Duel 01 // Video & Action // New Bark Town

[princelyspirit]

[A blurry splotch of white and red fills the screen, before the camera zooms out to show a Ponyta standing in an open field. It sniffs the air curiously before it faces the camera again, and trots over as a girl speaks in the background]

Hey, careful there-oof!

[The Ponyta's face fills the screen and the camera jerks around wildly, before focusing on a large, blue eye. It blinks as it zooms out again, finally revealing the owner of the pokegear: a young girl in her early teens, with an angular, heartshaped face and long, bright pink hair. The pokemon nuzzles against her, and she sighs as she strokes its nose with her free hand. Compared to a human, it appears quite small; about the size of a miniature horse. Once it settles down, the trainer turns her attention to the camera. Her brow furrows as she begins to speak]

Is anyone out there? I just got done with that professor guy, and – look. I don't know what you want us to do with these “battles”, but first of all, I don't have any time for that. I've got more important things to worry about right now than some silly game! And second...

[looks back at her Ponyta] Even if I was interested, these guys don't really look like fighting material to me. Maybe if they were bigger, or stronger, or....huh?

[Pauses, and blinks while Ponyta moves away – there's a rustling sound as it nudges the bag off-camera. She sighs, and the camera jerks a bit as she pulls it away from him]

...look, all I need is a way out of here. If any of you guys know something... well, I'm all ears.

[and off goes the transmission]

Comments

[papasmellslikethis]

[ Hmm... Yeah. He's not too happy with that thought. But he gives her a cheerful wink nonetheless. ]

Is that so bad? Don't worry, I'm very reliable.

[princelyspirit]

[gives a small laugh and shakes her head]

No, no, it's not that - I just remembered something another person here said. Like, nobody wants to be here any more than anyone else. But, when you're just thinking about your home and your friends, it's easy to forget what everyone is going through.

[shrugs] I guess what I'm trying to say is that we're all in this together. No matter how bad things get, there's going to be someone here who needs help just as much as you do.

[papasmellslikethis]

You're a smart kid.

[ Have a reassuring smile. ]

You'll do just fine.

[princelyspirit]

Thanks, but I'm just repeating what someone else told me. If I was that smart, math class would've gone a lot smoother, trust me.

[papasmellslikethis]

Isn't that what most of school is, anyways? Repeating what your teacher tells you.

[princelyspirit]

Yeah, sort of - though most of my teachers weren't nearly as interesting as some of the people around here. Then again, it's hard to compete with someone who has a giant dinosaur for a pet.

[papasmellslikethis]

Don't worry, most of the useful stuff you learn are learned from experience, anyways. School's pretty useless in the grand scheme of things.

[princelyspirit]

So, I guess all those tests were for nothing, huh? I wish I would've known that then - I could've worked on more important stuff. Or slept in more, at least.

[still joking around - though more sleep would've been nice.]

[papasmellslikethis]

Well, not nothing. Just not nearly as important as they make it out to be.

[ Look at him trying to be a good parental figure... ... and failing. ]

[princelyspirit]

Oh? And what sort of stuff did you use when you got out of school?

[papasmellslikethis]

[ ... Well.

... He went to military academy. And then went off to kill lots of people. So. ]

Do they teach you how to mix music in school? Probably not.

[princelyspirit]

Heh, no, I can't say they did. I mean, there were music classes, like piano and chorus, but nothing like that.

[tilts her head at the camera, curious]

So, is that what you went to school for? How to make music?

[papasmellslikethis]

Nah, I taught myself that. But it's more important than anything I learned in school! What's important is doing what you enjoy.

[princelyspirit]

That sounds like a pretty good philosophy. You're pretty smart yourself - for an adult, I mean.

[She's still just messing around, for the most part. But, he really does seem a lot more... laid-back than most of the grownups she's known. Less focused on the rules and what's "proper".]

[papasmellslikethis]

[ Have an amused chuckle ]

I've had a lot of experience.

[princelyspirit]

Well, so do a lot of people, but... I don't know. It feels more like they get so caught up in the rules and what everyone says you're supposed to do that they can't see anything else.

[papasmellslikethis]

Some rules were just made to be broken, if you ask me.