Poppin' Arms ~ Cafeteria

[unrepentantAuthor]

Ah, excellent. Time to have a chinwag.

"Howdy, Cabot. Been busy, yeah."

Judging by the kid's appearance, he was in perfect fighting nick as always. She'd expected that. The cranidos was nothing if not diligent (and idealistic). They wouldn't need to discuss the basics. Brisa was much more interested in what had happened at the Isle of Light, and again at the Abandoned Lab. Cabot's shadow.

"So Cabot, I've been thinkin'... You're just about the only one of us who's gone shadowed since we fought the shadow machine, an' deliberately at that. I've been tryin' to master my own darkness, an' I've been doin' okay on it, but I still ain't had the courage to get so deep as that since . . . last time. How... How d'you do it?"

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot paused a moment, before giving back a small smile. He should have expected Brisa would've wanted to cut to the chase.

"It's funny you wanted to talk with me about this, since I actually helped someone else on the team deal with his shadow yesterday. I guess as a power Shadows can be pretty hard to control for a lot of Pokémon, even if they can make you really strong..."

The Cranidos tilted his head and put a claw to his mouth as he thought about the best way to answer Brisa’s question.

"But… it's kinda hard to explain. I know I struggled with it after what happened with the Shadow Machine. For a while it really bothered me, and it didn't feel right to just blame everything on the machine. After all, that machine just brought up the darkness that was already inside of us, you know? At first I hoped Owen would be able to help because of how well he was getting along with his shadow, and I thought that if I could do the same then maybe my first instinct wouldn't be to attack others if I got corrupted again. But… Owen didn't want to help me, so I had to think of something else that didn't involve summoning my shadow."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa listened closely. Interesting that Owen had turned Cabot down—though she was sure the charmeleon had his reasons. This wasn't a solution, though... Just a preamble. What had Cabot learned?

"Can't say I've been keen t'summon my shadow, either," she admitted. "Meetin' mine was disturbin' enough th'first time, so I don't blame ya fer that. But if y'ain't done that, what did y'think of?"

 

[Virgil134]

"Well, the main thing that makes Shadows so hard to control are all the negative thoughts and feelings that come up when we use those powers, right?" Cabot began. "I remember everything that happened at Shaymin Village pretty clearly, so I know what those thoughts and feelings are in my case."

He took a bite from one of the gummis on his plate before continuing on.

"It requires a bit of self-awareness, but what I did was basically take the time to think over everything that went through my head when I attacked the team, and even some other smaller things that were bothering me," the Cranidos explained. "I thought about what they are, why part of me felt that way, and I rationalized to myself why those things either aren't as bad as they seem at first, or in some cases aren't true at all. Basically to give myself some reminders to fall back on when shadowed so I don't act on any of those thoughts or feelings."

Cabot leaned back a bit and shook his head.

"I don't think I could have done that without Pleo's help though," he said. "It's really nice to be able to talk with a friend that can see inside your head when trying to do this."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded along as Cabot explained what the team had more or less fully covered by now. Some of the techniques he described, she was already using to some extent, or close enough. She'd learned to talk about her emotions without being consumed by them, to a point. Maybe Cabot's feelings just weren't so painful that he couldn't bear to sit with them at high levels of shadow...

"...a friend that can see inside your head..."

"I ain't about t'let anyone inside my goddamn head," she snapped.

She turned away, instantly embarrassed. She tried to offer a chagrined expression, her ears flattening down.

"But . . . Luz has been helpful. She's been practicin' mindfulness with me, among other things. Helps me keep my shadows or radiance from risin' too sharply. An' I'm just about able to bear speakin' to her through our mental link, despite..."

Every day, for years, that fucking voice in her head, even when he wasn't trying, unless she concentrated all the fucking time to keep it out.

"You don't know about Jesse, huh."

 

[Virgil134]

"He's your dad, right?" Cabot asked. "And also a Psychic-Type? Though I admittedly don't know too much besides that."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

....Alright, here she went.

"Delphox Jesse Stranger was . . . is . . . my father. He used to read my mind all the damn time t'check if I had my shit t'gether. Havin' my thoughts an' feelings scrutinised jus' takes me back to those times. Makes me feel like I'm gonna fall short, earn a lecture, get real fuckin' mad. Y'see how that's not my favourite way of dealin' with shadows, p'rhaps."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot shifted uncomfortably. He could only imagine what it must be like to have some other Pokémon probe around in your mind against your will, let alone one of your own parents.

"That... must have been pretty awful," he murmured. "Back in my world we don't have anything like that. There's stories of powerful Psychic-Types that can supposedly read other Pokémon's minds, but they're just that. Stories. Kinda like how you'd supposedly die if you look underneath a Mimikyu's disguise, or get cursed for grabbing a Ninetales' tail. If mind reading was real though I'd imagine the Navy would definitely make use of it, since it'd be a pretty convenient solution in some cases..."

The Cranidos paused and blinked, realizing that Brisa probably didn't want to hear about how the Navy could make use of mind reading given her experiences with her father.

"Er... anyway, I understand why you wouldn't want that, especially with what happened to you in the past. But it did help a lot for me, and if you're gonna try to do the same as me I think you should at least consider giving it a go," Cabot insisted. "I mean, you're not just gonna have some random stranger look inside your head, it's Luz. I admittedly haven't talked with her all that much, but she's always super nice and encouraging! Surely she'd never do any of the things your father did to you, right?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded as Cabot yarned on in response. Stars, but the lad was naive, wasn't he? It was honestly a nice change of pace from some of the attitudes on the posse. Still, mind-reading as a 'convenient solution' for the state military? Good fucking gods.

"Luz is encouragin' 'cause she don't feel fear," shot Brisa. "Or much of any tough emotions, come t'think. I don't remember her ever gettin' blue, or mad, or jealous, or hardly anythin'. I dunno if she even really understands why I feel th'way I do about that stuff. But she ain't forced it on me, an' that's why I've been willin' to give it a try . . . fer th'sake of emergencies an' th'like."

Her tail thrashed uneasily behind her.

"I dunno whether she'd be more or less helpful'n anyone else if I confronted my Shadow, but I guess I could give it a try. She'd certainly be willin', anyhow."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot nodded. "Yeah, it never hurts to try. If it turns out that this doesn't really work for you you can always try it without allowing Luz to see inside your head. And, well, if that doesn't work either I wouldn't mind helping you find another method that does."

The Cranidos drank some of the Pecha juice he'd gotten with his lunch, before continuing on.

"Though... you might be surprised at how it goes," he said. "Nobody has ever read my mind before, but I know that I really wouldn't like it if some other Pokémon did, especially against my will. Yet with Pleo it's... different. Maybe it's because of the connection we have with our Shades, but it just doesn't bother me at all."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa worked through her own lunch as Cabot spoke, barely tasting it despite how good it was. (Cibus had the best food, goddamn.) At least Cabot understood why mindreading would bother her, it'd be a worry if he didn't. And what he was saying was . . . reasonable.

"...Y'know, Cabot, it's kinda reassurin' t'hear it's different fer ya with Pleo. I guess our familiars are a different case entirely."

Luz really was different. Different to what she expected, different to other shades, different to herself, and probably fucking different to the real– to the original Luz. Brisa had rejected their connection at first, wanting nothing to do with a mind-reading doppelganger of her cultural hero. But Luz had never begrudged her, never forced her into anything, never been anything less than decent . . . albeit frustrating, embarrassing, and a little intimidating at times. And... Luz seemed to believe in Brisa.

Maybe she could believe in Luz in return.

"...I'm ashamed t'say that I found Luz embarrassin' at first. I got a goddamn legendary pokémon, a folk hero, as my familiar, an' she behaved exactly like the Luz from the stories that I always admired . . . an' I tried not t'be seen with her. Augh... But things're different now. I know I can count on her, that she's got my best interests at heart, that I can . . . trust her. We're partners, y'know?" She grinned. "Like you'n Pleo. Y'all always got along."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot couldn't help but smile at that last part. "Well, I'm glad you feel better about her now then! Luz does seem like a really great Shade."

Now he thought about it, he really hadn't talked much with Luz. While it was of course hard to really get to know everyone on the team with how big it had gotten, he felt like he'd probably get along with her from what he'd seen of her. Perhaps once things quiet down he should make an attempt sometime to get to know her a bit more...

"But yeah, me and Pleo really are partners. I couldn't have wished for a better Shade than him," Cabot beamed. "When I hang out with him it's like there's a little bit of home right here in Cibus, you know? I might have even gone crazy from homesickness by now if it wasn't for him."

He finished up the rest of his lunch when another thought came to mind. Something he'd been meaning to talk about with Brisa...

"Oh, by the way, do you remember how we and Starr talked about fighting together in the Colosseum sometime?" the Cranidos asked. "I think I actually got some opponents in mind that we can take on after we save the town from Joule."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

It was nice to see someone both strong and idealistic, and yet happy. Cabot didn't always have it right, but . . . it was nice to think a mon could be all those things.

"You know me, Cabot," said Brisa, some cheer returning to her tired voice. "I'll take on anyone. Who're y'thinkin' of?"

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot shot her a confident smirk.

"How'd you like to take on the God Squad?"

<><><><><>​

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Lately, for Brisa, to exist was to live in a state of exhaustion and perpetual bruising of body and mind. Normal mon took a few days off after a tourney, hell, even she would under normal circumstances. Instead, with everything the way it was, she'd gone straight to the training rooms the moment she'd recovered, and had been in and out of there all day. ...And the next. But at last, it was time for an evening meal, and hopefully she'd be able to work on something as she ate.

On her way to the cafeteria counter, however, she spotted Starr . . . and so of course went straight to her instead. She hadn't caught her after the tourney finale, and couldn't possibly pass up the chance to talk!

She forced her genuine enthusiasm into her voice despite her fatigue. "Howdy, Starr! You keepin' okay? I'm good. Been busy off my damn paws, but even so, I can't stop thinkin' 'bout that fight of ours–!"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr glanced up from her food at the sound of Brisa's voice. "Oh hey. Yeah, it was pretty awesome, right?" she said with a grin.

Man, she really hadn't seen Brisa since the tournament, had she? They'd even managed to miss each other's training times. And... as usual, Brisa looked about ready to pass out. Goddammit. Just how busy was she?

"...You wanna sit down and order something?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

She'd planned to eat on the move while walking to the study to make more plans, or something, but it didn't seem remotely in good taste to ask Starr to do that with her. And she wanted to talk to Starr. So . . . she'd stay put.

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, I'd love to. Gotta get back to drilling soon though. I don't have a partner fer it yet, everyone seems too worn out fer anythin' much..."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr let out a snort. "Yeah, no shit, of course they're worn out. C'mon, sit your ass down." She pushed her plate of fried rice toward Brisa so she could take some.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Ah, sure."

Brisa took the food with gratitude, while Starr waved someone over to order some more. Fucking stars above, she hadn't realised how hungry she was. Or how tired and achey, once she'd sat down. Like, so much more tired and achey than she'd even realised, holy shit.

"I guess I'm pretty tired too," she conceded.

Starr was giving her a look that was well into the territory of scepticism and would soon reach the border of full-on disapproval. Ouch.

"Okay, stars above, I'm exhausted. I admit it. I ain't skippin' sleep or anythin', I'm out like a candle flame at nights, I just... I'm workin' real hard. Yeah."

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Uh huh..." Starr nodded distantly. 'Just working hard.' Sure.

There were a dozen different things Starr wanted to say, but Brisa looked like she'd probably fall apart in response to half of them. So Starr just settled on casually asking, "You gonna have enough energy for the mission?"