[attr="class","alex"]the ruffled half—hearted laugh is alex's attempt at keeping another sudden entrance as nothing more than normal. which in this case — for them — it is. "my starter?" he says, mirroring the query with a curious look. the foliage around them dances with a gentle current. provoking chatter in the obscured treetops and whistling tunes within the tall grass. for once the natural occurrences seem to be at blame.

"an arcanine." alex says after a long moment, "don't remember much about her though." he can feel his smile lessening but it doesn't fade into the absence. if he'd never held onto a few stray belongings perhaps he would've mentioned the hovering companion that idled at his side. "even though there is some technicality for a first pokémon— i'd say we're already way beyond that." the joke conjured a flash of teeth and alex faced the treaded earth with an occupied mind.

passing! ( samuel carter )

☉

"mine was a gastly."

sharing something like who their first pokémon was didn't seem intimate or invasive to sam. he was just a curious fellow who spoke his mind. sometimes, more than he ought.

"he found me. i was at a funeral and he was trying to cause havoc. i distracted him, he distracted me. it has been that way ever since."

alecto was a gengar now, still just as goofy, and really very dark and crude in his humor. it matched sam well, so sam felt. he wouldn't ever ask for a better partner pokémon.

speaking of pokémon, from a small bit of hill, a wild sight emerged. a houndoom was using her FIRE FANG to try and gnaw into a turtonator. the spikes on the back proved difficult to get around but the hound seemed to find her way. a spark lit her maw, a THUNDER FANG helping her push down harder into the turtonator.

"absol."

the request was silent and within her name. the absol moved quickly to help the houndoom by striking the turtonator with a SHADOW CLAW. a bit of back and forth and absol and the houndoom were able to push the turtonator back. oddly excited for her species, the houndoom gave the absol a lick, wagging her devil like tail and nudging the absol.

absol just gave her a look, ending up nudging her back.

sam smiled, watching as the two seemed to be getting along. the houndoom was playing with absol. and even more bizarre was that absol was playing back.

"can't say that's ever happened... guess we've a new companion huh?"

absol moved closer to sam then. the houndoom paused her movements, inspecting. once she decided it was safe, giving sam's extended hand a sniff. she licked his palm and whined while rubbing her muzzle into it.

sam's expression softened.

"my guess is abandoned," sam spoke softly before bending down and putting both hands on the houndoom's face. "well now you're found, hm?"

happily, she gave his face a lick, which had him grunting and falling backwards onto his ass with a laugh.

// capture attempt HOUNDOOM

alexander silph