[FIN] Knowing Nothing

[BlackFireKitsune]

An unexpected storm off the coast had forced a boat from Grande Ile to change its destination to Makko Town instead of Camphoreon, and its passengers encouraged to take a bus or taxi to the large city from the small port town, as any attempts by boat would be too dangerous for an undetermined length of time. Ion therefore boarded one such bus without complaint - in fact, he was glad, as this meant he would be able to see more of the island first - and settled in for a long trip, his Braixen taking a window seat so she could peer out at everything as they passed, her large ears perked up in her curiosity. Halfway there, however, they'd stopped briefly in a city literally built into the trees, and Ion had opted to disembark there rather than head straight to Camphoreon.

Sandalwood, as he quickly learned, was a unique and fascinating city, though the trainer's first priority was acquiring a room in a hotel for at least a few nights - exploring could come later, after he brought in his things and rested for a bit. The nearest hotel hadn't been too hard to find, both due to various signage around as well as the kindhearted citizens of the forest city, though he was dismayed to find that the room he'd been given was up several floors - and the elevator was currently under maintenance for a little while, meaning he would need to walk up several flights of stairs. That was fine, though; he had no intentions of bothering the concierge and asking for a different room on a lower floor, and thus with Jozette helping with his luggage, began the slow trek upstairs.

It hadn't been too bad, at first, but carrying a backpack and a suitcase upstairs quickly began taking its toll on him, and already he was starting to feel tired and out of breath. Jozette shot him a look coupled with a displeased, high-pitched growl, though neither could mask her concern for him, but he simply offered her a smile that was almost apologetic. "It's just two more floors," he said a little breathlessly, holding onto the railing more tightly as they progressed since his staff was currently in his companion's care, "I'll be fine."  

[Suudonym]

Feeling... only slightly more confident about things, Luke felt only slightly more comfortable returning to his room, but there wasn't really anymore hotel to explore so it wasn't as if he really had anywhere else to go if he didn't want to leave the hotel. The maintenance on the elevator was an inconvenience, but he wasn't willing to wait around for it to be restored and took to the stairs instead - it was only a few flights anyway. As he ascended, he passed by an individual who apparently had similar intentions, keeping to one side with a quiet "excuse me" to avoid bumping him accidentally.

His conscience got the better of him as he reached the landing, and he lingered in front of the next flight for a moment before turning and descending a few steps. "Um, sorry, do you need a hand?" He only had one to work with at the moment, with his one arm in the state it was in, but he had a hell of a lot more breath to spare.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

As someone passed them by, Ion uttered his own polite "excuse us" and Jozette moved so that neither of them would block the stairs and bar his way. The offer of help was unexpected, and the trainer paused to look up at the young man who'd passed them and consider the offer. While his first instinct was to decline on the grounds he would be all right, he knew his limits and wasn't entirely sure he would be able to make it without help or without stopping for a break at least once, possibly twice if an attack started up. "I don't want to inconvenience you," he said with the same slight breathlessness with which he'd replied to his Braixen, though he was pleased to note it wasn't too bad yet, though. He hadn't used his inhaler before ascending the stairs, though, so it was only a matter of time.  

[Suudonym]

He shook his head, descending a couple more steps, "It's no problem; I'm heading up anyway."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ion had no intention of declining his offer of help twice - especially not when he knew he would more than likely need it - and smiled as the stranger moved closer to help. "Thank you very much, sir," he replied, his tones sincerely thankful for this young man's kindness. "I really appreciate it. I think my room is just two more floors." Since his backpack was currently on his back, he offered up the suitcase he was carrying instead; Jozette shifted her grip on the bag she held so she could set it on the stair in front of her, which enabled her to offer the lengthy staff back to its rightful owner. Ion accepted it with a "thank you" as the fire-type once again picked up the bag in both paws, and continue up the stairs.  

[Suudonym]

"Okay, no problem," he replied with a nod and a smile, lifting the luggage with his left hand and hefting it up the stairs, lingering nearby enough to leave no concern that he intended to make off with the suitcase. He held open the door to the appropriate floor when they arrived.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Having a kind stranger run off with his luggage hadn't really occurred to Ion, but thankfully he needn't think about it. What he did need to think about, though, was his current physical state: He wasn't entirely sure if his chest felt tighter, or if his backpack was just too restricting. The one thing he knew for sure was that breathing had become noticeably more difficult the more he climbed, and his progress had slowed, despite his attempts to match his company's pace. Several times he debated suggesting a break, but each time decided against it.

He offered a grateful smile and a breathless "thank you" as he passed through the door held open for him, but he didn't get very far before he stopped near the wall - Jozette had stopped right before, too, and refused to move, signalling that she wasn't going anywhere until after he'd taken care of himself first. "I'm sorry to trouble you," he started, the same breathless quality in his voice as he lowered a hand to his pocket to retrieve his inhaler so that he could use it, "but would you mind if we stopped for a minute?" They were so close - or at least, he hoped they were, but he didn't know where on this floor his room was - but he didn't really want to wait until after he'd found it and got inside to use his inhaler.  

[Suudonym]

The kid didn't look as out of shape as he seemed to be, but regardless of the cause, it was difficult not to be sympathetic. He shook his head, "It's no trouble. ...Are you okay?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ion was quite thankful that the young man seemed understanding, and so he stood there, leaning on his staff as he raised the inhaler to his lips to use it. He held his breath for several seconds before exhaling, grateful that he wasn't coughing this time, as that would've made it more difficult, before offering an apologetic look to his company, "Yes, sir, I'm fine - thank you. I just have asthma," he explained, his tone similarly apologetic because he'd made this kind stranger stop to wait for him after he had so kindly offered to help. "It makes it a little more difficult to do things like climb stairs. It's my fault, anyway; I should've expected to use the stairs and prepared beforehand." That had been long enough, hadn't it? Yes, he was sure it had been long enough, and so he lifted the inhaler once more to use it a second time.

Jozette made a displeased noise, her large ears twitching backwards as she huffed and gestured at the nearby elevator that had a 'maintenance' sign on it. How could he have known the elevator would be down beforehand? One couldn't very well prepare for any and every unexpected occurrence, including elevators under maintenance.  

[Suudonym]

He didn't think he really deserved all this 'sir' business, but he wasn't about to nitpick with a kid who could barely breath. He followed the pokemon's - what was that, exactly? he couldn't think of a name - gesture to the elevator, nodding his accordance, "Well yeah, normally you'd take the elevator, right? I don't know how much you could expect maintenance..."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The Braixen seemed quite pleased that someone else agreed with her thoughts, and nodded to the stranger approvingly. Yes, good.

With that done, he pocketed his inhaler again, but continued to lean on his staff and stand there for a few more moments. "Yes, I suppose you're right," he ceded, but still felt as though he could have prepared himself beforehand. More than that, though, he felt bad for having inconvenienced this kind stranger so much. "I'm sorry to trouble you so much," he said again apologetically, his tones not as breathless as before, thanks to the brief rest and use of his inhaler.  

[Suudonym]

He tilted his head just slightly before shaking it in refusal, smiling nonetheless, "It's really not any trouble. I was just killing time anyway." Killing time and fleeing the inevitable. He glanced at the nearby room numbers to orient himself to which way they increased and decreased. "Which room are you headed to?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ion returned the smile, still quite grateful - and thankful - that he had offered to help him. "You're very kind," he noted. "Thank you very much for helping me, I really appreciate it."

The question of what his room would be made him pause briefly in thought, and he switched his staff to his other hand in order to reach into his other pocket to retrieve his room information. "Number 427," the trainer read off the small paper he'd been given, then lifted his gaze to the other room numbers to gauge which direction that would be in. He felt a little better now, or at least enough to continue to his room - he could take a proper rest there, and Jozette would likely calm down once he did.  

[Suudonym]

He raised his unoccupied hand to the back of his neck awkwardly for a moment, shaking his head once more in quiet dismissal. If he thought about it, he remembered being told that he was supposedly a person who liked to help others. Maybe personality was something that was ingrained in the body or something... This amnesia business was tricky in a lot of ways.

He gave a nod and took a step in the room's presumed direction, gauging if his company would follow or if he wanted another minute. "It looks like that should be this way, I think...?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ion didn't need to prolong the short break any longer, and moved to follow his company in the suggested direction. Luckily for them, the signs plastered along the walls clearly dictated which room numbers were in which direction, and so finding his room would prove an easy feat.

The room wasn't immediately visible, but lucky for Ion he felt much more comfortable walking than he did climbing stairs. "You said you were killing time," he recalled aloud, now that he was able to talk normally again. "Are you waiting for something?"