.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"That's a lot," he remarked, feeling rather stupid as he did so. It probably wasn't to an experienced pokemon trainer like Sera. To him, though, who could hardly care for two pokemon, let alone have them obey him, it was a lot.

Come to think of it...he wasn't familiar with the Umbreon. Prior to then, he knew of a few like Sera's Mismagius, and going on that trip to find Ray had allowed him to see what he'd thought had been the rest of her team. This Umbreon, though...wait a minute.

"So...is Anastasia the one you were missing?" he asked, recalling what she'd said when she'd been in tears. No wonder he'd never seen her before. Not that he knew when Sera had got her back, but it seemed kind of inappropriate and insensitive to ask. "Kind of ironic, that name. The Russian princess everyone thought was missing," he murmured. "It suits her." Sera had probably named her Anastasia for other reasons, but he couldn't help commenting on that just the same. He smiled as the pokemon greeted him. "...Can I pet her?"

Happa forced out, bowing his head respectfully. It was something he'd picked up from his trainer and he liked, the gesture. It was docile and respectful; it aided in the avoidance of conflict.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Mm." She made a small noise as she frowned a bit, turning her head to regard her various pokemon with her. A lot? Yeah, probably. Ray had said similar before. "I have a few more at home."

His question caused her brows to raise in surprise as she focused back on him again, briefly bewildered. "When did I..." Unable to recall when she had ever mentioned Anastasia's absence to him, the brunette frowned at him and narrowed her eyes almost suspiciously. Why did he remember something she didn't? She didn't remember being drunk around him, really. "Yeah, she is, and yeah you can," she affirmed, losing her suspicious glance. "She likes attention."

Anastasia would've moved closer to Happa for their conversation, but she wanted to respect his personal space - the fact that Akira had asked to pet her had absolutely nothing to do with that decision, of course, why would it ever affect that? the dark-type offered helpfully, her ears perked up a bit. she said, gesturing with her snout to each in turn. Agatha remained ignorant in favor of playing in the snow, and Isabella remained motionless. Jacques was the only one to respond, and he did so by suddenly flopping forward into the snow near Happa, his forepaws landing in the white stuff with his claws spread as he continued to grin deviously, and chose to lie there to watch them. The Umbreon frowned thoughtfully, wracking her brain to find a polite way to describe them. <...social.>  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Wow. It's a marvel you can care for them all, let alone train them." He smiled up at her from his crouched position, only to find her narrowing her eyes at him. His smile disappeared, his eyes round with curiosity. What had he done wrong now? When did he what? "Oh...that's good." Trying to forget the look, he reached out to pet Anastasia. "Was she your first pokemon?"

Happa blinked and nodded in response, though he didn't seem too convinced that Anastasia's explanation meant they were any less inclined to hurt wimps and weaklings like himself. They just seemed like big bullies to him. he greeted nevertheless. Luckily the partial ice-type - the one that worried him most with her indifference to how she'd kicked up snow on the Umbreon - didn't seem to be paying him any attention at all.

Isabella didn't seem to care much either, but Jacques kind of creeped him out with that grin. His random act of flopping caused the Leafeon to sit back very erect on his haunches, Happa's leaf-like ears up and alert for danger. Again Anastasia took it upon herself to explain. he said, trying to be polite as he smiled sheepishly.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"They're not that hard to care for," Seraphine said with a shrug, her 'hands' still in her pocket. "Half of them can take care of themselves, so." That made things much easier, though ensuring they were clean and free of blood after was another thing entirely. "Yeah, my parents gave her to me for my tenth birthday," the brunette explained, watching as Akira began to pet her beloved Umbreon. With a curious tilt of her head, she asked, "What about you? Was your Leafeon your first pokemon?" This was almost odd to talk to him about; given all the time she'd known him, they hadn't ever really talked about pokemon before. Huh.

Isabella shifted to lay down in the snow with a light huff when it became apparent that they'd be there for a while. Jacques shifted to lean his chin on one paw, that same elbow resting in the snow with his eyes half-lidded over that same plastic grin. Anastasia did her best to ignore them all, though it wasn't that hard, especially as the male human began to pet her. She closed her large blue eyes with a pleased noise as she leaned into his hand. she amended with a frown aimed at Jacques, her eyes opening again though she continued to lean towards Akira. Mmm, attention... The only one that would was Agatha, though luckily for all present the Sneasel was still wholly preoccupied with the snow.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Oh. They do?" Akira had never heard of that. He couldn't imagine Silly doing that, either. Maybe because he'd been a captive pokemon too long and was used to being fed rather than providing for himself. "Huh." He'd have to look into that.

"That's sweet," he said, scratching the pokemon behind the ears. "What a cutie." He was happy not to have to worry about allergies for once thanks to Happa's ability and close proximity. "Nice to meet you, Anastasia. Your trainer here missed you a lot, you know."

At Sera's question, Akira looked back up with a dull expression. "No," he said faltly. "I got a Serperior instead. Only it didn't listen to me. Never has and still won't." He shook his head and turned back to Anastasia, wondering how she could have possibly been paralleled to Silly in the manner of being their first pokemon.

"He was meant to be my protection in case I ever needed it, but I rarely ever even went outside, let alone anywhere where wild pokemon could attack. His obedience was never really an issue because it was never really required of him. Not until recently, anyway." He was sure the pokemon still hated him for stranding them in this commoner life. "All he wants to do is stay in his stupid ball."

Happa was just beginning to wonder if Jacques' face was permanently stuck like that when Anastasia began to talk to him again. He twitched and his ears shifted to hear her. He paused. He tried to ease his body into relaxing, but it was difficult with the Sneasel still messing around in the snow nearby. If only he could tell his survival instincts that.