Fossil Buddies ! [Roark]

[jian]

Jian was crouched in a relatively dark place. Her knees were on the cold ground, and her hands were immersed in dirt. The cave she had been in for the past hour or two had grown cold, and the red-haired girl’s eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness in which she resided. Her hands were dirty and scratched, the nails on her fingers cracked and bleeding lightly from being used as claws to dig through semi-solidified earth of the cave. Jian had been wandering blindly through the cave, something she enjoyed, when her hand on the wall hit a particular bulge. It was something she hadn’t felt in the cave wall before, so she was instantly curious.

Digging relentlessly had revealed something that delighted her to no end – a fossil. Instantly, her efforts to unearth it had increased tenfold, and at last she had managed to pull it from the earthen cavity which had held it for so many years. A strong tug had wrenched the delicate object from the wall and sent the small girl flying until she gained her balance back. Looking down at the item, she ran her hand carefully over it. It was rounded and smooth, unlike the Claw Fossil that had resurrected into her dear Anorith, which was now an Armaldo. It seemed like so long ago that she’d found that fossil, and now she just happened to be lucky enough to find another. What was this, though? She had only a few ideas, but in this darkness it was impossible to confirm which one was right.

Standing, Jian pulled the rather large fossil protectively against her chest and began walking, her thoughts swimming with what sort of pokemon it might be. It could become an Omanyte if it’s a Shell Fossil… she told herself as she walked, her footsteps echoing quietly in the darkness. She had absolutely no idea how long she’d been down here carefully digging out the Fossil she now claimed as hers. …or it could be a Cranidos… she thought of the two pokemon that she knew had relatively rounded fossils to be resurrected from. …maybe it’s a Kabuto? she asked herself, recalling a third pokemon that left fossils in a distinct rounded shape.

A small thrill passed through her and a tiny smile pulled at the young girl’s face for the first time in a very long time. She had a fossil, but she had no idea where to go to revive it. This was her first time in Sinnoh. In fact, she didn’t even know where she was at the moment. All she knew was that it was a cave, and people had told her that she needed to pass through it in order to get to the next City.

Descending down a rocky path, her feet suddenly slipped out from under her as the ground dropped steeply beneath her shoes. Landing on her side, she slid down the rocky slope with a surprised squeak until she halted, looking around in a confused manner. That wasn’t right. Had she taken a wrong turn somewhere?

I…I have no idea where I am now…

She thought she had been going the correct direction, but apparently she was wrong.

”H…hello?” she called nervously, her soft voice squeaking with the unease that began to set in at the thought of being lost somewhere dark, cold, and unfamiliar. ”C-can anybody hear me?”

[haribo]

The caves of Oreburgh were incredibly dark. One might wonder why someone would be wandering about in such a place. It was actually pleasantly cool and very very quiet... when nobody was working in them, that is. When people were, it was quite noisy and warm from the body heat of those digging about and whatnot. Roark oftentimes wandered down into the mines and the underground to relax. Sometimes, he dug in different spots but, more often than not, he simply sat down and was quiet.

Roark quite enjoyed fossils. They went hand in hand with his line of work (both of them, in fact, considering the fact that he had a few Pokemon that were revived). He, more likely than not, found them when he went down to dig. They were precious relics of the past. He thought them to be incredibly important, as they helped people to learn from the past and how to treat our now 'important' items so that they too might be preserved. Here lately, the 'supply' of them, if you will, had been dwindling and people had been finding them less and less. Hence why Roark thought it to be a big deal when one was found. No lack of enthusiasm from him!

He decided it'd be a good day to go into the underground and search about for interesting items. He certainly hoped that he'd find something worth bringing back to the city of Oreburgh's above-ground land. He spotted rocks of different types, a few small crystals, spheres, and even bits of coal, but no fossils. Roark found this disappointing, but he wouldn't give up just yet. But... What was that? A scratching noise against the tightly packed earth. He frowned. Nobody was really supposed to be down here without supervision, especially there days.

He followed the sound, only to see a little girl scrabbling to work something from the wall. He crouched down behind a section of wall, a shovel in one hand. But then... the little girl was leaving! Roark narrowed his eyes at the kid. People were free to take the fossils if they wished, but he didn't like it much when people were unsupervised, especially kids. They were so careless! Of course, he didn't know the kid, and he didn't want to think badly of her, so he remained silent. She seemed to be handling that 'something' with a lot of care. Roark gave a little smile. Thankfully, she was being careful. He lifted up the shovel and stood, letting her get a little ahead of him.

He waited a bit, not wanting to scare her, and advanced forward a little before he heard the 'squeak' of a young girl's voice. He then took off at a run, thinking that she was in trouble. Then came her question. He didn't answer right away, for fear of shouting and dislodging some rocks. He didn't want to take the risk of unnecessary harm coming to the kid. His feet skidded to a stop as he stabbed his shovel into the ground to end his moving. There was a sloping drop-off of sorts, and even in the dark, he could see movement. "Hey." he spoke softly, trying to get the kid's attention from where he was. He shook his head then. She probably couldn't hear him. He cupped his hands around his mouth and repeated himself again. "Hey, kid! You wanting some help?" He frowned, concerned, as his arms went to his sides. Perhaps Aerodactyl would have to help in a situation like this.

[jian]

Sharp-ish stones poked into her side as she lay still on the steep, rocky bank upon which she’d fallen. She wasn’t hurt too badly, aside from generally a bit shaken from her slip and scraped up. It wasn’t as though she’d fallen any great height or received substantial damage, but it was still enough to jolt her awake. She strained her ears to listen for a voice that she hoped to Arceus would respond to her slightly distressed, though controlled, call. A soft sound met her ears and Jian straightened instantly, looking up in the direction she’d slipped from. Then came a louder voice, making Jian jump as the words were repeated. She felt her heart fly to her throat and pound slightly at the surprise by the louder voice carried down towards her. However, it seemed friendly enough and she knew she had to answer.

”I...uh!” she started trying to say, calling back up to whomever it was. ”I think I know how I fell, but I’m not sure...!” Turning slightly, she picked herself off the pile of rocks that she’d slid down. ”Ow...” It sounded sort of like a tiny whimper as though she were in pain, but it was more her trying to situate herself without letting go of the precious fossil clutched in her grip. She refused to let go of that no matter what, practically, unless she had to catch herself in a fall. However, the possibility of the earth falling from beneath her feet seemed rather unlikely. ”I think I know how to get back up!”

In truth, she couldn’t see very far in front of her despite the fact her eyes had begun adjusting, but she was able to see enough to start working her way back to where she came from. Tucking the fossil snugly beneath her arm, she placed her now-free hand upon the rocks which she’d slid down. It was a steep incline, and would likely be tricky to climb. This will be hard... she told herself, swallowing the nervousness that persisted within her.

Placing one foot into the slope of rocks, she began her careful ascent, keeping three-point contact with the earthy materials as she moved. About five feet up, she felt the rocks beneath her feet give way into the rest of the slope, causing her to slide back down to where she came. Another surprised sound comparable to a squeak escaped her and she pulled her arm back, landing against the rocks to stop herself.

”Th-that didn’t work!” she said, a slightly panicy edge entering her voice. ”I only got so far before the rocks shifted again and eliminated my progress!”

She swallowed, taking a breath in an attempt to calm herself.

”H-help me, please...?” she asked, assuming (rather, hoping) that the stranger would. Although the voice was distinctly male, she decided she would have to trust him to get her out of this situation.

[haribo]

Roark was concerned about the little girl, what with her laying there like a supposed rag-doll. He knew that she was trying, but it was kinda... pitiful, in his eyes. She was like a little baby Pokemon in the sense that she seemed to have some potential to be strong, but unable to really help herself in her current situation. But she was moving about, thank Arceus, so her fall couldn't have hurt her too badly. He really wanted to help her, but he wasn't exactly sure how he could, at the moment.

She started to speak, but he couldn't really hear her well. Then, after he waited a moment, the echoing of the sound on the caves' walls allowed him to hear what she said, and in stereo. She spoke, talking about how she thought she knew how she fell, but then came a cry of what he assumed to be pain. He thought that she was probably rather scared, but he knew better than to underestimate kids, what with Gym challengers and all.

Roark was quite able to adjust to changes in the light intensity quickly, even though he wore glasses. At the moment though, it didn't help that they were dirty, thus hindering his ability to see very well. He swiped at his eyes instinctively, but stopped himself, realizing that glasses were not an important matter at this point in time. He carefully crept toward the very edge of the incline. If he had to, he would go down to help her, but he kinda had a plan first. He held a Pokeball in one hand, the shovel with its edge dug into the ground a bit in the other.

She seemed to be trying to climb up, but... Oh no, she had succeeded for a few feet but then had failed. Poor thing. He felt sympathetic toward her because he too used to fall in the caves as a child. He had mostly become immune to little bits of pain such as those received from small falls, but he was fairly sure that she wasn't. "Okay, now kid." He felt a little odd, addressing someone as such, because he was still fairly young himself while still being (legally) an adult at the same time. He shook his head. 'Think about this!' he thought, not wanting to make a mistake, as it could probably hurt the little gal.

"If you'll be still, I think I can help you out. Don't be scared... I'm not going to hurt you..." he said, attempting to make his voice sound soothing, though it probably came out as more awkward than anything. "I'm going to send out one of my Pokemon. Warning you now, it's an Aerodactyl. But don't worry; He won't bite you. Promise!" With that, he pressed the button on the Pokeball and in a flash of red light, the winged-fossil Pokemon appeared. It immediately spread its wings and flapped them in an attempt to stay aloft. "Alright." he said to it. "Think you can do something for me?" It nodded]. "See that girl down there? I need you to lift her up here." It looked at him for a moment, tilted its head, and then looked down at Jian. Roark pointed toward her. "Go!" Which it did. Angling its wings so that, when flapped, it would descend slowly, it landed on the floor in a matter of seconds. "Dactyl?" it seemed to question, leaning in toward Jian. "Do you think, if he flew up a bit, you could let him grab your wrists?" If she said no... Roark blinked. They'd have a bit more trouble getting her out of her situation.

[jian]

His words made Jian still and she looked up towards his voice. I wish I could see him… she thought, forcibly relaxing her body and slumping against the pile of rocks. Sometimes it helped to see who she was talking to, but in a cave like this that was an impossible hope unless one had a helmet with a light on it. For being this far in a cave, it would be advisable to have one unless whomever explored it knew the place like the back of their own hand. She clutched the fossil against her chest tightly, curling her fingers over the sides of the domed shell-like protrusion from the rock. She would have used some of her pokemon to help her get out, but none of them were light enough to stand on the pile of rocks without making it collapse, nor were they able to fly and get her out of the small pit that way.

”I’m going to send out one of my Pokemon.”

Jian looked up and stood, shuffling away from the rock pile for a moment. She didn’t know how big the pokemon would be or where it would land when it got into the pit where she stood, so she wanted to be ready for whatever appeared.

”Warning you now, it’s an Aerodactyl”

Jian straightened immediately and the fact that she was basically stuck in a pit diminished entirely. She felt her jaw drop a bit before a small smile spread across her face. Really?! The thought of seeing a live Aerodactyl filled her with a sense of joy and eagerness. That was one pokemon she had never seen but had for a long while. I can’t wait to see it! The flash of light from a pokeball illuminated the darkness briefly before the sound of wings swopped down near her, and a rush of air accompanied by a thud announced the arrival of the Fossil Pokemon.

”An Aerodactyl, wow!” she couldn’t help but exclaim as it leaned towards her. ”Th-that’s so cool! I’ve always wanted to see one!” she would have held her hands by her mouth in an expression of excitement were it not for the fossil. ”They’re some of the most interesting Fossil pokemon…” She gave herself a shake and stepped towards the large, winged Pokemon.

”I uh…” she hesitated for a moment. ”I’m holding a Fossil…” she informed the mysterious man above her. ”…I don’t have a bag to put it in either…” She glanced at the fossil, then at the Aerodactyl. The red-haired girl closed her eyes briefly, running over the physiology of an Aerodactyl in her mind before opening her eyes again, looking up towards where the man’s voice had come from. ”I’m light enough that I could hold onto the spike on his back for him to get me out of here…?” she suggested mildly. She didn’t want to let go of the Fossil as though it were as precious as the life it could potentially become – which, in a way, it was.

Moving to the side of the Aerodactyl, she ducked under its wing and stepped on a rock before lightly throwing her leg over the side of it. She curled her arm protectively against the fossil and tucked it snugly against her chest while she hooked the other around the spike sticking out of the pokemon’s back.

”Alright…!” she called. ”I’m situated!”


She would leave it to the trainer to command his own pokemon.

[haribo]

Not thinking it to be necessary before, Roark had not turned the light on his helmet. He had kept it off so that the light might not scare the girl and some of the Pokemon in the cave. In the end, though, he decided that the light was necessary and pressed a button, turning it on. The light allowed him to see the kid better, and he began thinking. 'Alright. Now Aerodactyl will have to fly up at an angle. Can he do it?' he thought. The Pokemon had never had to fly at sharp angles before (when commanded to, anyway). Plus, there wasn't as much room.so he didn't know if it would have enough room. This was a situation that he should have prepared for. For just a moment, he put his palm to his face, irritated at himself, before crossing his arms.

Looking down at Jian, he saw her back away. "No, it's okay!" he said, not wanting her to move away. He was trying to help, not scare her. This is why he didn't send out Aerodactyl unless he was battling, usually. Too many people were afraid of it. It wasn't a bad creature... Just scary-looking to many.

Then he saw her smile. He tilted his head slightly at her, causing the beam of light to shift to one side, not focusing on the ground anymore. When he realized this, he straightened up and nodded. The Aerodactly shuffled its feet a bit, staring at the ground, occasionally picking at something. Roark thought for a moment before speaking. "You okay down there? Do you have any injuries?" He assumed not, but it paid to be careful with situations like these. She made a remark about it being one of the most interesting fossil Pokemon and he smiled, proud of his Pokemon. "He won't hurt. You can pet him if you like." In response3, the Pokemon glanced up at him with a doubtful look in its eyes. Roark gave a barely detectable nod. It looked back at the little girl and spread its wings.

"A fossil?" he asked, parroting back her words in confusion. So that's why she had been holding her arms to herself. He had thought that she was simply scared. Good thing she wasn't. It'd be easier to motivate Aerodactyl if Jian would cooperate, which she seemed to be doing. "Alright then." he said in response. The fossil-Pokemon blinked and picked up its feet, glancing about. Would it be able to fly out of here? It folded its wings to itself then, worrying a bit. Roark didn't know how to convince the creature that everything would be alright, but he was determined that the girl would be safe.

Jian then climbed onto the Aerodactyl. It sunk a bit under her weight, just being silly. "Daaactyl" it said to the kid, just talking to her, as if it was his job to reassure her now. Then she called that she was ready. The fossil Pokemon straightened up and spread its wings once more. One flap. Two. Three. The beating of its powerful wings made it rise into the air. It momentarily sank, coming a few feet from hitting the ground, before shooting up into the air and gliding away from the edge of where Jian fell. It slowed itself and surprisingly softly landed on the ground. Roark waited for a moment before walking toward her. "You okay?" he asked, then grinned. "Did you enjoy the flight?"

[jian]

The Aerodactyl glanced back at her when she was situated upon his back before taking off into the air. Her hair was blown back with the small gust of wind generated by the Fossil pokemon's wings. She tilted her head forward and pressed the side of her face against its hard skin. They were moving, she could feel that much, but her stomach flipped over itself as they ascended quickly. Jian couldn't say she was used to flying in the slightest. Most of her pokemon preferred to stay on the ground, save for Edge and Grenade who levitated. The only one of her pokemon that could fly was Blade, and she had never even flown on him. He was an aggressive sort of bird and he barely listened to her. She was almost afraid to even approach him, though loved him all the same.

I'd rather keep my feet on the ground... she thought as she felt the Aerodactyl beneath her descend towards what she could only assume was higher ground that the pokemon's trainer stood on that she'd fallen from. A quiet thump and a sudden stillness of the helpful pokemon indicated that they had landed. Opening one of her violet eyes, she squinted almost immediately at the light that came from the other trainer's helmet.

That would have been useful before.. she thought, though shrugging it off as she slid from the back of the pokemon that had helped her out. "Thanks..." she murmured before dropping to the ground, her knees bending slightly when her feet hit. She gripped the fossil protectively when she heard the man's footsteps, her mistrust of unfamiliar men springing up suddenly despite the fact he had just helped her out of a rather embarrassing situation.

"I-I uh..." she began, stammering a bit as she stared at the ground, swallowing. A scuff of her sneaker against the ground proved to be the semi-kick she needed to look up at his face. "I'm fine, thank you.." She glanced at the Aerodactyl.

"Cuts and bruises aren't anything compared to possibly being trapped down there for a while." she didn't want to think of it. "Thank you both for..for helping me there.." she said quietly, both slightly ashamed that she hadn't been paying enough attention to her surroundings and unsure of what more to say. Although she knew enough to carry a conversation with one person, any more than that and she would begin to stray into the 'awkward' zone as far as her comfort level with others reached.

[haribo]

The Aerodactyl shuffled its feet when they landed, swinging its tail lightly a bit just simply for something to do. He was already quite bored with the situation and with the girl herself. Yeah, he was proud of himself for saving her, but she needed to get her ass off of his back soon. He didn't mind helping the kiddo out, but he wasn't a fan of people being on his back. He preferred to carry things in his mouth. Too bad his 'master' wouldn't let him carry the girl in that way.

He gave a bit of a sigh when the kid was off of his back and he advanced toward Roark. The Pokemon quickly jabbed his face forward, hitting Roark in the stomach, but gently. Roark patted it on the head for a moment. "Good job" he said to it before tapping the button on its Pokeball, making it disappear in a soft-looking flash of light, and turning the light on his helmet off for now. Roark stretched afterward, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that she had pretty much frozen.

"I'm not going to hurt you, kid." he said with a frown upon his face. "If I wanted to, I wouldn't have had Aerodactyl help you out there." He looked at Jian, and saw that she was rather pitiful looking, really. Dirty, clutching a fossil, and scared. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was reminded of himself when he was little.

"What'cha got there? Um... Did I ever get your name?" He bent down, hoping to be more at her eye level. "You...?" A frown was still on his face. Though he couldn't help how Jian felt, he himself felt rather bad for not being able to help her. When she said 'Thank you' though, he nodded. "No problem." And then he flashed a grin at her. "Aerodactyl can he stubborn, but I know that he didn't mind helping you out. And neither did I, though he did all of the work." Roark chuckled. "I suppose that's true, about the cuts and whatnot. But what do you say to us getting you out of here?"

[jian]

Jian looked up through her red bangs at the man as his footsteps. She shifted her weight slightly and looked down at the fossil. He had turned the light on his helmet off, and she hadn’t been able to get a good look at the precious item clutched in her arms before then. I’ll just have to wait until we’re outside... she thought. Her violet eyes focused on the figure before her that she was able to see better than before. He had a point – if he had wanted to hurt her, he would have done it already in some way, shape, or form. He could have just left her there as he said, or he even could have made her situation worse if he was cruel enough to do so.

Maybe I can trust him? she wondered idly, straining to focus her eyes on his face. One would probably expect her to be more used to darkness of caves given how much time she used to spend in them. As much time as she had spent standing there listening to him, she could have very easily moved. Something was compelling her to stay put, rooted to the spot. What was it about him that allowed her to stay? The instincts she had become familiar with that told her to flee before unfamiliar men seemed to evaporate entirely. It must be that he already helped me...and now I’m trying to condition myself sub-consciously to his presence.

She chewed her lip slightly. I can try...I can still get away soon enough. The thought didn’t set well with her, but she knew she needed to attempt to overcome the mistrust at some point. He bent down so he was at eye-level with her. That was somewhat comforting to her – it made her feel as though he was trying to comfort her, or prevent her from feeling intimidated. ”...call me Ani.” she told him quietly. ”I uh...I would like to get out of here...” she said, attempting to control her voice, though it was beginning to tremble again. ”I-I’ve never been to Sinnoh before this...” she told him, squeaking slightly as she admitted her lack of familiarity with the place. ”I don’t really know where I am.”

The red-haired girl shuffled her feet slightly, her voice trembling as she spoke. ”I like caves but I want to get out of here...I-I don’t like not knowing where I am.”

[haribo]

Roark was wary of advancing toward the child, seeing as how she seemed to still be scared of him, despite him being nice to her. He just didn't have the will to be mean to a scared kid in him. Even if she was timid and didn't seem to be listening to him. He glanced down at the fossil in her hands and gave a little smile. "When did you get that?" he asked quietly.

He removed his glasses and cleaned them off with his shirt, then put them back on his face. He blinked a few times, trying to focus his gaze on the kid. She was right to think that it was hard to see in here, but he didn't want to turn the helmet light on really, considering that they weren't really that far deep into the caves. He wished that she's trust him more, 'but then again', he thought, 'I suppose I wouldn't trust a strange man either, if I were in her position'.

Roark cleared his throat before he spoke again. She then mentioned her name, or rather, what she wished to be called. He figured that she might be lying, but he also supposed that it would make sense for her to do so. It was a vicious world, and one had to do what they could to protect themselves.

"Ani?" he repeated. "Got it." He would have patted her on the head, but he didn't want her any more afraid of him than she already was. "You've never been to Sinnoh?" He acted a bit shocked, just to show some enthusiasm and perhaps cheer the girl up. "Well, it's a great place, you know." He nodded. "Well, I'll tell you. You are beneath a place called Oreburgh." He tilted his head. "Somewhere in the mines, to be exact." He glanced about. "But I'm pretty sure I know where we are."

When her voice trembled, he felt bad, as though he had done something wrong. He just wanted to hug her and reassure her that everything was okay, but he refrained. He reminded himself that she would probably freak out if he did that, as he would do the exact same thing if he were in her place. "I can help you out with that, Ani." He grinned at her. "I'm the gym leader of this city, you know. I'll protect you if you like." He then straightened up, not bothering to dust off his pants. "Wanna leave now?" he asked, waiting for her reply.

[jian]

His voice pulled her from her timid state. He was referring to the fossil. Anything to do with a fossil, pokemon, or steel-type pokemon was something that made Jian’s hesitation vanish. A topic of interest – it snagged her attention easily. She looked down at it, picturing in her mind what she could not see in the dark. The way the cast of something that once was fused to rock, as a way of preserving ancient life for the present day…that was something about fossils that the young red-haired girl could not get over for the life of her. It was something that would always fascinate her, she felt sure.

She looked up at him when he spoke after clearing his throat. His voice was kind enough, and she had a feeling that even in this darkness he was smiling. She felt her muscles further relax from their tensed state as she grew more accustomed to him, and more comforted with the sense that his enthusiasm and seemingly kind-hearted nature was genuine rather than some charade. ”Oreburgh?” She’d heard the name before, and seen it on a map. Although she had never been to the Sinnoh region before, she was at least slightly familiar with it. However, besides a City famous for its mines, something more caught her attention – ”Gym Leader?”

Her jaw dropped slightly as realization crept into her voice, pushing out any hesitation or fear that was there to begin with. ”R-Roark?!” she squeaked slightly, her fingers curling around the fossil in surprise. ”I-I can’t…are you really?” She was familiar with the big names of Gym Leaders that stuck out to her – particularly Byron and Roark of Sinnoh, Steel- and Rock-type specialists respectively, a father-son duo. ”I uh…I’d be grateful if you could help me out…” she said, her voice quieting. The fear she felt had automatically lessened. Gym Leaders were trustworthy, right? They led cities, and were powerful trainers. They had to be trustworthy to do that.

”I was…I was exploring when something caught my attention. I d-dragged my hand against the wall and part of it felt harder than the rest, and oddly shaped. I-I just dug and picked at it until I found this…”

She moved the fossil slightly in her arms as if to show him, despite the dark. ”…I’m pretty sure it’s a fossil. I’m…not sure what kind though. B-but I really want to find out.”

The sound of clattering metal somewhere deeper in the mine made her squeak with surprise and jump. She hadn’t been expecting a sound like that. She jumped forward slightly and reflexively reached out, her small-ish hand closing lightly around his wrist. ”Was that a cart or something?” she asked, shaking off the initial surprise from the sound and looking up towards where his face should be. ”N-nevermind.”

She shook her head before speaking again. ”I’ll follow you…” she told him.

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[haribo]

"Yeah, Oreburgh. I've been here... Huh. For years now, actually. Not sure how many. But yes, we're famous for things like coal. Neat, huh?" Roark pondered this for just a moment as the little kid spoke some more. He nodded, even though she couldn't really see the movement. "Yep, I'm the Gym Leader here." He grinned at her. Little kids were easy to impress, really. but as long as she was happy and safe, he didn't really care what she said. He had no idea why, but he was feeling rather protective of the child, even though they had just met. Despite the reason, he really didn't want to see her hurt, so he walked slowly incase something were to happen.

She seemed almost surprised when she said his name. "Mhm, I'm Roark." he said back to her in a soft voice. He didn't quite have the LOUD tendencies of his father, so his voice hardly echoed off of the wall. Still, a few little Zubats dropped down from the supposed ceiling, turning mid-air, skimming over the top of Jian's head playfully. They recognized Roark's voice and figured that anyone with him was alright in their books.

He gave a bit of a laugh then. "Sure thing, I am. Here, in the flesh!" He adjusted his glasses a bit, debating on something. He would have done a little pose to make her laugh, but he thought that she wouldn't think it to be very funny. Roark shook his head. Kids were hard to amuse nowadays. She mentioned being grateful if he were to help her out of the cave. "Oh, of course, Ani. Don't worry. I wouldn't dream of leaving someone behind in here, let alone a child." He didn't mean to emphasize her being a kid so much, but he figured it was a natural instinct to want to protect the younger set of people.

Jian then talked about finding what she thought to be a fossil. He tilted his head and looked down at the supposed fossil. "May I see it?" he asked. He didn't know Jian very well at all, really, so he wasn't sure how she'd react to the question. "If not, it's okay. I understand. And sure. We'll just need to take you over to the museum and we'll get you and your fossil fixed up!"

He raised his eyebrows in a bit of surprise when Jian wrapped her little hand around his wrist. "Yeah, you'll occasionally hear carts and all that. Sometimes, we just can't retrieve them. You know, you'd need a strong Pokemon to get them back, but sadly, the ones I have are mostly heavy creatures. It'd be too dangerous to let them roam free in here." He then frowned, thinking to himself for a moment about this.

"Alrighty then!" he said. "Let's head on out."

After a bit of walking, he eventually led her out of the Oreburgh mines. Luckily enough for them, the sun was still shining brightly outside. He almost flinched as he put a hand over his eyes. After all this time, the sudden adjustment from dark to extreme light still caught him off guard. This bothered him, but he shook it off. Pointing to a rather large building in the nearby vicinity, he spoke. "That's the museum. Wanna go ahead and go there? Or go to the Center to get you and your Pokemon, assuming you have some with you, checked out?"

[jian]

Get a grip Jian... she told herself. Her throat still felt a bit tight with the unpleasant feeling of not knowing where she was, and she knew her voice would still squeak out-of character. That was something that had annoyed her the most about her behavior in front of Roark. Although some of it was from fear or being startled, she knew she had been raised not to let simple things like this phase her. Youre eleven...you’re grown up! her voice rang quietly in her mind as she attempted to set her jaw to not let things like a clanking car startle her. You can act more like an adult! At least, she hoped so.

His reassurance to help her find her way out of the cave was enlightening, and it made the red-haired girl sigh with relief. As she’d guessed, he knew his way around the mines. As a Gym leader of a town that had them, she expected no less. Weather he was Lux or Nox in this war she didn’t really care, so long as he still watched out for the people that lived in his city and protected the residents. A humanitarian sense that hadn’t been completely demolished by the effects of war was something desireable indeed in Jian’s mind.

When he asked to see her fossil, her first response was to hug it closer to her chest as if to say ‘no’ without actually speaking, though she halted the instinctive action moments later. ”Yeah, sure...” she said, a small smile lighting her face more. ”It will be better to see when we’re outside, though. It’s lighter out there.” Her head tilted to the side slightly when he mentioned his pokemon. Rock pokemon were obviously some of the more naturally weighty creatures out there, though he undoubtedly had some that were ranked as ‘heavy’ even among their type.

He led her out and their small journey was without incident, and Jian stopped abruptly as soon as they came into the light, taking one arm off from around the fossil and covering her eyes. She turned her head down to look away from the sun as she blinked behind her hand, trying to slowly reveal light to her pupils by parting her fingers. Although she spent time in caves quite often years ago, the light change was always a shock.

”I want my pokemon to rest some, if that’s okay?” she asked, her violet eyes looking through her fingers at him. ”I should be okay myself but....makes sense to check, right?” She looked down at the fossil. ”And, and what do you think of this...?” Jian asked him eagerly, holding the fossil up for him to see. It was larger and heavier than a dinner plate, but she was sure she wouldn’t drop it.

[haribo]

Roark didn't really mind how Jian was acting. Aside from Gym Battles, he wasn't really sure how little kids acted, especially young ladies. He hadn't exactly bought into the stereotype of them always playing dress-up and starting tea parties, but he did think that they, a lot of the time, acted differently than boys. He didn't expect to find a little girl in the mines, let alone one who was digging around. But, not much to his surprise, this was a smart young lady that he was dealing with. He had sometimes been rather jumpy as a child (jumpy meaning 'scared' of things such as clanging mine carts), so he couldn't really judge her for something as silly as that.

When Jian mentioned that it'd be better to wait until they were outside to see the fossil, Roark nodded. This was true, after all. Though he wasn't jumping around and screaming, he was a tad bit excited to see the fossil, if it indeed was one. There was always the chance that it would end up being just another rock; There was nothing wrong with rocks at all, but fossils were excellent. One could revive ancient beings with them. It was... amazing, really. Old life could be created anew with technology. Though Roark wasn't exactly technologically-savvy (nor did he enjoy messing around with the electronic machines much), he did have to credit them with the revival of his Aerodactyl and several other interesting feats.

She indeed answered that she wished for her Pokemon to get some rest first. "Responsible girl." he muttered, though not at all irritated. He then raised his voice back to normal, careful to not YELL like his father. He wasn't exactly the intimidating type, but he really didn't want to scare the poor kiddo. "Okay, we can do that." he smiled at her for a moment before glancing in the direction of the Pokemon Center. It was normally coloured, and fully functional. So far, Oreburgh had been relatively untouched by the war. Sure, a few repairs were probably needed, but all buildings that weren't new needed a touch up here and there. "Yes it does, Ani." He was about to step off toward the Center, but then the young lady spoke again. He turned toward her and she was holding out the rock. "Oh." he said, looking down at it.

He did not take the fossil from the kid, but instead glanced over it. The thing was familiar. He crouched down once again and gently tipped it up, looking at the bottom of it, then stood up and straightened himself up. "Yep, looks like a Dome Fossil." He grinned, and then began walking toward the Pokemon Center. When they reached the building and were inside, he turned to her and spoke. "You'll be getting a Kabuto then."

[jian]

Now that she had gotten over her initial nervousness upon meeting Roark, she was struggling to contain the excitement she felt welling up within her at the thought of reviving the fossil…after seeing to it that her pokemon were healed, of course. She wanted to make sure they were okay before anything else. I guess I should have more concern for myself, though.. she thought, frowning slightly. She knew her parents wouldn’t have approved of seeing her ignore her own health and allow herself to fall into a potential lack of safety.

She smiled a little when he confirmed it would be fine. The Pokemon Center looked to be in relatively good condition, compared to others she’d seen in cities that had been torn apart by the war. His voice drew her back and her expression lightened into a full smile when he confirmed that it was, in fact, a dome fossil. So, she had been right after all? I knew it… she thought, smiling happily. She would get a Kabuto from it once it was resurrected with the Museum’s technology, and she couldn’t wait. Although she much preferred Steel-type pokemon to Rock-type pokemon, she loved them just as much. They were strong, and she could look up to them.

”Kabuto is Water- and Rock-type, too, right?” she asked as they walked, confirming what she already knew. ”I can’t wait for it to meet the rest of my pokemon…let’s go get these guys rested up, then!” a half-giggle escaped her and she turned on her heel, following him quickly towards the counter where the nurse stood, smiling to welcome them. Placing the fossil carefully on the ground next to her feet, Jian pulled three pokeballs out of the two pockets on the lower half of her dress. The nurse smiled and took them and a Blissey trotted around the counter, a tray in hand that had medical equipment on it. She busied herself about cleaning Jian’s hands and putting band-aids on them while the Nurse healed her pokemon.

Soon enough they both finished and Jian pocketed her pokeballs once again. Picking up the fossils, she turned to Roark. ”Ready when you are.”