Kalos 002 - I Pray That The Water Will Drown Out The Din

[tourguides]

[Coumarine City - The city where bay and butte are bound!

Fresh from the Lumiose Badlands, our heroes find themselves in the calm, oceanside town of Coumarine. Home to what most consider the fourth Gym in the Kalos League, Coumarine City boasts many stalls, a luxury hotel and cool ocean breezes found almost nowhere else in the region.]

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[spacestudies]

[As evening begins to take over the skies, Cornelius and Celeste finally make it out of the Badlands and take their first steps into a much more pleasant place.

Cornelius would stop to appreciate the scenery if he wasn't covered in dirt and dust, coughing, and completely exhausted from the terrible experience that was the Badlands. He's just about as frazzled as his long white hair is right now.

He turns to Celeste as he sets his bag down to stretch. Oh man, he's going to be even more stiff in the morning...]

Let's find the hotel as soon as possible. I am in dire need of a hot bath after that experience.

[tourguides]

[Celeste however, slowly slides to the ground, her legs curled to her side.]

I'm never going through there again, not even if some brand new caves open up. Never again.

[She slowly climbs to her feet and grabs her bag.]

We should probably ask someone where it is, so we don't spend the next hour looking for it.

[spacestudies]

I am right there with you, Celeste. It would take a great deal to lure me back to that...place.

[Wow, what an insult that was, Cornelius. You sure showed those nasty Badlands by calling them "that place."

He helps Celeste to her feet as she gets back up, and offers to hold her steady if she's feeling too exhausted.

They then manage to find someone who tells them where the hotel is. Once they have that information, they make their way there. In no time, they're in the lobby and Cornelius is making arrangements for their room. He turns to hand a spare key over to Celeste when he finishes.]

I've also arranged hot baths for the both of us and our Pokemon. That should make up for our journey through the Badlands and their extended stay in their Poke Balls, wouldn't you agree?

[tourguides]

[Celeste is eternally grateful for the support, Cornelius. She clings to his side the entire time, laughing off a few people who mistake them for a couple.

She immediately takes a seat on one of the guest sofas in the lobby while she waits for Cornelius to return with the room keys. Though he doesn't take very long, she's already contemplating their next destination: Shalour City. She stops short of getting the map out of her bag though, there'll be plenty of time for that in the morning.

She perks up when he returns, pocketing the key he hands her.]

You are a life saver Cornelius. I'll have to make it up to Trubby when we set off next though, you remember what happened last time he tried to get into a bath.

[Sludge, sludge everywhere. The hotel owner had not been pleased, and it was only after Celeste singlehandedly cleaned the entire room until it was spotless did he agree not to charge them quadruple rates for their room.]

I cannot wait to get this dust off of me. [She spares a glance at the other's hair with a frown.] Your hair's almost brown, Corny.

[spacestudies]

[They must've looked like the most odd and disheveled couple ever.]

It was my pleasure. [He winces at the reference to the sludge incident, and nods a little over-enthusiastically.] Yes...that would be for the best. But I'm sure he will understand.

[That was not a good day, jeez.

When Celeste mentions his hair, Cornelius reaches back and examines a handful. Once silky-smooth and white, it's now rough and sandy-looking. It's layered with dirt and dust. Now, Cornelius likes to keep a pleasant face but he can't help but show a slight sign of disgust in this case.

He hates the Badlands.]

Why don't we take advantage of those baths now, then. Let's find our room to deposit our belongings first.

[Once again he offers his hand to escort Celeste to their room.]

[tourguides]

I hope so~! Or maybe I should ask the staff if they mind if he goes through their garbage instead...

[She trails off as she takes Cornelius' hand to climb to her feet.]

Good idea. How long did you book the room for? I was thinking a day or two to get over the last route, but if you had others plans...?

[They quickly find their room, with a nice view of the ocean. Belongings quickly deposited around the room, while Celeste looks longingly at the bed. If she lies down now she won't want to get up, and she desperately needs a hot bath.

And so, they split up for their baths.]

[spacestudies]

That's always an option. Maybe you can ask after we're through with our baths.

[As they head down the hall, he answers Celeste's question.]

I booked two nights. We can take tomorrow to rest and look at the city, then we can leave bright and early the next morning.

[Yeah...yeah those beds look really tempting, don't they? But he resists as well, because he really needs to wash his hair.

As they split up, Cornelius wishes her a good bath and heads for his own. It's a huge bath, enough for him to completely submerge himself and for his Pokemon to join him. And oh man does it feel good when he gets in it. Titan and Corona stick far from the water but they do enjoy the heated atmosphere of the room. The rest of his Pokemon join him in the other end of the bath.

A good half hour later, they're all done and squeaky clean! Ugh, thank god his hair is back to its natural color.

Cornelius heads back to the room to see if Celeste is done as well.]

[tourguides]

[Celeste's bath is absolute heaven. While she can't in good conscience let Trubby out of his Pokeball, nor does she think Rupy will enjoy the water, she lets her remaining Pokemon out. Veny and Perry are both too large to comfortably share the bath, so they take turns, each receiving special attention from Celeste. Dewey sticks close to Celeste, the water too deep for her to enjoy it fully.

Soon enough, everybody is clean and relaxed.

Before she returns to their room, Celeste inquires about letting Trubby go through the Hotel's trash, a request they accept without too much explanation. One clerk going so far as to say they have a regular visitor who travels with a Garbodor, so they know what to do. She releases Trubby from his Ball and explains the situation to him before leaving him with one of the hotel staff to return to the room.

When she finally returns, Cornelius is already there waiting for her.]

Hi Corny~! Trubby is feasting on their trash as we speak. I'll have to collect him soon, but did you want to get dinner?

[spacestudies]

[Celeste will find Cornelius resting on his bed when she comes in. He said to himself that he would just lie there and rest his eyes until Celeste returned, but he's basically snoozing.

He does wake up when she comes in though. His eyes flutter open and he slowly lifts himself up from the bed.]

Hello, Celeste. That is wonderful to hear. Are all your Pokemon happy and clean?

[He rubs his eyes gently and smooths out his hair.]

Yes, let's do that. I didn't realize how famished I felt until you mentioned it. Now where is the menu...

[tourguides]

Mmhmm, of course it's a little awkward when two of them are a good 8 feet long.

[But she's a pro at cleaning both of them now, so.

When Cornelius asks about the menu, she shakes her head at him.]

No~! I meant we should go out, see the city. I'm sure there's at least one decent restaurant. We deserve it after the day we've had.

[spacestudies]

[He chuckles.]

I completely understand. Granted, I haven't had Pokemon that large that need baths since my younger years, but I've been there.

[He blinks, confused for a second.]

Oh, you wish to go out?

[He figured she'd want to just relax with some room service after the grueling trek today.]

I have no objections. Let's see what we can find, then.

[With a small yawn, he clips his Poke balls to his belt and signals that he's ready to go by heading for the door.]

[tourguides]

Great~!

[First they head to the front desk to ask for recommendations, with a slight detour to pick up Trubby. Celeste narrowly avoids a garbage filled hug.

Soon they're on their way to a smaller, quieter restaurant.]

I'm probably going to check with the locals and see if there's anything we need to be worried about on the next route tomorrow, so if there was anything you wanted to look at, go ahead without me.

[She gets the feeling he'll turn her down, but.]

[spacestudies]

[Surprisingly, Cornelius is going to take her up on that. He'd like to be able to sit back down after all the walking they've done today. And to think, earlier all he wanted to do was walk.]

Very well. I'll go on ahead and secure a table for us.

[He waves as they temporarily part ways, and makes his way for the restaurant that was recommended to them. It's a lovely little city, especially beautiful when bathed in the evening light. He feels like he can appreciate this city more than an overly large one like Lumiose. He passes by the monorail on his way, which he suspects they'll be taking at some point.

Finally, he finds the restaurant. He heads in and requests a table for two, to which the waitress jokingly asks if he's expecting a date. He of course chuckles and explains the situation, and after a bunch of chatting with the waitress, he's sitting alone and browsing through the menu as he waits for Celeste.]

[tourguides]

[She leaves Cornelius with a smile and a wave and heads off to the PokeCenter. The travelers staying there are more than happy to help, and soon enough Celeste is caught up on Route 12.

With that errand finished, though it took longer than she would've liked, she heads for the restaurant. Explaining the situation to the host, she's quickly guided to the table Cornelius is seated at.]

Hi~! Sorry I took so long.

[She's about to launch into an explanation of the next route because she's still on a job high, but manages to rein herself in just in time.]

What's the menu like?

[spacestudies]

[Cornelius glances up from the menu and gives Celeste a small and a wave.]

Hello, welcome back. Don't worry, you haven't missed much.

[He looks back down to his menu.]

There are many items on it that sound very good, I'm having trouble deciding what to try. I'm wavering between a pasta dish or soup dish.

[tourguides]

Oh, good!

[She picks up the menu and begins looking over it herself.]

Oh you're right, I'm not sure what to order. Help me, Corny.

[Return of the world's biggest pout.]

[spacestudies]

[Cornelius just stares blankly at her, completely immune to the pout. He's not even sure on his own choice, why are you asking him--

After several more seconds of this awkward silence, he manages a smile.]

Very well, two pastas then.

[And he relays that to waitress when she appears. That's right, no objections now since she wanted him to pick!]

[tourguides]

[And she has none! She smiles at the waitress when she appears, and stays quiet until she's gone.]

Thank you Corny~

[She stares out the window at the view, the last of the sunlight slowly disappearing on the horizon.]

You know, for all the trouble the Badlands bought us, I'm glad we finally made it to Kalos.

[SUDDEN SERIOUS TAG WHAT.]

[spacestudies]

[Cornelius follows her gaze and admires the last bit of the sunset. Soon, the stars will reveal themselves. He's not sure if they're in a dark enough to place to properly observe them, but it's definitely something to check out when they're done eating.]

Yes...I am too. Hopefully not all the routes are like that, though.

[He offers a small chuckle for that. But really though, they better not be.]

I am eager to see what the night sky looks like from Kalos.

[tourguides]

[She saw a good spot to see the view while she was out, but she'll mention it later as a surprise.]

Well~! From what the people at the PokeCenter said, the next route is nice and easy. There's even a Skiddo ranch.

[Soon enough, the waitress returns with their food. Flashing a smile, Celeste is quick to start eating. She goes to start talking, but whoops her mouth is full of food. Quickly swallowing, she grins at Cornelius.]

Then I have a surprise for you~!

[spacestudies]

That is good to hear. That's about all I want to deal with after the Badlands.

[Cornelius thanks the waitress when the food comes and also digs right in. He didn't realize how hungry he was until he started eating.

He gives Celeste a look for that. He remembers the first time she tried to do that after they met back in Unova. Well, at least she's learning that it's not such a good idea to talk with your mouth full.

Still, he's pleasantly surprised by what she says.]

Do you?

[tourguides]

[She slows down her eating, she's learned the hard way what happens if you eat too much too quickly.]

I do~! But you have to wait until we're done here.

[To illustrate her point she slows her eating down even more.]

But you'll like it, I promise.

[spacestudies]

[He's onto you already, Celeste. 8T But luckily he's a patient guy, so he just nods and continues to work on his pasta.]

Teasing me, are you? Well, I look forward to what you have in store for me.

[tourguides]

Consider it payback.

[Said with a sickly sweet smile. SHE DIDN'T FORGET CORNELIUS. That'll teach you to make fun of her for eyefucking Lysandre.

But she quickly laughs and gives him a normal smile.]

I'm serious though, you will like it.

[And soon enough, they're finished eating.]

[spacestudies]

[He gives Celeste a dumbfounded stare.]

Payback? Payback for what...?

[He's genuinely confused, because he's forgotten all about that by now. Apparently he didn't think what he said back then had that much of an impact.]

[tourguides]

For the cafe~! But it doesn't matter, I was kidding anyway Corny.

[She taps her chin, thinking for a moment.]

Did you want to get dessert, or just go?

[spacestudies]

Oh. M-my apologies. I didn't realize what I said was inappropriate...

[Even though Celeste said she was kidding, he still feels kinda bad now.

He considers the dessert proposal.]

Depends. Do you have room for any?

[tourguides]

[Every. Single. Time. Why do they never learn.]

It's fine, Corny. We were both being silly, no harm done.

[She thinks his question over.]

We could always get one and share, less wasted that way.

[spacestudies]

[Because they're silly and awkward with this stuff apparently.

Cornelius nods at her suggestion and begins browsing through the menu.

... Dessert for two? The waitress is gonna be like YOU TWO ARE FOOLING NO ONE.]

That sounds wonderful. Are you craving anything in particular?