"Ah, you must be lost. I'm Espen. Just... Espen."

“Here you are, Lilac. Feel free to add as much sugar and milk as you please.” A tiny mechanical wrr sound came from Espen’s hand as he set a delicate and beautiful teacup on the wooden table in front of his friend. The milk carton on the table was almond milk, which the host hoped Lilac would be okay with. The tea itself was a homemade blend, composed of various dark berries and wildflowers. Purple ripples chimed against the porselen as steam rose from the piping hot drink.

Sorry for not being on! I have been VERY busy and VERY tired with a new puppy! Meet Bailey! She’s an 11 week old standard poodle puppy, who apparently hid from her previous adopters. That seems so odd, because she wants to be by someone’s side 24/7, and even loves the neighbor kids! She is very hard to take pictures of because she is pure black- no tufts of white even.

I probably won’t be on much this week- still working on tricks, potty training, and LOTS of playing and running around. But I’ll be back!

Cyan grinned when his joke hit the target. At least he could get the man to laugh! 

“Good idea! Okay..” he picks up the phone, gently rubbing the loose dirt off of it on his jeans before sliding it into Espen’s pocket. Soon, he’s taking his number into his phone, and sending a simple text message to him.

“Oh…right.” of course Espen couldn’t do anything right now. Cyan chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. “I don’t mind waiting.” He assured. “Azure and I have nowhere to be right now!”

The pokemon huffed, however, not liking the idea of staying around. Cyan shot the turtle-pokemon a pleading look. Be nice!

With the phone numbers exchanged, Espen smiled. His face may have seemed calm, but on the inside he was ecstatic to have made a new friend. It wasn’t an often occurrence. Usually other people’s Pokemon had them avoid the young man. It was good to trust their partners, but Espen wished that more people would give him a chance.

She didn’t have the heart to tell him that Rahi heard him, but it shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise. They were so intrinsically in tune with the vitality of flora, the little Tapu tended to avoid anything that felt off. They were fine with her, but Reika also wasn’t the type to curse problematic humans.

No, she could just murder them anyway.

ᴀʜ, ʏᴇs. ᴛʜᴇ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇ ᴏғ ᴍᴇᴛᴀʟ ᴀʟʟᴏʏ ɴᴇxᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴄᴏᴍᴘᴏsɪɴɢ sᴋᴇʟᴇᴛᴏɴ.

The what.

The articuno looked at them in disbelief. Not that it was there, but that they’d blatantly say it like that. …. ..actually, no, she was a fool for having been surprised.

ɴᴏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ. ɪ'ᴍ ᴛᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴍʏ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ. ᴅᴏ ᴛʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴇᴇ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ, ᴡᴏɴ'ᴛ ʏᴏᴜ? ᴛʜᴇsᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏʙsᴇʀᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ɴᴏᴛᴇs ᴏɴ ɪᴛ ᴛʜᴜs ғᴀʀ. ɪᴛ'ᴅ ʙᴇ sᴜᴄʜ ᴀ sʜᴀᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏsᴇ ᴀ ғᴀsᴄɪɴᴀᴛɪɴɢ sᴘᴇᴄɪᴍᴇɴ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴅᴜᴇ ᴛᴏ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴇʀʀᴏʀ.

A tendril extended from the Deoxys’ back, unfolding into a crisp piece of thick paper. The writing on it looked more like it was printed by a computer than manually, though given every other oddity about Elmine, that was likely the least surprising aspect.

Quickly taking their leave, once the three were gone, Reika deflated, giving a sigh as she looked at Espen.

“So.. it’s getting late. Do you want me to stay over in case something happens?”

The what. Hopefully it was a Pokemon skeleton, otherwise he should have gotten a reduced price on the property. Espen would dig it up later and file a criminal report if it was human. Bodies didn’t bother the young man, since ghosts didn’t even want to be around him.

“Thank you,” Espen said as he took the notes, “I will take good care of it, I promise. It was lovely to meet you.” The report was read right there and then, not wanted to tempt fate by reading it later. In face, he took pictures of the text-like print on his phone so that he’d always have a copy, though with any luck nothing would happen to the original.

Watching the Deoxys leave certainly was a show, but he knew better than to stare too much. These Pokemon had interesting ways for sure.

Cyan watched the way the man dropped his phone, a sense of panic hitting him in the gut. It reminded him of when his grandma would get very sick, and his grandpa would feed her soup because she would just drop the spoon.

He seemed pretty annoyed, but not surprised…perhaps this was something that happened?

“….If you’re comfortable with it, I could put my number in for you?” He offered, gesturing to his phone. “Or I could slide it into your pocket, at least!” He held out his hands in a ‘no offense’ gesture. “No funny business, I promise I won’t get handsy!”

Espen laughed at Cyan mentioning that there’d be no funny business. Something like that didn’t even cross his mind, but it obviously came to Cyan quite quickly.

“I trust you, you can put it in my pocket. I’ll tell you my number and you can send me a text so I know it’s you, if that’s alright? I can put your number in my phone then once my hands start cooperating again. I’m sorry about that; it happens sometimes.”

Looking at the plant, it hit him how useless he was about to become. Without being able to grip anything, he couldn’t trim, dig, or pull up the plant. Unless he used his teeth, which he may have done before, but there were no people around then.

ɴᴏ.

The reply is short, curt. The Deoxys had no interest in explaining that it didn’t consume sustenance. It wasn’t biological, after all. How would it even eat, decomposing in its core? Disgusting.

ɪ'ʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ɪᴛ ᴘᴇʀɪᴏᴅɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ, ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ᴡʜᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴛ ᴏʀ ɴᴏᴛ ғᴏʀ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴏʙsᴇʀᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴs ɪs ᴏғ ɴᴏ ᴄᴏɴsᴇᴏ̨ᴜᴇɴᴄᴇ.

Ahh. Reika gave a slight chuckle. It was a wonder more things hadn’t picked a fight with Elmine given how brash it was, but with a combat puppet like Sasa to act as an extension and a bodyguard, it wasn’t surprising.

“A-anyway. Elmine are you just here to look at the plant and take Rahi home?”

She knew Espen was in no harm, but the fact that Elmine came out, leaving the temple willingly, it was still weird to see. She could never tell what they were thinking. Them or Empress. They were such enigmas it was wild.

It did seem quite possible that Elmine didn’t eat or drink, given their species. They probably didn’t know how to be sociable either, but that was alright. As long as they weren’t hostile, Espen was confident they could at least get along- though maybe not to the same extent as him and Reika.

“Alright. I saw you warp, so I doubt you’ll need it, but you’re welcome to come in my cottage if you’d like, even if I’m not here. The key is slightly buried in the dirt by the poison mushrooms over there.” While they were poisonous, it was only if they were ingested. Touching them was fine. Still, no one has found his key yet to break in, and Espen liked to think that was because the mushrooms were protecting it. Awfully nice of them.

ɪᴛ ʜᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴇɴᴇᴛɪᴄ ᴍᴀᴋᴇᴜᴘ ᴏғ ᴀ ᴛʀᴇᴇ, sᴏ ɪᴛ’s ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴀs sᴜᴄʜ.

The deoxys appeared, apparating with Sasa like a day terror. A tendril attaching their back to Sasa’s had the steel puppet wandering into the nearby woods, to retrieve Rahi.

ғᴏʀ ɴᴏᴡ ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɪᴛ ᴄᴀᴛᴀʟᴏɢᴇᴅ ᴀs “ʙʟᴀᴄᴋᴡᴏᴏᴅ ᴡɪʟʟᴏᴡ.” ɴᴏ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ ɪɴ ɢɪᴠɪɴɢ ɪᴛ ᴀ ғᴀɴᴄʏ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ’s ɴᴏ ʜɪsᴛᴏʀʏ ᴏғ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪᴛ ɪs ᴏʀ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ.

Elmine seemed to study Espen for a moment. He had an unnatural tether, no..not a tether. They’d ask Reika about it later, she might know something about it. The articuno in question remained sitting by Espen, making no motion to get up or react.

“Oh…yeah, Espen this is Elmine. It’s…supposed to be a deoxys. Apparently they’ve been keeping track of the plants too. This was one of six that were found. I’m sure you guys can get along with watching whatever this might turn into.”

Alright, then. It was fine if these one of a kind and intelligent Pokemon knew where he lived, right? Reika knew, and she wouldn’t tell anyone who would want to harm Espen. Elmine looked much different than the other Pokemon who he’d seen, but they seemed friendly. Hopefully they wouldn’t appear like that when Espen was indecent. Then again, even if he were, Pokemon didn’t seem to care about that kind of thing.

That was surprising. Usually wild Pokemon kept their distance from Espen, but a certain giant Pumpkaboo in Glimwood didn’t seem too concerned. Was she injured? Blind? Just not very smart? Or maybe she was very smart, and knew the gardener was harmless. Whatever it was, he didn’t want to scare her, but ever curious about the ghost, wanted to make his presence known.

@fadingchance​ said: [ alone ] ((it can be either muse, up to you!)) — injury starters

[ alone ] for one muse to find the other trying to treat themselves

           Well, that was another skin patch donated. He assumed that with every donation he had to go through, he would have gotten used to it. But the pain wasn’t any better no matter how many times he done it. 

           Kei was in the middle of patching his exposed skin when he hears some footsteps. ❝ Whatever it looks like to you, I can assure you it’s nothing serious. ❞

“As confident as you sound, I couldn’t just leave you. I can make a remedy that will promote skin growth, if you like. It’ll work better than any medicine you can buy.” 

Blood, gore, or anything of the like never bothered Espen. He regularly drew his own blood to test potential cures for his illness. On top of that, as a child he was often the one to care for the other foster kids’ wounds.

“Alright, prepare yourself roots, I’m comin’ for ya!” Cyan kneels on the ground and starts to dig, his Pokemon sitting nearby in the sun. He doesn’t interfere, but he does occasionally look over to make sure his trainer is safe.

“Oh, uh..Yeah. Maybe.” He manages, “He’s a little b-busy right now, but I know he likes stuff like this..”

How could he tell the other man that the guy he was talking about, his closest friend, was in jail? Sure, he may be getting parole soon, but…

He already knew that Beau was self-conscious. About what he looked like and presented himself. Cyan didn’t want to color the man’s perception of him before they even met.

“Yeah, he’ll definitely help!” he tries instead, only embarrassing himself with his own enthusiasm. “S-sorry. That was loud.”

Espen grinned as he watched Cyan so enthusiastically dig up the dirt. It was cute. Innocent. They had only just met, but the blue haired man seemed very friendly- someone the young man would love to get to know better. Hopefully, they would be able to become friends.

“I see. When he has time, perhaps you could send me a text? I don’t mean to be pushy, of course, it’s only that I don’t find other people who would be willing to do this.” Excitedly, the young man grabbed for his phone, only to drop it in the dirt. An attempt was made to pick it up, only to drop it again. An annoyed look came to his face as he used his other hand, which only had the same result. With a sigh, he pushed his phone aside.

        ↪  Leaning in, perhaps a little too close to the stranger, Allister watched closely as the stranger began to weave the flowers into a crown, just like his mum had all those years ago. Feeling his eyes fill with tears at the memory, he rubbed at his eyes with his sleeves as he attempted to shove the memory away.        He shook his head, having never really tried many crafty hobbies. Most of his time was already occupied with his gym and schoolwork, and his free-time was usually spent unwinding on his own.        ❝… f-forget … me nots … Mummy’s favorites …❞ Was all the boy barely managed to muster in his soft tone. He wanted to explain how his father apparently used to give the blue flowers to her often, but despite his best attempts, speaking to the stranger was too difficult.        Reaching out for the flower crown, Allister turned it over in his hands. It really was just like the one she made. His head shook once more. He wanted to give it to his father if he showed up, and if not, he would likely leave it. For now though, the boy leaned forward to set it on the tombstone in front of him.        ❝U-Um … Family … here … ?❞ Allister pointed toward the stranger, wondering what brought him to this place today.

The boy leaning close didn’t bother Espen at all. With all of the siblings he grew up with, it wasn’t anything new. Touching or being close never bothered the man, though he was usually cold to others.

“I see. She had good taste. I’m quite partial to small flowers as well. Trilliums are my favorite. Pure and wild, not to be picked. A rather rare and decreasing wildflower. A mix of the blue from the forget-me-nots and the white from the trilliums would be beautiful.” But crown that should not be crafted, for as Espen said, the wildflower was dying out. He was glad to see the boy leave the crown for his mother instead of keeping it for himself. Yes, there would always be good in this world.

“O-okay!” Cyan held the trowel awkwardly in his hands, looking between the plant and the tool. He’d ask the man more about his garden and abilities later, for not he’d focus on the plant.

“Okay, so, I have no idea what to do with this thing, so I’m gonna need some instruction.” He sighed and got on his knees. “Man, I wish my friend were around, he knows a lot about plants. Like, tons! And he’s big, so he would be able to help us lift it no problem!”

“No problem! We’re going to see how deep these roots go. It’s best not to leave any.” Espen continued snipping and putting the branches in a large garbage bag as he directed Cyan. “I’d start digging around here, you’ll hit the root for sure, then keep digging against the root until you can dig dirt out from under the plant. I don’t think the roots will be too deep- maybe a foot or so?”

The comment about his friend caught the gardener’s attention.