[attr="class","icon"]

while drinking through the night does sound fun to a certain extent, it pales in comparison to the thought of weathering the storm in his cabin with her by his side. the choice almost seems easy then.[break][break]

agreeing with her, he downs the rest of his drink and sets it down as well.[break][break]

"okay! then let's get going."[break][break]

he pays up, reaches for her hand, and leads them out of the bar and towards his family cabin. luckily for them, it turns out to only be a short ten-minute walk away before they find themselves there.[break][break]

warm lights flick on to reveal a cozy cabin made mostly out of wood decor with furniture that looks years old. despite that, it still looks comfortable. much more than the freezing winds outside, at least.[break][break]

"make yourself at home! i gotta quickly start a fire."[break][break]

he steps away to approach the fireplace, kneeling by it to start sorting that out.

[attr="class","icon"]

in all honesty, uriah does not have the answer to her question. he does open his mouth to answer but no words come which in itself is telling enough. he shuts his mouth, deciding that he needs to give it proper thought some other time.[break][break]

not now, though. not during their first date.[break][break]

"that's a very good point."[break][break]

he hums, considering things as snow continues to fall outside.[break][break]

"there is the cabin i mentioned and i know how it looks but i don't know if we have much options here."[break][break]

chuckling, he turns back to look at her.[break][break]

"or we could just stay here?"

bert easily accepts her offer and pushes off the ground and into her arm. it squawks in delight, then looks over at uriah with a smile.[break][break]

"aw, looks like he really likes you."[break][break]

his machamp nudges him on his shoulder, then points down at its wrist even if it isn't wearing a watch.[break][break]

"oh! i think we gotta get going otherwise we'll be late for a meeting."[break][break]

machamp nods.[break][break]

"it was nice meeting you, ettie!"

[attr="class","ooc"]Ettie[break]

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon flapple"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon machamp shiny"]

anne the lycanroc, princess the snubbull, duchess the electrike. he takes note of them and does his best to remember their names.[break][break]

"wow! you certainly have quite the party."[break][break]

all puppers, really.[break][break]

"manectric can be super fast so i'm sure you'll win your race!"[break][break]

the TAKE DOWN is enough to take flapple down. it taps out, giggling as it does so.[break][break]

"i think bert's just lost his battle!"

[attr="class","ooc"]Ettie[break]

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon flapple"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon machamp shiny"]

[attr="class","icon"]

"me? nah, i think i'd rather stay home with the kids and my wife and enjoy the things i have in my life."[break][break]

he doesn't think he's ever seen GABRIEL BLACK truly relaxing. at least not in the same way most people do.[break][break]

"and yeah! i know so."[break][break]

perhaps one day the time will come to bring her home to meet his parents. but this is their first date, one that is going well so far, he'd say![break][break]

her question makes him glance out the window as well.[break][break]

"no...definitely not." but he did not bother checking the weather forecast so maybe it was. "cal, i think there's a chance we might get snowed in."

"fastest?"[break][break]

his machamp nudges his shoulder as if to claim the title for itself.[break][break]

"sorry bud it ain't you."[break][break]

he thinks for a moment, considering.[break][break]

"that's a tough question! i think my fastest pokemon are cody the garchomp, kurt the sharpedo, and luke the vikavolt."[break][break]

then, he asks the same.[break][break]

"what's yours?"[break][break]

the flapple swoops back down to engage with another tackle, not wanting to back away from the fight.

[attr="class","ooc"]Ettie[break]

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon flapple"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon machamp shiny"]

[attr="class","icon"]

"i do. but it's also because of expectations from my dad."[break][break]

ever since young, he'd been expected to grow up into the perfect vision of what GABRIEL BLACK wanted for a son. he'd take over akura eventually and succeed him. that had always been the plan.[break][break]

it still is now, to some extent.[break][break]

he actively listens to her when she talks about her brother. though he's never personally met Kieran Roth, from what he's heard about him so far, he's sure they'll get along just fine.[break][break]

maybe even...friends?[break][break]

"if it helps, he's in very capable hands. the rangers really look after each other."[break][break]

he sips at his beer at her question.[break][break]

"dad's...dad. he was absent a lot when we were young which was something i resented him for. but i realized that he was just ensuring the family's future with akura."[break][break]

"mom's sweet. kindest person i know. i'm sure you two would get along great."[break][break]

but maybe that's jumping way, way ahaed.

"oh yeah. chad's like the strongest pokemon i know."[break][break]

both physically and mentally. he's not sure how his machamp had been raised to be like this but he's proud of it.[break][break]

chad the machamp offers ettie waves with two of its four hands.[break][break]

the flapple squawks as it is CRUNCHED, but is quick to flap its wings to start to FLY. it does not head too far up as to not be a cause of concern for lillipup but high enough that it would be a thrill.

[attr="class","ooc"]Ettie[break]

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon flapple"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon machamp shiny"]

"oh yeah i definitely was, and i was the best superhero out there."[break][break]

his dream of fighting crime started young. it was one of the reasons why he joined the military in the first place and later the police force.[break][break]

having lost track of the time, he's glad for the reminder because being late would've definitely sucked. he wipes his hands with a piece of tissue one last time before nodding.[break][break]

"okay! is your seatbelt fastened?"[break][break]

only when she answers does he start to pull out of the parking lot.

[attr="class","ooc"]calla roth[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-simisear"]

[attr="class","icon"]

even if he doesn't say it, he's looking forward to more. but the way he's looking at her, gaze drifting down to her lips every now and then, says as much.[break][break]

"i think some of my siblings took it harder than me but maybe it's because i've always tried my best to keep in touch."[break][break]

a simple text every now and then helps a lot, he's found.[break][break]

"what's kieran like? i don't think we've spoken much about him."

[attr="class","icon"]

with Greyson Connors leading the front, naturally, uriah drifts towards the back of the group, furthering his isolation from the group even if it's only in his mind for now.[break][break]

where the others ride their actual mount pokemon, uriah sticks with chad his machamp. two of its arms shape into a makeshift chair in front of its body. uriah sits relatively comfortably, being carried by his machamp while the fighting-type also carries his backpack.[break][break]

the backpack being on its back, however, explains why a little pansage is able to swing down to rummage through, stealing all of their rations without them even realizing.[break][break]

after a while, he notices how the jungle seems to be growing thicker. does Greyson Connors know what he's doing?[break][break]

"things are starting to look quite dense!"

the LEECH SEED has sprouted enough for a vine to wrap itself around lillipup's foot, helping to hold it in place for flapple to jump back up and loop around to tackle the lilipup into the ground, suddenly feeling rejuvenated.[break][break]

"big and strong! much bigger than me. here, i'll show you one."[break][break]

finding a familiar pokeball, he calls out his shiny machamp. the fighting-type materializes already in a bodybuilder pose of some kind.[break][break]

"that's chad! he's my main pokemon."

[attr="class","ooc"]Ettie[break]

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon flapple"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon machamp shiny"]

as someone who isn't an artist, he wouldn't be able to entirely relate to her as to what it would feel like to allow someone in on his art, be it in the form of writing or something else. but he imagines it must feel intimate on some level. personal. which just further confuses him because of what had happened a couple of weeks ago.[break][break]

but instead of focusing on all of that (which he will definitely do so later), he focuses on her instead. focuses on how endearing it is to see her surprised by his enthusiasm.[break][break]

"uh nothing creative, i imagine. probably like superheroes and stuff."[break][break]

his writing probably would've had tons of dialogue with very little in between.[break][break]

"but yes, i'd love that. for today, i'll handle the meeting no problem."

[attr="class","ooc"]calla roth[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-simisear"]