Glorified Toddlers

A center of trade and tourism, abundant with attractions and widely known for its warm and inviting atmosphere: Grassveil. Even in the gloom of recent world events, with the overhanging sheet of grey hiding away the sky, this town still seemed to bustle with a refreshing energy. If the residents were bothered, it certainly didn't stop most of them from living their lives, or at least, it didn't seem so to Geo. Not that she was complaining, of course; she loved the area and all it had to offer. She spent a lot of time here, enjoying the scenery of such a happy little town, indulging in all it had to offer. Sometimes she'd go around to shops and see if there was anything to new, or perhaps just revisit places she'd already been to. Other times, she'd go around the guild, considering joining yet again; something always ended up stopping her, but perhaps that was her own lack of confidence. She'd tried quite a few times to find partners to join with, but it never seemed to stick, and she was nervous about joining on her own. However, since evolving, she had grown a great deal more content with herself, and she was starting to want to give it another go.

But, not today.

Today, she was looking to relax and have some fun, whatever that entailed. There were plenty of ways to entertain oneself in Grassveil; perhaps she'd go find someone to chat with, or maybe she'd just head off to the pond to kick back and relax. One thing was for certain: she didn't feel like doing any training on this day, as she'd done more than enough of that lately. Today was a day for herself, one which she hoped to find company for. She had always been sociable, and it was no accident that she was in such a great place for meeting friendly new faces. She was here to enjoy herself, sure, but she was hoping to find some new friends if she could. For some reason, those didn't seem to last too often, which was perhaps due to her doing a lot of meeting other 'mon out in the wilderness and never managing to ask where they lived or set up another meeting. She had trouble finding them again, simply put, and it was kind of hard to find more when she was out training in the forest all the time.

Thus, here she was, wandering the streets of Grassveil Town, searching for anyone or anything that caught her eye. As of yet, she had found nothing in particular, but she was keeping her eyes peeled for any interesting-looking individuals or situations. Maybe she could try, like, an ice cream shop or something. Anyone hanging out at a place selling ice cream had to be nice, right? Or like, maybe she could find a training buddy over at the dojo! Ooh, ooh, or maybe she could find some guild members to hang out with; maybe it'd help get her nerve up! The possibilities were just endless!

On the other hand, a certain serpentine Pokémon was not exactly the picture of enthusiasm. For all that it was the hustle and bustle of the known world, the latest and greatest settlement nestled beneath the watchful eye of the most prominent Guild, the small town of Grassveil still managed to be boring. At least, it was so to those who'd spent their entire lives weaving through the streets and around the stalls, crawling through the back alleys and outskirts. There was, of course, always something new and exciting to be found, but it was where it was found that upset Osiris - what good were adventures if they all happened in the same place? Perhaps he was being flippant, but a young lifetime in the lap of leisure hadn't exactly gifted this Pokémon an appreciation for what he already had, rather than what he lacked. A nervous smile pasted on his snout, a relatively short dratini slithered through the streets of Grassveil, dragging behind him a satchel that was nearly as large as he was. He moved with a surprising swiftness, occasionally twisting between the feet of larger Pokémon meandering about the street, twisting just so to avoid getting stepped on. Every minute or so, however, the slightly oversized headband on his head would slip forward, and the dratini would have to wriggle off to the side of the street and nudge it back into place. While it did provide the rather amusing sight of a snake headbutting the dirt, it also ruined any semblance of speed that he had going for him. The snake Pokémon moved with a particular haste, a certain urgency, that coupled with his apparent age painted the picture of a kid fleeing the scene of an adolescent prank.

Evidently far enough from the scene of the crime, the serpent came to a hesitant stop next to a berry stall, taking shelter behind one of the storage boxes placed behind it. Though impossible to discern thanks to the heavily clouded sky, it was nonetheless only midday, which said a few things about where exactly Osiris was supposed to be. He made no secret about his intense dislike for his schooling, but this was the first time that he'd actually worked up the nerve to actually play hooky. And, twitching minutely in nervous adrenaline, half-huddling behind a crate of berries as if hiding from his schooltime oppressors, it dawned on Osiris the dratini that he'd given no thought to what came after his escape.

Slowly, he squirmed out from behind his ridiculous hiding spot, peering down both sides of the busy street. He was in the market district, a good ways away from the schoolhouse. He'd probably lost anyone that had followed him in the bustle of the town, to say nothing of their ability to trail a snake able to slip right under the street traffic. Hesitantly, the serpent raised his head to take in the street, his gaze drinking in the afternoon commotion. For all that he'd been born and raised on the outskirts of Grassveil, he'd never taken a day to simply peruse the markets and see what the stalls had for sale - not that he had much pocket money to begin with... but a little window shopping couldn't hurt. No doubt it was a better way to spend the afternoon than curled around a crusty book learning maths. With growing certainty, the dratini slipped back around the storage crate proper, this time trailing along at a much more leisurely pace, keen on taking in the sights around him.

One could have said today was a busy day, but most days were like this in Grassveil.  Geo, for one, enjoyed this; even if she wasn't exactly surrounded by friends, just the atmosphere of being in a populated area was appealing.  As she strolled along, she scanned the area in search of anything that could serve as the entertainment she sought out.  Most every passerby seemed boring, and maybe that was a bit presumptuous, but they didn't seem to be up to anything fun regardless.  They were all just going about their days, minding their own business and seemingly doing nothing in particular.  Most of them were probably on their way somewhere in specific, while some may have had the same idea as the sylveon, that being just to take a stroll.  To be fair, it wasn't as if that alone was unappealing, but she was hoping to get a little more from this outing than just some exercise and fresh air.  If all else failed, she could go get some food or something, but eating with company certainly seemed more appealing.

Just when her search was starting to seem fruitless, it happened: she spotted a figure squirming throughout the street.  They seemed troubled and rushed, but not harmful or anything of the sort; actually, they looked kind of adorable, with some cute little headband on that they kept having to stop to adjust.  Geo stopped and watched in silence, keeping her distance as the thing slithered around all the legs in the road with no apparent destination in mind aside from "Not here."  The thing was a... dratini, if she recalled correctly, which wasn't exactly a worm despite how it looked like one.  It was more of a dragon, technically, but like, a baby one; and this one seemed to be up to something.  The little creature rushed over to some random stall and behind a crate as if hiding from something, which only made Geo that much more intrigued.  Was this a civilian in danger, or perhaps just someone playing a game with some friends?  The feelers flowing out from Geo's ear came down and crept into her bag, wrapping themselves around a piece of cloth.  They retreated back and pulled out a dark blue headband, which they lifted up above the sylveon's ears and draped around her head.

There was a metal plate on the front of the headband, covering her forehead as if for some kind of protection; this plate bore strange symbols, with the whole thing practically screaming "NINJA."  Or... at least, she liked to think so, but if that wasn't good enough already, she could enhance the look further!  Hanging from her neck was another strip of fabric, this one with a more pinkish color to it; the second set of feelers spreading out from the bow on her neck wrapped themselves around the joy ribbon and pulled it up around her mouth, covering it.  Much of her face was now covered, and no matter how goofy she may have looked, she felt cool.  Since evolving, she had no insecurity and no shame, and so she could stand tall and proud doing whatever she decided she wanted to do.  Right now, she wanted to go ninja mode and stalk this almost-dragon to see what was up with them.  She darted out of the road and behind some randomly selected stall so that she could avoid being spotted while waiting for the dratini to reveal themself from their own hiding spot.

There happened to be a shopkeeper there at that moment; a smeargle offering face paintings or something.  He seemed very confused.  Geo's attention was caught by the smeargle and she found herself staring back into his eyes for a very long and awkward few seconds.  Her left neck-feeler slowly curled and raised up in front of her covered mouth in a hushing motion; "Shhhhhh," she sounded the request for silence, trying to tell the shopkeeper not to blow her cover.  He gave an unamused look before turning back forward and going on with his business, waiting for customers.  Geo did the same, putting her focus back where it belonged: on the dratini.  It didn't take long for them to appear from behind the crate they'd chosen for cover, though their demeanor seemed to have shifted.  They had seemed so panicky before, but now, they were relaxed, taking their time moving around.  Maybe they felt they were now safe from whatever was pursuing them?  Keeping herself low to the ground, Geo crept out from behind the smeargle's shop, slowly padding after her target whilst attempting to keep herself constantly hidden in the crowds.  The streets weren't packed enough to make her invisible, unfortunately, but she doubted the dratini would notice.

Geo tried to slowly close the distance between the little dragon and herself, though she didn't really have a plan beyond that.  Maybe she'd try to sneak up and surprise them... just for fun, of course.  She didn't want to, like, really scare them or anything.

For all that he had grown up in Grassveil, Osiris had never really taken the time to simply... let it all sink in. The young dratini was always in a hurry, rushing here or there, never in a position to appreciate the town for what it was. Most of this was his own fault, as he had a penchant for sleeping in and running late, but the point still stood that this was a somewhat new experience for the drake. It boggled his mind, somewhat, how he grew up here but never managed to get to know this part of town; usually, he spent his days either at home lazing about or at the pond with friends. Absently, he tugged on the strap that was fastened to his satchel while he made his way. He had nothing aside from school things, mostly, but it wouldn't do to leave that at the schoolhouse when he didn't plan on going back today. It was also where he kept his pocket change, which was really just the leftovers of his modest allowance that he didn't spend on snacks. As he was, the dratini painted quite the peaceful picture, slowly trailing along the street with wide eyes, taking in all the different kinds of Pokémon and the services they provided.

The anxiety and nervousness that had dominated him only moments prior had all but vanished completely; whereas before Osiris was concerned with only evading any imaginary pursuers, now his switch had been flipped completely. Indeed, as the dratini paused to look around, he caught sight of the most peculiar stall he'd seen - some kind of face-painting service. The serpent's eyes lit up, contrasting against the minute shadows cast over them by the headband half-hanging from the top of his head. Now, that was his kind of business! Food and snacks were all well and nice, but this presented opportunities. Already, Osiris could picture the awed and amazed reactions he would get, going around with his face artistically transformed into the blood-red of a druddigon, or the fierce black and yellow of a haxorus. Suddenly, the snake-like Pokémon was approaching the stall in front of him, his attention completely focused on the smeargle behind the stall and his mind preoccupied with the many images of himself styled as other drakes flashing through his head. And not, say, on the stealthy Sylveon shadowing him - leaving him wide open to a healthy surprise.

Geo patiently stalked her victim as they slunk through town, taking her time in closing the gap to ensure she wasn't spotted. Actually, the dratini didn't seem to be venturing into the town; rather, they were... well, after a moment, it seemed they had decided to go check out one of them any shops strewn throughout Grassveil. Coincidentally, the shop chosen was actually the one she had just sort of come from, with the smeargle still standing there, looking a bit bored if nothing else. She wondered if they would point her out to her unsuspecting victim, since they hadn't seemed too thrilled about her lurking around their shop. Would this face-painter dare ruin the sanctity of the jump-scare? Would they ruin a perfectly good prank before it even had a chance to live, all to spite someone they barely knew? Probably not, but it still encouraged the sylveon to pick up her pace just to make sure she got to the dratini before the smeargle could. She was light on her feet and focused entirely on the blue little serpent ahead- actually, looking closer, they weren't so little. Apparently dratini were actually kind of big, or at least, bigger than she had thought.

The sylveon was laser-focused, tunneled in on the objective before her as if nothing else mattered. She was so focused, in fact, that she almost yiped when something bumped into her from the right. She jumped a bit and turned to see... just some ludicolo passing by; they had bumped into her, but it was probably her own fault for paying so little attention to her surroundings. For a moment, she felt bad, but the big guy didn't seem to care. Or maybe it was a girl. Geo gave a silent sigh and locked her eyes back on the dratini, who was so focused on the stall that they still hadn't noticed her. This time looking both ways before moving forward, she followed behind, closing the distance quickly. Her blue eyes shined through the two strips of fabric wrapped around her head, revealing her determined gaze to the world. Everything seemed to grow quiet around her as she prepared to strike; she could feel her heart beating in her chest, excitement rushing through her. Closer and closer, she grew lighter on her paws with every step...

Then she lunged! Geo bolted forward as fast as she could, with no more than a few feet standing in the way of her prey. She leaped up into the air and landed as loudly as she could right behind the dratini. "RAWR!" she exclaimed in what had truly been meant to be an intimidating tone, but unfortunately, her voice was quite girly and innocent-sounding now. She had never had a particularly strong voice even as an eevee, but it had gotten so much worse now, and if she had to pick something she disliked about her situation as a sylveon, that was probably it. She didn't normally have a problem with the high-pitched, girly voice, but in some situations like the one at hand, it was a bit of a burden. She couldn't really make her voice sound deep or intimidating even if she tried, and while she didn't often have a need for a deep voice, it was still nice to have the option. Regardless, she roared with confidence and determination despite having known ahead of time what it would sound like, standing tall and proud as she did so.

Really, the possibilities here were endless. Osiris had spent many an afternoon daydreaming about what kind of Pokémon he'd rather be, and this was a great chance to see what he'd be like in different colors, so to speak. Being navy blue with a fierce golden cross like a garchomp, or the burnt orange of a charizard - these were things that he'd only ever dreamt of. Hell, if this smeargle fellow did a good job, he could even bring friends around and they could all get their faces painted. Just imagining it sent a thrill of excitement through the young serpent - what if he could get everyone to go with the theme, and they could all have a war of sorts! First, though, he had to figure out what to be. His eyes squinted up seriously, and he took a long moment to run through the possibilities. Of course, it was his duty to figure out if this stall was even any good; no sense in coming back if the guy did a bad job. So it was only responsible of him to pick something very difficult in nature, as that would be the best way to test how reliable this fellow was going to be...

Belatedly, Osiris realized that he was sort of just sitting in front of this stall, his head craned upward as he started absently up at the sign hanging overhead like a bit of a tool. With a visible sense of sheepishness, he made it a point to slither out of the crowded street and more toward the side of the stall, hoping to not attract any attention while he made up his mind. As he thought about it, he doubted he even had the money for anything really good. A little disheartened at the thought, he nevertheless slipped around to give his satchel an inspection and check how much coin he had after all. He hadn't spent too much of his last allowance, he didn't think...

As he nudged the flap open on his bag, he was shocked to notice a shadow looming over him - and growing very rapidly. It was reflex more than anything else that had him spinning on a dime, adrenaline surging through him at the thought of something actually attacking him, but by the time he caught a glimpse of his assailant it was already too late. He only registered an overwhelming flash of pink and blue flooding his vision before they were upon him with a terrible war cry; in retrospect, perhaps it was a bit too high-pitched to be taken seriously, but in the heat of the moment Osiris was terrified. When the other Pokémon landed in front of him, roaring its challenge, Osiris veritably leaped out of his skin, releasing a totally manly shriek of alarm. In fact, for a few instants, he was shocked totally still, craned up almost comically straight and screaming in bloody terror. It was during this extremely unfortunate moment that Osiris actually got a glimpse of the other creature; some sort of... pink ninja thing was standing over him, looking entirely too innocent to truly be out to get him, but darn it, Osiris knew better.

It wasn't until his brain caught up with his body that the dratini realized he should be fleeing with all due haste. And so, as soon as his body permitted him to move, he shot off with a speed that he didn't know he had in him, his bag all but forgotten. In his panic, he immediately booked it for the first object without a solid bottom that he saw - a barrel, with a small crevice in the bottom that he knew instinctively that he could fit underneath. Without hesitation, the small snake-like Pokémon slipped right under it, immediately looping around to peer out from underneath and see if his attacker was giving chase.

The super secret surprise technique was a success, performed with flawless expertise! Actually, perhaps it had been a bit too well-executed, as it had had an unforeseen effect. Geo stared at the dratini with a big smile that couldn't be seen through the ribbon around her mouth, which meant there was probably no obvious indicator that she was actually friendly. In hindsight, she really should have considered the possibility that her target scared easily, but it had somehow slipped her mind in the heat of the moment. She was very bored and had gotten a bit ahead of herself in seeking out entertainment, and the second she realized she had really scared the little dragon, she felt terrible. She didn't get a chance to say anything before the potential friend turned tail and rushed off in the direction of "anywhere but with this crazy monster." The sylveon's feelers moved forward a bit on instinct, as if trying to reach out for the dratini and stop him so she could apologize, but unfortunately, it came a bit too late. However, not all hope was lost; the snake-like creature wasn't astoundingly fast, and so she was confident she could keep up with them.

Following a bit of hesitation, Geo booked it after the dratini, determined to catch up so that she could apologize. She didn't exactly have a problem with a game of tag, and she was fine with being the chaser, but in this situation... it wasn't particularly fun. Fortunately, the dratini either couldn't run for long or chose not to; wasting very little time in the open, they squirmed under a random barrel to hide themself from view. If they were really scared, caging themself up like that didn't seem like the greatest idea, but hey, who was Geo to complain about not having to chase them around for an hour? She followed after and stopped in front of the barrel, taking a look around to make sure no bystanders were getting the wrong idea and thinking she was harassing or attacking someone. No one seemed to care. Actually, someone probably should have, but it seemed everyone was too worried about where they were going to pay attention to a ninja sylveon chasing some dratini around. That was good and all, but it said a lot about the jerks roaming the town.

Geo had no idea what to say, causing her to just stand in front of the barrel in silence like an idiot. The feelers under her chin rose up and pulled the pink ribbon down from around her mouth, allowing it to fall back in its natural place around her neck to fully reveal her guilty, worried expression. "U-um..." she hesitated, unable to find the words to say she was sorry for scaring the dratini. She raised her left paw and knocked twice on the top of the barrel just to make sure they knew she was there before saying anything further. "Hey, wait, come on... I wasn't that scary, was I? I just wanted to have a little fun. I'm sorry, alright?" she spoke in absolute sincerity, trying her best to convey the point that she hadn't intended to scare the serpent to such an extreme extent that they would run away in terror. She had really expected, like, maybe they would jump back or something then see it was just a big pink thing. It wasn't as if her species was particularly intimidating, and she wasn't anything special in regards to that.

If the dratini refused to talk to her, she wondered if it was appropriate to... tip the barrel over, maybe? She wanted to make sure she got their attention so she could apologize properly, and if they were just gonna hide and ignore her, then it only seemed fair to make them come out. Besides, she still wanted to know why they had been in such a hurry, like someone was chasing them around Grassveil. What if they were in some kind of trouble and maybe needed help? She couldn't, in good conscience, just turn tail and leave them alone if that happened to be the case.

Following his swift retreat into the crevice underneath the barrel, Osiris felt... more than a bit silly. As he looped around to peer underneath for any approaching footsteps, he wondered for a moment how girly he'd just looked. The sound of his own voice shrieking like that reverberating through his own ears struck him as extremely uncool, and he felt an embarrassed flush creep through him. After the embarrassment came indignation, of course. He hadn't - he hadn't been scared, he was just startled because that other Pokémon snuck up on him like a jerk! As he thought about it more and more, Osiris slowly convinced himself that he was completely justified for his little yelp of alarm and his dash for safety - it was just his draconic instincts guiding him to safety! A warrior knew his limits, after all, and fighting a battle after someone had utilized the element of surprise against you was uh... well, it wasn't his fault. That was his story and he was going to stick to it.

To make matters worse, though, was that the hooligan that had played that mean prank against him was actually still around. He saw the footsteps that brought the strange quadruped closer and closer to his hiding spot - apparently, his opponent was quick enough on their feet that even his prodigious speed hadn't lost them! When they started speaking, though, the embarrassment returned even stronger than before. A voice that high pitched just had to be a girl. He felt more than heard the Pokémon knock twice on the top of the barrel, the vibrations traveling down and echoing around him as he lay underneath it. Then it started, speaking, and apologizing, and Osiris wanted very strongly for the earth to just swallow him up and never release him. How on earth could he go on in life if anyone knew that a girl had spooked him that badly!? The only way out of this was to somehow convince her that he hadn't been scared at all... but that was a very, very tall task.  

"Hey, I wasn't - I wasn't scared!" Aggrieved, Osiris allowed his head to slip out from underneath the barrel, his headband tipping forward a little bit and hanging over his eyes some. It wasn't bad enough that he couldn't see, and the other Pokémon would probably get a good look at his totally cool navy-blue headband, complete with a contrasting blood-red draconic eye symbol on the front. Maybe if she fell head over heels for him, she'd forget about all of this. "You just... startled me a little! I wasn't running, it was just a tactical retreat!"

Geo didn't need to wait long before the little dragon-worm made his voice heard, speaking in protest against the accusation of being scared. She sat next to the barrel and gazed down as a blue head poked out from under it; the dratini continued speaking, seeming very determined to prove he wasn't scared. He seemed like a kid, and he was obviously flustered; he had some kind of headband drooping over his eyes; and, now that he could be seen up close, his species was kind of cutesy. This all came together to make him look very adorable, to the point where Geo just couldn't help but give a cocky smile and a little chuckle at his behavior. He really seemed to want to prove he wasn't a coward, which was just funny, but not in a bad way. He was trying to make a good first impression, which meant he cared about the sylveon's opinion of him, which meant maybe he'd want to stick around and chat! His behavior was good news, even though it was obviously just a lie; he had practically jumped out of his scales in terror at the prospect of being assaulted by the big, scary pink thing.

The headband in specific was something Geo was interested in, as it reminded her a bit of her own. She wondered if the dratini felt similarly or if he had even noticed hers, but... he'd surely notice eventually, and he'd see how neat it was that they both had one! There was no way she was the only one who thought this coincidence was cool, right? However, now didn't seem like the best time to bring up the similarity in their choice of apparel, as the dracotyke was currently in the middle of what seemed to be an embarrassment-fueled crisis. "Uh-huh," Geo nodded her head and sarcastically agreed, still staring down with her smile. She figured she could probably mess with him if she wanted, but she wasn't quite so mean-spirited as to tease someone over their own insecurities. Besides, she was trying to make a friend, not an enemy, and flustering everyone she came across didn't seem like a good idea... Or did it?

"Yes, very tactical. I mean, what if the big, bad sylveon got you?" she continued mocking the dratini's words. She was just teasing and didn't mean any real harm by it, but it was too good to resist having just a bit of fun with. The argument that retreating was somehow different from running alone was more than enough for her to work with if she really wanted to upset him, but she didn't. "I am pretty terrifying," she added on, jokingly agreeing with the implication that fleeing from her was an appropriate reaction. The dratini claimed he wasn't actually scared, but while that was an obvious lie, Geo hoped it didn't go so far as to imply she was scary by nature. If that happened to be the case, it would have been a bit disheartening; the ability to be intimidating was, at times, something she wanted, but she had no desire to go around scaring everyone she saw. She knew she had kind of a biological advantage against a dragon, but still, that didn't seem like enough reason to warrant fear at the sight of her. The very thought disappointed her.

The other Pokémon had the grace to at least sit down when she looked down on him, all smug and amused like she was just humoring him. Still, she seemed a lot less mean-spirited than he would have first assumed after playing a prank like that - and, really, in hindsight, it wasn't that mean of a prank. He'd just never really been spooked like that, and she was... well, he did not see it coming whatsoever. Her friendly mannerisms warmed him, in any case. Even her cheeky smile and prim laughter struck him as really cute actually, now that he was getting a good look at her, rather than grating. There was his ego to protect, though, so instead of gawking up at the girl that was talking down to him, he crawled out from under the barrel and wriggled to an imperious halt in front of her, lifting his nose up at the dog-like Pokémon and trying his best to be convincing. "It was tactical! I didn't know what you were, and I was so totally out of there way before you knew it!"  Even though he knew that he was lying through his fangs, she had to at least be a little impressed by his speed. Probably. Maybe it was less impressive considering that she caught a front-row seat to him jumping out of his skin and shrieking in fright, but he was pretty surprised at how quickly he got out of dodge, in any case.

She was graceful enough to at least drop what kind of Pokémon she was though - a sylveon, apparently - even if she had to tease him while she did so. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. For that reason, he was more than a little curious about her. Now that he wasn't scared silly or in a rush to flee, he was actually afforded a close look at the Pokémon in front of him. She really was quite pretty, with creamy-white and pink fur, large blue eyes, expansive ears and even a few bows and a ribbon tied onto her. She even sported a headband like him, but it had a metal plate sewed onto the front of it with some strange symbol carved into it. If nothing else, it helped with the ninja look she'd pulled off earlier, and it gave off a distinct tomboy-ish action girl vibe when it was taken in with the rest of her appearance. If it weren't for the wickedly good scare she'd given him, then she would probably be the type of girl at school that he'd crush on from afar. As it was, though, he only narrowed a suspicious glare up at her, slithering in a slow half-circle as he took her in. "You're not big or bad, now that I got a good look at ya. Or terrifying, either. You're too cute to be scary." In his immaturity, he honestly meant for cute to be an insult, as his tone was as catty as a child could manage.

Geo was finally afforded a good look at the snake when he wormed his way out from under the barrel to properly face her. He continued still to defend himself and insist that his "retreat" was a smart decision, a tactical one. It was cute how hard he was trying, and it almost made the sylveon want to just give him the win based on that alone; it seemed like it meant a lot to him. Unfortunately, she was just a tiny bit petty and wanted to have a little more fun with him instead. But, being the patient sylveon she was, she waited for him to finish speaking; just because she was teasing him, that didn't mean she had to be rude. The dratini went on to state that she wasn't "big and bad" as she had jokingly boasted, which wasn't news to her and was actually the entire point of the joke. Of course, he had to clarify that she also wasn't terrifying, as if that wasn't a given. Then he went on to say she was too... cute? Too cute to be scary, which, based on his tone, was supposed to be a shot back at her for all her guying. It didn't do much.

Geo took no offense to being called "cute," as she had come to accept her cutesy look... and perhaps she even liked it a bit. Being adorable wasn't too bad, even if it wasn't always the greatest thing in the world. In response, she gave a mock-sincere "Aw, thank you!" before standing up and lifting her left paw. It may have seemed for a moment like she was going to do something like touch the dratini, but she simply pointed to him before continuing, "You're cute too." Her statement was true and sort of a compliment, but she figured it would serve to further fluster the kid, considering how embarrassed he already seemed to be. Instead of waiting around for him to try and think of a comeback, the sylveon pulled her paw in and placed it on her chest instead, as if to point to herself; the feelers extending from her neck curled around and pointed inward at her as well, making the gesture clearer. The latter wasn't intentional, but she was still getting used to having extra limbs, and so they sometimes moved on instinct.

"I'm Geo," she stated, figuring it was about time she introduced herself. At that, she wanted a name to call her new acquaintance by, and she figured the best way to get that would probably be to give hers first. Despite the taunting that now seemed to be back-and-forth, she still hoped to find a new friend today, and this little dragon seemed like a fine candidate.

Unfortunately, his extremely clever retort did not pan out as expected. Instead of recoiling in horror and slumping in defeat, the sylveon in front of him actually thanked him for calling her cute. He supposed that maybe a girl would react in a different way, which was mostly fine, but then she had to go and call him cute, too! As the sylveon reared up and raised a paw at him, he wondered for a moment if she was actually going to swat at him for some reason, but instead, she was focused on totally emasculating him. He jerked back immediately, feeling very offended at the comment. Unfortunately, his mind went thunderously blank when he tried to reach for a retort. While he tried to recover from the crippling remark, she instead introduced herself. Geo was a strange name for a girl, but even stranger was the ribbon-like things curling around to point at herself. He'd seen them when he looked at her before, of course, but he would never have guessed that they were actually a part of her like that, let alone actually prehensile.

"What." His mouth operated before his mind could tell it not to, and he felt a stronger wave of embarrassment flush through him. This was not going anything like he thought it would. He figured that the sylveon would rub it in, play up her prank and maybe tease him more than what she had been, but instead, she was surprisingly genial and friendly. And he didn't know which was worse. For all of her easy smiles and light teasing, he thought it might be worse than just bullying him. At least that way he'd know how to react! But now it seemed like this strange girl was trying to make friends with him or something... which he wasn't exactly opposed to, but the entire encounter was so bizarre that he just didn't know what to do. "I mean, uh...

Belatedly, he realized that she'd offered her name to him and he still hadn't introduced himself. What on earth would his mother say to him right now? Sheepishly, he tried to shake off the... everything that this girl was making him feel, and focused on salvaging what little remained of his dignity. She didn't seem like the type to air other peoples' dirty laundry around, anyway, so maybe if he made friends with her she'd keep all of this to herself. "I'm Osiris. I'm a dratini." The little show of manners helped return a sense of normalcy to him, and with a bit of a flourish, he made a show of rearing up to a greater height, trying not to seem so small in her presence. By the legendaries, she was sitting and was so much taller than him! "That makes me a dragon. Nice to meet you, I think."

The dratini's initial reaction was either confusion or sheer speechlessness, both of which were perhaps understandable. Geo considered elaborating, but before she could even think of what to say, her company found his composure and managed to form a response. Well, "I mean, uh" wasn't really much of a response, but it was at least better than "What." It was progress with the promise of some further input, and after a moment's wait, this promise was fulfilled in the form of the worm's name... and confirmation of his species. Osiris was what he claimed his name to be; it didn't sound too bad, and it seemed easy enough to remember. That alone was enough for Geo decide they were now friends or at least acquaintances, which relieved her since she hadn't had luck with finding company thus far in the day. Fortunately, the sun was still high... probably; it was hard to tell with the constant clouds, but she was pretty sure she still had plenty of daylight left to waste away with this new face. Of course, this was all assuming he even wanted to, which... was still up in the air since their only actions so far had been taunting each other and giving their names.

The dratini felt the need to clarify that his species made him a dragon, as if it were somehow supposed to mean something. It was kind of cool, Geo supposed, but it wasn't like it was anything incredibly special. Dragons weren't super common, but at the same time, it wasn't like they were legends or anything like that. She considered saying something about it, perhaps mentioning how she happened to be a dragon's worst nightmare, but Osiris seemed so... in need or some small win. He was struggling to "stand" tall, which she couldn't imagine was easy with that type of body, and besides, he had already moved on. "Nice to meet you," he said... followed by... "I think." He... thought? He just thought? Did he not know whether it was nice, or was he actively trying to taunt her again? It didn't make the sylveon mad, but she was admittedly a bit disappointed at what felt like being kind of brushed off. It wasn't as if she had tried to make some big entrance or make a particularly good first impression, but still... It was the uncertainty that really bothered her.

"You think? Well, I guess that's better than nothing," she couldn't help but comment, though her tone was lighthearted and welcoming. If all went well, she'd have plenty of time to turn that "maybe" into a certainty. "Sooo... whatcha doin'? You seemed like you were in a hurry earlier," she questioned, trying to keep the conversation going while also aiming to satisfy her curiosity. She still wanted to know what this Osiris fellow had been seemingly fleeing from earlier. Actually, maybe that was why he had been spooked so easily; maybe he was still worried about whoever was pursuing him, and he'd just assumed she was them then run off without getting a good look at her! If that happened to be the case, then it must have been someone pretty scary if it had him that shaken up. Part of the sylveon wanted to meet this mystery pursuer just to see what the fuss was about, but at the same time, she was fine with just... chatting, and maybe, like, going to get a bite to eat or something.

"O-oh, I didn't mean..." It didn't dawn on him that his remark could be interpreted as rude until Geo actually parroted it back at him. To her credit, she didn't seem to be upset or offended, as her tone was light and warm, but the fact that she said anything to begin with probably said all that needed to be said. He felt a surge of guilt at the slip-up, but it had been honestly that: a slip-up. Genuinely, he meant it when he said that, as he wasn't quite sure if meeting her was nice or not, considering that she'd gotten him really good. It was a hell of a way to meet someone, but... he supposed that the fact that it had been genuine was all that was relevant. He scrunched up his snout some as he came to grips with how rude he'd just been, and how disappointed his mom would be with him for messing up like that. To make matters even worse, this girl didn't even seem impressed that he was a dragon! How did that not impress someone? Out of lingering embarrassment and shame, he didn't make an apology, as he really didn't want to draw any more attention to it. Especially since it seemed to have just bounced right off of her - already, she was moving the conversation forward. It'd be awkward to derail the conversation for something like that, wouldn't it?

What had he been doing, exactly? He'd made the decision to go window shopping after leaving the schoolhouse early, but that lasted all of five minutes until this sylveon had darn-near pounced on him. Maybe his imagination had been a little out of control during his little escape, there, as he was pretty sure the schoolhouse didn't even have the staff on hand to chase down wayward students. Still, the worry of being caught and the fear of the consequences that came afterward had probably gotten the best of him there. Sheepishly, he slithered back down to the ground and wriggled listlessly, a restless sort of energy surging through him. All that build-up, and now the girl wanted to make small-talk... "Actually, I was just... window shopping, I think." He took a few moments to eyeball the pink fox to his side, weighing how trustworthy she seemed to be. For all that she'd scared him, she did seem pretty decent so far. He'd extend a bit of an olive branch, and see how well things panned out from there. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm playing hooky. I'm s'posed to be at school, right now."

It seemed the dratini felt bad about his words despite the fact that they had obviously done no harm. Geo didn't care too much that he was unsure about whether he was happy to meet her, and she didn't want him to feel guilty about it. He was bothered enough for it to visibly affect his demeanor, but perhaps that was due to more than just guilt. Either way, he still responded, explaining that he was... window shopping? So he was just running around town looking at everything, and that was it? If he wasn't buying, then he probably didn't have any money to spend, so... maybe he didn't have any way to earn money? For a moment, Geo feared that she had just met with a bum who was going to attempt to get poké off of her; and maybe he had been running because he was being pursued by the police for robbing someone! That concern was quickly dealt with, however, when Osiris went on to explain that he was playing hooky. He was just a schoolkid, probably still living with his parents, which made sense with how childlike he seemed.

...Would she get in trouble for enabling some kid who was skipping school? She didn't know for sure, but she doubted it; well, maybe she'd get in trouble with his family or something, but that was about all she could think of. But, what was important was that Osiris was playing hooky and didn't seem to have any friends with him, which meant he was probably looking for someone to hang out with. And, he was interested in shopping or at least browsing, so... well, Geo still had some money she was willing to spend; it was tucked safely away in the little red backpack atop her back; in hindsight, it was a bit small on her now, so she'd probably need to get a better bag. She didn't have much, which was another reason why she really wanted to join the guild, but it was enough to have a little fun with. "Oh, a little delinquent, are we?" she teased, all in good fun. If the dratini wanted to skip school, that was his business; it wasn't as if Geo could judge him, as she didn't really go to school in the first place. Yep, she was sort of a nomad, with a lust for exploration and a burning passion for heroics... and being a ninja! But she didn't imagine someone attending Grassveil's school would be able to do much adventuring with her, which was fine since she wanted to stay in town today anyway.

With no delay, she decided to make her move and hope for the best. "Well, Mr. Too-Cool-For-School, I'm kinda sightseeing too! Sooo... want some company?" She was prepared for the possibility that she wouldn't be making a new friend here and was actually about to get turned down, but she was still hopeful. Osiris hadn't rejected her yet, so maybe he was interested in sticking around... or at least giving her a chance. Hopefully, the whole thing with nearly scaring him out of his skin wouldn't ruin her chances.