Race into the Night

[Moonlight]

Hannah listened to his words, nodding at his more prominent points. It was a shame she couldn't actually talk to him ... It would certainly help get past the barriers that they themselves seemed to have set up. But she was interested in hearing about the dratini's tale, as it showed in her expression. A small smile returning to her lips at his next words, nodding appreciatively. It really was something that should've been true, with more people in general. She wasn't surprised when he let go of her shoulder and stood, though. Now that she was steadied again, he was more than likely afraid of offending her in some way or another.

She slipped the notebook and pen back in her bag, though, as he started to walk away. Pushing herself up as she slung it across her back, although pausing at his query. Stepping forward to close the distance to a respectable one, but also to one where she could answer. Still smiling as she lightly traced letters into his palm again, her words few but carrying weight. "It would be nice ... Thank you," the young woman wrote, before lightly gesturing around the lobby with her other hand. Releasing his hand again after a moment, nodding slightly.

Waiting until he had some sort of reaction to cross the tiled floor, wearily mounting the stairs. The door to Room 10 was unlocked when she reached it, lightly clicking shut behind her as she set her bag on the armchair. Pokemon Center accommodations were simple, but they got the job done. Besides, considering how many trainers passed through on a journey, it wasn't surprising that the rooms weren't large. Promptly removing three of four pokeballs from the pocket of her jeans, releasing her main team onto the bottom of the bunk bed.

Angel didn't even stir this time, gently pulling the sheets up on the normal-type. Bane glanced at her, gently nuzzling her leg, before jumping onto the foot of the bed. Curling up contentedly, with Kin settling down between the two. It wasn't long before she was settled into the top bunk, slipping into utter darkness.



Morning light was filtering through the lobby doors as Hannah stepped off the stairs, Bane and Kin accompanying her. Since Angel had actually slept late that morning, later than herself, she'd simply returned her companion to her storage sphere. But the clock on the wall read 7am. Needless to say, feeling rather lazy as her body was saying it was closer to 9am. But the young woman did seem to be feeling better, now wearing a simple white tank top instead of the gray one she'd worn the night before. Resting her hands in the pockets of her lilac cargo pants as she walked to the center of the lobby, glancing around.

[Australian Chaos]

Tyson waited patiently as Hannah considered his offer to meet up again tomorrow, before smiling as she approached and traced an affirmative into his palm, before gesturing around, obviously indicating that they would meet here tomorrow morning. Nodding, adding a lopsided smile as thanks, before crossing back to the counter as Hannah went to the stairs up to the rooms.

After a couple more minutes, Tyson's three Pokemon were handed back to him, the usual void in his being, left by their absence, filling immediately as Topaz bounded up to him, quickly balancing on her hind legs in order to give him a happy hug, Ladon also appearing and his body affectionately around the human as Tyson chuckled, petting them both happily, before talking his third PokeBall, contain his Charmander, Ryuu, and placing it at his belt as Joyce explained that Ladon's scar was showing no signs of any major ill-effects, aside from the occasional pain episodes, which no-one could stop. The more recent, minor injuries from the wild Pokemon were apparantly nothing a good night's rest would heal. Thanking the nurse, and waving off one more apology for her behaviour earlier, he sorted out a room for himself, ending up with a smaller, one-bed room, since it seemed the place was fairly booked out. Fucisha City's Pokemon Center was often booked to capacity, since trainers from all over tended to come here for the Safari Zone.

Thanking Joyce once more as he took the key, Tyson soon plodded off up the stairs himself, leaving Ladon out to accompany, generating more than a few surprised looks in the lobby when they saw him with such a shy, secluded Pokemon in his possession. Dratini, while not necessarily a 'rare' Pokemon, were certainly difficult to catch, so a trainer with one in his possession was a sight that tended to get some impressed looks.

Ignoring it all, though, Tyson soon reached his room, his gaze unconsciously settling on the door to Room 10 as he passed, remembering that was where Hannah was staying. Soon, however, he was in his room, his own gear soon resting on a nearby bench as he let Ryuu out for a moment, finding the Charmander asleep, the tail burning gently but brightly, showing that the Pokemon was calm, and in good health. Nodding, happy that Ryuu was still resting happily, Tyson returned the Pokemon to his preferred resting place in his Ball, Ladon soon following voluntarily, disappearing into his own Ball in a red flash.

Placing the Balls on the bedside desk, Tyson soon jumped into the single bed himself, only to smile knowingly as Topaz leapt up with him, despite the fact that the bed was barely big enough for him as it was. "I suppose you're not going to take 'no' for an answer are you?" he deadpanned, getting a smirking nod from the Persian in response befors he settled down, practically resting on top of Tyson as the two of them soon drifted off to sleep, exhausted by the evening's events.

-----

Despite the late hour at which he had gotten to sleep...near midnight...Tyson was awake relatively early the next morning, feeling quite refreshed. A trainer's life tended to work that way. Yawning and stretching, smiling good-naturedly as Topaz gave a sleepy grumble of protest, before jumping off the bed herself, shaking her body vigourously to wake herself up as Tyson slowly pulled himself out of bed, before freshening up and getting ready for another day, replacing his clothes from last night with what had become his unofficial 'uniform'; a pair of black cargo pants, a white t-shirt emblazoned with the logo of Fucisha City's Safari Zone, and his yellow hooded jumper from yesterday, which he was rarely seen without.

Grabbing his things before leaving, he released Ladon and Ryuu, finding both Pokemon awake and alert, Ladon particularly happy to be in the company of his owner once more, while Ladon's independent streak came across, giving Tyson a friendly nod before curiously observing the area around him as the group made their way downstairs.

The moment Tyson reached the lobby he quickly looked around, his watch telling him it was several minutes after 7am. He did not expect Hannah to be up, considering how early it was and how exhausted she had been last night after the telepathy episode, but was pleasantly surprised to find the violet-haired trainer there, along with Kin and Bane.

Tyson approached her, although he waited until she spotted him before greeting her, not wanting to surprise her. "Morning, Hannah," he said happily. "You're up early." As he spoke, Topaz similarly greeted the other Pokemon. "Good morning Kin, Bane...I take it Angel is still resting?" the Persian greeted, sitting down on the tiled floor, taking a quick glance at Hannah. "And if she can hear us, good morning to you too, Hannah."

[Moonlight]

The violet tressed trainer turned upon catching a glimpse of Tyson's yellow jumper, smiling in greeting. Her notebook was already out, but she would have to stop by the mart in order to buy a new one. She was on her last few pages, unfortunately. Still, though, she was glad to see him. It wasn't often that she actually even made a friend. Laughing silently at his comment of her being up early, amused. Quickly writing out a message on the middle of her page, before handing it to him as she walked over. "Hehe, early? It's past nine in Sinnoh. I feel rather lazy, actually. But, thank you, I appreciate it. Did you sleep well?"

While Tyson was reading what she'd written, she smiled slightly at Topaz's greeting. Gently scratching behind the persian's ears in thanks, while her companions greeted her in return. Listening to their conversation with mild interest, but still paying attention to Tyson.

Bane was glad to see the elegant feline again, though, his tail wagging from where he sat. "Heh, yes. Angel wore herself out yesterday. She was playing a game of 'Catch Me If You Can' in the Celadon department store. A passing human-pup apparently gave her icecream because she was cute - And Angel is easily made hyper," the dark-fire pup chuckled, highly amused. His chocolate brown gaze remained on the persian, though, tilting his head some. "So, what about you? Did your human sleep well last night?

Hannah had to smile slightly at Bane's phrasing, as it was common with almost any pokemon she encountered. But it held some irony-filled truth. If they wanted to, they could easily dominate humans. People called pokemon 'their' companions, and pokemon called people 'their' humans. Amusing in an odd sort of way.

"You seem to put a lot of thought into that, Hannah," Kin commented, tilting his head at the violet tressed trainer. She shrugged one shoulder slightly, glancing up at the kadabra. Mentally projecting her thoughts and explanation to him, highlighting it. Sharing minds with her companions never proved dull, either. But she was eternally grateful for her parents having given her Kin's egg, when they were both younger. To think, they'd been together a decade now. A smile touched his tone when he spoke again, carrying warmth at the thought of how long they'd been companions. "Very true, then. Its a shame more people do not see it that way."

Bane glanced up after a moment, ears perked towards Tyson as his gaze settled on Kin and Hannah. "Hey, Hannah ... Do you think that Tyson would mind sharing minds with us? He seems kind enough ... I'd like to talk to him at some point," the friendly pup pointed out, clearly thrilled at the thought as his stubby tail began wagging again.

[Australian Chaos]

As Tyson read the reply Hannah offered, he smiled. "Of course, sorry. I forgot about you and Sinnoh...I'm not used to knowing anyone outside of Kanto, and until I became a trainer a couple of months ago, I'd never even ventured outside Fucisha...and I still have yet to leave Kanto." As he spoke, he absently rubbed Ladon's head, the Dratini cooing contently, wrapped around his shoulders like some majestic python.

As Hannah scratched behind Topaz's ears, the Persian leaning into the contact, purring, Tyson was reminded of how Hannah was able to communicate with her Pokemon, through Kin. "It's amazing, you know...that you can, thanks to Kin, understand your pokemon, along with others. I wish I could do that...but I like Dragon pokemon, not Physics, so I've got no-one to blame but myself." His tone was wistful, but held no regret for his own preferences, he loved the pokemon he had, and would not trade any of them...even for a Pokemon like Mew, they were simply too precious to him as friends and companions.

While Tyson went off on his little tangent about the advantages of telepathy, Topaz, now with a dreamy expression thanks to Hannah's brief scratch, answered to Bane, her head cocking as she imagined the situation the Houndour pup described. "She was playing in the Celadon Department Store?" she repeated, amused horror lacing her voice at the thought of a hyeractive Pokemon running wild in that massive place...Tyson had visited there with her once. "I'm amazed you ever got her back, that place is a maze." she paused for a moment while Bane asked about her night, a feline chuckle escaping her muzzle. "Yes, my human slept well...considering there was only one bed, and I always insist on sharing if that's the case." Her chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh as she remembered all the times she had done that, just to play with him and annoy him.

Topaz missed the conversation Hannah had with Kin during her laughing fit, but did calm down enough to catch Bane's last request to Hannah, and decided to intervene on that particular question, since it involved Tyson. "If I may butt in, here..." she said, before sitting next to Tyson, letting her human pat her softly as she spoke, addressing, and looking at, Hannah; "I saw what happened last night, and I noticed your telepathic outburst...and it's effects. I also noticed that, after the initial shock wore off, Tyson did not give your telepathy a second though, he was completely focused on making sure you were alright. He might be a little awkward with the mind sharing for a little bit, but I'm sure, considering what he just said, that he would be all for it...as long as the rest of you don't mind," she added at the end, reminding herself that only Bane so far had expressed true interest.

[Moonlight]

The young woman nodded in response to his words as he handed her the notebook back, showing it was all right. She was still getting used to the Kanto area as well. Penning out her own response again, hand quick and smooth across the paper. "Its all right. Besides, I'm looking forward to seeing what I can of Kanto. It looks like a wonderful place," Hannah wrote, smiling.

Pausing briefly at his added words, along with Topaz's. Her pen resting against the paper in thought, considering. Bane couldn't help but laugh at the persian's words, knowing it to be true, as he'd done it himself once. Nodding in conformation to her, while Kin pressed his empty hand to his forehead. "Aye ... At times, Angel acts half her age. Sweet girl, but she drives me up the wall sometimes," the kadabra admitted wryly, cracking the barest of grins.

Bane offered a small chuckle, vaguely amused. "I am sure she'll calm down when she evolves, Kin. Just give her some time ... But, yes ... It was near impossible to catch her," the houndour added, nodding towards the pokeball pocket that held Angel and Odol still. Noticing Hannah's extended thought on Topaz's words, though, he looked up from his place next to her leg. A low, hopeful whine escaping his muzzle, raising one paw in the air - Almost like he was going to give someone a high-paw or shake.

She laughed quietly, before continuing to write. "... Well, if you are willing to try, we could share minds. It works as a collective telepathy between us all, which is how we can converse. Kin translates everything, as well," she added, knowing the question would come up otherwise. "It is perfectly safe with him overseeing it. And you needn't worry about peeking past conversation - He also inforces the privacy," Hannah wrote after a moment, before handing the notebook to Tyson.

[Australian Chaos]

Tyson smiled as Hannah wrote something, but seemed to wait as the pokemon, inluding Topaz, seemed to talk about something, sharing a good laugh in the process, it seemed, as well. Tyson was wondering what had got the group so amused, when Hannah added some more content to the notepad, before handing it over.

Reading the first sentence, Tyson gave Hannah another small smile. "It is a wonderful place...although getting to know you has made me curious about the regions beyond Kanto, like Sinnoh," he said, before looking back down at the notepad, pausing briefly as the next part of the note sunk in.

"I...uhh...are you sure? I mean, I know I said I would like to be able to communicate with pokemon like you do, but if you don't want me to, you don't have to." Tyson was rewarded for his words by a solid smack across the leg from Topaz, who was giving him an agitated look. Clearly she thought this was a brilliant idea, and was telling Tyson so, as well as telling him that Hannah was more than happy to bring him into the mind sharing.

Giving Topaz a wary look, making sure he was saying something that pleased her while still showing his concern for Hannah's feelings, he spoke up quickly again. "Don't get me wrong, I mean...if you want to do this, then I'm all for it. But don't feel pressured into offering this just because I, and obviously Topaz, want it."

At Tyson's words, Topaz continued to glare at Tyson for a few more moments, before finally giving a satisfied huff. "Better," she muttered, more to herself, before turning to Bane...she was really starting to like this Houndour. "Honestly, Tyson's consideration for other people's feelings, and even the feelings of Pokemon as well, is going to get him in trouble. It's what makes him so shy in the first place." Her tone carried no coldness, despite the words, showing that while she saw Tyson's caring trait as excessive, she still loved him for it.

"And speaking of shy..." Topaz drawled, turning towards the Dratini on Tyson's shoulders, and the Charmander by his side, still yet to say anything. "Oi! Ladon, Ryuu! Come on and say hi!" she called, turning her attention back to Bane and Kin as she waited for her two Pokemon companions to pull themselves out of their shells.

[Moonlight]

The young woman smiled, shaking her head at how flustered he was. She did not intend to try to break into his privacy, but it would be nice to simply talk without some slow barrier in between such as palms or notebooks. She had never shared minds with another human before, but she imagined it couldn't be that much different. Her only concern was how quickly it would tire Kin. He'd developed a mental endurance for this between herself and their companions, yes, but she was not going to push it. Perhaps they could introduce it to him briefly, let him get accustomed to the idea, and then try again when it was growing dark? If they were around each other for that long, at least.

A small smile touching Kin's lips at her concern, placing his empty hand on his human's shoulder. "I appreciate your concern, Hannah, but we'll be fine in moderation. Besides, I do believe it is time someone accepts you for who you are," he said softly, his tone taking on a fatherly air.

She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck at Kin's concern for her, despite that there was little to be concerned about. Touching her pen back to the paper, though, to pen out a return message. Trying to keep the conversation going, at least. "No worries, Tyson. We don't feel pressured - We'd just like for you to be able to try it, at least once. If you do not mind that method, perhaps we could try it again at some other point." The young woman paused as Topaz spoke, noticing the persian's voice carried sympathetic warmth for her human. It was understandable, though. She was much of the same. Handing the notebook to Tyson, though, after adding a small note in parenthesis. ("Err ... Sorry to interrupt our conversation, but I'm almost out of paper ... Is there any place to get notebooks nearby?")

Squatting down after a moment when Topaz called to her companions, now closer to the charmander's height. She's seen drawings and live videos of people who battled with them, but in person was far better. Clearly this charmander was in the peak of health, lithe muscles vaguely visible under it's hide. Offering a hand towards it, but not actually touching it. A gesture of greeting, more or less, except not pressuring it. Ryuu, Topaz has called him.

[Australian Chaos]

Tyson notice the way Hannah's expression soon became just as sheepish as his, and figured that something Kin had said to her had made her that way, as she penned out a response to his words. Taking the offered notebook, Tyson quickly read the note, making a note of the request for another notebook. "Well, if that's the case, then I'd be glad to give it a try, Hannah. As I said, before, I've always wanted to be able to properly converse with Pokemon, and it will help things with you, too, I guess," he added, before turning to her side-request.

"As for your notebooks, that turns out to be another odd coincidence. I have a habit of writing in my spare time, and I ran out of paper on the trip over from the Seafoam Islands, myself. I planned on re-stocking as soon as I got here, but Topaz insisted on running off as soon as we arrived, and well...the rest is history now, sorta." He gave a weak smile, before properly answering. "There's a PokeMart on the outskirts of the city, near the coast road to Lavender Town...I can show you, if you like."

What Tyson did not say was that he had planned on heading out towards Lavender Town next. It was one town he had not visited yet, and the Pokemon Tower was a source of interest for him...not for the rumours of it being haunted, but for the memories of long-lost Pokemon that could be found at their burial site...he had always loved Pokemon in general, and wanted to pay some respects to those that had been loved, and had since passed on.

As this happened, Hannah kneeled down in front of Ryuu, offering a hadn out in greeting. The Charmander looked at the offered hand, but never physically respoded to the gesture. "Greetings, Hannah," Ryuu said simply, his independant nature giving him an emotionless, almost dismissive tone, which Topaz was quick to jump on.

"Hey, come on, Ryuu, at least try to be polite!" the Persian scolded. "I know you're not used to company, but at least make an effort." As she spoke, Topaz turned to Ladon who, despite his generally shy nature, was actually following Topaz's advice, leaning down from Tyson's shoulders, his blue head actually moving a little closer to Hannah. "Err...hi," the Dratini timidly greeted, extending the greeting to all of Hannah's Pokemon as well.

Ryuu, in response to Topaz's scolding, sighed in exasperation, but did make an effort. "Sorry...hello, Hannah...and everyone else as well," the Charmander added with a nod in Kin and Bane's direction, putting slightly more outgoing tone into his voice as he bumped Hannah's outstretched hand with his nose, but only for a slip-second, before stepping back once more.

Topaz nodded sat Ryuu in satisfaction at his reattempt at greeting everyone, before turning to the human-Kadabra-Houndour trio in front of her, ignoring the glare Ryuu sent her way as she spoke. "Don't let Ryuu's blunt nature put you off...he was a loner all his life, and Tyson only recently caught him. He's still getting used to a life without lonliness." She then smiled at Ladon's highly timid greeting. "As for Ladon, well, he's a Dratini, so shyness is in his nature...but Tyson can explain his story better than I can," she commented, inadvertantly reminding everyone of Tyson's promise to explain Ladon's story some time.

[Moonlight]

The violet tressed trainer smiled at his confirmation, before hooking the pen into the spirals of her notebook. Glancing up at Kin as both Tyson and his companions finished speaking, nodding to him. She knew it would feel strange for him at first, but he would more than likely adapt quickly enough. The psychic nodded slightly in return, focusing. Taking on an extra weight to his powers, one he was unaccustomed to. But slowly bringing him into the loop.

Once she was sure that Tyson had a stable connection to them, then she responded to his words. "We're glad that you decided to try this," Hannah 'murmured', smiling as she straightened. She knew that he'd probably be started having six minds connecting with his own, so she waited for a moment before moving on to respond to the rest. "That is an odd coincidence, though, but not a bad one. It'd be much appreciated," she added lightly, said appreciation even reaching her mental 'tone'.

Listening to Bane and Kin converse with Tyson's three companions, before they became fully aware of the trainer's mind next to theirs. The houndour pup stood briefly, before moving to sit in front of the dark haired male, offering a paw up. "It's nice to meet you," the dark-fire type said pleasantly, tail wagging as his ears perked forward towards him.

Kin chuckled softly, nodding in agreement. "I do apologize if this seems like an awful lot, but I imagined you'd with to include your companions in the conversation as well. Our apologies if you get a bit of a headache, though," the fatherly psychic said, nodding towards him.

Hannah certainly understood the psychic's point on the matter, as well as trusted his judgment. She did hope he'd release the connection when he grew tired, though, without her having to urge him to do so. It would be nice to be able to converse with someone freely for once, though. And to add to that, he'd finally be able to speak to his companions. It seems like a win-win situation to her. A small smile playing about her lips as he adjusted to the feel, gently brushing her hand against the shy dratini's head in a friendly gesture. Showing she wasn't going to hurt him, and had no intention to do so. Still, she wasn't going to push her luck and accidentally scare the dragon type, so she dropped her hand after that one motion.

[Australian Chaos]

Tyson watched as Hannah stood, only for his eyes to almost pop out of his head a second later as he felt something odd inside him, a split-second before a voice entered his thoughts, murmuring her appreciation at him trying the mind-link...Hannah's voice. Even though he had been expecting it, the ability to communicate telepathically was still surprising to Tyson, and he silently wondered if he had the ability to communicate back via this method, even though he had, so far in his life, shown absolutely no sign of showing any sort of psychic abilities.

As Hannah commented on the coincidence of them both needing to visit the PokeMart for supplies, Tyson tried to concentrate, hoping he could do this right, as he focused the thoughts he wanted to project into as clear a 'voice' as he could, before attempting to broadcast them in Hannah's direction, having no idea if he was in any way successful. "Well...this is new..." he commented mentally, smiling at Hannah. "You can hear me, right?"

Deciding to keep using his real voice for just a little longer, until he grew more accustomed to this new method of communication, Tyson grinned as Bane spoke, the words projecting into his mind as well. "It's great to meet you, too, Bane," he replied happily, smiling as he gave the Houndour's paw a friendly shake, before kneeling down and rubbing his head affectionately. "Forgive me, but my knowledge of pokemon not native to Kanto is sorely lacking, so I don't know what you are."

It was at that point that another female voice entered his mind, and one Tyson knew he had longed to hear for a long time. "Bane is a Houndour, which are native to Johto, if my memory of last night is correct." Tyson turned to Topaz, a stunned look on his face as the Persian cocked her head at him, although the elated grin was easy to see. "Nice to finally get to talk to you, Tyson."

"Topaz..." was all Tyson could breathe, barely registering Kin's words in his mind, before Topaz obviously became overcome by the rather significant moment, pouncing at Tyson happily, the dark-skinned trainer crashing to the tiled floor of the Pokemon Center lobby as the Persian and human hugged each other like they were long-lost friends seeing each other for the first time in decades. Topaz actually went the extra step of licking his face, something she rarely, if ever, did.

"You don't know how much I have always wanted to talk to you like this!" her voice cried in his head, sounding like she was on the verge of joyous tears, as she continued licking him without mercy. "I know you could always understand me really well, but it's just not the same!"

"I know, Topaz...I'm really happy for this, too..." Tyson whispered, fearing talking any louder would cause him to actually cry in the joy of the moment. But soon the Persian's constant licking grew ticklish, and he squirmed to free himself. "Topaz!" he cried, now starting to laugh. "Alright, Topaz, you mind letting me up now?"

Topaz stopped her frantic licking session, but did not immediately let him up, her eyes sparkling with life as she looked down at him. "Certainly, Tyson," she responded after a moment, giving him one gentle nuzzle before letting him up, a light purr now rumbling from within her throat as Tyson hauled himself back up, looking around.

Ryuu was looking at the two of them, an expression of mild annoyance on his face, as the Charmander thought such displays of affection, even if they were in no way romantic, were reserved for private locations, not the lobby of a Pokemon healing center. Ladon, on the other hand, had slipped off Tyson's shoulders when Topaz pounced, and was now resting on the floor, the front third of his body raised in the air, as he slowly approached Hannah again, cautious, but seeming to trust her. "Tyson..." the Dratini called as he realised the mind-link was now shared by his human. "I like this one," he commented, gesturing with his nose in Hannah's direction, giving her a small coo, letting her know she could come closer if she wished. "Can we stay with her, please? At least for a little while longer."