Daily Patrol [Open]

[Artair McKay]

The sun was shining, the Taillows were singing, and the little woodland Pokémon were running around freely under the shade of the tall trees that shaded the route; even the grouchiest of Pokémon were out and about, scurrying to find a few berries to save for a better day. It was the prefect day to just be out and about. There was nothing that could possibly be wrong with that day; well, Artair could find something that was wrong with the day. He was stuck on patrol when he would much rather be spending the day outside and play a game of football.

Too bad he wasn’t going to be playing any games in the next little while.

While kids were going out on adventures and playing games and Pokémon were roaming around freely, he was stuck on his trusty Rapidash, checking the area out. He was glad to be in the company of Spirit, Alba and little Baodan, but he also wanted to just spend time with humans. It was like he would only have human contact when he was in the office and he didn’t want that either. He wanted to be outside and be social!

Not be stuck inside with paperwork.

Not outside keeping an eye on all the routes for any trouble.

It was a good thing that Route 129 was a fairly busy route, since he would be able to have some sort of social contact. Too bad the only human contact he had when he was on patrol was when he met up with travellers and spoke brief words with them before departing after giving them directions. It was much shorter than he would have liked, but he assumed it was better than nothing.

Besides, he could always speak to Spirit. The old Rapidash was always ready to listen to him. Why not? He knew that Spirit was a good Pokémon, and he was willing to listen. Artair wouldn’t tell anyone, but he knows for a fact that Spirit gave great advice.

“Rapi… Rapidash,”¹ Spirit said, finally stopping.

It had confused Artair at first, but when he looked at their surroundings he knew why they stopped.

“If ye say so lad…” Artair wasn’t one to argue with Spirit. He was his form of transportation, so if he pissed him off it wouldn’t have been a good thing. The four walked off to the side of the route and under the shade of a tall tree nearby. Well, it was about time they took a small ‘break’ from patrolling around. He would just have to keep an eye out for any trouble from where he was.

In the worst case scenario, he could just send Alba running first. He was sure that by now, Alba was able to take down any criminals on his own without his trainer (even if the Arcanine was a fun-loving Arcanine; Artair taught him better).

The sun was shining, and the Pokémon were out; nothing could be better than today.

-x-

The Arcanine, Rapidash, and Lilipup were all glad that they finally got to have a break—especially the Lilipup. The poor little thing couldn’t keep up with all the running that they had to do on his stout little legs.

“Ye knae… Ye can gae b’ck intae th’ ball if ye w’nt.”² Alba suggested to the young Pokémon. It would be better that he went back into the PokéBall anyways, since he knew that Spirit purposely slows down for the thing. Damn ball of fluff, always having to follow him.

The little puppy still shook his head though, not wanting to. “I can do it! Don’t worry!”

Alba just let out a groan. It wasn’t that he was worried about Baodan, but it was that he wanted a break from the constant chatter of the little puppy. He had had enough of it when they were walking down the path, and now he was stuck listening to the puppy drone on and on?

“C’me on now. Th’ lad ‘nly w’nts tae play wi’h ye fer a wee bit. ‘Umo’r ‘im.”³ Spirit laughed. He enjoyed the pain that Alba was in whenever Baodan was around. It was what he deserved for making fun of poor Caledonia about being a ‘pretty lass’ every time he was out of his PokéBall. It was karma after all.

Sometimes, karma was a pain in the butt.

---

1: We should rest now
2: You know, you can go back into the ball if you want.
3: Come on now. The lad only wants to play with you for a wee bit. Humour him.

[Einar Fjalarson]

Einar enjoyed the cool breeze on the warm day as he walked down Route 129. He watched the different pokemon play and forage for food. It was pleasant little game, seeing what types of pokemon he could find as he wandered. There were mostly bird and bug pokemon out and about, but he saw a couple of Oddish and even a few deerlings deeper in the forest.

It was lonesome to be on the road, especially traveling with no human companions, but he was not completely alone and he knew the two companions he had outside their balls would be offended if he implied they were not ample company for him.

Right now, though, Mr. Wingull had flown ahead to see how much further they would be until the next town. That was one of things he liked about having Mr. Wingull, even if the bird kept stealing his licorice. He had a map, but after a while of being on a longer road, it was hard to tell if he was 1 mile away or 10, though he assumed he was further than closer since there was not much foot traffic at this point.

At least he had Eyjan by his side, right now, to ease the loneliness. He tended to keep her out of her pokeball because he enjoyed her companionship and he knew she enjoyed the fresh air. He glanced down at her and after a moment, she looked back up at him and gave a smile, “Glaaaceon.”

He chuckled and reached down, giving her a pat that earned him a much happier smile.

“Win!” He heard and glanced up. Mr. Wingull glided over to him and landed on his shoulder.

“Are we close?” He asked the bird.

Mr. Wingull shook his head, “Wingull gull gu.”

Einar nodded and checked his clock, it was about lunch time and he figured it was time they stopped. “You guys want lunch?”

Both pokemon nodded. He glanced around for a moment and noticed a large man sitting in a nearby clearing, wearing an officer’s uniform with several pokemon out and resting. As much as he would rather not approach a stranger, it would be better than no company at all. He walked over to the clearing and called to the man. “Hello there.”

[Artair McKay]

Artair watched as his little Lilipup leaped on his Arcanine, much to Alba’s annoyance. Well, at least the larger Pokémon didn’t attack the younger one. When the attacks started, then he would have to break them up. For now though, he could just let them fool around. It couldn’t be too bad now, could it?

When Artair heard his name, he turned over to where the voice was coming from. What he saw was a young man, much younger than himself. Probably another trainer heading to the nearest town, from the way he looked. Sure, there could be the off chance that this one wasn’t a trainer and just a traveller going on an exploration, or if they were just heading to visit family—but with Pokémon out, it was hard to see him as anything other than a trainer.

“Aye, dae ye ne’d s’methin’?”¹ Artair asked once the other came closer. He wasn’t going to shout to him when it was too far, it would be too much of a pain to shout when he didn’t need to (and he didn’t want to scare anyone with his voice; he knew he looked terrifying enough to most people). He was ready to give directions to town if the other asked him, since it was just a short ride to town.

He didn’t know the distance on foot though.

-x-

Alba was lying down, irritated at the fact that a little Lilipup was gnawing on his ear. The first few times he didthe stunt, it was cute, but now it was just annoying.

“Look Spirit! I’m beating Alba!” Baodan grinned, chewing on the older Pokémon’s ears still. Being a child, he was unable to see that it was actually irritating the other and not fun for him. His little paws were pushing down on the other’s head, making them seem like brothers, which in a way they were. They were both Artair’s Pokémon, making them a strange little family.

Spirit was about to say something, but when he heard another voice call to his trainer he turned his head to look. They all did, since there was a chance that there was a lost trainer. They knew that there were some trainers that do not understand Artair, so they had to communicate with the Pokémon (well, it was more Baodan communicating with them since their accents were hard to comprehend too.

When Alba saw that there was a little Glaceon with the trainer, he stood up; Baodan on his head and all. “Will ye lo’k a’ tha’…”² Alba grinned, looking towards the duo. “Ye knae… I mi’ht l’ke th’s me’tin’.”³

Baodan didn’t get what was there to like. They seemed like any other pair of travellers to him; but if Alba would like the meeting, then he would too. “Do we say hello? Do we, do we?” He asked, excited. He had stopped chewing on Alba’s ears, but he was still on the Arcanine’s head and trying to see who were the new people.

---

1: Aye, do you need something?
2: Will you look at that?
3: You know… I might like this meeting.

[Einar Fjalarson]

Einar kept walking towards him until Mr. Wingull, Eyjan, and him were standing just outside the shade of the tree. He still felt slightly uncomfortable, disturbing the man, but at least he seemed friendly enough. When the man spoke though, it surprised Einar, since he had a rather thick accent not common in this part. Still, everyone he spoke too had an accent to him since he was from much further north so he knew given a moment he would be able to understand. After thinking over the words for a couple of seconds, he was fairly confident he understood what had been said to him. “No, I’m yust stopping for lunch and was hoping you wouldn’t mind some company.” He said with a slight smile. “I haven’t seen anyone else for a while.”

Eyjan glanced at the three pokemon, the Rapidash, Lillipup, and Arcanine, sitting with the man Einar was hoping to eat lunch with. She had to smile at the sight of the little Lillipup on the Arcanine’s head. They made a cute pair and with the way Lillipup had been chewing on Arcanine’s ear, it seemed like they were brothers. It was always nice to see such close pokemon in a team, especially since she was not fond of most of her team, thinking about Mr. Wingull and Aurora.

She wasn’t too concerned about the fire types being out, having gotten used to dear calm Slugma, though she would have to make sure to keep a little bit of distance from Rapidash until she could be sure that he wasn’t going to be too hot around her. She could handle some heat, but it made her uncomfortable.

“Hello.” She said with a polite smile, approaching the Lillipup and Arcanine cautiously. She didn’t know how protective the Arcanine might be over his little brother. It was better to be safe than sorry and she didn’t want to be singed. It always frizzed her poor fur.

Mr. Wingull looked at the three pokemon and sighed. He was not the friendliest guy and he hated having to be friendly with people he didn’t know. It was awkward and uncomfortable, especially since once Eyjan started to chat with pokemon, she could do it for hours and bore him out of his mind. He didn’t know how she did it and didn’t want to know. He just wanted his pokefood and licorice.

[Artair McKay]

When Artair heard that the other spoke, he was confused by how the other hadn’t seen any other travellers for a while. Well, it would have explained why he hadn’t run into anyone for the last stretch of his walk before stopping under the tree. “So ye dae naet ne'd d'r'cti'ns?”¹ Artair asked. He knew that he shouldn’t have been wary of travellers, but it was something he developed over the years he had been on the force. He kept an eye on the other though, just in case anything fishy was going on. He didn't want to let something small mess up his reputation like before.

He shot a quick look to Spirit, just to make sure the Rapidash knew what to do, and when he was fairly sure that he had taken the hint, Artair nodded at the other male. “In tha' c'se, ye're w'lc'me tae join me,”² He reasoned that if he kept his guard up, then nothing would happen to him and his Pokémon kept on guard. Nothing was to get past Artair McKay anymore, and he was going to make sure of that.

-x-

Alba looked at the Glaceon and the Wingull. They seemed well enough, though he was more interested in the Glaceon than the bird Pokémon. He tried his best to shake off that blasted pup from his head—to no avail—and approached the creature. “‘Ello lass…” He smiled, doing his best to be polite to her. “‘Ow ar’ ye?”³ He didn’t know what else to ask her, and he did notice that she and her owner had a very different accent from the folks around this part of town.

Heck, even his team had accents that weren’t from this part of the region; and that was very obvious.

Baodan peeped up from Arcanine’s mane from where he was hiding. “‘Ello miss!” The little Lilipup grinned, pushing down hard on the Alba’s head to try and reach over the bushy mane,tail wagging a mile a minute. He liked to meet new people, and if Alba wanted to meet them, then they must be worth talking to! He accidentally leaned in more than he was supposed to, and so he summersaulted so that he was in front of the pretty Glaceon.

Spirit watched the two canine Pokémon and rolled his eyes. When he noticed that the Wingull watched the other three, he started over to it, looking at him. “Wh’re are ye fr’m?”⁴ He asked, wondering. He would just be making small talk with the other, wanting to be polite and friendly. Well, he considered it to be polite and friendly, since he was approaching the other Pokémon in a nonthreatening way and he even attempted in a conversation with him.

---

1: So you do not need directions?
2: In that case, you’re welcome to join me
3: How are you?
4: Where are you from?

[Einar Fjalarson]

Einar shook his head after he was questioned about needing directions or not and waited for the taller man to think something over. He really would rather not have to go someplace else and eat, but he figured he could keep walking for a few minutes and find another tree if he was rejected. Who knows, it might even be nicer. When the man agreed to Einar joining him for lunch, he let out a small sigh of relief and smiled. He sat down in the shade of the tree, though still keeping a little distance from Artair. “Thank you.” He said, as he started preparing for lunch, “I’m Einar, by the vay, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
***
Eyjan smiled back at the Arcanine. Well, he was handsome. It would be nice to have someone to admire until they got back on the road and she was stuck with Slugma and Mr. Wingull. Slugma was a nice enough pokemon, but he was also a Slugma and she had no interest in a slug. Eyjan would not even concern Mr. Wingull. She found him highly annoying.

She was about to reply when the excited Lillipup fell off the Arcanine’s head and tumbled right in front of her. When she noticed he didn’t seem hurt, she couldn’t help chuckling. “Oh my, I am fine, but are you alright, Lillipup?” She asked, looking at the puppy and giving him a tap with her paw. He really was one of the cutest things she had seen in a while and so polite too.

Mr. Wingull stiffened when the Rapidash approached him. Here he was hoping he wouldn’t have to get into any conversations at all, especially after he noticed that the Arcanine and Lillipup took interest in Eyjan right away. That was one good thing about traveling with a beauty contest pokemon, for the most part, male pokemon were more likely to try and get into a conversation with her than him. Then this blasted Rapidash had to spoil his hopes by trying to talk to him. Damn, well at least it a simple question with a short answer. “By the Northern Sea, in a town called Snjorkjavik…meaning bay of snow.” He said, before the Rapidash could ask the question most pokemon asked.

Snjorkjavik was far to the North in a small neighboring country. It had a colder climate, with long harsh winters and short, but bright mild summers, while in the dead of winter, the sun would not rise at all, in the summer, it was light all day long. There were lots of ice type pokemon roaming around and being on the sea, all sorts of colder water ocean pokemon could be found. Thanks to some volcanic activity, they were able to find fire types, such as Slugma, in caves around the area. They did not have much in the way of a contest circuit, though, which is why Einar decided to leave the area for contests and head down to some of the larger countries to the south.

[Artair McKay]

When the other introduced himself, Artair wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t want to give away information about himself since he didn’t trust the other too well, but he knew that it was a social convention to introduce oneself when anther had introduced himself. That made Artair stay stuck in between a cross road; he could either follow the social norm and introduce himself, or just nod and go on with resting to end the conversation. That was a tough decision to make, especially when he had to do it at that very moment.

“Artair McKay… N’ce tae me’t ye tae.”¹ Artair finally replied as the other sat down. Thankfully it was a good distance away, for he liked his personal space.

After letting the silence die off, the officer kept an eye on the Pokémon’s interactions. At least his three Pokémon knew how to speak to newcomers. After thinking for a moment, Artair decided that he could try to be polite like his team was being.

“... Ye’re naet fr’m round ‘ere, ar’ ye?”² He finally asked. He had noticed that the other had an accent that wasn’t from the area, and so it was most likely the other had come from a different region (or at least had lived in another region for a much longer period of time than in their current region).

-x-

“Yep! I’m good~!” Baodan grinned, getting up and looking at the Glaceon again. He wagged his tail excitedly and drew himself to be as tall as he could. It was a shame that he was such a small creature. He looked to Alba, impatiently waiting for the other’s next move since the Lilipup didn’t know what to do next.

He could always introduce himself. That was something he saw Alba doing quite often when they were in the presence of a lady. Maybe he could do it too. “I’m Baodan. Who’re you?” The puppy asked, still looking as cheery as ever.

Alba just wanted to palm face when he saw the Lilipup tumble from his head and landed without a mark in front of the Glaceon. He wanted to suffocate the Lilipup when he heard him ask the Glaceon with such a childish tone. Why was he stuck with Baodan again? The larger Pokémon couldn’t help but to furrow his brows in irritation as the corners of his mouth twitched downward slightly. The Arcanine put his large paw on the little Lilipup lightly to shut him up.

It was the best way he could do it without actually hurting Baodan.

Of course, he only aimed to shut Baodan up because there was a lady in their presence. If it weren’t for her, then he would have really shut him up (at least as much as Artair would allow him to shut Baodan up).

Spirit nodded. “M’st b’ n’ce up th’re.”³ He commented. For a fire Pokémon, he had been around once or twice with Artair for his work, and he could say that one of his favourite places to be was wherever it was cold—but then again, the only places he despised were places that were wet. Whenever it was wet, he would just stay in his Pokéball until he was really needed.

Artair had legs; he could walk when it was raining.

---

1: Artair McKay… Nice to meet you too.
2: … You’re not from around here, are you?
3: Must be nice up there.

[Einar Fjalarson]

Einar relaxed a little in the silence, though it felt a bit awkward. He was never one to talk a lot so it was nice that his newly found lunch companion was as well. He looked up when the man asked his question and after taking a moment to figure out what he said, he smiled and shook his head. “No, I’m not. I am from Northern Nordica, in a small town call Snjorkjavik…vhere are you from?” He asked the man. As obvious as it was that he was not from the region, it was equally obvious that this man was also not from this area of the region.

He got the pokefood out and poured it into two bowls, setting one next to Eyjan and the other next to Mr. Wingull. He then got his own lunch out, a sandwich and water. He didn’t tend to cook on the road, though was able to make some simple soups and roast things on a fire if he had too.

Eyjan had to laugh again at the interactions between Baodan and the Arcanine. They were sweet together, with Baodan’s enthusiasm and Arcanine’s massive paw on him. She could tell the Arcanine was not please about something, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Perhaps it was the pups enthusiasm that gets him into trouble a lot. She could definitely see that being a problem for the little guy.

“I’m Eyjan.” She said looking at the puppy under the paw with a smile, ignoring the food for right now because it would be rude to eat in front of people, before looking up at the Arcanine, “And vhat is yours?” She was hoping to bring him back into the conversation since, while as cute as the puppy was, the Arcanine held a little bit more interest to her.

Mr. Wingull hesitated a moment, but figured he might as well continue talking to the Rapidash. He was not nearly as annoying as some other pokemon were and if he chased the Rapdash away, that puppy might come over and try to talk to him. He took a bite of the food that was placed next to him. “It is.” He said with a nod, “…Vhere are you from?”

[Artair McKay]

Arthur nodded, though when the other asked him where he was from he didn’t know what to say. There was the place he was born, and the place where he lived for the majority of his life. “Celd’ci’n…”¹ The other said, just mentioning the region. Celdicion was a large place, so it wouldn’t be too disastrous if he wanted to try something that may endanger his family. He may be able to hold his own, but he was not too sure about his family. Last he checked, they were doing well, but they were still struggling with keeping themselves a good security system.

At least that was what he last heard. He wasn’t too sure about that now.

So he stuck with just saying the region that was known for its temperate-but-damp weather.

-x-

Baodan was wiggling, trying to get Alba’s paw off of him. It wasn’t until when Eyjan spoke that he felt the weight shift from his body. It was either a good thing, or a bad thing—he didn’t know. Well, it certainly felt good to have the massive paw off of him. “That’s Alba! The puppy yipped excitedly. “He’s re—” That was when the Arcanine cut him off again by pushing him off to the side.

“Ye sh’uld le’rn wh’n tae t’lk wh’n it’s yer t’rn, brat…”² Alba grumbled before turning to the Glaceon. “It’s a ple’sure tae me’t ye.”³ The Arcanine said after he pushed Baodan off to the side. He hoped the Lillipup would just go and bother someone else—hopefully Spirit—while he went to investigate the Glaceon a little bit better. He knew that he shouldn’t try to know too much about the other, but Artair would probably understand if he gave her a thorough questioning.

The Arcanine puffed up and looked at her again, giving a small smile. “Sae… I daen’t supp’se ye are fr’m th’s p’rt o’ th’ r’gi’n?”⁴ Alba grinned. He could hear the slight accent in her voice, but he couldn’t pin point to where she was from. Maybe Spirit would know, but he was seemingly busy with the Wingull.

Oh well.

Spirit looked at the Wingull and gave a small smile. It seemed like he seemed to be opening up now. “Artair f’und me a’ th’ L’vi’n Fer’st, th’ gr’up st’y’d in Kalet th’ l’ngest; bu’ we c’me fr’m Celd’ci’n.”⁵ What was the harm in telling the Wingull about where the group resided? It wasn’t like Artair stayed in one area all the time. He moved around often, and Celdicion was a fairly large region. If anyone wanted to harm Artair’s family, it would be kind of hard since they were spread out in Celdicion.

Spirit smiled when he saw Baodan skipped over to him and the Wingull. “’Ello lad.” He grinned at the Lillipup. “Ye d’ne wi’h boitherin’ Alba?”⁶

---

1: Celdicion
2: You should learn when to talk when it’s your turn, brat.
3: It’s a pleasure to meet you.
4: So… I don’t suppose you are from this part of the region?
5: Artair found me at the Livian Forest, the group stayed in Kalet the longest; but we come from Celdicion.
6: You done with bothering Alba?

[Einar Fjalarson]

Einar nodded as he started to eat his sandwich, “Celdicion? That is a nice place, my family took me there once on vacation. Ve vent to the Southern region, along the coast and up into a couple of cities. Vhich area are you from?”

He knew they had a pretty good contest circuit too, and he had been planning that after finishing his current circuit he would head over there and try for a couple of ribbons. Plus, there were a couple of pokemon in that region that he would not mind adding to his team. He liked the make up of his team now, but it was always good to get a new pokemon to keep the show fresh and the judges from feeling bored. Plus northern Celdicion was fairly cold and had plenty of ice types if he felt like catching one of those or he could head south and the warmer region and see if he could find another fire type, perhaps one a little more mobile and quick than Slugma, like a Vulpix or Houndour.

Eyjan smiled at the puppy and Alba’s annoyance. She thought it was sweet and their bickering reminded her of some of her sibling’ bickering. Two of her siblings, now a Jolteon and an Umbreon were always going at it when Mutti and Pabbi weren’t around. “Like vise.” She said politely as she watched the puppy scamper off. As much as Baodan amused her, this was also very nice.

She smiled back at Alba, pleased that she had just gotten a new ribbon to wear and so was looking her best around him. Eyjan cocked her head at his question, before shaking it with a smile.“No, I vas bred in South Nordica and moved to North Nordica.” Well, in moved there she meant she was sold to Einar’s family and was shipped north. The fact she was from south Nordica, close to the boarder, was the reason her accent was not quite as thick as the rest of the crew, but after traveling with them for 7 years, it had thicken.

All but two of her siblings were also shipped out around Nordica at about the same time, but that was expected for a pokemon from a breeder. She still got to see her parents when they passed through the area, so that was nice. “Though your Celdicionian accent betrays you aren’t from around here either.” Her sibling that didn’t stay with the breeder and didn’t go to someone in Nordica went there and when they met up, several of the fellow pokemon sounded like Alba.

“Celdicion, nice place.” Mr. Wingull said, remembering the trip. He then resisted a groan when he saw the Lillipup run over to them. This was perfect, he had no doubt the puppy would be hyper and bouncy and just a pain to deal with. He took another bite of his food and hoped the puppy would ignore him for the Rapidash. He liked the Rapidash, but the Lillipup was on his team and so he should be the one to have to deal with him.

[Artair McKay]

Artair nodded when the other spoke of Celdicion. It was one of the best regions around in his opinion—but then again, he was very biased. When the other had asked him about which area he was from though, well Artair didn’t want to speak about that at all. “Jus’ fr’m r’und.”¹ He said simply, hoping that the other wouldn’t ask him any more about where he was from. “… Sae, dae ye ‘ave b’sin’ss ‘ere, or jus’ tr’vellin’?”² If the other was still on his trail about where he was from, then Artair’s suspicion about him would be confirmed and he could attack without worrying about him being an innocent traveller.

He knew that looks could be deceiving and that there was always a chance that his vibes could be wrong on occasion, but it barely happened. Besides, he needed to have his guard up at all times, or else he would be in trouble.

If Einar had looked at what Pokémon Artair had, it was obvious that he was from the more secluded part of Celdicion where they had a small population. Cuiart wasn’t the most extravagant place, but the scenery was wonderful, and he wouldn’t refuse anyone who brought him a few bottles of alcohol from town.

-x-

Alba gave her a sheepish smile. “Ye knae, ye’re th’ f’rst ‘ne tae g’ess wh’re we’re fr’m.”³ The Arcanine noted. He was amazed that she knew the Celdicion accent, but at the same time it was disappointing to him. It was disappointing because that meant that he would be easily spotted in a crowd—it was even worse when he realised that his team may be picked out easily too in any different regions.

He was sure that Spirit and Artair would have thought about it before and dealt with the problem accordingly. Alba was strong, yes, but he wasn’t the smartest one of the pack either. That was more of Caledonia and Spirit’s thing when it came to the smarts. He was just the brawn of the group—well, and the dashingly handsome one.

Spirit nodded, smiling when Baodan bounded to his feet.

“Yeah! Alba looked busy, so I wanted to meet the pretty bird!” He grinned, looking at the Wingull. “Who’re you! Are you a new friend! Did you come with the pretty Glaceon!” He looked at the bird Pokémon, excitement in his eyes. It wasn’t the first time he met a flying Pokémon, but every time he saw something with wings; he had the urge to chase it.

Spirit had taught him better, but he still had the urges to.

The Rapidash laughed slightly at the questions the Lillipup bombarded the Wingull. “C’lm do’n lad. Ye knae ye can ‘nly ask sae m’ch a’ a t’me.”⁴ He pointed out, finding it amusing how the pup was so energetic even after getting Alba’s paw twice.

---

1: Just from around.
2: … So do you have business here, or are you just travelling?
3: You know, you’re the first to guess where we’re from.
4: Calm down lad. You know you can only as so much at a time.

[Einar Fjalarson]

Einar raised an eyebrow at the odd answer but didn’t press. If Artair didn’t wish to say, he wouldn’t worry about it. Though, it did make him suspicious about why he would not answer such a simple question. There was nothing wrong with saying where a person is from and hell, he even gave his town, not just region. “I guess you could say business. I am a contest coordinator and the next contest I vish to go to is in the next city over.”

Unfortunately for him, Route 130 was one of the hardest roads, not because of actual distance, but because of the mountain range separating the two cities. It was still the only opinion though since to go the other way would take weeks. He couldn’t surf because it was all inland and Wingull was too small to carry him anyway. Oh well, it would be a good chance to continue practicing and training his team up.

~~~

She giggled, pleased that she was able to do that, but she could tell the Arcanine was not happy about it for some reason and so she tried to down play it. “It isn’t that impressive, my sister is on a team with several pokemon from Celdicion, so it is the only vay I vould have recognize it. Vhat part are you from?”

She took a bite of the poffin that was in her bowl next to her pokefood. She knew she should be eating her regular food and she would, but poffins were her favorite and she always enjoyed eating them when she got the chance. Plus it made her fur even shiner which would help her win fans and impress the judges.

Mr. Wingull scowled when the puppy called him pretty. Just because he wore a ribbon didn’t mean he was girly! It was Einar’s thing and both Eyjan and Einar also wore one. Slugma didn’t because he kept accidently burning his and Sealeo kept destroying it everytime she went into the water. “I’m not pretty.” He informed the puppy. “I am handsome…or cute.” He got called that enough times by pretty girls to accept being considered cute.

He then considered the rest of the statement and then said just loud enough for her to hear it, “I don’t know about pretty Glaceons, but I did come with Eyjan.” He always made sure he didn’t complement her looks since he knew exactly how vain she could be and it kept her down to earth.

She turned around at him and gave him a glare. “No one asked your opinion, fish breath.”

Mr. Wingull glared right back at her, but she had already turned her attention back to her food and the Arcanine. He should have known better than to expect her to engage in an argument when there was a male dog like pokemon around.

[Artair McKay]

Artair nodded slightly, thinking about it. Well, that was good to know. He knew where he was going, and how to get there. That would mean that Artair wouldn’t be needed to give the other directions. The only thing that made him slightly irritated was that the fact that they were supposedly going in the same direction. That wasn’t good for him. Well, as long as the other didn’t know the direction that he was going in, it should be easy. He could just take a fewer steps and not try to head to his next station as fast as he should. It may make him look less professional, but it would be much better than having to stand awkward small talk.

Artair didn’t do small talk. Anyone who knew him knew that. “Ye gaet e’eryth’ng ye n’ed fer th’ tr’p fr’m 129 tae 130?”¹ He asked, speaking about the routes.

-x-

Alba looked at the Glaceon and shrugged. “I dae naet knae lass… We’ve be’n m’vin’ round e’er s’nce I w’s a wee Gr’wl’the.”² The Arcanine explained. It was partially true. They have moved ever since Alba was an Arcanine, but it wasn’t until he had worked with Artair for quite some time before heading off to relocate for work. It wasn’t really lying, so he could live with himself another day, guilt free.

The Lillipup looked at him, blinking before giving out a smile. “But you look really pretty too~!” Baodan grinned. He was still technically a kid, and kids never lie. He didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut either, so he would just said what came to mind—like a true child.

Spirit saw how the Wingull and Glaceon intereact with one another and snorted. It wasn’t too far off from his, Alba, and Caledonia’s relationship, but he didn’t say much about it.

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1: Ye got everything you need for the trip from 129 to 130?
2: I don’t know lass… We’ve been moving around ever since I was a wee Growlithe.