[FIN] SO cool!!!!

[Tori Honoo]

Like it had many of the summer days that had since passed, the sun shone brilliantly in the sky, barely a cloud marring it's warm rays. People were everywhere, and as one young boy made his way through the crowds with his mother, he found himself amazed and intrigued by the energy, soaking it up like a sponge and finding multiple ways to run his mother ragged, albeit unintentionally. Bright blue eyes watched both the people, though his focus fell mostly to the pokemon scattered about, each sighting drawing an excited tugging of his mother's dress skirt to point it out, and tell her all about it. Eventually, though, he noticed his mother's stressed demeanor--she was working hard to select and buy only the necessities, as the families budget for the month was low-- and began to keep his excited comments to himself.

When an oddly colored pokemon caught his eye, however, he perked up and looked to his mother, before making his way over to it and the tall person it was with-- he wasn't too far away from his mom, and besides, he was old enough already to go on an adventure, if only they'd let him.

After wandering a little ways and, to his embarrassment, having to pause a second to apologize to a lady with 'pretty dark hair', he stopped close to the creature and dropped to his knees to look at it eye-level, his eyes wide and full of wonder as he exclaimed, "Wow! A Growlithe! Is he yours?"  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri was minding his own business and checking out a stand selling apples in the open air market. The man holding his sword in one hand, and the other resting on his hip as he studied the fruits that were offered for sale. On one side of him was Repede, and on the other was Astal. Though the Eevee was trying to remain more low key then than the Growlithe was.

However, an excited voice quickly got the attention of the trio as a little boy knelt down next to Repede. The Growlithe wagging his tail as he turned his one eyed gaze towards the boy, a pipe held in the corner of his maw.

Yuri blinked once, but a smile quickly came to his face at the kid's enthusiasm.

"Yeah, his name's Repede."  

[Tori Honoo]

Jace jumped, his hand half way outstretched when Yuri spoke, and he blinked up at the man, pulling his hand back immediately. "oh!" Wow, he didn't think that person had been a boy...

But that was okay! He gave him a childlike grin, then looked to Repede again, this time deciding not to reach out to the growlithe-- it was bad to pet strange pokemon, after all. Even trained, they might bite someone who wasn't their trainer.

"Repede, huh? That's awesome! His so cool!" He sat on the ground fully, cross legged with his hands in his lap as he continued to look him over, though he cocked his head at the sight of the growlithe's scar. "What happened to him? I bet he's super tough to have a scar like that!" he exclaimed excitedly, not even thinking twice it might be rude to point something like that out.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"He saved my life once, so yeah he's pretty sturdy," Yuri said in reply to the boy's question. Repede barked as well, his tail still wagging at the boy.

"You can pet him. Repede like kids." Though Yuri could certainly understand the boy's hesitance as not all Pokemon appreciated or liked that sort of thing. But Repede only ever bit if he had a good reason to.

Astal meanwhile peered around Yuri's leg to see what was going on.  

[Tori Honoo]

"Really?! Wow!" His eyes went again to Yuri. "I bet you guys are good friends, right? 'Specially if he saved you!" For a second, he was about to ask how the pokemon had saved him, and what kind of trouble they were in, but the man's encouragement to pet Repede quickly redirected his attentions, and he reached out excitedly to pat the Growlithe's head. "What's that in your mouth, boy?" he asked Repede, meaning the pipe, before a sparkle to the side caught his eye.

Turning to look in the direction of Yuri's feet, his eyes widened again, and he gasped, his speaking faster and higher. "Is that a shiny?!" he asked, pointing to Astal as he peered behind the man's boots. "I've never seen one in real life before!"  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Yeah, that's right," Yuri said with a grin, watching as the kid started to pet Repede. The Growlithe wuffing at the boy as he enjoyed the attention. At the question of what was in his mouth though, Repede barked several times as if trying to talk to the kid.

"That's a memento from his previous owner," Yuri explained for the Pokemon.

However, when the kid's attention turned to the Eevee, Astal's eyes widened in horror and he tried to duck out of sight. Ugh, he hated getting so much attention just because he was shiny. "Veee..." he grumbled. However, Yuri didn't help him out at all as he stepped aside to reveal the grumpy little Eevee.

"Yep, this is Captain Astal."  

[Tori Honoo]

The child laughed boyishly as Repede attempted to explain the origin of the trinket he carried, and scarred behind his ears. When Yuri explained, he nodded again, but his question of who the Pokemon had belonged to first was now lost to him, in favor of the Shiny's presence.

When Yuri stepped to the side, Jace scrambled to his feet and made his way closer to the eevee, kneeling again, just closer as he reached a hand out carefully. "It's okay! I won't hurt you," he reassured it very seriously with a cheerful smile. He looked up to Yuri again as he gave the name, and smiled a toothy grin. "Captain, huh?" A giggle. "He's cool, like Repede! Where'd you get him?"  

[BlackPidgeot]

Astal didn't look so sure as he tilted his ears back and leaned away from the child's hand. A displeased expression on the Eevee's face.

Yuri bent down next to the kid and Astal as well, reaching out to ruffle the Eevee's head fur and getting a growl of annoyance. "Caught him over in Sagestone," Yuri told him, an amused smirk on his face as he looked at the boy.

"So you like Pokemon, huh?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Jace pulled his hand back, and settled for watching the eevee, though with a disappointed look on his face. When Yuri joined him lower to the ground, though, he lifted his head to look at him, giggling again at the growl the eevee gave. "That's so cool! Are you a trainer?" Because obviously if you had pokemon this cool and tough, you had to be a trainer.

When asked if he liked Pokemon, the child grinned excitedly and nodded his head vigorously. "I love Pokemon, Pokemon are awesome!" he told Yuri, his eyes wide and bright. "I wanna be a pokemon trainer, so bad! And one day, I'll be a Champion!"  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Noooot exactly," Yuri admitted. "These guys are my partners, but I not into competeing." Not to mention he kinda doubted that the League would let him register with his criminal record, even if he wanted to.

"Yeah? Sounds like some pretty high ambitions you've got there, squirt."

Astal seemed relieved when the kid gave up, and merely sat there, watching the two with a frown.  

[Tori Honoo]

"Oooooohh.... So they're just your friends? No battles?" he asked curiously, blinking up at Yuri. "What are they your partners for? Do they do work with you? My dad works with pokemon sometimes. They're a big help."

He grinned at the nickname, not even giving it a second thought. "I think I can do it. Just gotta catch some pokemon first, then train a lot!"  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Repede and I use to be in the military so we've fought together. But the Cap here is still new." The little Eevee was pretty tough though and wasn't having a hard time fitting in with him and Repede.

"Yeah? Well then go for it." He bet this kid wouldn't have any trouble with the amount of drive and enthusiasm he had.  

[Tori Honoo]

The boy's eyes widened as he looked on at Yuri in wonder. "Whoa! You were in the military? Like a soldier! Or something like that?" He tilted his head again, looking slightly confused. "Did they let you have long hair, too?"

His smiled faded a little. "I gotta wait. Momma won't let me try to catch anything, cause I don't have another pokemon to make it weak first," he explained. "I tried to catch one before, all by myself, but it stung me." A small pout crossed his face, and reached over to pet Repede again. "Its okay, though, cause bug ones aren't my favorite. And I'm still gonna do it one day!"  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Yeah, I just had to tie it back." Ah yes... He didn't really miss his days as a soldier. Always having to follow orders and obey rules that didn't always make sense. He was so done with that life. Flynn could have it.

Yuri then laughed at the kids tale of his failed capture attempt. The man reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Sounds like you gave it your all." He liked this kid already.

"Maybe I can help you out if your mom's okay with it."  

[Tori Honoo]

Jace laughed. "Like a ponytail! Those are for girls!!!" he laughed, rocking back and forth a little and meaning no ill feelings. "Why aren't you in it anymore?"

He grew a little more sheepish as Yuri laughed at his story, but his smile never showed signs of fading. He closed one eye and giggled as the man ruffled his hair. "I would have gotten it, but..." A small shrug of his little shoulders. "...I didn't."

He blinked at the man's offer, but wilted a little. "I'm not supposed to talk about it, but momma and dad say we don't have enough money to take care of another one, 'specially since daddy's trying to find another job." He stayed quiet a minute, but perked right back up. "It's okay though, cause lots of people around here have pokemon! And the nice lady at the daycare lets me play with them sometimes, so it's okay. I can wait, and then I'll get one."