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Pokemon: Starlight Dreams

Location: Beryl Town
Interacting With: Ikkou @Yankee

Kazu wound her way through the streets of Beryl Town, taking in the sights. The little town was bustling with color and activity, themed decorations and eager participants bringing an unmistakable joy. Kazu couldn’t help but smile as she walked. She even pulled on the wires of her earbuds, popping them out and letting the festival flood her senses.

She felt… weightless. There was a giddy novelty in letting her feet carry her without thought, not worrying about schedules or obligations, or keeping an eye on anyone but herself and her Cleffa - and the new egg weighing heavy on her back. But even if her attempt to offload it had failed, Kazu couldn’t find it in herself to mind. So what, she had an egg. It was cracked, sure, but tough as nails and close to hatching. And whatever Pokémon came out of it would be hers. She had the makings of a team.

A giggle bubbled out of her as a stray piece of confetti fluttered past her nose, the colorful paper barely brushing her skin. Astra echoed a chirp, feeding off her trainer’s good mood.

An aroma wafted through the air - something sweet and fried. Astra perked up, her little nose twitching. Then she chittered excitedly in Kazu’s ear, nuzzling deeper into her hair.

“Okay, okay!” she laughed, reaching a hand back to still the little Cleffa. Kazu had largely ignored the food stalls in the town square, as crowded as they’d been. But hey, they had all the time in the world to go where they pleased. She started mapping the town in her head, trying to remember the best route back to the festival. She’d spent the past week exploring Beryl Town, getting used to Starre’s local flavor. It wouldn’t be hard to make it back to the square. “You know this means braving the crowd again, right?” Cleffa chirped in affirmation.

Keeping hold of the straining straps of her backpack, Kazu wove through the town until that sweet scent grew stronger. Soon enough she was on the outskirts of the festival again. The crowd had thinned some, and it seemed like the food stalls had been largely picked clean. But maybe there’d be something small she could grab for Astra.

But as she moved through the crowd, a voice froze her in place - a very familiar voice that she hadn’t heard in years. It was a little lower than she remembered, a little stronger, but there was still that sweetness, that upbeat helpfulness. Another voice blared out like a horn, overpowering it - but it made it easier for Kazu to find the source. Kazu spun, eyes wide as she searched. And sure enough, there was that silver hair, the blue eyes, his open, eager expression.

“Ikkou?”

Pokemon: Starlight Dreams

@Enzayne sorry to hear about your troubles, you do what you gotta do. Hope the tumult eases!

Pokemon: Starlight Dreams

I’ll work on a small post in the next couple days just to get Kazu back near the crowd and within spotting-distance!

Pokemon: Starlight Dreams

Haha yeah I thought of her when I was looking over the map info. I mostly went with tourmaline because I think that path has a more interesting variety of pokemon to go for.

Pokemon: Starlight Dreams

I’m pretty flexible, but I think I have a slight preference to head for Tourmaline town - but if someone else feels strongly about going the other way then I have no problems with that. :)

Pokemon: Starlight Dreams

It seems like Noah’s last post took him and Kazu out of the main town center/crowd if I’m reading that right? Kazu’s unlikely to try diving into the fray again, but maybe Ikkou could spot her since he’s looking for her? Either in the crowd or maybe the ikkou/mags/alex party (seeing Alex will also throw Kazu for a loop lol) head out or something… idk we don’t have to complicate things lol. I’m game for whatever gets the cousins to see each other.

Pokemon: Starlight Dreams

@Brose look, i'm sorry, i know we're supposed to be forming the party but that's just what kazu wanted to do lmao. if you don't have an immediate reason for noah to keep engaging with her, then if nothing else kazu will be locked into the group the second she sees ikkou - we can reconvene there lol.

Pokemon: Starlight Dreams

Location: Beryl Town
Interacting With: Noah Magnolia @Brose

"A chef." Kazu's immediate response was dry and more than a little distracted - she'd stopped paying full attention when the professor had turned down her attempt to return the egg. She'd specifically been trying to avoid this responsibility. If the professor's go-to solution was duct tape though, the damage couldn't have been that serious, at least. Her mind spun through logistics as she looked down at it. It was close to hatching, so she wouldn't have to lug it around for too long. Seriously, what had those booth attendants been thinking giving this to a kid? "World renowned, actually," she continued as she carefully moved the egg to a single aching arm. With her free hand, she swung her backpack around to her front (she usually only wore it on one side - while sub-optimal for her posture, very convenient for times like this). Expression neutral, her indigo eyes flicked up to him as she unzipped her bag. "Omelets to die for."

And, ok, maybe she'd been a little irritated at hearing the barest hint of a lecture in his tone.

Kazu shoved her arm into her bag, trying to negotiate with her cluttered belongings for space. If she had to carry this egg around in her arms until it hatched, they were gonna fall off - she just hoped her bag straps could hold out longer. Astra poked her little pink head to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of the tall stranger (taller than Kazu, at least) through strands of white hair. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air. The moment Kazu's hair parted enough that the Cleffa had a full view though, she chirped and hid back behind her trainer's neck. Kazu felt her nestle deeper into the hood of her old jacket. The corner of her mouth quirked up fondly as she finished fitting the egg into her bag. The seams pulled precariously, and her sketchpad was going to be dented in a very egg-shaped curve by the end of the day, but it would do for now. Kazu maneuvered her bag onto both shoulders, feeling the weight heavy on her shoulders. At least it supported Astra from below, lessening the pull on her hood. Maybe she'd buy a new bag and jacket with that Morpheus-sponsored cash infusion. Wouldn't that be novel?

Schooling her face into a polite, if detached, smile, Kazu looked back up at the professor.

"Sorry to hold you up. Thanks for the...y'know." Kazu waived a hand over her shoulder. "Event." Readjusting her bag, she brought two fingers up to her temple in a mock salute. "No more egg dropping." With that, Kazu turned - it was time to get this show on the road. Astra spun in the hood, finally with an unobstructed view of the professor and his Zorua. She sniffed the air again before waving a tentative good-bye. The fabric of her bag twitched as the egg fidgeted within.

Pokemon: Starlight Dreams

I’ve now realized that Kazu says almost the same thing to the youngster as Ikkou says to Alex OTL… in my defense I was writing at stupid o’clock lmao. Chock it up to a family resemblance I guess, my bad for stealing your convo @yankee TT.TT

Pokemon: Starlight Dreams

Haha oh no I just realized Mags and Alex have the exact same dialogue color. Just gonna be two orange girls butting heads (or getting into trouble together).