route_1065 | i'm through accepting limits;

Entry tags:

tobias | animorphs

i'm through accepting limits;

Who: Tobias and open!
Where: Violet City
When: Sunday September 14th, Monday September 15th, and Tuesday September 16th (aka Day of Smelly Birds)
Summary: Tobias is wandering around, taking in the bird atmosphere. Clearly this means he needs to be bothered.
Rating: PG-13 only because Animorphs is a depressing canon and things come up.
Log:

Really, Tobias should have stayed in the area, but training took priority over interest. Regal and Volts needed stronger enemies to fight, and the wild Pokemon around here just weren't cutting it. It had taken a while to get through the forest again, but he didn't mind. His Pokemon didn't seem to mind either, and so when they packed up the camp site they headed in to town.

They mostly spent their days wandering around, Regal perched on Tobias' shoulder and Rachel toddling along next to them. Sunday afternoon and Monday mid-day found them sitting and watching the aerial shows. It made him smile, but he couldn't help but miss the feeling of flying himself. During the most of the rest of Sunday and Monday, the group was around Sprout Tower, both lending a hand and exploring the tower itself.

Of course, Tuesday found the group with a small flock of pink and white birds. Tobias tried to entertain them, but apparently they decided that perching on him was more entertaining. He might need some help.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I know! It's like having your own perfume store right here! Isn't it just the sweetest? [ Mimi takes a sniff from the bird on her right shoulder. It smells like peppermint. ]

Oh! I saw people with those maskbirds on the network, but I didn't get one! They seemed so aggressive! [ Mimi frowns slightly. ] But you could calm yours down? That's amazing, Tobias-san! Oh, and living on a farm sounds wonderful! It must be like having your very own petting zoo! [ Mimi's eyes go wide as she imagines it: all those animals ready for the petting! ]

Well... it's not like the kind of farm that has cows and sheep and things like that. They use it as a wildlife clinic, since her dad works at the big wildlife park near me. But they're on the very edge of town, so there's land that hasn't been developed behind them.

[He nods to Rachel, who dives into his bag and pulls out some Pokeballs. Carefully he kneels down and opens them, so the birds go back in. With his regained mobility, he puts those balls back in and fishes around for a moment, before pulling out one he's marked with a triangle. He opens it up, revealing the masked bird, who attempts to lunge but is stopped by a hand on the back of his neck. Tobias lets out a high-pitched screech, and the bird looks up and relaxes.]

That's even cooler! What kind of wildlife do -

[ Mimi abruptly cuts herself off, fascinated by the way Tobias handles his Hawlucha. Making bird noises: weird, but apparently effective! ]

Wow! Does that mean something in maskbird?

[Nacho sits himself down, looking huffy.]

Sort... of? It's more like a declaration of territory. It's... it doesn't sound quite right but human vocal cords aren't really made for that. But it's basically 'this is my territory and you're not getting it, back off'. I've listened to hawk sounds for hours and it's almost like learning another language. It's not exactly... you don't get the words, but you get the tone.

[ Mimi stares, sparkle-eyed, as he explains. ] That's so cool! Tobias-san, you're a bird expert! Can you understand the noises he makes, too? Or are they too different from normal hawk noises?

Sort of? It's similar, but since hawks don't use words it's more like a different dialect of the same language.

[Rachel reaches her paws up to Tobias. She wants a ride. He rolls his eyes a little with a smile and picks her up.]

I think at home Rachel could pick me up.

[The little bear just looks confused, so he shakes his head.]

Never mind.

[ She giggles, watching him hoist Rachel into the air. ] Oh, that's adorable! All your Pokémon are so cute, Tobias-san! Who's Rachel? Is she a friend of yours from home? She must be pretty strong!

She is. She's a gymnast. A really good one, even if she keeps telling me she's too tall to be a gymnast. I don't really know that much about gymnastics, but she likes it a lot.

[Rachel-the-Pokemon nuzzles into Tobias happily.]

She's also really fierce, and likes bears. That's why I picked out a Teddiursa when I saw the Breeding Center had one.

I don't know anything about gymnastics either! [ A sheepish smile. ] Does that mean she can do cartwheels and handstands and stuff? That's really impressive! I can do a somersault, but that's about it!

[ She would happily demonstrate, but she's kind of laden down with Spritzees at the moment. Also, she's wearing a skirt. That too. ]

She sounds like a really cool person, Tobias-san! You must be pretty lucky to have a friend like that! [ Mimi muses. ] I keep thinking I should name some of my Pokémon after my human friends, but so far I've only named a couple of them after Digimon. I guess I'm just waiting for the right ones to come along and remind me of them!

She can, yeah. She used to do more competitions when she wasn't as busy as she is now. I can't do any of that kind of stuff. I named a Pokemon after Marco, too. One of the panda-looking ones. I haven't seen any others that remind me of my other friends yet, though

[Nacho squawks in irritation.]

... I'm not very good at picking names out in general, though. I don't think Nacho likes his name.

Oh, poor thing! [ She'd give Nacho a consoling pat, but she's worried about that beak. It looks wicked. ] Why did you name him Nacho, if you don't mind my asking? [ Nachos aren't so much a thing in Japan, so she's not quite sure what the word means. ]

[What is your country even Mimi.]

It's... it's a Mexican snack. Tortilla chips with cheese. Though I don't know how traditionally Mexican it actually is. American chefs like to take food from other countries and kind of make it their own.

[ NOT AS GOOD AS AMERICA THAT'S WHAT ]

It sounds delicious! [ Okay, she's not super sure what a tortilla chip is either, but cheese she knows and loves. ] Oh, I'd love to see the sort of food you have in America! I suppose it couldn't all be hamburgers! [ She's intrigued by the bit about food from other countries. ] Is Japanese food popular there?

[ A horrible thought strikes her. ]

...You do have natto in America, don't you?

Uh... I don't know what it is, but I'm sure that you could get some at a Japanese supermarket. But Japanese food is pretty popular, especially since I live pretty close to the coast. It makes it really easy to transport fish.

[ Well, she can't say she's not disappointed that he doesn't know what natto is, but... ]

Oh, you've got to try natto if you get a chance! It's my favorite food in the world! It goes with everything, too! I like to put it on eggs, myself! [ Spoiler alert: no one else in their right mind would do this. ]

But I'm glad Americans like Japanese food so much! Oh, I'd love to go to America and see all the different kinds of food they have there! Are your other Pokémon named after foods, too?

No, most are just names I thought fit them. Like Bruce, one of those little bats - I named him because of Batman.

[He has yet to find a spider Pokemon to name Peter, but it will happen.]

My Blitzle is name Volts because of electricity. I'm... not very good at naming things. What about yours?

You named a Pokémon after Batman? That's adorable! [ She sings under her breath. ] Na na na na na na na na... Batman! [ Yes, the classic Batman opening has charmed even Japanese children. BATMAAAN ]

Oh, my Pokémon just have names that I thought would be cute! Like my Skiploom, Hanemaru - he jumps and he's round, and in Japanese "jump" is haneru and "round" is maru, so I just put them together! And like I said, a couple of them remind me of my friends - Piyoko here [ she indicates the scentbird riding on her hat ] is named after Piyomon, because they're both pink birds! The rest of my birds are named after smell words!

[ Don't worry, Tobias. Mimi is not at all a better namer than you are. ]

... Oh, okay.

[He has no room to judge pink birds, he's seen dinosaurs and lava man aliens and deep sea fish.]

Yeah, I... keep thinking maybe I should get a cat Pokemon, since I used to have a cat when I was younger, but I haven't found any that remind me enough of Dude.

I can understand that! Like I said, I'm waiting for the right Pokémon to come along that I can name after my friends, so we're in sort of the same boat! You don't need to worry, Tobias-san!

...You named your cat Dude?

... Yeah. To be fair, I was like eight when I did. I thought it was cool.

[It was never cool and will never be cool.]

Oh, it's okay, Tobias-san! We've all done silly things when we were eight! I mean, I don't think I did anything quite like naming a cat Dude, but still. Eight is a silly age!

[ Mimi you're only ten yourself...... ]

[He does manage to laugh a little at that.]

I'm only fifteen, I'll probably still do a lot of weird stuff. And you're younger than me, right? So you've got even more of a chance to do things like that. But that's okay. That's how we learn, right?

That's right! You can't really learn from something unless you make a mistake, right?

...Not that I'm saying the way you named your cat was a mistake! [ Uh-oh. Time to backtrack. ] I'm sure he really enjoyed being named Dude!

No, no, it's okay. I'm sure he didn't really mind whatever name I gave him. He was pretty calm, for a cat. He would flop on me whenever I was doing homework until I scratched his belly, but then he'd sit next to me until I was done.

Oh! That sounds so sweet! I've never had a pet before [ curse you, tiny Japanese apartments! ], but I would have loved one that was as nice as Dude! Hmm, maybe when I get home I can ask my parents for a cat... if I get home.

[ Ohh. She made herself sad. ]

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