Suddenly in the midst of a Summer Festival--

[ulternnpc]

 

There's a distinct sound of waves, and bustling of people nearby.

In the coastal city of Turnbloom the sun is bright and warm, and the scent of the sea wafts through with the cool gentle breeze that makes the glittering pinwheels spin, and the leaves on the palm tree dance.

Today the streets are extra decorated with these cute, colorful and floral shaped pinwheels. It seemed the people who were out in the streets were dressed in colorful summer attire--either casual, or the more traditional yukata. It seemed like with the booths were set out for both food and games for festival of some kind that was currently underway.

Just how did you get here, and why? A mystery, and it seemed the people in the streets didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary as they go about enjoying their time out on this bright sunny day.

---

(🌺Please don't forget to check out the OOC post for those who haven't yet!🌺)

Comments

Option B!

[derailer]

On one hand, Ingo is a law-abiding man, and this is clearly a crime occurring. On the other hand... it's just a child. He feels the obligation to step in after witnessing this happen, but he isn't going to act with anger or condemnation. They're in a new place, anyway. Who knows what the culture is like wherever Gold is from? He literally might not know about currency.

Ingo moves to block Gold's way, as non-threatening as he can, gently extending an arm to prevent passage.

"Excuse me! I wonder if you have forgotten to give the cashier the coins for the donut?" A good faith interpretation, which will hopefully shame him into compliance even if it was deliberate malice.

Ingo! Yay!

[gold_drum]

Gold tenses as the man blocks his way, and stares up at him with an aggressively cheerful smile. Ugh, not some goody-two-shoes with a fancy, shiny uniform. Those types were the worst.

"Wow! You're right! I did forget!" Gold says with a bright smile, and bows. "Thank you!"

...And ducks under Ingo's arm and makes a run for it. Sorry, Ingo!

[derailer]

Oh boy. It's this kind of child. The difficulty here is higher than he would have preferred. They can be mutually exasperated by each other.

Luckily, Lady Sneasler is also with him, and she is a fair bit more intimidating. She steps out with a snarl to try and block Gold's passage, claws glinting—though she does not attack with them.

Ingo is digging for his coin purse while he gives Sneasler primary guard duties.

[gold_drum]

Intimidating, she is - a bit too much for Gold's liking. He freezes up, then takes half a step back, not averting his eye from Sneasler's claws. This reminds him way too much of a Houndoom he recently got attacked by.

One of his Pokemon seems to agree, as without prompting, a Pokeball bursts open. An Umbreon materializes between Gold and Sneasler, snarling furiously at her, but not attacking either.

"Mateo..." Gold breathes out in surprise and relief, but doesn't make any commands. Though he wants to glance over at Ingo to see what he's doing, he doesn't dare look away from Sneasler even for a second.

[derailer]

"My lady, please do not rise to provocation." It is a preemptive chiding. Sneasler takes it to heart, and just growls lowly at the Umbreon.

Ingo takes out the money for the donut, and holds it out in his palm to show Gold. "Here."

[gold_drum]

Gold blinks as Ingo shows him money. He stares at it in confusion, glancing up at Ingo's face, then quickly turns to his Umbreon.

"Mateo, chill, these guys might be alright," he says, before turning back to Ingo as the Umbreon's growling lowers in volume and intensity. "Uh, is this for me?" Gold asks, pointing at the money Ingo's holding. He's itching to grab it, but he's still a bit on edge at the whole situation.

[derailer]

"It is for the donut." He gestures back towards the stall with his free hand. "Please just offer this to the worker there, to smooth things over!"

[gold_drum]

"Oh, uh... okay." Gold shrugs, accepting the money. Then he turns towards the stall, but... it'd be really awkward to go up to the stallkeeper and admit he took a donut without paying. It's all right if he just gives the money somehow, right? Right.

So Gold winds up and throws the coins at the stall.

"I'M BUYING A DONUT!" he shouts at the shopkeep, waving the donut in the air. "THANKS! BYE!"

Phew. Awkward interaction avoided. He turns back to Ingo with a wide smile. (ooc: As Emmet's brother, I assume Ingo can probably tell different kinds of smiles apart pretty well? This isn't a genuine smile, but it's not an unhappy one, either.)

"Thanks, old man! That was nice of you."

(Meanwhile, Gold's Umbreon stopped growling at Lady Sneasler around the time he shouted, and is now staring at Gold in disbelief.)

[derailer]

Ingo is indeed skeptical of smiles that don't reach the eyes being genuine. This feels more like a "default" smile, which could be worse.

And it's just a kid anyway, he reiterates to himself, in order to maintain a polite and un-offended demeanor.

"In the future, please remember to make such a transaction at the time that you first acquire the food."

[gold_drum]

"Sure, I'll do that!" Gold says brightly, with no sign of remorse. He'll absolutely do this again.

However, Ingo's earnestness and unflappability has him kind of intrigued. He finds himself wanting to mess with the guy to see what it'd take to get a reaction out of him. (Also, Gold kind of just finds Ingo endearing, but he's not honest enough with himself to admit it.)

"Hey, old man! Wanna go around the festival with me?" Gold asks, grabbing onto Ingo's sleeve with his free hand and tugging slightly. "You could buy me more stuff!"

[derailer]

"You have a Pokemon, do you not? Don't you have the ability to battle, to earn money to pay for things on your own?"

Paying for something that already needs to be smoothed over is one thing, but going around and paying for anything this child wants at the festival seems a little... much.

[gold_drum]

"Well, yeah, but I'm saving up money for something!" Gold whines. "And I dunno how much money I'm gonna need in this new region I ended up in, or how I'm gonna get back home. I might need to save money for a plane ticket too!" He gives another little tug on Ingo's sleeve and tries to look as cute as possible, looking up at him. "Besides, I heard old people love buying stuff for kids! It makes them feel alive or something! Pleeease?"

Off to the side, Gold's Umbreon is watching this all with a bit of second hand embarrassment.

[derailer]

Ingo exchanges a look with Umbreon. At least Umbreon knows this is excessive. Umbreon is the adult here...

"You realize I am also stranded here, and need to make sure to support my own finances, in case of whatever emergency may come? What I will offer you is only a battle. If you can defeat me, I will pay you as I normally would. And I will not ask for any payment from you should you lose, in consideration of your circumstances."

[gold_drum]

Umbreon is more of an edgy teenager, but he returns Ingo's look all the while.

"Oh, yeah, I guess that's true," Gold says. Money is an issue even for grown-ups, huh. He lets go of Ingo's sleeve. But at Ingo's offering, he brightens into a far more genuine smile. "Really? Yes! I'll accept your challenge!" Gold says, brimming with confidence. "Thanks, old man! Get ready to pay up when you lose!"

(OOC: Do you want to mostly offscreen the battle? I think Ingo would definitely win.)

[derailer]

((yeah, an offscreen battle works for me!))

"Yes, yes."

At least Ingo is a professional, and plans to handle this situation with grace, whether he wins or loses. It will be fun to have a battle, anyway!

"I am a Subway Boss, Ingo. I will choose the next destination based on your talent. Do you understand Pokemon well? Can you hold on to your principle? Will you go on to victory or defeat? All aboard!"

He opens with Crustle. Good luck, Umbreon.

[gold_drum]

"Wait, right here?!" Gold exclaims with a bit of flailing, glancing at the festival booths and festival-goers around them. "I think maybe you should choose the next destination to be somewhere with more space!"

Mateo the Umbreon, however, steps forward with a growl, ready to fight whenever and wherever, though he pauses to give Crustle a polite greeting, as if remembering his manners suddenly.