Rat Race (open)

[dingo]

One would think that he'd be more perceptive, considering his major phobia. Still, he thought nothing of it when something glinting on the ground caught his eyes. Stopping, he turned his gaze to his feet only to have a sudden chill race up his spine and prickle the hair on his arms and the back of his neck.

A girl's small hair clip was scattered below and forgotten. The end of it sported the outline of a black and yellow creature with which he knew he was more familiar with than anything else. A black and yellow creature with antenna and wings shaped much like a bee.

"Brr!" he said, as if the shudder he just gave was from the cold instead of the impending doom that had settled in his stomach. Snatching his eyes away from such a thing, he took five steps forward so quickly that they seemed to blur together from being so fast.

Being here wasn't the brightest of ideas, but he couldn't very well stay locked up forever without turning into a skeleton. Venturing out was just something he would have to deal with, as much as his brain told him to just flee from everything. A rustle in the bushes, a caw in the sky, a splash of water--everything had him immediately tensing under his clothes and his hands fisting until the knuckles turned white. Pokemon were all around and more common than a slice of white on a person's nail.

Worrying so much about all the other pokemon he hadn't even run across yet, he failed to hear the bustling off to his right. After a few moments, though, as if he could somehow feel little, beady eyes on him, he eased his head in that direction.

Only to come face-to-face with a purple Rattata.

The second he registered just what was cutely staring him down, he tried to swallow his scream. It came out as the most girly squeak in existence. "I--ah--" His fuchsia hair practically stood on end from the sight. "N-nice mouse..."

The pokemon made a curious noise at his presence, which only had a dizzying swoon rising up in his brain and behind his eyes. In horror, he spun around on his feet. Fleeing was one of his more natural abilities, way better than throwing a pokeball (which he didn't even have) at the Rattata now screeching at his backside. Shooting off at break-necking speed, he didn't dare look back behind him as he ran. He could just hear the Rattata bounding along after him, chirping and hissing.

Instead of wasting his breath to yell for help (and suffer shame and embarrassment), he saved the air in his lungs for running and pumping his legs even faster. Hey. A Rattata could totally kill you if you weren't careful! Seriously...

[gennie]

((Reece can still join XD But I hope you don't mind me joining with you<3 And sorry at the end if it seemed a bit God Mod T-T But take it however, haha, if you want me to edit I'll edit.))

It was such a nice day! Hot weather complimented by a gentle breeze. A pale hand ran through violet tresses, a pair of grey hues sparkling at the cloudless sky. Her left hand held her beanie—it was just too hot to wear it—as she glided through the Isabella Plains. The Ranger felt that—for the occasion of it being such a nice day—she needed a day off from her breeding duties. Which she was glad she wasn’t hassled by any authorities, so she guessed it was alright if she were to take her pokemon (or just one) and head off to the Isabella Plains. The weather, however, didn’t work with her companion. The sweltering, sticky weather (over exaggerated) wasn’t his cup a tea, and so the Feraligatr grew a permanent scowl plastered on his façade.

“Oh cheer up, Risky! The weather is amazing,” Gennie smiled, her hand slightly nudging the large pokemon. Risky only growled in response, which to any other person would seem intimidating, but Gennie only giggled and threw herself onto her pokemon, embracing his large physique with her tiny arms.

Risky’s beady eyes peered down from his beige snout. The girl was always spontaneous with those hugs, but the Feraligatr wasn’t complaining, he enjoyed the attention. He just hoped no one else was wanting to take a break and visit the Isabella Plains—sure, call him selfish, but hey! He worked long and hard for the trust of Gennie so why should she go off and just trust everyone else, hmm? …Maybe that’s just jealousy? Or just over protectiveness. Risky rolled his eyes and took two larger paces than usual then continued his stride as Gennie pried herself from the alligator.

The petite teen stretched her arms, bringing them over her head as her eyes observed the stunning plains. Her tiny lips frowned when she spotted nothing in sight. She hated the loneliness, she loved being with Risky and maybe today should just be a Risky and Gennie day, but the girl would never pass up the opportunity in meeting someone new. Anyone really, the girl needed friends, she had a few… Gregory and well, if you count that one girl, Aubre—was it? But even then she only threw herself upon them; they never really… went to her and wanted to hang out. Genevieve rolled her eyes and hesitantly brushed a loose lock from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

Was she really a nuisance?

“Gennie.”

Genevieve picked her chin and averted her gaze to her pokemon, furrowing her brows with a slight worried look at the stern tone of her Feraligatr’s voice. The beast raised his snout to the sky, sniffed a little then sneezed loudly. He hated the smell of unwanted humans.

“Damn it, yeah!” Risky yelled, his fists clenching but Gennie was too preoccupied with a buzzing figure in the distance.

She picked up that the silhouette was indeed human, but the thing was, it was in such a speed as if running away from something. Maybe they should help? Gennie bit her lip, should she throw herself onto this person’s business like she did before with others? The girl noticed the change in speed to even faster with the person. Gennie clapped her hands, “Okay Risky! Let’s do this!”

The Feraligatr sighed and ran with Gennie as they approached the cloud of dust, at least fifty feet away from it. The girl’s eyes watched closely at the speed before raising her hand—notifying Risky—then bringing it down as Risky raised his thigh and slammed his heel into the ground twice causing it to shake violently. The move Earthquake.

The tremors sent to the two, erupted the earth, splitting into two halves sending the person one way and whatever is following it the other way. Gennie bit her lip maybe that was too extreme? Once the newly formed cloud of dust and the raining rock shards seized, the girl ran to the person while Risky stayed back with crossed arms. Gennie bent over, her pale hands on her knees as she offered a hand to the person, clumsily smiling.

“Hi! I’m Gennie, sorry about that…” The girl apologized.

[dingo]

[ It's fiiiine. Reece can totally still join, too, btw. ]

After all this time. After twenty years of living, he was just going to die by some stupid Rattata in the plains. That was so ridiculous that it just might be possible. The harder he ran, the slower it felt like he was going. He had an okay stamina, since most of his life he had been running away anyway.

When he told himself not to look back, he kind of lied. When his breath start getting ragged and his muscles started to ache considerably, he turned his head over his shoulder to see what became of the purple pokemon running after him. Surely, it would've just disappeared by now--

Snapping his fuchsia head down, he gaped at the suddenly tremoring ground below his feet. What the...? Instead of slowing any, he kept running, but was met with determent in the end. The ground split right between his feet and, with a squeal of surprise that verged on a scream, he was toppled up and over to the left from the break. With his legs flipping over his head, he landed on his back in a pile of dust and rocks, eyes squinted against the debris flying in every direction. Saved by the earth.

He swore he could've heard the distinct eeeeeeee! of the Rattata being slung in the other direction, then a rustling of bushes where it had landed and scampered off.

Groaning, he finally opened his eyes up more, focusing the two beanie-wearing girls into just one beanie-wearing girl. Sorry? Geez, she had done that? She almost killed him! Ignoring the fact that he thought the tiny rat pokemon chasing him was going to eat him for dinner. He was thankful, though.

Sitting up just a bit, he reached out to take the girl's hand with a nervous and embarrassed laugh "--It's... okay... I--" but froze right before he placed it down. Cutting his eyes very slowly to one side, he spotted the Feraligatr that was traveling with the girl. "I... I, uh..." Holy pokeballs!

Snatching his hand back, he hastily turned around on his rear and back-peddled up against the mound of rocky plain that had been raised from the split earth. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He had just gotten out of one poke-mess! He didn't need another one! He pressed himself up against the twisted ground and swallowed gently, forcing out a weak and nervous smile. "Ah... thanks..."

[gennie]

((Haha I love your character XD, and this post is bleh T_T))

Genevieve’s gentle smile lingered upon her lips. She watched with slight interest the actions the man took before her. He looked older than her, but with his baby-doll appearance (the fuchsia hair, bright blue eyes, and—was that a tongue piercing?) Gennie could only smile. She said nothing, but stood there with her hand stretched. Her pale pink lips parted as she conjured words with her mind in response to the man, but when he pulled his hand away his eyes averting from hers to her side; the girl nearly forgot that Risky was there, and so straightened her posture and peered over her shoulder. She grinned at the Feraligatr’s scowl before returning to the man who had somehow scurried away a few feet before standing, an obvious frightened feeling permeating the thick air.

Gennie’s expression dropped, she was confused. Was she the one scaring him? The girl lowered her eyes, tugging on her form-fitting vest and pink skirt before hearing a low chuckle erupt from Risky’s throat. He obviously knew what was going on and had paced forward in front of Gennie, arms lowered, eyes staring at the man they had just helped.

“Risky?” Gennie said in confusion, her eyes switching from the pink haired man to the back of the Feraligatr. When she spotted the look plastered on the man’s face, his eyes shaking over the large pokémon, the girl gasped in sudden realization. “He won’t bite, I promise!” The girl giggled.

The Feraligatr scoffed, bearing his large, pearl white teeth at the man, “Oh?”

The Ranger rolled her eyes and stepped forward, placing her fists on her hips, she leant forward and gave a stern look up at her pokémon. Risky took two glances at his owner before rolling his own eyes and stepping back, resuming his previous position with the same scowl. Gennie sighed, tugged on her beanie, and rested her dazzling clear orbs upon the man, another smile clawing at her lips.

“I’m sorry, are… are you afraid of pokémon?” Genevieve felt inclined to whisper the last part.

Another low chuckle filled Gennie’s ears; the girl turned on her heel and pointed at the pokémon. He simply brought his clawed hands, palms facing Gennie with a large smirk tainting his maw as if saying ‘My bad my bad’. Genevieve puckered her lips in a look of disbelief. Risky’s smirk dropped all seriousness smacked onto his features before he turned, his back now facing the two. Gennie nodded, “Thank you.” She said it a bit roughly before turning around herself.

“I promise he’ll stay where he is-” The girl peeked over her shoulder, the Feraligatr doing the same before snapping his head back. “My name is Genevieve and you’re welcome.” She winked.

The girl stretched her arms, resting her hands at the back of her neck as she stuck her hip out, rubbing her ankles together. “What a nice day, don’t you think?”

Genevieve was horrible at starting conversations, well, maybe not, but it always depended on who she was talking with. The guy didn’t seem too shy, and so that was good on Gennie’s part because then she wouldn’t get so nervous and start stuttering. She hated stuttering, it made her feel as if she were unsure of herself. The ranger recommenced a normal stance her eyes lingering on the man. “So what are you doing here?”

[dingo]

Yeah, okay... big, scary pokemon totally standing up. Big, scary pokemon totally standing up and freaking talking. If the thing had come any closer, he probably would have swooned right then and there in front of the girl, embarrassing himself to no end.

His arms had risen slowly upward, almost ready to cross in front of his chest and face like he thought the alligator-like pokemon would leap on his face and tear it off. He won't bite. YEAH RIGHT. Look at that thing! It had him quivering just a tad in the knees and hands, his face a bit more pale than it had been before. "Ah... O-okay..." he whispered hoarsely, lips slightly parted and eyes large, round pools of blue under the messy bangs. Thank God she had called that think back.

Then... shit. He hated the fact that his pokephobia was so blatantly obvious. He figured that, by now, he'd have figured out some way to not only over come the fear, but at least handle it with some decency. He still ran screaming like a girl at the first sign of a pokemon, regardless of the fact it was just so adorable and harmless. Swallowing, he managed to get out, "J-just a little bit... Not much! Just... just some... Just, uh... the bigger ones..." He pointedly eyed the girl's pokemon standing behind her.

Especially some like that.

Still looking edgy, like he might flee any minute, he turned his gaze to the girl speaking to him. Genevieve...?" he repeated softly, as if trying the name on his tongue to help him remember it. Quieting, he lifted his head to look around at where they were. Nice day? Hardly for him. Being attacked by a purple rat, then thrown into the air, only to run into a girl and a huge alligator pokemon... It could be a lot worse. "Yeah..." he murmured, lips twisting into something almost resembling a frown.

"I'm... Dingo," he finally said after a moment of silence, turning his eyes again to the violet-haired girl. What was he doing here? "A-ah..." Then he was looking around again. "Just... taking a walk..." Ignorantly, in the worst place possible. "I needed a breath of fresh air." He needed some therapy.

Actually, he could really use some good ol' banana cakes right now.