Cass seems to be taken slightly aback by the ... possible reference? But she doesn't have a frame of reference herself, so she couldn't really tell if she just hasn't watched a trendy show or was too young to get it. "Yeah, let's see how this goes," she replies after a moment of contemplating the possible-not-reference.

"No worries about hard feelings," she agrees, and seems actually quite excited to fight for a moment, breaking through a slight worry how that many fights are going to affect her pokémon, but ... they'll figure it out. "Break a leg- or don't," she wishes the other luck as if she would to an actor that she's finished styling in the wardrobe, but does this phrase also applies to-

Anyway, she thought way too hard about that and things in general right now, so she takes a deep breath, readying herself for the battle. Jon also just got into position, as the battle started proper - and immediately, the inexperienced duo needed a second longer to process the rocks suddenly emerging from the ground. "That looks painful- don't run into that," she shouts to Jon, "Quick, use Sludge Bomb!"

Jon immediately heeds her words, its little body seemingly to grow momentarily, before shrinking as he spat out a sludge bomb towards Lyca, careful not to move an inch from the spot he's on.

Lasciel Elis
HP 3/3
uses Sludge Bomb
kMwpYZSb

Cassandra thought this tournament might be a good way to get some more fighting experience for her trubbish Jon. It's a battle format she's never done, - not that she's done many battles in general - so their chances might be ... okay-ish? Neither of them were really battle-experienced, but might make up for it with sheer determination.

They've looked for shelter at the sudden drizzle, because of course she's forgotten her umbrella at home. But gladly, it stopped soon enough so she could actually go out and start looking for battle partners - and promptly found one. The other seems to be around her age, but Cass hasn't seen her before - which isn't surprising, since her school's not exactly the largest around.

"Hi!" she returns the greeting, glad to see someone around her age participating in the tournament. "Fortunately, I only got this guy with me here," she replies, but then touches her hair very carefully - gladly, it doesn't seem to cause any trouble ... for now. "I'm Cassandra, but you can call me Cass or Cassie if you want- and that here is Jon."

She looks at the Lycanroc, then at her Trubbish. Determination settles in the little guy's eyes, and well, there's not much else to do except ... "Are you here to fight, too?"

Lasciel Elis

VITAL TRACKER

GOOD LUCK, COMPETITOR!

[break]

PARTNER POKEMON:

trubbish (no gimmick)

VITALS EARNED:
1 VITALS FROM link WITH Lasciel Elis (LOSS)
2 VITALS FROM link WITH ollie morales (WIN)
2 VITALS FROM link WITH Kazuya Yoshida (WIN)

TOTAL VITALS:
5

REWARDS OBTAINED: ability capsule, 1x free evolution, 3x tm/tr, 1x root of pugnus, 1x premium gacha

"You know what, that whole trip was not-" Cassandra murmurs to herself, about to turn around in this godforsaken (?) landscape to head back to a warm and cosy home, when she catches a movement in the corner of her eye. Immediately alert, she whips around, firmly holding the pokéball of her fletchling Effie. However, the movement isn't threatening - it's rather elegant, in fact.

A pokémon which she's never seen before dances in the icy scenery, moving about elegantly. It has a copper sheen to it, which makes her wonder if it might be made of copper entirely. Stunned and mesmerised, she watches for another moment, before it finally notices her, and startles. Now, its behaviour speaks of aggression, and she quickly pulls up her hands, then lowers them slowly, realising her mistake.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you," she speaks in a clear voice, louder than she intended in this white nothingness (there's a lot, but all this white seems to blur). "That was ... very beautiful." Its loud stomps were rhythmic, and its movements simply so fluent. "You're a very good dancer."

The cufant still eyes Cassandra with scepticism, but seems to also be soothed by the soft tone of her voice. It doesn't approach, but doesn't attack her as she approaches. "Hey, mind if I join you for a bit?" She tries to translate its quadruped movements to her two legs, and fails - gladly, there's no one around to actually, so she could be embarrassed in peace. However, the cufant itself seems to pick up on what she intends to do, and it chirps happily, starting to pick up its dance where it left off before, and encouraging Cassandra to join in it.

"I swear, I'm not that hopeless, usually," she laughs after a while, "All those layers don't really help." She gestures to her gloves, scarves (yes, two), jacket, inner jackets and shirts and trousers. "But hey ... if you wanna come with me, we can maybe work on it together?" she asks, finally taking out an empty pokéball and letting the wild Cufant sniff it for a moment, before throwing it and hoping for the best.

Even Cassie's warm clothing can't keep the biting cold at bay entirely - she still feels its fangs pierce her face as her exhale becomes visible, a misty cloud. "Maybe I should just go again," the student murmurs to herself, tightening her scarf once more, looking over the forlorn landscape. From what she heard, a Kyurem's responsible for this. Frozen blades of grass, cracking underneath her steps, ice statues of pokémon that aren't exactly ... statues made by hand or paw. For a brief moment, she wonders why, but then gives up. After all, entities like deities may not even need a reason to do ... anything. (This would be almost inspiring, if she didn't face such depressing sights.)

She stays clear of those former signs of life, and instead looks out for pokémon that might have settled here anew. She also wonders how the situation might continue, with spring being on its way ... eventually. But for now, she stays wary and cautious, one hand resting on her pokéballs to call for aid if she needs it.

Cassandra flinches into an upright pose. The shivers down her spine seemingly add to the need to at least appear prim and proper, even with the whole history of mud and falling over herself written in the wrinkles of her clothes, her tousled hair. She bit her lip, and quickly let go of it - steadying her breathing instead.

"Sorry," she could only say, eventually, after her mother's scolding words, and then an embarrassed "haha caught me" smile follows with the reminder about the times before. ... yeah, she did indeed not have the best track record. "I really don't try to ... and will do better in the future. I pro-ho ho ho-mise," she said, another time, and this time, muddy dust tickles her nose, and she could barely hold in the sneeze. She flashes Calpurnia another smile, hoping to maybe soothe things over with charms (which she's not really good at). "I'll take them to pokémon centers next time." Because, as much as she'd plead for anything right now, throwing another bold-faced lie did not seem like the best play here.

The furfrou itself seems to have caught the tense situation, and behaves as docile as it can be. Indeed, it has been pretty tame the entire time Cassandra has been with them so far, which makes her curious ... After Calpurnia's reluctant approval of Cass using her shampoo to wash it, the student gets to work, rolling up her sleeves. She takes the shower head, turning on the water at lukewarm and praying that the mud won't reveal a flea. "Haha ... ... But it's kind of strange, actually, I think it's ... it kind of makes me think more like if, ehm," Purrseus had a roll in the mud, which Cassie does not voice. "Like if Saude, my emolga, had a roll in the mud. It doesn't seem really ... wild, they're also pretty docile."

Even as Cassandra gently washes away the water, it doesn't seem to be too disturbed or bothered at all.

Calpurnia Kubrick

day 12 coins, money or scrooge (free evolution)
day 23 winter clothes (silvally memory)
day 24 ho ho ho (shiny swap)
day 25 kyurem, glaciate or never-meltice (legendary candy)

Certainly, the situation could be worse. However, it could also be improved upon. Hanging upside down in a tree is, after all, not the ideal state for most people, and it certainly doesn't help that the tree has done a fabulous job of hoarding snow like a scrooge, as if there would ever be an end to it. The only upside that Cassandra is looking at right now is being tucked into her many layers of clothing comfortably, so even as they hold onto snow-laden branches to not fall, the cold hasn't entirely caught up to her.

Yet.

She's balancing precariously, caught in the middle of the branches, and utterly wrapped inside of them. She glances upwards a bit, and sure enough, there is her companion in misery - her trubbish Jon, somehow having ended up even higher in the tree than her, his arms holding and being held by the branches so he would not fall.

"How you holding up there, bud?" she asks, but doesn't dare to move her head so she could have a better look. He gives the vaguest, tentative sounds, seeming similiarly exasperated. "I promise, we'll ... well, we will, but we'll figure out a way to get down beforehand." Both of them knew that Cass, growing ever so anxious to reunite with her dad, would follow any lead. Even if that lead is a trick of light in the middle of a tree that had to be climbed, only to find out that its branches are bouncy.

She tries not to linger on the thought of why and how too much, and instead- she hears steps, even as they are muffled by the snow. "Hey, hey! Hello? Anybody there?" she shouts, hoping that there might be someone who could help them out.

@open

Cassandra couldn't hold back the pout at her mother's words - it's true that living in a society entails exactly this, but that doesn't mean she has to like it, right? (She WILL have to deal with it though, and probably sooner rather than later. According to her, later would be more preferable.) This topic is quickly swapped out for the more ... current, and in fact, less preferable situation with the furfrou that Cassandra has decided to bring home. For. Reasons.

Yeah, the more she thought about it, the more stupid it sounds, but this felt like a classic teen moment. (And it would really be a good hairdressing practice, and all in all, it could've gone worse! Probably!)

"It isn't that bad," she returns defensively, but also only looks at the poor pokémon from the corner of her eyes - better not refresh her memory on how bad the situation actually is. "Bringing it here just seemed ... faster." She's not sure if she should bring up practicing hairdressing yet or at all, given that they've just talked about a book report she could be doing instead.

"I won't do it again, promise!" Cassie flinches at the sound of her mother's frustration and scorn, looking at her pleadingly. "Just this once? Please?" Gladly, her mother doesn't seem to want to throw out the furfrou immediately, and she nods enthusiastically. Unlike Kelpie, Cassie's not hesitant to touch the pokémon, now trying to give it a few encouraging coo's and nonsense blabbering as she motions it to the bathroom with her mother.

"I'll go find the own- ehm, give it to the pokémon center tomorrow first thing. I'll wake up extra early, too!" she promises another time, and another time with a rather untrustworthy track record of barely getting out of bed in time for school. However, she does move quickly to get the furfrou into the bathtub, starting to run water a bit away from it to let it heat up. "Think my shampoo will have to do for now ..." she murmurs, glancing at her mother to see if she got any other ideas here - she's sure Purrseus would kill her if she even looked at the products intended for him right now.

Calpurnia Kubrick

Cassandra lets out a laugh, somewhere between reality and despair. "I can't deny that," she returns, her mind shortly drifting to the annoyance of ads being everyhwere, capitalism, and all that before focusing on the currently more real problem at hand. "And yeah, that book report is kind of a drag ..." She hasn't really been able to get into the book, and not by lack of trying. And while it isn't her immediate concern, she gladly jumps on it for as long as she can, hoping to delay the inevitable for just a few moments more until she'd be clear ... "Like, some things don't really make sense, I think, and I got the feeling that the teacher has some very clear expectations what we should write, so ... kinda more of a 'guess what they want' than usual." She does enjoy literature, but interpretations are a nightmare. The clarity (most of the time) of maths appeals more to her.

But the laws of physics could've been a bit more merciful as she slams into the ground, her fall a bit cushioned by the carpet. Soon, it's followed by Purrseus going back on their bargain, and her mother's terrifying glare. Cass clears her throat, her expression a mix of embarrassment with a hint of teenage rebellion, a notion she couldn't shake.

"Uhm, eh, that's a Furfrou. I- found it on my way home, and I tried getting to its collar, but its fur is all terrible- I thought I could practice on it a bit, and find its owner because it was getting late and dark outside, so I couldn't just let it out there all on its own, not knowing when the owner might come back, and I'll clean up everything, I swear, it's like nothing will have happened-" Cass fires sentences like bullets, one after another before eventually stopping to catch a deep breath.

Calpurnia Kubrick

• player/ooc name: eykta
• character tags: Cassandra Kubrick
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): ---
• ic posts for characters: cassandra kubrick
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments: \o/ thanks for all ur hard work!

"There are breakfast cookies," Cass returns, but knows her mom's words to be true - after all, the sugary cookies her friend baked could hardly count as their more healthy, cereal-based variant. "I'll eat later, there's something I wanna do first," she does add, hoping to smoothly be able to get out of this situation quickly and upstairs, since the stray (not stray?) furfrou is still here and needs to be moved. The more she thinks about it, dealing with it in the garden probably would have been a better idea, but the creeping cold does not mix well with any clean-up endeavour ...

... just like Purrseus who's currently the biggest concern regarding making everything blow up in her face. Gladly, she could convince him for the moment to keep quiet with the snacks she bought. While rummaging in her bag quickly, the dog pokémon behind her grows increasingly uncomfortable with the tension, letting out a whimper - the only whimper Purrseus needed.

Alarmed, Cass makes an effort to try and shove the furfrou out of the way, frantically also searching for a piece of furniture behind which she might hide it for just another moment. With a thud, this motion also indeed sends her flying to the ground, but several accidents and mishaps have honed her reflexes, so she doesn't actually break a bone. "Uh, yeah, I'm just fine! Got a bit too, eh, hurried," she calls back, rubbing her arm that's suffered a little bit, a numb pain echoing through her body. However, that moment of respite doesn't last long, as she bolts upright again, trying to figure out the current situation.

Calpurnia Kubrick ooc. reply at last! and no worries, ur post is perf \o/

Cass dodged instinctively as she saw something flying towards her at high speed, evading a collision by one of her meticulously taken care of hairs. However, the other wasn't so lucky, and she could almost see a comical smoking line coming from the line of flattened grass which marks the pokémon's (?) less than graceful descent.

"Uhm, you okay there?" she asks, cautiously as she approaches until she could actually see what just plummeted out of the sky - an emolga! It still crackles slightly with electricity as it tries to stand, but tumbles rather. It doesn't seem to notice her at first, until it does and it gives an alarming squeak, ready to fly off.

However, it has probably never met a trubbish in its life before. As soon as it takes a breath near Cass and her trubbish in her arms, its eyes widen and it starts swaying even more. It even raises a hand dramatically to its head like a victorian lady- "Okay, now you're acting," Cass says with a slightly offended but also amused look in her eyes. "That was pretty fast just now ... are you looking for a trainer, perhaps? I think I have someone who'd like to meet you. You see, I got someone who could help you get even faster ..."

Balancing to keep Jon in her one arm, she uses her other hand to open her bag and get out a pokéball which she tentatively shows the emolga, before just giving it a try and throwing it.