show me where to look

Screen door snapping shut behind him and slightly harder than he'd intended it to, Ryusuke swiftly exited the house, stepping off the porch to drop down to the moist earth - his bare feet just as mismatched as his exposed arms, both shoes and his coat left behind in the dwelling with only his usual black pants and tanktop to protect against the mild autumn chill. Hands moving to his pockets as Ryusuke stalked away from the traditional Johto style home, the blond continued on down the dirt path that made up most of the city's outer streets. He'd grown quite familiar with them within the last few months, and there was little fear of getting lost as he let his mind wander.

It was a rare thing for Ryusuke's temper to get the better of him these days. When he was younger it had been on something of a hair trigger, but since leaving home a couple of years back the blond had been fairly convinced that he'd been getting a better handle on it. But certain things still seemed to push his buttons, and despite being aware of those triggers the teenager still found those topics able to... no, anger wasn't the right word. Frustration was it. Illogical, irrational frustration, and his inability to understand the why of it was what made him upset enough to end conversations before they were finished, and that just left things unsettled for when he inevitably came back... which in turn fed into a self perpetuating cycle as his grandmother was every bit as stubborn as Ryusuke himself was, and they both knew that those discussions would keep repeating until they were finished.

In short, the old woman was holding all the cards where that was concerned so long as Ryusuke was living under her roof, and she knew it. What made it even worse was that it was Ryusuke's own indecision and voicing his thoughts that had brought this upon himself - he'd gone looking for input, and had gotten it. Just not the input he'd really wanted.

"You're every bit as strong as your parents were at your age, if not stronger. Why not do it?"

"You'll have to do it eventually, and you're not doing anything else. I'm not going to be around forever."

"Take it up with your father if you want. But someone's got to and your uncle never visits."

Expectations had never been something Ryusuke had dealt with all that well, partly because of those he'd set for himself. He knew what his parents were like at his age, he'd constantly asked after those stories as a kid. He'd seen the records when he'd looked for them after leaving home, and whether intentional or not the expectations he'd set for himself were already enough to deal with on top of what other people said and thought he should've been capable of. Everything he'd been raised with and done up to this point suggested that he should continue down a certain path in life, but the thought of committing to that lifestyle was what gave Ryusuke cold feet. Was that really what he wanted to do with the rest of his life?

And that wasn't even considering his grandmother's own expectations. Ryusuke had no idea what he was getting into when he'd decided to reconnect with that half of his family in Blackthorn, and between her attitude and the traditions she was trying to follow he was beginning to understand why his old man had never gone back home until after he'd gotten engaged and had an excuse not to stay.

Pausing with the intent of absentmindedly kicking a small rock off the unpaved path, the blond thought better of it on remembering his right foot could very much still feel pain, and in that moment a sound of something not small hitting the ground behind him made itself known. Glancing back, Ryusuke relaxed quite a bit on seeing a emerald green, bipedal reptile just over three feet in height standing there - and while it didn't speak or vocalize, the intelligent and questioning yellow eyes said everything with a sidewards cock of his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You tagging along?" Ryusuke said, watching as Grovyle gave an affirmative chirp before casually strolling past Ryusuke to continue walking ahead. Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, the blond found his attitude was significantly calmed by that simple exchange, his expression far more neutral than a few moments ago as he continued along to follow behind the Grass type.

@ali