bottlecaplogs | [CLOSED] It's okay if you don't want to tell me, you know.

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[CLOSED] It's okay if you don't want to tell me, you know.

Who: Siffrin (ISAT) and Odile
What: normal things happening at the pokepastry shop
When: Early October
Where: Bottlecap Bay City Center
Warnings: Spoilers for In Stars And Time, Siffrin's extremely bad no good mental health

Things have been... okay. They're still adjusting to being a cat, but they've accepted the new normal a lot faster than they thought it would take. Maybe it's because they're so used to the same things happening all the time, having all this change at once is kind of refreshing? They're in a new place, with a new form and a new name...

But they're trying not to dwell on it too much. Just take things one step at a time, stardust! Focus on the things you can do right now! That's what Loop would tell them ~~if they remembered~~.

Today, that's treating themselves for surviving another month. They exit the shop cradling their pain au chocolat like a valuable treasure. This time, they need to savour it... they have to make it last... they should at least find somewhere nice to sit...

...

Living up to their name, the Meowth swiftly the devours the pastry in two large bites. They don't even make it out of the doorway. They shuffle awkwardly out of the way, licking crumbs off their claws in the street.

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[It's gratifying, how easily their body can claw its way straight up a vertical surface with so little effort. And to think they found this form uncomfortable before! It's so much easier to get around like this!

They try to ignore her, blood pumping in their ears as they scrap their way higher and higher... until the branches start to get too thin, bending and bowing under their weight. They cling to the highest branch that can hold them, assessing their view through the thinning autumn leaves.

...

They kind of thought there might be somewhere to jump from here, but... this tree is in an awkward spot. Just slightly too far from the nearest rooftop or post or other such object. Maybe they could make the jump...?

They're not so eager to try, though. For now they sit up there with their tail curled around their legs, jittering with a mix of adrenaline and pure anxiety, trying very very hard to pretend they can't hear her.]

....I know you can hear me.

[ Okay, now the shock is having time to wear away, revealing a mounting irritation below! Are they seriously doing this? Odile doesn't know what's going on, but there was no reason for anyone else to flee like that; this is, in some way or another, definitely Siffrin. ]

[Noooope! Can't hear her! She can't force them to respond, haha!!

Too bad their ears betray them, flicking back every time she speaks. They can absolutely hear her.]

Fine. We can do this from here.

[ You think she's just going to give up and leave? ]

I take it that this isn't just one of those evolutions. Which makes this very strange, because I came here with an entirely different Pokemon calling themself Siffrin.

[ That eye...this one more closely resembles the Siffrin she knows. Which means that the other's memory loss may have been something different entirely, though...it clearly didn't make much difference. They were both terrified of her anyway.

Enough.

So how could one get a Siffrin whose eye was able to be saved? The time loops only included their stay in Dormont; that's nowhere near far enough back to affect the attack or subsequent treatment. Were the time loops really their first time doing Wish Craft? Maybe it's an effect of a prior wish? They might have only just realized it, if that was the case. It fits, too, because... ]

[ He certainly didn't want to tell them about the other wish either.

...she's doing the same thing as before, isn't she? Too cold and biting to help them out of a problem, instead of just starting the entire cycle over again. It really, really ought to have been Isabeau or Mirabelle here instead. He's not going to just tell her what's going on, and she does not know how to convince them without making things worse. She folds her arms and lowers her gaze, looking past the tree to... ]

You're free to move along. [ Attention from other Pokemon on this street is not appreciated! If she snaps a little more than is warranted, then, well.

She doesn't speak to Siffrin again until there's no one else standing nearby. ]

...you can tell me if something's going on.

[All they can do is try to curl themselves to be smaller, hiding uselessly among the leaves. She knows... she knows, there's no way she can't figure it out from here. She's already met the other Siffrin. And if she doesn't doubt either of their identities, then there are only so many explanations. She'll figure them out and then...

Something. They don't know what. For all they tried to reassure Loop, they... don't know for certain how everyone would react. It's only now that they're caught in the middle of it that they're starting to wonder if they might be rejected.

They flinch when she calls out to the crowd, thinking for a second that she might mean them... only then do they notice the Pokemon staring at them and realize how much of a scene they'd caused. That Eevee is still picking up berries down the block, tears in their eyes, a passing Typhlosion bending down to help. The bystanders start to scatter after Odile snaps, returning to whatever business they'd been attending to before.

... they still don't know what to say, but they feel some of the anxiety dull. She's... trying to help. To not make a public show of this. They should be more grateful for her consideration.

Their ear flicks, gaze cast firmly at a random leaf at the end of their branch. They don't... really know what to do, about any of this. Their throat tightens when they try to speak. Still, they have to try, to find some kind of answer they can give her.]

... I can't. [It's not their place to make this call. It should be... but, if they don't remember...] Please, just... leave it alone for now. I'll be fine, really.

[ Odile is silent for a long moment. What are they asking her to do? Just...walk off and leave them? Wasn't that supposed to be their worst fear?

But, then, of course insisting out of nowhere that they'll be fine is not reassuring. ]

...are you in danger?

No. [They can give that answer with confidence, at least. They're not in any kind of danger (probably)(unless Loop reacts badly to the truth again), but...] I can't talk about it. Not... right now.

[They're reluctant to say it, because "not right now" implies a later that they don't know if they'll ever be prepared for. They don't want to avoid her forever, though. They certainly wouldn't be able to bear it, knowing she was here and they had to stay away.

... but they need time. To figure this out. If there's something they can say to fix their blown cover, or if they can talk to Siffrin about it first, or figure out if they can convince her not to tell them—

Stars, that's right. That's no doubt where she'll go next.]

They don't know about me, so... don't freak them out? [It's far from a commanding request, but please, surely Odile would understand how badly that might come across? They have to talk to Loop first. They can figure this out, somehow.]

[ She can certainly see why it would be an alarming realization! In some ways, she's rather surprised that this Siffrin is seemingly just taking charge of the whole matter. ]

...alright. But that isn't the sort of secret you can keep forever.

[ Odile doesn't even mean it as a threat, though she can't entirely rule out telling them herself if it becomes necessary. This is just a small town, and they're both Siffin. They're bound to run into one another. Besides - Odile's not going to abandon either one. They'll be linked in that one way at the very least. ]

Is there anything I can do?

[Is there anything she can do...?

With great hesitation, Siffrin finally peeks down at her from their perch. They try to smile, awkward and nervous.]

Trust me?

[considering their track record so far... honestly, maybe she shouldn't.]

[ Odile's jaw is set, lips pursed, as she meets their gaze. She doesn't like this. She knows she came on too harsh with them, before, but being hands-off didn't exactly seem helpful either. Look at how much Siffrin will carry all alone, if you let him. ]

Will you stay in touch with me?

[They stare back, anxiety slowly creeping back in the longer they have to maintain eye contact. But they're doing alright with it, for now. They have to.]

... I'll be around! [though that smile is probably getting less and less reassuring.] There's only so many places I can hide around here, right?

[ Yeahhhhh, that's not reassuring in the least! She does remember that you used to just travel through the wilderness alone before they met you! ]

Where specifically would I find you?

[... She doesn't trust him.

It's obvious, isn't it? She expects him to fail at handling this mess. She's going to find him immediately and force an answer out of him. If she even needs to—maybe she'll go to them instead, and tell them everything "stardust" has been lying about. Or she's already figured it all out, and this is her way of keeping tabs on him before he finds a way to make everything worse.

She doesn't trust him—and why should she? He's never managed to do anything right on his own. He's a walking disaster. Why do any of them even bother with him? He's so... so...]

[he's... doing it again.

he's supposed to be better than this

his friends... do care about him. right?

... he should trust her.]

...

The Canopy.

Where the... the Cheri Berry guild. Is.

Oh, yes. I know the place.

[ Odile takes a moment to be irritated with herself for letting Polteageist lure her away. How much quicker might she have found this Siffrin if she'd gone to the Cheri Berry guild instead? But, then, she wasn't planning to spend a single night in those rooms no matter what. Honestly, not even so much as a roof?

...of course Siffrin's living there. She almost rolls her eyes. She's going to have to drag them out of there one day.

Not today, though. They obviously don't trust her to help them. It's fair enough; Odile knows that between her behavior in the past time loops and attacking him during their breakdown, that she has not made herself look like much of an ally to them lately. She's just going to have to accept it. Maybe one day it will change. Though...she never thought they'd actually run away from her like this. Did she do more damage than she even knows? ]

...can we speak more soon? There's several things we should talk about besides...that.

[ For example: does this Siffrin remember everything that just happened back home? (What does it mean if they do while the first one didn't?) ]

[Once the words are out... he deflates, some of the built up stress ebbing away. It's almost like bottling things up is bad and talking to people makes him feel better, or something.

... she would've figured it out anyway. It's fine. He does want to talk to her, once he figures all of this out.

But he's still caught by surprise when she says she wants to speak about... something else? Like what? He perks up a little, concerned, looking over at her again with a shaky smile.

... could it be their other friends are here, somewhere? He doesn't want to get his hopes up. Maybe Odile needs help with something...?]

How soon is soon? [it's not a no, but like... can they have a day? maybe a couple days?]

I don't know. A few days?

[ Ugh. She hates having to beg and barter for this. If they seriously don't want to talk to her -

- stop that. She's being ridiculous. She just needs to...tough it out and make it through whatever this new bullshit is, and eventually maybe they'll all be able to have a normal conversation! ]

... A few days is fine!

[Now they have a deadline. That's... okay, it's not helping their anxiety, but it does mean they have to figure this out before then. At least enough to not make everything worse. They can do that. They hope.

They flick the end of their tail, still watching her from the corner of their eye. This isn't exactly how they wanted their reunion to go... but...]

It's good to see you again. [I'm glad you're here is what they want to say, but that would be weird. Maybe she'd enjoy discovering a new world, but she probably doesn't want to be turned into a cat(?) or separated from the rest of their party.]

...you too.

[ Though of course, as far as Odile's concerned, she's been with Siffrin nearly this entire time. She's just not sure how else to reply. She doesn't like this at all - none of it, really, but especially just walking off and leaving this other Siffrin to themself. She's not so sure she does trust them not to bolt.

What else is she going to do, though? Climb the tree? Wait here until the other Siffrin gets worried and comes looking? She can't imagine that going well. ]

I'm staying with the Lum Berries at present. You can find me there.

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[CLOSED] It's okay if you don't want to tell me, you know.

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