route_1065 | This may scare younger viewers

This may scare younger viewers

Who: The Mankin Cast. Srsly, the whole damn cast.
Where: Cherrygrove (Pokemon Centre)
When: 18th June
Summary: Meeting the Brainbreakers
Rating: PG - 13
Log:
Anna strode full of purpose into the town, pointedly ignoring any locals as she trotted at a brisk pace towards the Pokemon Center. Where she would find her son. That was still odd to think about. Her son. Asakura Hana. Waiting with Tao Men, son of Ren and Jeanne. She allowed herself a small smirk at that. Ren and Jeanne. Oh, she was going to have fun with that.

But that was for later, right now, she had more pressing matters. Like her sick child. Whose illness she logically blamed on Ren for setting the two kids off for Cherrygrove in the first place. Stepping out of the heat and through the automatic doors of the Centre, Anna cast her gaze about for her son and his distinct looking travelling partner.

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Men wasn't very hard to spot, not with that hair style, he sat rubbing his eyes, having been woken by Hana's excitement to see his mother. He gave a yawn that was quickly interrupted by another cough.

Atop his head, Tai the Pichu patted him comfortingly before it spotted Ren. It gave a happy call and leapt down to tug on Men's sleeve. He just looked at it like it was catching a fever. The Pokemon pouted and pointed to Ren.

His attitude immediately shifted, pushing himself up off his seat he made his way over, only slightly wobbly from illness. Once he reached the older boy, without saying a word, each hand gripped at his fathers shirt and he put his head against Ren in an odd form of hug.

That slight wobbling had him calmly watching and spring loaded to helping Men if he needed it, but when he finally reached him and put his head down in that sort of hug.. Ren smiled quietly. No, he really smiled. Ren used to do that kind of hug with his sister when he was younger, so it's very recognizable.

Reaching up with both hands, he rested them on Men's shoulders and squeezed, returning the hug in a more.. fatherly way since Ren was never a huggy person in the first place. Immediently checking him overall to see if he was hurt or if it was just the cold, he idly adjusted that silver tongari to stand straight and tall, speaking quietly but with pride.

"I knew you would make it. Colds happen, it's good you didn't get more ill despite that hailstorm."

Even though his face wasn't visible due to his position (or maybe because it wasn't), the small boy gave a smile at Rens hold, very used to his fathers way of displaying affection. He mumbled something that sounded very much like 'Papa' before he pulled away just enough to look up.

Men's hair stayed in place for approximately 30 seconds before twisting back into its regular state in bold defiance, much like the child it belonged to.

His grip remained tight on his father shirt as he pouted slightly. "If Papa can do it easily then of course I can do it!" He insisted.

Honestly, he hadn't expected it to stand up straight with that wave he can see, but he still chuckled a bit when it twisted back into place. Squeezing Men's shoulders again, he nodded and glanced towards the front counter. Time to get this boy some dry clothes, he's not going to let him sit in that soggy towel anymore.

Lightly steers Men with him as moves to the counter to smack his hand down and demand some attention from one of the nurses, barely needing to point at Men before she would nod and disappear into the back to get some dry clothes for the kid. Ren looked more like an overprotective brother than a father with the ages all mixed up, but while they waited, he smirked.

"Good. You will have to reassure your.. mother that you are perfectly fine." He hesitated a moment at 'mother', unable to help looking mildly awkward since it's Jeanne for crying out loud. Plus, she would chew him out because Men caught a cold when he reassured her that their son would be completely fine.

Not to mention Ren has a creeping unsettling feeling Anna may have a few choice words for him for getting Hana ill as well.

Men kept ahold of his father with one hand, stood with a somewhat smug expression on his face as Ren expressed his authority. Tai, feeling a little left out, re-claimed her place atop Men's head.

The silver haired boy looked at Ren when he spoke, admiration shining behind his distinctly coloured eyes. His gaze faltered when Ren finished speaking and he glanced behind his father, then about the room, then moved to look back at the door. Brow furrowed slightly, he turned back at Ren. "Isn't Mama with you?" He wasn't able to hide the hint of disappointment in his voice.

It's not that he was ignoring the Pichu, but Men's health came first. Taking a moment to look over the small electric creature before Men asked where Jeanne was, blinking and looking back towards the doors.

"... I walk fast. She's not far behind, I'm sure."

The nurse was returning, and Ren tried to pass off that disappointed sound Men had by using clothes as an excuse. Taking what was offered, he picked through it to see what it was ~~ace trainer~~ and smirked. Fitting clothes for a Tao, good. Offers them to Men finally and half starts to lead him to the bathroom so he can change.

"Get dried up before she gets here and she'll feel better."

Tai waved cheerfully up at Ren as Men glanced to the door sadly for a brief moment before returning his full attention to his father once more.

He pulled off the wet towel, placing it down on the counter and gathering up the fresh clothes from Ren. Trotting obediently alongside the other Shaman he spoke again. "Thankyou, Papa. These look much better." His voiced was laced with gratitude, more so than there really should have been but now that he and Hana had already taken a look at the clothes in their bag it was a surprise they hadn't burnt them in the hail to keep warm.

He nodded vigorously. "She will." And he disappeared into the bathroom.

He couldn't help the smile that slid onto his face whenever Men called him 'papa', and waited patiently outside the bathroom, leaning against the wall with his hands stuffed into his pockets. Watching the door, he quietly wondered when everyone else would make it; they aren't that slow, are they?

It didn't take too long for Men to change, he came out, shoving his damp clothes in his bag, he'd take care of them properly later. Noticing Ren against the wall, Men moved to stand beside him, dropped the bag at his own feet and mimicked his fathers stance. Tai tilted her head curiously and did the same thing, before deciding it wasn't as comfy as Men's shoulder and climbed up her tamer to settle in said place.

At some point, Jeanne had gotten ahead of Lyserg, though the lack of his presence hardly registered in her mind as she approached the PokeCenter. Certainly, she had to retain some of her grace as she refrained from running, instead only briskly walking towards her destination. Though even then, she picked up the front of her dress in order to avoid dirtying the skirts any further.

Then, as the door opened and she stepped inside, it was surprisingly easy to pick out who she was looking for. Was the combination of silver hair and red eyes truly so striking? At that moment, she couldn't help but find it highly noticeable and had to take a second to really think about what that meant.

Ah. So that was her son. And for him, she smiled happily as she walked towards him and his... father. She wasn't sure what the strangest part of the situation was.

The moment Men spotted Jeanne walk through the doors he pushed himself off the wall to meet her, he didn't return her smile but instead kept a determined look plastered on his face as he strode forward.

As soon as she was within reach he put his arms around her middle, gripping at her dress and resting his head against her, it wasn't exactly a full on hug, but it was a more cuddly embrace than the one he'd done for Ren. His mother was, afterall, a more cuddly person.

For the first time he realized how much smaller his mother was here but Men opted to ignore that for the time being. He didn't bother to look up from being buried in soft white frills as he spoke. "Hello, Mama." Came his muffled voice, which was supposed to be dignified but the effect was ruined somewhat.

He had to admit, all three of them together for the first time was very... strange. Sure, he had made a note that Men had silver hair and red eyes, but only now seeing him side by side with Jeanne did it seriously click that this is the mother of his child.

Despite this trailing around in his mind, he kept a calm expression on his face, pushing off the wall as well but not moving to make any hugs, keeping his hands stuffed into his pockets.

".. Hey." What is he even supposed to say?

Certainly, she hadn't been expecting physical contact of any sort. It was strange, but a good sort of strange, perhaps. Her son's arms finding their way to her as he awkwardly clinged to her, she supposed that perhaps this could be considered a hug? She couldn't recall the last time she had received one of those. There was a strange warmth to this and while the affection was something foreign that she had so rarely encountered before, she found herself liking it. So with a small smile, she returned the hug as her arms wrapped around her son.

"Hello there," and even if he couldn't see her face as his head was still buried in the frills, it was very easy to hear the smile in her voice. Such a sweet child.

But hearing Ren's voice allowed it to register in her mind that yes, he was present as well. Not to mention that she had a few words to spare for him, mostly concerning how thanks to his advice, her son seemed to have caught a cold. However to spare Men from hearing her reprimand his father, she would make sure to speak with Ren later. Turning to face him, she offered him an automatic, generic smile as well. This was different than speaking over a communication device, and she found that she could not yet willingly lower her guard. As much as she wanted it to be otherwise, she still could not consider him to be any more than Tao Ren. However she would do her best to spare a few familiar words, "Ren... Hello. I'm glad you arrived safely."

Content with holding onto his mother, Men didn't bother pulling away until he had to do so, which he did once he had to sneeze into his hand. Mumbling bless me, he turned to look between his mother and father, keeping a hand holding onto his mothers clothing.

It was pretty hard to ignore the awkwardness that had settled between them, which was only heighten by their somewhat forced greetings. Men frowned. He was confused, and he didn't like that.

Determined to find out what was going on, he tried to make them talk some more. He turned back to his mother and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by bout of coughing in his palm. Dammit.

Son, you are getting Ren in more trouble with every single sneeze and cough you make.

Shifts his eyes a moment, but only to look at the nurse nearby and hold his hand out for something to give Men. A kleenex box was planted into his hand hardly a moment later, and he's offering it to Men so he could blow his nose.

The poor dear! Immediately any semblance of a smile is wiped clear off her face as she looks sadly upon the boy still clinging to her. It's clear that he wouldn't be having such trouble if someone hadn't instructed him to walk ahead as opposed to simply staying where shelter was available.

... but she still couldn't bring herself to speak harshly towards Ren right in front of Men. So instead, she could only frown and do her best to rub Men's back soothingly. Admittedly, she wasn't sure what to do in this situation. Oh, where was Lyserg...?

Mumbling a thankyou, Men took one of the tissues. Wiping his nose before balling it up and taking a shot at the nearby trash can, which, of course, made its target.

Undeterred by Jeannes preoccupied thoughts, Men pushed forward with his questions. "Why weren't you with Papa?" He asked his mother bluntly. Knowing that she'd earlier told him his father was ahead of her he threw a question towards the purple haired boy also. "Didn't you wait for Mama?"

It's not like Ren knew there was going to be a freak hailstorm or he would have had the kids stay put! But not being a mind-reader is a good thing :| ~~Or he'd be like Hao--~~

With the questions, he blinked a bit and grunted once, setting the tissue box on the counter and stuffing his hands into his pockets again.

"We were all going to arrive here eventually. It was only in the last twenty minutes that I moved ahead to get here as soon as possible."

Hey, he was worried about his son under all of his casualness and he was sick of dealing with Hao, and then there's the extra stress of Lyserg sending out 'going to kill you' vibes towards Hao (plus the detective tried to punch him in private once).

The questions surprised Jeanne, but she found Ren's answer acceptable. It would be odd to tell Men that she and Ren were practically strangers as it currently stood.

Filling in the gaps where Ren left off, she continued, "We were coming from different places, Men. Before you called us, we were traveling with different people and as I told you, Ta-- Ah, um... Your father was already ahead." Such an awkward statement to make. After clearing her throat, she continued, "I apologize. It took me longer because Lyserg and I stopped now and again for a picnic when the weather was clear, not to mention our pace was generally slower."

Honesty was the best policy, and she stuck by that. Hopefully he would be satisfied with their answers.

Men did not look satisfied. Not one bit. In fact he looked the opposite. Frown set on his face, he folded his arms and fixed his gaze on his mother, he really did like like a complete mixture of the two of them. "Ren."

He'd noticed Jeanne slip up, and he was calling her out on it. "Papa's name is Ren. You know that. That's what you call him." His eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke. "And what should be calling him."

Well this was interesting. Raising his eyebrow, he simply watched with curiosity on what the boy was implying. It's true that he never heard Jeanne simply call him by his name, but he didn't expect it. They weren't so close, so it was only reasonable she call him by his full name instead..

The idea of addressing someone so informally was hard for her to grasp. She was surprised that Men even managed to catch it. She would've been happy to continue addressing Ren as 'Men's father' whenever the boy was around. But it seems that he wouldn't stand for it.

Glancing towards Ren, she wouldn't override her teachings just to satisfy Men's demands, "Would that be suitable with you?" After all, trespassing that boundary without his consent simply wouldn't do either.

The difference in their relationship to what Men was used to was becoming so clear it was beginning to annoy him somewhat. The small boy let out a 'hmph', switching his focus towards Jeanne to Ren instead.

Men waited until his father had answered before hurling a question seemingly out of the blue at the teen. "When's Mama's birthday?" It was obvious he wanted an answer.

"It would be fine."

Answering Jeanne, that question from Men popped up and he just blinked a moment, giving him a blank look. Yeah, Men wasn't going to let him get off this one -- time to take a random guess.

"February?"

"Then... 'Ren' it is," Jeanne nodded, though the hesitance in her voice was clear. It was very strange to be addressing him so informally.

However his answer to Men's question proved amusing as she smiled, "March, actually. March 2nd. You were commendably close."

This may scare younger viewers

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