"Is that so? Huh..." He glanced down at his longcoat, trying to imagine it being any shade of blue. Eugh. Fucking hate blue.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he bit back a snide remark about how life was way worse than any TV show could be. "That's unfortunate. Maybe when you're older, you can see it and not be scared." He shrugged.
Jean perked up. "Maybe!" She
was a bit older now. And she'd been through some scary things. ...And run away from them.
She winced. "I don't know. What happens?"
"Yeah, I'm good," Koa said awkwardly, stepping away, a ghost of a grin on his face. He felt uncomfortable, with everyone around, but then if this was anything like other excursions into the multiverse, no one would remember anything anyways. It was nice though. And comforting, to know Dave was really still out there, still alive, and that it was possible to see him again.
"I really am. Training is great, and my team is awesome. What about you and uh... Jean? You guys are doing good back home since you got back and everything?"
Koa let him go and stepped away. Could he believe the reassurance? ...Not like it mattered. They'd forget the whole thing as soon as they were back. Dave exhaled.
"I mean, for the circumstances. Still battling fucked-up laws that say she can't be around people or leave the house during the day. Better make the most of this little trip because she's probably not going to be allowed in an
actual amusement park for however many years it takes to vote in the right senators to repeal this bullshit bill." Maybe he should ask if she wanted to try any of the rides or something. Then again, if she hadn't asked, maybe he could get away from this without getting on any fucking rollercoasters.
"But, you know, we're still alive. No further murder attempts. That helps."
"Dave, Jean, I forgot to ask... How do you know of me and Winona? What show did you hear of us? Hinode Live?"
It was then she noticed Wallace and Winona were standing next to what looked like an older man and... that half-mon. Please tell me they're not fanatics, too. It also seemed like two bird Pokémon and several others had been gathered around as well. She'd been so caught up in her discussion she had stopped being observant of her surroundings - a unfortunately common occurrence for her. Well... can't keep avoiding this forever, I guess. "Hey... Winona and Wallace. How's the ring game going? And, uh, who are your friends?"
Trembling, Gen hesitantly waved at Dave, Koa, and the Ninetales-human. To be honest, he was kind of jealous of her. At least she had hands.
"Um, h-hi. I'm Gen," he said. "N-nice to meet you."
Everyone was starting to crowd around Jean. Her dad, noticing, stepped a bit closer again, though staying with Koa.
"Um... The Hoenn show is
Emerald Skies! It's really cool! You're only in some of the episodes, though. It's about a trainer collecting all the badges in Hoenn and fighting the evil Team Aqua and Team Magma. She caught Rayquaza!"
Her dad raised an eyebrow, glancing over. "I, uh, haven't watched it myself. Kind of a kids' cartoon. Maybe she's exaggerating the similarity." He paused, eyes narrowing. "Hang on, Winona...? Were you in a bizarre interdimensional mafia game or was that a different Winona?"
Jean knelt down to wave back at Gen, grinning. "Hi Gen! I'm Jean. They're similar names! I like that." She extended a hand to pet him. "You're so cute! What kind of world are you from?" She hesitated, hand hovering above his head.
Should she pet him? Her dad had been pretty mad about how they weren't pets. "Can I pet you? Or we can just shake hands instead." Paws? He had tiny little paws and they were
adorable.