Destiny Village ~ Central Crossroads

[Namohysip]

"There's no need to dwell," Maple assured them. "I don't think any of us hold what happened there against you. It has already been several weeks at this point and we know the effects that these Shadows have on others. They are not rational. They are not even truly your own... They're mutations of perhaps tiny seeds of doubt. I do not think it would be fair to hold such things against anybody."

She stepped away. "The map will show you where the guild is. Go there and find a place to settle in; you will be welcomed warmly by the guild staff. I have a few things to check on."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot nodded slowly. "Alright. Thanks Maple."

And Diyem.

The Cranidos fidgeted around with his badge before heading off. What Diyem and Maple had said certainly made sense when looking at it rationally... but they also didn't get attacked by him. Nobody on the team had said anything to him since the machine got destroyed and Nip looked pretty shaken up about what happened... Could everyone really forgive him that easily?

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

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Brisa stepped through the portal, and felt the world around her shift. The temperature, the wind speed, the ambient scents, the noise, even the air pressure. All different. They really had stepped through to a different part of the world.

She looked around at the modern, urban surroundings, and then back at the portal to be sure that Curio had come through safely. Oh gods, this was a place unlike anything she'd ever seen in person. She was gonna need a familiar face.

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio went after Brisa into the portal and found herself in a whole new world. A new fantastic... view, where Legendaries patrolled the streets as if they were commonplace, and it was as bright as a solar flare. Then a chilly wind blew against her coat.

"Ooof! Jeez, wasn't expecting that! How are you holdin' up, Brisa?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa shrugged. "I'm used to a lot warmer, but chill winds ain't so bad so long as I can keep fed and keep movin'."

She looked around at the power on display and wished once again that she had her real body. She'd feel a lot safer in a body that could take a lashing from a Legendary and give good hits back.

"So how's about we find our new bunks first, huh? Then... I don't know. Food or fightin' sound good." She gave the warmest smile she could muster. "Sure wouldn't mind your company for that stuff, if you fancy."

'Fancy.'

She averted her gaze in what she hoped looked like a casual way. It wouldn't do to get hot ears right now. She still hadn't had time to give thought to that. Or to how Astrid had made her feel. For fuck's sake.

 

[NebulaDreams]

"Food, of course. Always up for food." Curio picked up on Brisa's hint. "And yeah, I would fancy it."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Her ears. Her fuckin' ears. It was killing Brisa not to know if Curio could tell how flustered she was about to get. She supposed it wasn't all that big a surprise that Curio was catching on after how that meal in Spinda Café went the other day. Oh fuck...

"Y-yeah, great. ...It's this way to the Guild. Come on."

She lapsed back into terseness as she tried not to embarrass herself, and cringed internally at her coarseness. Curio deserved better from her.

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio tried not to laugh at how flustered Brisa was becoming. She was like the total opposite of Zane in this situation where her advances were welcomed, but she didn't seem to have the confidence yet. Ah well, Brisa will get used to it eventually.

With that, Curio went with Brisa to check in at the Poppin' Arms Guild.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut levitated his badge in front of him, looking at the map of Destiny Village. Individual stores were not labeled, much to his dismay. So, he'd have to just play things by ear. New, metal ears buried somewhere in his mane. This dumb body was the whole reason he was looking for liver anyway. It wasn't like his friends back home had ever partaken in that particular kind of meat. Why did felines like it? The pyroar book mentioned something about its savory taste...

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

[Brisket > Sourdough]: Brisa here. I will meet you at the Crossroads shortly.

Brisa headed out of the Guild and over to the crossroads with her badge finally in place on her bandana instead of tucked away in her satchel. It turned out she had a lot of missed messages to catch up on. Bahamut was easy to find, given his size and luminosity, and she gave him a small wave.

"Good day, Bahamut," she said, "I trust you're well?"

He seemed well, compared to their first encounter on the beach, but she'd barely interacted with him since that day. She was vaguely aware that his successive changes in form and appearance had had some effect on his demeanour, but she decided not to maintain any expectations.

 

[Ambyssin]

"I'm fine. Just trying to figure out which of these is the shopping district." Bahamut's eyes flickered between pink and blue while he studied the badge. "And what about you? Are you okay given your experience with that infernal machine?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"I'm more alright than you're likely expectin'," said Brisa, sincerely. "I've already had the tough conversations I needed to. Most of them, at least."

Brisa drew a long breath with her mouth ajar, scenting for food.

"There are food venues in this direction, incidentally."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Mmm." Bahamut pocketed the badge in his bag. The stone thumped up against it. "It's not a restaurant I'm looking for, so hopefully some place has what I'm looking for." He looked skyward, eyes turning yellow. "I found a recipe in this book Owen gave me. It's been a while since I've cooked anything. And certainly never for myself. First time for everything, I suppose." He glanced down at the black spikes jutting out of his ankles and sighed.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

That's right, Bahamut was new to food as a concept. Brisa couldn't imagine what it was like to get used to something like that after countless years of existing without it.

"Y'know, if you're tryin' out ordinary food for the first time, you might want to find someplace that serves mixed tapas or a buffet or somesuch arrangement, and sample plenty of different dishes in succession. Might help you discover what you have a natural inclination towards, a mite faster than preparin' a whole meal at a time anyway."

She focused on the smells coming from the street she'd identified and paid attention to the townies who were leaving it. "Don't reckon it's only restaurants down there. There's definitely a bakery further along. What is it you're lookin' for?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Liver." Bahamut tapped his right arm against his back. The extra two limbs were probably going to get him a bunch of weird looks. "Gut feeling tells me I'll enjoy it. Like with milk."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa shrugged, and set off in the direction of food-scent.

"Might be a schema you've picked up about felines. Not too partial myself. Still, I'll keep my nose up for liver and dairy, if they even have that stuff in this world."

The six limbs thing was odd. Brisa was sure Bahamut looked distinctly leonine to other mon on the posse, but to her he put her in mind of bug types, especially with the crystalline surfaces. Why was that? Oh, chitin, of course.

"Can't say I've heard on the vine how you came to be in that literally shiny new body of yers," she remarked, as that walked together.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Maple turned me into a cat when I told her we were working for some alternate Dark Matter." It wasn't really the truth, but Bahamut said it with a straight face anyway.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

...the really irritating thing about Cibus was that everything was so fuckin' weird that it was impossible to hold confident scepticism about something said in a deadpan by someone as po-faced as Bahamut. Perhaps framing bizarre events in this way was his bizarre sense of humour? Or... a test of her credulousness?

"That's quite a reprimand," she bounced back. "Surely there's nothin' the God Squad can't do, if they can go around turnin' folks into cats."

She wrinkled her nose. "Actually, what's yer unironic take on Maple? I heard from a pal that she cornered some of the posse and grilled 'em on Diyem's identity. It's rough that it spooked 'em, but the fact she didn't vaporise us seems pretty promisin' t'me."

 

[Ambyssin]

"That's because she has orders from Arceus not to harm us," Bahamut said. "I met with him for Cosmog's sake. Weird fellow. He's caught in a fence, but doesn't see the need to do anything to get himself unstuck." He shook his head. "But he understands we have a crucial role to play helping his world.

"As for Maple, I think it's pretty easy to say she's not who she says she is. Probably not from this world, either." His core turned pink. "See, it's true that smeargle can indeed replicate just about any move. But their bodies are... flimsy, to put it nicely. So, take a strong attack... and have a fairly weak pokémon use it," he pressed his hands together over his head, "and the end result is an unimpressive attack. But the aura Maple's attacks exude is far too strong."

His tail swished to the right. "She claims it's because she has Arceus' blessing. But I watched him funnel light into Cosmog. The aura didn't match Maple's light. At least, from what my ESP could tell." Bahamut tapped his armored forehead.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

(A... fence? Okay. It probably made more sense in person.)

Brisa listened and nodded. "I see. Well in that case, my intuition says she and her crew are offworlders like ourselves. The more we see of our enemies and allies here, the more it feels like there are several factions involved, rather than two or three."

After passing by several shops, Brisa inclined her head forwards and stopped. "I might have something. A probable butcher's. I didn't expect that."

It occurred to Brisa as they approached the butcher shop that she wouldn't be able to pull her usual routine off sneaking off to the outskirts of civilisation for peace and quiet nearly as often. This street alone could compete with Treasure Town's market. It was so urban.

"How d'you reckon you'll be spendin' yer time here, then?" she asked. "I gotta say, I'm pleased to see they have a real library here. Not sure about the colosseum, I'm not used to sparrin' with an audience."