Magnetism (SG)

[SongofWindchimes]

Bianca Lucy Azure Faux Zoro Fury Tyson

Sometimes people forgot that club-hopping, drinking, gleefully sexual Bianca was, before she was anything else, a die-hard tomboy. Before puberty had its way with her mind, all she ever wanted to do was run around like a wild child and climb things.

That's why she was currently in a tree, and for no other reason. Sometimes Bianca just had to climb something and indulge the little tomboy in the back of her brain. That was also why she was wearing pants instead of a skirt, albeit black, figure-hugging pants that ended not far below her knee to show off her shapely calves, and her purple tanktop was still plenty low-cut. She'd never completely give in to the tomboy. However, nor would she ever permanently give up the skull-and-crossbones bandanna she was currently wearing.

She leaned against the trunk of the tree, one leg sitting on the thick branch, the other dangling, humming softly as she hovered on a plane of awareness just before dozing. Today was a good day, really. No one had managed to ruffle her feathers, and she'd made a couple of good deals to get more pokemon, including finding a trainer or two who would brave the Hive and Haunted Grove. Now if she could just find a way to make a deal with the guy running Primordial Park...

Her Shinx, Tyson, was bounding around the tree, chasing a butterfly, rather oblivious to everything around him in single-minded pursuit of the prize. Faux Zoro, leaning back against the truck of the tree, watched him attentively, illusory tophat perfectly in place on the Zoroark's head as always. Fury, the Pelipper, was nestled in the branches above Bianca, napping. Given that Bianca's idea of a good time generally did not include them, this was a nice change of pace.

It was around that time that Bianca dozed off completely, the violet-haired woman half-dreaming about Aerodactyl, Kabutops, and Cradily.

[Admiral Striker General]

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[ Alaric ]

"That fucking bastard," Alaric spat for about the twentieth time in the past five minutes- if it hadn't been those precise words, it was on the same lines, or an incoherent rant of half-finished sentences fuming about the aforementioned fucking bastard. First time Alaric had gone home in a little over a month, and not three hours in he'd gotten into it yet again with his father.

Of course, by 'gotten into it', this is more to say that he was called out on some little irk the man had with him, and, as always, all Alaric's efforts were bested by one brief, cutting line from the older man. So deep was said cut that it had pushed Alaric to storm out of the house already, much to the rest of his family's protest. ...Of course, had they been upset with him, it would have been different. But no, they were upset with Alaric, who was apparently 'overreacting' or 'should listen to him'. Yeh, fuck it all.

After about half an hour of walking rather aimlessly through the woods he'd done his best to sneak off and explore hundreds of times as a kid, the blond eventually started to calm down. It was calming, and he should've known better than to expect any less, honestly.. That, and his Pokemon helped a lot. He really would've liked to ride Boxer, but- particularly after a rather horrifying part in a book he'd read with a certain not-so-Invincible horse- he did make a point not to ride when he wouldn't be able to concentrate properly. The others were always a comfort, though.

Suddenly, Alaric heard a rather familiar if nostalgic sound, and stopped in his tracks. Was that...? He listened more intently, slowly moving toward what he believed to be the direction of the sound. Why yes, yes it was! That definitely sounded like a Shinx! Making his way through some brush to a rather more open area, he spotted the blue cat, lighting up like Christmas. "Hey Honey, look at this!" The Luxray's pace didn't really change, however, as she leisurely continued the direction he'd gone. Not that she needed to be there to see what he'd found.

Dropping to his knees, he grinned at the little cat and greeted, "Well hey there, little guy~ Don't see many Pokemon like you around here!" It was then that Alaric noticed the werefox in a... top hat?... nearby, causing the young man to blank a bit. "Oh um... Hi there?" Well that was especially odd... Weren't Zoroark supposed to remain in disguise most of the time? And where did it get that hat? It suddenly occurred to him that they might have a trainer, but looking around he didn't see one nearby. Somehow, it didn't quite occur to the man to look up.

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[SongofWindchimes]

Tyson nothing short of tumbled face-over-paws at the sudden voice, but rapidly picked himself up and trotted over to the human who was suddenly there and kneeling on the ground. He mewed in a friendly manner, and then started to paw a little at the fabric of his pants. That looked fun to play with!

Faux Zoro did nothing until he received his own, mildly confused, greeting. He smiled and pushed smoothly away from the tree and to his feet. He plucked the tophat from his head, as if it were a true object, and twirled it in his claws before bowing with a florish. "Hello there, friend," he said in smooth, perfectly-spoken english, "Faux Zoro, Master Illusionist, at your service." He placed the tophat back on his head. "And this young lad is Tyson."

The kitten puffed himself up proudly. "Shinx!" he mewed chipperly. "That's my name!"

Faux Zoro chuckled lightly, before he slipped into a four-legged stance to scratch his ear with his hind leg, never once jostling his hat. "It seems our little hideaway has been found out." He tilted his head up, staring right into the treetops where his trainer was dozing. "And while the better half of our party is asleep, at that. I do hate to wake the dear lady."

Tyson perked up and raced back over to the tree. "I'll wake her up!" He started to scramble up the tree, and Faux Zoro cringed.

"It'd be better if you didn't--"

"Oof! Tyson leaped right onto Bianca's chest, and, before anyone knew it, she was hanging upsidedown by her legs, gripping the Shinx in her arms, and blinking furiously. "What in the...?"

Guy. Right there. Blond. Maybe it was something to do with being still sleepy and having the blood rushing to her head, but Bianca immediately stopped caring about whatever happened and flashed a smile. "Well, hey there."

[Admiral Striker General]

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[ Alaric ]

Oh shit it talks! Alaric had jumped a bit, but calmed quickly, at least on the surface. It wasn't the first time he'd ever encountered a talking Pokemon, but he didn't know a lot, and they always unnerved him. Something about it just seemed.. unnatural, really. Like, of course it would be cool if all or even most could talk; he loved Pokemon, after all. But just the occasional few was somehow a bit creepy. Eh.

When he mentioned a trainer, Alaric followed his gaze upward before letting out a simple, "Ah." He'd suspected, but.. Eh. How he didn't see her didn't really matter enough to dwell on. When the Shinx bounded up, he cringed with a "Hey, you don't have to--" And then she was falling, and Alaric almost had a heart attack, ready to try to catch her. But then she caught herself, hanging, and the blond breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Something... about that position drew his eyes immediately to her chest (possibly because the shirt was already pretty low-cut, and then adding gravity...), though he only stared a few moments before flushing and forcing his eyes to hers. Realizing she'd greeted him, he mentally kicked himself for coming off like such a jerkass right off and decided he'd have to especially play up his chivalrous side to counter it. "Hello there yourself," his hell-deep voice hummed back, trying to concentrate on the way that smile made him want to do the same rather than his moment of weakness. Placing one arm behind his back and partially bowing a moment even as he continued to look up at her, he cracked a wry half-smile and asked, "Might the lady like some assistance getting down?" He couldn't help but tease just a tiny bit, but the offer was sincere.

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[SongofWindchimes]

Bianca was a fairly observant person, even under these circumstances, and even as she was letting Tyson go to let him hop to the ground, she knew exactly where the man's eyes had gone. One slightly quirked eyebrow was the only indication she gave of such, however, though her interest was somewhat piqued when he looked away. A polite one, then?

A very polite one. Bianca was not terribly used to being bowed to. Or being referred to as a 'lady.' At least by beings who weren't Faux Zoro, and even he didn't use it that often, preferring 'captain.' She laughed good-naturedly at the offer. "The lady can handle herself, but thanks."

She swung back and forth a little, until she could grab another branch with her hands. She then let go with her legs and swung until her feet were pointed at the ground, at which she point she let herself drop the rest of the way and landed gracefully. She flashed grin. "Tada!"

Tyson pranced over, and she knelt down a moment to scratch his ears. "You're going to be the death of me, you know that, you little rascal?" she cooed affectionately, and the cub merely mewed happily back. She shot a look at Zoro, still clearly more amused than annoyed. "And some lookout you are."

Faux Zoro chuckled softly. "I didn't wish to wake you. If it spares me your wrath, my captain, he only just arrived."

Bianca stood up again, brushing of her pants even as Tyson rubbed up against her, putting a layer of blue fur on them. "It does," she replied without looking at the black fox, instead smiling at the man. "Hope my boys here weren't giving you any trouble, sweetheart."

[Admiral Striker General]

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[ Alaric ]

The noble could only watch with mild awe as she maneuvered around the tree like some sort of Ambipom-tailed Mankey. While most of it was just to do with strength and skill, some part in the back of his mind couldn't help but think, Hot damn, she's flexible! When she dropped with her 'tada', he simply smiled and remarked, "Most impressive, m'lady," before watching her with her Pokemon.

That cat was too cute. When she finally turned her attention back to him, he cocked an eyebrow slightly. 'Sweetheart'? Lulz.. Still, he kept a pleasant face and tone as he assured her, "Not at all. I love cats, especially Shinx~" About this time, he realized Honey should be here by now. "Now where-.." he mumbled to himself, blinking a bit as he turned around. There in the treeline at the edge of the clearing, large patches of black just almost blended with the shadows, betrayed by the occasional flash of blue behind some thin brush. Raising an eyebrow and smirking, he dropped to something much more casual as he called out, "Hey! You're not shy. Stop hiding and come say hello!"

Sighing heavily, the large Luxray rolled her eyes. She'd actually be debating whether or not to turn around and go home and avoid watching this painful play they were about to perform... Well, so much for that.. She then broke what was left of the forest's barrier and padded regally toward them, dignifying only the Zoroark with more than a few seconds of a glance. Hm.. He was too small for her for certain, but he was kind of nice to look at, wasn't he? Mm. At least she might have some mild entertainment to distract her.

Turning back to the woman, Alaric smiled gently, nodding sideways toward the Luxray as he introduced, "This is my sweet Honey. Like I said, your-- ah, Tyson he said?" 'He' being Faux Zoro, of course. "He was no trouble." His look turned a bit sheepish then. "If anything, I should apologize for getting him worked up. Sorry to wake you, then.." ....Annnd... no. Maybe? No, no he couldn't resist. A very slight cheesy grin cracked as he added, "Not that you need the beauty sleep, of course~"

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[SongofWindchimes]

Bianca's eyes nothing short of lit up at the sight of the Luxray. She'd always found the larger of cat pokemon irresistibly regal, just like the little ones were irresistibly cute. At the introduction of the lioness (Honey was such adorable name), Bianca couldn't help but gush, "Oh, she's just beautiful."

However the apology, and the compliment, sent a few giggles bubbling from Bianca. "Well, a little extra's not going to hurt anybody, right?" she said with a grin. And you're not looking so bad yourself, she mentally added, her eyes flicking up and down his body momentarily. "And don't worry about it, sweetheart. I don't think Tyson ever isn't worked up. He was probably looking for an excuse to do that."

The aforementioned Shinx walked right over to Honey and tilted his head back to look up at her with an expression of awe. "You're tall!"

"Tyson..." Faux Zoro said softly, his tone mildly reprimanding.

Tyson just blinked at him. "What? Tall's good." He stood up straight and puffed up his chest. "I'm gonna be tall, too. A big tall--Butterfly!" He suddenly took off running after the little colourful insect, leaving Faux Zoro to merely sigh and shake his head.

Bianca paid her pokemon little mind. "So...do I get to know your name, or do you just prefer 'sweetheart?'" she asked, giving him a slightly flirty look.

[Admiral Striker General]

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[ Alaric ]

Alaric just laughed as she spoke of the Shinx, wondering if there was ever a time Honey was that hyper. It was hard to remember her kitten days now.. After all, she was already ten. The elder cat in question, then, just stared at the Shinx wondering whether to sweatdrop, bat it out of her way, or actually give into the very slight maternal urge festering in the back of her mind. In the end, though, he seemed to get distracted, causing her to breathe a sigh of relief. She didn't usually mind other Pokemon too much, but... Damn that kid was hyper.

At the question, Alaric somewhat returned the expression, but his voice perhaps lost some luster, words flowing out in a cool, gentle stream. Again, he half-bowed, offering, "A lady such as yourself can call this humble servant anything she wishes. But I do answer to Alaric." Ocean-hazel eyes flashing with interest just a moment, he asked in an almost hesitant voice, "And what of you, dear maiden? Is your name lucky enough to share in your beauty?" Something about her hairstyle, general build, and of course the bandanna made him think 'Isabela', but he resisted the dorktastic snicker that wanted to come with that.

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[SongofWindchimes]

Bianca wasn't sure if she was supposed to laugh. She wanted to laugh, that was for sure, and she quirked a brow at the words 'humble servant.' There were so many places her mind wanted to go with those words, along with the offer to call him anything she wanted. Either he had no idea what he was saying, or he knew exactly what he was saying.

At the words 'dear maiden,' however, she could not resist giggling. She recovered quickly, and toyed with a strand of her violet hair while looking at Alaric through long lashes. "I'm Bianca," she said, the hint of spanish accent creeping into her name as it always did. She then took a couple of steps forward, hips swaying. "Very nice to meet you, Alaric."

Faux Zoro's eyes were on Tyson, his gaze somewhat parental as he watched the bounding Shinx. He was so terribly prone to racing off after something and ending up out of their sight and in trouble. However, the Zoroark's ear still flicked as Bianca introduced herself, and he winced a little. His affection for his trainer, albeit running deep, was entirely platonic (and, in fact, the one time Azure had implied something otherwise, he very suddenly became physically sick) but that didn't mean that being present when she began the dance she did with those she found attractive wasn't painfully awkward.

[Admiral Striker General]

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[ Alaric ]

Annnnnnd... with the thought of Isabela in his mind, the name Bianca instantly brought the image of a crossbow, and it was all he could do to keep a straight face. Oh God that is amazing. The nerd in him was suddenly dying to ask if she was by any miraculous chance a gamer, and this distraction made it rather difficult to concentrate on much else.

Or... it would have, but the swaying hips of a beautiful, curvaceous woman did have a way of calling attention to themselves. That combined with the emphasis in her words- she was totally doing that on purpose. Oh damn. She was about as subtle as Adrian, wasn't she? (He could only hope. >.>) Of course, to the immature jackass who'd just been out wandering around looking for something to distract himself from his family issues, this meant one thing: time to play dumb. Not indefinitely, of course, but they'd see how long it actually went on..

Rather focusing on that loltastic crossbow to keep his mind from wandering elsewhere for now, he cooed, "The pleasure's all mine." Rather sweetly, but more in the manner of a small child than the sweet honey dripping from her words, he asked, "But what brings a princess like you so far out in the woods alone?" Actually, his first choice was to asked where her guards were, because surely they didn't let princesses wander from the castle alone, but ever since the monarchy fell he'd had to tone down his royalty-related teases. He was a loyalist himself and found them only mildly sad if one really took the time to think about it, but one never knew who might go off over the pettiest things anymore. Ah well.

Honey, meanwhile, had noticed the Zoroark's ears, and couldn't help but wonder as she always did if she might actually have someone to keep her sane this time. Of course, she didn't want to seem presumptuous or needy in the slightest, either. Rather, she cocked an eyebrow at him and sighed, silent to human ears (or perhaps accompanied by a low mewlish strum if they'd listened closely enough), <Why do you bother with that hat if you forget to move it when your ears twitch?> Not much escaped those eyes.

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[SongofWindchimes]

Alaric called her a princess. That did it. Bianca nothing short of cracked up laughing, her whole body shaking in mirth. She stumbled a little, nearly falling over, but easily caught herself. Her? A princess? Sweet Mew, the mental image of her being dressed up in some sort of elaborate noble gettup... Yeah, no, no thank you, sir. If she had any place with royalty, it was dressed up in armor as some sort of... Oh, who was she kidding? She'd never cover up this body with armor.

"I-I'm sorry," she said as she reigned in her mirth and tried to catch her breath, "It's just that...men have called me a lot of things before, sweetheart, and a princess isn't one of them." Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true, but she wasn't counting her father, or anything she'd been called before the age of five. She flashed a rather broad grin. "If a girl like me's any type of royalty, it's a pirate queen."

Okay, it was a fairly strange thing to say, but she was wearing her bandanna, and if laughing in his face hadn't killed her chances, admitting she liked pirates probably wasn't going to hurt anything. If she'd realized the kind of nerdy internal monologue Alaric was having, and what a line like that would probably do to it, she would have cracked up all over again.

Faux Zoro perked up a little and flashed a charming smile at the Luxray at her question. "Two reasons, my most observant lady." He effortlessly reverted to his native tongue as he plucked the hat from his head and twirled it in his claws. "The first is that, on occasion, I like to see who is paying attention. A hat like this, exactly like the real thing from every angle, down to the barest detail, and yet it never moves from its appointed place no matter how my head or ears move or what tries to remove it, other than my own paw..." The tophat vanished in a puff of black smoke. "Most don't notice, others are unnerved but don't know why, and a precious few see it for what it is."

"The second is, simply put, that it is difficult to craft illusions around one's actions when one isn't thinking during said action. And these ears..." He tapped one lightly with a claw. "Have a mind of their own on occasion." He held up his hand, a red rose shimmering into existence, and pretended to study it and arrange the petals with his other paw. "A Zoroark's illusions are only as good as his self-awareness and control, and the devil..." The image of the rose wavered, and a few small thorns appeared where it previously had none. ...Is in the details, as they say." The rose vanished, and his tophat appeared back in place with another puff of smoke. "The hat is my way of training myself; the details break down the longer you hold an illusion, until someone sharp enough catches your slip-up."

Faux Zoro flicked his ears forward and back, and this time the hat shifted in response, and he pretended to move it back into place with his paw.

[Admiral Striker General]

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[ Alaric ]

Of course, that noble's own 'elaborate get-up' was a plain forest green T-Shirt reading 'Green Linen Shirt' with a few other details in the manner of a World of Warcraft item tooltip, khaki cargo pants, and black boots that looked like he'd had them probably a year longer than he really should have. At any rate, when she burst out laughing, he wasn't sure whether to crack a wicked grin or look hurt. Emphasis on look, of course. It always was a little sad when a woman doubted her worth, but it was really hard to be upset over anything that produced such a glorious sound. But then..

Then at her words? Oh God, yes! He utterly lit up. In fact, it was all he could do to resist asking if perhaps her middle name was Isabela. As it was, he cooed, "You know, normally I'd say every girl is a princess, but I'd gotten that impression actually~" Oh God, and how. If only she knew. He gave a terrible smirk.

Annnd, incoming failure. Grabbing hold of his long, glistening hair, he pulled it all over one shoulder and took a somewhat protective stance as he feigned concern for just a moment. "So long as you don't try to steal my gold, I think we'll get along fine. I'm rather attached to it, you know." Sweet Lord, if there was some sort of cosmic aversion for atrocious puns he'd have been dead before high school. Long before..

Meanwhile, Honey deadpanned. Hot damn he was long-winded! Ugh... This was suddenly sounding rather less appealing by the moment. <Don't flatter yourself,> she sighed, rolling her eyes. <I wasn't really paying attention for your sake; I just happened to catch that. You can't make an illusion that could fool me, though.> With that, she lay down and yawned, staring off at nothing- or nothing anyone else could see.

Such a shame so many species were so very inferior. .....And sadly, the most equal creature to her here was running around trying to eat butterflies.. Eh.. He'd probably mellow when he grew up. Most did. Cats in general tended to be extra silly as kittens to get it all out of their system early. That way they could move straight on to being amazing.[/blockquote][/td][/tr][/table]

[SongofWindchimes]

Bianca quirked a brow slightly. You did, did you? The only thing she could think of was that that was a reference to her bandanna; she really had no idea what was going through Alaric's mind right now, but she was getting a great deal of amusement out of what he was saying.

Especially...Oh great Arceus, he'd managed to beat her to the punch. If he'd given her an opening for it, she'd have made a reference to 'stealing his gold.' Or a bad 'booty' joke, whichever fit the opening better. She managed to force down the gigglefit threatening to burst out, and instead placed a smirk on her face. "Caught me eyeing it, did you?"

Very quickly realizing that this thread of conversation gave her a better opening, she strolled over to Alaric, hips still swaying and a sultry look in her eye. "As tempting as that gold is," she purred as she drew particularly close, bringing one of her hands up as if reaching to touch it; she wouldn't admit how much she really did want to run her fingers through that blond hair. She withdrew the hand without even getting all that close, however, "I'm more interested in something different, sweetheart."

TakethebaittakethebaitIhaveaperfectlookingforcrewmenjokepleasepleaseplease, came the pleading, hyperactive mental whisper behind her seductive gaze. Bianca was having far too much fun right now.

Faux Zoro flashed a rather sheepish smile, realizing he'd let his motormouth get the better of him. "Ah, my apologizes. No self-flattery intended. My love of illusions occasionally hijacks my mouth, and also my manners it seems. And no, I agree I could not. Perfection is not within my grasp, nor do I think it ever will, and I'm sure it would take nothing short of such to have even a chance." Complete and utter shameless flattery, and he knew it, but it wasn't like he was pulling the words from thin air; he was rather impressed with Honey, if not a little smitten at this point.

And, of course, Tyson was still tearing around like Ninjask with a sugar rush.

[Admiral Striker General]

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[ Alaric ]

Alaric wouldn't really have cared if she'd touched his hair, just so long as she hadn't damaged it somehow; it was there to be played with, first and foremost. (Though his obsession with the appearance of it was a very close second.) Still, as she flirted he-... Ah man, she really was just as subtle as Adrian. With friendly eyes and a pleasant but platonic tone, he feigned, "Orly?" This may have been just a little rushed and slurred due to not at all too much interest in the internet. "And what might that be, your Majesty?" He had to resist a grin; that one was new even for him. But.. well.. she designated herself the pirate queen after all.

Honey sniffed indignantly. <More like no chance at all. I could see what you had for breakfast if I wanted.> Sighing, she rolled over on her back and stared at the edges of branches reaching toward the sky. She hadn't missed the intent at flattery, but in her mind he should have known it was more a credit to his species than hers.

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[SongofWindchimes]

Bianca would not admit how incredibly frustrating that tone of voice was. It wasn't that Bianca couldn't take being told no, it's that this really didn't seem like a no so much as...what? What in the world was he getting out of this? It wasn't even really teasing, at least not the type she was accustomed to. However, he was playing to, and even topping, her sense of humour, which eased the frustration a bit. And being called 'your Majesty?' By Arceus if that didn't make her downright giddy; she wasn't some pretty little princess, but a beautiful and dangerous pirate queen.

So, she just smiled and chuckled good-naturedly, and backed off. A little. She was still standing fairly close, but she did step back, and the look on her face was a little more playful than before, but not without a flirty edge. "Well, what does every pirate need, besides gold? Ship, crew, a parrot if she's the type..." Of course, Bianca's 'parrot' was a very large Pelipper who was sleeping like a rock somewhere up in the tree, but she didn't want to try to rouse Fury yet.

Bianca glanced Alaric up and down appreciably. He certainly wasn't the best built guy she'd seen, but he was still pretty easy on the eyes. "Hmm...I don't suppose there's anything I could do to entice you to sign up as a member of my crew?" Well, so much for backing off, though she didn't try to close the distance again. This was probably one of her odder bouts of flirting, but the hyperactive, pirate-obsessed child in her mind was having a blast.

Faux Zoro merely gave a soft, self-deprecating chuckle. "My paw has developed quite the habit of ending up in my mouth today, it seems." Truthfully, he'd intended to convey 'perfection' as an impossibility, meaning that no illusionist alive could fool her, but it seems that wasn't how it was taken.

So, smoothly slipped into a sitting position and occupied himself with tossing his 'hat' up and down with his paw, every once and while causing it to shimmer and become something else mid-air and return to being a hat when he 'caught' it. He mostly cycled through his favourites: a magician's wand, an ace of hearts, an eight-ball, and the single red rose. He wasn't doing to for Honey's sake; he wasn't even looking at her at this point, but merely practicing and entertaining himself the best way he knew how.

[Admiral Striker General]

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[ Alaric ]

Alaric was fighting the urge to giggle like a small girl- something to which he was surprisingly prone considering not even just his age and gender but a voice that could pass as some form of demon. Instead, he managed to give something mixing with a little intrigue as he feigned a gasp-... well, not even feign so much as half-gasped the word 'gasp!'- a hand coming toward his mouth with the surprise. This quickly enough joined its mate a bit before his chest in a rather eager pose. With half false excitement and half actual mirth as he fought the urge to crack up, he asked, "You'd really take me on?"

Mmm, he could do better. Thinkiiii- okay. "You really don't have to entice, Majesty." Actually, this was rather true. In fact, if she stopped flirting, he would start, and hard, but he didn't say this precisely. With the lady pirate Isabela in mind again, particularly during the first game in which she appeared and the small but memorable part played, he dropped into pure hopeful curiosity as he went on, "Though... Maybe you could show me around the ship? Really, I'd love to look it over from head to toe- or... stern? to..? Eh." He could never remember ship terms. Moving on! He grinned just a little, but didn't stray from that childish look. "Anyway.. I'd especially love to do some exploring below deck~"

Honey fought the urge to facepaw, in the end just deciding it wasn't worth the effort more than giving up the desire. She'd been glancing to Faux Zoro's trick now and then, admittedly mildly amused, but now she was getting bored, and things were about to get bad, she was sure. Ugh.... She just continued looking around casually for now, hoping something interesting would catch her eye. ....Hm. Where had Glydre gotten off to? She should occupy herself by looking through the trees for him.. All right, that would work.

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[SongofWindchimes]

Oh Arceus, that look he gave her at the suggestion, and that fake gasp. Bianca was forcing down laughter like her life depended on it, determined to stay in her role. If she lost it, she may very laugh until she passed out. Instead, she twirled a strand of amethyst hair around her finger and grinned at his feigned excitement. "Why wouldn't I?"

His next words, however, got the wheels in her head spinning. Didn't have to entice? That alone was something to think about, if it was referencing her current extremely unsubtle flirting. Of course, he could just be meaning his over-the-top excitement to join a pirate crew, for all she knew. And...okay, 'show him around the ship' and 'exploring below deck?' There had to be a dirty meaning to that. That sounded like the kind of vague, ship-based innuendo she'd make. But he was still saying it in that perfectly innocent voice (that she knew he was faking)...Sweet Mew, she wasn't sure if she wanted to scream in frustration, grab him and kiss him, or what.

She settled for smirking at him and pretending to ponder the request. "Hmm...Well, I don't give the grand tour to just anyone...But it would be rude of me to decline such--"

It was then that loud, squawking laughter rang out from above, and Bianca looked behind her to see Fury busting a gut while sitting on a nearby branch. So, he was awake after all. "Blasted bird," Bianca mumbled with what was admittedly mostly put-on annoyance, before she called up in her best authoritative voice, "Enjoying laughing at your captain's expense, Fury?"

The Pelipper settled down a little, but he still had a grin on his beak. "Don't give the grand tour to just anyone? You're hilarious." It was lucky for all involved that Bianca couldn't understand him. He took off and fluttered to the ground next to her, still grinning at the, in his mind, poor sap who had just wandered into the path of the 'captain' when she was in one of her pirate-y moods.

Bianca smiled at Alaric, her voice slipping into something much more conversational and much less 'let's-go-off-somewhere-private.' "This is Fury. Too big to sit on my shoulder and can't talk, but he's still the best parrot a girl could ask for."

"Run while ya can, buddy," Fury said to Alaric in a tone that could be taken as a hello.

Faux Zoro allowed his hat to vanish at Fury's appearance. He'd been meaning to ignore the humans' exchange, but the Pelipper's laughter was a rather difficult thing to ignore, as were his words. He'd be offended on Bianca's behalf...if what he was saying wasn't mostly true. She was more selective than Fury was giving her credit for, but she did indeed 'give the grand tour' to a large number of people.

Rather than interject, Faux Zoro merely went about constructing another practice illusion. Something living was more difficult than something non-living when not directly copying a subject, and so he formed a rather large dragonfly, moving his paws to 'guide' it in the air as he concentrated on getting the wings to move just right. He let it fly a circle around his head, eyes trained on its movements to catch and correct any mistakes he made in execution.

So focused was he, that he didn't hear the shout of, "Dragonfly!" until it was too late and his face was in the dirt. Faux Zoro's illusion shattered, and Tyson was left standing on his back, looking around forlornly for the bug he'd been trying to pounce.

[Admiral Striker General]

[atrb=style,width:475px;color:goldenrod;border:3px goldenrod ridge;][atrb=bgcolor,#94701A]

[ Alaric ]

Decline such a what? Alaric wasn't sure where her logic was going with that that actually would have made it seem rude, but ah well. At Bianca's explanation and introduction, the young man just smiled and knelt down to more Fury's level. "Well hello there Fury. It's nice to meet you~" Gazing up at Bianca from this position, he noted, "You know, I've always been pretty interested in Water-types. If he's as good as you say, I might need to look into getting myself one of these. I've been needing a more reliable flier."

Somewhere in the trees, still eluding Honey's scan for the moment, though by sheer luck, a certain purple Pokemon's eyes narrowed. He hissed a gasp as his heart stopped, and was just preparing to catapult out of the trees onto that smug pelican's face when Alaric stood up, turning his attention back to the human woman completely. "But you were saying~?" Ah, good. The other male abandoned for now, Glydre settled just enough to restrain himself, fuming and plotting.

Honey, meanwhile, had actually stopped searching when she heard Fury's words. After a brief time laying there stunned, wondering what he could have meant, she rolled over onto her stomach and asked in an almost urgent tone, <..Why should he run, exactly?> She swore to the legends, if this little skank was even thinking about hurting him....

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[SongofWindchimes]

Bianca had that grin on her face she always got when she talked about pokemon, the last remnants of her sultry air fading. "Oh, they're a treasure hiding in plain sight, alright. Fury's a monster a fight, and he's got a few good tricks up his sleeve. I couldn't recommend hunting places, though. I got him in the Capital..."

Oh, right, she'd been flirting earlier. Bianca chuckled a little sheepishly at the reminder, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh, right. Sorry, I get going about my pokemon. I was saying..." Bianca stopped, suddenly very grateful for her darker skintone to hide the forming blush. She'd, honest to Arceus, completely lost her train of thought. Bianca had no idea what she'd been about to say. "I...uh..." Well, this was probably the most embarrassed she'd been in a while.

Fury hopped a little over to the Luxray, smiling. Well, y'see, sweetness, Bianca here--"

Faux Zoro, after gently placing Tyson back on the ground and brushing himself off, held up a paw. "Enough. I'll not have you making our trainer out to be a black widow spider for your amusement at this lady's expense." He turned his head to look at Honey. "All that was intended was that Bianca's love of swashbuckling adventures get the better of her on occasion, and he should run if he does not desire to play along, which does not seem to be a problem." Fury shrugged in a way that meant 'yeah, pretty much.'

[Admiral Striker General]

[atrb=style,width:475px;color:goldenrod;border:3px goldenrod ridge;][atrb=bgcolor,#94701A]

[ Alaric ]

Alaric could only smirk at her sudden derailment. The blush was very subtle, and he questioned whether or not he even might see one, but especially given her mildly flustered words he did suspect. ..Actually, her skin wasn't too dissimilar-..... heh. The similarity was hardly enough to spark much, though; just a slight nostalgia. Fortunately, he didn't dwell on it, quickly distracted by his conflict over whether to tease her or pick up where she left off. Hmm... Eh, he could always switch later. "You... uh...?" He faked a small pout. "You didn't change your mind did you? I wanted ta be a pirate..." :<

Honey facepawed. <Oh dear Lord, this is going to be painful.> She sighed heavily, then forced herself to stand. <Yeah, I'm going home...> However, she only made it a few steps before stalling, looking back waiting for Alaric to notice. And.... he didn't.... -_- Dammit.

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