Home Never Felt so Alone (Open)

[LUCIA BLAKE]

///I am not all of what you make of me\\\

How long had it been since she had set foot here last? The years were countless, and though Luce tried to recall what was still left of a memory of childhood, she couldn't quite draw up what was similar or different about this place. In truth she didn't see much that should have changed; the statues were part of the tradition, and the old buildings should have been here and there where she expected them to be when she turned her head. There was little here that had any sort of reason to be changed despite the number of years she had been gone. Except there had been a reason, and the workings of the Knights had done much to force change to come to this part of the world, Azalea Town included. There was a moment of pain that flashed through Luce's heart, echoing in the blue of her eyes as she paused in her steps by the side of a ruined statue. Pieces lay strewn across the land, and despite how much she knew what it was supposed to look like, the slowpoke-esque figure seemed twisted and cruel in what had been left in tact.

Shaking her head the remorse fell from her thoughts as quickly as it had gone by, but the look remained as it should, schooled into place by the same amount of years that she had been gone. That time she had learned to live on what she could, and she had never even dared to dream to rise so high, but it had taught her to play a different part than what she felt. So that expression of worry and fretfulness stayed put, and she passed it along from town person to town person when she happened across someone. Few recognized her. Johto had been too ravaged by the Knights' ambitions to be left with a care of the outside world. Luce did not even try to consider that her success in other regions would have been heard here. Besides, who would ever link that same tiny girl who used to live with her dysfunctional family here to be the young woman walking among the ruins being rebuilt this day?

Perhaps it was some cruel trick of fate that had left her old home one of the lesser destroyed buildings, and as her eyes narrowed on its form and the mis-kept yard surrounding it, Luce couldn't help but curse it mentally. Why of all the places had this one stayed almost whole; or as whole as you could call it. Her gaze passed over, or raked over was more like it, the damaged shutters, the door hanging off its hinge, the weeds that grew up the sides, and the two pidgey that rested at the top looking at her in a curious fashion. This is your home now I suppose. Stupid birds. You're fools to even try living happily here. For a moment the idea crossed her mind, almost impishly, that she should scare them off or make them pay for landing in such a place. It would only prove herself right after all to share that misfortune, but something stopped her and kept her fingers from completely closing around the pokeball at her hip.

"Do you need some help miss?"

Blinking and pulling that shy and sorry look back over her features Luce turned to look at the old man with his grandson, a kind expression on her face. "No, no thank you. I'm just traveling through..." The little boy looked up at her with a curious expression on his face, and stepping forward he tried to reach up to poke at the eevee that lay wrapped around her neck, head tucked in against her auburn hair. "Are you lookin' for someone too miss? We keep lookin' for my mamma, don't we grandad?" There was a determined expression on the child's face now, a sort of sullen promise and misunderstanding. It was hope she realized, and Luce couldn't help but quirk her lips into a smirk which she hid with a duck of her head toward the eevee's fur, nuzzling in against the young pokemon's body and warmth. "No, I'm not looking anymore. Some things just tend to never be found for us...but we it all works out how it's meant to in the end."

Taking another look at the wreckage of her past Luce shook her head slightly, walking past the old man who was still silently watching her. "You look familiar lass...perhaps we've met somewhere before?" The look he set her with was one somewhere settled between curiosity and skeptism, and she only gave him a blank and innocent look in return before shrugging a single shoulder and wrapping her arms around her waist. "I doubt it. Even if we had, I cannot guarantee that the person here now is the same one that you knew back then." Despite her walking away Luce could hear the hushed tone of the man's wife as she shuffled beside him, and Luce ducked her head down as she turned the corner and headed toward the forest.

"Don't you know who that is Arnold? That's one of the Blake children, come home she has I see. Bessy next door did say she had heard the girl had gotten herself into things; big coordinator and all that over in Hoenn and Kalos. If you ask me I'd be curious as to what she's doing here....never mind though. Timmy it's time for you to head in now, go on. You can search more for your mother later....you really shouldn't fill his head with such thoughts dearie...you know that she's as good as lost."

And perhaps for the best then too, it's easier when you learn to lose the people close to you, it doesn't hurt so much later on then. Shaking her head as she walked past the line between the forest and the town's edge, Luce stopped and sighed, leaning against a tree trunk as she curled her fingers gently into the fur of her eevee's coat as she whispered in a hushed tone. "Oh Anna...maybe I should never have come home. If I hadn't been needed in Goldenrod, I would never have said yes."

[PEARL]

Maybe taking a trip to Johto wasn't a good idea. The damage he had expected was much weaker than what actually had happened. Once he'd set foot in Olivine City's dock, he knew really the horrors that Johto had recently faced. The Lighthouse was nearly destroyed, though they had put a building skeleton around it for support and were back to building it. As far as the rest of the port town went, everything was in shambles. It seemed sad to see the once great port town he'd heard so much about in pieces. He'd never visited before in its glory, but he sure wasn't going to anytime soon.

Pearl had recently came to Johto because of his Father. When he'd visited the Fight Area, his Father mentioned a lot of the repair work and funds that the Battle Frontier made going to Johto and the other wrecked cities efforts of repair. Pearl was curious to see just how badly Johto had been hit, so he'd ventured there himself. Besides, he also knew that some of the other Dex Holders lived in Johto and he was wondering if they were alright. He'd managed to find himself inside Ilex Forest now, wandering over fallen tree branches and other objects that had managed to make its way into the forest. Wandering around in an unfamiliar region wasn't exactly comforting either.

The blonde huffed a sigh to himself, checking his Pokech map a few times. Unfortunately, Poketch's didn't seem to work in the Johto region but Pearl was stubborn enough to assume that would be a compatible feature. So far all it had done was get him running in circles around the dense forest. Definitely frustrating and trying his already small patience. His Luxray that walked beside him helped calm his nerves about being alone for the time being, but it was still annoying to walk into a tree if you took a wrong turn. Pearl wasn't about to let the stupid forest beat him! He definitely was going to get out and laugh in its face when he did. Er, if it had a face.

"I'm starting to think trusting technology is a bad thing..." Pearl mumbled to himself. His Luxray's ears twitched, glancing upward at the thinning trees. Sunlight was few in the forest, but with the many fallen trees it was brighter than normal so Pearl was told when he'd first entered the forest. He'd noticed too, though it seemed like the trees here were thinning out. Hopefully that meant they were near an exit. The Pokemon seemed pleased at its trainer's notice. The Lion Pokemon did give a soft growl though when it noticed a figure nearby. It was dark and hidden by most of the foliage around them, but the Lion Pokemon's X-Ray vision could see them. Torahiko lightly pawed at Pearl's pants, the blonde glancing down from his useless Poketch.

"What?" Was his annoyed reply before the Luxray pointed his nose out towards the figure. Pearl squinted to see what exactly the Pokemon was trying to get him to see. He couldn't really see anything at first, almost thinking his Pokemon was playing a joke. Torahiko didn't seem like the joke type though. He took a few steps forward and looked again though this time he could see slight movement, though he couldn't make out the figure exactly.

"Is that a person, you think?" Pearl asked the Pokemon below him. The Electric type shrugged as best it could, trotting forward. Pearl frowned. Yes, they were lost and yes they needed directions besides a dumb Poketch, but maybe they shouldn't be so trusting of strangers. After all, it was a different region. For all they knew, more Knight goons could be hanging around. Then again, this region didn't have anything very important to them any longer. It couldn't hurt he supposed. Pearl adjusted his green muffler before following after his Pokemon who was a few paces ahead of him. They were still a distance away from the figure, but Pearl could make it out to be a person of some sort.

"Uh, excuse me!?" Pearl cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled as best he could, "Do you mind helping us?" Hopefully he'd been heard.

[LUCIA BLAKE]

///I am not all of what you make of me\\\

She hadn't been expecting another person to be speaking to her so soon, so when Luce jumped slightly at the voice shouting so near to her, it wasn't all just an act as much as actual surprise. Blinking, she turned toward the direction the cry had come from, eyes gazing around her trying to find the source before Anna around her neck nudged her cheek and pointed in the right direction. The eevee's ears flicked against her skin, and for a moment she giggled at the tickling sensation before stepping a bit closer to the young man's form. Perhaps if she had known before hand who it was she would have acted somewhat differently, may have put on a shy act instead, but when she finally was close enough to recognize the trainer, she hid the twisted delight in a soft smile as she nodded her head in answer to him.

"No, I don't mind. Are you both alright? Injured or just lost?" The young woman once again pulled a concerned look to her face, her words seeking out information on the Dex Holder as much as she could. It was for reasons like this that she breathed in relief for her own secrecy about her position with the Knights. After all, it would be quite difficult still to do her job as a top coordinator while people knew she wasn't just some grunt, but the Knight Upsilon in the Arceus' troop coordinators. No, her job was to be a face, a neutral party to help distract and mediate with a soft smile all the while gathering information for the others. It was her place among them, but that didn't mean she did not recognize a Dex Holder when she saw one. Pearl. She had spent much time in the Hoenn region anyhow, it being one of the first places she had started gaining success as a coordinator. She had heard about the trio's deeds, and she knew well enough to push that down too though if she were to not gain suspicion.

Anna meanwhile had taken to looking at the Luxray, the Eevee tilting her head and curling up more against Luce's neck and tucking her head into her hair until the color almost matched or was hidden by the auburn locks. With a small laugh though the pokemon's trainer pulled her away and down into her arms, tickling under the cream chin before setting her on the ground so she could sniff at the larger pokemon from the safety of her legs. "She's not usually so shy. I don't think she's ever met a Luxray before though, just some pokemon my friends and I have." That was truth at least. The eevee was only a few weeks hatched, stolen though from the egg she had taken after failing to get a breeder studying evolution to the Knight's cause. It had gained her a new pokemon though, and one she had quickly grown fond of. Eying the young man again she tried to match what she had learned about each Dex Holder to what she could see now, all the while making tiny adjustments to the part she was playing in order to seem harmless, sweet, gentle and perhaps a bit shy of the new comer.

"Are you from here? I...I was just coming back home to see the state of things. It's so sad what's happened here. I can't believe nature could do so much harm." Again, that was a semi-truth. It had quite shaken her when she had first seen and known what the Knights could do with Arceus' power, but it was something that she had quickly grown to accept and even cherish. They held that in their hands, and it only made her want to understand more. Tilting her head slightly she watched as Anna stepped forward toward the Luxray, mimicking his movement and stance childishly.

[PEARL]

Pearl seemed to catch the figure's attention as it seemed to look around for his voice. He was relieved to be heard, though he managed to get his foot caught under some foliage on the ground. He tripped, but managed to catch himself by gripping the nearby trees. His Luxray nudged his foot to help free him as he stumbled forward near the figure, who had surprisingly gotten much closer than he remembered. It was mostly because he'd been distracted, but nonetheless he could tell now it was a young woman.

Torahiko stepped over some branches to his trainer's side, eyeing the newcoming slightly. While the Luxray's appearance made it seem suspicious it was more it's curiosity than anything. He managed to catch her question, brushing his orange and white striped jacket slightly.

"Ah, we're fine. I hate to admit it, but we're a bit lost." Pearl said reluctantly. He shuffled his feet slightly as he stood with the woman. He hated to admit that it hadn't been his smartest idea, and he didn't mind 'roughing it' every once in awhile. Though going in circles for hours wasn't on his 'To Do' list. Now that he was up close, he could tell he hadn't seen this person before. Unless it was in the battling circuit, Pearl didn't really take notice otherwise.

There was Miss Fantina who was a part-time coordinator, but the only time Pearl had really taken interest in that was when the Little Miss wanted to try it. Pearl noticed the woman's own Pokemon moving around slightly around her neck before she finally removed it. An Eevee, huh? He personally only had seen a few of those Pokemon before and he was a little impressed that she owned one. They were hard to come by in most regions, though he had heard in Kalos and Unova they were more abundant.

"Oh, she seems like a nice Pokemon. I must say I'm impressed you have an Eevee, those Pokemon are pretty rare where I come from. Torahiko, play nice okay? My Luxray's met a few types before personally, but he's mostly just close to me, heh." Pearl looked towards his Luxray, who had been watching the woman closely. Torahiko had joined him what seemed like a long time ago, but their first meeting had been when he was a Luxio in his Clan of Shinx and Luxio. When he joined his team permanently he had been a Luxray then. The Electric type looked up towards its trainer before turning its head back towards the younger Pokemon, leaning down so their eye's were level. Torahiko sniffed the tiny Pokemon. This woman didn't seem bad in any sense at least. He blinked when she began speaking, feeling some sympathy for the woman. She must've gone through a lot if she was just returning here.

"No, I'm not from here. My name's Pearl. I came from Sinnoh to Johto to see just how bad the damage was, but my Poketch doesn't really come with a map feature for Johto. We got lost in here on our way around the region. I'm really sorry for your loss, but I appreciate your willingness to help us. I wanted to make it to New Bark Town at least, and the person I asked said I'd have to go through Ilex Forest." Pearl glanced at his feet briefly before looking back at her. The Knights sure had power, he could admit that. This was just one bit of proof. The whole region had been made an example of, which was definitely terrifying. He wasn't sure what he would do if Sinnoh had been destroyed like that. Torahiko growled softly in amusement at the fox Pokemon's childish act. He lowered himself into a playful bow while swirling his tail a little.

[LUCIA BLAKE]

///I am not all of what you make of me\\\

"No need to feel bad about being lost. The forest tends to do that to people if you're not used to it." Shrugging her shoulders, Luce gave a sympathetic look to the young man, knowing full well the truth in what she said. There had been many times when she had still lived here that she had found herself unknowingly getting lost until her older brother had come and found her. She was almost relieved when he didn't seem to notice her from anywhere. It did make it that much easier at times, especially when Lucia was already in a place she didn't want to associate with. Only those extreme fans and people she was close to knew about her past. It, funnily and ironically enough, was one of the few safe havens in her memories and history. Her past being a place that few knew about, and even fewer had heard about from her directly.

The look at Anna didn't go unnoticed though, and Luce had already started to become accustomed to that particular glance with her dragonair Rain. Well, technically Damion's dragonair if you go by who caught it versus who raised it. That was technicalities though, and Rain was hers now whether the other Knight wanted the rare pokemon back or not. That was besides the point though, the real focus being that she had already become accustomed that particular look and all the ways it came. Some found it out of amazement, others out of jealousy. This one seems more the former than the latter though thankfully. Nodding at his next set of words though, Luce looked back down at Anna who had gone back to sniffing the luxray curiously. "Depends on the part of the world, I got her from a breeder in Kalos personally." 

Not a complete lie, just a partial truth. That was Luce's favorite game to play. All the while though she took what he said and stored it for later information, keeping a track of it in her mind mentally. At the sniff that was returned by the luxray, Anna jumped a bit with a happy squeak and ran around his legs, bounding from one paw to the other excitedly. The playfulness was almost too much for Luce, and she was forced to hide the roll of her eyes and smile with a simpler nod of her head. She was supposed to be upset after all, not just entirely taken by her pokemon's antics. "Pearl's an interesting name, I'm Luce and that's Anna." If he didn't know who she was, it was best to just play it cool and not know who he was either; common curtesy if you will in the most twisted of senses. 

"I just came from Kalos, I do a lot of work there as a coordinator." Again another half truth. She reached into her bag to look at the map she had brought, not that the young woman particularly needed it in her home region. She knew this part of Johto far too well. "You're not far off. I'm heading through the forest myself toward Goldenrod. If you keep heading past the Slowpoke Well down that way and through the route you'll eventually get there. Another couple of days give or take depending on how fast you travel. Some do it in a day if they can fly, others take longer." Shrugging once more she rocked onto her heels before looking back at the eevee playing still between the luxray's legs. "I'm glad that I could help, I wouldn't want you getting lost and something happening to you, that'd just be awful."

[PEARL]

Pearl shrugged in defeat at her sympathetic glance. He knew she was right about not feeling bad, but it did hurt his pride a little. The blonde would just be sure not to mention it to Platinum or Dia later. It really wouldn't be a topic that would be on the top of his mind anyway. The woman he had met seemed nice enough, especially clearing his doubts on the subject, so he let his guard down. With the Knights' threat, he couldn't help but feeling a bit on edge even in a wrecked place like this. At least he had his Pokemon with him, and his friends could take care of themselves as far as he knew.

"Thanks, it's definitely a relief. I honestly haven't traveled much beyond Sinnoh." Pearl admitted. Eterna Forest was probably the brunt of a forest that was easy to get lost in Sinnoh. He remembered visiting the Old Chateau back with Dia back when Team Galatic was a threat. He'd wanted to visit other regions, but he really didn't. The blonde had been caught up with Manzai routines and training with his Master, Crasher Wake. Her comment about Kalos was definitely interesting though.

Pearl really shouldn't have been surprised though. After Johto being destroyed it would make sense that some people had possibly relocated to Kalos or other regions. Torahiko seemed to be enjoying himself with the woman's Eevee. The lion-like Pokemon watched the younger squeak in excitement and bounce around his paws. The bigger Pokemon occasionally lifted a paw to let the other Pokemon continue it's fun. Torahiko almost seemed at a loss what to do, not being used to a Pokemon with energy like this one. The blonde managed to find himself watching the two from the corner of his eye before he heard his name again.

"Ah, yeah it is. I guess my mom just enjoyed gemstones," He rubbed the back of his head, "It's nice to meet you, Luce, and Anna too. Luce is a pretty interesting name too." Torahiko gave a soft growl in reply, lowering his tail to sweep across the ground. Pearl's interest was peaked when she mentioned being a coordinator in Kalos. He didn't even know contests were being held in Kalos. Then again, he didn't know much about Kalos to begin with besides a few things mentioned here and there. She instructed him on how to get to New Bark Town, even mentioning where she was headed. A few days to get there, huh? Not exactly very fast, but he was sure Torahiko could help it go along faster. The Pokemon let him ride on his back for good distances and was a speedy runner when in top condition. It almost reminded him of Platinum's Rapidash and their days spend together when he and Dia were 'bodyguards'. He internally waved away the memory for now though.

"Thanks for the information, I don't know how I would've made it past this forest. We might be able to cut down on travel time if I can catch a ride with Torahiko. I didn't know Kalos had coordinators there. I'll guess you're a pretty good coordinator if you can come back here from working so much in Kalos? Are you heading to Goldenrod for another contest? It seems like it was rebuilding well when I passed through, I dunno if they hold contests there." Pearl asked, his curiosity peaked. He hadn't really thought about coordinator stuff since Little Miss' run, but he wasn't in a big rush to get to New Bark Town.

[LUCIA BLAKE]

///I am not all of what you make of me\\\

It was never clear to Lucia how she could tell when someone was beginning to let their guard down. With some it was that they started talking more, others physically began to relax to the point that the change became something visible. Either way, something began to tick off that particular sense in the Knight's head, and she once again adjusted accordingly, forcing her own body to relax slightly and seem more at ease as well. Picking up on her trainer's change of state Anna too continued to play and relax, unknowingly being part of the catalyst that had begun such a thing even occurring.

"No problem. I've only travelled here and there when I've been to different circuits." Even then that was only another half-truth though, and Luce gave a small shrug of her shoulder and pushed some auburn hair behind an ear. The honest truth was that she had travelled far before she had started working as a coordinator, or had joined the Knights. No, roaming from place to place had been something she and her older brother had done since they had run away from Azalea Town. It was the one reason that she had learned as much as she had about blending in to different areas and getting things out of people. It had been her only way of surviving sometimes.

Lucia's eyes travelled downward though toward the two pokemon again, and with a small tap of her hand against her side the young eevee perked her head up and then jumped closer to its trainer, curling around her foot obediently and watching the lion-like pokemon with a careful expression. With a dip she wrapped her arms around the young creature once more before letting it crawl back around her neck, and from there once again resuming a posture she had learned from a certain furret. "Luce is the nickname my older brother gave me. Lucia is technically what my mom gave me, but you know..sometimes things just don't stick that well, huh?" Laughing softly she shrugged and gave him a look that said what could you do.

"Of course, I'm always glad to help a new friend. I'm not heading to Goldenrod for a contest no, it's an event for trainers too to help fundraise money for the relief efforts here in Johto. Kind of a good way for trainers and coordinators alike to help out, and the big wigs get to flash around their money I guess." Giggling she rolled her eyes at the mention of it being a sort of popularity contest for the people giving money and funding it like a charity. Most people would either be star struck at the idea, or they would find it silly she supposed though, and the latter was not far from her actual opinion anyhow. "You know Pearl, if you have time after your finished in New Bark, you should head over and check it out. Lots of people will be there, maybe even others you know from other regions, who knows? I certainly wouldn't mind knowing you'd be there to cheer me on."

Giving a slight flirtatious inflection to her voice, barely even there though, she smiled at the young man. "Either way, it's always nice knowing people from different places huh? We could always exchange contact info, I was considering going to Sinnoh myself after I was done. Wouldn't mind knowing someone who knows the area a bit better in case I get lost or something." Rubbing the back of her neck and giving Anna a brief tickle under her chin she tilted her head to see how he'd respond.

[PEARL]

[[ OTL Sorry for the really late post I was busy with Holiday things and my muse literally wasn't having it. ]]

He was a little surprised, to say the least, that he had met someone decently friendly here in Johto. He had come across a few people before, treating him about the same. It was your decent amount of friendliness you'd get from a stranger, though many people seemed a bit more wary to have strangers in their region. Pearl couldn't blame them really. If Sinnoh had been nearly destroyed, he'd probably feel the same way. Nonetheless, he was somewhat glad to have met this woman and had been guided out of the crazy maze of a forest. His Luxray was still engaged with the woman's Eevee by lifting its paws occasionally while the Pokemon seemed to relax. Overall the group seemed to relax overall, at least from what Pearl could tell.

Pearl guessed that Contests were probably popular elsewhere than just in Sinnoh. He remembered hearing that they were started in Hoenn but he guessed they had grown much more than he had thought. He'd almost forgot they existed really. He didn't usually run into many Coordinators, but he had run into this woman so there was that. Eventually Luce called her Eevee back to return it to it's former position around her neck. Torahiko sat down besides Pearl once the Eevee returned, flicking his tail curiously as she began speaking again. While she was talking he did lean down slightly to rub the lion-like Pokemon's head briefly.

"Oh, I see. That does explain a lot, heh. A few of my friends have that sort of thing actually." Pearl replied to her comment about her nickname. While Platinum didn't essentially choose to be called Little Miss, it sometimes stuck better than Platinum. Maybe it was just him though. There was also Dia. Dia had always been Dia and only sometimes Diamond. He shrugged in tune to hers while a small smile. Some things just stuck, like she said. There was then the mention of her heading to Goldenrod, which definitely peaked his interest. While New Bark Town was a priority, he wasn't exactly ecstatic to visit. He wasn't officially made a Dex Holder until later on his adventure and he had gotten used to that. Professor Rowan, however, did take some getting used to. He didn't visit the older man often for his... interesting attitude to say the least.

To be honest, he didn't know much about Elm. He did know about the other Dex Holders, but he wasn't very well acquainted with them besides Platinum and Dia. Pearl wasn't sure what to expect when he met this Elm guy. Now, a Pokemon sort of event? He could get into that. Maybe even promote his and Dia's comedy routin- He paused in mid-thought at that. The blonde and his dopey friend only worked better as a pair. He was sort of missing that other part. Maybe he could just use this opportunity to get new material? Or perhaps just mention it to Dia later (keeping out the 'getting lost' part)? Torahiko nudged him slightly, yawning in the middle of his motion.

"Oh, really? That's pretty interesting. Big wigs sure do like showing their money, even if it's a good cause. I suppose when you're wealthy like that there is some flaunting you can do with it." He agreed, nodding his head a little. "I've got some business in New Bark Town, but I may swing by beforehand. It is an event after all, if I get lost again where would I be? Anyway, it definitely sounds interesting and I'd be great to see all the people and Pokemon." At her mention of others, he almost hoped that Platinum or maybe even Dia by some odd chance would be there. Though the mention of him cheering her on caught him by surprise a little. He laughed a little at the comment though.

"You're right, it is pretty handy. Oh, if you're ever around Twinleaf Town I can definitely introduce you to one of my best friends." Pearl dug around in his bag for a moment, pushing aside a few notebooks that were crammed inside. Eventually he pulled out one of his Battle Strategy notebooks, and after another moment or so he dug out a pencil. He quickly scribbled down the number of his Poketch before carefully tearing the piece of paper from the page. He flipped the notebook to face her and held it carefully in her direction.

"I just figured it'd be easier if we just wrote it down." He explained, since he hadn't really realized how spontaneous his action really had been.