The Pokemon Trainer Academy (T)

[Kayrana packed up and then dressed hastily with long blue jeans, a light-blue long-sleeved t-shirt with a turqoise jacket; also wore an orange wool hat, as well as packing some orange gloves in her jacket’s pockets just in case.]
Kayrana was snuggling with Aurai as she watched Whimsi try and find some Pokemon. Only the same Snorunt ambled on in the distance. Kayrana could barely see how the Snorunt slowly walked with its little stubby legs towards a distant cave, and she thought it'd be a good idea to join the Snorunt onto the cave. She walked to where Whimsi was, over to the scarce and sparse ice-covered trees, and, as her face seemed to show a certain sadness, she rubbed Whimsi's cotton-head. "Oh, don't be sad, we will undoubtedly find a friend on the Ice Cave." Kayrana had bent down in her knees to talk to Whimsi in a reassuring tone. Whimsi, in response, jumped happily. All of a sudden, Whimsi turned over and pointed towards the distance, near the cave. Kayrana couldn't spot a thing, but Whimsi seemed to know what she was doing and started to hurry over there. Kayrana shrugged—they were to go towards there, anyways—and followed her. The more closer they got, the more some figures became clearer. Once they were close enough, Kayrana recognized the figures: it was the short-haired girl from class! Ah, she was a bit nervous to be meeting someone already, but it was a good thing, after all, that's why she was here, wasn't it? "Oh, hello!" she exclaimed enthusiastically as she walked towards the girl, waving her right hand; she was still holding Aurai. Meanwhile, Whimsi was already jumping and jumping near the girl, leaving some cotton ball around which merged with the snow.

[Rylie has a large rucksack slung lazily over her shoulder. She’s wearing a pair of blue jeans as well, tucked tightly into her brown snow boots; as well as her blue Suicune jacket unzipped, showing off a white shirt. She doesn’t seem to be dressed too heavily.]
Rylie leaned back on a large mound of snow as she supervised her Pokémon in their game of tag. Kit was quickly trying to burrow her way into a small pile of snow before getting tagged rather easily by Hakan sneaking up behind her, tackling her and running off. With a frustrated growl, Kit quickly rose to her feet and scanned the area for the Swinub, however he seemed to be gone just as fast as he appeared. To Rylie’s surprise, snow seemed to stick to Hakan’s coat of fur rather easily, making it much easier for him to hide than his brown fur lead her to believe initially. Equally surprising to her, Kit’s snow-white coat of fur didn’t seem to help her at hiding at all, even while buried Rylie could easily spot shifting mounds of snow where she hid. “Ya know… Considering how much of a little attention seeker she is, perhaps this was a bit more of a surprise than it should have been.” She thought to herself as she continued to watch.

Kit, beginning to get frustrated, let out a loud cry before launching a large pink ball of energy at one of the larger snow mounds. Causing the mound to burst in a small flurry as the ball connected. Surprised, Rylie quickly reached for her pocket for a whistle before blowing into it. “Hey! Cut it out Kit! You’re not fighting!” she called out to the field in a scolding tone. The Vulpix gave a bit of a huff in return before returning to Rylie’s side. Laying down, she made it clear she was done with this game as she quietly fell asleep.

Rylie rolled her eyes at Kit’s attitude “Alright, looks like we’re taking a break. Come on out Hakan!” she called over before slumping back against the mound of snow. Quickly Hakan came trotting over to her, shaking off the snow coating his fur before looking up at Rylie with a hungry expression, again causing Rylie to roll her eyes. “Always the same with you as well huh? Oh well, I guess you earned it.” She said, pulling a bag of food from her Rucksack and letting him have at it. As they ate Rylie’s attention turned towards another person walking towards her although for whatever reason she had a hard time telling who it was. “Oh, hey. Not often I see people out here ya know.” She called back, trying to get a better look at the other girl.

Kayrana looked down at Aurai. She seemed happy, if only to know that Kayrana was interacting with more people. Then Kayrana looked at the mound of snow: a girl and two Pokemon were laying there, eating. She trotted lightly to reach them and Whimsi, and said: "Oh, I don't tend to come here either, I'm more of a forest kind of person..." she paused and looked at Whimsi, "but uhm, Whimsi here wanted to make some friends in the snow and so we ended up here." She smiled and looked at the girl again, she was dressed rather lightly for being in the snow. Kayrana thought she looked pretty cool—even if she was just wearing the Suicuine jacket unzipped—but also wondered if she wasn't feeling cold at all. She ruffled her hair with her right hand, still holding Aurai with the other; even though she appeared cheerful, she was so nervous that she had forgotten to even present herself. Plus, her attention hadn't shifted to the Pokemon yet, which was quite unusual. Meanwhile, Whimsi got closer and tried to interact with the two Pokemon who were eating.

Rylie gave an inquisitive look at the girl “So, she wanted to go out onto the snow, to make friends. You know she’s a grass type, right? Seems rather dangerous if you ask me.” She asked the other trainer before her gaze shifted down to the big cotton ball of a Pokémon as it continued to approach. “Careful about waking kit up there, she’s not exactly what I’d call friendly yet.” Rylie warned as the Whimsicott got closer. Hakan, knowing another Pokémon was closing in, began eating like a literal pig. Afraid the newcomer would want some.

Rylie looked back up at the girl, she at least seemed prepared for the cold although she couldn’t really make out much more detail than that. Squinting a bit in attempt to get a better look, Rylie swore she knew her from somewhere but had a hard time putting 2 and 2 together. “I caught her a few weeks ago you see. She hasn’t quite warmed up to other Pokémon yet. Well, besides Hakan thankfully.” She explained to the other girl. Reaching into her jacket pocket she pulled out kit’s ball just in case the Vulpix decided to start causing trouble.

"Uh, well... I guess?" Kayrana looked at her, showing a bit of disconcert. "She pointed to here when I showed her the map; and she seems to be pretty resilient to cold. Must be all the fluff, I suppose," she said.

"Oh, I see! Whimsi's a bit of a prankster but she's also a sweetie," she said she walked closer to the girl, now bending down to caress Whimsi, "isn't that so Whimsi? Let's keep it cool, okay?" She said in a sweet voice. She looked at the Pokemon who were eating. They were a Vulpix and a Swinub, but she knew only Vulpix, and well, she didn't know there were... white Vulpix. She was surely going to ask about that later. Whimsi tried to heed to what Kayrana had said and went on to the Swinub now, trying to signal to him that she was not going towards his food.

Kayrana stood up and turned back to the girl: "Aurai here is indeed feeling the cold, though. And I didn't come that much prepared, either." She was still hugging the Ralts to keep her from feeling much cold, but maybe she was being a little overprotective. "Oh! I am Kayrana, by the way! Do you mind if I join you? I think Whimsi and Aurai could use some food!" She blurted out quickly as she made some gestures with her hand and proceeded to unpack some berries she had in her backpack, leaving her backpack on the floor, as she was about to slump in the mound next to the girl.

Rylie gave a bit of a shrug as she answered. “I guess, I dunno. There aren’t too many grass type Pokémon where I live so all I know is from what I’ve heard.” She explained, giving a halfhearted gesture behind her.

Hakan in the meantime still seemed to be very protective of his food… Well, what little of what was left anyhow as he stood over it continuing to eat, occasionally taking a quick glance up at the Whimsicott just to be sure. “I promise you he mellows out when he’s done eating. “Rylie apologized, shaking her head in disappointment as she watched the two Pokémon interact. Sure enough, he quickly finished his food, letting out a loud yawn before laying out in the snow, currently content with watching everyone.

Rylie’s attention turned back to Kayrana as she spoke up again “That much prepared, you look like you’re expecting a blizzard.” Rylie asked in disbelief, not giving much thought at all to the idea that perhaps she’s the one who’s underdressed. “Well, anyway. If you want to join us go for it. Heck, it might do Kit some good if anything…” Rylie said just loud enough for Kit’s ears to twitch, rolling her eyes in the process. As Kayrana got closer to join her Rylie’s heart skipped a beat as she finally recognized that this was the same girl from class earlier today. “Oh, uh. The name’s Rylie by the way.” She said, stammering a bit as she spoke up.

Kayrana giggled lightly at what the girl had said. "Guess I'm just really used to moderate climate, huh?" She pondered out loud as she slowly sat down on the mound next to the girl. She was practically laying on the mound. Aurai was on top of her chest, and Kayrana fed her Ganlon Berries, as well as making gestures to Whimsi—who was apparently trying to communicate with Hakan, who just lied there observing the scene—to come over so she could give her some berries too.

She noticed the girl had stammered a bit, and Kayrana started to wonder if she had done anything wrong to make her feel anxious, so she started petting Aurai's head: it tranquilised her. And trying to reassure her, she beamed. "I'm glad I can join you--I hope we become good friends!" she said in an endearing tone of voice, and went on as she looked at Rylie's eyes, "Oh, that's a nice name... Rylie!" Then, she fed Whimsi some berries and ate some herself, who had come over already; and she thought it'd be good to ask here where'd she come from that she could be so accustomed with winter. "Ah, want some? Kit can have some too, if she wants..."

“Geez, this is moderate as far as I’m concerned.” Rylie said with only a half joking tone. Slouching back against the mound of snow she rooted through her bag and retrieved a Blue Thermos. As she removed the lid hot steam coming from the opening made it clear whatever was inside was very warm as she took a large swig from it. “He’s probably just a bit tuckered out, we’ve been out here for a while.” Ryile explained as she noticed Kayrana looking over at Hakan.

Rylie shifted uncomfortably as it got quiet for a moment, wondering if Kayrana noticed her staring in class earlier. Instinctively as she pet her Ralts Rylie reached forward and picked kit up by the scruff oh her neck, laying her in her lap. Kit twitched her ears in annoyance just a bit but seemed to be content for now. Rylie was relieved when the silence was finally broken, if not caught off by what was said. “”Oh, uh. Yeah, hopefully.” She said, somewhat taken off guard by the forwardness of the statement. Rylie shook her head a bit as she recovered her composure “No, that’s okay, Kit has been a bit of a brat today so I’d really rather not reward her right now.” She explained in a much more normal tone, giving the vulpix a bit of a rough pat on the head.

"Oh, alright." Kayrana said looking down, her voice seeming just a tad let-down. "Then you should behave accordingly, so that we can feed you, Kit!" she said in a funny, a bit mocking way, now looking up at and pointing at the Vulpix.

Then she and Aurai ate some berries, and Kayrana thought it'd be nice to tell Rylie how cool she thought she had been in the class. "Oh!" she made a sound as if she had realized something, and went on: "Uhm, by the way, I thought you were really cool at the, uh, Fairy Class was it? Like, you knew all the answers and stuff? Like I know about berries but about Pokemon! So I was kinda in the class hoping for your answers since I know... ah... not that much and I thought it was really cool and all!" She got a bit flustered—her thoughts scattered in the air like that—and was running her hand through her hair again; it was something she did when she got nervous, clearly.

Kit looked up for just a moment as this strange girl began talking to her before yawning, jumping off Rylie’s lap she found a snowy spot to settle in. “Yeah, she’s not interested.” She said, rolling her eyes shortly after.

Rylie gave a bit of a sigh as she looked at kit before Kayrana caught her attention again. Her compliment however didn’t seem to have too much of a positive effect however as Rylie gave a disappointed look. “Please, don’t lie to me like that. I had to deal with that enough back at home.” Rylie said rather straightly yet in an exhausted tone. Rylie began to stand up, throwing her bag over her shoulder “I’ll see ya later I guess…” she said, threatening to leave as she beckoned Hakan and Kit.

Rylie's words hit Kayrana deeply. She had thought it'd brighten her mood, but it... made it worse? Kayrana was shocked but couldn't manage to utter a word... and Rylie was leaving. Kayrana... she wasn't lying, of course, so she was confused. Aurai noticed her friend's indecision and decided to do something. "Ralts, Ra-Ralts, Ralts!" she stood up on Kayra's lap, reproaching her. Kayrana got it instantly: was she going to just give up so easily? Wasn't she ready to make friends, however difficult it may be?

"Ah, uhm, I'm terribly sorry!!" Her voice was creaky and she was on the verge of crying, but she tried to hold the tears off; still, it was pretty evident how distressed she was. As she stood up slowly, she continued, "It--it wasn't a lie Rylie. I... really did think that of you!" She brought her hands together. "But... if you aren't comfortable with that, I won't talk about it at all, alright?" She said trying to sound calm, but she stuttered and her voice was still creaky.

Aurai meanwhile climbed up to Kayrana's shoulder, while Whimsi stood near her leg, surprised by what was happening. Kayrana was hoping she had chosen the right words.

“How can I trust what you say!? What is cool about being a huge geek!?” Rylie shouted back, choking on several of her own words in the process. “I’ll tell you what, nothing! That’s why I was made fun of back at home! I tried hiding it here but my stupid big mouth couldn’t keep shut during class!” She continued, clenching her trembling fist. “It was always the girls too who teased me about it. Always talking behind my back, making sure they were just loud enough for me to hear. Why did I think it would be any different here!?” Rylie shouted once more, just barely able to keep herself from crying.

Rylie turned away in a huff, beckoning her Pokémon to hurry up. Hakan seemed rather concerned, keeping close to Rylie as she attempted to leave. On the other hand Kit seemed rather shocked. Never seeing this side of her trainer before she did little more than stare confused.

Kayrana stood there, trying to process what Rylie was telling her. Kayrana thought it seemed as if Rylie's life had been full of people who told her that being knowledgeable was something to be ashamed of, somehow. Kayrana had just met her, but she didn't want a future where Rylie had to hide her true self to others in hopes of being accepted. Being bullied, ostracized, it was something Kayrana could resonate with, but she had found Aurai. Aurai had helped her through tough times, to be independent, to be herself without regrets.

Because of all this, Kayrana couldn't help but start crying. Whimsi rubbed herself against Kayrana's leg trying to help her, while Aurai prompted Kayrana to go run for her newly-found friend. Teary-eyed as she was, she walked over to Rylie as fast as she could, and softly pulled her blue jacket—she wanted to hug her, but she didn't want to intrude on her personal space. "Being an oddball, being knowledgeable... is alright--it's amazing!" Her voice started soft and between sobs, but Kayrana tried to sound enthusiatic. "You are amazing, Rylie! Maybe the girls--were envious of you, and turned to hurt you. Y'know... back when I was younger, I also thought I was wrong, defective, kids shunned me out; until I met Aurai--Ah! What I mean is, it's alright... not to feel alright, not to be popular; just, be yourself and it'll be alright." She let more tears down her cheeks, and looked at her, they were the same height and she hoped her gazes would meet. Aurai was now also crying in sync with Kayrana, while Whimsi stood there on her leg still.

Rylie swiftly turned around as she felt the back of het jacket pulled on, her fist trembling she was just about to hit Kayrana before she noticed her crying. Still on the verge of crying herself she bit her lower lip to stop herself, grasping the hem of her pants to remedy the trembling as she heard Kayrana out. After all was said Rylie seemed somewhat calmer although it’s hard to tell whether her rosy red cheeks are due to her almost crying a moment before or the cold. “Fine… I’ll trust you for now.” Rylie said with a bit of a huff, finding it rather hard to keep eye contact. “I’m still heading back to my room though, it’s getting late.” She continued, lying through her teeth for any excuse to leave. “Oh, and don’t mention it to anyone, got it?” She finished in a clear tone, giving a stern look.

Taking a step past Kayrana, Rylie moved over towards kit and picked her up by the scruff of her neck, carrying her along with one arm. Kit didn’t seem to mind however she still had the same concerned look. “I’ll… See you later.” She said with a rather long pause, contemplating her choice of words before heading back towards her dorm, in no real mood to continue talking to anyone.

"Uh-uhm, thanks!" Kayrana said in a hurry, but Rylie didn't seem to want to stay: Kayrana listened to her and then saw her start going past her. Kayrana wasn't sure what to say anymore, and Rylie was already saying her goodbyes for now. Kayrana just stood there, sobbing for a bit, watching as Rylie left. She collapsed on the soft snow, where Aurai and Whimsi joined her, trying to cheer her up: Whimsi jumped around and played with the snow, while Aurai clinged onto Kayrana's chest, letting her know she'd always be there. "Ah... I... was a mess, huh?" She said, trying to smile but finding herself with a bit of pain in her chest, still crying a bit. "I just... wanted her to feel better, but I didn't even know what to do. I hope she doesn't hate me now, was I too... clingy--I don't--" Aurai gestured for her to stop talking: it wasn't doing her any good. "Ralts, Ralts, Ra-Ralts!" Aurai said and now went to Kayrana's side, looking at her eyes; Whimsi stayed close by, too, concerned for her trainer. She wasn't sure what to do, she thought as she petted Aurai and Whimsi: if still go to that cave or if to just go back to the dorms already. She wasn't feeling good, but she didn't want to let down her two friends who had come with her, especially Whimsi who wanted to come here especially. But the... row sort-of with Rylie had left her puzzled and confused, to say the least.