foolishwren | 52. Video and Private Message

_{[The feed opens out on the expansive city skyline, though the slight reflection of the PokeGear shows that, thankfully, there's a panel of glass in between it and the unholy winter storm raging outside. It's nothing compared to that blizzard from last month in terms of whiteout-- the buildings outside, lit up brightly as usual, are still perfectly visible, but the low, gutteral moaning of the wind and the occasional pulsing flash far off in the roiling skies-- tumbling with clouds of that weird velvety orange-gray color only seen in the thickest of snowstorms-- indicate that it is not a pleasant night to be outside.]}

Screw my shift, man. I'm not goin' in tonight.

The ol' bat can kiss my ass.

_{[There's a low rumble of thunder and a clump of buildings off on far side of the city go dark.]}

Ugh. See?

Screw that. I'm staying in my room.

_{[... Well, she might go and bother what few of her friends remained in the hotel. ... Though it was a dwindling number, lately. It made the enormous city seem surprisingly lonely. She'd gotten used to having most of her buddies within walking distance and it was funny how quickly it had seemed normal. Ah, well. She'd already known she took things for granted... at least they were still in Johto.]}

[Though it did make her wonder if she really wanted to stay in the city much longer. ... The old wander gene was kicking in, and then there was the arrival of a certain prominent figure (although they'd never formally met...) from Heather's past...]

[The feed lingers on the window for a moment or two before the camera-holder seems to snap out of her thoughtfulness and turns away, transforming the scene into a brief, ugly blur of floral hotel wallpaper.]

Anyway. Anyone else in the hotel hungry? Maybe we can pool a little money and order some epic room service, because like hell am I gonna try and go out to eat tonight.

.... Oh yeah, and-- heh.

_{[The camera turns once more from where Heather's flopped down on the bed and shows.... this.]}

... I think being cooped up indoors makes them restless.

~*~

[PRIVATE Voice Message to Cybil Bennett]

Hey!

It's, uh-- ... it's Cheryl.

I hope you got somewhere sheltered because this storm's a real doozy. Have you made it to Cherrygrove yet?

Anyway, uh...

... Listen. I'm probably gonna be heading out of town soon and backtracking to Violet City. Which is... probably on your destination list if you're goin' the usual way.

_{[There's a brief pause. Heather sounds almost humorously sheepish and unsure. To anyone already familiar with her usual cocky way of talking, it'd probably almost sound adorable how uncertain she was. But really could you blame her after what had happened when the last person she knew from back home showed up? This was a big deal and she didn't wanna fuck it all up.]}

Do you... I dunno, wanna meet up for coffee or something while I'm there?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Something that's gonna claw his eyes out probably if he doesn't get his face out from under there!

_{[And sure enough, the Absol's lips are curling away from its teeny sharp baby teeth and it's taking a couple of swipes at Devil, like a cornered cat.]}

[And Devil is just out of reach. He yaps and growls and makes all sorts of Poochyena noises at the Absol, probably just intent on antagonizing the thing at this point.

With a frustrated sigh, Fang strides over and kneels down, grabbing the Poochyena by the tail. Obviously not anticipating that, Devil swings around to bite at the offending hand--

--only to have Fang's other hand grab his muzzle. She narrows her eyes at the dog.]

Stop.

[The pokémon stops struggling and stares at Fang. When she lets go, he gives a low, gruff sort of sound, then reluctantly walks back over to Cujo, looking like he was just scolded for peeing indoors.]

Stupid mutt.

_{[Heather's protective instincts were flaring up like a spark in a hay bale-- that was her special Christmas ... baby thing under there! If Devil hadn't been a dog, Heather probably would have just straight-up kicked him away from the bed. But while she might have grown accustomed to Cujo, she still hadn't gotten over the dog problem. It didn't help that Poochyenas looked decidedly more ferocious than Growlithes.]

[But luckily, she didn't have to do any kicking of the sort.]

[Her brows went up at Fang's... er, blunt command. .... And then in surprise at the fact that it actually WORKED.]

[Even Cujo's normally-dense ears had caught that commanding tone and he was now looking at Fang a little anxiously. 8( HAVE I BEEN A BAD DOG? I'M NOT A BAD DOG AM I.]}

Right...

[A slightly annoyed tone as she watches Devil look at her for a moment, then, while Cujo is distracted, SURPRISE TACKLE AHAHA. With a soft, satisfied snort, she lowers her head to peek under the bed at the Absol. Thankfully for the dark-type, Fang's not nearly as close as Devil-- and nowhere as mischievous ~~right now~~.]

Huh. One of those Absols, yeah?

[And she pulls away from the bed. Clearly, the thing was stressed out enough already if it was pinned to the back of the wall and making those... noises.]

_{[Snorting explosively, Cujo goes sprawling to the side, mouth wide open. O NOES I AM HIT.]

[Meanwhile, the baby Absol's eyes glimmer bloodily from the darkness. All her fur is on end and she's just... hunkered in a small, semi-circular ball back there.]}

... Yeah.

I guess that's what they're called. Got her for Christmas.

[With Alessa's cowering in a corner under the bed, and snapping and hissing and making god knows what kind of sounds-- Well, it's all just rather strange for such a small, young pokémon. ...then again, it seemed the moment Devil popped out, he was harassing and giving hell to everything that lived, and... Fang was pretty sure that wasn't exactly a regular baby-like behavior, either. Probably a pokémon thing...]

Not exactly the friendly sort, is she?

_{[Maybe they both had a thing for getting the weird babies. ... Or maybe the little Absol was doing what her species was good at and could see right off the bat that Devil was a disaster waiting to happen.]}

... She's just scared.

_{[Heather's voice held a slightly defensive tone-- she was perfectly willing to attest to the bitchiness of SOME of her Pokemon (aka her walking fur scarf that hated everybody), but... Alessa, she was a little protective of.]}

Scared? Of what? [She holds back a snort of amusement as she points at the dark-type wrestling with Cujo.]

Him? All bark, no bite. ...Well. [She shoots a fond, and even a little proud, grin at the mutt.] Not unless he's in a battle.

I dunno, maybe of your stupid dog?

_{[She sounds defensive. As usual. MAYBE ALESSA JUST DOESN'T LIKE DOGS DID YOU EVER THINK OF THAT forgetting the fact that she IS one?!]}

Anyway, she's just a friggin' baby. Why does it matter?

Where I'm from, young ones-- no matter the species-- tend to be playful and carefree. An' she's anything but.

[And then she looks at Heather.]

And you're also young to be getting fired up over ever little thing I say.

_{[.... >8( ....]

[Sorry Fang, you just hit all her teenage rage buttons. The funny thing was that she honestly didn't get this way when her various older male acquaintances teased her.]}

... Well, sorry to bust your bubble, but not every kid is carefree.

_{[Of course, she doesn't really... know why the baby Absol is so standoffish, but... well, given her namesake...]

[Anyway she's just gonna ignore that last statement.]}

[It's okay, Heather; people of all ages and both genders get their rage buttons pushed by Fang. It's just what she does.]

Yeah? [She casually leans against the wall.] Sounds like you would know.

[It's not a prying question, but it could certainly be interpreted as one.]

... A lot of people where I come from know.

_{[It's not something she ever tries to hide, really, even if she's not into sharing intimate details.]

[She folds her arms. >:( LADY WTF ARE YOU STILL DOING IN MY ROOM.]}

52. Video and Private Message

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