Treasure Town ~ Sunny's Daycare

[Adamhuarts]

"Wh-what's wrong?" Cynthian asked, swallowing hard as her chest felt it was caving in. She dreaded what Buffet might say next.

"We are going to find Mama Rosa, right?"

 

[Namohysip]

"...Sometimes," Buffet said gently, "spirits may not be available to be seen, for one reason or another. The spirit could be unwilling, or they could be somewhere else and busy with some other duty..." Buffet hummed. "Or they could still be alive, and I can't easily access the world they're in. I'm... not able to tell. I'm sorry, dear."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"So you mean..." Cynthian gritted her teeth and frowned. "Please, let's try looking for her just a bit longer. Maybe... maybe...."

 

[Namohysip]

"I've searched all I could, Cynthian," Buffet said. "I'm not getting an answer. She must... one way or another, still be in your world, or perhaps does not want to respond. There's nothing I can do, Cynthian. It's beyond me..."

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian's eyes wavered and she could feel tears trying to seep through. She repeated Buffet's words over and over in her mind...

"Mama Rosa is alive?" Cynthian asked, shedding a tear. Hey expression was complicated, and not even Cynthian herself understood what the emotions going through her mind upon that revelation. A

 

[Namohysip]

"It's possible. There are a lot of reasons this could happen. But that's one. Don't... You shouldn't fret over this too much, Cynthian..." Buffet had told Cynthian to prepare for the possibility that they may not be able to find her. Though, it seemed that saying she was prepared, and actually being prepared were two very different things.

"Come on, now. We should return, Cynthian," he said delicately. "She wouldn't want you searching for her like this."

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian stared at blank space for a moment that felt like eternity. She lowered her head and leaned it against Buffet's body and drew a long sigh.

"Let's go."

 

[Namohysip]

Slowly, Buffet drifted back the way they came. It was a faster trip since he knew the way back properly, no wandering around the astral plane, and he glanced back uncertainly at Cynthian as he went. One of her wing-tendrils wrapped around the Roserade.

"You'll get through this," he said. "You went on this long without her. You can continue."

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian said nothing. She continued to lean against him, a dull hollow etching into her heart. She wanted to cry or even scream, but it all felt too pointless to even bother.

"You'll get through this," he said. "You went on this long without her. You can continue."

"Thank you," Cynthian said, her words empty of emotion.

 

[Namohysip]

A silent trip later, Cynthian's body felt weighted and rooted in reality once again. Buffet sighed, looking at Sunny, who had gone back to tending to the kids again.

"Oh! You're back! It's been a while," Sunny said. "How are things?"

"Well... unfortunately, we couldn't find what we needed, but there was nothing in any of our control for that to happen," Buffet explained.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Thank you for the help anyway," Cynthian said with a lowered face. She couldn't look anyone in the eye in her current condition, lest her tears might just flood out.

What did I think would happen. I know why she doesn't want to see me. It's all my fault.

Cynthian rubbed her face with a flower, and a lavender scent swept over her face. Right, she needed to control her flowers. She didn't want anyone's pity.

"So, I guess we're done here Buffet," Cynthian said, tilted her head at him with a plastic smile on her face.

 

[Namohysip]

"I believe so," Buffet said.

Sunny stepped a little closer, sensing Cynthian's empty anguish. "Did... it not go well at all? Oh—I'm sorry..."

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Buffet offered.

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian stepped away when Sunny approached before looking away apologetically. She'd really break down if she gave in to anyone's comfort. As sad as it made her, she made a note to avoid Icetales at least for a few days... "I'll be fine. Things just went... differently than I expected."

"Would you like me to alk you home?" Buffet offered.

"I'm..." Cynthian squeezed her eyes shut for a second and then fumbled a notebook out of her bag. "Right, It almost slipped my mind. I still have some business with you Sunny. My colleagues heard I was coming your way and asked me to inquire some things from you."

"You can go on ahead, Buffet. Thanks again for today." Cynthian bowed slightly and rubbed her eyes again as she stood up.

Keep it together. Let's not make a fool of ourselves...

 

[Namohysip]

Buffet nodded, deciding not to bother Cynthian too much.

"Oh? A few questions?" Sunny asked as a Cyndaquil popped out of her hair, having been hidden all this time.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Yes. Excuse me." Cynthian flipped a couple pages of the book until she found the one with the questions she'd scribbled on short notice. She took another deep breath to suppress the gnawing ache in her chest.

"We heard that you'd been acquainted with an individual some decades back." Cynthian produced a pen and glanced at Sunny with a dolful stare she failed to conceal. "Does the name Eien ring a bell to you?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Eien, Eien... Oh! Yes, I do remember her! She was an odd Pokemon. I've never seen anyone like her before. So large, too, practically a Wailord in the sky! It was actually a coincidence that we met at all... If I remember right, one of the kids had run off at night and found a little hangout spot. He ran into Eien and ran all the way back home, terrified out of his wits! I had to investigate, and that's how we met. She was so very apologetic..." Sunny sighed.

"It must be hard, looking that way while being so friendly inside. We had a chat all night about how she was just passing through town, we talked about kids, life in town... She seemed so wistful about it, in a way. Or longing. I wonder if her kind live in towns... I never did ask for a species."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"How long did she stay around for? Did any of the kids at the time show much interest in her enough to be acquainted?" Cynthian asked, reading out the question like a script.

 

[Namohysip]

"Well, she only passed through for the night... and no, none of the kids were very interested. Then she left. And then some time later, I think it had been a few days... she was back to talk again! She seemed to be in a very cheerful mood, but that she had to leave. She actually was the one who trained me on a few of the techniques I've been using! You know, with tapping into the astral plane. Eien mentioned that it would've been useful if she ever wanted to reach out and chat again."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"I see. My colleagues also wanted to know what kind of abilities you use in combat," Cynthian asked monotonously. "Also, did you always have the strength to lift entire buildings over your head or did that come about after your encounter with Eien?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Oh, well... Now that I think about it, a lot of my power did start to come to me at around that time, yes!" Sunny nodded. "I talked with the spirits really often once Eien showed me how. From there, sometimes it feels like they're lending me their strength..." She nodded, sighing. "It's comforting, in a way."