[u][b][center][h2]Lavaridge Town[/h2][/center][/b][/u][quote]

"And that's the public springs, with the hot sand baths and Pokémon spa. Old people say the sand helps their bones." Keoni smiled. Asuna had decided that he was getting a tour of the town today, whether he liked it or not. She'd kept up a constant stream of commentary, and that was a comfort. She'd proved that she was never quiet, unless she was up to something or wanted something to be up her.

"Isn't it weird, living under that?" He pointed at Mount Chimney. True to.its name, the red-rocked mountain hadn't stopped smoking since he arrived. He'd even felt an earth tremor last night, though circumstances had made it a little difficult to ask if it really had been the earth shaking. "At home, that's when we start calling people to the centres."

"Groudon's grumpy, but he doesn't cause trouble," Asuna explained. "As long as there's smoke and a little shaking he's still asleep and we don't have to worry. If he wakes up, then we have to run, because there won't be any lava until the land meets the coast. You wanna go up to the top?" Without hearing his answer, she'd already begun pulling him to the cable car. "You can look at the lava and see all the way to Rustboro or Verdanturf. I was really lucky one day and saw the Mirage Tower!"

Keoni let himself be dragged. After all, he'd gone up Lanakila hundreds of times. This smokey mountain was smaller. And she was going to the cable car. And she was quiet... "Asuna, there better not be something weird on top of the mountain." 

She paid the attendant, and they were on board shortly after. "This is old and creaky," Asuna told him, settling down on a bench next to him. "In the tourist season, they get rangers to come up and grease the cords, make sure the trolley runs smoothly. This time of year the car gets stuck sometimes, which means most people take the trail. And there's Pokémon on the trail too, so you get a lot of trainers. But here we get a nice view and privacy." She then kissed him, in such a way that made no secret of which of the two she preferred.

Though Keoni found himself hoping the car would get stuck, the old machine gainfully rolled all the way to the top. Asuna grumbled something obscene, pulling her shirt back down. Not that it helped much. It barely touched her bellybutton. She stood, and Keoni followed. "That way's the caldera. It's always got lava in it but sometimes the level goes up and down. We can go there first." Keoni nodded. "Some trainers come up here, so put your gauntlet in your pocket."

They made their way to the edge, noticing more than a few other couples up here. More than a few others had gauntlets around their wrists. But Keoni had better things on his mind than a battle. Asuna leaned against him as he leaned against the safety rail, and that made up for anything. "And this never cools?" Keoni asked. Back home, a volcano like this would be black, with all the lava long cooled to glass, dugtrio hair or stone. But here, it just kept bubbling. A sizzle sounded as an errant water-type attack evaporated against the heat.

"Look!" Asuna grabbed his arm, pointing to the far side of the caldera. "Slugma! They swim in the lava, like those colourful pokemon with three eyes you showed me on the beach. They're almost invisible down there, but you can sometimes..." She leaned forward, looking down into the caldera, "sometimes see the magcargo shells. Little black rocks floating in the fire." 

Honestly, Keoni had more of an eye for her than any gastrodon made of lava. The wind coming off the caldera blew her red hair back from her face, making it dance. After about five minutes, she caught her hair and noticed him staring. "Oops," He said, kissing her cheek.

"You're supposed to help me look for magcargo!" She punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Didn't you look at me enough last night? You certainly had a lot to see."

Keoni grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an embrace. "A whole lifetime isn't enough time to spend looking at you," He said. She blushed a little, and returned his kiss in the proper way.

"You are very, very charming," she murmured, walking fingers up his chest. "And very, very handsome. And very, very good at making me want you." They stood there with their lips locked for what felt like forever, but really had to be about five minutes. This time, it was Keoni who paid for the car back to town, and the machine valiantly rolled its way down.

Asuna was in a sullen mood at the cable car's performance, and grumbled under her breath all the way home. The occasional word would drift up to Keoni's ears; "boyfriend", "hands", "shake" and "good" along with a smattering of pronouns and explicit anatomical descriptions. By the time they got home, Keoni had very little patience left as well.

"Where've you two been?" Mr Mura called when they entered the house. "You're moving, Keoni. We need the guest room for Mauville victims."

Keoni opened his mouth, but Asuna interrupted, "He can sleep in my be-" she stopped herself halfway under her grandfather's stare, "room. Bedroom, and we have a spare mattress for him, and he knows how to make a good pillow from clothes and it will be perfectly fine, we wouldn't dream of-"

Keoni put a hand over her mouth. "Mauville isn't contagious, is it, sir?" He felt Asuna start giggling against him, and her grandfather managed just a subtle smile. 

"Mauville is the town south of here, Keoni. We're hosting some of the invalids that got caught in the bomb blast," He explained. 

Asuna wiggled her mouth free. "We're going to wash off by the spring," she declared, pulling Keoni by his hand.