Track 05: Small Town

[princeofjunes]

ACTION: EVERYWHERE - ALL DAY - EVERYONE

[As Yosuke's settled himself into Mayfield, he finds one question gnawing at the back of his head

Comments

Some random sidewalk

[tenebrousking]

[Grimsley is returning home from a morning of grocery shopping, carrying a single bottle of wine in his hands.

...Bisharp strides along behind him, laden with five grocery bags. They make an odd pair. Possibly, Yosuke may be curious enough at seeing the Pokemon to approach, especially as Bisharp accidentally moves his arm the wrong way and slices right through one of the bags he was attempting to hold, spilling its contents.]

Ah, the wonders you could do with opposable thumbs, old friend...

[princeofjunes]

[Nope. He's never seen one of those before. A few weeks ago he would've been absolutely shocked out of his mind, but now his jaw merely drops - way to desensitize him, Mayfield. Of course he has to wander over to the two of them]

Hey, uh... do you and your incredibly unique dog need a hand?

[tenebrousking]

[Somehow, the demeanor of the steel warrior becomes even more stiff at hearing Yosuke's words; Grimsley quickly hides a smirk.]

Perhaps you could choose a better analogy there... But I'd be in your debt if you could help with this mess.

[princeofjunes]

I, uh... [Yeah, probably not best to tick off the big steel thing]

Does your friend have a name? [And he starts helping to gather the fallen items before he can shove his foot further into his mouth]

[tenebrousking]

[Bisharp's eyes grimly follow Yosuke wherever he goes; Grimsley will set aside his dignity for the moment, set his bottle of wine on the grass, and bend over. This was slightly degrading.]

It belongs to the species, Bisharp. Nicknames are popular among the younger trainers now, but the fashions were different in my time.

You, of course, understand none of that. How droll it was to discover that my occupation was considered a joke in most worlds...

[princeofjunes]

Well, I understood the part where he's not a dog?
[Well, this got awkward fast, but at least he's gathered up the groceries!]

So what do you do anyway?

[tenebrousking]

You have the privilege of speaking to a member of the Elite Four, the greatest Pokemon trainers of the land.

[He will straighten out for the express purpose of giving a mock bow before stooping down again. His words themselves carry a sardonic, half-teasing tone.]

I am Grimsley. Master of the Dark-type.

[princeofjunes]

[Pokemon trainer? The hell? He takes a minute to think it over - so that Bisharp of his is a Pokemon thing. Okay. And apparently training them is a big deal and he's an even bigger deal?

... well he doesn't really seem that impressive, but Yosuke doesn't feel like being a jerk]

So you're a pretty big deal back home?

Then we're definitely from different places, since I've never heard of you or Pokemon.

[tenebrousking]

My name crops up from time to time. Few have ever met me.

[Grimsley finishes with the last of the groceries and tries to look as dignified as he can manage with his arms full of eggs and cheese. It doesn't work very well.]

Shall we say... you play the game with a different set of rules? The two is a trump in my hand, but the most inconsequential in yours. So it is that I am relegated to the man who plays children's games in other worlds.

[princeofjunes]

[... yeah he can't comprehend a word of that. Sorry Grimsley]

... right. Does everyone where you're from talk like that?

[tenebrousking]

.....

[The man rolls his eyes a little and his tone abruptly shifts.]

Man, oh, man... Let's make this easier, shall we? Scrap what I said before. My name is Grimsley. Card sharp, gambler, and sometime drunkard, but hey, who isn't? You want to play some poker, I'm your man.

Yeah, I throw these monsters at each other in pitfights, but let's pretend that's my side job. Don't worry too much about it -- Unless you care to place a wager on a battle sometime.

[princeofjunes]

[And now that he's using words Yosuke understands, things are less awkward! Yay!]

Oh, so you're a gambler? That's pretty cool - I didn't think this would be a big gambling town.

But man, making monsters fight each other? That almost sounds like something out of a video game.

[tenebrousking]

Sure.

So could everyone else here. Superheroes, little demon crow girls, psychic aliens. Battling monsters is tame in comparison to walking Death, I think.

I'm willing to bet you've got some tricks up your sleeve of your own. Haven't lost this one yet.

[princeofjunes]

You... have a good point. [A scarily good point when he thinks about it. Hell, his own life could be a video game]

Well, I had a few tricks back home. My friends are getting theirs back, but mine are still missing.

[tenebrousking]

Wait another regain or two. You may wade through some junk first before you start seeing the important things.

That wasn't the case for me, luckily.

[princeofjunes]

So, you got your buddy back off the bat? [He gestures over to the not-dog as best he can with his arms full of stuff]