"-about as smooth as the site of a rockslide." Frukkshin casually remarked towards Flocon as he trotted leisurely down the road.

Flocon shot a cold glare at him through damp fur as he incredulously replied, "It wasn't that bad."

"It was pretty bad." Sylpheed voiced in opposition. "I've never seen anything like it, Flocon."

"Okay, maybe freezing a path through the lake didn't turn out well, but it was a good idea." He shot back as he turned his attention back towards the road ahead, grumbling slightly to himself.

Frukkshin laughed aloud. "No, it was by far the worst idea you could've had."

"What were my other options exactly?"

"Swimming for one, but it appears to me that you already have." he said with a snide smile.

Flocon opened his mouth as if to reply, but found that he had nothing to fire back with. Frukkshin looked at him and gave a satisfied huff as he turned back forward. "Looks like I have won this round." Frukkshin announced, mentally putting a tally on that.

Sylpheed stopped to smack Frukkshin in the face, giving him a somewhat stern look. The Rapidash paused to look at her in surprise. "Too far." Sylpheed told him. "Other than that, Flocon, you did… fine." she stammered out, almost as if she were scraping for the least offensive word. As she looked back over to Flocon, she saw that she was looking at the spot where Flocon only used to be.

"Frukkshin?" Sylpheed asked as she nervously looked around. "Where did Flocon go?"

Perking up and looking around, it took a moment before Frukkshin finally noticed the Ninetales. "Flocon, what has your attention?" he called as he trotted over.

Flocon didn't look up. He was standing outside a restaurant, sniffing the air with a furrowed brow. The place was nice but it wasn't anything spectacular. Though there was a distinct lack of any barred windows and in their stead stood glass windows with metal lattice. The walls were made of stacked brick and sealed with cement rather than a solid wall of it. There were hanging lanterns outside the wooden archway and inside as well that made the place nice and bright.

"What are you doing, Flocon?" he remarked, trying to cover up his deflated attitude.

Glancing back up with a look of shock and his eyes wide, the Ninetales told him, "There's… something familiar about this place," He looked in through the wooden archway that served as an entrance. "like I've been here before."

Sylpheed eyed him with some curiosity as he said this. "And what makes you think that?" she asked.

Looking back at her, he responded with an unnerved confusion, "I don't know, but I think—no—I know that I've been here before."

Frukkshin and Sylpheed exchanged a glance before Frukkshin finally piped up an answer to his statement, "I suppose if there's any chance we're going to get at figuring out a few things about you. Then we shouldn't pass this up." The Repidash then trotted forwards and into the building.

Flocon watched Sylpheed pass beneath the gateway before finally getting the hint and following.

The place was mostly empty, the Mismagius hostess looked up at them with some surprise. "Do you have any reservations darlings?" she asked in a mostly pleasant voice. Her accent was clearly galatian; it had the slight guttural tones on consonants that the accent had, but there was something that told them that she was definitely foreign.

Frukkshin glanced around for a moment before saying, "No."

The Ghost-type flipped through her book before saying, "Very well, I believe we have a few tables open." she reached over and picked up a few menus. "Follow me and try to not get water—or whatever that is—on our patrons as you pass by." she said as she pointed a menu at Flocon.

Letting out a small, almost inaudible, growl. Flocon followed the rest of the group behind the hostess.

Pulling up two cushions, one with an extra towel on it for Flocon and the other a regular one for Frukkshin, then pulling over a seat for Sylpheed. The Mismagius set out the menus in front of them. "Your waiter will be with you in a minute."

Frukkshin nodded back towards her. "Very well." he said as he looked back towards his group. "Sylpheed? You feel okay?" he inquired as due to him noticing Sylpheed constantly shifting in her seat.

Looking back up at him, she said, "You know when you get a gut feeling? That, but my entire body."

"Good or bad?"

"I'm not too sure, but something's going on." she replied as she clicked her claws together.

Frukkshin chuckled a bit hollowly and turned the question to the Ninetales next to him. "Flocon, how do you feel?" he said.

When Flocon didn't respond Frukkshin asked, "You in there Flocon?" He leaned in to get a closer look at him. The Ninetales didn't seem zoned out, in fact, he seemed more focused than ever with his brow furrowed, tails swishing, and alternating between biting his lower and upper lip.

Sylpheed reached over the table and waved a claw in front of his face to see if he was paying any attention. With a small "Hrm?" noise escaping his maw, Flocon looked over to her.

"What's weighing so heavily on your mind?" Sylpheed asked.

"It's this place-" Flocon began to speak before the waiter interrupted them.

"Would you like to order your drinks, sirs and miss?" the Frillish asked with a solemn air, almost that of a butler, the same curious accent in his voice, guttural yet airy.

"Yeah," Frukkshin began, "green tea sounds nice." he said as he rubbed his throat a bit, "Breathing fire isn't too easy nowadays."

Sylpheed looked up and said, "I'll get some chamomile tea, not too much honey, please."

Flocon said, "Black tea, two spoonfuls of milk, and only a bit of honey…" his voice trailed off and he began to stare into space as the Frillish wrote down his order.

"Very well, I'll bring you them soon." he said with dignity.

"Wait." Flocon said, he opened his mouth as if to say something. But after a few moments of trepidation and shivering, his front paw outstretched, he sat back down, slowly returning his paw to its original position. "Nevermind." he finished.

The Frillish waited a moment before nodding and bowing back to the kitchen.

Frukkshin and Sylpheed exchanged a glance. "Flocon? Do you feel okay?" Sylpheed asked with a look of confusion and concern.

"Yeah, I think I'm good." he replied, looking around the restaurant aimlessly.

Frukkshin cocked his head, his flames simmered. "You can talk to us, if you don't feel-" he started before he was cut off.

"-I'm fine." Flocon insisted as he turned back forward, his tails up and swishing from side to side.

Frukkshin gave a huff. "I don't appreciate that tone. But very well." he said as he drew himself up on his cushion.

Flocon sighed as his ears and tails dropped back down, the latter curling around him once more as he apologized, "Sorry, I just—I really don't want to talk about it."

"You've been acting up recently, this isn't the first time." Frukkshin said with his voice stern, but not aggressive, as he watched Flocon droop lower down.

Flocon opened his mouth to talk, "Frukkshin… be honest with me." Frukkshin turned towards him to pay attention to what he was going to say. Flocon continued in a slow and deliberate manner, "Do you think I'm… innocent? At first I thought I was, but with how I get sometimes… I'm just not sure anymore." As he talked he looked up at Frukkshin sadly.

Hesitating to speak for a moment, Frukkshin finally said, "I don't know the answer to that." Flocon looked sadly back to forward. "I want to believe that you are, Sylpheed, what do you—" he looked around, to see that she was nowhere near. He looked around the cafe, but while he was searching he caught sight of a small group of pokemon.

"Well, I suppose she'll be back, either way, why do you ask, Flocon—Flocon?" Frukkshin asked, trying to figure out what Flocon was staring at, following his line of sight it seemed to land on the group that had just arrived. Turning back to Flocon, he got his attention with a light hoof. "First lesson in manners: it's not polite to stare." he said with a dry smirk.

Flocon shot him an icy look as Sylpheed got back in her chair. "I didn't find out anything." she said with a shrug.

"Well that answers one question but it just—Flocon what did I just finish saying?" Frukkshin reprimanded Flocon with a much harder hoof to his back, quickly getting the Ninetales' attention.

Sylpheed decided to send an interested glance over at the group. A Noivern in a black waistcoat and what appeared to be some sort of spiked, purple choker; a Reuniclus wearing some sort of sash and carrying a book with him; a Staraptor with two spiked crest feathers with some longer red-tipped feathers that covered the sides of his head; and a Mawile with pink cuffs, dressed in a black button-up with a few holes in it to allow the fabric to breathe. As she glanced over she caught the eye of the Noivern who looked flatly back at her before turning away with a sigh. Turning back to the group with a shrug she asked, "They don't seem that interesting, why were you staring a-"

Frukkshin shot back before she could finish, "Don't encourage him." The sudden remark caused her to visibly flinch.

Flocon perked up. "I don't know, but—I think I know them, I don't know how… I know I've seen them before. But where?" Flocon racked his head as he tried to figure out who they were.

Flocon was so busy that he hardly registered the Frillish returning with their drinks.

Before he could speak, Frukkshin held up a hoof, "we'll handle it from here, I just want to know if the order's right."

The Frilsish stood still for a moment, then nodded and said, "Green tea with a small amount of honey for the Rapidash, Black tea with a normal amount of honey for the Lurantis, and Black tea with two spoonfuls of milk, and a slight amount of honey for the Ninetales." At the final description of the item, the Noivern across the restaurant perked up a bit and glanced over at Flocon.

Flocon looked back, catching the eyes of the other pokemon. The Noivern's face shifted from one of sadness to confusion, he began to get up from his seat but was stopped by the Staraptor sitting beside him.

After the Noivern sat back down, he turned over to talk with the Staraptor, the Mawile said something and gave a smirk followed by Reuniclus saying something that got the attention of the group. But before Flocon could see anything more, he was pulled back by Frukkshin who told him, "Look, I get that you might want to head over there, you too Sylpheed, but I'd rather not heckle someone on a hunch." Frukkshin shook out his head a bit before continuing, "I'd rather not get banned from ever entering this place again."

"Alright, fine." Sylpheed replied as she sank down into her chair. "But what if there's something there? What if they know something we don't?"

"Then we'll get another chance: if they know Flocon, and he knows he's been here before, then they'll come back—eventually." Frukkshin reasoned to the rest of them.

Flocon bit his lower lip and cocked his head. "That makes sense, I think…" he said with begrudging acceptance.

The Frillish waiter returned to the table, "Hello, many apologies that I've interrupted you. The sirs and madam across the cafe." he said as he motioned a fin towards them. "They would like me to ask you a question Ninetales, if you don't mind, that is."

Flocon looked up casually from his drink. "I don't see why not, alright, what's the question?" he responded.

Frukkshin and Sylpheed shared a somewhat worried look, but let him continue.

"They would like me to ask if the name Jack Flash sounds familiar to you." he inquired.

Flocon's pupils dilated at the mention of the name. "That's a strange question, why would anyone ask something like that?" he said in a confused response.

"Very well, shall I tell them that you refuse to answer?" he asked.

Flocon thought about it. "Well… I can't deny that I'm pretty sure I recognize that name, but it's still a strange question. I guess that'll be my answer to that."

The Frillish nodded. "Very well, I shall give them your answer. Have a wonderful rest of your meal." he said as he bowed out of the conversation.

"Hold on." Frukkshin asked, holding the Frillish for a few moments. "Why would you bother a customer over this?"

The Frillish brought himself back up and answered, "They're regulars, well-paying, I figure that I can do them this small favor."

With a slight nod, Frukkshin replied, "Fair enough, but I'd rather not be bothered anymore." With a slight huff he went back to his drink.

The waiter bowed and said, "Of course, I'll leave you to your drinks, call me back when you are finished." and with that, he went over to another table

Flocon peeked from the corner of his eye as the Frillish told them. The reactions each netted an aura of shock, but they all seemed affected in a different way by it. They each got up and the Reuniclus silently put a bag of poke and said something to the waiter before they all walked off.

Flocon saw that the Noivern shot one last look at him but this time it was fierce, almost a shocked anger but not exactly that either, it was some type of hate that was directed directly at Flocon as if he disdained the fact that he even existed to begin with. He was the last one to drift through the doors, he turned one more time and the two of them locked gazes once more. But even as he turned away Flocon swore that he saw a single tear in the Noivern's eye as he disappeared from sight.

Sylpheed let out a huge sigh after they left. "I feel like a weight has been lifted." she said as she breathed almost as if she hadn't known what oxygen was until now.

Frukkshin turned towards her and nodded. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that." he responded as he looked out the door. "There was death in that glare."

Flocon stared wordlessly out the door and into the streets of Galet. that look of hatred… it was weird… I don't feel afraid but I don't reciprocate that feeling either. he thought in confusion. As he turned back to his drink his cheeks were slightly wet from partially shed tears as he stared at his reflection in the milky drink.

Sylpheed looked up and asked, "Flocon? Are you feeling okay?"

Flocon didn't even seem to register her comment, he was too tangled up in a web of his own thoughts to even hear her, Why? What's causing this emotion I'm feeling? I know I should feel afraid, but I only feel regret… and… I'm not sure… He questioned himself as he tried to hold back a flood of tears, his breathing was heavy and irregular. There was an almost stunning feeling that settled over him as he did so.

Frukkshin placed a reassuring hoof on his back and rubbed it in a strange attempt to work out whatever Flocon was feeling. Flocon jumped ever slightly as he felt the hoof touch his back. "Let's just drink, pay and leave then." Frukkshin said as he looked towards Sylpheed who nodded in agreement.

"Y-yeah, sounds good." Flocon stuttered as he practically stuck his entire muzzle into the steaming beverage before him. He quickly gave up and tore his snout out of it, sending a small amount of swamp water and tea flying. It drew the attention of most of the patrons who gave the Ninetales a look on the spectrum between confusion and scrutinizing before going back to their meals one by one.

"Gods Flocon," Frukkshin exclaimed, "drink slower, are you some sort of feral?" He patted Flocon on the back for a few moments before saying, "You're an Ice-type, be a bit more careful around hot beverages or you might seriously hurt yourself."

Flocon turned back and nodded silently, he looked to be in shock from the pain.

Sylpheed looked up from her drink and went back to drinking, letting Frukkshin handle Flocon. "I'm not using my energy on that." she remarked flatly.

"Yeah, I get it." Flocon said as he looked up with tears in his eyes. "I just want to get out of here as fast as possible." He was shivering ever so slightly from a mixture of pain and confusion.

"There's no rush, just enjoy yourself for once." Frukkshin told him.

Sylpheed nodded in agreement. "Frukkshin's right, you've been all wacky since the day we met. You need to learn how to relax."

Flocon looked up at them. "Well, that's the issue."

Sylpheed tilted her head to show interest.

"I guess…" Flocon stammered for a moment before managing to say, "I don't have many happy memories. At least nothing coherent to work from."

Sylpheed looked at him for a while before finally saying, "Then, we just have to find you some. Pretty simple…" her voice trailed off at the end as if she weren't quite sure of herself.

Flocon looked up at her. "Yeah, that sounds nice." he said as he went back to his drink, this tie going at it much more slowly.

Frukkshin smiled a bit. "Well, all we have to do is plan." he said before muttering to himself, "And I think I have just the plan."