Forums » General Roleplay » Water and Dark [1x1 - Closed]

Nick is jerked out of his staring by the Nidoran's squeak, betraying a sudden wave of panic washing over him as he was caught in his distraction and mistake. "Sorry, sorry!" the young man quickly apologized to both Gin and her trainer, moving dryer away to let the fur cool off.

The biker silently blessed his 'good fortune' and swooped in when Nessa turned away, snatching the cigarette right out of her dainty hands. This time he held it at arms' length on his other side, as far away from her as he could manage without having to actually walk away.

Johann was given a pout and a glare, but truthfully all of her attention went to her poor little Nidoran. "Be careful with her! The poor thing! Pay attention to what you're doing!"

Then she looked back to Johann. "And you! What do you think you're doing trying to smoke around other people here? Answer me!" Bossy little thing, wasn't she? She looked kind of adorable with her hands on her hips and her lips in a disapproving pout of the biker's filthy habit.

"Y-yes ma'am!" Nick answered in a flustered hurry, gently patting Gin's fur down as he examined it. In the back of his head, the young groomer knew he hadn't held the dryer there long enough to do anything lasting, but the panic and worry still settled in the bottom of his chest.

The biker chuckled at them and started flicking the wheel on his lighter again, even as he was met with Nessa's pouting once more. "Ma'am, do I really look like the sort of guy who cares what you actually think of my smokin' habits? The addiction kicked in, and I want to quell it, location be damned."

Her nose wrinkled when he proceeded to light his cigarette anyway. "No, you don't," she agreed with him. "But you should. If you want to poison your own body with that stuff that's none of my business, but you're polluting the air I breathe as well."

She sent a look of concern towards Gin. "Is she alright?" The Nidoran gave a small sound that reassured Nessa.

"Is it really so hard to quell your addiction outside?" She paused and studied Johann more closely. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Yeah, yeah, get in line with the rest of the complainers. The Malacharv Whining Department will be open for business soon," the thug carried on, waving his lit cig in mock theatrics before sticking it between his lips.

"Y-yes, she's okay," Nick quietly chimed in with the noises, nervously looking between Ness and Johann as if he highly expected something to start going down.

"Well, I was looking for a battle to quell some violent urges," the biker pleasantly piped up, "but instead I found a little blue speck to scratch my sarcasm on, so that's a plus too."

Nessa scowled at him. "You want a battle? You can have a battle!" She turned towards Nick.

"How much longer?"

"Just a few minutes, then she's all groomed," Nick responded.

"How about this, tough guy? If I win you vow to never smoke indoors again." She challenged Johann with a smug smile, folding her arms delicately in front of her chest.

"Oh please, sister," Johann scoffed with a barely visible eye-roll. "How childish can you get? Even if I do lose, what are you going to do, set up a surveillance system across every inch of the planet, in every building ever constructed?"

If it wasn't such a terribly unladylike thing to do, Nessa would have growled at him. Instead she gave it a moment's thought. "Very well. What do you propose then? Would you enjoy spending a week with me and doing as told instead? Or forking over enough cash to groom all my pokemon by this guy's brother?" Which would not be cheap, oh no!

"Whoa whoa wait a minute," the biker butt in with a furrowed brow. "Why are all the propositions for your benefit? That confident you'll win? I tell you what: if you win, you can order me about with whatever you want for the week--unless my boss calls me away. He's a rich son-of-a-bitch, he'd buy your entire life savings and haul me home in a heartbeat."

"But if I win..." Johann set to thinking for a moment. "...if I win... you let me and mine alone."

"Great!! That's a deal then!" She held out her hand for Johann to shake. Should he take it, a grin blossomed on her face. "I may look like a delicate lady, but few have triumphed over my and my pokemon's grace and abilities. I hope you are prepared."

She waited for Nick to finish grooming Gin, paid the man and gathered her sweet (and now clean and proper looking) sweetheart.

"Will it be safe to battle inside?" She had no idea about the rules here.

"Deal." Johann took care in not breaking Nessa's hand as he shook on their deal. "And we'll see just how triumphant you are in a bit..."

He gave her time to pay Nick and gather up her Nidoran again, but when posed with her next question he had to stop and actually consider it.

"Er... in my case, probably not. There's... there's more open routes north and south of the city, if you care to head out that far?"

With a battle ahead, Nessa was too occupied to criticize Nick's efforts. It was fine, for now.

She considered the distance. Her shoes were very impractical, but her pride would not allow her to back out. "No problem! Let's go." Nessa brushed past him and took the lead! For now.

"Yeah, we'll see about that..." The biker followed behind, keeping a respectful distance but still maintaining a sense of 'togetherness' between himself and the pretty lil' lady. Fortunately for Nessa, Goldrenrod was pretty straightforward as far as city planning went--exiting the tunnels from either end gave away to streets that lead to the main road, going north and south; all that mattered was picking a direction and heading to the corresponding routes: 34 in the south and 35 to the north.

If questioned why they couldn't just battle on the lesser clogged streets, Johann seemed very disinclined to do so. What? He actually had respect for public property? Hah!

Nessa headed North, rather aware of how close Johann stuck to her. When he wasn't being a jackass he was quite attractive. Thankfully he couldn't see her face when she randomly blushed at the thought.

"So Johann," she spoke up, "what's this about violent urges? Do you have anger management issues?"

"Oho, anger is just the start of my issues," the thug answers very openly. "Battlin' and bar brawlin' is just a good way to take things out without being charged with assault."

Oh, eugh, that's terribly unfriendly! And Johann seemed very aware of it, with the way he grinned down at Nessa like a feral Mightyena!

Nessa looked taken aback. She clearly hadn't expected such an honest answer! But hey, if she was going to win and have him follow her around this was good information to know. "As long as you understand I'll have no part in such barbaric displays."

She came to a halt eventually. A nice open stretch of road, trees on either side and a handful of trainers doing their thing. "I suppose this will do. I hope you're ready!"

Gin, still in her arms, squeaked. Nessa put her down so she could focus on the battle ahead. The Nidoran was still too young and inexperienced for this battle, but Nessa preferred she watch to learn as much as possible.

Swiftly she drew a pokeball from her belt and pressed the button to enlarge it. "Ready or not, here we go! Twist my sweetheart, it's time to shine!" She threw the ball and a Starmie materialized between them, spinning rapidly.

"Of course, of course. We wouldn't want to ruin your squeaky clean reputation, ma'am," the biker remarked with a dismissive wave of his hand.

He looked to approve of Nessa's choice and turned back around, putting some proper space between himself and the young woman. He turned in time to see the Starmie materialize, and it only took him a few seconds to decide who he'd pit against it. "Right then. Grig, let's go."

Curiously Johann didn't bring out a Poke Ball of any type, but something rustled lightly beneath the folds of his old overcoat instead. Something small and shiny came zipping out into view.

At eight inches tall, the Pokemon could only be described aptly as a small, living key ring! In a color scheme of chrome and pink, the Klefki's bulbous body carried an assortment of keys on its arms (which formed the ring itself). In an attempt to be threatening, the little creature began jingling these keys at the starfish.

Nessa put one hand on her hip and readied the other to gesture at Starmie with. She was fired up and ready to get this baby rolling!

Whatever she wanted to say next got stuck in her throat. Even Twist, without a face or any form of emotional expression being a Starmie, looked confused at what they were looking at. "What in Dragonite's name is that?!" Nessa looked genuinely confused.

The thug grinned unpleasantly, almost as if he took glee in her befuddlement.

"It's called a 'Klefki'. One of those new-fangled 'fairy' types folks in the Kalos region have been keepin' to themselves. It's a little... oh how do they say it..? 'Douleur dans le cul*? Whatever. It may be a small, unassumin' little thing, but it's going to wreck you regardless."

The strange little Pokemon (or big, by actual key chain standards) paused in jingling its keys and made a shrill chiming sound of pride and confidence.

---

(OoC: What he's trying to say is 'pain in the ass'--if it comes out mangled to French native speakers, that's on purpose on my part.)

She squinted and pursed her lips. It was the strangest little thing she'd ever seen, and she'd seen some fairly strange mons all around. "I've no idea what that means, but don't underestimate Twist."

Nessa held out her hand and grinned. "Twist, use rapid spin!" The Starmie let out its cry and speedily charged the little keychain thing, a powerful force behind its attack proving that Nessa was not an opponent easily wiped off the map. If Starmie missed, it would crash into a tree on the side of the road. If it hit, it bounced back and settled back onto the road.

(OOC: Do we do dice rolls for these bits or are we just going to wing it?)