014, Audio [Locked]

[foolishwren]

AUDIO: PRIVATE MESSAGE TO JAMES SUNDERLAND

[It's the first time Heather's contacted James in awhile. Her voice is a little raspy and croaky for some reason, though there's forced casualness in its tone.]Hey... James

Comments

[foolishwren]

[James can be a smart cookie when he has to be!]

[Heather paused to rub her temples. They were throbbing agonizingly-- it wasn't as straight-up painful as that hangover had been, but somehow it was still worse. She could still taste salt around the corners of her mouth and it just reminded her of how long it had been since she'd broken down like that. She'd sort of thought she'd grown out of that. Turns out a year wasn't long enough.]

Yeah... yeah. He's younger, he's... from an earlier time. S'why he doesn't know me. S'not his fault.

His question made her pause again-- not out of suspicion, like she had when they'd FIRST tentatively made contact like two spooky horses on opposite sides of a fence doing that wary nose-touch before flipping their shit and bolting shut up, it's a decent analogy-- just a plain old 'I don't even know how to talk about this' pause.]

... Not... exactly, but...

[Okay, as much as she trusts James on the haunted freak-town related subjects, she's not sure she can tell the whole truth about this. Just

[foolishwren]

[Cut her some slaaaack, she kind of experienced the biggest mindfuck of the century. She's not too mentally equipped to pick up on subtleties just now!]

Just try your best. S'all anyone can do, really. [She tried her best to sound encouraging.]

[pillowichooseu]

Alright. I will.[He tried his best to sound convinced by her encouragement. How'd he do?]

So are you still in Violet? [James hasn't been keeping track of people like he had before, monotonous work is distracting after all.]

[foolishwren]

[Not too well. But hey, the effort had to count for something.]

[The question was met with a frustrated sigh.] Yeah... I was planning on leaving sooner, but... I don't really know what I'm gonna do now. So I've sort of been loitering around here.

[pillowichooseu]

Well, there is a possibility I'll be leaving Cherrygrove soon, if you are still unsure as to what to do and by some chance you are still in Violet. Maybe we can meet up again.

[There's a pause before he starts again.]

But I'm not too entirely sure you'll want to wait around that long. I heard the road to Violet is pretty dangerous since the pokemon are stronger and I haven't exactly been training mine.

[foolishwren]

I'd be up for that. [She hasn't been talking about things with anyone else-- well. She has some friends, yes, as weird as it was to admit it-- and she's not planning on pulling the Ultra Denial act, but she's not planning on telling all the details, either. James is the only one right now who can really, really understand. Their troubles were borne from the same place, even if not the same source. Her tone is a little playful.] Been awhile since I've seen your face, ya big lug.

[Then she paused. Thoughtfully.]

... Mine are pretty tough by this point. ... You want me to come meet you halfway? [Because... it wasn't like she was doing anything important in Violet.]

[pillowichooseu]

Really? [It was almost sad how much he sounded like a kid that was just allowed to stay up past their bedtime. Maybe it was because he was still getting used to the idea of people actually liking him.]

I actually would really like that, I'd feel safer if you did meet me half way. 'Fraid there isn't much I can really do with two fish and a hippolizard that I think has downs... Or that hoppip thing. [There was a string of irritation when he mentioned the hoppip. That darned thing had gotten him in trouble at work more times than he'd like to mention.]

[foolishwren]

[Hearing that tone of voice coming from a man she knew was a foot taller and at least a decade older than her almost made her burst out laughing. It was just so ridiculous. But for the sake of his dignity, she didn't. Just grinned broadly to herself.]

It's a deal, then. I don't mind leggin' it back a ways. This city's been getting on my nerves anyway. [On one hand, it was really nice being able to hang out around a bunch of people she'd become fond of-- but on the other, Heather had a restless streak and loitering around doing nothing, not even getting a job, was getting to her.] My dudes are pretty good at keeping the wildlife away.

[pillowichooseu]

[James was grateful for that, even if wasn't aware of what she was holding back from doing.]

Well, thanks I appreciate it. I'll be sure to contact you here in a day or two when I'm ready to leave. [Which this is a good thing considering it was almost seeming like James was going to sit in Cherrygrove forever.]

[foolishwren]

Yeah, just give me a holler when you leave. I'll start heading out, myself. [The landscape would probably be a little different than how it had been when she'd made the trek from Cherrygrove to Violet herself, but hopefully that wouldn't change things too much. Might even make it easier. Less undergrowth.]

It's not that bad a hike. Long, but I'm sure between us we can make it go quick, right?

[pillowichooseu]

I will. And that may be the case but I'm generally not one for the wilderness... At all. [James was no sissy but the idea of camping out in the woods again just didn't settle well with James.]

If we can make this quick, that'd be great.

BELATED REPLY CUZ I FORGOT THAT HEATHER WOULD SAY SOMETHING TO THIS HERP DERP

[foolishwren]

Hey, I'll go as fast as you can keep up with. I got this whole wilderness-traveling thing down.

[pillowichooseu]

I'll do my best and try not to slow you down.