- Pronoun
- they/them
Jade blinked at Koa. "...Is that what it's called?" She hadn't ever considered whether or not it had a name. For the longest time, it had just been 'the orb.' She hadn't even considered the fact that there would've needed to be some way to distinguish it from the other two.
She flinched slightly under Malachai's harsh gaze. "Look, I... for the longest time, I couldn't even remember that I had it. It was like I'd forget that it ever existed the moment I stopped looking at it." She nodded to Leaf. "I think you're right—I think it was making me forget." Her words came more forcefully now, more confident. "And now that I'm here, it can't affect me like that anymore." She knew this probably sounded crazy, but that had to be it.
"You never mentioned having such a curious item in your possession," Virga remarked, gazing at her with some interest.
"That's because I couldn't," Jade replied with some exasperation. "It took everything I had just to show it to my first partner." She was remembering it now, the trick they'd used to talk about it, without forgetting. And also the bone-deep certainty that she could under no circumstances reveal it to Lugia.
So then, what did any of that mean for the orbs that Ralsen had found? She could tell that Koa didn't believe Ralsen's story. Was there any way she could verify what he'd said...?
"You said you found it in a sealed chamber that opened by itself," Jade began slowly, still figuring out where she was going with it.
Ralsen nodded. "That's right."
Jade found herself standing to her feet, despite the ache in her limbs, her tail swishing as she paced. "So then... what about the writings? There should have been writings."
The edge of Ralsen's mouth curled into a slight smile. "You're relying on my memory?"
Jade's ears swept back. "You just said you got your memories back. So we should be able to confirm if you found them in the same sort of place as I did if the writings were the same."
She was bluffing, mostly. Jade really didn't remember the writings at all—and she was pretty sure that was just due to only having read them once, over a year ago, as opposed to any sort of weird orb-induced amnesia. But maybe if he said it first, it'd jog her memory.
Ralsen fixed her with the same amused expression as before. "Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to record them on my second visit." He closed his eyes and recited: "'Three orbs were forged from the birth of this realm, and each has been sealed away so that the realms might remain separate forever.'"
Oh, crap. That was the same, yeah. And she was pretty sure the look on her face had just told him as much.
Virga took a step forward, her metallic claws sinking into the damp grass. "Why does it matter where he found them? I'm to understand that this is not the same human Sebastian you knew from our world. How exactly these 'orbs' came into his possession seems meaningless to us now."
Right. It probably didn't matter. Except that finding them in the same chambers she had meant that he hadn't stolen them from any Legendary Pokemon. And that was... important for some reason? (She wasn't sure.)
The fluttering of small wings in the trees behind her caught her off guard for a moment. Her tail lashed a bit with agitation as she debated what to say next. Part of her almost wished there was a way he could have just left Forlas, because then he wouldn't have been her problem anymore.
So then, what was the next move?
