@lionfanged &&. SAID... " you look... familiar. "
familiar in a i've seen that face in a newspaper or magazine, yet not specific enough to summon a name. something with c was all he could manage, but as golden eyes bored into their subject, atticus's mind came up with... nothing.
" nevermind. could you recall your togekiss? my luxray--he doesn't like others in his space. "
and inquisitive thing that the togekiss was seemed to be begging for a bite to the face.
❝ familiar — ? ❞ he echoes the word as if he can somehow scry the stranger's thoughts from its syllables. such an odd thing to say — to anyone, in all fairness. yet it's particularly odd in volo's case, for there should be no reason why his visage would inspire such feelings to begin with. he doesn't hail from this era — and what scant time he has taken to explore it has been spent in relative obscurity. he has no reason to fear being recognized; keeping a low profile simply works to the merchant's benefit. a coincidence, perhaps — though volo has always held a particular distaste for assigning mundane answers to fascinating questions. ( it always feels like a WASTE. ) could there be others in this odd future who share the same ancient blood running through their veins? it's certainly unlikely, but also not entirely out of the question — and that thought is enough to evoke the oddest little twinge within the merchant's chest.
volo exhales a breath, and neatly files the mystery away for later before he can get too caught up in his own thoughts. ah. right. the pokemon.
togekiss has always been driven by a powerful sense of curiosity. volo often wonders whether he's had some influence on her in that regard. even as a togepi, it wasn't uncommon to see her waddling over to greet strangers with a friendly smile. ( it was amusing watching grown men shrink away from such a harmless creature simply because she happened to be a pokemon. ) that particular quality never diminished over time — on the contrary, she only seemed to grow bolder. perhaps it was her size that gave her such confidence; the fairy type was certainly large, even among other members of her species. yet she still paled in comparison to the luxray. such a towering, terrifying creature — the mere sight of him was enough to bring even volo pause. ❝ aha ... terribly sorry, sir. ❞ he slips into the affable facade on instinct, all honeyed words and placating smiles. memories flash through the back of his skull — close encounters with pokemon of similar size. ( though certainly not in this time period ... )
he recalls togekiss before she can provoke the lion more than she already has. silver gaze briefly flicks down to the sphere; he's noticed the pokeballs of this era sport a sleek design, and his own look so archaic by comparison. ironic; they were still considered a fairly new invention in volo's time. ❝ allow me to also extend my apologies on her behalf. ❞ the merchant continues, looking up. ❝ togekiss has always been eager to meet others, but i'm afraid she may not notice when she's overstaying her welcome. ❞ a shake of the head; a click of the tongue. ❝ however, i think i can understand her curiosity in this case. that luxray of yours is nothing short of impressive. ❞
