[PRP] Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

[Tymiko]

"Calm down, Skylar! If you fly above the skyline, I won't be able to find you!" a trainer called up toward the heavens. "There are too many buildings in the way!" A pair of Mudkips stood at her feet, their heads each craned back to try to spot what their trainer was seeking. Every so often, a serpentine shape would slip into view behind or around a skyscraper. Once in a while, it would even bump up against a reflective window, confused by the image of the sky glaring back at it.

Distressed for the pokemon, Tymiko tried her best to follow its path through the city from the ground. This proved rather difficult, however, since the airways were less congested than Camphoreon's busy streets. Several times, the Mudkip pair following her had to n** at their trainer's ankles to pull her back from oncoming traffic or from crashing into an obstacle of her own because her eyes were on the sky.

Eventually, one of the pokemon got fed up. Upon the next sighting of the flying creature Ty was chasing, the Mudkip reverted back into its original form of a Ditto. From there, it peered up at the target above them and Transformed into a Dragonair. Several bystanders - Skipper and Tymiko included - were unprepared for the sudden size-change of the Ditto and stumbled back as, in its new Dragonair form, it uncoiled into the sky.

"No, wait! Bubble Gum, don't chase him! How will you two find your way back? There are too many peop - oof!" More concerned than ever, the young lady had tried to follow in the direction of both the real and fake Dragonair. This time Skipper had been distracted as well, so neither of them had realized Ty was about to collide with another lady until it was too late.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Too late it was, as the girl would find herself making impact into the body of a taller women, a slight grunt of surprise followed, as a pare of arms instinctualy wrapped around the dark haired girl, and a boot slid back to catch their balance and keep them from falling into traffic.

"Fro For!" The indignant voice of a Froakie announced its alarm from behind the women.

"No no no, its alright." The women then said, an amused grin spreading over her lips.
Hazel eyes peered down at the girl that she didn't quite let go. She was a very average looking women, with tired bag under her eyes that looked like they had been developed over years of staying up late.
Her hands were rough with scars and callus, as if she was someone who worked with her hands. And her hair was shaved down completely. though it looked like it had been a few weeks since she had got it last cut.

Behind her, not looking to pleased was a Shiny Froakie, his shoulders were tense and his eyes slightly narrowed, though his displeasure was obvious, the one from the next creature to join that was much more subtle in her body language.
A Shiny Zoroark, slipping up next to the Froakie and between their trainer and traffic.  

[Tymiko]

The trainer flinched at the contact, blinking as a pair of arms instinctively embraced her. She heard the voice of a lady respond to a pokemon and looked up, startled. "Oh! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Ty exclaimed in apology to the stranger, her brain gradually catching up with what must have happened. "Are you alright?"

Peering past the other woman's shoulder, the somewhat short adolescent spotted the Froakie that must have spoken up. Ty smiled sheepishly and gave an apologetic wave in response to the narrowed eyes she was met with. She was astonished to note that not only was the Froakie shiny, but a second shiny pokemon appeared to stand beside the first.

"Wow...are those your pokemon?" she couldn't help asking. The words were out of her mouth before she realized that the situation might not have been appropriate for such a question.

"Kip Mudkip kip!" Skipper called, tugging on his trainer's sock to remind her they had other things to worry about. He had quickly come to understand that his human was rather scatter-brained and often needed reminding to focus on the task at hand.

Tymiko looked down before remembering to look back up at the sky. "Hm? Oh, I forgot! Where'd they go?"

Luckily, both the pokemon she sought were in plain sight. One Dragonair had managed to grab hold of the other and was slowly coercing the second closer to the ground. Skipper hopped up and down in place and cried out loudly to draw their attention. It seemed to work, because soon both airborne pokemon were floating just above the humans' heads.

"Bubble Gum! Thank you," Ty told the first Dragonair. Responding with a sound of happy acknowledgment at the thanks, said Dragonair promptly reverted to its natural form as a Ditto and was caught as it fell out of the air by its trainer's outstretched arms.

The remaining dragonair stayed close but glanced about with obvious anxiety. Tymiko reached up with one hand to pet a section of his tail that hovered within reach. "Shh, it's alright, Skylar," she told him softly. "No one here will hurt you or try to capture you. I won't let them."

Turning back to the other human in her midst, the black-haired young lady offered yet another sorry smile. "I hope you'll pardon the chaos just now. I thought I'd show Skylar here what the city was like, but I didn't count on him being so skittish around all the humans. He's wild so he isn't really trained and I wasn't sure how to calm him down without frightening him more. Seems like my Ditto Bubble Gum managed to somehow, though."

"Ditto!" the pink blob cradled in her arm greeted. It then spotted the shiny Froakie and, with a smile, promptly Transformed into a normal-colored Froakie to match.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Me?" The women asked in clarification before laughing a little, lifting her arms away from Ty to let the girl stand on her own "Well I sure thing so. I'm made of sturdy stuff, don't sweat it."
A hand moved to the women hip, her widened eyes glancing back along with Ty's attention to the pokemon behind her, gazes that were met were unfriendly and distant as usual.
"Mine, I guess you could say that." She said with a grin toward the pokemon "They're loyal to me, even if they don't really like me. Isn't that right?"

Froakie lowered his eyes, seeing uncomfortable with the idea of keeping eye contact with the human, though the Zoroark shifted in her stance and crouched herself lower with a soft coo
This comment drew a coughing laugh out of Faleen.

"Ah I was just about to ask what could have caused such panic!" Faleen announced when the situation became clear. "So you're called Skyler then huh? Nice name, And Bubble Gun?" Faleen peered curiously at the Ditto, beaming when it turned into a Froakie
"So then are all these pokemon wild?"  

[Tymiko]

"That's good to hear," Ty chuckled in response to Faleen's assurances about her well-being. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, I guess." It was a phrase she seemed to be especially fond of and something about this woman made it come to Ty's mind. Perhaps it was the feeling she gave off of a confident, experienced person who had been forced to endure a lot in their life. Whatever the cause, Tymiko believed her. "Um, thank you for catching me. I owe you one."

"Loyal to you...but don't like you?" the young woman repeated, trying to contemplate the meaning of the sentence. "How...why...er, if you don't mind me asking, why would they be loyal to you if they don't like you?" She felt there must have been a better or less insulting way to word that, but at the moment she was too perplexed to come up with it. She only hoped the other woman wouldn't take offense. Her brows knitted as she looked from the pair of Shinies back to their supposed trainer. That was odd... what peculiar behavior in response to the woman. It reminded Tymiko of something, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on what it was at that moment.

The dragonair, listening in, had his curiosity peaked. Though skittish, his curiosity also got him into trouble from time to time, especially when he allowed it to overcome his cautiousness. The Zoroark's comment and the Froakie's reaction made him want to ask the Shiny pokemon exactly what they thought of their trainer because now he was confused. The Dark-type Illusion pokemon mentioned something about an understatement, but did that mean she thought that their being loyal was the understatement, or not liking their trainer, or both?

Before he could ask, though, he was startled by the use of his name by someone other than Tymiko and jerked his head toward the woman with the mostly-shaved head. Something was...rather unsettling about her. And the fact that she seemed to understand what her pokemon were saying - literally, not through guesswork like most humans - really unnerved him.

he asked, his voice tinged with fear despite an effort to sound brave. Skylar had heard of pokemon with extraordinary powers, particularly legendaries, who could take on very convincing human roles through psychic or ghost illusions or voice mimicry or transformations and other such deceit. He had never seen one impersonate a human up close, though. Was this what they were like?

Ty glanced down at the Froakie in her hands before setting it down to interact with the other Froakie if it so wished. "Ooh - that's a new one. Handsome pokemon," she commented, looking back at the original. "And not just because of that sparkle and shine, either." She grinned at the compliment on their names. "Thank you. Sometimes I think they may seem childish for such powerful creatures, but they're fun and easy for me to remember."

"Oh, no! Just Skylar," the trainer explained. "Skipper and Bubble Gum are with me. Skylar might have joined our team if he wasn't so claustrophobic. It makes him paranoid about pokeballs, especially because he's never been in one before and he doesn't know how small it would be like from the inside."

Still watching the other woman, Skylar wrapped the end of his tail that Tymiko had been petting around the wrist that she had been petting him with. At first she thought this meant that he wanted her to stop, but when she noticed his intent stare and his unusually serious demeanor, she wondered what was up. "Skylar...?" she asked slowly. "What's wrong? I know we just met her, but not all humans are dangerous and she just saved me from falling into traffic. That's a reason to give her a chance, right?" She stroked the tail coiled about her wrist with her other hand now that she wasn't holding Bubble Gum any longer. "Are you being paranoid again? Silly boy."