It's a fabulous Fable foursome!

[atrueheroine]

Who: Page (atrueheroine), Reaver (istheindustry), Barry (feelofmisfortune) and Logan (decrees)
Where: Violet City.
When: Now~!
Summary: There are three people in Albion that Page loathes more than any others. Guess which three she manages to bump into on her way through Violet City.
Rating: This one actually requires a legitimate warning, so:

I'd put this at a R rating/NSFW, as there will more than likely be quite a lot of potentially graphic sexual things being said, due to two of the characters involved, and their...fondness for directing said things at poor bloody Page here, orz. So please read at your own discretion!

Log:


Page quite liked Violet City, all things considered.

There was a serenity to the place that she hadn't experienced in years, a sort of calm that she couldn't find in Bowerstone, even when alone, and Page was alone quite a bit. Well, at least, she tried to be, but life in the rebel HQ meant that there was usually someone around, wanting to see her for some reason or another. So being here in Johto, away from it all was....nice. Not that she'd feel that way if she hadn't found out time had stopped back in Albion. They'd just managed to actually get somewhere, and she'd ended up here.

It was typical, really. Page was used to things not going her way.

So it was pleasantly surprising that Violet City had....well, been so pleasant. She'd visited the beautiful Tower in the centre, and had been fortunate enough to meet with one of the monks who inhabited it. He was kind enough to tell her of the Tower's origin, the legend, and even take a look at her Pokemon. He'd said they had a lot of potential, as did she.

It triggered some memories Page had been trying to repress. She had once lived among people like the monk, who had been kind and thoughtful and told her she had a lot of potential. But that time was nothing but a distant memory now, and she had ensured she kept her emotions under control whilst speaking to him. It wasn't difficult; burying her emotions was another thing Page was, unfortunately, very used to.

She'd opted not to spend too much time loitering around the Tower, as she didn't enjoy wasting time on idle things. However, she admittedly had....no idea what else to do with her time in the city. Fortunately, the kindly monk had solved that problem by giving her a book on the history of Violet City and the Sprout Tower.

That almost made her lose control. Almost. But she had held back, as she always had, and thanked the monk profusely. His smile as she'd departed seemed knowing. Melancholy. She tried not to dwell on it.

So Page now found herself wandering through a quiet part of town, completely immersed in the history of Sprout Tower recorded in her new book, to the point where not even a yelp from her Eevee could prevent her from bumping into someone as she turned a corner, nose to the page.

The collision wasn't too harsh, as she hadn't been moving all that quickly, but the book still slipped from her fingers and Edgar had to quickly shift position to avoid falling off her shoulder. Page managed to catch her book before it hit the ground, still moving to brush it off as if it had, however. The urge to snap at the man surged briefly, but Page was a fair person; the collision had been her fault, and she knew she ought to say she was sorry. Besides, the sooner the situation was sorted out, the sooner she could get back to her book.

"My apologies, I didn't-"

As she raised her gaze up to the man she'd run into, she found it....well, had to go a little higher than she first thought.

"....see you...there, I...."

Reaver was quite a tall fellow, after all.

"....."

Perhaps her book would have to wait a little longer than she'd first thought.

Comments

[istheindustry]

The information Reaver had received over the network a few days ago, regarding the trade routes in this place, had been rather illuminating indeed; however, since Logan was being insistent on receiving the badge from the Gym Leader of this city (despite Reaver being likewise insistent that this was a tremendous waste of time), and since the man wasn't a miracle-worker by any stretch of the imagination and he was having some, ah, difficulties getting his Pokémon to anything resembling satisfactory in regards to actually attempting to challenge Falkner...well. It seemed they would be here for a while, despite the fact that Violet City had absolutely nothing to offer by way of entertainment or anything remotely interesting.

And thusly it had come to pass that Reaver had busied himself with seeing exactly how much absolutely nothing there was in the area; the answer he had received - "quite a lot" - hadn't surprised him much, though there were a few points of interest that hadn't jumped out at him before...not that those weren't completely useless as well, in the end. He hadn't had much use for the trainers' school situated around there somewhere - although if this world was willing to send the little hellbeasts out into the forest to dogfight their way to success and hopefully not be eaten by wild animals along the way, then more power to them, he supposed; he wasn't about to go near the Tower, lest Logan wander in after him and have some sort of conniption due to colliding with ghosts approximately every sixteen seconds. Given that he tended to have Logan and Barry in tow - and if not directly in tow, they were often quick to find him, as though they had some sort of bizarre beacon firing off in their heads - there were only so many options, really.

So it was with a sort of frustrated restlessness that he'd taken to hoping that his usual luck would be with him and some sort of entertainment would present itself out of the aether - and just when he thought that this place had stripped him of his luck as well as his weapons, there was the odd feeling of something firm pressing against his sternum and what sounded like the start of a rather abrupt apology. A glance in the speaker's direction offered...

...

Well, it was offering quite the glorious view, to be perfectly blunt, because her shirt wasn't exactly covering very much; to his credit, he actually did look at her face and didn't just try to identify her by her assets alone. Suspicions confirmed, he was left with all of one conclusion.

That being that this was priceless.

"Well! If it isn't the leader of the Bowerstone Resistance herself, gracing us with her...rather esteemed presence." While the smirk he was offering her wasn't a cruel one, it was still very, very amused. "It's been quite a while since we've met properly, my dear - quite a while indeed."

[feelofmisfortune]

Following Reaver around was all Barry really had to do in this new place; he had looked about the town, not entirely cared about the landmarks, beaten a few kids in battles, stolen more than a few Pokémon and he didn't really care about training; he was starting to think that the only thing to do around Violet City was to have orgies and make good use of the Inn's bed- not that he really had problems with that, mind you, but they usually required more than one person.

His Pokémon did gain experience though; every time Barry had needed to defend himself, which was sadly quite a lot, he sent the little blighters out. Still, it wasn't like he wasn't used to being attacked by monsters on walks, just a considerable less amount of them back in Albion.

Due to the previous attacks, Barry had taken to letting the baby Balverine follow him by his side, choosing it a decent method to kick her whenever she didn't heel and he had to wonder if she gained 'experience' from that too.

He had been paying attention to making sure she was behaving before they stopped, his attention on her whilst chattering on about some fiasco that included three whores, a chicken and a can of gravy, caring not whether anyone was listening. The only thing that notified the butler of any collision was the sudden stop, quickly shutting up to pay attention to the new thing at hand.

From his spot behind Reaver, he peaked his head around his Master- and to what he would class as his own credit- taking eye of the breasts first, not that his view was quite as great.

"Didn't get hugged to death?" He figured all formalities with the woman had gone when Reaver had decided they would do well to play a little game with herself and the Princess.

[decrees]

Why had he chosen to stick with Reaver and Barry again? Because he was fairly sure it wasn't a good enough reason. He was the King of Albion, he shouldn't have to put up with such... nonsense.

But put up with it he did; he rather enjoyed Reaver's company when he wasn't being horribly crude, and Barry was... well, he was practically attached to Reaver's hip. He had only taken to following them around today because it was much easier to train with them than to attempt to train against the creatures in the grass. As usual, Logan's Snivy was out and strutting around like he owned the place. Logan didn't bother questioning where Reaver was leading them this time; Reaver would always find something for them to do, which would most likely get Logan to facepalm.

It seemed Reaver's entertainment had literally walked right into him, however. Prince waltzed right on over to look at the situation, tipping his head and then nodding once he decided that Page was of no threat to his trainer. Logan folded his arms and watched as Reaver and Barry greeted Page, but he offered no words at first. Their conversation over the network had been remarkably civil, but he didn't imagine that would change anything. He was still the hated ruler of Albion who had done far more harm than good in her eyes. He didn't blame her for that belief, but it was for the greater good.

"Greetings, Page." The statement is flat; he had no idea what to say. As usual, Logan completely ignored Reaver's and Barry's remarks, trying to keep what was left of his sanity by pretending they had never spoken to begin with.

[atrueheroine]

How had this happened?

One minute she'd been happily walking through the city, reading her book, and the next minute she'd walked herself into a situation that was neither ideal nor desired in any shape or form. Not only did she now have to contend with Reaver (who wasn't as subtle with his gaze as he seemed to think) she had to deal with Barry (who wasn't even trying to be subtle) and Logan (who had apparently decided that they were on a first name basis).

Page looked between her three new companions with an expression of mild horror and complete bemusement, her hands tightening around her book as she fought to get herself under control. It was one thing to deal with them individually; she could handle each of them individually. Really, the fact that the three of them were now standing before her in some sort of band was what was flabbergasting her the most.

But her confusion didn't last. At least, she didn't allow it to remain obvious for too long, anyway.

"I suppose it was only a matter of time before I ran into you three in person."

Edgar the Eevee shifted on her shoulder again as she hugged her book close to her body with one hand, the other placed on her hip, expression cold. Page knew she was not in a good situation. Not only was she outnumbered, she'd gotten the impression that these three had been in Johto longer than her. How much longer was a mystery, but it still meant that there was a distinct chance their Pokemon were a lot stronger than hers. If a fight broke out, she had no chance. It wasn't a good feeling, especially since it meant she was going to have to try and keep the peace somehow.

"My luck has been terrible lately, but this is a new low."

...not that it meant she was going to back down. She wouldn't give them that much satisfaction.

[istheindustry]

"Now, now." There was a hint of a laugh behind Reaver's words, as though he were chiding a child who's done something worthy of a scolding - yet whatever it was, it was absolutely (and likely unintentionally) hilarious. "That's hardly any way to begin any sort of decent conversation, is it? We're all civilized here."

Reaver was quick to punctuate that sentence with a rather pointed glance at his butler - rather shameless indeed, that one, and this instance seemed to be no different than the rest, not that he really expected it to be. "Well, mostly, anyway - but I'm sure that Barry will give you the treatment you deserve, my sweet, nothing less."

Not that that was anything close to what Reaver believed most people deserved, and his tone made that rather plain right off the bat; Barry would be allowed free rein, really, as long as this didn't dissolve into anything that would get the lot of them arrested should it be seen by one of those miniskirted peace officers.

[feelofmisfortune]

Treatment she deserved, 'ey? Barry got the message loud and clear, a smirk tugging even further at the corners of his mouth; this could be fun! It was just a shame that they didn't have the wheel anymore; Barry had to wonder if Page would be able to last the game by her lonesome.

'Balverween' (as she had decided was apparently her name) stepped forward a few, obviously interested in the new woman, obviously happy at a woman's presence; Barry quite quickly changed that, giving her a little kick and causing a small yelp, obviously not caring at it as he responded to Reaver.

"Wouldn't think of doing anything less." Not when Reaver was around.

[decrees]

Prince the Snivy retreated behind Logan's leg as Balverween was kicked. The Snivy was immensely grateful that he didn't have a trainer who would kick him. Logan eyed Barry disdainfully, but didn't say anything in response to that. He did, however, feel the need to step in before this became a pointless argument.

"That's enough; there's no sense in fighting like children." He ran a hand through his hair and turned his attention to Page. "I take it you've heard the rumor about getting home? The most important thing here is returning to Albion as quickly as possible; the rumor about the badges doesn't appear to be true. Still, I aim to collect them all in the hopes that it will do something."

[atrueheroine]

Page treated Reaver to the most sardonic look she could muster in response to his charming comments, but he actually wasn't the one who was drawing her real ire (which was almost a pleasant change from the norm). Rather, it was his butler than was currently making her bristle, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he seemed incapable of bringing his eyes up to her face.

"Don't kick it!" she snapped furiously, hands balling into fists. "What's wrong with you? It hasn't even done anything wrong!"

The plight of poor Balverween made her think of the other Pokemon forced to endure a life serving those two monsters. It was typical, really. They'd traveled to an entirely different world and Reaver and Barry were still in the habit of treating those beneath them like dirt, and finding a way to subjugate them. It made her so angry.

Logan wasn't helping.

"With all due respect, your majesty, I'm honestly of the opinion that the longer you stay away from Albion, the better it will be for everyone."

She did appreciate the fact that he was obviously trying to keep the situation from escalating, but at the same time, she didn't need his help when it came to dealing with Barry and his repulsive master. As far as she was concerned, Logan was on the same level as them, and would be treated as such. Did he really expect her to just stop and listen to him when he spoke? It was outrageous, and just made her even more infuriated.

"Really, I could say the same for all three of you."

[istheindustry]

The amount of rage that was emanating off of their rather unexpected company for the afternoon was something that Reaver was rather aware he probably shouldn't ignore - not through any desire to keep Page happy, but rather through a lack of desire for a brawl in public. There were definitely times and places for brawls, he'd found; of course, in the past he had never been opposed to having a scrap with someone in the heat of the moment...but that was, unfortunately, in the past.

...at the same time, he couldn't say his hopes weren't up, at least vaguely, for this to turn interesting. Perhaps that was why he was willing to let Page and Barry sort out their own differences for now - that, and the fact that Logan had just said something incredibly problematic and didn't even seem to realize it.

"'Doesn't appear to be true,' Your Majesty...?" Though the usual smirk was there, it was rather plain that this bit of information was...new. "As I recall, you told me it hadn't been proven either way. While I don't doubt your judgment in keeping such a vital piece of information from the rest of us who are on this little expedition with you, surely you understand my curiosity in wondering exactly how you stumbled upon this piece of information?"

There was very little shift in tone while he spoke; the usual flippant lightness was very definitely still present in his voice. However, if the look in his eyes was any indication, Logan was very, very fortunate that Reaver didn't have his guns; he'd shot people for far, far less than this back in Albion, and if the sudden twitching of his right hand at his side were to be taken as any further indication, that fact wasn't lost on him in the least.

[feelofmisfortune]

Sorry Page, but putting Barry in the world of Pokémon was a bad idea for the pokémon from the start it's like it's some idea of a godly joke, a situation for people to laugh at on some strange networking site. He's never bothered that he gets looks from kicking them, and that asshole smirk grew when Page raised her voice. He chose to ignore Logan's hand, retorting with a laugh.

"I'll twreat it like I do the lower staff; you step out of line, you get beaten." It works too- well, in some ways; there's always the chance they'll come back for more.

The other matter took higher priority though, his ears twigged at the conversation between Logan and Reaver. "Someone keepin' secwets? Wouldn't endorse that with Wreaver, personally." If this breaks out into a fight, commentary mode will be activated until Reaver tells him to shut up; but for then it's just a piece of unhelpful advice.

[decrees]

Logan frowned at Reaver's words, not entirely pleased by the sudden shift in demeanor either. He had known Reaver for four years and still had difficulty reading him. This seemed like the sort of response that would be accompanied by Reaver's gun being drawn, but Logan couldn't figure out what was pissing Reaver off so badly (assuming he was pissed at all, of course).

"You said so yourself. People on the network have posted about getting all the Badges and they've remained here. I still plan on trying it myself, but that doesn't mean Page should be kept from this information. You and Barry both know this - at least, that's what I assumed."

Besides, he really had no interest in talking to them any more than he had to. Every conversation turned sexual. Every. Single. One. Once again he returned his attention to Page, ignoring her remark about how Albion would benefit without him there. She might be right. He didn't want to think about it.

"I'm afraid I don't have any more information about this world. I will continue searching for a way home." Even if he had to put up with Reaver and Barry being... well, Reaver and Barry.

[atrueheroine]

Seething, Page turned away from Barry and faced Logan, unwilling to give into the overpowering urge to punch the smug, slimy little bastard in the face. As satisfying as it would be, she really didn't need to be starting a fight, especially when she was so badly outnumbered.

That, and the fact that Reaver looked ready to beat Logan over the head with his cane. Something had changed in his eyes; it was disorientating. Strange. For the first time, she felt grateful that Johto had stripped them of their weapons. This didn't feel like a good time for Reaver to be armed.

"I've read the guidebook about five times since I arrived, and it doesn't say a single word about how we're supposed to get out of here. It acts as if we're.....well, going to be here for a while."

The idea obviously didn't thrill her. Why would it? Back in Albion, she had a purpose, she had something to strive towards....now she just felt constantly lost. This world was beautiful, but it wasn't home.

"So you'd better start researching, your majesty. As for you-"

Turning back to Reaver, Page managed to calm herself, even though her anger at Balverween's treatment was still bubbling away.

"You should control the way your butler treats his Pokemon, or he's just going to end up in another bloody pile on the floor. Hopefully a more permanent one this time, but I'm used to not getting what I desire, unfortunately enough."

If this meeting was anything to go off, especially.....

[istheindustry]

'This meeting,' indeed - it was really doing nothing outside of reaffirming to Reaver that while he may not have been the only sane man in the immediate vicinity (he's not sure to whom that award is going, but he's fairly sure he's been ineligible for...oh, the last two centuries, maybe? at least?) he was certainly the only one who had any idea how to communicate above and beyond the capabilities of the average dog. When Barry was the individual making the most sense to him...well, it was a good sign that all other supposedly educated parties needed to get with the program, let's put it that way.

As socially stupid as the response may have been, however, Logan's reply did take the edge off the anger; he managed to refrain from both giving into the desire to hit him in the face with something potentially damaging, and giving into the desire to facepalm verily. He didn't necessarily agree with the notion that Page needed to be filled in on anything, but he wasn't going to argue semantics at the moment; he did offer Logan a rather dismissive gesture with his free hand to indicate that at the very least he'd heard him and they could all move on with their lives.

...their...presumably very short lives, if Page had her way. "My dear girl, I can think of many desires that I would be quite happy to assist you with realizing - but! For the time being, I must say that Barry does have a point. As he does have ownership over" - and he refused to call the damn thing 'Balverween' in front of anyone but Barry, despite the fact that the horribly stupid thing refused to answer to anything else - "that particular creature, there, he's more than free to do as he sees fit with it. I'm sure he won't treat it any worse than he does the rest of my staff back in Albion; admittedly, that may not being saying terribly much, but at least they never turned on him, and should that thing decide to do so it won't be tolerated - if it isn't intelligent enough to know better, then they deserve whatever it is they get, even if that's being put down like the animals they are."

[feelofmisfortune]

Hey hey, Logan, those sexual conversations always ended up being good stuff! He couldn't help it that the 'King' was frigid. Barry had it in mind to work on... loosening up the man in hopefully more ways than one, anyhow- if Reaver didn't get there first anyway, but it's not like that would be a waste. At least it might've dislodged the stick from the man's arse.

"What he said." It was a simple response, but he knew it'd probably grate under the premise of 'Hey look! Reaver's defending me- not you Logan, and certainly not you, Page! Me. The Brilliant Butler, Barry!' His grin couldn't get wider at all of this.

"And I'll 'ave you know I get into quite a few bloody piles. 'Though that all depends on how wough we're goin'." He had to say it just to rub the vulgar in Page's face.

[decrees]

Ugh. The two of them were so crass. Logan rolled his eyes skyward and tried his best to calm his nerves. It wasn't his place to tell Barry how to treat his... Balverween, just as it wasn't his place to tell Reaver how to treat his staff. Of course he disagreed with them, but there was really no reason to get into that argument.

"There's no need to fight." They could very easily move on and leave Page to her own devices, but it seemed as though Barry and Reaver were just looking for a reason to irritate the poor woman.

[atrueheroine]

And irritated she was! Shaking her head and laughing softly (more out of incredulity than anything else), Page looked off to the side and placed a hand on her hip, her Eevee shifting once again on her shoulder to examine the three men in front of her, and their Pokemon.

"Oh, this isn't fighting, your Majesty. You'd know if we were fighting. This is just another example of what those two consider a civilised conversation."

Whipping out her Gear, Page checked the time and frowned. Not that she would have smiled anyway; any amount of time wasted on these three monsters was too much, in her opinion.

"Please tell me you all intend to leave this city very soon."

[istheindustry]

Well, to be perfectly fair, Logan - it wasn't exactly as though Reaver and Barry needed to look very hard. Page tended to be the easily-annoyed sort, after all; not as though Reaver had any idea why. Clearly, she just needed to loosen up and accept attempts at flirting with her as a compliment; honestly, it was almost as though she were looking for reasons to be angry.

...all right, all right, perhaps she didn't need to look very hard, either. But that was entirely beside the point, now, wasn't it?

"Am I to assume, from that question, that you don't?" The question was punctuated with a very, very pointed aside glance at Barry; this had potential to be a rather good bit of fun, didn't it? "It seems we'll be in each others' company for a while, then, my dear - Barry, we'll have to show our friend here how to have a good time, won't we? Think of it as strengthening public relations."

[feelofmisfortune]

Ohoho, he thought he got what Reaver had in mind... then again he might not've; he'd learnt to read the signs, but sometimes Barry did strike stupid.

"A good time? I think you'll find we'll show you a gweat time! Pwetty sure there're some good bars awound here somewhere- though not sure we'll be there vewy long..." And there he went off on one, distracted by his own voice. Someone stop him.

[decrees]

Oh dear. This really was going to turn into a fist fight if those two had their way.

"I don't believe we'll be here for too long. There are other Gym Badges to obtain, after all." Logan cut in smoothly, loud enough to (hopefully) drown Barry's incessant prattling out. He really had heard enough from the man, and he was certain poor Page had too.

[atrueheroine]

"If you two think I'm even going to entertain the possibility...."

But Page couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence in a suitably snarky manner; this conversation had gone on far too long and there was only so many times she could rebuke the sexual harassment before it became tiring. If they hadn't gotten it by now, they never would, although she was quite aware that half the reason they did it was to frustrate her. Bastards.

Rubbing at her temples, Page sighed. So they were going to be in the city for a while. It figured; her luck had been getting increasingly worse ever since she woke up and found herself being stared at by Harper. That hadn't been the most pleasant of mornings. So now she was left with a decision; Reaver and Barry were being repulsive (as usual) but Logan appeared to actually want to help somehow. It was unnerving and frankly, downright odd, but if he wanted to atone for his past behaviour it was a good way to start. Page didn't want to admit it, but she needed all the help she could get. Should she storm away and tell them not to contact her, or extend the proverbial olive branch?

...well, if she was going to do the latter, it was going to be a very small branch. More like a twig. That seemed a bit more fitting.

"Since you seem so focused on how we're getting out of here, if you...."

Ugh. This was so foreign; Page hated asking for help, especially from people like Logan...but the last time she'd trusted royalty it...hadn't really ended that badly, so maybe...?

"If you get any useful information - and I mean useful, I don't like my time being wasted - give me a call. You should be able to find me in your Pokegear."

Turning back to Logan's classy companions, she pocketed her Gear and crossed her arms in a manner that most definitely wasn't defensive!

"You two, I don't want to hear from. At all. Can you comprehend that?"

[istheindustry]

Foreign indeed, as Page generally seemed entirely too prideful to ask for help most of the time; Reaver wasn't terribly familiar with the woman, but it wasn't something he would have associated with her, she just seemed the horribly mistrusting sort...and of course, the fact that the head of the Resistance herself was actually asking Logan, of all people, for assistance was almost delightfully ironic. At the very least, he would do her the common courtesy of avoiding pointing it out - a rather generous gesture, if he did say so himself - but the smirk he was giving her probably said more than enough.

"I'm more than capable of comprehending it, my dear - although you'll likely be hearing from me regardless, it'll just be a bit roundabout...after all, where do you think our darling leader obtains most of his information about Johto? But don't worry your pretty head about it; I'm more than willing to share with you, as you're being so very receptive to sharing nowadays."

...so he wouldn't directly point it out. Details, details...

[feelofmisfortune]

"Well, someone's takin' a shine to woyalty." Logan might've been in there, "I'm sure we'll bump into you somewhere along the line." His little 'heh' said it all there; if you were in town, Page, Barry was going to go and annoy you. He might not've put that on his 'to do list' if you hadn't mentioned anything.

It was funny to him, that out of all of the people brought from Albion, they all knew each other in some way or form; employment, namesake... hatred.

[decrees]

"That's enough, Barry." He certainly isn't Barry's employer, but he is the King of Albion and won't tolerate it. That said, he's rather done with the whole situation. "It was a pleasure meeting you in person, Page." And with that, he'll turn to leave.