you must be [this tall] to ride

[Dragon]

It was a perfect afternoon, to put it lightly.

A thin trail of clouds littered the blue sky, casting faint shadows on the wide stretch of ocean visible off the ivory shoreline. The salty sea air seemed even more refreshing than usual, what with the smells of popcorn and cotton candy mingling about in its wake and adding to an already relaxing atmosphere of celebration. The festival workers had made an excellent choice by setting up the Rides District along the coast, most of the higher attractions providing a clear view of both Vermilion and the busting seaport just outside the city limits. All in all, a tactic that was sure to attract patrons of all ages.

And attract people it did, the lines for several rides by now outside of the designated posts and snaking out into the center of general traffic through the area. For a few, this seemed to be a source of extreme irritation -- for one young man in particular, it was no trouble at all.

Falkner had been standing in this particular line for around twenty minutes or so, arms folded in the sort of way that gives off an expression of necessary patience. Visible eye focusing towards the front of the line, one hand was gently removed and ran through the prominent crest of dark, teal hair masking the other. A gentle sigh escaping his lips shortly after, the young Gym Leader decided to simply continue making the best of this situation with a slight smirk of optimism.

While he had only arrived in the region a few short days ago, travels were quickly postponed once the information about a festival was brought to his attention. It didn't make sense, after all -- moving away from a bustling environment that would be sure to attract interest to one specific place instead of having to seek out entertainment himself on this much needed vacation. That and he did enjoy carnival rides, though most would never guess that from looking at his prisstine pristine and rather stiff figure.

"Just a few more people -- this should be enjoyable."

Chuckling slightly under his breath, Falkner looked up towards the steel monstrosity looming several hundred feet above his current position. The roller coaster had immediately attracted his attention -- from the initial drop to the thrashing curves and twisting loops, he had to agree that Gyrados was the perfect pokémon to represent this ride.

The sooner he got back into the air the better, even if he was carefully secured within a shrieking metallic car with hoards of other thrill-seekers. The price some people pay for the ability to fly...

[The Jester]

I. Hate. Lines.

The woman let out an exasperated sigh. She'd been in this line for 18, maybe 20 minutes, and her patience was wearing thin. Fortunately, she was almost at the front of the line. There was a man who looked a bit younger than her standing in front of her, dressed somewhat oddly.

Though she was hardly one to talk, wearing a helmet and aviator's goggles. Well, she didn't actually have the goggles on, they were simply resting on top of her head, but people still stared at her now and then.
Though they were more likely drawn to her hair. Two winglike tufts stuck out from underneath the helmet, making it look like the girl had lavender horns. She fluffed the tufts up a bit as she waited to get to the front of the line.

Winona looked up at the coaster she was waiting to ride. Shaped like a Gyarados, the ride twisted and looped harshly, throwing its passengers around a bit. All she cared about, however, was the speed at which it flew through the air on that steel rail. Try as they might, not one of Winona's Pokemon could match that kind of speed. Thus why she was bothering to wait in this Mewdamned line in the first place.

Maybe she could talk to that guy in front of her to pass the time or something.

OoC: Asdfasdf short. D:

[Dragon]

While the line in front of him was finally beginning to pick up speed, Falkner suddenly found himself more concerned with what could potentially be happening behind his person. His senses were quite sharp, after all, and the feeling of being watched seemed to become increasingly more apparent to the young Gym Leader as time went on. It was probably nothing -- in a crowded public area such as this one, people would always be looking at other people. So why did he get this sudden suspicion that...

Turning himself around at a leisurely pace, Falkner's arms were still crossed as his gaze met with an oddly dressed woman. Nothing completely out of the ordinary -- the festival would be sure to attract several travelers like himself over the course of the summer. Still, the young woman couldn't have been much older than himself.

Raising an eyebrow, his visible eye focused on her expression. She was clearly upset about something -- it radiated off her entire body like a bad aura. And she seemed to be alone at the moment. How unfortunate.

"Excuse me, but are you alright?"

His voice friendly and extremely polite, Falkner even managed to give a small smile as he addressed the woman. Unintentionally, the entire act left the bird specialist in a very handsome light. The question of course was rhetorical, but he wasn't about to come off as brash or disrespectful.

Whatever she was feeling was her own business to share, and Falkner was not the kind of person to pry. Still, she looked upset and he couldn't have that, either. Not during a festival.

[Wrath]

Bugsy was nervous. Every step closer to the ride made his knees shake and his heart race. The sight of the monstrous, winding, blue-and-white contraption before him filled him with dread. Roller Coasters were not things Bugsy normally indulged in. He was accustomed to only going as fast as his own body could take him, in directions only his body could go. That did not mean upside down and sideways at... Very very high speeds.

But Falkner was here! And he had been so kind as to let him go in front of him in the line! He couldn't just leave. That would've been rude, and he didn't want to seem ungrateful! Bugsy bit his lip, turning around to look up at Falkner and smile. He could endure this if Falkner was with him. Even if he was frightened. Besides, he wasn't about to spoil Falkner's fun by saying anything or appearing upset.

However, it was at this point that he realized that Falkner had turned around and was addressing someone behind them. Instinctively he leaned to the side to get a look at whoever it was himself, and he noticed yet another familiar face. A wide, friendly smile spread across his face.

"Oh, miss Winona! Hi! Is something wrong?" He asked in a cheery tone that bordered concern at the final sentence, his eyebrows curving down appropriately.

He looked over her briefly, noting that she really looked a lot more like a Flying type expert wearing the clothes she was wearing at the moment. It was almost humourous. If he hadn't known who she was, namely a Gym Leader, he would've found it funny that a woman was dressing up to fly just for going on a roller coaster. But he knew that wasn't the case. A Flying expert would have goggles and an aviator cap, of course. He giggled despite the logic, before blinking as if in surprise. He looked up once more at Falkner, this time addressing him.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce you. Falkner, this is miss Winona! She's a Gym Leader in Hoenn, and we met at the beach," He told, still smiling. His nervousness was forgotten for the moment, however as the coaster surged past, the sound of collection of screaming and laughing riders washing over him, he seemed to stiffen, rubbing the back of his head. He bit his lip once more, smiling slightly despite it, however, he said nothing.

[The Jester]

Winona looked up as the man in front of her turned and spoke.

"Excuse me, but are you alright?"

He smiled as he spoke, causing him to look quite attractive.
Wow... He's cute... She thought, blushing ever so slightly. As she looked at him, she couldn't help but notice the wristbands he was wearing on his folded arms. It was probably just her love of Flying types talking, but they looked ideal for protecting one's arm from a perching Pokemon's talons. She looked back up at his face and replied.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just getting a little tired of waiting." She smiled a bit, almost apologetic, as if sorry for making him worry about a complete stranger. Then she heard another, familiar voice.

"Oh, miss Winona! Hi! Is something wrong?"

"Oh! Hello, Bugsy. No, I'm fine. Thank you for asking, though." She said, smiling softly at the tween Johto Leader she'd met at the beach.

Wait. What did he call the guy in front of her? "Falkner"...?

The Flying type Leader from Johto?! Winona thought, very surprised. Falkner was the only other Flying type specialist she'd ever heard of, unless you counted the junior trainers in her Gym and likely scattered throughout Hoenn. What a coincidence running into him! Winona almost felt a little nervous now.

She wasn't the only one, judging by how Bugsy froze up as the coaster passed by. She couldn't help but smile as she asked, "Bugsy... Are you scared...?"

So. Freaking. Cute.

[Dragon]

As the young woman admitted that her feelings were nothing more than mild frustration, Falkner managed to give a small nod of acknowledgment before relaxing his shoulders. Running one hand through that thick crest of hair, he sighed and made sure to politely lock his gaze with the stranger in question once again, his voice calm and reassuring.

"No need to apologize. Sadly, your frustration won't make the line move any faster than the ride will allow."

Expression twinging with a considering honesty, it was the cheery voice of his young friend that had the bird specialist raising an eyebrow in interest, the smile returning to his face as his figure was rearranged to include both Bugsy and Winona in the conversation.

"Winona?"

For a moment, it was all he could do to say her name out loud, vision tilted in consideration with his chin. The easy nature of his stance once again tensed, though not from apprehension or embarrassment. It was a sign of respect -- Falkner knew the name, but had never met the flying leader of Hoenn. How odd that Bugsy was already acquainted, and from a beach meeting, no less! The boy usually tended to stay in areas where his precious bugs resided, but nothing is impossible.

Before anything more could be said on his behalf, however, Bugsy and his current state of mind were brought into question. Eyes widened in minor alarm before all signs of worry were erased, Falkner giving a warm smile and putting one hand on his friend's shoulder in soft encouragement.

"If you don't want to go on this ride, Bugsy, we could always go on another. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable for my sake. After all,"

Looking up at Winona with that smile still lingering,

"I don't believe my birds will be allowed to ride with us. A shame, really."

[breloom]

Waiting in line, for most people, was one of those things that’s just a real drag. Having to postpone doing something just so others could do it first while you waited and watched for thirty minutes as they practically rubbed their earliness in your face was not a particularly enjoyable prospect, and it took iron will and benevolence levels rivaling those of some saint or another to be able to do it with a giddy, excited smile on your face the entire time.

And then there was Lance.

Lance did not have iron will, nor did he have benevolence levels rivaling that of a saint (but he was pretty close). One thing Lance had that nobody else did, however, was what kept him beaming today (and indeed what kept him beaming all the time): sheer Lancitude.

What was Lancitude? Well, nobody really knew. Not even Lance himself knew what it was, or if it even existed at all. Maybe it was just a side-effect of his goofy personality and overall pleasant aura? Who knows? But Lancitude certainly did something, and that something powered Lance and let him focus primarily of being happy the entire day.

Even in lines.

Of course, it might just be the concept of going on a roller coaster that made him happy; going very, very fast was one of Lance’s favorite things to do, and not dealing with the tiredness and aching that come the next morning while going fast can only make it better.

And also because it was in the shape of a Gyarados (!).

The Xtreme Anime Hairspike’d man gave a little chirp of happiness at the thought of riding on something so Awesome as a Gyarados coaster, he half-expected to hear a defeated sigh coming from somewhere behind him. Then he remembered that the main provider of those defeated sighs wasn’t actually with him anymore. As unsafe as it was for being a Lance without a guy with a blunt weapon to beat away fangirls with, Grant had separated himself from Lance at the entrance...

“I’d rather not, Lance,” said Grant as he stared with his… ‘traveling acquaintance’ in front of the Summer Fairgrounds.

“Awwww, come on! It’ll be a lot of fun!” Lance pleaded with him. It should be noted that he ended up looking extremely strange being thirty-something years old and pleading to go to a carnival with a late teenager (when it should be the other way around). Despite this, Grant shook his head firmly and tried to ignore the floppy brown hair that flew around with it.

“No, Lance. I don’t like carnivals, alright? There’s too many… people.”

BRE'S NOTES: Grunt didn't have a problem with the amount of people - he just didn't want to be seen in too many places with Lance, in case some sort of undercover Rocket agent spotted him acting all buddy-buddy with the Champion.

Lance pouted. “Pleeeeeeease?”

“I’ll be just fine around the rest of Vermillion,” Grant had assured him, realizing that Lance was about to have a mood swing. “I promise I’ll be back later, okay?”

Lance frowned. “But why don’t you like the people?”

“I…” Grant stuttered for reasons Lance couldn’t understand. “I just don’t want to go in, alright? I said I’d be fine, and I’ll be fine. Bye.”

And just like that he swiveled on his heel (metal pipe very narrowly missing Lance’s head) and walked away.

[/blockquote]



Having become disappointed at the outcome of his conversation with Grant (and him ungratefully walking away on him like that), Lance started looking over the rest of the people on line. The girl in front of seemed kind of familiar…

Hoping she wasn’t a fangirl, he stealthily used his height advantage over her to peer over her enormous headgear. He had seen her before, but where…? And then, too late, he heard the voice of a little kid chime over the clump of people.

“Oh, miss Winona!”

He remembered her now. He was pretty sure she was a fangirl.

Fangirls (and the Castle of Comic Torture) were the only things that could put a dent in his mood on line to go ride a Gyarados-shaped roller coaster. Way to go, he scolded himself bitterly as he waited for her to turn around, recognize him, and nearly blast his eardrums out of his head.

[Wrath]

Bugsy blinked, tearing his eyes away from the coaster and turning back around to face Winona, giving a smile that ended up feeling, and potentially looking, strained. It was good there was nothing wrong with Winona; her apparent discomfort had been chalked up to nothing but impatience. It was okay to be impatient, of course, anyway. And it wasn't like miss Winona was being rude about it, and insisting everyone "hurry up" and "get moving", like Bugsy had often seen other adults do.

However the smile faded completely to be replaced by a somewhat guilty expression as Winona spoke up again, asking if he was scared. He wasn't so much scared as he was simply nervous. He'd never been on a roller coaster before, and he didn't know what to expect. Not to mention all the wild loops he could see and the screaming he kept hearing kept him from having a very positive outlook, despite attempts at heartening himself. He considered denying his anxiety for a moment, but he wasn't a very good liar, in the first place, and then he felt Falkner's hand on his shoulder. Falkner would see right through him, even if he managed to somehow convince miss Winona. Bugsy returned the smile Falkner offered him, looking from Winona to Falkner and shaking his head slightly, eyebrows furrowed determinedly.

"I'm just a little bit nervous, but the only way I can stop being nervous is if I go on the ride so I know what to expect in the future," Bugsy began, his voice gaining strength as he continued, even smiling brightly.

"A-and Falkner, no, you wanted to go on this ride and I'm not going to be the reason you don't go on! It'll be educational if I go on, too. A new experience," Bugsy told, nodding in agreement with himself. Being nervous was natural, especially when facing new things. Bugsy could remember the first time he fought a trainer as a Gym Leader. He had been really quite frightened. It had felt like every battle he had ever fought beforehand was really just practice, and this was the real thing. However, now he didn't get so anxious when battling, so he was inferring that if he went on the roller coaster, he wouldn't be so worried the next time around. It was an educated guess, and Bugsy hoped Falkner and Winona would understand.