land of the butterflies ``

[Radar]

Ambriel Lockwood

* we're counting the stars, we're gonna go far *

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"Thank-you very much."
Ambriel nodded his head ever so slightly, fair strands of hair shifting to the gravity and falling away from their place; safely tucked behind his ear. The store clerk gave a small smile and waved him off, wanting to take care of the customers that were lined behind the blond boy. Taking his leave, the store's main door jingling as he left, a small smile graced Ambriel's face, he was happier knowing where he was heading, he was happier that he was progressing, he was really just happier because his worries of being lost were calmed. Not only that, but a tinge of personal pride bloomed in his chest; he had asked a complete stranger for help, for Ambriel that was quite the daily feat.

Stuffing his thin hands into the innards of his white overcoat, Ambriel kept his head up as he walked, keep his eyes towards the direction that the store clerk had pointed out to him. Hopefully, the Laboratory wouldn't be far off. Admittedly, he felt a bit foolish asking for directions in such a small town... he was a small town boy himself, shouldn't he have been competent enough? Comfort, seemingly, was such a fleeting asset. Lucky that he did, however, he didn't know the Lab was here, on Onyx Harbour instead of one of the actual islands themselves; he felt better now that he knew, knowledge was such an opiate to worries.

But... this was nice, Onyx Harbour proved to be quite the charming hamlet, not exactly the awe-inspiring metropolis that Ambriel would dream of, but he had just begun this little travelling escapade of his, no time to count the eggs before they hatch. Regardless, at the jump from region to another wasn't too region, a train from Goldenrod had taken him to Saffron, from where he able to walk to Vermillion, from whence he took a ferry to this certain harbour, only to prepare himself for another boat ride. It may have seemed like much, but he barely stayed in the aforementioned cities, so no memories were made, no new faces, no new watercolour bleeds. It was as if none of it happened and that he had just fallen in Onyx with the utmost convenience.

With his mind floating about gleefully in the clouds, he was a bit surprised when his eyes focused on upon the Laboratory before him, so soon? Had he really been walking for that long? He felt like he barely took ten steps, funny. His right hand lifted from it's placid position to grasp his left arm; a sheer sign of apprehension. It was such an impressive building, for some reason it shook his resolve and positive smile, he didn't know why but it scared him a good deal.

It actually stopped his movements for a minute or so, his blue eyes fixed upon the building, his mind darting back and forth between thought. A part of him certainly wanted to draw such impressive work of architecture, but with the afternoon ending and the sun beginning to set, Ambriel realized that time wasn't on his side, so he took what time he had to attempt to memorize the building, plaster, cement, paint and all. He would probably parapaint afterwards anyway. Besides, the autumn chill wouldn't be so kind to him after the sun had set.

Breathing a deep breath that felt like it barely expanded his lungs at all, the blond boy forced a smile on his face, why not be happy? This was a beginning, first Pokemon, new learning, things... everything. Why was he so scared? Moving on quiet steps, Ambriel approached the door to the Laboratory of Onyx Harbour, and knock two mouse-like knocks. He wished he wasn't too late.

[POKÉMON & NPCS]

*ike richard,

The number of coordinators coming in to retrieve their starter Pokémon was pleasing to the lab assistant Ike Richard. When he was presented the opportunity to work at a label leading to the mystical land known as Golden Islands, Ike jumped on it. It seemed to be paying off too! The hearty sailor whistled a pleasant tune as he counted the number of Pokémon the lab had in stock. The Golden Islands had just recently opened and they were already working hard to replenish their starter numbers. Not like Ike wasn't used to the extra work; it was all part of being a sailor after all. What did happen to upset the usually jolly sailor was that most coordinators were sticking with the common starters. Where was the excitement in that? Why not get a challenge? Like a Weedle, or an Aron even! But no, they clung to their Torchicks and Charmanders. Variety was where it was at. We have so many Pokémon to pick from here, unlike most labs. Why waste them? At least one had picked a male Nidoran, though! That was a plus. He had truly been worried that no one would pick him only because his starter attacks were Peck and Leer. So what? He learned better attacks along the way, you just needed to take the time to level him up.

That was the problem: no patience or originality. Guys wanted the tough Pokémon with cool final evolutions, and gals danced to their cutey Pokémon that they never wanted to evolve. Of course, there were some exceptions, but that was the general fact. Suddenly perturbed, Ike clipped the pen onto the clipboard and found his way out of the small room, no longer whistling that carefree tune. Sun immediately shown into his eyes, temporarily blinding him; Ike blinked rapidly, growling softly. As he stepped from the large window, he scarcely heard the knock made by a certain someone on the other side of the door. Shuffling toward it, he swiftly gripped the handle and proceeded to pull it open with ease. As a result, a chilly gust of wind buffeted him, leaving him with a bone-chilling shudder. It certainly was Fall. Focusing yet again, he peered into the rays to catch sight of the blond boy standing before the door. Instantly slapping a smile onto his features, he chuckled, “Hello there; come on in!” As a small sign of courtesy, Ike stepped aside, allowing the male room to enter. “I assume you're here for your starter!”

[Radar]

Ambriel Lockwood

* we're counting the stars, we're gonna go far *

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

Standing pensively on swaying legs and a tapping left foot, Ambriel realized that sooner or later he would have to buy a heavy, warm coat. This autumn chill was tolerable, and even somewhat pleasing, but when Winter followed soon it might not be that simple. He wasn't exactly aware on how cold it would get on islands, were they anything remotely tropical? Maybe Winter would be barely noticeable.

As that thought floated through Ambriel's idle mind, a frown drew on his expression. Did that mean no snow? That would be horrible. Snow was so beautiful and whimsical, the thought of it not existing to some people created a choking feeling of remorse in Ambriel's chest. To not smile at the first snowfall, no ice-skating, snow angels... nothing, it sounded more and more deplorable the more Ambriel thought about it. It was honestly starting to construe his feelings.

However, he knew getting sad over it would do nothing, so he tried to do what he could by focusing on the toasty Autumn foliage. The trees' very own hands stretching out, penetrating the sky with bark and wood, painting the demure blue with reds, golds and browns, blissfully blending the what was always there and the what that came only once a year. Ambriel let these thoughts sit in his mind, they slowly dispersed his frown into something a bit happier. The life of Autumn would be alright, for now, that's all he needed.

As the door before him opened quaintly, Ambriel focused on the man before him, noticing the smile and chuckle that follow him, in turn this caused Ambriel's small expression to lengthen a bit, returning a pleasant smile. How wonderful, a show of manners, that was warming. "Hello," Returning the welcome, Ambriel nodded to Ike's ushering and stepped past the man, into the Lab. "Oh yes, that is what I'm here for.... my name is Ambriel, what's yours?"

Subtle blue eyes flickering around Lab, the blond boy only scanned his setting shortly before focusing on Ike once again. "Um, by the way," he paused, if only for a moment. "The islands don't get any snow, do they?" He immensely hoped that he was wrong, worried expression easily showing through his facial features.

[POKÉMON & NPCS]

“ ike richard ”

* * *

In correlation of Ike's smile, the young man grinned. How pleasant. Ike loved it whenever he was exposed to someone, he managed to get them smiling, laughing, or at least in a better mood than what they were in. He was told that by several people on a daily basis, but he was proving this to himself more and more. But there also was a contradicting statement: a friendly smile on your face is a disease, it'll spread to anything. This was true. When someone smiles at you, you can't do anything but smile in return. Whether it is an authentic grin, or a petty thin smile in order to reimburse the kind gesture. This person in particular seemed to be the real thing, so it made Ike all the more energetic. Upon the man's entrance, he greeted Ike formally and confirmed his suspicions. What else would he be here for, anyway? He was also kind enough to put his name out there. When asked for his own in return, Ike laughed loudly before chuckling, “I'm Ike Richards, professor Ben's right hand man! Pleasure to meet ya, lad!”

For a short while, Ambriel scanned the lab, taking in everything with quaint blue eyes. It was quite alright with Ike. This home wasn't quite like other labs out there. It could even be mistaken for a three star hotel! If the rooms upstairs were up for rent of course. But nope, this was just a pleasant building that dispensed starter Pokémon for coordinators of the Golden Islands. After a short pause, Ambriel finally spoke up and asked Ike something fairly peculiar. The experienced sailor was silent for a moment, before finally stating, “In some islands.” The corners of his lips then curled up into a warm grin as he laughed, “And probably during the winter?” Having a good laugh, he finally gestured for Ambriel to follow him. Without looking back to see if he was being followed, he made his way over to the back, where all the Pokémon were held. Nodding to the shelves and shelves of Pokéballs, Ike said, “Take your pick. Each row should have a label of each species of Pokémon.”

— — —

( thread claim'd by BADDY ! )

[Radar]

Ambriel Lockwood

* we're counting the stars, we're gonna go far *

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As Ike's words and beforehands were meshed and twined with chuckles and laughter, Ambriel couldn't help but let his smile grow more, this man was so jolly, and even though Ambriel couldn't place why, it was quite wonderful nonetheless. Happiness was infectious, but then again so could anger and sorrow, happiness always seemed more potent though, be able to erase the mind of other frets and worry. "Wonderful to meet you, Mr. Richards." He nodded slightly, using the proper title for someone of older age and respectful title.

As Ike explained the snow situation and sigh of relief passed by Ambriel's thin lips, any traces of lingering worry quickly fading. "Thank-you for answering... well- I just was worried. I would miss snow too much." He admitted, a discreet pink colouring his cheeks after stumbling over his words. Although, he didn't mind telling Ike the truth, there was nothing wrong with enjoying snow... was there? "Do you like snow?" He posed the question, simply curious, it was fun to share interests with newly met people, he was comfortable enough in a one-in-one situation to do so.

Following close to Ike, the blond boy's smile broke a bit to reveal a surprised open-mouth gape, so many Pokeballs, so many Pokemon. So spectacular. "There's so many..." Not catching himself soon enough to stop his thoughts from taking life, he tried to focus on the labels beneath. One particularly caught his eye, however he didn't know if he was allowed to touch, so he just pointing to the ball sitting there, label beneath titled 'Caterpie'. "Would that one be alright?"

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[POKÉMON & NPCS]

“ ike richard ”

* * *

Ike smiled brightly as Ambriel stared wide-eyed at the rows and rows of Pokéballs. Nobody could blame him. This was a rather large collection of starters to choose from, any coordinator should feel privileged to have such variety. But in reality, most took it for granted, even throwing in a, “This is all you have?” It didn’t take much for Ike to restrain himself from saying, “Take it or leave it.” It just wasn’t in his nature, but he sort of had a right to it. Snapping into focus by Ambriel’s mesmerized comment, Ike chuckled. “Yep, far more than any other region has to offer. It isn’t easy raising and caring for each and every one of them either, but it comes with the job. It’s also an acquired taste, like liver. I just enjoy raising a Pokémon from birth, then seeing it set off with a coordinator holding its Pokéball.” Ike quickly reminisced his time spent with all the Pokémon that have been and are in this lab. Good times. Good times.

That thought always brought a smile to the experienced sailor’s face. The young trainer then stopped at a certain row of Pokéballs, looking back at Ike and pointing at the nametag before a ball. It read “CATERPIE”, a name most trainers merely hopped over. The thought of seeing a Caterpie chosen excited the older man greatly, so in reply to Ambriel’s request, he quickly stated, “It would be perfectly alright.” A sudden hop in his step, Ike walked to a closet and quickly retrieved a backpack. He then glided over to the Caterpie shelf and fetched Ambriel’s desired Pokéball, placing it within the starter pack like a grocer. With a toothy grin, he handed the items to Ambriel kindly and said, “There you go, all set. In there is your Caterpie and a few items us laboratory workers thought you’d find useful on your journey.” Ike gave Ambriel a gentle congratulatory pat on the shoulder before romping off, beckoning Ambriel with a hand. “Come on, I’ll take you to the harbor. We don’t want to miss Ben Redwood and have to wait for the next ship!”

— — —

( thread claim'd by BADDY !
you may now move on to emerald island )