foolishwren | 53. Accidental Video

_{[There's a whole lot of jostling noises before the 'Gear, turned on in the hubbub, tumbles out of a small pile of clothes and lands on the bed, showing a jumble of items and ... general junk that Heather's allowed to accumulate in the hotel room.]

[There's a few crumpled paychecks, unfolded clothing, spare Potions and Pokeballs, and more than a few of the Christmas gifts that she'd gotten from her friends (all the candies and sweets, however, are long gone. Because if Heather didn't eat them, Honey the Butterfree was more than happy to pick up the slack.)]

[Is she... doing some early spring cleaning or what?]}

Where-- ... is it? Dammit...

_{[Her voice, though slightly muffled on account of a small Girafarig plush pressed against the 'Gear's speakers, is clearly audible from somewhere off-camera. There's some sounds of stuff being shuffled or thrown about.]}

I swore I just put it d-- NO, Cujo, don't touch that! I said NO. Leave it alo-- good boy.

Okay, now where is that-- AHA.

_{[The 'Gear is plucked up out of the pile of odds and ends and the camera shows Heather's face briefly. She frowns a little bit at the sight of the red 'recording' light, but shrugs a little bit and lets her arm fall slack, giving everyone a nice, motion-blurred view of her jean leg. She seems a little harried-- too busy to care enough to turn it off.]}

Okay, I think that's just about everything-- Zilla, take that out of your mouth or I'll drop-kick you and you'll choke on it. Just gotta-- _{[Rummaging sounds.]}-- find a way to fit everything in... _{[Wait a moment, is she... packing? Since when was Heather leaving Goldenrod??]}

I think with the new bag, I should be able to-- ....

... CLAUDY. Get OUT of-- ....Claudy, NO-- aw, hell. Claudy...

_{[... There's a brief, resigned pause, and then Heather brings up the 'Gear to eye-level to show the network just what it is she's looking at.]

[Anybody remember Claudy's oh-so-endearing choice of habitat back when she was a cute little Hoothoot who could fit into small spaces? Anybody remember how that adorable (and very inconvenient) habit had disappeared once she had evolved into something as tall as Heather's torso? Juudai, remember how you gave her that great big RK9 sports bag for Christmas?]}

[THE OWLBAG IS PLEASED.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

At least she has a place to sleep, right?

We-ellll, I'd like it better if it was somewhere that didn't result in my stuff being full of feathers and the occasional owl pellet.

I see your point. Still, when they decide on a home, they decide on a home.

Yeeeah...

I guess there's not much I can do.

I mean, how do you discourage an owl?

That's the same problem I had with the baby Chocobo I got for my son.

_{[.... BWUT. He's getting a blank stare in response to that one.]}

A chocobo?

Yeah. They're yellow birds about this tall. [He tilts the gear up to show that his hand is about his head.] Of course, the baby I have can fit in my hand.

... Oh. HUH.

So... kinda like ostriches or something, then?

... Yeah. I guess you could say that.

Man... giant, yellow ostri-- ....

_{[And then she stops there, this look of awed realization dawning on her face.]

[You know why, Sazh?]

[It is because she just realized that where you come from, that means there is an entire race of Big Birds.]}

[He taps the gear's screen.] You okay over there?

... OH.

UH.

YEAH!

Sorry. Got lost in thought for a second.

Anyway, I guess we don't really have anything like that where I come from. Just ostriches.

_{[And those weren't really given as pets.]}

... It's hard to imagine a world without them.

Yeah, well... I guess it's hard for me to imagine a world without cars everywhere, but... I sure haven't seen many around this place, so I sure can imagine it now.

There are cars where I'm from, but they're just not the main type of transportation.

... I gotta say I miss 'em here, though.

UGH, you're not the only one.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't leg it a lot back home, but jeez.

There's not even roads here.

You aren't the only one who walked a lot. I would have been used to it if it weren't for those ledges and wild pokémon.

Well, I didn't have a driver's license back home, so I couldn't really drive anywhere... had to walk. Or take public transit, but sometimes that's practically more trouble than walking.

In any case, still pretty different from navigating total wilderness...

Yeah... I'm used to all the wilderness though. This place doesn't even compare to Pulse.

.... Really?

Daaamn.

What's Pulse like?

_{[The name sounds familiar... she could swear she heard somebody talking about it before.]}

.... Let's see.

It's basically like Hell. Everywhere you turn, there's a giant monster waiting to kill you.

_{[Heather listens, expressionlessly, as he speaks. Then, after a brief pause, lets out a humorless snicker.]}

Heh... sounds like home.

...

Does it now?

Maybe not the 'giant' part, but everything else?

Makes me a little nostalgic, man.

_{[There's a bit of an edge to her voice, but it's clearly not directed at him. Who knows what it IS directed at.]}