Frontier Town Traveller's Haus - Dining Hall

[canisaries]

"Yeah, it's... nice that I get to be here without that guy breathing down my neck. Was better when I couldn't remember it, though. Now I'm just dreading going back."

He sighed, but forced himself to smile after. "Well, I should get to my food before it gets... cold." Berry jam sandwiches didn't really get cold. "You know what I mean. Bon appétit."

With that, he bit into his sandwich. Tasty as always.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt nodded. "Of course," she said, studying him quizzically for a moment. Bone... apple teeth? Did Betel translate that correctly? Maybe it was an expression for eating fruits. With teeth. Mm. Humans were strange.

"Can I try eating now?" Owen asked.

Mhynt sighed and, tentatively, she tossed a berry at the shade. He reached for it with his maw and... ate it, just like that. He munched and chewed and Mhynt could taste it, too. He swallowed, and...

"...Right." Mhynt rubbed her gut. "That one... mm. No. I need time to cope with that."

"What?"

She decided not to answer.

<><><>​

 

[Chibi Pika]

The morning after arriving in Frontier Town, Virga found herself, regrettably, in the dining hall of the wooden building that her allies had called home. She was not accustomed to existing inside of structures, and being unable to see the horizon unsettled her, so she had taken roost on the window planter for the night. When morning came, the Rookidee would have liked nothing better than to take leave and find a quiet place to meditate, but food was a more pressing concern.

The sea did not normally eat in the company of others. Simply grabbing something from the dining table and flying off wouldn't do either, as she did not yet know which foods would be palatable to this form. She would have to sample things in the hall itself. Unfortunate, but once she had identified a preference, she could take it to go.

 

[canisaries]

Ben could scarcely believe the variety of foods available - and for free to boot. Bread, berry jams, eggs, sausages... absolute heaven for a bear. Like a cub, which he supposed he now was, he gathered his plate full of all his favorites. He only realized too late that he should have shown some restraint to make a good impression on the other Wayfarers and the Maus of the Haus.

He should also try to eat with other people. He didn't want to appear like he wanted to be left alone, not when he still needed so much guidance in this new world. But the pre-existing groups at the tables also intimidated him. Maybe he could find someone else who was new and dine one-on-one with them?

He looked around and spotted a rookidee studying the foods offered in the buffet. Rookidee were pretty much emblematic of Galar, so the sight of them already made Ben feel more at home. Well, I guess I've found the one I'm going to bother, he thought.

He made his way to the rookidee. Oh, how to start the conversation? Maybe just a standard question.

"Hey," he greeted. "Are you with the Wayfarers?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Virga had been scrutinizing some of the berries and lamenting the absence of any fish (perhaps, once she had evolved, she would be able to pluck them from the river) when the bear cub walked up with his plate piled high.

"Indeed. One of the newest arrivals." The Rookidee eyed him. He lacked the battle-hardened air that many of the others held (even her own chosen). So, a fellow newcomer. "Were you given a new form upon being brought here as well?"

She pecked at a bright pink berry and winced. It was impossibly, unfathomably sweet, unlike anything found in the deep.

 

[canisaries]

Oh, the rookidee was clever. She must have been to be able to tell he, too, was new.

"Well, sorta," Ben said. "I used to be a teddi like this as a cub, but I'd already evolved years ago back home." He tilted his head. "Were you a corvisquire or a corviknight back home?"

Oh, right, he should introduce himself. "I'm Ben, by the way. Ben Urgamor."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Ah, so not a human, and not in the regrettable position of adjusting to an entirely foreign body, merely one from a past childhood.

Virga inclined her head as a sort of greeting. "I am called Virga here, and I was not a Corviknight. The chimera 'Nova' concluded that my form was incompatible with this world, and so I was given this one." It would save some awkwardness to head off the inevitable question: "My true form is of the sea. A seabird. I... am unaccustomed to being so far from the sea." Virga was unsure why she'd said it, exactly, but the words felt true.

The Rookidee investigated another berry, one with an outer blue husk surrounding a dry interior. This one was acceptable.

"My partner and I awoke in an ancient ruin to the south, along with several others. It was... strange to see her in the form of a Pokémon, as a human. Everything about this world feels strange to me."

 

[canisaries]

A seabird? A wingull, maybe, or cramorant? Though why would a regular old wingull be incompatible with this world? Oh, whatever, it was probably some kind of mon that Ben didn't even know.

"My partner and I awoke in an ancient ruin to the south, along with several others. It was... strange to see her in the form of a Pokémon, as a human. Everything about this world feels strange to me."

"Oh, boy, tell me about it," Ben said. "No humans anywhere, save for the ones in pokémon bodies. I know that some sapients in my world would prefer this, though..." He paused. "Your partner, huh? So... a trainer? I have a trainer too."

He remembered, and his friendly smile wilted.

"Had," he corrected quietly.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Virga shook her head. "Not my trainer, no. That is—she is a trainer, yes, but I was not trained... we were allies." That distinction was important in a way that felt difficult to articulate. Some part of her suspected that Jade would not have found it so different, nor would any of her team. But it was different for them, they who had no reason to fear their power and freedom being stripped away by the humans who would overthrow the legends.

(How ironic, then, that this inconspicuous form would have been both a blessing and a curse back home.)

There was no missing the dejected air at the end of Ben's statement. "You no longer have a trainer, then?" Virga was aware, of course, that many mon found great fulfillment in having a trainer, and would be disappointed by parting ways. The sentiment was foreign to her.

She had parted ways with her own human, by choice, and now they were forcibly reunited...

 

[canisaries]

Ah, a proud type, then. Wouldn't allow for it to be called training despite the legal document calling it that.

"You no longer have a trainer, then?"

Ben sighed. "No. He was... he disappeared. And..."

He briefly thought about Laura's reaction. How she didn't believe him, or want to believe him, and asked him if he had proof... and he didn't have any. Would Virga just think the same?

...No. Virga was new here. She hadn't been deceived by Andre long enough to reject what Ben had to say.

"Okay, so, have you seen that autumn-deerling around, with the glasses and the leaf-hair?" Ben said, voice hushed. "That's Andre, also from my world. And he killed my trainer. At least, I... no, I'm sure he did."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Virga blinked at the bear cub, momentarily dumbfounded. A parting of ways was normal and typical for humans and Pokémon, but murder was unexpected. No less, a murder taking place within this group of would-be allies. Such a thing would surely destabilize the group and lead to the Deerling's exile.

But then... Ben was a newcomer here. Of course the murder would have occurred in his home world, before forging connections here. That complicated matters.

Virga's gaze sharpened. "You are certain of this? So then, this 'Andre' and your human... they were mortal enemies?" (A killing between enemies was the most logical assumption. This would surely make Andre the cub's sworn enemy in turn.)

 

[canisaries]

"Truth be told, I... I don't know why he killed my trainer. He's never given a reason since he's always denied it. But I think he just has to be sick in the head somehow, some kind of psychopath. That's how he can act so well, why he can be so charming, why he was able to fool me with pretending to lend a listening ear when in reality, he was..."

Ben realized he was getting wound up and forced himself to take a breath.

"He must have just been... reveling in the fact that he'd gotten away with it," Ben said. "And... if what he says is true, if he comes from two or three years in the future and he's left Galar... then he really did get away with it."

 

[Chibi Pika]

One who killed only for the thrill of it... Virga had not yet spoken with this Deerling Andre, and couldn't verify this claim. Still, the subject was obviously an emotionally compromising one.

"That is... unfortunate," Virga said in a low tone, gazing out the window. This was a strange situation for her. "If he has made an enemy of you, then it would do to confront him when you are stronger. He cannot deny the truth forever." But then... something about the explanation felt strange. 'I'm sure he did it' ...was an odd way to reference an event that one was present for.

"How did you learn of what he had done?"

 

[canisaries]

"If he has made an enemy of you, then it would do to confront him when you are stronger. He cannot deny the truth forever."

Stronger... well, Ben had clearly been stronger than Andre the last time they'd met, and that didn't play out in his favor. Because Ben had run. Because he was a coward.

"How did you learn of what he had done?"

"Someone let me know that Mike - my trainer - had last been seen leaving a bar with Andre. And when I confronted Andre about it, he confirmed it, but he denied killing him. But he... had to have been the one to kill him. He had to."

Ben was hearing himself, and he didn't like what he heard - baseless accusations.

"And... when I was confronting him, he stabbed me, too. He said it was in self-defense, but... does a normal human being really stab someone in self-defense like that?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Virga clacked her beak in thought. This was all sounding a lot more circumstantial than the initial impression. Emotions running hot, latching onto the first plausible explanation... Part of of her wished to have nothing to do with this interpersonal drama, if not for the fact that the fallout risked compromising the rest of the team whether she liked it or not.

"Stabbing someone as a first recourse does seem atypical for the humans I've associated with," Virga replied neutrally. "Then again, those humans were the sort to dislike violence as a solution, even when it proved necessary..." She shook her head. "Regardless. I expect the truth will find its way to the surface eventually. It's unlikely he would be able to flee from it forever, especially here."

 

[canisaries]

"I... I hope you're right," Ben said.

He was quiet for a while as he thought of different topic to pivot to.

"So... your human partner. Which one of the Wayfarers is she? What's she like? I don't know if we've met."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Virga filled the moment of silence with cracking open a few more of the blue-shelled berries and sampling the insides. Decent, but she still would have preferred fish.

"My human is the one called Jade. She has become a Meowth here." Virga paused, realizing this was insufficient, as her human had apparently befriended another human-turned-Meowth in this world. "A daylight Meowth. She was a trainer in our world. As humans go, I would say that she is singularly committed to sticking her nose into matters far larger than herself. Being called to this world feels suitable for her." It struck Virga for a moment, that the Beetle could have chosen any one of Jade's Pokemon partners to summon. The Charizard. The Pidgeot. Even the Pikachu, half-legend that he was.

"I'm unsure why I was chosen to be her partner here. There were surely many other candidates among her team."

 

[canisaries]

A 'daylight meowth'. Must mean the Kantoan meowth, the one that's normal-type. Ben had seen a cream-colored meowth around, so that was probably her, unless it was some other Frontier Towner.

"I'm unsure why I was chosen to be her partner here. There were surely many other candidates among her team."

"Well, you were partners, at least," Ben said. "I haven't got the slightest clue why I got paired up with Andre. Like, sure, I thought very positively of him when I didn't know what he'd done, since he was so nice to me before that..." And after, even though he didn't need to be. But surely that was just another part of his act. "But I don't like him at all anymore." Ben shook his head. "I guess, then, he must feel some way about me. Creepy thought, that..."

Ben thought back to what Virga had said. "You said your partner sticks her nose into things larger than herself. She did something like that back in your world, then?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Well, you were partners, at least."

Partners. "We were partners once, yes. Though we had not been for some time." Virga paused, mulling over the rest of what Ben had said: 'Then, he must feel some way about me.' If Ben had been called here not out of affiliation between the two, but out of desire for... closure of some sort?

It seemed ridiculous that such a sentiment should be capable of calling another across world lines.

"Sticking her nose into things is how we became affiliated," Virga went on, pecking at the end of a spiced sausage link. "I'm to understand that opposing criminals who would abuse Pokémon is somewhat unusual for one of her age.

 

[canisaries]

"Oh, how old is she, then?" Ben asked.