paixaorpg | Lunch Break! [Active]

Entry tags:

Lunch Break! [Active]

Characters: Kronk and Chikorita
Content: Being the nice host that he is, Kronk is taking Chikorita out to eat.
Setting: Cafe Ersesat [N3]
Time: Late morning
Warnings: May contain nuts.

Kronk had some idea of the layout of the city by this point, and he easily used the map from his journal to guide himself and Chikorita to the nearest eating establishment. It was, of course, a Cafe Ersesat. There apparently were a few of them in the city. Kronk had yet to try their food, but he expected it had to be pretty good if there were as many of the places as there were. As they approached, he briefly wondered if they might possibly be hiring for a chef... He really needed to get on the whole job search thing if he wanted to keep some money on hand. Although... it was possible he didn't really need money in the first place. He'd heard some rumors about places taking the gold and silver leaves off of the decorative trees as payment. Why in the world anyone would accept that as currency was beyond him, but he was a little tempted to try it out for himself.

Well... Maybe more than just a little tempted. Kronk reached out and grabbed a small handful of leaves off of the nearest "tree" as they passed it, smiling over at Chikorita as he offered her one of the leaves. "Kind of pretty, aren't they? I think they couldn't grow any real trees inside this dome or something, so they made these instead... They're pretty nice, but I'm kind of happy that they don't do that in every city... I like having real trees around. It makes a place feel more... natural. That's probably the one thing I don't quite like about this place... There's no plants or animals around. Well, except for some of those glowy lumen things. But I'm not sure if those are animals or not." Kronk had seen a few of the critters by now. Before he'd met Chikorita, he'd even tried calling out in squirrel language to a somewhat rodent-looking one, but the thing had just given him a blank look and scurried off. Needless to say, the people around him had given him even stranger looks.

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Chikorita laughed at the leaf she was offered. Humans did some strange things sometimes. Why make plants out of metal? Wouldn't real ones be nicer? But the human said that real plants didn't seem to grow here-- which was stupid but true, because where there was sun and dirt and water, there should be plants, but there weren't any here. At any rate, she understood the concept of a gift, and so she took the shiney (SHINEY!) leaf and played with it, making it flash light spots on surrounding walls and people.

She hadn't yet noticed a distinct lack of other Pokemon in the city, even human-shaped Pokemon.

"Glad you like it," Kronk said as his new friend cheerfully accepted the leaf from him. He had figured she might be amused by that kind of thing. He was going to keep the rest for the moment, though... just to see if places really DID take them as currency. It might be kind of a dumb idea, but he wasn't exactly afraid to try out things that most people thought were stupid. Hence, he could talk to squirrels, when lots of other people didn't even want to try, for fear of looking silly. (He also occasionally provided his own theme music, which he was fortunately not humming at the moment. Unlike the squirrel translation, it had no redeeming value whatsoever.)

They finally reached the cafe, and Kronk, being the gentleman he was, opened the door for Chikorita. Politeness was, after all, a virtue, and one which Kronk thought was unfortunately lacking in the present world. If only people could be more polite to each other, than the world would be a better place, and there would be less conflict and strife and hatred and fighting and theft and bribery and misery and war and famine and disease and baby dieties being made to cry... Or something like that, anyway...

What had caught Latias' attention now were the two people who were at the entrance of the cafe. Well, one person and a human-like thing - but what interested her more was the fact that the latter looked very much like another pokemon. And yet it didn't - how very odd!

She slid up close to one side of the door, just inside the cafe, and stood there, staring at Chikorita. She was puzzled as to why the grass pokemon looked like that - none of the other ones she'd ever seen looked like that!

Even so, it was nice to see some</i< kind of familiar sight around here!

Lone first tossed another foreign coin at the barista/waitress as a tip with a slightly amused grin(Funny thing being that the coin was for a birthing room facility at the Crossings Intercontinual Worldgating Facility in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way galaxy). The businessman shrugged as he stood near Latias. It was an odd situation to be having a little girl stare at another young girl...who was green and had a leaf coming out of her head. The Lone Power had seen...strange things before, but this girl really took the cake.

He glanced down at Latias, "Someone you know?"

Chikorita giggled at the stray thought that the human might be opening the door for her, and waited for him to go in. She was a good little Pokemon, she always let her human go into a building first! Humans had the money to pay for things, and she didn't, so it made sense for things to be that way.

Abruptly, she realized she was being watched. "Chik-oh?" A moment later, she realized that the apparently-human girl staring at her was another Pokemon in human shape! She had a friend! And the new friend had a human, too! But my human's bigger, she thought proudly, turning in a happy circle and preening for the other Pokemon-girl.

Kronk waited for Chikorita to enter... And waited a few moments longer. When he finally realized that she wasn't going in before him, he felt just a little awkward, though he didn't show it outwardly. He should have guessed she had a different sense of courtesy than he did, since she wasn't originally a human! No matter, though, since Chikorita's attention had already been captured by another girl, who was watching them from inside the cafe.

He entered the little restaurant, still holding the door from the inside as he gave the newcomer and her friend a smile. "Good morning," he said politely. He didn't recognize either of the two people, but the girl seemed like she had quite an interest in Chikorita. He wasn't sure whether it was because they knew each other somehow, or if it was just because the plant-girl looked different than a normal person.

Latias merely gave Lone a shrug. That was the only answer she could give, as she couldn't have given him a definite yes or no. While she didn't know who exactly Chikorita was, she did recognize what she was!

She giggled at Chikorita's antics, and then looked up at Kronk. She stared at him for a moment (as if she'd only just noticed him there), and then gave him a small smile and a little wave.

The Lone Power refrained from rolling his eyes at Latias's response. He probably should have said 'someone or something you know'. To Kronk he responded dully, "Morning."

He shot a glance around the cafe, locating a new booth large enough for the group before ordering yet another cookie for Latias and another coffee...iced this time. Really, he didn't care what he was getting to drink, as long as it had caffeine in it. It seemed like today was going to be a painfully long day.

He glanced down at Latias, "Nina, let's go sit over there." He pointed at the booth. Glancing at Kronk and Chikorita he said stiffly, "You can join us, if you'd like."

Well, Chikorita certainly knew an invitation when she heard one! She skittered into the establishment, preened and stretched a little more for a moment, and then semi-casually wandered over to investigate the other Pokemon-girl's human before crawling onto a seat and flashing everyone a smile she'd perfected as a cute little Pokemon, kicking her feet and waiting for her human to join them.

"Why thank you," Kronk said with a grin as The Lone Power invited him and Chikorita to the table. The man's choice of beverage sounded interesting, so Kronk ordered two more as he headed over to the booth, although he wasn't sure if iced coffee was something his companion would actually like. If not, she could just get something else, he supposed.

The large man squeezed into the booth next to Chikorita, glancing out the window and noting with surprise the oddly changing weather outside. It had been hot and sunny when they'd entered the building, but now it was pouring rain. Strange, but at least they were all inside, so it wouldn't bother them.

Latias cast a wistful glance past the door. She wished the sun had stayed out; now it was just a boring gushing of rain out there. She let out a silent sigh, and then went to go join the others in the booth. She sat down, and then proceeded to stare at Kronk.

It might have been taken as an interested gaze, but it was far from that; she was merely comparing the sizes of both Kronk and Lone. She was amused that the two males she'd met so far here were both larger than most she saw back home; of course, both of the ones here also appeared to be older, so maybe that was a factor there.

Glancing at the "girl", the Lone Power was really not used to any of this. Of course, one would have to take into consideration that most of his "pets" were independents that worked in packs.

He saw Latias glance out the door and turned to see what she was looking at....Oh, it was raining. Although gestures from some of the dull blondes wandering in suggested that the temperature outside the cafe was dropping. He wasn't about to go out anymore. He seated himself at the booth as well.

When the flirtatious waitress came back with their orders, the Beautiful One merely rolled his eyes and sent her off with a tip.....really these blond citizen people were annoying.

And after the rain and the drinks (bitter, but sweet, a strange combination of flavors that Chikorita had to think about before deciding she liked it), the sun came out again! Chikorita squirmed in her seat and giggled brightly at the light shining through the window, intent on running out there and splashing in puddles as soon as her human moved and she could get up!

"So, are you two from around here, or are you both foreigners like we are?" Kronk asked, trying to start up some kind of conversation. So far, the girl hadn't really said much of anything, and the man she was with had remained mostly silent as well. Being the talkative, friendly person he was, Kronk figured that if they were going to share a few drinks together (non-alcoholic, of course), they could at least chat a little.

Also, he wasn't sure if his companion was hungry, so he figured he might as well see if she wanted some food, or if the coffee was enough for the moment. "If you want me to order something for you to eat, just let me know," he told her, offering her a menu. Actually... He didn't even know if she could read... If not, choosing something could be a problem!

Not surprisingly, Latias didn't say anything in response, though she did end up shaking her head in reply to Kronk's question - the first one, anyways. She started to look around for something, and then took out her journal and hunched over it.

Even if she couldn't put it to words, she wouldn't mind showing the others where she'd come from...and she thought she remembered seeing something on the journal earlier, when she was looking it over, that might just allow her to do so...

Cordell had been throwing information at the idiotic folks who entered throughout the city and apparently did not know how to read a simple computer system's network before asking stupid and repetitive questions.

The golden-red haired businessman was fed up with the idiots in this city by the time Kronk just had to bring up what was likely the most idiotic question. "Do we look like these pale, blond and blue-eyed, sweetness-and-light types?" He was rather clearly annoyed at this place as a whole. Intelligence seemed to be highly lacking for such a diverse city. "Of course, we're foreigners," he snapped. Returning his gaze to his journal he made an annoyed sound similar to a hiss, though if one heard it properly they would hear Hihhhh!, an expletive in Ailurin, the language of cats, that was most closely associated with the English, 'Goddamnit'.

Chikorita heard the human's hiss and snap, whirled in affront at the realization that he was snapping at her human, and replied with an angry exclamation of her own, roughly translating to, "Don't you dare talk to my human like that!" Her leaf flattened back against her head, her fingers gripped at the table in front of her, and it was only the close quarters with her own human and the other human-shaped Pokemon that kept her from throwing a few Razor Leaves that way.

And if there was one thing that could overcome Chikorita's tendancy to lose focus on one thing and wander away to the next, it was a human that had offended her. Humans should know by now that she could carry a grudge for a much longer time than they would think!

"Now, now... There's no reason to start getting upset with each other!" Kronk said, a little surprised by his companions' sudden change of attitudes. (Well, not really so sudden in the red-head's case, but Kronk hadn't thought he was in ~that~ bad of a mood.) He really didn't want everyone to start fighting with each other over a minor comment, especially one that he'd made himself!

He did wonder a little why the man seemed to be so irritable at the moment. His companion didn't seem to be that way. In fact, she seemed downright cheerful and curious. It was enough to make Kronk wonder why the two of them were currently dining together... Maybe they were related or something... Although considering the reaction to the last question he'd asked, Kronk wasn't about to inquire along those lines.

Latias looked up suddenly from what she was doing, and her eyes widened at the commotion. An alarmed expression filled her face and she stood up partially, almost looking as if she would throw herself between Lone and Chikorita if need be.

Being another pokemon, she had understood what Chikorita had been saying. And while she wasn't as attached to Lone, didn't think of him as "her" human like Chikorita apparently did with this other guy, she also hated fighting of any kind and didn't wish to see it happen here.

Between one character and the next, Lone had had enough of the city and now he'd realized his sister would have a hissy fit if he disobeyed his loose promise to behave. He bowed his head at Latias, gently lifting his jacket from around her shoulders and folding it over his own arm.

Stiffly he managed to say, "I will see you around, Nina. Be good for these two. Maybe they can get you a jacket of your own."

He left a pile of coins on the table to serve as a tip before storming out of the cafe. Anyone who could feel significant changes in energy would realize he was absolutely furious and fed up with the city even more so than he had been before.

(OOC: Italicized stuff is Pokemon-talk.)

Chikorita was ready to jump out of her seat and charge the red-haired human when she was abruptly distracted by the pile of very shiny coins he'd deposited on the table as he left, which she proceeded instead to play with and watch shine. But the other Pokemon hadn't left, and after a moment, Chikorita gave her a curious look (allowing a rather frustrated waitress to finally pick up her tip from the very angry but very generous man who'd recently left).

"Not your human?" Having spent most of her life as feral moments between one trainer and the next, she didn't quite get that some Pokemon preferred to run wild instead of giving their allegiance to a human partner. Nor had it occurred to her yet to inquire what kind of Pokemon her new friend was.

No. She didn't care much about anything so long as she was fed and could find things and humans and other Pokemon to play with.

"Gee... What's up with him?" Kronk wondered aloud as Lone exited the building, leaving "Nina" behind with the two of them. The guy had seemed kind of tense, though Kronk still wasn't sure why. Maybe there was something on his mind to begin with...

At least Nina seemed like a nice girl, though she hadn't said anything yet, as far as he'd noticed. Perhaps she was just a bit shy. "So," he said, trying to manage some sort of conversation with one girl who didn't talk and another who spoke a language he didn't yet understand. It was all a bit awkward, actually. "I'm Kronk, and this is my friend Chikorita..."

Latias looked stunned as she watched Lone storm off. She made a motion as if to stop him, but then she sat back down in her seat and sank down a bit, flinching visibly. She could feel the change in the air, and it disturbed her.

She looked at Chikorita, shook her head slowly, and then sighed. Glancing over at Kronk, she gave the man a small smile and a little wave of her hand. Oh, how to explain things to him and this other pokemon...

...Well, actually, there was a way, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to do it. Especially not in such a public place at this.

Chikorita finally (it had been all of two minutes, a long and tiring wait) put her head down on her ~~forepaws~~ hands in a fairly good impression of complete and absolute boredom, which was what she was feeling at the time. Nonetheless, the leaf on her head perked when Kronk said her name-- even inattentive, she was listening.

"You don't talk very much, do you?" she asked the other Pokemon-turned-girl. What kind of Pokemon was this new friend? She didn't talk, she didn't seem to play, she didn't follow a human around, she didn't do any of the things Chikorita associated with normal Pokemon behavior!

Kronk, although still smiling, was wondering what in the world Chikorita was even saying. He certainly couldn't understand it, and he didn't know whether or not the other girl could, either, since she was pretty quiet. Perhaps she was mute. If so, Kronk hoped he hadn't embarrassed her by trying to get her to talk. He was tempted to try some basic sign language, except if she ~wasn't~ mute or didn't understand him, he'd end up looking silly there, too. At this rate, he wasn't even sure how he could find out where the two of them wanted to go next. They'd been sitting around in the cafe for a while, after all, and he was sure they were probably getting a little bored of it by now. Chikorita certainly seemed to be tired of sitting around...

"Why don't we head back outside and take a walk?" he suggested, getting up out of his seat. Maybe they would happen upon something interesting while they were outside... "We're done here, right?"

Latias shook her head at Chikorita and then smiled briefly. Had Chikorita been alone, she might have slipped out a few words - but in this cafe, with others watching, she didn't want to blow her disguise at all.

She watched Kronk stand up, and then started to get out of her own seat. She was getting a bit tired of sitting here anyways - she wanted to go back outside and stretch her legs, in a manner of speaking.

Chikorita knew a departure when she saw one, and her human getting up and ready to go was her cue to skitter out of the booth and spin in happy circles until she got dizzy-- which, of course, she did immediately, finally tumbling onto her back, careful not to land on her leaf, and watching the world spin around her. The sun had come out, and in a moment she would be outside and able to splash in puddles!

"I take that as an emphatic yes," Kronk observed, probably being one of the few people in the cafe that wasn't at all surprised by Chikorita's rabid enthusiasm. He wondered if she was part squirrel in her normal form. She wasn't fuzzy, but she was definitely about as energetic.

Kronk headed for the door, stopping for a moment to pay for their orders on the way out. He almost tried paying with the leaves he'd collected before coming into the place, but decided it really wasn't very fair, and used his own money instead. He could always use the leaves later, once he ran out of normal money, or so he told himself.

"If either of you has anywhere you want to go, just let me know," he mentioned to his two companions as they left the cafe. "I don't have any particular plans at the moment."

Latias peered over at Chikorita, amused by the other pokemon's antics. She appeared to be in thought for a moment, before pointing in one direction - and then another, just before turning back to the original direction she'd pointed in. She wasn't sure where she wanted to go, either, she just wanted to see the rest of this city!

Chikorita threw herself into the first puddle she saw, scattering water droplets every which way and then chasing them, making a glorious mess of the clothes Kronk had given her. It didn't matter to her which way they went-- every way would have something find, someone to play with, or maybe even a rival human with other Pokemon to fight! But the other Pokemon-turned-human didn't seem to like fighting, and Chikorita got the general impression that her new human didn't, either. That was fun, too, since fighting tended to lead to getting hurt and getting hurt wasn't fun no matter how much fun the fight that caused it was.

Chikorita finally finished playing with the puddle and settled down near Kronk's feet, spreading out her leaf to catch the sunlight best and basking in the warmth as her messied clothes began to dry out. Where would her new human take her next?

Kronk chuckled and nodded in approval as "Nina" picked a direction after a moment of indecisiveness. "All right, we'll head that way," he agreed. It seemed as good a direction as any. Perhaps they'd find something of interest to do. Maybe they could go for a ride on the train. He wasn't sure, but he thought the two of them might find it interesting.

Although, after Chikorita's current antics, they might have to find her a new change of clothes. That could probably wait, though. He didn't want to spoil her fun so soon. "Ah..." Kronk said, looking down at her as she finally came to rest by his feet. "Having fun already, huh?" he grinned at her playfulness, and offered her a hand to help her up again. "Well, I'm sure if we look, we can find a few interesting places. I've heard there's an art museum here, and a park too, although I think that's on the other side of the city. Plenty of places to check out on the way, too."

Latias had an impatient expression for a moment as she looked at both Kronk and Chikorita. It disappeared as quickly as it came. Yes, she wanted to go and see things, but she also realized that she could have just gone ahead quickly to sight-see if she really wanted to; it was only by choice (and the desire not to be rude) that she was waiting for her companions.

Regardless, she still ended up skipping ahead a couple of steps, and turned back around with a smile on her face.

(OOC: Sorry, guys, I don't think I can handle Chiko any more. Her muse up and ran off to find someone else.)
---

Chikorita laughed at Kronk's smile and lightly swatted his hand with hers in the manner of the humans' "high-five" greeting. He was a nice human, but she wanted to find a human who would play with her the way Pokemon were supposed to be played with, by finding other humans and other Pokemon and fighting. And Kronk simply wasn't.

When a human didn't please her, Chikorita did what she'd always done; go find another one and see if that one would work instead. So she tossed her head-leaf, giggled, and skittered away with a parting shout of, "Take care of my human, okay?" to the other human-shaped Pokemon before bolting.

Chikorita ran and ran and ran, and when she didn't run on two legs like a human, she shucked off the strange human clothes and fled on all fours in the shape she was supposed to have...

"Wait, Chikorita! Where are you going?" Kronk called after her, puzzled by her sudden impulse to race off. She hadn't seemed unhappy, but she lost herself in the crowd before he could even think to follow her. He stared in the direction she'd hurried off in, then glanced over at Nina and raised his hands in a "search me" expression. She probably didn't have any better idea than he did why the other girl had suddenly bolted, but there wasn't really that much to do about it. Although Kronk had tried to help her out, it wasn't as if she ~had~ to stay with him. He just would have liked it...

"I guess it's just us, then," he observed in a subdued tone. He could hear his shoulder devil muttering something along the lines of "who needs her, anyway," on his shoulder, but Kronk wasn't inclined to listen to him at the moment. He was more inclined to take the shoulder angel's comment of "perhaps our paths will cross again someday" to heart. It seemed a bit more optimistic.

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Lunch Break! [Active]

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