serperiority | [S1 Trip and younger Gold, closed to gold

The warm colours of autumnal leaves and the crisp, cool air of the changing season was similar, but not the same as it was in Unova, but even if it was, without him here, it simply wasn’t going be the same. The festival, too, for all the nostalgia it invoked in him, if it wasn’t going to lead him any closer to Alder or defeating him, it wasn’t something he should concern himself with now. He needed to train.
Things like eating sweets or enjoying the sights and sounds of a festival was for children and had no place on an adult’s world, Trip decided, and walked on.

… even with these thoughts, he still paused, briefly, here and there, to take photographs. The beauty of this season was ephemeral and while he no longer had any place here, he couldn’t ignore it or the way it made him feel, even as pursuing his goal overtook anything else…

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From:

gold_drum

Gold nods with a serious face, then peers into the cave.

"It looks like there's light in there..." So there's no need for Lampent. Good.

Gold heads into the cave, after Trip, of course. It's pretty cold inside, but he won't complain. He doesn't want to give Trip any reason to leave him behind.

From:

serperiority

Trip nodded, but said nothing, focused on reaching the end and for any potential threats from wild Pokemon they might disturb.

He would only check behind him from time to time.

From:

gold_drum

A good amount of walking later, Gold's feet start dragging, and his footsteps slowing down. He fights to keep his eyes open, but he's just too drowsy. Maybe if he just closes his eyes for a little bit while still walking...

He doesn't notice the distance growing between him and Trip.

From:

serperiority

Trip, initially, failed to notice. He had very keen eyes, but he kept them focused on the path ahead and scanned the sides. While he hated loud voices, his hearing wasn’t quite so sharp as his gaze, and he easily missed the slowing, fading footsteps (they weren’t quite so high on his priority list… he was taking more care to notice possible threats in the form of wild Pokemon!).

Maybe Gold was simply slowing down? But, it was so gradual, Trip hardly noticed when the fading footsteps ceased to be audible.

He stopped then and felt a cold panic settle in as he turned back. Was Gold still there, pausing to rest, maybe? Or had he really lost the younger boy further back along the path?

From:

gold_drum

On the verge of falling asleep and still stumbling along, Gold's foot catches onto something in the uneven floor and he stumbles, falling, only catching himself on his hands on instinct. The slam of pain on his palms wakes him up, and he blinks at the floor, uncomprehending. Then he remembers, and looks up to find Trip, but... he's gone. There's nobody around.

Oh. Right.

Gold knew Trip was going to abandon him, so he's not surprised. He blinks rapidly, stopping himself from tearing up, because he's not sad! What's the point of being sad about things that were always going to happen! He's just mad that he left his food in Trip's backbag, like an idiot. And he's mad that his hands are hurting. That's all. Gold wipes his eyes, trying to dry the tears of anger that just won't stop. This isn't the time to sit around and cry, he needs to figure out where to get food and shelter!

He hears a scratching sound and turns, heart pounding in his throat. Not a wild Pokemon!

But what he sees is just a small creature, its upper body sticking out from a mushroom. The Paraspor drags itself a little closer with its claws, mushroom coming with it, and looks curiously at Gold, chittering.

Gold stares at it. Huh. Well. That's a potential source of food.

From:

serperiority

He lost Gold! He lost the boy that was relying on him, he left him alone, without any food… what a failure of a caretaker he turned out to be!

He should never have taken him in, maybe Gold would be better off stealing, back at the festival, where he found him… what was he thinking?! If it were so easy to help people, more people would do it…

What was he even thinking?

He was too selfish to notice. He’s too self-absorbed, he never should have been trusted with anyone else.

Gold could be hurt. He could have fallen and gotten hurt, he could’ve been caught by something too quickly to make a sound.

Did he have any right to go look for him now? … yes, maybe he could still save him or at least let him know he hadn’t intentionally abandoned him? There, see? Selfish to the end…

“… Gold! Gold! Where are you?!”

From:

gold_drum

Gold sits on the ground, not making any sudden sounds, and holds out his palms towards the Paraspor to try and coax it closer. He'll be able to cook it on one of the torches in the cave. Hopefully it isn't poisonous...

But then Trip's distant shout echoes in the cave, and Gold snaps out of his survival mode. Was that his name?

Oh. Trip was looking for him? He didn't lose Gold on purpose?

Gold scrambles up, ignoring the sting of pain in his hands, ignoring how he startles the Pokemon, too relieved and desperate.

"I'm here!!" he calls out, as loud as he can, until he has to take a breath to refill his lungs, and then he shouts again. "I'm here!! Come find me!"

He's not crying. He's absolutely not crying. (He's crying.)

From:

serperiority

His voice! Gold was alive!

“Stay where you are! I’m coming!”

Trip hurried back to find him, following his voice, wondering if Gold was injured (he sounded like he might cry…), but equally happy and relieved that he was, indeed, alive.

He tried hard to bury his feelings as deep as he could and they were much harder for him to reach, so the stoicism came almost (still not entirely, despite his best efforts) naturally to him, but something that could shake him up this much… absolutely affected him to the point his own voice shook and tears stung at his eyes, even if he refused to cry.

He felt that as soon as he made sure Gold wasn’t injured, he wouldn’t let go of him until they were absolutely safe.

(If the wild Pokemon seemed any threat, he just might threaten Serperior with it too!)

Edited Date: 2022-12-03 04:25 am (UTC)

From:

gold_drum

"Okay!" Gold shouts back with a tear-cracked voice, then just stands there, sniffling, overwhelmed by relief. He's wiping his tears and snot on his sleeves, not caring, for the moment, that the hoodie is borrowed from Trip. Because Trip didn't abandon him! Despite everything, Trip's coming back for him!

The friendly Paraspor is conflicted between trying to comfort the crying human, or running to hide from all the noise. It ends up poking at Gold's leg, then skittering to hide behind a small rock nearby. Gold looks at it, confused, distracted from his crying for a moment. Then he shrugs, and turns to look in the direction Trip's voice was coming from.

The moment he sees Trip, his face explodes into a smile, a tearful yet genuine smile that Trip hasn't seen on Gold before now, and he reaches out towards Trip on instinct.

From:

serperiority

He couldn’t restrain his own happiness at finding Gold again and, when Gold reached out to him, looking none the worse, just shaken up, he wrapped his arms around his shoulders and held him close to his chest, even if he still kept the rest of him at a distance.

“… I’m glad you’re safe…”

He caught sight of the Paraspor earlier as he ran, just before it retreated and, wondered.

“… did that Pokemon scare you or did you want to catch it? A Pokemon would help keep you safe on a journey. That’s basic.”

What a rookie mistake… if he couldn’t keep an eye on Gold at all times, he should have a Pokemon to keep him safe.

From:

gold_drum

Gold grabs onto Trip's shirt, but doesn't cling closer since Trip isn't hugging closer either. He just holds on very tightly. This is more of a hug than Gold remembers ever getting, so he wants to hold it a little bit longer, and won't let go until Trip does. He can't believe he's this lucky, to have met someone like Trip.

"Huh? Oh, that guy?" Gold asks, glancing at the Paraspor, which is peeking out from behind the rock. "Um, I dunno... I guess a Pokemon would be handy?"

Something to defend himself with, and maybe a potential food source if things turn out badly? Yeah, if Gold can have that he'll take it.

From:

serperiority

That’s good, it kept it from being too uncomfortable for Trip, so he didn’t mind Gold continuing to hold on. He wasn’t letting go entirely either, although his grip was a bit looser and he soon removed a hand to take out a pokeball.

“I could battle it and capture it for you.”

He assumed it would be necessary, but it might just choose to come along without a battle!

From:

gold_drum

"Okay. Um, I dunno how to do it myself," Gold says, still clinging to Trip. He feels like he needs to make some sort of an excuse to not do it on his own.

Gold isn't the type of kid who'd go out and befriend a Pokemon on his own, and it seems this Paraspor is a bit too skittish to approach too, now that there's another human involved. But it does come out from behind the rock, seeing that the small human seems to have found safety with a bigger human. How nice to see a parent-and-child show of affection, it thinks.

Seems like a battle might be necessary, since the Paraspor is too shy to invite itself along!

From:

serperiority

“Lampent and Tranquill both have the advantage here, so… come on out, Tranquill!”

Trip tossed the pokeball and, in a shower of sparkling light, Tranquill emerged, stretching its wings and crying out.

“Aerial Ace!”

Tranquill will dive down to strike, then quickly turn to fly back up, striking in the opposite direction, along the same path.

From:

gold_drum

Gold's never seen a Pokemon battle this close up, so he cranes his head to watch.

Paraspor is struck! It hits the ground and skids a little, letting out a pained noise, then releases a cloud of Stun Spore at Tranquill in retaliation.

From:

serperiority

"Tranquill, clear it away with Air Cutter and get out of there!"

With two powerful beats of its wings, the resulting sharpened winds scissoring through the spores and scattering them, Tranquill flew away.

Trip covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve and pulled Gold's head closer, to block his mouth and nose with cloth, trying to make sure he doesn't inhale it either. He won't block his view.

"Don't breathe it in, it'll paralyze you."

From:

gold_drum

Gold nods, trying to hold his breath. On the bright side, an excuse for more hugging! This isn't so bad.

Paraspor can't reach Tranquill for a Scratch, so it just kind of ends up flailing about, releasing more Stun Spore. Somebody should probably put a stop to that before the cave ends up full of spores.

From:

serperiority

Cherish it, Gold, it's not likely to repeat, Trip just isn't a hugger.

This was getting bad, they should wrap this up quickly.

"Tranquill! Work Up and finish it with Air Cutter, aim for Paraspor itself this time! And don't get close!"

From:

gold_drum

Paraspor is Air Cuttered! And falls on its back, a bit stunned and unable to right itself.

Gold, meanwhile, is still holding his breath as instructed, even as it's starting to be a painful struggle. Trip's talking, so maybe it's okay to breathe, but he doesn't want to risk it. Being paralyzed sounds scary.

From:

serperiority

He didn't expect Gold to take it so literally! He won't notice until Gold starts to writhe or make sounds... he was too focused on the battle.

"Right! Return."

Trip tossed a pokeball to capture Paraspor and recalled Tranquill to its pokeball.

He coughed a little into his sleeve, but otherwise... it didn't look like they could clear this all away, so it was best to escape!

From:

gold_drum

Gold can't take it anymore, but he has an idea. He tugs at Trip's clothes, covering his face with cloth, and takes a gasping breath of air through it, figuring it'd probably filter enough. He coughs, then shuts his mouth, holding his breath again.

The Pokeball jiggles once, twice, thrice... and poof! Congratulations! Trip has caught a Paraspor! (Male, level 6, knows Scratch, Poisonpowder and Stun Spore.) Would you like to nickname it?

From:

serperiority

That. Is uncomfortable and bizarre, but he hadn’t expected Gold to take his advice not to breathe it in as to not breathe period.

He was impressed by the resourcefulness, though. It would make a fairly decent filter, especially for something as large as spores. Gold’s clever. Trip appreciates clever. He’s intelligent, well-read, and rational to a fault, which isn’t quite the same as being clever and resourceful!

“It’s caught, let’s get out of here.”

Trip quickly seized the pokeball and ran, half-carrying Gold (… if he’s as light as he looked, Trip could possibly carry him properly for the paces until they cleared the area).

Gold can name Paraspor later if he wanted to, most important thing now was to get out of here!

From:

gold_drum

"Bwah!" Gold is indeed light enough to be carried, but he's pretty surprised to suddenly get picked up and carried off. So, if they're running away from the spores, it's safe to breathe, right? Well, he'll catch his breath then, while holding onto Trip and letting himself be carried. He glances at the Pokeball in Trip's other hand. So that's his Pokemon now? Huh.

Once he's let down a safe distance away, he'll reluctantly let go of Trip and hold out his hands for the Pokeball.

From:

serperiority

Trip stopped to catch his breath then, too, but handed over the pokeball when Gold reached for it.
“It’s yours to take care of. Officially, I caught it, but it’s yours. It should keep you safe and someday, you can go on your own journey together.”

He paused, then smiled at Gold.
“You can call Paraspor out. This its hone, so it should know the place well. You can get to know each other, it’ll make it easier to command…”

Edited Date: 2022-12-06 08:04 pm (UTC)

From:

gold_drum

Gold accepts the Pokeball, then stares at it, blinking in surprise. This is a weird Pokeball, he thinks, turning it around in his hands. Isn't he supposed to be able to see the Pokemon inside? Trip's words take his mind off of that, though, and he looks awed.

"I can really go on a journey with it?" he asks. And it'll keep him safe... That sounds great. If he had this back in Johto, he could've left home and survived on his own. And now he can still do that, in case Trip abandons him.

That thought gives Gold a bit of a pause. Trip came back for him already, so maybe he won't abandon him at all? ...No, life can't be that convenient and easy. He'll definitely abandon Gold some day, once he's gotten tired of him. But Gold will keep Paraspor. No matter what happens.

Then Trip smiles, and Gold wonders if maybe life can be that convenient and easy. Maybe Trip is too nice to abandon Gold even if he's annoying. And maybe Gold will find a million in cash lying around. Yeah, right.

"Okay," he says, and tries to copy what he's seen Trip do. "Um, Paraspor, come out!"

And Paraspor appears, looks around in surprise, then at Gold. Well, this kid's looking better than before, he thinks, and waves a claw. Gold waves back, and crouches to look at him closer.

"What's your name?" he asks. Paraspor chitters, and Gold nods. "Uh-huh," he says, not understanding a word. "I'll call you Mycen!" The newly named Mycen the Paraspor raises his claws up with a loud, surprised-sounding chittering sound, but doesn't seem threatening. More like an exaggerated expression of surprise, and it makes Gold giggle a bit. "You're gonna be with me from now on, Mycen!"