As Good a Time (Nitrine/Open)

[Deleted]

_{Tags: @aeranautics, open for anyone else who wants to visit
Happiness: Spring - 0 (1/5)
Notes: This is probably the next morning after Midnight Mischief.}

"Spring, don't go frolicking too far," Bryar called out, pausing on his walk as he watched his Deerling leaping through the meadow grasslands. She called back a syllable of her species's name gleefully in acknowledgement. "Seriously, Spring, come dance back closer to me."

She gave him an unamused look but obeyed nonetheless and proceeded to skip beside him as the pair went toward the other ranch that was in this section of the island. Bryar smiled down at her before glancing up at the house appearing on the horizon.

He had heard that another rancher had moved in recently and Bryar had kept meaning to go and introduce himself. After a small incident last night, as told to Bryar from his Abomasnow, it seemed to be as good a time as any.

"Behave now," Bryar said as he and his Deerling made their way toward the house and Bryar knocked on the front door. "This is someone else's home and we're just visiting."

"Ling..." If he didn't know better, Spring had rolled her eyes.

[Deleted]

Oxana had been holding a small water bowl to her face, lapping at it with her tongue, when the knock came. She set down the bowl roughly, causing a few drops to splash out of it, and barked a couple of times at the stranger at the door. Her voice sounded tough when she barked, at least for a human's ears, but the message was simply, "I can hear you out there!"

She trotted down the carpeted hallway to Nitrine's bedroom. On the floor near the bed were two flat cushions, one covered in her pink fur, the other a resting place for Kellen's sleeping form. She leapt on the Clefairy to get on top of the bed, making him yelp a noise like a squeaky dog toy. He rolled off his cushion onto the floor, winded and woken up way too early. On the bed, Oxana shook Nitrine's shoulder and licked his face.

Nitrine moaned and placed one hand on her face. "Five more minutes," he mumbled. He opened his eyes, though, when she barked right in his ear. "Fine, I'm up, I'm up."

Oxana hopped off the bed and yipped at him urgently, completely ignoring the deadly daggers Kellen was glaring in her direction. Curious, Nitrine followed her to the door. "Someone's here?" Her emphatic pointing seemed to indicate such. He looked through the peephole in the door at the green-haired stranger as Kellen came grumbling up from the hall, ears drooping.

"Gosh, what time is it?" the young man asked rhetorically, glancing at a clock on the wall in the kitchen. It certainly wasn't early anymore. It was more like brunch time, actually. Late enough in the morning for someone to show up at his front door and have it make sense.

Unhooking the chain and unlocking the door, he swung it open just enough for him to fit between it and the door frame. "Good morning," he answered, his voice still a bit croaky from having been asleep. Behind him, Oxana groaned and hurried back down the hall. In that instant, he realized he had literally just rolled out of bed. His hair was a mess, sleepies remain crusted at the inner corners of his eyes, and he was wearing nothing under his pajama shirt. His only redemption was that he was wearing an actual pair of gym shorts over his underpants.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned on the door frame and hugged his arms across his chest, trying to act completely comfortable for having answered the door in his pajamas. "This is a fine morning, isn't it? Yep, nothing like a nice day like today to go visiting someone's ranch." he rambled, heart fluttering nervously. "Right? I don't even know what I was doing in bed all morning, sleeping the day away; I'm normally up way earlier than this. But that has nothing to do with the price of milk in Johto; can I help you?"

Behind him, Oxana had brought out a large hoodie and set it on the couch. Kellen had curled up on one cushion of the couch to sleep, but his Snubbull partner whapped him on the head, scolding him under her breath. He grumbled and sat up, scratching the curly tuft on his head.

ooc: Bryar Glasse
Happiness: Oxana, Kellen: 0 (1/5)

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Sleepy Nitrine, Groggy Kellen, and I'm-the-only-one-who's-competent-at-this-hour Oxana
Happiness: Spring - 0 (2/5)
I had burst out laughing at the milk in Johto line! xD Holy crap, that was the best!}

Bryar had jumped slightly in surprise at the barking that had answered his knocking, but Spring didn't seem too concerned with it. In fact, she bayed right back. "Thank you!"

Since his Deerling was remaining calm at his side, Bryar believed that whatever had responded to him wasn't out to attack the pair of them. Then again, Spring was a bit naive...

It didn't take long, however, for the door to open and Bryar was soon surprised for a whole other reason.

"Good morning to you as well," Bryar said, a crooked smile snaking up his lips as he did his best to focus on the other man's face rather than his state of attire. "It's a fine morning indeed."

The poor man rambled about how he was usually up much earlier than this and something about the milk in the Johto region, which caused Bryar to tilt his head before he abandoned trying to figure out that line of logic. When Bryar was able to get a word in, he smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," Bryar said. "I'm Bryar Glasse -- oh, and this little Deerling is Spring -- from Wildrose Orchards. I just thought I would come and introduce myself, especially since I heard that a couple of our Pokemon met each other last night, but I can come back later. Or not, if you'd prefer that. Or you can come visit my ranch if you're comfortable with the idea."

Easy smile still in place, Bryar gave the other man a weak shrug. "Seems to be a lousy reason to wake you up, I'm afraid."

[Deleted]

Kellen's ears pricked up when Bryar mentioned the events of the night before. Rubbing the sleepies from his eyes, he grinned at Oxana, who simply raised an eyebrow at him. He then hopped off the couch and padded towards the door to listen.

Nitrine's eyes widened, and he dropped his head to cover his eyes with one hand. "Oh, Arceus," he said, and he glanced up. "You're that guy, huh?" He quickly hid his face. There was no avoiding him now. He lifted his head again and said, "No, no, you've already taken the effort to walk all the way here, so you should come inside. You and your—Deerling, right?" Gazing down at Spring with a faint smile, he remarked, "What a cutie, I've never seen one of you before. Anyway, come inside." Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he said, "Kellen can pull out a chair for you at the kitchen table while I make myself at least halfway decent."

As he snagged the hoodie from the couch on his way back down the hall, a grinning Kellen made after-you gestures to Bryar before ambling to the round, wooden kitchen table that was big enough for four people. He pulled out a chair, making it creak on the kitchen tile, and said, "Have a seat, mister." To Spring he said, "Hi. I'm Kellen, that Pokemon your owner was talking about just now."

Standing by the entrance to the kitchen, Oxana rolled her eyes. "You're way too proud of yourself," she grumbled. "You were trespassing. Which is bad."

"I'm just being polite and making conversation," the Clefairy insisted.

In just two minutes, Nitrine came out of the hall with his hair combed, a real pair of jeans on, his eyes cleared, and a stick of spearmint gum in his mouth. (I'll die if he passes out from a whiff of my Dragonbreath, he'd thought while in his bedroom.) He pulled out a chair on the opposite side of the table, saying, "So, uh, hi, I'm Nitrine. These two are my fur-babies, Oxana and Kellen. I'm hoping you don't remember any of us from last night," he added with a harsh laugh.

Kellen chimed cheerfully, "I don't remember either of you!"

Nitrine's bum hadn't even touched his seat before he lifted himself to his feet again. "Actually, wait, Bryar, do you want something to drink?" He trotted to his fridge and pulled it open. "I've got a water jug, and milk, and a little Pecha juice from the store… Unless you want tea; I can heat up water and make tea. It's Sitrus Spice tea. Spring is probably thirsty, too; I can set out some water if you want, and food too. I don't know what Deerling eat though." It was a bit too soon in the day to be thrust into the position of a proper host, but he would do his best.

ooc: Bryar Glasse I had way too much fun writing this post ehehehe >u>;;;
Happiness: Oxana, Kellen - 0 (2/5)

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Aera
Happiness: Spring - 0 (3/5)}

Bryar inwardly winced at how embarrassed the gentleman in front of him appeared to be when Bryar had mentioned as to why he was there. "It really wasn't a problem," Bryar said. "There was no harm done, not to my ranch or to your Pokemon. No one was hurt, thankfully."

Spring's ears twitched as she smiled up at Nitrine, and Bryar shot an amused, crooked smiled own at her. No doubt she'd be preening all day from the compliment. The pair were invited in and Bryar said, "Take your time. We really didn't mean to impose...

"Thank you." Bryar smiled and nodded in thanks to Kellen when the Clefairy pulled the chair out for him. The caretaker also greeted the Snubbull (who apparently wasn't too thrilled with what was going on, but was nonetheless polite enough) while Spring seemed to make herself at home.

"Hi," the Deerling greeted the other two Pokemon. She listened to Oxana give Kellen a small scolding, and said, "Yeah, trespassing's not the best idea, but Pine -- the Abomasnow that you saw, Kellen -- can be kinda grumpy anyway. It must have been funny to see him try to chase you out, Kellen."

Bryar grinned when Nitrine made it quickly back out and formally introduced himself and his Pokemon. "Wonderful to meet you, Nitrine," Bryar said warmly. "Considering we're neighbors and some of our Pokemon already know each other, I'm sure we'll be able to get along just fine. And don't you worry about last night. Everything is well.

"I'll have water since you're offering," he said, "and Spring can have the same. We both have already had breakfast, so there's no need to worry about feeding Spring. Thank you for your generosity, though, and please feel free to eat since it doesn't seem that any of you have had breakfast yet." He had the grace to look sheepish for waking the other man up.

Bryar sipped at his drink, admiring Kellen and Oxana. "Fairy-types, yes?" he asked. "Have you been a rancher long, if I may pry?"

[Deleted]

Kellen shrugged. “I didn’t know I was trespassing anywhere. But Pine wasn’t so bad. He taught me how I could be a guard Pokemon, and told me why it’s important to sleep at night. Even though nighttime is better for being awake.”


Oxana added, “It wasn’t funny for me or Nitrine.” She sighed and shook her head. “But maybe it’s best to just put behind us. Mr. Bryar doesn’t seem too upset about it. If anything, he’d rather just make friends.”

Bryar had requested water, and Nitrine wasted no time in fetching a glass of it for him and a bowl of it for Spring. “I’m really, really relieved to hear that nobody got hurt,” he said. “I came over and saw your Abomasnow, and I was like, ‘Oh, crap, it’s going to mash Kellen into hamburger!’ and I took my Pokémon and booked it. I was so embarrassed; I was hoping I’d never run into you.”

After he served his guests, Nitrine scooped up the food bowls for his Fairy-types from the floor. He poured a meaty kibble into the bowl with Oxana’s name. Into Kellen’s bowl he poured a more general-feed kibble, topping it with fresh apple slices. He continued to talk while he was preparing his Pokemon’s breakfasts, saying, “And I’m really relieved to know that you’re not going to bite my head off for what Kellen did. We already talked about it last night, and afterwards he made the effort to sleep the rest of the night.” He set down the bowls in front of his pets, and he ruffled the Clefairy’s fluffy curl. “Kellen is a good kid. He’s just mischievous.”

“Thanks for the food!” said Kellen and Oxana said in unison, and they started to eat.

Nitrine finally had a seat in his chair and folded his hands on the table. He chewed his gum a bit. At Bryar’s question, he nodded. “Yeah, I'm new, and I specialize in Fairies, with a minor in Normal-types. I moved in about a week ago. I got settled into the house, Kristen gave me Kellen, and I got acquainted with the barn and the area around my house. I like going out and exploring, but I also think it’s important to study on how to be a good breeder, so I study with books. How about you? Have you been here awhile? What types do you breed?”

Bryar Glasse
Happiness: Oxana, Kellen - 0 (3/5)

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Aera
Happiness: Spring - 0 (4/5)}

Spring gave Nitrine a short bleat and a nuzzle on his hand as he gave her some water. Anyone who was nice enough to call her cute and offer to feed her was A-OK in her book. She lapped a bit at the water, her ears twitching as she listened to Kellen and Oxana.

With an amused tone, Spring asked, "You didn't see the posts at the edge of the ranch, Kellen? You know, the ones that tell you that the land is someone's ranch?

"Bryar doesn't get upset about much," the Deerling said in response to Oxana. "I don't think I've ever heard him shout or anything, in all honesty... He kind of just huffs out of his nose when he's annoyed and takes a deep breath before launching into a lecture. He's pretty good at making us feel guilty if we ever do something wrong."

Bryar smiled wryly after thanking Nitrine for the water. "Pine tends to have that effect," he said regarding his Abomasnow. "Thankfully he's been around long enough to know to ask questions and investigate before launching into an attack.

"It would have been a bit difficult for us to never run into each other," he added with a grin, "with us living on an island and all. I've been meaning to pop over and introduce myself for a little while now, and this provided a good opportunity.

"Mischievous, and a night owl, I'm guessing with his species," Bryar said, glancing at the Pokemon eating and chatting. "I've heard that they love the moon, so finding out that it was a Clefairy hanging around in the dead of night, it didn't seem so odd. Does the moon give them more energy or power or something of that sort?" he asked curiously.

Bryar listened with interest as Nitrine gave him a brief run-down of his history on the island. "Books are excellent resources," Bryar agreed. "I may have a few general titles in my study, if you ever run out of your own.

"I've been on the island for a few months," Bryar said, "with my Grass-types. I added Fairy and Poison to my list since they're fairly close with Grass-types. Before here I was actually on the old Gaia Ranch back in the Sinnoh region with Kristen, Kurt, and a few other ranchers.

"I actually come from the Sinnoh region," he continued. "When I first got my Pokemon license, I studied and worked in Eterna City's Grass-type gym. I've been breeding and raising Pokemon for, oh... about ten years now? Man, that makes me feel old." He chuckled.

[Deleted]

Kellen toyed with a lock of his own curly hair as he chewed a bit of apple. “No, I didn’t. I guess I missed them as I was skipping through the fields and stuff. I was kind of… well, not in this world while I was enjoying the night.” He laughed at his own joke.

Oxana replied to Spring, “He sounds a little bit like Nitrine. Nitrine doesn’t get mad about a lot, either, or for very long. When he does get pushed over the edge, he yells and rants and sometimes screams into a pillow. That hasn’t happened since before we moved here, though, and it was because he was really stressed about bills.” She ate a mouthful of food. “He’s a lot less emotional than when I first met him.”

Nitrine’s gave a little laugh, a genuine one this time, and he said, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Sure seems like a big island, though, you know? It took me half the day yesterday to get from here to the big mountains up north, what are they called, the White Tops?

“Oh, I met a cute stranger up there, too. Her name is Morgan, and she has a ranch up there. She’s from, uh, somewhere in Unova, and she raises Ice- and Psychic-type Pokémon. She only had a Meditite and another one, a Gothita, I think. Gosh, that walk killed my feet. If you want to meet a new rancher, try Morgan. She’s a nice gal.

“Anyway, given that, I didn’t think it’d be too hard to avoid you,” he said. “But obviously, I was wrong.” Nitrine shrugged. “I guess the walk from here to your place just seemed long because I was anxious about Kellen and where he was.”

In regards to Clefairy behavior, he shrugged with an apologetic grimace. “I’ve been so swamped reading up on keeping up a ranch,” he explained, “I feel like I haven’t had time for much else. I guess I should have made reading up on Clefairy my priority instead, so I can actually understand why he sleeps—or, used to sleep all day and stalk around the house at night. But I saw Kellen’s wings glowing last night on our walk home, so he might have had some extra power from the moon.

“Thanks for the offer,” Nitrine said about the books. “I really didn’t used to be such a reader when I was in school! That was more my brother’s department. But since I’m kind of coming into this business blind, I have to make some changes.

“There was another Gaia Ranch?” he asked. “Where was it at originally? Was it a different island, or on this same one? Or was it just, like, a little ranch somewhere in some countryside? And Grass-types, aren’t they pretty easy to take care of, for the most part, because they can photosynthesize? I almost signed up to minor in Grass-types but I’ve never really had any Pokémon besides Oxana before coming here, so I don’t know much about many types as far as how to take care of them.”

Nitrine became very excited when Bryar mentioned he hailed from Sinnoh. He exclaimed, “Wow, you worked in a Gym? That’s so cool! I didn’t even know you could just work in a Gym. If I’d known that, I would have signed up for Jubilife’s Gym or something. That’s where I grew up, Jubilife City, my brother and me. My parents kind of insisted we go to school to get ‘real’ jobs, so aside from my friends’ pets, I didn’t really get to have a Pokémon of my own until I moved out of the house.” He leaned forward, eyes twinkling with enthusiasm. “Do you have any siblings? Did you get to grow up with Pokémon?”

Bryar Glasse
Happiness: Oxana, Kellen - 0 (4/5)

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Aera
Happiness: Spring - 0 (5/5)}

"You'll want to be careful in the future," Spring said gently to Kellen. "You never know how aggressive some might be if you trespass or accidentally wander onto their territory... Pine used to be really scary like that, too, but he's thankfully chilled out in the recent years.

"Bryar's good at calming down other humans," the Deerling said to Oxana. "At least, as far as I've seen, if your trainer needs to talk to another human at some point. Bryar likes making friends."

Bryar listened as Nitrine described a few of the other areas of the island. "Up north is not a place I've visited just yet," he admitted, "but I should put that on my to-do list, if only to properly meet this Morgan. I went to the western part of the island to visit someone else who's new around here, Raphael is his name. He's one of those strong, silent types, if you'll pardon the cliche description, but he's a good man. Like myself, he also used to be on the old Gaia Ranch with Kristen and Kurt.

"You can learn a lot from books," Bryar said, "but I believe one of the best ways to learn is by doing. Your ranch and your Pokemon look fine and healthy to me, so you seem to be doing something right." He gave Nitrine a smile. "Although, I've heard that Clefairy do not come from the Earth... Do you know anything about that?"

Bryar chuckled lightly at Nitrine's enthusiasm as the younger of the two spewed out questions. "The original Gaia Ranch was on the outskirts of Solaceon Town in Sinnoh," Bryar answered. "It was run by Kristen and her sister, who I believe went back to traveling after they sold that land in favor of this island. Kurt, who had been a sort of veteran on the sisters' ranch, obviously stepped up to help out Kristen in running this place. The Sinnoh Gaia Ranch eventually grew so large with Pokemon that needed to be adopted and rehabilitated that the island seemed to be a better idea.

"Not necessarily, no," Bryar said with a shake of his head at the comment about Grass-types and photosynthesis. "It all depends on the Pokemon species and their biology. Spring here is a herbivore, for example, and there are a few species that prefer to have some meat in their diets as well. Some can and do photosynthesize, but you must also have a steady food supply in the event that the weather isn't favorable or in the colder weather. My Roselia usually photosynthesizes in spring and summer, but I need to hand feed her during the seasons when the sun isn't as strong.

"I believe photosynthesis was more common before Pokemon were widely domesticated," he continued. "After we began catching and training Pokemon, most species' biologies had to evolve to accommodate traveling to other areas with their trainers where the sun may not always be available to help them make food."

Bryar ducked his head with a sheepish grin as Nitrine seemed amazed that Bryar used to work in a gym. "Well, I traveled and practiced quite a bit before joining Eterna's gym," he said. "I had to pass a couple of tests as well.

"My family was right in Twinleaf Town, and we did a lot of shopping in Jubilife," Bryar said. "What a coincidence, huh? We could have passed by each other often enough and not have realized it. We had a few Pokemon around the house, leftover from my parents' own training days. Mom's main Pokemon was a Lopunny while Dad's favorite partner was a Kricketune.

"Oh, yes," Bryar said in response to the sibling question. "I'm the second oldest of four. I have an older brother and a younger sister and brother who are fraternal twins. All of us ended up being type specialists and, for the majority of our training days, worked in various gyms around half the known regions. Tyson's my older brother who trains Fire-types. He had worked in Kanto's Cinnabar Gym for a while but is now attempting to complete Kalos's Gym Challenge using only Fire-types... I don't know how well that'll work, but he's enthusiastic enough, so he may be able to do it.

"Avalyn is my sister, a Flying-type specialist," he continued. "She had worked as a trainer in the Violet City Gym in Johto, then had gone on to the old Gaia Ranch, and is now back in Violet City as the actual gym leader. Murray is in the Kanto region, both because of the close proximity to Ava and because of the stories Tyson had told about the region, and is going to try his hand at Contests, something the rest of us have never tried. Murray prefers Water-types and had been a trainer in Hoenn's Sootopolis City's gym for a couple of years before turning into a coordinator."

He took a long sip of his drink, quenching his throat. "That was probably more of my history than you cared to know," he said with a lopsided grin. "Sorry for the ramble. You mentioned you had a brother, right? What's he up to while you're hanging out here on an island?"

[Deleted]

“I’ll definitely do better next time,” Kellen declared, still feeling a little contrite. “Someday, when I get stronger, I’ll be allowed to guard the ranch at night, too! Maybe Pine can give me some more pointers.”

“That would would be something to see,” remarked Oxana. “You have a lot of growing to do.” At Spring’s comment about Bryar’s friendliness, she said, “That might be good for Nitrine, to talk to other people. I guess as another human, Mr. Bryar could do more for him than I could.” She seemed almost a little sad as she said this. She picked up her water dish to drink out of it.

The Clefairy exclaimed, “Oh, Spring! What are your other teammates like? I almost met one besides Pine last night, I think her name was Lily? And Sage, the one with the four legs and the long neck.” Oxana cocked her head at his description of Sage, just as confused to what he was talking about as he himself was.

Nitrine nodded at the suggestion to go to the western part of the island. “Isn’t the western part of the island also really mountainous?” he asked. “Mountainous and dry, kind of like a desert?” Raphael was from the old Gaia Ranch too, it seemed.

Bryar went into the subject old ranch, way out in the countryside in Solaceon Town. Nitrine remarked, “I'm surprised to hear about it; if it was so big and so many Pokémon needed to be rehabilitated, you'd think it would have gotten more publicity.” He shrugged. “How many ranchers were there, on the ranch? Are most of them moving over here, or is it just you, Kurt, and Raphael?”

Nitrine nodded and said, “Yeah, I don’t spend all my time learning from books. I just want to know enough so that I can feed and groom them properly while I finish reading more in-depth information. I mean, it’s cool that I know Kellen can eat apples and kibble and be fine, but if he suddenly starts puking green slime, I need to be ready for that, too.” He chuckled, and it evolved into even more laughter when Bryar brought up Clefairy’s supposed extraterrestrial origins. “Hey, Kellen,” he said, “you didn’t tell me you were an alien!”

Kellen wiggled his eyebrows at his trainer before returning to his food.

Bryar launched into an explanation of how photosynthesis worked in Pokémon, how food was still necessary, especially for cold or cloudy weather. Nitrine said, “That makes a lot of sense. Pokémon really are amazing, huh? And so amazingly diverse—I've barely scratched the surface with Clefairy, just when I thought I knew everything about Snubbull biology. It's unreal!

“Ah, so you were already really good at battling, I bet.” That explained it. Nitrine himself wouldn't have been able to be part of a Gym while still in Sinnoh. Oxana was too inexperienced. He asked, “What kind of tests did they give you? I'm sure it was a lot harder than just basic Pokémon School stuff.”

He stayed quiet as Bryar detailed all about his family. His siblings were each a specialist in a different type, each had worked in a Gym, and each was in a different region pursuing slightly different goals. When he'd finished, he shrugged off Bryar’s apology, insisting, “No, I liked listening all about them. But wow, three siblings? That must have been so nuts when you were all kids. I'm sure that meant lots of sibling rivalry going on. And what did you guys even do in Twinleaf Town? That's a far cry from the big, noisy city of Jubilife.

“My brother Lucent and I didn’t always get along,” Nitrine went on, “but we were always like best friends at the end of the day. I text him a lot. Nowadays he works at the Canalave Library, as an apprentice or something to the head librarian. I don’t think it’s nearly as exciting as what I’m doing, but Lucent’s always been a bookworm, so that’s his dream job. He has a Glameow named Gwyneth, and sometimes he sends me pictures of her.”

He slipped his smartphone out of the front pocket of his hoodie and held it up to show Bryar his lock screen, displaying the face of a young man with intelligent blue eyes and golden blonde hair giving the camera a shy smile. "This is Lucent." Tapping at the phone's screen, he slid it across the table to his guest. Its display showed a Glameow sleeping in the tangle of its own long tail. “Gwyneth acts snooty but she’s really a big dork.”

Bryar Glasse
Happiness: Oxana, Kellen - 0 (5/5)

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Aera
Happiness: Spring - 1 (1/5)}

Spring smiled at Kellen. "I'm sure Pine won't mind giving out pointers." Actually, the Abomasnow just might. He wasn't exactly a giant cuddly bear to younger Pokemon, but if Kellen proved that he was serious enough to focus on something like being a good guard, then Pine would be able to tolerate him.

"I think humans need other humans like Pokemon need other Pokemon," Spring said in response to Oxana's remark. "Pokemon and humans aren't interchangeable, though. Bryar can't replace you guys and Nitrine can't replace me!" She grinned and wiggled her ears.

"I don't think you met Lily," Spring said with a tilt of her head. "She was sleeping, like me. Poppy the Roselia had wandered out to meet you guys because she heard Pine, so that may be who you're thinking about.

"Sage is a Tropius," the Deerling said, as if that would clear up any confusion. "I'm sure you'll meet him one day. Four legs and a long neck are a great way to describe him. And he can fly with the giant leaves that come out of his back! Then there's Verdi the Vileplume and Iris the Bellossom. I also heard Bryar talking on the phone yesterday about another Pokemon that's going to join our ranch, but I'm not sure what kind..."

Bryar nodded to Nitrine's description of the west. "I think it's more deserts and caverns than mountainous, but yeah. There were definitely some leftover peaks from the White Tops trailing down towards the desert area.

"Kristen and her sister definitely had a good chunk of contacts for rehabilitating Pokemon from their battling and traveling days," he said, continuing on the topic of the old Gaia Ranch, "but I think they were more modest than not regarding the place's publicity. Plus, it was near Solaceon Town, a place known for ranches, so it probably wasn't that out of the ordinary."

Bryar paused a moment to think. "I believe the most we had at one point was a dozen of us," he said. "At the moment, it seems that there are just us four, counting Kristen, from the old ranch. I think my sister would have come as well if she hadn't gotten the Violet Gym offer. Everyone else seemed to have their own agendas, maybe opening their own ranches elsewhere or going back to what they did before turning into ranchers."

He laughed at Kellen's eyebrow wiggle and nodded in agreement when Nitrine gushed about how diverse and amazing Pokemon were. The topic turned to Bryar's days at the Eterna Gym.

"I'd like to think I'm not too bad at battling," Bryar admitted, "but it was a skill that we constantly worked on to improve. Other tests and such were our knowledge and studies of Grass-types and Pokemon in general. I definitely learned a lot while there, and I'm happy that I was able to bring that knowledge and practice with me here."

Bryar chuckled and gave his head a soft shake. "Not too much rivalry, actually," he said. "There was plenty of teasing, of course, but we all get along pretty well. Tyson was always all over the place and generally had roped Avalyn into his adventures when she was old enough to follow along. Murray and I would just make sure no one got hurt. I think there would have been more rivalry if, say, I was interested in training Fire-types like Tyson. Our parents were pretty focused on making sure we all had support."

He gave Nitrine a half-shrug and said, "We made up our own games in Twinleaf Town. Spent a lot of time at Lake Verity. There weren't too many other kids, so we all figured we had to get along if we wanted others to play with.

"Siblings can be great," Bryar said with a grin. "Glad to hear that you two get along well and that you both are able to do what you like. I remember visiting Canalave occasionally. The library was always one of my favorite places to go."

He smiled at the pictures of Lucent and the snoozing Gwyneth. "You two must have come from a handsome family," Bryar said. "Gwyneth is adorable, too. Does she join Lucent at work or does the library not want to risk having Glameow hair all over the books?"

[Deleted]

Oxana nodded in understanding. “That is true. I’ve known Nitrine longer than Mr. Bryar so there will be some things he doesn’t know or can’t handle with Nitrine. The same for us and Mr. Bryar. We barely know him, though he sure seems nice enough.”

She listened as Spring explained to Kellen who had come out to see him the night before. The Clefairy chuckled, saying, “Oh, Poppy, right. I knew it was something along those lines, haha! Lily and Poppy are both flower names.” Upon hearing more about Sage, he exclaimed, “He can fly with leaves?! I have two wings right here, and I can’t even fly with them that much.”

Oxana chimed in, “Mr. Bryar is getting another Pokémon? It sounds like there are already a lot of them on your ranch already. Don’t you guys step on each other’s toes a lot? Not literally, but you know. Here it’s just us two besides Nitrine, and sometimes Kellen grates on my nerves.”

“You need to lighten up sometimes,” Kellen retorted, and he filled his mouth with kibble. Oxana kind of glared at him but said nothing.

“When I get a ridable Pokémon,” Nitrine said, “I’ll definitely go exploring around more often. It’ll save me some sore feet. And maybe I’ll go meet Raphael in the western area, too.

“Ah, you’re right about that,” he said when Bryar mentioned that Solaceon was known for its ranches anyway. “Although, I thought that most people who owned ranches like the ones in Solaceon raised Pokémon for, like, meat and milk instead of for battling. So, like, a place that actively took in Pokémon for rehab might have been a little different.” He shrugged in the end. “I don’t really know much about ranches, though.”

His mouth formed an O when Bryar mentioned all the ranchers on the old Gaia Ranch. “A dozen people, on one ranch? Wow, that must have been super crowded! I mean, I feel like just this one acre I have is a lot, but I can’t imagine 12 people living here in my little house along with so many Pokémon, you know? No wonder Kristen had to come to an island.

“I am sure,” Nitrine added, “that battling is just one of those things that you need to practice at all the time in order to get good and stay good. And, it’s really great that you have extra knowledge on your Grass-types. Like I said, I’m really new into caring for different kinds of Pokémon, so I have to study a lot more and spend lots of time with my Pokémon to get the experience.

“Lucent was in your shoes when I was out wreaking havoc with my friends,” Nitrine told his visitor with smile. “He was the one to make sure I didn’t get my ass in hot water, and come rescue me if I did and if our father was involved.” In response to Bryar’s comment on getting along with his siblings, he said, “Yeah, I didn’t have that issue at all. Growing up in public schools definitely helped. Gosh, I had this one friend named Shirona, and she was wild! She was always getting us into all sorts of trouble, but she wasn’t like the ‘bad influence’ type of gal, you know? She was so much fun. I haven’t seen her in years.”

Nitrine gave an emphatic nod. “Yeah, siblings are awesome! I’m lucky I have a cool brother like Lucent, and I'm sure you think the same about your siblings.” Bryar’s remark on his handsome family made Nitrine look down and away, beaming ever so slightly. “Yeah, well, you know… Funny you should ask, because Lucent was just telling me the other day that he asked his boss about it, they said he can bring in one pet Pokémon to hang around as long as it ‘isn’t disruptive.’ But he says Gwyneth has horrible manners. She scratches when she doesn’t get what she wants, and she likes knocking stuff off of tables. Lucent has a squirt bottle, and she’s learning she can’t get away with crap with him, but he’s worried about library visitors.”

He got up from the table. “I’m getting super hungry; I’m going to make food. Are you sure you don’t want toast or something? I’ve got jam, and peanut butter, and regular butter.”

yes nitrine you have Bryar Glasse in your clutches.
you guys will become besties for sure
Happiness: Oxana, Kellen - 1 (1/5)

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Aera
Happiness: Spring - 1 (2/5)
Because I am a horrible person for taking so long to respond to this, I think Bryar and company will take their leave, but we should definitely RP with these guys again!}

Spring glanced over at her trainer. "Yes, Bryar is very nice," she said in agreement with Oxana's words. "We're all quite happy in his care. I hope whatever new Pokemon we get will appreciate him and feel at home just the same.

"No, not really," the Deerling said in response to Oxana's question about everyone stepping on each other's toes, so to speak. "We have plenty of room and it's always fun to see new faces. Not sure if you heard our humans, but we all used to live with many other humans and Pokemon. Although it was a little chaotic, I do miss seeing everyone. Hopefully we'll all be able to see each other often too!"

"It's definitely amazing to see all that this island has to offer," Bryar said when Nitrine brought up exploring the island. "All sorts of landscapes molding and working into one, plenty of Pokemon and people to see and meet... It's a wonderful land."

Bryar scratched his head when the topic turned to ranches. "I'm sure some did raise Pokemon and their products for food," he said with a slight shrug. "It all depended on the ranchers, I suppose. Yeah, the original Gaia Ranch was a little crowded, but it was great living with all sorts of people with all kinds of life experience."

He laughed when Nitrine compared his brother to Bryar. "Then I hope you meet Tyson and Avalyn one day," Bryar said. "Murray as well, of course, but if you're the adventurous type, then I believe you'll get along well with my older brother and my sister. I'll have to invite you over whenever they happen to come and visit. On that note, I hope you're not a stranger to my ranch. Please, feel free to come over whenever you'd like. I'll let my more experienced Pokemon know about you, and Spring can help verify your status as a friend rather than a threat."

Bryar grinned in appreciation at the stories of Shirona and Gwyneth, but shook his head gently at the offer of food. "Thank you again, but no, and I apologize again for interrupting your breakfast time. Spring and I should probably get going, in all honesty. I have to be sure my own Pokemon are up and ready for the day."

The young man stood, whistled for Spring, who bounded over to his side with a quick good-bye to Kellen and Oxana, and stretched out a hand to Nitrine. "It was wonderful to meet you, and I'm sure we'll be talking again sooner rather than later. If you need any help, please don't hesitate to call on me."

[Deleted]

On the topic of Bryar’s siblings, Nitrine chuckled and replied, “They sure sound like fun and interesting people. I look forward to meeting them one day. And thanks you a lot for inviting me over. I’m really, really glad you’re a nice person; I thought you would hate me for sure for Kellen’s antics last night.”

Oxana’s brows turned upwards at the idea. “All those different people and Pokemon, on one ranch? That must have been crowded.”

“Sounds like we just might be meeting again soon,” said Kellen when Bryar had gotten up from the table.

Nitrine took his new friend’s hand and gave a firm shake. “It was nice meeting you, too, Bryar. I probably will need some help in the future. Glad to know I can count on you! Have a nice day!”

Tagging Bryar Glasse just so you see this post.
Happiness: Oxana, Kellen - 1 (2/5)