Ken is a bit surprised at the pulling out of the chair, but smiles.

Ken: "Well, you're sure a gentleman."

He sits down.

"Thanks for agreeing to this, by the way."

Hajime: "And that's why you've got me."

He sends out Buddy.

Buddy: <Or, to be more precise, me.>

He uses Flash, illuminating the surrounding area some.

Edited by CorvusAtrox on Sep 10th 2018 at 11:18:57 AM

PEFE HQ

Channah: Of course it missed you. -carefully brushes up against him- What were you doing there? In... Rota?

Tagg's Office

-Shivers slightly, but in a good way-

I just wanted to go for the heck of it really, just because I hadn't been there before and there was nothing big to fight right after we'd finished fighting the Pokefutures experiments. Wasn't too long after that whole busini Went with Silent One of the other Founders, you might remember them from the Lumiose meeting, Maggie, Diane, and Umbra.

Visited the Tree of Beginning, nearly got eaten by an oversized antibody before my mon DNA got it not to eat me, and then the Mew there directed us to it because that's where they got a bunch of their toys.

PEFE HQ

Channah: Cool. Sounds fun. Mostly. -taking Tagg's relative lack of movement as permission, she slowly leans her head against his shoulder, lightly touching his forearm, and exhales- (God this is nice.) Mm. I don't think I remember a Silent. I mean, I probably have an action figure of them from the convention but, pff. Actually. Savings and Thierry went and scattered them all over my room on the ship, I think to make it more cozy. Woke up one day with a mini green Braviary staring at me.

Isle of [Sicily], Angela

Luca: "Thank you. And, uh, why wouldn't I accept?"

Ken: "Eh, fair, just... nervous."

Ken hoped to direct away from the Charizard-related things.

"So, uh, what's good around here?"

PEFE HQ, Ambiguous Location

-Lissa starts as she materialises in front of Colton, but quickly relaxes into her usual snarky self.-

Lissa: Right, like your mons said. What's with the Bond villain look, anyway?

PEFE HQ, Colt's Backpack

-The Sneasel shrugs at Rei as she digs into the bag of Poke Beans.-

Sneasel: <How should I know? The lassie just disappeared.>

PEFE HQ - Backpack Exterior

“Mae’s just really affectionate,” Colton said simply as he began scratching under her chin, listening to her purr.

“Holy crap I do look like a [Bond] villain,” he realized, reaching into the bag that was draped over Mae’s tail, grabbing a sandwich for the each of them, as well as some dog buscuits for Colton to chew on.

PEFE HQ - Backpack Interior

<Xatu was probably involved,> Rei said simply, tossing a bean into her mouth.

PEFE HQ, Backpack Exterior

-Lissa shrugs, giving a small smirk.-

Lissa: Eh, it's not a bad look on you.

-She sits herself down next to Mae and starts stroking her back.-

Lissa: So... this "being a trainer" thing. Where the hell do I start?

PEFE HQ, Colt's Backpack

-The Sneasel nods without looking up at Rei.-

Sneasel: <Right, the birdy thing. I've never managed to catch a bird. I keep jumping at them but they can jump higher and they can stay up there! How is that fair?>

PEFE HQ - Backpack Exterior

“Honestly? I’m not certain. My knowledge to what being a trainer is is basically as follows:

“Get a mon. Get a license. Challenge a league. Pick up some more teammates along the way, don’t forget to care for them,” he said. “Mostly feeding them, licking their wounds and showing them you love them,” he clarified.

PEFE HQ

<I don’t get it either, but what I do know is that when you ice up their wings sufficiently enough they can’t fly anymore,> Rei said. <Do you know Ice Shard, Blizzard or Icicle Crash?> She asked between bites of BLT.

<Bluh,> she groaned before she pulled out an Orange Scarf from who-knows-where and put it on, becoming a 15-year old human in althetic attire mixed with winter attire. “Diets don’t translate,” she muttered.

PEFE HQ, Backpack Exterior

-Lissa ponders Colton's comments for a moment.-

Lissa: Okay. Well, I've got steps one and two out of the way, now I just need to figure out the rest. Sneasel's cute, though. And a Dark-type, which is good. Beyond that... fuck it, I guess.

PEFE HQ, Colt's Backpack

Sneasel: <Uh... I dunno what any of those are. I have claws, though! They're really sharp and->

-She blinks at Rei suddenly shifts into human form.-

Sneasel: <Hey! How'd you do that?>

PEFE HQ - Backpack Exterior

“See, you’re getting it,” Colton allowed. “Fuck it. You won’t get anywhere brooding in what you don’t know.”

PEFE HQ - Backpack Interior

“Eldritch Scarf made by a Legendary,” Rei summarized, taking a bite of her BLT. “Rather scratchy, but if it means I can eat more there’s nothing to complain about,” she said as she bit into a Poké Bean.

And spat it out.

PEFE HQ, Backpack Exterior

-Lissa looks up at Colton with a grin.-

Lissa: But if I'm not allowed to brood, how will I keep up my dark, troubled facade that all the girls go crazy for?

PEFE HQ, Backpack Interior

-The Sneasel catches Rei's rejected Poke Bean in her mouth, speaking between chews.-

Sneasel: <It lets you eat more? When you put it like that, I want one! Where can I find one of these legendaries?>

Edited by Herbert40k on Sep 11th 2018 at 10:14:59 AM

PEFE HQ - Backpack Exterior

“Are you just telling yourself that you aren’t just brooding because you’re uncertain about who you are?” Colton asked, completely deadpan.

“I just went through a bout of that last month and it ended in drunk, bad karaoke.”

August, the night after the wedding, the Stormchaser

“W̨H̨͝E̴҉N͟͜҉ ̴̧̛A͠L͞L ̕̕YOU̷̵͏ ̵͘͞G͠ǪT͟T̛͟A͞ ͏K̶̢͞E̢̛EṔ͘͢ ҉IS ͢S͞TR͘̕͞ON͏͢͡G̛

̢̛͞MOV̸̴E ̧̨A͢L͢͝҉Ơ҉̶Ń̸G̶̕ ̴ ̷̶͟ M̡OV̸̕͏E͡͡ ̀À̴̀L͞͠Ò̕͡Ņ̕G͟҉ ͡͠ ́L̸͜͡I̡̧K͝E ͠I͟͝͡ ͡K̶NƠW͠ ͞YOŲ ͞Ḑ͢O̶-“

PEFE HQ - Backpack Interior - Present

“It doesn’t let you eat more,” Rei warded off, finishing the sandwich’s first half. “You have to eat more since there’s now more you to feed,” she explained.

Edited by AbsentCoder on Sep 11th 2018 at 2:27:33 AM

PEFE HQ, Backpack Exterior

-Lissa rolls her eyes at Colton.-

Lissa: Gods, why does everything have to be so serious with you? You talk about drunken karaoke as though it's not the peak of the human condition.

-Her tone becomes slightly more sober as she continues.-

Lissa: In all honesty, though, you might be right. I mean, brooding hasn't had any success when it comes to getting me laid, so...

PEFE HQ, Backpack Interior

Sneasel: <Same thing!>

-She tries to make a move for the remaining half of Rei's sandwich.-

Edited by Herbert40k on Sep 11th 2018 at 10:33:59 AM

PEFE HQ - Outside the Backpack

“It’s because I was inducted into the workforce at a really young age, so I had to mature a lot and really fast so I could hold onto my job,” he explained. “I actually took more issue with the “drunk” part over the karaoke part. I have a team; they can’t see me drunk!

“Also, ‘laid’? Movie and dinner first.”

PEFE HQ

Rei reluctantly gave up the other half of her BLT. She removed her scarf and munched on a few more beans.

<Just gonna say it,> she started. <Having a trainer will be the best worst thing that’s ever happened to you.>

PEFE HQ, Backpack Exterior

-Lissa looks rather pensive.-

Lissa: Surely if they're your team, then they're gonna watch you get drunk eventually, right? At the very least, they've gotta see you with your guard down at some point. I thought that was kinda the point, to have a group who stay with you when you're at your lowest, to look out for you...

Or to take advantage of you.

Lissa: ...A-anyway, that's why I was so nervous about it. Still am, honestly.

-She clears her throat.-

Lissa: And hey, I'm not fussy. I'll take whatever comfort I can get in whatever arms that will hold me. Life's too short for wining and dining.

PEFE HQ, Backpack Interior

Sneasel: <Huh?>

-She looks up from her stolen BLT at Rei.-

Sneasel: <Whatcha mean by that? I mean, I still don't know what to make of the lassie, but she's led me to some good food and a decent scrap so far.>

Edited by Herbert40k on Sep 11th 2018 at 10:53:30 AM

Isle of [Sicily], Angela

Luca: "Uh...all of it?"

-He offers a shy smile.-

Luca: "There's the calzone, the Corphrish Fra Diavlo...my personal favorite is a nice lasagna alla napoletana with a glass of Amarone della Valpolicella."

PEFE HQ

Colton sighs, running his finger’s through Mae’s mane more aggressively. “I’ve had to teach myself to not show weakness,” he explained. “I was raised by the internet more than my workaholic parents for the first ten years of my life, and that’s taught me that I can never show any weakness to anyone, least of all myself.

“Although now that I think of it I remember my Ninetales establishing post-hypnotic triggers on me sometime after the first time I had to deal with a brutal deadline,” he muttered.

PEFE HQ - Backpack interior

<Given what I’ve seen so far you’re going to have to deal with a fair share of scraps. Probably not as much as you would back in the wild, but they will be much harder. You will lose at least once,> she recalled.

<Oh, and you might have to become a shoulder to cry on.>

A Nest Ball, distant enough to not be noticed, rumbled after the white noise appeared in Lissa’s mind again.

PEFE HQ, Backpack Exterior

-Lissa shrugs as she lets her head rest against Colton's leg.-

Lissa: It's not weakness. If you spend your whole life bottling shit up inside, you're gonna burst. Everyone has to let it out somehow. I do it by sleeping around, you do it with drunken karaoke. That's just... human.

-She shudders at Colton's mention of post-hypnotic triggers, though she does her best not to let it show.-

Lissa: Say, is that kind of thing... y'know, is it normal for mons? Messing around with your head?

PEFE HQ, Backpack Interior

-The Sneasel shrugs.-

Sneasel: <Eh, I can deal with that. As long as the lassie doesn't expect me to go soft on her. I haven't got this far by bein' soft.>

Edited by Herbert40k on Sep 11th 2018 at 11:08:14 AM

PEFE HQ

Colton remained stock silent as Lissa discussed coping mechanisms but spoke up eagerly after she asked about having her head messed with.

“Only if you let them,” he said. “Or not. ‘Mons have personalities, just like you and me. Some might respect boundaries. Others might be ready to play your mind like a fiddle,” he said.

A gray flash appeared, a Shiny Ninetales frontflippng into a standing position. <Kare no ma ga yokatta,> ^translation  He was lucky, she purred as Colton shifted the attention from Mae to her, scratching her under her chin.

Mae returned, content.

PEFE HQ - Backpack Interior

<You might need to go soft,> Rei said bluntly. <But in combat you can feel free to go as hard as you want. You should see me when I go serious with Foul Play and Icicle Crash; I can’t stop,> she bragged,

Edited by AbsentCoder on Sep 11th 2018 at 3:21:30 AM

PEFE HQ, Backpack Exterior

Lissa: R-right...

-She rather abruptly stands up and starts hurriedly rummaging around in Colton's backpack.-

PEFE HQ, Backpack Interior

-Sneasel scoffs.-

Sneasel: <I ain't soft. Not in fights, not outta fights, not nowher->

-She is cut off rather abruptly as a hand from nowhere emerges, grabs her Great Ball, and recalls her.-

PEFE HQ, Backpack Exterior

-Lissa quickly pockets the Great Ball and glances at Colton, trying not to look at Amaterasu.-

Lissa: ...I have to go.

-She runs off without another word.-

PEFE HQ - Backpack Interior

<Rude,> Rei summarized.

PEFE HQ

“BUT THEY CAN’T MAKE YOU DO ANYTHING YOU DON’T WANT TO!” Colton hollered after Lissa as she ran off.

Mindscape

“Good fucking job, Smartass, Realist!” Otaku chided as he slapped both of them upside the head before returning to his seat. “You drove her away with your brutal honesty!”

“It was your decisions to tell her the truth,” Strategist added, slamming his button.

“It was your decision to sugarcoat it retroactively,” Programmer added.

“It was your decision to make her paranoid!” Talbain and Insecurity chorused as they slammed their buttons.

Reality

Colton facepalmed.

Ajar doors all throughout the complex opened or closed, depending on which way the wind was blowing from.

The opening doors nearly tore their hinges and the closing doors nearly splintered the frames.

Ken: "Ehe... fair. I'll probably try one of the ones you recommended, though, the Corphish Fra Diavolo."

Edited by CorvusAtrox on Sep 11th 2018 at 5:58:57 AM

PEFE, Cerzera

Enzo: <Me? I hung out in an alternate dimension for years and followed some chumps back.>

Angela

Coil: -eyebrow raise- I see. You haven't gotten to my sister have you?