Destiny Village ~ X-Eye Cauldron

[Negrek]

"Front row?" Rocky's eyes gleamed, and he bounced excitedly in his seat. "Of course I want to! I love to get to see the fights up close! Maybe Incineroar will even do his ascension thing like you said!" He considered for a moment. "We already saw a couple people be legendary in the colosseum. Zygarde doesn't look a lot like incineroar, though. It would be really weird for Incineroar to turn half zygarde! Is his big armored helmet thing just going to come bursting out of his head like schlooop?"

"Rocky," Nate said sharply. Rocky giggled.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa snorted. Her turn to cover her mouth.

Luz was unfazed. "I think he'll duplicate hisself and take on the same colours and hide as Bean, somethin' like that. Who knows? It'll be excitin', anyway."

Brisa scratched her cheek. "Fun as it is to imagine, it'll be tough. And if it is his final exam or what-have-you, he won't hold back." Her gaze turned to Nate again. "Y'know, it's funny. I never got the chance t'say. Thanks fer yer efforts this past year, Nate. I dunno if there's many as have much idea of it, since y'ain't one fer flashy moves in mass combat or nothin', but I know you played a part in a fair portion of developments along the way. That shit mattered."

Luz kicked her under the table.

"And you too, Rocky, of course. Good job helpin' out."

 

[Negrek]

"Oh, that's right. There's a lot of Beans, so there could be a lot of Incineroars, too. Hmm..." Rocky smiled, lost in fantasizing about the kinds of wild things that might go down in the battle.

"Yeah?" Nate started to raise a hand in response to Brisa's thanks, but then set it firmly back down on the table. "Well, thanks, I guess. Just doing whatever really. Thanks for ripping all those scary bastards to pieces for us."

"Yeah!" Rocky said cheerfully. "You did pretty good, too. Both of you are gonna be big heroes! We all will. I mean, bigger than we already are. We're pretty great."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa chuckled. "Bein' one of the team's strikers is practically a fuckin' dream job. Sure, there were some scares, but I'm just wishin' I could keep at it. Be big goddamn heroes, like Rocky said. You, though... I'm guessing' you're happy to be headed home, right?"

Luz was giving Nate an odd look. Maybe Rocky had said something she'd picked up on?

"That's why you kept clear of socialisin' all year, ain't it?" she asked, as if it weren't a loaded question. "To make this part easier. Pretty sensible, really."

 

[Negrek]

"Yeah, I'm glad to be headed back. All this hero shit"--Nate gestured vaguely at the air--"ain't for me. And yeah, I wasn't too keen on getting close to nobody I was just gonna have to say goodbye to a few months out. Much easier that way."

Rocky sighed and leaned back in his seat. A quick glance passed between him and Nate.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"You don't think it were a missed opportunity?" pressed Luz, leaning her head on one paw. "We were here fer a whole year in the end. Weren't you . . . lonely, fer most of that?"

"Some folks are solitary by nature," interjected Brisa. Where're you goin' with this?

"Just thinkin' 'bout how when you first came t'Cibus, you kept tellin' yerself that you'd avoid makin' firm bonds so as not to get attached. An' then you went and did that, a dozen times over. What gives?"

Brisa frowned. "Too late fer it t'matter now."

 

[Negrek]

Nate shrugged. "No. I had other shit to do."

"He hates fun," Rocky mock-whispered, eyes gleaming as though sharing a secret. Nate elbowed him, and Rocky giggled. The marshtomp didn't appear to mind the comment.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz chuckled to herself. Brisa raised a brow. "Everyone has a different idea of what's fun for them, partner. Fer me, it's pickin' up bruises in a sportin' battle. Ain't fer everyone."

"What do you enjoy, then?" asked the shade. "If there's somethin' you could do before y'all gotta go, and y'ain't already doin' it, you should do it while y'can!"

 

[Negrek]

"Nah. Ain't nothing I can do here that I couldn't do back home at least as well," Nate said. "This ain't the place for me."

"You can't breathe underwater back home! You could look for sunken treasure!"

Nate rolled his eyes. "Nothing I care about I couldn't do back home." He looked thoughtfully down at his empty glass. "I'll miss the free booze, though." Maybe he shoulda got some of the fancy shit that gallade had been drinking. Make it a proper send-off and all.

"You just have your last match to do, right?" Rocky asked Brisa brightly. "You've already done everything else you wanted to?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa sighed, but kept a dry smile. "I could fill my years here, kid. But the real important stuff, fer closure? Pretty much. If we got word it were happenin' ten minutes from now, I've said most everythin' important. I'd just wanna go in the company of the folks I love, is all."

She glanced away, and distractedly added, "Hey, Nate, lemme buy the next round. Some of the real good stuff – it's not like I can save up fer a rainy day no more, huh?"

 

[Negrek]

"That's good," Rocky said cheerfully. "At least you got everything that was important. Me and Luz, we got as much time as we want here. We can do all the things!" He beamed.

"Well, it don't exactly make much difference, since neither of us is paying," Nate said with a smirk. "But sure. You want some drinks, I ain't gonna say no."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa scoffed. "I've not used Maple's tab in months, pal. I've been workin' fer a livin'."

"Pretty dumb thing to do if'n you ask me," teased Luz, with a face more smug than regular biology would allow for.

"Shut it, you. Anyway, yeah, I'm glad y'all void eternas have each other. Stick t'gether, alright?"

"You got it, chief. Me'n Rocky'll get along. Right, Rocky?"

Brisa smiled fondly at Luz, and bit her lip for a second. Gods, she'd miss her too, huh.

 

[Negrek]

"What?" Nate laughed and leaned back in his seat. "Well, shit, if you'd rather pay your way, be my guest." He supposed they'd still dispense you your colosseum winnings, even if you didn't technically need them. Man. If he'd gotten some of that, he didn't even know what he would have done with it.

"For sure!" Rocky said, grinning broadly. "You and me! And all the other familiars. We're really lucky we have such a big family! And all of them are super cool!"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz had a certain fire in her eyes, one Brisa didn't fully recognise. She raised her glass. Black teeth flashed in her mouth. "Fuck yeah we are," she said, with enthusiasm.

"You swore," said Brisa, instantly. "You never do that."

"I do when I feel strongly enough," said Luz, winking. "Right now, knowin' the company I've got fer my life ahead of me, I feel really, really strongly."

Brisa laughed. "Well, alright then! Let's drink to that!"

<><><><><>​