the one that YOU [ w a n n a ] be like ;; Cobalt

[Kitaro]

She was quite a sight, really. There was her dark brown hair, with her bangs braided off to the side in a french braid with bright blue ribbon which matched her eyes. Around her throat was a cat collar; bright blue, with small, fake jewels embedded in it. A tank top, dark grey with cyan trim, and black jeans with sparkles on them finished it all off. Her runners were nothing out of the ordinary, but a small bracelet, braided from bright blue and orange thread was around her right wrist and a grin was on her face as she bobbed her head to the music blaring from her headphones. Of course, just because others couldn't hear the music didn't mean she was too shy to belt it out, as she danced on the spot, quite effectively scaring away all the wild pokemon.

Look at me; I know I'm fly
Look at me; you wanna be fly like I
I'm the truth and the truth don't lie
Give me ten feet chick; now give me another five!

Meanwhile, her treecko lounged in a branch high above, watching her with a rather bored look, a slim piece of grass sticking out of it's mouth. It wasn't disapproving; Just not exactly interested enough to give its opinion. Her taillow, on the other hand, was watching with rapt attention, hopping back and forth on its own branch(having been pushed off by the treecko), and it tried, and failed, to follow it's trainers movements.

Of course, at this point she had lost the lyrics, though she kept up with the beat rather perfectly. Her eyes closed as she moved into spins, dips, and dance moves that would send other people flat on their asses in an instant. She was used to having the risk of falling out of the house to the ground, having lived in a tree house, so she had learned fast how to not fall. Not that she didn't still make a few mistakes in longer grass.

Of course, this problem cropped up again. Just as she was about to jump into the chorus, the longer grass managed to act as a sort of rope, tying itself around her ankle and tripping her up. Her earphones got knocking out quickly(they weren't the best, though they worked), and she went careening backwards, eyes shooting open as she felt herself falling into someone, the music still blaring from the earphones in the grass.

She quickly scrabbled off whoever she had fallen, not caring about the dirt that had smeared her jeans and hands. One hand even flew to her mouth, covering it in shocked surprise, smearing dirt there as well.

Ohmygosh! I'm SO sorry!

She didn't think to ask if he was alright, though she did hold out a dirtied hand to help him up. It was then her eyes caught the sparkles that had fallen off her jeans like rain, and she had to fight to keep the laugh under wraps, though the corners of her mouth tweaked up a bit. Let's just say, they hadn't fallen on the grass, and boys with sparkles just made her laugh, unless they were gay. Not that she had anything against gay people; In fact, one of her best friends was gay. But, honestly, straight men couldn't pull of glitter. They just couldn't. And it was absolutely hilarious.



Legend ;; Narrative. Speech. Thoughts.

[Avykea]

Cobalt had been perfectly content wading through the tall grass that seemed to grow everywhere on Route 29. After all, his thick weather-resistant green coat - with the faux-fur hood - was rolled neatly into his worn, camoflagued travel pack slung across one of his shoulders, so he was no longer as uncomfortably warm as before. Instead, he wore a thin, but durable jacket that fell to just above his knees (it provided some additional protection against the sun's harmful rays) and torn jeans that had most likely seen better days. Underneath his jacket, he wore a simple white tee, complete with a faded green Pokemon insignia. His leather boots - now scuffed thanks to Totodile - rustled the grass softly.

The Pokemon in question had seemed, thankfully, less energetic than before, but she still leapt and bounded after him. Well, he had thought exasperatedly, at least she would be strong enough to withstand the intense training that he would spring on her in the near future. She had to be, since she had so much energy to spare.

That's when the sixteen year old noted something odd about his surroundings. Since he had set such a brisk pace, the rustling should have disturbed just about every wild Pokemon hiding in the grass; surely one would have attacked him by now? Cobalt hadn't been looking for one, per se, but Totodile needed the experience, especially if they were to go up against Falkner in the Violet City. The pale blue-eyed teen shot a glance to Totodile, who was happily jumping along beside him. Even she wasn't make that much noise. So who could it--

Cobalt heard her before he saw her. Hell, he bet the entire region could've heard her. He stopped a few yards away from the trainer - Cobalt noted the two Pokemon sitting just a bit off from where their trainer was dancing (a little bit foolishly, Cobalt thought dispargingly) - and simply watched as she twirled and swayed on the grass.

He wondered if she had taken something before he had arrived on the scene.

Totodile, startled at her master's pause in motion, launched herself straight in the air to clear the grass's top. She caught glimpse of the girl - Cobalt thought she looked no older than a year or two older/younger than him - and immediately, her reptilian eyes began to sparkle. This was Totodile's matching persona, a complimentary attitude. And so, Totodile shot forward, eager to join in the dance.

Unfortunately, Cobalt would have the first encounter, not Totodile, because as soon as the Water Pokemon put on a burst of speed forward, the grass around the trainer's heel twisted. This sent her reeling backwards...

... Right into him.

Down they went with a huff of sharply exhaled air. Cobalt felt similarly to how he had felt in the lab when Totodile knocked into his chin - dazed and a little confused.

"Ohmygosh! I'm SO sorry!" cried a voice, presumably a girl's, but Cobalt was still a bit too dazed to comprehend what she was saying. It sounded something akin to the rumbling of Graveler as they rolled down a hill.

However, as he came to, the teen realized that there was a sound of suppressed mirth coming from the other trainer. He blinked several times, trying to get his bearings, and pushed himself up. Cobalt became aware of the fact that his hands were covered in dirt - and probably his ass as well, Cobalt thought a bit sourly - and looked down to make sure that his jeans were clean.

There were sparkles.

Sparkles.

Sparkles.

On his jeans.

And she was laughing about it.

Before he could stop himself, Cobalt swore. "What the hell?" he demanded, swiping his legs clean of any of those pesky sparkles. It really wasn't the sparkles that bothered him; they were only sparkles after all. It was the fact that she had laughed at him, that he had been an object of ridicule, that really set him off.

[Kitaro]

Noticing he wasn't about to take her hand, she had pulled it back, meanwhile biting her lip to avoid the laugh getting out. Of course, that didn't work, and a muffled giggle escaped, rather girly for her and that fact alone made it drift away the next instant. She was not a girly girl, by any means, despite taking a sort of strange pride in her appearance. It was more the desire to be unique; to stand out on her own. That was what attracted her in her fashion sense. However, it was not enough to simply throw on whatever her fancy was that day; It had to look good together. Otherwise, she'd simply be a laughing stock of whoever was around, and that simply wouldn't do either.

They're rather befitting of you.

She replied, bring humor back in, though her face was entirely straight and her voice sounding sincere. Hah. Yeah right. The little, glowing spark in her sapphire eyes was all that hinted it was nothing but pure sarcasm. The object of said sarcasm, of course, had no need to be mentioned. It was rather obvious.

In the meantime, Maestro, her treecko, had finally had his interest peaked and had climbed down, leaping over and balancing precariously on her shoulder for a moment due to the forward momentum before gravity became the prevalent force and he settling down on her shoulder, dropping the blade of grass as if it was nothing. Because, quite bluntly, it was. Stygian, not one to be left out, swooped down, flapping around in the air a few feet above for a moment, before hovering down to land on the ground.

But, to be fair, it's not like I did it on purpose. So there's no need to be a prick about it. Though, you know, if you want, go right ahead. I've probably been through worse.

Then flashed the cocky, arrogant grin. To think she'd weathered enough verbal lashings to easily brush off whatever a stranger could throw at her wasn't exactly a good thing. At least, not to most; Mostly because most would actually be affected by them. Kit could care less what people said in reaction to her behavior. It was when they compared her to her mother that she lashed out. When no one knew who her mother was, they couldn't do such a thing, and would no doubt be safe from a tidal wave of rude comments, colorful language and per chance a beating or two from flying fists. Meanwhile, she simply bent down and grabbed up her headphones and MP3 from the dirt, brushing them off and shoving them in her pocket.



Legend ;; Narrative. Speech. Thoughts.

[Avykea]

Totodile energetically walked back to her master as he stared icily at the girl who had taken a spill - and spilled, it seemed, sparkles - on his jeans. Her dark brown hair was cropped short - almost as short as his - and her bangs were braided to the side in an elegant, complicated fashion. Cobalt, having grown up with a rather superficial mother, never fully understand how the female species could spend that much time on something as so frivilous as their hair. Being a self-considered master in the art of sarcasm, he could discern the tell-tale hint of sarcasm in the girl's voice as she said, almost believably sincerely, "They're rather befitting of you."

Cobalt would have laughed - except he was the object of the mirth. The teen had no experience with being on this side of the torture, and so, he simply bit his tongue and contented himself with slapping his jean legs with enough force to shake off the sparkles.

"But, to be fair, it's not like I did it on purpose. So there's no need to be a prick about it. Though, you know, if you want, go right ahead. I've probably been through worse."

The sixteen year old paused, letting the words sink in. At first there was a bewildered feeling as Cobalt attempted to find the connection between this and what had happened. Then anger at the girl's clearly belligerent connotation. And finally, slowly, a scoffing condescending feeling. It wasn't every day that Cobalt had the opportunity to meet someone so like him, and the teen recognized it. Her arrogant smile was met by a half-smile, snarky and scoffing, and his reply was equally as challenging.

"You know, usually, when you knock someone over, you apologize - not make a scene," Cobalt said, arching an eyebrow. "There's no need to make it all about you." He gave her a deceptively innocent smile, though he was almost positive she would see straight through that into the hidden insult behind his words. "C'mon Totodile," he called, skirting past his human roadblock - intentionally drawing close to her to rudely brush shoulders - "let's not waste our time with petty arguments.."

[Kitaro]

Now, she could have jsut let him go. She probably should have, even. However, she was not one to let things go, aand when he brushed past her, undeniably rude, that set her mind on one thing; She wasn't going to leave him alone. Of course, that would leave her open to comments on being a stalker, but she didn't particularly care about that. That wasn't to say she didn't notice his expression. The possibility of a kindred soul was tempting to discover, to analyze, to see if they truly had more in common than an initially glance would give away. But, right now, she pushed those thoughts aside. Her main goal, for now, was to follow him.

And so follow him she did. She ignored the brush of his shoulder, where she would normally throw the offender to the ground, pin them and make them apologize. Instead, she let it spin her around so she was facing his back, calling Stygian up to her hand with a silent hand motion that she'd learned years ago from watching her mother and set off at a brisk pace after him.

Well, perhaps if you'd actually been paying attention you would have heard my apology. I'm afraid I've never stooped to apologizing a second time, and an arrogant asshole isn't going to change that.

She replied flippantly, sticking her left hand in her pocket and holding her right hand steady, the weight of her taillow feeling like nothing in comparison to the noctowl she had handled prior to setting off on her first journey. Those unexpected years where she had acccepted her mother when most would push their parent figure away were still clear and crisp in her mind, making bird handling come easily. Or perhaps it was simply in her blood and she was a natural at it. She would likely never know.



Legend ;; Narrative. Speech. Thoughts.

[Avykea]

Cobalt was keenly aware of the girl following him, and natural instinct told him it was not wise of him to turn his back on her. However, he forced his feet to continue along the path, Totodile dancing around them happily. The small Water Starter seemed to be just bursting with joy at having found a new partner, and she gazed with curious eyes up at the Tailow perched on the girl's arm.

The teen was alright with the girl following him - he was no stranger to the wild, deluded, crazy fans that bombarded his parents' house back in Pallet town - but once she started talking... well, Cobalt's quiet peacefulness was shattered. It didn't help that what she said was as flippant as his response earlier.

"Well, perhaps if you'd actually been paying attention you would have heard my apology. I'm afraid I've never stooped to apologizing a second time, and an arrogant asshole isn't going to change that."

"Scary," Cobalt replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm. He spoke without looking back, busying himself with lifting a branch out of the grass so Totodile - and himself! - wouldn't trip over it. "I'm sorry I was preoccupied having the wind knocked out of me when you crushed - I'm sorry, fell on - me."

Cobalt smirked, pulling his durable camo jacket closer to his body as they passed by a set of trees that had grown closely together. In the far distance, he could see an Apricorn Tree with a colorful Apricorn dotting the top. "Is that why you like Flying Pokemon so much?" he asked, almost sneered. "Because they're just so much more graceful than you?" The teen stopped to examine a bush of berries, trying to discern if they were edible or not. He decided against it when he realized the berries were black as night with blood red insides. The two colors together spelled out trouble.

"Anyway," he continued, not bothering to wait for a response, even though she might've given one, "why are you following me? Want to get my mother's autograph? Dad's? Or maybe you want Garnet's?" His voice was flat, almost bored, but there was a slight stirring in Cobalt's heart, a bit of unrest. He had been approached often on the cruise to Johto after being identified as the son of the famous Zelkova couple. It had been a nightmare.

"You might as well give up now," Cobalt said meanly, bitterness prickling at the core of his words. "I sure as hell am not going to arrange any type of meeting, conversation, or fan-signing between you and them." His left hand slipped subtley into his pocket, grasping his simply-decorated PokeGear in case the situation turned ugly after Cobalt's blunt words.

[Kitaro]

She smirked slightly behind him, chuckling softly. She'd never intended it to be scary; Where was the fun in that? No, she was just being terribly blunt with him. There was no need to shroud everything under mannerisms and false pretenses. Especially not around this guy who was so similar to her it was almost creepy.

However, when it came to the comment on her grace(which was perfectly fine most days), she scowled again, only for a brief moment. She wasn't going to let him see it bother her, not more than an instantaneous reaction could show. Before she could really answer though, he'd moved on to the next topic and frowned a moment, not exactly sure what he was talking about. Then, of course, he mentioned Garnet. She'd heard the name; Everyone had. She knew vague snippets about the family. quite honestly, she could get by without them, but most others couldn't so she was stuck hearing this and that about the Zelkova's.

And suddenly it all clicked; Why he acted so much like her made sense. Some born into a famous family embraced it, like Garnet obviously had. Others, like her(although, her mother was only famous in the region, not the world) and him hated it, despised it, and fought back. She'd never been pressured by her mother to do much about her heritage, though, from rumors, she gathered she had something to live up to on her father's side as well. However, she had a feeling having even more well-known parents would be harsher.

Autographs are overrated. And I honestly don't care who your parents are. They don't define who you are. You do.

She replied with ease, clearly comfortable broaching such a topic. Mostly because she had lived in such a society where she'd had to deal with it daily.



Legend ;; Narrative. Speech. Thoughts.

[Avykea]

Cobalt felt a rising wave of bitterness fill his mouth with the sour taste of failed expectations and overshadowment as he walked. His light jacket snagged on a wayward branch and the teen snapped it off ferociously, with more vigor than he had to. The branch was soon tossed aside, behind him. And although it was mean of him to say so, Cobalt hoped the branch hit the girl behind him.

"Autographs are overrated. And I honestly don't care who your parents are. They don't define who you are. You do." Cobalt almost laughed aloud at her statement. "Really?" he asked with mock seriousness. "And I'm sure that you'll prove to me somehow, through some way, that you're interested in me as a person. Please, I've heard that before."

While Cobalt was preoccupied with his thoughts, his shoe snagged on a raised root. "Damn," he yelped as he tripped forward, just managing to catch himself before he took a faceful of dirt. The tops of his shoe had dug into the ground, and Cobalt scowled at the tree, as if it were its fault. (Well, technically it was since it had been the tree's root that had nearly fallen him.)

"And I'm sure you can relate," he continued sarcastically after freeing his foot. Totodile curiously inspected the tree, giving it a brief nudge with her Scratch before hurrying to Cobalt. Her joyful, throaty cries became a military chant as she walked, comically swinging her stubby arms back and forth in a rigid fashion. Cobalt found himself stepping in time to Totodile's cries, and he would have smiled had it not been for his moody, angsty-ness and the fact that he was not alone.

[Kitaro]

She scowled a slight bit at his disbelief, though she couldn't necessary blame him. It made sense to be skeptical. However, the thought of proving she was interested in him as a person? To be quite honest, she wasn't. At least, not more than the next guy. She wouldn't judge him on his family, but that didn't mean she wanted to get to know all about him.

She didn't bother telling him this though. Normally, she probably would have, but, while catching the branch that almost hit her in the face, she managed to spot the root ahead. Rather than reply, she simply didn't say a word; Not even a warning. He could deal with it.

She stalled for a moment at his comment that she must be able to relate, easily picking up on the sarcasm. She withdrew for a moment, freezing up, something that didn't normally happen. She bit her lip for a moment, then, not following, she replied.

Yeah, actually, I can. Not at the same scale, but I can.

She replied softly, clearly not happy about admitting it, before she started walking again, quickly catching up and brushing past him, much as he had done to her. She, however, wasn't anywhere near tripping on roots. She was used to forest floors.



Legend ;; Narrative. Speech. Thoughts.

[Avykea]

Well, Cobalt's day had been lovely.

First, he'd had someone fall into him. That was fun. Secondly, her pants - ridiculously sparkled pants - had left some residue on his normal, non-showy jeans. Thirdly, she started stalking him, and she still was. (He cast a look behind his shoulder, just to check if she was still dogging his steps. She was.) It seemed that all of the day's inconveniences and troubles led back to one person: the mysterious stranger who had stumbled - literally - into Cobalt's life.

So I guess you could say Cobalt wasn't feeling too fond about said-stranger. However, he drew up short, pausing in his fierce advance forward towards Cherrygrove City, when he heard her reply to his statement. "Yeah, actually, I can. Not at the same scale, but I can."

Well, this was new.

The teen was so surprised that he didn't even bother to seethe over the fact she had brushed him aside to get to the front. Ordinarily, he would've bristled immediately and said/spat something like, "Watch it, Mr. Woman!" or "Wow, so strong. You know, that'll never get you a boyfriend."

Instead, he simply said, "Who?"

[Kitaro]

If she'd had a sweater on, she probably would have pretended to not hear him, shoved her hands in her pockets, drew her head inside it much like a turtle, and walked faster. However she didn't really have a way to avoid him at this particular moment. Damn warmer weather. So, clearly not happy about having to admit it in the slightest, she stopped and turned a slight bit, so she was looking along the same line as her shoulder to see him, just a bit.

Winona, Fortree City gym leader. Guessing from other's actions, my dad's somebody, but I dunno who, nor do I care to.

There was a sort of guarded vulnerability there, which she tried desperately to cover up in a rather failed glare and her thumbs slipped through her belt loops on her jeans, forcing her taillow to hop and glide to a low branch when her hand literally disappeared from beneath the bird pokemon's feet.

Happy now?

Her voice was practically monotone, very nearly sounding cold, hard and malicious. She didn't have that sort of meanness in her body, though, not for someone who hadn't actually done anything terrible to her. It wasn't as if he'd tried to kill her or anything.



Legend ;; Narrative. Speech. Thoughts.

[Avykea]

"Winona, Fortree City gym leader. Guessing from other's actions, my dad's somebody, but I dunno who, nor do I care to."

Winona... That name did ring a bell - if faint - in Cobalt's mind. He was five again, wearing a mini tuxedo, his dark blue hair slicked back with just the right amount of gel. Garnet was standing beside him, a natural blush on her cheeks, black hair shining under the half-light of their dining room. Although at the beginning of the evening their hands had been intertwined, Garnet was soon whisked away by a boy about her age - probably the child of one the guests.

Now Cobalt was all alone, sitting at his parents' table as wine glasses chinked softly together and people murmured in the background. He picked at his food.

"Cobalt," his mother called gaily, and he lifted up his head tiredly. "Cobalt, darling, come meet our friends." He plodded obediently to his mother's side and was introduced to swirling faces that he didn't recognize, people who didn't know him, but fawned over him nevertheless. Winona didn't particularly stand out, but Cobalt remembered her because she wore feathers on her dress, and when she leaned close to greet him, she smelled like fresh air. "Hm."

"Happy now?"

Her response was snappy and malicious, as if daring him to say yes. Cobalt's brief moment of quietness at his memory passed, and he smirked at her back. "Almost as much as you, it seems."

[Kitaro]

Good.

She replied coolly. It would be worse if he was happy about it. Those people that got it out of her, then went so far as to be proud and excited about their accomplishment... those were the people she hated.

She turned away again, walking away. Her fun at annoying him was over with, there was no point in following any more. She wouldn't put it past him to do the same thing to her as she'd done to him and follow her, simply to annoy her. The only difference; It wouldn't bother her at all.

She cooed a soft bird call, and Stygian took flight, flitting from tree to tree, staying just ahead of her. Maestro decided to follow, leaping from her shoulder to the branches and bounding after the bird pokemon, scrabbling at some branches when it was a particularly long leap, though it didn't make him crawl back down.



Legend ;; Narrative. Speech. Thoughts.