Spinda Cafe

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa made a face between grin and grimace.

"Yer a gal after my own heart. I damn near worked myself half t'death towards the middle of our mission here, tryin' t'cover everythin' alone. Back in my own world, I scarce give myself any pleasures 'cause I'm always lookin' out fer disasters to avert an' folks to help out."

She raised her own bottle and nodded up at Aria before taking a long drink of whiskey.

"Ah... Yeah, I figure it can work. I'm sure glad it does fer you an' Mike. Seems t'work fer a couple pairs on Cibus, too. Guess I'm just tryin' t'convince myself it can work fer me. Come what may."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Mirroring the luxray, Aria took a deep swig as well, before wiping her mouth off on the back of a paw.

"Must be an odd kind of comforting, then, knowing you're not the only one like you out there. Though, now I'm curious — how's the whole memory thing gonna work out for you? Diyem had a tendency to pick people who'd... forget."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded, whiskers twitching in thought. "Yeah. I used t'feel very, very alone. Knowin' the multiverse is a surprisin'ly small place is a kinda comfort. As fer whether I'll forget... It's hard t'be sure. Supposedly it's down t'yer 'hero's aura' an' whether yer world has more in store fer ya. As much as I've always liked t'believe since I were a kit that I've got some grand heroic destiny, there sure ain't much sign of that bein' true far as I can tell."

She skewed her mouth, and hummed. That wasn't quite true, was it? Jesse had told her in Spirit's Edge of a threat in the east. Maybe...

"I don't much like hopin' fer there t'be a crisis just so as I can play hero. Who knows. Maybe I'll remember all this. Maybe I'll remember Starr an' all the others I've come to love. It would be enough just t'remember I can be loved."

She scratched the back of her head awkwardly. This was heavier than she'd usually relate to a relative stranger, but she felt she knew Aria better than that, even so early as this.

"Y'did say t'spill my guts," she joked, waving to Spinda for more drinks. "How 'bout you spill yers a li'l? What were you most sorry t'leave behind when y'returned home, Aria?"

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"You've got a fondness for tough questions, dont'cha? Good thing I can take what I dish out," Aria said with a chuckle, before downing the rest of her whiskey like it was water.

"First things first, I... was one of the few 'mon who didn't forget everything. Not a luxury I had, which meant I got to live with the knowledge that some of the friends I'd made, after getting to see them happy for once, would be going all the way back to square one in their own worlds."

Her tone was steady, but it was hard to miss the wistful note that had snuck in. "I knew it was coming from the start, and I'm no stranger to regrets, so I tried my best to make sure I had none. To some extent, I don't. They're going to forget that part of their lives, but I'm content with knowing that I was able to make them happier, if even for a moment. And somewhere down the line, when their memories finally return, they'll be able to remember me fondly — or that's the hope, anyways."

She ended that with a quiet laugh, which tapered off into a melancholic smile. "But... in the end, I still wish I could've done more for them."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa thought of Starr, who'd needed a new world, many months, and to hear things only Brisa could tell her, going back to where she'd been. The way she'd been. Consumed by guilt and shame, without someone telling her that she was brave, and good, and loved.

"I've done everythin' I can," she said, weakly. "But I'd do so much more if I only knew the way."

Brisa took a long swig of her drink and a longer breath. "It's all worth it, though. Fer Cibus' sake, obviously, but fer us too. Even if only a spark of it stays with us."

She grinned, and readily accepted another round of drinks from Spinda for the two of them. Aria had a remarkable ability to down and hold the stuff for her relative size. Must be the steel typing. Well, cheers to that!

"What about fondest memories, then?" she asked, smiling at the slew of possible answer she herself could give to that question, and how many of them involved a warm arm around her.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"I've done everythin' I can," she said, weakly. "But I'd do so much more if I only knew the way."

That was just their way of life, wasn't it? Aria eyed the luxray in silence, finding no comfort in having met a kindred spirit. It meant that for once, she had no advice to offer.

Memories, on the other hand...

"Let's see, where do I even begin?" Aria said, smiling faintly as she looked off in thought. "My roommate used to hate me, but I got him to warm up to me after a while. Sealed the deal with a picnic out in the woods, which was one of the few times I got to relax relax. Then there was the time Owen and I terrorized his familiar with some innuendos that were a touch uncomfortable for her. I think you can guess how much I enjoyed that."

Of course, that memory wasn't entirely pleasant... but very few things in her life were.

"On that note, one of my closest friends on the team shared my knack for casual flirting. Things had a tendency to get... interesting between us, without ever crossing the line. Sad to say he won that little competition, though. Made a party full of people think we disappeared into a pocket dimension to get intimate. Cheeky bastard."

Figuring that was a good spot to turn things around, Aria paused to take a swig from a brand new bottle, before levelling a sly smirk at Brisa. "Anyways, that's enough from my end. I was going to ask you the same question, but... considering you pulled a 'Starr and everyone else' earlier, I think I know the kind of answers I'd be getting."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa chuckled lightly. "Sounds like our experiences with our teammates weren't so different in some ways. We had roommates at odds, conciliatory picnics, Owen droppin' all sortsa embarrassin' sentences, an' all that."

Her ears burned a little from the whiskey and the comment about Starr. Ah, but it was a fair comment.

"Sure, a lotta my fondest memories involve Starr, but I got plenty others! There was that riverside date with Astrid, an' our followup in Sundae Park... There was every time I ever helped someone, fer sure, but the one that makes me really get to smilin' is persuadin' Cynthian to live as a gal. There's the evenin' I came to really bond with my familiar, the first time my loves an' I took out a god in the Colo t'gether, an' the second time, an' the third time..."

Brisa giggled a little, and drank some more.

"But yeah, I'm plenty fond of all the times Starr an' I got a li'l closer. Did I tell ya we started out as fierce enemies? We nearly killed each other one time. Feels so strange t'realise how long it's been since then. She was there when I came back to life. I evolved in her arms that day. I..."

Her ears burned a little harder and she hid herself in her bottle again.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria leaned in, her eyes twinkling with an impish glee that was borderline predatory. "Ah, so that's what gets you flustered, hm? Good to know, good to know..." she drawled, a teasing lilt to her voice.

Then, she sat back up as a warm smile took over. "...And I can't quite blame you for that. Tell me, how much do you know about how riolu evolve?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa scoffed, looked away, but couldn't help smling.

"Ain't it somethin' that comes about through bonds with others? I'll bet money that'll be down t'yer fella, then."

She smirked in a contented sort of way, feeling entirely, pleasantly warm.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"Damn, what gave it away?" Aria replied with a chuckle. "So yeah, we're... a bit dependent on others, to put it mildly. Spent over twenty years as a riolu because of that. Never quite got the appeal, but now it's one of the few things keeping me sane."

She gave her bottle a wry look, before smirking back at Brisa. "Point is, I get how you feel. Which makes it all the more adorable to hear you gush about it."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Aw, fuckin' shucks," chuckled Brisa, waving Aria's tease away with a paw. "Yer no less adorable'n I am, darlin'."

It didn't escape her notice that Aria had hinted that drinking kept her sane, but... Well. Not really the time and place to harp on about self-medication with drink, and it'd be hypocritical as hell, too.

"The thing about Starr," she said, encouraged to gush by Aria's amusement, "issat we didn't understand each other at all, at first. It took bein' stuck t'gether in a fuckin' cavern in the Reverse World fer three days straight fer us to get a handle on how each of us ticked. After that... I guess we just got to trustin' each other, openin' up a li'l at a time. It helped that we fought so well t'gether, in a team. We sure put a few powerful folks through their paces in our time here. She's a joy to watch in battle, y'know – y'should see the way she picks her moment to take some sorry fucker apart, all that perfectly controlled power blazin' like the fuckin' sun..."

Brisa's ears were blazing like the fucking sun, too.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"That's just how it goes, isn't it?" Aria said, laughing to herself. "Everyone's more complicated than they let on. First impressions are important, sure, but then you sit down, share a couple drinks, and find out a lot more about them than you could've at a glance."

She leveled a conspiratorial smile at Brisa, her bashful excitement being an oh-so-familiar sight for the lucario. "Like, for example, the fact that you put an awful lot of emphasis on how strong, how dominating she looks in a fight — almost like you've got a thing for that. Wonder what that means for little ol' me, hm?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa flushed harder still, but she rolled her eyes at the sheer cheek of the question.

"Aw, please. I got more'n one type, an' I ain't no pushover m'self, as you well know."

But she couldn't keep a delighted smirk off her face as she drummed her claws against her bottle.

"But yeah, I'll grant that yer onto somethin'. I'll admit it: yer strength is pretty goddamn hot, if that's what y'wanna hear, darlin'. That don't mean I'll just roll over fer ya, but, mmm, I can sure appreciate good combat technique an' a bit of flair."

She grinned happily at the memory of Aria stealing her own fucking corrupted Facade trick in their fight. Oh yeah. That was some good shit.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria chuckled, clinking her bottle against Brisa's. "Perfect, because that's the one thing I don't mind showing off. I can't take credit for my strength, but I can take credit for knowing how to use it. Which, I should say, isn't something you're too shabby at yourself."

Then, with a grin, she leaned forwards. "Still, it looks like I've got the edge when it comes to making people blush."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Why, thank you~"

For all that Brisa had success in the Colosseum and praise from her compatriots for her strength, actually being flirted with for it was deeply, unexpectedly thrilling. She grinned, her eartips so hot by now she couldn't twitch them without hearing her own pulse.

"I ain't exactly had much experience flirtin' outright," she admitted, thoroughly enjoying the positive attention. "I confess I'm kinda takin' notes on how you do it. Wonderin' if I might try out some of yer tricks on a gal or two. I might even have one in mind."

Astrid, of course. Brisa smiled happily. Even if nothing ever happened between them, Astrid knew she felt some kind of way and still treated her as a trusted comrade and friend. That was enough for her... but it wouldn't stop her having some fun teasing her if the chance came up.

And Aria herself, but Brisa hadn't spotted a weakness yet, if there was one. Huh...

Brisa gestured with a paw towards Aria's drink.

"Partner, I've had a drink with a Void Eterna before. I can tell when my drinkin' buddy ain't goin' under. Y'got some kinda alcohol resistance I ain't know about?"

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

It was inevitable, but Aria couldn't but feel a little disappointed that the cat was out of the bag.

"Well, part of my tricks do involve being the only one sober in the room," she replied with a smirk, pausing to take a swig. "It's a bit more than just resistance, though — alcohol doesn't affect me at all. I just drink out of habit, and only if I like the taste."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa frowned. "Well, as much as that surely comes with some advantages, it seems a shame that y'gotta miss out on the other effects."

Her tail flicked from side to side, and she narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Tell ya what... How 'bout I let ya ride my own buzz fer a spell? My whiplash technique, d'you remember that? I'm tipsy enough by now that ye'd get a real good feel of it."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"...Huh."

Aria cupped her chin in thought, before extending a paw across the table. "It wouldn't last too long, would it? I've had some interesting experiences with... not being myself, to put it lightly, so I don't really miss being able to get drunk. Part of why I came here was for nostalgia's sake, though, so it'd be interesting to remember what a buzz feels like."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa smiled, both warmly and wearily. She could imagine, based on the kind of shit she'd seen happen to the posse. And herself.

She extended a forelimb and turned her palm upward, exposing her beans carpal pads. They glowed a dim gold.

"Of course. Just hold my paw fer as long as y'fancy, an' let go if'n you've had enough."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"Oh my, how scandalous of you," Aria said, adding a playful purr to her voice. Then, she placed her paw down on Brisa's.