[PRP] Sweet Observations

[BlackPidgeot]

Summer was starting to settle in to the island of Kodo, and being that this was a more tropical island than he was use to, it was starting to get pretty warm. And humid. Because of that, Yuri had decided that today would be a good time to indulge in a frozen treat. Thus the young man had stopped by the nearest Sweet Politoed's and picked up some frozen yogurt.

Now the man was walking the streets of Camphoreon, holding a styrofoam tub of strawberry frozen yogurt with just about every candy topping the the place had. Repede followed as always, and Yuri had found a place that sold homemade Pokemon treats, and now the Growlithe was carrying a treat stick in his mouth.

Deciding to sit and enjoy his dessert, the raven haired guy parked himself on a bench and shoveled a mouthful of yogurt and candy in his mouth. Chewing on it, he took the opportunity to look around before swallowing and letting out an opened mouth sigh. "Ugh, its so hot," he complained. It would probably help if he didn't wear so much black in the direct sun. The Growlithe groaned and laid next to Yuri's boots before happily chewing on his treat.  

[Suudonym]

In the now-distant past, Catherine had used her time off to audition for theatrical productions. She had tried to continue doing so even after joining Team Rocket, but keeping up with duty and rehearsal schedules at the same time simply hadn't worked out properly. She had a vague ambition, upon her transfer to Kodo, that maybe the region's theatre groups would be better suited to her schedule, but even the dreamer was aware that it was a pipe dream.

Auditions had been easily, if not somewhat grudgingly, substituted with people-watching. Even if she couldn't act on a stage, she could still absorb new characters and new character traits. That was fun and rewarding in itself as well as useful for the future. Catherine had enjoyed the activity for the duration of her time in Johto, spending a great majority of her time off in Goldenrod's National Park simply observing the various people that came and went and the things they did in between. Camphoreon, she found, had a similar park, and that's where the early summer day found her, dressed in a light sundress rather than the black uniform to which she was so accustomed with her long hair drawn into a ponytail. She sat quietly and patiently in the park, watching the people that milled about in the warm weather. One, however, seated himself, providing her all opportunity to study him more closely.

Dark hair, long for a male, but there wasn't a whole lot that could be concluded from that simply by looking at him. A Growlithe walked beside him rather than exist in its pokeball, but that was rather open-ended as well - he could have been a very serious trainer who believed in allowing pokemon the freedom to walk about as they like or a non-trainer who kept pokemon for company. He was obviously a fan of frozen yogurt, if his enthusiastic consumption of the item was any point of reference. His complaint about the heat was interesting; Catherine indeed noted the dark clothing in direct sunlight that accompanied the words in addition to the loose hair. He didn't seem to be doing much about it, though, apart from the frozen yogurt. Perhaps he was a complaining type and just liked to vocalize it when he was uncomfortable. Maybe he was too lazy to do anything else about it. Maybe he had promised to meet someone in the park and they were running late. Maybe he just didn't care if he was a little hot.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri sat there, enjoying his frozen yogurt, and just chilling. He seemed oblivious to the fact that someone was apparently watching and scrutinizing him. Whether he would even care, would certainly be up for debate. His sword was propped up against the side of the bench, with Repede laying between it and Yuri's feet like the good, faithful dog he was. His one eye occasionally looking up as people passed while gnawing on the treat stick. It wasn't unusual for people to be milling about or sitting around in a park, so Catherine went generally unnoticed for the time being.

The man was slouched casually on the bench, and eventually he sat the carton in his lap and used one hand to occasionally shovel the sweet stuff into his mouth. While the other arm draped across the back of the chair. His dark eyes stared thoughtfully in a random direction, away from Catherine. One unbuttoned boot rose to rest on the opposing knee, and he simply enjoyed the weather, scenery, and dessert.  

[Suudonym]

His clothing was noteworthy not only for its dark coloration despite the warm weather but also for the peculiar style of it. She could draw two assumptions from that: either he was a foreign visitor or he was in some kind of costume. The sword didn't help to sway the probability in one direction or the other, but there was the fact that it was uncommon for people to wander around in costumes. Catherine didn't find it wise to pass that judgment based solely on commonality, though. One could never dismiss the possibility that someone was simply strange.

Without intending it, she slipped into mimicry, leaning similarly against the bench and raising her arm to the back. She caught herself before she fully recreated the posture, remember her manner of dress and crossing her legs rather than resting a foot on a knee. He must have been a fairly laid-back individual to sit in the park like that, simply taking in the various sensory signals. Most would take their dessert and enjoy it as they walked if they were on their own in an effort to minimize time wasted. Perhaps he didn't consider himself alone; perhaps the Growlithe was every bit a companion as any human. Or maybe he just didn't have anything better to do and wanted to enjoy the summer day outside rather than return to wherever he lived, though that was somewhat debunked by his complaint against the temperature...  

[BlackPidgeot]

As Catherine mimicked Yuri's posture, the subject of the mimicry turned black eyes in her direction nonchalantly.

"Ya know, its pretty creepy to sit there watching people, and copying them to boot."

He didn't look terribly concerned though, and simply took another bite of his frozen yogurt.  

[Suudonym]

Spotted! She blinked in momentary surprise and raised her hands, waving them slightly as if to clear away the evidence of her behavior. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I was completely zoned out - it's a bad habit I have." It was a character she had honed throughout high school and college: the sweet, mild-mannered Catherine, polite and kind. An ideal female by many standards. It could be uncomfortable from time to time, but this was her most mastered facade and the one she could most easily slip into at a moment's notice.

Falling into character, though, would not deter the woman's own mind and eyes. Indeed, the stranger could be described as laid-back. There were three likely responses to finding that one was being closely observed and even mimicked. One was to simply ignore it altogether, one was to grow angry and demand that the offender desist, and one was to behave as the unfamiliar man did and nonchalantly point out that one had noticed. It was easily the most interesting response. 'I see what you're doing, just so you know.' There were any number of reasons one would let a stranger know such a thing. Catherine reserved her judgment on what his was.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Zoned out? Riiight. Yuri knew when he was being watched. He could tell the difference between that and zoning out. C'mon, did she really think he was that dumb? There was a smirk on his face, as if he knew she wasn't telling the truth.

"Look, I'm flattered that you're interested in me enough to watch, but you could just talk to me you know."

Granted he had no idea -why- she was watching him. It could be a host of different reasons.  

[Suudonym]

Her expression was notably disappointed, as though almost offended that he didn't believe her. Of course she was lying, but even the character 'Catherine' loved acting and didn't enjoy having her observations noticed. She moved her hands to her lap, tenting her fingers loosely. "Oh no, I wouldn't want to interrupt you like that... though I guess I already have. I'm sorry." She bowed her head slightly. "And I'm sorry for staring, too. My friends tell me I take the term 'people-watching' a little too seriously." She offered a smile that was shyly apologetic.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Naw, don't worry about it," Yuri replied. He wasn't really all that bothered and he was hardly interrupted from anything. He was still taking bites of his frozen yogurt every now and then too. He supposed the only thing that was likely interrupted, was her observations.

Lifting his spoon from the carton, loaded with yogurt and candy, he stuffed it in his mouth. "So why do you do it?" He asked, with his mouth half full. Clearly she had to have a reason for her people-watching.  

[Suudonym]

Laid-back indeed. And quite fond of frozen yogurt, one would be led to believe. Though it was possibly that the dessert was simply his first meal of the day and he was enjoying it appropriately.

Catherine straightened her posture with a slight pride, declaring, "I'm an actress!" Her demeanor softened into a mild shyness, "Well, it's a little embarrassing to talk about, since I haven't had a good role in a while, but... I watch people to try and pick up natural body language. I don't know if it makes me much better an actor though." A shrug and a polite smile. Yech, she couldn't believe she'd maintained this facade so thoroughly for so long. This character talked far too much and said far too many unnecessary things. She gestured lightly to herself, "My name is Catherine, by the way." Ah, she probably should have given an alias... It couldn't be helped, since the character's name was the same as her own.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Yeah? That's pretty cool if ya ask me. Makes sense."

If you wanted to be better at acting, it definitely made sense to watch other people and learn how to play parts accurately. That is if you're just... REALLY into it. Which she seemed to be. It was still kinda creepy though.

"Nice to meet ya, Cathy. I'm Yuri. And this is Repede." He said while gesturing down at the Growlithe, who lifted his head and woofed at the woman.  

[Suudonym]

Amiable in addition to nonchalant. It wasn't every stranger on the street that would volunteer polite conversation towards someone who had been staring. It wasn't just polite conversation, though, as evidenced by the immediate jump to a nickname. Nakura had done much the same, as she recalled. There was something telling about a person's willingness to address another with a nickname, especially when they had invented the nickname on their own. It was daring, or perhaps simply confident. There was no fear of offense.

"Same to you," she replied, her smile brightening. "And to you too, Repede." She was almost certain he was one such individual who considered their pokemon at the same level as a human companion. "So, I couldn't help but noticed while I was studying you like a textbook, that's a very interesting 'accessory' you're carrying around," she gestured to the sword at his side, "Mind if I ask the story?"  

[BlackPidgeot]

Again with the sword? Well it was pretty rare to see people around here with them, he could give her that. Questions about it tended to pop up now and then. Still, he was starting to sound like a broken record with repeating the explanation to someone nearly every day.

"I don't mind, but there's not much to tell really." He gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm from Grande Ile, and its not as uncommon to see them around there. I've been usin' one since I was a kid, but this particular one I got during my time in the military."  

[Suudonym]

Brief though his explanation was, there was much to be learned from it. Catherine carefully noted the words she was given for later analysis. Properly interpreting the short story required accompanying research. She would investigate this Grande Ile and its military when she returned to the base. For the moment, she regarded Yuri with rapt attention, appearing quite impressed with his words.

"I see! I had a feeling you weren't from around here - either that or you were walking around in full costume, and I wasn't about to make that call. That's very interesting, though. The military uses swords? Is it a ceremonial thing, or did you actually engage in combat with it?" Strange, given how easily accessible firearms were.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Costume? Was his style of dress really that outlandish?

"Heh, you should see what some of the nobles wear." Now they had some pretty crazy outfits, and all for the sake of fashion and status. It really sickened him sometimes to see those arrogant high class citizens wasting their money on frivolous things when other people were starving or could barely pay their bills.

"Yeah its mostly for show, but everyone in the Guarde is trained to use one. I prefer it over firearms any day. A sword is just classy, and more hands on, ya know?"