Frontier Town Frontier Town Outskirts

[Cresselia92]

Apex Notes:

- Silver ponders the whole “hide your humans” deal.
- Collecting sheddings isn’t ideal, but a job is a job!
- How to Be a Sneasel for Dummies!

---

Ah, the wilderness! That was without doubt the ideal place where Silver could contemplate and have some quiet time, away from the incessant ruckus of civilization and the prying gazes of the town-folks. And indeed, there were plenty of matters and thoughts that Silver needed to filter through, while sitting by the river to take in the fresh air.

There was one topic in particular that bothered him more than anything, after eavesdropping a hushed chatter between a few fellow heroes: All humans-turned-Pokemon needed to hide their true nature. At all costs.

While Silver didn’t understand yet what was so special about humans, keeping a low profile wasn’t a foreign concept to him, what with having to avoid the police for many months while he was burdened by his reputation as a thief.

‘…Not exactly a stress-free state of mind, but well! Gotta do what I gotta do to blend in!’

And that was the other reason he decided to seclude himself. He needed to learn how to behave and act like a true Sneasel, without others noticing his more “human” mistakes and mishaps.

Silver glanced at the tiny bag of coins tied to his belt and hidden underneath his poncho, before swiping one of them. He smirked at his own ability and began whistling contentedly. ‘Heh! At least there’s something good about turning into a Sneasel. I have a speedy and reactive body, as well as claws to help me with my job.’

Right, his job. Perhaps the cosmos wasn’t that unfair, since he got lucky enough to have found a barber-surgeon willing to take him as an apprentice. Not the most rewarding profession, but he had gained enough money to afford some cheap drinks and meals, and there were more coins to come if he kept working as hard as he did.

‘It’s alright,’ he mused, holding his head with a paw while twiddling the coin between the other claws. ‘If I managed to get through everything with a low budget when I started out my Trainer journey, I don’t see why I can’t do that again.’

But enough of that! It was time to learn how to move, think and breathe like a Sneasel! Getting back to his feet, he reminded himself the lessons he had learned from the anatomy book, and began practicing by the river. The Silver River.

‘You’re such a riot, cosmos…’

 

[Tetra]

Koa paced the outskirts of town, sparks dancing off his fur in the evening light. The library was closed and he needed somewhere away from the others to try and think. He hated himself for leaving the impromptu meeting, hated how foolish they probably thought he was, but he couldn't stand it. How could they be so casual. How could they even consider such an awful thing? Working with criminals. Looking at him like he was absurd for not wanting to.

'And next time you want to play hero, think twice before making a mess of things.'

He kicked at rocks as he paced, glaring at the ground as if he could somehow force it to give him answers. Working with criminals was out of the question, but then that strange pokemon... he'd said something about the mayor wanting to hang criminals, which... He turned his thoughts back to the dillemma. Could he possibly fight the- no. He remembered how hard just a few insect pokemon had been for them to fight.

A groan escaped him. Kitto would have known. Could he hope to find help from others? Jade? Aige?

They were supposed to be a team. But it sounded like they were already at odds over this whole gala. Would they end up divided before they even found the true threat? Still burning with confusion and frustration, Koa began working through some rote fighting motions he'd worked out in his canine form, balancing on his hindlegs to throw a few blows, then dodging and ducking. It was something to do at least. He needed an ally...

 

[Sinderella]

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

While Odette had never really been one for the great outdoors, the outskirts made for decent training area. There was a lot more scrap metal around than she would have initially anticipated, but it made for a good way for Jawile her to blow off steam. Plenty of rusty, unused materials to gnaw away at and use as sparring targets. She might be able to segue Acrobatics into High Jump Kick if she wailed on enough bent railing...but, baby steps.

"̴I̸'̷m̷ ̴g̶o̴n̸n̴a̸ ̴p̸r̶e̸t̷e̴n̴d̵ ̵t̵h̷i̶s̸ ̸i̶s̸ ̶I̴g̷f̶u̵c̸k̴'̸s̵ ̵f̵a̸c̵e̸ ̴a̶n̷d̷-̷-̶"̴ Jawile said between swipes at a sheet of what looked like old roofing,

"Uh huh," Odette said dully.

"̵-̸-̸j̸u̵s̵t̷-̴-̵"̴ Another chomp.

"Yep."

Jawile took a bite out of the sheet and proceeded to fling it over their heads."̷͓̽-̶͙̀͜-̷̨̛̘̀F̶̞̻͊Ù̷͙͕̊C̷̻̓͝K̸͓̔ ̴͎̽̔H̵͖̓̔Ï̸̦̳̑M̵͍̑̌ ̶̝̖͋̒Ṷ̵̪́͒P̵̠͒̐.̶̟̽̎"̷̦̾

Odette watched with a deadpan expression as the metal soared up, up, up...before landing in the nearby water with a pronounced splash.

"How pleasant of you," she said flatly, watching the water rush around the new obstacle.

[[ @IFBench ]]

 

[Tetra]

<><><><>​

Balance... hold the position... strike! Koa winced, the movement sending a crackle of pain through his chest. He exhaled through gritted teeth. Take it easy. Maybe a few distance attacks would make for better practice. He'd been desperate to get back to training more than ever, but his body seemed to disagree.

It hadn't been long since the fight. The fur on his chest was still in patches and the lines of the wound visible. He was healing, fast. Much faster than he'd expected, given how according to Drungfield he very likely would have died. But it didn't feel good enough.

He nudged some small rocks into place and moved a short distance away. He began practicing some basic drills to sharpen his accuracy, aiming further and further away. In the slowly darkening twilight, it made for a nice light show, and was a good distraction from the thoughts that plagued him...

 

[Inkedust]

Just before the first light of dawn had struck Frontier Town, a noivern swooped from above, landing not too far from the town.

She adjusted her scarf with her wing-claws, wincing as she did so, prepared to walk the rest of the way. Moments before she took her first steps, her mind and tail lashed with worry. Just a simple scouting mission, she assured herself. A group so large was unprecedented and felt like a freak accident to end all freak accidents. If anyone from the group had gotten out into the wrong hands, then all of them would be compromised.

A deep breath.

There was still time, she was certain. And she was sure to arrive as quickly as possible. She just hoped they hadn't gotten to this group first.

<><><>​

 

[Ambyssin]

The thumps were loud. Rhythmic. If the noise wasn't enough to scare off anyone who wandered into the general vicinity, the shadows cast by the large null against the setting sun's backdrop certainly would.

Nova slammed his helmeted head into a rock once. Twice. Thrice. Over and over. Only pausing to look around. For brown, stony debris at his feet.

Yet there was nothing. He tried harder. Struck with more force. There was pressure in Nova's head, sure, but nothing to suggest this was breaking. If anything, the rock was worse off. Tiny little cracks that glistened from shiny specks deeper inside it.

No. No, no, no.

"Off! Off!" Nova dropped down, dragging his head against the dirt. Clawing furiously at the mask to no avail.

Why why why? The mask shouldn't be here. It wasn't natural. Even if someone or something replicated him, the mask wasn't part of the base designed. The Affirmer forced it on him with that damn Red Chain.

At the very least, it couldn't have been nearly as sturdy as real one. So, why? Why couldn't he get it off?

The clawing produced a grating, grinding noise that made Nova's fur prickle. Reminded him of a grotesque Metal Sound. Right, he'd learned that at... some point during his construction work.

Nova bolted to his feet and went back to striking the rock, pausing only to look up as if the group's summoner was up in the thick gray clouds.

Why? Smack. Why would you do this to me? Smack. Didn't you see it? Smack. How uncomfortable I was in the Nexus? Smack. How can I live, smack, as me, smack, when I'm stuck with a reminder of what I'm not?!

Still no pieces. Or even flecks of brown dust. Nothing. Useless. He couldn't break it. Why couldn't he break it?

Snarling, Nova struck one again, putting whatever he could into it. This time something gave way, but it wasn't the mask. Part of the rock splintered and a yelping Nova fell over on his side. Limbs briefly flailed in a panic. Bits of red vapor faded around him.

His heart seized in his throat. He recognized that from the gala. The other null had done it: Body Press. That wasn't natural for him. He shouldn't know it. Nova couldn't know it.

Panicking, Nova scrambled up. No. This has to stop! He knew that voice only showed up in battles or dungeons, so he was barking at the proverbial choir. I can't-- I can't fight. Not like this! I'll... I'll...

He shook himself out. The mask rattled around. Squeezed his face. His beak.

Nova backed away from the rock and dashed away. No one had to know about this. As long as he just kept his distance.

... Which was fine. He'd been doing that for ages anyway.

It was instinctive. Routine.

It was all he had.

<><><>​

 

[Shadow Serenity]

The sky was quickly darkening as Kimiko arrived at her usual secluded spot on the outskirts of town. She liked this spot in particular; more than once she'd spotted other somewhat familiar pokemon in the area training or whatever, but this spot was shielded enough that she was very rarely disturbed, regardless of whether she was training or singing. It was a cozy little spot to simply get away from the sounds of town if she wanted to just settle down and think.

And as was usual recently, she had a lot on her mind. The Blaguarro trip was prime among them, still an open wound for numerous reasons. But right now, the one that stood out was the battle with the Vanguard she'd just returned from.

Truthfully, there were a lot of positives to take from the encounter. They'd seemingly, finally discovered why the off-worlders had all been summoned. That was a big deal. There was supposed to be a team meeting to discuss it. On a more personal note, Kimiko (and the squad as a whole) had obviously improved their battle abilities a great deal in the short time they'd been here. Kimiko had taken to battling as a pokemon rather than with a pokemon much faster and easier than she'd originally anticipated.

But of course, the positives were not the things she was dwelling on. She couldn't help but feel somehow empty-handed after the battle. Like they'd failed at what they originally were meant to be doing. Even if they now had a common enemy, Farin and Valere didn't offer much in the way of future assistance or cooperation. Kimiko couldn't help but wonder if the team failed to adequately demonstrate the differences between the off-worlders and the group that the noivern and gallade were already wary of. She also wondered how much how of that had to do with Isidora's outburst, or how the post-battle discussion would have played out if the sneasel had kept it all to herself.

But now here she was, wallowing in how Isidora's reveal had made that encounter more difficult for the team, for her. The exact thing Valere had warned them about. Was that fair of her? Most definitely not, but at the moment, she didn't really care. Coming off the back of Odette and Ridley's ghost defense and the awkwardness that came out of Blaguarro, she'd been feeling rather defensive already and the revelation stung. But that all was half the reason she'd come out here - to clear her mind a bit.

Her side ached from taking that boomburst and the fall that followed, but Kimiko wasn't in the mood for training tonight, anyway. Another benefit of being so closed off from casual passerby was that her singing voice didn't carry as far, so she took the opportunity to practice some of the heavier songs she didn't get a chance to sing at work.

She hadn't expected anyone else to be arriving in the area at this point in the evening...

 

[HelloYellow17]

Wes’s instincts screamed at him with every step he took out from the lights of the town, and not just because his side ached from the movement. Thanks to Drungfield, the worst of his injuries had already healed to bruises, but they were persistent nonetheless, and liked to remind him of their existence every time he so much as twitched.

Still not as bad as the aftermath from that damn Charmeleon, he told himself. As if that made things better. As if that somehow justified his idiotic decision to wander to the outskirts of town, at night, with only one other person to accompany him as back-up. As if that changed the fact that they’d only just been attacked by a Shadow the night before.

Still, Wes was determined not to let fear stop him. He needed answers; Steven’s question from earlier nagged at his mind. Have we ever tried to contact the Shadow Voice? No, not really. And the sooner they could test this theory, the better.

He came to a stop right at the edge of the town boundary and glanced at Archie. While Wes would have preferred more than one person to accompany him for security, he appreciated that at least his one companion turned out to be the Oshawott. The others were either too battered, too busy with other concerns, or too timid (or simply not as stupid as Wes was) to venture out of town at night. But Archie was undaunted, and Wes was grateful for his company.

Clearing his throat, Wes stepped forward and looked to the starry sky—not that it mattered, but it seemed the best place to look when reaching out to Bee. “Betel, are you there?”

 

[Inkedust]

The outskirts of town were oddly quiet today. Close to the tracks, towards Blaguarro's direction, dry winds kicked up dust and through it, the blurred form of a houndoom who bore many scars from battle could be seen walking within. He eyed the tracks as if they were insulting him.

Murkrow perched on rocks and branches of drywood cawed at the canine. Some flew off towards the east while others hopped closer, trying to listen in. Houndoom was either unbothered or none the wiser to their presence. He looked back and yelled something, though it was impossible to hear over the winds from the perimeters of the town. After a moment, he seemed to shake his head to continue walking. The determined look in his face made it clear that he wasn't going to stop for anyone.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lucien had asked the Wayfarers to investigate the activies and whereabouts of the 'Wolf', the Shadow Lycanroc outlaw who'd only recently scrapped with Wes and Archie when they'd wandered into him late one night.

Seth Lycas. Wes Lycas' doppelganger from another world. An abrasive, quick-tempered, and apparently criminally-inclined lone wolf. Last seen in the arid outskirts east of Frontier Town, and very defensive about whatever it was he'd been doing there.

It was the 28th of Winds, and it was a full moon. Ominous, you might say.

Please be careful, heroic spirits.

The influence of encountering so much Shadow energy recently has let it seep into all of you, and even myself. If you do not maintain your focus and control your emotional states, you may begin to display symptoms and behaviours like those of fully corrupted Shadow pokémon.

There is still so much we do not yet know...

...but I am confident that apprehending and learning everything we can from Lycanroc Seth is of great importance. We must press on.​

 

[canisaries]

It was quiet. The morning sun's rays warmed Andre's fur as he ambled along the riverbank, and a slight wind slithered around his ears and rippled the surface of the water. He needed the walk after last night's dream with Powehi. It had been somewhat of an unnerving experience.

A glint caught his eye. A glint not from the river, but from the land. He trotted over to investigate.

It was a metal bucket. It resembled the one that Mhynt liked to carry around and soak in, but it was... all cut up. Who would do that to it? Was Mhynt... attacked? Was he in danger, too?

No, calm down, he thought. Investigate before jumping into conclusions.

He raised his head and looked around for the treecko. "Mhynt? Are you there?" he called out, heartbeat quickening.

 

[MintyMimix]

For most travelers, the trip between Frontier Town and Little Scriven was a mundane matter. The route was a canvas of sand and gravel painted by vibrant green and golden brush and dotted with the occasional groups of trees waving those on dirt paths. A well-paced wagon could make the route in a day if they properly rationed their breaks.

Yet with the whistling, twirling Misdreavus trailing along, their little group could be described as anything but mundane.

The ghost finally stopped his spinning as he stretched his tendrils in the gentle morning sun. “So let’s see here, first, Betel said there's a dungeon near the town that we need to check out for the ‘anchors’. Dunno ‘bout y’all, but I don’t remember seein’ anythin’ like that near town, did you?” He shrugged. “And second, the Mayor wanted us to help plan an ‘out-of-this-world’ themed festival. I bet y’all got some crazy stories from back in your worlds that could add to that!”

Ghaspius let out a hum. “Let's see, along the way, there should be a river crossing, a gorge, and a couple big ol’ cliffs to walk through before we start seein’ the buttes we’re lookin’ for. That’s if we’re goin’ backwards from the way we came the first time, which is our forwards her, I think! Might be gettin’ one or two things out of order.”

He snickered to himself. “How y'all holdin' up back there?”

Strangely enough, the distinct scent of wood and ash had started to hang in the air. Those with a keener sense of smell could distinguish it as coming not too far ahead from their path.

 

[Inkedust]

A zoroark of a ghostly nature stood in the outskirts of town leaning on a straight stick she'd picked up with her dexterous claws. Her gems - crimson and hexagonal in shape (incredibly similar to the chains summoned by Embargo) glinted in the rising sun as Bellatrix's gaze was fixated on the skies in thought. Wondering where to start in seeking out the Wandering Light and trying to get used to her new form. She tapped her stick a couple times. She was quite rusty, it had been a while since she ever wielded any weapon and she certainly couldn't be in poor form when they did find her given the Escarpa ties.

Her train of thought was broken however when she heard the sound of someone approaching, her ear flicking in response. "Hm? What brings you out here?" She asked, looking towards the new company. She sounded no older than Koa and judging by the look in her eyes, it was clear that she hadn't slept for a couple days though, knowing the fox it was more of a lifestyle choice than anything sinister. "Come to train?"

 

[Goat]

From the depths of her bedding, Astrid rose again with a concealed scowl. She hadn't bothered to visit Drungfield this time. Even if it made her feel more at home, whatever that even meant, her feet worked fine and that was enough for now after a dream like that. Her directionless trek through town was colored by thoughts that lingered under the beating sun, and only when she'd made it way out in the extended city limits did she take a moment to breathe in and force herself to appreciate the steppe's untouched expansion.

Thud. She fired bullets of ice at nature's inanimate objects and thought about how different it felt from before, as a Vulpix. Thought about a lot of things, really. Thud. And it all blended together into that same daydream that left her feeling numb the more she gave it credit. So stupid. But it beat talking to herself about it, didn't it? Thud.

Bored, she started strafing around, pretending to--

"Ow! Fucker." Astrid winced and got down on her elbows so she could pick a rather nasty sticker out of one forepaw with the other.

 

[Tetra]

Wind ruffled Koa's fur and danced through the scrub as he trotted down the road leaving Frontier Town. The bag on his back was packed tight, trainer style, with plenty of supplies. A few basic orbs like protect and teleport in case of danger. An ever present reviver seed he never went anywhere without. And a variety of berries and jerky. Everything he needed for nice wilderness excursion. Including the Meowth at his side.

He'd run into her while shopping for supplies and mentioned his plan of seeing what the local feral pokemon were like, and he was pleased that she'd been interested in coming. With the journey to the Ranger HQ approaching, it seemed like a pleasant way to take his mind off things while learning more about this world. She'd been good company last time they spoke, and as an experienced trainer he hoped she might have valuable insight.

"So how long were you a trainer for back home?" As he spoke, he kept an eyed peeled for any signs of wild mon. Maybe he could even find a Shinx or another familiar mon...

 

[Ambyssin]

When the news had first come via Betelepathy, Nova tried looking for Mhynt but came up empty. Then he found himself preoccupied with Ghaspius and the sudden imposter appearance. When he finally did manage to get over to the Haus to get someone to show him where the old sheriff's cabin was, he found the grovyle. Except she'd asked he come help her map out a road and clear some debris.

The sum total of all of this was that Nova did not end up spending a much-needed recovery day taking it easy. But that was fine. He wanted to know Mhynt was okay. And he used it as a chance to test the ground-type disk against the debris. Ground trumped rock. Debris were usually rock. It made perfect sense.

... About fifty percent perfect sense. Which was still good!

So, Nova was brushing small rocks aside, glancing over his shoulder at Mhynt. "How are you?" He went with the obvious question. "Cuz, y'know, it's okay if you're not okay. I wouldn't be if I'd come face to face with my past demon."

 

[Namohysip]

The crawling shadows of evening stirred. In the far distance of Frontier Town, in the outskirt desert field, several figures ran away from an advancing patch of darkness, speckled with gleaming eyes and snarling faces. This patch of darkness crawled over itself, shoving forward faster that way, as the Wayfarers realized there was no more running without endangering the townsfolk.

They'd gotten as close as they could to let other backup arrive. They were winded, but they had deliberately conserved their strength to channel their true power against the advancing darkness once it was as far from the Quarry as possible. It was theorized that perhaps they'd be weaker that way.

Theorized. But in reality, it was still beneficial--now, they had more numbers.

But it wasn't like that meant much against the literal pile of shapeless Void Shadows that still advanced.

"We have to fend them off," Mhynt concluded. "Is everyone in agreement here? I... don't know if we can defeat them. But we can repel them. They have Alexander to answer to... They won't want to fall here."

 

[Namohysip]

A Grovyle had laid claim to a small expanse of sand and dust, marked by the countless grooves in the dirt and footprints left with every Teleport.

She had a set of rocks in the center of this portion of the field. Her Leaf Blade carved several of them into the size of garden rocks at this point, and she was working on another. The sun beat upon her body. Her leaves were shriveled. Nearby, her water canteen was half-empty, and an umbrella-like structure was set up for her to hide beneath if she started to overheat.

But with the setting sun, she had to do that far less often. To the Wayfarers, her presence was clear... Based on how long she had been there, she had skipped lunch, and it was already well into dinnertime.

 

[Shadow Serenity]

When the daytime sun retreated beyond the horizon, the Soja became shockingly cold, even without a breeze. No matter how many times Kimiko had wandered out here in the middle of the night, she never quite expected the bite.

Still, this remained the best spot she'd found for those times she felt the need to be alone, especially in the middle of the night. There was something about this secluded spot that felt familiar and comfortable by now. It was far enough outside town to not disturb anyone with her music, but close enough to feel safe.

The lamp she'd taken from her room (surely Greasewood wouldn't mind) gave off only faint light. She'd also brought his requinto, as usual. Tonight, however, the instrument remained in its case beside her, waiting patiently to be played. Instead, Kimiko lay curled around the lantern as she stared into the flickering flame inside, absorbing what little warmth it offered.

She'd heard the message through Betel's network. Encounters with legendaries - saints, as they were called here. Saints that wanted to fight them, for one reason or another. They, who'd done nothing but try to aid this world since arriving, in place of those who should be doing the same. These were the some of the supposed guardians of this world, who would rather waste their time with petty, selfish brawls while their world suffered rather than do anything to help it themselves. No, they thought a better use of their time and power was to pick a fight with the ones who were actually working to make a difference.

This world's Saints had called them to fight.

Kimiko didn't answer.

The rest of the Wayfarers had, of course. They'd been chosen for this, all of them, and had thrown themselves at their accepted duty against anything that had gotten in their way thus far. If this was going to be yet another obstacle in their way, it must be dealt with.

But while the rest of the team had split up and gone off in search of the trio, Kimiko remained behind, intentionally out of sight so no one would notice until it was too late. An easy enough feat when they were separating. By now, even possibly at this very moment, they were all probably either engaged in battle or about to be, while she lay here in the dirt, curled up around her lantern. But she couldn't join them. She wasn't ready. How could she be, when her thoughts were so scrambled? When her resolve had been shaken?

It had been one thing after another, and so many mysteries to unravel. The mayor. The Coven. Shadows. Cipher. Now the saints. Mhynt had suggested they would be so uncooperative that they'd need to murder them; she wanted no part of that. That's not why she was here. Even as she struggled with her own inadequacies, she'd done her very best to play the part she willingly chose to accept, to fight in defense of this world in it's time of need. But she was tired of the world fighting back.

She scoffed, sending dirt and sand swirling around the base of the lantern. That wasn't the real problem. That was what she'd agreed to take on, which just so happened to double as a convenient, surface level excuse to layer over her real issues. Out here, alone in the cold darkness, far from prying eyes and concerned questions, there was no point lying to herself about it.

No, the real problem, as always, was her emotions. She was homesick.

She'd been feeling it for a while, but meeting Sinopa drove the point home in a way she hadn't expected, and she'd yet to figure out how to deal with it. She missed Olivia. She missed the rest of her team, and Alex, and Michelle, and... She'd been so desperate to get away from the ghost problem, and it had taken this long to finally start sinking in just how much else she'd given up in exchange. Somehow, without realizing it, she'd gotten used to having someone to lean on. She'd forgotten how it felt to not have anyone to confide in, hadn't realized how much she'd started to depend on them to help her carry her emotional baggage. She'd traded one world's set of problems for another, and sacrificed her support network to do so.

Foolish. A stupid, hasty decision based on heated emotion.

How was anyone else coping with this? This wasn't the first time the thought crossed her mind; Everyone had given up something to accept their summons. Surely she couldn't be the only one missing the life they left behind, even knowing it was temporary. They'd been here a while now, certainly the longest time Kimiko had ever been away from her loved ones. And yet, everyone else had taken to their new calling with gusto, accepted their mission as though they had personal stakes on the line.

At least, on the outside. Maybe she could subtly ask around, try to gently pry feelings out of her allies.

A few names came to mind. The first one that really stood out to her was, ironically enough, not a fellow off-worlder, but Whimsicott Greasewood. He'd been nothing but friendly, helpful, and trustworthy towards her, and they'd already spent more than one evening sharing an after-hours chat while tidying up the saloon. The old barkeep's ear cliché was alive and well in him. He may not be able to relate, but surely he'd have advice worth listening to; he'd always had.

Along the same lines, the name that came attached to Grasewood and the saloon was Odette. They'd gotten along well after her apology, as she had originally anticipated. And there was that odd chance they were parallel universe clones or something, so if there was only one person who might understand her emotional struggle, there was no better guess.

The other name to catch her interest was Silver. Like Odette and herself, he had been a trainer where he came from, and both of them had had nothing but praise for their respective 'mon. Like her, they'd each considered their teams as family. If anyone would be missing their homes, it would be them - ones who she knew, like her, had left someone behind.

The thought of them brought the hint of a smile to her lips. Suddenly, she could feel Alex's voice, crystal clear in her mind, as though he sat right beside her.

You just answered your own problem.

Kimiko raised her head and looked around, blinking in the dark, just to be sure it was in her head and that no one had crept up on her. But the desert was quiet, save for the faint crackle of the lantern flame. She laid her head back down and stared again into the light.

She was in no mood for any cryptic code bullshit. In her mind's eye, she could see Alex roll his eyes, laughing at her for not picking up on what he'd told her, as though it were so stupidly obvious that even he'd understood. And almost immediately after, a memory surfaced, as though he'd pulled it out of the blue and pushed it at her; a memory from her conversation with Odette, after they'd had that shouting match...

"I don't think I'm too close with a lot of people here, so it's nice to know someone I can just...continue on as normal with."

And not a moment after that, another memory, this one with Silver, from their chat right here in this very spot.

“I think it’s more about… Creating connections. Links. Bridges. That kinda stuff.

To her surprise, one more memory surfaced... one of herself, speaking in response to Silver.

"It might look a little different, but we're still very much going to need to rely on each other, learn from each other's different ways of thinking, and all that."

Her mental image of Alex grinned at her, arms crossed, looking smug. In his voice, she heard the words, You do have a support network here. It's your own fault for not using it.

For a moment, she considered thanking him, then realized she'd essentially be thanking herself. Instead, with a grin, Kimiko thought back, You're such an ass.

A memory of his laugh and his last words echoed through her mind; I miss you, too.

That laugh continued to echo and fade as she opened her eyes again. Still dark, and the lantern flame was low. How long ago had she dozed off? She sat herself up, blinking to adjust her vision, and the position of the moon told her she still had several hours until dawn. As she got her bearings, spotted the requinto, still in its case nearby. With a soft smile, she reached for it, and started to play.

There was nothing she could do about the saints now. Even if she knew how to get there, to any of them, the battles would long be finished by the time she arrived, whether in victory or defeat. She dropped the ball on this one, and she was probably going to have to answer for it from someone. Probably Greasewood first, when he inevitably caught her sneaking back to her room in the middle of the night. That was going to suck - no matter who questioned her - but she'd suck it up and own up to it. Because now, she could confidently say she felt ready to get her head back in the game.

Even with the light so low, she had enough candle left for one song. So she sang, and she didn't stop, even when the white glow of her body outshined the lantern, until she had finished, now with proof of her renewed conviction.

<><><>​

 

[Sinderella]

Normally, Odette's preferred training ground was the industrial district. Plenty of scrap metal and abandoned shit to take bites out of and whatnot. But, it felt like this training occasion required something a bit more discreet. More out of the way. It wasn't every day a mortal 'mon stole a legendary's (sorry, Saint's) move out from under their nose, and she wasn't sure just how much attention she wanted to draw to that yet. At least, not before she was certain she could use it well.

Those foul shadows began to engulf her again as she charged the move, taking aim at what was left of a dead tree. Not the sturdiest of targets, but it was plenty for what she was looking to accomplish. As she concentrated more, the shadows expanded, scorching off at their edges into eerie flame, and building until they shot forth in a ferocious line of anger and fire. They hit the tree with a pronounced 'WHOOSH,' and it was ash before the fire could spread up to the topmost branches.

Odette whistled to herself. "Christ. Now I know how Odile feels."

@Butterfree