Looking Past the Reflection [MOD/OPEN]

[ANASTASIA GARDER]

[cs=2][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 450px; background-image: url(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/FinNor-Flip/vans.jpg);border-top: 1px dashed #808080; border-right: 1px dashed #808080; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080; border-left: 1px dashed #808080, bTable] Children wake up hold your mistake up

[atrb=style, padding: 20px;] <Where are we going today, huh?> Ana's little Ducklett asked eagerly as he flapped his little wings around in excitement, and looked up at her adoringly with his big eyes. Anastasia couldn't help but chuckle a little bit, and she grew as excited as he was. "I already told you, you silly little thing." She responded, and started jogging after her Soulmate, who had already started running ahead of her and towards the river that was near by. <You're slow, Ana! C'mon, I thought you were excited!> Winter quacked as he jumped up and down, flapping his little blue wings in the process. She and Winter had left Anor City a couple of hours ago in search of a river or ocean that would supply her with her dream team of strong, beautiful, and graceful water pokemon. She knew that the one good think about being a coordinator, was that she didn't have to worrying about running into and battling other types that had an advantage over her own pokemon. Sure, there were the contest battles... but they couldn't be too hard, right? Unless there wasn't a battle segment in the contests in Aniferna; if that was the case, then she would be fine. <Ana! Come quick! Come look at the water! It's so clear!> Squeaked winter, and she could feel the adrenaline pulsing through the eager little Ducklett. He was anticipating jumping into the water as soon as possible, and she didn't blame him; the little bird deserved to have a little bit of fun. As soon as Winter saw his Soulmate approaching he let out another squeal and dove straight into the water, splashing and swimming about. She couldn't really blame him for being so antsy and restless ever since he heard they were making a trip down to the river; they both missed being by the waterside so much, as well being able to take a fresh dip in the lake they lived on whenever they so pleased. While there were some things about Ithycis that she missed, there was no way she would go back to that city. That is, at least while her narrow-minded and thick-headed family lived there. She couldn't stand to be around that kind of environment much longer... it was too draining. Too exhausting. Too tiring. But at least now that she was away from them, she didn't have to hide who she was... that was one good thing, at least. The fact that the water would be chilly didn't really bother either of them, and as soon as Ana reached the riverbank she took off her shoes and dug her feet into the wet sand. Oh, how she missed the feeling of sand squishing between her toes; she couldn't even fathom how someone would think it was disgusting, as she's heard some people say. Ana looked down into the water and could see her feet quite clearly despite the fact that her feet had arisen a cloud of dust and dirt because of their impact. But otherwise, there was no murkiness or muddiness that prevented her from seeing straight down, besides the fact that she could see her reflection. But there was more than just her reflection that was visible in the water; much, much more. All the shiny stones and little aquatic plants--at least, the ones that Winter hadn't eaten yet--were clearly seen floating with the current of the water. 'Well, finding water pokemon will certainly be easy.' She thought, and Winter, who was alerted by her thought, lifted his head out of the water and chirped, <We're gonna look for some new pokemon now?> "Yes, yes we are. Let's get a move on, shall we?" Anstasia said, and got out of the water and started walking alongside her Soulmate on the riverbank.

[/b] looking for some pokemon~
Wordcount: 629
Action: N/A
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[ANTHONY KING]

The sun shone brightly overhead despite the chill in the air, making the already-scant clouds look like nothing more than thinly spread mist. The Sea of Flowers lived up to its name: the tall grass speckled with buds and blooms grew as high as his waist, if not higher, and every time a wind brushed against the seemingly endless field the grass rippled as if a verdant wave was breaking. Anthony directed his gaze from the endless sky overhead back to the sea of greenery surrounding him, and then with a yawn looked lazily to the left. The Starmie a yard away from him bobbed idly in the crisp breeze as if she was drifting in a current instead of in midair, and though a flicker of acknowledgement ran through her consciousness when he glanced over, her attention was primarily on the Buneary scurrying alongside her. The second star fixed to her back rotated slowly as chime-like notes emanated from her core; a few seconds after the notes reverberated into silence the Buneary stopped abruptly in his tracks, bringing their aimless progression to a halt yet again, and squeakily imitated the larger pokemon. The sound waves of the Round distorted the air as they passed through it, but with no opponent to knock back, they dissipated quickly, causing the grass to wave as if disturbed by a breath of wind. The coffee-colored pokemon stared blankly at his star-shaped mentor before, with a dismissive nose-twitch, he scrambled deeper into the meadow.

The wayward course that the young Buneary was set on following would have irritated Anthony had they been at home – if you were going to delve into the streets and canals of Virenya, you had best have a destination in mind – but the pastoral scenery surrounding them kept him at ease. Virenya City was an antiquated utopia edged by an ocean that seemed as endless as the plains they now wandered through, but it was still a city and thus barreled into the future at a pace both breakneck and exhausting. A brief retreat to the rural countryside was pleasant, and even he had difficulty finding fault in the flowers and flora that abounded here.
A laugh, soft and vaguely feminine, sounded in the back of his brain, and Anthony glanced over to his soulmate; the gem at her center faced him, and though her appearance made her mood impossible to guess, he could sense her amusement. {You would be bored out of your mind if you lived in a place like this,} Enyo observed, secondary star still for a moment.
“You’re right,” he responded after a moment, lips twitching into a reluctant smile, “but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying it while we’re here, is there?”
{Of course not.} There was a pause, and then, {I doubt that you’ll be enjoying it tomorrow when you have to start the long walk home and your feet are aching.}
Anthony grimaced at that but didn’t respond, instead scanning the meadow to locate the recently-acquired Buneary. The young creature’s random maundering had given way to lazy hops and toddling steps in a constant direction, and judging by the way the rabbit-like creature would occasionally stop to rub its nubby nose against stalks of grass, it was following some sort of scent-trail – hopefully not the trail of something larger and fiercer than the Buneary himself was. The coordinator swallowed a yawn and tucked his hands into his pockets, looking from the lapine to its apparent destination: ahead was a river cutting a wide and shallow swathe across the fields, barely visible through the tall foliage. “That’ll be the Silver River,” he murmured to Enyo, recalling the map that he’d studied the night prior. “It empties into the ocean… we could Surf to the coast and then follow it to Virenya.”
{We could,} the Starmie agreed, {but you’ll be uncomfortable after a few hours, and everything we brought with us will be soaked. If we can’t make it back to the city before it gets late, you’ll have to spend the night with wet supplies. It would be best to try to borrow the Ponyta again tomorrow for the trip home.}
He didn’t reply for a moment, only frowning slightly as he watched the newest addition to their team: Marzipan had increased his pace and was now bounding through the flourishing meadow, apparently set on reaching a target he couldn’t even see over the tall grass. Anthony, on the other hand, could make out the human figure walking alongside the shallow river; while the figure was too far away to discern many details, he could tell by their build that they were female and likely young. What would a young woman be doing in the middle of a Sea of Flowers…?
{I could ask the same for us,} Enyo interjected, exasperated. {She’s probably a trainer on her way to or from Anor. You shouldn’t let Marzipan wander so far from you; she might mistake him for a feral --}
{-- and he’d deserve any thrashing her pokemon gave him.} he retorted mentally as he, at a markedly slow pace, began to follow the path that the Buneary had taken. {Maybe that would teach him not to wander off.}

The normal-type pokemon in question had no notion of the conversation transpiring between his coordinator and the man’s soulmate, and even if he had known it would have mattered very little; he was too busy following the intriguing scent of human and fowl through the impossibly tall grass to possibly care about the opinions of the man who had caught him. Marzipan’s ears rolled up tightly in excitement as the grass ahead of him thinned out and the soil beneath his woolly paws gave way to smooth, viscous mud. He tumbled onto the bank of the river, and for a second his quarry was forgotten as he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the clear water. When his own wavering reflection ceased to entertain, he glanced up again and caught sight of a girl and a duckling pokemon a few meters away. A shrill squeal of excitement escaped the Buneary as he gamboled closer, dark eyes wide in fascination. The Ducklett was a few inches taller than himself, but with its fluffy chest and lemon-yellow beak, it hardly looked intimidating. Marzipan opened his mouth, but instead of a delighted squeak the same strange notes that he’d uttered before escaped. He cocked his head to the side in confusion, and then, inquisitive about the effects the dissonant song would have on this strange blue bird, uttered a playful cry and released a Round again.

ooc: not the pokemon you were looking for. 8’D /shot. Hope it’s okay for me to just hop in.
action: Marzipan uses Round.

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[ANASTASIA GARDER]

[cs=2][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 450px; background-image: url(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/FinNor-Flip/vans.jpg);border-top: 1px dashed #808080; border-right: 1px dashed #808080; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080; border-left: 1px dashed #808080, bTable] Children wake up hold your mistake up

[atrb=style, padding: 20px;] Anastasia wasn't really keeping an eye on her Soulmate like she should have, but she knew that he would be fine. As far as she was concerned, there were no threats... right? Would anything really attack them? From her recollection, water pokemon were docile, not aggressive... 'Ana, stop worrying. You worry about everything. Just calm down.' She told herself, and took a deep breath and stretched out her arms. <You do worry about everything.> Winter chirped, and Ana narrowed her brown eyes at the little blue duck. <What? It's true!> He added, defending the statement he made. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Anastasia murmured. 'Maybe I should relax a little bit; this was supposed to be fun, after all.' She thought, and let her mind start to wander. She let her senses preoccupy themselves with nature's music--the gentle sound of the water moving and the rustle of the trees and flowers caused by the breeze of the wind. She started fantasizing about what it would be like to finally preform in a contest; to actually have all eyes on her and her cute little ducklett, whose appeals kept the judges on the edge of their seats time after time. Sure, the thought of having all eyes on her was a little unsettling, and made her stomach curl just at the thought of it... but it would be worth it, right? Who doesn't want to be famous? ...Did she want to be famous? Ana sighed and looked up at the sun, then over at her ducklett, who seemed to be having his own little party right in the water next to her as he swam in all sorts of directions and made little splashes in the shallow water near the bank. But that happy little moment was intruded upon by a high pitched noise--but it wasn't the cause of something in nature. A pokemon? Suddenly, Anastasia became excited. A pokemon! Her very first pokemon! Did she have any pokeballs? She took the lightweight bag she was carrying off of her shoulder, placed it on the ground and started rummaging through it, and ended up finding three pokeballs. Would these be enough? She would feel so stupid if she used them up on one pokemon, and what if she ran into one that she really, really wanted? Her Soulmate noticed his friend's actions, and out of curiosity he jumped out of the water and waddled over to her. "Winter, is there a pokemon around here?!" She squealed in excitement, but her answer was soon answered when she heard a loud and continuous noise, which hurt her ears. She looked over at Winter who was suffering as well, and he let out a squeak. "Winter!" She gasped, and picked up her poor Soulmate, holding his soft, blue, downy body close. "Are you okay?" She asked, and he murmured, <Yeah, but that noise hurt.> She felt so bad for not being more prepared; he's never battled a day in his life. She picked up her bag and scanned the meadow for the source of the sound, and eventually she caught sight of a brown lump of fur hiding in between the flowers and grass. She glared at the fluff of fur and huffed, then bounded off towards it, planning on giving it a piece of her mind and a strict scolding. "Hey!" She shouted at the pokemon, which she later realized to be a buneary as she got closer. "Just who do you think you are? We weren't doing anything to you! Get out of here!" Ana snapped, her cheeks getting red with frustration. She barely took the time to consider that the pokemon might actually have an owner, and it wasn't just a wild pokemon that wanted to cause trouble. But then again, a pokemon didn't have to be wild to cause trouble, did it?

[/b] You're welcome to by all means. Oh god I hate that meme, but I'll let it pass. That is, if I take an arrow to the knee. -shot-
Wordcount: 641 -feels like an amateur compared to kitsune's post-
Action: Ana used scold-attack? XD
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[ANTHONY KING]

So that’s what that sound could do. Marzipan promptly sat down amidst the gently-swaying grass as he watched the girl cradle her ducklett, head cocked to the side in vapid curiosity. It was a TM move, and though the starmie had been teaching him how to utilize it he’d been uncertain about its actual effects. Soon, his short attention span ran dry and his attention shifted from the girl to the river they were beside; he was still watching the water ripple over the worn-smooth stones and sucking absently at his paw when the human marched over to berate him.
‘Hey’? He glanced up sharply at that, paw leaving his mouth with an audible pop and nubby arms falling to his side. Was this long-haired human who, just moments before, had been tenderly comforting her own pokemon yelling at him? His ears curled into tightly-rolled buns of anxiety at this unforeseen castigation, and at her last rebuke he threw back his head and wailed.
Paused.
Glanced around to reaffirm his audience.
Then returned to wailing, and though there was no attack in the unpleasant sound (it wouldn’t be surprising if the distress was faked, either), it was no doubt nearly as painful to listen to as the Round.

Anthony, who had been wading through the overgrown wildflowers, grimaced at the sound of the buneary bawling. There was no pain in the cry, and it wasn’t the shriek of a frightened creature, either. It was merely the discourse of a bratty child trying to express its frustration and draw attention to itself. While he hadn’t been able to make out the woman’s words, the stern tone of her voice had made it clear that she was rebuking the rabbit pokemon for one offense or another; hopefully it wasn’t anything that would necessitate an apology. “He’s embarrassing.” He murmured to his soulmate. She didn’t reply, but in the back of his mind was a tickling sensation signaling her own agitation. They continued to progress through the shallow ‘Sea,’ and when they were within five yards of the girl and her soulmate he nodded to Enyo. “Bring him over here.” He requested quietly.
{I suppose I can,} was her unenthusiastic response. Her central gem glittered, and seconds later she was outlined by a heliotrope glow as her often-underutilized psychic abilities came into play. A still-blubbering Marzipan was, without warning, enveloped by a similar glow and lifted from his spot by the riverbed by Enyo’s Telekinesis. The dry-eyed buneary blinked in astonishment as he levitated above the grass that had seemed too tall for him to fathom, tightly-curled ears unrolling as he considered this new perspective. Pah, he’d like to see this yammering, angry human fly like he could. He waggled his ears at her, playful despite the thorough tongue-lashing he’d just been given, then frowned when the same force that had lifted him was pulling him… backwards.

Enyo brought the floating buneary to a stop in front of her bonded human, who scowled as he considered the mischievous rodent before him. “Shame on you,” he rebuked finally. Marzipan watched him intently, again sucking on his paw. “I told you not to wander off.” The buneary twitched an ear in reluctant acknowledgement, hoping to escape with this comparatively light scolding. “We’ll return to this later.” Marzipan’s ears drooped at the promise of a further penalty. Anthony waved his hand dismissively, and the buneary still bound by telekinesis found himself levitating by Enyo’s side instead of in front of his trainer.

{You should say something to the girl.} Enyo prompted. {He did just pester her.}
Anthony’s gaze shifted from the sulking rabbit to the girl whose soulmate his pokemon had assaulted, and he frowned slightly in consideration. She was obviously not a trainer; if she had been, her ducklett would have responded with an attack of his own instead of seeking refuge in his human’s arms. “He’s very young, and apparently very mischievous,” he stated after a moment’s consideration, voice automatically dropping to the practiced tenor he used around others as he offered an explanation instead of an apology for his pokemon’s conduct. A disingenuous smile flickered onto his face. “But I’m sure you and your pokemon can easily handle such urchins.”

ooc: Arrows to the knee are nothing to joke about! :U Whole generations of hopeful adventurers have been laid low by such insidious threats.
Actions: Scold attack was super effective Enyo uses Telekinesis.

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[ANASTASIA GARDER]

[cs=2][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 450px; background-image: url(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/FinNor-Flip/vans.jpg);border-top: 1px dashed #808080; border-right: 1px dashed #808080; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080; border-left: 1px dashed #808080, bTable] Children wake up hold your mistake up

[atrb=style, padding: 20px;] As soon as the Buneary started sobbing Ana instantly felt bad for yelling at the poor thing. She didn't know what came over her; it wasn't like her to yell at all--never mind at a pokemon. It just wasn't in her nature to do something of the sort--then again, it was to protect her Winter. The little bunny did look young, after all. Maybe it didn't know any better; maybe it was just curious little thing. Ana could see right past the prefomance that that the Buneary put on, however, and didn't attempt to apologize to the little creature at all. "That'll teach you to be more respectful." Anastasia said haughtily and her Soulmate added, <Yeah!> and nodded his baby blue-colored head in agreement, and then looked up to Anastasia with his wide, kiddish eyes. She just sighed and pat his fluffy head. "Hey, don't start acting all high-and-mighty. I'd scold you for the same exact thing." Then the unimaginable happened: the buneary started to levitate off of the ground. She and her ducklett stared at the pokemon, their eyes filled with bewilderment. Of course, the buneary obviously wasn't doing it on its own, given the fact that a strange light had engulfed the pokemon. But... it was floating. That alone was enough to leave someone perplexed. The Buneary wiggled its ears as it rose in the air, as if to taunt the two of them; and of course, Winter fell for it. As soon the buneary was off the ground, he jumped from Ana's arms and bounded after the floating rabbit in his awkward-looking waddle-run, his wings spreading out as he tried to gain air with every jump he took. <You're not the only one who can fly; don't feel so special!> Winter squawked, and he attempted to take lift-off as he flapped his wings at what seemed like a million times a minute. Winter never was the best flier when it came down to it. but he wasn't exactly terrible, either. All the duckling wanted to do was beat the buneary to wherever the strange light was taking him, and claim himself as the victorious winner of the unofficial race. As he flew he kept glancing out from the corner of his eye to see where the buneary was in sight, and soon the rabbit no longer was. He turned his long neck behind him to jeer at the brown thing for losing, but eventually he realized that it had reached his destination shortly after he had taken off and he clumsily turned around, flapping his wings wildly as he tried to gain his balance again and fly back to his soulmate. Anastasia was laughing quietly to herself as she watched Winter's competitive nature get the best of him, and couldn't help but smile at how silly he looked when he tried to race the floating buneary. "He's very young, apparently mischievous." She heard someone say, and Anastasia was startled by the unexpected voice. She looked over to the source of the sound and saw a man in its place, and she blushed. 'How long had he been there...? Am I really that oblivious?' She thought, and her face reddened even more. 'Speak, stupid!' She told herself, and she tried to recover by acting nonchalantly. "Oh, uh, yeah, yeah. I figured that was it." She murmured, and blushed even more she thought about how stupid she sounded. When he smiled, you might as well had assumed her face was painted on with a red paint of some source. " Oh, no, I don't really battle much. I mean Winter doesn't. I mean we don't. Er... you know what I mean... I'm not much of a battler, I'm more so of a coordinator. Well, I want to be. I mean if I can... er..." She babbled nervously, and looked down at her ducklett, who gave her a look that told her to shut up. To try and break the awkwardness of the situation she just created, Ana blurted, "I like your Starmie! They're one of my favorite pokemon. Well, all water types are." Maybe that would save her from making a fool of herself...

[/b] two words: knee-pads. XD so much awkwardness, lol.
Wordcount: 696
Action: N/A
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[ANTHONY KING]

The buneary giggled at the ducklett’s ungainly attempts to leave the ground, an amused smirk worming its way onto the rabbit pokemon’s face. While Marzipan was still quite young, he’d had plenty of time to watch flying-type pokemon gliding above meadows and vales: they’d all looked quite graceful from below, unlike this clumsy blue creature frantically waving its wings in an attempt to gain altitude. Marzipan’s snickers grew into full-fledged peals of laughter when the ducklett finally managed to take to the air just above the swaying grass, in part to playfully taunt his newfound rival (the buneary had no control over his ‘flight,’ but at least he looked less foolish) but more because, after Winter’s intense concentration and struggle to take to the air, the actual flight was underwhelming.

The faintest vestiges of a frown twisted the corners of his lips at her obvious surprise; he hadn’t intended to sneak up on the girl, but her expression and rapidly-reddening face indicated that somehow he had. He maintained his neutral expression through her unintelligible stammering, but he glanced over to Enyo in discomfort. The vivid violet glow still crawled along her outline, as she still kept Marzipan airborne with Telekinesis, but he could sense her vague bemusement despite her impassive exterior. {What’s so funny?} he growled mentally, nodding slightly after the girl’s babbling about her Winter to indicate that he was still listening.
{She’s as red as a Pomeg berry, that’s what.} was the dry response his question gleaned. There was a sigh, and then {Can I put the silly creature down? He’s becoming dreadfully heavy.}
{By all means.}
As if to punctuate the aspiring coordinator’s statement about water types, Marzipan was gradually lowered to the ground, and when he was hovering a few inches above the soil the glow around him dissipated and he was unceremoniously dropped. The buneary mewled in discontent and stood on four legs instead of the typical two, shaking the dust from his fur like a canine before looking up to his trainer. Anthony raised an eyebrow. “Stay here and behave yourself,” he commanded quietly before looking back to the girl. Marzipan’s ears wilted slightly, but he sat where he’d been deposited, absently gnawing at his paw again.

“Thank you,” was the automatic response the compliment about ‘his Starmie’ earned; the soulmate in question drifted away from Marzipan and towards Anthony, hovering in midair behind him like an alien satellite composed of precise angles and a precious central gemstone.
{I’m not your Starmie. You’re my human. I thought that was obvious.} Enyo commented to her bonded, more playful than exasperated. Neither Anthony nor his soulmate made any similar comment regarding the Ducklett soulmate that had returned to his human; it was a cute enough pokemon, but it lacked the grace that characterized a mundane Ducklett’s evolved form, and if anything reflected its human’s naivety. This would-be coordinator was careless; in a few seconds worth of stammered sentences she’d volunteered information regarding her soulmate’s name, her aspirations, and that they couldn’t adequately defend themselves from wild pokemon or unsavory trainers meaning them harm. “If you favor water-types, I suppose you’re in the right place to see some freshwater species,” he said after a moment, nodding to the Silver River twining through the Sea dotted with flowers. “I can’t say I’ve ever met a shy coordinator. They tend to be a… showy and self-confident group, considering their livelihood.” He shrugged his shoulders, unperturbed by the bluntness of his observation. “Furthermore, even if you intend to become a coordinator, if you’re going to be traveling your pokemon should be capable of battling, what with--” the words ‘rising crime rates’ had been on his lips, but that implied Unifi, and he wasn’t about to bring that lot into the conversation when he made every effort to avoid even the mention of them. “—wild pokemon and other hazards.”
{I hardly think she wanted a lecture, Anthony.}

He grimaced at his soulmate’s criticism but didn’t vocalize any apology, instead glancing over to Winter; the downy-feathered bird was looked as harmless as his soulmate did, and though his form suggested potential – an ugly Ducklett transforms into a beautiful Swanna, as the anecdote went – he couldn’t envision this stammering young girl on stage with her pokemon. “Have you two entered any contests yet?” He inquired, more to interrupt the pause than anything else.