Torinoko Hall of Games

[Glyph]

Silver rolled his eyes, not bothering to watch for Gold's inevitable shrug.

"I'm going to Goldenrod." Or whatever passed for Goldenrod here. He'd never really bothered to clarify--either way, the place still looked the same, and had the benefit of being one of the few cities whose people didn't automatically dislike him for his past stupidities. "Not staying long. Follow me if you want. Or not. Whatever. Just stay out of my way."

Even he wasn't quite sure if that was a threat or an invitation.

[Meryck]

Gold smiled cheerfully and shrugged his hands in his pockets. Goldenrod, huh? Good, good.

The boy tried not to flinch at the sound of Pokemon running around through the trees and grass.

[Glyph]

Silver snorted when he realized Gold was indeed going to follow him, but otherwise didn't comment on his presence. He, too, was listening to the scurryings in the forest--but instead of remembered fear, his eyes held a tired, scarcely veiled regret. It made him glad that he was leading, and that the hair flopping in across his brows hid his face--he was in no mood for one of Gold's sopfests.

"Hmph." Instead he grunted, sounding irritated. "What's got them riled up again?"

[Meryck]

"Dunno....l-let's just keep going." Gold had once been able to keep his emotions in decent check, although by nature he had always been a kind, forgiving, empathetic soul. Had this been several years ago, before It happened, he wouldn't have seemed very bothered.

Not anymore, considering the shake in his voice, the hunch of his shoulders, the darting of his eyes. Now it said "Yeah okay usually they're very quiet fine whatever it still is FREAKING ME OUT CANWEHURRYUPANDLEAVENOWPLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE?!"

[Glyph]

Silver barely missed a beat--if you hadn't been looking closely, you wouldn't have realized he'd misstepped at all. But Silver hadn't missed the flutter of panic that had squeezed itself in between the cracks in Gold's voice.

So he paused. Just for a second.

"... Whatever."

And then his pace quickened. They weren't far from the edge of the forest, anyway.

[Meryck]

Gold's clip quickened as well, ending up with him closer to the redhead, almost like a child hiding behind a protective someone.

He was utterly relieved when they had gotten out of the dark forest.

[Glyph]

Silver paused at the edge of the trees, wisely stepping to the side to avoid the inevitable collision with Gold, and just took a moment to gaze out across Route 35. The former-trainer couldn't remember the last time he'd passed by here, but the tiny path was still as he'd remembered it. Tall, untrimmed grass waved in careful arcs next to the well-trodden dirt path carving through the center of the forest. The same, old, sun-bleached fences stood like guards, blocking anyone stupid enough to walk too close to the edge of the shore from falling in the ponds. Somewhere in the distance there was laughter--he didn't doubt that there were a couple of picnickers out enjoying the sunshine.

They always had been a giggly bunch. He rolled his eyes and continued on, hands thrust in the pockets of his jacket, even though it was a warm day and he was still sopping wet. It wasn't far to Goldenrod from here, he remembered--a bend up ahead, past a ridge and another fence, and they'd reach the city limits.

[Meryck]

Calmed by exiting the forest, Gold returned to his original stride, straightening. A smile passed on his lips- he had always liked this route. It was calm, peaceful even.

Well, so long as you weren't on it at night.

Relaxed now, the boy had to wonder what his compatriot wanted in Goldenrod. Not like anything important was there anymore.

[Glyph]

For a few, terrifying moments, when Silver had first opened his eyes in Torinoko and found himself, once again, outside Professor Elm's window, he'd thought the cycle had begun anew. He was sure that someone, somewhere, had reset the world, and he was going to be forced to relive everything all over again.

He didn't question it when he found he could move of his own volition--he just ran, out of Newbark and into the forest in a dark parody of his first flight from the small town... but, this time, his pockets had been empty.

He'd gone to Goldenrod then--the farthest west he could manage, and the most distance he could put between himself and the hated city before he exhausted himself. He'd had no money for the ferry to get to Cianwood, and no interest in continuing to Ecruteak or Olivine. They weren't too fond of him there, anyway. That had been some time ago--a time he didn't often think about.

Now, with the sights and sounds of the city again quickly approaching, Silver wasn't sure if the sight of Goldenrod set him at ease, or stretched his nerves. Maybe a little of both... maybe neither.

With his eyes trained ahead, Silver shrugged and just kept walking.

[Meryck]

Gold had awoken on the top of Burned Tower, jolting from the nightmarish, hacked hell that had been his last moments of life with a shattered psyche and none of his pokemon with him anymore. He hadn't been sure if it was a curse or a blessing, as his spiral and dismal ending had left him utterly afraid of how ugly a pokemon battle could become, turning each cry he heard a pitch more sorrowful. It took him an entire day to pull himself to a close enough semblance of 'together' and crawl out of the Tower, where the townspeople screamed in alarm as the boy they had known as Lugia's Awakener appeared before them in a broken, bereft, mute state. Many more days in the hospital passed before he could talk again. His mother fled from New Bark Town to him, sobbing all over the poor boy. Elm came too, expressing both panic and relief over his state.

And then an Aide mentioned a sighting of a panicked redhead fleeing from near the lab.

Goldenrod was a place of coming together, he assumed, as well as turning points. It was here, in life, Gold finally had enough of Silver's pushy antagonism which both pushed the ex-thief to the limits of his mind and put him on the path that made him who he was now. In death, he wasn't quite sure if the bustling city was as nice as it used to be.

The route was still lovely though.

[Glyph]

Goldenrod had become almost a haven to Silver in the time before he'd realized Gold and the others were alive. He couldn't remember exactly how he'd finally gotten to the Pokemon Center--or how he'd even found it in the first place within the sprawling city--or how long he'd spent holed up in one of the rooms upstairs. But no one had questioned it, and, more importantly, no one had berated him. Though he'd avoided contact like the plague, it was the fact that the silence he'd sought shelter in was calm and concerned, not disapproving and cold, that had really helped him regather his wits.

Some things were put back in place immediately--his scowl, his hatred for Team Rocket, his disgust of weakness. Others had been tossed aside--mostly memories, things he didn't have the strength to deal with. And the rest? Well, whatever had been left over was used to begin to rebuild the stony wall that had been blown to bits at his death.

But Silver wasn't thinking about any of that when he rounded the bend and caught the first glimpse of Goldenrod's skyscrapers peeking over the ridge. No, he was formulating a plan to blow off some steam...

The red-haired boy paused in his calculations long enough to glance over at Gold again. He seemed to have calmed down, and was busy being spacey. No surprise there. But what had he been doing so far off the beaten path earlier?

"... So, besides stalking me again, what were you doing out here, anyway?"

[Meryck]

Gold had forcibly clawed his way out of the hospital when he heard that Silver was alive, despite the frantic warnings of nurses and friends alike. He hadn't heard a word of it, honestly, and he did feel terrible, but--- Had they seen what he had, they would've instantaneously understood his need to find the redhead. Without pokemon, the trek was long and painful and, by the time the boy had entered the city limits, he was sporting multiple bandages on his arms and face.

It seemed fate liked toys, as it was just before the Radio Tower he saw that familiar face....

The ex-Champion blinked out of his daze, looking down at his shorter friend. He gave a shrug, then moved his eyes to the city's skyline, pupils tracing the buildings slowly.

[Glyph]

((OOC: And, cue convenient flashback. xD))

He'd just been passing by. It'd been a nice day, and he'd been holed up in the Pokemon Center for entirely too long. Still, he hadn't meant to come this far.

Silver glanced up from beneath the shadow of the Radio Tower, its shade nearly the same color as the dark circles that still ringed his eyes. The building rose above the neighboring businesses, recognizable across town... and across time. The last time Silver had been here... well...

He'd had better days.

The redhaired boy began to turn away, intent on tracing his steps back to bed, when a flicker of motion stopped him. From the corner of his eye, standing out very clearly amidst the crowd, was a boy. For a moment, Silver thought it was nothing more than some sick conjuration of his frazzled memory... until the boy moved. When Silver turned to stare at him, to make sure he was real, he froze in his tracks... and then his face bleached of all color.

Silver made a disgruntled noise at Gold, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Whatever. It's not like it matters to me anyway."

[Meryck]

Two wide, haunted golden eyes matched the gray look for look and pain for pain. He took a step forward, disbelieving.

"S-S-Silver?", stuttered the hoarse, halting voice, softly, as if he were afraid his friend would fall and vanish into a pool of his own blood.

Gold chose to ignore Silver's crankiness.

[Glyph]

"That's my name." The retort was weak, damp. The fire in his eyes had gone out, and he was only just beginning to coax it back--but... but this...

Silver stared at Gold as if he were seeing a ghost--and, in some ways, he was. His last glimpse of his rival had shown him a broken, bloody corpse, slumped on top of the mangled remains of his Pokemon. Even after he'd realized what Torinoko was, he'd hadn't held out much hope of seeing the boy again. After the whole "Tarnished Gold" experience, he hadn't had much hope at all.

Silver muttered something under his breath and tromped on. He didn't pause when he reached the city limits; didn't pause as he passed through the gate. It was only when he emerged onto the crowded streets of Goldenrod that he stopped, and then it was only briefly. Still grumbling irritably, the redhead glanced around to find a landmark to spark his mental map, and then started off again just as quickly, heading south.