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Snippet #2811910

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

Kanto Region

The Kanto region: filled with various pokémon and nefarious deeds.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Eryk Nero Character Portrait: Kasimir Rheinallt Character Portrait: Cyrilla Niav Character Portrait: Anastasia Asher Character Portrait: Rocket Files Character Portrait: Aidan Klein Character Portrait: Nevena Solomon
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April 19th
Cinnabar Beach - Late Afternoon - Warm
Eryk Nero


Eryk sighed softly as the wingull overhead cried out. The sun was still out, but it was close to the time where it would be setting soon, bathing the ocean in front of them in sunset colors of orange, purple, and pink hues. It was, he'd admit, a beautiful sight to witness, perhaps the second most beautiful thing he'd been able to recognize. Beauty was a subjective thing to him, and he didn't particularly care to differentiate between what he considered beautiful, and what others thought.

Shifting the surfboard under his arm, he glanced down towards Ana who was walking beside him. She had on a large sun hat, but otherwise mostly black, as was her preference, though... the lace swimsuit cover was translucent in a lot of places and left her shoulders bare, which was not something she usually did. She smiled back up at him when she noticed his regard.

They were meeting the others on another part of the beach, but Eryk was, for once in his life, running a little behind. Stella had wanted to go with them, but it wasn't a feasible thing for her. It took some convincing on his part before she reluctantly stayed. He promised her he would take her to see the ocean, proper, before... he shoved the thought to the back of his mind as he sighed, again.

It wasn't much longer before they reached the designated area, and everyone seemed to still be setting things up. There were a few umbrellas littered about, and it looked like Drake was setting up the volleyball net. Nev was setting up one of the picnic tables, and it looked like Mel and Cyrilla were setting up the grill. Drake was wearing a coral pink shirt and a pair of dark blue swimshorts, and had his hair pulled into a half tail. His hair wasn't long enough for a full tail. Nev was wearing a white cardigan coverup over her swimsuit, presumably. It was tied at the moment. Cyrilla was wearing her swimsuit, a black one piece with a kimono coverup that looked almost like a goldeen. Coral pinks and white. Mel's white cover was untied and loose around her shoulders, the swimsuit underneath easily being the most colorful of the lot, rainbow as it was. There were several other surfboards stuck in the sand nearby, including a bright teal one that was probably hers.

“Oh, look who decided to finally show up!" Cyrilla stated as she waved in their direction, causing Eryk to roll his eyes a bit. She only smiled before turning back towards Mel to help her with the food.

“Hey, Ryk, Ana!" Nev greeted as she waved at them as well.

Kas, mint-green shirt untucked and halfway unbuttoned, appeared to be sorting the drinks in the cooler; he looked up long enough to grin at them before getting back to it. Aidan was, as yet, nowhere to be found.

"Aidan's grabbing a few things we forgot from the bodega," Mel said, perhaps anticipating the obvious question. She smiled brightly at the two of them, her eyes narrowing slightly when they fell on Ana. "You look cute."

"Thank you," Ana replied softly. "I really like the suit you picked, too."

Eryk wasn't entirely sure cute was the right word for Ana, but he refrained from saying that out loud. Instead, he made his way towards the other surfboards, and dug his into the sand before making his way back towards the group.

“Alright, net is set up!" Drake stated as he made his way towards the group as well. He stood closer to Mel, though, and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Do we want to play volleyball first before the light dies down?" he asked as Eryk contemplated it. They were, from what Mel had said, going to play volleyball, eat, surf, and... he forgot the last thing they were going to do. Stargaze? Was that it?

“That doesn't sound too bad. It'll give the food enough time to cook while people are playing," Nev stated as she pursed her lips together. “Although I don't know how that would work because we couldn't take turns like in jenga," she added.

"Sure we can," Kas replied, closing the cooler and dragging it over to the grill set-up. "Beach volleyball can have any number of people on a team, and we can substitute people in when a game ends. So if the first match is three on three, that leaves two of us to cook. Or we could to it two-on-two, and the extras can surf or whatever else they want to do. It's not like this has to be some fancy official setup, you know."

Re-rolling a sleeve so it sat better on his arm, he glanced at the others. "Anyone want to do anything especially?"

"Mm, I want to surf a little before it gets dark," Mel replied, shrugging off her cover and setting it over one of the numerous beach chairs. "But I can wait if someone really needs their ass kicked at volleyball."

"I can take care of the food," Ana volunteered. "I'm, um... a little under the weather today, so I didn't bring a board or anything anyhow. And I've never been very good at sports."

“If you're not feeling well, Ana, you can just sit and relax. Wouldn't want you to overtax yourself and make it worse," Cyrilla stated as she frowned a little in Ana's direction. Eryk was inclined to agree; if he'd known that she wasn't feeling too well, he would have cancelled the beach gathering. Or at least tried to have it moved to another day.

"Oh, it's not that big a deal," she said, waving a hand nonchalantly. "Just probably better if I stay away from the really active things, you know?"

“Personally I'd like to see you try and kick my ass at volleyball," Drake stated, arching a brow in Mel's direction as he grinned. “I'm all for volleyball first, and then surfing!" Eryk rolled his eyes a bit, and glanced in Ana's direction.

“I can help with the food if you'd like," he stated. He wasn't a good cook, but the food they were making was relatively simple: hot dogs and burgers. All they required was flipping, and they wouldn't take too long to cook.

She nodded a little, a tiny smile at the corner of her mouth. "I don't want you to miss out, so just do whatever you'd most like to do." From the sound of it, she expected he might prefer to avoid anything too rowdy, as the game might well become.

“I haven't played volleyball in a long time, so I might be a little rusty. It wouldn't hurt to try and get back into it, though," Nev stated as she smiled in Drake and Mel's direction.

“Alright, well if Ana and Ryk watch the food, the rest of us can play volleyball, three on three. Assuming Big Bro wants to play, too."

The sound of a motor in the distance cut off; it would seem Aidan had arrived, a large beach umbrella and a couple of paper bags strapped behind him on his motorbike. He hadn't dressed much differently from usual, except wearing shorts instead of pants and a white shirt instead of a black one. Leaving his helmet behind on the bike, he replaced it with his sunglasses, as the light was still bright enough to warrant them, then hefted the umbrella over his shoulder and grabbed the bags.

"I feel like I've just been volunteered for something else," he quipped, lifting an eyebrow and scanning the group.

Cyrilla snorted softly as Drake shook his head. “Not exactly," he said as his hand dropped to lace with Mel's hand. “We were just saying that we were going to play volleyball: three on three. But that was if you wanted in on the game. Otherwise we'd have to take turns and switch out," he continued as Nev nodded her head.

“I don't mind being the one who switches in and out if you'd rather not play, though," Nev stated as she smiled sheepishly. “I haven't played in awhile so it... well, it doesn't matter either way?"

“Ana and I were going to watch the food. That's why you were being volunteered," Eryk said as a means of explanation. It wasn't that Aidan needed one; he could figure it out simply by looking at them. Eryk just shrugged his shoulders.

He nodded, handing the unbrella off to Kas and setting the bags down near the grill. "Sure, I don't mind. How're we splitting the teams? I'm gonna institute a rule that there can only be a maximum of one Rheinallt per side."

"Smart man," Mel quipped. "Since Drake here was doubting my skills, how about we put him with Cy and Kas, and I'll be on a team with you and Nev?"

He considered this for a moment, then nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

“Agreed," Drake replied as he moved towards Cyrilla and Kasimir. This was going to be interesting, Eryk supposed. If Drake was as good at volleyball as he was playing darts or dancing, well... it would be entertaining either way.

“I promise I won't let you guys down," Nev stated as she grinned at Mel and Aidan.

Eryk shook his head as the group made their way towards the net, and he turned his attention back towards Ana. “Are you sure you're going to be alright?" he asked softly, his hand twitching softly before he reached out towards hers and gave it a light squeeze. He'd never initiated contact like that, before, mostly because he was afraid that he might accidentally hurt her. There were not a lot of things in his life that made him afraid, but that one, simple thing terrified him in ways he couldn't explain.

Even if it was accidental, he didn't want to hurt her.

She tilted her head up to smile at him, squeezing his hand right back. Much like the rest of her, her hands were small and thin, but there was warmth in the gesture nevertheless. "I'll be fine, I promise," she said, before her brows furrowed and she sighed quietly. "Anyway, we should probably see about dinner, right? I think Kas already lit the fire..."

Ahead of them, the teams split off, Mel serving overhand to Kas, who sent it right back over the net. Aidan bumped it before it hit the ground, lobbing it gently towards Nev.

Eryk pushed a soft sigh through his nose as he nodded his head. “Yeah," he replied as he made his way towards the makeshift grill. There was one every half-mile or so, probably so that tourists and other people could use them if they didn't have their own. This was, perhaps, the only part of the island that had them. There weren't many, which Eryk presumed was because most of the tourists weren't there for the beach. A majority of them were trainers trying to get their next badge from Drake.

Nev, however, tried to hit the ball back over. She didn't catch it quite right, though, and it ended up hitting the net, causing her to frown slightly.

“Point for us!" Drake stated a little too excitedly.

“Drake, did it ever occur to you that maybe some people need to warm up before they kick your ass?" Cyrilla replied, grinning slightly as she rolled her eyes. Eryk was almost hoping Drake would get his ass kicked, but he kept that thought to himself.

“Here's the packet of hot dogs and it looks like they've already made the hamburger patties and seasoned them," Eryk stated as he turned his attention towards Ana, and held up the packet of hot dogs.

"Okay, let's start with a few of each, then. And—oh good, Aidan brought the pineapple and the skewers." Ana retrieved a few items from the bag, including what seemed to be pre-sliced pineapple and a box of wooden sticks, setting them down at the side and opening the grill-top. The fire flared a little, and she skittered away from it with a soft laugh.

"I think these are burning a little too well," she observed, taking one of the pokers next to the grill and shifting the coals underneath so they were a little more even. "That should do it—feel free to put them on. Somewhere around the center is probably best for the meat, outside for veggies and fruit."

The match continued—it was pretty abundantly clear that neither Drake nor Nev was exceptionally good at it, but their teammates passed to them nevertheless, keeping things fairly even.

Eryk nodded as he placed the meats down, first, and helped Ana put the skewers together with the pineapple and mushrooms. There were a few bell peppers, red and green, as well as a yellow one, and Eryk pursed his lips softly when he noticed a few jalapeños. Probably for both Rheinallts, though he was almost surprised they didn't have at least one gengar pepper.

“The burgers will take longer to cook depending on what everyone wants theirs to be," he murmured softly. Some people liked their burgers well-done, which he assumed Drake would want his like that. Then there were people who liked it medium-well and so on and so forth. Eryk supposed, if he really had to have a preference, it fell on the medium-rare side. He knew Cy liked hers like that as well, but he wasn't so sure about the others.

Maybe he should have paid a little more attention to everyone's choices when they went out to eat? Nev managed to finally get a ball over the net, and it looked like Drake had panicked for a second before missing the ball.

"Mhm, but it's all right. I know how everyone likes them," Ana replied. "Plus usually at an event like this it's not a big deal if eating is staggered, or people will have hot dogs if they're waiting. At least, I think so. I'm... not exactly an expert in um..." She used her hand to gesture in such a way as to encompass the whole situation, then smiled wryly.

"Usually when I'm near the water it's because I'm at the pier to get on a boat and do a rescue dive. I've been surfing a few times, just by myself, and once with, uh, a former friend I suppose. But never in a group like this."

Eryk hummed a soft note and nodded his head. “I haven't been surfing in..." he paused and furrowed his brows. “I don't remember," he finally spoke after a moment. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been surfing. Maybe it was less than five years ago, but he knew it wasn't because he wanted to do it. It was a mission, just like... he shoved the thought away before reaching up and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“It's not something that I've found myself wanting to do, but... maybe eventually it would be alright to learn it again," he continued. He could see some of the other islanders on their surfboards, smiles on their faces even when they fell. It looked like something he could enjoy, even if he wasn't that good at it.

"Well," Ana replied softly, presumably so that the others would not hear if the game lapsed for a moment, "if you ever decide you want to try again but don't feel comfortable with an audience, let me know. We could do it like bowling, right?" They'd been going weekly by themselves, every Monday night when the place was all but guaranteed to be empty, and she'd been teaching him what she knew.

She used the tongs in one had to carefully rotate the skewers and hot dogs, but left the burgers alone. "Of course, I can understand if you'd rather keep a hobby for yourself, too, so it's not like you have to tell me or anything."

Eryk huffed lightly, but he could feel the corners of his mouth lifting slightly into a soft smile. It was becoming easier to do that. He hadn't smiled like that in over a decade. He was, maybe ten the last time he'd ever actually smiled, and that had been when he wanted to be a trainer, not some member of the Koga clan. Or some member of NTR.

“Oh my arceus, Drake are you alright!?" Nev shouted, causing Eryk to turn his attention towards the volleyball game. Cyrilla was almost doubled over with laughter, and Nev was making her way towards Drake who had a large red spot on his face.

“I'm fine, Nev. Really," he replied, rubbing his cheek slightly. “I just got distracted is all," he continued as Nev kneeled down as if to check his face.

“What could possibly have distracted you?" Cyrilla managed between laughs.

“Eryk smiled. I've never seen him smile before," was Drake's reply, causing Eryk to roll his eyes.

"Ah, yeah." Kas nodded as if with understanding. "Leave those two alone long enough and it's bound to happen." He winked over at them; Ana pinked in the face a little.

"Ugh, stop being adorable. And you, stop poking fun at them." Mel threw a volleyball at her brother's head, but he caught it with a hand, laughing.

"Fine, fine. Back to the game it is then."

“Idiots," Eryk mumbled lightly, but the smile stayed on his face. He enjoyed his friends, perhaps a little more than he should. By the time the food was done, the game ended with Mel, Aidan, and Nev as the victors. They'd won by one point, which was apparently fairly good considering that by the time they were half-way into the game, it seemed that Nev's muscle memory was coming back, and she'd managed to score a few points on her own.

They'd all gathered by the table, he and Ana putting the burgers and hot dogs on a plate so the others could get their food and whatever they wanted to put on it. Maybe they should do things like this more often? As long as it was just this group, just the eight of them, it wouldn't be so bad? Eryk wasn't exactly a person who thought himself as the type to enjoy the company of others, but... well, they were making it very hard to conceive of a life without them.

And that... that wasn't something he'd ever have thought possible.