飛び立つ

Lurching her head to the side to rid the fallen strands that got into her view she pouted a little. Of all the days for her not to have her team… struggling a little more the Ariados made sounds as it tugged the string more feeling it’s prey trying to wriggle free.

It made the raven haired female curious as to why this Ariados was so close to the road like this. It wasn’t like them to be this far out. They usually were ones who didn’t bother people as long as people kept their distance from their nests and area. Maybe with the snow it couldn’t find food…

         His ego was inflamed, roaring like the flock of winds surrounding him, rushing against his arms and the wings of his bird. Fate brought them to this sticky situation, and he was just the man for the job.  

"Whoa, there! Hey, that's not nice!"  A stream of Ariados web had been ejected their way, and Noctowl had to jerk to one side yet again. These calls were just too close for Vance's comfort. With his eye narrowed, fist clenched, Vance ordered his bird. 

        "Aerial Ace, Noctowl? How 'bout it?" 

The owl cawed, taking the suggestion and allowing one of her wings to glow once more. She dipped, gliding close enough to the ground for her Keeper to land safely on his feet. Noctowl's wing, now a pink hue, sliced across the Ariados with such agility and force. If that didn't send the pest flying, there would be plenty more where that came from. 

The Kimono Girl was still visibly shaken, confused as to who this strange (and gorgeous) savoir was. With a wide grin, Vance approached her with his swagger at a steady, subtle level. His fingers found their way through his hair, nervously scratching the back of his head. 

        "Vance Enzo, Bird Keeper Extraordinaire." He jutted a thumb towards his slightly-puffed chest, squaring his shoulders smugly. It was only after his introduction did the male extend a gloved hand towards his damsel no longer in distress, his palm inching towards hers. 

Cocking her head to the side with a small confusion look on her face she lingered a little longer staring into the trees. Finally after a few more seconds the female took her leave as crimson eyes looked ahead.

Maybe just my imagination… her thoughts drifted slowly to what her team was up to and how much she would want to cuddle up to Dart. Just the thought made her insides tingle with happiness since she enjoyed nuzzling up with the giant dog like Pokemon.

As she was lost in thought she didn’t realize that she ended up going a bit to far outside of Ecruteak City. “Huh…?” Giving a confused look she began to look about herself. It was then that the lightbulb went off in her head that she left the safety of the town. Biting the inside of her lip the girl turned around to trudge her way the path she took. Hopefully no wild Pokemon would appear…

The turbulence was sudden, a sharp jerk to the left made by the feathered captain. There was a moment Vance swore he felt his heart stop, a moment that actually scared him stiff. Instinctively, Vance caught a few tufts of brown feathers between his fingers. 

"Hey, Noct! What the hell was that for?! Are you trying to get me killed?!" The usually laid-back male shouted over the rushing gust. His bird warbled an apology, and Vance immediately forgave the owl. "Oh, man. I'm sorry for yellin' like that, Noct. It's just that it caught me off guard, is all. Just warn me next time, alright?" A few scratches on her back let the Pokemon know that her owner still harbored trust in her. 

Shifting her eyes away for a moment she locked her gaze onto the Ninetales that sat patiently next to her. She was clearly waiting for their cue to leave, but Kagari wasn’t giving it. Which was fine right, of course it was. They still had science to do. Opening her mouth again she was cut off by his own voice. Asking her name seemed customary for a first meeting. However, she wasn’t sure what to say. 

While she was no longer part of a group that could be considered… evil. She was still business before pleasure. No, science before business even. Maxie above all else. 

"What is a name.." she said in a hushed tone, something about her words seemed like a question but wasn’t presented as such. "…Aha." 

As robotic as possible, she was caught doing it again. Often laughing to herself when shes at a loss of words. “Mine is Courtney. Technically. But also, its Kagari.” Crossing her arms over her chest momentarily she pursed her lips in thought. 

"Strange.. isn’t it?"

She seemed to be in her own head quite often. She had an indecisive tongue, jaw unsure as well. Her quiet chuckle picked up the corner of Vance's mouth--her laugh gave Altaria calls a run for their money. Harmonic and melodic, she could be his songbird. He couldn't help but be captivated by the way her lips moved when she talked. 

With his cigarette ending, Vance crushed it against the top of his boot, rubbing the embers out before flicking it into the grass. She introduced herself, catching his attention.

        "Mine is Courtney. Technically. But also, it's Kagari.

                                                                      Strange isn't it?" 

         Strange? Vance and Pidgeot exchanged a glance that was one part confusion, two parts agreement. Courtney pursed her lips at the word, as if it didn't taste right. Strange... although known to be unknowingly judgmental, Vance didn't see the word fit. It was with a wide beam, exposing two straight rows of teeth--excluding the bottom right tooth front and center that leaned forward just a bit more than the others--that Vance saluted the female with his index finger. 

"Courtney, huh?" Vance perked up. "Actually, I prefer Kagari...much more of a ring to it." The Keeper waved the same finger like a bell. "But oh, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." His hand extended forward, and if he hadn't remembered that Kagari valued personal space, Vance would be pressing his lips against he top of her hand while holding it with the intention of treating it as delicate as the rose used in the famous line. 

But he saved himself, backtracking and tucking his hand behind his head as if that's what he meant to do. Scratching the back of his head, the male quickly changed the subject. 

As the female kept walking she couldn’t help but get the feeling that someone was keeping watch. The hairs on the back of her neck pricked slightly, but that never was what really gave it away. Since a small age the young girl was very keen on picking up airwaves like this.

The young Kimono Girl ended up telling her team to stay at the house, since well… there really was no need for them. There never was any danger that happened within the small city. Not to mention her Pokemon knew her routine by now and she did have practice at the Theater so they just obeyed.

Moving a strand of hair that strayed her pale complexion scanned the place. Turning her whole body around she faced back towards the old tower as she slightly tilted her head to the side. Whoever it was the place was towards a little way she came from. And it wasn’t like it was any of her team, they would have shown themselves by now.

Eyes blinking she made no movement for a few seconds. Contemplating if she should even bother. She did have a sense of curiosity as to whoever it was. It wasn’t the first time she’s sensed the presence like this. Not to mention it wasn’t like she had anything else for the rest of the day. Practice was over her mother was still at the Theater teaching other girls and all Saya would be doing was just probably sit within the small adobe of their home.

Vance brushed blowing locks from his face, scarlet strands that were disrupting his view of the Kimono Girl as she parted ways with the Dance Theater. Suddenly, she was staring in his direction, ruby eyes scanning with precision.  "Looks like we've been spotted, Noct." And the Keeper let his voice fall to gentle whispers as if he was in danger of being heard. Vance held a breath in the back of his throat, his muscles stiffened as he attempted to blend in with his surroundings. 

The male waited until the dancer turned her back to him for the final time before exhaling heavily. "That was a close one," he admitted to his Pokemon, who only flickered her golden eyes restlessly across the town. 

The Kimono Girl remained skeptical as she made her way through Ecruteak. Unsure. Unsafe? Vance nearly scoffed, as he was certainly no threat. He wasn't even sure himself if he could muster up a pick-up line from his affluent vault without stuttering on the delivery. 

The trees barren, naked from the usual colored leaves that decorated the Ecruteak trees that surrounded the peaceful town. The bright town now looked like a silent ghost town due to the snow that faintly dusted rooftops of houses and the old Brass Tower that lay wasted. It’s burned and worn down pieces lay in it’s clutter as the Bell Tower stands tall with bright and hope.

Hope.

The thought that if they had rebuilt the Bell Tower then Ho-Oh would once return as well with the three legendary dogs. All that hope in which the new tower would bring the legendary bird back did nothing. There was still no sign of Ho-Oh or the three dogs.

Saya’s red hues stared at the burnt down tower - or the remains of it. Even though she was part of the Dance Theater and those who were are supposed to technically wear a kimono the raven-haired female was just donned in her school uniform.

People within Ecruteak City learned to take Saya as she was, she was a strange person after all. Even as a kid, but now an adult she just wore whatever she wanted - which was her uniform.

Slowly blinking her eyes the female clasped her hands together and prayed before bowing and leaving the grounds.

It was sort of a ritual for the female to do this every morning, she wasn’t sure why but she felt the need to. Not many people went to the tower and just spent their time with the new one. The female enjoyed the old look of Brass Tower.

Hearing the crunch of the snow beneath her feet the female enjoyed the silence and nodded her head in the direction of the fellow citizens of the city.

In the trees surrounding Bell Tower--warm hues that remained poignant even in the biting breeze of winter--Vance perched on a branch alongside his Noctowl. The owl was tranquil, overlooking the city with keen, slightly-narrowed eyes and occasionally attending to her wings. 

Whether it had been hours or simply minutes, Vance was growing unusually bored of being above the ground. "Hey, Noct. Ya wanna do something else besides grooming yourself?" The owl took no offense and warbled in response. With his lips pursed, Vance scoffed. His fingers tenderly scratched a patch of feathers on the side of his birds neck. 

The Keeper redirected his attention to the surroundings, the horizon. He rested his chin on his knee, staring intently as if he were waiting for the scenery to change. He imagined Ho-Oh, the legendary bird flapping rainbow feathers across the monochromatic morning. Vance wanted the opportunity to see the legend with his own eye, to fall into that sense of awe. Of course, the idea of making a wish and having in undoubtedly come true was a greedy thought that lingered in the back of his mind. 

Down below, the same frail Kimono Girl with jet-black hair and school uniform emerged from the Ecruteak Dance Theatre. She did this routinely, and it became less and less of a coincidence that Vance picked the spot he did to perch and survey. 

Vance straightened his back, tilting his head ever-so slightly, borrowing actions from his feathered companions. Noctowl warbled once more, her eyes darting between the two humans and assessing what was, unfortunately, occurring. 

Alithea rested peacefully underneath a tall oak tree, eying her surroundings. The whole goal of today was to relax a little. If there was anything Alithea was good at, it was procrastination. The sun was beating down pretty heavily, causing her to shed the short sleeved shirt she had, and just chill out in a tank top. The breeze was starting to pick up a little bit, cooling her surroundings.

At times like these,s he was grateful for the trees, and the shade that they provided. She never had fully appreciated nature, but it never stood out to her. It wasn’t every day she got to just “stop by and smell the roses.” Her Seviper was nestled between the bushes, making sure that he was comfortable. Out of every one in her team, the laziest was definitely Sev. Malamar had absolutely no interest in being out of her pokeball, and Venipede was rolling off with the other bug Pokemon. Knowing her luck Venice would end up being caught in the contest.

Maybe I should get up and look for her. Or not.

People watching was a fun past time for the girl. Seeing how others interacted with each other was intriguing and sometimes pretty hilarious. As her eyes scanned the area, they landed on one individual. He lit up a cigarette, and instantly her body craved the nicotine. It had been a full five hours since she last had her own. Ignoring it, her eyes left the individual, and trailed over to a group of kids. She had always envied children, for the life that they took advantage of, and the love they took advantage of. She ignored the pang of guild and loss, and took a deep breath.

"C'mon, Pidge. You know better." Never did Vance ever raise his voice to his birds; his tone only sharpened and never scolded. He liked to think he taught them well. Stretching his arms behind his head, Vance continued on through the park per usual. It was only a moment later when he noted the lack of footsteps beside him, his partner keeping up with his steady stride.

   "Pidgeot, leave the damned thing alone." 

Vance expected to see Pidgeot with the foreign bug nested in his beak, and he thanked one of the Legendary Birds when over his shoulder was only a female, body tucked and curled as small as she could make it. 

Crouching down, Vance held his chin upright with a hand. An emerald eye examined the female, studied her crimson eyes and how they stared at nothing in particular. She was obviously lost in thought, and most likely not a good one considering the chill Vance felt from her blank expression. "Hmph," the Bird Keeper breathed, once stumped and now acknowledging that metaphorical lightbulb floating above his head. The male fumbled around his pocket for a moment before extending his well-utilized pack of cigarettes to the female. "You just look like you could really use one." 

It started out as a joke between friends, the idea of Falkner teaching all about breeding Flying-Type Pokemon and how to take the ultimate care of the feathered ones. However, he decided to say “What the heck” and try it out.

As it turns out, many people wanted to know all about Bird Pokemon, his gym was easily filled with curious students of all ages. He was surprised by the sheer amount of people who wanted to learn all about taming, breeding, grooming and generally everything to know about Bird Pokemon. It would become a regular thing to teach whoever came all about his fine feathered friends, no homework, no pressure. This was something he did for fun.

"Alright guys, I have a special treat for you all today, just got these babies from the Hoenn Region and they hatched last night!" With that be pulled out a box that shook, wriggled and had singe marks all over it. An occasional peep came from it. Falkner set it down and carefully opened the top, making sure the class didn’t see what was in it.

He then reached into the box of birds, their naturally warm bodies felt like a nice bottle of hot water. One was plucked up, it’s eyes full of curiosity as it hovered through the air, however, Falkner carefully held it away from his face as he showed it to his students.

The Bird Keeper scoffed to himself. How hard could it be? Granted, Vance tend to ramble when explaining things...but he could top this blue-haired guy, add a little something extra to get the crowd a bit more lively. 

Vance stood in the back of the crowd that gathered in the Violet City Gym, arms crossed and the lack of amusement evident on his face. His head titled from side to side, judging and assessing the proclaimed Gym Leader and how he held the Hoenn Pokemon. Gentle. Cautious. No complaints here from the wise-cracking Keeper.

"Now which one of you can tell me what this little guy's name is?" Young students shot their hands up, arms out. Their mouths opened wide as excitement fueled their vocal chords. Though, Vance spoke up before they could, raising a finger to grab attention and prove himself to be so matter-of-factly. 

"That right there, is a Torchic if my eye don't deceive me. And Blaziken is the final form. Pretty kick-ass if I do say so myself." The Keeper shrugged at the simplicity of the lesson. How all eyes were on him in awe, as if he recited Shakespeare backwards. An emerald eye rolled in his socket as the male silently challenged the Leader for something more his speed.