route_1065 | Hey I just met you, and this is crazy...

Korra yawned, stretching out an arm as she did so. She'd stretch both if one of her arms wasn't occupied holding her Gible, Taring, on her shoulder as he was wont to do. She couldn't really understand her Gible's fascination for wanting to be on her shoulder, but it's not like she could complain. Better he be out and about than stuck in that small pokeball of hers.

Seemed like a good day today, but as it was still midmorning... well, morning any form was sort of evil, but the buzz of the crow around her kept her mostly awake.

Korra wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings. Naga the Cubchoo was doing a good job leading her little pack as she sniffed at the ground and walked forward. Beside the Avatar waddled her Combusken, Agni, and her new, rather large teammate: Tenzin the Skarmory.

It was just her usual routine walk, of course. And giving her legs a stretch was always good practice, Korra thought.

He noticed the bird, first. It was really, really hard not to, the way it towered easily over the crowd that parted before it. His eyes caught on its long, proud beak, down its arched neck to the girl that led it. And oh, he recognized her! It was the girl he'd met over the poke-gear.

In fact, he also recognized the person-who-wasn't-a-person that was sneaking towards her, cloaked in an illusion. Oh, crap.

He surged forward, charging through the crowd. He had to get to her before Zorua did! Why did that stupid fox always have to pick the hard targets?

Too late.

It wasn't until someone so rudely bumped into Korra that she quickly registered what was going on. Her Skarmory squawked in alarm while Taring let out a brief cry. She briefly saw a flash of red past her, but a bump like that could only mean... her hand moved to where her wallet should be...

Nope.

"Hey!" Korra cried out at the person that tried to disappear in the crowd. She briefly set her Gible down before quickly giving chase to the pickpocket. As she went full sprint, she quickly caught up to the criminal even through the crowd, and--

Huh?

That red hair... Korra couldn't believe it. Really? Really? With renewed vigor, Korra closed the distance between her and "Luke" before reaching out a hand to grasp one of his forearms, and pull him back so that his face could soundly meet with her fist.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Luke?!"

'Luke' hissed when Korra's hand wrapped around his bicep like a vise, and the illusion flickered under pressure. Where he turned his head to look at her, there were red spots at the inner corners of his eyebrows, red covering his eyelids--his eyes themselves were an unnatural blue.

And then her fist impacted.

The illusion gave away completely, leaving Korra holding one KO'd Zorua. Her wallet clattered to the ground, wisps of Illusion-smoke curling around it.

"Zorua! Stupid thing--"

He was gonna eat it now, wasn't he.

The real Luke emerged from the crowd, elbowing some passers-by aside in his rush.

"Korra, it's not...did you knock out my pokemon?!"

Well, if he wasn't flabbergasted before...

Korra had to do a double-take. She had hit something, alright, but the person - or rather Pokemon - she thought she socked in the face hung limply as she held him by the scruff of his neck. Had she just--

Great. She punched a Pokemon in broad daylight, in a crowded street.

Her sense of guilt and embarrassment were soon pushed to the back of her mind as she heard a familiar voice. Her temper flared as she turned to face Luke... before he mentioned his Pokemon.

"What? No, I did not; he could take a hit, right?" As if to prove her point, Korra lightly shook the Zorua in her hand, but... nope. No other movement. Double embarrassment, double the spike in her in her irritation as she rounded on Luke once more.

"And don't you dare say it's totally my fault! Why was he trying to steal from me in the first place?" Her tone highly accusatory and suspicious as she continued, "Not to mention he was using your disguise."

There was a moment's pause as Luke, dumbfounded, watched Korra shake his unresponsive Zorua. The scene would almost have been funny if not for the murmurs he could hear from the crowd behind them. Acting quickly, he unfastened Zorua's ball and warped the little guy back inside before--and then Korra was in his face, towering over him despite a height disadvantage (the magic of anger, he guessed), and goodness gracious he'd never noticed how big her arms were before now.

Yikes.

"Because he likes--money! Jewellry." Wow, this was sounding terrible. "Shiny stuff." It was the first thing that came to mind, but Luke seized onto it as a viable option. "And getting me into trouble. He can use different shapes, but mine's easiest for him to mimic."

There. That was a good lie, and while he'd never been subtle, the worry in his gaze could be attributed to the fact he just saw her sock his pokemon in the eye (while said pokemon was disguised as himself, no less), and the tension in his body to being accused of thievery. Because who would wanna be accused of theft?

Not Luke, that's for sure.

All throughout Luke's hurried explanation, Korra was narrowing her eyes down at him. She silently sent his Zorua an apology when the little fox was recalled back, but something about Luke's answer seemed... off. Until he mentioned the trouble bit.

Now Korra's temper simmered down to mere annoyance as she backed off and crossed her arms. She also noticed her three Pokemon managed to catch up to them, but her gaze solely focused on the redhead in front of her.

"Yeah, well... He would've been disappointed. I don't have much on me," Korra admitted almost bashfully. Hey, gathering a team was expensive work, but she still tried to manage. "But I suppose he'll learn not to try that with me. Got that?"

"I think he got it, yeah," Luke answered dryly, looking down at the pokeball in his hand. His gaze rose back up to her face, which at least looked less like she was going to rip him a new hole now. Feeling the tension drain, he shifted his weight back on his heels.

He looked over her team, eyes a bit wide as he took in the giant metal bird again. He was increasingly glad that she'd chosen not to go the path of altercation; he doubted his Snubbull and Magikarp could've done the job.

"How do you feed all of them?" He asked breathlessly, eyes still locked on the Skarmory. "And what is that?"

"Huh?" Was Korra's smart response back as she gently tried to bat her Skarmory's beak from her face as the bird was worried about what had gone on. Her Gible waved his arms as a clear sign he wanted to be back up on her shoulder, while her Combusken and Cubchoo were giving Luke their most intense stares... well, as intense as an orange bird and a small bear with a runny nose problem could manage, anyway.

"It's a Skarmory," Korra finally properly answered as she hefted her Gible back onto her shoulder easily. "As for feeding them... well, why do you think I have most of them out? I let them get their own food, or help out if they need it."

He watched her pry her Skarmory's beak away, thinking of how strong a peck from a bird that big must be. Not just the bird, either, but a...shark, too? It looked like some kind of lizard, but with a huge mouth--one full of sharp teeth, at that. Then some kind of orange chicken and a bear, which were staring him down; there was a distinct lack of intimidation going on, though, so he just ignored it, eyes sliding back to Korra when she started to talk.

It honestly didn't occur to him to just let his pokemon get their own food: Zorua was a human half the time anyway, so they just split portions at eateries or in the cafeteria. Bruiser and Fish (and Zorua when he was unshifted) got the standard-issue Rocket kibble, or his scraps. He'd usually feed Fish in a sink or something; days would go by when he'd forget, but she never seemed to mind too much. He'd never actively taken care of anything before.

"There isn't that much to forage in the city, is there?"

It was an obvious observation: if they were out to scavenge, wouldn't doing it on the routes be better?

Korra couldn't help herself - a snicker escaped her at his clinical observation. Well, at least he wasn't that slow on the uptake.

"No, but there's some pretty interesting things that they can find if they're curious enough, actually." Korra replied before she reached up to Taring and held out one of his hands, "See this little claw here? Little guy sniffed it out when he was digging around some rocks. I think it's actually made him attack a bit faster than normal."

Indeed, held in one small blue hand is a Quick Claw. As Korra began her little explanation, Tenzin the Skarmory began slowly shifting towards Luke, eyes peered intently at his brightly colored red hair.

"If you wanted to rustle up some food for your Pokemon, you'd have better luck out in the routes nearby," the Avatar continued, unaware of her Skarmory's odd interest. "It's what I was on my way to do before your... Zorua interrupted me."

Haha. Yeah. "Interrupted."

Luke has no idea that Tenzin the Skarmory is creepering on him. In fact, he kind of welcomes the big guy getting so close, because hey, he's cool-looking and Luke can inspect him from up close.

"They can find stuff..." He contemplates letting Bruiser out of her ball, but ends up deciding against it. "Guess I should have Zorua do that, maybe it'll keep him busy." He says it dryly, glancing down at the pokeball containing his knocked-out partner. He looks back at Korra.

"Can I come with you?"

Fresh air's always welcome, after all.

Also he's about to get pecked, isn't he.

Pretty much.

Right before Korra could give her answer, Tenzin lurched forward, taking a hefty amount of Luke's red hair in his mouth and tugging back. Whoa! This hair is really attached to this human!

His action caused the Avatar to nearly jump and drop Taring yet again before she gave the Gible for her Combusken to hold.

"Tenzin! Come on, boy, don't do that-- and whatever you do, Luke, don't move around so much! Watch the beak!" Korra cried out as she tried to wrest her gigantic metal bird off of the poor redhead.

Luke screamed.

I was a manly sound! Full of grit! And also primal, reverberating pain.

(No actually it was more like a little girl scream. Same diff.)

With several locks of his hair in Tenzin's beak, he was effectively trapped, but that didn't stop him from squirming under the horrific pressure at his scalp.

"What do you mean don't move?! Get your giant bird offa me!"

'Watch the beak' indeed. Luke couldn't anymore watch the beak than he could pry his locks out of its deathgrip.

Edited 2012-07-12 09:34 (UTC)

Korra grunted as she pulled at her bird. "Look, do you want to be stabbed by the thing? Just... Just hold still!"

After thinking she effectively told Luke down, Korra refocused her attention back to her unruly bird. Summoning up her famous pout, she gave one final, strong pull at Tenzin's neck.

"Tenzin, I swear, if you don't let go of him this instant... no more strawberries for you!"

And that? That threat finally made Tenzin squawk in surprise, effectively letting go of Luke's hair. A sigh of relief escaped her, but was cut short as Tenzin insistently bumped his beak against her face in a hasty way of apologizing. Korra grimaced, but she gave one admonishing look to her Skarmory before patting his beak and then she turned back to Luke and see...

... wow. Uh. Some of his hair might've been clipped. A little.

"You okay there, Luke? Sorry about that," Korra said, genuinely feeling a bit sorry, as well as... amusement? Really, if his long hair was unruly before, now, however...

Luke gasped with relief when the bird finally let go, pulling back with a grateful noise. He rubbed his scalp, trying to massage away some of the pain. It was with some triumph that he saw the great Skarmory's beak slam into Korra's face. Then their eyes met, and hers widened and little, and his hands slid down to his now irreparable split ends--

He was missing some. And in this case, 'some' was 'quite a bit'.

"M-my hair..." Okay, so he wasn't all that attached to it, it was just hair, but in the last few weeks he'd gotten to know just how hard it was to maitain on his own, without Guy's help. "Your stupid bird totally wrecked it!"

That actually made Korra huff in amusement. "Wait, that's really how your hair is like? I thought you were just lazy since it's so long."

Of course, Korra didn't find men with long hair a strange sight. She'd seen plenty of men from the Water Tribe keep long hair, but in various styles and dos. Luke's just looked unruly all over, but, hey, that was his thing.

"Either way, sorry about that. And cut him some slack," Korra gestured to Tenzin. "He's actually hatched recently and hasn't seen red hair like yours. It's almost like a strawberry color, in fact. Which are his favorites."

The Avatar was grinning at that while she moved to retake her wallet from the floor. Once she had that stashed somewhere more safely on her person, she turned back to Luke.

"As for my answer: why not? It'd help clear the air."

"Lazy?! Do you know how long it takes to brush and style it every morning--"

Seriously, his coworkers could attest to him being a bit (a lot) of a bathroom hog. Luke obviously found nothing wrong with wearing his hair long either, it being common amongst noble men back home: a sign of wealth and status for men with enough time and servants to handle extensive grooming. He made certain the bangs were parted just so, the locks framing his face, effortlessly tousled...with quite a bit of effort, of course. And product.

At the note about the colour, he took a strand, examining the sun-bleached tip. He supposed it was a lovely vermillion, a shade too orange for ripe berries. Glancing back, he eyed the large Skarmory warily, ducking his head a bit every time the great beak came close. No matter how much like strawberries his hair was, it didn't excuse the monster taking a bite.

"And I don't care if he just hatched! I'm not a fruit, okay? And if we're going, let me drop by the Center first." He looked at her, petulant. "Unless you happen to have a revive for my knocked-out pokemon."

At that note about his knocked out Zorua, Korra's shoulders jerked and froze for a moment. Right. Yeah. She scratched the back of her head in still lingering embarrassment.

"Okay, okay! I'll keep him off of you," she replied and pulled her giant metal bird back a bit. Tenzin stilled eyed Luke's hair with uncanny interest, but after finding out his hair wasn't so juicy and didn't taste like anything, the Skarmory's interest was gradually waning.

"But... yeah, let's head to the Center for a bit." Nope, she still wasn't going to apologize... at least to Luke. Or the Zorua, in fact-- he was trying to steal from her, after all! No way Korra was going to condone that kind of behavior, however much of a misfire she threw at the culprit.

With a haughty huff, Luke led the way, his hair streaming behind him with a distinct cleft in the middle where Tenzin's beak had shorn him. His shoulders were tense, chin up--if anyone stopped to laugh they were greeted with a nasty glare. No one could accuse Luke fon Fabre of lacking self-assurance.

He enjoyed the breath of cooled air as they hit the center, dropping Zorua's pokeball on the counter and daring the nurse to make a comment about his hair. Unperturbed, Joy stifled her giggles behind her palm and took his pokemon away for treatment.

While her back was turned, he discreetly bent forward over the counter, swiping an elastic band from the various knick-knacks scattered there. It wasn't a hair band, but it would do; he ducked his head upside-down, gathering the red mess into a ponytail. He felt much better now that it was up, the rip less apparent. He turned to Korra again, his own style now mimicking hers.

"C'mon, they won't be done here for a while, so let's go."

Korra had stood by the Center doors with her Pokemon while Luke went to have his own be treated. When she saw Luke bend over the counter, she narrowed her eyes, wondering what he was trying to swi--

That brow rose higher. Huh. Korra would almost be arrogant enough to think he was probably trying to bite her style, but since that cleft was unnoticeable now due to the tie, she merely shrugged.

"Alright." She replied casually and was now the one leading the pack out of Goldenrod and into one of the nearer routes. Once they were out in the clearing, her Pokemon individually dispatched themselves to various parts of the road while Korra stretched, not worried that any of them would stray too far from her.

Hey, it was a functional and beautiful hairstyle! It suited him! ~~(Made him look girly.)~~ Plus it wasn't as if she'd patented the 'ponytail with side locks' look.

He kept pace with her as they walked, quiet for once, calmer and calmer as they made their way out of the city. He was less obvious about enjoying himself with Korra there to see, but even despite his less-than-fond memories of Abra trapping, he felt lighter. For a moment he thought of releasing Bruiser, but thought better of it; instead he smirked at Korra and took a running head start, dipping easily into a cartwheel. He came up with laughter on his mouth and grass in his hair.

Her eyes followed him when he threw him that smirk, wondering what he was going to do. At his little "show," Korra had a similar smirk of her own, tinged heavily with amusement at his almost childlike demeanor.

"Having fun there, big boy?" Why, yes, there was that teasing tone once more. When she moved closer to him, her hand rose to pluck a stray blade of grass from his strawberry hair before that smirk of hers grew wider, a glint of challenge in her eyes.

"Check this out!" Then Korra took one step forward before doing two cartwheels, and once she got the proper momentum, twisted and ended her own show with a precise backflip.

He whooped at her, an impressed noise. She could definitely move, he'd give her that.

"Wait, watch this!"

He couldn't do a backflip. He'd probably try if she prompted him, but he was more bulky than fast and agile--speed and subtlety had always been Guy's forte. Even Luke's sword skills were geared towards brute strength rather than speed or efficiency.

Tipping forward again, he moved into a handstand, holding his legs in the air bove him. His shirt fell, exposing his bellybutton, and he took the opportunity to show off, one hand rising to catch the hem and hold it, leaving him balanced only on the other.

Edited (how do i shot writing) 2012-07-18 11:27 (UTC)

She whistled. A clear sign of approval, but that smug smirk was still on her face. Hey, she knew from firsthand experience how difficult doing a handstand like that could be.

Then again, that was years ago for her.

Korra moved to be some distance across from him, then tipped forward and easily mimicked his handstand. Her wolf and ponytails drooped upside down as she did so, tilting slightly as she shot that grin at Luke to see if he was watching. Her fur-trimmed pelt is upended this way, and thus, she uses that excuse to use one hand to pull that back.

"Hah! Got any more tricks?"

He was briefly taken aback. Even his own small mind found the need to marvel at the grace, the power of the limbs that held her up. She raised a hand to tuck the pelt back up, her movement more fluid than his, body swaying gently as she adjusted herself. Her own shirt, tucked neatly into those oilskin trousers, failed to expose even the slightest slice of skin, and so it was with some disappointment that he let himself tilt sideways and back on his feet.

He couldn't back down from a challenge like that, and yet, he was frustratedly aware of the limits of his body in comparison to hers: he would have to work on his flexibility in the future.

"Whatever, it's too hot anyway, let's just walk," he declared, his tone imperious and yet still, somehow, close to compromise. (At least, in his own private beliefs.) He watched her, head tilted.

"Don't those clothes bug you this time of year?"

--said the boy whose pants rode low and shirt rode high, showing the pale edge of hipbones.

She laughed as she righted herself back onto her feet. Korra had a feeling he couldn't top that, or had any other moves up his sleeves. Score one for her on this competition, but she gave him props for, at least, showing he had some skill to his name.

"Why would they? I'm used to being in them, hot or not," Korra replied as she stretched her arms. Gotta loosen the muscles after doing that handstand, after all. Cramping up in front of Luke wasn't in her itinerary for the day. She glanced at his own clothing.

"I figure I should be asking you that, Luke." she said as she jerked her head to his black pants. The high collar of his white shirt also caught her attention. At least his belly was exposed, but she found that more odd than anything else, really.

He didn't bother to stretch, only kept walking. He was reversed so he could look at her. At her comment, he looked down at his clothing, inspecting it for any flaws. The long white jacket and black undershirt he'd worn prior to his arrival had been shucked for cause of being too noticeable: the pants had stayed because they were loose and comfortable, and a selection of shirts had replaced the top, today a collared white. It rode up when he stretched, and he liked that for no other reason than it was pleasant to expose his bare stomach to the wind. He looked back to Korra, frowning this time.

"What's wrong with my clothes? These pants are expensive, you know." And it was true: bespoke, the finest in the capital, the most expensive fabrics. No one else would or could wear this.

His reasoning hardly removed the strange look she was giving him at the moment. Right, Rich Boy here. Still.

"If it's so 'expensive,' wouldn't you want to wear something else? You know, to prevent it from being dirtied or damaged." What's that? Logic from Korra? Who would've thought! Still, this guy was no Asami. While during the brief altercation the other girl had with her own father and Amon's Lieutenant, Korra had a feeling Asami wouldn't have any trouble keeping herself fresh and clean, even during the heat of battle. Luke seemed the total opposite.

Luke was no Asami; no, he was perfectly content to use his wealth and status to his advantage when it suited him, and then turn and deny that it affected him in the next breath. He had a woefully opportunistic nature.

"Eh, I only have one other pair," pants were totally good to wear a bunch of days in a row, right??? "And these are way more comfortable than that...that weird 'denim' stuff in the stores. It felt strange."

He'd eventually come to buy a pair, and enjoy their durability, but until then he was content to stick to what he knew.

Korra made a thoughtful noise to his answer, followed by a quick shrug. Well, if that was what he wanted to do, then she couldn't be bothered to talk him out of it.

"Whatever you say, then."

She took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air that was slightly spiked with a bit of the sharp, salty ocean scent nearby. At that point, she heard a small roar, and felt a bump to the back of her shin. Turning around, she found her Gible, mouth wide open and looking triumphant (however that was manageable considering he was mostly mouth than body) as he held a small object in his hand.

Korra grinned before she stooped to pick up Taring. She turned to face Luke with very same grin.

"Huh, think my Gible's taken a liking to you, Luke. Catch!" With that said, she casually threw the extra Quick Claw to the redhead.

Hey I just met you, and this is crazy...

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