[open]

[marmoron]

Who: Keith and YOU!
Where: The beach house, Cherrygrove City, Route 31
When: August 16th - onwards
Summary: Keith leaves the beach house, lands in Cherrygrove City, shenanigans ensue.
Warnings: None expected but I'll add them as needed

Sevii Islands - OTA for folks staying at Shiro's beach house

[Anyone out on the beach in the early hours of the morning may find a disgruntled Keith out on the beach with all his belongings shoved into an overstuffed backpack staring down an equally disgruntled looking Skarmory.]

C'mon, buddy. I just need you to fly me to a city. It's not even that far -- see?

[He gestures at the map in his hands. Skarmory looks distinctly unimpressed as she spreads her wings and begins preening through steel feathers. Frustrated, Keith groans.]

I'm asking nicely. Please.

[Skarmory clicks her beak, staring him down. Keith stares right back, apparently undeterred.]

Look, buddy. I am your trainer. We're a team. [A beat.] Fine! What if I gave you a berry?

[This is perhaps not the smoothest of escapes....]

Cherrygrove City & Route 31 - OTA in the area!

[Eventually it seems Keith and the birb have figured out a deal because at some point later that morning, Skarmory flies over towards the pokemon center in Cherrygrove City and then quite literally lands then, refusing to budge any further.]

Buddy, I said Violet City... we were gonna challenge the gym, remember?

[But at this point, his expression is just d r a i n e d and when Skarmory attempts to peck him off her back, he looks completely resigned, even as he dodges and rolls off. He sighs deeply as he goes through his bag to present the steel birb with food. She plucks the food right out of his hand, then promptly returns to her pokeball.

Keith rubs at his forehead for a long moment, trying to regroup. Violet City's a few day trek away and to get around until then he's gonna need some cash money. And for that well -- it's time to battle.

He straightens up, sending three pokeballs flying. A Houndour, Vulpix and Archen all come out of their respective pokeballs. Keith approaches anyone that looks like a trainer that's hanging around Cherrygrove and Route 31 with this team of three in tow.]

Battle me.

[If that's at all off putting, it's mostly due to his familiarity with the NPC trainers around who seem weirdly static.]

Comments

» beach house | pretend i have togepi icons

[lordofthefries]

[The early bird catches the worm, or in something much closer to reality, the early Togepi catches the last donut on the counter. While his trainer sleeps like a wild animal strewn across her bed with one too many pillows, Omelette waddles down to the kitchen for his own breakfast. He may be a baby Pokemon, but he's been hanging around the cats in this house long enough to learn various ways of reaching things usually out of his way. Once he's gotten the cinnamon dusted donut in his little paws, he waddles his way out onto the porch and onto the beach where his attention goes from his snack to the familiar back of a trainer arguing with a Skarmory.

From here Omelette can see Keith is back again and is still in need of some happiness. Pokemon powers that be tell the Togepi so. He doesn't hesitate to wander over, stopping next to Keith's feet, and start making a racket of saying the only word he knows in the human language.]

Toge, togepiiiii! Togepiiiiii!

[Translation: It's you! You're back!]

[marmoron]

[Keith is still occupied with trying to negotiate with his Skarmory and doesn't notice the pokemon until the Togepi is right up by his legs.]

Buddy c'mon!

[Is the frustrated plea that gets interrupted by an ... adorable egg? Keith looks down towards Togepi distracted from his steel birb.]

Uh... can I help you?

Beach house

[shiro2hero]

She might be too strong.

[He's been watching for a short while. Standing on the porch, quietly. Early morning is nothing new for him -- with Matt having odd hours at the observatory, his own sleep schedule is a mess. But it was Kuro the Aggron who roused him, knocking on the window of their room until Shiro got out of bed.]

[And he wishes he were surprised by the scene out on the sand.]

Happens sometimes. Unless they're your starter, there's a chance they level up beyond you. It's not your fault.

[His elbows rest on the porch rail.]

Want help?

[marmoron]

[Keith freezes the instant he hears Shiro's voice, looking very much like he's just been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. It's a little irrational, maybe, but he hadn't wanted to cause a kerfuffle around leaving and he figured this would be the best way to do it.

But deep down, he knows that his way might come as a disappointment. As much as he can tell himself he doesn't need anyone's approval, he really doesn't want to let his older brother figure down. He waits, breath held, for the inevitable "where do you think you're going," but when the offer to help comes instead, it makes him feel guiltier than any reprimand could have accomplished.

He turns slowly, smiling over his shoulder.]

..... can't rely on you to get me out of everything, can I?

[It's a joke, but the truth of it makes a spot behind his ribs hurt.]

Sorry. Did I wake you? I was trying to keep it quiet.

[shiro2hero]

No, but hey, if you've got me here, why not use the extra hand?

[He's not going to lie to himself. Seeing Keith take off again isn't easy. It feels like just yesterday he turned up. It stings, really. He wants to tell Keith to stick around, to stay. Keep close with the others and work things through. But after the shouting match at the party, he can understand it.]

[Shiro himself had taken off once or twice before, to clear his head.]

You didn't. [Kuro did.] I've had weird hours for a while now. [He pushes off the rail, starting to climb down the porch stairs to the sand.]

She's not cooperating, huh?

[Maybe if they talk about the pokemon, he won't have to address the issue of leaving.]

[marmoron]

Can't sleep?

[The concern's near instant when Shiro brings up irregular sleeping patterns, perhaps in part because Keith's also fully on board with not directly talking about the issue of leaving. But more than that, there's just a part of Keith that hurts looking at Shiro and knowing he can't do anything meaningful to keep him safe if he ever goes back home. For all that they're paladins of Voltron and capable of incredible things, it's hollow in the face of how powerless he is to alter his brother's future.

Swallowing down far too many bitter thoughts, Keith hastily turns back to look at Skarmory. That's definitely a better topic.]

I... yeah. Maybe I need a badge or something.

[shiro2hero]

[The answer to that is a laugh. Short, not completely amused. More like he's a little embarrassed to be asked the question.]

Sometimes, yeah. [He can't lie to Keith. It would be obvious.] But mostly it's that Matt has weird hours at the observatory. I usually end up matching him.

[Aside from that, he's got his Pokemon looking out for him. A ghost type casting hypnosis and dream eater whenever he can't actually get to sleep. The pulses from his Umbreon's rings grounding him. It's been good for him, here, and he knows it. So his biggest hope has always been the same for his friends. For his family.]

[If it's been good for him, please let it be good for them, too. Even if they feel the need to sneak out in the middle of the night. He just has to pretend it doesn't sting a bit.]

You might, yeah. Unless she's your starter, she probably won't listen, the stronger she gets. But...

[He glances around. Up toward the tree line.] Maybe if mine flies with her, that would keep her in line.

[marmoron]

[It's definitely a good sign that Shiro's just admitting to having a problem instead of trying to hide it or make light of it with his concerning as hell dark humor. Keith opens his mouth to say something, but Buddy the Skarmory lets out a noise that sounds a little like knives being sharpened in response to Shiro's suggestion. Keith's hands go towards his ears.]

Buddy, c'mon.

[Buddy does not "come on" and instead scoots further to th the left. Bah, humans. Keith sighs.]

As long as you're getting some sleep. [He glances at Shiro.] I know you don't need me to tell you that. Don't mean to nag.

[Another metallic series of clicks from Skarmory. As if to say you nagging nagger. Keith chooses to ignore this.]

.... but you know. If you need me for anything... even if it's small. Tell me.

[shiro2hero]

[He knows better than to hide something from Keith, at least. From someone who knows him well enough to be able to call him out, if he tries. A call out right now probably won't help the situation.]

[In answer to the Skarmory's call, there's another metallic shrieking from the trees. It sounds more... rusted, if possible. And soon enough, Shiro's own Skarmory looms large against the sky. Dropping down to the sand beside her trainer, and hissing at the younger bird.]

I am, I swear. The pokemon won't let me go too long without. Neither does Matt. [He offers up a brief, tight smile. Don't worry, he wants to say. Even though he knows better.]

[His Skarmory rattles her feathers, like a normal bird puffing up theirs.]

I do know. And it's appreciated. [He reaches out, clasping Keith on the shoulder.] The same goes for you, too.

[marmoron]

[The appearance of the older Skarmory seems to get Buddy to look disgruntled and fall silent. Everyone is absolutely getting the stink eye here, though she doesn't seem to be putting up a fight. ..Yet.

Either way, Keith misses the stink eye because he's glancing down at the hand on his shoulder. Something in his stomach twists, though that's come to be par the course of late when thinking about everything that's been said about the future. Not so long ago, he'd have said a friend is someone you can share everything with, but he's wondering if not doing that is just a part of maturity.

He lets his gaze drop to the sand for a moment, then wraps his arms around Shiro tightly.]

I'm gonna come back eventually. For good, I mean. Promise. It's just.. I feel like I'm messing up what you guys had going before I got here, you know? Making things worse.

[Mostly with Lance, but he regrets snapping at Pidge as well.]

Just need to clear my head a bit.

Cherrygrove

[onebetter]

[ James has been on the road for a few days now, without really talking to anybody, and it's done wonders for his mood. He's moved from depressed and volatile, to just... a stable state of being depressed. It's just a humdrum in the back of his head that he should be fighting for his dying planet. James doesn't have time to pay too much attention to it because Lilly, his young Lillipup, is demanding attention at every turn and his new friend Starly takes up the rest of the time.

By the time James arrived in Cherrygrove, he was so exhausted, he might as well have counted as relaxed.

That was around 5 hours ago now. Since, he's made his way to the Pokémon center, ate something, freshened up.... Things seem like they're looking up, just a bit.

And then Lilly runs away to check out a group of nearby Pokémon and James runs after her and--- and the Pokémon belong to Keith.

He comes to a dead stop. ]

Keith. Hello.

[marmoron]

[An unfamiliar puppy pokemon comes scampering up to his Houndour and Vulpix who are streeeeetching while Archen has decided to perch on Keith's shoulder. The Vulpix is the first to approach the Lillipup, sniffing curiously, while the Houndour remains aloof and looking very much like he would be crossing his arms if he had arms to fold.

Keith himself is on the verge of commanding Vulpix to tackle the wild pokemon for EXP, but there's a trainer running after the puppy and all at once the voice and figure are depressingly familiar.

Keith hangs his head for a moment, then straightens up abruptly, flicking hair out of his eyes with a quick sweeping motion of his hand.]

Griffin. Great.

[The "what are you doing here" is on the tip of his tongue, though he manages to keep the accusatory question to himself for the time being.]

[onebetter]

[ Vulpix is a suitable distraction from Houndour's stoic detachedness, so Lilly engages in a sniffing hello with the fox Pokémon. She wants to play! Does Vulpix want to play?!

James meanwhile is still frozen in headlights at the sight of Keith. Their last conversation was awful but in a way this shouldn't be anything new. Shouldn't be any different from the time they were cadets, meeting again in the halls after a nasty fight the day prior. All that distances them from this status quo is time, after all. ]

You've got a sizeable team already.

[marmoron]

[Vulpix is absolutely ready to play. She hunches down low onto her front paws, all six tails fanning out as she eagerly nudges Lillipup with her nose before sauntering off. It's time to play tag, apparently. Houndour huffs out a single ember as he watches Vulpix jet off.

While the pokemon appear to be getting along, Keith meanwhile feels like he's got his foot stuck in cement. Their last conversation (fi it could even be called that) is one that) had been so hostile on both ends that meeting face to face had just seemed like it would be better avoided at all costs. And now here they are outside the Cherrygrove City pokemon center with stupidly cheerful music blaring in the background.]

Yeah well. [His tone comes out far mroe defensively than warranted. Keith takes a deep breath, putting more of an effort not to bristle.] Been here for a two months. It's how it goes here. .

[onebetter]

[ Lilly is down to play tag. She loves her trainer, but he's a bit too over-serious for her puppy tastes sometimes. It's absolutely thrilling to get to run around with a likeminded Pokémon.

James idly registered the two of them dashing off and he has half a mind to tell Lilly to not be a traitor, but it seems like it's far far too late for that now. ]

That's not that long, compared to some of the others. I'm hoping to get a crew together soon myself though.

[ Starly, on his shoulder, chirps. A proud second crew member. ]

Did you actually do the journey thing yet?

[ Small-talk with Keith is weird on every imaginable level, but James can't say he's disinterested in Keith's progress either. It's been so long since they've been face to face... So long and it still feels natural. All the tension and anger and awkwardness. They all feel natural. ]

[marmoron]

[It's much much easier to be looking at Vulpix scampering off than it is to look at James and be face to face with a years old rivalry that never actually saw a proper conclusion. And now that they're here, they probably won't ever get one. After all, everything Keith feels now is in James' distant past and everything James feels now hasn't even happened to Keith. It's frustrating -- so fucking frustrating, though Keith can't find the words to explain to himself why he would even want catharsis from the kid who made it a daily habit of reminding him he's just a charity case that grew into an adult who blames him for the destruction of their home planet.

Something burns at the back of his throat. This feeling is why he had to leave his friends on Sevii Island. It's infuriating that he's starting to feel like he has nowhere to go to be free from all the things tearing him up internally.

But at least Archen seems happy to flap over towards Starly. Keith resists the urge to snatch the rock bird right out of the air and instead takes a deep breath before forcing himself to look at James. Glare, more like.]

Do you actually care about the answer?

[onebetter]

I do.

[ James gives the confirmation before he actually has reasoned out for himself how he wants to justify it. "I want to beat you at these challenges" is probably not something Keith really wants to hear, even if it's true. James wonders if he should even care about offending Keith further. Probably not.

But James has a point to prove that he's grown up from the boy he used to be. That he can be the bigger person, even if he's not sure Keith deserves it.

It's easier to rationalize it like that than to confront properly that he knows blaming Keith isn't fair. ]

After all, I'm going to be doing the challenges myself. It's something to do while we're stuck here.

[ As Archen approaches, Starly takes off into the air to meet it halfway. Opposed to Lilly, Stanley's a lot less enthusiastic about making new friends, but he's at the very least curious about this other party and willing to give Archen the time of day. ]

[marmoron]

[Keith says nothing in response to this -- at least not right away. Eyes still trained on Archen, he watches to make sure the Starly isn't about to peck him or whatever because James would pick bullies on his team, wouldn't he.]

I didn't get far.

[The sentence comes out stiff, teetering on defensive.]

Been dealing with other things while I was stuck here.

[Thanks for not elaborating....]

Route 31

[lyingheart]

[ Annie, who had really stopped just to allow herself time with Marcel and Reiner running around, looks to Keith and raises both her eyebrows. Sure, right now she has Lute the Absol sitting at her feet, and she has a Sobble who pulled their head back into her pack and went invisible when Keith and his statement, but there's also an Aegislash floating to her right that visibly perks up at his words. ]

... What level is your team?

[ She asks, and if she sounds dubious, it's because.............. the Sobble doesn't fight, Reiner and Marcel are new to her, Lute is level 100, and the Aegislash is the only one currently leveling. Libera, also level 100, is grazing near the trees. ]

[marmoron]

Houndour and Skarmory are both in the 20s and Vulpix and Archen are newer so they're hanging around level 10.

[So a fairly low level group overall, though this is apparently not any kind of deterrent judging from the look in Keith's eyes.]

But they're all tough and will take anyone on.

[At that, his defeatist Archen is most definitely flapping off Keith's shoulder like he wants no part of this. As if fully anticipating this, Keith grabs the rock birb.]

C'mon buddy. Stop being a coward!

[The Archen droops his head. Keith meanwhile turns back to Annie.]

Got anyone who wants to go?

[lyingheart]

... The Honedge is level 40?

[ She glances at the rest, ignoring the Sobble. His pokemon didn't all seem into this, but, well. It happens. Lute never has been one to want to fight, but he's dedicated, and not shy. ]

Everyone else is fully leveled, so... if you'd like to have several battle the Honedge, that might be educational.

[ For someone here. She's making no claims on who! ]

[marmoron]

[If that's meant to be a backhanded comment on teaching him a lesson, keith 100% misses that implication. He breaks into a smile.]

You heard her, get in there, guys!

[The Houndour and Vulpix give Keith a look, then bound forward. Houndour huffs some tough guy flames because he's gotta keep up some kinda image. Archen flutters down to join them, but Skarmory stays back -- apparently content to be preening in a tree.]

RRgh, fine, you'd only get in the way anyway! [Keith yells up at the birb who seems insulted enough to actually flap down and give Keith and Annie the stinkeye.]

[lyingheart]

[ There's no backhanded comments here, just more her puzzlement in being randomly challenged by... someone offworld. Like she is. This has literally not happened in the almost year she's been around.

Annie is unperturbed by the Skarmory stink eye, while she shifts to accept the invisible Sobble into her arms. She's now apparently pantomiming holding an invisible something. Maybe a watermelon? Then again, there's true impressions of something pressed against her sweatshirt, so maybe something's actually there. ]

Honedge, we'll take second move. You... what's your name?

[ She's looking at Keith, because she actually thinks she knows but today is just feeling bizarre for all kinds of reasons, and she's off center after having the third person from home return home in the last month or so, and the most recent one being one of the dead. ]

[marmoron]

[Excuse him for staring at this invisible thing Annie's apparently holding because ...what??]

I'm Keith. Who's the friend?

[Assuming it's a friend seeing as it's being carried around. But feeling incredibly impatient with the chitchat, Skarmory decides to take the lead in reminding everyone there's a battle going on. She lunges right at Honege to attack with metal claw.

As she swoops in, Keith yells:]

Buddy!

[This prompts Houndour, Vulpix and Archen to all turn and look at Keith -- yep this disaster nicknamed them ALL "Buddy" -- but the Skarmory doesn't turn and doesn't stop either. Move one and Keith is already facepalming.]

[lyingheart]

[ She lifts her invisible burden. ]

I'm Annie, and this is a sobble. Haven't named them yet. Nothing seems to stick.

[ Given the fact the sobble remains invisible, it's a wonder as to what might. Meanwhile, with the Skarmory not responding to his trainer's call, Annie gives her Honedge direction with: ]

Hart, Autotomize!

[ Which increases their speed, meaning any attack leveled on them is likely to miss based on their level difference. Not an attack, but with Keith not fully controlling how this battle is going... ]