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Post by carnackiArdent on Oct 31, 2017 8:39:26 GMT
Oh, it's the giant crocodile. Which is to say, one of the reasons to be wary of hurting Kalani's feelings besides feeling like a heel personally. Clay thinks he remembers its name was Gertrude. And there are a whole bunch of little tiny blue crocodiles, too. Presumably at least some of those are Gertrude's kids... though if not all of them are, he needs to make a note to be careful of whatever other giant crocodiles are around.
He's not sure he can get to the house without passing by her, or that she'd take kindly to it if he did, so he approaches cautiously while trying to give the little ones a wide berth and looking as unthreatening as possible. He does not want to find out the hard way how protective Gertrude is of her brood. Of course, a bunch of hyperactive little reptiles is not as easy to avoid as he might hope. He clears his throat and calls out to her cautiously, though he's taking his cue from Mufomono so his attempt at crocodile speak is a little dry and hissy. At least he knows now that the important part isn't in the voice. "Hi there. Remember me? I was hoping to visit Mayor Kalani. Is it okay if I pass by?"
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Post by Raven on Oct 31, 2017 8:47:53 GMT
Gertrude's head practically snaps around when you start making noises. Whether she noticed you previously or not is irrelevant. She notices you now. Naturally, hyperactive little reptiles think that Clay might make a good chew toy and come running over; promptly beginning to bite at your shoes (or your ankles if no footwear is present). Gertrude seems to find this amusing, as she doesn't immediately come over to collect them. Maybe she knows you're responsible for upsetting Kalani last time you were here and this is just belated payback? Eh, without her telling you, no real way of knowing.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Oct 31, 2017 18:47:51 GMT
Maybe this is payback. At least she doesn't seem to think he's a threat to the baby crocodiles, which is good. Well, except for the part where his feet are now getting gnawed on by said baby crocodiles. Maybe he should have worn shoes today. Clay basically hates shoes and his feet are callused enough that he's used to walking fairly long distances even without them, but they would at least provide some protection from the rather stunning array of teeth now focused on him from about the ankles down.
"W-whoa, hey..." At first Clay winds up doing a little hop-skipping dance to try and keep his ankles out of biting range, but this probably just amuses them, and he starts worrying about accidentally stepping on tails and setting off a Feraligatr explosion. Fan doesn't seem to be inclined to help, either. She's ensconced herself in a nearby tree and is busy laughing her tail off. Clay sticks his tongue out at her.
"Gee, thanks, sis. I don't see you down here getting your feet chewed on." Then again, the largest of the babies is nearly as big as she is, so considerably more than her feet would be on the line. Since he doubts he's about to be rescued, he decides to lean down (carefully) and talk to them instead. They're kind of cute except for the ankle-biting. "Hi there! You're a cute little guy, aren't you?" he asks, picking one at random. He was never good at addressing whole crowds even back in the troop. "Do you live here?"
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Post by Raven on Oct 31, 2017 19:36:05 GMT
"Home!" it cries, unhelpfully while continuing to nip at your ankles. Most of them don't actually appear to have many teeth yet (thankfully), which makes the whole "ankle-biting" thing a bit less painful. Seems like they're teething or something. Some movement near the house catches your eye as who else but Kalani herself comes out to see what the little ones are so excited about. She smiles and waves at you.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 2, 2017 5:29:30 GMT
Right. Baby Pokémon, not such great conversationalists. Cute, though. He's trying to figure out whether he can pet them without upsetting Gertrude, and where the best place to pet a tiny crocodile with a big old fin on its back is, when he sees Kalani arrive.
He straightens up halfway and waves back at her with a smile. "Hey! I'd come over, but they've kinda got me surrounded." He finally settles on stroking one of them behind the head cautiously... both in case Getrude decides that's too much touching, and because if he doesn't he's sure that all of them are going to demand petting and he'll get tired of it long before they do.
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Post by Raven on Nov 2, 2017 5:51:44 GMT
Just as predicted, when you start petting one and it enjoys it, the others all start clamoring for the same kind of attention. A quick call from Gertrude puts them back in line though, and they waddle back over to her, occasionally tripping over one another in a race to see who gets back first.
Kalani giggles at the baby Totodile antics and then invites you inside to sit down and rest.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 2, 2017 6:10:43 GMT
Clay smiles gratefully and follows her inside. "Sorry, I fall for it every time. They always want to be petted more after you want to stop."
Once they're more or less settled he takes a deep breath. "Sorry I didn't visit earlier. I had a big Guild thing the morning after the party and then life kinda kept happening. I can give you the whole story if you want, but it's long and has a lot of my friends' romance mess in it." He chuckles quietly. "At least I know who not to ask for advice now. Rei's as bad at this as I am."
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Post by Raven on Nov 2, 2017 6:16:23 GMT
"They're hatchlings. Of course they want constant attention. Don't worry about not visiting Clay, I know you're probably pretty busy with your Adventuring career." She manages a light giggle at your comment about Rei. "A lot of people don't really understand romance. We humans make it into this big, complicated mess of etiquette, posturing, and desires so that when we finally find something that works, we aren't really sure how it happened; we're just grateful it did."
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 3, 2017 21:14:18 GMT
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Clay runs his hand through his hair. "It'd explain why Rei and I both seem determined to screw up at this. I tried to apologize the night of the party but your mom said you were already asleep. Did mean I met Gertrude, though. That kinda surprised me."
He chuckles ruefully. "I mean, she seems nice but I'm afraid of making her mad." Well, she seems nice as far as he can tell, seeing as she's not all that talkative.
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Post by Raven on Nov 3, 2017 21:20:12 GMT
"Generally speaking, making any Pokemon mad can be disastrous for humans, but don't worry about Gertrude. She's a big ol' softy for the most part. Just don't go doing anything stupid and you won't have problems with her."
She plays with the hem of her skirt a bit before looking at you again. "I'm.. sorry for the way I acted at the party. I was a bit drunk and I overreacted to something you weren't even saying. I think. It's a bit of a blur yet, but I still feel as though I owe you an apology. You didn't do anything wrong, Clay."
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 3, 2017 22:12:02 GMT
"Nah, I think something I said was probably dumb. I don't even remember what I said. I was just getting kinda overwhelmed and I think I was probably stalling for time for my brain to start working."
Unconsciously mirroring her, he fidgets with the end of his shirt. "I mean, you did come on kinda strong, but I don't think I really get to complain about that. Something about not throwing stones if you've got rocks for brains? I dunno, I can't keep human sayings straight."
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Post by Raven on Nov 3, 2017 22:24:25 GMT
Kalani giggles. "I don't think I've heard that one before. Do, um, Chimchar have any sayings like that?"
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 5, 2017 3:44:34 GMT
"Pokémon don't really go in for that kinda thing as much. A lot of the ones they do have tend not to translate well." Or to be rather unpleasant, which is why he's not going to translate those, either.
"So, uh, how've things been up here? Pretty lively, I guess, with the herd of hatchlings out there."
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Post by Raven on Nov 5, 2017 4:33:54 GMT
"Oh, I see." She giggles and nods when you mention the hatchlings being a handful. "Definitely! Mating season just ended for Feraligatr a few weeks ago, so these little guys are only a week-ish old. I'm sure you've been around baby Chimchar before, growing up among them. What was it like?"
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 5, 2017 6:01:10 GMT
"Even worse, if anything. Baby Chimchar put everything in their mouths, too, but the climb all over everything, too. You can imagine I got substitute tree duty a few times." After all, Clay's short for a human, but he's still half a foot taller than most Infernape and probably still got some growing left to do.
"And they're loud. I know I talk a lot -" which has gotten more evident as he's gotten more comfortable with human language "- but baby Chimchar chatter all the time. A lot more than the little peeping noises the babies out there make." He chuckles nostalgically, pretending not to notice the faces Fan is pulling from where she's settled beside his legs.
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Post by Raven on Nov 5, 2017 6:11:20 GMT
Kalani is absolutely in stitches at the thought of you being "substitute tree". Fan remembers those days, so naturally she joins in the laughter too.
"Oh my Arceus that just sounds so adorable! Baby Totodile may not climb on everything, but when teething, and even shortly after, they want to chew on or bite everything they can reach. It's very important to make sure there's nothing they can hurt themselves with, and nothing you can't afford/don't want to have destroyed within their biting range."
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 6, 2017 4:35:53 GMT
"Yeah, I'll bet. Huh... do Totodile evolve into something between them and Feraligatr? I think if there's a middle form one of them might be on Tiki's team. Blue and tan, with those red spine-fin-things?" Though Tiki has so many Pokémon that Clay sort of has trouble keeping track. He's pretty sure on any given day there's at least a fifty-fifty shot that she'll come home with a new one. Or two.
As nice as practicing his small-talk is, though, he came up here to talk about important stuff, too. She says she's not upset about the whole argument, but... "I... I should ask. Do you still want to try the whole... romance thing? I mean, I can't promise I won't mess up, but if you still want to, I'll try." He gives her a cautious, rather nervous smile.
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Post by Raven on Nov 6, 2017 5:36:06 GMT
"Yes, actually! It's called 'Croconaw'. Out in the wild it can take years for them to evolve though, so they're fairly rare, like most middle-stage Pokemon."
Kalani blushes when you bring up the subject of your kinda-sorta romance.
"Y-yes. I would like that. I know it won't be perfect (romance rarely is), but I really like you Clay, and I want to give 'us' a try." She leans over and gives you a light peck on the cheek.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 6, 2017 6:56:40 GMT
"I mean, evolving in the wild takes a long time anyway. Some of the Chimchar who were born around when... when the troop found me, I guess, were starting to evolve right around the time I left, and they were the fast ones. Fan's younger than them, though, so I can see how much training helps." He ruffles the fur on her head affectionately until she swats his hand away and sticks her tongue out at him.
Now it's Clay's turn to blush, though it's a lot less obvious on his dark skin. He's not quite sure how he ended up being able to make Kalani blush, but he doesn't mind that much. He turns his head and brushes his lips across her cheek, a little clumsily. This is kind of his first time trying that particular gesture. "Then, um. I guess we're... whatever the word is for what we are?"
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 16, 2017 3:50:31 GMT
Back in the Fighting Branch, Clay gets down to training for the day. Right now he's focusing on Missile and with Nianyu, his newly-caught Barboach; both fish are lagging behind the rest of his team a bit. Peng helps out, shadow-boxing with Missile with the aid of his leek.
But Clay gets two big surprises. Sometime overnight, Flower seems to have evolved into a little lantern-looking creature, all dark metal around her blue flame. "Wow, this is new! Hope Rei's charm holds up, you're probably stronger now..." Flower trills in response, her flame flaring brightly, and winks at Clay. She can actually do that now that one of her eyes isn't covered by wax.
And then, while he's distracted with Flower's evolution, Red Child manages to burrow his way into Clay's bag and comes out with the flame-colored stone he traded Tiki for ages ago. As it turns out, that stone is just what Red Child needs to evolve himself - glowing light runs over him, and when it dies down, he's nearly ten times the size of the puppy he was, a fully-grown Arcanine. Red Child gives a deep, resonant bark and licks Clay's face, just about knocking him over as he tries to push the massive dog back, giggling. "H-hey, watch it! I'm happy for you, too, boy, but I kinda need to stand up."
All in all, he's in a pretty good mood by lunchtime, when he decides he should set about preparing for this journey to the mountains. The obvious people to ask are probably Rock Branch, but the question is how to find them. It would make sense if they're one of the other two doors down in the same tunnel as Fighting Branch, but which one... Well, it's a fifty-fifty chance, and he knows Ground Branch is down here too and they might help as well. So he just knocks on the door next to Fighting Branch's entrance and hopes for the best. He should really get Rei to help him with his reading, but she seems so stressed-out lately...
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