It was kind of funny to think that this little creature had managed to go get themselves drunk. Donnie tried very hard to suppress a laugh.
"Huh? Oh! Well...you did get a communications device, right? And a...bubble bracelet- I don't know if they actually renamed that to something better but anyway..."
He shook his head. "I imagine it'd be a little cumbersome for you to try to carry around something like a tablet though."
"A-A communication device?" Poinsettia managed to crane their head around, their face lighting up upon seeing a black device placed on their back.
"Oh! That was what it was?" Poinsettia said, their eyes wide. They then looked down at their paws, and realized that they had something that Donnie (or at least the ship's crew of robotic beasts) called a "bubble bracelet".
"No wonder the r-robots who work here were tossing me around when I first got here," Poinsettia looked to the side sheepishly. "I panicked and I ended up running away . . . maybe I should go in and apologize to them for causing them trouble once we call my roommate and get the garden set up. I wouldn't be super surprised if they were still looking for me to see if I was OK."
Poinsettia then tried to rotate around to reach the communication device on their back, but to no avail.
"I-I can't reach, Donnie," Poinsettia puffed out their cheeks in defeat. "Do you think you can type in his frequency number into the device so I can call him? I have the frequency number ready."
"I'm sure they've dealt with worse. I've seen some pretty varying reactions from those that pop up through the Bridge since I help Soundwave in there sometimes," Donnie dismissed, waving a hand. "Being greeted by giant metal robot people can be a lot to process. Here."
He stooped down to pick the tablet up, stroking his chin as he looked at Poinsettia in consideration.
"Some kind of bag, maybe...? You are not the most aerodynamic shape so anything you carry this in might be a little awkward. Not to mention the lack of hands. -well, at least I can fix that much."
Donnie sat himself down on the floor, tapping at the screen as he navigated through options. "Here we go. Voice set up. I need you to provide a vocal sample so that it will respond only to commands from you. Then that way, you won't have to worry about typing things. And when you want to contact someone, you can either just say 'call' whoever, and it should automatically do the rest." He tapped a button, a little light on the device blinking red as he held it up towards the Pokémon.
"So I've heard," Poinsettia said, nodding along slowly. "Sometimes, I tend to pass by that room containing the portal thing and I would usually hear about other people in passing."
Poinsettia almost jumped when Donatello crouched down to her level, but settled when he began setting things up on his tablet. It's hard not to blame him for saying that they weren't the most aerodynamic in their Land Forme. It was no wonder they had no idea the communication device was placed onto their back until now!
Upon seeing the red light blink active, Poinsettia instantly froze, near speechless as they stared into the light. But after registering the rest of Donnie's talk about setting up voice commands to their communication device, Poinsettia cleared their throat awkwardly and provided a voice sample as requested.
The turtle went about the rest of the setup without comment, but it was relatively easy from there and took no time at all.
"That should do it. All that you need to do is specify the command for what you want to do, like I mentioned earlier. Or you can view directory, or see network posts.... Er. Can you even read?"
Poinsettia whetted their lips nervously. For the first time ever, someone has asked them a rather peculiar question. And of all the questions Donnie could’ve asked them … it was if they knew how to read.
Now that’s something really worth considering. Sure, they can speak, but does it really matter if they can read or not? They may be able to say anything, but can they actually read anything?
Poinsettia attempted to recall any instances of them reading anything to no avail.
Despondently, they had no choice but to admit the following sentence:
“Donnie, would you be extremely upset if I told you that I have never read anything in my entire life? Compared to all the other people who are vastly bigger than I am, I’m just a little creature, so how would I be able to read anything at all?”
Or at least two sentences, that is. Poinsettia would understandably be unsurprised if Donnie was able to find and point out the irony of it all.
Honestly, Donnie would have been more surprised if Poinsettia said they could read. He blinked at the hesitation. It wasn't necessarily a difficult question to answer, so far as he was concerned.
The Shaymin asked if he'd be upset, and he blinked again.
"No? I mean... I figured I should ask because hey, if you speak then maybe there was the off-chance that you could read too." He shrugged, not seeming terribly bothered either way. "In any case, given this is not so, I'll just set the audio options so it'll say what each selection is when you tap it. You can do that much at least."
His black claws clicked gently against the screen as he input the settings, then set the tablet down in front of Poinsettia. "That should do it. Now you can call your friend, and I'll go grab something to make into a carry harness for this," he said as he pushed back up onto his feet.
Poinsettia understandably let out a sigh of relief, but kept her face tense for a short while.
Frankly, they weren't even supposed to talk as a simple critter of humble origins. But ever since they came out of the Space Bridge, suddenly being able to talk was now something they can do out of nowhere. It wouldn't be surprising if some of the more scientific people on board started looking into that matter.
"I-I mean, I can write," Poinsettia piped up in a soft-spoken tone, "but I have a feeling that I might be spelling and writing a lot of things wrong, so I will see by the next time I go into your room, my reading skills would've been improved by now."
Upon seeing the tablet be set down in front of them, Poinsettia spoke a command to the tablet to call in their room-mate.
Not that Donnie knew that speaking wasn't a normal thing for such creatures as the Shaymin. And being around a dimension full of giant races that otherwise looked like many Earth creatures, it just seemed like more beings could talk than...not.
"Well it's not like I'm grading you or anything," he snickered, giving Poinsettia space. Turning, the the panels of his battle shell opened up to reveal the jet boosters tucked within, and with a flare of magenta light, he took off towards the second level where he and his brothers made their living space.
Takes place after Poinsettia's voicemail message to Silver Justice (linked)
Once they have completed recording their message to Silver Justice's inbox , Poinsettia quietly hung up from the voice messaging system and then looked up at Donatello, who was now on the second level of his dorm.
"Thank you so much for the help, Donnie," Poinsettia called out to the turtlely boy, the flowers sprouting out of their grass-like fur in response to their own gratitude towards him. "If it hadn't been for you, I'll still be struggling a lot with technology."
Then, after a brief moment of pondering, their face lit up brightly, "Ah, and I almost forgot! I just left my roommate a voicemail and if he ever calls back, I'll let you know about the details so we can start building up that garden!"
"And besides . . ." Poinsettia spoke out a voice command for the time, and blinked back in surprise, "it's getting late, and I should get back soon . . . but thank you so much again! Is there anything I can do for you in return before I go back to my dorm?"
"Hm? Oh, you done?" Donnie glanced over the edge. "One second-"
He ducked back out of sight briefly before abruptly dropping down off the ledge without warning, his battle shell's jets once again kicking in just in time to slow him from falling. Feet settled on the floor once more, he walked over to Poinsettia, holding something that looked like a long-sleeved shirt. It was a lilac hue and weirdly enough, decorated in beads and lace.
"No probbles!" he assured, picking up the conversation. "That's what I'm here for. Anything to make it easier for people to use tech. Or tech to make things easier for people!" He grinned, giving the little creature a thumbs up. "Sounds good though."
He shook out the shirt, glancing between it and the Shaymin. "You know, you're the only one I've ever heard referring to these rooms as dorms," he chuckled. "Hang on, I just need to... Well, I guess making it adjustable will be better overall."
Donnie folded the shirt over, at which point it just no longer was a shirt. Like some kind of magic trick (which he would absolutely despise the comparison to), the shirt had simply been changed into a sort of sling bag with a clear panel so the tablet could still be seen, and a flap to cover it. Its color matched the darker pinks of the flowers blooming at the sides of Poinsettia's head.
"Here, this should help with the tablet situation," he said as he stooped down, holding it out in silent offer to help slip it on. He'd slide the tablet inside after. "The top of the covering flap has a short strap you can pull to open it when you need to take the tablet out, but otherwise it should be able to respond to commands."
Poinsettia observantly watched as Donnie landed gracefully onto the floor. It's not surprising that a turtle as smart as the Pokémon professors back at home would retrofit his shell into a personal jetpack, and it's especially admirable with how skillful he is for his age. He certainly has a lot of potential in the future!
They then hobbled over to Donnie and let him slip on the custom-made sling bag onto their body. Once the tablet was inserted into the clear pocket, Poinsettia's eyes sparkled as they tested out the strap.
"Donnie, you made this for me?" Poinsettia was honestly surprised that the flowers were still up on their fur, especially after Donnie helped them out on getting that bag on. But regardless, Donnie isn't just someone they have met on board, but also a very grateful, kind, and super helpful friend.
"I — th-thank you, Donnie," Poinsettia said, almost tearing up with joy, "I'll be sure to treasure your gift as long as long as I am here!"
Ugh his reputation!! His emotionally unavailable bad boy image! -which... probably no one was even aware he had ever been trying to strive for.
But he was not psychic, so remained blissfully unaware of these potentially damaging opinions that would harm his otherwise nonexistent image.
In fact, he grinned, looking quite pleased that Poinsettia was so happy with the bag. It was a simple fix, really, and seemed only reasonable to make something more suitable for a creature without hands or pockets. And okay, sometimes Amalgamous Prime's dumb power did come in handy. ...okay, a lot of the time, but he'd never admit it because that'd be admitting that that awful Prime gave him something useful.
"You're welcome," he said, although his expression wavered a touch. 'As long as I'm here', huh. He forced a smile back into place, giving Poinsettia a nod as he stood up again.
"I'll keep the flowers for you until you're ready to set up a garden," he promised.
Poinsettia noticed the way Donnie's facial expression waver for a slight moment. It made them worry for him, especially with how young he is to be living on his own without any parents to protect him. He was very lucky to have his siblings with him.
But then —
Oh.
Oh.
It all makes sense now. Not only do they have no family or friends from their own world and species to stay close to, but their small size made them more vulnerable to those who are more than happy to step all over them. Now they can't have that, could they? Especially with all the crew-mates they have met and befriended so far.
With that in mind, Poinsettia carefully notes to be sure that they don't make any of them worry.
"I can sense that you worry about me a lot given how small I am, Donnie," they addressed the young turtle boy, "and I'll be sure to keep myself safe so we can hang out together more often!"
Poinsettia then walked up to the doors, but not before turning around to face Donnie once more.
"And thank you so much for helping me out, I really appreciate the effort you go through in helping others out. The Professors back at home would love to meet you if they ever come here some day."
Well, that was a fair concern too, although admittedly the last thing on Donnie's list. Strangely enough he didn't really factor in size as something to feel constantly threatened by, or at least it didn't rank very high on the scale. The big guys were more careful than one might think.
He was just more bothered by the fact that any of their presences could just suddenly vanish without notice. People came and went and sometimes you didn't even know right away until you checked the directory to find the list slightly shorter than last you remembered. It was even harder to miss when a brother was no longer aboard, a brother who was connected to you, just like all your brothers, and especially when that mystic connection had been newly established, it made the absence that much more obvious then. But Raph had disappeared a long time ago, and Donnie still had Leo and Mikey, and he obsessively made sure their trackers were still picking up, at least several times a day.
"Y-yeah, you do that." Donnie plastered a smile on his face, following Poinsettia to see them out. It was a pretty long way to the door after all.
"I'm sure they'd have a lot more things to process if any of them ever came here, but I'd be happy to meet with them if any of them did." Would he be seen as a fellow colleague or another curiosity? He was getting so used to being treated like a normal existence around here.
Poinsettia tipped their head at Donnie, now smiling brightly at him.
"I guess the same thing can go for you too, Donnie. May you and your family stay well, safe, and happy."
Then, they stepped out of the dorm room and into the hallways.
The next time they meet and cross paths again, they ought to talk to Donnie some time soon! Whoever he is, Donnie is definitely someone they can really trust deep down!
no subject
"Huh? Oh! Well...you did get a communications device, right? And a...bubble bracelet- I don't know if they actually renamed that to something better but anyway..."
He shook his head. "I imagine it'd be a little cumbersome for you to try to carry around something like a tablet though."
no subject
"Oh! That was what it was?" Poinsettia said, their eyes wide. They then looked down at their paws, and realized that they had something that Donnie (or at least the ship's crew of robotic beasts) called a "bubble bracelet".
"No wonder the r-robots who work here were tossing me around when I first got here," Poinsettia looked to the side sheepishly. "I panicked and I ended up running away . . . maybe I should go in and apologize to them for causing them trouble once we call my roommate and get the garden set up. I wouldn't be super surprised if they were still looking for me to see if I was OK."
Poinsettia then tried to rotate around to reach the communication device on their back, but to no avail.
"I-I can't reach, Donnie," Poinsettia puffed out their cheeks in defeat. "Do you think you can type in his frequency number into the device so I can call him? I have the frequency number ready."
no subject
He stooped down to pick the tablet up, stroking his chin as he looked at Poinsettia in consideration.
"Some kind of bag, maybe...? You are not the most aerodynamic shape so anything you carry this in might be a little awkward. Not to mention the lack of hands. -well, at least I can fix that much."
Donnie sat himself down on the floor, tapping at the screen as he navigated through options. "Here we go. Voice set up. I need you to provide a vocal sample so that it will respond only to commands from you. Then that way, you won't have to worry about typing things. And when you want to contact someone, you can either just say 'call' whoever, and it should automatically do the rest." He tapped a button, a little light on the device blinking red as he held it up towards the Pokémon.
no subject
Poinsettia almost jumped when Donatello crouched down to her level, but settled when he began setting things up on his tablet. It's hard not to blame him for saying that they weren't the most aerodynamic in their Land Forme. It was no wonder they had no idea the communication device was placed onto their back until now!
Upon seeing the red light blink active, Poinsettia instantly froze, near speechless as they stared into the light. But after registering the rest of Donnie's talk about setting up voice commands to their communication device, Poinsettia cleared their throat awkwardly and provided a voice sample as requested.
Hopefully, that will do for now.
no subject
"That should do it. All that you need to do is specify the command for what you want to do, like I mentioned earlier. Or you can view directory, or see network posts.... Er. Can you even read?"
That seemed like an important thing to establish.
no subject
Poinsettia whetted their lips nervously. For the first time ever, someone has asked them a rather peculiar question. And of all the questions Donnie could’ve asked them … it was if they knew how to read.
Now that’s something really worth considering. Sure, they can speak, but does it really matter if they can read or not? They may be able to say anything, but can they actually read anything?
Poinsettia attempted to recall any instances of them reading anything to no avail.
Despondently, they had no choice but to admit the following sentence:
“Donnie, would you be extremely upset if I told you that I have never read anything in my entire life? Compared to all the other people who are vastly bigger than I am, I’m just a little creature, so how would I be able to read anything at all?”
Or at least two sentences, that is. Poinsettia would understandably be unsurprised if Donnie was able to find and point out the irony of it all.
no subject
The Shaymin asked if he'd be upset, and he blinked again.
"No? I mean... I figured I should ask because hey, if you speak then maybe there was the off-chance that you could read too." He shrugged, not seeming terribly bothered either way. "In any case, given this is not so, I'll just set the audio options so it'll say what each selection is when you tap it. You can do that much at least."
His black claws clicked gently against the screen as he input the settings, then set the tablet down in front of Poinsettia. "That should do it. Now you can call your friend, and I'll go grab something to make into a carry harness for this," he said as he pushed back up onto his feet.
no subject
Frankly, they weren't even supposed to talk as a simple critter of humble origins. But ever since they came out of the Space Bridge, suddenly being able to talk was now something they can do out of nowhere. It wouldn't be surprising if some of the more scientific people on board started looking into that matter.
"I-I mean, I can write," Poinsettia piped up in a soft-spoken tone, "but I have a feeling that I might be spelling and writing a lot of things wrong, so I will see by the next time I go into your room, my reading skills would've been improved by now."
Upon seeing the tablet be set down in front of them, Poinsettia spoke a command to the tablet to call in their room-mate.
no subject
"Well it's not like I'm grading you or anything," he snickered, giving Poinsettia space. Turning, the the panels of his battle shell opened up to reveal the jet boosters tucked within, and with a flare of magenta light, he took off towards the second level where he and his brothers made their living space.
Takes place after Poinsettia's voicemail message to Silver Justice (linked)
"Thank you so much for the help, Donnie," Poinsettia called out to the turtlely boy, the flowers sprouting out of their grass-like fur in response to their own gratitude towards him. "If it hadn't been for you, I'll still be struggling a lot with technology."
Then, after a brief moment of pondering, their face lit up brightly, "Ah, and I almost forgot! I just left my roommate a voicemail and if he ever calls back, I'll let you know about the details so we can start building up that garden!"
"And besides . . ." Poinsettia spoke out a voice command for the time, and blinked back in surprise, "it's getting late, and I should get back soon . . . but thank you so much again! Is there anything I can do for you in return before I go back to my dorm?"
no subject
He ducked back out of sight briefly before abruptly dropping down off the ledge without warning, his battle shell's jets once again kicking in just in time to slow him from falling. Feet settled on the floor once more, he walked over to Poinsettia, holding something that looked like a long-sleeved shirt. It was a lilac hue and weirdly enough, decorated in beads and lace.
"No probbles!" he assured, picking up the conversation. "That's what I'm here for. Anything to make it easier for people to use tech. Or tech to make things easier for people!" He grinned, giving the little creature a thumbs up. "Sounds good though."
He shook out the shirt, glancing between it and the Shaymin. "You know, you're the only one I've ever heard referring to these rooms as dorms," he chuckled. "Hang on, I just need to... Well, I guess making it adjustable will be better overall."
Donnie folded the shirt over, at which point it just no longer was a shirt. Like some kind of magic trick (which he would absolutely despise the comparison to), the shirt had simply been changed into a sort of sling bag with a clear panel so the tablet could still be seen, and a flap to cover it. Its color matched the darker pinks of the flowers blooming at the sides of Poinsettia's head.
"Here, this should help with the tablet situation," he said as he stooped down, holding it out in silent offer to help slip it on. He'd slide the tablet inside after. "The top of the covering flap has a short strap you can pull to open it when you need to take the tablet out, but otherwise it should be able to respond to commands."
no subject
They then hobbled over to Donnie and let him slip on the custom-made sling bag onto their body. Once the tablet was inserted into the clear pocket, Poinsettia's eyes sparkled as they tested out the strap.
"Donnie, you made this for me?" Poinsettia was honestly surprised that the flowers were still up on their fur, especially after Donnie helped them out on getting that bag on. But regardless, Donnie isn't just someone they have met on board, but also a very grateful, kind, and super helpful friend.
"I — th-thank you, Donnie," Poinsettia said, almost tearing up with joy, "I'll be sure to treasure your gift as long as long as I am here!"
no subject
But he was not psychic, so remained blissfully unaware of these potentially damaging opinions that would harm his otherwise nonexistent image.
In fact, he grinned, looking quite pleased that Poinsettia was so happy with the bag. It was a simple fix, really, and seemed only reasonable to make something more suitable for a creature without hands or pockets. And okay, sometimes Amalgamous Prime's dumb power did come in handy. ...okay, a lot of the time, but he'd never admit it because that'd be admitting that that awful Prime gave him something useful.
"You're welcome," he said, although his expression wavered a touch. 'As long as I'm here', huh. He forced a smile back into place, giving Poinsettia a nod as he stood up again.
"I'll keep the flowers for you until you're ready to set up a garden," he promised.
no subject
But then —
Oh.
Oh.
It all makes sense now. Not only do they have no family or friends from their own world and species to stay close to, but their small size made them more vulnerable to those who are more than happy to step all over them. Now they can't have that, could they? Especially with all the crew-mates they have met and befriended so far.
With that in mind, Poinsettia carefully notes to be sure that they don't make any of them worry.
"I can sense that you worry about me a lot given how small I am, Donnie," they addressed the young turtle boy, "and I'll be sure to keep myself safe so we can hang out together more often!"
Poinsettia then walked up to the doors, but not before turning around to face Donnie once more.
"And thank you so much for helping me out, I really appreciate the effort you go through in helping others out. The Professors back at home would love to meet you if they ever come here some day."
no subject
He was just more bothered by the fact that any of their presences could just suddenly vanish without notice. People came and went and sometimes you didn't even know right away until you checked the directory to find the list slightly shorter than last you remembered. It was even harder to miss when a brother was no longer aboard, a brother who was connected to you, just like all your brothers, and especially when that mystic connection had been newly established, it made the absence that much more obvious then. But Raph had disappeared a long time ago, and Donnie still had Leo and Mikey, and he obsessively made sure their trackers were still picking up, at least several times a day.
"Y-yeah, you do that." Donnie plastered a smile on his face, following Poinsettia to see them out. It was a pretty long way to the door after all.
"I'm sure they'd have a lot more things to process if any of them ever came here, but I'd be happy to meet with them if any of them did." Would he be seen as a fellow colleague or another curiosity? He was getting so used to being treated like a normal existence around here.
"See you around, Poinsettia."
no subject
"I guess the same thing can go for you too, Donnie. May you and your family stay well, safe, and happy."
Then, they stepped out of the dorm room and into the hallways.
The next time they meet and cross paths again, they ought to talk to Donnie some time soon! Whoever he is, Donnie is definitely someone they can really trust deep down!