An Adventure for the Ages! [mod/open]

[Midnight]

“Oh aye? Smart gal, smart gal.” The man nodded approvingly and then belched noisily. The skitty tried his best to recoil, his expression twisting into a grimace. This man stank of dried sweat, whiskey, and manure. It was not a pleasant combination. He didn’t seem to mind, though, which was possibly due to the fact that he was immune to his own smell. Unfortunately, the pokemon wasn’t. The cat settled for gagging instead. The man looked down, his befuddled mind not quite registering the action that the dry-heaving pokemon was producing until it vomited all over his shirt. “Oh, euch!” the man exclaimed and immediately dropped the animal out of disgust. The skitty immediately scurried away, making a dash for Florina, still gagging. The drunk stared down at his shirt, preparing to wipe the vomit away with a meaty hand when his presumed wife intervened, apparently materializing from the nearby café. The woman was similar to her husband in one aspect: she was unpleasantly overweight. She was waving an embroidered handkerchief wildly in one hand and carrying a rather expensive-looking sequined handbag in the other and was rapidly approaching the strange little group, yelling at her husband. “Oh, snookums, what have you done?! Don’t you dare touch that! Don’t!” The man’s head jerked upright and swiveled in the direction of his rapidly approaching wife, his hand hovering above the vomit stain. “Eh? Love-dove, what are you doin’?”

“Oh, shush-up!” The woman cried as she dwindled to a halt in front of him and began fussing with his clothing, trying to wipe away the worst of the vomit with her handkerchief, apparently not at all concerned with the fact that it was being ruined. She tsked him noisily, shaking her head in disapproval. “Now, George, you know better than to harass the skitty! You know he doesn’t like you. He only likes me.” She chided him as she worked, pulling out another handkerchief from the depths of her purse after discarding the stained one, leaving it in the middle of the street for someone else to deal with. She frowned at the stain that remained, and then shrugged. It didn’t really matter. Her husband’s image (and reputation) were already in tatters, she knew, but she simply couldn’t help herself. She was responsible for him, after all, whether he liked it or not. “I guess that’ll have to do,” she murmured, mostly to herself. She then turned to the girl and gave her an apologetic smile. “Oh, was George bothering you? I’m sorry, dearie. He has a mind of his own, y’know! That is, well, when he uses it properly.” She gave him a look and then patted his cheek affectionately. “Poor baby hasn’t been fairing too well since our daughter left.” She sighed heavily, her bosom heaving. The violet dress that she was wearing wrinkled with the movement. “We haven’t heard from her in weeks, now, not a single peep, and poor George, oh, how he ever worries.” She fussed over her husband some more, fixing the straps of his overalls so they fit his bulky shoulders a bit better. She caught the glimpse of the skitty out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, there you are!” she exclaimed, which caused her husband to flinch. He gave her a baffled look, wondering what she was fussing about now. “I have been wondering where you have been, mister tom cat! Found a new friend, have we?” Her smile was sweet this time. “That is good. Wait… where are you three going?” she asked, eyebrows drawing together under her big, floppy hat. “Are you going to the fair? I could give you a ride, if you wanted. I need to take Georgie home anyway.”

[Kittie]

i . h a v e . o f t e n . d r e a m t

of a far off place

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=style,background-color: #3f4a65;,true][cs=2] THIS IS WHERE I'M MEANT TO BE

[atrb=width,240] "Oh, goodness!" Florina gasped as the little skitty retched and coughed, spewing whatever little contents he had in his stomach. "Oh dear, are you alright? Both of you?" Florina asked, looking at the man with concern while kneeling to stroke the skitty on the head. <I don't like that man.> Rosie said, cautiously padding up beside the skitty. <He smells awful.> Florina looked a little relieved at the arrival of the woman. She seemed to know the man and was quite eager to take care of him. "No ma'am, he wasn't bothering me. He was just saying hello to this little skitty here." Florina said, offering the woman a sweet smile. "And I'm sorry to hear that - I'm sure she's just gotten caught up in her travels. It seems pretty easy to lose track of time when you're on the road." she said, nodding. Florina paused a moment to straighten out the skirt of her dress, not terribly sure about going off with some strangers she just met. However, everyone in this town seemed kind enough - and she had pokemon now. They'd help protect her if she was in any real danger, right? She felt the same nervousness she'd had at the beginning of her journey creeping up on her once again. She pushed it down with another broad grin. "We are heading to the fair, actually. A ride would be fantastic, thank you very much!"

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[Midnight]

The skitty made an admirable effort to purr as Florina made an attempt to comfort him. He sounded wretched. Wasn’t his fault, though. He chuckled hoarsely at Rosie’s comment, his expression declaring that it was much worse up close and personal. He didn't convey so verbally, however, since he didn't quite trust himself to talk yet.

The woman chuckled. “Of course he’ll be alright. I’ll make sure of that. I am his wife, after all. It is my duty. Even though sometimes I wish it wasn’t, but I digress.” She added, doting on her husband as she talked. It was unnerving how much she meddled and fussed – and how he barely reacted to it, only giving her a timid little smile that quickly vanished at the mention of his missing girl. He was reduced to somber silence as his wife took over for him, filling in the conversational gap. “Oh, I suppose. It is unusual of her not to call – she usually checks in at least a couple times a week, for Georgie’s sake if no one else’s.” She sighed, barely paying the despondent man any heed now. “She’s around your age, I think, maybe a little older. She was supposed to go to college, but no, she wouldn’t have any of that. Said she was going to live her own life her way, according to her wishes instead of her parent’s desires.” She sighed dramatically for effect and then lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone, leaning down and towards Florina as if she was about part with a secret. “Oh, but nevermind that! She will see her mistakes soon enough, I am sure.” She said with a flourish, punctuated by a dismissing wave of her hand. “That is a tale for another time and place. I’m sure you’re quite excited to get where you’re going and you don’t really need to listen to me prattle on.”

She glanced to her husband and carefully slid her arm around his. “Right then. Shall we be off, then? The car is parked nearby. You can come too, mister skitty.” She winked at the poor animal that had previously deposited his stomach content’s on her husband’s shirt. The skitty croaked a meow in response, lingering by Rosie’s side. And that was when the woman finally took notice of the eevee. She paused for a second, somewhat surprised and intrigued. How did this little girl get such a perfect specimen? “Oh, what a gorgeous pokemon, you have there.” She commented a little too casually. “I do so love her coat. It’s absolutely stunning.” The woman glanced up at Florina’s face, a careful smile on her lips. “Did you just get her from the labs? She’s quite darling, really. What’s her name?”

[Kittie]

i . h a v e . o f t e n . d r e a m t

of a far off place

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=style,background-color: #3f4a65;,true][cs=2] THIS IS WHERE I'M MEANT TO BE

[atrb=width,240] Florina had been frowning slightly as the woman spoke about her vanished daughter. That was rather sad - surely she must just be caught up in her journey, though. Why would anyone make their family worry like this on purpose? Yes, she had to just be busy. The girl's frown flipped to a smile as the woman spotted her eevee. She didn't register the covetous look on her face, far too pleased by how the woman had called Rosie "gorgeous" and "stunning". "Yes, this is Rosie!" Florina said, smile brimming with pleasure at the compliments, even if they weren't directly for her. "I picked her out with the ladies at the lab. She's a sweetheart!" She knelt down again, scooping the eevee up into her arms and petting her gently. "I'm really excited to explore the town - me and Rosie both. And I'm definitely interested in checking out the fair."

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TEMPLATE BY THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE MIKEY @ CAUTION 2.0

[Midnight]

“Ohh, what a very pretty name! I like it. It’s almost as darling as she is,” the woman commented, scratching at the eevee’s chin as she continued to appraise the pokemon’s luxurious coat with her eyes. Her tone conveyed that she was only trying to be casual for the sake of the conversation and that she didn’t care about the pokemon’s name nearly as much as she cared about the specimen itself. “She does seem awfully sweet. Doesn’t she, George?” The woman glanced at her husband, who was watching the skitty with an unreadable expression. Her smile thinned. “George? Don’t you agree with what I just said?”

George practically shirked from her words, her tone overlaid with permafrost. “Yes’m,” he responded timidly, eying her from the corner of his eye. “Of course,” he mumbled, averting his gaze. This seemed to appease his wife since she immediately returned to the conversation at hand, her gaze still fixed upon the clueless eevee. “The professors are quite endearing, aren’t they.” The woman said slowly, mentally readjusting her tone of voice.

“Yes m’m,” George responded automatically, mouth on autopilot. The look that he received commanded him to revert back to silence. He complied, looking stricken.

The woman either didn’t notice this minute detail or chose to gloss over it. “Oh, the fair! Of course, how could I forget?” she asked, eyes widening as she tuned back into what the girl was saying. She chuckled softly, a hand over her breast in embarrassment. “Right, then, I’ll go fetch the car and we’ll be off!” With this, she toddled off, her husband reluctantly in tow. The skitty glanced up at the girl and her eevee and idly wondered if they had noticed Mrs. Milfred’s unusual reaction to the poor pokemon. He decided to speak up. <Hey, babe, you alright?> he asked, genuine concern in his voice. <You didn’t notice anything fishy about Mrs. Milfred? She seemed awfully interested in you for some reason. I mean, sure, she likes cats like me, but I’ve never seen her act like that. And her old man is something to be worried about, too, I think. You sure your kid can trust these folks? I mean, the guy isn’t mean, but sometimes he has quite the temper, and Mrs. Milfred is always nice to me but…> He tried to grapple with the words, eyes focusing on the ground in uncertainty. <I’m not sure if I like her that much, y’know?>

[Kittie]

i . h a v e . o f t e n . d r e a m t

of a far off place

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=style,background-color: #3f4a65;,true][cs=2] THIS IS WHERE I'M MEANT TO BE

[atrb=width,240] "Oh yes, she is just the sweetest." Florina said, happily nodding and agreeing as the woman cooed over her little eevee. With her gentle hands, she stroked Rosie's head fondly. The people here seemed friendly enough! These two certainly did seem to love pokemon - or at least, it seemed that way, from how they reacted to both the stray skitty and her dear Rosie. Rosie watched the woman's movements curiously. Something seemed odd about her. Of course, she couldn't really tell. The only people she'd spent most of her life around were the ladies in the lab, and the occasional beginning trainer who came in to browse. Still, she just had such a feeling about her. <Yeah, I'm alright.> she said, eyeing the skitty from where she was held. So, he had noticed something weird too. And he was a stray - he definitely had more experience judging people than her! His voiced concerns deepened her worry. <I'll just try my best to protect her. I don't know if I can stop her going with them.> she said with a frown, pawing lightly at Florina's arms as the girl followed along with the couple. "How's this for the beginning of our adventure, huh?" Florina asked, still petting Rosie's head lightly.

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TEMPLATE BY THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE MIKEY @ CAUTION 2.0