[closed] because i always keep a promise, and this one's for you.

[whatagoodgirl]

Who: Bianca, Shou Hitokage, and Nakama
What: Meeting the horses at the park and taking a carriage ride!
When: Day 141
Where: Gefion Park
Rating: PG for Shou's mouth? At most?

She doesn't take the chance of jogging to the park since her body is still recovering from days of no food or sleep; a leisurely pace will get her there soon enough, surely, since Bianca said she doesn't move too quickly anyway. And sure enough, when she gets there, she's the first one to arrive. She leans against one of the trees, playing with the ends of her hair - she's worn it in a braid instead of a ponytail today, after an odd encounter with a hairstylist Pokemon convinced her that she kind of liked it, and she's wondering if anyone will notice or say anything about her usual ponytail being replaced.

((bianca, shou, nakama posting order, okay?))

Comments

[needsmoregreen]

One of the first things Nakama should know about Bianca is that she is rarely ever one time. This wasn't one of them as she arrived an hour after Nakama talked over her mailbox. She was trying to get better at it but...

She didn't realize how much time had passed since then and now she's running as fast as she could to the meeting spot. Once she gets there, Bianca was looking around for her friend in hopes that she didn't leave just yet.

Right now, she just hopes that she didn't mess anything up.

[burningcreator]

Shou seemed to be... in good spirits.

He was going to be on time, honest! He was just about to shower when he accidentally noticed that Karu was in there first. He was trying to conserve water, really!

...and an hour later, he was out of the house.

At least his mood was good? He had a spring in his step and was whistling... Anyone who knew him would see this as peculiar behavior.

"Mornin'!" Or was it afternoon by now..? He clapped his hands together, looking eager. "Where's yer friend?" Aaaand that's about when Bianca would be running at them.

[whatagoodgirl]

"Oh, hey Shou." She smiles, glad to see him looking so happy. "She should just be - oh, there she is!"

Nakama waves her over, then makes the introductions politely. "Bianca, this is Shou Hitokage. Shou, this is Bianca. Did you bring your Pokemon, Bianca? I'd like to meet him in person, but probably not around the horses. He might spook them."

[needsmoregreen]

At this point, Bianca was on the verge of passing out. Luckily, she had enough energy to walk toward where Shou and Nakama were. She was just glad that the both of them weren't mad at her for being late.

"Whew, looks like I just got here on time!" She smiled before greeting to the both of them. "It's nice to meet you, Shou! And yes, I did! I can bring him out now if you want! Emboar is always willing to meet new people and especially in a new world like this!" Then she starts digging her green purse for her pokeball. "I hope you're ready because he is pretty big!"

[burningcreator]

Wait. Pokemon?

Shou remembered getting into an argument with Red over his yellow bunny thing. Red insisted it was an electric mouse, but Shou persisted that mice don't look like that, and it was clearly a bunny.

Did that mean she had a yellow bunny thing too!?

"Ah... Mornin'!" He greeted, trying not to be too thrown off by the talk of Pokemon. They didn't have any in his world, so he was certainly in for a surprise, hoo boy...

[whatagoodgirl]

Nakama takes a few steps back, remembering Steelix and what a shock he turned out to be in person. Emboar hadn't looked that big on the screen, but she'd been pretty out of it - she should be prepared this time, and not pass out if he turns out to be a giant.

[needsmoregreen]

With that, once Bianca threw her pokeball into the field, Emboar let out a roar before stretching around a bit. Have a giant, flaming pig guys.

"Did you have a good nap?" She giggled before presenting him to her new friends. "Anyway, this is Emboar! Why don't you say hi?"

At first, her pokemon simply looked at both of them before deciding to give a wave. At this point, Emboar was well aware that people would be scared by his appearance if his experience with Hanako goes.

Luckily for Nakama, Emboar wasn't that big compared to Steelix. He was just wide if anything.

[burningcreator]

Now, Shou had talked about a Pokemon before, but he hadn't actually seen one in person. So when something that size materialized out of that ball...

"S-shit-!!" He staggered back, bumping into a tree.

God, the look on his face suggested he was convinced the beast was going to eat him. He kind of wanted to exclaim something about that being the biggest pig he's ever seen, but then it waves and another wave OH GOD WHAT IS THAT washes over him, leaving him speechless.

[whatagoodgirl]

She's ready for it after Darkrai and Steelix, and although she jumps a little, she manages to keep her calm this time and even wave back.

But then she sees Shou's reaction, and she's quick to hurry over to him and soothe his fear.

"Shou, it's okay... they're not like wild animals, they're senti - they think like people. I've seen lots of bigger and scarier Pokemon than this, and none of them have ever been at all threatening to me. He's safe."

[needsmoregreen]

For a moment, Bianca was slightly panicking. She was certain that most people already knew what a pokemon was based on the people who she talked to. Looks like she was wrong as she let out a nervous laughter.

"That's right, Emboar wouldn't hurt anyone here! He's really gentle despite what he looks like!" Meanwhile, her pokemon had a feeling this would happen sooner or later. However, he'll just be patient and just let them continue talking. "I promise, he won't bite at all!"

[burningcreator]

Shou relaxes as they both jump to tell him it's fine.

"Haha... ha... I jus' uh... ne'er seen one. I was jus' surprised." He realizes he was clenching his fists and tensing his shoulders, shaking out that tension after a moment.

"Er..." He waves at Emboar, staring at it. "I 'ad pigs at home but..."

He takes a tentative step towards Emboar, looking him over. Seems like Shou is okay with it just... careful.

[whatagoodgirl]

"You did better than me," Nakama admits, casting him a sidelong smile. "The first Pokemon I met was a steel snake about the size of a skyscraper, and I fainted."

[needsmoregreen]

With that, Emboar waved right back at Shou. Normally, the pokemon would go up and hug Cheren and Hilda but he won't do that just yet.

"You and pigs at home?" Bianca asked before looking back at Nakama. "Steel snak- Oh, you mean Jasmine's Steelix right? Haha, I'm pretty sure her Steelix is harmless too so there's nothing to worry about!"

Should she mention to Shou that there were going to be a lot more around here? Hm...

[burningcreator]

Nakama's description of a steelix does him no favors. That sounds awful. At least now he's glad the first one he met was smaller than that.

Of course, Bianca's question draws his attention.

"Oh..! I was raised onna farm, so I 'ad all kinds o' animals. I e'en brought a pig wit' me here!" His smile fades a little as he mentions the pig. The animal had run away and been killed during the darkness, so he didn't even have that little companion anymore.

"So uh, what're we up to t'day?" He asks, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

[whatagoodgirl]

"Oh, I've taken a ride on him since, so I know that now. But seeing him, and then having him bend down and try to smile at me... I don't think I'll ever forget it."

She turns to Shou, glad to see him fully recovered and even chatting happily with Bianca. "I was thinking Bianca could meet the horses, and then maybe we could go on a carriage ride to show her around the park and she could try driving it for a little while?"

[needsmoregreen]

"That sounds like a lot fun living with a bunch of animals!" She smiled at him before she noticed him frowning just a bit. She wasn't going to push the topic if he didn't want to. Quick, Bianca, change the subject! Oh good, they already did.

"Yea, what Nakama said! Is that okay? I'll put Emboar back in his pokeball if you do! I don't think there's anyway he can fit in a carriage!"

Her pokemon stared at her as in 'what is that suppose to mean' look. Bianca just giggled. "You know what I mean!"

[burningcreator]

"Sounds good t' me!" He certainly was in good spirits.

He took off down the path, leading them around the lake towards the horse corral. It wasn't a very long walk, and even if they thought it was too long, at least the scenery was nice!

The main part of the park around the lake was more colorful than any other part, as this was where most people spent their time. Even the horse corral was a bit dull in comparison. He hopped the fence with ease, moving to the gate to unlock it from the inside, swinging it open.

"C'mon in! They don' bite..."

[whatagoodgirl]

"Oh, Bianca, you should know..." She glances over at the girl, wondering if she really needs to prepare someone with a giant flaming pig for this. "... I don't know what horses look like in your world, or if there even are horse Pokemon, but the ones here have eight legs. Just so that they don't scare you."

Then she leads the way through the gate, smiling warmly at Shou. He's in good form today, and it's wonderful to see him so much like the person she first met in the corral. Not the nervous, often drunken, angry man she's been living with.

[needsmoregreen]

"Eight...legs? So is it like a spider?" All the pokemon horses that Bianca has seen had four legs but to see one with eight? It was cool to see something like that! "I don't think something like that could scare me!" Although spiders do.

Bianca had been through the park many times and every time she does, she can't get enough of it. It reminded her too much of home where she met Elesa and her dad. She shook her head once they go straight to the gate.

"H-Huh?" She stuttered once she finally said horses. "Whoa..."

[burningcreator]

He was even whistling as he made his way to the barn, collecting a few carrots, handing one to each of the girls and then hesitating near Emboar with two more in his hand.

"Er... Does he eat carrots?" He asked, turning to Bianca with the question.

At the sight of carrots, some of the horses milling around began trotting over to them. They were just as slender and elegant looking as any other horse, they just... had more legs.

One large horse in particular started nudging at Shou's shoulder, trying to reach for one of the carrots with its teeth. Shou nudged the beast back with his shoulder, giving it a look.

"Y'all better be patient..!" He warned, hiding the carrots behind his back. The two 'beasts' exchanged facial expressions. Shou and the horse. Until the horse finally gave up and started nosing at his face, trying to win his favor.

[whatagoodgirl]

Nakama watches the display, and she can't help but giggle, the high spirits rubbing off on her. She breaks her carrot into pieces so that she can feed as many as possible, but waits for Shou to be finished with his performance so that he can indicate which ones are the gentlest. She's still a little afraid of losing a hand every time she feeds one of the horses by hand. All those teeth...!

"They're cool, aren't they?" She whispers to Bianca, seeing the shock in her face.

[needsmoregreen]

It seemed that the energy was starting to rub off on Bianca as well.

"Yup, Emboar eats carrots too! He's usually willing to eat most things." There was that one time she tried to feed him some cherries but...never again. "But don't worry, he won't eat them unless he's really hungry!"

With that, Bianca did the same thing as Nakama and broke her carrots into pieces. That is what you're suppose to do right?

"Mhmm, they are!" She said before walking up to one. At first she did hesitate a bit but it didn't take long until she decided to pet one. "You know, for a moment, I was scared that they were going to be really mean but I'm glad that I was wrong! They're really nice, just like some of the pokemon back home!"

[burningcreator]

One of the smaller mares recognized Nakama from the day they went riding, coming over to nibble at the end of her braid, sniffing at her hands where the bits of carrots lay. The horse headbutting Shou finally gave up, as Shou was offering a carrot to Emboar, instead focusing on Bianca. The stallion sniffed at her, nudging her shoulder with his face.

Shou looked over his shoulder, whistling through his teeth to get the stallion's attention.

"Oi, don' let him bully you." He told Bianca. "Y' give 'im a carrot when yer good an' ready."

Once he'd given one of the carrots to Emboar, he also broke up his carrot, walking off into the field to feed some of the more timid horses that wouldn't come over to the group.

The beasts, ranging in size and coat patterns, didn't run from the farmboy, but they'd shy back a little if one of the girls were to come over, or just bolt somewhere else should Emboar decide to go over.

[whatagoodgirl]

"Wh -" She blinks and turns around when she feels a tug on her braid, then smiles almost tenderly. "Oh, hello. Are you hungry?"

When Shou walks away, Nakama turns to explain to Bianca: "This is the one I learned to ride. She was really good and gentle, she didn't bolt on me or anything. I was so scared..."

Her smile broadens at Bianca's expression of worry. "I was scared of them at first too, don't worry. There are so many things here that are strange... the natives, the horses, the people from different planets... but most of them aren't dangerous. The dangers here tend to be a lot more obvious."

A slight flagging of her smile, but it perks up again soon enough.

[needsmoregreen]

Bianca let out a giggle. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let them bully me! I'm a lot more stubborn then that!" She let out a huff before she waited a bit. At first the horse let out a whine before she giggled. With that, she gave the horse what he wanted. "Ta-dah! That's your reward for waiting!"

Meanwhile Emboar just stared at his carrot before looking back at the horses. Should he attempt to go feed them? Oh well, as he approached them...oops, there they go off walking away from him. The joys of being a giant, flaming pig.

"Ah, don't be depressed, Emboar! They just don't know you yet!"