Charmant
(adjective)
—French for "lovely", "charming", "delightful", and "pleasant"
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Delphi wasn't sure how to react, but something stung, and it felt a lot like rejection.
The kitchen had fallen silent in the wake of Trainer's outburst. Right now, everyone was sitting around the table, eating the meal that Madame Gabena had prepared and insist they eat before they headed out. Something called a "sloppy joe" that the dark-haired boy called Calem eyed with distaste but Mint's Trainer and Mme Gabena's daughter, a plucky girl named Shauna, insisted was Hoenn comfort food. The second girl—Serena, Delphi recognized her as an assistant working under Oncle Augustine—hadn't said a word about the meal choice and had simply dug right in (with ladylike grace, of course, or as much ladylike grace as one could manage while eating ground meat in a hamburger bun). He and Mint, the Chespin who had minutes ago been his adversary in his very first official battle, were situated on the lacquered surface of the table, snacking on the macarons that Mme Gabena had whipped up, claiming that she "hadn't forgotten about them". It was really sweet of her, and the treats were delicious. Delphi had always had a sweet tooth, so he took to them like a Combee to honey, though he did have to find himself eating a little fast so that Mint didn't gobble them all up. Who knew such a little Pokemon could have such a large appetite?
No one had talked. Mme Gabena had given up on asking what had happened in the backyard and had simply set a place aside for Trainer before explaining that she had to return something to the neighbors, that she would be right back, and that there was, under no circumstances, to be any fighting while she was gone.
It had been fifteen minutes since she left and Delphi was getting restless.
"...how long does it take to return a frying pan?" Serena muttered. She had finished her meal and her plate sat in front of her, a little messy because of the meat sauce but otherwise clean. Everything about her seemed graceful to Delphi. Always had been.
Shauna and Calem both seemed stunned by the fact the fact that she had spoken up, but both seemed eager for a safe topic of conversation nonetheless.
"Well," Shauna began, idly running her finger along the rim of her glass of water, "it's Mme Dubois, so..."
Calem frowned in distaste. Delphi had seen little of the human male, but it seemed to be Calem's default expression. "That old lady who lives down the street and still thinks it's okay to wear miniskirts even though she's, like, eighty?"
"Seventy, and yeah. She always ends up talking Mom's ear off about how I'm growing to be a 'respectable and well-mannered young lady', but I should lay off on dating because women are 'precious pearls in need of protecting' and all that jazz." Shauna's face had settled into a rather uncomplimentary frown. Unlike Calem, her face was more suited to pretty smiles. "Which is totally stupid, even if she didn't have a super active dating life that made her a total hypocrite."
"On the bright side," Mint piped up, all the-glass-is-always-half-full, "you can't tell she's seventy 'cause she's had that, uh... What'dya call it, plassic surgery?"
"Plastic," Calem corrected. "With a 't'."
"Whatever, man. Humans are weird."
Delphi totally agreed. There were so many ways in which humans baffled him that he couldn't even count. Styling their hair, changing their clothing every day, their fascination with youth, and their complicated mating rituals. He really, really didn't understand that last one. Oncle had tried to explain it to him once and he just ended up hopelessly lost. Too many social conventions. Actually, that was another thing Delphi didn't get—social convention. Oncle said he would pick it up with age and exposure but, well... Time would tell, he supposed? He really wasn't overly concerned with his ignorance of human socialization more so than he was with the low opinion Trainer currently had of him.
He winced. Thinking about just how royally he'd messed up. Maybe it was unconventional to just get thrown into a battle like that, but that didn't give him the right to just freeze up like that and panic. Sure, it was his first battle, but who cares? It was his chance to show his stuff in front of his new Trainer, something every starter dreamed of and prepared for since they were hatchlings.
And he'd blown it.
Technically, he did have an excuse, but it was a weak one at best. He'd participated in sparring matches (which was really just a fancy way of referring to the rough-housing and playfighting of young, dreamy-eyed starters as they wiled away their childhood in the lab) before, but they hadn't involved the use of actual moves, just playful bites and kicks and headbutts. It wasn't until he saw Mint barreling towards him that it hit how real this all was, how terrifyingly close death was if he made one wrong move. It had scared him, more than anything he'd ever experienced before.
"I can't work with a starter that can't or won't think for themselves."
Just thinking about it made Delphi cringe. It had been painful to hear that coming from the person he'd dreamed would be his partner in a Journey of hardship and overcoming, of sorrows and glory and triumph and everything in between. Given her outburst, it was safe to assume that he wasn't the sole reason for her frustration—there was clearly something else eating at her—but it still sent a pang of shame through him. Even worse, Trainer had not turned out to be the kind of person he had expected.
Ever since he was a hatchling, he'd dreamed of being partners to a young aspiring Trainer, one filled with hopes and dreams and potential. A novice, innocent and naive and childish, eager for the liberating taste of adventure, and oh so clueless about the real nuances of a journey—the death, that is—but would learn, allow it to peel the delicate outer rind of innocence from them and emerge stronger, experienced, growing into the talent they possessed. Someone more like himself, Delphi had thought, more like who he hoped to become. Someone who greeted the cresting dawn with a radiant smile, embraced the world and all its aspects with open arms, and who would happily and blissfully engage in a conversation, forge an instant connection that would have deepened into something unbreakable by the end of their journey.
Never, though, had he considered that he would flunk the minute he met his Trainer face to face. That he would freeze up during his first battle—and why would he? Death was always an afterthought, a little smudge in the grand scheme of a grand adventure. There were always cautious words and saddened looks that came from the aides or foster Trainers or even Oncle himself, but why should Delphi worry about something like that? It seemed wrong to worry yourself over the shadows when the light was so much more appealing to focus on. And besides, he'd heard the tales of caution enough to know what not to do and how to be careful and all that stuff everyone was always going on about. When he'd gone into that first battle, he thought he knew the risk already, and he had acknowledged it, come to terms with it.
Experiencing it, however...
Trainer was right. He had been weak, hesitant, cowardly. Fear had ruled him and it had allowed him to be knocked senseless by a single blow. In his panic, he'd turned back for guidance, forgetting that this was test of hisability, not hers. It was pass-fail, she'd said. We'll address improvements later, she'd said. Just show me you're competent, she'd said.
And he hadn't even done that.
"I didn't expect him to win. I expected him to fight back, at the very least."
Delphi emitted a whine.
"You okay there, Delpharoony?"
He perked up. Delpha...roony?
The Fennekin glanced over to the side at Mint, who was blissfully munching on macaroons, like his world hadn't just turned on its head and was quickly descending into a downward spiral of overall badness. "...are you talking to me?"
"You're name's Delphi ain't it?"
"Er, yeah, but..." That's not what you said...
She paused, her expression morphing into something resembling concern. "Hey, I didn't bruise you too bad with that Rollout back there, did I?"
"Huh?" Delphi straightened. "Oh! No, no, I'm fine. Really."
"You sure? You got a pretty big bump on your noggin there."
"I do?"
"Yeah. Right..." Mint touched his forehead with her paw, and he winced at the sudden throb of dull pain. Oh, yeah, please don't touch the places that hurt, merci. "Oops. Sorry there, pal. But, yeah, right there. Big as a crab apple, it is."
Delphi didn't know what a crab apple was, but he didn't object.
"I'm fine." He reached up to touch it, gingerly. Ooh, still sore. "It's mostly just swelling. It'll go down."
Mint looked relieved. "That's good. I was worried I'd given ya a concussion or somethin'."
Delphi nodded, grateful for her concern, even if it was a little unnecessary. Pokemon were much more durable than humans were or could ever dream to be. For Pokemon, bruises and bumps and such healed within a few hours. A concussion might have Delphi laid up for a few days, but it wouldn't be months and months of slow healing, taking pills to ease headaches, and taking it easy as it would a human. Perhaps that was why Pokemon participated in battles while human Trainers stood on the sidelines, plotting the battle out from a spectator's vantage.
Mint probably already knew that, though. For all her chill and grammar faults, he seriously doubted she was stupid, or even slow. No, that was just in her nature. Rough and tumble, with a shell on her back as strong as her heart was big. Quite a complement to her Trainer, now that he thought about it. If only he could complement his own Trainer in the same manner.
"So, does this mean you're going to be nicer to Celestine from now on?" Shauna asked, her attention fixed on the Calem boy.
Delphi immediately felt tension thicken the air. To be honest, he had tuned out the human's conversation, but it was to hard to ignore them after broaching the dreaded subject. Everyone went silent and nobody was brave enough to look up from their plates.
Shauna huffed in annoyance. "We all know we were gonna have to talk about this at some point, so we might as well just get it over with." She turned to Calem, her expression a strange mix of inquisitive and exasperated. "Are you gonna be nicer to her now, yes or no?"
Calem sighed and began massaging the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He looked tired. "...I don't know."
She slammed her hands on the table. "Why not?"
"Because, Shauna."
"Because why?" Shauna demanded.
"Because feeling guilty doesn't necessarily make someone a good person," Calem snapped, making an emphatic gesture with his hand. "Aside from her uncertainty about being able to keep her starter alive, she's yet to demonstrate any other redeeming qualities. For all I know, the only reason she's worried about Delphi is because it would mean getting another starter."
Delphi did not like where this topic was headed. From the look on Shauna's face, he could guess that neither did she.
"Calem," the brunette said carefully, like she was explaining something to a toddler. Oncle had used that same tone with him all the time when he was younger, and that had been okay at the time, but time had passed and now it was just patronizing. Delphi wondered if Calem felt the same. "For the love of the Great Serpent, why do you feel the need to get on her case all the time?"
"Maybe you forgot what happened two days ago, so let me refresh your memory—she almost killed Alistair."
"She thought it was a Reaper Battle and she apologized."
He scoffed. "That was not an apology."
"Yeah. I know. My mom had to make you apologize, even though she gave you plenty of time to work it out on your own."
Serena did a double take between, and she could not have looked more done with their drama. "Are you guys seriously going to make me listen to three arguments in the span of one hour?"
"Why are you defending her?" Calem demanded. And was it Delphi's imagination, or did he sound a little offended? Hurt, even.
"Because, unlike you, I don't judge people based on their low points," Shauna retorted. "Unlike you, I look deeper. Everyone has a reason for acting the way they do, and I judge people based on that. Not the actions themselves."
"Or," Calem said, crossing his arms, "you choose to see the best in people, even if it isn't there. It's a little naive, Shauna."
Serena let out an exaggerated sigh, like this was just another particularly exasperating day working at the lab. Like an intern had just messed up and she had to stick her neck out to fix it before Oncle noticed. At least, that's where Delphi recognized her expression from. "Okay, I guess that's an unsympathetic 'yes, Serena, we're gonna make you suffer today'. Thanks guys. You suck so hard."
"Why are you being such a jerk?" Shauna asked, oblivious to Serena's deadpanned remarks.
Calem gawked. "Just because I'm disagreeing with you, I'm a jerk now?"
Shauna threw her hands up. "It's not just that! You've been acting like a total ass recently and I want to know why!"
"Deesse, pourquoi moi?" Serena muttered, turning her eyes up to the ceiling.
Delphi shot a glance over to Mint. "Why is everyone arguing with everybody? Is this normal, or...?"
Mint flopped down on the table. Heavily—enough to make an audible thump against the wood. She sighed. "Celestine and Calem got into an argument over a battle. Or. Something. A'dunno the details. As for him and Shauna... a'dunno, they've just been on each other's nerves and all for while now. Dunno why, though."
...that's supposed to be helpful?
"As for Celestine herself," Mint went on, and Delphi perked up, because any information that would help him win Trainer over was need-to-know, "she may come off as a total bitch at first, but once ya get to know 'er, you'll find that she's only mostly a bitch."
Delphi wondered how that comment was meant to be more helpful than the one before it.
"I'm serious, Calem!" Shauna was shouting, her voice twisted and wobbling and breaking with something that sounded like deep hurt. "You blow us off during our lunch meetings—especially on the last day, that was just insensitive—and then you go out of your way to focus on battling without any explanation! Like, up until last year, you were all like, 'oh I don't really care about that, it's way too dangerous'. Now you're going on a Journey? Like, what the hell?"
Calem, who had at first seemed unflappable in contrast to Shauna's obvious vexation, now seemed a little irked. "May I remind you that we're all going on a Journey? Not just me?"
"...the point is that it's totally out of character! For you!"
Calem narrowed his eyes. "I don't have to justify myself to you, Shauna. My decisions are mine and my reasons are mine—mine to know and yours to keep your nose out of."
Delphi looked between the two and wondered how on earth the two had become friends. Their appearances were quite different as well—one tall and fair and dark-haired with eyes like steel and plain, practical attire, and the other short and dark and brunette with bouncy pigtails and a rhinestone-studded shirt—as if the opposition of their personalities weren't reason enough for them to clash. If this was how they acted on a regular basis, how had they grown up together?
"Mlle Celestine had better show up soon," Serena mumbled, eyeing the staircase with fierce hope.
Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe Serena had a heightened sense of intuition, because Delphi's sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps coming from upstairs. He turned and before long, Trainer emerged, this time with a sleek black messenger bag slung over her shoulder. She was still dressed in her odd blend of bold violets and dusky shades from before, which only seemed to heighten the severity of her pale face. Those blue eyes of her looked like jewels, sparkling with a sort of coldness, as if unable to fully capture the nuances of human emotion. My, what a chilling thought, but Delphi couldn't help himself. She scared him, a little, what with the way she'd torn into him without regard for his delicate emotions, her tongue laced with acid and venom of the strongest kind. There were so many things about her that intrigued him, and of the many things he wondered, all he could think about now was how she might react to seeing him again.
Apparently, the answer was apathy, because those jewel-like eyes of hers caught sight of him almost immediately—he froze up, felt a shiver of anticipation run down his spine, and he could see it now, the wave rising from the ocean, cresting, cresting, cresting, wait for it—
She turned away and said nothing.
Delphi blinked. Wait, that was it? No huge outburst? No backlash? No driving-the-point-home speech? No "I'm-not-letting-this-go"? She was over it, just like that? How- Why- What-
Meanwhile, Trainer had reached the foot of the stairs and Serena, noticing her, immediately leaped to her feet in what appeared to be relief. Because Serena had been sitting between Calem and Shauna, the two now found their conversation interrupted. Thank the Goddess.
"Oh, Mlle Lavieaux," Serena said, a light laugh of relief creeping into her tone. "Thank the Goddess. I didn't think they would ever stop."
Trainer paused in the doorway, her brows furrowing in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Mom laid out some food for you," Shauna said, gesturing to the untouched plate of sloppy joe. "Once you eat and then Mom comes back, we can head out. Oh—wait. No, Dad promised he'd call. We need to wait for that call."
"We can't wait around forever," Calem snapped. "Or—"
A shrill ringtone trilled from Calem's pocket. He slumped back into his chair, throwing his head back with a groan. "Thaaaat's what I was afraid of." He got up and reached into his pocket to pull out a Caster. "Okay, I gotta take this or he'll never let me hear the end of it."
Mint straightened. "Hey, Cal?"
"Mm?"
"D'ya think you could bring out Hayami?" she asked, an odd pleading note in her tone. "Y'know, maybe she and Delphi could, y'know, talk? Pep talk, maybe?"
Trainer turned to Shauna. "Who's Hayami?"
"You'll see," Shauna answered cheerfully, cryptically.
Calem, meanwhile, seemed to be mulling over the request before he unclipped what appeared to be a Ball from his belt—Delphi hadn't noticed it earlier and, wow, didn't that just speak wonders about his powers of perception—and pressed the button. It split, spilled out light that manifested into a blue amphibious shape with a collar of white foam. She blinked open yellow eyes, fierce and vigilant, but she seemed to relax when she noticed that the atmosphere was tranquil. Delphi recognized her as a Froakie, one of the three species Oncle raised for new Trainers.
"Konnichiwa," the Froakie, presumably Hayami, said gracefully. Her voice was lovely, Delphi thought, like a river of silk flowing over silver rocks. And she had accent that was quite similar to Trainer's, though hers was fainter.
Trainer came over and dropped into her seat, blinking in astonishment. "You speak Kantonese?"
Hayami smiled faintly. "Only some. My foster Trainer was Kantonese."
Right. Delphi heard that Oncle employed some Trainers to raise and breed young starters for him, many of whom were former students. Foster Trainers often, but not always, owned the parents of the starter themselves, as had been the case with Delphi's own foster Trainer, who was currently one of Oncle's on-hand assistants, like Serena. As such, Delphi had spent his early life sheltered in the lab, though he wondered what Hayami's experience must have been like. A Kantonese Trainer-it sounded so foreign and exotic that Delphi couldn't help a thrill of envy. He'd never even been outside the lab's walls until now.
"Really?" Celestine asked, intrigued. Delphi felt a pang of hurt, wishing she had shown that same interest in him.
Calem, meanwhile, had stepped out to take the call and Delphi could catch scraps of an argument from outside. Shauna had not-so-subtly situated herself nearby the door to eavesdrop. And finally, Serena was gathering up the dirty dishes to presumably take the sink while shooting Shauna a thanks for saddling me up with the chores look.
"How much do you speak, if I might ask?"
"Not much," Hayami admitted. "Only a few one-word phrases, really."
Not all that surprising, but enviable nonetheless. Delphi could understand both Common and Kalosian, but to learn a third language would be utterly divine. Or, wait, was it her third language or her second?
"That's okay. Your name is pretty, by the way," Trainer said.
Hayami smiled, pleased. "Why, thank you. It means—"
"'Swift water', right?"
"Indeed." Hayami paused, eyeing Trainer scrupulously. "You are Lavieaux Celestine-san, aren't you?"
A pause. Or, a hesitation? "...I am."
"...if you don't mind me asking—"
Mint coughed.
The Froakie started before turning to Mint. "Oh. Mint. My apologies, I hadn't realized you were here."
"I know." Mint grinned good-naturedly. "You were just doin' that thing where you forget there are other people around you, right?"
Hayami hopped over to them, eyes lowered devoutly. "My apologies."
"S'fine. But anyway"—Delphi nearly jumped out of his fur when Mint's paw came down hard on his shoulder, and she practically thrust him into Hayami, because, like Trainer like starter, right?—"this here is the new guy. Name's Delphi and he took a big ol' hit from my Rollout earlier and, well, he's still standin', so we know he's a tough lil' bugger."
Hayami's eyes went wide. "You used Rollout against him!?"
Mint waved her paw dismissively. "Aw, it was an accident and the battle was stopped right away. He says he's fine. A'dunno." She turned to him. "Kid, do you feel like you've got a concussion?"
"I, uh, already said I didn't." He wasn't sure how he felt about Mint calling him "kid", now that he thought about it. He wasn't that inexperienced.
Okay, he was, but he didn't want Hayami knowing that. She was kinda pretty... Not that mattered or...! Anything...
"Anyway," Mint went on, "Hayami's been 'round for a few months. Almost, what, six or seven? It's June now, ain't it? Pah, I've been with my Trainer for years, but, well, a'dunno. Thought maybe you could talk to someone who's been there, y'know?"
Wow. Mint actually could be helpful. Who'd have thought?
Hayami, however, was still focused on the whole Rollout thing. "Rollout is dangerous. Someone could have been seriously hurt."
"Okay, okay, we don't do it again. Chillax, girl."
Delphi caught Trainer poking at her meal. "What the hell is this?"
"Sloppy joe," Shauna hissed from the doorway to the backyard. "Now quiet, I'm listening."
"But how do you eat this?" Trainer asked, narrowing her eyes distrustfully at the plate of food.
Serena had just finished putting the dishes in the sink and glanced up. "With your hands."
"...I'm guess chopsticks aren't an option."
"'Fraid not, Mlle."
Delphi curled his tail around him protectively. Mint said Hayami had been around for a few months so, maybe...? He leaned in closer, whispering. "U-Um, not to be r-rude or anything, but I was... Well, I was wonder if you—if you knew anything about my Trainer. I mean, Mint does, so I... I just thought..."
Hayami paused for a moment. She turned from Delphi to Trainer, then back to Delphi again, with the slow deliberateness of someone solving the last pieces of a puzzle, as if savoring the satisfaction of completion at long last. "And your Trainer is Lavieaux Celestine, yes?"
Delphi hesitated, though he wasn't sure why. She was. Well, technically, but— Wait, "but"? ...okay, yeah, "but". "But" they hadn't really bonded yet, and, well, he really classified a starter-Trainer relationship by the shared bond. "But" then again, they had just met once, so maybe time would...? Okay, he hoped they got closer, "but" yes.
Yes, she was his Trainer, at least until she proved otherwise. He nodded.
Trainer was, meanwhile, scowling down at her sloppy joe like something had crawled onto her plate and died. "Please tell me this isn't an example of typical Kalosian cuisine."
Serena snorted a laugh, clapping Trainer on the shoulder as she made her way back to her seat. "Oh, Goddess no. This is Mme Gabena's brand of Hoenn hospitality."
Trainer wrinkled her nose.
"Well," Hayami whispered, "in my personal opinion, I know very little about Lavieaux Celestine and I do not see it as my place to judge."
Delphi blinked in bewilderment. Oh, okay, that was... Well, frankly? Unexpected. Mint and Shauna and even Hayami's Trainer had all seemed so eager to proclaim their opinions and take sides, so he'd just assumed that Hayami would be like that, too. Evidently, he'd been wrong.
"Oh." He shrank back, flattening his ears to fight back a flush of shame. It had been wrong to assume. "Sorry, I thought. Well, I mean, your Trainer's been just so... Sorry."
"That's fine," she replied, her tone tinted with amusement. "I know my Trainer can be rather opinionated. And he tends to form said opinions very quickly and based on little evidence." She paused, and here she spoke slower, her tone and expression turning rather solemn. "I have heard about the incident with my teammate and... while I am upset about his injuries, I was not present, so I do not understand the circumstances. And from what I've heard, I don't think my Trainer fully understands it either. He can be rather... I don't want to say narrow-minded, but he is definitely prone to tunnel vision. I'd prefer to assess the situation myself and come to my own conclusions."
Admirable as it was, Delphi didn't quite understand it. "But isn't it our job—a starter's job—to support our Trainer?"
Hayami looked slightly amused. "Yes, we follow their decisions and support them in times of need, but we don't necessarily have to agree with every one of them. We are our own beings, after all, with capability for independent thought and possession of free will. We have a right to think for ourselves."
Delphi was stunned. He'd never really— well, technically he had, but, well, he'd never—
He opened his mouth, but to his great surprise, it was Trainer who said, "You make an excellent point, Hayami."
The three starters jumped and turned to her. She and Serena were staring at them casually, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"You were listening!?" Mint demanded, frazzled.
"You're not exactly quiet," Serena said with a shrug.
Delphi flushed beneath his pelt and shrank in embarrassment. It was kinda hard to hold a private conversation when there were people sitting right there, but. Okay, yeah. Point taken.
Trainer folded her arms on the table and turned to Hayami. Delphi felt a cold prickle of disappointment rush through him, but wouldn't let it show. "For what it's worth, Hayami, I am sorry about what happened to Alistair. The circumstances... they're complicated and I really don't want to get into them right now. Another time. Maybe later. But, I mean, since you're the only one who's willing to actually listen"—she cast a not-so-subtle glare at the door Shauna was loitering nearby—"I just wanted to—"
"It is fine," Hayami interrupted, and Delphi was stunned because where did she find the guts to do that when Trainer was so intimidating? Seriously, that gaze of Trainer's could freeze a tidal wave in its tracks. "Thank your apologizing, though. It is most appreciated."
Well then. Delphi should probably just duck under the table and never come back out.
"And Delphi," Trainer said, suddenly turning to him and he jumped, oh crud, what now, what did he do he was just sitting here, "I owe you an apology as well."
All he could managed was an unintelligent, "wuh?"
"It wasn't you I was angry with," she went on, and she wasn't looking at him. It was strange—when she'd been talking to Hayami, she was composed, resolute, like tempered steel. But this, now? This was something softer, something more malleable. More...vulnerable, almost. "It's... It's mostly Sycomore-Hakase that I'm upset with. He just. He didn't really give me any warning or preparation." She froze, suddenly, as if coming to a realization. "Like I did with that battle. Oh, Birds, I'm so stupid."
Delphi wasn't sure what to say. Or how to say it.
"Look," she tried again. Tried to be calm and collected, but she just sounded more desperate. "I'll admit, I probably should have checked your data a little more thoroughly. I didn't anticipate that you would be low leveled, and when I found out..." She heaved a sigh and sat back in her chair. "I was angrier with Hakase than you. It wasn't your fault. But I took it out on you. And I'm sorry. It was unfair to you."
He still wasn't sure what to make of this. In all honesty, he hadn't been expecting an apology like this. What he'd been expecting was a "you screwed up but that's okay, we can get passed it" sort of apology. This, on the other hand, was an "it's my fault, not yours, I was out of line" sort of apology.
Serena seemed surprised, too, but also pleased. She wasn't the only one, either. Mint grinned and Hayami nodded, apparently satisfied. Shauna had even torn her attention away from the doorway to cast Trainer a look of pride.
"I just—!" Trainer tore a hand through her bangs. She appeared to do that when she was frustrated. "I wish Hakase had given me a... an instruction manual or something."
"Merde!" Serena exclaimed, shooting up from her seat and slamming her hands on the table. "I cannot believe I fucking forgot!"
"Forgot what?" Celestine asked for what she felt was the umpteenth time.
Serena continued to avoid answering her, instead focusing solely on rummaging feverishly through her purse and muttering the mantra of "where is it, where is it" over and over and over again. Delphi was peering over at her, intrigued, while Mint and Hayami exchanged bewildered glances. Even Shauna had paused her eavesdropping to watch.
The back door opened suddenly and Calem poked his head in. "Shauna, I know you were listening."
Shauna shrieked and fell back in shock from the abruptness of his appearance. She stumbled, tripped over her own two feet, and landed squarely on her ass. Celestine was ashamed to admit it, but she had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from bursting into laughter.
"Shit! Calem, don't do that!"
"Then don't eavesdrop," Calem deadpanned. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "Okay, we have to hurry up and get to Aquacorde."
Celestine frowned. "What's the rush?"
"Trevor is a punctuality whore," he said, like that in itself was a plausible explanation.
She arched a brow. If she remembered, Trevor was the name of another one of Shauna's friends, if she remembered correctly. He had been that... well, Celestine hesitated to use the word geeky because of negative connotations, such as crippling social inability. Trevor did prattle a little, but otherwise, he seemed alright. They had gotten along well enough, at least until she'd battled Calem and Shauna to had to explain to him and her other friend, Tierno, why Celestine had acted the way she had and wasn't that just depressing, having someone advocating on your behalf when you were perfectly capable of doing it yourself. And she had fully intended to explain herself—Shauna had just beaten her to the punch, that's all.
"And he and Tierno got bored of waiting, so Tierno dragged him window shopping," Calem went on.
"Oh dear god," Shauna gasped, horrified, as she leaped back up to her feet, like a chain reaction had been set off that would lead to the end of the world. Which didn't make sense, unless the laws of the universe had undergone a drastic change.
But Calem nodded like he understood Shauna's train of thought, which was good for him, because, y'know, it meant they were on the same page for once. "Exactly. Trevor's trying to hold him back, but we'd better get there before he shops himself in bankruptcy." A brief pause. "Or falls over in exhaustion. Whichever one comes fir—"
"Found it!" Serena shouted triumphantly. She held up a flat, red plastic device over her head like she was expecting a spotlight to shine down it and angelic voices to vocalize in the background.
Calem blinked. "Um, Rena?"
Serena ignored him and turned to Celestine, holding the device out to her. "Here you go."
Celestine stared at it the same way she'd stared at the same way she'd stared at Serena's handshake earlier, like she wasn't sure what to make of it. Only this time, the gesture was a little less obvious. What was she supposed to do with...well, she had no idea what this was. I mean, it was just a square. A red plastic square with some high tech looking black markings on it, but the only meaning she could gather was their similarity to Poke Balls.
"...what is this, exactly?" she asked as she took the device in her hands. It was compact and wafer-thin, like a pair of scissors could cut it, only it was metal, not plastic as she had originally thought. And there was a suspicious line running down the middle... And a button...
Serena giggled. "What, you say you're from Kanto and yet you can't even recognize their most famous invention?"
Celestine mulled that over. Most famous invention? Well, Poke Balls, at least the very first ones involving apricorns, were Johtonian, and so was the Poke Gear, so that ruled that out. And the Poketch was Sinnohan, so, that was out too. The only thing Celestine could think of was the Vs Recorder, which this certainty didn't look like, unless the design had gone from wedge-shaped to square in the last five years.
"Yeah, sorry, coming up blank here."
"It's your instruction manual," Serena laughed.
What.
Okay, this was... unexpected to say the least. Had Hakase really given her one? She'd just been joking.
"Meaning what, exactly?"
"Just open it."
Celestine stared at it for a long before shrugging. Well, if it was from Hakase, that meant it was probably safe. Plus, what kind of person would she be if she just accepted things at face value? Might as well check it out. She pressed the button.
The machine seemed to whirr to life. The top slid out to reveal an icy blue screen, which black text immediately rushed to fill. It looked like a menu screen, wait—species lists, habit areas by Route, search index. What the...? Great Birds was this what she thought it was?
She scrolled down the menu and, sure enough, at the very bottom read the words Brought to you by the mind of Okido Samuel.
"Nanite kotoda," Celestine muttered. She turned to Serena and her shock must have showed, how could it now? Like, this wasn't the sort of thing that happened every day. Or in a million years. She couldn't actually believe that she had one in, her hand.
Nanite kotoda.
She held it up. "This is a PokeDex."
Serena grinned. "Oui, Mlle."
Shauna's jaw dropped and Calem went ramrod straight.
"A PokeDex," Calem repeated, dazed. "A real PokeDex. The Professeur... he gave you... Mon dieu."
"That is so cool!" Shauna squealed, and she was bouncing up and down and up and down, her excitement literally palpable in the air around her. "I wish Sycomore had asked me to do a Dex run!"
Celestine just stared numbly at the device in her hands. A Dex run. An actual task to go out and capture Pokemon from all over the region, collecting data for the sake of science and the advancement of Trainer safety everywhere. She could not imagine a bigger honor. PokeDexes were only ever given to highly capable Trainers, and even then they weren't distributed to the main populace. Oh no, these only belonged to a painfully tiny fraction of experienced Trainers, with no more than two or three "Dex Holders", as they were called, in each region.
She immediately regretted her earlier hostility towards Hakase, that wonderful man. Not only had he given her a starter and pulled strings to get her a licence, and now he was allowing her to a Dex r-
"Oh, it's not a Dex run," Serena said, a little apologetic, shattering Celestine's train of thought. They all turned to her in shock. Serena blinked innocently. "Kalos's Dex run was completed years ago by one of my colleagues. No, all the slots are filled out. See for yourself."
Celestine pressed "species list" to do just that. Scrolling through the list, she found that all the slots were filled, just as Serena said. It was a purely eclectic mix, of species that were as familiar to Celestine as the sound of her heartbeat in her ears, their Kantonian nature ringing true and strong, and then were those whom she had never seen in flesh in blood, but their names had reached her through the whispers of foreign Trainers who had Journeyed to Kanto in search of the origin of training. And then there were more still who were bewildering in their foreignness, their colors bright and beautiful. There was so much, so many, colors and elements and names, all stacked in a neat little row that she could scroll down at her convenience. It was almost dizzying how many there were.
"This is just a computer interface," Serena explained. "It's all connected the computers back at the lab and the data is transmitted via the cloud. But you can access everything you need to know about foreign species and the like. Since you're not from around here. The Professeur thought it would be as good an instruction manual as any."
The Kantonian marveled at the PokeDex and considered—maybe, just maybe—not killing Hakase after all.
"You are so lucky," Calem said. "I cannot believe the Professeur gave you a PokeDex. I would kill for one of those."
"It's not an actual Dex Run, y'know," Serena said.
"I don't care. I would still kill for one."
"You may not have to," Celestine said. She had been experimenting with the different features of her the Dex when she stumbled onto something rather, well, disheartening was putting it lightly. "It says here that the Dex is registered to you."
Collective looks of shock emerged from the other three, and the starters immediately started whispering feverishly amongst themselves.
Calem was blinking rapidly. "Wait, seriously?"
Celestine thrust the screen in his face. "Your name is Calem X. Lafayette, isn't it?" As he snatched the Dex from her hands and stared at it incredulously, she asked him, "What does the 'x' stand for?"
"Goddess," Calem breathed, and he stared at the device with newfound reverence.
Shauna was attempting to peer at the Dex over Calem's shoulder, but he was six foot and she was five-foot-three and she was failing miserably. "Oh, wow, that is so cool! The 'x' stands for Xavier, by the way."
"Shauna!"
"Hey, your middle name is way less embarrassing than mine. Mine's Griselda." She wrinkled her nose. "Can you imagine anything more outdated?"
"Well, if it makes you feel better," Delphi piped up, "my name is basically a rip off of my final evolution's name. My foster Trainer's nice, but he wasn't too original in his names."
Celestine ignored them and instead turned her attention to Serena. "Why would Hakase give me a Dex registered to him?"
All eyes immediately went to the blonde, and Serena went ramrod straight. She bit her lip and stepped back, her voice conjuring a thousand broken beginnings—"well" and "that's" and "because" and "um" and "you see"—but no ending, never an ending. Finally, she sighed, her shoulders slumping, and it looked like a con artist shedding their guise.
"It was supposed to be a surprise," she muttered, and dove back into her bag again. In a matter of seconds, much quicker than her last attempt at foraging, she pulled—not one, not two—but four Dexes, all identical to the first. Celestine and Shauna exchanged twin glances of shock, and Calem just stared slack-jawed, as Serena began to activate them one by one. "Let's see here..."
"Serie, how the hell did you get four"—Shauna did a quick glance at the Dex in Calem's hands—"five PokeDexes?"
Serena didn't answer the question. Instead, she placed her bag down and held the Dexes like playing cards in one hand, then took one of the Dexes into the other and held it out. "Here, Shauna, this one's yours."
Shauna blinked. "Wait, I get one, too?"
"Just take it!"
Shauna did so happily, a huge grin splitting her face. Mint matched her Trainer's grin and leaped up onto Shauna's shoulder to get a better look at the Dex's screen. Calem was still staring in befuddlement.
"And this one is yours, Mlle," Serena said, holding out another Dex. When Celestine sent her a dubious look, she sighed and waved it with a slight urgency. "It's definitely yours. I checked."
Well, so long as you checked, Celestine thought sarcastically, but she took the Dex. It was solid and cool in her hands and she memorized the feeling, promising herself that it was real and hers. This was hers.
She activated it, and felt a flood of relief when she found her name listed under the owner's data.
"The other two are for Tierno and Trevor," the blonde went on, pocketing the other two Dexes in her purse.
"We're all getting Dexes?" Calem asked in bewilderment.
"Yup. It was originally just gonna be Mlle Celestine, because she's not from Kalos. But then he heard that you were setting off at the same time and you and Shauna already have a couple of his starters, plus Trevor and Tierno assisted in the lab last summer, so he knew you guys were trustworthy. Basically, he pulled some strings and ended up ordering five interfaces instead of one."
Shauna grinned up at Celestine. "Guess we got you to thank for this, huh?"
Celestine didn't know how to respond.
"You can't tell Tierno and Trevor," Serena said in the utmost seriousness. "It's bad enough that I wasn't able to surprise you all at once, but you cannot spoil it, okay?"
"We'll try not to," Celestine said, trying not to sound condescending and mostly succeeding. Emphasis on mostly.
The sound of the front door opening caught everyone's attention, and Grace-san entered the kitchen looking painfully tired, slumping against the doorframe with an exaggerated sigh.
"Sorry I took so long, but Mme Dubois." Grace-san massaged her temples with her fingers. "Great Behemoth, she needs to get a hobby."
"Mom!" Shauna cried, rushing over to her and brandishing the Dex. "Look! Look! The Professor gave us Dexes!"
Grace-san perked up as Shauna approached. "Did he really?"
"Uh huh! Lookit!" Shauna started fiddling around with her Dex, displaying the screen towards her mother. Mint, at one point, reached her paw out to touch the screen and Shauna smacked it away playfully. "Silly Mint, Dexes are for kids."
"Meanie," Mint jeered, sticking her tongue out playfully.
Celestine glanced at Delphi from her peripheral and wondered. Calem rolled his eyes.
"That's amazing, honey," Grace-san was saying. "That's... That's really amazing. I'll have to call the Professor and thank him. It's really too generous."
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Serena said warily. "Those Dexes don't exactly come without strings attached."
For Celestine, this immediately sent up a series of red flags. She knew bribery when she heard it and was not about to jumping through hoops doing Birds-knew-what. Perhaps Hakase was not as generous as she'd thought. Perhaps she'd have to reconsider planning his murder.
Shauna, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to the implications. "Who cares?"
There was a trill from upstairs, something that sounded a lot like a Kalosian pop song Celestine had heard on the radio and thought was derivative and irritatingly repetitive, but Shauna had seemed like it, for whatever reason. That was probably why Celestine immediately glanced over at Shauna, who straightened at the noise.
"Oh, that's probably Dad calling. I'll be right back!" And then she was up the stairs before anyone could say otherwise.
"...she left her HoloCaster upstairs," Calem muttered. Typical, was the unspoken message.
Celestine wondered how they could possibly be friends if he was this derisive. Shauna didn't seem like the type to put up with this type of crap. Neither did Celestine, for that matter. She had half a mind to-
"That reminds me!" Serena exclaimed, cutting off Celestine's train of thought. The blonde started digging in her bag again, but this time she pulled out something that looked like Vs Recorder. Wedge-shaped, but flatter, with what looked like a hologram emitter. "This is your new HoloCaster. Brought and paid for, courtesy of Professuer Sycomore."
"...did you forget this too?"
The blonde balked. "Hey! You had a full-out verbal war with my cousin the minute you came down here. 'Scuse me for letting that take my attention."
Okay. Fair enough.
Celestine took the Caster from Serena. It was small and sleek and everything she'd heard it would be. The buttons were tiny—the whole thing was tiny. It was the size of her hand, if not a little smaller, and if she didn't hold it the right, she felt like it would slip right through her hands. The screen reacted to touch, but needed her fingerprint to be unlocked, at least according to Hakase. He'd told her about it when she'd been staying with him. It was everything he'd described, except—
"...how do I turn it on?"
"Button on the right side, dear," Grace-san said helpfully. She had pulled herself up a little straighter, though it was unclear if it was for her benefit or for theirs.
Celestine turned the device on its side. Sure enough, there was a small white button with a tiny power symbol on it. She tried to hide a flush of embarrassment. "Oh. Right. Thanks."
"Haven't you operated one of these before?" Calem asked, more incredulous than condescending, but a surge of irritation washed over Celestine anyway.
"This is a new model, alright?" she snapped backed. "Why would I know how to operate a new model?"
Calem arched a brow, looking genuinely bemused by her defensiveness. "Only the color and the virtual interface changes. The model itself is exactly the same as the first one from four years ago."
"Shut up."
He frowned, but went over to picked up Hayami and said nothing. Whatever. Prick needed to learn to keep his opinions to himself.
She sat down at the table and began testing it. It worked about the same way Hakase had described it would—instead of a screen display, a hologram came up, and she could navigate using the arrow keys. Other than the hologram tech, it was fairly standard. No bugs or glitches or anything weird. "Looks good Serena."
"Good. Oh, and the Professeur put his contact information in already, just so you know."
Celestine pulled up said list of contacts. There were three listed—Augustine Sycomore, Lysandre Labs Tech Support (to register complaints or reports bugs, no doubt), and... Oh Birds.
"Who's 'Beladonis'?" Delphi asked, peering at the hologram. He was standing behind it, meaning he was reading it backwards—which was impressive, any other day of the week, but not today.
"No one," Celestine answered as she snapped the Caster off and once again entertained fantasies of Hakase's death. Hakase had just had to put his number in there, didn't he? Never mind that the last thing she wanted was to talk to the warden. She shoved the device in her bag, not even trying to be gentle. It was official. Hakase hated her.
"...okay then."
"On a less tense note," Serena said with an awkward laugh—an attempt to break the tension, "any idea what's taking Shauna so long? I mean, she's just saying goodbye, isn't she?"
"Fathers are highly overprotective," Calem deadpanned. "It is a known fact supported by overwhelming statistical evidence and anyone who says otherwise either had a sucky childhood or is a pathological liar."
Wow, Celestine thought. Someone's got childhood issues.
Serena stifled a groan, as if this was about to segue way into an idiosyncratic rant about overprotective parents—oh, Birds, please no, prolonged exposure to the sound of Calem's voice was likely to make Celestine bang her head against the wall—but Grace-san seemed more amused than annoyed.
"So how did your father react to you heading out, then?" she asked laughingly.
"No idea. He'll probably call me when Evelynne tells him, but until then-"
"Wait a second," Serena cut in. "You haven't told him?"
"...well—"
"And you're leaving your stepmom to deliver the news? Cal, that is low."
"I mean, he was at work so— Oh, for Goddess's sake, don't give me that look, Rena. I've had to endure his lectures about Trainer protocol and tips and this whole rambling, back-in-my-day speech-for the past week. The hell I was going to listen to a send-off speech."
Celestine couldn't resist any longer. "Daddy issues?" she asked sweetly.
Calem straightened, eyes flashing, but Serena was quick to slip between them, hands out held out to keep them both at bay. "If you start arguing, I swear to the Goddess, I'm taking both your Dexes back."
They both shut up.
Shauna came back down a second later, a glittery purse with a big bow thrown over her shoulder. "Okay, let's go, go, go!"
"Right." Celestine pocketed the Caster and picked up Delphi—he yipped in surprise—and stood, holding her starter in her arms. "I feel like we've been here way too long."
"Agreed," Calem said, abruptly leaving the kitchen and heading towards the door.
"Wait up you jerk!" Shauna shouted, bouncing after him, calling a hasty "by Mom, I promise to call" over her shoulder. Serena rolled her eyes, thanked Grace-san for having them, and followed after them.
Celestine was about to follow when she felt a hand land on her shoulder and jolted. She whirled around and was met by Grace-san's worried face. "Celestine, dear, can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Okay?" She turned to the door. "Hey, guys, hold on! I forgot something!"
She heard Calem groan.
"Oh, keep your shirt on!" Rolling her eyes, she turned back to Grace-san. "What do you want to talk about?"
"My daughter," Grace-san said, blunt, straight-to-the-point. "It's not that I don't trust her or anything, but she's just so..."
"Impulsive?" Celestine deadpanned. "Hasty? Hardly think things through until she's knee deep in trouble?"
"That's mean," Delphi said, shifting to get a little more comfortable in the cradle of her crossed arms.
Grace-san, however, was not nearly as off-put as Celestine's bluntness as was Delphi. "Exactly. So I was wondering if you could look after her, while you're out on your Journey? Please? Just make sure she stays out of trouble?"
"Shauna isn't the kind of person to get into trouble," Celestine retorted, as calmly as she could. "Not the dark kind, anyway. And even if she did, it's not my place to look out for her. If she's going to become a capable Trainer, she needs to learn to fend for herself, something every Trainer signs up for the minute they apply. You're her mother. Have a little more faith in her."
Grace-san looked like she was going to protest, but then her face relaxed and she sighed, once again looking exhausted. For the first time, Celestine noticed the crow's feet pinching Grace-san's eyes and it hit her that, for all her vigor, this woman was tired and getting older and that revelation is somehow the most shocking thing in the world. "...you're right. I should have more faith in her. It's her life, after all. I'm sorry."
"It's... fine," Celestine answered in mild surprise. She had no expected Grace-san to concede defeat so easily. "But you don't have to worry about her so much. She can be kind of a ditz sometimes, but Shauna knows how to take care of her self. She's... y'know, feisty. And she can drag me around, which is a statement in of itself."
Grace-san laughed. "True. Good luck on your Journey. And, at the very least, make sure she doesn't forget to call!"
"Will do." Celestine turned and began to head to the door, but she caught a glimpse of a family photo hanging on the door—innocent enough—and paused. It must have been taken years ago, because the photo displayed a ten-year-old girl with a missing molar and brown pigtails that looked a hell of a like a younger Shauna, and on either side she was flanked by two loving parents who looked as though they hadn't yet caved from the stress of dealing with a teenager. They were all smiling, all content, even though they stood in front of a house marked "sold" and their eyes gleamed with hints of exhaustion that spoke of a long move.
Yet they were happy, loving. They were close and loving and that much was obvious. It was years ago, but that much had not changed. And Celestine had intruded on that, had forced her way into this loving atmosphere and had darkened it with her cynicism, her ill temper, her impatience, picking fights with Shauna's friends—this family didn't deserve that, yet they had tolerated her, indulged her, made the best of it.
"Grace-san..." She turned back to Grace-san, who perked up at the sound of Celestine's voice. "I... thank you for having— For putting up with me. I'm... I'm sorry for the inconvenience it must have caused."
Grace-san arched a brow. "What brought this on?"
Celestine shrugged.
"You were fine, dear. Don't worry about it. Now go enjoy yourself."
Celestine almost laughed. That was the last thing she was going to do.
"Still—"
"You'd better go," Grace-san interrupted. "Calem has almost no patience and even my daughter is getting antsy."
"...right." It felt wrong to leave it like this, though. Grace-san wasn't her own mother, and she never would be, but she was as close to a mother as Celestine had right now, and it felt wrong to just leave without saying something—anything—more. Or maybe Celestine was equally sucky with goodbyes as she was with apologies. "Okay then. I'll make sure Shauna calls."
She didn't wait for Grace-san to reply before she left the house behind—this comely little structure, the embodiment of love and security and a good, domestic life—and out into the sun.
"Are you ready to go now?" Calem demanded. He was standing with his arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently, with Hayami perched on his shoulder. Shauna and Serena were standing a little ways away, chattering, while Mint had taken residence on her Trainer's head once again.
Celestine set Delphi down and nodded. The air smelled clean and fresh and kind. It was a shame to leave it behind. "Yes. Ikuso."
Current Team:
Delphi, Male Fennekin (Lv 6)
Docile, Takes plenty of siestas
Ability: Blaze
Moves: Scratch, Tail Whip, Ember
Met: Vaniville (Aquacorde) Town
Author's Notes:
Sorry, my writing tends to be rather character-driven, and so plot can sometimes take a backseat. Things will pick up a little more in chapter three.
Hayami's name means "swift water", btw. And since she has some Kantonian roots, she refers to people by their family names first and their personal names second, which is a thing in Kanto that parallels Japan.
French translations:
- Oncle is French for "uncle". Like, what is with all these French words and their parallels with English?
- Mme is an abbreviation for "madame" and Mlle for "mademoiselle".
- If you don't know what "merde" means, it's a French curse.
- Serena's exclamation at one point, "Deesse, pourquoi moi?", is French for "Goddess, why me?". I'll get into that in my next worldbuilding note.
Japanese translations:
- Nanite kotoda = "Oh my god"
- Ikuso = "let's go"
That's all,
Luna