[Game] Lord Windos' PokeRole Adventure: Celadon City Vandel

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Oh yeah, Taylor and Kyubi got less past Reiner than they probably think (though in Taylor's defense, I 100% expect she was not expecting Reiner to have suddenly developed highly tuned Empathy)...not that he's going to directly say that he's picked up that they were definitely talking about him...

"...*sigh*...well, let me just be blunt about this, too: you two are getting along a lot better than I thought you might if you ever met by some seemingly random chance.  And you haven't changed much either in the last four years, Taylor.  Still as socially awkward as ever..."




Reiner uncrosses his arms and sits on a couch opposite the one Taylor is in, though his attitude is still somewhat stern.  "Kyubi, could I please talk with Taylor in private now?  She and I have some personal matters to discuss now that she's here."  He's fairly certain that Kyubi isn't going to be entirely happy about that, but the fact of the matter is that he and Taylor have their own secrets that they would rather discuss in private, just like Kyubi has her own that she doesn't want to reveal to strangers...

Oh yes, and as for Lindworm, he's probably cooling off somewhere else in the penthouse already, right?  Can't forget about him, either!

Yet again, your astuteness managed to get a reaction out of the fiery vixen, this time one of being taken aback before she looked off to the side, appearing contrite and nervous. Meanwhile. the thief tensed and leaned up, blinking at you Noctowlishly , until she settled back down with another *Sigh....*

"......We were not so.......friendly to each other at first actually, Reiner. But.....we managed to......work things out and.......understand each other better. So that is why we get along very well now......mostly. She's still annoying and rude at times, like a few seconds ago..."

"Well damn.....someone's gotten sharp as a tack. Guess you HAVE changed after all, if you could suss all that without Sneasil giving you a helping second opinion. Speaking of which, how is our favorite black feline? Doing well as you appear good looking, I......hope? ....Uh.....uh.......forgetIsaidthatlastpart."

Unlike Kyubi, Taylor's neither directly confirming or denying what you're implying, and tried to redirect the line of inquiry away from that, in fact. Well, until she end up derailing herself, and is now staring down at the floor, feeling flustered and embarrassed at her slip. 

Your request for privacy does indeed cause some disappointment and displeasure from the kitsune , causing her to turn and stare at you with a pouty frown and arms crossed, but eventually she relented under your own unwavering stare, sighing and bringing her hands together.

"But.....alright... I'll....see you later, Reiner...."

That mournfully said, Kyubi slowly strolled out of the room and up the stair, head bowed and looking very much like a kicked puppy dog the entire time. She certainly didn't take being dismissed well, but at least she obeyed your orders.

And with, only you and Taylor remained in the living room (Lindworm having gone off to his own room with Mr. Mime's help, as he frankly wanted to rest after this crazy night.....). Your partner? gla over where the fox woman disappeared, then back at you, appearing once more uneasy and nervous as you directed your now undivided attention on her.

"Hehehe......looks like I got no back up now, and can't put off things anymore, eh? ......*Sighs, leaning back into their set with a defeated expression* What do you want to know, Reiner? Well, where should I begin, if we're being honest to each other, heh...."

...

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

Yet again, your astuteness managed to get a reaction out of the fiery vixen, this time one of being taken aback before she looked off to the side, appearing contrite and nervous. Meanwhile. the thief tensed and leaned up, blinking at you Noctowlishly , until she settled back down with another *Sigh....*

"......We were not so.......friendly to each other at first actually, Reiner. But.....we managed to......work things out and.......understand each other better. So that is why we get along very well now......mostly. She's still annoying and rude at times, like a few seconds ago..."

"Well damn.....someone's gotten sharp as a tack. Guess you HAVE changed after all, if you could suss all that without Sneasil giving you a helping second opinion. Speaking of which, how is our favorite black feline? Doing well as you appear good looking, I......hope? ....Uh.....uh.......forgetIsaidthatlastpart."

Unlike Kyubi, Taylor's neither directly confirming or denying what you're implying, and tried to redirect the line of inquiry away from that, in fact. Well, until she end up derailing herself, and is now staring down at the floor, feeling flustered and embarrassed at her slip. 

Your request for privacy does indeed cause some disappointment and displeasure from the kitsune , causing her to turn and stare at you with a pouty frown and arms crossed, but eventually she relented under your own unwavering stare, sighing and bringing her hands together.

"But.....alright... I'll....see you later, Reiner...."

That mournfully said, Kyubi slowly strolled out of the room and up the stair, head bowed and looking very much like a kicked puppy dog the entire time. She certainly didn't take being dismissed well, but at least she obeyed your orders.

And with, only you and Taylor remained in the living room (Lindworm having gone off to his own room with Mr. Mime's help, as he frankly wanted to rest after this crazy night.....). Your partner? gla over where the fox woman disappeared, then back at you, appearing once more uneasy and nervous as you directed your now undivided attention on her.

"Hehehe......looks like I got no back up now, and can't put off things anymore, eh? ......*Sighs, leaning back into their set with a defeated expression* What do you want to know, Reiner? Well, where should I begin, if we're being honest to each other, heh...."

...

Reiner smoothly ignores Taylor's comment about him being good looking.  Or, well, seems to, at any rate, as far as Taylor would be able to tell. Fortunately for the women, Reiner's up for a topic change as well.

"Weavile's doing quite fine, actually, same as always.  Things have unfortunately been a little rough between us recently, but they're still relatively normal, all things considered.  He's a strong anchor when things haven't been going as planned.  Usually.  You can probably imagine what his initial reaction was when we first walked into this room, though."  That second to last part is probably not how Taylor would have described Sneasel four years ago, to be honest..."

-------------

As soon as Kyubi leaves, Weavile pops out of his pokeball.  He probably takes one look at Taylor, is likely initially somewhat surprised because of that incredibly gnarly and painful looking scar, then regains his composure and coolly gives her a single, casual wave of one of his hands while leaning up against the couch Reiner's sitting in.

He also kinda gives Reiner a sideways, narrow eyed look for his earlier comments before returning his gaze to Taylor.  He's also quite curious about what Taylor's been up to...he leaves the talking to Reiner for the time being, though.

"...well, in general, I'd like to know what you've been doing for the past four years.  Until earlier this week, I thought you were dead.  Or captured.  Or something.  And judging by that pretty little scar you're now sporting, I'd say I wasn't too far off the mark." He doesn't say what other possibilities he considered over the last four years, but he doesn't exactly have to.

...a moment of silence as he pauses.

"...first question before that, though, and probably the most important one: did you find Lucy?  You know Kingdra's been incredibly torn up and angry about that for the past four years, right?  I can still only barely keep her temper in check sometimes, and I'm lucky she's not yet spontaneously learned Outrage because of that, to be blunt once more."

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Reiner smoothly ignores Taylor's comment about him being good looking.  Or, well, seems to, at any rate, as far as Taylor would be able to tell.  Fortunately for the women, Reiner's up for a topic change as well.

"Weavile's doing quite fine, actually, same as always.  Things have unfortunately been a little rough between us recently, but they're still relatively normal, all things considered.  He's a strong anchor when things haven't been going as planned.  Usually.  You can probably imagine what his initial reaction was when we first walked into this room, though."  That second to last part is probably not how Taylor would have described Sneasel four years ago, to be honest..."


-------------

As soon as Kyubi leaves, Weavile pops out of his pokeball.  He probably takes one look at Taylor, is likely initially somewhat surprised because of that incredibly gnarly and painful looking scar, then regains his composure and coolly gives her a single, casual wave of one of his hands while leaning up against the couch Reiner's sitting in.


He also kinda gives Reiner a sideways, narrow eyed look for his earlier comments before returning his gaze to Taylor.  He's also quite curious about what Taylor's been up to...he leaves the talking to Reiner for the time being, though.

"...well, in general, I'd like to know what you've been doing for the past four years.  Until earlier this week, I thought you were dead.  Or captured.  Or something.  And judging by that pretty little scar you're now sporting, I'd say I wasn't too far off the mark."  He doesn't say what other possibilities he considered over the last four years, but he doesn't exactly have to.

...a moment of silence as he pauses.

"...first question before that, though, and probably the most important one: did you find Lucy?  You know Kingdra's been incredibly torn up and angry about that for the past four years, right?  I can still only barely keep her temper in check sometimes, and I'm lucky she's not yet spontaneously learned Outrage because of that, to be blunt once more."

Taylor recovered quickly (No thank in small part to you going along with her request), coughing into her fist and doing her best to nonchalantly pretend her slip up never occurred. No accidental flirting happened with this thief, nope!

She did raise an eyebrow as you described your cat burglar , looking simultaneously impressed and surprised.

"Wait, our little burglar Evolved? Well, paint me pink and call me a Fairy type! *Throws her hands out* Congrats! I'll have to nick some catnip for him later for him to celebrate some more with, hehe! How'd you manage that, though? Razor Claws aren't exactly easy to find in Tohjo, on the market or in someone's pocket."

"Also.....more than a bit curious about you guys relationship, as it sound to me its......shaky, to put it plainly. Heh, and yeah, I take it he was much more surprised to see than you were."

----

The moment Weavile popped out and introduce himself to his old friend, Taylor uncharacteristically squeed, looking at the sly feline with unchecked and unfettered enthusiasm with hands pressed together.

"Oooooh Weavile buddy, you look soooo cool now! Comere, you!"

*Whoosh Whoosh*

Almost quick as lightning, your old partner blinked over to Weavile, pinned them in a hug, then was back on the couch with him in her lap, as she fawned and petted her old friend.

"Who's a big bad thief now? You are, Weavile! I'm so happy for you, buddy!! Tell me, you steal anything good lately? I know you have, 'cause you have the stickiest finger ever!"

Huh.....that was fast....and unexpected. Looks like Taylor really missed your mutual fluffy friend, eh? ( I'll leave Weavile's to you, @Dragonstrike )

Of course, such festiveness was swiftly diminished when you unceasingly moved on to the next topic, earning you another *Sigh* as she looked at you somewhat sullenly.

".....You thought I was dead, or got caught by those old screwballs? Oh ye of little faith, Reiner.....*Beat, then Sighs, her frown deepens as she glanced down*......though I can hardly blame you for that. Kinda hard not to form opinions, when you haven't heard a peep from me until.....now, huh?"

Morose silence filled the gap in conversation, until she mustered up the will to continue speaking, waving herself off with a halfhearted scoff.

".....Enough of that, though. I'd thought you'd be railing on me to tell you where the 'ell I've been, and all that, but nope, you ask about my dear Lucy first. *Smiles a bit* ....Glad to see you still care about them, after all this time. Anyhow, to answer your question....."

She drawled the last part out neutrally, looking at you calmly as can be....

....before her smile broke out into a savage, wide, and toothy grin, and she held out one of her hands, an unmistakable Pokeball resting in the center of her palm.

"We're back together, Reiner. Took about a year to find her, then another of planning and preparation to actually rescue her, but by those blasted Dragon Gods I did. And I made damn sure to give the Elders and her captors a good, long, and thoroughly humiliating fucking over in the process for all the trouble they caused all of us, hehehehe....."

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

Taylor recovered quickly (No thank in small part to you going along with her request), coughing into her fist and doing her best to nonchalantly pretend her slip up never occurred. No accidental flirting happened with this thief, nope!

She did raise an eyebrow as you described your cat burglar , looking simultaneously impressed and surprised.

"Wait, our little burglar Evolved? Well, paint me pink and call me a Fairy type! *Throws her hands out* Congrats! I'll have to nick some catnip for him later for him to celebrate some more with, hehe! How'd you manage that, though? Razor Claws aren't exactly easy to find in Tohjo, on the market or in someone's pocket."

"Also.....more than a bit curious about you guys relationship, as it sound to me its......shaky, to put it plainly. Heh, and yeah, I take it he was much more surprised to see than you were."

----

The moment Weavile popped out and introduce himself to his old friend, Taylor uncharacteristically squeed, looking at the sly feline with unchecked and unfettered enthusiasm with hands pressed together.

"Oooooh Weavile buddy, you look soooo cool now! Comere, you!"

*Whoosh Whoosh*

Almost quick as lightning, your old partner blinked over to Weavile, pinned them in a hug, then was back on the couch with him in her lap, as she fawned and petted her old friend.

"Who's a big bad thief now? You are, Weavile! I'm so happy for you, buddy!! Tell me, you steal anything good lately? I know you have, 'cause you have the stickiest finger ever!"

Huh.....that was fast....and unexpected. Looks like Taylor really missed your mutual fluffy friend, eh? ( I'll leave Weavile's to you, Dragonstrike )

Of course, such festiveness was swiftly diminished when you unceasingly moved on to the next topic, earning you another *Sigh* as she looked at you somewhat sullenly.

".....You thought I was dead, or got caught by those old screwballs? Oh ye of little faith, Reiner.....*Beat, then Sighs, her frown deepens as she glanced down*......though I can hardly blame you for that. Kinda hard not to form opinions, when you haven't heard a peep from me until.....now, huh?"

Morose silence filled the gap in conversation, until she mustered up the will to continue speaking, waving herself off with a halfhearted scoff.

".....Enough of that, though. I'd thought you'd be railing on me to tell you where the 'ell I've been, and all that, but nope, you ask about my dear Lucy first. *Smiles a bit* ....Glad to see you still care about them, after all this time. Anyhow, to answer your question....."

She drawled the last part out neutrally, looking at you calmly as can be....

....before her smile broke out into a savage, wide, and toothy grin, and she held out one of her hands, an unmistakable Pokeball resting in the center of her palm.

"We're back together, Reiner. Took about a year to find her, then another of planning and preparation to actually rescue her, but by those blasted Dragon Gods I did. And I made damn sure to give the Elders and her captors a good, long, and thoroughly humiliating fucking over in the process for all the trouble they caused all of us, hehehehe....."

"How do you think he got ahold of one?  Happened to be in the right place at the right time...or wrong time, depending on your perspective...he's improved quite a bit with practice over the last few years."

"...well, surprised is one way to put it...you know what happened the last time, after all...he's still just as brazen as before when it comes to valuables."  (the last time being the Dragon Shrine, of course. If Taylor thought Reiner was referring to just now with that statement, well, this following one should correct that.)

-----------

On one hand, Weavile doesn't exactly like being stroked like a housecat.

On the other, he can make an exception for Taylor.  Just 'cuz it's her, and this is the first time they've had an opportunity to hang out in years.  But only just this once.

He reeeeeeaaaalllllly has to resist the urge to start purring, though, just like a certain other ferocious feline in Reiner's ranks...(though Ridia would be more likely to bite anyone that threatens to dispel her tough girl image, obviously.  Or maybe swipe at them with her sharp claws or something.)

-----------

Reiner huffs at Taylor's remark about his choice of what to ask first.  "Of course I'm going to ask about the whole reason you up and vanished in the first place.  I was expecting you'd at least come back ASAP to tell me if you found any leads or someth..."

Taylor's grin interrupts his train of thought, as it reminds him of that same grin Ridia had on her face immediately after she'd evolved.

...and then she follows it up with the standard red pokeball in the palm of her hand.  The one with the lightning bolt imprinted just above the button.

Like this one

Lucy's pokeball.  There's no mistaking it.

Time for a new theme!: Determination, Spirit, Hopes, and Dreams

Reiner and Weavile can both only just stare at it for a good minute or so.  And when Reiner finally does break the silence...

"...wow.  You actually went and got her back from the Elders...Kingdra...she's going to be ecstatic...hehe...wow...I can hardly believe this...heh..."

After Reiner manages to stop chuckling in almost sheer disbelief, he takes a deep breath, an old, old burden lifted from his shoulders.

Retrieving Lucy was one of the main reasons he, Kingdra, and Weavile had been training for the last 4 years.  He still has reasons to fight...but that's one of them checked off the list now.  And ooh boy, is it a big checkmark...in fact, if it weren't for Megido's Revelation, then maybe Reiner could have had a happier ending here and now...

"...well then...guess that explains why you had time to stop in and visit my mother when you did.  Long story how I know that.  It's how I got your new phone number though, in case you're wondering.  However...that does still leave the other 2 years unaccounted for.  So...what took you so long to come back?  And how'd the cell phone and scar situations happen?  And by the Dragon Gods, why the heck didn't you come back and tell me you'd found where Lucy was while I was still hanging around Mahogany Town? Yeah, I know, you probably didn't know if I was actually still in that area or not...but you had an entire year to check there after you found where Lucy was, so..." (as a reminder, Windos, Taylor had originally promised to find Reiner after she'd found where Lucy was, but Reiner interpreted that as her returning when she'd located the blue and yellow birdie, not when she'd rescued her)

And there it is.  Though it is (slightly) less serious than if he'd happened to ask about what she'd been doing the last four years first instead of about Lucy, he IS still somewhat upset that Taylor didn't include him in the plan to free Lucy since she had an entire year to find him in Mahogany Town...it's not like he'd gone anywhere in that time, after all...

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

"How do you think he got ahold of one?  Happened to be in the right place at the right time...or wrong time, depending on your perspective...he's improved quite a bit with practice over the last few years."


"...well, surprised is one way to put it...you know what happened the last time, after all...he's still just as brazen as before when it comes to valuables."  (the last time being the Dragon Shrine, of course.  If Taylor thought Reiner was referring to just now with that statement, well, this following one should correct that.)


-----------

On one hand, Weavile doesn't exactly like being stroked like a housecat.

On the other, he can make an exception for Taylor.  Just 'cuz it's her, and this is the first time they've had an opportunity to hang out in years.  But only just this once.

He reeeeeeaaaalllllly has to resist the urge to start purring, though, just like a certain other ferocious feline in Reiner's ranks...(though Ridia would be more likely to bite anyone that threatens to dispel her tough girl image, obviously.  Or maybe swipe at them with her sharp claws or something.)

-----------

Reiner huffs at Taylor's remark about his choice of what to ask first.  "Of course I'm going to ask about the whole reason you up and vanished in the first place.  I was expecting you'd at least come back ASAP to tell me if you found any leads or someth..."

Taylor's grin interrupts his train of thought, as it reminds him of that same grin Ridia had on her face immediately after she'd evolved.

...and then she follows it up with the standard red pokeball in the palm of her hand.  The one with the lightning bolt imprinted just above the button.

(...)

Time for a new theme!: Determination, Spirit, Hopes, and Dreams

Reiner and Weavile can both only just stare at it for a good minute or so.  And when Reiner finally does break the silence...

"...wow.  You actually went and got her back from the Elders...Kingdra...she's going to be ecstatic...hehe...wow...I can hardly believe this...heh..."


After Reiner manages to stop chuckling in almost sheer disbelief, he takes a deep breath, an old, old burden lifted from his shoulders.

Retrieving Lucy was one of the main reasons he, Kingdra, and Weavile had been training for the last 4 years.  He still has reasons to fight...but that's one of them checked off the list now.  And ooh boy, is it a big checkmark...in fact, if it weren't for Megido's Revelation, then maybe Reiner could have had a happier ending here and now...

"...well then...guess that explains why you had time to stop in and visit my mother when you did.  Long story how I know that.  It's how I got your new phone number though, in case you're wondering.  However...that does still leave the other 2 years unaccounted for.  So...what took you so long to come back?  And how'd the cell phone and scar situations happen?  And by the Dragon Gods, why the heck didn't you come back and tell me you'd found where Lucy was while I was still hanging around Mahogany Town?  Yeah, I know, you probably didn't know if I was actually still in that area or not...but you had an entire year to check there after you found where Lucy was, so..."  (as a reminder, Windos, Taylor had originally promised to find Reiner after she'd found where Lucy was, but Reiner interpreted that as her returning when she'd located the blue and yellow birdie, not when she'd rescued her)

And there it is.  Though it is (slightly) less serious than if he'd happened to ask about what she'd been doing the last four years first instead of about Lucy, he IS still somewhat upset that Taylor didn't include him in the plan to free Lucy since she had an entire year to find him in Mahogany Town...it's not like he'd gone anywhere in that time, after all...

"Heh, sounds like there's an interesting story around our little thief's Evolution you are not telling me, Reiner. Mind sharing it, or is it the type of tale you only wish to remember when you're half blitzed out of your skulls?"

(...)

"*Winces* Oh.....Weavile still has it bad with his greediness? Thought you two would have gotten a hold on that by now, especially after......well, you know. Guess reigning in those instincts of his is hard as a Golem's hide, eh? *Frowns* Did he cause any.......trouble while casing this place?"

----

As if she detected the cat burglar's slight discontent with fawned over like a Skitty, Talyor brought out what looked to be an fancy bottle of milk with a flourish of her hand (it just appeared in her grasp), and handed it to him.

"Notice your a bit grumpy right now Weavile, despite seeing me in the first time in ages. Would a big ol bottle of Deluxe Moo Moo Milk make you feel better? Its one of your favorite's, if I recall correctly, so it should be just purrfect pick me up!"

(Again, I leave Weavile's reaction to you!)

----

Your old partner couldn't help chuckling along with you at her epic reveal, though more due to the kick she got out of you and the black feline's gobsmacked reaction than at her own accomplishment. Its not every day she got to truly surprise Reiner, even way back in the good old days, and the conversation with him has been rather......chilly until now, so like hell she wasn't going to enjoy this all she could!

"Yeap, I did. Those decrepit old bastards certainly didn't make it easy tracking my girl down, much less spring her were they were holding her, but by hook and crook I got her back! If ya all like, you, Kingdra, and Weavile can reacquaint yourselves with her after you're done questioning me. Kyubi mentioned their was a training gym in this flat of yours - heh, I can hardly believe you own such a posh place in the first place! But yeah, said their was plenty of space in there for all our old Pokemon, so it be perfect place to hold a reunion on short notice. What da ya say?"


Her good cheer was diminished and partially replaced with perplexed intrigue when you brought up her visit to your ka-san, but before she could level an inquiry about that you beat her to the Bullet Punch with your own deluge of questions, throwing her into a swivet and prompting her to hold up a hand, looking a mite bite overwhelmed.

"Wow, hey, slow down there! I can answer all your questions, and maybe a bit more, but not quick as Lucy's Thunderbolts! Can we just.....pace ourselves a bit? One question at a time? For my shake? Please?"

Beyond that request, you again could feel her reluctance and guilt re-emerge , telling you that being flustered by your bombardment of pointed questions was not the only reason she was dragoning her feet on answering you. Still, it might be for the best to play along for now, rather than risk her Cloystering up entirely.

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

"Heh, sounds like there's an interesting story around our little thief's Evolution you are not telling me, Reiner. Mind sharing it, or is it the type of tale you only wish to remember when you're half blitzed out of your skulls?"

(...)

"*Winces* Oh.....Weavile still has it bad with his greediness? Thought you two would have gotten a hold on that by now, especially after......well, you know. Guess reigning in those instincts of his is hard as a Golem's hide, eh? *Frowns* Did he cause any.......trouble while casing this place?"

----

As if she detected the cat burglar's slight discontent with fawned over like a Skitty, Talyor brought out what looked to be an fancy bottle of milk with a flourish of her hand (it just appeared in her grasp), and handed it to him.

"Notice your a bit grumpy right now Weavile, despite seeing me in the first time in ages. Would a big ol bottle of Deluxe Moo Moo Milk make you feel better? Its one of your favorite's, if I recall correctly, so it should be just purrfect pick me up!"

(Again, I leave Weavile's reaction to you!)

----

Your old partner couldn't help chuckling along with you at her epic reveal, though more due to the kick she got out of you and the black feline's gobsmacked reaction than at her own accomplishment. Its not every day she got to truly surprise Reiner, even way back in the good old days, and the conversation with him has been rather......chilly until now, so like hell she wasn't going to enjoy this all she could!

"Yeap, I did. Those decrepit old bastards certainly didn't make it easy tracking my girl down, much less spring her were they were holding her, but by hook and crook I got her back! If ya all like, you, Kingdra, and Weavile can reacquaint yourselves with her after you're done questioning me. Kyubi mentioned their was a training gym in this flat of yours - heh, I can hardly believe you own such a posh place in the first place! But yeah, said their was plenty of space in there for all our old Pokemon, so it be perfect place to hold a reunion on short notice. What da ya say?"


Her good cheer was diminished and partially replaced with perplexed intrigue when you brought up her visit to your ka-san, but before she could level an inquiry about that you beat her to the Bullet Punch with your own deluge of questions, throwing her into a swivet and prompting her to hold up a hand, looking a mite bite overwhelmed.

"Wow, hey, slow down there! I can answer all your questions, and maybe a bit more, but not quick as Lucy's Thunderbolts! Can we just.....pace ourselves a bit? One question at a time? For my shake? Please?"

Beyond that request, you again could feel her reluctance and guilt re-emerge , telling you that being flustered by your bombardment of pointed questions was not the only reason she was dragoning her feet on answering you. Still, it might be for the best to play along for now, rather than risk her Cloystering up entirely.

"Maybe I'll tell ya the story a bit later.  Maybe."

Reiner shakes his head at the next comment.  "I stopped him from overdoing it.  Barely.  Thankfully." And he leaves it at that for now.

------

Weavile kinda eyes the milk bottle for a second...thinks it over...

Eh, sure.  He's not gonna turn it down since she's offering.

As soon as he manages to get free of that Ursaring/Bewear hug (one way or another), he'll sit down and enjoy that cool glass of milk while Reiner and Taylor talk.  He's very much looking forward to hearing how this goes down...

He does kinda eye Reiner curiously with one raised eyebrow when he mentions that 'he' was the one who tried to reign him in. What? That's not what he remembered happening...

------

"...catching up with Lucy would be good when we're done here, yes.  And yes, the training room should have more than enough space.  Plenty of room for battles and training involving larger pokemon."

At Taylor's flustered request to slow down, Reiner closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to try and calm down. They've still got time, no need to rush that much...no need to get overemotional right now either...

"...alright, one question at a time, then.  Let's start with when and why you got a cell phone and how ya got that intimidating scar.  Easy questions, right?"

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

"Maybe I'll tell ya the story a bit later.  Maybe."

Reiner shakes his head at the next comment.  "I stopped him from overdoing it.  Barely.  Thankfully."  And he leaves it at that for now.

------

Weavile kinda eyes the milk bottle for a second...thinks it over...

Eh, sure.  He's not gonna turn it down since she's offering.

As soon as he manages to get free of that Ursaring hug (one way or another), he'll sit down and enjoy that cool glass of milk while Reiner and Taylor talk.  He's very much looking forward to hearing how this goes down...

He does kinda eye Reiner curiously with one raised eyebrow when he mentions that 'he' was the one who tried to reign him in.  What?  That's not what he remembered happening...


------

"...catching up with Lucy would be good when we're done here, yes.  And yes, the training room should have more than enough space.  Plenty of room for battles and training involving larger pokemon."

At Taylor's flustered request to slow down, Reiner closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to try and calm down.  They've still got time, no need to rush that much...no need to get overemotional right now either...

"...alright, one question at a time, then.  Let's start with when and why you got a cell phone and how ya got that intimidating scar.  Easy questions, right?"

"Heh heh, so it is one of those kinds of tales. Well, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force ya. I'm interested in learning what you've been up to all this time, but......*Frown for a moment* well, this conversation isn't about you, eh? Hopefully their will be time to catch up......properly later. *Mumbles*....Hopefully...."

(...)

And so does Taylor, as even with her social ineptitude , she can tell that topic is sore as a Beedrill's sting!
----

Weavile escapes her Grapple with relative ease once he puts so effort into it, causing your old partner to pout at the sly feline for a moment. Aww, she wanted to cuddle with her feline friend all throughout her conversation with Reiner. It would have certainly made that task more comfortable by a country mile. Oh well, she'll cope and adapt, as always....

----

"Glad to hear that! Lucy's missed you all too, and would love to see how you're doing. Same with Jeff, 'cause I know he would just love to show off how tough he's gotten over, especially to your Kingdra, heh heh..."

The thief let's out a *Sigh* of relief as you let up, closing her eyes and reclining back into the couch more as she gathered her thoughts and prepared herself for what would be no doubt be long, exhaustive, and uncomfortable explanations, rationales, and recounting of her past exploits. For if there's one thing's she learn about her old partner past and presently, its that he doesn't and wouldn't leave any stones unturned and upended to get the answer he sought unless you tried your damndest to deter him, and with the way he is now.....welp, she can't half arse things, no matter how much she would've like too.

All she can do at this point is come clean the best way she can, and hope that Reiner wouldn't want to feed her a knuckle sandwich by the end, or worse. Oh boy, this was going to suck.

".....Thank you. *Long Beat* .....The main reason I got a cell phone in the first place, despite finding them mostly to be a nuisense, liability, or just plain rubbish, is pretty simple: so that I had a way to quickly get into contact with you, or anyone else that would have seen ya, you doof. *Sighs* Allow me to elaborate...."

"After I rescued Lucy, I spent a few weeks in Goldenrod lying low to be on the safe side, then high tailed in to Mahogany to pick ya, celebrate, and catch up on what the heck I've been doing......but I didn't find you anywhere there. Spent the better part of the a week searching high, low, and in the darkest corners in and around the sleepy little town for you, but all I found was zlitch. Only leads I managed to get a scrounge up and get a strangle hold on was a Kingdra going on a rampage in the lake before it was mysteriously stopped, and you last seen leaving town with some tall bloke, but that lead nowhere pretty fast. Its like you just went *Poof!* *Spreads arms apart* gone, the moment you left Mahogany! Like some Ghost departing to the Netherworld, or Giratina herself spirited you away!"
".....No, I Did Not. I Was Not Even Aware Of My Love At That Time, Unfortunately......"
"*Shakes their head, and sighs* ...First figured you might have been abducted by one of the Elder's secret agents or croonies, perhaps to fuck with you some more for shiggles, but it didn't match up with the info I'd gathered. Plus, I knew that the Elders were already busy as a furious hive of Combees handling and covering up my, heh heh, tour of their oh so secured locals - more on those later, Reiner, so Bewear with me here! -, and trying to figure out who gave them such a well deserved drumming, so they wouldn't have spared you much attention at the time. Plus Plus, I imagined you, Kingdra, and Weavile would have raised Cain and then some if somebody attempted to kidnap you. Probably razed a good portion of Mahogany in the struggle, or at least leave a much more lasting impression among the town folks and Gym than you did, eh?"

"*Takes a deep breath, then continues* ....Once I found all that out, I started scouring Jhoto for you. Started my search in Ecruteak, since I knew your ma's friends and her side of the family lived there so you could have holed up with them, then wound my way across the region when I didn't find you there either, hitting up the places I thought you would be most likely be at since I sure as heck didn't have any leads on ya by that point. *Pauses, and her voice lowers* .....Went about hunting like this for three months, looking into every nook and cranny of every town and city, using every bit and ounce of my talents, my Pokemon's talents, and all the resources I had or could 're-appropriate' as mine own, to find you, your wereabouts, or literally anything about you. Heh.....you can already guess what I found pretty easily, but just for the record let me just come out and say it: Bugger. All."

She ground out those words with deep seated discontent and what felt like despair, giving you a rather miserable grin as she stared at you with self-depreciating amusement, before she hollowly chuckled and resumed her tale.

"Didn't find a single trace of you anywhere in Jhoto. I even double checked the immigration records of gov to see if you had left the region for some odd reason, but again, nothing. By that point, I.....well, I thought you were dead or gone. About the only explanations I had left for your disappearance, since you sure as heck weren't any evidence that spoke to the contrary. Still, I didn't want to give up hope for ya. Couldn't. Not after....not the promise I made to you. *Sighs* ...Sooo I figured it was time for last resorts. Bought a untraceble cell phone off the black market- cost me a pretty Poke, bah... - and started handed out my number to my most trusted sources, with instructions to only phone me if they caught any wind of ya. Then, I made a trip back to Blackthorn, the only city in Jhoto I haven't searched at that point, as that was the very last place I'd expect to find you. You'd have to be.....well, me to get past the Blackthorn Watch Guard and Border Patrol sneakily, and I didn't figure you'd have the skill or resources to get by them yourself without getting caught several times over, to be blunt. More over, I wanted to avoid my 'home town' for a good long while after you know what *Waves a hand around*, so all the more reason to ignore my 'noble beginnings' *Rolls eyes*. If it turned out you were hiding out there, I'd of eaten my cloak and retired as a thief, for a certainly done a crap job of finding you until then."

"Predictably, I found nada of you there, so I decided to pay your folks a visit, for if anyone else could have possibly had a bead on you that I hadn't asked at that point, it would be them. And......*Shrugs* well, you know the rest. Somehow. Curious how exactly you got into contact with your ma that wouldn't have been picked up by me first, but if its a loooong story like you said, it can be saved for later."

"........Anyway, that was that. I couldn't find you. Couldn't keep searching for you either. If there was absolutely nothing about you out where I could find it, then it be fruitless and stupid of me to keep on with it. I ran myself ragged and sick hunting for you - heck, I wasn't even fully recovered from my rescue of Lucy when I started it - and Potions, Medicine, Energy Drinks, and some Pokemon mojo can only go so far keeping a person a-ticking before they keel over. That, and I almost out of Poke by that point after spending most of it on looking for you and personal maintenance, and nobody can't live off an empty wallet unless you're on of them hardcore Survivalist. So.....I had to move on with my life. Rest up, get back to the grind, and......make the most of what I had left, keeping an ear out for ya in the meantime if you turned out to be alive. It killed me to do that, to just give u but.....what else was there for me to do that I already hadn't done?"

Silence. Brooding silence. Suffocatingly brooding silence....

".......Heh heh heh......Imagine my surprise when I checked my message this morning in Fiore, and found out you were not only alive and ticking Celadon, living it up in some cushy hotel, but that you've apparently been wondering where the heck I've for the last few years. Took me a heck of a lot of chain Teleporting to get here ASAP, but I'd sooner take up a life of faith than let globe trotting get in the way of reuniting with ya!"

"Obviously you weren't here when I got here, but your girl Kyubi was, and we......talked. Got caught up on some of the business you've been up she knew about, and man.......wasn't that an eye opener. Sheesh, you still have the worst of the devil's luck after all this time - maybe there is something to that tale of black cats being unlucky.... - and Team Rocket? *Chuckles No wonder I couldn't find you. That organization is tightfisted when it come to information that goes out or in, and nobody knows where their bases are. Otherwise, they'd been paid a visit by the Nation Guard by now, heh heh.... *Nonchalantly shrugs* Don't judge you for joining, by the way. You seemed to have made a good living with them, and it be a bit hypocritical of me to judge them poorly, eh? *Shakes head* ....Just makes me wish I came back to get ya sooner than I did. Would have saved us a lot of grief...."

With that, Taylor concludes her almost excessively long tale, taking another deep breath and huffing it out as she reclined further into her perch. She knew that he was only asked her a simple question, and could have settled for a lesser answer, but she figured she might as well just explain everything that lead up to that decision while she was at it. It would give him all the info he wanted and then some, and he'd know that she just didn't give up on him after discovering he was missing from Mahogany. As a bonus, talking at such length didn't leave him much room to form....less than happy conclusions of his own, and it allowed her to allude to the stuff she now knew about him without being too explicit. Ain't she a smooth talker or what?

After a minute passed, she leaned back up and answered your second question, rattling it off as almost as an aside while lazily gesturing to her face and body.

"Oh, yeah, and my scars. Gottem from a Salamance patrolling the Secret Breeding Grounds. It caught wind of me somehow and mauled me something fierce before I could take care of it. Heh, the scar on my face is the least of the damage it caused, as a matter of fact, and I think it looks pretty cool too, so I don't mind it much at all now. Good thing I packed several Full Restores on me to patch me and my Pokemon up quickly just in case, eh? It didn't prevent the scarring, and I'll be missing my right boob for the rest of my life, *Shrugs* but what can you do about?"

......What?

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

"Heh heh, so it is one of those kinds of tales. Well, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force ya. I'm interested in learning what you've been up to all this time, but......*Frown for a moment* well, this conversation isn't about you, eh? Hopefully their will be time to catch up......properly later. *Mumbles*....Hopefully...."

(...)

And so does Taylor, as even with her social ineptitude , she can tell that topic is sore as a Beedrill's sting!
----

Weavile escapes her Grapple with relative ease once he puts so effort into it, causing your old partner to pout at the sly feline for a moment. Aww, she wanted to cuddle with her feline friend all throughout her conversation with Reiner. It would have certainly made that task more comfortable by a country mile. Oh well, she'll cope and adapt, as always....

----

"Glad to hear that! Lucy's missed you all too, and would love to see how you're doing. Same with Jeff, 'cause I know he would just love to show off how tough he's gotten over, especially to your Kingdra, heh heh..."

The thief let's out a *Sigh* of relief as you let up, closing her eyes and reclining back into the couch more as she gathered her thoughts and prepared herself for what would be no doubt be long, exhaustive, and uncomfortable explanations, rationales, and recounting of her past exploits. For if there's one thing's she learn about her old partner past and presently, its that he doesn't and wouldn't leave any stones unturned and upended to get the answer he sought unless you tried your damndest to deter him, and with the way he is now.....welp, she can't half arse things, no matter how much she would've like too.

All she can do at this point is come clean the best way she can, and hope that Reiner wouldn't want to feed her a knuckle sandwich by the end, or worse. Oh boy, this was going to suck.

".....Thank you. *Long Beat* .....The main reason I got a cell phone in the first place, despite finding them mostly to be a nuisense, liability, or just plain rubbish, is pretty simple: so that I had a way to quickly get into contact with you, or anyone else that would have seen ya, you doof. *Sighs* Allow me to elaborate...."

"After I rescued Lucy, I spent a few weeks in Goldenrod lying low to be on the safe side, then high tailed in to Mahogany to pick ya, celebrate, and catch up on what the heck I've been doing......but I didn't find you anywhere there. Spent the better part of the a week searching high, low, and in the darkest corners in and around the sleepy little town for you, but all I found was zlitch. Only leads I managed to get a scrounge up and get a strangle hold on was a Kingdra going on a rampage in the lake before it was mysteriously stopped, and you last seen leaving town with some tall bloke, but that lead nowhere pretty fast. Its like you just went *Poof!* *Spreads arms apart* gone, the moment you left Mahogany! Like some Ghost departing to the Netherworld, or Giratina herself spirited you away!"
".....No, I Did Not. I Was Not Even Aware Of My Love At That Time, Unfortunately......"
"*Shakes their head, and sighs* ...First figured you might have been abducted by one of the Elder's secret agents or croonies, perhaps to fuck with you some more for shiggles, but it didn't match up with the info I'd gathered. Plus, I knew that the Elders were already busy as a furious hive of Combees handling and covering up my, heh heh, tour of their oh so secured locals - more on those later, Reiner, so Bewear with me here! -, and trying to figure out who gave them such a well deserved drumming, so they wouldn't have spared you much attention at the time. Plus Plus, I imagined you, Kingdra, and Weavile would have raised Cain and then some if somebody attempted to kidnap you. Probably razed a good portion of Mahogany in the struggle, or at least leave a much more lasting impression among the town folks and Gym than you did, eh?"

"*Takes a deep breath, then continues* ....Once I found all that out, I started scouring Jhoto for you. Started my search in Ecruteak, since I knew your ma's friends and her side of the family lived there so you could have holed up with them, then wound my way across the region when I didn't find you there either, hitting up the places I thought you would be most likely be at since I sure as heck didn't have any leads on ya by that point. *Pauses, and her voice lowers* .....Went about hunting like this for three months, looking into every nook and cranny of every town and city, using every bit and ounce of my talents, my Pokemon's talents, and all the resources I had or could 're-appropriate' as mine own, to find you, your wereabouts, or literally anything about you. Heh.....you can already guess what I found pretty easily, but just for the record let me just come out and say it: Bugger. All."

She ground out those words with deep seated discontent and what felt like despair, giving you a rather miserable grin as she stared at you with self-depreciating amusement, before she hollowly chuckled and resumed her tale.

"Didn't find a single trace of you anywhere in Jhoto. I even double checked the immigration records of gov to see if you had left the region for some odd reason, but again, nothing. By that point, I.....well, I thought you were dead or gone. About the only explanations I had left for your disappearance, since you sure as heck weren't any evidence that spoke to the contrary. Still, I didn't want to give up hope for ya. Couldn't. Not after....not the promise I made to you. *Sighs* ...Sooo I figured it was time for last resorts. Bought a untraceble cell phone off the black market- cost me a pretty Poke, bah... - and started handed out my number to my most trusted sources, with instructions to only phone me if they caught any wind of ya. Then, I made a trip back to Blackthorn, the only city in Jhoto I haven't searched at that point, as that was the very last place I'd expect to find you. You'd have to be.....well, me to get past the Blackthorn Watch Guard and Border Patrol sneakily, and I didn't figure you'd have the skill or resources to get by them yourself without getting caught several times over, to be blunt. More over, I wanted to avoid my 'home town' for a good long while after you know what *Waves a hand around*, so all the more reason to ignore my 'noble beginnings' *Rolls eyes*. If it turned out you were hiding out there, I'd of eaten my cloak and retired as a thief, for a certainly done a crap job of finding you until then."

"Predictably, I found nada of you there, so I decided to pay your folks a visit, for if anyone else could have possibly had a bead on you that I hadn't asked at that point, it would be them. And......*Shrugs* well, you know the rest. Somehow. Curious how exactly you got into contact with your ma that wouldn't have been picked up by me first, but if its a loooong story like you said, it can be saved for later."

"........Anyway, that was that. I couldn't find you. Couldn't keep searching for you either. If there was absolutely nothing about you out where I could find it, then it be fruitless and stupid of me to keep on with it. I ran myself ragged and sick hunting for you - heck, I wasn't even fully recovered from my rescue of Lucy when I started it - and Potions, Medicine, Energy Drinks, and some Pokemon mojo can only go so far keeping a person a-ticking before they keel over. That, and I almost out of Poke by that point after spending most of it on looking for you and personal maintenance, and nobody can't live off an empty wallet unless you're on of them hardcore Survivalist. So.....I had to move on with my life. Rest up, get back to the grind, and......make the most of what I had left, keeping an ear out for ya in the meantime if you turned out to be alive. It killed me to do that, to just give u but.....what else was there for me to do that I already hadn't done?"

Silence. Brooding silence. Suffocatingly brooding silence....

".......Heh heh heh......Imagine my surprise when I checked my message this morning in Fiore, and found out you were not only alive and ticking Celadon, living it up in some cushy hotel, but that you've apparently been wondering where the heck I've for the last few years. Took me a heck of a lot of chain Teleporting to get here ASAP, but I'd sooner take up a life of faith than let globe trotting get in the way of reuniting with ya!"

"Obviously you weren't here when I got here, but your girl Kyubi was, and we......talked. Got caught up on some of the business you've been up she knew about, and man.......wasn't that an eye opener. Sheesh, you still have the worst of the devil's luck after all this time - maybe there is something to that tale of black cats being unlucky.... - and Team Rocket? *Chuckles No wonder I couldn't find you. That organization is tightfisted when it come to information that goes out or in, and nobody knows where their bases are. Otherwise, they'd been paid a visit by the Nation Guard by now, heh heh.... *Nonchalantly shrugs* Don't judge you for joining, by the way. You seemed to have made a good living with them, and it be a bit hypocritical of me to judge them poorly, eh? *Shakes head* ....Just makes me wish I came back to get ya sooner than I did. Would have saved us a lot of grief...."

With that, Taylor concludes her almost excessively long tale, taking another deep breath and huffing it out as she reclined further into her perch. She knew that he was only asked her a simple question, and could have settled for a lesser answer, but she figured she might as well just explain everything that lead up to that decision while she was at it. It would give him all the info he wanted and then some, and he'd know that she just didn't give up on him after discovering he was missing from Mahogany. As a bonus, talking at such length didn't leave him much room to form....less than happy conclusions of his own, and it allowed her to allude to the stuff she now knew about him without being too explicit. Ain't she a smooth talker or what?

After a minute passed, she leaned back up and answered your second question, rattling it off as almost as an aside while lazily gesturing to her face and body.

"Oh, yeah, and my scars. Gottem from a Salamance patrolling the Secret Breeding Grounds. It caught wind of me somehow and mauled me something fierce before I could take care of it. Heh, the scar on my face is the least of the damage it caused, as a matter of fact, and I think it looks pretty cool too, so I don't mind it much at all now. Good thing I packed several Full Restores on me to patch me and my Pokemon up quickly just in case, eh? It didn't prevent the scarring, and I'll be missing my right boob for the rest of my life, *Shrugs* but what can you do about?"

......What?

Well then...

"...that's...quite the story..."

He goes quiet for a minute as he processes that...so, Taylor went through quite a similar situation...she'd only just missed him when she came to look in Mahogany, and only checked Blackthorn as a last resort after combing all of Johto...

Weavile rolls his eyes at Taylor's mention of the black cat supersition.  Him?  Bad luck?  Pfffft, no way.

"...yeah, you could say it's the worst of the devil's luck.  You could also say it wasn't all bad, though.  Kingdra picked up a new trick or two in the last 2 years, and it's been awhile since her last major rampage.  Weavile evolved.  It helped me keep my goals in sight, not lose any sense of purpose or drive.  Waiting around in Mahogany...well, it wasn't exactly easy.  And while there have been things I've found...distasteful about the profession, there are definitely some things that wouldn't have happened were it not for the position I'd taken...both good and bad.  But that's life, I suppose.  I still can't help but wonder, though...why exactly didn't you include me in the plan to save Lucy?  Blackthorn or no, I would have been more than happy to help."  Well, Taylor answered everything except possibly the biggest question Reiner had...and while he's been getting bits and pieces that might hint at why from the conversation so far...well, confirmation isn't usually a bad thing, right?



And after that's answered...

...hang on, now that Reiner looks at the scar again after hearing it was a 'Mence that caused them...

Salamence don't have two claws on each foot.  They have three.  What they have two of, is...well, four, technically...

"...are those...bite marks, Taylor?  As in, the Salamence that sniffed you out...it wasn't a Dragonsong 'Mence, was it?  One with a particularly Strong Jaw?" Reiner's asking mostly out of concern, but also out of curiosity. Why was a Salamence patrolling that area? They're not usually the Dragons that do that job as far as he knows...

EDIT: Oh, and one more thing. Since Weavile would easily be able to pick up that Taylor would be more comfortable with sharing her story if she has a friend to help boost her confidence, he'll at the very least continue to sit next to her so she can continue to stroke him at least. He can be a nice guy if he has to, and if it helps both Taylor and Reiner...well, he can tolerate it for a bit longer. Besides, it's not like it's completely unenjoyable...but he still has to try very hard to resist purring again.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Well then...

"...that's...quite the story..."

He goes quiet for a minute as he processes that...so, Taylor went through quite a similar situation...she'd only just missed him when she came to look in Mahogany, and only checked Blackthorn as a last resort after combing all of Johto...

Weavile rolls his eyes at Taylor's mention of the black cat supersition.  Him?  Bad luck?  Pfffft, no way.

"...yeah, you could say it's the worst of the devil's luck.  You could also say it wasn't all bad, though.  Kingdra picked up a new trick or two in the last 2 years, and it's been awhile since her last major rampage.  Weavile evolved.  It helped me keep my goals in sight, not lose any sense of purpose or drive.  Waiting around in Mahogany...well, it wasn't exactly easy.  And while there have been things I've found...distasteful about the profession, there are definitely some things that wouldn't have happened were it not for the position I'd taken...both good and bad.  But that's life, I suppose.  I still can't help but wonder, though...why exactly didn't you include me in the plan to save Lucy?  Blackthorn or no, I would have been more than happy to help."  Well, Taylor answered everything except possibly the biggest question Reiner had...and while he's been getting bits and pieces that might hint at why from the the conversation so far...well, confirmation isn't usually a bad thing, right?

And after that's answered...




...hang on, now that Reiner looks at the scar again after hearing it was a 'Mence that caused them...

Salamence don't have two claws on each foot.  They have three.  What they have two of, is...well, four, technically...

"...are those...bite marks, Taylor?  As in, the Salamence that sniffed you out...it wasn't a Dragonsong 'Mence, was it?  One with a particularly Strong Jaw?"

EDIT: Oh, and one more thing.  Since Weavile would easily be able to pick up that Taylor would be more comfortable with sharing her story if she has a friend to help boost her confidence, he'll at the very least continue to sit next to her so she can continue to stroke him at least.  He can be a nice guy if he has to, and if it helps both Taylor and Reiner...well, he can tolerate it for a bit longer.  Besides, it's not like it's completely unenjoyable...but he still has to try very hard to resist purring again.

When Weavile mossied up beside Taylor again, she immediately perked up again, some tension seeping out of her and a tiny smile appearing on her face, which did much to lighten up the dour, sardonic airs she's taken up. She reach forward to fondly ruffle his feathered crown, already feeling a little better and more willing to continue her uncomfortable reminiscing.

"Always good to have ya by my side, Weavile. Thank ya...."

Your old partner rolled her eyes and scoffed in amusement as you tried to play up the positives of your propensity for painful probabilities, smirking as she remember all the times where your luck didn't pay off nearly as well......then grimacing for a second as she reminded herself where that lead the two of them. Tsk.....she really needs to reign in her train of thoughts, before they derail at unscheduled Sad and Horrible Recollections again.....

To make up for that bad trip down memory lane, she began to pet her fellow cat burglar even harder, this time targeting the spot she knew would make him purr like a Litten. He's been resisting her so far, but she'll tease the warm and soft kitty cat out of this Ice type feline yet, heh heh!

In spite of that, when you yet again brought up that question, the savaged thief's mood dropped like a Mandibuzz on a fresh carcass, causing her to visibly winced and cringe, her background feelings of discomfort, guilt, and shame now taking front and center stage in her mind. For anyone and especially you, it was patently clear she that she didn't want to answer you, and would much rather be talking about literally anything else......but she did.

Oh, she did.

"Omph......the million Poke question of the night right there, and just as dreaded. At least, for me. *Sighs* I really don't want to talk about, or just want spin a yarn and lie like lye........*Sighs*......But I can't keep this from ya, or give you Tauroshit instead. You deserve the unvarnished truth after what I put you through, even though I know you really, REALLY won't like it....."

Well, isn't that dandy.

Before you could possibly interrupt or interject, Taylor heaved one last great big *SIGH*, frowning and stared you morosely in the eyes, and simply said thus:
Not for my sake, not for yours, and.....not for the plans.
"The long and short of it is this: I couldn't afford to let you in on my plans. Partly 'cause I couldn't put you guys in danger by sneaking you back home - as they'd strip us of our Pokemon and throw us into the darkest oubliette they have if they caught us, and that's if they're nice about punishing us - but......that wasn't the main reason. *Sighs* ....No, that would be because......because......*Gulps, then hardens herself*......because I couldn't risk you, Weavile, or Kingdra fucking shit up again and ruining my one chance of getting my Lucy back, like back in the Dragon Shrine. Didn't trust in ya or your skills, didn't think you all learnt enough in a year's worth of time, and.....and didn't think you'd be much help to me at all, honestly. Plain and simple, I wasn't willing to take a gamble on you all, so I just.......left you out of my plan, and shouldered everything between myself and my 'mons. It was bad of me to do that.......but I wasn't taking any chances. Not with my girl Lucy."

....".......What. In. My. Domain."

"And.....well, everything paid off almost exactly how I wanted it. Simple as that. Getting mauled within an inch of my life by a Salamance wasn't a part of it by any stretch, sure, but that was the only thing that went wrong, and it hardly affect my rescue plan none with all the preparations I took. *Voices lowers* .....Only thing it did affect was my post rescue one. I was going to head straight back to ya after getting Lucy back. Feed ya a story about how I found her after two years and had to spring her right away due to hearing the Elders were going to put her down soon for being too disagreeable even for them, we head over to Goldenrod to lie low for awhile, and then we go about our lives in exile. You all be none the wiser, and we'd all be just happy and Pecha keen without. However, despite the Full Restore fixing me up for the most part, pushing myself to finish my plan with freshly treated Lethal injuries turned out to put me into terrible enough shape anyway. *Darkly chuckles* Imagine that, huh? Forced me to go straight to Goldenrod right away to rest up, and........well, I already told you the rest. Well, besides about my plan itself, and how and why it took me a year to find Lucy, but you didn't ask me about that, did ya? *Shrugs* You can if you want, but its not that important compared to.......yeah....."

Taylor's bows her head as she finishes, no longer able to look you in the eyes after coming clean. Shed leaned far back into the coach and bringing her hands together on her laps, looking and feeling like she was the worst person in the entire world. 

....Is she, though?

Only Reiner can answer that question.

First, though, she answers your other one (Well, if Reiner would actually want or would ask her about her scars after that explanation....), her voice almost flat and toneless by this point.

"Heh.....sharp eyes you got there. ....Yeah, they are, and yes, it was a Dragonsong 'Mence. Don't know if it had a Strong Jaw exactly, but it sure felt like it, after it took big old bites out of me like I was some Sitrus Berry tart."

........".....How DARE She."

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

When Weavile mossied up beside Taylor again, she immediately perked up again, some tension seeping out of her and a tiny smile appearing on her face, which did much to lighten up the dour, sardonic airs she's taken up. She reach forward to fondly ruffle his feathered crown, already feeling a little better and more willing to continue her uncomfortable reminiscing.

"Always good to have ya by my side, Weavile. Thank ya...."

Your old partner rolled her eyes and scoffed in amusement as you tried to play up the positives of your propensity for painful probabilities, smirking as she remember all the times where your luck didn't pay off nearly as well......then grimacing for a second as she reminded herself where that lead the two of them. Tsk.....she really needs to reign in her train of thoughts, before they derail at unscheduled Sad and Horrible Recollections again.....

To make up for that bad trip down memory lane, she began to pet her fellow cat burglar even harder, this time targeting the spot she knew would make him purr like a Litten. He's been resisting her so far, but she'll tease the warm and soft kitty cat out of this Ice type feline yet, heh heh!

In spite of that, when you yet again brought up that question, the savaged thief's mood dropped like a Mandibuzz on a fresh carcass, causing her to visibly winced and cringe, her background feelings of discomfort, guilt, and shame now taking front and center stage in her mind. For anyone and especially you, it was patently clear she that she didn't want to answer you, and would much rather be talking about literally anything else......but she did.

Oh, she did.

"Omph......the million Poke question of the night right there, and just as dreaded. At least, for me. *Sighs* I really don't want to talk about, or just want spin a yarn and lie like lye........*Sighs*......But I can't keep this from ya, or give you Tauroshit instead. You deserve the unvarnished truth after what I put you through, even though I know you really, REALLY won't like it....."

Well, isn't that dandy.

Before you could possibly interrupt or interject, Taylor heaved one last great big *SIGH*, frowning and stared you morosely in the eyes, and simply said thus:

"The long and short of it is this: I couldn't afford to let you in on my plans. Partly 'cause I couldn't put you guys in danger by sneaking you back home - as they'd strip us of our Pokemon and throw us into the darkest oubliette they have if they caught us, and that's if they're nice about punishing us - but......that wasn't the main reason. *Sighs* ....No, that would be because......because......*Gulps, then hardens herself*......because I couldn't risk you, Weavile, or Kingdra fucking shit up again and ruining my one chance of getting my Lucy back, like back in the Dragon Shrine. Didn't trust in ya or your skills, didn't think you all learnt enough in a year's worth of time, and.....and didn't think you'd be much help to me at all, honestly. Plain and simple, I wasn't willing to take a gamble on you all, so I just.......left you out of my plan, and shouldered everything between myself and my 'mons. It was bad of me to do that.......but I wasn't taking any chances. Not with my girl Lucy."

....".......What. In. My. Domain."

"And.....well, everything paid off almost exactly how I wanted it. Simple as that. Getting mauled within an inch of my life by a Salamance wasn't a part of it by any stretch, sure, but that was the only thing that went wrong, and it hardly affect my rescue plan none with all the preparations I took. *Voices lowers* .....Only thing it did affect was my post rescue one. I was going to head straight back to ya after getting Lucy back. Feed ya a story about how I found her after two years and had to spring her right away due to hearing the Elders were going to put her down soon for being too disagreeable even for them, we head over to Goldenrod to lie low for awhile, and then we go about our lives in exile. You all be none the wiser, and we'd all be just happy and Pecha keen without. However, despite the Full Restore fixing me up for the most part, pushing myself to finish my plan with freshly treated Lethal injuries turned out to put me into terrible enough shape anyway. *Darkly chuckles* Imagine that, huh? Forced me to go straight to Goldenrod right away to rest up, and........well, I already told you the rest. Well, besides about my plan itself, and how and why it took me a year to find Lucy, but you didn't ask me about that, did ya? *Shrugs* You can if you want, but its not that important compared to.......yeah....."

Taylor's bows her head as she finishes, no longer able to look you in the eyes after coming clean. Shed leaned far back into the coach and bringing her hands together on her laps, looking and feeling like she was the worst person in the entire world. 

....Is she, though?

Only Reiner can answer that question.

First, though, she answers your other one (Well, if Reiner would actually want or would ask her about her scars after that explanation....), her voice almost flat and toneless by this point.

"Heh.....sharp eyes you got there. ....Yeah, they are, and yes, it was a Dragonsong 'Mence. Don't know if it had a Strong Jaw exactly, but it sure felt like it, after it took big old bites out of me like I was some Sitrus Berry tart."

........".....How DARE She."

Weavile looks just a tad offended for a second, really.  (Which definitely interrupts any purring he'd been doing)

As does Reiner for just a moment.

...though it's soon followed by a heavy sigh with closed eyes.  "...given what nearly happened here in this very room after four years...can't say I blame you too much for not wanting to fully trust us with such a delicate mission after just one..."

Weavile quickly deflates a little himself alongside Taylor, I imagine.  Particularly since he's one of the primary reasons they got caught back at the Dragon Shrine originally...as much as he doesn't like it, there's not really any way to sugarcoat that fact right now...and the droop in his ears makes it quite obvious, really...while he is quite cocky and confident most of the time, he does feel bad about what his actions caused 4 years ago...even though you'd be hard pressed to get him to admit that most of the time...Taylor of all people implying his skills are lacking definitely takes a little spring out of his step, though...

Silence.  Painful silence.  Reiner knows he's far from the only one who didn't like what Taylor just said...he just hopes that the obvious eavesdropper that he can't do anything about doesn't think too ill of Taylor since it is rather valid reasoning...(and Reiner indeed knows that she is definitely listening in, even if it is only because Taylor mentioned her earlier...)

Oof.

And that's probably when Reiner asks about the scars, if only for a slight topic change.

Thing is, though...while he IS concerned that a Dragonsong 'Mence munched on Taylor...he finds that...odd. Again, why was a Salamence patrolling the Secret Breeding Grounds?  As far as he knows, they aren't usually used as guard Dragons by the Elders...they're much more likely to use bulkier Dragonair, Dragonite, and Kingdra for guard duty...particularly Extreme Speed using members of the Dratini line, which can deliver quick ambushes and/or warnings much faster than most other Dragons usually can...a Salamence is hardly a subtle choice beause of its more violent tendencies...and Fly doesn't afford it many advantages over a Dragonite in the Dragon's Den, either, particularly since a Dragonite can also use the move, and the Elders definitely have access to HMs...oh, and Salamence can't swim nor use Water HMs, either, unlike Dragonite and Kingdra...

Hmmmmm...time to dig for more info.

"...why did it take you a year to find Lucy?  It was only a week after she'd been birdnapped when you started looking, and she was obviously still somewhere in Blackthorn, right?"