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

▒▒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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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?

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?

[Even with the time spent out of Johto being literally nothing to Hiccup, it was still a ways back for him to remember. What had they been talking about...]

I don't know... Does it have something to do with a 'Red Baroness'? Or, uhmn... [Hmmmn.] Oh. He called me that after I said I knew you before I knew Cooper.

Oh.

[Surprisingly, she actually gets a faint laugh out of that. It's not entirely free of wry sarcasm, but there is some humor in it, too.]

Well, that's flattering. One of the most famous Snoopy stories is "Snoopy and the Red Baron" — it's set in the middle of a worldwide war, and casts Snoopy in the role of a heroic pilot who singlehandedly skirmishes with the very best of the enemy's aviators: the Red Baron.

So if nothing else, you can take it as a compliment. He thinks you make a remarkable pilot.

[OH. So the first memory was correct. With this 'Snoopy' being a dog, Hiccup had sort of been expecting it to be a jab at loyalty. It certainly seemed like the type of thing the Albert Rosenfield that Carmen knew might say.

...But it wasn't. Which made him think again that perhaps this friend of Cooper's wasn't as bad as Carmen made him out to be. Even though he did take note of the fact that Carmen was apparently an enemy aviator.]

Huh... Okay, thanks. [For explaining it and stuff.]

[The problem is, Albert's the one who likes to drag as many third parties as possible into the midst of his battles; that's not Carmen's style by any means, and especially not when the person in question is someone like Hiccup. If there's going to be a war, he doesn't deserve to get caught in the crossfire, no matter how determined Albert Rosenfield is to haul him there.

Unlike Hiccup, she can appreciate the greater context of the reference, and spots what Albert intended by it. It's not about what roles the pair played within the story; it's that they come as a pair in the first place. Snoopy and the Red Baron. Hiccup and Carmen.

"You two" and "us".

But Hiccup doesn't need to know that. And she's not going to tell him otherwise.]

Of course. Now, let's go find Hookfang, shall we?

[He nods, though he's still a little hesitant about it. The Growlithe had made a mad dash for the inn's exit once the prosthetic was secured, not seeming to care about the weather. It would be hard to tell just where Hookfang had carried it off to, or if the dog would have even bothered to keep it.]

Okay... If you don't mind the storm. [He glances over to the Leavanny, who is still awkwardly doting on the bitty dragon.] Think Stoick can handle Abbie, or...?

It's far from the first time I've been out in one. And besides, some of the greatest innovations in the world have come about thanks to a well-timed thunderstorm.

[She glances back as well; he raises a good point about the Leavanny, not because she doubts Stoick's ability to handle her dragon but because sometimes Abbie is just difficult to handle in general, and it doesn't really seem fair to saddle someone else's Pokemon, however generously they offer, with her. In Hiccup's absence, keeping tabs on her had largely fallen to Chief and Zack, but with the two of them occupied...]

I hate to put her away, but it might be for the best. She's getting better at staying put when she's told, but as you saw firsthand, when she gets excited, she has a tendency to...forget.

[Even with the indignant look Stoick got when it was implied that he was nurturing, Hiccup could tell that the bug was far more soft-hearted than he let on, and would have happily cared for the younger pokemon. At the suggestion, though, the viking makes a soft noise in agreement, corners of his mouth twitching up as he watched the Deino. She certainly could be a handful.]

We'll have to work on that later, then. Her and Hookfang.

[After recalling the Leavanny, Hiccup shifts a bit on his perch, returning his attention to Carmen.]

Can you tell me more about these innovations while we look?

[With a hint of a frown, she recalls Abbie as well — she really does hate to put some of them away, but necessity and prudence dictates and it'll be better all around if she rides along on Carmen's belt for the duration, instead of potentially wreaking havoc throughout the inn.

But that frown quickly turns into a smile at Hiccup's optimistic pledge. It's been too long since she last heard one out of him, and there's something altogether pleasant about hearing it now — as though he'd never been gone, and everything is simply business as usual once more.]

Don't let me forget to show you her latest trick — Zack's been teaching her how to navigate by sound. It's fun to watch.

[She gives Chief a fond scritch behind the ears, earning a pleased but mildly indignant whuffle, and then starts heading for the door at a pace Chief won't have trouble matching.]

Have you ever wondered how the lights overhead work, or the Gears, or just about any of the powered machines in Johto? It's all because a very brilliant man once had the idea to fly a kite in a thunderstorm...

[And with that, Hiccup will probably hear the entire history of the discovery of electricity as they set off to look for his dog.]

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

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