Contents:
Valentino
Obvious exits:
Way around City <WAC> leads to Pokemon Route 3: Pewter City.
North <N> leads to Pewter City: Southern Pewter.
South <S> leads to Viridian Forest - Route 2: Almost Out.

Towering white clouds drift slowly through the blue sky. It's hazy and hot, and the glare of the sun seems to drain the color from the landscape. In the forest, the shade under the deep green leaves of the trees is welcome relief from the hot glare of the sun. While at the coast, the sea sparkles in the brilliant sunlight, the waves rolling merrily against the shore.

It's been a good summer day, and it's settling down into a good summer night. Though stuffy and hazy outside, the weather has been warm and sunny enough, and with the descent of the sun comes a pleasant drop in temperature. The day's light is disappearing fast, and most of the daywalkers have fled back to their homes and dens to prepare for night. One couple, however, has decided to stick the day out until the sun has vanished beyond the horizon. Leaning against her favorite boulder, Melissa Barlette, a teenager from the city north of the rocky field around her, reads intently from a small hardback novel she holds in both hands, lips silently speaking the words from the text. The girl is not alone; a little Sandshrew, donning glasses not unlike those of the girl right beside her, stands on top of the rock, peering at Melissa's book with as much interest as the girl herself possesses. Surely the little ground type doesn't know how to read, does she? Melissa doesn't seem very shocked or curious to see her pokemon staring at markings that mean nothing to her; she's too busy reading in the quickly fading light.

Ah, an early summer evening on the outskirts of simple little Pewter. By all means, it's a rather peaceful evening-- or at least it was. The serenity of the area is shredded to bits without warning by a rather loud expletive from the direction of town. Perhaps it's not quite as loud as it sounds, actually. Those darn boulders do tend to make things echo. Anyway, the source of the curse word doesn't take very long to make himself clear. A dark-haired man clad in a red-and-white checkered dress shirt, a pair of leather pants, faux Ekans-skin boots and designer sunglasses appears from around one of the more sizeable rocks. Valentino, as is usually the case, is not a very happy camper this evening. The reason for this becomes clear rather quickly-- literally nipping at his heels are a trio of red balls of fur and tails. The pretty boy stops abruptly to clench his fists at his side and send a snarl down at the Vulpix kits. Needless to say, he's totally ignored. The kit's mother follows close behind, whimpering softly to her naughty children <C-c'mon kids... don't do that! Those are one-of-a-kind! He can't buy those just anywhere!>. See, because we all know children care about that stuff.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

Melissa and Jessica the Sandshrew look so serene together. Every few minutes, Melissa switches positions on the rock - sometimes she sits down on it, sometimes she merely leans on it. All the while she doesn't once remove her eyes from the text on the page. Jessica leans on her trainer's arm gently, not saying a single word (unlike most of Melissa's rambunctious, unruly pokemon, Jessica is rather mild mannered and meek), removing her weight from her human only when the girl switches positions. Ah, yes, it's so peaceful... that is, until Valentino and his herd of noise come stumbling along, making so much sound that even Melissa is broken from her deep trance. She blinks once or twice, rolls her eyes heavenward, adjusts her glasses with her right hand, and turns in the Rocket's direction, a frown already set on her lips. The Sandshrew doesn't even move a muscle, content instead to "read" the book. Melissa would never have the guts to approach Valentino and tell him to hush up, but her annoyance is definitely present on her face... for about a second. After her mind recognizes the presence of baby Vulpix, even from this distance, all negative feelings dissipate. "Come on, J-Jessica!" With one big scoop, she swoops up her pokemon and her book, and proceeds to march across the boulders towards the man, eyes locked on the kits the whole time.

At first, the Rocket is much too preoccupied with his own dilemma to even notice that he's not alone in the area. He simply continues his death glare, apparently not catching on quite yet that he's dealing with creatures too young to know fear. The female kit gets a good grip on the right leather pant leg, growling happily as she tugs it with all of her might. The two males yap at her, subscribing to the 'if someone else has it, I want it' school of thought so popular with young canines. The bolder of the two males quickly lunges for one his sister's tails, causing her to yip loudly and let go of Valentino's pants. A small frown from the pretty boy seems to indicate that he would have much preferred to have won back his pant leg via scaring the kits, though he takes his opportunity to quickly move a few feet away from the tykes. Only now that his precious pants are safe from more chewing does he seem to sense he's not alone. When a brief glance over his shoulder reveals the presence of Melissa, he turns to face the girl with his hands planted squarely on his hips, a rather unpleasant smirk coming over his face "Oh, my... I didn't realize someone would actually hang out around this boring place!" Perhaps first impressions aren't his strong suit.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

Jessica, hanging tightly onto her trainer's arm, struggles to read the book while the girl walks. Melissa has her thumb tightly pushed into the spine between two pages to both hold the book and keep her page, and the Sandshrew struggles through the human's bouncing walk to look at the written words. Melissa's grip is thankfully tight, and Jessica's wriggling doesn't dislodge herself from the girl's arms. When Valentino starts to speak to her, Melissa comes to a stop, gently biting her lip timidly. After his warm, friendly greeting is complete, Melissa blushes slightly, shifting her weight back and forth from leg to leg, unsure of what to say. "I... um, I just, um, wanted to read, and it's... quiet." She stifles the urge to add 'Or was' in fear of getting on the bad side of this complete and total stranger, and instead grins uneasily up at him before turning her eyes down to the Vulpix. "Aww," she whimpers in general teenage girl fashion, gently bumping up Jessica to get her attention. "L... look at them, Jess," she mumbles. The ground type flickers her eyes up to the canines for a moment, adjusts her little glasses quickly, and goes back to the book, her facial expression hardly changing.

Ever taking delight in the times that he gets to take his own life's problems out on other people, Valentino crosses his arms over his chest haughtily and continues to leer at the girl. Luckily before he can conjure up a snide comment relating to how most girls Melissa's age are out on dates this evening, the girl's attention switches to the Vulpix kits. The moment they sense they're noticed, the miniature brawl starting between two of the kits comes to a sudden halt. Hey! Someone to tell them how cute they are! Ever fearless, the group of kits run as fast as their tiny feet can possibly carry them in Melissa's direction-- and they will all try to gnaw on any footwear she's got on if given half the chance. Meanwhile, their poor mother makes more half-hearted (and totally ignored) attempts to keep her brood in line. <Kids! Quit that! Do you know where those have been?> she exclaims from her position a few feet away. "Aren't they divine?" Valentino boasts, "I'd suggest you take a good long look, as you'll most likely never see a more well-bred group of Vulpix in your entire life. Truly a treat." Yes, I'm sure she's thrilled about the wonderful breeding of the little brats that are trying to devour her belongings.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

Melissa may be a sucker for cute things, but she's learned on more occasions than one that cute things can and do kill things. Needless to say, when those adorable bundles of fluff suddenly charge at her, Melissa spits out a short and not-too-loud "Eeeek!" and stumbles backwards over some rocks, bumping into a large boulder after a couple steps. Jessica, amusingly, doesn't seem very much affected by the impending shadow of death looming over her, and she doesn't take Melissa's sudden gasping and frantic backpedaling as indications of danger. The Vulpix are, of course, far quicker than she is, and by the time she can even think to climb onto the boulder, her white sneakers have already been pounced upon. Realization that the pokemon aren't going to kill her sinks in thankfully before the girl can kick one upside the head, and, settling herself down, Melissa peers over at Valentino, pale as a ghost. "I... um... they're lovely, um, could you get them off of me?" Her voice is more high pitched than normal, and she hugs the Sandshrew tightly to her chest. She doesn't know how well her sneakers are lasting, but they can't be doing well.

Towering white clouds drift slowly through the blue sky. It's hazy and hot, and the glare of the sun seems to drain the color from the landscape.

Poor, poor Melissa. Were this another person, she might be given a swift apology and immediate help. Unfortunately for her, she's run into Valentino. The Rocket raises his left eyebrow in amusement over the pale girl, his smirk never faltering for even a second as she makes her polite request. "What? Surely you're not so incredibly petrified of a couple of babies." he snorts, yet proceeds to snap his fingers in an attempt to win back the kit's attention. As one might imagine, this fails miserably. Does anyone have control over these little monsters? When he's ignored, the pretty boy mutters and reaches into his pocket and fishes around. While two of the kits continue to gnaw gleefully on poor Melissa's shoes, the sissy boy's attention is caught by the actions of his mother's trainer. When Valentino produces a hand full of small steak-shaped treats, he suddenly has the full attention of all three kits. "Figures, I suppose." the Rocket comments dryly as he glances over at Melissa "Gives me some insight as to why you're in the middle of nowhere reading some book on a summer night."

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

After her heart stops pounding, Melissa exhales softly, bending over to place Jessica on the ground. The Sandshrew is visibly annoyed by this, but, like her trainer, she doesn't have enough guts to express it. While Melissa is leaning over, she spots, much to her dismay, that her shoes are in terrible condition; the laces on both shoes have been chewed so hard that they've torn off, and there are holes here and there all over them. "Well," Melissa mutters, dusting off her thighs before setting her back erect, turning slightly to place the book down on the boulder. "I had... I had things to do d-during the day," Melissa states, raising her head slightly in a weak attempt to retain her dignity. "Important things. And, um, it's only just now that I got the chance to read. With Jessica." With a light gesture, the trainer makes a sweeping motion down to her Sandshrew, who peers up at her hand, over at Valentino, and quickly scampers around behind Melissa's ankles, looking out at the man fearfully.

The Vulpix kits now sit at Valentino's feet like a trio of perfectly behaved little angels, large brown eyes gazing longingly at the hand containing the treats. For now, the Rocket pays no mind to his captive audience, continuing to gaze at Melissa with a self-important air. "If I were you girl," he scoffs "I wouldn't admit to having nothing better to do than read a book with a rodent." Does he even realize how incredibly rude he's being? If he does, does he even care? "Look at you! You're nearly an adult, aren't you?" he continues after studying the teen carefully "Well, I do suppose you have a promising future as a spinster librarian in some sleepy little town somewhere." Running his free hand absent-mindedly through his hair, the pretty boy proceeds to finally kneel down and offer the steak-shaped treats to the eagerly waiting little kits. He has to move rather quickly to prevent them from snapping at his fingers, but somehow he manages it smoothly.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

Purple, gold, and vermillion clouds grace the western sky as the sun descends toward the west.

Since she first set sights on Valentino and his band of noisemakers, Melissa has been pushing back her angry thoughts, covering them instead with patience and kindness. She stayed quiet when Valentino disrupted her from her books reading. She didn't complain about the Vulpix tearing up her expensive sneakers. But now this rude man is commenting on her social life in such a condescending, uncaring manner that Melissa simply must take action. What's her first plan of action? Widening her eyes and opening her mouth, making almost choking noises, sputtering without saying an actual tangible word. After swallowing down the chilling sense of nervousness rising in her throat, her cheeks bubbling up with color, Melissa crosses her arms across her chest, though not in a tough, stand-and-take-it manner - more like an uncomfortable, submitting position. "I... don't think that's any of your... concern, sir," she speaks, her voice monotonous like a robot, trying to keep herself stable and confident. "I will do with my night and with my life as I like, and I think that if all you're going to do is comment on me, you had better keep moving." Again, her voice is not delivered with passion or intensity; it's more as though she's reciting from a script, forcing herself to take a stand that she doesn't want to.

Valentino allows Melissa to finish what she has to say, not even looking at her while she's speaking to him. Instead he's watching the kits as they devour the treats in record time, and then run off to pounce their poor unsuspecting mother. Once the trainer has fallen silent again, however, the Rocket slowly and dramatically lifts his head. When he does, he's wearing a toothy smirk with much more visible malevolence than the earlier one held. At this point, his sunglasses have slid down the bridge of his nose to reveal the bicolored pupils beneath as they fixate on the girl. At first as he rises up from his crouched position, he does little more than emit a few quiet dark chuckles. Once he's at full height however, the chuckling becomes louder and more amused. It then quickly dissipates into a voice impregnated with venom, "You're mistaken, dear. I can do and say whatever I'd like. Certainly a bookworm like you must be familiar with the food chain, yes?" One finger moves to push the shades back into their proper position, and the Rocket continues "Guess who's higher on that chain in this situation, darling." That last word is hissed out with particular dark pleasure, as if he's attempting to bore right through the girl's emotions with his voice alone. In a matter of minutes, Valentino has gone from a simple snob to something very scary.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

Yeah, okay. Any attempts to be confident and strong immediately diffuse out of the teenager and into the air, leaving only a wide-eyed, slack-jawed, pale-faced girl to stare aimlessly at the Rocket. To say that Melissa doesn't know how to react is an understatement; she isn't even sure if breathing or blinking are on the agenda for what to do. Even Jessica, usually apathetic when it comes to anything outside of books, has to peer up at the evil looking man, cuddling closely into her trainer's ankles. The thought to escape from this unfavorable situation crosses Melissa's mind, and slowly and shakily she turns her head to the side, eyes scanning the route that leads back to the town. Steadily, she reaches her arm back, fumbling with the book, still staring at Valentino as she does. One last ditch effort to keep her dignity: "I... I don't have to... stand here and take this. C... c'mon, Jessica." With a few more fearful glances at Valentino, Melissa turns and starts to walk north, her Sandshrew scampering after her - though if Valentino speaks or moves to stop here, the girl will freeze in place, though whether she looks at him or not depends on what he says or does.

The girl's reaction seems to be exactly what the femme Rocket was looking for, expression of pure malicious satisfaction coming over his face. "Good girl." he whispers to Melissa as she turns to leave "So you do know your place after all." While he won't move to follow the trainer, he won't stop staring at her until she's well out of his viewing range. His hands move to rest in his pockets as he stands as tall as he possibly can, a reminder to the girl just how much he outclasses her. The kits continue to wrestle with their mother, happily oblivious to anything else that is going on around them.

The orange-red sun sinks below the western horizon, leaving a darkening tapestry of purple and red-gold clouds behind it.

Melissa freezes like a deer in the rays of headlights, though doesn't turn to face Valentino when he speaks. In her head, the offended girl thinks, Yeah, and I know your place is a zoo. Or jail. Or an insane asylum. After a moment's pause (after feeling Jessica, the Sandshrew's eyes locked on Valentino, bump into her ankles), Melissa resumes marching, her posture erect, stern, and robotic, as though trying to not break into a sprint, or perhaps to avoid falling to the ground and sobbing her eyes out. As Valentino cares to watch her go, he'll see that she continues this zombie walk as far as his eyes will go in the failing light, the Sandshrew tumbling behind her the whole way. As a matter of fact, she even continues it when she's far, far out of Valentino's sight. Who knows if she's crying, or frowning, or looking relieved, or just basically unaffected?

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)