Cresselia92
Gym Leader
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Hers
- Partners
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Kindle decided to take a second sip, doing the very same, before saying something. "This is good."
Icetales beamed, feeling his chest swelling with pride and joy, while his free tails wagged with vigor and scattered some snowflakes around.
“Ah, I am most pleased that thou appreciate my tea, good sir,” chirped Icetales, and his eyes sparkled like sapphires. “My special blend, made of both mint, red tea and some herbs. Refreshing to both the mind and the spirit.”
Icetales leaned against the chair and breathed out a chilly gust, freezing the tea instantly. Then, he began lapping at it, enjoying the slushy texture of the frozen tea. He hummed a few times and closed his eyes.
Ah. What a lovely sensation.
“…I have been working hard to learn how to prepare the most exquisite of teas. As the head butler of one of the most important noble families of my country, I cannot afford mistakes, thou see?”
"How does exactly that work? The cleansing thing."
“Oh. That.”
Icetales lowered his cup and tilted his head. His eyes narrowed and his ears flicked. Come to think about it, the team never questioned how things worked exactly, hm? Only known thing was that they could cleanse corrupted folks by… beating them senseless. Quite barbaric, perhaps, but it worked.
…Huh. Why was he not as horrified about using violence against other folks as when he first reached that world? Was he simply used to all of that due to doing that heroic business for so long, or… something else? A quick glance at his Shadow made him suspect that the true reasoning of his change was much deeper than that.
“Hm. Well, I know this might sound bizarre, but we can basically remove the corruption from folks by… beating them during a fight,” started explaining Icetales, bringing the cup back to his mouth but not drinking. It was almost like keeping the cup in place helped him think better. “I suppose this could be a literal case of ‘punching the curse out of a body’. Not sure if thou have ever heard that expression. And yes, it might be a tad… extreme at times, but it works. We saved many folks that way.”
"I haven't asked you yet, sorry if this sounds rude but, what are you? I have never seen a ninetales like you."
Keo’Keo didn’t respond, far too absorbed by his own little activity of window-watching, and was brought back to attention only when Icetales judged him with a tail. The Shadow snorted and turned to the other two Ninetales. “…Thou want to know what I am…”
The spectral Ninetales stretched his spectral body, which seemed to fizzle out for brief intervals, before he turned completely to the others. His entire stance was rigid and his eyes narrowed, almost like some cold-hearted gargoyle.
“Hmph. Well, thou art new to the workings of this world, so allow me to give a brief explanation,” said Keo’Keo, swishing his blue tails. “I am a Shadow, the physical manifestation of my host’s most repressed fears and mementos.” He motioned toward Icetales with his head, and the real fox simply lapped some more tea and looked away, apparently bothered. “I represent… a part of our past that he had long forgotten. A pain that has emerged once more, after a few… recent events.”
“He is not evil, though, nor is he meant to be afraid of,” muttered Icetales, still looking away. “It is just… um, something I need to work with.”
Keo’Keo humphed, looking displeased. “It is not I appreciate this situation, either. The sadness and anger he feels, I feel that as well… tenfold.” He growled. “All I desire… it’s for us to be happy, so that we will not feel this pain anymore. The path of healing is long,” his eyes closed, “but I desire to have faith, and be there to see the day in which we will be free to be whoever we decide to be.”
At hearing that confession, Icetales blinked, totally stunned. Was that what they both craved and feened?
Happiness? Friendship? Love?