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It has been quite some time, hasn't it?
This is the second chapter for Clear Skies! As the Vulpix gets ready for his second jump, an encounter in the park sparks a new friendship!
So sorry that this chapter took so long! Between personal life, and such, this did take longer than I would have liked. Once again, special thanks to digolgrin for providing feedback, and letting me use Alex the Growlithe! I really appreciate all of your help!!
That being said, I hope you enjoy!!
Clear Skies Chapter 2: Meeting
A ray of light shone through a parting in the curtains, casting a faint light into the dimly lit bedroom. The room was relatively clean and well furnished with display cabinets and shelves containing a variety of items and oddities, the only hint of someone’s presence in the room was an opened pack of balloons, a handheld pump, and several balloon models scattered over the bedroom floor. Next to the wall furthest from the door was a single sized bed that had a purple bedsheet quietly bundled up into a mound on top of the mattress. Looming over the bed was a large deflated mylar balloon depicting a feline like creature with a witch’s hat that was taped onto the wall as if it were a makeshift poster.
A digital alarm clock silently rested on a nightstand next to the occupant of the bed, beside the clock was a weight wrapped in a pink foil that had a few birthday balloons tethered to it, some of which were starting to lose their buoyancy as they hovered just over the nightstand, alongside other smaller items like stationary and small trinkets. The clock’s display turned to six in the morning as its screen lit up and erupted a cacophony of beeps as its alarm was triggered. The noise was enough to disturb the mound on the bed.
A grumble came from the bundle of fabric as it shuffled around, an icy blue paw, poked out of the bed sheet as it started to swipe about, trying to find what it was that woke them up. The paw felt around the nightstand, knocking over some of the items that rested on top of it. After a few swipes, the paw found the alarm, slamming it down on the top of the clock as the beeping stopped. A cathartic sigh could be heard from inside the sheet as the paw retreated inside the sheets before the bundle rustled around until an Alolan Vulpix’s head popped out, their fringe long hair was scruffy and out of place. “Just when that dream was getting good too.” the Vulpix grumbled sleepily as they stirred from their dream, rubbing their eyes and yawning with a stretch after the rude awakening.
The Vulpix shuffled around again, throwing the bedsheet off their body. The small Pokémon stumbled over to their window, opening the curtains that robbed the room of the natural light. The morning sun flooded the room with an intense light, making the Vulpix squint their eyes as they tried to get used to the light. After a moment of getting used to the light the Vulpix looked around the room, noting the balloon models scattered over the floor. The Vulpix stumbled over to them as they collected each one, and carefully placing them on a TV stand. The Vulpix smiled at their efforts as they briefly admired their work. The Vulpix turned their attention to the bed, grabbing onto the sheet as they quickly made the bed, giggling as they watched the fabric catch the wind it made, and float down on the mattress.
When the Vulpix was done, they turned his attention to a corkboard that was hung over the nightstand. The board was covered in notes and photos of importance to the Vulpix. The middle of the board was occupied by a certificate that was stuck on the board by a drawing pin. The certificate bore a message congratulating ‘Alto’ on completing a tandem skydive, the certificate also included a photo of the Vulpix looking like they were having a nerve wrecking, but fun time as they jumped with a Lopunny who had a huge smile on their face.
Alto gazed at the certificate, smiling softly to himself. “It still feels so surreal that I did that,” he thought aloud as he wandered over to a calendar. The calendar had a lot of days already crossed out on the page. Amongst the crossed boxes was one with a cake and balloons crudely doodled inside it, Alto grabbed a pen and started following the crossed-out days until he reached the next free space, crossing it out. Next to the one he crossed out was a space with an equally crudely drawn parachute doodled in the square. A huge grin appeared on Alto’s face. “And I still can’t believe that I’m going again tomorrow!” The Vulpix giggled as he jumped on the spot out of excitement.
Alto’s excitement was short lived however, as his stomach audibly growled. “Oh my!” Alto said with a faint chuckle. The Vulpix perked as he smelled an enticing scent from somewhere in the house. “Oh! Is breakfast ready?” He thought aloud as he hurriedly left the room, seeking out what it was that had caught his attention.
A bipedal Sylveon had finished placing the last pieces of a cooked breakfast on an oak table in the middle of the kitchen. The room was modern in its appearance, with white walls that helped make the black slate floors, the grey worktops, and black cabinets stand out. the kitchen was almost spotless, besides the pots and pans that were occupying the kitchen sink in the aftermath of the Sylveon’s cooking.
“And there we go!” Travis said with a content look on his face. The Sylveon stretched before pouring himself a blue coloured juice. The Sylveon was about to take a sip, when he heard footsteps rushing to the kitchen, followed by Alto peeking his head inside, the Pokémon’s snowy fur was still as scruffy as it was when he woke up. Travis chuckled softly as he saw his messy roommate. “Good morning Alto! Did you sleep well?” The Sylveon asked as he quietly sipped his juice.
“Hey Travis!” Alto replied with a weary smile. The Vulpix entered the kitchen, letting out a yawn as he stretched his back. “My mind has been so occupied about tomorrow; it’s been pretty hard to sleep” he answered with a grin.
Travis smiled warmly “I’m glad that you get the chance to go again tomorrow. But let’s focus on today, alright? We still have another day of work ahead of us!” Travis grinned as Alto nodded with a faint chuckle.
“I know, I’ll make sure to make the most of today!” Alto said with a weary, but playful cheer. The Vulpix’s attention quickly turned to the food that Travis had made. Alto’s eyes widened in delight as his mood quickly changed to excitement. “This looks awesome, Travis!” he enthusiastically added before glancing back at the Sylveon as if he was seeking Travis’ approval to start.
Travis chuckled as he took a seat, “Feel free to get started!” The Sylveon took a slice of toast, spreading some oran berry jam on it before taking a bite. He watched as Alto took the other seat, picking out what caught his attention, and wasting no time in tucking into his food. The Sylveon smiled happily as he saw the Vulpix enjoy his cooking.
A few minutes into their breakfast, Travis perked, remembering something. “Hey Alto, it’s Friday today. What locations were you thinking on stopping at today?” He asked, glancing at the Vulpix who was in the middle of drinking a purple coloured juice.
Every Friday was the day when Alto worked as a balloon vendor in Icirrus City to sell off their excess stock, and to help promote their shop on the side. “Oh! That’s right, I was thinking of the park closest to Happy Ribbons. It’s the market day today, so it would be a perfect day to work there!”
Travis nodded as he wiped his mouth with the napkin on his side of the table, having finished his food. “That sounds like a plan!” the Sylveon said as he got up. “I’ll get things ready for us to head off. Feel free to clean up and get ready for today!” Travis added as he placed his dishes next to the sink, turning the tap on as he started cleaning.
The Vulpix smiled as he finished his breakfast, quietly getting up with a renewed vigour. “Thank you so much for the food, Travis! I’ll see you in a bit!” Alto added with a wave before exiting the kitchen.
“See you in a bit!” Travis replied, returning to the dishes. After a moment, Travis thought aloud. “He’s so excited about tomorrow. I really hope that he has fun again.” The Sylveon giggled softly as he continued to clean up.
A Gardevoir opened the doors to Poké-Air’s main entrance, stepping in as they looked around. The reception was relatively quiet. There was barely a sign of life in the room, except for a Mawile who was behind the reception desk, quietly arranging some paperwork, it was apparent that the receptionist hadn’t noticed the Gardevoir yet. At that moment, a young Kirlia with deep blue hair skipped into the reception, standing beside the Gardevoir. The Gardevoir glanced down at the Kirlia with a warm smile, petting their head gently, making the Kirlia giggle in surprise over the display of affection.
The giggle caused the Mawile to jump with a yelp as they noticed the sudden presence of the two. In their panic, the Mawile threw their work upwards, making the pages scatter and rain down over the Mawile. “Oh no!” The Mawile gasped as they frantically tried to grab as many of the sheets as they could.
The Gardevoir let out a nervous giggle as they helped the Mawile, gathering what they could as well. “Sorry about scaring you like that Angela.” the Gardevoir chuckled as they offered the sheets that they had gathered to the Mawile.
The Mawile sighed softly, smiling faintly at the helpful Gardevoir. “That’s alright Mabel. I was in my own little world. I should have paid more attention to who was coming in and out.” she replied, letting out a soft sigh as she accepted the papers that Mabel had gathered. Angela had gathered almost all the pages when she heard a childlike voice call out to her.
“Were you looking for this, auntie Angela?” The Kirlia asked with a sweet smile as they offered the last sheet to her. Angela smiled warmly as she thankfully accepted the sheet from the Kirlia, petting their head with a giggle.
“Thank you so much Tyler! Are you ready to have some fun with Max today?” Angela asked, giggling as the Kirlia cheered and jumped for joy at the question.
“Thanks for volunteering to take care of Tyler today.” Mabel said, smiling warmly at the Mawile. Angela nodded as she organised the paperwork in their intended order.
“It’s never a problem Mabel!” The Mawile replied with a grin. “I have a package I need to deliver to Lola in Undella town. So, I figured I could take Max and Tyler along for a visit, and maybe a trip to the beach.” The Mawile smiled as she glanced at Tyler. “And who knows, maybe I could book the kids in for some parasailing as a treat!” She added, giggling as she watched the Kirlia get visibly excited over the suggestion.
“You would do that for us? You’re the best, Auntie Angela!” Tyler grinned widely as he playfully danced around the reception.
The Kirlia’s joy was cut short as he heard a voice call out from the corridor. “Mom? Can I have a juice please?” A younger Mawile that wore a purple shirt with a parachute print, and a pair of goggles resting on their hair entered the reception. The newcomer’s eyes immediately locked on to Tyler, The Mawile let out a happy gasp as a huge grin appeared on their face. “Tyler!” The Mawile called out as they dashed over to the Kirlia, giving him a great big hug as they laughed happily.
“Hello Max!” Tyler replied as he returned the hug. Angela glanced over at Mabel and chuckled softly as the parents watched the happy reunion.
Mabel noticed a parcel that rested on the reception’s counter, curiosity immediately took over as she glanced at Angela, pointing out the mysterious package. “Hey Angela, is that the parcel? It seems a little small to go all the way to personally deliver it to Lola.” Mabel asked.
The Mawile perked. “Oh! That’s not the package for Lola!” Angela replied with a chuckle. “Jan finally got the photos of Alto’s jump finished, and they are ready for delivery!” Angela added. “But, seeing as Alto is coming over tomorrow, he could just pick them up here, right? Or did you have another plan?”
The Gardevoir pondered for a moment, wondering on if she had another idea for the situation. As she pondered, a familiar Pachirisu stepped in, the small Pokémon dragging a large sack behind him.
“Hey Angela, here’s that parasail that Lola ordered!” Jan said as he stretched after carrying the bundle around.
At that moment, an idea hit Mabel as she turned to the Pachirisu. “Hey Jan, can I ask for a favour really quickly?” she asked as the Pachirisu turned his attention to the Gardevoir.
“Oh? What Is it Mabel?” he replied, as he briefly glanced between the two staff members.
“I was just wondering if Ieuan had some time to do a little task for us. It’s okay if he’s busy today. It’s not too important.” Mabel said with a soft smile.
“You have a job for him? Well, he’s just doing odd jobs this morning. He is on parachute packing duties this afternoon. So, if he’s back by then, then that would be fine with me!” Jan answered with a grin.
Mabel grinned happily as she quickly hugged the Pachirisu, gratefully thanking the electric squirrel. After a moment, Mabel perked as the small squirrel started to squirm about, the Gardevoir gently placed him back on the ground as he thanked her. “So, what is it that you wanted anyways?” Jan asked.
“Well, I saw that the photos from Alto’s jump were finished. And I was thinking that maybe we could have Ieuan deliver the photos and such to him instead of having him pick it up tomorrow. I was just thinking that since they are going to be jumping together tomorrow, that it would be nice if they actually got to meet each other.” Mabel replied, hoping that Jan would be okay with the suggestion.
Jan looked a little surprised over Mabel’s request. But he quickly nodded in approval. “Well, like I said, Samuel and I didn’t have anything too important for him to do during the day. So, that’s fine with me!” he said with a grin.
Mabel gasped happily over Jan’s approval. “Thank you so much, Jan!” Mabel replied happily. “So, do you have any idea on where he is?”
Jan’s ears perked up. “Oh! Right, he’s around the hangar if I recall, that’s where I left him a few minutes ago!” he replied with a smile.
Mabel nodded “I see, thanks for the tip!” The Gardevoir grabbed a blank note from the desk, and quickly scribbled something on it, and taping it onto the parcel when she was done. “I’m going to go look for him now!” Mabel added with a grin. Her attention turned to Tyler and Max who were having a friendly discussion. “I’ll see you two later, Maybe I can try and get you both in for a static line jump at the end of the day!” She said with a thumbs up and a cheerful grin on her face.
The kids cheered once more and said their goodbyes to Mabel as she skipped off down the corridor, Jan turned his attention to Angela with a smile. “I’ll take over reception duties for you Angela, I do hope that you three have a safe trip!”
Angela smiled warmly as she nodded. “Thank you, buddy.” The Mawile grinned as she approached the sack that the Pachirisu had brought in, inspecting it before she slung it over her shoulder, struggling to balance herself for a moment as she got used to the load. “We’ll be back later!” Angela said as she turned her attention to the excited duo in the reception. “Come on you two, let’s go see Lola!”
The kids bolted out of the reception with no hesitation, pausing as they noticed that Angela wasn’t with them. The staff members glanced at each other and let out a chuckle as they quietly admired their enthusiasm. “I’ll see you soon, Jan.” Angela said as she went to catch up with the other Pokémon in her party.
“See you soon!” Jan replied as he waved Angela goodbye, watching as the Mawile briefly struggled with the sack before returning to his work.
Mabel stepped into the hangar, her footsteps making a soft echo as she entered the spacious area. The Gardevoir looked around to see if she could find Ieuan. However, the only other Pokémon in the hangar besides Mabel at that moment was a bipedal Luxray that was performing maintenance checks on the groups plane. The Luxray paid no attention to Mabel as they focused on their work.
“I guess this may be harder than I thought” she uttered with a soft sigh, wondering where she could find the Riolu. A faint grunt caught Mabel’s attention as she noticed that the door to one of the hangar’s storerooms was slightly opened.
Mabel quietly approached the room, wondering who she would find inside. The Gardevoir peeked her head in to check, immediately spotting Ieuan who was in the middle of placing parachutes neatly onto the shelves that lined the walls of the room. Mabel noticed that Ieuan paused as he picked up one of the rigs, gazing at the parachute as if his mind was on something. The Gardevoir tried to get a better look, when she nudged the door, the sudden creaking of the door made the Riolu flinch.
Ieuan quickly turned around to see Mabel, yelping as he realised that he wasn’t alone. In his surprise, the Riolu threw the parachute in the air. “Oh no!” The Riolu yelped as he realised what he had done. He tried to reach out to the parachute as gravity took over. Unfortunately for Ieuan, the parachute slipped in between his paws, landing on his face as the Riolu let out a loud grunt, falling back as the large bag covered his head.
Mabel gasped as she saw Ieuan’s fall back, quickly rushing over to see if he was okay. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that!” Mabel said as she lifted the rig off his head. The Riolu let out a faint grumble as he sat up, glancing at Mabel with a faint smile.
“It’s okay Mabel. I guess I was just daydreaming.” Ieuan replied as he let out a faint chuckle. Mabel sighed in relief over Ieuan’s reassurance. Mabel noticed that the Riolu turned his attention to the parachutes that he had stored away, then back to the rig that Mabel was now holding. “I guess it’s just sinking in that tomorrow is the big day. It still feels so surreal.” He replied with a smile. Mabel gently set the parachute aside, joining the Riolu in sitting down.
“I see, Well, I hope that it lives up to your expectations!” The Gardevoir grinned merrily. Mabel perked as she got an idea. “Hey Ieuan. You know Alex, right?” she asked curiously.
Ieuan pondered on Mabel’s question before nodding. “Alex is the Growlithe that comes for the static line parachuting, right?” He replied as he recalled seeing the Pokémon around quite often.
“Yeah! That’s the one!” Mabel replied with a grin. The Gardevoir was about to continue but paused as she heard the entrance to the hangar door’s burst open, followed by a chuckle, and the Luxray yelping followed by chuckling as he greeted someone. As Mabel was about to get up, a Growlithe burst through the storeroom door. The Puppy Pokémon wagged their tail excitedly as they saw Mabel and Ieuan.
“Hey Mabel!” the Growlithe cheered “I’m ready for another day of parachuting!”
Mabel giggled as she waved at Alex, turning his attention to Ieuan who was also waving at the newcomer. “Alex is going to be doing some static line practice with me today. I know it’s not the same to what you would be doing tomorrow. But you are more than welcome to join us when you are finished today if you wanted to?”
The Riolu looked surprised at the sudden offer. The Riolu was about to give an answer but hesitated just as he opened his mouth. While the thought of jumping later that day was exciting to the Riolu. Something in the back of his mind told him to wait until the next day. The Riolu bit his bottom lip as he tried to think of an answer as he glanced at Mabel and Alex.
Ieuan glanced at Mabel, the Riolu smiled weakly as he finally spoke up. “That does sound good. But I think I want to wait until tomorrow for now if that’s okay?” Ieuan noticed the Growlithe’s ears droop a little at his answer. Ieuan flinched as he felt the guilt over disappointing Alex. “But I promise to jump with you soon!” Ieuan added with a grin to try and cheer Alex up.
Alex’s mood perked up again as he smiled back at the Riolu, his tail wagging a little. “Alright Ieuan! I’ll look forward to that day!” he happily barked, padding off to the canine section of the storeroom to select his parachute for the coming jumps The Riolu watched Alex trot off before sighing in relief.
“Sorry if that was a little disappointing Mabel. I just want tomorrow to be a completely new experience for me.” Ieuan said, hoping that he didn’t let Mabel down.
“Oh! Don’t worry about it Ieuan, I totally understand.” Mabel replied as she gave a reassuring smile. “I just figured that maybe you would want to do a simple jump beforehand!”. She added as she watched Alex find his parachute. The Gardevoir quickly perked as she remembered why she was searching for the Riolu in the first place. “Oh! That’s right, I almost forgot. I have a job for you Ieuan!”
Ieuan’s ears perked back up as he wondered what she wanted. “What’s up Mabel?”
“Well, do you remember Alto, The Vulpix who jumped last week?” Mabel asked. The Riolu silently nodded as he let the Gardevoir continue. “Well, Jan finished work on the photos and videos of that visit and are ready to be delivered. Angela said that she thought about waiting until Alto comes back tomorrow. But I spoke to Jan about having you deliver them today if that’s alright with you?” Mabel added with a grin.
Mabel saw the Riolu’s curiosity turn to excitement “Really? I’d love to do that! You can count on me Mabel!” Ieuan merrily replied.
“Thank you, Ieuan.” She said, chuckling over the Riolu’s enthusiasm. “I want you to deliver the package to a place called Happy Ribbons. It’s a party shop in Icirrus City. I left the address, and directions on the package for you!” Ieuan nodded as he listened closely. “Jan also said that he’s fine with it as long as you come back by the afternoon, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you grabbed some lunch too!” Mabel added with a grin.
Ieuan nodded enthusiastically “I’ll do my best!” he said, wasting no time in heading out of the room with a small skip in his step. The Gardevoir waved at him as he left.
Mabel giggled softly before she turned her attention to Alex, who had already picked out a parachute to use, a happy smile on the Growlithe’s face. “Well, I’m sure that Leon has the plane ready for take-off by now. Shall we get this party started?” she asked with a goofy grin.
“Yeah!” Alex replied enthusiastically, his tail wagging wildly as the Growlithe flipped the parachute rig over his back, balancing it carefully before grinning at Mabel. “I can’t wait to go!”
Mabel gave a chuckle as she opened the door to guide Alex out, and get on with the day, the Gardevoir flinched as Alex dashed out of the room without any hesitation, continuing to balance the rig that bounced against his back. The Gardevoir stepped over to a locker as she opened it, pulling out a parachute that was made for her, and followed behind the excited Growlithe.
A door with a party banner draped over it opened as Alto stepped into the shop floor for Happy Ribbons. The Vulpix wore a white backpack that had ice blue highlights, and a thick black nylon belt with a coin purse, and a hook clip on either side was fastened onto his waist. He gazed around the room as he tried to find Travis. The shop itself was modestly sized with a warm and friendly vibe felt across the room. Shelves lined the walls and floor with everything you could possibly need for any occasion and decorated abundantly with balloons of all shapes and sizes.
Alto caught his reflection on one of the foil balloons that floated idly over the counter as he looked around, the sight made the Vulpix think he was wearing a parachute like Mimi did, the thought made the Vulpix softly giggle as he playfully twirled around to admire the look.
Alto’s ears perked up as he heard his name being called out from outside, noticing Travis through the shop’s windows, the Sylveon struggled to hold on to an untold number of balloons as he kept pulling them to himself while trying to not get carried away, the sight made the Vulpix chuckle as he ran outside to meet up with Travis.
“Are you ready to go, Alto?” Travis asked as he struggled to keep himself steady, a breeze caught the balloons, momentarily making the Sylveon stagger as he tried to keep control, Alto quickly held onto Travis’ arm to help keep the Sylveon from being blown away, the Vulpix giggling wildly over their situation.
“You bet I’m ready!” the Vulpix replied as he laughed while helping keep Travis steady. Alto glanced up at the wide array of the balloons that swayed above the pair when the winds calmed down, making a note of what was present for reference. The Vulpix grinned at Travis when he was done with memorising what was there. “This looks awesome! I’ll gladly do my best to sell these!”
Travis smiled as he kneeled to Alto’s side, opening the clip that was secured on the Vulpix’s belt, and sliding a ring that he used to keep the balloons together through the clip. After hearing a click, the Sylveon gave a few tugs on the mass of ribbons to see if their stock was secured to the to be balloon vendor. The Sylveon paused before letting out a chuckle. I guess this is reminding you of last week buddy?” Travis asked as he looked up at Alto. The Vulpix perked and giggled happily as he thought back to Mabel and Mimi doing their equipment checks with him.
“I guess so!” Alto replied with a grin. “It does make me feel excited for tomorrow’s jump too!” he added, sighing happily as he looked up at the balloons that danced in the sky as Travis tugged on their ribbons one more time.
Travis let go of the ribbons as he stood up. “Well, just one more day left until you get to fly again!” The Sylveon grinned as he adjusted his glasses. “But for now. Everything is good to go, have fun Alto!” He added, patting Alto on the back, and giving a thumbs up.
The Vulpix nodded as he held on to the mass of ribbons that were tethered to his hip, smiling at the Sylveon as he turned around to walk off to his destination. “See you soon, Travis!”
Travis watched as Alto went off to work, waving at the Vulpix until he was out of sight, the Sylveon sighed happily as he returned inside the shop to clean up, and get started with his job.
The morning was quiet for Travis. While he did have some customers come, the Sylveon still found himself with free time on his hands for most of the morning. Travis leaned back on a chair behind the counter, gazing at his own reflection on the balloons he had set up on the counter while he listened to some rather cheerful music. “I guess there’s not a lot of partying going on today?” the Sylveon said jokingly as he took a sip from a bottle of juice that he had brought with him, wiping the blue liquid off his lips as he put the bottle back. “I wonder if Alto is getting any better luck today?” he added as he waited for the next customers.
A doorbell rang out, grabbing Travis’ attention as he quickly stood up, and making himself look organised for whoever it was that had just entered. The Sylveon smiled warmly as he greeted the newcomer with a cheerful grin. “Hello there! Welcome to Happy Ribbons Party Supplies, the best place in Icirrus City for all your balloons and party supplies! How may I help?” Travis’ attention focused on a familiar Riolu with slightly ruffled fur that had entered the shop, cautiously looking around as if they were looking for someone. Travis noticed that the Riolu was holding onto a parcel with both paws. “Oh! Hello there Ieuan! What brings you here today?” Travis asked as they called out to the newcomer. The Riolu’s head quickly turned to Travis, dashing to the counter as they greeted the Sylveon.
“Hello Travis! I have a package here for Alto!” Ieuan said, grinned happily at Travis. The Riolu presented the parcel to the Sylveon. Travis perked as he realised what it was, happily accepting it from the Riolu’s paws.
“Oh! This must be the photos and such from last week, thank you so much for delivering this Ieuan!” The Sylveon noticed Ieuan looking around, scanning the area as if he was looking for something. “Is there something else that you wanted today?” Travis asked as he put the parcel behind the counter.
Ieuan glanced around the shop a little more before turning his attention to Travis once more, smiling faintly. “Oh, it’s nothing important. I was just trying to see if Alto was around. I didn’t really get a chance to talk to him last week. And I thought that it would be nice if I could say hi to him and such. I understand if he’s too busy with work and all, it can wait until tomorrow.” Ieuan replied with a soft smile.
Travis perked at the Riolu’s question. “Oh! If you wanted to see Alto, he’s down the nearby park. He’s selling balloons at the market today, so I’m pretty sure that you won’t be able to miss him! I’m sure he will appreciate getting to talk to you too.” Travis replied with a chuckle. Ieuan’s expression lit up at the tip.
“Alright then! I’ll try to find him then!” Ieuan gave a small bow as he jogged back towards the door. The Riolu paused before turning around, grinning at the Sylveon as he waved at the shopkeeper. “See you soon Travis!” Ieuan said as he opened the door, bolting off in search of the Vulpix.
Ieuan passed by a stone archway to the nearest park from Happy Ribbons, he quickly stopped to scan the area while he caught his breath. The park had a variety of trees dotting the field, and a lake in one corner of the walled off field. Cobblestone paths weaved around the grounds, all of them leading to a large fountain in the centre. As Travis said, Ieuan noted that there was a decently sized market surrounding both the fountain, and the nearby areas. Amongst the busy scene was a large bundle of bright and colourful balloons that gently swayed in the air. Upon seeing this, Ieuan’s smile widened as his tail wagged excitedly. “Oh! I wonder if that’s Alto!” finding his stamina once more, Ieuan darted off to the crowds, wondering on if he could find the Vulpix.
“See you soon!” Alto called out with a grin waving goodbye to a Raichu that accompanied a Pichu, the smaller mouse carrying a balloon shaped like a masked Zorua’s head. Alto smiled softly as the pair blended into the busy crowd of Pokémon, lowering his hand once he lost sight of them. Alto looked around to see if there were any other potential customers before inspecting his remaining balloons. The large bundle was certainly smaller. However, there were still plenty of goods for Alto to sell.
“Well, it’s a start!” He said with a smile. The Vulpix was about to call out to potential customers once more when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
“How much for a balloon, Alto?”
The Vulpix turned around to see Ieuan, giving a playful smile as he greeted the Vulpix. Alto looked surprised as he recognised the Riolu from the previous week. “Oh! Hello there Ieuan!” Alto replied with a warm smile. “What brings you here?”
Ieuan grinned over Alto’s surprise “Well, Mabel asked me to deliver the stuff from your jump. I left them with Travis at your shop!” Ieuan watched as the balloon vendor’s face lit up over the news. Ieuan paused for a moment before he shyly continued, “I don’t have much going on for a bit, so I also wanted to see you too, if that’s okay?” Ieuan asked, glancing at Alto for approval.
“Oh! That’s fine with me, I appreciate the company, even if it’s for a little bit!” Alto replied, smiling warmly. Ieuan grinned happily over Alto’s response
“Thank you so much Alto!” Ieuan cheered as he stood beside the Vulpix, Alto noted that the Riolu periodically glanced up at the balloons, his tail wagging a little as he admired Alto’s wares. The Vulpix was about to ask if Ieuan wanted one when a loud growl from his stomach broke his train of thought.
Ieuan perked as he looked at the Vulpix who looked a little flustered over the noise. “Are you hungry? I can get you something if you want?” he asked with a smile. Alto was surprised over Ieuan’s offer, the Vulpix paused before reaching inside the backpack by his side, pulling out a coin pouch, and getting some money from it.
“If it’s alright with you, there’s a hot dog stand nearby. Could you get one for me?” Alto asked as he handed the money over to the Riolu.
Ieuan smiled as he accepted the coins in Alto’s hand. “That’s alright with me, Alto! Just give me a few minutes!” he replied as he quickly glanced around before dashing off to a hot dog cart not far away from them. Alto smiled to himself for a moment.
The Vulpix flinched as he realised that he had forgotten one last detail. However, before he could call out to Ieuan, he was greeted by a cheerful purple furred Braixen whose attention darted between the balloons, and the Vulpix. The Vulpix briefly glanced towards the direction where Ieuan dashed off to before greeting his new customer with a smile. “Which ones do you want?” he asked with a grin.
A few minutes had passed as Alto waved goodbye to the Braixen, the happy customer skipped off with a small bouquet of random balloons from Alto’s bunch. Alto’s ears perked up has he heard his stomach growl louder than it did earlier on. He sighed softly as he wondered where Ieuan, and the hotdog was.
His wondering came to an end as his nose picked up a savoury scent. He quickly glanced at the direction the smell came from, the Vulpix was greeted by Ieuan who had a bemused look on his face. In his hands were two hot dogs. One with a trail of mustard, the other appeared to be almost smothered in an extremely generous serving of ketchup.
The Vulpix’s mood shifted to one of pure joy, unable to contain his overwhelming excitement. “Oh wow! This looks amazing! Thank you so much Ieuan!” Alto paused as his expression turned to curiosity. “How did you know I like them this way?”.
“The cook asked if one of them was for you, then he just kept putting the sauce on. He said something about that’s how you like them?” Ieuan said with a small chuckle as he offered Alto’s lunch to the now drooling Vulpix. Alto turned his attention to where the cart was, spotting the Audino that manned the stall waving at the pair with a smile. Alto chuckled softly as he thankfully accepted his lunch, wasting no time in taking a bite out of it. “It’s so good!” Alto blissfully cheered.
Ieuan chuckled over the Vulpix’s overreaction to his lunch before he returned to his spot, joining the Vulpix in having lunch. The Riolu took a bite out of his. Ieuan perked and let out a delighted gasp. “Oh wow, you’re right, this is really good!” the Riolu said, clearly happy with his food. He was about to ask Alto how his was as he turned to look at the balloon seller. However, Ieuan was greeted to the sight of Alto ravenously consuming his lunch. The Vulpix gazed back at the Riolu, already down to the last bites of his food. The Vulpix swallowed what was in his mouth before giving a nonchalant reply.
“Yeah, mine is great too! Thanks for getting it for me Ieuan!” Alto replied with a slightly ketchup covered smile. Ieuan grinned over Alto’s reply, quietly passing over a tissue to the Vulpix, pointing to his mouth as the Vulpix accepted it.
“So, are you excited for tomorrow’s jump?” Ieuan asked as he changed the subject while Alto cleaned up. The Vulpix’s ears perked up as he nodded in response as he finished cleaning his mouth.
“Of course! It’s all I’ve been able to think about lately!” Alto replied as a huge grin popped up on his face. Ieuan chuckled at Alto’s contagious enthusiasm over his plans.
“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow too! I can’t wait to have my first jump too!” The Riolu replied with a grin.
Alto looked surprised. Clearly unaware that Ieuan would be flying with him. “Wait? You’re coming too?” he asked, his tail swaying a little. Ieuan flinched, realising that Alto wasn’t informed.
“Oh! Well, Mabel invited me to come along with you after you left last week.” The Riolu looked a little nervous as he stumbled on his words. “I said yes. But I was under the impression that someone would have let you know before. I’m really sorry, I should have asked beforehand!” Ieuan anxiously said.
“What are you sorry about?” Ieuan’s panic quickly halted as the Riolu glanced at the Vulpix. Alto’s tail wagged happily, complimenting the huge smile on the fox’s face. “I’d love it if you could come along for the ride!” Alto cheered, unable to contain his excitement for the upcoming event.
Ieuan smiled softly, letting out a sigh of relief as he calmed down. “That’s good to know. Thank you Alto.” He replied. “I can’t wait to fly with you!” he added, grinning happily as he pumped himself up alongside Alto.
The pair continued to talk, getting to know each other a little better. After some time, Ieuan heard the distant rings of a bell, giving an indication of the time. The Riolu gave a soft sigh, obviously reluctant to say goodbye. “Hey, I have to head back to work now. As fun as this has been, I don’t want to keep Jan waiting now!” Ieuan said with a faint chuckle.
“Oh! I see.” Alto replied as his ears briefly drooped before he perked them back up again, “I’m glad that we had a chance to talk!” he added with a happy smile. Alto noticed as Ieuan’s attention turned to the balloons that loomed above them, an idea quickly crossed Alto’s mind as he grinned.
“I seem to recall you asking how much they were earlier on. I’m going to take a guess that something took your fancy?” Alto asked with a playful grin. Ieuan perked as he chuckled faintly.
“Oh yeah, that’s right!” Ieuan replied. He glanced back up at the bunch, then back at Alto. “So how much were they again?”
“Well, you know. You’ve really made my day today. You’ve done so much for me that I don’t mind giving you one as a gift!” Alto replied with a wink. “I’ll just cover the costs myself!”
Ieuan was caught off guard by Alto’s gesture. “Really? Are you sure about this?” Ieuan observed Alto’s body language for a moment, trying to see if the Vulpix was joking. The Riolu relaxed when he realised that Alto was serious. He chuckled gleefully as a childlike grin appeared on his face “Thank you so much Alto! You’re the best!”. Alto visibly blushed over the compliment while Ieuan scanned through the bouquet to see what he wanted. It didn’t take long for an excited gasp to catch the Vulpix’s attention.
“Could I have that big Magical Rinring one, please?” Ieuan asked politely, excitedly pointing towards the one that he wanted. Alto glanced up, to see what he was pointing to. The Vulpix perked as he recognised the design to be identical to the one hanging over his bed. Alto smiled warmly as he looked for its string.
“There we go!” Alto said as he pulled the balloon down, the Vulpix quietly got to work as Ieuan eagerly watched, his tail wagging uncontrollably from the excitement. After a bit of fumbling with the weight, Alto paused as he glanced at the Riolu. “Hey, can I borrow your wrist for a moment?” Ieuan looked curious, but quietly nodded as he held his arm out for the Vulpix. Alto smiled as he tied the ribbon to Ieuan, not noticing the Riolu blush a little as Alto did his job. When he was done, Alto let go of Ieuan’s paw, grinning at the Riolu who was delighted over his present. “And there we go!” Alto paused for a moment, watching as he playfully bounced his new toy around by its string, the Vulpix couldn’t help but smile over Ieuan’s sheer joy at that moment. “So, You’re a fan of Magical Rinring?” Alto asked curiously.
Ieuan nodded happily as he continued to play. “That’s right! She’s so cool!” Ieuan grinned happily as he replied, playfully bringing the balloon down to himself and gently hugging it.
Alto blushed for a moment as he watched the hug before quickly clearing his throat and smiling warmly, “Yeah, she’s awesome!” he added, Ieuan nodded with a giggle as he let his toy float above him.
“Well, I should probably return back to base now. Don’t want to keep Jan waiting now!” Ieuan said with a grin. The Riolu started to head back before he paused, turning around with a warm smile on the Riolu’s face. “This has been great! I’m glad we could get to know each other a little better before our big day tomorrow!”
Alto returned the smile, nodding. “Yeah, this has been great! See you tomorrow!” Alto replied as he waved goodbye to the Riolu. Watching him blend in with the crowds once more, the head of Magical Rinring just barely bobbing above the crowds being the only indicator of Ieuan’s presence.
Alto paused for a moment, thinking back on Ieuan cuddling the balloon, the blush returning to Alto’s face. “I can’t deny that was rather cute.” Alto murmured to himself as he calmed himself down. Alto let out a soft sigh as he cooled himself down. Well, time to get back to business!” he cheered, calling out for any potential customers.
The evening came by quickly for the staff at Poké-Air, It had been a few hours since Ieuan had returned to the skydiving centre, the Riolu was tasked with packing up parachutes that were used that day while Jan, and Samuel stood by, The Pachirisu occasionally gave feedback and advice to the Riolu, while his mate often glanced over at the other party that were hanging out next to the party that were occupied besides the now parked plane.
Mabel and Mimi were discussing the day’s events with Angela who had returned with Max and Tyler, Mimi also held on to Ieuan’s gift after promising she would take care of it while the Riolu worked. The two children had their own conversations with Alex who kept glancing at the Luxray who rested on the floor of the plane’s interior with five parachute rigs ready for use besides him, waiting for the Luxray to finish his break and get back to flying the plane.
“Right, so I just slide the canopy back inside the rig, right?” Ieuan asked as he glanced back at Jan while holding a neatly folded up canopy.
“That’s right, Ieuan!” Jan replied with a wag of his tail. “You’re getting really good at this!!” he added while Samuel nodded at Jan’s comment.
“It seems that Jan has taught you well, Ieuan. It’s great to see you make so much progress!” The Weavile chimed in. The Pachirisu blushed over the compliment, letting out a delighted giggle. The Riolu smiled as he returned to the parachute. As he finished, he double checked if he did everything as instructed before placing the parachute inside a box full of similarly packed rigs. Ieuan wiped his forehead, giving a small chuckle as he admired his work.
“And that’s the last one from today!” Ieuan said with a grin. The Riolu glanced at the clock that loomed over the group’s hangar, noting that it was past the time Ieuan usually finished work. “Oh! Jan, It’s five o’clock now. Is there anything that you wanted me to do?” Ieuan asked politely.
Jan glanced at the clock as well. “Oh my! Today has certainly flown by!” The Pachirisu replied as the Weavile rolled his eyes over the Pachirisu’s pun. Jan pondered on if there was more to do before he shook his head, “Can you think of anything that Ieuan can do today, dear?” he glanced at Samuel who also shook his head. The Pachirisu smiled softly as he turned his attention back to Ieuan. “Well, we have nothing for you today, so it’s alright with me if you want to finish for today!” Jan added with a grin.
Ieuan grinned happily as he nodded. “Thank you, Jan, I’ll see you tomorrow!”
The Pachirisu gave a nod, “Of course!” Jan glanced at the neatly arranged parachutes that Jan had finished packing before he continued. “If I don’t see you before your big morning. Then I hope you have lots of fun on your first jump!” Jan said with a grin.
Ieuan returned the smile before turning around and skipping out of the hangar with the thoughts of his upcoming jump racing through his mind. However, as he was about to reach for the door, a sharp whistle caught his attention. Ieuan quickly turned around to see Mabel and Mimi rushing over to the Riolu.
“Aren’t you forgetting something Ieuan?” Mabel asked as she pointed over to Mimi who held onto Ieuan’s Rinring balloon with a warm smile. The Riolu flinched as he realised that he almost forgot his gift before letting out a nervous chuckle as he let Mimi kneel and tie the ribbon onto his wrist. Ieuan thought back to Alto tying the ribbon onto him from earlier, the Riolu smiling warmly as he got lost in his thoughts.
“And we’re done!” Mimi merrily said as she bopped the balloon, giggling as she watched it rock about. Ieuan snapped back to reality as he smiled warmly.
“Oh! That’s right, I can’t forget about that now! Thank you so much!” Ieuan replied with a chuckle, quietly nodding to the pair as Mimi stood up besides Mabel with a stretch.
The happy moment was cut short as they heard the plane’s engine roar to life, and a masculine voice call out to Mabel and Mimi, the pair turned around to see Leon waving at them alongside Max, Tyler, and Alex who excitedly beckoned them over.
“The plane’s ready to go you two! Come on, let’s not keep these kids waiting!” Leon called out with a laugh. The Gardevoir smiled as she turned her attention to Ieuan again.
“Well, that’s our cue! We’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay?” Mabel said with a warm smile. Ieuan nodded excitedly.
“Of course! I’ll be here as soon as I can! I can’t wait to jump with you tomorrow!” Ieuan replied with a chuckle. The pair said their goodbyes to Ieuan as he left the hangar before turning their attention to getting ready for the last jump of the day.
Ieuan walked out of the now vacant reception, the Riolu was greeted by the cool breeze and the early evening sun as it started to set over the mountains of Unova. He glanced up at his balloon that shimmered in the setting sun’s light as he remembered his meeting with Alto, the memories bringing a gentle smile on his face. “I can’t wait to see you again Alto.” He uttered to himself.
The rumble of an engine distracted the Riolu from his thoughts as he glanced at the group’s airfield, Ieuan perked as he watched the small plane take off for the last jump of the day. “And I can’t wait to jump with you tomorrow Alto!” he added with a giggle. The Riolu excitedly waved at the plane as it left the runway, ascending into the skies above. Ieuan hung around as he watched the plane fly around the drop zone.
Ieuan’s focus on the plane was broken as he heard running and panting. He turned around to see a Raboot frantically dash to Poké-Air, the Pokémon had a cream satchel bag with a wide array of pins and badges adorning the front flap slung around their shoulder, the bag trailing behind the rabbit as they ran. The rabbit Pokémon slowed down as they neared the group’s main entrance, the Raboot grabbed the door handle and tried opening it, pausing as they realised that the door was locked. “Oh no! Don’t tell me that I missed it!” The Raboot moaned out in despair. Ieuan watched as they slumped to their knees, panting and catching their breath. “Darn it, I got so caught up with work, and I rushed here as fast as I could too.” They groaned out as the Riolu looked on with a puzzled look on his face.
“Hey, are you okay?” Ieuan called out as he approached the stranger, ready to help if needed. The Raboot panted as they pulled down the red fur around their mouth to help with that. The newcomer glanced up at Ieuan as they turned around, sitting back on the stone ground.
“Did I miss everyone?” The Raboot asked as they covered their mouth up once more.
Ieuan glanced at the vacant reception before turning their attention to the Raboot. “Well, they just closed for the day.” Ieuan flinched as he saw the increasing disappointment in the stranger’s eyes. “But the place will be open again tomorrow!” He added with his best reassuring smile.
The Raboot paused before sighing softly, getting up as they slipped their paws into the fur pouch on their belly. “I see. Thanks for letting me know.” They looked at the airfield before focusing back on Ieuan. “I came here to arrange booking myself in for the upcoming free fall course. But I guess I can come back another time.”
“That sounds like a plan!” Ieuan said with a cheerful grin, trying to cheer the Raboot up. Although it was hard to tell, the Riolu did spot a slight smile peeking out from the rabbit’s scarf, making the Riolu smile warmly in return. The Raboot’s attention turned to the balloon that Ieuan had. They let out a soft giggle as their mood picked up.
“Hey! That’s a cute balloon. Did you get it from Mabel?” they asked, pointing to the floating Magical Rinring above the Riolu. Ieuan glanced up at it before chuckling faintly.
“Unfortunately, this one isn’t from Mabel, I had to deliver some photos for a customer from last week. He works at a party shop, so I got this as a thank you gift!” Ieuan replied with a small grin.
“Oh! I see.” The Raboot smiled softly. Mabel always gives me balloons when I visit. Maybe it’s because I always go on my birthday. I’m just so used to Mabel doing that.” The Raboot explained. “She’s so much fun!” they added with a giggle.
“Of course! Mabel is such a fun Pokémon to be around!” he replied with a chuckle. “She’s so energetic and cheerful, she’s totally the life and soul of the party!” The Raboot laughed as Ieuan continued.
“I know right!” The Raboot replied. “I always come here on my birthdays. Mabel always throws me a little party after my jumps. She’s so sweet!” They added with a grin. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you here before. I’m guessing you’re a skydiver too?” The rabbit asked, tilting their head a little.
“Oh! Not yet. I’ve only started working here a few months ago!” Ieuan replied. “I still haven’t had my first jump yet. But that’s changing soon!” The Riolu grinned happily at the last part of his reply.
The Raboot flinched. “Oh! I see. I just never saw you around here before. And Mabel usually gives me a balloon when I come, so I thought for a moment that you were another customer.” They added, chuckling faintly.
Ieuan smiled softly. “You didn’t make a fool of yourself, don’t worry about it!” Ieuan grinned as he tried to comfort the visitor. “Out of curiosity, you said that you jump on your birthday’s, right? How many jumps have you done?” he asked.
The Raboot pondered for a moment. “Well, I’ve been jumping since I turned sixteen. I’m nineteen now. So, I’ve been jumping for three years now” The Raboot paused. “I’m turning twenty next month, so that will be four jumps soon. And then I’m going to learning to go by myself!” they added with a slightly hidden grin. The Raboot perked “Speaking of which, if we are going to be seeing more of each other, I guess it’s only fair to introduce myself. My name’s Rachel! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Rachel paused, glancing at the Riolu. “What’s your name?”
Ieuan was about to introduce himself when he could hear some of the staff cheering from nearby. The Raboot glanced at Ieuan, before dashing over to the fence outside the airfield to get a better look at what was going on. Ieuan followed Rachel as they started jumping and cheering happily, Ieuan looked up to see the plane fly past with a line of parachutes blossoming in the skies above. The Riolu grinned as he joined in the cheering, happy that he was able to catch the jump. “That’s so cool!!” The Riolu cheered as he jumped on the spot. The pair giggled to each other as Ieuan let out a happy sigh as he calmed down.
Ieuan smiled as he offered a paw to shake. “My name’s Ieuan! I hope that we can see more of each other!” He added with a grin. The Raboot smiled warmly as she shook the Riolu’s paw.
“It’s nice to meet you Ieuan!” She giggled to herself as she watched the balloon bounce about with the handshake. Rachel let go as she glanced up at the descending parachutes, before returning her attention to Ieuan. “Well, I guess I should head back now since this place is closing up. I’ll come back tomorrow!” She grinned before turning away, walking off into the distance as she waved to the Riolu. “See you around!”
Ieuan returned the gesture, giving his goodbyes to the Raboot. The Riolu glanced back at the parachutes, the first ones were already nearing the ground, noting the excited cheers and laughter of the airborne party. He gave a smile as he watched them descend, knowing that his time to fly was quickly approaching.
To be continued.
This is the second chapter for Clear Skies! As the Vulpix gets ready for his second jump, an encounter in the park sparks a new friendship!
So sorry that this chapter took so long! Between personal life, and such, this did take longer than I would have liked. Once again, special thanks to digolgrin for providing feedback, and letting me use Alex the Growlithe! I really appreciate all of your help!!
That being said, I hope you enjoy!!
Clear Skies Chapter 2: Meeting
A ray of light shone through a parting in the curtains, casting a faint light into the dimly lit bedroom. The room was relatively clean and well furnished with display cabinets and shelves containing a variety of items and oddities, the only hint of someone’s presence in the room was an opened pack of balloons, a handheld pump, and several balloon models scattered over the bedroom floor. Next to the wall furthest from the door was a single sized bed that had a purple bedsheet quietly bundled up into a mound on top of the mattress. Looming over the bed was a large deflated mylar balloon depicting a feline like creature with a witch’s hat that was taped onto the wall as if it were a makeshift poster.
A digital alarm clock silently rested on a nightstand next to the occupant of the bed, beside the clock was a weight wrapped in a pink foil that had a few birthday balloons tethered to it, some of which were starting to lose their buoyancy as they hovered just over the nightstand, alongside other smaller items like stationary and small trinkets. The clock’s display turned to six in the morning as its screen lit up and erupted a cacophony of beeps as its alarm was triggered. The noise was enough to disturb the mound on the bed.
A grumble came from the bundle of fabric as it shuffled around, an icy blue paw, poked out of the bed sheet as it started to swipe about, trying to find what it was that woke them up. The paw felt around the nightstand, knocking over some of the items that rested on top of it. After a few swipes, the paw found the alarm, slamming it down on the top of the clock as the beeping stopped. A cathartic sigh could be heard from inside the sheet as the paw retreated inside the sheets before the bundle rustled around until an Alolan Vulpix’s head popped out, their fringe long hair was scruffy and out of place. “Just when that dream was getting good too.” the Vulpix grumbled sleepily as they stirred from their dream, rubbing their eyes and yawning with a stretch after the rude awakening.
The Vulpix shuffled around again, throwing the bedsheet off their body. The small Pokémon stumbled over to their window, opening the curtains that robbed the room of the natural light. The morning sun flooded the room with an intense light, making the Vulpix squint their eyes as they tried to get used to the light. After a moment of getting used to the light the Vulpix looked around the room, noting the balloon models scattered over the floor. The Vulpix stumbled over to them as they collected each one, and carefully placing them on a TV stand. The Vulpix smiled at their efforts as they briefly admired their work. The Vulpix turned their attention to the bed, grabbing onto the sheet as they quickly made the bed, giggling as they watched the fabric catch the wind it made, and float down on the mattress.
When the Vulpix was done, they turned his attention to a corkboard that was hung over the nightstand. The board was covered in notes and photos of importance to the Vulpix. The middle of the board was occupied by a certificate that was stuck on the board by a drawing pin. The certificate bore a message congratulating ‘Alto’ on completing a tandem skydive, the certificate also included a photo of the Vulpix looking like they were having a nerve wrecking, but fun time as they jumped with a Lopunny who had a huge smile on their face.
Alto gazed at the certificate, smiling softly to himself. “It still feels so surreal that I did that,” he thought aloud as he wandered over to a calendar. The calendar had a lot of days already crossed out on the page. Amongst the crossed boxes was one with a cake and balloons crudely doodled inside it, Alto grabbed a pen and started following the crossed-out days until he reached the next free space, crossing it out. Next to the one he crossed out was a space with an equally crudely drawn parachute doodled in the square. A huge grin appeared on Alto’s face. “And I still can’t believe that I’m going again tomorrow!” The Vulpix giggled as he jumped on the spot out of excitement.
Alto’s excitement was short lived however, as his stomach audibly growled. “Oh my!” Alto said with a faint chuckle. The Vulpix perked as he smelled an enticing scent from somewhere in the house. “Oh! Is breakfast ready?” He thought aloud as he hurriedly left the room, seeking out what it was that had caught his attention.
A bipedal Sylveon had finished placing the last pieces of a cooked breakfast on an oak table in the middle of the kitchen. The room was modern in its appearance, with white walls that helped make the black slate floors, the grey worktops, and black cabinets stand out. the kitchen was almost spotless, besides the pots and pans that were occupying the kitchen sink in the aftermath of the Sylveon’s cooking.
“And there we go!” Travis said with a content look on his face. The Sylveon stretched before pouring himself a blue coloured juice. The Sylveon was about to take a sip, when he heard footsteps rushing to the kitchen, followed by Alto peeking his head inside, the Pokémon’s snowy fur was still as scruffy as it was when he woke up. Travis chuckled softly as he saw his messy roommate. “Good morning Alto! Did you sleep well?” The Sylveon asked as he quietly sipped his juice.
“Hey Travis!” Alto replied with a weary smile. The Vulpix entered the kitchen, letting out a yawn as he stretched his back. “My mind has been so occupied about tomorrow; it’s been pretty hard to sleep” he answered with a grin.
Travis smiled warmly “I’m glad that you get the chance to go again tomorrow. But let’s focus on today, alright? We still have another day of work ahead of us!” Travis grinned as Alto nodded with a faint chuckle.
“I know, I’ll make sure to make the most of today!” Alto said with a weary, but playful cheer. The Vulpix’s attention quickly turned to the food that Travis had made. Alto’s eyes widened in delight as his mood quickly changed to excitement. “This looks awesome, Travis!” he enthusiastically added before glancing back at the Sylveon as if he was seeking Travis’ approval to start.
Travis chuckled as he took a seat, “Feel free to get started!” The Sylveon took a slice of toast, spreading some oran berry jam on it before taking a bite. He watched as Alto took the other seat, picking out what caught his attention, and wasting no time in tucking into his food. The Sylveon smiled happily as he saw the Vulpix enjoy his cooking.
A few minutes into their breakfast, Travis perked, remembering something. “Hey Alto, it’s Friday today. What locations were you thinking on stopping at today?” He asked, glancing at the Vulpix who was in the middle of drinking a purple coloured juice.
Every Friday was the day when Alto worked as a balloon vendor in Icirrus City to sell off their excess stock, and to help promote their shop on the side. “Oh! That’s right, I was thinking of the park closest to Happy Ribbons. It’s the market day today, so it would be a perfect day to work there!”
Travis nodded as he wiped his mouth with the napkin on his side of the table, having finished his food. “That sounds like a plan!” the Sylveon said as he got up. “I’ll get things ready for us to head off. Feel free to clean up and get ready for today!” Travis added as he placed his dishes next to the sink, turning the tap on as he started cleaning.
The Vulpix smiled as he finished his breakfast, quietly getting up with a renewed vigour. “Thank you so much for the food, Travis! I’ll see you in a bit!” Alto added with a wave before exiting the kitchen.
“See you in a bit!” Travis replied, returning to the dishes. After a moment, Travis thought aloud. “He’s so excited about tomorrow. I really hope that he has fun again.” The Sylveon giggled softly as he continued to clean up.
A Gardevoir opened the doors to Poké-Air’s main entrance, stepping in as they looked around. The reception was relatively quiet. There was barely a sign of life in the room, except for a Mawile who was behind the reception desk, quietly arranging some paperwork, it was apparent that the receptionist hadn’t noticed the Gardevoir yet. At that moment, a young Kirlia with deep blue hair skipped into the reception, standing beside the Gardevoir. The Gardevoir glanced down at the Kirlia with a warm smile, petting their head gently, making the Kirlia giggle in surprise over the display of affection.
The giggle caused the Mawile to jump with a yelp as they noticed the sudden presence of the two. In their panic, the Mawile threw their work upwards, making the pages scatter and rain down over the Mawile. “Oh no!” The Mawile gasped as they frantically tried to grab as many of the sheets as they could.
The Gardevoir let out a nervous giggle as they helped the Mawile, gathering what they could as well. “Sorry about scaring you like that Angela.” the Gardevoir chuckled as they offered the sheets that they had gathered to the Mawile.
The Mawile sighed softly, smiling faintly at the helpful Gardevoir. “That’s alright Mabel. I was in my own little world. I should have paid more attention to who was coming in and out.” she replied, letting out a soft sigh as she accepted the papers that Mabel had gathered. Angela had gathered almost all the pages when she heard a childlike voice call out to her.
“Were you looking for this, auntie Angela?” The Kirlia asked with a sweet smile as they offered the last sheet to her. Angela smiled warmly as she thankfully accepted the sheet from the Kirlia, petting their head with a giggle.
“Thank you so much Tyler! Are you ready to have some fun with Max today?” Angela asked, giggling as the Kirlia cheered and jumped for joy at the question.
“Thanks for volunteering to take care of Tyler today.” Mabel said, smiling warmly at the Mawile. Angela nodded as she organised the paperwork in their intended order.
“It’s never a problem Mabel!” The Mawile replied with a grin. “I have a package I need to deliver to Lola in Undella town. So, I figured I could take Max and Tyler along for a visit, and maybe a trip to the beach.” The Mawile smiled as she glanced at Tyler. “And who knows, maybe I could book the kids in for some parasailing as a treat!” She added, giggling as she watched the Kirlia get visibly excited over the suggestion.
“You would do that for us? You’re the best, Auntie Angela!” Tyler grinned widely as he playfully danced around the reception.
The Kirlia’s joy was cut short as he heard a voice call out from the corridor. “Mom? Can I have a juice please?” A younger Mawile that wore a purple shirt with a parachute print, and a pair of goggles resting on their hair entered the reception. The newcomer’s eyes immediately locked on to Tyler, The Mawile let out a happy gasp as a huge grin appeared on their face. “Tyler!” The Mawile called out as they dashed over to the Kirlia, giving him a great big hug as they laughed happily.
“Hello Max!” Tyler replied as he returned the hug. Angela glanced over at Mabel and chuckled softly as the parents watched the happy reunion.
Mabel noticed a parcel that rested on the reception’s counter, curiosity immediately took over as she glanced at Angela, pointing out the mysterious package. “Hey Angela, is that the parcel? It seems a little small to go all the way to personally deliver it to Lola.” Mabel asked.
The Mawile perked. “Oh! That’s not the package for Lola!” Angela replied with a chuckle. “Jan finally got the photos of Alto’s jump finished, and they are ready for delivery!” Angela added. “But, seeing as Alto is coming over tomorrow, he could just pick them up here, right? Or did you have another plan?”
The Gardevoir pondered for a moment, wondering on if she had another idea for the situation. As she pondered, a familiar Pachirisu stepped in, the small Pokémon dragging a large sack behind him.
“Hey Angela, here’s that parasail that Lola ordered!” Jan said as he stretched after carrying the bundle around.
At that moment, an idea hit Mabel as she turned to the Pachirisu. “Hey Jan, can I ask for a favour really quickly?” she asked as the Pachirisu turned his attention to the Gardevoir.
“Oh? What Is it Mabel?” he replied, as he briefly glanced between the two staff members.
“I was just wondering if Ieuan had some time to do a little task for us. It’s okay if he’s busy today. It’s not too important.” Mabel said with a soft smile.
“You have a job for him? Well, he’s just doing odd jobs this morning. He is on parachute packing duties this afternoon. So, if he’s back by then, then that would be fine with me!” Jan answered with a grin.
Mabel grinned happily as she quickly hugged the Pachirisu, gratefully thanking the electric squirrel. After a moment, Mabel perked as the small squirrel started to squirm about, the Gardevoir gently placed him back on the ground as he thanked her. “So, what is it that you wanted anyways?” Jan asked.
“Well, I saw that the photos from Alto’s jump were finished. And I was thinking that maybe we could have Ieuan deliver the photos and such to him instead of having him pick it up tomorrow. I was just thinking that since they are going to be jumping together tomorrow, that it would be nice if they actually got to meet each other.” Mabel replied, hoping that Jan would be okay with the suggestion.
Jan looked a little surprised over Mabel’s request. But he quickly nodded in approval. “Well, like I said, Samuel and I didn’t have anything too important for him to do during the day. So, that’s fine with me!” he said with a grin.
Mabel gasped happily over Jan’s approval. “Thank you so much, Jan!” Mabel replied happily. “So, do you have any idea on where he is?”
Jan’s ears perked up. “Oh! Right, he’s around the hangar if I recall, that’s where I left him a few minutes ago!” he replied with a smile.
Mabel nodded “I see, thanks for the tip!” The Gardevoir grabbed a blank note from the desk, and quickly scribbled something on it, and taping it onto the parcel when she was done. “I’m going to go look for him now!” Mabel added with a grin. Her attention turned to Tyler and Max who were having a friendly discussion. “I’ll see you two later, Maybe I can try and get you both in for a static line jump at the end of the day!” She said with a thumbs up and a cheerful grin on her face.
The kids cheered once more and said their goodbyes to Mabel as she skipped off down the corridor, Jan turned his attention to Angela with a smile. “I’ll take over reception duties for you Angela, I do hope that you three have a safe trip!”
Angela smiled warmly as she nodded. “Thank you, buddy.” The Mawile grinned as she approached the sack that the Pachirisu had brought in, inspecting it before she slung it over her shoulder, struggling to balance herself for a moment as she got used to the load. “We’ll be back later!” Angela said as she turned her attention to the excited duo in the reception. “Come on you two, let’s go see Lola!”
The kids bolted out of the reception with no hesitation, pausing as they noticed that Angela wasn’t with them. The staff members glanced at each other and let out a chuckle as they quietly admired their enthusiasm. “I’ll see you soon, Jan.” Angela said as she went to catch up with the other Pokémon in her party.
“See you soon!” Jan replied as he waved Angela goodbye, watching as the Mawile briefly struggled with the sack before returning to his work.
Mabel stepped into the hangar, her footsteps making a soft echo as she entered the spacious area. The Gardevoir looked around to see if she could find Ieuan. However, the only other Pokémon in the hangar besides Mabel at that moment was a bipedal Luxray that was performing maintenance checks on the groups plane. The Luxray paid no attention to Mabel as they focused on their work.
“I guess this may be harder than I thought” she uttered with a soft sigh, wondering where she could find the Riolu. A faint grunt caught Mabel’s attention as she noticed that the door to one of the hangar’s storerooms was slightly opened.
Mabel quietly approached the room, wondering who she would find inside. The Gardevoir peeked her head in to check, immediately spotting Ieuan who was in the middle of placing parachutes neatly onto the shelves that lined the walls of the room. Mabel noticed that Ieuan paused as he picked up one of the rigs, gazing at the parachute as if his mind was on something. The Gardevoir tried to get a better look, when she nudged the door, the sudden creaking of the door made the Riolu flinch.
Ieuan quickly turned around to see Mabel, yelping as he realised that he wasn’t alone. In his surprise, the Riolu threw the parachute in the air. “Oh no!” The Riolu yelped as he realised what he had done. He tried to reach out to the parachute as gravity took over. Unfortunately for Ieuan, the parachute slipped in between his paws, landing on his face as the Riolu let out a loud grunt, falling back as the large bag covered his head.
Mabel gasped as she saw Ieuan’s fall back, quickly rushing over to see if he was okay. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that!” Mabel said as she lifted the rig off his head. The Riolu let out a faint grumble as he sat up, glancing at Mabel with a faint smile.
“It’s okay Mabel. I guess I was just daydreaming.” Ieuan replied as he let out a faint chuckle. Mabel sighed in relief over Ieuan’s reassurance. Mabel noticed that the Riolu turned his attention to the parachutes that he had stored away, then back to the rig that Mabel was now holding. “I guess it’s just sinking in that tomorrow is the big day. It still feels so surreal.” He replied with a smile. Mabel gently set the parachute aside, joining the Riolu in sitting down.
“I see, Well, I hope that it lives up to your expectations!” The Gardevoir grinned merrily. Mabel perked as she got an idea. “Hey Ieuan. You know Alex, right?” she asked curiously.
Ieuan pondered on Mabel’s question before nodding. “Alex is the Growlithe that comes for the static line parachuting, right?” He replied as he recalled seeing the Pokémon around quite often.
“Yeah! That’s the one!” Mabel replied with a grin. The Gardevoir was about to continue but paused as she heard the entrance to the hangar door’s burst open, followed by a chuckle, and the Luxray yelping followed by chuckling as he greeted someone. As Mabel was about to get up, a Growlithe burst through the storeroom door. The Puppy Pokémon wagged their tail excitedly as they saw Mabel and Ieuan.
“Hey Mabel!” the Growlithe cheered “I’m ready for another day of parachuting!”
Mabel giggled as she waved at Alex, turning his attention to Ieuan who was also waving at the newcomer. “Alex is going to be doing some static line practice with me today. I know it’s not the same to what you would be doing tomorrow. But you are more than welcome to join us when you are finished today if you wanted to?”
The Riolu looked surprised at the sudden offer. The Riolu was about to give an answer but hesitated just as he opened his mouth. While the thought of jumping later that day was exciting to the Riolu. Something in the back of his mind told him to wait until the next day. The Riolu bit his bottom lip as he tried to think of an answer as he glanced at Mabel and Alex.
Ieuan glanced at Mabel, the Riolu smiled weakly as he finally spoke up. “That does sound good. But I think I want to wait until tomorrow for now if that’s okay?” Ieuan noticed the Growlithe’s ears droop a little at his answer. Ieuan flinched as he felt the guilt over disappointing Alex. “But I promise to jump with you soon!” Ieuan added with a grin to try and cheer Alex up.
Alex’s mood perked up again as he smiled back at the Riolu, his tail wagging a little. “Alright Ieuan! I’ll look forward to that day!” he happily barked, padding off to the canine section of the storeroom to select his parachute for the coming jumps The Riolu watched Alex trot off before sighing in relief.
“Sorry if that was a little disappointing Mabel. I just want tomorrow to be a completely new experience for me.” Ieuan said, hoping that he didn’t let Mabel down.
“Oh! Don’t worry about it Ieuan, I totally understand.” Mabel replied as she gave a reassuring smile. “I just figured that maybe you would want to do a simple jump beforehand!”. She added as she watched Alex find his parachute. The Gardevoir quickly perked as she remembered why she was searching for the Riolu in the first place. “Oh! That’s right, I almost forgot. I have a job for you Ieuan!”
Ieuan’s ears perked back up as he wondered what she wanted. “What’s up Mabel?”
“Well, do you remember Alto, The Vulpix who jumped last week?” Mabel asked. The Riolu silently nodded as he let the Gardevoir continue. “Well, Jan finished work on the photos and videos of that visit and are ready to be delivered. Angela said that she thought about waiting until Alto comes back tomorrow. But I spoke to Jan about having you deliver them today if that’s alright with you?” Mabel added with a grin.
Mabel saw the Riolu’s curiosity turn to excitement “Really? I’d love to do that! You can count on me Mabel!” Ieuan merrily replied.
“Thank you, Ieuan.” She said, chuckling over the Riolu’s enthusiasm. “I want you to deliver the package to a place called Happy Ribbons. It’s a party shop in Icirrus City. I left the address, and directions on the package for you!” Ieuan nodded as he listened closely. “Jan also said that he’s fine with it as long as you come back by the afternoon, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you grabbed some lunch too!” Mabel added with a grin.
Ieuan nodded enthusiastically “I’ll do my best!” he said, wasting no time in heading out of the room with a small skip in his step. The Gardevoir waved at him as he left.
Mabel giggled softly before she turned her attention to Alex, who had already picked out a parachute to use, a happy smile on the Growlithe’s face. “Well, I’m sure that Leon has the plane ready for take-off by now. Shall we get this party started?” she asked with a goofy grin.
“Yeah!” Alex replied enthusiastically, his tail wagging wildly as the Growlithe flipped the parachute rig over his back, balancing it carefully before grinning at Mabel. “I can’t wait to go!”
Mabel gave a chuckle as she opened the door to guide Alex out, and get on with the day, the Gardevoir flinched as Alex dashed out of the room without any hesitation, continuing to balance the rig that bounced against his back. The Gardevoir stepped over to a locker as she opened it, pulling out a parachute that was made for her, and followed behind the excited Growlithe.
A door with a party banner draped over it opened as Alto stepped into the shop floor for Happy Ribbons. The Vulpix wore a white backpack that had ice blue highlights, and a thick black nylon belt with a coin purse, and a hook clip on either side was fastened onto his waist. He gazed around the room as he tried to find Travis. The shop itself was modestly sized with a warm and friendly vibe felt across the room. Shelves lined the walls and floor with everything you could possibly need for any occasion and decorated abundantly with balloons of all shapes and sizes.
Alto caught his reflection on one of the foil balloons that floated idly over the counter as he looked around, the sight made the Vulpix think he was wearing a parachute like Mimi did, the thought made the Vulpix softly giggle as he playfully twirled around to admire the look.
Alto’s ears perked up as he heard his name being called out from outside, noticing Travis through the shop’s windows, the Sylveon struggled to hold on to an untold number of balloons as he kept pulling them to himself while trying to not get carried away, the sight made the Vulpix chuckle as he ran outside to meet up with Travis.
“Are you ready to go, Alto?” Travis asked as he struggled to keep himself steady, a breeze caught the balloons, momentarily making the Sylveon stagger as he tried to keep control, Alto quickly held onto Travis’ arm to help keep the Sylveon from being blown away, the Vulpix giggling wildly over their situation.
“You bet I’m ready!” the Vulpix replied as he laughed while helping keep Travis steady. Alto glanced up at the wide array of the balloons that swayed above the pair when the winds calmed down, making a note of what was present for reference. The Vulpix grinned at Travis when he was done with memorising what was there. “This looks awesome! I’ll gladly do my best to sell these!”
Travis smiled as he kneeled to Alto’s side, opening the clip that was secured on the Vulpix’s belt, and sliding a ring that he used to keep the balloons together through the clip. After hearing a click, the Sylveon gave a few tugs on the mass of ribbons to see if their stock was secured to the to be balloon vendor. The Sylveon paused before letting out a chuckle. I guess this is reminding you of last week buddy?” Travis asked as he looked up at Alto. The Vulpix perked and giggled happily as he thought back to Mabel and Mimi doing their equipment checks with him.
“I guess so!” Alto replied with a grin. “It does make me feel excited for tomorrow’s jump too!” he added, sighing happily as he looked up at the balloons that danced in the sky as Travis tugged on their ribbons one more time.
Travis let go of the ribbons as he stood up. “Well, just one more day left until you get to fly again!” The Sylveon grinned as he adjusted his glasses. “But for now. Everything is good to go, have fun Alto!” He added, patting Alto on the back, and giving a thumbs up.
The Vulpix nodded as he held on to the mass of ribbons that were tethered to his hip, smiling at the Sylveon as he turned around to walk off to his destination. “See you soon, Travis!”
Travis watched as Alto went off to work, waving at the Vulpix until he was out of sight, the Sylveon sighed happily as he returned inside the shop to clean up, and get started with his job.
The morning was quiet for Travis. While he did have some customers come, the Sylveon still found himself with free time on his hands for most of the morning. Travis leaned back on a chair behind the counter, gazing at his own reflection on the balloons he had set up on the counter while he listened to some rather cheerful music. “I guess there’s not a lot of partying going on today?” the Sylveon said jokingly as he took a sip from a bottle of juice that he had brought with him, wiping the blue liquid off his lips as he put the bottle back. “I wonder if Alto is getting any better luck today?” he added as he waited for the next customers.
A doorbell rang out, grabbing Travis’ attention as he quickly stood up, and making himself look organised for whoever it was that had just entered. The Sylveon smiled warmly as he greeted the newcomer with a cheerful grin. “Hello there! Welcome to Happy Ribbons Party Supplies, the best place in Icirrus City for all your balloons and party supplies! How may I help?” Travis’ attention focused on a familiar Riolu with slightly ruffled fur that had entered the shop, cautiously looking around as if they were looking for someone. Travis noticed that the Riolu was holding onto a parcel with both paws. “Oh! Hello there Ieuan! What brings you here today?” Travis asked as they called out to the newcomer. The Riolu’s head quickly turned to Travis, dashing to the counter as they greeted the Sylveon.
“Hello Travis! I have a package here for Alto!” Ieuan said, grinned happily at Travis. The Riolu presented the parcel to the Sylveon. Travis perked as he realised what it was, happily accepting it from the Riolu’s paws.
“Oh! This must be the photos and such from last week, thank you so much for delivering this Ieuan!” The Sylveon noticed Ieuan looking around, scanning the area as if he was looking for something. “Is there something else that you wanted today?” Travis asked as he put the parcel behind the counter.
Ieuan glanced around the shop a little more before turning his attention to Travis once more, smiling faintly. “Oh, it’s nothing important. I was just trying to see if Alto was around. I didn’t really get a chance to talk to him last week. And I thought that it would be nice if I could say hi to him and such. I understand if he’s too busy with work and all, it can wait until tomorrow.” Ieuan replied with a soft smile.
Travis perked at the Riolu’s question. “Oh! If you wanted to see Alto, he’s down the nearby park. He’s selling balloons at the market today, so I’m pretty sure that you won’t be able to miss him! I’m sure he will appreciate getting to talk to you too.” Travis replied with a chuckle. Ieuan’s expression lit up at the tip.
“Alright then! I’ll try to find him then!” Ieuan gave a small bow as he jogged back towards the door. The Riolu paused before turning around, grinning at the Sylveon as he waved at the shopkeeper. “See you soon Travis!” Ieuan said as he opened the door, bolting off in search of the Vulpix.
Ieuan passed by a stone archway to the nearest park from Happy Ribbons, he quickly stopped to scan the area while he caught his breath. The park had a variety of trees dotting the field, and a lake in one corner of the walled off field. Cobblestone paths weaved around the grounds, all of them leading to a large fountain in the centre. As Travis said, Ieuan noted that there was a decently sized market surrounding both the fountain, and the nearby areas. Amongst the busy scene was a large bundle of bright and colourful balloons that gently swayed in the air. Upon seeing this, Ieuan’s smile widened as his tail wagged excitedly. “Oh! I wonder if that’s Alto!” finding his stamina once more, Ieuan darted off to the crowds, wondering on if he could find the Vulpix.
“See you soon!” Alto called out with a grin waving goodbye to a Raichu that accompanied a Pichu, the smaller mouse carrying a balloon shaped like a masked Zorua’s head. Alto smiled softly as the pair blended into the busy crowd of Pokémon, lowering his hand once he lost sight of them. Alto looked around to see if there were any other potential customers before inspecting his remaining balloons. The large bundle was certainly smaller. However, there were still plenty of goods for Alto to sell.
“Well, it’s a start!” He said with a smile. The Vulpix was about to call out to potential customers once more when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
“How much for a balloon, Alto?”
The Vulpix turned around to see Ieuan, giving a playful smile as he greeted the Vulpix. Alto looked surprised as he recognised the Riolu from the previous week. “Oh! Hello there Ieuan!” Alto replied with a warm smile. “What brings you here?”
Ieuan grinned over Alto’s surprise “Well, Mabel asked me to deliver the stuff from your jump. I left them with Travis at your shop!” Ieuan watched as the balloon vendor’s face lit up over the news. Ieuan paused for a moment before he shyly continued, “I don’t have much going on for a bit, so I also wanted to see you too, if that’s okay?” Ieuan asked, glancing at Alto for approval.
“Oh! That’s fine with me, I appreciate the company, even if it’s for a little bit!” Alto replied, smiling warmly. Ieuan grinned happily over Alto’s response
“Thank you so much Alto!” Ieuan cheered as he stood beside the Vulpix, Alto noted that the Riolu periodically glanced up at the balloons, his tail wagging a little as he admired Alto’s wares. The Vulpix was about to ask if Ieuan wanted one when a loud growl from his stomach broke his train of thought.
Ieuan perked as he looked at the Vulpix who looked a little flustered over the noise. “Are you hungry? I can get you something if you want?” he asked with a smile. Alto was surprised over Ieuan’s offer, the Vulpix paused before reaching inside the backpack by his side, pulling out a coin pouch, and getting some money from it.
“If it’s alright with you, there’s a hot dog stand nearby. Could you get one for me?” Alto asked as he handed the money over to the Riolu.
Ieuan smiled as he accepted the coins in Alto’s hand. “That’s alright with me, Alto! Just give me a few minutes!” he replied as he quickly glanced around before dashing off to a hot dog cart not far away from them. Alto smiled to himself for a moment.
The Vulpix flinched as he realised that he had forgotten one last detail. However, before he could call out to Ieuan, he was greeted by a cheerful purple furred Braixen whose attention darted between the balloons, and the Vulpix. The Vulpix briefly glanced towards the direction where Ieuan dashed off to before greeting his new customer with a smile. “Which ones do you want?” he asked with a grin.
A few minutes had passed as Alto waved goodbye to the Braixen, the happy customer skipped off with a small bouquet of random balloons from Alto’s bunch. Alto’s ears perked up has he heard his stomach growl louder than it did earlier on. He sighed softly as he wondered where Ieuan, and the hotdog was.
His wondering came to an end as his nose picked up a savoury scent. He quickly glanced at the direction the smell came from, the Vulpix was greeted by Ieuan who had a bemused look on his face. In his hands were two hot dogs. One with a trail of mustard, the other appeared to be almost smothered in an extremely generous serving of ketchup.
The Vulpix’s mood shifted to one of pure joy, unable to contain his overwhelming excitement. “Oh wow! This looks amazing! Thank you so much Ieuan!” Alto paused as his expression turned to curiosity. “How did you know I like them this way?”.
“The cook asked if one of them was for you, then he just kept putting the sauce on. He said something about that’s how you like them?” Ieuan said with a small chuckle as he offered Alto’s lunch to the now drooling Vulpix. Alto turned his attention to where the cart was, spotting the Audino that manned the stall waving at the pair with a smile. Alto chuckled softly as he thankfully accepted his lunch, wasting no time in taking a bite out of it. “It’s so good!” Alto blissfully cheered.
Ieuan chuckled over the Vulpix’s overreaction to his lunch before he returned to his spot, joining the Vulpix in having lunch. The Riolu took a bite out of his. Ieuan perked and let out a delighted gasp. “Oh wow, you’re right, this is really good!” the Riolu said, clearly happy with his food. He was about to ask Alto how his was as he turned to look at the balloon seller. However, Ieuan was greeted to the sight of Alto ravenously consuming his lunch. The Vulpix gazed back at the Riolu, already down to the last bites of his food. The Vulpix swallowed what was in his mouth before giving a nonchalant reply.
“Yeah, mine is great too! Thanks for getting it for me Ieuan!” Alto replied with a slightly ketchup covered smile. Ieuan grinned over Alto’s reply, quietly passing over a tissue to the Vulpix, pointing to his mouth as the Vulpix accepted it.
“So, are you excited for tomorrow’s jump?” Ieuan asked as he changed the subject while Alto cleaned up. The Vulpix’s ears perked up as he nodded in response as he finished cleaning his mouth.
“Of course! It’s all I’ve been able to think about lately!” Alto replied as a huge grin popped up on his face. Ieuan chuckled at Alto’s contagious enthusiasm over his plans.
“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow too! I can’t wait to have my first jump too!” The Riolu replied with a grin.
Alto looked surprised. Clearly unaware that Ieuan would be flying with him. “Wait? You’re coming too?” he asked, his tail swaying a little. Ieuan flinched, realising that Alto wasn’t informed.
“Oh! Well, Mabel invited me to come along with you after you left last week.” The Riolu looked a little nervous as he stumbled on his words. “I said yes. But I was under the impression that someone would have let you know before. I’m really sorry, I should have asked beforehand!” Ieuan anxiously said.
“What are you sorry about?” Ieuan’s panic quickly halted as the Riolu glanced at the Vulpix. Alto’s tail wagged happily, complimenting the huge smile on the fox’s face. “I’d love it if you could come along for the ride!” Alto cheered, unable to contain his excitement for the upcoming event.
Ieuan smiled softly, letting out a sigh of relief as he calmed down. “That’s good to know. Thank you Alto.” He replied. “I can’t wait to fly with you!” he added, grinning happily as he pumped himself up alongside Alto.
The pair continued to talk, getting to know each other a little better. After some time, Ieuan heard the distant rings of a bell, giving an indication of the time. The Riolu gave a soft sigh, obviously reluctant to say goodbye. “Hey, I have to head back to work now. As fun as this has been, I don’t want to keep Jan waiting now!” Ieuan said with a faint chuckle.
“Oh! I see.” Alto replied as his ears briefly drooped before he perked them back up again, “I’m glad that we had a chance to talk!” he added with a happy smile. Alto noticed as Ieuan’s attention turned to the balloons that loomed above them, an idea quickly crossed Alto’s mind as he grinned.
“I seem to recall you asking how much they were earlier on. I’m going to take a guess that something took your fancy?” Alto asked with a playful grin. Ieuan perked as he chuckled faintly.
“Oh yeah, that’s right!” Ieuan replied. He glanced back up at the bunch, then back at Alto. “So how much were they again?”
“Well, you know. You’ve really made my day today. You’ve done so much for me that I don’t mind giving you one as a gift!” Alto replied with a wink. “I’ll just cover the costs myself!”
Ieuan was caught off guard by Alto’s gesture. “Really? Are you sure about this?” Ieuan observed Alto’s body language for a moment, trying to see if the Vulpix was joking. The Riolu relaxed when he realised that Alto was serious. He chuckled gleefully as a childlike grin appeared on his face “Thank you so much Alto! You’re the best!”. Alto visibly blushed over the compliment while Ieuan scanned through the bouquet to see what he wanted. It didn’t take long for an excited gasp to catch the Vulpix’s attention.
“Could I have that big Magical Rinring one, please?” Ieuan asked politely, excitedly pointing towards the one that he wanted. Alto glanced up, to see what he was pointing to. The Vulpix perked as he recognised the design to be identical to the one hanging over his bed. Alto smiled warmly as he looked for its string.
“There we go!” Alto said as he pulled the balloon down, the Vulpix quietly got to work as Ieuan eagerly watched, his tail wagging uncontrollably from the excitement. After a bit of fumbling with the weight, Alto paused as he glanced at the Riolu. “Hey, can I borrow your wrist for a moment?” Ieuan looked curious, but quietly nodded as he held his arm out for the Vulpix. Alto smiled as he tied the ribbon to Ieuan, not noticing the Riolu blush a little as Alto did his job. When he was done, Alto let go of Ieuan’s paw, grinning at the Riolu who was delighted over his present. “And there we go!” Alto paused for a moment, watching as he playfully bounced his new toy around by its string, the Vulpix couldn’t help but smile over Ieuan’s sheer joy at that moment. “So, You’re a fan of Magical Rinring?” Alto asked curiously.
Ieuan nodded happily as he continued to play. “That’s right! She’s so cool!” Ieuan grinned happily as he replied, playfully bringing the balloon down to himself and gently hugging it.
Alto blushed for a moment as he watched the hug before quickly clearing his throat and smiling warmly, “Yeah, she’s awesome!” he added, Ieuan nodded with a giggle as he let his toy float above him.
“Well, I should probably return back to base now. Don’t want to keep Jan waiting now!” Ieuan said with a grin. The Riolu started to head back before he paused, turning around with a warm smile on the Riolu’s face. “This has been great! I’m glad we could get to know each other a little better before our big day tomorrow!”
Alto returned the smile, nodding. “Yeah, this has been great! See you tomorrow!” Alto replied as he waved goodbye to the Riolu. Watching him blend in with the crowds once more, the head of Magical Rinring just barely bobbing above the crowds being the only indicator of Ieuan’s presence.
Alto paused for a moment, thinking back on Ieuan cuddling the balloon, the blush returning to Alto’s face. “I can’t deny that was rather cute.” Alto murmured to himself as he calmed himself down. Alto let out a soft sigh as he cooled himself down. Well, time to get back to business!” he cheered, calling out for any potential customers.
The evening came by quickly for the staff at Poké-Air, It had been a few hours since Ieuan had returned to the skydiving centre, the Riolu was tasked with packing up parachutes that were used that day while Jan, and Samuel stood by, The Pachirisu occasionally gave feedback and advice to the Riolu, while his mate often glanced over at the other party that were hanging out next to the party that were occupied besides the now parked plane.
Mabel and Mimi were discussing the day’s events with Angela who had returned with Max and Tyler, Mimi also held on to Ieuan’s gift after promising she would take care of it while the Riolu worked. The two children had their own conversations with Alex who kept glancing at the Luxray who rested on the floor of the plane’s interior with five parachute rigs ready for use besides him, waiting for the Luxray to finish his break and get back to flying the plane.
“Right, so I just slide the canopy back inside the rig, right?” Ieuan asked as he glanced back at Jan while holding a neatly folded up canopy.
“That’s right, Ieuan!” Jan replied with a wag of his tail. “You’re getting really good at this!!” he added while Samuel nodded at Jan’s comment.
“It seems that Jan has taught you well, Ieuan. It’s great to see you make so much progress!” The Weavile chimed in. The Pachirisu blushed over the compliment, letting out a delighted giggle. The Riolu smiled as he returned to the parachute. As he finished, he double checked if he did everything as instructed before placing the parachute inside a box full of similarly packed rigs. Ieuan wiped his forehead, giving a small chuckle as he admired his work.
“And that’s the last one from today!” Ieuan said with a grin. The Riolu glanced at the clock that loomed over the group’s hangar, noting that it was past the time Ieuan usually finished work. “Oh! Jan, It’s five o’clock now. Is there anything that you wanted me to do?” Ieuan asked politely.
Jan glanced at the clock as well. “Oh my! Today has certainly flown by!” The Pachirisu replied as the Weavile rolled his eyes over the Pachirisu’s pun. Jan pondered on if there was more to do before he shook his head, “Can you think of anything that Ieuan can do today, dear?” he glanced at Samuel who also shook his head. The Pachirisu smiled softly as he turned his attention back to Ieuan. “Well, we have nothing for you today, so it’s alright with me if you want to finish for today!” Jan added with a grin.
Ieuan grinned happily as he nodded. “Thank you, Jan, I’ll see you tomorrow!”
The Pachirisu gave a nod, “Of course!” Jan glanced at the neatly arranged parachutes that Jan had finished packing before he continued. “If I don’t see you before your big morning. Then I hope you have lots of fun on your first jump!” Jan said with a grin.
Ieuan returned the smile before turning around and skipping out of the hangar with the thoughts of his upcoming jump racing through his mind. However, as he was about to reach for the door, a sharp whistle caught his attention. Ieuan quickly turned around to see Mabel and Mimi rushing over to the Riolu.
“Aren’t you forgetting something Ieuan?” Mabel asked as she pointed over to Mimi who held onto Ieuan’s Rinring balloon with a warm smile. The Riolu flinched as he realised that he almost forgot his gift before letting out a nervous chuckle as he let Mimi kneel and tie the ribbon onto his wrist. Ieuan thought back to Alto tying the ribbon onto him from earlier, the Riolu smiling warmly as he got lost in his thoughts.
“And we’re done!” Mimi merrily said as she bopped the balloon, giggling as she watched it rock about. Ieuan snapped back to reality as he smiled warmly.
“Oh! That’s right, I can’t forget about that now! Thank you so much!” Ieuan replied with a chuckle, quietly nodding to the pair as Mimi stood up besides Mabel with a stretch.
The happy moment was cut short as they heard the plane’s engine roar to life, and a masculine voice call out to Mabel and Mimi, the pair turned around to see Leon waving at them alongside Max, Tyler, and Alex who excitedly beckoned them over.
“The plane’s ready to go you two! Come on, let’s not keep these kids waiting!” Leon called out with a laugh. The Gardevoir smiled as she turned her attention to Ieuan again.
“Well, that’s our cue! We’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay?” Mabel said with a warm smile. Ieuan nodded excitedly.
“Of course! I’ll be here as soon as I can! I can’t wait to jump with you tomorrow!” Ieuan replied with a chuckle. The pair said their goodbyes to Ieuan as he left the hangar before turning their attention to getting ready for the last jump of the day.
Ieuan walked out of the now vacant reception, the Riolu was greeted by the cool breeze and the early evening sun as it started to set over the mountains of Unova. He glanced up at his balloon that shimmered in the setting sun’s light as he remembered his meeting with Alto, the memories bringing a gentle smile on his face. “I can’t wait to see you again Alto.” He uttered to himself.
The rumble of an engine distracted the Riolu from his thoughts as he glanced at the group’s airfield, Ieuan perked as he watched the small plane take off for the last jump of the day. “And I can’t wait to jump with you tomorrow Alto!” he added with a giggle. The Riolu excitedly waved at the plane as it left the runway, ascending into the skies above. Ieuan hung around as he watched the plane fly around the drop zone.
Ieuan’s focus on the plane was broken as he heard running and panting. He turned around to see a Raboot frantically dash to Poké-Air, the Pokémon had a cream satchel bag with a wide array of pins and badges adorning the front flap slung around their shoulder, the bag trailing behind the rabbit as they ran. The rabbit Pokémon slowed down as they neared the group’s main entrance, the Raboot grabbed the door handle and tried opening it, pausing as they realised that the door was locked. “Oh no! Don’t tell me that I missed it!” The Raboot moaned out in despair. Ieuan watched as they slumped to their knees, panting and catching their breath. “Darn it, I got so caught up with work, and I rushed here as fast as I could too.” They groaned out as the Riolu looked on with a puzzled look on his face.
“Hey, are you okay?” Ieuan called out as he approached the stranger, ready to help if needed. The Raboot panted as they pulled down the red fur around their mouth to help with that. The newcomer glanced up at Ieuan as they turned around, sitting back on the stone ground.
“Did I miss everyone?” The Raboot asked as they covered their mouth up once more.
Ieuan glanced at the vacant reception before turning their attention to the Raboot. “Well, they just closed for the day.” Ieuan flinched as he saw the increasing disappointment in the stranger’s eyes. “But the place will be open again tomorrow!” He added with his best reassuring smile.
The Raboot paused before sighing softly, getting up as they slipped their paws into the fur pouch on their belly. “I see. Thanks for letting me know.” They looked at the airfield before focusing back on Ieuan. “I came here to arrange booking myself in for the upcoming free fall course. But I guess I can come back another time.”
“That sounds like a plan!” Ieuan said with a cheerful grin, trying to cheer the Raboot up. Although it was hard to tell, the Riolu did spot a slight smile peeking out from the rabbit’s scarf, making the Riolu smile warmly in return. The Raboot’s attention turned to the balloon that Ieuan had. They let out a soft giggle as their mood picked up.
“Hey! That’s a cute balloon. Did you get it from Mabel?” they asked, pointing to the floating Magical Rinring above the Riolu. Ieuan glanced up at it before chuckling faintly.
“Unfortunately, this one isn’t from Mabel, I had to deliver some photos for a customer from last week. He works at a party shop, so I got this as a thank you gift!” Ieuan replied with a small grin.
“Oh! I see.” The Raboot smiled softly. Mabel always gives me balloons when I visit. Maybe it’s because I always go on my birthday. I’m just so used to Mabel doing that.” The Raboot explained. “She’s so much fun!” they added with a giggle.
“Of course! Mabel is such a fun Pokémon to be around!” he replied with a chuckle. “She’s so energetic and cheerful, she’s totally the life and soul of the party!” The Raboot laughed as Ieuan continued.
“I know right!” The Raboot replied. “I always come here on my birthdays. Mabel always throws me a little party after my jumps. She’s so sweet!” They added with a grin. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you here before. I’m guessing you’re a skydiver too?” The rabbit asked, tilting their head a little.
“Oh! Not yet. I’ve only started working here a few months ago!” Ieuan replied. “I still haven’t had my first jump yet. But that’s changing soon!” The Riolu grinned happily at the last part of his reply.
The Raboot flinched. “Oh! I see. I just never saw you around here before. And Mabel usually gives me a balloon when I come, so I thought for a moment that you were another customer.” They added, chuckling faintly.
Ieuan smiled softly. “You didn’t make a fool of yourself, don’t worry about it!” Ieuan grinned as he tried to comfort the visitor. “Out of curiosity, you said that you jump on your birthday’s, right? How many jumps have you done?” he asked.
The Raboot pondered for a moment. “Well, I’ve been jumping since I turned sixteen. I’m nineteen now. So, I’ve been jumping for three years now” The Raboot paused. “I’m turning twenty next month, so that will be four jumps soon. And then I’m going to learning to go by myself!” they added with a slightly hidden grin. The Raboot perked “Speaking of which, if we are going to be seeing more of each other, I guess it’s only fair to introduce myself. My name’s Rachel! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Rachel paused, glancing at the Riolu. “What’s your name?”
Ieuan was about to introduce himself when he could hear some of the staff cheering from nearby. The Raboot glanced at Ieuan, before dashing over to the fence outside the airfield to get a better look at what was going on. Ieuan followed Rachel as they started jumping and cheering happily, Ieuan looked up to see the plane fly past with a line of parachutes blossoming in the skies above. The Riolu grinned as he joined in the cheering, happy that he was able to catch the jump. “That’s so cool!!” The Riolu cheered as he jumped on the spot. The pair giggled to each other as Ieuan let out a happy sigh as he calmed down.
Ieuan smiled as he offered a paw to shake. “My name’s Ieuan! I hope that we can see more of each other!” He added with a grin. The Raboot smiled warmly as she shook the Riolu’s paw.
“It’s nice to meet you Ieuan!” She giggled to herself as she watched the balloon bounce about with the handshake. Rachel let go as she glanced up at the descending parachutes, before returning her attention to Ieuan. “Well, I guess I should head back now since this place is closing up. I’ll come back tomorrow!” She grinned before turning away, walking off into the distance as she waved to the Riolu. “See you around!”
Ieuan returned the gesture, giving his goodbyes to the Raboot. The Riolu glanced back at the parachutes, the first ones were already nearing the ground, noting the excited cheers and laughter of the airborne party. He gave a smile as he watched them descend, knowing that his time to fly was quickly approaching.
To be continued.
Category Story / Pokemon
Species Pokemon
Gender Multiple characters
Size 120 x 120px
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