sand and sun [open]

[elle & nora]

They had been in the desert for no more than five minutes and already Nora was sick of it. She was not a sand-and-sun type of person and had no idea how Elle had managed to talk about this route as if it were an ordinary one. The never-ending sandstorms made it far from ordinary. Actually, they made the route more painful than the others – Nora never realised before just how much it stung to be bombarded by sand. Her eyes were protected, but since she had refused to wear a bandana to cover the rest of her face, her cheeks were getting pelted, sand was sneaking up into her nose, and she didn’t dare to open her mouth even a tiny bit.

She did, however, manage to glare at her friend every time she turned around to face her. If looking thoroughly annoyed was the only way to convey her feelings right now, then she was going to do her damn best to do so.

Elle shouted something at her and had to try again when it became clear that Nora was more or less as deaf as an old person in this place. But even when Elle was shouting right in her ear, Nora still could only pick out keywords – enough to understand that her friend was talking directions. North. And east. And something else too, but Nora hadn’t caught what (she thought she heard the word deep, but they weren’t anywhere the ocean, so she must have misheard). Not that it mattered really since Nora didn’t really have an opinion about which way led to what and she found it hard to care in the first place. She just wanted to get things over and done with so they could get out of here already.

Then Elle stopped, and for a moment Nora’s hopes rose. Maybe they would be turning back immediately after all. Of course, the hopes didn’t stay raised for very long as Nora followed her senior’s gaze and saw a shape of… well, something. Nora couldn’t tell what it was, only that it was alive and moving.

[Stellar]

At this rate she'll visit all the desert they have to offer, but Stellar can't bring it in herself to care. It's like the start of a lifelong ritual; the woman now instinctively seeks out the nearest desert, especially if she needs to spend a night somewhere. After all, to her, the desert is a safe place, and probably that's why she's wandering in it now, a Protect conjured around her, the sand hitting nothing and providing only a minor nuisance. So what if she get's lost? She'll just fly away, fly away on her two, sweet Archeops, who swore loyalty to her for reasons she cannot understand. The Anorith in her arms chattered, and Stellar smiled. Dear Sy is really sweet, trying to cheer her up, the intent obvious, and she patted him. He'll be a great Pokemon one day, she's convinced, especially since he's a fossil Pokemon, especially since he was given by him. She has never thought of herself as a fossil lover, but life since intend on bending her towards the sands, and she felt no will to resist. The Anorith's chatter stopped, looking out to the unruly sands beyond them. Stellar look up as well, and absentmindedly, thought that the sandstorm had died down a little, even if to those who don't frequent the desert much, the sand storm had felt the same for the last few hours. All those time in the sands is making her an apt desert explorer, it seems, though she's far from perfect. There's something out there, and Sy saw it. She doesn't want to fight, Stellar thought. She have lost too much, and she could still feel the beginning, the shock of blood, the destructiveness of it all. This is Hoenn, and by right, Nox's territory, Stellar was reminded. Maybe they are lost travelers. Lux's serious members won't be around Hoenn, unless they are asking to die, so Stellar took a quick gamble and trusted that whatever it is out there won't kill her on sight. She stepped closer, putting Syroan to the ground, and the Anorith burrowed into the sand. His Protect stays, keeping the unruly sands away from her body, but with this, she has a little advantage, she hopes. She walked closer, and when she got close enough, she let out a sigh in relief. Two other women, and they don't look dangerous or threatening. She certainly hoped they weren't dangerous, and instead, she chose to walk closer still, offering a smile and giving them a wave.

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[elle & nora]

No one ever goes to the desert, she said. It’s the emptiest place in the region, she said. (Well, aside from the wild Pokemon, of course, she almost forgot to add). Hah. Yeah. That’s why the figure – which was alarmingly growing bigger as it came closer to them – was here in the desert, right? Nora was already jumping to the worst assumptions about the unidentified figure, and they didn’t ease up when the woman was close enough to be identified as someone no more dangerous-looking than them.

Elle, on the other hand, offered a smile back at the woman and returned a wave as well. She tried shouting a greeting through the sandstorm, but it quickly got carried away elsewhere by the wind. In each of the girl’s minds there was really only one clear thing to do, although that one thing differed greatly between them. Nora just wanted to walk past the woman as if they had never seen her, pretend she wasn’t there. Elle wanted to do the opposite – she wanted to say hi and boldly walked right up to the stranger and tried putting her hand through the barrier her little Pokemon had put up. (A Pokemon which wasn’t in sight anymore, Nora realised, alarmed).

She pulled Elle back abruptly and shouted in her ear (getting an unwanted amount of sand in her mouth in the process). “I don’t like her! Let’s just go!”

“You don’t like anyone!” Elle retorted back. “She looks friendly!” Again, Nora’s inexperienced ears could only pick out the keywords, the ones Elle had emphasised – mostly the blasphemous “friendly”. Nora almost shot back with her own retort to that, but Elle had already turned her attention back to the stranger and was attempting what looked to be like some kind of sign language. After a second she realised that a made up sign language wasn’t really a practical way of communicating, and instead shouted her words to the stranger. “Can. I. Come. In?!”

Nora hoped that the words wouldn’t – couldn’t – make their way through the barrier to the stranger. Maybe if they were lucky, the young woman would think that they were a pair of weirdos (because who else did you find travelling a desert in the middle of a sandstorm?) and would keep on walking without humouring Elle.

(ooc: hey~)

[Stellar]

If there was one thing great about Protect, is that it really, really helps in situations that demands nice protection, like, per say, rain. Or in this case, the beauty of Protect is shielding her from the sand, and dimming the sounds outside. A safety haven within a safety haven, and Stellar is eternally grateful to Sy, who first threw up this Protect and showing her the ropes. The Anorith did come from an archaeologist, after all. Stellar couldn't pick out the words the girls exchanged; but she felt bad that they had to yell and get sand in their mouth while she's standing right in front of them and doing fine. Another voice whispers to her how dangerous they to could be, but Stellar is still young, and though the war had given her wariness, it didn't quite override her natural kindness. "Sy," she called out, "Extend the Protect." There was a slight rumble beneath her feet; she could imagine the Anorith a little chagrined at the thought of sharing a Protect with potential enemies, but the dear Pokemon did as told, and Stellar felt her heart warm at how loyal her Pokemon is. The Protect extended towards the two ladies, enveloping them inside the protective, green shield. Here, the sand cannot reach them, and they are free to talk, since the sound is dimmed out as well. Now without the sand to interfere, Stellar could further her guess about the two girls; one look wary to meet her, and Stellar could understand that, while the other look friendly enough, so she could start there, she suppose. Stellar holds hope that people will be nice still in the war, and this is going to be tested out. "Hello," she greeted, "What brings the two of you to the desert without much protection?" Certainly a curious thing indeed.

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[elle & nora]

And Nora’s hopes were easily dashed. Just like that. One word from the stranger and the next thing she knew, the barrier that had been separating the two parties was now covering all of them. A little part of her was relieved to not have to put up with the pelting, stinging sand for now, but Nora was dead set on not revealing that. She crossed her arms and glowered at Elle as well as the stranger. The wind wasn’t raging inside here, so she couldn’t even make a grumpy comment at Elle without the stranger hearing; something along the lines of, “If she pulls out a gun on us, I'm saying 'I told you so.'”

“Wow.” For a moment Elle awed at the sandstorm outside and the immunity the protect had given them. She made a mental memo to herself to later try and get one of her Pokemon to learn this move. When the seconds of awe were over, Elle pulled her bandana down from her mouth and moved her go-goggles up to her hairline, ready to return the greeting. “Hello! I like this idea. I like it a lot.” She tried motioning all of the barrier with her head, which really only resulted in her doing an odd-looking nod.

“And we are protected,” she added, tapping her goggles with her finger. The smile on Elle’s face looked as if it belonged on someone who hadn’t seen another human for weeks, and Nora found herself consciously making an effort to not roll her eyes. She was still deeply suspicious and was trying to be as unnoticeable and as unmemorable as possible now that she was more or less face-to-face with a stranger.

Again, as usual, it was Elle who answered. The lie came out surprisingly easily. “We were bored at home, so we thought we’d go exploring.” At that, Nora found herself no longer to hold back from the eye-rolling; Elle made them sound like silly little children and it was hard to listen to. “What about you? Are you here to explore the desert too?”

[Stellar]

Stellar merely smiled at Elle's awe, a light blush on her cheeks. "Technically, it's my Pokemon's idea," it only felt right to credit the one who has the idea first, and it's not Stellar, "It's really convenient." Most would assume Protect is to be used in battles only, but situations like this proves battles are not everything. Her smile grew wider when Elle tapped her goggles. "I suppose," Stellar had a pair too, but it's rarely used now, "You might consider a cloak, it's useful for deserts." She has one too, of course, much like the goggles case. Both equipments are usually used at night, when she found a good cave or somewhere tucked safely in the sands, when she's about to close her eyes and try to sleep, without the nightmares haunting her. Exploring huh? "Exploring the desert is no good without proper measurements," Stellar chided slightly, unable to help it. She doesn't want them to make the same mistake again, and she knew first hand how dangerous deserts could be. She might have lost her life in one if it weren't for her friend. "The desert is home to me," Stellar offered Elle and Nora, even if the latter is ignoring her totally, a warm smile, "Are you two lost, by chance? I can help find the way out, if the two of you like that." A selfish part of her screams that once they are out she could have another fraction of the desert to herself again, as illogical as that is, considering travelers do come and go.  She can't help it though, she's feelign protective of the terrain she felt home to.

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[elle & nora]

“Smart Pokemon.” Elle made to beam at the Pokemon, but only saw sand and more sand. She shrugged it off; if she wasn’t bothered by Nora’s unwillingness to talk, then she certainly wasn’t bothered whether the Pokemon more or less acted the same. Talking with just the woman was already better than she had hoped for; the desert wasn’t exactly the go-to place to meet with and talk to people.

For a second her smile almost faltered, but Elle pushed back the memory with the excitement of meeting someone new. “I’m saving up for one,” she lied, although now that it had been mentioned, saving up to buy her own cloak did seem like a very good idea, especially if she was going to come here more often. “But dressing up like this is good enough for now. As long as you’ve got your skin covered, you’re fine, right? Or you’ll get pelted, right Nora?”

Nora, still unwilling to speak, rolled her eyes and pretended that the teasing bounced right off her even though her skin still stung and the taste of sand in her mouth clearly didn’t feel like disappearing anytime soon. And if Nora had decided to make some sort of retort, it would have mostly gone unnoticed since Elle’s attention was stuck back on the stranger, stuck on her as if she was some sort of rare fossil lying in the desert rather than just a person.

That the desert was home to her impressed Elle, but also perplexed her a little. The question running through her mind was written on her face as plain as day: Do people actually live here? As far as Elle knew, only the ruin maniacs were brave enough to actually camp out here for long. She had been told that deserts were too unpredictable to stay in for a lengthy time. “Um, actually, we’ve only just arrived, so we haven’t had the chance to get lost yet. And I’ve got a compass with me anyway, just in case…” And she had done this before. With her father. Memories with him were still sharp in detail. Elle was very confident they wouldn’t get lost.

(She was probably the only one).

[Stellar]

Stellar found it lightly amusing that the pink haired woman sounds slightly annoyed by the other's silence. It's just those little shifts in personality that makes everything seems so light, and it's a good feeling. They seem pretty close to each other, so this is probably playful banter? Stellar's guessing here, since they've only talked like for a few minutes.   The question that appeared across Elle's face as Stellar mentioned home is somewhat understandable. It is very hostile to live here, unless you have the right combination of items, Pokemon, and just the liking to. But the hostility is a comfort and protection; it means no one would come here often, and often not willingly. Tucked in certain corners, the desert could be a wonderful home, with stars brilliant in the night.  Stellar just offered a soft smile to her question though, not willing to give away how she stays here. "Well, I guess I'm just obstructing you guys then. Guess we should be on our way...?" She can just continue on then. Stellar is too kind to willingly let two people lost in the desert if she could help it, but since they seem confident that they can go, there's no point in stopping them.   Besides, by the time she had came into the desert about a few hours earlier, it was already afternoon, somewhat. By her quick guess, sun is about to set perhaps, in three hours or so. She needs to find her own place to sleep and rejuvenate, to heal from the horrors she have seen in her travels.

[/font][/font] notes; I have a really short idea; if you want, maybe they could separate ways now, then perhaps Elle and Nora really got lost, and the sun had set and the sand storm died down a little and they came upon Stellar again, who was still finding for a nice place to nap upon. Or they stumble upon her napping place. Whichever one? 
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[elle & nora]

Thank you! Nora’s mouth doesn’t open, but the two words are written clearly all over her face. Elle only gets halfway through saying, “Oh no, you’re not obstructing us,” when Nora pulls on her arm. The stranger woman is in their way, even if she is being nice about it, and Elle shouldn’t deny it. She tries to tell Elle that with just a look, but the look on the other girl’s face tells her it wasn't interpreted that way. Nora had to break her vowel of silence, but at least it wasn't to speak to the stranger.

“You heard. Let’s go.”

“But…” Elle’s voice trailed as she dropped her weak protest. She had wanted to spend more time chatting, but it only occured to her then that maybe the other woman is busy and has things she wants to do as well. And as much as she wants to be nosy and ask more questions, Elle is the same. It would be unfair of her to drag Nora out to the desert to look for something, and then not to look for it at all. She had to settle with saying, “It was nice meeting you, uh… thanks for letting us in!”

***

She must have jinxed them. That must be it. Elle had been so absolutely, one-million-percent sure that they wouldn’t get lost, and what were they doing now? Trying to figure out where the hell they were.

Well, that’s what Elle was trying to do, and with every minute that passed she felt more unsure of herself and how much she thought she knew the desert . When the storm had died down, Nora had enjoyed not having to worry about sand going up her nose or into her ears. But the disappearance of one irritation left an opening for another. “Are we there yet?” she asked, impatient and unhappy. 'There' now meant home, Elle's home, curled up next to a fire and drinking something warm.

She hadn't told Elle that yet, hoping that the older girl would have figured that out on her own. But she hadn't. “We’re… maybe…” Elle looked around, straining her eyes to look as far into the distance as she could manage. “Maybe… twen—”

“You can't be serious...”

“—ty or thirty minutes?”

Nora wanted to explode - camping out in a desert with her Altaria and it's fluffy-feathers as her only blanket was not what she wanted - but she went still, staring at something out in the desert. Something had moved. When Elle noticed this the first thing that came to mind was a wild Pokemon had popped it’s head out of the sand, but after following her friend’s gaze, she saw a dark figure bigger than the local Pokemon. A second later, she had figured it out. “It’s her! The girl from before. It has to be, right?” And before Nora could even remember who this ‘girl from before’ was, Elle was already waving her arms in the air and yelling greetings across the sand. Even if it wasn't that girl, it was bound to be another person.

[Stellar]

Well, the other girl seems eager to leave. The Protect fell to let them out, and a wash of sand blew across Stellar's face. She closed her eyes and when the Protect came up again, the girls are already gone. *** It's night, and she had guessed right; there was no sandstorm tonight. It's a beautiful night, which is a blessing, Stellar thought, enjoying the cool, crisp air. She's lucky; they made it to one corner of the Desert, and much to her delight, they have little cracks inside those walls, where if you chip away a little you get this really nice room beneath. Maybe she could make this her secret base or something. It certainly looks wonderful. Or maybe they can find another corner, more secretive than ever, which is great! She can make a little pseudo home, and that would be extremely comforting. Stellar turned, watching her Pokemon play. There's Aria, her Aggron, enjoying the outdoors. Her Ninetales, Sae, was chasing her Sawsbuck and her Anorith, the two, non fossil Pokemon using the game as a way to balance themselves on the sands. Given enough time and if she frequents the deserts enough, maybe the two of them would be used to fighting on desert grounds. Stellar looked up, and there, against the dark skies, one could barely see shadows flitting, slamming into each others playfully, flying and performing air maneuvers. Her two Archeops are beautiful, in one of their playful moods. The male one seems to be constantly courting the female one, and for a headstrong Archeops, Plume is awfully shy whenever Sam performs something great for her. It's amusing, to say the least, to see when they will hook up. "Niiiine?" Sae's odd coo snapped the attention of her team and her towards whatever that caught the Ninetales' attention. There seems to be two figures heading towards them....could it be....?

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[elle & nora]

Nora was starting to remember now. They had bumped into someone before for a short moment of sandstorm-less heaven. Some suspicious trainer who had a Pokemon hidden in the sand as if it had been waiting to spring a trap. But with the sandstorm whittled down to zilch there was absolutely no reason to talk to the woman again, was there? It’d be better to just wave and move on, right?

That same thought hadn’t even crossed Elle’s mind. She had already started running over towards the woman, only slowing down to call back over her shoulder at Nora. “Come on, already!” and “Hurry up!” It probably could have been a pot of gold – or better, food – over there and Nora still wouldn’t run for it like Elle did. If you could call it running; the sand was soft and not very solid, so it was a slow run, one which almost tripped Elle up a few times before she reached the woman and her Pokemon.

Oh. Wow. She had some pretty cool looking Pokemon. Elle took a second to look at them, a little awestruck, before smiling at the woman, glad that she hadn’t rushed straight up to the woman. There was still a distance between them, but it was small enough for them to talk easily enough.

“I…” Elle put up a hand and let herself catch some of her breath back before trying again. “Fancy seeing you out here! I didn’t…” She stopped again to breath in a deep breath of air and looked back behind her. Nora hadn’t moved very far, and actually, she didn’t look like she was moving at all. Just staring, watching. Even from here her wariness was obvious to Elle who shouted accross the sand at her. “Hurry up, Nor! She’s not gonna attack us or anything!”

Elle still believed soldiers and fighters to, mostly, have the same stereotypical look, and couldn’t tell that this cool desert lady had been in enough battles and would probably attack nearly anyone under the right conditions. All Elle saw was a friendly lady who was tough enough to live in the desert. She smiled at her. “I’m sorry, I never introduced myself before. I’m Elle. And the slow thing behind me is Nora.”

[Stellar]

Only her Ninetales followed by her side, as Stellar walked towards the two figures. It is them, those women she saw earlier this afternoon. Why are they back? "Well, Elle, I'm Stell," she introduced herself in return, confusion still written across her face, "Why are you two still here? I thought you guys left early!" Stellar blinked, trying to think of reasons just why they are still here. It couldn't be....but they were so confident.... "...are you two lost?" The Ninetales by her side let out a coo as greeting. Stellar's mind, however, was thinking hard. While her newly developed cautious mind tried to ascertain the situation carefully, Stellar's kinder side is still stronger, and the woman is naive to the war, even after being involved for two years. She can't help it, when she says, "...why don't the two of you come over? I was just setting up camp." Above, her two Archeops landed on nearby rock formations, watching the newcomers curiously. They stopped their courting session the moment they realize that there are newcomers. There are other times to court, after all. Aria the Aggron opened her eyes, staring at the new people carefully, more careful than anything else. She's the most protective one after all. Wystra stopped playing tag with the sand burrowing Anorith, wondering what is about to happen next.

[/font][/font] notes; Edited last post to take out mentions of Ampharos, because I realize that her sixth Pokemon was suppose to be the Anorith. Ooops.
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[elle & nora]

Elle didn’t notice the woman’s confusion until the question behind it was asked, and even then she turned her attention to the least significant thing. Maybe even a little bit of stalling could help her come up with an answer why she was here without quite admitting that she had gotten them lost. “That’s funny. Our names rhyme!” Hmm… No. Nope. She hadn’t managed to come up with a lie or even a half-truth.

“Can we?” Her face lit up at the invitation – it was, more or less, what she had been hoping would happen. It felt good to be right about someone, and now Elle knew for sure that she had been right in assuming that Stell was a nice person. “Do your Pokemon mind?” she added, almost as an afterthought, as she caught the looks of Stell’s Pokemon. They were quite a collection, most of them unfamiliar to Elle.

“Hurry it up Nora!” Elle turned and looked, but saw more of a white puff and her friend. Nora, undoubtedly having spotted Stell’s entourage, had released her Altaria and was walking close behind it. At least the Altaria moved faster, causing Nora to stop dawdling and actually walk at a decent pace.

It hit Elle then, what she should have done to fix the problem of being lost. All she had to do was send a flying Pokemon up high to have a look around for a landmark, and from there it should have been easier to find the way out of the desert; far easier than simply wandering around aimlessly. It was embarrassing she had only thought of the idea now.

Oh well, it was too late for that now. There was an invitation to take up. Elle took a few steps closer, returning the curious looks the funny-looking birds gave her. Maybe she ought to wait for Nora. “You’re a funny couple,” she said to the birds, then to Stell. “I’ve never seen Pokemon like these before. They’re not from this region, are they?” Birds made from coloured rocks... definitely not locals she remembered.

[Stellar]

Stellar shook her head at Elle's question, holding her hand up lightly. At that Aria let out a soft rumble, gently telling the rest of Stellar's team to relax just a little, going back to a lying positions herself, but her eyes are still opened. Her Sawsbuck, however, nodded, and walked off, gently nudging the Anorith to play again. The two Archeops started to groom each other, combign through each other's feathers. And of course, Stellar's Ninetales remained by Stellar's side, blinking at Elle, a little smile on the fox's face. "My Pokemon will be alright," Stellar nodded, before her eyes widening ever so slightly at the Altaria. "Your friend doesn't like me, does she?" The two Archeops cooed at Elle, the male playfully nipping at the female's flight feathers, having mentioned they were a funny couple. They are a couple, technically, so there's that. "No, they are not," Stellar blinked, "They are from Unova." She tilted her head lightly. "They were given to me."

[/font][/font] notes; Sorry for the supremely late post. I have no excuses, nor right to be this slow. >_<
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