A Long Day [Slate - Siobhan]

[ERIN KUSAGAI]

Erin sighed and let her knees buckle beneath her, and she plopped to the ground with a heavy sigh of exhaustion. ”Ah, man….Im tired…” she murmured to herself. It had been a long day, and it was about sunset. Flopping to the side, she exhaled slowly, watching the blades of grass in front of her face before raising her gaze slightly to the water of the Crystal Lake Path before her. The day had consisted of her walking, mostly, from one city to another. She had encountered many trainers along the way, and though won her battles, needed to backtrack to get to the last pokemon center to make sure her pokemon were in top shape periodically.

She was about three quarters of the way to the next city over, but was simply too tired to go any further at this point. Pulling her arms above her head, she stretched and scratched her fingers against the bark of the tree providing her shade. I wish it was nice like this every day…. she thought, rather admiring the slight dry heat accompanied by a light breeze. Sitting up slowly, she dipped her fingers in the water just a yard in front of her. It, too, was cool and refreshing.

Pulling her knees up, and crossing her elbows in front of them, she stared into the water, watching the sky through the reflection. I suppose it will be another night under the stars… she thought, looking at her backpack next to her which contained her sleeping bag. She didn’t have a problem with sleeping outside, but sometimes it unnerved her. What if somebody tried to steal her pokemon? I simply wont tolerate that… she thought, a flash of anger passing through her mind before she brushed it aside.

Oh, that’s right… She pulled her four pokeballs off her belt and held them in her hands. They’ve battled many times today and haven’t gotten the chance to come out…I suppose they’d like it. With that, she opened each pokeball in turn, letting the pokemon within them out. Horsea jumped right into the water and made many appreciative sounds, and Dratini followed him a bit cautiously, but seemed to relax upon entering the water. Smiling a bit at them, she looked to Bagon and Trapinch, who were already going about their business. Bagon wandered over to the tree and circled it, ramming his head against it once or twice before laying down next to it, his small arms crossed over his front as he closed his eyes to rest. Trapinch, on the other hand, walked around slowly before coming next to Erin and staring at her.

She smiled slightly and rested her hand on his large, blue-green mouth. ”You all are probably tired, Trapinch…you deserve a break…” She got a response from each of them, and looked back to Horsea and Dratini in the water, smiling some. She would cook them some food in a bit.

[Slate Aspen]

Pushing through the underbrush, Slate once again reflected on how poor a choice it was to let Pupitar out and about on her own. The weather was as cool as it could get for him to remain comfortable in, which meant that Shelgon, Scyther and Sceptile had all taken to simply lazing around in the sun half asleep, while Metagross was completely out of it. Heracross, as usual, had been completely useless in that regard, wandering off in the complete opposite direction from Pupitar. The smaller cocoon like pokemon, lacking any sense of direction, had somehow ended up separated from where they had all been resting when she'd wandered off likely looking for food since Slate never brought any for himself or his pokemon, living off of the land out of habit. Normally Shelgon was there to look out for her since Metagross was no longer as small as he had been as a Metang, but without his guidance Slate had been forced to go looking for her himself.

Over in the clearing that Erin was in, the brush a few meters away from where her Bagon had lain down rustled slightly before Pupitar emerged, propelled by a jet like burst of compressed air, her only available method of movement, while balancing on the lower tip of her cylindrical body. Rotating on the tip, Pupitar looked around, not at all accustomed to being so close to such a large body of water.

[ERIN KUSAGAI]

The first thing that caught Erin's ears was a rustling brush. It caught the attention of her pokemon, too. Trapinch tilted his head to the side to see around the tree from her side, Horsea and Dratini turned their heads in the direction of the sound, and Bagon lazily opened his eyes to look at what had broken through the silence. Leaning back a bit to look around Bagon, a curious sight met Erin's eyes. A.....Pupitar? she wondered. She was pretty sure that was what the grey, cocoon-like pokemon was. She had crossed some before in her journey, despite the fact it hadnt even been that long since she began it.

After a brief moment of silence, Horsea was of course the first of her pokemon to make some sort of gesture towards the new arrival. He swam simply up the water a few meters before turning and giving an inviting call. "Horsea! Horsea!" She hadnt had Horsea all that long, and this was his first time seeing any pokemon like Pupitar. I suppose this time his curiosity is for the best... Erin thought. It was a chance for Horsea to learn a bit about another pokemon that he didnt normally encounter. Considering for a moment, as Trapinch wandered cautiously up towards the Pupitar, leaving Bagon laying against the tree, watching the scene through half-closed eyes, the odd-colored Ant Pit pokemon stopped a few meters away from the Pupitar.

"Tra...pinch?"

She heard her pokemon faintly, for she stood up herself and slowly walked over,around the other side of the tree and crouched a few meters away from the Pupitar as her Trapinch gave what seemed like a bit of a shrug and wandered over to Bagon, resting beneath the tree beside him. After glancing back at the pair, Erin brought her eyes back to the Pupitar. She didnt think they came around here too often, right? So...perhaps it was another trainer's?

"Hey there..."

[/color] she said, smiling a bit. "Are you lost?"[/color] Whether or not it understood her, she didnt know, but she knew that she would at least come off as non-threatening, and willing to help if in fact, it was lost.[/blockquote]

[Slate Aspen]

Pupitar's eyes immediately locked onto the smaller water type as it approached, body tensing automatically. As with all pokemon Pupitar had picked up traits from her trainer during the time they'd spent together, although in this case she'd picked up his cynicism, which combined with her passive aggressive hostility to anything that wasn't assosciated with her trainer or team mates tended to lead to confrontation. After it made no aggressive movements she glanced at the the Trapinch, however it merely looked her over while she glared down at it, and after a few moments it wandered off to another tree by which a Bagon was half asleep, her eyes still tracking it the entire time before snapping over in the direction of another voice, seeing the blonde trainer approaching and again tensing her body, glaring the trainer down as she got closer.

Slate, having easily managed to follow Pupitar merely by the path of destruction she'd inadvertantly left behind from crushing the underbrush and vegetation, emerged from the same spot Pupitar had moments ago. Stopping halfway out of the brush to glance over the scene, Slate pulled himself loose from the brush after a few moments.

"Pupitar, over here. Don't wander off like that without one of the others with you - you know suck with pathfinding." Slate said, approaching the rock pokemon from behind. Pupitar immediately relaxed and spun at the sound of Slate's voice, propelling itself to his side with a small burst of air. Glancing over at the younger trainer, Slate briefly raised a hand in apology. "Sorry about that. She tends to get lost a bit easily, and isn't too trusting to top it off. I trust no one was hurt?"

[ERIN KUSAGAI]

Erin expected no response from the Hard-Shell pokemon and got none, but instead heard a rustling sound of the bushes again. Looking up over the tri-spiked crown of the Pupitar, Erin saw a young man emerge. Before she could say or do anything, he spoke. Pupitar, over here. Dont wander off like that without one of the others with you - you know you suck with pathfinding... Ah, so it..had been lost, indeed? I guess its not unheard of for a pokemon to get separated from its trainer... Erin thought. However..its potentially dangerous...they could be stolen... she almost frowned a bit at the thought of her pokemon being stolen from her.

She was shaken from her thoughts when the Pupitar propelled itself to the man's side. Sorry about that. She tends to get lost a bit easily, and isnt too trusting to top it off. I trust no one was hurt? Shrugging a bit, Erin gave a small smile. "Hurt? Nope. Dont worry about it. Im just glad her trainer wasnt far behind."

[/color] Erin said cheerfully. She opened her mouth to continue but stopped when she felt scales brush against her leg. Raising her arm a bit to look behind her, she saw her Dratini, who had quickly exited the water to come behind her, his large brown eyes watching the trainer and Pupitar a bit fearfully.

Erin suppressed a sigh and gently rested her hand on his periwinkle blue head. Really, Dratini...you shouldnt be so nervous and shy all the time..."[/color] she said quietly in a comforting tone to the dragon pokemon. She moved her hand a bit, petting his head some. "Really..." Looking back up from Dratini, she let her Olive-colored gaze rest on the young man's face. "Oh, I almost forgot. Im Erin. Nice to meet you."[/color] she smiled in a friendly manner. I almost forgot my manners... she scolded herself silently.[/blockquote]

[Slate Aspen]

While his expression didn't change and he made no movement apart from glancing down at Pupitar, who was patiently waiting next to him, Slate let out an inward sigh. Despite the fact that he'd been training Pupitar for slightly over a year she still had yet to get used to people in general, and apart from the individuals that she spent a fair amount of time around she was passive aggressive to nearly everyone she met. Still, Slate acknowledged it was mostly his fault - she'd spent the majority of her life around Mt. Silver, and as a result had probably never met a human before Slate had stumbled across her south of Blackthorn. Lost in thought, Slate's attention and gaze snapped back to the other trainer as he heard her speak to him.

"Ah. I'm Slate, and same." He said, a thought popping into his head as he spoke. Raising his hand briefly and apologetically, Slate turned to start heading back into the brush.

"Sorry, but Pupitar isn't the only stray I need to look for, and it's going to get dark in the next couple of hours. I have camp set up near here and you're welcome to stop by, but I need to go look for the other one."

[ERIN KUSAGAI]

Slate, huh? she thought, letting the name sink into her brain, only to be interrupted when he held up his hand and turned to tromp back through the bushes. She listened to him quietly as he spoke, shifting her crouch more onto her knees, the upper portion of her leg straight as she half-sat up, picking Dratini up in her arms, and holding him against her body as he finished speaking. She bit her lip, looking back at her pokemon. Horsea was splashing lazily in the water, while Trapinch and Bagon were watching a short distance off.

Standing quickly, carrying Dratini with her, even though his long body out-stretched hers, leaving his tail to be curled up slightly on the ground. "Hey...um...Slate..."

[/color] she said, almost nervously, trying out his name and hoping it was perfectly fine for her to address him by such. "Do you..er..want some help looking for your pokemon? I'd be more than happy to assist you..."[/color] She gave a bit of a smile that she hoped was confident as Dratini turned against her, using the muscle in his body to squirm up around her shoulders and rest his head on top of hers, wrapping the portion of his tail that draped over her collarbone around the opposite side of her waist, watching Slate.

"I know that if one of my pokemon went missing I'd want to find them as quickly as possible, too..."[/color][/blockquote]

[Slate Aspen]

Slate paused his advance into the dense brush, Pupitar doing likewise but with only the topmost spikes of her body visible and protruding from the bushes like antennae. Turning halfway around to face the other trainer, Slate briefly thought before answering.

"Welll..... depends on how much you like or dislike Bug type pokemon. He's probably nearby near here, but it's a Heracross you'd be looking for." Slate said, observing her carefully to see her reaction. While he doubted it'd be the case after seeing both her Trapinch as well as her commendable attempt to approach Pupitar despite the look in the gray pokemon's eyes, not all people were comfortable with some of the pokemon he had as companions. While some of them simply found them intimidating both for their size and appearance, he'd learned over the years that more people than he could have initially thought possible found bug pokemon in particular disconcerting, and he only felt it a bit fair to tell the other trainer in advance about what he was looking for. It'd give her a chance to back out if she was among the number of people who weren't comfortable with Bug types, and if not give her an idea of what to look for.

[ERIN KUSAGAI]

Heracross, huh? Erin thought, riffling through her memory before stopping on a mental image of the pokemon. Blue...can stand on its hind legs, large horn... That sounded correct, and she nodded slightly, re-assuring herself. That's right...I saw a swarm of them a few days after we moved from Blackthorn city... she thought, smiling a bit. "A Heracross, huh?"

[/color] she asked, a pleasant tone to her voice. "I'm perfectly fine with Bug Pokemon. They actually interest me to some extent."[/color] she said earnestly. From what she'd been told, they could grow quickly, and if raised correctly, could become rather powerful.

Turning back to her pokemon, she popped the small pokeballs off of her belt, clicking the center of them to enlarge them. "Horsea, Bagon...come on back...Ill let you out in a bit...sorry you didnt get much of a break.."[/color] admittedly she felt a bit bad, because they had only just been released. Looking at Trapinch, the Ant Pit pokemon seemed to give a bit of a sigh and walked towards her. "Sorry, Trapinch...Ill let you out once I help Slate find his Heracross...I promise..."[/color]

The pokemon returned to its ball and she put it on her belt again before glancing up at Dratini. The dragon pokemon stared back at her, its blue eyes quiet before it pushed its muzzle forward, nuzzling her hair. "Alright...you can stay..."[/color] she said with a smile, picking up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder before walking over to Slate. "Any particular direction you think we should go?"[/color] she asked, willing to take directions from him. He would know his pokemon, after all...[/blockquote]

[Slate Aspen]

Though he didn't show it, Slate was somewhat relieved by her response to which pokemon they would be looking for, and even slightly surprised by her enthusiasm. She didn't look like the Bug Catchers or Bug Maniacs he'd run into all over Hoenn and especially Johto because of her pokemon, and most people generally fell into two categories regarding the Bug type - either they were indifferent or didn't like them. Either way it would make things a bit easier - while Heracross probably didn't venture farther than a hundred and fifty, possibly two hundred, feet from where Slate set up camp, the woods were a bit dense. On his own it would likely have taken Slate over an hour to check every tree, and he didn't want to bother his team with asking for help now that they were all settled in to relax.

Still turned half way around and calmly watching Erin recall all but one of her pokemon, Slate waited for her to finish before beginning to turn around and continue to enter the forest, only to stop once again as she asked a question.

"Not really. Normally he'd head for the high ground, but since the area around here is pretty level the best direction I can give is to check every tree within about two hundred feet of the camp that's about two feet wide."

[ERIN KUSAGAI]

She listened as he spoke, nodding a bit. "Not really. Normally he'd head for the high ground, but since the area around here is pretty level the best direction I can give is to check every tree within about two hundred feet of the camp that's about two feet wide." So...he'd generally stay in a close...comparatively speaking...area? That was a bit useful, not to mention it reduced the range a fair bit of what they would potentially have to look for. She recalled a trainer she'd battled not long ago, and then camped out with the following night, just to keep each other company. When they'd let their pokemon out, their Carvanha had swum rather upstream without the trainer's notice, causing a minor panic. Erin had offered to help them as well, but the rather embarrassed trainer told her not to worry, and they parted their ways.

At least Slate's Heracross sticks close... she thought, giving a small smile as she approached Slate slowly, minding the spot where his Pupitar had stopped in the brush, and walking on a small path to their right. Nodding again before giving a small smile, Erin spoke. "Alright..."

[/color] she said, her gaze turning towards the trees which grew denser from the point where she was standing and onward. "Ill let you know if I see anything."[/color] Taking a step forward and putting her hands in her pocket, she looked up at each tree, carefully searching for the blue bug pokemon.

Tini? Erin turned her head, her eyes meeting Dratini's questioning gaze. "You can help, you know..." she said, with a somewhat humorous huff of air. "..rather than just sitting on my shoulders, be looking for Slate's Heracross behind me, and let me know if you see him.."[/color] Though she didnt know for sure, Dratini seemed to understand, and gave a small nod of his head before turning around and looking behind Erin.

I wonder where Slate's Heracross is... [/blockquote]