Hey! I'm at the gate right now! I'll meet you by the TAURUS-RODEO GAME!

His grip in the handshake tightened just a bit to show his gusto as he returned it. But before he could speak to the former councilwoman, he was interrupted by the loud whine of Sativa as it tried to get Elinor's Sprigatito's attention. Indica offered its brother a snort as it finally lept from Sven's arms and batted at the younger brother.

"Oh! These two are Indica and Sativa. Indica's a chill little guy while Sativa's a bit more high strung. As you can see, the latter is very excited to play."

The pokemon imitated its trainer in that aspect. Sven himself was excited to play and see just what the games had to offer. He finally slipped his hand out of the shake and turned his attention to the rides that lined the walkways of the carnival and he couldn't help the way he beamed in excitement.

"But just cause this is a playdate for our Sprigatitos doesn't mean we can't have some fun ourselves! The drop tower looks pretty promising if you don't mind heights!"

Should he have been a bit more stiff in his mannerisms? Perhaps, but there were two issues: he was here for fun. The second issue being that he hadn't realized that the councilwoman had gracefully stepped down. He was as oblivious as the day was young. But maybe that oblivious nature could help show Elinor a good time at the carnival. (Despite how ignorant he was to the elephant in the room, he could still see that something about her seemed distressed.)

Sven was the first to take the step towards the rides. But immediately following, he caught sight of a crying child whom had just gotten off of one of the thrill rides with her older brother. While the boy tried to calm his sister down, Sven figured his own talents could shine. He approached the pair and tilted his head at the crying child. She clung to her older brother, still shaken up by the ride.

"Hey, hey, there's no need for a girl as brave as you to be crying. You rode that ride and managed to make it off, right?" he reasoned.

The girl nodded with a sniffle.

"Then there's no need to be scared anymore, right? You conquered that ride like it was a raging Dragonite and I think that's pretty cool of you!"

The sibling duo grinned up at him as he flashed them a thumbs up. Somehow his little pep talk had worked, and the kids zipped off towards another ride, met with a confidence boost to take on even the wildest of rides. Sven soon turned his attention back to Elinor and spoke again.

"I was thinking the drop tower, but I guess I invited you, right? So pick your poison," he joked.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Elinor Anderson

And just like that, the pair were off to take on the drop tower. Sven stopped just for a moment to tell his Sprigatitos not to run off too far. At least he was guaranteed they'd be willing to listen. The concern, however, was Elinor's Sprigatito. Maybe with the company of the other two, it would remain. Indica took the opportunity to make itself comfortable near the gate. In the meantime, Sativa seemed to playfully pounce on their playdate in a mock fight. Its front paws batted at the opposing cat which earned a laugh from Sven.

"Play nice, you two."

Once they reached the front, Sven took it upon himself to snipe the first two neighboring seats he could find on the ride. It didn't take much to buckle himself in, and he had no qualms of helping his newfound acquaintance should she need it. The attendant went around and made sure everyone was fastened, then flashed a thumbs up to the operator. It was mere seconds before the ride slowly began to rise towards the top.

It was hard to make much conversation as he felt the anxiety of the ride building. But was it really anxiety when he couldn't break the wide grin that spread across his face? No, he felt excited. In a matter of minutes, the ride reached the top and sat at a standstill. He readied himself for the drop, but it never seemed to come. Confusion plastered itself onto his expression as he looked at Elinor, absolutely bewildered.

"Do you think the ride is broke--"

And just like that, it let loose.

An involuntary scream ripped itself from Sven's throat as the ride plummeted, then came to a harsh stop just before it could hit the ground. Eyes wide in excitement and bewilderment. The ride had certainly caught him by surprise, but like any good ride, it didn't stop there. The ride continued to rise and fall, and each time it seemed to drop, he felt his heart in his throat. A white-knuckled grip on the handlebars, he tried desperately to fight against gravity, but with each rise and fall, it seemed that physics were in control. Despite that, he was having the time of his life.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Elinor Anderson

Once the ride stopped, Sven heaved a sigh that helped the adrenaline course a bit better through his body. There was no doubt he enjoyed himself, but the fact he and his carnival guest wouldn't be plumetting from at at least fifty feet or more in the air was a relief all in its own. He undid the clasp on his restraints and hopped out of the seat. Once Elinor managed to do the same with her own, he offered a hand out to be polite. Whether or not she took it, he felt his ears prick as something gave a snapping sound beneath the panel they were on -- not the sound of the metal part breaking, but it sounded like something within it broke. Brows furrowed in a sense of concern. Another snap, and the power to the ride was killed.

Sven grimaced a bit as he took the opportunity to hurry down the steps and eyed the operator. With a point to the access door, Sven wordlessly asked if he could duck in and make a check. Once the door was open, he ducked in through the hatch and used his phone's flashlight to get a better look. From the looks of it, a couple wires snapped that seemed to connect to the breaker. Brows furrowed as he attempted to push the wires together. To no surprise, he got shocked and let out a sound of surprise more than pain. Sven ripped his hand back and waved it a bit. From his belt, he took one of the pokeballs at his side and used his Morpeko. It was quick to twist the wires together with its stubby paws and even offered a salute. But he knew it wouldn't hold.

"Hey Elinor?" he attempted to get the blonde's attention. "Do you happen to have any fire type pokemon with you? I got Ziggy to twist these wires together but it'll be better to solder them."

At the mention of its name, the Morpeko crawled out of the hatch first, soon followed by its trainer. Sven withdrew the Morpeko once more and dusted himself off from the chunks of mud and grass that had gotten on his pants.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Elinor Anderson

With the Typhlosion's handiwork in check, he flashed the pokemon a thumbs up as a form to acknowledge its hard work. It seemed everything was in working condition. Sweat trickled down his neck from how stuffy it had been under the machine, and the added heat of the Typhlosion only seemed to make it worse. Sven ducked out completely and allowed himself to cool off. He soon drew his Morpeko back into its pokeball and grinned from ear to ear.

"Thanks, both of you!" he offered. "The ride should be safe for now, but it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on it."

The latter words were offered to the operator. With the ride momentarily fixed, the pair had no need to linger. Sven whistled and both of his Sprigatitos bounded towards him. He used both arms to pick the felines up and beamed at them. For a moment, Sven's stomach rumbled loudly and a split-second look of embarrassment plastered itself onto his face before he laughed it off.

"I think that's our cue to go get something, you want anything?"

He glanced between Elinor and Gati. Whenever they offered an answer, he took off towards the snack stand and glanced back to see if the pair opted to follow. Once Sven reached it, he looked over the menu and practically salivated at a bit of everything the stand had to offer. Something about fair food was so good, maybe it was how unhealthy it was. But he didn't care. After some careful pondering, Sven got a large order of fries that the two and their pokemon could share, an energy drink for himself, a drink for Elinor, and then a small dish of ice cream for the Typhlosion that had been so kind to help solder the wires.

With all of the treats in tow, Sven took to a free table and sat it all down before he went to go get some ketchup for the fries. Notably the twin Sprigatitos in his team hopped up onto the bench on one side of the table in the meantime. Sven didn't take long to return, as he took his seat and then soon offered the ice cream dish out to the Typhlosion.

"A thanks for you!" he insisted. Then carefully pushed the drink for Elinor her way. "And a thanks for you!"

With the treats offered, Sven took to the fries and began to eat a couple.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Elinor Anderson

"Well we were both part of the end result if you think about it, so we both helped to fix it," he reasoned.

Sven began to pile ketchup on his own plate of fries and soon went to devour them. But as he got about a quarter of the way through his plate, he began to slow down. Maybe it was due to the fact that his eyes were bigger than his stomach, or maybe he'd just eaten them too quickly. Either way, it resulted in smaller bites and fewer takes from his plate. Eyes watched the Typhlosion with a sense of curiosity. He'd heard briefly about the Hisuian variants, but it was strange to see something that had supposedly been lost in time so out in the open. Whenever the Typhlosion looked at him, Sven flashed an awkward smile.

"I just happened to pick up the wiring trick with my own dj equipment, and then there's always working on stuff to get my foot in the door as far as research goes."

He was a sharp-minded individual but self-abnegation barred him from bragging about his talents. With his own share of the fries ate, he allowed both of his Sprigatitos to dig right in. It wasn't long until his attention focused on a nearby booth. Something about guessing how many there were? Sven stood up from his seat and carefully eyed the Spinda they had in a group. Though of course none of them stood still long enough to be counted. As his eyes tried to keep track of them all, he felt himself grow dizzy at the display. He gave his guess of 17 and the booth attendant shook their head. Better luck next time.

He came back and couldn't help but stumble a bit on the way. Once he gained his bearings, Sven shook his head a bit to stop the spinning in his head.

"That game's impossible!"

Once he glanced to the plate that originally had his fries, he saw that his grass cats had devoured them without so much as a second thought. Not that he seemed to mind, that's what he offered them out for.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Elinor Anderson