Not Ready to Play Nice

[Bayhound]

"...And honestly, do you have to slouch so much? My human isn't going to have bad posture when they're trying to impress a breeder or Gym Leader. I certainly don't want to look like I'm traveling with a dirty hobo." Chinook looked up at the amber-eyed teen with the bridge of her nose pinched in disgust. Kalkaska, the breeder's Zorua, shook his head and snickered to himself. The Vulpix had been yammering on since they'd left, and although Gauge had left the Lab alone, he was sure that thanks to the fox's loud mouth someone was bound to find them. Or if he got lucky, something.

Flicking his attention over to the fox, Gauge snorted. "I don't normally stand this hunched over. I'm looking for pokemon tracks." Incidentally, he suddenly reached his hand out and pointed to a patch of dirt that looked recently stirred; there were several small pawprints in varied positions and angles. Obviously there had been a disturbance of some kind. Chinook approached said patch and took a sniff, sticking her tongue out. "And why would you want to encounter those smelly wild pokemon? You can't catch them - you don't have any pokeballs." The Zorua rolled his eyes and padded over to Gauge's other side, staring at the grass curiously.

"I still enjoy seeing other pokemon and observing them, thank you. Even if I can't catch them, you and Kal could use a bit of leveling. I've heard the Breeding Centers have mascots that you have to battle, and I'm sure those pokemon aren't level five or anywhere near it." Gauge lifted himself up and rubbed at his temples, tracing a finger over the scars on his cheeks. "I swear, you're getting as bad as a person." Insulted, Chinook yipped and fluffed her tails. "Well, I never!"

Suddenly Kalkaska growled and switched into a stance Gauge had never seen before, his mane bristling slightly. "Rua!" The breeder looked to his Vulpix for translation, however, she too was simply staring into the grass ahead.

[Catilena1890]

Carina leaned against a tree, happily dozing off while her Budew and Togepi slept beside her. Carina snuggled her pokemon close and happily napped in the sun. Yeah, she had a journey to go on, but who needs to rush? Why run when you can walk? Why Walk when you can sleep? By that logic Carina felt that today she would sleep, tonight she would camp and tomorrow be off to Gustella. If nothing else she could always call for a ride. Nope, Carina was perfectly content to sleep with her "new" pokemon right against this tree. Even the Zorua peeking at her didn't bother her one bit.

[gyron]

Kain had actually settled for the night in town and taken up his journey the next day. After all, he didn't need to rush, and his new friend Blitz was actually quite tired by the time they go to the Route. Kain made a quick meal, which he was able to do having taken care of his mother for so long, and ate dinner with his new Pokemon, taking care to give him stuff he might like.

Now however, they were in the real world and the real world meant real people. Blitz was still a bit tired from the sleep but he clung unto his Trainers head, loving to be so high up. He called out happily and Kain chuckled, walking on ahead when he caught sight of another person. He had to canine-like Pokemon and he cocked his head, wondering if he should avoid him or not. He looked up his Joltik who looked down at him, giving him a slight shrug. Kain sighed and thought about it a bit more. That didn't help so much...

[Bayhound]

Gauge had slowly crept forward and was about to look through the foliage until a slight rustling attracted both his and the Vulpix's attention. Chinook was the first to react, however, tilting her head and growling at the sight of the trainer.

"And who might you be? You're obviously older than Gauge here, or so it seems. Your Joltik looks quite small. Is he your starter?" Chinook sneered and took a few steps forward, very much aware that she'd just given the breeder's name away without her permission and insulted whoever it was that was standing in front of her. As if that wasn't enough, she gave her now-routine 'prim sniff and disgusted look' at the dual-typed pokemon, her dark eyes narrowed. "What did your trainer name you, hm? Mc. Fritokins?"

"Chinook, enough" Gauge snapped, glaring down at the auburn fox. For a moment the Vulpix pinned her ears back, but they were alert again in a heartbeat, and she stood by his side as if nothing had happened. The breeder proceeded to sigh heavily and rub his temples again, acting as if the whole world was about to end simply because he had to talk to another human being. "Sorry about that, she's pretty rude, if you haven't noticed. So... what's your name?" he asked, hoping to get that bit of information and then kill the conversation early.

Meanwhile, Kalkaska was still nosing his way through the bushes, tail flicking quizzically back and forth as he eyed the sleeping girl. Hm.. she smelled familiar. Casting a glance over his shoulder at Gauge, the Zorua quickly dashed forward and nudged Carina's hand, carefully watching the Budew and Togepi. He didn't mean any harm, he was just curious! "Zor...ua?" I come in peace?

[gyron]

Kain could already tell this guy was stressed out as is but he made it look like nothing had happened. He smiled politely, although incredibly intrigued by the talking Pokemon. He rubbed his chin and stared at the Vulpix, not easily offended honestly, and smiled at the trainer again. He walked over to him and motioned towards his Vulpix.

"Quite the interesting Pokemon you got... A Vulpix and Zorua, if i am not mistaken..." He straightened up then and extended his hand. "I'm Kain, Kain Darson. I just became a trainer yesterday but me and Blitz, my Joltik, are eager and excited, ready for the road!" He laughed a bit, even though Blitz was glaring at the Vulpix. He didn't like her, mostly because he was intriguing his trainer, but he was content for now only because he was higher than her.

[Catilena1890]

As Kain and Gauge spoke Grace yawned and cuddled into her trainer, stirring a bit. She heard voices just beyond where she laid with Carina and Roc and decided to investigate. The budew awkwardly stood up and walked into Kalkaska, falling back onto Carina. The breeder sighed contently and scratched the Zorua's head in her sleep, muttering something about softness. Grace, meanwhile, recovered from her bumping and gave a warm smile at Kal.

"Budew." Hello. She said to him, still smiling.

[Bayhound]

Oh dear Arceus, a handshake? Really? What, did Gauge look like he was in his sixties or something? Such respectable acts were meant for old people and those who believed in traditions and whatnot. For a moment or two, the silver-haired teen merely stood with his arms crossed, a rather forlorn gaze being Kain's other reply. He wished the other fellow would at least hesitate and think he'd done something wrong, maybe even looked down to see if he had something on his hand, but no. He kept. Offering. His hand. Huffing, the breeder rolled his eyes and shook the offered palm a bit roughly.

"Name's Gauge. Aspiring to be a breeder." There was no comment made to the trainer's pokemon guesses, since clearly anyone with a pair of eyes could see that they were a Vulpix and Zorua. Chinook arched a brow, thinking the same thing. "Of course I'm a Vulpix, gosh. What do I look like, a Raticate? Clearly not! I'm much more stunning." And with that, the fox turned her head around and began to groom herself.

Gauge glanced up towards the Joltik and tilted his head, shrugging afterward. "Yeah well, as excited as you may be, my team and I are crossing through here as well to get to Gustella. Caught any pokemon yet?"

Meanwhile, Kalkaska blinked awkwardly as Carina began petting him in her sleep, actually relieved when the Budew bespoke him. "Rua, Zor Zor." I remember you from the lab. You guys are going this way too? he asked, sitting down and snickering at her coordinator. "Zorua-rua." She sleeps a lot.

[gyron]

Kain noticed the hesitation and roughness in the breeders handshake but didn't think too much of it. He had met worse people and this guys was not nearly at the same level as the others. He looked down, along with Blitz, at the snuffy Vulpix. Kain looked up at Blitz who just shook his head and decided to take a nap, curling up on the back of Kain's backpack.

"Er, no, we haven't yet... I literally started yesterday so we haven't seen any Pokemon, although I am hoping to expand my team more. I almost have my whole notebook filled already with my studies of Blitz here!" Kain chuckled and stuffed his hands in his pocket after fixing his glasses a bit.

He looked where the Zorua had disappeared to and stared there for a second, thinking. After a minute, he spoke again. "And to let you know, Zorua aren't exactly the most common Pokemon, along with Vulpix's, much less talking ones." He shrugged and turned away, Blitz facing the breeder now and snoozing loudly. "I need to find some Pokemon anyways so unless you want to join me in that adventure, then I will be going..." He waited around to see his answer, looking behind his shoulder at Gauge.

[Catilena1890]

Carina yawned and stretched her arms over her head, beginning to stir from all the commotion. She sat up and looked at Kalkaska curiously before looking up at Gauge and Kain.

"Oh hello there. So you guys are the reason why I can't sleep. My name is Carina, and I`m a breeder. May I ask the names and occupations of my alarm clocks?" She said with only a LITTLE sarcasm, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as Roc stirred, chirping curiously.

[Bayhound]

"You haven't? Hm... what a shame." Gauge looked to the side and rolled his eyes, Chinook for once lifting her head to back up her partner. "Hmm, yes. Quite the shame. All of the pokemon around here are probably scared by you and your little parasite." The breeder was ready to mutter something under his breath, but decided against it. No use commenting to that, really. Not when he would have said nearly the same thing. The next statement of his really set the both of them off, though, and as they looked to each other, their eyes narrowed. They weren't sure who Kain was talking to, Gauge or Chinook, but that didn't really matter, did t? An insult was an insult.

"Don't consider it 'joining your adventure', but I will be going the same way as you. Just try not to be too noisy, will you? I'm trying to study these pokemon in their natural environment, and your presence alone will disrupt that." The Vulpix pricked her ears and snorted. "Then what will your presence be doing, Gauge dear~?" she said. The snide comment didn't go unnoticed, but Gauge did not respond. Instead he was looking around for Kalkaska, who'd seemed to have gone missing. Just about the time he was getting ready to call for the Zorua, a distinctly feminine and familiar voice rang out.

Oh, great. A familiar face. Shifting through the grass to scoop up the dark gray fox, Gauge himself snorted. "You? A breeder? Tch. This ought to be delightful." Kalkaska tilted his head in confusion. "If it'll get this party moving faster than it is now, I'm Gauge. Chinook. Kalkaska" he grumped, pointing to each of the name's owners as he said them. "I'm a breeder as well, but I'm pretty sure that won't help us get along any better than we are now."

Quick to walk to the head of the pack, Gauge lightly turned on his heel and looked back at the other two, clearly disgruntled. "Well? Anyone else coming?"

[gyron]

Kain bit his lip, not exactly liking the breeder that he had encountered. All he did was list a fact but he got snooty remarks instead. That Vulpix and Gauge... Two of a kind they were. Blitz had heard what they said and was about the leap upon Gauge's head and possibly bite a good chunk of his hair off. Kain however grabbed him mid leap and held his squirming body close. "Shush Blitz. Every person gets what they deserve. No two wrongs make a right."

Blitz squirmed a bit more but eventually sighed and scrambled on Kain's head, glaring at them. Kain looked at the other breeder and smiled warmly. "Sorry about waking you up! We were just having a.. discussion was all." He bowed slightly and got back up. "My name is Kain and this is my Joltik, Blitz." Blitz chirruped quickly and did a 360 on Kain's head.

[Catilena1890]

Carina yawned as she sauntered ahead, linking her hands behind her head as her togepi and budew followed closely.

"I suppose. I`m bored here. I'd like to get into a real bed before nightfall." She said, smirking at Gauge. Her pokemon followed close behind, panting slightly at the effort, and Carina smiled as she stopped, scooped them both up in her arms, and continued on her way.

"Let's keep going now." She said to the group, cuddling her pokemon close.

[Bayhound]

Well, it seemed one of them didn't want to come along. Kain quickly moved away from the group after a short goodbye, and Gauge and Chinook both shrugged. At least he was honest enough to know when the going was too tough to move forward - with Gauge tagging along, anyway. But of course that other girl still had to follow them. One was better than two, he guessed, but Chinook didn't change her opinion. Lazy female.

"Did you have sleep apnea as a child or something? You never cease to quit yawning" Gauge questioned, arching a brow. "Not that I care." His Vulpix bristled her fur and snapped at the woman, curling a lip at her in distaste. "I care. She's hogging up all my air! And hardly the person to have the privilege of doing that, I'd say." Lifting her nose, she trotted on ahead, leaving Gauge behind with Kal in his arms. Although he enjoyed the calmness of traveling silently, something was bugging him. And he hated being curious for humans for too long more than he hated talking to them. So with a grumpy shake of his head, the teen turned to look at Carina as she picked up her pokemon, a frown taking over his expression.

"So I must know. What made you decide to become a breeder, huh?" Up ahead he heard Chinook snicker.

"Gauge and lazybutt, sitting in a tree~"

[Catilena1890]

Carina chuckled at the mouthy teen and his vulpix and rolled her eyes innocently at them.

"Well, it all started with this cute little grass pokemon. I honestly dreamed of being a trainer with one specific pokemon at my side, but when I went to the lab to get my starter, they were all taken. All except for one. Nasty little thing it was." She began, yawning once more and cuddling her pokemon close.

"I eventually got my dream pokemon. Together we conquered all kinds of foes. We got bored with it all since no one could really challenge us, or do it fairly, so I decided to try something new, start fresh." She said as she awkwardly stretched with her babies in her arms. She turned to Gauge and grinned, cracking her neck slightly.

"As for my constant yawning, I actually developed a bit of narcolepsy on my travels. One way I bond with my pokemon is cuddling them, and they are so warm and snuggly, I can't help but sleep." She finished, nodding as she heard a sound. She looked up once and smirked, creaking her neck again.

[Bayhound]

Wait, what? Gauge blinked several times, unsure of what to think about the sudden situation he was finding himself in. So this chick was trying to tell him that she'd not only been a trainer before, but that the pokemon she'd had was pretty special (or at least he was assuming that part), and then they got to the point where nobody could give them a challenge, so she had to come to Varaia and start over? And she expected him to believe all of that in one go, considering his personality? Even Chinook was quiet as the three of them pondered the possibility of it all.

Didn't take them long to crack.

"I'd be careful with that story around these parts. Not everyone's going to believe you, and it's certainly something that that pathetic Team Micro or whatever would try to get in on. Can't say I believe it myself." She suddenly looked forward as if she heard a sound, and he did as well. What, something up ahead? Chinook hadn't said anything. Or did she just hear her back pop? And then she said something that was actually somewhat impressive.

"That's... pretty interesting. I've known the bond between people and pokemon to strengthen by sleeping with them, but not many others mention it." Then, he had to add something else so Carina wouldn't feel too smart. "But that's probably because--"

"Zorua! Zor Zor!" Kal suddenly piped up, his ears perking as he looked ahead at Chinook. She'd stopped for some reason and tilted her head. Gauge scoffed and frowned. "You better not just be trying to get attention up there, miss priss..."