route_1065 | Terra incognita ~

Entry tags:

Terra incognita ~

Who: Tulio, Envy and Miguel finally
Where: Violet
When: Saturday the 23rd, mid-day
Summary: Tulio finds Miguel! But is Miguel really happy about this? And what about Envy? THE DRAMA
Rating: Uuh no more than PG I don't think
Log: Finally, they'd once again reached civilisation. That trek had been quite an ordeal and Tulio was more than happy to have the whole thing behind him. He'd forgotten about the cities in this place, though - how bright they were. Finding the dirt road making way to pavement, he had to take a moment to again absorb the strange workings of everything. The white lights from within the houses, the windows that all seemed to have glass - he'd only ever seen that on rich churches before - it was all just plain strange.

Bicho was buzzing with excitement beside him, probably elated by the sheer amount of people around. He'd learnt not to fly off like a rocket recently, and that was probably the sole reason he didn't do precisely that.

Well, anyway - so this was Violet. The place where that Barney person had told him Miguel was at. Tulio was trying to not get any hopes up, but he was hoping it was true and that Miguel was still around. Which reminded him of his current travelling partner, and he came to a halt and turned to look at Envy.

"Look, I gotta do something", he said in a bit of an urgent tone, but he was casual about it. "I'll ... find you later." Not really waiting for a reply, he turned and went in the direction of the pokémon center, with the intent of leaving Bicho there and to see if he could find his partner. He didn't really have a plan regarding finding him, but they'd always seemed to find each other by some weird instance of what Miguel would call fate anyway.

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Envy was definitely glad to reach Violet, especially since he'd barely been in Cherrygrove an hour before they'd gone off on the road again. He wasn't nearly as awed by the brightness as Tulio was, but it was still pretty impressive how much electric lighting was available. It must have gotten much cheaper. When Tulio suddenly went off on his own, Envy frowned. Chimera had been getting pretty tired from all the training they'd been doing, and he'd figured on taking him to the pokemon center place to heal, but he'd learned to be suspicious if Tulio did anything weird at all. So he waved him off, muttering a 'sure' and looking like he was more interested in something in the opposite direction, but once he was a fair distance away he took advantage of the city crowds to follow after the taller man. Where exactly was he going?

So, what was he supposed to do now? He had reached Cherrygrove like that one person had said, but, well.. there had been nothing there. He had gone through horrible berry poisoning twice before reaching this third town - Violet - and for what? Nothing, it seemed. This city was bigger than the others, yes. Easier to con people and get money for food (that he really needed) but... it just wasn't the same alone.

So for now he was just... walking through town. Cerdito trotted on beside him as if he had no worries in the world. Which, Miguel guessed, he probably hadn't.
Miguel had to admit, he missed Tulio, even though he was still a fair bit angry with him. The fact that the two pesetas he was holding - the only real money he had - had he won from Tulio did not help at all..

He left Bicho to the pokémon center quickly. He knew they "healed" the creatures, but didn't know or care how it worked. Fact was that Bicho had, despite all his enthusiasm, been pretty tired, so Tulio decided that he might as well leave him at that place overnight.

He still sort of maybe a little missed the loud buzzing of his wings at the moment though. Walking streets alone wasn't anything new to him, but in all honesty he hadn't had to be on his own for quite some time now - him and Miguel went years back, and when they got separated now he'd had, well, the mutant dragonfly.

In a way, though, it also offered a nice oppurtunity to clear his mind. He mused on this while walking down the streets, looking at the houses and trying to spot that familiar red shirt and blonde hair in the crowd. Envy'd been driving him close to insanity, even though he'd been much more agreeable the past day, and his mind had been going nuts about all kinds of different things lately. A crowd was a familiar place, after all, his natural habitat - as were the streets.

He turned right. He saw a few red jackets, but not what he was looking for. He took a left, another right, and found himself staring up at a building, a huge tower, and took a few steps backwards. It was impressively tall, seemed to be even higher than the churches he'd been familiar with, but he had other things that called for his attention.

Then, when he turned to fall back on the main street, he spotted Miguel - just like that. He didn't really need to see much more than that shirt and that hair before making his way over. Miguel had his eyes fixed on the ground in a way that wasn't unfamiliar to Tulio, but unusual, but he didn't really care for what the reason might be. He crossed the distance in a few long strides.

"Miguel! Hey!"

He grabbed him by the shoulders, smiling and shaking him a little in excitement, just really happy to see him again.

Envy saw that Tulio left his pokemon at the center, but for some reason he didn't really feel comfortable with just leaving Chimera with strangers. Maybe they were trustworthy, maybe not, but he didn't feel like chancing it right when he was starting to like the little guy. He'd feel much better later, when he'd be able to stay there and make sure.

Then Tulio ran up to some blonde guy, and Envy looked on curiously. Who the hell was that? Someone Tulio know? He decided to hang back for a moment and see where this went.

Truth to be told, Miguel was hungry, and his stomach took every chance it could to remind of this by snarling loudly. This wasn't a new feeling, no, he had gone without food for longer than this before, such as when they'd messed up with a con, so he was in no hurry to silence his hunger.
It was somewhat crowded in places, so some sneaky pickpocketing wouldn't be very difficult. He was really considering it, even if to only find out what their money looked like. Because as of yet, Miguel hadn't seen a single coin or piece of valuable metal.

He sighed, guessing it wouldn't hurt to try it despite being alone and without either disguise or distraction, he headed towards the mass of people.

He heard how quick footsteps marched his way, but he did not bother to look up. It was probably someone being late for something, like work or a meeting or whatever. In this strange world, filled with strange houses, strange people and strange creatures, it could be anything.

To make an understatement, Miguel was suprised when he was almost forcefully grabbed by the shoulder, and a familiar voice called his name.
Cerdito was not in the least fazed by this sudden event, and simply stopped as Miguel did so. It took Miguel a few second to process what just happened, but then... whoa, who... Wait... what... It was... it was... TULIO!? IT WAS TULIO!

"Tulio!?" He cracked a smile and grabbed Tulio's arm. He really wanted to... do something else, to show how happy he was that Tulio was there, but that was all his conflicting emotions allowed him to do at the moment.

He was laughing, happy and relieved and already making plans, because this was his partner and he'd found him again, so basically it meant that all was well once more. Keeping his firm grip on Miguel's shoulders, he guided him out of the crowd, coming to a halt next to the wall of a nearby house resting in shadow, unable to stop grinning at the shorter man.

"I never thought I'd find you! This is great, this is- this- how long have you been here?" He interrupted himself, not really sticking to a linear train of thought. His grip had trailed from Miguel's shoulders, and Tulio held a hand loosely on Miguel's lower arm while gesturing wildly with his spare one. "Do you realize the possibilites here? Not as good as El Dorado, but..."

He trailed off, but grabbed at Miguel again, tugging at him a little. It might've been a subconscious effort to make sure he was the real deal, but whatever the reason for it, Tulio usually kept close to his friend and now he was sort of making up for it.

"Tell me everything. Go on." He was still grinning, looking somewhat conspiratory, not paying attention to any dissonances in Miguel's face.

Envy looked at the two of them, surprised at how happy Tulio looked with this guy. He should've figured that the grouchy man could actually be happy, but seeing it was still pretty weird. He did feel a growing stab of familiar jealousy though. A few days ago he wouldn't have cared, but Tulio'd actually stayed with him when he was sick and incapacitated, even though he didn't much like him and had clearly much rather have been on the move to get to Violet and this other guy. It wasn't exactly something that many people had done. Or any people really. He didn't want to give up just yet, like he had other times.

It didn't matter if he was angry now - since a happy Tulio face wasn't one of the most common sights around, he was laughing as well. He was finally with his friend - his partner - again, and the other seemed to be overjoyed...

"Tulio! Tulio, I.. you'll never guess...-"
Tulio's rambling interrupted him, but it was not like it mattered. Still, the thoughts of the "incident" with Chel just wouldn't leave Miguel's mind... Maybe he should just let go of that. Try to forget and just be happy. Because he wanted to be dragged along in the excitement, wanted so badly to be just as happy as Tulio was but... it wasn't easy. He had been hurt badly, and really forgiving Tulio could take some time...

"I..- no idea. A while. But, Tulio! You have no idea..-! No idea how much I've missed you!"
He wanted so badly to just... hold the other man! Hold him, hug him for a long time, make sure it really was him, that he really was there and that he wouldn't leave again! But holding his arm in a close to desperate grip would have to suffice for now.

"I..- this place! It's.. I've never seen something like it! The animals, they're.. monstruous and...oh, those poisonous berries!"
Cerdito pushed at Miguel's feet for attention, but he didn't care. He was too busy rambling about all that had happened to him, fighting his thoughts and emotions and not knowing whether he should hit Tulio for being a jerk before or go through with his urge to just hug him for being so goddamn happy that he was here.

He was calming down a little, leaning forward and gesturing inbetween them, but still holding onto Miguel like he might lose him again any second. Not that he thought he would, but he liked feeling physically that he was there. Feeling Miguel mirror that move was a nice thing in itself, too.

"I missed you too, but now we have to-"

They were talking all over each other, and Tulio wasn't fully listening to what Miguel was saying, picking up little bits an pieces between trying to talk to him himself. It's not like it mattered much, though. They still understood each other.

"I know! They're freaks! But they fight, and- and what- don't tell me you ate the berries- oh you did, didn't you", and he almost started laughing again because that was such a typical thing for Miguel to do. He was almost stepping on the Swinub at their feet, but he didn't notice, hell, he hadn't even realized the little brown puddle of fur was down there.

Much like he hadn't noticed Envy following him.

Envy was getting more jealous by the second. It didn't help at all that this other guy had hair that reminded him very much of that damn little shrimp Edward Elric. That kid had gotten everything he never did, and somehow it made sense in his head that he wasn't going to let that happen again. So he finally came out of his little hiding place, going right up to Tulio and looking curious and not exactly unfriendly. "Hey, Tulio, thought you'd forgotten about me. You know this guy I'm guessing?"

How did it go..? 'You never know what you have until you've lost it'. Miguel had never been much for sayings, but this one he had to agree with. But now Tulio was here, he was thinking of a plan and Miguel was ready and eager to hear about it. All was well and as it should be. There was no Chel, no El Dorado, no gold. Just him and Tulio.

"Fight? Like bullfigh- Ahah yeah, I-.. I did, but I am-"
Cerdito was getting more and more urgent in his pushing. When he for once asked for his master's attention, he wouldn't bother with it! Couldn't he see that someone highly suspicious was heading their way?! Yeah, maybe his master was caught up in being highly joyful and conflicted at the same time, but shouldn't he at least look!

Miguel didn't notice until this suspicious invidual spoke.

Who was this? It looked like a girl. Long hair, revealing clothes... not much of a figure but, Miguel couldn't still help but be remided of a certain other. It was made even worse by the fact that whoever this was, he-she-it claimed s/he knew Tulio. Now now, no need to get that worked up just yet... it could be just a... friend, right? Right? No, Tulio didn't.. Tulio didn't make friends just like that? Did he...?

After a brief moment of tense silence, Miguel finally spoke, the joy in his voice replaced by surprise and insecurity.

"Tulio... who is that?"

Oh. Well, it was fair to say he hadn't accounted for this. He had sort of assumed the two would have to meet at some point in time, but honestly, he'd forgotten all about Envy the moment he went to find Miguel. Envy wasn't important now, not really.

"Uh... Miguel, Envy." He gestured at Envy with a hand, still holding onto Miguel with his other. "Envy, Miguel. He's my partner."

Tulio stressed that last sentence a little, and though looking at Envy his grip tightened briefly on Miguel's arm when he said it, as if making sure the information came across. Then, to Miguel:

"I travelled with him here."

Envy frowned internally, but didn't let it show at all, keeping the polite smile on his face. "Nice to meet you, Miguel," he held out a hand and smirked a little, still not unfriendly, just his usual expression. This Miguel was already clearly established in Tulio's life,it wouldn't do any good to antagonize him more than necessary. He'd have to be much more subtle if he wanted to stay. And honestly, he didn't like the thought of being on his own, not at all.

Miguel smiled, more to polite than anything else, and it was very reluctantly he shook Envy's hand.

"Nice to meet you too", Miguel said, managing to pull of an almost genuinely friendly tone. He would play nice, but he did not trust this Envy person. Not at all. He had trusted Chel, and gee, look how well that had went. No, he would not let the same happen with this person.

Standing awkwardly silent for a moment, Tulio then opened his mouth, directing his words at Envy.

"You don't have to put up with me anymore", he said, trying to be smooth about it. In reality, of course, he meant that I don't have to put up with you anymore, but that's not the kind of thing you say to someone you want to keep on your good side. "Weren't you looking for someone too?"

He was referring to when he'd heard Envy use the pokégear, of course - he was still sarcastically thinking about it as the 'talking box', but he couldn't really deny its usefulness.

He glanced at Miguel before looking back at Envy.

Well, this wasn't exactly unexpected, considering how Tulio had found his original partner and was clearly still not liking Envy much. But Envy wasn't really one to give up easily, judging by how he'd been seeking revenge for 400 years, even without getting much of anywhere on it. He frowned a little at Tulio, "What if I don't feel like leaving? You asked me to join up with you, after all." He wasn't even thinking about Miguel at that point, more focused on trying to not get himself kicked out of the group, "Besides, that bastard isn't here, and I wouldn't exactly be joining up with him for traveling if I did find him."

Had this happened two months ago, Miguel would not have minded Envy. Hell, he might've even told Tulio that 'hey, it won't hurt if he tags along for a while right?'
But things had happened, and the circumstances were different.

He frowned at Envy's quite petty argument. He 'didn't feel like' leaving. While it was mostly Tulio's decision whether Envy should come with them, Miguel opinion would matter. And if he knew Tulio right - and he was sure he did - it would matter a lot.

"What will you gain by travelling with us?" he inquired. Even though he didn't want Envy to come with them, he couldn't just outright say that.

Envy looked over at Miguel, noting that the other guy seemed to want Envy around just as much as Envy wanted him around.

"I'll gain not being on my own in this crazy place. Don't worry, I don't intend to get in the way of your partnership. Besides, he," he gestured at Tulio, "knows that I'm useful."

Tulio shifted his attention to Miguel, once again adjusting his grip on him, holding him by the shoulder with one hand. Searching for his eyes, he spoke directly to him, in that sort of urgent, hushed way of his. "It's true, Miguel, he's great at conning - that's why I had him come with me - we could use him."

That last part was even more hushed, of course, frantically whispered, so Envy wouldn't hear, because again, Tulio was trying to keep on his good side.

"Think about it, three of us, it'd be great", he kept whispering, "trust me, he knows what he's doing. You don't have to like it - I don't like him - but we can tolerate him. Less effort, more pay. Tons of gold for we, eh?"

He was smiling, but it was a little strained, a bit pleading. "We can always get rid of him later."

Miguel wanted right there to just snap. Swat away Tulio's hand and bark all of it out right in his face. He'd heard what he said to Chel, three is a crowd, he did not want Envy to come with them!

"Yeah, cause it went so well last time we let someone con with us", was all he grumbled back though. He did not want to risk losing Tulio again, and maybe Tulio said he didn't like Envy, but then again who was it that had said Chel was off-limits? Exactly. Tulio had.

"Miguel- Miguel, listen, I don't like it either", he kept going, looking at him intently, the comment flying far above his head. Tulio figured he was referring to Chel, but that had worked out pretty well, hadn't it? "Just, just go with it for now, alright?"

Again, a sort of half-smile, trying to be pursuasive. He saw Miguel hesitate, and deemed that to be good enough at the moment. He squeezed the other man's shoulder again, as a form of reassurance. Then, he turned to Envy.

"Uh, you can stay." He paused, then, after a sideways glance to Miguel: "Do you mind? We've got a lot to talk about."

Envy actually grinned somewhat when told he could stay. Not too much, that would be suspicious and odd, but at least he had a shot now. For once persistence was paying off.

He nodded at the request to leave, even if he didn't really want them deciding that they'd changed their minds about keeping him on and running off. "Yeah, no problem. I'll be at the Pokemon Center place for a while probably." He did have to heal Chimera still after all. And it'd be nice to sit down indoors for a while. Besides, it would be better not for him to push his luck here too much, not in a situation as delicate as this.

As soon as Envy was out of sight, Miguel grabbed Tulio's shoulder and pulled him closer.

"I don't want him to come with us!" he hissed through gritted teeth, something very unlike him. Even though it was sure Envy couldn't hear Miguel's voice, he spoke in a hushed tone.

"Please Tulio. I don't want anyone to come with us."
Tulio didn't know that Miguel had overheard that conversation with Chel, and Miguel was in no hurry to tell him about this either. Chel wasn't here, she wasn't a problem. Envy did not remind that much of Chel, but enough to become a problem and make Miguel worried. Besides, he seemed like a very unreliable guy.

"I want it to be just you and me."

Tulio was a bit taken aback at this. Miguel of all people - he'd expected him to take a liking to a new guy, if anything. He was so willing to trust people (a trait that Tulio, at times, had been a bit jealous of), always so open and welcoming. The only exceptions had been people who'd obviously been out to get them for the bounty on their heads, angry guards, Cortes and ... Envy. And Tulio couldn't really wrap his head around it.

Not that he liked Envy. He hadn't really wanted Miguel to like the kid, either, but the thing was that he'd sort of expected him to. He was never this guarded. That was Tulio's thing.

And despite the insistant "just you and me" Tulio just wasn't sure what to make of Miguel's words. He frowned, regarding his friend.

"Wait- hang on. Miguel. What's up with you?"

In one split-second, Miguel almost spilled it. Everything that was on his mind at the moment. But he regained his senses before he said anything he'd regret.

"Look, I..." His tense and angry expression loosened up to make way for insecurity and worry. His hand trailed off Tulio's shoulder and came to grip at his arm, once more in an almost desperate fashion, as if he was afraid Tulio could slip away and vanish any second if he didn't hold on.

"I... I just... he doesn't seem like a trustworthy guy", he threw an emphasizing glance in the direction Envy had gone.

"I mean.. he could.. he could try and play us out against each other, or run of with our gold or..." The arguments were very deficent, yes, he had to win over Tulio somehow A mere 'I don't like him' wouldn't cut it, and saying 'he reminds me too much of Chel, I am afraid he'll seduce you and take you away from me' was also out of the question, even though it was the truth.

"Is that it? That's what you're worried about?"

Tulio raised an eyebrow at him, smiling calmly, collected, in a way that seemed almost conspiratory.

"We're partners. Since when did anything come between us?"

He didn't wait for an answer though, knowing he was ignoring his own slight mishaps in favour of his reassuring, if slightly teasing, tone. The thing was that they always ended up together again no matter what happened. That was practically a law of nature by now, having kept them together for years.

"Besides, we could always trick him back." Tulio grinned, squeezing Miguel's shoulder lightly again. He couldn't help but notice the reverse roles and feel slightly odd at doing that - normally Miguel was the one telling him to take it easy and go with it. Somewhere in his mind, Tulio understood something bigger must be the problem, that something else was bothering his friend, but he ignored that realization for now.

Miguel sighed and looked gloomily down at the ground, noticing that Cerdito had nuzzled up against his feet and fallen asleep. Or maybe he was awake. Hard to determine since his eyes was always hidden beneath that fur.

There was no idea to argue anymore. Tulio appeared to be really sure and determined about this, and while his promising words actually made Miguel put his faith back in Tulio there was still that anxiety tugging at his mind. But oh well...

"Alright", he said with a sigh as he looked up into Tulio's eyes.
Miguel would just have to... deal with that guy for now then. Make really sure that Envy did not get between him and Tulio, like he had allowed Chel to do. He had to admit felt a little bad, being so suspicious and nearly hostile against a person he didn't even know.

"We'll use him and then we'll get rid of him. That's the plan? And we stick to the plan?"

"We always stick to the plan." Again, that smile, as he once more adjusted his hold on Miguel's arm slightly. He didn't want to have this conversation anymore, though, and steered the topic away before Miguel could argue.

"Now-" he took a step from the wall, motioning for Miguel to follow him, a bit annoyed at the crowd constantly moving past them and wanting to find a quieter location, "- tell me everything."

Tulio didn't really feel the need to clarify 'everything', knowing Miguel would probably stay true to his character and want to talk about it even if he hadn't wanted to know.

'You better stick to the plan' Miguel mentally grumbled as they made their way out to the street.

"Well, I..."
Come on, why couldn't he just... try to relax? Just take it easy and be happy. He could worry about the Envy-person later. Maybe he could even give the guy a chance..

Miguel let out a short, awkward sounding laugh before he began speaking.

"Well, I told you, I was berry poisoned. Twice even." He laughed shortly again, but this one was more genuine.
"First was in the middle of the forest. You know that sweating sickness you told me you'd had? You know, that you told me about ages ago? Anyway, I think I know what it feels like now."

He laughed once more, finally loosening up again as they walked down the street.

"And then there was that one just before I got to this town. It made me throw up, ugh, it was really... not nice. And it made me feel ill and see strange things. It felt like the world was spinning. I got help from some guy at that 'Pokémon Center'-building though.."

And as on cue the tell-tale red and white ball on the Pokemon Center roof could be seen not too far off in the distance.

"God, Miguel, you never learn, do you?"

He was practically chuckling - an uncharacteristic action, in general, but he hadn't seen his partner for what felt like a really long time. Besides, the events described to him now seemed so very typical of the other man, he couldn’t help but be amused at the familiarity.

Miguel was the only one who Tulio didn’t hide from, even if he’d still be pretty closed up – but he always was. The difference is that Miguel is the one who gets to see the real Tulio occasionally, and no one else does.

So, walking along, he allowed himself the small comfort of relaxing, for once. As they neared the building of the Pokémon Center, he made a movement as if to steer away from it, but then decided to let Miguel lead.

”I can’t believe you did that. You’re lucky we’re not back in Spain, you would’ve killed yourself.” He sounded a bit berating, but he gave Miguel a sideways combination of a smirk and a smile.
_{They probably would’ve been killed sooner or later anyway, but that was besides the point.}

"Oh, you know me", he said with a soft laugh.

What if the berry had been fatally poisonous? Then he would have been dead, and what did they do at the thought of this? They laughed.

Oh well. It wasn't like they hadn't laughed death in the face before. The risk of dying glared at them on a daily basis there in Spain. If it wasn't some guards being after their criminal-butts, it was some bounty hunter and if it wasn't that, it was sickness or lack of shelter or money and food which led to starvation and desperate measures.

They kept on walking along the street, heading towards the Pokemon Center, where Envy should be waiting for them. Miguel was still amazed by the automatic doors as they opened with a swoosh. How did they work? There was no handle but they opened when you came close. Was it magic or something? Maybe it was this thing that girl had talked about? What was it called now... Electricity?

Oh, and there he was. Envy. Waiting for them as expected. Miguel frowned a little as they approached the green-haired boy, but he shook it off. He should at least try to be nice.

Envy had given over his Larvitar with only a little wariness, seeing that other people were having no problem with doing the same. The nurse said that he'd have to rest for a while because of how tired he was, and given him a bit of a disapproving look. He just frowned back at her and went to sit on on of the couches. It was great to be inside finally though, where it wasn't chilly or uncomfortable or dirty. He really wanted to get clean, but he'd wait until he knew what was going on with Tulio and that other Miguel guy first.

He'd resorted to actually reading his Trainer Manual more thoroughly than he had at first by the time the two other men walked inside. He looked up, as he'd done whenever he heard those doors open, and grinned when he saw them. So they hadn't ditched after all, that was good for him.

"Hey, have a good time catching up with each other?"

His tone was still somewhat teasing and he had a slight smirk on his face, but he'd be more friendly for now. If he didn't , there was a much higher chance now that he'd get left.

Catching sight of Envy, Tulio wasn’t sure if he wanted him there or not, but decided to give him a chance he knew he could probably make use of. Envy would be an asset, and a good one at that. They didn’t have to be friends – it was business. In a sense, though, he was sort of glad to see him there, even if Miguel was his main man and would always be.

He slung an arm over Miguel’s shoulders in a very possessive gesture that had a clear message.

”Absolutely”, was the answer, delivered in a voice that was slightly sharp in response to the slight tease he’d heard in Envy. He didn’t think about it, though, and sat down next to Envy, expecting Miguel on his other side. He had an idea for a con, now, and he’d need both of them, and if they could pull it off, the profit would be great.
_{[OOC: that’s a wrap, people? :D]}

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Terra incognita ~

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