Impromptu Oran Sleepover

[quirkynote]

Who: Oran newbies
What: Having fun with communal dens
When: Sometime after Mightyena gathered them up
Where: The Spire, low tier dens
Warnings: Will add if anything comes up, but not anticipating anything

[As everyone knows by now, the Oran Berries depend heavily on communal living, sharing a bed is simply to be expected. For some, this experience was temporary. Mightyena was kind enough to lend the mysterious misplaced Pokémon a place to rest, but now some of them have moved on.

For others, this is now a part of life, and it's time to get used to it. The Oran Berries value treating everyone like friends and family, after all, so you're expected to do the same! Why not have some fun with it?

Whether you've noticed your fellow newcomers are all gathering in one den, or you suddenly find yourself dragged into the the party against your will, everyone is invited! Everyone's going through the same thing, belong to the same guild, you gotta stick together.....right?]

[[ooc: Feel free to use this as a mingle log! We have nine Oran Berries (I think???) and although the dens are said to hold up to eight, I think some members are small enough that we should be able to include everyone!]]

Comments

[quirkynote]

[A.B.A will take stiffening over running away. The fact that Shoka doesn't take off as soon as she rests her massive body means more to her than she'll ever know, nothing is scarier than the sight of someone walking away. But no, most of them have been so good about staying put... She doesn't need leashes, she doesn't need chains...

She told Paracelsus she would try... No more confinement... Perhaps practicing with her new friends will help her ease into that idea. They listen so, so well.]

I was worried... Worried I wouldn't find anyone who'd want to work alongside me...

[She lies her head next to Shoka, looking up at her from an angle. Perhaps to get more on her level, but also because she's exhausted.]

I know you admire me for my superiority... [Uh...huh.] ...but the truth is I'm...scared. Terrified. I've always had my husband by my side...for years now, I can't stand the thought of being alone again. I did miss you...dearly. I enjoy your company... And now...I can experience it more...

[telewarped]

[Shoka has to stifle a snort at the thought of admiring A.B.A for her superiority—but that answer is otherwise so earnest and sad that she has to give it consideration. A.B.A's just scared, clinging to Shoka out of terror of being alone. It reminds Shoka of someone else, makes her think of how much she'd wished they'd talked more, had more time, before...]

Wait. A.B.A, you're married?

[quirkynote]

Mhm, that's right...

[She looks up at Shoka with the tiniest smile on her beak, her tail flapping stupidly against the bed as it wags. Doesn't matter how scared or tired she is, she will always be thrilled to talk about her husband.]

My dear, sweet Paracelsus... How I miss him so...

[telewarped]

... Huh.

[Well, that doesn't fit into her mental image of A.B.A as a sad Victorian orphan science project who never left the lab! Was she out there dating? Having romantic dinners? Buying furniture or whatever else married couples do? Unless Paracelsus was just one of her dolls or something...

Either way, this revelation is so baffling to Shoka that it actually lessens the awkward tension around their current sleeping arrangement.]

Yeah, that's... gotta be rough. How'd you meet? Honestly, I kinda thought... [You literally never left the lab?] ... Never mind. Just curious.

[quirkynote]

[Sometimes you just take a really long time to leave and that's okay-]

It was so romantic~~

[A.B.A's mood lifts...considerably. She rolls completely onto her back as she cradles her head in her claws. Oh...oh, she loves telling her love story. Funny enough, Paracelsus not being here makes it even better, she doesn't have to assume Shoka's curiosity is due to being a dirty, rotten homewrecker. She grits her...beak? just thinking about it, but the feeling passes. ...It's never passed this easily before. Shoka really has no idea the beating she just avoided, and maybe that's for the best.]

I had just stepped out into the outside world... There were ruins...old relics of a time long passed, and I was exploring... That's when I saw him... He was resting, how I loved his sweet, sleeping face... O-Oh, it was love at first sight~~

[telewarped]

[This time, Shoka doesn't bother stifling her amused snort.]

Wow. All that, and the guy wasn't even conscious? Guess that tracks...

[Considering how quickly A.B.A gained an attachment to her, that is, despite receiving little of the same energy in return.]

And when he woke up? Did you just hit it off right away, or...?

[quirkynote]

He woke up, I held his slender form tenderly, and we were wed instantly... It was just like a dream...

[Well, if Shoka thought her attachment was quick before-

A.B.A, of course, sees nothing strange about her instant wedding, still smiling fondly as she reminisces.

...but eventually her bubbly mood fades and she frowns.]

I worry...what he may think of me now...

[telewarped]

[She doesn't know what she was expecting.]

Sounds like it. [Just like a dream? More like a delusion.] And they say romance is dead...

[But then A.B.A's face suddenly falls. The head of Shoka's disguise tilts toward one side.]

What do you mean?

[quirkynote]

[What does she mean what does she mean? To A.B.A, it's as plain as the beak on her face.]

I've been transformed into an animal now... It's not something many would ever say they'd dream of being married to...

[Said woman married to giant key.]

It's likely he may not even recognize me... You don't worry about that...? That someone you know could look right past you?

[telewarped]

Not really.

[In fact, she hasn't thought about it at all and will continue not to. She's used to people looking right past her anyway.]

If your love is real or whatever, shouldn't he still be into you no matter what you look like? Even if what you look like is some kinda bird-dog-fish, or a worm, or anything else... You're still your weirdo self inside, right?