The Holly and the Ivy [Steven]

[alyssa]

Alyssa sighed happily, standing with her feet planted shoulder-width apart, and her arms spread slightly, palms forward as she felt the gentle breeze on her face. It was so beautiful here. Her eyes were closed, but she could almost see the landscape before her. Hills covered with snow, people scattered throughout the area, festives set up every few feet, pokemon playing with other trainers’ pokemon, etc. It was wonderful. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the snow. It landed on her hair, blending in before melting, and on the rest of her body. It made her red hoodie appear to have white speckles scattered everywhere on it. Giving her body a shake, the snow fell to the ground.

Alyssa pulled her long ponytail over her shoulder, brushing it flat against her chest as she did so, before adjusting the hat on her head and pulling her hood up. Although it was pretty out, she was cold. As to be expected of snow, she supposed. Couldn’t really have snow without the cold could you? Smiling a little, she glanced behind her before falling back into it, laying flat against the ground with her arms and legs practically the same distances apart as they had been when she was standing.

She sighed again and locked her cerulean eyes on the sky. She wondered who would attend the winter festival in addition to herself.

((NOTES, even I didn't make the normal minimum WC...XD see! I really can do small posts!))

[daigo]

Fade in. Fade out. It took next to no effort for him to flicker in and out of consciousness, but he could vaguely feel Wing's steel feathers under him. The wind too, was somewhat merciless. Steven opened his eyes - then he fell - it was like that falling, never-ending sensation where he was suddenly jolted awake from his brief nap or something along those lines - but this was more like a microsleep. Fade out. Fade back into a winter wonderland.

... this definitely wasn't Hoenn. Steven raised a querying eyebrow. Then he eloquently sneezed; Wallace would have been proud of him. The former champion trudged along the snow - trample -

"What the -"

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[alyssa]

Alyssa blinked and glanced to the side at the sound of a sneeze. So someone else was nearer to her than she had originally thought, huh? Out of the corner of her eye, she could only see the snow beside her head and the heavily blurred figure above the crest of the snow. From the angle of being partially buried in the snow, she could tell they were familiar, but for any specific reason as to why was beyond her. She smiled some. The white-haired trainer felt strangely energetic. Although she could feel the cold it hardly bothered her, and her mood had uplifted to how it was when she first started her pokemon journey. To be honest, it was a nice change from reality.

Sitting up quickly - though not to fast - she pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her shins as she re-examined the person. Steven..? she paused in thought for a moment before smiling slightly. Didn't expect to see him here. She pushed herself up swiftly and stuffed her hands in the pocket of her hoodie. "Hey Steven." she said. the smile growing somewhat. "Nice place isn't it?" she asked, looking idly at the sky.

It may not be Hoenn, but...it's still nice...

[daigo]

Three words: what. the. freakinghell. Steven eyed the female on, in, whatever, the snow. He shouldn't have put it past her to be lying in the midst of freshly-fallen snow. She seemed the silly, sentimental type - for one, she had this optimistic persona that didn't seem to disappear until the going got tough. Then ... she changed. People just had to be so complicated, didn't they? He liked being himself until shit happened and he was forced to change. Given the chance, he probably wouldn't have.

He slipped his hands into his pockets. It was cold, despite it being entirely surreal. He felt light-headed, too. "Nice? It's freezing," he said, turning away, but somehow able to resist the urge to leave. Despite the festive mood of the general area, he felt less than charitable or in the mood to celebrate. Something urgent nagged at the back of his head, something he couldn't place his finger on.

"Why don't you run off with someone else today?"

[/justify]

[alyssa]

Alyssa remained silent, staring at the sky in silence after her words cut through the air and Steven heard them. The snow fell from the sky and landed on her face, making her blink every time a snowflake touched her skin and melted on it. As soon as one of the icy flakes actually landed in her eye, she shook her head vigorously and rubbed her finger across her face and closed lid in hopes the snowflake would melt within seconds. Note to self, don't look up for too long.. she thought, glancing up when she heard his voice, questioning what she had just said in what she considered to be a disbelieving manner.

Okay, so, it was cold, but it was still nice...to Alyssa, anyway. The snow was something she hadn't seen for a while - not since she was in Sinnoh - and it was, to her, an unexpected (though not ill-received) change from Hoenn's tropical climate. Truthfully, she liked the warmth or fair weather they had year-round in Hoenn, but the snow was still nice as well. She knew Weavile would definitely like it.

"Why don't you run off with someone else today?"

She glanced down and smirked a little, giving the slightest shake of her head. She hadn't seen anybody else she knew since she got here - not too long ago - so until she did, or saw something that interested her enough to pull away, she would stick with Steven...and he was going to have to deal with it.

"Nah.." she said easily, pushing her hands further in her pockets as she walked up to him. "I only just got here myself. I haven't seen anybody I recognize, and I've never been the biggest fan of walking into a crowd to get to know somebody." she looked at the people and pokemon chasing each other around the large tree next to a cabin in the center.

"And you think this is 'freezing'?" she chuckled quietly. "You should try visiting Route 217 in Sinnoh. It's nothing but a blizzard year-round. You can't even see five feet in front of you."

[daigo]

Did anyone really want to step out of their comfort zones in favour of something new in warring times like this? Probably not. Steven fell cleanly into that category; it seemed that the regional leader was no different. Not many people other than the civilians chose to involve themselves in normal day-to-day activities. He preferred holing himself in a room inspecting rocks and the like instead of meeting people; he could count on one hand the people he actually liked spending time with.

"I know where not to go, thank you," Steven replied. Snow wasn't his thing. If he ever stepped into Sinnoh, he now knew where to avoid - from the sounds of it, it probably had something to do with Snowpoint, another city where snow fell all year round. He liked the warmth and the sea too much to venture out to foreign climates. It was always why he disliked most places outside Hoenn that weren't caves or tunnel systems, or heck. He enjoyed Isshu's subway system the last time he went there; admittedly, it was usually during summer break.

[alyssa]

Alyssa held her hand out just in front of her to catch some snowflakes in her hand. She wasn’t wearing gloves so the icy cold of the snow hitting her skin made her shiver slightly. The frozen water made contact with her skin and remained sitting for a moment before melting, turning in to a small pool of water in her palm, either just sitting on her skin or soaking into the fabric of the black glove that coated her hand. Having not been exposed to much snow at all in her lifetime, any sight of it excited her - not unlike a child or teenager that got something they wanted, just in a more controlled manner.

After the former champion spoke, Alyssa wondered for a moment if he was being sarcastic. After a few seconds of consideration she decided there was no sarcasm in his tone. He’d most definitely have an idea, at least, of where it was, right? There was only one area in Sinnoh that was well-known for its snow, and that was Snowpoint. Surely he’d heard of the City, even if he’d never actually visited the region.

”I would say to look into Pastoria since it’s closer in temperature to Hoenn, but I doubt you’d want to be rained on all day, either.” She walked a bit nearer to stand beside him, as opposed to a bit away from him that he was previously.

[daigo]

Pastoria. Huh, that place was vaguely familiar, but Steven didn't press his questions. He wasn't too good with areas outside Hoenn; for a former champion, he certainly hadn't done much travelling or got much publicity. Daigo would have disapproved, he noted mentally. Recalling his more rebellious teenage years as a ruthless trainer sent an unwanted shiver down his spine; the Stone tried to pass it as due to the weather. He wasn't used to the cold and that was a pretty well-known fact.

"Ever heard of an umbrella?" he deadpanned, "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head, that kind of shit." Steven waved a hand in the air. "Whatever, forget it." He glanced at Alyssa, who had stepped to be by his side. His steel blue eyes moved away to look at the wide expanse of snow.

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[alyssa]

Alyssa's eye caught on Steven when he shivered. She managed to hid her small smirk for the most part before turning her eyes back to the falling snow. Does he really fair that poorly in the cold? she wondered, assuming now that what she'd heard from his fan club were true. I suppose I can't really blame him for it. she thought. He was used to Hoenn after all, and not every trainer out there ventured between regions to ambitiously chase after the gym badges like she had.

"Ever heard of an umbrella? Raindrops keep fallin' on my head, that kind of shit."

Her smirk grew some, curling closer into a grin than the smirk it was. Is that the edge of a sense of humor I sense? she asked herself, not wanting to ask aloud...yet. He brushed it off with his last words but she kept the expression even still. "An umbrella.." she stated, her eyes taking on a light that almost passed for faux confusion. "No, I can't say that in twenty-six years I've heard of one." she responded, a jokingly sarcastic edge entering her voice. She held her hand out again before her and turned her eyes down on it, watching the snow collect in her palm.

Such a nice place...

[daigo]

unfortunately for alyssa, steven did not quite possess a sense of humor. his words were idle comments that he liked throwing out to see others' responses to them - the facial expressions he received in return ranged from baffled to amused. this time, he had been at the receiving end of a smart comment, whose speaker wasn't aurea juniper. "of course. you've been hiding out too long in your secret base," he sniped, "ever heard of the pokénav? it's relatively new tech."

he dipped a hand into - it was missing. well, damn. it appeared he had forgot to bring it with him. he made a mental note to not go missing while on adventure in this snowy place. yet, it seemed like neither he nor alyssa were going anywhere. the place seemed rather keen to keep them in the winter wonderland for ..... who knew how long.

[/justify][/blockquote]

[alyssa]

Alyssa attempted to muffle her laughter at his comment but, but ultimately failed. She let the quiet laugh continue for a moment before swallowing it down, tucking some of her white hair behind her ears. You don't have much of a sense of sarcasm, do you, Steven? she asked silently, looking at him as her mouth quirked into a bit of a smile. "Calling it 'hiding out' is a bit harsh, dont you think?" she asked him, her smile growing slightly into a smirk. "It's not like I have reason to hide." The Veteran trainer turned to face the former champion "Besides, I've only taken to staying there for the past four years. Not like I live there." she told him.

Okay so I make residence there most of the time...but I don't stay there 24/7

Sighing and smiling a bit, she looked back to the festive area at all the people and pokemon running around a large tree. The cabin just near it seemed to be a place that the activities were minimally centered around. There were only a few decorations on the outside of it as compared to the other houses, and Alyssa saw mainly adults rather than children coming and going from its doors. "Of course I've heard of a PokéNav" she replied, a small idea forming in her head. "I've never met a Hoenn trainer who hasnt."

Glancing between the silver-haired man and the cabin a couple of times before smiling slightly, she turned and reached down, taking Stevens wrist lightly in hers. Although it was light, her grip was strong. She gave him a gentle tug on his arm, keeping her hold on his wrist to pull him along gently. "You're cold, right? Come with me."

Silently, she added, Wimp.

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[Hope you dont mind her pulling him along, I figured since it's Dream-Worldy and all..XD]

[daigo]

((it's fine xD))

"four years is a long time," steven pointed out, albeit childishly. he wasn't lying when he spoke of four years like it was an eternity - it was enough to change someone, and in his case, nearly destroy his relationship with his father. things had simply gotten out of hand. the former champion had barely nodded his agreement before he was tugged along by alyssa.

"wait, what?"

[/justify][/blockquote]

[alyssa]

The white-haired trainer smiled a bit to herself before glancing back at him, the surprise of being tugged along evident in his two-word reaction. She looked back at the cabin, keeping it the focus of her gaze as she moved through the snow, Steven in tow. "Fine, I'll give you that a whole lot can happen in four years." she told him, more or less agreeing with the former Champion's statement. Like war breaking out, to start... she thought.

She left the topic there. If he didnt pick up on her subtle 'dropping' of it, she supposed it would continue until she did so again, hopefully with more obvious intentions than this time. She shook her head slightly and shook the fast-falling snowflakes out of her bangs. The snowflakes were getting larger, and falling more rapidly. Steven probably wouldnt appreciate it if he remained standing in the cold.

"You're cold, right?" she repeated, keeping his wrist in her grip as they drew nearer to the cabin, past the massive tree in the center of the 'village', and past the children and pokemon running by them. "This ought to help with that problem..." she said, before opening the door to the cabin, where the duo were met with a burst of warm air from the fire blazing in the center of the room - like what one would find in a ski lodge -, and the smell of pine from the garland and wreathes decorating the interior mingling with the scent of whatever was baking in the oven.

"Homey, huh?" she asked...practically rhetorically as she pulled him inside to the inviting, though strangely deserted, cabin and out of the cold.

[daigo]

he contained a smirk. of course many things could happen in four years; he was glad to see alyssa conceding that fact. as the female threw open the door, steven caught a whiff of fresh pine. these things were for real - no, but everything seemed to have a certain surreal lustre to it ... curious, and curiouser. the former champion stepped into the warmth of the log cabin. anything beat the cold. he trooped over to where the fire was, and rubbed his hands to warm himself. a suit wasn't of much use to retain warmth.

"who set this up?" he questioned, still hunched over the flames, "there's no reason for a cabin to be ... prepared for random travellers. they've always have had to -" steven paused. "- maybe it's like goldilocks. where's the porridge?"

[alyssa]

Alyssa closed the door behind them as Steven stepped inside rather quickly, glad to be somewhere warm rather than in the faster-falling snow outdoors. He made his way rather swiftly to the fireplace in the center of the living area, the roaring flames undoubtedly providing warmth to the cold former Champion.

Alyssa made her way into the cabin more slowly, looking around at the set-up in within the cabin. Stevens question was repeated silently within her mind. She didn't have a clue who was responsible for it, but judging by what she'd seen so far, it was open for everybody to use. She had moved to the kitchen, a number of yards away from Steven. A hot drink to warm them up was available to her - tea, hot chocolate, warm milk and honey, and more. Strange.. she thought, before allowing herself to laugh a bit at Stevens suggestion.

"Goldilocks...really?" she asked, looking over at him before reaching for a pair of mugs in the cabinet. "Aren't you a bit old for fairy tales?" she added, giving him a small smile to show that she was joking as she filled their mugs with drinks, tea for Steven and hot chocolate for herself.

She set the teapot back as a pokeball on her hip burst open, a red beam appearing a number of feet away from her in the form of Daybreak, who promptly cantered over to the couch Steven stood in front of, laying down on a corner of it and curling up, basking in the warmth of the fire. Smiling, Alyssa walked over to Steven, holding out the mug of tea for him.

"At any rate, I saw people and pokemon coming in and out of it some time before I pulled you here, so it should be relatively safe....even if it's not I'm sure we're capable of taking care of ourselves.."