bottlecaplogs | november catchall

Oh, I'm fine.

[ She grouses, flipping a claw. She's clearly not taking any umbrage to their tone; Odile's not really the sort of person who tends to hide such things. ]

I was barely even exploded.

[Exploded???]

[...]

So, in your professional opinion... how much exploding is still "barely?"

Just so stardust and I know! For the future!

One pumpkin's worth.

[One pumpkin's worth of exploding?? ...no, hang on, they're pretty sure they remember something about a quest on the board. (But still, exploding pumpkins??)]

[They are just about to make a pun, something about being squashed, when they remember themself. Right. That's a thing stardust does, not them!]

I'll make sure to pass it along! Keep it to one pumpkin or less!

[They prop their front paws up on the clinic bed, covertly (not very covertly) trying to take a peek at how bad her injuries look. (And ignore the tired look the nurse Audino gives them.)]

You see that you do, young one.

[ She jabs a claw towards them. Odile's injuries are worse than she tends to end fights back home with. Between her lack of familiarity with Pokemon battles and the loss of healing Craft in the party...well. All the same, she's up and talking; she'll be fine.

(Audino definitely has a point about her staying the night, though.) ]

[They are repressing the instinctual urge to start licking some of the yet-unbandaged injuries. That's weird. It'd be weird. Odile would think they're weird(er than she already does). And anyway it's one thing to lick your own injuries and entirely another when they're someone else's - they're sure Odile would hate it.]

Well, while you're here, I'll let you in on a secret! From experience!

If you're a poor bedraggled invalid and you're staying in bed, people have to bring you whatever you ask for. It's a clinic rule.

[It is so not a rule. This is a little bit them trying to convince her to stay and recover, but mostly them asking her if she wants anything.]

Is that so?

[ It's certainly proven true for Siffrin - but Odile isn't sure how this one might take that, so she doesn't say so. She has some idea what this is really about anyhow. She doesn't want to spend the night here, but Siffrin (the Shinx one in particular) hardly ever approaches asking for something... ]

Well. I suppose I wouldn't say no to some of my books...

[The Audino (not very subtly) slumps in relief. They weren't looking forward to trying to argue her into staying... even if it's not totally guaranteed yet.]

[Siffrin, meanwhile, drops all four of their paws back on the ground.]

Which books do you want? "How To Garden With Volatile Gourds"?

[Surely they can manage getting to Odile's quarters and back without her...]

Ha ha.

[ Dryly. Come on, they can do a little better than that. ]

Any of the books about local legends will do. I'm looking into some things.

"Escape The Clinic or Die Trying"? "All Of This World's Secrets: A Handy Reference"?

[But they give her a wave of their tail and trot out the door, in a wordless, 'be right back!']

[It does take them longer than it would've taken Odile, at least in good health - they won't comment on whether it's because they didn't quite remember the way to her quarters, or because they had to convince someone in the Lum Berries to allow them in without her, or because they realized they'd have to scrounge up a bag to carry more than one book back. But when they do show up, they're lugging a bag in their teeth.]

[They seem to have grabbed the first few books they could find that were very clearly about local legends, and - if she had any books left open - they'll have grabbed one or two of those, regardless of the subject. And carefully jammed pencils or pens in as makeshift bookmarks.]

[ By the time they return, Odile has settled back a little more comfortably in the bed. She's still not exactly pleased to spend the night here, but she seems to have resigned herself to it. Siffrin has enough troubles without worrying about her. ]

Thank you, Siffrin.

Don't mention it!

[They deposit the bag on the bed, within easy reach, and nose it open a little so Odile can see what's inside. Then they sink down on the ground near the bed, tucking their paws underneath their body.]

[They seem content to just hang out quietly, until and unless Odile either talks to them or kicks them out. Or the clinic staff shoo them out, but as long as they're quiet and not in the way that might take a while. (It's not like being exploded is contagious!)]

[ Odile's quite happy to have their company! After she got used to them, Siffrin became the easiest member of the party for her to spend time with. Prolonged silences seem to make Mirabelle nervous, Isabeau is more active, and of course Boniface is a child; for all that she loves the others, she and Siffrin are perhaps the most similar. She leafs through the book for a little while, without worrying overmuch about Siffrin for once.

As interesting as this research is, it's hardly vital. She's still catching up on general knowledge. Eventually, eyes still on her book, she asks: ]

So. Have you ended up in this clinic before?

[Siffrin's ear twitches.]

Who hasn't?

[They say it casually enough, with an amused tone, but. That's definitely a yes.]

What were you in for?

[ Her tone is equally casual! A lot of what goes on here might result in injury; it's not necessarily a problem.

(Chances are higher with them, though!) ]

Fistfight with a giant fish.

[ They're an electric-type; you'd think they'd come out on top in that fight! It's comforting to Odile, to know that they weren't necessarily taking some sort of ridiculous risk. ]

Oh, poor Siffrin. Betrayed by seafood.

[ They've always seemed to enjoy seafood! Odile does too! She grew up with a lot of it, of course, Ka Bue being an island. ]

I didn't even get to eat it afterward...

[Tragedy! Injustice! They mime a theatrical despairing pose, the back of one paw pressed against their forehead.]

Ha - too bad. You could have gotten all that hunting debate out of the way before I got here.

[ Admittedly Odile didn't listen to most of that because it was loud and annoying! ]

[Oof. That. Siffrin also didn't listen to most of it, because they've been trying not to think about it.]

But then what would people have brain-arguments over?

I'm sure they'd think of something.

[ Odile's somewhat indifferent to the whole thing. She doesn't do her own hunting, but that's more for practical reasons than anything else. She does not want to run around the woods. But she's a carnivore, and she eats meat. If the Pokemon here think it's all normal, why should she agonize over it? ]

I'm glad we don't have those things at home. "Calling Craft" aside, I suppose.

november catchall

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