Poppin' Arms Guild ~ Infirmary

[unrepentantAuthor]

The fucking rocks ate your fucking memories and made a goddamn shadow-fascimile of whatever the fuck they found in there. Fucking great. Fucking brilliant!

"Looks like you weren't on the money with yer suppositions about them not gettin' in our memories," she said, quietly. Her voice wasn't exactly cold, but it was certainly bereft of humour.

Brisa turned to 'Mia' with her ironclad manners barely masking how unnerved she was.

"How do you do, Miss? I'm Brisa. Pleased to meet you."

She glanced at Luz, wondering if it was going to spawn dark goo any minute that would take the form of... who, exactly? Not... Not Jesse. Please not him. Even Sierra would be better than that. Who else could come from that fucking rock, anyway? Cathy, maybe? Gil? ...one of the posse? Gods, a replication of anyone she knew would be a horrific development.

Luz rolled back and rocked gently from side to side, with the rhythm of a heart beart. Brisa sighed. That's right. Luz was her ally. Whoever it... 'hatched' into, she had no reason to assume they'd be anything but a friend. She ought to give the thing a fair shake. And so she would. She reached out and patted the stone gently. Please... be someone I can depend on.

 

[Dragonfree]

"Looks like you weren't on the money with yer suppositions about them not gettin' in our memories," she said, quietly. Her voice wasn't exactly cold, but it was certainly bereft of humour.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know it'd just fucking turn into--" He waved a paw agitatedly towards Not-Mia. "He said he couldn't read memories!" She? What the fuck was any of this.

"How do you do, Miss? I'm Brisa. Pleased to meet you."

"Hi," said Not-Mia, only flicking her gaze toward Brisa for a second before returning to experimenting with her scythes. That was all. Of course it was. Something clenched in Dave's heart.

"Don't mind her, she... she doesn't do small talk," he said quickly. "Mia, hang on -- I mean -- do you remember being in the rock? When you told me you couldn't read memories and all?"

"I can't," she said, with a vague note of irritation. "That's not the same thing."

He closed his eyes. Okay. He supposed that was fair, in the way that humans couldn't read genes even though they were built from them. "So you didn't, uh, flip through my brain and decide to be Mia?"

"No. I just am now." She paused, frowning, like something was only just occurring to her. "You're a Poochyena. Why are you a Poochyena?"

He let out a disbelieving chuckle and shook his head. "That's a long fucking story, Mia." And then he caught himself, and opened his mouth again.

He should give her a different name. No way was he sticking with fucking Squiggly, but he could make up something else. He knew for a fact Mia didn't give a shit what her name was. He might as well.

He stood there, drawing a blank, as Mia narrowed her eyes and started to poke at his ears with the blunt edges of her scythes, and then realized he'd done it again, and oh, fuck it.

"You know what, I'll tell you later."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa watched the interaction between the two with apprehension. There was context she was missing, and this was the wrong time to ask after it. And she wasn't sure what to try with 'Mia'. The way she talked, so direct and unmannered... it was a little like talking to an Escarpa Clan roughlander. Like talking to Sierra. And with Sierra... Well, it was probably best not to offer to fight 'Mia' on the spot, in case Dave reacted badly. Who knew what the etiquette was for a scenario like this?

"Dave, I have a feelin' you two have a lotta catchin' up to do. I'll swing by later if you fly me a text, otherwise... I'll let you know what I find out about this. I fiure you can't be the only one whose stone this is happenin' to."

She eyed Luz again, who rotated innocently. 'Luz'. She'd picked that name with... someone in mind. What if that would affect Luz' fate?

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave looked back at Brisa and the apprehensive look on her face. Fuck. Well, he was used to people not wanting to be around Mia. He clenched his teeth. "Right. See you around."

Mia didn't say goodbye.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Alright, Dave."

Brisa looked over 'Mia' again. She clearly wasn't an ordinary scyther, and she'd been 'a lot bigger' in Dave's homeworld. He'd said something on their first day about... humans with pokémon genes. She'd have to ask about that later.

'Mia' had mentioned fighting almost immediately... Brisa imagined a human with pokémon instincts, wanting to fight, never actually getting to. Was that who she was looking at now?

"Miss Mia. If y'ain't one for small talk, I'd be more'n happy to get to know ya in a duel. Y'know, a sparrin' match. Get Dave to arrange it with me or somethin', if you're up for it."

 

[Dragonfree]

Mia turned immediately. Her expression didn't change, her voice remained monotone, but she cocked her head and said, "That would be nice. I've got proper scythes now. I can fight."

"Mia, you--" Dave stopped. Actually... yeah. This was a world where even he went around kicking dragons in the face and being fine afterwards, no big deal. And this Mia's body was goopy Scyther with a fucking rock inside, not fragile human with modifications. Why not let Mia spar her guts out? She'd fucking love it. "...Yeah, actually, that's a great idea." He looked back up at Brisa, surprised. "Thanks. She doesn't say that often but she appreciates it."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Fightin' is how we come to grow and understand each other," said Brisa, plainly. "Lookin' forward to it." She gave Dave a nod, and flicked her tail in a wave goodbye. Luz followed her out, bouncing a little as it rolled beside her.

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave wasn't sure exactly how Brisa planned to understand Mia through a fight. But apparently she wanted to understand. That was a hell of a step above most people.

He let out a breath as he watched her go. Maybe they'd actually get along.

<><><><><>

 

[Negrek]

Fortunately the infirmary was neither hugely far away nor difficult to find. Ordinarily the cutesy starry-hearty shit on the walls would have sent Nate off in the opposite direction, but no time to focus on that shit now. He could lament how everything in this stupid guild was terrible after somebody made sure the zweilous wasn't fucking dying or nothing.

"Hey!" he yelled at the beds and the quietly-circulating doctors or nurses or secretaries or whatever the fuck they were, "We need a doctor over here!"

 

[Persephone]

Cuicatl did her best to follow and stay silent, because she wasn’t sure what she would say if she spoke.

Her brother continued to breath softly into their back.

 

[Namohysip]

It didn't take long for one to come, swiftly floating through the halls with a worried look. She didn't appear to have legs, and her body looked like it was built for flight in some way, though more like a human construct than something organic. Her red body stood out the most, along with her stiff, red wings.

"Oh...! What is this?" Latias drifted closer, claws under her chin. "Okay. Right this way, right this way. You're... Cuicatl, right? And Nate, of Team Spectrum?" Even as she spoke, she gestured for them to follow her into one of the halls. A few rooms were occupied, but none of them seemed to be for serious injuries yet, or perhaps they once were until Latias got to them.

 

[Persephone]

Cuicatl started to follow the floating voice. There were no footsteps, so it was a little difficult.

"Yes... I evolved and there was a small problem."

 

[Negrek]

Well, here they were in the infirmary. Nate was torn over whether he should leave the zweilous to sort things out for herself, or hang around a bit. He didn't think they usually let randos hang out with people when they were getting evaluated for shit, but then the latias (which, as a side note, what the fuck) started floating off again, and it looked like the zweilous was having a little trouble following. Since the floaty-dragons floatiness didn't make any noise probably.

Whatever. She'd called him back too, after all. Nate jogged to catch up with the latias, figuring that would help the zweilous get oriented. "Yeah, that's us." Also, wait, hang on, how the fuck had she known his name?

 

[Namohysip]

"Okay, good," Latias said. "You can call me Raspberry, by the way. I'm usually out in the field doing emergency rescues around the world, but since we're trying to stay safe in Destiny Village, I've had to keep to here for a while..."

They entered one of the rooms and Latias nodded to Nate. "Thank you for bringing Cuicatl here. Did you want him to remain here?" Raspberry asked the newly evolved Zweilous. She also dug into a bag around her neck and pulled out a badge, saying something into it. "I'd like a Miracle Eye specialist, room 004. Yes. Yes, thank you. Oh! Good, okay. Thank you."

 

[Persephone]

"I think I might want to be alone for this. I, um, I think I know why evolution didn't really work, but it's... personal."

 

[Negrek]

"Yeah, sure. No big deal." There was definitely no way Nate wanted to end up in the middle of whatever the fuck that was about. "And if you still wanted one of those stones, ah..." The one he'd given her was definitely lying on the floor of the lounge. "I can leave one in your room or something. Or, hell, like three of them or something. I have enough of the things."

 

[Persephone]

"Oh! Yeah, I'll take as many as you want to give. Thank you!"

Still hope. Still. Hope.

 

[Negrek]

"Sure, no problem." Nate said. "Good luck with, um. You know. The thing." Oh, yeah. Great job with that. Super fucking comforting. "See you later, I guess."

He couldn't get out of there fast enough. Hell, he couldn't get out of this shitty guild fast enough. He could probably ask at the front desk where the zweilous' room was, and after he'd dropped off some rocks, he was extremely ready to get the fuck out of here and enjoy never coming back here again.

 

[Namohysip]

Once Nate bid his farewell, Rasp lowered herself a little and said, "Now, I think I know what might be wrong. I've seen this happen before, but it's incredibly rare. But first... How are you feeling? You aren't in any pain?"

 

[Persephone]

"I'm not, no."