Destiny Village ~ Central Crossroads

[Namohysip]

Flygon looked toward Saltriv as the shopkeeper grabbed a notebook appropriate for the customer's size. "Oh, you're..." she hummed, then looked through her used notebook. "...You're part of Team Spectrum! Yes, I recognize that leaf..."

 

[IFBench]

"Yeah! I'm Saltriv! Nice to meet you!" they said, waving their leaf.

 

[Namohysip]

"Saltriv, Saltriv, okay," Flygon leaned forward and held out a hand. "And my name is Pansit! Tell me--is it true that your team works for a reformed Dark Matter?"

 

[IFBench]

Their eyes widened, and their mouth hung agape in shock. "Wait, what?!"

 

[Namohysip]

Pansit tilted her head. "You didn't know? I was certain that was what Team Spectrum's true origins are. A very noble sort of goal, if you ask me, though I see why they'd want to hide it..." She hummed, puzzled. Surely Team Spectrum would know, right?

Soon, the shopkeeper returned with Saltriv's journal. "Well, if you ever want to talk, be sure to find me at The Ideal View! I'd be happy to have an interview with a member of Team Specturm!"

 

[IFBench]

"I just got here a few weeks ago! I didn't hear anything about this," they said.

Once the shopkeeper returned with the journal, they perked up a little. "Thank you! I'll keep that in mind."

They took the journal and walked away, uncertainty hidden behind a smile.

 

[Namohysip]

Pansit watched Saltriv go, still inquisitive, but she didn't push. Instead, she completed her own purchase, stepped out, jotted a few notes down, and flew away.

<><><>​

 

[RJR Basimilus]

Seyka marveled at the snow as he walked, stopping every few feet to look behind him at the tracks left behind. The Skarmory wondered how long it had been since he had seen snow, shaking his head as he decided it wasn't worth remembering.

Ahead of him, a large ice surface had been cordoned, the rink full of pokemon skating every which way. Seyka looked down at his talons, wondering if he could slide around on the ice, let alone balance.

"Ah, I'm so lucky," he muttered to himself.

 

[Negrek]

Nate hung around the edge of the skating rink while Rocky slowly edged back and forth across the ice, arms held straight out from his sides. "You should try too!" he was saying. "It's fun!"

"Uh-huh," Nate said. Rocky wobbled, arms pinwheeling, then had to grab at the railing before he fell over. "I got four feet here, in case you ain't noticed. Don't work all that great in skates."

"Other people are doing it!" And yeah, there were some four-footed pokémon out on the, but they were mostly just running around, not actually skating. Rocky watched the pokémon gliding around expertly with undisguised envy. Most had skates, but some were able to glide around on their natural claws, or conjured energy blades to do the work of metal. That at least was pretty badass, Nate had to admit, but no fucking way he could pull that off.

"Oh, hey!" Rocky brightened, staring at something over Nate's shoulder. "It's Seyka!"

Sure enough, the skarmory had stopped not too far away, apparently lost in thought. "Hey! Hey, Seyka! How are you doing?" Rocky yelled, waving broadly at the skarmory.

 

[RJR Basimilus]

Seyka stared at the Infernape for a moment.

"I'm great, thanks!" The Skarmory smiled. "You're one of the uh- those things- you know the, er, the things!"

He took a moment to compose himself. "Like dark, but not evil. Those rocks? I never really understood it."

 

[Negrek]

"That's right!" Rocky said brightly. "I'm, umm, I guess people like to call me a familiar. But my name's Rocky! And I'm not evil."

Nate winced. God, that fucking name. He wasn't a big fan of Rocky always wanting to talk to whatever fucking randos, either, but at least the skarmory was all right. "Yeah, you get one of these weird rock things, put a mind slug in it, and then it hatches into some asshole from your memories. Did you ever end up getting one of those slug-rocks? It doesn't look like you're babysitting nobody."

"I'm not an asshole, either," Rocky said, frowning. "But it's nice to meet you, Seyka. It's weird. I've never seen you before, but I already know you from Mudkip's memories. He likes you." Oh, good Christ.

 

[RJR Basimilus]

"I see," Seyka said with an even tone. "That's okay! Everyone should try to like each other, what would we do otherwise?"

The Skarmory paused. "As for rocks, I've seen them around, but I never had one. Maybe they lost mine in the mail."

"Anyway," he continued, "Nice to meet you Rocky. So you're a part of Nate? Kind of if you cut a branch off a tree and replanted it I guess."

 

[Negrek]

"No," Nate said firmly. "He decided he wanted to be some dick from my memories, that's all. Ain't got nothing to do with me."

"Yeah, I'm not really a part of Mudkip," Rocky said. The familiar was leaning against the railing around the edge of the rink, looking thoughtful while other pokémon whizzed around on the ice behind him. "But I needed to be somebody, because I didn't start out being anybody, so I tried to find somebody in Mudkip's head that I could be. I think? It's hard to remember."

"If you wanted one of those rocks, I can give you one. Still got a couple left. But I wouldn't, like, recommend it, you know?"

 

[RJR Basimilus]

Seyka's expression brightened. "Really? Wow, I can have my very own friend. What a novelty; I'll take one if you're offering."

The Skarmory looked over to the ice. "This place is pretty strange though. Things never stop just- happening. It's all very fun, but wouldn't all this evil or whatever at least want to take a break? You know? Maybe it should take some time off to plan things out better if we keep beating it in it's games."

 

[Negrek]

"Well, I mean, if you're sure," Nate grumbled. "I wouldn't count on a friend, seeing as I got, you know." He jabbed a thumb at Rocky over his shoulder. But whatever, some people seemed to have done better in the familiar department. Maybe Seyka would be one of the lucky ones.

"Don't pay attention to him, he's just grumpy," the familiar said. "I can't wait to see who your familiar turns out to be! All the other ones are so cool. I bet yours will be, too."

Nate was halfway into his pack, rummaging towards the bottom. He only had a couple stones left now. For a while there he'd been thinking it might have been a dumb move to grab so many of them, but it had worked out pretty nice in the end. "Really? What about that alien guy who's always hanging around Bahamut?"

"He's funny!"

Nate snorted. His hand finally found the cool, knobbly surface of one of the stones, and Nate wriggled backwards, dragging it with him back into the light. "Here," he said, holding it out to Seyka. "Now all you need is a shade to put in it."

 

[RJR Basimilus]

"Right. I wonder where I would get one of those," Seyka mused, staring at the snow on the ground.

"Er, whatever. I'll have to find out later."

The Skarmory exhaled. "So what are you doing out here today?" He looked at Nate. "You don't seem like the type to take your friends shopping. I mean, I don't suppose Rocky would have to ask, he'd just carry you around."

Seyka grinned. "Ahh, sorry. I understand if it's not something you want to talk about."

 

[Negrek]

Nate stiffened. Of course the guy would have to mention getting carried around, now Rocky was going to--yeah, there he fucking went. "He'd never let me carry him around," the familiar said in a false whisper, cupping a hand around his mouth conspiratorially. "That's his least favorite thing."

"He wanted to go ice skating, so here we fucking are," Nate grumbled.

"We go everywhere together! We have a psychic link thing, so we can't go too far from each other. Sometimes we do what Mudkip wants to do, but he's boring and just wants to watch battles all the time. Today we get to do what I want, and I wanted to go skating. You should try, too! It's a lot of fun."

 

[RJR Basimilus]

Seyka looked at the pair thoughtfully. "Shared custody of the mind, so to speak. Well, it's not the worst thing. I wonder if I'll get a link too."

"I don't know how well I'd find the ice," Seyka said. "I mean, I suppose I'd slide right across. What if I slid on my stomach? Do you think that would work better?"

 

[Negrek]

"Oh, you'll get the psychic link," Nate said darkly. "Everybody does. Part of the motherfucking charm."

Rocky, of course, was practically bursting to talk about skating. "Ha! Sliding on your stomach would be funny! But the point is you're supposed to do it the hard way, with blades like these." He pointed at his spectral feet, which were in far more solid skates. "Maybe you could use your claws. There are people by the entrance who could give you skates, though, if you wanted."

 

[RJR Basimilus]

"Good to know," Seyka said, nodding at Nate. "Something to look forward to."

The Skarmory looked at Rocky in mock horror. "Is the difficulty what makes it fun? Or am I assuming too much in thinking this is supposed to be fun in the first place."

"Is ice skating an act of devotion? A pilgrimage? Like ringing in the new season or something? Back where I used to live, it was warm year round, but I've heard of this sort of stuff before." Seyka made a serious face. "I'll figure it out then. I seem to be good at winging it anyway, er, no pun intended."