Internalization [Open!!]

[Seria Floria]

Seria wasn't entirely sure how she got he-- Oh, right, she asked her father's friend to take her to the most traditional part of Aina the friend knew. Which was apparently at the heart of a place called Moana City. While Seria didn't really care too much shopping, she was pretty curious about the park at the halfway point along the seafront. It was a small park to be sure, though the single Banyan tree which covered the entire area seemed to make it bigger than it actually was. Furthermore, what piqued Seria's interest was the fact it seemed to be surrounded by the remains of some kind of fortress. This kind of thing really got Seria's gears going, as she tried to ask some of the locals around but didn't get too much relevant information out of it. She was usually advised to do some personal research about it. Sighing, Seria attempted to find a way to get to the tree.



Eventually, Seria found herself standing directly beneath the tree. She looked up, then she looked around and ended up looking like she was daydreaming. After a while, she heard a soft, familiar voice. She turned to the side and saw someone there, it was that blonde girl she had been seeing... One could ask, was this real? Or was it just a figment of her imagination? Seria thought she was looking at a real person for sure, though. She continued to look at the girl who may or may not have actually been there. "Just exactly where do I start...?" Seria asked nobody in particular.



Anyone who had been passing by may find themselves looking at a rather nutty young girl standing under the great Banyan tree.

[Maria Harper]

Moana City, huh? Well, it had proved to be an interesting sort of distraction for Maria Harper. The bunny ears of her white hoodie flopped about as she walked along the park path. One hand was in a pocket of her hoodie while the other held a plastic bag filled with assorted snacks and food. She'd felt it was about time to stop by a grocery store for a bit of restocking. Infact, it was nearing lunch time about now, wasn't it? She briefly looked down at her X-Transceiver, the time being about a quarter past noon. Deciding to go ahead and have a seat at a nearby bench, Maria took off her backpack before setting it down beside her on the bench, raising the plastic bag up to sit on her lap while she rooted through it for something quick and edible. Eventually she drew out an apple and began to eat it while kicking her legs. The day was a pleasant one and a nice snack was always pleasant as well.

Maria took this time to look about the park. It was a somewhat average one all told, though there looked to be some ruins and a rather large Bayan tree right in the middle of the whole place. She cocked her head to the side slightly as she noticed what seemed to be a person standing there. They looked about, as if in a haze. It intrigued Maria. And she always did like to find out about new things. She took a bite out of her apple as she got up and approached, taking another big bite every other step before finally getting down to the core and tossing it in a nearby trash can.

Eventually the bunny hooded trainer made her way up to the wistful girl. She was looking off to the side, asking a question to herself. "Hey hey. You alright there?" Maria asked in a curious tone, grinning in that odd way of her's with half-lidded eyes.

[Seria Floria]

Seria seemed to be lost in thought, pondering the times that have passed, thinking about what may have originally lived here, what may have been, what the present might have been now if X had happened instead of Y, or if Z had occurred instead of X and Y. Though, she soon snapped out of her reverie as she heard the rhythm of footsteps matching bites of an apple. Soon the apple was tossed into a nearby trashcan, and Seria found herself looking at another girl, someone with long pink hair wearing a bunny-hoodie. The girl was smiling, her eyes were half-lidded, though it was an odd smile of sorts. Seria couldn't place the expression to any given emotion, though curiosity might have been up there. Seria took a moment to process the question posed to her. She nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about some things," Seria said softly in response. She didn't sound condescending or negative in any way but her voice did ring somewhat melancholic. "I was just wondering about what could have been here. I don't know much about this region, so I was curious about the folklore behind it." she said simply.

Seria would explain further if this girl had expressed any interest, but she wasn't sure if the bunny hooded trainer was even interested in what may seem to be eccentric frivolities by some. Certainly, some were incapable of appreciating such historic greatness. Though Seria had a feeling that this stranger may be genuine in her curiosity.

[Maria Harper]

Ahhh, just a bit of a scatterbrain then. An oddly sorrowful sort of scatterbrain given her tone of voice. The pink haired trainer looked over idly at the ruins nearby when the other girl mentioned them. "Ah, that. Yeah, hard to say. I never was much of a history student. Has all the looks of a fancy fortress from back during the medieval days though, I'd say. Could go have a look probably." She shrugged before looking at Seria once more.

"Maria, by the way. You are?"

[Seria Floria]

The girl explained that she was never much of a history student, so she couldn't really answer the question besides what she already knew, basically that it seemed to pretty much be a fancy fortress from centuries ago. Medieval days? Now, Seria briefly wondered what it was like during those days. Eventually, the hooded girl introduced herself as Maria. "Nice to meet you, Maria. I'm Seria Floria." she simply said. She didn't say much further than that, but she did look around for a moment before turning to face the pink-haired girl again. "You say you weren't much of a history student, but does it interest you? I'm just curious. It would be nice to meet some like-minded people." Seria simply said, smiling and trying to ask this question in the most sincere voice she could muster.

[Maria Harper]

"Well sure. Who doesn't like a bit of history now and then? All kinds of interesting stuff that we can come from the past." Maria nodded as she spoke, her rabbit ears flopping around a bit as she did so. Besides, the somewhat flighty Seria seemed like decent enough company at least. And Maria was somewhat bored. "Can't say I know a whole lot of different stuff though myself." A hand rose and rubbed the back of her head through her hood. "But I wouldn't mind chatting some more with you anyways."

[Seria Floria]

"Cool," Seria said, smiling. "Well, I came here because I would like to learn about anything historically significant that happened which may help point me to sighting of a Legendary Pokemon. I help my parents in the research of these amazing things." Seria said, smiling, though she looked distantly up at the sky. She was paying sincere attention to what Maria was saying, but her look did suggest that she herself was pretty genuine in her reasons for coming here. "How about you? Is there something you'd like to do? Some kinda dream or something? I'm interested to know, if you do, that is. I mean not that there's anything wrong with not having one. I mean. Yeah." Seria laughed sheepishly as she did finally turn to face Maria when she asked her question.

[Maria Harper]

...Dream, huh?

...

It hit her. It hit Maria the instant the other girl had said it. She had no dream. No ambition. Sure, she really did want to get out and really see the sights of Aina, but... she had no end goal. Sure, there was those Pokemon Gyms and the Elite Four, but they just didn't appeal to her. So... what did she actually want out of this? What did Maria Harper desire? What was she hoping to obtain at the end of this sight seeing tour? An answer to some unasked question? And at the end of the road, all she'd really do is just go back home and then... And then she'd be alone again. Nothing would have changed. Nothing would have made her life any better than it was. Just a lonely girl sitting in her room full of distractions that let her not actually look at reality of her situation. Alot of nothing and that's all it ever was, all it would ever be. Perhaps that was a fitting metaphor for her life right now?

...

Maria's head was downcast as Seria looked back at her. The bunny ears that adorned her hoodie seemed to droop lower than before. "Dream... Yeah, guess I don't have a dream." A bitter laugh escaped her lips to match the bitter tone. Her head rose back up, the same look as before without a change. "But Legendary Pokemon, huh? Come to think of it, I don't remember there being any real Legend unique to Aina. I've heard that the Legends like to roam all over the world though. Who knows? Maybe one or more did drop in on us here." Maria's voice was the same tone as before, like the whole comment and laugh from before was just a flash in the pan that didn't really happen.

"Just gotta look around and see, I suppose."

[Seria Floria]

Maria seemed... a bit sad. Disappointed? Melancholic? Words, words that Seria could not find, but Maria seemed pretty upset. As if a reflection of her mood, the ears on her hood seemed to droop lower than before. Maria admitted she didn't have a real dream or goal in mind at the end of all this. Seria looked a bit worried. Though in a split moment she seemed to revert to her normal self and said that she heard Legends like to roam all over the world, something which was at this point common knowledge to her. She then said she probably just needed to look around and see. The way at which she deflected the main topic at hand was a cause for concern, but Seria wasn't sure how to handle the issue at hand. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Seria said. "All I can do is just keep on looking and asking around. Though honestly, I'm kinda boring. Why don't you talk more about you for a bit?" Seria turned things around and decided to see if she could coax anything out of Maria.

[Maria Harper]

About Maria...?

...

She was suddenly extremely uncomfortable. She didn't want to talk about herself. She didn't even need to think about herself. She was just a trainer milling about the land doing the trainer thing. Battling, training, evolving, maybe even trading. That was all she did. It was all she needed in her life. ...Yeah, it was all she needed. The bunny-hooded trainer's face had fallen while her internal thoughts raged and at times, went dead silent. And perhaps fittingly enough, an uncomfortable silence had set in during this time period. Her smirk was completely gone, her lip a flat line as her eyes seemed to lose their luster and take on a hollow look. It was as if she was slowly bleeding out what emotion was there a moment ago. By all rights, Maria Harper practically seemed dead inside right about now. And all from what was otherwise a simple question.

Because deep down inside, she had been submerged in all the doubt that had built up. She suffocated upon her own thoughts of depression and loneliness. The words rang loud and forcefully as her own mind fought with the part of her that insisted everything was fine and nothing was wrong. Words that felt ever more hollow. She had no actual goals, no ambitions, no desires.

She just wanted...

What was it that she wanted...?

All that Maria Harper wanted was...

"I'm... going to go now." And just like that she began to turn around and leave. Her voice as monotone and dead as her eyes had looked.

[Seria Floria]

Seria frowned as she saw the expression on the other girl darken immediately. Had she said something wrong? It certainly seemed like it. The way her entire demeanor just took a turn for the worst, left a bad taste in Seria's mouth. She was just trying to shift the focus of attention away from herself for a moment, but it seemed as if Maria didn't want to talk about herself. Seria was ignorant of this and immediately regretted her poor life decision, but it's not like she would have ever figured it out herself, or anything. Seria stepped forward as Maria began to turn around and leave, her voice had become sullen, dead, devoid of emotion, just like how it faded from her eyes, and face, how it lost the vibrance of life. Seria clenched her fists. "H-hey, hey now, I didn't mean to upset you! I'm really sorry. Please. Is there anything I can do to make up for it? I'm really sorry. I really am." Seria was at a loss for words, really. She couldn't come up with anything better than this.

She had never really experienced what it was like to be in this sort of situation either, which made everything even more awkward.

[Maria Harper]

Maria took a step or two before Seria had worked up the nerve to respond. She stopped in her tracks soon after the words left the other girl's mouth, but she did not respond or look back. Seria could see her shoulders move just slightly before slumping, a loud sigh escaping from Maria. "No. It's not your fault. Not anyone's fault." She turned to look back at the other girl once more. She looked tired, extremely tired even. But perhaps that was better than the total lack of anything she had just a minute ago. Her eyes seemed to be back to normal, though given how it didn't seem to be that different from a moment ago, perhaps "normal" wasn't a great look either right now for Maria Harper. But regardless, a soft and tired grin had appeared as well.

But perhaps that too was as fake as the veneer from before had quite evidently been. Still, the bunny-hooded trainer did not turn fully around. "You didn't do anything. So don't worry about it. Just forget I even came along." Maria turned her head away again and began to walk back over to the bench where she'd left her things and sat down.