nexus_crossings | (no subject)

He raises an eyebrow at her comment, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Really. I wonder why that is."

A scared Harrowheart. He's going to enjoy that mental image for a while.

"Nah, I like it fine. Pokémon are all right." He takes a sip of his coffee while they walk, the gesture seamless. "I'm not thrilled with some of the punks who hang out nearby, looking to battle."

"Ain't it obvious?" She grins at him.

"Punks? What kind of battle?" This interests her.

Caspar snorts and takes another sip of his coffee. The truth is, Harley has the power to scare him, too, or at least make him incredibly uncomfortable. He appreciates the fact that she's respecting his personal space.

"Ugh. Don't get me started," he complains, as the poké mart comes into view. "They train the pokémon to fight other pokémon. The respectable ones keep it in a gym where there are rules -- it's no worse than wrestling, so far as I can tell, and the pokémon are into it -- but these assholes, they form gangs and taunt people into battle." He shakes his head. "Why can't they be like typical humans and shoot the shit out each other instead? They have to drag their pets into it. It's disgusting."

Fortunately, the only people hanging around outside the mart today are a couple of trainers and a flock of wild pidgeys pecking at some crumbs on the ground. "The terminal's right inside the entrance," he says, holding the door open for her.

"You can train your pokemon to fight?" Harley listens carefully. "What are the advantages over being in a gym setting?"

"Why would they want to fight other people? Do they win money?"

She looks around the PokeMart as they arrive. And smiles at him when he holds the door open.

"They all have special abilities. You train them to fight or at least keep their powers under control." That aspect of pokémon ownership he doesn't seem to have a problem with. Anything that helps the little buggers protect themselves, he's fine with. "The gyms make things safer. And there's less chance of cheating, from what I can gather."

He rolls his eyes. "For honor," he says, like it's the stupidest thing in the world. "To be seen as the best. The gangs probably steal shit, too. I don't know who the bigger idiots are, the ones with skull beanies or the ones with the letter 'R' on their jackets. It's pathetic."

All that disdain, and yet when they step inside the poké mart, it seems like any other pet store. Perhaps a bit more colorful, but there are no signs of nefarious activity. Caspar gestures to the terminal, It looks like a display one might find at an airport, if you wanted to print your boarding pass or check departure times. "Let me know if you want any help."

"And no one has decided to try to put a stop to the gangs?" Harley asked curiously.

She headed to the terminal, checking it out to find out what information was available to her.

"They can't physically make anyone do anything here while the AV field is intact," Caspar replies. "All they do is talk smack and hope someone falls for it. Except the ones with the skull beanies. They rap. Badly."

The terminal has several purposes, but one of the options is a pokédex that lists pokémon by type and region. One can also do a search comparison with other animals to see what comes up. Considering that children use this device, Harley probably won't need Caspar's help.

"Mental violence is still violence. But the AV field still allows that." Harley noted. There are a lot of scary people in her world, who could do a lot with just mental trauma.

"Ya'know... I could be here a while. You don't have to wait around for me." Because she doesn't want him to think he has to.

"Those boneheads don't have the brain cells to cause that kind of trauma," he notes derisively. "Not that I enjoy seeing them at all, mind you. But there's not much to do about it other than ignore them."

While Harley is checking out the terminal, Caspar has found a spot of blank wall to lean against. He looks over when Harley speaks, expecting her to ask a question about the terminal. When she instead offers him a chance to leave, he blinks, then looks down at his cup of coffee.

"I don't mind," he admits quietly. "I have some time to kill." A trainer walks in with a bellosom, the flower pokémon singing a happy little melody, and a faint smile graces his face. "Besides, I like the scenery."

"One could also fight fire with fire. Insults with insults. Bullies back down real quick when they realize they are being challenged."

"Maybe get a Pokémon-related gift for Adia!" She smiles. "She would like that."

A smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Harley, I am trying to be a Good Boy. Don't encourage me." He shrugs a shoulder towards the door and adds, "I don't care if they insult me, it's Adia I'm worried about. You know she's too nice to say anything back."

He smiles a little at the idea. "Yeah. She'd like that..." He pushes off the wall, but something seems to have soured his mood before he's even taken a step. "Too bad somebody beat me to the idea first."

"That is why people like you, and like me, should take care of them. So they are not around to bug people like Adia." Harley points out.

Harley looks around to see why Caspar is suddenly soured.

Something dark glints in Caspar's eyes. How nice it would be to fight fire with fire, as Harley so eloquently put it, and not hold his tongue as usual. "Tell you what," he says, "If either of us catch them making trouble, we let the other one know. And then we can handle the situation together."

His gaze is on a row of decorative keychains, which doesn't seem to warrant such a frown. Realizing that Harley is reacting to his words, he schools his expression back into something more neutral. "A friend of Adia's already took her here and bought her something. Which is fine, except I have the distinct feeling that this 'friend' of hers would like me out of the picture."

Harley turns to face him completely. The terminal forgotten now that something much more important is being discussed.

"Is the same friend I saw speaking to you both during Christmas?"

"The one who threw his Christmas gift into the fire?"

"The guy who gave me the creeps so much, that I followed him home?"

Then something nudges at Harley. And she points at the terminal. "He had a Pokémon. Help me find it!"

He opens his mouth to say that, yeah, it's the same creep from the holiday party, but snaps his jaw shut when she mentions him throwing a gift into the fire. This guy was suspicious enough for Harley to follow him home?

Adia said he's a pokémon novice. So what was he doing with one of them back in December? The thought hardens his expression, and he puts his hand on the terminal display. The screen flickers to the search menu. "Tell me about this pokémon," he says quietly, his voice lacking any sort of emotion except urgency. "Its size, color, what animal it resembled. Everything you can remember about it."

"It came out of the shadows..." So she starts under the Dark listings.

"And it was Feline." She searches through the different Pokémon in this section. And then stops when she spots a familiar Pokémon.

"This is it!" She points to a Alola Persian. "This is the Pokémon I saw at his cabin."

Caspar does a secondary check while Harley searches manually. Eight hundred and two pokémon, damn. Good thing she recognizes it when she does. He leans in and reads over the animal's description: a sign of wealth, it looks down on all others. So brutal that it plays with its weakened prey rather than killing them outright. "Doesn't sound so cute," he mutters, half to himself.

His jaw tightens. That lying little shit.

"He never told Adia that he owned a pokémon. He acted like this --" He waves a hand around the store, "--was all new to him." He straightens up and folds his arms across his chest. He doesn't like this, not at all. He thought Josh was awkward and intrusive, but this takes it to another level. "What else did you see when you followed him home?"

"The pokemon and him looked pretty close to me." Harley tapped her fingers lightly, as she read about the strengths and weaknesses of the Persian.

"He went home with a drunk woman. And I didn't stay to see what happened between them. But it just gave me the creeps."

He frowns, but otherwise doesn't know what to make of that information. It's a puzzle piece to save for when more of the outline is completed, he decides. "Where does he live? Can you get back there if you had to?"

"Of course I can." And she is now planning to just that.

"Good." He exhales sharply. "That's good. I can't keep tabs on him, he makes himself scarce whenever I'm around."

Not to mention that stalking would not be a good look for him. He already skirts the line a little with how possessive he can be. He's trying so hard to not be that kind of boyfriend. At least now he has confirmation that his discomfort with Josh was not because of his own issues.

"His name is Josh, by the way. He's the host of an online trivia show. That's what he says, anyway." He glances at the terminal. "That persian gives him some protection. You might want to look into bringing backup."

Harley knows the possessive boyfriend type. And Caspar does not fit that description in her head. If he did, she would have spoken to Adia already.

"If he lied about having a Pokémon, you don't know what else he lied about."

Harley nods. "I will be prepared. I am trained to handle something like this."

He'd be relieved to hear it, although right now is not the time. All he can think about is how he's going to explain any of this to Adia. She's so goddamn trusting, she's not going to want to hear this about a friend of hers.

"No kidding." He rolls his shoulders, trying to let out some of the tension. Harley's on his side here. "When do you think you'll head back?"

Harley can guess what he is thinking about. "Hey Caspar. If it helps, I can talk to Adia about what I saw. After all... I was the one who followed him."

And then if Adia gets mad at anyone, it is Harley... and not Caspar.

"I got to get ready first. And that includes finding my own Pokémon."

Caspar's gaze shifts away in embarrassment. Is he that easy to read? "If you don't mind. She'll take it more seriously from you." He thinks about suggesting that they talk to her together, but that feels like too much.

Maybe when he's more comfortable with his arithmancy studies, he can ask the runes what to do.

He looks to the display again, frowning at the screen. He only knows the basics of pokémon battles. "You need something strong against dark type. It wouldn't hurt to have one that can get you out of a jam fast, too."