Lune rested his head atop one of the dirty Autumn Leaf tables that Chamomile had yet to clean. Sure, the café had plenty of clean space to offer, but the sticky residue of spilt tea and pastry crumbs provided the perfect space to sulk.
A verbal lashing from the Boss was a guaranteed Sucker Punch to the ego, but Lune was already feeling like a massive idiot for returning the stolen coins. The Nickit cursed Giratina for compelling him to do such a thing, but in his heart Lune knew this was no act of devilish intervention. For the first time in his life, Lune had rested his eyes on the Prince.
Lune's ears fell back against his head. What did the boss want with Prince Icarus, anyways? Team Outlier C was always left out of everything– brought along to do the dirty work and nothing else. They were the organization's dedicated scape-Gogoats. No– Lune was the organization's dedicated scape-Gogoat.
Camomile assured Lune the foul play was a side effect of being Team Outlier's freshest meat, but Spike and Jessie never had any stories about being ditched at the first sign of trouble. There was something different about the way they treated Lune, like during the Castle Drakkenburg break-in.
The idea of kidnapping a Prince sounded like such a grandiose adventure to a street urchin like him. All three of Outlier's teams were in on the assignment, and teleporting everyone into the castle was surprisingly a breeze. But when the throne room's chamber door swung open, the entire team was teleported back out of the castle. Everyone, except for…
"Lune," Chamomile's voice broke through the Nickit's train of thought. "Quit looking like such a sad sap. You're ruining the atmosphere." The still Audino-disguised Zoroark sauntered over to the brooding bandit to pick up some of the dirty dishes on the table in front of him. "Whatever the Boss said to you couldn't possibly justify this level of patheticness."
"Why are you still under your illusion?" Lune deflected. "Shop's closed. There's no point."
"Eh, I like cleaning up like this. Makes me feel like a cute little waitress closing up shop instead of a wanted outlaw with a bounty on her head. Playing pretend is fun, you should try it sometime." Chamomile giggled as she stacked the cups one on top of another. The illusion's puffy white tail swished happily as she walked back towards the kitchen.
"What, like roleplaying? No thanks." Lune laughed dryly. "All that wishing I was somebody else can stay in my head, where it belongs."
Chamomile walked back into the dining area to pick up more dishware. "Think of it less like roleplaying and more like… acting! Putting on a show!" Chamomile smiled to herself. "When I was little, I always wanted to be in plays. Musicals, even. My mom told me only Zorua's with pretty little voices could be actresses." The disguised Zoroark growled. "That bitch."
"I mean, your voice is a little gruff," Lune picked his head back up off the table. "But, that doesn't mean it's not pretty. I'm sure you could still perform if you wanted to." The Nickit smirked, gesturing outward with a paw. "C'mon, why not give me your best musical number?"
"It's a little awkward when you put me on the spot like that. Hmm, maybe a different character would have an easier time with your attention?" The disguise flickered for a second, and Chamomile looked down at her Primarina illusion. "Hmm, nah, too gaudy. Something else…" The illusion flickered again, and this time– Chamomile appeared before Lune as a Salazzle. She slid her faux claws down the sides of her body and smirked. "Ooh, yes. Much better."
"Dammit, Chamomile…" Lune grumbled with a sultry smile. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"I'm sorry," the illusory Salazzle giggled into her hand. "I totally forgot you have an affinity for reptile Pokémon."
Lune gave her a coy look. He knew damn well that she didn't forget. The two stared at each other teasingly for a few moments before breaking into laughter.
"Still want me to sing?" The disguised Zoroark cooed.
"Of course, show the audience what you've got." Lune said with a smile. "Can't be any worse than what they've been broadcasting to noise boxes these days."
"Lune!" Chamomile pretended to be horrified. "It's like you WANT to get in trouble with the Boss!"
Lune let out a hearty laugh. "Just sing already, for Arceus's sake!"
Chamomile rolled her eyes playfully, warming up her voice with a few hums before starting to sing. It wasn't an original number, but it would be pretty ridiculous for Lune to expect the Zoroark to come up with something on the spot. The fake Salazzle did an impromptu dance performance as she sang, moving her body in a way that Lune tried not to stare at for too long. He knew this was the exact reaction the Zoroark wanted from him, and the Nickit just shook his head in a pretend disbelief. Though even without the display, her voice was very lovely.
"Let us join together, so that we may sing,
Up above–to the stars in the sky.
Of our King, Holy Sun. To our Queen, Blessed Moon.
Voices Loud–So they may hear our cry."
Despite the way Chamomile was moving, the lyrics were telling a very different story. This was an ancient song, a number that Lune could remember well even though he was certain he hadn't heard it in ages. Lune wondered why Chamomile chose a song like this, especially considering how much it contrasted with her dance.
Still, it was not too unlike one of those poems scholars picked apart endlessly for no real reason. Like yeah, sure, the lyrics could have some super secret subtext that once unveiled could shake the way everyone perceives the world– or, it's just a pretty, albeit cheesy, song about Adstrum and Stars.
"Pray with me, Pray for Love,
The home in our hearts–the stars in the sky.
May the All Mother come to us,
Help our King, Dying Sun. And our Queen, Shrieking Moon.
From the Past. Hear our cries,
To the stars in the sky."
The illusion slowly approached Lune and carefully ran a soft claw along the back of the Nickit's ear. Lune's breath hitched and he blushed slightly, unable to help closing his eyes from the attention. Before Chamomile could go too far with her teasing, Lune huffed loudly and pulled away.
"Alright, alright, alright. When I requested a performance, I didn't think it would come with the caveat of you flirting with me." Lune waved his paw in an attempt to dismiss her. "You've had your fun, Chamomile. Stop with the torture."
"Aww, but I've hardly started." The Salazzle illusion stuck out her tongue, but Lune refused to look at it. Chamomile sighed and resigned herself back to her usual, Zoroark self. "You're no fun." She said with a soft giggle.
Lune shot her a look. "See, that. That was definitely roleplaying."
After a moment or two of quiet, the both of them shared another laugh. "You want me so bad, it makes you look stupid." Chamomile punched Lune gently on the shoulder.
"Pfft. You wish. Got some sort of thing for Pokémon you can cradle in your arms like a baby?" The Nickit said with a satisfied smirk. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but twenty-two year olds can't be milfs."
Chamomile laughed harder– "Oh shut up, Lune!"
The two delinquents were interrupted by the sound of the secret entrance sliding open. A Lucario walked out of the basement with his jet-black Greninja companion, re-sealing the hidden door once they were both in the café. "Evening, Cammy."
Lune's amusement came to an abrupt halt at the sight of Team Outlier A. The Nickit pulled his hood over his head to avoid having to look at either of them.
"Damios." Camilla nodded in greeting. "Where the hell are you two going?"
"The Boss is frustrated," Damios gave a knowing glance towards the hiding Nickit, returning his gaze to Chamomile before continuing. "Kioshi and I have been assigned to take on a couple Outlaw Contracts; some easy work to get money for team Outlier." The Greninja beside him gave a short nod. "Want to come with us? I'm sure someone else could make themselves useful and clean up Autumn Leaf in your stead."
"Eh, thanks but no thanks." The Zoroark turned away as she started to pick up more leftover plates and teacups. "I'd just slow you both down. Plus, I don't really like taking missions anymore."
"Eh, suit yourself." The Lucario shook his head disapprovingly. "It's hard to watch you waste yourself like this, Cam. You're a skilled assassin, not a dishwasher."
Chamomile growled this time, "Okay– First off, you ain't got a single right in this Arceus forsaken world to tell me who I am. Second of all, if Boss needed me to go on missions– he would send me on some. Right now? I ain't leaving this café if I don't want to." The Zoroark hastily marched to the kitchen to cut the conversation short, but Damios didn't leave. The Lucario crossed his arms over his chest and watched the Zoroark work.
"I just call it like I see it, Chamomile. You have serious potential to be promoted, and instead you act out your little Audino fantasy all day–every day."
Lune huffed and finally looked up at Damios, his eyes darkened by the hood. "Just piss off already, won't you? Chamomile said no, and very clearly wants you to shut the fuck up."
"Oh? Kioshi? Did you hear something?" The Lucario looked at his Greninja teammate, who was snickering into his webbed hand. "Perhaps a lowly wild Pokémon has made its way into the café. Chamomile better get an exterminator to take care of it." Damios's eyes gleamed as he turned to look at Lune, his smug smirk making Lune's tail lash.
However, Lune quickly eased up– a smirk of his own forming on the Nickit's muzzle. "Talk down to me all you want, Damios. Whatever helps heal the blue-balls you get whenever you talk to Chamomile." Lune's grin widened. "Poor, poor Damios."
The Lucario's smirk turned into a scowl as a large bone made of energy materialized in his right paw. He swung it next to Lune's head, only barely not hitting the Nickit with it. "How dare you talk to me like that! You better apologize, Lockheart, or else Chamomile will have more than pastry crumbs and tea stains to scrub off the tables."
Lune's smirk didn't falter, and the Nickit rubbed a paw under his chin. "Don't threaten me with a good time, hot-stuff." Damios growled at him, and the Bone Rush disappeared as the Lucario scoffed. Lune took a moment to quietly celebrate his agitation tactics, but doing so lowered the Nickit's guard– leaving him defenseless against the Lucario suddenly grabbing him and tossing him to the floor. The fox Pokémon yelped in pain, trembling slightly once Damios was standing over him.
"You're lucky I have places to be." The Lucario snarled as he pointed a paw down at Lune. He stood up straight and turned to the silent Greninja behind him. "Come on, Kioshi. Let's go." Damios gave one final glare in Lune's direction before storming out of the Autumn Leaf. He didn't even wait for Kioshi to follow, but once the Greninja lifted the ninja mask over his face– he was quick to join his teammate outside. Lune watched their shadows leap up onto the rooftops of Constella.
"Shit–" Chamomile hurried back into the dining area and kneeled by Lune's side. "You okay, Lune?" The Zoroark asked as she carefully helped the little Nickit to his feet.
"Pssh, yeah. I'm fine." Lune's stomach was twisted in knots from the sudden attack, but it was nothing he couldn't recover from. The Nickit could feel Chamomile's worried glance burrowing into him now, but he mumbled one more "I'm fine," before hopping back up into his seat. "Damios just has some seriously unchecked anger issues." Lune said with a laugh.
"Well, I did hear what you said, you're lucky I didn't attack you too." The Zoroark chuckled softly. "But, thanks. For standing up for me, I mean. I don't know what's gotten into him. Damios used to be a pretty cool Pokémon…"
As Chamomile lamented, she approached the table Lune was sitting at with a cleaning rag. Once the Zoroark started wiping it down, her eyes widened at the sight of a pretty nasty looking bruise right below Lune's fur. "Ugh, idiot. You aren't fine. Give me a second, I'll be right back."
Before Lune could object, the Zoroark hopped behind the counter and started mixing a drink. It took her a minute or two, but soon Chamomile was walking back to the half-clean table with a small, iced cup of tea. Lune looked up at her quizzically, but the Dark Type rolled her eyes and mumbled "Oran Berry" before continuing to wash the table.
"Oh, thanks." Lune sighed as he looked down at the beverage brought to him. Truth was… Lune really didn't like the taste of Oran berries, which was really inconvenient when it was the world's most common natural medicine. Still, Lune drank it knowing it would put Chamomile's worries to ease.
Eugh. Still tastes like sugary syrup being regurgitated straight into my mouth.
Lune wasn't even half finished with the tea by the time Chamomile was done cleaning up the shop. She shot him a mildly agitated look as she sat down with him, but didn't comment on it otherwise. Instead, the Zoroark sat in silence for a few seconds before letting out an exaggerated sigh.
"Pfft. What?" Lunes asked as he cocked his head to one side. "What is it, Drama Queen?"
"Ha. Nothing, really. One just needs to let out a big ol' sigh every once in a while, know what I mean?"
Lune didn't answer with words. Instead, the Nickit took in a big breath and let out an even larger, more exaggerated sigh than Chamomile's. The Dark Types laughed together, and, once the humor dissipated, they sat in silence together. Chamomile drank the rest of Lune's iced tea, and the Nickit let her.
After a few minutes of both foxes enjoying each other's quiet company, Lune stood up and started to walk towards the secret base. "I'm going to try and get some sleep."
"Hmm, alright Lune." Chamomile looked over at him. "Actually, before you turn in… I have a question."
The Nickit turned his head back. "Yeah? What is it?"
The Zoroark rested her head on top of her hand, her face not revealing any of her emotions. "Lune, you didn't just accidentally drop those Pokécoins, did you?"
Lune stared at Chamomile for a few seconds, shell shocked that he was pulled back into that train of thought. Wh… What the hell? Why would she bring that up now? The Nickit blinked slowly and turned his head towards the bookcase, his tail twitching back and forth.
"Goodnight, Chamomile." Was all Lune said before slipping into the dark basement.
Icarus gazed upon the half lit moon just beyond his window. Its reflective silver was illuminating the garden below, the very garden Icarus was sneaking around in with Melrose the night they had met. Alone in his room with no other student to judge him, Icarus let his eyes cloud over with worry. "What on Earth was Aster doing here? What the hell was he talking about with Lady Rosaline?…" The Prince kept grumbling quietly to himself, his belly tightening with each passing hypothetical.
The Tyrunt strolled slowly back to his desk and frowned at his letter addressed to his father, barely written and with claw-writing that was hardly up to snuff. What he had already written was complete hogwash, and the little Prince could handle looking at it no longer. Icarus's body shook as he snatched the parchment up into his hands and started tearing it apart. The little Prince let the scraps of his unfinished letter fall to the ground. He hissed down at the ripped up paper,"Why is it so hard to talk to you!?"
In a snarling fit, Icarus left the mess on his floor and stormed to his bed, collapsing into the velvety sheets and screeching into his pillow. It was very likely the others nearby could hear his tantrum, but the emotions at play hardly left room for Icarus to care. Let them hear it! Let them know that I struggle to address the King of All Adstrum, even when He is my own Father!
After a good scream and a half, Icarus sat back up in his bed and grabbed the Dialga plush beside him– propping it up in a sitting position and looking down at it. "Perhaps you can help me with my predicament. Tell me if this sounds stupid… ahem."
"Dear Father,
The semester has only just begun and I already have so much to tell you. Ugh, no it should be 'so much to report…' that sounds much better. Okay… I already have so much to report. For starters, I have adjusted quite well to Academy life. However, a great few details have failed to meet my expectations."
The Tyrunt blinked a few times as he stared down at the felted fabrication of the temporal dragon. "Should I even mention all that crap about the late staff and Headmaster Zephyr? What if Father removes me from the school?" Icarus whimpered and held his big head the best he could in his claws. "Father said he learned about exploration when he was my age… I don't want to ruin my chance to do the same! Maybe that means I simply have to let him know things aren't to snuff? Grr!" Icarus gripped harder at his tough scales. "And, how in Arceus's name do I tell him I saw Prime Minister Aster skulking around in the Academy gardens?!"
Icarus looked back down at the unmoving, unblinking, unthinking plush toy.
"…Ugh. What's wrong with me…?" The Tyrunt sighed sadly as he lifted the little Dialga up and held it in his arms. "I'm talking to a bloody doll…"
A knock at the Prince's door startled him into a yelp, and the Tyrunt quickly buried the plush toy under his blankets before marching over to answer. Icarus peaked through a small crack before opening the door all the way. "Lefevre? What in blazes are you doing awake at this hour?"
The Axew stirred nervously. "Apologies, Your Majesty. I… couldn't sleep." They were looking up at him with tired eyes, and Icarus could evaluate fairly quickly that this was no lie. "Forgive my disturbance, I just thought I heard you… and you sounded distressed."
The Tyrunt's blush of embarrassment was thankfully hidden by the surrounding darkness of the hall, but Icarus still couldn't help feeling like a fool. A few lies crossed his mind, but none of them sounded like reasonable excuses for the outburst. Instead, Prince Icarus resigned himself to the truth with a sigh. "I'm trying to write a letter to my Father. It isn't going as easily as I'd hoped."
"Oh… I see. I'm dreadfully sorry…" Xavian looked down at the floor, then back up at Icarus with a slight brightness to their eyes. "P-perhaps I could be of some assistance? I like to think I'm awfully good at prose!"
"No!–" Icarus was quick to shut Xavian down, but felt a little guilty once the Axew shrunk into themself. "I mean… No, no thank you. I both can and should handle this task myself. I do appreciate the offer. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful."
"You didn't, sire." Xavian gave a weak smile before bowing. "If I'm not of any use to you, then I shall head back to my quarters and attempt to sleep."
"Wait–" Icarus reached towards the Axew as they turned to leave. "Is… something ailing you?"
"…Your concern is quite the blessing, but it's nothing that can be pinned down to specifics. Perhaps I am just anxious over the school year starting? Hah, yes, yes… That must be it." The way the Axew turned to look at the floor and rub the back of their head, this time Icarus knew the truth was being kept from him. The Prince didn't probe further. Instead, he simply kept looking down at the other Dragon Type with skepticism. Xavian faltered once they looked back up at the Prince. "It's… well… I believe I may have accidentally upset Melrose. I couldn't apologize properly before she stormed off…"
Icarus looked over at the Pikachu's closed door before glancing back down at Xavian. "May I ask what happened?"
"It really isn't anything you should concern yourself with." The Axew answered quickly. "I'm sure it will no longer be a big deal in the morning. I really should be off to bed." They bowed once again towards Icarus and scampered back into their room. Icarus watched as the Axew hastily closed the door, and he couldn't help staring for a few moments before retreating back to his own quarters.
That was… Odd. Icarus snorted as he sat back down at his desk and prepared a new sheet of parchment. Perhaps I will investigate that ordeal in the morning. For now…
Icarus dipped his claw into the black ink and started to carefully draft a new message to the King.
"Dear Father," Icarus narrated to himself as he wrote. "The semester has only just begun and I already have much to report. I have adjusted quite well to Academy life, and find myself enjoying the company of the other students." The Tyrunt smiled to himself, finding it easier to write once he thought about his classmates. "I wasn't quite expecting such a variety in Pokémon; a great many of them aren't even from The Capital. I'm also accompanied by three budding Lords, one of House Lefevre, House Virion, and House Atlantis. Most of the other students are a bit younger than me, and their maturity reflects this, but I've never met so many Pokémon that are all so…" Icarus thought on the word for a second, but he nodded his head contently when the perfect word came to mind.
"Incomparable."