Race into the Night

[Moonlight]

( OOC & Discussion

WARNING: This roleplay is not for the squeamish to read. It may start out light and fluffy, but it deals with many controversial topics and situations - See the Rating bar in the OOC thread for details.)

Evening light was casting shadows around the unfamiliar Kanto territory, but the newcomers were enjoying Fucisha too much to care. The violet tressed trainer was holding what appeared to be a white rabbit, smiling as it pointed excitedly at a kangaskan. The buneary itself was watching the younger ones play, but a knowledgeable psychic was levitating next to his human. Kin's violet gaze occasionally went to his human's molten silver one, although he seemed more focused on the hyper normal type at the moment.

"Really, now, Angel - You can't expect to go in with wild pokemon and have them just play with you ... No," the kadabra added flatly, at what must have been the buneary's response. Shaking his head, the caped psychic glanced down upon hearing a low whine. Bane was standing on his hind legs, but he still couldn't see anything. The dark-fire puppy feebly wagged his stubby tail, all but begging. "Heh, you know all you have to do is ask," Kin returned with a chuckle, before focusing.

Hannah knew it took a much more effort for her psychic companion to pick up even a part dark-type, so she shook her head, more or less handing Angel to the fatherly kadabra. Gently patting the houndour's bone helmeted head, she then grasped him under the forelegs and picked him up, turning back to the pen they'd been looking at outside of the Safari. His paws rested on the safety rail that separated them from actually touching the fence, panting contentedly as he observed the various pokemon.

Blue and violet nidoran were playing with each other in one corner, but Bane's chocolate brown gaze was focused instead on the incredibly rare chansey that was tending to some clearly young pokemon. Hannah smiled, scratching behind his ears for him. Why so many people disliked dark types was beyond her - Bane was as sweet as could be. However, it was starting to get late. The only bits of light they had reflected from the copper name tag on Bane's collar and Angel's bell, but their eyes were beginning to adjust to the scenery. Perhaps it would be interesting, to take a no-capture walk in the Safari before they left. Just seeing all of the different pokemon in their natural habitats would be enjoyable.

[Australian Chaos]

The pale-furred Persian bounded through the meandering streets of Fucisha City, her owners calls for her to come back already faded into the distance, even if they were still fairly audible to the feline Normal-type's sensitive ears. She ignored Tyson for the moment, too excited about exploring their old home to care about how worried he might be that she had suddenly dashed off. This was the first time they had returned to the city they had both grown up in together, and the large feline fully intended on finding out how the city had fared without them, drinking in the vast memories of when she was younger - still a Meowth - being raised by Tyson, exploring the streets, occasionally hoarding little pieces of shiny junk...knowing that pinching coins and other valuables could easily get Tyson in big trouble, even though she would have been the one stealing.

But Topaz - named for the jewel on her forehead, which was a bright golden-yellow as opposed the the ruby-red that was the norm among her kind - was soon distracted by the sight of the observation pens that stood outside the Fucisha City Safari Zone...the place where Tyson used to work, and where they both had spent many, many hours together. Topaz was curious to note that, despite the darkness and the late hour, there was still one human standing in front of one the pens, accompanied by three pokemon...two of which Topaz had never even seen before.

The Persian paused, her curiosity mixing with her wariness, leaving her wanting to approached, but defensive about the whole situation. Usually, when Topaz was faced with a strange human, her response was determined by Tyson's behaviour...if Tyson was uncomfortable around the person, then she would get defensive, hoping to intimidate the human into backing off; if Tyson acted friendly towards the human, she would lower her defences slightly, and adopt a more neutral air. But now...now she was alone, without Tyson, and as such, her actions were entirely her own...at least until Tyson found her.

After a few moments of cautious indecision, the Persian slinked forward silently, her pink ears perked up, listening intently for any sign that the human, or any of her pokemon, had noticed her. As she approached, she noticed the way they were interacting, and that the human seemed very fond of her pokemon, and that they seemed to return the sentiment...particularly the Kadabra, who Topaz decided to at least say something to, to get the group's attention.

Deciding on a course of action, Topaz approached the pen the human and pokemon were in front of, looking inside as she approached, seeing the playing Nidoran, and the Chansey watching over some of the younger ones in there. "There weren't as many in here last time I saw them..." she spoke up, using the universal tongue all pokemon were able to understand and comminicate with, that humans could not understand in the slightest. Her words were directed at no-one in particular, but she hoped she had at least got the attention of the pokemon accompanying this human...she was curious to learn more about them.

[Moonlight]

Kin glanced down upon hearing the persian's words, still allowing Angel to levitate next to him. The buneary seemed not to notice their company, but he himself lowered closer to eye level. Nodding in greeting to the feminine lioness, noting from the golden-jemmed feline's features it was likely female. "Seems like you've been here before?" the kadabra queried, his open telepathy conversational. Although his words were broad-casted to all four of them, he saw nothing wrong with it at the moment. Even so, Hannah did turn after a moment, curious.

The violet tressed human set their canine companion down on the ground, but stayed in a half crouching position. Watching the persian from a non-threatening distance, silent. The houndour also sat at her side, in a vigil apparently. Motioning towards the others, Kin decided it was likely best time to introduce themselves. "I myself am called Kin, but my human's name is Hannah," the psychic type said quietly, as the young woman nodded in confirmation. Her shoulder length tresses were teased by the evening breeze, but the darkening sky had interesting effects on her well worn and gray tanktop. Said human simply rested her hands on the pockets of her lilac cargo pants when Kin moved on to introduce the others, waiting to see the persian's reaction.

"The houndour pup you see is called Bane, but do not let his type jade you. He is really quite like a growthlie," Kin added with a small smile, the blue collared wolf-dog wagging his stubby tail again in a friendly but wordless greeting as the psychic wasn't finished yet. Finally glancing up at the almost white rabbit above them, he lowered the female buenary to Hannah's lap. "And this little one is called Angel."

Seeing as the basics were out of the way, they could move past formalities and get to actual conversation once they learned the persian's name. And judging from the simple but sturdy collar that also circled her neck, a human would more than likely be out for a stroll with it. Bane was the one to speak up, though, his words mirrored into Hannah's mind through the kadabra. "... Err ... Do you have a name, or anything we should call you?" the houndour queried, his tone welcoming but also curious.

[Australian Chaos]

Topaz continued to watch the pen, and the playing Nidorans, smiling lightly at the antics of the creatures, before turning her attention to the Kadabra as she felt a telepathic voice enter her mind, that was obviously his, querying about her past here. Topaz settled on a simply sitting down, cocking her head to the side in mild curiosity as she noticed the Kadabra was wearing a cape of some kind...a pokemon willingly wearing any kind of clothing was highly uncommon, the Persian having never seen any pokemon wearing anything other than a collar...like she currently was. "Yes...I grew up here," she replied simply, her tone just as conversational as the Kadabra's.

Their conversation seemed to have gotten the attention of everyone else though, and Topaz's ears perked up a little higher as the human knelt a short distance from her. She seemed mildly cautious, but not frightened like most people tended to respond to her, a side-effect of the stereotype that Persians were highly aggressive and tempermental. She also observed the Houndour and Buenary, curious, having not known of them before...obviously pokemon not native to the places she and Tyson had explored.

Topaz once more turned her attention back to the Kadabra as he introduced himself, and everyone else, nodding silently with each name, commiting it to memory. During this brief silence, the Houndour chose that moment to speak up, his tone full of curiosity as he asked her own name. In response, Topaz raised a paw, gesturing to her jewel. "I'm called Topaz," she answered simply, the words coupled with the gesture letting everyone know where the name was derived from.

Deciding a small conversation would not hurt, although Topaz could distinctly hear Tyson's cries for her getting louder...he would catch up soon, Topaz decided to continue speaking. "No offense intended, but I've never seen anyone like you two before," she said casually, gesturing to Bane and Angel. "None of you are from around here, are you?"

[Moonlight]

Bane was fully aware of his human's interest in the conversation as it projected into her mind, and offhandedly wondered how many humans were able to converse fully with their pokemon companions. It was funny how pokemon were born bilingual, but humans were not. Even so, he was just as interested in the conversation as his mistress. The persian was pretty, he supposed, in terms of felines. Definitely elegant. Topaz, as she introduced herself, was clearly battle fit. Lithe musculature, but he'd learned from battles with persians that one should never underestimate a cat.

Remaining at a respectful, almost shy distance from the elegant lioness, he nodded. It was a suiting name, to be truthful. But he didn't miss her unspoken curiosity, as Topaz's gaze trailed from himself to Angel. Perhaps the persian hadn't seen their kind before. It wasn't surprising - He was seeing many new pokemon too, just in the short visit as of yet.

As moments ticked by, Bane could hear the faint sounds of a human calling after the persian - Unless there was another of the same name. Offering a somewhat candid smile to their company as he inclined his head politely towards her, tail still wagging somewhat. "A pretty, and suiting name," the dark-fire type returned, promptly leaning into the scratching that Hannah was giving him behind his ear. Panting slightly in result, resisting the urge to thump his hind leg against the ground like an undignified pile of mush.

Kin chuckled at his expression, which must've been comic, before nodding. "We're actually all from Sinnoh, but only Angel is seclusive to the region alone. I think packs of houndour and houndoom can be found in Johto, if I recall correctly," the kadabra informed the persian, his tone suggesting a smile. Although Angel herself had fallen asleep, having exhausted herself exploring all day, there was no need to wake the hyper rabbit up. As Hannah offered an apologetic smile towards the persian, she maximized a storage sphere to put her companion away so she could sleep peacefully.

The young woman looked up, though, upon hearing the shouts as well. They'd gotten a lot closer, meaning the humans would be more aware of it.

[Australian Chaos]

Topaz listened as Kin explained that were all from the Sinnoh region, a place Topaz had only heard of, since she, along with Tyson, had never left Kanto. She offered Bane a smile of thanks at his words regarding her name...she personally had no grudge against Dark types, realising that their stereotype could be highly inaccurate at times. Bane certainly did seem quite likable, in any case.

As Kin finished his talk, Topaz cocked her head to one side. "I've heard of Johto and Sinnoh, but until recently the only place I've ever been had been this city. Tyson was quite happy with the life we had until recently..." she trailed off as her master's calls became even louder, and Tyson himself came into view. "Speaking of which..." Topaz added, a newfound level of affection in her voice as she turned and bounded after Tyson, who was standing there with a highly relieved look on his dark-skinned face.

"Topaz, finally!" Tyson cried, before grunting as the Persian in question pounced him, tackling him and dropping him to the ground, the two of them engaging in a brief, affectionate play-wrestle, rolling around a couple of times before coming to a stop, Topaz happily pinning her human companion down. "I've been looking everywhere for you, girl! Why's you run off like...that...?" Tyson's sentence trailed off sowly as he realised they were not alone, and that his little moment of play with his lifetime companion was being witnessed, causing him to quickly struggle out from under Topaz and get to his feet, dusting off his clothes. "Uhh, hi," he greeted slightly tentatively. "Look, I'm sorry if Topaz here did anything, she's, well...happy to be home, shall we say. I hope she didn't do anything." he knew that, despite being a Persian, that Topaz was rather docile, but also knew that she could be moody and tempermental sometimes...and since she rarely left Tyson's side, the late adolescent had no way of prediction how she would have behaved on her own.

As he made his hesitant apology, Tyson took the time the observe the girl and her pokemon. The girl's violet hair was a feature that perked up Tyson's curiosity, but he kept silent, not wanting to pry. Her pokemon, aside from the Kadabra, were ones he himself did not recognise, but again, he refused to pry, just waiting for her response, hoping that Topaz had not scared her in any way...it was blatantly obvious that she had not attacked them, but Persians could be rather intimidating when they wanted to be.

[Moonlight]

Hannah's interest in the conversation didn't waver as the persian continued, listening without comment. It looked like they had quite a bit in common, actually. Having never set foot outside of her hometown by herself until the last several months, exploring Sinnoh briefly was quite a change. And then the surprise of winning a ticket to Kanto for a mini-lottery that she hadn't even entered only doubled that. But she smiled slightly when Topaz's human companion suddenly arrived, watching their playful wrestle as she gently rubbed Angel's soft fur, the sleeping normal type not even noticing her touch.

When he awkwardly stood upon noticing her, though, she shook her head lightly and maximized the buneary's pokeball. A bright red light briefly illuminated the slender trainer, before placing the sphere back on her belt. While she would've normally kept all of her team out in the open, there was no need to wake Angel. She stood after a moment, brushing her hands off on her pants. Offering a small smile as she walked forward, holding out her hand. The dark haired trainer uncertainly offered his own to shake in greeting, but understandably tensed when she gently grabbed the sides of it, turning his palm up.

Tracing her index finger along the center of it, her touch gentle and slow enough for the designs to make sense in the dark. Letters were beginning to form words as he relaxed, it apparently being clear why she hadn't said a word. "No worries. Our companions simply had a pleasant conversation, as Kin translated," the young woman wrote, nodding towards the kadabra that was nearby. Pausing briefly to make sure he got the message and understood it, she continued. "My name is Hannah, though. It is nice to meet you," she added, glancing back up at him.

[Australian Chaos]

Tyson simply watched as the girl responded to his hesitant greeting by putting one of her pokemon, which seemed to be asleep, away in its ball, before standing and approaching, smiling at him. tyson offered a shy smile back, not sure exactly how he should respond...most strangers he met were not so friendly towards him so fast.

When he made to shake her hand in greeting, only for her to grab the offered hand and turn it palm-up, he tensed, wondering what was going on, as Topaz growled lightly beside him at the unusual move by the stranger. "Easy, Topaz," Tyson called soothingly, even though he himself was nervous. He decided to just wait and see what this girl was going to do before coming to any conclusions.

As she started tracing on his palm, Tyson was at first confused, wondering what she was up to, but a few moments later finally realised she was tracing letters on his palm, and ended up relaxing slightly, concentrating on her touch as he silently formed words in his head, slowly putting the pieces of what she was trying to commicate together.

When she stopped, glancing back up at him, Tyson did not respond for several moments...simply not sure how to respond. Her method of communication suggested she was, for some reason, unable to speak, but he did not want to pry and appear insensitive to her problem. But at the same time, Tyson was worried that pretending to ignore the issue altogether might also be taken badly. The question was simply how to respond?

In the end, he finally managed to find his own voice. "I, uh...it's nice to meet you, too, Hannah. I...my name is Tyson," he managed to stutter out, which seemed to generate a rather amused huff from Topaz at her owner's shyness. Ignoring it, Tyson decided to plough on, knowing he need to acknowledge Hannah's communication method in some form. "I, uh...I'm sorry if this offends you, but I think I know why you did that, and if I'm right, I, uh...I'm sorry...I don't know what to say..."

He sighed slightly, privately wondering what it must be like in Hannah's situation, having no way of communicating verbally. She could get by, sure, but it was still a severe limitation. Topaz, meanwhile, still highly amused by her trainer's nervous behaviour, turned to Kin. "Typical Tyson..." she muttered good-naturedly. "He's almost too kind, sometimes...but I love him for it. He's so accepting of anyone, regardless of who they are or what they do," she mused, before her gaze shifted, becoming more distant as her voice became a touch regretful. "It's such a shame so few are accepting of him..."

[Moonlight]

She heard the unusually marked persian's warning growl, but continued anyway. The violet tressed trainer knew the risk for being scratched or bitten was high with her method of communication, but she didn't have much choice during the night with there being no lights on. Inwardly grateful for his soothing words to his companion, though, as it meant she had a few more moments to get her point across. When he found his voice, though, she couldn't help but smile at his tone. Had she accidentally embarrassed him?

Nodding when he introduced himself, encouraging Tyson to continue. Topaz's opinion on his voice was clear in an amused huff, sparking a small bit of amusement in her own expression just from seeing the persian's. But she shook her head, holding up one hand as if to say "we do what we can" with an awkward shrug. But trying to make sure he knew she wasn't offended. At least he didn't have one of the common reactions to her lack of a voice. His was what should've been normal, rather than a pity party or making the automatic assumption that she was stupid due to being mute.

When Kin mirrored Topaz's words into her mind, she chuckled silently, nodding. Although Tyson probably didn't know what she was laughing at, she agreed whole heartedly with the persian's words. She'd have to ask Kin to start mirroring the conversation into Tyson's mind at some point too, if they were around each other for any length of time. But she understood too well of being shunned for differences. Maybe she could extend a hand, if he had patience for her methods of communication at the moment.

"Both yourself and Topaz are very kind. I am not offended," she traced into his palm, as she'd mentioned Kin was translating the pokemon language for her. She paused for a moment, trying to think of how to phrase her thoughts, before touching her finger to his palm again. "Topaz says that you are native to Kanto ... I myself am a bit of a foreigner, so I do not know much of the area. Could you point us in the direction of the Pokemon Center?" she asked after a moment, her gaze returning to his face to gauge his reaction.

Seeing as they'd just arrived not long before sunset and had accidentally wandered to the entrance of the Safari, they would obviously need lodgings for the night. It was rather embarrassing to have to admit to a stranger she was all but completely lost, but it was what had to be done. Hannah could hear Kin responding to Topaz, but was grateful that the darkness hid the heat in her face at his words.

"I've a feeling we both know how that is," the kadabra was saying, clearly smiling in vague amusement. "But I think that Hannah might be able to help with that. Given a little bit of time, we just might become friends," the psychic mused, although keeping Tyson from the conversation until Hannah's cue. He didn't want to scare him, after all.

Turning her attention back to Tyson, though, she traced a few more words into his palm. "Umm ... Just directions would be good, if you are busy."

[Australian Chaos]

Hannah's awkward shrug did little to relieve Tyson's shy nervousness, but what he could see of her expression in the poor light convinced him that she was not offended, which gave him some relief. Her continued writing on his palm moments later confirmed that, also causing him to smile in awkward shyness at her kind compliment, feeling himself blush slightly. No-one had complimented him for almost anything he had done for ages.

Having caught onto the comment about the Kadabra translating Topaz's speech so she could understand as well, Tyson was not a surprised as he probably should have been by Hannah's constant references to the Persian, or the fact that she knew her name, but he was still amazed at the idea. But as she asked directions, Tyson offered a small smile. "Yes, we're native to Kanto...we both actually grew up here, in this very city," he added, letting Hannah know that her request for directions would be very easily answered, since he knew the city like the back of his hand.

The only reason he did not immediately point it out was because he was considering his options. Did he just give her the directions and head his own way, taking in the night-time sights of his old home...or did he summon up the courage to ask to accompany her? He had some business in the Pokemon Center himself, and his timing of his return home had been terrible...his parents were currently out on a long-term vacation, leaving his only accomodation option as the local Pokemon Center, since he had no intention on wasting money on anything fancier...he liked to stay close to his pokemon, regardless.

Lost in his thoughts, and not tapped into Kin's telepathic conversation, Tyson missed the chatter between Topaz and Kin, and before he could say anything, Hannah, grabbed his hand once more, assuring him directions would be enough if he had other priorities. Hesitating for just a brief moment, Tyson looked to Topaz for assastance, the Persian's expression...which Tyson had long since learned to read...telling him that she liked their present company, and did not want to abandon them so soon.

Rubbing a hand across the back of neck, knowing he could never let down his closest companion, Tyson finally spoke up. "I, uhh...if it's okay with you, Hannah, I'll show you myself. As I said, I grew up here, but my parents are not around right now, so I planned on staying there myself. Also, one of my own companions could use a quick check-up there, as well," he added, slightly guilty, moving his currently-unzipped yellow hooded jumper aside, showing the two PokeBalls at his belt, signifying that he had two more pokemon currently resting in there. One of his pokemon, a Dratini, had gotten into a couple of fights with some particularly aggressive wild pokemon today, and Tyson just needed to make sure the young dragon-type was alright, particularly considering that it possessed a large scar, an old wound that sometimes acted up, leaving the Dratini, Ladon, in mild pain for what usually ended up as hours on end, although thankfully such occurances were rare, and today had not been one of those days, but he liked to get it checked frequently, just in case.