Actually, despite turning her face redder than a voltorb, maybe that wasn’t the worst thing in the world, now that they were in contact. It saved her a lot of awkward explanation.
Poor girl. She'd be so much better at saving face if she knew how to control that trigger happy blush of hers.
“Oh… you heard that, huh?” Kimiko said meekly. She took a deep breath and straightened her posture, finally looking Odette in the eye. “Yes… I swore I’d seen both of you before, but when I saw her up close, I just… yeah, I got angry. And it freaked me out. And last night, I had a nightmare. And your Pokémon was there.”
Another sigh, and she averted her attention away. How was she supposed to explain this politely?
"Ikea," she said simply. She let the word linger in the air for a moment before locking her eyes back on Kimiko's face. "Does that ring a bell?"
She shifted her weight uncomfortably and began to scratch her cheek. "You
did see her. And me. I don't think we spoke because you were keeping your distance, but I'm entirely sure I saw your face." Her brows lowered. "You saw the fight. Between me and that fucking cannibal. He tried to kill me, so I sent Odile out. Remember that? I would bet my title that that's what your dream was about, even if you don't remember it clearly."
Odette stiffened her posture, allowing more of an air of confidence to come to her voice. It was more than obvious she was knowledgeable on the subject. "The bottom line is your musings about 'hopping universes' is correct. No party here came from the same world, and
some parties are parallel copies. If that wasn't clear."
She side-eyed Wes and pointed over her shoulder. "That fucking tree over there? Parallel copy of you. I am more than 100% certain. I've met parallel copies of some of my
own friends in these places. They look just alike to be able to tell that they're parallels, but wildly different at the same time." Her eyes followed the point of her thumb warily. "Same 'mon, same look, similar outfit. But he's clearly your crazy mirror version, sorry to say."
Her features scrunched into a more serious look. "If that freaks you out,
good. If it wasn't obvious, absolute crazies get rounded up to join these things." She stifled a dry laugh, because she knew damn well she counted among them. Not the craziest of them all, but probably up there.
"Last time I joined, I picked a fight with a serial killer--yes, a fucking
cultist serial killer, because apparently cults flourish fucking
everywhere--" there was a sense of unprecedented bitterness behind those words, and she didn't bother to elaborate. "--and he turned into a worm and tried to eat me. I would be creeped out myself, but I come from a world where weirder shit happens and I'm possessed by the Pokemon equivalent of the fucking devil; I've maxed out on creepy."
An apologetic look was sent to Kimiko. "I don't mean to indirectly be the thing to haunt your nightmares. Honestly. I'm sorry you had to bear witness to all of that. If I'd had any other choice, that wouldn't have happened. But I had to defend myself."
“I don’t know what she is, but I know it wasn’t your fault. And honestly, she hasn’t even really done anything. I just feel really on edge when she’s nearby.” A quick glance over at the little tumbleweed bat. “I wonder if it’s something she can control. It’s… I can still feel the anger, it’s still there, but it’s much less intense than it was yesterday. What kind of Pokémon is she?”
She supposed that was a good way to segue into Kimiko's follow-up question. A can of worms, but a can of worms she guessed she had no issue explaining. The better people understood what Odile was and how she functioned, the better.
"No, when she's like this, she can't do anything. She's just..." a frown. She lightly shook her head. "She's scary. There's no other way to look at it. But the anger you feel, there's a reason for it."
"Have you ever heard of the Seven Deadly Sins? Is that a thing where you're from?" she asked. "Well, if it isn't, let me recap." The knowledgeable tone returned, much more prominent this time. "There's a religion in my world that speaks of 7 vices that are the root of all evil." She held up her hand and began to count on her fingers. "Sloth. Lust. Gluttony. Greed. Envy. Pride."
A very noticeable pause. "And Wrath."
She dropped her hand. "Where I come from, there are seven legendaries that embody these vices. The Blood Legendaries, as they've been dubbed." She sent a look toward Odile, and grew silently thankful that she was still idle.
"Odile is the legendary Venira, the Pokemon of Wrath. She embodies all things anger, rage, fury, you name it. It's nothing she can control; it's just what she is." Her look grew sheepish as she locked eyes with Kimiko once more. "I have anger issues. Severe. You can do the math as to why."
Now for the weird part. The part that usually started the aversion. "As if it weren't strange enough, her typing is also unique. They're not called the 'Blood Legendaries' for the edge of it; it's their type. Blood types. Remember when I said she has no access to her abilities unless I give them to her? Well."
She held up her hand again and pulled down the sleeve of her sweater, revealing that same blood pressure monitor she'd had on her wrist yesterday. "In the form she's in now, she couldn't battle. She has no...erm...what's the word..." she started snapping. "
Pouvoir? La magie?" She pinched the bridge of her nose, and it suddenly came to her. "Mana. I suppose the word would be mana. Basically, she can't access the ability to...well, use a move. All she can do is go back and forth between that bat form and...the uncanny version of me you saw yesterday. She can do standard...passive
ghostly things, if you will. But she couldn't fight. Well, I mean, hypothetically speaking she could pick up a weapon and go nuts, but she thinks that's too easy."
Mmmm, that wasn't the right thing to say.
"Not that she would. She's fine now. I swear. I'd kill her otherwise."
Odette cleared her throat. "Anyway."
She scraped her shoe against the ground and tilted her head quizzically. "What I'm trying to say is that she has no access to her abilities until she has access to the blood of her vessel." She pointed to herself unenthusiastically. "Which would be yours truly."
Her hands defensively shot up before anybody could exclaim outright. "Sounds like fucking vampirism, I know, but she doesn't get that access until I say so. At least that much is consensual. And I have to watch it because, well, blood loss can kill a person." She pointed to the monitor. "Hence."
The franticness left her voice as her hands returned to her pockets, and her demeanor became significantly more tense. "No, I didn't ask for this. It was more like an
ill fated fluke. She's been with me since I left the womb, and I only found out about her...3 years ago? That sounds right. Walking around with the anger problems of a demon for twenty-two years and finding out it's because of an
actual possession is extremely jarring. I wouldn't recommend it," she said dryly.
She held her arms out to her sides. "So I hope I was able to efficiently answer your question. And I hope I was efficiently able to, uh...clear the air. Not the most settling thing to learn, but...I hope you at least understand. And I'll answer any more questions you have to
make sure you understand." She suddenly looked defeated as her eyes trained on the floor.
"That was my whole reason for coming here in the first place, honestly. Before I knew I was universe hopping."
“Oh, please!” Olivia said. “Always happy to have more friends! Especially when they bring presents!” She eyed the fresh plate of bacon Enora had brought with her. “I don’t remember if I got your name! I’m Olivia! You’re very pretty!”
Enora had a little hop in her step as she moved under the table.
"A gracious guest always brings a gift," she said.
"Please, help yourselves!"
Her tail swished happily at Olivia's comment. Flattery usually didn't get people anywhere, but with Enora...who was she to not accept such a lovely compliment?
"You're too kind!" she tittered.
"But you must give yourself some credit too; your coat is exquisite! I'm Enora, and you are?"
Vera sniffed at the new eon before giving a small approving bark. Her bulb rustled in excitement and she wanted to fight, but food now. Food was more important.
Enora eyed the little Bulbasaur and resisted the urge to coo affectionately. What an adorable little thing! She'd only met a Bulbasaur once in trainer school, and it wasn't nearly as small as this one. Absolutely precious!
"Nice to meet you too! Do you have a name?"
