Soft lullabies (Open-Mod)

[Snow Soul]

The clocks silence was an omen or just broken. No one would know since clocks didn't talk. Trying to find an meaning was useless in one girls mind. It just put too much stress on an already stressful situation. Blond hair was hidden under her hat as she walked up a few stairs. Her lips moving as she sang a soft lullaby. One arm was cradling a Togepi while a shiny ralts sat on her shoulders. The togepi was already asleep due to the lullaby but the Ralts was trying her best to stay awake. Exploring the clock tower had been Mekura's idea seeing as it was so quiet. It was easier on her senses.

Risa listened to the soft lullaby as she rested her head a top Mekura's. It was hard to stay awake when she had been awake since early this morning. Slowly her eyes closed and she fell soundly asleep. Mekura smiled and stepped on the landing and walked forward confident. Risa had given her enough info she could probably find her way just fine through the place. Following along the wall she picked a nice spot and sat down carefully. Gently pulling Risa from her shoulders she held her sleeping pokemon. They had been up for a while so it was about time for a nap. Stretching out she listened to her surroundings then softly started up her lullaby again. "Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens.." She heard Risa sigh in contentment and closed her own eyes to listen wondering what kind of pokemon were here.

[Jay]

They say the undertaker was a morbid one...bent to the ways of the world in which the dead were forgotten with time and the living were counting the days they had left. However, in truth, the undertaker was outside of time itself as far as Alvaro was concerned. Thus, the green haired man could choose the time in which he lived in and mark his path with his own decisions.

It was possibly this flaw...or maybe this simple characteristic of his nature which brought him spontaneously to the clock tower that day. None, not even Alvaro himself, really had the full answer as to why he was there. However, that was the simple fact, and with it, he chose to walk straight forwards and enter the tall building.

As he stepped into the tower, the green haired man found his head instantly leaned upwards as his lavender eyes inspected the entire tower itself. It had been silenced... or so he had heard from a few of the people he had passed while traveling. The most remarkable thing, or possibly the most deranged thing, was the fact that it had indeed stopped working the day the kingdom supposedly fell. Now Alvaro himself had not been in the area and therefore could not resolute any sort of time for himself. However, he did believe those that told the story.

In another moment, Alvaros' ears all but perked as it caught the sound of a lullaby of sorts. Was it perhaps the hymn of a ghost? Who knew.... However, Alvaro decided he would find out, and with that, the green haired man stared up towards the sound.

[Snow Soul]

"Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.
brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things." Mekura softly stretched then balancing her pokemon on each arm she got up and followed the walkway to slowly walk up some more flights of stairs. Careful so not to accidentally slip on them she hummed the rest of her lullaby. She didn't want to have to depend on Risa every time she needed help. Risa needed time to be young not just a helper. Stepping on the next landing she carefully balanced Risa and Kaiyou on one arm as she pulled out Kaiyou's poke-ball. Returning her she repositioned Risa and trailed a hand along the railing as she walked. She wanted to get to the top to give her pokemon a good view of the city. Plus Risa could give her layouts of the central capital.

Hitting another set of steps she let the hum of her lullaby rap around her. It wasn't very often that she felt someone staring but now she did. Looking around in vain she wondered where it was coming from. Deciding to push it to the back of her mind for now she went back to humming. Sooner or later the person or pokemon would show its self then Risa could tell her who or what it was. She wasn't about to wake her pokemon for some small thing. A few steps creaked but held her weight as she climbed up them. When she got to the landing she walked to the wall and trailed her hand along it so she had her bearings. Finding a spot out of the way encase anyone else was there she sat and closed her eyes letting the little noises reach her ears since she had already finished her little lullaby.

[Jay]

At first sight of the girl there on the stairs, Alvaro found himself staring quite surprised and saddened that it was not a ghost after all. Were ghosts even native to the tower? He wasn't sure and honestly didn't mind too much if they weren't. However, when the girl began to look around, Alvaro found his head slowly turn to one side. However, when she turned her head directly towards him while still looking around, he caught sight of her eyes.

Ahhh.... the medical knowledge in him awoke, and the green haired man mentally nodded to himself. Well now, one didn't see that sort of thing every day. It was possibly this almost child-like curiosity that drove him to follow her... well at a far distance of course. She seemed rather strong even without her sight which was also always a tad interesting, heh.

When Alvaro reached the top, he hesitated a moment taking the final step onto the landing. Was he afraid? Of what? Heh, nothing. Chuckiling a bit at his own hesitation, the green haired man continued upwards and soon enough found himself there at the top. As he looked around and caught sight of the girl again, he finally noticed what was actually in her arms per say. Ah.... a psychic type was it? Alvaro had one, and they sometimes seemed to hold their own interesting things about them, heh.

[Snow Soul]

Her ear seemed to twitch as she heard footsteps. So it hadn't been a pokemon and she basically gave her blindness away. The steps seemed to hesitate as if the person was debating on following anymore. Maybe they would just go away. Apparently luck wasn't with her because the last step was taken and they continued in the direction she had taken. Soon they stopped again. The person had apparently found her cozy little spot. Though was staying quiet. She hated being just stared at it was very uncomfortable. She would rather be a shadow among many. It was easier then being pitied over her blindness.

Cuddling Risa closer she stood up and looked in the person's direction. "You might as well talk. Staring is kinda rude." Using her free hand she hoisted her bag so it was balanced on her shoulders again. Risa stirred slightly then sighed and cuddled against Mekura. She felt the gaze shift then move back to her. Was he even going to say anything. Maybe she should wake up Risa but she was sleeping so peacefully. Moving almost as if she could see she walked around him and to a roomier area where she didn't feel so cornered.

[Jay]

"Sorry," was the first thing from Alvaro's mouth. It was lighthearted in nature, and in truth, he was in a rather good mood. "I was just registering that you were really there rather than just a ghost of this clock tower, heh..." he answered back stepping aside just a bit more to allow the girl more room to pass. He turned on his heels easily as she passed and then faced her again.

"The tower is rather nice, is it not?" he chimed lightly shifting his eyes upwards and staring towards the ceiling of the tower now. It was closer than it had been before given that he had been at the bottom previously, but it was still quite a long ways up.

Stopping a moment, the green haired man laughed lightly. "Oh how rude of me... my name is Alvaro... most call me Alva or Varo just for shortness... though I really simply like Alvaro as a full name, heh....." he smiled lightly not directly looking towards the girl but addressing her none the less.

[Snow Soul]

Mekura blinked at his lighthearted words. Looking back in his direction she tilted her head slightly then smiled slightly. "I'm not a ghost though sticking to the shadows is what I'm best at." She had felt him move though she was pretty sure she wouldn't have bumped into him. She was good as judging how far a part things were. His gaze move away from her even as he spoke of the tower. "Yeah. Its quiet. I like quiet places."

Especially in the winter. People seemed to stay inside more which left her with a nice winter wonderland all to herself. Well and her pokemon. Hearing him laugh she wished she could see. She wanted to know what was so funny. Then he introduced himself. Oh. He had forgotten to introduce himself no wonder he was laughing. "I'm Mekura. Its nice to meet you Alvaro." Since he perfered Alvaro she would use that one.

Risa seemed to sense that she needed to be awake cause seconds later her eyes opened to see a new person with green hair. Blinking she rubbed her sleepy eyes then realized Mekura had climbed the stairs by herself. Sighing she knew it was useless to argue, so she climbed onto Mekura's shoulders again with just a little help. ("Hello! I'm Risa!") It was projected easily enough. She didn't mind talking to strangers.

[Jay]

For a moment, the voice in his mind surprised Alvaro, yet after a moment, he simply acknowledge the Ralts. "Hello," he answered back raising and waving a hand with ease. "I like this clock tower as well... it's quite entertaining...." he found himself looking around again and accidentally smacked himself with the clip braid in his hair that was constantly slipping down.

Sighing and sliding it back up again, he looked towards the girl and her pokemon. He seemed to note the girl's size and stature due mostly to the fact that he was an undertaker and was too used to noting those things when a coffin was requested.

After a moment, he stretched and put his arms behind his head. "Especially to someone such as myself...." he finished using that last term to more or less explain that he needed constant stimulus to stay entertained for more than thirty seconds... Eh.....well it depended... heh.

[Snow Soul]

Risa watched the male and smiled liking his lightheartedness. While he talked Risa let images flow from her mind to Mekura's to give her a sense of where she was and who she was talking to. Risa was pretty sure Mekura could do with out her but it was nice to know she could help her friend in any way possible. When his clip slipped down and smacked him in the face.

Mekura felt his eyes sizing her up whether out of habit or something she didn't care. It still bothered her that she couldn't see what he was doing though she knew she could sense it slightly. Her senses were stronger then those who could see. Maybe she shouldn't have stopped here after all but her pokemon had needed a rest after trudging through snow.

Mekura turned away and found a small window type thing and let Risa look outside. Immediately the small pokemon let her know what the view was like. Staying near Risa she turned her head Alvaro's direction as he started talking again. "I take it you need constant entertainment?" Her togepi was like that. She liked to play and if she was entertained she could play for hours before noticing the other pokemon were doing something else. It helped when her older pokemon needed a break from the baby.

[Jay]

At the wording from the girl, a light laugh escaped the green haired man and he found himself taking a step back and leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. "No," he answered back a tad too sternly for his own good. Deciding to lighten his voice a bit more, he half laughed again and shook his head despite the fact that the girl and her psychic pokemon didn't even seem to be looking towards him. "I simply don't live in the past or the future," he finished with a light chuckle. "The present is so much more fun to live in," he continued and or pretty much finished. Indeed, that summed up his life style did it not? He lived in the present... day to day things... the thrill of finding something new on that day and not worrying what the future or the past brought to the present.

In that strange moment, Alvaro blinked realizing a strange parallel between himself and the actual clock tower. Both were stuck in time, heh... the clock literally and Alvaro figuratively, of course. Stopped yet not worrying about it, heh. After a moment, Alvaro shook his head again and then looked towards the girl. "Do you like the view?" he asked lightly wondering if she could see like he thought she could. If not, he assumed he'd be apprehended for such words or something of that nature, yet this neither seemed to faze him nor stay in his mind for more than thirty seconds, tops.

[Snow Soul]

Mekura listened to his laugh and tilted her head wondering what had been so funny. At his stern voice she looked toward Risa who was still gaping at the view. It was very rare they visited any type of City but today Mekura had felt the need to find a quiet place away from everything. Though near enough to a general population so not to worry her pokemon. Listening she nodded her head in understanding. "Past is done with while the future remains uncertain. Guess it is a bit more fun to live in the present so long as you have friends to look forward too." Mekura had only met one other person in her time traveling. Her friends were the pokemon who traveled with her. Though it was because she tended to avoid most populated area's unless she needed supplies.

Which reminded her she had said she would let out Kaze out once they had reached the clock tower. He had become increasingly protective of her since he had started to Travel with her. He was an interesting fellow. "Hope you don't mind. I told Kaze he could come out once I reached the Clock tower." Pulling a poke-ball out she released her surskit. He took a look around then spotted the male. Nodding his head he set about exploring. Mekura heard his question and actually ended up confused. He might have realized she could see through Risa most likely since she knew he knew she was blind. Looking in his direction she went over the images Risa had given her. "Its pretty I guess. I don't usually come to the cities much but my pokemon usually like it."

[Jay]

Alvaro nodded at this and seemed to smirk to himself a bit. Catching sight of the Surskit, he nodded to it as well and was then reminded of his own pokemon. Desu would probably like the oddness of the tower, yet Alvaro wasn't going to let the ghost out here with the girl around.... Neh, heh. After a moment, he thought about Stella. Well, technically she wouldn't harm anyone, but then again, she wasn't one to be a fan of anything. Finally Ring came to mind, yet that was out of the question.

After a few seconds, Alvaro simply chuckled to himself. "I tend to go where my legs take me," he answered back lightly with an easy smile. "And sometimes some places hold me for longer than normal, but I eventually drift onwards...." he smiled lightly at this.

[Snow Soul]

Surskit watched the male but generally seemed lighthearted. He liked going places with Mekura she was fun to be with. Especially when he got her on the ice. She seemed to like skating almost as much as her pokemon liked playing. And Risa helped Translate for the pokemon who weren't psychic like himself. Going up a few stairs he searched a bit then came back down. Where had the other pokemon gone? Maybe they didn't want to be around the humans. Too bad. He wouldn't have minded making a few new friends. Plus Mekura could use some new friends. He had noticed that she didn't hang around the other humans too much. It made him wonder if she got lonely from almost no human interaction.

Mekura listened to him then closed her eyes to listened to Surskit move. "I Don't stay in one place any longer then necessary unless my pokemon want to." It made her seem more like a shadow that way. Though sometimes it was lonely. She just didn't want to be pitied. Apparently Alvaro just wanted to talk and was actually easy to talk to. Must be he was pretty lighthearted.

[Jay]

Alvaro stopped for a moment listening to this as a calm smile worked over his features. "I can understand," he answered back lightly starting to mess with his odd hair clip before finally un-clipping it and then starting to take it apart out of boredom.

His hair now fell oddly flat on his head and seemed to be a lot longer than it usually appeared, and a few strands of hair covered the strange gems on the side of his face. Pushing the hair away from his face as he continued to mess with his clip, the green haired man slowly started to undo the wiring on it.

"Though most of the time, my pokemon don't really protest to me going different ways, and so I usually just end up going my own way and doing things myself," he continued talking as he messed with the clip that was now making quiet clicking noises as he worked and twisted it a bit.

[Snow Soul]

Mekura listened to the sounds from her two pokemon then at his statement. He didn't seem bad at all. In fact she wouldn't mind becoming friends with him, especially since he didn't seem to mind her blindness but some people were good at hiding things. She should know since she hid her blindness long enough. Plus she had her little shiny ralts to help her.

Facing his direction she thought about it what he was say. Yeah the only place she was reluctant to take her pokemon was the Haunted Grove. She didn't like putting Risa in a poke-ball since the ralts was such a big part of her, but it was a place where she would rather have Hana out. Hearing the clicking noises she blinked wondering what he was messing with. Risa must have sensed her thoughts cause she turned and looked at what he was messing with to tell Mekura.

"Same. Though they love making new friends so I try to stick to places we might see new pokemon." At the moment her pokemon were quiet happy with the two new members to their little family. Thinking about it she asked, "You haven't happen to have been to the haunted Grove yet would you?" She wanted to see if the rumors of actual ghosts was true or not.

[Jay]

The green haired man blinked at the question that was posed to him and then put a finger to his chin stopping his action of playing with his hair clip for a moment to think about it. He had possibly traveled through it and had simply not known the name, but then again, eh... "Possibly," he settled on after a moment. "If I did, I didn't know what the area's name was and simply walked through it.... " he seemed to grow quiet for a bit more as he thought on this.

However, the fact that it seemed haunted... well... it would obviously mean ghosts... and he couldn't remember a place where he had seen ghosts in mass numbers... aside form Orion City where he had picked up Stella... as well as dealt with a few things he wasn't about to divulge at this point in time.

"I doubt it..." he finally stated as his thoughts all finally came to the same conclusion. "Have you been there?" he asked finally directing the question back at the girl as though wondering if she was going to give some sort of explanation on it or not.

[Snow Soul]

Risa sent her pictures of him thinking it over before she climbed down and went to see what Kaze was up to. He apparently was looking for new pokemon. They probably wouldn't come out till Mekura or Alvaro left. Pokemon were weird like that. Of course. Risa wouldn't know any different since she had been with Mekura for as long as she could remember.

Mekura listened and sighed inwardly. Well wasn't very much help oh well. She had been the one to ask. She would just have to stick close to Hana. Good thing her senses were better than a normal persons. When he turned the question back on her decided with was only fair to answer back. "No but I would like to go. I just don't want to Scare Risa. I've heard that a few ghost like things have a tendency to show up. And not the pokemon ghost types."

If Mekura remembered right she had heard about a some people getting attacked by the wild pokemon. Definitely would have to think about going there with Risa. Well she had already promised the next stop was the desert to Warm the fire pokemon up a bit.

[Jay]

Ahhhh~ Ghosts. Now that was something that Alvaro liked quite a lot for many different reasons... Well, for one, he related to death a bit too well for his own good. Aside form that, he found them rather interesting partners, in the end of it all. After a moment, he found himself sinking down and sitting against the wall cross-leged now. "Well... if you didn't want to scare your psychic pokemon... we could walk there together~" he chimed light suddenly starting to braid the side of his hair and then put the clip back into said hair. After a moment, he found himself messing with his earrings instead. Eh, boredom drove him to do odd things, heh.

[Snow Soul]

Mekura felt the interest the subject had incited in him. Interesting. Did he like ghosts or just the general scare factor? He liked excitement so more like the Scare factor. Her head turned in the direction of the two pokemon who where playing on the stairs. "Be careful you two. I don't need you falling from this height." Quickly her pokemon got off the stairs. They didn't want to worry Mekura. Hearing the slither of clothe on wall her head turned back in the direction thought her gaze seemed to follow his movements in all actuality she just heard him sitting. Leaning back against the wall she blinked at his suggestion. Blinking she wondered what she could say to that. "Alright then if you want to." She didn't want to force him to do anything.

[Jay]

Alvaro seemed to smile even more than before at the thought of heading towards the area. However, after a moment, he seemed to bring a hand to his chin in a sudden thought. "Heh, that'd be fun," he answered back suddenly very lightly. "I need to get a few more pokemon anyways~" at this he stopped a moemnt and seemed to sigh outwards slightly sad. Indeed, he only had three at the moment, and one bored him, the other was... well... how does one describe Desu without... heh.... and the last was well... Ring... heh.

After another second, he seemed to look over the girl for a few seconds. "Have you always been blind?" he asked after a few seconds finding his curiosity too oddly great at the moment. Realizing this, he half sighed and shook his head. "You don't have to answer that, neh...." he finally stated aloud. "I'm a curious little demon..." he said sticking his tongue out and then making for an overly dramatic raspberry of sorts a signal that he realized his own rather spontaneous foolish words.