[r] iris

[king]

nod nod nod nod-- wait, words? addi was posolutely absotively delighted. her hands clapped together, leaning forward with eagerness becoming of a small child. "i'm not, are you? i'm a ranger! just got my partner yesterday though, little rondo here. sorry about him biting you! hopefully he won't be this... misbehaving forever."

the houndour gave a little snort from her lap in his sleep. "what kind of pokemon do you have? i'm guessing skarmory are your favourite? can yours fly you around? how long have you been a trainer if you are one?" it was beginning to sound like a free-response test administered verbally. luckily a large portion of them were yes/no questions.

[vertigo]

the rapid-fire onslaught of questions had forced J back into silence, and he was eager to continue it even after the questions died down. he wasn't sure if getting the answer to his question was worth the effort of answer the three - or four - more thrown his way.

he sank into the comfort of drinking and finishing his hot chocolate, and he stood up to get another cup, leaving addi behind with her unanswered questions. the action elicited several unhappy looks from the researchers in the library. as J got himself his drink, he realized they were right -- this was a library, not an eatery.

but he didn't care.

"it's too sweet," he said as he sat down again.

[king]

addi watched him get up and leave without answering her questions, but she was beginning to realise that he probably didn't speak with words too much. there was a pause before returning to her book, absently running her hand along the bumps on rondo's back. the return with another hot chocolate slightly surprised her, as did the comment.

"it is a bit sweet, yes." she took the final few sips of her drink, standing up to toss out the cup. "thank you for that." addi said as she sat back down. rondo had been placed on the table to sleep, beside her book so he couldn't possibly disturb J. a small part of addi told her not to talk, and for now she respected it. instead, all she did was continue on with her book, skimming over the text and pausing when it came to something she actually was interested in.

[vertigo]

J nodded, and leaned back in the chair as she skimmed her book. finally, silence. he didn't mind it in the least; it was a happy change from speaking and words and noise and questions. for a while, there was nothing but the flipping of pages coming from the person before and the people around him.

and then he almost dozed off. almost.

[king]

addi was concentrating on her book, eyebrows furrowed. the silence wasn't distracting, it was helpful for her reading. eventually rondo was roused awake, lazily staring at the book with her. when addi glanced over to the canine, running her fingers through his fur, she noticed J nodding off. "hey, sleepy, if you're that tired maybe you should sleep at home or something."

after all, the library was only so comfortable.

[vertigo]

home was in sinnoh, and J wasn't sure if he wanted to return there. still half-groggy, he shook his head, and summoned an excuse that wasn't very solid. "i like the silence here," he said in response, "and home is in sinnoh -- i'm not a native."

[king]

a sinnoh boy? that was unexpected. addi's face reflected that, eyebrows raised and eyes slightly widened. "if you ever need somewhere to stay, i'm welcome to help." pause. process. oops. "i mean, a hotel if you need it. or something. um." she looked down, back to her book. well, that went well.

[vertigo]

J nodded; he hadn't been paying attention, as his thoughts were slowly drifting off to dreams. "library's fine," he said, the silence lulling close to dozing off, before he stood up, chair clattering in his wake. (more stares from people.)

"let's get out of here." he figured he'd better; he had a suspicion that the researchers were about to throw books his way.

[king]

fine, huh. well, addi couldn't imagine sleeping at the library. she flipped a page, quickly growing bored of reading after hours. when there was the loud screech of the chair, however, she was startled. "where are we going?" addi closed the book and rondo dropped to the ground at her feet. she followed him, not exactly expecting an answer to her question.

one would be nice though.

[vertigo]

J turned back to look at addi, then back at the brightly-lit outdoors. she was right to expect no answer; the man strode towards the doors of the library, and made his exit. the library was only hospitable to people like him during the night, when only the most devoted of researchers made their stay noticed. (they were also least likely to be bothered by sleeping people, as they were so absorbed into whatever they were studying.)

the sun beat down on proserpina, and J went off into the crowds of the city in search of food.

[king]

Addi shuffled after J and made sure Rondo followed along after. She notices him heading towards the street with many places to eat and silently approved, getting tired of all the hot chocolate. "Hungry, rondo?"

Rondo barked out his species name, tail wagging happily. That would be a yes.

...what food did rondo like?