[PRP] Tales of Monsters

[TRHQ Yuri Lowell]

The last few days of travel hadn't been the most pleasant. It had rained and thus slowed them down since the had some pretty inexperienced members in their little group. With the wet misery and other tensions, Dove hadn't been the most pleasant.

Yuri took it all in stride, not letting it bother him.

Now only a day away from Sagestone, they camped under a now clear sky. The fire burning bright. He had cooked dinner for everyone and now they had settled down.

Not only that but it was Halloween night and the light of the moon shone down upon them. Repede, Link, and Astal were near Yuri while his highness grumpy bird was in his ball.  

[Tori Honoo]

It had been miserable.
Absolutely, terrifyingly miserable.

But she wouldn't allow herself to say it outright.
While Yuri and Henrietta--and even Jace, much to her bewilderment-- had been perfectly content to 'rough it,' it was all Dove could do not to run home after the rain had hit. Sleeping in the wild was hard enough, and she had yet to find a way that actually made her comfortable both physically and mentally, but with the added rain... The tents had been a nice change of pace, sure, and would have been almost calming, had she not been expected to walk all day so far out of her element. Nature was beautiful, and she did enjoy the company, but as time and tension wore on, her determined spirit was as wet as the ground they had crossed.

But she wouldn't go back. She wouldn't give in.

Instead, the woman attempted to take everything with stride, refusing to separate herself from the group again...at least not physically. More tired than she realized she should have been, Dove had walked alongside Aurora, watching as Jace entertained and explored. Henrietta had been good company when Jace hadn't attempted to monopolize her time, and Yuri in the few moments here and there she found a chance to say something to him that wasn't somewhat short. Now that they had settled down for the night, however, she was starting to feel it all sink in again. She sat close by the fire, leaned back against Sparky's side, staring into the flames, her expression distant and weary.

Jace, on the other hand, had been having a blast, even through the rains. The boy had been delighted to be part of the group, and had done his best to stay cheerful the entire way through. This night, he sat across the fire from Yuri, finishing off a small portion of his dinner that he had yet to eat as he looked around at the others, regarding Dove's demeanor curiously, before giving a questioning look to Yuri and Henrietta.  

[Gwennythe]

Henrietta had had a little time to recover from the revelation that... Dove had a Mew... And Yuri had a Ho-oh.
She still wasn't sure exactly what to make of the latter; admittedly it was incredible and so cool and she wanted to see more of the grumpy bird... On the other hand, it was a representation of Johto legends and the very fact that it existed, inside a pokéball, was terrifying.
She was a lot more at ease with Dove's Mew... The little psychic type- though she'd once thought it a Ditto- was just... She knew it, no matter what she'd thought it was once...
She also kind of felt like she understood why Dove might have kept it under wraps, even though, at first, she'd felt a little bit hurt about the concealment.
It had been easy enough, near instant, to forgive though...
Ray had mentioned Team Rocket probably creating the examples they had... That was scary, but it wasn't the pokémons' fault.
She hoped she'd get more comfortable with the idea of Ho-oh, as she was with Mew; however they'd been made, they were still super cool pokémon.

Henrietta, currently had Fluffster out of her ball, curled in her lap, while Gummy sat against her side. The little Eevee was on her back, having her stomach tickled and rubbed by the girl, who was, maybe, a little subdued, for her usual character, but still had a smile.  

[TRHQ Yuri Lowell]

The silence was deafening. Yeah sure they had been stuffing their faces but he had expected some conversation.

"You guys are silent as the grave tonight," he then pointed out.

"C'mon, it's Halloween. Aren't you kids excited about that or something?"

Not that he was an avid follower of the holiday, although he had been once. Not every day you got free candy, especially when you grew up poor like he had.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove's attention was drawn immediately to Yuri when he spoke, her gaze drifting over toward him, then the children. She continued to be quiet. Gently stroking Lovey's ears as the eevee slept on her chest.

Jace blinked at Yuri for a good moment, then looked as if the information hd finally registered as he sat back, his shoulders falling dramatically and his expression that of extreme disappointment. "Aw, maaaan! I forgot about Halloween! I even had a costume already and everything!" his palm found his forehead, making the Charmander at his side chuckle quietly.  

[Gwennythe]

Henrietta grinned; she /did/ like Halloween, and despite where they were, despite the revelations of the past few days, to be reminded of the holiday forced excitement up immediately.
"Oh man! No trick or treating, but we should totally do Halloween stuff right?" Except, what was that stuff? Scary stories... Food... Costumes, as Jace had said.
With a sudden idea, Henrietta released Winglet and then pointed at the back of her head; the Zubat read the echo, paused, then latched behind Henrietta's head, clinging on the back of her hair.
Gently, the girl pulled Winglet's wings outstretched, very carefully, so that it seemed she'd suddenly grown a pair of long batwing horns, or ears.
"Ta-da!"  

[TRHQ Yuri Lowell]

Yuri grinned as Hen used her Zubat as a makeshift accessory. "Nice."

He then turned and rummaged around in his bag. "I don't have any candy for you guys but I do have these." And with that he pulled out a bag of marshmallows and tossed it to Jace.

He then peered over at Dove. "Still quiet? You're not still grumpy about getting wet are you? C'mon lighten up, we'll be in town tomorrow."  

[Tori Honoo]

Jace's eyes lit up, and he opened his arms to accept the flying bag of marshmallows as Yuri tossed it at him, laughing as he opened up the bag and watched Henrietta mess with Winglet. "Hahaa! Aw, yeah! That's awesome, Henrietta!" Having a zubat had definitely come in handy, that was for sure! Stuffing his face with a few puffy treats, he looked back at Yuri again. "Whaw kin' uh hawoween stowff can we do, owwer than eag mawshmewwoes?" he asked, not even absently wondering if the others would understand.

Though she had given a slightly more content look toward Hen and Jace's antics, Dove immediately turned her gaze away from Yuri when her eyes fell to him, scowling at the fire again. "Shut up, Yuri..." she mumbled with a slightly biting smile, not quite malicious, but with a sharp hint of finality to her words. He had teased her enough as it was, and while she had initially taken it lightly and even teased back, she was far too tired for it now, and the jokes had run thin.  

[Gwennythe]

Henrietta grinned, watching the marshmallows fly, then reached back to gently pet Winglet. She suspected the bat might even decide to nap there... for a tiny while anyway, until she found it too hard to resist fluttering about in the night time.
The Zubat shook her wings happily, and snuggled a little more against her trainer's hair; it was an odd costume, especially when it moved, but Hen' thought that probably just made it even more appropriate for Halloween.
"She'll totally be too big for this any day now!" Henrietta seemed confident, but then she was usually 'sure' of most things. "So, gotta make the best of this while she can still fit!" And not eat Hen's head accidentally...

The young trainer blinked, confused, as she looked to Dove on her reply to Yuri; she looked between the two adults, then could offer only a small, puzzled kind of look to Jace.  

[TRHQ Yuri Lowell]

Yuri blinked at Doves reply before shrugging it off. "Well I guess that answers my question."

He then smirked as he watched Jace stuff his mouth. "Hey there, Fearless Leader, leave some for the rest of us." He then reached over to snatch the bag back. "Besides, you're doing it wrong."

Yuri then picked up a stick and placed a marshmallow on the end. He then held it over the fire to demonstrate.  

[Tori Honoo]

The typhlosion behind her lifted his head as he felt her tense, a sharp look at Yuri following soon after. The girl's mood had been sour, and if the long haired man was the cause of it...

Dove rolled her eyes and leaned back further, closing her eyes for now. While she had gotten what she wanted-- a silence of the rain teasing--it had only irritated her further, and rather offer retort in front of the children, she grew silent again.

Jace returned Hen's confused look, then blinked hugely as the bag was snatched from his hold. "Heeeeeeyyyy!!!" he whined, his bright smile betraying his lack of disappointment. As yuri plucked one from the bag and began to roast it, the boy watched for a second, then scrambled to his feet, returning a few moments later with his own stick and becoming the older man's shadow, sitting and repeating his motions to roast his own marshmallow at his side.

While Dove stayed quiet, a sinking settled in her chest. Being so irritated was defeating the entire purpose of her coming on this adventure... She felt silly, but her pride fought back, leaving her conflicted and still for now.  

[Gwennythe]

Henrietta watched as Yuri took to roasting marshmallows.
Ooh, right, you could do /that/ with them; she'd seen that on TV! She felt like doing it too, but hesitated for a moment.
The girl reached back to coax Winglet from her hair, now onto her arm, and talk to her.
"D'ya think you could get me a stick, please? Like Yuri and Jace have?" She used her other hand to make a sweeping gesture- which the bat followed in echo-sight, then pinged the direction the hand had indicated to 'see' the boys next to the fire. She thought she could do that; it would be easier enough to clamp one in her mouth and bring it back, though she wondered, a little, why the girl simply couldn't go and get one herself. Still, off the bat fluttered to complete her errand.

Gummy sat, staring at the fire, flicking his tail-tip back and forth.
He seemed un-surprised to suddenly receive a sleepy Eevee pup placed next to, and semi-on, him. Fluffster immediately, still asleep, attempted to snuggle against the reptile.

It wasn't far to move, but seemed like something she should do; Henrietta attempted shuffling around so that, while Jace toasted marshmallows with Yuri (and she /did/ want to join in... in a moment), Henrietta would be close enough, if Dove allowed it, to lean against her by the fire.
She didn't know how to ask verbally- or was maybe afraid of being snapped at too- but the girl felt like maybe a bit of comfort was what could help; sometimes it helped her.  

[Tori Honoo]

Jace stayed quiet, contently roasting his marshmallow as he watched with some curiosity as Henrietta scooted closer Dove.

Upon Henrietta's touch, the girl tensed visibly and sat up a bit, her eyes snapping open to see who it was. Her body then visibly relaxed a little, and she sighed, giving Hen an apologetic look before she closed her eyes again and flopped back down against Sparky's side, allowing Hen to stay if she wanted, but uneasy about speaking. It wasn't Henrietta's fault that she was so tired and in such a foul mood.  

[TRHQ Yuri Lowell]

"There you go," Yuri told Jace. "Wait till it's nice and brown then it'll be ready to eat."

He then peered over in the direction of Hen and Dove. "You girls gonna join in? It's not a real camping experience until you roast a few marshmallows."  

[Gwennythe]

Hen' didn't seem to mind; the fact that she'd been allowed to stay and sit there seemed good enough.
She offered a smile to the apologetic look, and then turned as Yuri addressed them.
She nodded enthusiastically.
"Winglet's bringing me a stick!"
Said bat was, indeed, bringing a stick- she'd not been long in finding it, and it wasn't really perfect for the job, but it was probably good enough, if a little too thick.
She circled the camp fire twice before finally being able to land and presenting the bit of wood to her trainer.
"See!" The girl grinned and petted the bat gently "Thank you!"