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Who: Red and whoever can find him
What: The man of few words is around. Not saying much per usual.
Where: Mostly on campus.
When: April 8 - April 14
Warnings: Hopefully nothing.

Red had returned back from Kanto, quietly. He didn't want to make a big fuss over his arrival since for him, it wasn't a big fuss. It was a matter of him returning back to his dorm in the late evening and keeping mostly to himself as he normally did. He still had access to the network and various other forms of information and still managed to keep tabs on his team even if he were far away.

Which is why, he's not particularly active in seeking the members of his team. They always got themselves into some sort of mishap, whether he liked it or not. More often than not he was dragged for the ride. Red always maintained that unless things were desperate, then he would rather not get involved. The affairs of his team were theirs and theirs alone.

But somehow, his room was starting to feel uncomfortable to be in. Maybe it was because when he was at home, he spent a lot of time at home. In one place. In his house in Pallet Town or sometimes walking over to Professor Oak's lab. Which is why the the trainer can be found in a variety of locations. The stadium, Bob's cafe, the library, the infirmary, the greenhouse - he took it upon himself stay out of his room for the time being.

So where would you find this silent boy, keeping to himself?

(( Use prose or action as you see fit! I'll follow. List a date and a place in the subject line too! ))

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[Oh well Sasha did pass by his window every day to go off to her training, but this time she actually took the time to look in and spotted the silhouette of someone inside. Her eyes lighting up, she flew over to the window to make sure and--

SLAM.

The wall shoot as she used her claws to attach herself firming to the wall and peek in. With the morning light, it was a bit harder to see...]

[At first it's nothing, but he has a strange sensation that something is coming towards him...

Then he hears something and is distinctly worried enough for his normal lineface expression to change into a minute frown. Red pokes his head out of the window, looking around. What was it? Who was it?]

[Suddenly Sasha's head pops up in the window, her eye look at him as her expression changes to as much happiness as a Charizard can do. HEY BOSSMAN HEY.

...damn you window.]

Sasha!

[The frown turns into a smile and Red finds himself opening the window fully and stepping back. Could she let herself in through that?]

[OF COURSE SHE COULD! Powered by the love of a leader who was gone for far too long, she pushes herself into the window and right into his room!]

[Well that's what she wished would have happened as her middle fatty area is stuck right between both and she wobbles in the middle. SON OF A SNUBBULL DAMN YOU EARLY SPRING FAT!!

Yeah uh. Hi.

Boss.

Just...

...stuck in a window.]

...

[Red knew this wasn't going to work?]

Hi.

[He's going to observe and wait for her to stop flailing.]

[Give her a minute or two....

Okay she stopped for now, looking at him pitifully. So much for a dramatic entrance.]

Try turning into your human form?

[He holds out his hands as if to indicate that she should hold onto them while she changes form.]

On the contrary, Marie was spending a lot of time in his room. Or Sonny and Vinnie's room, rather. Either way, he hadn't gotten out much save for classes, feeding himself or fetching something for Vinnie, and the occasional ridiculously-early-in-the-morning swim. On Monday afternoon, though, he happened to let himself out of the dorm just as a certain trainer was in the same hallway.

He paused in the doorway, his eyes quickly drawn to his trainer. And he hesitated. There were two very strong instincts that were in fierce competition with each other; run and greet his trainer as quickly as his legs could take him or turn around and hide in the dorm again. His shell sounded like a very comfortable place to be, but he'd desperately wanted a hug from no one else except Red.

Ultimately, neither of his options won out. Instead, he shut the door behind himself but hung nearby and pathetically called out at the trainer. "Red?" Hastily, he pulled his hood up, as if that would hide the angry, red marks on his face.

Red was walking down the corridor to go somewhere - he never really intended to stay long in the dormitory. A corridor's function was a passageway which people passed through and Red was intending to use it as such. He never really got the whole idea about hanging out in corridors - I mean those trainers who stayed in one spot in Kanto in the middle of the road were pretty weird when they saw him and decided to battle him without giving him a chance to say otherwise but that's another thing all together. Point being, Red wanted to get through the corridors quickly until he stopped.

The first him that arrests his attention is a flash of blue.

The second thing is that he heard someone calling his name. There was no-one else in the corridor after all. And he could recognise that voice from anywhere.

"Marie?"

Marie took a few hesitant steps in the trainer's direction. A pause. Another step. And then very suddenly he hurried to catch up to where Red was. As soon as he was close enough to, he wrapped both his arms around the trainer and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you," he mumbled against Red's shoulder.

"..."

Red had no immediate reaction to Marie holding him. Mainly because it had caught him by surprise. He wasn't avoiding his team per se, but he had a sixth sense about things. Which meant that him getting involved was probably not the best thing at the moment. But for now, since Marie came to him he couldn't really refuse.

"You alright?"

That really wasn't what Marie had wanted to hear. He'd expected it, though; Red always seemed to know when something was bothering him. He kept his arms around his trainer, hoping that he'd soon return the gesture. After a brief pause, Marie shook his head.

"No."

There was a lot that could have been said after that, but he was too timid to say anything else. There had been the fight. Vinnie was sick. Kojiro had left. Red hadn't said he missed Marie too. At least with his head still against the trainer's shoulder, Marie figured Red hadn't gotten a good look at the scars on his face yet.

He let out a sigh. Mentally he was preparing for the worst. Another fight, most likely.

"What's wrong? I was worried that something may have happened while I was gone."

Red was far too tense to consider hugging Marie back in this point in time. His body stiffened and tense and Marie's hugs, as nice as they were, were not able to ease his tension. There was a strong chance that emotions would be involved and Red's insecurity of being unable to provide for his team just left a maelstrom of bad thoughts and feelings within him.

Once Marie realized the hug wasn't going to be returned, he started to feel awkward. In general, he wasn't huge on physical contact- he flinched anytime he was touched without initiating it first- but Red tended to be the exception. He really wanted to be held by his trainer. That wasn't happening, though.

Stopping meant pulling away, though. Pulling away meant showing off the scars. Marie's stomach churned uncomfortably, and he attempted to brace himself for the worst. Whatever that was.

It was pretty clear, once Marie withdrew from the hug, that he was trying not to cry. He looked a little angry with his anxious frown and his eyebrows lowered. And he showed his trainer what Char had left him with; three long, pink mark across his face. They'd healed up rather neatly, but were still pretty noticeable. Marie shifted his expression to an empty stare. As much as he'd dreaded any sort of response, he was anxious to see what it was, anyway.

"It wasn't not my fault," he managed to blurt out without crying.

"Hold on..."

Carefully, he puts a hand to Marie's face. He uses his fingers to trace out the scars carefully, as if memorising their position and depth on his face.

One of the things that Red thought about a lot in his time back at home was Marie. Was he doing something wrong with the Squirtle? He always felt like perhaps he'd been coddling him a bit too much, but he was his starter. He couldn't help it.

But at the same time, he wanted Marie to be able to fend for himself, without him.

"Who did this?"

As soon as Red touched him, Marie flinched a little. He clenched his fists at his side, but stood as still as he could and let his trainer feel the shallow grooves that had been carved into his skin. Predictably, he started to cry at some point. Thankfully, it wasn't much.

Once Red was finished, Marie lowered his eyes and looked down at his trainer's hands. He sniffled and wiped his eyes.

"Char," he mumbled quietly. It wasn't worth sparring any details, and he figured Red would probably be curious about how Marie ended up with scars from a Pokemon he should have been able to handle on his own. And Red deserved to know, as embarrassing as the truth was. "I let him..."

"..."

Red wasn't sure what to do at this point. What was it that he could do? Even for Marie, who was quite timid wouldn't let someone just walk over him like this. He was flummoxed, so he did all he could do and just hug Marie. Out of nowhere, his arms came around to grip the Squirtle tightly in an embrace.

"But why?" came the quiet question after a while.

Finally. Marie had waited weeks for that feeling. He didn't move to return the hug, but he leaned into his trainer's arms and rest his head against his shoulder again. There was hiding in his shell, the way Sasha closed her wings around him when they hugged, Vinnie's sweet scent; but there wasn't anything else quite as comforting as being held by Red.

Marie considered the question for a moment before answering.

"Char wanted a fight. I don't know why, but I think Bulba asked him to or something. When Bulba was in my body, he lost my Everstone and I found out about it on my own, but whatever." He paused, sighing heavily. "I let him beat me up. I didn't fight back because I was too scared too evolve." He hiccuped as he started to cry again. God, he was sick of crying in front of his trainer.

"I'm sorry," he added, mumbling into Red's shoulder. "I know it was a mistake, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

He runs through this sequence in his head. Char wanted a fight, probably spurred by Bulba. Marie lost his everstone while he was out of his body. He let himself lose because he didn't want to evolve.

Well.

This wasn't what he expected. But yet, he knew what he had to say.

"Don't be afraid."

Red places a hand on Marie's head and gently runs his fingers through those blue locks. He smiled gently.

"I'm still here. So we can work together on doing something."

Don't be afraid.

Marie let out a shaky sigh and finally drew his arms up, clinging to Red again. He wasn't mad. That was a relief.

He recalled what Vinnie had said to him after the fight; he needed to walk forward. Red would be there to guide him, he hoped, so he wouldn't end up heading in the wrong direction again.

"I want to be a better Pokemon for you."

Red had no other words to say. Marie was saying it all for him. The Squirtle had already taken the steps forwards to obtaining his resolve in becoming a better Pokemon.

The smile stayed on his face as he continued to hug him. As long as he was needed, he would be there.

The trainer's silence was- at first- a little unnerving, until Marie gently reminded himself of Red's quiet nature. His arms were still around him, and he could sense he was smiling; that was enough. Gently pressing his face into the other boy's shoulder, Marie let himself smile timidly in return.

"You mean everything to me," he mumbled. "I won't make a mistake like this again."

He hoped that got his point across. In just those few words, Marie attempted to apologize for his petty feuding with Bulba, the way he allowed Char to mark him, and for anything he had done to hurt his family in recent months. He'd made his resolution to be a better Pokemon and a better family member at the PokeCenter, but he needed Red to hear it. And, more importantly, understand it.

Vinnie had been scarce throughout campus for a while. It really wasn't until mid-month that he felt well enough to leave the bed - and not a moment too soon. Being sick sucked in ways he never imagined.

He was sitting out by the cherry blossom trees. Sure, the flowers had long since given way to delicate spring leaves, but that didn't make their company any less pleasant.

His trainer was the last person he expected to see - and immediately the Venusaur wondered if he still looked visibly ill, pale, anything. The surprise was clear in his voice when he spoke. "Red? When'd you get back...?"

"Earlier this week." he replied without skipping a beat. Red meandered over, he was simply passing through and had stopped to take a breather in the trees. He liked cherry blossoms and their petals for when the season was right, the falling petals reminded him of snow. But without the cold or the drearyness. No, cherry blossoms were prettier and less of a pain to deal with than snow was but with all the beauty.

But that had passed already, and all that was left were the verdant leaves.

He stood infront of Vinnie, hands in his pockets.

"I didn't want to make a fuss."

Vinnie nodded mutely. He could understand why Red wouldn't want to come back with too much fanfare, and part of him was grateful for it. But another part was aware of how desperately his teammates missed their trainer, and for their sake he rather wished that Red allowed himself to take a larger role in their daily lives.

Maybe the could take care of themselves, but it was so much more reassuring to have a sense of direction in their lives. Affection and validation.

Though when it came to protection, Vinnie had always imposed that responsibility on himself.

"Guess everything's been al'right with the guys at home," he assumed. After a small pause, he added, with a bit more hesitation to his voice, "Have y'gotten caught up yet?"

"... Yeah."

The reply was quiet as Red silently moved to sit beside his Venusaur. Instinctively, he tilted his head against his shoulder as if he was tired. He did feel quite weary - there was something in this school that just managed to drain him of his energy. But he took solace in the little moments with his Pokemon, like this.

"Am I doing a good job?"

Red sprang the question out of nowhere.

"As a trainer. Though I don't feel like that much now."

Vinnie blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected such a question to come out of Red, but it only took him a moment to understand why his trainer was feeling such doubt. He'd left to clear his head over the mess of feelings from Valentine's, and then came back to find his starter scarred. It was one thing after another, without respite and impossible to control - the only thing they could do was weather through each coming storm, but even that could begin to feel... well, pointless. Vinnie himself found it hard enough to keep the team together, but the pressure on their leader had to be staggering.

"You'll always be a good trainer," muttered Vinnie as he glanced over at Red. "But there's only so much trainin' can do here."

"Hm."

There's a sigh from Red's end as he just continues to rest his head on that broad shoulder, his eyes closing..

"You guys needed me, so I came back, I don't know what else I can do but be here. I'm not too good anything besides being a trainer."

The Venusaur took a deep breath and stared back out at the new leaves lining the courtyard. As though making up for Red's reserved nature, Vinnie's thoughts all rushed to break out of him, to fill the uncertainty of this silence. Speaking as honestly as he could, he told him, "I know you wanted to work out with Max t'be stronger, but sometimes just strength's not enough. Not by yourself.

"This school's wilder and more dangerous than Silver ever was. There's storms that can't be defeated, or avoided, an' they'll beat us down if we stand alone - but we're not. Every tree in the forest supports each other, as one."

Breathing a small sigh, he added, "But sometimes we forget t'do that. M has his fear and jealousy, Chika'll lock herself in her room an' not say why." With a weak grin, Vinnie confessed, "I'll try t'take everything on myself so I stop feelin' weak...

"Maybe you can't fix our problems - cuz no one can, 'cept for maybe ourselves. But you bring us together." Pause. An uncomfortable look began to seep across Vinnie's expression, a flicker of hesitation as he looked back on all his words. Was he lecturing his own trainer? What was happening to him...?

He swallowed and tried to push the feeling aside before Red could open his eyes again. "Bein' here's enough," he finished, somewhat shakily. "Just... be here for us."

Edited 2012-04-19 09:39 (UTC)

"Hm."

That was all Red was able to say after that long barrage of words. Vinnie was able to articulate things in a way that Red felt like he couldn't do. But he mulled them over, carefully.

What Vinnie said was right. Sometimes he had the habit of simply being too introverted, being too insular. Not really being there, trying to make his presence unobtrusive as possible. But at least for his team, he could be there for them. That was easy enough. In fact, it was the one thing he was sure he was capable of doing.

"Mom said the same thing."

Vinnie smiled weakly back, still somewhat unnerved by himself. It was Sasha's job to do this sort of reassuring thing, wasn't it? Then again, what he said wasn't entirely comforting, nor blindly optimistic - but it was how he saw things, all the same.

"Well. That's probably the first time me an' Ms. R's agreed on anythin', then."

Since they never could manage to see eye to eye about language, tidiness, privacy, hygiene, manners... yeah.

Thump thump thump...

That was a noise. It was on the main quad.

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

What was that noise?

THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP

Oh. It was Sunny Moe running toward Red and hugging him with the vigor and intensity of a Giga Impact. (Except not quite - Sionny loves Red too much to actually hurt him.)

"I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

HE WOULD REPLY.

Red really would reply if he could.

But all he can do is stand there and allowed himself to be hugged. The air was being squeezed out of his chest and he could barely bring himself to vocalise anything, even if he could.

All he did at this point was mutely hug the Snorlax until he decided to let go.

[It was a matter of time really, with the recent events of Marie and Vinnie busting out her relationship, it would be too soon to find either of them telling to Red. She had to bring it up personally.

An unusual hesitant knock was on Red's door. Which is weird sign itself as the Pikachu would have preferred barging in all-together.]

[A knock? Well, that was unusual. At first he thought it wasn't one of his Pokemon, since they could just enter as they pleased. He contemplated not answering but then realised he might as well be polite. So he went to the door and opened it to find...]

Chika?

Can we... talk inside?

[There was no hint of her usual boisterous attitude, no whiny rants, not even a raised up voice. Quite the opposite, she sound quiet- but there was still something firm about her voice.]

Oh... sure.

[Not even missing a beat, Red just moves aside to let Chika in and closes the door behind her.]

[Hesitantly, she entered the room but did not go any further than the now-closed door behind her.]

So I've....

[C'mon girl, spit it out, this is your damned trainer. You can do it]

I... oh screw it, I'm dating someone.

Oh.

[In a way, he was proud of her. Mainly because she had actually come up to him and said it rather than him coming to her after finding out last.]

Who's the lucky one?

....

[It was now or never, girl. At the other hand, Red was someone she could completely trust, she made it this far didn't she? It took a minute or so before she made a hesitant reply;]

A female Arbok. Eli.

Do you like her? Does she like you?

[Simple questions but he felt like he needed to ask them.]

Well she's....

[This is a pretty good question. How do you even describe the Arbok...]

quiet, acts mostly like a predator and all that silent cocky shit, but [sigh] 'course I love her, she's my girlfriend and all.

[A thoughtful look settles on Red's face. Why was he reminded of a story he heard about snakes and mice? He couldn't even remember the story in full but there was just a very slight unease at the analogue between a Pikachu and an Arbok...

But as long as she was happy? Then he'd be fine with it.]

So it's... completely alright, right?

[She needed to be sure, she was always confident Red would accepted her regardless, but the inkling paranoia that he might still ran around her gut.]

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HIS ROOM, 8th

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1/2

2/2

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i am stealing THE HALLWAY. THE 9TH.

steal away m'dear

i am stealing. no bones about it, it is now stolen.

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April 14th!

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wow what even happened here with this tag

i am sorry this tag cannot match the fabulousness of yours

well here is a terrible tag to even myself out

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HELLO I AM LATE, his room on the 10th

NO SUCH THING AS LATE

YOU SURE ABOUT THAT

ABSOLUTELY

WELL OK I'LL JUST TAKE A BAJILLION YEARS THEN

I WILL WAIT FOREVER FOR YOU

OH MY STARS /SWOONED- i mean

I <3 YOU SAFF

and then i literally took forever

i still <3 you

kljflkjds you don't have to ;-; but <333