012. [Text/Action for Olivine City]

[explosivecombat]

[ACTION]

[So it had happened again.

Kimblee had been keeping largely to himself since the incident - another three days gone, another batch of bizarre dreams that he normally wouldn't have been prone to involving alchemy and fighting and...Miss Rockbell, of all people - and as such, he had kept the exploring to a bare minimum. This place wasn't necessarily a pleasant one for him; he had been here before, to meet with Miss Farron - that had gone over like a lead balloon, really, and while he wasn't one to dwell on unpleasant things of that particular nature, it had put quite the damper on his mood. All in all, Olivine City was one of those places he had no intention of returning to again once he had defeated the local gym.

Of course, that had changed as soon as he saw the location of the gym, and the view that it had offered.

He had assumed the stretch of water near Goldenrod City, on Route 34, was an inlet of some sort, or perhaps a large lake; he hadn't worked out exactly what that water had been connected to, simply taking for granted that it was there. However, there's no doubt in his mind when he sees it in Olivine - it's incredibly vast, seeming to go on forever.

Amestris is a landlocked country; he had never seen the sea before.

Even if the sun is out, eighty-three degrees is hardly a good temperature for swimming, and Kimblee doesn't know how, besides; that doesn't seem to have stopped him from wandering out into the ocean, stopping when the water is about waist-deep. He at least has the common sense to not do this in the white suit - the shirt he has on is a deep crimson, high-necked with the collar pulled up over his throat; the pants are black and made of heavy, stiff fabric. Unseasonably warm, perhaps, but he doesn't seem to mind; the water is rather cold anyway.

He doesn't have his gloves on, simply allowing his hands to trail lightly through the water, just under the surface; he's been in Johto for seven months, and his hair is getting long, the ends of it sinking just below the soft crests of the waves and wicking up water, soaking his back.

He seems rather peaceful today, all things considered; tranquil, compared to the manic shrieking and loud explosions during those three days. He's alert as usual, listening for sounds of an approach despite the calm exterior; however, that doesn't mean he's opposed to company on that beach.]

[TEXT]

[A text will hit the network a few hours later; don't worry, it's actually signed this time, and he surprisingly has no intention of trolling the hell out of everyone who responds - he'll leave that to Anon for now.]

As eager as some of us are to return home, it can't be denied that this place has provided most of us with far different opportunities than we would have normally had.

Tell me your memories of this place. Good, bad, it doesn't particularly matter - tell me what it's offered you.


[OOC]

[There are now hard spoilers for the plot of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga in the thread with Envy; read at your own discretion!]

Comments

[determinator]

[Archer falls silent for a long moment, linefacing really hard at the Pokéball. He doesn't offer any sort of explanation, but he does finally offer the name.]

...Veronica.

[...That didn't mean to sound quite as defeated as it did, um.]

[explosivecombat]

See, that's -

[...wait.]

...Veronica?

[What.]

Why Veronica?

[determinator]

[Oh don't make that face at him...!]

I don't know. Something happened during those three days; something involving one of these named Veronica.

[Lineface tho.]

[explosivecombat]

I see.

[And he does; he doesn't continue to press further.]

...it sounds as though you had quite the interesting few days.

[He's still rather soaked as he enters the hotel, heading up toward the room they're staying in; he pauses briefly outside the room itself, however. It isn't awkward, just standard procedure, really - he doesn't dress in front of Archer, for several rather large reasons.]

Wait for me, then?

[determinator]

[He relaxes after that; it's good that Kimblee doesn't press. He knows when not to, after all.]

Of course.

[Archer has heard about what happened up north, but he still hasn't connected the dots here yet. Kimblee just seems like the sort of person to require all the privacy in the world for something like this. It's perfectly understandable; Archer doesn't like to get dressed in front of anyone either. He leans back against the wall and examines the Pokéball for a little bit. He doesn't mind waiting, he's just never sure what to do with himself.]

[explosivecombat]

[Kimblee doesn't take long to get dressed; there's not much point in dwelling on exactly what's going on with all of that scarring, and honestly, he doesn't even look anymore. There's no point in it; it isn't the sort of thing that's going to improve.

He's as impeccably dressed as he always is when he emerges from the room; unlike Archer, he isn't going casual due to the heat, though his attire has changed somewhat to reflect it - he doesn't have the suit jacket itself on, simply leaving it at the waistcoat, dress shirt and tie beneath the long white overcoat, that shirt collar fastened all the way up.

And yes, he still has that damn fedora on.]

Sorry to keep you waiting, Archer.

[determinator]

How do you manage to stand wearing that when it's this hot out?

[It's not really a question he's looking for an answer to, however, and Archer shrugs it off easily enough.]

It's fine; I don't mind.

[explosivecombat]

[...this...still feels odd, for reasons that have nothing to do with that rhetorical question that prefaced it.]

Something seems to be bothering you still.

[determinator]

Well, I don't know about you, Kimblee, but losing three days doesn't sit well with me.

[He'll cut back on the sarcasm, however.]

I hate the feeling that I'm forgetting something. It... doesn't feel like before. I feel like I'm forgetting something very important.

[explosivecombat]

[Kimblee pauses for a moment.]

Come back inside the room with me. This isn't something to be discussed in public, I don't think.

[determinator]

...No, I don't believe it is.

[He won't wait; this really has been bothering him. Archer sets Veronica's Pokéball aside and locates the notebook, flipping it open to the ruined pages. He sets it on the table for Kimblee to examine and takes a seat on the bed, running a hand through his hair absently.]

I thought this was a one time thing. I don't like the idea that Johto does this whenever the hell it pleases.

[He doesn't like talking about Johto like it's sentient either.]

[explosivecombat]

[Kimblee moves to stand over the table, bracing his hands against it and leaning over a bit to take a good look at the notes - there really is nothing that can be deciphered about any of it, though he can see where it would be tempting to try.

He flips a couple of the pages idly, verifying that it wasn't just those two pages - large sections of this were destroyed - before flipping back a bit to see if everything before those three days were intact. He keeps his gaze down while he speaks, focusing on the notes rather the bed.]

Surely you don't think it's Johto doing all of this, Archer.

[determinator]

[Considering which notebook it is, you'll see quite a lot of unimportant details about Kimbley. Try not to find it too creepy. At least it's not the notebook about you!]

I don't know what to think, Kimblee. I don't see how any person or Pokémon could do something like this.

[explosivecombat]

[...that is mildly creepy, but he'll call you out on that later. S C R E A M]

...not on its own, perhaps. But this world is full of things that we don't understand, from a strictly technological standpoint - had we mentioned 'micro-chips' or those...'helicopter' things to anyone in Amestris, they would think we had lost our minds, to say nothing of small foxes that serve as flamethrowers.

[determinator]

[♥ ~]

That's... very true. Still, it's difficult to believe that anyone could be causing this directly.

[explosivecombat]

Difficult to believe, but far from impossible.

[He flips through a few more pages.]

I personally find it more difficult to believe that the world itself is responsible for this.

[determinator]

...I don't know what to think, Kimblee. This entire thing is frustrating.

[That might be the biggest understatement ever.]

[explosivecombat]

[Kimblee doesn't respond to that right away - at least, not verbally; he turns and joins Archer in sitting on the edge of the bed, resting one of his hands lightly on his shoulder and allowing the other to run through Archer's hair.

It's a learned behavior, not anything he'd think to do naturally; he sees it as a way to restore the status quo ante rather than anything genuinely affectionate. Either way, however, the gesture is gentle; Kimblee actually doesn't have his gloves on this time, softly stroking Archer's hair barehanded.]

There's no sense in getting worked up over it now, Archer. It will come to you eventually; those dreams tend to carry on for a while, if nothing else.

We can try to find the source of it later; it's too fresh now, it's a bad idea to try to confront anyone or anything regarding it.

[determinator]

[Archer relaxes into Kimblee's touch immediately; this is something familiar and comforting and needed right about now. He doesn't have to tsun at Kimblee for him to get it - he just knows what Archer needs. He couldn't be any more grateful for it if he tried.]

...Yes, I know. There's nothing that can be done about it now. It's still frustrating. I don't like being toyed with like this.

[It doesn't help that it's Kimbley in question. Either let him stay or don't bring him here, Johto! Of course it isn't something he'd ever voice, because naturally Kimbley would never show up again. And really, as much as he'd claim it would be better to try to move on, Archer is fully aware he never will. Seeing Kimbley - even if it's only for three days every so often - is better than never seeing him again.]

[He'll never admit it; it makes him sound so weak.]

[explosivecombat]

[It probably is for the best that this sort of thing isn't discussed with Kimblee; while whether he'd find it weak or not is debatable - he's heard enough people talk to know that this sort of thing is likely normal on some level, after all - he wouldn't understand it. Not really, anyway. So he's not exactly the best source of sympathy.

However, hair-playing and calm talks are things he can do.]

I don't like it either, Archer. But memory is a skill like everything else; the more frustrated you are, the more difficult it tends to be to recall things.

Just let it go for now. You'll remember what was so important eventually.

[determinator]

[Kimblee is very good at calming Archer down. It doesn't take long to get him to fully relax.]

...You're right. There's nothing I can do about it, and trying to force the memory won't help any.

[explosivecombat]

[His expression shifts a bit at that; it's more smirking than smiling, but it's close enough.]

Of course, Archer.

[He pauses for a moment, though his hand continues to stroke Archer's hair.]

Did you still want to train now, or would you rather stay here for a while?

[determinator]

What do you think?

[Ah, well. There's the tsun! It's never gone for too long, after all!]

[But seriously, this is nice and comfortable. Training can wait.]

[explosivecombat]

...of course, Archer.

[Kimblee doesn't seem displeased with that; he simply acknowledges it and moves on. Though he never really says as much, this is rather calming for both of them, not just Archer; he relaxes a bit, focusing instead on what this feels like when there isn't a layer of fabric between his hand and Archer's hair - it's odd at this point, but it's...nice, in a way.]

[determinator]

[Kimblee really is too good to him. This isn't normal by any stretch of the imagination; they both know that. But Kimblee's willing to put up with it and help Archer through things like this. He is never really sure what to do with that knowledge.]

Yes, well.

[Well.]

Thank you, I suppose.

[He really does appreciate it, despite the tsun.]