[pocketlyra-blog]

Crashing The Catwalk || Kamitsure & Lyra

[boltesa-deactivated20131218]

She had really tried. The countdown and the dulling of the applause just past the curtain left a strain in her chest— she hadn’t wanted for things to end this way, but it seemed it was her only choice. Daiki glared at her with a furious gaze, and even she was having difficulty trying to figure out how to get Lyra out of this frustrating situation; however, with all eyes on Kamitsure, the little brunette had the capability of running towards the south-west exit.

How she would convey that message, she wouldn’t know. So the two were bound in this situation, one hiding under the decorative piece and one held by perhaps the most insensitive men she had ever encountered in her life. And with all this, Kamitsure still couldn’t muster up the urge to reveal the truth to Daiki, to tell him that— ”Hey, look, your bodyguards you sent wouldn’t let this girl out, and I’ve been trying non-stop to help her out of here.” Kamitsure knew Daiki like the back of her hand; she knew the way he was permanently agitated despite his fairly lax lifestyle off-season, and the way he would scream and shout at anyone that do things his way. Generally, while Daiki was nowhere near as aggressive towards her— he would shoot himself before even attempting to yell at her— Kamitsure knew that any referral to the truth would lead to a very-damaged little brunette on her hands.

That was what she had promised herself, from the start, to avoid entirely.

And the dazzling sound that was the crash startled her out of her lie. Eyes widening, Kamitsure took one step back even against the tightened grip of the guards and let her jaw drop unceremoniously. 

The tiny brunette was finally showing her much more brash behaviour; her heel digging into the small of his back, one of the hardened men just to Kamitsure’s right went flying back behind the two with their nails digging into her skin. The model cringed, both out of fear and surprise as Lyra blessed the crowd with her presence, bow and all. Behind her, one of the two guards gripping onto her arm let go to aid the “fallen soldier”, allowing her the freedom to wriggle free and—

And before she could even stop him, the flame-haired individual grabbed the small figure by her collar, bringing her to eye-level. 

“And who the hell do you think you are?”

Before she could allow him to even lay a scratch on the poor girl, the taller, older woman pulled him by the shoulder and forced him to drop the girl on the floor. The black-haired woman hadn’t even the time to mouth an apology as Daiki’s fierce snarl and matching glare began to become much more prominent and dangerous with each passing second. Kamitsure gave him a sharp look, as if warning him to stop seething…

“But my mother is out there!” he exclaimed, his facial features softening as his skin and darkened freckles folded with the wrinkles, his eyes watering.

…

What?

Both model and the stable bodyguard looked at each other in confusion, watching Daiki place his forlorn visage between his palms, sobbing. The woman hadn’t even the faintest idea on how to aid him— instead, she stepped backwards, still unsure. Blue eyes ran over his figure and then back at the fallen brunette, as if confused over what she should do.

“I— your what?”

Sharp, emerald eyes flew up to meet with hers, his tears painting a mess; eyes swollen red and cheeks tear-stained, Kamitsure was sure she had never seen a worse picture in her entire life— he looked devastated.

“She was supposed to watch this show become a success and finally admit that I’m not a good-for-nothing runt that spends all his money on gambling on some floozy!” Daiki’s voice was wavering and his eyes were squinting at her, hoping that Kamitsure would have an answer.

Both insulted and mildly uncomfortable, the woman looked over to Lyra in hopes of some intelligent response that didn’t involve anyone blubbering like a fool.

[pocketlyra-blog]

Everything happened too fast for Lyra to fully process.

She knew Kamitsure had been in peril, and she she dove in to save the model. Lyra had been able to take one man down, but soon found herself in the clutches of another. 

Then it seemed Kamitsure had jumped in to, in turn, save her hide. Lyra barely remembered the feeling of falling down and slamming against the backstage ground.

She did, however, note the fact that the man who had just been snarling at both her and Kamitsure was now...crying?

Lyra stared at the scene, stunned, as the man broke down in front of them both. Her eyes met with the model's, and Lyra could only open and close her mouth like a fish in disbelief. 

The man continued sobbing, and neither female knew what to do to...sooth him? If soothing him was even what they were supposed to do in this situation, Lyra didn't know.

She did know, however, that the model in front of her was at a complete loss for words, and clearly wanted something to happen to make the man stop.

Lyra awkwardly cleared her throat to get their attention, and then she slowly spoke, "Uhm, s-sir? How, uh, would this show's success have anything to do with your success, if you...don't mind me asking? I don't understand..."

[pocketlyra-blog]

Rabid Territory || Bill & Lyra

[bubbillsort]

"They generally ain’t too common, that’s the thing," Bill explained as he gathered supplies together- food, notebooks, a digital camera. He rummaged through a drawer and pulled out two pokeballs, the ones that belonged to Alan and Ada. His third pokemon, Steve the watchfox, would sit this one out to guard the servers. 

Ada was ecstatic. There was nothing more she could’ve asked for: an adventure with Bill and her cousin Dash to find her family! She hadn’t been this excited since Bill had picked her up out of the bushes all that time ago. 

"When my ma was growin’ up in Ecruteak they never caught ‘em in the wild. Had to breed ‘em. Lineage of the Kimono Girl eevees goes back so far that y’can’t trace it, so nobody knows even where they came from.”

Bill had never, ever read about or heard of coming across more than one wild eevee in the same spot. Most found eevees were assumed to be abandoned by trainers.

They would travel by teleportation, a discipline that was an area of expertise for Alan and not for Bill. Many attempts to study his pokemon’s abilities led to one conclusion and one conclusion only: “Ya touch his tail and he does the thang.” 

"Have y’ever gone by abra before, Lyra?" he asked his new companion. "It’s an experience the first time. Left me kinda dizzy, but y’get used to it." 

If Alan’s eyes were open he would have rolled them. I’m to bus the four of you to Ecruteak now? 

Bill sighed. “An’ Alan says he’s very happy to do it!” He grabbed onto his psychic companion, and Ada did the same, hopping up and settling right on the top of his head. The poor abra would’ve been frustrated, but he was too used to it. 

"Now grab on, the both of you," Bill said to Lyra and Dash. "We’ll be there in a jiff." 

When Lyra and Dash didgrab on, it was definitely an experience. Colors flashed, air rushed past them, and it almost felt as if they were trapped inside of a box fan. When the sensation stopped a moment later, Bill was unfazed. He’d been doing this for years. 

"Ecruteak Ciry," he said with a sigh. "The place where the past meets the present." And there would be a fair amount of past and present meeting today, he thought to himself with a glance down at Ada and Dash. 

"Let’s head south!"

[pocketlyra-blog]

Lyra stood clutching her pack as she watched Bill patter around his house, grabbing anything and everything that looked like it might be useful for their journey. The girl shuffled in place, unsure of what to do. It wasn't like she could take a quick trip home and collect any supplies...good thing she always had a couple of spare changes of clothes, some snacks, and water bottles on her person. Looked like she'd just have to go along with whatever she could find in her bag.

The man's excited nature was odd for Lyra, but she supposed if her favorite store had an abundance of her favorite items or clothes she'd be just as excited if not more so. Lyra just quietly listened as Bill babbled on about the rarity of these Eevee they were gonna go investigate. Her thoughts wandered for a moment and she tuned Bill out, and she got lost in the thought of what awaited them in Ecruteak.

Would other people be after the Eevee?

What if the Eevee didn't want them around?

What if the Pokemon dirtied her last set of clothes?!

“Ya touch his tail and he does the thang.” 

Lyra's head shot up and her eyes met Bill's, full of confusion, "Whose tail? And what 'thang?'" Lyra drawled, mimicking the overzealous researcher's strange dialect. 

Her gaze followed his down to Alan, who Lyra could tell was not pleased at the prospect of teleporting 2 grown people and 2 Pokemon at the same time. 

"Oh...his tail, and that thing." 

Bill's excitement started to rub off on Lyra, and she felt her Jolteon bristle in shared excitement at the journey that they were about to embark on. She hesitantly stepped toward where Bill, Alan, and Ada were. Ada rested atop Bill's head, and the man already had a hold onto the psychic-type's tail. Alan just stared the other way, appearing as if he was thinking of doing anything except for what he was about to do now.

Lyra moved to stand beside Bill, and Dash unexpectedly jumped into her arms. She sputtered as the light-weight electric-typedraped itself over her shoulder so that she only needed one hand to support his rump so she could use her other hand to hold onto Alan's tail. 

She smiled at her sporadic Jolteon's antics, and smiled up at Bill as she reached for the Abra's tail, "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

As soon as Lyra grabbed onto the Pokemon's tail, a sharp flash of light momentarily blinded her, and she heard loud popping noises. A fast spurt of air hit her straight in the face, and she felt her pigtails and Dash's fur slapping against her face.

Before she knew it the experience was over, and she stood on solid ground, her arms wrapped around Dash's torso, more to steady and hold herself up rather than to protect her Pokemon from falling off of her.

Lyra just knew her face was flushed and her hair was sticking up at odd angles. Bill seemed unphased, but it made enough sense that he's had years of teleporting around where as this time was her first.

The man spoke that they should head south, and Lyra just mutely nodded and began to trail after Bill as Dash leapt out of her arms. 

[silverlinedrival-archive]

Melting Ice

[silverlinedrival-archive]

The slightest of smiles pulled at the edge of Silver’s mouth when Lyra expressed her delight over the stone. He couldn’t help it, it was nice to see another person happy over something he had a part in. However the smile quickly faded when Lyra returned her attention to him to answer his question.

"Unova?" Silver asked, his interest genuinely peaked.  That was a region he wanted to go to. He was planning for such a trip for months, and that was what his saved money was for.

"Could you tell me about it?" He inquired, his questions coming to him easily now. "What places did you like the most?"

The boy intended to draw out every bit of information he could from Lyra. He sat down on the gravel beside the bedroll. He didn’t care that his already dirty jeans were dirtier, Lyra had his attention.

Sneasel joined them as well. The black, feline-like pokemon climbed up into and made himself comfortable in Silver’s lap. He meowed and laid down his head before purring for his own share of attention. Silver made no motions to shoo away Sneasel, but instead began to idly pet the pokemon.

[pocketlyra-blog]

Silver's sudden interest in her travels (for once) caught Lyra off guard. If his interest in anything she had to say wasn't enough, the fact that the boy sat down alongside her and stared at her expectantly caused her to flush at the attention he was suddenly paying her. 

"Uh...well, I really enjoyed visiting Nimbasa City's amusement parks!"

"The new Marine Tube is quite interesting too. I didn't see one when I was there, but I heard if you catch the tube at the right time you can see Wailords!"

She laughed and adjusted herself on the mat so that she could face Silver. His messy appearance caused her to smile wider, and she couldn't help but inquire further, "But why do you want to hear about Unova? Are you planning on going there sometime?"

[pocketlyra-blog]

Rabid Territory || Bill & Lyra

[bubbillsort]

Bill knelt down to put a hand on his old pal’s head, letting the pokemon nuzzle up against it. Only after he had realized that this was the same eevee he’d met in Ecruteak and given away as the most profuse apology he had ever had to make did Lyra’s reason for being here register in his head. 

“I don’t think I ever really thanked you for the Eevee you, uh…gave me a while back.” 

Bill looked up. “It’s no trouble, Lyra,” he said, the natural warmth in his voice reserved for visitors slowly returning. “Seein’ ol’ Dash so happy an’ healthy is thanks enough!”

Bill gave the jolteon a few more scratches behind the ear; he knew just the right spot, and it elicited a few harmless sparks from the pokemon’s fur. Boy, was he a happy little guy, though. He was strong and energetic, with a healthy coat and a great demeanor. Bill could not have been more pleased if a barrel of eevees had dumped itself over his head. 

Ada, ignorant of her companion’s hesitation in regards to the younger trainer, took this as a sign that they would now be entertaining guests. After all, Dash was family! She hopped around excitedly, tugging on a piece of Jolteon’s tail in the direction of the inside of the house. 

Bill himself still had not quite made the connection that he had discovered both pokemon in relatively the same place. Ada’s behavior confused him, but he decided to go off the assumption that his friend was just so excited to see another of her own kind. Although he still could not get the thought of the Big Misunderstanding out of his head every time he looked at Lyra, he really wanted to make Ada happy. After all, he didn’t know when the little eevee would see another of her species again. 

Bill hated making decisions. 

Bill, I think you want to take a look at this.

Bill looked over his shoulder to find his abra still working diligently at the computer. “Alan, why don’tcha take a break from messin’ around and come say hi?” 

I do not mess around. Saying hello can wait.

Bill rolled his eyes. As excited and stubborn as he could be with things about which he was passionate, Alan was ten times worse. He had a one-track mind like a kingler with ViceGrip. It could clamp onto a target and not let go for days on end. 

"Gimme a sec, Lyra," he said, and dashed back to the computer right quick to see exactly what Alan was on about. It was usually nothing, but he rarely had any choice but to humor his abra. 

Alan was right; Bill definitely did want to take a look at this.

It was an article about two eevees found under a tree in southern Ecruteak.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

It took a second for Bill to realize what Alan was getting at, but he had found one piece of the puzzle when he saw Ada: acquired at Route 36, just south of Ecruteak.

At the doorway, Ada was doing her darnedest to herd Dash and Lyra into the house. If Bill was going to fail at receiving guests, Ada would pick up the slack. 

If Lyra were watching Bill at that particular moment, she would’ve been treated to a very exaggerated display of the ol’ Sonezaki gears turning. He looked around the room, trying to remember exactly why this was so important and what connection Alan was trying to get him to make. 

His eyes focused on Dash. Of course. Acquired at the Ecruteak Pokemon Center, months before he had met Ada. He had wandered in, lost, and Bill had taken him home and given him to Lyra the very next day. 

And if he had seen Ada there, and he had met Dash there, and now there were two more eevees found right in the same area…

"There’s a whole darn colony!" 

Ada jumped. Bill grinned. Alan, if he had the energy to do so, would have thrown up his arms and exclaimed, “Finally!” But he did not. 

"Lyra, ya got no idea what I jes’ read," he started, gesturing wildly. His voice was fast and frenzied, and he stumbled over the words in his excitement. "This here article says they found two eevees in the same exact place I found yer Dash, an’ right near the same place I found my Ada, and if that’s the case, then there’s most likely a whole darn colony of ‘em!”

Bill would need to go. He’d love for the chance to research eevees again- he’d been looking for another opportunity since the last time- and Ada would love to see her family again. But if he brought one lost eevee back to visit the colony without the other, Ada (and all those other eevees) might not ever forgive him. 

He looked at Ada, at Dash, at Lyra, and finally back at his cute little eevee. He couldn’t say no to that face.

"Lyra, how’d ya like to go on a little adventure?" 

[pocketlyra-blog]

Lyra smiled at the comfortable exchange between Bill and Dash. It was obvious her Jolteon still held a strong bond with the researcher, and seeing the tiny rivets of electricity running throughout the Pokemon's fur, she knew she had done the right thing in bringing Dash over to meet Bill again. 

Bill's sudden compliment of her Pokemon's condition though surprised Lyra and caused a light blush to rise to her cheeks. Despite being a well-renowned trainer, people didn't often focus on her Pokemon's appearance as much as they did on the Pokemon's power and battling abilities. It especially was nice hearing she had done a good job in keeping up her Pokemon's appearance, for a great deal of her nightly regimen was bathing and brushing her Pokemon's fur. 

And for anyone who has ever tried to bathe and brush out a Jolteon's fur...well, they'd know it was no small feat that could go down without a hitch. 

“Alan, why don’tcha take a break from messin’ around and come say hi?” 

Lyra curiously looked up from their Pokemon (who were now yapping back and forth in conversation, so it seemed) to see Bill looking back into his house at his Abra, who was at what appeared to be a computer. The trainer's gaze went from the Abra back up to Bill, whose eyebrows were knit in what she could only describe as confusion.

Bill's expression only got more confused-looking, and it took a moment before Lyra realized that the two were having a conversation. Lyra never trained a psychic-type Pokemon, but from what she had heard from trainers she had met who had trained the type, most psychic-types could communicate through telepathy with their trainer if the bond was strong enough. It made sense, but it was strange seeing an exchange happen before her very eyes.

She hopped up in surprise when Bill suddenly turned and told her to hold on for a moment before rushing back to the computer. Lyra looked down at Dash and Ada, and quietly spoke, "It must be somethin' super important, huh?" Ada made a shrugging motion as if to say "beats me". 

Lyra nodded, then turned back up to watch Bill and Alan. She could only see Bill's profile, but the man seemed awfully determined to figure something out. From the way Alan seemed about ready to tear his hair out - if he had any hair, that is - it looked as though the Abra was trying to get Bill to connect the dots to something that should've been apparent to the computer wiz. 

A rough nudge on her leg caught Lyra's attention, and she looked down to see Ada trying to push her into the house. Lyra's lips pursed as she held her ground against the little Eevee. Bill had never actually invited her and Dash inside...and Lyra always felt weird about accidentally intruding into someone's home.

"There’s a whole darn colony!" 

The reserved man's loud exclamation caught Lyra off-guard, and her eyebrows shot up in confusion. Her expression grew even more confused as the man exaggeratedly motioned and spoke excitedly about a colony of Eevees or something of the like.

Looking down at Ada and Dash, she walked slowly into the entrance of Bill's house, "Uh...Bill? Is everything okay?"

The man didn't answer her question, but stopped speaking to stare intently at her and the Pokemon by her side. She could see the gears turning in his brain, and she went to speak before being interrupted with an invitation for an adventure. 

Lyra blinked for a moment, and shot Bill an incredulous look, "An adventure?" 

She was about to laugh and ask him what the heck was up with him, that it was just a colony of Eevees, but-

Wait. Did he just say...a colony of Eevees?!

Her expression changed to one that mirrored Bills, and she clapped her hands over her mouth in shock. "A colony of Eevees?! But...Eevees couldn't possibly be that easy to find, could they? I thought they were rare...and like, imported from some faraway island off of Kanto."

She shook her head at how stupid she sounded, and immediately answered, "Yes! Let's go right now!" All awkwardness between herself and Bill dissipated, and she bent down to meet Dash and Ada eye-to-eye, "Hey, guess what! We're going to see your family!" 

[pocketlyra-blog]

Rabid Territory || Bill & Lyra

[bubbillsort]

Bill enjoyed the seclusion of his cottage all the way up north, away from the bustle of the shining cape city. Although he did happen to purchase a home right on top of one of the nicest tourist stops in Kanto, most people were too intimidated by the walk to make it up to the point. Those who did were rewarded with the opportunity to visit with a real-live billionaire. 

Don’t get me wrong; Bill loved company. In fact, when people - especially trainers -  came to visit, he rarely sent them on their way empty-handed. Back in the day, after he had completed his extensive research on evolution, he even sent the eevees he had been working with on daring adventures with trainers he believed to be truly exceptional. 

There was one gifted eevee in particular, however, that had a story behind it, a story Bill would have preferred to forget entirely. A year or two back, when Bill’s little sister had come up to Cerulean for a visit, she had gotten into some trouble that a man with the foresight to invent his way to a fortune should have been able to foresee.

"Bill, I found ya a date," she had said, bursting through the front door of the cottage, sporting all the pride of a grade schooler who had just spent all afternoon playing in the sun. “C’mere and meet her, her name’s Lyra!"

When Bill had gone on over to meet his new “date," what he found was a horrible nightmare. And for a moment, Bill couldn’t tell who was more caught off guard: himself or the poor trainer that her sister had dragged in by the wrist! 

Bill had no choice but to kindly explain to Lyra that his sister meant well, and truly believed that he had to get out of the house more, and to please not think that he had anything to do with this. And just for good measure he gave her an eevee to apologize for any sort of confusion. 

Bill hadn’t seen the eevee or Lyra since, although he had called the trainer on many occasions to announce brand new features of his PC system, a courtesy he had adopted into his business model. Kris, Red, Green, and most of the other trainers whom he had met on this journey all received the same calls. But dialing Lyra never stopped being awkward, and every time he did so he could practically hear the tone in her voice.

“Oh, it’s this creep again. I can’t believe you make your sister go out and find you a girlfriend like that!" 

This was all imagined- the tone, the sentiment, all of it. In reality, Lyra probably hadn’t treated the incident as anything more as one more wacky adventure story to tell. But Bill, quick to jump to conclusions, never enjoyed having to call Lyra for precisely this reason.

Thankfully, Bill didn’t have to even think about calling anyone today. He was hard at work reading up on rare wild pokemon sightings in the continent. Yes, today Bill planned to be left alone with his pokemon and his research. 

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Be there in a minute!" Bill called as he struggled to tear himself away from the very last word of the sentence of the article he was reading. When he finally got up out of his chair, his abra Alan took his place, promising to alert Bill if any of these articles merited a looking-into. Abandoning all his previous desires of spending hours on research in favor of entertaining this spontaneous new guest, Bill excitedly made his way over to the door. 

Ada, his lovable eevee companion, smelled something behind that door that interested her. She hopped off the desk and scratched at the door until Bill opened it.

"Howdy!" Bill said, pushing the door open wide. “Always glad ta see a-"

Dandy. Just dandy.

"Lyra, what brings ya back to Cerulean?" His tone had changed in an instant. It was now guarded, lower, and anyone with the ability to read a man could tell that he had not expected this. 

Ada, oblivious to her trainer’s sudden discomfort, sped through the door and straight to jolteon. She could not believe how much he had grown! 

[pocketlyra-blog]

The defensive tone Bill's voice took on caused Lyra to realize that this definitely wasn't one of her better ideas.

This was the first time they had seen each other in person since their first meeting, after all, and their first meeting had been anything but pleasant and friendly. Goosebumps rose to her arms and she grabbed onto her bag strap to steady herself from bolting in the other direction right on the spot.

"Oh, I was just making another journey through Kanto. Y'know, searching for new caves or sights I might've missed when I first ventured through here."

She shuffled her weight to her other foot, trying to seem unaware of Bill's expectant (and seemingly very annoyed) stare, and looked down at Dash, who was now happily chatting with Bill's Abra, "I actually am here because of him." She looked up to Bill and continued, "I don't think I ever really thanked you for the Eevee you, uh...gave me a while back." 

A light blush rose to her cheeks upon remembering the horribly awkward encounter they both endured. Lyra scratched her nose for a moment then crossed her arms under her chest, and began rocking back and forth a couple times and averting her gaze anywhere but at Bill, "So that's why I'm here...just to say thanks, I guess."

A quirk of a smile stretched from her mouth, and she stopped rocking to fuss with one of her pigtails. Her eyes averted down to Dash and Ada once again, "And I thought you'd like to see Dash! Well...you knew him as an Eevee then...but he's really grown, don't'cha think?"

Upon hearing his name, the Jolteon looked up at Bill and yapped happily before excitedly scrambling up to the man to nuzzle his leg. Lyra couldn't help the small giggle that erupted from the sight, and she smiled up at Bill as a small bit of her discomfort fell away, "Aw, I think he's missed you a lot!"

[silverlinedrival-archive]

Melting Ice

[silverlinedrival-archive]

"Yea, Gengar found something." Silver crouched down beside the bedroll and laid out the two halves of the stone. The rock looked like any other rock on its exterior, but at its center the stone morphed into white crystals.

"It doesn’t look like much now, but with some cleaning and polishing it’ll be work a little bit of money." The white crystal geodes weren’t worth too much, and now that Silver though about it, the Ice Path wouldn’t be a good source of these.

Silver stared at the stone instead of Lyra, unsure how to keep the conversation going… Just talk about normal things, he thought to himself. They hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and while he didn’t consider his life to be interesting during that time there must have been something Lyra could talk about.

"So, uh…" He started awkwardly. “What have you been up to since we last saw each other?"

[pocketlyra-blog]

"Ahh! Silver, it's beautiful!"

She stared at the stone the red-head held out to examine, completely oblivious to the fact that it probably wasn't worth too much on the market. Still to Lyra, the rock shined like a diamond, and she looked up at Silver and hesitantly asked, "Is it alright if I hold it?"

After a few moments, she reached up and the stone was passed between trainers (though no words of "sure, go ahead!" were said from the boy - it was more just a silent, understood confirmation that yes, she could hold the rock for a moment), and she turned it around in her hands, marveling in the crystal clear shine emitted inside from what little light they had in the cave thanks to the lanterns. 

Silver's rough voice stole her attention from the rock, and she scratched her nose in embarrassment upon realizing this was Silver's way of trying to make small talk, "Well, I uh, recently got back from a trip to the Unova region a couple of months back...and I honestly haven't been doing much since then." She shrugged and subconsciously began to lightly toss the stone between her hands, "I've just been traveling around Johto again, for the hundredth time."

"My life up until now, really, has been pretty routine and boring. Wake up, travel as far as I can for the day, see if I can't find some new path or cave I missed when traveling before, and then set up camp and go to bed."

She shrugged again, and gently handed the rock back to Silver, "What about you? I'm sure you've been up to...more interesting things than I have."

[pocketlyra-blog]

Rabid Territory || Bill & Lyra

Returning to Cerulean City in Kanto wasn't supposed to be this nerve-wracking, Lyra deduced as she stood waiting outside of a small cottage.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Earlier in the day she had made it out of Mt. Moon on her re-journey through the Kanto region. Like all trainers who emerge from Mt. Moon, Lyra then took off to Cerulean City to heal her Pokemon and get some rest at the Pokemon Center. 

The tangy air of the sea outside contrasted drastically with the foggy chlorine of Misty's gym as the girl trekked towards the Pokemon Center. Her Jolteon, Dash, scampered by her side, and when Lyra looked down to make sure she didn't trip over her Pokemon, she was hit with the realization that this city was where she had first obtained her rambunctious friend. 

After healing her team and grabbing a light snack, Lyra made her way across Nugget bridge (where none of the trainers dared to question the way she ignored them all when confronted for a battle), and maneuvered through the tiny hedge maze that rested between her and her destination.

Dash rushed ahead of her suddenly and began yapping as Lyra trailed after him. Before long she had caught up to her Pokemon, only to meet his excited self nudging the door to the small house. Small sparks shot out from the Jolteon, a clear sign that he was happy, excited, and impatient for whatever was to come, and the trainer couldn't help but smile down at her Pokemon.

Standing at the door to the small shack, Lyra reached up to knock on the door, but was suddenly hit with the remembrance of the circumstances under which she obtained her Eevee, now Jolteon.

Flashbacks of a small, harmless girl dragging her off towards this same cottage a year or so ago reeled through Lyra's mind. She flushed intensely at the memory of meeting the man who was inside the cottage, and how the little girl who had pulled her over to said cottage had the oh-so-innocent intent of making the two meet each other and go out for a date.

Lyra pressed her hands to her face and willed her blush to go away, and she smiled dumbly at her Jolteon, who now was staring at her with a very confused expression. Her Pokemon seemed to forget his trainer's awkwardness as quickly as he had noticed it, for his worried expression melted away to be replaced with the excitement of being at his old home. 

Well...it was too late to turn back now.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Her hand fell down to her side, and Lyra looked up at the door expectantly, waiting for the person inside to come and greet her. She looked down at her Jolteon, who merely barked up at her and shot off a couple of sparks. The trainer became mesmerized for a moment as she watched the sparks dance atop the puddles on the ground, but her attention was quickly snatched back to the cottage by the sound of a door creaking open. 

A taller man in his younger 20s looked down at her, and Lyra gulped before speaking, "Uh...hey, Bill!"

[pocketlyra-blog]

ooc; for some reason tumblr doesn't tell me when I get messages on this account (though it works just fine for my other ones??) so I'm really sorry for my delayed responses ;~;

[silverlinedrival-archive]

Melting Ice

[silverlinedrival-archive]

"Don’t be in a rush to leave." Silver replied as he resumed heading towards Gengar. “Only go when you’re sure you’re ready, and no sooner than that." The last thing he needed was for Lyra to hurt herself again. 

The ghost pokemon bounced happily in his seat as Silver stood before him. Little clawed hands proudly held up what at first looked to be an unassuming rock. Silver cocked his head to the side, wondering what it was that the pokemon was trying to share with him, and that prompted the ghost to mime hitting the rock with a karate chop.

"Open it? Well alright." Silver took the stone in one hand and unclipped a pickaxe from his belt. Carefully he tapped away at the rock that was the size of a large softball. For a good couple of minutes, all Lyra would hear was the sound of the pickaxe clicking against the stone, and the ambient noises of the caves.

Finally, with one last click, the stone broke open. “Well, look at that." Said Silver in a satisfied tone. “Good work Gengar."

Gengar clapped and bounced off of his seat before floating away in the search of more treasures.

Silver turned back to face Lyra, thinking it would be a nice gesture to share the find with her. But it looked like she had fallen asleep on him? At least it appeared that way. Carefully Silver made his way over to her to be sure, his boots crunching against the loose gravel and dirt of the save floor. “Are you asleep?" He asked in a quiet voice just in case she had drifted off.

[pocketlyra-blog]

The bedroll, albeit it being lamely strewn over the rough cave ground, was actually quite comfortable in Lyra's opinion. 

She shifted a bit, adjusting herself on her side and tucking her arm under her head to use as a makeshift pillow. The coldness of the ice seeped up through the bedroll, but it was a comfortable cold that reminded her of her home. Wiping her nose with the back of her other hand, she smiled fondly to herself at her mother's silly preference to change the thermostat from a comfortable warm to below frigid in the middle of the night when everyone was trying to sleep. 

With eyes still closed, she listened intently as Silver and Gengar seemed to have stumbled upon something worth their attention. Her interest was peaked, and the girl rolled over on her back and used her elbows to push herself up to watch as Silver grabbed a pickaxe. The redhead then began beating a strange looking box, seemingly trying to break the frozen lock on it.

After a couple moments of struggling, Silver was successfully able to knock the lock off, and Lyra turned back to her original position, smiling and mentally congratulating Silver. It was strange to Lyra that Silver took up treasure hunting of all things as a side-hobby, but she smiled when she heard the satisfaction in his voice when he congratulated his Pokemon.

The old Silver never would have given his Pokemon any sort of praise whatsoever, and if treasure hunting allowed him and his Pokemon to form a stronger bond, than she could rest assured that he had seriously changed for the better.

Footsteps approached her from behind, and she rolled over on her stomach, savoring the warmth from the bedroll that her own body heat had warmed up. She watched Silver and Gengar as they approached, "Oh...no I'm awake. Why, did you find something?"

[pocketlyra-blog]

ooc: omg sorry I've been really inactive for the last few days I actually spontaneously was dragged into going to pokecon which is a good 9 hour drive away from where I live so I haven't had hardly any time to check a computer at all ;a; but I'm back and ready to rp uvu)/

[pocketlyra-blog]

Suicune Hunting || Eusine & Lyra

[northwindchaser-deactivated2014]

“Just…take pictures and look at it…?” Eusine’s confused expression didn’t need to be explained. He actually thought they were going to catch suicune. “Well…you can do that if you want, just let me catch it first.” As he said that, the man reached into his pockets, and felt around for an empty pokeball. It didn’t occur to him that, even if it was asleep, a regular pokeball would probably not catch Suicune.

Across the lake, said pokemon stirred. The legendary beast slowly awoke, blinking the sleep out of its eyes. Eusine was too busy rummaging through his pockets to take notice. If Lyra wanted, she probably could have gotten the data she needed while Eusine was preoccupied, had it not been for what happened next.

Eusine’s drowzee came crashing through the shrubs, startling Suicune. Apparently, Eusine had forgotten to call the psychic type back into its pokeball, and left it back at the last pond. Fortunately, Drowzee had managed to find its way back to its trainer.

Unfortunately, Suicune was now, probably, halfway to Mt.Silver, considering how fast it had run off.

“Aha! Got one-!” Eusine looked up from his search to find empty space where Suicune once was. He stood there for  a moment, dumbfounded, before shouting, “WHAT HAPPENED!? WHERE DID IT GO!?”  He whipped around, looking in every possible direction for the legendary pokemon, before finally accepting it was gone.

“Argh! I was so close this time…”  Eusine muttered after calming down. He sat down on the ground for a minute or so, before suddenly looking up at Lyra. “Wait, you saw what happened, right? Tell me what scared it off.”

[pocketlyra-blog]

Lyra met Eusine's expression with one of exasperation. Did Eusine really think he was going to get away with catching Suicune this time? The Pokemon was born to evade antsy trainers, and Lyra couldn't even come up with a retort, instead pinching the bridge of her nose as Eusine began digging into his pack for a pokeball.

Hearing Suicune stir, the girl's gaze traveled over to watch as the legendary mewled and stretched, trying to shake off its sleepiness. The Pokemon really was beautiful...it stuck out brightly against the dark green of the trees behind it, but slowly melted into the background of the glittery lake that it was standing beside. The trainer felt speechless at the sight, and quietly reached for her disposable camera that sat on top of her spare change of clothes in her pack. 

Better to nab a quick photo before Eusine's antics ruined the lovely scene, she supposed.

However, luck was not on her side (but was that really such a surprise, especially because she was here with Eusine of all people), for right when Lyra's eye tried to focus through the lens and her finger pressed down to snap a photo, Eusine's Drowzee broke through the treeline. The psychic type loudly stumbled around while repeating its name, and practically crashed into Suicune, who, surprised and slightly scared of the strange, babbling Drowzee, took off across the lake, disappearing into the forest beyond.

Lyra said nothing as the hand that held her camera aimlessly fell to her side. She barely heard Eusine groan as she looked down at the camera, a half smile appearing on her face. Now it was her turn to ask if she really thought she'd be able to catch a good photo of the legendary under these silly circumstances. 

But hey, at least she had snapped a good three or so pictures of the event. Those would definitely be perfect for her traveling scrapbook...if she ever sat down long enough to start making on.

She turned to Eusine just as his Drowzee bounded up to the pair, "It was actually your little buddy right there." The Drowzee noticed the two staring down at him, and he merely just smiled and tilted his head to the side, as if saying "Oops!"

Lyra held up her camera to Eusine, "But I think I may have gotten a shot or two of Suicune...even if they probably are pictures of it running away from us...shall we go find a place to get the film developed?"

[muyiru]

A foe and a friend♪

[muyiru]

Muyiru listens with eager eyes and intent ears, absorbing and adhering to much of Lyra’s explanation. She is slow to draw the parallels during her thoughtful, yet purposeful words; however, Muyiru cannot find any difference between what Lyra explains as being a trainer, and her own feelings toward Pokemon. She takes a heavy sigh and a puzzled look forms across her face, a slight cognitive dissonance shift occurring in her head. Lyra’s ideals and morals toward Pokemon sound too similar to her own, yet this seasoned, and well-mannered trainer beside her couldn’t come off as anything but.  

“I…” she fumbles, trying to decide what to say first.  After a few moments of indecision, she begins again, “Well…I would say that your Pokemon are very lucky, then.  I never imagined…”

Muyiru’s words taper off once more, the transpiring reality finally sinking in.  Her face forms a much more somber and serious visage, her eyes staring at the Pokeballs Lyra withdrew from her bag. Beside her, King prods his nose under her arm to rest his head on her lap.  Surprisingly, he is without either of his bones—the skull or the club.  Muyiru glances down and can’t help but to frown, her mind quick to judge herself.  She places a hand on the resting Cubone’s head and looks back up to Lyra.

“I cannot believe I’ve been so stubborn.” She asserts. “I let rehabilitating Pokemon tunnel my vision, and distort what it really means to be a trainer,” she fiddles sourly with Isador’s Pokeball, “but King and I never really had much training in Lavender. I’m terrified of ghosts, and all he wants to do is chase them. So, to be perfectly honest—No.  I don’t think I’ve ever battled anyone before. Mostly only fighting in self defense.” Muyiru’s cheeks flush with blood as she continues to be critical of herself; although, she sight of her Cubone snuggling in her lap manages to bring a smile to her solemn attitude. He had always been there for her, even in times when the pair felt they both were in over their heads.  

“I left Lavender and arrived in Johto about year ago. Since then, I’ve met so many interesting people, caught my first Pokemon and even started working as a waitress at the restaurant here on Route 32. I’ve been so carried away with my new life, I’ve almost even forgotten why I’ve come to Johto to begin with.  Though, I’ve never met anyone like you, Lyra.  You’re kind and very inspirational.” Even though Muyiru’s understanding of Lyra’s status as a trainer is unbeknownst, her respect for her is already monumental.

[pocketlyra-blog]

Lyra withdrew her pokeballs, gently letting the capsules roll out of her hand into her pack. She looked at the pokeballs that rested on top of her stuff haphazardly, and briefly wondered why she never got a clip of some sort to keep them neat in. 

It definitely would make surprise battling so much easier, seeing as then she'd actually know which Pokemon she was calling on instead of blindly reaching into her bag and playing Russian Roulette.

Still looking at her team's pokeballs, she spoke quietly, "Don't say that...I mean, anyone who loves their Pokemon with all their heart has lucky Pokemon." She lifted her head, her runaway fringe falling messily across her forehead. She smiled at Muyiru's Cubone, who she noticed had none of his bone armor on him.

When Muyiru looked down and pet her Cubone, Lyra spoke once more, "See, I think King is one of the luckiest Pokemon I've ever seen in all my travels." 

The girl listened intently to Muyiru's story, and couldn't help but be reminded of her own younger self first starting out on her training journey. She supposed everyone at every age must have their beginner-trainer anxiety, and Lyra realized that not everyone had the opportunity to leave home at the young age she did and set forth to see the world. 

"Ah, I see," She focused on a stain on her overalls and absentmindedly scratched at it, "But I don't blame you...I would've been the same way had I lived in Lavender. I don't even know how I made it to the top of the tower...I was so scared out of my mind!" She laughed, more to herself at her memories than to Muyiru, and continued, "When I was halfway through the place, my flashlight's batteries ran out, and at the same moment one of those ghostly women came out and scared me half to death!" 

Shaking her head at herself, she continued, "I guess I'm trying to say that being a trainer is tough, and starting out on a journey is even tougher. I mean, I myself enjoy the thrill of a battle and seeing my Pokemon grow, but that doesn't mean everyone's like me. I think you life sounds plenty interesting as it is!" Lyra looked up to face Muyiru, "I've never had a real job like you do, and though I've met many interesting people as well, I've never really had a chance to be around them cause I was always wandering around."

"Just...if and when you do set out on a journey, know that little guy," she lifted a finger and pointed to the now asleep King on Muyiru's lap, "will always be by your side. You will win some battles, and you will lose some, but no matter the outcome, King'll always be there to pick you up and help you push on." Lyra's lips spread into a tight little smile as she thought back, bittersweet, about her own team and how they had always had her back. She made a mental note to take them out for a delicious dinner and buy them some specialty Pokeblocks for their effort.

Lyra was pulled out of her reverie by Muyiru's compliment. She blushed feverishly, and gently waved her hand in front of her, "Oh no, you're too nice to me!" Her hand lowered as she looked at the woman, "If anything thank you for being inspirational to me...I mean, my life has always been about training and battling and traveling...talking to you kind of made me realize I should stop to smell the roses every once in a while, y'know?" 

[pocketlyra-blog]

Suicune Hunting || Eusine & Lyra

[northwindchaser-deactivated2014]

“That’s where it looked like it was heading!” Eusine shouted back to Lyra, with an excited giggle. “This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to catching Suicune! Can you believe it?” He nearly tripped over a tree root as he spoke to the girl “I mean, all the other times Electrode and Drowzee have missed, or something spooked Suicune.”

It was notable that he failed to mention the times that he had scared away Suicune himself. He continued to drag Lyra along behind him, giddily running through the stretch of woods between the last pond and the next. He didn’t appear to be too focused on what was underneath his feet, because there were several occasions where he nearly tripped, and almost fell flat on his face.

At some point, they came upon the last body of water, and on it’s banks was Suicune. The pokemon was asleep, or at least appeared to be. Eusine let go of Lyra’s wrist, and started speaking quietly.

“My pokemon are all pretty weak…They couldn’t possibly weaken Suicune enough for me to catch it.” He looked at the girl standing beside him. “What about your pokemon?”

[pocketlyra-blog]

The trees sped past her vision and Lyra panted as she tried to keep up with the man dragging her. "Y-Yeah, that's great..." She spit out between heavy pants, and she gasped when Eusine almost tripped. She almost tripped along with him, but luckily she was able to hold her balance as they jumped over large clumps of tree roots that littered the ground.

A snort escaped Lyra at his "explanation" as to why Suicune always got away, and she hoped Eusine didn't catch it. Despite probably having had trouble catching Suicune because of his own Pokemon, Lyra knew he sure as hell had trouble mainly because of himself not being able to control his excitement over finding the Pokemon.

She continued following him (but she really didn't have a choice to do otherwise at this point, did she?), and to her relief (and Eusine's excitement), they broke through the treeline and hit the clearing where a glittering lake rested. Lyra picked out Suicune resting along the banks, and her brows furrowed when she realized it was...asleep?

Lyra stepped up beside Euisine, and she saw Suicune lightly tense in its sleep, probably sensing them nearby even through the thick sleeping spell. The girl peered up at Eusine, and gently replied, "I'm sure my Pokemon are strong enough, but...wait, you want to catch it?" Her expression fell as she peered up at him, "I thought we were just here to look at him, maybe take a picture or two, or somethin' like that."

[muyiru]

A foe and a friend♪

[muyiru]

Muyiru smiles adamantly towards the churning colors in the sky, glints of gold now reflecting from around her pupils. The beautiful cascade blurs the horizon as the last faint beam of light falls dark and dies from sight.  ”I could watch it every day…” she whispers out loud, her cheeky grin growing slightly. She continues, turning her head slightly to Lyra, “but I guess you’re right.  Come to think of it, work is all I’ve done since I’ve been in Johto,” she proclaims to her new acquaintance, as she glances down at the pokeball resting in her lap. She frowns slightly but returns her focus to Lyra and asks, “I’ve met a few trainers here in Johto, but even as a child I never understood what was so great about trying to hurt someone else’s pokemon.”

It wasn’t to say Muyiru never felt eager to become a trainer; moreover, she never became fully aware of how many different ways there are to train a pokemon, as opposed to simple care-taking and recovery. The extent of her knowledge on pokemon is limited she would admit, though her desire to learn has always kindred to her heart. The topic of evolution is hard for her to understand and it begs her to ask, “What…exactly happens to a pokemon when it evolves?”  Her orbs light up with excitement and anxiety, anticipation and eagerness.

Her increasing excitement causes her to immediately blurt out another question, her absent mindedness getting the best of her, “And what exactly does it mean to be a trainer?  And you mentioned it being rewarding?  Oh, I wouldn’t know where to even star—” her inexperience in both knowledge and exposure to training and battling pokemon bleeds through in her rapid questioning.  Muyiru bites her lip only after the tardy awareness to quiet herself manually. An embarrassed and blushing face darts it’s eyes to the ground in attempt to somehow apologize for the blunt questioning, “—sorry.”  Her mind wanders to the 7th Gym Leader of Kanto, Blaine, whom her father only rarely used to talk about and mentioned again only after his untimely death.  Not yet she reserves her question, her mind literally racing now, I’ll wait to ask her. 

King, now curled up beside Muyiru, opens an occasional eye to spot his owner; however, at the mention of “training and battling”, King’s head sits straight up, eyes fixing on Muyiru.  He makes a slight, almost inaudible whine as he scoots closer to Muyiru, eager to respond to these words.    

[pocketlyra-blog]

"Where do you work, if you don't mind me asking?" Lyra stared at the woman, feeling almost dumb at having heard that she works. She had almost forgotten that people who didn't train actually had jobs and needed ways of earning money that didn't come from battling. Lyra had always been able to make an ample living off of battling because she was good at it - she hardly ever lost, therefore she hardly ever had to forfeit any cash at the end of a battle. 

Becoming Champion also managed to help fatten her wallet up quite a bit. After retiring, her name had spread to other places where stronger (and more rich) trainers often stopped to challenge an ex champion of two regions. They usually had more than enough forfeit money to hand over.

But many people didn't live in the world of battling, so it makes sense they would have a job to earn money. 

Lyra felt herself blush a bit at having not realized this fact sooner, but now she was conversing with someone from the other side of the tracks. There had to be more Lyra had no clue about, but she'd tackle those topics when they came.

Ah, talk of being a trainer. Now this was something Lyra knew. 

The woman's abrupt apology though made Lyra wave her hands around in front of her, "There's no need to be sorry!" Her hands recoiled to reach into her bag, and she withdrew six bruised, dull pokeballs, "To me, being a trainer means that you do your best to befriend and care for all Pokemon...especially ones you decide to take in to join your team." She fingered the capsules and smiled at Muyiru, "Of course battling and becoming stronger is awesome! Most people who aren't trainers worry that battling hurts Pokemon, but I believe it makes everyone involved in the battle stronger in body and soul."

"It's like...you have to be able to believe in your Pokemon to pull through - to know that your love and training will pull off in the end. Power and strength is important of course, but a trainer's love, care, and belief in their team can really decide a battle. I do feel bad when I defeat a trainer and their Pokemon...but Pokemon are strong! They grow an awful lot from defeat - in power and in emotional strength."

She shrugged, unsure what to say next, "The rewarding part of it all is just having that strong bond with your team and watching them grow and evolve and become strong." Lyra's gaze met Muyiru's, "Sorry, I'm not really sure my explanation was a good one." She awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, "It's a hard thing to describe...it's just something that builds up over time and you just have to feel and experience it to really know what I'm trying to say." 

"Have you ever battled anyone? I mean, most people - trainer or not - have at least had a battle or two when they get their first Pokemon!"

[pocketlyra-blog]

Suicune Hunting || Eusine & Lyra

[northwindchaser-deactivated2014]

A confused glance was cast at Lyra.

“Put us to sleep?” Eusine repeated the girl’s words. “I believe hypnosis is an attack that is directed toward one target. What, did you think he was gonna use sing, or something?”

The man inched forward a little, getting a better look at the legendary pokemon. It was just sitting there, blissfully unaware of the trainers behind it. Suicune looked peaceful, finally enjoying a quiet moment to itself. Eusine, for a moment, thought it was a shame to disturb such a beautiful pokemon.

But that moment was short lived, as he shoved Drowzee forward, and issued a command to the pokemon, “Hit Suicune with hypnosis!”

The psychic type quickly sent out an attack, startling the legendary pokemon. Three rings of psychic energy were headed straight for the pokemon. As it stood up to run away, one, weak ring hit Suicune. A gleeful “Yes!” came from Drowzee’s trainer, as the legendary became noticeably slower. The victory was short lived, however. Suicune ran off while the hypnosis was still taking effect.

“No no no no no!” Eusine shouted. “Come on, we’ve gotta find it before the hypnosis wears off!” He grabbed Lyra’s arm, trying to drag the girl in the direction the pokemon ran off.

[pocketlyra-blog]

The girl met eyes with the obviously confused trainer, "Yeah...you haven't heard of Pokemon accidentally hypnotizing their trainers?" Her gaze landed on Drowzee, who looked blissfully unaware of anything (as most Drowzee often did), and looked back up to Eusine, "I've heard stories of trainers ordering to use hypnosis and then being struck by the move itself." Lyra shrugged, "It doesn't happen too often, but with our luck this time would be one of those rare times where it did."

Eusine seemed to pay no mind to her explanation, and instead shoved the Drowzee (who had previously been staring at a flock of Butterfree above them) out into the open and yelled his order to use hypnosis. Lyra's hand flew to the bridge of her nose and she pinched. Hard.

Did this man have no sense of stealth when it came to these types of things?!

Apparently not, for after the move barely hit Suicune and it took off running, the man grabbed her arm and dragged her through the forest after it.

Groaning at how much more trouble this mission became, Lyra called to Euisine who was still dragging her, "It'll probably head over to the last lake in the area!"

[silverlinedrival-archive]

Melting Ice

[silverlinedrival-archive]

Silver was about to go inspect what Gengar had found, but stopped when Lyra grabbed his wrist. He looked down at her, listening to what she had to say.

His first reaction was that of annoyance; his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. He wanted to pull his hand away from her. How dare she think that he would get hurt, he thought. He wasn’t incompetent like some other people he had met during his life.

Before he could make an angry reply Silver caughed the look in Lyra’s eyes when he felt her shiver. She was scared for him… This made Silver pause and he forced himself to relax so that he could speak to Lyra in a level manner.

“I’m not struggling for money. I have a job.” He assured her. “This is a hobby, but a useful one since I can make money off of it. Besides…” He glanced over at his pokemon who were watching the scene. “I’m never alone. I always make sure one or more of my pokemon are out with me in case of an emergency. I know what I’m doing.”

[pocketlyra-blog]

Lyra's hand loosened around his wrist as her gaze traveled over to his Gengar. She looked back up and for some reason realization dawned on her that Silver wasn't the hotheaded leapt-before-he-looked 13 year old he had been when they first met. He had grown from his erratic ways and now had a team of strong, loyal Pokemon that were always with him.

She suddenly felt very foolish for even stopping and giving him the sense that she was worried - she wasn't his mother after all. He could take care of himself. 

The red-haired boy looked down expectantly at her, and Lyra's hand recoiled to rest in her lap with her other hand. She offered a foolish smile up at him, "Oh, right! Well I'll let you get back to your work then...and thanks for helping me out. I'll get going once this headache goes away." Lyra pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, and let her head loll to the side and rest on her shoulder. She closed her eyes, "Just pretend I'm not here." 

It's not like it should be too hard for him, after all, seeing as he blatantly ignored her whole existence during their younger years. After a few moments she shifted positions to lay down on the bedroll and closed her eyes, tuning Silver and his "side-hobby" out. 

[muyiru]

A foe and a friend♪

[muyiru]

Muyiru tentatively stares at the female trainer whisking away her wide-stalked, bull Pokemon back to into it’s pokeball—a sight to see if only for an instant.  The worn waitress grins softly at Lyra and nods, the mention of seeing this same sunset from even higher up bring thoughts of how much more endless it must appear.  Her thoughts whisk her away to a city unfamiliar to her, as her travels in Johto have been very much short-lived.  Her past recreates a comparison between this daunting lighthouse and her memories of the Pokemon Tower back in Lavender. Even though Lavender Town sits directly in the middle of a mountain range, Muyiru recalls many times in her childhood running to the very top to watch the sunset break over the mountains. And again, thoughts of Lavender makes her reconsider what kind of ‘happiness’ she’d left behind.  A scaling frown makes its way to her face as the recent, vivacious brightness begins to drain the color in her rosy cheeks.  She reaches across her torso with one hand and holds the back of her opposite arm, swaying awkwardly as she listens to the woman, Lyra’s, next question.   “No, nothing like that…” she trails off, but manages to regain her composure immediately.  ”You see, King and I are from Lavender Town in Kanto, and my father raised the both of us.  He taught me how to care for injured and sick Pokemon, as well as providing homes for those orphaned by members of Team Rocket.  King  just happened to be the baby of one of those Pokemon, but…” Muyiru sentence trails off after she glances down to see her Cubone missing by her side.  During her explanation, King manages to waddle to the edge of the outlook, his attention now drawn by the swirls of beautiful color where the sky meets the sea.   Muyiru feels a crack in her voice, immediately clears her throat and begins again, “His ma’ma fought back…”  The conversation seemingly makes the shy and protective Cubone sad, yet not because of the circumstances: This Cubone finds an incredible home, a loving family, plenty of sociable, orphaned Pokemon to play with, as well as a ‘mother’ who would care for him like his own.  No, for it was much more  apparent from Muyiru, recently feeling the same chain of emotions King once bore. Her father passing has changed Muyiru, the small Cubone ponders, yet his duty to protect her will never weaken.  A mournful and plaintive sound echos from under the Cubone’s skull, the vibrations of the whine causing the melody to sound quite harmonic, yet sting with sorrow.   Muyiru frowns to her Pokemon when she hears his whimper, his back to the pair of women.  ”I don’t keep him in a Pokeball, though…” she manages to unknowingly change the subject.  ”I don’t even like to let him battle, although…it seems like a good way to keep him in shape.  He protects me if I’m ever in trouble and he seems to like it.  Heck, it’s not like I can use Isador in a battle,” she laughs, almost embarrassed, as she pulls a solemn pokeball from her waist.   “Perhaps I’m just strange…I thought she might come in handy one day.  My first Magikarp catch ever!” She half-heatedly exclaims with a half smile. 

[pocketlyra-blog]

The wind blew by, tussling their hair and causing the long grass to sway. It only helped to set the melancholic scene, Lyra thought bitterly, as she listened to Muyiru's tale. 

Her eyes trailed down to rest on the tiny Cubone, and she couldn't help but think that she hadn't actually come across any during her visit to Lavender Town a year or so back. But most of the abandoned Pokemon had luckily found homes, and though the little Pokemon's story was tragic, Lyra couldn't help but be happy that he had found a new home with this person. His attitude obviously displayed his amount of love for Muyiru, and Lyra knew her Pokemon felt the same sort of love about her. 

The thought caused a ghost of a smile to spread across her face.

"Ah, I gotcha." She looked away from the duo and focused on the setting sun, unable to think of anything else to say. Luckily Muyiru changed the subject, and Lyra turned back to see the woman hardheartedly smiling while holding a small pokeball. 

Lyra's lips quirked upwards as she looked at the little pokeball, "I take it you're not a trainer then?" Her hand absentmindedly fell to her bag and her fingers lightly caressed the scuffed up pokeballs that held her long-time companions, "But helping Pokemon is just as rewarding as being a trainer, if not more-so!" She beamed at Muyiru, hoping to lighten the mood and distract the woman from any ill thoughts she was having upon recalling the buried memories.

She turned back towards the sunset and gasped when she realized it was almost over. "Hurry, we're gonna miss the best part!" Grabbing Muyiru's hand, Lyra pulled her to the ground and they both sat and watched the sky change from orange and pink to grey and navy. "My favorite part's when the sun actually disappears." She shrugged, "I don't know why, I guess it's just a reminder that everyone needs to take off for a break every once in a while."

The pigtailed girl pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, "A Magikarp is a wonderful Pokemon, if raised with patience and love." She turned towards Muyiru and Cubone, her eyes falling to the pokeball that held said Pokemon, "If you care for it enough it'll evolve into a powerful Gyarados, and trust me, the time spent raising it will be well worth it." She winked playfully , and turned back to look at the darkening sky.