- N - = Nicky's part
- J - = my part
Chapter 022 - Girls talk!
- J -
Morganite arched an eyebrow while the blonde girl in front of her stuttered. She exchanged incredulous glances with her Chingling as Stephanie looked for something inside her (multiple) layers of clothes.
"He and I have two whole badges! Pretty awesome, huh?"
The blue-eyed girl laughed, but it wasn't an offensive laugh, just amused.
"Well, well," Morganite said. "if that Raticate is the only pokémon you have, then I guess it IS awesome!"
Morganited leaned over Stephanie too have a better look at Rodent, still somewhat amused.
"Rodent, isn't it?" She asked. "This is my Chingling, Campanilla."
"Chin! Chin!" Campanilla sang.
"I have other four pokémon." Morganite added. "A Gorebyss, a Banette, a Torkoal and a Nuzleaf. All of them female, of course."
She had no idea why she was telling a stranger all that. Well, maybe because the younger girl seemed to want to open herself to her. Morganite showed Stephanie a case with six badges.
"When I was to Kanto, I earned six badges." She explained. "I'll try to catch more pokémon so I can earn more badges from Sinnoh."
"I'm not one of those trainers who wants to compete at the League and blabla," Morganite added. "but I want to become a strong trainer, and the best way is defeating the Gym Leaders, isn't it?"
However, there was something that Stephanie had which Morganite herself hadn't.
"So, you said you're from those new Dexholders, uh?" The silver-head asked. "Interesting! My sister-in-law is from the old Kanto Dexholders... I never had interest in a pokédex, but my bro... Heh, my bro used to be obsessed with meeting ALL the Dexholders -he thinks they're something like Gods, you see."
Morganite laughed, remembering her brother. He was a pretty nice guy, but very odd in some facts.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Amethyst, a silly expression on her face, was open-mouthed as Serena touched her forehead and Riley held her hand. How had the Joy noticed her hunger? And anyway, why were they so worried? It wasn't like she was dying or something.
"I'm okay..." Amethyst muttered, in a hardly-noticeable tone. "Really, I am... I'm just hungry! I'm not dying, you see."
She avoided Riley's eyes as much as she could. It was all so... awkward. She felt as uncomfortable (if not more) as Serena, but the chestnut-head decided to hide it. Riley was caring about her, and she didn't want to ruin it...
"I have a plan. How about I take Amy for a snack first? You can go get your tux done up first – and if Stephanie goes to the tailors to look for you, you can tell her Amy and I are at The Reynardine. It's the biggest one in the basement, you can't miss it."
...Well, maybe she needed a small break from seeing him.
"I'm okay with that." Amethyst said, thankful.
Getting separated from Riley was kind of painful, but she definitely would need it. They had been together since... last night? She needed some time to vent -all the tension wasn't making her any good.
"See you later." Amethyst muttered as Serena took her away.
A while later…
"He likes you. You should grab him – not every guy tries half as hard as he does."
Amethyst flickered. After those few minutes of silence between the two women until they got to the escalator, why was the Joy saying that? And why was she sighing? Maybe she needed to vent about something, too? No matter how hard it was to believe, Serena was a woman, after all.
However, Amethyst remained silent.
"Come on, there's a great restaurant I know."
"Cool."
The small woman looked around, her purple eyes resting on every detail of that place. The detail of the band playing was something that really attracted Amethyst. The statue in front of them was quite... strange. It looked like a fox, or something like that.
Anyway, seeing Serena putting Roark's glasses on the statue was something that really made Amethyst feel awkward.
"Kinda looks like Roark, now, huh? Don't tell him I did that and he'll never know where his reading spectacles went."
"Eh... uh, are you comparing Roark to a fox?" Amethyst asked, scratching her head. "Mmmh... cool..."
Well, as much as Amethyst found the comparison weird, it wouldn't do her any good to act silly in front of Serena -Amethyst wanted the Joy to like her, after all. If she managed to get along with the stubborn woman, Amethyst could count it as one of her greatest success.
"Oh! A Lucario?" The chestnut-head asked, looking at the mural.
More strange things, indeed.
"There's a funny story behind this restaurant, Roark told it to me – he doesn't come here often, but, well, I like it here."
Amethyst payed attention to the story in polite silence. She felt cold air behind her neck when Serena mentioned that the black creature ate the men. First, a pokémon that eats other pokémon and then, a creature that ate men? That day was all about eating, uh? - or that's what Amethyst believed.
"An Aura Guardian?" The purple-eyed woman asked. "Like Riley! How cool! Could it be... one of his ancestors? That would be so awesome..."
Amethyst didn't know a thing about Sir Aaron, truth be told. She dreamed happily about a Riley-looking ancient Aura Guardian until the pink-haired woman mentioned Roark's story.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Amethyst said, looking down. "I always wondered what happened to his mother, since he never mentions her... I feel sorry for him, and his father too."
The small woman took a sip of wine, listening to the Joy's advice. She couldn't stop noticing that Serena was always trying to make people forget about the Zoroark incident. it was too... noticeable to be ignored.
But what Amethyst wanted to do (at least, before Brown arrived because that would set Serena on fire again) was to strengthen bonds with Serena. And even though Serena seemed to want to avoid the Zoroark issue badly, it was obvious that she was trying to open herself to Amethyst as well.
Which meant the world coming from a woman like Serena.
"Well, at least Roark has you." Amethyst finally said, after planning carefully her words. "He's a responsible guy, but too focused on his work, as I'd heard. But you keep him balanced. That's so cute!"
Amethyst then remembered how Serena had said before that Riley liked her. She felt more confident, so she wanted to move onto that topic again, but...! Maybe it'd be a better idea if she showed interest in Serena.
"I was surprised to see that you and Roark were living together." Amethyst added, after taking another sip of wine. "But, truth be told, you two make a cute couple, hehe. As I said, you two balance each other, and... Well."
"How did you two meet, anyway? You don't even seem to come from Sinnoh, after all."
- N -
"Rodent, isn't it? This is my Chingling, Campanilla."
Experimentally, Rodent reached out a paw and took the Chingling by one of its short, trailing chords, shaking it like he would a hand.
"Rrrarr?" Rodent tilted his head to a side, sniffing the creature curiously.
"Hey there, Campanilla," Brown waved, looking up past her Raticate leaning over her head. "You're pretty cute."
She listened to Morganite explain her team – all of whom were, oddly enogh, female.
"You're on a girl-power empowerment shtick there?" She laughed. "I can't afford to be choosy myself – Rodent's all I got…"
Her mouth dropped to see, not two, or three, but six badges in Morganite's case. Six whole badges! Brown stared at them stupefied.
"I'm not one of those trainers who wants to compete at the League and blabla, but I want to become a strong trainer, and the best way is defeating the Gym Leaders, isn't it?"
"Funny," Brown laughed. "I'm trying to beat gym leaders to show how strong I am, but I do want to fight in the league tournament, too. My parents are in the league this year and Rodent and I are going to beat them."
"Raticate!" Rodent nodded furiously. "Rarriticate!"
She raised a hand to let the Raticate smack it in a high-five. "Awyeah!"
"So, you said you're from those new Dexholders, uh? Interesting! My sister-in-law is from the old Kanto Dexholders... I never had interest in a pokédex, but my bro... Heh, my bro used to be obsessed with meeting ALL the Dexholders -he thinks they're something like Gods, you see."
Brown looked puzzled. "You don't have one?" After all, Amy had had one, and Morgan knew Amy after all… But then again, the pokedex was rare. Oak had said so himself that all the Dexholders were hand-picked and talented in some way. "That's weird, you seem pretty capable. Why don't you want one?"
-x-x-x-x-x-
Serena watched Amy as she told her the story – it was nice to see someone as interested as her. Her cousins at the Pokemon Center had a general disinterest in mythology, and listened with blank expressions and a 'that's nice' until the next trainer showed up at their desks.
She noticed the disconcerted expression on the young woman's face.
"If it makes you feel any better, no one died, or vanished or, well, anything, while the beast was around." Serena noted. "Byron can attest to that. Oreburgh had a lot of livestock being eaten at the time, but never people. I think it was looking for men because it wanted someone to love… someone to understand her."
She looked at her reflection in the glass of wine.
"An Aura Guardian? Like Riley! How cool! Could it be... one of his ancestors? That would be so awesome..."
"He might," Serena nodded. "There aren't a lot of Aura users out there – well, they're plenty in Sinnoh, but in Unova you can't even find one!"
There was a dreamy look in her eye, Serena noticed, amused. Amy's own feelings for Riley were pretty obvious, especially since she could relate to them herself.
"I always wondered what happened to his mother, since he never mentions her... I feel sorry for him, and his father too."
"Well, I don't know much either," Serena admitted, "I do know she went missing around the time Roark was born, but that's just from listening to him in his sleep. Frankly, I'm afraid to ask him about it – I don't know how he feels about her."
The band was joined by a fiddler as they began another song. Serena gulped the last of her wine down and called for another glass.
"Well, at least Roark has you."
Serena nearly choked on the wine in her throat. She felt some of it rise back up and into her nose.
"What?" She gasped, before controlling herself. She felt a blush begin to grow on her face.
"I was surprised to see that you and Roark were living together. But, truth be told, you two make a cute couple, hehe. As I said, you two balance each other, and... Well."
"Well, I wouldn't call us a couple," Serena muttered, suddenly self-conscious. "I mean, sure, we live together and everything, but we don't… well, we're not dating. It's probably not what you think."
She smiled. "Roark and I, well, we're just good friends. I'm helping him through something he has a go through right now, but otherwise, I'm not… doing anything with him." A pause. "OhArceusthatsoundedsowrong!"
"How did you two meet, anyway? You don't even seem to come from Sinnoh, after all."
Glad to have something else to talk about, Serena rubbed her lips again.
"Well, I'm Unovian," She began, "and I'm still taking courses in Nacrene, but last year I took a year off and started living in Sinnoh… I like the myths here." She shrugged. "Eventually I wound up in Oreburgh and started bunking with cousins at the Pokemon Center, but my Sawsbuck…"
She paused for a moment, wondering how much she could divulge without sounding suspicious to the trainer. "My Sawsbuck was eaten. I only had my Audino, who really had no idea how to battle, so I couldn't go any further… so I was pretty much stranded in Oreburgh." She laughed. "Of course, the easy way out would be to call my parents to pick me up – they've got a Braviary – but I didn't want to. Call it stubbornness on my part, but the last thing I want to do is to rely on my family."
Serena leaned back in her seat. "Well, it took some searching, and a shotgun, but eventually I found what did it to my Sawsbuck. I tried to kill it, but Roark… well, long story short, Roark made me stop. He gave me a place to stay so I didn't have to freeload on my cousins… And we've been living together since." She stopped. She was running out of truth, now, and lying would only make her more suspicious. "I'm not planning on staying there. I have to go back to Nacrene at the end of the year, to finish up my course."
"Well, in hindsight, I'm glad things worked out the way they did. I probably wouldn't stop hating myself right now, if I'd shot the damned thing." She sighed.
"I'm sorry, I must be rambling." She looked at Amethyst. "It's just so much easier to talk to you than… well, that Stephanie kid."
As the band began to play what possibly part of the soundtrack to a famous movie, Serena flipped through the menu. "Which reminds me, Amy," She pondered. "How did you meet Stephanie or Riley?"
- J -
Seeing Rodent shaking 'hands' with Campanilla was something that made Morganite chuckle. That Stephanie kid was sure a good-natured trainer, and also funny!
"Cling!" Campanilla sang when the blondie called her cute.
"You're on a girl-power empowerment shtick there?"
"Why, of course!" Morganite exclaimed, haughtily.
She watched Stephanie and her Raticate highfiving full of confidence. Of course, having only one pokémon, the bonds between the two of them would be incredibly strong. But, for some reason, the teen seemed surprised when she heard that Morganite didn't have a pokédex.
"You don't have one?" After all, Amy had had one, and Morgan knew Amy after all… But then again, the pokedex was rare. Oak had said so himself that all the Dexholders were hand-picked and talented in some way. "That's weird, you seem pretty capable. Why don't you want one?"
"Hahaha!" Morganite laughed. "Gym Leaders and E4 members are also powerful trainers and they don't have pokédex, if you think about it! Being strong doesn't have to equal to having a pokédex'."
Campanilla nodded.
"Moreover," The silver-head added. "I don't need a device to prove I'm strong! I know Pink's bro, Red, who suffered a huge crisis just because he didn't have his pokédex. Don't you think it's pretty sad? Relying on a device like that..."
Morganite shook her head in disapproval. Sure, she got along very well with Red, but she would never forget the story Pink told her about Red's crisis nine years ago.
"If you are REALLY powerful," Morganite said, firmly. "you won't need a device to prove it. That's what I never liked from my bro -he thinks that having that device turns you into a God. And he doesn't even look at himself! Because he's very strong and doesn't have a pokédex either."
The blue-eyed lady realized that her rant was taking too long and cleared her throat.
"Enough." She said. "Hey, Steph, seeing your personality, I'm surprised that you're friends with Amy. She's so... uh, don't get me wrong, I'm fond of her, but she's always so serious, always trying to act correctly -so boring!"
Morganite scratched her head. Since she was young, she had always wondered how Pink was Amethyst's best friend if they were completely opposite.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"What an... interesting way to look for somebody to love." Amethyst thought when Serena was explaining some details of the story to her.
It felt awkward talking to Serena after almost a whole day talking to Stephanie. The Joy was so correct, tidy and mature! Not to mention confident. Serena seemed like the type of woman Amethyst would trust enough after gaining a bit more of confidence.
"...Roark and I, well, we're just good friends. I'm helping him through something he has a go through right now, but otherwise, I'm not.… doing anything with him... OhArceusthatsoundedsowrong!"
Amethyst giggled. It was SO obvious that there was something going on there. Even for serious women like the two of them, hiding their feelings about their loved one was a very difficult thing to do. However, the pink-haired woman's words seemed sincere - maybe they weren't entirely a couple. But at least the 'crush part' was correct, at least on Serena's side.
"Well, I'm Unovian, and I'm still taking courses in Nacrene..."
"From Unova? That region you're always mentioning?" Amethyst asked, interested.
She listened to Serena's story, her fingers interlaced below her chin. Amethyst had travelled around Johto, Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh (somewhat), but she didn't know of any other region. Maybe Unova would be the next region to visit?
However, her expression turned more serious as Serena mentioned her poor Sawsbuck. Amethyst had no idea how a Sawsbuck looked, but she still felt very sad inside.
"...but I didn't want to. Call it stubbornness on my part, but the last thing I want to do is to rely on my family."
Amethyst frowned, slightly. Since the early age of 10, she'd had to depend on herself to survive... and the same went to Emerald, only he was 6. But Serena... Serena had a family and still didn't appreciate it enough. However, Amethyst hid her annoyance about that issue totally - that would have implied telling Serena she had no parents, and telling that to a woman like Serena would mean the end of the world.
Moreover, maybe Serena had her reasons to 'dislike' her family.
"...I'm not planning on staying there. I have to go back to Nacrene at the end of the year, to finish up my course."
"Oh..."
The image of a sad Roark came to Amethyst's mind. Amethyst wanted to protest, but it wouldn't be a good idea, specially if she was talking to Serena. No matter how vulnerable the Joy might be seeming at that moment, she was still a hot-blooded woman. A hot-blooded woman with bad temper, to be precise.
"It's a pity." Amethyst simply said.
Definitely, it was a good idea not insisting on the crush-on-Roark issue, because hearing Serena compliment her was a very satisfying thing.
"Haha, well," Amethyst said. "Ms. Brown is still very young. You can't expect from her a mature, serious personality. When I was her age, I was certainly a bit more serious than her, but not so much as I am now. I'm 24, after all."
The chestnut-head wondered if Serena had guessed her age right. Many people always mistook Amethyst for a younger person, which was something that pissed her badly.
"Which reminds me, Amy, how did you meet Stephanie or Riley?"
"Oh." Amethyst said, blushing. "Mmh, well, it happened eight years ago. I was travelling with my brother and, on our trip to Iron Island, the boat had an accident. Riley and his Lucario saved us... And well, my brother, Emerald, wanted Riley to train him, so we stayed with them for a whole month at Iron Island."
Suddenly, a month seemed such a small amount of time to Amethyst... She grabbed the menu and had a look at it.
"It was just a month, but it was... funny." Amethyst added, somewhat sad at remembering those times. "My brother improved a lot, and I... well, my pokémon had plenty of time to be out of their pokéballs, which did very good to them. I'll never be able to thank Riley enough for what he did for us. He taught me to cook, too, hehe."
The purple-eyed trainer giggled.
"And, well, I think I mentioned this last night," She said. "but, after leaving Iron Island to help the Sinnoh Dexholders, I met Riley during the final battle against Team Galactic. But it was only for a few minutes - Galactic Commanders ran away and Riley went after them. No matter how badly I wanted to go with him, I had to stay with my Dexholders comrades."
Amethyst rubbed her head, pensive. Maybe she was talking too much? Serena had apologized for talking so much, but Amethyst's speech was being certainly longer that Serena's.
"I'm sorry," Amethyst said, smiling guiltily. "I think I'm boring you... I guess you expected a more interesting story, but it's just what I've said, really."
Amethyst decided what she was going to eat and deposited the menu back on the table. She wondered if Serena would ask her more, since she had always seemed oddly interested in her relationship with Riley. She finally decided to simply look into Serena's blue eyes and let the conversation flow...