The bird — was it a bird? — chirped at him.

[break][break] Artie could only stare back at it. "What do you want?" he said, with a bit of a frown. It was not often that Arthur Finnian Vanderbilt found himself stumped, but yet there he was, bewildered.

[break][break] The blond had decided to expand his options in exploring the region's festivities and rather than going to a bigger city like Mauville or even Slateport after his excursion in Rustboro, he had opted for the smaller, seaside town of Dewford. They were in one of the main food areas, with a tray of food full of festival dishes placed in front of him, all of which the Aerodactyl had denied. With a Clobbopus skewer in his hand, he offered it to the baby Aerodactyl, who turn it's beak away in disgust. Okay, so maybe it didn't like fish. He offered another skewer to him, which was a combination of Bouffalant-themed muffins, but yet again, the rock bird did not seem interestedd. Instead, it chirped back at Artie, and the boy could not help but befuddled.

[break][break] He put his hands on his hips. "Well," he quipped. "If you don't tell me soon, I'm gonna eat all of it."

[break][break] And how would he like that huh?

+ Eva Morales

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Artie hummed.

[break][break] "Maybe a few years ago?" His head tilted to the side. "I was, like seventeen. And Thomas — Tommy, you remember him? We went to your lab together once." Thomas Bennett — a nobleman's son, equally as cocky and self-entitled as Artie himself, with none of the worth to prove it. He was a few years older than Artie in school, but had been kept back a year - maybe multiple - because he couldn't pass his exams. Now, Artie wasn't the type to judge — but you had to be a certain kind of stupid to not pass your exams.

[break][break] Well, he had his uses.

[break][break] "He taught me. At first, I thought it was gross — " His nose wrinkled at the memory. "But, you know me, I got the hang of it eventually." He winked at @dakota .

[break][break] The other's flustered nature went unnoticed by Artie, at least momentarily as he occupied himself with tapping his number in the other's phone, also going as far to quickly download Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, just in case the other didn't have it, and made sure that he followed Artie and Remiel Calcifet on all said platforms. Kota was pretty smart, but something told him, he was stupid when it came to these things.

[break][break] "Maybe I can ask you to take a photo," Artie said, pausing, as he returned his phone back to the other. "You good with a camera?" Though, it wouldn't really matter. Artie knew that he would shine — how could he not?

[break][break] The blond laughed as the other grew red in the face at his joke. It was so fun teasing him, how could he not? "What would you do without me?" he said, leaning his face into his palm again, gazing at the other affectionately. However, Artie leaned back with surprise as the other mentioned a... "An act of what?" His brows knitted together in confusion, head cocked to the side.

+

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"Yeah, you should." Artie nodded empathetically to the other's plight, when he brought up smoking. His fingers ran through the Vulpix's fur, absently. "I probably should too." Did Dakota know he smoked? He couldn't remember. Then again, he probably didn't — most of the royal family didn't know, and his mother certainly didn't know. Or maybe it was like with most things, that the Queen just preferred to look the other way.

[break][break] "Not that I'm going to," he said, with a trademark grin. "It's way too fun."

[break][break] Like a lot of things were too fun. God, a smoke did sound pretty good right about then.

[break][break] But nah, Artie had other things to deal with. Like the fact that Dakota didn't have his number! He gasped a little, and then clicked his tongue again in disapproval. Demandingly, he placed his hand palm-up to the other, fingers curling in "come hither" motion. "That's blasphemous. Give me your phone. I'll put it in." He couldn't do without not having Dakota's number. Who was he going to send memes to at 3AM? Well, there was Remiel Calcifet .

[break][break] Absently, as he typed in his number, Artie was distracted by the other's words but then he looked up. He blinked. Then he slid his phone towards the other, watching it spin across the wooden countertop. "I contact them plenty. Look yourself, I just responded to Lily and Nessie less than an hour ago. Plus, they follow me on Insta too. " He talked to his little sisters all the time. Mother and Father? Well... unimportant, as far as Artie was concerned. If they really needed him, they knew how to contact him. He wouldn't have had a choice in the matter, and Artie was well aware of it.

[break][break] The Vulpix reached up to lick his cheek to comfort him, and it worked. He calmed down, and leaned back in the chair, giving a big sigh. "So, I guess, you saw those articles?" He huffed. "And they couldn't even get my good side! Those pictures are from weeks ago." He looked at @dakota with a pout. "I got new shoes."

[break][break] As if to make a point, he lifted one of his Louis Vuitton shoes at the researcher. They shimmered beneath the room's translucent light, having recently been shined. He set them back down again, and then sat up in the chair, cuddling the Vulpix against his breast. "Hm?" he said, and then blinked. Man, for such a smart guy, Kota could sometimes be so dense.

[break][break] He blinked owlishly. "I walked in the door, of course."

[break][break] Well, maybe that wasn't the entire story but as far as Arthur Finnian Vanderbilt was concerned... hardly relevant to the matter at hand.

+

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Part of why he liked @dakota so much was because he was so fun to tease. The blush rose to the other man's cheeks, and Artie couldn't help but smile. Though, this wasn't something he was going to tell him. At least not yet.

[break][break] "Aw," he said, resting his elbows on his knees and looking up at the other with fluttering lashes. "You think you know me that well, Ko - Dakota?" He'd called him Finn before, so trying was the least he could do.

[break][break] The blond gave a gasp as the other said the most sinful thing ever. "Economy?" He clicked his tongue in disapproval, shaking his head as he sat up again and then leaned over to pick up the Vulpix and place it in his lap. "A shame. I thought better of you, Kota." Oops. Oh well. "You could've given me a call. I'd of given you my card." Well not his card, but the family card, but it was all the same difference anyway.

[break][break] His fingertips ran through the fox's soft fur, but then stilled.

[break][break] "They miss you. "

[break][break] He paused. Ten texts from his Mother just in the last week. Twenty from Father, and another hundred from the family Butler.

[break][break] "I miss them too," he quipped back a second later and then inclined his head to the side before looking at @dakota . "But I needed a vacation. You get that, right?"

+

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[break]

plots with artie [break][break]

@jade so i'm not too sure about if the "prince" is a literal or metaphorical one, but i think these two could potentially be pretty fun! artie is the only son in a long, long line of women, but he is pretty effeminate too! he is also full of sass, ass and class so we could throw them together and see what works!? [break][break]

@luna these two could be fun together! they're both fairly fun and easy going, so i could see them getting along. also since she's pretty naive, maybe she wouldn't get annoyed as easily with artie as maybe some other people?! who knows!!

[break][break] anyways, if you like either of these ideas or have some of your own, hmu on discord ^^

[break]

artie x Eva Dumont [break][break]

we already talked about this a bit on discord, but i think the two of them would be fun together! it could start maybe if she took an interest in his aerodactyl and she could tell him all the fun nerdy things while he ignores her and does his own thing.

[break][break] artie has pretty much not done any of the bb missions, so i'd be open to any of them! maybe artie is shopping somewhere and he mistakes her as an employee?? LOL whatever, pick any mission and start a thread and im up for it ^^

"What do you meaaan?" The Circhester prince whined, looking rather undignified. "I heard you were in Hoenn, so I came to visit. Simple as that."

[break][break] And perhaps, if he wasn't Arthur Finnian Vanderbilt, things might have been as simple as that.

[break][break] Ignoring quite the metaphorical elephant in the room, the blond turned around and surveyed the space that @dakota was now going to occupy. Honestly, it wasn't too bad — though, it was nothing like the palace, but it was still pretty good, all things considered.

[break][break] He plopped himself on a nearby armchair, throwing his legs onto the stool. "How was your flight? Did you fly business?" Frankly, Artie figured that was a step down. When he'd come, he'd at least been able to charter the family plane.

[break][break]

+

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Don't ask him how he knew, he just did.

[break][break] He was Arthur Finnian Vanderbilt. He had connections.

[break][break] The blond smiled brightly as the Vulpix ran towards him and he dropped to his knees as the fox pokemon rubbed herself adoringly against his ankles. He reached over and ruffled her between the ears, an affectionate gesture. He didn't have one of these himself, though they did have one as part of the family collection. When he'd left, he thought about stealing one, but he knew Mother would have noticed.

[break][break] "Arthur?!"

[break][break] "How many times do I have to tell you, Kota? Arthur is my dad." He huffed, pushing himself to his feet. "It's Artie," he said empathetically, hand on his hips.

[break][break] So what if Artie had broken his way into the room @dakota was staying at. It wasn't like it was hard.

[break][break]

+

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Completely ignorant to the personal plights of Lulu Flint , the Circhester heir merely stared back at her, his eyes a perfect, crystal-clear cerulean blue.

[break][break] To be perfectly honest, Artie didn't know much about her. They had grow up together, sure, but they had always been in relatively separate circles. When she all but disappeared from his life - their lives in Circhester - it could even be said that Artie barely noticed her disappearance.

[break][break] Rather than respond to his claims, however, she headed for the door. Artie blinked, and then followed her, walking cheerfully next to her with a bit of a hop in her step. "That sounds great!" Though, he paused. "I can help with that." In his other hand, he lifted the plastic baggie, which contained the items he had purchased before. "Though - " He paused. "You're not gonna pay for that right?" He pressed, pointing to the box of hair-dye in her grip.

[break][break] "C'mon, sha-sha, " he whined. "Let me treat you! I know a really good salon." He pressed. "It'll be free." Well, for her anyway.

[break][break]

+

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[break]

artie x Yui Fujin Silph [break][break]

we talked about this briefly on discord but i think these two would be fun friends!! i see the two of them having a sort of PARTNERS IN CRIME or sibling-y vibe where they can get into shenigans, maybe on accident? they were both kind of sheltered in a way growing up, and grew up from fairly affluent backgrounds.

[break][break] also artie wants to challenge the gyms as well, so maybe they could be rivals in that regard?