[PRP] Serenading Snowflakes

[BlackFireKitsune]

Though the days were slowly getting longer, they were still cold, and Abel had to bundle up before heading out. As bundled up as he was, his fingerless gloves seemed rather inappropriate and contradictory, though their purpose became apparent when he settled himself down on a bench in the park and gently laid his guitar in his lap. At least his hands would remain somewhat warm, even with his bare fingers subjected to the cold, but standard gloves would interfere with his playing. Passingly he wondered if this was such a good idea, to play the guitar with fingerless gloves in such cold temperatures, but then he decided, yes, yes it was. At least, it would be for a little while.

Thus, as the blonde began to play and sing, his pokemon spread out to enjoy - or wile away - the time spent out in the cold weather. Isaac curled up beside Abel on the bench, while Juliet and Elizabeth bounded around nearby, playing in the snow.  

[Tori Honoo]

Abel, it would appear, was not the only one determined to enjoy the cold, snowy day, though recent events surely had her one her guard. In a coat synched tightly about her waist, boots, and a cowl scarf laid around her neck and over her shoulders, a woman made her way through the park with her pokemon, carefully watching a togetic leap into the air every few steps as it giggled and squealed, fluttered for a few minutes, then fell back to the earth once more. A shiny arcanine paced at her side, its eyes following what appeared to be a very curious quilava as it jumped through the snow ahead. The woman, though without human companion, appeared content, laughing each time the little egg pokemon tumbled back, occasionally against her leg. Her arm was bound, her wrist immobile.

As they continued their path along through the park, Dove eventually paused, her ears catching the sound of the music starting up nearby. It took little time to locate the source of the music, and as Tobi came fluttering down again, she patted his head carefully, changing her path to say hello to the man. Her pokemon followed obediently, stopping nearby and offering their own greetings to the others already playing in the snow.

Dove would hold her greeting until the man's song was complete--or until he stopped, if he preferred to do so-- enjoying the music as she waited. "Serenading the snowflakes? It's a little cold, don't you think?" she asked in a quiet, but warm, voice.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Juliet and Elizabeth stopped as the woman and her pokemon approached, the former wuffing out a greeting to the pokemon while the latter eyed them all with a devious grin.

"The snowflakes," he replied, his gaze still on his guitar as his fingers played across the strings, though he raised his gaze to her face after a moment or two with a smile, "and whoever else is out in the cold today." He continued to play for a few more moments before ceasing, raising his hands a little and flexing his fingers. "Yeah, it's a little cold," the blond said with a light laugh, "but a little cold never hurt anybody."  

[Tori Honoo]

The quilava in the snow turned its attention at the bark and quickly made its way over to the growlithe, hopping happily through the snow. <>

Tobi fluttered back into the air, then let himself drop down to Aurora's back as the arcanine stopped close to her trainer, offering the man's pokemona grin and a nod in greeting.

Dove watched Abel as he continued to play with the strings, her smile calm as he looked up at her. What he said when he stopped, however, made her laugh and look to the sky for a moment, before she turned back to him, shaking her head and biting back her amusement. "A little cold, maybe," she agreed, sarcasm clear in her thought at the unintentional irony. "At least you're having fun, and I guess music does make things a little more bearable, so...thanks from the whoever else."

She tucked her hair back, her smile still in place, then reached over to brush a gloved hand through Aurora's fur as she spoke to Abel. "How have you been? Staying warm, I hope, despite your... venue?" she joked lightly, referring to the snow covered park.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

the Growlithe greeted in response as she flopped her rear-end into the snow, her fluffy tail thumping softly in the powder. Elizabeth skulked around to the back of the bench to watch the new human and her pokemon curiously from a different vantage point. Isaac, however, raised his head to watch the fire-type skeptically.

Her sarcasm was not lost on him, though he wasn't sure why it was so prevalent. Perhaps she just really, strongly disliked the cold, or something. Either way, he smiled as his fingers began to strum the guitar again. "Heh. Well, the whoever else is quite welcome," he said with some amusement in his voice. He hummed lightly at her question, then nodded. "Yeah, though I haven't been out here too long. Been good, other than that. How about you?"  

[Tori Honoo]

<> the quilava demanded cheerfully, clearly excited to be playing in the snow and making new acquaintances. Aurora stood guard, watching as the charmeleon slunk around behind the bench. <> she teased, grinning still. Normally, she would have stepped around to meet the other fire type properly, but as it was, she refused to move from her trainer's side.

Dove moved to lean against the side of the bench on the end opposite from Abel. "I'm glad to hear that..." she smiled, pleased to also hear he hadn't been out long. His returned question was answered easily, though not very convincingly. "It's been an interesting year so far, but... I'm done complaining. Just taking it a day at a time, I guess." She watched him play a few seconds, then turned her eyes on his face again. "Still working at the gun range?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

the bright orange Growlithe replied to the curious Quilava, her ears perked and a rather amused expression on her face.

Elizabeth merely peeked her head around from the other side of the bench, her eyes narrowed as she appraised the situation and her subjects.

He smiled in return, his gaze on her as he continued to idly strum at his guitar. He didn't need to look at it to know where to position his fingers to play specific notes. "Sometimes taking things a day at a time is the best way to do it," he said with a light chuckle. "The least stressful at times, I think." He hummed a little at her question, turning his focus back to his guitar briefly before returning it to her face, "Yep, still there, still full-time. Are you still practicing?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Trill beamed, then flopped into the snow in front of Juliet. it explained, tipping its head. Flames sparked excitedly from its neck.

Aurora's expression went blank for a moment, before an incredibly skeptical and sarcastic looked crossed her face. Well then. At least the charmeleon was interesting.

Dove nodded. "Oddly enough, it is. I've stopped caring about a lot of things," she admitted, grinning, though deep down, she knew that was probably false confidence. She watched him play, smiling at his confirmation and meeting his eyes once her turned a question back to her. "Ah, well... I was, at the range outside of town," she explained, her voice slightly apologetic, "But--" She lifted her arm to show him her wrist. "Taking a bit of a break for now."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Her tail ceased its wagging as she tilted her head a little, confused by the Quilava's words. She replied, her tones displaying her confusion as plainly as her expression.

Ignoring the boring Arcanine in favor of something that was actually interesting, Elizabeth instead watched the strange little Quilava with mounting curiosity.

"Thaaat's not exactly the best thing?" He hazarded, a small, uncertain frown crossing his features. "I mean, it's not any of my business, but I think not caring is kind of a lot different than just not letting something bother you." Or at least, he thought so - a lot of things didn't bother him, but that didn't mean he didn't care about them. Conversely, a lot of things that he cared about did bother him quite a lot, so maybe it was a little more complicated than that.

He didn't really understand the reasons behind her mildly apologetic tones, unless it was more directed at herself, but he offered an appropriately sympathetic expression to her injured wrist. "Ah, that sucks," he said, his tones apologetic, then shifted his gaze back up to her face. "Taking a break is a good idea - trying to shoot with any injury would be kind of foolish. You doin' all right?"  

[Tori Honoo]

the cyndaquil replied, looking up at the other fire type with wide eyes.

Aurora released a heavy sigh and settled next to her trainer, crossing her large paws as she turned her attention to Tobi as he tumbled off of her shoulder.

A quiet look crossed her features as she looked back at him, then shook her head. "I'm just done letting them weigh me down, is all, when I'm out and about," she explained. Maybe he was right, but then... "It hurts a lot less to just let things go sometimes, you know?" A slight grin, paired, oddly, with a distant look. "At least I'm not stomping into clubs in a mood like last time I hit it low."

When he didn't seem to take offense to her switching ranges from his to another--one where she was less likely to run into anyone she knew, though now that she thought about it, perhaps it was time to change back; avoiding people certainly wasn't a good way to remedy ones biggest fears of being alone. And then, really, maybe he wasn't offended because, well... why should he care about her?-- she lowered her wrist and rubbed her arm instead. "Yeah, not something I'm willing to play with, though...I'm actually not bad one handed," she teased, before shaking her head to rid it of jokes-- her last one with him hadn't gone over well on such a topic. His next question received a brief pause. "If alright means fighting houndoom and her pups and nearly letting myself freeze to death but not, then... yeah. I've--" A pause as she considered her answer. "I've been worse."

She took a moment, then, to glance over at Trill, if only to make sure it was behaving itself, then to the charmeleon. "Your team is growing..." she noted aloud, offering to switch the topic back to him.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

<...yeah..?> The fire-type replied, still confused by the other pokemon. What was it going on about...? Maybe it was just dumb or something.

"Ah, yeah," he agreed with a sympathetic nod; he could definitely relate there. "I know what you mean - though I can't say I've gone stomping into clubs," he finished with an amused smile. No, he'd stomp into bars instead, not clubs.

While firing one-handed wasn't something taught in ranges - given the safety issues associated with it - he knew people did it anyway. Hell, he was one of them. "Whenever you start practicing again, you should ease into it, with both hands," he advised, slowing his playing as he spoke, putting more focus onto the conversation than his idle playing given guns were pretty much his job, after all. "Just in case your wrist's still sore at first, using both hands will prevent it from aggravating the injury - unless you'd use your other hand," the blonde added after a moment, once he realized he didn't quite know which her dominant hand was. It might not have even been the injured one, and then wouldn't he feel like an a**? Oh well, too little too late.

"That..." He raised his brows in his surprise. "That definitely sounds like you could've had a better day, yeah. Geez, a Houndoom? Those have such sharp teeth," he said with a shake of his head as his gaze shifted down to his guitar again. It lifted with a curious hum at her last comment, and he followed her gaze to his pokemon. "Team? Oh." Like training team, or something. "I dunno about 'team' really, since I don't train or anything. Family, yes - team, not so much. Right buddy?" This asked of the Espeon at his side as he ceased his playing to rest his hand briefly on the psychic-type's head, and the colorful pokemon responded in a soft, pleased trill before Abel shifted his hand back to his guitar. He aimed a nod in the direction of her own pokemon instead, "It looks like your team's growing, though."  

[Tori Honoo]

Trill paused a minute, then grinned, picking up on Juliet's confusion...then giggled. it guessed, peering over at Dove for a moment.

His sympathy was met with a slightly softer look and a headshake. "I...wouldn't really recommend it." A strange feeling overtook her, then, and she stilled while listening to him, fighting it off.

When he didn't chastise her for shooting one handed, she relaxed, then nodded at his suggestion. "Of course... I'm right handed," she explained with a slight gesture. "So it shouldn't slow me down too much. Her brow furrowed as she had a sudden thought, a slight pause breaking her pattern of speech. "...Do you know if it's too difficult to learn to shoot ambidextrously?" The question in itself would lead quickly to others in her head, which she would soon voice after the first had been answered.

A better day, he said, and when he did, she laughed a little. "Yeah... Lovey wasn't too well off afterward, because of the teeth," she said, a slight pang of regret in her voice. "I'm...actually thinking about evolving her, and Diana." The thought only added to her regret. Pushing it aside for now, she raised her left arm again. "This was just one of the pups. It...hurt, but not as bad as a fully grown houndoom. Or absol." He had seen the marks--or maybe just the bandages-- on her sides and arms before, though she wasn't sure she had ever explained. The thought brought a blush to her cheeks, along with the strangeness surrounding the entire situation. Seriously, who was she? No model on earth would have found themselves in such situations; maybe she really had been in the wrong line of work.

Dove smiled toward Isaac as Abel redefined his group, and she nodded. Family indeed. "Yeah... I've got Byakko--an espeon-- at home, too...When did you get your charmeleon?"