Dressed to Impress, B Side

In the days leading up to the Phoenix Festival, people and Pokémon alike were frothing themselves up into a frenzy. The dramatic types were spinning themselves up to the peak of their energy, flitting to and fro as they gathered up all sorts of bright and gaudy decorations-- reds and oranges and yellows and golds, sparkling and shining as the volcanic city got ready to give thanks to a giant... flaming... bird.

Sizzle didn't think much of this entire festival. The fires were nice, it was true, but she couldn't tolerate the heat like she had when she was much smaller, before she'd been cursed with a grass typing and lost her ability to take a nap on hot coals, so the fire shows really didn't impress her. The cloth was all nice enough, but everyone seemed to take exception when one tried to take a sample of it back home to line one's nest. And the food? Well, to be frank, there was never a situation that the lizard could imagine where food should be considered a secondary priority... but the food would have to wait. As such, Sizzle stuck close to Kavi as she usually did, never leaving him out of her sight, so that if he had one of his many flights of fancy, that they could travel as easily as needed.

And oh, travel they did.

He marched her all the way up and down town one day, looking for cloth at the cloth-selling stores, and barely considering her demands as she sat herself on the scrap piles and demanded tributes. By the end of the day, her bag was full, but he'd made no selections, which was an uneasy realization-- because if the shops nearby were bad foraging options, he'd always make the wretched decision to [i]travel[/i].

The next three days had been a whirldwind of activity, flying from town to town and going from place to place, before, finally, a frustrated, then sullen Kavi eventually perked back up, and began to forage to fill his own bags. He chose sparkling cloth she could see through, tinting the world with darkness, and pinks and reds that made her feel nostalgic, but for something she didn't quite know. Once they got home, instead of being treated to a hot bath and a raw meal, Kavi had immediately settled into his den, moving around to fuss with his clothing machine, and starting to fuss and cut at his cloths.

Supportive, as ever, Sizzle selected a place to nest, nudging at a pile of brightly-coloured paper-holders instead of the vastly preferrable cloths draped around, as her favourite blanket was either dead for good or out with some stranger to be somehow repaired.

The good thing about paper was that it reflected warmth quickly, so it didn't drain the coziness from her bones as she settled. Maybe, when she woke up, he'd be ready for that shared fish meal, a reward from a long several days, and then a bath to follow up. And then maybe, he'd help line a new nest with the glittering pieces of cloth....

-~-

Hiss!

Sizzle was, as ever, not happy when she was startled into wakefulness. Her Kavi was more tolerable than most trainer-types, but even they seemed to have some difficulty with being a bumbling giant at times. Sudden movements of their chair, for one, made the whole desk quiver, waking the poor, unsuspecting pokemon wake up with vitriol in her heart.

She sat up instantly, glowering with the heat of the sun. If she still could, she would have spit an ember at him, but as she got ready to chatter and rear, he waved his hand at her, trying-- in his own incompetent way, perhaps-- to soothe her. "Not now, girl," he mumbled, clearly distracted by something going wrong with the clothing machine he was playing with. "I really need to get someone. Scoot over."

The nerve of him! Sizzle graced him with a simple hiss, ready to start up with her reproach, before he reached out and scooped her up. After a momentary startle, she was dropped against his shoulder, and while the entire idea of having been hauled around like that was an insult, he was quite warm, and his hair did smell pleasingly of their mingled odors.

It was hard to get mad at him as he gently swayed and bounced on his heels, rocking her sweetly even as he disturbed her nest to get at one of the bright folding things he liked to hoard things in. She settled in, ready to forgive as he gently rustled through pages, feeling his heat and his pulse against her as she curled up on his shoulder, tail going firmly around his arm and claws gently hooking wherever his clothing would give her purchase.

"That'll do," he announced, with enough intent that she blearily raised her head, and started fussing with her ruined nest in a clear intention of dumping her again. She gripped on tighter, giving a threatening hiss. If he thought he could just-- just pick her up and--

Thankfully, as always, he never made her bring that thought to its conclusion. She scolded him gently as he gave her a questioning tone-- yes, she really did want to stay put after he'd woken her up from a perfectly good nap, and then wrecked her sleeping place immediately thereafter. She was going to stay put!

"Fine. I guess that's how it's going to be, then."

The score now safely settled, Sizzle shifted in her perch, changing her stance to be more comfortably lounging across his arm and back. She didn't protest as he fussed about, staring at the mirror as he muttered beneath his voice. Yes, dear, you always miss how your sister could fix up your hair for you, she thought scoldingly as he muttered 'Cho's name. It was always 'Cho this, 'Cho that, whenever he wanted to go for outies-- she'd think he'd have gotten over his clutchmate's absence in these several years, but some trainertypes just didn't know how to let go.

"C'mon, then--" Kavi started, oblivious to the fact that she'd already caught onto his plans to go out-- "we need to pay someone a visit." It was kind of cute, sometimes, how he tried to narrate his plans out to her, so she didn't feel left out... even if she didn't exactly need it. "They'd better still be in town..."