(Untitled)

[soggypastry]

Who: Hope and Lightning
Where: The south end of Route 30, just outside of Cherrygrove
When: Backdated to the 21st or the 22nd. In that little range.
Summary: Light and Hope meet again.
Rating: G-it's Light and Hope. She's nice with him.

Log:

Comments

[airwinged]

Three days on his (no, still Light's) Onix to get all the way back to Cherrygrove-- it was definitely better than wasting more time walking. And Hope wasn't exactly stable on his feet right now. A few naps here and there just don't cut it when just that tired. The only thing that's been keeping him determined was the fact that Lightning's here and of course he wanted to see her again.

Briefly he wondered if Snow was on his way too. But he pushed that out of his mind-- Snow can work for it if he wants to see Light in person.

Hope absentmindedly pets Onix on the head. Just a little longer, and she can rest in her Pokéball. He can see Cherrygrove in the distance, and closing in.

[soggypastry]

...Yes. That was a dust cloud on the horizon, along with a tall shadow inside of it, getting closer. Her stance changed, and Ponyta changed his own positioning with her. Imitation, perhaps. She couldn't bring herself to give it much thought, really. Not when she had to be ready to get clear in case this was some sort of attack.

Of course, the thought that this might be Hope did cross her mind. He was going to get a talking to if it was; Light didn't like it when people lied to her.

[airwinged]

If that was not a miniature Odin set on fire he did not know what was. But he'd seen Ponyta before, so he knows that it is Light, and it's time to announce himself.

That stance was Light ready to fight after all.

"Light!!" His voice was better than before, at least. He didn't sound like a Poliwag was lodged in his throat.

[soggypastry]

It was Hope. Had she been any other woman, Light would have rushed forward to meet him. As it was, she simply relaxed her stance a bit. He seemed to have the...Onix...he was riding under control, at least. So she'd wait for him to come to her....

Oh, who was she trying to kid. She was glad to see him after the way he'd sounded that first night. Even if he sounded a lot better now...Still, she'd walk over a bit, arms crossed over her stomach as Ponyta trotted behind her. This would be interesting.

[airwinged]

Hope nearly falls flat on his face just to get off of Onix, not even waiting for her to lower her head completely. He simply steps off, stumbles a little and regain his footing before running towards Light and forgetting she's not really a touchy person.

Screw that, he wanted to hug her.

For a moment he wondered if she was going to hit him over the head for lying and maybe being late. Then again, he deserved it, because he did tell a lie, even though he wanted to be on the move too, and not sit around while she was trying to make her way to Violet.

[soggypastry]

She was content to just walk forward to meet him, until he stumbled and she picked up the pace. But she hadn't gotten much closer before he hugged her, and she stopped dead in her tracks. But even that was for barely a moment before she hugged him back, quietly sighing in relief.

She had been worried about him, hearing about the fog and all the screaming over the Gear as people reacted to the hallucinations and their nightmares. That was a major part of why she wasn't letting go just yet. The rest? Well, she hadn't gotten to that just yet. Or to the speaking to him, either.

[airwinged]

Just what to say was a bit of a problem. Not a 'welcome back', because that would make things awkward. Neither would an 'I missed you' work so well, because that might be taken the wrong way. He stays silent for almost a whole minute before he can think up of something.

"I'm sorry."

Because he feels he needs to apologize first.

[soggypastry]

Lightning pulled away, keeping her hands on his shoulders as she gave him a stern look. Not cruel, just...disappointed. He was still young, yes, but he should have known better than to lie to her like he did.

"Don't do it again."

And with him at arms length like this, she's actually able to give him a good look over. He looked...exhausted. The Onix he'd rode in on didn't look any better. They'd probably rushed all the way down from that route they came from.

"Have you slept since the fog cleared?"

[airwinged]

He nods, eyes flicking to the ground for a second, before he reminds himself that Lightning isn't the type to be swayed by pretty eyes and weakness. So he looks up at her, right into her eyes and trying not to flinch when he imagines just how he looks right now.

"A bit, yeah." Personally, he was a little proud of himself for managing it, and maybe a little shocked that he did something as crazy and maybe as stupid as that.

He still did it though, and he'd have to stand by that fact. "I took a few naps on the way so Onix can rest too."

[soggypastry]

Lightning looked up at Onix, then back down at Hope. Never in her entire career as a member of the Guardian Corp had she seen a pair so worn out. Naps could only do so much before the lack of true sleep would take its toll.

"Then we're not going anywhere until you both have gotten a full nights sleep."

Speaking from the military side? They'd both be rather useless dead on their feet like this. From the more compassionate side she showed to Hope? She was concerned, plain and simple.

[airwinged]

He sighed. He would have argued, really, he was still okay to go, and right now, at this moment, he couldn't sleep. Maybe just a little too much adrenaline from running that short distance, and simply seeing Lightning back. And of course, he didn't want to be left behind by Ventus and his other friend.

Still... she was right. Onix was tired, and maybe he should pay a visit to the Pokémon Center to make sure. His fault, his mistake, his to take care of. And he didn't want to "return" a Pokémon that wasn't at its best to its original trainer.

He nodded. "All right. But tomorrow we'll go, right?"

[soggypastry]

With a nod, she pulled her hands from his shoulders and let them drop to her sides.

"Tomorrow. If anyone's waiting for you, let them know you're all right and we'll catch up with them." After he'd slept and Onix had rested a bit. That much she was sure of.

[airwinged]

"I think Ven and Enma can wait for a bit." Ventus was, after all, traveling too, and might take a little more time than Hope had, since he had no Pokémon to travel on.

He recalled Onix, looking very much apologetic at the Pokéball. "Can we bring her to a Center first?"

[soggypastry]

"Yeah." She'd wait till he started off back towards town, and then watch the rear. Ponyta was already trotting back the way they'd came, head held high, and she had to smile a little bit. Someone was full of themselves.

"And maybe you could help me name him." Because the only idea she had to name him was Odin. Somehow? That didn't sound right.

[airwinged]

"... Odin?"

Hope never said he was creative with the names. After all, out of five Pokémon, three had nicknames, and none of those three had original ones.

[soggypastry]

Upon hearing Hope speak that name, the Ponyta stopped and looked back at the two humans. He actually seemed to grin a bit, before he continued to trot back towards Cherrygrove. Had she been any other woman, Lightning would have stared after him, but she simply sighed and shook her head.

"Odin it is."