Eleventh Flight. [glitched audio/brief video/action at Mahogany Inn.]

[newberktown]

▒▒or Almighty... Where d▒▒ ▒▒is storm come from all of ▒ ▒udden...?

[That sure is a familiar voice to some people in Johto, even as distorted as it is...

The speaker pauses, unsure not only of the weather, but the strength of his network connection as well. After gathering a breath, he continues on with the reason he started this recording in the first place.]

Er, hey guys? H▒▒▒▒ang stole my leg and took off a ▒▒▒▒▒ ago.

[There's another pause as a loud crack of thunder rolls by, followed by a bout of static.]

▒ ▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒ink anyone should be outside, but if you can keep an eye out for ▒ ▒▒owlithe carrying something that looks like a foot, I'd appre▒▒▒▒▒ it. I thought h▒▒ ▒ome back, since it's raining, but I hav▒▒▒ seen him...

[Hiccup's face appears briefly as the feed freaks out one last time, looking just as it had three weeks ago when he had vanished without a trace. There's concern there over his current predicament, but he doesn't seem to be aware of his time away from Johto.]

Thanks anyway... I'll be in my room here if anyone in Mahogany finds him.

[ooc note: HEY WHAT'S UP, I'M BACK! Tags might be slow yet for a little while! Also (maybe?) posted early because I don't know what I'll all be doing today.]

Comments

[newberktown]

[Stoick will grudgingly adopt you like Hiccup has, tiny dragon. In the future, he will try to wrap you up in soft blankets. It's better than letting you run into walls, anyway.

Meanwhile, Hiccup is starting to feel guilty. He was used to causing trouble for people, but he was usually at least aware of it when he was worrying others.]

Oh... Sorry.

[sjdghkl, MOM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING.] Hey! What-- [...Oh, this was actually helpful. You didn't have to embarrass him in the process.] Uhmn, thanks. [Hi, Chief.] Are you sure this is okay, though?

[doitrockapella]

[Luckily for Hiccup's guilt complex, Carmen's going to refrain from mentioning how she lost her composure, ran off through a rainstorm, intended to engage in some therapeutic thievery but ultimately punked out, and then sat in the rain despondently talking about poetry until Coop convinced her to come back home.

...She was a little upset, okay.

Fortunately, now he is back and she can get back to being a Cool Thief Mom Who Occasionally Embarrasses The Hell Out Of Him By Solving Problems In A Badass Way.]

You're all right, Chief?

[Solemnly, the Kadabra nods, and shifts a little to adjust the way Hiccup's weight is placed.]

Don't worry. It's far from the first time he's given someone a ride. And probably an easier one, too, since you fit better on his back than I do.

[punchandkiss]

...You're back? Are you in New Bark town? That's where everyone said you'd come back. Do you...do you remember?

[All of the questions are being asked! Punching will come later.]

[newberktown]

If you're sure...

[It still seemed a little weird, but with the knowledge that Carmen had also been a passenger on the Chief Express, Hiccup accepts his new ride.]

So, uh... How long was I gone?

[He could always check for himself, but... Part of him didn't want to know.]

[newberktown]

[That last one seems the most important to address first.]

Yeah, I remember. But I'm not in ▒▒▒ Bark--I'm still in Mahogany. [Pause.] I ▒▒▒n't even realize I was gone.

[doitrockapella]

For the moment, it's a better alternative than having you try to walk. Especially if stairs end up involved.

[For what it's worth, Chief doesn't look particularly fazed by this new development, either. Hiccup is an excellent size for a passenger, and one of the many things phenomenal psychic powers are good for is helping to support theoretically heavy objects. He's got this.

Carmen, on the other hand, goes a bit solemn at the inquiry.]

A few weeks. It's lucky we didn't move; we'd been talking about heading toward Cianwood for a little while now.

[newberktown]

[Hiccup's quiet for a while at this new revelation. Cianwood had been his own destination for so long, but life had gotten pretty cozy, living in Ecruteak, then Mahogany. The small towns were familiar, and he had settled easily with the assorted group of travelmates. Then Astrid had come, making life all the better.

It sure would have been confusing to come back to find that not just the viking girl moved to a different town, but all the grown-ups, too.]

...We should all go, soon. To Cianwood.

[doitrockapella]

[She's always been the driving force in the party, really; it's her nature to want to stay on the move, to travel the world, to avoid being tethered in one place for too long. She gets restless when it starts to feel as though she's putting down roots. She was the one who most wanted to go, this time.

And now, here, she's suddenly stunningly glad they didn't.]

You've never been, have you? [A fond look flickers across her features.] It's a beautiful city. It's on the ocean, too, but with more cliffs and rocky places than Olivine or Goldenrod.

[newberktown]

Not yet...

[For being there as long as he had, Hiccup hadn't really done very much traveling. Even if he had been one to wander off, back home, it still wasn't natural for a citizen of Berk to head out to an unfamiliar place when there was no boat to carry them.

Hearing Cianwood described lifts his spirits a little. He'd heard it was a nice place, but so far, the beach had been all that was mentioned.]

That sounds nice. Almost like Berk. Are there forests there, too?

[doitrockapella]

[Ecruteak is making a fair bid toward becoming her favorite for reasons of history and personal memories, but purely in the arena of scenery, it's hard to beat out Cianwood in Carmen's esteem.

Also because she dumped Cobra Commander's snake throne there after stealing it, so hey, it comes with its own set of personal memories, itself.]

Not around the town, but further up and in there are. Cianwood is on its own landmass, separate from the rest of Johto — that's why it takes a boat ride or flying to get there. The town sits on the coast, surrounded by cliffs, but once you surmount those, there are forested areas farther inland.

[heartdive]

Gosh. I hope the power doesn't go out.

[thetruehistorian]

▒▒at's good ▒▒ hear. ▒ hope your le▒ ▒▒n be located soon.

[newberktown]

[As if he needed more reasons to head on over there... Getting Fly had been enough, really.]

I bet Astrid would like it there... Might be good to be in a familiar kind of place.

[And then they could go flying on dragons out over the water. Or, uh, something like that. You know, whatever.]

[newberktown]

[That's right, that was a thing that could happen with electricity...]

It'd be ▒▒en worse in Gol▒▒▒▒▒▒ City. I bet the pokemon w▒▒▒▒ ▒e able to help out, though.

[newberktown]

[It takes a bit for him to figure that one out, but--]

Thanks, me too. I'm hoping Hookfang w▒▒ ▒▒▒▒ back soon, with it rain▒▒▒.

[doitrockapella]

I looked at houses there, once.

[Hiccup, this is a BIG ADMISSION here, bro. No one has ever heard this story before. Not even Coop. FEEL SPECIAL.]

There aren't as many available as in Olivine or Goldenrod, of course — it's not nearly so big a town. But there was one near the beach that I liked. I wonder if anyone's snatched it up since then.

[It's a good thing Hiccup doesn't know about Carmen's thieving habits, or he might be inclined to wonder if she means "snatched it up" in a figurative sense, or a literal one.]

[newberktown]

Really?

[Learning about frands is always special.]

We should look when we're there.

[Even if he couldn't exactly imagine Carmen getting settled down anywhere for too long, it would be nice to check. Besides, he wanted to see the spot special enough to catch the woman's attention.]

[doitrockapella]

After these storms clear up, we'll talk about heading out that way.

[She flashes him an amused smile.]

Though we might pick up another passenger along the way, while we're at it. Another of Agent Cooper's friends arrived while you were gone, though he's still a few cities away yet.

[Pause.]

He's considerably more pleasant than Agent Rosenfield.

[newberktown]

[He nods to show his approval of this plan. It would be wrong to put it off any longer, especially since they had all planned to go when he had vanished mysteriously.

Absently doing a headcount... Carmen, Coop and his friends, Astrid, and himself.]

That'll bring us up to six, then. Our group sure has been growing, lately. Wonder if it'll be your turn to get a familiar face around here, soon.

[FRIENDS OF CARMEN. Exciting to think about.]

I've only talked to him once, but Mr. Rosenfield didn't seem so bad to me...

[The conversation had mostly been positive, anyway.]

[doitrockapella]

[BAWWW, HICCUP, SHE DOESN'T HAVE FRIENDS. :( ]

I wonder what you'd think of them if they did.

[Better Zack than Ivy, really, if such a thing were ever to come to pass. Ivy's dedication to bringing her in was something to be admired, no doubt, but Zack, at least, might be able to appreciate Johto life more easily than his sister. To say nothing of the fact that he and Hiccup would really be two of a kind.]

He'd better not seem bad to you. I'll have to have a few words with him if he does.

[heartdive]

Uh... Can you say that again?

[newberktown]

[...]

Hang on.

[Doop da doo, switching over to text...]

Hey, does this work easier? Or is it still messed up?

[newberktown]

[HA HA, don't be silly. Thief Mom is awesome! Naturally, she has lots of friends. She practically OOZES friends.]

Hey, I can take care of myself.

[It's not an indignant BUT MOOOOOOOM tone, but one that's ready and amused. Why Carmen, he's practically a man! It's not like he does irresponsible things like disappearing. Come on.

...Th-though really, what is up with you two, it's weird. You shouldn't threaten the friends of the guy you smooch.]

[doitrockapella]

[Yes. Oozes them. Sure does. Ha-hah...sob.]

Just make sure to say something if he gets out of hand. [A beat.] And if he calls you stupid, he's wrong.

[He is ALWAYS WRONG when he calls people stupid, GDI.]

[newberktown]

Pretty sure he hasn't gone that far... [Though he made a lot of references to things Hiccup didn't get. What was that one thing he'd called him...?] What does it mean when he calls me 'Snoopy', though?