Hunger Switch Cafe

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion needed a break. Luckily he’d been early to be questioned and got to excuse himself after that, but it meant most everyone else he knew was still busy. Laura seemed to have slept in or something sane, though, because he hadn’t seen her since things went from bad to worse.

Conversation With: Laura Hey Laura, haven’t seen you since two days ago. Which is good for you since the last few days have been a trash fire. Still, would be nice to sync up and share some info. You eaten breakfast yet? Someone got nicked again if you hadn’t heard and the cops are still holding up Odette and most of the other people who were there before they arrived.

[ @unrepentantAuthor ]

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

She'd overslept. Damnit. No accounting for the effects of stress and poor sleep hygiene, she supposed. She checked her phone and tapped out a head-empty reply to Gladion. He wrote in such a formal way, how was he even raised?

Conversation With: Gladion Hey - been doing a TON of flying, scouting - tired af Fuck, who this time? Where? Nvm tell me at the cafe i need food and a cuppa

Sleet was already gone, as usual, though she'd taken to leaving a sphere of ice on Laura's bedside table to indicate how long she'd been gone for. In this case, not long at all. Laura pursed her lips, tried to think better of it, but popped it in her mouth to crunch on anyway. It woke her up enough to scramble into clothes and out to the cafe, with Malachai in his ball at her hip.

"Hallo there," she called, waving awkwardly when she was at roughly the right distance, or so she hoped, and doing that half-smile half-nod thing people did. The trainers on the island tended not to. Must be a Galarish thing. "Nice to see you again, Gladion! I don't have anything all that solid, sorry, but maybe we'll get lucky today?" She flinched at get lucky, and decided not to comment on it and hope he wouldn't either.

"Have you ordered yet?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"Hallo there," she called, waving awkwardly when she was at roughly the right distance, or so she hoped, and doing that half-smile half-nod thing people did. The trainers on the island tended not to. Must be a Galarish thing. "Nice to see you again, Gladion! I don't have anything all that solid, sorry, but maybe we'll get lucky today?" She flinched at get lucky, and decided not to comment on it and hope he wouldn't either.

"Have you ordered yet?"

Gladion waved back. Hazel chirped and signed [Hi Laura] at her.

“Only tea so far. Seems like I’ll be dependent on caffeine by the time I get off this island. Yesterday, we figured out that everyone’s still being kept on the island, somewhere psychic powers can’t detect them. The rest was…”

Gladion shuddered, remembering the feeling of a knife in his side. He decided not to subject Laura to the details unless she asked.

Hazel finished the sentence for him. [Bad. The rest was bad.]

“Got followed by some stabby asshole from the Trousseline, couldn’t have done the first kidnapping though so he can’t be the only problem here, just a fun new side problem.”

Hazel groweled. [He will not be causing us more problems if he is knowing what is good for him.]

“Not much from the disappearance today, either. The psychic responsible used a fighting move. Someone else was nearby but a flash of light blinded them.”

[The fighting move was being very strong I am surprised it was not coming from z power.]

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Tea, perfect..."

Laura sat herself down, signing a greeting to Hazel with a warm smile as she did. When waitstaff came by she'd ask for pastries. Anything would do, but croissants or something would be perfect right about now.

"I guess I've been able to gather some information, it's just not 'actionable', as Mal would put it. And I've got a good feeling about that Lourine girl and her houndoom, but no hard alibi or anything. Honestly we should start fucking getting everyone's alibis at this point."

With hot tea bringing the rest of her brain online, she did a double take.

"Stabby asshole...?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion nodded. “Especially the Alakazam. I feel for his shit luck if it’s not him, but I can’t say it’s looking anything but worse for him.”

Hazel looked at Gladion, then back at Laura. He hadn’t answered her question. [He was stabbing Gl-]

He waved a hand to cut her off. “He did not physically stab me, I am fine. Manaphy was messing around at the time, it’s complicated. Everyone involved is fine, except the stabby guy because the police actually did something. I mean, he’s also fine health-wise, just arrested.”

He sighed. “The only thing that mattered of that meeting was the fact no one’s crossed the ocean since we arrived, but they victims are still shielded from Manaphy’s psychic reach for any number of reasons. Everything else that happened there was… just a distraction.”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Laura sucked her teeth and nursed her cup in both hands.

"You know," she said, quietly, "the first time I was ever attacked by a wild pokémon strong enough to actually kill me, the thought of it squatted in my head for days afterward. Weeks, even. The thing is, I was fine, I didn't actually get hurt. Kinda fucked me up to realise how fucking close I came to losing an arm or a leg, though. Kept imagining it, like I was punishing myself for letting it nearly happen."

She looked up at the human waiter approaching and politely ordered two croissants and jam as if she'd been talking about the weather.

"Might be time to alibi the 'Kazam, then, I guess. Hard to feel enthusiastic when the disappearances aren't even the only way to sustain a casualty here. Pity not everyone from the Trousselin is a useful, trustworthy sort. Pretty sure a decent number of us are just straight up kids. Like, preteens."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"You know," she said, quietly, "the first time I was ever attacked by a wild pokémon strong enough to actually kill me, the thought of it squatted in my head for days afterward. Weeks, even. The thing is, I was fine, I didn't actually get hurt. Kinda fucked me up to realise how fucking close I came to losing an arm or a leg, though. Kept imagining it, like I was punishing myself for letting it nearly happen."

Gladion shivered. "Damn..."

[Malachai and I will be keeping you two safe now! Probably Sleet too.]

Gladion noticed she didn't use the sign she'd told him had represented Sleet's name. He'd have to ask her about that at a more appropriate time.

"But still, not the sort of experience you quickly forget. I can't believe they let kids do challenges where you're from... Seems like a recipe for disaster."

Gladion closed his eyes and tried to think. His hand drifted onto his side, where he'd been stabbed in Wes' skin. "For me, it was over before I really knew what was happening. And... honestly, I think it was easier because the consequences of dying were more... abstract? Vague? Like, I still don't know what would've happened if anyone actually died during Manaphy's fuckery. Couldn't picture what would've happened if I tried, you know? Nothing good, for sure, but that's not specific enough to have nightmares about."

[You were also giving yourself medicine, if you were forgetting. It was making you sleepy. I do not think you were there for all of it.]

"That, too. Stars above, if I didn't have painkillers..." He winced. "T'would be a different story."

"Might be time to alibi the 'Kazam, then, I guess. Hard to feel enthusiastic when the disappearances aren't even the only way to sustain a casualty here. Pity not everyone from the Trousselin is a useful, trustworthy sort. Pretty sure a decent number of us are just straight up kids. Like, preteens."

[Hopefully no one has been dying here.]

Gladion crossed his arms. "Apparently Xavier just let the Klefki build the guest list off some pretty pseudoscientific-sounding criteria. Glad he thought that plan through ahead of time, it sure went great. Guess the keyring has a taste for genetic engineering... Speaking of, would any of the experiments you're dealing with involve human DNA? Seems to be another odd coincidence."

[There are two Hazels and we are both seeming to be having it. The other is being a Weavile but she is thinking like a human. Just like I am also thinking with human words. It is very strange. We are having a Sneasel living with us back home so I am knowing how strange it is.]

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Hazel's sweetness pulled Laura's mouth into a genuine smile. She seemed so uncomplicatedly Good. It made her seem a little like a child, but it was hard to think of her as one when she was so formidable.

"Has anyone quizzed that klefki?" she asked, offhand, when Gladion was done. "But yes, human DNA. I'm not even surprised you'd ask that. May as well be open about it, now. The Perihelion Association, as far as I can tell, are experimenting with hybridising pokémon and humans. I don't know many details, but I know that someone inside got a message to me claiming to be one, and it's harder to believe that someone was messing me about than that it's the truth, given all the context to it."

She looked warmly at Hazel, her brow creasing with concern. "So you're part human, are you, sweetie? I guess cognition in human languages is even rarer in most worlds than it is in mine. It's not super common in my universe, but Mal and Sleet, my inteleon, can both do it."

Laura skewed her mouth and blew air through her nose, then reached for Malachai's ball to release him. He poured out of it in a river of light, and took form beside their table. Even hunched on his wingtips, he provided considerable shade from the sun.

<My fluency is a product of long, sustained contact with human trainers,> he sent to the three of them, with an odd chitter from his throat. <I am something of an outlier in that regard. That impudent lizard is also atypical, but less so.>

Laura nodded. "Most sanctioned starters spend enough time with other 'mon that they mostly communicate in sign and elevated pokéspeech. Sleet spent her early life around humans, and got used to spoken Galarish."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion was startled as Laura released Malachai. He had not been expecting that, and having the table suddenly wrapped in shadow was an imposing surprise.

“That’s the bit that doesn’t happen in my world. Even the most intelligent species out there won’t use language in the typical sense of the word… Which I suppose means there’s another me out there again, but whatever: They can learn to recognize words or phrases, but when Hazel started picking up on grammar I started to have suspicions there might be some human neural pathways in there.”

[I am understanding why most species are not caring about grammar. It is often being difficult.] Hazel chittered, laughing at her own joke. Gladion laughed a little bit, too.

“The guy responsible for the helmet ordeal also said there was something in her brain that went undocumented as an excuse.” Gladion crossed his arms and sneered. “He still fucked up either way. Just wants to deflect the blame onto the guy before him.”

[Our father was much nicer than him. I am not liking him.]

“There’s one other instance of nonhuman recognition of human language. Also genetically engineered, also with human DNA. Any chance you’ve also heard of a ‘Mewtwo’ somewhere? Got a nasty reputation over in Kanto.”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Laura nodded, eyes widening instantly. That question did more for her brain than a fucking espresso would.

"Is he documented in your world?" she asked, a little sharply. "He's just a conspiracy theory in mine, but I'm pretty fucking sure Perihelion's research is based on him, however much of him is urban legend or real. The story goes that a yakuza gang paid for him to be created, and something blew the shit out of an island south of, just like you said, Kanto."

She held up a hand. "Hang on. I'm just thinking, you know, a lot of the different universes people here are from seem to have a lot that's similar but enough differences that they can't be part of the exact same timeline. I have no idea what the implications of that are for quantum physics or whatever, but I am thinking, hey, holy shit, if Mewtwo is a hard fact in other worlds, maybe the theories I've heard are true."

She leveled a finger from her raised hand at Gladion.

"You exist in my world, I'm pretty fucking sure. I told you on the Trousselin that it's widely believed someone on the inside of some Pacific corporation stole an RKS chimera, but they – oh right, Aether – Aether's lawyers shut down all reporting on it, hard. Now, I don't know the names of the CEO's family off the top of my head or anything, but I know that she's got kids, and I know the family all have blond hair. Like yours."

<You take so long to get to the point,> sent Malachai, sighing heavily.

"Manners, Mal. Anyway, you wouldn't by chance... be the CEO's kid, and have a twin sister, would you?"

She bit her knuckle, and tried to reassure herself that she didn't sound like a lunatic or something.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"Is he documented in your world?" she asked, a little sharply. "He's just a conspiracy theory in mine, but I'm pretty fucking sure Perihelion's research is based on him, however much of him is urban legend or real. The story goes that a yakuza gang paid for him to be created, and something blew the shit out of an island south of, just like you said, Kanto."

"Yep." Gladion crossed his arms. "Cut a bloody path through the island on the way out, but no one has seen or heard of them since. Was bad enough to be one of those occasions where Interpol gets cleared to actually do something and crack down on the people responsible. They whole organization is getting pulled up by the roots for it."

"You exist in my world, I'm pretty fucking sure. I told you on the Trousselin that it's widely believed someone on the inside of some Pacific corporation stole an RKS chimera, but they – oh right, Aether – Aether's lawyers shut down all reporting on it, hard. Now, I don't know the names of the CEO's family off the top of my head or anything, but I know that she's got kids, and I know the family all have blond hair. Like yours."

Gladion bit his lower lip. Really, though, he should have expected this, he'd given her his last name. It wasn't a super rare one among seafolk, but in the context of Aether, it tied him to the serpent's head. And that was the only part Laura was likely to know in the first place.

you wouldn't by chance... be the CEO's kid

okay okay that was salvagable she didn't necessarily know-

and have a twin sister

fuck.

He had two options, then: Point out that Lusamine had identical twins, and that Mohn was a common Seafolk surname, which would be the only way to deflect if she already knew that, but would give her information he didn't want her to have if she didn't already know it. Or he could say yes and just hope she didn't have the information to-

Hazel responded before he could. [Oh you are knowing of our sister?]

He couldn't lie, then. Not that it would have been worth the risk, given anything he said to Laura might make his way back to Odette and cause him twice as much trouble, or could even make its way back to her world, where there was another him who probably wouldn't appreciate the indiscretion.

"Yeah. I am."

He took a sudden interest in staring into his cup of tea. This shouldn't scare him, really, right? He trusted Laura far more than he'd trusted Wes yesterday, and even that had turned out fine. It just felt different this time. Wes had found out incidentally and hadn't even really pointed it out until Gladion had ribbed him about it. This felt like a cross-examination from one of the lawyer games, where Laura was going to dig into him and find the contradictions in what he'd presented her with.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Laura grinned, only slightly deliriously. She'd been right? No fucking way.

"Cool," she said, then just kept grinning like a dumbass for a second. "Uh, that makes me more confident that my world does have a 'mewtwo' in it. Not much information to draw strong conclusions about, and it's kinda wild that as far as I can tell, different worlds have the same people in them despite diverging in many ways going back generations... Makes you kinda wanna believe in fate a little bit, right?"

She laughed nervously, unsure if stoic, serious Gladion would think this was dumb. It was dumb, of course it was dumb.

Malachai huffed, and adjusted his wings. <Our fates are comprised of our choices,> he sent, in what felt like a mutter.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Makes you kinda wanna believe in fate a little bit, right?

Gladion looked away. "Yeah. But I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. There's... a lot of things that have lead me where I am. Not all of them are good. But in the end, they- we all got out. Probably all got out pretty young, too. It could be a lot worse in a lot of ways. Worse for some of us, anyways. But it also means... It's crossed my mind that I could probably ask Odette about other things. Things I don't know about yet, but might be as set in stone as... everything that led up to Hazel and myself in the first place. And that I might not like what I hear."

As he stared into his tea, Hazel quietly raised a talon, avoiding drawing his attention. [I was noticing Odette was only knowing a Gladion and not a Hazel. I think he is noticing that, too. Sometimes he is worrying too much. In general.]

"All the choices we make seem seem to lead us to the same place..." He gave a sardonic laugh. "Worst thing is, it's pointless to worry about. Not like I could do anything about it if it was true."

Hazel looked up at Malachai, an admiring look in her eyes. He was wrong. But it was the fact he never had to come to learn otherwise was what impressed her: That, for him to think that true, his own path must have been comprised entirely of his own choices. [Sometimes it is the choices of others that is comprising our fates, too. When I was younger, before Gladion, I was not having choices of my own. We tried, but when they wanted something to happen to us, it would be happening. I think my first choice was to stay with him. Then when I was making that choice it was shaping his path.]

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Malachai nodded grimly, and something of a shudder went down his great neck.

<Yes,> he sent, softly, <our choices affect each other, also.>

Laura wet her lips. It was a moment before she said anything more.

Of course a guy like Gladion would be kinda fucked up hearing about other selves from other worlds. Wouldn't most people? ...What did it mean that Gladion was notable in many worlds, and Laura was not?

"Sorry, Gladion. Didn't really mean to get all existential. For what it's worth, I think it's... really special, what you did. I'm glad you did it."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion smiled. "Thanks. I know what you're doing is, too. Even if we haven't gotten to that point in time where I come from yet."

[I am also glad you did it,] Hazel signed to him, [I am thinking it turned out nicely for me.]

<><><><><>

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade let out a sigh as she sank into one of the squishy booths around the outer wall of the cafe. "Well, at least there weren't any disappearances today."

"*That just means we're still waiting for the enemy to make a move,*" Nine pointed out, leaping down from Jade's shoulder and landing on the table.
"*It's just like back home.*"

"It's not just like back home," Jade replied defensively. Of course he'd find a way to see it in a negative light.

Jade grabbed her spoon took a large mouthful of omelette rice so that she wouldn't have to come up with a more substantial answer. She really was hoping to have found some kind of clue by now. Any way to be useful...

Nine opted not to press the topic any further and quietly helped himself to some of the berries on the table.

 

[Sinderella]

In another one of the booths along the wall, Odette sat poking at her breakfast. She felt alright, knowing that nobody had gone missing last night, and that Noro and Alakazam had been currently cleared. But, that was all they really had going right now.


"Are you still set on finding Jirachi today?" Enora asked just before taking a bite of one of her nanab berries.


She nodded. "I'm pretty set on the idea that there's a lot we could get out of speaking with them. Besides, they're yellow and a psychic, and I'm trying to exhaust all options of 'yellow 'mon' before we start considering it wasn't a--"


It was there that Odile returned with an iced Galarian fog latte in one hand and a plate of waffles in the other. She'd grown tired of pancakes and was looking to switch it up. "̶I̵'̴v̶e̶ ̶r̵e̵t̴u̷r̴n̸e̵d̵.̵ ̶C̷a̵n̵ ̵I̷ ̴p̴l̸e̷a̸s̸e̸ ̸h̵a̶v̶e̴ ̶m̴y̴ ̷b̶a̶g̴ ̶o̷f̴ ̴S̸h̴a̸r̵p̸e̵d̷o̶ ̴t̸e̷e̵t̴h̴?̶"̷ she asked.


Odette shot Odile a glare, before digging into her pocket and retrieving the organza bag of teeth that had just been purchased at the the shop. "I don't know why I let you buy these, considering you put me five fucking grand in the hole," she groused as she traded the bag for her requested tea.


"̶W̶o̴w̴,̶ ̶i̸t̸'̴s̵ ̵a̶m̸a̷z̸i̸n̴g̴.̵ ̷I̷t̵'̸s̵ ̴a̴l̴m̴o̸s̵t̷ ̷l̷i̸k̴e̷ ̷f̴i̵v̵e̵ ̸g̸r̸a̶n̷d̵ ̶i̸s̵ ̴l̵i̴k̴e̴ ̶a̴ ̵p̶e̵n̶n̵y̴ ̵t̶o̶ ̴a̸ ̷b̶i̵l̴l̶i̷o̴n̷a̶i̷r̴e̶ ̷s̴u̶c̵h̴ ̶a̷s̶ ̶y̸o̷u̸r̸ ̷l̸e̴f̴t̷ ̵a̷r̶m̶ ̵c̵a̸n̷d̵y̶.̷"̷


"Wow, it's amazing. It's almost like I don't rely on him for money and have my own sources of income." She took an irritated sip of her tea. "What are Sharpedo teeth even going to do for you? You gonna put them in your plushie?""


"̴N̸o̸.̵ ̴I̷ ̶j̵u̷s̸t̴ ̴t̷h̴i̵n̸k̶ ̸t̶h̴e̷y̴'̴r̵e̷ ̷n̶e̴a̴t̶.̴"̷


She held the bag up in front of Odette's face and began to jiggle it around, thoroughly enjoying the clacking of the bones against one another. "̶B̷y̸ ̵t̸h̶e̴ ̴w̴a̴y̶,̷ ̸d̴i̸d̷ ̴y̷o̵u̵ ̶k̵n̵o̴w̶ ̵I̸ ̴h̶a̵v̶e̵ ̷p̷s̷y̵c̸h̵i̶c̸ ̴p̸o̵w̵e̶r̸s̶ ̸a̶n̴d̴ ̷c̷a̸n̸ ̶r̵e̵a̴d̸ ̵f̶o̵r̵t̷u̶n̷e̷s̴ ̶i̵n̸ ̷t̷e̷e̷t̸h̴ ̷l̶i̷k̸e̸ ̴t̷h̸i̸s̷?̷"̵


Another sip. This one was much longer, allowing her time to decide if she wanted to respond. "No, I had no clue. Please enlighten me," she said dully.


"̶O̷k̷a̷y̵!̸"̴

Without any warning, Odile proceeded to dump all of the teeth out onto the table, careful to do so in a manner that would assure none of them fell on the floor. She lowered her nose toward the table, eyeing each tooth individually. It wasn't long before her shoulders deflated, and she sat back, suddenly looking defeated.


"̵O̸h̶ n̸o̵.̷"̶


"What?"


"̴Y̸o̴u̵'̶r̸e̴ ̵g̶o̷n̶n̵a̴ ̷h̴a̴v̷e̷ ̴y̸o̴u̶r̴ ̸p̷e̸r̴i̵o̵d̶ ̷i̶n̷ ̵a̴b̸o̴u̵t̵ ̶t̸e̸n̷ ̵m̸i̴n̶u̵t̵e̷s̷.̵"̵


"..."

"..."

If she weren't so weighed down by the overbearing threat of being kidnapped, she might have burst into laughter at just how out of pocket that was. Instead, she managed to clear her throat and let it pass.

"Okay."

She made herself drink some more to refrain from saying anything else, while taking a wide look around the restaurant to see who else might have turned up for breakfast. Nobody she recognized personally, but one she at least knew had been on the boat with. A girl and...her strange looking Pikachu? She supposed she had no room to scrutinize anybody about strange Pokemon, being that she took that distinction home, no contest.

Still, she couldn't help but squint. Why did the fur patterns on it look so familiar?


Odile broke her line of sight by holding up one of the bigger teeth. "̴I̵ ̴c̶a̴n̶ ̴a̷l̶s̷o̴ ̶c̷h̴a̵r̵g̸e̷ ̵t̸h̴e̴m̷ ̴u̷p̸ ̴t̷o̸ ̸s̴a̵y̸ ̴m̷o̶r̶e̵ ̶b̷y̴ ̴t̷h̴r̶o̸w̶i̵n̸g̴ ̴t̵h̴e̷m̶ ̵a̷r̸o̶u̸n̶d̷.̵ ̶W̷a̵t̷c̵h̶ ̴t̵h̸i̵s̵.̶"̴


"Don't you fucking--"


Odette barely had the words out before she tossed the tooth. It didn't get very far before landing...right smack in their table neighbor's berries.


"̴W̵o̷o̸p̷s̴.̵"̷

She cupped her hands over her mouth and leaned about half way out of the booth in order to assure the two sitting there could hear her.

"̷H̸e̸y̸,̶ ̴c̴a̷n̶ ̶I̸ ̵p̴l̸e̵a̵s̸e̴ ̸h̶a̵v̵e̶ ̵t̷h̴a̸t̶ ̵t̶o̸o̸t̸h̴ ̷b̷a̸c̶k̷?̷ ̷I̶'̴m̷ ̶p̴r̶e̶t̴t̸y̴ ̷s̸u̴r̴e̵ ̸i̸t̵ ̶w̸a̸s̸ ̵c̷a̷l̸l̴i̸n̷g̶ ̷m̴y̷ ̴t̶r̴a̵i̷n̶e̵r̵ ̵a̷ ̶l̸e̷s̸b̵i̸a̵n̸ ̵a̶n̵d̴ ̴I̴ ̶n̶e̷e̵d̸ ̴t̶o̵ ̸m̴a̶k̵e̶ ̸s̶u̵r̶e̷ ̷I̵ ̴w̶a̶s̶ ̴r̵e̸a̸d̷i̴n̶g̷ ̵i̴t̴ ̸r̷i̶g̸h̵t̶.̵"̶


Odette, now positively mortified, sunk down into her seat and covered her face with her hands. "Holy fucking shit..."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Nine narrowed his eyes at the... tooth?--yeah, that was a tooth--that had randomly flown into his berry plate. Jade turned to look in the direction it had come from and saw that girl from the boat who had that the near-identical yet slightly inhuman-looking twin (who Jade was pretty sure was a Pokemon, probably?). A particularly skilled use of Transform or Illusion, maybe?

Jade tentatively plucked the tooth out from the berries and held it out. "You, uh... dropped this?"

 

[Sinderella]

Jade tentatively plucked the tooth out from the berries and held it out. "You, uh... dropped this?"

"̶T̴h̶a̶a̴a̴a̷a̵a̷a̸a̶a̸a̴a̶a̸a̵a̷a̸a̸a̵a̶a̷a̶a̸a̶a̵a̶n̵k̵s̵,̴"̶ Odile sang, snatching the tooth out of her hand and holding it right up to her face. She gazed upon it intensely before snapping her head over to face Odette.

"̶I̶t̵'̸s̷ ̷t̸r̸u̵e̶,̴ ̶y̷o̴u̴ ̸a̵r̶e̴ ̴a̸t̵ ̵l̶e̸a̸s̵t ̵4̴3̶%̵ ̸l̵e̵s̸b̷i̶a̴n̷,̶ ̴c̷o̸n̵g̶r̶a̸t̴s̴.̴"̸


Odette had begun to press her fingertips into her temples, moving them in slow circles. "Thanks, I had no fucking idea," she said with gritted teeth.


With a deep breath, she managed to pull herself out of her embarrassment and sit back up. Leaning over Odile to get a better look at the girl and her Pikachu, she offered her best apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry. She's extra obnoxious in the morning," she said. "Your Pikachu friend has a stellar coat, by the way."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, uh, don't worry, it's not a big deal." It took her a second to process the compliment and realize that Nine wouldn't be the one to show appreciation, so she should. "And thanks." She decided not to mention how much negotiating it took to get him to agree to look decent in public since his general baseline for post-battle cleanliness was 'no blood.'

Jade glanced between the two of them, unsure if it would be rude to ask what the deal was with the nonhuman double with the creepy voice. The sort of voice that maybe would have been terrifying if it weren't paired with such a goofy expression.

She settled on just saying, "My name's Jade, by the way."