"—uca, come on, wake up!"
Against her will, the gears of Luca's mind fought inertia and slowly began turning. Someone must have been trying to wake her, but the fog of sleep was thwarting her ability to think coherent thoughts, let alone register her surroundings.
"C'mon, you've slept for long enough," the voice said, once again cutting through.
"G-give me a second," Luca managed to say, trying and failing to open her eyes.
"If I give you a second you'll fall back asleep!" the voice said as the owner jostled her.
"Exactly," Luca mumbled.
"Ugh, fine. I guess I'll go tell Mom that you don't care about her decision."
That, at least, helped Luca wake up; if Absol had a decision, she needed to hear it. Redoubling her efforts, Luca managed to open her eyes.
Standing above her on the bed was Durste, giggling excitedly. "I knew it. Good morning!"
Luca sighed with annoyance, rubbing the drowsiness out of her eyes. "You know I'm injured, right? Pretty sure I need the sleep."
"You're not! You're just tired."
"Feels like the same thing," Luca said. "Believe me. I take it Lann told you the whole story, then?"
"Mhm! Pretty impossible to believe, though. You act normal."
Luca sat up, scootching back to lean against the wall at the head of the bed. Staring at her open paws, she did her best to grow accustomed to being awake. "Thanks. I can't say your world is normal, though."
"More like yours isn't."
"Eh." Looking past Durste, Luca noticed that the door she had left open last night was now closed. "...You said Absol has a decision?"
"Oh, yeah. Everyone's waiting."
"Oh." With great effort, Luca crawled her way out of the bed and fell to the floor with a thud. Already, it was clear that her body had made a lot of progress healing; she was still a bit sore, but walking came easy, which was a significant improvement.
As Luca walked to the door, Durste scampered ahead of her on all fours. For some reason, him being on the floor felt strange and wrong considering he had always been climbing on a wall, ceiling, or another Pokémon. In any case, when she arrived, he was waiting patiently for her to open the door.
Once she had, Luca stepped out to see a familiar sight; just as it was last night, everyone was gathered around the fireplace—with two significant differences. First, Absol was absent—but second and more pressing, a tall Decidueye stood in the corner. With a wave and smile that she hoped came across as friendly, Luca greeted Decly for the first time in months.
With a glowing smile that felt somehow uncharacteristic for such a reserved Pokémon, Decly nodded in greeting. Feeling somewhat encouraged, Luca found a place to sit between Dante and Isle.
"...So, is Absol not coming?" Luca asked once she was settled.
"That's right," Lann answered. "She's still getting too upset to be involved directly, so you get me. Shall we get right into it?"
"Please."
"Well, you will perhaps be pleased with the news. Absol is willing to host this resurrected Coalition here in her home, on two conditions."
Luca did her utmost to force down the excitement that surged within her. "What kind of conditions?"
"You claimed last night that bringing the Coalition back would only make our continued existence in Harvest easier and not harder—that is, assuming we don't run you out of town. So, here's the first condition: do you truly believe this?"
"I do."
"OK. Second condition, she'll only accept the new Coalition if she gets to choose the leader."
"Y-yeah!" Luca said, unable to believe her good fortune. "I'd be happier if she did!"
"Don't say that quite yet," Lann said, amusement barely contained. "You're her choice."
"I—me?" Luca stuttered, dumbfounded.
"Mhm. And why not? It's your idea and meant to suit your goals. Why would anyone else lead?"
"Because I can't lead! A leader needs intelligence, experience! I'm essentially a year old in this world, so who would ever follow me?"
"Who would follow you, you ask?" Lann said, still smirking as if her reaction was all part of the plan. "Well, let's see. You all know the drill—show of hands, who would follow Luca to her new organization?"
Luca couldn't believe what she was seeing. Just as before, her friends raised their hands in support of her. Even Decly broke the cloak her wings were forming around her to raise a feathered wingtip high.
"Mmm, interesting," Lann hummed. "Everyone that's spent any amount of time with you, I see. Plus Durste," he said as an aside, "We'll have to talk with your mother about this, but we'll move on for now. But yes, even Absol seems to think you're the best choice, Luca. What do you think about that?"
Luca didn't know what to say. She was feeling overwhelmed, unable to articulate exactly what was going on in her mind. As it was, she simply sat there dumbly.
"Well?" Lann asked. "Can you do it? You'll obviously have the council of Absol and I, as well as everyone else."
"I can try?" Luca offered.
"That's all we require," Lann said, sitting back with satisfaction. "Now, I think you'll agree that there's no time to waste. What's the first step for the new Coalition?"
Despite her heart thumping like it was attempting to break out of her chest, Luca forced herself to focus. If she was to be the leader, she would be responsible for countless Pokémon; she couldn't rush her very first decision—and yet, her racing mind refused to slow down.
"First step is Kecleon, and seeing if we can get their support," Luca said; thankfully, her overthinking last night had at least left her with some prior consideration. "There's no reason to risk an in-person meeting at some non-Harvest location, so we should write a letter."
"Mmm, OK. I can get some paper and ink for you. Go ahead and give the others their orders, eh? Get used to your new authority. Kids, come with me for now."
Luca didn't turn around and watch the three of them go. Instead, she kept her eyes closed and waited patiently for the sound of the door closing behind her. Only when it shut did she open her eyes and, with a deep breath, speak: "Do you guys really want to be a part of this?"
"We've been a part of this for weeks already, Luca," Callula said from Isle's lap. "Frankly, we could have left at any moment and been safer alone, but we chose to stay. We want to help you see this through."
Once again, Luca felt that same strange feeling welled up from within. "OK, well... there's no orders, because there's not even an organization yet until we find out if the Kecleon will help."
"Wanna come with us, then?" Callula offered. "Isle has a woodcarving lesson, and you can come back and write your letter afterwards."
"Yeah," Luca said, finally standing. "OK. Lead the way."
The past few days had been some of the strangest in Maybelle's life. She had known her parents were strong, but only in the same way that everyone's parents were strong when compared to their children. As it turned out, her parents weren't just powerful—they were terrifying. They were murderers, even. Legends in their own right, with a history of actions that echoed across the entire continent. Strangely, it didn't feel as though her image of them had changed; she still loved them, and they were still her parents—they always had their pasts, and her learning about it didn't change anything.
Of course, Maybelle learning about her parents was far from the only revelation. Legendaries, alternate dimensions, humans, timelines, chosen ones—it was simply too much to form an opinion on. Maybelle had been functioning absentmindedly since her dad had explained everything, and she wasn't entirely sure she believed it at all. Normally she wouldn't let such fantastical stories fool her, but when everyone around her was taking it seriously to an absurd degree, it was impossible to dismiss it entirely.
Despite her overwhelming thoughts, as they walked through town, Maybelle found some comfort in her brother's weight on her back. Even if her life was rapidly changing in ways she didn't understand, Durste was still the same goofball... except, he seemed to be volunteering himself.
"Hey, Durste..." Maybelle said as they walked, turning her head partially back—though she couldn't turn it enough to actually see him. "Are you actually going to join whatever they're putting together?"
"Why not? It's going to be happening from our house, so it's not like we can't be involved."
"I'll tell you why not," Lann said from in front of them. "Because compared to them, you two are weak."
"Maybelle's not weak," Durste snapped surprisingly harshly. "Did you see how well she handled Mom's Pressure?"
"I did. Unfortunately, she's far too gentle to be any kind of threat in a fight."
"What is—"
"Hold on a moment," Lann said, interrupting Durste's protest. "We'll continue this after I'm done."
Approaching the Kecleon's stall, Lann politely got his attention. "May I have some paper and ink?"
"Of course," the Kecleon said, seeming bored as always. "How much of each?"
"We'll say 50 pages and three vials, plus a writing quill."
"And would you like this on your tab?"
"Please."
Durste shifted on Maybelle's back as the Kecleon fetched the materials from his storage. "Isn't that overkill?" he asked. "She said that she's writing a single letter."
"Well, if there's one thing an organization needs, it's paper and ink," Lann explained. "Besides, now she'll have plenty of room for multiple drafts."
A few moments later, Kecleon returned and Lann graciously accepted the package of stationery—and just like that, they were on their way back.
"Oh-kay, back to where we were," Lann sighed as they resumed walking. "Frankly, your weakness is our fault—Absol and I. We've both had hard lives, and we wanted yours to be easier. It's the whole reason we moved to Harvest."
Pausing to scratch the back of his head, Lann continued: "I guess last night we realized that we didn't really give you a choice. So, we're giving you one now. You can continue on as normal, staying separate from what Luca and the others are planning and enjoy life as it has been. Alternatively, you can start joining training sessions and grow stronger. In any case, we won't allow you to join them until you can handle it—and believe me, attaining that will be quite difficult indeed."
"I want to train!" Durste blurted out with no hesitation whatsoever.
"Mhm, thought so. Maybelle, I'd guess you need more time to think about it?"
"...Yeah."
"That's fine. Just let me know if you'd like to join."
"Is Mom joining?" Maybelle asked. "Or is she just tolerating its presence?"
"I have no idea. She's taking her time to choose as well."
"Well if you want, I could take the papers back for you?" Maybelle offered. "I want to talk to Luca, anyways."
"Eh, sure. It'll save me some time," Lann shrugged, stopping. "Here." Bending down, he helped Maybelle carry the package in the only way a quadruped like her could: by keeping it pressed against her chest with her foreleg and walking with her remaining three legs.
"Alright. Wanna switch?" Lann said once Maybelle was all set, offering a lowered arm to Durste. All at once, the weight on her back intensified and then disappeared as Durste left her behind and scampered up their father's arm to his shoulder.
"See you guys," Maybelle said as Lann lumbered away. Then she turned and, with slight difficulty due to her occupied foreleg, returned home alone.
A few minutes later, she was back inside. The main room was empty so Maybelle continued, searching each side room in turn. However, she found each one empty until there was only a single room left: her parents' room.
Maybelle placed the package she had been carrying by the unlit fireplace; at this point she had accepted that Luca had left the building, and if she was to speak with her mother, she didn't want to be toting evidence of her helping Luca's organization.
With a deep breath, Maybelle entered the room. Inside, Absol was lounging on the elevated bed to have enough height to gaze from the high window. Her profiled face was being lit by the sunlight from outside, and Maybelle was taken aback; her mother appeared more exhausted than ever before. She was downright defeated, seemingly barely awake as she gazed out of the window.
"Maybelle?" Absol said, turning to her. "What is it?"
Padding up, Maybelle stood at the edge of the bed. "Nothing. Can I just join you for a bit?"
Absol's dull eyes brightened with surprise. "I didn't expect you to want to after last night."
"None of that matters to me, Mom," Maybelle said. "None of it changes anything. I'm on your side."
Her mother sighed, as if releasing stress from deep within. "I appreciate that. I really do. But it's still unacceptable that I used Pressure during an argument, let alone on you and Durste. I need to distance myself from everyone for the time being, and that includes you."
"OK," Maybelle said, somewhat disappointed. "I'll leave you be, but if you want to talk to someone that's not Dad, let me know, OK?"
"I will, Maybelle. Thank you."
After leaving her parents' room, Maybelle felt strange. She thought she had an understanding of how Absol felt, but apparently, she needed to reevaluate. She had thought that she was feeling abandoned; with even Durste and Lann seemingly ready to join the organization from day one, Absol must have felt betrayed. However, in actually speaking with her, Maybelle didn't get that feeling at all. In any case, she meant what she had said: whether or not she joined the others depended entirely on what Absol chose to do.
Fresh out of things to do, Maybelle reclined on the comfortable rug by the unlit fireplace. She still had business with Luca, so she might as well just wait until she returned.
When the sound of the main door opening made her jump, Maybelle realized that she may have fallen asleep. Turning around, she saw that Luca was indeed the one that had opened the door, and that she was alone.
"Oh!" the tiny Riolu exclaimed, clearly thinking that Maybelle was her mother for a moment. "Oh, Maybelle, hello."
"Hi. Your paper and ink are in that package," she informed Luca, nodding towards it. "It should be more than enough."
As Luca approached to retrieve the package, Maybelle watched her carefully. As far as the physical, she was a normal Riolu. She was noticeably shorter than the average, and she had a slightly rough appearance thanks to her broken nose, but she was otherwise quite the typical specimen. As far as the mental, though... Maybelle couldn't decide. Luca acted normal, just as any other Pokémon would—and yet when she wasn't actively speaking or interacting with someone, there was a strange quality to her gaze. A hardness, an intensity, or perhaps some sense of desperation... whatever it was, it was beyond Maybelle to place. It unsettled her, but it wasn't exactly outside of the realm of normal Pokémon.
"Hey, Luca," Maybelle finally said as the strange Riolu opened the package and surveyed the contents. "I'm still trying to figure out where I stand in all of this. Is there any chance I could read the letter before you bring it to Kecleon?"
"Um... I don't see why not? If we can trust you to hear everything I said yesterday and Lann gave you the summary, I mean." Seemingly satisfied with the contents of the package, Luca closed it. "Is there a desk somewhere?"
"Not anymore. They took it with them when they started the Coalition."
"Ah, I remember it, actually," Luca said, sitting down by the empty fireplace. "I'll just do my best to not spill the ink, then."
Once again, Maybelle watched carefully as Luca went about her business—this time, writing her letter. It was clear that she wasn't accustomed to writing, which surprised Maybelle. From what she understood of the Coalition, it was quite academic; even if humans didn't write, she should have learned long ago. In any case, Maybelle watched as Luca made multiple and varied attempts to find a method of holding the small quill included within the package. Eventually, she settled on simply keeping it held tight between her stubby digits.
However, when Luca began to write, it was awful. She was writing excruciatingly slowly, but only when she had written the fourth rune did Maybelle manage to successfully identify the first word as 'The'. Maybelle wasn't sure if she should say anything, but when she found herself entirely unable to decipher the second word, she felt she had to.
"Hey, I'm not sure how to say this, but..."
"My handwriting is awful, isn't it?" Luca sighed, interrupting. "I was hoping that Dante was exaggerating."
"No, it's uhh... Well, why don't you dictate and let me write?"
"OK," Luca said, seeming embarrassed. "Let me know when you're ready."
Maybelle took over the paper and quill and got herself comfortable. Then, after an affirmation of readiness, she diligently wrote Luca's letter as she dictated. It was quite impressive, actually; Luca didn't stop to think or correct herself—a born orator. Within only a handful of minutes, the letter was written in a single draft. Maybelle wasn't necessarily paying attention to the content of what she was writing, so once they had finished, she read it more properly.
The intended recipient of this letter is the leader or leaders of the Kecleon guild. Although I have never met you in person, nor do I even know who you are, I hope we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement. Now, since I have no idea if word of me has reached you, I will introduce myself. My name is Luca, and I am a Riolu. One of your Kecleon sent out word to help me when I needed it, and for that I am extremely grateful.
Now, for my offer. I will skip past the details and summarize, starting with what the Kecleon guild stands to gain. There is an organization that is hiding a variety of special types of dungeons. These dungeons are special in that they supply special dimensionally significant items. Of the ones that I have personally experienced, there are berries that heal those that eat them, as well as variants that cure paralysis, burns, poisoning, and even forced sleep. There are seed pods that, when thrown or eaten, inflict sleep or even explode with significant force. There are badges that protect the bearer from dying within dungeons, and orbs that work with these badges within dungeons to have miraculous effects so varied that I cannot list them all here. Were the Kecleon guild to have exclusive control over these dungeons and therefore the items inside, it would surely profit greatly.
It is for this reason that I suggest an alliance. You see, for reasons I will not elaborate on here, I have a vested interest in said organization's dissolvement. To this end I intend to create my own organization, a resurrection of the Explorer Coalition bearing the same name. To get on our feet, we need recruitment posters first and foremost—and as we grow, we may need logistical and other support. In any case, the stronger we are, the easier it will be to take over these dungeons and work towards our aligned goals.
In the future of this prospective alliance I envision a strong Coalition, an even more prosperous Kecleon guild, and a world benefiting from the public selling of such wonderful items. I do, however, understand that I have told quite a fantastical tale. While I cannot send these items to you directly, I do have a few with me and would be happy to demonstrate their functions were you or a representative of yours want to come to Harvest. In that same vein, if you have interest in my proposal, you are welcome to journey to Harvest and discuss the finer details. If you have no interest, please respond regardless so I can begin planning for alternative courses of action.
Sincerely,
Luca
"What do you think?" Luca asked.
"Is this a lie?" Maybelle asked, pointing to the second paragraph.
"What, about the berries and such? Did Lann not tell you that part of the story?"
"No? What?"
"I'll show you the ones we managed to keep later if you want. For now, does it seem OK? I want to get it sent ASAP."
Maybelle considered what she had read. "I'm not an expert or anything, but it seems fine to me. I'm not sure why they'd want to take the risk, though."
"Profit," Luca said with a knowing smile. "Would you mind folding it for me, then? I'll take it over right now."
Treating it with more care than it probably deserved, Maybelle folded the paper as evenly as she possibly could. She folded it twice, leaving it a small rectangular slip of paper. Once she was content, she held it up in an open paw for Luca to take.
"Thanks for your help," Luca smiled as she accepted the paper. "I'm going to go drop this off."
"See you. Hope it goes well."
Maybelle waited patiently for Luca to exit from the main door, and once she was sure that she had left, she allowed herself a sigh. If Absol didn't want her around, and Luca was done with her letter, Maybelle was once again fresh out of things to do.
Pushing herself up, Maybelle walked to the front door; if she didn't have anything else to do, she might as well try to find what Lann and Durste were up to. Stepping out onto the streets, Maybelle could feel that her movements were a little dazed from the veritable hurricane of confusing thoughts in her mind.
At the same moment, Callula was sitting in the grass and watching Isle's attempts at woodcarving. Although she would never mention it to anyone, she found the frustration Isle experienced amusing; it was cute, that she was so out of her depth and couldn't even see the wonderful progress she was making. Just a day or two ago she had been unable to shave wood off in the way that wood carving required, and now she was frustrated that she wasn't doing it well enough—as if she hadn't just had a breakthrough.
As Isle's claw slipped and she let out a hiss of frustration, Callula flinched, unsure of whether she should bring the lesson to an end. Then, Isle breathed out to release the anger and calmly tried again, and Callula relaxed; she was getting close, but it wasn't quite time to intervene.
"This is really high quality," Dante said, turning over the Skarmory feather that he had borrowed. "Was it given willingly?"
"Oh, good eye," the Poliwhirl said, glowing with pride. "It was indeed given willingly, but it was from a wild Skarmory."
"What? Willing, but from a wild?"
"Yup! A few years ago, I took an entire wagon of supplies up into the mountain range and traded it for a single feather."
"You must have had quite the security force, for them to have not simply killed you and taken it."
"Wild 'mons aren't nearly as bad as you think, Charmeleon."
Callula couldn't help but snort at Dante's bewildered expression. Of all the things he was expecting, it was likely not a civil Pokémon telling him he was uneducated about wild Pokémon.
"What?" The Poliwhirl asked, confused.
"Can I tell him?" Callula asked.
Dante shrugged noncommittally.
"This Charmeleon," Callula began, hoping her amusement wasn't too apparent, "is not only wild-born, but has spent the majority of his time as a civil maintaining archives and educating himself—and the rest of his time he spent traveling across the land, dealing with all manner of wild groups. I suspect he knows more about wild Pokémon than the entire rest of this town combined."
Callula relished the look of horror that appeared on the poor Poliwhirl's face as she spoke. "Sorry, I didn't mean to talk down to you!" he hurried to explain. "I had security and everything, I just thought you were disrespecting wilds, and I... Sorry."
"It's fine," Dante said. "I'm hardly the expert she claims I am, she's just trying to mess with you."
"And he has trouble acknowledging his knowledge," Callula retorted. "I won't deny that I wanted to see you squirm a bit, though."
"Oh, look who it is," came a voice from behind them. Callula turned to see a familiar Sceptile toting a Treecko looking down on them. "Is Riolu not with you?"
"She went back to write that letter," Dante informed the newly-arrived Lann.
"Are you about done here, then? She shouldn't be alone right now."
"What? Why?"
"I'll tell you on the way. Just finish up, and we'll go back."
Isle returned the cut wood to the Poliwhirl. "Actually, I think I'm about done for today. We can go now."
The Poliwhirl couldn't quite hide his sigh of relief as Callula took her place behind Isle's crown. "Well, I'll see you all tomorrow?" he asked nervously.
"Probably," Isle said from beneath Callula. "Thanks as always."
As Isle toted her back through the city, Callula closed her eyes and enjoyed the reverberations from below. Unfortunately she couldn't entirely zone out, as she definitely wanted to listen to the conversation that had already begun ahead of her.
"So Luca shouldn't be alone?" Dante asked.
"That's correct. She's at the end of a long journey, has taken on an overwhelming responsibility that directly affects those she cares about, and is currently awaiting news that could make or break her. She has quite a lot of stress right now, and quite a lot to overthink when she's alone. I think all of us should make an effort to not leave her alone for the time being."
"I can't imagine she'd be susceptible to that," came Dante's voice again. "...But being safe about it is probably a good idea regardless."
"Mhm. By the way, Isle, if you want us to get you a Skarmory feather, we can."
"Ehh..." came Isle's rumbly voice from beneath Callula. "I'm OK. That Poliwhirl tells me he knows a Weavile woodcarver that uses their claws, and I don't have much use for a feather otherwise."
A few minutes later, the opening of the door told Callula that they had arrived. Disconnecting herself from Isle once they walked through the door, Callula surveyed the main hall.
Luca was alone, sitting on the rug by the campfire. She sat in a balanced position, and with her eyes closed and her face relaxed, she seemed to be in a meditative state. Callula also noticed that the weights on either side of her head were floating up—was she looking at Aura?
"Luca?" Dante asked, hurrying ahead of everyone else. "Are you OK...?"
"Oh, Dante?" Luca asked, not even waiting to open her eyes before greeting him. "Oh, and everyone else! What's up?"
"You're OK?" Dante repeated.
"Yeah? Oh, I wasn't in my Aura for any recovery reasons, I was just enjoying it. It's been growing a lot, recently."
"Makes sense," Lann said. "How big is it now?"
"It's passed half-size, I think," Luca reported proudly.
"And how'd the letter-writing go?" Lann asked, sitting and allowing Durste to climb down to the ground.
"It went OK. I had to get Maybelle to write it for me, though."
"You delivered it?"
"Mhm! I don't know how, but the Kecleon said he'll have a response for me by tomorrow morning. So, what are you all doing back here together?"
Callula waited for Lann to answer, but he didn't—and then she realized why. Luca's expression had changed abruptly, and suddenly, the air had changed. Luca was staring directly at Dante, absolutely dumbfounded. Callula had never seen her look anywhere near this surprised; it was almost to the point where Callula found herself wondering if the shock had halted the poor girl's brain activity entirely.
"Oh, Arceus," Dante breathed, entirely horrified as his tail-flame sparked. "You fucking felt that." Without hesitation, Dante rushed to the front door and disappeared through it, closing it behind him.
Callula's mind raced. "Was that what I thought it was?"
Luca didn't respond. She wasn't nearly as frozen, but she was still extremely overwhelmed.
"OK," Callula said, softening her voice as she floated closer. "Just go ahead and sit down, Luca. We need to talk about this. Lann, do you know what's going on here, or do I need to explain before you go see to Dante?"
Lann rumbled thoughtfully. "I think I'm up to speed. We'll be waiting just south of town."
"Wait, what's going on?" Isle asked.
"Oh, dear, just wait in one of these side rooms for us," Callula said. "Give us some privacy, you understand."
As Durste and Isle obediently left for their bedroom, Callula watched to make sure that they were gone. She prayed that they wouldn't try to eavesdrop; it didn't seem like Luca would be thrilled about moving.
To begin, Callula descended into Luca's lap. Luca raised her paws to allow it, and even rested them on top of Callula's head once she was settled.
With a deep breath, Callula prepared herself; this was going to be difficult. "So... I can only speculate about what happened. Why don't we start with yes or no's?"
"...OK," Luca said hesitantly.
"Am I correct in assuming that you felt Dante's Aura?"
"Yeah."
"And it wasn't something you were expecting, yes?"
"Not even a little bit. I... I had no idea he felt that way about me."
"What way is that?"
"Attraction," Luca said, still confused. "I mean—mostly r-romantic, but there was definitely some..." Luca trailed off, visibly struggling to say the word.
"No judgement," Callula said, reassuring her. "And this stays between us."
"...L-lust," Luca said, suddenly embarrassed.
"Oof. I can't blame Dante for leaving, then. Must have been mortifying to have you of all Pokémon to feel that."
"God... If I felt it, it must have been strong. How in the world did I not feel it before now? And why did it happen then?"
"Love can be sudden like that."
"Love?" Luca repeated dumbly.
"How else would you describe what he felt?"
"I don't know, this is..."
"It's a lot," Callula finished. "I understand. Why don't we try to figure out how you feel about it?"
"What a question," Luca sighed. "Confused. Scared. I don't know."
"Why scared?"
"I don't know," Luca repeated. "It's weird. Without my memories, I think the first time I actually considered attraction and... associated things was when I woke up in Harvest and learned that Absol and Lann have a family together. It feels more foreign and scary than it probably has any right to."
"I hadn't considered how difficult that would be," Callula admitted. "Next thing I know, you'll be telling me you didn't know that Isle and I are an item."
Callula felt Luca freeze around her. Unable to keep up the charade, she let out a giggle: "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Sorry, it was too tempting."
Luca breathed, and the tension around Callula was released. "Scared me. Thought I was the most oblivious Pokémon alive."
"Oh no, Isle's got that title locked down. Enough about us, though—how are you feeling now?"
"Calmer, I guess," Luca said.
"Do you think you could talk it out with Dante now?"
Luca laughed at that. "Oh, no. Absolutely not."
"Let's talk more, then. If you're not OK to talk with him, there's more to figure out."
"Like what?"
"Like why exactly are you so resistant to talking to him?"
"It's weird, no? Or awkward?"
"You tell me."
Luca huffed, but she seemed to be giving it genuine thought. Taking her paws off of Callula's head, Luca fell back and relaxed on her back. In response, Callula moved from her lap to her chest.
"It feels like something has changed," Luca finally said.
"How so?"
"I don't know."
"How do you feel about him?"
"What, are you asking if I reciprocate?"
"Among other things, I suppose. We can start with that."
"I'm a human. Or, at least, I have a human's mind," Luca corrected. "I guess the type of Pokémon doesn't matter for relationships here, but in the human world, humans generally only have attraction to exactly humans. I don't think I have the machinery to reciprocate, but..."
"...But?" Callula prompted, ruing her inability to hide the excitement in her voice.
"But when I think about it, I get this strange feeling in my chest," Luca said, pressing her paw just beside Callula. "Near my heart, or my stomach."
"What's it like?"
"It feels like excitement. And nervousness. I don't know, but I think I like it?"
"Interesting. That might be something to mention to Dante."
Luca laughed, a sort of tired wheeze. "Well, thinking about doing that just made it worse for a moment. Or, made it better? Ugh."
"We're making good progress, so let's keep going. Put aside everything else and imagine an ideal romantic relationship with Dante. Nothing you don't want, everything you do. How do you feel about it?"
"Like I'm going to have a heart attack," Luca breathed after a brief pause.
"In a good way or a bad way?"
"In both."
"What do you think that means?"
"I think it means I need to go talk to him."
"What?" Callula said, perking up. "Really?"
"Yeah... I think I should get this over with."
"That's great!" Callula said, floating off of Luca's chest to allow her up. "Do you want me with you, or for me to leave?"
"Oh, I appreciate your help, but I cannot do this with spectators."
"OK! If you want to go wait outside and leave the door open a crack, I'll just let Isle and Durste know the coast is clear and then make sure you get there alright."
Luca silently complied, making her way outside. Once she was clear, Callula gave an admittedly pathetic knock on the door Isle and Durste had retreated to. It seemed the lack of power behind her knock didn't end up mattering, however; a few moments later, the door cracked open.
"I'm surprised you heard that," Callula said as Isle's masked face poked out. "You didn't happen to listen to our conversation, by any chance?"
"...I'm not that oblivious."
Callula rolled her eyes. "Please tell me you at least didn't let Durste listen."
"Ugh, she wouldn't let me," came Durste's voice from inside. "You had better tell me after."
"We'll see. Give us another minute, and then you're good to come out."
After an apologetic glance, Isle closed the door once again. Satisfied, Callula floated to the crack in the front door and squeezed through.
"I hope you know which way we're going," Luca said as she closed the door.
"I do! Now, would you mind carrying me? Or I can wrap myself around your head if you prefer."
"Huh? You don't do that just with Isle?"
"My stamina isn't great. I greatly prefer Isle, but it's more of a comfort thing."
"Huh. Well whatever you prefer, I don't mind."
Callula chose the option that required the least amount of work from poor Luca; floating up to signal her intentions clearly, Callula adopted an atypical position on her head. Rather than circling all the way around, she placed her body at the very top and used her string to anchor herself to Luca's ears. It definitely wasn't remotely as comfortable as Isle, but it still beat floating to the outskirts of town, so Callula wasn't going to complain.
With her strange position on Luca's head, Callula was able to see straight ahead—meaning a few minutes later, as they approached the edge of the city, Callula could spot a short orange form just beside a tall green form. Getting closer, she could see that they weren't talking; instead, they simply sat and waited.
Once she was sure that Dante and Lann had seen them, Callula rose from Luca's head. "Good luck!" she called as Luca continued on without her—though she visibly hesitated for a second or two.
As Luca approached, Lann and Dante spoke for a moment before the old Sceptile stood up and lumbered away. After a lengthy walk during which Luca and Dante began their hushed conversation, Lann had arrived to where Callula was waiting for him.
"May I hitch a ride?" Callula asked.
"Sure. Back home, I assume?"
"Mhm!" Hoping that he'd let her know if he'd prefer something else, Callula floated up to take her place on Lann's head. "Your talk went well, I hope?"
"This really isn't my forte," Lann admitted, "but I think it went as well as it could have. How about you? You had the more difficult one, I think."
"It went surprisingly well," Callula admitted. "Luca is... well, she's quite something."
"True. I don't suppose you'd be willing to share the upshot?"
"Why Lann! I didn't expect you to be interested in such shameful gossiping!"
"Ah, can you blame me? I'm a Pokémon too. I'm curious."
"You'll have to ask Luca," Callula smiled. "What we talked about is confidential."
"Feh."
As they continued on, Callula did her best to put Luca and Dante's conversation out of her mind; now that she and Lann and helped them along, what happened after was their business and their business alone. Still... as Lann was, she couldn't help but desire to know what was happening.
