Long Ago (Marco)

[Wynter Valen]

time takes it all,

whether you want it to or not

She wasn't too sure how, but once again, Wynter had been able to bypass the borders. She had only done this a few times before, but she surely felt the danger each time. It wasn't like she wasn't already in enough trouble back in Akiro anyway. But it didn't matter, at this point, that was what she decided. After all, Now that she was here, it was a good time to make some money. It was why she had come to the Islands. People here, they were a lot more accepting and willing to listen to Folklore. and that was what she loved about the place. That and there wasn't as much security running around on the islands, especially not at sunset when she chose to come out to perform. Another things she could be thankful for? Everyone around here were more of night owls than anything else. If she was being completely honest with herself, then sure, she knew how to evade authorities. But she scoffed inwardly at the thought. She liked to think she wasn't so much of a criminal, but many didn't accept her job for what it was.  She took a brief look down by her ankles, where both Solstice and Eclipse sat on either side of her, the Fennekin both alert and looking eager. They were ready to begin, and that was excellent, because so was she. She signaled to Solstice, who set herself ablaze and began dancing around the storyteller and her second Fennekin, who hopped onto her shoulder. "Come one, come all, and discover the ancient mysteries of Pokemon, and the world itself." Her voice held a mysterious tone to it, one that she saved specifically for the story-telling. She was happy when storytelling."Come and listen to the tales of the great Story Teller, Monsoon!" Not all to surprisingly to her, they had managed to draw in a crowd. Excellent. Now which one would she tell tonight? Ah...there was one. "Now, Monsoon will tell you the Legend of the thousand year curse. It is said, that if you pull any tail on the body of a Ninetails, that Pokemon will lay upon you, a curse. But does anyone here, know why that is?" Silence. Just the way she liked it. "Well long ago, The Ninetails clan was at war with a clan of Mightyena..." She went on to speak of Ninetails's great psychic abilities, at the time undiscovered, and how they came to realize the power could be used to their benefit. "And so...with their newly found powers and the Thousand Year curse, the Ninetails were able to live uninterrupted...Never Pull their tales, or the same fate shall befall you!" As she finished her story, the tips flowed in. She smiled from under her cloak as the crowd dispersed. She did enjoy the money, but the stories, they were probably her favorite part.

[MARCO LAGUARDIA]

Never looking down; I'm just in awe of what's in front of me

True to form and habit, Marco had spent the day lazing away in a small hot spring he had found by Kindle Road. Helena had joined him, providing all the company he needed and desired.
Now, with the sun having set Marco was making his way back to town for dinner before he turned in for the night.
"Aah, now that was refreshing!" Marco exclaimed loudly as he stretched his body.

 Helena, walking alongside him regally as she was wont to, just gave him a dry glance that proclaimed 'lazy' louder than any words would ever be able to.

 "Oi, oi, oi. I told you I would get to work tomorrow didn't I? Besides, my tour of the Sevii Islands has just begun! By the time we leave I'll have enough material for one- no, two books!" Marco hastily retorted in his defense.

 Helena gave him another disbelieving glance, and if she had any eyebrows she would have raised one skeptically. Needless to say this gesture of faithlessness by his oldest friend caused Marco to go into depression; the writer muttering to himself all the way back about unfaithful companions and how he was going to kill off a Ninetales in his next story.
 When they reached their destination there was a crowd gathered there around somebody who was saying something. A speech, maybe a story; but Marco didn't care. He loathed crowds with a passion, too many people and too much noise for his preference.
 "Come on, nothing to see here." he muttered and started to move onward, only to find out that Helena had stopped. "One day I'm going to throw your Poke'ball into the ocean- with you in it!" he threatened the Ninetales to no avail.

 Suddenly he realized why his Poke'mon had stopped. There was a story being told- a story about the legendary curse of the Ninetales' tails.
 "For the love of...you stopped to hear a story about yourself? Vain creature." Marco grumbled. Helena had to have had heard that story a thousand times; it was her favorite as a Vulpix and he had told it to her often. Hell, she probably had first hand experience on her tails' powers!
 But then, out of nowhere like always, inspiration struck Marco. A mysterious storyteller telling others of myths, only for one to appear firsthand before him- her, this story teller was a girl by the sound of the voice.
 In the middle of the street Marco sat down and pulled out a notebook and started writing feverishly in it; the ideas flowing directly from his mind to paper. Soon the storyteller finished with her performance, yet the silver haired man didn't cease his writing. It must have made an odd sight; the silver haired man writing like a madman into his notebook while his Ninetales sat beside him, all nine tails stretched out and waving fluidly in the air.
 Finished with the initial frenzy Marco lifted his head up and started peering intently at his muse; trying to drink in as many details to describe later as he could.

Wynter Valen | 500 | let's go~

GLASS HAS GANGNAM STYLE

[Wynter Valen]

time takes it all,

whether you want it to or not

She was pleased with the turnout today. As the last person dropped some change into the  basket, Eclipse and Solstice stared into it, both quite proud of the shiny coins they had collected. Wynter smiled at them, kneeling and placing a hand on each of their backs. "We've been managing, you see?" She asked with a chuckle. Both Fennekin glanced up at her with a nod. It was true. They had been living off their earnings, if not in a home at least quite comfortably. Camping wasn't really a problem for them, and even if food was still scarce, they didn't have to yet resort to stealing it. Now that would have to test all of her morals. She let out a small sigh and stood back up, picking the basket back up with her. Opening the messenger bag on her side, she poured the coins into it, settling them before placing the  basket in there as well. Eclipse and Solstice had been messing around on the floor, but it didn't take long to for Wynter to notice that they had ceased. They were both staring curiously at something. Wynter followed their gazes. One of them was staring a the very focus of tonight's story. A beautiful Ninetails, and needless to say, Eclipse was enthralled by her. But Solstice, she was looking directly next to her. A man? What exactly was he doing? She lightly brushed the white hood from over her pale pink hair, blue eyes focused curiously on the man who held...a small tablet? Just...what was he doing. Her curiosity was taking her, but Wynt tried to remain on one spot, though she still did not take her gaze off the man. And then he looked back up. And he was looking at her. It made her tense a little bit. What did he want? She didn't quite know what to say, so she sat there, looking back at him, before the gypsy finally found her voice. "Excuse me...but are you looking for something?" Her voice was as soft as it always was, when she wasn't telling stories. But it was probably enough to carry through to him. The look about her was still curious, and she was particularly curious about what he had in his hands.

[MARCO LAGUARDIA]

We are always running for the thrill of it, thrill of it

Oh God she was talking; addressing him in fact. Why for the love of all that was good and sweet in the world was she doing that? She was going to distract him and once he lost grasp of that inspiration it would be easier to race an Arcanine than to find it again.
Marco fought against fate valiantly for a while; trying to grasp all those loose threads and knit them back into a cohesive pattern, but the added distraction of the inquisitive looks that he was being shot with by the storyteller was too much and the inspiration that had illuminated him briefly, dimmed. 
 "No, I'm not looking for anything." Marco replied in a weary tone having abandoned the fight as hopeless.
"I was just-" here the silver haired writer gave out a sigh before continuing "writing down something for one of my stories."

 Through his air of surrender he noticed that a fair bit of the inquisitive looks that she had been giving him had been directed towards his notebook. Marco's usual response to those looks would have been a firm, somewhat polite and slightly hasty retreat to a place of seclusion. But then again she had been the source of his inspiration; never mind if she had ruined it in the end, and he had probably worried her with his intent stares and odd behavior.
 "Here; you want a look?" Marco asked, holding out the notebook in question.
 Hey, if she actually managed to decipher his illegible handwriting then she'd more than deserve a glance at his mind's produce.

Wynter Valen | 263 | the eccentricities of a writer~

GLASS HAS GANGNAM STYLE

[Wynter Valen]

time takes it all,

whether you want it to or not

For a minute, it looked like he was totally ignoring her, and she tilted her head, curiosity taking hold of her. Were all the people of Illyis like this? Akiro was worse sure, most of the nomads minded to their own groups unless story-telling was involved. But this man...he was sort of strange. She blinked, exchanging glances with her companions, before the two of them, Solstice and Eclipse, wandered over to inspect the Ninetails, wary of the tails that Wynt had spoken of minutes before in her story. The two of them were in awe, since they had never seen a Pokemon like her for themselves. more looks were exchanged between the two orange creatures before they both cooed a shy greeting. Wynter smiled at their reactions to the Ninetails. Since learning of that story, she had always had a strong respect for the creature herself. Finally, the man looked up, meeting her gaze. He sounded like he had just completely dropped something. But, she figured it wasn't her business to ask. So instead, she gave a nod at his words. But her look soon turned curious at the mention of writing down stories. "Stories? You... write them down?" She asked, a genuinley confused look crossing her features at this, and this, what he said, had totally caught her interest. How was one supposed to write down a story? Stories were normally left for the memory, right? Storytellers normally just told the stories that they knew, and picked up new stories from other Storytellers. When he held the tablet out to her, she tilted her head slightly, before moving to kneel beside him, taking it from his hands delicately. Well... it didn't seem it was made from any fragile material. She looked down at it and noticing the writing. She ran her hand gingerly across an unused part of the paper and then took it away, looking down at it. "Um...this is a?..." Maybe she had seen one of these in Akiro once... but if she had it was probably only in passing. The Gypsies never stayed in one place for long, and this was her first time in Illyis. She had no idea there were people that even lived like this. She continued staring at it, brow furrowing as she tried to make out the writing on the pages. It wasn't that his handwriting was bad...or maybe it was, she really didn't know. It was just...she had no idea how to read. She was becoming quite frustrated with it, eventually looking back up at the man. "I can't read it." A final admittance. She didn't want to say she couldn't. If it was a story, or anything like that, she wanted to be able to read it. But maybe she could have clarified better. "I er..can't really read anything. I can't read." She commented, a slight tint in her cheeks. She didn't like that. If it was a story, she wanted to know about it. To think, if people actually wrote stories down, she was missing out on so many!

[MARCO LAGUARDIA]

Always pushing up the hill, searching for the thrill of it

 It was always awkward, the first few moments when you got to know somebody and doubly so for Marco. But as awkward first meetings went, this one with the odd storyteller was setting new records- even for the eccentric, unsocial writer.
 A glance to the side, a silent plea for help, showed that Helena would be providing none. The storyteller's Poke'mon, a pair of the same species- one Marco didn't recognize, had engaged the Ninetales and she was responding with a series of short barks. Heaven knew what she was saying, but it sounded friendly enough. The traitor.
 "Yes, I write down stories of my own making." Marco addressed her query politely "I get them published, people buy them, read them, enjoy them and so I earn my living."

 Really, who hadn't heard of novels and books before? This woman was trying to play a prank on him wasn't she? Any minute now a hidden cameraman was going to pop up.

 "This is my notebook." maybe she was referring to his handwriting? It looked odd enough "I write down my ideas here and I later elaborate them before they can become full fledged stories that can be published."

 Any minute now that cameraman was going to pop up. And then Marco would order Helena to set him on fire. With extreme prejudice.
 The next few sentences took the air right out of Marco's sadistic fantasies though.
 "Oh." he offered up lamely.

 Really what else was he supposed to say anyway? And why the hell wasn't she literate anyway? Everybody in Illyis was literate, what was she living under a rock or...
 Oh no. No, no, no, this was not happening to him. He was not being confronted by a person from another province -Akiro too, considering it was the closest- everything was right with the world and Ho-oh was going to pop up any minute with a rainbow.
 Yeah right, this was exactly the sort of thing his luck usually threw his way. 

 Gently, because even though he didn't care about what people thought or felt sometimes he wasn't so callous and mean, he reached for his notebook from the storyteller's hands.
 What was he supposed to do?  Talk to her and maybe make her feel worse? She was already blushing, Marco didn't want to make a wrong step and make her cry or something. It was hard to tell how people would react, to anything really. There was a scar on the back of his elbow that would attest to that. And the one on his back and on his left bu-
 Well, the point was, it was hard dealing with people; the reason why he tried to avoid it.
 In the end he decided to go with the tried and tested 'Hello my name is _______ nice to meet you!'
 Marco got to his feet, brushed himself off and offered a friendly hand.
 "Where are my manners? I don't think I even offered my name! The name's Marco Laguardia. Nice to meet you!"

Wynter Valen | 505 | that awkward moment when...

GLASS HAS GANGNAM STYLE

[Wynter Valen]

time takes it all,

whether you want it to or not

So...he made the stories? All Wynt did was retell them, but she was okay with that. But this man had to be great if he could make his own stories, and use it as a living as she did with merely telling them. At the idea, she brightened a bit. What an interesting concept that was indeed...she directed her gaze for a moment to the Pokemon, who seemed to be getting along well enough. Solstice and Eclipse both seemed to be minding their manners. It pleased her because normally by now, they were all over the place. She turned her attention back to the writer when he spoke, giving him an adamant nod. "It is a very nice thing indeed." She answered about the notebook, regarding it once more with quite the fond expression.  After she had mentioned she couldn't read, she froze when she noticed his expression. Did he figure it out? Well...that was a given, you didn't find many uneducated story-telling gypsies in Illyis she was sure... and she wasn't even sure why she had mentioned she could read. Was it just a reflex that had barred off her common sense when she saw the words on the page. No, she wanted to know what the words said. She wanted to know what these stories were about, she wished to simply understand them. He wrote tales, and to her, that was a pretty amazing thing. For all she knew, one day tellers like herself could be reciting his stories, who really knew for sure? But it wasn't going to help her if he decided to point out that she was an Akirin. She hadn't really come here legally after all. So at the moment, she was stepping on eggshells. She had to be careful not to make him angry, not like she made that a goal or anything when talking to people to begin with. She cleared her throat awkwardly. She fished for something to say, but thankfully, she didn't have to fish for too long, because the man took the initiative. He held out his hand and Wynter took it gently, shaking it before releasing after a comfortable amount of time. Marco was his name? She stayed silent a moment, but then realized, she'd probably have to tell him her name too. But...she couldn't exactly tell him her true name, that was too dangerous. So she finally let out a gentle sigh, giving him a shy smile before answering. "I am Monsoon. All Storytellers have their aliases, and this is my own." After the introduction, she glanced at the Notebook that was now back in his hands again. It still peeked her interest, heavily so in fact. She shook her head to snap herself out of it and turned all her attention back to Marco. "So...when you write these stories, what kind of things do you write about?" She asked curiously. If it was the things she was used to hearing of, that would be great. But for her, what was even better, was things she hadn't yet heard of. Something new, something refreshing was what she was looking for. She knew all her stories by heart and she loved them, but it never hurt to hear something much, much different.

[MARCO LAGUARDIA]

walking on a dream

People were supposed to feel awkward in these situations right? It wasn't just Marco now was it? But, seriously he would be damned if the woman didn't have a backbone in her, that or an astounding lack of situation awareness.
She just brushed off the fact that she was talking to a stranger, in a land which had few -if any- good intentions towards her people and here she was asking about his work? He had a very good first hand idea on how most Akirans were mad, but it seemed like he had yet to see the extent of it.
"Monsoon? That's a cool sounding alias." Marco commented frankly "I write under an alias too, and your's sounds much better than my own."

Which was true, his pen-name while funny did not exactly give off an aura of mystery and awe. Monsoon- from an Akiran that most probably lived in the desert. If irony was tangible, Marco would be choking on it.
"I write about anything that stirs my muse actually." Marco admitted "Sometimes poems, short stories- I have got one novel published too and I'm thinking about-" before the silver haired author could finish his stomach rumbled loudly and ominously.
"Food." he completed sheepishly "I'm starved actually. Want to complete this conversation over dinner?"

Because it would hardly hurt to be associated with her for the duration of one meal and it seemed a pity to stop this conversation once they had begun. Besides with her being unable to read this would be the only way she would find about his works. And not knowing about them was not a shame, it was a tragedy.

Wynter Valen | - | food! omnomnom

GLASS HAS GANGNAM STYLE