Spinda Cafe

[Cresselia92]

“Oh? That’s most peculiar, to have a beak and not have organs. How dost thou replenish thy energy, then?” He tilted his head and flicked his ears, his eyes shining with interest. “I am aware that fellows like Voltorb and Magnemite feed on lightning and similar sources. Dost thou feed on electricity, too?”

 

[Ambyssin]

"I absorb the light of the heavens." Bahamut clasped both sets of wings together. "Sunlight. Moonlight. Solar flares. It makes no difference. Or, well, it made no difference back home. This backup body is not as good at taking in light." He shook his head. "It's like the difference between the tiniest fletchling nibbling on birdseed and the largest of snorlax swallowing a layer cake whole."

 

[Cresselia92]

“Ah. I guess this explains thy perpetual brilliance, then.” Icetales beamed a playful grin. “If we’ll both remember any of this experience and thou’ll get the chance to visit my world, I’ll make sure to have a star piece for thee to feast on.”

The Vulpix spotted an empty table not too far from them, wide enough to fit Bahamut’s size and low enough to allow him to jump on the seat without issues. He wagged his tails in satisfaction, before motioning toward the free table with a paw and striding in its direction.

“Hmm… If I am not too indiscreet, could thee fill me in about that ‘Dark Charizard’? I confess to not have the pleasure of knowing him all too well, but thou seem… particularly knowledgeable about that fellow, and somewhat indisposed toward him.” He looked back at the shining Pokémon, showing a serious expression. “Is there something I should beware of?”

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut slithered across the ground and coiled his body around a chair so his head rested on top of it. "Actually, I never met him prior to him summoning me." The red and orange expanded in his eyes again. "Which is exactly why I'm more than skeptical of his intensions. He randomly summoned a bunch of people with questionable amounts of battling experience... to fight to help a random world dealing with a random problem. He didn't give us any details, either, only that this world was in trouble."

Sighing, he shook his head. "Let me ask you: if you were faced with a problem you couldn't overcome on your own, what would you do?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales narrowed his eyes and hummed in deep thought. “Well, um… this here is quite the tricky question.”

With a graceful leap, he hopped on top of the wooden chair and wrapped his tails around his body to keep them from getting dirty.

“It would depend from the available possibilities, for one thing. As no ‘mon is an island, the most logical action would be to ask for help to someone. Preferably to ‘mons who would be most adept to handle the circumstances.” He shrugged. “At least, this is what I would do. As the majordomo of the Majaspic Mansion, I’ve learned that I wouldn’t be able to handle all duties all by myself.”

 

[Ambyssin]

It didn't sound like he'd just pick pokémon seemingly at random. If there was a method to Diyem's selection, he certainly didn't offer any hints in that regard. "Regardless... Diyem isn't even here. He remained behind. So, ultimately, we'll be fending for ourselves."

Bahamut lowered a wing to the table and traced a flame symbol with his wing-claws. "If you're looking for someone to truly bring you up to speed, I'd say the best person for that job is a charmander child called Owen. He's a bit on the naïve side, but he also appears to be a walking, talking notebook. It wouldn't surprise me if he memorized everything that has happened since we got here." He chuckled. "For better or worse, anyway."

 

[Cresselia92]

Well, that was it! Two new important details!

The first one was that the shadow fellow who had zapped Icetales into the new world had an actual name: Diyem.

He wasn’t sure what to think of him just yet. By judging what Bahamut said, he sounded like the typical noblemon who sits on a gilded throne while leaving the servants to do all the heavy lifting.

Heh. A pretty common behavior among other aristocrats, he had to admit with reluctance. No wonder many other Pokémon looked at him, a noble Vulpix, with foul glares.

However, as he had no way to prove whether that was true or not (yet), he simply made a mental note of keeping a close eye — or a close telepathic ear? — on him.

The other detail was a new name: Owen the Charmander. What a bizarre name.

“Mhmm. I see…” muttered Icetales, nodding in understanding. “So, is that fellow a bookworm or something? And is there some way to distinguish him from other Charmander? I know from experience that mixups are fairly… common, if there are more members of the same species.”

But speaking of fire creatures, it was then that Icetales noticed how utterly warm the cafe was. He started fanning himself with his tails, spreading some snowflakes around in the process. Where was his tea? He hoped to receive his order soon — there was a dire need of some hydration.

 

[TheGOAT]

Making her way in from the north, where the bushes thinned out into dirt, then gravel—Astrid trot along towards the Crossroads.

She was stressed. Shook. Spooked. Blinking too often and getting lost in thought as she walked.

The radiance… It was so… warm.

She was stressed, and because of that stress, she was hungry. As long as they weren’t Tamara berries, she would find something to eat. That initiative is what led her into the Spinda Cafe’s entrance, where she quickly got acclimated with the layout of the shop. After a few minutes of waiting, she had a smoothie in her paws and had taken a seat.

As she sipped away, two distinct voices stuck out in particular, only a few meters to her side: the prismatic voice of Necrozma, and an unfamiliar one.

“Oh,” she spoke up, turning around. “Are you the new guy?”

 

[Cresselia92]

His ears oriented in the new voice’s direction and his tails quivered. A potential new acquaintance so soon? How delightful.

He straightened his stance in an instant and turned his head. “This is who I—”

And then, he froze. For the briefest of moments, he thought he was looking at himself in the mirror: white Vulpix staring at white Vulpix.

But his mind was as quick to realize two major differences: the other fox had blueish fur on her paws and was sipping a smoothie, while he had his trademark silver-tinted tails and was busy turning the mint tea — which arrived a few seconds ago, much to his relief — into a frozen treat.

No mirror, another Vulpix. A white Vulpix. What intriguing coincidence.

“Um… Yes. Yours truly is the freshest entry around here, Miss,” he responded serenely, before bowing with grace. “I am Vulpix Kyukon Keo’Keo X, but please. Thou can just call me Icetales.”

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio wandered around town for a place to find some stiff drinks. Ever since that breakdown earlier, Curio had calmed down somewhat and thought more about what Brisa did to her. Yeah, the situation went way out of hand there, and it was Brisa's fault, but Curio also said she was itching for a fight despite the circumstances. She was probably a little bit tipsy from the Radiance stuff too. If she saw Brisa again, well, she didn't know what she'd say, but hopefully it didn't trigger any other bad memories. Curio just had to be more careful about what she'd get herself roped into in the future.

Curio eventually found herself in Spinda Cafe, and was immediately drawn to the elephant, or rather, the legendary in the room: Bahamut. Ugh. Since when did he get himself drinking buddies? She never pegged him as the party animal type, or the party glowing-prismy-thingy type. But he had Astrid with him, and she was cooler than cool (ice cold!), and there was another ice fox too! Even cooler than cool; it was sub-zero! She had to join them, but not before ordering a drink of fermented berry juice.

"Hiya," she said, a bit more low key than usual. "What's going on here?"

 

[Ambyssin]

“Tea time. A sacred tradition for some.” Bahamut gestured to Icepix. “Also, Astrid cloned herself. Impressive, no?”

His sense of humor always left something to be desired.

 

[TheGOAT]

His ears oriented in the new voice’s direction and his tails quivered. A potential new acquaintance so soon? How delightful.

He straightened his stance in an instant and turned his head. “This is who I—”

And then, he froze. For the briefest of moments, he thought he was looking at himself in the mirror: white Vulpix staring at white Vulpix.

But his mind was as quick to realize two major differences: the other fox had blueish fur on her paws and was sipping a smoothie, while he had his trademark silver-tinted tails and was busy turning the mint tea — which arrived a few seconds ago, much to his relief — into a frozen treat.

No mirror, another Vulpix. A white Vulpix. What intriguing coincidence.

“Um… Yes. Yours truly is the freshest entry around here, Miss,” he responded serenely, before bowing with grace. “I am Vulpix Kyukon Keo’Keo X, but please. Thou can just call me Icetales.”

That was quite a mouthful. She would stick to Icetales indeed.

“I’m… Astrid,” she said back, a little simply. She blinked at the Vulpix, unable to shake the odd feeling of seeing one of her kin in person after so long. Even if this wasn’t really one of her kin… “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Curio wandered around town for a place to find some stiff drinks. Ever since that breakdown earlier, Curio had calmed down somewhat and thought more about what Brisa did to her. Yeah, the situation went way out of hand there, and it was Brisa's fault, but Curio also said she was itching for a fight despite the circumstances. She was probably a little bit tipsy from the Radiance stuff too. If she saw Brisa again, well, she didn't know what she'd say, but hopefully it didn't trigger any other bad memories. Curio just had to be more careful about what she'd get herself roped into in the future.

Curio eventually found herself in Spinda Cafe, and was immediately drawn to the elephant, or rather, the legendary in the room: Bahamut. Ugh. Since when did he get himself drinking buddies? She never pegged him as the party animal type, or the party glowing-prismy-thingy type. But he had Astrid with him, and she was cooler than cool (ice cold!), and there was another ice fox too! Even cooler than cool; it was sub-zero! She had to join them, but not before ordering a drink of fermented berry juice.

"Hiya," she said, a bit more low key than usual. "What's going on here?"

Oh, Astrid could not resist.

“Hiya Curio!” She smiled wide. “We’re just chillin.’”

 

[NebulaDreams]

Oh. Bahamut made a funny. Haha. Ha. C'mon, Curio, laugh! She just made a weak chuckle. "Either that or mitosis."

“Hiya Curio!” She smiled wide. “We’re just chillin.’”

"Cool. Cool." Dammit. She loved ice puns as well. She just wasn't in the mood for many of them right now.

 

[Ambyssin]

“Is something wrong, dear? You seem... distressed.” Bahamut clasped his upper wings together. “Did something bad happen?”

 

[TheGOAT]

"Cool. Cool." Dammit. She loved ice puns as well. She just wasn't in the mood for many of them right now.

Another short-lived smile; hadn’t she just gotten out of a stressful situation? Banter with the witty Riolu was exactly what Astrid needed right now, but it seemed unusual for Curio to lag the way she was.

Adjusting in her seat, she faced Curio and rubbed her jaw, concern in her eyes. “Everything okay?”

 

[NebulaDreams]

Oh crap, everyone was asking her what was wrong. Maybe staying at this table wasn't the best decision after all. No, she wanted someone to talk to, she just didn't want to get into the details. "Yeah, something bad did happen. I don't wanna talk about it if that's fine. I'd rather not air out my dirty laundry here. I might be fine after a few drinks."

 

[Cresselia92]

“Tea time. A sacred tradition for some.”

“A sacred tradition, indeed! I cannot function without my daily tea time.”

He lowered his muzzle to take a quick lick at his frozen tea. Yes, fresh to the tongue and bone-chilling. Now it was perfect.

Then, he glanced at the other Vulpix.

“I’m… Astrid,” she said back, a little simply. She blinked at the Vulpix, unable to shake the odd feeling of seeing one of her kin in person after so long. Even if this wasn’t really one of her kin… “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mutual, Miss Astrid.” He tilted his head and beamed a bright smile. “It has been quite some time since I’ve seen another ice Vulpix, aside from my…” He frowned, his voice taking a gloomy tone. “Family…”

However, he wouldn’t let that memory spoil his mood and shook his head.

“But that’s not relevant. So…”

"Cool. Cool." Dammit. She loved ice puns as well. She just wasn't in the mood for many of them right now.

He looked at the others, then at the Riolu. Indeed, there was something bothering her, but he deemed inappropriate to pry for more information. So, he resorted to make her feel as comfortable as possible.

“…So, thou are Curio, hm? Most intriguing name thou got there!” He waved his tails once more and showed a respectful gaze. “Yours truly is… Well, just call me Icetales. I suppose my real name won’t be of much use around here.”

 

[Ambyssin]

Green and purple expanded in Bahamut’s eyes. “Very well. Then I shan’t pry further. Just know that even the most fortified psyches have their weak points. That’s why it’s important to lean on others for support.”

 

[NebulaDreams]

“…So, thou are Curio, hm? Most intriguing name thou got there!” He waved his tails once more and showed a respectful gaze. “Yours truly is… Well, just call me Icetales. I suppose my real name won’t be of much use around here.”

"Why're you talkin' like that? Did something hit you on the head?" She stopped herself before she put her foot even further into her mouth. "Sorry, sorry. We all come from different backgrounds, don't we? Where'd you come from?"

“Very well. Then I shan’t pry further. Just know that even the most fortified psyches have their weak points. That’s why it’s important to lean on others for support.”

"Yeah, I know. It's very much a me-problem though. But thanks, it means a lot to hear you say that." Did something hit Bahamut on the head to make him shed that origami shell? It was a nice change from being a pompous, nihilistic asshole.

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid pat Curio on the back—drinks sounded like a plan right now. Who cared if it was lunchtime? “That’s the spirit, buddy.”

A server happened to pass by, and after a quick request and a trip to and from the back room, they’d brought back a bottle of something thick.

Astrid read the label out loud with a raised eyebrow. “‘Zap Cannon’ …Huh. I wonder how expensive this stuff is if the God Squad is covering it for us.”

She didn’t wait around for an answer, instead pouring herself a glass, and then Curio. She turned to the other two, one of which she wasn’t sure drank, and the other she wasn’t sure could drink. “Eheh, do you two want some?”