Paxton enjoyed the outdoors. He'd grown fairly used to them in his youth, having had a tranquil forest to play in near his childhood home. He'd worked in nature, even survived in it with dozens of others while on the run. He was fine wit htha.t But. But that had been on foot. Not...not on a horse. [break][break]

The man grimaced, looking fairly awkward as he tried to to ride Soleil as smoothly as Barnaby sat atop Oceane. Unfortunately, the difference was night and day, even with a horse as agreeable as his. He doesn't want to admit it, but the Rapidash is fairly tall, and he seemed to hiss even whimper whenever the fire type had to move too quickly or hop over something. It's obvious he's not used to it and doing everything in his power to focus on the reigns and the little bit of training Barnaby had offered before they'd set out. [break][break]

He regret letting the reporter talk him into this. That much is noticeable when his concentration broke, and he looked back at his companion wit ha grimace. He tried to smooth it over into a polite smile. It lasted less than a millisecond. "Uhh...alright." he began, trying to keep his voice even. He cleared his throat. "You ever- um...you ever make a secret base, by any chance?" he asked trying to push the focus onto the blonde. If he could get him going about himself maybe he'd forget Paxton was fucking struggling out here. At least the weather was nice. He pat the Rapidash's neck, as if apologizing for being such an incompetent rider.

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"A secret base?" He called back, confirming what he'd heard. Had he? Barnaby couldn't recall any recent time in which he found the need to create such a thing.

Perhaps when he was a child, cripplingly alone and left to his own devices, he'd carved out a quiet space for himself inside his family's Kalosian chateau. But that was long ago, and in the meantime that lonely boy had become a man.

"No, not in the way I think you mean, anyway. I have little hideaways I like to go to, though. There's a garden I had constructed recently that I enjoy spending time in, for example." It was a reclusive little spot surrounded by woods on a property just outside of Mauville City.

Looking over his shoulder for a brief moment, it was abundantly clear that Paxton was struggling finding his balance as the horses picked their way down the trail. Thankfully, Soleil was on his best behavior; the RAPIDASH was mindful not to shift his weight too much, to move slowly, and to accept the pat to his shoulder with a reassuring whinny.

"I'm guessing this isn't your first base? What's so enticing about them?"

paxton concordas

☉

He eyed the blonde, trying to let himself trust his companion's pokemon. The topic was a big help, personally. He tried to hide it, but he was a little obsessed with them, as childish as they were. "Well, say, you've never built a treehouse before? It's like that. I tend to avoid trees though. I prefer holes in th' ground, or caverns. 'Specially with how hot Hoenn is." He glanced at the reporter. "Whatever you're talking about soundsa lot more complicated than what I mean. I think..." he added. [break][break]

Paxton managed a smile that the ever patient fire type. "You'd be guessin' correctly. They're-" The police officer hesitated, unsure of where he'd been going with that thought. Memories of soft giggling, and the smell of lavender and cinnamon floated to the surface. Days spent reading and hiding, polishing rocks or stashing away sweets he'd stolen. But he couldn't say that. OR rather, he'd prefer not to share that. [break][break]

"Call it a core memory. I just like 'em." he turned the conversation to Barnaby. "Surprised you're unfamiliar. You look like you'd love decorating one. As a kid and now."

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A treehouse? Barnaby? Delving into the memories of his childhood, he honestly didn’t remember a time when he or any of his school acquaintances had played in a treehouse.

Not for lack of interest, but lack of opportunity. His schedule had been maximized for optimal training. Academics were paramount, as was the sculpting of his physical prowess and associated skills needed for ROCKET. Every minute had been meticulously organized in a way that left little time for idle play in the outdoors. Still, Paxton’s words seemed reasonable to him.

“I think I see what you mean. More rugged than a manicured garden, hm?” He could picture it in his head. A dirt-covered paxton concordas crawling around in a hidden hole, hiding away from his troubles. Even in adulthood Barnaby could understand the urge to want to get away from the world, if only for a little while.

“Do I? Well, you’re not wrong, I suppose. I do like making things my own. What kind of decorations does one usually put in a hidden base?”

As they conversed, the area around them slowly changed. The wood thickened with mature trees, shading them under a dense canopy. Ahead, Barnaby could see a portion of rock and earth jutting upward, forming a small outcropping. “By the way, let me know if you see a good area to search. From the sound of it, these bases might not be easy to find.” That was sort of implied by the secret in ‘secret’ base.

paxton concordas

☉

"Mmm...yeah pretty much." he said with a simple nod. As a kid he'd gone out on his own and carved out a little spot for himself and then share it with ţ̴̘̖̎̈̒̎͊̓͋h̶̗̦͙̀̆̓̀͝ȩ̶̢̻̻͖̈́̓́̋ͅm̷̡̮̥̦̹̹͕̃̽̀̆͊̀. Hours and hours of work, decorating, modifying, refining until it felt like a little room away from home. At least, the last time he'd been at his, all grown up, it'd felt like a room. Dusty, nostalgic, scattered and dead lilies near the window. A log that told him anyone who'd known of the location had long since moved on. [break][break]

"They got a section for it up in th' Lillycove Department Store if y'like." he said with a small shrug. He'd only care about putting in soft seating and bookshelves. The dolls that followed were all ţ̴̘̖̎̈̒̎͊̓͋h̶̗̦͙̀̆̓̀͝ȩ̶̢̻̻͖̈́̓́̋ͅm̷̡̮̥̦̹̹͕̃̽̀̆͊̀. "You put in like...cushions? Posters, stuffies. Flowers or rocks you collect...I'd hide snacks and tried to get a battery powered mini fridge." the last one had been the most difficult task. It'd turned out just a hole with some ice from a pokemon worked just as well. [break][break]

"Oh..." he turned away having been so engrossed in his conversation he'd forgotten the task at hand. He liked how dense the forest was, certainly good for a treehouse. But he wanted... The ground seemed to elevate slightly and he nodded over at the rocks. "Maybe near there and I can spread out. I like holes in the ground that are hard to get to...but it's close enough to trees and thorn bushes for a garden." The thorn bushes would be best. He didn't mind a couple of scratches.


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With a practiced ease, Barnaby dismounted Océane and ground-tied her nearby, knowing full well she'd remain where she was unless instructed otherwise. Looking to his companion, he walked close to where Soleil stopped, but did not immediately go to help the officer dismount.

If he wanted assistance he would surely ask for it. And if he did, Barnaby would do just that before letting his attention fall to his left.

"Here?" He lightly kicked a nearby rock, watching as it clattered against the stone face of the outcropping. "Do you dig the hole yourself or do you find ones that are already present?" As in created by previous tenants or a Pokémon looking for a cozy retreat.

His gaze shifted from the rocks to the surrounding vegetation. Barnaby did his best to envision a thriving garden in this mass of undergrowth and thorns, but it was a hard thing to sell. Perhaps paxton concordas simply had more of a green thumb.

paxton concordas

☉

Paxton took his sweet time getting off the horse, careful not to pull a muscle. Even with all his gym training, he had neglected working on his flexibility and it would come to cost him today. By taking a comically quiet and long time to get feet on the ground. "Both. Sometimes its a matter of finding something that's been abandoned, or personalizing something already there." he said. [break][break]

He took the lead, listening to where Barnaby's rock had gone off to and beginning to look. It's a bad place to be. The vegetation is wild and the burs are everywhere, but Paxton seemed to shove himself through it all the same as he rounded the outcropping. "I tend to just go...where no one else would want to." he called out lightly. There's a pause before he added, "Carefully with your eyes." [break][break]

He let out a small Geodude that glistened gold in the bit of sunlight that pierced through the thicket. "I need a hole. Like, somewhere you could live in. OR well me." he explained as the Geodude scratched it's head before carrying on, knocking on rocks and the like. It's slow work, and Paxton's a little quiet, occasionally mumbling things to Barnaby like "This is good cover" or "This has nice atmosphere" before his pokemon speaks up slapping a patch of earth excitedly. There's a bit of a covered pit in the shadow of stone that jutted out from the hill. "Oh- I think he's found something." he stated excitedly before remembering his poor companion that he'd been dragging along. [break][break]

"Sorry, how're you holding up?" he asked, offering a hand. For Paxton's part he was a bit of a mess. Small scratches that were bleeding just a bit crisscrossed his face and hands. Multiple types of burs and thorns stuck to his clothing. Bit of his hair had been pulled out of place by stray twigs and the like.


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"... I've been better," He responded in an upbeat tone that was somewhat forced. "But I'll be alright. I figured we'd be in for a hairy situation out here." Taking the offered hand, Barnaby allowed paxton concordas to pull him through a particularly thick clump of brambles. Much to the usually thoroughly kempt journalist's dismay, his physical state was similar to the officer's: dirty, scratched up, his garments riddled with burs. Very few ever saw him in such a state.

"Have we found the one?" Paxton's GEODUDE seemed to have discovered a promising spot. Walking carefully to where the Pokémon had slapped it's hands down, Barnaby peered into the mostly-covered pit, but found only darkness there to greet him.

Turning to the policeman, a smile spread across Barnaby's grime-covered face. Was their expedition at it's end? The thought excited him, as he was ready for a hot shower, but also made him a little sad. "What do you think?"

paxton concordas

☉

Paxton snorted, unbothered by his own mucked up state. He was used to nicks and scratches here and there. The important part was that neither of them got caught in the eye. "It could've been worse. Could've gone into a swamp." he returned. As much as he liked the outdoors, nobody liked a goddamn swamp. Not even the pokemon that resided in it. That's why they were always so cranky. [break][break]

"Yeah, I think." he added after a minute of surveying. The effort it took to get around the brambles made it a good hiding spot. "I think I'll mark it...come back later to dig it out and clean it up. Area's pretty good so even if its cramped under there it should be enough for what I need." Which was just a place to store a cooler and some beer. He didn't plan on staking out the neck of the woods for too long anyway. But the weird seedling needs to get planted so. "Let's take a break here, and then head back. I think we're done for the day." He'd work on the little garden patch and his flowers while his companion rested, then head home.

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