The Heights of Londo [IC 2: Bolted]

[Hazuki]

Genevieve

When Genevieve moves through the door, she's immediately greeted by...a curious lack of scents. Moffit's home is normally rife with the sweet scents of the Lilligant, or else one of Moffit's concoctions made with them. Instead, she's greeted by a large writing slate that's been mounted on the wall, and covered in drawings of various Pokemon being affected by the items written beside them. The walls are lined with small shelves, marked with a number, and the polished wooden floor is decorated with a few waist-height booths, complete with cushions, many of which are occupied by Murkrow, and two by Eevee.

At the far side of the room, Pip is speaking with the girl Genevieve bumped into early, while an identical woman heads for the door she just entered through. Genevieve quickly realizes that this must be one of Pip's identical triplet sisters, and distinctly recalls that Moffit can only tolerate one of them at a time.

Lina, Alyssa, & Leah

"Ser Champ!" Sass corrects Lina with meaningful adjustment of the faceplate strapped to her head. They make it out of the bulk of the crowd, with a decent view of some of the stalls and the nearest healer's just down the street. Most of the available foodstuffs aren't too fancy, just rice cakes, spiced beans, and similar foodstuffs, but it is all fresh.

[Ceralune]

"Um, excuse me!" Not wanting to interrupt their discussion and moved by a sense of urgency, Genevieve holds out the bucket with the Murkrow to the closest one, Pip's sister, who is walking by. The idea that the Murkrow might have come from here originally crosses her mind. "Is this Murkrow yours? Please, this pokémon needs medical attention! Can you help?"

[Merilan]

Linne looked pretty surprised to see twins, she'd never seen anything like that before! "O-oh, it's okay, really, Linne is happy just to help..." but then the pink-haired girl who bumped into her before barged in, with an injured looking Murkrow. She stepped aside and brought Zeta up to her chest to hug, looking a bit horrified at the injuries the Pokemon had sustained. "Oh goodness..."

[Comissar]

Leah grins at Sass' correction, nodding at Lina's comments she asked, "Umm, is there anything, uh, anything in particular you'd recommend?"

She lingers by the rice cakes, the food reminding her of what her mother sometimes made when she was feeling a bit homesick.

[Hazuki]

Genevieve & Linne

The sister who was walking to the door blinks as she's addressed and addresses her with a smile. "Oh, that's not good, is it?" She remarks, as she looked into the bucket and sees the burned Murkrow. "It's not ours, but a few have been in. That fight at the manor did a right number on them." She says, shaking her head. She reaches in and grasps the Murkrow firmly, despite a few squawked protests, and moves it over to one of the booths. "The burns on this one, Pip! You'll be needing the balms."

"I expect I will, yes." Pip replies, as she reaches under the counter and retrieves some medical supplies. "You get off to Moffit's and I'll sort it out." She says, and her sister flashes a matching smile before heading through the door.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve breathes a sigh of relief as it seems Pip will be able to help the Murkrow after all. "Thank you. Wait, fight at the manor? What happened?" She asks this with an incredulous tone. Who knew something like that could happen to a pokémon in such a... monotonous place. Her eyes wander around the room as she thinks this, and land on Linne. "Ohh! You. You look familiar. Where have I seen you before?" Her face scrunches up in confusion.

[Merilan]

Linne shied into herself a little, and Zeta began to growl softly. She pat the Fennekin on the head to say, "It's fine, Zeta... oh, um, Linne thinks--" She paused and hesitated, correcting herself, "I saw you at the manor gate just before..."

[Ceralune]

"Ehh? I don't remember talking to... anyone else at the manor gates," Genevieve mumbles, reluctantly thinking back to the events that transpired there. Then, she blinks in surprise. "Ohh... I bumped into you, didn't I? Sorry about that, I, uh, had a lot on my mind."

[Merilan]

Linne shook her head and had a quiet smile, which settled the Fennekin down too. "No, it's okay, you looked angry... do you feel a bit better now? I'm Linne Hirschell, from, um, Diwyneb. It's nice to meet you!"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve quickly reassures Linne that she's alright. "Ohh I'm perfectly fine! It probably looked worse than it was." Ahaha.... eep. My name is Genevieve Neomme." She holds out her hand. "I'm originally from Unova, but I spent the last few years in Johto."

[Merilan]

"Uno...va? Jooh...to?" Linne looked curious, tilting her heads as she idly petted Zeta on the head. "Are those nearby towns? Linne has not really gone far past the forest until just now, so everything is new to me."

[Ceralune]

Ehh? Miki said that the people here were pretty distant from the other regions socially, but I thought with all of the foreigners they have coming in most people would know about Johto at least. This forest must be really removed from society....

"Oh! Well, not exactly. Bastille Town is part of what people call the 'Londo' region, right? There are other places that are parts of other regions. Unova and Johto are two different regions separate from Londo. They're both very far away."

[Merilan]

Linne's face lit up with an innocent smile, saying, "Ohh... um, you're from really far away, miss Genevieve? That's so exciting. You must have seen a lot in your travels!"

[Ceralune]

"You could say that. Ecruteak is lovely around this time of year...." Genevieve clears her throat. "But I guess that's neither here nor there, since this is Bastille."

At this point, she glances back towards Pip, who is treating Murkrow. I hope it's going well....

[Hazuki]

Linne & Genevieve

As the girls have been chatting away, Pip has been working on applying a balm to the Murkrow's burns, plucking out a few choice feathers, and wrapping it up in home-made bandages. After a few sips from a tiny bowl, it has been sent to sleep like most of the other Murkrow in the room.

"I don't know what was going on to make them take down this many." Pip wonders out loud. "Still, they're alright now." She pats the beak of a resting Murkrow, then turns to Genevieve. "Don't you worry about payment. Lord Bastille's paying for the little ones." She says, followed by a thoughtful sigh.

[Merilan]

Linne nodded slowly, and turned her attention back to Pip as she pumped her hands. "That's a horrible thing to do what a Pokemon, is there trouble going on in town...?"

[AncientSpark]

Lina giggles a bit at Sass' indignation. "What, hey, yer tellin' me it's not true? It's a little early to be promisin' yourself to a boyfriend."

With a start, she hops forward towards the gates. "Anyway, the street corn's pretty good. They sprinkle it with special cheese from the Miltanks and cream too."

[Ceralune]

Genevieve nods gratefully, but many questions pop up in her mind at what Pip has said. "Thank you for your help. You know who did this? Who was it? And what even happened? Where I come from, anyone who did that to a pokemon and just left it to fend for itself would have gotten a long scolding from our gym leader by now." She frowns slightly.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa runs a hand through her hair. "That sounds great. Sometimes simple is the best." She licks her lips thinking of the corn and then gives a blissful sigh. When Sass gives her reply to Lina, Alyssa laughs but doesn't really had a quip. Frankly, she's glad to be laughing, and maybe laughs a bit too hard, coughing a small bit at the end.

As they clear the crowd and Alyssa gets her first look at the food stalls, her mouth begins to water a bit, but she distracts herself a bit by asking Lina, "So what did you come into town for?" She starts pointing between the stalls, moving her finger from one to another as they pass. Then she looks back to Lina. "I came here to help Lord Bastille in the manor. Came a long way, actually, when I think about it, though I guess that was a little while ago."

[Comissar]

Leah hesitates at Lina's suggestion, turning her attention away from the rice cakes to the corn. Not wanting to seem rude when Alyssa made her way toward them, she reached for one herself. Looking up at the vendor, she asked "Umm, how much are these?"

Once given the price, she pulled the appropriate amount from her bag and passed it over. Glancing back to Lina and Alyssa, she listens to their conversation quietly.

[Hazuki]

Genevieve & Linne

"Well, what I heard was that the Knights did it." Pip strolls back to her counter to have something to lean on. "Something about the person that hurt Macha Bastille, same reason there's not many Knights in town. They were escaping, and did something to the Murkrow, and they had to be blasted out of the sky! Hope they catch whoever did that to the poor girl." She shakes her head. "It isn't right!"

~

Alyssa, Lina, & Leah

"I'm promised to me." Sass declares proudly, as they spot the healer's coming closer and closer through the stalls. She grasps about in her bag for a few moments and eventually retrieves a tiny pouch of coins. She counts them up, frowns to herself, then takes just two and buys a small rice cake.

[Ceralune]

At hearing about Macha, who Genevieve figures must have been the girl Moffit was referring to, Genevieve feels the small pit of shame in her stomach again. "Yeah... it's unfortunate that that happened to her. Hopefully she makes a speedy recovery."

"So they got caught up in the Knights' business...." Genevieve murmurs to herself, Well, at least Lord Bastille paid for their recovery. She glances back to the resting Murkrow, glad that she happened to be in a situation to get it the help it needed. Sighing inwardly, she thinks, I guess sometimes bad things just happen, whether we're expecting them or not.

[Merilan]

Linne didn't really know what had been happening in this town, but hearing that the Knights had to hurt pokemon didn't sit right with her. Ser Volim wouldn't have ever hurt a pokemon like that, she was really kind to Linne. "Bad things are happening in this town, are they...? Um, Linne also hopes that she heals quickly as well."

Zeta was starting to tug Linne against her skirt, and she paused to go, "Oh! Right, the couriers... um, Linne has to go find her mother now!"

[Ceralune]

"Ohh, alright. Well it was nice meeting you, Linne." Genevieve offers a small wave.

Turning to Pip, she says, "Well, I suppose I've done my part. Thanks again." After giving Pip a brief nod of thanks, Genevieve turns to exit.

[Merilan]

Linne dithered for a moment, but then waved with a bright smile. "Umn! It's nice to meet you too, miss Genevieve!" She bowed her head to Pip and said, "Linne will be going now!" She paced out and tried to go find that courier that the ser Knight was talking about...

[AncientSpark]

Lina skips ahead of Alyssa, taking up the guiding role. She was familiar enough with the entire market, having been here plenty of times before to help her family sell crops, so she seemed to not have any problems with the crowds.

She tilts her head at Alyssa's question, seemingly confused at the simple question. "Slackin' on work to come watch the battle. Why else would I-Oh?" She then shakes her head at the confusion. "Oh, I live 'round here. My family owns one of the farms out here. Pretty good size one, if I do say so myself. It's a little droll though...which is why I wanted to watch Miss Champ here's battle!"

She looks up and over to Leah after responding. "Your friend's awfully quiet here, though. She here for the same reason?"

[tgva8889]

Sass's comment strikes something in Alyssa and she gives her a big smile. "You never know when you'll find someone!" She gives the girl a wink and gives Leah a little nudge.

Alyssa looks at Lina as she speaks. "I have no problem with skipping some work. That was really worth it." She laughs once and then gives Lina a wink. While they stop at one of the stalls, she picks out a rice cake and some of the aforementioned corn. She gives a knowing look to Leah as she pulls out sufficient coinage to pay, then turns to Lina with a shrug. "That, um, not really my story to tell. But no, not really." She then takes a bite out of one, happy to be eating again.

[Comissar]

Leah gives Alyssa a bemused look at her comments on finding someone, turning into a slightly confused smile as she's nudged. At Lina's more direct question about her, she shakes her head, brushing a strand of hair away from her face as she did. "Oh, um, no. Umm, my family moved to Sorland, uh, a few years back." She glances over to Alyssa briefly before turning her attention back to Lina, "Umm, I work with Professor Hawthorne. She, uh, she got a letter from Lord Bastille asking her to look into a, uh, a fossil he had. Umm, I find that kind of thing interesting so, uh, so she sent me here in her place." She hesitates a moment, seeming to consider her next words before continuing, "I've, uh, only been here a couple of days and, uh, and with everything that happened with, uh, with Macha," She glances over to Alyssa again, "We were asked to leave the manor, uh, just for the time being."

She pauses again, seeming for a moment like she was going to continue, but instead falling quiet.

[Hazuki]

Linne

With the directions given by Ser Knight, Linne makes her way through the crowds of Bastille Town and finds herself standing outside a building right by the gates. It's a bit taller than most of the buildings in the area, with a tall fence behind it, and a pair of inviting open doors. The Footbrooks' symbol is painted on either side of the doors; namely, it features the elemental symbol of water made out of blue bootprints. She doesn't manage to get a peek inside, as her vision is quickly obscured by a pair of dark eyes and cropped hair.

"Good morning." The young woman greets, after a moment's hesitation, and adjusts the hood of her cloak. Couriers are a very familiar sight in Diwyneb, and the fashion is a cloak in their Arm's color with the group's logo. "Do you need something delivered?" She blurts, as a particularly stumpy Ponyta emerges at her heels. It stands at about the same height as Zeta, and knocks its hooves against the ground as they linger in the doorway.


~

Genevieve

"You're quite welcome. Let us know if you find any others!" Pip invites the young woman as she tries to leave, only for the doorway to be immediately occupied by a young local with a Vivillion cocooned on her back. She looks at the impasse of them both standing in each other's way, then stares at Genevieve in a way that says "No, you move.".

~

Alyssa, Leah, & Lina

Sass sticks an impudent tongue out at Alyssa, then stuffs her mouth with her rice cake and rushes ahead to the healer's.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve blinks blankly at the girl in front of her. Maybe they don't know basic etiquette regarding this kind of thing? People have to exit a room before others can enter and all that?

After the girl doesn't move and they stand there awkwardly for another moment, Genevieve says, "Ahh... pardon me." She backs up slightly, giving the girl enough room to slide past and enter.

[Merilan]

Linne shuffled through the crowds and mostly stuck to the side; she didn't seem terribly comfortable walking through a crowd, drawing her hood down a little further. Once she reached the Footbrooks' tower, she started to peek-- before letting out a little 'eeek!' and stepped back. She stammered, "O-oh, Linne is looking for her mother, Eschalinde Hirschell, ser Knight told me that you would be able to help me...?" She wasn't quite certain, but perhaps the Courier would be able to deliver her a message...?

[Hazuki]

Genevieve

The girl swallows something and smiles at Genevieve. "Thanks." She says, slipping past the space and up to the counter. "Heya, Pip! Another round of healing." She requests, pulling a pair of Pokeballs out of her pack.

Linne

"Some Hirschells came by a bit ago. Wanted a message sent to Vibrost." The courier answers. "I can find them for you!" She says, as the tiny Ponyta at her feet trots in place. "Let's say...a hundred?" She asks, patting her rather flat coin purse.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa steps in to pick up Leah's tale. "We're probably going soon. I figured I was going to see some sights, maybe improve my art skills a little bit. Oh, did I forget to mention? I'm an artist." While eating some corn in between sentences, she makes a bit of a flourish like a paint brush. Then she swallows and continues, "Leah and I were gonna stick together for a little while, at least." Her face skews a bit in thought, then she turns to Leah. "I guess we're probably leaving today or tomorrow, right?" Not waiting for a response, she plows forward, "Everything did really happen fast." Shrugging, she takes a bite of corn. "Guess I we should enjoy ourselves while we're here."

As Sass runs ahead, Alyssa shouts, "Hey, wait up!" and rushes after her. Luna, who has been quietly trudging along just enjoying herself, suddenly finds herself trailing Alyssa's significantly longer legs. She ends up falling a bit in front of Leah and Lina and then picks herself up and keeps trying to run to catch her trainer.

[Merilan]

Linne's eyes widen at that news, and then she became rather excited as she pumped her hands again. "Yes, please! But, oh... um--" She pat her hands to her purse and rummaged through, before saying, "O-oh, oh no, Linne has no coins..."

[Hazuki]

Alyssa, Leah, & Lina

When Alyssa runs to catch up with Sass, she catches her slipping past a pink-haired foreigner at the door, and ordering heals from a woman behind the counter.

~

Linne

The girl stares at Linne for a moment, her brow furrowing together. "That's a problem. Have you got anything to barter?"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve stares, slightly dumbfounded as another girl is about to enter the building. Sheesh, I don't recall a time when we ever got this many visitors at Moffit's. I guess I'll just wait until they all finish coming through? Jokingly wondering if there was a party going on here that she hadn't heard about, she stands to the side as whoever else enters comes through.

[Merilan]

Linne looked hesitant and started looking through the pack that Mrs. Weber largely helped her pack up; she wasn't even familiar with many of these tools, but eventually pulled out what looked to be a basic pokeball. "Umm... is this valuable? Linne doesn't know what it is," she admitted. "It's a nice, pretty trinket...?"

[AncientSpark]

Lina claps her hands together at the tales of the two and perks up even more than she had previously. "Oh, that's cool! Learnin' 'bout all sorts of ancient history things and drawing. Maybe when I get the chance, I could have a look at what ya two have done? I ain't too smart and I ain't too good at drawin' though, myself." She giggles, apparently not too embarrassed at her admitting her ineptitude. "It's kind of a shame you two are leavin' so early, you seem real interesting. You're probably...'round my age? But, you two already got somethin' you two are travellin' round for and-"

Lina only notices that she's babbling when Alyssa goes off to go catch up with Sass. "Oops. I guess I gotta catch up." She starts running to catch up with Alyssa.

[Hazuki]

Linne

"That's..." The girl eyes the Pokeball for a few moments. "A bit," Inhales. "Too much. I'll give you a hundred back." She offers, pulling a coin representative of a hundred and holding it out, along with her other hand outstretched to receive the Pokeball. "What's your message?"

[Merilan]

Linne handed the pokeball without much argument, taking the coin and peering at it with a certain amount of unfamiliarity of someone who's... only really recently started to use it. "O-oh, ummm..." Linne put her finger to her lip, before saying, pumping her fists a third time with a self-induced bout of psyching up, "Linne is okay, and Linne-- wants to meet mommy again...?"

[Comissar]

Leah rubs the back of her neck, ears starting to redden, "Umm, I don't, uh, don't really have much to show. Umm, I guess I could, uh, oh..."

She trails off as Lina and Alyssa both run off after Sass. She watches them run off for a moment, before glancing down at Saura. Turning her attention forward again, she self-consciously adjusted her bag strap and walked after the trio.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa steps past the pink-haired girl with an "Excuse me," then looks back at her with a bit of a double take. After maybe a second she smiles. "I like your hair!" She brushes her own a bit out of her face and brushes down her dress. "Are you from around here?"

About this point Luna catches up, huffing a bit. She looks up at Genevieve and seems too out of breath to offer her normal cheerful wave. Instead she just walks over to Alyssa and falls on her feet. Alyssa bends down to pick her up. "Oh, Luna, I'm sorry." She brushes the Cleffa's swirl and it smiles at her.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve's expression shifts to one pure surprise as the girl compliments her hair. "Ohh! Thank you!" She beams at her and the other girls who seem to be entering with her. Wanting to be polite, she returns, "I love your dress."

[Hazuki]

Linne

"Hang on," The girl urges Linne, as she strides inside the Footbrooks' tower and scribbles Linne's message on a piece of parchment. She brings it over to Linne, along with the quill, then hands both to her. "Put your name here?" She says, pointing to the bottom of the parchment.

[Comissar]

Arriving at the healer's, Leah glanced inside the open door and felt her heart sink a bit. It already looked to be quite crowded inside, and she didn't really want to add to it. Taking a couple of steps to one side, she leaned her back against the wall, her gaze unfocusing as she settled in to wait for everyone to come out again. As he hand strayed to her bag, she frowned. Standing straighter, she began rummaging through her bag for her pokégear. On retrieving it, she flicked through her contacts until she found her mum, before attempting to call her.

[Merilan]

Linne nodded and took the quill, kind of... scrawling her name. She'd never gotten past basic writing and reading skills, and being a primary dweller of the forest, she never really got used to any higher form of literacy. "Li... nne. Okay!"

[Hazuki]

Leah

The Pokegear rings for a few long moments before she hears the other end being picked up. "Hello?" She greets, cautiously.

~

Linne

"Thank you. I'm Dechs, if you need to ask for me later. I'll go deliver it now." The girl informs Linne. "Come along!" She calls to her tiny Ponyta, before the pair of them start darting through the streets and out of sight.

[Merilan]

Linne nodded and waved. "Thank you, miss Dechs! Oh, um, Linne will be at..." She paused, then said, "Pip's healing hut!" deciding that out of nowhere. She really didn't know if she was out of line just deciding that, but the healer's felt like a really familiar place, and she wanted to see if they could use her help with anything. Off she went, back towards Pip's red-roofed house.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa beams to Genevieve. "Oh thanks! I'm not sure how right it is for me but I like it." She does a little swishy thing with her dress and for a moment she looks like a very happy small child. Then she stops and gives a small bow. "I'm Alyssa. What's your name?"

[AncientSpark]

Lina eventually catches up, feeling a little out of breath. She takes off her hat and starts fanning herself with it as she looks around the healer's hut along with the other girls. While she had been here before, it was almost always because she caused some trouble and had to get patched up, usually along with her Pokemon.

Speaking of which, Zephyr squawked loudly after the shelter on Lina's head was taken away. It started flapping and rising upwards, before revolving around in circles. Lina gave him a look of disapproval for a second, but let him continue anyway; as long as he didn't get into the healer's stuff it should be fine.

Lina eventually settles into following Alyssa around and noting that she was talking with another girl. "Hey, this 'nother friend of yours? Introduce me!" Her voice is chipper, as if she was already talking with someone familiar.

[Ceralune]

"Genevieve Neomme. I think it does. It offsets your jacket nicely, letting the jacket's color bring out your eyes." Raising her other hand to her mouth in surprise, she then adds, "Ahh... I'm sorry if that was too forward. I go to an all-girls' school and... the students there talk about this kind of thing more than you would think." Wearing a lopsided, apologetic grin, she reaches out a hand to shake.

At the other girl's inquiring, Genevieve's eyes widen slightly and she shakes her head. "Ohh, no, I'm fairly new here. I haven't really met many people yet." She frowns briefly, before it fades to a happier expression. Although she wonders at the second girl's choice in apparel (Why overalls?), they're both polite enough and it's always nice to have your style appreciated. "It's nice to meet you, though. What might your name be?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shakes her head and brushes a hand down her jacket. "No, don't worry! I never got noticed for my looks much as a kid." She absently brings a hand to her cheek, where a noticeable scar cuts across. When Genevieve puts her hand out, Alyssa seems to stop for a second before she puts her hand, slowly, into hers with a smile. "Right. I, uh, sometimes forget about the custom." She waves off Genevieve's second comment completely. "I didn't really grow up around that many girls. Mostly me and...well a lot more boys than girls."

As Lina comes up behind her, Alyssa turns with a start. "Oh, I just met her, too. Lina, Genevieve." She gestures between the two girls, then with the same gesture the opposite direction, "Genevieve, Lina. Seems I'm meeting a lot of people today." Shrugging, she raises up Luna. "Oh, and this is Luna." Luna waves at the two girls, then snuggles a bit more into Alyssa's arms. Noting the small bird Pokemon fluttering through the air, Alyssa points gingerly. "And who is your friend?"

[Ceralune]

Slightly incredulous at the idea of more boys than girls, Genevieve asks, "My goodness, how did you survive?" with only the barest hint of sarcasm. "No worries, I... keep forgetting things are different here." Though one would wonder how I keep managing to do that, she grumbles internally.

"It's nice to meet you, Lina." Genevieve doesn't offer a hand this time, opting not to repeat a mistake twice. She nods at the girl in the overalls instead, hoping that will suffice. "And hello, Luna. She smiles slightly at the little fairy, before turning her attention to the bird pokemon that Alyssa mentioned. "Er... I'm not sure actually. I could've sworn the only bird pokemon in here before were Murkrow... where did that Starly come from?" she wonders, furrowing her brow.

[Comissar]

"Hey mum, it's me." Leah finds herself smiling softly at the sound of her mother's voice, "Umm, I've got some news to share and, uh, and a favour to ask..? Umm... Lord Bastille's asked everyone to leave his manor, uh, me included. But he also asked if I could go travelling around Londo for him." She rubs at the back of her neck with her free hand, very self-conscious about what she was about to ask, "Umm, so... If I did, it'd, uh, it'd take me a lot longer than, uh, than the couple of weeks I thought I'd be here..?"

[Hazuki]

Leah's mother goes quiet as she listens to Leah's explanation of what's been happening. "How much is he paying you? Do you have somebody to protect you? How long will you be gone for?"

[Comissar]

Leah tugs at her bag strap as her mother rattles off her questions. "Umm, he's offered to cover all the trip expenses, umm, but he didn't say how long it might be for. I think the idea is that I at least go to each part of Londo..?" Leah mentally winces a little as she realises how unclear she was on what it was she'd be doing, it all seemed much grander when Lord Bastille made the suggestion, "I wouldn't be on my own, though. I made a friend here over the past couple of days and, uh, and she's been asked to make the journey too."

[Hazuki]

"Can she protect you?" Leah's mother asks, without a second passing between the question and the end of Leah's reply.

[Comissar]

Leah hesitates, finding her chest tightening a little at the question as she realised she didn't actually know how capable Alyssa was if a situation came to blows. "I'd trust her to." Feeling like that might not be enough, she added, "And, uh, Lord Bastille didn't seem to think we'd be in danger."

[Hazuki]

"Perhaps he intends you to spend some of that money on a guard." She replies, softly. "The roads may be safe, but if you're going to be committed to your paleontology, you won't always be in town or on the road. I would feel a lot more comfortable if I knew you were protected, Leah."

[Comissar]

Leah felt a growing knot of guilt build in her stomach as she admitted, "I... Hadn't thought of that..." Her free hand moved to clutch at her side, ears reddening as she continued, "Umm... I promise I'll try and find someone to, uh, to act as a guard."

[Merilan]

Linne walked the rest of the way back with Zeta by her side, though she paused as she watched the brown-haired girl outside of Pip's red hut speak to... herself?? She peered around the corner, a little quizzically, and glanced around as if expecting there to be someone else. Or perhaps there was a g-ghost?!

The silver-haired girl with the white dress and black leggings and armwarmers eventually approached, still covered under the hood of her fancy white robe.

[Hazuki]

Leah

"I'll hold you to that." Leah's mom replies. "How does Saura feel about the trip?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa looks to Genevieve while the Starly flies about. "I had my brother and Luna here. I didn't really get along with a lot of people when I was younger, though." She kicks the ground a bit and runs a hand through her hair nervously. "So you go to school? What for? I went to a school in Lancer but it was more even. Didn't really make a lot of friends there, either." Everything comes out matter-of-fact, and Alyssa smiles at the last comment. "I did get good enough to leave, though. It sounds like you're still in school, though?"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve smiles, though there is a slight twist in her expression as the memories come slightly bittersweet. "Ohh, I go to a dance school. Well, we call it a 'dance' school, but the teachers there cover a general education, while specializing in pokemon training, dance, femininity, and culture. I'm still a student, with one more year to go after I return." Her visage becomes slightly more morose as she says the next bit: "I'm on a... foreign study project of sorts. That's why I'm here. The school I go to is in Johto."

Eager to change the subject, she opts to ask Alyssa about herself. Hoping that a little humor might detract from any further questions about her situation, she puts on a light grin and asks, "So, what do you do now that you're free of the chains of established education?"

[Comissar]

Leah glanced down to her feet, where Saura sat patiently for her to finish. "I think tentatively excited, she's going to get to see a lot of new places." Leah smiles as Saura looks up at her, realising she's being talked about, "It'll be like when we were younger." Looking up, her smile faded a little as she realised she was being watched. Not entirely sure what to do, she felt her ears redden at the unexpected attention, "Umm, I'm sure, uh, I'm sure she'll, uh, enjoy it..."

She trailed off as the girl watching her approached. "Umm... I'm sorry, I've, uh, I've got to go... I'll, uh, I'll call you again before I, uh, I leave Bastille..."

Briefly glancing down at her pokégear to end the call, she gave the newcomer and uncertain smile, "Umm, hi..?"

[Merilan]

Linne jumped as she realised that her gawking was far too obvious, and then she bowed her head. "Um, Linne is sorry, Linne didn't--" she paused, and then corrected herself, "I didn't mean to overhear... a-are you a Sage, miss? Were you speaking to-- spirits, or one of the passing ghosts...??" She sounded so earnest that it didn't seem like she was trying to pull a prank or be lying.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods in interest, waiting until Genevieve is finished to add, "Cool! I didn't learn anything like that in school."

At the ask, Alyssa gives a small giggle before she responds, "Well right now I guess I'm just traveling. But I'm sort of an artist. Actually, I guess I count as a professional artist, though I'm not really sure I feel like it." She gives a shrug at that. "I was in the manor but with everything that's happened recently I'm going on a trip for a while." As she speaks, then takes out her sketch pad with the pencil stuck inside. Tapping the pencil on the page for a moment, she says, "I'm still getting better. But it's something that drives me, I think." She looks up at Genevieve in a sort of studious fashion, taking in what she can about her, then starts absently sketching something in her pad. "Plus I like it a lot." Looking down at the pad, she shakes her head and scratches it out, then puts the pad away. "Though I think I'm not in the right mood for it right now."

[Comissar]

Leah blinked in confusion at the girl's question. She glanced down at her pokégear, the piece of technology still in her hand, then back at Linne. "Umm, no..? I was, uh, I was just talking to my mum." Realisation seems to cross her face as she looks back at her pokégear, "Oh, umm, I guess you've not seen these before..?"

[AncientSpark]

"Yep, the name's Lina. I'm a local here. Y'know, farmin' town and all." Lina says, getting the distinct feeling that all this fashion talk is kind of going over her head. She tries to pass it off with a nervous smile. "An' I don' think things are THAT different here. Then again, I haven' been anywhere but Londo an' even then, it's mostly here an' Sorland."

She blinks at Genevieve's question, taking a moment to realize that Genevieve was talking about Zephyr. "Oh Zephyr? He was a gift from my aunt. She's a Knight y'know, real well-known back in Sorland. Haven' seen her in a while, but she's-HEY!" At that moment, Zephyr decided that the herbs in the cabinets were looking real interesting and he started poking through them. Lina had to whistle to bring him back to his perch on her shoulder, where he continued to chew on some kind of plant. "Not now, Zephy, you're gonna get us in trouble."

She then turns back to the others, the words on their professions perking her interest. "Wow, so you're a dancer, then? No wonder yer so pretty. Too bad we're indoors or I'd ask ya to show us."

[Ceralune]

Genevieve nods thoughtfully. "Ohh. Well, I don't know much about art, but it must be a nice talent to have."

Now that the Starly has been identified, she chuckles at its antics. "Pokemon can be quite a handful, I guess."

At Lina's compliment, Genevieve's cheeks flush as a very pleased expression appears on her face. True, the girls back at school talked about things like fashion and appearance quite often, but with the Ecruteak School of Dance essentially being an elite boarding school, the girls could be a little... intense. For all that the Kimono Sisters tried to foster a sense of community, rivalries inevitably formed. Genevieve internally shrugs, thinking that she's not really any different. It's just how things are when you have a bunch of highly qualified students all under one roof. Compliments were not tossed around unless you were close friends with someone, and competition was fierce. Even the Kimono Sisters themselves would not hand out praise unless they felt it was truly deserved.

"Ohh, you're too sweet! I'd be happy to show you in different circumstances."

[Merilan]

Linne tilted her head and put her hands closer to her chest. "No...?" She looked a little bit more excited as she said, "You were speaking to your mother? Does that let anyone speak to their mothers? Linne wants to speak to mommy too..."

[Comissar]

Leah feels a sinking sensation in her chest as she realises she's going to have to disappoint Linne. An apologetic look on her face, she says "Umm, no, uh, that's not really, uh, how it works." Rubbing the back of her neck, she grimaced a little, "Umm... Does she, uh, does she have one of these..?" She waggled her pokégear for emphasis, "Umm, if, uh, if she does, and you know her number, I could, uh, I could try calling her..?"

[Merilan]

Linne looked completely like she didn't understand, struggling a little and latching onto some of the only things she knew. "Linne, ummm, Linne learnt a bit about numbers a long time ago?" She knew that was a long shot, but -- hey, numbers!

[Comissar]

Leah sags a little as she realised the extent of Linne's lack of knowledge. "Umm... That's... That's, uh, not going to help." She tapped her finger against her pokégear as she tried to decide how best to explain the concept of phone numbers. Frowning, she opened it up and walked next to Linne, holding the screen so that it was visible to them both. Pressing a few keys in quick succession, she brings up her contacts list. "So, you see all the names here? Umm, each one has a series of numbers that's associated with them. So, for example, my mum?" She puts a finger on the contact 'Mum', glancing at Linne to make sure she can see what she means, "If I type in those numbers, I can talk with her. Or, uh... Just next to her we have 'Dad'. And then there's a few of my old friends from back home, too, see?"

She looks to Linne again, trying to gauge whether the girl understood her, "So, they all have one of these. Or, at least, something similar. And, uh, that means I can talk with them by using their own numbers. Umm, did you, uh, did you know if your mum had one..?"

[Merilan]

Linne looked to be in a mixture of trying to hide her lack of knowledge while also just being impressed at being shown a gadget she'd never seen before -- all those lights and blinking icons and digits! "Linne, Linne has never seen such a device around mommy before," she admitted, looking glum for a moment. But then she put her hand behind her back with a bright and innocent smile. "But that's okay. L--I had Miss Courier send a message to mommy for me, so hopefully Linne can speak to mommy soon too."

She seemed to be having trouble cutting out that speech tic of hers, when she even remembered to do so.

"Oh, um, Linne is being rude..." She bowed her head again. "My name is, Linne Hirschell! It's really nice to meet you!"

[Comissar]

Leah nodded at Linne's comment on not seeing the pokégear before, "Yeah, umm, I don't think many people have one yet here. Umm, mine's, uh, mine's a bit old now," She looks down at her pokégear pensively for a moment, before putting it away in her bag with a small shrug, "but it still does what I need it to, so..."

She smiled at Linne's confidence in the couriers, simply nodding again as her response. When she introduces herself, Leah starts. With a hasty bow of her own, she replies, "Oh, sorry, umm, my name's Leah. It's nice to meet you too."

[Merilan]

"That sounds really amazing, Miss Leah," Linne chimed in, her head tilting to one side as she peered at the pokegear for a little bit longer. "Oh, this is my life-long companion, Zeta!" She picked up the Fennekin again, who cuddled onto her side and let out an adorable little 'arf!' kind of a sound.

[Comissar]

Leah feels her ears start to heat up again, "Umm, it's really, uh, nothing very special."

She grins at the sight of the Fennekin, "Umm, this is Saura," She gestures to the Bulbasaur at her feet, "She's been with me since I was ten."

At her feet, Saura smiled broadly up at Linne and gave a pleased sounding "Saur!"

[Merilan]

"Waah...!" Linne seemed so excited as she set Zeta down and paced near the Bulbasaur, and knelt down to pat Saura on the head, if allowed. "Saura's so cute! Where is she from? Linne hasn't seen anything like Saura in the forest before..."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa waves to Zephyr. "Hello!" Luna tries to give a wave, but can't really follow the Starly from her position.

Lina's quick mention of her aunt gives Alyssa a bit of pause, but she doesn't let it take bother her too much. Zephyr's antics make Alyssa cringe a bit in embarrassment, but Lina seems to handle the situation pretty well. She pats Luna as if acknowledging the Cleffa's rather good behavior and Luna cries happily. "I've never had many issues with them. You?" Her hand covers the scar on her cheek.

At Lina's suggestion, Alyssa gives a gasp and then nods repetitively. "Yes, yes, I'd love to see you dance sometime! I'm not a big dancer but maybe you could teach me or something." She does a little step out of excitement at the idea. A thought occurs to her and she decides to just ask it: "I wonder what Leah's doing outside..."

[Comissar]

Saura consents to being patted, seating herself down while Linne did so. Leah's smile broadened as she knelt down too, placing a hand on the ground just ahead of her to stabilise herself. "She's a Bulbasaur, from Kanto." She looked down at Saura as she spoke, "Like I said, she's been with me since I was young. Umm, nearly everyone back home is given a pokémon when they turn ten but, uh, I know that's not really common here yet."

[Hazuki]

Sass finally leaves the counter, as her very interesting yet very off-screen banter is finished and the Vivillon on her back is healed. She retrieves one of the Pokeballs in her pack and out pops Yrael the Eevee in a cloud of smoke, followed by bouncing around Sass' legs in a way that suggests "Imma get 'em! Where are they?!". Up until the girl gives him a scratch behind the ears, and they head to the exit. The exit blocked by a gaggle of people, as well as a Starly.

Yrael narrows his eyes up at Zephyr and pads his paws on the ground.

[Ceralune]

Passing over thoughts about obnoxious, stubborn Lilligants quickly, Genevieve says, "Ohh, well, no problems with my pokemon at least. Damien is very well-behaved." Smiling brightly, Genevieve takes Damien's pokeball and clicks the button. A well-groomed Eevee pops out of the pokeball and into her arms.

"Good afternoon, Damien. Can you say hello to these nice ladies?" Damien chirps and nods in greeting.

Turning to Alyssa, she adds, "Is this 'Leah' another friend of yours?" At the arrival of the girl from before who had the Vivillon, Genevieve notices the cluster they've made near the exit. "Ohh, sorry! Should we maybe move outside? Actually, if we do that I can probably find a space big enough to dance. Though I haven't practiced in the last several days, and haven't prepared anything specific lately, so I might be a bit rusty...."

[Merilan]

Linne nodded back at Leah and murmured, "Kan...too... wow, Linne has never heard of such a place. Linne has been with Zeta since she was really young too, the first time Linne ran away into the forest!" The Fennekin bobbled up next to her and nuzzled her leg, and Linne pet her in turn.

[Comissar]

Leah's expression turns quizzical at Linne's casual mention of running away. "... You ran away?" She feels a twisting in her chest, and quickly adds, "Umm, sorry, I shouldn't just ask that, umm... You don't have to, uh, to answer."

[Merilan]

Linne put her hand to her mouth, before fidgeting nervously. "O-oh, no, actually, some really bad men were after Linne, so Linne ran away into the forest. Oh, poor ser Volim... And... Linne has been living in the forest ever since." She hesitated, like she hadn't really told the story before, so she wasn't really sure she expressed that correctly. "B-but, Linne's met a lot of friends in the forest since, like Zeta!"

[Comissar]

Leah gives the other girl a worried look as she shares her story. She finds herself glancing over her shoulder, hoping that Alyssa could come and give her a bit of help. Seeing as that wasn't happening, however, she turned back to Linne. "Umm..." She finds herself at a loss of what to say, her gaze flitting between Saura and Linne as she tried to piece together a response, "Umm, where, uh, where did this happen..?"

[Merilan]

Linne squinted and said, "Umm, Linne followed the river downstream to get here... o-oh, please don't look worried, this was-- a long time ago." She put her hands behind her back. "Today, Linne heard that mommy was in this town, so Linne wants to see her again."

[Hazuki]

Genevieve, Lina, & Alyssa

Sass tilts her head at Damien, then at Genevieve, as Yrael continues his padding at the ground. "Where'd you get an Eevee? You weren't at Sorland Town."

[Comissar]

Leah's look of concern fails to pass with Linne's explanation. "Do you, uh, do you know where she might be in town..?" She glances over her shoulder again, then back at Linne, "Umm, I have a friend who knows the town and, uh, and with her we might be able to, uh, to help you?"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve turns to the girl who now has an Eevee (much like she does) with a somewhat puzzled expression. "Sorland Town...? Sorry, I'm not very clear on the geography of Londo." She frowns slightly. "My Eevee was a gift from my parents... for getting accepted into the school I attend."

[Merilan]

Linne put her hand to her chest and said, "Linne does not, but... okay!" with a rather happy nod, looking towards the healer's hut again.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa admires Damien as he greets her, leaning down a bit to get a slightly better look. Luna too returns the greeting, waving back a bit lazily but with a happy cry. "Quite nice to meet you, Damien."

She nods to Genevieve's question, and as Sass walks over says "I'll find her outside, see if we can find somewhere to sit for lunch. Sound all right, Sass?" Despite asking for it, she doesn't really wait for a reply, instead moving out of the door to help clear a path out of the place.

Turning to Leah and Linne, Alyssa gives a small wave. "Sass is done. Shall we -" As she's speaking her glance catches Linne and she gives a smile. "Oh, hello! I'm Alyssa." She offers a small bow before looking to Leah. "Maybe we can all go find somewhere to sit and eat then?"

[Ceralune]

As the group goes outside, Genevieve catches a glimpse of Linne. "Oh! You came back. Did you meet up with your mom? Seeing that Linne is not alone, she introduces herself to the girl Linne seemed to be talking to.

"You must be the 'Leah' that Alyssa told me about. My name is Genevieve Neomme." She offers Leah a small smile. At the mention of food, Genevieve realizes that she hasn't eaten since the breakfast she hurriedly made earlier that morning. The Lilligants briefly cross her mind as she remembers that they haven't eaten since then either, but unsure of her current status with Moffit, she resolves to think about it some more when she's not running on an empty stomach. "Lunch would be wonderful, actually."

[Merilan]

Linne looked a bit surprised to be addressed, but the silver-haired girl with the hooded white robe and white dress with the black leggings waved back to Alyssa as she headed on out with Genevieve. She looked to the pink-haired dancer, and excitedly said, "Linne, Linne spoke to a miss Courier and she said she'd try to find mommy." She paused at that point, since her stomach started to rumble too and she also realised she hadn't eaten since she came to Bastille Town. "Ohh... um, Linne could use something to eat..."

[Ceralune]

Having taken for granted that the answer to her question would be yes, Genevieve does a double take at Linne. "Wait... Your mom just left without you?!"

[Merilan]

Linne paused for a longer moment, before realising what Genevieve thought. She corrected, her voice a bit softer, "Oh... um, in truth, Linne has not seen her mother in a really, really long time, since Linne was small." She pumped her hands again and said, "S-so when Linne heard that Miss Hirschell was here in Bastille Town, Linne set out on a journey here."

[Hazuki]

Sass strides out of the healer's with Yrael bouncing around her feet. "Hey, don't just leave in the middle of a qu-" The girl pauses and stares at Linne. "Are you sick?" She asks, curiously.

[Comissar]

Leah glances between Alyssa and Genevieve as they come out, "Oh, um, hi. It's, uh, it's nice to meet you" She nods as she looks over to Alyssa, "Lunch sounds good. Umm, I was saying to Linne that you've been here a little while," She glances over at Linne as she makes the remark, "I was thinking we, uh, we might be able to try and help her..?"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve looks on in shock as Linne further describes the situation. That kind of thing happens here?! Jeez, I couldn't imagine just not having contact with my mom for that long....

At Leah's suggestion, she hesitates. I should really get back to the cottage and feed those Lilligants... and it sounds like this is going to take a while. I mean, how do you find someone who's been missing that long? Then again, did she REALLY want to go back and mope some more? And logically, they should be able to handle being alone for a little while. Moffit had to have left them alone sometimes before I got here. They should be fine for the day at least, right? Besides... losing your mother. Preeetty serious business. I'll feed them by the end of the day for sure. Though she felt a somewhat uncomfortable pang at the thought of going back at all.

"If you would like another person to help look, I don't mind helping."

[Merilan]

Linne looked rather charmed, smiling at everyone else as she put her hands behind her back. "Oh, no, Linne is not sick," she replied to Sass, noting that that was the challenger who won against Lord Bastille just an hour ago or so. She looked really in tune with her pokemon, Linne would really love to be able to be that close with Zeta one day. "Thank you, everyone! Linne is really happy to hear that... a-and, um, Linne did say to miss Courier that she'd be at miss Pip's if she found her... Linne thought she could help at miss Pip's."

[Hazuki]

"But you're so pale!" Sass replies, peering closer at Linne, then she holds a dark hand up beside the girl's face. "You're like a Ralts!"

[Merilan]

Linne squeaked a little and stepped back nervously, putting a hand to her cheek in turn. "U-umm, Linne has always looked like this..."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa gives Sass a small glare slightly behind her notice, then shakes her head and smiles at Linne. "Don't worry about it, Linne. I'd love to help find your mom." She looks at the collected others. "Though perhaps we could get food first? I'm a bit hungry even after what I did eat, so maybe we can find a little bit more, and a bit for our new friends?"

[Hazuki]

Sass continues to give Linne a wary look.

[Comissar]

Leah frowned at Sass' comment, glancing over at Linne as it was made. She didn't think the stranger was that pale. More so than most people, sure, but it wasn't like she was as white as a Seel. She nods at Alyssa's remark, though, "Umm, yeah, wherever you think would be good."

[maybe]

Linne nodded slowly, and turned her attention back to Pip as she pumped her hands. "That's a horrible thing to do what a Pokemon, is there trouble going on in town...?"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve looks at Sass with a raised eyebrow. "Anyways... I could definitely go for food. Linne, if you told the courier you were going to stay here at Pip's, maybe someone who's already eaten can stay here with you? I can bring you something to eat, if you don't mind paying me back later.

"Anyone have any recommendations? I'd prefer to eat something healthy myself..."

[Merilan]

Linne hesitated and, feeling uncomfortable again, chose to partially hide behind Leah, peeking from behind the girl's shoulder. "O-oh, Linne doesn't mind accompanying you all, it should be okay..." In truth, she didn't even know how fast couriers tended to work. It could be hours or days, and she'd have to go fetch food at some point anyway. She peeked at Sass again, wondering uncomfortably if she did something wrong already.

[Hazuki]

"I can wait here?" Sass offers, as she goes on her tiptoes to peer at the people wandering past. "I can grab some battles and take your letter or whatever." Yrael pads over to Linne and fixes her with a firm stare, in the absence of Sass'.

[tgva8889]

Looking Linne over in her normal fashion, Alyssa shakes her head but doesn't really say much. "Yeah, I don't think I've seen your mom anywhere."

Alyssa looks between the others and holds up the remains of her corn. "I remember seeing some food on the way here that looked good. We can go get some and meet up at our seats?"

((Gen Ed: [roll0]))

[Merilan]

Linne whimpered again and took another step back, peering down at Yrael and feeling uncomfortable.

[Hazuki]

Yrael doesn't relent in his staring, even as the group find themselves leaving the area outside the healer's and going somewhere to eat. With some guidance, they find themselves sitting outside The Misdreavus' Head. It's a relatively squat building, with a small balcony that leads all around it and plays host to its guests. It offers cool foods and drinks, with fresh produce from Bastille farms and beyond, which are quite edible and presented in a stylized fashion by the chefs. Their signature dish, The Misdreavus' Head, is a spiced salad made of dark fruits and leaves that is rumored to leave the eater melancholy.

They finish their dishes without interruption, and are left free to leave through the darkly-decorated interior.

[Ceralune]

When Genevieve receives her salad, she lights up at the sight of fresh fruits and vegetables. Hmm, I guess there are some perks to being in a farming town. She doesn't say anything as she digs in, though, soon getting caught up in the atmosphere of the restaurant.

After they all finish, Genevieve turns to Linne. "Want to go back to Pip's now? We can see if your courier got back." Offhandedly, she catches herself wondering, Hmm, maybe the Murkrow will be feeling a little better too.

[Merilan]

Linne looked really surprised and curious about the kinds of foods on display -- she admitted that she'd only really eaten raw fruits and vegetables, and hadn't really ever seen anything like a 'restaurant', save a few times someone called Mrs. Weber took her to go eat in Diwyneb Town. "M-mm!" Linne nodded, though fidgeted uncomfortably at Yrael staring at her again. "... is Linne, has Linne done bad somehow?" she asked a bit more quietly, glancing.

[Hazuki]

When the group leaves the Misdreavus' Head, they find themselves back at the healer's, and some of the space around it has been cleared, and a lightly-bruised Yrael paces about as Sass adds another coinpurse to her belt. It's at this point that Linne spots Dechs running up to her, tiny Ponyta in tow, and holds out a folded and stringed-shut piece of parchment.

"Return letter." The girl smiles.

[AncientSpark]

Lina, who had been getting distracted by seeing various people spotting and talking to her (at one point, even being called to the back to talk about getting new, fresh ingredients for next week, much to her chagrin), finally ended catching up with the group right as everyone started to leave.

"'Ey, sorry 'bout that. Kinda hard to talk when y'know everyone 'round here." She looks over to Linne and down at the letter. "Ooh, wonder what it says in that letter..."

[Merilan]

Linne looked to Lina and waved gently at her, perhaps assuming that from her tone, she was another friend of Leah, Alyssa and Genevieve's. She perked up happily when miss Dechs came back on her Ponyta, taking the letter eagerly and exclaiming, "Thank you, miss Courier!" She snatched the string and unrolled the parchment, eager to read...

[Hazuki]

Linne unfolds the parchment to find a nicely decorated set of borders, complete with a bow and arrow drawn at the top.

The Hirschell family thanks you for your interest. Unfortunately, we are no longer in Bastille Town and will be unable to negotiate any deals until we return. But you need not worry: We are making our way to Thundercrag Town as you read! If you seek the finest craftsmanship in all of Londo, you (Or your representative) will be able to find us there.

Yours Sincerely,
______ Hirschell

Dechs stands to the side, smiling and apparently waiting for osmehing as the Ponyta at her heels taps its hooves on the ground.

[Merilan]

Linne looked down, and looked up again, and looked down again, and looked deeply embarrassed as she turned to Lina -- the closest person to her, begging, "U-umm... Linne doesn't really understand this letter."

[Ceralune]

Upon returning to Pip's, Genevieve addresses the others before excusing herself. "Thank you guys for enjoying lunch with me... I haven't just sat down with nice people like you to enjoy myself in a long time." She smiles brightly before noticing the courier. "Oh! While you're looking at the response, Linne, I'm going to go check on the Murkrow from earlier." She turns and enters the red building.

[Hazuki]

When Genevieve enters, she finds Pip sitting with a book on her counter, some manner of fruit in her other hand, and briefly glancing up as the bell announces her visitor's presence. She offers a smile, then goes back to reading. The foreign trainer soon spots the Murkrow she'd brought in, in its booth, and sleeping peacefully. It doesn't seem to be fully healed yet, but the worst of its burns are gone.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve looks at the Murkrow in approval, glad that it's healing is going well. "Just came to check in on the Murkrow," she says to Pip.

Deciding to let it rest, she waves goodbye and heads back out to hear the news from Linne and the others.

[Hazuki]

Sass notices that a confused Linne is still holding out the letter, then snatches it out of the pale girl's hands;. "It says that the Hirschells are going to be at Thundercrag soon." She reads out, then hands it back to her.

[Comissar]

Leah glances uncertainly at Linne as the other girl hides behind her from Yrael's attention, not sure how she should react. As the group make their way to lunch, she finds herself positioning herself between the two, trying to keep Linne from getting too uncomfortable.

At the Misdreavus' Head, she orders herself the signature salad, sharing parts of it with Saura. Leah finds herself feeling contemplative through the meal, contributing little to discussion, a feeling she put down to the decor. Exiting the restaurant, she finds herself smiling slightly at the sight of Sass triumphantly stowing some money, presumably after a battle.

Her attention is drawn to the courier, and she takes a couple of cautious steps toward Linne, curious to know what her letter said. Before she gets a chance to help Linne with the meaning of the letter, Sass has taken it off the girl. As the young trainer makes her comment about 'Thundercrag', she looks over to Alyssa.

"Oh! Umm, Thundercrag is where we're going next. We could go with you..?"

She lets the half question hang, not wanting to presume Alyssa's consent.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve returns in time to hear that the Hirschells are on their way to Thundercrag. Turning to Linne, she says, "Oh... missed them, huh? Where is Thundercrag? Is it close by?"

[Comissar]

Leah shakes her head, "Umm, a bit far, actually..." She rubs her arm, glancing at Linne, hoping she wasn't about to put her off finding her mother, "It's, uh, it's to the north-east, near where the Rifted Mountains reach the coast."

[Merilan]

Linne let out a panicked squeak as she held her hands up to Sass, whining, "A-ah, give--" A pause, as she lowered her head, hearing Sass describe where her parents have gone. "Oh... Linne missed mommy..."

She only wallowed in that disappointment for a moment, though, lighting up again at Alyssa with wide eyes. "R-really? Can, can Linne come with you? Linne will be useful, promise!"

[Ceralune]

Suddenly remembering that she can access a map on her pokegear, Genevieve clicks the lid open and pulls up the Londo region map. "Ohh jeez, that does look pretty far away." She looks to Linne and hesitates. Poor girl... ahh, but I can't get caught up in her problems right now. I have enough of my own to deal with if I want to accomplish what I came here to do....

"I feel for you having been separated from your mother for so long and just missing her, but I don't think I can be of much help. I'm still here for foreign study so I think I'm technically expected to stay here in Bastille for the next... year..." She cringes as it once again sinks in how long that is, and shifts Damien to one arm so that she can pull out the forms that the Kimono Sisters sent with her, detailing the conditions of her trip to Londo.

[Hazuki]

Sass, rather than adding to the conversation, catches Leah's eyes and flicks them bemusedly in Linne's direction, as though expecting the Professor's Assistant to have an answer for something. Yrael occupies himself by hopping up and batting at Damien's tail with his paw.

Dechs the Courier stands just to the side, like she's waiting for something.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve's eyes widen as she reads the forms over. No way... how could I have overlooked this?

At the top of the small stack of papers, a piece of lightly embellished stationary reads,


The following conditions will be necessary for your continued enrollment at the Ecruteak School of Dance:

The student will reside in the region of Londo for the year for foreign study.
During this time, the student will take no formal schooling, to better allow her to observe how others live.
As a representative of her school, the student will be expected to behave appropriately.

Upon completion of these conditions, the student will be invited to return to the Ecruteak School of Dance for her final year of schooling.

Signed,

Naoko Amori
Instructor of Ecruteak School of Dance

If I'm only required to stay in Londo, then that means that I don't have to stay in Bastille for the entire time. I could go with Linne while she searches for her mother. Even after they reach Thundercrag, I could spend the rest of the year traveling, or staying somewhere else. I wouldn't have to stay with Moffit. She inwardly winced at that last thought, remembering that she had yet to talk to Moffit since the events of that morning, but even that could not curb her sudden excitement.

"Actually... it seems that I might be able to come with you after all. If you'd allow me to, that is. Excuse me... I need to make a phone call."

Ducking away from the group, she dials a number and waits as the phone rings.

"Hi! This is Miki, I can't answer the phone right now, but please leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks!"

Darn it, voicemail. After the beep, Genevieve steels herself and says,

"Hi Instructor Miki, this is Genevieve Neomme. I... I'd like to ask you and the other teachers about the rest of my time in Londo. I know that we originally planned for me to stay in Bastille Town but... I just revisited the details of our agreement. And I met some friends." Her voice catches a bit at the word, as she's not sure whether or not they're close enough to be called that, but she continues. "Before I ask, I guess you might have heard from Moffit about... our argument earlier. Which I AM really, really sorry about. And I will definitely try to make it up to her. But at the same time... I'm miserable here. I don't feel like I'm learning much of anything. I'm useless to Moffit. I barely talked to anyone here until today, and now I just found out that the people I met are leaving. The terms of my continued enrollment say I have to stay in Londo, not Bastille, so... if you would allow me to spend my time here traveling instead of staying in Bastille, I would absolutely try my best to become more understanding of nature and of others. These people are... kind, and I'd like the chance to get to meet more people like them. There's more here than I have yet to see."

Having finished her spiel, Genevieve takes a deep breath. "That's all that I wanted to say. I hope you and your sisters are doing well. Take care." She presses the End Call button and returns to the others.

[Merilan]

Linne perked up at Genevieve when she said she could come with them; despite their slightly rocky first meeting, she was really happy to have just met people, especially those that could come the same way as her. Even if she was comfortable with nature and the wilds, she didn't exactly know which way to go...

She paused, looking at miss Dechs and hurried over to her side. "Umm, does Linne owe miss Dechs anything else?"

[Hazuki]

"People...normally give me a bonus for quick service." Dechs replies, looking awkwardly at the sky for a moment before turning to the group as a whole. "So! Does anybody else need a courier? There's no better couriers in Bastille than Footbrooks." She assures the group, while the tiny Ponyta at her feet flicks its flaming tail.

Sass discreetly retrieves her Pokedex and aims the wood-carved Pokedex at the Ponyta. "I need to send a letter to my mum!" She says, dropping the Pokedex (Which is saved only by the cord around her neck) to grab for her coin pouch.

[Comissar]

Leah feels her ears start to heat at Sass' glance, hoping that Linne hadn't caught the intended meaning. While the stranger's behaviour had struck her as odd, she nevertheless felt she ought to help her. The girl's mannerisms reminded her of her own awkwardness, often fairly directly. Rather than comment, however, her attention is caught by Genevieve bringing out her pokégear. While she'd registered the girl's accent as being different to the Kantoan accent, and had noticed her differing skin complexion, it hadn't quite clicked that she was from outside Londo until just now.

She nods at Genevieve's comment about potentially joining them on the journey to Thundercrag, letting her make her call in peace. Once she finishes, she hesitantly approaches Genevieve, "Umm, sorry, I, uh, I don't mean to be rude, umm... I was, uh, just wondering where you, uh, where you got your pokégear from..?"

[Ceralune]

Huh, Leah looks like she's scared of something almost. Wonder why she's so nervous? Is there something on my face?

"Ohh, this is the latest model released by Silph Co. I think they might intend to add new apps later, but for now it seems to just be a facelift to their old design." Genevieve looks at her reflection off of the Pokegear's shiny exterior for a moment, confirming that there's nothing on her face, then holds up the large wristwatch to Leah. It looks well-maintained if not nearly brand new.

[Merilan]

"O-oh, okay," Linne rummaged into her purse and took out the other half of the 100 that Dechs gave her earlier for the ball, then happily handed it to her. "Um, here you go, miss Dechs!"

She peered at Sass when she came close, tilting her head and asking, "Oh, what is that wood carving...? It's pretty!" perhaps hoping to strike up a slightly more positive conversation with the girl who thought she was really odd.

[Hazuki]

"Thanks." Dechs smiles widely at Linne as she puts the coin into a pouch, which now looks a little more full. She leans in to get Sass' whispered message and coin, then moves over to a nearby table to scribble it on some parchment from her pack.

Sass holds up her Pokedex so that Linne can get a better look. It's encased in dark wood, which features an engraving of a PokeBall on its back, at the center of which is a small glass lens. The front side of it resembles black crystal, which lights up to a screen when prompted. She slides up the front of the PokeDex to reveal buttons.

"It's pretty cool." Sass concurs. "It can tell you a bunch about Pokemon you point it at!" She explains, as she brings up an image of a regular Ponyta, along with various details about the Pokemon.

[Merilan]

Linne's mouth popped open as she tilted her head and peered closer, saying, "Wow, it's so magical!" was probably the best way she had to put it. "Zeta, Zeta, come here!" She scooped the Fennekin up gingerly and hugged her, smiling at Sass. "Linne wants to know what it says about Zeta!"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve straps the Pokegear onto her wrist to better hear for when Miki calls her back. She then notices the small box-like device Sass is holding up. "Ohh, is that a Pokedex? It looks a little different from the models I've seen before." Her gaze grows more interested. "Some of my classmates and I asked our instructors about the possibility of getting one, but since the Pokemon Professor who lives in Johto studies evolution specifically, he didn't really have any to give out. It seems like a useful tool. I'm sure the information would be helpful for battling."

[Hazuki]

Sass gently pokes some of Zeta's voluminous ear-hair as she points her Pokedex at the Fennekin. It takes a few moment before her Pokedex makes a pleasant beeping noise. "There's a lot, so, here y'go!" She says, turning the screen to face Linne. It describes a few things about Fennekin in general, such as where they can be found in Londo, and notes that Zeta is a little leaner than most.

The trainer looks at Genevieve while Linne examines the entry, then smiles. "...yep! Professor Hawthorne gave me this one." She says, and Yrael looks up as though he's being addressed.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve looks at the girl with the other Eevee as though she's thinking about something. Suddenly, her gaze turns clear as she realizes something. Oh! She's the girl who was battling in the manor. Perhaps I misjudged her a bit. What she lacks in etiquette, she probably makes up for in skill with battling.

Addressing the rest of the group that is planning to travel to Thundercrag, she sobers. "I called my instructors just now. We originally planned for me to stay in Bastille for the year but... I think it might be better for me if I'm not tied down to one place. I asked them about it and I should have an answer soon. In the meantime, even if they say yes, I still have some... loose ends to tie up before I leave this place." The euphemism is very apparent to her, but it shouldn't raise any suspicions. "I need to stop by my host's house and see if she's there."

[Comissar]

Leah's eyes keep straying to Genevieve's pokégear, though her attention soon switches back to the girl herself when she mentions Johto's Professor. "Oh! That's Professor Elm, right? Umm, does that mean you're from Johto?"

Following her more formal explanation of what was going on, she nodded, raising a hand to clutch at her bag strap. "Oh, umm, ok. I'm not sure, uh, where we'll be but, uh, I could give you my number..?"

[Ceralune]

Happy to have finally met someone else who knew of the region she had studied in, Genevieve beams at Leah. "I am! Well, sort of. I lived in Unova for most of my life but I go to school in Johto. Have for the past four years."

Upon hearing that Leah has a pokégear as well, she says, "Exchanging numbers would be perfect, actually! I know they have the couriers here," she glances at Dechs standing nearby. "Who do quite a remarkable job being so speedy, I might add. But the convenience of a quick phone call is still something I prefer," she finishes, whispering by the time she gets to the last sentence. "May I?" Genevieve then borrows Leah's pokégear and registers herself, peeking at her number and getting it down in her own pokégear as well.

"That should do it. I suppose I'll be off then, and I'll call you as soon as I know what's going on?"

[Comissar]

Leah nods at Genevieve's request, "Umm, sure."

Digging into her bag, she pulled out her pokégear, before passing it over to the other girl. "Umm, sorry, it's a bit of an older model." She waited patiently for the numbers to be exchanged, before taking her gear back with a smile, "Yeah, uh, sounds like a plan. Speak later."

As Zeta receives attention from Sass and Linne, Saura wanders over with a curious expression, also interested to know what might be said about the Fennekin. Realising she was too short to peek at the pokédex screen, she instead settled for making the short trip to Zeta herself, giving the fire type a friendly "Saur."

[Ceralune]

"No worries, it can't be easy to stay updated in Londo. See you soon, hopefully!" Genevieve waves to the group, and starts walking away.

During the conversation, Damien has been observing the other pokemon quietly from his position in Genevieve's arms, unfazed even by Yrael's antics. He watches the interaction between Zeta and Saura with a curious expression. As his owner says goodbye, though, he realizes they are leaving and exclaims, "Vee!" in farewell.

Once Genevieve is out of sight from the others, she releases a breath. Well, I know what I want to do. But in order to do it, I've got to deal with Moffit first.... She wonders if Moffit is even home yet, and if she should risk another trip to the manor. She didn't seem to take kindly to the visit, so I don't think she'd react well if I did that again. I suppose I'll go back to her cottage for now... with any luck, she'll come back soon enough. Hopefully those girls don't leave before tomorrow.

A thought occurs to her as she realizes what traveling will really mean. What if it's dangerous here? I didn't pack for a long trip. What if we run into more than Damien can handle? I should probably look into getting something or another to defend myself with-

Suddenly, her train of thought is interrupted by a small brown paw nudging her chin. "Vee?" Genevieve starts and glances down at Damien, who is looking up at her with some concern. That's when she realizes that she has stopped moving for some time now. "Ehh? Ohh, sorry Damien. I was thinking so hard that I stopped walking altogether. I'm fine, though, don't worry." With that, she continues towards the cottage again.

Packing for the trip can wait. First things first... I need to hear back from the Kimono Sisters, and make nice with Moffit.

[Hazuki]

When Genevieve arrives back at the cottage, outside the walls of Bastille Town, she spots that it is, in fact, occupied. Sitting in the shade of the surrounding trees is what must be one of Pip's identical sisters, sitting on a chair beside the open door, with one of the Lilligant on her lap and another dancing at her feet. The blonde woman spots Genevieve approaching and offers her a smile.

[Merilan]

Linne looked on with curiousity and wonder as the pokedex device displayed images of Fennekin, gasping to go, "W-wooow, that's really amazing!" A pause, as she patted Zeta really happily to say, "It says you're leaner than most! Our super diet plan worked, Zeta!"

Zeta let out a happily little 'arf!' and looked to Saura, nuzzling the grass-type in turn. It looks like Zeta's very cuddly and friendly, aww!

[Ceralune]

"Ohh, I saw you earlier at Pip's, didn't I? Hello, miss--" Genevieve's voice breaks off as she realizes she doesn't know what to call her. A sheepish look appears on her face. "Sorry, I don't think I ever got your name. My name is Genevieve Neomme."

[Hazuki]

Leah, Alyssa, & Linne

Sass presses one of the many buttons on her Pokedex and another Fennekin's cry emerges from it. The girl ponders for a moment, but is interrupted by Dechs holding out the parchment for her to sign.

~

Genevieve

Both Lilligant slowly turn their heads as they're made aware of Genevieve's presence, locking eyes with the girl as Pip's sister waves. "I'm Shuck. Nice to meet you. If you're wonderin' what I'm up to, Moffit wanted me to check up on these little ladies."

[Ceralune]

Genevieve stops herself from wincing. Ohh, that... was probably my job. Oops. Deciding that Moffit might react more favorably when they inevitably talk if her Lilligant have been taken care of, she says:

"Thank you so much for stopping by! I can take it from here, though."

[Comissar]

Leah grins at Linne's awe at the pokédex, wondering what the native girl would make of a place like Saffron City. As Sass played the pre-recorded Fennekin cry, she remembered the promise she'd made her mother. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she looked over to Alyssa, walking over to her friend to quietly ask "Umm, Alyssa..? My mum, uh, made me promise we'd find someone who could, uh, keep us safe on the journey. Do, uh, do you know anywhere we could, uh, hire someone?"

Saura's smile broadens at the unexpected nuzzling, and she happily accepts the Fennekin's affectionate greeting. After a moment, she bounds over to Yrael, glancing between the Eevee and the Fennekin, before giving a "Bulba, Saur." as an introduction.

[Merilan]

Linne sounded really surprised and cupped her mouth, gasping, "Y-your wood carving just made a noise like Zeta! That's really amazing!" Zeta padded over after Saura, letting out a little yip as well as she peered at Yrael.

[AncientSpark]

Lina meanwhile stands behind at the sight of the Pokedex, admittedly confused and looking all around for the call of that Pokemon. It takes her a good thirty seconds to figure out that the cry is finally coming from the device. "Wow, I ain't seen anythin' like that! How does it know all that stuff. I guess there's some kinda person that manages all that?"

Curious as to whether the cry sounds just like Fennekin's actual cry, she reaches down and pets it and grins at the feeling of the fluffy fur, before speaking up to Leah over in the distance. "Ya can ask some of the knights. Maybe one of them's runnin' a caravan on the nearby routes?"

[Hazuki]

Genevieve

"Aww, you sure? Zynx was just showing me her new dance." Shuck says, as the previously-dancing Lilligant gracefully skips over to Genevieve and greets her with a wave of pollen as she opens her arms. Naturally, it gets all over the foreigner's clothes and into Damien's fur. The Lilligant on Shuck's lap lets out a particularly pleased cry.

~

Leah, Alyssa, Lina, & Linne

"It's just tech." Sass shrugs, like she knows all about technology. "They put all the stuff in there, then it shows you it when you find the Pokemon." While Leah knows that she probably just read the booklet that came with it.

Yrael tilts his head at the pair of larger Pokemon, then runs in a circle to bat Zeta on the nose with his bushy tail. He lets out a playful cry as he watches the fox's reaction.

[Merilan]

"Woow..." Linne still sounded really impressed, smiling bashfully, "Linne just tries to remember all she knows about the forest. That's a really neat thing to have!" She paused, before stammering, "O-oh, sorry, Linne never introduced herself properly," as she bowed her head. Her hood tumbled down a little, revealing more of her icy blue-silver hair, and she eeped a little and pulled it back up.

Zeta let out a little whine and a growl at Yrael, but otherwise huffed and stood up straight, refusing to be taunted!

[Ceralune]

"So that's what that one's name is," Genevieve mumbled, her voice inflecting in a way that sounds like she just learned something new. Realizing Shuck must have heard, and that she and Damien were now covered in pollen, Genevieve tries to brush it off as best she can while Damien leaps down and shakes it off.

An idea occurs to her. "Hey... you wouldn't happen to know the names of all of the other Lilligant too, would you?" If I can get all of the names down before Moffit comes back, that might help! "Just... so I can double check and make sure I have them all right in my head."

[Hazuki]

Linne, Lina, Alyssa, & Leah

Sass takes a moment before bobbing her head in a return greeting. "I'm Sass!" She says, then blinks. "Your hair's like the Hawthornes'." She points out, helpfully.

Yrael notices Zeta's lack of a reaction, tilts his head in thought once more, then pads over to Linne and fixes her with a pair of baby-doll eyes that just beg for pets and cuddles. His gentle cry doubles the cute factor.

~

Genevieve

"Didn't Moffit teach you?" Shuck asks with genuine concern. The Lilligant dubbed Zynx bounces up and hitches a ride on the Genevieve's back, her leafy arms wrapping around teen's neck for support.

[Ceralune]

"Ohh, yes, she did!" I just never remembered. "It's just... there are so many of them, and I just want to be sure I haven't mixed any of them up." Genevieve fixes what she hopes is an assuring smile on her face. She's taken by surprise by the enthusiastic pokemon, and tries not to collapse under the Lilligant's Zynx's weight as she does so.

Damien looks somewhat surprised at the scene in front of him, standing as though he wishes to help but honestly doesn't know what to do in case of random pokemon assaulting Genevieve.

[Comissar]

Leah rubs at the back of her neck, glancing over to Alyssa before she replies to Lina. "Umm... I, uh, I don't think they would be. Umm, with, uh, with everything that happened last night, I think, uh, I think Lord Bastille's wanting them all to, uh, to stay around the town."

Saura settles herself down to watch Yrael's performance, curious to see the response Linne would give.

[Hazuki]

Genevieve

"Well, I suppose I've got the time." Shuck chuckles, as she gently shifts the Lilligant off of her lap and Zynx smooshes Genevieve's cheeks into a funny face. "Come on out, ladies~" The woman calls into the cottage, and the other eleven Lilligant slowly make their way out.

[Ceralune]

As Shuck turns to call the other Lilligant, Genevieve makes an annoyed face. "Uhh... Zynx, right? Please stop that," she whispers, batting its leafy appendages away from her face and lowering it to the ground.

[Merilan]

Linne bobbled her head one way to say, "Like the Hawthorne's...? Who are they, Sass?" She paused and got distracted as Yrael went over and fixed her with his cutest look, making her gasp as she knelt down. "Oh, you're so cute~!" She started scratching him under the chin.

Zeta paused and stared, before her mouth puffed up with a grump and she suddenly ran up by Yrael's side and attempted to act just as cute! "Z-Zeta, what's gotten into you?" Zeta stared at Yrael with a huff and threw her head in the opposite direction, before padding onto Sass and trying to act just as cute, wagging her tail and giving her a look. I-is it gonna work?

[Hazuki]

Genevieve

Zynx fixes Genevieve with an innocent look as she's lowered the short space to the ground. She lands with a soft poof of her skirt, which lets out another cloud of pollen that covers the teen's legs, before she skips back to the now-gathered group. A pair of them stand beside Shuck, while others find places to perch themselves, and another trio forms a tight circle in the shadow of a tree.

"Let's get started, then." Shuck smiles, as she bows in return to one of the Lilligant. "This is Tynx, you can tell by her adorable bobbles on her crown." She says, and Tynx proudly wobbles her head to display her prodigious anther. "And Wynx, with her ruffled skirt..." She begins, and introduces each of the Lilligant, one-by-one,

Please make a Focus check, because remembering the details of who's who will be especially difficult with Zynx's powder making Genevieve drowsy...

~

Linne, Leah, Alyssa, & Lina

Yrael lets out a content cry as his chin is scratched, nuzzling into Linne's hand as his fluffy tail wags behind him.

"Heya." Sass flashes Zeta a smile and leans down to give her a quick stroke, as she answers Linne's question. "The Hawthornes' are Lord Bastille's friends. Professor Hawthorne is the Pokemon Professor in Londo!" She says, then gets to her feet and looks to Leah with wide eyes. "Wait! Doesn't Misru like old things? Can she help me with the scroll I got?"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve lets out a yawn and rubs away a puffball of pollen that has landed on her nose. She returns Damien to his pokeball, hoping that the pollen won't mess up his fur more than it already has. That was going to be a pain to brush out later. "Wahh, okay... Wynx has a ruffled skirt... Lynx has bobbles... wait no, Mynx? Or maybe it was Vynx... Jynx?" She makes a frustrated noise and shakes her head. "Ahh, no, now I'm just bringing other pokemon into it.

She gives the Lilligant that landed on her back the side-eye. Well at least there's no mistaking that one. I'm unlikely to ever forget how it assaulted me.

[Comissar]

Leah nods, "It wouldn't hurt to ask, uh, though..." She frowns, "I don't know if she'd, uh, still be at the manor or not... Umm, if you want, I could take a look for you? See if I could figure it out..?"

Saura watches Yrael and Zeta's competition of cuteness with no small amount of bemusement, and chooses not to get involved.

[Merilan]

Zeta let out a little amused whine and peered at Linne with a kind of catty look, though the white-haired girl wasn't particularly paying attention. "Ohh... um, what's a professor?" Linne had to ask.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa is utterly distracted for most of the conversation, catching bits and pieces. A few times she tries to butt in but then Luna pokes her and points at something in passing or she drops her sketch pad and has to pick it up and then the conversation has moved on. When Leah asks her a few questions even, she starts to respond and then bumps into someone and helps them pick up their dropped basket. Once she finally seems to catch up with the rest of the party in attention, Genevieve has already left before Alyssa can even think of something to say.

Finally putting her thoughts in order, Alyssa rapid-fires: "We were going to Thundercrag, I'd be glad to travel with Linne if we're all going that way, and I don't know of anyone since the knights would be busy with everything that's happened." She takes another deep breath, then adds, "What about you, Sass and Lina? It's maybe not exactly what your mom thought but we'll all have Pokemon with us and there will be a bunch of us. If Sass and Lina come along that'd be...6 people plus 6 Pokemon, right? Plus Sass is on her way to being a Champ, so she's gotta be worth like two or three people with all her well-trained Pokemon." She gives a wink and a small elbow to Sass at the comment. Then realizing the topic had shifted without her notice, she says "If we're looking for Misru, I have to go back to the manor to get my stuff before we leave anyways, so maybe we can ask around."

[Hazuki]

Genevieve

"You'll get the hang of it." Shuck assures the young girl, patting her on the shoulder as she moves to walk back to Bastille Town proper.

~

And The Rest

Sass hands the scroll to Leah as she looks at Linne. "Foreigner word for scholar." She answers. When Alyssa mentions her, she scratches the back of her head despite the proud grin stretched across her face. "I don't know if I want to go to Thundercrag yet. Astarael and Mosrael won't hold up against the kind of Pokemon Lady Thundercrag has."

Occult Education plz.

[Ceralune]

"Ohh, are you sure? You know, I think it might not hurt to go through that one more time--" Genevieve nervously suggests, turning back towards the direction that Shuck started in as she speaks. Though, by the time she can see Shuck, the woman is already walking away from the cottage. "Or not." She breathes a puff of air upwards, sending her bangs flying.

Suddenly, she shakes herself, both to fight off the wave of drowsiness from Zynx's pollen and to get herself together. Okay, well, you have 1 out of... 12. At least. Whereas you had 0 out of 12 before. That's a 100% increase! Mom and dad always say not to waste time moping over your problems when you could be using the time to do something about them. What you need to do now is think: What else can you do to help make sure Moffit feels you're sincerely sorry about yelling at her earlier and prevent her from burying you in Lilligant pollen when she comes back? Moffit would probably like it if they were well taken care of when she returned, right? But maybe Shuck already took care of that... oh! I know! Her eyes brighten as an idea comes to her. I could groom them for her! I haven't met a single pokemon yet who doesn't like to be groomed.

With a set plan, she pulls out her groomer's kit from her bag and faces the Lilligant. "Alright, soo... who wants to be groomed? I guarantee you'll feel super clean and comfortable afterwards!" She looks at them expectantly. "... Anyone?"

[Comissar]

Leah looks over to Alyssa before opening the scroll in her hands, frowning as she considers the older girl's suggestion, "... I guess she'd be ok with that... Umm, even if Sass doesn't want to come too, we'd have a lot of people..." Turning her attention back to the scroll, she opens it up and finds herself confronted by completely unfamiliar writings. Making an attempt to study it anyway, she soon finds herself pulling a face and giving up. Rolling it up again, she holds the scroll out to Sass with an apologetic look, "Umm, sorry, I, uh, I think Misru probably is the, uh, the best bet for this."

[AncientSpark]

Lina frowns a bit at their plans to travel over, knowing full well that her father would probably give her a bit of flack for traveling without permission. It wasn't exactly a short journey...then again, perhaps she could use the excuse that she was helping friends along? She tilts her head, a little lost in thought at the prospects, before finally throwing up her hands. "Ah, to heck with ya!"

With a start, she leans forward towards the others. "You wouldn' mind if I came 'long? I'm kinda new, but I think Zephy's ready..." A chirp from the Starly sitting inside of her hat marks his confirmation. "An' I always wanted to go 'round and see everythin'. I'm afraid I'm not much good in a fight though."

[Hazuki]

Lina, Linne, Leah, & Alyssa

Sass takes the scroll back with a shrug. "It's okay. Do you think you can grab her?"

Off to the side, Dechs the courier sees that she has no further business, and departs the company of the group with her tiny Ponyta on her heels.

~

Genevieve

The gaggle of Lilligant stare at Genevieve for a moment, then confer among themselves with whispers, until one of the ones whose name she doesn't know shuffles towards her.

[Merilan]

Linne waved at Dechs as she headed off, calling again, "Thank you, miss Dechs!" She looked back to the group, saying, "Linne could help scare off anything scary..." She slung the bow a little tighter around her shoulder.

[Ceralune]

Feeling properly optimistic now, Genevieve gives the approaching Lilligant an encouraging smile. "Don't be shy! I promise you won't regret it." She waves it over to a soft patch of grass and motions for it to sit.

Once the Lilligant is seated, Genevieve sits just behind it. "Just relax." She quickly gets to work, gently brushing dirt off of the Lilligant's soft leaves, taking special care with its yellow feet and around its collar. She spritzes water on the petals of its flower, freshening it up.

[Hazuki]

Genevieve

The Lilligant seems to settle into being pampered with a calmness that Genevieve hasn't seen before, except for when Moffit's around. The Lilligant occupy themselves with playing among the trees until the first is done, who then joins her friends as another one hops up to the teen for her grooming session. By the end of it, some time has passed, and it seems she's curried enough favor with the Flowering Pokemon to avoid having her hair pulled, face smooshed, clothes pollinated, head drawn on, clothes stolen...

[Comissar]

Leah looks over to Lina with surprise, glancing briefly over to Alyssa before answering, "Oh, umm, sure... I, uh, I guess I wouldn't mind."

At Sass' request, she nods, "Yeah, ok. Umm, like Alyssa said, there's a few bits still up at the manor. Umm, I'll look for her while we're up there."

She glanced at Alyssa again, ready to move when the older girl did.

[Merilan]

Linne looked to Leah and Alyssa, requesting, "Oh, um, is it okay if Linne came with you? Linne is curious about the manor..."

[Comissar]

Leah nods at Linne's request, "Umm, sure, I'd be fine with that. Umm, I don't think we'll have much time to, uh, to look around, though. Apart from looking for Misru, that is."

[Hazuki]

Alyssa, Leah, & Linne

When the girls get to the gates of Bastille Manor, where much of the crowd has dispersed, they find themselves stopped at the gates by the same Knight that Linne had spoken to earlier.

"You do not have permission to enter." He informs the pale girl.

Lina & Genevieve

By the time that Lina has followed in Genevieve's footstep, and remembered the location of Moffit's cottage, she spots that the teen has just about finished grooming the last of a group of Lilligant that haven't noticed her presence yet.

[Ceralune]

Seeing someone approach out of the corner of her eye, Genevieve quickly turns towards them. Is Moffit back already?! Perfect! Just in time now that I've finished grooming- Upon seeing Lina, her expression turns panicked for a second. What's she doing here?! Ohh no, if Moffit comes back while Lina's still here....

Quickly fixing her face into a pleasant smile as a sweatdrop appears down the side of her face, she greets Lina. "Ohh! I wasn't expecting you to follow me." Really, didn't see that coming at all! If Moffit comes back and chews me out in front of her...! "What's up?"

[Comissar]

Leah hesitated when the knight barred Linne from entering. Given all the trouble at the manor recently, she completely understood the reasoning. All the same, though, she didn't want to just leave the girl out on her own. She looked over to Alyssa, hoping her friend might step in with some persuasive argument, before looking over to the knight.

"Umm, I guess, uh, I guess it wouldn't be enough to, uh, to promise we'd keep her with us..?"

Charm roll because you never know!

[roll0]

[Merilan]

Linne sagged a little, but then shook her head with a quiet smile at both Alyssa and Leah. "N-no, that's okay, Linne can just wait outside. You said you wouldn't be too long, right? Linne will just play with Zeta..."

[Hazuki]

Genevieve

The Lilligant gathered around the cottage, while quite pleased with the grooming they received, seem to grow increasingly agitated as the girl is in their presence but doing nothing to please them.

[Ceralune]

Getting slightly impatient as Moffit still hasn't come back yet, Genevieve feels a sense of déjà vu as she realizes she's probably going to have to go back to the manor if she wants to ensure that she'll see Moffit before the other girls take off. Seeing the Lilligant start to get antsy, she says, What? You're all clean now, go play or something. I can't play with you right now, I need to go find your..." Uhh, master? Owner? ... Moffit. Your Moffit."

Hmm, how's she going to know that I just did all of this work for her though? I don't have a camera... Pity that Alyssa girl isn't here, she probably could've drawn a nice picture for me to show Moffit... Her shoulders sag as she realizes that the only thing she can bring to show that she did something for the Lilligant, is probably one of the Lilligant themselves.

"Uhh... there wouldn't happen to be one of you who would want to come to the manor with me, would there? I mean, you're all clean now so if they let us inside, you won't trek dirt anywhere or anything. Might as well show the town how pretty you are now? I think I'll only be able to keep track of one of you though." Genevieve asks the Lilligant, trying to appeal to them. Well, the girls at school always wanted others to notice when they got new dresses or haircuts. Maybe this is like that?

Realizing that Lina is there too, she blinks suddenly and turns to the girl. "Ahh, I'm sorry to run off when you just got here! But would you like to come with me?" I can't leave her alone here! If Moffit found out, I'm sure she'd lay into me for something or another!

[Hazuki]

Leah, Alyssa, & Linne

Ser Knight fixes his eyes on Leah. "No." He says, with all the whimsy of a brick. But, he doesn't move to stop Leah or Alyssa from entering the manor grounds for their things, or the retrieval of a certain scholar.

Sass hangs a bit back from the gates, apparently going through some attacks with Yrael.

~

Genevieve

The Liilligant listen to Genevieve's words with a synchronized tilting of heads, then form a circle from which many whispered cries emerge. Eventually, they split apart, and one of their number, whose mantle of petals is particularly long, skips over to the teen's side.

[Comissar]

Leah's heart sinks a little at the knight's flat response. She gives an apologetic look to Linne, "Umm, we'll, uh, we'll be as quick as we can. See you soon."

Returning into the manor, Leah made her way to the stairs up to her room for the past couple of nights, glancing over to Alyssa as she did, "I think let's grab our stuff first, then we can try and find Misru after."

[Ceralune]

"Perfect! What was your name again? Uhh... Wynx? Lynx? Tynx? Mynx?" Genevieve cycles through a few names, looking for any indication that's gotten the right one.

Regardless of how the Lilligant responds, she turns to Lina cheerfully. "We had better get a move on!" She then starts towards the manor with a somewhat brisk pace.

The sooner we get this sorted out... the sooner I'll hopefully be able to leave!

[Hazuki]

Genevieve & Linne

The Lilligant nods at Lynx, then joins Genevieve's side for the trip to Bastille Manor. She remains a perfect lady for the duration of the trip, keeping her hands to herself and doing a little hop for the passersby who notice the pretty Pokemon. They even manage to get to the outside of Bastille Manor, where Linne is lingering and Sass is not far away, by which time Lynx has started humming to herself.

Linne notices the approaching teen, her clothes covered in some kind of pollen, and a Lilligant at her side. She's seen a few of them in her time in the forests of Diwyneb, although this one has much richer leaves and a lighter mantle around her neck.

~

Leah & Alyssa

The girls soon manage to collect their belongings and find themselves looking for Misru, who a passing and unknown servant points them to. She's just coming out of her room by the time they arrive, her satchel bulging slightly at her hip.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa is frankly surprised by the gruff tone of the knight and the entire situation and spends too long trying to come up with the right thing to say. Eventually she just heads forward with Leah, giving Linne an apologetic look as they head inside.

She considers what she should have said as she picks up all her things. After some humming and hawing she decides to leave the actual paintings of Macha and Lord Bastille in her room for now, as they're rather large and bulky and she doesn't really know what to do with them. Luna takes a moment to stash her "belongings," which is really just one nice ribbon she found and decided was hers that she stuffs into Alyssa's bag while she's not looking.

As they find Misru, Alyssa waves. "Hello, Misru!" As they get closer, Alyssa hefts her bag a bit and smiles. "Where are you off to next?"

[Merilan]

Linne gave Alyssa and Leah a wave as they headed in, not wanting to be bothersome as she knelt down by Zeta and hummed a theme she liked to hum when she was travelling. She blinked when Genevieve approached, though, waving again as she got up and tugged the Fennekin to her chest again. "Oh, Genevieve! Wow, that's a really pretty Lilligant!"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve blinks at the sight of Linne in front of the mansion. "Ohh, hello Linne. I didn't expect to see you here!" At the compliment to the Lilligant, Genevieve reacts much as if the compliment was made to her directly. A pleased smile appears on her face as she proudly gestures to Lynx. "Thanks! She's not mine, but I gave her a grooming just before we came here. Her leaves do look particularly shiny and clean now, if I do say so myself."

She turns to the guard. "Good afternoon! I'd like to see Moffit, please." She pauses as she remembers what happens last time. "Ahh, if she's not too busy, of course! Rather than make her come all the way out here, I could also just slip in and talk to her really quick."

[Hazuki]

Alyssa & Leah

Misru blinks when Alyssa calls out to her, then fixes the artist with a look. "Elsewhere. Why do you ask?"

~

Linne & Genevieve

Lynx bows to Linne as her looks are complimented, then skips up and holds her arm up to the girl.

Ser Knight adjusts his belt as Genevieve asks him to fetch Moffit. "Is it urgent?"

[Comissar]

Leah gives Misru an awkward smile, "Umm, we were hoping you could help Sass with something quickly? She won a scroll after battling Lord Bastille but, uh, we can't figure out what it's for. Umm, we thought you might be able to help..?"

[Hazuki]

"You really are fond of calling upon me, aren't you?" Misru starts walking towards the stairs.

[Comissar]

Leah glances over to Alyssa, before walking after Misru. "Umm, I did, uh, I did look myself, but I couldn't work it out. Umm, It just, uh, looked like it was closer to your area of expertise. Umm..." She tugs at her bag strap, "If, uh, if you don't have time to then, uh, then it's not the end of the world, we can look for someone else to help..."

[Ceralune]

"Uhh...." Genevieve takes in the knight's stick-straight posture, and serious face. What happens if I say no? Maybe I should just play it safe here.... "What do you think?! I wouldn't come here twice in one day unless it was important!" Genevieve responds in a very declaratory manner. Well, it's not a total lie... it is important... to me....

Genevieve wonders briefly if Moffit might respond better if she doesn't have to come all the way out of the manor again. "Actually, it would probably be better if I go in myself. I even brought one of her beloved Lilligant, Lynx," a small surge of satisfaction rushes through her as she finally knows the name of another Lilligant, "and I'm sure Moffit would want to see her right away. She sure does love them."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods along with Leah as she follows along, adding "It might be something you find interesting. I assume Lord Bastille wouldn't have had it if it wasn't." She takes a moment to think about Misru and what they know about her and what might make her slightly more inclined to help and adds, "Also we just wanted to thank you for your help. We wouldn't have figured anything out without you."

[Merilan]

Linne walked up to Genevieve's side, still a little bit fawning over the Lilligant, perhaps since it really reminded her of home. "Oh, your name is Lynx? That's really cute...!"

[Hazuki]

Leah & Alyssa

"Lord Bastille is performing his Lordly duty by providing a slice of Londo culture for the foreigners. That's why he has a collection of mass-scribed scrolls, ready to hand out at a moment's notice - couldn't you tell from the fresh quills all over the manor?" Misru asks, raising an eyebrow. "Not one of them has been sharpened yet."

Quills are normally only sharpened after they've been worn down.

~

Linne & Genevieve

Ser Knight's firm stare is matched only by the Gothitelle standing just behind him, whose ribbons ruffle in the breeze. "No. Without permission from Lord Bastille, you cannot enter. This is for the safety of all who live in Bastille Manor. If your message is urgent, write it and I will pass it to a servant when one next passes."

Lynx bobs her head in agreement with Linne's analysis, then draws her leaves around her head as though to mimic the white-haired girl's hood.

[Merilan]

Linne looked up at the Knight for a moment and furrowed her brow, thinking, It must be really hard to get in the manor... it's kinda scary. Her attention's drawn away before long, however, as Lynx drew her leaves over her head and she wound up giggling, pulling her hood a little tighter over her head. "Are you trying to hide your head? Hehe... Mrs. Weber made this hood for me, it's really cute and comfortable. Linne is so well-looked after!"

[AncientSpark]

Lina blinks in surprise as she realizes, a little boneheadedly, that the others have gone to do her own business and now Genevieve was inviting her along. She looks around, before finally realizing that she needs to catch up and she dashes up after Genevieve. "Oh, sure, I don't mind comin' 'long. Who're you meetin'?"

Her question is quickly answered as they encounter the knight, which immediately causes her to bow slightly to him. "G'day sir!" She then frowns as Genevieve's request is denied; while it was true that the knights and lords were busy and Lina was hesitant to bother him further, the way Genevieve was denied seemed a little too stringent. Still, Lina knows better than to continue on the point, giving only an "Awww..." before turning to Linne.

"Mrs. Weber must be real nice! An' good at sewing, that hood looks nice and comfy."

[Ceralune]

Doh, you're not helping, Mr. Knight. You think I want to be here, trying to apologize to that scary lady? A note sure would be easier... but even I know how cowardly that would be. You don't use a note to apologize, in any way. That's it. Enough dealing with the workers. If I want results, I need to talk to the person in charge.

Genevieve looks up at the Knight, straight into his eyes, and speaks in a level tone. "I understand wanting to prioritize their safety. And it's admirable that you take your job so seriously. However, I truly do need to talk to Moffit, and as she is so busy right now, I would prefer to disturb her less by coming to her myself rather than having her dragged out here. But I'm sorry for challenging the job you were given. Might I write a note to the lord himself, explaining my reasons for wanting to enter? I am completely unarmed, and you would have my word that the pokemon with me would do no harm to the residents."

[Hazuki]

Lynx twirls on the spot, flourishing her mantle of petals, then looks at Linne with expectant eyes.

"You may, but it will take longer." Ser Knight replies.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve beams at the Knight. "Thank you." She fishes out a slip of paper and a pen from her bag, and her mirror to use as a flat surface.

She excitedly starts to scribble out her problem that she wishes to resolve. Alright, this shouldn't be too hard. Surely if I write about how important this is for me, he'll understand and-- but wait. Miki said that one of my problems was that I'm too self-focused, and that tends to drive other people away." She brings the pen up to the corner of her mouth as she thinks a bit harder. When a potential business partner comes to her office to discuss a deal, Mom never immediately pushes the terms that she wants. She listens to them first. She acknowledges what they care about, because if it was all about what she wanted, the other party would have no reason to be interested in the deal anyways. Maybe this is the same kind of thing. What would a lord care about?

Well, you know he's concerned about safety, since the knight said that was the reason you can't just walk in. That's a pretty typical concern, right? But-- ohhhh! Genevieve's eyes widen as she remembers her earlier talk with Moffit, and discussing with Pip about the injured Murkrow. Okay, I know what to write.

Dear Lord Bastille,

First, let me express my deepest condolences for your daughter. I heard that there was some kind of accident at your manor, and I was sorry to hear that such a thing happened. I offer my best wishes for her speedy recovery.

Because of this, I fully understand that you have a vested interest in the safety and security of all of the residents of your manor. That said, I wish to talk to someone who is currently in your manor, and I would like to request entry. I am a foreigner, here to study how your people live. Moffit, the healer, has agreed to house me during my stay here, and I did her a terrible wrong earlier today by yelling at her most ungraciously. I feel that I need to make an apology to her, and I need to make it in person. As she is very busy and I do not wish to take too much of her time away from tending to your daughter, I would very much prefer coming inside the manor to her rather than dragging her outside. I'm am sorry to take even a little of her time away from this important job, but I pleadingly request that you allow this, for I do greatly wish to make amends as soon as possible.

I am completely unarmed, and I do not mind leaving my belongings outside the manor. I also do not mind being frisked before entering, if you and your knights would prefer to personally confirm this. My pokemon would stay inside his pokeball at all times, though I did bring one of Moffit's Lilligant with me and I think they would like to see each other.

Thank you for your consideration, and your time in reading this letter. I eagerly await your decision.

Sincerely,

Genevieve Neomme

Taking one last look at the letter before nodding to herself, she folds the paper in half and offers it to the Knight.

Remembering one last thing, she turns to Linne. "Umm... if Lord Bastille happens to let me in, do you mind if I leave my things with you?" she asks sheepishly.

[Hazuki]

Ser Knight takes Genevieve's letter, then folds it up and puts it in one of the pouches on his belt, as per their agreement for him to pass it onto a servant when one passes by.

[Comissar]

Leah rubbed at her arm as Misru made her comments on Lord Bastille parcelling out Londo culture, feeling her ears heat a little at the remark. Feeling foolish for asking, but not wanting to let Sass down, she asked "... Umm, so, uh, what are the, uh, the scrolls for..?"

[Hazuki]

"Something to do with Pokemon." Misru answers. "I didn't seek information past learning why the new quills. I don't suspect it's anything advanced, if it's intended for children."

[Comissar]

Leah nods slowly at Misru's response, more to affirm her understanding of what the older girl was saying than to signal her agreement. If anything, Misru's comments just made her shrink more into herself, embarrassed that she'd been unable to work out something 'intended for children'.

Picking up on her trainer's mood, Saura frowned up at Leah, trying to work out what might be bothering her.

[Merilan]

Linne let out an affirmative nod at Genevieve, saying, "Linne is waiting for Alyssa and Leah too, it's okay," as she held her hands out for anything the pink-haired girl may want to leave with her. She does glance at Lynx and her smile just warmed up. "Do you want to be petted...?"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve flashes Linne a relieved smile. "Thanks. Hopefully someone will come to take the note soon... " She stands by Linne and Lina, waiting patiently and keeping an eye out for any servants passing by.

[Hazuki]

Linne, Lina, & Genevieve

Lynx shakes her head, repeats the twirl, then points at Linne again.

[tgva8889]

"I guess that might explain that." Alyssa shrugs. "Well I respect the idea of passing on the culture. Thanks for your help anyways." She looks to Leah and notices a bit of her feelings, so she gives a small bow of thanks and says, a bit matter-of-factly, "Good luck wherever you go! We've got to go ourselves. Maybe we'll see you again sometime. And really, thanks for everything!" and presses Leah to head a different direction out of the castle.

Once they're away from Misru, Alyssa gives a sigh. "Don't worry yourself too much. Just because she seems to know doesn't mean she has to say it like that. People like that always annoyed me. Say, do you know anything about the Pokemon Leagues? I know my brother was kind of interested and it was an idea brought to us by visitors but I didn't really know what it was when I was young. I know we have our lords here, but how do they do it in other places?"

[Hazuki]

Everyone

As it turns out, Alyssa's attempt at leaving Misru's presence is rather awkward, as the teen is leaving along the same path as them. They're left walking slightly behind her by the time they leave the gates of Bastille Manor, and into the sight of the rest of their group. Linne, Lina, and Genevieve will be seeing Misru for the first time. She has the dusky skin common across Londo, with unusual white hair that's combed neatly behind her ears, and she wears a long green coat with a bulging satchel at her hip. Particularly notable is the scar across her left cheek, despite her relatively young age.

She pays them no mind as she strides up to Sass, and begins to speak with her about something.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve perks up from her waiting as Alyssa and Leah exit, followed by someone new. Wonder who that is. Her eyes follow the woman as she approaches the one the others called Sass, and then come back to rest on the two other girls.

"Huh, somehow it was easier than I thought it would be to find you all again." Her face breaks out in an amused grin, before she remembers that she still hasn't quite yet taken care of tying up those loose ends she mentioned. "Unfortunately, I'll still need a little more time before I know for certain that I can go with you all."

[Comissar]

Saura gave a supportive nods, and an affirmative "Saur!" at Alyssa's words of support. Leah felt heat rising in her cheeks as she gave an embarrassed "Thanks..." to them both.

Grateful that the older girl changed the topic, she smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her face as she replied, "Yeah, the league in Kanto is really popular. Gym battles can draw big crowds if someone's built a reputation as a good trainer. Umm, some trainers even manage to get their own followings." Her smile broadens as her gaze unfocuses, her mind going back to her school days, "Challengers of the Pokémon League even get to be on TV, you can watch their battles from anywhere in Kanto if you want to. Umm, I can't remember if I told you before," She glances over to Alyssa, "But back where I'm from, Saffron City, we have a Pokémon Gym. Sabrina runs a Psychic gym, and the battles there are really cool to watch, though it's tricky getting the tickets to get in. I only ever got to go once, but it was super intense in there. It can be fun watching it on TV, but unless you're there in the same building, you don't really get the full experience."

Leah's smile softened at the memory, taking on a wistful edge as the pair emerge out of the manor. She looks at Genevieve with surprise when she addresses them, having thought the Johtoan would have been gone longer. At the girl's explanation, she gives a nod "Oh, umm, sure. Just, uh, just let us know when you're, uh, when you're ready."

[Merilan]

Linne blinked at Lynx, before perking up and standing to her full height with an, 'ohh...' of understand. "Um-- Lin, lin, lin!" she hummed out and did a similar twirl to Lynx, ending in a pose, "It's Linne~!"

Her face exploded red in embarrassment as she realised that Alyssa and Leah had just exited, and she paid most of her attention to the new dusk-skinned girl who'd gone off to speak to Sass, wondering who that might be.

[Hazuki]

Lynx lets out a happy cry as Linne twirls for her, arms pressed together in an approximation of applause. She then taps her foot three times, and spins. She taps her foot three times, points between her and Linne, and twirls again. She waits for some noise of agreement from Linne, then taps her foot three times for a sychronized spin.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa follows Leah's description and nods, seeming to follow along right until the end. "If they're anything like the battle we saw Lord Bastille and Sass have, I can totally understand. But, um, TV...what's that? Does that stand for something?" She puts a hand behind her head and gives an awkward smile. "I'd really like to see something like that sometime, though. I always really like seeing Pokemon and skilled trainers really put their techniques to good use." She seems to look off into the distance as she speaks. "I used to watch my brother train and it was always impressive to see how Pokemon could do so many different things. I've never been much of a trainer myself but I always like watching. I let my brother be the one good with Pokemon and I learned different skills."

As they come out of the manor, Alyssa smiles and blinks a bit in the brighter sunlight and seems to lose her train of thought. She shakes her head to Genevieve with a smile. "No worries. When you know you can let us know. I guess we may want to leave early if we can, though? I dunno exactly how long it will take us to get to Thundercrag and the wild parts can be a bit scary at night." Absently she brushes her dress a bit.

Luna, who is still in Alyssa's arms, gives a happy cry and makes a few gestures through Alyssa's story, trying to punctuate the important moments. She's not great at it, as Alyssa doesn't really pay her much attention so they don't really have anything synced up. She waves to Lynx as they approach, giving a cheerful cry at a potential new friend.

[Hazuki]

The next movement from within the manor comes from an all-too familiar form. For Genevieve and Linne, at least, as the middle-aged Moffit comes striding across the yard and up to the gates where the girls wait. With a cloak hastily-drawn around her, and Genevieve's letter in her hand, she regards the teen with a gaze that could cut Steelix.

"I hope you've been possessed, girl, because if you aren't currently struggling on a spiritual and mental level for control of your body, then I can safely say that I've been witness to a human more oblivious than a Slowpoke!"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve appears flabbergasted as Moffit emerges from the manor once more, carrying the letter that she thought she had addressed to Lord Bastille. "Moffit?! I don't understand... I was trying to save you some trouble and find some way to apologize to you somehow..."

[Comissar]

Leah gave Alyssa an embarrassed smile, "Oh, umm, sorry. TV's are televisions." She almost leaves her explanation there before realising that probably wouldn't clarify matters either. She shifted the strap of her bag as she continued, "So, uh, TV's are screens that show what's happening somewhere else. Umm, you can record things ahead of time, and show them later. Like I said, uh, pokémon battles are a big thing to show, but you can also get news and entertainment shows too."

She falls silent as Alyssa talks about her brother, listening with interest. She nods along at her story, "Yeah, umm, I've never really been much of a trainer either." She smiles down at Saura, "Not really something I think I'd be very good at, I was always just happy spending time with Saura."

Outside, she nods along with Alyssa's suggestion, "Yeah, umm, on the way here Alea and I tried to just get as far as possible during the day. Umm, it might be a good idea to try the same thing to Thundercrag." She rubs the back of her neck, "Though, uh, I think it's quite a bit further. Umm, we might want to try and stop by smaller towns on the way so we can, uh, restock on the way."

She shrinks back as Moffit bursts out of the manor and lays into Genevieve, giving the other girl a worried look.

[Hazuki]

"Yes, quite the trouble you've saved me, by bothering Lord Bastille for permission to enter! It's not like he'd have enough on his plate, is it? What with his daughter assaulted twice, the manor attacked, Knights send all over the Region. Why would he be worried about intruders? Why would he need verification of the identity of the young woman trying to enter the manor, and her relationship with me?" Moffit flicks the letter in her hand. "An apology, indeed! If you were truly sorry, you wouldn't have repeated your callous, ignorant behavior from this morning! Yet you have." She seethes.

"Some kind of accident! It is no wonder they did not want you in Ecruteak, if your dancing is as graceless as your manners!"

[Ceralune]

Genevieve can feel her defenses rising as Moffit seethes, but as she opens her mouth to speak about the unfairness of it all and her wasted efforts trying to be considerate, she suddenly remembers something her father told her when she little.

"No matter what, Genni, whenever you're trying to accomplish something, always strive to do everything you can. Because that's how you'll succeed! And, if the impossible happens and it doesn't work out - then at least you can say you gave it your all. And you won't have any regrets."

Words she's lived by. The words that got her into the most prestigious school in Johto, and the words that made her the person she is today. She's never tasted failure like this before the past couple of weeks, but she has tried to do what she could about it. And suddenly, she knows that she tried her best to please Moffit, and yet it wasn't enough. But there's no need to defend her actions in a puff of hot air, no need to lament over it anymore.

And, it also ascertains to her that this is the right choice.

"You're right. In focusing too hard on the details like having you come all the way out here, I overlooked more important things. Things I didn't even fully understand." Genevieve regards Moffit with steady eyes. "I am sorry that I bothered you again, despite you saying not to. I'm sorry that I've been a nuisance to you the entire time I've been here. And that I haven't learned anything. Having this trip essentially forced on me meant that I came at it with a really negative mentality. And that wasn't helpful, to either of us. That's why... I come to you now not only to apologize, but to ask you if I could take a different path to my foreign study. I want to leave Bastille Town, and travel around Londo to discover for myself what it's like here. What I'm missing. My methods have always involved me carving out my own path for myself, and while I do realize that I need to take what the Kimono Sisters said to heart, I also need to do it my way. Of course, I'm still waiting to hear what they will think about it..." Her voice trails off slightly as she glances down at her unresponsive pokégear. "But it is technically in the terms I was given. I really want what's best for both of us, and I do think this is the right step."

[Hazuki]

Moffit listens to Genevieve's response, and her eyebrows can climb no higher by the time she's finished. "You have yet to finish your apology before asking for something else." She shakes her head. "I don't care what you do. Our deal only went as far as providing lodging in return for help around the house."

[Ceralune]

Genevieve stifles a chuckle, simultaneously noting how calm she feels, despite everything. It's strange. "I guess you've got a point. I can't help it - I've got dreams, after all. I'll do whatever it takes to make them come true. But I do realize I've been a bother to you ever since I came here. I think you'll be much happier if I leave you be."

[Merilan]

Linne flinched just a little bit and sheepishly shied away from Moffit's outburst, wo ndering if Genevieve was going to be okay, and... ...looking to Lynx with a nervous little nod.

Tap, tap, tap, spin! The hooded girl whirls about on one foot with surprisingly good balance. Tap, tap, tap, spin!

"Lyn lyn lyn, it's Lynx~!" she sung for the Pokemon, giggling. Zeta pouted further as she watched from the side, before huffily marching in to, tap, tap, tap, spin! In turn.

[Hazuki]

"A shame you didn't realize that ten minutes ago." Moffit remarks, and wraps her cloak more tightly around herself. "Will that be all?"

Lynx giggles in delight as they perform their synchronized spins, apparently oblivious to the conversation at the gates.

[Ceralune]

"I suppose s-- Oh. Well. There is the awkward bit of the Kimono Sisters not actually having responded yet. But either way," Genevieve bites her lip before adding, "I think I've imposed on you enough. I'll take Lynx home-" at this, she gestures at the happily twirling Lilligant "-and I'll leave you be. I still have some funding left, and maybe I can take some different kinds of jobs around here. It might even be... fun, trying new things." She doesn't sound entirely convinced about this, but she says it nevertheless. Well, they do say necessity makes for a much more open mind.

"I guess that's it then." Not forgetting her manners, Genevieve bows to Moffit, holding the pose for a few moments before rising again. "Thank you for letting me stay with you, Moffit, and for coming out to let me apologize to you. I won't bother you again. And I really do hope that girl recovers soon."

[Hazuki]

"Her name is Macha." Moffit informs Genevieve, then turns away and starts walking back to the manor. The healer is past the main doors by the time that Genevieve's Pokegear rings.

[Merilan]

Linne smiled warmly at Lynx, though her attention'd been drawn to Genevieve again by the time Moffit left so that she could walk up to the girl and give her a pat on the back. "Are, are you okay? That sounded really harsh..." though she let out an 'eep!' as she heard the Pokegear ringing.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve turns to Linne with a somewhat surprised expression. Ah... I forgot the others were even there. Well this'll be an uncomfortable explanation later. "O-Oh! Yes, I'm fine." As her pokegear rings, Genevieve looks at it, startled, and then clicks the Receive Call button. "Uhh... hello?"

[Hazuki]

"Good morning, Genevieve." Instructor Miki's voice comes with relative clarity through the earpiece. "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything. These timezones are ever so frustrating."

[Ceralune]

"Instructor Miki!" Genevieve's face brightens as she hears the voice over the line. Despite whatever conflict created by her unexpected trip to Londo, she still has great respect for her five instructors. "Not at all! How are you? I, uh, take it you got my voicemail?"

[Hazuki]

"I just recently woke, to another beautiful day in Ecruteak." Instructor Miki informs Genevieve, pleasantly. The teen can just make out shuffling feet in the background. "And yes, I have. I hope you've not had to interrupt Moffit while she works; she's very dedicated to her healing." She giggles in a ladylike manner.

[Ceralune]

"Ohh, I see. Uhh... yes, about Moffit..." Genevieve hesitates before continuing. "... I don't think it's working out, Instructor Miki. I can see how much of a bother I'm being to her, and it's kind of getting me down too. I actually wanted to see if I could change the direction I'm taking with my period of foreign study in Londo. I called you earlier to ask you about it. I met some other girls who are traveling to Thundercrag, and I wonder if it might be more... beneficial if I wasn't tied down to one place."

[Hazuki]

"What a wonderful idea! It will do you good, I think, and I'm sure the other instructors would agree." Instructor Miki replies. "Do make sure to bring an experienced trainer or traveler with you. It is a long journey, and especially so if the skies are feeling playful - and we wouldn't want you losing a finger to a wild Murkrow, would we?" She giggles once more.

[Ceralune]

Genevieve blinks in alarm as that last comment reaches her ears. The thing I rescued earlier could've taken off my finger? Y-Yikes... "Ohh, thank you for allowing me to go, Instructor Miki! Umm, I'm not sure how much traveling the others have done, but it'll be 4 or 5 of us, so I think that should be pretty safe."

[Comissar]

Leah remains withdrawn throughout Genevieve's talk with Moffit, worried that she might get snapped at if she intercedes. Instead, she tries to distract herself from the conversation. As it turns out, Linne and Lynx provide a perfect show to provide such a distraction. She watched the dance bemusedly, Saura giving the pair a happy look as they twirl.

When Genevieve finishes, and her pokégear rings out, Leah glances in confusion at her bag, her hand flying to the flap. Having grown used to a scarcity of pokégear in Londo, it takes her a moment to realise it's not hers that's ringing. When she sees Genevieve answer the gear to her instructor, understanding dawns on her face. Not wanting to eavesdrop, she moves over to Lynx and Linne instead. The Lilligant reminded her of Minx. She gives the pokémon a smile before glancing over to Linne, "Umm, I, uh, I hope we didn't keep you waiting, uh, for too long."

[Merilan]

Linne shook her head and smiled sweetly at Leah, saying, "It's okay, Linne had a lot of fun with Lynx."

[Hazuki]

Genevieve

"I'm glad to hear you're taking this seriously, Genevieve." Instructor Miki responds. "And...do be careful near Thundercrag. The storms are all too eager to interfere with electronics." She giggles. "That's all the advice I have to give, on that! Is there anything else you require?"

~

And The Rest

Lynx nods with Linne's assessment, her leaves bouncing with the motion.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa is mostly quiet as Moffit and Genevieve have their exchange. She recognizes Moffit from around but never really knew her, so it mostly makes Alyssa a bit nervous watching these two mostly-strangers have a heated argument. As Moffit walks away, Alyssa lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

Once the call seems to be coming to an end, Alyssa says aloud, "I guess it might be a good idea for us to find some sort of guide or something. I'm not really much for reading a map and I've never actually been to Thundercrag so I have no idea how to get there." She wracks her brain trying to think of somewhere she might know to find such a person, thinking outloud: "We already said the knights would be busy, so we'd have to find someone else." A thought occurs to her but she stops herself from saying it and subtly turns away from Sass and Misru.

[Ceralune]

"I think that's all, Instructor Miki. Thank you so much for giving me permission to do this. I'll be careful! Take care." With a satisfied smile on her face, Genevieve hits End Call faces the others. "Well, I guess I'm officially cleared to go with you all. Hmm... as for getting a guide, I don't really know anyone from around here either. Other than, uhh, Moffit. And I suppose, that lady who helped me with the Murkrow earlier." Her face brings up a somewhat pained expression as she says, "... I hope you all won't mind me suggesting we not bother Moffit again. But, I guess we could ask people we know if there's anyone who would be willing to come with us? I don't mind asking Pip."

[Hazuki]

Everyone!

Unfortunately for Alyssa, Sass seems to have different plans, as she marches up to the group and pushes Alyssa to the side with surprising strength. In one hand, she has the scroll, and in the other, Misru's wrist.

"It's a ritual! Kinda!" Sass informs the group, waving the scroll in the air. "You've got to gather ingredients, prepare them, and think really hard. It's what witches do, and Misru said she'd make a copy for everyone!"

"I said it would be poss-"

"It's Hidden Power!" Sass interrupts the older girl, whose lips set into a firm line."And it can be any Type. It represents your Pokemon's elemental..." She pauses, then looks to Misru.

"Affinity."

"Thanks. That!" She nods at the group.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa recovers quickly from Sass's unceremonious entrance and then takes in Sass's comments with excitement. "Wait, you mean it teaches your Pokemon how to use a new move? That's so awesome." She looks in awe at the scroll and fumbles with her pad and pencil to take a small sketch of it, which unfortunately results in a whole bunch of random scribbles that don't really look like anything.

[Merilan]

Linne tilted her head as she watched and heard Sass' explanation, though she hadn't even really understood what a 'move' was... she knew that Zeta could spit out flames, and that'd been really handy for their camping trips and for keeping warm in the winter months, but that's about it. "How do we know what affinity our Pokemon have...?"

[Hazuki]

"You have to use it to find out." Sass nods sagely. "It's like how some people can use moves like Pokemon, but we're not. Can't you do that, Misru?"

"I'd put you to sleep." Misru answers.

"It's witchcraft." Sass replies, raising her eyberows at the older girl. "I wouldn't get bored."

"Not what I meant."

[AncientSpark]

Lina claps her hands together at the sound of that, as she tries to get a better look at the scroll over Alyssa's shoulder. But, then she pauses as she hears how you're supposed to find the affinity.

"So, wait, if y'don't like the element, y'can' change it? An', if it's witchcraft, does it mean it does bad stuff to the 'mon?" Lina bites her lip, a little apprehensive at the prospect of that.

[Hazuki]

"No. Not without a change in the Pokemon itself." Misru answers, turning her gaze to the girl she apparently hadn't noticed was there. "And no. It helps your Pokemon gain a greater understanding of themselves. If they do not fear knowing things, they will be unharmed."

[Comissar]

Leah looks over to Sass and Misru with interest as they reveal the nature of the scroll, a smile tugging at her lips at both Alyssa's enthusiasm, and Sass' obliviousness to Misru's remarks. At the talk of the rituals, she asks, "Umm, would all scrolls like this, uh, have a similar way of, uh, of being taught?"

They didn't sound too dissimilar to the TM's of Kanto, though she had to admit that she hadn't ever learned how those worked either.

[Merilan]

Linne looked on charmedly and scooped Zeta up, asking, "Zeta, do you want to understand more about yourself...?" Zeta tilted her head, then let out a little 'kon-!' that was helpfully affirmative.