worktodo | 002 | Route 38 | Video / Action;

Entry tags:

002 | Route 38 | Video / Action;

[It's a lovely afternoon on Route 38, just outside of Ecruteak City, and Albert Rosenfield is On A Mission. (All right, well, technically he's on two missions, but he's pretending it's only one mission because the other mission involves being a dogwalker for Coop's Houndour and his own Poochyena, and come on, that's just beneath him, do you know how many degrees he has.) In the week and a half he's spent thus far in Johto, he's read the literature and gotten the relevant explanations from a source he's inclined to trust as reliable, unbelievable though they may be, and so today he's out on the route to investigate the local plant life.

The Gear feed is mostly picking up up-close shots of various shrubs and berries, occasionally directed by a hand covered in a latex glove; it appears Albert is using his Gear's video function as a means of documenting the things he's finding, and every so often he'll snap off a small branch or twist off a berry and deposit it into a plastic baggie for later investigation.

Which is great, except that while he's busy examining shrubs, his Poochyena is currently bounding into the tall grass, having just spotted a wild Paras shuffling along minding its own business. Curious, she gives it a few pokes with its nose, which the Paras only tolerates momentarily before attempting to bid a hasty, skittering retreat from the sudden invasive prodding of this wolfdog in its midst. But Gandhina is having none of that, and after following it a few steps with continued, mounting curiosity, she finally darts down and snaps it up in her jaws, intent on proudly carrying it over to her trainer to show him what she's just found.

The Paras, naturally, does not take kindly to this.

A moment later, a cloud of Poison Powder erupts into the air.]

— The hell?!

[Granted, Albert may not instantly recognize what this cloud is, but he is at least sensible enough to realize that it's probably not something he really wants to be breathing. Ever rational, he prudently covers his nose and mouth and starts bidding a hasty retreat; Gandhina, on the other hand, begins whimpering and struggling but continues holding bravely on while the Paras, still locked in her teeth, starts to wriggle and scratch as it tries to get free.]

Gandhina, drop it!

[But fortunately for Gandhina, Albert isn't the only observer on the scene, and now it's Sheriff's turn to leap into action: first with a sharp, forceful bark that finally seems to shake Gandhina out of her (now poisoned) haze and makes her release the Paras, and then with a well-placed jet of fire that, being ridiculously super-effective against the offending Bug/Grass type, proceeds to drop it like a bad habit.

A moment later, the video goes dark as the Gear is hastily shoved into a pocket, and Albert's muttered cursing can be faintly heard in the moments just before the feed finally switches off.]

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[Okay, so the kid is perceptive. Or at least, he's capable of drawing a logical conclusion from a set of facts, which is admittedly more than can be said for most teenagers. But that still doesn't mean Albert's obliged to like him.

He'll settle for treating him with mildly — mildly — less disdain. For the moment.]

You ever hear what curiosity did to the cat?

[He's not touching the part about praising her. He gets enough of that from Coop.]

Guidebook says some of these bushes produce berries that neutralize poison. No telling what kind of dosage she'd need after an attack like that, but I fed her a few and I'm keeping an eye on it.

No, but I can guess... [They didn't really have many cats, back home, but warnings were tossed about like food in the cafeteria.

At the information, Hiccup nods.] That's good. She should be fine, poison-wise, then. You should also look for the round, blue ones or ones like this. [He ducks out of sight for a second, but there's a Sitrus berry in his hand when he returns.] They'll give pokemon more health and energy, but I don't know if they grow where you are.

[...Man, what is it with these Johto kids and actually offering useful information in a direct and concise manner? Is there something in the water?

And if so, can he get the formula and lace the entire Twin Peaks reservoir with it somehow?]

Hang on.

[He's going into his bag for some of the samples he collected earlier.]

Hold that up closer to the camera. Two fingers.

[He mimes pinching something small and round between his thumb and forefinger.]

[It's probably all them lake spirits in the pokemon world. Or a blessing from Arceus. Either way, Albert, you're probably out of luck.

At any rate, Hiccup obliges, adjusting his hold and bringing the berry closer to the camera.] They're called Sitrus berries. If you don't have any, I can bring a few out to you.

[He's shuffling through his small baggies of samples, comparing them to the image on the screen and looking for one that seems like a match. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing...huh. Apparently the kid's got one he hasn't seen before.

Although, tempting an offer though it might be —]

You came down with the same thing Cooper did. Aren't you supposed to be on bed rest?

Sure, but I've been in my room for three weeks straight. I'm feeling better and the fresh air might even do me some good.

[And HE IS SO BORED. There is only so much you can do before you are sick of a room.]

The classic argument of invalids everywhere.

[He does have a point, though. Light exercise and air that hasn't long since gone stale with quarantine do have their advantages, assuming the patient isn't going to collapse in a ditch and die unsupervised because he pushed himself too far before he was ready.

And besides. The worst kind of kid is a bored kid.

So he's just going to sort of avoid commenting on the implied request for permission here, because the only person who can really know if he's feeling up to that kind of a walk right now is Hiccup himself, and jesus, it's not like Albert's his mom.]

You're the kid with the prosthetic leg.

[Hiccup isn't sure how to take that. Eventually, he will make his way down to the route, but for now, he sets the berry aside to converse once again about his foot. At least Albert's bluntness wasn't quite as offending as Karkat's.]

It's not my whole leg, but yeah.

Yeah, I have eyes, thanks.

[Meanwhile, he will just be over here reorganizing his berries and stowing them away in his pack again before he goes and checks on Gandhina.]

So where'd Cooper pick you up, anyway? Or do you go with the Red Baroness.

[Still less offensive!]

And I have a name, in addition to a prosthetic. It's Hiccup. [The comment isn't as biting at it normally could be. Sure, he's starting to see why Carmen would have been bugged after spending so long with him, but he's still willing to give Albert the benefit of the doubt. How bad could a friend of Cooper's be?]

I met Carmen before Cooper, but when they came down to Goldenrod City, we started traveling together.

[What is this, back talk from a fifteen-year-old? Still, that gets a snicker out of Albert.]

What'd you do to deserve that?

[Apparently, Hiccup, he can be pretty bad.]

I guess that makes you Snoopy, huh. Okay.

Trust me, it's not the worst name in Berk.

[That kind of prod he was quite used to. The other comment? That mostly just gets a blank stare in return.]

What is? 'Whooping Cough'?

[Oh, well, at least one of them finds the crack amusing.]

Setting aside for a moment the fact that the materials and structure are straight out of the Dark Ages, whoever made your prosthetic knew what he was doing, didn't he.

[Even if he knows Albert's question is rhetorical, Hiccup feels the need to defend his name, anyway.]

My cousin's name is Snotlout?

[He needs more insults that are topical to vikings. Or to at least trust that some of these kids are vikings.]

Plenty of people back home had missing limbs. Gobber had lost both an arm and a leg. He made mine special, though, instead of just a peg. Other than a few things I had to fix, he did a good job.

[...Wow, okay, that is pretty terrible. Now there's a kid just asking to get beaten up in the locker room.]

Adapted for riding, right?

[Sadly, that is not the case, what with Snotlout's arms being the size of tree trunks.

Hiccup nods, absently scooting his chair back to make more space for him to get up.]

It clipped into my dragon's saddle. The spring also maximizes my ability to walk, run, jump--things like that.

[Oh, no. Not this again.]

Oh, don't tell me you're one of the dragon-riding Viking kids, too. What, are you and Blondie a matched set?

[Guess who he met on his first day here, Hiccup. c: ]

[And at that, Hiccup shows his maximized walking capabilities by nearly tripping as he gets to his feet, the chair tipping along with him. He manages to stay relatively upright, though, looking at Albert with a mixture of surprise and interest.]

You know Astrid?

Blonde, about this tall, won't shut up about dragons?

[He gives a rough estimate with one hand, rolling his eyes.]

She was wandering around outside Our Lady Queen of Maternity's place when I got here. That your girlfriend or something?

That's her!

[It was apparent that Albert didn't think of Astrid nearly as highly as Hiccup did, but it didn't keep him from-- WOAH, WHAT WAS THAT QUESTION.

...N-no, seriously, how did he answer that?]

She, uh-- See, that's-- [He takes a breath, hoping his face didn't look as warm as it felt.] I-it's complicated.

["It's complicated." Yeah, okay, so that's a big fat whopping yes. What is it about teenagers and thinking they're totally subtle when in fact they're anything but? Christ.]

Well, she's here. Last I saw she was heading off to get eaten by bears in the dark forest.

[No Albert, it means that they are dumb kids and don't talk about feelings and she punches him a lot...

However, Hiccup thinks he was pretty slick in dodging that question, thanks to good ol' Uncle Al not pushing the issue. Awh yeah.]

Well, I'm pretty sure she didn't get eaten by bears... Every time I've talked to her she seems fine. And Astrid's tougher than she looks!

[Though Hiccup has always thought she was pretty fierce. And just pretty.]

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002 | Route 38 | Video / Action;

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