bottlecaplogs | mayaka's april catch-all !

[Meanwhile, as she digs through the pile, Mayaka feels her claws scratch against something hard. She triumphantly pulls out a piece of iron from underneath the dirt -- not large by any means, but she's motivated by this discovery!]

There we go. Try looking for something that resembles this, Lita-chan. If you find something that looks different, like a fossil, just let us know.

[She holds the iron up to the Dedenne, before placing it down nearby. This marks the start of their iron pile.]

[ well, hey! the size is still decent. and it'll probably all be smelted down anyhow, so the size matters less so long as they're easy enough to transport. parvati really ought to look into how they go about refining all of the materials so she can make use of it in her own practice.

as the time passes, she's built up her own sizeable pile of small iron chunks. there's a smaller pile next to it of other metallic materials she'll have to check later to determine their origin, but it's only four or five little pieces. she glances over to see how the other two are doing. ]

You hanging in there okay?

[That was very different to rusted iron she'd seen when peeking through the factory cameras... But with an inhale, she got back to digging. Using her small arms and legs to kick dirt around and burrow deeper.

She was just going to keep digging until she found something. That might have been a good idea if the surface area she covered wasn't so small.

So when Parvati calls out-]

I've not found anything yet.

[Was that an echo? She didn't even leave her tunnel to answer.]

[Mayaka is just done extracting another chunk iron from the dirt and tossing it to their growing collection. Hearing the strange echo in Aelita's voice, her ear perks up and her brow furrows in confusion. The Sneasel turns towards where the Dedenne had been, and is startled to find her missing. All that's visible is the dirt dug up from a small hole.]

Wait, where did you go?!

[She runs over and tries to poke her head into the tunnel.]

Lita-chan? It's dangerous in there! Can you even see anything?

[ parvati looks over her shoulder. law, she's supposed to be supervising. she trots over and bobs down next to the hole. ]

Just come back out the way you came, okay! [ she shouts. ]

[There was a dull flickering where Aelita was generating sparks to light her tunnel. So she wasn't completely digging blind and...

It was a really good thing Parvati had said to come back through her tunnel.

Because Aelita had been so close to just digging up from underneath them. So close.

Instead there was a shuffling and Aelita was backing up. Give her a moment, eventually that long cord tail will appear, followed by a fuzzy body. And uh.

One side of her face was swollen? Then Aelita opened her mouth and started sho a lump of something out. Offering the shiny.]

[The Sneasel falls back on her bum as the little electric mouse emerges from her hole. Before Mayaka can ask why one cheek is bigger than the other, Aelita 'delivers' what she's found.]

Wha- don't do that! [Mayaka scolds as she looks around, trying to find a source of water for Aelita to clean the dirt off her fur and to rinse her mouth.

She's currently more concerned about the Dedenne, than whatever shiny object she's found.]

[ just how old is aelita? because, from parvati's view, the dedenne doesn't seem to be particularly old. and even all of the kids in the bat being weirdly mature aside, she's suddenly more concerned. "don't put foreign objects" in your mouth is something you have to teach to someone really young, but she doesn't seem to be that young either.

she really doesn't have a good metric to guess without asking. her gaze flickers to the shiny object while mayaka fusses, unhooking a waterskin from her utility belt to hand to the sneasel before picking the shiny thing up. ]

Huh.

[Enjoy your useless blue sphere. It reflected light pretty well, but it's just a stone. A stone with a bit of damp dust...ew.

Once that was taken away, Aelita was just confused. Tilting her head, her large ears twitching and shaking dust off. She looked up at Mayaka, blinking at the scolding. Hm... That was new. She'd only been told off once before and she'd understood why.

So she stared at Mayaka.

Then waddled to Parvati, looking up at her instead.]

Is that the wrong kind of treasure?

[The last time someone yelled at her, she just hung up on them...]

[Did Aelita just ignore her? Mayaka won't be deterred! She fidgets with the waterskin to get it open, careful not to let the water spill out.

After Parvati answers her question, Mayaka will gesture for her to come over.]

You don't know where that stone's been, so wash your mouth! And your fur's all dirty too.

We ain't looking for treasure.

[ it's almost cute. so while mayaka worries and fusses she can't help but giggle a little. ] We're looking for iron. I'm sure whatever this is is neat, but it's not what we're here for.

[ her fault for bringing it up if aelita takes things literally and overrides instructions in her head. ]

Don't sweat it. You're new.

[Ignoring. Not even looking, just going to stare at Parvati... Her ears were twitching and turning to Mayaka though.

Aelita gave a little nod. Looking downcast for a moment.]

I know. This is the only thing I found while digging. I don't think I can dig any more though, the ground is too tough. [But she wasn't too bothered. This had been an attempt to find a job she could do after all, there would be failures along the way.

...It was really hard to ignore someone when they were on the same plain of existence, huh? Slowly, she turned and looked up at the sneasel.]

Um... It was in the ground? [A lot less sure than when she'd been speaking to Parvati. What was wrong? Hadn't she already been dirty? With scruffy, unbrushed fur, leaves from her bedding. There was zero hygiene going on here.]

Yes, where there could be worms, dirt, I don't know what else! [The Sneasel shudders.]

Basically, don't put things in your cheeks! Now wash your mouth.

[If Aelita lets her, Mayaka will carefully tip the waterskin for the Dedenne to drink from. And while the mouse had looked somewhat dishevelled before, spending time digging around in the hole has only made her look more unkempt.]

Lita-chan... we need to give you a proper bath after this.

[Yes, we, because Mayaka can't do anything with her claws. Parvati, you just got roped in!]

Edited 2026-04-24 04:44 (UTC)

I, uh. I think we all will.

[ while not quite as dirty as aelita, parvati's covered in grime and dust. she can wash her clothes later, that's easy enough. but it's the sort of thing that comes with the job.

although, she wonders, is aelita's particular mishap cluelessness or nature? hm. she places her hands on her hips and lets out a sigh. ]

It's fine. I don't think there'd be worms in this sort of earth.

[Worms? Aelita wasn't sure if she should be concerned or not. She felt fine. ]

Some of the other pokemon told me to use my cheeks though. Should I take the other things out too? [She was leaning towards not being worried. Though she did reach her grubby little paws to grasp at the water that was offered.]

Other things? [Mayaka exchanges looks with Parvati, though she's probably coming across as more alarmed compared to the composed Tinkaton.]

What other things?

[ parvati's put her fair share of inadvisable things in her mouth. and, well, if she thinks what's happening is happening. ]

Oh, do you got pockets in your mouth?

Yep! [Just smiling up at Parvati. Then she turned back to Mayaka and started doing the whole cheek rubbing thing. Just give her a moment and-

Mayaka did not deserve this.

Because after a few seconds, Aelita pulled a seed out of her mouth. Then some... Mystery, chewed up berry goop. That she then held out.

And she looked so proud of how she was carrying her lunch around. She could snack and she didn't even need to stop what she was doing.]

Ah...

[Mayaka almost wants to ask her to put it back where it came from, but she hesitates. Well, at least it all appears to be just food.]

It's better for your tummy if you finish your food, instead of leaving it... half-eaten... in your cheek. [Though if this is how Dedenne behave naturally, like a hamster storing food, she can't blame Aelita for doing the same.]

[Disengaging from the impromptu show-and-tell, she goes to check on the sizable pile of iron they've gathered, and turns to Parvati.]

Think this is enough for Toxicroak?

Edited 2026-04-28 14:22 (UTC)

[ oh! that's. that's quite gross actually. hm. she's not gonna comment on that. her gaze follows mayaka, and she nods. ]

Yep, should be all right. [ it's a decent amount if nothing else. she would've liked more, but she shouldn't have expected a total newbie to be too helpful. ]

[Just gonna store her food away again for later while the other two talk.

Then waddle over to the findings and...She can't even lift one of the smaller bits. To Aelita, it seemed like a lot. But that was because the pile of ore was bigger than her.]

I'm sorry I wasn't able to help out more. [It wasn't wholly unexpected. Given the amount of physical labour. Her niche seemed to be small, delicate things.]

What will they make with it? More nails?

It's okay, Lita-chan. You're still pretty new here and figuring out how things work. I'm sure there's other things you'll be good at!

[Mayaka doesn't know the answer to her question, though. She assumes it's for the various construction projects going on around the bay.]

I think this is for the new pathways they're building.

[ it'll probably go towards a bunch of different things, but that's the main one. she turns to aelita and nods. ]

Don't beat yourself up about it. Everyone works out what they're good at eventually.

[She nodded. Aelita had tried helping there as well, she'd been fine with the climbing and attaching ropes. But the planks had been too heavy in the end.

Was this why Jeremie avoided physical education?

But she was smiling. Even as she tried to find something she could move to haul back.]

Before I came here, I was good at programming. [The laugh that followed said how useful she thought that would be here.]

[A kid that isn't familiar with the concept of treasure, but knows how to do computer programming? Aelita gets stranger the more Mayaka learns about her. She doesn't bother to hide the confused expression on her face.]

That's weird. But tell me more later. Let's go get cleaned up first!

[Bath time! Bath time with Parvati and Aelita!]

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digitalprincess - 2026-04-30 23:24 (UTC) - Expand

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sharpjustice - 2026-04-30 23:29 (UTC) - Expand

mayaka's april catch-all !

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asldjalkj;l

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Sorry Mayaka lmao

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mayaka being excessively anxious while parvati is over here chillmaxing??

space does not have food hygiene officials

...One of Aelita's friends eats a sewer apple, she was always doomed

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good to wrap?

Fine with me

ty for the thread <3

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