Frontier Town Industrial Park

[Sinderella]

Odette blinked at her.

For a conceivably awkward amount of time, Odette simply blinked in Kimiko's direction. The look on her face signified she was a little too stunned to speak, and the sheer length of time it took her to actually open her mouth further drove that home.

"That's..." she started, unsure of where to take it. The footnote was really throwing her. Delivered like a seemingly random little detail but somehow made the entire story ten times worse and a hundred times closer to home for her. Either it didn't bother Kimiko nearly as much as it bothered her, or Kimiko had already exhausted her own angst over the issue and could do nothing more but casually discuss it because that was how she coped.

"Do you have a half brother?" Odette asked suddenly. She didn't care how fucking crazy she sounded, she had to ask. "Or like, did you start investigating all of this and meet a really sus but really incredible guy who ended up like, helping you figure what you know out and you kinda, uh, ended up dating?" She paused, then brought her hand up to scratch her cheek pensively as she silently kicked herself. "Actually, no, you said you had a boyfriend, right? Forget that..."

Brow furrowed, she started tapping her leg. Kimiko might have been able to hear the gears turning in her head from where she was standing. "Did you...go into hiding at any point? Or did you maybe, uh, get into an altercation with some rich guy you were trying to shmooze, but it turned out he was way more psychopathic than you anticipated and it all just went, y'know..." she trailed off and held up her hand, where she flicked all her fingers out as if mimicking an explosion. "...tits up?"

Her expression fell once she realized the absolute lunacy she was spilling, and she quickly waved her arms around like she were trying to erase everything that had just come out of her mouth. "You know what? Forget everything I just said. That sounds absolutely terrible, and I am so sorry."

 

[Shadow Serenity]

When she'd finished, Kimiko had just shrugged, curious to see how Odette would react to a proper summary of her ghost history. But a response didn't seem forthcoming... All she did was stare and blink. Nothing more.

Why is she just staring at me.

Clearly something Kimiko said caused Odette to Blue Screen while it processed, but the silence was... unsettling. Kimiko felt a blush form on her face as she stood there awkwardly, and she cleared her throat just to break the silence.

"Do you have a half brother?"

Wh... what?

Kimiko cocked her head to the side. That wasn't the reaction she'd been expecting.

The rest of the line of questioning was... similarly curious, but also eerily familiar. Details were wrong, but the vibes were there. And even if they hadn't been, now she was intrigued; Odette couldn't just blurt all that out and expect it to go ignored! Kimiko had spilled her story, maybe she could coax something out of her fellow off-worlder.

"Wait, hold on a sec," she replied, holding out a hand as if it would somehow stop Odette from freaking out. "I don't have a half brother, no... but I do have a half sister."

She crossed her arms again. "I also met a very 'sus' guy who... gave up information, yeah. Some of it willing, some of it accidental. Rich prick. Kind of a... rogue cultist, I guess? Works for 'em, but operates solo on his own terms. Seemed like a good dude at first, actually helped my boyfriend and I out of a jam. But he ended up being... uh..." Gods, how did she explain this? She let slip the torture thing earlier and Odette had picked up on it, but thankfully hadn't asked for more, and she wasn't eager to casually chat about that. "Well, let's just say, he's literal nightmare fuel. Definitely did not end up dating him, ugh. I'd rather have let him shock me to death." Oops.

Move on, move on... She made a face as she tried to figure out her last comparison. "I... don't know if I'd call it 'going into hiding' but... I did kinda take refuge, in a way? Bunch of trainers teaming up to fight back against the ghosts and the cultists. So I've got a lot of... backup, you could say." Yeah, it was a bit of a stretch compared to everything else so far, but she'd just wanted to push passed the Costas topic.

As the prepared to wrap up, a sudden thought occurred to her and dots started connecting in her head. Odette claimed earlier to be familiar with cults. If everything she'd just said had been related to that somehow... There was some rich guy she had been trying to schmooze that sounded like it did not go over well... She'd mentioned at their big group meeting that she wanted to try to worm her way into the inteleon's organization. Had she... tried to infiltrate her own cult?

Might as well venture a guess. "So, uh... you mentioned being familiar with cults yourself, earlier, yourself... is that perhaps related to why you felt confident enough to try to talk your way into Nolan's group?"

 

[Sinderella]

Not a half brother, but a half sister. Okay. Weird. And a rogue nightmare fuel cultist she shmoozed who…almost shocked her to death?

“Wait huh?” she said dumbly. Kimiko had said something about torture but she’d somehow glazed over it in the haze of literally everything else. But Kimiko didn’t seem all that gung-ho to discuss it. Honestly, Odette couldn’t fault her for that either. Getting shocked felt eerily similar to getting forcibly bitten by a houndoom though…

As for hiding, it didn’t sound like it was anything as intense as living in a secluded safe house for almost four years, but it was somewhat close. Ish. At least there were some differences. But they were still similar enough that Odette was still left questioning.

But of course, she couldn’t ask such outlandish fucking questions without them coming back to bite her. She supposed Kimiko had been liberal, and now it was her turn to try and explain why she’d asked in the first place.

She quickly glanced around to make sure nobody was in ear shot. “…majorly, yes,” she said in a low voice. “I did some investigative slash infiltration work to get to the bottom of the big scary cult in my world. It…” she averted her eyes away, “worked. For a time.”

Maybe she’d need to backtrack a bit more than that. “I, uh…dated this guy. In secondary school. We had a, I’ll call it a falling out right now because it would take me about a day to explain to you what actually happened. Then he came back a couple years later, I fucking hated his guts, and I found out through some, uh…probably not legal snooping on my police-chief grandfather’s desk that he was involved with this rumored group that was distributing this drug, and it was causing all kinds of problems, and—“

It sounded like she was rambling, so she took a leveling breath. “This group was centered around these…legendaries. Types. An unknown type that, uh…” she was wringing her hands together now, “were not unlike ghost types but way scarier. Way more unpredictable. And this drug was causing more of them to appear, but nobody actually knew that because the group was so good at hiding it. I only found this out because I infiltrated my way in by pretending to be in love with this ex. You follow?”

She shook her head again. “Anyway, I infiltrated by pretending to be in love with this motherfucker, who was very high up in this group, and my best friend helped, and I met this guy who was really sus at first, but ended up being on our side and saved my ass more than once and I may or may not have fallen deeply in love with him, aaaaaand in the end we found out that this group, or cult, Team Enigma, was spearheaded by my biological father and everything was only happening because I was born possessed by one of his legendary assets he wanted back.”

She was smiling now. Painfully wide, and painfully forced. “So after all that I figured that weaseling my way into the Coven wouldn’t be nearly as convoluted as that. I hope.” Her smile seemed to widen, though it looked more like a full-blown grimace now. “Any questions? Comments? I’d ask for concerns, but I don’t think I need to hear those.”

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Well. Kimiko had been prying for info, and she certainly got what she'd asked for.

Firstly, right off the bat came the confirmation; Odette had infiltrated some cult of her own and she felt she could put that experience to use against Nolan. Kimiko wasn't sure whether to be impressed or wary. She considered herself to be a pretty good actress when the need called for it (and her state of mind allowed it), but she'd never put on a performance for stakes like that.

She had to admit, it was a little difficult to follow, but she got the gist of it. The oddest part was this 'unknown type' she mentioned. 'Not ghost-types.' 'Not unlike ghost types but way scarier.' She was adamant that her own world's ghosts were a far cry from what Kimiko knew... Was this related? And of course, there was that magical word - legendaries. Kimiko really wanted to be surprised to hear it, but somehow it was the easiest thing in this conversation to accept by a mile.

Her cult had a name. It sounded like one of those extremist groups one often heard about from various other regions, like that Galactic bunch from Sinnoh. She supposed, in a way, those were similar enough to a cult.... and she found herself wondering if her own cult (Oh gods, do not let me start thinking of them like that!) also had a name for themselves.

That last part though, was one hell of a roller-coaster of its own. Kimiko was pretty sure her father hadn't been working with her- the cult back home. What the hell would she do if she'd found out her father was the one in charge? At least that explained why Odette bothered to get involved at all. And then she casually followed that up with 'born possessed by one of his legendary assets' as though that wasn't a bombshell of a statement on it's own! There were at least three words in that single sentence alone that one could draw attention to!

"What the fuck..." she stammered, realizing she'd probably looked like she was zoning out. "Well, I definitely have concerns. I..."

Where did she even start? The most logical would probably be the infiltration itself, since that would apply to their current fiasco... but she couldn't help her curiosity. "I'll come back to that 'unknown type' thing in a minute, because I know you mentioned that before and had me totally confused... but I think we should touch on the bit about you being possessed by a legendary, if I understood that correctly?" Gods, but wouldn't that be the perfect kick-in-the-ass counter to her possession rant earlier.

 

[Sinderella]

Odette's grimace didn't falter, and she started fiddling with the chains hanging off of Jawile. "Yeah, you heard that right. Wasn't exactly lying when I said I knew plenty about possession."

The chains jingled together as she tugged on them, and Jawile's stem twitched again. "How do I put this," she said distantly. "They're like..." No she didn't know where she was going with that. "They kinda like..." No. Not that, either. Fuck, how many goddamn times was she going to have to explain this and have it feel so different every time? It was somewhat easy to talk to a fucking 14-year-old boy about it, but it felt like pulling teeth when recalling it to someone who was in a scarily good enough position to be her multiversal parallel. Maybe that's what made it so hard.

"See, she's a type that needs a partner. Not even just because; it's almost vital. Because they're at their most powerful with partners...or vessels, rather. Because they, uh...use blood to power up." She held her hands up reassuringly. "But she doesn't like, drink it out of me--she could but she doesn't--but it's more just a reaction that happens, like a mega evo with a mega stone, it's a whole thing." A breath. Slow down. Slow the fuck down. "And there's 7 of her kind. Legendaries, specifically. They made a pact with my dad, my mum had me, and it just happened. Unwilling possession is more my game; my absentee father is the willing one." She said that as a joke, but she doubted it was going to land how she wanted it to.

How long had she been rambling on? She realized there it had been a long time since she took a deep breath. So, she took that moment of silence to do so. "I've already explained it to a few others, and I'm okay to do it again if you're that curious; it's just...a lot. It's a whole half of my fucking personality at this point." She gestured back to Jawile. "It's why this fucker needs a muzzle. It's not her her, but it's like...personified as her? Somehow? I'm a human; I don't fucking know how Pokemon bodies actually work on this level, so don't ask how it happened; I still don't know."

She steepled her fingers, taking another round of silence to catch her breath again. To reel in her aimless lunacy. "I can't say for sure what you're thinking, and I wouldn't take it to heart if you were wary about this, but...whatever your experience with possession is in your world, it's not like that here. This wasn't something I cordially requested; it was simply a horrific miscalculation on my mother's end. And I've kinda just had to deal."

Pressing her lips into a line, she gestured out in front of her. "So, yeah. That's the gist."

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Not even just because; it's almost vital. Because they're at their most powerful with partners...or vessels, rather.

But she doesn't like, drink it out of me--she could but she doesn't

Vessels. Blood vessels. It was almost funny, if not for how unsettling the whole idea sounded. They could just suck out the host's blood, but... simply didn't? Sounded a whole lot like sucking out a soul to feed on, but... well, it seemed like her possession and the unknown type thing were tied together.

"I'm... not sure I understand," Kimiko admitted, eyeing the chains around her second set of jaws. "Whether ghosts or whatever this is, it still sounds to me like... well, unwilling possession, just with a different skin." And yet, she seemed to be perfectly functional on her own, in control of her own actions...

She couldn't help but eye the jaws curiously. Back when they first met, she jokingly asked if they'd bite. With this new context, she suddenly felt self-conscious despite that encounter happening weeks ago. Somehow, even through Betel's Body Swap AU, Odette's new form manifested a representation of her possession. It was so ingrained in her, so much a part of her, that their summoner found a way to make it fit into this new world, not unlike Kimiko's own necklace. Whatever this... being was that inhabited her was, however it got there, it was important to her, unwilling or not.

In the back of her mind, she realized that something about this conversation felt familiar, and not in a 'We have Demonic Possession at home' kind of way. Maybe it was the mega evolution comparison?

She shook her head. They needed a lighter conversation topic. And maybe some more gushing would help ease her mind.

"So, I... recall you mentioned a froslass partner, too?" she prompted.

 

[Sinderella]

Odette sighed. Kimiko didn't sound particularly gung-ho about it, but she didn't sound that upset either. At least the way she looked at Jawile hadn't quite changed too much. If Kimiko could work past her literally being possessed, then the relationship here was likely bulletproof.

However, those thoughts aside, being prompted about Isaur caused her to perk up. A much better topic to discuss, anyway. "Oh, yeah," she said, clapping her hands together. "I do. Her name's Isaur. I found her as a snorunt," she explained. "I was on a small expedition with my mum's lab research group to study glailie and froslass hordes on the side of Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh, and I accidentally got lost." She grinned sheepishly. "My eyesight already sucks, but throw a blizzard in there? I was done. I slipped and slid down a slope and lost the group."

Then, she shrugged. "But I ran into this silly little snorunt that only wanted the apples out of my backpack but then proceeded to shuffle me through the blizzard and back to the cabin we were staying at. It took a couple hours, but she's the reason I didn't get fucking frostbite or freeze to death. Then, she just never left me alone. To this day, I couldn't tell you if it was because she actually wanted to train with me or because she liked all the food I was eating, but," she shrugged again, "it's been sixteen years, so it's a little too late to ask for those specifics, I think."

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Listening to Odette ramble about her first encounter with Isaur put a genuine smile on the snivy's face. She gestured back to where she'd been working on her music; they might as well sit down while they chatted.

"That's adorable, I had no idea snorunt liked apples." Kimiko wondered if Lucy liked apples. They'd spent a fair bit of time together now, but she still didn't really know the ghost. What was she like before she'd evolved? Her life would have been drastically different, that's for sure... would she still be so cold and distant...?

"What about the rest of your team?" she asked sheepishly. "You mentioned, um... I think a mimikyu and a... chandelure, was it? Tell me about them."

 

[Sinderella]

“Yeah, well, she’s a glutton. I thought snorunt usually only ate ice and whatever the fuck but she was a fucking garbage disposal. Just nonstop food consumption, didn’t really matter what it was as long as it was edible.”

Then, she raised a brow at Kimiko, smirking doubtfully to match. “What, I don’t get to hear about yours?” she asked. Only then did she remember what exactly Kimiko had already said about her froslass partner and decided maybe that was a beartic she shouldn’t be poking right now. She huffed.

“Ange, the chandelure, is my big ‘emotions on his sleeve’ crybaby boy. 90% of the time he’s lovingly dense and lovingly ADHD, and would sooner douse himself with water than lose in a battle and gods forbid that happens anyway. Hates losing more than I do.” She grinned fondly and shook her head at the thought.

“Then Loïc, the mimikyu, is…a fucking gremlin. Not maliciously so, he just acts like a wilding. No manners, no sense of personal space, but gods he’s fucking smart. The fucker learned how to load and cock my glock from just watching me do it over my shoulder. Little shit.” She said it through a chuckle so it was hard to believe she actually meant it.

“I’m also partnered with a gothitelle, a sylveon, and a primarina. But, yeah. Those are my ghosts, specifically.”

 

[Shadow Serenity]

"I guess when you live on ice, it's easy to enjoy literally anything else," she chuckled. And just like that, she realized things were blowing over.

Kimiko listened to her go on about her partners with amusement. A crybaby ghost, especially a half fire-type, was a strange thought, but Odette spoke of him with affection. She was lucky she hadn't been drinking anything, or she'd have choked on it in response to the mimikyu learning to weird her gun. She couldn't help but wonder why she'd been using it in front of her 'mon, but it probably wasn't her business to ask. Some people just liked guns. Regardless, her words made clear how much she cared for them.

She had a couple fairies and a psychic to go along with that. So she definitely leaned far into the mystical side of the elements in addition to the occult side (and wasn't mimikyu also part fairy...?). So, in a way, she was one of those specialized trainers.

"My froslass, Lucy, is the complete opposite," she said. It was only fair to go off a bit, she supposed. "Really cold and distant, like I said. But I think it's... more a lack of understanding of social norms than anything intentional. I don't think she's ever really felt anything for anyone before, aside from like... obligation? She's been warming up a bit recently, though."

Should she go on...? With a bit of thought, she figured it couldn't hurt to at least talk about her ghosts, if nothing else. "I caught my haunter as a gastly, completely by accident. Didn't even discover it until the following day, and by then we'd left the area. I think he was pretty young... then again, far be it from me to try to guess the age of a ghost. But he sure acted like it. Hard to control, but always had a smile on his face. Hasn't changed much as a haunter, aside from less zooming around like a skitty on caffine, thank the gods for that.

"I've got an espeon, too," she continued with another chuckle. "So I guess eons being popular are a multiversal constant. And to round it out, I've got a swameprt, a gorebyss, and a lilligant. All little gremlins in their own rights."

 

[Sinderella]

Odette guessed that was expected out of a froslass that was meant to help sacrifice humans. And lured Kimiko in to being tortured. Gods, she couldn't imagine Isaur doing anything of the sort. Half the time, Odette forgot Isaur was even part ghost type.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said. Hopefully, that didn't sound off. She was glad that, apparently, some ghost types in Kimiko's world had the sense to snap out of whatever unholy tendencies they had over there. She shuddered involuntarily just thinking about it.

She did grin at the mention of a haunter. "Ohhhhh, that was the one species I was pretty certain I wasn't going to train. I grew up around a lot of gengar, and for fuck's sake, they're fucking hysterical, but man, do they just cause problems on purpose. I suppose I ended up getting that with Loïc, but at least Loïc's small and easy to grab. Sometimes," she chuckled. "I definitely wouldn't have said no if one really wanted to train with me because I'm a sucker, but I was around them so much I kind of wanted to broaden my horizons."

And an Eon. An espeon at that. "Also a good choice. I almost had Enora evolve into an umbreon but sylveon came on a little unexpectedly. Wasn't mad at it though."

This was nice. It was almost like they weren't about to maul each other five minutes ago. Or like they hadn't just dropped crazy truth bombs on one another, either. They were just talking. Like friends.

"...thanks. For, uh, being cool. 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."

 

[Shadow Serenity]

"Oh my god, don't I know it!" Kimiko said with a laugh. "He's equal parts jester and gremlin, my haunter. They're all a handful, but he's by far the hardest."

Then she nodded. "Sylveon tends to be a bit more... difficult to predict, yeah. Umbreon's good too, but I'd wanted an espeon since I was little. It was... partial luck that that's what she ended up evolving into." She trailed off there; that was a story for another time. If ever.

The mood shifted a bit as Odette changed topics again, but Kimiko continued smiling at her... if only a little more bashfully. "Oh, no, I should be the one thanking you, after you put up with my, uh... y'know." A shrug. "Sorry it took so long to clear the air. But I'm glad we can move on and get back to where we started."

Speaking of which... They still had some daylight to work with. she gestured beside her at the music sheets she'd hastily stuffed under the guitar case to keep them from blowing away. "On that note, maybe you can give me a hand with this? I think this song would go over great if I could slow it down, but I just can't find the right speed..."

<><><>​

 

[Tetra]

Crack! The rock shattered from Koa's blow, sending shards flying and kicking up a cloud of dust. His pelt was practically drenched in dust by now, but he barely noticed. Around him were scattered more broken boulders. His mind buzzed and his thoughts churned endlessly. Lips drawn into a snarl, he stalked towards another boulder, then struck a flurry of blows, only managing to send a few cracks across it.

Not good enough. He pictured Ignatius smug beak, then Alex's coy grin. Training with Ridley going all wrong. Drapion's empty cell. Energy fluttered inside him, like a cool wind, and gathered inside his paw. With a furious howl, he surged at the boulder and slammed his fist into it. It exploded. Better. Electricity coated his body and he hurled himself at one of the remaining pieces of rock, breaking it more. He paused, panting, the knot in his chest tightening.

He spun and smacked a chunk of rock, sending it flying.

 

[Sinderella]

Odette had quickly come to realize that the best place for her to let Jawile off her muzzle was the industry district. There was enough scrap metal to go around, and nobody gave her any shit for going to town on it. With gun training and her moving out of the way, she had nothing left to do except try to get a little more solo sparring time in with some more rusted over steel.

However, as she walked to her usual spot, she was caught off guard by the abnormal sound of electricity revving to life, followed by the sound of sediment shattering and a familiar juvenile grunt. Brow furrowed, Odette followed the noise, and turned a corner in time to see a flash of familiar blue, and a rock flying her way.

Her dancer reflexes kicked into gear, because she ducked under it with ease. However, that didn’t stop her from grunting out a “Hé, regardez!” while she watched it soar and collide with another boulder.

Brushing some sand off her skirt, she stood up and cautiously approached the training electrike. “Come on now, I didn’t actually throw that rock at you last time,” she said in jest. It was only there she caught just how dusty he was, and she stopped mid-step to observe him, somewhat impressed. “Oh, but you’re really going at it. Sorry, don’t let me—“

But, the longer she stared at him, the more apparent his tells became. Bared fangs, chest contracting with violent breaths, that all-too-familiar rage-induced shine in his eye. She was a little too familiar with this state of existing, and her grin faded out, leaving behind a concerned frown.

“You good over here?”

 

[Tetra]

Not now. Koa pretended he was too focused on his training, like he hadn't heard her approach. Instead he focused on his claws and the energy he was pouring into them until they tripled in length and he lashed out with a practised flurry of movement. At least he'd gotten a lot better at fighting.

Maybe she'll go away. Koa immediately felt guilty of the thought. He liked Odette. She was cool, and didn't look down on him. But he also wasn't in the mood to chat, or talk about anything. Training with Steven had been nice for a time but it didn't solve anything.
It made it worse. You made it worse.

It didn't stop Ignatius or bring back Drapion or stop Cipher or change what Wes said. With a grunt he threw another wave of electricity at a hunk of twisted metal. Odette was still there, to his dismay. He stared at where his attack had struck for a moment, then replied. "Fine." His reply came out sharper than he meant and he bit his tongue, desperately pushing down his frustrations before turning to her.

"Sorry, just focused on training," he replied with practiced neutrality. "What brings you out here?"

 

[Sinderella]

"Hm."

She knew the telltale signs of an angry person who didn't want to talk more than anyone. When he didn't immediately respond, she took a step back and took to just watching him, more out of sympathy than anything. His rage was so thick she could practically smell it on him (or maybe it was just the smell of electrified rock), and she almost decided to turn and walk away. It was when he responded with his harsh "Fine" that she decided she needed to stay. Because, certainly, he knew she wasn't that dense.

Her face didn't change as he finally turned to her, though she did quirk her brow a little. "Well, I came out here to train a little myself, but I felt the pull of my Wrath affinity and found you," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. She lowered her head as if trying to disarm herself to him. "Something's clearly got your blood boiling, and I doubt it's these boulders or pieces of metal."

 

[Tetra]

Leave me alone. Koa exhaled through his nose, gritting his teeth as he looked away. He couldn't make her go away. And she wasn't stupid or a pushover, so she wouldn't accept an excuse either. His hackles rose unconsciously in irritation. If she'd just let him be he'd be fine. Except he knew she wouldn't. For single absurd second he pictured himself simply sprinting away at top speed (he could definitely outrun her), but the thought felt sour and cruel.

Tell her. He tensed a paw, digging it into the dirt. "Not important," he muttered. "Just a lot happening lately." The knot in his chest tightened. He couldn't help but think Odette wouldn't even care. The silence lingered, bordering on uncomfortable before he found the words for a reply.

"You know the uh... jail break in?" he began hesitantly. At least that one was easier to talk about. It made sense.

 

[Sinderella]

For half a second, she actually swore he was going to take off. Electrike were fast little shits, so even with her agility, she’d probably lose him. At that point, what would be the point in trying? If he didn’t want to talk, he didn’t want to talk, but she’d thought she’d made it clear he could tell her shit without fear of her heckling him for it. Hell, he chased her down to confess he’d made a mistake. How was discussing angry feelings with her, who had the embodiment of Wrath tethered to her soul, any worse?

“An understatement,” she said with a nod. She didn’t elaborate, instead giving him a second to decide if he wanted to.

In the end, his response was hesitant at best, but it was a response no less. One that had her eyes brightening in understanding. “I do,” she said in a breath. She’d already taken her moment to punch a few holes in some abandoned shack on her way over here, so she didn’t have much steam left to share with him. She’d been more upset about the stupid fucking penguin asshole, but she’d nearly forgotten about the other missing criminal…

“That Drapion’s gone too,” she said, more to herself than anything. “I’m sorry. I know you were set on trying to talk to it.”

 

[Tetra]

"I did talk to him," he growled irritably, though it was clear he wasn't angry at Odette. He stalked over to a piece of half-rusted metal sticking from some stone. Grasping one end with his paw, he pushed down on it till it bent in half. Not bad. He'd been working on trying to see just how much his aura could augment his strength.

He turned back to Odette, still frowning. Half annoyed at her stubborness and half grateful. "I was getting somewhere, making progress but none of that matters because he's gone." Another one for the pile of things going wrong. Maybe Odette would think it was stupid. Maybe it was stupid but it felt like the final needle that broke the camerupts back.

"And its not like talking can fix that." He paused, then muttered, "sorry. Not your fault. Just sick of feeling like things are taking one step forward and two steps back."

 

[Sinderella]

She nodded along with him, letting him talk without interruption. Maybe it was helping to get some of that steam out.

"Yeah," she said. "It really does suck when it feels like you're making progress with something, and it all goes to shit. I get it." She hadn't been on board with trying to tame the stupid thing, and she still wasn't sure if she was, but this was certainly not the time to mention that to Koa. "But you know, just because it's gone doesn't mean your progress on it is. We don't know what broke it out and where it went. I promise you you're not doing yourself any favors by making yourself crazy over it. But I also understand that's easier said than done. Believe me."

She leaned her rear against a hunk of metal after testing to make sure it was stable enough to hold her weight. "And I don't want to get preachy with you; that's likely the last thing you wanna fucking hear right now, but that's the nature of convoluted shit like this. We're in this blind because nobody knows what's happening, and the ones that do won't help." The thought clearly angered her in her own right, and yet she raised her hands calmly. "It's a shitty feeling, and you're right to be mad about it, but--and I absolutely loathe saying this--it comes with the territory. And I'm sorry it's piling on you right now."

Looking around the general area, she took note of the carnage on the rocks and sand and anything else that happened to be nearby. She chewed her lower lip for a beat, though it seemed more like she was chewing on a question instead. "From one angry person to another, what do you usually do when you're upset?"