[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]a bundled body swivels at an unfamiliar voice. her smile is bright around the fluffy barrier of a plush scarf.

snow falls around them. it peppers pale hair, disappearing among the waves.

"hey!" a gloved hand extends out toward him, fingers slightly shaking from the cold. the rest of her is surprisingly warm. if she had to guess, it's due to the two fluffy fire types sitting on either side of her hips and not the extra layers she threw on. "illeana, it's nice to meet you."

a delibird squawks behind her. once, twice, and the third time is ear piercing. her nose scrunches at the sound.

"it's, uh, been like this since i got here." the smile turns sheepish. it's only been a few minutes but man can that delibird screech. impatient little birb.

@elliott

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]giggles escape in little chiming waves. soft at first and then a little louder. the delibird does not take kindly to being yelled at, sure, but she finds it amusing regardless.

the santa birb huffs and stalks away, leaving the duo to wander behind it.

she flashes another smile. this one is almost apologetic, as if the screaming delibird is somehow her fault. it isn't but she still feels a little bad after seeing the look on his face...

"it's an impatient little thing," she sighs. her pokemon rise as she turns and legs begin to move. they're close on her heels, protective and obedient. "i don't believe it understands it doesn't need to deliver all of the presents in one go."

snow slowly begins to fall a little faster now. it's fluffier, heavier as it coats the path. her head tilts up to watch it fall. it reminds her of home, of watching snow constantly fall in snowpoint city. somehow, she misses it a little less now.

and when her attention returns to elliott, the smile lingers.

"at least it stopped screaming finally."

@elliott

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]he has a point.

the delibird is stubborn, sure, but she understands the concept: it’s difficult to accept help sometimes. her eyes dart to the delibird, to the way it stomps along a few feet ahead. her smile is fonder than it was.

”i’m sure it’s grateful for the company in it’s own way,” she murmurs. even if it did murder their eardrums just a bit…

a nod follows and a giggle joins his chuckle, mingling long enough to create a little symphony.

the question is met with the wider curl of lips. she’s all bright and warm, fondness dripping from teeth. snow continues to fall around them. a gloved hand stretches out to reach at the flakes as gravity tugs them down.

”yes, it reminds me of home,” if it sounds faraway, she doesn’t notice. ”what about you, elliott? are you a fan of snow?”

@elliott

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]her smile is warm in the face of admittance. no judgement here, really. personally, it almost feels odd to enjoy the cold, the snow, the way it makes everything quiet and still.

"that's okay," she murmurs. he dives into explanation as snow crunches beneath their feet. up ahead, the delibird somehow manages to stay within line of sight while stubbornly stomping further.

hoenn in the winter time was, unfortunately, an adjustment for her. snow doesn't fall as heavily here. it comes in gentle waves whereas snowpoint always has blizzard conditions. it's almost odd to be able to wander normally through the snow without sinking halfway in.

a laugh escapes, then. it's chiming and light.

"it really is cold, huh?" her smile grows in wattage until it's bright and cozy. "too much snow can be a pain in the ass, too. i'm kind of glad hoenn gets less snow."

she pauses for a moment and the admittance is soft. it almost seems to echo against pale snow.

"rarity makes it more special."

@elliott

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]oh, right! her cheeks flush a little despite herself, bright against pale skin.

"snowpoint city," an almost nostalgic smile rises. "i haven't seen another city get snow quite like back home." sometimes, she wishes hoenn had the same climate but snowpoint is special. tucked into the side of mount coronet with towering evergreen trees and fluffy white snow as far as the eye can see... there's nowhere else like it.

the delibird turns, stares at them over its shoulder, and resumes wandering. her smile is warm even after its eyes have left.

she had never witnessed rustboro in the winter. the chance had slipped from her fingers after a pretty spring and warm summer, dead like leaves in fall. somehow, she doesn't let it displace her smile. cracks in composure stay inside, stay buried, stay dead.

"you never know," the smile turns mildly teasing. "maybe rustboro will see lots of snow this winter." all he has to do is believe and speak it into existence.

her shoulders roll with a lazy shrug. whenever her family had been snowed in, she read a shit ton of books so it never bothered her much.

"luckily, there wasn't many roads in snowpoint so it was mostly just shoveling. either way, clean up after blizzards wasn't fun," an easy laugh escapes. "although, you get pretty used to being stuck inside after a little while."

the delibird squawks up ahead and her head's turning away from him at the sound. is it still upset?

@elliott

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]"i think this year, it just might," her smile is warm, perhaps warmer than the tone she uses. there's a feeling in her muscles, bones, nuclei that says this is gonna be a rough winter. and maybe she's right... it's hard to tell exactly why however. she chalks it up to additional snow and moves along.

the delibird scrambles back to them, then, and she's shifting to a stop. it hurries to clamor behind them, gripping onto one of her legs. her head tilts curiously, eyes dropping to stare at it.

"what's wrong?"

and as if on cue, a wild and rather angry abomasnow emerges from the tree line. it roars and the delibird hides a little further behind them.

great, now frosty's massive cousin is hauling ass at them.

while elliott summons his team, her own pokemon shift to the front of the group. the ninetales almost looks bored as she stands at attention beside a rather excited flareon.

"i suppose it was wishful thinking to assume this wouldn't entail a fight?" a giggle follows and she steps a little closer to him, the delibird following closely to her legs. best to get out of the way while she can... last thing she wants is ending up on her ass in front of her partner.

the abomasnow roars once more, the beginning of a blizzard slowly starting to whip up around them.

@elliott

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]a nod of agreement follows his statement. it's half obscured by the whipping winds of blizzard but she pipes up a moment later, voice loud enough to carry.

"we got this," she affirms. with four fire types, it shouldn't be too difficult.

his team begins to shift into action and she's glancing toward her own pokemon. the silver ninetales looks miffed as all hell over this, as if snow coating her fur is not how she wanted to spend the day. the flareon, however, is almost a little too excited. cuties.

"overheat, ember," she murmurs. the fox reacts first, shifting into an offensive stance. heat radiates until snow is beginning to melt beneath her paws and a scorching overheat launches from her open maw toward the abomasnow. the flareon beside her joins in with her own attack, adding an ember into their fire assault.

@elliott