Olivia had to go resume her work as a nurse, but she was ecstatic and... honestly, so was I. It took about the same time for the both of us to come to the conclusion that we were cheering at the fact that the other had died at some point, to wind up here, but... that's not what this was about.

Pokèmon were dumb. Most of them, anyways; the "mental" types, as I'd dubbed them, all tended to have superior intellect than the norm, with psychics having high IQ, darks being crafty, fairies being weird but emotionally intelligent, and ghosts being unhinged.

But still... they didn't have the human perspective. The Pokèmon mindset was alien, and in that regard, alienating. Even Calem, who was my best friend at the current moment, couldn't... hold up, with the two of us coming from vastly differing cultures- not just on a national level, but on a wordly one.

That night, I awaited eagerly for her to clock out- not like I had anywhere to be except wait for Cynthia to make her way to a Pokécenter. She managed to explain to her Jenny the situation of wanting to talk with me tonight, and she was confused, but ultimately shrugged and let us have the lobby, even setting up a little pajama party-like situation.

"Just no egg-making, alright?" The Jenny said in a stern tone before closing rhe doors and leaving the room.

Olivia's Zen Headbutt had dealt less psychic damage to me than that one sentence. We looked at each other aghast for one moment, before Olivia spoke up. "Is that even physically-"

"I'm begging you, let's not have this line of conversation." I shuddered.

After a moment, she gripped one of her ear antennae. "This Pokèmon thing makes no sense at all... if anyone told me that I'd have to watch one particular franchise in order to have an easier time in my next life, I'd have guessed... I dunno, Dr. Who or Naruto." She sighed. "I'd be so good at Dr. Who..."

I rubbed my face, physically trying to will the cringe away. "Wait, you were not a Pokèmon fan?"

She tilted her head. "And you were?"

"I mean... yeah. I did win a couple of regionals back home. I wasn't like, Wolfy or anything, but still-"

"I don't know, you seem pretty wolfey to me now." She interrupted smugly, laughing at my groan. "Seriously though... that doesn't mean much to me, since I don't know what that means. Still though, you know like, a bunch of stuff, right?"

"I would say so. This world is weird, and different from what I'm used to, but it's at the same time extremely familiar."

"...good. Then, riddle me this, tournament guy." She stood in front of me, grabbing my shoulders. I looked at her, nodding seriously. "What the fuck is the deal with the type chart?"

I looked at her and felt a grin form on my face. For a moment, it felt like I could breathe easier, like my aura channels weren't completely shot. For a moment, I thought I could see a vague shape of a girl, in place of where Olivia was, and I was me, not this Riolu.

For a moment, I was just Nasir, and she was just asking me a question about a silly video game franchise that I happened to be a fan of.

I threw my head back and barked out a storm of laughter. And when Audino tried to muffle the sounds by grabbing a cushion and shoving it in my face, I only laughed harder.

How long has it been since I felt actual joy?

I watched the larger human-turned-Pokémon finish squeaking the marker across the whiteboard's surface. Poor excuses for symbols to match all the types were set alongside an entire checkerboard pattern of horizontal and vertical lines with numbers representing effectiveness between each typing.

Aud- Olivia scooted back on the smooth sterile padding of the hospital bed allowing me to peer over her hard work after taking in all my information.

"...yeah, that about covers it. Granted, there's still the occasional move like Freeze-dry that-" I paused when I felt a raw wave of barely restrained frustration come out of her. I'd admittedly been more than a little amused over it, but... maybe I shouldn't push it. "-act outside the norm like it being effective on water types, but those are rare and all in all, that is the long and short of it." I rolled my good paw, before giving her a pat on the arm. "Any questions?"

"Just... Okay. Let me think for a moment." I could sense the building frustration as Olivia furrowed her small brow. She raised one paw and began to rub the digits above her eyes. "Ah... this is why I do not fight. Well, unless I have to. Though correct me if I am wrong but... you are supposed to be twice as effective against me... I think?"

"Yep. But the headbutt you gave me was Psychic type, so you instead wrecked my shit because that-" I moved over from the fist symbol to the brain that she had insisted on drawing over the more commonly recognized eye symbol. "Is effective in turn against me." I could see the gears turn in her head, and I tilted mine in return. "Did you not know before using Zen Headbutt on me?" I asked, giving her a half-lidded stare.

"What gave you that idea? My dopey expression when you were explaining all these types and multiplications?" The Audino before me pulled the corner of her lips into a partial grin. "Also that's a headbutt, should have been like... fighting too- Wait, I know some other mon can use different elements, but I can use a type that I am not?"

...oh sweet mother of Jesus- "First of all, yes. Granted, moves of your own type will be stronger than moves of other types, that's called STAB, but you can use other types. Second, you're telling me all this time you've been playing it by ear, not even knowing what your moves do?" I gave her an exasperated look. "I'm not sure whether to be more impressed or astonished."

"What works, works... I mean, I have twice effectiveness with this move against fighting and poison... considering how many Pokemon come here related to fights and venom, I think I am pretty set." The logic was... It was something to be sure.

"I question why stabbing is involved in typing except with metal." steel

"STAB is short for Same Type Attack Bonus... and it's a snazzy acronym that means for short you hit harder with moves of the same type." I frowned, tilting my head. "If you can get your hands on Double-Edge or Hyper Voice, which I think you should be capable of on your own, or better yet if you can get a TM for Body Press..." I trailed off, realizing myself. "Right. Not a battler. Are you... fine with that?"

Olivia was pursing her paws together. Each digit slowly tapping against its opposite while direct eye contact was kept between the two of us.

"Does this affect healing and other abilities outside of combat…?" The Audino began to wave one hand through the air. "Battling is fine, but could I have some advice for more practical powers to counter poisoning, morale loss, and other issues I practically face? I hardly plan to rampage like some wild animal. Why would any of us humans lower ourselves to that?"

I took a small step back, flinching at the declaration- and just as I did, both of our attention were drawn to the gentle jingle of the Soothe Bell that hung from my neck, cutting through the noise of my mind.

Human. It had been a long while since I considered myself that. I wasn't fully not-human, but...

"Well." Suddenly, my mouth had gone dry, and it was difficult to speak.

How long had it been since I cared about someone else's opinion? Since when did anyone expect better of me?

"I'm a professional battler too, you know. How did you think I got this?" I chuckled darkly, looking down at my arm in an effort not to meet her gaze. "Pokèmon don't exactly get injured falling down the stairs."

I could see the Audino's eyes rolling at my statement. "I've seen you play around with those weaker than you like a bully… past aside. However, that's just the inherent nature of Pokémon, which we aren't. Also you clearly should not chastise the healthcare professional on what injuries Pokémon do and do not get… stairs are either too small or too large for most of them."

I shrugged. Maybe it was more of a fighting type thing, to be so resilient to injuries. "Still. My lot in life has been battling... and I think that the better I get at it, the better my chance to not be... as I am right now. That, and to punch God in his stupid llama face for doing this to me- to us."

"I… Wait are you like one of those weird cult guys that worships animals? I mean on Earth. If so, it makes sense you were reincarnated as a furry." I… it was difficult to tell if the head tilt was smug or quizzical.

"...no, why would you-" I took a deep breath, shaking my head. "Right. You didn't have a childhood. How do I best put this." I pinched the bridge of my nose while ignoring the indignant look shot my way. "At least in this world, there is a God who made all of the Pokèmon... or at least, made the Pokémon who made the rest. His name is Arceus. He is a llama stuck in a fence." I licked my lips, feeling my mood darken. "I'm ninety percent sure that he is responsible for this entire bullshit... and I intend to punch him. He is normal-type."

"The only part I understood was the last sentence. And if you are not fucking with me due to my lack of knowledge, I guess that makes me more saintly than you. Honestly, if he is the reason I am here, then I should thank him, better than the alternative." Olivia almost seemed to relax forward as her small chest deflated.

"Staying dead would have sucked, but I had to endure hell over the past three years. I think he could have kept his fucking grubby hand off my soul. Hell, if he had to reincarnate us, he could've kept us at least on the same fucking planet." I squeezed my eyes shut, gritting my teeth before taking a deep breath. "Sorry. Working myself up over nothing. Honestly, I respect a lot what you do... but I can't stop fighting until I've found a fix. A solution. And most importantly, an answer." Looking back up, I saw that her jaw was set tight, and her eyes staring right at me. "...let's talk about something that's not quite as depressing, please."

"Life and Death is assuredly something." I almost expected Olivia to continue, yet she halted after the one sentence. "Yes, let's." she simply added.

We both stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, not saying anything, and I sighed. Way to ruin the mood, me. "... right." I looked off to the side awkwardly, trying to think of anything to say... and my eyes landed on a stuffed Magikarp plushie on the counter. Distraction spotted. "So, since you've clearly been at it longer than me, riddle me this," I said, echoing her earlier words, making her tilt her head. "What the hell is up with the Pokèmon being a brand here? I understand back home, they were the franchise, but why is that, for example, called a Pokèdoll and not a plushie?"

"Why is it called a teddy bear and not a bear plush? It's just marketing ploys." Pink shoulders shifted upwards as my new pal began doodling a lumpy shape of the aforementioned toy. A welcome addition to the corners of the type chart. "What? Grouchy over being a marketable plushie?"

"...first of all- wow. Low blow." I huffed at the smug glance thrown my way, rolling my eyes, though I was secretly relieved at the successful defusing of the tension. "And second, I would agree if it were just toys, but everything in this freaking world is marked towards Pokémon. That's like saying that we'd have, like. I dunno. A humanphone in our world."

"Well, do you really consider that to be the case when you consider humans are still the dominant species in this world? Also may I remind you of the existence of the Iphone?"

"...well, dominant for a given sense of the word, anyways. Pokémon just don't care much to get rid of them, and they thrive with human companionship." I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment before something occurred to me. "Also... you ever watch anime? The power of friendship is a real, tangible phenomenon here." I cracked one eye open to gauge her reaction.

"Does… Please Don't Bully Me, Nagatoro count? I've watched Avatar of course, but… damn it's been a while since I thought of that show." I watched a slight twist of the Audino's lips that was quickly hidden by a neutral expression. "The best comparison I can give to your statement is those old Carebear cartoon reruns."

"...not that inaccurate, though Avatar is not Japanese. But here, it's more of a... if the placebo effect of your friends believing really hard in you actually worked. My species is particularly attuned to it, in theory... though, you can see how well that has been working out for me." I muttered drily, walking around the whiteboard. "Also, if I'm built like a plushie, you're built like a Carebear. So." I shrugged. "The hell's a Nagatoro?"

"Not sure what you mean, unless you are talking about Rollus." The Audino rested her paws behind her back as she leaned away. "And eh… A somewhat popular anime about…" Olivia began to pause. Their head was dipped forward as their gaze occasionally twitched. I could imagine an almost comical bead of sweat of forming on her brow. "A… tan high schooler bullying her best friend with constant jealous teasing including with heavy emphasis on mocking expressions."

"So, in essence... the writer's barely disguised fetish turned into a series of its own?" I wrinkled my nose, flexing my legs before leaping onto the counter with only a little stumbling, tired of craning my neck up to look at her.

"I mean the writer made their own hentai before this, it's a totally normal anime as it is." I continued to absorb the waves of cringe wafting off the Audino. A mental damage bombardment indeed.

"...ugh. At this point, I feel desperate enough to watch anything. Last time I interacted with an electronic device was breaking into Cynthia's Pokèdex, and before that when I was still human." Looking around myself, I scanned the counter for a computer, or anything of the like... and spotted the Revitalization machine. "Oh shit, you got one of these? I thought they were a thing in the game for story purposes. Why do you even need to do anything if you can just stick a Pokèmon there and bam, full heal?"

"Most Pokémon show restraint in their fights. Bruising. And some concussions are expected. Hides are resilient to most damage that would scour them. It's more a matter of exhaustion over fatality… even those lobbing boulders show some restraint along with hesitance and…. Wel,l you hardly do. You just push yourself to a limit and the same for the uncivil lot in the wilds. Without humans, they resort to any means to be the most powerful."

Both paws reached for my own arm to begin twisting the limb. "So… no. Broken bones by its nature take months to heal to its normal state for us Pokémon. You would be stuck in the machine for weeks."

Bone scrapes against bone, longing to dig just a little deeper, push just a little harder, meet flesh, meet blood, meet death-

"...right." I huff, shaking my head free of the memories. "So instead, healing pulse and bedrest on repeat for a few. Gotcha." I pause. "Does anime even exist around these parts? I mean, surely not all entertainment is... Pokémon-themed." I pause. "Heeeey Olivia. You wouldn't happen to know about a series like games, anime or anything like that called Mystery Dungeon, would you?"

"Oh... You mean that Takashi's Dungeon thing where Pokémon- Wait that is not anime... Okay I do have some anime, but you have a choice of demihuman ecchi or power rangers."

"That's not it... wait, they-" I thought about the in-game comments about humans and Pokèmon marrying, and I think I went through the five stages of grief in the span of two seconds. "Right, of course they would. Power Rangers it is."

...was that disappointment I felt in her aura?

I don't want to know.

Three hours, twelve episodes, and one mid-season finale later, I was left with one sentiment alone. "...they waited until the last two episodes before the battle to introduce the Glaceon Ranger that they were hyping up to that point, with the whole "we need the power of ice to defeat the Draconic Ruler", only to fridge her immediately?" I asked. It was now dead in the middle of the night, I was feeling stiff from lack of movement, and though the choreography was hype- since the Pokémon actually fought in the recordings, presumably, and as a battler I could appreciate the finer points of movement... but now I was just feeling bummed out.

The series' name was technically Eevolution Task Force, but they were basically Power Rangers.

We'd agreed to reach this point because the whole first season would take more time than we had, and now I was feeling a little bummed out because it was sort of cliffhanger-y, and now Olivia was watching me with a radiant expression of smugness, in the "I know something you don't" kind of way.

"Choreography is much better than our rangers back home though right? And it technically involves animal handling for all those Eevees… also I should expect you of all people to not notice the hints at the end. This specific series loves their subtlety."

I could swear on the great llama himself that the Audino's snout was further pulling up to form a smug feline expression despite the fairy type not possessing said catlike qualities.

"Aaaand they have offscreen mon expertly using their abilities for each ranger. Pretty sure each actor is an official trainer too with a type-based team. Talk about going method." Of course they were. People in this world did not waste a single excuse to battle... and I think Pokéstar Studios was a thing where you could use your own Pokémon.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I wrinkled my nose at the declaration. "And yeah, I saw it. Still, I'm more concerned about the solidity of the base plot. Sure, Glaceon is a decent beatstick, but considering their enemy's a dark/dragon type, could they not get any other Pokèmon to do the Ice Ranger's job?" I asked with a grumble.

With a large, slow roll of her eyes, Olivia huffed. "The premise of the series is that only Pokèmon who can use the power of the Bond with their trainer can defeat evil. Throw a normal ice type at it- now I know why it was needed~" her eyes sparkled with contentment. "And it would have been just chewed up and spit out."

"...I guess. Still feels convoluted for the sake of being convoluted. And I know "grumble grumble, that wouldn't happen in reality", but as far as I can tell, only one guy ever managed to pull off a Battle Bond and it was with his Greninja." At least, provided that the number 1 Pikachu-carrying menace existed here.

"...I'm going to need to look that up later, because the more you speak, the more I find I've been missing out on the fantastical elements of this reality, and that's coming from the woman who can heal people touching them." Ponderings of the main protagonist continued in my mind for a moment as the menu theme of the show played its animations on a loop. "I wonder what a dragon Eevee is like. Have not seen one yet… I mean. 17 other types besides normal is quite the large number of Pokémon to evolve into… Actually." Olivia tucked her legs closer to her body as we rested in front of the screen. "What is it going to be like to evolve?"

I gave her a side eye. "How would I know? Didn't happen yet... and quite frankly, I'm not sure it will happen to me, given that the conditions for my evolution is that aforementioned power of friendship. Hmmm..." I rubbed my sore arm, thinking about it. "I guess it's like if getting high and having a religious experience over it had lasting benefits. Roserade evolved twice not even a week ago, and she's been over the moon since. Besides that... well, it's a power thing, primarily. Very few Pokèmon don't gain a massive power boost from it."

"Would… I?"

"Well, your species doesn't really evolve..." I trailed off, before humming. "Though you do have access to Mega Evolution. Less evolving as we understand it, more going Super Sayan for a short period of time, still powered by friendship. Still, you become Normal/Fairy Type, get better stats, and... yeah, that's about it. You do need a super special rock from outer space though."

Olivia's mouth opened once. Twice. Thrice. Her head shook from side to side, flipping her ears around. "I… Do not know if I should be excited since I know what that reference is… or disappointed that I can't evolve and need something from space."

"...I mean, having most of your power gated behind some arbitrary condition's activation isn't all that cracked up to be. I've been fighting day in and day out for years and can barely pull ahead of others who have a fraction of my experience." I shrugged, remembering vague bits and pieces of my first fight with Gabite. "And what would you even do with evolution, besides, if you're not interested in fighting?"

"I mean… if I evolved I could achieve another type or some such. Using STAB maybe I could even heal better or use other odd abilities to their fullest." Olivia's words whispered past her lips as she reclined onto her back, and after three hours of watching the series, I could almost try to imagine the girl's spectral image superimposed on top of the Audino's. Of course, the issue was, I had no idea what she actually looked like. "I don't know. I just want to be better."

"...yeah, fair enough I suppose. I guess being basically rabid is not necessarily a requirement for feeling like you're failing." I gave a bitter chuckle, which after a moment she echoed. "How... how have you been coping, anyways? Besides the whole humans not understanding you and Pokèmon being... well, intelligent but still animals. How do you deal with, like... having no decision-making capability, no independence... and, well. No one you can trust, due to the aforementioned reasons?" I gave a shrug. "And yeah, I considered going wild, but no medical attention and no easy access to food, as well as being hunted down because I'm a rare Pokèmon sounds like a nightmare."

"Well for one. I actually trust my mom… and a particularly dumb Charmander I made friends with. I also told Nurse Jenny, but I… am not totally sure if she believes me or if she just accepts treating me like a human. You know how some people treat their pets as people?" Olivia padded the seating she was strewn upon.

"I get my own room. I technically get a portion of Jenny's pay, but that is more of an allowance. I think the oddest thing is that back home we have no frame of reference for co-existing with a semi-sentient species let alone hundreds of them. In all, it's honestly a lot better than my old life. Subsided healthcare. Someone else can handle all the serious issues. I can still do my job and what I love to do in my free time. Not being dead has its perks too."

"...ah." I breathed deeply, trying to fight back the sensation that was emanating from my chest. Like when I had first discovered that Calem was not a "real" human, but one from the Pokèmon World... I could feel that cold spread outwards from my chest, threatening to engulf me. Different. Unfamiliar. Not like me. Can't understand, can't empathize, can't- "I see." I released that breath, looking away from Olivia and back towards the screen.

I'm not sure. I want compassion, warmth, empathy. But it's like there's this divide between me and others... and I'm not even sure how I would even go about bridging it when they don't understand.

I need help.

As I took another deep breath, Olivia cocked her head at me.

"I need to ask. You must have tried to exploit your relationship with your kid by now right?" My shaking mind took a quick slap out of its state. "If you are not satisfied with your situation, I mean. She's just a kid and you're an adult… I assume?"

"Well, for one, there's the issue of no communication vectors that aren't me making drawings and hope she understands... and even that one just became more difficult," I muttered bitterly, staring at my arm. "Second. I dunno. The whole reason I've been following her, besides wanting to punch God in the face, is that Calem's warning hung pretty heavy on my mind and he convinced me to go along with this. Wondering if that was a mistake."

Pulling myself out of my reverie I rubbed my face, subtly checking for tears. None, thank goodness. That would have been... supremely embarrassing. "It's a bit more complicated than that, and if you want to be anal about it, I'm three years old, thereabouts, but... yeah. I am- was, I guess- an adult. Why?"

"I am not following. Why would some other… human trainer? A named Pokémon? Whoever the heck this guy is. What reason would he say to hang around with a kid… also if it is a trainer why not just stick with- wait is Calem the one who drugged you?" A vicelike grip grasped my paw as she looked me dead in the eye.

I let out a shudder, shaking my head. "No, no, no... it was a woman, though I really don't want to think about that right now." ...I can't tell if it's helping or making things worse, given I'm barely feeling pain right now from the numbness. "Right, I should have said this at the beginning... I met this Absol who was also like us. Uh... don't know if you're familiar with Absol, since they're also pretty rare, but. Edgy, angel dog. Hangs around Professor Lucas, in Twinleaf." I closed my eyes. "God, I didn't want to get in the topic because it's so fucking convoluted, but- uhhhh, you didn't watch Pokémon, you ever play Undertale?" A blank look. "Watched Into the Spiderverse?"

My new friend began to raised a furry brow as she absorbed my question. A brief twitch and she began to form a wide smile. "Oh, Spiderverse. With that Niles Marone? Had that whole plot with his uncle in the Mafia and the mob boss conspiring to open dimensions?"

The thumping of my heart in my ears became suddenly that much louder as I felt the cold suddenly envelop me like I had taken a dunk in a tank of ice-cold water, my muscles becoming paralyzed as I sat frozen stiff on the spot. Different. Other. Unfamiliar. Alien. A s-

A sudden body check as nearly four feet of fairy fluff knocked into me and pinned me against the armrest with a shoulder bump. "Hah, as if I would want to be from a different world than you. Miles Morales with dad bod Peter right?"

"...god, that... yeah, good one." I gave her a pat, trying and failing miserably at faking good humor. "L-long story short, if we're... I dunno, fresh over from some universe where there's no Marvel stuff, then he's from the MCU, and now we're. Uh. Noir? Spider-gwen? Hell if I know." I huffed, closing my eyes. "Worse, as far as I can tell... his world is just dead. Evil villain got to fire off his world ending weapon, and, well. That's it."

I felt her body tensing up against my form. Olivia released a squeak before focusing her breathing again. "So… I think you're Noir obviously. We're Noir? Spider Max or something similar seems more appropriate in my opinion."

"...something like that, though this analogy seems to be rapidly falling apart. But yeah, basically, as far as I can tell, we're in an offshoot of the main universe, which would be Calem's for some reason, and this one plays hard and fast with some of the things that I'm familiar with. Cynthia..." My thoughts drifted to the blonde girl. Hope she got Togepi back, at least... though if she sent me to the Pokémon Center, presumably she did. "In theory, she's supposed to be the strongest trainer around, so... between that and what I know of this world, where the 'main character' of this region's games specifically gets to eventually fight God, I hoped that would be the case." I shrugged.

By this point, she was bodily leaning against me, like a particularly large pillow. Considering that, were she not over twice my size and thus unwieldy, I could carry Cynthia around all day and only be a little weary for it. Considering that Olivia was even lighter than that, this was not necessarily a bad arrangement, but I did wonder how long she was going to hug me. Shifting my arm, I half-heartedly wrapped it around her, ending up a little more buried in the couch for my efforts.

A huff of air pushed aside some of blue black fur. "So… if she is the strongest trainer. And you are a rare Pokémon. If fighting God does not work out, maybe you can use the prestige to live in the best rooms and have grand diets. Plus if you get strong enough… well I should not encourage this, but you could beat up anyone who causes you grief. Heck… you probably could bother Cynthia to use some of the Poké she has earned in fights to give you more rewards too."

I barely caught a mutter of jealousy. "I see people in and out at the Pokécenter and I have not seen any other humans but you've been out and about for two weeks and met two…"

"Well, I travel, and if I can, I can probably send Calem your way, or vice versa. Hopefully that means there's more of us. Wait, no, I-" I groaned, drawing a giggle out of her. "You know what I mean."

"I- uh- what? What did I say?" If anything, this only seemed to amuse her more, tension melting out of her frame. "What?"

"Wow, so you must have meant something even worse! How shocking." Olivia raised a paw to her mouth and peered through smug half-shut eyes towards me.

I felt my cheeks burn. "Can we just go to sleep, please?" I asked, trying and failing to hide my embarrassment. I didn't even know what I was meant to be embarrassed about, but it sure was working.

"Hmmm probably. I think I got enough goodwill so you don't have to go to any kennels, buuuut the administration probably will want to enforce it to tomorrow. So how you want to sleep?"

"I can just stay here on the couch, I suppose. As good a place to sleep as any, I suppose." I shrugged. "Am comfy enough like this."

Olivia seemed to ponder over my answer, and after a while shrugged. "I guess same goes for me." With that, the larger Audino shifted on the couch, burying me even further into the plush surface. "Just don't... do anything weird," she mumbled, and I felt the weight of her large, furry body settle in on top of me as she basically used me as a pillow.

Uh. "Okay. Wasn't going to," I replied awkwardly, not quite knowing how to handle the situation. It was one thing to be sharing a space on the couch, and another thing entirely to cuddle to sleep with someone I'd only known for a couple of hours. And yet, the warmth and weight of her body was surprisingly comforting as though she were a shock blanket, and I could feel an oddly slow, but presumably healthy heartbeat that beat like a steady drum against my chest. "I'm not the one who made hose weird suggestions..." I muttered, feeling like I was already dozing off.

Olivia's response was a sleepy mumble. "Mmm. Maybe. But you're the one who talked about beating up gods and... uh... punching people for fun," she retorted. "I'm... not used to talking to people who don't just talk about the weather or the newest flavor of PokéPuffs..."

Her voice grew quieter, and the rhythm of her breathing evened out. "Olivia?" I asked, but she was already asleep. I stared up at the ceiling, feeling simultaneously too tired to move and too wired to sleep.

...I'm not sure talking went as well as I'd hoped, but... I do feel a little better, I suppose. I looked over at the sleeping Audino, who had settled into a peaceful, deep slumber. Maybe I wasn't going to have nightmares, tonight.

Oh wow we're spoiling Nasir today with good vibes.

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