03 - 12 - 02
The marching parade continues moving through the streets of the lower portions of the large city. As the many grass-type Pokemon dance along the music, many others converse with one another, sharing stories and their plans for the future, while others try to flirt with one another.
The frowning Eevee finds himself in the latter group as the recipient of an annoying white Vulpix's advances. "Look," he starts as he glares at her. "I'm not interested, okay? So go find someone else already."
Ears drooping, she lets out a sigh, her steely resolve is starting to break down from his many rejections, and she's starting to feel hurt. It worked with Linik, so why not with him? And why is she trying to woo him anyway? He clearly doesn't like her, and his attitude has always been the same since they first met.
...but...
The Nickit looks up at him with a frown. "Big bro, you're being a big meanie again."
He looks down at her. "What?" he asks with a blink. "But I'm not interested!"
She glares up at him. "Then tell her in a not meanie way, you big meanie!"
He counters her glare with his own. "I am not a meanie!"
"Yes, you are!"
"You're the meanie!"
"No you!"
"No you!"
"No you!"
Eye twitching, he quickly grabs the startled Nickit, and with a smirk, he rub-rub-rubs his paw on her head, ruffling her fur. With a victorious laugh, he lets her go before he falls on the ground from walking on just his hind paws.
"No fair!" the Nickit pouts as she tries to fix the fur on her head.
He sticks his tongue out at her.
"Here, Plu," the Deerling suddenly calls, catching their attention. "Let me help you," he offers with a smile.
After a blink, the young dark-type's face lights up as the Deerling lifts his dainty little hoof and brushes her messy furry head.
The Eevee snickers and looks at the Vulpix. "Aren't they cute?" He blinks as he sees her smiling a soft and gentle smile at the two youngsters, her white furry frame highlighted by the many colorful lights in the street.
Time seems to slow as she shifts her gaze to him, her gentle smile growing. "They sure are!" she tells him, and she then closes her eyes and chuckles.
The Deerling blinks. "Plu, look," he says, and the Nickit turns toward the direction where the deer is looking. "Why is your brother's face red?"
"B-buh?!" The Eevee immediately turns to the two youngsters and frowns at them. "No, it's not!"
"Yes, it is!" Plu says and nods.
He glares at her. "No, it's not!"
She frowns at him. "Yes, it is!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
As the siblings continue to banter, the white Vulpix blinks in confusion. Did his face really turn red? Why? She didn't do anything this time. And even if it did, maybe it was from the many lights around?
...or maybe...
The deer blinks and points at her. "And look, her face is turning red, too!"
With a gasp, the Vulpix quickly looks away as the two siblings turn to her.
The Eevee closes his eyes and shakes his head. Better to pretend nothing has happened. Looking ahead, he notices those at the front of the marching parade is turning, and soon enough, he finds them heading towards the docks, with a sleepy bluish hue of the waking morning in the horizon. A chilly and salty breeze brushes them by, eliciting a shiver to many Pokemon, one of which is the Nickit, who then leans herself on the Eevee's side, and with a smile, he wraps one paw around her to help keep herself warm.
A small smile is gracing the white Vulpix's furry face. Despite his bad attitude towards her, she finds it really...wonderful, to see him having such a caring side towards his sister. It's such a nice brother-sister dynamic. She takes a breath and lets out a sigh of longing.
The parade soon stops a few paces from the docks, the music and chatter dying down. The constant chilly breeze blows through the crowd, its cold touch brushing past the grass-types and many other basket-carriers who are moving forward towards the edge of the docks.
The Eevee blinks as the Deerling starts walking forward. "So what's going on now?"
Stopping, the grass-type smiles an apologetic smile at him. "I'd like to tell you, mister, but it's kinda long, and um..." He looks back at the others, and then back at him.
The Eevee shrugs. "Well, don't make me hold you off then."
With a nod, the young buck then walks ahead.
The Vulpix opens her mouth, but then hesitates. Perhaps she should ask him first? "Would you like me to explain?"
The siblings turn to her, and the Eevee shrugs. "Eh, sure."
With a nod, the Vulpix then looks ahead as the Pokemon place their baskets on the ground beside them. The siblings look ahead as those by the edge close their eyes and hang their heads.
"It looks like they're praying," the Eevee remarks.
"Mhmm," the Vulpix nods in agreement.
The Nickit looks up at him. "What's praying?"
He looks down at her. "Erm..." He turns to the Vulpix. "You explain."
She blinks, chuckles, and smiles at the young dark-type. "Well, Plu... Praying is...uh..." she trails off, her smile faltering. Hearing the Eevee chuckle, she glares at him. "As if you can do better."
He winks at her. "Watch me." He smiles down at the Nickit. "It's like talking, but in a whisper or in your head, to...god." He knows Arceus exist, at least in writing from the books during his research, but do Pokemon see him as a god? Is there even religion here?
"Oh, okay," the Nickit says with a nod. "What's a god?"
He's not really into religion. He doesn't have anything against it, but he does have beef at their fanatics, especially the extreme ones.
He then turns to the Vulpix. "Your turn."
She curiously blinks at him. "You don't know our gods?"
There are multiple of them? Not just Arceus? He shrugs. "I don't really care about that bullshit."
She frowns at him. Is that why he has such a crude attitude? That explains it, but then again, it doesn't explain his caring side towards his sister. Or maybe she's putting him in the wrong light. Different folks, different strokes, she supposes.
The first gentle rays of the waking sun pokes through the sleepy sky, its gentle touch caressing the many Pokemon witnessing its golden streaks chasing away the lingering stars.
"Look!" the Nickit says, making the two young adults to turn to those up ahead. "What are they doing now?"
Reopening their eyes, they stand upright, grab their baskets...
...and start dumping the berries and other various food down to the sea.
The Eevee frowns as the crowd start cheering. "...the fuck?"
"Language."
"Hush, you." He boops the grinning Nickit's nose and turns to the ice-type.
"It's the gift of giving," the Vulpix explains, smiling at the siblings. "The grass-types carried our prayers of thanks to the god of the sea for giving us life."
"Wow..." the Nickit says in awe.
The Eevee shakes his head. "It looks like they're throwing good food for nothing."
The Vulpix frowns at him. "It does look that way," she says, and shakes her head. "But it also has another purpose."
"Which is...?" he asks as the Pokemon return to the crowd.
"Giving thanks to the water-types," she explains. "And as a sort of apology for always disturbing their peaceful lives with our boats."
He blinks. "Huh... I guess that makes sense." He frowns. "But now everyone is hungry. I was kinda-sorta expecting the food to be what everyone will be eating once this whole thing is over."
She smiles at him. "I know a good place that serves great food. I always eat there after the parade."
His frown goes further down. "I... Wilds?"
She blinks, and frowns at him. "Well, they do serve them, too, but I don't order them."
He blinks. "Oh. I confused you with that other girl." He frowns, and sighs.
"Hey, guys," the Deerling greets them with a smile.
"Soma!" the Nickit calls. "You were amazing!"
He chuckles, a hint of a blush on his cheeks. "T-thanks, Plu."
Wait... Did he just thanked her? "Eep!" she yelps, and buries her burning face in the Eevee's furry side, making the Deerling worry about her.
The Eevee rolls his eyes and throws a smirk at the smiling Vulpix. "They're so cute, no?"
The white Vulpix giggles and nods. "Mhmm, they really are."
They share a smile.
They both blink.
They then look away, ignoring the burning sensation on their cheeks.
The Deerling gasps. "You guys have the reddening, too!" he cries. "A-are you sure it's not a sickness?"
The Eevee sighs, his ears drooping. "I'm sure, kid."
The Deerling frowns. "Really?"
The Eevee rolls his eyes and smiles a small smile at him. "Yeah." He chuckles as he lifts a paw and pats the flower on the deer's head. "You'll understand when you're older." He smirks. "Trust me."
He nods. "Okay, if you say so."
The Vulpix blinks as the Eevee converse with the two youngsters. He really has a soft-spot to young Pokemon, but why not towards Pokemon around his age? Why does he try not to show interest anyway, even though he does?
As the morning sun starts poking out of the horizon, the Vulpix shakes smiles a confused smile at the talking trio before her. He looks like any regular Eevee, but he's...
...He's such a weird Pokemon.
"Anyway," the Eevee says, smiling at the deer. "We're going back to the restaurant to eat. You wanna join us?"
The Vulpix blinks at that. The Nickit looks up at him with a frown.
The Deerling smiles, but shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but I need to go back to help my parents out."
That seems reasonable, the Eevee thinks to himself.
"But maybe next time!" the young buck says, his small tail wagging a bit.
The Eevee smiles and nods. "Sure." He looks down, winks at the Nickit, and looks back at him. "Looking forward to it."
"I hope you enjoy your breakfast!" the Deerling says, and then smiles at the blushing Nickit. "And take care, Plu! I'll see you later."
The Eevee quickly nudges her, eliciting a nervous yelp from her. He rolls his eyes when the Nickit quickly runs and hides behind him, making the ice-type chuckle. The two young adults then wave a paw goodbye at the retreating grass-type.
"Well, let's go, Plu," he says as he looks back at her.
The Nickit frowns at him. "Do we really have to go back? Dad said we can go back later before lunch!"
He smirks. "Well, today is actually 'before lunch,' wouldn't you say?"
She pouts at him.
"Now come on, I'm getting hungry."
The Nickit then quickly runs and stops in front of him. "But what about this other restaurant?"
He blinks down at her. "What other restaurant?"
"The one I was suggesting," the white Vulpix suddenly says with a roll of her eyes. "You could of just said no if you weren't interested."
He turns to her with an arched non-existent eyebrow. "I actually forgot you were with us."
The ice-type frowns at him. "Of course you did..."
The Nickit boops his paw, catching his attention. "Can we go to that other restaurant? Please, big bro?"
"Nnnnnn..." He grits his teeth, trying to ignore those sad and sparkly eyes of hers. He fails with a sigh. "Fiiine."
The young Nickit suddenly springs up to him, wrapping her paws around his neck. "Yey!"
He rolls his eyes and returns the hug. "Damn it, Plu. If only you weren't so cute." They break the hug, and he then turns to the amused ice-type with a frown. "Lead the way, I guess..."
"You guys are going to love the food there," she tells them.
"Here's to hoping," he mumbles to himself as the ice-type moves back towards the city district, with an excited young Nickit tailing after her. Shaking his head, he follows after the two...
...unaware of the frowning Cyndaquil watching them. "Damn it," the fire-type curses. "Why is that grumpy-head hogging her?" She then turns to her companion. "You shouldn't have left her all alone in the first place! Now look what happened!"
The Sentret sighs as he scratches his head. "Maybe we should—"
"Ah ah ah! No!" she immediately cuts him off. "Come on. Let's go follow them."
The Sentret frowns at her. "Cindy. I really appreciate the help, but..." He shakes his head. "Even I can tell that Vixie's interested with your Eevee friend more than me."
She 'glares' at him. "First off, he's not our friend. And second, that's nonsense! Vixie's just desperate for someone to love her that she's willing to ignore that grumpy dude's bad attitude! And speaking of!" She looks back at the retreating trio. "That Eevee's probably just going along with it because of that Nickit." She grins. "Sooo..."
He blinks. "I...don't like that look on your face."
"Just trust me!" She then grabs the yelping Sentret's tail and drags him along. "Let's follow them before we lose them!"
A few paces away, a yellow Shinx frowns as he watches his girlfriend dragging his friend towards...somewhere. What is Cindy doing anyway? Wait... Are they...? Is she...? Is she cheating on him? With Linik, of all Pokemon?
Is...Cindy the Pokemon Linik was seeing?
Wait, no. That's stupid. Cindy wouldn't do that, and neither would Linik.
...right?
"Tsk," he tsk's, his eye twitching as he follows the two, just to be sure...
A few blocks away from the docks, standing in front of a wide open entrance of a fast-food restaurant is a smiling white Vulpix. "Here we are," she announces as she turns to the two siblings looking inside the establishment.
"Looks like it's packed," the Eevee remarks with a frown as a customer exits the place.
"Well now it's not!" the Nickit says and giggles, and runs inside the place.
The Eevee blinks in surprise. "Wait, Plu! Damn it, wait!"
The Vulpix chuckles as she enters the restaurant.
"Ah, Vixie!" a large Sceptile behind the counter greets her with a big smile. "So great to see you again! You're getting the usual?"
She smiles at her. "For three, thanks."
The large reptile blinks. "Oh, you are expecting company?" She smiles. "Wow, that's quite an improvement!"
"Eh heh heh..." with a faint blush gracing her white cheeks, the small ice-type chuckles awkwardly as she grabs the number stand the Sceptile is handing her. "Thank you." She then walks up to their table, where the Nickit is seated on a chair and is happily looking around.
"Looks really different compared to home," she remarks as the ice-type takes a seat opposite of her. The young dark-type then turns her smiling face to her brother sitting next to her. "And the smell of food is different, too!"
The Eevee sighs. "Yeah, imagine that," he says, frowning at the ice-type.
The Vulpix rolls her eyes as she places the number stand on their table.
The Nickit immediately takes interest at it. "Ooooo. What's that?"
As the white Vulpix explains it to her, the Eevee blinks and mentally wonders why the Miltank's restaurant doesn't have those, but then again, they seem to be doing okay without it.
Two new customers quietly enter the restaurant and take a seat not too far from the trio. They each grab the menu on their table while another lonesome customer enters the establishment and takes a seat near the duo. The Cyndaquil then looks over her shoulder, eyeing the trio talking among each other. Now how will she get that Nickit out of the way long enough for the Eevee to go look for her? Wait... She 'blinks.' That sounded so wrong in so many ways. She shakes her head and looks back at the Sentret to ask for his opinion, but stares in disbelief as the normal-type happily gives his order to the waiter.
She frowns at him. "Linik, really?"
The Sentret blinks at her. "What? We're in a restaurant, and I'm really hungry!"
"Get your head in the game!"
He frowns at him. "I can't with an empty stomach."
She groans as the waiter nervously asks for her order. "Whatever... I might as well have a donut and coffee. Glazed donut, by the way." After the waiter has left them, she looks back at the Sentret, who is deep in thought. She sighs in relief; finally, he's getting back into the game.
"Say, Cindy..." he says, eyeing the retreating waiter as he rubs his chin with a paw. "After the waiter takes our orders, aren't we the waiters now?"
She stares at him. "...Really, Linik?"
"I know, right?"
She groans and slams her head on the table, making the curious yellow Shinx a few tables away to wonder what's going on. She doesn't look like she's having a good time, and neither does Linik. What are they doing anyway?
A waitress suddenly approaches him, asking him for his order. Startled, he quickly grabs the menu on his table, quickly scans the contents, and immediately picks a random item in the menu.
Meanwhile, a few tables away, the Nickit smiles and nods, her eyes twinkling to the new-found knowledge she has learned. She then turns to the Eevee. "What do you think, big bro?"
He shrugs. "I think it'll be a good idea to have number stands. Makes things easier in my opinion."
"Right?" she chirps. "I'm gonna tell mom and dad later!"
The white Vulpix chuckles, and then turns to the Eevee. "You're not from here, right?"
He blinks at her. "Er, yes."
Remember to ask first. "You mind sharing what it's like back in your place?" She shrugs. "Just to pass the time."
He blinks once again. "Er..."
"Whoa, you're right!" the Nickit suddenly says, turning to the startled Eevee with a big and excited smile. "What's it like back in your home, big bro? Please tell us!"
Shit. Shit shit shit. He should have come up with some bullshit but believable backstory!
"It's...erm..." His ears droop. "Boring?"
The two females blink at him.
He awkwardly scratches his neck as he gazes at their number stand. "W-why do you guys think I came here?" He chuckles quietly. "It's just so boring, nothing really to tell."
The Nickit frowns at him. "Then why do you want to go back?"
The Vulpix blinks at that. He's going back?
The Eevee closes his eyes and sighs, feeling his already-drooped ears to droop some more. "Plu... I already told you why."
Her frown deepens. "But that doesn't make sense, big bro! If your home really is boring, then why not bring them here, too?" A beat. "And why did you leave in the first place?"
The white Vulpix frowns a curious frown at the Eevee.
"This place isn't boring, right?" She taps her paw against his, holding his sad gaze with her own. "We're not boring, right? I'm not boring, right?"
He smiles a small but gentle smile as he pats her head. "You're not boring, Plu, and this place ain't boring either." He pulls back his paw and sighs. "It's just..."
"Here you go!" the Sceptile suddenly announces her presence, startling both Vulpix and Nickit. With a huge grin on her face, she places their three dishes and their drinks on their table and winks at the ice-type. "Do enjoy!" She grabs their number stand and takes her leave.
The Eevee chuckles as he grabs his spork. "W-well, let's dig in, shall we?"
As he starts eating quietly, the two females share a frown before they too start eating, albeit with even less energy than the Eevee.
"Something seems wrong," the Sentret points out, blinking at the quiet trio.
The Cyndaquil shakes her head. "See? I told you that Eevee's not a good Pokemon." She smirks at the normal type. "But that's good news for us." She looks left, and right. Noticing that no one really pays them any attention, she leans forward and gestures for him to lean closer as well. "Okay," she whispers, "here's the plan I came up with..."
The yellow Shinx frowns as he watches the two whispering to one another. Okay, something is definitely up, and he doesn't really like it. He stands up—
"Your order, sir," the waitress suddenly pops beside the startled electric-type, placing his meal and his drink on his table. "Do enjoy." She grabs the number stand on his table, and then walks toward the Cyndaquil's and the Sentret's table to bring their food.
He sighs as he stares at his meal. He shouldn't cause a scene, just in case what he's thinking is wrong. That will not look good for both parties. He needs to calm down. With drooping ears, he grabs his spork and his knife, cuts the steak, and takes a bite. He hasn't eaten meat for a while, so he might as well enjoy his meal while he's here.
Glancing at his girlfriend eating breakfast with his best friend, he sees the waitress places the fire-type's drink back on the tray she's holding and starts to leave. He squints his eyes in confusion as he notices the smirking Cyndaquil lock her gaze at the retreating waitress. What is she thinking, he wonders to himself.
And then, as quick as a blink, the fire-type spits out the tiniest fireball he's ever seen, sailing towards the waitress' foot and—
"Eep!" The waitress stumbles, the hot cup of coffee sliding off of her tray and landing on the startled Nickit, soaking her. "Oh my goodness!" the waitress suddenly says in alarm as the young dark-type yelps and shouts and cries. "I am so so sorry!"
The yellow Shinx blinks as the white Vulpix quickly runs to the crying Nickit's side. Is that Vixie? What is she doing here? And why is she with—
"What the fuck?!" the Eevee snarls, standing up on his seat and glaring daggers at the flinching waitress.
"Jay, calm down!" the white Vulpix says, trying to ease the crying dark-type's burning pain with her ice-pulsing paws. "It was an—"
The Eevee throws his burning gaze at her, silencing her in an instant. "Don't you dare call me by my name!" He then growls at the 'whimpering' waitress, one of his eyes twitching. "Go away before I rip that goddamn arms of yours!" As the waitress quickly retreats, he then looks around the restaurant, sweeping his glare through the gawking customers who immediately return to their meals to avoid his intense gaze.
Taking deep breaths, he quickly grabs a few napkins on the table and tries to dry the crying Nickit as the white Vulpix whispers something to the younger sibling with a gentle smile. The Nickit nods and slowly slips off of her chair, and the two females then walk towards the restroom, with the large Sceptile suddenly with them to offer her apologies and help.
The Shinx then blinks and looks at the Cyndaquil, who sighs and slams her face on the table, with the Sentret chuckling before he continues eating his meal. He frowns. Okay, so those two are most-likely not in a date or anything.
But they're trying to sabotage his mission!
...Wait a minute. Is Cindy trying to pair Linik with Vixie? What the fuck? He shakes his head. She probably doesn't know that Linik is already seeing someone already. Knowing her, she probably forced Linik to do this without listening to him. He smiles, and chuckles to himself. Yeah, that's definitely what his girlfriend is doing.
Still, he has a mission to do, so he tries going to the Eevee's table as stealthily as possible while the Cyndaquil isn't watching.
"Hey, bud," the Shinx greets him as he sits on Vixie's seat.
The Eevee glares at him. "The fuck do you want?"
"I saw what happened," he says with a frown. "Sorry about that."
He squints at him.
The yellow Shinx quickly waves his paws at him. "No no no! I had nothing to do with that! Honest!"
The Eevee shakes his head and looks down at his meal. "That doesn't answer my question."
The Shinx blinks. "Oh, uh..." He scratches his neck as he thinks of something. "Er, I was just walking by when I heard the commotion?" he says with a strained smile.
A waiter approaches them and hands him his bill. "Your bill, sir."
The Shinx's smile twitches, and sighs as he hands the waiter his payment while the Eevee is boring holes through him.
"Would you like to take out your leftovers?"
The Shinx groans. "Y-yeah, please and thank you." He then looks at the Eevee as the waiter takes his leave. "Alright, so I suck at lying, okay?" He sighs. "But I swear I got nothing to do with what happened to the Nickit."
The Eevee loudly stabs his food with his spork, making the Shinx flinch.
That's probably his way to say he should leave, but the Shinx takes a breath to reinforce his resolve. "Okay, look. I just—"
"I don't want to hear it," the Eevee hisses as he lifts his spork and takes an angry bite of his meal.
The Shinx frowns. Well, he can barely talk while eating, so he might as well continue. "I just wanted to say that Vixie's emotionally fragile at the moment."
"And I am emotionally stopping myself from committing a crime at the moment," he hisses back at the electric-type.
A hint of red from the corner of his eye catches his attention. The yellow Shinx glances at it and freezes when he sees both Cyndaquil and Sentret looking back at him. Shit, he forgot that they can clearly see him here. He didn't think this one through.
He gulps, his ears drooping. "Er, I gotta go."
The Eevee watches the yellow Shinx run towards the exit. The waiter then arrives with a paper bag, and blinks at the blank seat. The Shinx comes back, snatches the bag and runs back out of the establishment.
"The fuck was that about?" the Cyndaquil asks.
The Sentret shrugs and takes a drink as the Sceptile steps out of the restroom with a frown on her face. Inside, the white Vulpix sighs as she towels the sobbing Nickit.
"I..." the dark-type quietly says, and sniffs. "I hope she won't be too angry with the waiter..." She slowly looks up at the white fox. "It was just an accident."
"You're so kind." The ice-type smiles down at her as she removes the towel. "I'm sure she won't." She places the towel on a chair and looks back at dark-type. "How are you feeling?"
The Nickit sniffs and wipes her nose with a paw. "I'm okay." She tries smiling at her. "Thank you for helping me."
The Vulpix smiles back at her. "It's no problem. You're Plu, right?" After receiving the young Nickit's nod, she then places a paw on her chest. "I'm Vixie."
The Nickit's small smile grows a little. "N-nice to meet you." She frowns. "I think we should go back to my big bro. He's probably starting to worry." Standing up, the young dark-type heads toward the door.
"Say, Plu..." the Vulpix suddenly calls, making the young Nickit stop and turn to her. She takes a breath. "What is he like?"
The Nickit blinks, and slightly tilts her head. What an odd question. "Who?" And then another blink as she recalls what the Charmeleon told her. Is she...?
She bites her tongue. Something in her is telling her that she has not earned the right to utter his name, judging from how angry he was when she called him by his name. "Your brother."
She... Vixie likes her brother? That's great! But wait, what about the Charmeleon? Oh no, does she need to pick which one should be with his brother? Wait, it shouldn't matter, right? Because once her brother finds his special someone like her mom and dad, then he won't have a reason to leave anymore! But she promised the Charmeleon to help him be with her brother! If she helps Vixie, then...
But, the Charmeleon said something about not winning a race? Is there going to be a race during the festival, and the fire lizard is joining it?
A worried frown graces the white Vulpix's face. "Uh, Plu? Are you okay?"
A knock on the door. That's strange. The door isn't locked. Why would someone knock on it?
And then the Eevee's voice calls from the other side: "Plu? Are you okay in there?"
Startled, the Nickit quickly turns back to the door and pushes it open, accidentally hitting the Eevee square in the face. "Big bro!" she cries.
Hissing from the pain, he bites his tongue as the Nickit throws herself into a hug. He then throws a frown at the ice-type. "What did you do?"
She frowns back at him. "What did you think I did?" A she just...? She doesn't normally talk like that.
The Nickit looks up at him. "Big bro, no, you misunderstand!" She sniffs and buries her face in his fluff collar. "She helped me, but now I don't know what to do!" She starts crying.
The Eevee looks down at her in puzzlement. What the fuck did she mean by that? He throws a confused look at the Vulpix, but even she looks as confused as he is. He sighs as he pats his little sister's back. "Hey, hey, calm down..." He nuzzles her head. "Why don't we head outside and catch some air. Sounds good?"
She pulls away from the hug and nods.
He then looks back at the Vulpix. "Sorry."
She shakes her head as the siblings start heading out of the restaurant. With a sigh, she walks back to her table and sits down on her seat.
And then a yelping Sentret 'jumps' on the seat opposite of the startled ice-type.
"Linik?!"
"Ow..." the Sentret rubs his shoulder as the fire-type runs back to their table. He then smiles awkwardly her. "Oh, hi Vixie. Didn't see you there. Um... I thought this table was available?"
The Vulpix blinks at him, looks down at the dishes on the table, and then looks back at the Sentret. She frowns at him. "Is Cindy with you?"
The Sentret's eyes grow wide. "Er... N-no!" He laughs nervously. "W-why would she be?"
She glares at him as the Sceptile walks by their table. "Liniiiiiiik..."
He gulps as sweat starts forming around his face. "Y-yeah, Vixie?"
"Excuse me, miss," the Sceptile loudly says, glaring down at the Cyndaquil. "But I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"What?" the Cyndaquil asks as the large reptile grabs her and carries her out of the restaurant. "Hey! What are you doing?!"
Blinking at the scene, the Vulpix then looks back at the Sentret with a frown.
The Sentret nervously laughs as he scratches his head. "P-probably another Cyndaquil." He quickly stands—
"Sit down."
He quickly sits back down.
The Vulpix closes her eyes, takes a breath, and sighs. Right... Calm down, just calm down...
She reopens her eyes and looks at him with a frown. "Linik. Are you trying to hit on me with Cindy's help?"
He closes his eyes and sighs. No point denying it now. "Pretty much, yeah..."
"I see." She nods and tilts her head. "But, aren't you already seeing someone else?"
He blinks in surprise. "You... You know about that?"
She frowns. "I'm friends with Shino, remember?"
He sighs. "That's a good point." He shakes his head and looks down at the plate. "I...don't think she sees me the same way I do." He frowns at her. "I knew she was out of my league, but I thought I had a chance, you know?" He slumps on his seat and lets out another sigh.
The Vulpix frowns in understanding. Oh, so that's how it is. And of course he asked Cindy for help. She rolls her eyes in mild amusement.
"Just between you and me," the Sentret suddenly says as he looks at her. "I think you two look good together."
She blinks. "Uh, whom?"
The Sentret frowns. "The Eevee. Who else am I talking about?" He smiles at her. "You should definitely go after him."
After seeing how angry he gets? She shakes her head to rid of the mental image for now. "And what about you?"
His smile fades. "I'll...be fine."
She tilts her head. "You like me, too, right?"
"Er..." He blushes. He quickly looks away and scratches his neck. "I, uh. Y-ye... M-maybe?"
She rolls her eyes. Of course he won't give her a straight answer. But to be fair, he does look cute with how nervous he looks right now.
The Sceptile approaches their table with an apologetic frown. "I'm so sorry for what happened to your friends, Vixie."
She smiles up at her. "It's okay, I think. It was just an accident, right?"
The Sceptile frowns and shakes her head. "I'm afraid it wasn't." She looks over her shoulder. "Apparently, that Cyndaquil spat fire at my waitstaff, which caused the accident."
The Vulpix blinks. "Huh..." Frowning, she slowly looks back at the Sentret, who is trying his best not to meet her gaze. "Who would have thought?"
"Please accept my sincerest apologies, Vixie," the large reptile says. "And your meal is on the house." She bows her head. "I'm sorry once again." After another bow, she then goes back to work.
The Vulpix glares at the sweating Sentret. "Linik."
He nervously waves his paws at her. "I-it was Cindy's idea! I swear!"
"I know." She sighs. "I'm just wondering why you didn't stop her."
His ears droop. "I don't think I can, even if I tried."
She lets out yet another sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
The silence starts to grow between them. As the Sentret tries to come up with something to say, the Vulpix is busy with her own thoughts.
So she has two choices. She should feel really happy about that, that she's not as invisible as she assumed, that someone sees her as a potential mate. But while that's good in itself, it's also really troubling. Who should she choose? She joked about it with Lithe, but now that she thinks about it, she's not really comfortable to be in a polygamous relationship.
Linik likes her, meanwhile...the Eevee kinda does? But so far, she knows more about the Eevee than the Sentret, and if she's being honest with herself, she likes the Eevee more...until now. But everyone gets angry anyway, and isn't it good that she knows his bad side? But who should she choose? Should she choose the one she likes, or the one who likes her?
She blinks as she recalls that the Eevee's leaving soon. Is that why he is being the way he is? But what about the Nickit? It doesn't really make sense.
"So, um..." the Sentret starts, nervously scratching his neck. He glances at her with a nervous smile. "You uh, do you want to spend the rest of the festival with, uh, with m-me?"
She slightly tilts her head... Why is she troubling herself with this too much anyway? The answer is already obvious!
She smiles. "Sure," she tells him. "Why not?"
He looks back at her in surprise, his face reddening. She...
...She said yes.
She said yes!
"Yes!" the Cyndaquil cheers, standing on the other side of the road.
"No!" the Shinx cries, standing in an alleyway in between the restaurant and a building he doesn't care at the moment. He pulls his face from the window and collapses on the dirty ground with a groan. "Damn it, noooo!"
Standing by the entrance of the restaurant, the Nickit's ears twitch as she turns to the alleyway. "What was that?" Why do alleyways here always make weird noises?
"I don't know," the Eevee says, frowning at the dancing Cyndaquil on the other side of the street, and making a few passersby to dance along with her. He turns back and takes a peek inside the restaurant, and sees the white Vulpix seemingly having a nice conversation going with a shy-looking Sentret. He blinks, and shrugs.
Some things will always be the same, he thinks, no matter which world he's in.
"Oh well." He turns and sees the curious Nickit taking a peek in the alleyway. "Hey, Plu," he calls with a small smile. "Let's go around the city."
She looks back at him with a blink. "Huh? But Vixie isn't out yet."
He shrugs, and gestures inside the establishment, making the Nickit take a peek. "Seems like she's found new company."
"Oh." She looks back at him with a small frown. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah." He looks up at the early morning sky, the tall buildings obscuring the rising sun from the horizon.