[PRP] Less Than Humble Beginings [ Sophie, Aerika ]

[Blinded By Silence]

Ch-thunk. There was blood in her mouth. Ch-thunk. She could taste the iron on her tongue from biting back the tidal wave of emotions boiling up inside her. Ch-thunk. With each step up the stairs, one of her many suitcases banged against the step. Ch-thunk. Ugh, her hands were so sweaty, it was so hot-- Sophia Donnelley let out an exasperated groan of frustration as the damn bag slipped from her hand and went thunk thunk thunk down the stairs.

She blinked back tears, angry tears, as she stomped her way back down and snatched up the stupid thing. What kind of island was this?! She would not have been so pleased to have a top-floor room if she had known that there was no bell boy to carry her bags! This was so stupid, why did she bring so much stuff? The lavender-haired young woman looked back down at her luggage, all matching and neat. She sighed heavily. There was no way could have left one. This wasn't just some weekend trip, she was not going to live out of a single suitcase for, well, however long she was going to be here. She needed her clothes, her products, her shoes. And this wasn't even all of it, she honestly had been very good about only bringing what was truly necessary.

And so she huffed, her hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, and plodded upward, trying not to explode. Hey, at least she hadn't yelled at the people downstairs. Her mother would have.

@Wargazm Monkey

 

[Wargazm Monkey]

Suddenly an loud bang, and the sound of heavy footfalls came from above the girl with too many suitcases. "Hey! get back here you little butt!"... "Bulba!!"... "Dammit, cmon!" Moments later a ball of pink came careening around the corner of the next landing up; in it's mouth was a strange looking hat, the front half was Blue with the image of a Marill's face embroidered across it.

The Pokemon stopped at the top of the flight of stairs and met eyes with the girl on the stairs. It blinked once, then was suddenly whipped off the ground by the girl who, slightly out of breath, had stampeded down the stairs after it. "Dammit Silverleaf! You cant just take off like that. And you DEFINITELY cant take off with my hat!" The girl pried the hat from the 'Mon, and setting it on her head with practiced precision (in a way that would probably irritate the neat and orderly girl a few steps below her) followed the gaze of the Bulbasaur. "Oh! Hey there!"

@Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

Sophie had stopped dead at the thundering above her. What with the sudden yelling and pounding of feet on stairs, she was so startled that she once again let the handle of her suitcase slip through her well-manicured fingers and roll down the stairs noisily. Her lips became a hard line as she watched it fall. When addressed, she took a slow breath, closed her eyes, and released before turning to face the loud girl and her belligerent Pokemon with a forced smile.

"Hi," She said with false politeness before walking back down the stairs to fetch her runaway bag.

@Wargazm Monkey

 

[Wargazm Monkey]

"If I put you down, are you gonna behave?" She addressed the Bulbasaur. "Saur." It replied with a bit of a pout. Aerika released the 'Mon onto the floor where it promptly sat and watched the goings on. "You seem a bit over packed for a college-style move. You realize we don't have a lot of room in our rooms. Hell, I think you might have more suitcase than bed at this point. I'm curious where your gonna store all of it. Well, no matter, you can probably just store it in your shower and see if you can borrow someone else's." Aerika continued to ramble as she walked down what was left of the stairs and without asking, grabbed one of the many suitcases and started back towards the bane of Sophie's existence. "So what floor are you on?"

@Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

Sophie gaped at the girl walking toward her. She was rough around the edges, for sure, but her get-up held a certain style. But the effort the stranger put into her appearance was completely lost on her, clouded by anger, frustration, and embarrassment. She opened her mouth as if to speak, only to press her lips into a hard line as the stranger walked past her.

"Oh!" She gasped as Aerika took hold of a particular case, "Please be careful, that one is my makeup!" She shook her head and steadied herself, "I'm sorry, who are you? Do you work here? I already asked for someone to collect my things and was told that service is not offered here."

@Wargazm Monkey

 

[Wargazm Monkey]

"Naaaahhhhh... I don't work here. No one works here... but then again, everyone works here. Kinda the whole reason we're here I guess. Or at least that's what they told me. Anywhatzzles, I'm Aerika and the cute one up there is Silverleaf." She gestures vaguely at the Bulbasaur still sitting on the stairs. "So, you still haven't answered what floor your dorm is on." She attempts to lift the the suitcase with a grunt, "geezus woman! Makeup!? what do you do? make it from the clay yourself!?"

 

[Blinded By Silence]

Sophie narrowed her eyes at the weird girl, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Why was this stranger helping her? And why was she just letting her? She frowned, watching Aerika slowly climb the steps. With a dismissive wave, she shrugged it off and grabbed another bag.

"Of course not," She rolled her eyes, but found herself grinning, "Good makeup just has a certain heft to it. Besides, I've got my hair care products and tools in there as well." She flipped her long braid off her shoulder and hefted what felt like her shoe bag. UGH. "Top floor," She said with a little groan, "My name is Sophia, thanks for your help."

@Wargazm Monkey

 

[Wargazm Monkey]

"Of course its the top floor... Hey, maybe we'll be neighbors! I was top floor too, but i didn't have to carry so much shit." She starts moving with a bit more energy as Sophia starts to lug a suitcase as well. "C'mon Silverleaf! Get outta the way. We're going all the way up! I'll race ya there onion head!" The bulbasaur takes off up the stairs, Aerika charging behind her. After a few minutes, Sophia hears vaguely from above her "Allright, now back down! Maybe if wear you out, you'll stop eating my cactus!" A stampede of feet came rushing down. "Hurry up Soph! Only a few more bags and then we can go to the store and get some snacks! That's where we were headed when we ran into you." She grabs another bag and starts hefting it up the stairs, this time with a significant decrease in speed and energy. Despite her lack of physical energy, however, her ability to just spout words seemed undiminished, except when she paused to take gasps of air.

 

[Blinded By Silence]

After a few failed attempts at getting a word in between breaths, Sophie decided she'd just let Areika talk. She'd run out of words eventually, she had thought, but by the time they had hefted each and ever suitcase over the doorstep to her new room (honestly, it was hardly that) and were climbing down the stairs a final time for the day, the fashionably distressed young woman was still somehow talking.

"Oh my god," She finally said, cutting Aerika off by holding up her hands, exasperated, "I was already going to buy you those snacks you were talking about, as thanks for helping me, but what do I have to do to get you to to have an actual conversation?" She was grinning as she said this, however. Something about this yapping girl with her studded belts piqued her interest. Besides, it was nice to know someone here. "Honestly, darling, this one-sided chat has been going on for," She checked her watch dramatically, "An hour now, and honestly, I somehow still know nothing about you. You've been in my room, touched my stuff. I can't have that."

"Now," She said, trying to lead the conversation, "Aerika, tell me, I've been wondering since the stairs, where did you get your nail polish? It hasn't chipped at all, even with all the heavy lifting we've done, it's pretty impressive." she blinked as a thought entered her head, she grimaced, hesitant to ask, dreading the answer, "Is... Is there a salon on this island?"

@Wargazm Monkey

 

[Wargazm Monkey]

"Oh no.... i haven't found a salon yet... ummm my nail polish isn't nail polish at all. I spent my allowance before coming here stocking up on foundation and eyeliner, so i had to go back to middle school days! This is just like a dozen coats of sharpie and then I had some clear coat left. But i did hear that they have a mail and delivery system, so once we start getting paid from this job, maybe we can order in some products and such..." Aerika pushed open the front door to the apartment building, grimacing at the bright sun outside.

"Allrighty, i think the grocery store is this way? What do you think onion? you wanna give skateboarding a try again?" She bends down and takes off her Charmander plushie backpack and surprisingly pulls a skateboard off of it, it had been wrapped in the straps and hanging between the backpack and Aerika's shoulder blades. She puts the skateboard down and plops the pink creature on it, giving it a slight nudge to get it moving. As it starts to roll, Silverleaf lets out a jubilant "BULLLBBBBBAAAAA!!!!" and settles in for the ride.

"Do you have any pokemon sophie? I havent seen you playing with any yet?"

@Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

Sophie gave an exaggerated groan of dismay, "Ugh, I was worried you would say that. Hopefully, this place develops quickly, this town is in desperate need of civilization." She sighs, thinking back longingly about the countless hours she had spent in her favorite salon. She was gazing forlornly at her nails, still pristine, but for how much longer she did not know, when Aerika mentioned how she'd done her nails. The lavender-haired woman's jaw dropped and she gaped at this poor unfortunate soul with horror, "SHARPIE? Oh dear, you cannot be serious?" She snatched up Aerika's hand and examined her nails with a deep frown, "No, no. Don't worry, I'll fix them. I have some black polish somewhere, I'm sure. Black Kalos Tips were very in a few seasons ago." She dropped her hand as she pulled out a skateboard and watched as the little Bulbasaur rolls along. She shakes her head and looks back when asked a question.

"What? Oh yes, I have an entire collection going through customs. Hazards and quarantine, and all that." She waves her hand dismissively, "I told my mother to send a nice donation though, so hopefully they'll be pushed through quickly." She smiles, a little sad, "I miss them, they're my babies. I raised all nine of them from eggs, you know. I'll show you when you help me unpack."

 

[Wargazm Monkey]

"UNPAACCCCKKKKKKK..... girl, youve got like a dozen suitcases.... thats gonna take all day..... ughhhhhhhhh....." Aerika flails her arms exasperatedly, with much more drama and energy than was warranted for her complaint. "Fine, but we're watching movies and singing karaoke while we do it.... unpack... sheesh... daddy always just hired movers..." she rambles for a few seconds longer, occasionally pushing the skateboarding bulbasaur with her foot.

"So, raised em from eggs huh? you a breeder then?"

@Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

Sophie gave Aerika a look and smirked, "What do you think I'm doing, honey? I already hired the movers. I'll buy the snacks and you help me move, it's a done deal." She chuckled. The girl was weird for sure, but there was something about her dramatic energy that Sophie seemed to connect with. She waved her hand dismissively, "Yes, yes, movies and music, for sure."

"I am," she answered proudly, "My family is one of the most notable breeders in Hoenn. I specialize in Eevee in particular."

 

[Wargazm Monkey]

"Wow, really? I've never been to Hoenn. Is it pretty? Actually, this is really the first time ive been outside on Unova. We moved around a decent amount, until daddy opened his own store, then we settled. So whats it like breeding pokemon? I watched two meowth having sex once, and obviously learned a bit about it in Poke Ed, but never met or heard what all it takes to be a skilled breeder."

As she was rambling again, Silverleaf let out a worried cry, "bullbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" bringing Aerika's attention back to the skateboard that was steadily picking up speed due to a down hill slope. She takes off after it, catching up quickly and snatching up her little pink friend.

"That's fair girl, I've barely taught you how to stand on it, I should probably teach you how to stop it too huh?"

@Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

"Eh." She shrugged, "We moved there when I was twelve. It's alright, I guess. There are some places that are pretty. But I spent most of my life in Kalos, which is far more beautiful." She sighed, thinking back on her childhood home, "But Hoenn is the contested capital of the world so. What can you do." She rolled her eyes a bit.

Sophie blushed a bit at Aerika's crass remark, "Well, of course, there's that uh, part of it, I guess." She hurried onward, "But the real thing about breeding is how genetics work. For example, beneath my hair dye; I have blonde hair. Blonde hair is a recessive gene, meaning if I had children with someone with dark hair, chances are, we'd have dark-haired children. Those same laws translate into how Pokemon fur colors and markings and such are genetically decided. If I bred a blond Eevee with a dark Eevee, we will most likely get dark Eevee children." Aerika had opened a can of worms here, on the breeder went about genetics, explaining alleles and mutations, "But then, allegedly, Pokemon bred here in Nauwille disregard those sciences. Eevee can produce eggs with, well, anything! The genetic possibilities are endless!" Sophie was so excited, she didn't even notice that they had gotten to the store, grabbed their snacks, and were already back at the apartments!