Poppin' Arms ~ Dorms

[Namohysip]

Darkwhite, just there, and they all kept their cool? And Darkwhite didn't obliterate them?

"But... she beat me up pretty badly," Owen said, recalling the times he'd left imprints on the ground. "And Celeste, too. What's up with that?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut thought back to when Darkwhite abducted Celeste on the beach in Treasure Town. "I think it's something to do with Celeste." He smirked. "Though your can-do, uppity attitude likely made things worse in this one, isolated case."

 

[Namohysip]

Owen shrank a little. "Er, yeah... I guess I can take a page from this guy." He gestured to Charizard, whose arms were crossed. "Learn a thing or two about being stoic. But. Kinda hard with this." He gestured to his tail. "Though, I almost put it out if I concentrate hard enough. Kinda like holding your breath. Or I can put it out with water, but then she'd know something was wrong and I'm trying to hide something..."

But it was odd that Darkwhite hadn't showed up at all. "I wonder if there's a way to provoke an appearance.."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Well, I'd suggest offering yourself and Celeste up as bait, but that would be rude of me." Bahamut kept a straight face for a moment, before chuckling at himself.

 

[Namohysip]

Owen looked like he had been, before the chuckle, actually considering the request. "...Well, do you think she'd take the opportunity?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Well, maybe not here." Bahamut pointed out the window to Destiny Village. "But returning to the Grass Continent? Perhaps."

 

[Namohysip]

"I'll think on that. Maybe we can set up some kind of bait and ambush..." Owen sighed. "Well, er--anyway... Thanks for the talk. Do you want to read that Pyroar book? Might be helpful, since I don't think you're used to... being flesh and blood-like."

 

[Ambyssin]

“Sure.” Bahamut scooped the book up and wandered into the hall.

<><><>​

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

The rooms seemed fairly consistent with each other, mostly varying by two- or three-mon configuration. Brisa identified an unoccupied three-bed with a layout she liked, a deep window sill, and proximity to both the study and the rooms of some of their friends.

"Hey, Curio—how's this one?"

Brisa raised her 'Brisket' nameplate hopefully.

 

[NebulaDreams]

"Yeah, good!" Curio tossed her 'Beanpaste' nameplate to the side and immediately jumped on the bed. Finally! She longed for some R&R after that battle, and this bed had feathers in it as well! Feathers! No more bamboo mats and straw beds for her! However, she didn't realise how tired she was until a few seconds later. She buried her face in her pillow -- soooooo comfy.

"Room service... bring me cheese and grapes... maybe some wine... wait, that's just grapes too, but ah, screw it..."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

It didn't look like there was room service, but... Brisa looked at the prone riolu and sighed with a smile. Curio deserved a break. Brisa could be her room service for today.

Brisa quietly let herself out and returned some minutes later with a small hamper of food taken from the Guild's cafeteria. She'd managed to get her paws on some cheese, crackers, assorted grepa, jaboca and bluk berries, and some meat-substitute paté.

"Curio. I, uh... I have food. You awake?" Brisa set the hamper down and began setting out its contents as best she could.

"I did my best. No wine, I'm afraid, but... I got some apple and leppa ciders. I hope that's still good."

 

[NebulaDreams]

Before Curio knew it, Brisa was there with a hamper full of cheese, berries and crackers. Damn, how long had she been asleep for? Never mind, food!

"Oh! I wasn't expecting that, but thanks a ton!" She excitedly sat up and immediately grabbed something from the basket, sandwiching a small block of cheddar between two crackers. "Wanth thome?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Yeah. I'll try it."

Brisa tried to relax. Sharing food wasn't such a big deal to Cibus natives or most of the posse. Why should it be a big deal now? She should just calm down and enjoy the food and company. At least it was quiet and not public in their dormitory.

She picked out some of the selection for herself, and began to feel better just from the simple act of eating a pleasant meal. Cibus folks knew good food, that was for sure! She popped open one of the ciders, and after a few swigs, she felt confident enough to start asking some of the questions she'd been meaning to.

"So, Curio... you've said a couple times that you've taught folks stuff, as like, a job. Is that how you make a living, when y'ain't workin' on yer art?"

 

[NebulaDreams]

Of course, Brisa started nipping away at the cider. Ah well, she might as well have joined in. Curio poured herself a cup full and took a swig as well. Damn, that was good.

"So, Curio... you've said a couple times that you've taught folks stuff, as like, a job. Is that how you make a living, when y'ain't workin' on yer art?"

"Well, yeah, sorta." Curio swirled the cider around. "I don't really make much of a livin' off of it -- it's just whenever I can be bothered to." She snickered. "I usually just steal to get by, but I don't really mind that. I know how to fend for myself, and, y'know, once you've spent so long living in the open, everywhere starts to feel like home, really."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Wait...

What?

"Did I hear that right? You... steal? Yer a thief?"

Maybe it was okay. Curio was from a different world, where humans were on top. This was well outside of Brisa's jurisdiction. But still.

 

[NebulaDreams]

"Did I hear that right? You... steal? Yer a thief?"

"Yeah, what about i--"

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

Brisa's a ranger. Right. She arrested people like Curio. There wasn't much Curio could do to save face here, and she didn't feel like lying to Brisa. Did she? Well, maybe a white lie.

"I only stole stuff like food or blankets to keep my going. It was either that, or hunt, or rummage through the garbage, which I do anyway, but it's better when the food's fresher. There aren't really jobs for us Pokemon, at least, not somethin' you can apply for, like a form to fill out or whatever. Whatever teaching jobs I got, I had to follow and beg them to let me teach their Pokemon. Hell, bro actually found me nicking some food when he bailed me out." Curio gulped down the rest of the cider. "So since then, I've been tryin' to find more work and not steal. It's easier sometimes."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa listened, nodded, chewed it over. Yeah. That all tracked. She should have expected as much.

"Survival is a right that prevails over property," she recited, grimly. "Thought you were confessin' to somethin' worse than that."

She let out a low whistle. "I tell you what, I wouldn't want to be a sapient mon in your world. Sounds like humans have it much better. Guessin' you've been on the losin' end of that interaction most of yer life, huh?"

 

[NebulaDreams]

"Survival is a right that prevails over property," she recited, grimly. "Thought you were confessin' to somethin' worse than that."

"Well, I have done worse before." She poured herself another cider. "For survival, of course. Anyway, that's beside the point."

She let out a low whistle. "I tell you what, I wouldn't want to be a sapient mon in your world. Sounds like humans have it much better. Guessin' you've been on the losin' end of that interaction most of yer life, huh?"

Curio would've replied to Brisa's other question in more detail, but she was starting to sound like a broken record at that point with everyone who asked that question. "Yeah... I have."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded. "Well, you don't gotta talk about it if you don't want to. But just between you 'n' me..."

She knocked back a little more cider and perked an ear conspiratorially.

"I sometimes think I wouldn't much mind staying here. Just, stay on Cibus indefinitely. Folks're a bit strange, but they're a whole lot nicer than I'm used to. ...wonderin' if you have the same sorta thoughts."

 

[NebulaDreams]

"I sometimes think I wouldn't much mind staying here. Just, stay on Cibus indefinitely. Folks're a bit strange, but they're a whole lot nicer than I'm used to. ...wonderin' if you have the same sorta thoughts."

“I dunno,” was her gut reaction. Curio hadn’t thought about it before. “Yeah, this place does seem nicer. I guess if I had a chance to actually live in it on my own terms, then maybe I would.” She took a sip of cider. “But at the same time, I have unfinished business to take care of there. As shit as it is, I do wanna see it get better.”