12.17 -- So, the staff may have been a bit out of it this past week, but we were just busy celebrating the end of the semester by partying way too much. Now that that's all over, it's time to focus on Free Falling. We're gonnna introduce an event as well as a great new way to make money for your characters! It's gonna be hella exciting, stay tuned! BLU OUT ~
AKA: How Ash decided it was time to learn how to code v5 and ended up making a site. Obviously I'm no pro, so if there's something that I messed up and you can help me fix it, please do that!
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Watch Your Step [Ryder] | FREE FALLING (A PKMN RP)
WELCOME TO ATLAEA
Welcome to modern day Atlaea; if you're here, it means you have the powers of a pokemon inside of you. We advise that you apply to the university and start your training in one of four subjects: battling, coordinating, healing, or pokemon history and begin your journey towards becoming the very best like no one ever was!
She'd been told the rocks were dangerous plenty of times, but it didn't make Hiruka avoid them. Sure, they were slippery slopes and hard to maneuver, but she had plenty of practice climbing thanks to her adoration of treetops- and it was still less water than the sea, right? As long as she didn't fall into the waters below, she'd be happy and fine. That's what she thought, anyway...But Hiruka wasn't the best at thinking. It was apparent as she made her way towards a cave.
The cool musk of wet air chilled the open skin of her arms and legs due to wearing short sleeves and a skirt- and the wetness did startle her a wee bit, even if it wasn't like she was hopping into a bathtub. The echo of the cavern was ghastly, making her realize why it was probably not the best idea to have come there, especially alone like she tended to for her mishaps she called adventures. A chill in the spin wasn't helping anything- and it was hard to tell if it was caused by fear or a bit of cold air leaking in from outside. The green hairs of her neck stood on end, as she spun on the ground to look outside.
Spinning on a slippery surface, however, led to her falling over. Landing well on her rump, she winced slightly, the thud probably being more painful from anxiety than the actual impact. "Ow..." She whined, listening to how her voice echoed into the cave. A slight red fell upon her cheeks as she looked around. "Wow...The echo is so amazing! How can I be scared of such an amazing place?"
Well, her silly nature was restored- but that her fear seemed to fade so easily was quite questionable, even to her. But, rather than question it, she decided to jump back to her feet- only to slip and fall again, this time her head hitting the wall of the cave just enough to leave a bump. "Dang, these rocks sure are hard...I shouldn't be surprised but, really...Ow..."
There he sat in a lonely old cave, counting money with only the faint glow of a lit cigarette barely illuminating the pitch black nothingness. Quite the ideal place to do it, no? Not exactly though fortunately for him, his eyes had adjusted by then and his dark typing always seemed to help him see to a certain extent in the dark. Still, while not exactly bright and warm, it was the best place to just get away for a bit and take it easy. At least till he could get home at an hour when a wounded man wouldn't get suspicious looks.
Yes, though not easy to see, he had a few small cuts and bruises from a fight, those of which had fortunately stopped bleeding by now and no longer hurt as much. The money probably helped, or maybe even the cigarette he'd finally managed to get used to instead of choking himself to death with the damn cancer stick. He didn't smoke all that often if it wasn't already obvious, but when his sponsor gave him one as a congratulations for a good fight, he couldn't very well say no to it or else risk insulting the guy paying for him. It wasn't too bad once you got the hang of it, but he certainly wouldn't be making a habit out of it anytime soon.
Not long into the attempt to burn time did he hear a faint thump, followed by an echo which caused some surprise, enough for him to accidentally drop the cigarette. "Damn..." he hissed under his breath, watching the embers quickly die out. What a waste! He couldn't get too angry however, far too curious about who had managed to find his little hiding spot. Again, confirming something was in fact there, a thump sounded. The fact they'd even made it here at all was surprising by the sounds of it he decided, chuckling a bit in amusement. He supposed he could go ahead and check it out, at the very least see if the stranger was still conscious. Or maybe he was just far to nosey for his own good. Either way, he pushed himself off the cold stone ground before making his way to the mouth of the seemingly endless cave, traversing through the darkness as best as he could.
The only sound of approach was the occasional splash of water when he stepped into a puddle, but eventually he was close enough to make out a figure ahead, rather small and looking far too young to even be down here by themselves. "What's a kid like you doing down here?" he finally spoke up after deciding she was neither a cop or anyone else who'd cause him trouble.
"Exploring of course," Hiruka chimed happily to the stranger's question. Realizing just how bright her voice sounded, she scooted back a bit, remembering 'strangers aren't family'. A slight anxiety tainted her laughter as she looked up at the stranger. His dark hair was hard to see to her, but she figured it was because it was dark. That, and she was somewhat struck more by the musk of salt water in the air. "And I'm not a kid. I'm already a legal adult, you know."
Of course, saying that probably didn't help her case, and it was soon after that when Hiruka got to her feet that she realized it. Finally stable on her own two legs, she was able to more carefully look over the stranger- he certainly was taller, and looked older than she was as well. She hadn't met him before though, so she couldn't come up with even a guess as to his name. But, she could at least try to guess why he was there, just like she was. "Did you come to explore here as well? It's misty, but it's got a strange allure to it, don't you think?"
Exploring? Well he was the one who asked such a dumb question he supposed so he perhaps should have expected such an answer. Still, while it wasn't the answer he was looking for, he opted to drop it, deciding as long as she wasn't dead, she'd be fine, right? At the very least, he couldn't tell anyone they were being reckless without being a hypocrite so it was best not to judge. Of course, shortly after she scooted back a bit, an action that caught his attention but wasn't brought up simply for the fact that the girl went on.
He laughed. The argument of hers only backfired, making her sound more like a kid than he'd originally assumed. But, he'd give her the benefit of the doubt, never having been the best influence to begin with when it came to acting like a responsible adult anyway. "My bad." he offered with a smirk, clearly not convinced but neither was he interested in starting an argument. At least not at the moment. For now, he'd behave.
Her next question didn't come as a surprise. This wasn't usually a place you simply ran into people and it was only to be expected she'd turn the tables. "Totally." he responded, not at all bothering to explain what part of the question he was agreeing to. "Didn't expect to find anyone else here though. Especially since they are calling for rain." he continued, curious if the girl even took the weather into consideration. Not that he was innocent of course, the thought had slipped his mind. But he'd been around these rocks long enough to know how to navigate them.
"It's not that surprising it might rain with how moist the air is anyway. But...Some views are worth the risk of getting wet." Smiling rather sincerely, she seemed finally more stable and at ease, arms behind her back as her hands lightly played a game together, fingers touching each other in a rhythm she couldn't even think to name. "Have you looked at the view? It may be my love for heights talking, but...It's a really amazing view from up here, compared to down below."
She spun stupidly, managing to catch herself before she could fall- using a nearby cavern wall to keep herself steady. Her ankle hurt a bit, but she personally deemed it an unnecessary concern. She was sturdy, and a little pain could easily be tolerated- even if she hated pain with a passion. She honestly thought of using heal bell on herself, but didn't really want to bother for something so petty as a little ache. So, distraction was her next line of defense- and thus she turned to the stranger talking to her instead. "I'm Hiruka, by the way. What's your name? Do you come up here often?"
"Fair enough." he shrugged, only able to agree with her statement. Some views were worth it. Of course, he wasn't here to sight-see, but the less she knew, the better. Girl was a bit of a tomboy it seemed. He didn't run into those all that often and it just seemed to add more to the image he was collecting of her. An "I'm an adult!" tomboy who also happened to be clumsy. If he were responsible, he might have directed her to safety. Too bad he wasn't.
She'd began to spin again and he was quite certain she'd tumble once more but fortunately seemed to be slowly learning from her mistakes... sort of. Had it not been so dark, he might have noticed her favoring one leg, a sign that she actually might have hurt herself. For the time being though, he was completely oblivious, though prepared to assist if things were to take an unfortunate turn.
The energetic girl wouldn't allow silence to linger for too long and Ry decided it was safe to assume he wouldn't be alone for the rest of the evening. Introducing herself and following it up with another string of questions. Fortunately for the both of them, he was able to keep up. "Ryder." he began, holding up his hand in a gesture of greeting. "And, yeah! Not as much as I did as a kid, but I like to hang out here whenever I get the chance." Not a total lie. Just not the entire truth. Since not very many people traveled here, it made for a good hideout. He actually did miss the old days when this was his regular hangout. Back when the kid was still young and practically followed him around like a lost puppy. After this, he might have to bring them back for old times sake. But that was another matter for later.
"Can't say I've seen you before. First time in here?" he questioned with a tilt of his head.
Post by Hiruka Azalea on Dec 10, 2014 22:40:36 GMT
Oblivious to any lie in his words, she simply assumed that it was an old hang out, and that was that. Either way, he had more experience with the rocky cliffs than she did- of course, she figured that out from his warnings of sorts from beforehand. Still, it was good to learn something like this existed, and she envied that he'd known since childhood. But, that was her own fault. She knew now, right?
"Ryder's a nice name. I've never seen you either- though it's too dark to see to a degree. It's a surprise we never met in town." She didn't seem to answer his question quite yet, not fully realizing what he was asking for a few moments, despite it being well worded. "Ah, I've never been up here. I climb more trees than cliffs, you see. But...I really wanted to give it a try. I don't like water, so I waited until it was low tide. Not that the rain helps much..."
With a nervous laugh, her finger moved to lightly rub her reddened cheek. Oh, how awkward it was to admit she feared water like a plague. It was almost as much as she hated spicy food- nope, nope, spicy food still was worse. Moving for a bag of candy in her pocket, she took one out and smiled. Sweets made any anxiety better! Except it wasn't sweet....At all.
Coughing with surprise and spitting it out, she gulped upon realizing this wasn't meant to be sweet. "Er, say, you like spicy candies? I got these jawbreakers the other day at a convenience store, but...I didn't realize what they meant when the put 'hot' on the box. They're really spicy...Weirdly so."
He smirked, only to nod in agreement when she mentioned it was a little too dark to know for sure if they had seen each other before. "I'm sure we've passed each other once or twice. It's hard not to at least recognize someone's face around here." he explained. It didn't help that he had such a hard time remembering faces either though so even if she did recognize him, it likely wouldn't be mutual.
She was a climber who didn't like water. Well he had news to tell her! The rocks were half water most of the time, but fortunately she did have enough sense to come in during low tide. "Well it's definitely not for beginners." he explained, something she surely was aware of. She had some experience with trees at least but she might have done better to be a little more prepared. Rock climbing was just a little bit different. "You seem to be holding up okay though." he pointed out. You know, aside from the tumble here and there though that could have very well been blamed on the slippery surface (which, no doubt, would have likely been her excuse).
Not long after that did she pull something indiscernible out of her pocket, mystery being somewhat solved when she decided to eat something out of the bag. He was quite surprised when she coughed it right back up within seconds though. "You okay there, kid?" he questioned with a chuckle. Not to her taste? Well he found out that it was to his and lucky him, she offered some. "Oh shit!" he began, sounding excited. He was a child when it came to spicy things, candy especially! "They are my favorite kind," he explained with a grin, wasting no time to hold his hand out for the hot and spicy jawbreakers. Quickest way to a man's heart is through food, of course.
Post by Hiruka Azalea on Dec 11, 2014 18:50:48 GMT
"I've been climbing trees since I was a baby, or it feels like it. It can't be that much harder, I thought, to climb a cliff. I've got the stamina anyway." She laughed a bit, smiling nervously. Yeah, she should've been a little mor thoughtful when she went on this hike. She loved to move, but she needed to learn her own boundaries. This was one of those times where her black and white perspective of the world would have been more useful. "You say you only come to the caves once in a while, but do you come to play at the Rocks often, Ryder?"
'Play' was probably putting it lightly. Most people didn't 'play' with cliffs. Climbing a cliff was a sport, not some random game to pass the time- and Hiruka should've known that when she felt that way with trees. But they were already at the top. Surely, the general area was a good playground of sorts...Right?
Watching soon after as he took the candy from her, his excitement was both a surprise and a pleasurable thing to witness. "There's plenty. I'm not good with spicy things, but it seems you rather like them, huh? I thought they'd still be sweet, but I can't tasty any sweetness at all. But I guess at least something good came out of me surprising you like this, huh? Free candy."
Totally like trees! If those trees were rooted in a mountain of jagged rocks that could prove very painful on impact. There was a reason why people did avoid this area, as one little tumble could turn nasty. Not to mention, if things were to go wrong, help arriving anytime soon would be unlikely as sit's hard enough to traverse on your own, let alone try and carry someone out as well. But he supposed if the tree was tall enough, it could almost have the same effect. He wasn't going to argue though, once again content with letting her figure it out for herself.
Ry was only a bit confused by her next question though, having to take a moment to replay the words in his head again to be sure he'd heard her correctly. Play? Amazing how a little word could make a huge difference. "Uhm... I guess?" he offered, unsure of his own answer (if it could even be called that). "Whenever I get the chance." he added after some thought, certainly convinced this kid was in fact a kid just by her wordplay. Of course, he supposed it was best not to judge a book by it's cover... Or the way it talks in this case.
Putting his thoughts to shame though, his behavior would certainly make the man look more of a child than either of them. What could he say? He liked spicy candies. "Damn, you're missing out, kid!" he shook his head, seeming absolutely sorry for the girl. How could you not like spicy things? Well sour things weren't his taste so he supposed he couldn't say much. "I always have a hard time finding them." he admitted with a chuckle, popping one of the hot jawbreakers. It got the smoky taste out of his mouth from the cigarette at the very least, even though he was certain his tongue was on fire (hurts so good!).
After a moment of savoring the flavor, Ryder decided to address Hiruka and break the silence. "How's your ass?" A question that could have easily been taken out of context, but the man didn't correct himself, seeming confident she'd get what he meant (or perhaps he didn't care at all whatever way she took it).
Post by Hiruka Azalea on Dec 14, 2014 17:02:35 GMT
She got frustrated upon being called a kid again, but didn't bother to complain. Rather than bother with an issue she couldn't easily fix, she preferred to focus on other things- such as his note he couldn't find the candies easily, whereas she'd found them so easily it almost startled her. "There's a shop in town I go to for candy a lot, and that's where I found it. I can come again to give you more sometime if you really want it."
Sure, she hated the stuff- but someone who liked it, liked it. "Not liking spicy things seems to be a family trait. My sister doesn't like spicy things either, so it's easy for us to cook for each other." Yep, she was certain it was genetic. That, or something about their nurturing as kids. But somehow, her older sister despised spicy things just like she did- and it was one of the things they clicked with, amongst others. "I'm more into sweet things, so if you ever find something too sweet for you, I'll happily take it off your hands."
"Ah- my butt's fine. It hurts a little, but honestly, I think my leg hurts more. N-Not that it hurts that much, but you get the point." Or rather, she begged he did- without realizing she'd actually hurt herself, since she didn't want to admit she had. Or rather, she was ignoring the fact- but either way, it worked, right...?
---
[OOC: I hate spicy things myself because I'm sensitive to the taste. So I'll send you any spicy candy I have. Which is mostly cinnamon flavored gum my dad bought for himself but...]
Perhaps he should have rephrased that. It wasn't so much that he couldn't find it, it was more along the lines that he never actually tried. If it wasn't immediately in his sights, he wasn't interested in diving further into it. Call it laziness if you like, but he considered it smart. In case there actually wasn't anything he was looking for, he saved both time and disappointment by avoiding it, right? Nonetheless, since she assured him there was in fact some in a local shop, he might be more likely to go buy some himself sometime. "Nice thought." he replied with a smile, not at all bothering to continue on with the subject. Sure, free candy would be awesome! But knowing well enough his own limitations, such as the fact he can hardly remember names or faces after a day, he'd likely forget he even signed up for it and would end up completely confused if some random girl came running up to him with candy (though that didn't mean he wouldn't take it anyway).
He was well aware some just couldn't handle the heat, but it still surprised him when he met someone who genuinely hated them. He didn't take it personally though, simply listening as she explained how the rest of her family were also like that. Genetics were weird, he supposed. The strangest things could pass on. "Sounds like a pretty good deal." he agreed. A fair trade. Unfortunately, once again he couldn't commit, but if he were to miraculously remember, he might be able to fulfill his end. Not likely but hey! There was still like a chance.
Her ass was fine apparently, her leg being another matter. Looks like she didn't get here totally unscathed. Just adding to his argument that the more clumsy people should certainly not venture here. It really was common sense which unfortunately many people lacked (he couldn't say much more on that though). Regardless, he didn't seem too convinced, despite her trying to brush it off. Perhaps raising a kid for all those years granted him some form of empathy. Or maybe just a bullshit detector. "You sure?" he questioned. "You really shouldn't be pushing it if you did get hurt. One wrong move and you could break something." he explained. Like he could talk. It was the thought that counted, right? Even if such advice was coming from a huge hypocrite.
