A/N: As I'm not too good at...I think you would call this fluff? I'm curious about what you guys might think! This one took a little bit, but I'm always open to hear opinions! Also, Ariesbird, if you somehow find your way to this after all this time, Viola Almach is a treasure and thank you so much.
Lake Lucid, 57 days Before the Fall
I can't believe I let Juliet talk me into this…
Viola Almach considered herself social enough. In fact, she was actually quite adept and tactful, very much the opposite of Jaret, and quite similar to a person that had brought her out onto the main avenue. The same thing had happened to Virgil, and Viola now had some kind of an idea why when she had seen him next, he had gone immediately to his room to sleep; he hadn't even taken a shower. Viola did however, make note of a groomed Virgil and it was quite unlike anything she had seen before.
Juliet was always highly fashionable and the extroverted life of the party. She hadn't been able to really grab any of the boys to go with her back down to the main avenue again. There had been a particular gathering over at Lake Lucid, and they just so happened to have the impeccable timing to catch the "Home of Hearts Festival '', or something like that. Seria's eyes had lit up at that and she needed little convincing, and considering that Virgil had been burned out from the last time he had tagged along, and that Jaret and Ryuu each had their own particular plans, (the former claiming that he was going to train, but without a doubt was going to try some of the food that Seria had been raving about at the restaurant), Viola was left with no choice but to tag along.
It would be disingenuous to say that she hadn't been interested at all. But she did regret coming out…sort of. Sitting Juliet and Seria were clearly in their element, and to a degree, the two seemed to mirror each other. Seria was usually so soft-spoken, and everyone knew that, but there she was, riding off of a particular kind of high that came from being around people that she felt comfortable with. Both Seria and Juliet were full of quick-wit and effervescent magnetism. Lipped smiles and coy laughter (Or, slightly obnoxious in an awkward sense on Seria's part) had made them very well liked.
And, quite unsurprisingly, popular with the boys. Maybe it was Seria's infectiousness once she got going, or perhaps it was the contrast that Juliet provided with a tasteful combination of another pair of those signature denim shorts of hers and a dotted white blouse styled with gorgeous embroidery. The entire outfit was brought together with a sunhat that really seemed to make her radiate. She was also very debonair. From what Juliet had shared with her on their travels, it was also very Sunyshore and very "Grey" of her too.
Virgil didn't stand a chance.
Still, it didn't quite change the fact that it was quite…lively. She had come relatively dressed up as well, but somehow, had a feeling that it might have been a little less eye-catching than hers. Viola was quite okay with that. She had caught a few stares thrown her way but the few eyes that she did catch made their back over to the other two girls.
When Juliet had called her over, Viola found herself hesitant, eyes scanning about the gathering in curiosity before joining her and Seria. Viola made note of the two people that Juliet had been talking to. In truth, she was more interested in their attire.
Viola could only describe one of the outfits as over-the-top, as if it tried to communicate unruly royalty or something of the like. By Viola's standards, it really only seemed to communicate a pretentious materialism, and she very nearly made a face of distaste at that. The other was tailored more subtly and quite honestly better, less explosive and arrogant, but still very much of both of those things.
"You'll have to excuse her, these kinds of things aren't really her forte." Viola bristled, just a slight bit, eyes subtly flicking over to Juliet, over to the other two trainers, models or, whatever they really were, and then back to Juliet.
There was no way Juliet really meant that, right?
Then again, Juliet was a very fast paced girl; Viola watched quietly as she kept on, the listeners enraptured and hanging on her every word. Viola wasn't exactly sure how long she was going to be able to take it. She was grateful when Juliet sent them off with an exaggerated smile and a demure "Ciao!" that Viola couldn't help but roll her eyes at. She wondered if this was what Virgil had to put up with.
Go figure why he had turned Juliet down. Juliet let out an exasperated sigh.
"They finally left..." And then she turned back to Viola. "Er, sorry about that. I…didn't really mean what I said."
"You seemed like you knew them." Viola felt the edge in her tone but it went either unnoticed or ignored by Juliet. Another sigh.
"Well, not exactly…They're just elites and…also from Sunyshore City…"
"Do you know their names?" Juliet made a face.
"That's…not important. They were mainly asking about my parents and my brother anyway."
"I think I remember you saying a little bit about him here and there, although I really don't know much about your parents." Viola felt the slight shift in Juliet's demeanor and went to apologize but Juliet gave her a smile.
"They're not all that important. But, there are a lot more socialites here than I would like…" Viola found that she wasn't really all that surprised; Juliet quickly changed the subject. "Have you seen Seria? I wonder how she's holding up. The patio's pretty packed." Viola's eyes went past Juliet.
"I think she's doing fine." Juliet followed and Viola had to stifle some laughter at her dismayed reaction.
"With that many boys around her? I don't think I'm too comfortable with that."
That was a good point. And given the sour taste left in her mouth from even the slightest interaction, Viola couldn't help but remain on guard. Juliet was already heading over in their direction; Viola sighed.
She was tired already, but she wasn't going to leave now. She made her way over to another side of the patio. It hung over the lake and despite the rowdiness of quite a few of the socialites (She was sure that she could vaguely hear Juliet chewing out one of Seria's suitors…), Viola could still find some piece of respite from everything; The lake really helped with that. As long as Seria had Juliet, she would be fine or so she hoped. Freshwater air filled her lungs and she thought of Jaret.
She huffed, a little annoyed. She really didn't have time for anything like that. The Weather Institute back home had been… well, not her life, but a real fascination for her. With constant rain near Fortree, flooding had always been a concern for her growing up. In fact, there were plenty of other things that she had to be concerned about.
There was that concern with how Fortree was doing and the Institute's progress, and by extension, environment was another concern. Hoenn was beautiful in her eyes, but there were questionable issues happening in the region. Similar to the constant rain near her home, a particular road (was it route 113?) was constantly blotted out by sandstorms. While Pokemon were adaptable, there were certainly others that were being forced out and away. There were quite a few things to show concern about.
It was a little strange to her that the little quivers in her shoulders and face that Jaret caused was one of them, but Viola found it even stranger that it was something kind of welcome. It was a nice little change of pace if she were honest. It was–
"Voilaaa," Viola jumped, then tensed a little before she realized that it was Juliet. She had an arm slinked over her shoulder, and had called for her amusedly. Viola turned to face her and made note of the restrained excitement in the slight upturn of her lips, but burned in her eyes.
"You're gonna miss the best part. They're gonna' showcase their 'Eevee-loution set!" Juliet was definitely in her element. She wondered how Virgil would have been faring in this particular situation and that if he had dressed himself or if Juliet had given him some tips. She had never exactly gotten to ask him how his date went. What had they done? Where did they go? She found herself wondering exactly how much of Juliet he had gotten to see. Her mind wandered for a moment, back to something similar for her, Back to Ecruteak, and back to Jaret. A small smile worked itself free, and Juliet's expression shifted knowingly.
Oh no, had she seen that? The curve on her lips broke into a grin suggesting that yes, in fact she had seen that. Viola knew what was next, and she did not want to talk about it. At least, not dead center in the middle of a festival. I have to keep her distracted.
"You said my name wrong."
"Oh, stop. You'll be okay. A little humor never hurt anybody."
"Weren't you checking on Seria?"
"Yeah, and they left her alone but…" Juliet gestured back toward one of the main stages and Viola made a squeak of surprise; he had his back turned, but Viola was sure that almost anyone that knew him would be able to spot his signature teal camera; the set had started.
So he did show up…
What on earth was Ryuu doing here? Viola had been so floored by such a thing forgotten that Juliet was even there. "And, it wasn't because of me either." She heard Juliet remark.
"That's very timid for you, Juliet." Viola had said that without even looking in Juliet's direction in the slightest. Viola was sure she would understand. Wouldn't all of them? It didn't really help that Ryuu was beyond focused and he moved about busily, sometimes getting a little too close to some of the models when they would take to the center of the stage. There had been one of the models that had really caught his attention, clad in a tasteful (That was new…) and radiant lilac single piece suit. If she were tall enough, Viola might have actually considered it a purchase for an occasion, whenever that might be.
If Viola had found it graceful looking, then judging from a slight flush and maybe a little discomfort on the model's part and an utterly non-stop shuttering of his camera, Ryuu must really have liked it. He was excited even when the next few models made their way to the stage, and while he hadn't come after them with nearly as much intensity, his camera continued all the same.
Viola had never seen anything so awkwardly hilarious in her life.
"So,"Viola started between laughs, "Ryuu's a little too excited about the fashion show. He is a photographer after all." Juliet pursed her lips a little at that.
"Weeelllll…" It had clicked for Viola then, and turning back over to where Seria had been sitting to find her a little too rigid, arms and legs crossed with eyes pinned directly toward the stage and watching everything closely and in stark detail. There were none of the boys from earlier to be found.
"Oh…"
"Yeah," Juliet replied bashfully. "I don't even think she realizes she's jealous."
"I don't think she really has much to be jealous of, "Viola said with another laugh, and Juliet gave an impressed sounding whistle as a response.
"You're really not a fan of socialites are you?"
"I wouldn't say that, but…I am a little on guard. It's kind of exhausting watching all of the superficiality." Juliet cocked a brow at that.
Did that offend her?
"You did meet me, didn't you?" She gave her her best wink and Viola sighed at that.
"Yeah, but you're different."
"For such a smart girl, I don't think you're making a good case for yourself." Another wink, this time sticking her tongue out at her with it; Viola did the same right back.
"I think I'd rather take things a little slow before I jump right into things. That did start us off on the wrong foot, you know." Nervous laughter.
"Y-yeah, I know…"
"It's…uncomfortable if I'm honest. But still," Viola kept her eyes on Seria. "How long do you think it will be for them?"
"Shorter than you and Jaret, that's for sure." Viola had spun to face Juliet and had nearly tripped over herself and went to speak and moreso, to defend herself. Juliet was faster; she always was. "You're beet red." Her smile from earlier came back. "Aw, you do like him!" Viola could only remain silent. She had never wanted to melt away more than she did at that very moment.
"U-um.." Was she stammering? "Don't you think Seria is a little more important than that right now? We came here to enjoy the festival after all. We shouldn't let her have a bad time." Juliet leaned in a little closer, eyes and curved lips unmoving, everything she needed to tell Viola that she knew exactly what they were up to. "We'll talk about this later," is what it had been saying but what Juliet had actually said was different, and she drew back with a shrug.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Her eyes went back over to Seria before turning back to Viola with a smile. "We'll do lakeside stage next!"
The lakeside stage, dubbed New Naval, was decidedly better. At least in her opinion, and much less…overbearing. From atmosphere all the way down to interactions. Everything and everyone felt much more at ease, and very much more like themselves. Juliet had dubbed the lakeside stage chic and Viola found that she could agree.
Seria had also seemed to calm down too, and as Juliet found herself pulled in every which way (Everyone just seemed to know her name), Seria had tugged Viola along, toward the stage. Viola caught the same excitable glint in Seria's eyes, sometimes (well, a lot actually…) jumping and tugging on Viola's arm excitedly when an outfit she really liked would come out to the stage.
Jaret relaxing with his Pokemon might have been cute, but Seria's excitement was simply outright adorable. This was only the first day, "Runway Rampage"as it were called, and without a doubt each one of the stages had their own personality and Viola was grateful that this one matched hers relatively well. Viola had even found a few things that she would most definitely buy…if she were to ever find them of course. She must have been star-stricken by some of the outfits, because more than once Seria had offered to buy them for her, something that Viola was all too humble to accept.
When did her poker face get so bad?
Viola found herself being tugged along again, this time along the lakeshore and with a very chatty Seria; Viola was more than happy to listen, coming to realize that while she had figured how awkward Seria was, she never quite realized the extent of it. Sometimes, Seria would stumble over her words when she got too excited, and then would attempt to correct herself in desperation/ Viola had had to let her know warmly that Seria was simply being Seria.
"...For once, I actually got Iceey to listen…!"
"...Daniel actually has a really good rhythm!"
"...Star was the life of the competition! I wish you coulda' seen it…!"
Seria continued to talk, and Viola continued to listen. It wasn't until Seria had been talking about some of her most exciting and proudest moments that she paused, eyes darting toward the ground as she flushed, and Viola caught on without a hitch; Viola sighed inwardly, and also held back chiding giggle.
Without a doubt, Ryuu had more than likely just come to mind; Viola grew curious.
"Seria?" She turned to her, and if it were possible, Seria's face seemed to grow hotter by the minute. "Are…you okay…?" Viola held back another round of giggles; Seria nodded with a tightened "mhm"; she exhaled.
"I-I'm sorry that I talked so much…I just got a little excited. I know you said it's okay but it's just that…" And then she stopped, and Viola could feel herself leaning in, hanging on Seria's silence. It crossed Viola's mind for a moment that this is something that Juliet would do. Viola, however, in this particular moment found that she had slim patience.
She simply had to know.
"That, you were excited to find actual friends?" There was a timid nod in response, her eyes averted like they usually were when Seria would have her moments. This time, Viola couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "But I think you were really excited that Ryuu turned out to be the way he did, if I'm not mistaken."
Seria squeaked.
"I-I have to go…! I, um, am sorry for leaving you like this…!" And then, she was speeding off, directly toward Juliet. Or, would have been. Seria had been so eager to disengage that she had nearly tripped, catching herself at the last second. For a moment, Seria stood there, impossibly embarrassed, but did not turn back to look at her; Viola figured that Seria knew that she had been watching.
Speaking of Juliet… Her focus went past Seria, over her shoulder to find, not surprisingly, Juliet flanked on each side by suitors dressed again in something so gaudy. They had to be from the lodge balcony. Viola's eyes honed in closer, and Viola felt something, disgust crawl up her spine and into her shoulders.
Viola started towards Juliet, brows furrowed. She had always felt a little guarded up on the balcony. Everything had felt so strained and shallow, and while not all of them had made her uncomfortable or were seedy, Viola felt differently about the three seemingly chastising Juliet. One of them reached out to brush Juliet's shoulder, who responded by knocking it away with avid disgust in kind. Juliet had mouthed something, brow cocked and hands on her hips; she wasn't scared of them.
Viola picked up her pace and hadn't realized how fast she had been moving until she brushed past Seria who had uttered her name out of surprise. Viola had gotten a little closer, and could make out some of the words, which were something along the lines of that Juliet "shouldn't be down by the lake casuals".
Oh, so they were elitist, and Viola smirked proudly when Juliet rolled her eyes at that. Another one went to reach for her. Juliet pushed the hand away again, this time the other one coming around to connect squarely with the man's jaw.
"I said, hands off."
"Hey, what the hell!
"We were just trying to help you out!" Another eye roll.
"Yeah, because the lakeside 'serfs' are going to ruin my image and I need 'protecting'. You can do better than that." Things were going to escalate, and get them kicked out no less. Viola took a deep breath, moving to position herself closely to Juliet, locking two of her fingers into Juliet's. Juliet turned to her with a plain face, but Viola read the confusion in her eyes.
Good, she was listening, then.
"Juliet," her voice was low. "We came here to relax, not get into anything like this."
"I know, I know, but…they've been really adamant for the last 20 minutes…"
"Oh, I get it." It was the man who had been slugged. "You brought friends." He eyed Viola up and down, and she shifted her posture into iron in kind. She wasn't afraid of him, either. "Does she really even belong here?" Juliet took the bait.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Viola tightened her fingers around Juliet's and that earned her another subtle look of surprise.
"I did get invited, " Viola started slowly. She had noted that Seria had come up on Juliet's other side also, offering a quick glance in her direction. Viola could feel Seria's focus tighten. "Isn't that how The Home of Hearts work?" He sneered.
"It is, but it is also a privately funded event, and if you have your hand in the funding, then you can get your way. I could have you all thrown out in an instant."
"But…who are you?" His eyes darted from Viola, over to Seria, finger to her lips with genuine confusion. "I don't think I've ever heard of you."
Viola and Juliet both burst into laughter.
"H-hey! You think I'm just going to let you sit here and mock me? The Kaynan Graham?"
So, that was his name.
"Well, Seria does have a point." Viola added. "We really don't have any idea of who you are. If Juliet doesn't know who you are, then you can't expect a 'serf' girl like me to have any real class and know who you are." Perhaps that had been a little smarmy of her, but also, it wasn't as if they, or more accurately, Kaynan didn't deserve it. Viola felt a tug on her fingers; Juliet had caught on and directed Viola's attention away from him.
They had been garnering attention from some of the others at the festival, namely Kaynan. He had been the one to start the whole thing, or at least, that was what Viola was able to piece together. "Even if you have leeway like you say, you might end up bringing a lot of trouble to yourself if you make a scene." He had done his best to come off as intimidating but there had been a small tremor of doubt that to Viola, seemed to branch about his entire body.
His shoulders were a little too rigid, and his jaw too tight. His chest was puffed out, comically so. And, as if she had taken out a page from Juliet, Viola made sure her eye roll was especially demeaning.
"H-hey, Kaynan, maybe you should knock it off." That had been one of his lackeys, who, now that Viola had gotten a better look at him, didn't really even seem to be enjoying Kaynan's presence.
"Yeah." That was the other one. "The girl's got a point. And, everyone that knows about the Home of Hearts wants to be a part of it, especially with it being so exclusive and all…" It had been a bit of a gamble on Viola's part if she were honest, but she had guessed right.
"So, they could actually get rid of you, and find another private sponsor to help them out if they really wanted to." Juliet's finger tightened around hers and had leaned in with a hushed voice.
"I think you really got him Miss Voila."
"You said my name wrong again…"
"When you can work magic like that? I don't think I got anything wrong." Viola turned to her with a bashful smile. She would never outright boast about anything. At least, not too much. Still, it was nice that someone noticed.
"H-hey, Kaynan…!" Viola turned her attention back to Kaynan, and Viola could only describe him as indignant. It wasn't as if he was representative of all elites, but…he had certainly left a bad impression, and he had been coming in fast. Her fingers slipped from Juliet's and she stepped forward with sharp eyes.
His body shifted again, but was still taut and strained. He was trying so very hard for his appearance. He must've had the entirely wrong idea on what the festival was really about, or maybe he did, and refused to back out at this point. How obnoxiously thick-headed of him.
Kaynan was in arms reach and Viola positioned herself to rebuff him but was almost startled when Seria of all people had stepped in between them, and Viola had felt a twinge of panic when Seria had even stepped forward and toward Kaynan. He had eyed her with a disdainful sneer. His attention was on both of them, and he had raised a hand to push Seria aside; both Juliet and Viola were taut to spring into action so they each were surprised when Seria had slipped so deftly by Kaynan's hands.
Seria had stepped into his range so powerfully and Viola thought she had felt the dirt shake. Seria had knelt just a slight bit as she closed in; it made sense to Viola then that Seria was going to tackle him.
Of course. Kaynan was actually quite tall, at least by her standards, though he probably stood maybe a couple of inches over Seria, but shorter than Ryuu or Jaret. She would knock him over and then they would all go away from New Naval and to unwind down in their rooms.
Viola had heard something, a bellow of strength and a yelp of pain. She made note of someone lolled about over in the grass, leg and arm half-sank into the lake. It had taken a few seconds for Viola to register that it was Kaynan. Her eyes flicked to Seria.
She found her standing, knees bent ever so slightly, an elbow out with, despite what looked like a certain kind of rigidness, absolute control. She rose up and brought her elbow, and her arms spun about, hands coming together, palm over fist. Seria exhaled as she bowed, and Viola felt something crawl up her spine.
Was that a salute?
"...Whoa."
Juliet said what she had been thinking, and Viola, for all of her observant nature couldn't really quite seem to comprehend what she had even really seen.
"Juliet, did Seria just–"
"Yeah. I saw it too." Viola sighed in relief. So, she hadn't imagined it. It had struck her as kind of funny that among all of the things that had been happening to her, from nearly freezing to death to facing off against something that was essentially consciousness from the past as he had put it back at the Burned Tower, discovering the fact that Seria was actually dangerous had been the thing that she couldn't quite believe.
...Have we been babying her this whole time?
Both girls had become acutely aware then of exactly how many people had been watching the confrontation. Kaynan's lackeys, for lack of a better word, had actually turned tail, dragging him away back and out of sight. They had apologized gratuitously, one of them going so far as to almost beg for forgiveness. Viola had seen the way Seria had shrunk away at that, and Viola felt her heart break as the other two men shrank away in fear when she had tried to apologize.
Everything had happened nearly too fast for Viola to comprehend, which meant that Seria had simply done the entire feat from reflex alone. Since when had she been able to do that? Maybe that was why Seria hadn't really been one to jump into Pokemon battles. Maybe, she didn't even need them.
How long, Viola wondered, had Seria been this dangerous?
Juliet was already moving to Seria's side, and Viola snapped herself to attention and followed. She had no idea what she had been expecting, but Viola certainly hadn't expected the expression she had seen. Juliet had probably been somewhere in the middle of talking about how amazing or 'kickass' it was to see her do what she did and guilt for that same praise.
Instead, Seria's hands rested at her sides and her shoulders slumped. She seemed so very tired.
"H-hey," And the three of them turned to their side, catching sight of a small group of security personnel. "We caught word of the situation this way." One of them stepped forward. "As attendees I'm certain that the three of you know that there is a zero tolerance for lethal violence of any sort. This is a celebration of the visual arts."
"How do you know that any of us had anything to do with the call you heard?" Viola was quick to push Juliet behind her; she mustered up the meekest smile that she could.
"We have, and there was…an event that happened along this way but it's already taken care of." Viola could feel them observing her every which way.
"We received a call that the situation was resolved with violence. You seem like someone who has a head on them. You must understand that any of the causes of said violence must be removed." A pause. "Would you happen to know of a Juliet Grey, by any chance?" Viola had hoped they didn't see that very slight twinge of admission on her face.
"I'm sorry, but it's an unfamiliar name. But I did hear about Kaynan Graham stirring up trouble with quite a few of the other attendees." Their faces flinched at that. So, this wasn't the first time this had happened with Kaynan.
I guess he really was telling the truth…kind of…
"He's…a part of one of the festival's biggest supporting families," came an admission. "We've…actually have had to deal with him causing this kind of trouble before at other gatherings for the event."
"I…honestly think that he got whatever was coming to him, but…as per his reputation, we sort of have to follow the rules, at least for this particular occurrence, very closely." piped another one.
"Because of the Graham family?" The security guard shrugged. "It's…really hard to tell, but…it was actually Kaynan that sort of filed the complaint." Viola clenched her jaw to stifle the surprise, and with all three of security's focus on her, she was grateful for yet another awkward pause, at least on their part. There was a sigh of admission. "Well, if we can't really get any real evidence of admission, or anything of the sort, I guess we'll just have to go back empty handed." The guard shrugged. "Hopefully Kaynan doesn't last too much longer here."
And then they were gone. Viola let out a tense sigh. That had been a little too close for comfort. If they were going to do anything, they were at the very least going to enjoy the free time that they had. Viola watched the security as they slipped from sight.
Phew…even chosen ones need a break…
"Um, Viola…" Viola had turned back to Seria, and her expression from earlier, that same mix of admission and guilt was still there. It probably would have gotten them all caught had Viola not taken the lead then and there. Well, that , and Juliet had also been doing her best to act natural and like most of her other social interactions, she had passed it with flying colors. Viola smiled inwardly as she realized that she probably wouldn't have done it without Juliet.
They went together pretty well, Viola supposed.
"Oh. What is it Seria?"
"I'm…sorry for almost getting the three of us kicked out… I…didn't really know what came over me."
"Seria, how many kung fu movies have you watched?" Juliet had said that with a warm smile, and Seria had mustered up her best attempt to return it.
"It's not from movies…" Seria kept her eyes toward the dirt.
"Seria, it's okay." Viola took Seria's hand into hers with a slight trace over the face of her hand; Viola felt Seria tense, just marginally and in response, Viola had to stifle her response then and there.
"It's a traditional fighting style…I…picked it up when I was younger…
"I thought you were from Blackthorn, not Cianwood."
"I mean, I am…."
"I wanna' know what they're teaching you." Viola had to interject.
"Hey, Juliet. Let her finish." Then Seria was shrinking away and backtracking.
"U-uh, actually, f-forget I said anything! It's just–"
"Seria,: Viola repeated. "It's O.K. Okay?" Viola had left her with another warm smile, but Seria kept her eyes low, but she prepared herself with a deep breath.
"I…my dad is actually one of the Dragon Masters in Blackthorn. I…learned it as a part of tradition…"There was a brief silence and Seria had shifted to look at the both of them, and there was a flash of something that was foreign across her face. The guilt was still there but twisted into something else: defensiveness. "I-it's not like I wanted to learn. I…" She slumped and her eyes familiarly broke contact "...didn't really have a choice…" More silence. Both Viola and Juliet were at a loss for words, but if anyone were going to say anything, it would more than likely have to be her.
"Didn't have a choice? I would've thought that taking to dragons would be an alternative to learning." Seria faltered at the remark the slightest bit, but Viola caught it all the same.
"Y-yeah…but…I had to learn it…"
"Why so?" Seria gave a wry smile.
"Well, William Day…He's..my dad…"
Viola passed a quick glance over to Juliet and she had returned the sentiment with a quick raise of her brows. Or, at least they thought they had. Seria shifted and both girls turned to find her staring at the both of them, even more crestfallen, if that were possible. "You're…scared of me, aren't you…?"
"W-what?" Oof. Of all of the reactions that had to slip by Viola, why had it been that one?
"I've seen that look before. When people find out about these kinds of things about me…they start to act funny…"
"Seria, hang on–"
"It's okay, Viola." Oh. That was ironic. Seria tossed another half smile over to Juliet, then back to her feet. "I have to go. But…please don't tell anyone about any of this." There was a quiver in her lips and a small flash that Viola thought may have been tears; Seria darted away.
Viola watched her go with a frown, but turned to attention when she felt someone watching her closely as well, catching the eyes of Ryuu Sinclair.
Runway Rampage had been rampage in Viola's mind. Juliet had brought her out of course and for what it was worth, she did have a better time than she had thought she would, her mind coming back to the Eevee-lution set that she was almost certain was too expensive for a traveling intern like herself, and that was if it would even be going on sale.
The New Naval attire had been better suited for her taste, a ways more reserved and casual chic that. A couple of things that had caught her eye had illicited a few noises of approval from Juliet and that was a definite victory from her perspective.
But Seria had run off in shame, and that was the something that inevitably found its way on Viola's mind. Viola hadn't been sure if her expression had been something entirely different than what she had been feeling because either way, Seria had taken some kind of offense to that, and maybe if Viola had caught what Seria saw as a blatant confirmation of whatever she had been thinking, then, maybe they could have enjoyed the rest of the stages, despite both Kaynan and a clearly frustrated security team that had dealt with him before.
And there Viola was, back in her own room, sitting near her sill and watching a lowering sun slink under the treeline. Swellow was out there playing sentinel, if she remembered right. Grovyle was also out there as well, getting himself into who knew what in the surrounding woods. If anything, Viola knew without a doubt that they each could handle themselves.
Which left her with Manectric. She had sat resting against one of the walls, sleeping really on her side and leg twitching a slight bit in said sleep, and Viola bit back a laugh but also scanned over Manectric's side where she had been run through from nearly a month earlier. It had healed well, but there were still traces of where Marus had struck her, to which Viola had then proceeded to get caught and bound. A part of her wondered if things would have been different back then if she had been able to fight like Seria.
There was a rap at the door, and when Viola swung it open, she was somewhat surprised to see that Virgil had sauntered in a bit bashfully.
"Looks like I'm the one checking on you today, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so…" She had heard him grumble something as he scratched behind his ear. "It must be a little weird to be on the other end, yeah?" Virgil shook his head.
"That's…not really the issue." He had closed the door behind him, walking through the suite kitchen but stopped to prop himself up on the counter. He was surprisingly casual.
"It's not?" He gave another shake of his head.
"Nope. Well, at least, I don't think so. We are supposed to be finally relaxing, aren't we?" That earned him a wrinkle of her brows at him.
"This is coming from the boy who's been brooding since–"
"Ecruteak?" he finished for her. Viola found that she could only agree.
"Exactly that. Although, you're a lot less–"
"Pissy?" Viola snorted.
"Do you think you'll ever let me finish?" He shrugged with a small laugh.
"Maybe if you don't make it so obvious what you're going for." He had switched his position, choosing to lean into the kitchen counter-top now. "But, I've been enough of a problem since you guys all met me. We met on…not the best terms."
"To be fair, Juliet might have been the only person you met on decent terms."
"Yeah, maybe." It was such a timid response on his part. "Sometimes, I wonder if Marus had that effect on you guys too."
"What effect?"
"Well, I was…shitty for lack of a better word. The way I felt was always running high. The way he's sort of sitting on Ho-oh's strength could've put you and Jaret in flux…" Viola didn't want to think about that.
"She's really good at what she does." She didn't want to think about how deep of a problem that Marus could actually be, and she was not going to let him come and brood with her.
"Huh?"
"I…went with Juliet to the Runway Rampage." For a moment, he stared at her plainly but recognition slowly settled in.
"You went? How was it?"
"It was…nice, for the most part." Kaynan came to mind. "Some things were a little unnecessary, but it wasn't all too bad."
"Juliet talked you into it, didn't she?" Viola only offered him a face of admission. Another laugh. "Yeah, she really is good at what she does." His voice trailed off and Viola wasn't sure if he was on his way to brooding or if he were having an epiphany. "But something happened, didn't it?"
That had been a sudden question, and it must've shown on her face. Viola was always caught off guard by sudden questions.
"W-what makes you say that?"
"Well, that stutter when you're caught off guard is a tell tale." He frowned. "Seria was also kind of, well, very upset when she came back. I thought it was a little weird that she hadn't come back with you or Juliet."
"You bumped into her?"
"Yeah," he said with a nod. "And, I didn't really think to ask because, well, I did kind of pick at her when we first got here and all…"
"You feel bad about that?" He didn't answer, which was all the answer Viola figured she needed. "You don't have to try so hard post-Marus, Virgil." He shifted uncomfortably.
"Hey, I came here to check on you, not get deconstructed." The laugh that followed was genuine and a bit nervous. "But…I'll try to remember that…"' Virgil seemed to squirm a little under her eyes, and Viola figured to change the subject.
"Back to the point though, you bumped into her? Where was she going?"
"Where do you think?" Viola figured he had meant Ryuu. Viola was sure that Jaret may have thought the same thing.
"Ryuu is probably the only person that she feels really sees her."
"Do you think it's because he's got a thing for her now? They've…been spending a lot of time together since before we got here." Viola frowned at that.
"No."
"Why not?" Viola wanted so badly to tell Virgil that Seria was something else entirely, like how he thought he had been. That she was actually something of a fine tuned weapon, trained by tradition of Blackthorn and that, for a split moment, maybe she really had been afraid of Seria. Did he know that she was probably the pride of an entire city? That she was a dragon master's daughter and that maybe Ryuu was the only person she could think of that might not have been afraid of her?
Please…don't tell anyone…
"I would just call it a hunch," she said.
"Hm…Well, you are sharper than I am, so I'll take your word for it." He crossed his arms, pushing himself off from the counter. "But, we should get started."
"Started?"
"I knew something was wrong, so I actually thought it would be kind of cool to bring everyone over, so you know, you can actually relax. You know, I've noticed that when you're not trying to piece things together with the Johto legends, you're always always studying the weather and stuff like that."
"The Weather Institute is kind of a big deal, Virgil." He gave a dismissive shrug and flashed her a grin, unmistakably mischievous. Then he was quick to grab a hold of her wrist, tugging her gently toward the kitchen; Viola's heart caught in her throat.
"H-hey. What are we doing?"
"We're gonna cook, of course! We gotta' get started. I can't speak for Seria or Ryuu from what you've told me, but Jaret and Juliet will definitely be here in a little bit. So, I'm going to need some help!" He paused, and leaned in a bit, and Viola craned back a bit. "Unless…you can't cook…?"
Oh Virgil, if you only knew…
But Viola was not going to back down. He was staring at her with the same devious bid of a slight smile, curved in an expectant challenge. When she had returned the sentiment, she thought she might have seen a shadow of disbelief, but also excitement flit through his expression. Viola refused to back down.
"You're on."
That's two losses in one day… The thought itself was exhausting. It wasn't so much that failure was a foreign concept to her, but just the fact that Viola hadn't expected them to come on the heels of each other, even if one of them had actually been turned around.
Juliet and Jaret had both shown up like Virgil had claimed, and it was to be expected. But when both Seria and Ryuu had shown up as well, Viola had felt her hands get a little bit clammy at the thought. Viola would have never cooked for so many people before, and if she were honest, she never cooked for anyone besides herself. She mustered up the courage about a half hour in to ask Virgil to test the dish she had been preparing, and when she saw his face twist in what she was certain was abhorrence, she was grateful that Virgil had offered to take over the entire endeavor. Viola wasn't sure if she would have been able to live through the embarrassment.
But, she had still helped out with what she could and she had been there when Virgil had been busying around the kitchen, eyes on so many things at once and hands moving deftly and naturally. He was really at home with food it seemed and it was something she would have never guessed. That was the second surprise today.
He had also made a lot. He had brought everything over from his room, and had covered almost the entire kitchen with ingredients and at first, Viola at first figured he was being gratuitous, or that maybe he had been trying to show off. Viola had to constantly remind herself that Jaret would also be there, and if Virgil had made as much as he did, he was fairly certain that Seria would show up as well.
When they did, both Jaret and Seria had loaded the largest plates she had ever seen. Seria had picked at her plate at first, while Jaret had simply taken to nearly swallowing his food whole (and nearly the plate too…). It was clear that he had eaten Virgil's cooking before, which, when Viola thought about it, was strange. She had wondered exactly when Virgil had mustered up enough sense of self to do something that was separate from Marus's horrid influence before now.
It had been, in short, nice. Runway Rampage had been interesting and fun in its own little way, but Viola knew for a fact that she was much more keen and at peace with just the six of them like it had been. And, while everyone had eventually had their fill, Viola couldn't help but laugh and quite honestly gawk at the fact that even after six plates for each of them, Jaret and Seria showed no signs of slowing down.
It hadn't taken too long to figure that the two of them had butt heads. Viola wasn't sure how many times she had each of them call for more servings but she was certain that she had heard the both of them ask at least for "tenths" but they had each emptied the pan. Viola was, however, acutely aware that Ryuu had taken at least double digit photos, and how with just his presence and a gentle silent nudging of his own, Seria had been able to relax back into herself and she had really bloomed into the entire event.
It had been a nice way to round out the night, and Viola couldn't help but thank Virgil. Viola and Jaret had exchanged knowing glances; Virgil had really come a long way, and he was really coming into his own. He had been much more jovial too, and watching how he would steal glances at Juliet or cheer on Jaret during their impromptu contest was heartwarming to say the least.
But everything was over now, and everyone had returned back to their rooms. Swellow had also returned, with Grovyle in tow, chirping and clicking together with his usual sharp eyes. He stood tall, chest proud and Viola figured that he must have become a force to be reckoned with out in the forest. Viola had winded down, sinking into her mattress. Relaxation was underrated, and something she really did need to do more.
There was another knock on the door, and when Viola answered, she certainly hadn't been expecting Juliet of all people. Juliet gave her a small smile.
"Hey."
"Juliet...it's late."
"You're really not fond of surprises, I'm guessing."
"I've…had a little too many today." Viola replied with a sigh. "I think the most shocking one was Virgil's cooking. He's…pretty good, actually."
"Yeah, I definitely wasn't expecting that." Viola narrowed her eyes at her small response.
"Juliet," Juliet half-grinned.
"Okay okay. Um, do you…remember earlier…?" Earlier? Viola had never forgotten.
"Kaynan?" Juliet nodded, still small, still timid.
"I…actually kind of ended up causing that…'' Viola ignored the anger that flashed in her chest. Whatever Juliet had done, Viola was certain that it couldn't have warranted a crestfallen Seria. Not when the both of them were essentially inseperable.
Still, it didn't quite seem right. Juliet had picked up on Viola's disbelief.
"No really. I knew him from a long time ago and…he had been asking me for something I didn't really want to play a part in anymore."
"What was it?" Juliet hesitated.
"I'd…rather not say, but he just…wouldn't take no for an answer…"
"Did you tell him 'no'?" Again, Juliet paused.
"Well, kind of…" Viola stared at her. "Okay, maybe not…" Viola huffed. "O-okay. So, I didn't say it outright but…I thought he would have gotten the hint…"
"That you weren't interested?" Her face twisted in pure disgust.
"I would never."
"Then, what was it?" Again, Juliet hesitated. "Juliet, if Seria trusts us with what we saw, then we can at least tell each other if something is wrong. And, if someone like Kaynan decides to bother any of us again, we'll know and can get there sooner." Juliet smiled at the floor; she took a deep breath.
"He asked me for…Potluck."
Viola went rigid. Did she hear right?
"Juliet, please tell me you're joking." Juliet didn't look at her.
"He…asked me for some and…I told him that I don't have my hand in that anymore…He thought I was lying and said that 'serfs' or whatever wouldn't understand..." Viola noted how Juliet's fingers were tapping against her leg a little too fast. She had heard Juliet's voice crack a little when she spoke.
"Potluck…kills people, Juliet…"
"I know..." She had said that on the verge of tears. "I know that way too well…" Juliet sniffled, and then it registered to Viola that she was crying. Hadn't she been enjoying herself when she was here earlier? She had been laughing, cheering on Seria to oppose Virgil and always quick with witty responses.
How long had this been on her mind? Did Virgil know anything about this? How many of them had their secrets like this that they were too afraid to talk about?
"I told him that I'm not involved with it anymore. Leah died because of it and I didn't want anyone else to have to deal with that…"
"But when you say it like that, Kaynan wouldn't have left you alone anyway…" Which meant that for all of her skilled talking, Viola and Juliet may have ended up in dire straits had it not been for Seria. Juliet pulled herself together, still sniffling, hurriedly and embarrassingly attempting to wipe her face.
"But I was the one that caught his attention. It had been so long that I thought that maybe he might have left it alone after that. But, there he was, asking if I had any connections here because he obviously didn't care or understand about all of the people who were dying because of it! He–" Viola's hands had flicked out to grab Juliet's wrist and she gave a start.
"Juliet," For the first time since she had come to her, Juliet looked at her; the pain on her face was a special kind of distinct. "It's not your fault, okay?"
"I just didn't know everything would lead to this. I didn't know Seria would be so upset. I just–" Her eyes went back to the floor.
"Juliet," Viola was stern this time and Juliet's eyes came right back to hers. "None of this is your fault, okay? Just please, be more careful." There was a nod, a quick quiver in her lip, and then she burst into tears. Viola took her into her arms then.
Despite how exhausting this particular moment felt, Viola was glad to be there with Juliet, and the five of them all the same.