It didn't take but a few moments before the door had suddenly shifted open, revealing the figure of the person he had wanted to see the most. Coming home to visit wasn't that bad, but it was only bearable with a friend who you've known for such a long time. Filled with emotion, he moved forward to embrace the woman before she was ushered into the house just as quickly as the door had swung open. It was clear that she wasn't entertained by the weather as she frowned, though really it was more of an ever-present thing, bolstered by her shivering.

Ashley Lee was not a girl that you hugged without expecting her to cram her fist into your face as recompense, worsened by the puffy snow covered coat he was wearing. He was bold enough to attempt the prior, but certainly not mired down by the latter. Removing the icy clothing, he had donned rather odd clothing for the weather.

A simple white t-shirt, with a gray hoodie thrown on over top. The zipper had been all the way up but, thanks to the gloriousness of the Lee's, the heat warmed him enough to zip it down. Shaking the snow from his hair, she asked what he was doing out there - seeming even irritated.

To be honest, though, this only made him happier as he frowned before grinning wider. "My parents wanted me to come home for a bit, but there's nothing to do here. It was supposed to be nice out, though. And er, y'know," he said, blushing a bit as he pushed his fingers together, "I missed ya!" he would say suddenly, straightening out and giving her a proud smile.

If he continued to act so meekly, he was sure he'd get a scolding from her or worse. You never quite knew how she would react, but, taking the opportunity, to throw his arms up and wrap her up in a hug. Being such a short person, it always made him feel better that if only by an inch or two and a half, his friend was actually shorter than he was.

ASHLEY LEE    // Notes: d'awe // word count: 356

The disapproval that radiated off of the woman was so intense that almost anyone would have been able to feel it slapping them in their face. And yet, before she could even finish her approval of it, he began stripping the large garments that had kept him safe from the elements but a few minutes ago. At the mention of releasing his Pokemon, he paused to consider it since he had already let Momo out. Though she was still resting comfortably around his neck, he didn't think it was fair to keep the rest cooped up.

Considering whether or not he should, he stopped to marvel at the Lee household as amazing as it ever was. He had known Ashley for a long time but, for some reason, she had waited a rather long time before letting him into her home. He didn't ask or pry about her personal affairs, at the time he barely knew her family though that could still be said. Her parents were nice enough people, at least to the boy, and apparently, she had a brother named Kyle that Alceides had never met as well. But despite that, when he was finally allowed in, he couldn't help the pang of jealousy compared to the shack he was used to.

"Yeah, it's been forever! I have so much to tell you! Some awesome, some...well, yeah. I hope you have stuff for me, too!" the boy gushed, excited that he finally got time to talk to his friend as they headed toward the couch.

Moving the Zoroark off of the couch, apparently, he was named Jester, she made room for him and happily plopped down and waited until everyone situated once more. Momo, finally roused from her slumber and apparently feeling mischievous, went to play inside the Zoroark's hair earning an irritated sigh from the boy who caught himself and concentrated on his friend instead.

It had apparently been a bit too long since the two diverged on their differing paths. From a young age, Ashley was league bound and determined to fight her way to the top while Alc...well he liked to do stuff with Pokemon at least. That's where they had left one another and, aside from the update texts here and there, they had not caught up much. That much was evident when he gazed at the Pokemon that she was surrounded with. Her starter had evolved, and the rest of the Pokemon in the room were all evolved as well - if they could be. Medicham, Luxray, Donphan, Zoroark, and even a Mawile were lounging around the family room.

He couldn't tell before, but now he was sure that she had made strides and bounds and he envied her progress. If he was as strong as she was, maybe he could've...

Shaking the negative thoughts away, determined to enjoy their reunion, he released his ragtag group of misfits to play. Slowpoke immediately trotted over to Donphan, feeling a sort of kinship with the ground-type whereas Seviper slunk over to Mawile loving the way she rocked the extra head. Vulpix, too timid to participate, jumped back into his arms to be coddled which earned a giggle from Buizel who moved to sit with Medicham.

She had asked how his journey was going, but he didn't exactly know where to even begin. So much stuff had happened to him in the course of such a small time, he wanted to skip straight to the main points but didn't want to forget any of the fun stuff.

"Well, for one thing, I finally decided what I want to do! It's Contests! I mean, I might try my hand at a gym one day, but I want to become the Contest King!" he declared, grinning with excitement at his announcement. For too long he had slumped around indecisive about his future, but it wasn't like that any longer.

"I've met a lot of awesome people that helped me decide that, but the biggest factor was..." he trailed off, not wanting to get into the darker stuff just yet. Changing the topics, he decided to inform her of another aspect.

"I met a cool ranger named Fred who, well, he didn't help me decide to be a Ranger, unfortunately. But he was an awesome teacher and big brother! And then there was this really evil woman who I met in a cave, but it turned out that she wasn't so bad after all. She was actually kind of sweet, kind of like you," he said intending for it to sound like a compliment, even smiling, before continuing on.

"There's more, but first, how have things been for you?! I see you're definitely on your way to becoming champ with a team like this, nice friggin' going!"

ASHLEY LEE    // Notes: the gush // word count: 797

As Alceides was taking in the sight of Ash's team, impressed with their growth considering when they just started she had only a little Meditite. She had the same idea in mind and seemed to be glancing at his own team, clearly impressed when her gaze stopped on his Seviper. He was also enthralled by her beauty, so he was somewhat smug when he could see how much she wanted her. Everything in her mind seemed to freeze when she looked to the Vulpix cradled within his arms. When she asked if it was deformed, concerned over why it wasn't vermilion the boy burst out into a fit of laughter.

It wasn't that her question was stupid, it was just that his reaction had been the exact same. The first time he saw one, and even the second time when he received it in a trade.

"Ahaha, right?! That's what I said! Apparently, this is an alolan variation of a Vulpix. I guess over there they tend to be born in mountains so they're actually ice-types! I got this in a trade, I actually caught a Gible that I wanted to show you," he reminisced, recalling how excited he had been when the dragon-type had popped up for him.

"What?! Did you run into one of their Marowak's? You're so lucky, I wish I could've seen it. Strange markings and weird fires, uff!" he called out, eyes glittering with excitement as he attempted to picture such a scene. He wanted to make a trip out there one day, but that was after he accomplished his mountain of goals.

He could only smile sheepishly and rub the back of his head as his friend's face scrunched up in direct response to his usual babbling. He couldn't help it, there were very few people he could open up to so when he was with them he - got a bit extra. Nodding enthusiastically as she mentioned that their respective journeys were progressing, he allowed an odd moment of silence as she sighed in happiness sinking into the couch. It wasn't often that the boy ceased his talking, but it was only because of the vortex of thoughts that comprised his mind at the moment.

"I was so indecisive about it for so long, so it felt good to finally start striving toward a goal. Wandering aimlessly, it felt...wrong," he confessed, smiling as she noted that she put her team 'through the wringer'. Well, that was putting it lightly.

"I wish you were there with me, that night. I was having so much fun, it was great! But then it all blew up in my face, 'cause I'm not as strong as you," he vented, slowly releasing the topic he wanted to confide in her with the most.

If there was anyone who wouldn't look at her in contempt, who could see why he did what he did - it would have to be her. His chest tightened with emotion, the boy inept at hiding his feelings. Even if he tried, his face gave him away like a foul traitor. He tried to remember why he didn't ask her to go with him, probably due to his hasty nature. Like he said, a lot of people had influenced him to become a Coordinator but the centerpiece could only be explained by telling her the whole story.

ASHLEY LEE // Notes: the drama // word count: 561

He both longed for and hated this moment, the boy couldn't deny the urge to dump his soul out to her. It had been revealed that they were both there, but that wasn't what he had meant at all. He had wanted her there on the same floor as him, a comrade in a sea of contempt. But he didn't want to burden her with his bothersome issues and, honestly, would've retained that mindset had his friend not been so comforting.

He wasn't tough by any standard and if anything, he was probably akin to a doll. He put out the toughest front that he could, always hoping that the best would happen - all the while taking all the anger and sadness and locking it up tight. He didn't want to bother anyone, he wanted to be helpful. The tears that welled up in his eyes at her instance of an explanation were quickly wiped away, a quick sniffle as he gathered himself.

A moment later, though wistful, he smiled at her as an attempt to assuage her worry a bit. He was the one who worried about others, so he never knew how to react when Ashley showed her rarer tender side. A part of him felt guilty even revealing his pitiful antics to her, worried about how she'd think of him after. The majority of him believed, no it knew, that she would always be there for him. But the part of him that had been tainted by doubt was far louder.

"Bad choice of words, I uh, I assume you know the majority of what went down back at Madatsubomi on the other floors," he took a deep breath, before reviewing the common information that the two had shared. He had known that she went through her own deal of trials in the floors above, but he had refrained from mentioning what he could of the first floor's doing.

"I tried not to talk about it much but...that dead Vulpix that was killed in the tower before it fell? That was my fault, it's basically why I have her, hah," he laughed, self-deprecating, as he lifted his own Vulpix for a point.

"The Contest Queen, Anastasia. She picked me out of the crowd for her battle, and I really looked up to her! She was brilliant Ash, I wish you would've seen the way she countered me! But..." he spoke loudly at first, obviously caught up in the moment, remembering it perfectly even down to the tempo, before slowing and growing quiet.

He thought of several ways to phrase it, worried about how it would sound or how he would sound before he decided to just be as honest as he could. In both what he wanted to say and what he wanted from her.

"When the Virus stuff started, I...I didn't back down. To put me in my place, or show me how weak I was, probably even both," he couldn't look at her in the eyes, instead glancing at the fur on the back of Cassandra.

"I already knew it, y'know? That it was my fault. He didn't have to say it, but that's not what bothered me, Ashley, it was the looks they gave me. I tried to get them to help me, to join me, but nobody moved and the looks in the eyes of everyone afterward..."

"Did I do the right thing, Ashley? I know I'm not the smartest, and I jump into things without thinking about it much...but I couldn't just sit back and let them do what they wanted, right? Or...is that just an excuse, from the weak?" he swapped back and forth between talking to himself and the woman, slowly becoming unwound the more he spoke.

Joyous and optimistic, a bit naive and definitely too nice the boy could often be described as simple. And he really was simple, that's why this small form of resistance had him so shaken. He honestly believed that if he lived his life following his beliefs then it would just work out, never being defeated so soundly both tactically and socially.

ASHLEY LEE // Notes: the drama // word count: 688