Thankfully enough, the only injury he could see upon the feline had been nothing more than a bruised ego.[break][break]

By the time he’d jogged his way over, the Shinx had already been uptight and mewling loudly in disdain. He stared for a small while longer before giving both smile and sigh that had been equal parts defeat and exasperation, shaking his head softly as he reached out to pick her up.[break][break]

He made his way back to the others soon after, though it was only when he’d barely turned back around that he noticed another creature that stumbled its way over— and that time, towards his eldest. Blinking, the man gave a laugh in both confusion and surprise, alike; the defeat leaving the smile that he wore as a sense of amusement snuck within, instead, at the sight of a certain, smaller drake seemingly have a conversation with his own.[break][break]

Again, he glanced towards Draco.[break]
He received a seemingly happy sound in response and approval.[break][break]

”Looks like you got a new sibling, then~,” he hummed, reaching for the last, remaining capsule on his person. He lowered himself onto a knee, eying the Gible for just a moment (and laughing once more as the familiar, questioning sound of its kind met his ears upon meeting eyes) before softly tapping it against its forehead.[break][break]

(tl;dr: catching gible ty papa shiv)

@tag[break]
0/3 safari balls remaining

☉

Ah. The light at the end of the tunnel.[break]
Karma.[break][break]

Specifically in the form of a floating rock, nonetheless. Mere moments following the dual type’s victimization did another creature enter the fray— and by extension, the sights of a feline whose clear goal seemed to be none other than chaos. Just like she’d done before, she began crackling with the same sparks that enveloped her beforehand, and before her trainer could do so much as sprint a pace or two forward in attempt to stop her, she shot across the clearing, once more.[break][break]

The man stared with a jaw dropped and mouth agape as he found himself following an airborne Shinx before long, tossed aside with nothing more than a leisurely Psychic.[break][break]

He curled his lips inward and pressed them thinly within a pensive attempt to suppress a smile before (with a brief, watchful eye towards the Lunatone) beginning to jog off to check on his beloved little beast.[break][break]

(tl;dr: skipping)

@tag[break]
1/3 safari balls remaining

☉

Though the smile lingered upon his lips, there had been a subtle, idling calmness that prompted it to falter slightly. Jokes were always the farthest from lost upon him, and with the weight lifted from his shoulders within the midst of their conversation, he felt rather well about himself.[break][break]

…And yet, there was nothing but truth in what she said.[break]
He knew there was.[break][break]

”Mmn. That’s reasonable, considering it never was supposed to be yours to run~...”[break][break]

His eyes narrowed softly as he eyed the remaining glass with the same, idle expression prior to filling it and taking it for himself. While gentle and altogether indistinct, he tapped the tip of a finger against the slender, sheen reflections of his drink in thought.[break][break]

Whether it be for courage or for pleasure, he took a small sip, humming.[break][break]

”Somewhat on that note, actually, I’ve…been wondering.” By no means had they been as prominent and provoked as earlier, but the nerves returned within the back of his mind, nagging. ”Was there a reason you weren’t there for…”[break][break]

He trailed off, unsure.[break]
He steeled himself with another sip.[break][break]

”...Y’know. That.”

ANA STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

…And just like that, the peace had been swiftly broken.[break][break]

Like a Dustox to a flame, his attention had been drawn to the nearby Binacle as it entered the scene (he found himself subtly dumbfounded and amused, alike, by the way it shuffled around just to move itself forward), but if he expected to be the only one to do as such, he would’ve found himself to have been proven sorely and immediately wrong upon noting the sounds of sparks and crackling some ways away. Before he could so much as catch a glimpse of the source—not that he needed to think about the source, really—a blur of golden struck across his line of sight.[break][break]

He snapped his gaze from whence it dwelled initially, instead finding himself gazing upon a particular, little feline as she stood above her victim.[break][break]

”...I really need to sign you up for obedience training..,” he murmured to himself, running a hand through his hair with a sigh.[break][break]

(tl;dr: skipping)

@tag[break]
1/3 safari balls remaining

☉

He’d only barely stood back up after retrieving the Pokeball before he found himself glancing up.[break]
…As far up as he could without shifting too much weight, at least.[break][break]

Just as reached his full height again, he felt a sudden, yet soft sort of pressure weighing down upon him. He’d almost flinched at the touch, his eyes flicking up to scan above him before immediately finding himself face to face with a certain little bird that seemed to find solace atop his head.[break][break]

It stared at him.[break]
He stared back.[break][break]

A soft smile of both confusion and amusement tugged upon his lips as a soft huff of a laugh escaped them.[break][break]

He shared a quick glance with his Garchomp, afar (the others still seemed preoccupied, and the drake, himself, just gave him an equally confused shrug) before taking another capsule, reaching up and tapping it, gently, against one of its wings.[break][break]

”Hah. Nice to meet you, too, then~...” he murmured, staring at the ball soon after.[break][break]

(tl;dr: you bet your fuckin ass im taking that rowlet)

@tag[break]
1/3 safari balls remaining

☉

He stared after her as she walked off, a soft chuckle of a scoff escaping a faintly agape mouth.[break][break]

”Oh, come, now…! I didn’t frequently call, but at least I visited whenever I could…!” he called out, laughing. Humming to himself, he pursed his lips in thought before clicking his tongue a second time, beginning to fiddle with the cork of the bottle carefully. ”And at least I’m here now, right~? That’s gotta count for something, right…!”[break][break]

His eyes met hers as she returned— just in time for a light pop to sound before he pulled the cork loose. He took a couple of paces to branch the distance, holding a hand out to take and hold the closest glass towards him and beginning to pour.[break][break]

”Yeees— but just ‘busy’ is a very large understatement, though~...” he mused, another chuckling escaping his lips as he offered the full glass to her. ”Something, something, ‘a lot for a kid to handle.’ I heard that sort of thing a lot, but somehow, I thankfully made it work...”[break][break]

Another laugh.[break][break]

”...Not that I’ve been the only busy one. Two companies on your plate, though? Two?”

ANA STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

He hadn’t realized he’d been holding such a heavy breath until it finally escaped him.[break][break]

Nerves. Nerves, nerves, nerves— it was a common, ongoing theme and occurrence in relation to the way he’d felt, but as the visual of her lips curling into that smile of equal parts blessing and cursing, a breath lifted his chest just as heavily as the prior had escaped it. With a weight lifted from his shoulders, he closed his eyes for a moment and gave a chuckle, smiling wider in defeat, himself.[break][break]

”Right. Duly, duly noted for future reference, Sister.” His nose scrunched lightly in a final bout of emphasis before he opened his eyes once more, casting hues of hazel towards her as he lowered the bottle and began to walk in.[break][break]

He nudged her softly in passing, quirking his lip in a faint, faux, smirking pout for a moment.[break][break]

”Glad to see the looks can still kill, though,” he sighed, clicking his tongue. ”I absolutely thought I’d somehow done something wrong— was seconds away from losing my shit on the inside, honestly~.”

ANA STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

A rare day off.[break]
All things considered, it was still a bit of a foreign concept to him.[break][break]

Nevertheless, it was something he happened to have, so he intended to make the most of it by doing the least possible, altogether. He’d already answered and discussed through a couple of calls before remembering about his goal to cut bad habits, and as a means of attempting to further distract himself from such things, had eventually decided to put his phone to silent before taking his own Pokemon on a walk.[break][break]

So, alongside them did he, indeed, walk. After a quick stop by a lesser known shop that he’d been delighted to see had still been in business since his childhood, he found himself walking along the paved and cemented paths of a park that had…admittedly been unfamiliar to him, as far as he knew. It seemed like maybe not a recent addition, but still a new one as far as he was concerned.[break][break]

...I wonder what else I’ve missed while I’ve been away…[break][break]

He hummed, taking a bite from the pastry he’d purchased some time earlier, all while hues of hazel shifted from the path before him and towards the three, little creatures scampering and flying about. A soft smile graced his lips instinctively at the sight of them going ahead, but before he could watch them stray too far (he trusted the remaining of the four to watch after them, anywho), he noted another appearance towards the side.[break][break]

Blinking, a broader grin surfaced upon his features as he lifted a hand, waving.[break][break]

”Mari!” he called out, beginning to walk over. ”What’re you doing out here? No work today?”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

”Yes, actually~,” he chuckled, his eyes narrowing contently in tandem with an instinctive raise of the cheeks. Even as he still found himself enjoying the second bite, his fork had found its way back to the plate in favor of preparing a third. ”This is…honestly really, really pleasant surprise~.”[break][break]

A silent, Arceus really is real, followed the remark in his mind.[break]
She didn’t have to know.[break][break]

Rather than preparing another helping straightaway, however, he breathed a soft sigh and rested the utensil taken between his fingertips against the outer edge of the plate. He hummed, pressing a thumb against the corner of his lips to check for any excess sauce before ultimately holding his hand in place to cover his mouth for a small while longer.[break][break]

”Mmm— yes, though! Quite well, yes,” he chuckled, the words vaguely muffled between both gentle laughter and the food, alike. He took a brief moment to chew more before swallowing the food down, lowering his hand to reveal the same, idle grin upon his lips. ”Although, I’m a bit surprised it met your ears… Quick success aside, I always figured it wasn’t very much related or of interest to what the family always did…”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: slumber party

☉

The nerves continued to eat at him for a time, only to be replaced by a sense of confusion as he watched her hand approach.[break][break]

Blinking, he stared at her with a look of processing before shifting hues of hazel to peer towards her arm, outstretched, and then towards her again. A soft chuckle left his lips as a more natural, uninhibited smile swiftly replaced the prior one of unease that preceded it.[break][break]

”Ahhh, that. Just a small little scuffle, really— don’t mind it~.” Not quite a lie, yet not the whole truth, at the same time. He hadn’t really the mind to linger upon it, and thus gave her hand a pat before gently attempting to wave it away, lifting the other as it clasped around a bottle, all the while. ”That aside, I hope you don’t mind the sudden visit! Just…wanted to drop by."[break][break]

Saying it’d been a while would’ve been an understatement, after all.[break][break]

He brought the bottle—champagne—between both of his hands, eying it with a softer smile before glancing towards her once more, holding it out.[break][break]

”...Wasn’t sure what you would’ve liked, but I figured it’d be good to bring some sort of gift, anyways~.”

ANA STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

Ah, the sounds of a struggle.[break]
Delicious.[break][break]

As the boat began to rock to and fro, the man merely wove his fingers through the waters surrounding them within a continuous manner, closing his eyes with an idle smile of amusement. He was a man of his word, after all— and even then, he had full faith that she would be able to tackle the task of sealing a zipper on her own. She was smart enough to have an interest in various sciences, after all.[break][break]

It’d just be plain embarrassing for her to be foiled by an inanimate object.[break][break]

”You can do it~,” he hummed, his smile broadening faintly to none other than himself. Hazel hues opened once more to gaze upon the passing, rippling waters and lighter waves. ”Don’t freak out over it too much, though. If you somehow make the boat tip over, you’re gonna be the one that does the explaining.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: corsola conservation

☉

Bats use echolocation, you dumbass. Always ready to echolocate your lack of brows and your apparent lack of brains.[break][break]

Thot ass hoe.[break][break]

But regardless of the sort of things he could see or not, he narrowed his eyes in thought, rubbing a small paw of his against his chin softly. ” …Specifically on ghost Pokemon? I dunnoooooo…” he said, lowering the aforementioned paw to begin patting and tapping his lap again, nodding his head back and forth all the while. ”Something about it sounds kinda…sketchy? Scary?”[break][break]

He stared at her for a while longer before throwing his hands and wings up, falling back onto the ground with a soft thud.[break][break]

”Buuut, ya boy is too stupid and too lazy to think about it more, soooo… Eh.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: daycare playdate

☉

This coming from the literal piece of coral?[break]
What brows do you have to furrow, Mona Lisa?[break][break]

Audacious, but she seemed to share the other sentiments, anyways. There was a certain little something she’d said later on that caught his attention, though, and with a quick, rapid twitch of his ears (they were batty and they were beautiful, so fuck off), he tilted his head, yet again.[break][break]

”...Experiments?” he chirped, curious. ”What kinda experiments?”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: daycare playdate

☉