As much as he preferred not to let his own judgments carry him away so quickly after meeting someone, he couldn’t help but feel rather ailed by this one’s demeanor. By no means had there been anything inherently wrong with how she acted, of course; he’d known many a person to be of similar tone, after all.[break][break]

…It had simply been all too reminiscent of one for his liking.[break][break]

Yet far be it for him to condemn another unjustly for the sins and similarities of another far from related to the situation at hand. Though pensive internally, he simply hummed within an idle manner to those present, pondering lightly while watching those newcomers pass through the clearing.[break][break]

”...Same, truthfully,” he murmured before long, inhaling deeply. ”Although it wouldn’t have been a travel for me, per say…”[break][break]

His eyes narrowed absentmindedly while watching the crossing Pokemon.[break][break]

”...I’ve been long overdue to return home.”[break][break]

(tl;dr: skipping)

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]

☉

”...Mmn. A pleasure.”[break][break]

Bicolored hues strayed towards the passing creatures as the words spoken met his ears. A soft hum escaped his lips as the two Pokemon accompanying him sought the grounds towards the wall, and though the ranger hadn’t spoken a command their way otherwise, he reached for a spare Pokeball within the interim, tossing it towards the ursine beast.[break][break]

”Undoubtedly part of it…” he mused lowly, narrowing his eyes. ”It’s…rather troubling, to say the least. …Its sudden appearance and the effects that came with it.”[break][break]

(tl;dr: catch attempt on ursaring)

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]

☉

Had he not known the sort of dealings her father had engaged within in the past, he may have found himself at a loss for words.[break][break]

Yet the silence that succeeded the thoughts she’d voiced aloud had been caused not by fear, nor discomfort, nor even a sense of negative notion; rather, it had been caused by none other than his own turn of thought. Before long, his gaze had drifted from her in favor of idly eying the varied grains of sand beneath the both of them once more.[break][break]

He gave another hum, listening.[break][break]

”...You sound so distraught over it,” had been his eventual choice of words. His eyes narrowed as they lingered upon the earth; a seemingly absentminded effect of the pensiveness that continuously held him. ”I understand not necessarily liking how things have turned out, but my honest opinion is that being distraught is a sign of improvement.”[break][break]

His gaze finally lifted to find her once more. Watching. Observing.[break][break]

”...It’s natural to be unhappy with yourself so long as you aim to better yourself, and so long as you show proof of betterment. It’s also natural to dislike having similar qualities to the people that mishapenly shaped you— but it’s fine so long as you define those qualities for yourself, rather than allowing the past to keep a vice on you.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: life's a beach

☉

There had been logic within what she’d said.[break]
He’d experience a semblance of it in the past, after all.[break][break]

To be broken and rebuilt had been a telltale sign of improvement and strengthening, as far as he had been concerned. It had been a tried and true cycle that he’d experienced no few times through trial after trial, and to some degree, similar circumstances had been what had brought him to the region, and—by extension—allowed the conversation at hand to happen, to begin with.[break][break]

He hummed lowly, keeping his eyes upon her as a thoughtful glare took his gaze.[break][break]

”...I do, yes,” he mused after some reflection and recollection. ”Why?”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: life's a beach

☉

Though there was some degree of understanding that resonated within him upon noting her words, he couldn’t help but note a number of smaller discrepancies within her line of logic. It prompted his brows to remain furrowed as her thoughts met his ears, all while bicolored hues narrowed faintly as if further emphasizing a sense of pensiveness.[break][break]

”And…if your words are true, how would that have changed anything…?” he murmured, his eyes lingering upon her as they walked along. ”Rocket or not, our histories and deeds have still plagued us with plenty of implications.”[break][break]

His gaze drifted to the grounds beneath them in thought, his arms crossing absentmindedly.[break][break]

”...You’re giving explanations that don’t measure up, nor do they make sense.”

AYAME FUJIWARA

☉

”...Hm.”[break][break]

Just as he’d done prior, he simply allowed an absentminded gaze to linger upon her as she continued moving across the shoreline. Bicolored hues shifted towards the most recent piece of debris she’d claimed as her own before drifting along the grains once more in thought.[break][break]

”...The pieces, then,” he went on, furrowing his brows. ”As evident from what you said earlier, you're not happy with how they've aligned themselves? Why?”[break][break]

She never did actually answer the question when he'd asked it the first time, after all.

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: life's a beach

☉

He couldn’t help but stare at her hand as it remained misaligned.[break][break]

Nevertheless, he simply shifted a pace or so over in order to properly meet her hand with his own, speaking naught a word of its skewed position as he gave her a brief shake of the hand. ”...Asahiko,” he murmured in simple response, nodding in instinct before realizing the mootness of the gesture. His eyes drifted towards their hands once more before he released her hand, bringing his own into a cross with the remaining upon his chest.[break][break]

He eyed the witch by them once more for a moment, humming.[break][break]

”...And I agree it’s not quite a bad thing,” he mused on, ”but it doesn’t change the tiredness that comes with it. …I feel as though your Hatterene could attest, as well.”[break][break]

(tl;dr: skipping)

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]

☉

He hummed softly, sending a brief glance towards the hat-clad Pokemon standing by the woman from the corner of his eye.[break][break]

”Mmn… I’m sure that’s a bit subjective…” he mused, bringing his attention back towards the bird within his arms once more. However faint it may have been, the tug upon his lips only proved to broaden as she began to poke and chirp at him once more. He breathed a soft, chuckling sigh before looking up again. ”I’m sure she’s as endearing in her own way. …She simply looks more receptive towards calmer types.”[break][break]

As someone of similar nature, he definitely understood it, after all.[break][break]

His eyes strayed towards the sidelines as a couple of creatures entered the pathway from afar, and after a brief bout of thought, he tossed a Pokeball out towards the floating blue Pokemon as it passed by. ”...As much as I care for my little one, here, she definitely does tire me, sometimes…” he went on idly, watching as the dual type had been drawn into the capsule in the near distance.[break][break]

(tl;dr: catch attempt on metang)

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]

☉

…A Sobble being the opposite of his little bird?[break]
Go figure. Of course it was believable.[break][break]

A soft hum escaped his lips as he tilted his head, a gaze of bicolored hues shifting to linger upon the very bird within his arms. His face scrunched faintly upon feeling her flippers begin to reach up and tap wildly upon his face, though it had been the same series of gestures, altogether, that prompted the faintest of smiles to tug upon his lips, as well.[break][break]

”...She definitely is a handful at times, though,” he murmured, only casting a brief glance towards the passing Pokemon before shifting his attention towards the bird once more. His smile broadened at the chirps he’d received in response to a soft tap atop her beak. ”If not for my other Pokemon, she’d be much more prone to trouble…” [break][break]

(tl;dr: skipping)

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]

☉

…Was she truly trying to dictate a decision that had been his to make? Declaring herself as ‘horrible,’ or even telling him what he had and hadn’t deserved.[break][break]

Not only had it been unsupported in the slightest as far as he was concerned, but they had simply been things he’d figured only warranted his judgment. It was only natural since it supposedly affected the way he viewed her.[break][break]

”...Lead the way, then.” The words were confused, borderlining impatient. He furrowed his brows as a pensive gaze lingered upon her, and he flicked his wrist faintly as a means to go on. ”I’m waiting.”

AYAME FUJIWARA

☉

Understand what? had been the only thought to cross none other than his own mind at the note of her words.[break][break]

Otherwise, a continuous bout of silence overcame him as he laid his eyes upon none other than the floor displays above them. His gaze only shifted towards her, faintly, as she moved for the buttons before him; a gesture he’d instinctively moved back for in order to promote distance and a semblance of fickle comfort.[break][break]

He inhaled deeply, furrowing his brows with a soft grimace as the Axew beneath his arm continuously chirped, tapped at him, and attempted to reach over for the woman by him.[break][break]

Before long, he sighed lowly while simply opting to press the button of the creature’s respective Pokeball, promptly recalling her before holding his hand over the capsule to keep it closed as it rustled beneath his palm, waiting.

AYAME FUJIWARA [break]

☉

He instinctively paused and stared as the webbings were shot over in the midst of the requested String Shot, though only glanced over for a moment in recognition and processing before continuing on with his foraging. A soft sigh left lips lips before long, though quieted down as he noted and thought upon the words she’d said.[break][break]

His gaze drifted down towards the larger branches he’d picked up, brows furrowing in further thought before he leaned over to take a couple of larger ones. He examined the smaller divots created by the branches of those branches before walking over without so much as a leading word.[break][break]

He simply stuck both of them into the ground on either side of the flame before leaving once more.[break][break]

”Skewer the Magikarp with these,” he started off, tossing another few branches over while saying as such, ”and prop them between the forks of the branches I put down.”[break][break]

Without wasting much time after the words had left his lips, he turned his gaze towards the Beautifly once more.[break][break]

”Mou ichido, Suiren,” he murmured, nodding over towards a free rock. ”One more String Shot, if you don’t mind. Should be enough until I can weave some rope.”

AYAME FUJIWARA [break]
mission: deserted island

☉

That response only paved the way for more questions.[break][break]

Though he listened, and though the words met his ears, he simply found himself furrowing his brows in a further sense of processing and confusion. He watched as she stepped back, and back, and back— and it had only been after the second step that he’d caught what had been happening and opted to take a pace forward to follow her.[break][break]

”...For the best, how?” he started off, narrowing his eyes. ”And you joined—...”[break][break]

…What?[break][break]

”...You’re just giving me more questions instead of answers,” he murmured, briefly gazing through the crowds around them upon noting the full weight of her implications.[break][break]

He clicked his tongue before long, running a hand against his face.[break][break]

”...Look, can we just talk about this?”

AYAME FUJIWARA

☉