A/N: Up to this point, I've tried to keep it so each chapter takes place in one day (with the exception of the first few, obviously), but that's gonna change with this chapter and some future ones. Some entries are kinda long, so when they were typed up I separated them into two different documents to make editing easier. Combining them on FF.N would be a pain, so Imma keep them as separate documents, and thus separate chapters. Don't worry though, new days will always start on a new chapter, and the Date listed at the top will indicate a change in days.

Location: Home, Bedroom
Date: July 9th

I woke up before Lyra and decided to go back and read a few older entries while I waited. Hard to believe we've only been here for eight days. I probably shouldn't have, but I reread yesterday's entry. Specifically, the part about Cold Snap.

Hm...what a disgusting worm. Hard to envision someone like that would exist in a world like this. Here I thought truly awful folks only existed in my world...but then again, Nuzleaf did tell me degenerates exist in this world just like they do in mine.

What kind of Pokémon is Cold Snap, I wonder? If he even is a Pokémon. Maybe he's a new breed of evil, or something.

Even if I decide to leave the Society at the end of my year here, that bastard just became my enemy. Seeing Citruse Village so utterly destroyed and so many frozen, shattered bodies...

Fuck him. Fuck what he did. Fuck his life or whatever excuse he had for doing it. He doesn't deserve a shot at redemption or reformation. And if, by some miracle, he's no longer alive, I'd consider it poetic justice.

...

Getting back on track.

When Lyra finally woke up, she didn't return my "good morning". In fact, she didn't say anything. She tried leaving without talking, but I used my vines to block the door. Despite my neck being sore, I wasn't about to let her leave without resolving this little issue we were having.

She told me to drop my vines. I told her no, not until we talk. She said we had nothing to talk about. Bullshit. This outing is supposed to be fun and exciting for everyone. I'm not about to let her attitude ruin this for us. We're not leaving this room until we're on speaking terms again.

Lyra did a thing. She huffed a sigh, looked up at the ceiling, and started tapping her foot. I tried saying I wanted to fix whatever I did wrong, but she completely ignored me. That...something about that struck a nerve in me. A bad nerve.

Boom. Scum memory time. Dark room, cone of light. This time on a clear figure. A human girl with long curly blonde hair, blue eyes. She couldn't have been older than 12, and given how she wasn't gargantuan like the humans from my other scum memories, my guess was we were the same age. She wore a blue blouse and worn out jeans. Her short, messily-painted red fingernails tapped against her arm while she ignored me and waited for something.

I pleaded for her to talk to me, help me understand what's wrong. She pressed her fingers into her ears to block out my voice. A ding sounded. An elevator. She got on and refused to look at me as she was taken away.

I...jeez...I don't remember who that kid was, but thinking about her leaving got me feeling so choked up. I was confused and upset and...why? Why did she leave? What did I say? What did I do? Or what didn't I do?

And now Lyra...was acting...

As tears started welling up, my vines started to tremble and weaken. Lyra stared at the vine wall, waiting for it to collapse. Arceus, she didn't even care that I was getting worked up! She really does hate me now...

"Lyra...what did I do? Do you...not wanna be friends anymore?"

That grabbed her attention. Her eyes locked right on me and she blurted out that I should never assume that! How ridiculous of a notion!

Well, what else was I supposed to think!? She won't talk to me, she's ignoring me and she's clearly angry and I can't stop thinking about it and I can't fix it and...and...I wanna say whatever will make her stop hating me, but I don't know what it is! I'm sorry I fell asleep on you! I'm so sorry, I was a shit friend and you deserve so much better! I wish I never needed to sleep so I could listen to everything you had to say, and...

Don't say that. I don't hate you.

Lyra stopped my rambling and pressed her face against my neck. I retracted a few vines to hug her.

I wasn't...I didn't mean...geez, all I do is screw things up. The fact is, I wasn't doing that mean stuff to...to spite you, Irau. It had nothing to do with...the thing is, Ampharos said that I rely on you too much, and that from an outsider's perspective you do all the work while I just goof off and run around. Then when you fell asleep on me the night before last, it reminded me of when you did that in Serene Village when I first told you about my dream. It made me think that maybe I'm just a waste of time to you. Maybe I'm holding you back. There are so many things you can do without me, but there's very few things I can do without you.

Don't be ridiculous. There's a lot you can do that I can't. You're good at talking to people. You're good at looking on the brighter side of things. You're good at pulling me out of the bog when certain horrible memories come back to haunt me. It's a little embarrassing, but without you I'm a bumbling idiot. Besides, once we evolve, I'll still be a quadruped while you'll be a badass blazing fighter.

Lyra tried hugging me tighter. She said she wanted to try being serious for once, but couldn't if she hung out with me. Distancing herself was the only surefire way she could stay focused and serious, and the best way to do that was to act like she was mad all the time. She didn't realize she was hurting me in the process, and staying mad is both exhausting and difficult.

"How do Mankeys and Primeapes do it? Being angry uses a lot of energy, and snubbing someone just feels awful. Sure, some folks might feel high and mighty when they do it, but to me it feels cold and mean. I don't wanna be like that. Nothing but hurt comes from behaving that way."

Ahhh...there's the Lyra I know and love. I told her that no, she wasn't a waste of my time. She'd never be a waste of my time. The sleep deprivation just kinda caught up to me and I couldn't stay awake. I wanted to though.

I apologized for being inconsiderate, but she told me don't be. She was sorry for giving me the cold shoulder and making me feel like we weren't gonna be friends anymore. No matter how bad things get, we'll always be friends. Always.

Lyra and Irau, together forever against the world.

Ah, but y'know, I kinda like that she's not serious all the time. I told her that it's a welcome contrast to the stiff-collared world we live in. Whereas everyone else expects me to behave a certain way, and I kinda bend to their will so they don't yell at me, Lyra does and says whatever she wants. No filters, no second thoughts, no doubts, anxieties, or limitations. What you see is what you get.

Sure, from an outsider's perspective, it might look like she's running around while I'm doing all the work, but who the fuck asked for that outsider's opinion? Lyra puts forth the same amount of effort as I do, if not more! It just looks like she's goofing off because she's doing work she absolutely loves.

I...I told Lyra that I wish I could be like her. She always says what's on her mind, she always honest. She's never afraid to be who she is, no matter what others say or how many mistakes she makes. She tackles most situations head-on, and she's always quick to bounce back and can see the lighter side of any situation. Sometimes she seems so untouchably optimistic that it's both intimidating and reassuring. Whenever I'm sure there's no light to be found, she's quick to prove me wrong. Sometimes the light she provides is the only proof I have that this world isn't the rotten apple core my mind makes it out to be.

Ahaha...maybe it's me who relies on her too much. Can't imagine how many friends she'd have if she didn't have to keep checking on me.

Lyra found that funny, given how many times she wished she could be like me. She said that I have a sea of creative thoughts and ideas that I can pick and choose to present, whereas her cards are always out on the table. I don't rush things - I observe, calculate, plan, and execute. As such, the outcomes of most situations I've been a part of have turned out for the better. Arceus knows her exploration results have improved tenfold ever since we became friends.

She said that sure, I have a filter for my thoughts and words, but was that such a bad thing? I may not say much, but the worlds I do say don't upset people. Look at how quickly I made friends in Serene Village! I had more friends than she did the first five years of living there! That's something else she wished she was - more considerate. So many potential friends decided she wasn't worth associating with simply because she always rushed into things and didn't think about them. And speaking of not thinking about others, so many of the villagers got mad at her for messing with their fields during her "adventures" and whatnot...they all got on her case for not acting more serious.

But you don't need to act serious! I told her that. I told her she was, and still is, perfect the way she was. Sure, she rushed into things and sometimes others got dragged into her mess, but she does care about others in her own way. And whenever she does wrong by them, she always tries to make it up to them.

Y'know what? Ampharos told you that you rely on me too much, and that from an outsider's perspective you run around and goof off while I do all the work? How about if that cowardly fuck says that to my face? I'm sure he'll appreciate my "carefully-thought filtered words" when I tear him a new one. Giving someone advice when they're lost or upset is one thing, but under NO circumstances should he have said those things. Those weren't words for someone who's lost and upset. Those were words for someone who was having a good time, but the speaker felt like they needed to be reminded of their conduct.

There's not a damn thing wrong with Lyra's conduct. If Ampharos feels like there is, he and I are gonna exchange a few words.

"Wow...Ampharos really got under your skin, huh?"

Yes. Yes, he did.

Someone wants to say something hurtful about me and convince me to change the way I act, that's fine. I'm used to it. But nobody should do that shit to Lyra. She doesn't deserve that toxicity. She doesn't deserve that shame or guilt. And she sure as fuck doesn't need a "maybe be more serious" lecture from a guy who can't even navigate around his own fucking home town without bumbling into buildings like a fucking MORON! Fuck!

Lyra's plenty mature. Just because Ampharos or the others can't see it, that doesn't mean Lyra needs to change. She doesn't rely on me too much, or need to act more serious, or need to put in more effort. We rely on each other equally. Her silly, optimistic personality is a welcome contrast to my serious, quiet personality, and both of us are doing the best possible work we can.

If anyone has a problem with her, they can kiss my natural green ass.

Location: Lively Town Plaza

Turns out none of the other Society members were ready for today's outing, so Ampharos gave us permission to prepare before we left.

Before I helped organize our things, I requested a private chat with Ampharos. As pissed as I was earlier, I composed myself and professionally expressed my displeasure with the advice he gave Lyra. I told him that we chatted and concluded that she didn't need to fit the views of outsiders who didn't understand her. From now on, if he had a problem with her behavior, he should take it up with me and I would decide the corrective course of action to take.

Ampharos was...ah...he tried challenging my statement, saying I wouldn't always be available to "filter her from the repercussions of the outside world" forever. No, but in this instance, I feel it would be more appropriate to handle things this way. His advice caused some confusion and...uncharacteristic changes in Lyra that have been corrected. I do NOT want a repeat of this incident, so I hope I made myself clear with my request. Surely, we don't want to necessitate leaving over something as trivial as this misunderstanding, do we?

Ampharos eyed me for a bit before conceding and agreeing to my request. Good. Hopefully, I won't have to talk to him about something like this again. Without Lyra's Pops here, it's my job to look out for her. People manipulating her into changing her behavior need to learn their damn place.

While we were organizing things, I asked Lyra about her mission yesterday and she said Ampharos wanted her to practice some aerodynamics with Mawile. She uh...failed to do it the way Mawile wanted her to do it, but she did learn a neat trick involving bouncing off wild Pokémon to reach otherwise unreachable places like clifftops and ledges.

Huh. I told her about the training Bunnelby put me through yesterday and how I failed to do it the way he wanted me to do it, but learned how to use my vines to swing from certain fixated points. Guess we both learned something new.

I also told her about Citruse Village, what happened to it, Cold Snap, and meeting Eris. Lyra was mortified to hear about a village facing that kind of horror, and I promised her we'd do our best to prevent that from happening to ours.

She didn't know anything about Cold Snap, though her face twisted into a menacing scowl when I told her he was behind it. Don't think I've ever seen such decisive hate on her face before. Lyra's the type of person to believe rotten folks can always choose to be better, but I'm not sure if she'd forgive Cold Snap if the two ever met. I mean, we've never met a murderer before...

Anyway, with our stuff organized and our backup rations properly accounted for (because Swirlix), we're off to inform Dedenne of our readiness.

Fun outing time! Woo! Good happy fun times! Not thinking about unpleasant incidents or vicious murderers time!