Another Town, Another Problem

[no_love_potions]

A

Everyone's probably seen the ad at some point or another. It's been in the newspapers for around about a year now and passed around here and there on business cards. Small, unassuming but the subject of a few mumbles among people who actually notice it. And who can blame them, while the format isn't exactly an attention grabber the content is probably unusual enough. A simple address beneath a block of plain, boring text.

HARRY DRESDEN - WIZARD AND PRIVATE DETECTIVE
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties or Other Entertainment

The address points to a simple office on the third floor of a building in Union's business district. A frosted glass window on the door proudly displays the same name and title as the ad. Anybody venturing inside will find a musky old office containing little more than a worn old desk with a few equally worn chairs in front of a small window with a wonderful view of the brick wall next door, a couple of filing cabinets and a couch against one wall that looks very much like it had been dragged off a curb somewhere. A ceiling fan squeaks obnoxiously overhead.

More important is probably the tall man stretched out on that couch. One hand dangling off the side next to an empty coffee cup resting on its side and a magazine over his face muffling his snoring. A Lillipup snoozes away curled up on his chest.

... Business is slow.


B.

There's a man wandering around the streets of Union. A very, very tall man in a long black leather duster and otherwise plain clothes and sneakers. Mouse the Lillipup trots along at his side as he weaves and wanders his way through the streets.

It's a pretty strange sight as the man doesn't seem to have any idea where the heck he's going. Just kind of weaving around randomly on the streets and sidewalks, even doubling back and looping around here and there. Is he blind? Maybe. That'd certainly explain the tinted glasses he's wearing despite the sun beginning to dip over the horizon.

Maybe he's just piss drunk.

Blind or not, he's not particularly watching where he's going so you'd better watch out if you cross his path unless you want to get run over. Or you can stop him if you're feeling more curious.

Comments

[no_love_potions]

Mouse lands lightly on the other end of his jump and gives the Vulpix a little huff. Sorry, pal, but rule of dibs doesn't apply to being mean to young Pokemon. Heading back around to the Riolu he lowers his head to present the recovered ribbon to its rightful owner.

Harry busies himself for a moment, unwrapping a pit of string or fur from the broken glasses and putting both in his pocket when the woman makes her appearance on the scene. He looks up at her and then around the Pokemon.

"Oh, nothing to worry about." He gives the Vulpix a pointed look. "Just a little spill."

[soulofmagus]

"Little or not, that a spill happened at all is not okay." There's a distinct Uh Oh cringe and droop of the ears as Sophia steps out into the street proper, the Vulpix going somewhat limp as his trainer's arms fold over her chest. "Kenaz, we've talked about this."

The Riolu meanwhile gives a surprised chirp, before carefully getting to her feet to accept the ribbon, teary gaze sparkling. Her hero! Paws cling to the ribbon, holding it to her chest as she gives a little bow, then trots up to Sophia, growling earnestly.

"And didn't I tell you to stay close? No more running off, little one." Sinking down to one knee, Sophia ruffles between her ears, before gently smoothing back the fur as she looks up at Harry. "I am so sorry. You're sure you're not hurt?"

[no_love_potions]

Oooooooh, somebody's in trouble. Harry gives a smug look at the Vulpix when his trainer appears and takes her eyes off of him. Because Harry's a grown and mature man.

Mouse gives the Riolu a friendly smile and nods his head in response to her bow and slowly makes his way back to his trainer's side, sitting quietly next to the tall man's leg.

"I'm sure, a little dirt never hurt anyone." He glances down at a nudge to his ankle, Mouse looking up at him and tapping a paw to the side of his face. Blinking, Harry raises a hand and wipes a smudge of dirt from his chin. "Pride's a little dented though."

[soulofmagus]

The sulker is set down once it's clear he won't be running off again, and the Ivysaur growls a thank-you to Mouse. It's part apology, too; the new kids always think they can get away with this kind of nonsense. But the best punishment is their being dealt a hand of his mistress's disappointment. (Not that he's speaking from personal experience there, no sir.)

The yellow ribbon is taken from tiny paws and carefully secured around the Riolu's neck, a bow set to one side to maximise the additional 'cuteness'. Not a typical thing for Riolu or Lucarios, by most accounts, but this little one already subscribes to the theory that her trainer is the most graceful Lady and needs to be mimicked to the best of her abilities.

Sophia doesn't appear put off by a bit of dirt, though she offers a very slight bow rather than a hand to shake after she stands up. "I am sorry," not that she's apologising for repeating herself, mind you. "I'm afraid I don't know too many ways to fix that," pride, that is, "but there must be something I can do for you instead."

[no_love_potions]

Mouse looks toward the Ivysaur at that growl of thanks and gives his head a little shake with a quiet smile. No trouble at all, really. He suspects that the worst is yet to come for the troublesome Vulpix anyway.

Riolu's opinion isn't really one Harry can argue with, to be honest. Sopia does appear to be quite the Lady by all accounts. Enough to make Harry acutely aware of his own scruffy, unkempt appearance dirt and grit clinging to him notwithstanding.

"Believe me, I've had worse. No harm done." He brushes a little more stray dirt from a sleeve and nods toward the Vulpix. "Kids'll be kids, right?"

[soulofmagus]

"I suppose they will." Her tone is rueful as the Riolu buffs at the bow with her paw to adjust it just so, before stepping behind her trainer's legs. It's fortunate she's not wearing a skirt today, or she's certain that the length of fabric would have a second purpose. "I'm not used to having so many underfoot, it's certainly been a learning experience for all of us."

Once it had just been her and Ymir, with Elhaz there joining them shortly after.

She doesn't seem particularly concerned by Harry's scruffy state, though mention of 'worse' earns a look of concern. His accent hasn't given his city of origin away yet - but then again, while Sophia's certainly doesn't match the average Unionite, it doesn't appear to have a discernible twang either. "You were here for the Elite Four then, I take it?"

[no_love_potions]

A small grin spreads across his face as he glances down to watch the Riolu adjust her bow and quickly move to hide behind her trainer's legs. He lucked out, apparently, with his own.

"I know how that is, sudden additions and all." He looks down at the Lilipup at his side, who's still sitting quietly as he looks up to meet his partner's glance. "It was just two of us for a long time until Mouse joined up. He's not much of a handful though."

He looks back up, expression twisting into a bit of a grimace.

"I was going to say climbing the rope in gym class but," he shrugs, "yeah. That too."

[soulofmagus]

Usually her friends stand in front of her. Someday, Riolu may even do the same. Sophia would prefer they stand at her side, but there's no open objection to the choices of her bondmates.

"It's nice to meet you, Mouse. And..?" A pause, then a smile. "I'm Sophia. You are?"

"I don't think I ever had a gym class." That's easier to swing the conversation back to, tone taking up a lighter thread. Not that Sophia has any memories of any kind of schooling, let alone individual classes. "Was tripping over others a common occurrence?"

[no_love_potions]

For now, out of Harry's rather small group of Pokemon, he at least has Mouse at his side. Bob is... well, Harry isn't entirely sure where the Duskull is most of the time, but he has a sneaking suspicion that somewhere around half the time it's right over his shoulder.

"Harry." He answers with a friendly smile of his own. Mouse gives a small, friendly bark.

"It was for some of us." He takes up the lighter path of conversation easily. It's easier than dwelling on the bad day, especially with the scars of it still around to serve as ready reminders all on their own. "I wouldn't recommend it. Although there are some people who probably enjoyed it. Crazy, crazy people."

[soulofmagus]

Harry. The name is mentally fixed, and she nods at the bark. She could easily say where most of her partners were, save one, but she trusted Ymir to take care of himself.

"Now that you mention it, I'm certain I've met the type. A lot of them seem to be Rangers here." Oh which she is, for the moment, counted among their number - albeit in the administration department. "What class did you prefer?"

[no_love_potions]

Oh, Bob is certainly capable of taking care of himself, that isn't the worry in Harry's mind. No, it's more... everyone and everything else. Not that he thought Bob was particularly dangerous but people like their secrets, and Bob likes them even more.

"Oh, literature, history. Things that involved a lot of sitting down and reading." He shrugs a little. "I'm the scholarly type."

So he says anyway.

[soulofmagus]

Her head tilts slightly, amusement evident at his casual state of disarray contrasting with his words. Well, maybe he had been more the 'scholar' back in school, but Sophia wasn't certain that applied today.

But one could never judge a book by its cover. "I see. I hope then that whatever scholarly pursuit you were on wasn't interrupted by these two." A glance down; Kenaz's head sinks a bit, tails curling in. He's not, yet, apologising, but it's clear someone's not hiding their guilt on this occasion.

[no_love_potions]

One person's scholar is another person's unkempt nerd. He's pretty sure he's heard somebody who looked smart say something like that once.

"A little." He casts a look down to the guilty-looking Vulpix. "I was in the middle of studying the wandering habits of missing Skitties. But I was running into a few hitches so I was thinking of getting back to the drawing board anyway."

[soulofmagus]

"Missing?" That does earn a look of dismay. (The Riolu shoots a dirty look at the Vulpix, who sticks his tongue out at the fighting type. Very mature, guy, very mature.)

"You're certainly not going to lack for felines and normal-types here. How long has it been gone for?"

[no_love_potions]

"Missing but okay as far as I can tell." Harry nods in confirmation, quick to clarify the point when he sees the expression on her face. Compared to some tasks he'd taken on in the past a missing Pokemon isn't the most pressing of matters but probably still upsetting enough to plenty of people. "Gone since last night. The owne... er, Trainer left a door open and she wandered out."

"The one I'm looking for is about two and a half feet tall, twenty-six pounds, wears a white bow on its tail and apparently loves walking in circles." He's a little dizzy from following that trail. "Don't suppose you've seen one matching that description?"

[soulofmagus]

"Unfortunately not. My Skitty refuses to leave the central Ranger station, so while I am at least familiar with what they look like, I've not seen any matching that description." She looks down at her pokémon, who exchange glances. A shrug from the Ivysaur, an growl of dissent from the Riolu.

A sulky tailswish from the Vulpix pauses mid-flick, followed by a thoughtful tilt of its head. A white bow, a white bow.. Has he seen one recently? He then barks at the Lillipup: Have you checked out the boxes behind the westside market place?

[no_love_potions]

"Small blessings. When they wander, they go all out." Well, it was a long shot but one worth taking. Who would've thought that tracking down one lost Pokemon would lead to a whole morning of trouble...?

Mouse looks up at the Vulpix's bark, tilting his head thoughtfully for a moment before shaking his head. No. Why, did you see something there?

[soulofmagus]

"That rather fits a great many people and pokémon in Union, I've found." Her smile is sympathetic. "You certainly seem to have your work cut out for you."

It's a cat. A hind leg lifts as Kenaz tips his head to the left, then starts scratching behind one ear, mindful of his forehead curls. Fish market starts early, fresh stinky leftovers are a hot commodity. Plus cat pokémon love the smell in the empty crates.

That and the boxes lull them into a false sense of security on the prank and theft fronts. Not that he'll be admitting to old capers from before he started following Sophia around.

[no_love_potions]

Mouse considers Kenaz's words thoughtfully before nodding his head with a pleased, excited expression. Hey, that's a pretty good idea. I'll get him to check that out. Thanks!

"Looks like." Harry shrugs a bit, returning Sophia's smile with a slightly tired one of his own. "But I'll figure it out. Maybe head back and rework this spell-wha?"

He cuts off suddenly and looks down to his Lilipup who has the end of his coat in his teeth and is tugging at it. Getting his Trainer's attention, the dog bounds away a few steps and barks once, tail wagging excitedly.

"Or... maybe Mouse here'll pick up something up. Got something, boy? Think of something?" Mouse gives another bark and hops away another step, motioning for Harry to hurry up and follow already.

[soulofmagus]

Rework a-- Did he say spell?

Sophia doesn't get to verbally pounce on that thanks to the pokémon, distracted by Mouse's actions as much as Harry is. "Some pokémon species are known for their keen sense of smell. Maybe he's picked something up?" Depending on how much of an Odor Sleuth he is, of course. "You'd better keep up! Don't want to miss a chance to find that skitty."

The Riolu glances at Kenaz. He continues scratching his ear. She frowns at him. He'd better not have been sending them off on a wild Zangoose chase!

[no_love_potions]

"When in doubt, I trust the pooch." Mouse bounces around once again, barking a couple more times. Harry grins and starts off after the direction the Pokemon was gesturing toward and looks back toward Sophia. "Looks like duty calls. See you around?"

Hopefully Kenaz isn't playing any tricks here. Otherwise, there'll be a Lilipup with words for him.

[soulofmagus]

"Good luck," says Sophia, lifting a hand to wave farewell. See her around? "No doubt we'll run into each other again." Hopefully with less face planting, but who knew when it came to pokémon.

Kenaz, for once, certainly isn't lying: box alley behind the fish market is certainly teeming with feline (and fish-eating) life. It may be the target is there, or maybe it isn't, but no doubt Mouse may be able to find another pokémon who knows where that missing skitty may be.