Frontier Town Sun Stone Saloon

[Ambyssin]

Nova sipped some of the wine in order to stop himself from reacting visibly to the mention of an army. "And what potential is that?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lucien's smile was drier than the wine.

"The potential to..." He clacked his beak, and hummed, as if forcing out an immodest thought. "The potential to be a force for good. In this region. Whatever your... strange backgrounds."

He resumed cutting up his meat and potatoes, his expression muted.

"Many of your companions seem terribly impressionable, Nova. They could become... any number of things. Depending on what influences them."

 

[Ambyssin]

"I know they want to be," Nova said, as if trying to assure Lucien it was okay to have such thoughts. "Which is why the offer concerns me." He stopped to eat more of his food. Given his larger size and hesitance toward the whole eating ritual, it wasn't surprising he'd gone through things much quicker. "Between work and personal errands taking me through town, I've heard enough talk. I think your father... believes the group, or at least a good number of them, are humans. And that he's holding them at a high standard because of it."

Dave's warnings again flickered in his mind. There were other things he could say, but piling on his opinions like a giant stack of pancakes wasn't the play yet.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lucien didn't reply for a moment. Perhaps it took all his cognition to maintain the mask at the sound of the word humans, and he could produce no words to move the conversation along.

He swallowed a forkful of steak. Clacked his beak.

"Ah."

The syllable said enough, and the mask slipped from Lucien's face, revealing trepidation... and guilt.

"I told him it was too implausible to even consider. I suppose he must have considered it all the same. I had hoped he'd dismiss the notion."

Lucien drank some more wine, finished his glass, and poured some more.

"How naive of me."

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova fought the urge to correct Lucien's assumptions. He genuinely wasn't sure if Lucien had considered the possibility humans were among the group. Their previous conversation had pointed to that avenue. Why else would he bring up the Entropic Crisis? And his teammates were pretty casual with giving out information. More than a few had let slip their humanity already. Had Lucien truly not heard? In which case, was he simply too engrossed in his work or sheltered? Or something else?

Too many questions. None of which made a lot of sense to ask.

"I'm sure, given your position, tangentially related rumors have passed your ears," Nova said. Better to take it gentle. Massage his ego a bit, perhaps? Though Nova hated himself for it. "I know you mentioned the Entropic Crisis and I've learned about the human who was instrumental to stopping it. And, even with my newness and shabby appearance, I've heard of pokémon who are starting to hold humans to a bit too high of a standard."

He took another sip of wine. "Namely, one of superiority."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lucien blinked, took a moment to run Nova's words through his head, and apparently realised what the chimera had concluded.

"Yes. I have heard a whisper or two, here and there. And at every turn, I have tried where possible to discourage the possibility as outlandish."

The bird held his wine, and looked tired.

"Nova, I've suspected it to be true ever since you arrived."

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova finished off the last of his meal. "And if it was true?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Then I would be terribly afraid for what that meant for our world," said Lucien, his voice subdued. "You new arrivals from 'far-off lands' would fill me with fascination were it not for all the dread that has already taken seed in my heart."

He shook his head, and put the wine down.

"Perhaps you really are all here by random chance, and not because the planet we stand on is in desperate peril. Even if that were so, I would still be anxious about the damage that nearly forty humans could do. Not that you all seem... necessarily human."

 

[Ambyssin]

“I don’t know the others’ origins,” Nova admitted. “I can hazard guesses for some based on loose lips and mannerisms. Knowing things that don’t make sense.” Now he was tapping a claw against the floor.

“They’re trying to find the specific reason why they were summoned, but they were summoned.” He paused. “And that carries the connotations you think it does.”

 

[Jackie Cat]

"All the Saints," swore Lucien, quietly. "And you all really have no idea what for?" He glanced at the interview article – it declared Mhynt's claim that the group was still searching for their purpose here.

"How many of you are human?" he asked, half to himself. "It hardly matters, even a few would be remarkable. Dozens... would be unprecedented. Inconceivable, were it not actually the case as we live and breathe."

 

[Ambyssin]

“I can’t say for certain,” Nova said, shrugging. “Only that I have a feeling the reason… is tied with this growing sentiment surrounding humans.”

“And I would hate to see that take hold.” Nova sighed. “Because while there are plenty of good humans, there are many wicked ones. And I’m what you get when the worst of humanity is left unchecked.”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lucien frowned, very slightly. His grip on his wine glass was a better tell for his anxiety.

"In what sense?" he asked. "Are you comprised of— No, no, you mean to say that you were created, do you not? Artifice of the body. The helm is not garb, it is part of the base matter of your being. Of course."

He took a shallow breath, and raised the wine to his beak again.

"I suspect you know more about humans than I do, Graydian Nova," said Lucien, quietly. "But you still do not understand what their presence in this world represents. Not yet."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Outside of appearing in times of crisis?" Nova said. He would've raised a brow, but the mask was there to block it. And he wasn't going to indulge the mask bit. "This isn't the only world that operates under those kinds of rules. And plenty of worlds that have summoned humans have had ones show up when there isn't a crisis. They just... are stuck there."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Oh, we're just talking frankly about this absurdity now, are we?" replied the Prinplup, with a short, sharp laugh. "Nova, are you telling me that you are... some kind of routine traveller between worlds?"

More wine.

"I don't... I don't disbelieve you. I don't. But a week ago, my cosmos was very small. It is rapidly becoming bigger. And it sits very ill in my gullet."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Do I travel realms? No." Nova looked down. "But a dear friend used to. It was part of his job. And he told me a decent amount about it."

He sighed again. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to burden you with an info dump. It comes across as a lot of change very quickly." If only the mask didn't hide Nova's guilty expression. "I guess... I said that because I feel like, from what I've seen, there's a part of you that's concerned about the kinds of changes that could be coming here. With this gala and the railroad eventually getting finished. A lot of my coworkers say they don't see a place for them in Frontier Town once the job's done. That it'll become like the Commonwealth."

Nova paused. "They didn't phrase that as a good thing."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lucien nodded, and composed himself again.

"The Commonwealth is a star – a sun – of civilisation. Civilisation out here orbits the Commonwealth. It's many things – an attempt at a new kind of nation-state, for one. Democratic, multicultural, prosperous... The idea of it is inspiring, to many 'mon. It is still, however, a collection of mortal 'mon trying to organise themselves around lofty ideals and practical necessities. So, like all countries, it has squalor and discontent. The sun gives light, but so too does it burn."

He would have sounded almost as if he were reciting from a book, were it not for the easy flow of words, not at all stiff or rehearsed.

"...You are right, Nova," said Lucien, looking away. "I am ill at ease with... certain kinds of change. I suppose you could say that I am always anticipating sour outcomes, always watching for risk that may bring such about. Such as the proliferation of any attentiveness to your group's true nature."

He turned back, looking severe.

"You're entirely right, also, that humans can be wicked."

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova nodded slowly. He would've offered a shoulder were he not sitting across the table from Lucien. "I had a teammate with a... similar disposition. Always expected the worst outcomes. The worst in others. Which was ironic, since he was a pokémon heavily intertwined with light and all the warmth and positivity it should bring." He envisioned the golden light in the back of his head while doing his best not to tense. "It shaped his mindset to favor taking extreme measures. Even more extreme than the ideas I threw out there." A pause. "And I could get really out there." Nova added a chuckle for good measure.

His gaze fell to the floor. "I followed my creator's orders for too long. Never wavering even when I questioned them." Now, he tensed. "It's easy for me to blame humans for my existence, but I still made mistakes. Mistakes that helped seal the fate of my world."

"You're still young, though." Nova glanced at the prinplup. "You have a chance to forge the future you want for yourself. For others." He lowered his voice before continuing, "I look put together, but right now I'm trying to rebuild my trust in myself. To believe I can make good decisions." Nova rubbed his forelegs nervously. "To be honest, I wasn't even sure if meeting you was a good idea. I went with my gut.

"But there's at least one thing I'm sure of: this group isn't full of Jesse Strangers planning to stick around. The world needs folks who were born and raised here to pitch in and help with whatever's brewing on the horizon. That's the road to a brighter future."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lucien listened carefully, still controlled and composed even now.

"Do I really seem so young to you?" he asked, his voice quiet. "I suppose I am. I've not yet thirty years of life, after all. That is young."

He raised a carefully-cut mouthful of potato and rawst berry to his beak. The Prinplup took a moment to think.

"Your pessimistic friend took extreme measures. I tend towards caution, and when I take a risk, it tends to be to mitigate other risks – I had hoped, for instance, that by lending credit to your group, I would disincentivise unlawful behaviour or other misfortunes in the course of seeking food and shelter. I am not without a hopeful nature, in my way. Even if it is informed by... apprehension. As you did today, I went with my gut despite not being sure it would pay off."

He shook his head. Even without the emotional mask, Lucien's feelings were only subtle on his face. The tightening of his jaw could mean stress, or fear, or frustration...

"I appreciate your advice, Nova. You seem to be a 'mon of clear mind and sound conscience, which is a most valuable thing. I hope that the same is true of your fellows, human and otherwise. But listen. Listen to me – it's not that I believe your group is ill-intentioned, I assure you. Rather, I am trying to warn you."

He met Nova's eye for a few seconds only.

"If you encounter any humans not among your companions... you must remember your creator, and not your friends."

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova nodded slowly. He figured the understanding was better left implied. “So, what of the gala? I’m sure your attendance is essential. I’m not looking to secure an invite. Rather I was thinking of keeping an eye around town. See if anything else is going on under the festivity’s cover.”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lucien seemed to relax a little, but the mask returned along with the topic of his father's festivities.

"I have an administrative role, as with most things. I suspect I shall attend much in the way I usually do, which is to say that I shall make circuitous conversation with dilettantes and captains of industry for some time, and make some excuse when the hour grows late that allows me to take my leave."

He allowed himself a very tiny smile at this admission of disinterest.

"Unless of course, as you say, something else occurs. For instance, if there were some disruption in proceedings. Why, I expect in such a case, I would need to be escorted to safety. Perhaps... taking some security staff for my protection."

He swallowed consciously, and drew a thin breath.

"...I have no doubt that my father can acquit himself competently in the event of any altercations, even with a reduced escort."