Frontier Town Industrial Park

[Shiny Phantump]

“Awesome. I’d ask Laura if she has any use for it, she’s the one of us who has a role in the Gazette. And if not, there’ll be other chances. I’ve talked to her about it before, and I’m of the impression we’re on pretty good terms. We’ll find a time to give it a shot at some point.”

 

[Ambyssin]

"Right. Laura." Nova looked down at his claws, then back up. "Oh, right! Dark meowth. There are a lot of cats to keep track of."

And Nova hadn't even gone to see the— oh, right! That was the other thing he was curious about.

"If you don't mind the slight subject change, you went to see the Escarpa before, right?" Nova said. "Were they, y'know, freaked out at all by your appearance?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Hm. That was a good question, Gladion had noticed it at the time— a lack of any sort of surprise at all.

“Nothing. They don’t seem the type to let themselves be easily freaked out by something they don’t recognize, but I’d have thought they didn’t really notice it at all. If not for the fact they, you know, generally did have eyes. I wonder if there’s an extent to which people are simply accustomed to seeing unfamiliar species without access to the internet or a dex, but even then I’d expect us to stick out.”

 

[Ambyssin]

"Maybe it is the roughlander element." Nova shook himself out. A bit of dust fell from his coat. "Admittedly, I've been sleeping outside and stuff for a while now. Wondered if maybe I should go see them or something. Especially if we're trying to get us allies and stuff."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“That would make sense.” Gladion glanced in the general direction of the train system, recalling their previous plan to deal with the shadows. “We’re planning to work with them dealing with Cipher, too, so it’d be a good idea to familiarize yourself.”

 

[Ambyssin]

They were? "Ah, nice. Seems like a decent group to cooperate with," Nova chirped. "I may not be much for attacking here, but hopefully I can put something together for this."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“They’re strong and passionate. I liked the them, and they’ll be good allies. If we keep them as such. I’m nervous about our ability to navigate the political situation here long-term, but you won’t have to worry about that yet. And the more they know us, the more leeway we’re likely to get…”

I hope…

 

[Ambyssin]

"Oh, uh, yeah... pretty sure I'm allergic to politicking," Nova quipped. "All my references are kinda authoritarian, so... y'know how it goes." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyway, it was good catching up with you. And don't worry. I'm sure you'll break that mask soon enough. If I can do it, you definitely can."

His cheek bolts brightened a bit as Nova turned to head back toward the town square. Even if this had only yielded a bit of progress at trying to figure out how the heck to make his ability work here, it was better than nothing. And it went a lot better than his last time with Gladion. That counted for something, right?

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