Vic laughed at his friend’s reaction, a bright and cheerful grin illuminating his expression while the other attempted to fix his now-messy locks. ”Ha! Nah, you definitely look more like a Rufflet than a Vullaby – it’s all in the hair!”
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But, when the question about starting their journey was asked, he suddenly paused; his smile softened as his gaze fixed on Alex’s own. Did he wish he had started his journey at the age of ten? Would he have rather been out there traveling and challenging gyms, instead of at school with his friends? The soccer team, all those people he adored that he had met since starting high school… would he had been willing to give all that up for the sake of his dreams?
[break][break]
”It’s kinda stupid, isn’t it? To travel when you’re ten…” It was a surprisingly realistic answer coming from someone like Vic, but he shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing to say. ”I bet I’d have no clue what I’m doing if I went out there! Challenging gyms is haaaard, so I don’t wanna do it until I feel like I’m totally ready for it, you know? Ha… Like... I can’t even get close to beating my dad in a battle right now, how am I supposed to win against the current Champion if I can’t even beat an old one?!”
[break][break]
There was a laugh, but he meant every single word he said, for his dreams had never been something that was taken lightly by the boy. ”...I’m gonna do it one day though. After we graduate.”
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He didn't hesitate. He didn't say he would try. Since, at his fourteen years of age, Victor Wexler knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life.
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Shame that things wouldn't turn out the way he planned.



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+ Alexei Ivanov

The man had a point. Actually… he had about three good points.
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This wasn’t very wise. It was honestly a bit dumb, since Taffy was right there – looking at him with the sheer confusion of a pokémon who never had to do silly things like climb. And, it was also kind of unnecessary now that other rangers were already arriving at the scene...
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But, if we’re going to get technical over here: Vic himself was a ranger, and be it his day off or not, he was duty-bound to help if he saw a pokémon in danger! Though, of course, it could also be argued that Vic himself was the danger now in the eyes of the shrieking Skarmory, but the pink-haired man did no more than let this fact rest in the back of his mind. After all, regardless of how much the pokémon may have not liked it at the time, this was all for her sake and that of her nest, right?
[break][break]
”Nah, don’t worry, it’s fine! I’m already almost there!” On the bright side, he was actually pretty good at this climbing thing, to the point that it would almost make one wonder if he had done it solely because he thought it would be more fun than going on his Dragapult’s back.
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On the not so bright side though; did he really think nothing bad would happen while he was upon on that pole, or did he just not consider stuff like that?
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”Oh! There’s two e–” Accidentally, a hand let go off the pole when it wasn’t supposed to, causing him to stumble and almost fall back… if it hadn’t been for the Dragapult suddenly resting against his back to provide support and balance… ”Nice save, Taff!”


[break][break]

+ samuel carter

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

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WHATCHA COOKIN'?

August curry ingredients

To be added...^[1]

Claude was difficult to figure out.
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Vic would have been fine with just being given a glass of water or something along those lines, but instead, there was Claude: going through all the trouble of heating up milk for him in a saucepan. He didn’t even bother asking if Vic liked it, but he did it anyway; for a moment being so focused on the task at hand that the pinkette would have felt guilty if he said anything.
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Actually, he barely even made a sound. And, as he stood there, watching, he couldn’t help but wonder why it was that the man before him was so adamant about not calling himself a good person when he was willing to do things like these for a stranger he had just met at a bar.
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Definitely difficult to figure out.
[break][break]
The mug was handed to him, and Vic looked at the other as he said his unceremonious ‘goodnight’ (which could barely even be considered one). It caused him to chuckle, which then also came followed by a sigh.”Sure… Goodnight, Claude,” he smiled, and having a sip from what was probably one of the top ten cups of warm milk he’d had in his life, he made his way to the guest room as he had been asked…
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Or, as he had been told. Definitely 'told'.



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+ claude anderson

”Mmm… Well, if what you want is to actually be a bird, I bet you could pass for a Rufflet!” A joke. One that came quickly and smoothly, and that was followed by a short laugh; ruffling his friend’s hair for no more than a second so it would somewhat resemble the Eaglet Pokémon’s white ruff. If anything, it was an instinctive attempt to ease the tension between them in one of the only ways he knew how. The kind of thing he did when his sister was upset or when things were tense among his friends.
[break][break]
”But, you know… if what you want is to be free, then I think you can do that. Your parents won’t decide everything about your life forever, right?” With these words, he smiled, his gaze still fixed on the other boy when the apology came in the company of half a cookie.
[break][break]
At this, Vic shrugged. ”It’s okay. I bet all that stuff is really frustrating… You don’t have to apologize for feeling the way you do or for talking about it. It’s fine.” He meant it too. He didn’t want Alex to think it was not okay to talk about his feelings or like he was being judged for it, since Vic himself knew all too well how much it sucked to feel things like those.
[break][break]
“I’m taking the cookie though!” And so he did; grabbing the delicious offering with a grin and biting it.





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+ Alexei Ivanov

”Me? Of course I have goals! I–” He was going to tell his friend exactly what his goals were, exactly what he dreamt of becoming someday, but the other boy’s tone grew louder, and he seemed to be freaking out even more than what he had been earlier.
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Oh.
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This was not what Vic had intended for at all. He didn’t know what to do. But, he also wasn’t selfish enough to keep talking about himself when his friend was almost crying...
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”Alex…” How could he explain it to him? How could he make him understand? Alex had spent his whole life battling things Vic himself would never face, and it sounded like that whole time he also had people telling him he wasn't going to get very far. How could he convince someone after a life like that? How could he make him listen? Vic didn't know how to answer all of those questions, but he had to try. ”...No one said dreams are supposed to be easy.”
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They weren’t. That he did know. His own dreams seemed impossibly far, but there was still something that always made him smile about the thought of one day reaching those heights…
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”You’ve made it this far, right? I bet you could fly away someday!” Lavender eyes met lilac ones, and despite it all, there was a smile.
[break][break]




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+ Alexei Ivanov

Vic watched him. Really watched him. Watched how he struggled with his words, watched how he hesitated, watched how he avoided the question, and also watched how he tried to act brave about all these things that had haunted him since he was born.
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It didn’t seem right at all.
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“Wh-wh-what else can I do… than to just face it head-on?”
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Instead of saying anything, he pinched the other boy’s arm. Not too hard, but hard enough to make him stop.
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”Hey! I don’t really get what all that’s like, and I don’t think I ever will, but like… You can’t give up on yourself like that, Alex. Don’t you have... mm,... goals and stuff? Things you want to do when we’re out of school! Being sick may be a part of your life, but it’s not everything about it, right?” These words were said with such a confident smile. The confidence of someone who had spent the entirety of his short fourteen years of life knowing exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up, and slowly but surely working towards that. Vic had goals, Vic had ambitions, and he wasn’t going to let anything get in his way when it came to that.
[break][break]
”I know you probably didn’t mean it like that, but you’re right: you gotta fight!”





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+ Alexei Ivanov

If we’re looking for a silver lining here, at least it seemed like the shower had helped the other man sober up a little, but it was still kind of a weird situation to be in. Vic had been worried about him and had wanted to make sure he got home safely, but honestly, there were still a few things about Claude’s behaviour that concerned him.
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It was none of his business though, the man knew as much. He wasn’t going to meddle when they couldn’t even be counted as friends. Hell, he barely even knew Claude’s name…
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He wished they could have been friends though.
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So, there was a small smile, violet eyes meeting those of the other man. ”Sure… Not coffee though.” What was he supposed to do now? He had been told to stay, but it felt weird to do as much. Maybe he could take a cab back to his hotel? Claude was home now, so it wasn’t as if he was going to get into any trouble or anything, right?


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+ claude anderson