I take it in real slow The world is spinning like a weather vane Fragile and composed Though I am breaking down again I am aching now to let you in

980 words

[attr="class","robinTags"]event start-o!

If there was anything Robin was quickly finding himself good at, it was getting lost. How? He was still trying to figure that out himself. Dark eyebrows furrowed as blue and gold eyes leered down at the phone in his hand. The maps application was pulled up, yet his phone seemed to be having trouble finding his location. The blip that was meant to represent him would appear in one place, only to have the application stutter before it needed to recalculate. He was definitely not a programmer--though he would not mind learning--but he knew this was not supposed to happen. Either he managed to screw up his phone or he was in a dead spot.

"Please be the latter," grumbling to himself, the phone was locked and shoved into his pocket. Phones were expensive, especially if he wanted one with GPS. The toe of his shoe collided with a rock in passing, and he momentarily distracted himself from his current issue by kicking the rock along. Odd eyes slowly glanced toward the leafy goat trotting at his side. Her tail tuft wiggled happily, dark eyes focused ahead. Normally, he would not travel with a Pokemon freely out, especially not one recently captured. However, the Skiddo was fairly obedient and did not run off (much), and he had bought a saddle bag the last time he was in town. She did not seem too bothered by it, and it was a great relief for his back. Only his laptop and essentials remained in his own bag while everything else was carried by the Skiddo.

Robin broke from his thoughts with the sound of a bleat, and the Skiddo picked up her speed to trot on ahead. Running his fingers through his dark hair, he glanced around to figure out where they might be. Another bleat cut off his observations before he could begin, and his attention snapped in the direction of the sound.

Skiddo merrily pranced toward a group of Pokemon--wild, as far as Robin could tell. They huddled together, wary of the approaching Skiddo. The unaware goat put on the breaks with a small puff of dust in her wake and let out another bleat, this time in greeting. "Jeez, Skiddo. You and making friends. Can't you see they're scared?" Adjusting the strap on his shoulder, Robin was slower in approaching, taking caution not to startle the Pokemon who huddled even closer together. "Huh, they're all babies."

He crouched down, placing one hand on his knee while the other reached out. "Shhh," he cooed as a whimper was heard somewhere within the group, "it's okay. I won't hurt you." A moment passed before one of the Pokemon took in a deep breath and pushed its way to the front of the group. A white spackled shell and cream spikes revealed itself, and the Togepi's lips formed a tight line with tension. Clasped in the Pokemon's small paws as some sort of stone, rough around the edges as if it had been snapped off its original body. Curiosity got the better of him, and he reached out without a moment of thought. The Togepi flinched away, taking a step back.

He paused.

He blinked.

He retracted his hand.

"Ah, sorry. Guess I can't just take stones from babies, huh? What is it?" He flashed the Pokemon a soft smile, trying to make himself seem as unthreatening as possible. Skiddo had since sat down beside him, her tail still wagging away.

Another moment passed before the Pokemon seemed to gather enough courage, and the Togepi began babbling with a mixture of chirps and cries. Robin merely nodded in mock understanding like one would to a toddler. When it was done, it tentatively held out the fragment, allowing him to take it this time. "I understood none of that." Frustration crossed the Togepi's face before it turned toward the group, rapidly babbling once more.

The group broke formation and grabbed any sturdy sticks they could find. Shallow trenches were dug into the soft dirt as they worked away, and the pair could only watch and try to understand what was happening. There was a part of him that said to just attack, get the free experience, and leave. However, there was another part of him, one that he was more willing to listen to, that told him to wait and hear them out. Or, rather, see them out. Curiosity almost always got the better of him.

His brow furrowed as the Pokemon finished their drawings, and he slowly stood for a better look. Once more, the Togepi started babbling, pointing at different drawings and making noises that he could only assume were meant to be sound effects. The Skiddo, understanding this more than Robin ever could, seemed to wilt as the story dragged on. Mismatched eyes met with black as the Togepi finished up, and he opened his mouth.

"You suck at art."

The Skiddo bleated in protest.

"But--jeez, let me finish--this seems important. I can't make out most of this, but that looks vaguely like Xerneas and Yveltal. Or maybe it's a Stantler and an ugly Pidgeot." He crouched down once more, and the majority of the group toddled off, leaving just the Togepi to stare him down. A wide grin stretched across his lips, and he held out his free hand, holding up the fragment with the other. "I don't know how much help I can be, but I can damn well try."

The tension seemed to leave the Togepi's body, though he could not tell if his words were understood or his poor body language. Or, maybe the Togepi was just reacting to the Skiddo's sudden increase in energy. Either way, he had no clue what he was getting himself into.

"So, uh, you know the way? I have no clue where we are."