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"Alright, let's go." "Yay! Shopping time!" "...don't push your luck, Val."

"I could stock up, yes. Where to?"

"Nothing I really want to see, no. Seen none, seen them all. But if there's anywhere you want to go, I'm sure Val will take me along."

"Val brought us here so I could strategize. I never agreed. And yeah. Maple's a little bit terrifying. Yet somehow we're always left to fight the gods without her..."

“He probably knows moonblast!” Val chimed in. “Guillotine, Spatial Rend, Sacred Fire...” “Moonblast!”

“I’m a little out of the loop, but are we expecting to fight a smeargle these days? Or did we already do it... again, blind. I barely ever know who we’re fighting.”

“...you know I didn’t see any of that, right?” “But I’m sure it was very cool!”

“Hmm... you want to block hits for other people? Can you get in front of them in time? Or make yourself big enough that they can hide behind you? And we weren’t strategizing about anything.”

"I suppose we are... here." Val was not going to let Vix take the obvious opening there. "What were you going to strategize about, anyway?"

“Hero, huh... Maybe? How do you even define that?” Val stayed quiet, just glad Cuicatl said something that wasn’t inherently depressing. “Never felt much like one.” Never mind.

"Now you're getting it..." Cuicatl said. "Oh, hush. We also traveled with some friends. Quest thing to fight giant pokemon and--" "--make a ton of money." "Right, also to do that. Friends got kidnapped and the ransom is A Lot." Val paused, waiting to get bit. Nothing. Until Cuicatl spoke...

Guildmaster. That meant Vix was probably from a Pokémon only world. Bringing up training was probably not the best move. Not like she had many other hobbies... “Just kind of helped out around the house, played with some of the Pokémon that lived nearby. What’s hero training? That sounds really...

"Of course we can be friends! Right, Cuicatl?" "..." "She says yes. So, uh, what'd you do for fun at home?"

"I'm fine. Didn't even break the scales. Warning bite. Shouldn't bring up that in front of strangers without asking. Duly noted for the future." Cuicatl, again, said nothing. "Enough about that, how are you doing?"

"Little bit." "We've been through some shit," Val continued. "Brother died about... a year back? Accounting for time here is..." She realized that she actually didn't know for certain if it had been a year or not. The anniversary could have passed unacknowledged. "...hard? She's taking it...

“Suit yourself.” “Of course! We’d love to talk.” “Quiet hours, Val.” “Sorry.”

“Hi! Vix, right? Cuicatl here was just strategizing.” “Valentina just dragged me here, is what she means.”

"Why are we here again, Cuicatl droned?" "So that you can make strategies and stuff," Val answered. "That should help you feel better." "Being entirely alone in silence will make me feel better?" "Well..." Okay, Val hadn't entirely thought this one through. It wasn't in her nature. "Maybe...