I'm so glad I'm able to bring this baby back, she's one of my favorite babes *A*.
I already have a few people I'm hoping to thread with (GRIMSLEY CAITLIN MORTY COUGH cOUGH), but if there's anyone else who is interested I would be glad to plot with you!
The psychic winces upon seeing the trainer in the black cat outfit bump her head. He takes a worried stride closer to her, but she seemed to be fine. He stoops down to recover the dropped texts.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well, Shauntal!" he says before handing the woman her books back. "I’m actually quite a fan of your work!"
He closes his eyes, crosses his arms, and places a finger to the side of his chin as he recites, “There is one man who wanders the world with a black dragon Pokemon to pursue ideals…" Lucian gives the Elite contemporary a heartfelt smile. "I love the way you present the characters in your writing! You are capable of making even the villainous characters sound heroic!"
It wasn't everyday did Shauntal get to meet her fans, most of the time she'd rather avoid them since it was a bit embarrassing. Secretly, however, the spotlight was enjoyable from time to time.
A pale blush coated her cheeks at Lucian's compliments. Bashfully did she giggle, glancing down as she accepted the books back.
"Th-thank you so much! It's so strange, being recognized like this. I'm flattered!"
To think Lucian was a fan! Though she knew she had to attain a professional image, Shauntal couldn't help but let a goofy smile stretch her lips. Chandelure rocked back and forth next to her, chuckling at the behavior.
"I'm sure it's obvious, however I have to ask- what brings you to this wonderful place?"
"Shauntel…" Grimsley gently whispered, tilting her chin up so she was looking at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she was still mumbling the same word over and over again. Now he was really starting to get worried. Maybe…going that far wasn’t such a good idea after all…
It was really the best he’s ever had in a long, long time, and he never felt such passion before. But what was it to Shauntel? He had taken the last bit of innocence she had, he was her first. Was she regretting this decision now? Was there someone else? Grimsley felt a lump build up in his throat, making it painful to breath. But with all his strength, he swallowed it down, and wiped a tear that fell from her sad violet eyes.
"Please, come with me, we shall talk about it. I’m willing to listen to you, I do not want our friendship to be ruined by this. Will you please come back to my chambers and we can talk this out?"
Please for the love of Arceus…have this worked out…
“Will you please come back to my chambers and we can talk this out?”
Oh, how she wanted to. She wanted to smile, to say yes and allow herself to open up instead of shutting down, but–
“Please, I can’t…”
–It just couldn’t be done.
Side-stepping him, Shauntal withdrew from his gentle touch and hurried into her own chambers. Chandelure and the others were quick to rush to their trainer’s aide, who was now on her knees and leaning against the door. Head tucked in, the ghosts’ worried expressions went unseen.
“I’m sorry,” it was said to no one, since Grimsley was no longer within earshot. Now that she had ran, it would be a while for courage to settle back in, if it ever would. Avoidance wouldn’t be the correct way to handle this situation. Though, what type of situation is this sort of thing? I should be happy, joyful… But I’m the exact opposite.
Despite her knowing it wasn’t the correct way, Shauntal could foresee it being a temporary solution. Temporary, nothing more, nothing less; she tried promising herself to confront him in the morning but soon it was being pushed back to the next, then the next, until it was dropped altogether.
Ash like snow fell from the psychic’s hands as he raised his head in the direction of the Chandelure. “Who’s there? Is it the demolition crew?” Not wanting to possibly be caught in an explosion, Lucian decides to announce himself first.
"Hello!" he calls to no one in particular, the echo bouncing off the dusty old corridor and down to the next section of books. "I am Lucian, of the Sinnoh Elite Four. I am just here to save some texts." Lucian lightly wipes his hands together, ridding himself of ash, then raising them up so as to not give cause for alarm as he approached.
"My, what a beautiful Chandelure!" Lucian maintains some distance away from the ghost. "Where is your trainer, little one?" The sound of fingers tracing themselves over shelves of old books issues from beyond the Pokemon. Curious, Lucian circles around the Chandelure and to the source of the sound, spotting…is that Shauntal of the Unova Elite Four? He raps on the shelf she was currently perusing.
The sudden announcement of voice had Shauntal dropping her texts in surprise, flinching and bumping the back of her head on a shelf. A shriek proved that it had been a bit painful, but the novelist was more focused on who had made an appearance.
“O-Oh, forgive me, I didn’t realize anyone else was here…”
A nervous laugh and Shauntal rubbed the back of her head, only to wince and halt the action. Chandelure, worried about her trainer’s safety, floated over and past Lucian. When she did so, it was then Shauntal recognized who was with her and perked up, forgetting about the slight pinch that was already fading away.
“You’re Lucian of the Sinnoh Elite Four, aren’t you!” Her voice was filled with glee as she approached him, Chandelure following closely behind. “I am Shauntal, of the Unova Elite Four. Such a pleasure to meet your acquaintance!”
The book’s binding loosens, the spine charring, pages crackling and blackening. Yet another one of this ancient library’s works crumbles to ash in Lucian’s hands. Not before Lucian’s latent psychic talent allowed him to speed read the entire tome in moments, mind, but you can’t share a good read made of ash.
The library was located inside a decrepit institution, once a place of advanced learning but now relegated to the demolition teams. Though most of the books were claimed by the retreating academics, there was still a surprising collection left to rot. How could anyone turn a good book down? The answer was perhaps simpler than once thought. The Sinnoh psychic wished to absorb the knowledge of the rare books that were left behind, but nearly all these grimoires were just that - transliterations of occult texts and grim musings from days long past.
Not exactly a novice reader’s cup of tea, but the content! The prose! The diction! The way some books were written entirely in couplets, the way some books were parceled with anachronistic phrasings to mask coded messages! The way these old tomes’ natural aging filled the entire hall with the lovely vanilla smell only old manuscripts can carry…
To a scholar of various and sundried styles of historical documentation, this place was heaven. Yet, without someone to share in the experience, heaven’s not enough.
A loud, exasperated gasp came the reaction of a bookworm walking into the ruins of an ancient library, full of tattered and decaying books, but, oh, what a beautiful sight it was!
The woman was radiant, glowing with a sense of determination and excitable physique that shined around her like a visible field. How often did one get a chance to be in such a historical place? As far as she could see, none, as there seemed to be none else but her present in the ruins of knowledge.
"Maybe I can find something among this debris," Shauntal wondered allowed, before looking at her Chandelure, who added some light to the already dim atmosphere. The Pokemon cooed, teetering in the air. She was just as excited as her trainer was, being in a new place, free to roam around- she was going to do just that while Shauntal occupied searching for any reading material still in shape.
"Go on and explore, but don't wander too far!"
Leaving Chandelure to take care of herself, the living lantern floated further, only to halt when spotting someone up ahead. Giving a soft cry, Chandelure alerted both her presence to the stranger and his presence to Shauntal, though the ghost user was too busy sticking her head in a shelf to hear.
A passion of hers? She pursed her lips, fingers looped through her coffee mug. She had many interests, but she couldn’t actually voice those passions. They varied, for she showed interest in a lot of things. From Pokemon to just mundane things. She picked up her coffee cup and took a sip. She wasn’t used to being asked questions. She was never the interviewee.
"Well, my interests vary. Lately I have found myself obsessed with mega evolutions. It has caught my eye over time. With Augustine and Lysandre babbling about them all the time, I have done a little research myself." She had a habit of rambling whenever she got excited about something
Malva rarely showed interest in anything scientific, she was more of an artistic type. Ancient arts really interested her, as did the customs of different regions.
Mega Evolution? At this, Shauntal pursed her lips in thought. She had heard of it before, but never thought it to be true. According what Miss Malva was saying, though, they were, and Shauntal's tone heightened in pitch once more.
"I knew it! I've done some research on Mega Evolutions and never thought of them to actually be true! So they do happen? With all Pokemon, or just some? I can't believe this! Though, I wouldn't want my Chandelure to evolve again... Oh, but they're temporary, aren't they?"
Opening her little notebook, it was set on the table and a pen was now in the novelist's hand. Scribbles of words forming into information only she would really understand, "mega" and "evolution" were the only words that could be properly distinguished.
"Pokemon never seize to amaze! Having an extra power, only limited to some, I wonder how you're able to obtain such a thing? It must exhaust the Pokemon if used profusely, though, wouldn't it?"
"Are there any mega Pokemon at your disposal, Malva-san?"
Now this was the last thing Grimsley had expected. He hadn’t expected her to leap into his arms and say the same thing, but running away crying? He sat up, shocked by her sudden change of mood. But like a flash of lightening, he shot up, grabbing his boxers to cover himself up before running after her.
"Shauntel, wait!" he called out, voice echoing through his chambers. He was only met with more soft sobbing as she picked up her pace. How could this have happened? Was expressing how he really felt that hurtful to her? Did she think he was lying? His feelings were genuine, and for what seemed like the first time in his life, his heart broke.
"Please, just stop! Tell me what’s wrong!" he frantically whimpered again, nearly having the door slammed in his face. His bare feet of the stone hall were cold on his feet, but he paid no mind to it as he ran after the purple haired woman that had refused to slow her frantic pace.
With a few bounds of his long legs, he managed to catch up to her enough to grab her shoulder, briskly turning around. Her eyes were cast to the floor, something was wrong…
"Shauntel…" he said quietly, trying to meet her gaze, "what’s wrong? Please…tell me…"
Not expecting to be caught so easily, or be caught at all for that matter, Shauntal was more than shocked to be whirled around, facing the very man she was trying to hide her feelings from. A squeak of a hiccup escaped her as she immediately avoided his gaze, first locking eyes with the floor then closing them altogether when Grimsley tried otherwise.
"I..." She tried, only to snap her mouth shut. What was she supposed to say that wouldn't hurt him? The truth was ridiculous, and embarrassing, but this was Grimsley. He was willing to be concerned for her well-being during sex, surely he'd do the same this time? Running after her should prove such.
Her voice was quiet, barely a whisper but it cracked under the stress meshing in her gut. "I don't know, I... I apologize, Grimsley, I'm so sorry-"
Sorry was the single, only word uttered repeatedly for what seemed like a century. With her head bowed, bangs covering her eyes, it was the only thing that was able to pass her lips without sounding silly to her.
[Eggs with a Side of Ghost] - [Morty and Shauntal]
"Spooks! Wisp! Give me back my stuff or so help me-"
Morty’s loud, annoyed would be threat was drowned out by a pair of mischievous, entertained laughs as the two Gengar whizzed through the empty road with his iconic ensembles in both of their pudgy hands. His throat felt chillingly cool without the usual thick, woolen scarf and visibility went down by fifty percent when the long bangs usually kept in place by the purple headband covered his eyes.
Of all the times those impish spirits decided to prank him for a change, it had to be at the time they were thousands of miles from home on another region and in an unknown city. Really? They were better than that. Most of the time.
And they just had to do it quite early in the morning. In the morning. A scowl disfigured his visage as he broke out into a jog with his free hand vainly attempting to tame his unruly blond locks. Morty was by no means a morning person. He preferred the Noctowl life; staying up till three AM became a nightly routine since he liked to spend it by training his Pokemon or reflect on the choices he made that day. Suicidal to wake him up before ten, finding part of his clothes missing by chance was the only thing that got him up that morning.
Mood rather dark, a prompt exercise through an unfamiliar city in the Unova region was the last thing he needed. The man supposed he was lucky that he was free for now - the meeting will resume in two days time which he did not looked forward to. Returning the pair of insufferable spirits to their Pokeballs would saved him time and a truck load of effort but the moved far too swiftly for him to get a clear shot (in a way, he felt pride that all the effort they did paid off though he wished the Gengars showed it in another way).
The limited visibility coupled with his attention on the floating duo, Morty almost failed to notice a person walking in his path until it was nearly too late. Luckily, he managed to stop in time but that act costed the blonde his balance. A small pained groan escaped his lips after his fall, rubbing his sore tailbone.
"That was too close," he exclaimed, eyes hidden behind his bangs. He forgot his terrible mood in order to apologize to the stranger earnestly. "I am really sorry for almost crashing into you."
A trip into town was rare, and though being an early riser, Shauntal's mood was far from chipper despite having her coffee. She had pulled yet another all-nighter and was paying the price for it, but there was no regret, as the hours taken from sleep was put into effort for her new book.
Unfortunately, distraction came to steal all inspiration from her, and she focused more on reading than writing. No matter, it was just to gather ideas from other authors; see what they thought of that she hadn't yet. Picking one of her newer installments, Shauntal was quick to get into the storyline, only to realize she didn't posses the sequel for reasons unknown to her.
"How did I not purchase it? I was sure to of get it, but it doesn't seem to be here..."
Hence why she was now hurrying to the closest bookstore, focused on the sole book that had given her so much trouble. Her pace was quick, determined, as she forced herself to not get distracted by all the things around her. The city was so full of life, it was common for people to get hooked on anything and everything there.
Which is the reason Shauntal didn't want to spend too much time away. When the ghost user did venture out, she stayed out, for far longer than she should. It was unfair to her fellow elite four, but a warning was given beforehand, and they did know how she was like, but it still wasn't polite to keep challengers waiting. If one of them wasn't present, the other couldn't be battled until the return of whoever was absent.
"Ahh! There it is-"
Excitement was bubbling as the all too familiar shop came into sights, Shauntal giggling like a child. The anticipation was killing her, and she sped up into a light jog, eager to finish the next part of her newly favorited story.
The book would have to wait, however, as blobs of purple came to her attention, whizzing past her before she could identify just what they were. Slowing to a cautious walk, Shauntal checked over her shoulder to see two Gengar running off into the distance, each carrying bundles of clothing. The sight made a brow arch, if her own Gengar did such a thing, she would surely be scolded.
"What on Ea- eek!"
Eyes settling back infront of her, they quickly shut, readying for an impact of a much larger body coming at her with similar speed. When the impact didn't come, was when she opened her eyes, body relaxing from it's tense state. A blonde young man lay on the ground, grateful to have stopped himself but was in obvious pain.
"That was too close. I am really sorry for almost crashing into you."
Shauntal only blinked at the man, a concerned expression replacing her shocked demeanor. "Oh, that's-! I'm more worried about you, sir, are you alright?"
Holding her hand out to him, she helped the blond up before gesturing to the fleeting Gengar, who were gaining more ground with every passing moment. "I'm... Assuming those are yours?"
Reminding herself not to let her jaw drop in awe, Jasmine wandered the villa. She couldn’t forget her surprise when she opened Cynthia’s invitation: Dear Gym Leaders and Elite Four members, it had read, You are all cordially invited to spend a weekend in my villa. Food and drinks are on the house, of course. Don’t forget your swimsuits!
So here she was, in the Sinnoh region — in the Champion’s private villa, nonetheless — with the best battlers from all six regions. She had already met a few Gym Leaders from Kalos and one from Kanto, and Jasmine figured that was enough socialising for the day.
Admiring the mediaeval artwork adorning the walls, Jasmine sighed. This weekend was going to be fantastic, she was sure, but the problem was that she just needed some time away from the buzz of all the other guests. Some of them just had so much energy that it was a little tiring to keep up with them…
She ran her hand over the ornate carvings on mahogany — wait, was that a door? She knitted her eyebrows (what kind of door doesn’t have a doorknob anyway) and gave it a little push. It was surprisingly light, swinging open to reveal a room filled with…
Books?
So it seemed that Cynthia liked reading, if the massive personal library was any indication. A tiny smile found its way on Jasmine’s face as she stepped inside. She was turning the corner to walk into one of the aisles when—
“Oof — oh, I am so sorry!” she sputtered. “I didn’t know anyone else was in here. I should have looked where I was going.”
Far from a social butterfly, Shauntal often hid in the library deep within Cynthia's villa, coincidentally or not, though the other females didn't seem to mind. Sinnoh's champion had an impressive collection that could rival her own, though the titles were hardly of any interest.
Shauntal preferred horror genres, maybe a few romance novels here and there, but Cynthia hardly had any of the sort. She did, however, have all of the ghost user's novels written to date, which was as heartwarming as it was supportive.
A blush invaded Shauntal's cheeks just by the sight of them. They were all alphabetized, sitting up neatly in their own little shelf separated from the rest of the enormous collection.
"I need to write more books. Seeing all of them grouped together, doesn't look much at all."
Sighing, her neckpiece was removed and set aside, on a table nearby as she got comfortable. Tea wasn't until later in the evening, and despite visiting the villa so often, it still frazzled nerves to be around so many people. Them being all female helped, though nothing calmed her more than a good read; a trip to the imagination always did the trick.
Dimming the lights and letting Chandelure glow would also suffice, but no matter how hard she tried, the switch could never be found. After wasting away time for reading, determination was quick to leave and Shauntal decided it wasn't too much of a big deal.
"Well," she clapped her hands together, picking up her coffee mug and taking another trip around the bookcases. "Time to go hunting! I wonder what world's I'll visit tonight?"
Focused on one thing, Shauntal didn't notice someone turning the same corner, causing a collision that made her flinch. Hot, steaming coffee teetered in it's mug, spilling back and staining the front part of her dress, skin prickling from the heat.
“Oof — oh, I am so sorry!”
Gaping, the apology went unnoticed as Shauntal let out a shriek of surprise, the sudden pain evident as marks of red started to surface. A gloved hand was raised, trying desperately to wipe off the contents, though the damage had already been done.
When a young, blonde woman waved towards her, Shauntal didn't notice a certain professor that was at the table a ways behind where she was sitting. It was strange, given she had never seen the girl in her life, but a though came to mind-
Maybe she's a fan?
Seeing the woman walking off, Shauntal hastily rose up from her seat, waving an arm in the air as a frantic attempt to get her attention. "Ah! W-wait, come back! Have some coffee with me! Let's talk!"
Maybe it was an accident, Shauntal didn't know, but it didn't stop the hard slap meeting with N's cheek. Shy, withdrawn woman or not- Shauntal wasn't going to let anyone get away with touching her there so casually. It was not how one should treat a lady.
"I hope you won't think about doing such a thing again, sir. It's severely impolite and the consequences can be more devastating than what I had just done."
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