Set in the original region of Arciel, Legends Rising is a route-inspired, but not strictly route-based, Pokemon roleplay. Pick a faction, pick a class, and strike out into the wild to take on the League, master Contest coordination, research the mysteries of Pokemon and Arciel, and much, much more. Will you be a classic trainer? A criminal? A farmer? Choose your destiny on Legends Rising.
Oh my…. Gabe smiled on hearing what Pokemon Koray had. Decidueye and Haunter would probably make for good rides after they had evolved. “Sounds like you’ve got a direction,” he chuckled. And so many Pokemon…. Hadn’t he just said he’d received his starter only a little bit ago? Maybe he hit up a lot of Breeders… With a restaurant like this— with food like this, Koray probably had quite a bit of spare cash around— or so Gabe imagined.
Lizbeth…. Gabe loved Lizbeth. He loved her so much, so so so much. A soft, warm, endeared smile had come to Gabe’s features as he watched Lizbeth insist that her fire was the only thing hot enough for her. He’d been about to reach forward and squish her face when Koray suggested something causing him to look over.
Lizbeth took the pepper container and looked down at it before thrusting it sideways at Gabe to open. The latter took it without question, opened, and shook it over one of the bruschetta. “There….” he picked it up, took a bite out of it, and then offered it to Lizbeth. Damn, that was hot. Lizbeth, meanwhile, shoved the entire thing in her mouth again, swayed her head from one side to the other, and then shrugged her shoulders. It was a little better, she supposed.
A soft laugh escaped from Gabe, and he looked back towards Koray with that soft affection in his gaze. “You don’t have to humor her, you know,” he grinned leaning an elbow on the table and resting his cheek in his hand. “… But thank you.” Ah, was the rest of their food coming or was that someone moving around?
Koray laughed a bit when Gabe said that, shrugging somewhat, "Guess you could say that. I'm still trying to figure out how to train them and it's... not as easy as it sounds, not when I have a job here," he explained briefly, eating another piece of bruschetta. It seemed the suggested red pepper made the bread a little more agreeable to the Charmander. That was a good thing, right? Right.
Smiling softly, Koray hummed as he took one of the last pieces of bruschetta, glad to see that even one additional spice could make Lizbeth happy. What he hadn't expected was to see Gabe try that very thing. Wasn't that hot? Well, if that was what Gabe wanted to do, that was just fine with him. Still, the look that they gave him afterwards was unexpected to say the least of things. A soft blush bloomed on his features as he smiled a little shyly back.
"Ah, welcome~," Koray murmured, running a hand through his hair, "Least I could do... but ah, she might not like the alfredo then. It's a very mild sauce." Of course Lizbeth hadn't been out when they were ordering either, heh. Oh well. Speaking of food, Cathy came back just in time to bring the... rather massive bowl of pasta along with the garlic bread that came on the side. She wouldn't even look at Koray as she exchanged the appetizer plate for the main course. Sigh, why the drama.
"Thanks~," Koray stated, while Cathy only nodded and made a hasty retreat. The moment she was gone, Koray sighed and ran a hand over his face. He didn't even want a relationship right now, Arceus, why. "Well, dig in~," Koray hummed, handing a plate to Gabe and Lizbeth before putting one in front of Rowan and himself. Rowan had already helped himself to a piece of garlic bread and didn't show any interest in the pasta at least for now. That made things a little easier.
Gabe was feeling better. Whatever edge he had had was taken off by Lizbeth, and now what was left was an overall easier person. He smiled at Koray and chuckled again. “That’s ok,” he mused only to get elbowed by Lizbeth for speaking for her.
Another laugh escaped from him. “Not everything has to be super spicy, hmmmmm, dear Lizard?” he teased looking sideways at her. Lizbeth rolled her eyes and elbowed him again for good measure but then nodded her head. She didn’t need everything hot, but when something was like that she preferred it that way.
A yellow eye flicked sideways to Cathy as she set the food down and then left. He still… felt strange about that but was at more ease then for now at least. Instead, even as Koray was mentioning to dig in, Gabe was very much so— a plate already in hand even before Koray started to hold one forward. Gabe was… stacking it quite heavily, but then as he set it between himself and Lizbeth, it became clear why. Once he had pulled it back, Lizbeth immediately stabbed a couple of pieces with a claw and raised it to her mouth.
Hm, well, not bad. Whatever this sauce was wasn’t hot, but it was kind of flavorful. Gabe smirked a little. “Up to par?” he asked. Liz shrugged her shoulders. She supposed. Gabe smirked and lifted a fork to try it. Only again to find that it was just that good. He’d had pasta before. That wasn’t anything new, but this was so light and airy for something that was so heavy a meal that he could hardly believe it. Munching a bit more, he hummed a little. “My that’s fantastic….” he mused with a small smile. “Kudos to the chef.” He smirked briefly knowing Koray hadn’t made it but vaguely implying anything in there could have been made by him. “You could make a battle café with such good food, heh.”
Koray nodded when Gabe assured him that Lizbeth would be alright with a more mild sauce. If that hadn't been the case, he might've been able to finagle a spicier version by adding some of the pepper flakes but that would be a bit of an insult to the chef now that he thought of it. Aside from that it was a bit difficult to improve on the sauce when it was already mixed in pretty well with the noodles. The banter back and forth earned a soft laugh before Cathy brought the food.
Thankfully the waitress left without so much of a word and they were left alone to eat. Koray was admittedly impressed how much Gabe loaded onto the plate but it made sense after it was made clear that Lizbeth was eating as well. Taking a lesser portion of the pasta, Koray hummed at how good it tasted. He knew it was good hence the suggestion, but sometimes you could never know what the day might bring. Gabe's evaluation of the pasta brought a small smile to his features.
"Thank you~, I'll pass along the compliments next time I see them," Koray mused, smiling a bit before taking another bite. The comment about a battle café had him pausing. A battle café? He'd never even thought about doing such a thing but... the idea was intriguing. "That's an interesting idea. I've never thought about doing that..." Koray hummed, looking thoughtful as he took another bite. It was certainly thought nonetheless.
Lizbeth continued to eat off Gabe’s plate, occasionally clawing the pasta or sometimes clawing Gabe’s hand to give her some with the fork. Gabe wasn’t entirely sure why she did both but had never been bothered with it in the past and wasn’t about to start. Instead, he’d eat when she clawed and give her the fork when she wanted.
“I’ve been to a couple in Bass,” Gabe mentioned regarding the battle cafe. “Though I first saw it occur in my home Region.” He smiled a little and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure once people tasted this, they’d love to battle.” That and it was practically free publicity for the café. They could show off how hard trainers were willing to fight for the food implying that it was worth the fight.
Eating heartily for a while, Gabe and Lizbeth finished the plate and immediately went on to a second. Gabe started on a breadstick, and Lizbeth immediately stole it from him. A laugh escaped from Gabe.
As Gabe and Lizbeth continued to eat, Koray watched in quiet amusement as the Charmander switched from clawing the food to eating off the fork. That... wasn't quite sanitary, he thought but it was quickly pushed aside as Gabe mentioned the battle cafes in Bass. Huh, guess he never thought the city really offered much aside from dance. He'd have to check them out to see what they did that made customers want to literally fight over the food.
The conversation rounded back on how good the food at the diner was however and Koray blushed a little. Technically, the chef had made it but he'd helped make the recipe. It wasn't the over the counter jar recipe to be certain, but something that was deceptively simple. "Thanks, I actually... helped make the recipe. Glad to see it's so well received. Maybe one day I can set up a battle cafe, like you suggested, but that's still a long ways off," Koray said, humming a bit as he ate a few bites.
Rowan meanwhile contented himself with the breadsticks. They were delicious and one of his favorite treats after all, especially since he normally was the one helping out when Koray was working. Good thing I ordered the family size. With the way both Lizbeth and Gabe were eating, they would have already devoured a regular sized entree by now.
Oh? Koray really was something, wasn’t he? At least when it came to food. A small smile pulled onto Gabe’s features as Koray spoke. “It’s a thought,” was all he replied back with before going back to eating. Gabe and Liz would have their fill after a little while, and both sat back warm and comfy in the booth. If only I had a second stomach… Or a third or a fourth. Hey didn’t Miltank have those, technically? Lucky bastards. “Thanks for the meal.” He smiled brightly after. “It was delicious.” For sure.
A pause and slowly Gabe would lean forward again. "Since that was such a big meal.... why don't we take a walk after? Go around town a little bit?" He was feeling pretty good all things considered now, so why not?
Seeing the smile, Koray felt a little more sheepish as he talked a little bit about his one day dream. He wanted to set up a restaurant of his own one day but that dreamed seemed nigh impossible, really. Or at the very least it would take a lot more careful planning than Koray realized right then. First thing was to find a location... which meant saving pen among other things. The meal was finished quickly enough after that with both Koray and Rowan eating their fill. By the time the pasta was gone, it seemed that Gabe and Lizbeth had had enough as well.
A nod was given in response to the thanks as Koray smiled a little warmer than before. Man, he was pretty full now though. So much for leaving room for desert. Oh well~. Koray had been about to respond to the suggestion when Cathy returned. Oh, right. "Just tell dad thanks for us. He'll add a tip, don't worry~," Koray reassured, sighing when it seemed Cathy got the message and made a hasty retreat. Good, no drama.
"That sounds like a great idea, actually. There are a fair amount of stores nearby," Koray agreed, picking up his bag and checking the Dhelmise egg to make sure it was still secure. The last thing he wanted was for the egg to fall out but well, it was pretty low maintenance while they were eating. Scooting out from the booth now, Koray stretched a bit and waited for Gabe, holding the door open for him after a moment. "Anywhere in particular you wanted to go?" This had been Gabe's idea after all.
Sliding out of the booth, Gabe extended a hand to Lizbeth who, rather than clasp it and get down, immediately climbed up it to curl comfortably around his shoulders. Gabe didn’t flinch, though. It was entirely too normal to him now. Instead, he eased up and started after Koray walking out the door right after. “Well, I was curious about this town’s crown jewels,” he mused. “I’ve heard all kinds of special and rare gems and items are mined up from here…” A pause. “Is there any sort of arts and crafts type shop that’s intergrated them in?” He could use some new jewelry.
Seeing Lizbeth climb onto Gabe's shoulders was... cute. Smiling softly at the rather endearing image, he gestured for Rowan to follow as well, the Phantump resting on Koray's shoulder for now. The response he got from Gabe wasn't exactly expected but he nodded regardless. Yeah, he knew those kind of stores were popular with tourists. They'd always been out of his price range so Koray'd never really spent a lot of time in them.
"Sure, we can do that. Though fair warning, I do have a Dhelmise egg and I'm not sure how far away it is from hatching. Might need to run out of there because somehow I doubt a huge anchor would be welcome," Koray laughed, shrugging a little, "But yeah, there's quite a few arts and crafts shops around here. If we just start walking towards the mines we're bound to run into them."
This said, he gestured to where the mines were located and started heading that way. "Is that what brought you to Pine? The gems?" Gabe had said that he'd been in the area for some reason.
“A Dhelmise egg?” Gabe repeated as Koray spoke. “How interesting.” The mention of a huge anchor in a fragile shop, however, had him laughing a little. “You never know. The shopkeep might actually want to decorate it,” he teased softly. He never could be sure with these ‘artist’ types what they considered art and what they didn’t. At the mention of walking, though, he nodded and started to move.
The question that came after earned a small shake of head. “Actually it was the Pokemon in the area,” he answered. “I think I mentioned before I do freelance work? A few people have been requesting Pokemon from this area, so I decided to make the trip down.” A perfectly reasonable lie. He’d practiced it well enough for other scenarios, but it was easy to make use of here as well. “Annnnd since I was in the area, I decided to come into town.”
Koray smiled and nodded at the question-statement of a Dhelmise egg, "Yeah, it's in my bag wrapped in a warm blanket I heated up before I came. I'd show you but I don't want any of the heat to escape. It is very cold out here," he explained, laughing a bit at the image of an artist trying to decorate a newly hatched Dhelmise. "As hilarious as that is... I'd rather not tempt fate, besides, I can feel it jiggle every so often so it may not be too long. With any luck it'll hatch before we reach the stores even." It was doubtful but one could hope.
Hearing the reason Gabe was in town earned a nod from Koray. The pokemon in the area was as good a reason as any, especially if there were people willing to pay to catch the pokemon for them. "That makes sense, I'm glad it worked out that way then," Koray mused, smiling as he looked up at what felt like a drop of frozen rain. Oh, look... snow. Guess it made sense given how cold it had been before... probably not the best time of year to hatch a giant anchor but it wasn't like he could tell the egg to stop hatching.
"Looks like there's a shop ahead of us, even has some necklaces on display out front. Does that look like what you were thinking about?" Koray asked, gesturing to a small artisan shop that boasted handmade souvenirs among other things.
“Too cold,” Gabe chuckled a little. Lizbeth pressed herself a little harder into him as though to answer this statement with one of her own. She wasn’t concerned but she was aware for him. She… never wanted him to be cold again. A chuckle escaped from Gabe, and he shifted her a little on his shoulders. He was fine, he promised.
Gabe’s attention shifted entirely at the mention of the shop. Walking to it now, he leaned in to look at what was displayed just behind the glass. He could feel Lizbeth shifting just a little to take a look as well. “Looking for a new ringlet?” Gabe murmured to her. The Charmander immediately scoffed. No, nothing would replace the tail chain she had right then. There were plenty of expensive things they could afford now, but nothing would compare to the memorability of her trainer’s first gift to her.
Leaning back, Gabe flashed a smile. “Let’s take a look inside,” he answered making a head gesture and starting over that way. The shop was dark except for the various lighting over the displays. Everything had a sort of hand-crafted air to it but was placed behind glass like the finest of jewelry. Gabe looked from one box to the next, his eyes scanning them carefully. “You know, you’d probably look great in gold,” he called over to Koray and then made a gesture down to the case. There were several different stylized rings and bracelets there. “Have you ever considered?”
Koray chuckled a little at Gabe's retort, nodding in agreement at how cold it was. There was a reason he had a heated blanket wrapped around the Dhelmise egg. Maybe I should invest in an incubator soon. If he kept getting so many eggs, it would make sense. The shop they had found looked like there were several expensive looking items in the display cases. Normally, it wasn't a store that he would take a second glance at since half the items had to be out of his price range but Gabe wanted to see inside. The store was much warmer than outside and Koray was relieved to step in from the frigid air.
Sighing in relief, Koray looked around briefly to see if there was anything of interest. Of course, one glance at the price tag would stop him from even picking up most of the objects. Pretty fancy jewelry in here. Whatever else he could afford was probably something simple like a keychain or a pendant. Well, that was until Gabe said he would look good in gold and he had to laugh at that. "No, not really. A lot of the craft stores in Pine are kind of out of my price range. Gold is very much out of the question," Koray explained, shrugging a little.
Still, he did go over and see what Gabe was looking at. There did seem to be some pretty cool bracelets. Maybe it was worth looking at after all? "You really think I'd look good in gold?" Koray asked, opting to actually pick one of the bracelets up to look at it more closely. It was well made and probably worth whatever the price was but... maybe just this once would be ok?
Hmmmm? Gabe smirked a little softly in Koray’s direction as the man spoke. Out of price range… Ah yeah, Gabe supposed that was far, though by Bass’s big city standards, everything in the shop was on the cheap side. His eyes flicked briefly to Koray as he moved close to him before looking down into the case again.
“Your dark skin is very elegant,” Gabe spoke slowly at first with a sort of purposeful easing tone. “Bright colors in general would look fantastic on you… gold, light turquoise, ruby…” Gabe looked back up to Koray again and leaned in a little. “You could steal quite a few hearts with the right accessories.” A giggle escaped from him as he leaned back thereafter. “Though you hardly need it anyways.”
Lizbeth rolled her eyes softly at Gabe’s flirting again. She was so over him being Like This.
Koray was debating whether or not he should get the bracelet when Gabe spoke up again. The words that came afterwards had a blush quickly blooming on his features. While this was more what he expected from the Chandelure at the ball, he hadn't thought that Gabe would start flirting right then and there. Their behavior earlier in the restaurant had made Koray a little wary about flirting in return and instead what came out of his mouth was a series of sputtered, flustered sounds.
What did he even say to something like that? Deep breaths... This was ok, he was ok. It was just harmless flirting... except this time Koray was no longer anonymous and didn't have that same smooth confidence that allowed him to drop his guard. "U-umm..." Koray stuttered, looking back down at the bracelet if only for something else to focus on. Well, at least that was until he swore he felt something move in his bag. Immediately, hazel eyes flew to where the Dhelmise egg was.
"I-... egg, gotta go," Koray managed to stutter out, just barely remembering to drop the bracelet back in the case before all but rushing out the door. The cool air was a welcome relief and allowed him the time to think. I just made an utter fool of myself... Ugh, why did a little harmless flirting make him react that way? It was... just... hhhh... A few more deep breaths would be taken before Koray did check the egg. It was shaking a little more than before... maybe it was close to hatching? Either way, Koray wasn't going to head back inside until he was certain a huge anchor wasn't going to suddenly appear inside a shop filled with fragile things.
Koray’s sputtering had Gabe blinking several times in rapid succession. Oh that was kind of cute, actually. A small giggle escaped from Gabe only to be cut in the middle of at the mention of the egg. “Oh, sure….” he answered watching as Koray rushed for the door. Sure.
Whether or not the Dhlemise egg actually hatched or not, Gabe himself was snickering softly now. Lizbeth elbowed him gently causing him to settle again thereafter. “What?” he murmured to her. “It was harmless.” And not nearly as awkward under the gaze of a spurred woman.
For a moment, Gabe watched the door half expectantly, half unassumingly. After that, though, he went back to mingling through the items there finally making a few purchases before thanking the clerk and starting out of the shop again. The cool air touch of air against his features had Gabe sighing softly. “Hey….” he called over to Koray now walking down the steps again and holding something out— the bracelet Koray had been eyeing. “You forgot this.” A small sly smirk pulled across his lips now.
Sure enough, Koray's hunch had been right and the egg did start to glow. It was all he could do to pull the egg out of his bag, blanket and all. As soon as he'd placed the egg on the snow and stepped back, the Dhelmise he'd been expecting appeared. Damn, that's bigger than I thought. Well, at least he wasn't thinking about how flustered he'd been anymore. "Hey there... nice to meet you, Dhelmise~," Koray murmured, not wanting to startle the giant anchor.
For as big and intimidating as the anchor was, Koray didn't sense any malicious intent from it. Mainly curiosity, and there seemed to be a smile. He could sense this one too, just like Rowan and most of his other ghosts. Placing a hand on the anchor, he smiled up at it, watching as the Dhelmise seemed to smile at him. Well, at least the ghost wasn't as frightening at first glance. Hearing Gabe's voice, Koray looked over to see him coming out of the shop. He was... holding something out?
It took a few moments to realize that Gabe was holding the bracelet as Koray's eyes grew as wide as saucers. Nevermind the giant Dhelmise was still out, apparently seeing the bracelet in Gabe's hand was enough to trigger a 404 error. "Wh-wha...?" Koray sputtered, still not reaching out to take the bracelet. He had made sure to put it back for a reason! Feeling his face heat up, Koray tried to form words but apparently his flustered state was making the newly hatched Dhelmise uneasy and in turn was looking at Gabe rather dangerously. Shit... Okay... one thing at a time...
"H-hey, Eärendil... it's ok, you're alright... Do you want to come with me? We'll have lots of fun... just you and me. Sound good?" Koray murmured, gently stroking the anchor, hoping that it would calm the Dhelmise down. It did thank Arceus, and Koray was quick to pull out a pokeball and watch as the anchor vanished inside. Phew.... alright... now it was safe to look back at Gabe. Except he was still holding the bracelet and... Arceus.
"You didn't have to do that..." came the weak protest, face still red as he looked at Gabe then the bracelet then back again. A part of him wanted to take it but... there was something almost weird about accepting a gift from him. Sure Koray had given Gabe dinner but... that was different!
The alarmed look on Koray’s face made the pen spend almost worth it. A small, sly smile pulled onto Gabe’s features. “What?” he asked back. “I thought you liked it?” He could feel the eyes of another, and his own gaze raised to meet it. Ah so he wasn’t lying about the Dhelmise heh…
Still on Gabe’s shoulders, Lizbeth stared at the giant anchor in silence. As Koray dealt with the Dhlemise, Gabe glanced sideways at her. “What’s up?” he murmured softly to her now. She shook her head and shifted to sit more squarely on his shoulders and rest her paws over his head. A small ‘mpmmmphgh’ sound was given back. Shifting a little, Gabe resettled her just as Koray turned around again.
Stepping forward, Gabe closed the distance between them and reached for Koray’s hand even as he spoke. “That’s exactly why I did,” he answered with a small smirk shifting and sliding that bracelet on. “See, told you it’d look nice.” He smiled and then met Koray’s eyes. “I told you you’d look good in gold.”
Koray did hear Gabe's tease but it only made him blush that much deeper. It was a small mercy to have the Dhelmise as a distraction even for such a short time. While it was calm, he didn't trust a hatchling to understand that Gabe was teasing. Especially knowing that the Dhelmise might very well feed off of what Koray was feeling right then and there. Best not set off an angry youngling... especially one that was at least twice your size.
Seeing the way Gabe handled Lizbeth made Koray smile and looked to see Rowan not too far away, nuzzling him a little. "Hey there buddy..." Koray mused, smiling a little when the Phantump cooed. Well, at least Rowan was there to help. Oh... and then Gabe stepped forward and Koray's gaze once again focused on the bracelet, blushing anew when Gabe slipped the bracelet on. It felt a little cold, but nice all the same. Maybe it was the extra weight on his wrist but...
Oh, Gabe was speaking again. Brown eyes raised to meet golden ones and Koray swore his face was on fire with all the flirting but he couldn't shake his gaze from Gabe's. "I-it is nice..." Koray finally acceded, "Thanks..." Hhhh, was it possible to die from embarrassment? Or... whatever this was? At this point Koray almost wished he could just disappear right then and there. Running a hand through his hair, he broke eye contact and stared down at the ground, "Sorry for... running out..." Nevermind that the Dhelmise would've most certainly ruined the store. It was something else to focus on for the time being. Something other than the way his face was still burning.