004 | Goldenrod City | Text / Action;

[nostabbing]

[It's late afternoon, it's eighty-six degrees and sunny, and here on a Goldenrod City park bench sits Parker with her hair pulled back in a ratty braid that dangles forgotten over one shoulder. She's basically commandeered the whole bench at this point, even though she's only occupying one small end of it; the rest remains wholly unusuable because it's covered in all manner of stuff, from Pokemon plushies to coin purses to potted plants to other odds and ends you might find at the prize counter of an arcade (and yes, there's a red-and-white Pokeball tucked away in there, too).

But despite the heaps of stuff (and the Poochyena in a fedora standing guard over it nearby, and the Vulpix with the diamond necklace for a collar sifting through it with interest), Parker doesn't seem particularly happy as she hangs out on the bench, silent but for the sound of the pencil scratching idly over the sketchpad propped against her knees. One word for her demeanor here might be "indifferent"; another few that could probably also fit would be "apathetic", "detached", "listless", or even just plain "bored".

Page by page, she's filling the sketchpad with drawings that, to all appearances, she couldn't care less about. Which might be more accurate a description than one might expect, really; this time, appearances aren't deceiving.

But eventually she sets the sketchpad aside, screws up her face for a ninety-second impromptu theater of Frustration: The Facial Expressions, and then reaches for her Gear to posit a burning question to the network: ]

~
Hey, so.

How do you know when you like stuff?


[...What? IT'S A SERIOUS QUESTION. ಠ_ಠ ]

Comments

[ACTION]

[diamondo]

[Better look out Parker, because there's a Scraggy eyeing your stuff. She seems to think she's a sneaky little thing because she oh-so-casually approaches, picks up one of the Pokémon plushies, and makes a run for it.

This would work better if she didn't have such baggy "pants." She promptly trips over herself and falls flat on her face, the plushie bouncing out of her hands. She scrambles to her feet and reaches for the plushie--

Only to have her irritated-looking trainer snatch it away from her.]

Ryder! How many times am I gonna have to tell you to stop stealing! Fuck, you're gonna get me in trouble one of these days!

[The Scraggy pouts and turns around, eyeing the other plushies mischievously. Clearly she's not done yet.]

Hey, sorry about her. She's... kinda a handful and I'm still getting used to her.

[Mondo approaches, holding the Pokémon plushie out for Parker to take.]

[ACTION]

[nostabbing]

[Wow, EXCUSE YOU, fail!thief, Parker's actually more offended at the terrible attempt at thievery than she is at the fact that the Scraggy was actually attempting to steal something in the first place. Like come on, at least have some standards. That lift was terrible! No distraction, no misdirect, and the exit strategy was a joke. That's just sad, man. That's just sad.

Nate the Poochyena (in a fedora) and Sophie the Vulpix, however, do not appear as lenient about this attempt on their trainer's stash; Ryder the Scraggy might now find herself the unfortunate recipient of two very intent sets of watchful eyes, and possibly the warning flash of bared teeth on the part of Nate as well.]

Got yourself a little thief, huh?

[Parker seems entirely too merry about this as she takes the plushie back, regarding it for a minute before giving it an affectionate squeeze against her chest.]

She's only gonna get you in trouble if she doesn't get better at it. I mean, it's only a problem if you get caught, right?

[...ha-hah, what is social normalcy.]

[diamondo]

She's trying, at least...

[Mondo sighs and runs a hand through the short strands of dark hair. Ryder attempts to glare back at Nate and Sophie, but she probably doesn't look like she could do much damage. She's a bit smaller than your average Scraggy to begin with and Scraggies aren't exactly intimidating.]

You've got a point there, but she's so fucking bad at it that she's gonna get me in trouble. And if I'm getting in trouble, it better be because of something I did, y'know?

[It's quite alright, Parker! Who needs social normalcy when you have a gang to run!!]

[nostabbing]

[Oh, good, someone who appreciates thievery!

...hey, wait, someone who appreciates thievery. That's pretty weird for an average passerby, now isn't it?]

So are you gonna teach her to stop, or how to get better?

[One way to find out.]