#my sanctuary in this harsh world. | chlorine

[liepcrd]

ooc // I know I’ve been dead for months now, but guess what ISN’T dead

[liepcrd]

Katherine was surprised that he had asked if she wanted to come along. Rather—pleaded almost. He seemed so sad and meek. She honestly thought that even though he didn’t like his father, he would want to see him by himself.

“You... want me to come with you? I mean—of course I will—I’m just a little surprised. I thought you would have wanted to see him alone, even if all you did was yell at him.”

She put her unoccupied arm around his neck and gave him a small peck on his lips, ignoring Telma.

“I will absolutely be there for you.”

The Purugly meanwhile, was not originally there for food, though the idea of the canned goodies did make her mouth water. No, she was there because she heard the Tall One being uncharacteristically sad. Her therapy training kicked in and she decided to make herself useful. She laid down on the floor against the couch, purring slightly. A deep rumbling purr. Her tail curled around not herself, but Colress’s leg.

a past ghost. | with @truthfullyideal

She frowned sat up a little upon seeing his reaction. What he described was awfully specific and while she couldn’t say she related, she was empathetic all the same. It wasn’t everyday Colress was so upset.

“Hey—it’s okay,” she spoke softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you referring to your dad?”

[liepcrd]

👀 full icon 👀

[liepcrd]

art: why do he gotta lay there?

                            ( under the cut just in case, but contains no nudity. )

( why. why’d he gotta go n do that. scientists still can’t answer. )

[liepcrd]

“...” For once he’s not in the mood for Sinday. He scoots up behind her on the couch so he can rest his chin on her chest with a sigh. “I got a phone call earlier.”

“Oh?”

She glanced at him from the TV curiously. He didn’t seem too happy with this mysterious phone call.

“You don’t seem too happy about it.”

[liepcrd]

“I’m not feeling too well.” Was that a stifled cough? Maybe a sniffle? Who knows. He IS shivering, though.

“You don’t look too well either. Can I get you anything? A blanket, perhaps? Or maybe your coat?”

[liepcrd]

How did I miss the icon meme

facial expressions speak louder than words. | accepting

[liepcrd]

a new friend // event drabble (part 4)

                                                   part || 1 : 2 : 3 : 4

The lab. Katherine didn’t spend much time down here--hell, for the longest time she was scared of going down here. But as time had went on, she was brought to it a little at the time, shown around the lab and given a basic explanation of what the various instruments did. It came to a point where she didn’t think much of it. After all, when you get involved with a scientist, it would only be natural they have a laboratory somewhere. Most of the time, she came down here to see if Colress was asleep again or check on him to see if he needed anything. One would be hard pressed to get the devoted scientist away from his research if he were focused entirely on it and that included basic human needs such as eating. Today however she was actively going to see a bit of the testing process. It couldn’t truly be called experimenting if the outcome of the tests were known, after all.

“The process in which we’ll be using is very humane, I assure you.” Colress continued, having been talking for awhile. “It’s just a few scans--Solosis won’t feel a thing.”

“I didn’t have any doubts it wouldn’t be safe.” Katherine responded. They rounded the corner toward the door that led into the lab.

The large metal door before them was shut tightly. Colress pressed a button and a holographic keypad came up. He entered the number in and the doors released, sliding open for the scientist and his partner. The duo walked in and the lab doors shut. Clutched in Katherine’s hands was Solosis, the small Pokemon letting out a trill. After starting up a computer that appeared to be connected to something similar to a device found in Pokemon Centers, Colress gestured to the circular shaped table. The surface flashed to signal its readiness, the machine awaiting its next command.

“Just place Solosis on that and we can get started.”

The Trainer nodded, walking over and setting the orb Pokemon down. It frowns, appearing displeased that it was no longer in Katherine’s arms. She stepped back and walked toward Colress, who was stationed next to the machine. He clicked a button on the keyboard and suddenly a glass covering enclosed Solosis on the table.

“Wh-what are you doing?!” Katherine demanded, panic setting in rapidly. Even more rapidly than she was prepared for. Memories of being shut in a glass case herself came rushing back when she saw the Solosis disappear from view. Unease settled in the pit of her stomach.

“Don’t worry, it’s just for scanning it. Usually Pokemon are in Poke Balls and those act as a cover themselves, but since Solosis isn’t, the table has to be covered.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “The Pokemon is okay, Katherine.”

She touched his hand with her left hand and nodded, though she didn’t look away from the machine.

“With a few of these keys, Solosis’ image should appear on the screen. Ah! There it is.”

Katherine jerked her head up in a very rigid movement, large worried eyes meeting the frustrated eyes of the Solosis. It was looking right at them, not happy about its current predicament. The unamused expression made Katherine feel a little bit better. Colress announcing what everything would do as he did it helped, too.

“It is quite the unhappy Pokemon when it’s not around you, isn’t it? Let’s see what the preliminary scan came back with.” The scientist tacked away on the keyboard, opening what appeared to be an overview profile. “Looks like we have level, nature, gender, and ability. It would appear Solosis is a male with the sassy nature. Can’t say that is surprising, given how he acts.”

“According to that computer, his ability is Magic Guard. Only level four? Seems a bit weak for maturity.”

“Maturity in power can come in all different forms of leveling. Besides, he’s still just a Solosis and given on his attitude I didn’t expect he was too much older than having been recently hatched. Solosis are generally speaking, clingy, but this one seems even clingier than that of regular Solosis.”

“Oh my Jirachi,” Katherine frowned, putting a hand to her mouth. “I ruined a family. I stole their kid!”

Colress chuckled, “I don’t think that’s quite what happened. It’s more likely that he wandered away from his family and then happened to follow you. Like… a Ducklett would impression on the first thing it sees, which is usually its mother. Though I have a hard time believing that a recently hatched Pokemon would get lost from its nest so quickly, which is why I say it had matured enough to wander away from home. Plus… Pokemon don’t typically have feelings like you or I. I doubt the mother of this Pokemon is worried beyond anything more than trying to spread strong offspring.”

There was actually another reason Colress had thought of as to why the Solosis was alone, but he’d rather not say it out loud. Not when Katherine was already on edge and planning on giving the Pokemon away. He pressed a few more buttons. A few more screens came up that Katherine really didn’t understand. She’d just have to take Colress’s word for whatever they meant. A lot of what appeared seemed to be moving graphs, heartbeat and an internal scan of Solosis. She stood beside Colress and looked at his facial expression as he looked up to the screen in studious silence. It was hard to tell, but something about him looked content.

“Solosis appears to be in peak physical condition! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with him.”

“That’s a relief. Can we get him out of that glass prison now?” Katherine hissed. It came out a little more toxic than she intended, but Colress understood.

“In a minute. I just want to look at his move set. Aaaand, you still need to think of a name for him! He can’t be nameless all his life, Katherine.”

“For the LAST time…”

“Yes, yes. I know,” Colress stopped typing and put up his hands to do quotations. “‘You’re not keeping him.’.”

The Trainer rolled her eyes and watched as Solosis’ move set came up. It knew Psywave and Reflect. Not bad for such a small Pokemon--Reflect would help it well.

“There you have it. Psywave and Reflect. I can transfer this information to my gauntlets so that once your Rotomdex comes back from the shop, I can in turn transfer the information to it, if you’d like. Keeping track of this stuff will be imperative for training and leveling.” He turned to face her and leaned back on the console. “But, I’m sure you already knew that.”

“Yeah, I’ll definitely need that. Seeing as my Rotomdex has all the other information about my Pokemon on it.”

Colress turned back around, typing in a few more commands. The screens turned off and the glass rose up above the Solosis. The Pokemon immediately floated to Katherine and demanded her attention. She was actually pretty happy to see him. The last time something came out of a glass case, it had been broken beyond repair. Then, as if a lightbulb went off, she narrowed her eyes to Colress.

“How many times do I have to repeat myself? I’m not--”

“--going to give Solosis to Aether? Sounds like a grand plan, Kitten.”

“That’s not what I was going to say.”

“You keep saying that,” Colress replied as he walked past, making sure most things were in sleep mode or shut down. “but I have to say, I really don’t believe you. I don’t think you have the heart to give him up. Or, rather, the lack thereof.”

As he began to walk out, she followed him with a glare.

“I’ll just have to PROVE myself then.”

“I look forward to it, dear.”

[liepcrd]

While he was off getting the... whatever it was from his desk, Katherine stared at the ring on her hand. Her Key Ring was specially crafted, custom made and given to her by Looker. However the simple band she had received from Colress still outshone it. She smiled at it, thinking about how she'd come so far in what felt like the time equivalent of ten minutes. How much things had changed. Her thoughts are interrupted when the scientist makes his way back over to Katherine. She looks at him with a pure, loving gaze, eyes full of warmth and compassion. Katherine listens to his words, curious as to what else she would accept. Her eyes trail down to his hands, which are holding what could be cinema tickets.

But they're not.

On them is a reflective and, if you were familiar with Hoenn, unmistakable seal. Rayquaza's seal. Katherine's hands slowly go up to her mouth, one of them eventually and slowly grasping one of the tickets. She turns it so she can see it clearly.

Hoenn.

Memories come flooding back just looking at the name. Her Gym Badges, her Secret Base... Everything. It would be the first time she'd spent the holidays with them since Johto. Hell, she hadn't even see her parents in three years. Last time she went to Hoenn it was strictly business, when she went to receive her weather station. But now she would be able to go back. And with Colress at her side nonetheless. By the time she'd snapped out of her thoughts and memories, she realized she was silently crying. Katherine looked back to Colress with a trembling lip, but formed in a wide smile nonetheless.

"It's been three years since I've... since I've seen my parents. And-- and you... you'll be there with me... you-- you'll get to meet my parents. Are-- are you sure...? That's a pretty big... step."

Poor Katherine’s face was red from crying, her eyes puffy and her nose starting to run. She attempted to wipe away some of the tears and sniffle before she was kissed, and of course, kissed back. It was probably the softest moment of her entire life, thus far at least, and she swore she’d never forget it. She wrapped her arms around his neck, briefly bringing her back to when Colress had forced her into his coat. It hadn’t really felt like that long ago. She rested her forehead against his.

“Is…is this what you were freaking out over, earlier…?”

[liepcrd]

a new friend // event drabble (part 2)

Though she had yet to open her eyes, she could feel the warmth of her scientist close by. It comforted her as her brain eased into consciousness and the wheels started turning. She stretched her arms to grasp him tighter and draw his warmth to the soft, worn threads of her shirt (one that was not hers) so she could snuggle him while he was hopefully still asleep. However, when she reached out to embrace him tighter what she grabbed was soft and squishy. And cold. Colress might've had soft skin, but he definitely wasn't cold. She opened her eyes to find a small green orb now pressed to her body. It chirped gleefully.

"What the-!?"

A sleepy chuckle came from beside her, "Your friend has invaded the bed. At some point it pushed us apart."

"Go on, Solosis," Katherine replied, shooing it away. "I want my scientist."

The orb Pokémon bounced off of her hand, rolling toward the end of the bed. Unable to stop rolling, it fell to the floor with a soft 'thump!'. It went unnoticed by either human on the bed, for they were far too enveloped in each other's presence to notice. Solosis floated back up to see what they were doing. The Pokémon couldn't hear what they were saying, but they were awfully close together.

"You don't need to be so grumpy..." Colress murmured, moving some hair out of her face. He smiled as she wrapped her arms around him as she had wanted to do in the first place. "I'm sure it just wanted warmth."

"I wanted warmth too, but I was greeted by a squishy cold orb." She hissed, slightly irritated.

The scientist pressed his lips to her forehead, unable to hide his grin. He didn't say anything, but as he received a kiss on the lips in return it appeared he didn't need to. The Trainer wasn't grumpy enough to frown while giving him the kiss--not that Colress gave her a chance. His arms slipped from around her and moved to her sides, right above her hips. And then he started tickling her. The action caught her off guard and she had a brief look of surprise on her face before laughing, her hands going to his to try and get him to stop. Her legs scrunched up as she tried to pry him off, but as she was laughing she was unable to muster the strength. Eventually he stopped, both of them laughing loudly. In turn, she tickled him back. Though Colress would've easily been able to remove her hands, he didn't. Instead he took the opportunity to start kissing her again. He wanted more than what she had given him previously. And seeing as neither of them had to be anywhere...

"Mmm, Colress," Katherine murmured, but her lips were soon captured by his once more.

Their bodies against one another now, the scientist could imagine sliding her shirt up--or off--to reveal her beautiful body. He would place his hands gently above her hips, though with no intention of tickling her sides this time, and help himself. If she would allow him, of course. She showed no signs of stopping him though, enjoying it just as much as he did. One hand crept down to her shirt and--

"Soloooo!"

Within the small space they had between them, Solosis had crammed itself there and attempted to push Colress away. The scientist was slightly irritated by it's sudden appearance, but Solosis' behavior was intriguing to him. Katherine smiled a little. Oh, how the tables had turned.

"...You know, if you put it in a Poké Ball, this wouldn't be a problem." Colress attempted to convince her. Evidently, her body didn't crave him so badly that she'd do anything to win his attention back.

"Nice try," She laughed. "But as I told you last night, I'm not keeping it."

Solosis meanwhile wasn't paying attention to her words. It was still busy trying to push Colress away. It soon gave up and turned its back toward him, chirping at Katherine excitedly. It buried itself in her neck, still yearning for her attention. Solosis wasn't the only one there who wanted her.

"I don't think it likes you." Katherine giggled, taking the Pokémon from her neck and holding it.

"It truly is like a child. It wants your attention and it wants all of it!"

Katherine leaned in and gave him a Beartic kiss, "That sounds like someone else I know."

The Solosis chirped in different tone when she got close to Colress again, frowning. It really DID demand all of her attention.

"I suppose we should get up, Solosis and the others are probably hungry. Speaking of," Colress opened the covers. "What name have you decided to give Solosis?"

"I told you already, I'm not keeping it! At this rate, maybe you should catch it."

"A Pokémon who doesn't like me? No thanks, we have Ivan for that."

"Whatever you say, Colress." Katherine replied, grinning as she uncovered herself and got up with him.

[liepcrd]

a new friend // event drabble (part 1)

That morning had started out as always--after she awoke from the couch, that was. Katherine was left undisturbed from the previous night, though she could tell from the Metagross lounging beside the couch (on top of being in the presence of her Rockruff and Espeon, not to mention the general advanced security system of the home) that her partner just didn't feel entirely safe letting her sleep in a different room without ample protection. After she had woken up, watched a bit of TV and taken a shower, she was pretty much out the door. She'd eat on the way, she promised, yet Colress was smart enough to know she'd forget and shoved a granola bar at her before watching her take to the skies.

A few days prior, she had received an impromptu explanation of the Island Scanner from Colress, which her Rotomdex apparently lacked. She was curious about what it did, and after it was explained, sought to get the addition herself. The addition would take a few days so, for now, she would have to be content flying to Route 16 and exploring the meadow. During her flight she received a few texts from Looker and Colress, both of them with the same theme of worry but Looker's much more stern about her chosen location. She replied when she landed, reassuring the detective her safety. She had faith in her current team, there was nothing to worry about.

With a Klang beside her, and of course, Porygon, she strolled along the path and alternated between the two for battle. She noticed she had a common weakness among this group--fighting--but she managed to make due. Anything her Porygon and Klang couldn't take down, her Lurantis usually tanked. When the Trainer battles were over, she went into the actual meadow, even considering visiting the ruins nearby. She decided against it. 

It was hard to believe hours had flown by, but soon it was six in the evening, and though months ago had the accident occurred at night, it still made those who cared about her squirm if she wasn't in the safety of her own home. Katherine understood. She was having such fun that only a text of worry had sent her back to her senses of time. She responded to it and emerged out of the sea of flowers, now glad she had taken some allergy medication. As she walked toward the Pokémon Center on the previous route, she heard something a bit odd. When she turned and looked, nothing was there but it was still strange. A little while later, she heard it again. Still, no one but Klang and Porygon was with her. She shrugged it off and eventually made it back to the main road.

Finally exiting the Pokémon Center, Katherine was prepared to call for Charizard. Before she could however, she was stopped by the clerk, who ran outside.

"Miss! Don't forget your Solosis!" He panted. Beside him was the green orb, floating with a chipper expression.

"Oh thank you, I can't believe I--wait a minute. I don't own a Solosis!" She replied. The green orb chirped.

"B-but, you're the last person from the store who I hadn't asked yet. Surely this is your Pokémon? No one else in the store owns one."

"I just told you, this isn't mine."

"Well it seems awfully happy to be around you at least. Like I said, no one else claimed it. Maybe you can at least take it home for the night? Otherwise we'll have to release it into the wild. It’s getting late... predators are bound to be out in force."

Katherine could already feel the guilt pouring from the clerk. So she sighed, accepting ownership of the Solosis for the night. She refused to put it in a Poké Ball, however, opting to leave it out so she hadn't officially caught it. If she didn't catch it, she could release it easier later on. Afterward she finally came home--an hour late. Keying in the pass code she strolls in, acting as if she wasn’t an hour behind the time she said she’d be home. She is greeted by two Lycanroc and a concerned scientist who was hurriedly taking an oven mitt off of his hand. 

“It’s about time you came home, I was about to start looking for you!” Colress exclaimed.

Katherine could FEEL the oncoming scolding, but luckily she was saved by the sudden appearance of the Solosis from behind her back. It was definitely a distraction, at least for now. The orb Pokémon floated in front of Katherine’s face, blocking Colress’s view. His brow arched in curiosity.

“And what do we have here? Solosis, if I correctly recall, aren’t native to Alola.”

“It followed me home.” Katherine replied, shifting her weight. “Actually, it followed me out of a Pokémon Center and the clerk guilt-tripped me into housing it for the night. I tried to tell him it wasn’t mine, but he didn’t listen. Apparently it didn’t belong to anyone else in the store either.”

“I wish it would move so I can give you a proper scolding.” Colress huffed, then continued. “Interesting thing about Solosis, they’re actually very clingy like young children to Trainers they like. Did you catch it?”

“Are you kidding? No, I didn’t catch it. I didn’t particularly mean to take it ho--ahem--remove it from its habitat. But here we are, Solosis in hand.” 

“Like I said, Solosis aren’t found in Alola. But, Duosion are on certain days. Usually you find them with the Island Scan. Where were you?”

“I was going to explore the meadow by Route 16, didn’t I tell you that?”

“You did, but I wanted to make sure,” Colress responded, giving his phone a once-over for something. “According to this, however, it says Duosion can be found on Route 16 on Tuesdays. Since today is Tuesday and you didn’t catch it, I can only assume it literally followed you from its nest. Perhaps it was mature enough to stray from its parents.”

Katherine backed up a bit, trying to move away from the Solosis currently rubbing against her cheek, “Mature enough? Are you sure about that?”

“’Mature’ as in strength, not personality.”

The struggling Trainer finally held Solosis, removing it from snuggling her face. It was... interesting to hold, to say the least. 

“It feels like a big stress ball.” She commented, gently squeezing the Pokémon. Solosis didn’t seem to care. 

“Solosis are soft to the touch, but their soft bubble protects them from a lot. The material it keeps the goo in is rather strong, even for such a light and transparent veil.” Colress explained. As long as Katherine kept making offhand comments, he would keep rattling off facts. 

At least, that was the plan. When he finished talking, he walked beside her and led her to the kitchen. His stomach growled.

“Some of us are hungry and have been waiting on others for at least an hour. After dinner I can help you figure out more about Solosis, but right now I’d like to eat before the food gets cold.”

“Don’t worry, I plan on giving this thing to Aether tomorrow.”

Colress, who was shoving food on his plate eagerly, stopped and looked over. “You’re not going to keep it? It’s quite rare that Pokémon catch the Trainer, you know. I think it could be a valuable asset to your team. ...Particularly against that stubborn Fighting-type weakness you keep sporting.” 

“I finally got my team down to six Pokémon and I’d like to focus on them for a bit. Besides, you say that about every Pokémon that looks in my general direction.”

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it,” he winked, “but really, are you going to just give it away? I’m sure it will take at least a week before Aether can accept it. Adjusting for a rare Pokémon and all that.”

Katherine, who knew nothing about Aether’s procedures figured Colress knew more than she did and didn’t dispute his claim. She tapped her chin and looked at the ground, holding her hands out absentmindedly for her plate, which she was handed.

“It’s definitely going. I just can’t allot time for another Pokémon when there’s so many already.”

“Very well,” Colress replied, sitting down at the table. “I’m pretty sure Zinny works at Aether and he owes me quite a bit of favors, so I’ll see if he can take the little one in sooner. For now, it shall feast like a king!... After we do, of course.”

[liepcrd]

He's eating some Pocky he found at a shop earlier without telling her.

“Soooo, can I have some or are you just gonna be greedy?”

[liepcrd]

He had to do it to em. And by 'em', I mean Katherine.

She glares at him with sigh and a smile tugging at her lips that she can't force away. His compliments are too nice. This conversation is getting nowhere, neither of them are going to win. But if one person had a chance over the other, it certainly wouldn't be Katherine.

"This conversation is getting nowhere! And they say actions speak louder than words, so..." She trails off before leaning down to kiss him on the lips. For a second, she forgets her surroundings and Colress is the only thing that matters. Breaking away she offers him a gentle smile.

"Bottom of the line, which ever way you slice it, you're amazing, Colress."

“No,” she replied. “My face is only red because my body has very dumb reactions to words– and actions. So cut it out.” 

She reached over and brought a hand to his shoulder, leading him down so the back of his head was in her lap. Her right hand started to massage his scalp while in her left she still held his hand. Katherine attempted to flex her own egotistical muscle.

“With you and my, countless, battle successes, I have more than enough praise. And while a great feat in itself it holds no candle to the great inventions you’ve made, I mean for Jirachi’s sake you made a walking cooled and heated lab coat! I’m sure it also has other functions. That takes quite a bit of intellect.”

[liepcrd]

He cups her cheeks in his hands softly, brushing his fingers against the scars on each side of her head where her human ears once were. "You are absolutely beautiful, my love. Don't let your mind make you think otherwise." He kisses her nose.

Oh, shit.

That was out of the blue. Katherine wasn’t expecting that at all. Of all the things she could’ve prepared for, this wasn’t one of them. His words were so sweet. Kind. Genuine. She doesn’t know what to say. There’s no quip that can save her. Her eyes well with tears and she places her hands on his. Katherine looks down and actually begins to sob.

“...Th-thank you.”

[liepcrd]

Looker has heard the news. And unlike the rest of the family, he heard it in person. He smiles as he watches Katherine pace around while breaking the news to her parents. She can't sit still. And her eyes are red from crying, which she's been doing on and off. He raises a glass in his hand with a grin.

"To a everlasting and happy marriage."

"You realize I will kill anyone who tries to harm Colress, right... Vinny? I will not have my niece go through my pain."

Looker glares at the phone momentarily before replying, "That's one thing we can agree on... Karen."

[liepcrd]

She pouts, "I'm not going t-to cry! My eyes just... hurt!"

Katherine listened intently to him, nodding at his words. However she became a little... irritated at the mention of Kirynn.

"Oh no," She hissed, her voice in a mocking tone. "Poor Kirynn got hurt! Whatever shall we do?"

Then her logical thoughts kicked in-- it wasn't nice to mock the injured. She wouldn't like it if she were mocked, after all. Katherine looked down at her sheets.

"...Sorry. I'm still a little bitter at this development is all. Anyway, if Kirynn is with Looker it only makes sense that I would be away from them, as much as that sucks. I was hoping to get back into the swing of things. Buuut," she offers him a grin. "Causing trouble at your house will be fun."

Katherine paused.

"Seriously though, I'm not going to be a burden, am I? You have a life too, you know."

Well, it is just a box. But why is he buying himself time?

“What are you buying yourself time for, you scoundrel? This is all very suspicious.” 

She opens the box, not really sure what to expect. Sitting atop some soft cotton is… 

“Oh my Jirachi– It’s stunning!!” She lifts up the necklace and looks it over before returning to Colress. “Why did you get me this? When?”