cianalphaadventure

[cianalphaadventure]

EDIT: This blog is officially closed now i guess haha;;

(( original text in the tags ))

[cianalphaadventure]

(( Being in a car with Clover is great because Clover always brings the beats. ))

[cianalphaadventure]

small hiatus?

(( personal reasons... sorry guys. I will sort things out, just taking a break from replies for a bit >< )) midnighttrainerleah lightlevitations desi-oras-adventure

[cianalphaadventure]

It was sunset by the time Cian found himself, and his Gastly and Gengar, finally nearing Mauville. It had been quite a trek to get there, with so many detours, made for no reason except whim, that Mauville really didn’t seem like the destination at all. Well, he reasoned with himself, he never had a destination anyway. He just needed to find a place with enough people that some of them might be willing to buy his tarot reading service.

As he approached the gate, he spotted a person seated just outside with a group of Pokemon playing with various toys nearby. It appeared to be a girl and her team. Perhaps she would be interested. And if she was, it would be a nice chance to sit and rest.

Geist, the Gengar, jumped up and down when he saw all the Pokemon playing. Spectre just drifted closer to Cian, who was now walking over to the group. Without hesitation, he stopped a short distance from the girl, greeted her, “Hello there,” and sat on the bench, too. Geist immediately ran off to bounce around, wave at the nearest Pokemon, and see who wanted to play with him; he was a ball of energy. Spectre simply trailed behind him, also curious about the other Pokemon.

your journey begins at night. || Closed RP w/ Cian

The sky was prettiest when the sun was beginning to set, they thought. Above them was a pleasant mixing of soft blues and pinks, though it was hard to tell what was a cloud and what was the sky at this point.

Nymph was sitting just outside of Mauville by the west gate, set up on a bench with their camping pack and pokemon scattered about. Nami had wandered off to find berries that trainers left behind on their bushes and Clay hanging to her with long arms around her neck as if she were his mother, though the Slakoth (probably) knew better.

Tempest was just zipping around as she did, using the hoop that Nymph held up as a prop and trying to better her speed and accuracy through that (and then perhaps she would be used in one of their shows in the contest halls). The Masquerain nearly ran into the Grovyle sitting nearby but Genista simply dodged when able or otherwise remained where he was.

But with the sun starting to set, other trainers and travelers were beginning to settle down for the night, either finding camping ground just off the path or heading back into the city for a bed and warm food. And there they were left alone.

[cianalphaadventure]

Cian nodded as he listened to his companion. "I see... That's good." He hadn't expected her to ask anything else, anyway--most people didn't. But he liked to offer just in case. At her uncertainty, he was amused. "Hah, no worries... The reading is only as good as you make it. Your true future is up to you, after all. Sometimes these things can just help you see something you didn't see before..."

At that moment, he finally stopped his mindless shuffling and fiddling with the cards, and turned the deck over in his hand, looking at it fondly. His smile shrank to a mildly puzzled look, though, when he saw the card on the top of the deck: the Moon card, facing him. It seemed that it really wouldn't stop bugging him...

Having made a decision, he took the card from the deck and held it out to Leah. "This card... I want you to keep it." He looked up at her, the smile returning once again to his face. "It's... it suits you." His eyes had turned upward in thought when he paused, then went back to her. After a moment, he quickly added, "Before you ask--it's okay. I have extras of these decks, to be honest... so it's no big deal."

Spectre's grin had grown wider when he noticed Leah's smile. He stared at the card Cian held out to her. Spectre wasn't sure why Cian did this sometimes, giving cards to people, but it seemed like a good thing. It had been a startling encounter at first, but the Gastly liked the girl now--especially if Cian liked her. His smile was impossibly big.

A Vespertine Haunting [Cian|Leah]

“I… Um… There’s… not really, um, not really anything else, n-no…” Leah had found the reading interesting, perhaps helpful too, but she was afraid of letting Cian know too much about her. She didn’t know how this sort of thing worked, or even whether it was just dumb luck that so much of it had related to her, but she didn’t want to chance it. No one deserved to know that much about her, it would only hurt people to know. Though that was under the assumption that they actually cared for her and didn’t just pity her. But still, for safety, she’d keep things hidden.

“It… it r-really was a good reading, though…! I-I think…. I mean I know it was, b-but I… I don’t… know about this s-sort of thing, haha…” She shouldn’t have opened her mouth that time. She wasn’t good at conversation. He’d probably worked that out by that point.

Irina had found the time to shuffle closer during the reading, as she was sat with her chin resting against the end of the bench. It was how she hoped to comfort her timid companion; Irina wasn’t entirely aware of the human concepts of good and evil, and couldn’t help her Trainer with her little internal crisis, or with her poor judgement. All she knew was that Leah was nice to her and kept her belly full and her coat shiny, even though her evolution had frightened the poor girl immensely. That meant Leah was a “good” person, didn’t it? Irina would think so if she understood things a bit better.

Both girl and Mightyena observed Spectre as he flitted around. Irina occasionally barked cheerfully whenever he did something particularly impressive. Leah even found herself smiling again. For a girl so fearful of the world and everything in it, ghosts were quite surprisingly nowhere to be found on her list of frights. They were simply an existence. Perhaps a little creepy, but not inherently frightening. Spectre was a good example of this. From what the pair had seen of him, he was gentle, shy even.

[cianalphaadventure]

Seeing the way Leah was sitting all drawn into herself, and hearing her few comments, Cian felt he understood her a bit more with the help of the cards. He had the feeling there was much more to her than he could see. Her nervous demeanor made him feel a bit of pity, though. He hoped it wasn't him creeping her out.

He picked up the cards and added them back to the deck, shuffling it in his hands as he spoke with a polite smile. "My pleasure. Thank you for opening your heart." For many people, it took courage to accept a reading, after all. "Did it sound about right to you? Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

Spectre, who had been grinning while watching Cian explain the cards, seemed to have warmed up considerably. He playfully flew behind Cian, around, and down, then phased upward through the bench right between Cian and Leah. He looked around at the two humans and Irina as if to ask what they would do next, while his purple gas billowed around him. In the back of his mind, Cian was relieved to see Spectre finally acting less shy even without his usual Gengar companion nearby. He patted the Gastly once before returning to his card shuffling--though, how he was able to touch a ghost that had just phased through stone was a mystery.

A Vespertine Haunting [Cian|Leah]

She watched quietly, mumbling a timid “thank you” following Cian’s assurance. When the cards were out of her hands, she drew her arms in close again. She didn’t want to mistakenly do something wrong and ruin everything. When the cards were spread she looked over them, quickly realising she had’t a clue what any of them meant. It wasn’t like she’d expected to of course, this was the first time she’d had something like this done. Beyond the images and the labels on the cards, Leah was clueless.

That first one. Due comfort? Huh. Did she deserve comfort? Did something, somewhere, think she deserved that? She didn’t think that. Huh? Huh? That one was surprising. But hey, Cian was right, she was at the onsen. Anyway. She didn’t really know what to say about any of it, so she just nodded as he continued talking. Hierophant. It more than likely went unnoticed, but her face paled ever so slightly as Cian spoke about the card. Terror filled her mind as she assumed an impossible worst-case scenario. He knows. Somehow, he knows. A group, a mentor, he knows. He’s going to hate me he’s going to think I’m a bad person he’s - No. No, no. It was impossible. She was overthinking things and that would be more of a giveaway than anything else. Move on.

The next was representative of her fears, apparently. Oh dear. Though for an accurate representation of said fears the card would have to be about a hundred times bigger. And what he said after that… well, he wasn’t wrong. Leah found herself grimacing at the accuracy, in fact. She tried to shift it to at least some sort of smile whenever Cian glanced up at her. Oh, the following one though… Well. She wasn’t so sure what to think about that, and so she just nodded and waited for him to move on. Perhaps she simply didn’t want to think about what she’d freed herself from recently.

Ah. What wasn’t going well. She sighed and nodded again; her luck sucked, that was all there was to it. “I dunno… M-My luck’s always been ab… about the same, t-to be honest…” She spoke in a small voice, not wanting to interrupt Cian’s thoughts with her whining.

She couldn’t help but stare at the final card as he explained it. Her life was always uncertain. She was always anxious and afraid. Held back by fear from the past? Yep, that was her. Never had she been anything but lost and frightened, not since she was young. Did she have reason to be the way she was? Not really, no. And that was why she hated it. She didn’t have the right to be so pathetic. There was nothing wrong with her life, nothing at all. She could have anything she wanted, and instead she spent her time wallowing in self pity. What a disgusting creature she was. But finding her way? Perhaps she’d done that in recent times. Or perhaps she’d made everything worse. Leah didn’t know, and so she sat in silence, looking over the cards again and processing what had been said to her.

“Mhm… I mean, um, it d-did, yeah… th-thank you f-for, um, taking the… the time to, uh, to do that…”

[cianalphaadventure]

Cian watched Leah do as she was told—or attempt to. Now that she was trying to be calm, her trembling was all the more noticeable. In a soft voice, Cian assured her, “It’s okay. The cards will get what they need from you. You did great.” He carefully took the deck back from her, shuffling and cutting the cards with the ease of plenty of practice.

Next, he set out a simple spread of six cards, face up. He took a moment to glance them over, mapping out the results in his mind. This particular deck depicted the major arcana represented by various Pokemon, with heavily symbolic motifs. “Alright then… I’ll explain.”

He pointed to the first card. “The Empress. This card is about you, your current state. The Empress is a motherly card. It’s about nurturing and creating. Maybe you’re due for some comfort, and to get in touch with nature. The onsen is a great opportunity, then.” He flashed her a small smile, then continued. “This card is what you want right now: The Heirophant. This one is about order and tradition. It may mean that you feel the need to stay within socially acceptable bounds, or conform to be part of a group. It could also signify the desire for a mentor, someone who will share wisdom and guide you.” Cian’s voice became a little more solemn. “This next one represents your fears. Temperance indicates balance, moderation, patience. In this case, you might worry that your current peaceful equilibrium will be broken, that you may be struck by chaos.”

He glanced up from the cards to check on her reaction now and then. Sometimes the things he said in these readings struck a nerve in people… He moved on to the next card. “This is something that’s going well for you. The Devil has to do with addiction and feelings of imprisonment, self-imposed. Maybe you’re doing a good job of freeing yourself from what binds you from within. Like breaking a bad habit.” He tapped the edge of the fifth card. “This is what’s not going so well for you. It’s the Wheel of Fortune, the cycle of life. It seems you’re not having such good luck lately. You can’t control it, but the wheel is always turning; it can always change.” When it came to luck, he liked to be optimistic.

He paused when he reached the final card. Illustrated on its face, a few Pokemon gazed up at a Lunatone in the sky. One of them was a Mightyena, he noted. “This is the Moon, representing the outcome of all of this. This card stands for anxiety and fear. You might be held back by your worries, based on fear from the past. You may be feeling lost and uncertain. But, the Moon is also a symbol of illusions. If you can see past your shrouds of fear and the things in your mind that hold you back, you might find your way.” As he explained, he had been looking at Leah, but when he finished, he found himself eyeing the Moon card. He left the cards in their positions so Leah had time to take it in. “I hope all of that made sense,” Cian admitted in conclusion, breaking the serious atmosphere.

A Vespertine Haunting [Cian|Leah]

Almost instinctively she drew in her limbs when Cian sat down. One knee up to her chest with her arms wrapped around it. It was as if she was afraid to take up any space at all. Even so, she continued to watch intently. She’d never had her fortune read before, actually. It was one of the more obscure things on her little list of “things I’d like to do but am too afraid to actually go through with.”

Quietly, with an unsurprisingly shaky hand, she took the cards when prompted. She stared at them, occasionally glancing up at Cian with a worried look on her face. Relax. Relax. …Relax? Oh no. Could she relax? She wasn’t very good at it. Oh no, oh no, oh no oh no she wouldn’t be able to relax and she’d ruin everything like always and she’d upset this poor man who was just trying to be nice and -

…Was she panicking about being asked to relax? Unbelievable.

Leah took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. It almost seemed to work for a moment. Her hands even stopped shaking for the briefest of spells, steady for once in her life. She may not have been a perfect model of relaxation, but she was significantly less panicky than usual.

“R-Right… um, okay, I… I’m sorry, I’m not very good at… at, um, relaxing, but… but this is probably… uh, probably the… the best I can do…”  She offered an apologetic look as she held the cards out for him to take back. It was all she could do to keep herself from slipping back into her nervous state.

[cianalphaadventure]

Desi went off like a landmine of enthusiasm over the show, bringing a little grin out of Cian. It seemed like this guy could get excited about anything, and apparently it was contagious. Not only was Cian amused by Desi’s demeanor, but he’d also just never had a conversation like this. Most people’s interest in him ended after not long.

"Yeah, they were cool,” Cian could only agree, with a slight chuckle, once there was a pause in Desi’s chatter. He nodded at the questions, once again picking which ones he had time to answer. “Yes… I love mysteries. And probably… the shounen ones?” The terms were only vaguely familiar to him, but he was pretty sure that was right. Meanwhile, he figured he ought to get up, finally. He stood from where he’d been sitting on his futon and began to fold it for storage while they conversed.

Glitter and Sweaters [Closed; Cian]

"I’m glad you liked it!" Desi grinned, "The fights and music were soooo cool, yeah!  I loved how the purple girl could stop time and place traps and stuff, and how the yellow and blue girls could pull weapons from anywhere!  And…I guess someone wanted to just make a sad story about magical girls?  It was good, though!" he nodded.  "That purple girl was so cool…and the blue girl…and the red girl….they were all cool!"

"Oh, but you did watch anime when you were younger?” he hummed, intrigued.  ”What sorta stuff did you watch?  Was it like, the action shonen stuff, or the cute shoujo stuff?” he asked, rocking back and forth on his heels.  ”Oh, or maybe you liked the mystery stuff!  Did you like the mystery stuff, Cian?”

[cianalphaadventure]

Little Gengar animation complete with smile

[cianalphaadventure]

Once Leah was settled on the bench, Cian sat down too, leaving a good amount of space between them. Thankfully, she seemed willing to play along. He felt encouraged by her interest. Spectre floated by Irina, watching the case in Cian’s hand intently, excited to have more witnesses to Cian’s talent.

Cian unhooked the toggle closure on his card pouch and removed the deck. At the top of the stack, the back of a card featured an artistic Pokeball insignia depicted in blue. He smiled at the familiar feeling of the cards in his hands, taking a moment to get into his tarot reading mood.

"To begin with… I’ll have you hold this," he instructed, holding the deck out to Leah, "And just relax and root yourself in this moment. Think about what you want to learn from the cards. Once you feel ready, you can give it back to me." He explained more while allowing her time to comply. "What you’re doing is transferring your energy into the cards. You see, I called it a ‘fortune,’ but tarot doesn’t really tell your future. It’s just… looking into yourself, using the cards to show us what you found. And maybe it can guide you in upcoming decisions." The more he spoke, the more he took on a mystical tone to his voice, though it wasn’t a big change from how he normally talked. It had been more of a gimmick at first, but it became part of his routine to ease others into the atmosphere. He watched Leah, hoping this mini-meditation might calm her nerves.

A Vespertine Haunting [Cian|Leah]

Leah watched Cian with wide eyes as she was pulled along to the bench. Not wanting to argue with someone who seemed to only have her health in his best interests, she sat down without a word. It wasn’t as if she’d have been capable of arguing, anyway. She was too tired and too nervous for anything like that.

"…F-Fortune…?" She certainly hadn’t been expecting that. But then again, when did one expect to hear an offer like that? It surely wasn’t often. "I… Um, okay then, if… if you really, um, really d-don’t mind…" Leah was interested, to say the least. It seemed Cian, as well as being kind, was quite a curious individual. The Gastly he had with him hadn’t been a hint to that, apparently. …Although she kept mainly Dark-types herself, so someone with a ghost didn’t really strike Leah as odd.

Irina was distracted from all this though, instead investing all of her attention into watching Spectre bob up and down in the air. When grinned at, the Mightyena responded with an enthusiastic bark. She may not have known what was going on, but she was having fun nonetheless.

[cianalphaadventure]

(( OMG ♥_♥ I got nice art out of the blue I'M SO HAPPY...!! BEST SURPRISE EVER gosh i love your style and your soft colors and the features you put in... those skin tones and THAT CHEEK/JAW OMG /TOUCHES MONITOR LOVINGLY... THANK YOU LEAHMUN AHHH ))

((this started out as emmet but somehow became cian whoops ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

cianalphaadventure I really like his hair))

[cianalphaadventure]

Leah insisted that she was okay, so Cian fully relaxed his hold on her hand. Still, the way she stammered didn't have him convinced that he could let her walk away in her condition. "Well..." Feeling oddly hesitant to send her off in a split-second moment of indecision, he mentally scrambled for some other way to make her feel better. His free hand dipped into the pocket of his sweater, seeking one of the inn sweets he'd slipped in there earlier. Food always made him feel better. He didn't find the candy, though, and with a twinge of regret he recalled that the candy had been swiped by his rowdy Gengar.

Instead, though, his fingertips brushed against a familiar leather case--and an idea sprouted. With newfound confidence, he was able to reply, "Come on, I don't want you to collapse again." He pulled lightly on the hand he had been about to let go of, intending to help her to the bench. "And, since you're here..." He took the case from his pocket and held it out for her to see. The phrase respice, adspice, prospice, was imprinted on its smooth matte surface. Within the case was his tarot card deck. "How about I read your fortune?" he offered. "Just to kill time while you catch your breath."

Spectre's gaseous aura flickered happily; he loved Cian's divinations. (Cian's customers seemed to enjoy the ghosts as an addition to the atmosphere, too.) The Gastly's oversized fangs stuck out of his smile as he drifted up and down. Despite his earlier shyness, he even grinned at Irina, as if to share the excitement.

A Vespertine Haunting [Cian|Leah]

It was alright? Was it though? She’d inconvenienced this person with her presence. Even if he didn’t say that, she knew it was true. She was burdening strangers again. How typical of her. She should apologise, again and again and hope that Cian’s day hadn’t been ruined by her pathetic display.

It seemed Leah couldn’t even hold herself together enough to leave him alone, though. “I… Um, no, I mean…. Uh, I’ll… I’m sure I’ll… I’ll b-be fine, please… don’t worry… um, don’t worry ab-about, uh, someone l-like me…” Ah yes, the stumbling over words would surely convince him she was fine, of course. As well as stamina, she needed to work on getting her stutter in check. Trying to do that never worked out well for her, though.

"I… I’ll b-be okay… Sorry to have, um… to have… c-caused you trouble, please don’t… um, don’t worry…" A pause, followed by a deep breath. "I’m, um, I’m really okay. There’s… no need t-to worry. This sort of thing… i-it happens a l-lot, I’m defini… def… definitely fine…" She was thankful for the concern deep down, but… Well, she couldn’t bring herself to believe she was worth it. Leah couldn’t properly word that, though, so she just offered up a weak smile with her words instead. She silently took note that he’d gripped her hand to steady her, too. Would thanking him be weird? She would have fallen again otherwise.

[cianalphaadventure]

“It’s alright,” Cian insisted gently. She seemed awfully nervous, and he vaguely wondered if he had done something wrong. It didn’t look like she was afraid of Spectre. Perhaps she was just that polite. “Leah. It’s a pleasure.” Cian’s smile widened slightly, but then disappeared when she seemed to stumble as she got up. Well, he couldn’t expect her to be perfectly fine mere moments after such a fall. Plus, he wasn’t even sure what had caused her to faint like that.

He had reflexively gripped her hand to stabilize her, and instead of letting go completely, he suggested, “Maybe you should sit down for a while…” He glanced over to the bench where he had been sitting earlier. Part of him was just glad to, maybe, have company—but he kept that part to himself. Recalling her apparent discomfort, he added, “If you want to, I mean… You should rest.” and hoped that would help… somehow. Spectre simply kept on staring, probably contributing to Cian’s creepiness at that moment, which he was normally okay with, but not when he was trying to make a precarious social connection.

A Vespertine Haunting [Cian|Leah]

She hadn’t scraped all the skin off her nose again when she hit the ground this time. That was good. In fact, it didn’t feel like her face was bleeding at all. That was also good. The only thing that was wrong, as far as she was aware, was the dull thud of slight pain in her forehead. Would it bruise? Leah hoped it wouldn’t bruise, her plain face was battered and scarred enough already without another flaw popping up. But it wasn’t the time to be worrying about that, there was still another person in her company, and it seemed she had indeed made them worry. How typical of her.

"Y-Yes, I… I’m pretty sure I’ll be, um, be fine… S-Sorry, please don’t… don’t worry, I’m… uh, I’m r-really sorry…" How dare she make someone worry about her of all people, it was ridiculous. She didn’t deserve that sort of concern, did she? “Oh, um… Those are, um, n-nice names…  Yes, um, she’s Irina, and I’m… I’m L-Leah…”

Irina barked again, offering her own formal greeting. The strangers seemed nice. At least they were trying to help her friend. Plus the human, Cian, liked petting her. That was always a good thing.

Leah hesitantly took the hand offered to her, pushing herself up off the ground and staggering a bit once on her feet. She was still feeling a bit dizzy, but that was to be expected.

[cianalphaadventure]

Cian raised his eyebrows when Desi gestured widely. "An event? That sounds amazing..." A feeling of regret over missing it lasted only a moment before he realized he had probably slept through it. Sleep was worth it. "I don't think you should worry too much about the glitter," Cian attempted to console his roommate, watching a few sparkling flecks rain from his hair as he ruffled it out. "It kinda suits you..."

Cian's eyes went back to Desi's when he inquired about the previous night's marathon. "Oh... It was awesome." His gaze wandered once again to a piece of glitter on Desi's cheek that was at just the right angle to be persistently sparkly from Cian's point of view. "The witch fights were the best... and the music." Staring at the glitter, he recalled the anime's story, which had admittedly been a lot to take in all in one night. "...But why was it so sad?" He had felt enough emotional attachment to the characters to actually tear up once or twice--something that was rather rare for him.

For Desi's second question, he had to think for a moment. "I watched some a long time ago... Well, if I didn't like it before... I do now," he decided with a small smile. What he'd watched by himself some years ago was cool, but sharing it with everyone had made it a lot more fun.

Glitter and Sweaters [Closed; Cian]

Sparkly?  Oh, drat, so Desi wasn’t just going crazy.  ”O-oh, yeah!” he said quickly, feeling nervous.  ”I went to go check out some event, there was glitter everywhere!" he grinned, waving his arms in the air for emphasis.  "I got covered in it!  And then I went to go take a shower and I guess it didn’t all come off," he pouted.  "It feels weeeeeeird…."

He ran a hand through his hair, shaking out a few more bits of glitter, and picked a speck off his skin before turning back to Cian.  ”Oh right!  I forgot to ask, since we all kinda crashed last night.  How did you like that Madoka show?” he asked curiously, looking all too eager for a positive answer.  He’d liked it a lot, and finding people who liked the same shows he did was always a plus!  ”Actually, do you even like anime??” he pondered aloud.

[cianalphaadventure]

A sense of relief came to Cian as the girl began to stir. In retrospect, though, he supposed it was a bit morbid of him to think she might have been dead. Quickly dismissing those thoughts, he leaned back slightly to give the girl room as she sat up. Spectre flew behind Cian and peeked around his side. The girl insisted she was fine, which Cian wasn't sure he was satisfied with after seeing her face hit the ground, but he kept quiet anyway. Watching her weakly chide her Pokemon, he glanced over her appearance. Most notable were her beautiful, but tired-looking eyes.

When she addressed him again, he nodded, cracking a small smile. "No need to apologize... but are you sure you're alright?" He kept an eye on her condition, and stayed kneeling next to her so she would have a moment to regain her strength. "Ah, I'm Cian, by the way. And this is Spectre." He nodded to the side to indicate the ghost who was now floating behind his shoulder. Spectre let out a quiet, "Gast," of greeting. Then, Cian used his free hand to pat the Mightyena once more, recalling the name she had just mentioned, and continued, "This one is... Irina, you said? And... you are...?" He stood up now, and extended a hand to her in case she wanted help up.

A Vespertine Haunting [Cian|Leah]

Irina was happy; happy that the unfamiliar human was friendly, and happy that her oh-so timid Trainer had brought them on this exciting trip in the first place. There had been so many new sights, sounds, and smells for the Mightyena to take in over the weekend, and she’d loved every minute of it. She nuzzled against the stranger’s hand, enjoying the attention. But alas, the relaxing moment couldn’t continue, as a moment later Irina’s ears pricked up as she noticed Leah’s approach.

Oh. She fell. She did that sometimes. Irina wasn’t overly concerned since she was usually fine, but felt it might be necessary to go check on the girl just in case. It seemed the stranger had had the same idea, as he was already up off the bench to go check on her. The Mightyena barked once to confirm she knew the collapsed girl, then made her way over to the girl in question and sat down by her side.

Down on the ground, Leah was struggling to pull herself back from the brink of unconsciousness. If nothing else, this was proof she really needed to start doing exercise more regularly. When the world around her eventually stopped blurring and shaking, she sort of noticed the unfamiliar person at her side - enough to register their existence but not enough to panic about it - and forced herself into a sitting position in response.

"…I’m… I’m just fine, d…. don’t… don’t worry about, um, don’t worry about m-me… Ah, u-um… Irina, please d-don’t, uh, run away like that…" Her shaky voice, barely louder than a whisper, held the slightest tone of authority as she addressed the Pokemon. Irina just barked again and licked her Trainer’s face.

When she’d completely recovered, she took proper notice of the stranger and the ghost, and squeaked in surprise. “I… Um… Hello. S-Sorry if… if I, uh, made you worry or any, um, anything like that…”

[cianalphaadventure]

Satisfied with the Mightyena's response, Cian happily stroked her head. A Pokemon with fur this soft must be well taken care of, he assumed. While he was enjoying scratching by the Mightyena's ears, Spectre had just about forgotten she was there. Instead, he was staring out at the path at the next unexpected visitor.

Spectre glanced back and forth between Cian and the girl who was running toward them so tiredly that it really couldn't be described as running anymore. Hoping to get Cian's attention, he attempted to nudge his elbow, but Cian could be quite the airhead. Spectre felt panicked when she came closer to them.

It took the thud of her hitting the ground to alert Cian to her presence. "Woah." His hand left the Mightyena's head for the second it took him to assess what he was seeing, then it returned to quickly pat her twice more as he pushed off the bench and hurried over to the collapsed girl. "Is this your friend?" he inquired of the Mightyena. "H... hello?" He hesitantly touched the girl's shoulder, hoping she hadn't just died. He did spend most of his days with ghosts, but this was different. Mimicking Cian, Spectre glided over to the girl and gave her a small worried lick on the hand.

A Vespertine Haunting [Cian|Leah]

Irina observed the ghost and its human, immediately switching to her best behaviour when the opportunity to be petted came up. She sniffed, verifying the human was a good one, and then sat at his feet as if to say “you can totally pet me on the head now, I don’t bite.”

Finally getting closer to her runaway Pokemon, Leah looked as though she was on the verge of passing out when she caught sight of Irina again. Luckily the Mightyena was a little preoccupied by… whoever it was that was petting her. Leah could only hope her Pokemon wasn’t causing that person any trouble.

Coming to a stop a couple of feet away from Irina and the stranger, the redhead opened her mouth and prepared herself to speak, only to be hit by a sudden rush of light-headedness. Instead of stumbling over her words, she instead stumbled over her own two feet and collapsed, face down, on the path. Definitely not her finest moment.

[cianalphaadventure]

What time is it…?

The thought crossed Cian’s mind as he stretched luxuriously. He’d just been taking quite the nap, but he mentally shrugged it off. He was on vacation, so it was alright to relax and sleep. Plus, it wasn’t like he had anything very important to do—except eat. He slowly sat up to find room 203 otherwise empty. Not even his Pokemon were here, but he wasn’t too concerned. The two ghosts weren’t exactly “his” to begin with, but they always came back.

He supposed now that he was up, he should look somewhat presentable even if the day was mostly gone. Taking some accessories from his bag, he twisted up the length of his hair into a simple bun. To secure it, he pushed a hair stick through it, with a spirit-sealing paper talisman hanging from the stick’s left side, and a white chrysanthemum clip for that traditional festival look with a hint of my-only-friends-are-ghosts. Hopefully it was sufficiently pretty to conceal the bed head.

He’d gotten his hair done just in time, it seemed, as the sound of a door opening broke the silence. He turned toward the room’s private restroom to see Desi emerging from a shower, but for some reason, he looked dissatisfied as he closely scrutinized his own skin. Cian stared too, attempting to figure out what he was looking for. He supposed Desi did seem to have an unusual sheen on top of the general brightness he always had... Perhaps sheen wasn’t quite right. Before the word could come to him, Desi finally noticed him with a Desi-typical excited greeting that Cian couldn’t quite keep up with. Instead, he kept his response Cian-typical simple: “Desi. You’re so... sparkly.”

Glitter and Sweaters [Closed; Cian]

While the glitter bath bomb event had been loads of fun, Desi found himself not quite liking the outcome, since it meant he was covered in glitter.  It looked kinda cool, yeah, but it irritated his skin in spots and when he went to shower, he couldn’t get it out.  He didn’t want Aya to ask him question and possibly rat him out, so getting it all washed off was of utmost importance.

As soon as he left the bath, he retreated to the room and took the longest shower he’d ever taken, except that it still didn’t get all of the glitter out.  That, and— wait, was that glitter in his hair?  How had that gotten there!?

By the time he walked out of the shower, he had a look of mild shame on his face, flecks of glitter still pasted to his body.  He was so preoccupied, in fact, that he hardly noticed the other occupant of the room until he happened to look straight at him.

"Oh, hey Cian!" he blinked, breaking out into a wide grin and adjusting his yukata.  "How’s your day been?  Whatcha been up to?  I like your hair today!" he beamed, eyes bright.