Frontier Town Traveller's Haus - Lobby

[Jackie Cat]

"Oh, uh... Right, it sounded like— Okay."

The reaction was obvious – if Laura hadn't been good enough before to pick up on tells like that, her Forlasan day job had given her the eye for it since. Isidora had been receptive for just a second there, and then... there it was. She really did have no first-hand experience to draw on. Which meant, what— that she was embarrassed? That she was uneasy defending her worldview...?

Laura tried not to let her expression slip, even as a couple barbed comments occurred to her. What if she judged Isidora on the bloodthirsty reputation of Galar tundra sneasel, huh? This wasn't personal after all, she just hated who she was told to hate!

Did she even still care to resolve this after all?

No, press on anyway. Don't waste this, idiot.

Like you've never been thoughtless or unfair out of wounded pride.

Okay, fine. So, was she gonna let Isidora save face, or what? Wide-open as she was for some 'gotcha' about propaganda, or whatever... if it didn't help, it wasn't worth saying.

"Right, it... makes sense that your country would memorialise atrocities like that," she ventured. "So, uh... the pokémon of Liber overthrew humanity, then? In a, y'know, historical revolution, or something like that?"

 

[JFought]

The tone. The pauses. Laura was definitely judging her. Isidora's ears fell slightly. She had no reason to feel guilty for claims she never made, but did anyway.

She sighed and hugged her knees. Might as well answer the question. "It's called the Liberation War. It happened eighteen centuries ago," she explained to the ground. "We only know so much about it, since the only surviving records were written long after the fact. Some 'mon named Lux came in with a power called the First Magic, and used it to start a war against humans. He won some land, drove the humans out, sent it into the ocean, gave it to his Ten Kings, and then sacrificed himself so that others could use magic like he could. That's the abridged version, anyway."

On any other night she would've loved to elaborate. Get deeper into details and theories about what happened and how. But she was only here to explain herself. "The legend goes that Lux was betrayed by his closest human partner. And it led him to realize that he was on the wrong side of an abusive dynamic, being forced to work for masters who didn't have his best interests in mind. There were a lot of pokémon who suffered like that, and he wanted to give us the power to be free from it all. To grant pokémon true liberty."

Just saying that triggered something bitter in her chest, felt most keenly in the void her magic left behind. "Whether he succeeded is up for debate, but he wasn't wrong."

Her claws began to flex impatiently. What was up with all the questions anyway? How much more did Isidora need to explain herself? The bitterness festered. The awkwardness was painful.

"...Satisfied yet?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Well, at least Laura hadn't really expected to successfully mask her emotional reaction, before. Or intended to, really – it would feel dishonest, somehow, to conceal her feelings outside of basic tact. And hey, Isidora hadn't taken offense. Instead the Sneasel just seemed... smaller.

At least there was an interesting historical-political answer to engage with. So, nearly two millennia since, huh?

She was about to ask about 'liberty', when she heard that quiet, bitter question. Had Isidora even meant for her to hear it? Too late, she'd already paused with the first syllables dead in her mouth.

"I, uh—"

Her gut twisted unpleasantly. Her throat closed up, stuck in stalemate between you don't have to talk about this if you don't want to and nevermind sorry for fucking asking and this just makes me feel like shit why am I even doing this. Laura dug her claws into one palm and centred herself, not so much wrestling the feeling down as sidestepping it, slipping past the surge and back into relative calm.

"You know, I really was enjoying the history lesson," she said, softly. "I was interested. I was gonna ask if you still have a monarchy, whether you do elections – stuff like that. But you know—"

She'd told herself not to rely on Radiance for this, but there it was, saying don't freeze up, look at her, just fucking say something—

"—if it's just gonna make you hate me more, then I won't. I don't wanna bug you."

She kept her eyes on Isidora's face.

"Thing is, I like you. Hoped you'd like me, too. I really did just want to be friends. I get why you don't trust humans, and I don't blame you for that... but if there's nothing I can do to change that, then it's out of my hands."

 

[JFought]

Isidora was confused. After all of the hostility she'd shown, Laura still wanted to be her friend?

I'd like to talk about those things too. Maybe learn more about other worlds while I'm at it.

She sighed. "When you put it like that, what am I supposed to say?"

Isidora needed to stop being pathetic. She pushed herself up to stand, and kept a paw on the wall behind her, trying to look tougher than she felt. "I'm not askin' for much, I just need you to understand where I'm comin' from." She turned her head away. "I can't imagine why you'd still want to be my friend. It's not like I wouldn't like to talk history with you. But... I still don't know if I should trust you yet."

The sneasel crossed her arms and turned to lean her back against the wall. "And no matter what, I'm stickin' to my principles. If it turns out you used to be a trainer, then I don't know how I'm supposed to be okay with that. Especially when..." She got caught on her words, then gestured vaguely to the air. "Especially in the context of all this."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Okay, okay, this was something. Laura tensed and untensed – she was walking a tightrope while blindfolded.

Don't overthink. Trust your gut.

"I don't expect you to just suddenly trust me," she said, feeling breathless. "I just want the chance to build trust, instead of being written off. And... to be judged for what I've said and done."

She swallowed, her throat still tight. The Radiance took the edge off, but it still stung her eyes to say this stuff so earnestly.

"I get that everything you know about humanity... It's awful. I know. And I won't lie, humans have done some awful shit in my world, too – to pokémon, to the planet, and to other humans. But it's also true that humans have fought back, that they've worked – spent whole lifetimes, even – to fix the damage. Change things for the better. And they've done that— they've done that best... alongside pokémon."

"If it turns out you used to be a trainer..."

"I am a trainer," she said. "Not a— a slaver, or a fucking tyrant or something. My partners—"

Howls, but she missed them so fucking bad. What she wouldn't give to have Malachai here right now. To have any of them here right now.

Deep breath. Steady.

"We're a team, and I have a responsibility to all of them. If I let them down, or I'm not what they want any more, then they go their own way. I've already had pokémon leave the team because I wasn't tough enough for them, or they changed their mind about training, or they had a falling-out with their teammates. My ace, Malachai—"

Laura's voice cracked on the name. Her face creased up. She looked away long enough to blink away the welling-up.

"He quit, because I was gonna chicken out of a battle. I nearly dropped out right then, but I guess he got through to me, 'cause I changed my mind. Went ahead with the battle after all. ...Good thing I didn't update my registered team, 'cause guess who showed up at the last minute to save my ass?"

She laughed, partly to disguise a sob.

"I can't imagine why you'd still want to be my friend."

"That's why I don't give up on stuff," she finished. "That's why even if I think I'm gonna fail, I try anyway."

Her paws moved, signing for her when her voice finally broke on her completely. It'd still translate, right? Digits to the temple, point down, the chatter gesture, motion between her and Isidora...

[That's why I'm still here, talking to you.]

 

[JFought]

Isidora felt like she stumbled into an emotional blizzard. For a moment, she just stared at Laura, trying to get all her thoughts back in order.

So Laura was a trainer, just like she suspected. And she had almost made herself cry with that story about it. No one could make all that up. She's so earnest all of a sudden. Do I even deserve all that? She grew more flustered with each second that passed. Nothing in her entire life had ever prepared her for this.

Finally, Isidora sighed and scratched her cheek. "Dammit... Do I look like someone who's good with all this mushy crap?"

She then walked right up to Laura and placed a paw on her shoulder. "First off, you need to be more careful who you choose to pour your heart out to. Way I grew up, you'd get eaten alive for layin' your feelings out like that. Don't you know how easy it'd be for me to kill them right now? It ain't fair to yourself to put that kinda trust in me when you don't know how I'm gonna respond."

She couldn't believe she was doing this. She let go and crossed her arms again, cheeks burning underneath her fur. "A-and second off, if you want to show I can trust you, then just do it! You can tell me a thousand stories about how great friends you are with pokémon, and it ain't gonna change how I feel! Only 'mon with their whole head up their ass believe in words like humans do." She turned away, her voice becoming a little softer. "I told you I feel uncomfortable with all this, so I'm just askin' that you be understanding of that. Just respect my boundaries and don't do anything stupid. Like, one of the others pulled a Poké Ball out on me when I mentioned not liking trainers. The bar ain't that high!"

Isidora's energy was completely spent by the end. She took a couple steps away and raised a paw in gesture, hoping Laura would get the signal. "And don't take any of that personally, okay? I'm giving you advice. And then... maybe we can have another talk."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura pursed her mouth tightly, tilted her chin up, forced down the waterworks before they got a chance to turn up. Getting choked up over missing Malachai was bad enough – or good enough, if it had made the difference in Isidora realising she was sincere – she wasn't about to get leaky over maybe-kinda winning over the Sneasel.

She nodded, stiffly, and took a breath. Paw on the shoulder? So macho. Whatever helped Isidora keep some emotional distance – it was still a win, in Laura's book.

No need to point out that stammer, that flustered face. This was a lot for her. Don't ruin it.

"Actions beat words, don't be a fucking tosser, nothing changes overnight," she summarised, with a lopsided grin. "Never expected any different. I guess, uh, we're cool, then."

It didn't come out as a question. Her smiled relaxed as she realised how confident she was of what she'd said. Talk about a release in tension...

Laura glanced away, and swiped her cheek with one paw to try and reset her face.

"I'm gonna call it a night. Thanks— for, y'know. Be seeing you, Isidora."

That was true anyway.

Now, though— it'll be a good thing.

 

[JFought]

"No, I don't know." Isidora waved it off, then returned to sitting against the wall. "I'm gonna stay out here a little longer, then I'll call it too. So, good night." And that was the end of that.

---

A minute later, Isidora was leaning against the railing. Even after Laura had left, the embarrassment from earlier hadn't worn off. Staring at the night sky, she imagined what her old colleagues would think if they had seen her looking so pathetic. They'd probably think I got replaced by some zoroark...

A sigh. Well, I got to clear something up at least. And she could now say that Laura was sincere, if nothing else. Yet, she still felt hesitant to put her on the list of 'safe' humans like Gladion. No matter how she tried to rationalize it away, the discomfort surrounding their relationship still remained.

She said she won't direct me anymore. Maybe I just need time to get over it.

She hoped so.

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