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

When they arrive at the store for Pokemon items, it's like another world. Neither Gold nor Mycen really knows what even half the things in there are, so they just look around, kind of overwhelmed. Gold almost misses what Trip asks him, and it takes him a second to look at Trip and reply.

"Huh? Umm, not really," Gold says, kind of blankly.

It all looks bright and colorful and strange, but also useless to Gold, who's used to only needing things for survival. Other than the food, because Gold absolutely will eat Pokemon food if he has to, and Poffins and Poke Puffs look pretty good to him. ...He might stop to stare at them for a while.

Mycen then pokes Gold's hand, and points at some accessories. Gold follows where he's pointing and finds a little accessory shaped like a Paras mushroom.

"...I think Mycen wants that one," Gold says, pointing at it. Mycen nods repeatedly.

((followed back! ^^))

From:

serperiority

Trip smirked and took the Paras.
“Sure. That’s a good goal.”

He was starting to understand how Gold worked, so he took the lingering gaze as endorsement enough to discreetly stock up on Poke Puffs… and thought to buy Gold some frosted cupcakes and macarons too, as soon as he spotted a patisserie. Maybe it’ll be easier on Gold’s pride if he snuck off to buy those while Gold was busy eating?

He paid and handed Mycen the Paras charm and a tin of Pokemon food, keeping the rest in a bag.

From:

gold_drum

Mycen accepts the Paras mushroom charm and proudly puts it on his head! Now he's like a Paras! And... tries very hard to hold onto the tin of Pokemon food with his claws. Probably not the best way to feed a Pokemon? Gold takes pity on him and holds onto the tin for him.

Gold doesn't really get the point of the accessory, but Mycen seems to like it well enough, so that's fine, he supposes. More importantly, his tiredness and hunger's starting to catch up to him again, so his footsteps start getting slower again, dragging on the ground. He doesn't want to get lost again, but he's not sure what to do about it. Should he say something? Tell Trip about it? He doesn't want to bother Trip though... But after what happened in the cave, maybe it's better to say something?

"Um..." he says, pausing, hesitating. He stares at his feet, fidgets a little. "Um. Can we..." Rest? Eat? Gold doesn't know which one he should ask for, and how to ask for it without being too demanding, so he ends up just trailing off and not saying anything else. He wants to be a good kid, but he doesn't know how, so he ends up just holding back on everything in fear of being rude.

From:

serperiority

Trip picked up on Gold's slowing footsteps, paying close attention this time.

He felt a strange sort of melancholy wash over him as it truly settled in that he would have to adjust his travels to the pace of a different person now. Trip hated delays and hated to stay in any single place for long. Not that there was any need for him to rush here. Alder sir wasn't around, he didn't even know when he might see him again, so what would it all be for? Nothing would come of rushing here, would it? Maybe it's alright for him to take things slow here...

He also felt a sense of relief that Gold was opening up more to him. He knew it must have been hard for Gold to voice even that much of his needs, so he shouldn't ignore it and waste his efforts.

"I think I see some benches over there," he said, shrugging his shoulder in the direction of some. "You want to sit while I get something for us to eat?"

"Yeah."

His voice was a bit too quiet and distant sounding, so he turned, with a gentler smile. "Sure, let's rest."

From:

gold_drum

Gold is relieved Trip understood what he was trying to ask for, but also a bit ashamed he couldn't speak up. He trundles over to the bench, and sits down, looking down. He sets Mycen's food tin down on the bench beside him, and Mycen hops over to it. Gold watches him eat.

"...Sorry," Gold says quietly to Trip, before he can go get them food. "I'm slow, and I'm selfish, and I can't even pretend to be good." You should leave me behind, Gold thinks about saying, but it gets stuck in his throat because he doesn't actually want to say it, even though he thinks Trip would be better off without him.

From:

serperiority

“It isn’t your fault,” Trip said simply, although he appreciated Gold trying to speak honestly with him.

But the last part cuts him and he looked shocked, then frowned, gently placing a hand on Gold’s shoulder.

“You’ve been very good with me. I don’t care about what you did before… and it’s fine, even if you aren’t good. I’m not either. I’ve done the wrong thing too, even knowing it was wrong. Sometimes for the right reasons, sometimes just for selfish ones.

“I don’t need you to be good l. I just want to know what you want and need.”

He felt embarrassed saying something so frankly, that he turned away quickly.

From:

gold_drum

Gold looks up as Trip hold his shoulder, and listens. It's fine not to be good? That can't be true... But Trip sounds so genuine. Trip telling him he's done the wrong thing while knowing it was wrong kind of shocks him, since... That's just like Gold. He's starting to realize that Trip is a lot like him. That Trip might even understand him, more than Gold ever expected.

If that's the case, is it okay to just... be genuine with Trip and tell him what he's feeling? Because Trip gets it, and won't abandon him even if he's bad?

In that case, maybe it's okay to take a leap of faith and try it.

"Um... I'm hungry," Gold says quietly, "And my legs kinda hurt and I'm tired. But mostly I'm hungry."

From:

serperiority

"Yeah... I figured. Just rest for now, it's okay. It was a really long walk and I probably couldn't have gone this long without eating around your age."

It was an attempt at praise!

Trip looked around, trying to pick out restaurants he could see from here, but decided he'd better figure it out there. "You and Paraspor sit on the bench and wait, I'll bring food. Do you have especially like or dislike?"

He kept his tone as neutral as possible, trying to avoid anything that might make think Gold it's too much trouble.

"Better to know sooner rather than later, that's basic, right?"

From:

gold_drum

Gold nods. Wow, he really can complain without anything bad happening. He even got praised!

"Oh, um, I'll eat anything." He pauses. If it'd be useful to know something he likes or dislikes, then he has to think of something, right? But the only thing that comes to mind is his breakfast from this morning. "I like rice? And soup and veggies and fish... Oh, and I don't really like egg shells." He adds that to the end like it's a food.

From:

serperiority

That last one actually got a blink and a very brief, but genuine, laugh from Trip, although he quickly added (so that Gold won't think he said anything wrong): "I don't think anyone in existence likes eggs shells in their food, no. Don't worry, professional chefs don't make that kind of mistake... not chefs worth their salt, and not normally, anyway."

"Right. I'll get you some fish."

With that, Trip left the two. He might be a little late, as he'll try and look for a patisserie or cafe with Kalosian sweets, too, like he planned earlier when he saw Gold's fascination with the Poke Puffs.

For now, time for Gold to bond more with Paraspor?

From:

gold_drum

Gold blinks in confusion when Trip laughs. Mistake? Oh, right... People don't usually eat the shells. Still, he feels kind of defensive about it, like he should say something in defense of eating egg shells, but... it's not like he even likes them. It's whatever. He can let it pass.

"Okay," Gold says, pouting a little, as Trip leaves. Once Trip's gone, he turns to Mycen.

"Egg shells are fine to eat, okay? They're edible, and it's a waste to throw them away!" he rants, and Mycen pauses in eating and stares at him. Gold looks at Mycen with a pause, like he's imagining a response, and then says "If you wash them properly it's fine!"

Mycen just looks at him with an unreadable kind of expression and offers him a piece of his Pokemon food.

"Huh? Can I have that?" Gold asks. Mycen nods with a chitter, and Gold accepts it. "Thanks," he says, and eats it. It tastes... fine by Gold's standards. Mycen offers him more, but Gold says "Nah, it's fine. Trip's bringing me food soon, so you can keep that, okay? But that's nice of you."

And that's how they bond. By the time Trip returns, Gold's fallen asleep, sitting on the bench. Mycen's finished his food, keeping watch and glancing at each passerby that walks past. When he spots Trip, he waves a claw at him.

From:

serperiority

That... that isn't safe!

Trip hurried back, feeling frightened that Gold could so easily fall asleep in a public place like that.

"Gold!" he may have been a bit too loud and it wasn't kind to wake the boy so harshly, but he was scared.

He set the bags of food down beside him and felt immensely grateful they caught a Pokemon before this, but still looked very much on-edge.

"Good work, Mycen..."

From:

gold_drum

"Huh?" Gold blinks slowly. He didn't notice falling asleep, but it was at least a better awakening than back in the cave. He rubs at his eyes. "Hey... What's wrong?" he says as he slowly notices Trip's looking agitated. He glances around, looking for whatever might be making Trip look that worried, but sees nothing.

He wouldn't have fallen asleep in public that easily normally, but having Mycen watching out for him made him feel safe. Also, well, he hadn't slept for more than a couple hours at most last night, so...

"Yeah, good work, Mycen!" Gold might not know what Trip was talking about, but Mycen probably did a good job. Mycen makes a gesture with his claw, something probably equivalent to a thumbs-up for a human.

From:

serperiority

"It isn't safe to sleep in public like that," Trip said, trying to calm down, but his voice still sounded shaky. "... it's not like being in a Pokemon Center or hotel or even a tent out in the wilderness... people can be worse than wild Pokemon. Much worse."

That said, Gold seemed to be safe and his Paraspor was protective, so he should calm down soon, but for now... still a bit shaken up. He had two close calls in one day! How do parents even handle this?

"It's a good thing you had your Pokemon with you, but it's still best not to sleep in places like this. I'll book a room, I know where the hotels are. First, we'll eat, then... Conkelderr can carry you the rest of the way, okay?"

That seemed like a good idea, Trip decided, as he opened the bags and offered Gold a covered meal. This foil-covered meal was a fish and rice dish. Besides that, Trip also handed Gold a box of colourful French sweets and frosted cupcakes.

From:

gold_drum

"Well, yeah," Gold says with an air of 'obviously' in response to 'people can be worse than wild Pokemon'. "But I had Mycen watching out so I'm fine. Um, but sorry I scared you." Gold looks a bit guilty as he says the last part. He doesn't want to be a bother to Trip, but clearly he did something wrong again.

"Okay. I'll try not to fall asleep before we go to the hotel. Conkeldurr?" he asks, not knowing what that is. Probably a Pokemon though, he assumes.

But before waiting for an answer, Gold gets distracted by the food. The foil-covered thing smelled amazing, so Gold rips it open. Fish and rice! Gold digs in with pleasure, but then spots the other box. Huh? Gold stares at the box, then looks at Trip, like he's not sure what he's supposed to do about it. It looks too fancy for him, so it's got to be for Trip, right? So he just continues eating his meal, ignoring it.

From:

serperiority

"Mycen is still small and needs more training, you haven't tested its strength much in battle yet. But you're right, it is easier when you have a Pokemon on hand, particularly a large and intimidating one... Conkelderr is like that. He won't let anyone near."

He was genuinely adorable digging in like that, despite the nervousness and fear, Trip couldn't help cracking a small, lopsided smile at that.

"Those are for you too, you know. They're dessert. You can save them for later, if you like... but I already bought other sweets for later."

Oh, he was going to spoil Gold. At least with things he could buy.

"Don't forget how to use your utensils, like the knife and fork, okay?"

((Like so. Big scary Pokemon, ffff.))

From:

gold_drum

"Hmm..." A big, strong, intimidating Pokemon that won't let anybody near? That sounds nice. Gold wonders if Mycen will evolve into something like that. Speaking of Mycen, now that he no longer needs to be on watch, he hops down from the bench, so his mushroom reaches the ground, and curls up to take a nap.

Gold's eyes go wide at hearing the sweets are his, but, remembering what Trip taught him, he finishes chewing and swallows his moutful of food before speaking.

"For me? And there's more too?" He's utterly awed. That's so much food for him. And it's fancy food, too! He thinks he could live for like, a week or two just off the food Trip has already bought him, and he has a feeling Trip's going to keep getting him more. He doubts he can eat his entire meal and still have room for dessert, so he has to stash all of them somewhere, with the sandwich and trail mix he already stashed away before.

"Oh, right!" Gold had forgotten the knife, so he hustles to take it and start using his knife and fork properly to eat. "Umm..." he says hesitantly, while using his knife, "When we go to the stores, can I get a backbag?" He wants to store his food and carry them with him, and he's starting to realize that it's okay to make requests like this.

From:

serperiority

“A backpack’s basic for a journey, so yes, you should absolutely have one. That’s a good, smart choice.”

Then, Trip won’t have to carry both their snacks! When Gold isn’t squirreling them away in odd places they stopped at, anyway.

Well, now that Gold was going to be part of his life and it seemed possible that, in spite of Gold’s best efforts, he might not be accepted by anyone else other than Trip… hiding sweets because he didn’t feel they suit an adult and especially nor a strong one…. no longer seemed so necessary.
Trip fished out the mochi he’d saved from the Pokemon Center to eat now. He didn’t seem to pick a proper meal for himself. Maybe he wasn’t very hungry yet?

From:

gold_drum

Gold feels a swell of pride at being complimented. He made a smart choice! A good one! He finds himself smiling as he continues eating happily.

But then, when Trip takes out some mochi, Gold pauses. He looks at his own big meal, then realizes for the first time that Trip didn't bring any food for himself. ...Trip didn't eat much for breakfast, either. Gold's eating slows to a crawl and then stops completely, as he stares at his food.

Was he... eating too much? Or was Trip eating too little? Which one was it? And why?

But no matter which one it was, Gold feels like his appetite is gone.

"...You can have the rest of this," he tells Trip, pushing his food to him.

From:

serperiority

Trip blinked, then shook his head, pushing Gold’s food right back to him.

“No, thank you. That food is yours. I bought it for you. If you feel full, you can always eat the rest later, but I’m not eating right now because I want to have my lunch at the hotel. They’ve got a restaurant I like better than these. Been there before.”

Trip wondered what prompted this. Maybe he was giving Gold too much at once? Maybe Gold was simply overwhelmed? Or maybe he was still full from his big breakfast? Or…

“… if you are hingry, you should eat. Don’t try to copy me, at least, not in this. Like how much I walk, how much I eat is different too, because I’m used to travelling. You aren’t yet. Besides, you’re still small. You’re growing a lot faster than me, so you’ll need to eat more. It’s the same way with Pokemon… if we see any baby Pokemon, you’ll understand. They spend a lot of their time eating and sleeping.”

Trip realized he could use his camera for this and found some pictures of different Pokemon: nesting Flying types eagerly being fed, Liepard with many sleeping and nursing Purrloin (pictures taken in the same alleyway at night and day)…

From:

gold_drum

"Oh, okay..." Gold nods, a bit reassured! Still, he's not really hungry anymore, anyway. "Um, can I eat the rest at the hotel too? I'm fine for now."

(And really, this much food is a bit too much for him at once, and it's probably better for Gold not to try to finish his meal right now. He's been living on small portions and eating once or twice a day for a while, after all. Not that Gold consciously realizes that, but he'd probably make himself sick if he ate as much as Trip's offering him.)

"Really? I thought people who are bigger need to eat more," Gold says. He's learning a lot today, even if it kind of irks him to be compared to a baby Pokemon. He's not a baby! But he leans in to look at the photos Trip's showing him with interest. Baby Pokemon were cute, after all.

(Meanwhile, his Paraspor slept by the bench, being a baby Pokemon.)

From:

serperiority

That's understandable, Trip absolutely hated being called a child... so a comparison to a baby would be even worse! He just couldn't think of a better metaphor at the time.

"Sure."

Trip packed away the rest of the food to carry.

"To a point. When you aren't growing so fast anymore, you don't need to... come to think of it, teenagers also eat a lot, because they grow pretty quickly."

So, maybe in a couple of years, they'll both eat a lot? Something like that.

(And yes, baby Pokemon are very cute.)

"Don't forget to carry Mycen with you. Speaking of carrying... meet Conkelderr."

Trip sent out his Conkelderr, which looked quite menacing, with its unpleasant smile and wielding two concrete pillars.

From:

gold_drum

Gold just nods. People and the amounts they needed to eat were complicated, apparently, and Gold just takes Trip's word for it. He can't really imagine far enough in the future to imagine himself in Trip's age or Trip as a teenager, nor does he think he'll still be with Trip by that time, so it doesn't feel relevant to him.

Conkeldurr is menacing, indeed, but Gold just stares at it blankly, before picking up Mycen, who stirs from his sleep, and also stares at Conkeldurr. Mycen screeches in surprise, raising his claws defensively.

"It's fine, it's Trip's Pokemon," Gold says to calm Mycen down, but he's not sure what to think himself. It's Trip's Pokemon, but it looks kind of scary. Not to mention it's carrying pillars. "Um, that's gonna carry me? But its hands are full," Gold says, pointing at them.

From:

serperiority

"Like a sword, Conkelderr's pillars are an extension of its body," Trip said, gesturing as if wielding an imaginary rapier. "... it doesn't put those down, it's used to their weight. It can carry you two easily, that’s basic, isn’t that right?"

Conkelderr's expression softened considerably, and it gave a hearty little laugh before spinning one pillar to hold it side-ways, before gently lowering it.

“Conkelderr’s saying you can sit on the pillar and it’ll lift you gently.”

Almost like a swing! A very hard swing. Concrete pool noodle?

From:

gold_drum

Oh, well, that's a nicer smile. It eases Gold's worries a lot.

"Okay, that's fine then. Right, Mycen?" Gold asks the Paraspor. Mycen's still a bit rattled, but nods, since Conkeldurr seems nice enough.

And so, Gold carefully gets on the pillar, sitting down. He's a bit worried about whether he'll be able to balance on it okay, since it's round and smooth, and there's no real handholds. Actually, now that he's there, it's really scary! He can't even hold on with two hands with Mycen there to take care of! So Gold tenses up and slides down off of the concrete pillar the moment it seems like Conkeldurr's about to lift it.

"I-I can walk, actually," he says hurriedly, trying to look like it was a casual decision, but his shoulders are still tense. Trusting his life in somebody's hands while he can't do anything is still too scary.

(Trusting Mycen to keep him safe while he was sleeping was different, for reasons Gold can't articulate or comprehend. It just was.)