Fandom My legacy! My fate!

[norway]

RingSlinger

Chaolor.​

That's what they called it. A new, neighboring nation just recently opening up their borders to tourists and young adventurers. Honestly she felt like a bit of both. The ships horns wailed overhead, causing the perched wingull to scatter before resuming their circling of the boat. Ori watched them while the clouds briefly blocked out the sunlight, which cooled the warm railing resting beneath her forearms.

Nothing had fully registered with her. It seemed like up until now she'd been simply rebeling, and now that she was quite literally sailing into another country, Ori felt a bit weak in the knees. Knees that were exposed by white shorts not fit for a lady, arms that couldn't hold a tan but were clothed by a simple t shirt. The outfit was thrown together, not exactly her style but that was the point - she did not want to be recognized or to even stand out. Not yet. Though her sandals, silver buckled and white, with built in heels, were obviously not your average running shoes, and actually cost double.

"Quite far now, aren't we Fifi?"

nyaaa~ responded a persian of unique origin, of whom brushed her dark fur coat against the girls open palm.

"I can't help but wonder if I made the right choice," she tucked some chocolate locks behind an ear pierced with two glistening diamond studs. The ships horns wailed again, a measurement of their arrival. She had missed the forming silhouette of the archipelago, instead finding herself shocked to be already pulling into one of several extended, wooden docks, several boatsmen waving and guiding the ship in securely.

"Its just like me to zone out and miss the ride," she murmured with a pout, before clicking her fingers at her partnering cat, who followed Orihime off the boat and onto the docks.

Welcome to the city of chalice, known for its fresh fish markets!

"Um... Excuse me..."

"YES! How may I be of service young lady?!"

"eeee!" Ori squeaked, overwhelmed by the stranger mans enthusiasm, "I'm not a lady! I'm really not!"

"Oh? Alright then. How can I help you, young lass?"

Exhaling, she proceeded to ask, "where is Chaolor's professor?"

"Ah! Old man Cypress? Past the docks, down the path and up the hill. If you're coming here as a trainer, you should know we do things differently over here than in those other regions."

"Je vous remercie (thank you)." Ori responded, but looked a bit worried from the man's warning. "I wonder what he means by differently..."

nya nyaaaa~

"Mmm. Guess we'll just have to find out for ourselves. Can't be that different, can it?" But as she looked up and started to register the sheer size of this first town, Ori grimaced. She quite literally had no idea what she was doing, but was a bit too stubborn to admit it.

 

[RingSlinger]

"Good morning Mr. Cross!" a small computerized voice chirped. This was standard procedure for Pokemon center bedding. It was personalized. Intended to make every stay seem like a stay at home. Kazuchika's eyes opened slowly. The sun was already perched in the sky. Though the room held two other cots, Cross' bed was the only one occupied.

"Mr. Cross! Join the other trainers staying at this Pokemon center in the mess hall for breakfast!" the bed chirped. A soft rumble in Kazu's stomach informed him that this was, in fact, what he ought to be doing. He sat up in his bed. With his swift upwards movement shoved a small lump at the foot of the bed to the floor and with a angry scramble and a blast of commotion.

"Dile Dile Dile" an angry, squawkish voice came from the floor, along with a soft, low growl.

"Sorry Rock," Kazu replied, "You know what happens when you sleep by my feet..."

"Toto..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, it's time to get out of bed anyway."

The tiny blue crocodile at Kazuchika Cross' feet stood up tall on both feet and emitted another low grumble. Kazu grabbed a set of clothes out of his bag and made his way to the showers, returning shortly and walking with the tiny blue pokemon towards where the mess hall would be. They arrived to a large sign and an over-abundance of caution tape. It was a reminder of just how new human interaction with this region was. The Pokemon Centers weren't even completed.

"Incredible," Cross grumbled to himself.

"You there!" a voice called out to him from just out the nearest window. "We're cooking breakfast for trainers out here. I assume that's what you're here for?"

With a thankful nod, Kazu and Rock marched outside and sat with a handful of other trainers around some park benches. The young man who had called him out, clearly an employee of the Pokemon center, was preparing a small breakfast on a grill here outside. Kazuchika thought it was quaint. This region was going to be very different than Johto. That was good though. That was exactly what he needed. Soon he'd need to find the Pokemon Professor to get started officially in this region.

 

[norway]

"GET YOUR FRESH SEA BASCULINE!"

"Deep friend huntail!"

"This necklace of a clam's pearls would go wonderful with your skin tone..."

"Oh?" Entirely out of her element, Orihime found herself being stopped by yet another market stall on the busy town strip. At this rate, she would never find the Professor, the poor girl might spend her life here. An older woman held her wrinkly fingers out, which were draped with a necklace allegedly crafted from genuine pearls.

"Usually I would sell such a treasure for... Five hundred dollars!" She exaggerated, cradling it as if it were a real treasure. "But for you, my dear, I'll discount it at only three hundred... I never thought someone so beautiful would wear my jewelry!"

"Wow! That's a great price, and it's so pretty," Hime and Fifi both gushed over the piece, before the young girl felt a strong arm wrap around her back accompanied by an unfamiliar voice.

"Mildred I'm disappointed in you, trying to con these new children out of their allowance."

"Hmph! Do you think she bought those shoes on a mere allowance? I'm running a business!" The older woman suddenly switched personalities and seemed quite cold, snatching away her necklace and pursung her thin, dry lips.

"Come on kid, you don't need those fake pearls." He offered her a smile before guiding her down the beaten path, and past all the booths which didnt bother him like they did Ori. "Our townsfolk are just excited over the influx in tourism, and are taking advantage of all the traveling."

"Oh, so they weren't real?" She sounded disappointed, which caused the taller male to laugh outloud.

"No. Just because someone says they have something valuable doesnt mean they do. Didn't your parents teach you that?"

"Ehh, they did most of my shopping for me, Ive never had to haggle before..."

"Then youve come to the wrong town to start your journey off, its a houndour eat houndour world out here -- "

"How did you know I was starting my journey?"

"You trainers all have that lost, deerling eyed look about you. We had a bunch of kids come in over the last few days, all at the mercy of the fishermans markets. Theyre at the pokemon center up the street for the welcoming breakfast."

"Welcoming breakfast... That sounds nice," accompanying her comment was an audible growl of both her stomach and her persian, which had been rather unhappy ever since docking. She disliked walking in the dirt and furthermore hadn't eaten since.

"Name's Ralph. Why don't we head up that way together?"

Ori nodded, and eagerly followed the stranger without even questioning his motives.

Luckily for her, he was being genuine. They came up to a large yard surrounding what was to be a proper pokemon center with a lit of work to be done. There were more trainers than she expected situated outside. The smell of burning meat on a grill wafted through the air, smoke rising into the sky. "This is nice," she nervously wrapped her fingers around the strap of her tote bag, following Ralph as he led her to one of the many benches and gestured that she take a seat.

"You and that weird cat of yours hang tight, I'm gunna go help out with the food."

"Okay," she responded, wondering why he didn't recognize her persian. Then again, even the folks back home weren't that familiar with alola. Only the wealthy had imported animals from across the sea to show off. Maybe they couldn't do that here because they were just opening up to other countries? Hmm.

She watched the male take off before peeking from the corners of her eyes at the boy she was sitting beside. She dropped her gaze, raised it, counted the blades of grass around her feet and regretted all of her life decisions before finally glancing up at him. "H... Hello," she offered, "I'm Orih -- um, Ori. I came in on a boat from Kalos. Um! A small boat. N-Nothing fancy."

Her Persian meowed and rolled its eyes.

 

[RingSlinger]

Kazu blinked hard for a moment. There was speech beside him. Surely she isn't speaking to me. He told himself, blinking hard again. He waited a moment. There was no followup speech. Nobody else had responded. She had a pokemon with her, surely she had been speaking to that Pokemon. He looked to the persian for a moment. It was alolan. He had never seen an alolan Pokemon up close before. It was fascinating.

If she had been talking to the Pokemon, she likely would have followed up what she said or added to it. Finally looking at the girl beside him he found that she stared expectantly into his eyes. He was struck by how very genuine her gaze was as it met his own. There was something overwhelmingly honest about this entire interaction, and he hadn't said anything yet.

"Er. Sorry." He said quickly. His brain rewound the moment to himself and he played over what she had said. Her name, Ori, apparently, and her home town. And something about a boat. "I didn't know you were speaking to me." He paused, glancing down at Rock. The blue Pokemon was giggling at his master's fairly awkward introduction.

"I'm Kazuchika... you can call me Kazu... Rock and I," he said, gesturing down towards the Totodile lounging on the ground beside his feet, soaking up the rays of the sun, "are from Johto. We've come here to be the first champions of Chaolor. I imagine that's why you're here as well..."

He pulled a short, tight grin. He paused though. This was the point in their conversation where he'd showboat. He'd say something self-aggrandizing and explain that he was very likely a better trainer. He'd challenge her to a battle. He'd normally have done SOMETHING. But nothing made sense. She was too there. She was too present, too real and too genuine. He wanted to be champion. He told her, and then he stopped.

He stumbled over his words for a moment. He wasn't completely sure what to say. This was a very odd sensation, and something he was fairly certain he needed to escape from, and yet he couldn't do that either. His moves, his tricks, he abilities let him run circles around most other people his age, as well as most adults. But here, with this strange girl, they all felt like blunted instruments.

"It's... er... nice to meet you, Ori. Did you get breakfast yet?"

Rock was absolutely guffawing below the table. He knew when Kazuchika was uncomfortable, and right now the boy certainly was. Rock found this to be spectacular.

 

[norway]

We've come here to be the first champions of Chaolor. I imagine that's why you're here as well.

"Sort of. I'm here to try... Something. Anything. Everything."

Because I have no actual goal, but I can't go home empty handed. These words weighed on her mind, enough to where she almost tuned out of the remainder of their conversation. "Oh? Breakfast? N - No, not yet. Maybe we should go get some?" Naturally, she incorporated the word we, assuming that Kazu would want to accompany her in retrieving a meal.

Naturally, she assumed he would have no problem with it. That she could simply tag along with him now that Ralph had walked away. That he wouldn't mind the company of a complete stranger, furthermore a stranger with no real ambition in comparison to himself. Ori was used to being with someone, and found it hard not to lowkey cling especially in the face of an entirely new country.

She pushed off the bench, fingers curled around the strap to her tote bag. Persian stretched her arms out and extended her claws into the dirt, eyeing the totodile from a side glance but hardly paying him any mind. She seemed relatively uninterested in just about everything here aside from food.

 

[RingSlinger]

"Anything?" Kazuchika eyed her with mild confusion. "Well, new region like this. I'm sure you'll find something. I'm not sure if it'll be the anything you're looking for, but I suppose we'll see."

We'll see? What was this we. He didn't do partners. He didn't do friends. Not outside of his Pokemon companions. We're overthinking this. Just be friendly. This is some random girl from Kalos. Likely we'll never see her again after today.

He stood up shortly after she did. Another behavior he didn't quite understand. The Totodile at his feet cocked its head upwards towards him in confusion. "Yeah Rock I'm not actually sure either..." he said quietly. Casting a look towards Ori, before looking down at Rock again, "You can come if you like. Or stay."

The little blue Pokemon shrugged. There were bowls full of fresh Poke-food at the base of the table, and Rock was currently investigating how he felt about this meal. As far as he could tell he enjoyed it.

Cross strolled with the young woman towards the grill, grabbing a small plate and taking the food as it was offered. "So it seems," he said curiously, cocking his head slightly, much like his Totodile companion did, "that you could have found anything... anywhere? so why here? What brought you here to this new region? I hope you don't take this offensively, but you don't strike me as the rugged frontier explorer..."

He truly didn't mean it as an insult. He wasn't sure he would qualify himself as a rugged frontier explorer either. He was a survivor though. He'd take what he had to work with and he'd make it work.

 

[norway]

"Come on, Fifi," Orihime called to the persian, wanting her to come and claim her own bowl of food. The cat lazily lounged in the grass, peering up at the girl and mewling as if to say no thanks. "It wasn't a suggestion, Fifi, come on, I know you're hungry," She urged, only to get an exaggerated yawn in response. "Oh you!" With a huff, Ori turned on her heels and headed for the grill, grabbing herself a plate and attempting to look busy to mask the embarrassment of being ignored by her 'partner'.

As a generous amount of eggs were dropped onto her plate, Ori was put under the spotlight by Cross. She briefly regretted ever initiating conversation, realizing it would have been inevitable with her answers that he inquire about her ambitions. A brief grimace tugged her facial features in every direction, before she composed herself -- only to lose her composure once more as, to her, he questioned her capability as a trainer. "I could too be a rugged... frontier... explorer," She answered matter-of-factly, looking a bit like a furfrou with her nose to the air. She acted a bit defensively to avoid having to give an honest explanation. For a moment, she peered at Cross from the corner of her eyes, much like she had at the benches -- she wondered if she could share with him, her real reason for coming here. But she chose against it, noting that he was a real and proper trainer, with his official starter and a real idea of what he was doing -- if she told him where she had grown up, what kind of life she was coming from, she would be judged. Maybe sent home. Maybe he would call her parents, and tell her where she was -- the ungrateful runaway.

"I just wanted to go somewhere no one's gone before," She answered, a little more calmly now. "Regions don't open their borders to everyone else very often, I wanted to come and make a name for myself somewhere where not a lot of people have yet. I still don't know what I want to do though," That much, she could share. She was undecided. Leagues were so cliche, and when she glanced over at her gluttonous feline she couldn't picture Fifi ever even trying a gym. "What about you? Why did you come here?"

"I guess I'll have to get her bowl for her," Ori huffed, and grabbed in her other hand a bowl of pokefood. She brought it over to Fifi and set it in front of her, sighing as the cat blatantly rejected the bowl, pushing it away with her paw. "Fifi... Come on now... We're on the rugged frontier... We have to eat what everyone else eats..." She watched the feline roll her eyes, not willing to budge even a little. Apparently just coming along had been her big compromise, maybe for the year. "Well you can't just starve! What do you want?" Fifi's eyes seemed to drift back towards the market stalls, where various kinds of fish were being sold.

"Cross.. can you help me out? Fifi won't eat her food... I may have spoiled her a little with good fish..."

 

[RingSlinger]

Kazuchika laughed, in a soft, friendly manner, for a moment when she declared that she could be all of those things. "Hmm. Perhaps you can." He shrugged this off for a moment, explaining "I'm not really rugged either, and I've never explored anything before..." he paused again, "but I'm about to. I'm pretty excited to though. I think it's going to be something wholly new."

He watched her struggled with her Persian variant. He pulled a face of very mild puzzlement, squinting for a moment before asking, "How long have you raised this Persian for? Did you get it in a trade? Or have you known it since it was a Meowth?" He couldn't figure out why she'd have a Persian like this out and about when she couldn't trust it to obey her commands. Unless it was just a favorite species and she was one of those trainers who just went for designer species. He might suspect that if she weren't here in this new region. Typically, trainers like that didn't do anything hard.

Her entire existence was baffling to him. Baffling was the wrong word. He was, perhaps, fascinated by her? He cast a look towards Rock, who was still chowing down on the Pokefood in the bowl on the ground. His loyal Totodile had always followed commands, but part of that had been that they had grown together. Ever since... this train of thought fell down a pathway Kazu didn't entirely feel like following for a moment, as he snapped back into the present moment.

"It would help to know how long you've known this Pokemon... and as far as encouraging it to eat goes... if it has no other options than what you're offering now, it will eventually eat what you're offering..."

 

[norway]

"Oh? I've known Fifi since she was a little kitty, so about three years," Answered Orihime, who seemed to recollect Fifi's younger years with fondness despite her present irritation. "She was, as a meowth, a gift from my parents, because I love cats. Litten, purrloin, glameow, you name it... I had a book or a painting of one somewhere, I fed a lot of strays too." She seemed to show a bit of unaddressed remorse, which quickly merged back into fondness for her feline. "I never knew of her to be picky, then again we're far away from home now, it's her first time having to adapt."

"But we're... a bit new to all this," That was when she started fidgeting with the tassels on her tote bag, seemingly uneasy about indulging Cross in more information. "She's never really been in a proper battle before, besides catching fletchling and caterpie out in the wild. It was luck that she evolved, it mostly came with time," She knelt down and scooted the bowl of animal feed over towards the persian, her smile half hearted as the animal seemed to whine to her about the lack of variety. Fifi was used to fine steaks and fresh basculine, not pokefeed from a can! But Orihime couldn't tell Cross that -- she couldn't reveal herself to be any form of privileged, lest her first actual friend out in these parts think she's incapable of being a trainer. She deserved to be here just as much as anyone else, or so she told herself. "I guess you're right, she'll eat when she's hungry. Maybe you could take a lesson from his partner, Fifi," She lightly chided the feline, whilst gesturing to Rock who happily scarfed down his food.

"Hello everyone!" An enthusiastic bark broken through the otherwise quiet air, the source, a young man, likely in his early thirties, with sharp brows and a strong chin. He was adorned in a typical white lab coat, but had outdoors friendly clothing underneath, khakis and hiking boots crusted with mud. He offered everyone a bright, white smile, which was returned with much enthusiasm by the kids who were seemingly anxious to get started. "You may not recognize me, but I'm Professor Alvin Cypress, the official professor of the Chaolor region. I'm here to get you all started the unique way we do in this country, which involves a very non traditional start to the journey, compared to what you may be used to. We've rented a school bus to take us to the outskirts of town, but then it's about a seven mile hike up to where your journey begins so, I hope you all came prepared and ate till you're past full!"

"Oh my," Ori murmured, hand cradling her worried face. "It sounds a lot more intense than I thought it would be... What do you think?" She asked the boy beside her, as if looking for some form of encouragement. This was the most independent thing she'd done since getting on the boat to come here -- at school, she was surrounded by tutors and teachers and like minded peers that coddled her and held her hand down any study she wanted to take. She wanted away from that, but it was far more daunting than she anticipated -- instinctively, she stood on her tip toes and looked for her parents, but did not find a single pair of likened, reassuring eyes in the small crowd of similarly aged kids.

 

[RingSlinger]

Kazuchika was a little confused at her account of raising the Persian from a Meowth. If she had been training it for that long it didn't make sense that it wouldn't obey her now. Perhaps she was leaving something out of the story from embarrassment. He supposed that it was possible that the Persian was simply extra disobedient, or that she simply wasn't stern enough as a trainer. He opened his mouth to ask another question before being interrupted by the cheery voice of a young adult.

Professor Cypress was exactly as he had been described to Kazu. He looked as he had appeared in the brochures for the region. The young trainer eyed the professor with an immediate air of distrust. This aura carried on for a minute before it was interrupted by Ori and her concerned voice.

"A little hike never hurt anyone," he grinned at the young woman beside him. "What do you say, Rock? Up for a hike?" he cocked his head to the side as his slightly chubbier-now Totodile crawled out from under the table and took a seat at Kazuchika's feet. It yawned.

"Mmm. Or would you rather take the trip in your Pokeball?"

"Dile," the Pokemon shrugged, fairly ambivalent to the options.

"I see. Lets have you nap in the ball then. Who knows if we'll need to be fighting ready in the near future," Kazu nodded, returning the small crocodile to his chamber and attaching the ball to his hip.

"I'm not too worried," the young man said, doing a couple of leg stretches on the bench they stood beside. "Are you?"