[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

he supposes he shouldn't be as surprised as he is. after all, it isn't like he is the only person who finds interest in mt. pyre. his morning runs are often accompanied by either mint frost or Felix Gallagher, or the occasional THEO BECKETT.

[break][break] what he does not expect, however, is the familiar teal-hued gaze of one fern delaney.

[break][break] despite the seriousness that he usually wears, there is just something about the other that draws something else out of him. his lips curve slightly.

[break][break] "occasionally. you?"

[break][break] he is happy to find the other there, even in the quiet of the mountain's ghost-town, probably happier than he would have been to see anyone else. his dragapult takes to the skies, scouring for prey.

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney

☉

There’s a certain sort of fondness in their grin as they meet jayden cross’s eye (though for place or person, they do not readily specify.) “Whenever I can find the time.” Which is not always often, but they manage. No Pokémon of their own rest here, but there’s a certain reverence to adhere to. A hush that settles even their antsier qualities.[break][break]

Not wanting to be left out or outdone, Fern’s own dragapult darts up into the air after the other. Curiously twisting through the chilled breeze as she studies, and then greets the shiny counterpart. “Hope they don’t mind the friendliness,” he remarks with an easy laugh as he points upward. “Ceci’s pretty social.”[break][break]

Fern calls her back down with a short whistle, though, when they catch a glimpse of steel from the corner of their eye. Ceci readily obliges, diving down sharp as a pin missile, colliding into the spotted doublade with dragon force. They use the following moment when the crossed swords flinch to follow with a pokeball. Their attention returns to jayden cross, glance flitting down then traveling upward in measured pace. “Out training?”

[break][break]

+ jayden cross | ghostie bonding | catching doublade

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

"i'm surprised we haven't crossed paths sooner."

[break][break] his lips are curved only slightly as he contemplates the nature of their relationship. it seemed fated that they would find themselves on the forelorn steps of mt. pyre, yet he couldn't help but wondering why they hadn't crossed paths before? jayden appeared at mt. pyre often enough, and it seemed that fern delaney did as well.

[break][break] perhaps it was such that their fates had merely run parallel before, missing each other entirely, except for their weekly meetings at the grocery store. it must have been something that elicited the change - the thing that caused their paths to change from parallel to perpendicular

[break][break] his gaze lifts as another dragapult joins vahagn, and he shakes his head. "i'm sure he'd enjoy the company." in fact, jayden is remiss that he doesn't have more dragapult, considering how outgoing vahagn was. but that was neither here nor there. the pokemon makes a trill of excitement as he's joined in the air, looping circles around his new companion, before his gaze LOCKS-ON to a shedinja in the distance.

[break][break] he dips sharply into the air, releasing a DRAGON DARTS to shoot the ghost-type down. an explosion of color and sound in the distance, as jayden turns to fern delaney.

[break][break] "not today, but i do like to train up here. the high altitude makes it the perfect weather from some high endurance running." his head tilts. "i like the atmosphere."

[break][break] which seems like an odd thing to say when mt. pyre is practically a graveyard.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney / catching shedinja

☉

“Funny how that works, isn’t it?” Fern lifts one shoulder toward the tilt of their head. “Timing is a strange thing.” It is curious they’ve passed like ships in the night until now, but they’re certainly not about to complain now that they continue to collide. Fern welcomes the change, enjoys the comfort it brings.[break][break]

“I’m sure they’ll be fast friends, then,” they reply, and as if on cue, they can hear the happy, reptilian coos that are unmistakably Cecilia’s as she mirrors Vahagn’s circling. Quick to follow him about once their initial work is done.[break][break]

A shame, they almost tease with the curl of a smirk when Jayden says he isn’t out to run today. But Fern spares him that little bit of shamelessness for now. “Sounds sensible.” Fern definitely isn’t out here training, after all. Or at all.[break][break]

They recall the prior conversation they had with jayden cross about their mutual home—back when they were still practically strangers though even then it hadn’t quite felt that way to Fern. “I can understand that, so do it,” they pause, glancing over at him with a smaller smile.[break][break]

“It reminds me of the glimwood, you know?”[break][break]

Both the atmosphere and the pokemon who inhabit it. Like the froslass that peers out from behind a headstone. Rather call Ceci down on it, Fern stoops, attempting to coax the wary little thing out with friendliness. They look back up at their companion, “The ghosts are always the best part.”

[break][break]

+ jayden cross | ghostie bonding | befriending + catching froslass

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

"fast friends," he repeats.

[break][break] before his time on hoenn, jayden wouldn't have even considered such a thing. at least, outside of his relationships with rockets like Cillian Quinn. but since coming here, jayden had learned a number of things -- not all friendships needed to be forged in fire.

[break][break] as the two dragapult run in the air, circling each other, jayden's gaze shifts instead towards his serperior who's GROWTH seems to have been activated in the sunlight. despite the rather dreary nature of the mountaintop, the grass-type seemed right at home up here.

[break][break] at least, until a wild malamar challenged her to a battle. sera hisses in disdain as a psybeam shoots down towards her, and she retaliates with a well-aimed leaf tornado. jayden looks on in approval, knowing that she is well-abled to handle such a conflict on her own.

[break][break] instead, his gaze finds fern delaney's.

[break][break] "yes, exactly. the tangle." his mouth curves up into a smile inadvertently, reminded of childhood memories that weren't tainted by blood or trauma. surprise flickers in his gaze, then approval, at the confession however.

[break][break] somehow, it hadn't occurred to him.

[break][break] "you like ghosts as well?"

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney / catching malamar

☉

Fern hums their agreement, nodding as they too watch the dragapult twist through the air. Content to let them be for now.[break][break]

They also have a flapple along with them. Until now, she’s been content curled around the back of Fern’s neck like a decorative accessory. Honeycrisp only stirs from her nap when one lazy eye cracks open and spots a sableye looking to make mischief as it peeks around a headstone.[break][break]

Not having any of this, the flapple slinks loose, fluttering away on apple peel wings to spew a well aimed ACID SPRAY at its face. While the sableeye rubs at its gem eyes to dispel the corrosive liquid, Honeycrips flutters up, up, up, then condenses all of her apple parts, snapping the heavy apple shell back into place and then dropping like a stone – an effective GRAV APPLE clunking square atop the sableye’s head.[break][break]

Always a bit of a grumpy thing when disturbed, this flapple[break][break]

A soft snort of amusement erupts from Fern, though they are quick to return their sights to jayden cross.

“Somehow, I had a feeling you’d understand what I meant.” For once, they don’t lace their words with teasing. Letting them be as genuine as they’re intended. Though another quiet laugh does follow. “Well, isn’t that obvious?” they ask, crooked grin fixed to their face. “They’ve always made the best company.”[break][break]

Though Fern’s quite fond of his as well.


[break][break]

+ jayden cross | ghostie bonding | catching sableye

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

like a decorative scarf indeed. jayden hadn't even noticed the presence of the flapple in the middle of their pleasant conversation, until the other untangles itself into the air and zooms through it towards the wild pokemon. he is startled, for a moment, before shifting his gaze back to his companion.

[break][break] "impressive," he remarks.

[break][break] jayden then thinks back to their MAGMA battle, which they had partaken not all that long ago. he does the same for all his recruits, yet it's the one with fern delaney that he chooses to remember now. he wonders if the other had taken his advice, and decided to take advantage of rocket facilities for his battles, or that he been all just a bit of fluff.

[break][break] instead —

[break][break] "you did?" he asks, lips curling upwards into a smirk. maybe he was the one teasing now.

[break][break] he lets the subject lie, instead latching onto the topic of ghosts like a dying man starved for water. "i agree!" he says empathetically, and nods. "most people don't seem to know much about them, but ghost pokemon have always seemed most comforting to me." perhaps it was due to the glimwood tangle, how the ghosts had always seemed more comforting than people. making friends with other human beings had always seemed difficult and complicated, and growing up under dmitri's thumb meant that he constantly had to wonder if a person that he befriended was their next target, or somehow tied to rocket's enemies.

[break][break] with pokemon, there was no such worry.

[break][break] jayden's gaze shifts back to his dragapult, who seems to have found another drakloak to befriend. the pokemon does so with ease, engaging in the other in a quick bout of QUICK ATTACK and AGILITY, before deciding to fell the other with an aptly aimed SUCKER PUNCH.

[break][break] the admin then looks over to the other.

[break][break] "you don't seem like the type to starve for company, though, delaney."

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney / catching drakloak

☉

Fern preens under the compliment, smile widening and a pleased tint of pink darkening their cheeks just a hair. Not out of embarrassment, but of pride. “I’ve been practicing!” Not as much in the headquarters as had been suggested, though a bit. But practice outside in the wild counted too, right?[break][break]

In any case, they are glad to earn something worthy of impressive, given their weaker skill in offensive combat. The unexpected tease that follows somehow makes it that much better.[break][break]

The enthusiasm that they are met with comes unexpectedly. They are accustomed to Jayden being placid and even, so the light that bursts from him at the mention of a shared type interest twists something in Fern’s stomach. The fluttering of dozens of little butterfree. “I know what you mean,” the fondness that creeps into their voice is no longer reserved solely for the ghosts, though.[break][break]

Fern’s head tilts to the side, still smiling. “I suppose I don’t. But, it is easy to be lonely even in a crowded place, sometimes.” They wink at him then, elusive. It is easy to be alone in this way. It is easy to be lonely when surrounded by those you know. Because, they suppose, no matter now social one seems, are they really known? Underneath the presented version? “But whether I am starved or not, I said they were the best company, not the last resort.”[break][break]

They watch an eerie shedinja hover over the flapple as she finishes up her spat with sableye. She hisses at it, as if warning it to test her lest it suffer the same fate.
[break][break]

+ jayden cross | ghostie bonding | skipping!

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

"you have?" his brow arches once more as he appraises fern delaney, and then gives a short nod. "good."

[break][break] he remembers the battle between the two not long ago, under the ruse of MAGMA but also for his own personal interest. not that, of course, jayden would ever release that knowledge. it was perfectly natural for a rocket admin to want to check in on the status of their grunts. MAGMA made that sort of thing painfully easy.

[break][break] as the conversation shifts to the topic of ghosts, jayden's expression grows visibly more animated. it's something he can't help — something that he's never been able to quite help — and he's glad that fern feels the same.

[break][break] fern delaney winks at him, and if it were possible, a question mark would have appeared over jayden's head. as it was, however, he managed a slightly bewildered expression as his brain tried to process what that gesture could have meant, before deciding to do away with it altogether.

[break][break] "i can see that," he says, immediately thinking of the parties that he attended with either of the prescott siblings, most notably knox prescott. "my parents often attended many parties due to rocket activity, or business, and i had to partake in them. my brother always seemed more accustomed to that role." well, at least, alexei did. something told him that alex might have sided more with jayden on the matter.

[break][break] vahagn ignores the new wild pokemon that appear, instead choosing to watch his new friend and trilling with delight as he leads her farther forward, inviting her into a game of catch-and-chase.

[break][break] "they are the best," jayden agrees with a nod. "though i admit, i have never quite thought of why." his lips curl into a ghost of a smile. "i have read some books on the topic — their rumored knowledge of past lives may have to some to do with it."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney / skipping

☉