[PRP] Play With Me

[Tymiko]

It was cold, wet, and raining. Typically, Tymiko loved days such as these, but today for some reason her spirits were as damp as the weather. The girl had sought refuge from the falling water in the tunnel-bridge of a public children't playground. She sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, watching Fathom and Distance splashing about in some puddles a little ways off. Aquamarine remained in her ball, snug and warm.

The girl stared at the clouded sky, the buildings of Camphoreon City reaching up as if to pierce through its thick atmosphere. In the city the girl felt congested and trapped...but at the same time, it reminded her of some place familiar from long ago. She couldn't quite name where it had been, but...it must have been with her family, before she ran away from home to begin her journey. She wasn't sure she wanted to remember such a time and place, but the fact that she had forgotten something at all bothered her in of itself.

With a sigh, the child teetered on the edge of recollection and the abyss of forgetfulness, wondering whether or not to pursue such fragments of that train of thought. Her eyes were unseeing, staring off into the distance as she withdrew into herself, wishing she had something else to dwell on other than the inner conflict within her heart and mind.

Why had she run away again...?

Had home really been that bad...?  

[Tori Honoo]

Though the rain had washed most of the city streets of its inhabitants, it had done very, very little to wash away the smile on Jace's face as he and his mother walked back from the store toward the place they had promised his father they would meet him. With a few of the smaller grocery bags in his arms, he followed his mother until they reached the pavilion near his favorite playground, where he proceded to put the bags on the closest picnic table and shake out his jacket before begging his mother to be allowed on the playground. It was mostly covered, afterall, and he was already wet, and the rain looked like it was letting up for the time being. Kinda.

Finally, after quick debate and a tired sigh, his mother gave him permission (though she would worry and watch him like a hawk), and ecstatic, the boy took off toward the playground, skidding to a halt underneath a covered area atop one of the plastic platforms, his eyes widening as he noticed the two pokemon playing in the water closeby. Though his eyes stayed wide with excitement and curiosity, he stayed back, watching them cautiously; it wasn't safe to play with pokemon you didn't know, afterall...  

[Tymiko]

The pair of pokemon paused when they noticed the little boy watching and the Umbreon shook all the water off her coat. Fathom continued to stare at the boy, not breaking eye-contact for a long while. Finally, he called to the dark-type and pranced up the steps of the playground, straight into the tunnel opening.

The Umbreon was not long in following, though she did take an extra second to observe the male child who had been watching them. Neither Eeveeloution emerged from the other side of the tunnel bridge.  

[Tori Honoo]

With the Vaporeon's eyes on his, Jace stayed still, scared that the pokemon might attack if he made any sudden movements, though he wouldn't have taken his gaze off of it anyway. It was so pretty...

When they moved, he tensed a little, very clearly unable to defend himself with no pokemon of his own, and watched as they disappeared into the tunnel, his eyes lingering on the Umbreon as she followed the other more slowly.

Though slightly afraid that the pokemon might feel trapped, the boy's curiosity was overwhelming, and carefully, he pushed himself up to look into a little window on the tunnel. At least there would be a solid pane of 'glass' or whatever it was, he thought, between them, should the pokemon choose to try to chase him off.  

[Tymiko]

Instead of a pokemon's face, however, a bright blue human eye stared back at the boy, the face it belonged to pressing up against the glass. Tymiko didn't move as her pokemon settled in her lap, Distance resting against one of her legs and Fathom curled up on her other side against her thigh. She continued to watch the kid, not making any sound or giving any indication that she intended to move any time soon.  

[Tori Honoo]

When a girl's face appeared, Jace leaned back swiftly, gasping loudly and having to grab for a rail in order to keep himself from falling off of his perch. A red blush spread across his face and ears, with an apologetic smile, he waved a little, hoping he wasn't intruding. "Are those your pokemon? They're really pretty...!" he complimented through the glass, not thinking that she might not be able to hear him properly. Girls liked pretty things, so that seemed like a pretty good compliment, and the tunnel opening wasn't too far away...  

[Tymiko]

The girl nodded, smiling a little at the boy when he almost fell backward. As the tunnel was open, she could hear him quite well and nodded in response. She tilted her head and gave him a questioning look, as if asking about his own pokemon.  

[Tori Honoo]

He smiled back with a large toothy grin when she answered him with a smile of her own, though the tilt of her head was met with a confused look. "Oh, um... Sorry! I just saw them playing and wanted to watch... I've never seen pokemon like that before. In those colors, I mean..."

Though he was fully content to just stand and talk with her as he was, the boy blinked, glancing skyward as the rain started to fall a little bit faster again.  

[Tymiko]

"I hadn't either," she responded. "Before I caught Fathom. Distance takes after her mother, who belongs to a friend of mine." She glanced beyond the boy to the atmosphere outside the protective covering of the tent over the playground. "...Want to come in here with me? Seems like it's going to rain soon."  

[Tori Honoo]

"Huh. Weird," was all he replied to the topic of coloration, and he looked again to the two pokemon before looking back to her at her question. "Oh, um, sure!" It did look like it was going to rain soon, and she seemed nice... "Will they be mad if I do?" he asked, nodding to the pokemon as he started around to the entrance of the tunnel, more than willing to get out of the drizzle as it started coming down faster.  

[Tymiko]

She blinked a moment before laughing. "No, silly!" she said, petting Fathom's head. "They won't mind. But I can return them to their balls if you want. Especially if you think it's too crowded in here."

While Ty pulled Fathom closer to her side, Distance went to the boy with a cheerful, "Bre!"

"Rain is so...bittersweet," the girl murmured quietly. She looked back to her new companion. "I'm Tymiko. I'm a pirate, and this is my ship!" she told him, gesturing about her. "Welcome aboard!"  

[Tori Honoo]

He paused at the entrance of the tunnel, surprised when the Umbreon appeared suddenly before him. Though he started a bit, he smiled easily and reached out toward her tentatively to pet her between the ears if she would allow it. "Oh, no it's okay! I just didn't know if I scared them or not, since they came back to you when I showed up."

After his pause, he ducked into the tunnel and sat to the side of the girl, though he faced her, grinning at her playful introduction. "It's nice to meet you, Tymiko!" he returned in kind, laughing a little. "I'm Jace! And thanks!" It really was a relief to be out of the rain... "What are your pokemon's names?" he asked, looking again to the umbreon. It seemed really friendly, and for that he was glad.  

[Tymiko]

The Umbreon seemed to enjoy being pet as she pressed her head further against the boy's hand. "Breee!" she cried happily.

"They might have just wanted to let me know you were there," the girl reasoned, scratching the Vaporeon behind his fin ears. "Don't worry about it." Extending a hand out to the boy after he introduced himself, she grinned. "Glad to have you with us, Jace! We've got a mighty storm out there, so we best be on our toes!"

As Distance settled herself between Jace and Ty, she looked up curiously at the boy's question.

"That's Distance. She seems to have taking a liking to you," the girl noted. "And this is Fathom. He's an old veteran on these seas." Fathom gave his trainer an odd look, as if he didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. Ty just smiled and continued to scratch his head. "How about you? Have you got any sea-faring partners to take on these lonely waters with?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Jace beamed at the umbreon as it lifted its head into his hand, and continued to pet it, even as he settled more comfortably in the tube with the girl. It was really friendly!

As Tymiko explained, he nodded, a look of understanding crossing his features. "Oh, that makes sense, I guess..." Another grin came to his face, and he nodded with a soft sound of affirmation, more than willing to play along with her game of what seemed to be pirates.

The boy continued to pet the pokemon between them, smiling even brighter as its trainer pointed out its quick fondness of him. His eyes were then drawn to the Vaporeon, and he laughed softly at it's look, though the sound died slowly, his smile turning a little sad as he shrugged. "Nope... Not yet, I guess."

The smile faded as he looked out at the rain again.