Between himself and his creature companions, there had been a clear distinction between who had been enjoying themselves, and who had simply been existing within the encounter. They walked along through the stalls and the like, and as he peered around absentmindedly, he took care to feed both the yipping dragon within his arms, as well as the little bird that clung onto the side of his head as she claimed his shoulder as her seat. Breathing a low, faintly exasperated hum, he eventually lifted a bite of the food they’d bought some time before to his own lips, chewing idly before paying his companions more attention.[break][break]

”...I still think the souvenir shop was an unnecessary stop,” he murmured flatly, doing his best to ignore the Lucario ears that had somehow been forced upon him.

AYAME FUJIWARA[break]
mission: rondez-view circulation

☉

”...What exactly are we supposed to do to help, here?[break][break]

The words offered no shortage of disbelief and exasperation- and after such a calm and generally quiet trek in between other conversations, as well. Although they had already settled on taking the task offered to them, it would have been an understatement to say that he still had his qualms with it. Why contact common trainers to help? Why not contact other breeders that knew what they were doing? There were so many facets to this request that, quite frankly, baffled him- and yet, there they were.[break][break]

”Truly, what are we supposed to do…?” he reiterated, furrowing his brows as his lips curled into somewhat of a pensive frown. ”Play jazz for them? Teach them about romance? How is this supposed to work?”

AYAME FUJIWARA[break]
mission: pwoduce pangowos pwease!

☉

Doing something like this still felt like an odd experience, even if - in the grand scheme of things - the last time he’d done such a thing had only been a year within the past at most. He peered through his surroundings as they ventured forth, occasionally glancing back towards his walking companion as a means of watching her own step before directing his attention forward, once more. There was no stress to be felt. There was no tension to be had.[break][break]

…It genuinely did feel like he had some semblance of peace back.[break][break]

”Mmn… It looks as though the path is getting a bit narrow ahead…” he murmured, instinctively narrowing his eyes at the aforementioned track. ”...You go first. I’ll follow behind in case anything happens.”

AYAME FUJIWARA[break]
mission: sunset selfie

☉

”Mmn… I hope I didn’t miss anything…”[break][break]

The thought came within a low, idling breath to none other than himself as he set a number of bags down. With the corresponding hand then freed, he quickly fished it into his pocket prior to reeling it out with a set of keys between his fingertips. He lifted it up to his lips quickly, ascertaining the correct key and briefly holding it between his teeth in order to gain a better grasp on it (what with his other hand being occupied by more bags) before inserting it into the lock and turning it with a subtle click.[break][break]

After turning the knob, pushing in, and taking his keys back, he quickly picked the bags he’d set aside back up before stepping into the entryway and shutting the door behind him with his foot.[break][break]

”I believe I picked up everything we put on the list…?” he called out into the spaces before him, all while bicolored hues directed themselves down towards the ground as he slipped his shoes off and nudged them aside. ”I’m going to sort everything out in the kitchen…”

AYAME FUJIWARA[break]
mission: affection's confections

☉

Of course.[break][break]

A brief moment of reprise filled the air as the creature had been drawn into the ball, but the reprise in itself had been short lived. At the familiar sound of the capsule breaking (and with it, a sudden trumpet of a cry, courtesy of the beast itself), he narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue, instantly reaching his other hand down and towards the occupied Pokeballs by his flank.[break][break]

He tossed it out, and upon noting the familiar cry of one of his most beloved, he stood up and called out to it, raising his voice with a, authoritative, ”Aura Sphere, Reiki!” while simultaneously picking another Pokeball from his belts.[break][break]

He watched and waited with some tenseness as the familiar ball of energy formed between the canine’s paws, and as it blasted forth and collided with the proboscidean, he wound up and threw it, once more.[break][break]

tl;dr:[break]
--asahiko sent out lucario[break]
--lucario used aura sphere on copperajah.[break]
--asahiko used x1 pokeball in attempt to capture

@tag [break]

☉

Silence, yet again. It was in moments such as these that he truly regretted not being the type versed with taking topics and the like in stride (not anymore, at least), though rather than insisting something for the sake of attempting to salvage the conversation, he merely let it be as he fell quiet, once more. Better to let it right out, after all, lest the topic spiral into even more awkward territory with poor choice of words.[break][break]

The sudden intrusion was a blessing in disguise, really.[break][break]

Although he had acknowledged her words and passed them off with a nod of understanding, his gaze had remained forward in continuous examination of the scene before them throughout his silence. Upon noting the movement just moments before it had been voiced, he narrowed his eyes while shifting away from the fence.[break][break]

”Loud and clear,” he murmured in response, nodding while reaching over to nudge the golden, vulpine creature by him. ”See what’s happening. Act if needed. We’ll be with you shortly.”[break][break]

The psychic type nodded before beginning to hover off. Bicolored voids watched after him before directing themselves towards the woman standing nearby.[break][break]

”Shall we, then?”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: wooloo who cry wolf

☉

”Once more. Make sure to widen your stance, as well.”[break][break]

Sparring partners were often hard to come by, he found. Between setting off for different parts of the region upon a constant basis, as well as refraining from holding contact with those that he had met through his lines of work (for safety, namely), it had been difficult to find some means to properly test and enable sharpness to his own skills against another- and so entered his traveling companions. Some of them truly did hold the spirit of fighting within their blood, and in the case of a newer arrival to his flock, altogether, there seemed to be a sense of interest in improvement and betterment.[break][break]

He noticed it from the occasional glances he’d gotten during his lone training sessions.[break][break]

So, he took matters into his own hands. So began what was intended as an impromptu sparring session with a particular, viridian-accented creature of his, all while the remaining two with him seemed content with merely watching. Sat atop the scruff of an Arcanine off to the side had been a smaller, azure feathered bird; both of which eyed the spar as they both waited patiently for the two of the combatants. Before long, however, the canine beast twitched his ears and looked off to the side at the sound of footsteps approaching, and - after noting the general demeanor of a passerby - merely lifted his tail to sway slightly before releasing a bark-like roar of what seemed to be greeting.

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]

☉

This was a better way to clear his mind.[break][break]

It was such a simple solution, truthfully speaking. Within recent days, he’d sought to take walks within various places throughout the region for the sake of parting ways with recurring stress, but initially, he’d merely set out with the intention of doing nothing more than walk. No goal in mind. No outside intention.[break][break]

Nothing to anchor his mind to.[break][break]

Although somewhat brutish, the sight of his Pokemon trekking about and occasionally stirring bouts with other, nearby creatures to properly hone their skills was a sight for sore eyes, as well as an antidote for a sullied mind. Though he maintained his distance for the most part, he took care to praise and watch the others as they unleashed their moves in practice- though upon seeing a sudden movement around the corner of a wall, he blinked before raising his voice and calling out in warning as a smallest of the three unleashed a hefty Bubble Beam, jogging over before waving with an apologetic sigh.[break][break]

”My apologies,” he started off, stopping some ways before them. ”I hadn’t expected someone else to pass through here…”

FIORA HYE-JIN YUN [break]

☉

At first, he merely gave a nod and a hum in affirmative response, all while his gaze remained upon the rolling creatures afar. He remained that way for a fair amount of time, simultaneously apologetic of the rather staling and stale conversation (it was never exactly a strong suit of his, anyways) and unknowing of how, precisely, to keep it going. Thus, he remained vigilant. Watching.[break][break]

Until she offered him another inquiry.[break][break]

He was caught off guard, to say the least, and such a matter would be shown upon his face as his eyes (albeit faintly) widened as if processing the words spoken to him. His brows rose in tandem, though both only remained in such a way for a short while before relaxing, and then even narrowing in some degree of pensiveness as he fully considered the question.[break][break]

”...You could say I was looking for someone,” he murmured at first, turning his head just enough to eye her vaguely. ”I did find her, but…things worked in a different way. Truthfully, I’m not entirely certain as to why I haven’t gone back to Johto, yet.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: wooloo who cry wolf

☉

He needed to go.[break]
He needed to leave.[break][break]

And yet, as he knew oh so well, matters could never be so clean cut. Although he had managed to pull himself away and throw himself into a brisk pace away, he’d found himself breathing a heavy, almost hissing and stressed sigh as he embarked upon the other direction. Loathe would he be to cause a scene in such a sacred place that deserved nothing less than the utmost respect, but as he felt a tightening around his wrist once more, he couldn’t help but to grow tense as his head turned immediately; bicolored voids of an emerald and auburn bitterness ringing through as they bore upon the source of his restraint. ”You’d best let go of--”[break][break]

His voice rose. He realized that quickly.[break]
Respect. Respect in a sacred place.[break][break]

Though his jaw clenched in disdain, and though his brows furrowed to further express as such, he drew forth another, deepened breath; his chest lifting heavily and highly in the process before the breath escaped through his lips with nothing short of exasperation. ”As I’ve said, I’m not in the mood for this, Ayame,” he started off with a low, almost growl-like stress of a murmur. ”Let me go. Let me leave. …Please.”

AYAME FUJIWARA [break]

☉

Needless to say, his thoughts were interrupted at the sound of massive footsteps, only paired with the moderate quaking of the ground that only seemed to grow more and more prominent with each beat. Immediately and instinctively did he look up; bicolored eyes of auburn and emerald, alike, peering across the clearing before quickly catching sight of the source of the commotion.[break][break]

Upon eyesight, he carefully yet gradually slid off of the rock he’d callen his seat, and instead sought to hide behind it for a few moments while discerning the situation at hand. His gaze drifted down towards the ground beneath him for several moments before he inhaled deeply and sighed, closing his eyes.[break][break]

...Get a damn grip on yourself.[break][break]

He clicked his tongue softly and shook his head at none other than himself, furrowing his brows and opening his eyes enough to narrowly glare at the ground once more. He tapped his fingers against his knee before moving them towards the sash of belts that he’d taken with him, plucking one off before lifting his head long enough to aim and winding his arm for a throw.[break][break]

(tl;dr: catch attempt)

@tag

☉

A rest.[break][break]

It was something he found himself in desperate need of more often than not as of late, especially after constantly finding himself face to face with a certain someone. It was ironic, truthfully speaking, to have left home all for the sake of finding someone, and then eventually changing the mind with the intent of avoiding them- only to discover that theirs and your paths remained intertwined, even then.[break][break]

It was exhausting, to say the least.[break][break]

Mentally. Physically. By the way his form and head, alike, felt heavy, it burdened him whether he liked it or not, so he shifted his attention towards the sides of the path before starting towards a larger boulder off to the side. With a soft, exasperated sigh, he turned to sit upon it while gazing around and running a hand through his hair.[break][break]

...What am I even doing…?

@tag

☉