[PRP] Catching Up

[Tori Honoo]

Though news of the Rocket invasion of the PokeCon hadn't even begun to settle, and gossip had spread like wildfire over the forums and chatrooms--at least, until they were taken down or stalled-- Dove found herself doing her best to stick to her routines, training with her team and bettering herself for them as best she could... especially now with the threat seemingly upon her heels again. While she kept normal tabs on every bit of information that the League and newscasters had to offer, it worried her, to think that she hadn't been able to personally check on each of the people she knew that had been involved, and with that constant worry on her mind, she found herself texting to and fro, attempting to locate any sort of peace of mind, and while most of her acquaintances had responded with a positive status--at least, positive in that they hadn't been injured too badly-- one in particular caught her eye... a younger trainer she hadn't seen in quite some time.

After a few more short texts and quick planning, the woman made her way to the part to meet up with the other girl, with plans to do nothing more than catch up and see how she was faring... and maybe snag a bite to eat while they were at it. Her hopes high, she and Lovey made their way over to a park bench below a large shady tree, willing to wait as long as needed for the girl to arrive.  

[Gwennythe]

Unusually, despite not being in his ball, Gummy arrived being carried- both Henrietta's arms wrapped around him to carry him in front of her- instead of waddling along behind his trainer.

Her normally hyperactive, 'run-around', loud attitude seemed to have stalled a little and the young trainer might seem, almost, sullen, if she was spotted before she knew she was seen.

She pushed a smile up as soon she spotted Dove, and wandered that way, still hugging Gummy.  

[Tori Honoo]

When Henrietta arrived, Dove offered a wave before standing and setting Lovey aside on the bench as the eevee waved her tail excitedly. "Hey, Henrietta!" she greeted excitedly, tilting her head a little. The you her trainer definitely didnt seem to be herself, and it sent a pang of worry down her spine. What if she had been part of the Rocket attack as she had suspected? What if her Pokemon had been taken? There was a countless number of things that could have happened between now and the last time the two had met... Nevertheless, Dove remained positive, even if her eyes held a small bit of concern anyway. "And Gunmy, of course," she added, reaching out to lightly pat the Totodile on the head.  

[Gwennythe]

"Hey Dove, hey Lovey!" Henrietta smiled the same way, and greeted, clearly happy to see the two of them, though not quite the bouncing, non-stop, energy ball she usually seemed to be.

Gummy, however, was completely unchanged. He 'happily' accepted the pat on the head with an un-synchronized blink of his eyes, and a quick snap-snap of his jaws, before Henrietta set him down to be more at Lovey's level.
He stood still exactly where he'd been placed.

"Oh man... I hope you weren't waiting too long! We set off right after I sent you a message!" Henrietta promised, recalling the badly spelled, probably auto-correct laden, reply that she'd sent about meeting up.  

[Tori Honoo]

The lack of over-the-top energy was obvious, and still concerning, even as the girl seemed to be content for now. Dove watched as Henrietta sat the Totodile down at Lovey's level and as the eevee tentatively greeted the water type, before opening her arms for a hug if Henrietta would accept. "Oh, we haven't been here very long... Just a few minutes actually. You want to go grab a bite to eat? My treat," she offered, looking the girl over. She definitely looked like she could use a pick me up. Maybe. "Unless you'd rather hang out here for a while."

The reminder of Henrietta's message brought a grin to her face, but she brushed it off. Her other gear had gotten snapped... maybe she just...wasn't used to her new one yet...or something.  

[Gwennythe]

Gummy received the tentative greeting with a reply consisting of a blank stare, followed by several moments of a blank stare, and finished off with a stare that was a little blank.

Henrietta looked a little confused for a moment, but hugged back, then nodded slowly.
"Um, we could walk if you like and find something to eat!" She agreed readily, though still looked like she kind of wanted to talk about something. There was a little more hint of a frown in her brow than Henrietta usually had.  

[Tori Honoo]

Lovey sighed, though her smile remained as she took her seat again, lifting her head to watch the trainers.

Dove hugged the girl, but released her quickly--it hadn't been often that the young woman was prompted to greet others by physical means since moving to Kodo, but Henrietta's demeanor bothered her, though anyone who didn't know her might not have picked up much on the change in energy level.

She nodded back, and turned to pick up Lovey again, setting the eevee up close to her shoulder as she started to walk. "Then we'll walk, and you can pick where we stop, okay?" she smiled, picking up quickly on the look on Hen's face.

"So...what's up?" she asked, venturing into what she considered careful territory. Asking right out about the convention just...didn't seem right, not so early in the conversation.  

[Gwennythe]

He had enough wit, apparently, to realise when the trainers were about to start walking, turning to face the direction that he thought they were about to go in.
Gummy's tail then slowly swayed back and forth.
Henrietta looked back, and walked a little bit slower than she might have, to make sure he stayed close.

"Yeah... Yeah, okay!" The young trainer agreed, at least there were still some recognisable bits of enthusiasm in her behaviour, and she still smiled about the topic of food.

Dove's question was received with a return to an odd frown; part worry, part, maybe, guilt and definitely some frustration. Instead of answering completely, right away, Henrietta answered the question with a question.
"What did the news say about the con'?"  

[Tori Honoo]

The question with which Henrietta replied gave her pause, and she looked away to think, he own brow furrowing. "Just that there was an attack made by Team Rocket... They didn't go into a lot of detail, but they did say that some of the rockets were captured..." She continued to walk as she peeked over at Hen. "Im... Gonna guess you were there, huh?" She had to have been, and she assumed the girl had come in contact, perhaps, with a rocket, if only from the way she stuck close to Gummy.... Not to mention her deflation of enthusiasm.  

[Gwennythe]

Henrietta kicked the ground a little, still looking troubled.
"Yeah..." She confirmed. "... Dumb Rockets."
The girl was silent for a moment- a rare enough occurrence for Hen' in itself- before starting again.
"They had all these pictures in the hall and I got annoyed cuz they had one of Rosie and Luke, only it wasn't Luke but we didn't know and then all the stupid people wanted to attack him..." There was a small pause, as Henrietta looked up, maybe to see how Dove reacted, then looked down at the ground again.
"Then people started seein' other Rockets in the hall and everything went bad and me and Nicolette got outside but I totally shoulda stayed and helped maybe... It was like Kanto again; the Rockets came and wrecked everything..." She kicked the ground again, a little harder.  

[Tori Honoo]

Yes, okay, things really weren't right with Henrietta, she thought silently, the concern in her eyes growing. She respected the girl's silence, only nodding in agreement with her assessment of the criminals. Dumb Rockets indeed, though she could think of much stronger words.

She listened closely to the explanation the younger girl gave, surprised, but not as surprised as she quickly found she wished she was. So they didn't even know about Asch... The thought sent needles into her in more ways than one, and her brow furrowed as she too looked to the ground, pushing the painful memories aside. Poor Luke...

When informed of Nicolette's presence as well, she pushed a hand through her hair, then risked a look to the girl walking alongside her, shaking her head. They really had done a number on the League events as of late, and it wasn't fair, in a number of different ways. "I'm sorry, Henrietta..." she said after a few more moments of walking. "They really are horrible... I'm really glad you got out okay, though...even if you wanted to fight." She paused a minute, and looked back to Gummy before carefully asking, "You did get out with everyone...right? Winglet too...?"  

[Gwennythe]

Henrietta pulled the Quick Ball from her belt and enlarged it for just a second to show it was still there, before she put it back.
"Winglet slept in her ball the whole time; I didn't even get a chance to call her out! Gummy totally blasted a Crobat in the face though!" There was a glimpse that Henrietta was still herself, underneath the unhappiness at what had happened, but it was definitely still 'underneath' and rose just for the moment.

"Yeah though, we go out okay! We met a friend I made on the way out but he kinda vanished on us when we went through the guards and now one of his pokémon is lost... They made us go away before he came out..." She kicked the ground one more time, then stood still, causing Gummy to walk into the back of her leg, not that he seemed to mind at all.
"I don't like it." Her lip pouted and wobbled, and she looked rather like she wanted to cry, pulling an arm across her face to wipe anything away as though that would stop people seeing it. "How come they always get to ruin stuff?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove watched as the Quick Ball was produced, and nodded, offering a smile of reassurance. At least she still had both of her pokemon, though the older girl worried--only two... Henrietta had faith in her team, though. That had to count for something...

She brightened a little bit, as Hen recounted the way her Totodile had performed, and when she spoke again, it was in an encouraging tone, as she hoped to fan the small burst of excitement and familiar attitude before the topic could quench it again. "Did he now? That's wondeful!" She looked back again to Gummy, and smiled brightly.

She fell quiet again when Henrietta continued, but found her shoulders drooping. "I'm sorry about your friend... I'm sure you'll run into him again, though. And pokemon are smart... I'll bet they were reunited quickly, especially with all the police there to help out."

She stopped walking a few seconds after Henrietta, and turned to look back at her, her heart sinking even further as she recognized the expression the young trainer now wore. Gently, she walked toward her again and pulled her into another hug. "I'm sorry, Hen... They're just... the bad guys..." Oh, yes, good one. Good job.  

[Gwennythe]

She'd nodded, to emphasize that, yes, Gummy had been wonderful- totally awesome- when he'd Water Gunned that Crobat, though she left out the part about Luke asking them not to fight.

She hadn't answered at first, but had pulled a slight face, as Dove attempted to reassure her about her friend. When she finally did, it was after she'd wiped her face, and while Dove was hugging her.
"They made us leave b'fore it happened though... and Inigo never came back but we waited for ages! And then there were paramedics going in and water everywhere!" She sniffed, quite hard. "But why are they?" Henrietta honestly couldn't understand the motivations of the criminal organization at all.
So far, it just seemed like they'd been mean to be mean, from her, somewhat simplistic, point of view.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove left her arms around the other girl, hugging her tightly though she felt a bit odd doing so. It was strange to hear Henrietta like this, and she knew deep down that she probably shouldn't even be attempting to comfort her. The last attempt she had taken to console anyone upset had ended in disaster...

Never the less, she continue to hug Henrietta, listening closely. "Inigo? Why did he look like?" she blurted, though quietly She quickly continued, this time more gently. "I know someone named Inigo... If its the same person, I'm sure he's okay...Maybe he just found a different way out," she suggested, drawing back a little bit to look at her. The answer to the girl's question would not come easy... In act, the model wasnt even sure there was an answer...

"I don't know, Henrietta... I'm sure they've got their reasons, but..." She paused. No... No answer,not that she could give with her whole heart behind it...