lackingbeauty | ♕ 001 // Action for Route 29

[Stubborn, and short tempered- she's tried so hard to live up to that title. To be Beast not just within the ring but out of it. Why couldn't she have held on to that sort of nature not hours before? Why had it failed her now of all times?

Hot, shameful tears pricked the corner of her eyes even as she made to disentangle from him, which put a stop to that. She wasn't going to let him see her cry. Not that she planned to let those hints of her own disgrace go anywhere but her eyes- not her cheeks. At least not let them fall.]

... No.

[Regretfully muttered in to his lapel. No, she wasn't any more sure of that than she was of anything else in this place.]

Weather seems like it might become rubbish anyway.

[It's true. He'd gotten a better look from high up in the air, but even down here, it's clear that clouds are gathering a bit more than they were earlier.]

It's... a long walk ta the nearest inn, but there's a quicker way I know of... If yer willin' ta trust me a bit.

Or keep thinkin' this is a dream, that might help. Either way, 'fraid there's nothin' in this town besides a boat that would take us across the way.

[It really might. Now he's starting to regret picking flying partners that are so... flashy and out of the ordinary. He should have gotten a good old giant bird. They were still alarming, but at least most of the ones he'd seen throughout Johto were still mostly birds.]

[Beast didn't respond at first, instead concentrating on the difficult matter of controlling her emotions. Any second string circus member would agree that reigning in her temper was not one of her strong points, but it was the same for anything she felt- except maybe happiness. She was quite good at reigning in happiness and hope, for fear it would be squashed all too quickly or ruined by something more pressing to survival.

A few moments and she managed it though, disentangled from him reluctantly, (so reluctantly), her eyes lingering anxiously on his missing arm. Not in anything like at disgust, (she was far more so), but in fear of what that lack meant. That, and the lie she sensed behind it. Because if he said he'd been here a year... Why hadn't he found something else? Even something makeshift-

But like she had every time until she couldn't stand it any more not a single night hence... Beast kept her mouth shut.]

I trust ye.

[Even if she didn't believe in this place... Or even what he said, she still trusted him.]

[Hearing those three words means a lot- more than he thought they would. It makes his heart hurt. I'm sorry wants to be said but doesn't make it past his lips. Instead, he says something else.]

Thank you.

[He means it.]

[Before he can let himself get sidetracked, he leans down and places his hand on top of Claw's head. The action earns some satisfied purring and he can almost imagine the question the Persian is asking him even if he doesn't understand any of these creatures. He did good right? Something like that, probably.]

We'll start ya off slow. This is Claw- thought ya might like 'im, even if he is a right troublemaker.

[The fact that there was an animal even there seemed to surprise Beast, so narrow had her focus been since Joker's arrival. Her eyes widened as she stepped back, though not out of confusion as to the beast's foreign nature, but because it was... A very large cat. And the large cats she dealt with tended to bite those without whips when whimsy struck them. After all, no matter how trained, they were wild animals. She had a few scars to prove it.]

Joker-

[Hissed, but then he was touching it and it was... Purring? Finally she took in the whole of the animal. One of them mountain cats... ? Tawny and lithe, but-]

... Why've ye got a coin stuck on there?

[What.]

Been here the whole time, and ya forgot about 'im!

[Sorry, sorry, he just... He can't help but chuckle at that, feeling a bit of lightness come back to him.]

Ain't me who thought of it- s'natural. Sorta like how most folks don't walk around with scales, but then there's Snake. Just one a those things that happen.

[He's glad he at least managed to think that up on the way here. Now it's just explaining it's like that for every Persian might be a bit... tricky.]

There're scales 'n there's gold mint-

[Oh hell, no. She's not buying that. She's also smarter than to just touch some animal she doesn't know, though, so she can't confirm it for herself but. That's definitely some sort of coin, right? Some birds had shiny feathers, some sick things had growths... But a shiny gold one?

She does inch closer to it to investigate, however.]

If it makes ya feel even a tad better, I don't know if it's somethin' ya could actually sell like that... Partially 'cuz I haven't tried since I'm pretty sure I'd get me arm torn straight off and I ain't much fancy gettin' two fakes.

[Also, he's fairly certain the police would put him away for good.]

[Realizing he's been inspected, Claw straightens up in a manner that's most certainly arrogant and starts to clean himself like he can make his forehead shine even more. There's nothing predatory in his stance, however- no signs he plans on lashing out anytime soon. Of course... He is a cat, and even housecats are finicky things which might very well lash out for no reason.]

No, it really don'.

[How did that make it better? But Beast was almost happy for the confusion- it was a decent distraction from darker thoughts as much as she hated confusion as well. She recognized a lack of alertness in the animal, it didn't seem ready to pounce...

But she still didn't touch it.

Instead, she sighed, averting her gaze somewhere off in to the woods.]

Pokemon 'r some nonsense?

[The desire to live in denial wasn't the same as actually managing it.]

Got it in one.

[That brings some relief, too. At least she was keeping herself busy... Although he can't imagine it was for very long. It's with that knowledge in mind that he steps closer to bump his shoulder against hers with a wry grin.]

So ya 'ave been talkin' ta some folks. How many did ya yell at, then?

[It's more a tease than any sort of admonishment. He's hardly going to be upset with her when she's been yanked outta England and plopped right inta some sort of strange fairytale land where hardly a thing makes sense at first.]

[She's regained enough to throw herself headfirst in to confusion, but not enough to respond to his banter like she'd normally. To blush or stammer out some excuse, push him back or start fussing at him even though she wasn't really cross with him at all.

Pokemon...

She shrugged, fingers clutching her own elbows too tight for comfort.]

Few, 'fore I got tired a the mad blabberin'.

Heh, does sound mighty mad when ya first hear it all... Dunno how I got through those first talks myself. Thought for sure I'd somehow got lost in some fever dream, s'the only thing that made sense.

[Well, that and being dead. That'd just worry her more, however- she's still not quite herself, he can tell. Best to never bring it up, just keep it nice and buried. So he reaches over to lay his hand against her fingers where they are.]

C'mon. There's a few other things I have ta show ya before we head out, and before Jims gets here himself.

[A fever dream would be a nice explanation. She'd like that. She'd like to wake up in her bed, sheets sweat-stained not from betrayal but a burning sickness, wake up to Doll fretting and Dagger ineffectively trying to wring out a cool cloth, to Wendy's care and Peter insisting he wasn't worried, to Snake pretending his snakes said something about her and Jumbo's smile, and Joker-

It'd be too good to be true, wouldn't it?

The warmth of his fingers draws her back.]

... Alright.

[If it was just like this... she could handle it. A big cat with a weird gold growth. A weird one she saw on that device that looked like a badger and a stoat had buggered each other.

She can handle that.]

[She seems to be taking Claw well enough. He knew he was a good choice. Makes him regret, just a bit, that he didn't think to bring any of his other normal ones although... In hindsight, he's realizing he doesn't have too many of those. Perhaps out of habit, he'd found himself gravitating towards the eye catching and, admittedly, bizarre.]

[Not too late to bring out Eliza and Robbie, maybe they're a bit more...]

[He stores it away in the back of his head for later as he tries to guide her back into the town a bit with Claw at their heels. The cat's getting a bit fidgety, he notes that as well. Claw and Fang never did like to be left apart for too long...]

Next one's just as normal, color's... just a bit off. [To put it lightly.] S'another cat. Fang! Yer up next, none a that stealthy nonsense!

[But that's like asking rain not to be wet. From what he can tell, it's just a Liepard's nature to be quiet. At least the cat- around Claw's size- doesn't try to hide as it slips around the back of the professor's house. It's just quiet, tail flicking back and forth as it looks over Beast curiously. It'd be no doubt mysterious and impressive, probably, if Claw didn't suddenly bolt forward to cuddle up to it.]

[Joker doesn't really notice their antics. He just keep staring at Beast.]

Ain't too alarmin', is it?

[Beast is uncharacteristically silent as they walk, but at least she's walking. Automatically, she'd brought along the rucksack... thing she'd been given. Don't waste supplies. She keeps the cat, Claw?, in her sights but at least seems to accept it... for now.

This cat... was... purple. And spotted.

Her brow furrowed.]

That one a them leopards? Dyed dark?

[She'd seen one in a rival circus they'd checked out once, part of the menagerie. Wild, straight from India! Or so they'd said, how was she to know? It looks sleek enough.]

[Well, it's not exactly dyed, but besides that...]

Yep! They call 'em Liepards, here, which ta me just seems like sayin' it a different way but I don't much fancy bickerin' with a buncha scientists over somethin' like that.

[He grins over to the pair, both cats having already settled down with one chewing on the others ear and being dealt with patiently enough. Sometimes they remind him a bit of Peter and Wendy, always together. About as polite and generous, too, which meant not at all most of the time. Maybe it's why he puts up with their shenanigans.]

Most a the creatures here ain't that different than what ya would see back home, whether in a circus or out in the forests and such. Cats and birds and things like that. [He pauses for just a moment.] Some are a bit more... Well, I think ya would benefit sittin' down, ta put it kindly. They're definitely a sight ta see and... one of 'em is why we're gonna have a shorter trip.

[Liepards certainly did sound like someone putting on airs when pronouncing "leopards", if you asked her. Beast snorted a bit in derision, quite glad with her own label for the cat even if it... definitely wasn't right. The tail was wrong, and the shape of the face-

She'd manage denial for a bit longer, perhaps.

But at his suggestion, Beast looks from the ground back to Joker as if asking him to reconsider that he just asked her to sit down.]

An' 'ow is that?

[Something that made the trip shorter- a horse, right? What, did this one have three eyes?]

[For a brief second, he glances back to the pair of cats like they'll offer any support or advice. He should know better, really. They might not be normal cats, the kind he's familiar with, but they still manage that utter look of apathy just as well as any housecat lounging about. It wasn't their problem. They, thus, weren't interested even for as much as Joker figured they liked him.]

[Ah well. There... really wasn't any normal or sane sounding way to put this.]

Yer gonna think I'm daft... or gone mad... or both...

But flyin'. It's somethin' that can fly and big enough ta carry a person.

[Beast follows Joker's gaze to the cats, then looks back at his face even more confused than she was before. What- like they were going to help him out? They're cats.

Really... oddly well trained cats.]

An' I'm the Queen a bloody England.

[She definitely looked anything but amused by what had to be a joke.]

[Well. Seeing is believing. Even if it's believing you've utterly lost your mind.]

Well, Your Majesty, first off it's an honor for a humble ringleader such as myself ta be in yer presence. Secondly, if I may introduce an acquaintance a mine... [A deep breath-] ARIEL! Time ta meet someone!

[It takes a moment. Ariel is not the swiftest of Pokemon on a good day and the sun is heading downwards- the perfect time for a nap probably. But at least he's safe in the knowledge that Torch and Angel are still back there. Soon enough, there's some heavy footsteps and the Dragonite's towering form peers out from around the same corner his Liepard did just a moment ago.]

[There's one small blessing- Dragonite's are silly looking things. They're all soft curves and roundness, not particularly threatening if you can manage to get over the fact that they're almost guaranteed to be taller than you. Ariel in particular is good natured, a sleepy look on her face as she gives a blink while staring at them.]

[What Beast had expected was crickets and Joker insisting on holding on to that joke an instant longer than anyone ought to before having to admit he'd been pulling her leg.

So to speak.

But then she starts... hearing things. Footsteps. Big ones. Not as big as her elephant, but.

Big.

Beast's expression turns more and more nervous by the second, eyes darting between Joker and where the noise was coming from, looking for confirmation that this wasn't happening. It definitely wasn't.

Except then some towering thing poked its head out from behind the house, and it has scales, and wings, and a tail, and it's a bloody dragon-

Stumbled back, some instinctive move to get away from it, deny it, something, but she tripped when her legs (leg) locked up in fear, landing flat on her ass, mouth open-

Nothing came out.]

Oh hell-

[He can't keep her from falling back, but he can grab a hold of her and follow her down with him kneeling besides her. Well, he warned her to sit down- Joker gently starts to rub at her back like that will help soothe her.]

Hush now, ain't no reason ta get much of a fright, she won't harm ya any. Just take a breath, yeah? Ariel, stay over there, got it?

[The Dragonite doesn't seem much inclined to move anyway. It just gives an absentminded nod before turning its head to yawn, raising a claw up to its mouth in an almost human-like gesture. Take your time... She's not going anywhere.]

[It's not helping.

The cats she could handle. They didn't help, but she could handle that. They looked like cats, and cats were real. Malformed and odd colored cats, but cats. This was a dragon. It was definitely a dragon and dragons definitely were not real-

It couldn't be real-

Beast had gone pale, not even seeming to notice Joker's hand on her back steadying her, staring at the... what? Thing? Creature? Beast? Dragon? Despite all the things they'd seen in their lives, (dead bodies in dark alleys, the abused, the people they'd had to kill themselves), it seems that she finds this the most terrifying.

Those things they'd seen had been sick, and wrong, but they'd been real things that happen to real people.

Her corset wasn't laced that tight, but it was seeming awfully difficult to breathe, her hearbeat thundering in her ears. Everything in her said she should just run- it was crazy. It was impossible.

Dragons didn't exist...]

[And suddenly, neither did Beast.

Consciously, anyway. The edges of her vision went dark, focus narrowed on the impossible things she was seeing, forgetting to inhale, unsure if she felt like she was going to vomit or just-

Eyes rolled back, and as fast as you could say "pretend it's just a hallucination", Beast had fainted straight away.

... Considering she'd never have been convinced to fly on a dragon, it might have even been for the best.]

[It's a good thing his hand is still at her back, then, even if it is a bit of a trick to keep her from slipping out of his grip. For a moment, Joker just stares and the only thing that comes to mind is-]

Ah, hell.

[He says it absently, his mind fumbling to figure out a course of action now. That's... That's certainly not a good reaction, really, compared to everything else. Actually it's not a good reaction no matter what the occasion. But that... does take away the issue of convincing her to get on the great big bloody thing. Right? Assuming she doesn't wake up in the middle of the flight and panic or fall off...]

[What happens after is a bit of a team effort. The cat pair are finally convinced to be useful instead of lounging around like brats, acting as a cushion for Beast's head as Joker removes his scarf and his cloak. It'll mean he's going to be a bit chilly... But he'd rather she be warm and comfortable on the way there. Maybe it'll help keep her in dreamland a while longer. One can only hope. Angel helps where she can, displaying more of his worry on her face than he himself is on his own. Faintly, a part of him hopes Beast doesn't pick up on that habit of Angel's. More strongly, he hopes that she doesn't get more distressed at Angel's appearance. At least dragons are just large lizards with wings, when you get down to it.]

[There's no real decent way to explain a tiny clown that isn't a person and instead some sort of... beastie. Animal. Something. Fairy?]

[When Beast is all bundled up, Ariel finally takes her. She won't go fast, or be reckless, or drop her so long as Beast stays unconscious. Really, besides the whole fact that she's a dragon, she's a good choice. Joker tries to console himself even as he brings Claw and Fang back to their Pokeballs. He'll be flying with Torch, and Angel will be out just to make sure nothing horrendous happens, so... He should be ready.]

[But he lingers for a moment, even after he sends a message to Jimmy that he'll be heading to Cherrygrove a bit ahead of him. He keeps a hand on Beast's shoulder. She's really here. It's not a dream. Ten months of going through things in this dreamlike world, only Snake to stay with him for any long bit of time, losing Doll and knowing what lay ahead back for them in England... She's here. It's not a dream keeping him up at night.]

[Angel tugs at his pants leg after a while, convinces him to finally get with Torch. Soon enough, the familiar sight of all of Johto beneath them is beneath his feet. It takes some work to keep Torch from charging ahead. Instead, he keeps her and therefor him beneath Ariel... Just in case. You can't be too careful. He keeps looking up at her and Beast the whole couple hours it takes to fly to Cherrygrove. The inn is still open- they always are. They know just as well as the Pokemon Centers that trainers and breeders and other sorts arrive at all times of the day and straight through the night. It's one of the few reliable things in Johto, really. There's always a warm bed waiting for you so long as you have the money... And don't release a hundred bats into the rooms.]

[Money he does have, thanks to the Circus in Goldenrod. The big shows always draw in steady crowds, and the smaller stalls and games are always open and thus bring in a decent steady income. In all honesty, he's rather pleased about it. He hopes she'll like it too.]

[Once he gets a room, he's quick to get Beast up to it along with the cat pair. She'd reacted best to them, so they were good, right? They can fit in the room, too, and keep her safe. Not long after, and Jimmy shows up- another good thing because Joker's suddenly worried about her lack of changeable clothes and if she'll be hungry after being startled into fainting.]

[So, after scrawling out a note and sticking it on Jimmy's chest- This is Jims, he's a good lad, just went to get some things- Joker just hurries out and promises himself to be quick.]

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