[open mingle] the return of the champion.

[holdmyhand]

Who: Luna! And! You!
What: She's been gone for a whole month! And! Now she's back in action!!! Come and meet Incineroar and Ribombee!
When: Around the end of April/beginning of May.
Where: Enso.
Warnings: C FOR Y'ALL ARE A BUNCHA CUTIES (I'll update this with warnings as needed!)



(A / outside, on the beach.)

[ those who may know Luna, might notice that she has... a new, large friend, who is sitting with her a good distance away from the water. Atop her red cap, rests another smaller pokemon, who's wings flutter occasionally.

She hasn't quite found the energy to get up and explore yet. The small bug atop her head occasionally retrieves shells, and a small pile is sitting in front of her for inspection...which she has decided to tackle first.

One thing at a time, Luna. One shell at a time, one island at a time. ]

These are all really pretty, Reebo! [ she holds up a sand dollar-- which...is that even a real shell? Is it Jormun currency? She smiles fondly at the memories. Hopes they're doing well. ] Kitten, what do you think?

[ the large fire cat yawns in response. Bored eyes watch the shell for a moment, and then glance back toward the mainland. Luna grins at him. ] You wanna go look around, huh? [ that gives Kitten a more interested look, and Luna laughs. ] We'll go a little later. There's a whole new island, buddy! Lots of people to meet and places to go!!

[ Luna has to withhold her snort when Incineroar gets fired up for exploration. The heat radiates off of him in a familiarly pleasant way, and she can't keep the smile off her face.

She missed this excitable idiot. ♥ ]

(B / private to housemate.)

[ she's been back since this morning. A back ache informs her that..she didn't wake up in her bed this time. The crashing of the tide, while similar, is...not what she was expecting. An initial glance around reminds her of something she feels like she forgot for a long time. A little room-- a slumbering giant; their once happy little shack...and it looks like it's been blown through by a hurricane. Dread courses through her veins-- what happened while she was gone? Their last get together refreshingly cycles through her mind. Fireflies...and a sleep over? They danced. She laughed...they all did. Even Guzma.

She bites her lip. Guzma.

With a little work, she rises and moves some debris from her hammock-side with a slow movement of her arm. It's a mess, but...that guy over there? Sleeping awkwardly in his little hammock? Has been sleeping in this mess...for who knows how long. Luna watches her friend's back-- the rise and fall of his shoulder, and wonders if she should wake him. ]

Guzma?

[ Luna pulls herself to her knees, her palm pressing into the floor and-- and into a small shard from a broken glass. She makes a small, distressed noise and brings her hand to her side-- no damage to her, but surprise, for sure. ]

Hey...wake up.

(C / wild card?)

[ Luna will be everywhere in the next couple of days. She'll be exploring the island idly with her companions and visiting other places and JUST ABOUT ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF MAN, so if you have anything or anywhere you want to meet this little tyke and/or her pokemon, just drop it here. ♥ ]

Comments

[holdmyhand]

[ Months.

The word echoes around in her mind and her fingers search for something to hold on to. This place has-- it's because she's been gone for that long? Luna searches his face for the truth-- searches for something that would give away such a bold...

But finds nothing. His whole body seems more slumped and hunched than normal.

His questions make her slump a little. When she went back, it just felt like normal. She should have said more-- should have visited more people. Her eyes well up with regrets. No one is too young for them, after all, and now Luna has her share, small as it is. Her hands come up when the water threatens to spill and fingers roughly rub the tears right out. Now isn't a good time to cry. She needs to-- need to fix what happened. Help repair the shack, go and find her friends here.

See the Storyteller.

Her shoulder shakes just once, and she nods, waiting to speak until she can uncrumple her face enough to not start crying upon the first word.

When is a good time to cry, if not now?

She doesn't know. Won't know any time soon. ]

I went home...and didn't ever know I was gone in the first place. [ her eyes are focused on places where happy memories occurred. A sleepover with Ren. Playing with a broken pokedex until they passed out. ] Lillie left on her own adventure. I...p-promised I'd meet her there and test her when she came back. That we'd write letters...

And...I became the champion. Of the Pokemon League.

[ it sounds harder than she wants it to, but next to her friends, next to Guzma and Ren, and everyone here...it feels so unimportant. She feels so unimportant.

That urge to cry grows, and Luna hushes it again. Not now. ]

[yallstupid]

[Guzma loosens his grip, but only a little, when Luna shifts her position in his arms. Their eyes meet, and he he can see the regret shimmering in the tears she holds back - the guilt... He feels sick, and also somewhat relieved. Is it bad? Is it bad that Guzma feels glad that Luna feels guilty about all this? And upset to the point of tears? It feels like his own anger and grief is justified somehow, but at the same time...

She's just a little girl. A little girl who's been held to a higher standard than a little girl ever should. It's not fair. It's not fair to blame her for something she couldn't control, and for her to have to try and act older than she is.]

Dang you sure do make a lotta promises. S'bout time you caught up yo me, though...Champ. [Guzma sighs, stands up, and helps Luna to her feet as well - so they're not kneeling on the hard floor.] C'mere...

[He pats the girl's head and smooths back her bangs before looking around their home and rubbing the back of his neck, fingers scraping through his stubby, black hair.] I, uh...I made a real mess of the place, huh? If you don't say nothing and help me fix all'a this, then I won't say nothing 'bout you up and spilling your guts. Can't say I have in a whole long time, so I may not be the best person 'round to do that near, but...

Y'don't wanna be like me, kid. [So go on and cry. If you need to, if it'll help, it's okay. Guzma hasn't had tears to shed in over a decade, so you can cry for him, too.]

[holdmyhand]

It's not my fault... [ she huffs, standing to her feet, the tears slowly trickling down her face. she swabs them away messily. ] N-not my fault she left on her own amazing ad-adventure...

[ and not her fault that she ended up here in the first place at all. He tries to smooth over the actual problem by commenting on a smaller problem-- the room they were standing in. She laughs softly, her head falling against his chest. So stupid, this guy. What a dummy.

And yet, it's comforting. Just what she needed. Another oddity of Guzma's. He'd probably have a word to say when she sneaks out to go on adventures but...same old Guzma. She shuts her eyes tightly-- Luna can be comforting too. Guzma's been alone this whole time. Without restraint (but some hesitation), she throws her arms around his midsection in an awkward and short little hug. A comfort circle-- that's what this is. Guzma comforts, Luna comforts. ]

I-it's a wreck... [ muffled through his shirt a bit, but still talking, and even loosing a chuckle. ] ...you're d-dramatic...

[ a mistake has been made-- she's crying now, the whole eyeballs sweating business, but...she doesn't want to show that to Guzma? It's weakness? What if he comforts her more? She's not entirely sure how to be comforted. Normally it's Luna that does the comforting. And she was basically on vacation-- is she even allowed to cry? She's been gone for months, he said.

But this spot is safe. A safe place. With a guy who is...safe. A friend. ]

[yallstupid]

[She laughs, and Guzma counts it as a small victory. He's not the best at this in any sense - in the past he'd never let a soul this close to him, but Luna is...well, she's become something important to him. He's not as bad a person as he says he is when she's around. Maybe that's why he regressed as badly as he did when she left? Luna always was tougher than him, and she could easily keep him in line. One of the few, actually.

He inhales a bit when those little arms close around his middle, but doesn't push her off. He hugged her first, had to make sure she was really there, and now she needs him to be there for her, too. Breathing out the breath he took, Guzma runs his fingers through his hair before reaching over and tugging a handful of his blanket over, for her to wipe her face. No nose-blowing, please.]

Yeah, yeah...that'd be me - your boy, Guzma. [He shifts, leaning down to pick Luna up and carry her out of the dark and messy shack.] C'mon, let's get you outta this dump. We can fix it up later, yeah? And heck knows I probably need a good scrub, too.

[It's true. Guzma's definitely looking very haggard. He also needs a shave, too, his stubble is pretty bad around his face and chin.]

[holdmyhand]

[ she takes it with both hands, pressing it into her face to try and absorb the tears. A soft cough escapes her; a desperate attempt on her body's behalf for air, and she laughs again between muffled coughs. ]

'Kay... [ give her a second, Guzma, she's just trying to figure out how to be a tough kid again, He lifts her up effortlessly, and she takes in a deep breath, loosing the blanket to the ground as he steps out into the hot sun. He takes a crack at himself and she can't help but grin awkwardly, rubbing her eye areas with her forearm. ]

Yeah...can't tell if that's you or our dump. [ she pets his head a bit. ] No worries. We'll fix it!

[ not that he seemed particularly worried about the shack being in shambles. But whatever, man, one step at a time. ]

[yallstupid]

Eh... Prob'ly me.

[He mumbles absently, though the tone of his voice has shifted with her laughter. It's clear there's a small smile growing on Guzma's face as they walk out into the midday sun. He sets Luna down onto gather up their supplies quickly - he really wasn't kidding about going to clean off. Guzma comes back with their towels and seems to hastily shove their travel size bottles of shampoo and conditioner into his pockets. Once that's out of the way, he offers the girl his hand to hold.]

Yeah, not...now though. [He desperately needs some restful sleep, and a good meal, and a whole lot more than that, but. It helps. Getting out, being there with Luna...it helps a whole lot.]