Across the Seas: Prelude

Mind

Andy woke up early in the morning today. He may have been nervous before about partaking in a festival, but since he'd had taken time to consider it, he thought the idea was good. If he was able to see pokemon there, and get to see how people act on such a day, maybe it'll make him feel better outside, in such a public place. After waking up, and having Sharli do her regular check-up on his eye, she wrapped the bandages back on.

"We should keep those on for another few days. I'm still nervous it's not ready to be uncovered yet," she explained, and Andy nodded. After Sharli made a couple of her own preparations, she headed to the door and looked to Andy. "You ready?" Andy nodded, and she opened the door. The first thing he felt was his eyes burn for a second. The blinding light of the sun was unnatural to him. He'd been living out of it for so long, but his eyes eventually adjusted, and he got a good look at where he was. The town had all sorts of different types of houses. Some built into rocks, others built with wood, and maybe one or two built into trees. The pokemon he saw moving the streets were of varying different species, big and small. It was hard for him to imagine smaller ones living with such big ones without any kind of person getting squished. There was even some strange hybrid pokemon he could see. While most hybrids were subtle, some were much more prominent, and most he couldn't identify anyways. Between knowing he was a Charmander, and Sharli was a Braixen, he didn't have much ideas of the pokemon he was looking at, but there was a fair number of cats, dogs, dragons, and small little insects. It looked as if most were heading to the deeper part of the town, likely where all the festivities were taking place. Andy followed Sharli when she went to walk in with the crowd, when he felt a sudden weight push against his side.

"Careful!" Andy felt himself nearly trip onto the ground, but something soft caught him, and pushed him up. When he managed to see what had happened, he saw a small little Eevee propping himself against him. He turned to see who'd bumped into him, but didn't see anyone who could have done it. The Eevee spoke to him in a kind, and apologetic tone. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Was lost in thought and didn't pay attention to the people around me." Before Andy could give him an answer, Sharli had turned to come back and kneeled down to look at Andy.

"You okay?" She asked, and Andy felt a bit embarrassed that he had to be asked, but it was understandable with him still recovering from at least one injury.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered with, then turned to the Eevee. "I'm fine, but, who bumped into me?"

"Sorry," spoke the Eevee. "That was me." Andy had been about to say it was alright, before he realized something. The Eevee bumped into him on one side, which made him fall forwards. If he'd bumped into him from the back.

"How did you catch me from the front?" The Eevee tilted their head, as if the answer should have been obvious. When neither the Eevee nor Andy spoke, Sharli broke the silence.

"Well, since you two are getting along, why not you both spend the day together?" Sharli offered to them. The Eevee looked the slightest bit frustrated, but he didn't complain, and his smiling face came back so quickly, it was hard for Andy to tell if he imagined it, or the Eevee actually didn't want to be with him.

"That sounds great! I just got here recently so it'd be nice to make friends with someone so soon." They offered Andy a paw in a gesture Andy knew all too well. He took the paw in his own hand and shook it. "Name's Tanline. Just moved here with my dad. He's sick so I'm out on my own."

"Andy. And, I hope he gets better." The Eevee smiled at that at least, as if Andy's sympathy was at least one thing this Eevee appreciated. Sharli clapped her hands together, which got their attention.

"I'm off to the festival now, you two can go have fun and do whatever you want." Andy and Tanline both nodded, before Sharli looked at Andy. "But, please come back here before dark. And don't push yourself, you're still technically recovering." Andy nodded again, which seemed to be enough to get Sharli to leave. Now it was just him, and this total stranger Andy had only just met. Which gave Andy an excuse to ask this question without it being awkward.