Dinner for Dragons - A Darts and Blizzard Production

[Atlantis_Darts]

Inside the confines of headquarters, all was silent for the moment... a hush had fallen over the sleepy confines of the Snagem base and it seemed as though no person or presence could break the sleepy silence.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Darts screams as he topples down the stairwell end-over end. His golden crest 'clonks' as it impacts the tile floor at the bottom, but the hybrid doesn't really seem to notice as he pulls himself from his flattened position immediately, looking at his SNAG almost in fright. "Blizz!" he shouts, running to and fro anxiously from empty room to empty room, his jacket trailing behind him as he does so. "Blizzard!" The dragon seemed a mite bit... panicked about something.  

[Atlantis_Darts]

Blizzard120

I sat in the main room, looking back towards the hall where the stairwell would have been, hearing Darts in a panic. "Right on time..." I said, taking out my SNAG, checking the time on it. "...apparently, "Dartboard-san" hasn't figured out a decent sleep schedule despite training with a group that has a really harsh discipline." I said to myself. I then looked back towards the hall, stashing my SNAG in my vest, waiting on Darts to show up.

Darts comes peeling into the room a couple seconds later, stumbling about with some kind of bucket stuck on his foot from where he had sprinted into the supply closet in his haste. He hops about agitatedly for a few moments, kicking furiously until the plastic trinket slides off with a clonk. Realizing he was being watched, he straightens his back slightly as he registers the Articuno hybrid's presence. "Eh erm yes...!" Darts mutters, trying to force a superior look onto his face. "Clearly you are here because neither of us forgot about the dinner engagement that had been created earlier in the day!" The Elder had actually sent several messages to his pupil over the course of the week, and it would have served to jog the gambler's memory had he bothered to plug it in to charge before today.  

[Atlantis_Darts]

Blizzard120

"......" Sadly, Darts wasn't fooling anyone. Let alone me. "Uh, huh...so pray tell, you plan on taking a shower before you leave?" I asked. If I had eyebrows to raise, it'd be risen right now.

"Really I'd have to take my jacket off for that..." The gambler admits, with an embarrassed shrug of his shoulders. "Usually I fly through clouds and let the precipitation do the work." He checks his SNAG again, double checking the latest message from his master. "...ah." He says, viewing the latest correspondence. "Says here we're supposed to pick Pryce up on our way." He holds the device out for the Articuno hybrid to confirm.  

[Atlantis_Darts]

Blizzard120

"Yea, I know, I already talked to teacher about that one..." I said to him. "...It shouldn't take all that long with Telia teleporting from here to Mahogany, then heading off to dinner." I said. "I wonder if he is ready to go, though..."

"Is he the type of person to be unprepared?" The Giratina hybrid asks, cocking an eyebrow beneath his crest, one of his blood red eyes quirking slightly as he does. "I've never had the pleasure of meeting Pryce... I know he's a Gym Leader and all..."  

[Atlantis_Darts]

Blizzard120

"Generally, no." I said to him, taking out a Pokeball and revealing Telia.

"Gardevoir..." The pokemon spoke, giving a slight yawn.

"Hey, Telia, feeling alright?"

"Gardevoir." She then spoke.

"We're going home for the moment. Got to go pick up Teacher real quick."

"Voir?"

"Yea, really. At any rate, ready to go?"

"As ready as a Dragon type ever is to step into a den of ice..." Darts mutters, crossing his arms slightly as though a chill had already run through him at the mere mention of the word. "Lead on."  

[Atlantis_Darts]

Blizzard120

"In that case, take it away, Telia. Home to Mahogany Town, please." I said.

"Gardevoir." She spoke with a nod. With a bit of focus, the three were gone in a blink, instantaneously arriving at Mahogany Town with no problems at all, just down the walkway to the front door of the Mahogany Town gym. I took a deep breath, taking in the winter air that loomed in the town. I felt a little at ease compared to a short bit ago.

"Home sweet home..." I said to myself.

"AAAA!" I perked up and before I knew it, someone was rushing out of the gym, seemed to be a kid, roughly 12...maybe 13 at the most, dressed in red and white and carrying a Pikachu in his arms...that was completely frozen. "Don't worry Pikachu! I'll get you to a Pokemon Center and you'll be better!" he said, paying no mind to the hybrids or Gardevoir as he rushed on by and made the beeline for the Pokemon Center, nearly losing footing on the ice he tread once or twice on his way towards the street.

"...another victim of a gym challenge at Mahogany. Come on, you two." I said.

"Gardevoir!" Telia then said, happily following along. Yea, I was home alright. I then made my way towards the front door.

Darts glances at the kid as he passes the pair of them and jabs a thumb over his shoulder. "For a kid he seemed... old beyond his years." Oh well, maybe it was just a case of mistaken identity. The Giratina hybrid shrugs it off as he follows Blizz inside of the Mahogany gym. Even with a set of usually invisible wings he was having trouble with every single step, his feet skidding out at every opportunity of progressing across any patch of ice like the element was trying to spite him. Seeing how cold Blizzard was... the gambler was more than a little apprehensive to meet the person the Articuno hybrid called teacher... he had taken enough ice attacks in his time even as a human.  

[Atlantis_Darts]

Blizzard120

Telia and I made it through the front door, holding it open long enough for Darts to come on through. Soon after, I made my way down the hall and the three would soon find themselves to a grand icy battlefield, where on the Gym leader's side, Pryce was there tending to a Pokemon of his. His Piloswine.

"Dear God...Piloswine? Tell me that kid was at least dead to rights in having to use a Pikachu against him." Teacher gave me a side glance, as if I should know the answer to that. "Blast it."

"Sad to say, I'm starting to find competent trainers slowly but surely getting more sparse." Pryce said. "Thank you, Piloswine. That is all for today." He then said, giving the massive Pokemon a couple of pats on its side then recalled the beast to its ball.

"I'm starting to figure out how some of these criminal organizations get their grunts, honestly. A lot can't fight to save their life, let alone their Pokemon." I said. "So, ready to go, then?" I asked.

"Yes. I actually find it funny after all of this time the old Master would invite me. Though, considering the circumstances on how that came about, part of me isn't surprised. Speaking of said circumstances that you told me about..." he said as he starts to come off the field and approaches Darts, looking at him with what could be a rather calm, studying gaze. "...this is the one that he's took in to train, hm? Interesting. Yet not too surprising. I do suppose he tries to find his ways to keep himself occupied at his age."

"You're making it sound like he's a toy." I said.

"Not necessarily. That being said, some people tend to let it get to their heads at times."

"That explains Clair at least."

"Well, it doesn't help that she's virtually family, as well." Pryce said.

"True. Speaking of, I can't say I'm looking fully towards this. Just so you know, if crap hits the fan over there involving me, you'll probably know why." I said. "Especially if she drags Alexi with her. Bah. I only have so much tolerance with those two."

"I know." Pryce said, adjusting his scarf around on his overcoat.

"Hey, I'm right here..." Darts comments with a slight raise of his golden hand, feeling ignored by both of the ice prodigies. "Just because the both of you are old enough to be hard of hearing doesn't mean I am..." he grumbles, jacket swishing in an irritated sort of fashion as he crosses his arms. "

He pauses for a second, thinking for a moment before plucking up the courage to ask Pryce something. "So... how exactly do you know Teacher, anyhow?" Darts' master had been sparse on the details of the relationship between the Gym Leader and himself, and the Giratina hybrid knew the kind of punishments that went along with asking his own master, better to tread on unknown ground and satisfy his curiosity than end up dragging weights up a waterfall again.  

[Atlantis_Darts]

Blizzard120

"You weren't saying anything." The two of us spoke up, practically in unison to Darts' complaint. That said, I ended up realizing something, staring at Teacher for a brief second, wondering did what just happen happened. Good grief. When Darts then brought up his moment of curiosity, I couldn't help but to wonder myself. "Yeaaaahhh...you never once told me about it until I called you about this thing." I told him.

"Who do you suppose ran the Blackthorn Gym before Clair?" He asked the two of us.

"........really." I said, needing an intrigued eyebrow to raise once again.

"Oh yes, and unlike now with Clair running the show, the gyms were a bit closer in ties and better in touch. However, when Clair came of age and was competent enough to run a gym..."

"'Competent' being a debated term, considering." I spoke up.

"...right, well, the master decided to take a early retirement from the Pokemon league and focus all efforts on the Dragon's den, and by extension, the Clan that's about it. I recall him stating something about finding some sort of enlightenment just before the retirement became official." Pryce explained. "I think he was waiting on Clair to hurry up and get all certifications done to take over the gym. Its funny really. I still remember her when she was in pull-ups, then before I knew it, she had the gym."

Something just then hit me now that he mentioned it. Nothing that I thought about until now. ".........just...how old is Clair, anyways? Because the way you talk, she's older than she looks."

"Yes, well...its nothing important, and for your sake, anything that you need to know. You already take enough ire from her. Or would you prefer more?" Pryce asked. "Especially now of all times?"

"Point taken."

"Good. Long story short, when he became the clan elder, we fell out of touch, mainly on his advice, however. I never understood why, even to this day. Though knowing him as I did back then, I'm certain he had his reasons." Pryce then finished explaining, looking back at Darts.

"No doubt something to do with Clan business..." Darts muses, scratching his chin slightly again. "I suppose we'll be able to ask him when we get to the Sanctuary, after all. Now, seeing as neither of you have ever been to the compound proper, I should warn you that we're in for quite a trek... it's a ways outside of Blackthorn. The inclement weather prevents us from flying too close to the entrance. I would also warn the both of you about Dragons but seeing who I'm talking to..." he lets the sentence trail off, unfinished.