Back to School

First topic message reminder :

Osiris didn't think there was ever a time when the streets of Grassveil weren't busy.

Having been born and raised in Grassveil, he'd spent much of his early childhood slithering all over the place at every given opportunity. The dratini was confident enough to make the claim that he knew his hometown like the back of his tail, and he definitely moved like it. He waded his way through the streets, snaking through the legs of much taller and larger pokemon, dragging behind him an empty leather satchel affixed to his neck by a strap.

"Excuse me—pardon me—comin' through~," he called out absently, his first stop of the day clear in his mind. That stuffy old book store that his mom used to drag him into when he was little.

Usually, he spent his time reading at home or playing with his friends, or occasionally working up the nerve to explore one of the forests surrounding Grassveil. It wasn't so, today; Osiris had an actual, bonafide errand to run. Classes at Peak had just started, and while Osiris had attended his first one already—his instant favorite, Countering—he had preparations to make for the second. School supplies, essentially. His second major was Essential Skills, so he figured it was probably a good idea to show up to class with at least the ability to take notes.

He didn't know what he specifically needed, but as he lived in town, he could afford to just get a few things and pick up others as he needed them. Today's list was simple - some writing utensils, some paper, and whatever else jumped out at him while he was out.

The dratini came to a reluctant stop at his destination, a decrepit, sad little structure with a sign out front reading Grassveil, Used Books and Other Goods. He heaved a long-suffering sigh before steeling himself and slithering through the open door, resigned to his fate.

Alki smiled broadly as he confirmed that they were, in fact, there. It had felt like quite a while! And although she had certainly enjoyed talking with him, the fact still remained that doing so at a level that might be considered adequate for someone like her still took a lot out of her. Smiling and laughing and joking... she could do them, but they were hard. She wished that people didn't expect so much out of her, but it was what it was... Osiris asked her if she was hungry, and Alki paused, considering the question. He was offering, right? Offering her food? Probably... Why else would he mention that? She did feel a bit hungry, honestly. Those snacks had been a while ago now, and she was definitely curious as to what kind of food parents cooked for their children.

"Yeah..." She finally said after a short while. The house was almost in view, the smoke was getting closer and closer, and perhaps it was just her imagination, but she could finally begin to smell the food. And it smelled pretty good! "I guess I am... a bit hungry, yeah." She wondered what was for dinner, but perhaps that was being a bit too nosy... Alki simply remained silent, equal parts dreading, and looking forward to whatever was to come.

"Well, you won't stay that way for long," Osiris retorted, slithering up to the front door and reaching up with his tail. "Mom always makes extra. Like we're a family of five instead of two. So I hope you can eat." the dratini finished, twisting the doorknob and giving it a gentle push forward.

The door opened with a squeaky creak, revealing the interior of a modest home. On one side was a humble kitchenette, and on the other seemed to be some sort of half-way living room, with visibly used furniture that was nevertheless in good condition—the two sides were separated by a long table with three chairs surrounding it. Heat wafted from inside the home, brushing past both the dratini and the jigglypuff as it escaped outside.

Curiously enough, even as the oven had a tray of something inside and the oven had a slightly red tint to it, there was no other pokemon inside the house. Osiris shuffled around a bit in a snakely imitation of a shrug before heading inside, dropping his satchel by the doorway as he entered.

"Come on in, get comfortable," he called behind him, glancing at the three doorways that broke off from the main room of the house. Two of them were open. "Mom's in here somewhere, so food'll be ready soon if it isn't already."

"A-Ah... Thanks..." Alki said quietly, equal parts appreciative and nervous. She'd never really been in a position like this before... The closest had been when she'd visited Darcy's parent's house, but even then, it had been different... She'd been teammates with the Skitty for multiple months at the time, and she had an excuse to be there, and even then, she'd still been... truth be told, really quite scared.

Now? What was she supposed to do? Just... wait? She followed the Dratini in, taking in the sites around her. There were chairs and sofas on her right, which seemed a bit aged, but at the same time, plenty comfy. If Alki had been feeling less overwhelmed, she would've probably made her way over to that side of the room. As things were, she stood rooted to the spot. The heat was nice, and her ears wiggled back and forth in mild pleasure. But still... something was missing. There was food there, she could smell it, and she imagined the tray that was in sight had some of it. But there was no mom to accompany the tray...

The Dratini seemed to have read her mind however, and soon addressed those thoughts. Mom's in here somewhere, so food'll be ready soon if it isn't already." Alki nodded, fidgeting in place. So... were they going to look for her or just wait, or...? "...Ok," Alki said, a bit off beat. It was obvious she was nervous, but at the same time, she was doing her absolute best to keep it contained.

Iris nodded at Alki's words, figuring she was okay there for a minute while he went and fetched his mom.  The dratini slithered off to the open doorway, and lo and behold, through it he found his mother in her own bedroom. The dragonair was listlessly sorting through a cabinet of hers, lost in thought as she was rifling through, presumably looking for something. It must have been a momentary distraction, because the larger dragon-type was sporting a cooking apron; clearly, she hadn't meant to be away from the kitchen for more than a few moments.

"I'm hooome," Osiris said, drawing her out of her reverie.

"Oh, how was Archie's?" She replied, looking up. "Did you get what you needed?"

Iris bobbed his head, nodding along. "He said for you to drop by when you get the chance," the dratini said. "Also, I brought a friend home for dinner, her name's Alki. She's going to Peak, like me."

His mom drew back, surprised, but pleasantly so. "Well, isn't that nice. " the dragonair finished, hovering off the ground and gracefully gliding back into the kitchenette section of the main room, back. Osiris trailed in after her at a more sedate pace.

"Alki, is it? It's nice to meet you, I'm Iris' mom." the dragonair introduced herself, smiling at the jigglypuff. "You go ahead and get settled, and we'll get the two of you fed in a jiffy, okay?" Osiris himself swept past the dragonair toward one of the closed doorways, shooting Alki a look that said 'just go with it', before gesturing with his tail to follow him as he opened a door and went through.

Alki watched wordlessly as the two dragon types exchanged words with each other. It was quite curious, to be completely honest. She shifted from one foot to the other, nervously tapping her hands together  as she retreated deeper into her own mind, and zoned out the conversation itself. Instead, the jigglypuff simply observed the sights in front of her. Iris seemed quite cheerful, the way he slithered about, looking for his mom, nodding his head along without a care in the world. His mom was wearing a cheery looking apron that looked a comically small on a pokemon as large as she was.

She could identify the scene in front of her as rather cute. It was! That was plain to see... It reminded her a bit of Darcy's family, and all her siblings, and their parents... It was cute. It wasn't familiar. When Alki had been with her parents... All she'd gotten was a curt nod as she passed them by, on the way to her room where she just... existed? Existed quietly... And that as on a good day. On a bad day she was brought down, yelled at, belittled, made fun of, mocked,and then she was hungry for the night...

She was jealous. The jigglypuff closed her eyes and exhaled a small, shaky breath as she tried, and failed, to clear her thoughts. She was really jealous. She replayed the scene between the dragon types in her mind, reflecting on what was likely a normal occurrence between the two of them. That was just it. It was normal. Wasn't it? Darcy's family had been like that too, now Iris' was like that...

Why hadn't hers been like that?

The balloon pokemon seemed to deflate a bit, and was only brought back to reality by the large Dragonair, with her silly little apron approaching her. The jigglypuff's ears wiggled as she realized this, suddenly finding herself a bit intimidated by the Dragonair's length. Truthfully, the apron did quite a bit to calm her nerves. It was so small.

"H-Hi... I-I'm Alki," She said, introducing herself back. She smiled, and while a bit shaky, it was genuine. Her jealousy didn't mean she didn't want to be nice, and Iris had already been nothing but nice to her... Why would his mother be any different? She gave a small, shy nod as she gave her instructions: Go ahead and get settled. She could manage that... "T-Thank you," She said quietly, yet sincerely. She waited a few moments before ambling off towards Osiris. She followed him inside the door in question, and waited a few moments before speaking in a tremulous voice.

"A-Are you two... A-Always like that?" She asked, a small hint of desperation in her voice as she spoke. She was silent after speaking, avoiding eye contact with Osiris. Why had she felt the need to ask that?

"Pretty much, yeah, why?" Osiris replied, not catching onto the forlorn tone of Alki's voice. He set about taking off his headband, first, dropping it at the foot of his own bed before turning back to face the jigglypuff, oblivious to her internal turmoil.

As for the dratini's room, it was quite simple, and comparatively very small compared to the main room of the house, but more than big enough to comfortably fit quite a few pint-sized pokemon. His bed, a dresser, and a chest hugged the walls of one side of the room, while a desk, a mirror, and a bookshelf lined the other. The bookshelf, curiously enough, was stacked nearly to the brim despite the fact that Iris didn't come off as a bookworm.

And truthfully, he really wasn't. The bulk of the books there were either picture books, blank notebooks or notebooks he'd used for various unimportant things, or the one scholastic appreciation he had; dragon-type trivia, lore, and knowledge in general.

Alki cleared her throat as the Dratini gave her a fairly straightforward answer. They were always like that? So... What did that mean for her? Why hadn't it been normal for her? For as long as she could remember, her own home life had been pretty much the complete opposite from the Dratini's. Until she met Darcy, anyways, but that had been... it had been years between her birth and Darcy. What had she done so wrong that she hadn't deserved it until then? Her hands began to tremble slightly as she thought about it more, but she caught herself before her own thoughts spiralled too far out of control. She could ask Darcy, maybe, or... Well... Just keep the thoughts to herself. That'd probably be for the best...

Alki took in the sight of the Dratini's room. There wasn't that much to it. In fact, it looked kinda like her own room at the guild. There was a bed, which was much bigger than her own, but granted, she was a pretty small Pokemon to begin with... There was also a dresser and a chest, and while the girl was curious as to what they might contain, she resisted the urge to open them. Instead, she turned to the other wall, which had a desk, a mirror, and a bookshelf. She gave a cursory glance over the desk, but aside from some loose sheets of paper and pencils, there was nothing on them. Instead she made eye contact with herself in the mirror. She straightened herself up, only just then realizing how small she'd been making herself. She forced a small smile and watched it grow, bit by bit in the mirror, until she was satisfied with her own appearance. She'd been happy earlier, so... why was she thinking so negatively now? She just had to go back to how she'd been earlier... Just smile...

Finally, Alki turned to the bookshelf. There were a lot of books... She felt overwhelmed just gazing at the sheer amount of them. She wondered what they contained... Not that she could tell by looking at them. Just looking at the words gave her quite the severe headache. Instead, she gazed for a few seconds, her mouth a round 'o' of surprise until she turned to the Dratini. "Y-You have a lot of books... You must be real' smart..." She said, her smile turning more sincere compared to its earlier forced-ness. "W-What are they all about?"

"Oh, no, not really," Osiris deflected, laughing a bit sheepishly. "It's geek stuff mostly, only a few of them are like school books. It's a lot of lore and trivia and stuff, about dragons mostly." He spoke about his stuff in a slightly dismissive tone, but a part of him was happy that the jigglypuff had noticed.

Honestly, it was the only part of his room that really brimmed with personality. The chest had some of his actual stuff in there, but at a glance the bookshelf was the main source of Iris' interests shining through. This was another small reason that he couldn't wait to get into the guild; he'd have more space all to himself. Sure, he'd have to share with a teammate, but the stuff they put up in their room would be mutual between them, stuff they both liked. That was teamwork, right?

"I'm probably gonna have to get rid of most of it when we get started at Peak." he said, slithering a little bit closer to the bookshelf to look at everything he had. "Make room for like battle books and essential skills stuff, I guess."

"Ah... W-Well, I still think you're smart..." Alki said, matter of fact-ly. Considering she didn't really know what either "lore" or "trivia" meant, she was still quite impressed with the sizable collection of books and paper. So a lot of it was about dragons... Did he study them a lot? She supposed it made sense, considering that he himself was a dragon. "...I don't know much about dragons..."  She said absent mindedly, as she picked out one of the larger books from the shelf and weighed it in her hands. It was quite heavy. It probably has a lot of information... If only she could read. She was quite curious now...

It was then that he remarked that he'd probably have to get rid of all of these books... They seemed so important to him though! Why would he get rid of them? Alki shifted nervously as she considered her offer before speaking.

"I-I could hold on to them i-if you like... It's... I h-have a lot of room on my side of m-my sister's room..." She paused, took a deep breath, and then continued. "I-I could keep them safe for a while until y-you graduate, and then give them back..."

"I might take you up on that sometime actually," Osiris commented, smiling. "They're gonna have to go somewhere if I get new stuff, honestly. I don't have a lot of room in here, or otherwise, really." he went on, glancing around his room with a thoughtful eye.

"Buuuut it can wait until I get stuff to replace it with." he finished. "Kinda dorky to say out loud, but I wanna keep 'em for as long as I can, you know? Between school and the guild pretty soon, I think I'd like to catch a glimpse of them while I got the time."

There was a slight tone of arrogance in Iris' voice, like he genuinely thought he was going to places that would have him so busy and too important for the childish leisure-type things that he still admittedly enjoyed. "What about you?" he asked Alki, slithering up his bedpost to rest on top. "What do you do for fun when you're not in school or with your sister?"

Alki smiled back as the Dratini accepted her offer. Or at the very least, didn't dismiss it outright. She liked feeling helpful, and that was, indeed, what she felt like at the moment. See? It wasn't a bad idea to be a friend with her! Or know her! Alki's smile grew as she thought these things, nodding along as the Dratini continued to speak. Alki didn't detect whatever egotism might have been in his voice, instead thinking of it as plain, healthy confidence. She wished she had that. She wasn't sure she'd ever be more important than she was at the moment. If anything, she was just going to grow less important as time went on...

The balloon pokemon's ears drooped yet again as she thought of this, but she had no time to mope now. Iris directed another question at her, and this was one that she'd have quite some trouble answering. It's not like she could mention the truth... Yeah! I'm a career criminal! I steal from other people, and it makes me feel good! Well, that wasn't the entire truth, but it was quite likely that that was all he'd see it as, even if she tried to explain herself...

Or maybe... Well, maybe he'd see it as a joke...? No... that was just wishful thinking... "I... I, uh... I'm... I dunno… " She said, her voice shrinking as she thought about the one normal-ish activity that she took part in for fun. She had the most fun stealing, but she couldn't tell him that... Even then, it wasn't pure fun. She was nervous all the time, and she barely ever let herself keep any of the money... And that only left a couple things... "I-I'm... I like to sing, I guess..." She said, much quieter than she intended. She lifted up an arm to shield her face, which was, at the moment, quite furiously red. "I-It's stupid..."

The little dratini had to strain himself quite a bit to be able to hear the suddenly timid jigglypuff, but his effort was definitely rewarded. "Naw, that's not stupid," he easily deflected. "I don't know any other singers so that automatically makes you the best singer I know! It's a cooler hobby than, like, bug collecting, no question. I know some of those guys. Nothing wrong with that, but there's talent in singing, at least." he said, nodding along as he spoke like he was agreeing with himself. He spoke genuinely; Osiris didn't even consider himself talented at anything or good at anything that involved talent.

At best, he was lucky to be born a pretty good species of pokemon. But singing was something that almost any pokemon could pick up and do well at if they practiced enough and put the effort into. "How long have you been singing for?" he went on, raising both eyebrows as he studied the jigglypuff. It was obvious to anyone that she was feeling very embarrassed and timid about her choice of interest, but he figured that was silly. Best to draw her out of it somehow, and this was the first attempt.

"A-Ah, well..." Alki stammered, quite taken aback by the sudden praise she had received. The best...? How could he possibly be so sure? She had... Well, he hadn't even heard her, and even if she was the only one he knew, then... it was hardly impressive... She'd been teased and made fun of as an igglybuff for her choice of hobby by the other kids at the pond, when she was younger, and now she was unsure of what to do seeing as Osiris seemed to think quite highly of her choice. She fell silent as he continued, unwilling to protest. If he thought that highly of her, then she certainly didn't mind... It was a welcome surprise.

Alki returned the book she'd been holding to its proper place on the shelf, and turned to the Dratini. He seemed to be quite enthusiastic, nodding along and praising her, and... well, interested. It's not that it was completely unheard of for her. Synd'r cared. Darcy cared. It's just... Well, it was still a surprise that anybody cared about someone as insignificant as her... Alki hummed and hawed for a couple seconds as she thought of an adequate response to the Dratini. She wasn't feeling quite as nervous, but she still spoke in a subdued voice without even realizing it. "W-Well, I... I dunno, like... a-as long... well, just a long time," She said finally. "I-I've never really s-s-sang for anyone, though, really... j-just a couple times, f-for my sister... I-I'm... w-well, people aren't usually t-too interested, a-and... I'm probably not very good..."

Osiris immediately grinned at Alki's implied offer. "I'd love to hear you sing," he said, shuffling a little bit on his bedpost in visible excitement. It wasn't just her showing off a craft she'd been practicing for years, but it was basically an exclusive show! Only her sister had ever heard Alki sing before.

He didn't offer any assurances of her talent or anything like that - not only did he figure she was at least decent (it'd be sad if she wasn't if she'd been doing it for "a long time") but he also wanted her performance to speak for itself. It might have been just him, but if he had something like that up his sleeve and people offered applause and praise before he even got to show off, he'd be a bit miffed. How would you know if someone was genuine?

Alki's eyes widened as the Dratini said that he would 'love to hear her sing.' Would he? Probably not for long... She wasn't that good... She was probably really unimpressive, but she didn't want to say no... It was the truth, after all. She'd been singing for fun for as long  Has she could remember, but it had always been just for herself... It's not like she was amazing. She probably wasn't. But it was something she was a bit proud of. Or at least as proud of as someone with confidence issues like hers could be.

"O-Ok..." She said nervously, her hands trembling both out of fear, and a bit of excitement. She'd never done something like this. And he'd been nice to her the whole day... Maybe he wouldn't hate her for it? Hopefully she didn't screw up... She paused for a few long seconds, trying to think of what she should actually sing. She had a lot of songs, but it was probably better to sing something a bit easier, such that she might have a smaller chance of messing it up... And maybe impress him more? "O-Ok..."

Alki closed her eyes and waited for a few seconds, counting in her own head. One and two and three and four and one and two and... She continued, before beginning. Her voice was soft, and carried itself elegantly throughout the room. It wasn't loud, exactly, and in it's own way, it was still a fragile thing, as nervous and afraid as her spoken voice had been the whole day. But her species was naturally well suited to such an activity, and the girl had fun with it. Even if she didn't have a high opinion of herself, it let her forget about her worries, at least for a bit... Even though she herself nit-picked every detail when she sang, it was, objectively speaking, a pretty good singing voice.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas... Let your heart be light... From now on your troubles will be out of sight," She began, pausing for a few measures as the first verse ended. The song was slow, but the range of her voice varied quite a bit, dipping low and flying high as she had fun with the song. The balloon pokemon inflated herself as her ears perked up, and a small smile grew on her face, even as her eyes remained shut tight.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas, make the Yuletide gay, from now on your troubles will be miles away..." Her smile grew as her voice grew more confident. It's not like her opinion of herself had improved much. It's just... With only the covers of her eyelids to see, and her own voice to hear, it's like... it's like she was alone. And that helped...

"Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore, faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us once more..." Alki began to sway from side to side as she sung. She thought about the song's lyrics. She wished she had more friends. She'd just met Osiris, but she had a good feeling about him now... Maybe in the future, if she sang the song, it'd be true... maybe he'd stick with her, like Darcy had. Like she hoped Synd'r and Vesper and Cecil would... That'd certainly be nice...

"Through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow, hang a shining star upon the highest place, so have yourself a merry little Christmas..." Alki's voice slowed down, taking more times between the rests and more time for it to travel between the highs and the lows of the song.  

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas, so have yourself a merry little Christmas... Tonight..." She finished, allowing her voice to draw out as the song ended, her smile having grown wider without even noticing it. Her voice hadn't been bombastically loud, or particularly impressive, but... even she thought it had been pretty. It had been, right? Maybe it was just wishful thinking... The girl opened her eyes again, her smile still wide as she gazed at the Dratini. But even if she was smiling, her eyes still betrayed the anxiety she had been feeling at the start, and she panted slightly, as if out of breath, as she spoke.

"T-That was a dumb song choice... I-It's... I-It's nowhere near Christmas, it's just... the only one I could think of, o-on the spot... Sorry..." She said, her face blushing again as she smiled.