[FIN] Morning Meetings

[Tori Honoo]

Though clouds hung low in the sky, covering the sun every so often with their weight, Dove had made the effort to rise early, despite the chill of the spring air. Now, alone, she sat on the wall that divided the sea from the grassy landscape of the park near her home, Lovey at her side and a pokeball in her hand, the soft morning rays of the sun peeking through the clouds glinting off the metal rims around it. With a soft sigh, she released the pokemon from inside the ball, watching with great anxiety as the ponyta appeared.

As it tossed its head to shake out the mane of flame along its neck, Dove smiled meekly, still amazed at how strong the little fire type seemed to be, even though as it noticed her and the eevee, it tensed and regarded them apprehensively. Lovey simply yawned and then continued to sleepily munch on the pecha berry her trainer had given her.

Slowly, Dove reached into her back, producing an apple moments later, which she offered to the newly caught member of her team. It watched her warily, though it did flare its nostrils at the peace offering. Yet it made no move toward her.

"I'm sorry things got off to such a bad start..." she said softly, the apple still outstretched toward him. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

With a little hesitancy, it appraised her another moment, then stepped forward slowly to take the food from her hand. Though at first she took it as great triumph that he had accepted it, her shoulders fell as it stepped back again, just out of reach and still watching her with all caution.

"...well. At least you're a little bit closer now," she sighed, drawing her hair over her shoulder as it was tossed by the breeze from the sea. It continued to eat it's apple, offering a timid whinny in response, perhaps a thank you of sorts. "Vous êtes le bienvenu, mon petit ami," she laughed softly, knowing full well it wouldn't understand the French anymore than she understood its language. It took time to learn their way of speaking, and it certainly appeared as though it would take time for this one to understand her intentions, no matter what language she spoke.

When the ponyta's head lifted and cocked to the side in confused curiosity, though, Dove couldn't help but laugh a little. Lovey simply curled against the girl's leg. In the early morning, with no one around, she began to hum, the ponyta's attention still directed to her. She smiled as he huffed softly and nosed toward her a bit. After a moment's consideration, she let a few of the lyrics slide from her lips, hoping to keep the pony placated, her singing rarely practiced but smooth.

"Oh, the lights danced around us just like stars in the sky, One night in Paris with a man I barely knew, I'm lost in a moment, C'est la vie, c'est la chance, c'est l'amour"

The ponyta tipped its head in the other direction, still watching her curiously, and after a moment of her singing, he took a step toward her.  

[BlackPidgeot]

In the morning mist that rose from the ocean and blanketed the city, the flicker of blue flames was unmistakable. The fiery stream streaking across the park as a Rapidash traveled at a canter, bearing his rider for an early morning run. This was becoming a ritual as the Guarde soldier and his horse got to know each other.

However, the flicker of flames nearby got the attention of Uniceros, and he turned his head to look in the direction of Dove's Ponyta. This got Flynn's attention as well, and he looked also, drawing the Rapidash to slow to a walk and then stop.

He looked on curiously, hearing a voice but not able to make out what was being said.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove laughed again as the ponyta blinked at her, offering a soft bray in response to her stopping. "Soit vous aimez le chant ou le français. ... Je dois supposer que c'est le français."

The fire type shook out his mane again pawing at the ground and looking at her expectantly. She sighed, then started the song from the beginning, getting through only a few lines before she stopped suddenly, the flicker catching her eye. When they slowed and stopped, she bit her lip, her face turning a bit pink.

"Eh bien, j'espère qu'ils n'ont pas entendu ma tentative de chanter pour vous," she told the ponyta in the other language, knowing the newcomer wouldn't be able to understand if he heard and absently reaching out to brush her hand along the pony's nose. It immediately recoiled, however, though it didn't move too far away, and she yelped softly, the tips of her fingers red.


(Translation: *Either you like the song or the French. I'll have to assume it's the French,
-----
**Well, I hope they didn't hear my attempt to sing for you, ))  

[BlackPidgeot]

Flynn blinked once as he thought he caught a few bits of French. That wasn't something he had expected, considering that English was the dominate language here in Kodo.

Deciding to approach, the blonde steered Uniceros in the direction of the girl and her Ponyta. When they were within a few feet, Flynn pulled the Rapidash to a stop and he smiled politely.

"Pardonner me mademoiselle," he spoke, testing to see if she really did understand and speak his language.  

[Tori Honoo]

She drew her hand back, looking over her fingers, knowing that the burn hadn't been strong enough to actually hurt her, but just enough to startle her. The Ponyta looked to her, its head lower as if in apology, though it stayed a few feet away.

Lovey, however, immediately turned her attention to the man and the steed that approached, yipping once in greeting and drawing Dove's attention up-- though the address to her caught her focus.

Turning to look at the man, she blinked, wondering if she had heard him correctly. For a moment, she simply stared, wondering if she was even awake.

"...bonjour, monsieur...Je peux, um..., vous aider?" she asked almost timidly, still wondering if he was real or just a figment of her sleep deprived imagination. She rubbed her fingers with her thumb, hoping the sting would fade soon.


Translation: Hello, Sir... Can I, um... help you?")  

[BlackPidgeot]

The man gave her a kind smile and closed his eyes to shake his head at her question.

"Non, j'étais juste curieux. Toutes mes excuses pour vous déranger."

The look she was giving him was a bit strange, but he didn't seem to mind. He figured it must be odd for someone to see a Grande Ile soldier. The fashions and styles here were so very different than from back home.

Uniceros also looked over the Ponyta with little interest. It was a male and younger than he, but the Rapidash still dipped his head in polite greeting to the other Pokemon.  

[Tori Honoo]

She tipped her head a little, then shook it to clear her mind, again pulling her long hair back over one shoulder as the breeze from the sea caught it from behind. Of course he was real. Not even her dreams produced imagery this vivid, and she was sure the look on her face was probably something close to stunned. "Curious? About what?" She had to admit, she was curious herself. People really got up this early? Did he speak English?

She now took the time to look him over, curiously eyeing the style he wore. "Vous êtes de la Grande Ile, n'est-ce pas?" she asked, a small smile of her own gracing her features. She couldn't help but think back to the time she had found out that French was its language, with Yuri, in situations of which still made her cheeks burn.

If he wasn't from Grande Ile, he certainly had a peculiar style, though Dove certainly didn't mind it at all. ...the coattails really suited him...

The ponyta stood its ground, looking at the man's pokemon with a mixed look of admiration and hesitation. When it dipped its head in greeting, he did the same.

Lovey, unwilling to be ignored, yipped another greeting, both to horse and rider, wagging her tail once.  

[BlackPidgeot]

The insistent yip from the Eevee drew the attention of both horse and rider, but just for a moment. Flynn looking back to Dove, and Uniceros merely snorting his own greeting back to the little fuzzball.

"Oui, c'est vrai," he replied to Dove's question. Flynn and his mount stood out like a sore thumb and he knew it. But it didn't really matter and he also didn't care. This was his country's military uniform, and he was proud to wear it. He still had yet to actually go looking for some local casual attire at the nearby stores. But he was soon to report in at the Embassy later.

"Je ne m'attendais pas à entendre le français ici," the man then continued on regards to his curiosity. Or at least he didn't expect it from anyone he knew to be from his home island.  

[Tori Honoo]

Satisfied, Lovey curled up against Dove's leg once more, curling her tail around her and listening to the humans' talk.

She nodded at his affirmation, then glanced to her ponyta again, offering it a reassuring smile, before looking back to him.

"Ah, eh bien ... Je ne parle pas habituellement le français, mais je n'étais pas sûr si ..." Wasn't sure if what? If he had been able to hear her? She paused, then tried again. "Je ne l'utilise pas souvent, mais les quelques fois que j'ai, les choses ont tourné ... intéressant. J'étais curieux de voir comment mon nouvel ami allait réagir, car il doens't semblent aimer mon anglais ..." she told him, looking again at the timid pokemon at her side.

Or anything about me. Not that I can blame him.

She smiled. "And it's a pretty language. Better to enjoy it when there's no one around, than to be looked at like I'm crazy by people who don't understand it."

(( TRANSLATION: I don't use it often, but the few times I have, things have turned out... interestingly. I was just curious to see how my new friend would react, since he doesn't seem to like my English... ))  

[BlackPidgeot]

Flynn was a bit surprised by this, and it showed on his face as he looked to the Ponyta and back to the girl. He then realized that he was probably being a bit rude, and decided to dismount from his Rapidash. So that they could speak more at eye level.

"Est-ce que la langue vraiment d'importance pour Pokemon?" he asked, for he'd never heard of such a thing. Uniceros responded better to French than English, but he assumed that was because most people spoke French in Grande Ile, especially in the military. Yuri had been a flaming exception to that.

When Dove decided to switch to English though, the man followed suit. "Then I assume French isn't your first language?" Oh, but now that was getting a bit more personal wasn't it?

"Pardon me, my name is Flynn Scifo. It's a pleasure to meet you...Miss?"  

[Tori Honoo]

She kept her gaze on the ponyta, watching as it looked between her and the new human. "I suppose it is, but I just caught him yesterday...I was just joking when I spoke French for him, but his reaction was really..." she turned to the man. "...cute."

Wow, his eyes were blue.

She blinked when he so readily switched to english as well, her cheeks pink. "Ah...no, French isn't my first language. I learned Japanese and English as I grew up, then elected to take French for fun in grade school."

She again pushed her hair back from her face as the wind caught it, tossing it aside as he introduced himself. "Oh, I'm...I'm Dove." she responded quietly, offering him a smile. For half a moment, she had considered giving him her real name. Dove didn't mean much here anyway, and the past few weeks had proven it. "It's nice to meet you, too, Flynn. What's got you up so early? I mean, the sunrise is pretty, but..."  

[BlackPidgeot]

Flynn blinked back at Dove, glancing at the Ponyta again when she said she'd only caught it just yesterday.

At her question though, the blond looked back to Dove. That was an interesting name too.

"Uniceros and I were out for our morning run before going to work. It's becoming something of a tradition," he said with a grin, tilting his head back to look at the Rapidash.

The horse Pokemon looked back at his charge and agreed with a whinny, bobbing his head up and down. The tack he wore jingling as he made the motion.

"What about you? You're a Pokemon trainer, right?" He would assume so since she'd just mentioned catching that Ponyta.  

[Tori Honoo]

"Unicerous, hm?" she repeated with a gentle smile, looking the horse over. "il est vraiment magnifique..."

Again her eyes turned to her own Pokemon, then back to Flynn before she glanced out at the ocean, admiring the broken reflections on the waves. "That sounds like a good tradition to uphold. I never realized how calming this time of day was...I'm actually debating moving my routine up to about this time..." Jogging. Actually waking up early in the morning. She really was changing...

When he asked her if she was a trainer, she took a few moments to respond, turning back to him again and scooping Lovey into her lap, her eyes low. "Something like that, I guess." She offered a somewhat embarrassed smile and a soft laugh to the ponyta as it snorted. "Not a very good one, but... I'm learning."

Again, she looked to the blonde. "So where do you work? " He looked like a knight, but to voice her speculayion would only be awkward.  

[BlackPidgeot]

At the compliment, Uniceros straightened up to stand taller. Looking quite pleased and proud. He was beautiful and he knew it.

Flynn listened as the girl mused to herself aloud. His head tilting slightly as she admitted that she wasn't a very good trainer. He couldn't judge though, considering he knew nothing about her and wasn't exactly a trainer himself.

"The Grande Ile Embassy," he then told her at the question. "I've been stationed here in Kodo as a member of Grande Ile's Guarde."  

[Tori Honoo]

She giggled as the horse stood taller. At least that one seemed to think she was okay.

When Flynn said he was a member of the guarde, she nodded, smiling brightly. "That's the military, right?" She was sure she could remember someone mentioning it once. Yuri, maybe, but that didnt matter. "That sounds like an adventure."