foolishwren | IC CONTACT (Victory Road)

[He full on GRIMACES at the thought.]

Ugh, no thanks.

No, not the dunk tank anyway. What iffff the favor had to do with balloons?

[Envy has discovered that he hates a lot of things about the modern invention that is balloons.]

_{[HEY, getting to drop Envy into a bunch of cold water would be a GREAT prize for making it through all these rigged games!]}

Balloons?

Is this the one with the darts?

_{[Her interest is piqued, anyway.]}

[IT WOULD BE...but that's a favor to claim another day.]

Yyyeah. With the darts.

[He very nearly has to take a deep breath before muttering out his admission:]

I hate blowing these things up to test this trick it's taking forever and the air pump is missing.

_{[OH BOY. She's good at throwing darts-- oh wait he wants help blowing up the balloons.]

[Well okay, she can do that too.]}

Sure, I can help.

At least for some of it.

_{[Blowing up that many balloons is kind of a two-person job anyway.]}

[Never fear, testing the balloons will mean getting to throw some darts.]

YES thank you. Okay it's over here.

[Also she's about to get even better payback than the dunk tank could've been.]

[He leads her over to the big plywood stand-in wall, and pitiful pile of black, green, and purple balloons. None of them is blown up the same amount, and there's more scattered failures--popped shards, sad fist sized orbs with messed up knots, and some scattered unblown ones that didn't manage to even get that far before being dropped on the ground or thrown in frustration.]

You're from the future, you know how to do this with no pump right?

_{[LITTLE DOES SHE KNOW.........]}

... Wow. These things really kicked your ass, huh?

_{[She bends down automatically to start picking up some of the failures from the ground. The longer they stay there, the more likely it is that one of their dumber Pokemon will think they look tasty and then require an emergency Center visit.]}

Yeah, I can do it. S'not too different than bubblegum, you just gotta pinch it right. Where're the fresh ones?

_{[Envy's previous attempts are too lame, they need to start from scratch.]}

[Bless Heather for her animal care responsibility, because Envy would never have thought of that.]

Oh, they're over here...

[Mainly just relieved that she agreed, and not eager to also question how to blow bubblegum because fuck if he's ever done that either, he avoids addressing that entirely and picks up the bags of fresh balloons from a little folding table covered in notes and papers, holding them out to her. Surely she will just demonstrate what she means so he doesn't have to admit to anything!]

_{[LOOK, WHEN YOU'VE SPENT A FULL DECADE LIVING ALONGSIDE CUJO...]

[She takes the bag without any particular fanfare and pulls out a balloon. Pinching the end between her teeth, she stretches it out a few times-- and then just blows it up with equally little fanfare. Then she ties it off around one finger. VOILA!]

[It looks extremely easy. :)]}

There you go. Nothin' to it.

[OH WHAT HOW'D SHE DO THAT SO EASILY.]

[WHAT HE WAS DOING WASN'T THAT DIFFERENT.]

[He keeps a straight face as though he totally gets it. No problem. So easy.]

Yeah, that looks simple enough.

[He takes a balloon out of the bag, and then does not move very fast to blow it up himself. Maybe she'll start blowing up a second one if he takes enough time, then she'll be distracted when he does start!]

[Envy had been picking through the Gingko Guild clothing options for a solid hour and a half before grouchily realizing that he wasn't going to find anything he actually liked. He was going to have to settle.]

[Because he has never, never forgotten his very first few days in Johto, hiking through the woods in useless clothes. Never again. Ugly is preferable.]

[Still, he doesn't look happy when he stalks over to Heather, the outfit bundled up in his arms. The cloth looks like it's patterned in mostly dark blue and purple...and honestly looks like it's kind of complicated? There's belts and ribbons in there.]

Okay, found something half decent. Did you see if there was a good spot to change?

_{[Heather is... perhaps a little less irked about the clothes than Envy is.]

[Her mind is firmly in the future, with her Pokemon. That are not here with her. In the past.]

[She was spacing straight out when Envy came over to her, rifling through shoes with one hand (that IS something she cares about-- she is NOT going to be stuck here running around in uncomfortable shoes), the other supporting her brand new wriggly orange-and-white dog, which yaps and strains when Envy approaches.]

[It takes a second or two for her to register his question, even as she turns to face him.]}

--OH. Uh-- ... you know, I'm not sure.

I could wave one of these kimonos in front of you like a bullfighter so everyone looks at me and questions my sanity instead of noticing your pasty little body while you change.

_{[Even though she wears a smirk to go with her normal teasing, it's obvious she's not really... in the present.]}

[It's a lot easier to focus on the clothes than it is on....anything else about this. Surely this would get fixed, and they'd be able to go back. That's always been what's happened, right? Things go back to normal, no matter how insane things get.]

[He doesn't really want to think about being stuck here, starting everything all over and not seeing Chimera or any of the others again.]

[At least he's not alone. That's something.]

Very funny.

[He can definitely tell she's mentally somewhere else. Well...if there's one thing he's good at, it's telling loved ones not to think too much! He nudges her arm (the one not holding a dog) with one elbow.]

C'mon, we're not gonna be here long, but we both know even an afternoon is too long in ripped up city clothes if you're out in the woods. Find anything?

_{[GOD she hopes that's what will happen.]

[This is still a step above being sent "home"-- but only because there's people she knows here. In particular, a PERSON she knows. Who is grimacing about clothes, currently.]}

Uh, I've just been browsing.

I can't tell if I should be dressing for cold or hot weather.

_{[It's fine in the sun, but chilly every time she steps into the shade! WHERE'S HER STICKY GOLDENROD SUMMER]

[The little foodog under her arm barks again, pressing its nubby little snout against her hand. Which reminds her!]}

Where's your little, uhhh...?

_{[THE LITTLE FOX THAT LOOKED LIKE SOMEONE MIXED THE WHITES AND REDS IN THE WASHING MACHINE.]}

It is summer...I just went for warm weather stuff.

If a snowstorm blows through I bet these guys'll jump at the chance to sell us all the coats we could ever want.

[The question though gets him to grimace about something other than clothes.]

Ah. Yeah.

That little demon went back into the ball for now. You didn't happen to hear some really piercing wails a little while ago, did you?

_{[Warm weather it is. She picks up an orange-ish sleeveless vest that looks more or less like something she would willingly put on her body.]}

I might've. To be honest my ears haven't quit ringing since I woke up here.

_{[She looks down at the dog in her arms, who gazes adoringly up at her in a way that is charming but also achingly familiar. It's a tiny little moppet compared to her real starter, but there's no denying that on some level, All Growlithes Is The Same.]}

At least Yap Goblin here is fairly not-piercing.

[He nods at her choice--orange always suits her.]

Well, he didn't take too kindly to me paying too much attention to the pile of ugly clothes and not to his majesty. So he screamed and then bit me on the ankle--not too hard, I've had worse from bigger. Every local nearby looked like they were about to have to change pants over it though, let me tell you.

[Which was bizarre. He's used to people barely batting an eye at an entire Charizard throwing a tantrum, much less a fluffy little thing like his new companion.]

I think the universe decided that I didn't deserve another Chimera [his expression does finally waver here, and he pauses a few seconds too long before he keeps going. Ouch. Clothes aside, he really is missing his team.] so it decided to start me with a real brat instead.

Yeah, dude, these people are really weird about Pokemon.

_{[She lowers her voice as she says this-- not because she's PARTICULARLY worried about being overheard, it's just that it's so bizarre.]

[She'd been half-listening when a lot of this was explained, too preoccupied with the absence of the animals she was literally surrounded by 24/7 to have it all really sink in. The part about Pokemon companions not really being common had stood out a little, but it wasn't until they'd actually walked into "camp" that it really hit.]}

Someone actually backed away from me like I had a gun when I walked up to them holding this thing.

_{[She shifts the Growlithe to both hands, holding it up to Envy.]}

Look at her.

Imagine what would happen if I had Cujo here instead.

I think someone would literally drop dead at the sight of him.

_{[Like Envy, saying her starter's name is surprisingly difficult. It catches her off-guard. But she can tell he's experiencing the same feeling. And hell, she remembers witnessing his and Chimera's first-ever meeting. All those years ago.]}

... At least you're here.

Edited 2022-07-09 05:41 (UTC)

[He can't help but snicker a little and shake his head at the mental image of massive Cujo galloping around here, striking terror into the hearts of all.]

Cujo'd have a terrible time here, nobody would pet him. He'd wither away.

[At what she says next, he grins...and nods a little more fervently than he'd really meant to. He doesn't even want to think about the idea of showing up here on his own.]

There is that.

...glad you're here too.

[Oh no this is starting to allow for too much thinking and too many feelings right this second. And here he'd been going to be distracting her, not getting caught up in it himself. Maybe time to change subjects.]

Do you think the machine thing caught everyone? Lust might be around somewhere, we could look for her later.

_{[YEP. SUBJECT CHANGE TIME.]

[She tucks the dog who is not Cujo back under one arm and picks up a pair of sort of ragged-looking shorts-- the table of donated clothing had already been somewhat picked-over by the time she actually got to it.]}

Yeah, I was kind of distracted when I woke up so I didn't notice who was here, just... that a lot of people were.

_{[DID it catch everyone? It had been so hard to pick out faces in the crowd when all anybody was focusing on in the heat of the moment was NOT STRANGLING CARA LISS.]}

C'mon, let's find somewhere to change that isn't out in front of everyone and their grandma.

[TIME TO SEIZE ON THE CLOTHES DISTRACTION AGAIN.]

Yeah, let's. The new stuff might be weird but at least it's not ripped to hell.

[He does take a moment to frown down at the ruins of his outfit.]

Ugh...I really liked this shirt too.

[Luckily there are plenty of other people changing and so there's private tents and spots available--nobody, especially not the locals, wants to see a lot of naked time travelers today on top of everything else.]

[It takes Envy a hot minute to actually figure out how to put the top on, but at least the pants are easy enough. And he could definitely look worse! He even managed to find a new black headband.]

_{[She puts a hand on his shoulder as they head towards the tents.]}

I'll buy you another one if we ever make it back to the future.

_{[(Mental note: find an excuse to yell GREAT SCOTT!! at some point during all this nonsense.)]

[Ten minutes later or so, Heather emerges as well! In addition to the scrappy outfit she'd assembled, she's settled on a pair of cozy boots and a plain blue cap. She's worn olden-timey traditional clothes once or twice in Ecruteak just for kicks and this isn't too different, but it'll certainly take some getting used to.]}

There.

We'll fit right in.

_{[Her new Growlithe is on the ground now, panting happily and wagging her curly tail.]}

[There's something particularly fitting about him being dressed like a fancy goth and her being dressed like a brightly colored feral person.]

I dunno, are you sure those clothes aren't as messed up as the ones we got here in?

[He's grinning though.]

The colors suit you, I gotta say. You almost match the little guy.

_{[She reaches out to give him an obligatory light punch on the shoulder.]}

Hey, tell me you wouldn't see a pair of shorts just like this on a mannequin in the Goldenrod Department Store.

_{[DISTRESSED DENIM IS SO "IN" RIGHT NOW! ..... In the future.]}

I'll pick out something better later.

And, I think she's a girl. Not that I've like... looked real hard or anything. ... Actually, I haven't really done a whole lot of looking in general.

_{[She glances down at the Growlithe, who has hopped up to put her stubby paws on Heather's thigh so that she may better sniff at the belt tying it all together. Then sighs and pats the dog's head.]

[She's certainly progressed LIGHT YEARS from when she'd first arrived in Johto and come face to face with a living representation of like three of her worst phobias combined into one being-- but she still feels a little bit bad for not immediately bonding with this one.]}

Sorry, pooch.

It's not your fault that you're not my idiot dog from home. You're probably smarter than he is.

I guess you've got a point there. And hey, our...chest bandages? match.

[Envy's not entirely sure about the idea of needing to wrap his torso like a mummy every time he puts his shirt on, but FOR THE MOMENT...]

[He does hold out his hand for the Growlithe to sniff if she's so inclined--he doesn't want to make a bad first impression on his girlfriend's new dog if they're gonna be here any length of time.]

We can only hope.

...it is weird though, she does look like a Growlithe, mostly. And mine looks like a Zorua that fell in a bucket of paint. You think this is like...different species or like the Alola ones?

_{[THE TORSO WRAPPING IS GONNA GET OLD REAL FAST.]

[The little Growlithe-- which is roughly the size of a cocker spaniel-- sniffs Envy's proffered hand enthusiastically, bathing it in hot breath in the process.]

[Heather watches this exchange thoughtfully, hands resting on her hips.]}

Oh, these have to be regional forms. I'm sure of it. No way something this similar could be a coincidence. Plus, I know a Growlithe when I see one.

_{[Satisfied that she has smelled everything that Envy has touched in the last 24 hours, Heather's new starter sits on her trainer's foot and just looks up at them, mouth wide open and panting happily.]}

IC CONTACT (Victory Road)

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