`hopelessly i'll give you everything . ;

[`jαzz]

"Wow, I'm sure glad we didn't have to stand in that line back there. Holy smokes!" Phineas sighed with relief; he, unlike so many other trainers, had no reason to visit the laboratory this fine morning. He already possessed a beginner Pok?mon, his newly evolved Charmeleon, Levant. Instead he'd left Angler's Wharf behind him, and was presently standing at the sign that marked the beginnings of the first route. Inhaling, the young boy admired the gorgeous sight that lay before him. He was not exactly new to this whole trainer business, but this experience was did nothing but remind him of his actual first days as a Pok?mon trainer.

"Finny!! Oh, Finny!" a shrill voice cried out, immediately drawing the boy out of his musings. He turned to see a very frightened Meowth racing towards him. "N-no..! Wait, stop, don-- ...AUGH!" The small cat-like creature had flung himself towards Phineas, landing rather ungracefully atop his shoulders. It wouldn't have been so bad, had the Meowth's claws been retracted. Silent tears dripped from the youth's eyes as he gingerly lifted the Pok?mon from his shoulders. Small beads of blood welled up from the fresh wounds. "Ow, Mochi...that really hurt! Could you maybe not do that next time..?" he pleaded weakly, touching a finger to one of the cuts. He flinched, then quickly pulled his hand away.

"So, let's start from the beginning. Tell me what happened, doll?" Phineas queried, eyes scanning the terrain for any sign of a threat. A flash of orange captured his attention, and he no longer needed any explanation. "Levant, hm?" The Meowth nodded grimly, burying his head in Finny's shoulder. He winced in pain, but said nothing. That Charmeleon... Ever since he evolved, he'd become antagonistic and just downright mean! Scowling, Finny shook his head disappointedly. "Levant, I'm ashamed of you! Why do you insist on acting out?" he called, knowing full well that the orange lizard could hear him.

"Come on Finny, you know I didn't mean any harm~" he cooed, sauntering up to his trainer. "Clearly," the young man replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. The Charmeleon gave a small 'hmph!', and turned away from the two of them. "Now you listen here, mister! I'm not going to have this kind of behavior. You better shape up, and soon!" "Yeah, soon!" Mochi echoed his trainer, sticking his tongue out at Levant. The Charmeleon growled a warning, but didn't take it any farther than that. Thank Arceus.

Phineas pressed a hand to his forehead gently. He was really no good with this discipline thing, that was for sure. Luckily Levant wasn't that out of control, otherwise he'd have a real problem on his hands. And unfortunately, the Fire-type was the strongest on his team. Finny could not threaten him with a more powerful presence. Not that Levant had ever done anything that drastic to earn such a scolding. Still, it would be nice if his Pok?mon got along with one another.

As if sensing his trainer's distress, Levant tried his best to make amends. "Alright you lumpy furball, I'm...sorry. Just stay away from me, understand?" the Charmeleon muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. The Meowth frowned, turning his head away from the so-called "bully". "Hey now, two wrongs don't make a right.." Finny interjected.

Wasn't there anything that would ease the tension between these two? The boy pondered this for a moment, finally coming up with a solution. What they needed was some excitement! He sort of understood how Levant and Mochi felt; it had just been them from the moment they boarded the ocean liner up until now. Apparently Finny himself just wasn't exciting enough for them ( ..and it hadn't occurred to him to release any of his other Pok?mon ). Perhaps...perhaps if another trainer and his or her Pok?mon came along, that would help his companions loosen up.

Now, there was only one question... Where was everyone else?

- - -

ooc - xD; haha, epicfail. anyway, this thread is open to all. c:

[Lara]

It would be hard to determine where every other person was, but Cain, at least, had just entered Mallowfox Road through a slightly different route than trainers normally would, having come straight from the Nox building. He didn't know where Abel was, exactly, but he knew his twin would have to pass through the route, as well as any place afterwards. The ditz wanted to be a trainer, after all. All Cain had to do was follow the gym routes, and he'd find Abel when he was good and ready.

He couldn't go after him right away, though. No, he had to bide his time long enough to train his Pok?mon, to ensure that he wouldn't have to try a second time. After all, the first time was crucial; after that, Abel would be on to him, and he'd have a much harder time getting closer after that.

Good thing he already had a few plans brewing in the back of his mind. But he'd let them simmer for now.

Meanwhile, he had another matter to attend to. Fishing inside the bag he had been given in the Nox headquarters, he brought out the purple-hued Pok?ball that he knew contained the Houndour he had requested. A quick glance around proved that there were no witnesses, and then he released the Pok?mon from its Pok?ball.

After a quick flash of light, Cain found himself staring down at a shadow-infused Houndour, who was looking right back with a bit of disinterest, as well as a bit of curiosity as to who had called him out of his Pok?ball. "And you are?" the fire hound asked idly, studying the wheelchair-bound man in front of him.

"Your trainer, Cain."

"Hmm."

"And you are Ahriman." Cain's words were a statement, rather than a question of any sort. Chances were good the hound had no name prior to this one, and the irony of the name was not lost on him. In fact, that's why he chose it. After all, what better than a struggle between twins, with Ahriman being the evil one? He could shorten it to 'Ari' to keep Abel from realizing the meaning, if it came down to that. Not that he planned for Abel to see the Shadow Houndour before he was ready to take him down, of course, but it was still good to have a backup plan.

The Houndour was silent for a moment, but a spark of recognition glinted in its eyes; apparently, the meaning wasn't lost on him, either. "Very well."

He had his Pok?mon. Now he just needed to accomplish another of his little backup plans, in case he were to come across Abel ahead of schedule. He could probably explain the shadow Houndour if he had more than one Pok?mon - he had captured it, had been intrigued by its difference - but if it were his only, Abel might get suspicious...

As if acknowledging his thoughts, the Houndour suddenly spun around to face a bush that rustled for the first time a moment afterwards. Without even waiting for something to appear, the fire hound let loose a small blast of fire, an Ember attack that Cain certainly hadn't called for.

Cain stopped short of demanding to know what the Houndour thought it was doing. This was because of the unsteady emergence of a Pok?mon, a bug-type he recognized as a Spinarek. 'Perfect,' he thought, watching as it dropped to the ground already. Without a second thought, he had caught it. 'Problem solved.'

[Note: The Spinarek is an undistributed Pok?mon. I just needed a way for him to obtain it without it just magically appearing.]

[`jαzz]

Phineas tapped a finger thoughtfully against his lips, his honey brown eyes drifting towards the sky. It was such a beautiful afternoon; he would hate to waste it just standing around doing nothing. As much as he'd like to find someone to travel with, he could see that it wasn't going to happen right now. No matter, Finny could simply use this time to begin exploring the beginnings of the first route. "Alright you guys, let's go! We don't wanna waste all of our time hanging around here.

[/b]" The boy turned to his Charmeleon, motioning for the creature to follow. Mochi had carefully positioned himself around the young man's shoulders again, this time making sure that his claws weren't in close proximity to any flesh.

With a smile on his face, Phineas set off down the dirt path. "Hey, Finny...what happens if we run into a wild Pokémon?" the Meowth whined, burying his face in the crook of his trainer's neck. Phineas barked a laugh, shaking his head slowly. "Don't worry, Mochi! We have Levant to protect us! Right, Levant?" He patted the cat-like creature on the head reassuringly, then looked behind him. The Fire-type rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner. Though the fire lizard might not have ever admitted it, he was secretly glad that his trainer thought so highly of him. He was the strongest on the team, after all!

"Hey, Finny? When are we gonna get there? The next town, I mean?"

"Um..probably not for a while. Why?"

"I'm hungry..."

Phineas frowned. Oh, no! He'd forgotten to pack any food when he left home, and it never crossed his mind to stock up when they were still in Angler's Wharf. "Oh, I'm sorry Mochi! I don't have any food with me..[/b]" he murmured, bowing his head apologetically. "Food? Pfft! Don't be a baby. You have to tough it out![/b]" Levant smacked a fist against his chest, flashing the Meowth a toothy grin.

The young man shook his head. "Don't say that, Levant! I'm sure we can find something edible around here. Some berries, maybe? ..Yeah, that's a good idea. How about we start searching for some berries?[/b]" he suggested. "Yay! Berries![/b]" Mochi squealed, obviously pleased his trainer's proposition. The Charmeleon didn't speak, but the loud growl that issued from the reptile's stomach was all the confirmation Finny needed. "So much for toughing it out, huh?[/b]" he joked.

And so the search began. Phineas strayed off of the worn path, having to wade his way through the tall grass. It was troublesome, having to fight his way through the brush, but it was worth it if it meant finding food for his darling Pokémon. Levant, however, was having a tremendously harder time. He could hardly see over the top of the grass stalks, which meant he had to crane his neck in order to avoid the plants from finding their way into his nostrils and making him sneeze. "How are you holding up back there, Levant?[/b]" Finny called out over his shoulder. "Naw--pfft!--sah welh--pffhaa!--Finny![/b]" came the Charmeleon's broken response. Having grass in one's mouth made for a very difficult time when talking.

Poor Levant! He was obviously having a tough time with all of this. Phineas unclipped the Pok?mon's ball from his belt, recalling him into the sphere. At least now he wouldn't have to suffer through all of this itchy grass! "Silly goose. He really tries too hard. That's okay, we can still find some food. ..Let's check over here, okay Mochi?[/b]" The Meowth gave a determined nod.

"Huh? What did you say?" Phineas looked down at his Meowth, raising an eyebrow. "..What? I didn't say anything..[/b]" he whispered in reply. The boy motioned for the Pokémon to remain silent. The voice came again, this time accompanied by another.

"Your trainer, Cain.[/b]"

"Hmm."

The duo peeked through the mallow blossoms, searching for the source of the noise. The image of a trainer met Finny's eyes. The sight of the other young man filled him with joy, but upon further inspection of the scene, he noticed what the boy had been talking to. It was a Houndour, a malicious purple aura enveloping its body. Phineas gulped. The mere sight of it instilled fear in his heart. Mochi squeaked loudly, obviously terrified. He pressed his trembling body closer to Finny's. "Shh!" He glanced down at the Meowth, pressing a finger to his lips. But it was probably already too late - the boy had most likely been alerted to their presence.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Lara]

A frown began to cross Cain's features when he noticed that Ahriman was still watching the bush he had just torched, even though the Spinarek had been caught. It was easy to determine, then, that there was something other than the bug type, if not in the bushes themselves, then at least in the area. He began to scan the area, starting from one point and working left, then right, all without moving from his spot.

"Where is it, Ahriman?" he asked quietly, continuing his scan even as he asked. No sense on relying entirely on the hound; not yet, at least. If there was one thing he knew, it was that he couldn't rely on anything one-hundred percent; there was always a chance of them being wrong, and so you had to do it yourself as well.

The Houndour inclined its head, pointing its nose to a point just off to the side of the bush. "There. Multiple smells."

A faint squeak drew his attention, allowing him to decide that the Houndour was right, at least in the idea that there was something there. If not a wild Pok?mon, then... a trainer. Hmm.

"We know where you're hiding. Come out." His tone was curt, and with his eyes still narrowed, it made him seem even more intimidating. Of course, the aura of the Houndour certainly helped, though he hadn't yet realized the full potential of the fear caused by the shadow Pok?mon. Hadn't had a chance to utilize it yet; it would come in time.

In a quieter tone, he spoke to his Pok?mon. "If they don't come out or flee within the next few minutes, go in after them." It didn't matter to him if what Ahriman sensed could hear what he was saying; it would probably help get the results he wanted. Of course, as long as it wasn't Abel - and he highly doubted it would be - he couldn't say he minded too much. Yet. After all, his twin wouldn't hide from him - the twit thought too highly of him, and why hide from his dear brother? - and, even more importantly, it'd be a pain to get a wheelchair through the tall grass.

That was also the main reason he was sending his Pok?mon in after the unknown creature, rather than going in himself.

[`jαzz]

Phineas got to his feet, brushing off the knees of his jeans. Ducking out of the tall grass, lifted his head to acknowledge the boy and his Houndour. Perhaps the situation wasn't as bad as he'd originally perceived it to be. In fact, Finny wasn't at all scared of the boy in the wheelchair. It was just that shadow Houndour that psyched him out. Being the slightly naive soul that Phineas was, it never occurred to him that there might be a reason as to why the other young man had such a creature in his possession.

To Finny, the word 'boundaries' was a foreign concept. It never mattered who it was - if an opportunity to make friends with someone arose, he didn't hesitate to seize it. And so he had no problem jumping into an introduction. "Hi! I'm Phineas Caruso, but you can call me Finny! Oh, and this is Mochi!" he announced jubilantly, motioning to himself and the Meowth, respectively. The Meowth lifted his head slowly, peeking out from the lock of Finny's hair that he'd previously been using in an attempt to hide his face. "Silly boy.. Ah, don't mind Mochi. He's just shy~" He offered Cain a large grin, then strode up to him, holding out his small hand for the other boy to shake.

"So, I take it that you're also starting out? That's neat! Me, I'm not exactly a new trainer, but I kinda decided to start fresh, you know what I mean? Anyway, are you headed towards the next town to challenge the gym, or are you gonna be a coordinator?" Phineas trailed off, gazing expectantly at Cain, his friendly grin never once fading from view.

- - -

ooc; I apologize for it being so short - I lost my muse halfway through.. xD;

[Lara]

While the idea had played at the back of this mind, Cain hadn't really expected to see a trainer pop their head out of the bushes. A wild Pok?mon, sure, but not an actual trainer, and yet here one was, not only raising himself up but also walking over and talking. A lot. Cain heard the introduction even as he studied the boy walking up to him, though for a moment didn't return the favor of introducing himself.

The boy looked to be younger than him by a couple of years, but definitely not more than two or three. He also looked girly. Really girly. But Cain had said it before and he would say it again - he wasn't one to judge on appearances. Still... if the boy kept talking so much, he might judge him negatively anyway. He had introduced himself as Phineas, insisting on a nickname at first words... Cain wasn't used to people being so open. It almost unnerved him, but he refused to let it show on his face.

Ahriman had stood his ground until Phineas had shown himself. Then he had proceeded to look the boy once over, followed by the Meowth huddled on his head. Only then did he stand down, almost seeming to be disinterested now that it was clear his trainer wasn't about to let him blast them on first sight. Therefore, he no longer cared. To prove this, he let out a yawn and idly scratched himself behind the ear, half listening to the conversation that might take place.

"Uh, yeah... Hi... Phineas." Despite the boy's initial insistence, Cain really wasn't accustomed to nicknames in the first place, and so he'd stick with the one that didn't seem as bad. There was enough of a pause in the conversation to make it seem like his own name was expected, so rather than allow the kid another chance to blast him with conversation, he cut it off before it started by saying, "Cain Jacob." At the same time, he eyed the boy's outstretched hand before grudgingly shaking it. Best to indulge a person, get them to let their guard down. "Over there is Ahriman." He didn't want to start up questions about the Houndour, either, so he didn't want to leave too much of an opening.

Then again, it didn't look like Phineas' guard could get any lower. The next onslaught came even after Cain's attempts to stop it, this time about his profession. He nearly laughed, but he managed to stifle it. Well then, he couldn't exactly tell the boy that he a new recruit straight out of Nox, now could he? So he went with a safer answer. "I plan to be a trainer." That's right, trainer. He wanted to get as strong as possible, after all, and the other options were sissy ones anyway.

[`jαzz]

Phineas noted that this Cain guy gave off a slightly disinterested vibe, but the boy didn't let that unnerve him. He'd met many people back in his hometown with a demeanor similar to the red-head's, all of whom he'd gotten to know quite well. This lead Finny to believe that his new acquaintance would warm up to his presence soon enough.

..But this region wasn't like hometown of Pewter. He couldn't always assume. He had to ask himself what he expected out of this sudden meeting. A little too much, perhaps. Levant often chided him for being too much of a chatterbox, and claimed that was why soft spoken individuals often shied away from him. Come to think of it, maybe he was laying it on a little to thickly.. It would be best to get to know Cain gradually, instead of launching into his life-story.

"Nice to meet you, Cain~ You too, Ahriman,

[/b]" Phineas replied, letting his hand drop to his side. He nodded in the shadow Houndour's direction, trying not to let his anxiety get the better of him. It was just a Pok?mon, after all. What was there to be afraid of? If worse came to worse, Levant would be there to help him out. No, no.. What was he thinking? His mother had once told him to accept everyone, and not to judge any creature, as it was not his rightful place to do so. Taking this advice into consideration, Finny smiled kindly at the hound.

So he planned on becoming a trainer as well? That was cool; maybe it would be easier to get to know Cain, now that they shared a common interest. "Neat-o~ Have you been out here long? I mean, long enough to have run into any wild Pok?mon?[/b]" Finny allowed his gaze to wander and take in the peaceful scenery around them. "Cain, if you don't mind my asking, where did you come from? I'm from Pewter City, in the Kanto region. It's really nice there, you should visit sometime! It's got this awesome museum and everything~![/b]" commented exuberantly, rocking back and forth on his heels. So much for gradual.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Lara]

So Phineas wasn't about to be dissuaded with just a disinterested reaction. Cain contemplated telling the boy exactly how he felt about the other one around, but no, it wasn't like he was trying to get Cain to travel with him. No, that would be drastic, and it was far too early for that suggestion to come across. He had just popped up out of the bushes, after all.

At the niceties from the boy, Cain merely inclined his head slightly. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ahriman continued to appear much more disinterested than he was, but the fire hound was still watching the two converse back and forth from the corner of an eye. At Phineas' brighter smile, a nearly invisible nudge convinced the hound to incline his own head, acknowledging the completion of the introductions.

If he had thought the conversation would have ended there, he would have been sorely mistaken. Phineas continued to chatter away after a slight pause. Cain noticed the trend here; the boy was slowly working through the common questions asked of people upon meeting and traveling together for any length of time. It was hometowns now, but next could be anything from his age to his family. Cain wasn't entirely sure he wanted to get into things like that just yet - after all, then he would have to decide what kind of lies, if any, would be best for handling the boy.

By the time the next lull in the conversation had come, Phineas had asked him where he came from. Well, there was no harm in answering that, especially since the other boy was all the way from Kanto. "I'm from Blackthorn City. It's in Johto... and I'll keep that in mind." 'That' referring to the boy's rambling about some sort of museum. It was usually good to file away everything for later times; he had learned that even the most useless information sometimes had a use in the most unexpected circumstances.

"And no... I haven't been here long enough to encounter anything." 'Anything but you, that is.'

Actually, no, that was a lie. "Well, no, that's not true." Why was he adding this in? So what if he was lying? Or was it that he didn't want the lie to get back to him in the end? "Ahriman 'convinced' a Spinarek to join my little party."

[`jαzz]

Phineas nodded, politely acknowledging Cain. In all honesty, he'd really never heard of the Johto region. Sure, there were trainers who came from various towns and cities of that distant land to challenge his hometown's gym leader, Brock, but he himself had never been out of Pewter City until now. "Blackthorn City? That sounds really neat~ What's it like? Does your hometown have a gym leader? Mine does--Brock is his name. He trains Rock-types! He's really powerful; I loved watching him battle,

[/b]" Finny commented, bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Oh, a Spinarak? They're really cute Pok?mon. You're lucky you encountered one. I haven't come across any wild Pok?mon yet, but that's okay. Actually, we weren't really looking for any when we came across you. Mochi, Levant, and I were hunting for berries~[/b]" A bright smile illuminated his face, a sudden idea having just struck him. "Hey, that's a good idea~ Why don't you meet some of my other Pok?mon? Yeah![/b]"

Finny opened his messenger bag, rummaging around until he came across a small red and white sphere. With his other hand he unclipped one of the Poké Balls on his belt. He tossed them both into the air simultaneously, grinning from ear to ear. "Meet Levant and Halo~" The two bright flashes faded, revealing two separate shapes. One was a familiar face; his Charmeleon, Levant. The other was the newest addition to his team, a baby Eevee. "Levant is the Charmeleon, and Halo is the Eevee,[/b]" Finny explained to Cain. "Say 'hi', you two~"

Levant, crossing his arms over his chest, nodded briefly to the other boy and his shadow Houndour. The presence of the Fire- and Dark- type unnerved him slightly, but he didn't let it show. The young Eevee, on the other hand, was far too naive to even understand the concept of fear. In fact, he didn't hesitate to bound up to the red-haired boy and jump up onto his lap. "Hi, hi!! I'm Halo~ Nice to meet ya![/b]" he greeted, nuzzling up to Cain's chest affectionately.

"Okay, Halo, come here~ Sorry Cain, he's just excited, that's all. He must really like you,[/b]" Finny laughed, kneeling slightly so that the Eevee could jump into his arms.


[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Lara]

"Uh, it's...cold. Up in the mountains. And yeah, there's a gym... Claire, dragon types." Truthfully, in all the time Cain had lived in Blackthorn, he could count the number of times he had visited the gym on one hand. He knew about the leader, of course, since she was all some of the people he knew could talk about, especially the trainers that came to challenge her. Being one of the later stops in their journeys, some of the younger kids had trouble beating her, but it wasn't like Cain had ever tried or anything.

Phineas was sure getting excited about his own gym, though. Huh. Well, he'd let the kid do his own private celebrating about his hometown, since Cain had certainly never been to the Kanto region before.

He could tell where the conversation was about to head when Phineas started talking about wild Pok?mon, then his own. Yep, soon enough the kid was grabbing a couple of Pokeballs and letting the Pok?mon inside come out and 'join the party'. The first one he saw was a Charmeleon, which he had to admit left a better impression already, even though all the fire type had done was nod at them. Then again, maybe that was why.

Ahriman eyed the Charmeleon with a bit of vague interest, Cain noted, probably because it was another fire type. Idly, he wondered if the two would get along if they were stuck traveling together -- he banished the thought. No, he didn't want to travel with the boy in front of him or his Pok?mon. He hadn't found any use for him yet, so why would he?

He was brought out of his thoughts by a small weight suddenly adding itself to his lap. Glancing down with a small frown, he saw the beaming face of a tiny Eevee. 'Oh great.' "Uh...hi." The baby Pok?mon's 'attack' had surprised him enough that he didn't snap at it or try to shake it off his lap, but he didn't relax his position until Phineas had called it back.

"I'd, uh, let the Spinarek out, but I don't think it'd be a good idea just yet...Just caught it and all, you know?" Truthfully, he just didn't want the thing freaking out on him with Phineas watching. He didn't want to look foolish.

[`jαzz]

Cain's response was so brief... Did he really dislike conversation that much? Or social interaction, for that matter? Usually Phineas didn't let trivial things like this get to him, but in all honesty, he was really hoping that the first trainer he came across would be considerably more friendly. Aside from being perhaps a bit over-enthusiastic, Finny didn't think he'd done anything else to warrant this kind of behavior from Cain. Even though it was a possibility that his new acquaintance was always like this upon meeting others, he couldn't help but take it a bit personally.

No matter. Maybe the red-head just needed a bit more time to warm up to Finny's presence. But if it meant making a new friend, it was a price the boy was willing to pay. "The mountains? That's interesting. I'm not much a fan of the cold, though. Pewter has a fairly mild temperature year-round; I'm better suited to that type of weather," Phineas divulged, nodding as-a-matter-of-factly. ..Hm? What was that Cain said? Dragon-types? How magnificent! "Ooh..~ Dragons? They're so majestic and beautiful~ It must have really been something, watching Claire battle. I would love to watch her in person!" Finny clapped his hands together excitedly, a genuine smile having stretched across his face.

"Oh, okay~ Maybe we'll have a chance to meet your Spinarak later. They're really very cute. And I'm sure that he or she is very well behaved. Ahriman seems to be as well; you must have a special talent~" Phineas remarked, hoping that this praise would help loosen Cain up slightly. He really did want to get to know the other young man better. Right now, it felt like the conversation was completely one-sided. If they were going to be traveling together, Finny didn't want this to continue the entire way!

Well, since he was mentally on the topic of traveling, Phineas felt like now would be a good time to present such a request to Cain. No, he took that back. With someone like Cain, was there really ever a good time to pose a question as...touchy as this? They'd just met, after all. Though Finny liked Cain--and most people, for that matter--he couldn't exactly say the same thing for the other boy. Either that, or the fiery-haired young man was just very good at masking his feelings. "Um, Cain..? I've sort of been thinking...maybe you'd like to travel together? I think it would be fun, don't you? ..Ah..if you don't, I understand, but it's a lot better than traveling alone, right?

[/b]" Finny laughed, if somewhat nervously, as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. Forcing a grin, the youth sincerely hoped that Cain would take his request into consideration.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Lara]

Phineas sure did like to talk a lot. Cain couldn't help but notice that despite his attempts to try and tune the boy out while still making it seem like he was paying attention. Normally, he would have scared a person this annoying away by this point, but there were gears turning in his mind, slowly but surely.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool. Maybe you'll visit Blackthorn one day and get to watch her." Since the gears were turning, perhaps it was time to step things up a notch and make an effort to be a bit more tolerant of the boy. As he spoke, he lifted his gaze and studied Phineas subtly.

The boy was annoying, sure, and he did talk a lot, but his optimistic persistence reminded him of Abel. And if Phineas reminded him of Abel, chances were good the two would get along... which would mean that Phineas would provide a good cover story, a distraction, even, if Cain were to meet up with his twin any time soon, before he was ready.

He would have missed Phineas' compliment on Ahriman's silent nature if the Houndour hadn't quietly snorted and glanced over at Phineas as well. Oh no, Cain wasn't that good; he had hardly received Ahriman an hour ago. The Houndour was being good because he thought it was necessary. Cain just didn't find the need to tell Phineas that. "I'm sure it's nothing too special. You're just as good with your Pok?mon." That much was true, he could admit. Aside from the Eevee tackling him in affection, Phineas' Pok?mon had been almost tolerable.

He fell into silence when Phineas voiced the hesitant suggestion that they travel together, pretending to seriously consider the idea, though he had already decided that when - not if, since he had determined from Phineas' personality that it was inevitable - the boy wanted to travel together, he'd end up saying yes. After all, deception was everything, and he would definitely have to keep the act up, should he meet Abel on one of the Routes. "Yeah... You know, that actually sounds like it could work." He nodded and allowed a small smile come on to his face. It was only half fake, actually - he was delighted with the prospect of deceiving Abel once again. "Sure, Phineas...I'd like to travel with you. For a while, at least."