[ti]private[/ti][004] chicken scratch

M'foxy's ...brother... was preceded first though, by a querulous waver in M'foxy's periphery, like a smudge out of place in their virtual world- which resolved itself shortly after as a sobble. One spindly leg at a time, he was attempting to scale the edge of the watering fountain as well. Being only a foot tall, he was neither having an easy time of it, nor had he noticed M'foxy. He caught sight of Mother again though, and wavered briefly, wide eyes already welling again.

Alistair was following behind at a more sedate pace, taking in the ...interesting... vibes of the area. Falas always skittered around at his own pace- Alistair was getting more used to the independent little lizard's behaviors. It was sort of funny how fast he could move- until Alistair caught sight of the little pokemon frozen on the edge of the waterfountain. The very... aesthetic... water fountain.

"Falas, you probably won't be able to turn invisible, if you get in there," He told the pokemon kindly. The sobble blinked at him with a sniff. Alistair couldn't tell if it was because he was reacting to what Ali said, or if it was because he was still upset Mother was around.

That warning issued (and he was continuing to keep a wary eye on his starter in case Falas stubbornly managed to actually get up there), he turned his attention to the other trainer- who had the appearance of a dramatically vulpine fox girl. Woman. With an inordinate amount of ears and tails... And despite her rather deific appearance, her name was M'foxy. Moreover, M'foxy... very clearly already had several pokemon, one (which might have been her starter) was on her shoulder, and the other was also standing behind their trainer on the edge.

Alistair glanced at Mother, then back to M'Foxy, "So uh," He said with a wry twist to his expression, "Are you also here to learn how to catch pokemon?" At Alistair's directed question, Falas's attention finally riveted from Mother to the fox-person and her various pokemon. If possible, his eyes got even wider, and unfortunately, as he flinched, he fell back down off the wall of the fountain, disappearing entirely again as he landed.

When Alistair spoke up, he saw M'foxy stiffen, her tails lashing, ears pressing flat. She seemed completely frozen for a moment, and he looked sidelong in the direction that Falas had vanished to. Just as abruptly, the fox-woman turned around cheerfully, introducing herself, and her pokemon. Strange, he thought- but only passingly. It wasn't his business.

"Thanks," He said, preening a little at her praise, and suspicion instantly forgotten. "This is Falas," Alistair said, gesturing in the direction his pokemon had vanished in some moments before. He really hoped the little guy was sticking put, and not getting ready to dunk himself in the inky fountain. He wouldn't know unless the pokemon decided to show himself... or fell in. Hopefully not hte latter. When the sobble still didn't show himself after a few beats of silence, Alistair added charitably, "He's quite shy. But, it's quite nice to meet you," He finished with a broad smile. His golden eyes flickered toward where Mother stood, just... you know. Waiting, "Should we...?""

Alistair let out a puff of a laugh when M'Foxy elbowed him in the side, trying to defend his ribs with his elbow unsuccessfully, but not seeming upset about it at all. He straightened up like nothing had happened when Mom turned her attention to the both of them. He listened to the explanation idly, mostly trying to discern where Falas had gone on his own, and eventually giving up. Which was of course, a little inconvenient as Mother asked him to step into the tall grass. Well, here went nothing...

"Let's go, Falas," He said, trusting the little Sobble would listen and head over. He'd been really well-behaved in that nightmare desert, so hopefully he would get the gist now... So saying, he stepped into the undergrowth- and as he did, he heard a splash from behind him, and the sound of Falas's little enraged cry.

A lillipup came charging out of the grass, but Alistair had twisted around to look in the direction of the splash. Falas was scrambling up on the other side of the fountain, absolutely drenched in ink-black water. Alistair could feel his eyes watering from here.

"Falas-" He started, glancing at M'Foxy as she let him know he could just disengage. "Thanks,"He stepped back and away from the lillipup who was nipping at his ankles, so he could turn and face the poor sobble who was crawling rather pathetically back to Ali on all fours, sniffing miserably. "It's okay, it's okay," He soothed, "It's still just water, I promise." Falas looked up at Alistair somewhat resentfully, but half tucked himself under Alistair's outer robe, peering out balefully at the retreating form of the dog-like pokemon.

"Right, let's try that again. Together this time, right?" But of course, Falas didn't spare him a single glance. At least he was nearby this time, sticking close as Alistair moved another step inward.

Unfortunately, the next pokemon that appeared was even less friendly. The purrloin hissed, and Alistair heard a returning hiss from Falas by his ankle. He had a brief moment of hope- maybe the Sobble would initiate battle-!

Until he felt little reptile claws digging into the calf of his tall boot and then upward, "Falas-" Alistair started, looking down in dismay at the still-dripping lizard, blinking away his own tears now. "My friend, it's really okay," He told the the sobble.

He looked up apologetically at M'Foxy, "Oh geeze, did the purrloin get you? He said sympathetically. Falas buried his face in Alistair's knee as though he were hiding from everything, and certainly not looking at anything, "So sorry," he continued, and then wryly, "Who knew catching a pokemon would be so difficult? He moved his hand as though he might try to reach down and pet his starter soothingly, earning him another hiss. He stopped immediately, shifting back a step as he tried to ensure he didn't shake the little lizard off on accident or get bitten himself.

He took a step back to an instant caterwaul, at which point he skittered to the side. As he did, Falas squeaked, scrabbling up farther so that he was hanging by the sash around Alistair's waist- less gold now and more inky black as the poor Pokemon continued dripping black fountain water on everything. There were little two-toed prints on his trousers too- no helping it. He resisted the urge to just scoop the panicking Sobble up, and getting it over with.

"Thanks," He said again weakly, stepping a little further again, ignoring Falas reaching slowly for the fold of his tunic to climb up that, too.

"I think I'll just settle for one that Falas isn't terrified of," Alistair said with a grimace as the sobble had now scrabbled its way up to his chest, twisting around to stare down at the Patrat weepily. Alistair was utterly unsure what to do with his hands at this point; his instinct was to support Falas ratehr than just let him cling there, but the little lizard was hissing and puffing at every movement of his.

"Let's try this, okay?" He said, brushing at some of the dry grass with his hand to flush something else out.