[attr="class","body"]

Aloe had seen the advertisements for this alleged 'safari zone' many times following his arrival in Hoenn, and though visiting wasn't something he envisioned lining up with his style, the fact it was supposed to be spooky this time around was appealing. After having received the balls from the warden, he was off into the unknown- and it looked to be packed full of halloween decorations, some of which looked entirely too realistic for his taste. He liked the more cheesy-looking ones for sure, even when acknowledging his previous nefarious doings across the sea. Lighthearted kinds of things, as the world was already far too cruel.[break][break]

Taking a bite of a deep-fried slowpoke tail, he hummed in tandem with the party of three pokemon that walked/floated beside him, taking in all the exquisite and festive scenery. He didn't have many plans for going out to celebrate the holiday of the hauntings, but if something were to pop up, he figured he'd be a vampire like every other year. Unoriginal, he knew, but dressing in elaborate costumes was just too excessive for his taste. That was, unless they were his golden and gemstone jewelry sets that encompassed his chest down to his ankles, those were too stunning to pass up.[break][break]

"I wonder what pokemon await us further in." He spoke to the three beside him, only to hear no response as per usual. "I'm sure they will be a sight to behold." Now only the dim-lit forest awaited them, casting fear upon the small pokemon. Aloe figured nothing would be too big of a scare, though.

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","body"]

Aloe was making it a habit to go out in the depths of the night to work on tattoo designs, but the quirks of this mountainous slope cut his work short. It wasn't too much of a big deal, all he had yet to make for the upcoming flash sale was an "awoo" tramp stamp design- it was quite fitting, being as that noise was the one that caused him to stop. Standing from the rock that he had made an artistic nest of, spanning before his eyes was a swarm of wolf-like pokemon taking to the the rugged fields of crumbled stone. Nothing the Noibat that floated beside him couldn't take, right?[break][break]

"The little pups are cute, think you can scoop one up?" He grinned at the violet bat, the pokemon giving a rather estranged look in return. There were a couple of fruit trees growing from the rubble, so he was sure Morrigan wouldn't come back empty-handed. All of the cries that resonated throughout the mountainside were quite menacing, and the appearance of some of the larger ones was worrisome; hopefully, the bat didn't take his sarcasm seriously, as all he wanted was for her to play with the fellow night-dwelling beasts. She was too small to pick up one of the Rockruff for sure, he hoped she went with the idea of making friends and fruit gains rather than becoming food to an angry mother wolf.[break][break]

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","body"]

The downpour of golden coins marked the beginning of the dreamscape that had developed Aloe, accompanied by the feeling of his lover's hands spanning across his chest. After having retained the payout of the blackmail against the Unovan police force, there were endless possibilities as to what he and his boyfriend were able to buy- his debit card of crimson fluctuated in the light of the golden downpour, resonating with the emanating poisons that seeped outward from the Glimmora's toxic petals.[break][break]

Sounds of a chingling marked their first purchase, a glimmering estate beside a mountain- and with that, all of their belongings had a home to call their own. Lavish, ever-so-flowing, motorcycles of the most expensive caliber made their way outside with lustrous golden gift bows. Life could be a dream and was a dream with such a high extent of disposable income, forever to be able to indulge upon. Interwoven within was greed, but they didn't care; nobody was willing to give to them when they were in need on the streets begging for money so they could eat, so why would they?[break][break]

Millions, billions, trillions of dollars that could be used for excess. That was their dream, the alternative to what they had both experienced together as two young boys on the streets of Castelia. They could find love in such delicately woven possibilities of gold, and they did, their lips blossoming and encompassing one another and twisting Aloe's vision into nothing but bright, golden light.

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","body"]

The levitating golden bell pokemon chimed in delight when Mika expressed her likes of the design, followed by a delicate clap and a smile manifesting across Aloe's cheeks. "You're sweet, I'm quite glad that you're fond of it." He said softly, washing his hands in one of the countertop sinks so everything would be clean and sanitized before making their way downstairs. "Of course. I'll go darker when we get back to it then!" Taking that mental note of what was to be done, he agreed when he took a second look in the mirror that he should definitely go a bit darker. It would heal better too.[break][break]

Attempting to guide Mika down the stairs into the lobby of the studio, adorned in brilliant monochromatic stone statues and golden decorations, he was quick to shut the door to the top when they exited. There would be a backless seat for the girl to rest on, as it would hurt really damn bad to rest on the fresh ink. Aloe's heeled boots clicked down the stairs and led him to a button on the wall that he would press, and with that, the tinted windowpanes released and sulked down to open the facility up to the mountainside winds of the night.[break][break]

He felt it would be courteous for both his client and sanitary reasons, being that he wanted to smoke his cigarette. "So you said you're a ranger.. what's it like? I keep seeing rangers pop up on tinder, have any caught your eye?" Aloe chuckled, stretching out on the opposing couch and laying on his back. An opposing cigarette and lighter rested on the other side of the table between them, matching the one that he was using to spark up and inhale, ready for if she wanted to snag it up. But there was no harm in saying no, including if she didn't wish to indulge in the canned wine in the mini-fridge near them he previously told her she could take refreshments from.

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","body"]

Continuing to strum his digital pen over the surface of the tablet, Aloe listened to the words that drifted out of the man's lips delicately, taking in every detail he could. "I see." He responded quietly, slipping the freshly retained pokeball the Chingling brought to him into his bag. It felt so good to finally be able to have such a lighthearted conversation with another, but he was so used to prying for more juicy information that he didn't know quite how to respond to convey such an innocent fascination with star collecting. Meeting the wine to his lips once more, in an attempt to fend off any perception of his overthinking, he spotted a flickering flame approaching in the distance.[break][break]

A wild Rapidash was the spark of the flame, trying to TACKLE the small Chingling that floated before them a now comfortable distance away. After taking the brunt of the hit, the bell pokemon retaliated with a YAWN, trying to use its psychic energies to allow it to fall asleep- and when the fire type yawned in return, Aloe knew it was now time for a pokeball, throwing a crimson orb at it to attempt capture. Riding on a flaming horse seemed like a hardcore thing to do if it even was possible, maybe there was a way to cause the flames on its back to subside.[break][break]

"Do you have a name, pretty starboy..?" He asked curiously, his wiry fingertips tapping on the rim of the glass that sat in his grasp. "You look like the kind of guy to have a simple name, yet alluring. Tell me all about yourself, I'm dying to know- and I've got all night." A smile manifested upon his cheeks as he looked the stranger in the eye, curious as to what made him himself at his core. Though he was one to use other people's words against them and to chase intricate conversations, he just genuinely wanted to know more about what he thought would be a new acquaintance of his, the one drinking his wine. Unless their talks would take a turn to tea.

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","body"]

[break][break]

The sensation of the dream was marked by the cascading of red spider lily petals, strumming through them with his wiry fingers. Aloe dreamed of the past, consumed by a place where he once retreated to work on his artistic craft- a glimmering garden of lilies upon one of the highest skyscrapers of Castelia City, endowed in warmth thanks to his LYCORIS leather jacket. A familiar yet pleasant dream of home, before everything had crashed and burned at the hands of the Unovan elite. In his jacket pocket, his phone vibrated a few times while illuminating through the black, wisping red energies.[break][break]

It was a different version of what had happened, to say the least. Slinking the device and reading the notifications that displayed on his screen, blocking out the wallpaper depicting his lover, the sun shone down from the fluffy clouds above, casting the dew away from the red flora.[break][break]

[break][break]

And the link worked, the check was there- his heartbeat fluttered in delight, for all that hard work in digging up that heinous information had paid off. Lycoris would be able to prosper; they had made the police department of Castelia city cower in fear, cower in the feeling of powerlessness. The glory of the gang felt restored, and with that, they manifested one by one next to him. Golden coins rained down from the skies around Aloe and the rest of the Lycoris gang, they were all so happy; it was a feeling that he wished to feel again, that nostalgia from all those years ago.[break][break]

It did not make sense with the real world's timeline, but he was so far into the bliss that he didn't care. His tattooed fingers met the hands of one of his counterparts, the man's red tattoos running up his arm and flowing to encompass his body- it was a feeling he wished to last forever, to eternally be held by his lover until the end of time. The Glimmora beside him, Jewel, danced and unfurled its azure petals as Aloe's lips met Ivy's, painting the town around them noire and crimson, the colors of their love.

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","body"]

If you had told Aloe that he'd be offering boxed wine to strangers he ran into on the street a couple of years ago, he would have laughed in your face- it was quite the strange feeling to finally be able to be that generous, that rich with disposable income. "Grab a glass and drink up, friend." He encouraged, letting him fill up his glass as he continued to work on the lines of the drawing. Noticing that he only filled up the glass half empty, his eyebrow raised with curiosity, but he wasn't one to judge. People had their reasons.[break][break]

He hadn't felt someone lean up next to him other than during tattoo appointments when needing to give encouragement, but it felt nice, even if it happened to be a stranger who was colossally bigger than him in bulk. Before he could answer the curiosity that met the man's eyes, it looked like an antique shrimp pokemon had made its way onto the path, curiously looking for food; it was intriguing that its eyes were protruding from stems, like some kind of shark pokemon. Raising his hand and giving it a swish, Chingling chimed its bell, casting confusion on the wild fossil. Basking in its confusion, the circling Anorith did in an attempt to walk was met by a crimson pokeball.[break][break]

"I'd love that, a special exposure to such a peculiar species. It's for a client of mine tomorrow, she wanted a Minior swarm tattoo as a reward for catching all the colors." Aloe smiled, raising his glass to his lips and taking a sip of the ruby wine. "Just thought some fresh air would be nice though, better than being cooped up in my estate.. it was the perfect excuse, a meteor shower. Is that what you're here for? Stars in your eyes?" He wondered if there was infinity energy tucked in clusters where the falling star pokemon were said to rapidly descend from, he figured it was something surrounding that.

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","body"]

Aloe definitely preferred to get larger tattoos done in one go rather than multiple sessions, so Mika Nakayama's willingness to get such a large back piece done all in the span of one night was a relief, to say the least. After all the introductory sincerities, food and drinks provided, and a few breaks here and there, the two were almost finished with the beautiful wings of Talonflame she wished to have commissioned; it was on her back, spanning downwards with flames flickering all the way down to her latissimus dorsi muscle. Etching the tip of the tattoo gun into the skin of her back, whirring with the ink gathered at the needle, all that was left was the shading of the flames.[break][break]

"Damn, it's getting pretty late, Mika." He smiled, shooting a glance at the depths of the night that outstretched into the mountain view of the glass windows and the clock that rested next to them. It was nearing 3:30 in the morning on this still night, but he was determined to get it all done in one go- they were so close! "Let's take a final break, is that alright with you? It's looking amazing, let me wheel over the mirror to get you a peek before we make it downstairs."[break][break]

Getting up from the chair that rested next to the cushioned table she had been resting on during the process, wrapped in sanitary saran, Aloe was quick to take off his gloves and throw them in the trash. If only there was an easier way to make sure everything was clean in this form of art without the use of such waste of latex and plastic- but business was business. Unlit cigarette resting behind his ear, he rolled a decadent black and gold mirror on wheels over to the edge of the seat accompanied by a soft towel if she wished to cover her front during the leisure period.[break][break]

Raising his hand to catch the floating Chingling, which appeared excited due to the almost finished results, he held her gently within his palms. "How are you liking it? I can go darker on the shading if you prefer, your call. All that's left is the shading of the flames and any minor tweaks you'd like." Aloe twirled his longer white strands within his lanky fingertips, curious if she wanted the tattoo to go even darker. It looked pretty well-shaded, to begin with, but it was her call.

[attr="class","credit"]