Destiny Village ~ Central Crossroads

[Namohysip]

"Y-yeah..." Cal looked down. "...Well. I hope the other person you're from can find... some way to..." She sighed, shaking her head. "Well, hey! You have a family here, now. Something tells me we're gonna be a lot harder to get rid of." One of her embers shrank, like a wink.

 

[Ambyssin]

"This is less a family tree and more a family kudzu," Bahamut deadpanned.

"... classy," Nero said.

 

[Namohysip]

Cal hummed in thought. "You know, that is kinda true, isn't it?" she said. "Polaris is sort of my siblings, but so are you. So does that mean you're my uncle-brother? Or does that make Polaris by nephew-brother?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Don't think about it," Bahamut scoffed. "And, like, you lot were created with the cosmic equivalent of hand-holding, so the whole 'blood's thicker than water' doesn't even literally apply."

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmm..." Cal nodded. "So, does that mean we can date? You know, hypothetically. We can go... have a... candlelit dinner. With meteors, or something. Or stardust. We'll invite Toast as the best mon!" Cal nodded. "That'll give Pansit something to think about." And some studying for Cal to look up the meanings of the various things she'd said.

 

[Ambyssin]

"You are not my type," Bahamut said, completely straight-faced.

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah, I guess you aren't. Actually, what type are we?" Cal poked at her cheek, going straight through to the other side. "Ghost? No, I don't think so... Shadow? I mean, maybe, but..."

 

[Ambyssin]

"That's not what he meant," Nero said. "He means your personality doesn't mesh well with his. He's saying you'd make a terrible girlfriend."

"... with a lot more tact than you, evidently," Bahamut muttered.

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmph! Watch! One day I'm gonna grow up to be the best girlfriend ever! Or maybe even a boyfriend! You never know. I can be anything. I just like this body." She stood up, sighing. "Well... Anyway, uh. To be serious, I'm--I'm still glad that I can hang around and stuff with you even after this is done. Kinda like a reminder, y'know? But now I reminded myself that I need to make sure all the others are feeling alright, too. You know, the other Void Eternas."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Mm, yes. I don't know the others have given it nearly as much thought as you," Bahamut said, tapping his chin.

 

[Namohysip]

Cal nodded. "Yeah. Definitely. Want them to be ready for it--only h-have a week, too." She hesitated. "SO, um..." She was thinking about someone else. "Bye for now, alright? I, uh, gonna spend some time with Dad and stuff."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut lazily waved with his tail. "Take care."

 

[Namohysip]

Cal stretched her wings and flew off, waving back at Bahamut. She seemed to be in good spirits. Troubled, but perhaps more mentally for others rather than herself. In the end, she really did take a lot after Owen...

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut leaned back against a tree. "She's more mature than the actual charizard she's shaped after."

Nero blinked and said nothing.

XxX​

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"…Before we enter, I should say that I was only half-sure this place even existed."

When Ben had first come to her, asking if she knew of a place to have a moment to themselves, an establishment at the heart of the city hadn't exactly been at the to of Aria's list. But the arcanine wore his heart on his sleeve, and she knew him well enough to realize something was bothering him. It wouldn't hurt to balance things out a little.

Of course, Aria had also been itching to pay the place a visit ever since Mint had told her about it.

And now, they were standing at the entrance to what was clearly a karaoke bar.

With a lopsided grin, Aria glanced over at Ben. "Too late to back out now, by the way."

 

[Magyk]

The horror was clear on his face. "I-If this is another joke, I'm not laughing!" Ben cried. No way was he going in there! He wouldn't be caught alive singing, much less in front of others.

Plus...this wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind for their chat anyways. After being interrupted by Spectrum-Miracle Owen he hadn't been able to prepare himself for the conversation he now had to power through.

He stared at his companion and ex-teacher in disbelief. The arcanine then sighed once he realised he really had no choice in the matter. This was Aria, after all. "You...you're not joking," he said in deadpan. "You'll have to drag me by the fur if you want to see me in there."

That was probably something he shouldn't have told her.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"Now that's an idea. Are you sure I won't end up just pulling it out?"

Nothing in her voice implied that she wasn't seriously considering it.

 

[Magyk]

His pupils shrank at the reply.

"I-I'll come quietly," he whimpered in defeat.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria chuckled, patting his side reassuringly. "Just trust me," she said, before pushing the door open.

Evening had yet to fully kick in, but the bar already had its fair share of patrons. A barrage of off-key lyrics immediately assaulted both their ears, but Aria ignored it all to steer towards a counter tucked away to the side, next to a hallway leading deeper into the building.

"Y'know, I thought the receptionist would be different, at least..."

A froslass floated behind the desk, looking completely and utterly bored out of her mind. Disinterested eyes followed the two new arrivals, lacking any signs of life even when one of them stepped up to the counter. "...Rooms are—"

Before she could finish, Aria planted some coins down in front of her. "Huh. Mint really wasn't kidding when he said you hate this job."

That brought the ghost to life. "E-excuse me?" Froslass stammered, blinking as she glanced down at the money.

"Just an hour for now. Might get an extension."

Remembering what she was there for, Froslass slid the coins into an open drawer before producing a key from below the counter. "...Like you wouldn't hate it too."

With a snort, Aria grabbed the key, replacing it with a few more coins. "Not gonna deny that. Keep the change. Come on, Ben," she said, gesturing towards the hallway.

 

[Magyk]

Ben winced at the various sounds and lyrics that assaulted his ears upon entering. A small whine escaped him as he tried to block out the awful singing he could hear.

The worst part was that Mint already knew of this place. Why would Mint ever go here? It couldn't be for anything good, and now Aria was doing the same to him.

"U-Uh...thank you!" he stammered out to Froslass before scrambling after Aria. If Aria thought she was going to make him sing anything in front of her, she had another thing coming. "You better not be making me sing...because I'm not entertaining you," he then told her with a scowl.