Vacation? What's that? - Sinnoh catch-all log (OTA)

[worthallthis]

Who: Bucky AKA Winter, and OPEN
Where: Sinnoh!
When: Duration of the August event
Summary: Catch-all for event stuff
Rating: Same as always for (lots of) PTSD troubles


I. The Journey Is The Worst Part

The airport isn't great, with so many people crammed into an enclosed space, but it's bearable. After a couple weeks in Goldenrod, he's a little more comfortable with crowds.

The plane, though. The fucking plane. It's small, it's cramped, it's noisy... and all his pokemon are put away for the trip, because that's the rules and they all assured him they'd be all right with the wait as long as he was. And then the cabin closes up and the pressure changes and the air conditioning starts to blast, and it's like he's back in the cryotank, in the moments before the freezing, only it keeps going and going and going and he never quite freezes.

He spends the whole trip breathing too fast and staring hard out the window, without even music to distract him, because the pokegear don't get radio stations while in the air.


II. Hostels Aren't Great, Either

For the first four days in Eterna, the whole group of them-- Winter, Entrapta, Catra, Thace, and Claudia-- take up a room in the hostel. And Winter barely sleeps. The bed built into the wall is too claustrophobic, too much like the portable cryotank (which, oh, hey, he hadn't actually remembered until trying to spend his first night in that little bed in the wall). When he sleeps there, at all, he winds up flailing out of nightmares after an hour or two. The floor means people accidentally step on him when they get up in the middle of the night. And dozing the chair out in the front room gets him prodded by staff.

It's not a great situation. Eventually between his sleeping problems and Thace's paranoia with the crowded room, they all wind up moving to an actual hotel room that they all pile into to share, but for a while, have fun running into a very sleepy Soldier exploring the city with one hand on Dugan the Mudbray or Grace the Absol, and one of his one of the others either bounding around him or riding sedately on his shoulder, depending on their natures. And sizes.

They all do their best to keep him awake and focused... or to get into trouble while he's distracted and dozy, by harassing passers-by or snitching things from shops that he then has to extract and return, or pay for.


III. Sight-Seeing

The museum is fascinating, and he spends a full day just wandering around in there learning about the local history. The statues and architecture are pretty enough to gawp at for a while. The herbal shop just smells nice, and he does spend some of his funds on teas that are supposed to help with calming, with alertness, with nightmares. Might as well see if it does any good, right?

At least after they move to a proper hotel, it's clear Winter's enjoying the sights more, and he can be found poking his nose into various shops with anywhere from two to all six allowed pokemon hanging on and around him and getting in other people's way. He meets people he knows for lunches on restaurant patios, he listens to the ambient music of the city, and he people-watches, which is oddly soothing.


IV. Underground Isn't Awesome

Winter spends exactly one full day in the Underground, with Dugan chasing the poor cart-Mudsdale around while it tries to work, and both he and Leslie taking turns rescuing Entrapta's hair from the mud. The nightmares that night, of being shoved into small spaces for hours on end, and stalking through dimly lit tunnels with a rifle in hand shooting everyone he comes across, make it impossible to go back, but for that one day, it's not too bad.

Anyway, it is nice to have a day of actual, physical labor. It's kind of comfortable to use all those muscles for something other than hauling a heavy, metal arm around or for killing people. The arm, of course, requires some heavy-duty cleaning afterwards, and maybe even a tune-up. The latter he does sitting in the lobby of the hotel, where the light is best and there's a decent table to spread his small collection of tools out on, and making tiny adjustments between the flared plates-- and fending off Entrapta with sincere apologies for not letting her do it; he's not quite there, yet. She can definitely watch and give advice, though.


V. Familiar Forests

The highlight of the trip, it seems like, is their overnight visit to Eterna Forest. The sight of all that plantlife is soothing and the air is cool, the birds and animals are beautiful, and Winter finds it... familiar. The camping, the trees, the sounds of it all. He keeps turning to try and say something to people who aren't there, and he has flashes of climbing a tree with a rifle-- not a HYDRA rifle, an old one, a... Johnson? Of sharing a campfire with a group of tired but amiable men, their faces blurred by smoke and his hazy memory.

His dreams that night are calm, full of the certainty that he's making a difference, somehow. Keeping the people who matter safe.

On their way back through the maze of the woods, he finally remembers the face of the man he named Dugan after. That's a fun moment. "He needs a bowler hat," he says, staring at the Mudbray in a kind of amused consternation.


VI. Down-Time

Without a job or task, Winter isn't always entirely sure what to do with himself. He makes multiple rounds of the city's shops, even though he's running low on funds for buying anything more. He people-watches until he's restless. He brings out and plays with each pokemon he and Entrapta have, between them, even the pumpkin one he still doesn't trust after her attempt at mind-controlling Entrapta that very first night.

Then Entrapta drags him to the library, and he rediscovers that, at some point, he loved to read. And now he discovers that he still does. For the rest of the trip after that, half the time he has his nose in a sci fi or mystery novel. Anyone who asks will get an almost cheerful run-down of the plot of the latest one: "Time-traveling scientists," he says about one, sounding very nearly amused. "A young lady and her Furret are investigating a rash of thefts that seem to be done by ghost-types," of another, giving the cover a fond look. "Pokemon in space," he says of his favorite so far. He's buying a copy of that one, for sure.

Comments

VI Downtime/library

[sleepallthewayhome]

Newt has also developed a deep love of libraries ever since she was brought to this world. She's got a stack of pokemon children's mystery books in her arms but she'll stop to see what other people are reading.

"What are the pokemon doing in space?"

[worthallthis]

"Searching," Winter answers readily. "They're going to different planets to meet different species that live there. Looking for more pokemon. Lost pokemon maybe?" He's only about halfway through, so not all of the motivations have been revealed yet.

[sleepallthewayhome]

"Are they in spaceships or can they fly in space?"

[worthallthis]

"They're in a spaceship, but there is one that keeps going outside to make repairs." He leans over a little to show her the cover, which does indeed have a spaceship on it, and an Evee at the bridge of said ship looking out at the planet it's approaching, while a Beldum circles the ship itself out in the open space.

[sleepallthewayhome]

Newt will be looking at the cover. That does look neat and she nods.

"Do they make up new pokemon for the book?"

[worthallthis]

"Not that I've come across. Even the lost pokemon are the kinds you find from fossils here." He's done his research on the Underground and what comes out of there, since he did spend one day below at the dig. "But I'm not done yet. They might still. There aren't any humans, though, and they all talk like we do."

[sleepallthewayhome]

"Really? No humans at all? Did they build the spaceships then?"

V

[insidegalra]

Sleeping in the woods with his Pokemon gathered around him (Vruli tucked against his neck, and his Espurr purring loudly against his chest) has meant a good night for Thace too, and he's walking along with a lightness in his step.

He's noticed the times when Winter seemed to be half-lost in memories, and he assumes the comment is another one, but Thace has no idea what a bowler hat is. "What do they look like?"

(He might be considering getting Winter a gift, because it seems like a good memory, if nothing else.)

[worthallthis]

"It's kind of. It's round." Winter holds up his hands and sketches a kind of dome shape in the air. "With a brim that turns up. I don't know if a Mudbray can even wear one."

"Bray," Dugan says dubiously, skewing his long ears.

"But," Winter continues, bemused. "There was someone else named Dugan. And he wore one instead of his helmet."

[insidegalra]

"You could cut into it slits for his ears, or attach a strap that would go underneath his chin. Whichever he would find more comfortable," Thace says thoughtfully. "The difficulty would be finding out where such a hat is sold, I suspect."

Vruli claps her hands, chattering about how Dugan would be so smart with a hat. Where has she picked up smart as that adjective? Who even knows, but she likes the image.

[worthallthis]

Dugan is less certain, but he's willing to try, he supposes. Maybe once he's bigger and his ears are smaller? He's seen the difference between a Mudsdale and himself. "Only if Dugan wants it," Winter says, a little dubiously. "Just because I. Knew someone. Named Dugan who wore a bowler. Doesn't mean I got the right to shove one on this Dugan if he doesn't want it."

Dugan makes a sound suspiciously like, "Aw," and ducks his head, skewing his ears a little.

[insidegalra]

Thace nods with utmost seriousness. "Would you like to have a hat, or some other decoration, Dugan? One nod for the first, two for the second, or shake your head for no to both."

Asking directly will probably clear that up. Probably. Pantomime and yes or no questions only go so far.

[worthallthis]

The Mudbray shifts from hoof to hoof, ears flicked back. He doesn't know! Give a donkey time to think, big guy. "Mudbray," he mutters.

Winter is at least very familiar with uncertainty, and he pats Dugan's neck warmly. "There's time, tell us later," he suggests.

Dugan heaves a sigh, then nods.

III

[seacub]

[There is a kid here, in the museum, but that's probably not going to catch Winter's eye on its own. It's just a kid after all, even if he's a remarkably quiet and calm one.

Not to mention difficult to spot. For all that he's standing around at various points, he seems pretty curiously adept in avoiding notice.

Unlike....the bluish gengar that occasionally looms over and away.

It looks ready to cause some shit. It is probably ready to cause some shit. And right before it causes some shit-

...

Well, the boy that keeps disappearing is clearly there again, this time pulling it back into the pokeball with a sigh.]

[worthallthis]

[Winter has noted them, but hadn't started actually keeping an eye on them until that gengar loomed over one of the display cases like it was going to smash it. That's a child. But also a potential threat, or at least source of trouble.

At least the boy has the right idea. Winter asks, not without sympathy,]

Troublemaker?

[There's a reason the only pokemon out with him in here Grace (Absol), Dugan (Mudbray, but well-behaved), and Jeanie (an Espurr who just wants to see all the displays). If some of the others were here... welp. There's be a mess to clean up, probably.]

[seacub]

Hahhhh....yeah... [He admits sadly, frowning at the ball. He suspects the gengar will break out in about twenty or so minutes. Tragic.]

I didn't think I could really leave him at home though...he's pretty good at getting out of things, and even better at acting...

...He didn't do anything to you right? I don't think he had the chance, but...

[worthallthis]

No. I think if he tried, he would have been surprised.

[Grace lowers her head, looking briefly a little fierce despite her regal demeanor. And Winter might have a jacket and glove covering the metal arm, but it's still there.

He glances at the pokeball in the kid's hand a little skeptically.]

What do you think he would have tried to do?

[seacub]

Mnhhh....

[Well. Maybe. Maybe not. Cool arm, but Emporio doesn't really seem to pay it much notice.

Stands are far weirder anyway.] ...Probably, he would have broken some things, run away with other things...he came from that castle near Cerulean Cape, [he 'explains' helpfully.]

[worthallthis]

[Which means Winter can surmise wryly:]

So he's new. Don't worry. We'll help keep an eye on him.

[Dugan pokes his nose around Winter's elbow to add,]

Mudbraaaay.

[And Grace lifts her head again, to look vaguely amused.]

VI

[firstonesexpert]

Entrapta knows that Winter likes to use music to relax. She also knows that the flight, while entirely novel for her to have transport for the pure and only goal of transporting people for entertainment purposes, was extremely, objectively stressful for Winter. She recognises his stressors and negative habits at this point, even if she's still uncertain as to the best course of action she should take regarding them.

She also knows they have some money aside, and that Winter has been encouraging her to spend some for her own personal pleasure.

So when she meets up with him outside their hotel later, as she's sitting and cleaning a fossil she's found, there's a stuffed shopping bag being used as a seat by Leslie as the Morgrem watches her clean a fossil; and he waves first, using his hair-tail to tug on Entrapta's hair to make her look up too. "Hi Winter!"

[worthallthis]

Winter waves back to Leslie first, smiling a little. Stevie bounds up to rub cat-like on Leslie's hip. Say hi to him, too, Leslie!

Coming up more sedately, pulling up a chair, Winter says, "Hello, Entrapta. You look like you've been busy."

He's got dinner, brought from a restaurant a few blocks away, some kind of filled pastries that came appropriately small for Entrapta's taste. Even the drinks are child-sized, though Winter's gotten six of them because otherwise it's definitely not enough. There's like twenty of the pastries, some with rice and vegetables in them, some with meat, and a couple with some kind of sweet frosting for dessert.

[firstonesexpert]

Leslie reaches down and starts rubbing Stevie's cheeks vigorously, taking care with his claws on the Absol's small face. Even his hair-tail joins in, patting Stevie's head behind his horn. Hello, baby friend.

"I was! I spent some time in the Underground and found this!" She holds up her fossil triumphantly. "And also I found a music store on my way here!"

[worthallthis]

Leslie is officially Stevie's favorite person right now. He croons contentedly and leeeeeeans.

Winter sets the bags of pastries down on the table-top, well out of the way from her fossil-cleaning tools so nothing gets dusty. He'll wait until they've gotten things a little more contained before getting the food actually out. "Yeah? What'd you get?" The music store is not necessarily more interesting than the fossil... but it's definitely more immediate.

[firstonesexpert]

"I asked for assistance and received a number of albums that would be considered classical jazz," she says, with her usual strangely pointed enunciation of her topic of research. "And also some headphones and a portable music player!"

She hands the fossil in her hands to Leslie, who takes it with his hair-tail automatically as she lifts him off the shopping bag, and stands to pass it to Winter. "So next time we have to hop on the aeroplane, you'll be able to listen to it and be less stressed!"

And sits back down so she can fidget nervously with her hands and babble a little: "And if you'd like it to be smaller, one of the staff explained to me how to 'rip' information off the discs and insert it onto a computer chip, so we should be able to put all of the music into one data source and plug that can be directly downloaded onto the player!"

[worthallthis]

He knows her tells for nerves by now, and takes note of them, but he's also pretty busy staring at the cases in the bag. He doesn't recognize any of the names-- this is an entirely different world; their classical jazz and swing wasn't performed by Glenn Miller and Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra-- but he's sure what Entrapta is saying is right. He hugs the bag on his lap against his stomach, since he can't hug her.

(He kind of wants to hug her. He knows it would be a bad idea, but the urge it still there.)

"Entrapta. Thank you. This is... it's amazing. Thank you."