Treasure Town ~ Marketplace

[TheGOAT]

"Well sorry," she tutted, "I was only tryin' to break the ice."

Astrid fluttered her eyelids. “You’re making it very hard to keep my cool right now.”

 

[Namohysip]

I got that one! Owen's flame doubled in size as a dumb grin spread across his face.

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio ignored Owen's (rather adorable) outburst and continued.

Astrid fluttered her eyelids. “You’re making it very hard to keep my cool right now.”

"Oh no, I'm not making you freeze up, am I?"

 

[Namohysip]

Owen was halfway to wishing he'd been an Ice type. There were so many puns that he could use as one-liners for a fight! Did Fire have anything like that?

A mental note was made to think of some later tonight.

"How do they come up with them so fast...?" Owen trailed off, but then his tail dimmed. Maybe it was natural to them because they remembered jokes like those from their worlds.

 

[TheGOAT]

"Oh no, I'm not making you freeze up, am I?"

“Oh, you’re just brrr-eaking my heart, that’s all.” Astrid held a paw to her chest in faux-pain. “No need to give me the cold shoulder.”

Yeah that’s right. A double whammy. How ‘bout them icicles!

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio took another spoonful of curry to pump her up. This time, she made sure she chewed it all before swallowing. "You think you're so cool, don't you? You're literally an ice queen. You and me are polar opposites."

 

[Namohysip]

He couldn't take it anymore. Balling up all of the courage he could muster in his tiny Charmander fist, he took a breath, stood up, and said, "And..."

...

Nothing. His mind was as empty as a Shedinja. It all flowed out like a river.

"Er, sorry," Owen said, sitting back down. "The joke slipped my mind."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa gave a vague, flustered acknowledgment when Astrid returned the compliment. Maybe she meant it, maybe she didn't. Of course, Brisa hoped she did...

She watched the exchange of puns with a growing smile. They were getting along! This was good! Her friends liked each other! She breathed out carefully to steady her chest. This was good, but it was early to be assuming everything would work out, and... they'd be leaving eventually anyway.

Still, she could enjoy it while it lasted.

"I think I'd best be going," she said. "I promised Surf and Turf I'd be back shortly, and I don't want them to think I've got cold feet."

She winked as she delivered her own pun, and couldn't help but laugh. It was her first laugh in... a long time.

 

[TheGOAT]

Curio took another spoonful of curry to pump her up. This time, she made sure she chewed it all before swallowing. "You think you're so cool, don't you? You're literally an ice queen. You and me are polar opposites."

“I suppose I could stand to warm up a bit.” She fanned her face, nose high, embracing her Curio-appointed role of queen in all her mannerisms. “I shan’t have a meltdown, though! Not unless you coax me into unleashing a blizzard of bone-chilling puns. I’ve got plenty more in the freezer.”

 

[Namohysip]

Owen chuckled weakly, but something wasn't settling right in his gut for some reason, and he wasn't sure why. "I, er," he said, "I think I should get going, too. Want to take a look at town, and..."

And now he had a feeling why. They were quite involved in their conversation, and Brisa was about to leave with barely an acknowledgement. No wonder he felt so awkward; despite having the visibility of a Charmander, he'd never felt so invisible in all the memories he held.

Quietly, Owen started to slip away, only with Soda's watchful eyes to send him off.

 

[TheGOAT]

Brisa gave a vague, flustered acknowledgment when Astrid returned the compliment. Maybe she meant it, maybe she didn't. Of course, Brisa hoped she did...

She watched the exchange of puns with a growing smile. They were getting along! This was good! Her friends liked each other! She breathed out carefully to steady her chest. This was good, but it was early to be assuming everything would work out, and... they'd be leaving eventually anyway.

Still, she could enjoy it while it lasted.

"I think I'd best be going," she said. "I promised Surf and Turf I'd be back shortly, and I don't want them to think I've got cold feet."

She winked as she delivered her own pun, and couldn't help but laugh. It was her first laugh in... a long time.

It wasn’t until several seconds had passed that Brisa’s pun registered. She’d been focused on volleying Curio so much that it’d come totally out of the blue. Astrid giggled—a delayed reaction of lengthy proportions—and waved after Owen.

 

[NebulaDreams]

Nothing. His mind was as empty as a Shedinja. It all flowed out like a river.

"Er, sorry," Owen said, sitting back down. "The joke slipped my mind."

"It's alright, Flameo, you'll get 'em next time."

"I think I'd best be going," she said. "I promised Surf and Turf I'd be back shortly, and I don't want them to think I've got cold feet."

Eyyyyy! Now Brisa was joining in the fun too for a brief moment. "Aw. You may have cold feet, but you still have a warm heart." That turned out more sincere than she expected, even if it wasn't the exact idiom.

“I suppose I could stand to warm up a bit.” She fanned her face, nose high, embracing her Curio-appointed role of queen in all her mannerisms. “I shan’t have a meltdown, though! Not unless you coax me into unleashing a blizzard of bone-chilling puns. I’ve got plenty more in the freezer.”

"Oh, wow, I'm sh-sh-shivering with fear." She faked chattering her teeth. "Don't worry, you won't catch me slippin' up any time soon, in fact, I'll have you eating yellow snow any minute now!"

 

[TheGOAT]

"Oh, wow, I'm sh-sh-shivering with fear." She faked chattering her teeth. "Don't worry, you won't catch me slippin' up any time soon, in fact, I'll have you eating yellow snow any minute now!"

Time to shift gears. “Ah. Icy what you did there. Maybe I can’t cold a candle to you after all, Coolio.”

 

[NebulaDreams]

Time to shift gears. “Ah. Icy what you did there. Maybe I can’t cold a candle to you after all, Coolio.”

"Hell yeah, I'm cooler than a Beartic's toenails." Ew. "But yeah, ice fight. There's snow time like the present to make another comeback, this is just the tip of the iceberg."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa blushed behind her fur at "warm heart," and stood to leave. She looked over for Owen, who she'd yet to properly meet, and saw he was leaving.

"Hold it, stranger!" she called, with unexpected boldness. "I'd care to make your full acquaintance, so don't be slipping away, now!"

She moved around the table to offer her paw.

"Shinx Brisa, unofficial ranger of Frontier Town. Pleasure to meet ye."

 

[Namohysip]

Owen had been lost in thought halfway off his seat when Brisa had called. He jolted p once he realized he'd been called directly, tail stiffening like a needle, and spun around. "Y-yes? Oh! Yeah, I'm, er, I'm Charmander Owen, of... I'm still getting that memory back. I'm... the Charmander that Diyem sent first to buy time, about a week ago." He felt some of his spirits returning. "It's good to meet you, too, Brisa. Frontier Town... I like that name."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"I recall hearing such a thing," Brisa said. "You must have a lotta courage to do something like that. Glad to have you. Say, you wouldn't happen to be going the way of Sharpedo Bluff, would ye? That's where I'm headed."

 

[Namohysip]

He didn't have any particular direction in mind. "That's the way back into town, right? Well, from here, at least. Yeah, sure." Owen nodded. "You were heading over to see Surf and Turf, right? I hope they're doing alright... Last I heard, Turf had some kind of outburst. That's what Diyem told me, at least. We, um, we talk a lot."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa shuddered internally at the notion of carrying on a telepathic dialogue at length with an unseen conversational partner. To each, their own.

"Well, something like that," she said. "Her illness turned out to be caused by a parasitic spectre that only the folks in our posse can see. She went buck wild, and Starr and I had to fight her for a minute. Necrozma had the bright idea to catch the thing in a jar, which we did... and now I'm checking in on Turf to check she's still kicking. Poor kid."

She moved to leave, but turned behind her to her dining companions. "See ya round," she called. She stopped short of "partner." Never know how a word like that would be taken by a gal from another world.

She almost didn't look at Starr, but she remembered herself and gave a respectful nod. Never a reason not to be civil. (Even if Starr was a downright cur.) She set off for the Bluff again.

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio waved Brisa goodbye, feeling a little bit of the unspoken baggage between her and Starr.