[Catchall] Settling In

[pyrodulia]

Who: Agnes and You
What: The process of getting acclimated to a new body and a new world
When: October
Warnings: Mention of Agnes' canonical death (no details), discussion of gruesome use of human remains, cult activity, fire used to destroy important things.

She never actually put any milk in it. She never even drank it. She’d just take it over and sit there, staring out the window into the street for an hour or so, then stand up and leave. I’d go over to clear away her coffee. It was always scalding hot.

The way she always used to order the coffee, it always sounded like she was enjoying it. The order, I mean. Like the phrase “one black coffee with room for milk” was a delightfully novel thing for her to say.


1. Coffee
There was a cafe back home, the Canyon Cafe. Agnes started visiting in 1991, and she was certain that the staff noticed she didn't seem to age a day between then and 2006, when she...before she arrived here in Bottlecap Bay. She'd gotten into a habit, ordering a black coffee with enough room for milk, and then setting with the cup and not drinking a drop. It was the normalcy of the act of ordering she craved.

Here, though, adjustments need to be made. As a Ninetales (what a silly name), she can't exactly hold a mug, so the coffee is prepared and put into a shallow bowl for her. And as a Ninetales, rather than what she was before, she can actually drink it.

She's surprised, with the first sip, exactly how bitter it is. In fact, the look on her face might be comedic for onlookers. There is absolutely sputtering happening, and her tails all standing up straight like a row of exclamation marks.


2. Canopy
For some reason, Rimbombee went out of his way to ensure that Agnes's living quarters up in the Canopy are water-resistant, if not completely impervious to rain, making her more comfortable than some of the other Cheri Berries. In the meantime, though, she can be found exploring the Canopy as a whole or bringing messages from those standing watch to the main building.

There's a restlessness to her that's obvious if you watch her for long. But that restlessness was one she had since she was anchored by Gertrude Robinson. Then, she existed unable to fulfill her purpose. Here and now, she doesn't know what her purpose is.

If you're around the Canopy, perhaps this is a good time to meet the new recruit? After all, she's fully herself instead of Froslass's pet bitch now.


3. Chitin
Agnes has no issues with bugs, in the abstract. But the first time she sees a spider web bridging the gap from the branch of a tree to its trunk, her response is more than a little 'kill it with fire'. Which is especially dangerous considering she's capable of launching a Flamethrower without even thinking about it.

And now the tree's on fire, and the Joltik whose web she just immolated is very upset. Someone should do something about that. Like, now.


4. Wildcard
Catch me on darkersolstice, wherever you get your social media, to plot.

Comments

[no_ufo_ending]

Henry's antennae slick backwards ever so slightly as he hears the clickity clack of the big fox's paws following him. He groans inwardly. He's not a people pokemon. But...maybe she's lonely. He thinks fondly of Dolly and wonders where she is. She'd helped him when he felt scared and alone.

"I haven't spoken to Mightyena yet...I don't think." All the Pokemon who weren't people had such strange names and he's pretty sure he's seen three or four dog-looking Pokemon that could be named Mightyena. He stretches his neck out and pokes his head into the next room, but there are no Pokemon there.

[pyrodulia]

"She's the leader of the Oran Berries. Black and grey fur. Lots of bark, undetermined amounts of bite, no subtlety about her. She was talking to Ribombee about me in front of my back at full volume. I could almost find it endearing."

Almost. But there were politics at work in that conversation, even if Agnes wasn't privy to the context. She wonders if guild leaders are as territorial as cult leaders.

[no_ufo_ending]

Black and grey. He has seen her! He's still not sure about being in a guild, but well...when in Bottlecap Bay, he guesses.

They pass another room and no one is home. Where are the people with HANDS? Augh! But...he doesn't want to just ignore Agnes. He peers back at her through a red lens.

"I'm Henry," he offers.

[pyrodulia]

"Agnes. We arrived around the same time, I believe."

Even if they'd taken different approaches to the state of Skull Town on their arrival.

[no_ufo_ending]

He nods to show he's heard her. He does have to say that it's been nice meeting so many new people that didn't instantly die in horrible ways right after.

"What kind of Pokemon are you?"

[pyrodulia]

"A Fire-type. My species is called Ninetales." And if, as she says that, her tails fan like a peacock's tail, that's just coincidence. "And you are?"

[no_ufo_ending]

Henry beholds her many tails and wonders how hard it is to keep track of them all. He's already closed his in a door once. It was almost longer than his whole body!

"I'm a Flygon...dragon and something else. I forget." He's very green, so it's probably grass.

[pyrodulia]

"Dragon...how fascinating." It does summon images of fire-breathing lizards to mind, not little green guys with goggles, but Agnes finds herself capable of an actual spark of wonder for a moment. "Can you fly?"

[no_ufo_ending]

"Not yet...but I can do this--" Henry lifts his wings and buzzes them. They stir up all the dust and fur in the hallways and that makes a big mess but his angular wings also produce a strange sound, almost like someone singing.

[pyrodulia]

"Fascinating. I can...set things on fire. I am very, very good at setting things on fire. But this seems like a poor place to demonstrate that."

...she has other skills, and even used those in service of Froslass. But setting things on fire is something she takes pride in.

And did back home.

[no_ufo_ending]

Henry's antennae lay backwards a little with anxiety. Yes, he would like it very much if she didn't demonstrate here. Especially if he's part grass-type. He only knows he's green because somebody told him so, so he's just assuming.

"Sounds useful--especially to keep dangerous Pokemon away." He wonders how much easier of a time he would have had in the Otherworld if he'd had a flamethrower.

[pyrodulia]

"Unless they're water types. Or whatever else may be impervious to fire. It's a very...rock-paper-scissors sort of interaction, it seems. Neat rules and strict boxes for types of Pokemon and their moves. Like you could study hard enough to solve it all, if you wanted."

Beat.

"Must be what the Lum berries are for. Research and optimization. Like Magic: the Gathering players."

[no_ufo_ending]

"I remember there was a club for that back in college," Henry recalls. The Lucario who's name he's forgotten (and he feels bad about that) told him some people here used to be monsters, so it's kind of nice to know that Agnes is from his world. "What is it we do? The Cheri Berries?"

He hadn't asked. He'd just commiserated with the little bee guy about ghosts and curses.

[pyrodulia]

"We're rangers and scouts. Any trouble headed for town has to pass through the canopy, so we'll know first. The Oran berries might be more of a combat-ready force, but I would guess they, like their leader, lack for subtlety."

Agnes pauses, her tone of voice going a little quieter, more wistful.

"Where did you go to college?" She never went, herself; the cult that raised her didn't value a worldly education.

[no_ufo_ending]

"California. It was just a little community college, but they had a good art department. Or that's what I'm told." He hadn't known anything else. "I moved to Maine after. What about you...? What was going on before you got here?"

He feels himself relaxing a little and his little head feelers slowly stand back up.

[pyrodulia]

She pauses to consider the right way to answer.

"I'm from England. Had been living in Sheffield before I ended up here." Before her death, but as she's learned not everyone died before arrival, she isn't going to talk about that. It's probably obvious she's not saying everything, though.

"Had a little flat in town. Had a favorite cafe I used to visit."

[no_ufo_ending]

"I'd love to go to England sometime. The architecture is beautiful." Henry can be a little nerdy. As a treat.

The Flygon offers her a small smile. "Me too. I lived in an apartment in Ashfield. Worked in a store. I was saving up to buy a car."

But now he has wings! So he's feeling some kind of way about that.

[pyrodulia]

Agnes glances off to one side at the sight of that smile. "Before you arrived here, did you think you had a destiny, Henry?"

[no_ufo_ending]

"Not really..." BUT SOMEBODY ELSE SURE FUCKING DID.

[pyrodulia]

"Hm. Perhaps you're lucky, then. Though who knows what being here means? If there's some point to all this."

She does a canine sort of stretch, paws out front, and lets out a bit of a yawn. This body is all sorts of novel still.

[no_ufo_ending]

Henry's mouth forms a grim line. If only they knew what the other was holding back. He'd been in the middle of something kind of important when he got whisked away. He hasn't stopped wondering why.

"It makes me feel kind of insane, actually. Being here suddenly."

[pyrodulia]

"Maybe this is a psychotic break. Or some cosmic punishment. Or reward? I haven't decided which it feels like, yet."

She almost, almost manages to make that sound light and playful. It's the ears, how they visibly droop at the word 'punishment', that betray her.

[no_ufo_ending]

It honestly took a bit for Henry to admit that. He's not great at expressing emotions. But everything is so WEIRD and raw and it just kind of slips out. When she shares her own feelings about it, his antennae droop, though this time out of empathy.

He thinks about how Dolly had comforted him and goes out on a limb. He's a dragon now. What does he have to lose? She doesn't have a hand to hold, so he reaches out to put a claw on her shoulder. He doesn't say anything.

[pyrodulia]

There's an instinctive flinch. Not because she doesn't want to be touched, but because she's not used to being safe to touch. She once kissed a guy on the cheek and gave him a third degree burn. She's never had so much as a high five before.

So she jerks away and glances at his claw, fur fluffing up for a moment before she realizes he's okay. He's fine. She's not a threat to existence, in this world, in this form. And he probably thinks he's the one who fucked up there.

"I'm sorry. I'm just. Not used to being touched."

[no_ufo_ending]

Henry withdraws his pawclaw. At first he doesn't even think about what she says, he just feels like a weirdo for trying to touch someone without asking. See, Henry, this is what happens when you express feelings!

Her words catch up with him though and he tilts his head slightly. What does that mean? "No, I'm sorry."