[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

"of course." jayden's expression seems bemused, even humored, as he looks at them. "i like to be involved in our grunts training as much as i am able."

[break][break] though something tells him that fern is only speaking in general terms, he can't help but find amusement in the grunt's next set of words. "are you calling me popular?" he asks, before letting out a breath of a laugh. "sorry to say - you are mistaken."

[break][break] if anything, he is the opposite. easily forgotten, often discarded. it was how he had been brought up, so he had never thought anything of it. if he took the time to put the pieces of his life together, he might wonder how miserable it all sounded — from an outsider's perspective.

[break][break] but where an outsider saw loneliness, jayden merely saw peace.

[break][break] he would have rathered forgone the attention of either dmitri or alexei then be battered in their curiosity.

[break][break] the admin watches as the flapple returns to their nest on the other rocket's neck, peering with interest. "what did you name it?"

[break][break] as they continue to talk about ghosts, jayden can't help but nod. he did wonder often what kinds of stories his pokemon - or even wild pokemon - might tell should they been able to speak it. he knew that there were some psychic types that spoke with vibrant candor with their trainers, but there was something magnetic about the way that ghost types chose to communicate that made it feel somehow different.

[break][break] "what kind of tales?" he asks in curiosity.

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney / skipping

☉

“Of course, of course,” Fern echoes, a loose laugh filtering through their words. “Formal as ever.”[break][break]

Another laugh follows, mingling with Jayden’s and they look over at him as one shoulder lifts in a shrug. “Dunno, I think you could be more popular than you give yourself credit for.” And as they apparently have a habit of doing in his presence, they wink at him. He’s going to think they have an eye twitch at this rate..[break][break]

The curl of his finger continues to soothe under the flapple’s chin until a soft, reptilian cooing rumbles from her. A near purr. “Her name is Honeycrisp. Fickle little thing, but she has her moments. And she was awfully sweet as an applin. For a little bit, anyway.”[break][break]

In fact, she’s become one of his favored partners, despite her lack of ghost-typing. Dragons are another fondness, though. There is something nearly mythical about them, and obviously Fern has always been one for grand stories.[break][break]

As they speak. Cecilia prods at a nearby musharna, but quickly grows bored when it doesn’t rouse from slumber in offense. She promptly returns to her new friend in the sky with more chirps.[break][break]

jayden cross nodded, seeming to understand what they meant, and Fern grinned broadly. “Oh, you know. Mostly kid stuff. The sorts of things I thought would be dramatic or daring based on what I was reading or watching at the time. Lives they began with, what caused them to come back as ghosts. All drama and betrayal and heartbreak. Nothing mundane, of course.”[break][break]

Again, they like stories. Making them up is fun, entertaining. It pushes away loneliness, because at least they could make up whole worlds in their own head when they were young and sort of the weird one in their neighborhood.

[break][break]

+ jayden cross | ghostie bonding | skipping!

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

not giving himself enough credit? jayden looks at fern delaney with a look of perplexity, but does not speak further. he usually considered himself a good judge of character, even when it came to himself.

[break][break] he had spent the majority of rocket hiding under the shadows of people like Cillian Quinn. people who shone brighter and more vibrantly than him, people with importance like THEO BECKETT. his father's hold on him in kanto had been iron-clad; and even in his death, he still held control.

[break][break] jayden would've been surprised to know that anyone knew of him before he'd officially risen through the ranks. that was how little his presence mattered.

[break][break] the man's head inclined as he listened to fern speak. honeycrisp. it was an apt name — especially for an applin. "you seem fond of her," he observes.

[break][break] a wild yamask floats by him without incident, all the while jayden is distracted by fern delaney's words.

[break][break] he thinks that he would have liked to be friends with a young fern delaney. for his own part, jayden had never been very creative. certainly as a child, he had never once thought to fabricate stories of the pokemon he was so often enamored with.

[break][break] "nothing mundane," he agrees with a ghost of a smile. "what was your favorite story?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney / skipping

☉

"I am." A simple response, because that is all it is -- pure and simple fondness. "I enjoy dragon-types quite a bit as well," they add after a moment, "particularly applin. But that is why dragapult are the ideal pokemon." Their smile stretches wide. A perfect meshing of their favorite typings.[break][break]

A malamar and jellicent drift by alongside one another. It's a humorous sight--as if the two of them are taking a daily stroll just as they and jayden cross are. Unfortunately, it must come to an end because Cecilia rockets from wherever she and the other dragapult have been playing. She erupts from a PHANTOM FORCE portal and accidentally collides with the jellicent. As it flounders and flails, Fern figures they may as well add to their collection, and tosses a pokeball at it.[break][break]

Still, their belief that dragapult are the best, holds true. No matter their own's clumsiness.[break][break]

"Oh, do you have the time for the answer to that question?" They tease. The stories they came up with (all fabricated, of course,) are numerous and longwinded.

[break][break]

+ jayden cross | ghostie bonding | catching jellicent!

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

dragon types are also my favorite. jayden tucks that nugget of information somewhere deep, though he's not sure why or where he will use it. he nods in agreement. "dragapult are very skilled pokemon."

[break][break] his gaze shifts as a WILD MALAMAR appears out of thin-air. his dragapult is quick to be rid of it. as it's lips stretch into a smile and mischevious, merry gaze blinks at them, vahagn sweeps into the air with a SUCKER PUNCH followed by a rain of DRAGON DARTS. jayden throws a pokeball at it, to catch more for his collection.

[break][break] "i'm fond of dark types as well," he says. "umbreon in particular."

[break][break] though that may have had less to do with typing and more to do with the trauma of childhood memories buried far, far in the recesses of his memory. thank you THEO BECKETT.

[break][break] 'do you have the time to answer that question?'

[break][break] jayden blinks, vaguely indignant, but before he can answer — there is a ping! from his pocket. surely, a rotom buzzes to life, alerting jayden that - in fact - he does not have the time. how the time passes.

[break][break] "actually," he says, with a bit of a sigh, as he scrolls through his calendar. "i do not. but perhaps i can catch it later." his lifts lift in a ghost of a smile towards fern delaney, before he whistles sharp for vahagn to return to him.

[break][break] "let's meet again, fern delaney."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney / catching malamar

☉