[video / action for lavender town + a closed section for elsa]

[meteorman]

[Lavender town may be mostly fashion and radio now in the place where it isn't still stubbornly ghosts, but Ford has managed to find a tiny gaming shop tucked in among the boutiques. That's the background of this post: stacks of dice and cards and boxed sets of all sorts of different games, some themed around Pokémon and some (a much smaller amount) not.]

Hello, all! I have a proposition for you. Back in my day I used to be quite the gamer, and I've discovered that several of the popular ones in this world are similar to the kind I'm familiar with. It may take work to arrange, but would anyone be interested in setting up a session of Mysteries and Dungeons? It's a game of adventure and chance, where each player creates a Pokémon character to--

[There is a distinct crash from behind him. He turns and so does the camera to reveal a Sableye standing among a knocked-over display of plastic dice cases.]

Polly -- Polly!

[The Sableye does not respond. Instead she picks up one of the cases of plastic dice and clicks her teeth thoughtfully.]

Polymethyl Methacrylate! [That gets her attention. She looks up. Twitches her head slightly to the side. And then quick as a flash she uncaps the case of dice and upends the whole thing into her mouth. The video goes very shaky for a few seconds, clicks off, and then clicks on again after some time has passed (if anyone is in the area, they are welcome to try and help him corral his idiot ghost daughter). Polly the Sableye is now tucked securely under one of his arms, wriggling ineffectually.]

Anyway. I would be happy to discuss the logistics of arranging a campaign, or methods for teaching one's Sableye what is and is not appropriate for a snack.

[He had to pay for those dice, and the three other cases she ate before he managed to get a hold of her.]

✦✦✦
[Much later, after the Unfortunate Dice Incident, Ford has made his way back to the bed and breakfast he and Elsa are staying in. Normally he would have just camped, or perhaps stayed at the local Pokémon Center, but Lavender is a town he's never been to which means a longer stay. And with a traveling companion who is a Queen he feels a little more obligated to do basic things like sleep in a bed.

At least the bed and breakfast has a large garden as part of the property, perfect for Pokémon who are guests to stretch their legs. There's also a tiny bench for trainers to sit on in among the plants, near a very obviously man-made miniature pond (someone's Goldeen is in there, having a nice nap beneath the lilypads).

Ford emerges from the back door, carrying two mugs of tea, and walks over to the bench. The Cubone Elsa recently picked up is tumbling around on the grass with Ford's newly-rescued Golett. It's play-fighting at the moment, though he's been warned that Josef has some anger issues after being abandoned and he's on the lookout for escalation.]

Here you are.

Comments

[frozenfractalsallaround]

[You say that, but Elsa is entirely here for it. She enjoys it when Ford talks about his special interests, because it usually involves her learning something. Maybe not things that she could use in every day life, but still. It feeds her soul.

She listens intently, sipping her tea all throughout as he goes on and on. Maybe a little more intently than she normally would.

After a while she's kind of just staring at him.

It's a solid 5 seconds after he finishes speaking before she realizes it's her turn to speak.]

Oh, I see what you did there!

[Elsa sits back a little, contemplating the story.

After a moment,]

Can golems be made out of snow?

[meteorman]

In all the accounts I'm familiar with they were made of some variety of mud or clay, but... theoretically one could sculpt a suitable form out of snow? If one assumes the golem is held together by whatever force animates it, then a golem made of snow is really only exchanging a clay golem's presumed aversion to water for an aversion to heat instead.

[It only catches up to him then that she probably has a reason for asking, and it probably has to do with certain very personal things they've already discussed.]

Why?

[frozenfractalsallaround]

[Sip sip. Sip- Oh it's gone. It's been a while since she's enjoyed tea so much that she finishes it so fast. She lowers her hands so the cup can rest in her lap and she listens to Ford's explanation intently.

It makes sense though. Olaf is a golem! She made a golem. Golaf.]

No, no reason... [Elsa turns her attention back to the two Pokemon, watching them idly. Josef in particular has her attention, his attitude reminding her of one of her own Pokemon.]

Josef reminds me a lot of Eostre, you know. [Elsa lets out a soft sigh.]

[meteorman]

[He's drinking a little more slowly than her, but he's also distracted by talking and he's not much of a tea person, normally. This is an exception on account of it's not just tea.

If he knew about Olaf he would confirm that yes, Olaf is definitely a goelm. Olaf is a very impressive golem, too, when many lacked the ability to emote or speak. Her powers may have been a source of pain for her but that kind of prowess is still impressive.]

Eostre?

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Oh, I haven't told you about Eostre before?

[It's time for Elsa to talk a lot. Get ready Ford.]

She was the first Pokemon I caught on my own, so of course I was really excited. I caught her as a Bounsweet- oh, if you aren't familiar, they're absolutely adorable and prone to using sweet scent. You can imagine why I caught her! Things were lovely, and then she evolved into a Steenee. That's when the, er... problems started.

[Elsa sounds... sad. As if this didn't go how she'd wanted it to.]

At first she reminded me of Anna and it was funny. Eostre was very feisty. And then she got.. well, kind of aggressive. And very independent, I used to catch her wondering off looking for fights all the time.

[Elsa has a lot of feelings on the matter. Bounsweet had been so adorable and easy to handle. She has no idea what happened.]

Of course that might mean I didn't spend enough time with her or indulge her... oh.. maybe I should give her more of a chance. [Honestly the more she thinks about it, the more she feels like this is The Answer. She didn't Try Hard Enough.

It's convenient that after giving them a break in the PC, Elsa decided to bring Loki and Eostre along for this trip- Loki especially, considering where they are.

But right now she's got Eostre on the mind and she reaches for Eostre's ball to let her out. In a flash of light, there she is, flipping a big leaf over her shoulder.

Elsa slides off the bench and sets her tea down, scooting forward on her knees in front of Eostre.]

Eostre, hello! I've missed you, darling!

[Wait.

Wait.




KICK!]

[meteorman]

[Well that sure escalated quickly. Alarmed, Ford quickly chugs the last two sips of his tea and sets the cup aside on the bench.]

Ohmygosh, are you alright--?

[Trying to deal with a potentially-hostile magical plant monster is a very, very bad time for a high to suddenly hit. He needs to diffuse this situation before that happens.

Across the yard, Josef is watching this go on with the same inscrutable expression he always wears.]

[frozenfractalsallaround]

[It's a very front on kick which sends Elsa flat on her back and she sees stars.

Boy.

That'll teach her to get sentimental about Eostre again. Honestly she'd forgotten what a terror Eostre could be. It doesn't help that she's probably bitter about being in the PC for as long as she was.

Eostre starts to walk away, before noticing the two Pokemon watching her. Cubone seems nervous, but she doesn't know what to make of Josef. Her hair seems to get bigger and she stands straighter. Don't mess with her boi.

Meanwhile, Elsa is just staring up at the sky, head spinning.]

What a.. happy reunion.

[meteorman]

[Ford kneels next to her and carefully slips his hands under her shoulders to lift her up. She can just... lean back against him if she's a little too dizzy to support herself. Was that a hard enough kick to give her a concussion...? He knows Steenee and Tsareena pack a wallop, and that looked like it hurt.]

I see what you mean about an attitude.

[Josef can't exactly square his shoulders or raise up his chin, but he does draw himself up a little and raise his blocky arms in their sockets. He won't mess with Eostre if she doesn't mess with him.]

[frozenfractalsallaround]

[Elsa does take the opportunity to just lean back on him. It makes her feel better, her pride is more wounded than anything. Maybe she'll have a small bruise on her forehead, but overall the impact really hadn't been too hard. Ish.]

Yeah, she... ha.

[Eostre stares him down for a long moment, before taking note of the bone Cubone had dropped as soon as Eostre had come out. She steps over to it and picks it up.

It's Hers now.

Elsa looks up at Ford. Not even thinking about it, she reaches up and places her hand on his cheek and speaks in a whisper.]

I don't know what to d- oh, scruffy..

[Rub rub.]

[meteorman]

[Ah. Looks like that tea's kicked in. Before his, exactly like he thought would happen. She weighs, what, ten pounds? That tracks.]

Ah -- yes. My beard grows remarkably fast.

[If he leaves it alone for more than a couple of days he's practically unrecognizable. There's a reason his shaving method is as efficient as possible and it's because he has to do it so often he can't afford to waste that much of his life on it.]

How do you feel?

[Josef watches Eostre warily. Don't you bap him, girl. Don't you do it.]

[frozenfractalsallaround]

[It's been slowly creeping up and now it's like suddenly she was Always Like This. Everything is kind of a lot right now but she's very focused on the texture of his stubble. It feels Good against the softness of her skin.

At his question, she pauses to think about it. How does she feel?

Kicked in the face, but oddly content. Which isn't something one would think you could feel simultaneously, but here she is. Ford is right there. She's leaned right up against him, head resting against him lazily, as if she's forgotten that she's capable of lifting it.

She paps his face reassuringly.]

I'm with you, I'm fine.

[Somewhere she's aware that she ought to get up now, but that seems like a lot of work at the given moment.

Eostre takes the bone and draws a line through the dirt, before pointing at it sternly. U stay on ur side, she stays on hers.

Elsa takes notice of this and heaves a sigh, pulling herself up so that she can reach for Eostre's pokeball. While Eostre isn't paying attention, Elsa takes the opportunity to nyoom her back in the ball.

Now that Eostre is out of earshot, Elsa can't help grumble under her breath.]

She's such an impolite little- [Ahem] sorry, I just really don't like her.

[Did she say that out loud??]

[meteorman]

[I'm with you, I'm fine is not something Ford ever expected someone to say to him considering his track record of leading people into danger. Apparently he's only good at being a safe and grounding presence when he's babysitting someone through their first high. He isn't sure how he feels about that. Not bad, necessarily. It seems right for how his life has gone up to this point.]

No, I... understand. Sometimes two people aren't meant to get along.

[Ford isn't the kind of person who'd say something stupid like 'anyone can be friends if they try hard enough'. Sometimes people don't hit it off. Sometimes there's something fundamentally incompatible. It happens. He knows Rick Sanchez, he's very well-aware.]

Have you considered releasing her? Or perhaps finding her a home with a trainer who is more suited to her?

[Josef very deliberately steps forward and scuffs up that line with one of his feet. Get wreckt bitch.]

[frozenfractalsallaround]

[Ford, you're a safe and grounding presence to her any time. Why do you think she's high in the first place? It's thanks to you. She trusts you.

Elsa falls silent at his words, leaning back to rest against him again idly now that Eostre is safely back in the ball. She would honestly cheer Josef on in doing that if she wasn't so comfortable and also lost in thought.

And then it clicks.

Elsa sits up on her knees and turns to face Ford, holding Eostre's pokeball out delicately.]

Here you go.

[meteorman]

Uh.

[He blinks down at the Pokéball. It's pretty obvious what she's doing and yet he still feels somehow as though he's missed something.]

Are you sure?

[The line scuffed out, Josef picks up the discarded bone and walks it back over to Cubone. Here you go, buddy. That's Justice.]

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Yes, of course, I insist. She's yours.

[Please. Please just take her.

Cubone seems a little surprised that Josef would return the club, but he's absolutely thrilled. He takes it back and starts cheering loudly, waving it all around and banging it on the ground. He'm happy.

Elsa deposits the ball in Ford's lap as an act of finality.]

I trust you, I know you'll take good care of her. She might even grow to be a better person with your help, like I did.

[Elsa. Sober you is really judging high you for letting out these deep thoughts. These aren't things you just say to people all willy nilly.]

[meteorman]

[So. Preliminary observations about Elsa of Arendelle, stoned edition: markedly more physically affectionate. Much less concerned with censoring herself when it comes to negative emotions. And positive emotions.

Maybe it's his own tea starting to really work its magic or maybe it's how much he's mellowed in the past two years but he skips right over the preliminary disbelief and into feeling genuinely touched that she thinks knowing him has made her a better person. He's still working on making himself a better person.]

... Alright. If I could manage Scylla I can manage Eostre.

[Of course his party is already six full. He takes her ball and it does that Thing the extra ball does where it zips off to the PC -- but he'll get her out soon. When he's not high. When he can introduce himself properly and get some ground rules established.

Maybe he'll also float the idea of trading Elsa a Pokémon in return, when she's a little less... this. Lord knows he has plenty he thinks would be happy with her, and boxes of eggs.]

Also, I have a question.

Do you want to just stay on the ground or do you think you're ready to attempt getting back on the bench?

[He could understand just wanting to stay on the ground. But, also.]

[frozenfractalsallaround]

[Elsa breathes a sigh of relief once Eostre's ball is zapped over into Ford's PC. She's gone, she's no longer has to worry about that anymore. It's such a weight off her shoulders.

Ford's assessment is pretty accurate. She really doesn't feel that inherent need to censor herself as much as she usually does. Usually it's pretty nagging and just happens. Now? Pfff.]

Oh, we're still here.

[Elsa seems like she'd forgotten completely that they were still on the ground. This is fine. With what appears to be tremendous effort, Elsa pulls herself to her feet and kind of sways on the spot a little bit.

The view from up here is much better than on the ground. This place is so pretty, Elsa couldn't imagine being anywhere else right now. Elsa waddles back to the bench slowly, feeling like her limbs weigh a hundred pounds each.

Which is funny because she ways like 10.

In a shocking lack of good posture, Elsa slumps down onto the bench.]

You're getting up here too right? I can't be the only one climbing all over furniture right now!

[meteorman]

I don't know if I'd call that climbing.

[Ford pushes himself to his feet and walks back over to the bench. Usually when he walks anywhere it's brisk and clipped. Right now he can't be bothered. He looks down at his own teacup resting on the bench for a very long moment like he's not sure how to parse it before he bends down to take it and set it on the ground. There. Now he can sit down.]

[frozenfractalsallaround]

I'm on the furniture, so of course it's climbing!

[Duh??

Listen, it makes sense in her head.

She watches Ford contemplate his teacup, nodding sagely as if she knows exactly what kind of struggle he's going through in that moment.]

Sometimes the little things like that are the hardest things to deal with.

[meteorman]

I'm good at solving problems. Even little ones.

[His posture is usually very good. Not so right now. This bench isn't great for lounging but he manages to kind of do it anyway.]

So every time you sit down you figure you've climbed the chair?