A Whole New World

[Ink'd]

Olivine City, Johto
11:23 P.M.

...Or something to that effect.

Rin stood at the dock as the boat quieted. A good amount of travelers who had boarded with her on the long journey from Sinnoh to the enormous port city of Olivine had already left to find room and board. She was of the few stragglers who ambled about on the deserted dock, all unsure of what their next course of action would be. Rin was rarely without a plan, however, even though at the moment it seemed that she was lost without an idea of what she ought to do next.

Alone among strangers, Rin took comfort in the presence of Zola, hovering just behind her left shoulder. It was impossible to see her in the gloom, but the steady stream of whispered incantations reassured her that she was still with her.

"Cut that out," she whispered to the Pok?mon, pinching the bridge of her nose to stave of the headache that threatened to plague her. "I've got enough of a headache as is without you adding to it with that voodoo bull."

The Mismagius let out an indignant cry but obediently fell silent. In a moment, the pounding in her skull faded, and Rin sighed in relief. Tilting her hat in such a way that it shrouded her face in shadow, she crossed the sun-bleached boards until the wood gave way to cobblestone streets. Lights shone brightly within the heart of the city, promising beds and a good nights' sleep before Rin's journey officially began.

"Well," She addressed the air, waving her arms at the expanse of city before her. "It's a big place. C'mon, let's find a Pok?mon Center before we end up camping out in the lobby. I really don't want to repeat that particular experience."

Zola hummed in agreement, and the pair set off along the darkened streets, equipped with nothing but a duffel bag and fifteen years' of city living.

[Shadow]

"Rrrrrrrr....."

Gunnar glanced down at the mightyena that stood at his feet, growling into the street with raised hackles. He raised an eyebrow and turned to look at what the canine was growling at. A girl was standing on the dock near the beach. Why would Wolf be growling at a girl? He narrowed his eyes. Wolf must have been sensing something with her. Perhaps a ghost type Pokémon?

His suspicions were confirmed when he vaguely made out a cry, most likely coming from the unseen Pokémon with the girl. He stayed where he was in the shadows of a tall building, merely watching. Wolf continued growling, knowing that something was there, but unable to see it.

None of this mattered, though. The weather was turning cold and Gunnar wanted to sleep indoors. Therefore his next course of action would be to locate the Pokémon Center. He pulled his black baseball cap low over his eyes and started walking into the streets, toward where he knew the Center lay. Wolf reluctantly followed, but kept throwing glances over his shoulder at where the girl and her Pokémon were.

((Sorry about the delay!))

[Ink'd]

Rin had hardly taken two steps forward when Zola's humming started up again. It was different this time, however. Rather than the incantations being sung purely out of habit, they were dealt out furiously, almost frantically. "Zo-" she started, but her words cut off with a sharp intake of breath as the pain of the chant caught up to her. Her vision spiraled with the intensity of the headache and she staggered, barely managing to steady herself on a lamp post and save herself from a nasty fall.

She tried to proceed despite the pain, but mismagius were powerful Pokémon and their incantations could have dire consequences if they had reason to use them. As such, she couldn't move a single step without her knees threatening to give out. With a moan, she relented and slid down to a sitting position at the base of the pole. Zola was still out of view, shrouded as she was in shadows, but the chant did not cease.

"What's got you all worked up?" she murmured. With difficulty, she listened, hoping to find something that could set the obedient (for the most part) Pokémon on edge. At length, she heard it; a faint growl filtered through the air, and a minute later it had passed. Despite the threat apparently being gone the incantation continued - if anything, the intensity swelled to an almost unbearable note, and a moment later Rin saw why. A person emerged from the shadows, followed closely by what appeared to be a mightyena. Dark type. Ah, it made sense now.

She wondered vaguely if Zola's incantations would carry to the man and plague him with a migraine the size of Hoenn, but then thought became impossible and she could only sit, holding her head in her hands in a vain attempt to stave off the agony.

[No worries!]

[Shadow]

Wolf barked in alarm and Gunnar immediately spun around to see the girl that had been on the dock sliding down to sit near a lamp post. He changed course and headed toward her, intending to help, but stopped as he felt a pain enter his head. He vaguely heard a humming, and based on the way Wolf was growling warily he guessed the ghost-type was doing something.

Before he could say anything to his Pokémon, the mightyena charged in with a vicious snarl and leaped at where he could sense rather than see the mismagius. Gunnar inwardly groaned, hoping that whatever he was attacking either did not belong to the girl or would not get hurt. If it belonged to the girl then this would be embarrassing.

He let out a short, sharp whistle. The mightyena stopped after his initial attack and, still growling, obediently trotted back to his master's side. "You okay?" he called to the girl, keeping his distance in case the ghost attacked.

[Ink'd]

Through a haze of pain, Rin saw the man - no, a boy that couldn't be more than a year or two older than her - hurriedly approach. While she was sure he had intended to help, his advances brought the canine closer, instilling fresh panic in the overwrought ghost-type. Thankfully, the incantation reached through to him and he stopped, but his mightyena still appeared to be worked up by Zola's invisible presence. The hum wavered and she felt the headache retreat slightly.

"Zola -" she tried again. Before she could get out another word, the mightyena suddenly surged forward, teeth bared, and lunged at Zola's misty outline. She saw her Pokémon jerk out of the way, and the chant peaked in intensity to the point where white dots fluttered across Rin's vision. For one frightening moment she was certain she would pass out, and the beginnings of a hallucination flickered in her peripherals - a menacing shadow, hungry flames licking at crumbling supports.

The Pokémon returned to its master's side, still wary but unlikely to attack again. The hallucination faded, but the stream of incantations continued. Shakily, Rin pulled her cap down more securely and rose, gripping the pole for support.

"Back off," she ordered the stranger, her voice strong and unyielding. "She's frightened by your mightyena. Just back off and, for Arceus' sake, keep it from attacking again." She then addressed the shapeless form of Zola. "And you need to knock it off. Your chanting hurts like hell."

While Rin couldn't see Zola, she was certain she had the decency to look chagrined. The hum mercifully ceased, but tension still hung in the air. Rin was now undeniably pissed off. Someone deserved a punch in the face for the pain she'd just endured, and it wasn't Zola. With a sigh, she wondered if her father ever had to deal with migraines of that intensity and decided that, no, he probably hadn't. He'd been a better trainer than that.

[Shadow]

Gunnar raised an eyebrow as the girl ordered him to back off. He already had. Wolf was quite unhappy, but he was staying by Gunnar's side without showing any signs of disobeying, though the presence of the ghost still made him quite agitated. "My apologies," he said quietly.

Gunnar generally wasn't one to judge, but it seemed a bit odd to him that this girl kept around a Pokémon that caused her such pain. Perhaps there was some sort of special value about it, like it belonged to someone special or it was a rare type. Not that it was really any of his business.

He stood back, still watching the girl. He thought he may have pinpointed where the ghost was based on where Wolf had attacked, so he kept an eye on that area, too. Deciding to wait to make sure the girl was all right, he continued to stand there, keeping a foot cocked out in from of Wolf so the mightyena wouldn't get any funny ideas.

[Ink'd]

(sorry for the wait!)

Stiffly, Rin readjusted her bag on her shoulder, biting back a sharp retort. Apologies rarely got anywhere with her. Not that it was strictly the boy's fault for triggering Zola's incantations - this was a public street - but she was unwilling to admit that she was an incompetent trainer. Anyone else ought to have controlled the Pok?mon, but she could not. She couldn't have even recalled the mismagius. Her Pok? ball had gone missing after the fire, and technically her energy signature was still registered under that particular capsule.

In regard to the boy, Rin decided that their unfortunate interaction was at an end and started down the sidewalk without another glance in his direction, Zola hovering carefully behind. Little did she know that she was headed in the opposite direction from the Pok?mon Center. Without a map of the city or any means of finding her location - she didn't even have a Poketch, though they had been popular back in Sinnoh - she was utterly lost.

Not that Rin would admit it.

[Shadow]

((No worries!))

Gunnar hesitated, wondering if he should just let the whole encounter go and continue on his merry way. Wolf certainly would have liked to leave the ghost behind them since he wasn't allowed to attack it. But judging by her gear he guessed that she was a traveler. It was getting very late into the night, and she probably would be looking for a place to crash for the night; namely, the Pok?mon Center. He sighed.

"If you're looking for the Pok?mon Center," he called. "It's the other way." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder in a gesture to show which direction he meant. He hadn't been in this city for very long, but he knew the places of interest at least.

[Ink'd]

Rin stopped dead in her tracks, thankful that her crimson face was invisible in the gloom. Great. On top of everything else, she looked like an idiot now. Who knew what this guy thought of her by this point? It wouldn't have mattered so much to Rin if she'd been at home, but in a foreign region an ally was indispensable. How was she even going to decide where to go next without even a faint idea of the geography, the routes?

For a moment, though, Rin considered continuing in the direction she was headed to prove a point, but now was not the time to be headstrong. With a sigh, she turned around went back with noticeably less vigor than before, careful to give his mightyena a wide enough berth that Zola wasn't startled.

"Thanks." The comment was meant to be venomous, but she couldn't muster up the energy for sarcasm and it came out sounding almost sincere.

[Shadow]

Gunnar smirked slightly, finding Rin's embarrassment amusing. Of course he didn't think any less of her; she was obviously new to the area, just as he had been a day or so prior. A nod was his response to her thanks. As she passed he turned and began to follow, for the sole reason that he was heading to the Pokémon Center as well.

Wolf tried to give a little growl as they started walking again but Gunnar swiftly shoved him to the side with his foot. The mightyena got the picture and went silent, ears low in an apologetic manner. He knew better than to continue to antagonize Gunnar with his pointless aggression toward a ghost that he would never be allowed to fight.

[Ink'd]

Had Rin been in a more antagonistic mood, she would have certainly given the boy grief for following her. Of course she knew that he was likely as eager to reach the Pokémon Center as she was, but regardless of reasons she found it unnerving to have a rather burly guy (and his bloodthirsty mightyena) on her blind side. In the light of events, however, she bit her tongue and trod on in terse silence. It wasn't as though he was a bad person - she was just temperamental, and that was the problem.

Briefly she wondered what he would make of her scarred face before brushing the thought aside. She was in no mood to go down that road; it inevitably led to a train wreck of fresh memories and grief. Those long-faded emotions would hinder her journey and drag up a new wave of self-doubt. That was the last thing she needed.

[Shadow]

Gunnar maintained the silence until the bright red roof of the Pok?mon Center came into view around a corner. Glancing at the girl, he wondered if he should say something. He felt bad about the poor start they got off to. He really hadn't intended for Wolf to attack her Pok?mon, and the mightyena would be properly scolded later when they were alone.

"I'm Gunnar, by the way," he said quickening his pace slightly to catch up with Rin. Wolf wisely stayed back, not wanting to antagonize the mismagius any further, since Gunnar was obviously cross with him. "Sorry about earlier with my mightyena. He won't attack again."