Poppin' Arms ~ Dorms

[IFBench]

The sound of crying crawled to a halt. A few seconds later, Saltriv wrapped a vine around the handle, and the door opened.

"Hi, Shiron," they said.

 

[Navar]

Shiron rubbed his arm, unable to force a smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. To fix this, Shiron took a deep breath.

Finally calming down, he continued. "Hi... Saltriv. I... I know you're not okay, but... I'm here for you."

 

[IFBench]

"Thank you," Saltriv said, taking a step closer to Shiron. "I...I really appreciate it."

They gave a small wave of their now-elongated leaf. They extended a vine, and laid it on Shiron's back.

"All of them were just...gone in an instant. I tried to pull them back...but I couldn't reach far enough," Saltriv said, looking down at the ground.

"You did your best," Burhalla said.

 

[Navar]

Shiron whimpered, holding back a few tears. Comforting people... wasn't something he was an expert on, sadly. He leaned forward, sighing.

"I was knocked out. I didn't even see it happening until it was... too late."

He wasn't strong enough to help. Like usual.

"I'm sorry. I-I... I wish I was gone in their place. At least, they would still be here," Shiron put his head in his hands and finally sobbed, falling to his knees. "I-It... It happened again, for me. Seeing a friend die..."

 

[IFBench]

"I wish I was gone in their place."

"Don't say that!" Saltriv yelled, before their expression fell. "I'm sorry, it's just...you were my first friend here. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you, too."

"I-It... It happened again, for me. Seeing a friend die..."

Saltriv wrapped two vines around Shiron, in the best approximation of a hug they could muster. "...my condolences," they said, after a few seconds.

The Charmander beside them joined in, wrapping his goopy arms around Shiron.

 

[Navar]

"Don't say that!" Saltriv yelled, before their expression fell. "I'm sorry, it's just...you were my first friend here. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you, too."

Saltriv wrapped two vines around Shiron, in the best approximation of a hug they could muster. "...my condolences," they said, after a few seconds.

Body-shaking sobs racked Shiron's body, but he accepted the hug, nodding to Saltriv. Tears dropped into the floor as the Marshtomp let out his anguish to a friend.

A friend... one that he didn't disappoint. Yet. The rumble on his bag continued.

"T-Thanks, Saltriv..." he rubbed the tears off for a moment, before they came down again.

"It's just... after I saw it happening, it came to me again. I failed... I failed and a friend died. Again. I'm just... worthless."

Why he was talking about this was beyond his reason, but now that Shiron started, he didn't feel like stopping. Even if it hurt like hell. The stone moved once more, and fell out of his bag.

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv continued hugging Shiron, tears beginning to flow from their eyes again, too.

"You're not worthless. You're my friend."

 

[Navar]

"You're not worthless. You're my friend."

That was quite hard to believe. He had reasons not to. And yet, Shiron wanted to believe in those words... the stone began to emit a cracking noise.

"Back in the human world, my world... I didn't have friends, or a family, not at first. I got adopted by a rich family, but it didn't go well. They... they tortured me, they abused me. I-I..."

Shiron looked at Saltriv again, frowning and sobbing. Painful memories, too painful. He almost wanted to stop.

"I ended up hating myself, not caring for myself. I stopped eating, I hurt myself..."

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv kept hugging Shiron, a third vine wrapping around the Marshtomp.

How could someone's parents be so cruel to their own child, adopted or not? That was absolutely awful!

They wished they could say something to help, but they didn't know what to say.

 

[Navar]

Shiron appreciated the hug, giving them a faint smile. It was still very much painful to talk about this issue, but honestly... he could use the conversation.

"It... somehow got better. I met someone, Nick, and we became best friends. He always stood out for me, always took care of me, and I healed. Slowly."

He struggled to say the next part, like there was something on his throat that stopped him for the moment. The stone rolled out, stopping right on Shiron's feet.

"Nick... died. I'm not ready to talk about that part, but..." Shiron gulped, rubbing more tears. "Seeing most of the team vanish brought back those memories, and my insecurities. I think my Ultra Stone, it talked to me. I was so broken... and it helped me. I want to thank you for listening to my story, Saltriv. You're a good friend."

 

[IFBench]

A fourth vine wrapped around Shiron at the mention of Nick's death. Why did all this have to have happen to their friend?!

"You're a good friend."

"...thank you," Saltriv said, tears fully flowing from their eyes now.

 

[Navar]

Shiron smiled, this time a genuine one. Pouring out his feelings was always good, and it was something he hadn't done in a very long time. Not after... that death.

"I'm happy to have met you, Saltriv."

He picked the stone up, its cracks spreading all across it, until it finally bursted open, knocking Shiron to the ground with a loud thud. Where the stone once stood was a goopy, shadowy Lucario, who blinked and tilted his head.

"U-Urgh... got hit by... somethin—"

The goopy canine finally said something. "Hi. I'm... Nick. Not the one from the story, but I'll... do my best to support you all."

 

[IFBench]

Burhalla's eyes widened in surprise. Another one like him had awakened. He wanted to say something, but no words came to his stone.

Saltriv's expression perked up, as they stared at the Lucario. Even though they had already seen Burhalla's awakening, it was still cool to see another one. "Wow..."

 

[Navar]

Nick turned his goopy body to check on Saltriv, nodding to them. "Thank you for helping him."

Meanwhile, Shiron didn't seem to be reacting so well once he saw what was going on. A bit unnerved, he stood up. "Why are you a Lucario? Nick was... is a human, like I used to. And... you're not him."

"That time you pretended to be Pokémon. You pretended to be a Swampert, while Nick--"

"He was a Lucario. I... see," Shiron sighed. "Well, thanks again, Saltriv. Do... do you need anything? A hug?"

 

[IFBench]

"...yes. Please," Saltriv requested. They hoped Shiron would be alright. Seeing his deceased best friend again, yet also not...they worried that it might be too much for him.

 

[Navar]

Nodding, Shiron went in for a hug, sobbing a bit more. He remained silent all the way, and stayed for as long as Saltriv wanted to, while his familiar just watched with both arms crossed. Shiron elected to ignore the Lucario, and just focus on the hug.

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv hugged back with their vines, not saying a word. Just taking in the presence of their friend.

In this moment, everything was alright.

 

[Navar]

Everything was okay. He was fine. Saltriv was fine. They... they would both be fine.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

On her way back to the dorms, Kate noticed that Pleo fell back into low spirits after Cabot and his dark counterpart's projection vanished. For whatever reason, seeing the young Lugia's spirits droop didn't sit right with her, prompting her to extend a claw and invite her to while away the evening in her room.

After retracing her steps, the Sneasel eventually found her and Pleo back at the hallway outside her room in the dorms, when she looked back over her shoulder at Pleo.

"Well, this is a bit last-minute," Kate said. "But I guess it's a bit healthier for both of us than just being alone."

The Sneasel carried on into the dorm room, letting Pleo in with a small smile.

"Feel free to make yourself at ho-"

Kate abruptly trailed off after spotting Luz sprawled out on Brisa's bed, the Zeraora shade seemingly staring off at nothing in particular.

"Eh? Luz? Wasn't expecting you to be back already."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz had tried to prepare herself to finally talk to those posse members still living who'd been closest to Brisa, but all that thinking about what to say to them had achieved was to make her core ache desperately in a way she could barely stand but was running out of stamina to suppress or ignore. So she'd gone back to her room to wait out the emotional pain, holding the shinx doll Brisa had kept from Leg, and wondering whether Brisa's new body would be a luxio or a shinx once again...

When Kate walked in, she tossed the doll aside and rolled onto her side, propping her head up with one arm and resting the other on her body in what she hoped to be a pose that expressed relaxed confidence.

"Howdy, y'all," she said, with her usual pep. "Wasn't expectin' company right now."

She turned her head to look at Kate and Pleo. How were they handling . . . all this? It had been some time now, and Kate barely knew anyone, sure, but it would still have been a shock to witness all those deaths. And Pleo...

"We're workin' on a way to get 'em back," she remarked, off-handedly. "Maple's in on it an' everythin', so I'm sure it'll all work out jus' fine. You'll see."