Whew, almost done with the filler based stuff leading up to their next interaction. Didn't realize how long this was going to take me, for that, I'm truly sorry! I've also run into a little bit of a conundrum that I'm hoping my loyal readers can answer for me, if you don't mind, that is! I realize you only run into N a total of about 5 times canonly in game and plan to cover each of those canon times thoroughly in "Crazy" and "Uninvited".
However; would anyone be directly opposed to deviating a little from canon to have them interact a bit more? It'd make more sense in my eyes and from where I'm standing; but I can also run with a second line/plot that follows the game's five interactions and stay with that. If none of you mind giving some input, I'd be grateful, that way you can help this indecisive writer get pointed in the right direction!
Thank you, as always, for reading and following along! Here's the next chapter of "Crazy" for you all, please enjoy!
The curative powers of a long, hot shower were nothing short of miraculous.
Touko had indulged herself probably a little more than was necessary, making sure every inch of her was scrubbed clean and thoroughly soaped and rinsed off. What she hadn't expected, however, was for her Pokemon to suddenly join her in the extremely large bathroom. In retrospect, she realized it'd been build the way it was for that exact reason; to bathe Pokemon as well as people.
Suds, bubbles and laughter echoed out into the living room of the small hotel-like room as Touko made sure to clean and groom each and every single one of her Pokemon until they looked, and smelled, quite a bit better than they all had earlier that day. It was while she was carefully blow drying Purrloin's velvety fur that the young woman noticed something disturbing about the purring feline. The dryer was switched off in an instant, the cat opening one emerald hued eye at the lack of warm air on his person and regarded the trainer holding him on her lap with a look that suggested she best do whatever it was she needed to do and get back to drying him as quickly as possible.
He was the prince among his kind, after all.
Whether it was to reassure him or herself was something she decided not to ask herself, the purring continuing under her gentle hand as she carefully moved her way down from his ears to his neck, where she thought she'd seen something as the heated air had hit and parted fur. Nimble fingers carefully searched- and found exactly what she'd been afraid of.
Smooth scar tissue.
Touko sucked in a sharp breath, allowing her fingers to inquire the length of the scars, feeling him tense slightly beneath her hands the closer her fingers approached the front of his throat- and relax as she scratched him shakily beneath his chin. What kind of bastard did this? was her first thought, the second following immediately after happened to run along the lines of, 'And where do I find him so I can punch his lights out?' It must have been his last owner then. But wait a sec, that'd... that'd mean...
N.
The long legged brunette stared down into the eyes of the still tensed up Pokemon as she tried to imagine someone like N doing something that would put those kinds of wounds on a Pokemon. His face popped up from their first encounter in her mind. The intensity of his sage green eyes that near-perfectly matched the color of his hair, the shadows over his face that lent him a more mysterious, otherworldly... and attractive appearance. As if the shadows from his baseball cap were physical form of the shadows she'd caught in his eyes for just a split second or two during that encounter. She closed her eyes, the time before their battle returning to her mind as she reflected over it, nearly obsessing over the finer details as the words he'd said came pouring back.
"More! Let me hear the voice of your Pokemon!"
"...no." She broke the silence, starling Purrloin on her lap. Her eyes opened as long lashes lowered, her gaze slightly unfocused and distant as her hands traveled back up to her Pokemon's ears. "He wouldn't do that. He's..." Not capable of harming Pokemon. The realization hit her as more of a surprise as she checked her train of thought again. She nodded after a moment, refocusing her attention on the wary feline on her lap. "He's not capable of hurting you guys, right Purrloin?" She asked him with a smile, feeling him purr in response, the tension in his body slowly dwindling as he reacted to the energy and feel her body gave off.
Which meant that N had found him, and if any of that 'Pokemon Liberation' stuff was actually true?
"He saved your life." Blue eyes met green as a moment of silence passed between the two of them, Pokemon and Human silently weighing each other as the unspoken question hung between them, along with a delicate edge that neither one of them could put a name to. He finally mewed in response, a reluctant, sad sounding affirmation and seemed to shiver a little in her lap as she turned the dryer back on and restarted the grooming process.
Purrloin pretended not to notice that certain spots on his near-completely dry fur suddenly developed small wet spots and purred particularly loudly against her lap.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
To keep her hair from being an unholy mess of frizz and tangles by the time morning came along, Touko spent the next ten minutes carefully making sure the braid her mother had taught her was done correctly and sighed after its completion, flexing her stiff fingers. Maybe I need to get a hair cut, or get it thinned out or something; it's getting hard to maintain these days. She thought to herself, playing with the end of her braid as her eyes drifted across the room.
Snivy was curled up on the pillow next to her own, the cute leaf on his tail covering his eyes as his tiny chest rose and fell. Poor little guy, he'd had a rough day, she thought to herself with a small, affectionate smile on her lips and turned her attention elsewhere. Amalthea was, as all members of the equid family had a tendency to do, was asleep on her feet, err, hooves. As for Luka, the adorable little puppy was curled up at the foot of the bed, paws twitching every so often as she probably chased Purrloin or some other cat around.
Speaking of the little cat, where'd he wander off to? She realized, looking around for the sleek purple member of her team. After she'd gotten done probably embarrassing and annoying him with her tears, she'd gone rifling through her bag, finding one of her silk hair ribbons she'd taken with her in case she'd get asked out on a date or have to go somewhere dressier than normal. Talking to him the entire while, she'd showed him what she'd wanted to do by tying it around her own neck at first, modeling it in a particularly exaggerated fashion that would have had Bel and Cheren mocking her relentlessly before offering it out to him.
In the end, he'd allowed her to tie it on, even examining himself in the mirror afterward to admire how it looked on him. She'd even put three fingers between his neck and the ribbon to show him it was easy to slip out of if he really wanted to. Touko smiled at the memory. Cats weretotally vain creatures, and he was by no means an exception to the rule. It was freaking cute though, and it showed that he truly trusted her on some deeper level she suspected wasn't something she could really comprehend.
An hour, and then two passed and she was worried. Deciding it'd be better to get it over with, she slipped out of bed quietly, trying not to disturb her sleeping Pokemon and walked out the door to poke her head out. Maybe he'd slipped out a window or something and was causing havoc like those of his breed had a tendency to. Last thing I need is for him to steal something and bring it back like a hunting trophy.
"Purrloin?" Touko called out, figuring he was probably lurking like some demented kitty ninja in the shadows somewhere. No response. He couldn't have gone that far, could he? She wondered as she stepped further out into the street, feeling like she was going to see people dressed like zombies or something start dancing. Totally not dressed for that either, ugh. I should have packed my cute pjs, at least I would have looked better. Not that she had a pair of pajamas that were ridiculously girly or feminine really, she liked something that could be worn when she and Bel had sleepovers at Cheren's house during finals week.
That aside, where was that damn cat? "Purrloin!" She hissed out, glaring at nothing in particular as she squinted, trying to make out any feline-shaped form in the shadows. "Seriously, are you gonna make me do this at two in the freakin' morning?" Stupid Dark types and their penchant for blending in all the time. He was purple, for crying out loud; she should be able to see that much! That cat was going to make her do that really stupid, 'here kitty, kitty' thing, wasn't he? "
For a minute, Touko wrestled with the idea that she'd just let him come back on his own. It was a fantastic idea- except it'd be irresponsible of her as a Trainer and as his friend. "I swear," The young woman muttered under her breath, steeling herself for the inevitable. "When I get my hands on you, you stupid, furry little pain in the-" Plus, she wouldn't be able to freaking sleep unless she knew he was safe. Especially after that whole sobfest she'd had over the scars around his throat.
Stupid cat.
"Can't believe I'm doing this," Since threats weren't working and the sadist of a Pokemon was probably just waiting for her to humiliate herself somehow, Touko took a deep breath, exhaled and finally managed to do what the cat was probably looking for to begin with in as sweet a voice as she could manage from between clenched teeth. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty!"
Right on cue, there was a distinctive meow coming from somewhere ahead of her. Touko vowed again she was going to kill the damn cat for what he'd just made her do. "Purrloin? That you?" She called out, taking a few steps in the direction she'd heard him in.
Nothing, what the hell? Had she been imagining things? Another several steps. If he was rolling around in God only knew what sitting around in that alleyway, so help her, she was going to somehow turn his fur bright pink so he'd be the laughing stock of all her pokemon for a while. Complete with pink, frilly bow on top of it too!
A sudden weight on her shoulders gave her reason to jump, startled to see the aforementioned cat sitting there as if nothing had ever happened. "...are you serious?" She asked him in disbelief, scratching the large eyed feline despite her irritated tone of voice, relieved to see him safe and unharmed as she headed back for the Pokemon Center. "I'm totally narking you off to Luka, you know that right?"
He didn't give much in the way of a response, butting lightly against her cheek and rubbing his cheek against her chin and face while purring in the way he know would make her melt like a sucker, bending to his whims. "Yeah, yeah; you know you're good enough to get away with it," She groused, unable to hide a smile on her face as she opened the Pokemon Center's doors to head back inside. "Spoiled rotten is what you are, next time I see that N guy, he's got a lot of questions to answer."
