II

[heartstorage]

[Action - Lake Shrine]

[Sora had been to the Lake Shrine once before, it was where he had met Elhaym. He decided to come back to train, since even though he wanted to go to the canyon- it was a out of his league still. And so there he was, Pokemon and axe in hand, ready to put in a hard's day work]

[Except not quite. It's been hard to focus the past couple days, so it's not long before he gets distracted. And so he's easily found in front of the shrine, lost in thought while his Pokemon wander nearby]

A shrine where the dead can appear...

[He crosses his arms as he watches the shrine and after a moment, frowns a bit disappointed]

Nope, none yet. Maybe it's at night?

[Action - Medical Center]

[After he got through a few hours of training, Sora's managed to accumulate a few cuts and bruises from various fights - the most notable one being a scrape on his cheek. None of it is anything serious, just a mix of usual training troubles and a certain level of carelessness. Normally, he wouldn't even bother the Medical Center with it. In fact he's still planning not to bother the Medical Center with it. He can buy bandages from a pharmacy for all he cares.]

[But he did make a promise to Roxas that he'd come back, as well as see Lucas again. And so he can be found in the Medical Center, trying to find either one. And....possibly getting lost in the process. Why do all these halls look the same again?!]

Comments

[meguriau]

[ Getting that look is also something he is going to have to get used to, isn't he.

... Part of their pack?

Roxas does what requested and walks closer to his brother and Pluto. He then slowly extends his hand so the Dark/Fire type can sniff it. ]

[heartstorage]

[Unless you become the more social of the two so more people give that look at Sora- yes. yes you are. And yes, you're now part of a pack. Deal with it Roxas]

[Pluto looks over the new person, before tentatively sniffing his hand. He seems to be thinking through whether to trust this new person around his trainer or not. But after a moment, something seems to be okay because the Houndour starts wagging his tail and licking Roxas's hand.]

Looks like he likes you!

[meguriau]

[ All these things he has to deal with because of you Sora.

There is a very, very small smile that grows? on Roxas face because hey Pluto that tickles.

He nods his head. It's good that one of Sora's Pokemon seems to like him since Simba didn't seem to be pleased with him the other day.

Or maybe Pluto is just licking the ice cream from Roxas' hand... ]

[heartstorage]

[He'd apologize but in truth Sora regrets nothing. Especially when he sees that very, very, small smile. It's the first expression he's seen of Roxas that's positive and even if it's nothing like the smile Roxas used to have- it's still something]

[And it could be the ice cream. But hey maybe that just earns you MORE affection points! Also that he didn't witness the crushing of his trainer's soul like Simba did. that probably helps a lot.]

You can pet him if you want. He likes being scratched behind the ears.

[meguriau]

[ Yes this is true. Maybe one day he'll be on Simba's good side. Maybe?

Roxas crouches so he is at a more equal height with Pluto and uses his other hand to start scratching the Houndour behind the ears. Aren't you a good boy. ]

[heartstorage]

[Sora sure hopes so! It was hard enough leaving him behind in the habitat to visit you this one time!]

[Annnd Pluto, despite looking like it's something that escaped from hell, looks like he is in pure bliss at being scratched there. So much that the dog starts whining and starts trying to lick Roxas's face]

- Ah! Pluto!

[DON'T FREAK THE ZOMBIE KID OUT]

[meguriau]

[ Oh. Roxas told Sora that he was going call on him when he got to the Common Room. He's going to have to make up for it later. ]

Wha--!

[ Roxas wasn't sure about what the whining was about but before he could question it he was caught off guard by Pluto's attempt to lick his face.

And falls backwards so now he's sitting on the ground instead of crouching.

THAT WAS NOT EXPECTED. AT ALL. ]

[heartstorage]

Pluto, sit!

[Yeah Sora the human sure can see that this isn't a good idea to let the houndour jump all over his brother. Pluto at least listens to the stern voice of his trainer and starts whining, with his tail between his legs, as he sits and looks pleading]

[I WANT TO BE A GOOD POKEMON, LIKE YOU WANT ME TO BE]

[And Sora looks sheepish and apologetic at Roxas. Though okay, he also looks like he's trying to hold back a laugh from the face you're making]

Ha- sorry! I think he's pretty young, so he can act like a real puppy sometimes.

[meguriau]

[ Wow Sora. You better hold that back. Don't laugh at your twin's face. ]

Sometimes?

[ It slips out and Roxas isn't even unaware that he responds that way he's too busy making sure he didn't hurt himself.

Once he makes sure that he didn't twist an ankle or something he looks at Sora. ]

It's okay.

[heartstorage]

[Whoa. Even if Roxas didn't catch it, Sora sure did. That sass and irritation was so...normal sounding that it seemed completely alien in this situation. Enough that Sora pauses for a second as he tries to figure out what do. Point it out? Ignore it? Play along? ]

[At least it looks like he's okay at least from falling, so no problem there. Maybe it's best to act like he normally would]

Yeah! I mean...sometimes he's sleeps!

[meguriau]

[ Roxas looks at Sora. He's back to the same zombie expression that he's been wearing for the past year or so as he responds. ]

Everything does.

[ It... probably would have been better if he replied with that sass from earlier but alas. ]

[heartstorage]

[Better yeah. His shoulders slump some when he sees that zombie expression and tone all over again. He doesn't want to think that Roxas doesn't feel anything, but it would've been nice if he had just a little bit longer of showing emotions]

[But he'll try not to make his disappointment obvious beyond that]

I dunno...maybe some Pokemon don't.

[meguriau]

[ Nope. Emotion episode over. Tune in next time for episode two!

Roxas sees Sora's shoulders slump though. With the current topic it seemed... out of place. Some Pokemon not sleeping wouldn't cause that. ]

Never heard of one.

[ If he did hear about one he would have remembered. If.. he heard about it in the past year. He has heard about some Pokemon being noctural though. ]

[heartstorage]

[Maybe not sleeping pokemon would cause that!! that or your brother is just emotional and weird as usual. You'll never know]

Yeah, but it's not like you've heard of every Pokemon! They got all sorts of weird powers.

[meguriau]

[ For all he knows it could just be both! ]

True. [ He looks at Pluto for an example. ] Pluto knows Smog. But he's Fire and Dark.

[heartstorage]

Huh?

[Wait what-]

How'd you know that? I thought you'd never seen a Houndour before.

[meguriau]

I hadn't. Pluto is the first.

[heartstorage]

[....so confused right now....]

Did you learn about 'em in school...?

[meguriau]

I learned Houndour was Dark and Fire.

[ Should he tell you what level Pluto is and confused you more ]

[heartstorage]

[Let's be real Sora hasn't even realized Roxas is an Enlightened yet. But that's a reasonable enough explanation for Sora]

Oh, okay. [Maybe they taught him about Smog too!]

But you're right! Pokemon can really surprise you with the stuff they can do!

[meguriau]

[ Sora he didn't mention attacks for a reason. Oh well. He'll learn eventually.

Sora just nods his head at that. Though his own Pokemon doesn't have... anything surprising. ]

[heartstorage]

[Your brother is an idiot okay Roxas. If it's not about feelings, you have to spell it out. And it'll probably be when you inevitably have to save his ass from something]

[Sora kneels down next to Pluto, idly petting the dog as his mind wanders]

I met this kid, named Armin, a few days ago. He said his dream was to meet every single type of Pokemon. Just think how long it'd take to do that..!

[meguriau]

[ Good grief Sora hopefully it will be before then who knows how long until that inevitably happens. ]

It would... take a long time.

[ That's a really big dream that person has ]

[heartstorage]

[CHALLENGE ACCEPTED]

Yeah, probably all his life!

I hope he does it. He said he was thinking about being a Historian because it's safe, but he seemed a lot happier talking to Pokemon.

[meguriau]

What about both.

[ A historian that talks to Pokemon. He can't really agree more about either so ]