Trianna looked in the mirror as she applied her makeup. She leaned over, looking close so that she could apply her eyeliner perfectly.
"I just don't get why he would act that way!" Nessa muttered from Trianna's left. She was applying her blush.
"I mean he knew that I was going to go in my family's traditional clothing, how could he just go and wear Blackthorn warrior robes with Mason like it wouldn't mean anything? Seriously, he's not stupid, he knows the history between my people and theirs. It's just…. sooo ridiculous." She continued.
Trianna rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. If only her problems were so simple. So temporary. She would give anything for something as paltry as that to be her biggest problem.
"Maybe he just wanted to have fun with with his best friend, and didn't actually mean anything by it. I'm sure he didn't even think about the bad blood between the clans, and that was centuries ago anyway Nessa. You weren't alive back then."
"You just don't get it T. You don't have any family. You wouldn't understand."
Ouch. That stung. Nessa probably didn't even realize what she said. But that was classic Nessa, always absorbed in her own world, oblivious to everyone else and their feelings.
Trianna grit her teeth a bit, but didn't see a point in pressing further. Nessa wouldn't see reason. Not that she wasn't smart. She just never seemed to actually comprehend other people. She only listened to them so that she could talk more about herself after.
"What time are they getting here, anyway?" Trianna asked, trying to change the subject.
Nessa put her brush down, tapping her phone screen. "Another thirty minutes. If they're on time. Which Fivel never is."
Trianna was starting to wonder if Nessa ever talked about anything besides her boyfriend. She sure complained about him a lot for somebody she had chosen to be with for years.
"He's got Mason with him. And you know how he is. They'll be here."
"Yeah whatever. Ask if I care. Do you know what he said to me last night?" Nessa continued, oblivious to the sounds of Trianna's brain trying to crawl out of her skull and jump out the window to the comforting embrace of the hard concrete below. "He said, "Nessa, I'm just not sure if I'm ready for something serious." Like are you kidding me? We've been together for three years, and you still don't consider this serious? We went together to his sister's wedding for fucks sake!"
Trianna responded, because she felt like that's what she was supposed to do as a friend. "Wow. Crazy. I feel like he shouldn't have said that."
Did that sound too fake? Trianna struggled to put more than the bare minimum effort into her response.
"I KNOW right? Who does he think he is?"
Trianna struggled to hold back a smile. Didn't even notice.
Nessa continued, somehow talking perfectly fine while applying her delicate layers of powders to get the regal "Ecruteak" look.
"So anyway, T, any news in your love life? Any guys I need to be ready to beat up?" Nessa added with a smirk. "Well, I guess if they tried to break your heart, there wouldn't be anything left of them to beat up. HAH!"
Well she wasn't wrong there.
"Nope. Same old same old. Nothing but creeps, stalkers, fanboys, and the rare socially awkward ex-spec ops. Nobody worth keeping around."
"Please tell me you're saying what I think you're saying." Nessa begged. "Was it Mask? Was it Mask? Oh my god it totally was. HAHAHA." Nessa squealed in laughter, having to stop applying her makeup for a second to properly cackle.
Trianna couldn't help but smile. This was why she liked Nessa. She certainly had a fun energy about her, even if she could drone on about her love life a bit much. And in too much detail. Trianna really didn't need to know the equivalent vegetable. And the angle. Or the vein situation. Like seriously, Trianna tried not to listen, but she could probably draw a life accurate portrait at this point.
Nessa was very thorough.
"Alright well I'm gonna get started on my hair, so I'll head to the other bathroom. Yell if you need me." Trianna moved on.
She was going for a roaring twenty's look. The dragon dynasty had lasted an entire century. The 2000s. But people called them the 20s, for the first two digits of the millenia. Lots of scandalous outfits and media was prevalent during that time. Her hair was going to look spectacular. But hair dryers don't quite mix well right next to the fourteen pounds of makeup Nessa was applying to get the whole "Geisha" look that Ecruteak was so famous for.
Trianna had gotten a gorgeous red dress. It went down to her ankles, but it was split on the sides at her upper thigh, giving her the option to show off her legs. It was strapless, showing off maybe a little more cleavage than Trianna was comfortable with, but today was the Festival of Time, and Nessa had made her buy it when they went shopping together. Something about it looking too good to pass up, and that it was almost enough to make Nessa question her sexuality.
Something about her descriptions of Fivel made Trianna pretty confident that nothing would be able to change her one track mind. She'd decided to buy the dress. Her recent rising in the brackets had given her more money than she had use for, so why not. Besides, she had to agree with Nessa, she did look damn good in this dress.
Trianna looked at herself in the mirror, admiring her work. Her luscious curls looked perfect. Bouncy, soft, but not bulgy.
She went to her bedroom, putting on her dress, then went back to a waiting Nessa.
"You know for somebody who was complaining about Fivel's tardiness, you sure don't seem like you're going to be ready on time." Trianna commented.
"Oh shut up! This is a process. Some of us aren't made as perfect as you T, and we actually need to put work in." Nessa sassily replied, still looking about twenty minutes from being ready, despite the boys being set to arrive in less than five.
"Whatever you say Nessa. I even asked if you wanted to come an hour earlier, just in case."
"No, honestly, this is entirely your fault. If you didn't have those delicious distractions waiting for me on your kitchen counter, I would have been ready by now."
Wait… she didn't mean.
"YOU ATE MY CUPCAKES?!" Trianna yelled.
"Maybe you should have labeled them if you didn't want me to eat them." Nessa replied, nonchalantly, getting started on doing her hair.
"THIS IS MY APARTMENT!" Trianna exclaimed.
"Yeah whatever, miss perfect. Would you be a honey and hand me that hair pin?"
Trianna was going to strangle her one day. Maybe not today. But someday.
The door chimed, letting her know that the boys were here. Trianna went to open the door, greeting Mason and Fivel.
Mason wore traditional Blackthorne warrior robes. The robes were jet black. The shoulder and elbow pads were made of intricate weavings of dark blue scales. The contours along the collarbone and forearms were a deep crimson.
Fivel, on the other hand, wore traditional male Ecruteak garb. His hair was put back in a samurai ponytail, and wore nothing at all related to Blackthorn.
"Nessa is going to be another half hour or so, so you might want to get comfortable. There's some beer in the fridge, and some leftover pizza if you're hungry."
"Hot damn T, you're looking fine as hell!" Mason exclaimed.
"Not too bad yourself. Is Gripo jealous that you dressed up like him?" Trianna replied, laughing. Gripo was Mason's Hydreigon.
Mason's eyes widened. "Oh I'm just worried for when Nessa see's me. Fivel mentioned that there was a little resemblance. If you noticed it too, she might try and make us do photoshoots. Gripo might burn down a building if he has to sit through another one."
"Oh come on. Gripo looked damn cute in that fedora. And what did you expect? You can't have Sinatra night without photo shoots." Replied a voice approaching from the bathroom.
"Nessa!" Fivel exclaimed.
"OH MY GOD. You wore the clothes! Best boyfriend ever!" Nessa yelled, leaping into his arms.
Mason and Trianna shared a look. Nessa wasn't going to shut up about it all night. They could already tell.
"Alright can we get going now, I really don't want to miss the fire show." Mason stated, getting a little tired of Fivel and Nessa making googly eyes at each other.
"Yeah. But first, photos!" Nessa exclaimed, eliciting a groan from both Fivel and Mason.
Trianna had gotten used to it by now.
The streets of Champion's Hold were alive. The entire city was decorated from head to toe. Banners hung down from balconies. Lights were strung from wall to wall. Every district of the city was different too. All decorated for a different time.
The group was walking towards the fire show, which was smack dab in the middle of the Dragon Dynasty district.
As they walked, Trianna could feel the eyes around her. Watching her, evaluating her, imagining things with her. It was hard to describe. If anything, it was like having a layer of slime coating her skin. It felt gross, yucky, but she tried not to pay attention to it. Having her friends around her, laughing, having fun, it helped distract her from it. But it was always there in the back of her mind. Some people, like Nessa, lived for that attention. Trianna wasn't sure how she did it.
Trianna took a look around, hoping to distract herself better.
The theme was dragons, obviously. Blackthorne, Opelucid, Hammerlocke, you name it. Regalia from many different regions, many different times. Trianna admired some Cinnabar Talon gear that a group of teenagers were wearing. Their Charizard squadrons were the most feared of any in the world. Those outfits couldn't have been cheap.
There was even somebody wearing the infamous Cloud Armor, which in legend, had been fashioned from a special Altaria's scales, and was said to withstand all kinds of fire- even dragonfire.
"You're drooling Mason, try not to stare so much." Trianna chided, seeing Mason fixated on the Cloud Armor.
"But… its so gorgeous. I just want to caress those interlocking segments, squeeze the firm scales."
"Ew Mason, if I didn't know any better I'd say you're attracted to dragons." Nessa scolded.
"Only if they're male." Fivel joked, noting how every pokemon on Mason's team was male, and his preference of bedroom occupants.
"Oh shut up. Imagine if they were wearing Meteor Armor, you would have already creamed your pants Fivel." Mason retorted.
"And for good reason! That's armor made from Devon's recycled Metagross plating. There are only three pairs in the entire world! Damn right I would cream my pants if I saw it, let alone got to touch it."
"You're so gross. I'm gonna talk to T now." Nessa grimaced, unhooking herself from Fivel's arm.
Trianna admired the beautiful art hanging from the banners. There was a fantastical painting of Rayquaza, painted in an artstyle she'd never seen before, accentuating the beautiful golden contrails that followed the god of the skies.
"Any potential suitors?" Nessa asked, wiggling her eyebrows. Trianna hadn't even been looking for that sort of thing.
"That guy over there with the neck tattoo is pretty hot. And those arms?" Nessa stated, looking through the crowd for the most attractive looking men to try and set Trianna with.
"I thought you didn't like dragon guys. Said they're too aggressive, too controlling." Trianna replied, barely even checking out the guys Nessa was pointing out.
Nessa didn't really get it did she. This wasn't how Trianna wanted to do this sort of thing.
"Well yeah, but that was before we met Mason. He's such a sweetie. Maybe they're not so bad."
"What if he's the exception to the rule?"
Nessa grumbled. "Fine. Whatever. No dragon guys. Once we get to the tech age I'm gonna start looking again. And I'm gonna make you actually talk to some of them this time. No more lame excuses." Nessa leveled an accusatory finger at Trianna.
"Yeah yeah okay. As long as you're okay if I stop talking to them once I find out they suck." Trianna shot back.
Nessa scrunched her nose. Then, jumping up, a grin stretched across her face. "Deal!"
Admittedly, it was already more than Trianna had agreed to before. Something told her that today might be different.
Nessa jumped onto Fivel's back, trying to get a better view for the fire show. Somebody behind complained, but one look from the six foot three giant with arms the size of cannons shut them up. Fivel was that guy. Nobody ever wanted to start anything when he was around.
Mason poked Trianna's arm excitedly, ready for the fire show to start. Trianna wasn't quite sure why, since Mason's dragons could do things far more impressive, but she wasn't going to try and dampen his mood.
It started with a man juggling two sticks with fire at either end, dancing with two Alolan Marowak who had bone clubs with emerald flames. In the back, there were three drummers, with thick wooden batons, creating deep and powerful tones with each strike. The dancers went through a routine, beautifully spinning the fire like floating light discs. Then, they started throwing the torches between each other as they danced.
Then, out of nowhere, dozens of purple flames lit up along the air in front of the dancers. They began to spin, breaking off into two rings, rotating like hula hoops that had fallen to the ground, the two rings opposite of each other in their rotations.
The dancers continued, speeding up their routine.
The wisps of flames began to stretch vertically, looking like curtains of flame, continuing to circle as the emerald flames of the dancers within continued moving around.
Trianna giggled.
"What?" Mason asked.
"It kind of looks like a bath curtain, and they're all just dancing around in a giant bathtub." Trianna responded.
Mason rolled his eyes. "Shut up, this is the best part."
The purple flames began to swell up, the outer edges bulging out at random like waves, as if it were a balloon, threatening to burst. The purple veil stretched up, meeting together at the top, forming a dome.
Inside, the emerald flames continued to flicker around, swirling in their deadly circles. The purple dome continued to stretch, forming more of a mushroom cloud like form.
The drums continued to pick up the beat, going faster and faster.
Right before the peak, as the purple flames swelled to their greatest form, as the drummers made their finale, a brown form blurred forward across the stage.
Somebody chased it, yelling "Circe!", and was only a few paces behind.
The brown form cleared the stage right before the massive explosion. The person chasing it, not so much.
Smoke covered the stage, and the audience was left in a hush as they tried to comprehend what just happened. Trianna leapt into action, releasing her Azumarill. She normally liked having a belt with all her pokeballs, but her dress had stopped her. Instead, she only had one shrunken pokeball at the end of her necklace, with one of her most reliable pokemon, Zumie.
Trianna rushed towards the stage, pushing past the shocked crowd.
The smoke had cleared enough that Trianna could see a humanoid figure, covered in flames, frantically slapping at their sides to try and put the fire out.
Azumarill, picking up on the dire situation, quickly dosed the figure with sparkling fairy energy laced water, in hopes of putting out the fire, as well as mitigating damage from the burns.
The figure coughed and sputtered from the water that had gotten in his mouth. Trianna could tell it was a he now, his shirt had burned off.
And on his skin, there weren't any burns. Trianna narrowed her eyes. That could only mean one thing.
"Are you okay? Any burns?" She played dumb. No point in revealing to a stranger what she knew about aura. She didn't need to hint at who she was.
The figure laughed, wiping some soot off of his skin. "I guess not. Whew, I'm glad I remembered to wear sunscreen."
Trianna rolled her eyes. Oh he was so full of shit.
Wait… Maybe he was fishing to see how much she knew about aura, and wasn't going to reveal anything until she did. Or maybe she was thinking too far into it, and he was just making a shitty joke.
Okay then.
An olive branch, to see what he would respond with.
"You know I hear Champion Alder doesn't burn from fire either. Maybe you're one of his long lost children?" Trianna added.
Would he bite? Would he deflect? He was clearly an aura user, but there were plenty of kinds of aura users who could withstand flames. Fire was the obvious one.
"I hear he also takes bathes in lava. Not really my scene, to be honest. I rather like having my skin and bones." The mystery man responded, examining his pants for holes.
Deflection then. Witty. Avoiding revealing any information, while still keeping the pretense of having answered the question.
Trianna then remembered that they were on top of the stage, feeling the eyes of everybody behind her.
The smoke cleared, showing the man having survived, and unscathed. They cheered for Trianna and the man, apparently assuming that it was part of the show.
"Wow! Thank you, thank you!" The man bowed to the crowd, going all in. "And I couldn't have done it without my wonderful partner, how about a round of applause!" He yelled, raising Trianna's arm into the air.
Trianna's cheeks were flaming red. This was not where she wanted to be right now.
"And of course, Azumarill, we couldn't have done it without you." Zumie, ever the performer, shot out glittering mists of water into the air, following the man's lead.
"There will be book signings out back, and uh free third degree burns if you want them." He was rambling. "Remember to say hi to the drummers, they worked really hard. And thanks for coming!" He rallied, earning one final cheer from the crowd before he looked back to Trianna.
She shot him a look, as if to ask "what the fuck was that?".
The mystery man simply smiled and shrugged, apparently not quite sure himself.
Shit! Trianna was supposed to be finding out how he came out of the fire completely unscathed! She hadn't met many aura users with that strong of an attunement. In fact, in Starfall, there were less than ten people that she knew of that could have come out of fire that hot without any burns. And he wasn't one of them.
Using the distractions, the man began to slip away, probably looking for the brown creature. Trianna hastily returned Zumie and began to chase after him, needing answers.
"Hey wait!" She yelled, trying to make her way through the tide of bodies in the way. The crowd was now trying to leave, all heading off in multiple directions. It wasn't too hard to see the mystery man, however, as he was shirtless, and constantly having to stop in his search to shake the hands of people around them and thank them for coming to the show as they approached him. Apparently he still saw the need to play the part, for some reason.
She finally caught up to him, right as he was with her own friends. Fivel stood out like a sore thumb, and the man shook both his hand and Nessa's, who was still on Fivel's shoulders.
"Hey you're Red right? Oak's field researcher." Mason asked.
How would he…. right. Mason was a floor leader. He was close enough to the top that Taimu was a regular conversation buddy. He would know a lot more than Trianna about what went on in Starfall.
A field researcher for Oak? This could be Trianna's out. Oak could do it. He had crazy influence. Oak was the bogeyman, nobody said no to him. When he wanted something done, it was done. There were only a handful of people with that much influence. And even then, they were usually tied to just one region. Oak had his fingers dipped in pies all around the world.
Trianna's spirits soared. This might be her out. A way to finally be rid of her problems. And all she had to do was get chummy with the field researcher.
"Hey guys! Mason, you know this flaming idiot?" Trianna interjected, joining the conversation.
"Oh my god T! What a hero! You were so fast." Nessa chimed in.
"I have a feeling Tarzan would have been fine either way." Mason eyed the shirtless figure, noting the defined muscles and unblemished skin. At least in some places. There was still soot where the water had missed. But the parts where Azumarill's sparkling aria had washed the soot away looked spotless. Soft.
Trianna shook herself, keeping herself on track.
"Speaking of which, why aren't you burnt? Mason might be able to take a hit like that, but not many can." Trianna added.
Take the bait. Take the bait. Trianna had offered up that Mason was clearly an aura user, and a competent one. That would only be enhanced by the fact that Mason knew who he was, which not many should. Maybe. Trianna was less sure on that. But either way, she'd basically just stated that some or all of them are clearly experienced aura users. How would he respond?
"That's pretty neat. There can't be too many ways to be resistant to heat. With the dragon garb, I'm guessing you're clearly one of those aquatic types. Maybe even a model, like Misty, with that jawline." He replied.
Trianna groaned internally. He was good at playing dumb. It was easy to spot that he wasn't being serious from what he was saying, but his tone and posture would tell you otherwise. Hell, he clearly put together that Mason used dragons, with that lead up, but chose the worst possible answer from the lead. It had to be intentional.
Mason shook his head. "Not quite. Close though." He noted, giving Trianna the side eye, wondering why she gave that information away.
"Well Red, I'm Fivel. Nice to meet you. " Fivel said, reaching out his hand.
Oh god. Fivel was going to do his typical power play when meeting new people. He would show off his incredible strength, nearly crushing Red's hand, ruining Trianna's chances.
"Likewise." Red replied, taking the handshake confidently. For a second, they seemed to be internally locked in an intense battle. Then, Fivel let go, first, laughing. Trianna could swear she saw a hint of brown energy coming from Red's hand, but it could have been a trick of the light. Fivel never let go first. What was going on?
"Quite a grip you've got there Red." Fivel mentioned, stroking his knuckles.
"Thanks. I think it's the pilates." He replied, looking back at Fivel seemingly unassumingly. Trianna could tell he was more on guard now, though. It was in the glint in his eye. Something dangerous. It was his smile. His smile didn't reach his eyes anymore.
Trianna needed to salvage this.
Mason stepped in. "So Red, it must be nice, being back in civilization. What did you miss the most?"
Back in civilization? Trianna wondered if the Tarzan comment earlier had been referring to more than just Red being shirtless.
Red's face betrayed no fear, but Trianna's instincts told her they were cornering a dangerous animal. She needed to fix this before he lashed out or got scared off.
"Alright guys, let's hold back on the interrogation. It's the Festival of Time after all! Hey Red, how about we go find you a new shirt, and maybe some ice cream to cool off." Trianna flashed the most innocent grin she could manage and held out her hand.
Red looked back at her, glancing back to Fivel and Mason, who were both still looking somewhat apprehensive, and eyed her hand.
"You know what, sure. But only if you can help me find my stupid Eevee." He replied, taking Trianna's hand and leaving the group.
"You lot be good, I'll meet up with you later at my apartment." Trianna said towards the group.
Fivel looked like he wanted to interject, but Nessa slapped him on the side of the head before he could say anything. She whispered into his ear. No matter their small fights, Nessa supported her. Trianna really did appreciate that.
"Yeah sure thing T, maybe try Snowpoint Cones, they've got the best soft serve!" Nessa interjected, waving Trianna away.
The two walked the other direction, joining the mass of people walking around the streets.
They bought Red a shirt from one of the random street vendors. The design had Dialga on it, with the phrase "If only I had the time." It was cheesy, but it was a shirt. That's all he needed.
Trianna spoke up. "So what happened to your Eevee?" Who was this man? How could he withstand fire, yet train something like an Eevee? Maybe it was new. Most people would have evolved theirs by now. Maybe it was just a companion pokemon?
"Well she was doing fine, but she got scared by the fireworks. Apparently running off towards fire was a comfort, at least more so than exploding lights. I had to chase her for a couple blocks before I ended up accidentally joining the fire show."
The man grabbed a pokeball from his still intact belt, releasing a small red and black fox.
"Alright Myst, look for Circe. Bring her back to the tower if you do." He said. The Zorua yipped, and then melted into the shadows.
First the Eevee, and now the Zorua. He sure didn't seem to train that advanced of pokemon. Sure, Zorua was rare, but Trianna knew of a handful of rangers that had Zoroark already, and they couldn't utilize aura for shit.
"Wow. Traveling through shadows is pretty advanced, you must be a strong trainer. Are you part of the battle tower?" Trianna asked, still trying to find out everything she could. Anything she could use.
Red stopped, looking up to the banners above. They'd reached the spot where there were depictions of the Hoenn legends.
There was the Rayquaza with golden entrails. Beside it was a portrait of a silver Metagross, with somebody standing confidently on top of it, facing off against an unseen foe alongside two Skarmory.
Trianna wondered if he was going to ignore her question, and simply try and do a lame segue like oh boy those paintings are so beautiful, but not as beautiful as you, or one of its other thousand lame iterations.
"Sure, I dabble in battling. Had to take a couple months off for personal reasons, but I'm getting back into it." He idly mentioned, eyes wandering between different portraits.
He pointed off towards a painting of Kyogre and Groudon battling. "I like that one. The way the backdrop is shadowed to portray water and fire as different collections of blue and red turned out amazing. Plus, the middle bit starts to have some green bleeding out, hinting at something more. Which one is your favorite?" He'd turned to Trianna while saying hinting at something more. Was he saying that he knew she was trying something? Or was that a coy attempt at a pickup line?
She couldn't read him. Not like everyone else. He kept avoiding the standard pitfalls of the archetypes she was used to.
"I like the one of Rayquaza. I've never seen such detail put into the golden contrails, and it just makes me want to see the majesty of a Legendary even more." Trianna replied, honestly. She'd considered trying to come up with the best portrait to use to fish more information out of him, but she decided to play along instead.
"Yeah that one's pretty cool. Old Ray Ray looks pretty fancy in that one. So you're into Legendaries?" He asked.
Great. Somehow this had turned into Trianna opening up, rather than him. How did that happen?
"I guess. They've always fascinated me since I was a kid. Their power. Their elegance. It's everything I wanted to see in myself." Why was she opening up about her past? It was coming out so easily.
"I get that. Legendaries have a sort of esoteric beauty that doesn't compare to anything else. I'm more a fan of Sinnoh's than Hoenn, but the weather trio aren't bad. So you're a trainer then?" He asked.
Having stated she valued power and elegance, it wasn't that big of a leap. She wasn't sure how she would steer this back towards him, but she couldn't afford not to answer if she wanted to get closer to Oak.
"Yeah. I guess Zumie must have given that away." Trianna replied, noting the pokeball on her necklace. "Mason said you were a field researcher, what's that like?" She continued as they walked.
"Ah right the dragon fanatic. Well surprisingly, there's really not much to it. I kind of do my own thing, with Oak as my sponsor, and just give him check ups every once in a while on what I've been working on."
Damn. Red was somehow an expert in spouting off words that ultimately didn't tell Trianna anything.
"So you do talk to him, at the very least. What's he like?" Trianna continued.
"Well he's an asshole, for one. Other than that, he's a dick. But he's not so bad. He's just more scientist than professor, too much of the time, if that makes sense."
It didn't. Probably. Trianna thought about it. Maybe it just meant Oak, it was weird to refer to him so informally, was a very calculating person. Somebody who was looking too much for answers, and not bothering to question how he went about getting them?
Trianna shivered, wondering if that could describe her as well.
"I think I might know somebody like that." Trianna replied. "It can't be easy, working with somebody like that."
Red cocked his head to the side and shrugged. "It's not so bad. It can just be a little exhausting at times. So T, you sure haven't done well on your promise to help me find my Eevee." He continued, changing the subject.
Trianna nearly stumbled in her step. Her heels were starting to get uncomfortable, but she had almost forgotten why they had met in the first place. It was like she was bombarded with new information every second, all of it with so many potential explanations, that it was almost difficult to keep track of.
"Well the rest of my pokemon are at my apartment, if you want me to actually be able to help." Trianna responded.
"Damn, not even an hour after we met and you're already inviting me up to your apartment? Keep it in your pants lady. At least buy me dinner first." He nonchalantly responded, continuing to admire the cityscape.
Seriously, Trianna was wearing the hottest outfit she'd worn in months, and this man had hardly even glanced at her. Was he gay? He'd mentioned Mason's jawline.
But he'd also checked out Nessa, Trianna had seen that. Maybe he only liked asian chicks?
Was he being this frustrating on purpose? If he was, Trianna didn't like how much it was working.
He turned back to her with a sly grin, noticing her fuming. "What? Not a fan of Russian Hardbass?"
Trianna's mind blanked. What was he… oh. The music. She normally was able to pay attention to everything around her. She'd been too distracted to notice the music at all.
"Oh you mean the Northern Sinnoh Pop? It's not terrible, but I'd never listen to it on purpose. What's Russian Hardbass?" Trianna responded, going back on autopilot.
Red's eyes seemed to flash a momentary panic, but again it was so brief Trianna wasn't sure if she just imagined it.
"Oh I guess it's just a Galarian rip off of Northern Sinnoh Pop. To be honest I've only heard it in passing." He replied. "So what kind of pokemon would you be able to help me search for Circe with?" He asked.
For somebody with a lost pokemon, he sure didn't seem that worried. Was he that irresponsible? Did you not care about his Eevee's well being? Or was it something else?
Trianna also mentally facepalmed. Why did she suggest that before? If he'd seen her battle before, then it wouldn't be very hard to put together who she was from the pokemon she suggested. She was the only specialist of her type in Starfall's upper echelon of battlers.
"Penelope, my Gardevoir, might be able to help. It's easier if she has an impression first." Trianna would leave it at that. Gardevoir was common enough.
Red stopped in his tracks.
Was it something she said? Maybe he thought she was that kind of pokemon trainer. Plenty of those trainers liked to train Gardevoir. Did she give off that vibe? Did people still judge people for those kinds of decisions? Trianna personally didn't care what choices people made, even if it wasn't quite in her wheelhouse.
Instead, as Trianna got closer, she realized Red was staring at something. Oh my god he was staring at a miniaturized globe of Champion's Hold.
"What?" She asked.
"What do you mean what? How did they get everything to look so real? The snow is incredible. There are interactive tiny figures that aren't moving in set patterns. Is it just a hyper realistic screen? Do they just have some kind of miniaturization? Do psychics make art like this easily? Do they have a porygon running all the figures?" He asked, pointing at the Staraptor gliding through the snow above the buildings.
Trianna stopped to think. Every single time she thought she was getting a better understanding of Red, he would say or do something to throw her off. Not just a loose shake, but a buck from a Mudsdale, throwing her to the ground to make her start all over again.
"I guess I've never really thought about it. Does it matter?" She asked.
"Not in the slightest. I'm just curious. It looks cool." He responded, giving her a warm smile.
Trianna wasn't sure what to do. Did she still want to try and use Red to get close to Oak? Everything he said or did seemed to aggravate her or leave her wanting more. Every interaction gave her more questions. Trianna hated having questions she didn't know the answer to.
Plus, there were still the odd comments that Mason had made. Tarzan? How did that fit in?
He was an anomaly.
"So was that a no? Penelope might be your best bet to find Circe. I can also contact the patrol rangers." She continued, going back to her earlier question, that Red, like a puppy being distracted by a squirrel, had completely ignored.
"Eh. It'll be fine. Myst'll take care of her. He knows what he's doing." Red responded. "Now, there was mention of ice cream." He looked back at her, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
Trianna stumbled again. Void types were notoriously unstable and untrustworthy. Zorua was a first stage evolution. Not only should it be childish, reckless, and very much untrustworthy, it also shouldn't be very capable. Yet Red seemed to trust it with the life of his Eevee. Either he was a terrible trainer, or a really good one.
Again, Trianna was left with more unanswered questions. This was truly aggravating.
"You good there? We can trade shoes if you want. Although I'm not sure if they'll fit me." Red continued, noticing her misstep.
"It's fine. My feet are just a little sore. And ice cream sounds lovely. We're actually pretty close to Snowpoint Cones." Trianna said, recovering.
Snowpoint Cones was themed from a city in Sinnoh, way up in the mountains where snow was a constant. Outside, a statue of a Lopunny enveloped in black jacket and bright pink pants was skiing, goggles tight around the eyes with ski poles in hand. There was a line extending out the door, which Trianna with Red in tow shuffled through the crowd to get to the back of.
"You ever been?" He asked, pointing towards the pictures of Snowpoint, where the night was alive with the brilliant lights of a city entombed in snow.
Trianna didn't think the question was out of line, but it irked her. He couldn't have known that it is a sore point for her, and she didn't want to reveal that it is a sore point, but she still didn't feel like responding. Uneasiness rose in her chest. She tried to cast it aside. This was the Festival of Time. She should enjoy herself. She was getting ice cream with a cute guy. She could try to forget her troubles, just for one night.
"No. I'm not sure the cold would suit me." Ice was something to be conquered. To be controlled. Not to be enjoyed. Not that Trianna didn't understand the sentiment. Maybe if she ever got the chance to explore the real world, she might try Snowpoint. After thirty other places, of course. She would love to see Sunyshore. Cerulean. Indigo Plateau. Hammerlocke. It was a long list.
"That's too bad. Skiing and snowboarding can be really fun." He noted, continuing to look around at the picture littering the walls.
Trianna found herself fixated on a couple in the corner. They were hiding behind a newspaper, with four holes poked through the paper. They weren't very good holes either. Hastily made. One was torn apart, showing off the nose and ear of the person on the left. They weren't being conspicuous at all.
She recognized them instantly, facepalming internally.
Red seemed to notice her embarrassment, and his eyes flicked between her and the newspaper. His face lit up and he seemed to be holding back a laugh. "You seem pretty close with your friends." He noted.
"A little too much at times. Like this."
He turned towards her, blocking Trianna from the prying eyes of Nessa and Fivel. "Well, if they're so committed, want to mess with them?"
Trianna's eyes lit up. "Like what?"
"I don't know, they're your friends. We could make a scene. Something that'll throw them off. Any suggestions?" He replied with a smirk.
Trianna's grin resembled a Cheshire cat.
"How's your acting? I've got something in mind."
~~~~~~~~Starfall~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~Starfall~~~~~~~~~~
"Sshhhhhh" Nessa whispered.
Fivel looked back at her perplexed. "We're all the way across the room, there's no way they could-" Nessa cut him off by shoving her hand over his mouth. The motion almost made Fivel drop his side of the newspaper. Almost. He was too composed for there to be any real danger. He was a man on a mission.
"It doesn't matter. I'm trying to concentrate here. What do you think they're talking about?" Nessa asked.
Fivel's face was freed of Nessa's grubby fingers as he was given permission to speak. "I don't know. T likes to talk about battling. And making fun of other people. So maybe one of those?" He offered.
"No way. Those are just the things she talks to you about. Give me some real suggestions." Nessa replied, eyes staring through the holes in the newspaper as if they were binoculars.
Fivel noticed how people in the adjacent tables were giving them odd looks. "I don't know, maybe they're talking about movies." A snotty kid at the table next to them stuck his tongue out at Fivel. "I feel like there are better ways we could have done this." He admitted.
"Oh hush. My methods get results. I bet they're talking about art. Or music. Whenever T gets stuck, her mind wanders to one of those."
Fivel noticed Red cover T from their sight with his back.
"I think they're onto us."
"No way. I'm invisible. Trust me, I'm a pro at this." Nessa replied, oblivious to the comments about her and Fivel coming from the table next to them.
Then, T walked around to get a glass and a metal spoon from the vendors. She clinked them together, trying to get everybody's attention.
Fivel questioned why they would have a real glass or metal utensils, as he was given a plastic cup with a plastic spoon, but was shaken from his thoughts as Nessa interjected.
"What's happening? What? Who? WHy? T hates attention. What is she-?" Nessa seemed to be going through every single stage of grief, even though T had yet to say anything.
The girl in the red dress continued to clink her glass until everybody was silent. Then, she began. "I just wanted to get everybody's attention for this special moment. I knew my family would disapprove, so I had to hide my love from the world."
Fivel snorted. T didn't have a family. Looking over, though, Nessa was entranced. Hanging onto every word.
"I've been secretly seeing somebody for the last three years. Today, finally, I'm ready to confess my love to the world. Screw my family! I don't want to be shackled by my fears any longer! Red, will you marry me?!" She yelled out, going down onto one knee. She pulled out a pokeball, cupping it with both hands as if in offering.
"OH MY GOD, T!" Nessa wailed, tears streaming from her eyes.
Red walked up, hands covering his mouth in shock. He bent down to accept the pokeball. Everybody was on the edges of their seats, waiting for him to open the pokeball and grab the ring. They were starry eyed, entranced by the gesture.
Then, he palmed the pokeball, ripping it from her grip, turned on his heel and booked it out the door.
"WAIT!" T yelled, ripping off her heels to chase after him. She barreled through the people streaming through the door, chasing after the mystery man with a Dialga shirt who had seemingly stolen an expensive engagement ring and dipped.
"WHAT?!" Nessa slumped down onto her knees, unsure how to react. She was sniffling, trying to deal with the rollercoaster of emotions.
Fivel was torn between trying to console Nessa and chasing after them. In the end he decided to kneel beside his girlfriend, rubbing her back with his palm.
"I just… I thought… T… I…" She mumbled between sobs. Fivel patted her back reassuringly. "I know. I know." He most certainly did not know.
He didn't understand why Nessa always got so lost in the moment. She knew that T didn't have a family. Not anymore. Yet when her emotions got the better of her, she seemed to lose all knowledge of the past. Mason had pranked her many times due to her gullible nature.
This was a first for T. Fivel wondered what had gotten into her. He held back a laugh. For her first prank, it certainly wasn't too shabby.
He took a second to look at the other occupants of Snowpoint Cones. They were bewildered, unsure how to continue after seeing that. There was a noticeable amount of ice cream that had been dropped to the ground in pure shock, that some employees were working to get cleaned up.
If that didn't teach Nessa to stop meddling in T's love life, Fivel wasn't sure what would.