A Getting to Together Sort of Day

[[Shoe ♥]!]

ooc; Open to anyone, 'specially people. Lyra just can't get enough of people.
Join or die. >3

ic;

Afternoon was just the perfect time of day, right when the sun was shining at its boldest, confidently warming its earth. Moments like these were thoroughly enjoyed by the Flareon 'morph, basking in the rays contently. Granted, it wasn't like these types of days were rare or any sort, it's just it's silly to expect every afternoon to be the same. How awful it would have been if there had been clouds out, accompanying the wonderful star! One cloud, lonely, always called for the help of another in the end. Then, with two, they would soon tire, multiplying at increased rates until there was a complete storm. Bored out of their minds, the clouds would then bawl, and with the domino effect, drench Lyra like no tomorrow. The woman shuddered with the very thought, and flared out her tail behind her, careful not to let any dust touch the bottom tufts.

Ugh - even though it was a beautiful day, it didn't stop the entire piece to be mind-numbingly boring. Everywhere she cast those blue eyes, no matter what direction she looked, the view was all the same. More path, some random trees, and miles of tall grass surrounding her. And to think that the trainers in the area would be hacking their way through such a mess, searching high and low for more poor creatures to capture. All in all, the more she thought about it, the less the chance that she would bump into anyone that actually mattered. How droll. Just as she was starting to feel starved for human companionship... or any social interaction for that matter. Back at the lab, even if Saxon was a complete racist jerk - he was still something to help occupy her time.

Now she was just walking down some worn path, aimlessly following the road as if it was the Bible or something. If she were to stray, some idiot Pok?mon might jump out of the bushes, and she would be defenseless besides a small growl and a puff out.

Oh, wait, duh! No she wouldn't!

With sudden realization, the new coordinator sent dug out two small objects. First, another purple Tootsie Pop, as her old one was just a stick now. Second, a small Pok?ball, one of the vaguely purple ones. Or was it pink? No matter - it still held her new-found partner quite well. Which, in retrospect, was all that mattered.

With a dazzling ray of red light, the little Cyndaquil popped out, dazed and confused with the world surrounding it. This didn't look like anything he been used to. No... it was much too... open... all that space! It was infinite! What a dizzying sight to a small creature that had been confined to a building for its entire life! For a moment he felt faint, as if it would just be better to play dead and hope to be transported back to the world he knew, but then he took notice of something. It was that girl, back from the place he knew! Oh, she had been nice... well, much more pleasant than that boy and his Mightyena, who had growled at him and forced him into a ball. No, she had given him a treat (which was still in his mouth, the little anteater-like Pok?mon realized dully), and called him 'doll' and such. Besides, she was just like him! Well... sorta. She was all warm, fuzzy, and looked kinda like a Pok?mon herself. The thought soothed the excitable Pok?mon as he tried to figure out why she had taken him away in the first place. Was he being kidnapped?! No... the professor had told all the other Pok?mon that they.. were... something. Starter Pok?mon! Right! So this was his trainer! Cool beans, then. Needing to verify this, he asked in a tiny voice,

"Uum... you're my trainer, right?"

Lyra hadn't expected her little Pok?mon to speak up so quickly. Weren't Cyndaquil naturally timid or something? Well, he was probably scared, she deduced, but still... he had guts. More than she had accounted for, at least. So, with an air of importance, she answered crisply,
"Why yes, yes I am. Though, I'm not a trainer. I'm a coordinator - meaning I train my Pok?mon to make stunning effects with their moves. I'm kinda close to fire types, so I decided to go with one of those. However, none of the others tickled my fancy, and you seemed like a doll - so there we are!

[/b]"

"Fire type? Wassat?"
"You're a type of Pok?mon that can use fire type attacks primarily."
"Oh.. that makes sense. But then... why can't I use fire type moves yet? I can only scratch...."
"You can't? What a drag. Well, you will... one day. I guess you're just young. You'll grow, doll~"

This seemed to satisfy the little creature's curiosity for a moment, and that irritated Lyra. That was hardly a discussion! This little guy would have to be more open with her! He couldn't be as stupid as he made himself out to be, at least. No... he was just shy, that was it. Of course he was, the poor creature had been plucked out of his house and was now being held against his will. Or something. Might as well try to make small talk.

"Soo... my name's Lyra. I bet we'll be good friends."
"A name? You mean what I can call you? Cool. My name's... umm... well.. I don't think I have one, actually.[/b]"
"You don't? How awful. What do you want to be called, darling?[/b]"
"Darling? I don't fancy that..."
"Ugh. I was only trying to address you. Not having a name makes that very difficult for me, you know.[/b]"
"Oh.. sorry. Umm... I dunno. What do you want to call me?[/b]"
"I don't care as long as you like it... but... how about... Caiaphas?"
"That's a very elegant name.[/b]"
"I thought it was handsome. Besides, when we're in our contests, they'll address us like, 'Now entering... Lyra and Caiaphas!' Doesn't that have a nice ring to it? Oh, and when you evolve, it'll become a symbol of power by fire. Just the name Caiaphas will bring images of volleys of flame![/b]" With that, the Flareon 'morph picked up her small companion, whirling him around like a stuffed toy.
"Yeah! That'd be great! ...What's 'evolve?'[/b]"

Erugh. They had a lot to cover.

[/blockquote]

[Affectionate Zombie]

"And so then I said -- d'you know what I said? -- I said: 'Hey! You with the blue scales! ... I dig the color!' 'Cept then, she was all like... 'Loser!' So then, I was like... not cool. Y'know? Yeah. It was crazy. Good times, good times. ... Oh! And then this other time, I was with this Bulbasaur -- real nut, he was --"

It just went on, and on, and on, and on.

Kimmie's pretty, plump lips curled into an indulgent smile as she listened politely to her Skitty's yammering, though inwardly, she was wondering how much longer she'd go without having a breakdown. Hard to say; she'd bet money that her brain would snap in two and she'd crumble to pieces after maybe a few more minutes. 'Course, betting money on herself wasn't really fair, considering that she wouldn't exactly be impartial.

Who would be betting on that, anyway? If anyone was (other than Arceus, who was no doubt staring down at her and laughing at her misery like the asshole that he was) gambling with her sanity unbeknownst to her, she'd be more than a little annoyed and way more than a little upset. Jerks. This was no laughing matter, thank-you-very-much -- Arceus.

Ene the Skitty didn't seem to realize that poor Kim's eardrums were bleeding, though. She didn't have the heart to tell him to shut up and he was blissfully unaware of the effect his high-pitched babbling mewls had on her already delicate state of mind. Really, she almost wished she literally had blood dripping from her ears, because maybe then he'd shut up.

... Second thought, he'd probably start screeching louder in his alarm, so maybe that wouldn't do any good at all. Drat. He just didn't have an off button, did he?

And then there was... Fuu. Oh, gosh. Such a stark contrast to the cheery, chatty Skitty bouncing at her heels. Kim shot a nervous glance over her own shoulder, catching a quick glimpse of the Drifloon who hovered darkly behind her. He was a moody thing, and incredibly mean to her on top of that. She didn't wonder why his past owner had been giving him away, since she was almost considering dropping him off with some unsuspecting stranger herself. The balloon-like Pok?mon narrowed his beady black eyes at her the second he caught her staring, and with a little squeak and a wince, she hurriedly faced forwards once more.

Now, don't get her wrong. She thought that Ene was adorable, and Fuu was cute, too, even if he was... really, really harsh. While she was admittedly a bit afraid of the Drifloon and unwilling to get too close for the time being (he needed to warm up first, lest she drop dead due to a nerve-induced heart attack), the Skitty was fun to be around so long as she was in the mood to tolerate his chattiness. He was a sweet little kitty, yes he was.

Just... not at the moment. Too obnoxious to be cute at the moment. Kim tried not to grind her teeth or plug her ears or burst into hysterics. She was losing it already, just a few days into her journey. Figured.

Then, Ene paused. Arceus was being merciful. (For the moment, anyhoo; he was a moody bitch, Arceus was. One minute life was smooth sailing for Kim, and the next minute, she wanted to rip her hair out. ) Hallelujah. The Skitty turned and glanced upwards to blink his squinting eyes at his trainer, looking suddenly concerned. "Honey, you alright? Seem a bit stiff, y'know. Loosen up, hon."

"I-I'm fine," she insisted, however weakly. To be honest, she was feeling a little better already, since the Skitty had temporarily run out of metaphorical coal to fuel his metaphorical engine -- of course, by "coal" I mean "gossip and obnoxious stories" and by "engine" I mean "motor mouth."

"I ain't," snapped Fuu from behind the meek human girl. "You just don't ever shut up, do you, y' flamboyant little furball?"

Oh, Arceus, no. Don't give him more to say, don't argue with him, please just shut up--

"Well!" squeaked Ene, clearly offended. He sniffed. "And what about you, huh, doll? Are you ever happy? Bet'cha couldn't smile if you wanted to. Your cute widdle face would crack." ... Okay, he had a valid point.

Fuu laughed bitterly, and to Kim's ears it sounded like a particularly harsh gust of wind. "Y'know what'd really make me smile? You, with your mouth sewn shut. Think we can make that happen?"

The Skitty "hrrmmmph!"ed and slowed down to meet Fuu's sluggish pace, happy to argue with the ghost-type -- though not with nearly as much malice as Fuu. He seemed to be teasing more than trying to insult his teammate.

Kimmie sighed, her hands twitching and fidgeting and playing with the strap to her shoulder-bag subconsciously. This was gonna be a long, interesting journey. ... If she survived it with her sanity in tact, she'd be shocked.

Luckily, she was slowly learning to tune out the voices of her Pok?mon, which made the peacefulness of Route One easier to enjoy. The sun was shining bright and strong, warming her to the point in which she was almost forced to remove her hat and hoodie; a gentle breeze ran through her hair like fingers, and her well-fitting blue tee (with a cute, cartoon-style Lapras on the chest and a single-file line of gray hearts running down the sides of the sleeves) made the heat easier to bear than it had been with her thick, navy-blue-and-yellow "Olivine City" hoodie absorbing the light. The scenery was pretty and green and occasionally, Kim would catch movement out of the corner of her eye. Wild Pok?mon.

Other than the sounds of her own Pok?mon, though, she hadn't been hearing anything too distinct; just the chirp of birds and the breeze rustling the green plants of the Route. When she started to hear a pair of voices chatting nearby, she couldn't help but home in on the sound and pay it some attention.

"--that have a nice ring to it? Oh, and when you evolve, it'll become a symbol of power by fire. Just the name Caiaphas will bring images of volleys of flame!"

The louder, female voice was the first one Kim heard, and as the owner of the voice got closer, the sound grew proportionately in volume. It seemed that both this female and Kim were walking the path... Was Kim going the wrong way, headed back towards the Lab? Oh, damn it... She'd taken a break and hung around the middle of the Route for a day or so, just enjoying the pleasant scenery, so maybe she'd gotten mixed up when deciding which way to walk after getting ready to go.

'Ohh... I'm such an idiot...'

"Yeah! That'd be great! ... What's 'evolve'?"

A second voice? This one was squeakier, and probably male, though it was tough to tell. Pok?mon, probably. Whoever the female voice belonged to was a trainer, then -- or coordinator, like Kim officially was. (Gosh, just thinking about how that flashy, fancy term now applied to her was a bit frightening. She hoped that she wouldn't bomb too badly in her first contest.)

In no more than a few more seconds a strange-looking female came into view further up (or down?) the road, walking the opposite direction Kim was headed and making her thoroughly confused as to where in the hell she was -- or where she was going. A few more seconds later, she could make out details, and much to Kim's astonishment, this female had fur. Very brightly-colored fur, too. A Pokemorph? She'd only seen one or two of those ever, and even then it had only been because of the busy port in Olivine. Strange and interesting travelers came and went through that port regularly, and people-watching was something she'd made a bit of a hobby of. ... Damn, she was so homesick.

Several seconds after finally seeing Lyra with relative clarity ("relative" because she was nearsighted, and even though she had contacts to help with that issue, her vision still wasn't fantastic), Kim stopped, causing Fuu and Ene to stop and voice their confusion in the form of grunts and squeaks and "hey, what gives?" and "huh?"s from the pair. She glanced down at them, and tossed her head carefully in the direction of the Pokemorph, trying to be inconspicuous so as not to be rude. (Didn't want to seem like she'd been staring, after all, and just gesturing towards someone was almost like flat-out pointing.) Maybe she could just... stop Lyra and ask for directions. No big deal, right? Sure, it was embarrassing, but... hell, better than going the opposite direction she wanted to go and only realizing it once she was back in Angler's Warf again.

... Wait. 'O-oh, crap, I... I look so stupid! My... my hat... Where is my h-hat?!' Suddenly remembering that she'd removed her beanie for comfort's sake and also finding herself all-too-aware of her embarrassing ears (they embarrassed her, anyway, since they did stick out a little, something she made every effort to hide), she started to fumble with the flap of her shoulder-bag, rummaging around hastily to resurface the accessory.

How in the world had it managed to get buried like it was, especially since she'd only just been wearing it? Maybe she'd shoved it too deep into the bag after taking it off, and... damn, her hoodie got in the way -- really obnoxious; she had to fight it back and underneath everything else to get to any of the other items the bag contained.

"Hon, what're you doing? That furry Pok?mon-lady is coming over here and you look like you're about to have a panic attack." Ene smiled up at Kim with amusement that he didn't bother to mask.

"My hat!" she hissed, though of course it figured that now someone was showing up, she couldn't find the stupid thing -- or any of the many hats she had. Damn you Arceus! You and your sick sense of humor! 'What grudge do you have against me? What'd I ever do to you?!'

Before Lyra could quite reach the spot where Kim stood, the human girl gave up rummaging around for her cap, knowing full well that as soon as the Pokemorph had left and she no longer felt as though she needed to look good, she would be able to find the item in seconds, no problem. Murphy's Law and all of that. Sucked, but trying to fight the inevitable would just make her look like more of a spazzy idiot. Kim sighed, letting the flap of her shoulder-bag fall closed. Defeated by the black-hole-like depths of her messy bag, once again.

Oh, well. Hopefully she didn't look... too bad. Sure, her hair was a bit mussed up; hat-hair and all of that. She ran a hand through the strands self-consciously at the thought. Hm... Let's see. Her ears, of course, but not much she could do about them. Then there was the fact that she was probably red-faced thanks to sunburn, since she'd forgotten to put on sunscreen and her sensitive, pale, freckly skin burnt even on cloudy days.

'I probably look like a total slob,' she thought weakly, nervous about talking with a stranger -- especially one who was as interesting-looking as Lyra. The Pokemorph was somewhat pretty, too (in a bizarre, not-exactly-human sort of way), now that Kim thought about it, and that only made her even more nervous. Her feet shuffled and her hands fidgeted awkwardly. 'P-probably look like... like... some kind of freak, o-or... something... Ohhh...' She didn't, but hell if she wouldn't make a big deal out of this. Just like Kim, to blow everything out of proportion and make asking for directions a monumental event.

And really, it was ironic that Kim was worrying about being thought of as a "freak" by a girl with fur.

Fuu rolled his eyes, a little embarrassed by the girl's behavior. What a dork. Ene just looked like he thought it all was funny -- and it was.

((Holyfuzzffkfdhj--!!! This came out rlyrly long wtf! xD Sorry about that, ehehe...))

[[Shoe ♥]!]

"Oooh, so when I reach a certain level.. in my case.. sixteen.. there's some weird energy that engulfs my body... and I change form. That's right, right?" It seemed that Caiaphas, while initially not the brightest bulb on the shelf, was eager to learn anything, and had taken to Lyra's long-winded speech on evolving to heart. What a pleasing outcome for the girl. As long as her Pok?mon was willing to try and work his hardest, while keeping the Flareon 'morph occupied, they would get along like two peas in a pod.

"You've got it, doll! Now, if you don't want to evolve, I can buy you an everstone, but I seriously would love to see you as a Typloshion one of these days. You'll be impressive in any contest, you know.

[/b]" Lyra was practically beaming, animal-like features waving and such. It was obvious that this little guy was going to become quite dedicated over time, as long as they established a trust. Both her blue eyes were transfixed on her little Cyndaquil, and it wasn't like she even had the mind to pay attention to anything else. No, this was important bonding time, and she'd be damned if anything else was going to take this away from her.

"Of course I'll evolve, Lyra! You're right! This is gonna be great~" Caiaphas stretched out, exposing his pale little belly with glee. Feeling oddly motherly, his trainer nuzzled his snout, bringing the pair close. Already the timid creature was feeling relaxed, safe in the arms of the fire-type 'morph. She was so warm, it was hard to feel unwelcome, snuggled up in her furry chest. Stray strands hit his snout, and with a sudden urge he sneezed. The Flareon girl felt almost disgusted, but just shrugged it off. What could she do? If she reprimanded him, they'd just be worse off. Besides, she'd just clean if off later... maybe when they stopped for a rest. Lyra was due for a grooming anyway, and why put that off until later? Just a useless delay. But now... she did have a question that begged to be addressed. Cyndaquils always had their eyes squinted shut... so how on earth were they supposed to see anything? It gnawed on the very core of her being.

However, before she was able to ask the fateful question, the little creature tugged sharply on her mane, urging her to do... something. The orange-furred woman was just about to snap and demand proper communication, when Caiaphas seemed to remember this little piece of necessary information. So, in his usual squeaky tone, the Cyndaquil hushed out, "Lyra, don't stare, but there's someone approaching us! Are they going the wrong way? They'd have to be, 'cos you left from the laboratory on the usual path."

Instantly Lyra's social circuits were meddled into place, and she snapped up to attention, looking intently at the road. Oh-ho! So Caiaphas was the alert kind - catching something that she hadn't even had the mind to notice. Screw getting-to-know each other time - they'd have years to establish a totally bullet-proof bond. But this was a new girl - the first she'd seen since leaving home! The Flareon's 'flirt' areas of her brain were lighting up urgently, as her mind pieced together the figure that was approaching. Oooh~ from what she could tell, the babe was a total doll! Maybe a little disheveled looking - that was a fact, but adorable non-the-less. Maybe she would realize that she was going the wrong way... or decide that she was afraid of approaching furry Pok?mon-like people! The thought wiggled its way through the 'morph's mind, and once it entered she became determined to make sure such a thing did not happen.

Clutching her little Pok?mon closer to her chest, Lyra picked up the pace to a sort of hop-skip, watching the girl closely as she.. fumbled about with something. Her bag? What on earth could be so important in there that she would delay meeting with the time of her life? Oh, wait, can't let that ego thing get back to you. No... delay meeting with... a travel buddy? Ugh - how droll. Just a travel buddy? No, most of the girls Lyra met never wanted to just be friends. But that was primarily because the Flareon showed herself off to be open... all the time. Even when she already had a girlfriend. Not like that mattered anyway, because everyone seemed to forget her in the end and therefore become useless for her affections. They simply didn't deserve her love, that was all.

Though, usually Lyra didn't hit up pures, even right off the bat she was suspicious. Kenzie had been a girl... and she hadn't been very good. They just didn't connect right most of the time. Oh well, maybe this one would be different... but it still probably would help to approach with a sense of caution. There was no sense of just lining herself up for heart-break in the end, because that's what it always came to. Even if the relationship didn't even last for a day. Heartbreak.

Besides, Lyra thought, edging down on her pace, what if this girl just had no interest in other women? Or maybe Lyra was too old for her comfort zone? This girl didn't seem older than seventeen at best, and Lyra was in her early twenties. Oh, picky picky people. Or maybe she was just too furry? Nah, everyone loved her pelt - it was fluffy and soft and very tempting to snuggle. No, that wouldn't be a reason for discontent. However, it was probably better if she just hinted at it, simply because it was better to be safe than sorry.

So Lyra slowed up on her pace, but still within moments their paths collided, and Lyra decided to make the opening statement. That girl looked all shaken up and timid - how adorable. There was a lot to like about the quiet, sweet type... that was all the Flareon 'morph could hope she was, however. And aww! She had a Skitty! It wasn't a fire-type, but it was still irresistible, in its own little way. Maybe it was simply because the fire-type 'morph had a soft spot for cats. Eevees did share a similar look, after all.

Before starting up their conversation, the 'morph set down Caiaphas, letting him mingle with the other trainer's Pok?mon if he so wished. Then she dug into her bag awkwardly, producing another Tootsie Pop, as her old one had run out in her excitement. The stick, for your information, was deposited on the ground unceremoniously.

Especially closer up this girl was simply adorable as her Pok?mon, however. With strawberry-blonde hair and a speckled face. Sure, she was a little pudgy, but that just added to her huggablity factor. Lyra waved her tail a little, placed the lollipop in her mouth, started to suck, and beamed over,

"Heyo! My name's Lyra, and you can call me anything, doll. Are you sure you're going the right way, though? I just came from the lab myself, so I dunno where you're trying to head, seeing that you already have two drop-dead-adorable Pok?mon with you. Oh! The Cyndaquil below me is named Caiaphas~ We're coordinating, by the way. Who're you?" The conversation was nothing more than small talk, really, but it would suffice. As long as they talked long enough for Lyra to make a decision about her new acquaintance. Then maybe she could get a little more... well... Lyra with her.

Caiaphas, on the other hand, remained mute. He honestly hadn't expected his trainer to just leap at this chance, and the meeting just didn't mix in with his perfect day plan. Besides, he had just met his trainer today - wasn't that enough? The little creature curled up slightly, keeping a close squinted eye on all the others surrounding him.

[/blockquote]

[Affectionate Zombie]

((Asfdhjskfh sorry for taking like a week to reply. Busybusy. Dx))

As it became obvious that Lyra was aware of Kim's presence, the meek human found herself blushing more and more, embarrassed by her appearance and unable to successfully read the Pokemorph's expression. She was bad at reading people to begin with (her incredibly unreasonable, paranoid mind was to thank for that), but it didn't help that Lyra had such a strange face, so animal-like. It made her features doubly difficult to read, and that just made Kim more anxious.

The Pokemorph was coming closer and closer at her own casual pace, and by the time she finally stopped, Kim was trembling and going over every single worst-case-scenario that her brain could create. 'M-maybe she's some kind of ps-psycho, or... or... maybe she's g-gonna try to get my guard down a-and then get me when I'm n-not looking! Ohh... O-or...' Overactive imagination, much? She didn't see it that way; rather, she thought that she was being "cautious."

In Kim's case, "cautious" meant "stupidly paranoid", and while some more logical part of her realized this, the larger and more pessimistic part figured that expecting the worst meant that any better outcomes would be all the more satisfying. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to notice that such a mindset was what made her so constantly on-edge.

Lyra set her Cyndaquil upon the ground, and Ene immediately seemed interested, his squinting eyes focused upon Caiaphas. The reason why he was so interested was a bit tougher to pin down; either he was curious, or he was hungry. After all, he was a cat, and Caiaphas was a mouse -- of sorts.

Then again, Ene wasn't exactly the predatory type. He'd be more likely to talk someone to death than to pounce and claw and bite and tear. Comforting, but only if you knew him. Otherwise, his expression might have been suspicious, even worrying.

Hovering behind Ene was Fuu, looking openly hostile. "Worrying" didn't begin to cover it.

Kim wasn't paying much attention to the Pok?mon, though she stared down at Caiaphas for a brief moment and managed a twitchy half-smile. Cyndaquils were cute. After that quick look, her gaze darted back up to Lyra, and Kim noted with a hint of shock that she was actually taller than the Pokemorph. From a distance, she hadn't realized it, but now the difference was obvious. A few inches, seemed like. Wow. Flareons weren't all that big, so maybe the height was to be expected... Well, still.

It perplexed the human when Lyra awkwardly began to rummage around in her bag for something, and after a moment of confusion, Kim bristled a little, her body stiffening as if the Pokemorph was digging around for a weapon of some sort. For all Kim knew, maybe she was. That was exactly what she was worried about. When an innocent Tootsie Pop was the result of Lyra's searching, Kim allowed herself to relax again -- if the fidgety trembling she'd been doing before could be considered "relaxing." The candy got popped into Lyra's mouth, and a wide grin spread across the girl's furry face.

"Heyo! My name's Lyra, and you can call me anything, doll. Are you sure you're going the right way, though? I just came from the lab myself, so I dunno where you're trying to head, seeing that you already have two drop-dead-adorable Pokémon with you. Oh! The Cyndaquil below me is named Caiaphas~ We're coordinating, by the way. Who're you?"

Well, she was... friendly. It startled Kim, as she wasn't expecting such a wordy and bright greeting, though she quickly realized that her gawping was impolite and nodded in a jerky fashion to show that she understood. This done (however spastic it might have been), she forced a nervous little smile, her fingers getting all tangled in each other as she fidgeted. "H-huh... hi. Hi. Um. I'm... I'm Kim. That's Ene," She pointed towards the Skitty, who chirped out a loud "Hiya!" to confirm the introduction. "and th-that's... that's Fuu." The Drifloon was awkwardly gestured at. Fuu glared and remained silent.

"I-it's, um, nice to... nice to meet you. Yes. Uhm. I'm... a coordinator too, I g-guess, so... um. Yeah." Her speech was so broken and filled with stammering that any idiot or blind man could have easily detected how nervous she was. The poor girl only seemed to shrink back more which each word, embarrassed by her own awkwardness.

It took her a few seconds, but eventually she realized that Lyra had asked her if she was going the right way. "... just came from the lab myself, so I dunno where you're trying to head..." Aw, man. Perfect. So she had been going the wrong way, and now she looked like even more of an idiot. The sudden understanding and frustration, mixed in with her nervous shyness, was blatantly obvious.

She tried not too look too annoyed with herself as she spoke again. "Um, w-well, I... I guess I am kinda g-going the... the wrong way. I... yeah. Crap." Kim furrowed her eyebrows and puckered her lips a bit in a sort of pout; cute, though entirely unintentional and subconscious. Fuu snorted in harsh, condescending laughter behind her, and she sighed.

Ene, who had not taken his eyes off of Caiaphas for the past few minutes, finally snapped back to reality and grinned a bright grin, prancing towards the Cyndaquil. "Hi! Hello! How're you? I'm Ene! You seem shy, honey. Or is that it? Dunno! Shy works, though. Kim's real shy too. Maybe you'd get along. ... Ooooh! Do you wanna hear a story~?"

Oh, Arceus. The motor-mouth Skitty was at it again, this time choosing poor, unsuspecting Caiaphas as his victim. Kim pitied the fire-type.

"I... well, I guess... I just g-gotta turn around and go the r-right way. Th-thanks." Kim bit at the inside of her cheek, feeling terribly stupid. She should have been able to figure out the way on her own; it was a two-way path. 'Such. An. Idiot...'

Ene, always in on every conversation, immediately looked up at the two humanoids, leaving poor Caiaphas be -- for now. "Hey! Lyra! Where're you headed, darling? We're probably goin' the same way. We could walk together! Right, Caiaphas~?" He turned back to the Cyndaquil with a cheery expression on his face, and then, without waiting for an answer, he kept right on sharing whatever long, mind-numbing story he'd been blabbing about before.

Kim had the brief urge to punt her Skitty a few feet. Stupid, chatty cat! ... Almost instantly the urge vanished and she felt bad for even thinking such a thing, but still. That was so pathetic, just jumping at anyone passing by and trying to get them to hang out with you. She hoped that Lyra wouldn't think Kim had put Ene up to asking, though she had to admit that she wouldn't mind a little company. Pok?mon just couldn't take the place of human friends, as lovable as they were. ... Some of them, anyway. Ene was lovable to an extent, but Fuu... uh.

Fuu looked like he quite wanted to kill something just at the mere suggestion of having someone else coming along with them, if only briefly.

Once or twice, Ene briefly glanced over at the Drifloon with a sort of sly look. It made one wonder if he'd known it would piss Fuu off, hence why he'd asked in the first place. Probably not, though. Maybe he'd done it partially to mess with his teammate, but he also wanted to see Kimmie interacting with other humans -- or, well, Pokemorphs. Whatever. Same diff.

She seriously needed the exposure to other people. While her paranoia and awkwardness were kinda cute, she had to tone it down. It wasn't healthy to be so jittery all the time, if you asked Ene, and he didn't want to see his trainer unhappy or unhealthy.

Fuu still looked furious. That was a fun little bonus.