[ti]private[/ti]And the Halls Were Silent

To be fair, Kazuki’s modus operandi hadn’t necessarily changed since—everything, but it’s still a bit odd to experience that pang of panic when he looks around and finds Verai not within sight.

He tracks him down, and finds him wandering around the shrine at Birchwild. Kazuki walks forwards to get his attention, only to nearly collide when the man abruptly turns his way.

“What the hell are you doing?” He hisses, hands settling on Verai’s shoulders and pulling him back. “Are you that eager to get chased by hell deer?"

His hands remain on his shoulders, Kazuki puzzling over the look on Verai’s face. As Verai laments, his eyes move to the shrine nearby. Noonlight Shrine is the respawn point he’s visited the least out of all of them.

“Did you think it would help?” He sighs. “Ver, we’ve already met one of those birds. They aren’t exactly empaths.” Kazuki has never believed in gods, and he's not about to start in a videogame.

He takes his hands off him, but it’s incremental, hesitant. “You got here on your own, though. Are you getting the hang of it? Your senses.”

“Hm. Right.” At least he could do that. It would make traveling back to the Settlement easier if anything were to happen. But it would still be preferable for Verai to get a hold of his new- what to even call it. Play style?

Kazuki listens to Verai recalling Kitten’s enjoyment of the shrine. “Why don’t you let her out? I can let my cat play here too, they’d both love it. Running around and eating leaves.” Although he has noticed that Sprigatito’s been less energetic as of late. Growing pains, maybe.

Kazuki’s brows rise, having definitely not anticipated this from the man who’s been drilling him about how to care for and forge healthy relationships with cats.

“Uh. Why?” He’d been in the middle of reaching for Sprigatito’s ball as well. Now he observes Verai, the discomfort in his posture. “You know she’s going to be pissed if you keep this from her, right? And she is going to find out.” And he knows Verai would sooner cut off his own leg than get rid of his starter, so what gives?

Verai snaps at him, and where Kazuki would normally feel delighted at having gotten under his skin, this just causes him to furrow his brows. His shoulders fall with exasperation, even as Verai grabs hold of his arm. While he's made some changes in that department as well, it still astounds him, to know just how far Verai will go for his pokemon.

“You act like I’m the one who blinded you,” Kazuki snorts. He clasps Verai’s wrist in one hand. “So, what are you going to do, then?”

He pries it off, leaning into the man’s face, and it really is too bad that he can’t see anything anymore. He’d see him smiling. “You plan on leaving her to rot in that ball for as long as it takes for you to change this? Because you’d rather just keep her blissfully ignorant?”

Kazuki huffed, watching Verai fold. “You really will do anything for them, huh?” It’s a trait that would be admired by many; very appropriate for a pokemon game; heroic, even. To Kazuki, though, he finds it concerning. An Achilles’ heel.

But Kitten is released, and Kazuki’s face pinches as his ears are assaulted by the full volume of her kitten salute. His brows rise when she immediately shoots an order at him. He laughs at the audacity. “Seems like someone hasn't taught you how to say please.” But he’s pulling out Sprigatito’s ball, having already intended to let the cat out anyway.

He does take a moment to let the two talk, and also—to brace for Kitten’s tantrum.

Which does not come.

“Evolve?” He says, absolutely confused. His ears are still ringing, though. “The man can’t see. How is that evolving?”

Kazuki snickers as Kitten attempts to lick Verai’s eyes. The cat is just so damn weird sometimes—but his laughter is cut off as she suddenly turns to him, her tiny eyes for some reason all too wide, all too seeing as she speaks.

And her words are— simple, really, but they make a surprisingly good point.

“Yeah, Ver,” Kazuki hums, tossing the ball in his hands. “Next time, you should get wings, and turn that amor into a bikini like what we did with the prince.”

The ball pops open, and out comes Sprigatito, who comes shaking out of the light. He lets out a big yawn, blinking slowly at his surroundings, before spotting Verai and Kitten nearby. <Kitten!> He cries happily, toddling over to Verai’s feet, where he frolics insistently, as if to trip the man. <Play, play, play!>

Kazuki stands back with arms crossed, considering Verai. Possibly considering him in that imaginary armor he suggested.