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Post by Kore on Sept 6, 2012 10:00:16 GMT -8
Saarda scratched her head, "Berries, sugar, and some kind of grain. She licked her lips as she went through her pockets, "Do I have..." She shook her head, "OK, the only thing I really don't know where to get is the grain, we need either flour or rice. You can do it without the sugar, after all, berries are full of natural sugar and spices, but some things you just need, ya know? On the road you'd be carrying some food for yourself, right? Bread, or whatever you'd need to make your lunch. Well, you could normally use that. I... uh... didn't think to bring any when I left for the Professor's lab." She scratched her head awkwardly, "But, the good news is, I was always taught that it's better to learn in a controlled environment. If we had a fire type between us, that would be different, but whatever fire we used would probably- wait!" She said, turning about, "Tai, have you seen wild chesto berries? They're really dry and hard, we can use those for our grain!"
Tai cocked his head, "Low?"
"They're smallish and blue."
"Tai!" He nodded, pointing in the opposite direction from where she remembered the others to be. He gave Caterpie a pat on the head, and assured him that Arak was just trying to scare him, before returning tho his own trainer. "Tai Tailow."
"Good, there are Oran and Pecha are over there... Know where any wild Cheri berries are?"
Tai nodded and pointed in the same direction. "So sweet and spicey, plus a dry... OK." She nodded, "Right, now something to cook in would be nice.' She scratched her head, "If only I had a fire type... Ah well, I need something to cook over. Wide flat rocks?" She sighed hopefully, "A frying pan?" The Pokemon shook his head at her. "Well, a gal can hope." She shrugged. "Right. Flat rocks. We'll use them to grind the Chesto up, then we'll crush up the Pecha and Oran, and mix in the little Cheri berries, and add it to the Chesto. We might need some water, depending on how juicy they are..." She said, tallying up their ingredient list available. "Pidge, I need you to find a few flat rocks, bring them here if you can, if not, show me where they are. Tai, collect as many of those chesto berries as you can find, and bring them here, and cheri berries after that. Meanwhile, you and I can go gather the more delicate Pecha and not so delicate Oran berries. We might need something to carry them back in... Hey! Think Arak and Caterpie can make us a non sticky bag like thing with their web? That would be cool, and helpful. If you could get them to do that, we wouldn't have to make as many trips."
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Post by Zophiel on Sept 7, 2012 12:20:15 GMT -8
"...of natural sugar and spices, but some things you just need, ya know?" she said. Zane couldn't help but nod his head quickly in agreement. He was partial to sweet and savory himself, for the young teen hated anything spicy; or rather, couldn't handle spice very well. Even cinnamon was a problem some times, at least a cinnamon stick was.
"I... uh... didn't think to bring any when I left for the Professor's lab." Zane waved his hands in the air. "It really is no problem, we didn't plan for this so it's no big deal." he assured her and listened to her good news. He was sure to pay attention so that he could replicate the process when he was out on his own.
Then Saarda outburst toward her Taillow who she apparently trusted with being observant surprised Zane a bit so he started. In this time when her poke'mon and her were conversing, Zane beckoned his two bugs to come over to him and climb aboard. The soon followed and were both in their usual spots, Arak in his hair and Caterpie on his shoulder. "You will follow with teleport?" he asked in his mind. Abra slowly nodded his head in his sleep. "Good."
"...get them to do that, we wouldn't have to make as many trips." Saarda said. Zane looked to Caterpie on his shoulder with a questionable look. The caterpie made a movment as if it were a shrug. "I'm not sure it works that way... but Abra can easily teleport himself there and back with new batches, no matter how many we need!" he said, coming up with the idea on his own. He was getting better at this! "I guess I'll get the fire going then? I know how to do so with the flint and steel I have." he offered.
[[Operation Food Making Go! XD]]
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Post by Kore on Sept 9, 2012 21:02:47 GMT -8
Saarda's mouth parted as she realized that she'd overlooked such an obvious solution. Abra. Teleporting. "I..." She shook her head, "Seriously. I did not even think of Abra. Wow. After all the training and... wow." She shook her head at herself. "OK, yeah. Good idea."
Then he offered to get the fire going with flint and steel. "I would appreciate that. I'm not very good at starting fires. They tend to be weak and sad." She sighed, then clapped her hands, "Right... Hmm." She frowned, "OK. So, is Abra going to follow us, or can he... I dunno, read my mind and take us there? Or... what?"
Pidge and Tai were chattering in quiet chirps, possibly coordinating their efforts, as a good team might, then the birds caught her eye, and moved to leave, hesitating until she gave the nod. She smiled at that. They were learning very well. A lingering glance on them told her that they were, in fact, coordinating. "Good birds." She murmured. Then she turned to Zane, and asked, "Fire or berry picking first? And... could you show me how to..." She gestured in a random direction, "You know... do the fire thing?"
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Post by Zophiel on Sept 10, 2012 10:10:40 GMT -8
Zane thought for a moment and then gestured out into the forest. "Let's get the berries first. Abra will follow us and teleport back as we get a good pile going. Then he can bring us back when we are finished. I can show you how to make a good fire afterwards." he suggested. This was turning out to be like a real mission, and Zane loved expeditions like this. Even if it was just berry picking to make some food, it got him excited and put a smile on his face. "Well you know the way, we don't you lead us there so we can get started. Caterpie and Arak will help us too, they can crawl inside the bush and get berries we can't reach." he added. They were going to make a good berry picking team the four of them. And with the birds scouting, it would be no time until they were done.
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Post by Kore on Sept 10, 2012 14:01:21 GMT -8
"Good idea." She said, then she gestured toward the bushes she's seen on the way in, "This way." She said, setting out, watching for the landmarks she'd noted as Zane had lead the way to the clearing originally. It wasn't long before they found the group of bushes, trees, and brambles laden heavy with fruit. "Jackpot." She said, looking over her shoulder at Zane. "Oran are blue. Pecha are pink, and those... look like Cheri berries. Hold on." She knelt and picked a couple, examinig the texture of the skin. She hummed her approval, then popped it open, and licked the juice from her thumb. "Mmm. This- yep" She coughed, "We shouldn't need more than a few of these. They're pretty potent. Alright. Pecha are the ones we have to be careful with. Oran are pretty tough. Lets get picking." She said, "Wish I had a blanket, or a basket or anything to hold these in." She murmured. "Well, we'll make do." She grabbed the first Oran and plucked it lightly from the tree. "Want to taste it?" She asked, tossing the fruit at him with a snarky grin.
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Post by Zophiel on Sept 10, 2012 19:30:20 GMT -8
Zane followed promptly after she had set off to lead the way. Unlike her, he hadn't been too keen on looking at his surroundings on detail, as his mission was to find a good area for training when they first arrived. "Jackpot." she said, and Zane looked to his Caterpie who was already thinking about food again. His poke'dex had told him that Caterpie usually hoarded food in preparation for their coming metamorphosis. "Now don't you eat more then you collect, ok?" he said with a smirk and found himself looking at the bushes next to Saarda. He watched her kneel to the ground to examine a berry and then put it in her mouth to taste. With a cough, Zane laughed at how strong they were and her reaction to that burst of flavor. "Yes, let us all start." he said in a heavy tone, letting his bugs know it was time to go. They both made their way to the ground to crawl inside while Zane crouched himself to begin picking. Saarda made a notion that having a bag would have been easier, and Zane couldn't deny that. But she quickly changed subject by throwing a berry at him to taste. The young trainer admired it for a moment and then bit into the natural gift. It's flavors quickly coated the inside of his mouth and he shivered from the rich taste. "Shoo good!" he exclaimed and finished it in a bite before returning to the duty on hand. "Hey, my pouch is small, but it should allow Abra to hold more than if he were to carrier them in his arms." he mentioned, removing the leather satchel and placing it between them. The trainer continued to pick with a smile on his face from the Oran berry. He was relying on Saarda to let him know when enough was enough.
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Post by Kore on Sept 10, 2012 20:35:38 GMT -8
After she tossed the berry at Zane she watched him eat it with a grin on her face. She'd grown up eating berries right off the bush like this, but it seemed new to him. He seemed delighted with the Oran, so she encouraged him to try the Pecha. "It's much sweeter and more delicate. Now, the Cheri is..." She licked her lips, "Better in combination with other berries. It's got a very strong flavor." He pulled a pouch out and said they could use that to help Abra carry them with his teleport.
"Good idea." She nodded. "But we have to be careful. Like I said, the Pecha are very soft and fragile. The Oran are nice and firm, and so are the Cheri, though, so we can be less cautious with those. How much should we get...? Hmm." She said, picking the bright red cheri berries and placing them into the bag. "Well, not too much, or we'll be at this forever, but we'll want enough to have a nice good meal, and maybe some left over. What do you think that holds?" She gestured at the pouch, "A few cups worth? Hmm. I think... about half a bag full of cheri, a bag and a half full of oran, and a bag of Pecha. Then we'll go and get the Chesto if Tai hasn't gotten enough. And after that, we'll see what Pidge has gotten us to cook on... with, you know." Then she realized how much she'd been talking and started blushing. Well, of course she was talking! She tried to tell herself, she was teaching. But all she could think was that she'd talked more in the past afternoon than she had to her family since she left home months ago. They didn't even know she'd made it to Kyozon. She scratched her nose and let her hair fall into her face as she focused on the Cherri berries. It was simple. Much more simple than thinking about her father's fear or her mother's pride. She remained quiet so long it seemed the moment had gone cold. "Eh... That's enough for the Cherri. Abra can take them to our spot now, if that's OK." She felt sort of bad, Zane had to be wondering what had her clamming up all of a sudden, after she wouldn't shut up for the past few hours.
Saarda looked at him, and watched his bugs in the bushes. They were doing good work. She fumbled with topics in her head, before, without thinking, she asked him about home. "Where are you from?"
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Post by Zophiel on Sept 11, 2012 10:53:44 GMT -8
Saarda began the instruction on the basics of berries and how they tasted. In what ways they combined and which ones Zane should take caution in. He wast mentally taking notes comment by comment and trying to push them into memory. He did not want to make some mistake out in the wild tha tlead him to death because of a toxic fruit.
Zane only nodded his head at her assumption, unsure really of how many could fit in the bag. She began her estimates and the boy paid close attention to what she was saying. "Oran is the most, then pecha, then cheri." he told himself and then realized she had grown embarrassed by what she was saying. It was cute in a way, how her embarrassment shined red on her cheeks. But she seemed to retreat into berry gathering and Zane held his tongue on what he was going to say. It seemed her instruction for that period had ended, and Zane wondered why the talkative girl seemed to just move into her own world. Maybe she got this way when thinking about making food.
They soon completed their mission of cheri berries and Zane handed the bag to Abra with some instruction. "Take it back and pour them out carefully on the cleanest path of grass you find then come back." he directed. Soon the Psi Pokemon was off into a new realm as Zane turned to Saarda with a smile as she asked him where he was from. "Saffron City actually, well, near it. My dad worked at the dojo there, but we lived on the outskirts and had some land. I wanted to be like him, but it was his suggestion that finally tipped the scales to go on this adventure. What about you? From Kanto too?" he asked.
Abra soon reappeared with the empty pouch and Zane put it between the two trainers. With his bugs looking for direction, he merely pointed to the berries they needed as to not interrupt Saarda and ebgan collecting once again.
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Post by Kore on Sept 11, 2012 21:33:17 GMT -8
"Yeah Viridian city. My father worked in Pewter at the museum." She said, voice quiet. "He doesn't approve of me... out here." She shrugged, "But my life isn't about him..." She shook her head, "It's about me, and mine, and my pokemon. I've always..." Her voice died as words she couldn't quite remember berated her with sentiment. "Believed... that for the lack of a little courage to face the unknown... the world loses so much. What was that..." She brushed the hair from her eyes, pondering as she fingered a pink berry. "It is said that each day greatness dies in the hearts of men who allowed timidity to prevent them from making a first effort. Timidity will never change the world. It'll never stop harsh realities from hurting the unwary. Obedience can be cowardice when one obeys out of fear of the unknown." She plucked the berry from it's stem and held it aloft, just looking at it for a moment, before placing it into the bag. "Sorry that got a little deep." She went back to the berries. "My dad is a scientist. Mom was a trainer in her youth, but she ran afoul of Team Rocket, and they liked her Pokemon. Have you heard of them? They stole Bulbasaur. I don't know if I mentioned that... anyway, they stole her, and mom never went back out. She got married, had kids. She told me she always missed the openness of the skies when it's just you and a couple friends on your Pokemon journey." Saarda looked up and smiled at the sunshine, "I can see why. I've only had Pidge and Tai for less than a day and it already feels like it's right. You know? Like with a little time and effort we could cease to be three. Just be one. One mind. One heart. And now, I'm waxing poetic." She chuckled. "How much Pecha do we have?" She looked into the bag, mostly full. "Looks like... six or seven more good sized berries should do it for Pecha, then on to Oran."
She went back into the bushes, plucking the pretty pink fruit with a vague smile on her face. "This stuff reminds me of my mother." She said. "Berries and Pokemon. It tastes of freedom, don't you think?"
Saarda looked around the shrubs, which she'd pushed into, though thorns and branches tore at her clothing, and some of it hurt, it was a good pain. "Feels like living in a way sitting at a desk pouring over data couldn't." She muttered. She spied Caterpie in the bushes, and from moment to moment she thought she might have seen Arak. "Sorry if I'm talking a lot. I don't mean to. I'm not usually so chatty."
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Post by Zophiel on Sept 13, 2012 19:28:35 GMT -8
As she began her repsonse, Zane could tell by just the way she started that this brought memories of something unsatisfactory to her. Unlike his father, hers did not approve; most likely afraid of losing his little girl out in the big bad world. Zane could understand reasons for decisions, but that didn't make the decisions correct. He watched her carefully as she spoke, looking for topic to avoid in the future. Obviously the first that stuck out was her father. "Gotta avoid that." he thought with a smirk as he collected some more berries. Then she got into some statements that were rather meaningful, and Zane could relate. He remembered a picture on his wall back on home that said: Without risk, there can be no glory. But she apologized, and Zane shook his head. "Please go on, I totally understand where you are coming from." he commented with a smile.
She stepped away from the deep however, and gave him a little hint as to why she became a trainer. Her mother had ran afoul that team that set up shop in his home city once. From what his father told him, they were just thugs who used poke'mon to get away with crime. "Yea, they caused some issue in the city when I was a kid." he quickly interjected before she continued. It was a sad story however... stealing trainers pokemon was a serious detriment to ones spirit. Zane couldn't imagine what he would do if that were to occur.
She transitioned into a cheerier topic with which Zane could relate. "Oh I know! It's just a feeling of companionship that can't get any better." he smiled as she went on. She finished up with a cheeky comment about poetry and turned to the task at hand. Checking over the amount, she spoke to Zane again.
"This stuff reminds me of my mother." She said. "Berries and Pokemon. It tastes of freedom, don't you think?"
"That is what I came out here for. That sense of I can do anything...be anyone...change my fate." he replied with a smile thinking of himself surrounded by hundreds of pokemon. "Maybe a collector..." he thought with a huff of laughter. But as soon as he did, Saarda pushed herself further in to grab at some berries. "Not at all, I don't wanna be cooped up in some office all day." he responded and then got the bag to the right amount. "Abra take it." he directed and then beckoned his bugs over and knelt toward them. "Hurry it up you to, don't make us have to reach for the hard ones, that's what you are for." he whispered and shooed them off once again with their goal in mind. "So what's left?" he asked.
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Post by Kore on Sept 14, 2012 2:51:15 GMT -8
"Change your fate?" She asked, then she shrugged, thinking that he was the one who had invited her to continue her thoughts earlier, "I don't think that Fate is a thing. I think it's an excuse." She said, "The way I see it... people say bad things happen, and it's out of everyone's control, but that isn't true. Even storms have causes, sometimes they're pokemon, and pokemon... they're just like us, only their vocabulary is somewhat more limited. Earthquakes, wildfires... everything has a cause. Pokemon are acting on instinct, and in self defense, and sometimes so are people, but... people should be held to a higher standard. People can be evil. I've never heard of an evil pokemon. Even... you lived in Kanto, remember the Mewtwo conspiracy? My mom was one of the trainers invited to the island. She didn't get there... Those who got to the island said he was powerful. People said terrifying. People never said evil. People... I know evil people. They're everywhere. Team rocket. Giovanni. Evil. No excuse. People say fate decrees strength, and strength decrees power, but I disagree. There's something deeper than that. What sets greatness apart from weakness is will!"
She lowered her voice a tad, and said, "Why would you want to change things, anyways? Your family supports you. You're out here with your pokemon... it's what I've always wanted." She breathed deeply, and touched the pokeballs belonging to her first two pokemon. "It feels... exactly like I imagined." She went back to picking the berries, and soon enough, they had amassed all the necessary ingredients. Tai had done well with the chesto. When they returned to camp, Pidge had also done well, collecting exactly what they needed. Saarda showed Zane how to prepare the ingredients. In fact, she was trying to have him do most of the prep work so that he could reproduce the results.
After the food was cooked, and the pokemon had enjoyed the small feast, they packed away the rest. Just before they had finished Saarda's Poke'nav beeped. She looked over at Zane who had received a message on a similar device. "Mine's from the Professor." She said with surprise, "It says... 'To Saarda Kotka. I am entrusting you and two other new pokemon trainers with a mission of great importance to me. There is no time to give you a brief in person. The matter is too urgent. There is a stone nearby which I must have for my research... no. For the sake of all rock type pokemon, we must keep it safe. That is more important... yes, the stone has fallen into the hands of a trio of pseudo-scientists who wish to use it for nefarious purposes. I hope you will do as I ask. Please go find the trio, along with the two other trainers I have chosen for the mission, and keep it safe. Defend it if necessary. Go quickly. I hope you are fast enough.'" She frowned, "Zane, the professor wants me to save some mysterious rock from a trio of evildoers. I wonder who..." She glanced back down at the missive to see who the professor had chosen. She blinked with surprise as she recognized Zane's name, then the one below Zane's. Kyle Chaplin. "I met him, too." She murmured, "Wonder if that's a coincidence." Then she looked to Zane, "From the professor?" She asked.
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Post by Zophiel on Sept 14, 2012 11:57:47 GMT -8
Zane could only nod at her first response, it really was a useful way to blame someone else for ones faults. No one likes the be held responsible, so he voiced his agreement. "Yea, that's for sure." But if he agreed with her, then why did he say it in the first place? Could it be a small urge to rebel? "Cause and effect." Zane quickly interjected to put the key words out in the air. He could see how a lot of people believed that; because it was true. What was the law? Everything action has an equal and opposite reaction? Something like that. Everything is based on some action, whether it be boredom spurring a teen to do something bad, or instinct that made pokemon use their power.
Saarda brought up the Mewtwo conspiracy which Zane never truly believed. It was absurd to think that a pokemon could be made like that. But if it were true... "Team Rocket must have been pretty powerful to pull that off." he thought and looked back on how she said pokemon weren't evil and then posed her argument that it was will that set greatness apart from weakness. "We can't call pokemon evil cause we have never met any, I am sure they are out there though. They have personalities as complex as ours, so why can't there be an evil pokemon." he thought, formulating his counter argument. "And bad people have just as much will as a good one, does that make them both great?" But she changed the subject quick enough to keep him from responding.
"I want to be known one day..." he said softly. "Just life exploring isn't quite as fulfilling for me. Fun, but not fulfilling." he sighed and began eating once the preparation was done. His Pokenav pinged at the same time hers did with a similar message. After she finished ready it, Zane looked to her to confirm that he had gotten the same message. "Yea, I got the same one. I have met this Kyle once before on my way out to catch some pokemon. Perhaps we should get going then?" he asked, and began cleaning up the stuff and putting what he needed away in his satchel. "Let's go." he said with smile and waved her on.
[Topic Left]
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Post by Kore on Sept 14, 2012 13:54:00 GMT -8
Saarda watched Zane oddly. The expression on his face was thoughtful but strange. When he said "I want to be known one day. Just life exploring isn't quite as fulfilling for me. Fun, but not fulfilling."
She pondered his response for a moment, "Just exploring..." She wondered, "Is that how you... nevermind." She shook her head, everyone has their dreams, and they're all different. At the same time as she was helping to clean up, she was wondering about the things Zane had said. The way he'd looked, as if chewing on a thought. Her thoughts circled back to when he said that he wanted to be known. She wondered if he'd figured out what he wanted to be known for. To her, being known for something was better than just being known. However when he beckoned for them to go, she knew her moment to ask him was over. "Lets go." He said. So she followed.
[Topic left]
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