Frontier Town Nina's Place

[Spiteful Murkrow]

"You can stick with 'Cyndaquil' for now," Lyle said. "I don't make a habit of giving out names to Pokémon that I don't trust."

He turned on his seat and turned his snout up with a quiet harrumph.

"Though why on earth are you seeking us out now?" he asked. "Since you and your buddies sure didn't give us the impression you wanted to work together from that whole episode in your encampment."

 

[Cresselia92]

As soon as that unknown feminine voice rang into his lone ear, Silver’s eyes shot open in alarm. He stared at the green cat-like Pokémon that had joined their table, shocked and annoyed by the invasion of their privacy.

What the… where did she come from?!

However, when she revealed her identity, his surprise was instantly replaced by spite and his annoyance surged. He shot an incredulous stare at his companions (“The gall of this gal!”), then resumed staring at the intruder with narrowed eyes.

“…It’s you,” he murmured, not bothering to keep his bitterness in check. “So, we finally meet. Hopefully with eyes wide open, this time.” He crossed his arms and grunted. “I think you owe us an explanation, kitty!”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Sonora's grin didn't waver.

"Saints, y'all sure are tetchy," she said, jovially. "Now, what should I reply to first?"

She counted off the digits on her paw.

"First, you were already asleep, I jus' kept ya from stirrin' while I had it out with my rocks-fer-brains crew."

Second digit.

"And we did leave you a water canteen and some cans of food, which is mighty charitable considerin' we ain't rollin' in spare coin."

Third digit.

"And I know fer damn sure you made it into town unscathed, 'cause I had my scout tail you down the highway."

She put her paws out, pads-up, in a pacifying gesture.

"Forgive me fer not wantin' to stop in the middle of important business to take on new crew, or to wake ya in the middle of nowhere only to risk findin' out y'all are the bird's latest agents waitin' to do me in. While this here is a public space, and a perfectly reasonable place to converse without worryin' you'll pull a blast seed on me and my people."

The cat leaned back in her chair, looking perfectly at ease.

"So how 'bout we start fresh? If you're all hardbitten types, I'm certain you're used to folks assumin' the worst of you and your motivations. By now, I know I sure am."

 

[Cresselia92]

Silver humphed, finding himself at a loss of words. It was almost as if his mind had been split into two parts, with one side wishing to hold onto that spite for longer and the other considering giving to that cat—Floragato a chance.

‘Why should I do that, though?’ he wondered. ‘It’s not like what she did… or what I did…’

And then, something in his mind clicked. He looked away, remembering how many people back home used to look at him in distrust. Even after he swore off becoming a better person and he proved many times that he had changed, some judgments simply never ceased to pursue him. So, as much as he hated to admit it, he could understand Sonora’s plight when it came to others jumping to conclusions.

‘Granted, if you go around stealing valuable stuff, you can’t really expect folks to give you hugs and smiles’, he mentally chided Sonora, shooting her an unimpressed stare. ‘But… I understand.’ He snorted. ‘And I’m better than that! Holding grudges never helped!’

His better (or was it worse?) judgment won. Slowly, he reached out with his paw, making sure to keep his claws fully retracted.

“Well, let bygones be bygones, I guess.” He nodded and flashed a neutral smile. “You can call me… Shiruba.”

‘Better not be too trusting, though. Not yet.’

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Lyle thought back to the morning they woke up at the desert encampment. Now that he thought about it, he did remember seeing a canteen and some cans of food left behind. He'd thought that it'd been left behind in a hurry originally, but considering how long they were asleep... were they?

It seemed to add up, even if the Cyndaquil wasn't sure if he fully trusted this Florgato or not. After all, he didn't remember sensing any signs of them being tailed into town, and couldn't Sonora have done more to inform them of what she was up to like leaving a note?

"For the record, we came to your camp naked and without any belongings at all," he scoffed. "And if I wanted to pull something on your crew, I'd have gone with a Slumber Orb: quieter, and more likely to deal with multiple parties at once."

The Cyndaquil trailed off and glanced at his surroundings briefly before shaking his head.

"But I suppose that's beside the point right now, especially if you consider this place safer for you to be in than the wilderness away from civilization," he said. "So from one 'hardbitten type' to another, tell us a bit about these motivations of yours and what you want from this fresh start you're proposing?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Silver? Like the river?" Sonora grinned. "Cool name, Sneasel Silver."

She gave Lyle a quizzical look, but brushed her thoughts aside to reply to his actual question.

"I'm an open book, fella," she drawled. "More open than y'all are, anyhow. I should say, though, I didn't exactly seek you folks out with a proposition in mind... though I sure did ask somethin' of some other mysterious newcomers last night. Nay – I saw ya hangin' around in my saloon of choice, and figured I'd say howdy, what with your bein' so intriguin' and all. Still none of ya will tell a soul where any of you come from, last I heard."

She chuckled, and shrugged.

"My motivations a week ago were to keep my crew on track without gettin' tied up in any risks. Completely inexplicable strangers keen on joinin' up without havin' the slightest local reputation fer me to gauge y'all by? That's a bundle of risk, sure as sun. No thanks, partner. And if that don't make sense to you, I dunno what else to tell ya."

The Floragato waved a paw in the air and picked up her drink.

"I'd ask y'all somethin' in reply but I'll give you that one for free, since you other-worldy types are so stingy with personal information. What else ya got? Shoot."

 

[Virgil134]

Rodion listened quietly for a moment as he studied Sonora and her reaction to his teammates' questions carefully. After mulling over Sonora's words for a moment, he eventually let out a sigh before taking another sip of beer and speaking up himself.

"If you're so interested in our personal information you should consider changing your methods," Rodion said. "You could have known all about us, including where we came from, a week ago. Caution and being open to new recruits aren't mutually exclusive, not even in this line of business."

The Buizel finished his drink and briefly looked at the now empty mug, before setting it back down on the table and turning to Sonora with a small smile.

"How about this? You buy us the next round of drinks, and we'll consider what happened water under the bridge. You can even ask us anything you'd like."

 

[Cresselia92]

"Silver? Like the river?" Sonora grinned. "Cool name, Sneasel Silver."

Silver stared at the Floragato, blinking in puzzlement. “…Huh. Yeah. Just like the river,” he said, retracting his arm and drumming his claws on the table.

Okay, that was awkward. Did he accidentally spell out his name as usual? Hm, there was only one way to find out.

‘Shiruba! Shiruba!! Shiruba!!!’ he repeated over and over, hard and clear. Once filled with only one thought and hoping to not have accidentally summoned some archaic bathroom demon, he whispered his name.

“S… ilver…”

A vein popped in Silver’s head and he glared at the sky. ‘You weren’t supposed to translate that, you airhead!’ he hissed, before sighing. ‘Heh. Whatever. This happened, so gotta roll with that.’

"I'd ask y'all somethin' in reply but I'll give you that one for free, since you other-worldy types are so stingy with personal information. What else ya got? Shoot."

“My, aren’t you the curious type,” quipped Silver, raising an eyebrow. “Ever heard about the power of knowledge and information? Whatever you say or reveal can be used against you. To exploit your weaknesses. Control your actions. Blackmail you.” He smirked, a cocky glint shining in his eyes. “Take it from someone who’s been moving in the shadows for quite some time. Undetected and unaffected.”

Silver glanced at Rodion and nodded in agreement. Yeah, that would have helped smooth things over for sure. He turned back to Sonora, his mind already working on some compromise.

“Anyway, personally speaking, I gotta say that I admire and respect your spunk. So, how about an exchange of intel?” He sipped the last of his cider. “A morsel of info for a morsel of info. Sounds like a fair deal, dontcha think?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Sonora laughed to herself as Silver talked about blackmail and the shadows. "Sure, fella. I might have a minute or two of experience with that myself, given I ain't been hanged yet."

She nodded to Rodion and sighed dramatically. "I'll take your offer, Buizel, if that's the going rate for conversation these days! Next round's on me, and then we can trade questions and slacken our jaws all evenin'."

Sonora withdrew a few coins and a tattered paper bill from a pouch at her hip and put them on the table, clearly putting them up for the next round of drinks.

"Y'all can pick yer poisons as you please. I'll shoot next – and askin' your names don't count!" She grinned, and gave them a wink. "For starters: who were y'all before you crashed into the Soja', anyway?"

 

[Cresselia92]

“Tch! No poison for me. My claws produce enough of that already,” Silver said jokingly, before tapping his chin in thought. “But! I think I’m gonna try a glass of sarsaparilla. It sounds promising.”

"For starters: who were y'all before you crashed into the Soja', anyway?"

Silver shrugged. “Hmph. I was just a guy like any other. But if you’re talking about professions… well…”

Silver trailed off, unsure how to proceed. How could he explain what a Trainer was to a Pokemon born in a world of Pokémon without exposing himself too much? After musing for a few seconds, he deemed it best to try an indirect approach.

“Let’s say that back home I was a… coach and leader of sorts,” explained Silver. “Basically, I had gathered a squad which I led to combats. My career involved teaching them new moves and techniques, working on strategies and tactics, and collecting rewards. That kinda stuff.”

Gods, I sound like a commander or something! Which isn’t too far off, thinking of it.

“Not exactly a popular job around these parts.” He sighed and shook his head. “Or, rather, I currently lack the tools and knowledge to attempt something similar here as well.”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

"Y'all can pick yer poisons as you please. I'll shoot next – and askin' your names don't count!" She grinned, and gave them a wink. "For starters: who were y'all before you crashed into the Soja', anyway?"

Lyle quietly studied his surroundings. Was it safe to just tell the truth? Sonora was confident enough to come here as a wanted 'mon, but at the same time, couldn't just about anyone from town wander in the door? Silver had gone ahead and spoke up, but even then, he'd clearly made a point to try and remain circumspect, so he must've been worried about much the same.

Maybe it was best to hear things straight from the cat's mouth.

"... That depends," Lyle said. "How much do we need to worry about someone overhearing whatever stories we'd have to tell?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Sounds like someone I knew," mused Sonora, replying to Silver.

"How much do we need to worry about someone overhearing whatever stories we'd have to tell?"

Sonora raised a brow, and put a paw to her ear in an exaggerated motion. The clamour and racket of the saloon was already such that no 'mon at one table could make out what 'mon at another were saying, but to emphasise this further, Sonora took a coin from the table, whistled sharply, and flicked it off her paw to land in the drinking glass of an Electabuzz two tables over.

"Hey Johnny!" she called. "Give us some guitar!"

The Electabuzz rolled his eyes, but he nodded, produced a guitar from the side of his seat, and began to play. Nobody quieted down to listen, it only added to the background noise.

"There we go," drawled Sonora. "Plenty of auditory interference, and a token of my popularity this side of town, if'n that matters to ya."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Sonora raised a brow, and put a paw to her ear in an exaggerated motion. The clamour and racket of the saloon was already such that no 'mon at one table could make out what 'mon at another were saying, but to emphasise this further, Sonora took a coin from the table, whistled sharply, and flicked it off her paw to land in the drinking glass of an Electabuzz two tables over.

"Hey Johnny!" she called. "Give us some guitar!"

The Electabuzz rolled his eyes, but he nodded, produced a guitar from the side of his seat, and began to play. Nobody quieted down to listen, it only added to the background noise.

"There we go," drawled Sonora. "Plenty of auditory interference, and a token of my popularity this side of town, if'n that matters to ya."

"... Clever," Lyle said, a small smile coming over his mouth. "You actually remind me a bit of a friend of mine."

The Cyndaquil raised his mug and drank from it, before turning his attention back to Sonora. He weighed things over in his head, before deciding to take a leap of faith.

"The name's 'Lyle'. 'Lyle the Fleetfoot'," he said. "There's a bit more to it, but full names aren't normally shared with passing acquaintances in my world, and it'd make me stick out a bit too much in this world anyways."

He set his mug down on the table and pushed it aside, before letting out a quiet sigh.

"Truth be told, I wasn't all that different from you back in my world, if not quite as accomplished," he said. "Dunno if I would've gone the same path in life if I lived in a place like this where there's relative peace. Admittedly, I only got into Outlawry in the first place since it was the best of some bad options back home and I haven't had many better ones since then."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Well met, Lyle Fleetfoot," drawled Sonora, raising her glass.

She paused for a moment, as if auditioning a thought in her hed before speaking it.

"I don't know that I'm all that accomplished," she said, her voice a little more reserved now, "'nor that the Soja' is truly peaceable. But that thing you said jus' now – best of bad options, ain't had better ones since? That's about the size of my story, too, fella."

 

[Cresselia92]

Silver observed the exchange in silence for quite some time. Whatever words he had in his mind were stuck in his throat. But then, someone brought him his drink, and that was enough to snap him out of his thoughts and give him valor.

“…Heh. It looks like we’ve got something in common.” He grabbed the mug of sarsaparilla and stared intently at it, almost as if he was searching for his words in that drink. “When I was younger, I had to do some stuff that was… far from noble, admittedly. But when you’re in a foreign land without anyone to help you, or a roof over your head, or enough money to survive for more than a few days…” He sighed and closed his eyes. “Then you learn quickly that you gotta take some drastic decisions, even if you’ll end up regretting them in the years to come.”

Silver took a deep breath to let go of the weight that had accumulated on his chest, before staring intently at Sonora. Something about what she said piqued his interest.

“So, the situation in these lands is far from ideal, it sounds like.” He held his head on his paw and brought the mug to his mouth with his free hand. “Is there an ongoing crisis or something close to that, either in this town or somewhere else?”

 

[Virgil134]

A small smile formed on Rodion's face as he listened to what Lyle had to say. It seemed like he had estimated the Cyndaquil correctly. He'd wanted to tell Lyle and Silver more about his life in the Cradle at some point anyway, so he supposed answering Sonora's question was as good a moment as any to be more open.

"Guess it's my turn then. To start with my name, I'm Rodion, first mate of the Iron Fleet," the Buizel began. "I'm part of a pirate crew that I founded along with one of my best friends a little over a decade ago. As you might expect, we make our living by raiding ships and different settlements along the coast. We're currently two ships large and have over a hundred crewmembers spread between them. "

But that thing you said jus' now – best of bad options, ain't had better ones since? That's about the size of my story, too, fella."

Rodion tilted his head as he leaned back in his seat.

"Almost sounds like this life chose you, instead of the other way around."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Piracy, huh?" Sonora looked halfway impressed, halfway concerned. "Well met, first mate Rodion. I'll thank you not to raid regular folks out here, but colour me impressed by your success – not that I know what your seas are like or nothin', heh."

She nodded, and toyed with the brim of her hat.

"Pretty much. Spend a lotta time wonderin' if it coulda gone some other way, but how could I ever be sure? Even asked the Wishin' Star one time to give me a sign as to the truth of it. Maybe I'll get an answer some day."

She nodded to the sneasel at the table. "Silver River over here said it right. You gotta make decisions. In my case..."

The Floragato took off her hat and fidgeted with it, twirling it around her paw.

"Used to work an honest job, livin' paycheck to paycheck to get by, since a young Sprigatito without much in the way of education can't exactly earn a king's wages as an errand girl. My old boss weren't terrible to me or nothin' by way of personal exchanges, but whatever his reasons, one day, he felt it fine to stiff me a week's earnings."

The smile still played on Sonora's mouth, but it had left her eyes.

"No problem. Shit happens, don't it? So I made do fer a week, made my savings last as I could make 'em, even begged fer a few chores from the lady I was lodgin' with so she'd lay off about my rent. But then the boss stiffs me a second week. Rent's due. Gal's gotta eat."

Sonora caught Rodion's eye, and at once she looked very young, and not young at all.

"Found ten days' pay in loose coin in the fella's office. Five dollars, twenty-five cents. Bought myself a real meal – I was stupid enough to ask for a grilled fish meant for a 'mon twice my size – stuffed myself 'til I could hardly walk. Went home. Paid for the roof over my head. Wondered if I'd get away with it – it felt good, y'know? Not bein' hungry, not bein' worried, gettin' one over on the miserly prick. I was always good at slippin' past folks, even as a kitten."

She shrugged, and laughed.

"Not that good, though. Boss was waitin' fer me the next workin' mornin' with a town deputy, some questions, and a wonder orb. I made a run for it, and got lucky – he fumbled the orb. One day and night later of frettin' about whether I can even go home was all it took to realise... there weren't no goin' back."

The hat went back on. It was hard to catch the cat's eyes, but her ears were tilted back in apprehension.

 

[Cresselia92]

Despite the liveliness of chattering and laughing patrons, it felt like a cloud of dismay had befallen on their table as soon as Sonora finished narrating her tale. Silver could only stare in respectful silence at the Floragato, who seemed to have wilted under the weight of her own past. Unable to gaze any longer without his heart squeezing uncomfortably, he looked at his own feet and kicked them absentmindedly.

Just what could he say about that? ‘Darn, that sucks!’, ‘Sorry to hear that,” or other equally useless emotional band-aids?

If only Kotone was here… She would know what to do.

He looked again at Sonora, his gaze shining with sympathy and understanding, then he took a deep breath and leaned forward.

“It seems like… huh… life has given you a really raw deal,” he muttered, unsure whether that was helping or not. “But, well, there’s something that… someone told me a long time ago. A suggestion of sorts, we could say.”

Silver closed his eyes and recited the words, “The bitterness and sweetness on the tongue can’t last forever.” He let the words sink for a moment, before opening his eyes again. “So, even if you went or are going through a rough patch, nothing is permanent and things will change. It’s up to you making sure that they change for the better.”

He paused, then looked down again, ashamed. “Sorry, I… I’m not very good at this…”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Lyle fell silent from his end of the table and looked on. Maybe Sonora was putting on an act for them, but if so, it was a damn convincing one. It was a bit startling, really. Even if he was pretty sure the details were a bit different, Sonora really did really remind him of Kate... and of himself.

Forlas wasn't a land groaning under the strain of war, and yet Sonora's story felt like it could've just as easily been told by 'mons he knew.

So much for getting away from home's problems... even if he wasn't fully sure what to say to lift her mood when he himself was still wrestling with his own regrets.

"Yeah, I understand," he murmured. "That feeling of wondering if things could've been different. Of wondering if everything was really worth it or not."

Lyle trailed off and idly ran a paw along the table before shaking his head.

"But a 'mon does what a 'mon needs to to get by," he said. "And from those wanted posters we saw, it seems like you've at least gotten loyal companions out of things. Just... don't go taking them for granted."

The Cyndaquil blinked as he recalled what they'd heard from the others about the gala and that Ignatius had wanted their help to stop Sonora from interfering with it. He... still didn't know whether he wanted to get wrapped up in whatever was going on, but he at least knew that he didn't want to knowingly let her get hurt.

"I suppose all we can do is move forward from those regrets," he said. "Though... there was something that I wanted to ask you:"

Lyle turned his head over to Sonora and gave a firm stare.

"The mayor told a few 'mons from our group that you're planning on crashing some gala in a few days and was trying to get their help," the Cyndaquil said. "Is your gang really planning something? If so, do you all know what you're getting yourselves into?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Sonora's ears fell forward again, and the emotional tension relaxed.

"Thanks fer the advice, Silver River," she drawled. "Ain't new to me, but it's always good to hear folks who think change is at least possible."

The Floragato nodded to Lyle. "I'm movin' forward, and I'm bringin' my crew with me. You're damned right that we're plannin' somethin'. Somethin' to make a difference, whatever happens."

The wild grin returned.

"Gonna show everyone just what kind of bastard King Bird really is."