Frontier Town Civic Courtyard

[Chibi Pika]

The gala had arrived in full swing.

Even if the main purpose of the event was up in that rich manor, the outdoors still held something for everyone, it seemed. Vibrant colors saturated the surrounding, from food stalls to banners. Laughter and cheerful conversation filled the air, creating a thick atmosphere of joy. As the sun passed the horizon and dusky reds overtook the sky, the occasional fireworks flashed overhead, capturing the attention of everyone outside.

And yet, the ever-present eyes of the guards stationed all around said only one thing to Jade: you are being watched.

It was just normal security. Why wouldn't they have a few guards around to keep people from getting too drunk or rowdy? Totally normal. Not the sort of thing that should have tripped that instinct to always keep escape routes in the back of her mind. There wasn't going to be any kind of conflict.

Except that wasn't true at all, and Jade knew it, no matter how much she'd tried to distract herself from it. Something was going to happen here. There'd been whispers and rumors of people helping bandits, and other people hunting bandits, and she knew that she should have tracked down the full truth, except she wasn't even sure if anyone even had the full truth. They weren't a unified team. She hadn't even met half of them.

So Jade wandered the courtyard, restless and anxious, unsure who she was looking for or what she was waiting for.

 

[Jackie Cat]

There was a cry and the sound of pokémon attacks from inside the mansion, where the outlines of guests in the ballroom could be seen through the windows. There was a minute of hubbub and chatter as the partygoers outside called to each other, shouted questions, pushed to see what was going on.

Orders came through from a Patrat messenger. The Pawniard stationed around the courtyard's perimeter scraped a metallic acknowledgement.

The Watchog's eyes narrowed as she glared at Silver.

"Sir," she said, darkly, "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave these grounds at once. The civic courtyard is no longer open for the night."

Your allies are fighting! There is a battle! You need to help them—!

What was that voice...?

 

[Mr.RMA]

Hours of reading through small print eventually began to do a number on Corey's eyes, leaving him little choice but to take a break. He was tempted to just go back to his room, but it was beginning to feel stuffy in there after such prolonged durations... and frankly he could really use some fresh air. Such was the motivation that led him to the Civic Courtyard.

Though the rather... unpleasant events that took place within the nearby residence were still quite fresh in his mind, Corey could still find some solace in this small, precious park of green amidst all the dust, dirt and dryness. It was like finding a nice, shaded spot in Nimbasa after traveling northward through the sandy route 4 in Unova... Yes, perhaps he would do well to spend a little time in as nice an enviornment as this...

Finding a spot to sit, beneath the shade of a cottonwood tree, Corey stared up at the sky for a few moments before eventually closing his eyes and lightly dozing off.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Tidesday morning, the day of the Autumn Crossing, saw the arrival of a pair of rangers in town. Certain of the offworlder party may have recognised Nico the Wattrel flying overhead in advance of them, or heard murmurings in town about the unusual appearance of high-ranking rangers in Frontier Town. It wasn't often that elite rangers, let alone the chief, made an appearance this far south. Yet here they were – and they headed first to the Mayoral Residence, presumably to speak with Lucien.

That meeting had now concluded, and the late morning sun saw a Dewott pacing back and forth in the Civic Courtyard while a seated Haxorus watched. From time to time, the Dewott would rattle off a series of thoughts, and get a short reply, or even just a nod, from the dragon.

Both 'mon wore armbands pinned with the 'winged star' badge of the Ranger Union.

 

[Sinderella]

How have I not come here yet?

Odette had been afraid that such a small town would quickly leave her with no room to explore, but she was continuously being proved wrong. To think, the entire group had been inside the mayoral mansion not weeks ago, and this was the first time she'd set foot in the courtyard. Sitting under the shade of one of the trees--an actual green tree--she realized what a crime that was.

She didn't want to train today. She didn't want to mess around on the backstage piano at Sun Stone. She didn't want to plot about how she was going to refrain from barfing when she started sucking up to Nolan. Everything had been such a whirlwind lately, so it was nice to take a couple of minutes to just sit in the shade of a tended-to garden and just feel the breeze on her face. Something to keep her and her second head mostly sane.

The garden really was beautiful; something she wouldn't have expected to see out in the desert. The longer she sat, the more certain she was it was in the running to become her favorite place in town. It reminded her so much of the peacefulness that the gardens of the San--

She jolted slightly, her shoulders tensing. Though, she couldn't quite understand why. It wasn't like those times were bad. If anything, they were distinctly wonderful for a while. Especially because he was there with her.

For a moment, she swore she could smell the dainty aroma of pecha-laced smoke.

I miss him.

In an angry attempt to shed the thought, she picked up a rock and geared up to fling it into a nearby bush. However, she stopped short when she saw a ball of familiar blue pass by.

 

[Namohysip]

One dusty afternoon, Mhynt decided it would be a good time to use some of her surplus funds working Mewtwo's bulletin board to make some luxury purchases in the courtyard. Unfortunately, she had no idea what she would do with any of them... nor what some of them were for. This led to an awkward walk down the courtyard, money in her bag, and nothing to turn it into.

She wondered if this would be a good place for a fancier bucket.

 

[Sinderella]

Odette could say she was happy the courtyard existed. It gave her something green to look at when it seemed all she was surrounded by were different hues of yellow and brown. And this might be the only time she could touch her bare skin to grass without breaking out into a rash, so by the gods, she was going to enjoy it as much as she could. At least listening to the trees rustle in the breeze gave her something to listen to instead of her own whirring thoughts. Not even reading through and editing things in her songbook was doing much for her head, but at least the change of scenery helped just a smidge. And it didn’t seem like anyone was around, so, bonus.

Sighing, she settled into the bench she was sitting in, which was set up perfectly under one of the larger trees in the yard. Another gust of breeze cooled her face, and she settled her head back to enjoy it. Little moments like this could easily be interrupted by utter bullshit. So she’d try to savor it.

[ @Panoramic_Vacuum ]

 

[Chibi Pika]

Grovyle Ralsen stretched his arms over his head, letting the afternoon sun shine on his wrist leaves. It was a pleasant day, cooler and breezier than most, and the courtyard was always a nice location for a quiet outdoor chat.

"I didn't expect I'd be passing through Frontier Town again so soon," he mused, folding the newspaper in his lap. "But I suppose with the train lines open again, it's not as far out of the way as it might've been, and well"--he gestured to the paper's headline story about the raid on Blaguarro--"I had to hear for myself what had transpired."

 

[Sinderella]

Recovering from the bullshit that was that stupid Comb took a few days. Perhaps longer. Even sitting on her favorite bench in the courtyard, staring blankly at her songbook, she still didn’t feel great. That lingering knot in her chest had been momentarily numbed during the celebration of her boss winning the fucking election, but as with all emotional turmoil, it wasn’t long before it was eating at her again.

At least she had the entertainment schedule to keep her busy. With Greasewood heading off to literally run the town, she had to be more on top of things than ever while Sun Stone’s management moved hands. The timing of it couldn’t have been much better, even if she was having trouble focusing on it at the current moment.

As she tapped her pen aggressively against the cover of her book, she tried to at least enjoy the subtle breeze rustling through the trees overhead…

[ @canisaries ]