I Stand Alone(Sable/Open)

[cadeyrncassidy]

Having climbed up the mountainous path for what seemed like a good few hours, he reached a part where it evened out so he could sit for a moment. Of course, unlike normal people, he chose to quite literally climb the mountain. He even had all the gear for doing so, why he did things in such an unusual manner was a mystery to anyone. Walking to a clearing that was away from the beaten path, he looked around from all sides, it was in a pretty good spot. Marking the spot, so that he could remember where it was, he would need to start bringing the necessary materials up this way.

Which unfortunately, meant he was going to have to go into the city for the proper items. Sighing slightly, he didn't feel like going to the city, a trait given to him by his Pokemon DNA. With having marked the area for his home, he began to wander and look for possible sources of wood to begin building. Keeping all of his weapons, except for his hammer, which he left in the ground as a placeholder.

The cold didn't really bother him that much either, the fur he had wrapped on his body was enough to keep himself warm. "Where oh where is a forest that is ready to be turned into lumber," he muttered quietly to himself.

[umeboshi2]

These days, nowhere was safe. The city that Sable had grown up in was becoming corrupt. Gijinka were being hunted and killed by Epispect while Team Rocket began to rise again to combat Epispect. It was a warzone... Those she had grown up with had all gone, or she just couldn't find them. That is, until she picked up a familiar scent.

Being a Gijinka, especially a feline Gijinka, had some ups and downs. An obvious down was that she could be hunted, even if her family paid good money for this DNA that coursed through her. But an upside to it was that she could track someone simply by using their scent. As she sat on the outskirts of town, looking down at what used to be her home, a scent filled her nose. It seemed familiar, but she couldn't be quite sure. Before she moved, her Gijinka senses were not honed like they were now. Back then, she could barely recognize someone from their scent. But this... she was sure she had sensed it before. So she decided to follow her nose and search for whoever was behind this scent.

As she traveled deeper into the mountains, the scent became muddled, and it became apparent that nowhere was safe. The mountains were especially rocky and treacherous, and making the climb to somewhere safe was a feat in itself. However, she followed the trail as best as she could before reaching a dead end.

The snow that began to fleck the ground started to distract her. There were lots of smells now, and she couldn't quite pinpoint where the one had gone. All she could smell now was pine and spruce.

Sable wrapped her arms around herself and sneezed. The sound echoed through the forest. It was so quiet. And so cold. Why had she even wanted to follow this faint scent, especially if she had no idea who or what it was?

[cadeyrncassidy]

He was on the way back having cut down the first tree for his plans of building a house, when he heard the sneeze. A combination of the echoing and his sharpened hearing that came with being a canine Gijinka. Raising an eyebrow, why was someone, who was probably not used to this kind of weather, traveling up this way? Grabbing the straps holding the tree, he trudged towards the source of the sound.

Upon arrival, he found someone standing in the middle of the snow, with barely anything to help with the cold. He shook his head, taking off the fur that he had been wearing, walking towards the woman and tossed it to her. "Next time you want to venture into a mountain, bring a jacket," he spoke, though the woman seemed familiar, he couldn't exactly tell why. Shaking the feeling off, he began to walk towards the spot where he left his hammer.

He tried to shake the feeling that he knew that woman, but for some reason couldn't get it out of his head. Who was she? He was pretty sure they hadn't met before, right?

[umeboshi2]

She heard the crunch of the snow as the man started walking toward her. Sable turned to glance at who it was. Upon first glance, she did not immediately recognize him. Even when he tossed her the fur, she did not recognize him. It has been years since she had seen him, after all...

But, there it was. The scent she had been tracking. It flooded into her nostrils as the air rushed around her from the flying fur coat. Her eyes closed slowly as she inhaled the scent. "I was tracking... this." The scent of whatever animal this used to be and the scent of the man were starting to get muddled and she couldn't tell which was which anymore... Any chance at remembering was ruined for the moment.

Sable stared at him for a moment, curious about how nonchalant he was being. After all, he had just given up his jacket to a complete stranger... "Hey," she called out, "What are you doing?" She started to follow him as she wrapped the fur around her shoulders. "I can help with whatever you're doing. Y'know, as payment for the jacket."

[cadeyrncassidy]

The girl seemed to be trying to study him a bit, as if she knew him or something. Not that it really mattered, why she would come up to the mountains unprepared, just made her a bit silly. Though, for the life of him, he couldn't remember why she looked familiar.

Then she made the comment of having followed his jacket, and he raised an eyebrow slightly. "You were tracking my jacket? Did it kill one of your family members and you're seeking revenge on it? If so, I need to find more clothes that can do that," cause really, who didn't want clothes that could kill people themselves? Granted, his mind was far more childish than it probably should be at the moment.

As he tried to continue on his way, the girl had followed after him, asking what he was doing. Well, no point lying about it, "I'm building a house, not many people would come to the snowy parts of the mountains." Well, there were currently two people that would apparently, but he was an exception being the crazy bastard that he was. Plus, it offered some nice seclusion from people. "Do you have an experience building a house? And it's not like you need to pay me back, I was raised to be chivalrous to a point," he shrugged. In his mind, there was nothing to pay back really.

[umeboshi2]

we grow old all at once and it comes like a punch

in the gut, in the back, in the face

As Sable followed, she made it a point to keep her eyes focused on him, but also to look down at the ground every once in a while. Having a feline affinity helped with her balance and grace, but she couldn't tell what was under the snow sometimes. Snow was unfamiliar to her and it made her rather uneasy. She tried to divert her nervousness away from the snow, and continued on with her conversation. "I was following the jacket because it smelled familiar. But the scents of the forest drowned it out pretty easily... I'm surprised I could follow it this far." She smirked at the killing clothes. "I'm not so sure I'd want a scarf that could choke me to death whenever it wanted."

Building a house in the middle of nowhere with hardly any tools or proper supplies would be quite a feat. Sable raised a brow and stared at him with a bit of disbelief. What a crazy guy! "You're going to build a house? Without a proper foundation, or pipes for plumbing? No furniture? Your house is going to suck shit." Sable had wanted to suppress her laughter, but she really couldn't. Her laughter echoed through the quiet of the forest.

"If that's what you're gonna do, then whatever. I guess I won't stop you, but I will offer my help. I guess I don't have any experience building a house, but that doesn't mean I will be useless." If he were to look back at her, or look at her at all, he'd see her wink. "Don't you for one second think I'm a dainty maiden, okay? I made it all the way up here, didn't I?"

Sable smiled proudly. She had to wonder why there was such an aversion to Gijinkas. She thought her abilities were pretty great.

[cadeyrncassidy]

The girl was an unusual one that was for sure, following the scent of his jacket? That was kind of bordering on a kind of stalker-ish statement, of course, since she mentioned scent he knew she was a Gijinka as well. As no ordinary human could have followed the smell of a jacket this far out into the mountains. "So, my jacket smelled familiar to you? What did your father wear a jacket similar to it or?" he figured it'd be at least polite to ask why it smelled familiar. She did just make one hell of a hike to come after it. "As long as I'm on their good side, I don't think I'd have anything to worry about," staying on the good side of apparel, always a fun topic.

Raising an eyebrow, he looked back at the girl as she seemed to have a comment on his house already. "I haven't even gotten started building it, what makes you think I'm not going to have any of those things?" the trick would be the plumbing really, that wasn't as big of an issue though. That's what outhouses were made for, right? "Besides, I come from a line of people that could survive without a lot of the piddly little shit people can't seem to live without nowadays."

"Well, if you're looking to make yourself useful, then fine," he turned back to see the wink, raising an eyebrow slightly. "If that's the case, then you can help by pushing the log from back there," if she wanted to be worked hard, then he had no issues with that. Pulling logs on his own wasn't going to be a fun excursion for him.

[umeboshi2]

we grow old all at once and it comes like a punch

in the gut, in the back, in the face

The more she thought about it, the more absurd following that scent became. It was hard for her to justify following it now. She pouted slightly and shrugged her shoulders in defense. "It just brought back some memories, that's all! Back when I was younger." After all, she didn't want to seem like a creeper, telling him she wasn't tracking a cologne or something. It was more of a natural scent... She shook her head and shrugged. "Guess I really am crazy."

Sable decided to stay quiet and just listen for his instruction. With a nod, she hopped down the other end of the log. "Here goes..." she muttered. She cracked her knuckles and pressed her palms against the flat end of the long piece of wood. With a heave, she pushed it a few feet... But damn, that thing was heavy. She stepped back to roll her shoulders, stretch her arms above her head, crack her neck. Then she gave it another try. She could still only roll it a few feet. She was trying to push a log uphill. This would be easier if he had wanted his house on level ground. Sable wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Guess I won't be as much of a help as I thought. I'm more agile than I am strong. Sorry bud."

[cadeyrncassidy]

Listening to her, he kind of thought about it himself before feeling somewhat stupid about his comment. She had followed the scent on it, there was no way her father's scent could be on the jacket he's had all his life. Wait...this was his jacket, so it had his scent attached to it. "You followed my scent up here?" he questioned, looking back towards her with a raised eyebrow. Why would she know who he was? Sure, she kinda looked familiar, but nothing was clicking into place. "I suppose no crazier than anyone else," he smirked slightly, a playful jab towards the woman.

When she moved behind the log, he prepared to pull as soon as he felt it move forward, so that a decent rhythm could be found. However, after the several tries she made at trying to push it, he sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, just means I have more back and forth work to do," he wasn't bothered by it, but it would have been nice to have some help with it.

"So, tell me about yourself, maybe I can help you figure things out about why you suddenly followed a scent up here," he spoke, conversation would at least make this less tedious. Something to take his mind off of the job he was trying to get done.