Destiny Village ~ X-Eye Cauldron

[Namohysip]

Down the road between the commercial and entertainments districts of town was a string of restaurants, bars, and other eateries that flooded the senses with all kinds of scents. Street vendors happily shared their foods to passerby tourists and residents alike, while the fancier restaurants down the road. But somewhere along the way, scattered here and there, were rowdy bars and pubs and all kinds of places to get smashed.

One of the most popular and eye-catching areas, both for the food and for the entertainment, was the X-Eye Cauldron. Not only did the food get rave reviews, the beer and other hard drinks were apparently brewed in-house, and the interior itself? Homey, like stepping into a rustic past of fresh cut wood. And while it was a bit on the expensive side, money was not much of a concern for Team Spectrum. Diners had a choice of sitting at the central table where bartenders went about in the middle preparing everyone's drinks, or at proper tables around the rest of the large room where waiters tended to their orders.

<><><>​

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave and Brisa settled at a corner table with relative privacy and ordered their drinks. Dave picked out some fancy home-brewed beer for kicks, since it was all going on the God Squad's tab anyway. It arrived swiftly, in a generously sized glass; he tried a sip. Not bad.

"So," he began when the waiter was gone. "What's the deal with your dad?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

So, Dave was up for a drink after all.

Brisa took a second to reply, surprised.

"I figured we'd talk about somethin' like your life or how y'been keepin', not... him. But, uh. I'll tell ya if you wanna hear it. Then maybe the other stuff, to end on a sweeter note."

She took rather more than a sip of her own drink.

"Jesse Stranger saved the world," she said, as plain as if she were talking about the weather outdoors. "He turned up outta the blue one day as a braixen, met my mother, Sierra, and they partnered up to put a stop to the endless growth of mystery dungeons. Then they had me, a half-human, half-pokémon kid, and I grew up with an unprecedented talent for puttin' folks' faces in the dust. That's all well and good."

More beer.

"I know you heard what I said at Shaymin Village. When I was Shadowed. See, Jesse was a telepath. He used to read my mind. All the time. All the time. I got used to it. And he... Well, he had it figured that one day I was gonna lose my mind and kill a sapient mon. That I was dangerous. That he had to keep me under control. And y'know, he could see into my head, he knew everythin' about me, so it must be true, right?"

More beer. A lot more.

"He once told me, mind-to-mind, that if he ever caught me sparrin' too hard with someone again, he'd put me down like the violent animal I am. How's that fer parentin', huh?"

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave sat there while she talked, his scowl deepening.

How many times had people called Mia an animal, screeched that she'd kill people? Plenty. There'd been an entire loud fringe movement calling for them all to be put down after the church incident. But those had been random strangers to whom the morphs were just scary half-human creatures, people who didn't extend them people status, people who just figured they're weird and different and scary so they should be killed. This guy, this fucking guy, had been rifling through his own daughter's brain and still somehow come to that kind of fucking barbaric conclusion. The kind of parent who possessively insisted on going through their kid's phone on a regular basis to uncover supposed sins to kick them out of the house for, only turned up to fucking eleven and given psychic powers.

And - Brisa was just a normal fucking person. She was half-human, but the other half was talking Pokémon, the kind that pretty much might as well be human. What the fuck was he even talking about. Christ, if this fucker wanted to get a look into an actual half-human mind--

Dave clenched his teeth. No, actually, if he did, Dave would not let him anywhere near them.

"What a fucking sack of human shit." His voice was actually shaking with anger; he took a long swig of his drink. "Look, that psychic shit? Holy fuck. What kind of twisted motherfucker ransacks their kid's brain for reasons to fucking kill them? Who threatens to kill their own fucking kid? Is it him that's telling you you have to fucking go out and solve every problem in the world, too? Jesus fucking Christ. What kind of fucked-up excuse did he even find in your head to think you were some kind of monster?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa took a minute to reply, nursing her drink and considering what her actual take was on this. She was so used to just... believing that stuff. But nobody who'd found out about it had thought anything but that it was fucked up. Why was that? Why was that so obvious for them... and not for her?

Maybe she just hadn't explained it right.

"When he told me that, I'd just had my friend's throat gripped between my teeth," she said, feeling her heart sink even as she said it. "Like she was... As if I-"

It was so hard to say. Why was it so hard to say.

"I used to spar so hard, all the time. I was gettin' worse. Holdin' back less. And when Jesse tried to stop me... I got mad, I dared him to do somethin' about it, I pretended I was gonna go do my friend an injury, and..."

Gods. Why. Why had she been like that.

"I knew he could see what I was thinkin', so I imagined... doin' it. Bitin' down. I've done it before with wild mon, I know what it feels like. His paw went to his wand, and I knew he'd shoot me to save the life of someone I was about to kill. That's... that's what it was."

She gave Dave a hard look, defying him not to fear her. To hate her. To know what she really was.

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave winced at that description. Okay, he supposed he could kind of see how that image would freak a person out.

But, key point, she'd fucking imagined it. As if that meant anything. He knew for a fact Mia'd imagined worse without the slightest intention of acting on it, and she was actually -- fuck that guy. Fuck that guy. Like any decent human being wouldn't give their own kid the benefit of the fucking doubt, and not just assume that they -- fuck him.

"Look, Pokémon fight. It's normal. You weren't actually going to fucking kill anyone. If this shithead was so fucking psychic, couldn't he take one damn second to hang on and figure out you were imagining shit to rile him up? People imagine all kinds of shit, doesn't mean they'd do it. And especially doesn't mean they're a fucking violent animal who should be put down, holy shit. I can't fucking believe he'd say that about his own goddamn kid."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa shrugged and nodded vaguely at each point Dave made. Yeah, pokémon fought. Yeah, she wouldn't have killed Cathy. Yeah, she was just riling Jesse up.

“Yes, Brisa!” he shouted, voice breaking as he said her name. "You’re stronger than other pokémon. You must realise that. You’re fucking dangerous."

“What are you gonna do to me when you find me like this?” she asked, and imagined sinking her teeth into Cathy’s neck.

"Well, you ain't wrong, but it still sure feels like he was right. D'you know I really hurt a couple people on the posse already, by forgettin' myself and not holdin' back? They've forgiven me, but I still feel dreadful about it, and I'm afeared of it happenin' again."

 

[Dragonfree]

"He wasn't fucking right," Dave said before chugging down more of his drink. "He's a fucking scumbag. There's nothing wrong with you."

Mia'd hurt people, too. She didn't even fucking feel bad about it, because she didn't do that. But here Brisa was, wringing her hands because she'd battled a little too hard. Like there was just something intrinsically dangerous about who she was, like it was some kind of fucking inevitability. "Okay, say you did go a little too far once or twice, and you really do think you could accidentally do it again. Then you go and figure out what went wrong and prevent it happening. Like..." He trailed off, peering at her. "Was one of those times the time you exploded with Radiance? Because if so, chances are it wasn't because of you, it was because of the fucking Radiance. And then all you need to do is, you know, not use Radiance. Or if you have to, use it but take a moment to breathe and clear your brain before it fucks you up too much. You don't just throw up your hands and decide you're a monster. You're smart. You can figure it out."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa opened her mouth to object, but there wasn't actually anything she could argue with. She.. was pretty smart.

"Yeah. It was Radiance. There have been a slew of other incidents without Radiance, though."

Dave frowned at her over his drink. "Okay, so what happened there?"

"Well, for starters there was Starr. I tried to apologise to her for chewin' her out before, and I just... got mad again. I escalated it out of control. Then, back home, more than one time I took out my frustrations on some two-bit bandit and put them in the surgeon's office. And there was Cathy..."

Deerling Cathy. Brisa's favourite gal. Her friend.

"It was Cathy who got my Pa worried in the first place. I used to spar with her all the time, more than daily, even. I always won, and I always gave her a thrashin' on the way. Jesse... said what he did to me, 'cause he caught me with my teeth in her throat. I..."

She trailed off, consumed with shame and embarrassment.

 

[Dragonfree]

"Well, for starters there was Starr. I tried to apologise to her for chewin' her out before, and I just... got mad again. I escalated it out of control. Then, back home, more than one time I took out my frustrations on some two-bit bandit and put them in the surgeon's office. And there was Cathy..."

Starr? Dave didn't really know anything about this conflict between them (was this before they were trapped in a cave together?), but, well, Starr was fine, wasn't she? "Well, it doesn't seem like you did anything permanent to Starr even while you were 'out of control', so point one for your self-control, far as I'm concerned."

The bandits question was... hmm. "Can't say I'm, uh, a big fan of vigilantism, but I'm gathering there's no actual law enforcement where you live and they're just throwing you out there making you beat up anyone violating the social contract? Which, you know, that's pretty fucked up either way." He sipped his beer again. "Look, maybe you'd have fewer frustrations to take out on the bastards if everyone weren't fucking assholes."

"It was Cathy who got my Pa worried in the first place. I used to spar with her all the time, more than daily, even. I always won, and I always gave her a thrashin' on the way. Jesse... said what he did to me, 'cause he caught me with my teeth in her throat. I..."

Dave tilted his head. "I mean... if you sparred all the time, and you thrashed her every time, and she kept eagerly hanging out with you and having more sparring matches, that kind of sounds like she was pretty into it."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Well, it doesn't seem like you did anything permanent to Starr even while you were 'out of control', so point one for your self-control, far as I'm concerned."

Brisa shrugged. She guessed not. Starr did seem... fine with her, now. More or less. The teasing... was a good sign, wasn't it?

"Can't say I'm, uh, a big fan of vigilantism, but I'm gathering there's no actual law enforcement where you live and they're just throwing you out there making you beat up anyone violating the social contract? Which, you know, that's pretty fucked up either way."

Brisa smiled drily. "I am law enforcement. The tricky part is rangers are supposed to be registered with the Union, and they won't send me a partner without a sponsor, but the town can appoint who it likes, even if the mayor won't sponsor me. Which... forces me to do it alone, if I don't want to leave folks defenceless."

"I mean... if you sparred all the time, and you thrashed her every time, and she kept eagerly hanging out with you and having more sparring matches, that kind of sounds like she was pretty into it."

"I... I guess? She did... like to spar with me. Plenty so... But, y'know, she stopped after that incident. I never saw her again. Figure she felt my teeth in her neck was one step too far or somethin'. After that, I got all my sparrin' from my Ma, just about."

 

[Dragonfree]

Brisa smiled drily. "I am law enforcement. The tricky part is rangers are supposed to be registered with the Union, and they won't send me a partner without a sponsor, but the town can appoint who it likes, even if the mayor won't sponsor me. Which... forces me to do it alone, if I don't want to leave folks defenceless."

"Huh." Dave took another swig of his beer. "Well, my point that everyone's an asshole still stands."

"I... I guess? She did... like to spar with me. Plenty so... But, y'know, she stopped after that incident. I never saw her again. Figure she felt my teeth in her neck was one step too far or somethin'. After that, I got all my sparrin' from my Ma, just about."

"I mean, that or your dad freaking the fuck out spooked her."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Well, my point that everyone's an asshole still stands."

Brisa chuckled. Fair enough. Maybe they were. Still didn't seem right to assume everyone else was terrible and it was her, the violent half-feral, who was the problem. But sure.

"I mean, that or your dad freaking the fuck out spooked her."

"I... guess? I never found out what she thought of what happened. I'm not... I'm not sure what-"

Brisa remembered Jesse blasting her with his wand to get her off of Cathy, sending her tumbling into the dust. Cathy, getting up, looking afraid—not of Brisa, but of the legendary delphox who'd just shot her. Cathy, overhearing Jesse threatening Brisa over ever sparring again.

{If I ever catch you like that again...}

Had she overheard Jesse's voice in her mind, too?

"He told me, 'If I ever catch you like that again, I'll put you down like the violent animal you are.' What if Cathy... heard him."

Brisa allowed herself for a second to imagine herself in Cathy's position not as prey, but as her friend... Knowing that seeing her friend would mean inviting the wrath of a person who'd shoot his own daughter. Could it be that Cathy had been... terrified for Brisa, and not herself?

"No, no, I... It was my fault, it was my teeth in her neck, I could have killed her if I'd only bitten down, I... That was why I tried to hard not to fight anymore, to hold back... It wasn't- I shouldn't have done it, I-"

Oh gods. What was true?

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave sipped his drink, thinking. All this pointless guilt and self-flagellation was a bit out of his wheelhouse, honestly. Not really Jean's thing, much less Mia's. "Well... you weren't going to bite down, were you? She's your friend, you spar all the time. It's not like you'd suddenly decided to murder her." He paused. "Was there a reason you went for the neck that time, or...?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"No, of course not," said Brisa, a terse ranger again for a moment. "I'd never do Cathy any harm."

"Was there a reason you went for the neck that time, or...?"

The familiar explanation leapt to her tongue, Jesse's words emerging from Brisa's mouth. "I was irresponsible, careless with my strength around people's lives. Throat-holds are dirty fightin', even bandits don't do that shit. Folks only do 'em for three legitimate reasons—either they're huntin' a prey animal, they intend to end a person's life in self-defence, or they're comin' on awful strong to some lass or lad they like."

She sighed, and reached for her drink again. "So obviously I had to quit sparrin' until I learnt restraint, else I'd have ended up hurtin' someone."

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave blinked at her, raising his eyebrows. He supposed Pokémon flirting by seductively fucking each other up was to be expected, honestly. But Brisa looked perfectly earnest about somehow not concluding the obvious. "Okay," he said. "So you were not hunting, and you didn't intend to end her life. So..."

Fuck, was that why her dad went ballistic? Sees his daughter making moves on another girl, immediately fucking traumatizes her and threatens to kill her if he ever catches her like that again? How did this motherfucker just keep getting worse. Did they have religion in the talking Pokémon Wild West? Probably. Fuck.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa shot Dave a sideways glance. "Weren't you listenin'? I said I was bein' irresponsible. What are you gettin' at? You think I was... flirtin' with her?"

That was ridiculous. Right? The whole point was that her sparring had been much too intense, that she was careless with her strength, that she needed to learn to play by the rules and handicap herself and... would she ever even have done that, anyway?

Well, maybe. Brisa imagined doing it, imagined putting her jaws around a pretty girl's neck and just holding still, showing the control she had, testing the trust she'd earned, kicking off a flurry of excitement in the other gal's head at the sense of danger and intimacy...

"Do I frighten you, when I do this?"
"No, never."
"Good. I'd hate to miss it."

"I don't... know."

"You're mine now, Cathy..."
"Oh, I sure am, wildcat. But only 'cause you're cute."
"I ain't cute."
"You keep tellin' yerself that, darlin'."

"...I don't remember."

{BRISA.}

Jesse put out a paw and his eyes burned with a hard light. Brisa froze in his sight and felt her mind being forced open, felt Jesse Stranger inside her head, grasping inexpertly for the memory of his flash of anger, seeking to tear it out, desperate to have never even thought that godawful thing in her presence.

Brisa screamed.

"I don't remember what I was thinkin'." She stared vacantly at Dave. "I remember gettin' real fuckin' mad, Jesse threatenin' me, me sayin' I'd run away from home, him reachin' out a paw and then... nothin'."

"I think I'm gettin' sweet on you, y'know."
"You only just realise that? Brisa, darlin', you sure ain't smart every day."

Her head fucking hurt. Gods. Salt and sand, what... what was wrong with her?

 

[Dragonfree]

"I don't remember what I was thinkin'." She stared vacantly at Dave. "I remember gettin' real fuckin' mad, Jesse threatenin' me, me sayin' I'd run away from home, him reachin' out a paw and then... nothin'."

Dave stared at her. Oh fuck. Oh, fuck. That motherfucker.

"He erased your fucking memory, didn't he? You already said he'd root around in there all the time. Daughter's gay and he just goes and fucking rips it all out, because then I guess it never happened? Leaves her to think she's a fucking monster for fooling around with her crush because she can't remember why she even did it? That inexcusable fucking troglodyte. There's nothing fucking wrong with you, the only thing that's wrong is him."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

What? Her memories... were any missing? How would she know? Would she- Did she actually feel some kind of way about Cathy? (Did Cathy feel the same kind of way about her?) She'd always thought it had been a mistake, a lapse in judgment, but- gods, what-

There was too much to deal with in her head. Too many clamouring thoughts, each trying to be processed. She grabbed weakly at a peculiar element of what Dave had said, just to have something simple to latch onto.

"What do you mean, 'gay'?" she asked, feeling and sounding vacuous. "I don't- I don't know what you're talkin' about."

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave narrowed his eyes at her. "Gay. As in, you like girls. Or, you know, maybe you like guys too, whatever. They don't tend to think there's any difference."