route_1065 | (no subject)

(no subject)

Who: Spencer and Mio
Where: Violet City
When: Backdated to 10/20
Summary: Reid introduces Mio to his ghost pokemon. Mio talks about ghosts
Rating: PG.
Log:

[Mio found she liked the lessons. They were more interesting then her lessons at school, and the one-on-one interactions ensured she understood more than she normally would. Since Mio didn't think she could deal with large groups anymore anyhow it was even more ideal.

She knocked lightly on Reid's door, wondering what future lessons would be in store; not that it amttered right now, since Mio was far more interested in showing him her shiny new badge. But she couldn't help but think that, if Mayu was there, they could've studied together.

...Thinking about her sister just makes her chest tighten and the bruise on her throat throb. Even in the weeks she'd been there it had yet to fade and still pained her. Not that Mio could complain; in her mind it was the least she deserved, so she'd bear with it.

Still, it made her wince and rub at it, frowning lightly.]

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[There's a chittering that most certainly isn't coming from Reid. The knob shakes, and then turns, swinging open. Reid isn't in the room, but Elle is curled up and napping on the bed and Yang is sitting in the doorway, looking up at Mio (he totally wouldn't mind if she petted him). More importantly, there's a little blue and purple ghost perched on the door knob, looking up at Mio with big red eyes, and a living candle with a blue flame burning steadily is staring at her from the bedside table.]

[Mio doesn't scream. (Screaming usually brings the attention of more and she doesn't have her camera or any way to exorcise or--)

She hadn't even noticed the creature on the doorknob in her initial sweep of the room, more concerned as to where Reid was since she didn't see him at the door--which then, of course, brought her gaze to said door and the candle pokemon on top of it.

But there's no scream. Mio inhales with a sharp gasp and flings herself away and hits the wall, clasping her hands over her mouth in a horrified surprise.

WHY IS THE CANDLE FLOATING AND HAVE EYES. WHY DOES REID HAVE GHOST POKEMON KJSDG WHY]

[All things considered, the Pokemon don't really do anything to encourage the reaction. The Misdreavus drifts towards Mio curiously, but keeps a safe distance, and then there's the sound of hurried footsteps and Reid runs up from down the hall, carrying a book he had forgotten down in the main floor of the inn, and now very concerned because he heard that gasp and thump.] Mio? What's--

[Missy the Misdreavus looks up at Reid, then shrugs. This one was not her fault, boss, she swears.]

...Oh.

[Oops. He hadn't meant for Mio to just stumble on them out of their balls like that.]

[She whirled around on instinct, wary and having to forcibly remind herself of where she was and that Reid wasn't an enemy.

She never thought she'd miss her camera before.

Mio lunges forward, grabbing onto Reid's arm in a panic] What's going on!? Those things are in your room! [She looked bewildered, not sure if Reid was aware of this, if there was some danger she didn't know about or if she should run back to her room and grab Yami and Mary from their naps]

[The only time he's ever perfectly accepting of touch from anyone and everyone is when he's in the middle of trying to protect them, mentally or physically.

So when she grabs onto his arm, he not only doesn't react negatively, but he reaches out and grips her shoulder, turning her towards him so she can look at his face.] Mio. It's alright. They're harmless. I caught them for research purposes a little while ago.

[Missy hovers in the hallway and waves, because now is totally the appropriate time to be social.]

You--what? [Mio looks to him, bewildered and looking uncertain, like she wasn't sure she'd really just heard that.]

But why? Can't you let them go now? [Srsly Reid WHY ARE THEY STILL HANGING AROUND. 8([

[Because he likes them and they're his? :<

Also, it takes a lot longer to do his kind of research.

But he won't say that, because that won't make her feel better. He glances at Missy, then at Mio again, not even noticing that his hand is still on her shoulder.] Do you trust me, Mio?

[...Kind of a genuine question, there. After traveling together in a completely foreign place for so long, most people would trust one another, but most people aren't as traumatized as he and Mio are.]

Trust? What does-- ['What does that have to do with anything?' she almost asks, then stops to think of the question, her gaze falling to his hand on her shoulder.

The weight is warm and comforting, cutting through her panic and making her feel a little bit more better. But she hadn't thought of the question before] ...You haven't done anything to make me not trust you... [Which is sort of a yes, though she looks like she wants to end it with 'yet'.] So, I guess so.

[He nods. Honestly, that's the best he could have hoped for.] Then will you try to trust me when I tell you that they won't hurt you? That I won't let any of my Pokemon hurt you?

[He's serious, because he actually said 'Pokemon' out loud. He prefers the term 'animals.' Missy looks vaguely bored and starts to float upside down.]

[She looks conflicted, brow furrowed in a apprehension. There are so many questions she wants to ask--How do you know they won't? How are you so sure?

She casts a worried look behind her at the ghost pokemon before one of her hands curls around Reid's wrist--it's not in a gesture as if to push it away, but more like she's clinging to him] ...You promise?

[The new contact makes him finally notice that he's still touching her. His eyes flick to her hand on his wrist briefly, but the feeling isn't immediately unpleasant, so he doesn't feel the need to pull away.

So he lets her cling, and he looks back at her face, forcing himself to make eye contact.]

I promise.

[She looks--not miserable, exactly, but certainly not pleased either. She didn't like the fact the ghost pokemon were there, and didn't like that Reid hadn't told her about them to begin with.

She maintains the eye contact for a few seconds before looking away and down at the floor] ...Okay.

[And then a sullen look is directed his way] How long were you planning on keeping them a secret from me?

Well... to be honest, I didn't really mean to have it be a secret. I thought I told you that I was researching them, but I guess I wasn't explicit about my bringing some here.

[He shrugs sheepishly. No, seriously, he didn't mean for it to just be suddenly jumped on her like that, and now he feels bad.] I was just trying to keep them out of the way when you were around because I know you don't like ghosts.

[Mio lets go of him and crosses her arms over her chest, looking very disapproving] You still should've told me! Even if I find them scary... You could've mentioned you captured a few. I didn't think you'd take them home with you to study them.

...If I'm supposed to trust you, you have to trust me too, you know. It works both ways.

I thought I told you.

[And now he feels guilty, because he should have really made sure she knew instead of just assuming she inferred it (partially because, he supposes, he didn't really want to scare her with an explicit statement) and then keeping them away from her]

I'm sorry. I won't do that again.

[She tries to keep a serious expression, but his guilt is clear and she finds herself unable to stay mad. There's a sigh and she shakes her head] Apology accepted.

[Mio looks back at the ghost pokemon, shoulders tense and expression apprehensive] ...I should say hi to them, or something. I have to get used to them being around...

[Seriously, Mio. Look at him. He looks like a kicked puppy when he's sad. No one can stay mad at him.

He lets her go, pulling his hands back towards his chest, and starts walking towards the room.] H-here. Let me introduce you. Missy?

[The Misdreavus, previously looking pretty bored, finally spins upright in the air, drifting closer to Mio and staring with big, curious red eyes.]

Mio, this is Missy. She's a Misdreavus. Missy, th-this is Mio.

[Mio stares down the Misdreavus, frowning. Well, Missy doesn't look too bad at least. Mio bows her head in greeting, still polite as her upbringing had taught her to be.]

Hello. Nice to meet you. [The tenseness is still there, but at least Mio isn't running away or anything. She glances to Reid] Did she come from the tower?

[A thick strand of Missy's lavender-tipped hair grows to wave at Mio, and then she drifts near, lazily circling them like a satellite. Reid shakes his head, then gestures for Mio to follow him to the room.] No, I got her when I was exploring Route 36. I got Nathan in the tower.

[He walks into the room. Elle is still napping. Yang is sitting by the door, giving Missy a Look. The living candle is still sitting on the bedside table, covering its mouth with its little stubby arms and giggling.]

Nathan? [She doesn't like having her back to Missy, but realizes it's something she'll have to live with for now. She follows after Reid, looking around and making note of where all the pokemon are.

Her gaze stops on the candle, looking skeptical] ...It's a candle. It's really a pokemon? [Granted it moves and apparently giggles but still]

Yeah, Nate's a Litwick. Here, let me show you.

[Reid walks over to the bedside table, holding his hands out to Nate. The Litwick sort of waddle-walks into Reid's palm, flame flickering gently, and then Reid turns to let Mio get closer at her own pace.] Nate, this is Mio. Mio, this is Nate. He's a candle now, but he's supposedly going to look like a chandelier at some point.

[o-oh no that waddle walk is too cute...... Mio fights a smile and moves closer to examine the little pokemon.] ...He doesn't look very scary.

[Then she makes a slight face at Reid as if saying, 'a chandelier? Are you joking?'] What?

[Nate lets out a huff and a frown, putting his stubby arms where his hips would be. He is too scary!] No, he doesn't, does he? [Okay, now Reid's the one getting the ~~pout~~ glare.] He's still pretty small. He caused some trouble at first, but then a friend talked to him and he's been behaving much better. Same with Missy.

[Yep. A chandelier.] That was my reaction. I'm not sure how he will look like a chandelier since I only read a description, but he'll look like one.

[Mio reaches out to lightly poke at Nate's side, tickling him a little. Yeah, totally scary.] That's good at least... They might not be so bad if they can listen to reason.

Pokemon are really weird. [But it's said with an affectionate amusement and Mio shakes her head] I guess a chandelier fits with the lighting theme, though.

[Nate lets out a small giggle, wiggling away from the tickling. C'mon, Mio, let him at least try to be intimidating.] Oh, yeah, they're very intelligent creatures, and they generally understand what I say. They sometimes like playing tricks like moving things around when I'm not looking or pulling people's hair, but then Elle or Yang chastises them and they're perfectly behaved again.

Yeah, that's what I figured. Most evolutionary lines follow a theme, even if it doesn't necessarily make sense.

[jsgskgj THE CANDLE GIGGLED. Mio giggles a little in return. She looks up at Reid for a long, contemplative, moment.]

...You're adapting well. [It's an observation and she smiles a little] You're doing much better then you were in the beginning. You're going to start going native at this rate. [Her tone holds a light teasing quality to it, though.]

To be fair, I think it'd be pretty hard to do any worse.

[He keeps his eyes fixed on Nate.] I've sort of just resigned myself to either being insane or being in the strangest position I've ever been in at this point. Since I would really prefer it be the latter, I've decided to stop straight out denying everything and treat it like reality unless proven otherwise. [Although deep down inside, there's a not very small part of him that's still convinced he's schizophrenic.]

I don't think you're insane. [She frowns lightly.] That'd be implying everything here wasn't real... Even me, right? And it's been more than a month, you can't possibly be having some weird episode thing for that long, right?

[She looks around and wanders to the bed, grabbing at one of the pillows and turning back to Reid with a huffy expression.]

And if you say 'yes' I'm going to hit you in front of all your pokemon. [When in doubt, resort to pillow fights.]

Not necessarily. Hallucinations don't have to be pure fabrication--they can be warped perception of something that the senses are processing, so you could be completely real and I could still be insane.

[Wait what hitting what

Backing away now, because he sees that pillow, but he cannot shut up because he is Reid and babbling is like his superpower or something.] And some psychotic breaks have been known to last for years. [Hitting is imminent, isn't it?]

[You're not helping your case at all, Reid.

Mio just narrows her eyes before jumping for him, brandishing the pillow like a weapon and whapping at him] You're not crazy! Stop that!

[And SMACK goes the pillow.

Reid lets out a yelp, instinctively jumping back, and Nate is getting the hell out of the way. Hey, look, candles can jump.

Reid shrinks and holds his hands up as defense, but despite his body language, he's smiling and his eyes are sparkling with amusement.] I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm not crazy, okay, I'm not crazy!

[She gives him another smack for good measure, before relenting on her assault.]

Good! You have to keep saying that, okay? Because if I hear you talking that you are, I'll hit you again and I'll show no mercy. [She's trying not to smile and failing]

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