hating fun and festivities. [open]

The culinary spectacle before Blaire was truly a terrible one as he watched his gluttonous Pokemon consume their foods of choice. A part of him wasn’t even sure why a ghost was eating fried cheesecake in the first place – what use did a spirit have for mortal nourishment, after all? – and buying the messiest eater on his team a deep-fried milkshake was clearly a mistake. He wasn’t sure whether more of the sinful fried dessert had been consumed or spilled on the table. At least Zenzi and Detrevni weren’t making quite as terrible a scene – though neither was spared from Blaire’s health-conscious judgment.

“… This is why I never want children. … At least some of you are more intelligent than children, at any rate,” he grumbled, side-eying a nearby group of loud, raucous children as he spoke. The presence of whiny, unpleasant kids was only the icing on top of the “I don’t want to be anywhere near here” cake that Blaire was currently enjoying.

His Pokemon seemed to be in higher spirits than him as they all finished their lunch, ignoring his grumblings and mumblings. No one was expecting the sudden intrusion of the Popplio – a Pokemon that Blaire had encountered a shocking number of times since arriving in Stellara, all things considered. Their only warning was the sudden, enthusiastic barking as the Popplio balanced precariously atop a bubble.

Demetri looked rather impressed, ears pricking slightly as he beamed at the acrobatic seal. +Bravo! What a fascinating trick! How is that bubble supporting your weight? That seems directly in contrast with a good number of the laws of physics, as well as common bubble principles.+ He narrowed his eyes, squinting contemplatively at the balancing Popplio. Clearly, such a phenomenon required more thorough examination.

As the Espurr babbled on and asked questions, Samara side-eyed the Popplio; the temptation to find a way to frighten the Water-type midway through her balancing act was almost overwhelming. A part of her purred at the attention such a feat would produce, but another part of her was very acutely aware of Blaire’s sharp gaze keeping one eye on her, and she lamented the fact that she couldn’t cause any sort of mischief.

Blaire narrowed his eyes, brows quirking as he glanced towards the mortified-looking trainer. Blaire was by no means an empathetic man, but even he could feel a bit of sympathy for the other trainer. He was by no means a stranger to his own Pokemon causing scenes. “Oh, er—it’s alright, she isn’t doing any harm,” he offered softly, shrugging scrawny shoulders. “… That’s an interesting trick, though. Can all Popplio do that, or—oh, no…” It was his turn to look mortified as he noticed Zenzi creeping forward towards the Popplio, large ears pinned flush against her skull.

She sized up the balancing seal for a long moment, amber gaze equal parts irritated and mischievous. Ignoring the rather ugly, shocked noise Blaire made, the Fennekin aimed a sharp-clawed paw at the bubble in a sudden swipe, clearly attempting to break the Popplio’s balancing act in a very literal way. Whether or not a simple Scratch would suffice was anyone’s guess, but a part of Blaire really didn’t want his Fennekin to cause another scene.

“… This is why we can’t have nice things, Zenzi!” he chided sharply, scowling at the fox. An apologetic, awkward glance was shot towards the stranger, and he hurriedly added. “… I’m really sorry about her. She seems to enjoy making everyone around here either upset, miserable, or both.” A part of him wished he could wipe the arrogant smirk from the Fennekin’s face – she didn’t have to look so pleased at her attempts to ruin someone else’s day.

NOTES ; rip nerds getting embarrassed by their pokemon

For once, the person who Blaire was interacting with seemed just as flustered and out-of-place in a normal human conversation as the psychic himself felt. It probably should have made him feel a little more at ease – not being the only awkward person in a room should have probably created some sort of awkward nerd camaraderie that transcended social awkwardness and suddenly made everything mostly okay. Things didn’t, of course, work so neatly, and Blaire scratched at the back of his neck sheepishly, gaze flitting away from the other man’s eyes.

Aside from the ridiculous, unhealthy food, this was the one thing he hated most about festivals like these.

Demetri’s ears perked sharply – as much as the psychic cat dared them to, at least – and he tipped his head to one side, looking positively wonderstruck by the show put on. +Fascinating! I’ve never seen a Popplio before – well, only one other time!+ He had seen a Popplio before, he realized; he’d even battled the little Water-type in the first ‘battle’ he and Blaire had had together, though the casual spar wasn’t quite as fierce as he expected serious fights to be. That Popplio had been quite bubbly – pun possibly intended – himself, but this was the first time he’d seen a casual display of the Water-type’s abilities. Evidently, he was taking some sort of mental notes, only to yelp in shock as the Fennekin oh-so-casually disrupted the show. The fur upon the Espurr’s fluffy little frame rippled, and he shot Zenzi a fierce glare as he hurried over towards the Popplio, frowning down at her. +A-are you okay? … Zenzi!+ He rounded on the Fennekin, startling both the fox and Blaire for a heartbeat at just how angry he seemed. A part of Blaire wouldn’t have been surprised if Demetri had tried to blast the Fennekin with psychic energy, from how he was baring his tiny little teeth at her.

+Apologize, right now! O-or I’ll make you!+ he growled, tail lashing as he showed his teeth a little more. Zenzi’s disdainful huff turned into quite the ugly scowl as she faced the Espurr, the fur along her own spine rippling rather ominously. Her own teeth, longer and sharper than the Espurr’s, flashed, and both parties looked primed and poised to jump at each other at any second.

Blaire frowned for a moment, feeling more self-conscious than anything else. He had the feeling that letting his Pokemon attack each other – possibly seriously, from how they were behaving – was a solidly bad plan, and that it would draw even more unwanted attention.

A quiet little sigh escaped him as he lifted a hand almost lazily, fingertips glowing the faintest, purple hue. Both bristling, growling parties started slightly as they felt themselves lifted from the ground, the same purple-pinkish hue surrounding their frames. Zenzi – familiar with the feeling, due to causing a scene in most places floundered and shot the psychic an angry look, while Demetri floundered a couple of seconds, shooting Blaire a look that was half-angry, half-frightened.

“… I’m putting you both down in about twenty seconds. You will behave, and act like comrades. If you don’t, I have no issue with making you both miss the festival by returning you to your Pokeballs.” He sounded surprisingly deadpan, as though he made it a point to telekinetically separate his Pokemon every day. As much as he loathed displaying his abilities around other people, he loathed the idea of his Pokemon causing a larger scene even more.

An apologetic look was shot towards the trainer and his Popplio, and he made it a point to politely listen to the rest of the younger man’s commentary. He’d missed the first bit about Popplio due to his own Pokemon stirring the pot, but there was something about the soft, unfunny self-deprecating chuckle that Blaire, for once, could empathize with. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing here, either, and the faintest, sheepish smile tugged at his lips for a heartbeat before settling back into his usual, stoic expression.

“… I don’t quite know what I’m doing here, either. The general answer is ‘paranormal research investigation’, but… well, the trainer side of the equation isn’t exactly something I expected. I… don’t think I’m much good at it, really,” he replied quietly, scrawny shoulders lifting in a shrug. One eye was kept on his Pokemon, and, when he was convinced they’d gotten the point, he lowered his hand, grimacing faintly at the brief, almost-exhausted feeling the stunt had elicited. A single Telekinesis wouldn’t cause any sort of great backlash, but he hoped nothing else that day would call for a use of his abilities. Though he was well-practiced with them, he was well-aware of the consequences if he expended too much energy upon them.

A thoughtful, golden gaze returned to Darcy, narrowing in contemplation. He didn’t consider himself a particularly comforting sort, but some part of him wanted to offer at least a bit of confirmation that he knew even less what he was supposed to be doing here. “I’m… not sure anyone really knows why they’re here, in fairness. The only way to really figure it out is to just… do it.”

NOTES ; blaire has no time for his pokemons' shit. and he... attempts to offer some sort of emotional support i guess, despite having the emotional range of a teapot.
8/10 Psi Points remaining, just in case he needs to use more for some reason, rip

Blaire allowed himself a quiet, shaky exhale once the near-brawl had settled, though an uncomfortable glance was flashed Darcy’s way. There was nothing in the younger trainer’s demeanor that suggested a threat, or any sort of judgment for what he’d just displayed. If Blaire had to put a name to the expression the other man wore, it would probably be “starry-eyed” – in a strange way, that was almost worse than someone regarding his behavior with fear or disgust. He desperately hoped he wasn’t about to shift into some terrifying, fanboy mode.

Thankfully, the other trainer didn’t seem like the sort to fawn or dote over such things; to Blaire’s relief, he didn’t even really seem to comment on the brief display of psychic ability. Blaire’s skin still crawled anxiously, however, and he was suddenly far too aware of the crowds around them, of the strange, claustrophobic nature of people-lined streets and vendor carts that confined an already-small area into a stifling one. Had anyone else seen what had just happened? Frowning at the thought, the man found himself distracted from responding to Darcy again for a long moment, his brows furrowed in thought.

Perhaps this was why he was so awful at making friends.

“… Better to find your own place than another’s,” he murmured in response a long couple of seconds too late, golden eyes shifting to study the boy once again. He regarded Darcy as he finally learned the other trainer’s name, taking note of that tiny, but remarkably genuine smile. It was rare to see someone smile in a way that made you immediately feel trustful and almost comfortable.

The smile he offered in return offered no such comfort. It wasn’t a deceptive or ingenuine smile by any stretch of the imagination; it simply looked unpracticed and uncertain, as though smiling was something Blaire had to actively think about in order to accomplish it, rather than simply doing it. “… Blaire Beckenbauer,” was all he offered in return, accompanied by a gentle dip of his head.

“… And then Zenzi, Demetri, Detrevni, and Samara,” he added, nodding towards vulpine, cephalopod, feline, and spirit respectively. He tried to ignore the way Zenzi was still scowling at Demetri, who, despite trying to ignore her, had a telltale bristle to his fur and a lash to his tail that suggested he wasn’t as cool as he was attempting to be.

The question made him frown, and his scrawny shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Nothing yet -- the few leads I have require a much stronger team, so I suppose the first logical step would be training and helping them get stronger… You can’t enter a dangerous situation without being prepared, after all. It would be—“

He cut off as he saw Zenzi snap her teeth at Demetri, a smug smirk playing across her maw. From the sharp, irritated sound the Espurr made and the way he suddenly turned towards her, hackles raised and tiny kitten fangs bared, Blaire could only presume that Zenzi had dropped one of her patented telepathic insult bombs upon the poor psychic cat. He had no way of telling just what she’d said, but it must have been truly terrible to elicit such a strong, wrenching reaction from the Psychic-type.

That was probably his cue to leave, before they got in trouble for disrupting the peace.

“… I actually think I have to head out, though. Considering some Pokemon aren’t aware of how to behave in public.” he grumbled, shooting a half-glare in the general direction of the Fennekin. She was almost always the instigator in such things, even if Demetri could react less negatively to the Fire-type’s annoyances. “… I really am sorry, though. It was… nice meeting you,” he sounded a touch surprised at his own words, as though he hadn’t expected to actually mean them. Usually, meeting new people was a chore, and an anxiety-inducing one at that. This fellow was quiet and subdued enough to remind Blaire a bit of himself, however, and that was infinitely more bearable than louder interactions.

“… Perhaps we’ll see each other again. The Stellara Region isn’t that big, after all.” Getting to his feet, he shifted into a small bow, dipping his head before shifting to return his Pokemon – save for Zenzi, who might have bitten his ankles had he tried – to their Balls, if only for ease of convenience. Detrevni and Samara were both in punch-drunk states after gorging themselves on unhealthy food, and Demetri would surely appreciate the time away from the antagonistic fire fox.

He reached down to gently hoist Zenzi up by the scruff – ignoring the flash of tiny kit fangs – and hauled her into his arms, and then, just like that, he was gone, melting into the crowd eerily well despite his tall stature.

NOTES ; going to turn this in now, as per your request! just wanted to realistically end it!