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Snippet #2696254

located in Kanto Region, a part of Pokémon: Absolution, one of the many universes on RPG.

Kanto Region

None

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Anastasia Asher
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Drake sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time, today. He'd been running around on the island all day, trying to find his pyroar. He had planned on spending the day helping Ana out since, for once, he didn't have any challengers. It was odd, really. He expected to see a long line of challengers outside of the Gym this morning, however; there were none. Maybe there was something going on at the base that they couldn't spare any Grunts? He shook his head free of those thoughts, though. It was like if he thought about it, he might actually summon them. But his plan had been ruined when Pyroar decided to run off.

Drake had tried to chase after him, but Pyroar was a little too fast. He sighed just softly. He rubbed the back of his neck, sitting his free hand on his waist as he looked over a hill. He squinted his eyes for just a moment, and thought he saw Pyroar, however; it was just a Litleo. "Man, Pyroar. You're really making me work this time," he muttered to himself just softly. Maybe he was back at the Gym? That... wouldn't be right, though. If Pyroar was back at the Gym, he wouldn't have insisted on accompanying Drake to Ana's. More like, he wouldn't have just tagged along if that were the case.

Now, he was certain his Pyroar was out to get him, somehow.

“Drake?” the voice, quite familiar, called to him over what seemed like a fair distance. Anastasia didn’t sound sure that he was even around. “Drake, I think I found a friend of yours, if you’re nearby.”

As it turned out, Ana was a few streets over, a grocery bag in either hand and pyroar walking quite contentedly next to her. As soon as she caught sight of him, she smiled. “Oh good; I was hoping he hadn’t gotten too far away. I’d recognize this fellow anywhere.” She must have been done with work for the day; she was wearing a simple white sundress and a floppy straw hat to keep the sun out of her eyes.

He smiled at Ana and waved at her, jogging the last few feet to stand in front of her. "Yeah, he kind of ditched me this morning," he spoke, laughing a little nervously. He tilted his head towards Pyroar and gave him a stern glare, but Pyroar merely flicked his tail as if he didn't care. He probably didn't. Drake only sighed. Sometimes Pyroar could really be a pain. "We were on our way over to see if you needed any help, but by the looks of it," he stated, straightening his posture back out.

"It looks like you might be done for the day. I could help you carry your groceries home, though," he stated. The bags didn't look too heavy, and he didn't want to impose on her, however; since he couldn't really help out at the center, he could at least walk her home and carry her groceries, right?

She blinked at him for a moment, tilting her head to the side in that birdlike way she had. “Well… how about you carry one and I’ll take the other? I do appreciate the help, but I don’t want to put you out too much.” She handed over the bag in her left hand willingly enough, setting the hand it freed on Pyroar’s back, scratching right between his shoulderblades as they walked.

“Thank you though; I happened to finish early today because Cyrilla and Eryk were both there to help, so the work went really fast.” She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Did you defeat your stream of challengers more quickly than usual today, or are you taking one off?”

Huh. He should have known they were there to help. Eryk, if he remembered correctly, had been helping Ana out ever since they came to the island. Not that it was a bad thing, he didn't think. Maybe it was because Eryk was spending more time with Ana than he was. He inwardly frowned at that. He wasn't jealous, was he? He visibly shook his head. "You wouldn't be imposing at all, Ana. I like to help out when I can," he stated, saving himself somewhat from having to explain why he shook his head.

"Well see that's the weird thing," he began, scratching the back of his head slightly. "I didn't have any challengers today. It was weird. I opened the doors to the Gym expecting to see the line, but there wasn't anyone there. Do you know if something's going on? You said Eryk and Cyrilla were with you today, did they seem a little less themselves?" because that would explain a lot.

“Not that I noticed,” she said slowly. She appeared to consider it a moment more, then shook her head a little. “I don’t think so. I think I’ve gotten pretty good at telling what’s going on with them—at least better than I was. I think if there had been some Team Rocket thing happening today, they would have mentioned it.” She paused as they crested a small hill, then started down it.

“But look at that: you have no challengers and I don’t have any work to help with, so now you’ve got a whole day to do whatever you want.” She smiled, a hint of amusement creeping into her tone. “I’d wager that hasn’t happened in a while—do you even remember how to relax?”

Drake chuckled softly. "No, I suppose I don't. I think the last time I relaxed was almost a year ago," he spoke, though he was slightly joking. Team Rocket had been on the island for just under a year, now, but he was always getting challenges then. Mostly because he was still new at being a Gym Leader, and most challengers thought they could take him. Granted, a few of them could, but a majority of them couldn't. He smiled just slightly at that thought. "Well, I could spend the day doing whatever I want, can't I?" he finally spoke, amused at the thought. Pyroar, however, seemed to rumble a grunt of appreciation when she scratched him, though.

The real question, though, was what did he want to do? He had a free day, and most of the time when he was free, he either slept or he ate. Or he talked to some of the islanders who would visit and help Ana. He couldn't help Ana, now, because Eryk and Cy beat him to it, and the islanders were all doing their own thing. Hm. "Well this will have to do for now," he spoke, holding up the bag she had given him. He could walk her home and then maybe he could go from there.

“We need to find you a hobby,” she replied, a little bit of dry humor creeping through. It was rare that she employed it, but Ana did have a laconic wit—something he knew she only showed to those people she was most comfortable with. “Maybe something that doesn’t demand regular attention, that you can pick up or put down whenever you want…” She seemed to give this some thought, though it took her until they reached her house and she’d unlocked the gate before she offered a suggestion.

“Perhaps knitting?” There was a glint of humor in her eyes that belied the joke. “Though that might be better for cooler climates.”

"I... do know how to knit, actually. My great-grandmother taught me before she passed. She said it would help me, one day, though I'm not sure how," he laughed just slightly. He followed her through the gate, and closed it behind him. "But maybe I should try singing. They said I have an atrocious voice, I could probably work on it," he countered. He actually couldn't sing, and he'd never even dare try out in public. Blaine used to tease him all the time for that, but it's not like he actually wanted to sing.

"Though, in all honesty, I'd actually like to learn the guitar. I have one but I've never really played it. Too many challengers, not enough time," he chuckled at that. He supposed at this time, his guitar was collecting dust underneath his bed, but it wasn't too bad. He took it out every once in a while and tuned it. He tried playing a few notes, but it's like the music attracted the challengers to his Gym.

"Oh, hey look Ekans' skin rot's been cleared up," he stated, noticing the Ekans sunbathing. That was nice. He had hoped it would end soon, like his Fletchinder's molting problem.

“I know a little guitar,” Ana said thoughtfully. “Maybe I could help you practice?” A moment later, she shook her head and amended. “Ah, but you probably already spend enough time with me, don’t you? Too much more might start to grate a little.” She didn’t seem to be upset by that at all, actually, and smiled over at Ekans.

“He’s ready for adoption, really. If Toby’s paperwork goes through for his trainer’s license, I was thinking they might get along really well. You know Toby, right?”

"Of course I know Toby. He's Robert's little boy. He actually came by the Gym yesterday to see how battles went. I guess it didn't hurt too much to have him sit in on one. He really seemed to enjoy it," he replied, smiling at that. Toby was a good kid; he'd make a good trainer for Ekans. "Ah, actually, I'm not sure I'll have time to learn guitar. I mean, it'd be nice, but there's no telling when a new string of challengers will come. Maybe... next summer? I might have my old man take over the gym for a little while," because if he had to deal with all of these trainers by then, he'd be molting like Fletchinder had.

"And I don't mind spending my time with you. I enjoy hanging out with you," he spoke, offering her a light grin. He really did enjoy being around her, perhaps a little too much. That wasn't a bad thing was it?

Ana’s expression changed for a second, almost to something… melancholy? But then her mouth pulled back into a smile. “Well… maybe next summer then. I’m glad you’re not sick of me yet—and you’re welcome to come by even if it’s not to do work, you know. I’m sure things can get a little crazy for you, so if you decide you just want to relax and eat something, let me know. I’ve been getting lots of practice cooking lately.”

"Thanks for the offer, I just might do that," he replied, smiling in her direction. He couldn't help but think there might be more to that expression, but he didn't linger on it too long. She'd tell him if something was wrong, right? He hoped they were close enough friends, but maybe there were some things better left unsaid? "For now, I think it's best if Pyroar and I help you with your groceries. We can talk about food later."