[OPEN] time out of singing

[seraphicvoice]

Characters: Utau, and anyone who wants to bother her in Hearthome.
Open/Closed: Open.
Location: The festival at Hearthome.
Time: Late Afternoon
Summary: Utau is performing (as an idol would, at these events) and, has just earned herself a break at the back of the stage.
Warnings: None

Comments

[seraphicvoice]

If the knuckle-cracking was supposed to scare off Iru, it wasn't much of a success - for Iru, at any rate, as a Ralts that had just appeared out from behind the table retreated back the way it had came. Instead, Iru's fur bristled as she sunk lower to the ground, the glare being enough to kill-- well, if it was bigger, perhaps. More menancing looking would have been a plus.

Sighing slightly at her pokémon's protectiveness (though she appreciated it - but it would be nice if Iru did for once not jump in feet first), Utau hadn't even managed to move before Konata came storming into the tent, water in hand.

At Konata's question, Utau smiled - or it was more of a smirk than anything else, but a friendly one. "Technically... yes. I'm assuming you didn't read the sign on the tent? Obviously not," she stood upright, to her full height, folding her arms, Iru finally backing down towards her (but still poised none the less). She had to wonder where these elite guards were if a pokémon and then a girl had gotten past - but in truth, she was too tired, and too focused on relaxing, to care. "I'm a singer. This is a private tent. They'll throw you out..." she paused for added effect, before continuing, "But it's not an issue to me."

[konatamer]

"Huh? The sign on the- eh? Eh!?" Konata's expression cycled through confusion and surprise- "You're a singer- wait, you're THAT singer!?" - before going straight into shock, her green eyes widening even further as she flailed. "Gyah!" Konata yelped, praying that the aforementioned guards weren't going to jump out of the shadows and drag her out of town. That was one boss fight she wasn't too keen on handling. "Sorry, I didn't know! If my Poliwhirl hadn't-"

She paused when Utau finished her sentence, her expression settling back onto confusion. "... it's not?"

Meanwhile, without so much as a glance at Iru, Hokuto finished drinking and tossed the empty bottle back to Konata, who reached out and caught it without even looking. Clearly, that was a familiar routine for them.

[seraphicvoice]

"No," Utau replied, shaking her head as she allowed Konata to come to that conclusion without interrupting. "You came to find your pokémon, that had wandered in here from the heat. Neither of you have an intention of harming me," she summed up. She could see from the almost natural reaction of Konata catching the bottle of water that they were close, and it wasn't a stake out of any kind. "It's an honest mistake. As long as you don't cause a fuss, I don't mind."

In her way, Utau liked the idea that she could have company to talk to. She'd spent the afternoon singing at nameless faces - which, despite it being something she loved, it didn't change the fact she knew none of them, and the one face she wanted to see wasn't there, and probably wouldn't be for a while. She wanted to reach out to people now she had the chance - only she would never admit that.

Hearing this, Iru finally backed down - looking back up once at Utau, who briefly nodded at her, before Iru slinked back into the shadows, grumbling to herself for not getting the chance to mischeviously chace intruders out of camp in the name of protecting Utau.

[konatamer]

"Aaah... well, if you're fine with it..." Konata still wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she wasn't going to get in trouble, so she certainly wasn't going to complain. Still, she was going to have to have a word with (the entirely unapologetic) Hokuto afterward.

The blue-haired girl's usual cat-like grin came back. "Man, it's been really hot out, hasn't it? It must've been tough out there." Konata blinked, noticing Iru's grumbling for hte first time. "But still... sorry for getting your Poochyena worked up," she added, nodding towards Iru.

[seraphicvoice]

Utau nodded. "Partly. The sun's been glaring on the stage all afternoon," she paused, before turning round and returning to where she had been previously sat, where Iru was currently sitting under, grumbling. "Do you want to sit?" she offered, pointing at the chair next to her. She continued, "Oh, don't worry about Iru. She's just overprotective... and very mischevious. She can't resist a fight."

[konatamer]

"Do I ever?" Konata didn't hesitate to take Utau up on her offer, plopping herself onto the chair. She melted almost immediately, her eyes closed in contentment. "Aaaah..."

She glanced over at Iru again, grinning as she vaguely remembered some half-digested factoids about Poochyena behavior. "Yeah, I'll bet," Konata replied dryly. "And she's your first pokémon, right? Most starters're kinda overprotective that way."

Hokuto, for his part, was currently staring at Iru with mild curiosity. He'd never seen a Poochyena before.

[seraphicvoice]

Utau couldn't help but smile slightly as Konata sat down - though she couldn't blame her. It was fairly cool inside the tent. That was one thing that the organisers had managed to get right, at least.

"Starter?" Utau raised an eyebrow, though looked down at Iru and then back over at the table where she was fairly sure another one of her pokémon was hiding. "No, she's not... not quite. I had two starter pokémon. Both from when I was young. Though they usually fight over who has dominance," she smiled lightly, shaking her head but looking at Iru fondly. "What about you?"

At Hokuto's slight interest, Iru merely opened one beady eye, before rolling over on her side and grumbling - probably about how she wanted to chase Eru round the tent since her pursuits against Hokuto had been unccessful.

[konatamer]

"Two of them? Hmmm... so they're kinda like siblings competing for their parents' attention, huh?" It was a pretty common scenario in TV dramas and certain kinds of manga series. "Who's your second starter, then?"

Konata grinned at Utau's question. "Just this guy over here," she replied, reaching over to pat Hokuto on the head. "He's been with me ever since I found him swimming in a canal near our house."

The Poliwhirl croaked. There was no rough-and-ready equivalent for its meaning in any human language, but it probably meant something like "actually, she wrassled me to the ground with her bare hands and took me home."

[seraphicvoice]

"I suppose they are," Utau said, after a moment's thought, eyes wide and thoughtful. It was a fairly comparable situation... that, or they still longed for the days of the five year old girl who had no other cares in the world and would just play with them until the sunset. Or both, really.

After a moment, she twisted round in her chair, to the place she was certain Eru was hiding. "Eru. Come out," she beckoned, though didn't wait to see if she would come or not. Fortunately, a couple of seconds later, a Ralts slid into view, her head tipped to one side, as if she was looking for something - as soon as she came into view, Iru was up on her feet again, and ran in Eru's direction, instantly butting her in the back and shoving her forward into the spotlight, Eru's complaints of "Alts!!!" falling upon deaf ears. "Eru's my second," Utau supplied, leaving them too it. It seemed Iru was more in the mood of showing Eru off today.

"So you've been together a long time?" Utau asked, nodding. "That's nice. He's a... Poliwhirl, right?" She asked again, the name suddenly coming back to her.

[konatamer]

"Ooh, a Ralts! I haven't seen one of those before!" Konata chuckled at Iru and Eru's antics. "Still, it looks like they're getting along pretty well. You wouldn't believe some of the fights I've seen a trainer's pokémon getting into."

Still sitting on her seat, Konata leaned forward and draped herself over Hokuto's head as if she was getting ready for a piggyback ride. The Poliwhirl bore it with good grace, though he didn't seem to mind. "Yup, he's a Poliwhirl," she confirmed. "You only really see them during the spring and summer, and there aren't nearly as many of them in Sinnoh as in the other regions." Clearly, the shorter girl had done some research.

[seraphicvoice]

"They're usually worse," Utau smiled back at them, taking another gulp of her drink alongside her, casually checking back to see if anyone had come to check up on her or if she was going to be called up anytime soon - it seemed like she wasn't, which was good. She continued, "But they're always supportive... and it's usually playful. Usually," she gave a quick, side glance at Iru, who froze, before carrying on nudging Eru in the side despite the protests.

"Really? I wasn't aware of the temprament of seasons," Utau said, thoughtful. She'd definately seem Poliwhirl before, but that was just Galatic - whenever they fancied shipping them in, she'd see them briefly before they were whisked off wherever.

[konatamer]

"Really? Well, that's good, then." Konata reached into her pack and handed another bottle of water to Hokuto before grabbing one of her own. "That'll make things easier when they evolve and get stronger, right? I mean..." She took a sip. "I don't really want to think about the kinds of fights I'll get when Megapon and Maid evolve," Konata muttered, half as an aside.

"Mm. The seasons don't make a big difference to trainer-raised Poliwag and Poliwhirl, but they tend to hibernate in the winter. Especially up here in Sinnoh, where it REALLY gets colder." Konata tapped her chin with a finger. "At least, I THINK they hibernate. I mean, it'd explain why you never see frogs in the winter, but there're suddenly a billion tadpoles in the spring..."

Konata paused and laughed a bit sheepishly, scratching her head. "Ah, sorry if I'm kinda rambling," she apologized.

[seraphicvoice]

"One of them will be probably irritated that they didn't evolve first," Utau sighed, shaking her head lightly. "If Dia evolved first... then Iru would never get over it, I don't think. And for Iru and Eru... it's hard to imagine them as anything but what they are now." It was no surprise Utau thought that, given that she'd known them for almost ten years, and they were the sole, recurring faces that were from her past, unlike her mother's and her father's that had faded with age.

Utau smiled and shook her head lightly. "It's fine," she nodded. She wasn't used to talking at such length, but that wasn't to say she didn't mind it... as long as the conversation was like this, easy, and not too focused on personal matters. "If they're a frog type, they may do. Especially near Snowpoint. Though I'd be surprised if any went near Snowpoint."

[konatamer]

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Konata replied, grinning. "I mean, I had so much trouble adjusting when Hokuto actually grew arms. Heck, HE couldn't gauge distances for a day or two because his eyes shifted position." Her smile turned a bit lopsided as she thought back. Her own memories of that period of time consisted primarily of getting soaked and/or tripping over a tripped-up Poliwhirl. "... well, at least Iru and Eru won't go through that kind of dramatic change. I think," Konata added, remembering that she honestly didn't know too much about those particular breeds.

Konata was perfectly fine with keeping the conversation on general matters, because... well, SHE was sitting in a random tent talking to someone she'd just met for the first time. That said someone happened to be a singer made it surreal. "Hmm... probably. Though Snowpoint might be a bit much for them. I mean, Hokuto gets sluggish during the fall- and when there's snow outside? He won't stay out for more than ten minutes at a time, if that."

Konata grinned sheepishly. "... I found this out the hard way."

[seraphicvoice]

Utau couldn't help but smile slightly at the thought of a Poliwag suddenly having to adjust to a new physical shape - it did seem rather... interesting, to say the least. It appeared to have managed it eventually, though. "That must have been drastic to adapt too. But I suppose we have to grow to get used to it, since pokémon so frequently change." At the remark over Iru and Eru, Utau hesitated for a moment, before she shook her head. "They'll get bigger. I think Eru will actually have... more visable eyes. Iru will probably just be more mischevious - though find it easier to be spotted," she smiled.

"I see," She nodded. Utau was about to say something else, before she backtracked to something she hadn't said. She was so used to not giving out her identity, or people just knowing it, that she hadn't bothered to introduce herself. "... odd. I never introduced myself. I'm Utau. Hoshina Utau."

[konatamer]

"You're telling me. I'm still waiting for Hokuto's last evolution AND I've got a Combee and a Magnemite who haven't evolved yet." Not that Konata knew if Combee could even evolve. Most people couldn't give her a straight answer on that one. Still, she chuckled at Utau's assessment of her own pokemon. "Well, if Iru keeps her coloring, maybe she'll just get better and being stealthy?"

Konata blinked when Utau switched tracks. "Yeah... come to think of it, I haven't, either. Sorry- it completely slipped my mind!" How long HAVE they been sitting here like this? "Konata Izumi. Nice to meet you, too~!"