Destiny Village ~ Pasta Plaza

[Adamhuarts]

Ivy brightened up with a smile and caught the mochi with a drool. "Yay! More mochi for Iv—erm... More mochi for me!"

"Thank you! Ivy is... ugh... I am grateful. This... this is so hard."

 

[Ambyssin]

"It'll get easier with practice, kiddo," Esper said, producing a corncob pipe from his head to puff into.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"You still haven't told... me your name," Ivy reminded him, all the while staring at the corncob pipe. Of course, Ivy had her mind running to figure out whether it was edible or not.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Esper." The poipole bowed once again.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Esper... Good name. Ivy will..." she sighed. "I'm not hungry anymore right now."

Well, it's not like she ever got hungry in the first place. Ivy just liked to eat a lot... maybe she got that from Cynthian? No, Cynthian barely ate anything as fast as she could tell.

"I think I'll go do something else now," she said, already taking a step back to leave. Maybe she could find Soul and play games, or ask Mia for more sparring sessions. Those were lots of fun.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Ah, yes. Very specific." Esper puffed into the pipe once again. "Well, I'm-a go stare at Leg's plushie collection for a while. Byeonara!"

He zipped higher into the air and out of sight.

<><><>​

 

[Navar]

Shiron thought he was well enough to get back to his dorm after drinking, but to his shock, he dound out that it was all too spinny for his tastes, and so he tried to walk, or rather, stumble across the village, not really sure where he was going, or who was seeing him like that.

This stroll ended up taking him to a shady area that he never saw before, and to make sure that wasn't just the alcohol speaking, the Swampert rubbed his eyes. Nope, that was the place. A plaza...?

"Okay. I'm not going crazy. Now how the hell do I get back?"

 

[Fusion]

In order to get all the sleuthing practice a ghost possibly could, Vix forced herself to be in stealth mode from the time she left the others to now. Hiding in the shadows, moving in the corners of people's vision, ominously "Ooooooooo"-ing whenever the breeze picked up... She wasn't an expert, but she figured she was doing pretty damn good.

Some time later, Vix headed to the Plaze to try hiding in plain sight, like those undercover spies did in those books she read. Unfortunately, she was easily distracted by the stumbling mass of Swampert walking around. Maybe a break was in order, it had been a while since she and her roommate last sat down and chatted.

Vix sank into the floor, reappearing just before Shiron with a jagged smile on her face. "You doing alright buddy? Looks like you might've had a bit too much to drink. Or did you run into a Zubat or something?"

 

[Navar]

Shiron stumbled back, falling on his rear. He blinked, tilting his head.

"O-Oh, V-Vix... that's you, right?"

He immediately sniffed his own, alcoholic breaht and covered his mouth, blushing in embarassment. Hopefully it would be before Vix noticed it. Or maybe he would be unlucky enough to get a comment or two about that.

"I-I'm... I'm fine! Never been better!" Shiron nodded, still covering his mouth. "I just had a chat with Soda with a few drinks, nothing major."

 

[Fusion]

Vix snickered, rising fully out of the ground and lending the big fish a hand. Shiron and Soda going out for drinks was definitely noteworthy, but Vix didn't know why just yet. She'd ask Shiron about it later.

"And I guess you went the total opposite direction to where our new houses are?" she asked. "How about we wait a bit for you to sober up before we head on our way, huh?"

 

[Navar]

"I'll be honest. I have no clue where I am right now, and everything's spinning..."

Shiron's head seemd to move out of his control as he said so. "K-Kinda wanna have another one..."

 

[Fusion]

Oddly enough, Vix could vaguely remember getting as shitfaced as Shiron was. Another interesting development, she knows what "shitfaced" means.

"I totally forgot if I like drinks or not, so having a couple wouldn't hurt. Me. You should probably limit yourself," Vix said, chuckling. "I mean, I probably could carry you, but... I dunno."

 

[Navar]

Shiron snorted. She was funnier than he remembered. Or maybe he was too drunk. It might have been both.

"If that's your idea of asking someone, it's terrible. Either we go home or we just... vibe until I feel more sober?" he shrugged. "Your choice, buddy, roomie, and all that jazz."

 

[Fusion]

"Fine," Vix hummed, thinking things over a bit. It would be fun to go out for drinks, but, thinking responsibly... it might be best to let Shiron take it easy for a bit. "We can go out for drinks later, then. Right now, you need to take a seat and probably drink some water. I think. I don't remember how to un-sober."

She grabbed hold of Shiron's arm and led him over to a bench, sitting him down and nodding. "Maybe if we're lucky you'll just need some rest," she said, sitting beside him. "Which would be convenient, seeing how I've been up and about all day and could use a breather myself."

 

[Navar]

"I can shoot water from my body, does that count?" It didn't.

Shiron whined, like a child who was denied a new toy, and simply looked at the sky above them, mesmerized. Vix had a point, and to be fair he was looking for an opportunity to talk with her. Better now than never.

"...Hey, Vix. It's good to have you back. I missed you."

 

[Fusion]

"...Hey, Vix. It's good to have you back. I missed you."

Vix didn't entirely process that at first. It took a minute for it to settle in her mind, and much to her surprise... it didn't feel as great as she was hoping. She was waiting the entire time after she un-died for someone to say it, someone that wasn't her or a part of her, and Shiron was definitely kind of somewhat close to her but... It was bittersweet.

"Thanks, Shiron. I missed being around you too," Vix said, staring up at the sky. "You never know what you're really missing until you get torn to shreds by a ball of death and get sent to hell, huh?" she joked, only realizing how dark that sounded after she said it.

To quickly change the subject, Vix asked, "How've you been while I was gone?"

 

[Navar]

"Thanks, Shiron. I missed being around you too," Vix said, staring up at the sky. "You never know what you're really missing until you get torn to shreds by a ball of death and get sent to hell, huh?" she joked, only realizing how dark that sounded after she said it.

Ouch. He knew it was a joke, but definetely not a funny one. Shiron looked at her face and smiled, a genuine, happy smile.

"It's fine. I know we're not like... close close, but I still think you're a good friend."

Hopefully that would make her feel at least a little bit better. Comforting others was always something he liked to do, and that was no excep--

To quickly change the subject, Vix asked, "How've you been while I was gone?"

His smile turned into a frown, and the fins around his cheeks seemed to flatten. Shiron didn't answer, instead wondering what he could say. It had to be something good, but he couldn't just straight up lie to her. Complicated.

And yet, he chose the truth. "Bad. Started blaming myself for not being... strong enough, or good enough. That I should have died instead, that it would be better off this way. I--"

Shiron trailed off. He stopped talking, and went back to looking up.

 

[Fusion]

And yet, he chose the truth. "Bad. Started blaming myself for not being... strong enough, or good enough. That I should have died instead, that it would be better off this way. I--"

Shiron trailed off. He stopped talking, and went back to looking up.

Vix's eyes dimmed, and the flame inside her flickered. If chandeliers didn't have hearts to ache, then Vix wondered why and where she picked up hers. "I wish I was able to stay alive, then... to tell you nothing that happened was your fault. None of us had the power to stop that, not even Joule could have stopped it if he wanted to."

A real shame he didn't...

She placed a hand on Shiron's shoulder, then rested her head on him. "I'm sorry you had to deal with... all of that. I hope you weren't alone for it all..."

 

[Navar]

"It's... nothing. I'm used to it. Barely hurts me anymore."

He lied as naturally as he breathed. His hear stung, like someone stabbed him over and over again. But even so, a small part of him found... comfort in Vix's words, so he let a few tears drop on the ground beneath them.

"And I wasn't alone. Saltriv helped me get through it, as did Icetales. And Puddle. And Starr."

Shiron forced himself to laugh, if only to get distracted from the pain, and held Vix's hand. The tears slowed down, before coming to an end.

"You were my first friend here, and you were always so nice... thank you."

 

[Fusion]

It felt like, whenever Vix sat down with one of her teammates in a one on one conversation, that there was always something just under the surface with them. She wasn't the world's best empath, but she had enough innate ability with emotion to know that Shiron... was still hurting.

Vix let out a sigh and squeezed Shiron's hand gently. "You don't need to thank me, really. I was pretty much a loner before we bumped into each other."

Even if, I still am...

"If anyone needs to say thanks, it'd be me," she said, chuckling lightly despite the ache inside her chest. Or whatever equivalent. "So, thank you, Shiron."