Fateful Meeting in the Snow

Yukime sat in the snow, legs crossed, underneath a snowy pine tree as she meditated. Ivore, her Piloswine, sat next to her, warming her slightly even though she didn't really need it. Her Sneasel Fujiko was off somewhere, attacking trees or something. Maybe bullying younger Sneasels nearby. Her Vanillite was resting safely in it's Pokeball, and her young Dratini and Snover were playing around in the snow with each other, just having a grand old time.

She, however, wasn't in the mood for playing around. Yukime was trying to find what here calling was. She was a trainer, yes, but she had no idea what she wanted to do, where she wanted to go. And this was her way of sort of finding what she was going to fight toward. If it worked for Buddha, it'd work for her, she had thought.

(Well Shad, this thread isn't for modding. This is for me and Fenn..)

The familiar piercing whip of the cold arctic air blew across Artemis's face as Lykouleon made a dive for the ground below. Spreading his wings at the last moment, their decent rapidly slowed as the ground got larger beneath them. As always, Rune clung lightly to Artemis's jacket and giggled as the fall made her feel light weight.

Once on the moist ground, the snow had melted as Lykouleon landed, Artemis slid off of his back and landed lightly on her feet. Her previous escapade with Raikou hadn't ended in the beast's capture, and she had decided to go back to Snowpoint as a homebase. It was, after all, once her home. Pushing away her hurtful newly recovered memories, she shook her head and looked around. There, she spotted a girl resting under a tree as if meditating. Rune glanced her too, and flew over to curiously get a close-up look at the girl. "Rune," Artemis sighed, "it's not polite to hover in people's faces and violate their personal space." Giggling, the Jarachi only moved back a couple paces from the stranger.

Yukime opened one eye, only to notice a Jirachi only a few steps away from her. While surprised, she did not emote in such a way as to show it, as she noticed a person not too far off who she inferred to be the rare Pokemon's Trainer. She did not speak, nor did she move from her spot. Rather, Yuki closed her eyes and returned to meditating. Or, at least, tried to.

Ava and Ever, the younger Pokemon of the team, were very curious toward the new Pokemon and the new trainer. The Dratini and Snover duo approached Rune slowly, greeting her in a very cheery way. Ivore grunted and remained next to Yukime, warming her.

Rune enthusiastically greeted the Pokemon and trainer with a cheerful hello! in telepathy. Lykouleon rolled his eyes before a red light encased him and returned the mighty red-eyed dragon back into his ball.

Artemis, on the other hand, was a little appalled by the trainer's lack of a reaction. She wasn't one to be surprised by the presence of Legendaries, after her constant encounters she's had of them, so it would make sense that she was non-reactive. She could assume that perhaps this trainer may have had similar experiences. However, if Artemis were to have opened her eyes to a Pokemon right in her face, she would have been a lot more startled. A sly smile crossed her face as she admired the trainer's calm demeanor. She seemed like some sort of guru, making meditating come before all else.

"Sorry we bothered you," Artemis managed to say, her words taking form in a cloud of icy breath, "Rune still hasn't learned her manners. I wish she'd give you some space, after all, not everyone appreciates a Pokemon bothering them." Rune laughed, did a small twirl in the air, and flew back to Artemis's shoulder, landing on it with keen accuracy. "I apologize for our interruption, we'll get out of your hair." She turned, and stepped away from the trainer, leaving Rune turned on her shoulders to stare back at the trainer and her Pokemon. I wanted to play some more, the Jirachi pouted, still casting a fleeting glance toward the spot they were departing.

Yukime sighed and opened both of her eyes, looking at the trainer and able to sense the Jirachi's playful nature. "Well, you can't exactly interrupt what won't start. I'm just out here, thinking, trying to figure out where to go next. But nothing works, nothing happens. You don't have to leave now, if you don't want to. I would actually greatly appreciate the company. I believe these two would as well." She motioned toward the Dratini and Snover, who obviously wanted to play around with the Jirachi. Yukime patted her Piloswine's back calmly and sighed, her breath turning frosty in the cold air.

"Well," Artemis said, turning with a wry smile, "I can oblige company for now," she walked back to where she was, and sat in the dry spot Lykouleon's warm body had created. Rune let out a little cheer, jumped off from Artemis's shoulder and flew back toward Yukime's Pokemon with a giddy little laugh.

"As for a destiny, I'm not much help," Artemis sighed, "I've created one for myself, but I'm questioning the honor of it. Do you have anything you want to do, any goal to strive for? No matter how small or large, they are doable. Trust me," she said with a smile.

"Completely honest?" Yukime took a very deep breath, as if what she was about to say was going to be hard to admit. "I've always aspired to at least meet every Ice-Type Legendary Pokemon. Big, small, short, or tall. It's rather stupid, but it's something I've aspired towards since I was a young child." She sighed. Her arms went up behind her head and she leaned backwards slightly.

Ava and Ever cheered when Rune returned to play, and Ever tagged Rune before running off to hide. Ava decided to go hide as well. Onna suddenly burst from her Pokeball, apparently awakened by all of the playing, and floated around Rune's head happily, smiling dopey at her.

Artemis couldn't help but smile at the confession. "Then we're more similar than I thought," she replied, fishing out a Pokeball off of her belt. "I wish I could offer some help, but this is as close as any of my Pokemon get to ice types," she tossed the Pokeball into the air, and a Suicune burst out, glancing curiously at Yukime before lowering to the ground and laying beside Artemis. "My goal has been to capture any Legendary I encounter, as of late, but I'm in a bit of a slump," she chuckled, "I'm questioning the morale of all of this..."

Rune did a happy twirl in the air, and flew circles around Onna while happily laughing. Then, when she determined that it's been enough time, she took off toward where Ava and Ever disappeared to, trying to search for them.

Yukime looked at the Suicune, almost curiously. Who was this girl, and how many Legends had she caught? At that moment, Yukime made it her mission to somehow have this girl guide her, no matter the cost. She seemed knowledgeable enough. "Maybe you could help, actually. Tell me, how have you caught so many Legends? I mean, I've heard of people doing so, but I've never seen proof of it. And here it is, in front of my eyes. A Jirachi, a Suicune, and that, back there, that was a Reshiram, correct? How do you do it, exactly?"

Onna, being the jolly ice-cream cone she was, decided to help Rune look around for the other two young Pokemon. Ever and Ava hid around somewhere, making sure it was a difficult place to find before shushing their giggles.

"Well, contrary to popular belief, in my case anyway, there's no real method to my madness. I research, find legends about these mythical Pokemon, and follow every whim I can. It's not usually successful, but as you can see," she nodded toward the Suicune beside her, "some of them are true. I was a little headstrong as of late though," she chucked, "again, it may not be the most sane or ethical career path. These Legends have forged their way into tales passed down from person to person for generations, and here I am selfishly taking them for myself, though they've never complained.... Enough rambling though, I don't think that's what you're after," Artemis smiled, "I may be able to lend a hand for your goals, I'm no longer as selfish as I used to be."

Rune was in hot pursuit of Yukime's Pokemon, and she resisted the temptation to open her third eye to help in her search, she didn't want to cheat. Instead, she flew around the forest, weaving through trees and searching in and under them as much as she could, giggling all the time.