[FIN] Down Time

[BlackPidgeot]

Despite being released from the hospital, Yuri still had a lot of healing and recovering to do. He was still weak, only able to exert so much energy before he had to rest. He had a long road ahead of him if he was to regain his full strength again. Thus he was scheduled for therapy appointments and told that he needed to exercise but lightly at first and to increase slowly as he started getting stronger.

It was frustrating to say the least, but Yuri had been faced with his own mortality and thus took it at least somewhat seriously.

Flynn was out of town, having traveled back to Grande Ile till after the holiday, while Dove had insisted... begged really, to stay at her place. He had argued feebly, but eventually gave in. It would be awkward if he hadn't stayed there before, but he made himself at home.

Currently he was resting, sprawled out on her sofa with an arm draped over his face. He felt like crap, but that was kinda the norm lately.

Repede was sleeping on a rug nearby, and Astal was stretched out in front of the sofa Yuri was on. Yuri had been quite amazed by Astal's evolution to a Vaporeon, and that he'd done it to save him.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove had felt no hesitation in asking him to stay with her in her apartment for the time being. With Flynn gone home and Yuri's state, she couldn't bring herself to allow Yuri to stay on his own with no support. He was weak, and though obviously stubborn about it, she knew he wouldn't be able to do much on his own, let alone do it with ease.

Besides. It was holiday season, and given how little she expected him to be able to get out and about, no one deserved to be alone. Thus, she had insisted he stay, if only for a few weeks, until he was able to get about more readily.

While he rested on the couch, the woman busied herself by decorating her apartment with garlands and lights, glad for the fire burning in her fireplace and the warmth of the room. It had gotten much colder in the past few days, to the point of snowing here and there, and as much as she hated the cold, she was determined to enjoy the time she could in her home with her friend.

Quieter than usual, perhaps because of the low energy in the room or because of all the things on her mind, but attempting to keep their spirits light, she finished fluffing a branch of her Christmas tree, then turned to look at the man resting on the couch, her brows knitting into an expression of concern. "Hey, you okay? What do you need?" she asked, stepping around to move a box of baubles from the table at the end of the couch as she leaned against it. She had promised herself she would help him in any way she could, and had possibly become a little too overbearing with her intentions.

Lovey sat close to Repede's rug, cuddling her kit. A white Espeon lay curled in a chair, and a togetic hopped about, trying to be helpful to the woman by handing her ball after decorative ball, one at a time until she decided to check on the man human. Satin sat next to the recently erected tree, watching the scene with sharp eyes, still unsure about Yuri and his pokemon. Trill floated throughout the room, entranced by all the shiny ornaments around the apartment.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri was still and quiet, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him. When Dove spoke though, his arm moved away from his face to look up at her groggily. "Well I was trying to take a nap," he said, followed by a yawn. He then stretched a little but then winced as he felt pain shoot through his side, and thought better of it.

Yuri then pushed himself to sit up and looked around. "Hey, this place is looking pretty great." He couldn't believe that it was almost Christmas time again. Time had really flown while he was here in Kodo.

Astal looked up as Yuri's feet came down next to him, wrinkling his nose in disapproval.  

[Tori Honoo]

She blinked as he announced that he had been trying to nap, and shied a little. "Oh, I'm sorry! I..um..." She felt a stab of guilt for waking him up, but looked around as he complimented her home. "Thank you... I like decorating, and I figured it would be good to feel at home for a while..."

Tobi then gave a soft cry, tossing a bauble up into the air to show the man that he was helping, a huge smile across his face. Dove laughed quietly, then reached down to pat the togetic's back. "Tobi has been helping..."  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Don't worry about it," he assured her. He then smiled at the Togetic. "So I see."

Now that Yuri had sat up, Astal moved and then jumped onto the sofa next to him. The Vaporeon then yawned and stretched, "accidentally" slapping Yuri in the face with his tail fin. "Hey!" Yuri sputtered then used a hand to shove Astal off the sofa. "Cut it out." Which took more effort now that he was bigger and heavier.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove's face remained pink, and she watched Tobi, reaching down quickly to rescue the falling orb. Content with Yuri's smile, the togetic wiggled and bounced, then flew over to another box, letting itself fall down into the tinsel inside of it, emerging a few moments later completely covered in the glimmering silver stuff.

When Astal flipped his tail into Yuri's face, Dove gasped. "Astal!" Yuri seemed to handle it fine, though, and she only gave him a scolding frown.

Satin, from the corner, smirked and laughed quietly at the vaporeon's action, calming only as her trainer turned to offer her the same look. Lovey, unamused, looked up at the water type. she sighed.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Astal smirked, pleased with himself as he trotted over to where Repede and Lovey were. He then huffed at the Eevee. "" and really he hadn't hit him that hard. They treated Yuri like he was some kind of porcelain doll and even the human was annoyed by it.

Repede opened his one eye and then closed it again. Apparently unconcerned by what had happened.

"Do you need some help?" Yuri then offered to Dove.  

[Tori Honoo]

Lovey frowned, then shook her head, reaching out with a paw to keep Diana closer to her, as the little eevee still seemed to be fascinated with Astal's new form.

Dove laughed at Tobi as he reappeared, then stood again to go untangle his small wings from the fluff. "If you want to... I thought I might start dinner in a little bit, once the tree is finished..." She certainly didn't want to pressure him into helping her, but given how inactive he was being forced to be, she figured decorating, at least, wouldn't be too strenuous. She had also begun to catch onto how offensive she might have been toward him... he wasn't a complete invalid, even if he was still weaker than she would have liked.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Taking that as a yes, Yuri pushed himself to his feet, having to suppress a grimace as his injury complained. Damn it still really hurt. But without complaint he walked over to talk some of the tinsel from Tobi as well and started draping it on the branches of the tree.

"Do you have any egg nog?" Yuri then asked hopefully. He really liked the stuff and you could only get it this time of year.

Astal snorted as he settled down. "" he told Lovey before proceeding to watch the humans place shiny things on a dead pine tree.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove watched him rise, then continued to untangle Tobi from the tinsel, setting him on the loveseat once he was free and looking to Yuri. "Oh... I actually don't, but I've got to go pick up a few things before I can cook tonight, anyway. I can get some then," she promised, mentally chiding herself for not thinking to pick any up.

Lovey sighed, displeased with Astal's behavior, but unwilling to counter it for the moment. Instead, she settled between him and her kit, glancing over at Repede, noting his disinterest in the entire thing.

Satin settled where she sat, laying flat along the hardwood and crossing her paws delicately as she looked to the vaporeon. she asked, smiling wickedly.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri seemed satisfied with that answer and continued going about putting things on the tree, whatever that was left that he could find. Though he frowned a bit as he found a bobble that hadn't survived since last year. He then tossed the broken ornament into an empty box to throw away later. He then picked up an ornament that was shaped like a nativity star, admiring it for a few moments before placing it on the tree.

Astal looked over at the unfamiliar cat Pokemon, ""  

[Tori Honoo]

His quiet satisfaction was noted, and she continued draping tinsel along the branches, glancing over at the man in silence for a few minutes as he admired the star. "I got that one from a music video producer, the night they premiered the video. I don't really remember the artist's name, but it was fun..." she explained quietly, turning back to the tree, her gaze suddenly more distant.

Satin grinned, then looked at the two decorating the tree next to her.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Huh?" Yuri asked, his attention going back to Dove. "Oh... I was just thinking that it reminded me of a story I heard once. It doesn't have anything to do with Christmas, though."

With that he reached in the box to take out more ornaments and put them on the tree.

Astal smirked at the cat, ""

"" Repede added without opening his eye.  

[Tori Honoo]

For a moment she said nothing, as if his words hadn't registered, then looked over to him briefly before moving to find more decorations. "What's the story?" she asked, digging slowly through another box.

The liepard laid her head on her paws, giving a small look of amusement to Astal before she grinned at Repede.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri just continued putting ornaments on the tree. Though as she asked her question he paused. "I'm really not any good at telling stories," he admitted.

Repede smirked a little but Astal continued to watch the humans with a furrowed brow. ""