What a bunch of Losers

Private multi-muse Roleplay blog

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Forever is an Empty Promise || Yuuna & Jude

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A hiss left through his clamped lips, as he wiggled beneath Hunter’s heavy form. Pain surging through his already aching body, as his poor back rubbed against the ground in his panicked efforts to get out from beneath the lioness. “Oww,” He whined, eyes squinting shut in a sad attempt to will away the pain. He should have known better, really, but, in that moment, having Hunter try to cover him was the best option he had open to him.

Hunter was quick to remove herself from Jude, massive head leaning down to see if her helpless child was safe. Rubbing gently against his cheeks in order to comfort him, as he slowly sat up. A hand moving to rub at his back, and his other moving to stroke Hunter’s chin. That had gone about as well as any moron could have told him it was going to. And now he couldn’t ignore the fact that his back was throbbing, and his legs were too shaky to allow him to stand. Instead, he buried his fingers into Hunter’s short fur for support to keep himself sitting upright. The last thing he wanted was to tumble onto his back all over again.

“I-I’m fine,” He said when the man came over to him. He sounded unsure, and he couldn’t even convince himself that he was fine. His back hurt more than ever now. But it was fine. His Pokemon were all here now. At least they were okay, that’s what really mattered, right? Hunter stepped slightly over her master, placing herself between him and the man, actions only driven by the shaking of Jude’s hands against her skin. Though, it wasn’t the man he was afraid of. He was still terrified of the Pokemon watching them, and he feared allowing this man close to him just meant they would wander back towards him. Which was the last thing he wanted.

He glanced away when the other chided him, arms wrapping tightly around Hunter’s neck. “N-Nothing,” He defended himself quickly. Seth had never been possessive, and even now Jude found himself foolish to think that he would ever be angry with him for using another’s shirt. But it was still difficult for him. No matter how many times he tried to tell himself Seth would have never cared.

“Maybe I should just borrow the shirt,” He admitted, still looking more at Hunter than at Yuuna, as if he was asking her, and the rest of his Pokemon, if it was all right. Tightening his hold on Hunter, he shoved nearly all of his weight onto her back in a pitiful attempt to stand up. His trembling feet were quick to give out beneath his exhausted body, and a yelp escaped his throat when he knew he was going back down if he didn’t grab something, or someone, fast.

[the-asshole-collective]

Yuuna narrowed his eyes skeptically. He had previously assed Jude as being clumsy and awkward, but it seemed with every passing moment he managed to exceed expectations at managing to injure himself and insist it was alright. The trembling in the other man’s fingers didn’t escape Yuuna’s notice, but he was blocked from doing anything by the lioness who had taken it as her charge to keep her trainer safe. Did that mean that he wasn’t shaking out of pain as Yuuna had suspected, but rather out of fear?

Yuuna sighed almost inaudibly under his breath. This kind of thing was really out of his expertise. He was used to tending to plants, not people. Plants didn’t repeatedly injure themselves in stubbornness. Plants didn’t ever distrust anybody in spite of every sign that they were trying to help them.

Despite these thoughts, Yuuna managed a good-humored smile, standing back up since it was apparent that the lioness didn’t intend to let him touch her cub. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “It’ll only be a temporary thing. Just until I can get yours cleaned up.”

He was about to ask if Jude could stand, when the other began to make an attempt at just that. Just as quickly the answer became apparently no, as his feet gave way beneath him. Not thinking, Yuuna’s jumped immediately to try and catch him, his reflexes proving just as sharp as the other times Jude’s legs had failed him. His arms caught fast around Jude’s waist, but he soon found himself pulled down by the other’s momentum. Struggling to maintain his own footing, he managed to bring them to a halt closer to the floor than he would have liked. His own face reddening at how close he had managed to bring Jude’s face towards his own again, he hastily moved to straighten up, keeping hold of the other as he did so.

He averted his eyes, knowing that if Jude was embarrassed by the concept of borrowing a shirt then he certainly wouldn’t be thrilled by the amount of weight Yuuna was taking on for him to even be able to stand. “W-we should get you somewhere you can sit down. You’ll only hurt yourself if you keep on like this.”

A thought occurred to him and he knew immediately that neither Jude nor his pink guardian would be happy with it. But it was his only option at the moment. “I-I’m sorry, bear with this for a minute.” He apologized pre-emptively before lifting the other man into his arms again. He only had to carry him a short distance further into the greenhouse. In it’s center was what could only be described as a nest of any soft thing that could have been salvaged from the surrounding wreckages, and was what was currently serving as a bed for Yuuna and his pokemon. He placed Jude tenderly on the edge of the soft mess, and quickly recoiled and stepped back, as if giving the other man his space now would somehow make his previous actions more tolerable. “Is this alright, for the time being? There isn’t anything in here you can hurt yourself on, at least.”

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By Your Side || Cain & Jasim

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A gentle smile fell on his lips when the boy spoke. “I’m glad I mean more to you than that.”  Crystal gagged audibly beside her master, paw reaching up to rub against her ears, as if the motion would somehow erase the words from her memory. Jasim rubbed her head in response, earning a loud grunt from the fox as she turned her nose up. She wished he had never stumbled upon the strange child, so she wouldn’t have to hear her trainer’s nonsensical babble. Seriously, how did he even manage to spew such inane words? Turning her head away each time Jasim went to pet her, she continued to attempt to ignore his current existence until he decided to tone it down a bit. 

His hand paused briefly when Cain spoke, and Crystal’s attention was forced to break from their game in order to glare in the boy’s direction. “Forgive me.” He allowed his hand to shift to his side, resting ever so slightly on the sword bound carefully to his side. He hardly might light of the boy’s feelings or situation despite his typical way of handling the other. Most would have found Cain odd, strange, he would venture to even say creepy. But he was still human. And like all humans, he had suffered, and continued to suffer. To Jasim this was merely how the word worked. He didn’t, and wouldn’t, consider any living being terribly different from himself. Cain was no exception to this, but Cain’s suffering was also not something Jasim felt he had the right to poke about. As such, he generally did his best not to point it out or ask beyond what he was allowed.

A frown crossed his features when Cain changed the subject, and asked the owl creature to leave him. “Grace,” He chimed, calling the small Pokemon over to him. “Will you follow them, and take these two with you?” He gestured to the two birds clinging to Cain’s jacket still. “It might get a bit rough, so will you protect them for me?” The creature huffed at the words, but swooped over to the birds regardless. Flapping her dress at the pair until they finally tore away from their warmth to follow her. He had seen a number of monsters around the area, and the last thing he wanted was for one of them to get hurt trying to fight.

Ignoring the light squabble taking place between Cain and his creatures, Jasim crossed over their to formed camp, and began shoving a few of their belongings into a bag. Crystal not far behind him. There wasn’t much that Jasim didn’t already carry on his person, as neither one were types to cling to needless items. A smile crossing over his face when Cain came to pack, scolding the bell creature that clung around his neck when it seemed to agree with him.

Taking what they had in the bag, he slung it over his shoulder rather easily; hooking it around his arm despite Crystal’s offers to carry the pack for him. “I wouldn’t lie to you,” He retorted to Cain’s comment, reaching out to ruffle the barely shorter man’s hair. If Cain actually spoke to him after that, he would be amazed. Regardless, he stepped around the other to head in the direction Grace had taken the two birds not long ago. “It’s cold, so be careful,” He warned. “And there a lot of these creatures in the area, so tell me if you hear anything.” He wasn’t sure how much damage that bell could do, if it could even fight in the first place. He hoped Crystal would be enough to chase off anything that came after them, but, if not, he would take care of them himself. He wouldn’t allow anything to happen to Cain. The boy had it hard enough as it was.

[the-asshole-collective]

Cain suppressed a laugh at the gagging noise that the fox had made at Jasim’s sentimentalities, but he couldn’t stop his shoulders shaking or the wry smile that twisted across his lips at the noise. It seemed like only Jasim himself and the wind chime coiled around Cain’s neck appreciated or could stand his words. “If that’s all you were to me I wouldn’t still be here, would I?” His laughter subsided a little, surprising himself with what he’d just said. But for the most part, it was true. It just remained to be seen as to what Jasim really was to him that compelled him to stick around.

Troubled slightly by this thought, Cain turned away from Jasim again, pulling at his scarf to cover more of his face. He could feel Crystals glare resting on him from his loss of temper earlier, and their momentary unity against Jasim’s sweetness was gone again. Any guilt he might feel was minimal, what he’d said was true, but there was still a bit all the same. He sighed, dispelling his emotions in the hot mist that escaped with his breath. “Don’t.” He chided softly, “There isn’t anything to forgive.”

He didn’t have to carry any of their belongings, something he didn’t bother to fight Jasim on unlike his mothering fox. He instead just shoved his hands sulkily into his pockets out of a combination of not knowing quite what to do with them and them being quite cold, he didn’t need to be reminded of that. He might have said so had Jasim not taken that moment to sweep his hand through Cain’s hair. He froze at Jasim’s touch, and suddenly the back of his neck was contrastingly hot to the rest of his body as anger and mortification swept over him.

Yet even as his head jerked upwards to snap at the offending party, he stopped. The bell around his neck had contracted her tail in sudden realization, and he had heard it as well. He moved all at once closer to Jasim, not out of a desire for protection, he’d swear to himself later, but more-so that he could whisper softly with little chance of being potentially overheard. “Did you hear something? You don’t think you were followed back here, do you?”

[ignite-dreams-blog]

By Your Side || Cain & Jasim

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Though the fox’s lips pulled into a slight growl at the insult aimed at her master, Jasim simply shrugged it off. Cain had said worst in the past, and there was most certainly nothing the boy would manage to come up with that could drown out any of the far harsher words that were tossed towards himself and family in the past. Only offering a light smile in response to Cain’s claim. “I would be a terrible nanny, leaving a child alone out here. Perhaps I should try harder to be better one, and stick even closer to you,” He laughed gently. Earning a loud huff from Crystal. If he had the time to tease Cain in response than he should spend it doing something more productive. At least in the fox’s mind.

Julius and Juliet has huddled closer together, and more against the boy’s back in the hood of Jasim’s jacket, talons digging into the thick fabric out of fear of the boy tripping again. The glares Crystal sent them were hardly helping the shivering bundles of feathers, but she supposed they were still children, and that it was too cold for them to perch on Jasim’s bare shoulders. Even so, she would have preferred to have them tucked safely into her tails rather than anywhere near the abomination that a certain lamp happened to be. Grace’s hovering wasn’t going much to ease her concerns either, but the small ghost had more or less earned her trust over the time they had been stuck together.

“Er, well…” Actually, yeah, that’s exactly what he had planned on doing. It wasn’t as if Cain was heavy. He’d picked the boy up before. Not that Cain enjoyed being carried, but he was under the impression that Cain was very rarely happy, if ever. “T-That aside,” Let’s just pretend that hadn’t been his plan all along, and maybe Cain wouldn’t get too angry. “You really should try to get as much sleep as you can.” Perhaps next time he should leave Crystal with Cain, and take Grace with him. She could at least help keep Cain and warm, and Jasim hardly needed protection.

Moving had been a habit of Jasim’s since he was a child, as had avoiding trouble. He disliked the thought of taking a life, though he was not against doing so if he had to, but he would rather not let Cain see that side of him if it could be avoided. That, and like them, these monsters were merely trying to survive. He could hardly blame them for wanting to live. As for people, well, he would rather avoid them. There were too many that would try to take advantage of Cain.

“I’m glad. We’ll gather everything up, and then leave,” He stated quickly, not wanting Cain to take back his words. They could attach what little they had to his back, and o Crystal’s. He never asked anyone else in the group to do much. And he wouldn’t ask Crystal for her help either; she was just merely as stubborn as he was. Not that either minded carrying their things. They had little to begin with.

Surprise lingered in his gaze for a moment when Cain pressed against his shoulder. He could feel the other’s heat against his skin, and allowed the warmth to surge through his body. He was used to the cold, and used to surviving in such a manner. It was natural to him, but he supposed the same wasn’t true for Cain. He didn’t know terribly much about the other, at least not in regards to his life before they had met, but Cain also knew nothing about him. To be honest, he preferred to keep things that way. “And I always will.” Crystal snorted at the response before trotting back towards their camp. If she had to listen to Jasim’s nonsense for another second she was going to devour that damned lamp in annoyance.

[the-asshole-collective]

If they had been face to face in the moment then Jasim would have seen Cain’s eyes roll into another dimension. “If I wanted a nanny I wouldn’t be out here with you.” He sighed. He’d had more than his fair share of nannies and nurses in the hospital, not to mention the constant mollycoddling he received from his brother. It was that kind of behavior he had tried to escape… so why, he had to question to himself, was he sticking with this human personification of kindness?

He didn’t give himself time to delve down that murky road of thought, instead choosing to turn back to give Jasim a nasty look at his next comment. “I should sleep?” he left the question hanging, his voice dripping with the venom of all the words he left unspoken. He had spent the better part of his whole life sleeping and taking it easy, if he was going to continue to sleep his life away he might as well be dead. “I’ll sleep when everything is over.” He huffed. More like I’ll sleep when I’m dead.

“Let’s go then,” he said, and at his words Conviction swooped down to the floor from where she had been surveying the landscape, higher than Cain had been only moments before. She clicked her beak softly, shuffling towards Cain slightly, expectantly. But Cain shook his head, knowing that the owl had thought she would perhaps carry him to their new destination. “You go ahead of us,” he said, “Make sure nothing overly troublesome is in our way.”

She hissed softly, her eyes narrowing. She didn’t like the idea of leaving her feeble son, and she liked it even less when he nodded his head to indicate that the softly glowing ghost was to accompany her. She flapped her wings in protest, and would have shrieked at him if she didn’t want to give away their current position to whatever was lurking in the vicinity. The phantom wasn’t pleased with this turn of events either, his flame wavering to express his uncertainty. But a stern look from Cain at both of them was enough to silence them. “If you’re worried about me, then make sure you don’t leave anything that can hurt me.” He hissed, and they reluctantly obeyed.

Cain turned then to the bell still wrapped around his neck. She rang out quietly and tightened her hold on him, refusing to be dismissed. It wasn’t as if she were particularly good at attacking anyway, she was better served in sticking close to her master. He didn’t respond to her, but didn’t tell her to leave either, so she took that as a sign that he would allow her to stay.

Cain laughed slightly, facing Jasim’s final words with a less jaded look than such sappy phrases usually got from him. He was almost more amused by the fox’s reaction, as she clearly shared the same sentiments about Jasim’s doting nature that he had. It was odd how often their emotions aligned on that front. “If you say so,” he conceded. Necessity chimed in appreciation of Jasim’s words, and Cain turned in slight scorn to her. “Oh, hush you.” He chided, turning to pack what few things they had. “You don’t need to agree with the sap.”

[ignite-dreams-blog]

Forever is an Empty Promise || Yuuna & Jude

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His gaze lowered to the small bundle sleeping upon his chest when the other man apologized. His fingers weaving through the Ginger’s thick fur, as he debated about what to say. If he was being honest, he didn’t want to speak at all, and it showed in the way he wrapped his arms around the Pokemon, hugging her tight against his chest. He was afraid. He had never handled being yelled at well, he was too emotionally inclined to other people, and the swirl of emotions this stranger has just went through had nearly been enough to make him vomit. He knew he disliked being around people for a reason, and that reason was slowly creeping back into his mind after spending the day with this stranger. He had never really liked people. But he also didn’t like Pokemon, and he was no more likely to relax with this man’s Pokemon around than he was outside in the storm. How Ginger could fall asleep was completely beyond him.

“Mmmm,” It was small whine, sounding more like a noise a wounded Pokemon would make than a person. He kept his eyes locked on Ginger, and Hunter’s presence beside him was mildly comforting. Or, well, it would have been, if he couldn’t feel Seth’s enraged glare looming over them. He feared the Sylveon would snap at any movements the other made now. “N-No,” He argued, but it was quiet, timid, and hardly even sounded like he was arguing at all. He could almost sense how Seth’s eyes must have rolled at that comment. The Sylveon had always been braver than him. “I-I butted in w-where I don’t belong,” He stuttered.

Confusion briefly crossed onto his features when the man offered to make it up to him. “Huh?” It was a loud, abrupt noise, as he sat up quickly, nearly flinging poor Ginger across the room. Thankfully Hunter had managed to grab the still sleeping kit, and place her with the rest of Jude’s Pokemon before she was launched into oblivion thanks to Jude’s sudden movement. It had truly just dawned on him that he was shirtless, and color quickly rose to his features, as his hands pressed against his face.

“N-No, no,” He breathed quickly into his palms, head shaking. “I-I can’t.” Oh Arceus what would Seth, both of them, hate more? Him walking around shirtless in front of this man, or him borrowing this man’s clothes? He couldn’t. It was wrong. Seth was a reasonable person, unlike his Pokemon counterpart, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel the sting of betrayal hammering itself into his heart. Even the thought of wearing another’s man clothes was enough to make him squirm where he sat, something he did in fact do while mentally arguing with himself. Seth would have wanted him to take the damn shirt, he knew that, but the horrid feeling that came with that only made him sick to his stomach.

“Um,” He whined, removing his hands from his face to glance around the room until his eyes landed on Hunter nearby. Tilting her head, she walked over to him. “Uh.” Sliding onto his unsteady feet, he tapped his chest lightly, and the lioness obeyed. Jumping up to gently set her paws on Jude’s shoulders. “S-See no problem,” He said with an airy laugh. Put Jude wasn’t exactly strong, and Hunter wasn’t exactly light, and shortly after he had managed to choke out the words, the weight became too much for him, and sent the two smack into the floor. Jude slamming his injured back into the ground with the added weight of the Pokemon, as a pained yelp slipped from his throat.

[the-asshole-collective]

It took a moment for Jude’s flustered behavior to click with Yuuna. He watched the other man squiggle around where he stood bemused, unable to see what he’d done wrong this time. “What’s wrong? They’re clean, I promise!” he offered, floundering a bit at the other man’s unexpected consternation.

Then he noticed the blush behind the fingers he had pressed to his face and realization finally fell into place. The heat rose in his own face, although surely not to a color nearly as intense to match that of Jude’s across the room. “Ah! No, I didn’t mean,” he stammered, waving his hands in denial of whatever connotation the other man had taken to his words. “I just thought, surely its worse to stand there without one, isn’t it?”

But no sooner had he said this then Jude had tried to prove that his lioness counted as a shirt. For the split second that the creature managed to alight on his shoulders Yuuna couldn’t help but laugh. That both master and pokemon had deemed this the best solution was incredible. But no sooner had the laughter sprung to his lips that it was sharply cut off in a cry of alarm as both master and pokemon went toppling to the ground.

“Are you alright!?” Yuuna cried out, hesitating only slightly to glance at the furious pink feline before choosing to ignore it and cross the room to Jude’s side again. He stopped again, kneeling down next to him, his hands hovering uselessly in his unwillingness to touch the lioness currently pinning her master to the floor. “What were you thinking?” he chided. All at once the mothering side of him was back, awakened by the thought of Jude’s re-opened injury, pushing aside the part of him that was so afraid of being hurt and meddled with. “Until recently you had shards of glass embedded in your back, you should try to be careful of it still.”

[counting-kings]

Timeless || Green, Leaf, & Red (Childhood AU)

[counting-kings]

 He could feel his eyeballs rolling to the back of his head the very moment Green responded to his statement. Hold around Pikachu loosening slightly, as a frown etched itself onto his features, and he closed the gap between himself and the other children. A lecture lingered on his tongue, as he approached them through the thick grass. Concerned squeaks slipped past the rodent’s mouth, as the small Pokemon sensed the growing agitation within his master’s chest. Small paws clawed gently at the child’s dark shirt, but his efforts to deter Red’s focus away from the other children were fruitless at best. Instead choosing to settled down within his trainer’s arms, and snuggles himself close to Red’s chest, as his ears flattened firmly against his head. He disliked it when the group argued, as it confused the poor creature.

“You’re being an idiot again,” Red snapped at the other boy while still keeping his tone down. He didn’t want to startle any of the wild Pokemon that could be nearby, or give the mouse within his arms a heart attack. “If you keep thinking like that you’re going to get hurt,” he added on. Not like Green didn’t get himself into trouble constantly, but that never stopped Red from trying to get him out of it before it happened. But it would take more than a miracle to convince the other boy to listen to him. “Aren’t you worried about what Daisy and the Professor will think if they can’t find you? You shouldn’t worry your family…”  

Lowering his gaze slightly, he quickly averted his attention to Leaf, who Green had talked into agreeing with him. “You shouldn’t always take his side. It’s not like he knows what he’s doing.” He was digging himself straight into an argument with the stronger boy, and he knew it. But he didn’t want his friends getting hurt wondering around in the forest.

Hearing Leaf’s request, he rocked forward slightly on his heels, as he took comfort in the sensation of Pikachu’s breathing against his body. Maybe she was right; maybe they would be fine since Pikachu was here. But he also didn’t want to endanger the small rodent. Granted, he wasn’t about to think that he could convince them to come back to town with him. So, he should probably go with them so Pikachu could protect them if they got into any trouble. Oh, but what would his mother think? If she found out he was exploring the forest the dear woman might drop dead of fright for her only child. But what if he did leave and Green and Leaf got hurt? It was easy to tell by the look on his face that he was overthinking their current situation.

“O-Okay,” He sighed, finally giving in. “We’ll come with you, but we have to be back before it gets dark. I don’t know if Pikachu can handle the stronger ones.” He lifted his hand from beneath the rodent, stroking its chin to encourage the creature. Its tail wagging slightly, as it slipped out of Red’s arms, and onto his shoulders. Paws clinging to the boy’s hat, as it peaked over his head. Its ears high, and alert, as it kept its gaze on the area around them. At least Pikachu listened to him.

[the-asshole-collective]

At Leaf’s mention of wild pokemon, excitement ran across Green’s skin, setting a burning desire to run loose in all his limbs. Yes! In his most hopeful fantasies he imagined what would happen if he would be able to tame one of them. How much better than Red he would be then! Red had been given his Pikachu, and as subconsciously jealous of that fact Green was, he was convinced that if he obtained his first pokemon on his own then he would be winning in this competition only he seemed aware of.

The corners of his mouth twitched downward at Red’s words, and his incredibly well thought out comeback had already sprung from his lips without much effort at all, “You’re the idiot,” he snapped, “if you think I’d get hurt so easily.” This was an absolute lie and anyone who knew anything about the accident prone crybaby who was currently putting on a brave face would know it, but they would also know that he’d never admit that to anyone.

He scoffed at Red’s next words, knowing what his answer was but having his tongue tied again by his unwillingness to admit weakness. As far as he was concerned, his family would never know about this excursion beyond the town borders, and if they did worry, then that would teach them to pay better attention to him, now wouldn’t it. But instead he just chose to mock the nervous boy instead, “You worry too much, even when its worrying about other people worrying.” He could see it written on the other boy’s face that he was thinking long and hard about Leaf’s offer to take him with them.

As much as he registered that having Red with them would be better, there was a part of him that was still upset, and wanted to pick a fight. “Like we’d want you tagging along anyway! Look, he’s sucking the fun out of everything already!” He pulled a face, baring his teeth in some silly impression of what a fun vampire might look like before laughing at his own comedic genius. 

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Forever is an Empty Promise || Yuuna & Jude

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Hunter could sense the growing rage streaming from the other man, and instinct drove her fur to stand on edge, as her body became rigid. She didn’t wish to fight with this man, or his Pokemon, but she feared he might attack Jude now that the boy had gotten under his skin. And the moment Jude stood, she was in front of him. Tail wrapping around his legs, as she eyes the other man. Waiting for him to make a move, or to calm down. She would have much preferred him to settle whatever was wrong with himself rather than taking it out on her trainer, but she was always prepared to fight. And her intensity put Jude’s other Pokemon on pins and needles. There was no doubt that had Seth been able to, he would have lunged for the man by now, but he was still restrained, and Jude’s other Pokemon were too fearful to make the first move.

Jude realized he was probably butting in where he didn’t belong, but it wasn’t as if the man had done the very same thing when he had helped him. Though, he wasn’t upset with the other for becoming angry. He had done what he could at this point, and kept quiet. What did he even care anyway? This man was a stranger to him, and one he would never see again once they left this place. He didn’t care to get to know him, and he didn’t want to. He shouldn’t have even let him take the glass shard out of his pack in the first place. Seth and the rest of his Pokemon would have eventually found him, and taken care of it. Even so, he wasn’t certain that he regretted trying to do something. It was in his nature. And that was why he tried to stay away from people. All they did was use one another.

Finally, though, Yunna spoke up, and he forced his gaze away from the other man to glance out of the window. A sign left his lips, and he sunk down onto the ground once again. Hunter wrapped around him, and the reminder of his Pokemon were quick to gather around their trainer. He was tired, and his back still ached, but most of all, he didn’t know what to say or do. He had already caused this man enough trouble, but he was hardly in any condition to attempt to brave the storm. Instead, he shoved his face into the warmth of Hunter’s fur, pressing his skin against hers, as a groaned. This was going to be a long night, and he doubted the gods would have mercy on him, and end the storm early.

“Right,” He mumbled into Hunter’s side, defeated. He could feel his other Pokemon sit and lay down beside him. Their bodies pressing against his own. They appeared to understand the situation they were in, even Ginger, despite only being a child. Weakly he reached out to fish for the baby among the others, grasping at her soft fur when he found her, and bringing her close to him. She was trembling against his chest, and he could feel how fast her heart was beating against his. The poor thing was terrified. He held her close, trying to calm her down, so she could at least fall asleep.

He finally removed his face from Hunter’s fur, and rolled over onto his back, keeping the tiny Pokemon against his chest as he did so. “I’m sorry,” He heaved. He wasn’t sure how much he really wanted to hold a conversation with the other at the moment, but leaving things quiet was only making everything more awkward. “Well…at least t-there’s no glass h-here for me to trip on,” He laughed breathlessly, attempting to make a joke to lighten the mood, but he couldn’t claim he was good at it.

[the-asshole-collective]

Yuuna resisted another sigh, smiling gently at the other’s attempt at humor. He had scared him, however brief his rage had been it hadn’t gone unnoticed. He gritted his teeth at the other’s still stammered apology and even more so at his now on edge pokemon. His charisma had really shown through this time hadn’t it? He didn’t even understand it himself, how he had let someone new get under his skin so easily.

But the damage was done now, so was there really anything more he could do to screw up? Somehow the thought put Yuuna at ease. If Jude already hated and feared him then there wasn’t any point in worrying about keeping up appearances any longer.

“I already told you, haven’t I? I’m the one who should be sorry.” He said, for what felt like the hundredth time. Were they doomed to keep refusing and parroting each other’s apologies for however long they were stuck together? It wasn’t Jude’s fault that he had been somehow cast into Yuuna’s emotional turmoil. “My problems are my own, I shouldn’t be troubling you with them.” To even admit that he had a problem felt as if he was pulling glass out of wounds again.

“Here, let me make it up to you,” Yuuna laughed, “and get you a new shirt, okay? You must be getting cold without one.” The fact that the other had been so exposed had been a secondary problem in light of all that had happened in the whirlwind of problems that had been brought in tied up in pink ribbons and murder.

“I’ve got some spare clothes in the back if you’d like.” He glanced at the other up and down for a moment, sizing him up. He was significantly shorter than Yuuna, not to mention more slender. “They’ll probably be a bit big on you though, Sorry.” He turned to head back deeper into the greenhouse, then turned back, struck by an afterthought. “You can come back too, if you’d like. I can promise you’re right, there is almost no glass for you to trip on in here.” He chuckled softly, still not sure if the other would still be wary of him or not.

[remnant-of-hope]

What We Will Never Know | Green & Leaf

[remnant-of-hope]

Leaf kept fighting against the people dragging her away which had grown to six people. She was going to see Green no matter what. Leaf would climb the whole tower if she had to just to see him. They weren’t going to kick her out that’s for sure; they probably would question her motives. These people had good intention for being afraid of a girl running as fast as she can in the base. Eevee was busy biting the people who were dragging her and even though he tried he was being ignored. That made Eevee very unhappy and he was ready to hit them with a real attack.

“Let me go!” Leaf demanded but was actually lifted up. Eevee and Leaf were about to unleash even more hell until an Umbreon came down from the heavens and landed on the man’s face. He let her go and Leaf looked up the stairs, a grin forming on her lips. It felt surreal to have finally gotten to Green and she was afraid she was about to wake up. It wouldn’t surprise her if she did, there were many times she dreamt about meeting her old friends again. Green then said he was expecting her which made her incredibly happy; she had thought that he would have been too busy to think about childhood friends.

Brushing her clothes off acting as if they were dusty she turned toward the man who started the whole panic. “I told you,” she said annoyed that he hadn’t listened to her in the first place. Turning back to what was more important she smiled even more as Umbreon rubbed against her legs affectionately before racing to Eevee. Eevee jumped excitably before rubbing against his sister, happy to be reunited with family.

Leaf didn’t waste any time before running to Green despite the short distance. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around him pulling him into an embrace. This really was real, she really was here and Green was here. For this moment she was just so happy and decided that it was okay to feel happy for the moment. After everything that had happened they deserved happiness. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” she muffled into his chest. Leaf had no idea what happened to him when the whole war started but he seemed to still be the same. It didn’t even occur to her what the other trainers would think of the girl who just infiltrated their base hugging their leader. It probably made them even more confused but she didn’t care. Her Green was here and he was safe and that was all that mattered.

[the-asshole-collective]

Green accepted Leaf into his arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As if he weren’t fighting the urge to lift her into the air and spin her in circles weeping for the relief that was currently coursing through his body. She was safe, he knew now for sure that she was alive and she had come to find him.

The people who had come to witness the commotion were staring in a mixture of confusion and awe. It was only to be expected. This girl had broken in and then claimed some kind of relationship with their leader. Green glanced around at the surrounding mass, his eyes critical. He silently shooed them away with a wave of his hand, and many of them took the hint, averting their gazes and returning to the work they had been interrupted from.

He almost couldn’t understand the words she spoke into his chest, but when he did he laughed. “No, I’m the one glad you’re safe.” He raised a hand to pull the hat off her head, before returning her embrace, gently pressing his face into her hair. “I don’t know what I’d have done if I knew they’d gotten you too.”

He pulled away slightly, keeping her by the hand. There were still too many people around for his liking. “Let’s go to my office for a moment,” he murmured, not wanting people to get the wrong idea if they overheard. He smiled to himself even as he led her by the hand to the door. His office. It was still strange to him that such a phrase could be in his vocabulary.

Once the door had opened, they were greeted by the loud thumping of Charizard’s tail as he realized who Green had brought with him. He had to stifle himself from any kind of exciteable fire breath, or all the flammable papers in the office would go up in smoke, but the frantic waving of his flaming tail might do the same damage. Umbreon left her brother’s side for a moment to pounce on the offending appendage, biting it gently to get it to stop threatening the integrity of the office.

Green laughed, everything seemed twice as entertaining as it had been moments before. He might not even have cared if he’d had to redo the reports Charizard might have set aflame. “They certainly missed you,” he chuckled, nodding towards the two positively beaming pokemon. I certainly missed you too, he left unsaid. He couldn’t bring himself to say it yet, and instead chose to hide behind his pokemon’s enthusiasm.

[counting-kings]

We've Run Out of Childhood Dreams || Green, Leaf, & Red

[shards-of-stars-blog-blog]

Leaf couldn’t take much more of this. Everything that was going on was just too much. The Pokémon they were supposed to save were slaughtered and she couldn’t believe that the man they had encountered was actually Red. Why did her emotions have to betray her, she hated crying in front of others. Why couldn’t she stop crying?

Green was lost in complete rage and for a moment she was afraid of getting punched on both sides. Luckily they both had more sense than she did and didn’t punch her. Green demanded her to get out of the way and she shook her head. “N-No!” she managed to stutter even though her voice shook horribly. Green wasn’t much better off with how hard he was breathing. Red seemed to be hitting every single point to make him this way.

The two kept exchanging harsh words and Leaf was still struggling with herself to stand up to them. She felt incredibly dizzy and it felt like the world was distant. Red’s voice sounded far away as she remembered to breathe. It still felt like a horrible nightmare that she couldn’t wake up from and Red’s words just kept stabbing into her. He was deliberately getting under Green’s and Green was just giving him the reactions he wanted. It was a terrible cycle that she couldn’t even think to stop.

How long had Red been with Plasma? Did he know what Team Plasma did to Green and herself? The next phrase made her laugh quietly under her breath. “That’s bullshit,” she murmured with a breathy laugh. She wasn’t strong enough to stop Team Plasma from taking her team away; she wasn’t strong enough to stop them from injuring Blastoise. She wasn’t even strong enough to stop them from nearly beating her to death. Leaf was weak in her eyes, even now she was incredibly weak. She was barely there at the moment, running on auto-pilot to get through this.

Leaf shook her head as her eyes met Red’s. “No, I will never join Team Plasma!” she shouted scaring herself a bit. She hadn’t expected for her voice to be able to get that loud at the moment. More tears betrayed her as they streamed down her face and Leaf gritted her teeth as her fingernails pieces the skin of her palms. “What they are doing-what you are doing isn’t right for anyone. Pokémon and people are being killed and hurt in this world and I can’t take it!” Out of the corner of her eye she saw how concerned Eevee was for her. Her chest felt like it was going to burst from the combination of how angry and sad she felt. Keeping eye contact with her former friend she couldn’t even see traces of who he used to be. “Even though we might not win in my lifetime, I promise you I will keep fighting against Team Plasma until my last breath. I will make sure to harm their cause as much as possible until they finally finish what they tried to do in Viridian Forest.”

That caused Eevee to whine a bit as he understood what she meant.  Leaf was on a suicide mission and she didn’t care who knew anymore. Of course she would be glad to be united with her Pokémon but everything just kept getting grimmer and she wanted to cling on to as much hope as possible.   Other than Green and Eevee hope was all she had left.

[the-asshole-collective]

Green’s temper was in danger of physically overheating him. His breathing was shallow and forced, his teeth clenched in a vain effort to bring some manner of his anger back under his control. He remained in a suffering silence as Red spoke, every comeback choked back by the frustrated knowledge that anything he might say would be twisted against him by the loathsome figure they were aimed at.

Umbreon hissed warningly, but his body had already locked itself down. He couldn’t fight Red verbally, and with Leaf in the way, he couldn’t fight him physically either. Torn at an impasse that his boiling mind couldn’t seem to find a way around yet, Green waited numbly, as if his deliverance would somehow come without him doing anything.

If he were alone, there is little doubt that Red would have continued to whip Green’s temper into a frenzy and one of them would have surely been destroyed. But he wasn’t alone, and it was Leaf’s voice that jolted Green back to his senses. He hadn’t been expecting her passionate response, but it resonated in him all the same. This was about more than them. He wouldn’t let Red’s change of character stop them here. He made a conscious effort to bring his anger under control, inhaling deeply.

When he exhaled again he could feel his muscles relax, ceasing their shaking to ready themselves again for a more calculated plan of action. He was absolutely still angry, but he had taught himself before this mess to not let it rule him. Red had caught him off guard once, but he wouldn’t again. There was a time and a place to sink his fist into Red’s face, and when it arrived his anger would still be there to drive it home. When he spoke, his voice was nearly calm again, traces of his old confidence even making their way back into his words.

“You’re right, Leaf is stronger than me,” he said, and for some reason that admittance didn’t pain him the same way it might have to admit that he was weaker than Red, “But that’s the only thing you’ve been right about this whole time.”

He raised his hand skyward, and a resounding roar from the cloud line confirmed that the dragon’s sharp eyes had recognized it’s masters signal. Charizard spirals downward, his swift descent guided only by the sparing glance Green had given as to his target. He dived low, releasing a jet of flame alongside Red’s two pokemon who had been allowed to run rampant for quite long enough, he thought. With a huge impact, he landed heavily, lowering his body close to the ground in an attempt to shelter any of the hapless pokemon who had managed to escape their massacre thus far.

With a sharp bark, Umbreon ran over to the dragon’s side to also stand in front of the pokemon who had hidden under his massive wings. Her red gaze was fixed in particular on the Haunter, knowing that she at least had the advantage over it. She would trust her partner to incinerate anything else that tried to come close.

“You’re the one who can’t win, Red. You’re not stronger than both of us. Nobody else is going to die while I live,” He had sworn that much to himself on the mountainside. Team Plasma wouldn’t take a friend from him again. Green’s gaze wavered a moment, flickering from Red to Leaf, concern passing over his face for a moment. He hadn’t missed the implications of her final words. He took a few steps forward to stand beside leaf, forcing his hands to open up, so she wouldn’t think he was trying to punch Red again, as much as he might want to. His fingertips brushed hers momentarily, as if he wanted to take her hand, but he refrained. This wasn’t the time. “But you can be the exception, if you’re gonna insist on opposing us.”

[counting-kings]

Timeless || Green, Leaf, & Red (Childhood AU)

A light breeze rubbed warmly against thin, bare arms. Causing a shiver to run down his back beneath the thin fabric of the boy’s shirt, as he rolled lazily over onto his side. Allowing the soft sensation of the grass to grace across his skin. Eyes straining to remain closed beneath the intensity of the sun, as he dragged a hand across the ground to set it over his tired eyes. Curling his knees into his stomach, as if the motion would somehow protect him from the light, and heat beating down upon his features. His nose wrinkling in protest, as a light moan slipped past his pale lips.

Peace retuned to the child only briefly before it was stolen by the startling sensation of something cold pressing itself against his cheek. His hand fell from his head to reach out towards the cause. Fingers brushed gently against short, but soft fur, and he allowed his hand to rest against the source’s back. Eyes slipping open slowly to stare back at the small Pokemon. A smile slipped softly upon his features, as he rubbed the creature’s chubby cheeks. Earning an excited “Pika!” from the mouse, as it’s thin tail beat against the air.

Sitting up, he rubbed his hands against his eyes, as the small creature rubbed against his legs. Small noises rumbling within its stomach vibrated against the thick material of his jeans. “What’s wrong?” He mumbled, reaching down to take the Pokemon within his arms. “Did something scare you?” He asked, as the Pikachu struggled against his hold. Easily slipping out of his weak grasp to tumble down his legs and plop back onto the ground with a loud “Pika!” Red’s brow rose at the Pokemon, watching the energetic Pokemon paw at his legs.

“Okay, okay,” He sighed, giving into the creature, as he shoved himself onto his feet. A yawn managing to escape from his mouth, as he extended his hand towards the sky to stretch out the arm he had been sleeping own. Flexing his fingers in an attempt to regain feeling within them before giving his full attention to the frantic little creature.

Finally managing to grab his trainer’s attention, the Pokemon swirled around on its heels, and took off. “H-Hey!” Stumbling over his own two feet, Red followed after the far faster creature. Calling its name in a feeble attempt to get the creature to slow down once he realized where it was heading. “Pikachu! C-Come back! We’re not allowed over there.” But his shouts went completely ignored by the normally obedient Pokemon. “The Professor, and mom won’t like this,” His pleas didn’t appear to convince the creature to stop, and the boy slowed his pace. Hesitant to continue following Pikachu, but it lasted only briefly, and he picked up his pace. If something happened to the rodent, he would be heartbroken. The small animal was like family to the child.

Taking a deep breath, he sped up. Leaping towards the Pokemon once he managed to catch sight of it again. Extending his arms to grasp Pikachu within them when he smacked against the ground. Holding the mouse close to his chest, as he rolled against the grass, stopping only when his back smacked against the trunk of a tree. A pained yelp flew from his mouth, and he tightened his grip on the small Pokemon. Shoving his face against its yellow fur in a rather pitiful attempt to hide the tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

A concerned purr sounded from Pikachu, as he reached up to try to lick at Red’s face, forcing the boy to pry his visage away from the comfort of the Pokemon’s warm fur. “I’m okay. Just don’t run off.” The Pokemon’s ears flattened against his head, as he let out an apologetic cry. “It’s okay.” He hugged the creature tightly, rubbing his hands against its back to calm it down.

It was then that he managed to hear the shouting that had attracted the Pikachu’s frantic concern earlier. Gaze shifting to glance over his shoulder. Spotting Green and Leaf amongst the trees and grass. Agitation rose upon his features, and he quickly rose to his feet. “What are you guys doing out here? It’s dangerous,” He called, pushing through the thick grass to reach them.

[the-asshole-collective]

Sunlight poured through the trees overhead, dappling the grass at the feet of the two children currently running through it. They suited the environment as well as their names might imply, even though for them to set foot in the wilderness had been forbidden by those who wished to look after them.  

Green had pulled Leaf out here by the hand, not quite sure what they would accomplish, but knowing only that he wanted to get out of Pallet Town, even for a moment. He loved the feeling of it, even barely out of town the air was more open and inviting. If he only had a pokemon, he told himself, he’d take off this very instant. He turned to Leaf, who he still held by the hand. Do you want to leave too? The words formed on his lips.

It was then that he heard Red’s voice calling out to them. Tch. What a killjoy. He’d be so much more fun if he weren’t so reserved.

“Dangerous?” Green crowed, “only if you’re scared.” He pulled a face, sticking out his tongue. He lifted his nose skyward, smirking slightly, “Besides, I’ve been out here plenty of times, it’s way more fun that sticking around town.” He turned back to Leaf, seeking validation, “Right?”

As brave as his voice sounded, part of him was actually quite glad that Red had showed up. Since he was the only one of them who actually had a pokemon, it meant that they were just a little bit in less danger. Not that he’d admit they were in any danger to begin with.

[ignite-dreams-blog]

By Your Side || Cain & Jasim

[ignite-dreams-blog]

A low rumble vibrated within the fox’s throat. Cream-colored tails flicked briefly in warning towards the distant form of the glow that emitted from the unwelcomed lamp. A mild hint of annoyance toyed in her vengeful gaze, as if she had hoped to return to see a lack of presence from the monster. The sight of it leaving a bad taste in her mouth on the best of days, but she had little say as to if the obnoxious being stayed or went. Granted, the vulpine couldn’t even begin to understand her dearly beloved partner’s attachment to the sickly boy that the lamp had latched itself onto. What did he even see in that child anyway? She snorted ungracefully at the thought. If that stupid household lighting system dared tried to ruin what little happiness her master had found in this world, well, its days of uselessly hunting a boy with his foot in the grave would be over.

Jasim allowed his gaze to tilt towards her, as they crossed the shot distance to where Cain was. A smile toyed on his lips at the creature’s dislike. He understand that she didn’t always agree with his choices, and that she worried for him. Though, he was thankful to her. She kept him alive. She had given him reason when he had nothing. He would never be able to repay her for everything that she had done for him, but he would never admit such a thing to the prideful fox. He was certain that she understand his feelings on the matter, though. She had such a strange ability to understand him, as if she had known him his entire life.

He tore his gaze away from her as they neared the boy; heart dropping into his stomach now that he realized the boy had wandered up onto the ruins while he had been away. He was about to protest the boy’s climbing, but Cain had already started to make his way down from the throne he had been on. Jasim picked up his pace, though not in enough time to be at the boy’s side when he jumped down from the ledge, stumbling only to be saved from falling flat on his face by grabbing hold of the floating lamp that Crystal resented so.

“C-Cain, are you all right?” A shame Cain’s quick save didn’t rescue him from Jasim’s worrying nature. “Are you hurt?” Crystal huffed. He concerned him too much for the well-being of this boy, her gaze scanning over the scrawny form before them to glare at the two bundles burrowed into the extra coat that the boy was sporting. Traitors. Her nose shoved itself into the air to get her point across to the tiny creatures. Jasim certainly had a bad habit of picking up the worthless. Speaking of which, the fox caught sight of the purple fabric that made up Grace’s body, as the ghost floated over to Jasim’s side from where she had hidden herself on her mission of babysitting.

“I know…” Jasim stated, ignoring Crystal’s nature. “I…” He struggled to find an excuse for himself. It wasn’t as if this was new. He merely wanted to ensure that Cain lived as peaceful a life as he could in this world. He hardly wanted the other to suffer needlessly, or to be put in harm’s way. But he couldn’t really explain his desires to the other. He loved Cain, with all of his being, but this was something that the other was already aware of. “I just thought…well, you were asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you.” That was easier to say than his real reason for always sneaking out before the other woke up. Cain probably wouldn’t be too happy with his actual reasoning, even if Jasim meant well.

The other appeared to recover far more quickly from his near fall than the man did, easily addressing the words Jasim had even forgotten he had spoken by now. Using a second to collect his thought, his attention was redirected the problem via a sharp tug on the hem of his shirt by Crystal who sensed he needed to be pointed in the right direction before they all ended up as something’s meal.

“Crystal,” The beast huffed at her name. This was hardly her fault. “And I…” She nodded at that. “We ran into a monster around the area. It was a pack animal, so I can only assume there’s more nearby. I would rather not fight with them needlessly, it would be best if we left…besides, we need to find someplace warmer before it gets worse out.” He appeared to take on a serious tone for a moment, much unlike his normally cheerful one, getting lost in through briefly after stating what was on his mind. He disliked the thought of killing living beings, or putting the others in danger that could be avoided.

“I want to keep all of you safe,” He admitted, offering the boy a gentle smile that replaced the darker tone his voice had held just seconds ago.

[the-asshole-collective]

Cain pulled his face into a visible characture of his disgust as Jasim’s incessant fussing. He’d only fallen a few feet, not even enough to break anything as frail as he was. “Yes, Nanny, I’m fine,” He drawled in retort. Honestly, he didn’t know why he even bothered to protest at this point. He noted Crystal’s distain but paid her no heed. They both might agree in their desire to have Jasim stop his constant worrying, but they differed quite vastly in the reasons why. Cain knew that if crystal had her way, they would have nothing to do with each other. He almost had to give her grudging respect for that.

I.V. noted her huffs as well, but if possible he paid even less attention than Cain did. Or he appeared to on the surface at least. Very little that the fox did escaped the wraith’s attention, if for no other reason than that he recognized her as a potential threat to his claim on the boy. If it came down to it, he often wondered whose flame would prove stronger. Not that he was keen on testing it out, nor in queuing in the fox to his intentions either.

Cain clicked his tongue in slight annoyance. “You didn’t want to wake me? I thought we were going to leave, did you plan on carrying me out?” Even as the words left his mouth he had a vivid vision of Jasim doing just that, and he snorted derisively at how ridiculous the scene appeared to him. “You shouldn’t tip-toe around my sleep schedule so, it’s not like I sleep well anyway.”

Cain snorted again, less derisively and more dismissively this time. Jasim was always more concerned about monsters than he was, although to let him on to that fact would be telling him more than he would care to. He disliked the kind of skulking around they always did, trying to avoid both man and beast that might seek to do them harm. Cain had enough stubbornness and lacked enough self preservation that if it were just him, he’d try and fight his way through anyway. But he’d rather Jasim remain unaware of this kind of reckless bloodlust. So he’d follow along like he always did.

“If you think it’s best we leave then that’s fine.” He murmured, striding forward to perhaps pack up the remains of their meager camp, but stopping at Jasim’s side upon realizing how warm the other man was. Facing the other direction, he was confident that Jasim wouldn’t see the real grimace he made as the other voiced his last concern. His own safety was so low on his list of priorities it was strange whenever Jasim got to talking like this. “I’m glad you do,” he kept his voice low, leaving an unsaid at least one of us does hanging in the air as he pressed his shoulder against Jasim’s warmth.

[ignite-dreams-blog]

Forever is an Empty Promise || Yuuna & Jude

[ignite-dreams-blog]

  Planted at her master’s side, Hunter kept a close eye on the growing agitation in the other man’s Pokemon. She might have agreed with Seth’s desires, to remove Jude from a situation that could become dangerous, but was simply not what Jude wanted. And she would not go against his will, she had never been some mere pet like the Sylveon had been. She was a fighter, she always had been, and all she could do was fight. And fight she would, even if an army turned on her, for Jude, she would stand until the day her legs were shattered and her lungs crushed. It had been her very last promise to the dying breath of her former master, and it was all she had to keep him close to her in spirit. She would become the pillar Seth had been to the group, no matter how many times she had to fall in the process.

He was aware of his own mistakes, and that he was pressing his luck, but he felt like if he turned hid back on this stranger now, he could never hope to be the person Seth had always claimed him to be. That by turning his back on Yunna, he would betray the other’s wishes. And he knew he was hurting the man. That much was clear, even to a fool, but all of the pain harbored within his chest felt like weight pressing down on his lungs. He was in little condition to speak in such a manner, he knew that, but it relieved that pressure ever so slightly to extend the ability to care.

Terrified as he was of the Pokemon gathered around him, he felt somewhat safer now that the remainder of his Pokemon had joined them. He had lost almost all of the confidence he had had when he had made his way over to the other when Yunna fell to his knees. But he couldn’t leave things like this. Seth wanted him to be so much more; so much stronger than he could ever hope to be.

He swallowed thickly, shaking hands retracting to press against his chest. Selfish, perhaps, his reasons could have been considered, but he wouldn’t lie and deny any sort of longing for another human being. He couldn’t recall the last time he had spoken to someone, well, actually, he could, but they were times he would rather not recall. His pain didn’t matter, and it never would to him. He was made to suffer; it was his burden for being kind.

“I…” This was a man he didn’t know, he could hardly speak to him in the same tone he would have spoken to a stranger before everything that had happened. But, regardless of that, he had to try. Even if he could feel the eyes of his Pokemon watching his every move, as if Abigail would snatch him up at any moment to remove him from any danger.

It was foolish, and he knew it, but he knelt down regardless of what his brain was screaming at him. Hunter wrapping herself around the boy to prevent any attacks that the motion might have attracted. An unbreakable shield, she would stand beside him even when the others wanted to flee, or fight in Seth’s case, so badly.

He breathed steadily. What was he trying to accomplish? This was all so stupid, and he knew it, but he couldn’t stop himself. No matter how foolish. “I’m not t-that easy to hurt…” Though he was confident in the words, his nervous nature around others was starting to spring up again. There wasn’t a pain in the world that could match what he’d already felt, and been through just a year ago.

He shook his head quickly. “No…It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have…” But would he take back his actions if he looked back on them? “I’m sorry…you’re not weak…” He wanted to take away the pain he saw in the other, and, out of instinct, he extended his hand before retracting it. He doubted his touch would be of aid now. What could he do? He wanted to do something. Anything.

But there was nothing, and he forced himself back to his feet, gaze wandered over to his concerned Pokemon. It would probably be best for them to leave, but just as quickly as the thought had came; it left. Glancing outside at the storm that had started to brew when he hadn’t been paying attention.

[the-asshole-collective]

Yuuna could feel how close Jude had come to him again, even though he couldn’t see him. His face burned, and he was amazed at the force with which he longed to melt into the floor. He hated everything about this, that he was reduced to a weeping mess on the floor, that there was somebody besides the silent plants surrounding them to witness it. He had never liked showing this kind of pain to anybody, not even Helena. When they had lost Persephone he had waited until she had fallen asleep before he allowed himself to cry.

He felt an odd anger rising in his chest as the other spoke. Didn’t he get it? Hadn’t he seen he’d caused enough damage already? ‘I’m not so easily hurt’ this refusal wasn’t about him, this was about Yuuna’s own pain. Nettle chirped softly in alarm, watching the color in her caretakers face change. He’d stopped crying, but kept his face pressed deeply into his arms, fighting a wave of rage directed for the first time at someone other than himself. Iris also sensed his mood shifting, and stopped her incessant roaming, standing fixated on Yuuna, unsure of what he would do next.

Yuuna felt the other move away from him, but something had snapped, and he was soon afterwards on his own feet, prepared to do what, he wasn’t sure. He was incensed, his lips pressed tightly together as he fought to find words. He wasn’t weak? What did this stranger know about him, what kind of authority did he have to pass any kind of judgment on him? He knew nothing, NOTHING; about what Yuuna had been though in the past 10 minutes alone, let alone anything else.

Yuuna's eyes flashed dangerously as he turned to face what he could only imagine was the source of his rage, but they fell on the windows before they made it to Jude, and at the sight of the increasingly threatening storm, his anger dissipated as soon as it had flared up.

He sighed, dropping his head again, removing his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose. He was exhausted, but it seemed the sky itself was determined to keep these troublemakers in his house.

He replaced his glasses, turning to look back at his new rescues. “I can’t make you leave in this weather,” he said, his voice back to its usual strength. He inwardly thanked whatever god was responsible for his regain in composure, he had shown enough weakness to this stranger, if he could act as if nothing had happened he would. He forced himself to relax his shoulders, and bent down to pick up the still slightly wary monkey child. He turned back to Jude, forcing a smile. “You might as well make yourself comfortable, it seems you’ll be staying here a while.”

[the-asshole-collective]

Painting Flowers | cont. | Keiran & Haru

[ignite-dreams-blog]

  A cold gaze stared back at the man when he responded. A sigh heaving past his lips, as he tried to ignore the air of sheer stupidity that the other constantly gave off.  Mind briefly wandering to whatever had possessed him, in a moment of insanity, to allow this complete nutcase into his life. More importantly, in his apartment. “No, then I would never have the chance to sleep at all. Your annoying face would haunt me at all hours of the day, and I would rather not gaze upon it more than I must.”

A brow twitched, as he made his way towards the kitchen. Frustration growing with the other man, as he nearly turned around to snap at him before remembering that he didn’t have to. His fate had forced him to be connected to this mess of a human being, if Haru could even be considered human. This world was sick, as was Haru, but he had already accepted that he was stuck with both for all of eternity. Whatever this world claimed to be, he was certain it must have been Hell.

Moron, I know exactly what you’re thinking, and unless you want to sleep outside tonight you best stop it. His thoughts did the snapping for him, an he was eternally thankful that he had the ability to allow which thoughts Haru could read of his own. He could never live if he let the other know how he truly felt.

And, well, the words were the last straw. His patience completely gone, as he whirled around on the other man. “The only desire I have if to remove you from my life completely,” He snapped back. “Perhaps then I would have a moment of peace?” Probably not, but there was no crime in dreaming. “Please do not flatter yourself so early in the morning, it is obnoxious, as are you.”

 That might have been going overbroad, but he was in a bad mood as it was. Something simply felt wrong to him, and he couldn’t quite place it. And no, it wasn’t Haru’s annoying thoughts, either, he was used to them by now. “Now leave me be before you dry my patience.”

[the-asshole-collective]

  Haru sighed, angrier at himself than anything. He knew where this would end up but he somehow still managed to be disappointed. Keiran’s insults always bounced off his ego, but today they felt sharper. There was more venom in them than usual.

He straightened up, his own temper unusually making an appearance. He was used to Keiran being more rigid than stone, so why was it bothering him so much this time? The realization that he was unreasonably annoyed did nothing to help the fact, serving only to compound it.

“As you wish,” he snipped, rather more dryly than he had intended. He wasn’t particularly mad at Keiran, his response had been completely warranted, but perhaps that was what was upsetting Haru the most. He strode across the apartment into the bedroom, closing the door a little louder than intended. He pulled out real clothes from the wardrobe, changing quickly, absentmindedly, seething inwardly at his own thick-headedness all the while. When he was dressed fit enough to be seen in public he re-emerged, pausing only to grab a few essential things on his way to the front door.

 “Since I’m such an eyesore, don’t worry about me today.” He slipped his shoes on, keeping his voice as cool as possible. The last thing he wanted to seem was a child throwing a tantrum, although he wasn’t doing a very good job of that. He turned back on his way out the door, making a mock bow, as he usually did, but this time again there was a stiffness he hated himself for putting in, “My queen,” he drawled in departure, turning on his heel to cross the threshold outside.

Once his legs had carried him out of the building and the wind hit his face he regretted leaving so angrily. He had brought this on himself after all, he hadn’t had any right to impose himself on his partner so, no matter how insulting or teasing he may be. He heaved a heavy sigh, perhaps he’d go back and apologize. But not now, he was still too hot to go back. He’d take a walk maybe, cool his head. Perhaps some flowers were in order. He stifled a laugh. Because that kind of stuff totally wasn’t what got him into this mess in the first place. 

[ignite-dreams-blog]

Forever is an Empty Promise || Yuuna & Jude

[ignite-dreams-blog]

  Sobs rocked his body, even as he desperately tried to choke them down. The effort only making his weakness shine, as he wrapped his arms around his body as if to cage his emotions within himself. As if it would protect Hunter, and this stranger from his suffering. But each passing second seemed became less and less bearable, as if the tension was threatening to strangle him, and he lost the ability to control himself. Never would he blame any of his Pokemon for disobeying him; for acting on their own. No matter how upset Seth had made him, he knew, in the end, he didn’t have the right to command the Sylveon in the first place. And he felt guilty for even allowing the thought to cross his mind in the first place. He was well aware of his own helplessness.

Even the feeling of Hunter gently pressing against him failed to calm him. His hands slowly running through her thin fur, as he allowed his shallow breathing to slow. A pitiful attempt to hold himself together, but only a fool would believe that he could remain so for long. How long, he wondered, had it been since Seth had reacted so strongly. He couldn’t help but admit it his own fault. He was letting his guard down around this man; this stranger, and he could imagine how betrayed the Pokemon must have felt. The guilt pressing against his weak lungs, as he wrapped his arms around Hunter, as if to apologize to her. So blindly he had trusted this man. How horrible was he? After everything…

His gaze briefly catching the end of Yunna’s retraction when he had moved to embrace Hunter. Guilt swelling up inside him; his moment of desperation having made him disregard the other man entirely. He had shouted without any thought at all about how the other would react, so afraid that Seth would bring harm to the man or his Pokemon that he had forgotten what he had been trying to avoid at all. His hold on Hunter tightened, and his other Pokemon cowered while Seth hissed. Yet, Hunter remained firm, unmoving from where she stood, even though she sensed the hostility emitting from Yunna’s Pokemon. And while his thoughts briefly wondered to what could have caused such a reaction, he quickly willed them away.

Teeth sinking deep into his lower lip, he tried to fight back his own tears, still clinging to Hunter as he tried to reassure himself. His heart trapped in the pit of his stomach, as he allowed his gaze to land on the other. He was a stranger. He didn’t know him. Seth would warn him his actions would get him killed, but he had long since deiced he would rather die being kind than die not knowing such warmth. And he never expected kindness to be shown to him, but he would always offer it. Against his better judgment; he knew only what he could provide.

His gaze lowered only briefly when Yunna attempted to speak up; fear. He knew it all so well. Such an uncanny ability to read others bred through years of his bleeding heart. And, even if he knew he might regret it, he wouldn’t leave it this way. He couldn’t. Even if Seth would be angry with him, even if the Sylveon would lash out at him. What did it matter? He was used to such pain.

He slowly allowed his hands to drop from Hunter, inhaling deeply before he forced himself to his feet. Seth shifted, but one glance from Hunter kept in place, the feline following after her master regardless of the danger. And, without hesitation, Jude closed whatever distance had been between them. Gentle hands reaching up to rest against Yunna’s face. Thumbs slowly, soothingly rubbing against his skin, ad he leaned forward to carefully set his forehead against the other’s.  Pain was something he knew; something he could always see.

“Yunna,” Seth growled at the sound of another man’s name coming from his owner, but a good smack from Abigail kept him quiet. He would never claim to be strong, but he could be there. “I’m sorry.” His voice was quiet, soft, and calm. “Please don’t push yourself. I didn’t mean to hurt you, please.” He allowed his eyes to close, as if offering some sort of security to the other. “It’s okay, I’m sorry.” He would never ask what memories he had brought up; he understood all too well.

[the-asshole-collective]

Panic welled up in Yuuna’s chest as Jude approached him. No, please, he pleaded silently, don’t come closer. But his prayers for Jude to have not noticed his ill reaction to the raised voices had already gone unanswered, and it seemed only logical that this one as well would be ignored.

He stood transfixed as Jude placed his hands to his face, stiffening at the intimate touch, seizing up further when the other pressed their heads together. Yuuna’s emotions were reeling, and he felt he was in danger of passing out everything was spinning so fast. The past year of emotional isolation had prepared him none for the amount of his own feelings he had been forced to face today.

Gladiolus recognized his unsteadiness, and creaked warningly, shifting forward in anticipation of catching her unsteady trainer. Instead, Yuuna took a step back, shaking his head softly. He didn’t trust himself to speak, to open his mouth would mean letting loose the pent up mix of emotions he couldn’t quite bring himself to swallow. He wanted to say so many things, all of them fighting for dominance. Instead he managed only a slightly strangled “I-“ before his knees gave way and he sunk to the floor. There were tears he couldn’t seem to stop, the kind that only intensified the more he attempted to stifle them.

He found himself ardently wishing that Jude had never appeared before him, or even that he had instead stabbed him in the back. He had been better equipped to deal with a knife wound than a gentle hand, but he also felt as if he’d been waiting for one for so long.

Iris ran around Yuuna in circles, unable to find a way to cease his sudden emotional outburst. Lucerne, who had scattered at Jude’s approach, now cried out softly, unsure of whether to run to his master’s side or to chase out the cause of his sudden misery. Yuuna couldn’t manage much more then to shake his head at both of them, attempting to quiet their concern. His usual mastery over his emotions had shattered, as it had only twice before.

Nettle, who had never seen him like this, seemed frozen from where she lay still cradled in his arms. She peeped softly, reaching up a hand to tug at his hair in what she assumed was a soothing manner. Yuuna smiled weakly at her, even though his eyes still brimmed with tears, and he lowered his face to brush his nose against her forehead, his glasses slipping down his face. From here, he addressed Jude, his voice still broken and unsteady, “Please,” he started, the patheticness of his plea getting the better of him and causing him to pause, “Please, I know you mean well, but could you just…” he couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact , “could you just, leave me be.” He heard himself speaking as if from far away, his voice seemed to be on autopilot, a reflex to get the cause of his pain as far away from him as possible. “You’ll just- we’ll both just- end up hurting each other more.” he heaved a wavering breath. "I'm sorry, but It's my fault. I'm just," he pressed his face deeper into his own arms, his voice almost inaudible as he chastised himself, "I'm so weak..."

[the-asshole-collective]

Painting Flowers | cont. | Keiran & Haru

[ignite-dreams-blog]

  He simply glared at the other man when he opened his mouth to speak. Of course he was going to be cross with Haru. The man was an idiot that never seemed to learn, and he had to resist the urge to point this fact out so early in the morning. Not that he likely wouldn’t call the other a moron at some other point during the day, as such a thing as quite normal. In fact, a day where he didn’t mock the other would have been extremely rare, even to the point where he assumed Haru would worry about his health.

“Yes, of course,” He sighed. “I rarely get any sleep, it seems, as nightmares of your stupid face keep me up long into the night,” He mocked. And there it was. He couldn’t even go five minutes without insulting the other. Granted, he had never been a morning person.  It was a wonder how the two even had managed to get to where their relationship was today, and Keiran still questioned what had possessed him to save Haru the day that they met when he normally would have turned a blind eye to his suffering.

“Why are you staring at me?” He crossed his arms, leaning slightly on the door frame while waiting for the other to answer. Perhaps if he had been a bit more awake he would have realized his mistake, but the thought didn’t even cross his mind. He was too focused on glaring Haru down while the other appeared to be fixed on something about his person.

His eyebrow pricked up slowly when Haru actually called him by name, not that the tone he had used was all that much different from when he called him by one of the dreaded pet name’s Haru had come up with over all of the years they had been living together. He glanced downwards at the shirt he had thrown on in his sleepy state. A curse fluttered through his mind, but he wasn’t about to admit that he had made a mistake.

“Yup.” It wasn’t as if he could lie about it. Their frames were rather different. “So what?” He stated before walking past Haru to head into the kitchen. No way his pride was going to let him admit that he had made a mistake.

[the-asshole-collective]

Haru smiled, again a little too warmly for the insult he had just been dealt. He was soundly used to it by now, even to the point where he welcomed it if it meant his frigid partner would pay attention to him. “Nightmares? Maybe we’d both sleep better if we slept together.” He quipped. “If I wasn’t always 15 feet away you wouldn’t be so haunted by my face.”

He’d pay for that later, whether later was immediately or another 10 years of an immutable relationship was yet to be seen. Perhaps his penance would come sooner than he thought, as Keiran moved into the kitchen without changing the oh so tantalizing over-large shirt.

Fate is testing me. Haru thought, amongst many other things, none of them any kind of decent. Or maybe not fate so much as Keiran, in whatever half-asleep stupor had driven him to put on the wrong shirt, was testing him. Did he even know the kinds of things his wearing that shirt brought about in Haru’s mind?

He pressed his hand to his mouth a moment, before letting it slide down to rest agitatedly at his collar. How did he even proceed with this? This was uncharted territory here. Surely Keiran meant nothing along the lines Haru’s mind was now happily speeding along, but the temptation to offer to help him out of the wrong shirt was immense and overwhelming.

Haru used his remaining self-control to swallow this desire, and follow the object of his affections back into the kitchen. His restraint having been now spent, he couldn’t stop himself, “You know, the shirts really are a poor substitute. I’d gladly take their place if that’s what’s brought on this sudden desire.”

[ignite-dreams-blog]

Forever is an Empty Promise || Yuuna & Jude

[ignite-dreams-blog]

  Ginger whined loudly, as her ears pressed against her fluffy head. Massive tail making a rather pitiful attempt to shove itself between the tiny Pokemon’s legs when the golem set the other human that had been snuggling with her master down onto the ground. A bit too close for comfort to the shy creature who still had trouble trusting humans, assuming they didn’t happen to be Jude. She backed up slightly, tiny body shaking as she allowed her eyes to dart around to the far larger Pokemon that were unfamiliar to her. Though, she wanted to have faith in this human, as he appeared to be close to her master, she didn’t know what to make of him. Paws dragging across the ground until she managed to smack into Jelly, who reached out to pet her in an attempt to reassure her as Jude was too distressed by the injures on Hunter to pay much mind to the kit.

Arms still firmly wrapped around Hunter, Jude struggled to take his attention away from his injured companion to listen to Yuuna speak. Eyes shifting downwards at Hunter’s forehead when the man expressed concern for his well-being, guilty rubbing his hands together in shame, as he bit his lower lip. Teeth rubbing against the soft flesh in a rather sad attempt to will away the salty tears that were straining his eyes, but his attempts were fruitless. He would never claim to be a good trainer. How could he after all of this? Most of his partners weren’t even his own Pokemon, and he sometimes wondered if they only remained with him out of pity, and loyalty to their former master. He couldn’t even stop his beloved partners from fighting with one another. Abigail had to take charge.

He rubbed his face against Hunter’s fine fur, drying off the tears that had collected on his skin. Hold tightening on the lioness, as if he was afraid that she would leave him if he released her. He could feel her rough tongue grace gently across his skin. The sensation only making his stomach churn painfully in shame and disgust. He could feel the back of his throat burning, and he swallowed thickly in an attempt to keep himself from vomiting. Tears drenching Hunter’s fur, and staining his face, as he tried to hide his pitiful state from both the other man, and his own Pokemon.

“I-I’m f-fine…” He choked out against Hunter’s fur. His state only making his Pokemon whine pitifully at their master. Grunting, Abigail threw her distrust of the other Pokemon aside, and slowly moved her massive body towards her trainer. Head lowering slightly as she watched the fur on Hunter’s back rise. Anger boiling in the feline’s stomach, and she could only guess at how much the lioness wanted to shred the vulpine currently held by her mouth. But, she wouldn’t disagree with Hunter. She was angry with Seth for hurting the lioness, and for upsetting Jude so much. Halting as she reached the pair.

“I-It’s fine…it’s not important…” He mumbled into her fur, not even realizing that Abigail was towering over him. Hunter lifted her head from her master, pulling away from him to growl at Seth. The Sylveon responding by snarling back at her, forcing Jude to finally look up at the distressed Pokemon. He whimpered. The sound almost as pathetic as Ginger’s whining. And Hunter’s protective nature only fed her rage, a series of growls aimed harshly at the suspended creature.

“Stop…” Hunter’s ears flattened against her head, and she sat down beside Jude. Though, Seth wasn’t willing to back down so easily, struggling against poor Abigail as she tried to keep him from wiggling out of her grasp. “S-stop it, Seth,” It was a rather pathetic request, and his voice was hoarse, but Seth didn’t obey his master’s words. Hind paw smacking against Abigail’s neck and forcing her to drop him. Jude’s eyes widened with horror, terrified that Seth would start another fight with Hunter.

“Stop it!” Seth stopped dead in his tracks, ears flattening against his head as he stared at his master. Yelling was not something Jude did often, if at all. Grunting, the Sylveon sat down, as Abigail curled herself around him, keeping him in his place now that Jude had finally convinced the Pokemon to stand down. Hunter huffed, still upset with the vulpine. Jelly, Ginger, and Daisy quickly ran to Abigail, attempting to get out of the way, though Hunter remained at Jude’s side.

“I-I’m so sorry…” It was aimed both at Hunter and Yuuna, head lowering into his hands, as he bit his quivering lips. Tears streaming down his face, as his body shook. Hunter rubbed her nose against Jude’s hair, attempting to comfort him.

[the-asshole-collective]

It was becoming increasingly obvious to Yuuna that Jude was in fact not fine, despite his near constant insistence that he was. He was torn. He had never expected things to get this involved when he’d picked the man off the street to treat his wounds.

Iris watched the sylveon carefully. She had sprung to her feet in alarm when it had dropped to the ground, but now had relaxed a little again, watching its flattened ears. She sniffed disdainfully, rubbing her tail across Yuuna’s leg protectively. As if you’d ever catch her being so disrespectful.

For a moment Yuuna stood torn between a strangely strong desire to comfort the other man who was so clearly close to tears, and a much more understandable desire of staying as far away from the ribboned demon as he could. It wasn’t his place to intrude, what was going on was clearly an internal struggle between a man and his companions, a stranger had no place trying to offer sympathy when he had barely known him for any stretch of time. It was a strange feeling, for himself feeling so incredibly fragile at the moment to have any ability for protective feelings at all.

He half extended a hand, Jude’s pathetic pleading with his pokemon proving to be too much for him to resist acting. What he was going to do he didn’t know, and would never get to know, because at the moment Yuuna chose to act was the moment Jude lashed out, yelling in his desperation, and all forward momentum Yuuna might have had ceased. He flinched, hard, reacting in the worst possible way to the suddenly raised voice. He flung his nearly outstretched hand in front of himself, as if he could shield himself from the sudden influx of fear that has rushed in unbidden on Jude’s outcry.

Yuuna’s surrounding pokemon tensed, the ones who had been with him the longest especially so. Iris refrained from crying out, trying not to startle her master further, instead intertwining herself further with his legs, rubbing against him more ardently than before. Lucerne too moved closer, ignoring the now cowed sylveon and hopping to press his petals against yuuna’s knees for support. Gladiolus stayed put, watching Yuuna’s stability closely. If he threatened to topple over again, then she would act.

Yuuna cursed himself, cursed his own weakness. His heart was pounding and his shoulders shook weakly, wracked with memories that hadn’t plagued him this badly in months. But he was weak, and all it seemed to have taken was a raised voice to bring him down to his weakest state. He was angry at himself for reacting so harshly, but mostly scared, and then angry again that he was thinking of himself when Jude was so clearly the one who was suffering.

He heard Jude apologizing, and he forced himself to look back at the other man, trying in vain to calm his own trembling. He saw his tremors mirrored in the other’s shoulders and tried to stiffen his resolve. Jude was crying, and it was taking quite a bit of power to stop Yuuna from crying too. What is this, he chided himself. You don’t know this man, would he really want you to sit on the floor and cry with him? You’re a wreck. But Jude was a wreck too. Maybe that was why he wanted to badly to protect the now frailly shaking man, as if fixing his hurt would fix his own.

“Jude,” he started softly, but couldn’t bring himself to finish. What would he say anyway? He was never any good at comforting others. In the end, he didn’t have anything useful to say, so instead he hid behind the other man’s injury, “Jude, please don’t push yourself. You’re not okay, you were bleeding not ten minutes ago.” His voice was strained,  as if at any moment it could shatter. 

[ignite-dreams-blog]

Forever is an Empty Promise || Yuuna & Jude

[ignite-dreams-blog]

Sharp teeth kept their grip locked on the struggling Pokemon. Pink paws lashing out wildly, as his extended claws smacked against the lioness’ body, catching her flash and scratching small wounds upon her skin. Mouth open wide, as he thrashed about with his small fangs snapped at Hunter’s nose, yet she made no move to release him, or fight back against his clawing. Angry growls vibrating his throat, as he tried to force Hunter off of him, yet she was stronger than him, and his efforts were only causing more anxiety among the creatures that had entered with the engaged vulpine.

The reminder of the group stared at the pair for a moment, mostly out of shock. It was so very rare for Jude to command his Pokemon, but it was even rarer for the boy to go against Seth’s will, or opinions. Yet, they had heard their master’s soft voice. He claimed that he trusted the man, they owed their master the benefit of the doubt despite the position the two man had managed to get themselves into due to their attempts to keep one another out of harm’s way. Hunter wouldn’t have moved against Seth if she felt Jude was in danger, right? They had always viewed Hunter as their leader. After all, she was the most powerful of the Pokemon that Jude’s husband had left behind. But confusion held them still for what felt like centuries.

Jude had concerned himself too much with injuries Seth was placing upon Hunter, and didn’t take much notice to Yuuna’s Pokemon, or even Yuuna himself until the massive golem had picked the pair up and held them within her arms. A loud squeak of surprise left his mouth, as he struggled slightly against the Pokemon’s grasp, but the boy had never been strong. And his attempts only managed to shove him closer to Yuuna, if that was even possible. At least that finally made him take notice of the other, as a blush crossed his features once again. “S-sorry….” He whined.

A grunt from the angry Sylveon forcing his attention back to Seth, as the Pokemon made even more effort to try to remove Hunter from him. A paw lashing out and smacking the lioness’ forehead harshly, claws digging into the skin around her skull. Jude whined in concern for the Pokemon, returning to his struggling. “Hunter!” He called out to the Pokemon, but she didn’t release Seth from her hold. Blood running down her nose, as she remained in place. In truth, the injury wasn’t deep, or even that bad, but Jude wouldn’t have known that due to the distance between them.

However, Jude’s pathetic shriek of fear for the Pokemon was enough to move his remaining ones into action. Abigail took control of the situation, massive form towering over the two fighting Pokemon. She leaned her long neck down, grasping at Seth’s collar to gently tug on the Pokemon. Hunter released her hold on the creature, as the Tropius lifted Seth into the air, holding him away from the other Pokemon to keep them from getting injured by his struggling.

Jude continued to struggle, shoving himself underneath Yuuna in the process of trying to escape from the golem. Finally freeing himself from her only after he managed to accidently brush his lips against Yuuna’s cheek without realizing it. Falling flat onto his back, he whimpered slightly, rubbing the abused injury there before turning his attention to his Pokemon. But Ginger and Jelly were already making their way towards the boy, carefully, and slowly dodging around Yuuna’s Pokemon to reach their master. Ginger left into his arms, rubbing her head against his chest as she cried while Jelly rubbed gently against Jude’s legs. Holding tightly onto the Zigzagoon, he turned his attention to Hunter, as the lioness returned to his side.

He let go of Ginger to reach his hands up to cup her face within his grasp, tears streaming from his eyes as he looked at the scratches upon her body. “I’m so sorry, Hunter.” Leaning over the small Pokemon in his lap, he wrapped his arms around Hunter, holding her tightly. Daisy huffed, glaring at the Sylveon still hanging in the air before crawling her way towards Jude. Not one of them too happy with the Pokemon for injuring Hunter, but not making any attempts at against the other out of concern for the delicate trainer.  So caught up in Hunter, Jude didn’t even notice the Binacle shift herself up to them and try to comfort Jelly and Ginger; the two youngest Pokemon in Jude’s group. Hunter purred gently against Jude’ rubbing her head against his cheek in an attempt to calm him down and reassure him.

She grunted when Yuuna finally spoke up, whacking Jude with her tail in an attempt to get him to pay attention to the other man before his Pokemon made a move due to Seth’s hostile nature. She poked him with her nose, tugging gently on the boy’s hair until he finally lifted his head up from her. Ashen irises staring down at the lioness in shame. Seth would have never allowed his Pokemon to fight one another, yet, here he was, pitting Hunter against the Sylveon that shared the name of his former husband to try to save a man he barely even knew. “Y-Yes…” He answered Yuuna’s question weakly. “I-I’m sorry…”

[the-asshole-collective]

If Yuuna had been unaware of the awkward position that Gladiolus had forced the two of them into, then Jude’s struggles to free himself certainly brought it to light. Yuuna did his best to try and get out of the other man’s way, the less time they spent brushing skin the better. This attempt proved unsuccessful, and it would seem to be Jude’s mission to push himself as close to Yuuna as possible, while somehow remaining unaware of it. Or perhaps not, as his rushed apology would imply. Yuuna couldn’t find the words to reply, instead focusing his attention on the two felines locked in combat on his floor.

Iris watched slightly helplessly as the sylveon raked its claws across Hunter’s face and body. She turned to face Yuuna, eyes shining anxiously. If he allowed it, she could put it to sleep, but she was unwilling to intervene in what clearly wasn’t her fight. If the pink menace managed to escape, well, then she wouldn’t wait for Yuuna’s word to put it down before it could reach her beloved master.

The problem was removed, as at Jude’s cry, the struggling vulpine was lifted into the air. Iris might have laughed, the ribbon strewn murder machine seemed less threatening while held uselessly several feet in the air. She kept her eyes on it as it flailed wildly, refusing to let her guard down while such a thing dared inhabit her master’s sanctuary.

Gladiolus stirred gently, trying to keep her precious bundle steady. As concerned as Jude might be for his pokemon, as far as the golem was concerned, the best place for him was still in her arms. His struggling increased, and there was little she could do without dropping Yuuna as well to stop him rolling out of her grasp.

Yuuna cried out, but wasn’t able to pull off any amazing catch this time around. He winced as Jude smacked flat on the floor, and was already attempting to climb down himself by the time Jude had regained his footing to rush to his pokemon’s side. Gladiolus reluctantly lowered her charge to the floor, but followed close behind him as he moved closer to Jude.

For a moment Yuuna remained silent as the scene between the boy and his pokemon unfolded. It felt like something he shouldnt intrude on. Inwardly he was amazed that Jude had so willingly dropped from such a height, marveling at his seeming lack of self-preservation. But when he thought about it, what wouldn’t he do if one of his pokemon were in the same position?

His introspection was interrupted by a small flaming monkey who had decided now was the time for attention to be paid to her. Nettle had run up and was tugging insistently on Yuuna’s pants leg, chittering quietly now that Narcissus had informed her it was not appropriate to fuss. Almost without thinking, Yuuna bundled the darumaka in his arms, and she snuggled against his shirt, only to make a face when she noticed the portions of it that had become soaked through with Jude’s blood. She chattered in distress, plucking at the slowly drying fabric. Her eyes clearly conveyed her panic that it was Yuuna’s blood. He shushed her, rubbing her head softly, whispering that it wasn’t his to soothe her, although he was never sure if she could fully understand his actual words. His soothing tone of voice seemed enough for her, and she turned her distress to the now airborne sylveon.

Yuuna’s attention was also fixed on the struggling pokemon when Jude answered, the reason for his apology immediately clear. The fact that they were Jude’s pokemon almost made things more problematic, it meant they’d have to deal with the furious pokemon somehow. Iris moved to curl around her trainer’s legs as he spoke again, “You’re alright, aren’t you?” He didn’t know what to say about the frothing sylveon above, so he chose instead to ignore it. “You shouldn’t have jumped from so high, what if you’d reopened your wound?”

[ignite-dreams-blog]

Forever is an Empty Promise || Yuuna & Jude

[ignite-dreams-blog]

  Flicking her tail defensively, Hunter’s gaze shifted from her master to the Leafeon protectively. A warning to the creature, as if to say, I understand this man is dear to you, but understand this child is dear to me. I don’t appreciate your meddling any more than you do my own. Of course, the message rand true for all of the Pokemon guarding the human. Hunter was more than willing to take on an army for the sake of her departed master’s lover. While she didn’t much want to fight wit the group, as they had aided Jude, the option was always available to her. The boy’s life was worth far more than her own, and trust didn’t go a long way in such a world.

Jude ignored the Leafon’s glare, as well as Hunter’s response. What he had done to upset the Pokemon was beyond him, and he had no intention of interacting with the stranger’s Pokemon more than he had to. He hated the creatures. He would rather they stay away from him, but that wasn’t going to happen, assuming they were as protective of Yuuna as Hunter was of him. Speaking of which, he briefly wondered what was taking Seath and the others so long to locate him, praying they hadn’t gotten themselves into trouble. Granted, he had enough faith in the Sylveon to keep the group out of it.

Instead, he took a breath to calm his nervous nature, trusting Hunter was all he could really do at the moment. She hadn’t attacked, which meant that there wasn’t a need to, even if he would have preferred to be in a ditch than a greenhouse full of Pokemon. The choice wasn’t really his, even as tempted as he was to bolt. His attention returning to the man when he flinched at the motion the other had made, simply out of habit.

But, before the man could respond to his question, Jude’s little fear had gotten the better of him, and he found himself nearly smacking his already wounded back against the floor. Well, at least, he would have had Yuuna not flung himself over to the table to catch him in what Jude would have considered one of the most amazing saves of all time…had it not placed them into their current position. If Seth wasn’t rolling over in hos grave now…well…Out of both instinct and respect for Seth’s memory, Jude moved to push Yuuna away from his person, though the man’s grip seemed to have tighten. Confusion lingering in his mind for a brief moment before he realized he couldn’t feel the man’s arms around his back. Oops.

He turned to face Yuuna, gathering in the man’s expression and flushing slightly, if only due to the fact that the other was. He mentally cursed himself, fully prepared to harshly shove Yuuna off, once again if only out of respect for Seth’s memory, however his hand paused as he brought it up, instead resting gently against the man’s face unintentionally when he noticed how upset the other appeared to be. “You’re…”

Whether what happened next was Yuuna’s saving grace or his worst nightmare was hardly questionable, a low growl echoing in the greenhouse as a familiar nose shoved the door open. The remainder of Jude’s Pokemon following after the enraged, pink, vulpine. The sound yanked Jude’s attention away from Yuuna, eyes widening with both joy and fear at the sight of the loyal Sylveon. Of course he was happy to see his beloved Pokemon, but…well, the rage boiling over the Sylveon’s face made their union less than joyful. Hunter quickly stepped in front of the two men, tail flicking in a threatening manner, as she growled at the Pokemon. While she normally allowed Seth to protect Jude as he saw fit, she hardly wanted Yuuna to get shredded for rescuing their beloved master.

But her threat was lost on the Pokemon, he dashed towards them, as Jude’s other Pokemon attempted to catch up with him in order to hold him back. Jude’s face contorted into only fear and he instinctively lunged himself at Yuuna in an attempt to protect the man. Granted, all he really did was end up throwing himself into the others arms.

“W-wait, S-Seth stop!” He called out to the angry Pokemon, though it hardly meant anything to the Sylveon. Their current position leading to too many possibilities for the protective Pokemon to back off. “P-please?” Nope. He squeaked pathetically while still holding onto Yuuna, not even realizing what he had done. “It’s okay, this man is kind…” He was really only looking at Seth at the point, the fact that he had closed the tiny gap between himself and Yuuna hadn’t even crossed his mind. “H-Hunter.” Her name was the only command the lioness needed, she lunged at the Sylveon, pinning him against the ground as the rest of the boy’s Pokemon skidded to a halt.

[the-asshole-collective]

While certainly diving over the table to save the other man was the undoubtedly right choice, for a flickering moment Yuuna wondered if it might have been less uncomfortable to let the man fall. They were trapped in a sort of table-top shuffle, where he could feel the smaller man beneath him trying weakly to shove him off, out of no doubt modesty or embarrassment, both of which Yuuna wholeheartedly shared, but then to be pulled back by Yuuna’s continued attempts to ensure that the both of them didn’t slide back off the edge of the table again.

He was mortified to have the other man look him in the face, even more so when his face colored to match his own. Jude lifted his arm again, and while Yuuna had been prepared to fight back against another push away, he could never have been prepared for him to instead gently lay his hand against his face. Yuuna’s heart stopped, and for a moment seriously considered letting the both of them fall off the table again if only to give him an excuse to get away from how strangely the other man was now looking at him. Jude was saying something, but Yuuna had no time to register what or where the sentence was going before a sharp bark from the front of the room snapped his attention away.

In what should have been a welcome distraction, Yuuna was instead filled with dread, it was Narcissus who had sprung up from his watch at the storefront. If he was reacting, then no doubt something dangerous was outside. There was no time to do anything before the door was flung open, and what seemed to be a whole menagerie of strange pokemon burst in. Yuuna cursed himself for not locking it, even if he had been preoccupied with a bleeding awkward man. At the forefront of the small pack a pink pokemon Yuuna only vaguely registered as a sylveon was charging ahead, and while normally they could be considered quite cute, this one had a look of pure murder in its eyes.

 Yuuna moved instinctively, pulling Jude off the table to stand upright, his own motion supplemented by Jude throwing himself onto him. All his effort going into staying upright and not dropping the man in his arms, he only vaguely registered that Jude had called out to the pokemon. Was it possible these were his pokemon?

“Wait!” Yuuna called out to his own pokemon, all of whom had sprung to their feet. Iris, who had flung herself from Yuuna’s shoulders in the commotion of him trying to catch the falling stranger, had raced to stand in front of The now awkwardly embracing pair, joined by Jude’s own lioness and Narcissus, who had run there immediately. Iris hissed and spat at the oncoming creatures, all the fur on her back raised. She would fight any number of these things to the death if she had to, a feeling shared by all of the pokemon in the room, their collective air changing from bemused concern at the antics of the two humans to fully ready to do anything to keep Yuuna safe. Lucerne, in his anger, had dropped the small monkey he had been holding  to lower his large petals like a shield in front of Yuuna, his eyes glinting dangerously from beneath them. Nettle, having awoken upon being dropped, was now running in circles crying out in confusion at why everything was going on, succeeding only in adding to the commotion.

Gladiolus had taken a less conventional approach. Moving with speed that should have been impossible from her size, the ghost pokemon materialized behind her master. She took the matter of retaining his balance off his hands, lifting him and the man he was holding into her own arms, away from the immediately impending fray. She towered over nearly everything in the room, her cold eyes daring any one of them to try and take her charges from her.

 With eyes only for the sylveon, Jude called out again, and the pyroar pinned it to the ground. The movement of the other pokemon having ceased almost immediately, Yuuna’s pokemon relaxed only a little, Narcissus backing off to capture the panicked darumaka and gently lick her into confused silence before running back to the front and shutting the door again before any other strange pokemon were attracted by the noise. Lucerne and Iris were less willing to back off completely, both of them still bristling at the intruders.

Yuuna was at a loss. So much had happened in the past moment he hardly knew what was going on. Gladiolus had the two of them cradled in such a way that their limbs had become more tangled then they already had been, and if this were the only thing going on Yuuna would have certainly been more embarrassed than he had been previously, but instead he was fixated on Jude, and the pokemon beneath he could only assume belonged to him. “T-these,” he stammered, “They’re with you?”