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Frontier Town Industrial Park

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"There was an article about it some time ago," Andre said, "and one of our own is a reporter now, so there might be newer articles mentioning it. Not certain if other towns have reported on it, but I imagine they would have, given how important off-worlders coming to Forlas seems to be."

He weighed his options for a moment, but decided there was no real reason to keep his motives a secret. "I only ask because you seem to have a particularly strong aura." He hoped that was indeed the right way to refer to it. "That makes me think there's something special about you. Would I be correct in assuming that?" He also hoped that this wasn't some kind of aura disorder which he was being very insensitive about.
 
Self-defense, but he hadn't run into any Shadow Pokemon. While she wondered what he might have been fighting up against out in the wilderness otherwise, she still considered him lucky. Though with the kind of power she felt in his presence, perhaps he'd be okay.

All this shit about aura sort of threw her for a loop, but she shut her mouth to give Andre a moment to talk. Anite had mentioned something about it, and she supposed Alex had been one of the strange 'mon she'd sighted...

Power, aura, she supposed it was all the same, though. And Andre had been the one to meet Alex initially, so he likely knew more about the zweilous than she had. So, she kept quiet, suddenly a little eager to hear what he'd have to say.
 
"Powerful aura?" Alex asked.

Xander lifted his head in pride.

"Well... yes. I'd have to be powerful to evolve as I did. We take quite a while and a lot of strength." It seemed almost like an evasive answer, but.... it didn't seem to be a wrong answer. It made sense.
 
A bit evasive, Andre thought, but I shouldn't let him know I noticed.

"Hmm... yeah, that makes sense," he said. "I hear dragons in general tend to have that quality."

He looked over his shoulder at his deerling body and briefly wondered when he was going to evolve. Deerling back in his world evolved just with age... it wouldn't take years for him to grow into a sawsbuck here, would it?

He looked back at Alex. "So, I know you're a traveller now, but has that always been so? Do you have a more permanent home somewhere? Someplace with family, perhaps?"
 
"Ah... I'm sorry." Alex shook his head. Xander stared at Andre like he'd said something offensive. "Family and home is not something I'd like to talk about if that's fine with you." He nodded and then looked around the industrial park. "But I do like it here, at least. Sunny. Arid. But still civilization."
 
"Oh, of course. I'm sorry for intruding," Andre apologized.

He looked up at the blue sky. "It's certainly a hotter climate than I'm used to," he said. "Galar, my birthplace and home for the first twenty-odd years, has much cooler weather, with cloudy skies being the norm. Kanto, my home at the time of my being summoned, isn't much different."

He turned to Odette. "How about you? How have you been faring in this weather?"
 
Odette’s shoulders deflated. They were…talking about the weather now?

She’d gone a hunt for this guy to commiserate with a fellow dual-header, perhaps pick his brain (which she did to very minute avail, he didn’t seem keen on conversing with her about that), Andre asked him about aura and got nothing short of the dodgiest fucking answer she’d heard in a hot minute, and now they were quite literally talking about the weather.

For a moment, all she could do was blink.

“Uh…” she started. “I’m coming from the tropics so I’m used to a little more ocean with my sand. Desert heat has been a hard sell,” she said drily.

“But…I really didn’t come out here to talk about the climate.” She eyed Alex dubiously. “You’ve turned a lot of heads everywhere you’ve turned up so far, so clearly there is something to be said about you and this strengthened aura you wield. Not to discredit your training, but I feel like there’s more to it that you’re not saying.”
 
Now, Xander wasn't growling as much. He seemed to turn his head toward Alex, then back at Odette, or where she had spoken.

"You two seem to have... a peculiar interest in me for some reason. I haven't had to deal with this before. I'm just a traveler, and nothing more.

"Is there a problem with that?"

There was the slightest hint of prickliness to his tone just then. Was Alex getting impatient? Nervous? Still, considering Odette's questions... it was clear he was hiding something.
 
Odette's expression remained cool, even as she picked up on the edge in Alex's voice. Xander calming down wasn't lost on her either.

"I never said I had any sort of problem with you or your occupation," she said nonchalantly, her hands falling to her hips. "However, I've been called here to investigate, so I'm investigating. I mean no offense to you, believe me." She sent a long look at Xander for good measure.

"But from one 'mon who has their anger channeled into their second head to another, I'm just asking you to level with us a little."

She took a breath, gesturing with her hands out in front of her in a sort of disarmed stance. "We're not trying to scrutinize you; we're just looking for facts. And considering what we're up against--these Pokemon that have the ability to quite literally off us--whatever information you can offer about your strength might prove helpful to us in beating them."
 
Andre stiffened as Odette turned up the heat. He had been hoping to keep up good relations with Alex, but he supposed that Alex was here for a limited time, and if he knew anything about what they were up against, that knowledge should be extracted. Even if Andre didn't really believe he had that kind of information. Surely not everyone they met that had something unusual about them was related to humans or shadows?

"She's right," he said. "The reason we off-worlders were summoned was to solve some kind of great crisis," he explained, "and it's important for our safety - probably the world's safety - that we find out what we can about anyone of interest. I'd hate to say that the fate of the world might depend on it with how dramatic that is, but it is technically correct."
 
The silence that followed was cut only by the occasional industrial bang and clang. While he lacked eyes, Alex and Xander somehow seemed to be 'staring' at them all the same. Xander growled a little softly, then quieted completely.

"...Alright," he finally said. "I believe you. I can't sense any deception in how you're acting. I'll admit it, then." His stance straightened. "...I'm a special investigator for these matters. I cannot disclose details about my commander or my organization. Only know that I am here to put a stop to the corruption of Pokemon in this area. The trail has led me... somewhere in this town. But I'm not confident in it."
 
So perhaps nothing related to this “aura” shit, but something in relation to their current issue nonetheless. Her ears perked at the mention of a “commander” and an “organization”—for fuck’s sake, there was another organization looking into these matters? Unless it just so happened that Alex and Xander were also from the Covenant of Light—but she didn’t give any indication that that’s what caught her attention.

“Are you at liberty to say why you’re not confident?”
 
"Just that I think they merely... wandered here, are were not returning from somewhere else," Alex said simply. "I'll probably be returning soon. There doesn't seem to be much for me to worry about here."
 
"Have you figured anything out about these corrupted pokémon?" Andre asked. "Qualities, origins, weaknesses?" He didn't think they would know anything the Wayfarers didn't, but it was worth it to find out where they stood.
 
"Only their qualities," Alex said. "It's like the person they used to be has been... pushed deep down, and their savage instincts were brought to the top. Flipping their subconscious, feral instincts with their complex, upper thought. I don't know how that could be useful for anything but causing chaos."
 
Odette was blinking again. She felt her minute annoyance starting to blossom into something harsher.

"So..." she said. "You happen to be an investigator for an organization and commander you can't disclose. You claim to have never come into contact with these so-called dangerous 'mon, yet you're investigating them and claiming you're here to 'put a stop to them.' The only thing you've managed to uncover is stuff that feels fairly obvious. You have a trail that has apparently led you here, but you somehow think there's nothing to worry about. Not to mention, you were fibbing about what you were up until I pressed a little harder. Also, you're a traveler, but you're...returning somewhere?"

She was shaking her head now. "I don't know. Something about the way this conversation has played out leads me to believe you're still hiding something. And considering you're talking to members of a group who are also determined to put a stop to the bullshit happening around here, I really have a hard time understanding why you feel the need to be so dodgy. But that's just me."
 
Xander tried snapping at Odette but to no avail.

"Well," Alex said calmly, "of course I'm hiding something. It's only natural to people I've just met, no matter how credible you seem at the moment. I can't make a call like that after just one or two happenstance meetings." He took a step back. "If you'll excuse me... I have to go somewhere else."
 
"Oh. Alright..." said Andre, wondering if this was inevitable or if Odette had pushed Alex too far. "Well, I hope there's no hard feelings. We had no intention to offend. Perhaps the next time we meet, we'll be able to trust each other more. Maybe even work together." Of course, he made no promises. Alex could have been part of an organization even worse than the Coven for all he knew. "Have a good one, Alex. Enjoy your stay in Frontier Town."
 
Odette watched Xander snap at her, but made no move to step back. Jawile’s stem twitched in anticipation, but she didn’t acknowledge that either. Instead, she forced herself to take a deep, calming breath and took a moment to rub her temple.

“Right,” she said, sounding far calmer now. “That’s understandable. I apologize for losing my cool. Sometimes my anger still meshes.” Another breath, this one shallower. “I wouldn’t doubt you have your reasons. But I do hope that if you find something case breaking in the future, we can come to enough of an understanding for you to feel comfortable enough to share.”

One more breath. Exhaling out the last of her sheer annoyance for the situation at hand. “You take care. And I hope the restaurants in town are to your liking.”
 
"Thank you," Alex said with a gentle smile. He nudged at Xander and he turned around, walking down the road again. Xander looked back every so often to glare at Odette and Andre for no real reason, while Alex continued to march on ahead...

Something about him was unnerving. But he didn't seem hostile for now. Still... who was he?

As Alex finally left the main road, it was at least clear that he was involved in this somehow. The only question was how, and why, and for whom.

Questions to investigate later... Hopefully, Alex would have more information for them next time, one way or the other.

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