route_1065 | We were looking for something to blow up; we were looking for someone to follow

Entry tags:

We were looking for something to blow up; we were looking for someone to follow

Who: Solf J. Kimblee (

explosivecombat); Isaac McDougal (

glaciates)
Where: Mahogany Town
When: Forward-dated to April 13th
Summary: Isaac tends to like stupidly brief anniversary celebrations; it's been a month. Also, Kimblee is bored as hell so why not.
Rating: ~~PG? I DON'T KNOW, I'LL CHANGE IT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS.~~ PG-13; I SWEAR LIKE A SAILOR I AM TELLING YOU. also guys are now making out so um.
Log:

[The blackouts hadn't been good to him.

Kimblee had spent the better parts of the first morning zoning out, as he tended to do in dark, enclosed spaces; it wasn't exactly a distress response, just a sort of autopilot that kicked in when it came to a lack of stimulus. However, after a while, Archer had begun talking to him; he'd kept him focused on what he was doing, at the very least, and to his credit he had been supportive, if in a very...Archerish sort of way. It was good, at least, especially given whatever Suicune had managed to do to his back by ensuring he was thrown to the ground off that Steelix during battle; movement wasn't exactly good, though with enough painkillers he could definitely still push through it.

However, after two days of dealing with his spine, having nothing to do besides run signal interference, and dealing with Archer...well, being Archer, Kimblee was fully convinced that he could feel himself going insane; the power flickering back on was an absolute godsend, the fact that it stayed on seemed like a goddamn miracle, and the fact that the storms seemed to be subsiding was nothing short of absolutely glorious.

With all that out of the way and his duties on signal interference wound down, he'd sent a message to Isaac from the Gear, Kenya from the Pokémon Center, and completely disregarded Archer's fussing about him leaving early the next day to meet the man in town.

He hasn't told Archer about Isaac. With any luck, he won't have to anytime soon; for now, he just lets it go. Kimblee has always been partial to Mahogany Town; he's comfortable here. Relaxed. Given the small population, he suspects Isaac will like it.

He'll see soon enough, he's sure; right now it's just good to be outdoors.]

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[Things have been rough for quite some time. First there was the trash infestation, then the changes in weather, and finally the power went out. Isaac had avoided the first thankfully, but he'd been out on the Routes when the storm hit. He finally arrived in Ecruteak just in time for the power to shut down. In other words, it's been a horrible week.]

[So when he got the message from Kimblee, he decided he could put off the Gym Challenge for another few days. After all, it just so happens to be their one month anniversary~]

[Of course, he doubts Kimblee really cares that much. Most people don't, especially not for such a short span of time. It's probably just a coincidence that Kimblee wanted to see him around this time. He's not entirely sure what Kimblee's doing in Mahogany Town of all places, but he doesn't feel like questioning it. Instead he retrieves the Pokémon Kimblee sent him - a Starmie. It takes Isaac all of five seconds to realize the poor thing is scared of him, and he spends a bit of time trying to get it to tolerate him before he departs for Mahogany Town. Maybe he's actually good with Pokémon or maybe the Starmie just happens to like guys with horribly busted faces - either way, it lightens up and carries him safely to Mahogany.]

[...Which then means he has to stop in the Pokémon Center to change out of his soaking wet clothes. Surfing on a Starmie doesn't work quite as well in practice as it does in theory.]

[But once he's done with that he'll just be looking for a certain alchemist. He might be a bit excited. Just a bit.]

[Well, said certain alchemist isn't terribly far off, nor is he easy to miss in that white suit of his. His pace isn't quite as quick as usual, but there's nothing terribly off about his gait; the painkillers are being quite amazing to him today, and the warmer temperatures are definitely helping.

...that said, surfing on Starmie is horrendous; he would apologize for that, if there was any chance of it being sincere.]

Isaac.

[Good god, he's kittyfacing already.]

Hopefully the trip wasn't too horrendous; it's been a rather interesting few days.

It wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

[Oh come on, if you were expecting him to have difficulty with water then clearly you don't know him at all! At least he didn't herp at it and try to figure out whether he could freeze it or not.]

It was an interesting trip, at any rate.

[He'll hold out Starmie's Pokéball for Kimblee to take. As adorable as it was, he certainly wouldn't keep it. It's Kimblee's after all.]

What are you doing here anyway? Is there a badge you're getting here?

[He'll just be accepting that back, then, thank you!

...however, that topic change. Ugh.]

Ah - no, I came up here to avoid the...infestation that was plaguing several of the major cities; thankfully, this place was untouched.

However, the blackout was less than appreciated.

Oh, yeah. I guess that would be a pretty good reason to avoid the towns.

[Isaac tips his head slightly, considering. Kimblee always was picky about being clean in Ishval...]

Yeah, that happened just as I arrived in Ecruteak. Great timing.

[He shrugs though; it doesn't matter. It's over. Whatever caused it was fixed. He sees no reason to worry about that.]

How have you been otherwise?

[Kimblee's emotions have always been incredibly shallow, and his control over his affect displays only gets worse when he's under stress - and he's been under a lot of stress lately. So as quickly as the obvious displeasure with the previous topic had settled in, it's gone with introduction to the current one; so mood-swingy today, Kimblee.]

Ah, that timing does sound unfortunate; however, other than the recent rash of unfortunate occurrences, I find that I can't complain.

Of course, it helps that I'm rather fond of the area; you've never been here before, have you?

[Isaac is willing to dismiss that as stress; things haven't been easy on anyone lately, from the looks of it. Why would it be any different for Kimblee?]

No, I haven't. I don't have Surf yet. I'll be taking on Morty when I get back, but I'm in no big hurry.

[The area is nice, but honestly Isaac doesn't see any reason for Kimblee to enjoy it that much. From the maps it looks like there's a cave to the east and a large lake to the north - he can approve of the latter, at least.]

Why are you so fond of it?

[He smiles a bit at that, the expression almost playful.]

Many reasons, really, but there's something in particular I want to show you. It shouldn't take long for us to arrive there if we utilize Pokémon; shall we?

[From the sound of his voice, that question is purely hypothetical; you don't have a choice, Isaac, let's do this thing.]

[Again Isaac tips his head to the side, that one stray strand of hair falling in his face for a moment before he pushes it aside.]

Yeah? Alright. Let's go.

[He does trust Kimblee. It's stupid to trust him after everything he's done, and Isaac does know that on some level. At the same time, he can't say he really cares. Kimblee hasn't screwed him over here.]

[It really doesn't take them very long to arrive at the caves. Isaac's expression should say enough - caves, Kimblee?]

...You sure this is a good idea?

[He's certain Kimblee knows what he's doing but... their last experience in a cave wasn't a very favorable one.]

Am I...?

[...ah, right. His gaze flicks over to the entrance to those caves before he returns his attention to Isaac; he doesn't look displeased.]

Don't worry, I've been inside before; I like it in there.

[The skeptical look doesn't fade any, but Isaac nods.]

If you're sure, then.

[Really, he can't see what's so great about a cave anyway. But he'll enter--]

[..................]

[WHAT THE HELL IS THIS]

[The cave is cold for one thing - but Isaac's never had any issues with the cold. It's the ice that gets him to pause and stare. It doesn't seem to be quite as small as Union Cave, so perhaps that's why Kimblee's fine with it?]

...What... is this...?

[You'll have to forgive him, Kimblee. He's kind of at a loss here.]

[Kimblee allows Isaac to enter first, folding his arms a bit as he joins Isaac inside. He seems rather calm in here, actually; this place is far less claustrophobic than Union Cave, and he rather likes the cold.

Of course, there are quite a few other...features to it that make this place worthwhile, but he'll get to that eventually.]

I'd think that's rather obvious, Isaac.

[No, he cannot keep the smugness out of his voice; his words echo a bit off the glistening ice surrounding them.]

I was rather pleased to see that they're like this year-round; do you like it?

[A cave that's like this all year round? That's...]

[That's incredible!]

Really? That's... that's amazing. So it's always like this, huh? Have you explored around here?

[Isaac is normally pretty reserved. He gets excited sometimes, yes, but for the most part he doesn't show much emotion other than lineface and orz. Right now he's the equivalent of an incredibly happy puppy.]

[...You totally don't mind if he runs off to explore, right? Of course not!]

[...holy shit.]

I have, yes. Enough to know that you should watch out for the...

[...floor. Isaac, tell him you are watching the floor because um...]

[Oh, what are you talking about? Of course he's not looking out for the--]

[WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED. Did he seriously just nearly face-plant into a wall? Yes. Yes he did. How did he even manage that? He wasn't remotely near a wall...]

[...And that's about the moment when Isaac gets a good look at the floor. Ice...? He'll just take another step and--]

[Whoa holy shit what is this.]

[........................]

[OH MY GOD IT'S A SLIPPERY FLOOR THIS IS THE COOLEST SHIT EVER!!!!!]

[...Don't mind him, he'll just be sliding around for the next... ever.]

[...oh god Isaac what - ]

[...well. All right, he really can't deny that he did the exact same thing too, the first time he came in here; it's a bit of a rush.

Nothing on battling a giant legendary, of course. But enjoyable regardless.

It doesn't take long before he's out there as well, though he manages to catch himself before faceplanting, pressing his gloved hands against the cold wall of the cave; he's a bit shaky, as he isn't used to this anymore, but he's laughing just the same.

...okay, the sound is vaguely manic, but um. It's...laughing. Right. Yes.]

[Oh Kimblee, honey... that laugh isn't very comforting at all, really...]

[But that's alright! Isaac is in a really good mood right now and he's willing to ignore that creepy laugh! So instead he'll focus on the far more fun aspect of this venture - sliding around on the ice!]

[...Look out, he's going to slide right into you if you don't get out of the way. That may or may not be on purpose. Shut up, he can actually be playful sometimes!!]

[Oh, Kimblee will smirk at that - before pushing off against the wall, skidding off to the side and coming to a stop against the snow a few feet away.]

Oh, come now; you're going to have to try harder than that.

[...Now that he looks at it, there are a bunch of strategically placed rocks... So it's a puzzle. You can't get out of here until you solve it or go back the way you came. That's fascinating!]

[But that's not important now. Kimblee's challenge is~ If there's one thing Isaac loves, it's a challenge. He's confident in his abilities and that's about it, but he's always loved games like this.]

You're on.

[C'MON KIMBLEE LET'S PLAY TAG! \o/]

[Kimblee honestly hasn't been in far enough to know how large the puzzle actually is, or how deep this cave runs; perhaps it's something you can exit in a few hours if you do it all correctly ~~yeah right~~, perhaps it's something that would take weeks to work out even after you've been through it once. He doesn't particularly care to figure it out right now; he likes that expression Isaac's giving him.

Challenge accepted, then? Excellent.]

Don't disappoint me.

[And with that he's darted off to the far wall, shifting position during the skid such that he lands with his back to the flat surface, keeping his gaze on Isaac the entire time. The look in his eyes is animated, alive; he's immensely entertained.]

[It will certainly be entertaining to figure out, but that's not something he's going to bother with now. After all, he has a Kimblee to catch~]

I don't plan on it.

[Isaac grins at that; Kimblee's clearly quite pleased with their little game, and he certainly is too. Kimblee must have some experience with the floor here, his slide there is very graceful. Isaac glances at the scattered rocks and walls - it seems you can only slide in a straight line until you hit something so... if he goes this way...]

[What little hesitance there is at first quickly fades away and Isaac eagerly chases after Kimblee.]

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