When they finally reached their destination that night, White looked around city. Everything was very neatly organized. The city itself was very uniquely structured and had one subdivision on the south end of town, where she assumed most people lived. There was a stretch of shops on the north side of town, and a pokemon center near the middle. The town also had a very prestigious trainer school, and a large botanical garden on the west side of town. The streets were paved and the buildings were lit up to invite late night guests.
"I just want to get straight to the pokemon center and go to bed!" White exclaimed. She stretched out her arms and yawned like a skitty. White turned to N and asked, "What will you do?"
"I had a group to meet up with here, so I suppose I need to give them a call," N took out his xtransciever and was in the middle of sending a text when White started laughing like a maniac.
"You had xtransciever the whole time and didn't tell me?" she continued roaring with laughter.
"Y-yes," N gave Zorua a skeptical look, "What's so funny?"
"We wouldn't of had to wander around in the forest for 3 days if you would have told me!" White shook her head, still shaking with laughter.
"I'm sorry?" N apologized.
"No, it's okay. I had so much fun getting lost with you," she said wiping happy tears from her eyes. N put his hands in his pockets nervously once he finished his message.
"I'm going to be in town for a few days, what about you?" White asked once she finally calmed down from her laughing spell.
"I probably won't linger too long. I have business elsewhere," N said a little dejected.
"Oh. Well, give me your number, and I'll give you a call sometime. Maybe I can catch up to you later on you journey."
The two exchanged numbers. White had to get N to write his down since her xtransciever was still dead.
"Great! Oh! Zorua, it was really nice to meet you," she said looking down at the little fox. He pawed at her shoes and made a few noises.
"I think he wants you to pick him up," N said, a little impressed with how his two friends had bonded so quickly. White picked up the little black fox and he snuggled into her collarbone under her chin. White hugged him close and stroked his black mane. After a few moments, he looked up at her and gave a little bark. She set him back down, and looked shyly up at N.
"So." She said slowly
"So." He responded.
White stuck out her hand for a handshake.
"Do you remember this move?" she said teasingly.
He smiled and took her hand into his, shaking it up and down like a pro. She smiled and bit her lip. She stopped their handshake short and flung her arms around his neck into a hug. He stood there completely shocked. She was so much smaller than him that she had to stand on her tiptoes to have her arms around him in the way that she did. He slowly, a little unsure of himself, returned the hug by wrapping his arms around her back. She gave him a quick squeeze and they released one another. N stuck his hands back into his pockets and avoided White's enticing stare and smile.
"Don't forget to send me a message sometime, okay?" she commanded. N glanced up and noticed the serious look on her face that said 'if you don't I'll hunt you down and outrage on you worse than a garchomp in a sandstorm.'
"I will," he responded in a daze.
"Great! I'll see ya!" she said with a nod, and she spun around and started jogging to the pokemon center. She turned around and yelled to him while still running.
"Thanks for the adventure!" she hollered over to him. He waved back to her slowly.
N, she thought.
He had been her first friend that she had met on the road. He was a little geeky and awkward at times, but she had a lot of fun traveling with him. She thought back to their quick hug and her lips curved into a huge grin. White really hoped that she would get to see him again.
/
After a restful night at Striaton's pokemon center, White hit the streets with Snivy, who had a well-deserved rest as well. Just when they started getting hungry, she and Snivy came across a classy mansion-esque building that had a sign in front that said "Trio cafe." The building was very large and seemed to have many rooms like a palace. White could see red velvet curtains with golden tassels drawn across the tall windows in the front of the shop.
"Snivy," White exclaimed with wonder while she glazed over the menu posted outside, "This is just like one of those theme cafes in manga! You get to play games, and eat sweets, and talk to the employees, who are always dressed up really fancy."
"Sni?" Snivy scratched the scales on his head.
"I want to go! Look! They have a rose petal parfait. You would so love that!"
Snivy seemed a keen on the idea of a rose petal parfait; they walked in through the ornate amber coated wood doors and into a small waiting area with beautiful cream colored wallpaper with a golden pear design printed across it. There was a host desk, which was more like a small podium with a classic old register on it, small pink, mint, and light blue chaise lounges to sit on, and two drapes drawn showing a peek of the main café area.
White walked up to the wooden host desk and looked around. After a little while she began to drum her fingernails on the desk, hoping it would be loud enough to draw someone's attention from the main area. She noticed a golden bell with a crimson ribbon handle but she didn't dare to ring it and make too much noise in a place that looked this nice.
"Could you…ring the bell?"
"Ring bell allready! Geez!"
"Ring the bell, mademoiselle."
She heard something say beyond the drapes. Her head turned to the talking drapes, as if they read her mind.
"Hello?" White replied loudly. Talking draperies were quite curious.
"RING THE BELL!" she heard the voices say in unison.
"Okay, okay," White grumbled. She leaned her elbow on the desk and picked up the tiny bell. She rang it with little enthusiasm. Classical music began to play immediately and three men dressed in butler uniforms emerged from the room beyond the curtain. One had wispy green hair and kind green eyes. Another had spiky red hair and firey maroon eyes. The third had dark blue hair covering the side of his enticingly handsome face and light blue eyes.
"Enchante madamoiselle," the green haired man said giving her a courteous bow.
"Welcome to the Trio Café!" the red haired man said excitedly.
"We are honored to have such a lovely guest in our establishment. Table for one?" the blue haired man asked with a cocky smile.
White was speechless. She could swear that the area around them sparkled like glittering fireworks; she was even more confused when rose petals began to fall from the ceiling. What had she gotten herself into, exactly?
"Right this way," the green haired man said quietly. He looped his arm around hers, and, before she could protest, lead her though the doorway; the blue haired man held the curtain back for them to pass, and White was lead into a brilliant ballroom that has been turned into a café. There were several small tables to one side of the ballroom, and a wide, open dance area on the other. Lush draperies hung from the tall, narrow windows, and the tablecloths were an ivory color decorated with silver and gold embroidery vines and flowers. The green haired man unhooked his arm from hers, and the red haired man helped her into her plush chair. The green haired man held a menu in his hands and smiled down at a very confused White.
"Mademoiselle, now is the portion of your dining experience where you hand select your server for this afternoon."
"I'll go first!" the red head said, interjecting on the green haired man's speech.
"Chili. It's rude to interrupt," the blue haired man lightly scolded the excited one. The red head blatantly ignored the bossy blue haired man. He turned to her sharply and grinned.
"My name is Chili. I'm the best at the games. If you want to have fun, you should pick me!"
The blue haired man rolled his eyes and spoke next.
"My name is Cress. Many say I am the most entertaining to talk to. Pick me if you so wish."
The green haired man waited patiently for Cress to finish before he began his introduction.
"Cilian is my name, mademoiselle. I play several instruments and am willing to entertain you in any way possible. If you are interested in a performance, you should pick me."
White glanced between each one of them, still a little too startled by their over exaggerated mannerisms.
"So what'll it be?" Chili asked. He looked liked he was about to leap over the table in excitement.
"I…don't understand." White said with a small tilt of her head.
The three men practically fell out. Cress coughed quietly to regain his composure.
"I'll make things simple for you, my dear," he said sweetly.
"Here at the trio café, we like to give you the most pleasurable dining experience as possible. Your experience can be customized by whichever butler you so choose to wait on you hand and foot. Cillian is the quiet type. He also gets embarrassed easily and is incredibly modest," Cress said explaining his green haired friend who was looking at the floor. The way his eyes would momentarily flicker to hers reminded her of N; it made her smile.
"Chili is the wild type. He may seem mean and rash at times, but will every once and awhile show a softer side."
"As for myself," Cress said with pride, "I am the mysterious type."
Cress' eyes narrowed and his smirk widened. He looked at White like she was the most interesting thing in the world. White tilted her head to the side and squinted her eyes, still confused by his explanation. White blinked a few times and felt a small blush creeping across her face. Cress noticed his effect on immediately and kneeled down. With his gloved hand, he captured her face.
"I can be distant and aloof, but I'm also very very eager to serve you, mademoiselle."
"You're a cheater, Cress," Chili fumed. Cress got up and sighed smugly. White's cheeks were still as red as a charmeleon.
"I'm just using my personality to my advantage," he said boldly. Chili stamped his feet.
"Ugh, they always pick you because you cheat like that, you cheater!"
While Cress coolly responded to Chili, who was fuming, Cillian quietly made his way over to White.
"I'm sorry. They are very combative when it comes to pleasing our guests," Cillian said apologetically.
"Oh, no. It's all right," White said nervously.
"Who would you like to serve you today?"
"Well," White looked across the café. They didn't have any guests, so she just gave a small, tight shrug, "Any of you will do, really. May I just get a glass of water? Please?"
Cillian, Cress, and Chili's eyebrows all raised in surprise.
"She wants all three of us?" Chili exclaimed.
"What a minx you are," Cress said eyeing White like she had just used attract.
"Our mademoiselle asks so much from her butlers," Cillian said worriedly.
"Hey, now! Calm down butler guys!" White said quickly. This situation was more or less like something out of a cartoon. Their banter was like that of animated characters that picked on each other and dropped pianos on one another.
White's remark got them to shut up for a moment, and they looked at one another. Chili groaned.
"Now she's pissed off. This is your fault, Cilian."
"Wh-why me?" Cilian sputtered. He practically had tears in his eyes from the accusation.
"Because you said that we always need to wait for the dumb bell to ring!"
"I assure you she's not upset about waiting long in the lobby, but by your misconduct, Chili!" Cress said with a huff. White's forehead fell to the table, making the crystal wine glasses on the surface wobble.
As the three of them began to argue in their own unique way, Snivy trotted into the main area from the lobby, watching the men like they were a television show. In one tiny arm he had as many rose petals as he could fit. He hopped up on the table and put the petals down, but continued to munch on them like they were popcorn. He looked at White, who looked like she wanted to retract into a clam like a cloister.
"Snivy! Sniiiii!" Snivy said to calm the men down. They looked over to the table from their bickering to see Snivy waving over at them.
"A snivy!" they exclaimed in unison. White was beginning to believe that they all shared one brain.
One very very tiny brain.
/chapter 8 end/
Welcome to the end of the first arc and the beginning of the second! I hope that you enjoyed it! The first handshake of theirs is a little bit more relevant now, right? Sorry everything with the butlers seems to be straight out of a shojo manga and is really cheesy! haha!~ I think it's quite cute!~
Anybody else excited about Black and White 2? BUHHHH N's voice in the anime trailer and his new character art…AMAZING!~ I really hope White/Hilda/Touko makes an appearance! Fingers crossed! (please excuse my fangirl moment)
As always, thanks for the reviews!
