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

[doitrockapella]

[Yes, well, naturally. Dragons > girls. Even when that girl is Thief Mom.]

It is. Zack's having a bad time of it.

[BUT THAT IS HARDLY IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW. Because son guy. RIGHT HERE. Eeee.]

What happened to your leg?

[Meanwhile, Abbie is practically sitting on Hiccup in her attempt to garner ALL THE PETTING AND SNUGGLES.]

[newberktown]

[Well excuse him for being clueless about everything. =c]

Oh... Hookfang took off with it, earlier. Usually he just chews on it... [Abbie, you're cute and all, but he sort of wants to get up now! Not that you'll be able to tell, with the continued affection you're being showered with...] I really expected him to be back by now.

[doitrockapella]

[Carmen, being the awesome mom she is, will just take a minute to reach down and half-push, half-pry Abbie off of Hiccup before offering him a hand to help him to his feet. ...Foot.]

Hookfang? Your Growlithe — you have him back, too?

[newberktown]

[FREEDOM. Abbie will be getting one last pat on the hand before he straightens up. He's still a bit wobbly, but there's enough stuff around him to keep him from toppling over, so long as the Deino doesn't feel like charging him again.

Carmen gets a confused look at the question though.]

Have him...? [Jeez, mom, weren't you paying attention?] No, he's...still out in the storm.

[???????]

[doitrockapella]

[Abbie is only moderately distraught about this, less because of the ungraceful push to her nose and more because she really wasn't done laving attention and joy all over her warmthing and it's always a bummer to be interrupted in the middle of your happydance. Fortunately, the Leavanny is likewise interesting, and she can content herself with curiously sniffing and nudging at that. For the moment.

Meanwhile, Carmen's sticking close, making sure Hiccup's got his balance and even then still kind of hovering a little to make sure he keeps it, half-considering just hauling him up and depositing him on Chief's back to make his mobility that much simpler.]

I can't imagine he went far, between the thunder and the rain. I can have Vicky go out after him if he doesn't show up soon.

[But she's considering what to do about the other part, too.]

You don't remember ever being gone.

[newberktown]

[Don't worry, toddler dragon. Hiccup will be receptive to your attention again later. Stoick doesn't seem too sure about what to do with this other pokemon... It does tug at his fatherly instincts, argh. Have an unsure pat on the head? It seems to like those.]

Okay. That'll work, I guess. I still can't believe he'd rather be out in the rain than give that thing back...

[Giving Carmen another odd l--CRAP, BALANCE. Okay, stable. Now he can focus on this important thing.]

I was...gone? [Pause.] But how is that even possible?

[doitrockapella]

[YESSSSSS, HEAD PATS. Best day ever. Leafything is now dubbed interesting, too, but obviously Warmthing will always be first in Abbie's affections.]

I don't know. We woke up one morning and you were just...gone. [A beat.] I'd have been impressed by the disappearing act, if I hadn't been too concerned to appreciate it.

[Oh, but okay, that wobbling just isn't going to do. With a brief whistle, Carmen waves Chief over and motions for him to turn his back to them once he arrives.]

Here. Let's make things a little easier on you until we can get that leg back.

[And, hooking her arms under Hiccup's in one swift motion, she hauls him up and deposits him neatly on Chief's back, who obligingly adjusts his tail to give him a better seat.]

[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.

[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.]

[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.

[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.]

[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.

[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?

[doitrockapella]

Snoopy?

[Now that's a new one. She casts him a sideways look, brow furrowed as she tries to work out where that might've come from.]

That's the name of a dog — a cartoon dog, that is. Where we're from, there are people who make a living telling stories through sequences of drawings called 'comics', not for the sake of recording history but for humor or comedy. One of the most famous characters in a set of these comics is a dog called Snoopy. But why would he come up with that for you?