sudden encounter [elliot]

[yury]

There was a reason why the only opportunity for fresh air was in the evening. Yury didn't mind; he enjoyed the brisk night air. It was cool as it hit his face, and he breathed into his hands to warm them up a bit. The night was silent, sans for a few chirping Kricketots. This was his favorite part of the day, especially when the last couple of days had been spent hiding inside the capital building.

He didn't like the men and women who kept crowding him.

He'd slipped out after Lucie had fallen asleep, leaving Rush to lead him along. The Mightyena was a fine guide though, ensuring that Yury didn't bump into anything. The boy held a hand out, skimming his fingertips against a wall. He'd gotten used to moving about nowadays without his sight, but there was still the occasional stumble.

So it was particularly concerning when he heard something scuffle behind him. Yury tensed, suddenly breaking into a dash with Rush at his side. "Rush, Super Fang," he whispered urgently.

notes: Elliot

[Elliot]

A leaf. To think a dried-up leaf caused all of this mess.

Elliot's walking stick ground against the dried leaf on the sidewalk, causing a crunching noise as he walked through the streets of Castelia City. His dad told him to go back here, his "home," after the Cherrygrove Incident. To stop wandering. To be safe.

Of course, he was catching the next ferry to Kanto. Being back under his mother's thumb was not what he considered a vacation.

Apparently even in Castelia, however, he couldn't be safe. Some kid started running off, a Mightyena lunging at him with fangs outstretched. What was the meaning of this? Was this some sort of child soldier?

He threw out a Pokeball, a Marshtomp appearing in front of him. She crossed her arms, a bubble forming around her before Elliot could even make his order. That Protect should hopefully keep the two of them safe . . . and let Elliot see if this kid was friend or foe.

[yury]

Rush crashed into the Marshtomp's Protect, leaving behind a dull "thunk" that reached Yury's ears he strained to listen harder, to try and gather more information about his surroundings. It appeared that whoever was pursuing him was a skilled trainer.

"It's okay, Rush," Yury called out, encouraging his Pokemon. "Try a Sand-Attack. Just buy us some time." His pulse roared in his ears, and the boy was frighteningly calm despite the way that his heart was fluttering like a scared Tailow.

The Mightyena let out a howl before kicking up dirt at the Marshtomp. He suspected that the reason why Yury didn't tell him to use Roar was because it was past eight o'clock.

Yury listened for the wolfish Pokemon's claws scraping at the pavement, and when he heard it, he turned on his heel to continue fleeing.

Except during the chaos, he managed to trip and fall flat on his face. Yury yelped as he hit the ground, Rush suddenly circling back around to stand protectively in front of the boy who was trying his hardest not to sniffle. The Mightyena pulled his dark lips back, contorting his expression into an angry snarl.

notes: Elliot

[Elliot]

If the attack was a mistake, that Mightyena's eagerness to fight was certainly making it seem intentional. It struck back with a sand attack, landing in Magdalene's eyes and forcing her to try and blink the grains out. No matter how good your eyes were, getting sand in them would always ruin your day. She wiped at her eyes a little, trying to follow the dark shape of the Mightyena and bracing herself for another attack.

It didn't come.  Elliot and his Marshtomp waited as the Mightyena instead ran to guard his trainer, who Elliot couldn't see.  It was getting rather dark, and his body was entirely concealed behind the Mightyena.  It was a tense standoff, Magdalene watching the Mightyena as it bared its fangs, both hunched over in guarded stances.


"Wait and see if it attacks again.  Stay on guard."

A small Mud Bomb started to form in her hands, the Marshtomp prepared to throw it if the Mightyena made any further advances.  Until then, it was just a standoff.

[yury]

Yury threw his arms around Rush's neck, hugging the Mightyena closely from behind. "Please, I don't have anything of value on me," Yury said. This was already the second time that someone had tried to sneak up behind him. Or at least, the second time that he had thought that someone was trying to catch him unaware. He had a feeling that he should have brought his cane out with him after all. Maybe then he wouldn't have tripped; he already felt his palms were a little raw.

Rush's snarls never ceased. The Pokémon growled protectively as he rose to all four feet. He stood by Yury now, pressing himself against the trembling boy's side. Yury sank his fingers into the Mightyena's fur, tangling them in the scruff of the Pokémon's neck. He wasn't sure how he was expected to get out of this situation. There was nothing of value he could trade off to this person in order to let him go free, and he hadn't thought to bring any of his other Pokémon out with him aside for Rush.

"If you... If you must have your way with me, please don't hurt Rush," he begged, hugging the wolfish Pokémon tighter. Rush whined a bit, pressing his black nose against Yury's cheek. The boy felt the moist snout and reached up to scratch the Pokémon between his ears, swallowing thickly as his anxiety increased. "I promise I won't give you any trouble if you let Rush go."

A part of him wondered, if he tugged the wrappings around his eyes, would the empty sockets filled by the clear glass, skin mottled by burns, be enough to shock his perpetrator for a moment to allow the two of them to flee?

notes: Elliot

[Elliot]

. . . What?

No, seriously, what?

Elliot looked incredibly confused at the reveal of his "attacker," a small child clinging tightly to a much less ferocious looking Mightyena. He looked at the child, his gaze softening and his steps becoming quieter. Magdalene's look softened as well, the Marshtomp lightly tossing her Mud Bomb aside and lowering her defensive stance.  The two approached slowly and nonthreateningly, Magdalene confuse and Elliot rather concerned.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, voice dropping to a more quiet tone. Any antipathy he held toward his attacker was gone now. "W-we aren't here to hurt you. We were just passing through, that's all . . . " He tried to make his voice as warm as possible, to help calm the poor, crying kid down. Just like his father's was after Cherrygrove.

[yury]

Yury could hear muffled steps approaching him. He didn't let go of Rush as Elliot and the Marshtomp drew nearer. He could sense eyes trained upon him not too far at all, perhaps, even right before him. Yury could hear Rush still growling, but the Pokémon's noise was significantly quieter. He knew for a fact that the Mightyena would not be at ease until he reassured him that there was no danger.

"O-oh, if that was what you were doing..." He felt himself flush with embarrassment, couldn't believe that he'd been so frightened by someone who hadn't held any ill will towards him. "I-I'm sorry; I was the one who asked Rush to attack." He shifted about nervously, folding his hands together to avoid having his skinned palms touch anything. They smarted, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a bit of ointment back at home.

He'd suffered much worse in the past anyways.

Yury's breathing was shaky as if he were about to cry, yet the boy hadn't shed a single tear ever since Goldenrod City had been flattened by bombs. In fact, he was physically incapable of crying because his tear ducts had been seared out. It left him seated on the ground to hug his knees because he couldn't cry. But Yury took heart, his mouth curving into something of a cynical grin. "I... was warned about bad people who may want to hurt me."

Only then did he realize he had a bigger problem: he had no idea where he was now.

notes: Elliot

[Elliot]

Elliot looked worriedly at the boy, his Marshtomp gently walking over to offer a hand. Elliot turned to her and shook his head: she didn't know humans like he did. And she had no idea why his eyes were all wrapped up like that.

"It's okay," he softly muttered, stooping down to his level. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just . . . travelling." In a way the boy wasn't lying. He was travelling to get out of Castelia, after all. He was travelling to override his dad's order to go back home. He was travelling to try and reclaim control of his life, after it was taken from him on that fateful day.

If only Yury knew how right he was. That people were always going to be around to try and hurt him, take advantage of him, use him as some kind of fucked-up stepping stone to get what they want. If only he knew that this war had no heroes, and could turn even the noblest of man into savages. If only he knew that the streets of Castelia would be the least of his problems.

In a way Elliot envied him. He wished he could go back to such safe thoughts. Why was it too late?

". . . Do you know where you are?" he asked, his voice a little unsure. For a second, he worried their little chase got the poor kid lost.