Obvious exits:
East <E> leads to Nine-Tails Breeding Center.
South <S> leads to Big Riddle Inn.
West <W> leads to Cinnabar Caves - Steam Cave.
Down <D> leads to Cinnabar Island: Steaming Tunnel.
North <N> leads to Cinnabar Island: Hiking Path.

Strife arrives from Cinnabar Island: Hiking Path.
Strife has arrived.

Oranges, reds, and golds light the fair weather clouds, shadowed in purple, around the setting sun. A soft breeze blows from the west. In the forest, the wind rustles the bright green leaves of trees and bushes and carries Oddish pollen, downy seeds, and the fragrance of wildflowers along with it. While at the coast, the ocean is a deep cool blue today, the waves lapping at the coast gently under the pleasant spring sky.

Mm, it's a lovely sunset. Pleasent, and calm... who would want to miss this? The small puppy from Cinnabar, Peppy, probably would. From the looks of the dog, it seems as though he'd rather be sleeping than anything else - his eyes hang, but compared to the rest of his drooping body, they seem pretty awake. He looks like he hasn't gotten any sleep in... heck, days. Looks almost like a zombie. However, patiently he stays, sitting on his rump, front limbs in front of him, apparently waiting for someone. Hmmm.

A lovely sunset? Strife ignores it. The rain ultimatly held him back yesterday, but now it is calm and he walks down the path with his hands plunged into his pockets. This time, there are no Pokemon following him. They're all quite safely tucked inside their Pokeballs. Strife looks around for Peppy, his eyes tired. But not as tired as Peppy's.

The dog doesn't notice Strife, although that could very darn well be the reason he's so tired. Waiting for the man? Ha. His sleepy eyes glance to the side, then forward again. There's one thing to notice - he's not lying down. That either means he's not hungry, or he'd be tempted to go to sleep if he were to lay down. Maybe both.

Strife notices Peppy. "Dog?" he asks, looking down at the Pokemon and blinking. He coughs, and kneels down a bit. "Peppy?" he asks, rubbing the back of his head. Something's wrong here...

Blink. In surprise, Peppy intakes a quick blast of air and jumps a bit, obviously startled. "Growlithe!" He barks in surprise, before realizing just who the person is. <You're that man...> The pup says, still a little startles. Quietly, the pup settles back down into his original position, but this time, looking at Strife. <I'm awake.> He woofs quietly. As if Strife couldn't notice.

Strife nods. "I noticed," he says dryly. The man looks back and forth, and coughs a bit. "You look kind of tired, though." Maybe there's something physically wrong with the dog's sleeping patterns? Or maybe he just quit sleeping altogether? Nah, that couldn't be it.

Actually, that is it. Weird, weird dog. <Yes, I am. Very tired.> If anything, just talking about it seems to make the canine look even more sleepy. A small sign of life, a little smile, and a weak tail wag, and a quiet, <I didn't want to sleep, because of what you said.> Aw...

Strife blinks, his face looking a bit surprised. After a moment, he regains composure, and coughs a bit. "You know, you have to sleep sometimes. Just not.. all the time." The man looks around, and gives a soft sort of shrug. "Or you will be too tired to find food or your trainer or anything."

Food. Mm. The pup's tongue struggles to not hang out a bit. <I found lots of food, just like you said.> The dog says with a grin. Apparently, he seems kind of... *proud*... for staying awake so long. <I didn't want...> He pauses here to yawn loudly. <... for you to come back and see me sleeping. So I didn't sleep.> And it's been... what, three days? Four days?

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze ... so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving)

Strife smiles, and then blinks and straightens his face. No smiling. He coughs, and stands up. "Well, I, uh..." he stutters, unsure what to say. "You needn't do this for me, but do it for yourself. And you have done quite well, and surprised me." He hrms a bit. "But.. I do not mind if you sleep. You should just try to keep it from six to eight hours a day." He thinks. This is not normally something people have to worry about, unless they have a sleep problem, they don't eat enough, or they're just lazy and don't exersize activly enough.

Believe it or not, the pup looks... a little depressed. <Oh.> He was really kind of looking forward to being able to sleep for as long as he wanted after this, as long as he stayed awake for these few days. Still, the comments do reach the pup's fuzzy ears, and he gives a little tail wag. He did well? It's not as good as, say, a scritch and a hug for doing so well, but ya know? He'll take any affection right now. <Thanks.> The pup pauses for a moment as he ponders over Strife's 'keep-it-from-six-to-eight-hours-a-day. He can't exactly count as high as six or eight, but, he kind of gets the point. <Can I sleep a little longer than that? Just a little bit?> The last part is more like a plea. Maybe he had overheard someone mentioning how long *they* slept, and figured he slepts a little more? Who knows?

Strife blinks. "Well," he says. "Maybe a little more. But it's best to sleep during the night, and be awake around the time the sun is just above the treeline." He points to the setting sun. "And then you fall asleep when it hits the other treeline."

Peppy glances at the sun. His tail wags a bit - ahh, a sunset. Pretty. Makes him... eh, tired. He glances up at Strife curiously, opens his mouth to woof something, then closes it. A hesitation. Then, a tired, little request... <Can I sleep just a little longer tonight?> He rolls his head a bit. Is he, like, losing conciousness? Probably dizzy from lack of sleep or something. <I'm... really... really tired...>

Strife nods. "This one night, yes," he concedes, crossing his arms lazily. "You have earned it, I suppose." He looks around. "You should be safe this close to the town," he mutters quietly, looking towards the touristy area. Huh. Wonder what he's thinking.

This is, perhaps, the first time since he's been down here that he's cared about something more than getting home. Right now, if offered the option of going home right now or falling asleep right now, he would take the latter. <Thanks...> He arfs quietly, struggling to stay awake even more. <I'll find lots of food tommorow... there was a lot here today.> He must've had plenty of time to look, having stayed awake for a full 72 hours.

Strife frowns, the Right Thing tugging at him. "And maybe I'll take you back then, too," he mutters quietly to himself, not intending the puppy to hear his words. The man looks at Peppy for a moment, watching him kind of drift off.

Peppy doesn't hear a thing. For all he knows, Strife is absolutely silent. Heck, for all Peppy knows, the man is already gone. His eyelids finally give in, and the pup just kind of tumbles to the ground, landing on his belly, paws out in front of him. His tail rests peacefully on the ground, and... ahh, sleep. What a beautiful thing.

Strife coughs a bit more, looking at the sleeping Growlithe. Then the man in dark looks upwards at the sky, shaking his head. "This week..." he mutters to himself, beginning to walk back down the road. He almost feels sorry he doesn't have.. a blanket or something. Almost.

Peppy stirs a little bit, but is for the most part motionless. Usually, when the pup sleeps, he'll move some, or sometimes even talk in his sleep, but apparently, not this time. He is one hundred percent tuckered out.