foolishwren | 58. [Video/Action for Violet City]

58. [Video/Action for Violet City]

_{[Heather is sitting in the lobby of the Violet inn. This would not be too remarkable, except for the fact that there's a couple of gift-y looking boxes in front of her. She's staring at them with an expression that's a ... very weird combination of confused and... slightly unsettled.]

[Pretty much only the fact that one of them had Kaito's name on it was stopping her from throwing them away entirely. The one from flaming blanket man was even more baffling. Obviously neither of them were what made this weird in the slightest-- Kaito was one of her best friends for crying out loud, and the Proff' was probably the least threatening person she'd ever MET-- but mystery gifts held some unfortunate associations for Heather. ... But hey, even if they didn't, the boxes' existence left her with a resounding case of ".... HUH?"]

[Why were they here?]

[Was it some kind of silly prank?]

[Did they think it was her birthday?]

[WHAT WAS THIS.]

[She had to know, so ... when in doubt, turn to the network.]}

So, uh....

_{[The camera's not showing the boxes (since she has no idea anyone else got any so she's not sure if she should show them or not.]}

Any of you guys get mail that-- ... uh...

_{[... And then her brows furrow.]}

... Wren-- Wren, cut that out.

_{[She gets up abruptly and the network'll get a glimpse of an obscenely fuzzy young Murkrow with an epic case of bed-head plumage sitting on top of one of the boxes and viciously fighting with a bit of ribbon before the feed cuts out.]

[Anyone walking around the inn will find Heather looking at the boxes with a mixture of trepidation and confusion.]}

[TEXT TO KAITO]

Hey Kaito, uh

What's up with the boxes?

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[ oh, look! A Heather in a lobby!

CLEARLY RISE MUST HARASS HER. ]

-- Oh, hey! You got White Day stuff!

_{[Heather looks up, brows raised.]}

Oh-- Rise! I--

.... Wait, White Day?

_{[SO MANY PEOPLE WILL BE HEARING HEATHER ASK THAT QUESTION TODAY.]

[In any case, she looks SINCERELY baffled. Come to her rescue Rise.]

[... Though before anything else, as she approaches, there will be a baby Murkrow hopping towards her feet with flared wings and an open beak. THERE ARE SHOES AND THEY MUST BE ATTACKED.]}

Wh-- aw, Wren, jeez, leave her alone.

Yeah, it's--

[ she figured Heather wouldn't know, but as the Murkrow hops her way, she stops and glances down. ]

... If it isn't the pigtails, it's the shoes. [ so she covers by crouching down! ] Hey, shouldn't birds eat things like seeds?

_{[The little Murkrow puffs itself up and immediately starts beak-nomming on whatever of Rise's shoes she can reach, as though in reply to her question. I AM A MIGHTY BIRD OF PREY AND I WILL EAT WHATEVER I WANT THANKS-- well, until Heather came over to try and scoop the bird up, anyway.]}

Sorry, she's-- ... um, a brat.

At least she's not slimy. [ sadly, Shoelace is now three feet tall and ridiculous, so Rise can't really lug him around in a bucket anymore. Hatch already, Cleffa egg, she needs something little and snuggly. With a sigh, she straightens back up and gives the boxes a curious glance. ]

So who're the presents from?

Heh, no, THAT she's not...

_{[Straightening back up, she determinedly ignores the fact that the bird is now nomming on her hair. ... Oddly enough, when side by side, Heather's hair and the Murkrow's head plumage look... PRETTY DAMN SIMILAR. ... Both are disasters.]}

And uh-- one's from Kaito, the other's from... this other guy. _{[Who as far as she could see, had no reason to be nice to her-- but he'd treated her kindly back in the Pokemon Center, ALSO for no apparent reason... HEATHER IS CONFUSE.]}

... Oh good, he remembered.

[ because after a very long talk, Rise made absolute sure Kaito knew his holidays. ]

He... remembered?

_{[She looks back over her shoulder to the packages.]}

I-- ... okay, tell me what's goin' on. I just woke up this morning and was told I had packages at the front desk.

It's White Day! Kinda like a return-the-favor-for-Valentine's holiday where the guys give presents to girls.

[ she ruefully holds up a Pokéball. ] This is one of mine.

_{[She stares blankly at the PokeBall for a second or two.]}

But... that's-- ... well, I GUESS that makes sense, but-- in America, Valentine's Day is just... everybody gives presents to each other, not just-- and, well, I didn't send anything to anyone on Valentine's Day, so--

... Wait, somebody gave you a Pokemon?

_{[Color her curious!]}

It's a Japanese holiday, but I figured there'd be enough people here that it'd happen-- oh, yeah! Wanna see?

I-- uh, yeah, sure!

_{[She shifts the wriggling Murkrow over to one shoulder, where it immediately scrabbles over the back of her vest to sit in her hood.]}

[ Rise takes a step back, then presses a button-- and suddenly there's a Ponyta sniffing you, Heather. A very doe-eyed Ponyta. ]

Ta-dah~!

_{[.... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK FIRE okay no wait Heather remember, you OWN one of these. It's cool. It's chill. It's... lukewarm. But okay.]}

Oh! Haha, heeeeey little guy!

_{[She draws herself up and holds still much in the same way as one would if it were an enormous rottweiler sniffing her instead of an adorable pony, but she does give it a tentative pat on the nose.]}

Hey, maybe he can be friends with mine! ... Or she.

She. [ this is seconded by a soft snort and a nudge at Heather's hand in a request for MORE PETTING. ] And that's right, I almost forgot you've got one, too!

_{[Okay okay pony jeez! She continues the petting. Horses, at least, were better than dogs. ... Even if they WERE on fire.]}

Heh, yeah-- she was a real boon while coming here, for the record. A fire that doesn't go out is pretty nice to have in a sleet storm.

S'a good thing I brought her along instead of Honey. Not sure butterflies could've handled that kinda cold, y'know?

I had Pepper, but having double the fire power won't hurt! Especially since we're going to Azalea after this, so it's the way longer route.

Yeah, I mean, Cooj already has fire covered, but... _{[THANKFULLY, his fires went OUT after he'd started them if they were doused in water. Ponytas, however, seemed to have an everlasting flame.]}

Why're you heading back to Azalea? Need to get the badge?

Naoto wants it! I'm still not a big fan of the challenges, but Kanzeon had a blast beating up Morty's ghosts.

Oh yeah-- so uh, tell me.

What's that gym like, anyhow? Is the guy tough?

Morty? He's not too bad, especially if you've got a Normal-type like Kanzeon with Foresight. You've just gotta watch out for Curse.

Well... Arty's one of those ferret things, too... I wonder if SHE knows that attack.

_{[SHE HASN'T CHECKED BECAUSE SHE IS A BAD TRAINER.]}

She should. It's one of the earlier ones.

Yeah? I must not've used it...

What's it do, exactly?

Most normal attacks won't even dent a ghost. Foresight lets 'em hit, which is as simple as I can make it.

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