Author's note: Y'know what, this might be another one where a heads-up is warranted. If mention of suicidal ideation or the world being fundamentally sucky is something that distresses you, once things get to Astrid and Adnea's conversation, you might want to tread carefully. (I really only say this because of one specific line that might be particularly dark given the ones that preceded it, but nonetheless, it's probably worth mentioning anyway.)
On another note, my work schedule apparently isn't as hectic as I had anticipated, but I have no idea if that'll stay the same. Still, I'm honestly loving this new job so far.
Astrid wasn't sure how long she'd been unconscious for, but when her senses started to return, the chattering of voices was fairly easily noticed. It took a minute or two of hearing the unintelligible chatter and a few twitches of her eyelids before she started to stir, but when she did, she was instantly greeted by someone that hadn't been present before she'd drifted off.
"There she is!" came a happy cry from Lazuli.
"Damn, it's about time," came a sarcastic remark from Cinder, followed by a flustered squawk accompanying a playful punch from Lazuli.
Astrid's eyelids fluttered open, and she glanced down at what was going on- Lazuli and Cinder were both down in the basement with Raijin kneeling down on the floor close by with a giant book sprawled out between them all which, judging by the markers strewn about next to it, had been 'edited.' Lunala was missing, but the Decidueye didn't think much about it (and truthfully, didn't mind her absence too much on account of the deception, even if the ethereal goddess was an otherwise amiable creature). She jumped down off of her perch, going to give a little flap of her wings to steady herself, then quickly realized that she didn't need to give as hard of a flap as she had with her previous smaller set of wings. She liked her new form, but it was definitely an adjustment compared to the rounded and far cutesier forms of a Rowlet and a Dartrix.
"Hey," Astrid said, taking a few steps closer. "What's going on…? Have I missed anything…?"
"Me and Cinder making off with an entire Kecleon Shop's worth of Oran berries and Adnea filling up fifteen pages' worth of calculations," the Azumarill answered. "And Lunala's trying to get a read on Necrozma and Void's close emissaries, but apparently that wasn't going very well, so Rozen tried giving her a Helping Hand, and it's still not going very well."
The leafy avian nodded.
"So I have to ask," Lazuli kept on, getting a grin, "how was it? The wormholes, I mean! Sounds like it was miserable!"
"It was," Astrid easily replied. "I-I mean, the first time I evolved, g-getting impaled really sucked, to put it lightly, but the actual evolving part was painless. This one, though…" She shuddered a bit. "I-it's like I could feel everything getting stretched longer and bigger and n-not in a pleasant way, and it felt like I was getting dissolved in acid at the same time…"
The Azumarill blinked a few times, her expression frozen, and Cinder fluffed out with perturbed eyes.
"Well, you're one tough cookie, in that case," Lazuli remarked. "And now you're all tall and impressive and ghostly! Was it worth it?"
She nodded.
"Lucky you, you can walk through walls now if you want to," Cinder remarked. "The perks of being a ghost."
At that, the Decidueye's countenance lit up. She hadn't much thought about being a proper ghost, but it was true, she was one, and what the Fletchinder said definitely caught her attention. Gengars and Misdreavuses floating through walls seemed reasonable with their phantasmal bodies, but she supposed she qualified too, even if she didn't fit the stereotypical 'ghost' image. She turned back towards the wall and darted closer to it, holding one feather hand out to touch it… which phased straight through when she pushed a bit harder. She blinked, thinking the sensation felt strange, but she nonetheless catalogued it, along with another fact she shortly took note of.
"… And I have hands now," she mused, taking it back out of the wall and wiggling the feathers a bit. "O-or at least, they can qualify…"
"You sure do!" Lazuli laughed. "How else are you gonna nock and fire arrows, huh?"
That was true as well. She already liked being a Decidueye, but apparently, she'd have to test out her new form to truly start grasping its capabilities. However, something else was on her mind, and she piped up, "Is Adnea still up in her study…? Do you think I could go bother her?"
"Oh, probably," Lazuli replied. "She's up there by herself right now, so bother away."
Instinctively, Astrid replied, "Good," before quickly turning and darting up the stairs.
The ones left weren't quite sure what to make of her antics, and Lazuli got a slightly funny look while Raijin stared after the avian disappearing up the stairs.
"… Is she okay?" the Azumarill asked. "Maybe it's just me, but I didn't think that the timid sort like her would ever go running after someone with a piercing gaze like Adnea."
"Honestly, Big Blue, I'm starting to wonder," Raijin replied, still staring after the Decidueye. "Maybe I'm just overthinking things, but… Last night, she was asking me some fairly odd questions about getting turned back into a human, made me swear I was telling the truth, then brushed it off as her being paranoid. I think we're way past the point of not trusting each other, but she looked… worried. I asked Lunala if there was something wrong, and she told me there wasn't, so… I just can't figure it out. I almost feel like I'm being lied to, but I know those two wouldn't do that."
Lazuli studied the Xurkitree for a second, getting an amiable but contemplative look. "What was she asking you? Why the hell would she ever go back to being a human?"
"W-well, the way she said it…" Raijin's voice trailed off. "We all know that Salem is Void's pawn, and Astrid was asking if the Light Trio was using her as a pawn… I-I mean, you could say that, in a sense, me and Astrid are both pawns too, but… she made it sound completely different than it actually is. Like, once everything with Void was settled, she wouldn't have a use here anymore and she'd have to go back to her homeworld…"
Both of the smaller figures perked up, Lazuli with a funny look and Cinder looking skeptical.
"Would they do that?" the Fletchinder asked.
"No," Raijin quickly replied, shaking his head. "I can't imagine that they would. When you take out all of the horrific stuff about her and Arashi getting thrashed by Zariel and Azure, Salem burning that forest down, the three of us almost getting done in by Squad Fourteen-Five, and that ambush by Remi and Knox, then she's happy here… Once it's all done, assuming we can win, we were already talking about having fun together…"
"Yeeeaaaaaah, that's a pretty huge detail to leave out if that was the case," Lazuli brushed it off without a second thought.
"I'm not even a huggy-feelsy type and I can see how fucked up that would be," Cinder remarked.
"So what did her and Lunala talk about, huh?" the Azumarill inquired. "Did you hear anything about that?"
"Something about her past life," the Beast answered. "I don't know what, exactly."
"Maybe that's it," Lazuli mused, giving a little shrug. "Maybe Lunala thought it'd be a good idea to show her some of her former memories or something, and something in them wasn't something she wanted to remember. And maybe after that, she got all freaked out by the life she used to have and wanted to make sure she'd never have to go back."
The Xurkitree perked up. "You might be on to something, Big Blue," he acknowledged. "She does have some really faint recollections… When we were at Grumpy's Lounge that one time, she seemed to remember berry beer having a different use where she was from, and Arashi said she randomly remembered a type of berry before she'd even been told what they were, and that she remembered that a human holding up their middle finger was an obscene gesture for some reason. She definitely remembers Pokémon from wherever she's from, since apparently she knew straight away what Arashi was when she met him, but she didn't have a clue what an Ultra Beast was until I finally told her…"
Lazuli nodded. "See? And if it's something that she doesn't want to talk about, then maybe she won't tell you because you two are together practically all the time and she just wants to forget. I mean, I haven't seen your memories, but you've got stuff like that too, right? Things from the time you were in Void's faction that you'd rather just let go?"
Raijin twitched, shrinking up and holding his arms up as if to hide behind them. "Y-you're right… Urgh, the things that happen to an actual human when they die by electrocution is ugly, and I wouldn't tell her about it unless she asked me, knowing she used to be one…"
"There you go," said the Azumarill. "It's probably something innocuous like that. I'm not in the little Starstorm circle, but I can't see her lying to you."
"Neither can I," Cinder concurred.
Raijin nodded, easing up. "Y-you're right. I shouldn't doubt a friend like her."
The grinning aquatic one, though, apparently still had ideas. "Well, hey, let me try something, alright?" she said with a grin. "She doesn't spend every minute of every day with me. I'll ask her what's up once she's done picking Adnea's brain, I'll tell you what happens, and maybe we'll get a solid answer."
The Xurkitree nodded. "That's a good idea. Thanks, Big Blue."
"I would say that maybe she'd spit it out if I backed her into a corner with a few Flamethrowers, but that's probably not an approach best used on a comrade," Cinder chimed in, shrugging.
The Azumarill gave him a pointed but still amiable look. "Rush and Adnea would kill you!" she cautioned.
Raijin too studied him, a little spark flashing in one hand for a second. "I wouldn't kill you, but I'd definitely zap you into next week," he too shot the idea down.
The Fletchinder received a little shove from Lazuli, and he disarmingly held his wings up, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.
In the study, though, Adnea's pens were still scrawling away on several pages at once, and her table was littered with sheets covered in markings. Astrid was almost hesitant to step in for fear of breaking the Orbeetle's concentration, but almost the moment she was standing in the doorway, Adnea turned around to stare straight at her. The Decidueye couldn't help but to be startled, but just as quick, she calmed down again.
"Get over here; you and I both know what this is about," Adnea said, stoic as usual.
Astrid nodded, stalking into the study almost cautiously and closer to the researcher. "I guess you know what Lunala told me…"
"I do," was the brisk reply. "And you're unsure of how to approach the matter."
The Decidueye nodded. "Y-you're the smartest and you can read everyone- well, most everyone… I-I'm sorry if this is an out-of-place question, but… W-what do you think I should do…? Sh-should I say anything…? We had that kind of talk before, after Void played us at Luminous Grotto, and… c-call me a coward, but I don't have the heart to tell Raijin, and if Arashi were here, there's no way in hell…"
"It's not out-of-place," Adnea replied. "And if I may be honest myself… I've been thinking about the answer too for longer than you have."
Astrid was caught off-guard. She wasn't sure what to make of Adnea's assertion that she'd been thinking about it longer than the former human herself, and she blinked a few times in confusion.
"I knew this was a possibility," the Orbeetle elucidated, her voice oddly soft. "Do you remember that night after our venture to Starry Peak, when Rush gathered up the other team leads in the area?"
Astrid nodded again.
"Delphi saw it coming. She didn't know what to tell you either, so she told me, and I said the best course of action was to keep it quiet for the time being. Her predictions are fairly accurate, but the future can change, and I was sure that this one would change too- if not by random chance, then by the Light Trio seeing how upset you three in Team Starstorm would be. That wasn't something I would've told you without all the facts in front of me."
The Decidueye's beak fell slightly open, and her eyes went wide in surprise- it made sense, seeing as Delphi quite literally was suggesting the possibility the last time she and Raijin had consulted her before dropping it after their reactions. She almost wanted to fuss about how apparently, plenty of other creatures knew about it but the one being directly affected by it, but she definitely couldn't fault Adnea or Delphi. If anything, they'd been trying to help her more than Lunala had been even if they hadn't outright told her the situation.
"A-ah…" Astrid stammered. "Sh-sheesh, that's…"
"… Yet another facet in this absurd journey that we call life," the Orbeetle said. "Now, do you want my honest answer?"
"Y-yes."
"Don't say a word about it to anyone else. Yes, that's also underhanded, but it's just like I said before- this isn't a time for anyone to lose focus."
That too caught Astrid off-guard, but apparently the researcher noticed her uncertain thoughts fairly quickly too.
"Don't say a word to anyone else," Adnea repeated, floating closer and placing one of her tiny hands on the side of Astrid's face. "You're right in that it would be cruel to leave without a goodbye. We can handle that now- I've got plenty of ink and paper. Take your time and write everything down that you'd possibly want anyone to hear. I'll keep it stowed away with the rest of my important records, and when the time comes, everyone can read it."
She deflated quickly again too. "… A-alright," Astrid agreed. "Th-that sounds good."
Her wings shook for just a second, but moments later she reached up and grabbed the Orbeetle in a hug, practically burying the little bug in her feathers. She half-expected Adnea to hit her with Hypnosis and stop her, but Adnea didn't and even gave her a small pat on the chest before Astrid turned loose.
"Don't let this stoicism fool you," Adnea noted, floating back. "I'll miss you, Astrid. We've all loved having you on the team."
The Decidueye nodded again, eyes going misty. "I'm gonna miss you too, Adnea…" she said softly. "C-could I ask something before I go…?"
"Go on."
"Why are you so stoic…? I don't think I've seen you with a different expression this entire time…"
At that, the Orbeetle let out a sigh, crossing her arms and looking down at the floor. "… Because I can see most everything and everyone for who and what they truly are. After so long of it, I couldn't help but to become indifferent to this unfeeling world we find ourselves in and this enigma we call 'living.' Nothing gets past me, Astrid. Nothing."
Astrid blinked, mulling it over for a second, but she didn't fully understand.
"Just like you and I now, some creatures have things in their minds that go unsaid," Adnea explained, looking up at her again. "Just like Cinder's apprehension about evolving that he prefers not to speak of. Just like Raijin's unpleasant memories from being under Void's control. Just like you, on our way back home from Luminous Grotto when you were thinking of the most efficient way to end your own life. Everything that someone might want to hide, I see all of it- dark thoughts of self-destruction, horrific scenes of traumatic experiences, their own abuse of someone weaker than them even while they smile at everyone else, downright hurtful views of those they may treat with no regard, feelings of utter hopelessness, and even sadistic lusts for blood that can't be reasoned out of. We all deal with unpleasant things in different ways, and this is my burden to bear. Rush destroys it with his fists, Rozen tries to heal and erase it, Dren guards others from it, Lazuli and Cinder raise hell against it, you and Raijin are trying to put a stop to it as best you can, and me… I see it in all the repugnant, bloodstained details that no one else can. That's why I'm stoic, Astrid- because my only other options are blissful ignorance or despair."
The Decidueye took it in. She hadn't thought of it before, but truly, if it was as she said, then being able to read minds was a double-edged sword. Adnea knew everything about everyone, but surely, not everything or everyone was pleasant. It was definitely a burden which, all things considered, Astrid was glad she didn't have to carry and the Orbeetle took care of instead.
A little tear dropped down Astrid's face, but in an effort to be just a little bit more 'stoic' like the researcher was, she quickly brushed it away as she nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll be able to tell them that you weren't considering this lightly," Adnea noted. "No one else but Lunala would know, but that sinking feeling in your chest and the way your throat clenches up says everything."
"Right…" Astrid acknowledged, her eyes drooping a bit. "H-hey, Adnea…"
"What is it?"
She sighed, gaze travelling sideways. "Is… Is the world really that dark…? You see everything- is it that bad…?"
The Orbeetle thought for a second, studying the avian before she replied, "Yes, the world really is that dark, but we have little glimmers of hope mixed in among all of the repugnancy. I joined this team the moment Rush asked me to because I saw one of those little glimmers- Rozen and Dren are pure souls, to be sure, and though reading a Dark-type directly is problematic, I know Rush is too. You, Cinder, Lazuli, Raijin, and Arashi are as well, otherwise I would've uncovered whatever you were hiding to the others and let the problem solve itself. The best thing we can do is face the darkness head-on and hope we're strong enough to come out on top, because it'll never leave no matter what world or what universe we're on. Once it consumes you, it's over, and trust me, I've seen it happen far too many times and I've even been there myself a few times when I was young like you." She floated closer again and put a tiny hand on Astrid's shoulder, looking her in the eyes. "I won't tell you that things get better, because there's no guarantee that they will, but I will tell you to hang on and see. If I can have hope, you can too."
Another solemn nod followed. "… I can and I will."
"Good."
The researcher retrieved her a pen and a blank set of pages, which the Decidueye stared at blankly for several minutes until she started furiously scrawling away. She tried to hold it together, but several of the pages still ended up getting dotted with teardrops that warped the paper ever-so-slightly. Nonetheless, she choked most of them back and pulled her hood closer around her face to hide them, even if only because she didn't want to risk another comrade noticing and inquiring what was the issue.
It was at least several hours before she finally decided she was happy with the letter she'd written and stepped out of the study, after which a heavy sigh left her beak. She felt a bit of a weight lifted off of her shoulders in that she had her own words somewhere for her comrades to see, but she still dreaded the inevitable separation. Rush had peeked in once or twice to run over some ideas with Adnea, but Adnea had covered for her in saying that the Decidueye was double-checking some calculations and needed to concentrate so that the Scrafty wouldn't try to see what she was up to. Lunala had made another appearance as well, her attempts at getting a read on the other members of the Light Trio having failed for the time being, and the ethereal goddess apparently knew exactly what Astrid was up to. Astrid didn't even look at the lunar Beast- she didn't want to, knowing that it was the Light Trio effectively putting her in the position to be writing her goodbyes in the first place. As far as casual social interaction went, she would keep things civil and not outright voice her less-than-stellar thoughts, but Astrid wanted nothing to do with Lunala. As far as the Decidueye was concerned, she and Lunala's relationship wasn't the friendly one that Raijin had with the members of the Light Trio, but a simple business partnership based on their shared objective in taking out Void. Lunala seemed to respect it and kept her distance, but she nonetheless could be seen occasionally glancing at Astrid with drooping, fretting eyes that Astrid didn't acknowledge.
However, almost the moment she stepped out and started down the stairs, she was met by someone else.
"Heeeey, my favorite Decidueye~!" Lazuli chirped, skipping up to her.
Astrid couldn't help jumping in surprise before stammering out, "L-Lazuli! H-hey!"
The Azumarill chuckled at her reaction. "Seems like you've been busy today! You've been giving Adnea an extra set of eyes, huh?"
"S-something like that…"
Another chuckle followed. "Well, you seem a little downcast! Is everything alright?"
Astrid let out a tired sigh, looking off to the side at nothing in particular. "Y-yeah, I guess…" Her gaze shifted back to her bubblier company. "U-um, Lazuli, I… I think I need to take a walk or something and get some fresh air. A-are you busy…?"
"Nope! Everyone else might be, but Big Blue is free! You want some company?"
"Th-that would be nice…"
"Then let's go!"
Astrid wasn't protesting and set off down the stairs and out the door with Lazuli skipping along at her side, still grinning. The Decidueye couldn't help but to think that her partner would probably be doing the same thing if he were there, just maybe a bit louder and more excited about anything and everything… but no, Team Starstorm was still back to being a duo. Nonetheless, if anyone was going to keep her company, she figured that Lazuli was probably as good any other creature. Dren was in his usual place on the roof, and apparently Raijin was there with him too since a certain set of copper-plated hands grabbed the edge and a spiked ball peeked down once the dragon called a usual friendly greeting down. Lazuli only giggled, giving a wave and a wink, though the latter almost seemed to be directed more at the Xurkitree than anyone.
"So what's up, huh?" Lazuli inquired, looking up at the leafy avian.
Astrid sighed again. "… Lots of things, Lazuli. I'm not sure where to start."
"Well, how about I start- one of your teammates isn't here. How's that making you feel?"
Another heavy sigh followed, but the response came easy. "Terrible. I don't even want to think about it. Ultra Space sounds terrifying as it is, and then you add in the fact that he was my partner, and it's me that Void wants… I'm terrified that either I'll never see him again, or if I do, that… it won't be a happy reunion. I really do not like knowing that Void's gotten her tentacles on someone close to me… There are so many damned possibilities of what she's doing with him and it kills me not knowing if he's alright…"
Several of those possibilities ran through her head- Void holding him as a hostage and making him cry out in pain at the sting of her poison just to break Astrid's will, Void outright killing him in front of her to make her too disturbed to fight back, Void's neurotoxin seeping into his mind and turning him into another tool completely against his own will… The ideas made her feel sick.
"Hey, he's a strong little fellow," Lazuli nonetheless said. "He wouldn't give up so easily, I'm sure."
"Apparently the same was true for Salem, and look how that went," Astrid said to the contrary. "It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. I hope I can reach him somehow before the inevitable 'when'… but there's not much I can do about it now."
"Exactly, there's not much you can do about it now," Lazuli corroborated. "You'll know what to do when the time comes, I'm sure."
"I hope so…"
"And what about everything else, huh? You afraid of Void?"
"Yes," the Decidueye easily replied. "Look, I'm not saying this to wimp out, but if it looks like she's about to get control of me too, then I'm getting one of my sharp feathers and jamming it as far back through my eye as I can reach. There's no way in hell I'm letting her get what she wants out of me."
"Well, I hope it doesn't ever come to that, but if it does, I don't blame you," the Azumarill replied. "You're a thinking sort, so I guess that makes sense- if she gets ahold of you, you'd become like Salem."
Astrid shuddered. "And I don't want that. I know Salem's being influenced and controlled, but the state she's in now is just… She's the worst kind of creature. No conscience and no regard for life. And if that's how she is under Void's influence, then Void herself has to have those tendencies under whatever calm, sweet exterior she's putting up. Someone like that is just… terrifying."
"Well, Remi and Knox had those tendencies too, so I'd bet that you're right."
The Kecleon Shop had plenty of Pokémon bustling around it and the smallish lizards themselves seemed fairly busy, and several Pelippers entered and exited through the space in the post office's roof. An argument of 'No, you suck!' followed by another 'No, you suck!' between a Feraligatr and a Meganium was interrupted by a 'No, what sucks is what I'll do to you bothif you don't knock it off!' from a flustered-looking Espeon between them. Lazuli giggled at the exchange, and Astrid almost wondered what their fussing was about.
"H-hey, Lazuli…?"
Her company perked up. "What's up?"
"Look, this is gonna sound weird, but… if someone you cared about just went and disappeared one day because of something they couldn't help… would you be mad at them for running out on you? Would you ever be able to forgive them…?"
The Azumarill perked up even more. "Well, if they couldn't help it, then why would I be mad?" she asked nonchalantly. "I mean, honestly, if someone I care about just went and disappeared, I'd probably assume they couldn't help it right off the bat! That's the whole principle of 'caring' for someone, right? You don't run off on them! So if someone I cared about did run off on me, then either something huge happened on their end, or they weren't really my friend to begin with!"
Astrid flinched a bit at the mention not being someone's friend to begin with, but said nothing.
"And why are you worried about that, huh?" Lazuli asked, giving her a playfully skeptical look. "Did Lunala show you some memories or something about your past life and it turns out that there's someone looking for you back in your homeworld?"
Of course, that wasn't the real reason, but Astrid latched onto it nonetheless. "I-I guess," she fibbed. "Apparently I've got a few someones… but I don't remember them at all, and I guess it's really not fair that I'm just over here with my new friends making a new life."
"So that's what's bothering you."
"… Something like that."
'Something like that' was true, at least. She didn't think it was fair in the slightest that she'd have to leave the friends she'd made right before they finally got to enjoy themselves together, but it was simply out of her control. She hoped they would understand, hoped they wouldn't get mad at her for it, hoped they wouldn't think she'd never been their friend to begin with… but that too was something she couldn't help.
"… I see," Lazuli said, studying her with a grin. "Well, do you wanna go home, Astrid?"
"No," was the quick response. "Necrozma said I had no direction as a human. I have direction here. I… like it here."
"Heh, I didn't think you'd actually wanna leave," the Azumarill laughed. "I've seen how you and your buddies have each other's backs! Once you've got a bond like that, you can't replace it!"
"… Exactly," the Decidueye affirmed, her eyes drooping again. "So hypothetically… if I disappeared… you think Arashi and Raijin would understand…?"
"Pfffft! Of course they would!" A funny look at the leafy avian followed. "What're you saying that for, huh? You're not going to, are you? I mean, that'd be kinda ridiculous!"
"… I'm happy here, Lazuli. I don't wanna go anywhere else."
It wasn't a confirmation or a denial- simply a statement of a true fact that she did not want to leave.
The Azumarill wasn't questioning it and giggled, giving her another playfully skeptical look. "Thought so! But even if something as ridiculous as that happened, then I doubt they'd hate you forever like you seem to think! Nah, they'd miss the hell out of you, that's for sure, but I can't see either of them ever getting mad at you."
That much was a relief, at least- she wouldn't have to worry about her friends thinking ill of her. The fact that they would 'miss the hell out of' her was both comforting in that she knew they shared her sentiments, but concerning in that she didn't want to sadden them. Still, she couldn't help that, either, but it at least put her somewhat at ease. She'd already laid out everything she wanted to say in the papers stowed away in Adnea's study… Surely, surely, they would understand…
"… So you think it's fair that I wanna stay here?" Astrid inquired. "That I don't wanna go home?"
"Of course! I mean, this isn't an issue that you created, so all that matters is that you're happy! Necrozma's wickedly strong and they're a psychic like Adnea; they can probably give your human friends and family a heads-up if they need to. Hell, if I were Necrozma, I'd tell your folks to get their act together, since clearly they must be leading some pathetic existences!"
A sardonic chuckle escaped the Decidueye's beak. "That's what I was thinking too, Lazuli."
Lazuli glanced up at her, grinning. "Oooh, that was a laugh! I heard it!"
A few more chuckles followed, even if Astrid's eyes were tired and cynical. "… You're making me feel better, Lazuli. Th-thanks."
"Well, I was hoping I would!" she replied, then after playfully eyeing the Decidueye a bit, "Y'know, maybe Rush would agree with me, but you look like more of a 'Big Green' now."
"Well, if he's gonna call me by a pet name, I guess that's the one that fits… Though according to Necrozma, apparently I'd be more of a 'Timid Green.'"
Lazuli laughed. "Hey, they weren't wrong!" she concurred. "And if Arashi evolved too… Sheesh, would he still be 'Little Blue?' I mean, he'd be taller than me!"
"But you're older," Astrid said to the contrary. "That still makes you 'Big Blue' even if you're not, well… as big."
"True!"
"Come to think of it… Dren is blue and he's huge, so why isn't he Big Blue?"
"Probably because the nickname can sound intimidating, and you know Dren isn't going out of his way to be intimidating!"
"True."
Their talking carried on for perhaps a half hour or so, during which Lazuli darted up and down the sides of the river to skip stones across it once they reached the edge of town. It was relaxing, Astrid had to admit, speaking so nonchalantly and without a care with a comrade, and Lazuli's high spirits definitely helped to ease her troubles. She felt almost at ease… almost. The terrible possibilities still lurked in the back of her mind, but if she was going to leave, then she was definitely going to leave her mark somehow. She'd take Void down, no matter what the cost was, so she could leave knowing that her trip hadn't been in vain. She had to- it was the only way her friends would have a secure future. They deserved that much, at least.
Once they returned to the base, Dren was still perched in his usual place, and once they strolled inside, it appeared Raijin too had been up in Adnea's study seeing as he was strolling out of it.
"There you are," the Xurkitree noted, taking notice of them.
"Hey," Astrid said softly, looking up at him.
"Hey!" Lazuli too greeted, her face lighting up again. "You got a second, Raijin? I wanted to ask you something!"
"Absolutely," Raijin replied, scurrying down the stairs and over to her. "What's up?"
Lazuli turned back towards the door, motioning him along. Astrid wasn't sure what they could possibly be up to, but she nonetheless took it for what it was and ventured back to the basement as her teammates vanished through the curtain again.
On the other side, Lazuli scurried further away from the entrance and glanced about at their surroundings, motioning the Xurkitree in closer.
Raijin knelt down and got close to her, inquiring softly, "What happened?"
"It is about her past life," the Azumarill replied under her breath. "Apparently there's some humans on her homeworld that have no idea what happened to her or where she went, and she's concerned about them too. She doesn't know anything about them at all and doesn't wanna go home, but she says it's probably not fair that she's just building a new life over here."
A little twitch followed. "… Ah," Raijin replied. "So that's it! She's not planning on going anywhere, but the knowledge of her homeworld just messed with her!"
"That's what it sounds like," Lazuli affirmed. "And she probably didn't wanna tell you because she doesn't want it looming over her head."
"That is such a relief," the Xurkitree said, shaking his head and looking up at the sky. "I was worried!"
Lazuli chuckled, giving him a wink. "Hey, your friend wouldn't run out on you! I asked her if she wanted to go home and she said 'no' as fast as she could!"
Two cable arms quickly wrapped around the Azumarill in a hug, her eyes going wide for a second at the currents she felt pulsing through the Beast's form, but she didn't protest.
"Hey," she said with a grin, though her voice took a somewhat more serious tone. "I oughtta tell you this too. She says that if things look like Void is about to get ahold of her, she is straight-up gonna put one of her sharp feathers through her brain so Void can't. That's some insane determination coming from that bird, but you're her pal and you're an Ultra Beast too, so you're not gonna let that happen, right?"
"Absolutely not," Raijin easily replied. "Thank you, Big Blue. You're the best."
She laughed. "Hey, don't you forget it!"
Raijin turned loose of her, and shortly he was darting down to the basement after Astrid, who held a certain envelope from a certain Nidoking in her hands. Her eyes still looked a bit blank, but she seemed more at ease than she had been earlier.
"Hey," she said again, eyeing her comrade from her peripheral vision.
"Hey," he replied, strolling over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Adnea must've put you to work."
"Well, I was pretty busy," the leafy avian replied, technically not lying. "I guess that's par, though, for what we're about to do."
"Well, Cinder flew off to another town to make off with another Kecleon Shop's worth of Reviver Seeds," said the Xurkitree. "Lunala's trying to nail things down on Ultra Space but it's not going as well as she'd like, and her and Adnea have both asked for me to give them an opinion on our possible routes. Rush and Rozen are still talking with our allies, and Dren is doing his usual thing. Things are fairly busy."
Astrid nodded, prying the envelope in her hands open. "I guess that's a good thing. At least we'll be prepared." She took the letter out of its wrapping, though she carefully set the envelope down on the shelf as though it were a fragile glass vase. "Let's see what this bunch of hooligans had to say, shall we?"
Her comrade gave a small twitch of surprise. "A-ah, you want me to see it too…?"
"Well, you're our friend, aren't you?" the Decidueye brushed it off. "They haven't met you personally, but I'm sure we'd all get along."
"Right…"
Astrid nestled up in one corner next to some of the boxes, roosting fairly peacefully on the ground with the letter in one hand, and Raijin slumped against the wall next to her with one arm around her shoulders. The antics of the Tranquil Town youngsters was already on full display the moment they started reading it, for at the top, 'What's up, bitches!' was crossed out which probably had resulted from of Trixie's tendencies. A few bits and pieces were crossed out or scrawled in, all in varying styles of handwriting, but it was at least legible. The first bit seemed to be mostly written out by Lila, for the movements of the pen resembled a somewhat less precise method that would result from someone holding the pen in their mouth to make the letters.
"Hey, Arashi and Astrid (and Raijin)!
"A letter probably would've reached you sooner, but SOMEBODY had to go writing another offensive message in a bottle complete with every hex and curse she found written in an old washed-up spellbook from her grandpa's house, and long story short, she mixed up our original letter with that god-awful piece of paper, put the letter in the bottle instead, and I ended up Thunderbolting it when she threw it!"
Astrid could practically see it happening- Trixie gleefully trying to send off her 'lovely' bottle, Lila's attack raining down on it, Charlie protesting the entire ordeal, then the realization hitting that they'd destroyed the wrong paper. It made her beak curl up in a grin.
"We wrote another one after that, but of course everyone's favorite Croagunk had to go and piss off the wrong Deino that wandered outside of Tranquil Tunnel, so literally everything we were carrying with us got chomped that day."
Underneath was a set of scribblings saying "Oh, I know I'm your favorite!" with a little heart that appeared to drip poison, along with another line that evidently came from Charlie saying "She's technically not a Croagunk now but I'll have to tell you about that one when she's not around to Sucker Punch me" that apparently the not-Croagunk in question had also tried to cross out. Astrid could easily imagine them getting into a playful altercation as the words were penned.
Nonetheless, the letter continued, still the work of Lila. "You know, that entire thing about Astrid and Salem being humans and how Void is really in control makes this all fall into place. We're all pretty surprised that Arashi didn't blow Astrid's cover and go gushing about how cool his human-turned-Rowlet friend is, but I'm gonna guess that his parents successfully shut him up on that one."
The words that followed had a shift in the writing style, and shortly it became fairly clear that Trixie had taken over the pen. "Astrid, if you're reading this (and I know you will!), if you ever show up acting like Salem, it's not Void's poison you're gonna worry about! It's MINE! Hehehehe!"
The writing shifted again, which could easily be attributed to Charlie. "I'm taking the pen over here and shimmying up into a tree because apparently Trixie is dead-set on drawing you a 'nice' illustration of a Toxicroak gouging out a Wurmple's eyes (don't worry, she wouldn't actually do that even if she claims she would). Point is, we're glad you guys are alright, and if their track record is anything to go by, we're assuming the Coalition can take care of you while you're hiding better than anyone else. You guys better come back and tell us about your escapades, because if you run off and forget about us now that you're with the big-shots, we'll never forgive you! Once this mess is behind us and you guys aren't being hunted down anymore, come see us, alright? We miss you! Things are too quiet without Arashi and it feels weird not to have Astrid lurking in the background while everyone else is acting up!"
Another shift in the writing followed, back to that of Lila. "If your friend Raijin isn't reading this, tell him 'hi' for us too, alright? One of these days when it's raining and storming again, we need to have a bolt-firing session together. Honestly, we all just need a day to relax in the meadow or something and just mess around like old times! You guys probably need the relaxation as it is- dealing with Salem's boss sounds exhausting in and of itself. Or maybe we can come visit you all down in the Crossroads. Just hit us up; you know where we are."
The page was signed at the bottom by the three that had done the writing, though a page still remained behind the letter. Astrid moved it to the front, then rather quickly was replacing her gentle grin with a flat look upon seeing a doodle of a Toxicroak gouging out a Wurmple's eyes with her claws. "I finally did it!" was scrawled next to the doodle with another heart shape, and the Decidueye shook her head haplessly.
"… Should I be concerned about Trixie?" Raijin inquired, studying the doodle. "Is… Is she disturbed, or is she just like that?"
"… I can't confirm or deny it either way," Astrid replied, folding the pages up and carefully sticking them back into the envelope. "She's nice and has your back, but… she's eccentric."
"She seems like it," the Xurkitree noted.
"Charlie's pretty chill and reasonable, and Lila's kinda like a big sister even if she's not actually your big sister. You'd like them, but… Honestly, I don't have the guts to go poking around there right now."
Her Beast comrade twitched, drooping just a bit. "I sure don't either… Not after what happened to Arashi…"
Astrid twitched too, going tense in apprehension at all the awful possibilities that could befall him on Ultra Space. Still, she forced them to the back of her mind and said, "… Hey. We've gotta stay focused. He's beyond our reach right now."
"Ah… That's true…"
It was true, but the phrase definitely felt heavier to the one saying it than the one hearing it. Astrid wanted to write back, telling them that she too wanted to mess around just like they had when she'd first dropped on the town's outskirts… but that likely would never happen, and she didn't want to tell more lies than were necessary. They'd figure out that Astrid missed them too once Adnea pulled out her letter. She didn't want to leave, but apparently, just as Lunala had said, denial wouldn't stop it from happening, and even if she'd never get to see it… she had to leave the world in a stable condition for her friends' sake. She had to stay focused, difficult as it may have been.