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Quarter
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| If there were two guys on the moon, and one killed the other-- |
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Post by Verley Linnaeus on Dec 21, 2015 3:53:57 GMT 2
You're binary, and desperate to deal in high figures
Verley Linnaeus, having managed to avoid slipping twice on Professor Hickory's porch, now exited Calitha Town, the ice as inconveniently slippery as it had been for the past hour. The entrance to the forest ahead of them was a narrow opening in the trees, and the snow and frost made it hard to keep an eye on the path. Nonetheless, Verley trudged onward; forests were rife with life, and they were determined to get a head start on their research before the next day. Their new traveling companion, a Honedge that they had decided to call Joyeuse, floated beside them merrily. Too merrily, in their opinion. He had, as well as a sentient sword could, insisted upon coming with Verley, and had then proceeded to refuse to return to his Pokéball. That went against everything Verley knew about the Pokémon training profession, though then again they were more familiar with the behavior of Pokémon in the wild than in captivity. But they were near-certain that captured Pokémon were supposed to stay in their balls... Verley had entered the woods now, and the minute they had stepped into the trees, the air around them seemed to come alive. The songs of bird Pokémon could be heard from above, and all around the researcher hoots, howls, and other assorted vocalizations could be heard. Joyeuse shifted the gaze of its singular, violet eye from point to point as Verley paused to take it all in. "Unbelievable," said Verley aloud. "It truly is its own place...the biodiversity here must be beyond any ever previously recorded..." Joyeuse made a strange noise in reply, something akin to the sound of a blade being drawn against metal. "The papers practically write themselves," the researcher mused. Joyeuse made some sort of gesture with his banner. Verley had to be cautious now. Walking further into the forest, they found a rock large enough to sit on, by a tree. A perfect place to record some initial observations. Pulling a plain brown notebook and a pen out of their bag, Verley sat down and opened it to the first page; it was blank, issued to them by their school for this exact purpose. They began to write, their Honedge looking over their shoulder. -tall trees, mostly deciduous; canopy is roughly 25 meters above the ground
-vocalizations: Pidgey, Swellow, Poocheyena(?), indiscernable Normal-types; perhaps Sentret, Zigzagoon
-temperature: roughly -1 to -4 degrees And so this went. Verley jotted down anything and everything; the forest was a great expanse teeming with new biological possibilities, and they were going to explore every inch of it. And so all seemed tranquil as the sounds of the woods closed in around them. |
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| I've been worried all my life, a nervous wreck most of the time. |
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Post by Galen Tully on Dec 21, 2015 4:53:45 GMT 2
A MODEL CITIZEN OF DOUBT
This time, Galen did not forget her coat. She didn't plan on making that mistake again anytime soon. The weather wasn't getting any warmer, after all, and since she would be traveling now, she'd need to bundled up as much as possible.
The young researched had spent most of the day wandering through Calitha Forest for the last time in the foreseeable future. She'd be heading off to Route 1 tomorrow, and from there would move on to Ulmaria City and beyond, getting further away from the town where she had lived for these past six months. Who knew when she would return to her stomping grounds again? She wanted to give the forest that she had spent so much time in a proper goodbye.
Her sorrows were lessened by the fact that she wasn't alone. She had two traveling companions now, both non-human. Their Poké Balls rested forgotten in the bottom of Galen's bag; she had let them both out in the morning, and they had stayed that way ever since. For the most part, though, they stuck close to their new trainer. A Pidgey perched on her left shoulder, looking around with sharp eyes; this forest had been her home, too, and she would fly off every now and then to investigate some familiar landmark or old haunt, but she would always return to Galen in a timely fashion. In the meantime, Galen kept company with the Pokémon that she now clutched to her chest in place of her orange notebook, a similarly-colored Seedot with the rather unfortunate nickname of Acorn. He was asleep in her arms, his breaths slow and even.
Almond the Pidgey returned from one of her brief excursions, alighting soundlessly and almost weightlessly on Galen's shoulder; already, she seemed to have mastered the art of returning to her favorite perch without startling her sensitive trainer. To greet Galen, she clicked her beak several times in rapid succession. Galen had discovered that Almond was quite talkative but, much to her relief, the Pidgey would abstain from crying out when she was close to Galen's ear.
Stiffening, Almond dug her talons into Galen's shoulder; not hard enough to hurt, but her grip was strong enough that the girl could feel it through the thick fabric of her jacket. True to her unspoken promise, she did not make any loud noise of alarm, but Galen could see that she was clearly startled by something. Her feathers were considerably, and she jerked her head from side to side, as if she was searching for something in particular. Galen could not determine what had startled her Pokémon. She must have seen something out of the ordinary off in the distance, or perhaps she heard a strange sound at a frequency Galen could not detect.
"What is it, Almond?" Galen murmured. At her words, Acorn stirred in her arms, and blinked up at her slowly. She gave him an apologetic smile, trying to convey that she was sorry for interrupting his nap.
Almond clicked her beak once more, but this was different from her normal greeting; these noises were louder, faster, more aggressive. Now Acorn was on edge, too; Galen had learned that he tended to adapt the moods of those around him. He squirmed fiercely, but she didn't set him down, for she didn't want him to touch the snow. After a few moments, he calmed, but his body was stiff. Galen guessed that he may have used Harden in a defensive gesture, even though there was no danger that she could see.
Galen decided that there was nothing to do but forge on ahead. The exhilaration she felt from meeting her Pokémon the previous night had not yet warn off, and it gave her courage.
She started forward. Almond shuffled about nervously on her shoulder, but made no further noise. Holding Acorn felt like lugging around a small rock, but she didn't want to drop him, so she pulled him closer to her chest, making sure she held him securely so he would not fall.
When she turned a bend in the path, she discovered the source of her Pokémon's unease.
True to form, she noticed the Pokémon before she saw the human. It was a Honedge, but it was unlike any Honedge she had ever seen; rather than the traditional blue, the shaft that held the sheath was a startling red; the blade, which should have been bright steel, looked as though it was dipped in blood. Galen discarded this notion quickly; she wasn't always the most reasonable person, but a bloody Honedge in the Calitha Forest was largely unreasonable. She came to the conclusion that it must be shiny, like her own Seedot.
Galen's eyes moved now to the person sitting on the rock below the Honedge; presumably, they were the Pokémon's trainer. They looked to be about the same age as Galen, though she couldn't tell for sure, because she couldn't see their face; they were hunched over a notebook, their brown hair obscuring their face. As she walked closer, she could hear the distinctive scratch of pen on paper.
Either the other had not noticed her yet, or they had but did not care. At any rate, her Pokémon had calmed down by now, and she decided that it was probably safe to approach. Snow crunched loudly under her boots as she took several hesitant steps forward; if the other had not heard her yet, they certainly would now.
She halted at what she considered a reasonable distance, several feet away from the other person, and cleared her throat before speaking.
"Um - hello!" Her soft voice trembled slightly, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks. But curiosity urged her to continue: "I'm sorry to bother you, but you Honedge.... Is that your Honedge? I assumed it was yours, because it's floating behind you. Uh.... It's shiny, I think. I mean, I couldn't know for certain, because I've never seen a shiny Honedge before, but this one looks different from other Honedge that I've seen.... A-anyways! Would you.... Would you mind if I took some notes?" She was blushing fiercely now, and she regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth, but she couldn't exactly run away now.
WORDS: 1046 TAGGED: Verley Linnaeus NOTES: Pronouns for this thread: she/her! I didn't proofread b/c I suck MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS |
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PERSONAL COMPUTER
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15 POSTS
| | OOC NAME
Quarter
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| If there were two guys on the moon, and one killed the other-- |
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Post by Verley Linnaeus on Dec 21, 2015 5:50:14 GMT 2
You're binary, and desperate to deal in high figures
Vegetation...some bushes to the west, but with the snow...I will have to come back to that later-- Verley had been thinking, their brain working faster than their pen. Looking down at their notebook, now covered in their typical messy handwriting, they could see that they had already filled two and a half pages. They supposed they ought to save paper, but they still had one last note to write... "Um - hello!" The sudden voice that pierced the chatter of the trees around them caused Verley to, rather ungracefully, jump and drop their pen. They hadn't heard the person approach; who else could there be here? Why were they talking to them? They looked around frantically before finding the source, who was, embarrassingly enough, standing right in front of them, rambling. Joyeuse, in contrast, was much more at ease. He waved tentatively to the trainer before him before floating down to grab his trainer's pen, then made a soft metallic noise in greeting after dropping it in Verley's hand. Verley clutched the pen tightly and rose from their seat, but did not move lest they slip. "A-anyways! Would you.... Would you mind if I took some notes?" The speaker, Verley finally noticed, seemed to be not much older than themself. They noticed the Pokémon in her arms, a Seedot; but it was differently-colored than most, much like their own companion. The Pidgey on her shoulder looked inquisitive. The trainer wore a coat much heavier than their own hoodie, but seemed to be shivering a bit anyways. The blush on her face, however, revealed that it was not from the cold; Verley could tell that she was nervous, how pathetic, why even bother? "The Honedge is mine," Verley began, their eyes half-lidded and their fists clenched. "But I don't see why I ought to let you take some notes, stranger I have never met before and hope not to meet again, so you should most definitely look elsewhere." The researcher cocked their head in annoyance. Joyeuse looked back over towards his trainer as his expression switched to one of irritation, an impressive feat considering his lack of facial features. "It doesn't really make much sense to ask such a foolish question, anyways. Anyone with a first grade knowledge of Pokémon could see that Joyeuse here, as I call it, is what the uneducated masses tend to call Pokémon of its brand of alternative coloration. Furthermore, it makes no scientific sense to observe a captive 'shiny' Pokémon, anyways, because typical species behavior is distorted when in captivity, so the possibility of any research of use that could be done is negated. Anyone else could have discerned that without any further thought, surely." Verley took a moment to sweep a loose hair from their eyes. Who did this person think she was, approaching them, asking them asinine questions, wasting their time? They hadn't come to Obstina for anything of the sort. They assumed that much had been obvious. "And on that note, I encourage you to seek out the nearest form of shelter in whatever direction you and your lackeys are going, because a case study I once performed suggested that cloths and plastics are not truly capable of replicating the insulating properties of body fat, which you clearly lack. The path continues that way, if you must know, which I wouldn't trust you to, what with your stuttering of frivolous inquiries." Joyeuse looked unamused and murmured, but Verley did not seem to notice nor care. The Honedge, who had been clutching his hilt up to now, quietly replaced it and sunk low to the ground, looking back apologetically at the trainer and her Pokémon. Verley crossed their arms and sighed. They hadn't been prepared to speak to any member of the masses today, and now they had to deal with one. How frustrating. |
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PERSONAL COMPUTER
| I've been worried all my life, a nervous wreck most of the time. |
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Post by Galen Tully on Dec 22, 2015 5:19:23 GMT 2
A MODEL CITIZEN OF DOUBT
Much to Galen's surprise, the other trainer didn't actually notice her presence until she talked; they jolted and dropped their pen after she started speaking.
She opened her mouth to apologize, but her chest was tight with panic, and she managed only a weak noise in the back of her throat. She wanted to retrieve their pen, at the very least, but Acorn was still in her arms. Thankfully, by the time she started considering her options, the Honedge had already picked it up and returned it to its owner. Galen was standing there uselessly, mouth still half-open, probably looking remarkably foolish.
She closed her mouth and ground her teeth, wanting to look away from this trainer and their Pokémon but finding herself unable to do so.
The Honegde looked at her now. She wanted to greet it, but wasn't sure how; she gave a brief, jerky nod, hoping that would suffice.
It made a soft metallic noise. Almond, still perched on her shoulder, stiffened and clacked her beak.
So that's the sound that alarmed her before, Galen realized.
After what seemed like an unbearably long moment of silence, the other human, still sitting on the rock, began to speak.
To her credit, Galen remained silent throughout the trainer's tirade. Their blush began to fade, and soon her skin was pale and her face expressionless.
After a last insult - something about the stuttering of frivolous inquiries - the other seemed to be finished talking.
Galen took several deep breaths, and spoke, her words soft but clearly spoken.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Ser," she began. The last word was pronounced sair, and Galen hoped it would suffice as a neutral form of sir or madam. "I simply meant to take notes on the Honedge's coloration, not its behavior. Since, as you have made quite clear, I am not likely to be seeing it again any time in the foreseeable future." Galen's voice was largely toneless.
Almond ruffled her feathers nervously, and Acorn squirmed in her grip.
"I'll be off now," she continued. "I've lived here for the past six months. I know where I am going, thank you."
After another deep breath, she moved on to her parting statement. "You're probably much better at communicating with your Pokémon than I would be, so please tell it that I am sorry it has found itself in such a situation."
Said Pokémon was looking at her now, and Galen fancied that it looked mournful. She wanted to say something - perhaps ask it how it put up with such a person - but she could feel tears beginning to well up at the corners of her eyes and she decided it would be best to move on.
So she did just that. Galen headed off down the path in the direction they had indicated - for, as much as she hated to give them the satisfaction of knowing it, they had been correct about the direction in which the path went on. Although, honestly, that wasn't particularly impressive. It wasn't very hard to follow the path with one's eyes and see where it went. Did they truly think her so incapable?
Galen wanted to look over her shoulder to observe the Honedge one more time. But she resisted the urge, because she did not want the trainer to see her crying.
The tears blurred her vision, and she didn't see the patch of ice.
She landed hard on her back. Almond had fluttered away with a squawk of alarm before Galen even hit the ground, but Acorn was not so fortunate. When she fell, the wind was knocked out of her, and her grip on the small Pokémon loosened. He fell out of her arms and onto the cold ice with a squeak, unable to stop himself from moving thanks to the rounded shape of his body. He rolled to a stop several feet away, stuck on his side and quite helpless.
It seemed that Galen would get another look at the Honedge after all; she hadn't gone far before her slip, and she could see it from where she lay. She only got a brief glimpse before the hot tears came streaming down her face in full force, and she closed her eyes, mortification washing through her.
This was excellent. Just peachy.
MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS |
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PERSONAL COMPUTER
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15 POSTS
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Quarter
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| If there were two guys on the moon, and one killed the other-- |
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Post by Verley Linnaeus on Dec 23, 2015 6:10:09 GMT 2
You're binary, and desperate to deal in high figures
"I'm sorry to bother you, Ser." Ser? What was this trainer thinking, referring to Verley with some nonsense term? Did she call all the lowlifes she came across such a thing, or was it something about Verley that prompted her to do so? Either way, the researcher was offended. And of course the trainer was still running her mouth as Verley stood there, watching her. The things she was saying; the things she had the audacity to aim in Verley's direction, were unthinkable. She didn't seem affected at all! Was she just going to walk away? With one last jab, the trainer strolled away confidently, leaving Verley speechless. Joyeuse watched from the ground curiously. And there the researcher and their Honedge stood for a few moments more, quietly staring at the stranger before them, before she unceremoniously slipped and fell only a few paces ahead of them. She dropped the Seedot from her arms as she landed on her back, and Verley saw the Pidgey on her shoulder flutter away. Gaining a second wind, Verley half-slipped, half-strode over to the Seedot's position, and picked him up with clammy hands. Looking over, they could see that the trainer had been crying. "As incapable as I had assumed," said Verley, scowling. They turned the Seedot over in their hands. "I ought to be apologizing to your lot," they continued, "For having a trainer so incompetent." They shrugged as they turned their gaze back to the Pokémon in their hands. "What a pitiful sight, truly."Joyeuse, meanwhile, seemed concerned for the trainer's wellbeing, and hovered over to lend her a hand--or in this case, a banner. He made a sharp metallic noise in her direction, ignoring the jabs of his trainer. Verley huffed, as they so often did, and shook the Seedot a few times before turning it upright in their hands again. "Surprisingly, your companion here seems to be in pristine health. I wouldn't trust someone like you to take care of a house plant, let alone a Pokémon, so is it safe to assume that you, too, stopped by that quaint little Trainer Farm?" They paused for a moment before continuing. "No need to answer that, of course. I already know I'm correct." By now Verley was done examining the Seedot, and to Joyeuse's surprise, did not drop it, but set it back down gently to the place where it had fallen. Satisfied, they crossed their arms, their expression a half-lidded look of scorn. "And for the record, I'll have you know that ser is not an acceptable term to call a bedridden Rattata, let alone someone like myself. But I suppose you wouldn't have known such a simple fact, with how things have been shaping up for you, so I'll be gracious and let it go this once." |
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PERSONAL COMPUTER
| I've been worried all my life, a nervous wreck most of the time. |
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Post by Galen Tully on Dec 23, 2015 6:49:31 GMT 2
A MODEL CITIZEN OF DOUBT
Galen lay in stunned silence for several moments, not reacting as the other trainer approached her. But when they picked up Acorn and shook him - shook him - rage began to boil up inside her. It wasn't a feeling she knew well, but she had felt like this before. When fire drills had gone off at her old school, for example, her stomach had churned like it was now. But this time, the emotion was anger, not fear, and all of it was directed at this wretched human who continued to handle Acorn even though he squirmed to get away.
They didn't have to like Galen. But treating her Pokémon like this? That was absolutely unacceptable.
Her rage fueled her. Ignoring the Honedge's proffered help, she pushed herself to her feet. Her movements were steady, and she did not slip again. By this time, the other trainer had finally set Acorn down. He seemed largely unharmed, thankfully. She scooped him up into her arms and cradled him gently, inspecting him to make sure that he wasn't hurt.
The trainer was saying something, and to Galen's ears the words were slow and muffled, as if she was underwater. But she managed to focus and hear what they had to say.
"And for the record, I'll have you know that ser is not an acceptable term to call a bedridden Rattata, let alone someone like myself. But I suppose you wouldn't have known such a simple fact, with how things have been shaping up for you, so I'll be gracious and let it go this once."
Almond, who had been watching fearfully from a tree branch, flew back to Galen's shoulder now that she was standing. The Pidgey was staring at the other trainer with bright black eyes. Her feathers were fluffed up, and she snapped her beak angrily, as if warning the other to stay away - it wasn't as though they would actually approach, though. They were probably too much of a coward.
Momentarily, Galen felt bad for thinking that. She was the queen of the cowards, so what right did she have to judge others? But the feeling of guilt passed quickly.
She was still crying, but now her tears were hot, and fast, and angry.
"I thought you might be, but clearly, you weren't capable of discerning that it was meant to be a gesture of respect," she spat. Her words were loud and confident, the complete opposite of how they had been when she had first approached the trainer. "Because despite your demeaning words, I thought that maybe, just maybe, you weren't a complete self-centered jerk, and you had some reason to act the way you did. But evidently, my conclusion was wrong. I should have figured that you'd be a waste of my time when I first saw you. You look like something crawled up your ass and died, and you act that way, too."
She took a deep breath, but it did little to calm her. Both of her Pokémon seemed quite uncomfortable with her outburst, but she had more to say.
"You don't want to be called ser, and I fully agree - you don't deserve even the slightest modicum of kindness. What should I call you instead? Lowlife? Pissant? Scum of the earth?"
Her body had started to tremble, and her words were becoming sloppy. She decided that it was time to get out of here.
"Never lay your filthy hands on my Pokémon again. Not that you'll get the chance - with an attitude like yours, you won't make any progress in the world. Have fun turning away every person you meet. Your existence is truly miserable."
Her anger started to dissipate, and now she was just tired, and sad, and full of regret. But she wasn't sorry enough to take her words back,
With a last sympathetic look at the Honedge, she turned around and stalked away. She did not look back this time. She was tempted, for she wanted to see the look on the trainer's face, but it wasn't worth it.
She hoped she never saw them again.
WORDS: 685 TAGGED: Verley Linnaeus NOTES: #REKT I'm honestly not sure how in-character this is for Galen. But like?? Verley treated her Pokémon with disdain, and she's not going to stand for that. She had a lot of pent-up anger, and this was an excellent opportunity for her to let it out. I like how the intent was for them to be friends but they are kind of enemies now oops MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS |
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