Destiny Village ~ Parfait Way

[Magyk]

Ben's eyes narrowed. "You don't remember?" he questioned. "You only roomed with that jerk and--"

The arcanine stopped, then shot a glance at Aria. "There was another. You remember Sparky, don't you?"

If Owen couldn't recall this, or correct his mistake, then something was definitely wrong. Everyone else pretty much remembered everything, didn't they? Wouldn't make sense for only one of them to not remember all the fine details.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria clicked her tongue in disapproval, patting Ben's side ever-so-casually. "Hey now, no need to badmouth Mergo behind his back."

A pause. "...Though, calling him a jerk did just help me realize who you were talking about, so fair play to you."

 

[Namohysip]

"Mergo isn't that bad," Owen said quickly. "And, Sparky, er, I don't... really remember, um, I mean, maybe. I don't think he came with us to fight Team Spectrum, though, right?" He nodded, crossing his arms. "Sparky, though... No. I don't think that was his name... Maybe something similar." He rubbed his forehead. "Sorry. It's still a blur... Hey, look, not important. Where's the picnic spot?"

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria nodded along with his words, waiting for him to jump topi— ah, there it was.

"A clearing in the woods," she replied, pointing vaguely in the direction she remembered it being. "It's got a small pond, and no one really seemed to go there back in... uh, our Cibus. Perfect place for a bit of outdoor fun, if you know what I mean."

 

[Magyk]

Outdoor fu--

Ben almost made a face of disgust. Was that all Aria had on the mind? He supposed it explained why Mint was so....

He quickly shook his head, he had to focus! Had Owen really forgotten his roommates? Because Mergo absolutely hadn't been one of them. "You don't think Sparky was his name?" the arcanine pressed. "If it's not, then what was it?"

Maybe Owen just had selective forgetfulness, like when Ben's friends told him he had to get up early and he just magically forgot and decided to sleep in. That was totally by accident.

 

[Namohysip]

"Outdoor fun?" Owen asked, his tail flame igniting a little more. "You mean... when we can get physical?" There was a creeping, wide smile crawling along his mouth. He seemed to have forgotten whatever Ben had asked about.

 

[Magyk]

"W-Wait, what?!" Ben cried. "I-I didn't sign up for..."

He turned on Aria. "I thought this was just a picnic! N-Not some weird, um..." Ben didn't want to judge his friends, but they didn't need to get him involved, too!

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

She tilted her head innocently. "Did you not want to...?"

Trailing off, Aria rubbed at her chin. "Hm, it's fine if you just want to watch, then. I think Owen's into that — he had Cal tag along last time we did it!" she said cheerily.

 

[Namohysip]

"This is always how picnics go," Owen said to Ben, frowning. "Especially if it's out in the open. Right?" He thumped his tail on the ground, but then stumbled a little when the actual thump offset his weight more than expected. Owen seemed to brighten a little when Aria mentioned Cal, but then stopped himself from saying anything.

 

[Magyk]

Ben gawked. "I don't know what kind of picnics you two have, b-but we don't get physical in my world! It's just a relaxing time eating food with friends."

This was crazy. This was madness! "And—Cal?! Why'd you get her involved, sh-she's just a kid!"

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"She wasn't involved, she was kind of just... there. And helping out sometimes too, I guess," Aria said with a shrug, before looking at Owen. "That reminds me — we never got around to using a rope like we planned to."

Grinning, she swiped a paw through the air, conjuring a translucent length of rope... complete with a leash on one end. "Better late than never, right?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah!" Owen said, "And when--wait, rope? What are we talking about?" The brief cheer that Owen had gave way to a perplexed expression. "...Why are you able to conjure that so quickly?"

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

There was a predatory glint in her eyes. "I practiced."

 

[Magyk]

Did he feel faint?

He felt absolutely faint.

Corners of vision...darkening...

"Wh-Wha..." his mouth opened and closed like a magikarp. "R-Rope?! Helping?!"

"D-Did I fall into some alternate dimension or some shit?!" he cried. "Or did you both suddenly go crazy, b-because I feel very normal right now!!"

And uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable.

 

[Namohysip]

"D-don't look at me!" Owen said, holding up his hands. "I thought we were talking about getting it going in the woods! Not this!" He pointed an accusatory claw at Aria. "I think you're a fake! Maybe Soda's pulling a prank on me again!"

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

With a twang, Aria pulled the rope taut, her grin never fading. "Please, Ben would've caught on in the time we spent shopping. Don't tell me you're trying to back out now," she said, briefly glancing over at the horrified arcanine. Arceus forgive her for what she was doing to him, but she couldn't hesitate. Owen would pick up on that immediately. "Is it because he's here? That's odd, I thought for sure you'd love the thrill. I guess we can save bondage for when we're alone, then."

 

[Magyk]

"WHAT?!"

 

[Namohysip]

Owen lunged for Aria and grabbed her by the arm; when the illusion didn't fade, and he in fact could feel the spike on her wrist, then pulled away. "What did you do to other me?" Owen squeaked, not realizing that he'd just said that.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

The glowing rope faded, but her grin just grew. "Would you like to find out~?"

 

[Magyk]

Ben's eye twitched. He couldn't believe he was hearing any of this! They had both totally lost the plot, they were crazy, or Diyem's translation messed up again, or...or...

He squeezed his eyes shut as he took in deep breaths. What the hell was Aria doing? Where had all this weird stuff come from?

But there was one thing that had caught his attention, so he had to focus on that. "Other me?" he parroted, glaring at Owen. "What'd you do with our Owen?"

He'd talk to Aria later about her stunt, but right now he just wanted some return to normalcy.